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Holocene lake sediment records of Arctic hydrology

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Abstract

Although paleoclimatic research in the Arctic has most often focused on variations in temperature, the Arctic has also experienced changes in hydrologic balance. Changes in Arctic precipitation and evaporation rates affects soils, permafrost, lakes, wetlands, rivers, ice and vegetation. Changes in Arctic soils, permafrost, runoff, and vegetation can influence global climate by changing atmospheric methane and carbon dioxide concentrations, thermohaline circulation, and high latitude albedo. Documenting past variations in Arctic hydrological conditions is important for understanding Arctic climate and the potential response and role of the Arctic in regards to future climate change. Methods for reconstructing past changes in Arctic hydrology from the stratigraphic, isotopic, geochemical and fossil records of lake sediments are being developed, refined and applied in a number of regions. These records suggest that hydrological variations in the Arctic have been regionally asynchronous, reflecting the impacts of different forcing factors including orbitally controlled insolation changes, changes in geography related to coastal emergence, ocean currents, sea ice extent, and atmospheric circulation. Despite considerable progress, much work remains to be done on the development of paleohydrological proxies and their application to the Arctic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Geography and Organismic Biology, Ecology and Evolution, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1524, USA>

    Glen MacDonald

  2. CCR/CGD, NCAR, PO Box 3000, Boulder, CO, 80307, USA>

    Benjamin Felzer

  3. Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, 99775, USA>

    Bruce Finney

  4. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607-7059, USA>

    Steven Forman

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MacDonald, G., Felzer, B., Finney, B. et al. Holocene lake sediment records of Arctic hydrology. Journal of Paleolimnology 24, 1–13 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008100714795

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