A speleothem record from Portugal reveals phases of increased winter precipitation in western Iberia during the Holocene

Bibliographic Data

ID12265034
AuthorsAlexa Benson (0000-0002-5693-9266, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, corresponding author), Dirk L Hoffmann (0000-0002-9245-2041, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, corresponding author), Joan Daura (0000-0002-8364-3655, Universitat de Barcelona, Departament d’Història i Arqueologia, Facultat de Geografia i Història, Barcelona, Spain), M Sanz (0000-0002-2263-0121, Universitat de Barcelona, Departament d’Història i Arqueologia, Facultat de Geografia i Història, Barcelona, Spain), Filipa Rodrigues (0000-0001-9314-5855, University of Lisbon), Pedro Souto (0000-0002-1420-7219, Sociedade Torrejana de Espeleologia e Arqueologia, Quinta da Lezíria, Torres Novas, Portugal), João Zilhão (0000-0001-5937-3061, Universitat de Barcelona, Departament d’Història i Arqueologia, Facultat de Geografia i Història, Barcelona, Spain)
Year2021
Volume31
Issue8
Pages1339-1350
Publication date2021-04-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Holocene (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0959-6836 • E-ISSN: 1477-0911
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/09596836211011666
OpenAlexW3158395470
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited49

The European climate during the Holocene period is characterised by frequent changes of temperature and precipitation. The North Atlantic plays a major role as a driver for European climate and is a dominant precipitation source, particularly for the western European and north African realm. Atmospheric pressure gradients over the Atlantic (North Atlantic Oscillation, NAO), Atlantic circulation patterns (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, AMO) or positioning of the Atlantic jet stream have been suggested to be responsible for precipitation patterns across western Europe. However, proxy data provide an inconsistent picture on how precipitation responds to changes in the Atlantic realm such as changes of Atlantic temperature (IRD), atmospheric pressure (NAO), water circulation (AMO) or the jet stream. Here we present a record of speleothem-based winter precipitation amount from Portugal. The record covers most of the Holocene and demonstrates that wetter conditions were synchronous in western and southern Iberia during early and mid Holocene. The record also shows a correlation between increased winter precipitation amount in western Iberia and Atlantic cooling, evidenced by Bond events, between 10 and 4 ka

Atlantic Equatorial mode · Atlantic multidecadal oscillation · Atmospheric Circulation · Cave · Climatology · El Niño Southern Oscillation · Geography · Gulf Stream · Holocene · Ice core · Intertropical Convergence Zone · Jet (fluid · Jet stream · North Atlantic Deep Water · North Atlantic oscillation · Precipitation · Speleothem · Stalagmite · Teleconnection · Thermohaline circulation · Geological and Geophysical Studies Worldwide · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Tree-ring climate responses · Geology · Oceanography