Dinoflagellate cysts and XRF core scanning data from two marine sediment cores from embayments north (Bonavista Bay) and south (Placentia Bay) of Newfoundland show significant changes in ocean and atmospheric conditions of the SW Labrador Sea region during the last 5700 years. Fresh and cold conditions, probably accompanied by seasonal sea ice, prevailed both north and south of Newfoundland from c. 5.7 to 4.0 cal. kyr BP. This may be linked to intensified Labrador Current export of cold meltwater and/or sea ice from the Arctic, presumably related to warmer conditions in the northernmost latitudes and the prevalence of strong (north)westerly winds. After c. 4.0 cal. kyr BP, sea-surface conditions warmed up and sea ice decreased northeast of Newfoundland, but conditions were still cold south of Newfoundland. This suggests a decrease in Arctic meltwater export and westerly wind strength. After 2.9-2.5 cal. kyr BP, only minor changes in sea-surface conditions affected the study sites. Sea-surface temperatures increased and sea ice decreased at both sites, which may be related to a more meridional atmospheric circulation pattern associated with the general Northern Hemisphere neoglacial cooling. In Placentia Bay the warmest part of the record corresponds to the Roman Warm Period, while the warmest part of the records in Bonavista Bay notably corresponds to the Dark Ages.

Variability in the abundance of exotic (non-native) pollen in sediment cores has long been considered as a potential proxy for changing atmospheric circulation, but the difficulty of gaining sufficient total exotic pollen and the incomplete understanding of atmospheric pollen transport patterns has hindered its application. In light of recent advances in the study of pollen transport, we present an exotic pollen record from two fjord sediment cores taken from the west (Placentia Bay, Newfoundland) and east (Narsaq Sund, Greenland) Labrador Sea as a basis for studying variations in regional atmospheric circulation. The two cores cover the last ca. 5500 years and indicate a shift in dominant spring/summer air masses at ca. 2000 (southern Greenland) and 3000 cal a BP (Newfoundland) transporting reduced concentrations of pollen from southerly and south-westerly vegetation zones. This may suggest a shift away from more dominantly zonal atmospheric circulation (a feature of positive North Atlantic Oscillation years) to more frequent meridional circulation. These results support sea ice/sea-surface temperature proxy reconstructions from Newfoundland, investigated as part of the same project, which also suggest increased winter atmospheric circulation during the early part of the time period studied. In this region, more positive North Atlantic Oscillation years, and therefore more zonal atmospheric circulation, are associated with increased atmospheric circulation in both the winter and the summer seasons.

Jessen, C. A., Rundgren, M., Bjö rck, S. and Hammarlund, D. 2005. Abrupt climatic changes and an unstable transition into a late Holocene Thermal Decline: a multiproxy lacustrine record from southern Sweden.ABSTRACT: The transition from a middle Holocene relatively warm and stable climate to a cooler and unstable late Holocene climate is reconstructed using sediments from Lake Igelsjö n, southcentral Sweden. This multiproxy study illustrates local, regional and global scale responses to climatic change by focusing on a previously identified abrupt hydrological shift to cooler and/or wetter conditions around 4000 cal. yr BP. The results suggest that between ca. 4600 and ca. 3400 cal. yr BP, the environment around and within the lake responded in two major, well-defined steps: the first between 4450 and 4350 cal. yr BP and the second between 4000 and 3800 cal. yr BP. A series of rapid fluctuations of short duration were superimposed on the general cooling trend, with the most severe aquatic response peaking at ca. 3800 cal. yr BP. Pollen percentage and influx values show forest composition and pollen productivity changes and a distinct decline in total and Corylus pollen influx in the period of 4000-3500 cal. yr BP. Stomatal-based reconstruction of atmospheric CO 2 concentration produced a tenuous decrease with a minimum between 3650 and 3500 cal. yr BP.

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Based on their position in relation to major ocean currents, palaeoclimatic archives in the Faroe Islands are expected to be sensitive recorders of variations in North Atlantic circulation. The multiproxy analysis (magnetic susceptibility, total carbon, nitrogen and sulphur, biogenic silica, grains >255 µm) of a lacustrine record with both winter and summer climate indicators illustrates the variability of Faroese climate during the early Holocene ( c. 11 300—10 240 cal. yr BP) and allows comparison with other records in the region. Our high-resolution record suggests a period of predominantly winter cooling and increased storminess centred at c. 11 150 cal. yr BP followed by a period of stability between c. 11 000 and 10 680 cal. yr BP, which correlates with a time when the North Atlantic was particularly free of meltwater incursions. After c. 10 680 cal. yr BP, both winter and summer indicators show an increase in variability broadly synchronous with increased variability at other North Atlantic sites. Within this time period, a predominantly winter cooling centred at c. 10 600 cal. yr BP, a winter/summer cooling centred at c. 10 450 cal. yr BP and a winter/summer cooling centred at c. 10 300 cal. yr BP are recorded. These distinctive coolings correspond to periods of ice core δ18O inferred lowered atmospheric temperatures over Greenland and the reoccurrence of meltwater outbursts at c. 10 600, 10 500 and 10 350 cal. yr BP.