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1.
Comparisons of historical and modern assemblages of mammals can yield important insights into patterns and processes of environmental change. Here, we present the first analyses of small mammal assemblages present in northern Patagonia during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Using remains obtained from owl pellets excavated from an archeological cave site (Arroyo Corral I, levels VII–V, carbon dates of 22,400–21,530 cal yr BP), we generate estimates of the minimum number of individuals for all species detected; these estimates, in turn are used to determine relative species abundances. Comparisons of these data with similar analyses of small mammal remains obtained from a second archeological site (ACoII, levels IV–V, carbon dates of 10,010–9220 cal yr BP) as well as from modern owl pellets reveal pronounced changes in relative species abundance since the LGM. In particular, Euneomys chinchilloides and Ctenomys sociabilis – the predominant species during the LGM – declined markedly, suggesting a change from open, bare habitat punctuated by patches of wet meadows and shrubs to the more densely vegetated mosaic of ecotone habitats found in this region today. These data provide important new insights into the environmental changes that have occurred in northern Patagonia over the last 20,000 years.  相似文献   

2.
The southwest Yukon Territory, Canada, is an important region for recovering sensitive records of Holocene paleoclimatic change. More information is needed, however, to constrain the timing of the major Holocene climatic transitions, and to understand associated impacts on different ecosystems. For example, paleolimnological studies have focused on small lakes and ponds, but the history of large lakes has received little study. We analyzed diatom assemblages, species richness, valve concentrations, and biogenic silica, in the sediments of Kusawa Lake (60°16.5'N; 136°10.9'W; 671 m a.s.l.) to reconstruct the responses of this large (surface area = 142 km2), deep (Zmax = 135 m) freshwater ecosystem to Holocene climatic transitions. Diatoms colonized the lake soon after ice retreat, around 11,000 cal yr BP; assemblages throughout the record were dominated by planktonic types. Diatom concentrations and biogenic silica were high during the Holocene Thermal Maximum between 10,700 and 7300 cal yr BP, then began to decrease in response to cooling associated with orbitally driven reductions in insolation. Diatom assemblages shifted towards taxa with lower surface water temperature optima after 8300 cal yr BP, perhaps in response to abrupt and progressive cooling. Our study confirms that diatom assemblages in large lakes are sensitive to regional-scale paleoclimatic changes.  相似文献   

3.
This study presents new ages for the northwest section of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) glacial chronology from material recovered from two retrogressive thaw slumps exposed in the Richardson Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada. One study site, located at the maximum glacial limit of the LIS in the Richardson Mountains, had calcite concretions recovered from aufeis buried by glacial till that were dated by U/Th disequilibrium to 18,500 cal yr BP. The second site, located on the Peel Plateau to the east yielded a fossil horse (Equus) mandible that was radiocarbon dated to ca. 19,700 cal yr BP. These ages indicate that the Peel Plateau on the eastern flanks of the Richardson Mountains was glaciated only after 18,500 cal yr BP, which is later than previous models for the global last glacial maximum (LGM). As the LIS retreated the Peel Plateau around 15,000 cal yr BP, following the age of the Tutsieta phase, we conclude that the presence of the northwestern margin of the LIS at its maximum limit was a very short event in the western Canadian Arctic.  相似文献   

4.
Burial Lake in northwest Alaska records changes in water level and regional vegetation since ∼ 39,000 cal yr BP based on terrestrial macrofossil AMS radiocarbon dates. A sedimentary unconformity is dated between 34,800 and 23,200 cal yr BP. During all or some of this period there was a hiatus in deposition indicating a major drop in lake level and deflation of lacustrine sediments. MIS 3 vegetation was herb-shrub tundra; more xeric graminoid-herb tundra developed after 23,200 cal yr BP. The tundra gradually became more mesic after 17,000 cal yr BP. Expansions of Salix then Betula, at 15,000 and 14,000 cal yr BP, respectively, are coincident with a major rise in lake level marked by increasing fine-grained sediment and higher organic matter content. Several sites in the region display disrupted sedimentation and probable hiatuses during the last glacial maximum (LGM); together regional data indicate an arid interval prior to and during the LGM and continued low moisture levels until ∼ 15,000 cal yr BP. AMS 14C dates from Burial Lake are approximately synchronous with AMS 14C dates reported for the Betula expansion at nearby sites and sites across northern Alaska, but 1000-2000 yr younger than bulk-sediment dates.  相似文献   

