Search

The repeated expansion of East Asian steppe cultures was a key driver of Eurasian history, forging new social, economic, and biological links across the continent. Climate has been suggested as important driver of these poorly understood cultural expansions, but paleoclimate records from the Mongolian Plateau often suffer from poor age control or ambiguous proxy interpretation. Here, we use a combination of geochemical analyses and comprehensive radiocarbon dating to establish the first robust and detailed record of paleohydrological conditions for Lake Telmen, Mongolia, covering the past ~ 4000 years. Our record shows that humid conditions coincided with solar minima, and hydrological modeling confirms the high sensitivity of the lake to paleoclimate changes. Careful comparisons with archaeological and historical records suggest that in the vast semi-arid grasslands of eastern Eurasia, solar minima led to reduced temperatures, less evaporation, and high biomass production, expanding the power base for pastoral economies and horse cavalry. Our findings suggest a crucial link between temperature dynamics in the Eastern Steppe and key social developments, such as the emergence of pastoral empires, and fuel concerns that global warming enhances water scarcity in the semi-arid regions of interior Eurasia. Regional setting and site description Results - Sediment core chronology. - Sedimentological and geochemical analyses. - Isotope analyses, evaporation index (EI), and paleohydrology. Discussion - External forcing on the regional climate. - Hydrological modeling. - Climate impact on human history in Mongolia. Methods - Field survey and coring. - Sedimentological and geochemical characteristics. - Sediment core chronology. - Qualitative determination of the mineral composition. - Bulk isotopic composition of carbonates (δ13Ccarb, δ18Ocarb). - n‑alkane extraction and compound‑specific δ2Hn‑alkane measurements. - The evaporation index (EI). - Water balance modeling, sensitivity analysis and model scenarios.

The sediment profile from Lake Goscia(z) over dot in central Poland comprises a continuous, seasonally resolved and exceptionally well-preserved archive of the Younger Dryas (YD) climate variation. This provides a unique opportunity for detailed investigation of lake system responses during periods of rapid climate cooling (YD onset) and warming (YD termination). The new varve record of Lake Goscia(z) over dot presented here spans 1662 years from the late Allerod (AL) to the early Preboreal (PB). Microscopic varve counting provides an independent chronology with a YD duration of 1149+14/-22 years, which confirms previous results of 1140 +/- 40 years. We link stable oxygen isotopes and chironomid-based air temperature reconstructions with the response of various geochemical and varve microfacies proxies especially focusing on the onset and termination of the YD. Cooling at the YD onset lasted similar to 180 years, which is about a century longer than the terminal warming that was completed in similar to 70 years. During the AL/YD transition, environmental proxy data lagged the onset of cooling by similar to 90 years and revealed an increase of lake productivity and internal lake re-suspension as well as slightly higher detrital sediment input. In contrast, rapid warming and environmental changes during the YD/PB transition occurred simultaneously. However, initial changes such as declining diatom deposition and detrital input occurred already a few centuries before the rapid warming at the YD/PB transition. These environmental changes likely reflect a gradual increase in summer air temperatures already during the YD. Our data indicate complex and differing environmental responses to the major climate changes related to the YD, which involve different proxy sensitivities and threshold processes.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-3-hol-10.1177_09596836211033197 for Organic geochemical characterization of Early-Mid-Holocene swamp deposits near the Neolithic settlement in Yenikapı-Istanbul: Assessment of environmental variability and anthropogenic impacts by Mehmet Namık Yalçın, Heinz Wilkes and Birgit Plessen in The Holocene

Supplemental material, sj-docx-4-hol-10.1177_09596836211033197 for Organic geochemical characterization of Early-Mid-Holocene swamp deposits near the Neolithic settlement in Yenikapı-Istanbul: Assessment of environmental variability and anthropogenic impacts by Mehmet Namık Yalçın, Heinz Wilkes and Birgit Plessen in The Holocene

Supplemental material, sj-docx-2-hol-10.1177_09596836211033197 for Organic geochemical characterization of Early-Mid-Holocene swamp deposits near the Neolithic settlement in Yenikapı-Istanbul: Assessment of environmental variability and anthropogenic impacts by Mehmet Namık Yalçın, Heinz Wilkes and Birgit Plessen in The Holocene

Speleothems provide a great opportunity for paleoclimate reconstruction because they occur almost worldwide and can be dated very precisely using the U-series disequilibrium method. The most commonly used climate proxies are stable isotope values (δ18O and δ13C) and trace elements. However, these are influenced by a variety of surface and in-cave processes, which results in a non-trivial interpretation of the speleothem proxy signals. The last glacial period and in particular the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 is, compared to the recent warm phase, the Holocene, characterised by larger climate oscillations. These are detectable in δ18O records from Greenland ice cores and also climate archives in Europe, such as pollen or tree ring records. Unfortunately, little direct proxy evidence is available from central Europe, and the climatic and environmental conditions during MIS 3 remain largely enigmatic. Speleothem records from central Europe during MIS 3 are limited due to cold climate conditions and mainly restricted to the warmer southern or alpine regions. Here we present the first results of two flowstones from Bleßberg Cave in Germany. Preliminary 230Th/U-ages make these flowstones the most northern continental growth of speleothems during MIS 3 in central Europe. Thus, these samples provide the unique opportunity to reconstruct climate variability during parts of the last glacial period. With the combination of several different proxies, such as stable isotopes, trace elements and the results from cave monitoring, we will be able to obtain detailed insights into environmental conditions in central Europe during MIS 3 and the Late Glacial.

Supplemental material, sj-docx-5-hol-10.1177_09596836211033197 for Organic geochemical characterization of Early-Mid-Holocene swamp deposits near the Neolithic settlement in Yenikapı-Istanbul: Assessment of environmental variability and anthropogenic impacts by Mehmet Namık Yalçın, Heinz Wilkes and Birgit Plessen in The Holocene

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-hol-10.1177_09596836211033197 for Organic geochemical characterization of Early-Mid-Holocene swamp deposits near the Neolithic settlement in Yenikapı-Istanbul: Assessment of environmental variability and anthropogenic impacts by Mehmet Namık Yalçın, Heinz Wilkes and Birgit Plessen in The Holocene

Mosses are a major component of the arctic vegetation, particularly in wetlands. We present C / N atomic ratio, delta C-13 and delta N-15 data of 400 brown-moss samples belonging to 10 species that were collected along hydrological gradients within polygonal mires located on the southern Taymyr Peninsula and the Lena River delta in northern Siberia. Additionally, n-alkane patterns of six of these species (16 samples) were investigated. The aim of the study is to see whether the inter-and intraspecific differences in C / N, isotopic compositions and n-alkanes are indicative of habitat, particularly with respect to water level. Overall, we find high variability in all investigated parameters for two different moisture-related groups of moss species. The C / N ratios range between 11 and 53 (median: 32) and show large variations at the intraspecific level. However, species preferring a dry habitat (xero-mesophilic mosses) show higher C / N ratios than those preferring a wet habitat (meso-hygrophilic mosses). The delta C-13 values range between 37.0 and 22.5% (median D 27.8 %). The delta N-15 values range between 6.6 and C 1.7%(median D 2.2 %). We find differences in delta C-13 and delta N-15 compositions between both habitat types. For some species of the meso-hygrophilic group, we suggest that a relationship between the individ-ual habitat water level and isotopic composition can be inferred as a function of microbial symbiosis. The n-alkane distribution also shows differences primarily between xeromesophilic and meso-hygrophilic mosses, i. e. having a dominance of n-alkanes with long (n-C29, n-C31 /and intermediate (n-C25 /chain lengths, respectively. Overall, our results reveal that C / N ratios, isotopic signals and n-alkanes of studied brown-moss taxa from polygonal wetlands are characteristic of their habitat., Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe, 672

