scholarly journals Transitional occupations of southeastern Somerset Island, Nunavut

2005 ◽  
Vol 27 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 213-238
Author(s):  
Eric Damkjar
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Somerset Island ◽  
Architectural Characteristics

Abstract Four transitional period sites on Somerset Island compare closely with High Arctic sites attributed to Independence II. The four sites are situated at elevations between Pre-Dorset and Early Dorset occupations in the same area. The sites are described, with an emphasis on architectural characteristics. Vertical slab midpassage structures are present at all sites along with artifact assemblages containing shallowly side-notched bifaces, "cloven hoof" lance heads, a closed socket harpoon head, burin-like tools, narrow microblades, and needles with gouged eyes. Some sites also have exterior hearths and possible caches. Radiocarbon dates place the occupations within the transitional period (i.e. 800-500 B.C.). As during Independence II, the sites are of various size (three small ones and a large one), and are in association with polynyas.

The last glaciation and sea level history of Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Canadian High Arctic

1996 ◽  
Vol 33 (7) ◽  
pp. 1075-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor Bell
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Ice Caps ◽  
Marine Deposits ◽  
Last Glaciation ◽  
Maximum Elevation ◽  
Glacier Runoff ◽  
History Of ◽  
Ice Conditions

The last glaciation of Fosheim Peninsula is reconstructed on the basis of landform and sediment mapping and associated radiocarbon dates. Ice growth involved the expansion of cirque glaciers and accumulation on upland surfaces that are now ice free. Limited ice buildup, despite lowering of the paleoglaciation level by 700–800 m, is attributed to the hyperaridity of the region during glacial conditions. Marine deposits in formerly submerged basins beyond the ice margins are interpreted to represent (i) sedimentation caused by local ice buildup and marine transgression by 10.6 ka BP, (ii) increased ablation and glacier runoff [Formula: see text]9.5 ka BP, and (iii) marine regression during the Holocene. Holocene marine limit reaches a maximum elevation of approximately 150 m asl along northern Eureka Sound and Greely Fiord and descends southeastwards to 139–142 m asl near the Sawtooth Mountains. A synchronous marine limit is implied where the last ice limit was inland of the sea. The magnitude and pattern of Holocene emergence cannot be fully explained by the glacioisostatic effects of the small ice load during the last glaciation of the region. Deglaciation of the peninsula was underway by 9.5 ka BP; however, local ice caps may have persisted through the wannest period of the Holocene until 6–5 ka BP. This was likely a function of reduced sea ice conditions and increased moisture availability which benefited low-lying coastal icefields, but had negligible effect on interior highland ice caps.

The migratory behaviour of narwhals (Monodon monoceros)

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (8) ◽  
pp. 1298-1305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen ◽  
Rune Dietz ◽  
Kristin L Laidre ◽  
Pierre Richard ◽  
Jack Orr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Open Water ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Canadian High Arctic ◽  
Baffin Bay ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Monodon Monoceros ◽  
Migratory Routes ◽  
Somerset Island ◽  
Wintering Ground

Sixteen female narwhals (Monodon monoceros) were tracked by satellite in 2000 and 2001 from their summering ground near Somerset Island in the Canadian High Arctic to their wintering ground in central Baffin Bay. The wintering ground location was spatially discrete from another narwhal wintering ground in southern Baffin Bay. Area extent of the summering ground was approximately 9464 km2 and area extent of the wintering ground was 25 846 km2. Two of the narwhals were tracked for more than 12 consecutive months. These whales used three focal areas between their spring and autumn migration: a coastal area in the open-water season in August in the Canadian High Arctic, a wintering area from November through April in the consolidated pack ice of Baffin Bay, and an early summer area in front of the receding fast ice edge in Lancaster Sound. The whales showed remarkable site fidelity to summering grounds and had specific migratory routes that followed sea ice formation and recession.

