Lake sediment evidence for late Holocene climate change and landscape erosion in western Iceland

Gathorne-Hardy, Freddy J.; Erlendsson, Egill; Langdon, Peter G.; Edwards, Kevin J.

doi:10.1007/s10933-008-9285-4

Cited by 45 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…Most of the existing Icelandic palynological datasets come from studies that have been conducted on peat cores (see Hallsdóttir, 1995;Hallsdóttir and Caseldine, 2005), while only a few studies of lake sediments are available (Björck et al, 1992;Caseldine et al, 2003Caseldine et al, , 2006Erlendsson, 2007;Gathorne-Hardy et al, 2009;Hallsdóttir, 1995;Rundgren, 1995Rundgren, , 1998Vasari, 1972Vasari, , 1973Vasari and Vasari, 1990). Instead of providing a long-term trajectory of climate-driven Holocene vegetation change, most studies have focused on shorter periods within the Holocene, such as the transition from the Late Glacial into the early Holocene and early plant colonization (Björck et al, 1992;Rundgren, 1995Rundgren, , 1998Rundgren and Ingólfsson, 1999), establishing the timing of the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) (Caseldine et al, 2006) and the environmental impact of human settlement after AD 870 (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life on the periphery is tough: Vegetation in Northwest Iceland and its responses to early-Holocene warmth and later climate fluctuations

2015

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Long-and short-term climate variations in the North Atlantic have been of sufficient magnitude to leave a discernible mark on the history of vegetation and landscape stability in Iceland during the Holocene. A reconstruction of early-and mid-Holocene vegetation around Lake Kagaðarhóll, Northwest Iceland, examines how climate fluctuations have affected the terrestrial ecosystem. A thorough reconstruction has been made using pollen and plant macrofossil analyses combined with proxies for organic and inorganic matter. The record shows the development from a period of pioneer vegetation towards a woodland ecosystem. The deposition of the Saksunarvatn tephra at c. 10,300 cal. yr BP caused a 100-year period of instability, followed by a gradual trend of stabilization over several centuries while material left behind by retreating glaciers and tephra was being contained by expanding and developing vegetation. Early-Holocene warmth is indicated by high pollen production of Juniperus communis around the lake by c. 10,100 cal. yr BP and birch woodland being established around the lake by c. 9200 cal. yr BP, much earlier than previously believed for this locale. Cooling climate between c. 8700 and 8200 cal. yr BP halted woodland development, with reduced plant reproduction likely caused by cold spring and summer temperatures. Woodlands became re-established from c. 7900 cal. yr BP before entering a decline from c. 6000 cal. yr BP, with harsher environmental conditions apparent after c. 4200 cal. yr BP. The Kagaðarhóll record compares favourably with other palaeoclimatic data from the North Atlantic, demonstrating the potential of pollen and macrofossil data for reconstructions of environmental change in Iceland and as an indicator of climate variability in the North Atlantic during the Holocene.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Life on the periphery is tough: Vegetation in Northwest Iceland and its responses to early-Holocene warmth and later climate fluctuations

2015

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“…An oxygen-isotope climatic record from the Devon Island ice cap, arctic Canada, suggests that the cooling episodes occurred at 1430, 1520, 1560, 1680-1730, and 1760 AD, respectively [54]. In addition, the duration of the LIA in western Iceland was from approximately 1500 to 1900 AD [55]. Zhang [57].…”

Section: -1900 Admentioning

confidence: 99%

Late Holocene paleoenvironmental changes in the southern Okinawa Trough inferred from a diatom record

Jiang

et al. 2011

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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We analyzed sediment diatoms from core MD05-2908 to infer climate and paleoenvironmental changes in the southern Okinawa Trough (SOT) over the past 1000 years. Because the study area is located in the East Asia monsoon area and beneath the main axis of Kuroshio Current, the climatic and hydrographical conditions are strongly influenced by both of these factors. The species used as environmental indicators, including the Kuroshio Current species (KC species) and freshwater species, were investigated in this paper. Changes in the abundance of the two groups of species revealed significant variations in water temperature and hydrography in the SOT during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and the Little Ice Age (LIA). From 950-1500 AD, the abundance of the KC species increased fluctuantly, while the freshwater species decreased, showing that the influence of the Kuroshio Current was intensified at that interval and the precipitation of the study area was relatively low. The KC species decreased remarkably and was maintained at a low abundance during the interval of 1500-1900 AD, which suggests that the impact of the Kuroshio Current on the SOT weakened during the period corresponding to the LIA. Moreover, the high abundance of the freshwater species at the same interval indicates a distinct increase in precipitation in northeastern Taiwan, which may be correlated to the south-detention of the rainfall belt in China caused by the southward migration of the western Pacific subtropical high.

