Pollen record and age determinations on four sites from Taymyr Peninsula, Russia

• Main Authors: Andreev, Andrei A, Tarasov, Pavel E, Siegert, Christine, Ebel, Tobias, Klimanov, Vladimir A, Melles, Martin, Bobrov, Anatoly A, Dereviagin, Alexander Yu, Lubinski, David J, Hubberten, Hans-Wolfgang
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2003
• Subjects: AWI_PerDyn; AWI Arctic Land Expedition; Cape Sabler; Taymyr Lake; Taymyr Peninsula; Krasnoyarsk; northern Russia; COMPCORE; Composite Core; Geological profile sampling; GEOPRO; Permafrost Research (Periglacial Dynamics) @ AWI; PG1228; RU-Land_1995_Taymyr; SAO1; SAO4; Taymyr; Taymyr95; Labaz_Lake_Expedition; Arctic; permafrost; Tundra
• Online Access: https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.726592; https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.726592

Pollen data from a Levinson-Lessing Lake sediment core (74°28'N, 98°38'E) and Cape Sabler, Taymyr Lake permafrost sequences (74°33'N, 100°32'E) reveal substantial environmental changes on the northern Taymyr Peninsula during the last c. 32 000 14C years. The continuous records confirm that a scarce steppe-like vegetation with Poaceae, Artemisia and Cyperaceae dominated c. 32 000-10 300 14C yr BP, while tundra-like vegetation with Oxyria, Ranunculaceae and Caryophyllaceae grew in wetter areas. The coldest interval occurred c. 18 000 yr BP. Lateglacial pollen data show several warming events followed by a climate deterioration c. 10 500 14C yr BP, which may correspond with the Younger Dryas. The Late Pleistocene/Holocene transition, c. 10 300-10 000 14C yr BP, is characterized by a change from the herb-dominated vegetation to shrubby tundra with Betula sect. Nanae and Salix. Alnus fruticosa arrived locally c. 9000-8500 14C yr BP and disappeared c. 4000-3500 14C yr BP. Communities of Betula sect. Nanae, broadly distributed at c. 10 000-3500 14C yr BP, almost disappeared when vegetation became similar to the modern herb tundra after 3500-3000 14C yr BP. Quantitative climate reconstructions show Last Glacial Maximum summer temperature about 4°C below the present and Preboreal (c. 10 000 14C yr BP) temperature 2-4°C above the present. Maximum summer temperature occurred between 10 000 and 5500 14C yr BP; later summers were similar to present or slightly warmer.