potential analogues for paleoclimatic variations in eastern interior alaska during the past 14 000 yr atmospheric circulation controls of regional temperature and moisture responses the paleoclimatic history of a region can be viewed as a series of surface temperature and moisture anomalies through time the effects of changes in large scale climatic controls e g insolation major circulation controls can be mediated by the influence of smaller scale controls e g topographic barriers coastlines this may result in heterogenous surface climatic responses at the regional and sub regional scale divergent paleoclimatic trajectories between regions may be explainable in terms of such meso scale patterns using modern analogues for paleoclimate we examine how the sequence of climatic variations in eastern interior alaska during the interval 12 000 0 14c yr bp could have been generated by specific atmospheric circulation patterns fossil pollen and lake level records document the long term trends in temperature and effective moisture for the region water balance modelling provides additional estimates of paleoprecipitation synoptic climatological patterns are described using the modern instrumental record of upper level and sea level pressure surface temperature and precipitation at 12 000 14c yr bp eastern interior alaska was cooler and drier than present a situation generated today by a southward displacement of the jet stream conditions warmer and drier than present at 9000 14c yr bp may have been generated by increased ridging north of alaska and a weakened westerly circulation warmer wetter conditions than present possibly prevailed in the late middle holocene these might reflect ridging over alaska and troughing further west cool wet conditions feature enhanced westerly flow into alaska through an eastward shift in the east asian trough and positive pressure anomalies in the north pacific they may be analogous to cold periods of the little ice age the analogues demonstrate how surface conditions in other parts of beringia may sometimes be similar to while at other times different from those in the eastern interior these broader spatial patterns provide hypotheses about past climates that can be tested with paleoclimatological data for example the widespread positive temperature anomalies associated with the warm dry 9000 14c yr bp analogue fit with the expansion northward of the eastern siberian treeline the anomalously cool conditions in northeast siberia associated with the warm wet analogue may explain the continued late middle holocene treeline advance in alaska while there was retreat in siberia

late quaternary vegetation history of the fishhook bend area porcupine river alaska ped pond is a lake lying in a pleistocene scour channel of the porcupine valley the valley is considered to be a possible path of late quaternary species migrations between interior alaska and northwest canada pollen in the oldest lake sediments ca 13 000 years old indicates that shrub birch and willow probably occurred locally in a sparsely vegetated herb dominated landscape populus juniperus and typha latifolia increased about 10 000 years ago suggesting particularly warm temperatures during the early holocene picea glauca which is presently common in the surrounding forests first arrived near ped pond about 8500 years ago this arrival date together with existing evidence from other sites indicates that spruce expanded rapidly across far eastern beringia 8000 9000 years ago other boreal forest taxa picea mariana betula papyrifera and alnus spp became established locally between 7000 and 8000 years bp a date of ca 7500 years bp at ped pond suggests that the alnus rise in northeast

interglacial deposits at birch creek northeast interior alaska abstract a 12 m sequence of lake sediment and peat in a 45 m high exposure on birch creek northeast alaska contains pollen of picea betula alnus and populus and wood of picea and populus this sequence which may represent 10 000 yr of more of accumulation is beyond the limit of radiocarbon dating it lies between two units of loess the underlying loess lies above the old crow tephra recently dated at 149 000 13 000 yr b p the lake sediments probably were deposited during the last interglaciation isotope substage 5e and subsequently buried by wisconsinan loess analogs for the ancient lake may be deep long lived thaw lakes that are present in the modern landscape when birch creek is correlated with other sites across nonglaciated alaska and northwest canada there appears to be a common interglacial signal in sediments overlying the old crow tephra

a 130 0 year history of vegetation and environmental change at jan lake east central alaska pollen stomates and macrofossils were analysed from a 3 63 m sediment core at jan lake eastcentral alaska in order to improve spatial resolution of patterns of vegetation history in this region the chronology was based on 19 ams 14c dates on plant macrofossils and concentrated pollen zone jan i 12400 11 600 yr bp records a unique herb tundra pollen assemblage particularly high in chenopodia ceae adding supporting evidence for a spatial mosaic of lateglacial vegetation in east central alaska unexpected pollen of picea betula and alnus in lateglacial sediments appears to arise from reworking of older pollen bearing deposits according to a radiocarbon date of 22180yr bp on a pollen sample shrub betula tundra dominates zone jan il 11 600 10000 yr bp with indications of climatic amelioration tree species populus picea glauca betula papyrifera began to arrive in zone jan illa 9200 6600 yr bp and the modern boreal forest including alnus and picea mariana became established during zone j

