Vegetational and climatic history of Nova Scotia. I. Radiocarbon-dated pollen profiles from Halifax, Nova Scotia

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 1482-1490 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Gordon Ogden III
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Birch Pollen ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Fagus Grandifolia ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Sediment Stratigraphy ◽  
Catchment Areas ◽  
Pollen Types ◽  
Open Country

Pollen and sediment stratigraphy of three lakes in the Halifax, N.S., area show similarities and differences related to morphometry and hydrology. Five radiocarbon dates from two of the cores provide sedimentation rate estimates ranging from 0.31 to 0.58 mm/year with an r2 of 0.97. Organic sedimentation was initiated in lakes in the Halifax area about 12 000 years ago. Low pollen densities and high proportions of herbaceous and shrub pollen types imply open country or tundra-like vegetational cover until ca. 10 000 B.P. A possible Allerød-type late-glacial climatic oscillation is apparent from the sediment and pollen records. Small birch pollen (cf. Betula nana), pine, spruce, willow, and ericaceous pollen dominate the late-glacial (ca. 12 000–10 000 B.P.) predominantly inorganic section of the sediment cores. It is presumed from the pollen data that hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) invaded the catchment areas about 8000 years ago, and that beech (Fagus grandifolia) arrived about 5000 years ago. Thermophilous Appalachian elements (Nyssa, Carya, Juglans, and Tilia) have never been part of postglacial Nova Scotian forests.

Late Quaternary glaciation in the Northern Ogilvie Mountains: revised correlations and implications for the stratigraphic record

2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (11) ◽  
pp. 1709-1717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon D Beierle
Keyword(s):  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Yukon Territory ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Terminal Moraine ◽  
Base Level ◽  
Quaternary Glaciation ◽  
Radiocarbon Data ◽  
Blackstone River

New geomorphic, paleolimnological, and radiocarbon data suggest that a terminal moraine complex in the Northern Ogilvie Mountains, Yukon Territory, Canada, may represent the McConnell Glaciation (Late Wisconsinan), rather than the Reid Glaciation (marine isotope Stage 8; Illinoian) as previously thought. Relict fluvial channels on the surface of the moraine and analysis of a suite of lake sediment cores from Chapman Lake, a closed-basin kettle on the surface of the moraine, suggest that flow from the Blackstone River passed over the moraine and through the lake until ca. 12 500 BP, at which time the Blackstone River was captured by the East Blackstone River, diverting flow from the lake. Subsequent incision by the Blackstone River has left its base level more than 10 m below the level of Chapman Lake. Perched former outlets from Chapman Lake indicate that this incision must postdate stream capture. Because the Chapman Lake moraine is a topographic barrier across the Blackstone River valley, incision must have occurred shortly after deposition of the moraine, suggesting that the landscape surrounding Chapman Lake is substantially younger than previously thought. Additional radiocarbon dates also suggest that kettle subsidence at Chapman Lake was ongoing during the early Holocene and that North Fork Pass moraine, 15 km upvalley from the Chapman Lake moraine, may have been formed during the Late Glacial rather than the McConnell Glaciation.

Deglaciation, basin formation and post-glacial climate change from a regional network of sediment core sites in Ohio and eastern Indiana

2011 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 401-410 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine C. Glover ◽  
Thomas V. Lowell ◽  
Gregory C. Wiles ◽  
Donald Pair ◽  
Patrick Applegate ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Landscape Change ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Cores ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Basin Formation

AbstractMany paleoclimate and landscape change studies in the American Midwest have focused on the Late Glacial and early Holocene time periods (~ 16–11 ka), but little work has addressed landscape change in this area between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Late Glacial (~ 22–16 ka). Sediment cores were collected from 29 new lake and bog sites in Ohio and Indiana to address this gap. The basal radiocarbon dates from these cores show that initial ice retreat from the maximal last-glacial ice extent occurred by 22 ka, and numerous sites that are ~ 100 km inside this limit were exposed by 18.9 ka. Post-glacial environmental changes were identified as stratigraphic or biologic changes in select cores. The strongest signal occurs between 18.5 and 14.6 ka. These Midwestern events correspond with evidence to the northeast, suggesting that initial deglaciation of the ice sheet, and ensuing environmental changes, were episodic and rapid. Significantly, these changes predate the onset of the Bølling postglacial warming (14.8 ka) as recorded by the Greenland ice cores. Thus, deglaciation and landscape change around the southern margins of the Laurentide Ice Sheet happened ~ 7 ka before postglacial changes were felt in central Greenland.

