Holocene lake sediment core sequences from Lochnagar, Cairngorm Mts., Scotland - UK final report for CHILL-10,000

The CHILL 10,000 research objective at Lochnagar is to examine proxy data for temperature and climate conditions. Changes in lake sediment stratigraphical data can be used to reconstruct past conditions. These proxies include organic and minerogenic matter as a bulk proxy for catchment and within-lake productivity, chironomids as a proxy for air temperature, diatoms as an indicator for lake water pH, pollen as an indicator of catchment vegetation and finally biomarkers to help determine changes in proportions of organic source material within the lake mud

People and climate: holocene sediment records of environmental change in Middle Egypt: fieldwork report and initial results

The aim of this project is to reveal more about the history of Lake Qarun through a multidisciplinary environmental study. This approach primarily concerns the examination of sediment records, but also includes collection of data from archaeological sites in the Faiyum. The sedimentary history of Lake Qarun will be compared with (i) independent palaeoclimate records for the East African Highlands and the eastern Mediterranean; (ii) local evidence (including Nile alluvial and palaeo-shoreline sequences and Holocene playa deposits); and (iii) the cultural history of the Faiyum. This report describes the fieldwork performed to obtain long sediment cores for palaeolimnological analysis and presents initial results from those cores. Results will be used to construct a Geographical Information System (GIS)

Pollen-based quantitative reconstructions of Holocene regional vegetation cover (plant-functional types and land-cover types) in Europe suitable for climate modelling

We present quantitative reconstructions of regional vegetation cover in north-western Europe, western Europe north of the Alps, and eastern Europe for five time windows in the Holocene [around 6k, 3k, 0.5k, 0.2k, and 0.05k calendar years before present (bp)] at a 1 degrees x1 degrees spatial scale with the objective of producing vegetation descriptions suitable for climate modelling. The REVEALS model was applied on 636 pollen records from lakes and bogs to reconstruct the past cover of 25 plant taxa grouped into 10 plant-functional types and three land-cover types [evergreen trees, summer-green (deciduous) trees, and open land]. The model corrects for some of the biases in pollen percentages by using pollen productivity estimates and fall speeds of pollen, and by applying simple but robust models of pollen dispersal and deposition. The emerging patterns of tree migration and deforestation between 6k bp and modern time in the REVEALS estimates agree with our general understanding of the vegetation history of Europe based on pollen percentages. However, the degree of anthropogenic deforestation (i.e. cover of cultivated and grazing land) at 3k, 0.5k, and 0.2k bp is significantly higher than deduced from pollen percentages. This is also the case at 6k in some parts of Europe, in particular Britain and Ireland. Furthermore, the relationship between summer-green and evergreen trees, and between individual tree taxa, differs significantly when expressed as pollen percentages or as REVEALS estimates of tree cover. For instance, when Pinus is dominant over Picea as pollen percentages, Picea is dominant over Pinus as REVEALS estimates. These differences play a major role in the reconstruction of European landscapes and for the study of land cover-climate interactions, biodiversity and human resources.Peer reviewe

Holocene land-cover reconstructions for studies on land cover-climate feedbacks

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Fire and man in post-glacial woodlands of Eastern England

It has for long been suggested that English early post-glacial woodlands, particularly those dominated by hazel, were a fire-climax vegetation type. This conflicts with the evidence of fire frequency in present-day woodlands. Charcoal and pollen analyses of post-glacial lake sequences in East Anglia, England, suggest that early post-glacial woodlands were not fire-climax types. The pre-5000 BP charcoal record can be best interpreted as a record of intensity of occupation beside lake shores. After 5000 BP, charcoal deposition may reflect increasing use of fire as an agent in land clearance.</p

Hominin footprints from Early Pleistocene deposits at Happisburgh, UK

The research was funded by the Calleva Foundation as part of the Pathways to Ancient Britain Project. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Investigations at Happisburgh, UK, have revealed the oldest known hominin footprint surface outside Africa at between ca. 1 million and 0.78 million years ago. The site has long been recognised for the preservation of sediments containing Early Pleistocene fauna and flora, but since 2005 has also yielded humanly made flint artefacts, extending the record of human occupation of northern Europe by at least 350,000 years. The sediments consist of sands, gravels and laminated silts laid down by a large river within the upper reaches of its estuary. In May 2013 extensive areas of the laminated sediments were exposed on the foreshore. On the surface of one of the laminated silt horizons a series of hollows was revealed in an area of ca. 12 m2. The surface was recorded using multi-image photogrammetry which showed that the hollows are distinctly elongated and the majority fall within the range of juvenile to adult hominin foot sizes. In many cases the arch and front/back of the foot can be identified and in one case the impression of toes can be seen. Using foot length to stature ratios, the hominins are estimated to have been between ca. 0.93 and 1.73 m in height, suggestive of a group of mixed ages. The orientation of the prints indicates movement in a southerly direction on mud-flats along the river edge. Early Pleistocene human fossils are extremely rare in Europe, with no evidence from the UK. The only known species in western Europe of a similar age is Homo antecessor, whose fossil remains have been found at Atapuerca, Spain. The foot sizes and estimated stature of the hominins from Happisburgh fall within the range derived from the fossil evidence of Homo antecessor.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe