Search

Abstract: The carbon isotope composition (δ13C) of tooth enamel of woolly mammoth molars from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark and southern Poland was analysed and the data were complemented with previously published δ13C values from Sweden, Finland and northwestern Russia, Switzerland and Britain. The δ13C values display a NE- to SW-trending geographical pattern, with more depleted compositions in the northeast, suggesting differences in the diet consumed by mammoths in the northeastern parts of the study area relative to mammoths in the southwesterly regions. While the pattern is probably a reflection of a number of controlling environmental parameters, with possible additional contribution from physiological factors, statistically significant correlations of the δ13C values to δ18O data from the same specimens and to palaeotemperature estimates imply a strong influence of climate over the δ13C values. The δ13C data do not provide convincing evidence of any temporal changes in diet. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The oxygen isotope compositions of 28 mammoth tooth enamel samples from Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Denmark provide new quantitative records of the middle to late Weichselian climate in northern Europe. The new δ 18O data was combined with records of oxygen isotope values from earlier investigations on European mammoth tooth enamel and palaeogroundwaters to study the spatial patterns and temporal variations in the oxygen isotope composition of precipitation and the thermal climate over much of Europe. The reconstructed geographical distribution of δ 18O in precipitation during 52–24ka reflects the progressive isotopic depletion of air masses moving northeast, consistent with a westerly source of moisture for the entire region, and a circulation pattern similar to that of the present-day. Regional long-term average δ 18Ow values were 0.6–4.1‰ lower than at present, the largest changes recorded for the currently maritime influenced southern Sweden and the Baltic region. The application of regionally varied δ/T-slopes, estimated from palaeogroundwater data and modern correlations, yield reasonable estimates of glacial surface temperatures in Europe and imply 2–9°C lower long-term mean annual surface temperatures during the glacial period. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]