| Title | Weichselian and Holocene palaeoenvironmental history of the Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island, New Siberian Archipelago, Arctic Siberia |
| Author | Andreev, A.A.; Grosse, G.; Schirrmeister, L.; Kuznetsova, T.V.; Kuzmina, S.A.; Bobrov, A.A.; Tarasov, P.E.; Novenko, E.Y.; Meyer, H.; Derevyagin, A.Y.; Kienast, F.; Bryantseva, A.; Kunitsky, V.V. |
| Author Affil | Andreev, A.A., Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Research Unit Potsdam, Potsdam, Federal Republic of Germany. Other: University of Alaska Fairbanks; Moscow State University, Russian Federation; Russian Academy of Sciences, Paleontological Institute, Russian Federation; Moscow State University, Russian Federation; Free University Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany; Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geography, Russian Federation; Senckenberg Research Station for Quaternary Palaeontology Weimar, Federal Republic of Germany; Russian Academy of Sciences, Permafrost Institute, Russian Federation |
| Source | Boreas, 38(1), p.72-110, . Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell, Oslo, Norway. ISSN: 0300- 9483 |
| Publication Date | Feb. 2009 |
| Notes | In English. Includes 4 appendices. 67 refs. GeoRef Acc. No: 300692 |
| Index Terms | radioactive age determination; algae; carbon isotopes; isotopes; paleoclimatology; Pleistocene; pollen; radioactive isotopes; vegetation; Russia--New Siberian Islands; Asia--Siberia; absolute age; arctic environment; Arctic region; Arthropoda; Asia; assemblages; Bol'shoy Lyakhosvky Island; C- 14; carbon; Cenozoic; Chordata; Commonwealth of Independent States; diatoms; Holocene; Insecta; Invertebrata; lithostratigraphy; Mammalia; Mandibulata; microfossils; miospores; New Siberian Islands; paleoenvironment; paleotemperature; palynomorphs; Plantae; Protista; Quaternary; Russian Arctic; Russian Federation; Siberia; Tetrapoda; Thecamoeba; upper Pleistocene; Vertebrata; Weichselian; Yakutia Russian Federation |
| Abstract | Cryolithological, ground ice and fossil bioindicator (pollen, diatoms, plant macrofossils, rhizopods, insects, mammal bones) records from Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island permafrost sequences (73°20'N, 141°30'E) document the environmental history in the region for the past c. 115 kyr. Vegetation similar to modern subarctic tundra communities prevailed during the Eemian/Early Weichselian transition with a climate warmer than the present. Sparse tundra-like vegetation and harsher climate conditions were predominant during the Early Weichselian. The Middle Weichselian deposits contain peat and peaty soil horizons with bioindicators documenting climate amelioration. Although dwarf willows grew in more protected places, tundra and steppe vegetation prevailed. Climate conditions became colder and drier c. 30 kyr BP. No sediments dated between c. 28.5 and 12.05 14C kyr BP were found, which may reflect active erosion during that time. Herb and shrubby vegetation were predominant 11.6-11.3 14C kyr BP. Summer temperatures were c. 4 °C higher than today. Typical arctic environments prevailed around 10.5 14C kyr BP. Shrub alder and dwarf birch tundra were predominant between c. 9 and 7.6 kyr BP. Reconstructed summer temperatures were at least 4 °C higher than present. However, insect remains reflect that steppe-like habitats existed until c. 8 kyr BP. After 7.6 kyr BP, shrubs gradually disappeared and the vegetation cover became similar to that of modern tundra. Pollen and beetles indicate a severe arctic environment c. 3.7 kyr BP. However, Betula nana, absent on the island today, was still present. Together with our previous study on Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island covering the period between about 200 and 115 kyr, a comprehensive terrestrial palaeoenvironmental data set from this area in western Beringia is now available for the past two glacial- interglacial cycles. Abstract Copyright (2009), The Boreas Collegium. |
| URL | http://hdl.handle.net/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2008.00039.x |
| Publication Type | journal article |
| Record ID | 64005166 |