Age of the Five Islands Formation, Nova Scotia, and the Deglaciation of the Bay of Fundy

1987 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolph R. Stea ◽  
Daryl M. Wightman
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
New Brunswick ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Atomic Mass ◽  
Bay Of Fundy ◽  
Shell Material ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Surface Ice ◽  
Ams Dates

AbstractThree atomic mass spectrometry (AMS) dates have been obtained for shell material from the bottomset beds of a glaciomarine delta at Spencers Island, Nova Scotia, near the head of the Bay of Fundy. The sediments in the delta are part of the previously undated Five Islands Formation, and are the first direct indictaion of the age of deglaciation in this region. The dates range from 14,300 to 12,600 yr B.P. and record the duration of deposition of a diamicton under the deltaic deposits and of the delta itself. The diamicton may have formed around 14,000 yr B.P. under ice-shelf or calving-bay conditions, or by a readvance of grounded ice. The Spencers Island delta is part of a prominent ice-marginal stand marked by numerous deltas along the Minas Basin. The time of formation of the deltas and the inferred ice margin is between 13,500 and 12,000 yr B.P. based on the Spencers Island dates and palynologically confirmed dates on the base of lake-sediment cores from the delta surface. Ice-marginal glaciomarine deposits near St. John, New Brunswick, record a range of radiocarbon dates similar to the Spencers Island dates. This implies that the Bay of Fundy became virtually ice free about 14,000 yr B.P.

An Assessment of Environmental Changes in Three Lakes from King's County (Nova Scotia, Canada) Using Diatom-Based Paleolimnological Techniques

2008 ◽  
Vol 43 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 85-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua R. Thienpont ◽  
Brian K. Ginn ◽  
Brian F. Cumming ◽  
John P. Smol
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Lake Management ◽  
River System ◽  
210Pb Dating ◽  
Hydroelectric Power ◽  
Diatom Assemblages ◽  
Shoreline Development ◽  
Before And After

Abstract Paleolimnological approaches using sedimentary diatom assemblages were used to assess water quality changes over the last approximately 200 years in three lakes from King's County, Nova Scotia. In particular, the role of recent shoreline development in accelerating eutrophication in these systems was assessed. Sediment cores collected from each lake were analyzed for their diatom assemblages at approximately 5-year intervals, as determined by 210Pb dating. Analyses showed that each system has changed, but tracked different ecosystem changes. Tupper and George lakes recorded shifts, which are likely primarily related to climatic warming, with diatom assemblages changing from a preindustrial dominance by Aulacoseira spp. to present-day dominance by Cyclotella stelligera. In addition to the recent climatic-related changes, further diatom changes in the Tupper Lake core between approximately 1820 and 1970 were coincident with watershed disturbances (farming, forestry, and construction of hydroelectric power infrastructure). Black River Lake has recorded an increase in diatom-inferred total phosphorus since about 1950, likely due to impoundment of the Black River system for hydroelectric generation and subsequent changes in land runoff. Before-and-after (i.e., top-bottom) sediment analyses of six other lakes from King's County provided further evidence that the region is being influenced by climatic change (decreases in Aulacoseira spp., increases in planktonic diatom taxa), as well as showing other environmental stressors (e.g., acidification). However, we recorded no marked increase in diatom-inferred nutrient levels coincident with shoreline cottage development in any of the nine study lakes. Paleolimnological studies such as these allow lake managers to place the current limnological conditions into a long-term context, and thereby provide important background data for effective lake management.

scholarly journals Late-glacial Coleoptera fauna from Lismore, Nova Scotia

10.4138/1734 ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall F. Miller ◽  
Alan V. Morgan
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Late Glacial

scholarly journals New records and AMS radiocarbon dates on Quaternary Walrus ( Odobenus Rosmarus ) from New Brunswick

