Holocone paleovegetation and paleohydrology of a prairie pothold in southern Saskatchewan, Canada

The Andrews site represents one of countless prairie potholes found in areas of hummocky moraine on the northern Great Plains. Sediments from a depth of 5.8 to 3.1 m at this 'kettle-fill' site in the Missouri Coteau upland of southern Saskatchewan, Canada, provides a record of vegetation, climate, and hydrologic changes within a small, ca 30 m diameter, closed-drainage basin from ca 10.2 to 5.8 ka. Plant macrofossil analyses of 67 samples, 6 ¹⁴C ages, and stratigraphy were used to identify 5 zones, representing the paleohydrological changes that followed deglaciation in southern Saskatchewan.Results of this study indicate that with the melting of residual stagnant ice a pond (>2 m deep) with abundant aquatic, emergent, and shoreline plants developed in the basin at ca 10.2 ka and persisted until at least ca 8.8 ka. During this time there was a shift in upland vegetation from a white spruce forest (Zone II) to a deciduous parkland at ca 10 ka (Zone III). As climate warmed, brackish and alkaline conditions developed coincident with shallowing of the pond at the end of Zone III. The perennial water phase ended at ca 8.8 ka and was followed by a low-water stand lasting ca 1100 years. Prairie fires and slopewash from unstable slopes were dominant sedimentological processes until ca 7.7 ka (Zone IV). Water levels began to rise and between ca 7.7 and 5.8 ka a semi-permanent pond was established in a grassland setting (Zone V). After ca 5.8 ka this prairie pothole wetland became ephemeral, to the point that plant macrofossils could not be preserved, a situation continuing today. Interactions between climate change, variability in local groundwater supply, and sedimentological processes likely account for the paleohydrologic events reconstructed at the Andrews site.     

Average Annual Temperature Changes in the Holocene in China

In 1876 Blytt proposed a post-glacial climatic classification, maintaining that the then temperature fluctuated 1- 2℃ higher or lower than that today. Lamb (1969) held that in Europe " the axis of the subtropical high pressure belt was generally displaced north by about 10° latitudes" during the Hypsithermal and that the temperature was three to six times higher than that in the postglacial period.In China, there appear relict beachrocks (living fossils) in tropical tidal zones from the Bohai Bay (40° N) to coastal areas in South China. Many relict tropical marine fossils were discovered, such as Ostrea gigas in Tianjin (which is larger than that found today in Hainan), Placuna placenta in Zhejiang and Spondylus sp. in Fujian. In Hebei, Henan and Zhejiang provinces and Guilin of Guangxi, such tropical fossil animals as Elephas maximus and Rhinoceros sp, were discovered, and in Hebei and Jiangsu provinces such fresh water fossils as Unio douglasiae were found. Their living species are still seen in So     

Postglacial development of a marl and peat complex on the Precambrian Shield of northwestern Ontario

This paper presents the first paleolimnological study of the postglacial development of a marl and peat complex on the Canadian Precambrian Shield. Ring Lake (48° 46 N, 85° 51 W), situated within the carbonate glacial drift area of northwestern Ontario, originated about 9000 BP in a basin exposed by the retreating waters of proglacial Lake Superior. The development of Ring Lake was interpreted from pollen and diatom analysis of one sediment core from the littoral zone and another core from near the lake centre.The sequence of postglacial vegetation development parallels published accounts of forest history in northern Ontario. The predominant diatom throughout the littoral core was the alkaliphilous Cymbella diluviana. The central core was dominated by circumneutral and alkaliphilous species of Achnanthes Navicula, Fragilaria, and Cymbella, except in recent samples where acidophilous species of Anomoeoneis were common.Diatom-inferred (DI) pH shows that the early lake was alkaline because of drainage from base-rich tills. The presence of marl in the littoral core indicates deposition of calcareous materials until the site dried out during the Hypsithermal period. There is evidence that beaver activity around 5000 BP caused a temporary change in lake hydrology. A decline in DI pH over much of the postglacial reflects gradual exhaustion of carbonates in the drainage area. An increase in acidophilous diatoms in samples representing the past 3500 y is consistent with gradual acidification of the system and development of a littoral peatland in a cooler neoglacial climate.     

Evidence of mid-Holocene climate instability from variations in carbon burial in Seneca Lake, New York

The amounts and types of carbon delivered to the sediments Seneca Lake, New York, have varied since the middle Holocene. Concentrations of CaCO₃ first fluctuate between 14 and 6% around 7 ka before decreasing erratically until about 5 ka and then remain 2% in younger sediments. Because the amount of calcite that precipitates in hard-water lakes is related to summertime thermal stratification, the carbonate fluctuations suggest that cyclic strengthening and weakening of seasonality at intervals of about three centuries accompanied the end of the Holocene Hypsithermal in northeast North America. Organic C/total N values record short, decade-long intervals of enhanced delivery of land-plant material during episodes of wetter climate that are independent of the temperature variations. Higher organic ¹³C values indicate that recent fertilization of lake waters from soil disturbance and land-derived runoff has increased aquatic productivity.     

