A shift towards wetter and windier conditions in southern Sweden around the prominent solar minimum 2750 cal a BP

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.

• Author: Anette Mellström; Nathalie Van der Putten; Raimund Muscheler; Rixt De Jong; Svante Björck
• 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
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2776
• 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