Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Olivier Cartapanis, Lukas Jonkers, Paola Moffa-Sanchez, Samuel L. Jaccard, Anne de Vernal
Summary: Analysis of a large database of Holocene temperature time series challenges the concept of a globally synchronous Holocene Thermal Maximum. The discrepancies between climate reconstructions and model simulations highlight the need for reevaluation of climate models and proxy temperature records. The heterogeneous response to climate forcing indicates the lack of globally synchronous HTM.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jun Cheng, Haibin Wu, Zhengyu Liu, Peng Gu, Jingjing Wang, Cheng Zhao, Qin Li, Haishan Chen, Huayu Lu, Haibo Hu, Yu Gao, Miao Yu, Yaoming Song
Summary: The study suggests that monsoonal rainfall peaked in the early Holocene while ecosystem responses peaked in the mid-Holocene over northern China. The delayed ecosystem response to rainfall is attributed to the vegetation response to winter warming and subsequent feedback with soil moisture.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Tianlong Yan, Cheng Zhao, Hong Yan, Ge Shi, Xiaoshuang Sun, Can Zhang, Xiaoping Feng, Chengcheng Leng
Summary: Meteorological data indicates that temperature increase in high-elevation areas on the eastern Tibetan Plateau is much higher than the global average, with a peak warmth in the middle Holocene. The timing of the Holocene Thermal Maximum in high-elevation sites lags behind that in low-elevation sites, possibly due to offset of remaining regional glaciers and/or snow cover. The enhanced warming with elevation can be attributed to snow albedo and latent heat release.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Jiaju Zhao, Jianbao Liu, Jinzhao Liu, Shengqian Chen, Li Wang, Aifeng Zhou, Zhiping Zhang, Zhongwei Shen, Jie Chen, Lin Chen, Yunning Cao, Jing Hu
Summary: The influence of Holocene East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) rainfall on ecosystems over northern China remains controversial. By examining alkenone proxies in Dali Lake, northern China, we reconstructed temperature and salinity records and found a mid-Holocene EASM rainfall maximum that promoted forest expansion and vegetation recovery in the region.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Maria J. Ramos-Roman, Cindy De Jonge, Eniko Magyari, Daniel Veres, Liisa Ilvonen, Anne-Lise Develle, Heikki Seppa
Summary: This study reconstructs changes in vegetation, temperature, and sediment geochemistry in the Subcarpathian belt of the Eastern Carpathians over the past 6.5 thousand years. Pollen and brGDGTs are used as paleothermometers to reconstruct mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and mean temperature above freezing (MAF), respectively. Both proxies show consistent records, with the highest temperatures occurring during the oldest part of the record. The transition from the Middle to the Late Holocene is marked by a prominent temperature decrease, coinciding with Bond events and other climatic factors.
GLOBAL AND PLANETARY CHANGE
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Michael Doring, Markus Christian Leuenberger
Summary: Nitrogen and argon stable isotope data from ancient air in ice cores are used to reconstruct past temperatures in Greenland. A fitting algorithm based on a Monte Carlo inversion technique is applied to fit the gas-isotope data and infer temperature variations. The use of δN-15 and δAr-40 provides consistent reconstructions, while δN-15(excess) has higher uncertainties, especially for longer-term signals.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sze Ling Ho, Jia-Kang Wang, Yu-Jou Lin, Ching-Ren Lin, Chen-Wei Lee, Chia-Hsin Hsu, Lo-Yu Chang, To-Hsiang Wu, Chien-Chia Tseng, Hsiao-Jou Wu, Cedric M. John, Tatsuo Oji, Tsung-Kwei Liu, Wen-Shan Chen, Peter Li, Jiann-Neng Fang, Jih-Pai Lin
Summary: Researchers reconstructed past environmental and oceanic conditions off northwest Taiwan by analyzing fossils and found that Scaphechinus mirabilis thrived during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition but likely went extinct due to a drastic temperature change.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yuan Li, Xiaozhong Huang, Lixiong Xiang, Jun Zhang, Yue Xu, Lihui Tian, Yanxiang Jin, Xin Jin, Yongtao Zhao, Lele Ren, Hui Zhao
Summary: This study provides insights into the Holocene hydroclimatic change in arid central Asia by analyzing sedimentary records from Kanas Lake. The results suggest that regional precipitation is the main driving factor for the hydrological environment changes in glacier-fed lakes, and increased precipitation greatly intensified the trans-Eurasian dispersal of crops and livestock.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Stephen J. Roberts, Robert D. McCulloch, Joseph F. Emmings, Sarah J. Davies, Wim Van Nieuwenhuyze, Mieke Sterken, Katrien Heirman, Jeroen Van Wichelen, Carolina Diaz, Evelien Van de Vyver, Alex Whittle, Wim Vyverman, Dominic A. Hodgson, Elie Verleyen
