Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-lrblm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-26T06:30:01.675Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Holocene Climate Reconstructions from the Fennoscandian Tree-Line Area Based on Pollen Data from Toskaljavri

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Heikki Seppä  and
H.J.B Birks
Heikki Seppä
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, Villavägen 16, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden
H.J.B Birks
Affiliation:
Botanical Institute, University of Bergen, Allégaten 41, N-5007 Bergen, Norway Environmental Change Research Centre, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London, WC1H OAP, United Kingdom
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Due to its location on the eastern North Atlantic seaboard, the Fennoscandian tree-line area is an ideal area to use biological proxies to assess the relative roles of the Scandinavian ice sheet and of oceanic, atmospheric, and astronomic forcings on regional climate history. Here we report pollen-based July mean temperature (Tjul) and annual precipitation (Pann) reconstructions from a sediment core from a high-altitude tree-line lake in northwestern Finland. The reconstructions suggest that at 9600–8300 cal yr B.P. Tjul values were low but steadily rising while Pann was high. The period of warmest summers, with Tjul values ca. 1.8°–1.6°C higher than at present, occurred at ca. 8000–6500 cal yr B.P. Since then climate has become gradually cooler. Tjul values during the “Medieval Warm Period” (ca. 1400–1000 cal yr B.P.) were ca. 0.8°C higher that at present but decreased rapidly to the low “Little Ice Age” levels at 800 cal yr B.P. We compare these results with an earlier pollen-based climate reconstruction from the same region. The reconstructions indicate a similar general Holocene Tjul pattern with lower values in the reconstruction from the high-altitude lake. However, most of the small-scale variations are not synchronous, suggesting that they may represent noise rather than signal in our data.

Keywords

Holocenepollentemperatureprecipitation
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 57 , Issue 2 , March 2002 , pp. 191 - 199
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ådlandsvik, B, and Loeng, H A study of the climate system in the Barents Sea. Polar Research 10, (1991). 45–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alley, R.B, Mayewski, P.A, Sowers, T, Stuiver, M, Taylor, K.C, and Clark, P.U Holocene climatic instability: A prominent, widespread event 8200 yr ago. Geology 25, (1997). 483–486.Google Scholar
Geology. (1990). National Board of Survey and Geographical Society of Finland, Helsinki. p. 123–126.Google Scholar
Barber, D.C, Dyke, A, Hillaire-Marcel, C, Jennings, A.E, Andrews, J.T, Kerwin, M.W, Bilodeau, G, McNeely, R, Southon, J, Morehead, M.D, and Gagnon, J.-M Forcing of the cold event of 8, 200 years ago by catastrophic drainage of Laurentide lakes. Nature 400, (1999). 344–348.Google Scholar
Berger, A Long-term variations of caloric insolation resulting from the Earth's orbital elements. Quaternary Research 9, (1978). 139–167.Google Scholar
Birks, H.H Holocene vegetational history and climatic change in west Spitsbergen–-Plant macrofossils from Skardtjørna, an Arctic lake. The Holocene 1, (1991). 209–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bond, G, Showers, W, Cheseby, M, Lotti, R, Almasi, P, deMenocal, P, Priore, P, Cullen, H, Hajdas, I, and Bonani, G A pervasive millennial-scale cycle in North Atlantic Holocene and glacial climates. Science 278, (1997). 1257–1266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambers, J.W, and Cameron, N A rod-less piston corer for lake sediments: An improved rope-operated percussion corer. Journal of Paleolimnology 25, (2001). 117–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dahl, S.O, and Nesje, A Holocene glacier fluctuations at Hardangerjøkulen, central southern Norway: A high-resolution composite chronology from lacustrine and terrestrial deposits. The Holocene 4, (1994). 269–277.Google Scholar
