Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene palaeoclimatic indicators in Antarctica
Penguins are sensitive indicators of the Antarctic climate and of the environmental parameters that limit their presence and distribution. Paleoenvironmental data, obtained from the study of abandoned penguin rookeries (Pygoscelis adeliae) along the Victoria Land coast in Antarctica, indicate a 14C...
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ftunivpisairis:oai:arpi.unipi.it:11568/21192 2024-04-21T07:52:01+00:00 Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene palaeoclimatic indicators in Antarctica BARONI, CARLO Orombelli G. Baroni, Carlo Orombelli, G. 1994 STAMPA http://hdl.handle.net/11568/21192 eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:A1994MQ40300007 volume:22 issue:1 firstpage:23 lastpage:26 numberofpages:4 journal:GEOLOGY http://hdl.handle.net/11568/21192 10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0023:APRAHP>2.3.CO;2 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-84879885149 Adélie Penguin Pygoscelis adeliae Relict penguin colonie Ornithogenic soil Deglaciation raised beache Climate change environmental change Holocene Victoria Land Ross Sea Antarctica info:eu-repo/semantics/article 1994 ftunivpisairis 2024-03-28T01:23:17Z Penguins are sensitive indicators of the Antarctic climate and of the environmental parameters that limit their presence and distribution. Paleoenvironmental data, obtained from the study of abandoned penguin rookeries (Pygoscelis adeliae) along the Victoria Land coast in Antarctica, indicate a 14C date of 11-13 ka for the oldest abandoned rookery and supply new information about the timing of glacier retreat in southern Victoria Land after the last glacial maximum. The continuous presence of the Adelie penguins is documented from 7 ka. According to our data, the limiting factors that control the presence of penguins along the coast of Victoria Land changed during the Holocene. Whereas several colonies were occupied for very long periods, other sites were used for more or less extended periods and then abandoned. The greatest diffusion ofrookeries occurred between 3 and 4 ka, a period of particularly favorable environmental conditions that has never been repeated. It was followed by a sudden decrease in the number of penguin rookeries shortly after 3 ka. This event has been attributed to an increase of the sea-ice extension and may have been correlated to a worldwide phase ofclimate change near the Subboreal-Subatlantic boundary. A minor phase of penguin reoccupation occurred locally in the eighth to fourteenth centuries (A.D.). Because the presence and number of penguins reflect the state of health of the Antarctic marine ecosystem, it is important to evaluate the variations in their distribution in the past, in the absence of human-induced changes. Considerable information about deglaciation following the last glacial maximum has come from the remains of marine birds along the Antarctic coast. Ornithogenic soils are common, and they show that most of the coastal ice-free areas have been used as penguin rookeries. At abandoned sites a layer of well-sorted pebbles, used by the penguins to build nests, hide relict ornithogenic soils, which provide daltable remains such as bones, feathers, egg fragments, and ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Pygoscelis adeliae Ross Sea Sea ice Victoria Land ARPI - Archivio della Ricerca dell'Università di Pisa |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
ARPI - Archivio della Ricerca dell'Università di Pisa |
op_collection_id |
ftunivpisairis |
language |
English |
topic |
Adélie Penguin Pygoscelis adeliae Relict penguin colonie Ornithogenic soil Deglaciation raised beache Climate change environmental change Holocene Victoria Land Ross Sea Antarctica |
spellingShingle |
Adélie Penguin Pygoscelis adeliae Relict penguin colonie Ornithogenic soil Deglaciation raised beache Climate change environmental change Holocene Victoria Land Ross Sea Antarctica BARONI, CARLO Orombelli G. Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene palaeoclimatic indicators in Antarctica |
topic_facet |
Adélie Penguin Pygoscelis adeliae Relict penguin colonie Ornithogenic soil Deglaciation raised beache Climate change environmental change Holocene Victoria Land Ross Sea Antarctica |
description |
Penguins are sensitive indicators of the Antarctic climate and of the environmental parameters that limit their presence and distribution. Paleoenvironmental data, obtained from the study of abandoned penguin rookeries (Pygoscelis adeliae) along the Victoria Land coast in Antarctica, indicate a 14C date of 11-13 ka for the oldest abandoned rookery and supply new information about the timing of glacier retreat in southern Victoria Land after the last glacial maximum. The continuous presence of the Adelie penguins is documented from 7 ka. According to our data, the limiting factors that control the presence of penguins along the coast of Victoria Land changed during the Holocene. Whereas several colonies were occupied for very long periods, other sites were used for more or less extended periods and then abandoned. The greatest diffusion ofrookeries occurred between 3 and 4 ka, a period of particularly favorable environmental conditions that has never been repeated. It was followed by a sudden decrease in the number of penguin rookeries shortly after 3 ka. This event has been attributed to an increase of the sea-ice extension and may have been correlated to a worldwide phase ofclimate change near the Subboreal-Subatlantic boundary. A minor phase of penguin reoccupation occurred locally in the eighth to fourteenth centuries (A.D.). Because the presence and number of penguins reflect the state of health of the Antarctic marine ecosystem, it is important to evaluate the variations in their distribution in the past, in the absence of human-induced changes. Considerable information about deglaciation following the last glacial maximum has come from the remains of marine birds along the Antarctic coast. Ornithogenic soils are common, and they show that most of the coastal ice-free areas have been used as penguin rookeries. At abandoned sites a layer of well-sorted pebbles, used by the penguins to build nests, hide relict ornithogenic soils, which provide daltable remains such as bones, feathers, egg fragments, and ... |
author2 |
Baroni, Carlo Orombelli, G. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
BARONI, CARLO Orombelli G. |
author_facet |
BARONI, CARLO Orombelli G. |
author_sort |
BARONI, CARLO |
title |
Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene palaeoclimatic indicators in Antarctica |
title_short |
Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene palaeoclimatic indicators in Antarctica |
title_full |
Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene palaeoclimatic indicators in Antarctica |
title_fullStr |
Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene palaeoclimatic indicators in Antarctica |
title_full_unstemmed |
Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene palaeoclimatic indicators in Antarctica |
title_sort |
abandoned penguin rookeries as holocene palaeoclimatic indicators in antarctica |
publishDate |
1994 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11568/21192 |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Pygoscelis adeliae Ross Sea Sea ice Victoria Land |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Pygoscelis adeliae Ross Sea Sea ice Victoria Land |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:A1994MQ40300007 volume:22 issue:1 firstpage:23 lastpage:26 numberofpages:4 journal:GEOLOGY http://hdl.handle.net/11568/21192 10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0023:APRAHP>2.3.CO;2 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-84879885149 |
_version_ |
1796935280537632768 |