First data on the environment and climate change within the Zhom-Bolok volcanic field (Eastern Sayan Mountains) in the Middle–Late Holocene

Abstract

This paper considers the results of comprehensive lithological, biostratigraphic, and geochemical investigation of sediments in Khara-Nur Lake (Eastern Sayan Mountains) situated in the area of the greatest Holocene eruptions in the Central Asia Region. The age of the basal sediment layer is estimated at 6881 ± 53 years. The local natural environment and climate have undergone great changes since that time. The Holocene volcanic events did not exert a catastrophic impact on the regional landscape, but they caused dramatic changes in the local vegetation. The well-defined correlation of the regional events with the well-known records of the natural environment in the Northern Hemisphere is indicative of the decisive influence of global atmospheric circulation on restructuring the landscape and climate system in the Zhom-Bolok Region in the Middle–Late Holocene.