Information for Litla/Stora Vidarvatn

Latitude:

66.24

Longitude:

-15.84

Location:

Iceland

More Information on Litla/Stora Vidarvatn

Contact Name:

G Miller

Proxy Information

Proxy:

Chironomids

Proprietary Data Area

Lake Description:

Haukadalsvatn, Hvitarvatn, and Litla/Stora Vidarvatn, Iceland. These lakes, cored in 2003, form an E-W transect centered on climatically sensitive regions of Iceland. Haukadalsvatn has high resolution (4.5 m since 2 ka); we will improve the geochronology and increase the density of on-going sediment geochemistry (OC and isotopes). Situated at the eastern edge of the Langjökull Ice Cap, Hvitarvatn contains varved sediment (4 to 7 m since 2 ka in our four cores). Instrumental weather data (50 yr) and lake-discharge records (25 yr) allow calibration of varve thickness to climate parameters. We will develop a 2000-yr, varve-based summer temperature record. Stora Vidarvatn is deep (60 m) with finely laminated sediment; adjacent Litla Vidarvatn is shallower and better suited for chironomid analysis. Currently funded work will use chironomid assemblages to reconstruct summer temperature through the Holocene at 200 yr resolution, and compare with chironomid-chitin δ18O, an independent proxy for MAAT (Wooller et al., 2004). We will increase the density of chironomid analyses to 30 yr resolution through the last 2000 yr, improve the chronology, and measure OC at decadal scales at both lakes.