Last glacial fire regime variability in western France inferred from microcharcoal preserved in core MD04-2845, Bay of Biscay

• Published in: Quaternary Research
• Main Authors: Daniau, Anne-Laure, Goñi, Maria Fernanda Sánchez, Duprat, Josette
• Other Authors: De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Environnements et Paléoenvironnements OCéaniques (EPOC), Observatoire aquitain des sciences de l'univers (OASU), Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Sciences et Technologies - Bordeaux 1 (UB)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2009
• Subjects: Marine sequence; Charcoal; Biomass burning; France; Dansgaard–Oeschger events; Heinrich events; [SDU.STU.CL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Climatology; Dansgaard-Oeschger events; Neogloboquadrina pachyderma
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03210043; https://hal.science/hal-03210043/document; https://hal.science/hal-03210043/file/proof_QR_response.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2009.01.007

International audience High resolution multiproxy analysis (microcharcoal, pollen, organic carbon, Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (s) , ice rafted debris) of the deep-sea record MD04-2845 (Bay of Biscay) provides new insights for understanding mechanisms of fire regime variability of the last glacial period in western France. Fire regime of western France closely follows Dansgaard–Oeschger climatic variability and presents the same pattern than that of southwestern Iberia, namely low fire regime associated with open vegetation during stadials including Heinrich events, and high fire regime associated with open forest during interstadials. This supports a regional climatic control on fire regime for western Europe through fuel availability for the last glacial period. Additionally, each of Heinrich events 6, 5 and 4 is characterised by three episodes of fire regime, with a high regime bracketed by lower fire regime episodes, related to vegetational succession and complex environmental condition changes.