A Last Interglacial speleothem record from the Sieben Hengste cave system (Switzerland): Implications for alpine paleovegetation ...

A precisely dated speleothem isotope record from the Sieben Hengste cave system, Switzerland, reveals a Last Interglacial (LIG) climate optimum centred at 128.1 ± 1.2 ka. The oxygen isotope signal is consistent with a temperature-dominated record and shows a strong correlation with the modelled Gree...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Luetscher, Marc, Moseley, Gina E., Festi, Daniela, Hof, Florian, Edwards, Lawrence R., Spötl, Christoph
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: ETH Zurich 2021
Subjects:
Last interglacial
Paleoclimatology
Europe
Alps
Speleothems
U-series
Isotopes
Pollen
Vegetation
Temperature
Greenland
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000486536
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/486536
Description
Summary:A precisely dated speleothem isotope record from the Sieben Hengste cave system, Switzerland, reveals a Last Interglacial (LIG) climate optimum centred at 128.1 ± 1.2 ka. The oxygen isotope signal is consistent with a temperature-dominated record and shows a strong correlation with the modelled Greenland d18O signal. The comparison with speleothems formed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the same cave indicates a 4e5‰ difference in d18O between peak LIG and peak LGM conditions, suggesting peak LIG temperatures being up to 3 C higher than the Holocene average. Pollen extracted from the stalagmite indicates a vegetation response delayed by up to 3 ka with maximum pollen concentrations recorded at 125 ± 2.2 ka. Our results support a regional vegetation dominated by thermophile tree species including Corylus (hazel), Quercus robur-type (oak), Ulmus (elm), Tilia (lime tree) and Hedera (ivy), consistent with slightly warmer conditions than today. Despite the relatively low pollen concentration, the ... : Quaternary Science Reviews, 262 ...

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