European Younger Dryas Research Articles

Younger Dryas and early Holocene age glacier advances in Patagonia

Reliable dating of Southern Hemisphere glacier fluctuations since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is crucial to resolving debates about millennial-scale climate change. Here we present 10Be dates for lateral, valley-mouth and cross-valley moraines formed between the contemporary South American North Patagonian Icefield (NPI) and its LGM position in four separate valleys around 47°S. This is an area near the core of the precipitation-bearing southern westerly winds, where it is known that rapid shifts in climate occurred during Lateglacial times. The dates indicate that outlet glaciers advanced, or at least stabilised, to form large moraines east of an expanded NPI at 11.0 ± 0.5/11.2 ± 0.6, 11.5 ± 0.6, 11.7 ± 0.6 and 12.8 ± 0.7 ka (Putnam southern-hemisphere production rates and Dunai scaling scheme, assumed boulder erosion rate of 2 mm/ka). Four of these ages are statistically indistinguishable and probably represent a single, regional ice advance. The dates indicate that glaciers in Patagonia were larger during these times than at any point since the LGM and provide evidence in Patagonia for glacier advances around the time of the European Younger Dryas (12.9–11.7 ka) and into the very early Holocene. Although palaeoclimatic records from this area are often contradictory, these glacier advances were probably associated with a period of cooling or regionally increased precipitation related to the changes in the position of the southern westerly winds.

Plateau Icefield Dynamics in the Monadhliath Mountains, Central Highlands, Scotland

Reliable dating of Southern Hemisphere glacier fluctuations since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is crucial to resolving debates about millennial-scale climate change. Here we present 10Be dates for lateral, valley-mouth and cross-valley moraines formed between the contemporary South American North Patagonian Icefield (NPI) and its LGM position in four separate valleys around 47°S. This is an area near the core of the precipitation-bearing southern westerly winds, where it is known that rapid shifts in climate occurred during Lateglacial times. The dates indicate that outlet glaciers advanced, or at least stabilised, to form large moraines east of an expanded NPI at 11.0 ± 0.5/11.2 ± 0.6, 11.5 ± 0.6, 11.7 ± 0.6 and 12.8 ± 0.7 ka (Putnam southern-hemisphere production rates and Dunai scaling scheme, assumed boulder erosion rate of 2 mm/ka). Four of these ages are statistically indistinguishable and probably represent a single, regional ice advance. The dates indicate that glaciers in Patagonia were larger during these times than at any point since the LGM and provide evidence in Patagonia for glacier advances around the time of the European Younger Dryas (12.9–11.7 ka) and into the very early Holocene. Although palaeoclimatic records from this area are often contradictory, these glacier advances were probably associated with a period of cooling or regionally increased precipitation related to the changes in the position of the southern westerly winds.

Glacier expansion in southern Patagonia throughout the Antarctic cold reversal

Resolving debated climate changes in the southern middle latitudes and potential teleconnections between southern temperate and polar latitudes during the last glacial-interglacial transition is required to help understand the cause of the termination of ice ages. Outlet glaciers of the Patagonian Ice Fields are primarily sensitive to atmospheric temperature and also precipitation, thus former ice margins record the extent and timing of past climate changes. 38 10 Be exposure ages from moraines show that outlet glaciers in Torres del Paine (51°S, south Patagonia, Chile) advanced during the time of the Antarctic cold reversal (ACR; ca. 14.6– 12.8 ka), reaching a maximum extent by ~14,200 ± 560 yr ago. The evidence here indicates that the South Patagonian Ice Field was responding to late glacial climate change distinctly earlier than the onset of the European Younger Dryas stadial (ca. 12.9 ka). Major glacier recession and deglaciation in the Torres del Paine region occurred by 12.5 ka and thus early in the Younger Dryas. We provide direct evidence for extensive ice in Patagonia at the very start of the ACR that agrees with atmospheric and marine records from the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. Atmospheric conditions responsible for the early late glacial expansion at Torres del Paine resulted from a climate reorganization that prompted a northern migration of the south westerly wind belt to the latitude of Torres del Paine at the onset of the ACR chronozone.

