Ecosystem response to Lateglacial and early Holocene climate oscillations in the Great Lakes region of North America

Fossil pollen, plant macrofossils, gastropods, and elemental and stable-isotope geochemistry in a sediment core from Twiss Marl Pond, southern Ontario, Canada, were used to document climate oscillations during the Last Glacial–Interglacial transition (13,000–8500 ¹⁴C BP) and understand their ecological effects. Chronology was provided by AMS ¹⁴C dating and regional pollen correlation. Oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) results from mollusc shells, Chara-encrustations and bulk carbonates show a classic climate sequence of a warm Bølling–Allerød (BOA) at 12,500–10,920 ¹⁴C BP, a cold Younger Dryas (YD) at 10,920–10,000 ¹⁴C BP, the Holocene warming at 10,000 ¹⁴C BP, a brief Preboreal Oscillation (PB) at 9650 ¹⁴C BP, and a possible Gerzensee/Killarney (G/K) cooling shortly before 11,000 ¹⁴C BP.Clay sediments at the base of the core contain high herb and shrub pollen and abundant arctic/alpine plant macrofossils, indicating a treeless tundra with severe soil erosion in watershed. During the BOA warm period, authigenic marl began to be deposited, and Picea woodland became established. The establishment of Picea woodland after peaks of δ¹⁸O and of carbonate accumulation suggests a lagged response of upland vegetation to BOA warming. In contrast, the occurrence of warmth-loving aquatics Najas flexilis and Typha latifolia at that time indicates sensitive responses of aquatic plants. The YD cooling is indicated by a 1.5‰ negative excursion in δ¹⁸O, an increase in minerogenic matter and higher concentrations of erosion-derived elements (Al, Na, K, Ti and V). Pollen data show no forest transformation in response to YD cooling, which is attributed to the insensitive nonecotonal vegetation at that time. However, more openings in the forests and increased erosion in the watershed are indicated by a slight increase of herb pollen, high concentrations of erosion elements and a Pediastrum peak. The onset of the Holocene was marked by an abrupt increase of 2‰ in δ¹⁸O and the replacement of Picea woodland by Pinus-dominated forest. The Picea recurrence at 9650 ¹⁴C BP demonstrates sensitive response of ecotonal vegetation to the PB climate oscillation, which is also indicated by 0.4‰ negative excursion of δ¹⁸O. These new results suggest the importance of multiproxy records for reliable paleoclimate reconstruction.Reevaluation and revised chronologies of previously published sites (Gage Street, and Nichols Brook) in the eastern Great Lakes region show their major δ¹⁸O shifts correlative to the YD and PB oscillations as documented from Twiss Marl Pond and nearby Crawford Lake. The sequence and magnitude of climatic oscillations from these sites match in detail with records from the Atlantic Seaboard, suggesting that these oscillations are an expression of broad-scale, probably global, climate change rather than local meltwater-induced climate cooling.