Vegetation and environmental dynamics in the southern Black Sea region since 18 kyr BP derived from the marine core 22-GC3

Sediments from the Black Sea, a region historically dominated by forests and steppe landscapes, are a valuable source of detailed information on the changes in regional terrestrial and aquatic environments at decadal to millennial scales. Here we present multi-proxy environmental records (pollen, dinoflagellate cysts, Ca, Ti and oxygen isotope data) from the uppermost 305 cm of the core 22-GC3 (42°13.53′N, 36°29.55′E) collected from a water depth of 838 m in the southern part of the Black Sea in 2007. The records span the last ~ 18 kyr (all ages are given in cal kyr BP). The pollen data reveal the dominance of the Artemisia-steppe in the region, suggesting rather dry/cold environments ~ 18–14.5 kyr BP. Warming/humidity increase during melt-water pulses (~ 16.1–14.5 kyr BP), indicated by δ18O records from the 22-GC3 core sediment and from the Sofular Cave stalagmite, is expressed in more negative δ13C values from the Sofular Cave, usually interpreted as the spreading of C3 plants. The records representing the interstadial complex (~ 14.5–12.9 kyr BP) show an increase in temperature and moisture, indicated by forest development, increased primary productivity and reduced surface run-off, whereas the switch from primary terrigenous to primary authigenic Ca origin occurs ~ 500 yr later. The Younger Dryas cooling is clearly demonstrated by more negative δ13C values from the Sofular Cave and a reduction of pines. The early Holocene (11.7–8.5 kyr BP) interval reveals relatively dry conditions compared to the mostly moist and warm middle Holocene (8.5–5 kyr BP), which is characterized by the establishment of the species-rich warm mixed and temperate deciduous forests in the low elevation belt, temperate deciduous beech-hornbeam forests in the middle and cool conifer forest in upper mountain belt. The border between the early and middle Holocene in the vegetation records coincides with the opening of the Mediterranean corridor at ~ 8.3 kyr BP, as indicated by a marked change in the dinocyst assemblages and in the sediment lithology. Changes in the pollen assemblages indicate a reduction in forest cover after ~ 5 kyr BP, which was likely caused by increased anthropogenic pressure on the regional vegetation.

Occurrence of Groundnut ringspot virus on Brazilian peanut crops

A high incidence of plants with mosaic, chlorotic spots, ringspots, necrosis, smaller leaves, and stunting was observed on peanut crops (Arachis hypogaea L.) in Itapolis, So Paulo State, Brazil. Transmission electron microscope examination of thin sections of infected leaves revealed the presence of spheroidal particles, ca. 80 nm in diameter, suggestive of Tospovirus. A DNA fragment of similar to 600 bp was amplified by RT-PCR from total RNA extracted from infected tissues using primers specific for the nucleocapsid gene of Groundnut ringspot virus (GRSV). Nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the fragments showed high identities with known GRSV isolates.

Vergleichende Sequenzierung und Analyse eines ca. 250 kb großen Bereiches der humanen Chromosomenregion 11p15.3 und der homologen Region der Maus

