Late-Glacial to Early Holocene Climate Changes from a Central Appalachian Pollen and Macrofossil Record

Abstract A late-glacial to early Holocene record of pollen, plant macrofossils, and charcoal has been obtained from two cores from Browns Pond in the central Appalachians of Virginia. An AMS radiocarbon chronology defines the timing of moist and cold excursions, superimposed on the overall warming t...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quaternary Research
Main Authors: Kneller, Margaret, Peteet, Dorothy
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1999
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/qres.1998.2026
http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589498920269?httpAccept=text/xml
http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0033589498920269?httpAccept=text/plain
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589400034037
Description
Summary:Abstract A late-glacial to early Holocene record of pollen, plant macrofossils, and charcoal has been obtained from two cores from Browns Pond in the central Appalachians of Virginia. An AMS radiocarbon chronology defines the timing of moist and cold excursions, superimposed on the overall warming trend from 14,200 to 7500 14 C yr B.P. This site had cold, moist conditions from ca. 14,200 to 12,700 14 C yr B.P., with warming at 12,730, 11,280, and 10,050 14 C yr B.P. A decrease in deciduous broad-leaved tree taxa and Pinus strobus (haploxylon) pollen, simultaneous with a reexpansion of Abies, denotes a brief, cold reversal from 12,260 to 12,200 14 C yr B.P. A second cold reversal, inferred from increases in montane conifers, is centered at 7500 14 C yr B.P. The cold reversals at Browns Pond may be synchronous with climate change in Greenland and northwestern Europe. Warming at 11,280 14 C yr B.P. shows the complexity of regional climate responses during the Younger Dryas chronozone.