lake morphometry sediment mixing and the selection of sites for fine resolution palaeoecological studies abstract palaeoecologists are increasingly using close interval or continuous sampling of lake sediments to construct fine resolution records of environmental change the degree of temporal resolution sought in these studies is typically decades or years the use of lake sediments for such fine resolution reconstructions assumes that temporal mixing of the sediments is negligible in this paper we examine the physical and biological processes that cause sediment mixing in small lakes we use physical models and empirical data to develop a set of heuristics relating lake depth and area to sediment mixing by slumping waves currents and bioturbation we also develop a heuristic that allows information on lake depth and area to be used to determine if the sediments of a lake will likely be massive or annually laminated in general the degree of sediment mixing likely to occur in a small lake is directly related to the depth and surface area of the lake however each of the agents of mixing has a different critical relationship with lake depth and surface area we present a series of equations and a summarizing figure that based on lake surface area and maximum depth allows the type of thermal stratification polymictic dimictic or meromictic and the degree of sediment mixing present in the lake to be inferred

alluvial history of the porcupine river alaska role of glacial lake overflow from northwest canada the stratigraphy and morphology of alluvial terraces in the lower porcupine valley permit the definition of twelve river stages each marked by distinctive surface characteristics sediment composition and regional gradient terraces that exhibit characteristics suggestive of extremely high discharge such as coarse bouldery braided gravel surfaces and intense scouring formed at times when the porcupine river at the ramparts acted as an overflow outlet for glacial lakes in northern yukon territory which had been impounded by the lauren tide ice sheet terraces capped by sediment suggestive of relatively low discharge meandering streams and which were strongly affected by coleen river drainage probably formed when glacial lake overflow did not occur ten radiocarbon dates on alluvial sediments from the lower porcupine river range from greater than 35 000 to 2 350 55 yr b p when combined with geomorphologic interpretations on terraces in alaska and with radiocarbon dates from northern yukon territory these dates suggest repeated glaciolacustrine innundations of the old crow and bluefish basins during wisconsinan time

a late wisconsin and holocene vegetation history from the central brooks range implications for alaskan palaeoecology abstract five pollen diagrams reveal late wisconsin and holocene vegetation changes in the walker lake alatna valley region of the central brooks range approximately 100 km west of the area studied by d a livingstone 1955 ecology 36 587 600 new insights into the vegetation history of this region are provided by calculations of pollen influx and by the use of linear discriminant analysis to separate picea glauca and p mariana pollen three major pollen zones are identified 1 a basal herb zone characterized by high percentages of cyperaceae gramineae salix and artemisia and low total pollen influx 2 a shrub betula zone with increased total pollen influx and very high percentages of betula pollen predominantly in the size range of b nana and b glandulosa and 3 and alnus zone dominated by alnus pollen lakes currently within the boreal forest or near tree line show relatively high percentages of picea pollen in the alnus zone several striking vegetation changes occurred between ca 10 000 and 7000 yr b p between ca 11 000 and 10 000 yr b p populus balsamifera pollen percentages as great as 30 indicate that this species was present at low elevation sites near walker lake these populations declined abruptly ca 10 000 yr ago and have never regained prominence about 8500 yr b p picea glauca pollen reached 10 15 indicating the arrival of p glauca in or near the study area p glauca populations evidently decreased ca 8000 yr ago when picea pollen percentages and influx fell to low values about 7000 yr b p alnus pollen percentages and influx rose sharply as alder shrubs became established widely picea once more expanded ca 5000 yr ago but these populations were dominated by p mariana rather than p glauca which increased slowly at this time and may still be advancing northward some vegetation changes have been remarkably synchronous over wide areas of interior alaska and probably reflect responses of in situ vegetation to environmental changes but others may reflect the lagged responses of species migrating into new areas