5.
Charcoal was sampled in four soil profiles at the Mayumbe forest boundary (DRC). Five fire events were recorded and 44 charcoal types were identified. One stratified profile yielded charcoal assemblages around 530 cal yr BP and > 43.5 cal ka BP in age. The oldest assemblage precedes the period of recorded anthropogenic burning, illustrating occasional long-term absence of fire but also natural wildfire occurrences within tropical rainforest. No other charcoal assemblages older than 2500 cal yr BP were recorded, perhaps due to bioturbation and colluvial reworking. The recorded paleofires were possibly associated with short-lived climate anomalies. Progressively dry climatic conditions since ca. 4000 cal yr BP onward did not promote paleofire occurrence until increasing seasonality affected vegetation at the end of the third millennium BP, as illustrated by a fire occurring in mature rainforest that persisted until around 2050 cal yr BP. During a drought episode coinciding with the ‘Medieval Climate Anomaly’, mature rainforest was locally replaced by woodland savanna. Charcoal remains from pioneer forest indicate that fire hampered forest regeneration after climatic drought episodes. The presence of pottery shards and oil-palm endocarps associated with two relatively recent paleofires suggests that the effects of climate variability were amplified by human activities.  相似文献   

6.
This study takes a comprehensive approach to characterizing the isolation sequence of Heimerdalsvatnet, a coastal lake in the Lofoten Islands, northern Norway. We use established methods and explore new techniques to assess changes in marine influence. Bathymetric and sub-bottom profiles were acquired to examine basin-wide sedimentation and a 5.8 m sediment core spanning the last 7800 cal yr BP was analyzed. We measured magnetic susceptibility, bulk organic matter properties, molecular biomarkers, diatom assemblages, and elemental profiles acquired by scanning X-ray fluorescence. These characteristics of the sediment reflect detailed changes in salinity and water column conditions as the lake was progressively isolated. Three distinct litho/chemo-stratigraphic units represent a restricted marine phase (7800-6500 cal yr BP), a transitional phase characterized by intermittent marine influence (6500-4900 cal yr BP), and complete isolation and freshwater sedimentation (4900 cal yr BP to present). Although there are uncertainties in the estimate of the threshold elevation of the lake, the timing of these phases generally corresponds with previous interpretations of the local relative sea-level history. This record captures sea-level regression following the Tapes transgression and supports the interpretation of a subsequent sea-level stillstand, dated in Heimerdalsvatnet from 6500 to 4900 cal yr BP.  相似文献   

7.
Vegetation assemblages and associated disturbance regimes are spatially heterogeneous in mountain ecosystems throughout the world due to the complex terrain and strong environmental gradients. Given this complexity, numerous sites describing postglacial vegetation and fire histories are needed to adequately understand forest development and ecosystem responses to varying climate and disturbance regimes. To gain insight into long-term historical climate–fire–vegetation interactions in southeastern British Columbia, Canada, sedimentological and paleoecological analyses were performed on a sediment core recovered from a small subalpine lake. The pollen assemblages, stomata, and macroremains indicate that from 9500 to 7500 cal yr BP, Pinus-dominated forests occurred within the catchment and Alnus was also present. Climate was an important control of fire and fire frequency was highest at this time, peaking at 8 fires 1000 yr− 1, yet charcoal accumulation rates were low, indicative of low terrestrial biomass abundance. From 7500 to 4600 cal yr BP, Pinus decreased as Picea, Abies and Larix increased and fire frequencies decreased to 3–6 fires 1000 yr− 1. Since 7500 cal yr BP the fire regime varied at a millennial scale, driven by forest biomass abundance and fuel accumulation changes. Local scale (bottom-up) controls of fire increased in relative importance since at least 6000 cal yr BP.  相似文献   

