Chronology, lithology, palynology and biogeochemistry of sediment cores from East Greenland lakes

Sediment cores from two lakes in the outer coastal region of East Greenland were investigated for chronology, lithology, palynology, and biogeochemistry. A 10 m long sequence recovered in Basaltsø comprises the entire lake history following the last glaciation of the area, probably during the Prebor...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wagner, Bernd, Melles, Martin, Hahne, Jürgen, Niessen, Frank, Hubberten, Hans-Wolfgang
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 2000
Subjects:
AWI_PerDyn
AWI Arctic Land Expedition
Basalt Sø
COMPCORE
Composite Core
GL-Land_1994
Greenland94
Lake S of Basalt Sø
Permafrost Research (Periglacial Dynamics) @ AWI
PG1205
PG1212
Quaternary Environment of the Eurasian North
QUEEN
Arctic
Greenland
Berichte zur Polarforschung
East Greenland
Ice
permafrost
Polar Research
Polarforschung
Reports on polar research
Online Access:https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.734964
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.734964
Description
Summary:Sediment cores from two lakes in the outer coastal region of East Greenland were investigated for chronology, lithology, palynology, and biogeochemistry. A 10 m long sequence recovered in Basaltsø comprises the entire lake history following the last glaciation of the area, probably during the Preboreal oscillation. This is indicated by a succession from glacial via glaciolimnic to limnic sediments. Deglaciation of the area was associated with a high sedimentation rate, mirrored also in the basal part of a 2.6 m long core from a smaller lake (B1) about 1 km south of Basaltsø. Limnic sedimentation without glacial influence commenced about 10 000 cal. yr BP according to radiocarbon-dated terrestrial plant remains. Biogeochemical and palynological data indicate an early Holocene climatic optimum from 9000 to 6500 cal. yr BP A climatic deterioration began at 6500 cal. yr BP with an increase in snow accumulation, documented by a change in the pollen assemblage and a coinciding change in the grain-size distribution. At least since 5000 cal. yr BP, a decrease in the biogeochemical parameters in both lake sediment successions indicates a temperature decline. This deterioration culminated at about 3000-1000 cal. yr BP, when the climate was cold and dry. A slight warming is indicated in the pollen assemblage between ca. 1000 and 800 cal. yr BP. Following a subsequent rise in precipitation, cooling during the Little Ice Age is mirrored in lowest dwarf shrub pollen percentages and in low contents of organic components.

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