Evidence for the early onset of the Ipswichian thermal optimum: palaeoecology of Last Interglacial deposits at Whittlesey, eastern England
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Single-site palaeoecological and geochronological case study (graded by design analogy, not clinical CEBM)
OpenAlex W2655344329 · doi:10.1144/jgs2017-001
What was done
Authors conducted multidisciplinary palaeoenvironmental analyses on Last Interglacial fossiliferous channel deposits at Whittlesey, eastern England. Age was determined by amino acid racemization, and biozones (Ip Ib and Ip IIb) were established through pollen analysis. Palaeotemperature conditions for the early Ipswichian (Ip Ib) were reconstructed using combined beetle, ostracod, and vertebrate assemblages.
What was found
Deposits from biozone Ip Ib contained exotic thermophiles usually associated with the later Ip IIb zone (including Naias minor, Belgrandia marginata, Bembidion elongatum, Pelochares versicolor, Caccobius schreberi, Onthophagus massai, and Emys orbicularis). Reconstructions for Ip Ib indicated mean July temperatures of +19 to +22°C (at least 2°C warmer than present) and mean January temperatures of 0 to +7°C (similar to present). These temperature ranges match or encompass those recorded at Trafalgar Square for Ip IIb (+20 to +21°C July, +1.5 to +3°C January).
Why it matters
This demonstrates that thermal optimum conditions began earlier in the Ipswichian (Ip Ib) than previously established for the British terrestrial record. The timing indicates rapid biological response to climate amelioration and aligns terrestrial UK records with European Eemian and deep-sea data.
Limits
The findings are derived from a single geographic channel site. Quantitative sample counts, specimen numbers, and statistical confidence intervals for the reconstructed temperature ranges are not reported in the abstract. Reconstructions rely on proxy-based ecological assumptions.
Cited by
- supports Hippopotamuses lived in the Thames River region in Southern England approximately 125,000 years ago during the interglacial period.