ALBERT

Beschreibung: The last glacial maximum and late glacial environmental and climatic variability in the Baikal region, southern Siberia, Russia has been studied in a sediment sequence from Lake Kotokel, located 2 km east of Lake Baikal, using the oxygen isotope composition of diatom silica (d18Odiatom). The purification of diatom frustules involved the process of trimethylsilylation, which has been shown to be suitable for preparation of diatoms for oxygen isotope analysis. The Lake Kotokel d18Odiatom record presented here spans intervals from about 24.6 to 22.9 ka BP (further referred to as ‘last glacial maximum’) and ~16.7-11.5 ka BP (further referred to as ‘late glacial’) displaying variations in the oxygen isotope composition between +26.7 and +31.2‰. Overall high d18Odiatom values of about +29 to +31‰ during the two investigated intervals characterize a strongly evaporative lake system in a dry environment and suggest a lower than present lake level due to enhanced evaporation. The Lake Kotokel diatom isotope record is roughly in line with the 60° N summer solar insolation, pointing to a linkage to broader-scale climate change, but displays weaker reaction to short-term climatic oscillations, i.e. Bølling-Allerød or Younger Dryas. The climate warming at ~14.3 ka BP is marked by negative spikes in the d18Odiatom record due to isotopically low melt water input from the mountainous hinterland.

Beschreibung: Nettilling Lake is located on Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada between the areas of past warming (Canadian High Arctic to the North) and climatic stability (Northern Quebec and Labrador region to the South). Despite being the largest lake in the Nunavut region with a postglacial marine to lacustrine transition history only a few paleo-environmental investigations were completed in this area. The oxygen isotope composition of diatoms (d18O diatom) can provide valuable insights into paleo-environmental conditions. Here, the recent (isotope) hydrology and hydrochemical data from the lake are presented to facilitate the interpretation of a d18O diatom record from an 82 cm sediment core (Ni-2B). The well-mixed lake (d18O water = -17.4‰) is influenced by a heavier (less negative) isotope composition (-18.80‰) from Amadjuak River draining Amadjuak Lake to the South and water of lighter (more negative) isotopic composition (-16.4‰) from the Isurtuq River originating from Penny Ice Cap in the North-East. From the d18O water and d18O diatom of the topmost sample of core Ni-2B a D18O silica-water of 1000 ln alpha(silica-water) = 40.2‰ for sub-recent diatoms of Nettilling Lake was calculated matching the known water-silica fractionation for fossil sediments well and thereby showing the general applicability of this proxy for paleo-reconstructions in this region. Extremely large d18O diatom variations in the core of more than 13‰ are mainly induced by changes in the isotopic composition of the lake water due to a shift from glaciomarine (d18O diatom = +34.6‰) through brackish (+23.4 to +27.2‰) towards lacustrine (+21.5‰) conditions (transition zones glaciomarine to brackish at 69 cm/7300 yr cal. BP and brackish to lacustrine at 35 cm/6000 yr cal. BP) associated with a shift in the degree of salinity. Our study provides the first evidence that paleo-salinity can be reconstructed by d18O diatom. Additionally, for the lacustrine section it could be demonstrated that d18O diatom may serve as a proxy for past air temperature within the same core recording a late Holocene cooling of about 4°C being consistent with other published values for the greater Baffin region.

Beschreibung: The North Pacific is a zone of cyclogenesis that modulates synoptic-scale atmospheric circulation, yet there is a paucity of instrumental and paleoclimate data to fully constrain its long-term state and variability. We present the first Holocene oxygen isotope record (d18Odiatom) from the Aleutian Islands, using siliceous diatoms preserved in Heart Lake on Adak Island (51.85° N, 176.69° W). This study builds on previous work demonstrating that Heart Lake sedimentary d18Odiatom values record the d18O signal of precipitation, and correlate significantly with atmospheric circulation indices over the past century. We apply this empirical relationship to interpret a new 9.6 ka d18Odiatom record from the same lake, supported by diatom assemblage analysis. Our results demonstrate distinct shifts in the prevailing trajectory of storm systems that drove spatially heterogeneous patterns of moisture delivery and climate across the region. During the early-mid Holocene, a warmer/wetter climate prevailed due to a predominantly westerly Aleutian Low that enhanced advection of warm 18O-enriched Pacific moisture to Adak, and culminated in a d18Odiatom maxima (33.3‰) at 7.6 ka during the Holocene Thermal Maximum. After 4.5 ka, relatively lower d18Odiatom indicates cooler/drier conditions associated with enhanced northerly circulation that persisted into the 21st century. Our analysis is consistent with surface climate conditions inferred from a suite of terrestrial and marine climate-proxy records. This new Holocene dataset bridges the gap in an expanding regional network of paleoisotope studies, and provides a fresh assessment of the complex spatial patterns of Holocene climate across Beringia and the atmospheric forces driving them.

