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Late Holocene Climate Changes in Eastern North America Estimated from Pollen Data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

K. Gajewski
K. Gajewski*
Affiliation:
Center for Climatic Research, University of Wisconsin at Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706 and Division of Life Sciences, Scarborough College, 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada M1C 1A4
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Abstract

Well-dated pollen profiles from six sites from Maine to Minnesota record vegetation changes indicative of summer temperature and annual precipitation variations over the past 2000 yr. Laminations in the sediment provide accurate time control. Multiple regression techniques were used to calculate calibration functions from a spatial network of modern pollen and climate data. When applied to the six pollen diagrams, these calibration functions yielded estimates that show a long-term trend toward lower summer temperature. Superimposed on this long-term trend are short-term fluctuations that are frequently in phase at the sites. Departures from the long-term cooling trend are positive around 1500 yr ago (indicating relative warmth) and negative between 200 and 500 yr ago (indicating relative cold). Annual precipitation showed a slight increase at several sites during the past 1000 yr relative to the previous 1000 yr.

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Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 29 , Issue 3 , May 1988, pp. 255 - 262
Copyright
University of Washington

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