Summary: Multi-proxy analyses on sediment cores from Lago Pato provide insights into glacier dynamics and lake-level change in the TdP and ultima Esperanza region over the last 30,000 years. The study reveals the formation of a deep ice-dammed palaeolake, fluctuations in lake levels, and the impact of regional climate shifts on the lake ecology.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Adam C. Hawkins, Brian Menounos, Brent M. Goehring, Gerald D. Osborn, John J. Clague, Britta Jensen
Summary: This study investigates the times of glacier advance at Gilbert Glacier in British Columbia using radiocarbon dating and surface exposure ages. The analysis of data narrowed the age range of late Holocene advances, highlighting the importance of the tandem approach in better understanding glacier response to climate change in high mountains worldwide.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Nathan D. Stansell, Bryan G. Mark, Joseph M. Licciardi, Donald T. Rodbell, Jonathan G. Fairman, Forrest S. Schoessow, Tal Y. Shutkin, Mary Sorensen
Summary: Limited knowledge about early Holocene climate variability in the tropical Andes hinders the evaluation of potential links between low and high latitude oceanic-atmospheric dynamics. This study uses a physically-based glacier model to reconstruct and interpret early Holocene-aged paleoglaciers in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru. The results indicate periods of colder and wetter conditions during the early Holocene, despite an overall trend of warmer and drier climate.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2022)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Darrell S. Kaufman, Ellie Broadman
Summary: This review examines evidence from indicators and drivers of global change to evaluate whether anthropogenic global warming was preceded by a long-term warming trend or by global cooling. It finds that multimillennial-scale cooling before industrialization requires extra climate forcing and major climate feedbacks, while global warming challenges proxy-based reconstructions of past climate. The resolution of this conundrum has implications for understanding climate sensitivity and advancing our understanding of slow-moving climate variability.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yixiong Wen, Laiming Zhang, Yalin Li, Katharine W. Huntington, Tianjie Jin, Andrew J. Schauer, Chengshan Wang
Summary: A series of tectonic events during the late Mesozoic reshaped the tectonic regime and landscape of North China. The Taihang Mountains became a significant separation zone, dividing North China into regions with different landforms, tectonic settings, and climatic regimes. The elevation history of the Taihang Mountains during this period provides important insights into the geodynamics and regional climatic evolution of North China.
GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA BULLETIN
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Dmitry Ganyushkin, Kirill Chistyakov, Ekaterina Derkach, Dmitriy Bantcev, Elena Kunaeva, Anton Terekhov, Valeria Rasputina
Summary: The study aims to reconstruct and estimate the reduction of the Altai glaciers, and analyze the glacier reduction rates. The results show that the glaciers in the southern part of Altai decreased by 59% since the maximum of the Little Ice Age.
Article
Geography, Physical
Jie Wu, Caiming Shen, Huan Yang, Shi Qian, Shucheng Xie
Summary: The patterns and mechanisms of Holocene temperature variability in China are controversial, but this study aims to provide more clarity. Using branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) from Lake Yangzonghai, a Holocene mean annual air temperature (MAAT) record is generated for southwest China. The results show a long-term cooling trend since 10 cal ka BP, ruling out the effect of seasonal bias in temperature proxies. By compiling 67 published Holocene temperature records, it is found that there is spatial heterogeneity in temperature variability, with a relatively warmer mid-Holocene and colder late Holocene in the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) domain and a relatively colder mid-Holocene and warmer late Holocene in the westerlies domain.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Maria Papadopoulou, Ioannis Tsiripidis, Sampson Panajiotidis, Georgios Fotiadis, Daniel Veres, Eniko Magyari, Marc Bormann, Sonia Fontana, Lyudmila Shumilovskikh, Konstantinos Panagiotopoulos, Frank Schabitz, Thomas Giesecke
Summary: This study compared pollen assemblages from two different regions in southeastern Europe to the surrounding vegetation and found that pollen assemblages are more effective at reflecting the presence or absence of plants rather than their abundance. Additionally, the bias in pollen assemblages increases with landscape openness and vegetation diversity.
