The Last Glacial Maximum and Deglaciation in Southern New Zealand: New Pollen-Climate Reconstructions
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The Last Glacial Maximum and Deglaciation in Southern New Zealand: New Pollen-climate Reconstructions Sarah Louise Callard A thesis submitted to Victoria University of Wellington in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand July 2011 Abstract The project builds upon existing knowledge of late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental change and tests the recently developed New Zealand INTIMATE (Integration of Ice Marine and Terrestrial archive) climate event stratigraphy (NZ-I CES; 30-8 ka). Four pollen and sediment records from three climatically contrasting regions in the South Island provide a vegetation and climate history for this area between 38-4 ka. In this study, the Last Glacial Cold Period (LGCP; c. 31.4-18.9 ka) is characterised by a two step cooling, with the coldest conditions, reaching possibly >5.3 oC cooling, occurring between 21-19 ka, marking the Last Glacial Maximum. A new precipitation proxy using macrophyte pollen concentrations at an eastern South Island site suggests dominantly dry conditions prevailed during the LGCP except for two periods of wetter climate around 26-24 ka and 21 ka. The dry periods correspond with evidence of glacial advance, colder environments and possibly increased intensity of the southern westerlies. Conversely, the wet periods coincide with reduced glacial activity, milder climates and decreased westerly wind intensity. Deglaciation began between 18.9-18.4 ka followed by rapid climate amelioration culminating with Dacrydium cuppressinum-dominant lowland forest at western sites as early as 11.9 ka, indicative of the start of the Holocene. A disturbance in forest development occurs between 13.4-11.9 ka in one record and may be indicative of a minor cooling within the timeframe of a late glacial climate reversal recognised in the NZI-CES. Overall the project results (timing and pattern of climate change) broadly align with the NZ-I CES. However, there are some disparities, in particular during the LGCP, which this study suggests began at least 3-4 ka earlier than concluded in the NZ-I CES. The NZ-I CES oversimplifies the complexity of the LGCP which contains evidence of significant climate variability that may be important for an understanding of the possible forcing factors on climate change. The chronology derived from the current study supports recent evidence that points towards a younger, refined age of 25.4 ka for the Kawakawa/Oruanui Tephra, a key chronostratigraphic marker for the LGCP. Pollen-climate models and i Environmental Lapse Rates were used to quantify changes in mean annual temperatures with sometimes conflicting results. This research reveals some limitations of the current New Zealand pollen-climate transfer function when applied to reconstruction of cold climate periods in particular. These include a lack of limitations with modern analogues and a number of wide-ranging pollen taxa that encompass a broad climate envelope. The current research also highlights the potential of regional climate regimes and spatial differences in vegetation and inferred climate reconstructions. These differences pose a major limitation for a New Zealand-wide composite. While the NZ-I CES provides a valuable framework of climate change during a period of large climate variability, results of this study highlight aspects that need further consideration and revision. ii Acknowledgements So many people have helped me throughout my PhD and I would like to thanks them all, but certain individuals deserve special mention. First and foremost, I express my deepest gratitude to Professor Rewi Newnham and Dr Marcus Vandergoes, my two supervisors, for their constant guidance, discussions, patience and encouragement throughout the thesis. I also want to thank Rewi for allowing me to join him at Victoria University of Wellington and to his family’s kindness when I first arrive. Advice given from Professor Roland Gehrels and Dr. Ralph Fyfe from the University of Plymouth was most useful during the early stages of the project. Thanks go to the University of Plymouth and Victoria University of Wellington for the support and PhD scholarships. Also to NERC for funding the radiocarbon ages of two cores. I am grateful to Dr Maureen Marra from the University of Waikato, for inviting to Howard Valley and the opportunity to jointly work on this site. Thanks also go to Matt Ryan, Sam Kelly and Dr Brent Alloway for help in the field. A number of people have been integral for the completion of the lab work. Recognition goes to the University of Plymouth geography technical staff, Richard Hartley, Debbie Bauckham, and Kev Solman for all their help. Special thanks go to Dr. Katie Price for her expert knowledge of the pollen preparation process. I am also appreciative to Dr. Mark Garnett for his advice and help with the radiocarbon dating. I am indebted to Dr Janet Wilmshurst from Landcare Research whose expertise in the pollen-climate reconstruction was integral for this project. Also my appreciation extends to Matt McGlone and Neville Moar for their help in pollen identification and informative discussions during my brief visits at Landcare Research, and to Andrew Mackintosh for his advance on ELR. I would also like to thank Charlotte Moll, who carried out Loss on Ignition and Particle Size Analysis on the Lake Mudgie record for her BSc (hons) dissertation. My appreciated extends to the postgraduate community at both the University of Plymouth and Victoria University of Wellington. In particularly I want to thank Katrin Sattler, Nick Mulcahy, Beth Risdon and my office buddies for their support and friendship and for proofing my work. I am also grateful to Mary and Jamie Mulcahy who made sure I was well fed during the final months. Finally, I wish to thank my family for their constant support. They have been a steady rock under my feet throughout and without their love and guidance the completion of this thesis would not have been possible. iii Contents Abstract i Acknowledgements iii Contents iv List of Figures ix List of Tables xii List of Abbreviations xiv 1 Introduction and Rationale 1 1.1 Global pattern of climate change ....................................................... 1 1.2 New Zealand INTIMATE group (NZ-I) ............................................... 2 1.2.2 Limitations to the NZ-I CES ...................................................... 4 1.3 Aim ................................................................................................. 8 1.4 Rationale for the site location ............................................................ 8 1.5 Objectives .......................................................................................... 11 1.5.1 Principal research objectives .................................................... 11 2 Background 13 2.1 Geological context of New Zealand ................................................... 14 2.2 Late Cenozoic history of New Zealand .............................................. 17 2.2.1 Glacial activity .......................................................................... 17 2.2.2 Oceanic circulation and marine records ................................... 19 2.3 Climate of New Zealand .................................................................... 26 2.4 New Zealand vegetation .................................................................... 29 2.4.1 Forest communities; lowland-treeline ....................................... 30 2.4.2 Forest transition, sub-alpine and alpine zone ........................... 32 2.5 Cenozoic vegetation history of New Zealand: overview .................... 32 2.5.1 Palaeogene/Neogene .............................................................. 33 2.5.2 Quaternary (past 2.58 Ma) ....................................................... 34 2.5.3 Last glacial period – present .................................................... 34 2.6 South Island proxy records spanning the late Quaternary for selected regions ........................................................................... 38 iv 2.6.1 Westland .................................................................................. 38 2.6.2 Nelson and Malborough regions of northern South Island ........ 44 2.6.3 Central Canterbury – Mackenzie Basin ................................. 49 2.6.4 Summary ............................................................................ 52 3 Methodology 54 3.1 Site selection and field sampling ....................................................... 54 3.2 Pollen procedure ............................................................................... 56 3.2.1 Sampling Interval ..................................................................... 56 3.2.2 Pollen preparation .................................................................... 56 3.2.3 Pollen counting and identification ............................................. 58 3.3 Pollen analysis .................................................................................. 59 3.3.1 Pollen percentages and concentrations ................................... 59 3.3.2 Pollen diagram and cluster analysis ......................................... 60 3.3.3 Principle Component Analysis..................................................... 61 3.3.4 Environmental Lapse Rate ....................................................... 63 3.3.5 Quantitative pollen-climate modelling ....................................... 64 3.4 LOI and Particle