Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T10:38:08.137Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Quantitative Reconstruction of Younger Dryas to Mid-Holocene Paleoclimates at Le Locle, Swiss Jura, Using Pollen and Lake-Level Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Michel Magny
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Chrono-Ecologie, CNRS-UMR 6565, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, 16 route de Gray, 25030 Besançon, France, E-mail: michel.magny@univ-fcomte.fr
Joël Guiot
Affiliation:
Insitut Méditerranéen d'Ecologie et Paléoécologie, CNRS-UPRES A 6116, Faculté de St-Jérôme, case 451, Marseille Cedex 20, 13397, France
Patrick Schoellammer
Affiliation:
Service Archéologique Cantonal, 59 Avenue du Mail, Neuchâtel, 2000, Switzerland

Abstract

Pollen and lake-level data from Le Locle in the Swiss Jura were used to quantitatively reconstruct climatic parameters for the Younger Dryas event and the first half of the Holocene period. The Younger Dryas cold event at Le Locle was characterized by (i) a general trend toward a slight increase in summer temperature and a decrease in annual precipitation and (ii) a marked drying phase at ca. 11,900 cal yr B.P. that occurred between two wetter ones. Further phases of major deficit in moisture occured at ca. 11,500 cal yr B.P. (Younger Dryas-Holocene transition), 10,800 cal yr B.P., 8700 cal yr B.P., and 6500 cal yr B.P. Climatic parameters reconstructed here suggest that phases of higher lake level developing at ca. 12,500–12,000, 11,750–11,600, 11,200–10,900 (synchronous with the Preboreal oscillation), 10,400–8900, 8400–8300 (possibly related to the 8200 yr event), and 7800–7000 cal yr B.P. coincided with an increase in annual precipitation, a decrease in summer temperature, and a shorter growing season. Conversely, periods of low lake level corresponded to a decrease in annual precipitation, an increase in summer temperature, and a longer growing season. This general pattern could have resulted from alternate southward-northward displacements of the Atlantic Westerly Jet.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aalbersberg, G, Beets, C.J, Vandenberghe, J.F, Coevert, Natural climate variability on the Lateglacial: High resolution stable isotope analyses and geochemistry from Jura lakes (Eastern France). Terra Nostra 10, (1999). 15 18.Google Scholar
Alley, R.B, Meese, D.A, Shuman, C.A, Gow, A.S, Taylor, K.C, Grootes, P.M, White, J.W.C, Ram, M, Waddington, E.D, Mayewski, P.A, and Zielinski, G.A Abrupt increase in Greenland snow accumulation at the end of the Younger Dryas event. Nature 362, (1993). 527 529.Google Scholar
Alley, R.B, Mayewski, P.A, Sowers, T, Stuiver, M, Taylor, K.C, and Clark, P.U Holocene climatic instability: a prominent, widespread event 8200 yr ago. Geology 25, (1997). 483 486.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barber, D.C, Dyke, A, Hillaire-Marcel, C, Jennings, A.E, Andrews, J.T, Kerwin, M.W, Bilodeau, G, McNeely, R.M, Southon, J, Morehead, D, and Gagnon, J.M Forcing of the cold event of 8200 years ago by catastrophic drainage of Laurentide lakes. Nature 400, (1999). 344 348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berger, A Insolation signatures of Quaternary climatic changes. Il Nuovo Cimento 2, (1979). 63 87.Google Scholar
Birks, H.H, and Ammann, B Two terrestrial records of rapid climatic change during the glacial-Holocene transition (14 000–9 000 calendar years BP) from Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA 97, (2000). 1390 1394.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Björck, S, Rundgren, M, Ingolfsson, O, and Funder, S The Preboreal oscillation around the Nordic seas: Terrestrial and lacustrine responses. Journal of Quaternary Science 12, (1997). 455 465.3.0.CO;2-S>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bond, G, Showers, W, Cheseby, M, Lotti, R, Almasi, P, de Menocal, P, Priore, P, Cullen, H, Hajdas, I, and Bonani, G A pervasive millennial-scale cycle in North Atlantic Holocene and Glacial climates. Science 278, (1997). 1257 1266.Google Scholar
Bortenschlager, S Ursachen and Ausmass postglazialer Waldgrenzschwankungen in den Ostalpen. Frenzel, B Dendrochronologie und postglaziale Klimaschwankungen in Europa. (1977). Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden. 260 266.Google Scholar
Brauer, A, Gunter, C, Johnsen, S.J, and Negendank, J.F.W Land-ice teleconnections of cold climatic periods during the last Glacial/Interglacial transition. Climate Dynamics 16, (2000). 229 239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheddadi, R, Yu, G, Guiot, J, Harrison, S.P, and Prentice, I.C The climate 6000 years ago in Europe. Climate Dynamics 13, (1997). 1 9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
de Beaulieu, J.-L, Richard, H, Ruffaldi, P, and Clerc, J History of vegetation, climate and human action in the French Alps and the Jura over the last 15 000 years. Dissertationes Botanicae 234, (1994). 253 276.Google Scholar
