This paper presents two early Holocene (9.6-5.9 ka BP) high-resolution stable isotope records of stalagmites from two caves in northwestern Sweden (Korallgrottan and Labyrintgrottan). Close similarities between the Swedish records and a previously presented Norwegian stalagmite oxygen isotope record emphasize the potential of Scandinavian stalagmites to provide high-resolution regional palaeoclimatic information. The stable oxygen isotope records are interpreted to reflect the temperature evolution during the early Holocene with a gradual warming from c. 9.6 ka BP, interrupted by cooler conditions at 8.5-8.0 ka BP. The results indicate that the cooler conditions were driven by two to three abrupt cold events rather than one ‘8.2 event’ only. Except for these cold events the stalagmite oxygen isotope records show that temperatures in northwestern Sweden were warmer than today between 9.6 and 5.9 ka BP and that during this period the interval between 7.8 and 5.9 ka BP seems to have been the warmest. The high-amplitude changes in the stable carbon isotope record of Labyrintgrottan are proposed to reflect changes in local vegetation. The area above Labyrintgrottan was most likely covered by much denser vegetation than today at the time of stalagmite growth (9.5-7.5 ka BP) and was -unlike today -probably situated below the local tree limit between 9.0 and 8.0 ka BP.
Alley, R. B., Mayewski, P. A., Sowers, T., Stuiver, M., Taylor, K. C. and Clark, P. U.1997: Holocene climatic instability: a prominent widespread event 8200 yr ago. Geology25, 483-486.
2.
Baldini, J. U. L., McDermott, F., Baker, A., Baldini, L. M., Mattey, D. P. and Railsback, L. B.2005: Biomass effects on stalagmite growth and isotope ratios: a 20th century analogue from Wiltshire, England. Earth and Planetary Science Letters240, 486-494.
3.
Barber, D. C., Dyke, A., Hillaire-Marcel, C., Jennings, A. E., Andrews, J. T., Kerwin, M. W., Bilodeau, G., McNeely, R., Southon, J., Morehead, M. D. and Gagnon, J.-M.1999: Forcing of the cold event of 8,200 years ago by catastrophic drainage of Laurentide lakes. Nature400, 344-348.
4.
Barnekow, L.1999: Holocene tree-line dynamics and inferred climatic changes in the Abisko area, northern Sweden, based on macrofossil and pollen records. The Holocene9, 253-265.
5.
Bergman, J. 2005: Tree-limit ecotonal response to Holocene climate change in the Scandes Mountains of west-central Sweden. LUNDQUA Thesis 53. Lund University, Department of Geology, 35 pp.
6.
Bergman, J., Hammarlund, D., Hannon, G., Barnekow, L. and Wohlfarth, B.2005: Deglacial vegetation succession and Holocene tree-limit dynamics in the Scandes Mountains, west-central Sweden: stratigraphic data compared to megafossil evidence. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology134, 129-151.
7.
Bigler, C., Larocque, I., Peglar, S. M., Birks, H. J. B. and Hall, R. I.2002: Quantitative multiproxy assessment of long-term patterns of Holocene environmental change from a small lake near Abisko, northern Sweden. The Holocene12, 481-496.
8.
Birks, C. J. A. and Koç, N.2002: A high-resolution diatom record of late Quaternary sea-surface temperatures and oceanographic conditions from eastern Norwegian Sea. Boreas31, 323-344.
9.
Bjune, A. E., Birks, H. J. B. and Seppä, H.2004: Holocene vegetation and climate history on a continental-oceanic transect in northern Fennoscandia based on pollen and plant macrofossils. Boreas33, 211-223.
10.
Briffa, K., Korhola, A. and Snowball, I. 2001: Holocene climate dynamics in high latitude Europe and the North Atlantic. Proceedings of the international conference Past Climate Variability Through Europe and Africa.27-31 August 2001, Aixen-Provence, France.
11.
Cheng, H., Edwards, R. L., Hoff, J., Gallup, C. D., Richards, D. A. and Amserom, Y.2000: The half-lives of uranium-234 and thorium-230. Chemical Geology169, 17-33.
12.
Craig, H. 1965: The measurement of oxygen isotope palaeotemperatures: stable isotopes in oceanic studies and palaeotemperatures. In Tongiori, E., editor, Proceedings of the Third Spoleto Conference. Sischi and Figli, 161-182.
13.
Dahl, S. O. and Nesje, A.1996: A new approach to calculating Holocene winter precipitation by combining glacier equilibrium-line altitudes and pine-tree limits: a case study from Hardangerjøkulen, central southern Norway. The Holocene6, 381-398.
14.
Dahl, S. O., Nesje, A., Lie, Ø., Fondheim, K. and Matthews, J. A.2002: Timing, equilibrium-line altitude and climatic implications of two early Holocene glacier readvances during Erdalen Event at Jostedalsbreen, western Norway. The Holocene12, 17-25.
