This study presents a new interpretation of the evidence for Holocene lake-level changes from Hawes Water in NW England constrained by detailed stratigraphic data, radiocarbon chronology and palaeo-environmental evidence. Lake levels are seen to decline gradually from the start of the Holocene through to 9960 cal. yr BP, in response to lake infilling and the prevailing dry climatic conditions. Low lake levels then persist until 6000 cal. yr BP, punctuated by two transgressive phases. Rising sea levels during the Holocene high-level sea stand are thought to be responsible for a major rise in lake level at 6000 cal. yr BP driven by changes in the local water-table. The rise in lake level is coincident with a rise in anthropogenic activity across the site, possibly reflecting the migration of coastal Mesolithic communities inland in response to rising sea levels.
AnadónPUtrillaRVásquezA (2000) Mineralogy and Sr–Mg geochemistry of charophyte carbonates: A new tool for paleolimnological research. Earth and Planetary Science Letters197: 205–214.
3.
BarberKE (1981) Peat Stratigraphy and Climate Change: A Palaeoecological Test of the Theory of Cyclic Peat Bog Regeneration. Rotterdam: A.A. Balkema.
4.
BarberKEDumayne-PeatyLHughesPDMMauquoyDScaifeRG (1998) Replicability and variability of the recent macrofossil and proxy-climate record from raised bogs: Feld stratigraphy and macrofossil data from Bolton Fell Moss and Walton Moss, Cumbria, England. Journal of Quaternary Science13: 515–528.
5.
BarberKEZolitschkaBTarasovPLotterA (2004) Atlantic to Urals – The Holocene climatic record of Mid-Latitude Europe. In: BattarbeeRWGasseFStickleyCE (eds) Past Climate Variability through Europe and Africa. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 417–442.
6.
BedfordAJonesRTLangBBrooksSMarshallJD (2004) A Late-glacial chironomid record from Hawes Water, northwest England. Journal of Quaternary Science19(3): 281–290.
BengtssonLEnellM (1986) Chemical analysis. In: BerglundBE (ed.) Handbook of Holocene Palaeoecology and Palaeohydrology. Chichester & New York: John Wiley, 423–454.
9.
BerryPLPoskittTJ (1972) The consolidation of peat. Geotech22: 27–52.
10.
BirksHHAmmannB (2000) Two terrestrial records of rapid climatic change during the glacial–Holocene transition (14,000–9,000 calendar years B.P.) from Europe. PNAS97: 1390–1394.
11.
BohnckeSJPHoekWZ (2007) Multiple oscillations during the Preboreal as recorded in a calcareous gyttja, Kingbeekdal, The Netherlands. Quaternary Science Reviews26: 1965–1974.
12.
BrooksSLBradleyRJEdwardsGMilneAHortonBShennanI (2008) Postglacial relative sea-level observations from Ireland and their role in glacial rebound modeling. Journal of Quaternary Science23: 175–192.
13.
CaseldineCThompsonGLangdonCHendonD (2005) Evidence for an extreme climatic event on Achill Island, Co. Mayo, Ireland around 5200–5100 cal. yr BP. Journal of Quaternary Science20: 169–178.
14.
DeanWE (1981) Carbonate minerals and organic matter in sediments of modern North temperate hard-water lakes. In: EthridgeFGFloresRM (eds) Recent and Ancient Nonmarine Depositional Environments: Models for Exploration. Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Special Publication31, 213–231.
15.
DearingJA (1997) Sedimentary indicators of lake-level changes in the humid temperate zone: A critical review. Journal of Paleolimnology18: 1–14.
16.
DiefendorfAFPattersonWPHolmdenCMullinsHT (2008) Carbon isotopes of marl and lake sediment organic matter reflect terrestrial landscape change during the late Glacial and early Holocene (16,800 to 5,540 cal yr B.P.): A multiproxy study of lacustrine sediments at Lough Inchiquin, western Ireland. Journal of Paleolimnology39: 101–115.
17.
DiefendorfAFPattersonWPMullinsHTTibertNMartiniA (2006) Evidence for high-frequency late Glacial to mid-Holocene (16,800 to 5,500 cal yr B.P.) climate variability from oxygen isotope values of Lough Inchiquin, Ireland. Quaternary Research65: 78–86.
18.
DigerfeldtG (1986) Studies on past lake-level fluctuations. In: BerglundBE (ed.) Handbook of Holocene Palaeoecology and Palaeohydrology. Chichester: John Wiley, 127–143.
19.
FisherEHCrowleySFBarnesSMarshallJD (2005) The relationship between the isotopic composition of lake and inflow waters and the limnology of a small carbonate lake in NW England. In: Isotopes in Environmental Studies. Proceedings of an International Conference, Monaco, 25–29 October 2004. Vienna: IAEA, vol. IAEA-CSP-26, 134–138.
