Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-qxdb6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T07:20:11.841Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Quantitative reconstruction of climate variability during the Eemian (Merkinė) and Weichselian (Nemunas) in Lithuania

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Vaida Šeirienė ,
Norbert Kühl  and
Dalia Kisielienė
Vaida Šeirienė*
Affiliation:
Nature Research Centre, Institute of Geology and Geography, T. Ševčenkos 13, 03223 Vilnius, Lithuania
Norbert Kühl
Affiliation:
Steinmann-Institute of Geology, Mineralogy and Paleontology, University of Bonn, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany
Dalia Kisielienė
Affiliation:
Nature Research Centre, Institute of Geology and Geography, T. Ševčenkos 13, 03223 Vilnius, Lithuania
*
*Corresponding author at: Institute of Geology and Geography, Nature Research Centre, T. Ševčenkos str. 13, LT-03223, Lithuania. Fax: + 370 2104695.E-mail address:seiriene@geo.lt (V. Šeirienė).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Little is known concerning climate changes in the Eastern Baltic region during the last interglacial–glacial cycle and in particular, climate changes during the Weichselian. In this study, a quantitative reconstruction of the mean January and July temperature for the Medininkai-117 site in Lithuania is presented. The reconstruction is based on pollen and plant macrofossils from this site, which reveal that the vegetation was characteristic of many northern Europe sites during the Eemian and Early Weichselian. Gradual evolution of the vegetation suggests that relatively uniform climate conditions existed during the Eemian. Our reconstructions support the view of a relatively stable Eemian, with short cooling phases of low amplitude. A strong increase in temperature was apparent during the beginning of the interglacial and decrease during the transition to the Weichselian. Reconstructed July temperatures of the Eemian interglacial were approximately 2 °C higher than today (18.5 °C; today: 16.2 °C) and were similar to today for January (−5.2 °C; today: −5.1 °C). July temperatures during the Early Weichselian were only ~2°C lower than during the Eemian, whereas the January temperatures gradually decreased. Winter temperatures were relatively high (above − 10 °C) during the Early Weichselian.

Keywords

Eemian/WeichselianQuantitative reconstructionTemperaturesPollenPlant macrofossilsLithuania
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 82 , Issue 1 , July 2014 , pp. 229 - 235
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aalsbersberg, G., and Litt, T. Multiproxy climate reconstructions for the Eemian and Early Weichselian. Journal of Quaternary Science 13, (1998). 367–390.3.0.CO;2-I>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alexanderson, H., Johnsen, H., and Murray, A.S. Re-dating the Pilgrimstad Interstadial with OSL: a warmer climate and a smaller ice sheet during the Swedish Middle Weichselian (MIS 3)?. Boreas 39, (2010). 367–376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltrūnas, V., Šeirienė, V., Molodkov, A., Zinkutė, R., Katinas, V., Karmaza, B., Kisielienė, D., Petrošius, R., Taraškevičius, R., Piličiauskas, G., Schmölcke, U., and Heinrich, D. Depositional environment and climate changes during the late Pleistocene as recorded by the Netiesos section in southern Lithuania. Quaternary International 292, (2013). 136–149.Google Scholar
Behre, K.-E. Biostratigraphy of the last glacial period in Europe. Quaternary Science Reviews 8, (1989). 25–44.Google Scholar
Bińka, K., Nitychoruk, J., and Dzierżek, J. Climate stability during the Eemian—new pollen from the Nidzica site, northern Poland. Boreas 40, (2011). 342–350.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Birks, H.H., and Birks, H.J.B. Future uses of pollen analysis must include plant macrofossils. Journal of Biogeography 27, (2000). 31–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boettger, T., Junge, F.W., and Litt, T. Stable climatic conditions in central Germany during the last interglacial. Journal of Quaternary Science 15, (2000). 469–473.3.0.CO;2-D>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brewer, S., Guiot, J., Sánchez-Goñi, M.F., and Klotz, S. The climate in Europe during the Eemian: a multi-method approach using pollen data. Quaternary Science Reviews 27, (2008). 2303–2315.Google Scholar