15.
Eronen, M., Hyvärinen, H. and Zetterberg, P.1999: Holocene humidity changes in northern Finnish Lapland inferred from lake sediments and submerged Scots pines dated by tree-rings. The Holocene9, 569-580.
16.
Fairbanks, R. G.1989: A 17,000-year glacio-eustatic sea level record: influence of glacial melting rates on the Younger Dryas event and deep-ocean circulation. Nature342, 637-642.
Gunnarsson, B. E.2001: Lake level changes indicated by dendrochronology on subfossil pine, Jämtland, central Scandinavian mountains, Sweden. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research33, 274-281.
19.
Hammarlund, D., Björck, S., Buchardt, B., Israelson, C. and Thomsen, C. T.2003: Rapid hydrological changes during the Holocene revealed by stable isotope records of lacustrine carbonates from Lake Igelsjön, southern Sweden. Quaternary Science Reviews22, 353-370.
20.
Hammarlund, D., Velle, G., Wolfe, B. B., Edwards, T. W. D., Barnekow, L., Bergman, J., Holmgren, S., Lamme, S., Snowball, I., Wohlfarth, B. and Possnert, G.2004: Palaeolimnological and sedimentary responses to Holocene forest retreat in the Scandes Mountains, west-central Sweden. The Holocene14, 862-876.
21.
Heikkilä, M. and Seppä, H.2003: A 11,000 yr palaeotemperature reconstruction from the southern boreal zone in Finland. Quaternary Science Reviews22, 541-554.
22.
Helldén, U.1973: Artfjä llet, Lapland, Sweden. Karst hydrology and morphometry. Rapporter och notiser nr 20. Lunds universitet, 22-22 pp.
23.
Hellstrom, J., McColloch, M. and Stone, J.1998: A detailed 31,000 year record of climate and vegetation change, from the isotope geochemistry of two New Zeeland speleothems. Quaternary Research50, 167-178.
24.
Hendy, C. H.1971: The isotopic geochemistry of speleothems-I. The calculation of the effects of different modes of formation on the isotopic composition of speleothems and their applicability as palaeoclimatic indicators. Geochemica et Cosmochimica Acta35, 801-824.
25.
International Atomic Energy Agency2006: IAEA home page. Retrieved 1 November 2006 from: http://isohis.iaea.org.
26.
Ivanovich, M. and Harmon, R. S., editors 1992: Uranium series disequilibrium. Applications to natural environmental problems. Claredon, 571-571 pp.
27.
Jaffrey, A. H., Flynn, K. F., Glendenin, L. E., Bently, W. C. and Essling, A. M.1971: Precision measurements of half-lives and specific activities of 235U and 238U. Physical Review LettersC4, 1889-1906.
28.
Karlén, W. and Kuylenstierna, J.1996: On solar forcing of Holocene climate: evidence from Scandinavia. The Holocene6, 359-365.
29.
Korhola, A., Vasko, K., Toivonen, H. T. T. and Olander, H.2002: Holocene temperature changes in northern Fennoscandia reconstructed from chironomids using Bayesian modelling. Quaternary Science Reviews21, 1841-1860.
30.
Korhola, A., Weckström, J., Holmström, L. and Erästö, P.2000: A quantitative Holocene climatic record from diatoms in Northern Fennoscandia. Quaternary Research54, 284-294.
31.
Kullman, L.1995: Holocene tree-limit and climate history from the Scandes Mountains, Sweden. Ecology76 (A), 247-259.
32.
Kullman, L. and Kjällgren, L.2000: A coherent postglacial tree-limit chronology (Pinus Sylvestris L.) for the Swedish Scandes: aspects of palaeoclimate and ‘recent warming’, based on megafossil evidence. Arctic and Alpine Research32, 419-428.
33.
Lauritzen, S. E.1995: High-resolution paleotemperature proxy record for the last interglaciation based on Norwegian speleothems. Quaternary Research43, 133-146.
34.
Lauritzen, S. E. and Lundberg, J.1999a: Speleothems and climate: a special issue of The Holocene. The Holocene9, 643-647.
35.
Lauritzen, S. E. and Lundberg, J.1999b: Calibration of the speleothem delta function: an absolute temperature record for the Holocene in northern Norway. The Holocene9, 659-669.
36.
Linge, H., Lauritzen, S. E., Lundberg, J. and Berstad, I. M.2001: Stable isotope stratigraphy of Holocene speleothems: examples from a cave system in Rana, northern Norway. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology167, 209-224.
37.
Mangini, A., Spötl, C. and Verdes, P.2005: Reconstruction of temperature in the Central Alps during the past 2000 yr from a δ18O stalagmite record. Earth and Planetary Science Letters235, 741-751.
