01667nas a2200265   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002653000900043653001800052653001200070653001500082653001200097653001100109653001500120100001600135700001500151700001500166700001600181245011800197856007100315300001200386490000800398520098100406020001401387       2009                            d10aITCZ10aMediterranean10amethane10amillennial10aorbital10aPollen10avegetation1 aP. Tzedakis1 aH. Pälike1 aK. Roucoux1 aL. de Abreu00aAtmospheric methane, southern European vegetation and low-mid latitude links on orbital and millennial timescales  uhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X08006900  a307-3170 v2773 aPollen records from marine and terrestrial sequences in southern Europe reveal a strong coherence between changes in tree populations and atmospheric methane concentrations over the last 800 thousand years. Variations in the continental hydrological balance provide a link for the observed patterns, leading to concomitant changes in southern European vegetation, and low-latitude wetland extent and methane/volatile organic compound emissions, although additional contributions to the methane budget from extratropical sources are not excluded. Here we propose that the close coupling between low- and mid-latitude hydrological changes reflects shifts in the mean latitudinal position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone, which determines the extent to which southern Europe is dominated by subtropical or mid/high-latitude influences. This provides a conceptual framework within which to view vegetation variability in southern Europe on orbital and millennial timescales.  a0012-821X