Caspers, G., and Freund, H. Vegetation and climate in the Early- and Pleni- Weichselian in northern Central Europe. Journal of Quaternary Science 16, (2001). 31–48.Google Scholar
Cheddadi, R., Mamakowa, K., Guiot, J., de Beaulieu, J.L., Reille, M., Andrieu, V., GranoszewskI, W., and Peyron, O. Was the climate of the Eemian stable? A quantitative climate reconstruction from seven European pollen records. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 143, (1998). 73–85.Google Scholar
Dansgaard, W., Johnsen, S.J., Clausen, H.B., Dahl, J.D., Gundestrup, N.S., Hammer, C.U., Hvidberg, C.S., Steffensen, J.P., Sveinbjornsdottir, A.E., Jouzel, J., and Bond, G. Evidence for general instability of past climate from a 250-kyr ice-core record. Nature 364, (1993). 218–220.Google Scholar
De Beaulieu, J.-L., and Reille, M. The transition from temperate phases to stadials in the long upper Pleistocene sequence from les Echets (France). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimate, Palaeoecology 72, (1989). 147–159.Google Scholar
De Beaulieu, J.-L., and Reille, M. The last climatic cycle at La Grande Pile (Vosges, France) a new pollen profile. Quaternary Science Review 11, (1992). 431–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Felis, T., Lohmann, G., Kuhnert, H., Lorenz, S.J., Scholz, D., Patzold, J., Al-Rousan, S.A., and Al-Moghrabi, S.M. Increased seasonality in Middle East temperatures during the last interglacial period. Nature 429, (2004). 164–168.Google Scholar
Field, M.H., Huntley, B., and Müller, H. Eemian climate fluctuations observed in a European pollen record. Nature 371, (1994). 779–783.Google Scholar
Gebhardt, C., Kühl, N., Hense, A., and Litt, T. Reconstruction of Quaternary temperature fields by dynamically consistent smoothing. Climate Dynamics 30, (2008). 421–437.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Granoszewski, W. Late Pleistocene vegetation history and climatic changes at Horoszki Duże, eastern Poland: a palaeobotanical study. Acta Palaeobotanica 4, (2003). 3–95.Google Scholar
Guiot, J. Methodology of the last climatic cycle reconstruction in France from pollen data. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 80, (1990). 49–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guiot, J., de Reille, M., Beaulieu, J.L., and Pons, A. Calibration of the climatic signal in a new pollen sequence from la Grande Pile. Climate Dynamics 6, (1992). 259–264.Google Scholar
Helmens, K.F., and Engels, S. Ice-free conditions in eastern Fennoscandia during early Marine Isotope Stage 3: lacustrine records. Boreas 39, (2010). 399–409.Google Scholar
Henriksen, M., Mangerud, J., Matiouchkov, A., Murray, A.S., Paus, A., and Svendsen, J.I. Intriguing climatic shifts in a 90 kyr old lake record from Northern Russia. Boreas 37, (2008). 20–37.Google Scholar
Iversen, J. Viscum, Hedera and Ilex as climate indicators. Geologiska Foereningens i Stockholm foerhandlingar 66, (1944). 463–483.Google Scholar
Kalnina, L. Middle and Late Pleistocene environmental changes recorded in the Latvian part of the Baltic Sea basin. Doctoral thesis (2001). Stockholm University, Google Scholar
Kaspar, F., Kühl, N., Cubasch, U., and Litt, T. A model-data-comparison of European temperatures in the Eemian interglacial. Geophysical Research Letters 32, (2005). L11703 http://dx.doi.org/10.11029/12005GL022456 Google Scholar
Kisielienė, D. Floristic complexes from lacustrine sediments of Merkinė Interglacial and Early Nemunas Glacial in the borehole Medininkai-117. Geologija 29, (1999). 50–56. (in Lithuanian) Google Scholar
Klotz, S., Guiot, J., and Mosbrugger, V. Continental European Eemian and early Würmian climate evolution: comparing signals using different quantitative reconstruction approaches based on pollen. Global and Planetary Change 36, (2003). 277–294.Google Scholar
Kondratienė, O. The climate of interglacial periods of Lithuania (in Lithuanian). The Geographical Yearbook 16, (1979). 61–65. (in Lithuanian) Google Scholar
Kondratienė, O. The Quaternary stratigraphy and paleogeography of Lithuania based on paleobotanic studies. (1996). Academia, Vilnius. (in Russian) Google Scholar
Kondratienė, O., and Šeirienė, V. Some palaeogeographical features of Merkinė (Mikulin, Eemian) Interglacial according to palynological data. Litosfera 4, (2000). 27–35. (in Lithuanian) Google Scholar
Kondratienė, O., and Vonsavičiutė, A. New stratigraphic data concerning the boundary of Nemunas glaciation in Lithuania. Kondratienė, O., and Mikalauskas, A. (1986). Investigations of Glacial Deposits of Baltic States, Vilnius. 48–59. (in Russian) Google Scholar
Kondratienė, O., Žiedelis, A., and Riškienė, M. Conditions of occurrence and geotechnical characteristic of the Merkine Interglacial deposits in Medininkai highland. Mikalauskas, A. Kondratienė, O. (1986). Investigations of Glacial Deposits of Baltic States, Vilnius. 32–47. (in Russian) Google Scholar
Kühl, N., and Litt, T. Quantitative time series reconstruction of Eemian temperature at three European sites using pollen data. Vegetation history and Archeobotany 12, (2003). 205–214.Google Scholar
Kühl, N., Gebhardt, C., Litt, T., and Hense, A. Probability density functions as botanical–climatological transfer functions for climate reconstruction. Quaternary Research 58, (2002). 381–392.Google Scholar
Kühl, N., Schölzel, C.A., Litt, T., and Hense, A. Eemian and Early Weichselian temperature and precipitation variability in northern Germany. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, (2007). 3311–3317.Google Scholar
Liivrand, E. Biostratigraphy of the Pleistocene deposits in Estonia and correlations in the Baltic region. Doctoral thesis (1991). Stockholm University, Google Scholar
Lunkka, J.P., Murray, A., and Korpela, K. Weichselian sediment succession at Ruuna, Finland, indicating a Mid-Weichselian ice free interval in eastern Fennoscandia. Boreas 37, (2008). 234–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mamakowa, K. Late Middle Polish glaciation, Eemian and early Vistulian vegetation at Imbramowice near Wroclaw and the pollen stratigraphy of this part of the Pleistocene in Poland. Acta Palaeobotanica 29, 1 (1989). 11–176.Google Scholar
Meusel, H., and Jäger, E. Vergleichende Chorologie der zentraleuropäischen Flora Band 3, Karten. (1992). Fischer, Jena, Stuttgart, New York.Google Scholar
Meusel, H., Jäger, E., and Weinert, E. Vergleichende Chorologie der zentraleuropäischen Flora Band 1, Karten. (1964). Fischer, Jena.Google Scholar
Meusel, H., Jäger, E., Rauschert, S., and Weinert, E. Vergleichende Chorologie der zentraleuropäischen Flora Band 2, Karten. (1978). Fischer, Jena.Google Scholar
Möller, P., Anjar, J., and Murray, A.S. An OSL-dated sediment sequence at Idre, west-central Sweden, indicates ice-free conditions in MIS 3. Boreas 42, (2013). 25–42.Google Scholar
Molodkov, A., and Bolikhovskaya, N. Climato-chronostratigraphic framework of Pleistocene terrestrial and marine deposits of Northern Eurasia based on pollen, electron spin resonance, and infrared optically stimulated luminescence analyses. Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences 59, 1 (2010). 49–62.Google Scholar
Molodkov, A., and Bolikhovskaya, N. Late Pleistocene interglacial-glacial climatic transition (MIS 5/MIS 4) as derived from palynological analysis and IR-OSL dating of deposits from the Voka reference section, southeastern coast of the Gulf of Finland. Proceedings of VII All-Russian Conference on Quaternary Research (12–17 September, 2011). Russ. Acad. Sci., Depart. of Earth Sci. Commission on Quaternary Period Research, Geological Institute KSC RAS, Apatity (2011). 99–102. (in Russian) Google Scholar
Müller, U.C., Klotz, S., Geyh, M.A., Pross, J., and Bond, G.C. Cyclic climate fluctuations during the last interglacial in central Europe. Geology 33, (2005). 449–452.Google Scholar
Muratova, N.V., Boyarskaya, T.D., and Liberman, A.A. Primeneniye teorii veroyatnostei dlya vostanovleniya paleoklimatnikh usloviy po dantim palinologicheskovo analiza. Noveyshaya tektonika, noveyshiye otlozheniye i chelovyek, Moscow 239–246, (1972). (in Russian) Google Scholar
New, M.G., Hulme, M., and Jones, P.D. Representing twentieth-century space–time climate variability. Part II: development of 1901–96 monthly grids of terrestrial surface climate. Journal of Climate 13, (2000). 2217–2238.Google Scholar
