Articles | Volume 19, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1847-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1847-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
25 Sep 2023
Research article |
| 25 Sep 2023
| 25 Sep 2023
Multi-proxy speleothem-based reconstruction of mid-MIS 3 climate in South Africa
Department of Earth Sciences,
University of Bergen, Bergen, 5007, Norway
SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of
Bergen, Bergen, 5020, Norway
Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, 5007,
Norway
Anna Nele Meckler
Department of Earth Sciences,
University of Bergen, Bergen, 5007, Norway
SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of
Bergen, Bergen, 5020, Norway
Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, 5007,
Norway
Stein-Erik Lauritzen
Department of Earth Sciences,
University of Bergen, Bergen, 5007, Norway
SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of
Bergen, Bergen, 5020, Norway
Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, 5007,
Norway
Torill Brekken
Department of Earth Sciences,
University of Bergen, Bergen, 5007, Norway
Helen Aase Rokkan
Department of Earth Sciences,
University of Bergen, Bergen, 5007, Norway
Alvaro Fernandez
Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Granada,
Granada, 18100, Spain
Yves Krüger
Department of Earth Sciences,
University of Bergen, Bergen, 5007, Norway
Jane Adigun
Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of South
Africa, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa
Stéphane Affolter
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Basel,
4056, Switzerland
Markus Leuenberger
Climate and Environmental Physics Division, Physics Institute and
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, 3012,
Switzerland
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Michael Döring and Markus Christian Leuenberger
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Christopher J. Hollis, Tom Dunkley Jones, Eleni Anagnostou, Peter K. Bijl, Marlow Julius Cramwinckel, Ying Cui, Gerald R. Dickens, Kirsty M. Edgar, Yvette Eley, David Evans, Gavin L. Foster, Joost Frieling, Gordon N. Inglis, Elizabeth M. Kennedy, Reinhard Kozdon, Vittoria Lauretano, Caroline H. Lear, Kate Littler, Lucas Lourens, A. Nele Meckler, B. David A. Naafs, Heiko Pälike, Richard D. Pancost, Paul N. Pearson, Ursula Röhl, Dana L. Royer, Ulrich Salzmann, Brian A. Schubert, Hannu Seebeck, Appy Sluijs, Robert P. Speijer, Peter Stassen, Jessica Tierney, Aradhna Tripati, Bridget Wade, Thomas Westerhold, Caitlyn Witkowski, James C. Zachos, Yi Ge Zhang, Matthew Huber, and Daniel J. Lunt
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atlaswill provide insights into the mechanisms that control past warm climate states.
Michael Döring and Markus C. Leuenberger
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We present a novel approach for ice-core-based temperature reconstructions, which is based on gas-isotope data measured on enclosed air bubbles in ice cores. The processes of air movement and enclosure are highly temperature dependent due to heat diffusion in and densification of the snow and ice. Our method inverts a model, which describes these processes, to desired temperature histories. This paper examines the performance of our novel approach on different synthetic isotope-data scenarios.
Ye Yuan, Ludwig Ries, Hannes Petermeier, Martin Steinbacher, Angel J. Gómez-Peláez, Markus C. Leuenberger, Marcus Schumacher, Thomas Trickl, Cedric Couret, Frank Meinhardt, and Annette Menzel
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1501–1514, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1501-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1501-2018, 2018
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This paper presents a novel statistical method, ADVS, for baseline selection of representative CO2 data at elevated mountain measurement stations. It provides insights on how data processing techniques are critical for measurements and data analyses. Compared with other statistical methods, our method appears to be a good option as a generalized approach with improved comparability, which is important for research on measurement site characteristics and comparisons between stations.
Malin M. Ziehmer, Kurt Nicolussi, Christian Schlüchter, and Markus Leuenberger
Biogeosciences, 15, 1047–1064, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1047-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-1047-2018, 2018
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Cellulose content (CC (%)) series from two high-Alpine species, Larix decidua Mill. (European larch, LADE) and Pinus cembra L. (Swiss stone pine, PICE) are investigated in modern wood samples and Holocene wood remains from the Early and mid-Holocene. Trends in modern and Holocene time series as well as climate–cellulose relationships for modern trees in the Alps show high potential for CC (%) to be established as novel supplementary proxy in dendroclimatology.
