Holocene multi-proxy environmental reconstruction from lake Hakluytvatnet, Amsterdamøya Island, Svalbard (79.5°N). (1st March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gjerde, Marthe; Bakke, Jostein; D'Andrea, William J.; Balascio, Nicholas L.; Bradley, Raymond S.; Vasskog, Kristian; Ólafsdóttir, Sædis; Røthe, Torgeir O.; Perren, Bianca B.; Hormes, Anne
• Is Part Of: Quaternary science reviews. Volume 183(2018)
• Page Start: 164
• Page End: 176
• Publication Date: 2018-03-01
• Subjects: Holocene -- Neoglacial -- Paleolimnology -- Lake sediments -- Runoff -- Svalbard -- Arctic ocean -- Sedimentology, lakes, lagoons & swamps -- Multi-proxy analyses; Geology, Stratigraphic -- Quaternary -- Periodicals; Stratigraphie -- Quaternaire -- Périodiques; 551.79
• DOI: 10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.02.017
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0277-3791

Abstract

Abstract: High resolution proxy records of past climate are sparse in the Arctic due to low organic production that restricts the use of radiocarbon dating and challenging logistics that make data collection difficult. Here, we present a new lake record from lake Hakluytvatnet at Amsterdamøya island (79.5°N), the northwesternmost island on Svalbard. Multi-proxy analyses of lake sediments in combination with geomorphological mapping reveal large environmental shifts that have taken place at Amsterdamøya during the Holocene. A robust chronology has been established for the lake sediment core through 28 AMS radiocarbon ages, and this gives an exceptionally well-constrained age control for a lake at this latitude. The Holocene was a period with large changes in the Hakluytvatnet catchment, and the onset of the Neoglacial (ca. 5 ka) marks the start of modern-day conditions in the catchment. The Neoglacial is characterized by fluctuations in the minerogenic input to the lake as well as internal productivity, and we suggest that these fluctuations are driven by atmospherically forced precipitation changes as well as sea ice extent modulating the amount of moisture that can reach Hakluytvatnet. Highlights: A high-Arctic lake record reveals large environmental shifts during the Holocene. A robust chronology has been established through 28 AMS radiocarbon ages. We assert the potential of a high-Arctic lake to record hydroclimate changes.