A continuous high-resolution dust record for the reconstruction of wind systems in central Europe (Eifel, Western Germany) over the past 133 ka

Abstract

The last glacial cycle in Central Europe is dominated by processes of aeolian dust transport and accumulation. These dust deposits are preserved in soils and lake sediments and provide detailed information about the climate variability during cold and dry periods. Especially the transitions from warm into cold periods are characterized by turbulent climate conditions. The main problems of terrestrial paleoclimate reconstructions are the completeness of the core material and a sampling resolution. To detect single dust storms we use a particle detection method, which allows high resolution, sub-annual analyses of sediment structures in undisturbed samples. The ELSA (Eifel Laminated Sediment Archive) stack is a compilation of four different lake sediment cores of the Eifel region (Western Germany) and comprise the period of the last 133 ka. The results of our analyses show high frequencies of dust storm events during the first cold events C24 and C23 after the last warm stage. In opposition, the coldest periods of the last glacial cycle OIS-4 (70-60 ka BP) and OIS-2 (35-14 ka BP) are characterized by stable climate conditions that provide the accumulation of homogenous dust sediments. Copyright 2009 by the American Geophysical Union.