New evidence of warm early-Holocene summers in subarctic Finland based on an enhanced regional chironomid-based temperature calibration model

Abstract

Paleoclimate reconstructions based on biological proxies present methodological challenges, especially during non-analog conditions, such as the early Holocene. Here, two chironomid-based training sets from Finland were amalgamated to create a more accurate transfer function of summer air temperature. The aim was to reconstruct Holocene paleoclimate in northernmost Lapland, in an area that has been either too warm or too cold for reliable reconstructions using the original calibration models. The results showed that the combined calibration model had improved performance statistics. The temperature trends inferred from the downcore chironomid record using the original and combined models were very similar. However, there were major changes in their absolute values with the combined model showing greatly improved accuracy. The chironomid-based temperature reconstruction showed significant correlation with the previous pollen-based reconstructions from northwestern Finnish Lapland. However, differences were observed in the temperature trends of the early Holocene, when the chironomid-inferred temperatures rapidly increased, but the pollen-based reconstructions lagged behind suggesting that a cool climate continued for much longer. However, similar to the chironomid record, new plant macrofossil evidence from northwestern Finland also showed warmer-than-present early Holocene temperatures. Therefore, we conclude that the early Holocene was probably warm in northern Lapland.