Paleoecological and modern studies at Priyatnoye Lake, which is located within an intermontane depression in the interior of northeastern Siberia, indicate a similar paleovegetation record as has been documented for nearby mountain valleys, but a history of basin stability and instability that is uncharacteristic of the valley lakes. Analyses of a 385-cm-long core from the western basin of Priyatnoye Lake shows that sediment accumulation began in late Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3), followed by a hiatus during MIS 2, and then continuous accumulation over the past ca. 14,000 cal yr BP. The eastern basin of the lake has a sediment thickness of ~35 cm, suggesting that it intermittently contained water and/or is younger than the western basin. A drop in lake levels between AD 2005 and AD 2009 resulted in the formation of two distinct lakes. This change was caused by the melting of underlying ice wedges and the formation of sinkholes through which the lake water drained. Although the northern coastal lowlands have been the geographic focus of permafrost global warming research, the Priyatnoye study draws attention to the intermontane depressions in northeastern Siberia. While less extensive, these depressions contain organic-rich deposits, are underlain by permafrost, and have the potential to affect future carbon budgets as global temperatures rise and permafrost melts.

The ideal sampling method and benefit of qualitative versus quantitative culture for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) recovery in hospitalized patient rooms and bathrooms is unknown. Although the use of nylon-flocked swabs improved overall gram-negative organism recovery compared with cellulose sponges, they were similar for CRE recovery. Quantitative culture was inferior and unrevealing beyond the qualitative results.

The Berelyokh site includes an exceptional bone horizon consisting of 8431 remains of Mammuthus primigenius. Previous investigations, spanning ~40 years, concluded that the deaths and bone concentration were caused by spring flooding, possibly related to wetter Bølling climates. We review work from these studies with emphasis on under-reported palynological data to provide more detail on paleoenvironmental reconstructions and an alternative interpretation for the age and origin of the bone bed. Palynological results suggest the horizon formed under cool conditions of the last glacial maximum, rather than during a Bølling-type oscillation. Presence of permafrost features and associated tundra pollen taxa in the Berelyokh sections suggest that thermokarst processes, unrelated to climate change, could account for the formation of the bone horizon. The penetration of surface waters into frozen sediments of a high floodplain terrace resulted in the formation of hidden thaw sinks. As thaw continued, the pits expanded with surface soils supported by a viscous water-sediment mixture. The weakened surface gave way under the weight of the mammoths, with the hillside collapsing either due to the animals’ struggles or destabilization related to the thaw sinks. This scenario highlights the hazards of thermokarst terrain for present and future populations of northern animals.

A megaslump at Batagaika, in northern Yakutia, exposes a remarkable stratigraphic sequence of permafrost deposits ~50–80 m thick. To determine their potential for answering key questions about Quaternary environmental and climatic change in northeast Siberia, we carried out a reconnaissance study of their cryostratigraphy and paleoecology, supported by four rangefinder 14C ages. The sequence includes two ice complexes separated by a unit of fine sand containing narrow syngenetic ice wedges and multiple paleosols. Overall, the sequence developed as permafrost grew syngenetically through an eolian sand sheet aggrading on a hillslope. Wood remains occur in two forest beds, each associated with a reddened weathering horizon. The lower bed contains high amounts of Larix pollen (>20%), plus small amounts of Picea and Pinus pumila, and is attributed to interglacial conditions. Pollen from the overlying sequence is dominated by herbaceous taxa (~70%–80%) attributed to an open tundra landscape during interstadial climatic conditions. Of three hypothetical age schemes considered, we tentatively attribute much of the Batagaika sequence to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. The upper and lower forest beds may represent a mid–MIS 3 optimum and MIS 5, respectively, although we cannot discount alternative attributions to MIS 5 and 7.

Trace-element analysis of the calcareous shells of ostracodes in a sediment core from Farewell Lake provides the first limno-geochemical record for climatic reconstructions in Alaska. When compared with pollen data from the same site, this record offers new insights into climatic controls over vegetation dynamics during the Holocene. The low Mg/Ca ratios and high Sr/Ca ratios suggest that a relatively cold dry climate prevailed in this region between 11,000 and 9000 yr B.P. (uncalibrated 14C ages are used throughout the paper). This result contrasts with previous interpretations of a thermal maximum at this time, corresponding to the widespread establishment of Populus woodland/forest. The trace-element record suggests, instead, that the warmest period of the early Holocene at Farewell Lake was between 8500 and 8000 yr B.P. during the decline of Populus. Marked decreases in Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca suggest a major increase in effective moisture around 6500 yr B.P., which coincided with the establishment of Piceaboreal forests in the Farewell Lake region. This climatic change was probably widespread throughout much of Alaska and adjacent Canada and might have induced the rapid spread of Alnus and the shift from Picea glauca to P. mariana dominance across that region. Our geochemical record also suggests that the late-Holocene climate history was more complex than previously thought on the basis of palynological studies. According to this record, growing-season temperatures increased 6000–4500 yr B.P., decreased 4500–1500 yr B.P., and increased with fluctuations afterward. After 6000 yr B.P. stratigraphic changes in pollen percentages of Picea appear to be positively related with those of Mg/Ca. This relationship implies that once the threshold of effective moisture was crossed for the establishment of Picea forests temperature was the primary control of Picea population density.

