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Abstract The Arctic hydrological cycle is predicted to intensify as the Arctic warms, due to increased poleward moisture transport during summer and increased evaporation from seas once ice‐covered during winter. Records of past Arctic precipitation seasonality are important because they provide a context for these ongoing changes. In some Arctic lakes, stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen (δ18O and δ2H, respectively) vary seasonally, due to seasonal changes in precipitation δ18O and δ2H. We reconstruct precipitation seasonality from Lake N3, a well‐dated lake sediment archive in Disko Bugt, western Greenland, by generating Holocene records of two proxies that are produced at different times of the year, and therefore record different lake water seasonal isotopic compositions. Aquatic plants synthesize waxes throughout the summer, and their δ2H reflects winter‐biased precipitation δ2H at Lake N3, whereas chironomids synthesize their head capsules between late summer and winter, and their δ18O reflects summer‐biased precipitation δ18O at Lake N3. During the middle Holocene at Lake N3, aquatic plant leaf wax was strongly2H‐depleted, while chironomid chitin was18O‐enriched. We guide interpretations of these records using sensitivity tests of a lake water and energy balance model, where we change precipitation amount and isotope seasonality inputs. The sensitivity tests suggest that the contrasting trends between proxies were likely caused by an increase in precipitation amount during all seasons and an increase in precipitation isotope seasonality, in addition to proxy‐specific mechanisms, highlighting the importance of understanding lake‐ and proxy‐specific systematics when interpreting records from sediment archives.
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This content will become publicly available on March 9, 2026
Early Holocene Atmospheric Circulation Changes Over Northern Europe Based on Isotopic and Biomarker Evidence From Kola Peninsula
Abstract Rapid Arctic warming this century will likely cause major water cycle and atmospheric circulation changes, including weakening mid‐latitude westerly winds and more persistent summer high pressures over Fennoscandia. These conditions can cause drought in northern Europe and extreme rainfall in the Mediterranean region. Uncertainties in the spatiotemporal patterns of these predictions can be partially addressed with records of past climate response to rapid change. The early Holocene collapse of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets provides a natural experiment to evaluate the climate response to rapid changes in boundary conditions. We analyzed lipid biomarker distributions and hydrogen isotope (δ2H) values from Lake Imandra, Kola Peninsula, to infer Holocene summer temperature and summer precipitation δ2H values. Sensitivity tests of a lake model suggest summer precipitation δ2H values are the main mechanism influencing Lake Imandra δ2H values. Summer precipitation isotope values exhibited a nearly 20‰2H‐depletion between 8.6 and 8.0 ka, with2H ‐enriched values before 8.6 ka and2H ‐depleted values 8.0 ka to present. Maximum warmth occurred from 8.5 to 7.0 ka. Climate model experiments suggest that the early Holocene Laurentide Ice Sheet collapse caused a westward shift of the Fennoscandian summer high‐pressure center. This caused a decrease in the proportion of local,2H‐enriched precipitation falling throughout Fennoscandia and an increase in far‐traveled,2H‐depleted precipitation from the mid‐latitudes, circulation that persisted throughout the Holocene. These results illustrate the sensitivity of climate in Fennoscandia and show that circulation regime shifts can occur in response to changes in boundary conditions far upwind.
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- PAR ID:
- 10576395
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology
- Volume:
- 40
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2572-4517
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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