Stable isotope and pollen stratigraphy of a Holocene lake marl section from NE Finland

Oxygen and carbon isotope analyses are described from a marl series of Lake Vanhalampi, NE Finland, covering the time interval between about 9,000 and 4,000 to 3,000 years B.P. Both oxygen and carbon isotope ratios show consistent trends through time, apparently in response to significant environmental changes. Maximum 6lsO levels of ‐12.0 on average are found in the Boreal Chronozone and minimum levels of –13.3 on average in the Subboreal Chronozone, with intermediate values during Atlantic time. A sharp decline occurs at the Atlantic/Subboreal transition between 5,000 and 4,000 years B.P. The δ15O trends are primarily believed to reflect trends in summer temperatures. The results from Lake Vanhalampi are compared with those from Lake Narotch in northwestern Belorussia.