Pollen-recorded climate changes between 13.0 and 7.0 14C ka BP in southern Ningxia, China

A pollen record from Haiyuan section in the southern part of Ningxia revealed a detailed history of vegetation variation and associated climate changes during the period from ∼13.0 to ∼7.0 14C ka BP. A steppe landscape under a moderately dry (and probably cool) condition (∼12.7–∼12.1 14C ka BP) was replaced by a coniferous forest dominating the landscape under a generally wet climate from ∼12.1 to ∼11.0 14C ka BP. This generally wet period, corresponding to the European Bolling/Allerod period, can be divided into three stages: a cool and wet stage between ∼12.1 and ∼11.4 14C ka BP, a mild and relatively dry stage between ∼11.4 and ∼11.2 14C ka BP, and a mild and wet stage between ∼11.2 and ∼11.0 14C ka BP. The coniferous forest-dominated landscape was then deteriorated into steppe landscape (∼11.0–∼10.6 14C ka BP) and further into a desert steppe landscape from ∼10.6 to ∼9.8 14C ka BP, being correspondent to the European Younger Dryas period. After a brief episode of a cool and wet climate (∼9.8–∼9.6 14C ka BP), a relatively mild and dry condition prevailed during the early Holocene (∼9.6–∼7.6 14C ka BP) and then a warm and humid climate started the mid-Holocene (∼7.6–∼7.2 14C ka BP).

Climatic change during the Younger Dryas chron in northern South America: a test of the evidence

New AMS and palynological data are presented from the Colombian Andes to assess vegetational and climatic change during the Lateglacial–Holocene transition, with special emphasis on the Younger Dryas (YD) chronozone. The new evidence is compared and discussed with other Colombian cores and with data from other countries in the region. The Lateglacial climatic reversal in Colombia, known as the El Abra stadial, has an estimated lower boundary of 11,200 (conventional) and 10,900 (interpolated) 14C yr BP, respectively. Although the El Abra stadial is assumed to be the equivalent of the European YD, the present data suggest that the El Abra stadial is a biostratigraphical signal representing both the YD chronozone and the earliest Holocene (11,000–9000 14C yr BP). On the basis of new AMS dates and a re-evaluation of the pollen zones, we divided the Colombian El Abra biozone into two phases. From ca. 11,000 to ca. 10,500 14C yr BP there is a sharp increase of subparamo and paramo pollen, reflecting a relatively cool phase during the YD chronozone (zone Y1). After ca. 10,500 14C yr BP, a slight increase of arboreal pollen and the presence of Cactaceae (zone Z1) point toward a relatively milder but drier phase extending to ca. 9000 14C yr BP in the earliest Holocene. Our conclusions add detail to the concept of astronomical forcing of contrasting rainfall changes in northern South America between 12,400 and 8800 14C yr BP. We propose an environmental drought during the El Abra biozone, with subsequent erosion of the sediments deposited during that period, as a major factor explaining the poor presence of YD evidence in northern South America. We conclude that at hydrologically sensitive sites without a clear lithological change around 11,000–9000 14C yr BP, a hiatus during the YD chronozone can only be detected if other cores are available with bracketed time control. We state that the start of the temperature decline in Central America and northern South America is related to the global YD cooling event. However, much work is still required to understand the duration and amplitude of the climatic reversal during the YD chronozone in this part of the globe.