Tesfaye A. Berhanu, Sönke Szidat, Dominik Brunner, Ece Satar, Rüdiger Schanda, Peter Nyfeler, Michael Battaglia, Martin Steinbacher, Samuel Hammer, and Markus Leuenberger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 10753–10766, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10753-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10753-2017, 2017
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Kathrin M. Keller, Sebastian Lienert, Anil Bozbiyik, Thomas F. Stocker, Olga V. Churakova (Sidorova), David C. Frank, Stefan Klesse, Charles D. Koven, Markus Leuenberger, William J. Riley, Matthias Saurer, Rolf Siegwolf, Rosemarie B. Weigt, and Fortunat Joos
Biogeosciences, 14, 2641–2673, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2641-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-2641-2017, 2017
Michael F. Schibig, Emmanuel Mahieu, Stephan Henne, Bernard Lejeune, and Markus C. Leuenberger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9935–9949, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9935-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9935-2016, 2016
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Two CO2 time series measured at the High Alpine Research Station Jungfraujoch, Switzerland (3580 m a.s.l.), in the period from 2005 to 2013 were compared. One data set was measured in situ whereas the other data set was measured in the column above Jungfraujoch. The trends of the column integrated and the in situ data set are in good agreement, the amplitude of the in situ data set is ca. two times the amplitude of the column integrated data set, because it is closer to the sources and sinks.
Tesfaye Ayalneh Berhanu, Ece Satar, Rudiger Schanda, Peter Nyfeler, Hanspeter Moret, Dominik Brunner, Brian Oney, and Markus Leuenberger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 9, 2603–2614, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2603-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-9-2603-2016, 2016
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In this manuscript, we have presented Co, CO2 and CH4 measurement data from an old radio tower tower (217.5 m) at Beromunster, Switzerland. From about 2 years of continuous CO, CO2 and CH4 measurement at five different heights, we have determined a long-term reproducibility of 2.79 ppb, 0.05 ppm and 0.29 ppb for CO, CO2 and CH4, respectively, compliant with the GAW requirements. We have also observed seasonal and diurnal variation of these species.
Ece Satar, Tesfaye A. Berhanu, Dominik Brunner, Stephan Henne, and Markus Leuenberger
Biogeosciences, 13, 2623–2635, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2623-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-13-2623-2016, 2016
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Beromünster tall tower is the flagship of the densely placed Swiss greenhouse gas observation network (CarboCount CH). In this research article we report the first 2 years of the continuous greenhouse gas measurements using cavity ring down spectroscopy analyzer from this tall tower. We have adopted a purely observation based, multi-species and multi-level approach to characterize the site with respect to sources and sinks of natural and anthropogenic origin at diurnal to annual timescales.
Lucie Bazin, Amaelle Landais, Emilie Capron, Valérie Masson-Delmotte, Catherine Ritz, Ghislain Picard, Jean Jouzel, Marie Dumont, Markus Leuenberger, and Frédéric Prié
Clim. Past, 12, 729–748, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-729-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-729-2016, 2016
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We present new measurements of δO2⁄N2 and δ18Oatm performed on well-conserved ice from EDC covering MIS5 and between 380 and 800 ka. The combination of the observation of a 100 ka periodicity in the new δO2⁄N2 record with a MIS5 multi-site multi-proxy study has revealed a potential influence of local climatic parameters on δO2⁄N2. Moreover, we propose that the varying delay between d18Oatm and precession for the last 800 ka is affected by the occurrence of ice sheet discharge events.
Stephan Henne, Dominik Brunner, Brian Oney, Markus Leuenberger, Werner Eugster, Ines Bamberger, Frank Meinhardt, Martin Steinbacher, and Lukas Emmenegger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 3683–3710, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3683-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3683-2016, 2016
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Greenhouse gas emissions can be assessed by "top-down" methods that combine atmospheric observations, a transport model and a mathematical optimisation framework. Here, we apply such a top-down method to the methane emissions of Switzerland, utilising observations from the recently installed CarboCount-CH network. Our Swiss total emissions largely agree with those of the national "bottom-up" inventory, whereas regional differences suggest lower than reported emissions from manure handling.
