Last Interglacial Climate in Northern Sweden—Insights from a Speleothem Record
by
Martin Finné 1,2,*
, Sakari Salonen 3,4, Norbert Frank 5, Karin F. Helmens 2,6, Andrea Schröder-Ritzrau 5, Michael Deininger 7 and Steffen Holzkämper 2,8
Martin Finné 1,2,*, Sakari Salonen 3,4, Norbert Frank 5, Karin F. Helmens 2,6, Andrea Schröder-Ritzrau 5, Michael Deininger 7 and Steffen Holzkämper 2,8
1
Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Box 626, SE-75126 Uppsala, Sweden
2
The Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
3
Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, PO Box 64, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
4
Environnements et Paléoenvironnements, Océaniques et Continentaux, UMR 5805, Université de Bordeaux, 33615 Pessac CEDEX, France
5
Institute of Environmental Physics, Heidelberg University, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany
6
Värriö Research Station, Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research INAR/Physics, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, FI-00014 Helsinki, Finland
7
Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, D-55128 Mainz, Germany
8
Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University, SE-10691 Stockholm, Sweden
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Quaternary 2019, 2(3), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat2030029
Received: 29 June 2019 / Revised: 7 August 2019 / Accepted: 13 August 2019 / Published: 20 August 2019
Continental records with absolute dates of the timing and progression of climatic conditions during the Last Interglacial (LIG) from northern Europe are rare. Speleothems from northern Europe have a large potential as archives for LIG environmental conditions since they were formed in sheltered environments and may be preserved beneath ice sheets. Here, we present δ13C and δ18O values from speleothem Kf-21, from Korallgrottan in Jämtland (northwest Sweden). Kf-21 is dated with five MC-ICPMS U-Th dates with errors smaller than ~1 ka. Kf-21 started forming at ~130.2 ka and the main growth phase with relatively constant growth rates lasted from 127.3 ka to 124.4 ka, after which calcite formation ceased. Both δ13C and δ18O show rapid shifts but also trends, with a range of values within their Holocene counterparts from Korallgrottan. Our results indicate an early onset of the LIG in northern Europe with ice-free conditions at ~130 ka. Higher growth rates combined with more negative δ18O values between ~127.3 and 126.8 ka, interpreted here as warmer and more humid conditions, as well as indications of a millennial-scale cold spell centered at 126.2 ka, resemble findings from speleothem records from other parts of Europe, highlighting that these were regional scale climatic patterns.
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Keywords:
Last Interglacial (LIG); speleothem; stable carbon and oxygen isotope compositions; climate variability; Scandinavia; Sweden
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MDPI and ACS Style
Finné, M.; Salonen, S.; Frank, N.; Helmens, K.F.; Schröder-Ritzrau, A.; Deininger, M.; Holzkämper, S. Last Interglacial Climate in Northern Sweden—Insights from a Speleothem Record. Quaternary 2019, 2, 29.
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