High-frequency climatic oscillations recorded in a Holocene coral reef at Leizhou Peninsula, South China Sea

A detailed study of the Goniopora reef profile at Dengloujiao, Xuwen County, Leizhou Peninsula, the northern coast of the South China Sea suggests that a series of high-frequency, large-amplitude and abrupt cold events occurred during the Holocene Hypsithermal, an unusual phenomenon termed “Leizhou Events” in this paper. This period (corresponding to ¹⁴C age of 6.2-6.7 kaBP or calendar age of 6.7-7.2 kaBP), when the climatic conditions were ideal for coral reefs to develop, can be divided into at least nine stages. Each stage (or called a “climate optimum”), lasting about 20 to 50 a, was terminated by an abrupt cold nap and (or) a sea-level lowering event in winter, leading to widespread emergence and death of the Goniopora corals, and growth discontinuities on the coral surface. Such a cyclic process resulted in the creation of a >4m thick Goniopora reef flat. During this period, the crust subsided periodically but the sea level was rising. The reef profile provides valuable archives for the study of decadal-scale mid-Holocene climatic oscillations in the tropical area of South China. Our results provide new evidence for high-frequency climate instability in the Holocene Hypsithermal, and challenge the traditional understanding of Holocene climate.     

Late Quaternary deglaciation and climate history of the Larsemann Hills (East Antarctica)

The Late Quaternary climate history of the Larsemann Hills has been reconstructed using siliceous microfossils (diatoms, chrysophytes and silicoflagellates) in sediment cores extracted from three isolation lakes. Results show that the western peninsula, Stornes, and offshore islands were ice‐covered between 30 000 yr BP and 13 500 cal. yr BP. From 13 500 cal. yr BP (shortly after the Antarctic Cold Reversal) the coastal lakes of the Larsemann Hills were deglaciated and biogenic sedimentation commenced. Between 13 500 and 11 500 cal. yr BP conditions were warmer and wetter than during the preceding glacial period, but still colder than today. From 11 500 to 9500 cal. yr BP there is evidence for wet and warm conditions, which probably is related to the early Holocene climate optimum, recorded in Antarctic ice cores. Between 9500 and 7400 cal. yr BP dry and cold conditions are inferred from high lake‐water salinities, and low water levels and an extended duration of nearshore sea‐ice. A second climate optimum occurred between 7400 and 5230 cal. yr BP when stratified, open water conditions during spring and summer characterised the marine coast of Prydz Bay. From 5230 until 2750 cal. yr BP sea‐ice duration in Prydz Bay increased, with conditions similar to the present day. A short return to stratified, open water conditions and a reduction in nearshore winter sea‐ice extent is evident between 2750 and 2200 cal. yr BP. Simultaneously, reconstructions of lake water depth and salinity suggests relatively humid and warm conditions on land between 3000 and 2000 cal. yr BP, which corresponds to a Holocene Hypsithermal reported elsewhere in Antarctica. Finally, dry conditions are recorded around 2000, between 760 and 690, and between 280 and 140 cal. yr BP. These data are consistent with ice‐core records from Antarctica and support the hypothesis that lacustrine and marine sediments on land can be used to evaluate the effect of long‐term climate change on the terrestrial environment. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Geochemistry and extractable Fe and Al in cold‐temperature soils of northwestern Siberia

The concentrations of major, minor and trace elements in three Cryosols from northwestern Siberia were analysed to determine profiles of geochemical uniformity, element mobility and the release and build‐up of extractable Fe and Al. The scope of this study involves weathering processes over all or part of the Lateglacial to the Holocene Epoch (<10 ka) in a cold environment. Iron and Al extracts are investigated to elicit information regarding profile age and palaeoclimate. ‘Free’ iron (Fe_d) relative to total Fe increases in the Ah + Bw horizons compared with the lower horizons, where oxidation is weaker. Low total Fe reflects reworked felsic deltaic and shallow marine deposits from the Permian to the early Tertiary, thereafter emplaced by episodic flooding of glacial meltwater from the Arctic Urals and/or the Kara Sea Ice Sheet. Organically complexed Al (Al_p), uniformly low in all soils, nevertheless shows trends indicating some downward movement, a rather unique occurrence in Arctic tundra soils. As indicated by the slow increase of oxihydrites, it may not be realistic to estimate the age of a profile by its physical characteristics. However, it appears possible to determine broad age ranges from the isotopic composition of water in soils. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evidence for rapid avian-mediated foraminiferal colonization of Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba, during the Holocene Hypsithermal

