Pollen record and calculated holocene vegetation and climate dynamics from Sihailongwan Maar Lake, NE China

High-resolution palynological analysis on annually laminated sediments of Sihailongwan Maar Lake (SHL) provides new insights into the Holocene vegetation and climate dynamics of NE China. The robust chronology of the presented record is based on varve counting and AMS radiocarbon dates from terrestrial plant macro-remains. In addition to the qualitative interpretation of the pollen data, we provide quantitative reconstructions of vegetation and climate based on the method of biomization and weighted averaging partial least squares regression (WA-PLS) technique, respectively. Power spectra were computed to investigate the frequency domain distribution of proxy signals and potential natural periodicities. Pollen assemblages, pollen-derived biome scores and climate variables as well as the cyclicity pattern indicate that NE China experienced significant changes in temperature and moisture conditions during the Holocene. Within the earliest phase of the Holocene, a large-scale reorganization of vegetation occurred, reflecting the reconstructed shift towards higher temperatures and precipitation values and the initial Holocene strengthening and northward expansion of the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM). Afterwards, summer temperatures remain at a high level, whereas the reconstructed precipitation shows an increasing trend until approximately 4000 cal. yr BP. Since 3500 cal. yr BP, temperature and precipitation values decline, indicating moderate cooling and weakening of the EASM. A distinct periodicity of 550-600 years and evidence of a Mid-Holocene transition from a temperature-triggered to a predominantly moisture-triggered climate regime are derived from the power spectra analysis. The results obtained from SHL are largely consistent with other palaeoenvironmental records from NE China, substantiating the regional nature of the reconstructed vegetation and climate patterns. However, the reconstructed climate changes contrast with the moisture evolution recorded in S China and the mid-latitude (semi-)arid regions of N China. Whereas a clear insolation-related trend of monsoon intensity over the Holocene is lacking from the SHL record, variations in the coupled atmosphere-Pacific Ocean system can largely explain the reconstructed changes in NE China.

Age models for ODP Leg 172 sites

Ten ODP sites drilled in a depth transect (2164-4775 m water depth) during Leg 172 recovered high-deposition rate (>20 cm/kyr) sedimentary sections from sediment drifts in the western North Atlantic. For each site an age model covering the past 0.8-0.9 Ma has been developed. The time scales have a resolution of 10-20 kyr and are derived by tuning variations of estimated carbonate content to the orbital parameters precession and obliquity. Based on the similarity in the signature of proxy records and the spectral character of the time series, the sites are divided into two groups: precession cycles are better developed in carbonate records from a group of shallow sites (2164-2975 m water depth, Sites 1055-1058) while the deeper sites (2995-4775 m water depth, Sites 1060-1063) are characterized by higher spectral density in the obliquity band. The resulting time scales show excellent coherence with other dated carbonate and isotope records from low latitudes. Besides the typical Milankovitch cyclicity significant variance of the resulting carbonate time series is concentrated at millennial-scale changes with periods of about 12, 6, 4, 2.5, and 1.5 kyr. Comparisons of carbonate records from the Blake Bahama Outer Ridge and the Bermuda Rise reveal a remarkable similarity in the time and frequency domain indicating a basin-wide uniform sedimentation pattern during the last 0.9 Ma.

Parameters of the Earths orbit for the last 5 Million years in 1 kyr resolution

New values for the astronomical parameters of the Earth's orbit and rotation (eccentricity, obliquity and precession) are proposed for paleoclimatic research related to the Late Miocene, the Pliocene and the Quaternary. They have been obtained from a numerical solution of the Lagrangian system of the planetary point masses and from an analytical solution of the Poisson equations of the Earth-Moon system. The analytical expansion developed in this paper allows the direct determination of the main frequencies with their phase and amplitude. Numerical and analytical comparisons with the former astronomical solution BER78 are performed so that the accuracy and the interval of time over which the new solution is valid can be estimated. The corresponding insolation values have also been computed and compared to the former ones. This analysis leads to the conclusion that the new values are expected to be reliable over the last 5 Ma in the time domain and at least over the last 10 Ma in the frequency domain.

