Paleobotany of Wisconsinan interstadials, eastern Great Lakes region, North America

This study concerns the pollen and plant macrofossils from Mid-Wisconsinan Interstadial sites within the Wisconsinan ice margin in eastern North America. The time period covered is from about 55,000 years BP to 22,500 years BP, an interval much longer than the postglacial. Sediments examined are principally those of large lakes deposited in the Erie and Ontario basins during intervals of ice retreat.The Port Talbot I Interval (from about 55,000 to 50,000 years BP) in the Erie basin is characterized by pollen assemblages alternating from Pinus-dominated zones to ones with abundant Pinus, Quercus, and nonarboreal pollen. These assemblages are interpreted as indicating relatively warm and dry conditions. Mean July temperatures fluctuated between 15 and 21°C.During the succeeding Port Talbot II Interval and Plum Point Interstadial, in both the Erie and Ontario basins, pollen assemblages are characterized by dominant Pinus and Picea. Characteristic macrofossils include needles of the boreal Picea and Larix and leaves of species with a more northerly distribution, such as Dryas integrifolia, Betula glandulosa var. glandulosa, Vaccinium uliginosum var. alpinum, and Salix herbacea. These fossil assemblages are interpreted as indicating cooler and moister conditions in a forest-tundra environment. Mean July temperatures fluctuated between 10 and 15°C during the Port Talbot II Interval and Plum Point Interstadial.     

Lateglacial and Holocene climate oscillations in the South-western Alps: An attempt at quantitative reconstruction

The high topographic complexity of the Alpine region is the origin of important climate differences that characterise the different areas of the Alps. These differences might have had a strong influence on vegetation and on migrations of human populations in the past. Based on an improved database containing about 3000 modern pollen samples, the standard “Modern Analogue Technique” has been applied to five pollen sequences from the subalpine belt of the South-western Italian Alps (Laghi dell’Orgials, 2240 m, Lago delle Fate, 2130 m, Torbiera del Biecai, 1920 m, Rifugio Mondovì, 1760 m, Pian Marchisio, 1624 m) to provide quantitative climate estimates for the Lateglacial and Holocene periods. Consistent climate trends are reconstructed for the different sequences. Sites recorded in detail the climate variations when they were located at the limit of two ecotones. Sites above the tree line recorded lower temperature values and less important variations. Climate was cold and dry during the Oldest and Younger Dryas and close to present-day values during the Bølling/Allerød interstadial. At the beginning of the Holocene, climate changed to warmer and moister conditions; a high number of climate fluctuations are recorded at several sites. A climate optimum is recorded in the Atlantic period, which caused a development of fir above its present-day altitudinal distribution. Climatic differences recorded at the various sites are discussed taking into account the limits of the method.     

Lateglacial and early Holocene climatic oscillations on the western Svalbard margin,European Arctic

A multi proxy sediment core record on the continental margin off western Svalbard, European Arctic, reflects large climatic and oceanographic oscillations at the Lateglacial–early Holocene transition. Based on studies of planktonic foraminifera, their stable oxygen and carbon isotopic composition and ice rafted debris, we have reconstructed the last 14 cal. ka BP. The period 14–13.5 cal. ka BP was characterized by highly unstable climatic conditions. Short-lived episodes of warming alternated with meltwater pulses and enhanced iceberg rafting. This period correlates to a regional warming of the northern North Atlantic. An overall decrease in meltwater took place during the deglaciation (14–10.8 cal. ka BP). The late Younger Dryas and subsequent transition into the early Holocene is characterized by a reduced flux of planktonic foraminifera and increased iceberg rafting. A major warming took place from 10.8 to 9.7 cal. ka BP, the influence of meltwater ceased and the flux of warm Atlantic Water increased. From 9.7 to 8.8 cal. ka BP, the western Svalbard margin surface waters were significantly warmer than today. This warm period, the thermal maximum, was followed by an abrupt cooling at 8.8. cal. ka BP, caused by an increased influence of Arctic Water from the Arctic Ocean. The results document that the European Arctic was very sensitive to climatic and oceanographic changes at the end of the last glacial and during the Holocene.     

