Holocene temperature in the Iberian Peninsula reconstructed with insect subfossils

Thursday, November 8, 2018 - 10:42 in Paleontology & Archaeology

Remains of chironomid subfossils, a type of insect similar to mosquitoes, were used in a study to reconstruct the temperature of the Iberian Peninsula in the Holocene, the geological period from 11,000 years ago until now. The results of the study prove some of the climate patterns of the Holocene suggested by other methodologies: a rise of temperatures in the beginning and the end of the period, higher temperatures during the Holocene Climate Optimum, and a decline of temperatures after the beginning of the Late Holocene. The study, published in the journal The Holocene, is the first reconstruction of the temperature of the peninsula during this period using this indicator. According to the researchers, this is a promising tool to understand the evolution of climate over history and the main natural and anthropic climate changes that shaped ecosystems before instrumental records.

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