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A high‐resolution speleothem proxy record of the Late Glacial in the European Alps: extending the NALPS19 record until the beginning of the Holocene
Author(s) -
Li Hanying,
Spötl Christoph,
Cheng Hai
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of quaternary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.142
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1099-1417
pISSN - 0267-8179
DOI - 10.1002/jqs.3255
Subject(s) - stalagmite , stadial , geology , holocene , speleothem , younger dryas , glacial period , ice core , physical geography , climate change , abrupt climate change , holocene climatic optimum , climatology , paleontology , oceanography , global warming , cave , archaeology , geography , effects of global warming
Previous research has shown that speleothems from the northern rim of the European Alps captured submillennial‐scale climate change during the last glacial period with exceptional sensitivity and resolution, mimicking Greenland ice‐core records. Here we extend this so‐called NALPS19 record across the Late Glacial using two stalagmites which grew continuously into the Holocene. Both specimens show the same high‐amplitude δ 18 O signal as Greenland ice cores down to decadal resolution. The start of the warming at the onset of the equivalent of Greenland Interstadial (GI) GI‐1e at 14.66 ± 0.18 ka agrees with the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) (14.64 ± 0.28 ka) and comprised a temperature rise of about 5–6 °C. The transition from the equivalent of GI‐1a into the equivalent of Greenland Stadial (GS) GS‐1 (broadly equivalent to the Younger Dryas) commenced at 13.02 ± 0.13 ka which is consistent with NGRIP (12.80 ± 0.26 ka) within errors. The onset of the Holocene started at 11.78 ± 0.14 ka (11.65 ± 0.10 ka at NGRIP) and involved a warming of about 4–5 °C. In contrast to δ 18 O, δ 13 C values show no response to (sub)millennial climate shifts due to strong rock‐buffering and only record a long‐term trend of soil development starting with the rapid warming at 14.7 ka.