Paleohydrology of the upper Laurentian Great Lakes from the late glacial to early Holocene

Between 10,500 and 9000 cal yr BP, δ¹⁸O values of benthic ostracodes within glaciolacustrine varves from Lake Superior range from − 18 to − 22‰ PDB. In contrast, coeval ostracode and bivalve records from the Lake Huron and Lake Michigan basins are characterized by extreme δ¹⁸O variations, ranging from values that reflect a source that is primarily glacial ( − 20‰ PDB) to much higher values characteristic of a regional meteoric source ( − 5‰ PDB). Re-evaluated age models for the Huron and Michigan records yield a more consistent δ¹⁸O stratigraphy. The striking feature of these records is a sharp drop in δ¹⁸O values between 9400 and 9000 cal yr BP. In the Huron basin, this low δ¹⁸O excursion was ascribed to the late Stanley lowstand, and in the Lake Michigan basin to Lake Agassiz flooding. Catastrophic flooding from Lake Agassiz is likely, but a second possibility is that the low δ¹⁸O excursion records the switching of overflow from the Lake Superior basin from an undocumented northern outlet back into the Great Lakes basin. Quantifying freshwater fluxes for this system remains difficult because the benthic ostracodes in the glaciolacustrine varves of Lake Superior and Lake Agassiz may not record the average δ¹⁸O value of surface water.     

Response of North American Great Basin Lakes to Dansgaard–Oeschger oscillations

We correlate oscillations in the hydrologic and/or cryologic balances of four Great Basin surface-water systems with Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) events 2–12. This correlation is relatively strong at the location of the magnetic signature used to link the lake records, but becomes less well constrained with distance/time from the signature. Comparison of proxy glacial and hydrologic records from Owens and Pyramid lakes indicates that Sierran glacial advances occurred during times of relative dryness. If our hypothesized correlation between the lake-based records and the GISP2 δ¹⁸O record is correct, it suggests that North Atlantic D–O stades were associated with relatively cold and dry conditions and that interstades were associated with relatively warm and wet conditions throughout the Great Basin between 50,500 and 27,000 GISP2 yr B.P. The Great Basin lacustrine climate records reinforce the hypothesis that D–O events affected the climate throughout much of the Northern Hemisphere during marine isotope stages 2 and 3. However, the absolute phasing between lake-size and ice-core δ¹⁸O records remains difficult to determine.     

Post-Clovis survival of American Mastodon in the southern Great Lakes Region of North America

The end of the Pleistocene in North America was marked by a wave of extinctions of large mammals, with the last known appearances of many species falling between ca. 11,000–10,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. Temporally, this period overlaps with the Clovis Paleoindian cultural complex (11,190–10,530 ¹⁴C yr BP) and with sudden climatic changes that define the beginning of the Younger Dryas chronozone (ca. 11,000–10,000 ¹⁴C yr BP), both of which have been considered as potential proximal causes of this extinction event. Radiocarbon dating of enamel and filtered bone collagen from an extinct American Mastodon (Mammut americanum) from northern Indiana, USA, by accelerator mass spectrometer yielded direct dates of 10,055 ± 40 ¹⁴C yr BP and 10,032 ± 40 ¹⁴C yr BP, indicating that the animal survived beyond the Clovis time period and into the late Younger Dryas. Although the late survival of this species in mid-continental North America does not remove either humans or climatic change as contributing causes for the late Pleistocene extinctions, neither Clovis hunters nor the climatic perturbations initiating the Younger Dryas chronozone were immediately responsible for driving mastodons to extinction.     

Lateglacial and Holocene terrestrial and marine proxies reflecting climate changes in the Malangen fjord area, Norway, northeast North Atlantic

A high-resolution Younger Dryas–late Holocene record of climate and environment from the Malangen fjord has been established on the basis of two marine sediment cores. Five pollen-spore assemblage zones have been defined covering the period c . 11 500 cal. yr BP (10 200 ¹⁴C yr BP) to c . 1600 cal. yr BP (1600 ¹⁴C yr BP) with a hiatus of c . 2000 cal. years between c . 10 200 and 8100 cal. yr BP (9000 and 7300 ¹⁴C yr BP). The Holocene vegetation development from pioneer vegetation to forest development, identified in the marine pollen record, correlates well with pollen records from terrestrial sections of northern Norway. The marine pollen record was also correlated directly with marine proxy records of the bottom water temperature investigated in the same sediment cores. Correlation between the marine and terrestrial proxies suggests that changes in the influx of warm Atlantic Water to the fjord led to an instant change in the vegetation of the surrounding land area. The results thus support a strong link between marine and atmospheric mean climatic states in the North Atlantic region throughout the Holocene.     