8.
High-resolution charcoal and pollen analyses were used to reconstruct a 12,000-yr-long fire and vegetation history of the Tumalo Lake watershed and to examine the short-term effects that tephra deposition have on forest composition and fire regime. The record suggests that, from 12,000 to 9200 cal yr BP, the watershed was dominated by an open Pinus forest with Artemisia as a common understory species. Fire episodes occurred on average every 115 yr. Beginning around 9200 cal yr BP, and continuing to the present, Abies became more common while Artemisia declined, suggesting the development of a closed forest structure and a decrease in the frequency of fire episodes, occurring on average every 160 yr. High-resolution pollen analyses before and after the emplacement of three distinct tephra deposits in the watershed suggest that nonarboreal species were most affected by tephra events and that recovery of the vegetation community to previous conditions took between 40 and 100 yr. Changes in forest composition were not associated with tephra depositional events or changes in fire-episode frequency, implying that the regional climate is the more important control on long-term forest composition and structure of the vegetation in the Cascade Range.  相似文献   

9.
Macrofossil analyses were used to reconstruct long-term vegetation successions within ombrotrophic peatlands (bogs) from the northern shorelines of the St. Lawrence Estuary (Baie-Comeau) and the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Havre-St-Pierre). Over the Holocene, the timing and the ecological context of peatland inception were similar in both regions and were mainly influenced by fluctuations in relative sea level. Peat accumulation started over deltaic sands after the withdrawal of the Goldthwait Sea from 7500 cal yr BP and above silt–clay deposits left by the Laurentian marine transgression after 4200 cal yr BP. In each region, the early vegetation communities were similar within these two edaphic contexts where poor fens with Cyperaceae and eastern larch (Larix laricina) established after land emergence. The rapid transitions to ombrotrophy in the peatlands of Baie-Comeau are associated with particularly high rates of peat accumulation during the early developmental stage. The results suggest that climate was more propitious to Sphagnum growth after land emergence in the Baie-Comeau area. Macrofossil data show that treeless Sphagnum-dominated bogs have persisted over millennia and that fires had few impacts on the vegetation dynamics. This study provides insight into peatland vegetation responses to climate in a poorly documented region of northeastern America.  相似文献   

10.
This geoarcheological study investigates soil stratigraphy and geochronology of alluvial deposits to determine Holocene landscape evolution within the Hot Creek, La Jara Creek, and Alamosa River drainage basins in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. Geomorphic mapping and radiocarbon dating indicate synchronicity in patterns of erosion, deposition, and stability between drainage basins. In all three basins, the maximum age of mapped alluvial terraces and fans is ~ 3300 cal yr BP. A depositional period seen at both Hot Creek and the Alamosa River begins ~ 3300 to 3200 cal yr BP. Based on soil development, short periods of stability followed by alluvial fan aggradation occur in the Alamosa River basin ~ 2200 cal yr BP. A period of landscape stability at Hot Creek before ~ 1100 cal yr BP is followed by a period of rapid aggradation within all three drainages between ~ 1100 and 850 cal yr BP. A final aggradation event occurred between ~ 630 and 520 cal yr BP at La Jara Creek. These patterns of landscape evolution over the past ~ 3300 yr provide the framework for an archeological model that predicts the potential for buried and surficial cultural materials in the research area.  相似文献   

11.
The transitional character of climatic conditions confers great relevance to paleoclimate studies in the semiarid region where glacial and Holocene geomorphologic records are scarce. Here we present the paraglacial and fluvial evolution of the Turbio valley (30°S) using both field observations and 14C AMS chronology. Two key sites at the uppermost Turbio valley show glacial margins which likely formed during the 17-12 ka Central Andean Pluvial Event and earlier 37-27 ka episodes associated with glacial advances reported elsewhere in the semiarid Andes. Likewise, two episodes of subsequent paraglacial response are identified: a first episode corresponds to early Holocene fine-grained deposits (~ 11,500-7800 cal yr BP) extending far downstream (> 40 km) from the glacial margins. These deposits and coeval debris cones (~ 11,000-5500 cal yr BP) are the result of arid conditions with occasional runoffs that were unable to export sediments along the trunk valley. The second episode corresponds to disconformably overlying fluvial gravels extending ~ 70 km downstream from the glacial margin, indicative of an increase in the fluvial transport capacity occurring not long after 5500 cal yr BP. Fluvial transport increase resulted from a late Holocene shift to wetter climate conditions, representing a forcing factor which enhanced the paraglacial response.  相似文献   

