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Carbon Isotope Variations and Chronology of the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition (14–9 ka BP)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 July 2016

Chris S. M. Turney ,
Doug D. Harkness  and
J. John Lowe
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Abstract

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We present δ13C data from both bulk organic sediment samples and terrestrial plant macrofossils from five high-resolution sedimentary sequences from the United Kingdom from which extensive multiproxy data sets have been obtained. These span the last glacial-interglacial transition. Chronological control has been provided by radiocarbon dating and/or tephrochronology. The results demonstrate that significant shifts in bulk organic δ13C can be identified at key climatic transitions in most of the sites. The data are affected by site-specific influences that restrict their use as chronological markers. However, terrestrial plant macrofossil records are more consistent and reveal shifts that appear to be synchronous and which therefore offer a basis for interregional correlation as well as significant paleoenvironmental information.

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