Late-Glacial History of Lago Argentino, Argentina, and Age of the Puerto Bandera Moraines

In the west-central part of Lago Argentino, the Puerto Bandera moraines are clearly detached from longer, more prominent moraines of the last glaciation and from shorter and smaller Neoglacial moraines. Scientists have long speculated about the age of the Puerto Bandera moraines. Detailed geomorphologic studies in the western area of Lago Argentino, including stratigraphic profiles at Bahı́a del Quemado in the northern branch (Brazo Norte), indicate that the Puerto Bandera moraines were deposited by three pulses of ice. Each of the three pulses is represented by single moraine ridges and belts of tightly arranged ridges. The timing of the three glacier advances was established by radiocarbon dating, including data published by John Mercer. The oldest moraine system, formed during the Puerto Bandera I substade, was deposited ca. 13,000 14C yr B.P. Moraines of the Puerto Bandera II substade were deposited ca. 11,000 14C yr B.P. The youngest moraine system was deposited during a minor readvance, shortly before 10,390 C14 yr B.P., and thus appears to have occurred some time during the European Younger Dryas interval. After this third substade, the ice tongues retreated into the interior branches of Lago Argentino and have remained there since. Evidence found at Bahı́a del Quemado, together with data provided by other authors, attests to a significant climatic change by the middle Holocene, which we believe occurred during the Herminita advance, the first Holocene glacial readvance recognized within the area.

Moraine exposure dates imply synchronous younger dryas glacier advances in the european alps and in the southern alps of new zealand

Samples taken from the top surfaces of boulders on the Lake Misery moraines at Arthur's Pass, in the Southern Alps of New Zealand, were analysed for 10Be by accelerator mass spectrometry. Exposure ages calculated with the currently accepted production rate, along with scaling corrections for sample latitude and elevation (42°50’S, 960 m), are: 9300 ± 990, 11,000 ± 1360, 11,410 ± 1030, 12,050 ± 960, and 12,410 ± 1180 years. We consider the date of 9300 years to be an outlier, not included in our mean exposure age of 11,720 ± 320 years for the Lake Misery moraines. Based on exposure ages and geomorphologic similarities, we compare the Lake Misery moraines with an Egesen moraine complex at Julier Pass in the Swiss Alps (46°30’N, 2200 m). Based on the 10Be, 26Al, and 36Cl exposure ages of three boulders, we calculate a mean exposure age of 11,750 ± 140 years for the outer Egesen moraine at Julier Pass. Based solely on 10Be measurements, we obtain a mean exposure age of 11,860 ± 210 years for this outer moraine. Egesen moraines in the Swiss Alps represent glacier readvance during the Younger Dryas cold reversal, based on regional correlations and on basal radiocarbon dates from bogs located up‐valley of Egesen moraines. The exposure dates from Arthur's Pass and Julier Pass show synchronous glacier advances both in the Southern Alps and in the European Alps during the European Younger Dryas chronozone of Mangerud et al.

Cold reversal on Kodiak Island, Alaska, correlated with the European Younger Dryas by using variations of atmospheric 14C content

High-resolution AMS (accelerator-mass-spectrometer) radiocarbon dating was performed on late-glacial macrofossils in lake sediments from Kodiak Island, Alaska, and on shells in marine sediments from southwest Sweden. In both records, a dramatic drop in radiocarbon ages equivalent to a rise in the atmospheric C-14 by approximately 70%. coincides with the beginning of the cold period at 11000 yr B.P. (C-14 age). Thus our results show that a close correlation between climatic records around the globe is possible by using a global signature of changes in atmospheric C-14 content.

Evidence for Cirque Glaciation in the Colorado Front Range during the Younger Dryas Chronozone

