Articles | Volume 21, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-795-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-21-795-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
11 Apr 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 11 Apr 2025
| 11 Apr 2025
High-resolution Holocene record based on detailed tephrochronology from Torfdalsvatn, north Iceland, reveals natural and anthropogenic impacts on terrestrial and aquatic environments
David J. Harning
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
Christopher R. Florian
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
National Ecological Observatory Network, Battelle, Boulder, CO, USA
Áslaug Geirsdóttir
Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
Thor Thordarson
Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland
Gifford H. Miller
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
Yarrow Axford
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
Sædís Ólafsdóttir
Reykjavík Energy, Reykjavík, Iceland
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Editorial statement
This manuscript deserves to be highlighted as it presents an incredible dataset, analysed using state-of-the-art techniques and summarised in a clear and readable form. As the reviewers pointed out, the content could easily have resulted in two articles (or even more...) - a practice that is sometimes done to increase ‘academic output’. However, the authors have chosen to provide a comprehensive overview and interpretation of the results. In addition, the site studied is of great importance for Icelandic studies of Holocene climate change.
This manuscript deserves to be highlighted as it presents an incredible dataset, analysed using...
Short summary
Questions remain about the past climate in Iceland, including the relative impacts of natural and human factors on vegetation change and soil erosion. We present a sub-centennial-scale record of landscape and algal productivity from a lake in north Iceland. Along with a high-resolution tephra age constraint that covers the last ∼ 12 000 years, our record provides an environmental template for the region and novel insight into the sensitivity of the Icelandic ecosystem to natural and human impacts.
Questions remain about the past climate in Iceland, including the relative impacts of natural...
