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Quantitative assessment of precipitation seasonality and summer surface wetness using ombrotrophic sediments from an Arctic Norwegian peatland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jonathan E. Nichols ,
Marie Walcott ,
Raymond Bradley ,
Jon Pilcher  and
Yongsong Huang
Jonathan E. Nichols
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
Marie Walcott
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
Raymond Bradley
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Amherst, MA, USA
Jon Pilcher
Affiliation:
Palaeoecology Centre, Queen's University, Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
Yongsong Huang*
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA
*
⁎Corresponding author. E-mail address:yongsong_huang@brown.edu (Y. Huang).
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Abstract

Seasonality of precipitation is an important yet elusive climate parameter in paleoclimatological reconstructions. This parameter can be inferred qualitatively from pollen and other paleoecological methods, but is difficult to assess quantitatively. Here, we have assessed seasonality of precipitation and summer surface wetness using compound specific hydrogen and carbon isotope ratios of vascular plant leaf waxes and Sphagnum biomarkers extracted from the sediments of an ombrotrophic peatland, Bøstad Bog, Nordland, Norway. Our reconstructed precipitation seasonality and surface wetness are consistent with regional vegetation reconstructions. During the early Holocene, 11.5–7.5 ka, Fennoscandia experienced a cool, moist climate. The middle Holocene, 7.5–5.5 ka, was warm and dry, transitioning towards cooler and wetter conditions from the mid-Holocene to the present. Changes in seasonality of precipitation during the Holocene show significant coherence with changes in sea surface temperature in the Norwegian Sea, with higher SST corresponding to greater percentage of winter precipitation. Both high SST in the Norwegian Sea and increased moisture delivery to northern Europe during winter are correlated with a strong gradient between the subpolar low and subtropical high over the North Atlantic (positive North Atlantic Oscillation).

Keywords

Stable isotopesPeat bogsPaleoclimateLeaf waxesPrecipitation seasonalityNorth AtlanticArctic climateNorth Atlantic Oscillation
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 72 , Issue 3 , November 2009 , pp. 443 - 451
Copyright
University of Washington

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