Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T16:28:29.392Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Late glacial and holocene landscapes of central Beringia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Anatoly V. Lozhkin ,
Patricia Anderson ,
Wendy R. Eisner  and
Tatiana B. Solomatkina
Anatoly V. Lozhkin*
Affiliation:
North East Interdisciplinary Science Research Center, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan, 685000, Russia
Patricia Anderson
Affiliation:
Earth & Space Sciences, Quaternary Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195-1310, USA
Wendy R. Eisner
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0131, USA
Tatiana B. Solomatkina
Affiliation:
North East Interdisciplinary Science Research Center, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan, 685000, Russia
*
⁎Corresponding author at: Earth & Space Sciences, Box 35-1310, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. Fax: + 1 206 543 3836. E-mail address:[email protected] (A.V. Lozhkin).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

New palynological and sedimentological data from St. Lawrence Island present a rare view into late-glacial and Holocene environments of the central Bering Land Bridge. The late glaciation was a time of dynamic landscape changes in south-central Beringia, with active thermokarst processes, including the formation and drainage of thaw lakes. The presence of such a wet, unstable substrate, if widespread, probably would have had an adverse impact on food sources and mobility for many of the large mammal populations. The establishment of Betula shrub tundra on the island suggests late-glacial summers that were warmer than present, consistent with regional paleoclimatic interpretations. However, the increasing proximity to the Bering Sea, as postglacial sea levels rose, modified the intensity of warming and prevented the establishment of deciduous forest as found in other areas of Beringia at this time. The mid- to late Holocene is marked by more stable land surfaces and development of Sphagnum and Cyperaceae peat deposits. The accumulation of organic deposits, decline of shrub Betula, and decrease in thermokarst disturbance suggest that conditions were cooler than the previous. A recent decline in peat accumulation at the study sites may relate to local geomorphology, but similar decreases have been noted for other arctic regions.

Keywords

Bering Land BridgeThermokarst processesPeatLate glaciationHolocene
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 76 , Issue 3 , November 2011 , pp. 383 - 392
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbott, M.B., Edwards, M.E., and Finney, B.P. A 40,000-year record of environmental change from Burial Lake in northwest Alaska. Quaternary Research 74, (2010). 156–165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ager, T.A. Vegetational history of western Alaska during the Wisconsin glacial interval and Holocene. Hopkins, D.M., Matthews, J.V. Jr., Schweger, C.E., and Young, S.B. Paleoecology of Beringia. (1982). Academic Press, New York. 75–93.Google Scholar
Ager, T.A. Holocene vegetational history of Alaska. Wright, H.E. Jr. Late Quaternary Environments of the United States. The Holocene Vol. 1, (1983). University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis. 128–141.Google Scholar
Ager, T.A. Late Quaternary vegetation and climate history of the central Bering land bridge from St. Michael Island, western Alaska. Quaternary Research 60, (2003). 19–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ager, T.A., and Phillips, R.L. Pollen evidence for late Pleistocene Bering land bridge environments from Norton Sound, northeastern Bering Sea, Alaska. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 40, (2008). 451–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, P.M., (1982). Reconstructing the Past: The Synthesis of Archeological and Palynological Data, Northern Alaska and Northwestern Canada. Brown University, PhD dissertation.Google Scholar
Anderson, P.M. Late Quaternary vegetational change in Kotzebue Sound area, northwestern Alaska. Quaternary Research 24, (1985). 307–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, P.M., and Brubaker, L.B. Modern pollen assemblages from northern Alaska. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 46, (1986). 273–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, P.M., and Brubaker, L.B. Vegetation history of northcentral Alaska: a mapped summary of late-Quaternary pollen data. Quaternary Science Reviews 13, (1994). 71–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, P.M., Kotov, A.N., Lozhkin, A.V., and Trumpe, M.A. Palynological and radiocarbon data from late Quaternary deposits of Chukotka. Anderson, P.M., and Lozhkin, A.V. Late Quaternary Vegetation and Climate of Siberia and the Russian Far East (Palynological and Radiocarbon Database). (2002). NOAA and Russian Academy of Sciences, North East Science Center, Magadan. 35–79.Google Scholar