System Erde; 9, The main focus of the TERENO Northeastern German Lowland Observatory (TERENO-Northeast) is the regional impact of Global Change. Since 2011, the observatory has recorded changes in the geo-, hydro-, bio- and atmosphere at six main study sites. The year 2018, particularly in northeast Germany, was record-breaking in regard to dryness and heat. The mean temperature in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern was 2 °C above the long-term average and precipitation was very low at 440 mm (normally around 600 mm). The extreme summer of 2018 was a special opportunity for TERENO-Northeast to measure the regional effects of climate change. One of the consequences was the large number of forest fires, with one major fire destroying around 400 hectares. Other extreme reactions of the ecosystems were shown in TERENO-Northeast. For example, for the first time since its rewetting, Polder Zarnekov fell dry, with unpredictable consequences for the greenhouse gas exchanges. The forest ecosystems of Müritz National Park, on the other hand, survived the extreme summer surprisingly well, partly because the months before the drought were relatively damp. The research activities of TERENO-Northeast form an important basis to develop realistic options for improved adaptation strategies to the ongoing global change with its particular region-specific effects and challenges.

The Northeast German Lowland Observatory (TERENO-NE) was established to investigate the regional impact of climate and land use change. TERENO-NE focuses on the Northeast German lowlands, for which a high vulnerability has been determined due to increasing temperatures and decreasing amounts of precipitation projected for the coming decades. To facilitate in-depth evaluations of the effects of climate and land use changes and to separate the effects of natural and anthropogenic drivers in the region, six sites were chosen for comprehensive monitoring. In addition, at selected sites, geoarchives were used to substantially extend the instrumental records back in time. It is this combination of diverse disciplines working across different time scales that makes the observatory TERENO-NE a unique observation platform. We provide information about the general characteristics of the observatory and its six monitoring sites and present examples of interdisciplinary research activities at some of these sites. We also illustrate how monitoring improves process understanding, how remote sensing techniques are fine-tuned by the most comprehensive ground-truthing site DEMMIN, how soil erosion dynamics have evolved, how greenhouse gas monitoring of rewetted peatlands can reveal unexpected mechanisms, and how proxy data provides a long-term perspective of current ongoing changes.

The Cheb Basin (CZ) is a shallow Neogene intracontinental basin filled with fluvial and lacustrine sediments that is located in the western part of the Eger Rift. The basin is situated in a seismically active area and is characterized by diffuse degassing of mantle-derived CO2 in mofette fields. The Hartousov mofette field shows a daily CO2 flux of 23-97 tons of CO2 released over an area of 0.35 km(2) and a soil gas concentration of up to 100% CO2. The present study aims to explore the geo-bio interactions provoked by the influence of elevated CO2 concentrations on the geochemistry and microbial community of soils and sediments. To sample the strata, two 3-m cores were recovered. One core stems from the center of the degassing structure, whereas the other core was taken 8 m from the ENE and served as an undisturbed reference site. The sites were compared regarding their geochemical features, microbial abundances, and microbial community structures. The mofette site is characterized by a low pH and high TOC/sulfate contents. Striking differences in the microbial community highlight the substantial impact of elevated CO2 concentrations and their associated side effects on microbial processes. The abundance of microbes did not show a typical decrease with depth, indicating that the uprising CO2-rich fluid provides sufficient substrate for chemolithoautotrophic anaerobic microorganisms. Illumine MiSeq sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes and multivariate statistics reveals that the pH strongly influences microbial composition and explains around 38.7% of the variance at the mofette site and 22.4% of the variance between the mofette site and the undisturbed reference site. Accordingly, acidophilic microorganisms (e.g., OTUs assigned to Acidobacteriaceae and Acidithiobacillus) displayed a much higher relative abundance at the mofette site than at the reference site. The microbial community at the mofette site is characterized by a high relative abundance of methanogens and taxa involved in sulfur cycling. The present study provides intriguing insights into microbial life and geo-bio interactions in an active seismic region dominated by emanating mantle-derived CO2-rich fluids, and thereby builds the basis for further studies, e.g., focusing on the functional repertoire of the communities. However, it remains open if the observed patterns can be generalized for different time-points or sites., Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe; 1100