M. C. Leuenberger, M. F. Schibig, and P. Nyfeler
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 5289–5299, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5289-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5289-2015, 2015
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Adsorption/desorption effects of trace gases in gas cylinders were investigated. Our measurements indicate a rather strong effect on steel cylinders for CO2 that becomes easily visible through enhanced concentrations for low (<20 bars) gas pressure. Much smaller effects are observed for CO and CH4. Significantly smaller effects are measured for all gas species investigated on aluminium cylinders. Careful selection of gas cylinders for high-precision calibration purposes is recommended.
T. Kobashi, T. Ikeda-Fukazawa, M. Suwa, J. Schwander, T. Kameda, J. Lundin, A. Hori, H. Motoyama, M. Döring, and M. Leuenberger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 13895–13914, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13895-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-13895-2015, 2015
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We find that argon/nitrogen ratios of trapped air in the GISP2 ice core on “gas ages” are significantly negatively correlated with accumulation rate changes over the past 6000 years. Lines of evidence indicate that changes in overloading pressure at bubble closeoff depths induced the gas fractionation in closed bubbles. Further understanding of the fractionation processes may lead to a new proxy for the past temperature and accumulation rate.
B. Oney, S. Henne, N. Gruber, M. Leuenberger, I. Bamberger, W. Eugster, and D. Brunner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 15, 11147–11164, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11147-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11147-2015, 2015
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We present a detailed analysis of a new greenhouse gas measurement network
in the Swiss Plateau, situated between the Jura mountains and the Alps. We
find the network's measurements to be information rich and suitable
for studying surface carbon fluxes of the study region. However, we are
limited by the high-resolution (2km) atmospheric transport model's ability
to simulate meteorology at the individual measurement stations, especially
at those situated in rough terrain.
M. S. Studer, R. T. W. Siegwolf, M. Leuenberger, and S. Abiven
Biogeosciences, 12, 1865–1879, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1865-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1865-2015, 2015
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We present a new technique to label organic matter (OM) at its place of formation by the application of 13C, 18O and 2H through the gaseous phase. The label diffused into leaves was incorporated into assimilates and was detected in plant tissues. This technique can be applied in soil sciences, e.g. to trace the decomposition pathways of soil OM inputs, or in plant physiology and palaeoclimatic reconstruction, e.g. to further investigate the origin of the 18O and 2H signal in tree ring cellulose.
M. F. Schibig, M. Steinbacher, B. Buchmann, I. T. van der Laan-Luijkx, S. van der Laan, S. Ranjan, and M. C. Leuenberger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 57–68, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-57-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-57-2015, 2015
M. C. Leuenberger, M. F. Schibig, and P. Nyfeler
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acpd-14-19293-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acpd-14-19293-2014, 2014
Revised manuscript not accepted
S. Affolter, D. Fleitmann, and M. Leuenberger
Clim. Past, 10, 1291–1304, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1291-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1291-2014, 2014
I. Mariani, A. Eichler, T. M. Jenk, S. Brönnimann, R. Auchmann, M. C. Leuenberger, and M. Schwikowski
Clim. Past, 10, 1093–1108, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1093-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1093-2014, 2014
P. Kindler, M. Guillevic, M. Baumgartner, J. Schwander, A. Landais, and M. Leuenberger
Clim. Past, 10, 887–902, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-887-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-887-2014, 2014
M. Baumgartner, P. Kindler, O. Eicher, G. Floch, A. Schilt, J. Schwander, R. Spahni, E. Capron, J. Chappellaz, M. Leuenberger, H. Fischer, and T. F. Stocker
Clim. Past, 10, 903–920, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-903-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-903-2014, 2014
Z. Kern, B. Kohán, and M. Leuenberger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1897–1907, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1897-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1897-2014, 2014