Beschreibung: A new dataset from Lake Emanda provides insights into climate and environmental dynamics in an extreme continental setting in northeastern Siberia. The δ18Odiatom record is supported by diatom assemblage analysis, modern isotope hydrology and atmospheric circulation patterns. The data reveal a relatively cold oligotrophic freshwater lake system persisting for the last ∼13.2 cal ka BP. Most recent δ18Odiatom (+21.5‰) combined with present-day average δ18Olake (−16.5‰) allows calculating Tlake (∼21 °C), reflecting summer conditions. Nonetheless, the δ18Odiatom variability is associated with changes in δ18Olake rather than with Tlake. An obvious shift of ∼2‰ in the δ18Odiatom record at 11.7–11.5 cal ka BP accompanied by significant changes in diatom assemblages reflects the onset of the Holocene. Relatively high δ18Odiatom during the Early Holocene suggests relatively warm and/or dry climate with associated evaporation effects. The absolute maximum in δ18Odiatom of +27.7‰ consistent with high values of diatom indices at ∼7.9–7.0 cal ka BP suggests a Mid Holocene Thermal Maximum. A continuous depletion in δ18Odiatom since ∼5.0 cal ka BP is interpreted as Middle to Late Holocene cooling reaching the absolute minimum at 0.4 cal ka BP (i.e. the Little Ice Age). An overall cooling trend (∼0.3‰ 1000 yr−1) throughout the Holocene follows decreasing solar insolation. The pattern of the Lake Emanda δ18Odiatom record is similar to that obtained from Lake El’gygytgyn suggesting a common “eastern” regional signal in both records, despite their hydrological differences. Presently, atmospheric moisture reaches the study region from the west and east with ∼40% each, as well as ∼20% from the north.

Beschreibung: This special issue relates to the Second International Conference of the PAST Gateways (Palaeo-Arctic Spatial and Temporal Gateways) network which was held in Trieste, Italy in 2014. Twenty five papers are included and they address topics under four main themes: (1) The growth and decay of Arctic ice sheets; (2) Arctic sea ice and palaeoceanography; (3) Terrestrial Arctic environments and permafrost change; and (4) Holocene Arctic environmental change. Geographically the focus is circum-Arctic; the special issue includes detailed regional studies from Greenland, Scandinavia, Russia, and Arctic North America and the adjoining seas, as well as a series of synthesis-type, review papers on Fennoscandian Ice Sheet deglaciation and Holocene Arctic palaeo-climate change. The methodologies employed are diverse and include marine sediment core and geophysical investigations, terrestrial glacial geology and geomorphology, isotopic analysis of ground ice, palaeo-ecological analysis of lacustrine and terrestrial sedimentary archives, geochronology and numerical ice sheet modeling.

Beschreibung: Nettilling Lake (Baffin Island, Nunavut) is currently the largest lake in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Despite its enormous size, this freshwater system remains little studied until the present-day. Existing records from southern Baffin Island indicate that in the early postglacial period, the region was submerged by the postglacial Tyrell Sea due to isostatic depression previously exerted by the Laurentide Ice Sheet. However, these records are temporally and spatially discontinuous, relying on qualitative extrapolation. This paper presents the first quantitative reconstruction of the postglacial environmental succession of the Nettilling Lake basin based on a 8300 yr-long high resolution sedimentary record. Our multi-proxy investigation of the glacio-isostatic uplift and subsequent changes in paleosalinity and sediment sources is based on analyses of sediment fabric, elemental geochemistry (m-XRF), diatom assemblage composition, as well as on the first diatom-based oxygen isotope record from the eastern Canadian Arctic. Results indicate that the Nettilling Lake basin experienced a relatively rapid and uniform marine invasion in the early Holocene, followed by progressive freshening until about 6000 yr BP when limnological conditions similar to those of today were established. Our findings present evidence for deglacial processes in the Foxe Basin that were initiated at least 400yrs earlier than previously thought.

Beschreibung: Rebun Island is a key research area for the Baikal-Hokkaido Archaeology Project to better understand the dynamics of the Neolithic hunter-gatherers in the NW Pacific region. Hence, the ca. 19.5 m sediment core RK12 spanning the last ca. 16.6 cal. kyr BP was obtained from Lake Kushu. Our aim is to test its potential as a high-resolution multi-proxy archive. Here, we used diatoms to investigate the modern ecosystem of Lake Kushu and its surrounding area on Rebun Island and of Hime-numa Pond on Rishiri Island and selected core samples for comparison. Modern diatom and stable isotope analyses show well-mixed freshwater bodies with eutrophic, alkaline conditions. The fossil diatom and geochemical sediment analyses display three phases that represent major changes in the lake development: (i) a marshy phase (ca. 16.6-10 cal. kyr BP); (ii) a brackish water lagoon phase (ca. 10-6.6 cal. kyr BP); and (iii) a freshwater lake phase (since ca. 6.6 cal. kyr BP). This shows the major role of the post-glacial climate amelioration, global sea-level rise and marine transgression in the development of this landscape. Further analyses will provide a palaeolimnological record at (sub-)decadal resolution that will facilitate the interpretation of the hunter-gatherer dynamics.

