Late-Holocene palaeoclimates : cross-validation of multiple proxies from lake and bog archives in northern England
Late-Holocene palaeoclimates : cross-validation of multiple proxies from lake and bog archives in northern England
Peatland palaeoclimate studies typically involve two steps: 1) reconstruction of bog surface wetness (BSW) and 2) palaeoclimatic inference based on interpretation of the BSW record. This investigation is a test of the relationship using proxy data from northern England. BSW is reconstructed from Hulleter Moss in southern Cumbria and Malham Tarn Moss in North Yorkshire, using plant macrofossil, testate amoebae and peat humification analysis. The bog sites are paired with proximal lake sites, Bigland Tarn in southern Cumbria and Malham Tarn in North Yorkshire, and palaeotemperature estimates produced using chironomid analysis. Both bog sites displayed an impressive degree of internal consistency between proxy measures of BSW. A high degree of covariance was also found between the two sites and with the wider literature. Chironomid records were produced for lake sites and modern temperatures were accurately inferred from core-top samples. A combination of 14C, 210Pb and spheroidal carbonaceous particles were used to date the cores, although the radiocarbon chronology of Malham Tarn was problematic. Nevertheless, comparison of the well constrained Bigland Tarn palaeotemperature estimates with an earlier study from Cumbria revealed a high degree of similarity, corroborating the idea that temperature is the primary signal recorded in the chironomid stratigraphy. Comparison between the BSW and chironomid-inferred temperature records therefore provides an empirical test of the closeness of the relationship between temperature and BSW. While similarities between the two records are evident there are also significant differences and the data do not support a dominant temperature control over BSW.
University of Southampton
Brown, Alastair David
7af055e9-93b4-4436-bcf2-6b9e2aa48465
2006
Brown, Alastair David
7af055e9-93b4-4436-bcf2-6b9e2aa48465
Brown, Alastair David
(2006)
Late-Holocene palaeoclimates : cross-validation of multiple proxies from lake and bog archives in northern England.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
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Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
Peatland palaeoclimate studies typically involve two steps: 1) reconstruction of bog surface wetness (BSW) and 2) palaeoclimatic inference based on interpretation of the BSW record. This investigation is a test of the relationship using proxy data from northern England. BSW is reconstructed from Hulleter Moss in southern Cumbria and Malham Tarn Moss in North Yorkshire, using plant macrofossil, testate amoebae and peat humification analysis. The bog sites are paired with proximal lake sites, Bigland Tarn in southern Cumbria and Malham Tarn in North Yorkshire, and palaeotemperature estimates produced using chironomid analysis. Both bog sites displayed an impressive degree of internal consistency between proxy measures of BSW. A high degree of covariance was also found between the two sites and with the wider literature. Chironomid records were produced for lake sites and modern temperatures were accurately inferred from core-top samples. A combination of 14C, 210Pb and spheroidal carbonaceous particles were used to date the cores, although the radiocarbon chronology of Malham Tarn was problematic. Nevertheless, comparison of the well constrained Bigland Tarn palaeotemperature estimates with an earlier study from Cumbria revealed a high degree of similarity, corroborating the idea that temperature is the primary signal recorded in the chironomid stratigraphy. Comparison between the BSW and chironomid-inferred temperature records therefore provides an empirical test of the closeness of the relationship between temperature and BSW. While similarities between the two records are evident there are also significant differences and the data do not support a dominant temperature control over BSW.
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Published date: 2006
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Local EPrints ID: 466217
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/466217
PURE UUID: ffba5fbf-27a5-4869-a24a-edd2698a96c2
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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 04:48
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 20:34
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Author:
Alastair David Brown
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