Glacial geology and Quaternary marine stratigraphy of the Robeson Channel area, northeastern Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories

1986 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 1001-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Retelle
Keyword(s):  
Greenland Ice Sheet ◽  
Free Fraction ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Ellesmere Island ◽  
Major Advance ◽  
Total Acid ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Acid Hydrolysate ◽  
Field Area

Glacial and marine deposits associated with two phases of glaciation are exposed along a 60 km corridor on Ellesmere Island that borders Robeson Channel. The oldest sediments, tentatively dated at ≥ 70 000 BP, were deposited during a major advance of the northwest Greenland ice sheet across Robeson Channel. During subsequent retreat of this ice mass, glaciomarine sediments containing a High Arctic macro- and microfauna were deposited in the isostatic downwarp on Ellesmere Island. This marine unit was radiocarbon dated at 31 300 ± 900 and > 32 000 BP; mean aIle/Ile ratios are 0.218 ± 0.03 for the free fraction and 0.063 ± 0.011 for the total acid hydrolysate.The last ice advance (late Wisconsin – early Holocene) did not extend into the field area from either interior Ellesmere Island or northwest Greenland. The ice-marginal sea transgressed to the marine limit (~116 m) and overlapped the deposits of the previous maximum Greenland advance. Local plateau ice caps did, however, spill over into one major valley and delayed the establishment of the marine limit in this location. Radiocarbon dates on the Holocene marine limit shorelines indicate initial emergence between 8000 and 8600 BP. A mean aIle/Ile ratio of 0.037 was found for the total acid hydrolysate; aIle was undetectable in the free fraction of the Holocene shells.The Holocene and pre-Holocene glacial and marine chronologies in the Robeson Channel area are similar to chronologies demonstrated from other locations in Arctic regions. Tentative correlations based upon aminostratigraphy suggest that the field area has remained, for the most part, ice free since at least 70 000 BP.

The last glaciation of Marvin Peninsula, northern Ellesmere Island, High Arctic, Canada

1989 ◽  
Vol 26 (12) ◽  
pp. 2578-2590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald S. Lemmen
Keyword(s):  
High Arctic ◽  
Ellesmere Island ◽  
North Coast ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
The North ◽  
Last Glaciation ◽  
Ice Retreat ◽  
Late Wisconsinan ◽  
Glaciomarine Sediments ◽  
North And South

The limit of the last glaciation on Marvin Peninsula, northernmost Ellesmere Island, is recorded by extensive ice-marginal landforms and early Holocene glaciomarine sediments. While glaciers occupied most valleys on the peninsula, other areas remained ice free, as did most of the adjacent fiords. Beyond the ice limit, sparse erratics and degraded meltwater channels within weathered bedrock are evidence of older, more extensive glaciation(s). Shorelines and marine shells 50 m above the limit of the Holocene sea along the north coast relate to these older glacial events.Thirty-four new radiocarbon dates provide a chronology of ice buildup and retreat. Glaciers reached their limit after 23 ka, and locally as late as 11 ka. This was achieved by both expansion of existing glaciers and accumulation on plateau and lowland sites, which are presently ice free. Late Wisconsinan climate was characterized by cold and extreme aridity. Five dates ranging from 11 to 31 ka BP on subfossil bryophytes suggest that ice-free areas were biologically productive throughout the last glaciation. Ice retreat and postglacial emergence had begun by 9.5 ka and was associated with a marked climatic amelioration. The deglacial chronology confirms a pronounced disparity in the timing of ice retreat on the north and south sides of the Grant Land Mountains.

THE BOTANY OF SOMERSET ISLAND, DISTRICT OF FRANKLIN

1959 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 959-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. O. Savile
Keyword(s):  
Plant Growth ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Phenological Data ◽  
History Of ◽  
Low Arctic ◽  
Somerset Island ◽  
General Appearance

The geology, physiography, general appearance, climate and weather, and history of exploration of Somerset I. are discussed briefly. The principal habitats and the areas visited are described. Data are presented on prevailing winter wind directions on Somerset I. and Boothia Pen., drawn from observations on residual snowbanks and plant growth. A few phenological data are presented, which supply further evidence that spring development at low arctic sites lags behind that at both subarctic and high arctic sites. Annotated lists are given of the fungi (28 species) and vascular plants (90 species) collected. Among the fungi Puccinia helicalis sp. nov. on Pedicularis capitata, and Doassansia nearctica sp. nov. on Ranunculus hyperboreus are described; and Exobasidium warmingii, intermediate between Exobasidium and Kordyana, is made the type of Arcticomyces gen. nov. Thirty-two species of vascular plants are added to the recorded flora of the island.