Anderson, P.M., Edwards, M.E., and Brubaker, L.B. Results and paleoclimatic implications of 35 years of paleoecological research in Alaska. Gillespie, A.R., Porter, S.C., Atwater, B.F. The Quaternary Period in the United States Development in Quaternary Science 1, (2004). Elsevier, New York. 427–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartlein, P.J., Anderson, P.M., Edwards, M.E., and McDowell, P.F. A framework for interpreting paleoclimatic variations in eastern Beringia. Quaternary International 10–12, (1991). 73–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bartlein, P.J., Anderson, K.H., Anderson, P.M., Edwards, M.E., Mock, C.J., Thompson, R.S., Wegg, R.S., Webb, T. III, and Whitlock, C. Paleoclimate simulations for North America over the past 21,000 years: features of the simulated climate and comparisons with paleoenvironmental data. Quaternary Science Reviews 6–7, (1998). 549–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binney, H.A., Willis, K.J., Edwards, M.E., Shonil, S.A., Anderson, P.M., Andreev, A.A., Blaauw, M., Damblon, F., Haesaerts, P., Kienast, F., Kremenetski, K.V., Krivonogov, S.K., Lozhkin, A.V., MacDonald, G.M., Novenko, E.Yu., Oksanen, P., Sapelko, T.V., Valiranto, M., and Vazhenina, L.N. The distribution of late-Quaternary woody taxa in northern Eurasia: evidence from a new macrofossil database. Quaternary Science Reviews 28, (2009). 2445–2464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brigham-Grette, J., Lozhkin, A.V., Anderson, P.M., and Glushkova, O.Yu. Paleoenvironmental conditions before and during the last glacial maximum. Madsen, D.B. Entering America: Northeast Asia and Beringia before the Last Glacial Maximum. (2004). The University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. 29–61.Google Scholar
Brubaker, L.B., Anderson, P.M., and Hu, F.S. Vegetation ecotone dynamics in southwest Alaska during the late Quaternary. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 175–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colinvaux, P.A. The environment of the Bering land bridge. Ecological Monographs 34, (1964). 297–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colinvaux, P.A. A long pollen record from St. Lawrence Island, Bering Sea (Alaska). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 3, (1967). 29–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colinvaux, P.A. Quaternary vegetational history of arctic Alaska. Hopkins, D.M. The Bering Land Bridge. (1967). Stanford University Press, Stanford. 207–231.Google Scholar
Colinvaux, P.A. Historical ecology of Beringia: the south land bridge coast of St. Paul Island. Quaternary Research 16, (1981). 18–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, M.E., Mock, C.J., Finney, B.P., Barber, V.A., and Bartlein, P.J. Potential analogues for paleoclimatic variations in eastern interior Alaska during the past 14,000 yr: atmospheric-circulation controls of regional temperature and moisture responses. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 189–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, M.E., Brubaker, L.B., Anderson, P.M., and Lozhkin, A.V. Functionally novel biomes: a response to past warming in Beringia. Ecology 86, (2005). 1696–1703.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elias, S.A. Mutual climatic range reconstructions of season temperatures based on Late Pleistocene fossil beetle assemblages in eastern Beringia. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 77–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elias, S.A., Short, S.K., Nelson, C.H., and Birks, H.H. The life and times of the Bering land bridge. Nature 382, (1996). 60–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elias, S.A., Short, S.K., and Birks, H.H. Late Wisconsin environments of the Bering land bridge. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 136, (1997). 293–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
French, H.M. The Periglacial Environment. Second Edition (1996). Longman, London.Google Scholar
Goetcheus, V.G., and Birks, H.H. Full-glacial upland tundra vegetation preserved under tephra in the Beringia National Park, Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 135–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gorham, E., Lehman, C., Dyke, A., Janssens, J., and Dyke, L. Temporal and spatial aspects of peatland initiation following deglaciation in North America. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, (2007). 300–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guthrie, R.D. Origin and causes of the mammoth steppe: a story of cloud cover, woolly mammoth tooth pits, buckles, and inside-out Beringia. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 549–574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harry, D.G., and French, H.M. The orientation and evolution of thaw lakes: southwest Banks Island, Canadian Arctic. Permafrost 4th International Conference . (1983). 456–461.Google Scholar
