Palaeoclimate, chronology and vegetation history of the Weichselian Lateglacial: comparative analysis of data from three cores at Lago Grande di Monticchio, southern Italy

Palynological and chronological data are presented for the Lateglacial from three cores taken at different locations in the basin of Lago Grande di Monticchio. Plant macrofossil data from one core provide complementary evidence of the palaeovegetation. Quantitative palaeoclimate reconstructions are made from the pollen data using pollen-climate response surfaces. The chronological framework for Lateglacial events as well as the palaeoclimate are compared with other sources of evidence of Lateglacial palaeoenvironments. Surface conditions in the North Atlantic appear to be more directly linked to climatic conditions in Italy than is the temperature in Greenland. Nonetheless, the palynological record exhibits high-frequency variability that reflects high-frequency climatic changes paralleling those seen in the ice core records from Greenland. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.