Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene paleoclimatic indicators in Antarctica

Research Article| January 01, 1994 Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene paleoclimatic indicators in Antarctica Carlo Baroni; Carlo Baroni 1Dipartimento Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, and Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche, Centro Studio Geologia Strutturale, Via Santa Maria, 53, 56126 Pisa, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Giuseppe Orombelli Giuseppe Orombelli 2Dipartimento Scienze della Terra, Università di Milano, and Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche, Centro Studio Geodinamica Alpina e Quaternaria, Voa Mangiagalli, 34, 20133 Milano, Italy Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Carlo Baroni 1Dipartimento Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, and Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche, Centro Studio Geologia Strutturale, Via Santa Maria, 53, 56126 Pisa, Italy Giuseppe Orombelli 2Dipartimento Scienze della Terra, Università di Milano, and Consiglio Nazionale Ricerche, Centro Studio Geodinamica Alpina e Quaternaria, Voa Mangiagalli, 34, 20133 Milano, Italy Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1994) 22 (1): 23–26. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1994)0222.3.CO;2 Article history First Online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Carlo Baroni, Giuseppe Orombelli; Abandoned penguin rookeries as Holocene paleoclimatic indicators in Antarctica. Geology 1994;; 22 (1): 23–26. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1994)0222.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Penguins are sensitive indicators of the Antarctic climate and of the environmental parameters that limit their presence and distribution. Paleoenvironmental data, obtained from the study of abandoned penguin rookeries (Pygoscelis adeliae) along the Victoria Land coast in Antarctica, indicate 14C date of 11-13 ka for the oldest abandoned rookery and supply new information about the timing of glacier retreat in southern Victoria Land after the last glacial maximum. The continuous presence of the Adélie penguins is documented from 7 ka. According to our data, the limiting factors that control the presence of penguins along the coast of Victoria Land changed during the Holocene. Whereas several colonies were occupied for very long periods, other sites were used for more or less extended periods and then abandoned. The greatest diffusion of rookeries occurred between 3 and 4 ka, a period of particularly favorable environmental conditions that has never been repeated. It was followed by a sudden decrease in the number of penguin rookeries shortly after 3 ka. This event has been attributed to an increase of the sea-ice extension and may have been correlated to a worldwide phase of climate change near the Subboreal-Subatlantic boundary. A minor phase of penguin reoccupation occurred locally in the eighth to fourteenth centuries (A.D.). Because the presence and number of penguins reflect the state of health of the Antarctic marine ecosystem, it is important to evaluate the variations in their distribution in the past, in the absence of human-induced changes. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.