Digerfeldt, G Reconstruction and regional correlation of Holocene lake-level fluctuations in lake Bysjön, South Sweden. Boreas 17, (1988). 165 182.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Digerfeldt, G, de Beaulieu, J.-L, Guiot, J, and Mouthon, J Reconstruction and paleoclimatic interpretation of Holocene lake-level changes in Lac de Saint-Leger, Haute Provence, southeast France. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 136, (1997). 231 258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grafenstein (von), U, Erlenkeuser, H, Müller, J, Jouzel, J, and Johnsen, S The cold event 8200 years ago documented in oxygen isotope records of precipitation in Europe and Greenland. Climate Dynamics 14, (1998). 73 81.Google Scholar
Grafenstein, (von), U, Eicher, U, Erlenkeuser, H, Ruch, P, Schwander, J, and Ammann, B Isotope signature of the Younger Dryas and two minor oscillations at Gerzensee (Switzerland): Palaeoclimatic and palaeolimnologic interpretation based on bulk and biogenic carbonates. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 159, (2000). 215 229.Google Scholar
Guiot, J, Beaulieu, J.-L.de, Cheddadi, R, David, F, Ponel, P, and Reille, M The climate in Western Europe during the last Glacial/Interglacial cycle derived from pollen and insect remains. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology 103, (1993). 73 93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guiot, J, Harrison, S.P, and Prentice, I.C Reconstruction of Holocene pattern of moisture in Europe using pollen and lake-level data. Quaternary Research 40, (1993). 139 149.Google Scholar
Haas, J.N, Richoz, I, Tinner, W, and Wick, L Synchronous Holocene climatic oscillations recorded on the Swiss Plateau and at the timberline in the Alps. The Holocene 8, (1998). 301 304.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, S. P., Prentice, I. C., and Bartlein, P. J. (1991). What climate models can tell us about the Holocene palaeoclimates of Europe. in Paläoklimaforschung/Paleoclimate Research 6, Special Issue: ESF Project European Paleoclimate and Man, Frenzel, B., Ed., vol. 1, pp. 285299.Google Scholar
Harrison, S.P, and Digerfeldt, G European lakes as palaeohydrological and palaeoclimatic indicators. Quaternary Science Reviews 12, (1993). 233 248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, S.P, Prentice, I.C, and Guiot, J Climatic controls on Holocene lake-level changes in Europe. Climate Dynamics 8, (1993). 189 200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huntley, B Rapid early-Holocene migration and high abundance of hazel (Corylus avellana L.): Alternative hypotheses. Chambers, F.M Climate change and human impact on the landscape. (1993). Chapman and Hall, London. 205 216.Google Scholar
Isarin, R. (1997). The climate in north-western Europe during the Younger Dryas. A comparison of multi-proxy climate reconstructions with simulation experiments. Ph.D. dissertation, Free University, Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Isarin, R.F.B, and Bohncke, S Mean July temperatures during the Younger Dryas in Northwestern and Central Europe as inferred from climate indicator plant species. Quaternary Research 51, (1999). 158 173.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isarin, R.F.B, Renssen, H, and Vandenberghe, J The impact of the North Atlantic ocean on the Younger Dryas climate in northwestern and central Europe. Journal of Quaternary Science 13, (1998). 447 453.Google Scholar
Johnsen, S.J, Clausen, H.B, Dansgaard, W, Fuhrer, K, Gundenstrup, N, Hammer, C.U, Iversen, P, Jouzel, J, Stauffer, B, and Steffensen, J.P Irregular glacial interstadials record in a new Greenland ice core. Nature 359, (1992). 311 313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karpuz, N.K, and Jansen, E A high-resolution diatom record of the last deglaciation from the SE Norwegian Sea: Documentation of rapid climatic changes. Paleoceanography 7, (1992). 499 520.Google Scholar
Klitgaard-Kristensen, D, Sejrup, H.-P, Haflidason, H, Johnsen, S, and Spurk, M A regional 8200 cal. yr BP cooling event in northwest Europe, induced by final stages of the Laurentide ice-sheet deglaciation. Journal of Quaternary Science 13, (1998). 165 169.3.0.CO;2-#>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lotter, A.F, Eicher, U, Siegenthaler, U, and Birks, H.J.B Late-glacial climatic oscillations as recorded in Swiss lake sediments. Journal of Quaternary Science 7, (1992). 187 204.Google Scholar
