Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A multidisciplinary study of Holocene sediment records from Hjort Sø on Store Koldewey, Northeast Greenland

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Paleolimnology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Two sediment cores of 70 and 252 cm length were recovered from Hjort Sø, a small lake on Store Koldewey, Northeast Greenland, and studied with a multidisciplinary approach in order to reconstruct the local environmental history and to test the relevance of proxies for paleoenvironmental information. The basal sediments from the longer core are dominated by clastic matter, which was likely deposited during deglaciation of the lake basin. These clastic sediments are overlain by gyttja, which is also present throughout the shorter core. AMS radiocarbon dating was conducted on plant macrofossils of 11 samples from the gyttja in both cores. A reliable chronology was established for both cores, which dated the onset of organic accumulation at 9,500 cal. year BP. The Holocene temperature development, with an early to mid Holocene thermal maximum, is best reflected in the grain-size composition. Nutrient availability was apparently low during the early Holocene and led to low productivity in the lake and its vicinity. From ca. 7,000 cal. year BP, productivity in the lake increased significantly, probably induced by external nutrient input from goose excrements. From this time, micro- and macro-fossil remains reflect relatively well the climate history of East Greenland, with a cooling during the middle Holocene, the medieval warming, and the Little Ice Age. The amount of organic matter in the sequence seems to be more affected by lake ice cover or by nutrient supply from the catchment than by temperature changes. The record from Hjort Sø thus reveals the difficulties in interpreting sedimentary records from high arctic regions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson NJ, Ryves DB, Grauert M, McGowan S (2004) Holocene paleolimnology of Greenland and the North Atlantic islands (north of 60°N). In: Pienitz R, Douglas MSV, Smol JP (eds) Long-term environmental change in Arctic and Antarctic lakes. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 319–347

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Battarbee RW (1973) A new method for estimation of absolute microfossil numbers, with reference especially to diatoms. Limnol Oceanogr 18:647–653

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bay C (1992) A phytogeographical study of the vascular plants of northern Greenland—north of 74° northern latitude. Meddel Grønl Biosci 36, Copenhagen, 102 pp

    Google Scholar 

  • Belokopytov IE, Beresnevich VV (1955) Giktorf’s peat borers. Torfyanaya Promyshlennost 8:9–10 (in Russian)

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennike O (1999) Colonisation of Greenland by plants and animals after the last ice age: a review. Pol Rec 35:323–336

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennike O (2000) Palaeoecological studies of Holocene lake sediments from West Greenland. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 155:285–304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennike O, Björck S (2002) Chronology of the last recession of the Greenland Ice Sheet. J Quat Sci 17:211–219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennike O, Funder S (1997) Macrofossil studies of Holocene lake sediments from Jameson Land, East Greenland. Geol Greenl Surv Bull 176:80–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennike O, Weidick A (2001) Late Quaternary history around Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden and Jøkelbugten, North-East Greenland. Boreas 30:205–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennike O, Björck S, Böcher J, Walker I (2000) The Quaternary arthropod fauna of Greenland: a review with new data. Bull Geol Soc Denm 47:111–134

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennike O, Björck S, Böcher J, Hansen L, Heinemeier J, Wohlfarth B (1999) Early Holocene plant and animal remains from North-east Greenland. J Biogeogr 26:667–677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennike O, Cremer H, Håkansson L, Hultzsch N, Klug M, Kobabe S, Wagner B (2004) Quaternary geological and biological studies on Store Koldewey and on Geographical Society Ø. Rep Pol Mar Res 475:51–74

    Google Scholar 

  • Björck S, Persson T (1981) Late Weichselian and Flandrian biostratigraphy and chronology from Hochstetter Forland, Northeast Greenland. Meddel Grønl Geosci 5, Copenhagen, 19 pp

  • Björck S, Rundgren M, Ingólfsson Ó, Funder S (1997) The Preboreal oscillation around the Nordic Seas: terrestrial and lacustrine responses. J Quat Sci 12:455–465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Björck S, Bennike O, Ingólfsson Ó, Barnekow L, Penney DN (1994a) Lake Boksehandsken´s earliest postglacial sediments and their paleoenvironmental implications, Jameson Land, East Greenland. Boreas 23:1–14

    Google Scholar 

  • Björck S, Wohlfarth B, Bennike O, Hjort C, Persson T (1994b) Revision of the early Holocene lake sediment based chronology and event stratigraphy on Hochstetter Forland, NE Greenland. Boreas 23:513–524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boertmann D, Glahder C (1999) Grønlandske gåsebestande—en oversigt. Faglig rapport fra DMU nr. 276, Copenhagen, Denmark, 59 pp

  • Brooks SJ, Birks HJB (2004) The dynamics of Chironomidae (Insecta: Diptera) assemblages in response to the environmental change during the past 700 years on Svalbard. J Paleolimnol 31:483–498

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cappelen J, Jørgensen BV, Laursen EV, Stannius LS, Thomsen RS (2001) The observed climate of Greenland, 1958–1999—with climatological standard normals, 1961–90. Danish Meteorological Institute, Ministry of Transport, Technical Report 00-18, Copenhagen, 151 pp