Late Pleistocene glacial chronologies developed for the Front Range Mountains of Colorado include two or more cirque glacier advances, locally known as the Satanta Peak Advances. Sediment cores were recovered from Sky Pond, an alpine lake (3320 m) located less than 100 m downvalley from a moraine that exhibits late Pleistocene to early Holocene relative age features and appears to correlate to the Satanta Peak deposits. One of the cores penetrated 0.5 m of basal diamict and recovered 3.3 m of overlying sediments that are predominantly gyttja. An accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) age of 12,040 ± 60 yr14C B.P. was obtained from directly above the basal diamict and is similar to other reported ages for cirque deglaciation in the Front Range Mountains. The lower portion of the gyttja contains an interval of clastic sediments that show characteristics consistent with glacial activity in alpine catchments. Radiocarbon ages obtained from below and near the upper contact of this clastic interval are 11,070 ± 50 and 9970 ± 8014C yr B.P., respectively. An additional AMS age of 10,410 ± 9014C yr B.P. was obtained from within the clastic interval in a second core. The most likely source for this interval of clastic sediments is a moraine situated directly upvalley from Sky Pond, and consequently, it appears that the deposition of this moraine was coeval with the European Younger Dryas event (11,000–10,00014C yr B.P.). Similarities in soil development, weathering features, and altitude between this moraine and the type Satanta Peak moraines suggest that the moraines are correlative. These findings are in agreement with a growing body of evidence that suggests a relatively minor advance of alpine glaciers occurred in the North American Rockies during the Younger Dryas Chron.

A Younger Dryas Icecap in the Equatorial Andes

Morphologic and stratigraphic evidence shows that a late-glacial ice cap existed on part of the Eastern Cordillera of Ecuador (Lat. 0° 20′ S) on ground with a mean elevation of 4200 m where none exists now. An outlet glacier from an ca. 800 km2ice cap terminated at 3850 m altitude in the Papallacta valley on the eastern side of the plateau. Radiocarbon dates show that moraines formed by this advance were ice-free by 13,20014C yr B.P. Tephras and the age of organic deposits at the plateau edge indicate ice-free conditions before 11,80014C yr B.P. This interval was followed by the expansion of an ca. 140 km2ice cap that discharged glaciers into adjacent valleys where terminal moraines were built at 3950 m altitude. AMS and conventional radiocarbon dates from macrofossils, peat, and gyttja above and below till of the readvance indicate that the ice cap formed between ca. 11,000 and 10,00014C yr B.P. and was thus coeval with the European Younger Dryas event. The ice cap developed in response to a surface temperature cooling of at least 3°C in the tropical Andes, a finding that is consistent with a coupled equatorial/high latitude North Atlantic climate system operating at the late-glacial/Holocene transition. These results are further evidence that Younger Dryas cooling may have been a global event.

Vegetation History of Pleasant Island, Southeastern Alaska, since 13,000 yr B.P.

A 13,000-year history of late-Quaternary vegetational and climatic change has been derived from lacustrine sediments from Pleasant Island in the Glacier Bay region of southeastern Alaska. Early arrival of lodgepole pine and mountain hemlock, indicated by the presence of pollen and conifer stomata, suggests expansion from refugia in the Alexander Archipelago. A short-term climatic reversal, possibly correlated with the European Younger Dryas, is inferred from the expansion of tundra elements and deposition of inorganic sediments between 10,600 and 990014C yr B.P. Two peat cores from the lake catchment verify Holocene vegetation changes and aid in the separation of biogenic from climatic forces affecting vegetation history. Differences in pollen representation among the three cores illustrate the variation among pollen-collecting substrates, as well as the spatial heterogeneity of peatland development and its dependence on local hydrology. Initial peat accumulation and soil paludification, occasioned by increases in temperature and precipitation in the early Holocene, allowed western and mountain hemlock to replace sitka spruce 8500–8000 yr B. P. Open muskeg became widespread about 7000 yr B. P. and allowed lodgepole pine to reinvade the region after a 2000-yr absence. The extensive replacement of fen elements by bog taxa at 3400 yr B. P. suggests increased paludification due to changing hydrologic conditions; its correlation with the upland expansion ofTsuga heterophyllasuggests the onset of a cooler/wetter Neoglacial climate in southeastern Alaska.