Continuous condensation particle (CP) observations from 1984 through 2009 at Neumayer Station, Antacrtica

Continuous condensation particle (CP) observations were conducted from 1984 through 2009 at Neumayer Station under stringent contamination control. During this period, the CP concentration (median 258 1/cm**3) showed no significant long term trend but exhibited a pronounced seasonality characterized by a stepwise increase starting in September and reaching its annual maximum of around 10**3/cm**3 in March. Minimum values below 10**2/cm**3 were observed during June/July. Dedicated time series analyses in the time and frequency domain revealed no significant correlations between inter-annual CP concentration variations and atmospheric circulation indices like Southern Annular Mode (SAM) or Southern Ocean Index (SOI). The impact of the Pinatubo volcanic eruption and strong El Niño events did not affect CP concentrations. From thermodenuder experiments we deduced that the portion of volatile (at 125 °C) and semi-volatile (at 250 °C) particles which could be both associated with biogenic sulfur aerosol, was maximum during austral summer, while during winter non-volatile sea salt particles dominated. During September through April we could frequently observe enhanced concentrations of ultrafine particles within the nucleation mode (between 3 nm and 7 nm particle diameter), preferentially in the afternoon.

Age models of five ice cores from the Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

For the first time, annually resolved accumulation rates have been determined in central Antarctica by means of counting seasonal signals of ammonium, calcium, and sodium. All records, obtained from three intermediate depth ice cores from Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, show rather constant accumulation rates throughout the last 9 centuries with mean values of 63, 61, and 44 mm H2O yr**-1 and a typical year-to-year variation of about 30%. For the last few decades, no trend was detected accounting for the high natural variability of all records. A significant weak intersite correlation is apparent only between two cores when the high-frequency part with periods less than 30 years is removed. By analyzing the records in the frequency domain, no persistent periods were found. This suggests that the snow accumulation in this area is mainly influenced by local deposition patterns and may be additionally masked by redistribution of snow due to wind. By comparing accumulation rates over the last 2 millennia a distinct change in the layer thickness in one of the three cores was found, which might be attributed either to an area upstream of the drilling site with lower accumulation rates, or to deposition processes influenced by surface undulations. The missing of a clear correlation between the accumulation rate histories at the three locations is also important for the interpretation of small, short time variations of past precipitation records obtained from deep ice cores.

Stable isotopes and calcium carbonate at DSDP Holes 85-574 and 85-574A

Detailed stable isotopic and calcium carbonate records (with a sampling resolution of 3000 yr.) from the middle Miocene section of hydraulic piston corer (HPC) Hole 574A provide a sequence that records the major shift in the oxygen isotopic composition of the world's oceans that occurred at about 14 Ma. The data suggest that this transition was rapid and spans about 30,000 yr. of sediment deposition. In intervals before and after the shift, the mean d18O values are characterized by a constant mean with a high degree of variability. The degree of variability in both the d18O and d13C records is comparable to that observed for the Pliocene and earliest Pleistocene and does not show a significant change before or after the major shift in the d18O record. Whereas the oxygen isotopic record is characterized by relatively stable mean values before and after the middle Miocene event, the d13C record shows a number of significant offsets in the mean value separated by intervals of high-frequency variations. Time and frequency domain analysis of all records from Hole 574A indicate that the frequency components shown to be related to orbital changes in the Pleistocene record are also present in the middle Miocene. The high variability observed in the Site 574 isotopic records places important constraints on models describing the role of formation of the Antarctic ice sheet during the middle Miocene climatic transitions. Thus, HPC Hole 574A provides a valuable sequence for detailed study of climatic variability during an important time in the Earth's history, although we cannot provide a definitive explanation of the major oxygen isotopic event of the middle Miocene.

Soil temperature along a plant diversity gradient in the Jena Experiment (Main Experiment, 2013)

Soil temperature (in °C) was determined using a frequency domain sensor probe (WET-2 Sensor, Delta-T Devices, Cambridge, United Kingdom) on 1st August 2013. The device was inserted from the top 6 cm deep (length of the prongs) into the soil. The average of three measurements on the same day was calculated. All data where measured in the main experiment plots of a large grassland biodiversity experiment (the Jena Experiment; see further details below). In the main experiment, 82 grassland plots of 20 x 20 m were established from a pool of 60 species belonging to four functional groups (grasses, legumes, tall and small herbs). In May 2002, varying numbers of plant species from this species pool were sown in the plots to create a gradient of plant species richness (1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 60 species) and functional richness (1, 2, 3, or 4 functional groups). Plots were maintained by bi-annual weeding and mowing.