  • Cremer H, Wagner B (2004) Planktonic diatom communities in High Arctic lakes (Store Koldewey, Northeast Greenland). Can J Bot 82:1744–1757

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cremer H, Melles M, Wagner B (2001a) Holocene climate changes reflected in a diatom succession from Basaltsø, East Greenland. Can J Bot 79:649–656

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cremer H, Wagner B, Melles M, Hubberten H-W (2001b) The Holocene environmental development of Raffles Sø, East Greenland: inferences from a 10,000 year diatom record. J Paleolimnol 26:67–87

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cremer H, Bennike O, Håkansson L, Hultzsch N, Klug M, Kobabe S, Lotter AF, Wagner B (2005) Hydrology and diatom phytoplankton of high Arctic lakes and ponds on Store Koldewey, Northeast Greenland. Int Rev Hydrobiol 90:84–99

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Doran PT, Berger GW, Lyons WB, Wharton RA Jr, Davisson ML, Southon J, Dibb JE (1999) Dating Quaternary lacustrine sediments in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 147:223–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faegri K, Iversen J (1989) Textbook of pollen analysis. Wiley, New York, 328 pp

  • Fredskild B (1969) A postglacial standard pollen diagram from Peary Land, North Greenland. Pollen Spores 11:573–583

    Google Scholar 

  • Fredskild B (1995) Palynology and sediment slumping in a high arctic Greenland Lake. Boreas 24:345–354

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Funder S (1978) Holocene stratigraphy and vegetation history in the Scoresby Sund area, East Greenland. Grønl Geol Undersøg Bull 129:1–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Funder S (1989) Quaternary geology of the ice free areas and adjacent shelves of Greenland. In: Fulton RJ (ed) Quaternary geology of Canada and Greenland. Geological Survey of Canada, Toronto, pp 743–792

    Google Scholar 

  • Funder S, Abrahamsen N (1988) Palynology in a polar desert, eastern North Greenland. Boreas 1:195–207

    Google Scholar 

  • Funder S, Hansen L (1996) The Greenland ice sheet—a model for its culmination and decay after the last glacial maximum. Bull Geol Soc Denm 42:137–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Funder S, Hjort C, Landvik JY, Nam S-I, Reeh N, Stein R (1998) History of a Stable Ice-Margin—East Greenland during the Middle and Upper Pleistocene. Quat Sci Rev 17:77–123

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guilizzoni P, Marchetto A, Lami A, Brauer A, Vigliotti L, Musazzi S, Langone L, Manca M, Lucchini F, Calanchi N, Dinelli E, Mordenti A (2006) Records of environmental and climatic changes during the late Holocene from Svalbar: palaeolimnology of Kongressvatnet. J Paleolimnol 36:325–351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henriksen N (1997) Geological map of Greenland 1:500 000. Sheet 10, Dove Bugt

  • Hjort C (1979) Glaciation in northern East Greenland during the Late Weichselian and Early Flandrian. Boreas 8:281–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hjort C (1981) A glacial chronology for northern East Greenland. Boreas 10:259–274

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hjort C, Björck S (1984) A re-evaluated glacial chronology for northern East Greenland. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 105:235–243

    Google Scholar 

  • Hjort C, Funder S (1974) The subfossil occurrence of Mytilus edulis L. in central East Greenland. Boreas 3:23–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodgson DA, Roberts D, McMinn A, Verleyen E, Terry B, Corbett C, Vyvermann W (2006) Recent rapid salinity rise in three Antarctic lakes. J Paleolimnol 36:385–406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnsen SJ, Clausen HB, Dansgaard W, Gundestrup NS, Hansson M, Jonsson P, Steffensen JP, Sveinbjørnsdottir AE (1992) A ‘deep’ ice core from East Greenland. Meddel Grønl Geosci 29, Copenhagen, 29 pp

  • Jowsey PC (1966) An improved peat sampler. New Phytol 65:245–248

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krammer K, Lange-Bertalot H (1986) Bacillariophyceae 1. Teil: Naviculaceae. In: Ettl G, Gerloff J, Heynig H, Mollenhauer D (eds) Süßwasserflora von Mitteleuropa. Band 2/1. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Heidelberg, 876 pp (Reprint 1999)

  • Krammer K, Lange-Bertalot H (1991) Bacillariophyceae 3. Teil: Centrales, Fragilariaceae, Eunotiaceae. In: Ettl G, Gerloff J, Heynig H, Mollenhauer D (eds) Süßwasserflora von Mitteleuropa. Band 2/3. Gustav Fischer Verlag, Heidelberg, 599 pp (Reprint 2000)

  • Larsen E, Sejrup HP, Johnson SJ, Knudsen KL (1995) Do Greenland Ice Cores Reflect NW European Interglacial Climate Variations? Quat Res 43:125–132

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lie Ø, Bakke J, Dokken T, Jansen E, Nesje A (2006) 2700 years BP—evidence for large-scale mode-shift in Atlantic atmospheric circulation. A coherent pattern from ocean and terrestrial archives at the Subboreal-Subatlanticum transition. Geophys Res Abstr 8:08948

