Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/J014192/1
Late Holocene temperature reconstruction from Hawes Water northwest England using chironomid analysis
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr AP Bedford, Edge Hill University, Natural Geographical & Applied Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor AT Worsley, Edge Hill University, Natural Geographical & Applied Sciences
- Grant held at:
- Edge Hill University, Natural Geographical & Applied Sciences
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Earth
- Freshwater
- Marine
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Atmospheric
- ENRIs:
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Landscape & Environ. Archaeol.
- Climate & Climate Change
- Palaeoenvironments
- Palaeoenvironments
- Quaternary Science
- Abstract:
- The proposed research would use chironomid midges from the sediments of Hawes Water, a small hard water lake in northwest England, to reconstruct summer temperatures for the past 5,000 years. Chironomids are one of the most widely used proxies for temperature reconstruction as they rapidly respond to even small changes in summer air temperatures. They are ideal for palaeo studies as the larval heads preserve well in sediments and many chironomid taxa are sensitive to a particular temperature range The record would provide temperatures at a resolution of approximately 30 years and would be the first high resolution quantitative record of climate change during this period from England and the only high resolution record in the UK. Past research at Hawes Water has shown the sensitivity of the site to climate changes, particularly those induced by changes in North Atlantic circulation (Marshall et al., 2007). Temperature records are available from Hawes Water for the period from ca. 14,500 to 5,000 years before 2000 (b2k). Until recently it had been thought that during the later Holocene (5,000 b2k to present) the increasing influence on the midge assemblage of human induced changes in lake water (particularly pH, nutrient and oxygen status) may override and confuse the temperature effect, thus affecting the reconstructions and making them inaccurate (see Velle et al., 2010 for discussions). However, comparisons of chironomid inferred temperature from Speke Hall Lake in Liverpool (an enriched polluted low oxygen lake) with local instrumental records for the last 80 years demonstrate that a chironomid-based temperature inference model can produce reliable estimates of mean July air temperatures, even from a lake experiencing large changes in heavy metal and sulphur pollution and nutrient status (Lang et al., imminent submission). The project will therefore extend the Hawes Water record into this Later Holocene period to produce the first complete high resolution summer temperature record from a single archive for the UK for the last 14500 years. The research would then use the reconstructed temperatures together with an existing stable oxygen isotope record from the site to reconstruct the oxygen isotope values of the paleao lake water (ISOCHIRO method of Marshall et al., 2007) for the last 5,000 years. The isotopic value of palaeo lake water directly links to that of precipitation and that of the source water from which it was evaporated (ie the north east Atlantic) and Marshall et al (2007) have shown that changes in the oxygen isotope values of early Holocene lake waters at Hawes Water were a direct downstream response to changes in North Atlantic circulation due to meltwater influxes from pro glacial lakes in America and Fenno-scandianavia. Results from this research will indicate any changes which may have taken place in the north eastern Atlantic surface waters during the later Holocene. Detailed examination of the two new records will give insight into the drivers of late Holocene climate change. Comparison of the isotopic meteoric water record and the temperature record will indicate the extent of the influence of oceanic changes on terrestrial climate and the extent to which climate change may be attributed to other climate drivers e.g. variations in solar irradiation. Completion of the full Holocene temperature record at Hawes Water will enable time series analysis which will indicate as to whether the inherent cyclicity which has been identified within the Holocene climate in some oceanic records (Bond et al., 1997) is also visible in terrestrial climate. Please see Case for Support for full reference details.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/J014192/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Small Grants (FEC)
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Small Grants
This grant award has a total value of £48,344
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DI - Staff | DA - Estate Costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £404 | £23,781 | £2,700 | £19,013 | £2,446 |
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