Abstract
Reconstructions of Arctic hydroclimate during the Holocene (the past c. 11 700 years) are important for providing context for current and future climate change. In this context, leaf wax hydrogen isotopes extracted from lake sediments are valuable proxies, as they reflect the isotopic composition of the plant source water, which indirectly reflect the isotopic composition of precipitation. Yet, climate interpretations of the isotopic signals recorded in the leaf waxes are often challenging due to the complexity of the proxy. Before being incorporated into leaf waxes, the hydrogen isotope values are modified by environmental processes in the lake and/or catchment (e.g., evaporation) and by biosynthetic processes in the plant. This presentation summarizes the findings of my recent and ongoing research, aiming to examine lake water isotope systematics and to provide and improve seasonal precipitation reconstructions from the Arctic.