Analysis of surface wetness changes in mires of Southwestern Siberia during the Little Ice Age (550–50 cal yr BP)

Abstract

In this study, peat deposits of some mires are investigated using various palaeoecological proxies to reconstruct the palaeohydrology of the mires. The goal of our research is to compare the variations in surface wetness of the mires during the Little Ice Age in an area of Southwestern Siberia, including southern taiga, forest-steppe, and mountain regions, and to consider our results in the context of the previously obtained palaeoclimatic reconstructions of the study area. As a result, an increase in the surface wetness is observed 600–400 cal yr BP in the mires of southern taiga, followed by a drying 300–200 cal yr BP. On the contrary, there is a low surface wetness 500–400 cal yr BP in a mire from the forest-steppe zone, with an increase in the surface wetness 400–300 cal yr BP and then a short drying 300 cal yr BP. As for a mire from the Western Sayan Mountain region, an increase in the surface wetness 500–400 cal yr BP is observed, followed by a drying 300–200 cal yr BP, as well as in the mires from the southern taiga. Thus, the climate humidity varied during the Little Ice Age and differed by the local regions in Southwestern Siberia.