The degree of climate instability on the continent during the warmer-than-present Eemian Interglacial (around ca. 123 kyr ago) remains unsolved. Recently published high-resolution proxy data from the North Atlantic Ocean suggest that the Eemian was punctuated by abrupt events with reductions in North Atlantic Deep Water formation accompanied by sea-surface temperature cooling. Here we present multiproxy data at an unprecedented resolution that reveals a major cooling event intersecting peak Eemian warmth on the North European continent. Two independent temperature reconstructions based on terrestrial plants and chironomids indicate a summer cooling of the order of 2-4 degrees C. The cooling event started abruptly, had a step-wise recovery, and lasted 500-1000 yr. Our results demonstrate that the common view of relatively stable interglacial climate conditions on the continent should be revised, and that perturbations in the North Atlantic oceanic circulation under warmer-than-present interglacial conditions may also lead to abrupt and dramatic changes on the adjacent continent.

A 12 m long lacustrine record from Sokli, N Finland, was analyzed for diatoms, non-pollen palynomorphs, macrofossils, pollen and geochemistry in order to reconstruct the development of a high-latitude Eemian lake and investigate the influence of climatic and environmental changes on the lake ecosystem. Based on this multi-proxy dataset we distinguished five major lake phases in the lake's evolution. An initial minerogenic, glacio-lacustrine phase was followed by an organic-rich early Eemian lake phase characterized by anoxic bottom waters, high seasonality and rising nutrient levels. A long open water season, pronounced summer stratification and high productivity characterized the following early mid-Eemian lake phase, corresponding to the Eemian thermal maximum. During the late mid-Eemian lake phase decreasing water depths due to infilling and extensive mixing of the water column resulted in less stable summer stratification and decreased anoxia. The late-Eemian lake phase was characterized by shallow and dynamic conditions and a cooling climate. Superimposed on these general trends are two events characterized by colder and more arid conditions, that possibly match cold and arid events registered in palaeolimnological records on the European continent. In general, the multi-proxy record reflects a nutrient rich lake, where changes in mixing regime associated with climatic forcing and lake level changes asserted a major impact on the aquatic assemblages. The changes in the aquatic assemblages reflect the major patterns of climate change that took place during the Eemian in northern Europe; i.e. a rapid warming and high seasonality during the early Eemian, decreased seasonality during the mid Eemian and a cooling late Eemian with increased seasonality. The high latitude Sokli Eemian palaeolake record lengthens the latitudinal extent of Eemian terrestrial records across Europe, adding to the understanding of climatic gradients and drivers over Europe.

Biological proxies from the Sokli Eemian (Marine Isotope Stage 5e) paleolake sequence from northeast Finland have previously shown that, unlike many postglacial records from boreal sites, the lake becomes increasingly eutrophic over time. Here, principal components (PC) were extracted from a high resolution multi-element XRF core scanning dataset to describe minerogenic input from the wider catchment (PC1), the input of S, Fe, Mn, and Ca-rich detrital material from the surrounding Sokli Carbonatite Massif (PC2), and chemical weathering (PC3). Minerogenic inputs to the lake were elevated early in the record and during two abrupt cooling events when soils and vegetation in the catchment were poor. Chemical weathering in the catchment generally increased over time, coinciding with higher air temperatures, catchment productivity, and the presence of acidic conifer species. Abiotic edaphic processes play a key role in lake ontogeny at this site stemming from the base cation- and nutrient-rich bedrock, which supports lake alkalinity and productivity. The climate history at this site, and its integrated effects on the lake system, appear to override development processes and alters its long-term trajectory.

The Last Interglacial (Eemian, MIS 5e) can be considered a test-bed for climate dynamics under a warmer-than-present climate. In this study we present a chironomid record from the high latitude Sokli site (N Finland), where a long continuous sediment sequence from the Last Interglacial has been preserved from glacial erosion. The chironomid-analysis shows a diverse fauna, with dominance of warm-water indicators and shifts in assemblage composition that can be attributed to temperature, lake depth, productivity and habitat availability. Quantitative mean July paleotemperature estimates based on the chironomid data indicate overall mean July temperatures up to 1°C warmer than present. Two cooling events can be discerned, the Tunturi event, dated to about 127 ka BP, in the lower part of the sequence, and the Värriö event, dated to about 119 ka BP, associated with the beginning of a cooling trend in the upper part of the record. Warm conditions already at the onset of the interglacial contrast with a recent chironomid-based Last Interglacial temperature reconstruction from Denmark which suggests a late onset of Eemian warming. The relatively small increase in inferred temperatures compared to present day temperatures   differs from other high latitude Eemian sites, and likely reflects the influence of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in maintaining already elevated temperatures in Fennoscandia during interglacials.

An overview of the diatom flora of the last interglacial (Eemian) lacustrine gyttja deposit at Sokli, northeastern Finland is presented together with detailed descriptions including photomicrographs of resting spores similar to the Aulacoseira islandica-skvortzowii group, not found in recent material from Europe. Comparisons are made with literature data on similar taxa. The morphology of the resting spores (e.g. the number of striae and areolae in 10 µm) attributes them to the A. islandica-skvortzowii group but the lack of vegetative cells in the Sokli record makes declaration of true synonymy difficult. The presence of spores similar/related to the A. islandica-skvortzowii group in the Sokli Eemian palaeolake may reflect a more widespread  distribution of this group in the past.