Holocene paleoenvironmental records from Nikolay Lake, Lena River Delta, Arctic Russia

Radiocarbon-dated pollen, rhizopod, chironomid and total organic carbon (TOC) records from Nikolay Lake (73°20′N, 124°12′E) and a pollen record from a nearby peat sequence are used for a detailed environmental reconstruction of the Holocene in the Lena Delta area. Shrubby Alnus fruticosa and Betula exilis tundra existed during 10,300–4800 cal. yr BP and gradually disappeared after that time. Climate reconstructions based on the pollen and chironomid records suggest that the climate during ca. 10,300–9200 cal. yr BP was up to 2–3 °C warmer than the present day. Pollen-based reconstructions show that the climate was relatively warm during 9200–6000 cal. yr BP and rather unstable between ca. 5800–3700 cal. yr BP. Both the qualitative interpretation of pollen data and the results of quantitative reconstruction indicate that climate and vegetation became similar to modern-day conditions after ca. 3600 cal. yr BP. The chironomid-based temperature reconstruction suggests a relatively warm period between ca. 2300 and 1400 cal. yr BP, which corresponds to the slightly warmer climate conditions reconstructed from the pollen. Modern chironomid and rhizopod assemblages were established after ca. 1400 cal. yr BP.