Palaeoenvironmental changes in the Iberian central system during the Late-glacial and Holocene as inferred from geochemical data: A case study of the Navamuño depression in western Spain

6Citations
Citations of this article
25Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

The Iberian Central System (ICS) is a clue region to reveal Mediterranean/Atlantic inferences over Iberia. We present a multidisciplinary study from western Spain conducted in the Navamuño depression (ND), covering the last 16.8 ka (cal BP). A reconstruction of the palaeotemperature from the resulting geochemical data highlights four cold and dry intervals, namely, the Oldest Dryas, Older Dryas, Intra-Allerød Cold Period (IACP), and the Younger Dryas, along with warmer intervals: the Bølling (14.7–14 ka) and the Allerød (12.9–12.6 ka); however, the Greenland Interstadial GI-1c (13.4–13.1 ka) is barely distinguishable in the ND. Despite the shortage of biomass to sustain fire, the earliest charcoals are from ~14.4–13.8 ka. Evidence of ash/dust events overprinting the geochemical background starts at ~13.8–12.8 ka. Significant fire activity in the Early Holocene at ~11.7–10.6 ka affected the ND, matching the westernmost ICS data. This period includes short oceanic spells inferred from Cl peaks at ~10.9–10.2 ka and three cold intervals at 11.4, 9.3, and 8.2 ka disrupted the progressive temperature increase. The Mid-Holocene showed a continuously increasing trend towards an arid climate, peaking at 4.2 ka under a pervasive dust influx from North Africa, which has prevailed since almost ~7.9 ka. A prominent volcanic event at ~6.8–5.8 ka is in Navamuño and Roñanzas (Asturias, N Spain; Gallego et al., 2013) identified from heavy metal-rich layer, synchronous with the last known eruption of the Calatrava volcanic field (South-Central Spain; Poblete-Piedrabuena et al., 2019). This volcanic eruption could affect many other regions half north of Iberia. The pervasive presence of oceanic aerosols in the last three millennia (2.8 ka ~ ) allowed the formation of a Cl-rich peat layer during the Ibero-Roman humid period ~2.1 ka, before a changing around ~0.4 ka toward colder and drier conditions at the Little Ice Age (LIA) period.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Turu, V., Carrasco, R. M., López-Sáez, J. A., Pontevedra-Pombal, X., Pedraza, J., Luelmo-Lautenschlaeger, R., … Soriano-López, J. M. (2021). Palaeoenvironmental changes in the Iberian central system during the Late-glacial and Holocene as inferred from geochemical data: A case study of the Navamuño depression in western Spain. Catena, 207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2021.105689

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free