Diving behaviour of narwhals (Monodon monoceros) at two coastal localities in the Canadian High Arctic

2002 ◽  
Vol 80 (4) ◽  
pp. 624-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin L Laidre ◽  
Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen ◽  
Rune Dietz
Keyword(s):  
Strong Relationship ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Dive Depth ◽  
Baffin Island ◽  
Correction Factors ◽  
Canadian High Arctic ◽  
Suction Cup ◽  
Monodon Monoceros ◽  
Somerset Island ◽  
Good Agreement

In August 1999 and 2000, four suction-cup-attached time–depth recorders (TDRs) were deployed and retrieved from narwhals (Monodon monoceros) in Tremblay Sound, Baffin Island, and Creswell Bay, Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada. The TDRs remained on the whales for between 12 and 33 h and collected 64.5 h of dive data. Mean dive depths ranged from 20.8 m (SD = 14.8 m) to 50.8 m (SD = 43.8 m) and mean dive durations ranged from 3.4 min (SD = 1.6 min) to 4.9 min (SD = 4.5 min). There appeared to be individual differences in dive parameters both within a region and between regions. Three of the whales made short, shallow dives, while another whale made dives twice as deep and twice as long. One whale had maximum dive durations (>20 min) that exceeded predicted aerobic dive limits for narwhals. There was a strong relationship between maximum dive depth and duration for all whales (p < 0.0001). Narwhals spent between 30.3 and 52.9% of their time at depths <5 m and the range of correction factors for availability bias was 1.9–3.3. Satellite-linked TDRs were simultaneously deployed on the whales at both localities. Dive data collected using the two methods were compared and good agreement between the methods was obtained.

scholarly journals Interactions between climate and landscape drive Holocene ecological change in a High Arctic lake on Somerset Island, Nunavut, Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara M. Paull ◽  
Sarah A. Finkelstein ◽  
Konrad Gajewski
Keyword(s):  
Environmental History ◽  
Lake Water ◽  
Sediment Accumulation ◽  
Base Cations ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Ecological Change ◽  
Diatom Assemblages ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Water Ph ◽  
Somerset Island

This study presents a diatom-based analysis of the post-glacial Holocene environmental history at Lake RS29 on Somerset Island in the Canadian High Arctic. Earliest post-glacial diatom assemblages (10 200–10 000 cal yr BP) consisted mainly of small, benthic fragilarioid taxa. Poor diatom preservation in the early Holocene (~10 000–6200 cal yr BP) is associated with warm conditions, as determined by pollen data from the same core and other paleoclimate estimates from the region. Analysis of this and other sites from across the Canadian Arctic suggest that zones of poor diatom preservation or diatom absence in lake sediment records may be associated with warm conditions. After 6200 cal yr BP, acidophilic assemblages consisting of Aulacoseira spp. and a suite of periphytic taxa indicate acidification since the mid-Holocene. During this time period, cooling causing changes in lake ice phenology was likely a major driver of the reconstructed mid-Holocene pH decline. Watershed processes, including reduced fluxes of base cations as the rate of sediment accumulation slowed, may also be contributors to long-term shifts in lake water pH and associated changes in diatom assemblages. The uppermost sediments in the Lake RS29 record were characterized by abrupt declines in Aulacoseira alpigena and increases in benthic diatom taxa Cyclotella sensu lato, suggesting an increase in lake water pH and longer ice-free seasons.

scholarly journals Tracing the Final Bronze Age–Early Iron Age transition. Groningen Institute of Archaeology settlement excavations in the Sibaritide, 2018-2019

2021 ◽  
pp. 141-168
Author(s):  
P.M. Van Leusen ◽  
F. Ippolito
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Early Iron Age ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Geophysical Investigations

