Proxy climate indicators                                                                

The proxy records generated in this project rely on conventional techniques used in similar reconstructions of Holocene climate change including laminae characteristics, oxygen isotopes, chironomid assemblages, and lake productivity indicators. We are also using newly emerging techniques, including alkenone paleo¬thermometry. This multi-proxy approach, with replicate lake records in each of the focus regions, bolsters confidence in our paleoclimate reconstructions.

Our two regional foci coincide with the two major winter low-pressure systems in the Northern Hemisphere, the Aleutian and Icelandic lows, and many of our proxy records are based on stable isotopes. These reflect changes in winter precipitation related to changes in low-pressure systems that steer storm tracks and therefore can be use to assess changes in these centers of action.