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Rapid environmental changes in southern Europe during the last glacial period

Nature volume 400, pages 740–743 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Oxygen-isotope records from Greenland ice cores1,2 indicate numerous rapid climate fluctuations during the last glacial period. North Atlantic marine sediment cores show comparable variability in sea surface temperature and the deposition of ice-rafted debris3,4,5. In contrast, very few continental records of this time period provide the temporal resolution and environmental sensitivity necessary to reveal the extent and effects of these environmental fluctuations on the continents. Here we present high-resolution geochemical, physical and pollen data from lake sediments in Italy and from a Mediterranean sediment core, linked by a common tephrochronology. Our lacustrine sequence extends to the past 102,000 years. Many of its features correlate well with the Greenland ice-core records, demonstrating that the closely coupled ocean–atmosphere system of the Northern Hemisphere during the last glacial4 extended its influence at least as far as the central Mediterranean region. Numerous vegetation changes were rapid, frequently occurring in less than 200 years, showing that the terrestrial biosphere participated fully in last-glacial climate variability. Earlier than 65,000 years ago, our record shows more climate fluctuations than are apparent in the Greenland ice cores. Together, the multi-proxy data from the continental and marine records reveal differences in the seasonal character of climate during successive interstadials, and provide a step towards determining the underlying mechanisms of the centennial–millennial-scale variability.

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Figure 1: Site chronology.
Figure 2: Vegetation change at Monticchio.
Figure 3: Palaeoenvironmental records of the last glacial period.

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. Hendrich for drafting the figures. Initial parts of this study were supported by the EU ‘Euromaars’ Programme. U.B., M.K., S.W. and B.Z. were supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and J.R.M.A was supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council. This study is a contribution to the European Lake Drilling Programme, and to the PEP III PAGES transect through Europe and Africa.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Research Centre, University of Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK

    Judy R. M. Allen & Brian Huntley

  2. GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Projektbereich 3.3, Potsdam, D-14473, Telegrafenberg, Germany

    Ute Brandt, Achim Brauer, Jens Mingram, Jörg F. W. Negendank, Norbert R. Nowaczyk, Hedi Oberhänsli, Sabine Wulf & Bernd Zolitschka

  3. Faculté des Sciences et Techniques de Saint-Jérôme, Laboratoire de Botanique Historique et Palynologie, Marseille, Cedex 20, F-13379, France

    Achim Brauer

  4. Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Telegrafenberg, D-14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Hans-Wolfgang Hubberten

  5. Institut für Mineralogie, Petrologie und Geochemie, Albertstrasse, D-79104 23b, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

    Jörg Keller & Michael Kraml

  6. Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Columbus-Zentrum, D-27515, Bremerhaven, Germany

    Andreas Mackensen

  7. Department of Botany, Trinity College, Dublin, 2, Ireland

    William A. Watts

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  1. Judy R. M. Allen
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Correspondence to Brian Huntley.

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Allen, J., Brandt, U., Brauer, A. et al. Rapid environmental changes in southern Europe during the last glacial period. Nature 400, 740–743 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/23432

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