New perspectives on Beringian Quaternary paleogeography, stratigraphy, and glacial history

Abstract

Aspects of the paleogeography, stratigraphy, and glacial history of Beringia have been greatly revised over the past 15–20 yr. Access to North East Russia, in particular, has provided the opportunity to evaluate the Beringia landscape as a contiguous subcontinent during the Quaternary. For the first time, new research has made clearer the connection between tectonic forces and the submergence of the Bering Strait during the middle Pliocene. Revisions in the regional stratigraphy of glacial and interglacial deposits in northwest Alaska and northeast Russia provide a new foundation for assessing the causes for differences in glacial ice extent through time. The consensus of all field workers verifies that glacial ice throughout most of Beringia was of very limited extent during the last glacial maximum. The onset of regional glaciation during the waning stages of the last interglaciation is clearly out of phase with glaciation at lower latitudes. Despite the lack of much glacial activity during the early Holocene, Alaska contains a rich record of late Holocene glacial response to Neoglacial cooling. Changes in the Holocene environment of Beringia likely had a profound affect on early inhabitants. The curiosity-driven vision and spirit of both David Hopkins and the late Troy Pewe have had a profound influence on Arctic paleoenvironmental research.