We present results of analyses on a sediment core from Lake Karakul, located in the eastern Pamir Mountains, Tajikistan. The core spans the last similar to 29 cal ka. We investigated and assessed processes internal and external to the lake to infer changes in past moisture availability. Among the variables used to infer lake-external processes, high values of grain-size end-member (EM) 3 (wide grain-size distribution that reflects fluvial input) and high Sr/Rb and Zr/Rb ratios (coinciding with coarse grain sizes), are indicative of moister conditions. High values in EM1, EM2 (peaks of small grain sizes that reflect long-distance dust transport or fine, glacially derived clastic input) and TiO2 (terrigenous input) are thought to reflect greater influence of dry air masses, most likely of Westerly origin. High input of dust from distant sources, beginning before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and continuing to the late glacial, reflects the influence of dry Westerlies, whereas peaks in fluvial input suggest increased moisture availability. The early to early-middle Holocene is characterised by coarse mean grain sizes, indicating constant, high fluvial input and moister conditions in the region. A steady increase in terrigenous dust and a decrease in fluvial input from 6.6 cal ka BP onwards points to the Westerlies as the predominant atmospheric circulation through to present, and marks a return to drier and even arid conditions in the area. Proxies for productivity (TOC, TOC/TN, TOCBr), redox potential (Fe/Mn) and changes in the endogenic carbonate precipitation (TIC, delta(18) OCarb) indicate changes within the lake. Low productivity characterised the lake from the late Pleistocene until 6.6 cal ka BP, and increased rapidly afterwards. Lake level remained low until the LGM, but water depth increased to a maximum during the late glacial and remained high into the early Holocene. Subsequently, the water level decreased to its present stage. Today the lake system is mainly climatically controlled, but the depositional regime is also driven by internal limnogeological processes.

System Erde ; 7, Stable isotopes of the light elements Hydrogen (H), Carbon (C), Nitrogen (N), and Oxygen (O) are being measured in section 5.2 Climate Dynamics and Landscape Evolution at the GFZ in different terrestrial climate archives such as lake sediments, speleothems and tree rings. The stable isotope ratios of these elements reflect environmental conditions like precipitation, temperature, productivity and vegetation type. To translate isotope parameters into high-quality proxies of past climate and environmental variability, monitoring devices have been deployed which detect seasonal variations, pathways and distortions of stable isotope signals. Oxygen stable isotopes play a major role in paleoclimatology because of their broad variation and fractionation of 16O and 18O in water, carbonate and biological systems. In general, the isotopic ratios of oxygen isotopes reflect changes in atmospheric circulation systems which are important drivers for climate variability. Back through time, the variations of oxygen isotope ratios (18O/16O) in precipitation and their corresponding climate fingerprint are conserved in lake sediments, speleothems and tree rings. Oxygen isotope records from networks of these geoarchives allow local to regional assessments of past climate variability.

Northeastern (NE) India experiences extraordinarily pronounced seasonal climate, governed by the Indian summer monsoon (ISM). The vulnerability of this region to floods and droughts calls for detailed and highly resolved paleoclimate reconstructions to assess the recurrence rate and driving factors of ISM changes. We use stable oxygen and carbon isotope ratios (delta O-18 and delta C-13) from stalagmite MAW-6 from Mawmluh Cave to infer climate and environmental conditions in NE India over the last deglaciation (16-6ka). We interpret stalagmite delta O-18 as reflecting ISM strength, whereas delta C-13 appears to be driven by local hydroclimate conditions. Pronounced shifts in ISM strength over the deglaciation are apparent from the delta O-18 record, similarly to other records from monsoonal Asia. The ISM is weaker during the late glacial (LG) period and the Younger Dryas, and stronger during the BOlling-Allerod and Holocene. Local conditions inferred from the delta C-13 record appear to have changed less substantially over time, possibly related to the masking effect of changing precipitation seasonality. Time series analysis of the delta O-18 record reveals more chaotic conditions during the late glacial and higher predictability during the Holocene, likely related to the strengthening of the seasonal recurrence of the ISM with the onset of the Holocene.

