DFG Priority Research Program “Integrated Analysis of Interglacial Climate Dynamics” (INTERDYNAMIC) - Integrated Analysis of Interglacial Climate Dynamics (INTERDYNAMIC) - page 4

For the Asian monsoon system, Dallmeyer et al. (Chap. Vegetation, Climate, Man
— Holocene Variability in Monsoonal Central Asia ) found that the atmospheric

response to Holocene insolation forcing was strongly modi

ed by ocean-atmo-
sphere interactions, while the interaction between vegetation and atmosphere had
only minor in uence on the large-scale Holocene climate change and was only

important at a regional level. Hydrological changes in northwest Africa during the
Holocene were studied by Schefu et al. (Chap. North-West African Hydrologic

Changes in the Holocene: A Combined Isotopic Data and Model Approach ) , who
found no evidence for an abrupt change at the end of the African humid period
suggesting a gradual precipitation decline. Linkages between climate and pre-
industrial cultures were evaluated by Lemmen et al. (Chap. Global Land Use and
Technological Evolution Simulations to Quantify Interactions Between Climate and
Pre-industrial Cultures ) for the Holocene transition to agriculture in western Eur-
asia. It was shown that migration is not a necessary prerequisite for this transition
and that climate variability and extreme events had no signi

ß

cant impact, which

re ects societal resilience.

Several regional studies were carried out in the framework of INTERDY-
NAMIC. Interactions between climate variations, biogeochemical cycles, and
ecosystem variability have been studied in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea during
the formation of Sapropel S1 in the Holocene. Schmiedl et al. (Chap. Holocene
Climate Dynamics, Biogeochemical Cycles and Ecosystem Variability in the
Eastern Mediterranean Sea ) provide evidence for a scenario, in which suf

cient
organic matter for sapropel formation was buried under oligotrophic conditions in
an anoxic water column, hence refuting the hypothesis. Envi-

ronmental and climate changes during the last two glacial terminations and inter-
glacials have been studied by Arz et al. (Chap. Environmental and Climate
Dynamics During the Last Two Glacial Terminations and Interglacials in the Black
Sea/Northern Anatolian Region ) in the Black Sea and northern Anatolian region.
Holocene and LIG developed differently, with warmer and moister conditions
prevailing during the LIG. Furthermore, major

“ high-productivity ”

fluctuations in the hydrological state
of the Black Sea were closely linked to changes in the terrestrial environment.
Reconstructions of summer precipitation variability and

flood events for the Main
region in southern Germany by Schoenbein et al. (Chap. Seasonal Reconstruction
of Summer Precipitation Variability and Dating of Flood Events for the Millennium
Between 3250 and 2250 Years BC for the Main Region, Southern Germany )
revealed a noticeable excursion towards drier conditions around 2750 BC. In
addition, a period of high flood frequency from 2991 BC to 2693 BC has been

identi ed. The evolution of precipitation and its variability over Europe and the

Mediterranean over the last two millennia was investigated by Gomez-Navarro
et al. (Chap. Precipitation in the Past Millennium in Europe

—

Extension to Roman
Times ) , who demonstrated the added value of regional climate models for down-
scaling. As a result, the Medieval Climate Anomaly was characterized by periods
with warmer and drier summer conditions, and the Little Ice Age was characterized
by periods with colder and wetter summer conditions, respectively.