Effects of Soils on the Holocene History of Forest Communities, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, U.S.A.

Palynological evidence from a sediment sequence in Owl Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, documents the persistence of an area of oak-white pine dominated vegetation through most of the Holocene. The small size of the basin (1.6 ha) and its small catchment area suggest that it receives most pollen from nearby vegetation and consequently its pollen record can be used to study the history of the surrounding forests. The 10,500-year pollen record showed three main phases of relative vegetational stability. A late-glacial spruce-jack pine forest phase, followed by an early Holocene phase when white pine dominated the landscape while oak and pitch pine became increasingly important. After 9000 yr BP, an oak-dominated forest was established. White pine continued to be an important component of the forest. This pattern is similar to vegetational changes elsewhere in southern New England, except for the relatively high values of pine pollen, which reflect the influence of the sandy glacial soils on Cape Cod. The pollen record from Owl Pond is compared with that from another site on Cape Cod, Duck Pond. Oak pollen values are higher at Owl Pond, but values of pitch pine pollen are higher at Duck Pond for the past 8000 years. Soil type (composition, texture) is judged to be the most important factor in maintaining the differences between the two sites. The results from Owl Pond suggest that mainly through the local control of the substrate, a mosaic of oak-dominated patches of vegetation existed at places on Cape Cod during the Holocene, interspersed within a pitch pine-dominated landscape.Les données palynoiogiques tirées d'une séquence sédimentaire dans le OwI Pond, à Cape Cod, atteste de la persistance d'une zone de végétation dominée par le pin blanc et le chêne pendant la plus grande partie de l'Holocène. Les petites superficies de la cuvette (1,6 ha) et de son bassin versant indique que la plus grande partie du pollen qui s'y dépose provient de la végétation des alentours; conséquemment, l'inventaire palynologique peut servir à étudier l'évolution des forêts environnantes. L'inventaire palynologique de 10 500 ans montre trois phases principales de stabilité relative de la végétation. La phase tardiglaciaire de forêts d'épinettes et de pins gris a été suivie, au début de l'Holocène, par une phase durant laquelle le pin blanc dominait le paysage et le chêne blanc et le pin rigide prenaient de plus en plus d'importance. Après 9000 ans BP, la forêt dominée par le chêne régnait, mais le pin blanc continuait à être un élément important. Ce patron ressemble aux changements de végétation survenus ailleurs dans le sud de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, sauf en ce qui a trait aux valeurs relativement élevées de pollen du pin qui reflète l'influence des sols glaciaires sablonneux du Cape Cod. On compare les données palynoiogiques du OwI Pond avec ceux du Duck Pond, également du Cape Cod. Les valeurs polliniques du chêne sont plus élevées au OwI Pond, mais les valeurs polliniques du pin rigide sont plus élevées au Duck Pond depuis 8000 ans. On considère que le type de sol (composition, texture) est le facteur le plus important dans les différences observées dans les deux sites. Les résultats tirés du site du Old Pond semblent indiquer que l'influence locale du substrat a permis, pendant l'Holocène, l'établissement de parcelles de végétation dominées par le chêne réparties ça et là au Cape Cod dans un paysage lui-même dominé par le pin rigide.Pollen- und Fossilbelege einer AbIa-gerungssequenz in Owl Pond, Cape Cod, Massuchsetts, dokumentieren das Fortbestehen eines von Eiche und WeiBkiefer dominierten Vegetationsgebietes wàhrend des grôBten Teils des Holozàns. Die geringe GrôBe des Beckens (1.6 ha) und sein kleines Einzugsgebiet legen nahe, daB es den meisten Pollen von der umliegenden Vegetation erhâlt, und so kann sein Polleninventar fur das Studium der Geschichte der umliegenden Wàlder genutzt werden. Das Pollen-lnventar von 10 500 Jahren zeigte drei Hauptphasen relativer Vegetationsstabilitàt. Eine spàtglaziale Rottanne- und Graukiefer-Waldphase, gefolgt von einer Frûhholozànphase, in der WeiBkiefer die Landschaft beherrschte, wàhrend Eiche und Pechkiefer zunehmend wichtig wurden. Nach 9000 Jahren v.u.Z. hatte sich ein von Eiche beherrschter WaId angesiedelt. Die WeiBkiefer blieb ein wichtiger Bestandteil des Waldes. Dieses Muster àhnelt den Vegetationswechseln anderswo in Neu-england, mit Ausnahme der relativ kohen Kiefernpollenwerte, welche den EinfluB der sandigen glazialen Bôden auf Cape Cod spie-geln. Der Poiienbeieg von OwI Pond wird mit dem eines anderen Platzes auf Cape Cod, Duck Pond, verglichen. Die Eichenpoilenwerte sind bei OwI Pond hôher, aber die Pechkief-erpollenwerte sind fur die letzten 8000 Jahre am Duck Pond hôher. Man hàlt den Boden-Typus (Zusammensetzung, Textur) fur den wichtigsten Faktor fur die Aufrechterhaltung der Unterschiede zwischen den zwei Plàtzen. Die Ergebnisse von OwI Pond legen nahe, daB hauptsàchlich durch die ôrtliche Kontrolle des Substrats auf Cape Cod ein von Eiche beherrschtes Mosaik von Vegetationsflecken hier und da im Holozàn existierte, welches in eine von Pechkiefer beherrschte Landschaft fein verteilt war

