National Museums
of Canada
National Museum
of Natural Sciences
Musées nationaux
du Canada
Musée national
des sciences naturelles
Climatic Change in Canada 4
Annotated Bibliography of Quaternary
Climatic Change in Canada
! C.R. Harington and G. Rice, Editors
Compiled by Anne B. Smithers,
Linda Ghanimé and C.R. Harington
SYLLOGEUS is a publication of the National Museum of Natural Sciences, National Museums of
Canada, designed to permit the rapid dissemination of information pertaining to those
disciplines and educational functions for which the National Museum of Natural Sciences is
responsible. In the interests of making information available quickly, normal publishing
procedures have been abbreviated.
Articles are published in English, in French, or in both languages, and the issues appear at
irregular intervals. A complete list of the titles issued since the beginning of the series
(1972) and individual copies of this number are available by mail from the National Museum
of Natural Sciences, Ottawa, Canada. KIA OM8
La collection SYLLOGEUS, publiée par le Musée national des sciences naturelles, Musées
nationaux du Canada, a pour but de diffuser rapidement le résultat des travaux dans les
domaines scientifique et éducatif qui sont sous la direction du Musée national des sciences
naturelles. Pour assurer la prompte distribution de cette publication, on a abregé les
étapes de la rédaction.
Les articles sont publiés en français, en anglais ou dans les deux langues, et ils
paraissent irréguliérement. On peut obtenir par commande postale la liste des titres de tous
les articles publiés depuis le début de la collection (1972) et des copies individuelles de
ce numéro, au Musée national des sciences naturelles, Ottawa, Canada. KIA OM8
Syllogeus Series No. 51 Serie Syllogeus No. 51
(c) National Museums of Canada (1984) (c) Musées nationaux du Canada (1984)
Printed in Canada Imprimé au Canada
ISSN 0704-576X
CLIMATIC CHANGE
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Digitized by the Internet Archive
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INSIDE COVER ILLUSTRATION
BY CHARLES DOUGLAS
http://www.archive.org/details/syllogeus51 nati
CLIMATIC CHANGE IN CANADA 4
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF QUATERNARY
CLIMATIC CHANGE IN CANADA
National Museum of Natural Sciences
Project on Climatic Change in Canada
During the Past 20,000 Years
Edited by C.R. Harington and G. Rice
Compiled by Anne B. Smithers, Linda Ghanimé and C.R. Harington
Syllogeus No. 51
National Museums of Canada Les Musées nationaux du Canada
National Museum of Natural Sciences Musée national des sciences naturelles
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The editors are grateful to: Mr. C.G. Gruchy (Acting Director, National Museum of Natural
Sciences) and Ridgeley Williams (Acting Assistant Director, Research and Operations, National
Museum of Natural Sciences) for their support; colleagues in the Paleobiology Division for
their continuing interest in and encouragement of the project, and particularly Anne Smithers
and Linda Ghanimé who undertook the arduous work of compiling and typing drafts of this
publication. Linda Ghanimé's work was greatly facilitated by Dr. Sven Orvig (Dean of Science,
McGill University), who arranged for library access and work space, and Dr. Pierre Richard
(laboratoire de palynologie, Université de Montréal), whose private reprint collection
provided an excellent source of information. Mr. A. Stewart (National Museum of Natural
Sciences Branch Librarian) kindly obtained additional citations by a computer search of the
GEOREF database and assisted by arranging interlibrary loans. Martha Andrews (Principal
Investigator, Annotated Bibliography of Holocene Climates, Department of Geological Sciences,
University of Colorado, Boulder) and Professor C. Wilson provided useful advice on organizing
the index.
In 1982, a generous grant was received via Atmospheric Environment Service, which had been
allocated extra resources to develop specific areas of the Canadian Climate Program, including
work undertaken by the NMNS climatic change project. These funds were sufficient to allow
completion of work on this bibliography, and the first editor sincerely thanks Morley K.
Thomas and Gordon McKay of the Canadian Climate Centre for their assistance.
CONTENTS
Introduction
C.R. Hartington
Avant-Propos
C.R. Harington
Annotations
Guide to Index
Geographical Regions of Canada Used in the Index (Figure 1)
Geological Time Periods Used in the Index (Figure 2)
Subjects Listed in the Index (Table 1)
Index
Provinces and Territories
Alberta
British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Newfoundland
Northwest Territories (Mainland)
Northwest Territories (Islands)
Nova Scotia
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Québec
Saskatchewan
Yukon Territory
Canada-General
North America
Global
INTRODUCTION
C.R. ere
PURPOSE
Since its beginning in 1977, a basic aim of the National Museum of Natural Sciences
climatic change project was to compile "la comprehensive, annotated bibliography on the
subject" [of Quaternary paleoclimates in Canada] - in addition to supporting research in
this field and publishing paleobiological, historical and meteorological data of
significance to the study of climatic change in Canada since the peak of the last glaciation
some 20,000 years ago (Harington 1980, p. 13). I hope that this annotated bibliography will:
(1) serve as a ‘refresher' on sources, as well as being a useful research tool for
professionals; (2) act as an introduction to references on climatic change in Canada during
the last 2 million years (Quaternary) for laymen and students interested in this topic and
for scientists beginning work in this field; (3) give some idea of the diversity of
disciplines contributing published paleoclimatic data; and (4) demonstrate the acceleration
of research in this field during the last few decades, as well as indicating some strengths
and weaknesses of such research, where geographic, geochronological and disciplinary
coverage is concerned.
Fundamental to this work is a belief that a knowledge of past climate if carefully
accumulated and interpreted, can lead to a better understanding of the nature, timing and
strength of future climatic alterations. Regardless of the predictive value, we believe that
the results of past work on Quaternary climatic change in Canada, only imperfectly indicated
in this publication, will be of interest and value academically (e.g. to biogeographers,
paleoecologists, archaeologists and historians).
BACKGROUND
Most of the work on this bibliography was carried out by two graduate students, Linda
Ghanimé and Anne Smithers, working on contract under my supervision. During the period
November 1 - March 31, 1979, Linda Ghanimé compiled about 500 annotations - mainly from
Paleobiology Division, National Museum of Natural Sciences, National Museums of Canada,
Ottawa, Ontario KIA OM8
sources in Montréal (Physical Science, Meteorology, Blacker-Wood, Botany and Genetics,
McLennan libraries of McGill University; Centre for Northern Studies and Research Library,
Collection du laboratoire de palynologie, Université de Montréal; Bibliothéque des Sciences,
Université du Québec à Montréal; and the Science and Engineering Library, Concordia
University). Prior to her work, I did not realize how diverse and abundant references were
on this subject, nor how far back in time of publication they extended.
Anne Smithers worked on the bibliography during the periods September 1, 1981 - July 31,
1982 and January 1 - March 31, 1983. She not only checked Linda Ghanimé's annotations and
rewrote many of the earlier annotations, but greatly augmented and improved the bibliography
(bringing the total number of annotations to 912) by: (1) cross-checking reference lists in
the most important papers to see if some sources were being missed; (2) making annotations
of pertinent references found in the GEOREF computer listing for 1961-1981 that applied to
this popiest (3) updating the annotations by checking current issues of the most important
journals containing papers on Quaternary paleoclimates in Canada (e.g. Aretic; Arctic and
Alpine Research; Canadian Journal of Earth Sctences; Climatite Change; Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology); (4) renumbering the annotations that were finally
selected and listing key words for each; and (5) preparing the final index. The main
information sources used by Anne Smithers are in Ottawa (e.g. National Museums of Canada,
Carleton University, Geological Survey of Canada, and Agriculture Canada libraries). Mr. A.
Stewart of the National Museums of Canada Library was most helpful in arranging for
interlibrary loans of references that were difficult to obtain.
I was responsible for planning the bibliography, supervising the work of the
contractors, selecting annotations to be included (substantial published papers with
references were given priority over published abstracts and unpublished material such as
theses), contributing some annotations, organizing the index (with valuable advice from the
contractors, Martha Andrews and C. Wilson), and editing the text to fit Syllogeus format.
The latest references in this volume date to early 1983. Mrs. Gail Rice assisted me in
editing the publication, and effectively carried out liaison with Sussex Informatics, who
held the contract for word-processing of the manuscript.
: The most useful key words in searching were: Canada (or province or territory names);
Quaternary; Pleistocene; Holocene; and paleoclimatology.
ORGANIZATION
Annotations
Annotations are listed in alphabetical order by author's (or first author's) surname and
date of publication. Each annotation is preceded by a number for ready reference and to make
the index at the end of the volume more succinct.
Abbreviations following the annotations indicate their sources:
A.A. — Author's abstract.
A.B. - Arctic Bibliography (Arctic Institute of North America) abstract.
A.B.S. — Abstract prepared by Anne B. Smithers.
A.C. — Author's conclusions.
A.I. — Author's introduction.
A.S. — Author's summary.
A.S.C. — Author's summary and conclusions.
C.R.H. — Abstract prepared by C.R. Harington.
DAT. - Abstract taken from Dissertation Abstracts International.
Editor — Editor's summary.
Excerpt(s) — Abstract prepared by extracting relevant sections from text.
G.A. — Abstract taken from Geo Abstracts.
L.G. - Abstract prepared by Linda Ghanimé.
Pe — Abstract taken from preface.
p - Relevant portion of work abstracted (e.g. pA.A. means relevant portion of
author's abstract).
i - Includes other relevant information (e.g. annotator's comment enclosed by
square brackets).
Thomas - Abstract taken from Meteorological studies of climatic fluctuations in Canada,
1917-1960. An annotated bibltography, prepared by M.K. Thomas (1975).
