Climate of the Little Ice Age and the past 2000 years in Northeast Iceland inferred from chironomids and other lake sediment proxies

Axford, Y., Geirsdottir, A., Miller, G.H., and Langdon, P.G.

Abstract

Study Location

Stora Viðarvatn is situated at 151 m asl on the Melrakkaslétta peninsula of northeast Iceland, less than 5 km from the bay of Þistilfjörður. The lake is 48 meters deep with a surface area of 2.4 square kilometers. A surface core was recovered from the lake in July 2005, and a longer piston core was obtained in February 2004.

Climate Proxy

Downcore data include chironomid (Diptera: Chironomidae) assemblage data and total carbon, nitrogen and biogenic silica concentrations:

Sample scores from detrended correspondence analysis of chironomid assemblage data are well correlated with measured temperatures over the 170-year instrumental record, indicating that chironomid assemblages at this site have responded sensitively to past temperature changes.

Results

The temperature history inferred for Stora Viðarvatn over the past 2000 years based upon chironomids is consistent with other proxies from the lake, as well as Icelandic historical records and inferences from marine sediments and glacial geology. Much of the first millennium AD was relatively warm compared with later centuries. Temperatures declined between the 12th and 19th centuries AD in several steps, with the most severe conditions occurring during the 18th and 19th centuries. Cold periods at Stora Viðarvatn were characterized by some combination of intensified soil erosion and decreased lake productivity.

References

Jiang H, Eiríksson J, Schulz M, Knudsen KL, Seidenkrantz M-S (2005) Evidence for solar forcing of sea-surface temperature on the North Icelandic Shelf during the late Holocene. Geology 33: 73-76
Jiang H, Ren J, Knudsen KL, Eiríksson J, Ran L (2007) Summer sea-surface temperatures and climate events on the North Icelandic shelf through the last 3000 years. Chinese Science Bulletin 52: 789-796
Ogilvie AEJ, Jonsdóttir I (1996) Sea-ice incidence off the coasts of Iceland: Evidence from historical data and early sea-ice maps. 26th International Arctic Workshop Program with Abstracts, Boulder, Colorado, p 109-110

Related Websites

2000 Years of Climate Variablity from Arctic Lakes