Vegetation Patterns during the Last 132,000 Years: A Synthesis from Twelve Eifel Maar Sediment Cores (Germany): The ELSA-23-Pollen-Stack

Abstract

Seven published and four new pollen records from well-dated sediment cores from six Pleistocene and Holocene maar structures located in the Eifel, Germany, are combined to a pollen stack that covers the entire last 132,000 years. This stack is complemented by new macroremain data from one additional sediment core. The pollen data included into the stack show consistently that the Eifel was covered by a dense forest during the Eemian, early Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, and the Holocene. While other European records indeed indicate a warming, the early MIS 3 fully developed forest remains a unique feature in central European pollen records. Comparison to orbital parameters and insolation hints to warm and humid, however, not fully interglacial conditions, which are also visible in speleothem growth throughout Europe. With the cooling trend towards the glacial maxima of MIS 4 and 2, tree pollen declined, with recovering phases during MIS 5c and 5a, as well as during all MIS 3 interglacials. During the colder stadials, steppe vegetation expanded. For MIS 5 and 4, we defined six new landscape evolution zones based on pollen and macroremains.

A Cryptotephra Layer in Sediments of an Infilled Maar Lake from the Eifel (Germany): First Evidence of Campanian Ignimbrite Ash Airfall in Central Europe

“…The sample chamber was flushed with helium gas at a rate of 0.4 l/min, to which Ar was added on the way to the ICP-MS. Instrument background was measured for 30 s before each analysis, and the sample was measured for another 30 s. The masses Na 23 , Mg 25 , Al 27 , Si 29 , P 31 , K 39 , Ca 42 , Sc 45 , Ti 49 , V 51 , Mn 55 , Fe 57 , Rb 85 , Y 89 , Zr 90 , Nb 93 , Cs 133 , Ba 137 , La 139 , and Ce 140 were measured with a dwell time of 10 ms, whereas V 51 , Sm 147 , Dy 163 , Er 167 , Lu 175 , and Ta 181 were measured with a dwell time of 20 ms. Integrated signal intensities were referenced to NIST SRM 610 glass [40] according to routines described in Longerich et al [41].…”

“…The pollen sample preparation was carried out according to Berglund and Ralska-Jasiewiczowa [43] and Faegri and Iversen [44]. The long pollen sequences for the Auel cores were presented in detail by Britzius et al [45].…”

Relation between Central European Climate Change and Eifel Volcanism during the Last 130,000 Years: The ELSA-23-Tephra-Stack

“…Additionally, age models of the AU3, AU4, DE3, DE4, HL2, and HL4 cores are displayed. [22] (this issue) and tephra as presented in this paper (NGRIP data from [25] and speleothem stack from [26]).…”

“…The average sedimentation rate for the JW cores is 1 mm/year (Figure 6), a value typical for many maar sites. The pollen from the JW3 core has been incorporated in the pollen stack as presented by Britzius et al [22] (this issue). Maar lakes in the Eifel have diameters ranging from 100 to 1500 m. Drilling data indicate an average sediment filling of approximately one-tenth of the lake diameter.…”

“…The average sedimentation rate for the JW cores is 1 mm/year (Figure 6), a value typical for many maar sites. The pollen from the JW3 core has been incorporated in the pollen stack as presented by Britzius et al [22] (this issue). The ELSA Project was initiated in 1998 and has since systematically scored 50 of the 68 maar sites in the Eifel.…”