Index
The index is organized by: (1) Geographical region - alphabetically according to
province and territory names ("Northwest Territories" is divided into "Islands" and
"Mainland" categories for ease of reference; see map, Figure 1), "Canada - General" (where
annotations deal with Canadian areas larger than natural regions), "North America"
(annotations dealing with Canada and other parts of North America), and "Global"
(annotations dealing with Canada and other parts of the world); (2) Geological time -
"Quaternary" (approximately the last 2 million years), "Pleistocene" (approximately 2
million years ago to approximately 10,000 Bupa "Holocene — Prehistoric" (approximately
10,000 B.P. to approximately 500 B.P.), and "Holocene - Historic" (approximately 500 B.P. to
the present) (Figure 2); (3) Subjects - nearly 40 names of disciplines or topics are listed
alphabetically (following the "General" category). Some subjects (e.g. "Climate" and
"Geology'") are subdivided for greater precision of reference (Table 1).
CONCLUSION
This is a preliminary attempt at establishing a source of substantial information on
mainly published papers dealing with climatic change and variability in Canada during the
last 2 million years. Where possible, author's abstracts have been used as annotations for
they tend to state clearly not only the author's conclusions and priorities, but provide an
idea of the general context of the work. Furthermore, perhaps use of these broader, deeper
summaries (i.e. including more than specific paleoclimatic information) will allow this
bibliography to be of greater use to scientists in other fields (Quaternary palynology,
paleoecology, geology and glaciology come to mind because of the relative abundance of
references to those fields in the index). In compiling the annotations we have tried to
avoid too restrictive an approach to this broad and interesting subject: if we have erred, I
hope it is on the generous side.
Besides using this bibliography as a specific research tool, it may be worthwhile for
someone to review its contents in order to summarize the status of Quaternary paleoclimatic
research in certain disciplines in various parts of Canada. A remarkable point noted by Anne
Smithers is the relative abundance of references mentioning climatic change in the Canadian
Arctic Islands ("Northwest Territories - Islands'') - much of this work having stemmed from
long-range, interdisciplinary studies on Baffin Island by research teams from the Institute
of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) at Boulder, Colorado, from similar projects of the
Paleoecology and Geochronology Section, Terrain Sciences Division, Geological Survey of
Canada, and of the Polar Continental Shelf Project. Similarly, surprisingly little
Before Present ("present" being 1950).
paleoclimatic information is available for Saskatchewan. Also, it is obvious that evidence
of past climates based on analysis of historic documents is lagging far behind contributions
arising from palynological studies, for example.
Suggestions for improvement of this annotated bibliography are requested.
REFERENCE
Harington, C.R. 1980. The impact of changing climates on people in Canada; and the National
Museum of Natural Sciences climatic change project. In: Climatic Change in Canada.
Edited by: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus No. 26:5-15.
AVANT-PROPOS
C.R. Herta cone
BUT
Depuis sa mise en oeuvre en 1977, le projet du Musée national des sciences naturelles
concernant les changements climatiques a pour but fondamental de dresser une bibliographie
exhaustive et annotée sur les paléoclimats du Quaternaire au Canada, en plus de faciliter la
recherche dans ce domaine et de publier des données paléobiologiques, historiques et
météorologiques importantes pour l'étude des changements climatiques survenus au Canada
depuis la derniére glaciation il y a 20,000 ans (Harington 1980, p. 13). J'espére que cette
bibliographie annotée (1) rappellera les sources et s'avérera un instrument de recherches
utile aux professionnels; (2) apprendra aux profanes, aux étudiants et aux scientifiques
encore à leurs premières armes où se renseigner sur les changements climatiques survenus au
Canada depuis deux millions d'années (Quaternaire); (3) donnera une idée de la diversité des
disciplines où des données paléoclimatiques ont été publiées et (4) montrera à quel point les
recherches se sont accélérées dans ce domaine depuis quelques décennies, tout en indiquant
les points forts et les lacunes de ces recherches en ce qui concerne la géographie, la
géochronologie et la discipline elle-même.
Ce travail repose sur la conviction que la connaissance des climats anciens peut aider à
mieux faire comprendre la nature, la chronologie et l'ampleur des changements climatiques
futurs, pour peu que les données soient rassemblées et interprétées avec soin. Abstraction
faite de leur valeur prévisionnelle, nous croyons que les résultats des études passées sur
les changements climatiques du quaternaire au Canada, dont il n'est fait que sommairement
état dans le présent ouvrage, s'avéreront utiles et intéressants pour les spécialistes (par
exemple, les biogéographes, les paléoécologistes, les archéologues et les historiens).
HISTORIQUE
Cette bibliographie résulte en grande partie du travail effectué par deux étudiants au
niveau de baccalauréat, Linda Ghanimé et Anne Smithers, qui ont travaillé à contrat sous ma
er 5 Se ae : P
supervision. Du l novembre au 31 mars 1979, Linda Ghanimé a compilé environ 500 annotations
Division de la paléobiologie, Musée national des sciences naturelles, Musées nationaux
du Canada, Ottawa, Ontario KIA OM8.
provenant surtout de Montréal (bibliothèques de l'université McGill - physique, météorologie,
Blacker-Wood, botanique et génétique, McLennan; Bibliothèque du Centre for Northern Studies
and Research; Collection du laboratoire de palynologie de l'Université de Montréal;
Bibliothèque des sciences de l'Université du Québec à Montréal; et Bibliothèque des sciences
et du génie de l'université Concordia). Avant son travail, je ne m'étais jamais rendu compte
de la diversité et de l'abondance des sources, ni de l'ancienneté des publications dans
certains cas.
Pour sa part, Anne Smithers a travaillé à la bibliographie du i septembre 1981 au 31
juillet 1982 puis du pes janvier au 31 mars 1983. En plus de vérifier les annotations de
Linda Ghanimé et de reformuler bon nombre des annotations antérieures, elle a considérable-
ment augmenté et amélioré la bibliographie (portant le nombre total des annotations à 912):
(1) en faisant se recouper les listes de références contenues dans les principaux documents
pour voir si quelques sources n'avaient pas été omises; (2) en faisant des annotations des
références pertinentes trouvées dans la liste informatisée du GEOREF pour 1961-1981 qui
s'appliquait au HSE (3) en mettant les annotations à jour après avoir parcouru les
récents numéros des revues scientifiques contenant des articles sur les paléoclimats du
Quaternaire au Canada (p. ex. Arctic, Arctic and Alpine Research; Canadian Journal of Earth
Setences; Climatic Change; Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology); (4) en renum-
érotant les annotations finalement choisies et en dressant une liste des mots clés pour
chacune; et (5) en préparant l'index final. Les principales sources d'information consultées
par Anne Smithers se trouvent a Ottawa (p. ex. Musées nationaux du Canada, université
Carleton, Commission géologique du Canada et bibliothèques d'Agriculture Canada). M.A.
Stewart de la bibliothéque des Musées nationaux du Canada a eu l'amabilité de lui procurer
les documents difficiles a obtenir en recourant au prét entre bibliothéques.
De mon côté, j'étais chargé de planifier la bibliographie, de superviser le travail de
nos collaborateurs à contrat, de choisir les annotations qui seraient incluses (les
publications importantes contenant des références ont passé avant les résumés publiés et les
documents inédits comme les thèses), de fournir quelques annotations, de dresser l'index
(avec les précieux conseils des contractuels, Martha Andrews et C. Wilson) et d'apprêter le
texte en fonction de la présentation requise pour un Syllogeus. Les dernières références du
Les mots clés les plus utiles pour la recherche ont été: Canada (ou les noms des provinces
et territoires), Quaternaire, Pléistocène, Holocène et paléoclimatologie.
10
présent volume datent du début de 1983. Madame Gail Rice m'a aidé a préparer le texte et
s'est bien acquittée des communications avec la Sussex Informatics, qui détenait le contrat
de traitement du texte.
ORGANISATION
Annotations
Les annotations sont énumérées par ordre alphabétique: nom de famille de l'auteur (ou du
premier auteur) et date de publication. Chaque annotation est précédée d'un numéro qui
facilite la consultation et qui rend plus succinct l'index à la fin du volume.
Les abréviations qui suivent les annotations indiquent leur source:
A.A. — Résumé de l'auteur.
A.B. — Résumé de la bibliographie de l'Arctique (Arctic Institute of North America).
[oan — Résumé préparé par Anne B. Smithers.
A.C. — Conclusions de l'auteur.
ACT - Introduction de l'auteur.
A.S. — Résumé de l'auteur.
ASC: — Résumé et conclusions de l'auteur.
C.R.H. — Résumé préparé par C.R. Harington.
DAT — Résumé tiré de Dissertation Abstracts International.
Editor — Résumé du rédacteur.
Excerpt(s) - Résumé préparé à partir d'extraits pertinents du texte.
G.A. — Résumé tiré de Geo Abstracts.
L.G. — Résumé préparé par Linda Ghanimé.
Pe — Résumé tiré de la préface.
p - La partie pertinente de l'ouvrage a été résumée (p. ex. pA.A. désigne la partie
pertinente du résumé de l'auteur).
+ — Comprend d'autres informations pertinents (p- ex. une observation de
l'annotateur donnée entre crochets).
Thomas - Résumé tiré de Meteorological Studies of climatic fluctuations in Canada,
1917-1960. An annotated bibliography, préparé par M.K. Thomas (1975).