12.
Climate change especially moisture condition in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan in China are mainly controlled by the strength and variability of Asian winter and summer monsoon. In this paper, we presented the climate record and related winter and summer monsoonal history in Gonghe Basin, northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, based on the geochemical indicators (geochemical elements content, i.e., Fe2O3, CaO, Zr and Sr content, and geochemical parameters, i.e., the chemical index of alteration (CIA), Zr/Rb, Rb/Sr, CaO/MgO, SiO2/TiO2 and SiO2/(Al2O3 + Fe2O3) ratio) of the peat deposits and 14C and OSL technologies. The regional temperature and humidity gradually increased in 10.0–8.5 cal ka BP, accompanied by enhanced summer monsoonal strength and decreased winter monsoonal strength. But climate became cold and dry between 8.5 cal ka BP and 7.6 cal ka BP owing to the stronger winter monsoon. During the 7.6–3.8 cal ka BP, stronger summer monsoon and weaker winter monsoon led to an optimal warm and humid condition, although it had several cold phases. From 3.8 cal ka BP to 0.5 cal ka BP, the regional climate tended to be cold and dry, with increasing winter monsoonal strength and decreasing summer monsoonal strength. Thereafter, the relatively warm and humid climate appeared again, due to the stronger summer monsoon. That is to say, the regional climate conditions are mainly related to the winter and summer monsoonal changes. These changes are consistent with palaeoclimatic records (monsoonal model) from the region influenced by the Asian monsoon in eastern China. In addition, nine cold events were recorded: 8.5–7.8 cal ka BP, 6.1–5.6 cal ka BP, 5.2–4.8 cal ka BP, 4.7–4.3 cal ka BP, 4.1–4.0 cal ka BP, 3.8–3.4 cal ka BP, 3.0–2.3 cal ka BP, 1.4–1.3 cal ka BP, and 1.0–0.5 cal ka BP, which are coincident with cold fluctuations in the high and low latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere on a millennial scale, as recorded by lakes, peat sediments, and ice cores in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. In conclusion, Holocene millennial-scale climatic changes in Gonghe Basin were controlled by the dual function of Asian monsoonal changes and global cold fluctuations.  相似文献   

13.
Sediment-based reconstructions of late-Quaternary lake levels provide direct evidence of hydrologic responses to climate change, but many studies only provide approximate lake-elevation curves. Here, we demonstrate a new method for producing quantitative time series of lake elevation based on the facies and elevations of multiple cores collected from a lake's margin. The approach determines the facies represented in each core using diagnostic data, such as sand content, and then compares the results across cores to determine the elevation of the littoral zone over time. By applying the approach computationally, decisions are made systematically and iteratively using different facies classification schemes to evaluate the associated uncertainty. After evaluating our assumptions using ground-penetrating radar (GPR), we quantify past lake-elevation changes, precipitation minus evapotranspiration (ΔP−ET), and uncertainty in both at Lake of the Woods and Little Windy Hill Pond, Wyoming. The well-correlated (r = 0.802 ± 0.002) reconstructions indicate that water levels at both lakes fell at > 11,300, 8000–5500, and 4700–1600 cal yr BP when ΔP − ET decreased to − 50 to − 250 mm/yr. Differences between the reconstructions are typically small (10 ± 24 mm/yr since 7000 cal yr BP), and the similarity indicates that our reconstruction method can produce statistically comparable paleohydrologic datasets across networks of sites.  相似文献   

