Climate Change in Lowland Central America During the Late Deglacial and Early Holocene

Hillesheim, M B; Hodell, D A; Leyden, B W; Brenner, M; Curtis, J H; Anselmetti, F S; Ariztegui, D; Buck, D G; Guilderson, T P; Rosenmeier, M F; Schnurrenberger, D W

doi:10.1002/jqs.924

Title: Climate Change in Lowland Central America During the Late Deglacial and Early Holocene

Journal Article · Tue Feb 08 00:00:00 EST 2005 · Journal of Quaternary Sciences, vol. 20, no. 4, June 1, 2005, pp. 363-376

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.924· OSTI ID:897995

Hillesheim, M B; Hodell, D A; Leyden, B W; Brenner, M; Curtis, J H; Anselmetti, F S; Ariztegui, D; Buck, D G; Guilderson, T P; Rosenmeier, M F; Schnurrenberger, D W

The transition from arid glacial to moist early Holocene conditions represented a profound change in northern lowland Neotropical climate. Here we report a detailed record of changes in moisture availability during the latter part of this transition ({approx}11,250 to 7,500 cal yr BP) inferred from sediment cores retrieved in Lake Peten Itza, northern Guatemala. Pollen assemblages demonstrate that a mesic forest had been largely established by {approx}11,250 cal yr BP, but sediment properties indicate that lake level was more than 35 m below modern stage. From 11,250 to 10,350 cal yr BP, during the Preboreal period, lithologic changes in sediments from deep-water cores (>50 m below modern water level) indicate several wet-dry cycles that suggest distinct changes in effective moisture. Four dry events (designated PBE1-4) occurred at 11,200, 10,900, 10,700, and 10,400 cal yr BP and correlate with similar variability observed in the Cariaco Basin titanium record and glacial meltwater pulses into the Gulf of Mexico. After 10,350 cal yr BP, multiple sediment proxies suggest a shift to a more persistently moist early Holocene climate. Comparison of results from Lake Peten Itza with other records from the circum-Caribbean demonstrates a coherent climate response during the entire span of our record. Furthermore, lowland Neotropical climate during the late deglacial and early Holocene period appears to be tightly linked to climate change in the high-latitude North Atlantic. We speculate that the observed changes in lowland Neotropical precipitation were related to the intensity of the annual cycle and associated displacements in the mean latitudinal position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and Azores-Bermuda high-pressure system. This mechanism operated on millennial-to-submillennial timescales and may have responded to changes in solar radiation, glacial meltwater, North Atlantic sea ice, and the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC).

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Research Organization:: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

DOE Contract Number:: W-7405-ENG-48

OSTI ID:: 897995

Report Number(s):: UCRL-JRNL-209600; TRN: US200706%%181

Journal Information:: Journal of Quaternary Sciences, vol. 20, no. 4, June 1, 2005, pp. 363-376, Journal Name: Journal of Quaternary Sciences, vol. 20, no. 4, June 1, 2005, pp. 363-376

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: Climate Change in Lowland Central America During the Late Deglacial and Early Holocene

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