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“…Numbers in brackets denote references as follows: (1) Andrews et al, 2001; (2) Bartley, 1973; (3) Buckland et al, 1995; (4) Caseldine et al, 2003;(5) Caseldine et al, 2006;(6) Edwards et al, 2005; (7) Einarsson, Þ., 1957;(8) Einarsson, Þ., 1961;(9) Einarsson, Þ., 1962;(10) Gathorne-Hardy et al, 2009;(11) Hallsdóttir, 1982;(12) Hallsdóttir, 1987;(13) Hallsdóttir, 1993;(14) Hallsdóttir, 1995;(15) Hallsdóttir and Caseldine, 2005;(16) Lawson et al, 2007;(17) Påhlson, 1981;(18) Rundgren, 1995;(19) Rundgren and Ingólfsson, 1999;(20) Schwaar, 1978;(21) Wastl et al, 2001;(22) Þórarinsson, 1944 (Erlendsson, 2007). The tephra layers of importance to this paper are the Settlement (Vatnaöldur) tephra (Vö), dated on ice core evidence to AD 871±2 (Grönvold et al, 1995), a Katla tephra (Ka) from~AD 920 (Hafliðason et al, 1992) and a silicic Eyjafjallajökull tephra (Ey).…”

Section: Chronologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(undifferentiated fern spores) at the onset of the study period may reflect environmental disruption (cf. Gathorne-Hardy et al, 2009) associated with the eruption in the adjacent Eyjafjallajökull stratovolcano around AD 500. At 119.5-113.5 cm (~AD 630-770) there is an increase (2 cm between samples;~50 yr) in values for the pollen of B. pubescens (from~10% to 20-40%;~40 to~200-650 grains/cm 2 per yr) in particular and Salix also.…”

Section: Pollen Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many sites, however, do not show such an expansion in spite of pollen of Betula (cf. pubescens) being abundant (Þórarinsson, 1944;Einarsson, Þ., 1957, 1961[Varmahlíð, Sólheimagerði, Hallormsstaður and Eiríksson et al, 2006Rousse et al, 2006;Sicre et al, 2008) and the impacts of climate change upon Holocene terrestrial ecosystems (eg, Ólafsdóttir and Guðmundsson, 2002;Haraldsson and Ólafsdót-tir, 2003;Gathorne-Hardy et al, 2009;Geirsdóttir et al, 2009), much of which data could be cross-correlated by the island's extensive tephrochronological record (Larsen et al, 2002;Larsen and Eiríksson, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The timing and causes of the final pre-settlement expansion of Betula pubescens in Iceland

Erlendsson

Edwards

2009

The Holocene

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Palynological data from southern and western Iceland show rising values for the pollen of Betula pubescens for the period AD 600—800. The increased values for B. pubescens probably stem from both improved flowering conditions and increased coverage and density of woodlands associated with short-lived climatic amelioration within a phase of longer-term harsh climate. The swift response to climate change in the palynological record and good correlation with comparative data from other proxies indicates that Icelandic palynology offers an important, yet largely underexploited, tool for the reconstruction of Icelandic Holocene environments.

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Lake sediment evidence for late Holocene climate change and landscape erosion in western Iceland

Cited by 45 publications

References 46 publications

Life on the periphery is tough: Vegetation in Northwest Iceland and its responses to early-Holocene warmth and later climate fluctuations

Life on the periphery is tough: Vegetation in Northwest Iceland and its responses to early-Holocene warmth and later climate fluctuations

Late Holocene paleoenvironmental changes in the southern Okinawa Trough inferred from a diatom record

The timing and causes of the final pre-settlement expansion of Betula pubescens in Iceland

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