TY - JOUR
T1 - Holocene precipitation seasonality in northern Svalbard
T2 - Influence of sea ice and regional ocean surface conditions
AU - Kjellman, Sofia E.
AU - Schomacker, Anders
AU - Thomas, Elizabeth K.
AU - Håkansson, Lena
AU - Duboscq, Sandrine
AU - Cluett, Allison A.
AU - Farnsworth, Wesley R.
AU - Allaart, Lis
AU - Cowling, Owen C.
AU - McKay, Nicholas P.
AU - Brynjólfsson, Skafti
AU - Ingólfsson, Ólafur
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s)
PY - 2020/7/15
Y1 - 2020/7/15
N2 - Arctic precipitation is predicted to increase in the coming century, due to a combination of enhanced northward atmospheric moisture transport and local surface evaporation from ice-free seas. However, large model uncertainties, limited long-term observations, and high spatiotemporal variability limit our understanding of these mechanisms, emphasizing the need for paleoclimate records of precipitation changes. Here we use lipid biomarkers in lake sediments to reconstruct precipitation seasonality in northern Spitsbergen, Svalbard. We measured the hydrogen isotopic ratios (δ2H) of n-alkanoic acids (C20–C30) from sedimentary leaf waxes in lake Austre Nevlingen, Spitsbergen. We interpret δ2H values of mid-chain (C22) and long-chain (C28) n-alkanoic acids to represent δ2H of lake and soil water, respectively. Austre Nevlingen lake water δ2H reflects amount-weighted mean annual precipitation δ2H. In contrast, soil water is mostly recharged by summer rainfall, and therefore reflects δ2H values of summer precipitation. Austre Nevlingen leaf wax δ2H values are 2H-depleted in the Early Holocene, suggesting high winter precipitation amounts. This coincides with high summer insolation, strong Atlantic water advection and reduced spring sea-ice cover in surrounding waters. Winter precipitation continued to dominate until c. 6 cal. kyr BP. After 6 cal. kyr BP, the trend in the biomarker record is not as clear. This could be related to colder conditions causing longer duration of seasonal lake-ice cover, thereby influencing the precipitation seasonality registered by the lake water. The Austre Nevlingen record suggests a close relationship between precipitation seasonality and regional ocean surface conditions, consistent with simulations suggesting that Arctic winter sea-ice loss will lead to increased local evaporation.
AB - Arctic precipitation is predicted to increase in the coming century, due to a combination of enhanced northward atmospheric moisture transport and local surface evaporation from ice-free seas. However, large model uncertainties, limited long-term observations, and high spatiotemporal variability limit our understanding of these mechanisms, emphasizing the need for paleoclimate records of precipitation changes. Here we use lipid biomarkers in lake sediments to reconstruct precipitation seasonality in northern Spitsbergen, Svalbard. We measured the hydrogen isotopic ratios (δ2H) of n-alkanoic acids (C20–C30) from sedimentary leaf waxes in lake Austre Nevlingen, Spitsbergen. We interpret δ2H values of mid-chain (C22) and long-chain (C28) n-alkanoic acids to represent δ2H of lake and soil water, respectively. Austre Nevlingen lake water δ2H reflects amount-weighted mean annual precipitation δ2H. In contrast, soil water is mostly recharged by summer rainfall, and therefore reflects δ2H values of summer precipitation. Austre Nevlingen leaf wax δ2H values are 2H-depleted in the Early Holocene, suggesting high winter precipitation amounts. This coincides with high summer insolation, strong Atlantic water advection and reduced spring sea-ice cover in surrounding waters. Winter precipitation continued to dominate until c. 6 cal. kyr BP. After 6 cal. kyr BP, the trend in the biomarker record is not as clear. This could be related to colder conditions causing longer duration of seasonal lake-ice cover, thereby influencing the precipitation seasonality registered by the lake water. The Austre Nevlingen record suggests a close relationship between precipitation seasonality and regional ocean surface conditions, consistent with simulations suggesting that Arctic winter sea-ice loss will lead to increased local evaporation.
KW - Arctic
KW - Biomarkers
KW - Hydrogen isotopes
KW - Lake sediment
KW - n-alkanoic acids
KW - Paleoclimatology
KW - Precipitation seasonality
KW - Quaternary
KW - Sea ice
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85086456039&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106388
DO - 10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106388
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85086456039
SN - 0277-3791
VL - 240
JO - Quaternary Science Reviews
JF - Quaternary Science Reviews
M1 - 106388
ER -