Recent episodes of extreme weather and the drastic consequences they can have for ecosystems, societies, and economies, emphasize the need for a better understanding of Earths climate. In order to gain a better understanding of modern and future climate, a more thorough knowledge of past climates at the highest resolution possible from different regions is necessary. To this end, a study of seasonal temperature variability in the waters off the northern coast of Iceland was undertaken. Twenty-six bivalves were selected from marine sediment cores recovered from the northern and northwestern coasts of Iceland. Bivalves were selected from intervals of climatic interest as determined from sedimentological characteristics. Shells were micromilled and the carbonate analysed for stable oxygen and carbon isotope values. Oxygen isotope values are driven principally by the temperature of the water from which the shell was precipitated. These data provide a time-series of discrete climate profiles of seasonal temperature variations from c. 360 cal yr BC to cal yr AD 1660, each recording 2 to 9 consecutive years of temperature variability. Several notable warm and cold periods were identified and characterized in terms of maximum and minimum temperatures. As this period overlaps the Viking Age (c. 790 to 1070) and the establishment of Norse colonies in Iceland and Greenland, the temperature record was compared with historical records and demonstrates the significant impact of variation in temperature seasonality on the establishment, development, and in some cases, collapse of societies in the North Atlantic.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:USASK/oai:usask.ca:etd-01252007-101516 |
| Date | 25 January 2007 |
| Creators | Dietrich, Kristin A. |
| Contributors | Pratt, Brian R., Patterson, William P., Muhlenbachs, Karlis, Holmden, Chris, Ansdell, Kevin M. |
| Publisher | University of Saskatchewan |
| Source Sets | University of Saskatchewan Library |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://library.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-01252007-101516/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Saskatchewan or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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