System Erde; 7, The use of stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes in hydrocarbon exploration and active magmatic and/or hydrothermal systems (e. g. black smoker, volcanic and geothermal fields) is widely applied and provides important information about the sources and isotopic compositions of natural gases. However, no information about the composition, origin and fate of migrated gases can be obtained in unexplored hydrocarbon provinces or commercially dry fields due to the lack of gas tests during drilling. The same holds true for fossil magmatic and hydrothermal ore-forming systems. In such frontier areas gas-bearing fluid inclusions hosted in minerals can provide pointers to past gas migration and the origin of gases. A new analytical method for simultaneous measurements of stable isotope ratios of nitrogen (N2), methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2) in natural gas mixtures released by crushing of fluid inclusions in minerals was developed at the GFZ. Isotopic studies of fluid inclusion gases using this on-line method have been performed so far with regard to the origin of gases in hydrocarbon- and ore-forming systems. These studies have demonstrated the applicability and importance of the developed method in the field of Geo Resources research.

Zusammenfassung Central Asia holds a key position for understanding the interplay of geodynamic and climate processes. The region provides a natural laboratory to monitor environmental risks related to water excess and shortage, and high seismicity. Here we investigate natural climate archives (lake sediments, trees, speleothems), and develop regional monitoring systems as a key requirement for the palaeoclimatic interpretation of analytical data derived from these archives. As there is no modern analogue for the predicted future climate change investigating palaeo-records is particularly important to understand the natural recurrence frequency of disastrous events like floods, droughts, landslides and earthquakes and the full range of natural climatic variability. Results from lake sediment core analyses indicate that the regional climate was, in contrast to monsoonal Asia, characterized by a rather moderate drying trend since the mid-Holocene. We got similar results, plus details of interannual rainfall patterns, from speleothems for the last 5000 years. Tree-ring features of Central Asian long-lived tree species like juniper provide annually resolved information on past climate dynamics and adaption to recent global change. They can be likewise used for dating palaeoseismic events. Dust monitoring aims at a better understanding of the long-range transport of mineral aerosols across Eurasia in relation to seasonal changes in the hemispherical atmospheric circulation, and on the impact of aeolian dust on lake ecosystems and tree growth., System Erde; 3

Declakes participants : Soumaya Belmecheri, Marc Desmet, Helmut Erlenkeuser, Jérôme Nomade.; International audience; We investigated the sedimentary record of Lake Hańcza (northeastern Poland) using a multi-proxy approach, focusing on early to mid-Holocene climatic and environmental changes. AMS 14C dating of terrestrial macrofossils and sedimentation rate estimates from occasional varve thickness measurements were used to establish a chronology. The onset of the Holocene at c. 11 600 cal. a BP is marked by the decline of Lateglacial shrub vegetation and a shift from clastic-detrital deposition to an autochthonous sedimentation dominated by biochemical calcite precipitation. Between 10 000 and 9000 cal. a BP, a further environmental and climatic improvement is indicated by the spread of deciduous forests, an increase in lake organic matter and a 1.7‰ rise in the oxygen isotope ratios of both endogenic calcite and ostracod valves. Rising δ18O values were probably caused by a combination of hydrological and climatic factors. The persistence of relatively cold and dry climate conditions in northeastern Poland during the first one and a half millennia of the Holocene could be related to a regional eastern European atmospheric circulation pattern. Prevailing anticyclonic circulation linked to a high-pressure cell above the retreating Scandinavian Ice Sheet might have blocked the influence of warm and moist Westerlies and attenuated the early Holocene climatic amelioration in the Lake Hańcza region until the final decay of the ice sheet.

