Heterogeneous Holocene climate evolutions in the Northern Hemisphere high latitudes are primarily determined by orbital-scale insolation variations and melting ice sheets. Previous inter-model comparisons have revealed that multi-simulation consistencies vary spatially. We, therefore, compared multiple model results with proxy-based reconstructions in Fennoscandia, Greenland, north Canada, Alaska and Siberia. Our model-data comparisons reveal that data and models generally agree in Fennoscandia, Greenland and Canada, with the early-Holocene warming and subsequent gradual decrease to 0 ka BP (hereinafter referred as ka). In Fennoscandia, simulations and pollen data suggest a 2 degrees C warming by 8 ka, but this is less expressed in chironomid data. In Canada, a strong early-Holocene warming is suggested by both the simulations and pollen results. In Greenland, the magnitude of early-Holocene warming ranges from 6 degrees C in simulations to 8 degrees C in delta O-18-based temperatures. Simulated and reconstructed temperatures are mismatched in Alaska. Pollen data suggest strong early Holocene warming, while the simulations indicate constant Holocene cooling, and chironomid data show a stable trend. Meanwhile, a high frequency of Alaskan peatland initiation before 9 ka can reflect a either high temperature, high soil moisture or large seasonality. In high-latitude Siberia, although simulations and proxy data depict high Holocene temperatures, these signals are noisy owing to a large spread in the simulations and between pollen and chironomid results. On the whole, the Holocene climate evolutions in most regions (Fennoscandia, Greenland and Canada) are well established and understood, but important questions regarding the Holocene temperature trend and mechanisms remain for Alaska and Siberia. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A major achievement in research supported by the Kluane Lake Research Station was the recovery, in 2001-02, of a suite of cores from the icefields of the central St. Elias Mountains, Yukon, by teams of researchers from Canada, the United States, and Japan. This project led to the development of parallel, long (10(3) - 10(4) year) ice-core records of climate and atmospheric change over an altitudinal range of more than 2 km, from the Eclipse Icefield (3017 m) to the ice-covered plateau of Mt. Logan (5340 m). These efforts built on earlier work recovering single ice cores in this region. Comparison of these records has allowed for variations in climate and atmospheric composition to be linked with changes in the vertical structure and dynamics of the North Pacific atmosphere, providing a unique perspective on these changes over the Holocene. Owing to their privileged location, cores from the St. Elias Icefields also contain a remarkably detailed record of aerosols from various sources around or across the North Pacific. In this paper we review major scientific findings from the study of St. Elias Mountain ice cores, focusing on five main themes: (1) The record of stable water isotopes (delta O-18, delta D), which has unique characteristics that differ from those of Greenland, other Arctic ice cores, and even among sites in the St. Elias; (2) the snow accumulation history; (3) the record of pollen, biomass burning aerosol, and desert dust deposition; (4) the record of long-range air pollutant deposition (sulphate and lead); and (5) the record of paleo-volcanism. Our discussion draws on studies published since 2000, but based on older ice cores from the St. Elias Mountains obtained in 1980 and 1996.

A remnant of Taylor Glacier ice rests beneath a 40-80 cm thick layer of sublimation till in central Beacon Valley, Antarctica. A vapour diffusion model was developed to track summertime vapour flow within this till. As input, we used meteorological data from installed HOBO data loggers that captured changes in solar radiance, atmospheric temperature, relative humidity, soil temperature, and soil moisture from 18 November 2004-29 December 2004. Model results show that vapour flows into and out of the sublimation till at rates dependent on the non-linear variation of soil temperature with depth. Although measured meteorological conditions during the study interval favoured a net loss of buried glacier ice (similar to 0.017 mm), we show that ice preservation is extremely sensitive to minor perturbations in temperature and relative humidity. Net loss of buried glacier ice is reduced to zero (during summer months) if air temperature (measured 2 cm above the till surface) decreases by 5.5 degrees C (from -70 degrees C to -12 degrees C); or average relative humidity increases by 22% (from similar to 36% to 58%); or infiltration of minor snowmelt equals similar to 0.002 min day(-1). Our model results are consistent with the potential for long-term survival of buried glacier ice in the hyper-arid stable upland zone of the western Dry Valleys.