14.
The Cochabamba Basin (Bolivia) is on the ancient road network connecting Andean and lowland areas. Little is known about the longevity of this trade route or how people responded to past environmental changes. The eastern end of the Cochabamba valley system constricts at the Vacas Lake District, constraining the road network and providing an ideal location in which to examine past human-environmental interactions. Multi-proxy analysis of sediment from Lake Challacaba has allowed a c. 4000 year environmental history to be reconstructed. Fluctuations in drought tolerant pollen taxa and calcium carbonate indicate two periods of reduced moisture availability (c. 4000-3370 and c. 2190-1020 cal yr BP) compared to adjacent wetter episodes (c. 3370-2190 and c. 1020 cal yr BP-present). The moisture fluctuations broadly correlate to El Niño/Southern Oscillation variations reported elsewhere. High charcoal abundance from c. 4000 to 2000 yr ago indicates continuous use of the ancient road network. A decline in charcoal and an increase in dung fungus (Sporormiella) c. 1340-1210 cal yr BP, suggests that cultural changes were a major factor in shaping the modern landscape. Despite undisputable impacts of human populations on the Polylepis woodlands today, we see no evidence of woodland clearance in the Challacaba record.  相似文献   

15.
The mid-Holocene (ca. 8000-4000 cal yr BP) was a time of marked aridity throughout much of Minnesota, and the changes due to mid-Holocene aridity are seen as an analog for future responses to global warming. In this study, we compare the transition into (ca. 9000-7000 yr ago) and out of (ca. 5000-2500 yr ago) the mid-Holocene (MH) period at Kimble Pond and Sharkey Lake, located along the prairie forest ecotone in south-central Minnesota, using high resolution (∼ 5-36 yr) sampling of pollen, charcoal, sediment magnetic and loss-on-ignition properties. Changes in vegetation were asymmetrical with increasing aridity being marked by a pronounced shift from woodland/forest-dominated landscape to a more open mix of grassland and woodland/savanna. In contrast, at the end of the MH, grassland remained an important component of the landscape despite increasing effective moisture, and high charcoal influxes (median 2.7-4.0 vs. 0.6-1.7 mm2 cm− 2 yr− 1 at start of MH) suggest the role of fire in limiting woodland expansion. Asymmetric vegetation responses, variation among and within proxies, and the near-absence of fire today suggest caution in using changes associated with mid-Holocene aridity at the prairie forest boundary as an analog for future responses to global warming.  相似文献   

16.
We reconstructed vegetation responses to climate oscillations, fire and human activities since the last glacial maximum in inland NW Iberia, where previous paleoecological research is scarce. Extremely sparse and open vegetation composed of steppic grasslands and heathlands with scattered pioneer trees suggests very cold and dry conditions during the Oldest Dryas, unsuitable for tree survival in the surroundings of the study site. Slight woodland expansion during the Bølling/Allerød was interrupted by the Younger Dryas cooling. Pinewoods dominated for most of the early Holocene, when a marked increase in fire activity occurred. Deciduous trees expanded later reaching their maximum representation during the mid-Holocene. Enhanced fire activity and the presence of coprophilous fungi around 6400–6000 cal yr BP suggest an early human occupation around the site. However, extensive deforestation only started at 4500 cal yr BP, when fire was used to clear the tree canopy. Final replacement of woodlands with heathlands, grasslands and cereal crops occurred from 2700 cal yr BP onwards due to land-use intensification. Our paleoecological record can help efforts aimed at restoring the natural vegetation by indicating which communities were dominant at the onset of heavy human impact, thus promoting the recovery of currently rare oak and alder stands.  相似文献   

17.
The formation of short-lived backswamps along the Carmel coast of Israel coincides with the rapid global sea-level rise during the late Pleistocene-early Holocene transition. The current study shows that the wetland phenomena originated around 10,000 yr ago and dried up shortly before the local Pre-Pottery Neolithic humans settled on the wetland dark clay sediments 9430 cal yr BP. Palaeontological and stable-isotope data were used in this study to elucidate previously published sedimentological reconstruction obtained from a core drilled into the western trough of the Carmel coastal plain. The water body contained typical brackish calcareous fauna, with variable numerical abundance and low species richness of ostracods and foraminifera. The δ18O and δ13C of the ostracod Cyprideis torosa show close similarity to the present Pleistocene coastal aquifer isotopic values. This study therefore concludes that the wetlands were shallow-water bodies fed by groundwater, with no evidence of sea-water mixing. It seems that they developed as the result of high groundwater levels, transportation of sediments landward, and deposition of sand bars at the paleo-river mouths. It is still not fully understood why these wetlands deteriorated abruptly and disappeared within less than 1000 yr.  相似文献   