L. Bazin, A. Landais, B. Lemieux-Dudon, H. Toyé Mahamadou Kele, D. Veres, F. Parrenin, P. Martinerie, C. Ritz, E. Capron, V. Lipenkov, M.-F. Loutre, D. Raynaud, B. Vinther, A. Svensson, S. O. Rasmussen, M. Severi, T. Blunier, M. Leuenberger, H. Fischer, V. Masson-Delmotte, J. Chappellaz, and E. Wolff
Clim. Past, 9, 1715–1731, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1715-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1715-2013, 2013
I. T. van der Laan-Luijkx, S. van der Laan, C. Uglietti, M. F. Schibig, R. E. M. Neubert, H. A. J. Meijer, W. A. Brand, A. Jordan, J. M. Richter, M. Rothe, and M. C. Leuenberger
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 6, 1805–1815, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1805-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-1805-2013, 2013
M. Guillevic, L. Bazin, A. Landais, P. Kindler, A. Orsi, V. Masson-Delmotte, T. Blunier, S. L. Buchardt, E. Capron, M. Leuenberger, P. Martinerie, F. Prié, and B. M. Vinther
Clim. Past, 9, 1029–1051, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1029-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1029-2013, 2013
E. Capron, A. Landais, D. Buiron, A. Cauquoin, J. Chappellaz, M. Debret, J. Jouzel, M. Leuenberger, P. Martinerie, V. Masson-Delmotte, R. Mulvaney, F. Parrenin, and F. Prié
Clim. Past, 9, 983–999, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-983-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-983-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Proxy Use-Development-Validation | Archive: Terrestrial Archives | Timescale: Pleistocene
Newly dated permafrost deposits and their paleoecological inventory reveal an Eemian much warmer than today in Arctic Siberia
Tropical temperature evolution across two glacial cycles derived from speleothem fluid inclusion microthermometry
Towards quantitative reconstruction of past monsoon precipitation based on tetraether membrane lipids in Chinese loess
The Indo–Pacific Pollen Database – a Neotoma constituent database
Can machine-learning algorithms improve upon classical palaeoenvironmental reconstruction models?
Distinguishing the combined vegetation and soil component of δ13C variation in speleothem records from subsequent degassing and prior calcite precipitation effects
Biomarker proxy records of Arctic climate change during the Mid-Pleistocene transition from Lake El'gygytgyn (Far East Russia)
Hydroclimatic variability of opposing Late Pleistocene climates in the Levant revealed by deep Dead Sea sediments
Different facets of dry–wet patterns in south-western China over the past 27 000 years
The triple oxygen isotope composition of phytoliths, a new proxy of atmospheric relative humidity: controls of soil water isotope composition, temperature, CO2 concentration and relative humidity
The speleothem oxygen record as a proxy for thermal or moisture changes: a case study of multiproxy records from MIS 5–MIS 6 speleothems from the Demänová Cave system
A new multivariable benchmark for Last Glacial Maximum climate simulations
The Last Glacial Maximum in the central North Island, New Zealand: palaeoclimate inferences from glacier modelling
Late-glacial to late-Holocene shifts in global precipitation δ18O
Climate history of the Southern Hemisphere Westerlies belt during the last glacial–interglacial transition revealed from lake water oxygen isotope reconstruction of Laguna Potrok Aike (52° S, Argentina)
New online method for water isotope analysis of speleothem fluid inclusions using laser absorption spectroscopy (WS-CRDS)
Inorganic geochemistry data from Lake El'gygytgyn sediments: marine isotope stages 6–11
A 350 ka record of climate change from Lake El'gygytgyn, Far East Russian Arctic: refining the pattern of climate modes by means of cluster analysis
Dynamic diatom response to changing climate 0–1.2 Ma at Lake El'gygytgyn, Far East Russian Arctic
Amplified bioproductivity during Transition IV (332 000–342 000 yr ago): evidence from the geochemical record of Lake El'gygytgyn
Potential and limits of OSL, TT-OSL, IRSL and pIRIR290 dating methods applied on a Middle Pleistocene sediment record of Lake El'gygytgyn, Russia
Rock magnetic properties, magnetic susceptibility, and organic geochemistry comparison in core LZ1029-7 Lake El'gygytgyn, Russia Far East
High-temperature thermomagnetic properties of vivianite nodules, Lake El'gygytgyn, Northeast Russia
Reconstruction of drip-water δ18O based on calcite oxygen and clumped isotopes of speleothems from Bunker Cave (Germany)
A biomarker record of Lake El'gygytgyn, Far East Russian Arctic: investigating sources of organic matter and carbon cycling during marine isotope stages 1–3
Climate warming and vegetation response after Heinrich event 1 (16 700–16 000 cal yr BP) in Europe south of the Alps
A 250 ka oxygen isotope record from diatoms at Lake El'gygytgyn, far east Russian Arctic
The oxygen isotopic composition of phytolith assemblages from tropical rainforest soil tops (Queensland, Australia): validation of a new paleoenvironmental tool
Terrestrial mollusc records from Xifeng and Luochuan L9 loess strata and their implications for paleoclimatic evolution in the Chinese Loess Plateau during marine Oxygen Isotope Stages 24-22