Pollen analysis of a 14,000-yr-old sediment core from Sithylemenkat Lake provides the first Holocene vegetational history for the Kanuti Flats of north-central Alaska. Basal samples contain a curious and unusual combination of tundra and boreal taxa. Pollen assemblages dating from 13,500 to 9000 yr B.P. are more typical of southern Brooks Range sites and indicate the presence of Betula shrub tundra with increased Populus ca. 10,000 to 9000 yr B.P. Picea glauca appeared ca. 9000 yr B.P. and Alnus ca. 8000 yr B.P. P. glauca populations declined between 7800 and 5000 yr B.P. with a subsequent reforestation by P. mariana and P. glauca. This pattern is seen at other sites in northeastern Alaska and suggests that the Holocene history of boreal forest is more complex than thought previously.

Pollen analysis of sediment cores from Grandfather and Ongivinuk Lakes reveals a record of postglacial vegetation and climate change in the northern Bristol Bay region. The chronology is based on six conventional 14C dates of bulk organic matter from the Grandfather core. A mesic herb tundra dominated the landscape 13,000-9800 yr B.P. Betula shrubs probably first appeared in the region 11,300 yr B.P. but were restricted to favorable microhabitats until 9800 yr B.P. The later establishment of Betula shrubs and relatively low Betula pollen abundance in these records compared to other areas of eastern Beringia suggest that postglacial warming in southwestern Alaska was dampened by regional climatic controls, possibly low sea-surface temperatures of the North Pacific Ocean. Between 10,800 and 9800 yr B.P., diminished Betula shrub cover, along with decreased aquatic productivity as recorded by Pediastrum cell nets and biogenic silica, suggest a brief reversion to colder and drier climatic conditions possibly associated with the Younger Dryas event. Around 9800 yr B.P., Betula shrub tundra and meadow communities expanded, probably in response to increased temperature and precipitation. Alnus arrived and formed extensive thickets within the region ca. 7400 yr B.P. The establishment of the modern boreal forest-tundra ecotone is marked by the arrival of Picea glauca at Grandfather Lake ca. 4000 yr B.P. and the subsequent increase to present population densities ca. 2000 yr B.P. The unique features of these pollen records emphasize the spatial complexity of late Quaternary vegetation and climate history in eastern Beringia.

Pollen analysis of a new core from Joe Lake indicates that the late Quaternary vegetation of northwestern Alaska was characterized by four tundra and two forest-tundra types. These vegetation types were differentiated by combining quantitative comparisons of fossil and modern pollen assemblages with traditional, qualitative approaches for inferring past vegetation, such as the use of indicator species. Although imprecisely dated, the core probably spans at least the past 40,000 yr. A graminoid-Salix tundra dominated during the later and early portions of the glacial record. The middle glacial interval and the transition from glacial to interglacial conditions are characterized by a graminoid-Betula-Salix tundra. A Populus forest-Betula shrub tundra existed during the middle potion of this transition, being replaced in the early Holocene by a Betula-Alnus shrub tundra. The modern Picea forest-shrub tundra was established by the middle Holocene. These results suggest that the composition of modem tundra communities in northwestern Alaska developed relatively recently and that throughout much of the late Quaternary, tundra communities were unlike the predominant types found today in northern North America. Although descriptions of vegetation variations within the tundra will always be restricted by the innate taxonomic limitations of their herb-dominated pollen spectra, the application of multiple interpretive approaches improves the ability to reconstruct the historical development of this vegetation type.

Alluvial, fluvial, and organic deposits of the last interglaciation are exposed along numerous river terraces in northeast Siberia. Although chronological control is often poor, the paleobotanical data suggest range extensions of up to 1000 km for the primary tree species. These data also indicate that boreal communities of the last interglaciation were similar to modern ones in composition, but their distributions were displaced significantly to the north-northwest. Inferences about climate of this period suggest that mean July temperatures were warmer by 4 to 8°C, and seasonal precipitation was slightly greater. Mean January temperatures may have been severely cooler than today (up to 12°C) along the Arctic coast, but similar or slightly warmer than present in other areas. The direction and magnitude of change in July temperatures agree with Atmospheric General Circulation Models, but the 126,000-year-B.P. model results also suggest trends opposite to the paleobotanical data, with simulated cooler winter temperatures and drier conditions than present during the climatic optimum.