VEGETATION HISTORY AND ARCHAEOBOTANY
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Monika Toth, Oliver Heiri, Ildiko Vincze, Mihaly Braun, Zoltan Szabo, Eniko K. Magyari
Summary: This study provides the first chironomid record and associated summer air-temperature reconstruction from Lake Saint Anne in the Eastern Carpathians. The findings suggest that the warming after Heinrich event 1 had a similar magnitude to the late glacial warming, while the summers during the Younger Dryas period remained relatively warm in this region of Europe. However, the reliability of the paleotemperature record obtained from the lake may have been influenced by changes in water depth, analogue problems, and paludification, particularly during the Early Holocene.
QUATERNARY RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Alexander Bolland, Oliver A. Kern, Andreas Koutsodendris, Jorg Pross, Oliver Heiri
Summary: The Eemian period in central Europe showed a transition from thermophilous to boreal tree taxa, with temperature reconstructions indicating a decrease. Chironomid records revealed variations in temperature, with different taxa suggesting cold or warm conditions at different stages.
Article
Geography, Physical
Alexandros Emmanouilidis, Konstantinos Panagiotopoulos, Katerina Kouli, Pavlos Avramidis
Summary: In this study, sediment cores from Klisova lagoon in Western Greece were analyzed to understand the environmental conditions and human activities in the area. The results show that freshwater influx and changes in the river delta controlled the lagoon's environmental conditions for the past 4700 years. Before 4000 cal BP, the lagoon had shallow water depth and significant terrestrial/freshwater input. At around 2000 cal BP, the lagoon gradually deepened. Human activities increased during the Mycenaean, Hellenistic, and Late Byzantine periods.
Article
Geography, Physical
Bernd Wagner, Paul Tauber, Alexander Francke, Niklas Leicher, Steven A. Binnie, Aleksandra Cvetkoska, Elena Jovanovska, Janna Just, Jack H. Lacey, Zlatko Levkov, Katja Lindhorst, Katerina Kouli, Sebastian Krastel, Konstantinos Pana-giotopoulos, Arne Ulfers, Dusica Zaova, Timme H. Donders, Andon Grazhdani, Andreas Koutsodendris, Melanie J. Leng, Laura Sadori, Mirko Scheinert, Hendrik Vogel, Thomas Wonik, Giovanni Zanchetta, Thomas Wilke
Summary: The study of sediment succession in Lake Ohrid in the Balkan Peninsula, North Macedonia and Albania has provided important insights into the regional climate history and evolutionary dynamics. The research reveals that the modern sedimentation in the basin started approximately 2 million years ago, and the lake gradually deepened over time. The findings offer an unprecedented and detailed picture of the geodynamic evolution of Europe's oldest extant freshwater lake.
Article
Geography, Physical
Ole Bennike, William Colgan, Lars Hedenas, Oliver Heiri, Geoffrey Lemdahl, Peter Wiberg-Larsen, Sofia Ribeiro, Roberto Pronzato, Renata Manconi, Anders A. Bjork
Summary: An organic-rich deposit was discovered at an elevation of 480 m above sea level at the Pingorsuit Glacier in North-West Greenland. The sediments contained remains of vascular plants, mosses, beetles, caddisflies, midges, bryozoans, sponges and other invertebrates. The fossils were deposited in a boreal environment with a mean July air temperature that was at least 9 degrees C higher than at present.
Article
Geography, Physical
Fabian Rey, Colin J. Courtney Mustaphi, Sonke Szidat, Erika Gobet, Oliver Heiri, Willy Tinner
Summary: High-resolution chronologies are crucial for comparing palaeoenvironmental studies with high-precision historical, archaeological, or climatic data. The study presents an updated sediment chronology from Burgaschisee, a well-studied lake in Switzerland, using new radiocarbon samples and Bayesian age-depth modeling. The new chronology reveals 2 sigma uncertainties of only +/- 19 years for the entire record and allows for more accurate site-to-site comparisons. The study emphasizes the importance of a rigorous sampling strategy and the selection of suitable terrestrial plant material for radiocarbon dating.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sandra Garces-Pastor, Eric Coissac, Sebastien Lavergne, Christoph Schworer, Jean-Paul Theurillat, Peter D. Heintzman, Owen S. Wangensteen, Willy Tinner, Fabian Rey, Martina Heer, Astrid Rutzer, Kevin Walsh, Youri Lammers, Antony G. Brown, Tomasz Goslar, Dilli P. Rijal, Dirk N. Karger, Loic Pellissier, Oliver Heiri, Inger Greve Alsos
Summary: The study reveals that the vegetation in the European Alps was primarily influenced by climate during the early Holocene, but human activities have had additional impacts on the vegetation for the past 6000 years. Changes in land use have contributed to the current high diversity of plant species in the region. The findings suggest a positive association between low intensity agropastoral activities, precipitation, and the unique subalpine and alpine plant diversity in the European Alps.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Aikaterini Kafetzidou, Eugenia Fatourou, Konstantinos Panagiotopoulos, Fabienne Marret, Katerina Kouli
Summary: This study presents a new long pollen record from the Gulf of Corinth in Greece, providing insights into the vegetation succession in the Mediterranean region during the Quaternary. The results show that there were no major shifts in arboreal pollen between glacial and interglacial intervals, indicating the area's significance as a refuge for Mediterranean, mesophilous, and montane trees throughout the Quaternary climate cycles.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nare Ngoepe, Moritz Muschick, Mary A. Kishe, Salome Mwaiko, Yunuen Temoltzin-Loranca, Leighton King, Colin Courtney Mustaphi, Oliver Heiri, Giulia Wienhues, Hendrik Vogel, Maria Cuenca-Cambronero, Willy Tinner, Martin Grosjean, Blake Matthews, Ole Seehausen
Summary: Adaptive radiations play a crucial role in generating biodiversity, but the relative importance of species' ecological versatility and arrival order in determining which lineage radiates is still unclear. Through analyzing the fossil record of cichlid fishes in Lake Victoria, it was found that their ecological versatility was key to their persistence in new habitats, suggesting that it played a major role in adaptive radiation.
