Identifying abrupt climate change on Quaternary terrestrial ecosystems from the eastern Mediterranean region: High-resolution signals in the pollen record of Tenaghi Philippon, NW Greece
Final Report Abstract
The project yielded the first continuous, highly resolved (centennial- to decadal-scaleresolution) terrestrial paleoclimate record of the last 200 kyr for the NE Mediterranean region. This was achieved through centennial- to decadal-scale-resolution analyses of a newly retrieved 60-m-long core (i.e. core TP-2005) from Tenaghi Philippon, NE Greece, that spans the last 310 ka. In addition, a continuous palynological record with similar resolution was generated from the same core for the interval from 245 to 310 kyr. The remaining interval that is missing in order to achieve a continuous high-resolution paleoclimate record covering the last 310 kyr is that corresponding to MIS 7; this interval will be analysed as soon as possible within the framework of a new application. With regard to absolute age control, the core interval comprising the last 50 kyr has been dated by 39 AMS 14C age data and two reported ages for geochemically analysed tephra layers; they yield an internally consistent age-depth model. In addition to the two macroscopically visible tephra layers, ongoing analyses of crypto-tephras have yet resulted in the detection of ten tephras already within the depth interval from 6 to 17 m (corresponding to the time interval from 10 to 60 kyr BP) in the TP-2005 core. The geochemical fingerprinting of these crypto-tephras and their correlation with known eruptions is being carried out within the work group of John Lowe, Royal Holloway University London; although yet in progress, they yield results that are well consistent with our existing age-depth model. Thus, this approach provides the opportunity to achieve an absolute chronology for the entire 310-kyr-long record, i.e., well beyond the range of radiocarbon dating. In addition to the analyses of core TP-2005 as they were originally applied for within the project, the securing of additional funding allowed to conduct a second coring campaign at Tenaghi Philippon without any further cost to the DFG project. It resulted in the retrieval of a high-quality core comprising the depth interval from 50 to 200 m; according to our palynostratigraphic overview data, this new core spans the time interval from 250 to 1150 kyr BP continuously; thus, it represents a unique archive of climatic and environmental dynamics during the Quaternary that will be analysed in the future.
Publications
- 2009. Massive perturbation in terrestrial ecosystems of the Eastern Mediterranean region associated with the 8.2 kyr B.P. climatic event. Geology 37, 887-890
Pross, J., Kotthoff, U., Müller, U.C., Peyron, O., Dormoy, I., Schmiedl, G., Kalaitzidis, S., Smith, A.M.
- 2010. Der Weg ins Eishaus. Natur und Museum 140, 228-231
Pross, J., Müller, U.C., Koutsodendris, A.
- 2011. Holocene seasonality changes in the central Mediterranean region reconstructed from the pollen sequences of Lake Accesa (Italy) and Tenaghi Philippon (Greece). The Holocene 21, 131-146
Peyron, O., Goring, S., Dormoy, I., Kotthoff, U., Pross, J., de Beaulieu, J.-L., Drescher- Schneider, R., Vanniére, B., Magny, M.
- 2011. The role of climate in the spread of modern humans into Europe. Quaternary Science Reviews 30, 273-279
Müller, U.C., Pross, J., Tzedakis, P.C., Gamble, C., Kotthoff, U., Schmiedl, G., Wulf, S., Christanis, K.
- 2012. Volcanic ash layers illuminate the resilience of Neanderthals and early modern humans to natural hazards. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 34, 13532-13537
Lowe, J., Barton, N., Blockley, S., Bronk Ramsey, C., Cullen, V.L., Davies, W., Gamble, C., Grant, K., Hardiman, M., Housley, R., Lane, C.S., Lee, S., Lewis, M., MacLeod, A., Menzies, M., Müller, W., Pollard, M., Price, C., Roberts, A.P., Rohling, E.J., Satow, C., Smith, V.C., Stringer, C.B., Tomlinson, E.L., White, D., Albert, P., Arienzo, I., Barker, G., Borić, D., Civetta, L., Ferrier, C., Gaudelli, J.-L., Karkanas, P., Koumouzelis, M., Müller, U.C., Orsi, G., Pross, J., Rosi, M., Shalamanov-Korobar, L., Sirakov, N., Tzedakis, P.C.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1204579109) - Geophysical Research Letters. Detection of Dansgaard-Oeschger-like climate variability during Marine Isotope Stages 8 and 9a-c (240 to 310 ka)
Fletcher, W.J., Müller, U.C., Koutsodendris, A., Christanis, K., Pross, J.
