LandClim

LandClim supplies primary pollen context through normalized site sequences and REVEALS grid cells. It supports landscape and vegetation interpretation around other evidence without becoming direct evidence for an archaeological feature or ancient-DNA sample.

Checked-In Evidence

The current governed summary records:

Surface	Count	Meaning
normalized site sequences	492	pollen-context points retained after family-specific normalization
sequences with numeric BP intervals	482	records eligible for bounded temporal comparison at site-sequence level
REVEALS grid cells	88	modeled landscape context rather than sample observations

Counts describe the checked-in snapshot, not exhaustive coverage. The family contract identifies data/landclim/raw/ as captured material, data/landclim/normalized/ as normalized evidence, the cross-family evidence stage matrix as review, and regional pollen layers as publication.

Curation Lineage

Boundary	Governing material	Decision preserved
source capture	raw/landclim_sources.json and the checked-in workbooks or archive	which LandClim release material entered the repository
sequence normalization	normalized/nordic_pollen_site_sequences.geojson	stable site geometry, source identity, and site-level temporal fields
model normalization	normalized/nordic_reveals_grid_cells.geojson	REVEALS cells remain areal model context rather than site observations
family summary	normalized/landclim_summary.json	denominators for sequence, interval, and grid-cell claims
cross-family review	data/source_spatiotemporal_posture_registry.json	whether the family can participate in spatial or temporal comparison

The split between sequence and model normalization is a scientific boundary, not a storage convenience. It prevents a modeled grid value from acquiring the identity or evidentiary meaning of a sampled pollen sequence.

Multi-Artifact Preparation Receipt

The captured LandClim family is assembled from unlike source artifacts: site metadata, REVEALS results, grid-cell quality, taxa-to-functional-type mappings, productivity and dispersal parameters, land-cover classifications, and archived model outputs. Preparation must preserve the join that brought a value into a sequence or cell rather than citing the family name alone.

Prepared claim	Minimum retained lineage
site-sequence identity and geometry	source artifact, source-native dataset or sequence key, site metadata row, and normalization rule
numeric sequence interval	native bounds and basis, parsing rule, normalized BP values, and comparability posture
model-cell value	grid-cell identity and geometry, model release, time window, taxon or functional-type mapping, and applicable quality evidence
cross-window summary	member cell, exact contributing windows, aggregation method, and missing-window posture

flowchart LR
    Metadata["site and grid metadata"] --> Member["typed sequence or cell identity"]
    Results["REVEALS results"] --> Member
    Mappings["taxa, functional types, and parameters"] --> Value["interpretable model value"]
    Member --> Value
    Quality["grid quality evidence"] --> Value
    Value --> Product["qualified pollen-context feature"]

The receipt matters when a workbook or archive changes independently. A stable cell count cannot demonstrate unchanged model meaning if its taxon mapping, time-window definition, or quality evidence changed.

flowchart LR
    Capture["source workbooks and archive"] --> Sites["normalized site sequences"]
    Capture --> Grid["normalized REVEALS grid cells"]
    Sites --> Time["site-sequence BP intervals"]
    Sites --> Review["coverage and publication review"]
    Grid --> Review
    Time --> Review
    Review --> Product["pollen-context layers"]

What LandClim Supports

• broad vegetation and palaeoenvironmental interpretation;
• pollen context around lakes, samples, sites, and regions;
• chronology-aware comparison where a normalized site-sequence interval is present;
• comparison between local sequence evidence and modeled landscape context;
• reproducible Nordic pollen layers whose records retain family identity.

Site sequences and grid cells have different meanings. A grid cell summarizes modeled landscape context; it is not another observation at the cell center.

Temporal Interpretation

Numeric BP windows belong to normalized site-sequence records. They support comparison at the precision recorded by the sequence, not automatic alignment with every sample or event inside the same interval.

The ten sequences without numeric intervals remain spatial pollen context. They are not assigned synthetic dates to make the family appear uniformly time-resolved.

Read A LandClim Member

First identify which normalized unit is visible. A site sequence and a REVEALS grid cell can occupy the same map but require different interpretations.

Question	Site sequence	REVEALS grid cell
what is represented?	a normalized pollen sequence at a source-linked site	modelled vegetation context for a grid area
what does geometry mean?	the sequence site's governed point	the spatial support of the model cell, not an observation at its center
what does time mean?	the sequence interval when numeric bounds are present	the model's declared temporal context
what can be compared?	pollen context within compatible place and time precision	landscape-level model context under the grid contract
what must not be inferred?	direct evidence for a nearby sample or event	a measured pollen sample at the rendered coordinate

flowchart LR
    Feature["visible LandClim feature"] --> Kind{"sequence or grid?"}
    Kind -->|sequence| Site["site identity and BP posture"]
    Kind -->|grid| Model["cell identity and model semantics"]
    Site --> Claim["qualified pollen context"]
    Model --> Claim

A reusable claim retains the feature kind, source identity, normalized member identifier, spatial basis, temporal posture, and publication scope. “LandClim point” is not specific enough to preserve those distinctions.

Worked Sequence And Grid Trace

Aal Præstesø demonstrates the site-sequence path. Its stable normalized member ID is 897303:Aal Præstesø:55.637778:8.257222; the record points to PANGAEA dataset 897303, classifies the site in Denmark, and carries a 100–350 BP interval. Those fields support a bounded pollen-context claim for that sequence. They do not make the interval a date for every archaeological or biological record near the site.

The REVEALS cell 10.000000,55.000000,11.000000,56.000000 demonstrates the model path. It is a polygon spanning one degree, combines 25 declared time windows from LandClim I and II inputs, and summarizes a window range from 0–100 BP through 11200–11700 BP. Its midpoint is useful for navigation, but the cell remains modeled areal context across many windows—not a pollen observation at the polygon center and not one continuous sample interval.

flowchart LR
    Aal["Aal Præstesø sequence"] --> SiteInterval["100–350 BP site context"]
    Grid["10°E–11°E, 55°N–56°N cell"] --> Windows["25 modeled windows"]
    SiteInterval --> Compare["qualified comparison"]
    Windows --> Compare
    Compare -. does not merge .-> Observation["single observation identity"]

This pair exposes a crucial denominator rule: one normalized sequence member, one grid cell, 25 model windows, and the source observations behind them are different units. A comparison must name which unit it counts.

Compare Pollen Families Without Flattening Their Units

A LandClim sequence can participate in a site-level comparison with a Neotoma member. A REVEALS cell cannot enter that comparison as though it were another site. It can only contribute a separate, areal model-context relation.

Comparison edge	Admissible statement	Required receipt
LandClim sequence to Neotoma site	the two governed site-level members meet the declared spatial and, when admitted, temporal rules	both member IDs, geometry basis, distance rule, both temporal postures, and lineage-independence result
LandClim sequence to REVEALS cell	the sequence lies within or relates to a declared model cell	sequence ID, cell ID, containment or distance rule, and compatible time-window rule
REVEALS cell to Neotoma site	the site is interpreted against modeled landscape context	cell ID, site ID, spatial relation, model window, and site temporal posture
any pollen member to aDNA or archaeology	pollen supplies environmental context around direct evidence	both identities, relation rule, time posture, and an explicit refusal of direct association

flowchart TD
    Left["LandClim member"] --> Kind{"member kind"}
    Kind -->|site sequence| SiteEdge["site-level comparison edge"]
    Kind -->|REVEALS cell| ModelEdge["model-context edge"]
    Other["Neotoma, archaeology, or aDNA member"] --> SiteEdge
    Other --> ModelEdge
    SiteEdge --> Receipt["typed comparison receipt"]
    ModelEdge --> Receipt
    Receipt --> Claim["qualified cross-family claim"]

The comparison receipt, rather than a shared map coordinate, establishes what was compared. It also prevents one relationship from silently changing type: a point-in-polygon result is not a sequence match, and interval overlap is not evidence that two records derive from independent observations.

Relationship To Other Families

Compared with	LandClim contributes	Other family contributes
Neotoma	broad sequence and REVEALS-oriented landscape context	site-centered palaeoecological comparison
SEAD or RAÄ	environmental setting	archaeology context
SVAR	pollen setting around candidate basins	lake and hydrographic identity
aDNA	surrounding environmental context	direct sample-owned biological evidence

Proximity between a LandClim record and another feature is a declared spatial relation. It does not establish shared chronology or causal association unless those dimensions are supported separately.

LandClim and Neotoma may also carry shared data lineage. Some captured Neotoma dataset notes attribute contributions to the LandClim project or the European Pollen Database. A matching or nearby member across the two normalized families is therefore not automatically independent corroboration. Independence review must compare dataset identity, contributor, site, and underlying sequence lineage before treating the two records as separate support.

Choose LandClim For The Question

Question	Use	Retain with the claim
What pollen sequence context exists near this place?	normalized site sequences	member identifier, distance rule, and sequence temporal posture
What modeled vegetation context covers this area?	REVEALS grid cells	cell identifier, model semantics, and declared time context
Can this record be compared with a dated sample?	only sequence rows with compatible admitted intervals	both intervals, units, precision, and overlap rule
Does nearby pollen prove association with an aDNA or archaeology feature?	neither LandClim surface alone	a separate association design and evidence would be required

Review A Refresh By Observation Unit

A LandClim refresh is not one undifferentiated layer diff. Review site sequences and REVEALS grid cells as separate populations. For sequences, compare source identity, site identity, coordinate, sequence extent, and time posture. For grid cells, compare cell identity, geometry, model meaning, and declared time slice. Only then assess changed publication membership and cross-family relations. A site-to-cell reassignment is a semantic change even when the rendered map looks unchanged.

Governing Surfaces

• data/landclim/raw/landclim_sources.json records source capture context;
• data/landclim/normalized/landclim_summary.json records family counts;
• data/landclim/normalized/nordic_pollen_site_sequences.geojson governs normalized sequence points;
• data/landclim/normalized/nordic_reveals_grid_cells.geojson governs grid context;
• data/source_spatiotemporal_posture_registry.json records comparison posture.

Public renderings are derived from these surfaces and cannot strengthen their spatial or temporal claims.