Lutz Schirrmeister, Margret C. Fuchs, Thomas Opel, Andrei Andreev, Frank Kienast, Andrea Schneider, Larisa Nazarova, Larisa Frolova, Svetlana Kuzmina, Tatiana Kuznetsova, Vladimir Tumskoy, Heidrun Matthes, Gerrit Lohmann, Guido Grosse, Viktor Kunitsky, Hanno Meyer, Heike H. Zimmermann, Ulrike Herzschuh, Thomas Böhmer, Stuart Umbo, Sevi Modestou, Sebastian F. M. Breitenbach, Anfisa Pismeniuk, Georg Schwamborn, Stephanie Kusch, and Sebastian Wetterich
Clim. Past, 21, 1143–1184, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1143-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-1143-2025, 2025
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Geochronological, cryolithological, paleoecological, and modeling data reconstruct the Last Interglacial (LIG) climate around the New Siberian Islands and reveal significantly warmer conditions compared to today. The critical challenges in predicting future ecosystem responses lie in the fact that the land–ocean distribution during the LIG was markedly different from today, affecting the degree of continentality, which played a major role in modulating climate and ecosystem dynamics.
Yves Krüger, Leonardo Pasqualetto, Alvaro Fernandez, Kim M. Cobb, and Anna Nele Meckler
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-668, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-668, 2025
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Using a stalagmite from Whiterock Cave (Gunung Mulu National Park, Northern Borneo), covering the time interval from 460000 to 333000 years B.P., including two glacial terminations, we employed nucleation-assisted fluid inclusion microthermometry to reconstruct a tropical land temperature record. The record reveals an amplitude of glacial-interglacial temperature changes of 4.2 °C and a strong linear correlation with Antarctic temperature anomalies, yielding a polar amplification factor of 2.3.
Jingjing Guo, Martin Ziegler, Louise Fuchs, Youbin Sun, and Francien Peterse
Clim. Past, 21, 343–355, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-343-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-343-2025, 2025
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In this study, we use the distribution of soil bacterial membrane lipids stored on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) to quantitatively reconstruct variations in precipitation amount over the past 130 kyr. The precipitation record shows orbital- and millennial-scale variations and varies at precession and obliquity scale. The application of this precipitation proxy across the CLP indicates a more pronounced spatial gradient during glacials, when the western CLP experiences more arid conditions.
Annika V. Herbert, Simon G. Haberle, Suzette G. A. Flantua, Ondrej Mottl, Jessica L. Blois, John W. Williams, Adrian George, and Geoff S. Hope
Clim. Past, 20, 2473–2485, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2473-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2473-2024, 2024
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The Indo-Pacific Pollen Database is a large collection of pollen samples from across the Indo-Pacific region, with most samples coming from Australia. This is a valuable collection that can be used to analyse vegetation dynamics going back thousands of years. It is now being fully shared via Neotoma for the first time, opening up many exciting new avenues of research. This paper presents key aspects of this database, including geographical distribution, age control and deposition times.
Peng Sun, Philip B. Holden, and H. John B. Birks
Clim. Past, 20, 2373–2398, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2373-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2373-2024, 2024
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We develop the Multi Ensemble Machine Learning Model (MEMLM) for reconstructing palaeoenvironments from microfossil assemblages. The machine-learning approaches, which include random tree and natural language processing techniques, substantially outperform classical approaches under cross-validation, but they can fail when applied to reconstruct past environments. Statistical significance testing is found sufficient to identify these unreliable reconstructions.
Heather M. Stoll, Chris Day, Franziska Lechleitner, Oliver Kost, Laura Endres, Jakub Sliwinski, Carlos Pérez-Mejías, Hai Cheng, and Denis Scholz
Clim. Past, 19, 2423–2444, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2423-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-2423-2023, 2023
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Stalagmites formed in caves provide valuable information about past changes in climate and vegetation conditions. In this contribution, we present a new method to better estimate past changes in soil and vegetation productivity using carbon isotopes and trace elements measured in stalagmites. Applying this method to other stalagmites should provide a better indication of past vegetation feedbacks to climate change.