Heusser, C.J. Postglacial vegetation on Umnak Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 15, (1973). 277–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heusser, C.J. Postglacial vegetation on Adak Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 105, (1978). 18–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hinkel, K.M., Jones, B.M., Eisner, W.R., Cuomo, C.J., Beck, R.A., and Frohn, R. Methods to assess natural and anthropogenic thaw lake drainage on the western arctic coastal plain of northern Alaska. Journal of Geophysical Research 112, (2007). FO2S16 doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2006JF000584 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoefle, C., Edwards, M.E., Hopkins, D.M., Mann, D.H., and Ping, C.-L. The full-glacial environment of the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska, reconstructed from the 18,000-year old Kitluk paleosol. Quaternary Research 53, (2000). 143–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopkins, D.M. Thaw lakes and thaw sinks in the Imuruk Lake area, Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Journal of Geology 57, (1949). 119–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopkins, D.M. Aspects of the paleogeography of Beringia during the late Pleistocene. Hopkins, D.M., Matthews, J.V. Jr., Schweger, C.E., and Young, S.B. Paleoecology of Beringia. (1982). Academic Press, New York. 3–28.Google Scholar
Hopkins, D.M., and Kidd, J.G. Thaw lake sediments and sedimentary environments. Permafrost Fifth International Conference Proceedings (August 25) . (1988). 790–795.Google Scholar
Hopkins, D.M., and Robinson, S.W. Radiocarbon dates from the Beaufort and Chukchi Sea coasts. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 804-B, (1979). 44–47.Google Scholar
Hopkins, D.M., McNeil, F.S., and Leopold, E.B. The coastal plain at Nome, Alaska: a late Cenozoic type section for the Bering Strait region. Report of the 11th International Geological Congress 4, (1960). 46–57.Google Scholar
Hopkins, D.M., Matthews, J.V. Jr., Schweger, C.E., and Young, S.B. Paleoecology of Beringia. (1982). Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Kaplina, T.N., and Lozhkin, A.V. History of the vegetation evolution at coastal lowlands of Yakutia during Holocene. Velichko, A.A., Spasskaya, I.I., and Khotinsky, N.A. Evolution of the Environment of the USSR Territory during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. (1982). Nauka, Moscow. 207–220. (In Russian) Google Scholar
Katamura, F., Fukuda, M., Bosikov, N.P., Desyatkin, R.V., Nakamura, T., and Moriizumi, J. Thermokarst formation and vegetation dynamics inferred from a palynological study in central Yakutia, eastern Siberia, Russia. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 38, (2006). 561–570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kremenetski, K.V., Velichko, A.A., Borisova, O.K., MacDonald, G.M., Smith, L.C., Frey, K.E., and Orlova, L.A. Peatlands of the Western Siberian lowlands: current knowledge on zonation, carbon content and late Quaternary history. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, (2003). 703–723.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kurek, J., Cwynar, L.C., Ager, T.A., Abbott, M.B., and Edwards, M.E. Late Quaternary paleoclimate of western Alaska inferred from fossil chironomids and its relation to vegetation histories. Quaternary Science Reviews 28, (2009). 799–811.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lozhkin, A.V. The questions of geochronology and paleogeography of the Quaternary period of the northeast of the USSR. Geology of the Transition Zone between the Continent and Ocean in Northeast USSR. (1991). North East Interdisciplinary Science Research Center, Far East Branch, USSR Academy of Sciences, Magadan. 47–59. (In Russian) Google Scholar
Lozhkin, A.V. Environmental history of Beringia during the late Pleistocene and Holocene: some results of joint Russian–American research. Gagiev, M.Kh. Late Pleistocene and Holocene of Beringia. (1997). North East Science Center, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan. 5–22. (In Russian) Google Scholar
Lozhkin, A.V. Boundaries of Beringia during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Simakov, K.V. Quaternary Paleogeography of Beringia. (2002). North East Science Center, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan. 4–12. (In Russian) Google Scholar
Lozhkin, A.V., and Postolenko, G.A. New data about the environmental evolution of the mountain region of the Kolyma region during the late Anthropogene. Doklady Akademii Nauk 307, 5 (1989). 1184–1188. (In Russian) Google Scholar