cliff top eolian deposits and associated molluscan assemblages as indicators of late pleistocene and holocene environments in beringia abstract northern yukon cliff top eolian deposits are indicators of past climates and environments the deposits are located along the ramparts of the porcupine river near the international boundary these eolian deposits resulted from southwest wind regimes that operated at about 14 860 bp and more certainly at 11 640 8200 bp and from 4600 bp to present palynological analysis indicates that these three periods were marked by different vegetation covers the earliest one being dominated with cyperaceae the intermediate one by shepherdia canadiensis and the most recent one by spruce picea molluscs are particularly numerous and diversified which suggests that the cliff top deposits were important refuges for these animals molluscan assemblages indicate that the climate was wetter at about 14 860 bp than between 11 640 bp and 8200 bp the xeric regime that marked the latter period is also indicated by gypsum concretions it is suggested that the molluscs could have been introduced by migratory birds that in turn would also have been able to use the snail shells from the eolian deposits as an important dietary element it is also suggested that the molluscs are relicts of endemic fauna

origin of last glacial loess in the western yukon tanana upland central alaska usa loess is widespread over alaska and its accumulation has traditionally been associated with glacial periods surprisingly loess deposits securely dated to the last glacial period are rare in alaska and paleowind reconstructions for this time period are limited to inferences from dune orientations we report a rare occurrence of loess deposits dating to the last glacial period 19 ka to 12 ka in the yukon tanana upland loess in this area is very coarse grained abundant coarse silt with decreases in particle size moving south of the yukon river implying that the drainage basin of this river was the main source geochemical data show however that the tanana river valley to the south is also a likely distal source the occurrence of last glacial loess with sources to both the south and north is explained by both regional synoptic scale winds from the northeast and opposing katabatic winds that could have developed from expanded glaciers in both the brooks range to the north and the alaska range to the south based on a comparison with recent climate modeling for the last glacial period seasonality of dust transport may also have played a role in bringing about contributions from both northern and southern sources

ostracode geochemical record of holocene climatic change and implications for vegetational response in the northwestern alaska range abstract trace element analysis of the calcareous shells of ostracodes in a sediment core from farewell lake provides the first limno geochemical record for climatic reconstructions in alaska when compared with pollen data from the same site this record offers new insights into climatic controls over vegetation dynamics during the holocene the low mg ca ratios and high sr ca ratios suggest that a relatively cold dry climate prevailed in this region between 11 000 and 9000 yr b p uncalibrated14c ages are used throughout the paper this result contrasts with previous interpretations of a thermal maximum at this time corresponding to the widespread establishment ofpopuluswoodland forest the trace element record suggests instead that the warmest period of the early holocene at farewell lake was between 8500 and 8000 yr b p during the decline ofpopulus marked decreases in sr ca and mg ca suggest a major increase in effective moisture around 6500 yr b p which coincided with the establishment ofpiceaboreal forests in the farewell lake region this climatic change was probably widespread throughout much of alaska and adjacent canada and might have induced the rapid spread ofalnusand the shift frompicea glaucatop marianadominance across that region our geochemical record also suggests that the late holocene climate history was more complex than previously thought on the basis of palynological studies according to this record growing season temperatures increased 6000 4500 yr b p decreased 4500 1500 yr b p and increased with fluctuations afterward after 6000 yr b p stratigraphic changes in pollen percentages ofpiceaappear to be positively related with those of mg ca this relationship implies that once the threshold of effective moisture was crossed for the establishment ofpiceaforests temperature was the primary control ofpiceapopulation density

late quaternary lake records from the anadyr lowland central chukotka russia abstract three lake cores provide insight into the vegetation and climate history of the past 45 000 14c yr in the anadyr lowland a key paleogeographic link between the bering land bridge blb and interior western beringia wb although not without chronological issues these records suggest that the late pleistocene interstade approximating oxygen isotope stage ois 3 was a time of unstable environments consistent with previous interpretations for southern areas of wb and in contrast to more stable conditions inferred for northern wb a hiatus in the records during ois2 implies dry frigid environments in the anadyr lowland previous research suggested that chuktoka was a westward extension of relatively mesic environments of the blb which acted as a filter to intercontinental migrations the lowland data indicate that chukotka may have been more of a transitional zone between mesic blb and more xeric regions of western wb a structurally novel biome dominated by deciduous forest and high shrub tundra was proposed as occupying much of beringia between 11 000 and 9000 14c yr bp the unusual pollen assemblage that characterizes the lowland suggests that perhaps a second biome was also present in beringia one that was dominated by meadows with betula shrub thickets