Dahl-Jensen, D, Monsegaard, K, Gundestrup, N, Clow, G.D, Johnsen, S.J, Hansen, A.W, and Balling, N Past temperatures directly from the Greenland Ice Sheet. Science 282, (1998). 268–271.Google Scholar
Dansgaard, W, Johnsen, S.J, Gundestrup, N, Clausen, H.B, and Hammer, C.U Climatic changes, Norsemen and modern man. Nature 255, (1975). 24–28.Google Scholar
Dansgaard, W, Johnsen, S.J, Clausen, H.B, Dahl-Jensen, D, Gundestrup, N.S, Hammer, C.U, Hvidberg, C.S, Steffesen, J.P, Sveinbjörnsdottir, A.E, Jouzel, J, and Bond, G Evidence for general instability of past climate from a 250-kyr ice-core record. Nature 364, (1993). 218–220.Google Scholar
Fronval, T, and Janssen, E Eemian and early Weichselian paleoceano- graphy and paleoclimate in the Nordic seas with comparisons to the Holocene conditions. Paleoceanography 12, (1997). 443–462.Google Scholar
Grimm, E.C TILIA and TILIA.GRAPH. PC spreadsheet and graphics software for pollen data. INQUA, Working Group on Data-Handling Methods, Newsletter 4, (1990). 5–7.Google Scholar
Hald, M, and Aspeli, R Rapid climatic shifts of the northern Norwegian Sea during the last deglaciation and the Holocene. Boreas 26, (1997). 15–28.Google Scholar
Hämet-Ahti, L, Suominen, J, Ulvinen, T, Uotila, P, and Vuokka, S The Field Flora of Finland. (1984). Suomen Luonnonsuojelun Tuki, Helsinki. p. 544 Google Scholar
Hammarlund, D, Barnekow, L, Birks, H.J.B, Buchardt, B, and Edwards, T.W.D Holocene changes in atmospheric circulation recorded in the oxygen-isotope stratigraphy of lacustrine carbonates from northern Sweden. The Holocene (2002). Google Scholar
Hammer, C Holocene climate and past volcanism: Greenland–Northern Europe. Hanse Conference Paper (2002). Google Scholar
Hurrell, J.W Decadal trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation: Regional temperatures and precipitation. Science 269, (1995). 676–679.Google Scholar
Hyvärinen, H, and Alhonen, P Holocene lake-level changes in the Fennoscandian tree-line region, western Finnish Lapland: Diatom and cladoceran evidence. The Holocene 4, (1994). 251–258.Google Scholar
Johannessen, R.W The climate of Scandinavia. Wallén, C.C Climates of Northern and Western Europe. (1970). Elsevier, Amsterdam. 23–80.Google Scholar
Johnsen, S, Dahl-Jensen, D, Gundestrup, N, Steffessen, J.P, Clausen, H.B, Masson-Delmotte, V, Sveinbjörndottir, A.E, and White, J Oxygen isotope and palaeotemperature records from six Greenland ice-core stations. Camp Century, Dye-3, GRIP, GISP2, Renland and NorthGRIP. Journal of Quaternary Science 16, (2001). 299–307.Google Scholar
Karlén, W Climate variations and the enhanced greenhouse effect. Ambio 27, (1998). 270–274.Google Scholar
Klitgaard-Kristensen, D, Sejrup, H.P, Haflidason, H, Johnsen, S, and Spurk, M A regional 8200 cal yr B.P. cooling event in northwest Europe, induced by final stages of the Laurentide ice-sheet deglaciation?. Journal of Quaternary Science 13, (1998). 165–169.3.0.CO;2-#>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korhola, A, Weckström, J, Holmström, L, and Erästö, P A quantitative Holocene climatic record from diatoms in northern Fennoscandia. Quaternary Research 54, (2000). 284–294.Google Scholar
Kozuchowski, K Variations of hemispheric zonal index since 1899 and its relationships with air temperature. International Journal of Climatology 13, (1993). 853–864.Google Scholar
Lamb, H.H Climate, History and the Modern World. (1997). Routledge, London. p. 433 Google Scholar