    Google Scholar 

  • Lotter AF, Merkt J, Sturm M (1997) Differential sedimentation versus coring artifacts: a comparison of two widely used piston-coring methods. J Paleolimnol 18:75–85

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melles M, Kulbe T, Verkulich SR, Pushina ZV, Hubberten H-W (1997) Late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental history of Bunger Hills, East Antarctica, as revealed by fresh-water and epishelf lake sediments. In: Ricci CA (ed) The Antarctic region: geological evolution and processes. Universita deglio Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy pp 809–820

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyers PA, Ishiwatari R (1995) Organic matter accumulation records in lake sediments. In: Lerman A, Imboden D, Gat J (eds) Physics and chemistry of lakes. Springer, Berlin, pp 279–328

    Google Scholar 

  • Moore PD, Webb JA, Collinson ME (1991) Pollen analysis, 2nd edn. Blackwell Scientific Publications, London, 216 pp

  • Punt W (ed) (1976) The Northwest European pollen flora I. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 145 pp

  • Punt W, Blackmore S (eds) (1991) The Northwest European flora VI. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 275 pp

  • Punt W, Clarke GCS (eds) (1981) The Northwest European pollen flora III. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 138 pp

  • Punt W, Clarke GCS (eds) (1984) The Northwest European pollen flora IV. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 369 pp

  • Punt W, Blackmore S, Clarke GCS (eds) (1988) The Northwest European pollen flora V. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 154 pp

  • Punt W, Blackmore S, Hoen PP (eds) (1995) The Northwest European pollen flora VII. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 275 pp

  • Punt W, Blackmore S, Hoen PP, Stafford PJ (eds) (2003) The Northwest European pollen flora VIII. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 183 pp

  • Reimer PJ, Baillie MGL, Bard E, Bayliss A, Beck JW, Bertrand CJH, Blackwell PG, Buck CE, Burr GS, Cutler KB, Damon PE, Edwards RL, Fairbanks RG, Friedrich M, Guilderson TP, Hogg AG, Hughen KA, Kromer B, McCormac FG, Manning SW, Ramsey CB, Reimer RW, Remmele S, Southon JR, Stuiver M, Talamo S, Taylor FW, van der Plicht J, Weyhenmeyer CE (2004) IntCal04 Terrestrial radiocarbon age calibration, 26–0 ka BP. Radiocarbon 46:1029–1058

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith J, Hodgson D, Bentley M, Verleyen E, Leng M, Roberts S (2006) Limnology of two Antarctic epishelf lakes and their potential to record periods of ice shelf loss. J Paleolimnol 35:373–394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stuiver M, Reimer PJ (1993) Extended 14C data base and revised calib. 3.0 14C age calibration. Radiocarbon 35:215–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dam H, Mertens A, Sinkeldam J (1994) A coded checklist and ecological indicator values of freshwater diatoms from the Netherlands. Netherlands J Aqu Ecol 28:117–133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vorren K-D (1978) Late and Middle Weichselian stratigraphy of Andøya, north Norway. Boreas 7:19–38

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner B, Cremer H, Hultzch N, Gore D, Melles M (2004) Late Pleistocene and Holocene history of Lake Terrasovojc, Amery Oasis, East Antarctica, and its climatic and environmental implications. J Paleolimnol 32:321–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner B, Melles M (2000) Biogeochemical and palynological history of a Lake on Western Ymer Ø, East Greenland. Geolines 11:156–159

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagner B, Melles M (2001) A Holocene seabird record from Raffles Sø sediments, East Greenland, in response to climatic and oceanic changes. Boreas 30:228–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner B, Melles M (2002) Holocene environmental history of western Ymer Ø, East Greenland, inferred from lake sediments. Quat Intern 89:165–176

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagner B, Melles M, Hahne J, Niessen F, Hubberten H-W (2000) Holocene climate history of Geographical Society Ø, East Greenland—evidence from lake sediments. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 160:45–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The project was funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG; WA2109/3-1). Special thanks are due to Nadja Hultzsch, Martin Klug, and Svenja Kobabe for their immense assistance in the field. Svante Björck and John Smol are thanked for fruitful comments and suggestions. The lake is named after Christian Hjort, who contributed significantly to this project and, moreover, to the knowledge of the glacial and environmental history of Greenland for more than three decades now. Chapeau!

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Geology and Mineralogy, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 49a, 50674, Köln, Germany

    Bernd Wagner & Martin Melles

  2. Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Ole Bennike

  3. Geological Survey of the Netherlands, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research TNO, Princetonlaan 6, 3584 CB, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Holger Cremer

  4. Palaeoecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology, Universiteit Utrecht, Budapestlaan 4, 3584 CD, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Johanna A. A. Bos & André F. Lotter

Authors
  1. Bernd Wagner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ole Bennike
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Johanna A. A. Bos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Holger Cremer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. André F. Lotter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Martin Melles
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bernd Wagner.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wagner, B., Bennike, O., Bos, J.A.A. et al. A multidisciplinary study of Holocene sediment records from Hjort Sø on Store Koldewey, Northeast Greenland. J Paleolimnol 39, 381–398 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-007-9120-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-007-9120-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation