Palaeoclimatological and palaeolimnological records from fossil midges and tree-rings: the role of the North Atlantic Oscillation in eastern Finland through the Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age

Abstract

Hydrological changes and air temperature variability are reconstructed from the sediments of Lake Pieni-Kauro, eastern Finland during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and Little Ice Age (LIA) using transfer functions derived from midge (Insecta: Nematocera)-based calibration models. The reconstructions are compared with a regional tree-ring chronology and sediment physical properties are determined to track depositional changes. An objective of the study is to examine the long-term relationship between the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and climate (temperature, precipitation). Our results show that the MCA was characterized by warm and dry summer conditions, which were accompanied by changes in the sediment magnetic susceptibility values most likely representing major forest fires during the tree-ring indicated MCA megadrought. However, the midge-based stream flow reconstruction shows increased values during the MCA, thus implying enhanced spring floods after snowy winters. During the LIA, the tree-ring data indicate that a generally wetter climate prevailed during summers, but the stream flow reconstruction indicates less snowy winters. In the terms of long-term climatology, the present results show support to the concept that the NAO has a positive correlation between winter precipitation and annual temperature and a negative correlation between summer precipitation in eastern Finland. Thus, the results may serve as important background data for global change assessments.