Gould Pond, Maine: late-glacial transitions from marine to upland environments |
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| Authors: | R SCOTT ANDERSON GEORGE L JACOBSON JR RONALD B DAVIS ROBERT STUCKENRATH |
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| Institution: | Quaternary Studies &Environmental Sciences Programs, Bilby Research Center, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA 86011;Institute for Quaternary Studies, and Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA 04469;Radiocarbon Dating Laboratory, University of Pittsburgh, 365 William Pitt Way, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA 15238 |
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| Abstract: | Gould Pond sediments are unusual in North America in that they include a continuous record of change from marine to freshwater conditions during the late-glacial period, with a wide array of micro- and macrofossils deposited during a period of high sedimentation rate. Marine waters, much colder than those in the present Gulf of Maine, covered the site at the time of deglaciation (c. 13,200 BP). Plants characteristic of modem tundra grew on nearby uplands. Marine recession, due to isostatic rebound of the land, occurred from c . 12,800–12,200 BP. The lake water was completely freshened by 12,000 BP. A sparse shrub-herb tundra became established around Gould Pond as marine waters receded. Subsequent to 11,300 BP, sedges and other herbs became more abundant, and willow and Dryas less abundant, signifying increased warmth and decreased frost action. At least six tree species, all now common in the area, arrived around Gould Pond between c . 10,800 and 10,500 BP. This rapid transition was coincident with the most rapid major non-anthropogenic change of vegetation at sites across eastern North America during the postglacial period. |
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