Reconciling diverse lacustrine and terrestrial system response to penultimate deglacial warming in southern Europe

Unlike the most recent deglaciation, the regional expression of climate changes during the penultimate deglaciation remains understudied, even though it led into a period of excess warmth with estimates of global average temperature 1–2 °C, and sea level ∼6 m, above pre-industrial values. We present the first complete high-resolution southern European diatom record capturing the penultimate glacial-interglacial transition, from Lake Ioannina (northwest Greece). It forms part of a suite of proxies selected to assess the character and phase relationships of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem response to rapid climate warming, and to resolve apparent conflicts in proxy evidence for regional paleohydrology. The diatom data suggest a complex penultimate deglaciation driven primarily by multiple oscillations in lake level, and provide firm evidence for the regional influence of abrupt changes in North Atlantic conditions. There is diachroneity in lake and terrestrial ecosystem response to warming at the onset of the last interglacial, with an abrupt increase in lake level occurring ∼2.7 k.y. prior to sustained forest expansion with peak precipitation. We identify the potentially important role of direct input of snow melt and glacial meltwater transfer to the subterranean karst system in response to warming, which would cause rising regional groundwater levels. This explanation, and the greater sensitivity of diatoms to subtle changes in temperature, reconciles the divergent lacustrine and terrestrial proxy evidence and highlights the sensitivity of lakes situated in mountainous karstic environments to past climate warming

Coupled ocean-land millennial-scale changes 1.26 million years ago, recorded at Site U1385 off Portugal

While a growing body of evidence indicates that North Atlantic millennial-scale climate variability extends to the Early Pleistocene, its impact on terrestrial ecosystems has not been established. Here we present ultra-high resolution (70–140 year) joint foraminiferal isotopic and pollen analyses from IODP Site U1385 off Portugal, focusing on a short glacial section of Marine Isotope Stage 38, ~ 1.26 million years ago. Our records reveal the presence of millennial-scale variability in the coupled ocean–atmosphere–land system in the North Atlantic and provide the first direct evidence for the response of western Iberian vegetation to abrupt climate changes in the Early Pleistocene. The magnitude and pacing of changes bear significant similarities to Dansgaard–Oeschger variability of the last two glacials

Can we predict the duration of an interglacial?

Differences in the duration of interglacials have long been apparent in palaeoclimate records of the Late and Middle Pleistocene. However, a systematic evaluation of such differences has been hampered by the lack of a metric that can be applied consistently through time and by difficulties in separating the local from the global component in various proxies. This, in turn, means that a theoretical framework with predictive power for interglacial duration has remained elusive. Here we propose that the interval between the terminal oscillation of the bipolar seesaw and three thousand years (kyr) before its first major reactivation provides an estimate that approximates the length of the sea-level highstand, a measure of interglacial duration. We apply this concept to interglacials of the last 800 kyr by using a recently-constructed record of interhemispheric variability. The onset of interglacials occurs within 2 kyr of the boreal summer insolation maximum/precession minimum and is consistent with the canonical view of Milankovitch forcing pacing the broad timing of interglacials. Glacial inception always takes place when obliquity is decreasing and never after the obliquity minimum. The phasing of precession and obliquity appears to influence the persistence of interglacial conditions over one or two insolation peaks, leading to shorter (~ 13 kyr) and longer (~ 28 kyr) interglacials. Glacial inception occurs approximately 10 kyr after peak interglacial conditions in temperature and CO2, representing a characteristic timescale of interglacial decline. Second-order differences in duration may be a function of stochasticity in the climate system, or small variations in background climate state and the magnitude of feedbacks and mechanisms contributing to glacial inception, and as such, difficult to predict. On the other hand, the broad duration of an interglacial may be determined by the phasing of astronomical parameters and the history of insolation, rather than the instantaneous forcing strength at inception

