The 4.2 ka event
A review of palaeoclimate literature and directions for future research
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 18059771 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Samuli Helama (0000-0002-9777-3354, Natural Resources Institute Finland, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Pages | 1408-1415 |
| Publication date | 2024-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Holocene (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0959-6836 • E-ISSN: 1477-0911 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/09596836241254486 |
| OpenAlex | W4399815229 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 87 |
In recent years, much evidence has been presented on the 4.2 ka event. A review of 317 palaeoclimate papers shows that dry conditions were common during the event, especially from Eastern Mediterranean to India. The 4.2 ka event was not, however, a global drought event. Wet conditions were reported especially for central/northern Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. The 4.2 ka event is typically characterized either as short (4.2–4.0 ka) or long (4.4–3.8 ka) episode, possibly developing over an extended interval of time, in keeping with the North Atlantic forcing and correlating with the Bond 3 event of ice-rafted debris. This forcing is understood to drive a southward migration of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), resulting in decreased rainfall over most of the Asian monsoon region, with possibility that an interplay of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has modulated the global circulation. Cold conditions were also reported but less frequently, in comparison to other Bond events such as the 8.2 ka event, Dark Ages Cold Period and Little Ice Age. Some high-resolution records show a double peak structure of which two anomalies are tree-ring dated to 4.14–4.05 ka and 3.97 ka. Accurately and precisely dated high-resolution records indicative of various climatic variables, especially outside of the traditional study region (Mediterranean–Middle East–India–China), including reconstructions of the ENSO and NAO histories and ITCZ migrations, are crucially needed for rigorous examination of the global scale characteristics of the 4.2 ka event and its forcings. Such research seems to be just beginning
Astrophysics · Physics · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · History · Maritime and Coastal Archaeology
Extreme events and the spread of Uralic languages
An absolutely dated mid-Holocene English yew chronology offers new opportunities for archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research
Forests, pastures, and furnaces in the south-eastern Alps
Granlund’s recurrence surfaces revisited and reanalysed
Late Holocene geochemical and environmental changes inferred from a multiproxy investigation in sediments from Kondagai Lake Tamil Nadu, India
Geochemical evidence of the 8.2 ka event and other Holocene environmental changes recorded in paleolagoon sediments, southeastern Brazil
Mismatches of scale in the application of paleoclimatic research to Chinese archaeology
Holocene periodicity in North Atlantic climate and deep-ocean flow south of Iceland
Centennial-scale climate cooling with a sudden cold event around 8,200 years ago
A Pervasive Millennial-Scale Cycle in North Atlantic Holocene and Glacial Climates
Cultural Responses to Climate Change During the Late Holocene
Persistent Solar Influence on North Atlantic Climate During the Holocene
Variability of the North Atlantic Oscillation over the past 5,200 years
Climate change at the 4.2 ka BP termination of the Indus valley civilization and Holocene south Asian monsoon variability
All age–depth models are wrong
Structure and origin of Holocene cold events
Holocene climate variability
Formal subdivision of the Holocene Series/Epoch
Formal ratification of the subdivision of the Holocene Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period)
The 4.2 ka BP Event in the Mediterranean region
Mid- to Late Holocene climate change
The Genesis and Collapse of Third Millennium North Mesopotamian Civilization
Holocene Climatic Variations—Their Pattern and Possible Cause
El Niño variability off Peru during the last 20,000 years
The 8k event
Climate proxies for the last 17.3 ka from Lake Hazar (Eastern Anatolia), extracted by independent component analysis of μ -XRF data
Climate Change, Fire and Human Activity Drive Vegetation Change during the Last Eight Millennia in the Xistral Mountains of NW Iberia
Reconstructed late Quaternary hydrological changes from Lake Tso Moriri, NW Himalaya
Characterizing the Meghalayan Stage in southern Africa
The 4.2 ka BP climatic event and its cultural responses
Vegetation history, climate and human impact in the Spanish Central System over the last 9000 years
Dark Ages Cold Period
A severe centennial-scale drought in midcontinental North America 4200 years ago and apparent global linkages
High-resolution magnetic and palynological records of the last deglaciation and Holocene from Lake Xiarinur in the Hunshandake Sandy Land, Inner Mongolia
Possible complexity of the climatic event around 4300—3800 cal. BP in the central and western Mediterranean
A preliminary study on sediment records of possible typhoon in the northern South China Sea during the past 6500 years
Holocene climatic reconstructions from the fossil pollen record at Qigai Nuur in the southern Mongolian Plateau
Investigating possible links between Holocene environmental changes and cultural transitions across India
An 8000-year multi-proxy peat-based palaeoclimate record from Newfoundland
Climate model experiments on the 4.2 ka event
The Mt Logan Holocene—late Wisconsinan isotope record
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 4 |