This paper aims to highlight the potential of using elemental and stable isotope analyses of aquatic macrophytes in palaeolimnological studies. Potamogeton pectinatus material was collected from modem plants (n=68) and from late glacial and Holocene-aged sediments from Koucha Lake (northeastern Tibetan Plateau; 34.0 degrees N; 97.2 degrees E; 4540 m a.s.l.). It was analyzed for delta C-13(Potamogeton) (modern: -23 to 0 parts per thousand, fossil: -19 to -4 parts per thousand) and delta N-15(Potamogeton) (modern: -11.0 to +13.8 parts per thousand, fossil: -9.5 to +6.7 parts per thousand) in addition to elemental carbon and nitrogen (modem C/N-Potamogeton: 7 to 29; fossil: 13 to 68) and sulfur (fossil: 188-899 mu mol/g dry weight). Fossil data were interpreted in terms of palaeo-nutrient availability and palaeo-productivity based on the modem relationships between various proxies and certain environmental data. Productivity of Potamogeton pectinatus mats at Koucha Lake as indicated by palaeo-epsilon(Potamogeton-TIC) (i.e. the enrichment of delta C-13(Potamogeton) relative to the delta(CTIC)-C-13) was reduced during periods of high conductivity, especially between 10.3 and 7.4 cal kyr BP. Potamogeton pectinatus material from these periods was also characterized by high S-Potamogeton indicating high sulfide concentrations and anoxic conditions within the sediments. However, C/N- Potamogeton ratios and delta N-15(Potamogeton) from the lower core section were found to have been altered by decompositional processes. A pronounced shift in the aquatic productivity of Lake Koucha occurred at similar to 7.4 cal kyr BP when the hydrological conditions shifted towards an open lake system and water depth increased. At this time a strong increase in productivity led to a strong decrease in the water HCO3- concentration as inferred from the application of a epsilon-(Potamogeton-TIC)-InHCO3- transfer function. A comparison of reconstructed productivity changes from Koucha Lake with further environmental proxies suggests that primary productivity changes are probably a function of internal lake dynamics and were only indirectly triggered by climate change.

International audience; A 450 year spring‐summer flood layer time series at seasonal resolution has been established from the varved sediment record of Lake Ammersee (southern Germany), applying a novel methodological approach. The main results are (1) the attainment of a precise chronology by microscopic varve counting, (2) the identification of detrital layers representing flood‐triggered fluxes of catchment material into the lake, and (3) the recognition of the seasonality of these flood layers from their microstratigraphic position within a varve. Tracing flood layers in a proximal and a distal core and correlating them by application of the precise chronology provided information on the depositional processes. Comparing the seasonal flood layer record with daily runoff data of the inflowing River Ammer for the period from 1926 to 1999 allowed the definition of an approximate threshold in flood magnitude above which the formation of flood layers becomes very likely. Moreover, it was possible for the first time to estimate the “completeness” of the flood layer time series and to recognize that mainly floods in spring and summer, representing the main flood seasons in this region, are well preserved in the sediment archive. Their frequency distribution over the entire 450 year time series is not stationary but reveals maxima for colder periods of the Little Ice Age when solar activity was reduced. The observed spring‐summer flood layer frequency further shows trends similar to those of the occurrence of flood‐prone weather regimes since A.D. 1881, probably suggesting a causal link between solar variability and changes in midlatitude atmospheric circulation patterns.

Scientific Technical Report STR; 09/08, This volume contains the results of the DESERT project running from 2000 to 2006. It opens with a review paper (DESERT Group, 2009) followed by 33 special papers, see list of content (529 pages).