Lozhkin, A.V., Anderson, P.M., Eisner, W.R., Rovako, L.G., Hopkins, D.M., Brubaker, L.B., Colinvaux, P.A., and Miller, M.C. Late Quaternary lacustrine pollen records from southwestern Beringia. Quaternary Research 39, (1993). 314–324.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lozhkin, A.V., Anderson, P.M., Eisner, W.R., Hopkins, D.M., and Brubaker, L.B. The change of vegetation cover of western Alaska during the last 18000 years. Bichkiv, Y.M. Quaternary Climates and Vegetation of Beringia. (1996). North East Interdisciplinary Science Research Institute, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan. 31–42. (In Russian) Google Scholar
Lozhkin, A.V., Hopkins, D.M., Solomatkina, T.B., Eisner, W.R., and Brigham-Grette, J. Radiocarbon dates and palynological characteristics of peat from St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Simakov, K.V. Environmental Changes in Beringia during the Quaternary. (1998). North East Science Center, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Magadan. 9–27. In Russian Google Scholar
Lozhkin, A.V., Anderson, P.M., and Vazhenina, L.N. Younger Dryas and early Holocene age peats from the north of Far East Russia. Quaternary International 237, 1–2 (2011). 54–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manley, W.F. Post-glacial Flooding of the Bering Land Bridge: A Geospatial Animation. (2002). INSTAAR, University of Colorado. http://instaar.colorado.edu/qgisl/bering_land_bridge Google Scholar
Mann, D.H., Crowell, A.L., Hamilton, T.D., and Finney, B.P. Holocene geologic and climatic history around the Gulf of Alaska. Arctic Anthropology 35, (1998). 112–131.Google Scholar
Matthews, J.V. Jr. Quaternary environments at Cape Deceit (Seward Peninsula, Alaska): evolution of a tundra ecosystem. Geological Society of America Bulletin 85, (1974). 1353–1385.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCulloch, D.S., and Hopkins, D.M. Evidence for an early recent warm interval in northwestern Alaska. Geological Society of America Bulletin 77, (1966). 1089–1108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, P.D., Webb, J.A., and Collinson, M.E. Pollen Analysis. Second edition (1991). Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford.Google Scholar
PALE Research protocol for PALE paleoclimates of Arctic Lakes and Estuaries. PAGES Workshop Report Series 94–1 (1994). Bern Google Scholar
Parrish, L., (1979). A Record of Holocene Climatic Changes from St. George Island, Pribilofs. The Ohio State University, M.S. Thesis.Google Scholar
Pavlov, A.V. Permafrost-climatic monitoring of Russia: analysis of field data and forecast. Polar Geography and Geology 20, (1996). 44–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peteet, D., Andreev, A., Bardeen, W., and Mistretta, F. Long-term arctic peatland dynamics, vegetation and climate history of the Pur-Taz region, western Siberia. Boreas 27, (1998). 115–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rex, R.W. Hydrodynamic analysis of circulation and orientation of lakes in northern Alaska. Raasch, G.O. Geology of the Arctic v. 2, (1961). University of Toronto Press, Toronto. 1021–1043.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sher, A.V., Kaplina, T.N., Giterman, R.E., Lozhkin, A.V., Arkhangelov, A.A., Kiselyov, S.V., Kouznesov, Yu.V., Virina, E.I., Zazhigin, Scientific Excursion on Problem “Late Cenozoic of the Kolyma Lowland” Tour XI The Guide XIV Pacific Science Congress. (1979). USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow.Google Scholar
Shilo, N.A., Lozhkin, A.V., Titov, E.E., and Schumilov, Yu.V. The Kirgilyakh Mammoth. (1983). Nauka, Moscow.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M., and Reimer, P.J. Extended 14C database and revised CALIB radiocarbon calibration program. Radiocarbon 35, (1993). 215–230.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomirdiaro, S.V. Evolution of lowland landscapes in northeastern Asia during late Quaternary time. Hopkins, D.M., Matthews, J.V. Jr., Schweger, C.E., and Young, S.B. Paleoecology of Beringia. (1982). Academic Press, New York. 29–37.Google Scholar
Webber, P.J., Miller, P.C., Chapin, F.S. III, and McCown, B.H. The vegetation: pattern and succession. Brown, J., Tieszen, L.L., and Bunnell, F.L. An Arctic Ecosystem The Coastal Tundra at Barrow, Alaska. (1980). Dowden Hutchinson & Ross, Stroudsburg. 186–218.Google Scholar
Young, S.B. The vascular flora of Saint Lawrence Island, with special reference to floristic zonation in the arctic regions. Contribution from the Gray Herbarium 201, (1971). 11–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, S.B. Phytogeography of the North American arctic. Yurtsev, B.A. The Arctic Floristic Region. (1978). Nauka, Leningrad. 105–126. In Russian Google Scholar
Young, S.B. The vegetation of land-bridge Beringia. Hopkins, D.M., Matthews, J.V. Jr., Schweger, C.E., and Young, S.B. Paleoecology of Beringia. (1982). Academic Press, New York. 179–191.Google Scholar