Similar millennial climate variability on the Iberian margin during two early Pleistocene glacials and MIS 3

Although millennial-scale climate variability (<10 ka) has been well studied during the last glacial cycles, little is known about this important aspect of climate in the early Pleistocene, prior to the Middle Pleistocene Transition. Here we present an early Pleistocene climate record at centennial resolution for two representative glacials (marine isotope stages (MIS) 37–41 from approximately 1235 to 1320 ka) during the “41 ka world” at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1385 (the “Shackleton Site”) on the southwest Iberian margin. Millennial-scale climate variability was suppressed during interglacial periods (MIS 37, MIS 39, and MIS 41) and activated during glacial inceptions when benthic δ18O exceeded 3.2‰. Millennial variability during glacials MIS 38 and MIS 40 closely resembled Dansgaard-Oeschger events from the last glacial (MIS 3) in amplitude, shape, and pacing. The phasing of oxygen and carbon isotope variability is consistent with an active oceanic thermal bipolar see-saw between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres during most of the prominent stadials. Surface cooling was associated with systematic decreases in benthic carbon isotopes, indicating concomitant changes in the meridional overturning circulation. A comparison to other North Atlantic records of ice rafting during the early Pleistocene suggests that freshwater forcing, as proposed for the late Pleistocene, was involved in triggering or amplifying perturbations of the North Atlantic circulation that elicited a bipolar see-saw response. Our findings support similarities in the operation of the climate system occurring on millennial time scales before and after the Middle Pleistocene Transition despite the increases in global ice volume and duration of the glacial cycles

Design and optimization of electrochemical microreactors for continuous electrosynthesis

The study focuses on the design and construction, as well as the theoretical and experimental optimization of electrochemical filter press microreactors for the electrosynthesis of molecules with a high added value. The main characteristics of these devices are firstly a high-specific electrochemical area to increase conversion and selectivity, and secondly the shape and size of themicrochannels designed for a uniform residence time distribution of the fluid. A heat exchanger is integrated into the microstructured electrode to rapidly remove (or supply) the heat required in exo- or endothermic reactions. The microreactors designed are used to perform-specific electrosynthesis reactions such as thermodynamically unfavorable reactions (continuous NADH regeneration), or reactions with high enthalpy changes

Land-ocean changes on orbital and millennial time scales and the penultimate glaciation

Past glacials can be thought of as natural experiments in which variations in boundary conditions influenced the character of climate change. However, beyond the last glacial, an integrated view of orbital- and millennial-scale changes and their relation to the record of glaciation has been lacking. Here, we present a detailed record of variations in the land-ocean system from the Portuguese margin during the penultimate glacial and place it within the framework of ice-volume changes, with particular reference to European ice-sheet dynamics. The interaction of orbital- and millennial-scale variability divides the glacial into an early part with warmer and wetter overall conditions and prominent climate oscillations, a transitional mid-part, and a late part with more subdued changes as the system entered a maximum glacial state. The most extreme event occurred in the mid-part and was associated with melting of the extensive European ice sheet and maximum discharge from the Fleuve Manche river. This led to disruption of the meridional overturning circulation, but not a major activation of the bipolar seesaw. In addition to stadial duration, magnitude of freshwater forcing, and background climate, the evidence also points to the influence of the location of freshwater discharges on the extent of interhemispheric heat transport