In a piston core from the central Bering Sea, diatom microfossil-bound N isotopes and the concentrations of opal, biogenic barium, calcium carbonate, and organic N are measured over the last glacial/interglacial cycle. Compared to the interglacial sections of the core, the sediments of the last ice age are characterized by 3‰ higher diatom-bound δ 15N, 70 wt % lower opal content and 1200 ppm lower biogenic barium. Taken together and with constraints on sediment accumulation rate, these results suggest a reduced supply of nitrate to the surface due to stronger stratification of the upper water column of the Bering Sea during glacial times, with more complete nitrate consumption resulting from continued iron supply through atmospheric deposition. This finding extends the body of evidence for a pervasive link between cold climates and polar ocean stratification. In addition, we hypothesize that more complete nutrient consumption in the glacial age subarctic Pacific contributed to the previously observed ice age reduction in suboxia and denitrification in the eastern tropical North Pacific by lowering the nutrient content of the intermediate-depth water formed in the subpolar North Pacific. In the deglacial interval of the Bering Sea record, two apparent peaks in export productivity are associated with maxima in diatom-bound and bulk sediment δ 15N. The high δ 15N in these intervals may have resulted from greater surface nutrient consumption during this period. However, the synchroneity of the deglacial peaks in the Bering Sea with similar bulk sediment δ 15N changes in the eastern Pacific margin and the presence of sediment lamination within the Bering Sea during the deposition of the productivity peaks raise the possibility that both regional and local denitrification worked to raise the δ 15N of the nitrate feeding Bering Sea surface waters at these times.

Scientific Technical Report STR ; 96/04

The sediment profile from Lake Gościąż in central Poland comprises a continuous, seasonally resolved and exceptionally well‐preserved archive of the Younger Dryas (YD) climate variation. This provides a unique opportunity for detailed investigation of lake system responses during periods of rapid climate cooling (YD onset) and warming (YD termination). The new varve record of Lake Gościąż presented here spans 1662 years from the late Allerød (AL) to the early Preboreal (PB). Microscopic varve counting provides an independent chronology with a YD duration of 1149+14/–22 years, which confirms previous results of 1140±40 years. We link stable oxygen isotopes and chironomid‐based air temperature reconstructions with the response of various geochemical and varve microfacies proxies especially focusing on the onset and termination of the YD. Cooling at the YD onset lasted ~180 years, which is about a century longer than the terminal warming that was completed in ~70 years. During the AL/YD transition, environmental proxy data lagged the onset of cooling by ~90 years and revealed an increase of lake productivity and internal lake re‐suspension as well as slightly higher detrital sediment input. In contrast, rapid warming and environmental changes during the YD/PB transition occurred simultaneously. However, initial changes such as declining diatom deposition and detrital input occurred already a few centuries before the rapid warming at the YD/PB transition. These environmental changes likely reflect a gradual increase in summer air temperatures already during the YD. Our data indicate complex and differing environmental responses to the major climate changes related to the YD, which involve different proxy sensitivities and threshold processes., National Science Centre, Virtual Institute of Integrated Climate and Landscape Evolution Analysis (ICLEA)