climate change and arctic ecosystems 1 vegetation changes north of 55 n between the last glacial maximum mid holocene and present a unified scheme to assign pollen samples to vegetation types was used to reconstruct vegetation patterns north of 55 n at the last glacial maximum lgm and mid holocene 6000 years b p the pollen data set assembled for this purpose represents a comprehensive compilation based on the work of many projects and research groups five tundra types cushion forb tundra graminoid and forb tundra prostrate dwarf shrub tundra erect dwarf shrub tundra and low and high shrub tundra were distinguished and mapped on the basis of modern pollen surface samples the tundra forest boundary and the distributions of boreal and temperate forest types today were realistically reconstructed during the mid holocene the tundra forest boundary was north of its present position in some regions but the pattern of this shift was strongly asymmetrical around the pole with the largest northward shift in central siberia 200 km little change in beringia and a southward shift in keewatin and labrador 200 km low and high shrub tundra extended farther north than today at the lgm forests were absent from high latitudes graminoid and forb tundra abutted on temperate steppe in northwestern eurasia while prostrate dwarf shrub erect dwarf shrub and graminoid and forb tundra formed a mosaic in beringia graminoid and forb tundra is restricted today and does not form a large continuous biome but the pollen data show that it was far more extensive at the lgm while low and high shrub tundra were greatly reduced illustrating the potential for climate change to dramatically alter the relative areas occupied by different vegetation types

thin eolianites interbedded within a fluvial and marine succession early proterozoic whitworth formation mount isa inlier australia abstract the early proterozoic whitworth formation in the mount isa inlier australia contains the oldest known thinly bedded eolian dune and amalgamated interdune deposits and records the complex interplay of eolian fluvial and marginal marine depositional processes the whitworth formation accumulated during the waning phases of rifting in a north south trending trough that began between 1808 and 1790 ma and ended before 1740 ma three eolian facies are recognized 1 cosets of cross strata 2 sets of horizontal to low angle strata and 3 isolated sets of cross strata facies el records preservation of dunes with low angles of climb without intervening interdune deposits sets of facies e2 are interpreted as either sand sheet preserved dune plinths or amalgamated interdune deposits facies e3 is encased in facies e2 and consists of lenses of cross strata with irregular tops this association of facies is comparable to recent gypsum dune and interdune deposits at white sands new mexico facies e3 reflects limited dune preservation during migration and accumulation at or near the groundwater table vertical change from amalgamated interdune deposits to dune without interdune deposits records dunefield initiation or lateral migration from a peripheral to a more centralized position within the dunefield increased sedimentation rates promoted preservation of dune deposits represented by facies e1 decreased sedimentation rate and possible limited sediment bypassing resulted in amalgamation of interdune deposits on the dunefield periphery eolian facies e1 and e2 are interbedded with ephemeral river deposits three ephemeral river facies are recognized 1 cosets of horizontal strata 2 cosets of horizontal strata and overlying trough cross beds and 3 cosets of medium scale trough cross beds ephemeral river facies f3 often are preserved in channels incised into eolian facies e3 associated marginal marine facies consist of 1 thin bedded arenites of intertidal to supratidal origin and 2 trough and tabular planar cross bed sets and cosets that resulted from migration of subaqueous dunes within a tide dominated subtidal setting interbedded fluvial and eolian deposits reflect either autogenic processes such as reworking of fluvial sands by eolian processes or incursion of a fluvial system into a dunefield related to allogenic processes such as climatic change dune deposits in the whitworth formation probably developed under arid to semi arid conditions as indicated by extensive ephemeral river deposits presence of evaporite pseudomorphs and absence of wet interdune deposits interbedded eolian fluvial and marginal marine deposits resulted from relative sea level fluctuations related to a combination of eustasy and intrabasinal tectonics

