Elemental, biomarker, and macrofossil data for composite core Co1211

In this study, we use a combined biomarker and macrofossil approach to reconstruct the Holocene climate history recorded in Trifna Sø, Skallingen area, eastern North Greenland. Chronological information is derived from comparison of lithological, biogeochemical and macrofossil characteristics with a well‐dated record from nearby Lille Sneha Sø. Following local deglaciation around c. 8 cal. ka BP, the local peak warmth occurred between c. 7.4 and 6.2 cal. ka BP as indicated by maximum macrofossil abundances of warmth‐demanding plants (Salix arctica and Dryas integrifolia) and invertebrates (Daphnia pulex and Chironomidae). Warm conditions were dominated by terrestrial organic matter (OM) sedimentation as implied by the alkane‐based Paq ratio, but increased aquatic productivity is indicated when temperature was highest around 6.5 cal. ka BP. The n‐C29/n‐C31 alkane ratio shows that vegetation in the catchment was dominated by shrubs after deglaciation, but shifted towards relatively more grassy/herbaceous vegetation during peak warmth. After 5.4 cal. ka BP, the disappearance of warmth‐demanding plant and invertebrate macrofossils indicates cooling in the Skallingen area. This cooling was characterized by a significant shift towards dominance of aquatic OM sedimentation in Trifna Sø as implied by high Paq ratios. Cooling was also associated with a shift in vegetation type from dwarf‐shrub heaths towards relatively more herbaceous vegetation in the catchment, stronger erosion and more oligotrophic conditions in the lake. Our data show that mean air temperatures inferred using branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) do not seem to accurately reflect the local climatic history. Irrespective of calibration, methylation of branched tetraethers (MBT) palaeothermometry cannot be reconciled with the macrofossil evidence and seems to be biased by either changing brGDGT sources (in situ vs. soil‐derived) or changing species assemblages and/or an unknown physiological response to changing environmental conditions at high latitude.

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Cite this as

Kusch, Stephanie, Bennike, Ole, Wagner, Bernd, Lenz, Matthias, Steffen, Ilona, Rethemeyer, Janet (2019). Dataset: Elemental, biomarker, and macrofossil data for composite core Co1211. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.900270

DOI retrieved: 2019

Additional Info

Field Value
Imported on November 30, 2024
Last update November 30, 2024
License CC-BY-4.0
Source https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.900270
Author Kusch, Stephanie
Given Name Stephanie
Family Name Kusch
More Authors
Bennike, Ole
Wagner, Bernd
Lenz, Matthias
Steffen, Ilona
Rethemeyer, Janet
Source Creation 2019
Publication Year 2019
Resource Type text/tab-separated-values - filename: Kusch-etal_2019
Subject Areas
Name: BiologicalClassification

Name: LandSurface

Name: Lithosphere

Name: Paleontology

Related Identifiers
Title: Holocene environmental history in high‐Arctic North Greenland revealed by a combined biomarker and macrofossil approach
Identifier: https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12377
Type: DOI
Relation: IsSupplementTo
Year: 2019
Source: Boreas
Authors: Kusch Stephanie , Bennike Ole , Wagner Bernd , Lenz Matthias , Steffen Ilona , Rethemeyer Janet .