We report here on the first two seasons of excavations by the Groningen Institute of Archaeology (the Netherlands) at two settlement sites in the foothill zone of the Sibaritide coastal plain (northern Calabria, Italy). The work is throwing new light on finds assemblages unique to the transitional period of the Final Bronze Age–Early Iron Age, a poorly understood period in southern Italy, and is helping to resolve methodological questions about the interpretation of non-invasive archaeological and geophysical survey data. The finds so far excavated, supported by radiocarbon dates, form one of the first ‘pure’ FBA–EIA transitional assemblages, and thus contribute to fill a significant typochronological hiatus with wider implications for protohistoric archaeology in the region. It is also becoming clear what long-term effects mechanized ploughing has on slope processes and soil profiles typical for the region, knowledge that will help us understand the results of the wider field surveys and geophysical investigations conducted since 2000 in the Raganello River basin.

scholarly journals Home, refuse, and reuse during the Early Helladic III to the Middle Helladic I transitional period. A social zooarchaeological study of the Asine bothroi

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 71-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stella Macheridis
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Processing ◽  
Transitional Period ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
Archaeological Record ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
Aegean Area ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Middle Helladic ◽  
Domestic Organization ◽  
Coastal Settlement

The practice of digging, using, and filling large pits, cut into the ground and sometimes lined with clay, was extensive from the Early Helladic III to the Middle Helladic Period I (c. 2,200–1,900 BC) in large parts of the Aegean area. This particular type of feature is called bothros and has been reported since the early 20th century from many settlements, mainly from the Greek mainland. Although the bothroi are numerous in the archaeological record, few studies of them have been made. During the excavations at Asine, a prehistoric coastal settlement in the Argolid, a number of bothroi were identified. This paper is a contribution to the study of bothroi, and in particular of the faunal remains found within these features. I propose that the bothros was an important part of the domestic organization at Asine. Not only did it reflect spatial boundaries but it was also vital in the construction of “home”. This is based on the zooarchaeological analysis and subsequent statistical processing of the faunal remains recovered from the features. New radiocarbon dates are presented which are used in establishing a chronology of the bothroi at Asine.

A GIS Database of Submarine Glacial Landforms and Sediments on High-Arctic Continental Shelves

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Streuff ◽  
Colm Ó Cofaigh
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Sediment Accumulation ◽  
High Arctic ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Ice Dynamics ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Continental Shelves ◽  
Glacier Dynamics ◽  
Glacial Landforms

&lt;p&gt;A new digital database compiling glacial landforms and sediments in the High Arctic was created in order to facilitate and underpin new research on palaeo-ice sheets and tidewater glacier dynamics. The database is in a geographic information system (GIS) format and will be available for web download when published. It documents evidence of previous glacial activity as visible on the contemporary seafloor of fjords and continental shelves around all of Svalbard, Greenland, and Alaska, and north of 66&amp;#176;30&amp;#8217; N in Russia, Norway, and Canada. Extensive literature research was conducted to create the database, compiling a large number of glacial landforms at a range of scales, sediment cores, and radiocarbon dates. Glacial landforms included in the database are cross-shelf troughs, trough-mouth fans, grounding-zone wedges, overridden moraines, glacial lineations, drumlins, crag-and-tails, medial moraines, terminal moraines, debris-flow lobes (including glacier-contact fans), recessional moraines, De Geer moraines, crevasse-fill ridges, eskers and submarine channels. Sediment core locations are attributed with a description of the sampled lithofacies and sediment accumulation rates where available. Radiocarbon dates were included when thought to be relevant for constraining the timing of large-scale palaeo-ice dynamics. Outlines of bathymetric datasets published before December 2020 were also mapped to give an overview of previously investigated research areas. The database will aid researchers in the reconstruction of ice dynamics during and since the Last Glacial Maximum and in the interpretation of High-Arctic glacial landform-sediment assemblages. Moreover, apart from providing a comprehensive bibliography on Arctic glacial geomorphological and sedimentological research, it is intended to serve as a basis for future ice sheet modelling of High-Arctic glacier dynamics.&lt;/p&gt;

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