Age of the Crowfoot advance in the Canadian Rocky Mountains: A glacial event coeval with the Younger Dryas oscillation

Research Article| May 01, 1994 Age of the Crowfoot advance in the Canadian Rocky Mountains: A glacial event coeval with the Younger Dryas oscillation Mel A. Reasoner; Mel A. Reasoner 1Department of Geology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Gerald Osborn; Gerald Osborn 2Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 4N1, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar N. W. Rutter N. W. Rutter 1Department of Geology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2E3, Canada Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (1994) 22 (5): 439–442. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0439:AOTCAI>2.3.CO;2 Article history first online: 02 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share MailTo Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Mel A. Reasoner, Gerald Osborn, N. W. Rutter; Age of the Crowfoot advance in the Canadian Rocky Mountains: A glacial event coeval with the Younger Dryas oscillation. Geology 1994;; 22 (5): 439–442. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0439:AOTCAI>2.3.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract A suite of sediment core samples was recovered from two lakes, Crowfoot and Bow lakes, that are adjacent to the Crowfoot moraine type locality, to identify and radiocarbon date sediments related to the Crowfoot advance. The Crowfoot moraine system, widely recognized throughout northwestern North America, represents a glacial advance that is post-Wisconsin and pre-Mazama tephra in age. An interval of inorganic sediments bracketed by accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon ages of ca. 11,330 and 10,10014C yr B.P. is associated with the Crowfoot moraine. The Crowfoot advance is therefore approximately synchronous with the European Younger Dryas cold event (ca. 11,000-10,000 14C yr B.P.). Furthermore, the termination of the Crowfoot advance also appears to have been abrupt. These findings illustrate that the climatic change responsible for the European Younger Dryas event extended beyond the northern Atlantic basin and western Europe. Equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) depressions associated with the Crowfoot advance are similar to those determined for the Little Ice Age advance, whereas Younger Dryas ELA depressions in Europe significantly exceed Little Ice Age ELA depressions. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Pollen- and Diatom-Inferred Climatic and Hydrological Changes in Sumxi Co Basin (Western Tibet) since 13,000 yr B.P.

Although the Tibetan Plateau greatly influences the atmospheric circulation of the Nortbern Hemisphere, few continuous paleoclimatic records are available from the plateau. A 13,000-yr pollen and diatom record from the Sumxi-Longmu Co basin in western Tibet gives information on major changes both in regional vegetation and in local hydrology. After the basin first filled ca. 13,000 yr B.P., a dry spell occurred about 10,500 yr B.P. within the interval spanned by the European Younger Dryas chronozone. A major environmental change occurred suddenly at ≈10,000 yr B.P., with the establishment of wet conditions, and was followed by a long-term trend toward maximum aridity, which lasted approximately 6000 yr. Short-term oscillations are superimposed on this general climatic change with a major reversal event about 8000 yr B.P. and a second wet pulse leading to a maximum lake volume ca. 7500-6000 yr B.P. Maximum aridity occurred 4300 yr B.P. The major environmental fluctuations recorded at Sumxi-Longmu Co appear in phase with climatic changes recognized in north tropical Africa, suggesting that the 8000 to 7000-yr-B.P. event was caused by an abrupt disequilibrium in the climatic system, as was the Younger Dryas and possibly the 4300-yr-B.P. event.

Climatic and limnological changes associated with the Younger Dryas in Atlantic Canada

Pollen, diatom and chironomid fossils from the sediments of a core from Brier Island Bog Lake, Nova Scotia were studied in an attempt to relate changes in microfossil composition to a climatic cooling in Atlantic Canada correlative with the European Younger Dryas ca. 10 to 11 ka. Our paleolimnological data were then compared to similar types of data from Splan Pond, New Brunswick to determine if there were any significant differences between a coastal and a more inland site. Nonarboreal pollen was dominant throughout the Brier Island core and the interval 10.0–11.0 ka did not show the typical decline in Picea and increases in tundra-like vegetation characteristic of many sites in Atlantic Canada. However, the limnological indicators did undergo marked changes in taxon composition. The chironomid assemblage was initially dominated by shallow-water, warm-adapted chironomid taxa followed by abundant Sergentia (a cold stenotherm) during 10–11 ka. Sergentia disappeared in the “post Younger Dryas” interval and the warm-adapted genera resumed dominance. Chironomid-inferred paleotemperature reconstructions revealed that at both Brier Island Bog Lake and Splan Pond, summer surface-water temperatures dropped abruptly to between 13 and 17°C during the 10–11 ka interval, suggesting that a cooler climate was present in Atlantic Canada correlative with the European Younger Dryas. Diatom assemblage changes during the same period corroborate the occurrence of limnological fluctuations.

