Changing palynological methods and their role in three successive interpretations of the late-glacial environments at Bucyrus Bog, Ohio, USA

The pollen stratigraphy of Bucyrus Bog records the major shifts in the spruce ecotone of the mid-western North American late-glacial. The site has been studied three times: in 1930 by Paul Sears, in 1958 by Johannes Iversen, and in 1986–88 by my self. This paper examines these data sets from a historical perspective. The pollen record is basically consistent; all investigators interpret it to show the classic late-glacial warming plus a subsequent, more controversial climate reversal. Sears saw a progressive shift from cold/moist to warm/ dry climate, with a moisture reversal near the top of the record. Iversen and I both correlate the record with the European Late-Glacial climatic sequence, including an AUerød/Younger Dryas reversal. Iversen's interpretation depends on exclusion of thermophilous deciduous pollen taxa, placing the cold reversal during the spruce decline. I include the deciduous taxa, placing the cold reversal at the time of a spruce recurrence above the expansion of deciduous types. All interpretations are strongly influenced by current technology and prevailing thinking at the time of the investigation.