High-resolution stratigraphy of the northernmost concentric raised bog in Europe: Sellevollmyra, Andøya, northern Norway.

From the Sellevollmyra bog at Andøya, northern Norway, a 440-cm long peat core covering the last c. 7000 calendar years was examined for humification, loss-on-ignition, microfossils, macrofossils and tephra. The age model was based on a Bayesian wiggle-match of 35 14C dates and two historically anchored tephra layers. Based on changes in lithology and biostratigraphical climate proxies, several climatic changes were identified (periods of the most fundamental changes in italics): 6410-6380, 6230-6050, 5730-5640, 5470-5430, 5340-5310, 5270-5100, 4790-4710, 4890-4820, 4380-4320, 4220-4120, 4000-3810, 3610-3580, 3370-3340 (regionally 2850-2750; in Sellevollmyra a hiatus between 2960-2520), 2330-2220, 1950, 1530-1450, 1150-840, 730? and c. 600? cal. yr BP. Most of these climate changes are known from other investigations of different palaeoclimate proxies in northern and middle Europe. Some volcanic eruptions seemingly coincide with vegetation changes recorded in the peat, e.g. about 5760 cal. yr BP; however, the known climatic deterioration at the time of the Hekla-4 tephra layer started some decades before the eruption event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]