Tundra and boreal forest of interior Alaska during terminal MIS 6 and MIS 5e

Bigelow, N.H., Edwards, M.E., Elias, S.E., Hamilton, T.D. and Schweger, C.E. (2013) Tundra and boreal forest of interior Alaska during terminal MIS 6 and MIS 5e. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 23 (3), 177-193. (doi:10.1007/s00334-013-0425-z). (In Press)

Abstract

Two sites within the boreal forest of interior
Alaska shed light on the climate and vegetation of terminal
marine isotope stage (MIS) 6 (ca. 140–130 kyr ago) and
MIS 5e (125–116 kyr ago). The Birch Creek and Koyukuk
localities are river-cut exposures with sediments dating
from the penultimate glaciation (at least) to the present.
Plant macrofossils, pollen, and beetles were analyzed at
these sites. Terminal MIS 6-aged samples indicate a cooler
than modern climate and the presence of shrub tundra.
During MIS 5e, boreal forest grew at the sites and temperatures
were similar to modern times. However, the
forest may also have been more mesic than today, as
indicated by relatively abundant ferns. Winters may have
been warmer than today, as suggested by beetle-based
climatic reconstructions as well as the presence of two
extralimital taxa that today live in regions where winter
temperatures are up to 15 ?C warmer than at the site
localities

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Contributors

Author: M.E. Edwards

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