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Evidence of temperature depression and hydrological variations in the eastern Sierra Nevada during the Younger Dryas Stade

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Glen M. MacDonald ,
Katrina A. Moser ,
Amy M. Bloom ,
David F. Porinchu ,
Aaron P. Potito ,
Brent B. Wolfe ,
Thomas W.D. Edwards ,
Amanda Petel ,
Antony R. Orme  and
Amalie Jo Orme
Glen M. MacDonald*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1524, USA Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1524, USA
Katrina A. Moser
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada N6A 5B8
Amy M. Bloom
Affiliation:
Department of Geography-Geology, Illinois State University, Normal, IL 61790-4400, USA
David F. Porinchu
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
Aaron P. Potito
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, National University of Ireland, Galway, Republic of Ireland
Brent B. Wolfe
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3C5
Thomas W.D. Edwards
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada N2L 3G1
Amanda Petel
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1524, USA
Antony R. Orme
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1524, USA
Amalie Jo Orme
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, CSU Northridge, Northridge, CA 91330-8249, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Department of Geography, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1524, USA. E-mail address:macdonal@geog.ucla.edu (G.M. MacDonald).
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Abstract

Sediment records from two lakes in the east-central Sierra Nevada, California, provide evidence of cooling and hydrological shifts during the Younger Dryas stade (YD; ~ 12,900–11,500 cal yr BP). A chironomid transfer function suggests that lake-water temperatures were depressed by 2°C to 4°C relative to maximum temperatures during the preceding Bølling–Allerød interstade (BA; ~ 14,500–12,900 cal yr BP). Diatom and stable isotope records suggest dry conditions during the latter part of the BA interstade and development of relatively moist conditions during the initiation of the YD stade, with a reversion to drier conditions later in the YD. These paleohydrological inferences correlate with similar timed changes detected in the adjacent Great Basin. Vegetation response during the YD stade includes the development of more open and xeric vegetation toward the end of the YD. The new records support linkages between the North Atlantic, the North Pacific, and widespread YD cooling in western North America, but they also suggest complex hydrological influences. Shifting hydrological conditions and relatively muted vegetation changes may explain the previous lack of evidence for the YD stade in the Sierra Nevada and the discordance in some paleohydrological and glacial records of the YD stade from the western United States.

Keywords

QuaternaryYounger Dryas stadeClimate changeVegetation changeSierra NevadaCaliforniaPaleoclimatologyPaleohydrologyPaleolimnology
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 70 , Issue 2 , September 2008 , pp. 131 - 140
Copyright
University of Washington

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