Roberts, CA;
Zanchetta, G;
Giaccio, B;
Nomade, S;
Mannella, G;
Sadori, L;
Drysdale, R;
... Tzedakis, PC; + view all
(2025)
A radiometrically-constrained reference record of Last Interglacial climate and vegetation changes from the Fucino Basin, Central Italy.
Quaternary Science Reviews
, 363
, Article 109377. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109377.
(In press).
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Abstract
The Last Interglacial (LIG) was characterised by a global mean temperature ∼1 °C warmer than the pre-industrial, a pronounced Arctic warming and an elevated sea level. Exploring the nature of LIG environmental changes in local contexts can improve understanding of regional responses to a warmer background state. However, a lack of high-resolution palaeoclimatic archives underpinned by an independent and robust chronological framework remains a primary limitation in investigating climate variability and relating it to changes in other records. This paper presents a detailed palynological, charcoal and bulk carbonate oxygen isotope record of a thick lacustrine sedimentary sequence retrieved from the Fucino Basin, central Italy, covering the period ∼139 to 107 ka at sub-centennial to centennial resolution. A key aspect of the record is its independent chronology based on direct <sup>40</sup>Ar/<sup>39</sup>Ar dating and geochemical fingerprinting of several tephra layers. The highly-resolved multiproxy record reveals substantial environmental variability on long- and short-term timescales. The pollen sequence documents a succession of arboreal phases interrupted by centennial-to millennial-scale contractions in temperate vegetation. Comparisons between δ<sup>18</sup>O records from the Fucino Basin and a speleothem stack from Corchia Cave (northern Italy) suggest a strong hydrological seasonal contrast during the early LIG, corroborated by increased Mediterranean taxa abundance and elevated fire activity. The early LIG in Italy emerges as a time of high seasonality with arid summers and enhanced winter precipitation driven by strong Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. The detection of high-frequency interglacial climate variability points to an interconnected North Atlantic and Mediterranean climate regime.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A radiometrically-constrained reference record of Last Interglacial climate and vegetation changes from the Fucino Basin, Central Italy |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109377 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109377 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Physical Sciences, Geography, Physical, Geosciences, Multidisciplinary, Physical Geography, Geology, Last interglacial, Pollen, Isotopes, Tephra, Ar-40/Ar-39 dating, Climate variability, GRANDE-DI-MONTICCHIO, CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN REGION, PLEISTOCENE POLLEN RECORD, STABLE-ISOTOPE RECORD, NORTH-ATLANTIC, TENAGHI-PHILIPPON, ENVIRONMENTAL-CHANGES, APUAN ALPS, SEA-LEVEL, ICE-SHEET |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of Geography |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10211411 |
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