11
Index
L'index est agencé par (1) région géographique - par ordre alphabétique des noms de
provinces ou de territoires (les Territoires du Nord-Ouest sont divisés en deux catégories
pour faciliter la consultation: "iles" et "continent"; voir carte, figure 1), "Canada -
Généralités" (annotations faisant allusion a des régions canadiennes excédant les régions
naturelles), "Amérique du Nord" (annotations faisant allusion au Canada et a d'autres parties
de l'Amérique du Nord) et ‘'monde'' (annotations faisant allusion au Canada et à d'autres
parties du mondes); (2) par époque géologique - 'Quaternaire'' (depuis environ 2 millions
d'années), "Pléistocéne” (d'il y a 2 millions d'années à environ 10,000 avant notre époque),
"Holocéne — Préhistorique" (d'il y a 10,000 ans à 500 ans avant notre époque), ''Holocène —
Historique" (d'il y a 500 ans à notre époque) (figure 2); (3) par sujets - près de 40 noms de
disciplines et de sujets sont énumérés par ordre alphabétique (après la catégorie
"Généralités"). Certains sujets (p. ex. "climats" et géologie") sont subdivisés pour
permettre une consultation plus précise (table 1).
CONCLUSION
Nous avons cherché à établir une source d'information exhaustive sur les documents
(surtout publiés) traitant des changements et des variations climatiques au Canada depuis
deux millions d'années. Lorsque la chose était possible, les résumés d'auteur ont été
considérés comme des annotations car d'habitude en plus d'énoncer clairement les conclusions
et les priorités de l'auteur ils fournissent une idée du contexte général de l'ouvrage. De
plus, peut-être ces résumés plus complets et plus approfondis (c.-à-d. contenant plus que des
informations strictement paléoclimatiques) permettront-ils à la présente bibliographie d'être
également utile aux scientifiques oeuvrant dans d'autres disciplines (palynologie du
Quaternaire, paléoécologie, géologie et glaciologie sont des domaines auxquels l'index fait
souvent allusion). En compilant les annotations nous nous sommes efforcés de ne pas être trop
restrictifs; si nous nous sommes trompés, nous espérons en avoir mis trop plutôt que pas
assez.
En plus d'utiliser cette bibliographie à des fins précises de recherche, quelqu'un aurait
peut-être avantage à en revoir le contenu afin de résumer l'état des recherches sur les
Notre époque = 1950.
12
paléoclimats du Quaternaire dans diverses disciplines et dans diverses régions du Canada.
Comme nous le fait remarquer Anne Smithers, nombreuses sont les références faisant allusion
aux changements climatiques survenus dans les îles de l'Arctique (Territoires du Nord-Ouest —
Iles"); beaucoup de ces documents sont le fruit des études interdisciplinaires à long terme
effectuées sur la terre de Baffin par des équipes de l'Institute of Arctic and Alpine
Research (INSTAAR) à Boulder (Colorado), de projets similaires réalisés par la Section de la
paléoécologie et de la géochronologie, Division de la science des terrains, Commission
géologique du Canada, ainsi que de l'Étude du plateau continental polaire. Inversement, on
dispose de très peu d'information sur les paléoclimats de la Saskatchewan. Il est également
évident que ce que les documents historiques révèlent sur les climats d'autrefois n'a pas du
tout la méme valeur que les conclusions auxquelles aboutissent les études palynologiques, par
exemple.
Nous accueillerons avec plaisir les améliorations qu'on voudra bien nous suggérer.
REFERENCE
Harington, C.R., 1980. The impact of changing climates on people in Canada; and the National
Museum of Natural Sciences climatic change project. In: Climatic Change in Canada.
Rédacteur: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus n° 26:5-15.
13
ANNOTATIONS
1. ALAM, M. 1976. Quaternary paleoclimates and sedimentation southwest of Grand Banks.
Geological Association of Canada - Mineralogical Association of Canada, Joint
Annual Meeting, Program and Abstracts 1:61.
12-m long piston cores collected from the tops of seamounts southwest of the Grand Banks were
examined for climatic signature and change in the sedimentation pattern. The cores consist
of alternating clays and foram-nanno ooze. They were dated by Gly paleomagnetism and foram
and coccolith biostratigraphy. Foram and carbonate cycles were used for paleoclimatic
determinations. They indicate that Eastern Canada was deglaciated three times during the
last 600,000 years. Deglaciation occurred at 11,000 BP, 130,000 BP and 600,000 BP, which
probably correspond to the classical Holocene, Sangamon and Yarmouthian Interglacials. In
addition three interstadials occurred in the Wisconsin and two in the (?) Illinoian stage.
With the advance of continental ice, the Gulf Stream moved towards the southeast and the
intensity of the Labrador Current increased. With the decrease of temperature, bottom
current activity also increased. Biogenic productivity was greatly reduced and the faunal
and floral assemblages changed. Eustatic sea level changes resulted in increased supply of
shelf margin sediments to deep water and prevented Labrador Sea icebergs from crossing the
Grand Banks. The provenance of the clays deposited during the glacial stages can be
determined from their mineralogy. The (?) Early Illinoian sedimentation pattern was
controlled by the advance of an ice sheet across Newfoundland. The Laurentian ice sheet
eroded the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the (?) Late Illinoian. Sediment contribution from the
Wisconsin ice sheet was relatively small and consequently it played a less important role in
the sedimentation on the outer continental margin of Eastern Canada.
A.A.
Lis ALAM, M., and D.J.W. PIPER. 1977. Pre-Wisconsin stratigraphy and paleoclimates off
Atlantic Canada, and its bearing on glaciation in Québec. Géographie physique et
Quaternaire 31(1-2):15-22.
Cores from tops of seamounts close to the continental shelf west of the Grand Banks contain
sequences of alternating clays (representing glacials) and foram nanno ooze (deposited in
warmer periods), back to the Pliocene. Although sedimentation in the cores is controlled
primarily by glacial conditions on the Grand Banks and Laurentian Channel, glacial history
further inland can be inferred. The Wisconsin sequence shows two cool interstadials and one
rather warmer one, correlative with the Plum Point, Port Talbot and St. Pierre Interstadials.
Clay sedimentation during Wisconsin glacial stages was minor, suggesting glaciers did not
extend to the shelf edge. In the late Illinoian, there was a major influx of red sediments,
indicating significant erosion of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Laurentian Channel.
Glaciation was more extensive than during the Wisconsin. Two Illinoian interstadials, with
temperatures between those of the Plum Point and St. Pierre interstadials are recognized.
Early Illinoian glaciation was the most severe yet recognized in the cores. Sedimentation
appears to have been controlled by the advance of a Newfoundland - Labrador - E. Québec ice
sheet across the Grand Banks.
A.A.
3. ALEXANDER, M.E. 1978. Reconstructing the fire history of Pukaskwa National Park. In:
Fire Ecology in Resource Management Workshop Proceedings, Dec. 6-7, 1977. Edited
by: D.E. Dube. Canadian Forestry Service. Information Report NOR-X-210. pp. 4-
11
Pukaskwa National Park comprises 186,000 ha and is located on the northeastern shore of Lake
Superior. Periodic, random wildfires have influenced the vegetation patterns in the park.
The Canadian Forestry Service and Parks Canada are conducting a joint investigation "to
assess the historical, ecological, and managerial role of fire in Pukaskwa National Park”
14
(Alexander, 1977). This paper discusses the methodology (major techniques are
dendrochronology, and written and oral accounts) and provides a progress report for the
reconstruction of fire history.
“Preliminary results from a search of OMNR fire records revealed that since 1923, 55 fires
have occurred (70% LC) with 14(13% LC) greater than 40 ha. Area burned by LC fires has been
approximately 36,000 ha while MC area burned has amounted to less than 160 ha." Neither
railroad building or logging activities appear to have increased fire occurrence. The author
concludes with a review of some problems and future plans.
A.B.S.
4. ALLARD, M. 1981. L'Anse aux Canards, Ile d'Orléans, Québec: évolution Holocéne et
dynamique actuelle. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 35(2):133-154.
A tidal marsh 640 m wide and 1 km2 in area was studied at Anse aux Canards near the
downstream end of Orléans Island. The bay is opened to the northeast onto “le chenal de
l'île d'Orléans” and the St. Lawrence middle estuary. A natural section in a stream bank
provides a stratigraphic record of the tidal marsh evolution. At the bottom, a glacio-marine
till dated 11,200 years BP may be correlated to a last glacial ice advance in the Goldthwait
Sea following the topographic trend of the St. Lawrence River Valley. The next stratigraphic
unit is made up of intertidal sands and gravels dated 1220 years BP. Overlying them are muds
belonging to a tidal flat environment and including thin peat beds which have been dated from
790 to 1500 years BP. Pollen analysis of the peat reveals that regional vegetation at the
time of deposition was characteristic of the Laurentian maple forest (Aceretum
sacchari). Macro-remains analysis indicates a marsh vegetation identical to today's and
typical of a fresh water tidal environment. The last stratigraphic surface unit consists of
an intertidal marsh deposit. ...
pA.A.
