Late Quaternary Pollen Records from the Kobuk and Noatak River Drainages, Northwestern Alaska

• Published in: Quaternary Research
• Main Author: Anderson, Patricia M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1988
• Subjects: Canada; Yar; Tundra; Alaska
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(88)90035-x; http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:003358948890035X?httpAccept=text/xml; http://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:003358948890035X?httpAccept=text/plain; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033589400018974

Pollen diagrams from Joe and Niliq Lakes date to ca. 28,000 and 14,000 yr B.P., respectively. Mesic shurb tundra grew near Joe Lake ca. 28,000 to 26,000 yr B.P. with local Populus populations prior to ca. 27,000 yr B.P. Shrub communities decreased as climate changed with the onset of Itkillik II glaciation (25,000 to 11,500 yr B.P.), and graminoid-dominated tundra characterized vegetation ca. 18,500 to 13,500 yr B.P. Herb tundra was replaced by shrub Betula tundra near both sites ca. 13,500 yr B.P. with local expansion of Populus ca. 11,000 to 10,000 yr B.P. and Alnus ca. 9000 yr B.P. Mixed Picea glauca/P. mariana woodland was established near Joe Lake ca. 6000 yr B.P. These pollen records when combined with others from northern Alaska and northwestern Canada indicate (1) mesic tundra was more common in northwestern Alaska than in northeastern Alaska or northwestern Canada during the Duvanny Yar glacial interval (25,000 to 14,000 yr B.P.); (2) with deglaciation, shrub Betula expanded rapidly in northwestern Alaska but slowly in areas farther east; (3) an early postglacial thermal maximum occurred in northwestern Alaska but had only limited effect on vegetation; and (4) pollen patterns in northern Alaska and northwestern Canada suggest regional differences in late Quaternary climates.