In der vorliegenden Dissertation wurde im Rahmen des Deutschen Humangenomprojektes ein 243 966 bp grosser genomischer Bereich um das humane Gen WEE1 in der Chromsomenregion 11p15.3 und der 192 519 bp lange orthologe Bereich auf dem murinen Chromosom 7 anhand von PAC-Klonen sequenziert. Der Sequenzierung ging die Erstellung von PAC-Klon-Contigs voraus, welche die zu untersuchenden genomischen Regionen in Mensch und Maus lückenlos abdecken. Nach der Etablierung von Hochdurchsatzmethoden zur Probenherstellung und –verarbeitung wurden die Konsensussequenzen in Mensch und Maus ermittelt. Zur Identifizierung aller Gene wurde die Sequenz einer Kombination von Datenbanksuchen, computergestützten Exonvorhersageprogrammen und der komparativen Sequenzanalyse mit Hilfe von Dotplot- und PIP-Darstellungen unterzogen. In den untersuchten genomischen Regionen der beiden Spezies konnten insgesamt drei orthologe Genpaare (WEE1, ZNF143 und RanBP7) und ein humanes Pseudogen (Pseudogen L23a) lokalisiert werden.Das am Zellzyklus beteiligte WEE1-Gen, das auch als Ausgangspunkt für die Isolierung der PAC-Klone zur Erstellung der genomischen Contigs diente, ist sowohl in der humanen als auch in der murinen Sequenz vollständig enthalten. Hierbei konnte die publizierte mRNA-Sequenz des murinen Wee1-Gens, unterstützt von EST-Daten, korrigiert werden. Sowohl das ZNF143-Gen als auch sein murines Orthologes, mStaf, sind in den genomischen Sequenzen vollständig enthalten. Somit muss die in 11p15.4 publizierte Lokalisation des ZNF143-Gens in die Region 11p15.3 berichtigt werden. Weiterhin wurde die cDNA-Sequenz des humanen ZNF143-Gens um ein bisher noch nicht beschriebenes Exon im 5´-Bereich und die des murinen mStaf-Gens um knapp 170 bp im 3´-Bereich verlängert. Der in der ZNF143-mRNA-Sequenz publizierte 3´-UTR konnte in der vorliegenden genomischen Sequenz nicht lokalisiert werden. Es scheint sich hierbei um ein von Chromosom 14 stammendes Klonierungsartefakt zu handeln. Das im Menschen beschriebene RanBP7-Gen wurde mit Ausnahme des Exons 1 vollständig in der untersuchten genomischen Sequenz lokalisiert. Über Datenbank-Suchen konnte ein EST-Klon identifiziert werden, der die bisher bekannte RanBP7-mRNA um knapp 2,4 kb in den 3´-Bereich hinein verlängert. Eine Bestätigung der Transkriptlänge erfolgte über Northern Blot-Analyse. Das bisher unbekannte murine Orthologe, mRanBP7, konnte aufgrund komparativer Sequenzanalyse und Datenbanksuchen in der vorliegenden genomischen Maus-Sequenz ermittelt werden, wobei die Sequenz über RT-PCR-Experimente generiert und die Transkriptlänge durch Northern Blot-Analyse bestätigt werden konnte. Neben den drei bekannten Genen konnte in der humanen Sequenz darüber hinaus ein Pseudogen (Pseudogen L23a) identifiziert werden, welches über einen Bereich von 549 bp eine 92%-ige Sequenzidentität zu dem humanen ribosomalen Protein L23a aufweist und die typischen, 13 bp langen direkten Sequenzwiederholungen besitzt. Acht der insgesamt 10 Nukleotidaustausche führen im Vergleich zu L23a zu einem Aminosäureaustausch, wodurch u. a. ein vorzeitiger Translations-Stop bedingt ist. Die komparative Sequenzanalyse deckte neben den konservierten Gen-Bereichen zwischen Mensch und Maus insgesamt vier konservierte Bereiche auf. Bei der Analyse dieser Regionen mit Hilfe von EST-Daten bzw. Exonvorhersageprogrammen konnte jedoch keiner dieser vier konservierten Regionen eine eindeutige kodierende Funktion nachgewiesen werden. Es könnte sich hierbei somit um funktionell bedeutsame regulatorische Regionen handeln. Die Analysen der ermittelten genomischen Sequenzen zeigten, dass der Anteil an repetitiven Elementen mit 55,26% in der untersuchten humanengenomischen Region gegenüber der murinen Sequenz (41,87%) deutlich erhöht ist. Durch die vergleichende Sequenzanalyse können Artefakte in den EST-analysiert und somit die Zuverlässigkeit der verwendeten Exonvorhersage-Programme optimiert werden.Die Ergebnisse der vorliegenden Arbeit zeigen, dass die Kombination von komparativer Sequenzanalyse, Datenbank-Suchen und Exonvorhersageprogrammen die Sicherheit bei der Identifikation von kodierenden Sequenzen stark verbessert.

