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Evidence of the North Atlantic Oscillation in varve composition and diatom assemblages from recent, annually laminated sediments of Lake Belau, northern Germany

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Abstract

The recent sediment record of Lake Belau (Schleswig–Holstein, Germany), deposited in the period 1945–2002, was compared with instrumental meteorological and limnological data. The sediments deposited during this period are annually laminated. A varve chronology was established and supported by 137Cs measurements. Micro-facies and diatom assemblage composition analyses were confirmed in thin sections and compared statistically with limnological and meteorological data. Comparison of phytoplankton data with diatom assemblage data from the sediment for the time interval from 1988 to 1999 proved that the sediments reflect limnological processes in the lake and record seasonal changes in the primary producer communities. Among the climatological data, the number of contiguous ice days (days with maximal temperatures ≤0 °C) and the state of the winter NAO are strong predictors for micro-facies development and diatom assemblage composition. Furthermore, solar and local (nutrient input) influences are visible in the diatom assemblage compositions. Our study illustrates the high potential for using analyses of micro-facies and diatom assemblages to reconstruct past weather conditions in varved sediments of Lake Belau.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Hans-Rudolf Bork and Marcus Schütz for valuable comments and fruitful discussions on the manuscript. We also thank Andrey Mitusov for suggestions and statistical advice as well as Gudrun Plambeck (Ministry of the Environment of Schleswig–Holstein), and Ute Müller (former Institute for Hydrobiology and Fishery Sciences, University Hamburg) for sharing limnological data from Lake Belau. Many thanks to two anonymous reviewers, and Mark Brenner, whose suggestions improved the quality of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Ökosystemforschung, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Olshausenstr.75, 24118, Kiel, Germany

    Jürgen Zahrer & Stefan Dreibrodt

  2. Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Sektion 5.2, Klimadynamik und Landschaftsentwicklung, Telegrafenberg C 324, 14473, Potsdam, Germany

    Achim Brauer

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  1. Jürgen Zahrer
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  2. Stefan Dreibrodt
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  3. Achim Brauer
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Correspondence to Jürgen Zahrer.

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Zahrer, J., Dreibrodt, S. & Brauer, A. Evidence of the North Atlantic Oscillation in varve composition and diatom assemblages from recent, annually laminated sediments of Lake Belau, northern Germany. J Paleolimnol 50, 231–244 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-013-9717-7

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