Younger Dryas Climatic Reversal in Northeastern USA? AMS Ages for an Old Problem

Abstract Late-glacial macrofossils from a 10-m core from Alpine Swamp, New Jersey, were radiocarbon dated using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The arrival of the first trees to the area following deglaciation is indicated by maximum percentages of spruce pollen and a date of 12,290 ± 440 yr B....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quaternary Research
Main Authors: Peteet, D. M., Vogel, J. S., Nelson, D. E., Southon, J. R., Nickmann, R. J., Heusser, L. E.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1990
Subjects:
North Atlantic
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0033-5894(90)90020-l
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Summary:Abstract Late-glacial macrofossils from a 10-m core from Alpine Swamp, New Jersey, were radiocarbon dated using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The arrival of the first trees to the area following deglaciation is indicated by maximum percentages of spruce pollen and a date of 12,290 ± 440 yr B.P. on a single spruce needle. Subsequent spread of deciduous hardwoods was followed by the expansion of boreal taxa, including spruce ( Picea ), fir ( Abies ), larch ( Larix laricina ), paper birch ( Betula papyrifera ), and alder ( Alnus ). Three AMS dates on paper birch seeds and a spruce needle during this boreal expansion indicate that it took place between 11,000 and 10,000 yr B.P. The timing of this vegetational shift and its correlation with late-glacial pollen stratigraphy from many sites in southern New England indicate that a climatic reversal correlative with the Younger Dryas characterized the North Atlantic seaboard of the United States.

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