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Mid- to late Holocene environmental and climatic changes in New Caledonia, southwest tropical Pacific, inferred from the littoral plain Gouaro-Déva

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Denis Wirrmann ,
Anne-Marie Sémah ,
Jean-Pierre Debenay  and
Magali Chacornac-Rault
Denis Wirrmann*
Affiliation:
Centre IRD France Nord, Unité 182, Paléoproxus, Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat: Expérimentation et Approches Numériques, LOCEAN UMR 7159 (IRD/CNRS/UPMC/MNHN) - Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace, 32 Avenue Henri Varagnat, 93143 Bondy cedex, France
Anne-Marie Sémah
Affiliation:
Centre IRD France Nord, Unité 182, Paléoproxus, Laboratoire d'Océanographie et du Climat: Expérimentation et Approches Numériques, LOCEAN UMR 7159 (IRD/CNRS/UPMC/MNHN) - Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace, 32 Avenue Henri Varagnat, 93143 Bondy cedex, France
Jean-Pierre Debenay
Affiliation:
Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD), UR PALÉOTROPIQUE, BP A5, 98848 Nouméa cedex, Nouvelle-Calédonie
Magali Chacornac-Rault
Affiliation:
Dpt. de Préhistoire, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, (MNHN) UMR 7194, USM 204, 1 rue René Panhard, 75013 Paris, France
*
⁎Corresponding author. Fax: + 33 148 025 554. E-mail address:denis.wirrmann@ird.fr (D. Wirrmann).
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Abstract

Multiproxy analysis of three littoral cores from western New Caledonia supports the hypothesis that the main controlling factors of environmental changes are sea-level change, ENSO variability and extra-tropical phenomena, such as the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) marked by a tendency for La Niña-like conditions in the tropical Pacific. The record starts during the late Holocene sea-level rise when the terrestrial vegetation indicated wet and cool conditions. The site was a coastal bay definitely transformed into a freshwater swamp at around 3400 cal yr BP, after the rapid drawdown of sea level to its current level. Sediments and foraminiferal assemblages indicated subsequent episodes of freshwater infillings, emersion or very high-energy conditions, likely related to climatic changes and mostly controlled by ENSO variability. Between 2750 and 2000 cal yr BP, relatively dry and cool climate prevailed, while wetter conditions predominated between ca. 1800 and 900 cal yr BP. The Rhizophoraceae peak between ca. 1080 and 750 cal yr BP, coeval with the MWP, may indicate a global phenomenon. Microcharcoal particles present throughout the record increased after 1500 cal yr BP, suggesting an anthropogenic source. From ca. 750 cal yr BP the appearance of current type of vegetation marks the human impact.

Keywords

New CaledoniaLittoral swampHoloceneRelative sea levelENSOMedieval Warm PeriodExtreme eventSedimentologyForaminiferaPollen
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 76 , Issue 2 , September 2011 , pp. 229 - 242
Copyright
University of Washington

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