Articles | Volume 74, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-74-263-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/egqsj-74-263-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
14 Nov 2025
Research article |
| 14 Nov 2025
| 14 Nov 2025
From the 8.2 ka event to the Little Ice Age: Holocene cold periods and human impact recorded in alpine glaciofluvial peatlands (Silvretta Mountains, Switzerland)
Clemens von Scheffer
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Wischhofstraße 1–3, 24148 Kiel, Germany
Institute for Ecosystem Research, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Olshausenstraße 75, 24118 Kiel, Germany
Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement (CRBE), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, Toulouse INP, Toulouse, France
François De Vleeschouwer
Instituto Franco-Argentino para el Estudio del Clima y sus Impactos (UMI IFAECI/CNRS-CONICET-UBA) Dpto. de Ciencias de la Atmosfera y los Oceanos, FCEN, Universidad de Buenos Aires Intendente Guiraldes 2160 – Ciudad Universitaria (C1428EGA), Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina
Gaël Le Roux
Centre de Recherche sur la Biodiversité et l'Environnement (CRBE), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, IRD, Toulouse INP, Toulouse, France
Ingmar Unkel
Institute for Ecosystem Research, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Olshausenstraße 75, 24118 Kiel, Germany
Institute of Geography, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 348, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
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This article is the preface of the special issue "Quaternary research in times of change – inspired by INQUA Roma 2023". It is a result of the XXI INQUA Congress held in Rome in July 2023. It briefly presents the nine contributions published in this volume.
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One of the main uncertainties related to future climate change has to do with how aerosols interact with climate. Dust is the most abundant aerosol in the atmosphere by mass. In order to better understand the links between dust and climate, we can turn to geological archives of ancient dust. Paleo±Dust is a compilation of measured values of the paleo-dust deposition rate. We can use this compilation to guide climate models so that they better represent dust–climate interactions.
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Short summary
Alpine peatlands aged 10 000 years old were cored in the Swiss Fimba Valley to investigate their development and past environmental conditions. Sediment layers embedded in the peat show periods of glacier growth, which suppressed peat growth. Human impacts like pastoralism and deforestation began shaping the landscape from the Bronze Age onwards into what it is today. The impacts and potential effects on carbon accumulation and flood mitigation in the valley should be considered in land management practice.
Alpine peatlands aged 10 000 years old were cored in the Swiss Fimba Valley to investigate their...
