Abstract. To assess the regional multi-decadal to multi-centennial climate variability along the southern Iberian Peninsula during the mid- to late-Holocene record of paleo-environmental indicators from marine sediments were established for two sites in the Alboran Sea (ODP-161-976A) and the Gulf of Cádiz (GeoB5901-2). High-resolution records of organic geochemical properties and planktic foraminiferal assemblages are used to decipher precipitation and vegetation changes as well as hydrological conditions with respect to sea surface temperature (SST) and marine primary productivity (MPP). As a proxy for precipitation change, records of plant-derived n-alkane composition suggest a series of five distinct dry episodes in southern Iberia at 5.4±0.3 ka cal BP, from 5.1 to 4.9±0.1 ka cal BP, from 4.8 to 4.7±0.1 ka cal BP, from 4.4 to 4.3±0.1 ka cal BP, and at 3.7±0.1 ka cal BP. During each dry episode the vegetation suffered from reduced water availability. Interestingly, the dry phase from 4.4 to 4.3±0.1 ka cal BP is followed by a rapid shift towards wetter conditions revealing a more complex pattern in terms of its timing and duration than was described for the 4.2 ka event in other regions. The series of dry episodes as well as closely connected hydrological variability in the Alboran Sea were probably driven by NAO-like (North Atlantic Oscillation) variability. In contrast, surface waters in the Gulf of Cádiz appear to have responded more directly to North Atlantic cooling associated with Bond events. In particular, during Bond events 3 and 4, a pronounced increase in seasonality with summer warming and winter cooling is found.

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Abstract. To assess the regional multi-decadal to multi-centennial climate variability at the southern Iberian Peninsula during the mid- to late- Holocene transition multi-proxy records of two marine sediment cores were established for two sites in the Alboran Sea (ODP-161-976A) and the Gulf of Cadiz (GeoB5901-2). High-resolution records of organic geochemical proxies and planktic foraminiferal assemblages are used to decipher precipitation and vegetation changes as well as the sea surface conditions with respect to Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and marine primary productivity (MPP). n-Alkane records as a proxy for precipitation changes suggest a series of six distinct drought events at 5.4 ka BP, from ca. 5.1 ka BP to 4.9 ka BP, from 4.8 to 4.7 ka BP, at 4.6  ka BP, from 4.4 to 4.3 ka BP and, from 3.8 to 3.7 ka BP. Each drought event is associated with a major vegetation change towards higher proportions of C4 vegetation. The drought events are further accompanied by annual and spring/ winter SST warming as well as decreasing MPP in the Alboran Sea. Altogether, the close correlation of the observed droughts with North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)-like variability suggests changes in the atmospheric circulation as important driving mechanism of terrestrial and oceanic variability at southern Iberia and the Alboran Sea, respectively. Sea surface variability in the Gulf of Cadiz, instead, is intimately linked to the North Atlantic Bond Events. In particular, during Bond Events 3 and 4 a pronounced increase in seasonality is found.

In this investigation, we use a socio-environmental multi-proxy approach to empirically test hypotheses of recurrent resilience cycles and the role of climate forcing in shaping such cycles on the Iberian Peninsula during mid-Holocene times. Our approach combines time series reconstructions of societal and environmental variables from the southern Iberian Peninsula across a 3000 yr time interval (6000–3000 cal yr BP), covering major societal and climate reorganisation. Our approach is based on regional compilations of climate variables from diverse terrestrial archives and integrates new marine climate records from the Western Mediterranean. Archaeological variables include changes in material culture, settlement reconstructions and estimates of human activities. In particular, both detailed chronologies of human activities evolving from the Late Neolithic to the Bronze Age and mid- to Late Holocene climate change across the mid-Holocene are compared, aiming to assess potential human responses and coping processes associated with abrupt mid-Holocene climate changes.