20.
FleitmannDMudelseeMBurnsSJBradleyRSKramersJMatterA (2008) Evidence for a widespread climatic anomaly at around 9.2 ka before present. Paleoceanography23: PA1102. doi:10.1029/2007PA00151910.1029/2007PA001519.
21.
FranksJWPenningtonWTutinTG (1961) The Late-Glacial and Post-Glacial deposits of the Esthwaite Basin, North Lancashire. New Phytologist60: 27–42.
22.
HarrisonSPDigerfeldtG (1993) European lakes as paleohydrological and paleoclimatic indicators. Quaternary Science Reviews12: 233–248.
23.
HarrisonSPPrenticeICGuiotJ (1993) Climatic controls on Holocene lake-level changes in Europe. Climate Dynamics8: 189–200.
24.
HaasJNRischozITinnerWWickL (1998) Synchronous Holocene climatic oscillations recorded on the Swiss Plateau and at timberline in the Alps. The Holocene8: 301–309.
25.
HolmesJAJonesRWHaasJNMcDermottFMolloyKO’ConnellM (2007) Multi-proxy evidence for Holocene lake-level and salinity changes at An Loch Mór, a coastal lake on the Aran Islands, western Ireland. Quaternary Science Reviews26: 2438–2462.
26.
HughesPDMMauquoyDBarberKELangdonPG (2000) Mire development pathways and palaeoclimatic records from a full Holocene peat archive at Walton Moss, Cumbria, England. The Holocene10: 465–479.
JonesRTMarshallJDCrowleySFBedfordARichardsonNBloemendalJ. (2002) A high resolution, multiproxy Late-glacial record of climate change and intrasystem responses in NW England. Journal of Quaternary Science17: 329–340.
29.
KayeCABarghoornES (1964) Late Quaternary sea-level change and crustal rise at Boston, Massachusetts, with notes on the autocompaction of peat. Geological Society of America Buleltin75: 63–80.
30.
KeltsKHsuKJ (1978) Freshwater carbonate sedimentation. In: LermanA (ed.) Lakes: Chemistry, Geology and Physics. New York: Springer-Verlag, 295–323.
31.
KooiHde VriesJJ (1998) Land subsidence and hydrodynamic compaction of sedimentary basins. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences2: 159–171.
32.
LangBBedfordABrooksSJJonesRTRichardsonNBirksHJB. (2010a) Early-Holocene temperature variability inferred from chironomid assemblages at Hawes Water, northwest England. The Holocene20: 943–954.
33.
LangBBrooksSJBedfordAJonesRTBirksHJBMarshallJD (2010b) Regional consistency in Lateglacial chironomid-inferred temperatures from five sites in north-west England. Quaternary Science Reviews29: 1528–1538.
34.
LengMJMarshallJD (2004) Palaeoclimate interpretation of stable isotope data from lake sediment archives. Quaternary Science Reviews23: 811–831.
35.
MagnyM (1998) Reconstruction of Holocene lake-level changes in the Jura (France): Methods and results. In: HarrisonSPFrenzelBHuckriedUWeisM (eds) Palaeohydrology as Reflected in Lake-Level Changes as Climatic Evidence for Holocene Times. Palaoklimaforschung 25, Stuttgart: Gustav Fischer Verlag, 67–85.
36.
MagnyM (2004) Holocene climate variability as reflected by mid-European lake-level fluctuations and its probable impact on prehistoric human settlements. Quaternary International113: 65–79.
37.
MagnyMBégeotaCGuiotbJPeyronO (2003) Contrasting patterns of hydrological changes in Europe in response to Holocene climate cooling Stages. Quaternary Science Reviews22: 1589–1596.
38.
MagnyMVannièreBde BeaulieuJLBégeotCHeiriOMilletaL. (2007) Early-Holocene climatic oscillations recorded by lake-level fluctuations in west-central Europe and in central Italy. Quaternary Science Reviews26: 1951–1964.
39.
MarshallJDJonesRTCrowleySFOldfieldFNashSBedfordA (2002) A high resolution late glacial isotopic record from Hawes Water Northwest England. Climatic oscillations: Calibration and comparison of palaeotemperature proxies. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology185: 25–40.
40.
MarshallJDLangBCrowleySFWeedonGPvan CalsterenPFisherEH. (2007) Terrestrial impact of abrupt changes in the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation: Early Holocene, UK. Geology35: 639–642.
MeckelTAten BrinkUSWilliamsSJ (2006) Current subsidence rates due to compaction of Holocene sediments in southern Louisiana. Geophysical Research Letters33: L11403, doi:10.1029/2006GL02630010.1029/2006GL026300.
43.
