UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

An oxygen isotope record of lacustrine opal from a European Maar indicates climatic stability during the Last Interglacial

Shemesh, A; Rietti-Shati, M; Rioual, P; Battarbee, RW; de Beaulieu, J; Reille, M; Andrieu, V; (2001) An oxygen isotope record of lacustrine opal from a European Maar indicates climatic stability during the Last Interglacial. Geophysical Research Letters , 28 (12) 2305 - 2308. 10.1029/2000GL012720. Green open access

[thumbnail of 2000GL012720.pdf]
Preview
PDF
2000GL012720.pdf
Available under License : See the attached licence file.

Download (563kB)

Abstract

The penultimate temperate period, 127–110 ka before present (BP), bracketed by abrupt shifts of the global climate system initiating and terminating it, is considered as an analogue of the Holocene because of a similar low global ice‐volume. Ice core records as well as continental and marine records exhibit conflicting evidence concerning the climate variability within this period, the Last Interglacial. We present, for the first time, a high‐resolution record of oxygen isotopes in diatom opal of the Last Interglacial obtained from the Ribains Maar in France (44°50′09″N 3°49′16″E). Our results indicate that the Last Interglacial in southwestern Europe was generally a period of climatic stability. The record shows that the temperate period was initiated by an abrupt warm event followed midway by a minor climatic transition to a colder climate. An abrupt isotopic depletion that occurs simultaneously with abrupt changes in pollen and diatom assemblages marks the end of the temperate period, and is correlative with the Melisey I stadial. Variations in the isotopic composition of lake‐water related to the isotopic composition of precipitation and evaporation dominate the biogenic opal oxygen isotope record.

Type: Article
Title: An oxygen isotope record of lacustrine opal from a European Maar indicates climatic stability during the Last Interglacial
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1029/2000GL012720
Publisher version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2000GL012720
Language: English
Additional information: Copyright 2001 by the American Geophysical Union
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices
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/25013
Downloads since deposit
0Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item