Lowe, J Climate changes in areas adjacent to the North Atlantic during the last Glacial-Interglacial transition. Journal of Quaternary Science 9, (1994). 93 198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magny, M Holocene fluctuations of lake levels in the French Jura and Subalpine ranges and their implications for past general circulation pattern. The Holocene 3, (1993). 306 313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magny, M Palaeohydrological changes in Jura (France), and climatic oscillations around the North Atlantic from Allerod to Preboreal. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 49, (1995). 401 408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magny, M Reconstruction of Holocene lake-level changes in the Jura (France): methods and results. Harrison, S.P, Frenzel, B, Huckried, U, and Weiss, M Palaeohydrology as reflected in lake-level changes as climatic evidence for Holocene times. (1998). Gustav Fisher Verlag, Stuttgart. 67 85.Google Scholar
Magny, M Lake-level fluctuations in the Jura and French subalpine ranges associated with ice-rafting events in the North Atlantic and variations in the polar atmospheric circulation. Quaternaire 10, (1999). 61 64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magny, M. (in press), Palaeohydrological changes as reflected by lake-level fluctuations in the Swiss Plateau, the Jura mountains and the northern French Pre-Alps during the Last Glacial-Holocene transition.: A regional synthesis, Global and Planetary Change.Google Scholar
Magny, M, and Richoz, I Holocene lake-level fluctuations in Lake Seedorf, southern Swiss Plateau. Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae 91, (1998). 345 357.Google Scholar
Magny, M, and Ruffaldi, P Younger Dryas and early Holocene lake-level fluctuations in the Jura mountains, France. Boreas 24, (1995). 155 172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magny, M, and Schoellammer, P Lake-level fluctuations at Le Locle, Swiss Jura, from the Younger Dryas to the mid-Holocene: A high-resolution record of climate oscillations during the final deglaciation. Géographie Physique et Quaternaire 53, (1999). 183 197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magny, M, Marguet, A, Chassepot, G, Richard, H, and Billaud, Y Early and late Holocene water-level fluctuations of Lake Annecy, France: Sediment and pollen evidence and climatic implications. Journal of Paleolimnology 25, (2001). 215 227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magny, M, Schoellammer, P, Richard, H, and Bossuet, G A high-resolution record of late Younger Dryas to mid-Holocene palaeohydrological changes from the palaeolake Le Locle, Swiss Jura. Comptes Rendus Académie des Sciences Paris 326, (1998). 787 793.Google Scholar
Mayewski, P.A, Meeker, L.D, Twickler, M.S, Whitlow, S, Yang, Q, and Prentice, M Major features and forcing of high latitude morthern hemispheric atmospheric circulation using a 110,000 year long glaciochemical series. Journal of Geophysical Research 102, (1997). 26345 26366.Google Scholar
Overpeck, J.T, Prentice, I.C, and Webb, T Quantitative interpretation of fossil pollen spectra: Dissimilarity coefficients and the method of modern analogs. Quaternary Research 23, (1985). 87 108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patzelt, G Der zeitliche Ablauf und das Ausmass postglazialer Klimaschwankungen in den Alpen. Frenzel, B Dendrochronologie und postglaziale Klimaschwankungen in Europa. (1977). Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden. 248 259.Google Scholar
Patzelt, G The period of glacier advances in the Alps, 1965 to 1980. Zeitschrift für Gletscherkunde and Glazialgeologie 21, (1985). 403 407.Google Scholar
Peñalba, M.C, Arnold, M, Guiot, J, Duplessy, J.C, and de Beaulieu, J.-L Termination of the last glaciation in the Iberian peninsula inferred from the pollen sequence of Quintanar de la Sierra. Quaternary Research 48, (1997). 205 214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prentice, I.C, Cramer, W, Harrison, S.P, Leemans, R, Monserud, R.A, and Solomon, A.M A global biome model based on plant physiology and dominance, soil properties and climate. Journal of Biogeography 19, (1992). 117 134.Google Scholar
Prentice, I.C, Guiot, J, Huntley, B, Jolly, D, and Cheddadi, R Reconstructing biomes from palaeoecological data: A general method and its application to European pollen data at 0 and 6 ka. Climate Dynamics 12, (1996). 185 194.Google Scholar
Renssen, H, Isarin, R. F. B, Vandenberghe, J, and workshop participants (in press), Rapid climatic warming at the end of the last glacial: New perspectives, Global and Planetary Change.Google Scholar
Vandenberghe, J Changing fluvial processes in small lowland valleys at the end of the Weichselian Pleniglacial and during the Lateglacial. (1987). Wiley, Manchester. p. 731744.Google Scholar
Vassiljev, J. (1997). Simulating the paleorecord of northern European lakes using a coupled lake-catchment model. Lundqua Thesis 41.Google Scholar
Yu, G, and Harrison, S.P Holocene changes in atmospheric circulation patterns as shown by lake status changes in northern Europe. Boreas 24, (1995). 260 268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zoller, H Alter und Ausmass postglazialer Klimaschwankungen in den Schweizer Alpen. Frenzel, B Dendrochronologie und postglaziale Klimaschwankungen in Europa. (1977). Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden. 271 281.Google Scholar