klimatskikt

Klimatskikt is a term used in Swedish geology and paleoclimatology to describe a stratigraphic layer that represents a discrete climatic state or event within a longer record. The layer is identified by a cluster of climatic proxies indicating a relatively uniform climate during the time interval represented. In practice, klimatskikt can be found in lake and marine sediments, ice cores, and speleothems, where changes in sedimentology, fossil assemblages, pollen, isotopes, and geochemical signatures mark shifts in temperature, precipitation, or seasonality.

Identification and study rely on multiple proxies, including palynology (pollen analysis), diatoms and other microfossils, stable isotopes (such as oxygen-18 and carbon-13), sedimentological features, and tephrochronology. Dating methods such as radiocarbon or argon-argon provide age estimates for the layer, while magnetostratigraphy can help correlate across sites.

Klimatskikt are used to reconstruct regional climate history and to correlate records from different sites. They help researchers interpret rapid versus gradual climate changes and to link climatic episodes to environmental responses in ecosystems, hydrology, and human activity.

Limitations include diagenetic alteration, dating uncertainties, and regional climate heterogeneity, which can complicate cross-site correlations. A klimatskikt is best understood in the context of a multi-proxy, site-specific record.