A 3000-year multiproxy palaeoclimate record from Killorn Moss, Stirlingshire, Scotland

Abstract

Peatlands across the United Kingdom and Europe represent an important source of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatological data for the Holocene time period. Here we derive a detailed 3000-year record of inferred changes in water table from the raised bog at Killorn Moss in central Scotland, employing a multiproxy approach. Proxies are compared and contrasted, and the merits of a multiproxy approach are highlighted. Ten changes to wetter conditions supported by at least two proxies are evident at Killorn, with substantial shifts related to the Sub-boreal/Sub-atlantic transition and post Roman and Dark Age deteriorations. Inferred changes in climate are compared with a local record from another raised bog and with more geographically widespread locations highlighting corresponding events, but also evidencing the importance of robust dating.

Keywords

• climate
• holocene
• macrofossil
• peat
• testate amoebae