38.
Mayewski, P. A., Rohling, E. E., Stager, J. C., Karléan, W., Masssch, K. A., Meeker, L. D., Meyerson, E. A., Gasse, F., Kreveld, S., Holmgren, K., Lee-Thorp, J., Rosqvist, G., Rack, F., Staubwasser, M., Schneider, R. R. and Steig, E. J.2004: Holocene climate variability. Quaternary Research62, 243-255.
39.
Nesje, A.Matthews, J. A., Dahl, S. O., Berrisford, M. S. and Andersson, C.2001: Holocene glacier fluctuations at Flatebreen and winter precipitation changes in the Jostedalsbreen region, western Norway, based on glaciolacustrine sediment records. The Holocene11, 267-280.
40.
O’Neill, J. R., Clayton, R. N. and Mayeda, T. K.1969: Oxygen isotope fractionation in divalent metal carbonates. Journal of Chemical Physics51, 5547-5558.
41.
Rightmare, C. T.1978: Seasonal variation in PCO2 and 13C content of soil atmosphere. Water Resources Research14, 691-692.
42.
Rohling, E. J. and Pälike, H.2005: Centennial scale climate cooling with a sudden cold event around 8,200 years ago. Nature434, 975-979.
43.
Rosén, P., Segerström, U., Eriksson, L., Renberg, I. and Birks, H. J. B.2001: Holocene climatic change reconstructed from Hellde diatoms, chironomids, pollen and near-infrared spectroscopy at an alpine lake (Sjuodjijaure) in northern Sweden as revealed by pollen analysis. The Holocene11, 551-562.
44.
Rozanski, K.1993: Isotopic patterns in modern global precipitation. In Swart, P. K., Lohman, K. C., Mckenzie, J. and Savin, S., editors, Climate change in continental isotope records. Geophysical Monograph 78, American Geophysical Union, 1-36.
45.
Schwarcz, H. P.1980: Absolute age determination of archeological sites by uranium dating of travertines. Archeometry22, 3-24.
46.
Schwarcz, H. P.1986: Geochronology and isotopic geochemistry of speleothems. In Fritz, P. and Fontes, J. Ch., editors, Handbook of environmental isotope geochemistry. Vol. 2. The terrestrial environment B. Elsevier, 271-303.
47.
Schwarcz, H. P., Harmon, R. S., Thompson, P. and Ford, D. C.1976: Stable isotope studies of fluid inclusions in speleothems and their palaeoclimatic effect. Geochemica et Cosmoschimica Acta40, 657-665.
48.
Seppä, H. and Birks, H. J. B.2001: July mean temperature and annual precipitation trends during the Holocene in Fennoscandian tree-line area: pollen-based climate reconstructions. The Holocene11, 527-537.
49.
Seppä, H. and Birks, H. J. B.2002: Holocene climate reconstructions from the Fennoscandian tree-line area based on pollen data from Toskaljavri. Quaternary Research57, 191-199.
50.
Seppä, H., Nyman, M., Korhola, A. and Weckström, J.2002: Changes of treelines and alpine vegetation in relation to post-glacial climate dynamics in northern Fennoscandia based on pollen and chironomid records. Journal of Quaternary Science17, 287-301.
51.
Smart, P. L.1991: Uranium series dating. In Smart, P. L. and Frances, P. D., editors, Quaternary dating methods: a user’s guide. Technical guide no. 4. Quaternary Research Association, 45-83.
52.
Snowball, I., Korhola, A., Briffa, K. R. and Koç, N.2004: Holocene climate dynamics in Fennoscandia and the North Atlantic. In Batterbee, R. W., Gasse, F. and Stickley, C. E., editors, Past climate variability through Europe and Africa. Kluwer Academic Publishers, 465-494.
53.
Stuiver, M., Grootes, P. and Braziunas, T. F.1995: The GISP2 d18O climate record of the past 16,500 years and the role of the Sun, ocean, and volcanoes. Quaternary Research44, 341-354.
54.
Sveriges meteorologiska och hydrologiska institut (SMHI)2006: Temperature and precipitation data for Ankarvattnet, Gäddede and Hemavan meteorological stations in northern Sweden. SMHI.
55.
Wigely, T. M. L. and Brown, M. C.1976: The physics of caves. In Ford, D. T. and Cullingford, C. H. C., editors, The science of speleology. Academic Press, 329-358.
56.
Younge, C. J., Ford, D. C., Gray, J. and Schwarcz, H. P.1985: Stable isotope studies of cave seepage water. Chemical Geology58, 97-105.
57.
Zackrisson, E. and Sjöstrand, T.1990: Berggrundskartorna 22D- 22E Frostviken, 1:50 000. SGU Ai41-44.
