THE CLIMATE IN WESTERN-EUROPE DURING THE LAST GLACIAL INTERGLACIAL CYCLE DERIVED FROM POLLEN AND INSECT REMAINS

Using the pollen sequence of La Grande Pile XX (France), we review pro blems with the application of transfer functions in paleoclimatic reco nstructions. One of them is to find modem analogues for the herbaceous vegetation of the cold periods. We propose a method to distinguish be tween steppes and tundra vegetations for which the modems are only par tial analogues of the glacial periods. Another method to solve these p roblems is based on constraining by insect remains. The two methods pr ovide coherent reconstructions. The results are also compared with oth er paleodata. There is a good correlation with the six cold Heinrich e vents between 70 and 15 ka B.P. A cooling event during the Eemian peri od (marked by high percentages of Taxus) at about 125 ka B.P. needs st ill to be correlated with high resolution ocean and ice cores.