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Decadal-scale autumn temperature reconstruction back to AD 1580 inferred from the varved sediments of Lake Silvaplana (Southeastern Swiss Alps)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Alex Blass ,
Christian Bigler ,
Martin Grosjean  and
Michael Sturm
Alex Blass*
Affiliation:
Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland NCCR Climate, 3012 Berne, Switzerland Department of Physical Geography, University of Berne, 3012 Berne, Switzerland
Christian Bigler
Affiliation:
NCCR Climate, 3012 Berne, Switzerland Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
Martin Grosjean
Affiliation:
NCCR Climate, 3012 Berne, Switzerland Department of Physical Geography, University of Berne, 3012 Berne, Switzerland
Michael Sturm
Affiliation:
Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland
*
*Corresponding author. Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.E-mail address:alex.blass@eawag.ch (A. Blass).
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Abstract

A quantitative high-resolution autumn (September–November) temperature reconstruction for the southeastern Swiss Alps back to AD 1580 is presented here. We used the annually resolved biogenic silica (diatoms) flux derived from the accurately dated and annually sampled sediments of Lake Silvaplana (46°27′N, 9°48′E, 1800 m a.s.l.). The biogenic silica flux smoothed by means of a 9-yr running mean was calibrated (r=0.70, p<0.01) against local instrumental temperature data (AD 1864–1949). The resulting reconstruction (± 2 standard errors=±0.7 °C) indicates that autumns during the late Little Ice Age were generally cooler than they were during the 20th century. During the cold anomaly around AD 1600 and during the Maunder Minimum, however, the reconstructed autumn temperatures did not experience strong negative departures from the 20th-century mean. The warmest autumns prior to 1900 occurred around AD 1770 and 1820 (0.75 °C above the 20th-century mean). Our data agree closely with two other autumn temperature reconstructions for the Alps and for Europe that are based on documentary evidence and are completely unrelated to our data, revealing a very consistent picture over the centuries.

Keywords

SedimentologyGeochemistryLimnologyClimate changeBiogenic silicaLittle Ice AgeDiatoms
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 68 , Issue 2 , September 2007 , pp. 184 - 195
Copyright
University of Washington

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