Tree‐Ring Stable Isotopes Reveal a Hydroclimate Shift in Eastern England Around 4.2 ka Ago

Abstract Tree ring‐based climate reconstructions are fundamental for high‐resolution paleoclimatology, but only a few of them extend back into the mid‐Holocene (8,200–4,200 years BP). Here, we present annually‐resolved tree‐ring stable carbon and oxygen isotopes (δ 13 C and δ 18 O) from subfossil yew ( Taxus baccata ) wood excavated in the Fenland region of eastern England. We develop an eco‐physiological model to reconstruct hydroclimate variability from 5,224 to 4,813 ± 4 and 4,612–4,195 ± 6 cal. years BP. Our findings suggest that a relative sea‐level rise in the North Sea, riverine flooding, and a prolonged negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation caused unusually wet conditions around 4,200 years ago when yew woodlands in eastern England disappeared. We expect our study to stimulate high‐resolution stable isotope measurements in relict wood and encourage the integration of terrestrial and marine proxy archives to reconstruct the causes and consequences of large‐scale climate variations around the still debated 4.2 ka event.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2025-04-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2024gl114313
Citations
2
Primary Topic
Tree-ring climate responses
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
2.60

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Tree‐Ring Stable Isotopes Reveal a Hydroclimate Shift in Eastern England Around 4.2 ka Ago

Josef Čáslavský, Ulf Büntgen, Alexander V. Kirdyanov, Tito Arosio et al.
2 citations
Geophysical Research Letters
Tree-ring climate responses
2.60
article

Tree‐Ring Stable Isotopes Reveal a Hydroclimate Shift in Eastern England Around 4.2 ka Ago

Josef Čáslavský, Ulf Büntgen, Alexander V. Kirdyanov, Tito Arosio, Ronny Friedrich, Otmar Urban, Natálie Pernicová, Miroslav Trnka, Mark G. Macklin, Tatiana Bebchuk, Jan Esper, Alis Franсis
article en
2 citations

Abstract

Abstract Tree ring‐based climate reconstructions are fundamental for high‐resolution paleoclimatology, but only a few of them extend back into the mid‐Holocene (8,200–4,200 years BP). Here, we present annually‐resolved tree‐ring stable carbon and oxygen isotopes (δ 13 C and δ 18 O) from subfossil yew ( Taxus baccata ) wood excavated in the Fenland region of eastern England. We develop an eco‐physiological model to reconstruct hydroclimate variability from 5,224 to 4,813 ± 4 and 4,612–4,195 ± 6 cal. years BP. Our findings suggest that a relative sea‐level rise in the North Sea, riverine flooding, and a prolonged negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation caused unusually wet conditions around 4,200 years ago when yew woodlands in eastern England disappeared. We expect our study to stimulate high‐resolution stable isotope measurements in relict wood and encourage the integration of terrestrial and marine proxy archives to reconstruct the causes and consequences of large‐scale climate variations around the still debated 4.2 ka event.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 52(7)
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE), Masaryk University (CZ), University of Cambridge (GB), Czech Academy of Sciences, Global Change Research Institute (CZ), Curt Engelhorn Centre Archaeometry (DE), Siberian Federal University (RU), University of Lincoln (GB), Mendel University in Brno (CZ)
Cambridge Trust
Openalex Percentile: Top 13%
Tree-ring climate responses
2.60
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.