Carbon Isotope Variations and Chronology of the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition (14-9 ka BP)

Abstract

We present delta-13C data from both bulk organic sediment samples and terrestrial plant macrofossils from five high-resolution sedimentary sequences from the United Kingdom from which extensive multiproxy data sets have been obtained. These span the last glacial-interglacial transition. Chronological control has been provided by radiocarbon dating and/or tephrochronology. The results demonstrate that significant shifts in bulk organic delta-13C can be identified at key climatic transitions in most of the sites. The data are affected by site-specific influences that restrict their use as chronological markers. However, terrestrial plant macrofossil records are more consistent and reveal shifts that appear to be synchronous and which therefore offer a basis for interregional correlation as well as significant paleoenvironmental information.