Analyses of pollen, plant macrofossils, macroscopic charcoal, mollusks, magnetic susceptibility, and geochemical content of a sediment core from Farewell Lake yield a 11,000-yr record of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem changes in the northwestern foothills of the Alaska Range. Between 11,000 and 8500 yr B.P., the regional landscape was dominated by a Betula shrub tundra, in which Populus-Salix communities were common. Abundant charcoal in sediments indicates that fires were common in the lake catchment during this period, and high mineral accumulation rates, allogenic elemental content, and magnetic susceptibility suggest intense soil erosion. In addition, mollusks, pollen and macrofossils of aquatic macrophytes, and biogenic silica provide evidence that the lake was substantially shallower and more productive 11,000–8500 yr B.P. than later. Low lake level and high aquatic productivity might have been caused by warm and dry summers associated with early postglacial insolation maximum in northern high latitudes. About 8000 yr B.P., Picea glauca arrived within the lake catchment, forming a forest tundra association until ca. 6000 yr B.P. Alnus shrub thickets established in the region ca. 6500 yr B.P., and Betula papyrifera arrived ca. 6000 yr B.P. Closed P. glauca forests developed ca. 6000 yr B.P. Picea mariana became important subsequently and replaced P. glauca as the dominant tree species in the region ca. 4000 yr B.P. An increase in authigenic Fe/Mn ratios suggests that the development of waterlogged soils accompanied this vegetation change. Fires increased in importance at this time and might have accelerated soil erosion. The establishment of P. mariana forests probably reflected complex responses of forest ecosystems to the onset of cooler and wetter climate conditions during the late Holocene.

Two sediment cores from Kaiyak and Squirrel lakes in northwestern Alaska yielded pollen records that date to ca. 39,000 and 27,000 yr B.P., respectively. Between 39,000 and 14,000 yr B.P., the vegetation around these lakes was dominated by Gramineae and Cyperaceae with some Salix and possibly Betula nana/glandulosa forming a local, shrub component of the vegetation. Betula pollen percentages increased about 14,000 yr B.P., indicating the presence of a birchdominated shrub tundra. Alnus pollen appeared at both sites between 9000 and 8000 yr B.P., and Picea pollen (mostly P. mariana) arrived at Squirrel Lake about 5000 yr B.P. The current foresttundra mosaic around Squirrel Lake was established at this time, whereas shrub tundra existed near Kaiyak Lake throughout the Holocene. When compared to other pollen records from north-western North America, these cores (1) represent a meadow component of lowland. Beringian tundra between 39,000 and 14,000 yr B.P., (2) demonstrate an early Holocene arrival of Alnus in northwestern Alaska that predates most other Alnus horizons in northern Alaska or northwestern Canada, and (3) show an east-to-west migration of Picea across northern Alaska from 9000 to 5000 yr B.P.

Pollen diagrams from Joe and Niliq Lakes date to ca. 28,000 and 14,000 yr B.P., respectively. Mesic shurb tundra grew near Joe Lake ca. 28,000 to 26,000 yr B.P. with local Populus populations prior to ca. 27,000 yr B.P. Shrub communities decreased as climate changed with the onset of Itkillik II glaciation (25,000 to 11,500 yr B.P.), and graminoid-dominated tundra characterized vegetation ca. 18,500 to 13,500 yr B.P. Herb tundra was replaced by shrub Betula tundra near both sites ca. 13,500 yr B.P. with local expansion of Populus ca. 11,000 to 10,000 yr B.P. and Alnus ca. 9000 yr B.P. Mixed Picea glauca/P. mariana woodland was established near Joe Lake ca. 6000 yr B.P. These pollen records when combined with others from northern Alaska and northwestern Canada indicate (1) mesic tundra was more common in northwestern Alaska than in northeastern Alaska or northwestern Canada during the Duvanny Yar glacial interval (25,000 to 14,000 yr B.P.); (2) with deglaciation, shrub Betula expanded rapidly in northwestern Alaska but slowly in areas farther east; (3) an early postglacial thermal maximum occurred in northwestern Alaska but had only limited effect on vegetation; and (4) pollen patterns in northern Alaska and northwestern Canada suggest regional differences in late Quaternary climates.