A reevaluation of the evidence for a Younger Dryas climatic reversal in the tropical Andes

A review of the evidence for a Younger Dryas-equivalent climatic reversal in the tropical Andes shows that a number of hypotheses need to be reassessed. Assumptions of the El Abra cold and humid phase in Colombia are compromised by insufficient dating control. Periods of glacier advance in Peru and Bolivia lack sufficient dating control to be correlated with the European Younger Dryas. Only glaciers on the Quelccaya Ice Cap in Peru may have advanced shortly before the onset of the European climatic reversal, but even there a correlation is questionable. A late-glacial advance in the Chimborazo area in Ecuador is considerably older than previously suggested. The same glacier advance has been dated to earlier than 12,000 BP in other areas of Ecuador. The emerging picture suggests two phases of glacier advances in the tropical Andes: 13,000-12,000 BP and 9000–10,000 BP. Both may have been caused by increasing precipitation. Unequivocal evidence for a cold Younger Dryas event in the tropical Andes has yet to emerge.

Intensity, gradients and reversals in late glacial environmental change in east-central north America

Radiocarbon-dated pollen sites from the Allegheny Plateau (east) and the Till Plains (west) document significant vegetational and climatic change between 15,000 and 9000 14C BP south of the Great Lakes. Although limited by the problems of no-analog vegetation, pollen transfer functions (TF) and response surfaces (RS) quantify the climatic changes, including a cold oscillation chronologically equivalent to the European Younger Dryas. Phase I: before ca. 13,000 14C BP, conditions across the region were similar, (January −20 to −16°C; July 12°C (RS) or 19°C (TF); mean annual precipitation, 80 to 90 cm year −1). Phase IIa: between ca. 13,000 and 11,000 14C BP, N-S and E-W climate gradients were initiated. Till Plains temperatures increased by ca. 8°C in January and by 8°C (RS) or 2–3°C (TF) in July. Plateau increases for January were 3–6°C and for July were 8°C (RS) or 1–2°C (TF). Precipitation generally increased somewhat. Phase IIb: ca. 11,000 to 10,000 14C BP, gradients became less pronounced. The western sites show a climate reversal (January drop of ca. −5 to −2°C; July drop to ca. 1–2°C), becoming more like the Plateau sites which show a brief, small fluctuation. This is followed by an abrupt 10 to 20 cm year −1 reduction in precipitation, January warming of ca. 3°C and continued cooler Julys. Phase III: After 10,000 14C BP, gradients similar to those of today developed. The changes in Phases IIb and III are probably linked to the drainage history of the Great Lakes and via that history to the changes on the European continent.

Episode of Strengthened Summer Monsoon Climate of Younger Dryas Age on the Loess Plateau of Central China

The Baxie loess section, just east of the Tibetan Plateau, contains evidence showing that the Asian monsoon climate experienced an abrupt reversal near the end of the last glacial age. Rapid deposition of dust under cool, dry full-glacial conditions gave way to an interval of soil development and reduced dust influx attributed to a strengthening of the warm, moist summer monsoon. A subsequent abrupt increase in dust deposition, a response to a weakening of the summer monsoon, was later followed by renewed soil formation as summer monsoon circulation again intensified during the early Holocene. By one interpretation, the thin upper loess is a manifestation of the European Younger Dryas oscillation; however, in this case the available 14C ages require either that (1) onset of loess deposition lagged the beginning of the Younger Dryas event in Europe by as much as 2000 calibrated 14C years or (2) all the 14C ages are too young, possibly due to contamination. Alternatively, the late-glacial paleosol, the top of which is synchronous with the abrupt end of the late-glacial δ18O anomaly in the Dye 3 Greenland ice core, records the Younger Dryas event. Such an interpretation is consistent with general circulation model simulations of Younger Dryas climate that show strong seasonality and a strengthened summer monsoon, and with marine cores from the western Pacific Ocean that contain evidence of pronounced cooling of surface waters during Younger Dryas time.