We revise the conceptual model of calcite varves and present, for the first time, a dual lake monitoring study in two alkaline lakes providing new insights into the seasonal sedimentation processes forming these varves. The study lakes, Tiefer See in NE Germany and Czechowskie in N Poland, have distinct morphology and bathymetry, and therefore, they are ideal to decipher local effects on seasonal deposition. The monitoring setup in both lakes is largely identical and includes instrumental observation of (i) meteorological parameters, (ii) chemical profiling of the lake water column including water sampling, and (iii) sediment trapping at both bi‐weekly and monthly intervals. We then compare our monitoring data with varve micro‐facies in the sediment record. One main finding is that calcite varves form complex laminae triplets rather than simple couplets as commonly thought. Sedimentation of varve sub‐layers in both lakes is largely dependent on the lake mixing dynamics and results from the same seasonality, commencing with diatom blooms in spring turning into a pulse of calcite precipitation in summer and terminating with a re‐suspension layer in autumn and winter, composed of calcite patches, plant fragments and benthic diatoms. Despite the common seasonal cycle, the share of each of these depositional phases in the total annual sediment yield is different between the lakes. In Lake Tiefer See calcite sedimentation has the highest yields, whereas in Lake Czechowskie, the so far underestimated re‐suspension sub‐layer dominates the sediment accumulation. Even in undisturbed varved sediments, re‐suspended material becomes integrated in the sediment fabric and makes up an important share of calcite varves. Thus, while the biogeochemical lake cycle defines the varves’ autochthonous components and micro‐facies, the physical setting plays an important role in determining the varve sub‐layers’ proportion., Leibniz‐Gemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001664, Narodowe Centrum Nauki http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100004281, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659, ICLEA

A full‐vector paleosecular variation (PSV) record (inclination, declination, and relative paleointensity) from the pen‐ultimate glacial (130–180 ka) could be constructed from a total of 12 sediment cores recovered from the Arkhangelsky Ridge in the SE Black Sea. Stacking of the individual partly fragmented records was achieved by a detailed correlation using high‐resolution data records from X‐ray fluorescence scanning, Ca/Ti and K/Ti log‐ratios, as well as magnetic susceptibility. Age constraints are provided by a detailed composite oxygen isotope stratigraphy from three of the cores, correlated to U‐Th‐dated speleothem oxygen isotope records from Hungary and Turkey. The temporal resolution of the stacked paleomagnetic data records is 200 years. Practically, this data set is the first high‐resolution PSV record for SE Europe/SW Asia from marine isotope stage 6, comprising inclination, declination and relative paleointensity. Besides an easterly swing in declination at ∼159 ka and a pronounced intensity low together with low inclinations at ∼148 ka, both not reaching an excursional PSV index of >0.5, the obtained directional variations reflect only normal PSVs, with a PSV index of, Key Points: Reconstructed geomagnetic field variation record between 180 and 130 ka from Black Sea sediments. First full‐vector paleosecular variation record from marine isotope stage 6 for Southeast Europe/Southwest Asia. Intensity maxima occur at 166.5 ka and at 141.0 ka., Chinese Scholarship Council, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659

The sediment profile from Lake Gościąż in central Poland comprises a continuous, seasonally resolved and exceptionally well‐preserved archive of the Younger Dryas (YD) climate variation. This provides a unique opportunity for detailed investigation of lake system responses during periods of rapid climate cooling (YD onset) and warming (YD termination). The new varve record of Lake Gościąż presented here spans 1662 years from the late Allerød (AL) to the early Preboreal (PB). Microscopic varve counting provides an independent chronology with a YD duration of 1149+14/–22 years, which confirms previous results of 1140±40 years. We link stable oxygen isotopes and chironomid‐based air temperature reconstructions with the response of various geochemical and varve microfacies proxies especially focusing on the onset and termination of the YD. Cooling at the YD onset lasted ~180 years, which is about a century longer than the terminal warming that was completed in ~70 years. During the AL/YD transition, environmental proxy data lagged the onset of cooling by ~90 years and revealed an increase of lake productivity and internal lake re‐suspension as well as slightly higher detrital sediment input. In contrast, rapid warming and environmental changes during the YD/PB transition occurred simultaneously. However, initial changes such as declining diatom deposition and detrital input occurred already a few centuries before the rapid warming at the YD/PB transition. These environmental changes likely reflect a gradual increase in summer air temperatures already during the YD. Our data indicate complex and differing environmental responses to the major climate changes related to the YD, which involve different proxy sensitivities and threshold processes., National Science Centre, Virtual Institute of Integrated Climate and Landscape Evolution Analysis (ICLEA)