Quantitative summer and winter temperature reconstructions from pollen and chironomid data between 15 and 8 ka BP in the Baltic–Belarus area. (19th November 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Veski, Siim; Seppä, Heikki; Stančikaitė, Migle; Zernitskaya, Valentina; Reitalu, Triin; Gryguc, Gražyna; Heinsalu, Atko; Stivrins, Normunds; Amon, Leeli; Vassiljev, Jüri; Heiri, Oliver
• Is Part Of: Quaternary international. Volume 388(2015)
• Page Start: 4
• Page End: 11
• Publication Date: 2015-11-19
• Subjects: Palaeoclimate -- Pollen -- Chironomids -- Lateglacial -- Baltic -- Belarus; Geology, Stratigraphic -- Quaternary -- Periodicals; Stratigraphie -- Quaternaire -- Périodiques; 551.79
• DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.059
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1040-6182

Abstract

Abstract: New pollen based reconstructions of summer (May-to-August) and winter (December-to-February) temperatures between 15 and 8 ka BP along a S–N transect in the Baltic–Belarus (BB) area display trends in temporal and spatial changes in climate variability. These results are completed by two chironomid-based July mean temperature reconstructions. The magnitude of change compared with modern temperatures was more prominent in the northern part of BB area. The 4 C° winter and 2 C° summer warming at the start of GI-1 was delayed in the BB area and Lateglacial maximum temperatures were reached at ca 13.6 ka BP, being 4 C° colder than the modern mean. The Younger Dryas cooling in the area was 5 C° colder than present, as inferred by all proxies. In addition, our analyses show an early Holocene divergence in winter temperature trends with modern values reaching 1 ka earlier (10 ka BP) in southern BB compared to the northern part of the region (9 ka BP).