Understanding past climatic and hydrological variability in the Mediterranean from Lake Prespa sediment isotope and geochemical record over the Last Glacial cycle

Leng, Melanie J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1115-5166; Wagner, Bernd; Boehm, Anne; Panagiotopoulos, Konstantinos; Vane, Christopher H. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8150-3640; Snelling, Andrea; Haidon, Cheryl; Woodley, Ewan; Vogel, Hendrik; Zanchetta, Gianni; Baneschi, Ilaria. 2013 Understanding past climatic and hydrological variability in the Mediterranean from Lake Prespa sediment isotope and geochemical record over the Last Glacial cycle [in special issue: International Association of Limnogeology – Isotopes and Lakes] Quaternary Science Reviews, 66. 123-136. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.07.015

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.07.015

Abstract/Summary

Here we present stable isotope and geochemical data from Lake Prespa (Macedonia/Albania border) over the Last Glacial cycle (Marine Isotope Stages 5–1) and discuss past lake hydrology and climate (TIC, oxygen and carbon isotopes), as well as responses to climate of terrestrial and aquatic vegetation (TOC, Rock Eval pyrolysis, carbon isotopes, pollen). The Lake Prespa sediments broadly fall into 5 zones based on their sedimentology, geochemistry, palynology and the existing chronology. The Glacial sediments suggest low supply of carbon to the lake, but high summer productivity; intermittent siderite layers suggest that although the lake was likely to have mixed regularly leading to enhanced oxidation of organic matter, there must have been within sediment reducing conditions and methanogenesis. MIS 5 and 1 sediments suggest much more productivity, higher rates of organic material preservation possibly due to more limited mixing with longer periods of oxygen-depleted bottom waters. We also calculated lakewater δ18O from siderite (authigenic/Glacial) and calcite (endogenic/Holocene) and show much lower lakewater δ18O values in the Glacial when compared to the Holocene, suggesting the lake was less evaporative in the Glacial, probably as a consequence of cooler summers and longer winter ice cover. In the Holocene the oxygen isotope data suggests general humidity, with just 2 marked arid phases, features observed in other Eastern and Central Mediterranean lakes.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.07.015
ISSN:	02773791
Date made live:	14 Oct 2013 14:17 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/503495

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1016/j.quascirev.2012.07.015

ISSN:

02773791

Date made live:

14 Oct 2013 14:17 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/503495