Replication data for 'Coastal lake sediments from Arctic Svalbard suggest colder summers are stormier'

This dataset includes sediment analyses performed on core 601-21-6 GC (76°29'N, 16°33'E) from Lake Steinbruvatnet (Sørkappøya island, S Svalbard) and contains all data presented by Stachowska et al., 2024 (https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3710647/v1). The investigated record was extracted during the summer of 2021 with a Uwitec gravity corer, analyzed throughout 2021-2023, and covers the past 9,700 cal. yrs B.P. Additionally, in the summer of 2023, we collected four sediment catchment samples (CS 1-4) to the West (CS 1) and the East (CS 2-4) of Lake Steinbruvatnet, and analysed them later in 2023 and 2024. Core 601-21-6 GC was taken to reconstruct Arctic storminess by pinpointing the timing and magnitude of wind-blown input from the westerly and the polar easterly winds. Lake Steinbruvatnet (max. 2.6 m deep) is an exposed coastal basin. Located along the western coast of Sørkappøya at about 5 m a.s.l. and dammed by a bedrock ridge (ca. 8 m a.s.l.) to the West, and a wide uplifted beach ridge to the South and East, the basin is protected from direct storm surges. Moreover, the lake has no out- or inlet, limiting the potential for non-eolian catchment-derived minerogenic input. The data are organized per paper figure and table, per .txt files. Additional details may be found in the appended readme file.
ABSTRACT: The Arctic is rapidly losing its sea ice cover while the region warms faster than anywhere else on Earth. As larger areas become ice-free for longer, winds strengthen and interact more with open waters. Ensuing higher waves also increase coastal erosion and flooding, threatening communities and releasing permafrost carbon. However, the future trajectory of these changes remains poorly understood as instrumental observations and geological archives remain rare and short. Here, we address this critical knowledge gap by presenting a continuous Holocene-length reconstruction of Arctic eolian activity using coastal lake sediments from Svalbard. Exposed to both polar Easterlies and Westerly storm tracks, sheltered by a bedrock barrier, and subjected to little post-glacial uplift, our study site provides a stable baseline to assess Holocene changes in the dominant wind systems of the Barents Sea region. To do so with high precision, we rely on multiple independent lines of proxy evidence for wind-blown sediment input. Our reconstructions reveal quasi-cyclic summer wind maxima during regional cold periods, and challenge the view that a warmer and less icy future Arctic will be stormier.