5. ALLARD, M., et G. TREMBLAY. 1981. Observations sur le Quaternaire de l'éxtrémite
orientale de la péninsula de Gaspé, Québec. Géographie physique et Quaternaire
35 QE: 105-1257
Three major types of glacial events have been identified over the Gaspé Peninsula, east of
Rivière au Renard: 1) a radial ice-flow towards Baie de Gaspé and the Gulf of St. Lawrence
coming from the Appalachian ridges. This ice-flow pattern is related to a local ice-cap and
was identified from cirques in the hills, evidence of ice-flow in the valleys and the
dispersion of erratics over the peninsula. 2) An important ice-flow in Baie de Gaspé which
has been identified from glacial striations, till lithology and from the submarine topography
of the bay. 3) A glacial influence of the Laurentide icesheet along the coast of the Gulf of
St. Lawrence as evidenced by drift-ice striations and Precambrian clasts in glaciomarine
deposits. This Laurentide ice influence is related to either a floating ice platform or to
large icebergs. According to radiocarbon dates, deglaciation along the eastern Gaspé coast
of the Gulf is synchronous with the deglaciation of the coast of the maritime estuary further
west dated at about 13,400 - 13,600 years B.P. Evidence of a sea level at 30 m seems to mark
the limit reached by the Goldthwait Sea in the study area. However, coastal erosion
surfaces, raised notches in the cliffs and some sediments suggest that many fluctuations of
the relative sea level occurred before glaciation and during the Quaternary. The most
important Holocene geomorphological processes are mass movements, fluvial surges, lacustrine
sedimentation and shoreline erosion and sedimentation.
iL)
6. ALLEY, N.F. 1973. Glacial stratigraphy and the limits of the Rocky Mountain and
Laurentide ice sheets in southwestern Alberta, Canada. Bulletin of the Canadian
Petroleum Geologists 21(2):153-177.
The Quaternary deposits occurring in part of southwestern Alberta were investigated to
determine the sequence of glacial events and the synchroneity and direction of movement of
the Rocky Mountain and Laurentide ice masses. In this area there is evidence of three major
glacial episodes of decreasing magnitude (an episode consisting of one Mountain and one
Laurentide advance). During each episode, the Mountain glaciers reached their maxima and
receded considerably before the advance of Laurentide ice. One other less extensive advance,
subsequent to the last major glacial episode, occurred in the Mountains.
Tills deposited by advances of Mountain ice, named in order of decreasing age, are the
Albertan, Maycroft, Ernst and Hidden Creek tills. Im accordance with the stratigraphy of
Stalker (1963) the Laurentide tills are referred to as the Labuma, Maunsell and Buffalo Lake
tills. The Saskatchewan Sands and Gravels underlie the Albertan Till in the Foothills and
the Labuma Till on the Plains.
Stratigraphic, radiocarbon and palynologic evidence suggests that the three major glacial
advances are pre-Classical Wisconsin in age whereas the Hidden Creek advance is Classical
Wisconsin.
A.A.
7. ALLEY, N.F. 1976. The palynology and paleoclimatic significance of a dated core of
Holocene peat, Okanagan Valley, southern British Columbia. Canadian Journal of
Earth Sciences 13(8):1131-1144.
Holocene vegetation and climatic changes of the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, are
inferred from fossil pollen assemblages recovered from Kelowna Bog in the central part of the
valley. Broad climatic changes inferred from relict postglacial landforms in the valley are
correlated with the above changes.
The Okanagan Valley was ice-free and Glacial Lake Penticton drained before 8900 yr BP. A
forest consisting mainly of pine (Pinus) and stands of spruce (Picea) had
colonized the valley sides prior to draining of the lake. Soon after 8400 yr BP, moist
conditions gave way to aridity during which grass (Gramineae) and sagebrush (Artemisia)
predominated. This warm, dry interval is correlated with the Hypsithermal. Bare areas in
the valley bottom were exposed to wind erosion; sand dunes formed in some areas, whereas in
others, a veneer of aeolian sediment was laid down. At approximately 6600 yr BP, the climate
became cooler and moister, aeolian activity diminished, and the dunes became stabilized by
vegetation. During the ensuing latest climatic interval, three moister phases affected the
Kelowna Bog and were characterized by large increases in birch (Betula), alder
(Alnus), and hazel (Corylus). These phases, which were related to increased
runoff from the adjacent uplands, are tentatively correlated with the stades of the
Neoglaciation recognized in southcentral British Columbia and neighbouring United States,
A.A.
8. ALLEY, N.F. 1979. Middle Wisconsin stratigraphy and climatic reconstruction, southern
Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Quaternary Research 11(2):213-237.
Interbedded, organic-rich terrestrial and marine sediments exposed along the eastern coastal
lowland of Vancouver Island contain an almost continuous record of middle Wisconsin
vegetation and climate. The record has been interpreted largely from palynostratigraphic
studies at three sites and supported by a study of modern pollen spectra from the three major
biogeoclimatic zones of the extant vegetation. Radiocarbon dates from a variety of organic
materials in the middle Wisconsin beds reveal that the fossil pollen spectra span an interval
ranging from approximately 21,000 yr B.P. to more than 51,000 yr B.P. The spectra are
divided into eight major pollen zones encompassing the Olympia Interglaciation and early
16
Fraser Glaciation geologic-climate units of the Pacific Northwest. The Olympia
Interglaciation extended from before 51,000 yr B.P. to ca. 29,000 yr B.P. and was
characterized by a climate similar to present. During the early Fraser Glaciation, from
29,000 years ago to approximately 21,000 yr B.P., climate deteriorated until tundra-like
conditions prevailed. These pollen sequences are correlative with those of coastal British
Columbia and partly with those from Olympic Peninsula, but apparently are not comparable with
events in the Puget Lowland.
A.A.
9. ALLEY, N.F., and S.C. CHATWIN. 1979. Late Pleistocene history and geomorphology,
southwestern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth
Sciences 16(9):1645-1657.
The major Pleistocene deposits and landforms on southwestern Vancouver Island are the result
of the Late Wisconsin (Fraser) Glaciation. Cordilleran glaciers formed in the Vancouver
Island Mountains and in the Coast Mountains had advanced down Strait of Georgia to
southeastern Vancouver Island after 19000 years BP. The ice split into the Puget and Juan de
Fuca lobes, the latter damming small lakes along the southwestern coastal slope of the
island. During the maximum of the glaciation (Vashon Stade), southern Vancouver Island lay
completely under the cover of an ice-sheet which flowed in a south-southwesterly direction
across Juan de Fuca Strait, eventually terminating on the edge of the continental shelf.
Deglaciation was by downwasting during which ice thinned into major valleys and the strait.
Most upland areas were free of ice down to an elevation of 400 m by before 13000 years BP. A
possible glacier standstill and (or) resurgence occurred along Juan de Fuca Strait and in
some interior upland valleys before deglaciation was complete. Glacial lakes occupied major
valleys during later stages of deglaciation.
A.A.
10. ALLIS, R.G. 1978. The effect of Pleistocene climatic variations on the geothermal
regime in Ontario; a reassessment. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 15(11):1875-
1879.
A revised glaciation chronology for Ontario that spans the last half million years is derived
by combining recent results from oxygen isotope analysis in deep sea cores with evidence from
studies of the Pleistocene geology of the province. The chronology suggests that the
perturbation to the geothermal gradient may be up to 504 larger than previously thought in
central parts of Ontario.
A.A.
11. ALLIS, R.G. 1979. The effect of Pleistocene climatic variations on the geothermal
regime in Ontario; a reassessment; reply. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
16(7):1517.
Allis replies to the discussion of his 1978 article by Beck (1979). The author clarifies the
use of his two-step model.
12. AMOS, C.L. 1978. The post glacial evolution of the Minas Basin, N.S. A
sedimentological interpretation. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 48(3):965-
982.
Geophysical and vibrocore information was used to interpret the distribution, character and
evolution of post-glacial sediments in the Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy. Sedimentological
evidence provided information on the environment of deposition of the sediments found.
Results show that the Minas Basin seabed has not been subaerially exposed since glacial times
and that deposition has taken place under continuously marine conditions. During the
approximate period 8,600 years B.P. - 6,300 years B.P. the Minas Basin was non-tidal and
sedimentation occurred predominantly in the deeper parts of the embayment. From 6300 years
B.P. to the present, tidal activity has been increasing linearly; the present tidal activity
is the most energetic condition to have occurred in the system. During this period
deposition was progressively more predominant in the marginal regions, developing the
sandflats, mudflats and salt marshes visible today. The progressive inundation of the Minas
Basin margins is a function of an increase in tidal range (50%) and a rise in apparent mean
sea-level (50%).
A.A.
13. ANDERSON, J.H. 1970. Holocene environments in the Atlin Valley, northwestern British
Columbia, as determined by palynology. Geological Society of America, Abstracts
2(6)1:373%
Pollen and spore percentage frequency diagrams for five bogs in the Atlin Valley were dated
by the radiocarbon method and divided into assemblage zones as follows: 1. Willow-alder-
Dryas-Artemisia, 10,500 - 8,500 years BP; 2. Alder-birch-sedge, 8,500 - 5,800 years BP;
3e Spruce-alder-Pediastrum, 5,800 - 4,000 years BP; 4. Spruce-fir-sedge, 4,000 - 1,200
years BP; 5. Pine, 1,200 years BP to Present. Each zone also contains a number of
diagnostic minor types.
The assemblage of zone 1 is interpreted as representing a shrub tundra vegetation on valley
walls and early successional vegetation on proglacial terrain under relatively cold and humid
climatic conditions. Zone 2 represents a transitional forest tundra on valley walls and an
advanced stage of succession on the valley floor where forest was also developing. The
climate associated with this zone may have been cool and relatively dry. Zone 3 represents
maximum and wide-spread development of climax white spruce forest under optimum climatic
conditions, interpreted as relatively warm and humid. Zone 4 reflects a still widespread
forest vegetation, but with some changes in proportions of important species. A slight drop
in temperatures and a decrease in precipitation is indicated. Zone 5 represents the modern
vegetation of the Atlin Valley. The associated climatic conditions are defined as relatively
cool and dry. The Thermal Maximum in the Atlin Valley is believed to have begun early in
zone 2 times and to have ended about mid-way through zone 4,
The sequence of Holocene environmental changes seen here is similar to, but not in phase
with sequences developed in other regions.
A.A.
