scholarly journals Paleoclimate reconstruction in the Levant region from the geochemistry of a Holocene stalagmite from the Jeita cave, Lebanon

2008 ◽  
Vol 70 (3) ◽  
pp. 368-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Verheyden ◽  
Fadi H. Nader ◽  
Hai J. Cheng ◽  
Lawrence R. Edwards ◽  
Rudy Swennen

AbstractDated oxygen and carbon isotopic profiles from a Holocene stalagmite (11.9–1.1 ka) from the Jeita cave, Lebanon, are compared to variations in crystallographic habit, stalagmite diameter and growth rate. The profiles show generally high δ18O and δ13C values during the late-glacial period, low values during the early Holocene, and again high values after 5.8 ka. On the basis of the good correlation between the morphological and crystallographic aspect of the stalagmite and its isotopic records, as well as the isotopic response of speleothems from central and northern Israel, we relate high δ18O and δ13C values to drier conditions. Between 6.5 and 5.8 ka an increase in isotopic values, a decrease in growth rate and stalagmite diameter suggest a transition from wet conditions in the early Holocene towards drier conditions in the mid-Holocene. The transition occurred in two steps, first a progressive change to drier conditions started at 6.5 ka but was interrupted by a short (∼ 100 years) return to wetter conditions, followed by an equally rapid (< 200 years) change to drier conditions.

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 1618-1627 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. McLachlan ◽  
L. B. Brubaker

The postglacial vegetation history of the northeastern Olympic Peninsula was investigated at different spatial scales by comparing the pollen, macrofossil, and charcoal records from a low elevation lake (Crocker Lake) and a nearby forested swamp (Cedar Swamp). The regional pollen record from Crocker Lake revealed a parkland of coniferous species with divergent modern ecological tolerances, including Pinus contorta, Picea sitchensis, and Abies lasiocarpa during the late glacial period (~ 13 000 – 10 000 BP). Disturbance-adapted species such as Alnus rubra and Pseudotsuga menziesii dominated forests during the early Holocene (10 000 – 7000 BP). Modern forests containing mesic late-successional species such as Tsuga heterophylla and Thuja plicata were established during the late Holocene (7000 BP to present). During the late glacial period, the local vegetation at Cedar Swamp was dominated by Alnus sinuata. Hydrologic changes resulted in the establishment of a deep marsh during the early Holocene. Hydrosere succession from an open aquatic environment to a forested wetland and disturbance-mediated alternations between Thuja plicata and Alnus rubra characterized the local vegetation during the late Holocene. Throughout the Holocene, the vegetation of the northeastern Olympic Peninsula was governed by broad climatic and physiographic parameters at the regional scale and the effects of local geomorphologic constraints and disturbance history at the finer landscape scale. Key words: fossil pollen, vegetation history, Olympic Peninsula, Quaternary.


2002 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara W. Leyden

Palynology provides a record of past environmental change in the Maya Lowlands. The underlying principles are simple, but, as with all proxies, there are limitations. During the late glacial period, environmental change was governed by climate, which was cooler and much drier and supported sparse temperate vegetation. The early Holocene epoch was warmer and very wet in the southern Lowlands when mesic tropical forests predominated, while the northern Yucatan Peninsula was edaphically dry until eustatic sea level rose. The modern distributions of plant associations and climatic gradients were established at the end of the early Holocene. Climatic variability continued throughout the Holocene. However, the ability of palynology to identify climatic events is hindered after the Maya became numerous in the Lowlands. Then, multidisciplinary studies provide a better interpretation of events, especially during the late Holocene. Pollen records poorly reflect cyclical droughts seen in isotopic records, as natural vegetation has adapted to these fluctuations.


Biologia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Libor Petr ◽  
Jan Novák

AbstractThe diversity of vegetation and the environment in the Late Glacial period in the Elbe region is illustrated by a comparison of three palynological localities. The localities differ in their history, profile lithology and position relative to the Elbe river. The Hrabanovská černava profile holds a record of the development of a shallow lake, which was surrounded by a cold continental steppe in the Early Dryas. Evidence of a pine forest in the Late Glacial period is captured in the surroundings of the profile Chrást. The Mělnický úval — Přívory locality is an interdune infill, where marl sediments redeposited in shallow water. The surrounding vegetation was diffuse and influenced by erosion. In the Early Holocene, the landscape was covered by an open birch-pine forest. Broad-leaved woody species appeared later. Localities in the Elbe region share a high proportion of Pinus throughout the Holocene as a result of the spread of drift and terrace sands. The human impact in the mid Holocene manifests as evidence of intensive charring of localities.


2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Henri Blard ◽  
Jérôme Lave ◽  
Kenneth A. Farley ◽  
Victor Ramirez ◽  
Nestor Jimenez ◽  
...  

AbstractThis work presents the first reconstruction of late Pleistocene glacier fluctuations on Uturuncu volcano, in the Southern Tropical Andes. Cosmogenic 3He dating of glacial landforms provides constraints on ancient glacier position between 65 and 14 ka. Despite important scatter in the exposure ages on the oldest moraines, probably resulting from pre-exposure, these 3He data constrain the timing of the moraine deposits and subsequent glacier recessions: the Uturuncu glacier may have reached its maximum extent much before the global LGM, maybe as early as 65 ka, with an equilibrium line altitude (ELA) at 5280 m. Then, the glacier remained close to its maximum position, with a main stillstand identified around 40 ka, and another one between 35 and 17 ka, followed by a limited recession at 17 ka. Then, another glacial stillstand is identified upstream during the late glacial period, probably between 16 and 14 ka, with an ELA standing at 5350 m. This stillstand is synchronous with the paleolake Tauca highstand. This result indicates that this regionally wet and cold episode, during the Heinrich 1 event, also impacted the Southern Altiplano. The ELA rose above 5450 m after 14 ka, synchronously with the Bolling–Allerod.


1991 ◽  
Vol 37 (125) ◽  
pp. 77-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter W. Thorp

Abstract Surface and basal long profiles are reconstructed for 13 outlet glaciers that drained ice from a large ice field (80 km by 120 km) that formed in the western Grampians of Scotland during part of the Late-glacial period (c, 14000–10000years BP). Basal shear stresses are calculated at 5 km intervals along the central flowlines of the reconstructed outlet glaciers. Individual basal shear stresses for the outlet glaciers range from 10 to 204 kPa. Variations in calculated basal shear stresses within and between the glaciers are mainly explained by differences in bedrock topography, extending and compressional flow, and by differences in basal boundary conditions. Low basal shear stresses (&lt;53kPa) calculated for the terminal zones of Creran, Menteith and Lomond glaciers are partly explained by the overriding of glaciomarine clays with inferred high pore-water pressures and a low yield strength that may have led to rapid basal sliding and thinning of the ice lobes.


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