Late-glacial to holocene changes in winds, upwelling, and seasonal production of the northern California current system

A core 120 km off the coast of southern Oregon was examined for changes in lithology, diatoms, and pollen over the past 30,000 yr. Primary production during the late Pleistocene was about half that of the Holocene. Evidence from diatoms and pollen indicates that summer upwelling was much weaker, implying an absence of strong northerly winds. Early Pliocene diatoms found throughout the late Pleistocene section were probably derived from diatomites east of the Cascades and provide evidence for strong easterly winds over a dry continental interior. The findings verify predictions of a climate model based on glacial maximum conditions. There is no compelling evidence for a climatic reversal corresponding to the European Younger Dryas chron. During the early Holocene (9000−7000 yr B.P.) there may have been years when winds were insufficiently strong to support upwelling, so that warm stratified waters lay closer to the coast.

Fossil beetle evidence for climatic change 18,000–10,000 years B.P. in south-central Chile

Cold-adapted beetles colonized the lowlands of the Lake Region of south-central Chile following the retreat of glaciers from their maximum extent at about 19,500 yr B.P. The beetle fauna from 18,000 to 14,000 yr B.P. was characterized by species of moorland habitats. This fauna was species-poor compared to later faunas of the postglacial interval. By 14,000 yr B.P. arboreal species were replacing species of open habitats, reflecting a change toward a warmer climate. By about 12,500 yr B.P. fossil beetle assemblages consisted entirely of rain forest species. The fauna of the postglacial interval was about five times as species-rich as that of the glacial interval. The change in species composition and greater diversity of the beetle fauna was produced by an increase in mean annual temperature estimated to be about 4°–5°C. This was the last major climatic change to affect profoundly the biota of the middle latitudes of South America. The fossil beetle assemblages do not imply a reversal to a colder climate at the time of the European Younger Dryas interval between 11,000 and 10,000 yr B.P.

Late‐glacial vegetational and climatic history of the Allegheny Plateau and the Till Plains of Ohio and Indiana, U.S.A.

Shane, Linda C. K. 1987 03 01: Late‐glacial vegetational and climatic history of the Allegheny Plateau and the Till Plains of Ohio and Indiana, U.S.A. Boreas, Vol. 16, pp. 1–20. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.Pollen evidence from the Allegheny Plateau and the Till Plains south of the Great Lakes shows marked post‐glacial vegetation gradients. C. 15,500–11,000 B.P.: On the Plateau, spruce forest was rapidly established, persisted for 2,000 years, then began a gradual change to deciduous‐conifer forest. On the Till Plains, open spruce forest tundra closed slowly over 1,000 years, declined rapidly c. 13,500 B.P., and a deciduous open woodland developed. C. 11,000–10,300 B.P.: On the Till Plains, a brief cooling is recorded by increases in the abundance of spruce and fir, contemporaneous with the European Younger Dryas. No clear change is seen on the Plateau. 10,300–4,000 B.P.: Warming and/or drying occurred in both areas, as hemlock and jack/red pine trees immigrated, followed by white pine. Conifers disappeared from the Till Plains by 9,800 B.P., but pine and hemlock trees may have persisted on the Plateau. After 10,000 B.P. mixed deciduous forest was established across the entire region. Between 8,000 and 4,000 B.P., further warming/drying is indicated on the Till Plains with development of open oak forest and lake shallowing, and on the Plateau by a minor increase in herbs, lake shallowing, and reduction in pine.