14, ANDERSON, T.W. 1980. Holocene vegetation and climatic history of Prince Edward Island,
Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 17(9):1152-1165.
The vegetation and climate of the Holocene of Prince Edward Island are reconstructed from
pollen analysis of four Sphagnum peat bogs, Portage and East Bideford Bogs in the west
and Mermaid and East Baltic Bogs in the east. The discussion is based largely on percentage
data supported by pollen influx estimates.
The earliest recognizable vegetation was tundra-like with non-arboreal birch, willow,
Artemisia, and upland grasses and _ sedges. The vegetation changed remarkably within a
short period, from tundra at 10,000 years BP, to forest-tundra (spruce-non-arboreal birch
association) between 10,000 and 8000 years ago, to pine at or shortly after 8000 years ago.
Hemlock arrived 7000 years ago and dominated along with white pine from about 6500-4500 years
BP. Beech came in about 3400 years ago and formed part of a Femlock-beech-birch association
up until modern times. Sharp increases in weeds and grasses and declines in hemlock, birch,
and beech denote European settlement approximately 100-150 years ago.
18
A gradual warming trend is inferred for the period prior to about 8000 years BP, but rapid
climatic improvement took place shortly after 8000 years ago corresponding with the pollen
transition from spruce to pine. Maximum temperatures (close to 8.5°C) were reached
approximately 4000 years ago when the mean annual temperature may have been almost 2.5°C
warmer than present. Deterioration of the climate occurred at approximately 3000 and 1500
years ago, coinciding with increases in spruce, Ericaceae, and Sphagnum, and a decrease
in pine.
A.A.
15. ANDERSON, T.W., and J. TERASMAE. 1966, Palynological study of bottom sediments in
Georgian Bay, Lake Huron. Great Lakes Research Division, University of Michigan
Publication 15:164-168.
A series of surface samples of bottom sediment from precisely located stations has been
collected and examined for pollen and spores from central Georgian Bay. The assemblages
obtained show a relationship to the surrounding regional vegetation and are different from
those obtained from lakes and bogs north and south of Georgian Bay in the boreal and
deciduous forest regions, respectively...
The dominant pollen types identified in the surface samples are pine, maple, oak and elm,
Among the non-tree pollen, Chenopodiaceae, Ambrosia (ragweed), and Artemisia are
the most frequent, whereas fern spores and Lycopodium (club-moss) spores are present in
most samples.
The consistent presence and more particularly the abundance of pollen identified as that of
maple (Acer) has puzzled the writers throughout this study. None of the surface
samples studied so far in areas east and north of Georgian Bay has shown such abundance of
maple pollen. ...The following possible explanation is suggested for the abundance of maple
pollen in the Georgian Bay assemblages. Warm and sunny weather conditions in the Georgian
Bay area are associated with southwesterly and southerly winds at the time of flowering and
dispersal of maple pollen. Easterly winds commonly bring cool weather and precipitation.
Northwesterly and northerly winds are commonly associated with cool and sunny weather and
local conditions (microclimate) may be suitable for flowering of maple. It seems conceivable
that this abundance of maple pollen in the Georgian Bay bottom samples is related to specific
weather conditions which obtain at the time of maple flowering.
Ass
16. ANDREWS, J.T. 1961. The development of scree slopes in the English Lake District and
central Quebec-Labrador. Cahiers de géographie de Québec 5(10):219-230.
Compares results of talus slope measurements at Wasdale in England with such near
Schefferville during the summers of 1958 and 1959. The topographic, lithologic, and soil
features of these slopes are examined, and the morphologic and climatic factors in their
genesis considered, with conclusion that the talus slope is a possible indicator of a change
of climate, affecting the supply of material to that slope. Question of a post-glacial
climate colder than the present however, is not answered by these results.
As1Be
17. ANDREWS, J.T. 1972, Recent and fossil growth rates of marine bivalves in Canadian
Arctic and Late-Quaternary Arctic marine environments. Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 11(3):157-176.
Growth rates of three marine bivalves - Mytilus edulis, Serripes groenlandicum
and Clinocardium ciliatum - are used to elucidate Late-Quaternary marine conditions in
the Canadian Arctic and Subarctic. Present-day growth rates in Subarctic waters are
statistically faster than those for the same species in Arctic waters. Fossil growth rates
19
are analysed for a 6,000- and 8,500-year sequence from central Hudson Bay and east Baffin
Island. These data suggest that growth rates and the size of coexistent clams, Mya
truneata and Mya pseudoarenaria, increased to a maximum about 3,500 BP and have
since declined. Growth rates did not increase to Subarctic values and hence the increase is
related to temperature and salinity changes of the surface layer rather than by vertical
mixing with the Atlantic water layer at depth. During the period 8,000 - 2,500 BP M.
edulis and Macoma balthica extended up to the east coast of Baffin Island and across
the entire Arctic mainland coast; Chlamys islandicus does not appear to have been as
widespread. In the last 2,500 years or so these species have retreated to the west and
south.
A comparison of raised, Late-Quaternary marine deposits throughout the North-Atlantic Arctic
indicates similar biostratigraphic zones. Warmer conditions than today prevailed between
8,500 and 2,500 B.P. with an optimum 3,500 B.P. These dates suggest that marine
conditions lagged behind terrestrial climatic changes, thus superimposing (in time) a cool
atmosphere/warm ocean system that might explain the renewed glacierization of Arctic regions
in the Neoglacial.
A.A.
18. ANDREWS, J.T. 1973. The Wisconsin Laurentide ice sheet: dispersal centers, problems of
rates of retreat, and climatic implications. Arctic and Alpine Research 5(3):185-
199.
Isochrone maps on the late Wisconsin deglaciation of the Laurentide ice sheet enable
estimates to be made of changes in the volume and area of the ice sheet. The average
marginal recession between 12,000 and 7,000 BP is estimated as 260 m yr7l and varies little
between the northwest and southern margins. The northeastern margin retreated at 20 m yrl
and the overall tendency was for the Laurentide ice sheet to migrate toward Baffin Island.
Vertical mass loss required to produce marginal retreat of over 200 m yr7l indicates values
between 10 and 50 m of vertical ice wastage per year. Consideration of atmospheric energy
sources provides approximate ablation season inputs of 60, 14, and 6 Kcal. em~2/yr7l for the
south, northwest, and northeast margins compared to required totals of 72 to 360, 72 to 360,
and 8 to 16 Kcal. cm 2/yr-1, a deficiency in the energy sources by a factor of between 1 and
17
Attention is directed to the great extent of lacustrine and marine environments during
deglaciation so that extensive sectors of the Laurentide ice sheet terminated in water;
calving is considered the most likely additional ablation process that would explain both the
high rates of marginal retreat and the lack of difference in retreat rates of margins at 72°N
and 45°N.
Large end moraines are commonly interpreted as the response of an ice sheet to climatic
change; however, the ice sheet responds to climate through the associated mass balance
fluctuations. Major end moraines within the borders of the Laurentide ice sheet are
frequently preserved immediately above the local marine limit or glacial lake level,
suggesting that moraines may be caused by a lag in response of the ice sheet to the reduction
in frontal calving, thus resulting in a limited readvance or stillstand. Such moraines are
not associated with climatic change.
19. ANDREWS, J.T. 1973. Late Quaternary variations in oxygen and carbon isotopic
compositions in Canadian Arctic marine bivalves. Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 14(3):187-192.
The oxygen and carbon isotopic composition of arctic marine bivalves Mya _ truncata,
Hiatella arctica, and Mytilus edults are reported on samples from raised marine
deposits in Hudson Bay and Baffin Island. The shells range in age from modern, through the
Holocene, to “old” marine units. During the Holocene the 189/169 ratio in shells rose to a
maximum about 3500 BP which coincides in time with the period of maximum growth rates of
20
bivalves, maximum size and maximum faunal diversity. The change is interpreted to indicate
that about 3500 years ago arctic waters may have reached a salinity ~1-2% greater than
present. Comparison of Holocene shell-carbonate isotopic compositions with those from the
“old” marine shells (that are characteristically extremely thick) suggests that during the
early Wisconsin advance on eastern Baffin Island, surface and near-surface waters were more
saline than at present. This may have been related to low meltwater discharge.
Paradoxically, positive values of 180/169 and 130/120 in marine shells occurred during the
Holocene marine optimum and during the early Wisconsin ice advance.
20. ANDREWS, J.T. 1978. Quantitative Holocene climatic parameters derived from pollen
records in the eastern Canadian Arctic. American Quaternary Association, National
Conference, Abstracts 5:156.
Transfer function equations have been developed for the prediction of: January temperatures,
July temperatures, summer precipitation, and Young's index of summer warmth. The equations
are based on a transect of moss polster data running from Fort Chimo in Nouveau-Québec to
Clyde River, Baffin Island (ca 59 to 71°N). The modern data run from near treeline northward
through Low Arctic shrub tundra into High Arctic tundra. Statistically the equations explain
80% or more of the variance in the modern data, and are based on five factors (assemblages).
These equations have been applied to a series of pollen profiles from peats and organic-poor
sediments from Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island (ca 66°33'N) that date variously between
7000 BP and the present date. Three profiles have records that start at 2500 BP and
estimated climatic parameters allow some test of the reproducibility of the trends developed
from the transfer function reconstructions. Results indicate that July temperatures were
about 1° higher 7000 to 5000 years ago than they were between about 2500 to 650 BP. Present
temperatures (probably averaged over the last 30 to 50 years) are similar to those that
prevailed during the local thermal optimum on Baffin Island. Detailed pollen profiles
covering sections of the last 2500 years (Nichols 1975; Boulton et al., 1976) indicate
several periods of “warm/wet" summer weather although the prevailing neoglacial climate
appears to have been “cold and dry”.
