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Stalagmite evidence of Last Glacial Maximum to early Holocene climate variability in southwestern Iran
Author(s) -
SOLEIMANI MOJGAN,
NADIMI ALIREZA,
KOLTAI GABRIELLA,
DUBLYANSKY YURI,
CAROLIN STACY,
SPÖTL CHRISTOPH
Publication year - 2023
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.3478
Subject(s) - stalagmite , holocene , geology , last glacial maximum , younger dryas , deglaciation , stadial , holocene climatic optimum , glacial period , speleothem , physical geography , westerlies , climatology , oceanography , cave , paleontology , geography , archaeology
Glacial periods and their terminations are useful for assessing the full scale of natural climate variability in the diverse climate regions of West Asia (i.e. deserts, mountains, alluvial plains, coastal zones). In this study, we report the first stalagmite stable isotope (δ 18 O and δ 13 C) records from the southern Zagros Mountains in southwest Iran. The records partially span the period from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the early Holocene, 24.2–9.6 thousand years before the present. The southwest Iran stalagmite δ 18 O and δ 13 C records indicate that climate and environment in the area differed substantially between the LGM and early Holocene. High stalagmite δ 13 C values are found at the LGM (7‰ greater compared to the early Holocene), and are attributed to sparse vegetation and reduced soil bio‐productivity, and possibly a greater degree of prior calcite precipitation in the epikarst, as a result of a cold and dry climate. Stalagmite δ 18 O values are also high at the LGM (4‰ greater compared to the early Holocene), and are attributed to lower temperatures (larger water–calcite isotope fractionation) and higher δ 18 O values of the moisture sources (Mediterranean and Red Seas). Through the deglaciation, stalagmite δ 18 O, δ 13 C and/or growth features coincide with the North Atlantic Heinrich Stadial 1, the Bølling–Allerød warm period and the Younger Dryas cold event, supporting a relationship between southern Zagros climate and the North Atlantic millennial events.