Lamb, H.H, and Johnson, A.I Climatic variations and observed changes in the general circulation, parts I and II. Geographical Annals of Stockholm 41, (1959). 94–131.Google Scholar
Lundqvist, J. (1991). Kvartärtiden–-Jordarterna.. In Sveriges geologi frÅn urtid till nutid Lindström, M., Lundqvist, J., and Lundqvist, T., Eds., pp. 231–372. Student Litteratur, Lund.Google Scholar
Manabe, S, and Stouffer, R.J The role of thermohaline circulation in climate. Tellus 51A-B, (1999). 91–109.Google Scholar
McManus, J.F, Bond, G.C, Broecker, W.S, Johnsen, S, Labeyrie, L, and Higgins, S High-resolution climate records from the North Atlantic during the last interglacial. Nature 371, (1994). 326–329.Google Scholar
Moen, A National Atlas of Norway: Vegetation. (1999). Norwegian Mapping Authority, Hønefoss. p. 200 Google Scholar
Moore, P. D, Webb, J. A, and Collinson, M. E. (1991). Pollen Analysis, Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford., 216, pp.Google Scholar
Nesje, A, and Dahl, S.O Late glacial and Holocene glacier fluctuations and climate variations in western Norway: A review. Quaternary Science Reviews 12, (1993). 255–261.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nesje, A, and Dahl, S.O The Greenland 8200 cal. yr B.P. event detected in loss-on-ignition profiles in Norwegian lacustrine sediment sequences. Journal of Quaternary Science 16, (2001). 155–166.Google Scholar
Nesje, A, Dahl, S.O, Løvlie, R, and Suleback, J.R Holocene glacier activity at the southwestern part of Hardangerjøkulen, central-southern Norway: Evidence from lacustrine sediments. The Holocene 4, (1994). 377–382.Google Scholar
Paeth, H, Hense, A, Glowienka-Hense, R, Voss, R, and Cubasch, U The North Atlantic Oscillation as an indicator for greenhouse-gas induced regional climate change. Climate Dynamics 15, (1999). 953–960.Google Scholar
Rex, D.F Blocking action in the middle troposphere and its effect upon regional climate. II. The climatology of blocking action. Tellus 2, (1950). 275–301.Google Scholar
Salvigsen, O, Forman, S.L, and Miller, G.H Thermophilous molluscs on Svalbard during the Holocene and their paleoclimatic implications. Polar Research 11, (1992). 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sarmaja-Korjonen, K, and Hyvärinen, H Cladoceran and diatom strati- graphy of calcareous lake sediments from Kuusamo, NE Finland. Indications of Holocene lake-level changes. Fennia 177, (1999). 55–70.Google Scholar
Sater, J. E. Ed, (1969). The Arctic Basin, The Arctic Institute of North America. Washington, DC, 337, pp.Google Scholar
Seppä, H, and Birks, H.J.B July mean temperature and annual precipitation trends during the Holocene in the Fennoscandian tree-line area: Pollen-based climate reconstructions. The Holocene 11, (2001). 527–537.Google Scholar
Stephenson, D.B, Pavan, V, and Bojariu, R Is the North Atlantic Oscillation a random walk?. International Journal of Climatology 20, (2000). 1–18.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M, and Reimer, P.J Extended 14C data base and revised CALIB 3.2 14C age calibration program. Radiocarbon 35, (1993). 215–230.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M, Reimer, P.J, Bard, E, Beck, J.W, Burr, G.S, Hughen, K.A, Kromer, B, McCormac, G, van der Plicht, J, and Spurk, M 1998 INTCAL98 radiocarbon age calibration, 24,000–0 cal B.P. Radiocarbon 40, (1998). 1041–1083.Google Scholar
ter Braak, C.J.F, and Juggins, S Weighted averaging partial least squares regression (WA-PLS): An improved method for reconstructing environmental variables from species assemblages. Hydrobiologia 269/270, (1993). 485–502.Google Scholar
Wallén, C.C Introduction. Wallén, C.C Climates of Northern and Western Europe. (1970). Elsevier, Amsterdam. 1–22.Google Scholar