Millennial-scale climate variability during the last 12.5 ka recorded in a Caribbean speleothem

Fensterer, Claudia; Scholz, Denis; Hoffmann, Dirk L.; Spötl, Christoph; Schröder‐Ritzrau, Andrea; Horn, Christian; Pajón, Jesús M.; Mangini, Augusto

doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2012.11.019

Cited by 52 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…This result supports the findings of a geochemical study of a sediment core from a mangrove lagoon in Jamaica, which shows not only that the climate of Jamaica was not uniformly dry during the LIA, but that it was also characterised by enhanced rainfall variability on multidecadal timescales (Burn and Palmer, 2014). Similar conclusions have been drawn from speleothem-based precipitation reconstructions for Cuba (Fensterer et al, 2013) and Belize (Kennett et al, 2012), which attest to the significant climate variability that occurred during the LIA across the Caribbean region. Importantly, these findings contradict those of other regional palaeoclimate studies, which indicate that the LIA was manifested as an Gray et al (2004) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) of Li et al (2013) and counts of the freshwater gastropod Pyrgophorus parvulus (Guilding, 1828) and the oxygen isotope determinations of ostracod calcite of Heterocypris punctata (Keyser, 1975) for the period 1500 CE-present.…”

Section: Climate Variability In Barbuda During the Liasupporting

confidence: 89%

A sediment-based reconstruction of Caribbean effective precipitation during the ‘Little Ice Age’ from Freshwater Pond, Barbuda

et al. 2016

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Contemporary climate dynamics of the circum-Caribbean region are characterised by significant precipitation variability on interannual and interdecadal timescales controlled primarily by El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO). However, our understanding of pre-industrial climate variability in the region is hampered by the sparse geographic distribution of palaeoclimate archives. Here, we present a highresolution reconstruction of effective precipitation for Barbuda since the mid-16th century, based on biostratigraphic and stable isotope analyses of fossil ostracods and gastropods recovered from lake sediment cores from Freshwater Pond, the only freshwater lake on the island. We interpret episodic fluctuations in shell accumulation in the sediment record to represent changes in the balance between precipitation and evaporation during the 'Little Ice Age' (LIA; ~1400-1850 CE) and Industrial (1850-present) periods. Comparisons between indices of reconstructed ENSO and AMO variability, the abundance of the freshwater gastropod Pyrgophorus parvulus and the δ 18 O records from ostracod calcite suggest that the relative influence of ENSO and AMO on long-term rainfall patterns in Barbuda has changed over the last 400 years. Our findings are in agreement with other high-resolution palaeoclimate studies that suggest that long-term changes in effective precipitation during the LIA were much more variable, temporally and spatially, than previously suggested.

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Section: Climate Variability In Barbuda During the Liasupporting

confidence: 89%

A sediment-based reconstruction of Caribbean effective precipitation during the ‘Little Ice Age’ from Freshwater Pond, Barbuda

et al. 2016

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“…Paleoclimatic records throughout the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean show a shift from wetter, more mesic conditions during the early-middle Holocene to drier, more xeric conditions during the late Holocene, between 3000 and 1300 year BP (Hodell et al, 1995; Curtis et al, 2001; Peros et al, 2007). Our data do not agree with the overall tendency towards drier conditions after 2000 cal yr. BP interpreted from Cuban coastal lacustrine deposits (Peros et al, 2007; Peros et al, 2015; Gregory et al, 2015), and instead agree with those acquired from cave speleothem records (Pajón et al, 2001; Pajón, 2012; Fensterer et al, 2013) which indicate the inverse. Since our oxygen isotope values were acquired from bat dental apatite, they likely represent the bat’s life oxygen record acquired from the local diet and water source (Bocherens et al, 1996; Lee-Thorp et al, 1989; MacFadden et al, 1996).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Late Holocene land vertebrate fauna from Cueva de los Nesofontes, Western Cuba: stratigraphy, last appearance dates, diversity and paleoecology

Orihuela

Orozco

Licourt³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Here we report a Late Holocene fossil-rich cave deposit from Cueva de los Nesofontes, Mayabeque Province, Cuba. The deposit’s formation and its fauna were studied through a multidisciplinary approach that included stable isotope analyses, radiocarbon chronology, stratigraphy, sedimentology, and taphonomy. Thousands of microvertebrate skeletal remains were recovered, representing a diverse land vertebrate fauna that included threatened and extinct species. The deposit is characterized by profuse Nesophontes remains due to raptor predation. Previously unreported last appearance dates are provided for the extinct island-shrew Nesophontes major, the bats Artibeus anthonyi and Phyllops vetus. Radiocarbon (14C AMS) age estimates between ∼1960 rcyr BP and the present were recovered. The presence of locally extinct species, including the endemic parakeet Psittacara eups, the flicker Colaptes cf. auratus/fernandinae, and the lipotyphlan Solenodon cubanus suggests that these species had broader distributions in the near past. Isotope analyses and faunal composition indicate the previous presence of diverse habitats, including palm grove savannas and mixed woodlands. Isotopes also provide insight into the habitat and coexistence of the extinct bat Artibeus anthonyi and extant A. jamaicensis, the diet of Nesophontes major, and local paleoenvironmental conditions. Oxygen isotopes reveal an excursion suggestive of drier/colder local conditions between 660 and 770 AD. Our research further expands the understanding of Cuban Quaternary extinction episodes and provides data on the distribution and paleoecology of extinct taxa. It supports the conclusion that many Cuban extinct species survived well into the pre-Columbian late Holocene and retained wide distribution ranges until human colonization.

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“…[] used δ 18 O data from a stalagmite in Venado Cave, Costa Rica, and found high values between ~8000 and 8300 cal yr B.P., reflecting reduced rainfall and a weaker monsoon in Central America. The 8.2 kyr event has also been noted in a stalagmite record from western Cuba, where drier conditions were recorded [ Fensterer et al ., ]. In addition, Hodell et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multistage 8.2 kyr event revealed through high‐resolution XRF core scanning of Cuban sinkhole sediments

Peros

Collins

G'Meiner

et al. 2017

Geophysical Research Letters

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We use sediments from a flooded sinkhole (Cenote Jennifer) in northern Cuba to provide new, well‐dated, high‐resolution evidence for the 8.2 kyr event. From ~7600 to 8700 cal yr B.P. the sinkhole contained shallow, low‐salinity water, which supported a marsh dominated by cattail and grass. Peaks in Cl and Br—occurring at 8150, 8200, and 8250 cal yr B.P.—are attributable to increased evaporation due to regional drying associated with the 8.2 kyr event. The three peaks in these elements also closely correspond to the greyscale record from the Cariaco Basin, indicative of increased upwelling in the southern Caribbean Sea at this time, supporting the notion of a multistage 8.2 kyr event. Our work provides new data that help to clarify the initiation, behavior, and impacts of the 8.2 kyr event in the northern tropics.

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Millennial-scale climate variability during the last 12.5 ka recorded in a Caribbean speleothem

Cited by 52 publications

References 69 publications

A sediment-based reconstruction of Caribbean effective precipitation during the ‘Little Ice Age’ from Freshwater Pond, Barbuda

A sediment-based reconstruction of Caribbean effective precipitation during the ‘Little Ice Age’ from Freshwater Pond, Barbuda

Late Holocene land vertebrate fauna from Cueva de los Nesofontes, Western Cuba: stratigraphy, last appearance dates, diversity and paleoecology

Multistage 8.2 kyr event revealed through high‐resolution XRF core scanning of Cuban sinkhole sediments

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