Beschreibung: The mechanisms of early diagenetic quartz formation under low-temperature conditions are still poorly understood. In this study we investigated lithified cherts consisting of microcrystalline quartz recovered near the base of a 420 m thick Miocene–Holocene sequence of nannofossil and diatom ooze at a drill site in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific (Ocean Drilling Program Site 1226). Precipitation seems still ongoing based on a sharp depletion in dissolved silica at the depth of the cherts. Also, palaeo-temperatures reconstructed from δ18O values in the cherts are in the range of adjacent porewater temperatures. Opal-A dissolution appears to control silica concentration throughout the sequence, while the solution remains oversaturated with respect to quartz. However, at the depth of the sharp depletion in dissolved silica, quartz is still saturated while the more soluble silica phases are strongly undersaturated. Hence, precipitation of quartz was initiated by an auxiliary process. A process, previously observed to assist in the nucleation of quartz is the adsorption of silica on freshly precipitated iron oxides. Indeed, a deep iron oxidation front is present at 400 m below seafloor, which is caused by upward diffusing nitrate from an oxic seawater aquifer in the underlying oceanic crust. Sequential iron extraction showed a higher content of the adsorbed iron hydroxide fraction in the chert than in the adjacent nannofossil and diatom ooze. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy revealed that iron in the cherts predominantly occurs in illite and amorphous iron oxide, whereas iron in the nannofossil and diatom ooze occurs mainly in smectite. Mössbauer spectroscopy also indicated the presence of illite that is to 97% oxidized. Two possible mechanisms may be operative during early diagenetic chert formation at iron oxidation fronts: (1) silica precipitation is catalysed by adsorption to freshly precipitated iron oxide surfaces, and (2) porewater silica concentration is locally decreased below opal-A and opal-CT saturation allowing for precipitation of the thermodynamically more stable phase: quartz. This mechanism of chert formation at the iron oxidation front in suboxic zones may explain why early-diagenetic microcrystalline chert only occurs sporadically in modern marine sediments. It may also serve as a modern analogue for the deposition of much more abundant banded iron/chert formations at the time of the great oxidation event around 2.4 Ga BP, which was probably the largest iron oxidation front in Earth's history.

Beschreibung: Although the climate development over the Holocene in the Northern Hemisphere is well known, palaeolimnological climate reconstructions reveal spatiotemporal variability in northern Eurasia. Here we present a multi-proxy study from north-eastern Siberia combining sediment geochemistry, and diatom and pollen data from lake-sediment cores covering the last 38,000 cal. years. Our results show major changes in pyrite content and fragilarioid diatom species distributions, indicating prolonged seasonal lake-ice cover between ∼13,500 and ∼8900 cal. years BP and possibly during the 8200 cal. years BP cold event. A pollen-based climate reconstruction generated a mean July temperature of 17.8 °C during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) between ∼8900 and ∼4500 cal. years BP. Naviculoid diatoms appear in the late Holocene indicating a shortening of the seasonal ice cover that continues today. Our results reveal a strong correlation between the applied terrestrial and aquatic indicators and natural seasonal climate dynamics in the Holocene. Planktonic diatoms show a strong response to changes in the lake ecosystem due to recent climate warming in the Anthropocene. We assess other palaeolimnological studies to infer the spatiotemporal pattern of the HTM and affirm that the timing of its onset, a difference of up to 3000 years from north to south, can be well explained by climatic teleconnections. The westerlies brought cold air to this part of Siberia until the Laurentide ice-sheet vanished 7000 years ago. The apparent delayed ending of the HTM in the central Siberian record can be ascribed to the exceedance of ecological thresholds trailing behind increases in winter temperatures and decreases in contrast in insolation between seasons during the mid to late Holocene as well as lacking differentiation between summer and winter trends in paleolimnological reconstructions.

Beschreibung: The so-called 8.2 ka event represents one of the most prominent cold climate anomalies during the Holocene warm period. Accordingly, several studies have addressed its trigger mechanisms, absolute dating and regional characteristics so far. However, knowledge about subsequent climate recovery is still limited although this might be essential for the understanding of rapid climatic changes. Here we present a new sub-decadally resolved and precisely dated oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) record for the interval between 7.7 and 8.7 ka BP (10³ calendar years before AD 1950), derived from the calcareous valves of benthic ostracods preserved in the varved lake sediments of pre-Alpine Mondsee (Austria). Besides a clear reflection of the 8.2 ka event, showing a good agreement in timing, duration and magnitude with other regional stable isotope records, the high-resolution Mondsee lake sediment record provides evidence for a 75-year-long interval of higher-than-average δ¹⁸O values directly after the 8.2 ka event, possibly reflecting increased air temperatures in Central Europe. This observation is consistent with evidence from other proxy records in the North Atlantic realm, thus most probably reflecting a hemispheric-scale climate signal rather than a local phenomenon. As a possible trigger we suggest an enhanced resumption of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), supporting assumptions from climate model simulations.