Summer paleohydrology during the Late Glacial and Early Holocene based on δ ²H and δ ¹⁸O from Bichlersee, Bavaria

Abstract

Isotope-based records provide valuable information on past climate changes. However, it is not always trivial to disentangle past changes in the isotopic composition of precipitation from possible changes in evaporative enrichment, and seasonality may need to be considered. Here, we analyzed δ ²H on n-alkanes and δ ¹⁸O on hemicellulose sugars in sediments from Bichlersee, Bavaria, covering the Late Glacial and Early Holocene. Our δ ²H _n-C31 record documents past changes in the isotopic composition of summer precipitation and roughly shows the isotope pattern known from Greenland. Both records show lower values during the Younger Dryas, but at Bichlersee the signal is less pronounced, corroborating earlier suggestions that the Younger Dryas was mainly a winter phenomenon and less extreme during summer. δ ¹⁸O _fucose records the isotopic composition of the lake water during summer and is sensitive to evaporative enrichment. Coupling δ ²H _n-C31 and δ ¹⁸O _fucose allows calculating lake water deuterium-excess and thus disentangling changes in the isotopic composition of precipitation and evaporative enrichment. Our deuterium-excess record reveals that the warm Bølling–Allerød and Early Holocene were characterized by more evaporative enrichment compared to the colder Younger Dryas. Site-specific hydrological conditions, seasonality, and coupling δ ²H and δ ¹⁸O are thus important when interpreting isotope records.