Climate warming and vegetation response after Heinrich event 1 (16 700–16 000 cal yr BP) in Europe south of the Alps

Chironomids preserved in a sediment core from Lago di Origlio (416 m a.s.l.), a lake in the foreland of the Southern Swiss Alps, allowed quantitative reconstruction of Late Glacial and Early Holocene summer temperatures using a combined Swiss–Norwegian temperature inference model based on chironomid assemblages from 274 lakes. We reconstruct July air temperatures of ca. 10 °C between 17 300 and 16 000 cal yr BP, a rather abrupt warming to ca. 12.0 °C at ca. 16 500–16 000 cal yr BP, and a strong temperature increase at the transition to the Bølling/Allerød interstadial with average temperatures of about 14 °C. During the Younger Dryas and earliest Holocene similar temperatures are reconstructed as for the interstadial. The rather abrupt warming at 16 500–16 000 cal yr BP is consistent with sea-surface temperature as well as speleothem records, which indicate a warming after the end of Heinrich event 1 (sensu stricto) and before the Bølling/Allerød interstadial in southern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. Pollen records from Origlio and other sites in southern Switzerland and northern Italy indicate an early reforestation of the lowlands 2000–1500 yr prior to the large-scale afforestation of Central Europe at the onset of the Bølling/Allerød period at ca. 14 700–14 600 cal yr BP. Our results suggest that these early afforestation processes in the formerly glaciated areas of northern Italy and southern Switzerland have been promoted by increasing temperatures.

Quantitative summer and winter temperature reconstructions from pollen and chironomid data between 15 and 8 ka BP in the Baltic–Belarus area

New pollen based reconstructions of summer (May-to-August) and winter (December-to-February) temperatures between 15 and 8 ka BP along a S-N transect in the Baltic-Belarus (BB) area display trends in temporal and spatial changes in climate variability. These results are completed by two chironomid-based July mean temperature reconstructions. The magnitude of change compared with modern temperatures was more prominent in the northern part of BB area. The 4 C degrees winter and 2 C degrees summer warming at the start of GI-1 was delayed in the BB area and Lateglacial maximum temperatures were reached at ca 13.6 ka BP, being 4 C degrees colder than the modern mean. The Younger Dryas cooling in the area was 5 C degrees colder than present, as inferred by all proxies. In addition, our analyses show an early Holocene divergence in winter temperature trends with modern values reaching 1 ka earlier (10 ka BP) in southern BB compared to the northern part of the region (9 ka BP).

A 22,000 14C year BP sediment and pollen record of climate change from Laguna Miscanti (23°S), northern Chile

Lake sediments and pollen, spores and algae from the high-elevation endorheic Laguna Miscanti (22°45′S, 67°45′W, 4140 m a.s.l., 13.5 km2 water surface, 10 m deep) in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile provide information about abrupt and high amplitude changes in effective moisture. Although the lack of terrestrial organic macrofossils and the presence of a significant 14C reservoir effect make radiocarbon dating of lake sediments very difficult, we propose the following palaeoenvironmental history. An initial shallow freshwater lake (ca. 22,000 14C years BP) disappeared during the extremely dry conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 18,000 14C years BP). That section is devoid of pollen. The late-glacial lake transgression started around 12,000 14C years BP, peaked in two phases between ca. 11,000 and <9000 14C years BP, and terminated around 8000 14C years BP. Effective moisture increased more than three times compared to modern conditions (∼200 mm precipitation), and a relatively dense terrestrial vegetation was established. Very shallow hypersaline lacustrine conditions prevailed during the mid-Holocene until ca. 3600 14C years BP. However, numerous drying and wetting cycles suggest frequent changes in moisture, maybe even individual storms during the mid-Holocene. After several humid spells, modern conditions were reached at ca. 3000 14C years BP. Comparison between limnogeological data and pollen of terrestrial plants suggest century-scale response lags. Relatively constant concentrations of long-distance transported pollen from lowlands east of the Andes suggest similar atmospheric circulation patterns (mainly tropical summer rainfall) throughout the entire period of time. These findings compare favorably with other regional paleoenvironmental data.

Paleolimnological evidence for increased landslide activity due to forest clearing and land-use since 3600 cal BP in the western Swiss Alps

Schwarzsee is located in the western Swiss Alps, in a region that has been affected by numerous landslides during the Holocene, as evidenced by geological surveys. Lacustrine sediments were cored to a depth of 13 m. The vegetation history of the lake's catchment was reconstructed and investigated to identify possible impacts on slope stability. The pollen analyses record development of forest cover during the middle and late Holocene, and provide strong evidence for regional anthropogenic influence such as forest clearing and agricultural activity. Vegetation change is characterized by continuous landscape denudation that begins at ca. 4300 cal. yrs BP, with five distinct pulses of increased deforestation, at 3650, 2700, 1500, 900, and 450 cal. yrs BP. Each pulse can be attributed to increased human impact, recorded by the appearance or increase of specific anthropogenic indicator plant taxa. These periods of intensified deforestation also appear to be correlated with increased landslide activity in the lake's catchment and increased turbidite frequency in the sediment record. Therefore, this study gives new evidence for a strong influence of vegetation changes on slope stability during the middle and late Holocene in the western Swiss Alps, and may be used as a case study for anthropogenically induced landslide activity.