Av Ae
21. ANDREWS, J.T., and D.M. BARNETT. 1979. Holocene (Neoglacial) moraine and proglacial
lake chronology, Barnes Ice Cap, Canada. Boreas 8(3):341-358.
Lichen diameters and radiocarbon dates from the western and southern margins of the Barnes
Ice Cap yield a growth curve similar to that from southeastern Baffin Island. As a
consequence, the moraine chronology of the northern and western Barnes Ice Cap needs
revision, as does the chronology of the large proglacial lakes that existed north of the
present Barnes Ice Cap. The revised chronolgy indicates that moraines were formed along the
western margin of the Barnes Ice Cap during the following intervals: (1) less than 100 years
agosm(2)) 400—500) Babs 3 1G)! cae) 750) BaP ss (4D) cae 1000) sBSPiey (Gp) iicaey 600 FBP C6) iicae 200
B.P.; and (7) 2800 to 3100 B.P. As the western margin of the Barnes Ice Cap retreated,
punctuated by stillstands and readvances, the northern margin of the Barnes Ice Cap lay
athwart a series of westerly draining valleys, and a complex of proglacial lakes were dammed
between the ice margin and the height of land. This sequence is traced by means of well-
developed shorelines, lacustrine deltas, and spillways; specific lake levels are dated by
lichenometry.
The Barnes Ice Cap moraine sequence is more complex than other Neoglacial records fringing
mountain glaciers in Colorado, Alaska and Lappland. However, the chronology for the western
Barnes Ice Cap closely resembles independent moraine chronology of mountain glaciers in
Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island, and thus indicates that the difference between the
Baffin Island climatic record and the general Neoglacial/Holocene climatic record (Denton and
Karlén, 1977) is real. Comparison of specific data from Swedish Lappland and Baffin Island
shows substantial agreement. Although Neoglacial records may be globally synchronous, the
case for a 2500 year periodicity of glacial fluctuations is not proven: a 300 to 600 year
return interval is suggested for the period between 0 and 3000 B.P.
A.A.
22. ANDREWS, J.T., and R.G. BARRY. 1972. Present and paleoclimatic influences on the
glacierization and deglacierization of Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island, N.W.T.,
Canada. University of Colorado Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Occasional
Paper 2:1-215.
The purpose of the research discussed in this report was to attempt an integrated analysis of
the past and present climates of the northern Cumberland Peninsula region with specific
attention focussed on the links between glacier distribution and fluctuations and the
climate. The final objective of the research is to attempt to model the paleoclimate of the
region during the late Quaternary.
pA.l.
23. ANDREWS, J.T., R.G. BARRY, R.S. BRADLEY, G.H. MILLER, and L.D. WILLIAMS. 1972. Past
and present glaciological responses to climate in eastern Baffin Island.
Quaternary Research 2(3):303-314. :
Much of Baffin Island is close to the modern glaciation limit and climatic changes within the
last decade are already being reflected in snow cover extent. Statistical analysis of
glacierized and ice-free corries indicates that changes in direct solar radiation due to
astronomical factors are inadequate to account for glacierization of those at present ice-
free. These and other sources of evidence demonstrate the need for augmented winter snowfall
in order to increase the extent of glacierization. The pattern of glacial history in this
area is for maximum ice extent during the early glacial phase (>68,000, <137,000 BP),
followed by a reduction in ice volume during the cold pleniglacial (>24,000, <68,000 BP) and
then a limited late glacial advance (the Cockburn Stade, ca. 8,000 BP) due to increased
precipitation. The Barnes Ice Cap did not disappear in the Holocene as it did in the last
interglacial. The area is highly suitable for long-term monitoring of climatic change and
glacial response.
A.A.
24. ANDREWS, J.T., R.G. BARRY, P.T. DAVIS, A.S. DYKE, M. MAHAFFY, L.D. WILLIAMS, C. WRIGHT,
and D.A. DAVIES. 1975. The Laurentide ice sheet: problems of the mode and speed
of inception. In: Long-term Climatic Fluctuations. World Meteorological
Organization, Geneva, WMO-421, pp. 87-94.
The growth rate and development of the Laurentide ice sheet are briefly described followed by
a discussion of the extent of the late Neoglacial snow cover over northern Baffin Island as
an example of an ‘abortive' glaciation. The use of a three-dimensional numerical ice flow
model to conduct an experiment on the growth rate of the Laurentide ice sheet is also
described.
25. ANDREWS, J.T., R.G. BARRY, and L. DRAPIER. 1970. An inventory of the present and past
glacierization of Home Bay and Okoa Bay, east Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada, and
some climatic and paleoclimatic considerations. Journal of Glaciology 9(57):337-
362.
An air-photograph inventory of the present glacierization of areas of east Baffin Island
adjoining Home Bay and Okoa Bay is described. Ice fields characterize the broad mountain
22
summits of the former, while the latter is an area of cirque glaciers. The extent of
glacierization is statistically related to various topographic parameters. It is found that
there is a 4:1 ratio between Home Bay and Okoa Bay in the area of ice as a percent of the
land area above 600 m a.s.l. Trend-surface analyses are made of the distribution of
snowbanks and of cirques (empty and with ice bodies) in the two areas. The orientation of
the cirques and of the ice-field glaciers in Home Bay is also examined. 39% of empty cirques
in Okoa Bay face south, whereas those with existing glaciers are restricted to orientations
with azimuths between 310° - 145°. Neither glacier length nor the observable recession in
the Home Bay area show any significant difference with regard to aspect.
Consideration of climatic parameters (snowfall and degree days) and synoptic-climatological
results provide no reason for the strong contrast between the two areas. Cool, cloudy summer
conditions are associated with easterly flow components that should affect both areas. A
possible model for the inception of the mountain ice fields of Home Bay c. 2000-4000 years
ago is outlined and it is suggested that differential lag effects between the ice bodies in
the two areas may be responsible for some of the observed difference. The many parodoxical
relationships between glacierization, topography and climate in these areas, and the rather
negative results, emphasize the dangers of facile paleoclimatic interpretations.
A.A.
26. ANDREWS, J.T., J.T. BUCKLEY, and J.H. ENGLAND. 1970. Late-glacial chronology and
glacio-isostatic recovery, Home Bay east Baffin Island, Canada. Geological Society
of America Bulletin 81:1123-1148.
Fossiliferous raised marine deposits occur around Home Bay, east Baffin Island, Northwest
Territories. We have developed a late-glacial chronology on the bases of 32 radiocarbon
dates and morphostratigraphic evidence. In addition, the similarity of observed and
predicted postglacial emergence curves enabled development of techniques that provided age
estimates of marine limits throughout the area, and allowed construction of an isochron map
for deglaciation.
Retreat of the fiord glaciers was relatively rapid (average 27 m yr~!) between 10,000 and
about 8000 BP. Evidence for a major readvance of the glaciers about 8000 years ago includes
moraines overlying marine clay, elevation of associated raised delta deposits relative to
local marine limits, and a prominent and extensive moraine, the Ekalugad Moraine (new name).
Related radiocarbon dates are similar in age to the Cockburn Moraine of Arctic Canada,
Another moraine, dated about 6800 BP, is of similar age to the Isortoq Moraine of west Baffin
Island. Valley glaciers from the main interior ice sheets were still descending to near sea
level only 4500 to 4000 years ago. Disappearance of the interior ice sheet west of Home Bay
apparently coincided with, or at least preceded, the growth of the local mountain ice caps.
Marine limit elevations are a function of distance from the continental shelf (a measure of
ice thickness) and date of deglaciation; elevations, consequently, incline inland to the
outer limit of the Ekalugad Moraine (from 40 m to a maximum of 91 m) and then decline inland,
thus reflecting the slow deglaciation and the importance of restrained rebound. Isobases are
oriented from 140° to 320°. Glacio-isostatic recovery has led to the warping of former
marine planes. Maximum tilt on the oldest strandline (8600 years old) is 1.8 m km7!,
A.A.
27. ANDREWS, J.T., P.T. DAVIS, L. GLASSGOLD, and H. NICHOLS. 1979. Late Holocene July
temperatures from Ennadai Lake (Keewatin) and Windy Lake (Baffin Island), Arctic
Canada, based on transfer function equations on fossil peats. Geological Society
of America, Abstracts with Programs 11(7):379-380.
Transfer functions have been developed for two transects. The first trends N-S from treeline
in Labrador to 71°N on Baffin Island. The second trends SW-NE from within the Boreal Forest
in Keewatin across the Barren Grounds to Baffin Island, Present climatic parameters are
statistically well explained by only a few taxa. July temperatures (°C) have r2 values of
0.83 and 0.91 based on 6 and 4 taxa respectively. The N-S transect equation includes:
Alnus, Gramineae, Picea, Salix, Ericaceae and Betula, whereas the SW-NE
transect includes: Picea, Alnus, Betula and Gramineae. The Windy site
dates between 650 and 3600 BP. Sedimentation rate was uniform throughout and the sampling
intervalles ca. 9559) yrs The Ennadai diagram covers the period 4700 to ca. 650 BP.
Sedimentation rates were not uniform; we have averaged temperatures over 100 yr intervals.
The results from Windy and Ennadai Lakes confirm a “step” drop in July T°C between 2700 and
2500 yrs BP with temperatures falling 2 to 3°C and never fully recovering during the last
3000 years except during the recent “little climatic optimum”.