MooreJ (1986) Charophytes of Great Britain and Ireland. BSBI Handbook No. 5, London: Botanical Society of the British Isles.
44.
MoorePDWebbJACollinsonME (1994) Pollen Analysis. London: WileyBlackwell, 216 pp.
45.
MurphyDHWilkinsonBH (1980) Carbonate deposition and facies distribution in a central Michigan marl lake. Sedimentology27: 123–135.
46.
OldfieldF (1960) Studies in the post-glacial history of British vegetation: Lowland Lonsdale. New Phytologist59: 192–217.
47.
ParkerAGGoudieASAndersonDERobinsonMA (2002) A review of the mid-Holocene elm decline in the British Isles. Progress in Physical Geography26: 1–45.
48.
PenningtonW (1947) Studies of the post-glacial history of British vegetation. VII. Lake sediments: Pollen diagrams from the bottom deposits of the North Basin of Windermere. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences233: 137–175.
49.
PrasadSBrauerAReinBNegendankJFW (2006) Rapid climate change during the early Holocene in western Europe and Greenland. The Holocene16: 153–158.
50.
RasmussenSOAndersenKKSvenssonAMSteffensenJPVintherBMClausenHB. (2006) A new Greenland ice core chronology for the last glacial termination. Journal of Geophysical Research111: D06102, doi:10.1029/2005JD00607910.1029/2005JD006079.
51.
ReimerPJBaillieMGLBardEBaylissABeckJWBertrandC. (2004) INTCAL04 terrestrial radiocarbon age calibration, 0–26 cal kyr BP. Radiocarbon46: 1029–1058.
52.
SeppäHBirksHJBGieseckeTHammarlundDAleniusTAntonssonK. (2007) Spatial structure of the 8200 cal yr BP event in Northern Europe. Climate of the Past Discussions3: 165–195.
53.
TippingR (1994) Williamsons Moss: Palynological evidence for the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in Cumbria. In: BoardmanJWaldenJ (eds) Cumbria Field Guide. Quaternary Research Association, 104–127.
54.
TörnqvistTEWallaceDJStormsJEAWallingaJVan DamRLBlaauwM. (2008) Mississippi delta subsidence primarily caused by compaction of Holocene strata. Nature Geoscience1: 173–176.
55.
TreeseKLWilkinsonBH (1982) Peat-marl deposition in a Holocene paludal-lacustrine basin – Sucker Lake, Michigan. Sedimentology29: 375–390.
56.
TurneyCBaillieMClemensSBrownDPalmerJPilcherJ. (2005) Testing solar forcing of pervasive Holocene climate cycles. Journal of Quaternary Science20: 511–518.
57.
UeharaKScourseJDHorsburghKJLambeckKPurcellAP (2006) Tidal evolution of the northwest European shelf seas from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present. Journal of Geophysical Research111: C09025, doi:10.1029/2006JC00353110.1029/2006JC003531.
58.
Van DamHMertensASinkeldamJ (1994) A coded checklist and ecological indicator values of freshwater diatoms from the Netherlands. Netherlands Journal of Aquatic Ecology28: 117–133.
59.
VincentP (1985) The late and post-glacial history of the Southern Cumbrian Massif and its surrounding lowlands. In: JohnsonRH (ed.) The Geomorphology of North-West England. Manchester University Press, 282–297.
60.
WaldenJOldfieldFSmithJ (eds) (1999) Environmental Magnetism: A Practical Guide. Technical Guide No. 6, London: Quaternary Research Association, 243 pp.
61.
WalkerMJohnsenSRasmussenSOPoppTSteffensenJ-PGibbardP. (2009) Formal definition and dating of the GSSP (Global Stratotype Section and Point) for the base of the Holocene using the Greenland NGRIP ice core, and selected auxiliary records. Journal of Quaternary Science24: 3–17.
62.
WalkerMJC (2004) A Lateglacial pollen record from Hallsenna Moor, near Seascale, Cumbria, with evidence for increased aridity during the later Loch Lomond Stadial and early Holocene. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society55: 33–42.
63.
WiersmaAPRenssenH (2006) Model–data comparison for the 8.2 ka BP event: Confirmation of a forcing mechanism by catastrophic drainage of Laurentide Lakes. Quaternary Science Reviews25: 63–88.
64.
YuGHarrisonSP (1995a) Holocene changes in atmospheric circulation patterns as shown by lake status changes in northern Europe. Boreas24: 260–268.
65.
YuGHarrisonSP (1995b) Lake Status Records from Europe: Data Base Documentation. Paleoclimatology Publications Series. Report #3, Boulder CO: World Data Center – A for Paleoclimatology, 451 pp.
66.
ZongYTooleyMJ (1995) Holocene sea-level changes and crustal movements in Morecambe Bay, northwest England. Journal of Quaternary Science11: 43–58.
