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Periodic input of dust over the Eastern Carpathians during the Holocene linked with Saharan desertification and human impact

Periodic input of dust over the Eastern Carpathians during the Holocene linked with Saharan desertification and human impact
Periodic input of dust over the Eastern Carpathians during the Holocene linked with Saharan desertification and human impact

Reconstructions of dust flux have been used to produce valuable global records of changes in atmospheric circulation and aridity. These studies have highlighted the importance of atmospheric dust in marine and terrestrial biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling. By investigating a 10 800-year-long paleoclimate archive from the Eastern Carpathians (Romania) we present the first peat record of changing dust deposition over the Holocene for the Carpathian- Balkan region. Using qualitative (X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning) and quantitative inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer(ICP-OES) measurements of lithogenic (K, Si, Ti) elements, we identify 10 periods of major dust deposition between 9500-9200, 8400-8100, 7720-7250, 6350-5950, 5450-5050, 4130-3770, 3450- 2850, 2000-1450, 800-620, and 60 cal yr BP to present. In addition, we used testate amoeba assemblages preserved within the peat to infer local palaeohydroclimatic conditions. Our record highlights several discrepancies between eastern and western European dust depositional records and the impact of highly complex hydrological regimes in the Carpathian region. Since 6100 cal yr BP, we find that the geochemical indicators of dust flux have become uncoupled from the local hydrology. This coincides with the appearance of millennial-scale cycles in the dust input and changes in geochemical composition of dust. We suggest that this is indicative of a shift in dust provenance from local-regional (likely loess-related) to distal (Saharan) sources, which coincide with the end of the African Humid Period and the onset of Saharan desertification.

1814-9324
897-917
Longman, Jack
26a3c4e3-79d6-4102-9708-a5b02b97121d
Veres, Daniel
67b7de50-1043-4bfb-a5df-bc87feeefc63
Ersek, Vasile
d6247272-dbeb-4449-9eca-bb1a4a75a9ca
Salzmann, Ulrich
b797b592-d128-40b0-ab3d-855d119ebeb6
Hubay, Katalin
96861e07-bb87-4852-bdd1-abfff8d392f5
Bormann, Marc
2c0afc69-c7f8-45fe-95a3-3b6ea676388b
Wennrich, Volker
088f17e4-4a2e-455c-b5f0-e1de2788884f
Schäbitz, Frank
38d330b3-c518-40f6-92ff-38e563cfe1d9
Longman, Jack
26a3c4e3-79d6-4102-9708-a5b02b97121d
Veres, Daniel
67b7de50-1043-4bfb-a5df-bc87feeefc63
Ersek, Vasile
d6247272-dbeb-4449-9eca-bb1a4a75a9ca
Salzmann, Ulrich
b797b592-d128-40b0-ab3d-855d119ebeb6
Hubay, Katalin
96861e07-bb87-4852-bdd1-abfff8d392f5
Bormann, Marc
2c0afc69-c7f8-45fe-95a3-3b6ea676388b
Wennrich, Volker
088f17e4-4a2e-455c-b5f0-e1de2788884f
Schäbitz, Frank
38d330b3-c518-40f6-92ff-38e563cfe1d9

Longman, Jack, Veres, Daniel, Ersek, Vasile, Salzmann, Ulrich, Hubay, Katalin, Bormann, Marc, Wennrich, Volker and Schäbitz, Frank (2017) Periodic input of dust over the Eastern Carpathians during the Holocene linked with Saharan desertification and human impact. Climate of the Past, 13 (7), 897-917. (doi:10.5194/cp-13-897-2017).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Reconstructions of dust flux have been used to produce valuable global records of changes in atmospheric circulation and aridity. These studies have highlighted the importance of atmospheric dust in marine and terrestrial biogeochemistry and nutrient cycling. By investigating a 10 800-year-long paleoclimate archive from the Eastern Carpathians (Romania) we present the first peat record of changing dust deposition over the Holocene for the Carpathian- Balkan region. Using qualitative (X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning) and quantitative inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer(ICP-OES) measurements of lithogenic (K, Si, Ti) elements, we identify 10 periods of major dust deposition between 9500-9200, 8400-8100, 7720-7250, 6350-5950, 5450-5050, 4130-3770, 3450- 2850, 2000-1450, 800-620, and 60 cal yr BP to present. In addition, we used testate amoeba assemblages preserved within the peat to infer local palaeohydroclimatic conditions. Our record highlights several discrepancies between eastern and western European dust depositional records and the impact of highly complex hydrological regimes in the Carpathian region. Since 6100 cal yr BP, we find that the geochemical indicators of dust flux have become uncoupled from the local hydrology. This coincides with the appearance of millennial-scale cycles in the dust input and changes in geochemical composition of dust. We suggest that this is indicative of a shift in dust provenance from local-regional (likely loess-related) to distal (Saharan) sources, which coincide with the end of the African Humid Period and the onset of Saharan desertification.

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Accepted/In Press date: 13 June 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 18 July 2017
Published date: 18 July 2017

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 415158
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/415158
ISSN: 1814-9324
PURE UUID: 0392efcf-dc3b-4a7b-a570-08b3a0e6f875

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Date deposited: 02 Nov 2017 17:30
Last modified: 10 May 2024 16:56

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Contributors

Author: Jack Longman
Author: Daniel Veres
Author: Vasile Ersek
Author: Ulrich Salzmann
Author: Katalin Hubay
Author: Marc Bormann
Author: Volker Wennrich
Author: Frank Schäbitz

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