TY - JOUR
T1 - Vegetation and environmental changes during the last interglacial in eastern Anatolia (Turkey)
T2 - A new high-resolution pollen record from Lake Van
AU - Pickarski, Nadine
AU - Kwiecien, Ola
AU - Djamali, Morteza
AU - Litt, Thomas
PY - 2015/10/1
Y1 - 2015/10/1
N2 - A high-resolution multi-proxy record from Lake Van, eastern Anatolia, derived from a lacustrine sequence cored at the 357m deep Ahlat Ridge (AR), allows a comprehensive view of paleoclimate and environmental history in the continental Near East during the last interglacial (LI). We combined paleovegetation (pollen), stable oxygen isotope (δ18Obulk) and XRF data from the same sedimentary sequence, showing distinct variations during the period from 135 to 110ka ago leading into and out of full interglacial conditions. The last interglacial plateau, as defined by the presence of thermophilous steppe-forest communities, lasted ca. 13.5ka, from ~129.1-115.6ka BP.The detailed palynological sequence at Lake Van documents a vegetation succession with several climatic phases: (I) the Pistacia zone (ca. 131.2-129.1. ka BP) indicates summer dryness and mild winter conditions during the initial warming, (II) the Quercus-. Ulmus zone (ca. 129.1-127.2. ka BP) occurred during warm and humid climate conditions with enhanced evaporation, (III) the Carpinus zone (ca. 127.2-124.1. ka BP) suggest increasingly cooler and wetter conditions, and (IV) the expansion of Pinus at ~. 124.1. ka BP marks the onset of a colder/drier environment that extended into the interval of global ice growth. Pollen data suggest migration of thermophilous trees from refugial areas at the beginning of the last interglacial. Analogous to the current interglacial, the migration documents a time lag between the onset of climatic amelioration and the establishment of an oak steppe-forest, spanning 2.1. ka. Hence, the major difference between the last interglacial compared to the current interglacial (Holocene) is the abundance of Pinus as well as the decrease of deciduous broad-leaved trees, indicating higher continentality during the last interglacial. Finally, our results demonstrate intra-interglacial variability in the low mid-latitudes and suggest a close connection with the high-frequency climate variability recorded in Greenland ice cores.
AB - A high-resolution multi-proxy record from Lake Van, eastern Anatolia, derived from a lacustrine sequence cored at the 357m deep Ahlat Ridge (AR), allows a comprehensive view of paleoclimate and environmental history in the continental Near East during the last interglacial (LI). We combined paleovegetation (pollen), stable oxygen isotope (δ18Obulk) and XRF data from the same sedimentary sequence, showing distinct variations during the period from 135 to 110ka ago leading into and out of full interglacial conditions. The last interglacial plateau, as defined by the presence of thermophilous steppe-forest communities, lasted ca. 13.5ka, from ~129.1-115.6ka BP.The detailed palynological sequence at Lake Van documents a vegetation succession with several climatic phases: (I) the Pistacia zone (ca. 131.2-129.1. ka BP) indicates summer dryness and mild winter conditions during the initial warming, (II) the Quercus-. Ulmus zone (ca. 129.1-127.2. ka BP) occurred during warm and humid climate conditions with enhanced evaporation, (III) the Carpinus zone (ca. 127.2-124.1. ka BP) suggest increasingly cooler and wetter conditions, and (IV) the expansion of Pinus at ~. 124.1. ka BP marks the onset of a colder/drier environment that extended into the interval of global ice growth. Pollen data suggest migration of thermophilous trees from refugial areas at the beginning of the last interglacial. Analogous to the current interglacial, the migration documents a time lag between the onset of climatic amelioration and the establishment of an oak steppe-forest, spanning 2.1. ka. Hence, the major difference between the last interglacial compared to the current interglacial (Holocene) is the abundance of Pinus as well as the decrease of deciduous broad-leaved trees, indicating higher continentality during the last interglacial. Finally, our results demonstrate intra-interglacial variability in the low mid-latitudes and suggest a close connection with the high-frequency climate variability recorded in Greenland ice cores.
KW - Intra-interglacial climate variability
KW - Lake Van
KW - Last interglacial
KW - Pollen
KW - Stable oxygen isotope
KW - XRF
U2 - 10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.06.015
DO - 10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.06.015
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84934914233
VL - 435
SP - 145
EP - 158
JO - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
JF - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
SN - 0031-0182
ER -