Barrier island response to late Holocene climate events, North Carolina, USA

The Outer Banks barrier islands of North Carolina, USA, contain a geologic record of inlet activity that extends from ca. 2200 cal yr BP to the present, and can be used as a proxy for storm activity. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating (26 samples) of inlet-fill and flood tide delta deposits, recognized in cores and geophysical data, provides the basis for understanding the chronology of storm impacts and comparison to other paleoclimate proxy data. OSL ages of historical inlet fill compare favorably to historical documentation of inlet activity, providing confidence in the technique. Comparison suggests that the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and Little Ice Age (LIA) were both characterized by elevated storm conditions as indicated by much greater inlet activity relative to today. Given present understanding of atmospheric circulation patterns and sea-surface temperatures during the MWP and LIA, we suggest that increased inlet activity during the MWP responded to intensified hurricane impacts, while elevated inlet activity during the LIA was in response to increased nor'easter activity. A general decrease in storminess at mid-latitudes in the North Atlantic over the last 300 yr has allowed the system to evolve into a more continuous barrier with few inlets.     

Lateglacial and early Holocene vegetation and climate gradients in the Nordfjord–Ålesund area,western Norway

Birks, H. H. & van Dinter, M. 2010: Lateglacial and early Holocene vegetation and climate gradients in the Nordfjord–Ålesund area, western Norway. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 783–798. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00161.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Modern climate in western Norway shows a strong west–east gradient in oceanicity–continentality (coast to inner fjord) and altitudinal temperature gradients that control the regional and altitudinal zonation of vegetation. To discover if similar gradients existed during the Lateglacial and early Holocene, plant‐macrofossil analyses were made from five lacustrine sediment sequences in the Nordfjord–Ålesund region selected to sample the present climatic gradients. The macrofossil assemblages could be interpreted as analogues of the present vegetation, thus allowing reconstruction of past vegetation and climates. When the five sites were compared, climatic gradients could be detected. During the Lateglacial interstadial, mid‐alpine assemblages with Salix herbacea and S. polaris occurred at the lowland coast and upland inland sites, whereas the inland lowland site had low‐alpine dwarf‐shrub heath dominated by Betula nana, demonstrating a strong west–east gradient in temperature and precipitation and an altitudinal gradient inland. During the Younger Dryas stadial, assemblages at the lowland coast and upland inland sites resembled high‐alpine vegetation, whereas the inland lowland site was warmer with mid‐alpine vegetation, demonstrating west–east and altitudinal temperature gradients. Gradients became less pronounced in the Holocene. The early abundance of Betula nana in the inner fjord sites but its rarity at the coast is striking and reflects the oceanicity gradient. All sites became forested with Betula pubescens a few centuries into the Holocene. This forest was probably close to tree line at 370 m a.s.l. at the coast. Inland, there was no detectable altitudinal gradient, with the tree line well above 400 m a.s.l. reflecting the present pattern of tree‐line elevation.     

Lateglacial and early Holocene dynamics of adjacent valley glaciers in the Western Swiss Alps

The Alps play a pivotal role for glacier and climate reconstructions within Europe. Detailed glacial chronologies provide important insights into mechanisms of glaciation and climate change. We present 26 ¹⁰Be exposure dates of glacially transported boulders situated on moraines and ice‐moulded bedrock samples at the Belalp cirque and the Great Aletsch valley, Switzerland. Weighted mean ages of ～10.9, 11.1, 11.0 and 9.6 ka for the Belalp, on up to six individual moraine ridges, constrain these moraines to the Egesen, Kartell and Schams stadials during Lateglacial to early Holocene times. The weighted mean age of ～12.5 ka for the right‐lateral moraine of the Great Aletsch correlates with the Egesen stadial related to the Younger Dryas cooling. These data indicate that during the early Holocene between ～11.7 and ～9.2 ka, glaciers in the Swiss Alps seem to have been significantly affected by cold climatic conditions initiated during the Younger Dryas and the Preboreal Oscillation. These conditions resulted in glacier margin oscillations relating to climatic fluctuations during the second phase of the Younger Dryas – and continuing into Boreal times – as supported by correlation of the innermost moraine of the Belalp Cirque to the Schams (early) Holocene stage. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Pleistocene and early Holocene rivers and wetlands in the Bonneville basin of western North America

