| PALEOLIMNOLOGY |
Climate change on the Yucatan Peninsula during the Little Ice Age.
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Hodell, D.A.,Brenner, M.,Curtis, J.H.,Medina-Gonzalez, R.,Can, E.I.-C.,Albornaz-Pat, A.,Guilderson, T.P. 2005 Climate change
on the Yucatan Peninsula during the Little Ice Age. Quaternary Research Vol. 63, pp. 109-121
| Data Coverage |
North: 20.61 * South: 20.61 |
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West: 89.715 * East: 89.715 |
Start Year: 4500 cal yr BP * End Year: -50 cal yr BP
Data: Please Cite Data Contributors!
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Summary: We studied a 5.1-m sediment core from Aguada X'caamal (20° 36.6'N,
89° 42.9'W), a small sinkhole lake in northwest Yucatan, Mexico.
Between 1400 and 1500 A.D., oxygen isotope ratios of ostracod
and gastropod carbonate increased by an average of 2.2 per mil
and the benthic foraminifer Ammonia beccarii parkinsoniana
appeared in the sediment profile, indicating a hydrologic change
that included increased lake water salinity. Pollen from a core
in nearby Cenote San José Chulchacá showed a decrease in mesic
forest taxa during the same period. Oxygen isotopes of shell
carbonate in sediment cores from Lakes Chichancanab (19° 53.0'N,
88° 46.0'W) and Salpeten (16° 58.6'N, 89° 40.5'W) to the south
also increased in the mid-15th century, but less so than in
Aguada X'caamal. Climate change in the 15th century is also
supported by historical accounts of cold and famine described
in Maya and Aztec chronicles. We conclude that climate became
drier on the Yucatan Peninsula in the 15th century A.D. near
the onset of the Little Ice Age (LIA). Comparison of results
from the Yucatan Peninsula with other circum-Caribbean
paleoclimate records indicates a coherent climate response
for this region at the beginning of the LIA. At that time,
sea surface temperatures cooled and aridity in the circum-
Caribbean region increased.
More Info on Paleolimnology |
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Complete XML Record: noaa-lake-6107
(Last Revised: 2009-02-11 )
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