Chironomid-based reconstructions of summer air temperature from lake deposits in Lyndon Stream, New Zealand spanning the MIS 3/2 transition [An article from: Quaternary Science Reviews]

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Description:
We present chironomid-based temperature reconstructions from lake sediments deposited between ca 26,600calyrBP and 24,500calyrBP from Lyndon Stream, South Island, New Zealand. Summer (February mean) temperatures averaged 1^oC cooler, with a maximum inferred cooling of 3.7^oC. These estimates corroborate macrofossil and beetle-based temperature inferences from the same site and suggest climate amelioration (an interstadial) at this time. Other records from the New Zealand region also show a large degree of variability during the late Otiran glacial sequence (34,000-18,000calyrBP) including a phase of warming at the MIS 2/3 transition and a maximum cooling that did not occur until the global LGM (ca 20,000calyrBP). The very moderate cooling identified here at the MIS 2/3 transition confirms and enhances the long-standing discrepancy in New Zealand records between pollen and other proxies. Low abundances (