Quaternary Research
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doi:10.1017/qua.2020.119
Evidence for strong relations between the upper Tagus loess formation
(central Iberia) and the marine atmosphere off the Iberian margin
during the last glacial period
Daniel Wolf** ®@, Thomas Kolb", Karolin Ryborz*, Susann Heinrich‘, Imke Schäfer‘, Ruben Calvo®, Jesus Sanchez“,
Ulrich Hambach‘, Roland Zech®, Ludwig Zöller‘, Dominik Faust
"Technische Universität Dresden, Department of Geography, Dresden, 01062, Germany
Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Department of Geography, Giessen, 35390, Germany
Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
IUniversity of Bern, Institute of Geography and Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, Bern, 3012, Switzerland
“Universidad de Castilla La Mancha, Dpto. de Ingenieria Civil y de la Edificaciön, Ciudad Real, Spain
University of Bayreuth, Department of Geography, Bayreuth, 95440, Germany
”Friedrich-Schiller-Univerität Jena, Institute of Geography, Jena, 07743, Germany
*Corresponding author. E-mail address: Daniel_Wolf@tu-dresden.de
(RECEIVED April 28, 2020; AcceEPTED November 23, 2020)
Abstract
During glacial times, the North Atlantic region was affected by serious climate changes corresponding to Dansgaard-
Oeschger cycles that were linked to dramatic shifts in sea temperature and moisture transfer to the continents. However, con-
siderable efforts are still needed to understand the effects of these shifts on terrestrial environments. In this context, the Iberian
Peninsula is particularly interesting because of its close proximity to the North Atlantic, although the Iberian interior lacks
paleoenvironmental information so far because suitable archives are rare. Here we provide an accurate impression of the last
zlacial environmental developments in central Iberia based on comprehensive investigations using the upper Tagus loess
:ecord. A multi-proxy approach revealed that phases of loess formation during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 (and upper
MIS 3) were linked to utmost aridity, coldness, and highest wind strengths in line with the most intense Greenland stadials
also including Heinrich Events 3-1. Lack of loess deposition during the global last glacial maximum (LGM) suggests milder
conditions, which agrees with less-cold sea surface temperatures (SST) off the Iberian margin. Our results demonstrate that
geomorphological system behavior in central Iberia is highly sensitive to North Atlantic SST fluctuations, thus enabling us to
reconstruct a detailed hydrological model in relation to marine-atmospheric circulation patterns.
Keywords: Western Mediterranean; Tagus loess record; Terrestrial paleoenvironment; Aridity phases; n-alkane isotope
record; Environmental magnetism; Aeolian dynamics; Land-sea interrelations; Pleistocene;: LGM
INTRODUCTION
Interrelations between ocean surface water, atmosphere, and
continental environments play a key role in understanding
mechanisms and causes of environmental change in terres-
Trial ecosystems. For the European continent, the North
Atlantic Ocean represents the main source of humidity and
precipitation (Trigo et al., 2002), and stipulated temperatures
ınd general climate configurations during the Quaternary
Rahmstorf, 2002; Rousseau et al., 2007; Martin-Garcia,
2019; Pinto and Ludwig, 2020). A general relationship
between reduced North Atlantic sea surface temperatures
‘SST) and colder climate conditions over the continent during
zlacial/stadial periods has been demonstrated based on vege-
:ation reconstructed from analysis of deep-sea sediment cores
along the Iberian margin (Roucoux et al., 2005; Sänchez
Goni et al., 2008, 2018; Margari et al., 2010). It has been
shown that vegetation changes closely corresponded to the
mnillennial-scale variability of Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O)
cycles, however, vegetation response to specific D-O warm-
ng events and subsequent Greenland interstadials (GD varied
Cite this article: Wolf, D. et al 2021. Evidence for strong relations
ıetween the upper Tagus loess formation (central Iberia) and the marine
atmosphere off the Iberian margin during the last glacial period.
OQuaternary Research 1-30. https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2020.119
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