Kurt R. Lindberg, William C. Daniels, Isla S. Castañeda, and Julie Brigham-Grette
Clim. Past, 18, 559–577, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-559-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-18-559-2022, 2022
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Earth experiences regular ice ages resulting in shifts between cooler and warmer climates. Around 1 million years ago, the ice age cycles grew longer and stronger. We used bacterial and plant lipids preserved in an Arctic lake to reconstruct temperature and vegetation during this climate transition. We find that Arctic land temperatures did not cool much compared to ocean records from this period, and that vegetation shifts correspond with a long-term drying previously reported in the region.
Yoav Ben Dor, Francesco Marra, Moshe Armon, Yehouda Enzel, Achim Brauer, Markus Julius Schwab, and Efrat Morin
Clim. Past, 17, 2653–2677, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2653-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2653-2021, 2021
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Laminated sediments from the deepest part of the Dead Sea unravel the hydrological response of the eastern Mediterranean to past climate changes. This study demonstrates the importance of geological archives in complementing modern hydrological measurements that do not fully capture natural hydroclimatic variability, which is crucial to configure for understanding the impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle in subtropical regions.
Mengna Liao, Kai Li, Weiwei Sun, and Jian Ni
Clim. Past, 17, 2291–2303, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2291-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-2291-2021, 2021
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The long-term trajectories of precipitation, hydrological balance and soil moisture are not completely consistent in southwest China. Hydrological balance was more sensitive to temperature change on a millennial scale. For soil moisture, plant processes also played a big role in addition to precipitation and temperature. Under future climate warming, surface water shortage in southwest China can be even more serious and efforts at reforestation may bring some relief to the soil moisture deficit.
Clément Outrequin, Anne Alexandre, Christine Vallet-Coulomb, Clément Piel, Sébastien Devidal, Amaelle Landais, Martine Couapel, Jean-Charles Mazur, Christophe Peugeot, Monique Pierre, Frédéric Prié, Jacques Roy, Corinne Sonzogni, and Claudia Voigt
Clim. Past, 17, 1881–1902, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1881-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1881-2021, 2021
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Continental atmospheric humidity is a key climate parameter poorly captured by global climate models. Model–data comparison approaches that are applicable beyond the instrumental period are essential to progress on this issue but face a lack of quantitative relative humidity proxies. Here, we calibrate the triple oxygen isotope composition of phytoliths as a new quantitative proxy of continental relative humidity suitable for past climate reconstructions.
Jacek Pawlak
Clim. Past, 17, 1051–1064, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1051-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-17-1051-2021, 2021
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Presently, central Europe is under the influence of two types of climate, transitional and continental. The 60 ka long multiproxy speleothem dataset from Slovakia records the climate of the Last Interglacial cycle and its transition to the Last Glacial. The interpretation of stable isotopic composition and trace element content proxies helps to distinguish which factor had the strongest influence on the δ18O record shape: the local temperature, the humidity or the source effect.
Sean F. Cleator, Sandy P. Harrison, Nancy K. Nichols, I. Colin Prentice, and Ian Roulstone
Clim. Past, 16, 699–712, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-699-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-699-2020, 2020
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We present geographically explicit reconstructions of seasonal temperature and annual moisture variables at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), 21 000 years ago. The reconstructions use existing site-based estimates of climate, interpolated in space and time in a physically consistent way using climate model simulations. The reconstructions give a much better picture of the LGM climate and will provide a robust evaluation of how well state-of-the-art climate models simulate large climate changes.
Shaun R. Eaves, Andrew N. Mackintosh, Brian M. Anderson, Alice M. Doughty, Dougal B. Townsend, Chris E. Conway, Gisela Winckler, Joerg M. Schaefer, Graham S. Leonard, and Andrew T. Calvert
Clim. Past, 12, 943–960, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-943-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-12-943-2016, 2016
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Geological evidence for past changes in glacier length provides a useful source of information about pre-historic climate change. We have used glacier modelling to show that air temperature reductions of −5 to −7 °C, relative to present, are required to simulate the glacial extent in the North Island, New Zealand, during the last ice age (approx. 20000 years ago). Our results provide data to assess climate model simulations, with the aim of determining the drivers of past natural climate change.