A first chironomid-based summer temperature reconstruction (13–5 ka BP) around 49°N in inland Europe compared with local lake development

Temperature reconstructions for the end of the Pleistocene and the first half of the Holocene based on biotic proxies are rare for inland Europe around 49°N. We analysed a 7 m long sequence of lake deposits in the Vihorlat Mts in eastern Slovakia (820 m a.s.l.). Chironomid head capsules were used to reconstruct mean July temperature (TJuly), other proxies (diatoms, green algae, pollen, geochemistry) were used to reconstruct local environmental changes that might have affected the climate reconstruction, such as epilimnetic total phosphorus concentrations (TP), lake level changes and development of surrounding vegetation. During the Younger Dryas (YD), temperature fluctuated between 7 and 11 °C, with distinct, decadal to centennial scale variations, that agree with other palaeoclimate records in Europe such as δ18O content in stalagmites or Greenland ice cores. The results indicate that the site was somewhat colder than expected from the general south-to-north YD temperature gradient within Europe, possibly because of north-facing exposition. The warmer phases of the YD were characterised by low water level or even complete desiccation of the lake (12,200-12,400 cal yr BP). At the Late-Glacial/Holocene transition TJuly steeply increased from from 11 to 15.5 °C (11,700-11,400 cal yr BP) - the highest TJuly for entire sequence. This rapid climate change was reflected by all proxies as a compositional change and increasing species diversity. The open woodlands of Pinus, Betula, Larix and Picea were replaced by broad-leaved temperate forests dominated by Betula, later by Ulmus and finally by Corylus (ca 9700 cal yr BP). At the same time, input of eroded coarse-grained material into the lake decreased and organic matter (LOI) and biogenic silica increased. The Early-Holocene climate was rather stable till 8700 cal yr BP, with temporary decrease in TJuly around 11,200 cal yr BP. The lake was productive with a well-developed littoral, as indicated by both diatoms and chironomids. A distinct decline of TJuly to 10 °C between 8700 and 8000 cal yr BP was associated with decreasing chironomid diversity and increasing climate moistening indicated by pollen. Tychoplanktonic and phosphorus-demanding diatoms increased which might be explained by hydrological and land-cover changes. Later, a gradual warming started after 7000 cal yr BP and representation of macrophytes, periphytic diatoms and littoral chironomids increased. Our results suggest that the Holocene thermal maximum was taking place unusually early in the Holocene at our study site, but its timing might be affected by topography and mesoclimate. We further demonstrated that temperature changes had coincided with variations in local hydrology

Great Barrier Reef coral element/Ca and stable isotope data and U-Th ages from IODP Expedition 325

Tropical south-western Pacific temperatures are of vital importance to the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), but the role of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the growth of the GBR since the Last Glacial Maximum remains largely unknown. Here we present records of Sr/Ca and d18O for Last Glacial Maximum and deglacial corals that show a considerably steeper meridional SST gradient than the present day in the central GBR. We find a 1-2 °C larger temperature decrease between 17° and 20°S about 20,000 to 13,000 years ago. The result is best explained by the northward expansion of cooler subtropical waters due to a weakening of the South Pacific gyre and East Australian Current. Our findings indicate that the GBR experienced substantial meridional temperature change during the last deglaciation, and serve to explain anomalous deglacial drying of northeastern Australia. Overall, the GBR developed through significant SST change and may be more resilient than previously thought.