Windy L. (July T°C) Ennadai L. (July T°C)
4269-93160 1OS5eP
3355) 8.8 P SQ = 55 AS alk
SNS?) Gale Tr SES) = Bea's 102%
3502726 6eUNE Dial, 8.0 T
255 Ges ol 2 IE En
251 D4) 0 eS) SOMME
WAS) 6.6 P 152 UGih Ak
.6 x 103BP DÉBUT 1.0 x 103BP 9.0 P
P = Peak
T = Trough
A.A.
28. ANDREWS, J.T., P.T. DAVIS, W.N. MODE, H. NICHOLS, and S.K. SHORT. 1981. Relative
departures in July temperatures in northern Canada for the past 6,000 yr. Nature
289(5794) :164-167.
There has been concern about recent temperature trends and the future effects of CO)
concentrations in the atmosphere; but instrumental records only cover a few decades to a few
centuries and it is essential that proxy data sources, such as pollen spectra from peats and
lake sediments, be carefully interpreted as climate records. Several workers have shown
statistically significant associations between the modern pollen rain and climatic
parameters, an approach that by-passes the recognition of pollen/vegetation units.
Statistically defined equations that associate abiotic and biotic elements are called
transfer functions. We report here on the application of transfer function equations to nine
middle and late Holocene peat and lake sediment sequences from northern Canada.
Between 5,500 and 6,000 years ago, in northern Canada, mean July temperature departures were,
on average, negative. July temperature departures then rose to above average values until
2,500 yr BP, with a reversal between 5,000 and 4,500 yr BP. The highest average departures
from July conditions occurred 3,500-4,000 yr BP, which apparently represents a Holocene local
thermal optimum for the eastern and central Canadian Arctic. Between 3,000-2,500 and 1,000-
500 yr BP, the average departures declined steadily and reached a trough in the latter
interval,
AA
29. ANDREWS, J.T., P.T. DAVIS, and C. WRIGHT. 1976. Little Ice Age permanent snowcover in
the eastern Canadian Arctic: Extent mapped from Landsat-l satellite imagery.
Geografiska Annaler 58A(1-2):71-81.
Extensive areas of the eastern Canadian Arctic are light grey/white on both conventional
black and white air photography and on multi-spectral LANDSAT-1 satellite imagery. These
areas stand out in marked contrast to the darker toned surrounding terrain. Field
investigations indicate that the light grey areas possess few lichens or plants; in contrast,
their margins abut terrain with a mature lichen cover. Areas within the lichen trimlines are
interpreted as the sites of former permanent snowbeds and snowfields. Radiometric and
lichenometric dates indicate that the episode of permanent snowfields occurred about 500 to
300 years ago with retreat starting between 300 and 70 years ago. The LANDSAT-1 satellite
imagery at a scale of 1:1 000 000 has proven ideal for mapping the regional extent of this
24
former snowcover and this is illustrated by two frames from northcentral Baffin Island.
Interpretation problems can arise from a number of sources, such as: light early summer or
fall snowcover, limestone bedrock, recent outwash plains, and low clouds. However,
ambiguities can be eliminated by inspection of LANDSAT-1 frames from different passes, by the
examination of 1:60 000 air photographs, by the use of 1:250 000 scale contour maps, and by
comparison with maps of the bedrock geology.
A comparison of Little Ice Age glaciation levels with those based on the present distribution
of permanent ice/snow bodies indicates that during the Little Ice Age the regional snowline
fell between 100 and 400 m; thus extensive areas of the upland plateaus of Baffin Island
above 600 m were mantled by a thin but extensive permanent snowcover. This study serves to
provide a realistic model for the inception of a North American ice sheet.
A.A.
30. ANDREWS, J.T., and H.F. DIAZ. 1981. Eigenvector analysis of reconstructed Holocene
July temperature departures over northern Canada. Quaternary Research 16(4) :373-
389.
July temperatures for the past 6000 yr at 11 sites in northern Canada have been predicted by
transfer-function equations. Normalized departures from the means of each time series at
250-yr intervals are analyzed by principal component (eigenvector) analysis. An initial
analysis included 9 sites and the first three principal components accounted for 85.7% of the
variance. Maps of the loadings on the principal components show broad spatial coherence on
all three components. Temporal coefficients (principal component scores) illustrate major
regional and local midsummer temperature variations. An additional 2 sites were then
included but the spatial pattern of the loadings remained essentially unchanged. A further
test of this approach, with a view toward predicting paleoclimates of northern regions, was
to use the spatial coefficients (loadings) to estimate the July temperature departures at an
“unknown” site (Long Lake, Keewatin). This reconstruction compares favorably with an
independent transfer-function reconstruction (Kay, 1979). Power spectrum analysis of the
significant principal component scores (temperature departures) over the 6000 yr showed that
the temporal fluctuations associated with the first three principal components follow a “red
noise” spectrum, indicative of strong persistence in the reconstructed climatic records. The
scores on the fourth principal component approximated a “white noise” spectrum. A peak in
power between 2000 and 3000 yr occurs in the variance spectrum of the second principal
component (significance 104). We conclude that eigenvector analysis of Holocene
paleoclimatic data has considerable power and may be useful for identifying regional and
local climatic variations.
A.A.
31. ANDREWS, J.T., and R.E. DUGDALE. 1971. Quaternary history of northern Cumberland
Peninsula, Baffin Island, N.W.T.: Part V: Factors affecting corrie glacierization
in Okoa Bay. Quaternary Research 1(4):532-551.
Corries in Okoa Bay contain glaciers, ice patches or are empty. Each of 165 corries is
described by 17 variables that describe shape, location and geometry and also have some
relationship to the glaciological conditions in each basin. Analyses of these data in terms
of “explaining” the factors controlling glacierization (using information and graph-theoretic
methods and multiple stepwise discriminant analysis) all emphasize the importance of
elevation on the current pattern. Orientation is also significant as virtually all glaciers
and ice patches are contained in north-facing corries. Residual elevations from a linear
trend surface on corrie lip altitudes indicate that empty corries lie, on average, only 200 m
below those currently ice-filled, thus the area is extremely sensitive to the effects of
climatic change. Empty corries also lie at the same elevations, on average, in north and
south-facing locations. The orientation of glacierized corries towards the north is a
reflection of the variations in insolation between north- and south-facing slopes at latitude
67°30'N. Calculations indicate a difference under clear skies of 25% for global radiation
and ~50% for absorbed short-wave’ radiation. The 200 m lowering of local snowline
implied by the corrie lip data is equivalent to a 1.2°C temperature decrease - this is the
same as estimates based on changes in the earth's orbital parameters for this latitude. A
25
lowering of temperature results in an increase in the ratio: sublimation/melting which leads
to a reduction in the amount of ablation. It is suggested that glacierization of much of
Baffin Island is possible with a lowering of snowline by 200 m, this could then trigger other
areas such as Labrador and Keewatin.
A.A.
32. ANDREWS, J.T., and G. Falconer. 1969. Late glacial and postglacial history and
emergence of the Ottawa Islands, Hudson Bay, Northwest Territories: Evidence on the
deglaciation of Hudson Bay. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 6(5):1263-1276.
The Ottawa Islands are in the northeastern part of Hudson Bay. Evidence from crossing
striations suggests that the earliest recorded glacial movement was toward the northeast.
With deglaciation of Hudson Strait and central Hudson Bay the ice movement shifted
progressively in an anti-clockwise direction, with the final movement being toward the west-
southwest. The islands were deglaciated between 7610 and 7250 radiocarbon years ago. The
marine limit is 158 m above sea level. Deltaic deposits below the marine limit are grouped
into sets that correlate with glacial advances in Labrador-Ungava and Baffin Island, and with
palynological results from Keewatin, suggesting that they reflect climatically induced
processes rather than a balance in eustatic-isostatic movements. Radiocarbon dates on marine
molluscs enable postglacial uplift and emergence curves to be drawn, which agree closely with
predicted curves.
Rates of uplift were about 0.06 m yr-1 at 6500 yr B.P., whereas the present rate is about
0.008 m yr-l. The deglaciation of Hudson Bay was marked by the splitting of the ice sheet
along the submarine deep that trends southward between Mansel and Coats islands toward the
southwest coast of the bay.
A.A.
33. ANDREWS, J.T., and J.D. IVES. 1972. Late- and postglacial events (<10,000 B.P.) in the
eastern Canadian Arctic with particular reference to the Cockburn moraines and
breakup of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. In: Climatic Changes in Artic Areas During
the Last Ten-thousand Years. Edited by: Y. Vasari, H. Hyvarinen and S. Hicks.
Acta Universitatis Ouluensis Series A, Scientiae Rerum Naturalium 3, Geologica
1:149-174.
The Cockburn Moraines (morpho-stratigraphic term) of the Canadian Arctic are discussed in
terms of their climatic implications at two levels: the first is their place in the late-
glacial chronology of eastern Baffin Island, N.W.T.; the second is their relationship on the
regional scale to the final disintegration of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and the Cochrane
readvance, south of James Bay. In eastern Baffin Island an analysis of 144 radiocarbon dates
from coastal sites indicates a marked peak in the number of dates between 8,500 and 7,500
B.P. and a complete absence of any dates between 10,500 and 24,000 B.P. It is now certain
that several areas on the outermost coast of eastern Baffin Island were not covered by late-
Wisconsin fiord glaciers, so that the absence of 14C dates in this interval is unusual. In
some fiords, dates of deglaciation obtained from marine shells associated with local marine
limits do not vary significantly from the fiord head to the mid-fiord areas and this suggests
that in places the marine limits of ca. 8,000 B.P. were formed during an extensive
transgression that is tentatively related to a readvance of the fiord glaciers during
Cockburn time. In certain areas the cockburn Moraines may even mark the greatest extent of
late-Wisconsin ice. It is believed that the readvance is associated with increased
precipitation during a general warming phase.