A reference time scale for Site U1385 (Shackleton Site) on the SW Iberian Margin

Weproduced a composite depth scale and chronology for Site U1385 on the SWIberianMargin. Using log(Ca/Ti)measured by core scanning XRF at 1-cm resolution in all holes, a composite section was constructed to166.5 meter composite depth (mcd) that corrects for stretching and squeezing in each core. Oxygen isotopesof benthic foraminifera were correlated to a stacked d18O reference signal (LR04) to produce an oxygen isotopestratigraphy and age model.Variations in sediment color contain very strong precession signals at Site U1385, and the amplitude modulationof these cycles provides a powerful tool for developing an orbitally-tuned agemodel.We tuned the U1385 recordby correlating peaks in L* to the local summer insolation maxima at 37°N. The benthic d18O record of Site U1385,when placed on the tuned agemodel, generally agrees with other time scaleswithin their respective chronologicuncertainties.The age model is transferred to down-core data to produce a continuous time series of log(Ca/Ti) that reflectrelative changes of biogenic carbonate and detrital sediment. Biogenic carbonate increases during interglacialand interstadial climate states and decreases during glacial and stadial periods. Much of the variance in thelog(Ca/Ti) is explained by a linear combination of orbital frequencies (precession, tilt and eccentricity), whereasthe residual signal reflects suborbital climate variability. The strong correlation between suborbital log(Ca/Ti)variability and Greenland temperature over the last glacial cycle at Site U1385 suggests that this signal can beused as a proxy for millennial-scale climate variability over the past 1.5 Ma.Millennial climate variability, as expressed by log(Ca/Ti) at Site U1385, was a persistent feature of glacial climatesover the past 1.5Ma, including glacial periods of the early Pleistocene (‘41-kyrworld’)when boundary conditionsdiffered significantly from those of the late Pleistocene (‘100-kyr world’). Suborbital variability was suppressedduring interglacial stages and enhanced during glacial periods, especially when benthic d18O surpassed ~3.3–3.5‰. Each glacial inception was marked by appearance of strong millennial variability and each deglaciatio

Quaternary glacial history of the Mediterranean mountains

Glacial and periglacial landforms are widespread in the mountains of the Mediterranean region. The evidence for glacial and periglacial activity has been studied for over 120 years and it is possible to identify three phases of development in this area of research. First, a pioneer phase characterized by initial descriptive observations of glacial landforms; second, a mapping phase whereby the detailed distribution of glacial landforms and sediments have been depicted on geomorphological maps; and, third, an advanced phase characterized by detailed understanding of the geochronology of glacial sequences using radiometric dating alongside detailed sedimentological and stratigraphical analyses. It is only relatively recently that studies of glaciated mountain terrains in the Mediterranean region have reached an advanced phase and it is now clear from radiometric dating programmes that the Mediterranean mountains have been glaciated during multiple glacial cycles. The most extensive phases of glaciation appear to have occurred during the Middle Pleistocene. This represents a major shift from earlier work whereby many glacial sequences were assumed to have formed during the last cold stage. Glacial and periglacial deposits from multiple Quaternary cold stages constitute a valuable palaeoclimatic record. This is especially so in the Mediterranean mountains, since mountain glaciers in this latitudinal zone would have been particularly sensitive to changes in the global climate system. © 2006 Edward Arnold (Publishers) Ltd

Pleistocene tephrostratigraphy and palaeoclimatology in the central Mediterranean region: ongoing research in Fucino Basin (central Apennines, Italy)

Palaeoclimatic records spanning beyond the radiocarbon range generally derive their chronologies from orbital tuning strategies. These chronologies can introduce a priori assumptions that are difficult to test and, possibly, circular arguments in palaeoclimatic reconstructions. We elaborate two high-resolution, multi-proxy and tephrochronologically-constrained records (F1-F3 and F4-F5) of past environmental and climatic changes in the central Mediterranean region. We perform geochemical (X-ray fluorescence scanning, carbon, nitrogen and sulphur elemental analysis through combustion), isotopic (C and O stable isotope mass spectrometry on bulk carbonates and organic matter), mineralogical (X-ray powder diffraction) and grain-size analyses on lacustrine marls recovered from palaeolake Fucino (Abruzzo, central Italy). Lacustrine sediments were acquired during two scientific drilling campaigns (F1-F3 and F4-F5) interesting the first ca. 85 m of the 1 km-thick and 2 Ma-old Fucino sedimentary succession. We make use of detailed tephrostratigraphic and tephrochronological frameworks to produce robust and independent chronologies based on new and published 40Ar/39Ar and 14C dating of tephra layers. On the basis of our chronologies, the F1-F3 and F4-F5 records continuously span over the last two glacial-interglacial cycles and over the last five glacial-interglacial cycles, respectively. We combine our geological data into proxies for catchment- and regional-scale environmental processes. Our proxy time-series depict prominent orbital and sub-orbital environmental changes that can be tracked in other lacustrine, marine and speleothem records across the Mediterranean and North Atlantic regions. Thanks to tephrostratigraphic correlations and chronological matching, we produce spatially coherent palaeoclimatic reconstructions recognising a complex interplay between regional environmental processes and broad-scale climatic events. We highlight strong orbital forcing for past climate changes