
Raimund Muscheler
Professor

A shift towards wetter and windier conditions in southern Sweden around the prominent solar minimum 2750 cal a BP
Author
Summary, in English
A variety of palaeoclimatic records show a shift towards cooler, wetter and windier conditions in Europe around 2800 cal a BP. The shift broadly coincides with an increase of the atmospheric C-14 concentration, suggesting a connection between solar activity variations and climate change. Here we investigate a peat record from Undarsmosse in southern Sweden. In a previous study, based on a low-resolution chronology, this record showed increased aeolian sand influx and Sphagnum spore content around 2800 cal a BP, indicating high storm activity and wetter conditions. We applied the C-14 wiggle-match dating technique on the same record to construct a robust chronology to evaluate the temporal relationship to solar forcing. In addition, we performed plant macrofossil analysis to determine local vegetation changes. Based on the new chronology, a shift to a Sphagnum-dominated bog, representing wetter conditions, and the onset of a period with increased storminess occurred around 2700 cal a BP. These changes are, within age model uncertainties, synchronous with climatic changes inferred from other sites in Europe, suggesting a shift in the larger scale atmospheric circulation, possibly triggered by decreased solar activity.
Department/s
- Quaternary Sciences
- MERGE: ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system
Publishing year
2015
Language
English
Pages
235-244
Publication/Series
Journal of Quaternary Science
Volume
30
Issue
3
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Topic
- Geology
Keywords
- C-14 wiggle-match dating
- 2800 cal a BP
- climate change
- solar activity
- southern Sweden
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1099-1417