In the regional scheme the rapid disintegration of the Laurentide Ice Sheet by penetration of
the sea into Hudson Bay and south to James Bay (at an estimated rate of 16 to 3.2 km yr-!) is
temporally (by 14C dates) indistinguishable from the Cochrane and Cockburn readvances. All
occurred within a few hundred years, centered on 8,000 B.P. The Cochrane readvance has been
physically associated with the encroachment of the Tyrrell Sea and this hypothesis is
attractive. Finally, the considerable difference between the Cochrane readvance, which was
26
the final phase in fluctuations of the southern Laurentide ice margin, and the Cockburn
readvance (sensu stricto) which was followed by an extensive period of slow retreat and
readvances, is stressed.
A.A.
34. ANDREWS, J.T., and J.D. IVES. 1978. “Cockburn” nomenclature and the late Quaternary
history of the eastern Canadian Arctic. Arctic and Alpine Research 10(3):617-
633.
A system of end and lateral moraines, extending from near Frobisher, Baffin Island, to the
west of the Penny Ice Cap, and roughly parallel to the fiord heads of the northeast coast to
Bernier Bay, was identified in the 1960s and given the name “Cockburn end-moraine system”.
Since then the name “Cockburn” has been used in conjunction with several distinct types of
stratigraphic units and landform assemblages. The three main uses are (1) Cockburn end-
moraine system, Cockburn moraines, Cockburn Moraine, which are all morphostratigraphic units;
(2) Cockburn Stade, which is a geologic-climatic unit; and (3) Cockburn Glacial Phase, which
was originally defined as occurring between 8000 and 9000 radiocarbon years ago, and which
is, therefore, a chronostratigraphic unit. Thus there is an ambiguity in present usage that
has developed over the last 15 yr as knowledge of the glacial morphology and stratigraphy of
the eastern Canadian Arctic has expanded. In this paper an attempt is made to reduce this
ambiguity by preparing new definitions.
pA.A.
35. ANDREWS, J.T., and G.H. MILLER. 1972. Quaternary history of northern Cumberland
Peninsula, Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada: Part IV. Maps of the present glaciation
limits and lowest equilibrium line altitude for north and south Baffin Island.
Arctic and Alpine Research 4(1):45-59,
Maps of the glaciation limit and lowest equilibrium line altitude (ELA) are presented for
southern and northern Baffin Island. The glaciation limit was determined by the “summit
method"; the ELAs were determined by assuming a steady state accumulation area ratio of 0.65.
Data were derived from the 1:250,000 map series based on between six and eight points per
map. The isoglacihypses are roughly parallel to the east coast of the island and rise inland
at approximately 4 m km7!, Along the outermost coast a typical elevation is 700 m a.s.l.
rising to between 1,000 and 1,300 m inland. There is evidence on the northern map that the
glaciation limit declines from a high point to both the east (Baffin Bay) and the west (Foxe
Basin). Enclosed, high contours exist in the vicinity of the Penny Ice Cap, the Barnes Ice
Cap, and the heavily glacierized region near Pond Inlet and Bylot Island. ELAs are, on the
average, 200 m below the glaciation limit. A study of features in Okoa Bay indicates that
paleo-ELAs were once about 400 m lower than today during the late Quaternary. Analysis of
the height of the average July 0°C isotherm, assuming an environmental lapse rate of 0.75°C
per 100 m, indicates considerable variation on the initial analysis although subsequent work
indicates that the relationship between the glaciation limit and the height of the July
freezing level has broad, spatial correlation. Glaciation limit gradients from Norway,
British Columbia, Greenland, and Baffin Island are compared and shown to be similar with a
gradient of about 4 m km7!,
A.A.
36. ANDREWS, J.T., G.H. MILLER, A.R. NELSON, W.N. MODE, and W.W. LOCKE, III. 1981.
Quaternary near-shore environments on eastern Baffin Island, N.W.T. In:
Quaternary Paleoclimate. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney. Geo Abstracts, Norwich. pp.
13-44.
The interrelationships between marine environments in Baffin Bay and the growth and
disappearance of glacial ice on Baffin Island do not follow a simple mode of: atmospheric
cooling = glaciation. This and other factors point to problems with the American
Nh
~
Stratigraphic Code's definition of “geologic-climate” units. The association of extensive
glaciation on Baffin Island with periods of “warm” subarctic water inshore against Baffin
Island is documented by a study of the distribution of subarctic marine molluscs in raised
marine sediments from sections along the eastern coast of Baffin Island. Distribution maps
of certain key taxa are shown for periods during the last (=Foxe) Glaciation and compared
with the current northern range of these species. Correlation of the various raised marine
strata is based on a similarity of D-alloisoleucene: L-isoleucene ratios for both the free
and total fractions. Units with similar amino acid ratios are grouped into aminozones. We
suggest that useful names for warm and cold water events are aquatherms and aquacalts,
respectively.
Consideration of available radiometric dates and the kinetics of amino acid epimerization
indicate that the Kogalu Member of the Clyde Foreland Formation and its chronocorrelative
units, date from ca. 70,000 BP. This represents the youngest of three glacial/marine
sedimentation cycles during the Foxe Glaciation. The raised marine sediments at Iron Strand,
Labrador (Ives, 1977) may be younger than Kogalu, although pre-Holocene in age.
A.A.
37. ANDREWS, J.T., W.N. MODE, and P.T. DAVIS. 1980. Holocene climate based on pollen
transfer functions, eastern Canadian Arctic. Arctic and Alpine Research 12(1):41-
64.
Transfer functions are developed for a north-south transect in the eastern Canadian Arctic
(from Clyde River to Fort Chimo) based on surface pollen samples. The Imbrie/Kipp and
multiple stepwise linear regression models are used to show the statistical association
between percentages of 19 pollen taxa and climatic variables (January, June, July, and summer
temperatures, Young's index of summer warmth, and summer (JJA) precipitation). Multiple
correlation coefficients are high and standard deviations of temperature estimates are less
nein NC zie) 255) ten, The problem of the local variability of pollen in surface
mosses is considered through an analysis of the results of the transfer functions on 69
additional modern surface samples from around Fort Chimo, Frobisher Bay, Pangnirtung,
Broughton Island, and Clyde River. Good agreement exists between the predicted July
temperatures based on the transfer functions and adjacent weather station records. The
transfer functions are applied to four fossil peat pollen sequences on Cumberland Peninsula,
These spectra provide a nearly continuous record that covers the last 6000 yr. Analysis of
the fossil materials provides estimates of July T°C and summer precipitation (cm). A period
of warmer and wetter conditions generally prevailed between 6000 and 4000 BP although this
climate was punctuated by cooler conditions ca. 4800 yr ago. Over the last 3600 yr the
pollen record from Windy Lake shows a progressive decline in July temperature. Superimposed
on this trend are a number of temperature oscillations which show correspondence with other
regional proxy climatic records.
A.A.
38. ANDREWS, J.T., and H. NICHOLS. 1981. Modern pollen deposition and Holocene paleo-
temperature reconstructions, central northern Canada. Arctic and Alpine Research
13(4) :387-408.
The relative modern pollen spectra is reported for a transect from the edge of the boreal
forest of Keewatin (ca. 60°N), north-eastward to the high arctic/polar desert environments of
Clyde River, Baffin Island (ca. 71°N). Two hundred and ninety-three surface moss polsters
are analyzed from 29 sites. Thirteen modern pollen taxa (Alnus, Betula,
Picea, Chenopodiaceae, Pinus, Saltx, Artemesta, Caryophyllaceae,
Compositae, Gramineae, Cyperaceae, Ericaceae, and Sphagnum) are used in association
with estimates of present temperature and precipitation, to construct transfer function
equations from fossil pollen diagrams. Equations are derived using the Imbrie/Kipp (1971)
approach and multiple regression procedures. The resulting equations are all statistically
significant with multiple correlation coefficients for summer temperatures of better than 0.9
with standard errors of - 1.0°C or less.
The transfer functions are used on four published pollen diagrams (Nichols, 1975) to predict
July temperature. The resulting time-series are presented as standardized departures from
the mean July T C at each of the four sites. A generalized reconstruction of the July
temperature history is then made by taking average departures for each of the four sites over
the last 6,000 years. This shows (1) temperatures above average between 5,500 and 4,000 BP;
(2) temperatures below average (or average) between 4,000 and 3,000 BP; (3) temperatures
above average between 3,000 and 2,000 BP; and (4) temperatures below average between 2,000
and the last few hundred years. In addition, on the basis of multivariate statistical
analysis, we define four geographical pollen assemblage regions. Proceeding from south to
north the pollen assemblages are Region I: Betula/ Pinus/ Picea/Ericaceae;
Ragion MALE Betula/ Pinus/Ericaceae/Alnus; Region III: Ericaceae/
Salix/Cyperaceae/ Pinus; and Region IV: Gramineae/Cyperaceae/Ericaceae/ Salix.
39. ANDREWS, J.T., WeWe SHILTS, and G.H. MILLER. 1983. Multiple deglaciations of the
Hudson Bay Lowlands, Canada, since deposition of the Missinaibi (Last-
Interglacial?) Formation. Quaternary Research 19(1):18-37.
The stratigraphic record in the James and Hudson Bay Lowlands indicates that the sequence of
glacial events at the geographical centre of the 12.6 x 106 km? Laurentide Ice Sheet may have
been more complex than hitherto imagined. Isoleucine epimerization ratios of in situ
and transported shells recovered from till and associated marine and fluvial sediments
cluster into at least 4 discrete groups. Two alternative explanations of the data are
offered, of which we strongly favor the first. