Climate Change in Lowland Central America During the Late Deglacial and Early Holocene
The transition from arid glacial to moist early Holocene conditions represented a profound change in northern lowland Neotropical climate. Here we report a detailed record of changes in moisture availability during the latter part of this transition ({approx}11,250 to 7,500 cal yr BP) inferred from...
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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
2005
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ftunivnotexas:info:ark/67531/metadc882215 2023-05-15T17:31:59+02:00 Climate Change in Lowland Central America During the Late Deglacial and Early Holocene Hillesheim, M. B. Hodell, D. A. Leyden, B. W. Brenner, M. Curtis, J. H. Anselmetti, F. S. Ariztegui, D. Buck, D. G. Guilderson, T. P. Rosenmeier, M. F. Schnurrenberger, D. W. United States. Department of Energy. 2005-02-08 PDF-file: 51 pages; size: 1 Mbytes Text https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc882215/ English eng Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory rep-no: UCRL-JRNL-209600 grantno: W-7405-ENG-48 osti: 897995 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc882215/ ark: ark:/67531/metadc882215 Journal Name: Journal of Quaternary Sciences, vol. 20, no. 4, June 1, 2005, pp. 363-376 Pollen Forests Sediments Seas Solar Radiation Moisture 58 Geosciences Titanium Guatemala Water Climates Central America Gulf Of Mexico Precipitation Availability Convergence Article 2005 ftunivnotexas 2020-07-11T22:08:11Z The transition from arid glacial to moist early Holocene conditions represented a profound change in northern lowland Neotropical climate. Here we report a detailed record of changes in moisture availability during the latter part of this transition ({approx}11,250 to 7,500 cal yr BP) inferred from sediment cores retrieved in Lake Peten Itza, northern Guatemala. Pollen assemblages demonstrate that a mesic forest had been largely established by {approx}11,250 cal yr BP, but sediment properties indicate that lake level was more than 35 m below modern stage. From 11,250 to 10,350 cal yr BP, during the Preboreal period, lithologic changes in sediments from deep-water cores (>50 m below modern water level) indicate several wet-dry cycles that suggest distinct changes in effective moisture. Four dry events (designated PBE1-4) occurred at 11,200, 10,900, 10,700, and 10,400 cal yr BP and correlate with similar variability observed in the Cariaco Basin titanium record and glacial meltwater pulses into the Gulf of Mexico. After 10,350 cal yr BP, multiple sediment proxies suggest a shift to a more persistently moist early Holocene climate. Comparison of results from Lake Peten Itza with other records from the circum-Caribbean demonstrates a coherent climate response during the entire span of our record. Furthermore, lowland Neotropical climate during the late deglacial and early Holocene period appears to be tightly linked to climate change in the high-latitude North Atlantic. We speculate that the observed changes in lowland Neotropical precipitation were related to the intensity of the annual cycle and associated displacements in the mean latitudinal position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and Azores-Bermuda high-pressure system. This mechanism operated on millennial-to-submillennial timescales and may have responded to changes in solar radiation, glacial meltwater, North Atlantic sea ice, and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC). Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Sea ice University of North Texas: UNT Digital Library |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of North Texas: UNT Digital Library |
op_collection_id |
ftunivnotexas |
language |
English |
topic |
Pollen Forests Sediments Seas Solar Radiation Moisture 58 Geosciences Titanium Guatemala Water Climates Central America Gulf Of Mexico Precipitation Availability Convergence |
spellingShingle |
Pollen Forests Sediments Seas Solar Radiation Moisture 58 Geosciences Titanium Guatemala Water Climates Central America Gulf Of Mexico Precipitation Availability Convergence Hillesheim, M. B. Hodell, D. A. Leyden, B. W. Brenner, M. Curtis, J. H. Anselmetti, F. S. Ariztegui, D. Buck, D. G. Guilderson, T. P. Rosenmeier, M. F. Schnurrenberger, D. W. Climate Change in Lowland Central America During the Late Deglacial and Early Holocene |
topic_facet |
Pollen Forests Sediments Seas Solar Radiation Moisture 58 Geosciences Titanium Guatemala Water Climates Central America Gulf Of Mexico Precipitation Availability Convergence |
description |
The transition from arid glacial to moist early Holocene conditions represented a profound change in northern lowland Neotropical climate. Here we report a detailed record of changes in moisture availability during the latter part of this transition ({approx}11,250 to 7,500 cal yr BP) inferred from sediment cores retrieved in Lake Peten Itza, northern Guatemala. Pollen assemblages demonstrate that a mesic forest had been largely established by {approx}11,250 cal yr BP, but sediment properties indicate that lake level was more than 35 m below modern stage. From 11,250 to 10,350 cal yr BP, during the Preboreal period, lithologic changes in sediments from deep-water cores (>50 m below modern water level) indicate several wet-dry cycles that suggest distinct changes in effective moisture. Four dry events (designated PBE1-4) occurred at 11,200, 10,900, 10,700, and 10,400 cal yr BP and correlate with similar variability observed in the Cariaco Basin titanium record and glacial meltwater pulses into the Gulf of Mexico. After 10,350 cal yr BP, multiple sediment proxies suggest a shift to a more persistently moist early Holocene climate. Comparison of results from Lake Peten Itza with other records from the circum-Caribbean demonstrates a coherent climate response during the entire span of our record. Furthermore, lowland Neotropical climate during the late deglacial and early Holocene period appears to be tightly linked to climate change in the high-latitude North Atlantic. We speculate that the observed changes in lowland Neotropical precipitation were related to the intensity of the annual cycle and associated displacements in the mean latitudinal position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and Azores-Bermuda high-pressure system. This mechanism operated on millennial-to-submillennial timescales and may have responded to changes in solar radiation, glacial meltwater, North Atlantic sea ice, and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC). |
author2 |
United States. Department of Energy. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hillesheim, M. B. Hodell, D. A. Leyden, B. W. Brenner, M. Curtis, J. H. Anselmetti, F. S. Ariztegui, D. Buck, D. G. Guilderson, T. P. Rosenmeier, M. F. Schnurrenberger, D. W. |
author_facet |
Hillesheim, M. B. Hodell, D. A. Leyden, B. W. Brenner, M. Curtis, J. H. Anselmetti, F. S. Ariztegui, D. Buck, D. G. Guilderson, T. P. Rosenmeier, M. F. Schnurrenberger, D. W. |
author_sort |
Hillesheim, M. B. |
title |
Climate Change in Lowland Central America During the Late Deglacial and Early Holocene |
title_short |
Climate Change in Lowland Central America During the Late Deglacial and Early Holocene |
title_full |
Climate Change in Lowland Central America During the Late Deglacial and Early Holocene |
title_fullStr |
Climate Change in Lowland Central America During the Late Deglacial and Early Holocene |
title_full_unstemmed |
Climate Change in Lowland Central America During the Late Deglacial and Early Holocene |
title_sort |
climate change in lowland central america during the late deglacial and early holocene |
publisher |
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc882215/ |
genre |
North Atlantic Sea ice |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic Sea ice |
op_source |
Journal Name: Journal of Quaternary Sciences, vol. 20, no. 4, June 1, 2005, pp. 363-376 |
op_relation |
rep-no: UCRL-JRNL-209600 grantno: W-7405-ENG-48 osti: 897995 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc882215/ ark: ark:/67531/metadc882215 |
_version_ |
1766129894142509056 |