Field investigations at Dugway Proving Ground in western Utah have produced new data on the chronology and human occupation of late Pleistocene and early Holocene lakes, rivers, and wetlands in the Lake Bonneville basin. We have classified paleo-river channels of these ages as “gravel channels” and “sand channels.” Gravel channels are straight to curved, digitate, and have abrupt bulbous ends. They are composed of fine gravel and coarse sand, and are topographically inverted (i.e., they stand higher than the surrounding mudflats). Sand channels are younger and sand filled, with well-developed meander-scroll morphology that is truncated by deflated mudflat surfaces. Gravel channels were formed by a river that originated as overflow from the Sevier basin along the Old River Bed during the late regressive phases of Lake Bonneville (after 12,500 and prior to 11,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P.). Dated samples from sand channels and associated fluvial overbank and wetland deposits range in age from 11,000 to 8800 ¹⁴C yr B.P., and are probably related to continued Sevier-basin overflow and to groundwater discharge. Paleoarchaic foragers occupied numerous sites on gravel-channel landforms and adjacent to sand channels in the extensive early Holocene wetland habitats. Reworking of tools and limited toolstone diversity is consistent with theoretical models suggesting Paleoarchaic foragers in the Old River Bed delta were less mobile than elsewhere in the Great Basin.     

A high-resolution record of climate variability and landscape response from Kettle Lake,northern Great Plains,North America

A decadal-scale multiproxy record of minerals, pollen, and charcoal from Kettle Lake, North Dakota provides a high-resolution record of climate and vegetation change spanning the entire Holocene from the northern Great Plains (NGP) in North America. The chronology is established by over 50 AMS radiocarbon dates. This record exhibits millennial-scale trends evident in other lower-resolution studies, but with much more detail on short-term climate variability and on the rapidity and timing of major climatic shifts. As a proxy for precipitation, we utilize the rate of endogenic carbonate sedimentation, which depends on groundwater inflow, which in turn depends on precipitation. Independent cluster analyses of mineral and pollen data reveal major Holocene mode shifts at 10.73 ka (ka = cal yr BP), 9.25 ka, and 4.44 ka.The early Holocene, 11.7–9.25 ka, was generally wet, with perhaps a trend to higher evaporation associated with warming temperatures. A switch from calcite to aragonite deposition associated with a severe, but brief drought occurred at 10.73 ka. From 10.73 ka to 9.25 ka, climate was generally humid but punctuated at 100–300 yr intervals by brief droughts, including the most severe drought of the entire Holocene at 9.25 ka. This event was coeval with the 9.3–9.2 ka event in the Greenland ice cores and observed at a number of sites worldwide. In contrast, the prominent 8.2 ka event in Greenland is not remarkable at Kettle Lake. The prominence of the 9.25 event locally in the NGP may be due to a major drawdown and northward retreat of Lake Agassiz at this time, reducing its mesoclimatic effect on the NGP and thrusting the region into an insolation controlled regime.The mid-Holocene, 9.25–4.44 ka, was characterized by great variability in moisture on a multi-decadal scale, with severe droughts alternating with more humid periods. The high abundance of the weedy but drought intolerant Ambrosia generally during the mid-Holocene and specifically during the multi-decadal drought periods is seemingly paradoxical, but can be explained by high interannual variability of moisture overlaid on the multi-decadal variability.The late Holocene, 4.44 ka–present, was also characterized by multi-decadal variability in moisture, but was generally wetter than the mid-Holocene and the magnitude of variability was less. The trends in wet-dry mineral, pollen, and charcoal proxies were similar to the mid-Holocene, but late Holocene mineral-pollen assemblages are distinct from mid-Holocene. The shift to wetter climate in the late Holocene was more gradual than the abrupt shift to arid conditions 9.25 ka, which may explain the asymmetric retreat and readvance of forest along the eastern margin of the NGP.Precipitation variations in the NGP have been linked with Pacific and Atlantic sea-surface temperatures, and mid-Holocene drought in the NGP has been linked with sustained La Niña-like conditions in the Pacific. These linkages may explain the decadal- and millennial-scale variations seen in the NGP, but cause of the prominent century-scale variations remains elusive.     

Lateglacial and early Holocene summer temperatures in the southern Swiss Alps reconstructed using fossil chironomids

