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- Chambers, Frank M., et al.
(author)
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Development and refinement of proxy-climate indicators from peats
- 2012
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In: Quaternary International. - Oxford : Pergamon Press. - 1040-6182 .- 1873-4553. ; 268, s. 21-33
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Peat, especially from acidic mires (bogs), is a natural archive of past environmental change. Reconstructions of past climate from bogs commenced in the 19th Century through examination of visible peat stratigraphy, and later formed the basis for a postglacial climatic scheme widely used in Northwest Europe. Nevertheless, misconceptions as to how bogs grow led to a 50-year lacuna in peat-climate study, before the concept of 'cyclic regeneration' in bogs was refuted. In recent decades, research using proxy-climate indicators from bogs has burgeoned. A range of proxies for past hydrological change has been developed, as well as use of pollen, bog oaks and pines and other data to reconstruct past temperatures. Most of this proxy-climate research has been carried out in Northern Europe, but peat-based research in parts of Asia and North America has increased, particularly during the last decade, while research has also been conducted in Australia, New Zealand and South America. This paper reviews developments in proxy-climate reconstructions from peatlands; chronicles use of a range of palaeo-proxies such as visible peat stratigraphy, plant macrofossils, peat humification, testate amoebae and non-pollen palynomorphs: and explains the use of wiggle-match radiocarbon dating and relationship to climate shifts. It details other techniques being used increasingly, such as biomarkers, stable-isotopes, inorganic geochemistry and estimation of dust flux: and points to new proxies under development. Although explicit protocols have been developed recently for research on ombrotrophic mires, it must be recognised that not all proxies and techniques have universal applicability, owing to differences in species assemblages, mire formation, topographic controls, and geochemical characteristics. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Martin-Puertas, Celia, et al.
(author)
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Regional atmospheric circulation shifts induced by a grand solar minimum
- 2012
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In: Nature Geoscience. - 1752-0908 .- 1752-0894. ; 5:6, s. 397-401
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Large changes in solar ultraviolet radiation can indirectly affect climate(1) by inducing atmospheric changes. Specifically, it has been suggested that centennial-scale climate variability during the Holocene epoch was controlled by the Sun(2,3). However, the amplitude of solar forcing is small when compared with the climatic effects and, without reliable data sets, it is unclear which feedback mechanisms could have amplified the forcing. Here we analyse annually laminated sediments of Lake Meerfelder Maar, Germany, to derive variations in wind strength and the rate of Be-10 accumulation, a proxy for solar activity, from 3,300 to 2,000 years before present. We find a sharp increase in windiness and cosmogenic Be-10 deposition 2,759 +/- 39 varve years before present and a reduction in both entities 199 +/- 9 annual layers later. We infer that the atmospheric circulation reacted abruptly and in phase with the solar minimum. A shift in atmospheric circulation in response to changes in solar activity is broadly consistent with atmospheric circulation patterns in long-term climate model simulations, and in reanalysis data that assimilate observations from recent solar minima into a climate model. We conclude that changes in atmospheric circulation amplified the solar signal and caused abrupt climate change about 2,800 years ago, coincident with a grand solar minimum.
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