Geochronology of Late Quaternary Events in Northeastern Russia

Radiocarbon-dated paleobotanical and palynological samples record complex changes of vegetation and climate in northeastern Russia during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Since the Kargin Interval (middle Wisconsin equivalent), which started 50 ka ago, we can distinguish two periods that were cold...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiocarbon
Main Author: Lozhkin, A. V.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1993
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0033822200060446
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0033822200060446
Description
Summary:Radiocarbon-dated paleobotanical and palynological samples record complex changes of vegetation and climate in northeastern Russia during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Since the Kargin Interval (middle Wisconsin equivalent), which started 50 ka ago, we can distinguish two periods that were colder than the present. The Kirgilyakh was the earliest Karginsk cool period, dating to 45–39 ka BP. The second significant cool period dates to 33–30 ka BP. The boundary between the Kargin Interval and the last Late Pleistocene glaciation (Sartan, late Wisconsin equivalent) dates from 27 ka BP. The sharp change from herbaceous mossy tundra (Sartan) to light-coniferous larch forests (Holocene) in northeastern Russia dates to 12.5 ka ago. The Holocene thermal maximum, linked to the expansion of woody plants into the modern barren-ground tundra, dates from 9.5–8 ka BP.