We present a Lateglacial and early Holocene chironomid‐based July air temperature reconstruction from Foppe (1470 m a.s.l.) in the Swiss Southern Alps. Our analysis suggests that chironomid assemblages have responded to major and minor climatic fluctuations during the past 17 000 years, such as the Oldest Dryas, the Younger Dryas and the Bølling/Allerød events in the Lateglacial and the Preboreal Oscillation at the beginning of the Holocene. Quantitative July air temperature estimates were produced by applying a combined Norwegian and Swiss temperature inference model consisting of 274 lakes to the fossil chironomid assemblages. The Foppe record infers average July air temperatures of ca. 9.9 °C during the Oldest Dryas, 12.2 °C during most of the Bølling/Allerød and 11.1 °C for the Younger Dryas. Mean July air temperatures during the Preboreal were 14 °C. Major temperature changes were observed at the Oldest Dryas/Bølling (+2.7 °C), the Allerød/Younger Dryas (?2 °C) and the Younger Dryas/Holocene transitions (+3.9 °C). The temperature reconstruction also shows centennial‐scale coolings of ca. 0.8–1.4 °C, which may be synchronous with the Aegelsee (Greenland Interstadial 1d) and the Preboreal Oscillations. A comparison of our results with other palaeoclimate records suggests noticeable temperature gradients across the Alps during the Lateglacial and early Holocene. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Complex fluvial response to Lateglacial and Holocene allogenic forcing in the Lower Rhine Valley (Germany)

The Rhine catchment experienced strong changes in upstream allogenic forcing during the last 20,000 years. Climatic changes of the glacial–interglacial transition and steadily growing human impact during the second half of the Holocene forced the Rhine to adapt, resulting in changes in the fluvial morphology. The lower Rhine left two late Weichselian terraces and many Holocene palaeo-meanders in the Lower Rhine Valley (western Germany). This well-preserved terrace sequence is used to investigate the exact course of events of the lower Rhine response to changes in allogenic forcing. Five detailed cross-sections that integrate new and existing borehole data were constructed, and the deposits were analysed with regards to abandonment of terraces, changes in number of active channels, fluvial style, terrace gradients, and overbank sedimentation during the Lateglacial and Holocene. We improved and expanded the chronology of the Lower Rhine Valley deposits by dating new samples (¹⁴C, OSL), and integrated these with existing dating evidence (archaeological and historical data, cross-cutting relationships). Twice during the glacial–interglacial transition, the lower Rhine changed from braided to meandering fluvial style. During both transitional episodes (meandering) secondary channels existed alongside the main channel, with a life span up to 2500 years. The findings imply that the lower Rhine was inherently slow to complete the full morphological transition to a single thread meandering system. On specific aspects of response, the morphological response (point bar/terrace formation, contraction to a single thread) extended over relatively long periods of time, whereas discharge-related response (e.g. fluvial style change, abandonment of braidplains, channel bed lowering/incision) seems to have been near instantaneous. Reach-specific conditions determine the degree to which the geomorphic response is delayed and the complexity of the resultant morphology. Increased human-induced sediment delivery (last 2000–3000 years) is expressed as relative thicker and coarser overbank deposits in the entire study area. In the downstream part of the Lower Rhine Valley it accelerated high-stand deltaic backfilling and decreased incision. The response to human activities occurred relatively quickly in contrast to the long-term fluvial response to the glacial–interglacial transition, because the human impact mainly involved change in delivery of the suspended load.     

Dune stabilization in central and southern Yukon in relation to early Holocene environmental change,northwestern North America

Eolian deposits of central and southern Yukon, northwestern Canada, consist of loess mantles, small areas of active dunes, and larger stabilized dune fields. Dune fields in valley settings within the region are situated both within and beyond the limit of the last glaciation. Infrared stimulation luminescence (IRSL) dating in central and southern Yukon reveals that these dune fields stabilized as late as 9–8.5 ka, well after the retreat of Cordilleran glaciers. These findings are comparable to other valley-setting dune fields and loess from central Alaska, which record activity during the period from the Lateglacial to the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM), and reduced or altered activity after 9–8 ka. Post-glacial dune activity was most likely related to warm, dry conditions during the HTM, under predominantly shrub-tundra vegetation. Early Holocene stabilization of these dunes probably occurred in response to cooler, moister conditions, and replacement of predominantly tundra by boreal forest cover, dominated by spruce. Stabilization of dune fields in southern Yukon and Alaska most likely represented an extension of the time-transgressive stabilization of dune fields that occurred across northwestern North America with the post-glacial expansion of the boreal forest.     

The Lateglacial and early Holocene vegetation and environment in the Dovre mountains,central Norway,as signalled in two Lateglacial nunatak lakes

By using heavy coring equipment in two high-altitudinal lakes (1253 and 1316 m a.s.l.) at Dovre, Central Norway, 1–1.5 m of unsorted coarsely minerogenic sediments were retrieved below the Holocene organic sediments. The minerogenic sequence contained well-preserved pollen and chironomid remains, revealing new and detailed palaeoenvironmental knowledge of the mountains in Central Norway during the last 5–6000 years of the Lateglacial (LG) period. However, the LG chronology is based on biostratigraphical correlations and not on ¹⁴C-dates, due to low organic content in the minerogenic sediments. The emerging LG nunataks, probably indicating a thin and multi-domed Scandinavian ice-sheet, was rapidly inhabited by immigrating species which could explain the present centric distributions of certain arctic-alpine plants. The LG vegetation development included a pre-interstadial dominated by mineral-soil pioneers, an interstadial dominated by shrubs and dwarf-shrubs, and the Younger Dryas cold period with recurring dominance of pioneers. Pollen and stomata of Pinus and Picea indicate their local LG presence at Dovre. LG climate oscillations are indicated by pollen stratigraphy and for the later part of LG also by chironomids. These oscillations could correspond to Heinrich event 1, GI-1d, GI-1b, and the Younger Dryas cold events. The LG interstadial reached July mean temperatures of more than 7–8 °C, similar to the present. Chironomids colonized the lake already during the onset of the interstadial, albeit at very low richness and abundances. Starting from YD, there are sufficient chironomid head capsules to perform a temperature reconstruction. The Holocene warming of about 2 °C initiated a vegetation closure from snow beds and dwarf-shrub tundra to shrubs and forests. Birch-forests established about 10 ka cal BP, slightly earlier than pine forests. Alnus expanded ca 9.2 ka cal BP and a thinning of the local forests occurred from ca 7 ka cal BP. Two short-lasting climate deteriorations found in the pollen record and the chironomid record may represent the Preboreal Oscillation and the 8.2 event. The Holocene Thermal Maximum is indicated around ca 7.8–7.3 ka cal BP showing a chironomid-inferred July mean of at least 11 °C. This is ca 3 °C warmer than today.     

Lateglacial and early Holocene surface exposure ages of glacial boulders in the Taiwanese high mountain range

Glacial landforms and sediments mapped in three presently unglaciated mountain massifs, the Nanhuta Shan, the Hsueh Shan and the Yushan, support the concept of repeated, multi-stage glaciations in the Taiwanese high mountain range during the late Pleistocene. New results from surface exposure dating using in situ produced cosmogenic ¹⁰Be measured in samples taken from erratic and moraine boulders in Nanhuta Shan at altitudes between 3100 and 3500 m are presented here. The results confirm independent and previously reported Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) ages and ¹⁰Be exposure ages from glacial deposits in the same area and suggest a Lateglacial and early Holocene glaciation, the so called Nanhuta glacier advance with two substages at about 12–15 ka and 9.5 ka BP. The respective equilibrium line altitudes (ELA) were calculated at 3340 m and 3440 m with corresponding ELA depressions of 610 ± 100 m and 510 ± 100 m relative to the present day (theoretical) ELA, which is estimated to be at about 3950 ± 100 m in Taiwan. Large-scale erosional landforms indicate a much wider glacier extent during an earlier stage, which is not dated in Nanhuta Shan so far. Luminescence dating from near Hsueh Shan suggests an age of marine isotope stage (MIS) 4 for this stage.     

Regional significance of an early Holocene moraine in Enchantment Lakes basin,North Cascade Range,Washington

The upper Enchantment Lakes basin in the North Cascade Range of Washington displays two moraine belts, each recording an episode of glacier advance after the end of the last glaciation. The inner belt, the Brynhild, 0.1 to 0.5 km beyond existing glaciers, postdates Mount St. Helens Wn tephra (～450 yr old), which lies only beyond the moraines. The morainal surface is only slightly weathered, is almost barren of lichens, and is devoid of soil, evidence suggesting that the Brynhild moraines are no more than a century old. The outer moraine, the Brisingamen, 0.3 to 0.7 km beyond existing glaciers, is weathered and is covered with large lichens. On and behind the Brisingamen moraine the Mazama ash (6900 yr old) is present beneath the Mount St. Helens Yn and Wn tephras. Despite more than 7 millennia of weathering, the rock surface behind the Brisingamen moraine is measurably less weathered than the surface beyond, which was last glaciated during the Rat Creek advance about 13,000 yr ago. The age of the Brisingamen moraine therefore is probably early Holocene. The Brisingamen moraine evidently correlates with moraines near Glacier Peak, near Mount Rainier, in northeastern and central Oregon, in the southern Canadian Rockies, and in the northern U.S. Rocky Mountains. These regional effects suggest that a climatic episode of cooling or increased snowfall affected the entire region some time during the early Holocene.