Project Details
Projekt
Palynomorph- and chironomid-based analyses of Eemian, Weichselian, and Holocene ecosystem- and climate dynamics in the Baltic Sea region
Applicant
Dr. Ulrich Kotthoff
Subject Area
Palaeontology
Term
from 2014 to 2018
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 261215661
The main goal of this project is the identification and quantification of ecosystem and climate dynamics in the Baltic Sea region from the Eemian to the Holocene. This goal shall be achieved via the generation of millennial- to centennial-scale palynomorph records from five sites retrieved from the Baltic Sea during IODP Expedition 347. Pollen and spores shall be analysed to assess terrestrial ecosystem and climate change. Quantitative precipitation and temperature data for the terrestrial realm will be generated via the application of the nearest-living-relative method and the modern analogues technique to the pollen assemblages. For marine sediments, dinoflagellate cysts and additional marine proxies shall be analyzed in the same samples as the terrestrial palynomorphs, to qualitatively assess coeval temperature and salinity changes in the marine realm. One of the main working hypotheses is that vegetation-based methods for quantitative climate reconstructions will deliver precise results during longer warm intervals, particularly for the Middle/Late Eemian and Middle/Late Holocene, but that plant migration lags will hamper reconstructions for shorter warm intervals (e.g., Weichselian interstadials) and early interglacial phases. Since the sites to be analysed are positioned along a route from the Northern to the Southern Baltic Sea, it should be possible to identify migration effects if consistent age models can be applied to all profiles. Furthermore, chironomid larvae remains shall be used in samples from lacustrine sediments to gain vegetation-independent climate data. For the marine realm, in addition to dinoflagellate cysts, proxies analyzed by collaborators will allow qualitative and probably also quantitative temperature reconstructions. The Baltic Sea region is a particular interesting area for such analyses due to its intermediate position between the high latitudes and Central and Southern Europe, and also at the transition between different vegetation zones (cool temperate forest in the South and closed boreal forest in the North). High sedimentation rates in the basins where the sites have been drilled guarantee high temporal resolution and good palynomorph preservation. Pilot studies preceding and during the currently ongoing IODP-Expedition-347 onshore party indicate that palynomorph preservation is very good in fine-graded sediments from the different site, and that lacustrine sediments contain remains of aquatic insect larvae. The results of the proposed study will significantly contribute to a more detailed view on environment and climate dynamics of Northern Europe and to the understanding of climate teleconnections in the Northern Hemisphere during the past 130 000 years.
DFG Programme
Infrastructure Priority Programmes
International Connection
Poland, Sweden