postglacial vegetation and climate change in the northern bristol bay region southwestern alaska pollen analysis of sediment cores from grandfather and ongivinuk lakes reveals a record of postglacial vegetation and climate change in the northern bristol bay region the chronology is based on six conventional 14c dates of bulk organic matter from the grandfather core a mesic herb tundra dominated the landscape 13 000 9800 yr b p betula shrubs probably first appeared in the region 11 300 yr b p but were restricted to favorable microhabitats until 9800 yr b p the later establishment of betula shrubs and relatively low betula pollen abundance in these records compared to other areas of eastern beringia suggest that postglacial warming in southwestern alaska was dampened by regional climatic controls possibly low sea surface temperatures of the north pacific ocean between 10 800 and 9800 yr b p diminished betula shrub cover along with decreased aquatic productivity as recorded by pediastrum cell nets and biogenic silica suggest a brief reversion to colder and drier climatic conditions possibly associated with the younger dryas event around 9800 yr b p betula shrub tundra and meadow communities expanded probably in response to increased temperature and precipitation alnus arrived and formed extensive thickets within the region ca 7400 yr b p the establishment of the modern boreal forest tundra ecotone is marked by the arrival of picea glauca at grandfather lake ca 4000 yr b p and the subsequent increase to present population densities ca 2000 yr b p the unique features of these pollen records emphasize the spatial complexity of late quaternary vegetation and climate history in eastern beringia

late quaternary vegetational change in the kotzebue sound area northwestern alaska abstract two sediment cores from kaiyak and squirrel lakes in northwestern alaska yielded pollen records that date to ca 39 000 and 27 000 yr b p respectively between 39 000 and 14 000 yr b p the vegetation around these lakes was dominated by gramineae and cyperaceae with some salix and possibly betula nana glandulosa forming a local shrub component of the vegetation betula pollen percentages increased about 14 000 yr b p indicating the presence of a birchdominated shrub tundra alnus pollen appeared at both sites between 9000 and 8000yr b p and picea pollen mostly p mariana arrived at squirrel lake about 5000 yr b p the current foresttundra mosaic around squirrel lake was established at this time whereas shrub tundra existed near kaiyak lake throughout the holocene when compared to other pollen records from north western north america these cores 1 represent a meadow component of lowland beringian tundra between 39 000 and 14 000 yr b p 2 demonstrate an early holocene arrival of alnus in northwestern alaska that predates most other alnus horizons in northern alaska or northwestern canada and 3 show an east to west migration of picea across northern alaska from 9000 to 5000 yr b p

late quaternary pollen records from the kobuk and noatak river drainages northwestern alaska abstract pollen diagrams from joe and niliq lakes date to ca 28 000 and 14 000 yr b p respectively mesic shurb tundra grew near joe lake ca 28 000 to 26 000 yr b p with local populus populations prior to ca 27 000 yr b p shrub communities decreased as climate changed with the onset of itkillik ii glaciation 25 000 to 11 500 yr b p and graminoid dominated tundra characterized vegetation ca 18 500 to 13 500 yr b p herb tundra was replaced by shrub betula tundra near both sites ca 13 500 yr b p with local expansion of populus ca 11 000 to 10 000 yr b p and alnus ca 9000 yr b p mixed picea glauca p mariana woodland was established near joe lake ca 6000 yr b p these pollen records when combined with others from northern alaska and northwestern canada indicate 1 mesic tundra was more common in northwestern alaska than in northeastern alaska or northwestern canada during the duvanny yar glacial interval 25 000 to 14 000 yr b p 2 with deglaciation shrub betula expanded rapidly in northwestern alaska but slowly in areas farther east 3 an early postglacial thermal maximum occurred in northwestern alaska but had only limited effect on vegetation and 4 pollen patterns in northern alaska and northwestern canada suggest regional differences in late quaternary climates

geomorphic expression of the southern central andes forebulge 37 s argentina abstract we present a geomorphologic analysis of an east west transect located east of the southern andes of argentina 37 s we observe a succession of zones that underwent erosion and deposition during the pleistocene if the proximal andean foothills are incised a proximal depozone receives sediments feeding the megafan of the rio colorado on the chadileuvu plain more distally the abandoned palaeo valleys and bending of the valley floors reflect a localized uplift further to the east another depozone corresponds to the pampa deprimida lowland this pattern is consistent with the presence of a classical flexural geometry of the lithosphere the distal uplift of the foreland corresponds in terms of location length 150 km and amplitude 240 m to the andean forebulge modelled by a geophysical approach in this study we identify the morphological imprint of this bulge and show its effect on the fluvial activity

