The usefulness of subfossil Cladocera remains in Younger Dryas climatic reconstructions in central Poland
Authors
Dominik Pawłowski
Institute of Geology, Adam Mickiewicz University, ul. B. Krygowskiego 12, 61-680 Poznań
Keywords:
Younger Dryas, Cladocera, Temperature, Oxbow lake, Climate
Abstract
Cladoceran-based paleotemperature estimates for the Younger Dryas for ten sections of paleo-oxbow lakes, valley mires, and lacustrine sediments from central Poland are presented, and their potential usefulness to climatostratigraphy is described. Most of the changes observed in the cladoceran assemblages are responses to climate changes. The cladoceran-based temperature reconstructions reflect cold conditions during the Younger Dryas (YD) and allow a division of this period into two phases: an older colder phase, between 12,800 and 12,000 cal yrs BP, and a younger, warmer phase, between ca. 12,000 and 11,500 cal yrs BP. The geomorphological features of the study sites and local environmental forces are also taken into consideration. The cladoceran-inferred summer temperature estimates from all of the study sites correspond closely with the available climate reconstruction for the YD in central Europe.