Title: POLLEN RECORDS, LATE PLEISTOCENE | Western North America
Abstract: Pollen records from western North America and the eastern Pacific Ocean reveal the amplitude and timing of changes in vegetation and climate during the late Pleistocene (ca. 130 to 10 ka). Cooler-than-present conditions prevailed through most of this time, punctuated by shorter intervals of warmth. The dominance of pollen types reflecting open vegetation suggest that these cooler times were also drier than today in the regions north of the current deserts of the southwestern USA. It is difficult to obtain accurate ages for many of the pollen records, especially for those dating to before ca. 40 ka. Despite uncertainties in dating, it appears that some of the transitions between warm and cold climate episodes were rapid. Examination of the last such transition, from the Last Glacial Maximum to the current interglacial (the Holocene), suggests that the pace and magnitude of the transition were influenced by the geographic and elevational setting of the pollen sites recording this event.
Publication Year: 2007
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 3
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