2002 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randall F. Miller
Keyword(s):  
New Brunswick ◽  
New Records ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Bay Of Fundy ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Odobenus Rosmarus ◽  
Sand And Gravel ◽  
Past Summer

Abstract Walrus fossils are occasionally recovered during scallop dragging in the Bay of Fundy and from sand and gravel deposits along the coastline of New Brunswick in eastern Canada. Six new fossils and four new AMS radiocarbon dates significantly increase the information concerning late-glacial to postglacial walrus in New Brunswick. Dates range from about 12 800 BP to 2 900 BP, almost half falling between 9 000 and 10 000 BP. Temporal distribution of walrus, compared to estimates of past summer sea surface temperature, suggest that in the Bay of Fundy walrus occurred in waters ranging from 12 to 15° C.

Late-glacial flow patterns, deglaciation, and postglacial emergence of south-central Baffin Island and the north-central coast of Hudson Strait, eastern Canadian Arctic

1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (11) ◽  
pp. 1499-1510 ◽  
Author(s):  
William F. Manley
Keyword(s):  
High Tide ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Sediment Provenance ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Ice Cap ◽  
The North ◽  
South Central ◽  
Ice Stream

New georaorphic, sedimentologic, and chronologic data are used to reconstruct late Quaternary ice-sheet flow patterns, deglaciation, and isostatic uplift along the largest marine trough connecting the Laurentide Ice Sheet with the North Atlantic Ocean. The Lake Harbour region was targeted for study given its potential to record flow from several ice-dispersal centers. Striations and sediment provenance indicators define flow patterns. Thirty-four radiocarbon dates constrain a chronology of events. Centuries or millennia(?) before deglaciation, a southeast-flowing ice stream impinged on southernmost Big Island, as recorded by a single striation site and delimited in extent by geomorphic evidence of cold-based ice. During the Cockburn Substagc (9000–8000 BP), the region was scoured by southward to southwestward flow from an ice cap on Meta Incognita Peninsula, as recorded by 60 striation sites along 200 km of coastline. Carbonate erratics are uncommon in till above the marine limit. Where present, they suggest that southward flow reworked older drift. At about 8200 BP, the area was dcglaciated, and the marine limit was established at elevations of 67–141 m above high tide. Iceberg calving and sediment discharge from an ice margin in Ungava Bay, Hudson Bay, or Foxe Basin then blanketed the area with limestone-rich glaciomarinc sediment. Afterward, the region experienced slow but sustained emergence. The data revise the maximum lateral extent of a Late Wisconsinan ice stream in Hudson Strait and emphasize the extent of a late-glacial ice cap on western Meta Incognita Peninsula.

scholarly journals Tree-Ring Records of Near-Younger Dryas Time in Central North America—Preliminary Results from the Lincoln Quarry Site, Central Illinois, Usa

Radiocarbon ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 933-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina P Panyushkina ◽  
Steven W Leavitt ◽  
Alex Wiedenhoeft ◽  
Sarah Noggle ◽  
Brandon Curry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ring Width ◽  
Younger Dryas ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Initial Sampling ◽  
Central Illinois ◽  
A Site

The abrupt millennial-scale changes associated with the Younger Dryas (YD) event (“chronozone”) near the dawn of the Holocene are at least hemispheric, if not global, in extent. Evidence for the YD cold excursion is abundant in Europe but fairly meager in central North America. We are engaged in an investigation of high-resolution environmental changes in mid-North America over several millennia (about 10,000 to 14,000 BP) during the Late Glacial–Early Holocene transition, including the YD interval. Several sites containing logs or stumps have been identified and we are in the process of initial sampling or re-sampling them for this project. Here, we report on a site in central Illinois containing a deposit of logs initially thought to be of YD age preserved in alluvial sands. The assemblage of wood represents hardwood (angiosperm) trees, and the ring-width characteristics are favorable to developing formal tree-ring chronologies. However, 4 new radiocarbon dates indicate deposition of wood may have taken place over at least 8000 14C yr (6000–14,000 BP). This complicates the effort to develop a single floating chronology of several hundred years at this site, but it may provide wood from a restricted region over a long period of time from which to develop a sequence of floating chronologies, the timing of deposition and preservation of which could be related to paleoclimatic events and conditions.

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