S. Jasechko, A. Lechler, F. S. R. Pausata, P. J. Fawcett, T. Gleeson, D. I. Cendón, J. Galewsky, A. N. LeGrande, C. Risi, Z. D. Sharp, J. M. Welker, M. Werner, and K. Yoshimura
Clim. Past, 11, 1375–1393, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1375-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-11-1375-2015, 2015
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In this study we compile global isotope proxy records of climate changes from the last ice age to the late-Holocene preserved in cave calcite, glacial ice and groundwater aquifers. We show that global patterns of late-Pleistocene to late-Holocene precipitation isotope shifts are consistent with stronger-than-modern isotopic distillation of air masses during the last ice age, likely impacted by larger global temperature differences between the tropics and the poles.
J. Zhu, A. Lücke, H. Wissel, C. Mayr, D. Enters, K. Ja Kim, C. Ohlendorf, F. Schäbitz, and B. Zolitschka
Clim. Past, 10, 2153–2169, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-2153-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-2153-2014, 2014
S. Affolter, D. Fleitmann, and M. Leuenberger
Clim. Past, 10, 1291–1304, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1291-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-1291-2014, 2014
P. S. Minyuk, V. Y. Borkhodoev, and V. Wennrich
Clim. Past, 10, 467–485, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-467-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-10-467-2014, 2014
U. Frank, N. R. Nowaczyk, P. Minyuk, H. Vogel, P. Rosén, and M. Melles
Clim. Past, 9, 1559–1569, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1559-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1559-2013, 2013
J. A. Snyder, M. V. Cherepanova, and A. Bryan
Clim. Past, 9, 1309–1319, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1309-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-1309-2013, 2013
L. Cunningham, H. Vogel, V. Wennrich, O. Juschus, N. Nowaczyk, and P. Rosén
Clim. Past, 9, 679–686, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-679-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-679-2013, 2013
A. Zander and A. Hilgers
Clim. Past, 9, 719–733, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-719-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-719-2013, 2013
K. J. Murdock, K. Wilkie, and L. L. Brown
Clim. Past, 9, 467–479, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-467-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-467-2013, 2013
P. S. Minyuk, T. V. Subbotnikova, L. L. Brown, and K. J. Murdock
Clim. Past, 9, 433–446, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-433-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-433-2013, 2013
T. Kluge, H. P. Affek, T. Marx, W. Aeschbach-Hertig, D. F. C. Riechelmann, D. Scholz, S. Riechelmann, A. Immenhauser, D. K. Richter, J. Fohlmeister, A. Wackerbarth, A. Mangini, and C. Spötl
Clim. Past, 9, 377–391, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-377-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-377-2013, 2013
A. R. Holland, S. T. Petsch, I. S. Castañeda, K. M. Wilkie, S. J. Burns, and J. Brigham-Grette
Clim. Past, 9, 243–260, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-243-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-9-243-2013, 2013
S. Samartin, O. Heiri, A. F. Lotter, and W. Tinner
Clim. Past, 8, 1913–1927, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1913-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1913-2012, 2012
B. Chapligin, H. Meyer, G. E. A. Swann, C. Meyer-Jacob, and H.-W. Hubberten
Clim. Past, 8, 1621–1636, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1621-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-1621-2012, 2012
A. Alexandre, J. Crespin, F. Sylvestre, C. Sonzogni, and D. W. Hilbert
Clim. Past, 8, 307–324, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-307-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-8-307-2012, 2012
B. Wu and N. Q. Wu
Clim. Past, 7, 349–359, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-349-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-7-349-2011, 2011
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Short summary
The southern coast of South Africa hosts some key archeological sites for the study of early human evolution. Here we present a short but high-resolution record of past changes in the hydroclimate and temperature on the southern coast of South Africa based on the study of a speleothem collected from Bloukrantz Cave. Overall, the paleoclimate indicators suggest stable temperature from 48.3 to 45.2 ka, whereas precipitation was variable, with marked short drier episodes.
The southern coast of South Africa hosts some key archeological sites for the study of early...
