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A chrysophyte stomatocyst-based reconstruction of cold-season air temperature from Alpine Lake Silvaplana (AD 1500–2003); methods and concepts for quantitative inferences

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Abstract

Relatively little is known about past cold-season temperature variability in high-Alpine regions because of a lack of natural cold-season temperature proxies as well as under-representation of high-altitude sites in meteorological, early-instrumental and documentary data sources. Recent studies have shown that chrysophyte stomatocysts, or simply cysts (sub-fossil algal remains of Chrysophyceae and Synurophyceae), are among the very few natural proxies that can be used to reconstruct cold-season temperatures. This study presents a quantitative, high-resolution (5-year), cold-season (Oct–May) temperature reconstruction based on sub-fossil chrysophyte stomatocysts in the annually laminated (varved) sediments of high-Alpine Lake Silvaplana, SE Switzerland (1,789 m a.s.l.), since AD 1500. We first explore the method used to translate an ecologically meaningful variable based on a biological proxy into a simple climate variable. A transfer function was applied to reconstruct the ‘date of spring mixing’ from cyst assemblages. Next, statistical regression models were tested to convert the reconstructed ‘dates of spring mixing’ into cold-season surface air temperatures with associated errors. The strengths and weaknesses of this approach are thoroughly tested. One much-debated, basic assumption for reconstructions (‘stationarity’), which states that only the environmental variable of interest has influenced cyst assemblages and the influence of confounding variables is negligible over time, is addressed in detail. Our inferences show that past cold-season air-temperature fluctuations were substantial and larger than those of other temperature reconstructions for Europe and the Alpine region. Interestingly, in this study, recent cold-season temperatures only just exceed those of previous, multi-decadal warm phases since AD 1500. These findings highlight the importance of local studies to assess natural climate variability at high altitudes.

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Acknowledgments

We thank D. Fischer, E. Baumann, P. Dessarzin and S. Hagnauer for laboratory assistance. Two anonymous reviewers provided helpful comments and suggestions that substantially improved the paper. Discussions on statistical testing and assumptions with M. Trachsel and R. Telford were highly appreciated. Project funding was provided by an EU IEF Marie Curie Grant (PIEF-GA-2008-220189) to R. de Jong. This project is part of the EU FP 6 project Millennium (EU FP6 IP SUSTDEV-2004-3.1.4.1 Contract: 017008).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Erlachstrasse 9a, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

    Rixt de Jong, Christian Kamenik & Martin Grosjean

  2. Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Zähringerstrasse 25, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

    Rixt de Jong, Christian Kamenik & Martin Grosjean

  3. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden

    Karlyn Westover

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  1. Rixt de Jong
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Correspondence to Rixt de Jong.

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de Jong, R., Kamenik, C., Westover, K. et al. A chrysophyte stomatocyst-based reconstruction of cold-season air temperature from Alpine Lake Silvaplana (AD 1500–2003); methods and concepts for quantitative inferences. J Paleolimnol 50, 519–533 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-013-9743-5

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