18.
The “type” DeKalb mounds of northeastern Illinois, USA (42.0°N, −88.7°W), are formed of basal sand and gravel overlain by rhythmically bedded fines, and weathered sand and gravel. Generally from 2 to 7 m thick, the fines include abundant fossils of ostracodes and uncommon leaves and stems of tundra plants. Rare chironomid head capsules, pillclam shells, and aquatic plant macrofossils also have been observed.Radiocarbon ages on the tundra plant fossils from the “type” region range from 20,420 to 18,560 cal yr BP. Comparison of radiocarbon ages of terrestrial plants from type area ice-walled lake plains and adjacent kettle basins indicate that the topographic inversion to ice-free conditions occurred from 18,560 and 16,650 cal yr BP. Outside the “type” area, the oldest reliable age of tundra plant fossils in DeKalb mound sediment is 21,680 cal yr BP; the mound occurs on the northern arm of the Ransom Moraine (−88.5436°W, 41.5028°N). The youngest age, 16,250 cal yr BP, is associated with a mound on the Deerfield Moraine (−87.9102°W, 42.4260°N) located about 9 km east of Lake Michigan. The chronology of individual successions indicates the lakes persisted on the periglacial landscape for about 300 to 1500 yr.  相似文献   

19.
Here we provide three new Holocene (11–0 cal ka BP) alkenone-derived sea surface temperature (SST) records from the southernmost Chilean fjord region (50–53°S). SST estimates may be biased towards summer temperature in this region, as revealed by a large set of surface sediments. The Holocene records show consistently warmer than present-day SSTs except for the past ~ 0.6 cal ka BP. However, they do not exhibit an early Holocene temperature optimum as registered further north off Chile and in Antarctica. This may have resulted from a combination of factors including decreased inflow of warmer open marine waters due to lower sea-level stands, enhanced advection of colder and fresher inner fjord waters, and stronger westerly winds. During the mid-Holocene, pronounced short-term variations of up to 2.5°C and a cooling centered at ~ 5 cal ka BP, which coincides with the first Neoglacial glacier advance in the Southern Andes, are recorded. The latest Holocene is characterized by two pronounced cold events centered at ~ 0.6 and 0.25 cal ka BP, i.e., during the Little Ice Age. These cold events have lower amplitudes in the offshore records, suggesting an amplification of the SST signal in the inner fjords.  相似文献   

20.
The paleolimnology of two lakes which were isolated as a result of the crustal uplift during the late Holocene along the Soya Coast, Lützow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica were studied. The focus was on temporal variations in the biogeochemical composition of sediment cores recovered from Lake Skallen at Skallen and Lake Oyako at Skarvsnes. Both sets of lake sediments record environmental changes associated with a transition from marine to lacustrine settings, as indicated by analyses of C and N contents, nitrogen isotopic compositions (δ15N), and major element concentrations. Changes in the dominant primary producers during the marine–lacustrine transition (marine diatom to cyanobacteria) at L. Skallen was clearly revealed by biogenic opal-A, diatom assemblages, and molecular signature from denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) with 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene analysis. Radiocarbon dating of acid-insoluble organic C suggested that the environmental transition from marine to fresh water occurred at 2940 ± 100 cal yr BP at L. Skallen and 1060 ± 90 cal yr BP at L. Oyako. Based on these data, a mean crustal uplift rate of 3.2 mm yr−1 is inferred for the history of marine–lacustrine transition via brackish conditions. The geological setting causing glacio-isostatic uplift was the primary factor in controlling the transition event in sedimentary and biological facies.  相似文献   

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