A Holocene ecological succession was documented using palynological, foraminiferal, and molluscan faunas sampled from an excavated trench on the margin of Bell River Bay, Lake Winnipegosis, Manitoba. The palynological data record the known gradually isostatically-induced shift from aquatic to terrestrial conditions at the site, and clearly delineates the Holocene Hypsithermal maximal warm interval (commencing here about 5500 years BP). Concurrent with this warming the site became occupied by the extinct salt tolerant gastropod Marstonia gelida and the marine foraminifer Cribroelphidium gunteri by at least 5430 years BP. Water fowl-assisted colonization of non-marine habitats by foraminifera has previously been suggested as a dispersal mechanism for other non-marine foraminiferal occurrences. However, as this relatively warm-water foraminifer (presently found as far north as Cape Cod, MA on the Atlantic USA coast, and Vancouver, BC on the Canadian Pacific coast but also found in Canadian Maritime provinces during the Hypsithermal) did not inhabit the area either prior to or following the Hypsithermal warm interval, this occurrence indicates the efficiency with which foraminifera can utilize non-selective avian transport to colonize new non-marine and marine habitats. It may be that only a few years were required for colonization of the site to occur (2000–3000 km distant from native populations); this suggests that avian transport is a much more important foraminiferal dispersal mechanism than previously realized. The appearance of foraminifera at this site may also constrain models designed to determine the time required for hydraulically injected glacial freshwater to be flushed from normally brine producing aquifers in the region.     

Climatic change in Western North America during the last 15,000 years: The role of changes in the relative strengths of air masses in producing the changing climates

In the Cordillera of western North America, the influence of the Pacific Interdecadal Oscillation only affects coastal areas west of the Coast Range and the lowlands of western and southern Alaska. The rest of the area is subject to a climate controlled by the relative strengths of three distinct air masses, viz., the cold cA/cP air that is dominant in winter, the mP air bringing cool moist air over the mountains throughout the year, and the dry hot cT air from the deserts of the southwestern United States. The Arctic Front marks the boundary between the cA/cP air mass and the other two. Changes in the relative strengths of these air masses appear to explain the climatic changes documented throughout the region. Thus, in the last 30 years, the average position of the Arctic Front has moved north from about 53°N to 58°N, causing the warming in northern British Columbia and cooling south of Calgary, Alberta. This concept of changing positions of the air masses also appears to explain the mechanism behind the past climatic changes in this region. During the last Neoglacial event （c.1400-1900 A.D.）, it appears that the cA/cP air mass had strengthened enough to push the Arctic Front south of the 49th parallel. Incursions of mP air increased with localized areas of short-term heavy snowfalls resulting in small-scale advances of glaciers in these regions. This accounts for the variability in timing and extent of these glacial advances, while the resulting increased Chinook activity produced the development of a sand sea between Medicine Hat and Regina on the southern Prairies. The cT air mass was relatively weak, permitting these changes. During the maximum of the Altithermal/Hysithermal warm event （6,000 years B.P.）, the Arctic Front had retreated into the southern Yukon Territory as the cT air mass became stronger. The mP air could not move inland as easily, resulting in drier climates across the region. Prairie plants mi- grated into the southern Yukon Territory, and land snails from the eastern United States were able to migrate up the Saskatchewan River system as far as Lake Louise, Alberta. On the southern Prairies, the many small sloughs and lakes dried up. During the maximum of the Late Wisconsin Glacial event （15,000 years B.P.）, the Arctic Front had moved south to the vicinity of 30°N, while there had been a southward movement of the Zone of Intertropical Convergence from the equator to about 10°S. The mP air was also very strong and dumped enormous quantities of snow in the glaciated Canadian Cordillera, but it does not appear to have moved south any distance into the northern United States, witness the limited glaciation and widespread permafrost that developed there. Instead, there is evidence for buffering of the climatic changes in the closed basins in the northern Cordillera of the contiguous United States. The source of the cT air mass had moved south into the northern part of South America, permitting an exchange of savannah biota between the two continents. An extensive area of white dune sands inundated both savannah and forest along the inland hills in Guyana. This parallels the massive changes in African climatology during the last Ice Age （Fairbridge, 1964）. If these changes occurred each time there was a major glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere, this would explain the movement of biota from all terrestrial environments between the two American continents in the last 2 million years. A similar northward movement of climatic belts occurred in South America, with the cA air from Antarctica expanding northwards into southern Argentina and Chili. However paucity of data and the potential effects of El Ni o and the Southern Oscillation make it difficult toprovide details of the changes there in the present state of knowledge. This technique of studying the mechanisms of present-day climatic changes and applying the results to past climatic events has considerable potential for elucidating past climatic changes elsewhere in continental regions. This may prove particularly valuable in studying the Siberian anticyclone that is the main cause of the distribution of permafrost, but this will need international cooperation to be successful.     

中原地区晚全新世以来的环境变化

本文利用丰富的历史资料和树木年轮资料,恢复了我国中原地区晚全新世2000余年以来的环境变化,建立了2200余年的降水变化序列。划分了晚全新世以来本地区的干湿和冷暖期。受晚全新世以来的季风环流的影响,本地区环境变化的基本模式是暖湿与冷干对应。然而,在小冰期时期特别是17世纪下半叶以后,这种模式有所改变,即冷湿对应。其主要原因作者认为有二:一是小冰期时期天气系统超常不稳定,这是由于地球气候系统的内外因素改变造成的;二是小冰期时夏季风锋面南移至中原一带,增加了本地区的降水。最后还讨论了晚全新世以来本地区季风变化的过程、机制以及它们所带来的环境变化。并提出了未来环境变化的可能趋向。