Multi-sensor global compilation of mid-Holocene sea surface temperatures, based on Mg/Ca and alkenone palaeothermometry and reconstructions obtained using planktonic foraminifera and organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst

We present and examine a multi-sensor global compilation of mid-Holocene (MH) sea surface temperatures (SST), based on Mg/Ca and alkenone palaeothermometry and reconstructions obtained using planktonic foraminifera and organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst census counts. We assess the uncertainties originating from using different methodologies and evaluate the potential of MH SST reconstructions as a benchmark for climate-model simulations. The comparison between different analytical approaches (time frame, baseline climate) shows the choice of time window for the MH has a negligible effect on the reconstructed SST pattern, but the choice of baseline climate affects both the magnitude and spatial pattern of the reconstructed SSTs. Comparison of the SST reconstructions made using different sensors shows significant discrepancies at a regional scale, with uncertainties often exceeding the reconstructed SST anomaly. Apparent patterns in SST may largely be a reflection of the use of different sensors in different regions. Overall, the uncertainties associated with the SST reconstructions are generally larger than the MH anomalies. Thus, the SST data currently available cannot serve as a target for benchmarking model simulations.

Iron (Fe) concentrations and fluxes in TALDICE ice core 0.6 to 314 ky BP

Atmospheric fluxes of iron (Fe) over the past 200 kyr are reported for the coastal Antarctic Talos Dome ice core, based on acid leachable Fe concentrations. Fluxes of Fe to Talos Dome were consistently greater than those at Dome C, with the greatest difference observed during interglacial climates. We observe different Fe flux trends at Dome C and Talos Dome during the deglaciation and early Holocene, attributed to a combination of deglacial activation of dust sources local to Talos Dome and the reorganisation of atmospheric transport pathways with the retreat of the Ross Sea ice shelf. This supports similar findings based on dust particle sizes and fluxes and Rare Earth Element fluxes. We show that Ca and Fe should not be used as quantitative proxies for mineral dust, as they all demonstrate different deglacial trends at Talos Dome and Dome C. Considering that a 20 ppmv decrease in atmospheric CO2 at the coldest part of the last glacial maximum occurs contemporaneously with the period of greatest Fe and dust flux to Antarctica, we confirm that the maximum contribution of aeolian dust deposition to Southern Ocean sequestration of atmospheric CO2 is approximately 20 ppmv.

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) Ca intensity of sediment cores MD04-2760 and MD04-2788

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of ostracod and gastropod shells from the southwestern Black Sea cores combined with tephrochronology provides the basis for studying reservoir age changes in the lateglacial Black Sea. The comparison of our data with records from the northwestern Black Sea shows that an apparent reservoir age of ~1450 14C yr found in the glacial is characteristic of a homogenized water column. This apparent reservoir age is most likely due to the hardwater effect. Though data indicate that a reservoir age of ~1450 14C yr may have persisted until the Bølling-Allerød warm period, a comparison with the GISP2 ice-core record suggests a gradual reduction of the reservoir age to ~1000 14C yr, which might have been caused by dilution effects of inflowing meltwater. During the Bølling-Allerød warm period, soil development and increased vegetation cover in the catchment area of the Black Sea could have hampered erosion of carbonate bedrock, and hence diminished contamination by "old" carbon brought to the Black Sea basin by rivers. A further reduction of the reservoir age most probably occurred contemporary to the precipitation of inorganic carbonates triggered by increased phytoplankton activity, and was confined to the upper water column. Intensified deep water formation subsequently enhanced the mixing/convection and renewal of intermediate water. During the Younger Dryas, the age of the upper water column was close to 0 yr, while the intermediate water was ~900 14C yr older. The first inflow of saline Mediterranean water, at ~8300 14C yr BP, shifted the surface water age towards the recent value of ~400 14C yr.

Planktic foraminiferal Mg/Ca and oxygen isotopes, plus estimated d18Oseawater and ice volume corrected d18Oseawater for the past 35000 years of sediment core GeoB10069-3

Evidence from geologic archives suggests that there were large changes in the tropical hydrologic cycle associated with the two prominent northern hemisphere deglacial cooling events, Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1; ~19 to 15 kyr BP; kyr BP = 1000 yr before present) and the Younger Dryas (~12.9 to 11.7 kyr BP). These hydrologic shifts have been alternatively attributed to high and low latitude origin. Here, we present a new record of hydrologic variability based on planktic foraminifera-derived d18O of seawater (d18Osw) estimates from a sediment core from the tropical Eastern Indian Ocean, and using 12 additional d18Osw records, construct a single record of the dominant mode of tropical Eastern Equatorial Pacific and Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) hydrologic variability. We show that deglacial hydrologic shifts parallel variations in the reconstructed interhemispheric temperature gradient, suggesting a strong response to variations in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and the attendant heat redistribution. A transient model simulation of the last deglaciation suggests that hydrologic changes, including a southward shift in the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) which likely occurred during these northern hemisphere cold events, coupled with oceanic advection and mixing, resulted in increased salinity in the Indonesian region of the IPWP and the eastern tropical Pacific, which is recorded by the d18Osw proxy. Based on our observations and modeling results we suggest the interhemispheric temperature gradient directly controls the tropical hydrologic cycle on these time scales, which in turn mediates poleward atmospheric heat transport.

