Multiple early Holocene climate oscillations at Silver Lake, New Jersey and their possible linkage with outburst floods

Episodic discharges from the Laurentide Ice Sheet are considered to be one of the major causes of climate oscillations during the glacial to interglacial transition. These outburst floods disrupted thermohaline circulation and might have caused cooling events in the North Atlantic region and beyond, including the Younger Dryas, Preboreal Oscillation, and 8.2-ka events. However, few terrestrial sedimentary records show regional climate changes directly linked to outburst floods during the early Holocene. Here we present lithologic and isotopic data from Silver Lake in northern New Jersey to document temperature and moisture changes during the early Holocene and to discuss possible linkage with outburst flooding events. The lithologic record shows multiple intervals with coupled decreases in carbonate and increases in organic matter during the early Holocene, suggesting lower lake levels and drier climate conditions. Simultaneous with these changes were decreases in carbonate δ18O values, likely reflecting a decrease in air temperature during these dry periods. The apparent correlation of these sedimentary events at Silver Lake with documented outburst floods from the melting ice sheet suggests a possible causal connection, implying that the climate in the Mid‐Atlantic region was extremely sensitive to perturbations of ocean circulation.

► Marsh sediment from Silver Lake NJ records climate change during the early Holocene.
► The 8.2 ka even and the Pre-Boreal Oscillation are recorded in the marsh sediment.
► Multiple outburst floods from Lake Agassiz are possibly recorded at Silver Lake.