Interglacial to Glacial Climatic Change: Observations from Selected Colombian Pollen Records

Summary

Climatic change induced vertical shifts of the vegetation zones in the Colombian Eastern Cordillera are reflected in the pollen records from long sequences of lake sediments. Based on the pollen records Funza I and Funza II (site elevation 2550 m) 6 interglacial to glacial transitions have been analysed. Time control of the records is based on absolute time control of the Funza II core. The average time resolution of the core intervals studied is c. 1200 years. The studied interglacial to glacial transitions have been correlated to the ∂¹⁸O stages 17/16 through 7/6.

The period from the first interglacial temperature maximum to the moment of rapid continuous cooling has a duration of 6–39(52) ka and includes 1–6 temperature oscillations of an estimated amplitude of (0.5)0.7–3.0(4.3) °C. The first rapid continuous temperature decrease accounting for 28–50(82)% of the maximum interglacial-glacial temperature difference, has a duration of (0.5)3.1–8.9(21) ka and amounts to 1.5–4.5(7.2) °C. The period from the moment of rapid continuous temperature decrease to the moment of minimum glacial temperature has a duration of 15–35 ka and temperature decrease amounts 5.3–9.0(10.4) °C.