Two previously undocumented Pleistocene marine transgressions on Wrangel Island, northeastern Siberia, question the presence of an East Siberian or Beringian ice sheet during the last glacial maximum (LGM). The Tundrovayan Transgression (459,000–780,000 yr B.P.) is represented by raised marine deposits and landforms 15–41 m asl located up to 18 km inland. The presence of high sea level 64,000–73,000 yr ago (the Krasny Flagian Transgression) is preserved in deposits and landforms 4–7 m asl in the Krasny Flag valley. These deposits and landforms were mapped, dated, and described using amino acid geochronology, radiocarbon, optically stimulated luminescence, electron spin resonance, oxygen isotopes, micropaleontology, paleomagnetism, and grain sizes. The marine deposits are eustatic and not isostatic in origin. All marine deposits on Wrangel Island predate the LGM, indicating that neither Wrangel Island nor the East Siberian or Chukchi Seas experienced extensive glaciation over the last 64,000 yr.

Palynological results from Julietta Lake currently provide the most direct evidence to support the existence of a glacial refugium for Pinus pumila in mountains of southwestern Beringia. Both percentages and accumulation rates indicate the evergreen shrub survived until at least ∼ 19,000 14C yr BP in the Upper Kolyma region. Percentage data suggest numbers dwindled into the late glaciation, whereas pollen accumulation rates point towards a more rapid demise shortly after ∼ 19,000 14C yr BP. Pinus pumila did not re-establish in any great numbers until ∼ 8100 14C yr BP, despite the local presence ∼ 9800 14C yr BP of Larixdahurica, which shares similar summer temperature requirements. The postglacial thermal maximum (in Beringia ∼ 11,000-9000 14C yr BP) provided Pinus pumila shrubs with equally harsh albeit different conditions for survival than those present during the LGM. Regional records indicate that in this time of maximum warmth Pinus pumila likely sheltered in a second, lower-elevation refugium. Paleoclimatic models and modern ecology suggest that shifts in the nature of seasonal transitions and not only seasonal extremes have played important roles in the history of Pinus pumila over the last ∼ 21,000 14C yr BP.

A sediment core from Smorodinovoye Lake (SML), northeastern Siberia (area to the east of the Verkhoyansk Range) spanning the last 24,000 14C yr indicates that vegetational and climatic changes in the upper Indigirka basin resemble those in eastern Siberia (Lena basin and westward). For example, maximum postglacial summer temperatures at SML probably occurred 6000–4000 14C yr B.P., an age more in accordance with eastern than northeastern records. Larix arrived near the lake by 9600 14C yr B.P., approximately when forests expanded in the east but ca. 1500 14C yr later than forests were established in the neighboring upper Kolyma basin. Paleobotanical data further suggest that Larix possibly migrated southward from populations in the arctic lowlands of eastern Siberia and did not originate from interior refugia of the upper Kolyma basin. Although a Younger Dryas cooling has been noted in eastern Siberia, SML provides the first evidence from the northeast for a similar climatic reversal. Climatic variations seemingly have persisted between the Indigirka and Kolyma basins over at least the last 11,000 14C yr, despite the proximity of the two drainages and the occurrence of major changes in boundary conditions (e.g., seasonal insolation, sea levels) that have influenced other regional climatic patterns.

Sediment cores from three lakes in the Upper Kolyma region, northeast Russia, provide the first well-dated continuous record of late Quaternary vegetation change from far southwestern Beringia. The oldest pollen zone, tentatively assigned to the Karginsk (mid-Wisconsinan) Interstade, indicates an Artemisia shrub tundra with Pinus pumila, Betula, and Alnus at mid- to low elevations. With the onset of the Sartan (late Wisconsinan) Stade, Pinus disappeared, probably indicating severely cold, dry winters and cool summers. As conditions deteriorated further, an Artemisia -Gramineae tundra developed. Selaginella rupestris and minor herb taxa indicate the presence of poor soils and disturbed ground. This herb tundra was replaced by a short-lived (< 1000 yr) Betula-Alnus shrub tundra followed by the rapid establishment of a Larix dahurica forest with a Betula exilis-ericales-lichen understory. Populus suaveolens and Chosenia may have formed limited hardwood gallery forests at this time. Modern vegetation associations probably developed during the early Holocene with the arrival of Pinus pumila ca. 9000 yr B.P. This shrub became important in the forest understory and, with B. exilis, formed a belt of shrub tundra beyond altitudinal treeline. Comparison of the Upper Kolyma and Alaskan pollen records indicates that important differences in vegetation types and timing of vegetation change occurred across Beringia during the late Quaternary.