Pons, A., Guiot, J., de Beaulieu, J.-L., and Reille, M. Recent contributions to the climatology of the last Glacial–Interglacial cycle based on French pollen sequences. Quaternary Science Reviews 11, (1992). 439–448.Google Scholar
Rioual, P., Andrieu-Ponel, V., Rietti-Shati, M., Battarbee, R.W., de Beaulieu, J.L., Cheddadi, R., Reille, M., Svobodova, H., and Shemesh, A. High-resolution record of climate stability in France during the last interglacial period. Nature 413, (2001). 293–296.Google Scholar
Rousseau, D.D., Hatte, Ch., Duzer, D., Schevin, P., Kukla, G., and Guiot, J. Estimates of temperature and precipitation variations during the Eemian interglacial: new data from the Grande Pile Record (GP ХХI). Sirocko, , Claussen, M.F., Litt, T., and Sánchez-Goñi, M.F. The Climate of Past Interglacials. (2007). Elsevier, Amsterdam. 231–238.Google Scholar
Rylova, T.B., Savchenko, I.Ye., Vinter, Kh., and Granoshevsky, V. Vegetation and climate in the territory of Belarus and Poland during late Pripyat (Late Oder), Murava (Eemian) and early-Poozerye (early Vistulian) time. Lithosphere 2, 39 (2013). 3–23. (in Russian) Google Scholar
Satkūnas, J., and Kondratienė, O. Merkine (Eemian) Interglacial deposits in the Vilnius region and the limit of the Last Glaciation in southeastern Lithuania. Pact 54, (1998). 203–210.Google Scholar
Satkūnas, J., Grigienė, A., Velichkevich, F., Robertsson, A.-M., and Sandgren, P. Upper Pleistocene stratigraphy at the Medininkai site, eastern Lithuania: a continuous record of the Eemian–Weichselian sequence. Boreas 32, (2003). 627–641.Google Scholar
Satkūnas, J., Grigienė, A., Buynevich, I.V., and Taminskas, J. A new Early–Middle Weichselian palaeoenvironmental record from a lacustrine sequence at Svirkanciai, Lithuania. Boreas 42, (2013). 184–193.Google Scholar
Seelos, K., and Sirocko, F. Abrupt cooling events at the very end of the last interglacial. Claussen, M.F., Litt, T., and Sánchez-Goñi, M.F. The Climate of Past Interglacials. (2007). Elsevier, Amsterdam. 207–229.Google Scholar
Šeirienė, V., and Grigienė, A. Flora, fauna and climate characteristic. Baltrūnas, V. Stone Age in South Lithuania (According to Geological, Palaeogeographical and Archeological Data), Vilnius. (2001). 33–41.Google Scholar
Šeirienė, V., and Kondratienė, O. Vegetation and climate changes during Merkine Interglacial (Eemian) in Lithuania. Winter, H., and Balabanis, P. Proceedings of the Workshop “Reconstruction of Quaternary Palaeoclimate and Palaeoenvironments and their Abrupt Changes” 29-September–2 October, 2004 Bialowieza, Poland. Polish Geological Institute Special Papers 16, (2005). 103–108.Google Scholar
Tzedakis, P.C. Long term tree populations in northwest Greece through multiple Quaternary climatic cycles. Nature 364, (1993). 437–440.Google Scholar
Valiranta, M., Birks, H.H., Helmens, K., Engels, S., and Piirainen, M. Early Weichselian interstadial (MIS 5c) summer temperatures were higher than today in northern Fennoscandia. Quaternary Science Reviews 28, (2009). 777–782.Google Scholar
Velichkevich, F. Pleistocene flora of East-European plain. (1982). (Minsk) Google Scholar
Velichkevich, F., and Granoszewski, W. Potamogeton sukaczevii Wieliczk. in the Neopleistocene floras of Poland, Belarus and Lithuania. Acta palaeobotanica 36, (1996). 97–105.Google Scholar
Velichko, A.A., Borisova, O.K., and Zelikson, E.M. Paradoxes of the last Interglacial climate: reconstruction of the northern Eurasia climate based on palaeofloristic data. Boreas 37, (2008). 1–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wohlfarth, B. Ice-free conditions in Sweden during Marine Oxygen Istotope Stage 3?. Boreas 39, (2010). 377–398.Google Scholar
Zagwijn, W.H. Vegetation, climate and radiocarbon datings in the Late Pleistocene of the Netherlands. Part I: Eemian and Early Weichselian. Mededelingen Geologische Stichting NS 14, (1961). 15–45.Google Scholar
Zagwijn, W.H. An analysis of Eemian climate in Western and Central Europe. Quaternary Science Rewiews 15, (1996). 451–469.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Šeirienė et al. supplementary material

Supplementary Material

Download Šeirienė et al. supplementary material(File)
File 1.5 KB