Article
Geography, Physical
Gonzalo Jimenez-Moreno, Oliver Heiri, Antonio Garcia-Alix, R. Scott Anderson, Francisco J. Jimenez-Espejo, Charo Lopez-Blanco, Laura Jimenez, Carmen Perez-Martinez, Marta Rodrigo-Gamiz, Alejandro Lopez-Aviles, Jon Camuera
Summary: Obtaining accurate temperature reconstructions from the past is crucial in understanding natural temperature changes and evaluating anthropogenic global warming. This study presents a detailed Holocene temperature reconstruction based on chironomid assemblages, revealing significant cooling during the Middle and Late Holocene. The current climate warming exceeds future projections, posing a threat to alpine environments and biodiversity.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Colin J. Courtney-Mustaphi, Enrica Steiner, Stefanie von Fumetti, Oliver Heiri
Summary: Subfossil remains of aquatic invertebrates found in lacustrine sediments provide valuable information for paleoenvironmental studies. The lack of visual keys or documentation sources has limited the use of certain ecologically important invertebrate groups in paleoenvironmental research. This article presents a collection of digital photomicrographs of pre-identified aquatic invertebrate specimens, showcasing their preserved structures and providing insights for identification.
JOURNAL OF PALEOLIMNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Yunuen Temoltzin-Loranca, Erika Gobet, Boris Vanniere, Jacqueline F. N. van Leeuwen, Giulia Wienhues, Colin Courtney-Mustaphi, Mary Kishe, Moritz Muschick, Leighton King, Pavani Misra, Nare Ngoepe, Blake Matthews, Hendrik Vogel, Oliver Heiri, Ole Seehausen, Martin Grosjean, Willy Tinner
Summary: This paper presents a high-resolution palynological record from the Lake Victoria basin, showing the ecological successions and landscape transformations in tropical East Africa from 16,600 to 9,000 cal yr BP. The study demonstrates the dynamic response of African tropical ecosystems to long-term temperature and humidity variations during this period.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nare Ngoepe, Moritz Muschick, Mary A. Kishe, Salome Mwaiko, Yunuen Temoltzin-Loranca, Leighton King, Colin Courtney Mustaphi, Oliver Heiri, Giulia Wienhues, Hendrik Vogel, Maria Cuenca-Cambronero, Willy Tinner, Martin Grosjean, Blake Matthews, Ole Seehausen
Summary: This study presents a continuous fossil record showing how haplochromine cichlids came to dominate the fish fauna of Lake Victoria in Africa.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Stefan Engels, Christine S. Lane, Aritina Haliuc, Wim Z. Hoek, Francesco Muschitiello, Ilaria Baneschi, Annerieke Bouwman, Christopher Bronk Ramsey, James Collins, Renee de Bruijn, Oliver Heiri, Katalin Hubay, Gwydion Jones, Andreas Laug, Josef Merkt, Meike Mueller, Tom Peters, Francien Peterse, Richard A. Staff, Anneke T. M. ter Schure, Falko Turner, Valerie van den Bos, Frederike Wagner-Cremer
Summary: Vegetation in northwest Europe responded instantly and synchronously to abrupt cooling during the last deglaciation, indicating the severity of environmental impact and the sensitivity of natural terrestrial ecosystems to external forcing.
COMMUNICATIONS EARTH & ENVIRONMENT
(2022)