Planktonic foraminifera oxygen isotope and trace metal data ODP Hole 172-1056A, 46-54 ka BP

Salinity increase in the subtropical gyre system may have pre-conditioned the North Atlantic Ocean for a rapid return to stronger overturning circulation and high-latitude warming following meltwater events during the Last Glacial period. Here we investigate the Gulf Stream - subtropical gyre system properties over Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) cycles 14 to 12, including Heinrich ice-rafting event 5. During the Holocene and Last Glacial Maximum a positive gradient in surface dwelling planktonic foraminifera d18O (Globigerinoides ruber) can be observed between the Gulf Stream and subtropical gyre, due to decreasing temperature, increasing salinity, and a change from summer to year-round occurrence of G. ruber. We assess whether this gradient was a common feature during stadial-interstadial climate oscillations of Marine Isotope Stage 3, by comparing existing G. ruber d18O from ODP Site 1060 (subtropical gyre location) and new data from ODP Site 1056 (Gulf Stream location) between 54 and 46 ka. Our results suggest that this gradient was largely absent during the period studied. During the major warm DO interstadials 14 and 12 we infer a more zonal and wider Gulf Stream, influencing both ODP Sites 1056 and 1060. A Gulf Stream presence during these major interstadials is also suggested by the large vertical d18O gradient between shallow dwelling planktonic foraminifera species, especially G. ruber, and the deep dwelling species Globorotalia inflata at site 1056, which we associate with strong summer stratification and Gulf Stream presence. A major reduction in this vertical d18O gradient from 51 ka until the end of Heinrich event 5 at 48.5 ka suggests site 1056 was situated within the subtropical gyre in this mainly cold period, from which we infer a migration of the Gulf Stream to a position nearer to the continental shelf, indicative of a narrower Gulf Stream with possibly reduced transport.

Grain size analyses, Ca/Ti and other selected elemental ratios from XRF core scanning of sediment cores from the Apulian Margin

An extensive, high-resolution, sedimentological-geochemical survey was done using geo-acoustics, XRF-core scans, ICP-AES, AMS 14C-dating and grain size analyses of sediments in 11 cores from the Gulf of Taranto, the southern Adriatic Sea, and the central Ionian Sea spanning the last 16 cal. ka BP. Comparable results were obtained for cores from the Gallipoli Shelf (eastern Gulf of Taranto), and the southern Adriatic Sea suggesting that the dominant provenance of Gallipoli Shelf sediments is from the western Adriatic mud belt. The 210Pb and 14C-dated high-accumulation-rate sediments permit a detailed reconstruction of climate variability over the last 16 cal. ka BP. Although, the Glacial-Interglacial transition is generally dry and stable these conditions are interrupted by two phases of increased detrital input during the Bølling-Allerød and the late Younger Dryas. The event during the Younger Dryas period is characterized by increased sediment inputs from southern Italian sources. This suggests that run-off was higher in southern- compared to northern Italy. At approximately ~ 7 cal. ka BP, increased detrital input from the Adriatic mud belt, related to sea level rise and the onset of deep water formation in the Adriatic Sea, is observed and is coincident with the end of sapropel S1 formation in the southern Adriatic Sea. During the mid-to-late Holocene we observed millennial-scale events of increased detrital input, e.g. during the Roman Humid Period, and of decreased detrital input, e.g., Medieval Warm Period. These dry/wet spells are consistent with variability in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). A negative state of the NAO and thus a more advanced penetration of the westerlies into the central Mediterranean, that result in wet conditions in the research area concord with events of high detrital input e.g., during the Roman Humid Period. In contrast, a positive state of the NAO, resulting in dry conditions in the Mediterranean, dominated during events of rapid climate change such as the Medieval Warm Period and the Bronze Age.