scholarly journals Holocene Eolian Activity in South-central Saskatchewan and the Southern Canadian Prairies*

2004 ◽  
Vol 56 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 215-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Wolfe ◽  
Jeff Ollerhead ◽  
Olav B. Lian**
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
Canadian Prairies ◽  
South Central ◽  
South Saskatchewan River ◽  
Dune Stability ◽  
Eolian Deposits ◽  
Forest Boundary ◽  
Dune Activity

Abstract The chronology and stratigraphy of eolian deposits at two sites in south-central Saskatchewan were studied in order to extend the spatial and temporal record of dune activity on the Canadian prairies. Optical ages document the timing of valley-infilling by sand dunes in the Qu’Appelle River area, and of cliff-top eolian deposition along the South Saskatchewan River. These ages, along with published radiocarbon and optical ages, are used to develop a chronology of eolian activity for south-central Saskatchewan. Optical ages of eolian sands ranging from 5.7 to 0.14 ka (before AD 2000), with intervening paleosols, indicate alternating periods of eolian activity and dune stability during the late Holocene, supported by published radiocarbon ages. Other published radiocarbon ages ranging from 11.3 to 8.4 cal ka BP indicate early Holocene eolian activity. Mid-Holocene ages are predominantly absent from the chronology and this is interpreted as being due to extensive eolian reworking during at least the latter part of the mid-Holocene. The chronology in south-central Saskatchewan is similar to other parts of the southern Canadian prairies. It is likely that preserved mid-Holocene eolian deposits occur within depositional basins in the southern Canadian prairies, and at sites near the southern boreal forest boundary with the prairie ecozone.

Holocene dune activity and environmental change in the prairie parki and and boreal forest, central Saskatchewan, Canada

The Holocene ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Wolfe ◽  
Jeff Ollerhead ◽  
David J. Huntley ◽  
Olav B. Lian
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Change ◽  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Aeolian Activity ◽  
Landscape Response ◽  
Response To Environmental Change ◽  
Holocene Activity ◽  
Dune Activity

Past aeolian activity was reconstructed at four dunefields in the prairie parkland and boreal forest of central Saskatchewan to elucidate landscape response to environmental change. Optical ages from stabilized dunes in the boreal transition ecoregion indicate two episodes of activity. The first, at about 11 ka, corresponds to a period of early-Holocene parkland and grassland cover following deglaciation and drainage after about 13.0 ka, and brief establishment of boreal forest. The second, between about 7.5 and 5 ka, corresponds to a period of mid-Holocene parkland-grassland cover. Optical ages from dunefields in the prairie parkland primarily record mid-Holocene activity, between about 7.5 and 4.7 ka, corresponding to a period of grassland cover, with some reworking continuing into the late Holocene. Although this area was deglaciated by about 13.5 ka, there is no evidence of early-Holocene dune activity, suggesting that mid-Holocene activity may have reworked earlier deposits here. Consequently, much of the morphology and stratigraphy observed in these dunefields are associated with mid-Holocene activity, likely associated with increased aridity and reduced vegetation cover at that time. This study provides the most northerly evidence of mid-Holocene dune reactivation on the Great Plains, lending support to the assertion that aeolian activity was widespread at that time.

scholarly journals Relict Late Wisconsinan Dune Fields of the Northern Great Plains, Canada*

2006 ◽  
Vol 58 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 323-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen A. Wolfe ◽  
David J. Huntley ◽  
Jeff Ollerhead
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Laurentide Ice Sheet ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
The West ◽  
Air Mass ◽  
Late Wisconsinan ◽  
Dune Activity

Abstract Late Wisconsinan dune activity is investigated within the present-day boreal forest and parkland regions of the northern Great Plains, Canada, to extend the understanding of the spatial and temporal eolian record. Optical ages from stabilized sand dunes document the timing of past activity. Eolian activity ranges from about 16 ka in west-central Alberta to 9 ka in northwestern Saskatchewan. Between about 16 and 13 ka, dune activity in central Alberta occurred in an ice-proximal tundra setting along the margins of the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. Predominant dune-forming winds were from the west and northwest. Dune activity continued in this area between about 13 and 11 ka within parkland and grassland settings as the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated to the northeast. Winds continued to blow from the west and northwest, and the climate was likely influenced by an increasingly dominant Pacific air mass. Also beginning at about 13 ka, dune-forming winds along the margins of the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet were influenced by anticyclonic winds from the southeast that were maintained until about 9 ka. As the Laurentide Ice Sheet retreated, these southeasterly anticyclonic winds were successively replaced by winds from the northwest associated with the Pacific air mass. Dune activity across the region terminated in a time-transgressive manner from the southwest, at about 11 ka, to the northeast, at about 9 ka, with the establishment of boreal forest vegetation and reduced wind strength.

Late 18th century drought-induced sand dune activity, Great Sand Hills, Saskatchewan

2001 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
S A Wolfe ◽  
D J Huntley ◽  
P P David ◽  
J Ollerhead ◽  
D J Sauchyn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sand Dune ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
Sand Dunes ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Moisture Stress ◽  
Canadian Prairies ◽  
Late 18Th Century ◽  
Sand Hills ◽  
Average Precipitation ◽  
Dune Activity

Geomorphic evidence and optical ages from seven locations indicate that widespread dune activity occurred within the last 200 years in the Great Sand Hills region of southwestern Saskatchewan. Optical ages (n = 36) define an interval of dune activity bracketed by the earliest age of back ridges in the Seward sand hills (185 ± 8 years) and the average age of stabilized dune heads (about 105 years). During this interval, parabolic dunes were active in all areas studied. These ages indicate that the most recent interval of activity was initiated about AD 1800, and continued at a level higher than present for approximately 80 years. The most likely cause of dune activation was lower-than-average precipitation (relative to 1960–1991 values) through the 1700s, culminating in drought in the late 1700s, as evidenced in dendroclimatic records from the Cypress Hills and from the Rocky Mountain foothills. Dunes affected by such climatically induced regional activity require many decades to restabilize. Historical observations show that dunes in this area have been restabilizing throughout the 20th century. For the southern Canadian Prairies, a region with serious concerns about the implications of global warming, this study highlights the sensitivity of sand dunes to drought and cumulative moisture stress.

Mid- and Late Holocene vegetation dynamics and fire history in the boreal forest of European Russia: A case study from Meshchera Lowlands

2016 ◽  
Vol 459 ◽  
pp. 570-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Yu. Novenko ◽  
Andrey N. Tsyganov ◽  
Elena M. Volkova ◽  
Dmitrii A. Kupriyanov ◽  
Iya V. Mironenko ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Vegetation Dynamics ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Fire History ◽  
European Russia

Nitrogen isotope pattern in Mongolian larch stands at the southern Eurasian boreal forest boundary

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (6) ◽  
pp. 608-621 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mika Hayashi ◽  
Maximo Larry Lopez Caceres ◽  
Yoshihiro Nobori ◽  
Byambasuren Mijidsuren ◽  
Jens Boy
Keyword(s):  
Boreal Forest ◽  
Nitrogen Isotope ◽  
Isotope Pattern ◽  
Forest Boundary
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