low and high frequency climate variability in eastern beringia during the past 25 000 yearsthis article is one of a series of papers published in this special issue on the theme polar climate stability network we present new temperature and precipitation reconstructions for the past 25 000 cal years bp from across eastern beringia based on a network of pollen diagrams an updated modern pollen calibration database and an improved methodology using the modern analogue technique mat time series show july temperatures were around 4 c lower during full glacial and january temperatures were about 2 c lower than present annual temperatures rose beginning around 16 000 cal years bp reaching a maximum around 12 000 cal year bp the warming was more rapid in southern beringia annual precipitation varied by 250 mm during the past 25 000 cal years bp maps of reconstructed precipitation patterns show increasingly drier conditions since 12 000 cal years bp that vary regionally suggesting holocene atmospheric circulation changes at multiple time and space scales orbitally forced seasonality changes during the late glacial and early holocene resulted in reversed seasonal temperature reconstructions due to me

a re evaluation and spatial analysis of evidence for a younger dryas climatic reversal in beringia abstract an objective classification of paleoclimatic proxies from 75 lake and peat records is used to re evaluate data quality and inferred climatic patterns in beringia during the younger dryas mapped data reveal coherent but spatially complex regional patterns suggesting the younger dryas was characterized by 1 cooling in southern alaska eastern siberia and portions of northeastern siberia and 2 uniform to warmer than present conditions through most of central alaska northeastern siberia and possibly the russian far east and northern alaska the beringian patterns correspond to distinctive large scale climatic forcings although in some locations further modified by more local influences such as topography general circulation models and modern synoptic climatology provide a conceptual framework for exploring possible mechanisms responsible for the observed changes forcings and associated climatic responses consistent with the proxy data include 1 lowered sea surface temperatures in the north atlantic and pacific reducing temperature and precipitation in eastern siberia 2 intensified aleutian low and lowered sea surface temperatures causing cooler summers and higher winter precipitation in southern alaska 3 stronger pacific subtropical high and an eastward shift of the east asian trough reducing summer temperatures in southern alaska and causing relative warmth in northeastern siberia and 4 strong high pressure system producing warm dry conditions in interior alaska

climate and vegetation in northeastern alaska 18 000 yr b p present changing abundances of taxa in the pollen record of northeastern alaska contain a climate signal and may be compared with gcm simulations of paleoclimates cold dry conditions indicated by full glacial pollen spectra are in broad agreement with model simulations successive expansion of betula and salix and later populus during the deglacial period 14 000 11 000 yr b p are likely correlated with the crossing of temperature thresholds determined largely by the size and position of the laurentide ice a degree of asynchroneity between sites probably reflects differential site responses to regional effects plus inaccuracies of radiocarbon dating the early holocene was probably the warmest period of the present interglacial as summer climate was influenced by a strong positive insolation anomaly picea glauca expanded in majorr river valleys ca 9000 yr ago and slightly later at upland sites in the brooks and alaska ranges at some sites a juniperus subzone which suggests particularly warm and dry conditions occurs between ca 10 000 and 8000 yr b p early mid holocene expansions of alnus 8500 7000 yr b p and picea mariana 7500 5000 yr b p suggest the subsequent development of moister conditions which have continued to the present temporal patterns in picea treeline position during the holocene are different in northern alaska northwestern canada and central canada in alaska the treeline is currently at its furthest holocene extent in northwestern canada the treeline has retreated since the mid holocene and in central canada a mid holocene advance and retreat occurred such differences between regions suggest a complex response of this taxon to climatic controls and underscore the need to interpret vegetation changes in relation to regional scale climate phenomena if the pollen chronology is calibrated with reference to u th dates the relationship of vegetational events to the insolation maximum at ca 10 000 yr b p is significantly altered the changed chronology also affects the interpretation of pollen records in relation to gcm simulations which are partly keyed to calendar years