Evidence of a late glacial warming event and early Holocene cooling in the southern Brazilian coastal highlands

• Published in: Quaternary Research
• Main Authors: Behling, Hermann, Oliveira, Marcelo Accioly Teixeira de
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2017
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Earth-Surface Processes; Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous); Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/qua.2017.87; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589417000874

Abstract A high-resolution pollen record of the Atlantic rain forest (ARF) biome from the coastal Serra do Tabuleiro mountains of southern Brazil documents an 11,960 yr history of vegetation and climate change. A marked expansion of Weinmannia into the grassland vegetation marks the latter part of the Younger Dryas, reflecting warm and relatively wet conditions. Between 11,490 and 9110 cal yr BP, grasslands became dominant again, indicating a long cold and dry phase, probably in response to the stronger influence of cold South Atlantic seawater and to Antarctic cold fronts. Between 9110 and 2640 cal yr BP, four distinct phases with strong or moderate expansions of different ARF biome taxa were recorded, reflecting warmer and relatively dry conditions with changes in rainfall and length of the annual dry season. After 2640 cal yr BP, the modern ARF biome became established with high amounts of ferns, reflecting somewhat cooler and wetter conditions with a reduced annual dry season. In particular, after 1000 cal yr BP tree ferns increased, reflecting wetter conditions with no dry season.