Paleohydrological Records from Peat Profiles and Speleothems in Sutherland, Northwest Scotland

Abstract

Paleohydrological changes during the late Holocene are inferred from humification, testate amoebae, and pollen evidence from three blanket peat profiles in northwest Scotland. Replicate peat humification records from the Traligill basin share the same patterns of change for a 600-yr period of overlap between 1800 and 2400 cal yr B.P. The shared patterns, inferred from samples with a resolution of 5–13 yr, represent basinwide hydrological changes. In a nearby, but hydrologically separate, area with caves beneath peat, the luminescence emission wavelength measured in two speleothem samples correlated with the humification record in the overlying peat. This correlation implies that speleothem luminescence emission wavelength depends primarily on decay rates in the soils from which drip waters are derived, as long as there is no major change in soil or vegetation. The peat and speleothem records from the cave site further correlate with the peat records from the Traligill basin. Taken together, the records thus represent a regional climatic signal. Peaks in surface wetness replicated in two or more records occur at ca. 2300, 2090, 2030, 1820, 1600, and 1440 cal yr B.P. Further peaks occur at 800, 570, and 115 cal yr B.P. in the humification and stalagmite records that extend to the present day. Correlative changes have been observed, not only in other peat records from Scotland but also in ice accumulation at GISP2. These further correlations imply that precipitation regimes in Scotland and Greenland were in phase during the late Holocene.

Ecology of Testate Amoebae from Mires in the Central Rhodope Mountains, Greece and Development of a Transfer Function for Palaeohydrological Reconstruction

“…Therefore by reconstructing the movement of bog water tables it is possible to reconstruct Holocene climatic change. Testate amoebae-climate reconstructions agree well with instrumental climate data and other proxy-climate records (Booth and Jackson 2003;Charman et al 2001Charman et al , 2004Schoning et al 2005).…”

How many is enough? Determining optimal count totals for ecological and palaeoecological studies of testate amoebae

“…Low test concentrations have been encountered in situations such as palaeoecological sequences with highly humified peats (Beyens and Chardez 1987;Charman et al 2001) and surface and sub-surface samples of fen peats (Jauhiainen 2002;Payne and Pates 2009). There are probably three factors contributing to these problems: (1) low abundance of amoebae in the sediments on deposition, (2) decomposition of tests over time and (3) a reduction in apparent test concentration due to a high abundance of organic or inorganic material in the same size range as the tests, which is not removed in sample preparation.…”

A novel method for imaging internal growth patterns in marine mollusks: A fluorescence case study on the aragonitic shell of the marine bivalve Arctica islandica (Linnaeus)

“…Fluorescence microscopy is a widely used technique in both geological and biological sciences (Isdale 1984;Scoffin et al 1989;Baker et al 1998Baker et al , 1999Proctor et al 2000;Charman et al 2001;Hendy et al 2003). Typical components of a fluorescence microscope are the light source (typically xenon or mercury lamps), an excitation filter, a beam splitter, and an emission filter.…”