A quantitative comparison of microfossil extraction methods from ice cores
Microfossil records from ice archives allow vegetation, fire and land-use activity reconstructions on broad spatial scales. Samples typically contain low microfossil concentrations. Therefore, large ice volumes are often needed for palynology. Hence, it is crucial to extract maximum microfossil numb...
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ftunivwagenin:oai:library.wur.nl:wurpubs/628425 2024-04-28T08:26:49+00:00 A quantitative comparison of microfossil extraction methods from ice cores Brugger, Sandra O. Gobet, Erika Schanz, F.R.S. Heiri, Oliver Schwörer, Christoph Sigl, Michael Schwikowski, Margit Tinner, Willy 2018 text/html https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/a-quantitative-comparison-of-microfossil-extraction-methods-from- https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.31 en eng https://edepot.wur.nl/653862 https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/a-quantitative-comparison-of-microfossil-extraction-methods-from- doi:10.1017/jog.2018.31 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Wageningen University & Research Journal of Glaciology 64 (2018) 245 ISSN: 0022-1430 Life Science Article/Letter to editor 2018 ftunivwagenin https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.31 2024-04-03T15:17:23Z Microfossil records from ice archives allow vegetation, fire and land-use activity reconstructions on broad spatial scales. Samples typically contain low microfossil concentrations. Therefore, large ice volumes are often needed for palynology. Hence, it is crucial to extract maximum microfossil numbers through appropriate physical-chemical treatments. We compare six methods covering the main water reduction procedures: evaporation, filtration and centrifugation with snow samples. Adding a known number of Lycopodium marker spores prior to sample treatment and a second marker (Eucalyptus) after laboratory processing allows a quantitative microfossil loss assessment during pollen extraction. We applied the best-performing method (average loss of 22%) to high-alpine firn cores from Colle Gnifetti glacier for validation with a natural archive containing extremely low microfossil concentrations. We conclude that samples processed with different microfossil extraction protocols may give different results for pollen concentrations, percentages and ratios between different pollen types, especially if vesiculate conifer pollen is an important pollen assemblage component. We recommend a new evaporation-based method which delivers the smallest and least variable losses among the tested approaches. Since microfossil losses are inevitable during laboratory procedure, adding markers prior to sample processing is mandatory to achieve reliable microfossil concentration and influx estimates. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Wageningen UR (University & Research Centre): Digital Library Journal of Glaciology 64 245 432 442 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Wageningen UR (University & Research Centre): Digital Library |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwagenin |
language |
English |
topic |
Life Science |
spellingShingle |
Life Science Brugger, Sandra O. Gobet, Erika Schanz, F.R.S. Heiri, Oliver Schwörer, Christoph Sigl, Michael Schwikowski, Margit Tinner, Willy A quantitative comparison of microfossil extraction methods from ice cores |
topic_facet |
Life Science |
description |
Microfossil records from ice archives allow vegetation, fire and land-use activity reconstructions on broad spatial scales. Samples typically contain low microfossil concentrations. Therefore, large ice volumes are often needed for palynology. Hence, it is crucial to extract maximum microfossil numbers through appropriate physical-chemical treatments. We compare six methods covering the main water reduction procedures: evaporation, filtration and centrifugation with snow samples. Adding a known number of Lycopodium marker spores prior to sample treatment and a second marker (Eucalyptus) after laboratory processing allows a quantitative microfossil loss assessment during pollen extraction. We applied the best-performing method (average loss of 22%) to high-alpine firn cores from Colle Gnifetti glacier for validation with a natural archive containing extremely low microfossil concentrations. We conclude that samples processed with different microfossil extraction protocols may give different results for pollen concentrations, percentages and ratios between different pollen types, especially if vesiculate conifer pollen is an important pollen assemblage component. We recommend a new evaporation-based method which delivers the smallest and least variable losses among the tested approaches. Since microfossil losses are inevitable during laboratory procedure, adding markers prior to sample processing is mandatory to achieve reliable microfossil concentration and influx estimates. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Brugger, Sandra O. Gobet, Erika Schanz, F.R.S. Heiri, Oliver Schwörer, Christoph Sigl, Michael Schwikowski, Margit Tinner, Willy |
author_facet |
Brugger, Sandra O. Gobet, Erika Schanz, F.R.S. Heiri, Oliver Schwörer, Christoph Sigl, Michael Schwikowski, Margit Tinner, Willy |
author_sort |
Brugger, Sandra O. |
title |
A quantitative comparison of microfossil extraction methods from ice cores |
title_short |
A quantitative comparison of microfossil extraction methods from ice cores |
title_full |
A quantitative comparison of microfossil extraction methods from ice cores |
title_fullStr |
A quantitative comparison of microfossil extraction methods from ice cores |
title_full_unstemmed |
A quantitative comparison of microfossil extraction methods from ice cores |
title_sort |
quantitative comparison of microfossil extraction methods from ice cores |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/a-quantitative-comparison-of-microfossil-extraction-methods-from- https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.31 |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology 64 (2018) 245 ISSN: 0022-1430 |
op_relation |
https://edepot.wur.nl/653862 https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/a-quantitative-comparison-of-microfossil-extraction-methods-from- doi:10.1017/jog.2018.31 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Wageningen University & Research |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2018.31 |
container_title |
Journal of Glaciology |
container_volume |
64 |
container_issue |
245 |
container_start_page |
432 |
op_container_end_page |
442 |
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1797586051261267968 |