Palynological Data as Tools for Interpreting Past Climates: Some Examples from Northern North America

Documenting past climates and their associated terrestrial ecosystems is one means of predicting how modern landscapes may respond to changing atmospheric composition resulting from the addition of greenhouse gases. Fossil pollen preserved in lake and bog sediments is an especially valuable source o...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Anderson, P. M.
Other Authors: WASHINGTON UNIV SEATTLE QUATERNARY RESEARCH CENTER
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1992
Subjects:
Geography
Meteorology
Geology
Geochemistry and Mineralogy
Biology
*CLIMATE
*ECOSYSTEMS
*FOSSILS
*NORTH AMERICA
*POLLEN
ADDITION
ALASKA
ANALOGS
ATMOSPHERICS
CANADA
DIAGRAMS
ESTIMATES
FORESTS
GREENHOUSES
HIGH LATITUDES
INDICATORS
LAKES
LATITUDE
MAPS
RECORDS
RESOLUTION
RESPONSE
SEDIMENTS
SURFACES
SWAMPS
TUNDRA
SYMPOSIA
VEGETATION
SPORES
Component Reports
*Palynological data
Terrestrial
Greenhouse
Gases
Bog sediments
Prehistoric era
Boreal forests
Canada
Fairbanks
Tundra
Alaska
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADP007339
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADP007339
Description
Summary:Documenting past climates and their associated terrestrial ecosystems is one means of predicting how modern landscapes may respond to changing atmospheric composition resulting from the addition of greenhouse gases. Fossil pollen preserved in lake and bog sediments is an especially valuable source of paleoclimatic information. Initially, pollen records were used only as qualitative estimates of climate change, but more recent analyses indicate they can provide accurate quantitative reconstructions. The floristic simplicity of tundra and boreal forest and the coarse taxonomic resolution of northern pollen taxa were believed to seriously limit the use of pollen for interpreting high latitude paleoclimates. However, current studies in Alaska and Canada demonstrate that pollen data are relatively strong and sensitive climate indicators. The status of paleoclimate reconstructions based on pollen records from northern North America is discussed using isopoll maps, response surfaces, analogs, and percentage diagrams. This article is from 'Proceedings of the International Conference on the Role of the Polar Regions in Global Change Held in Fairbanks, Alaska on 11-15 June 1990. Volume 2', AD-A253 028, p557-564. See also Volume 1, AD-A253 027.

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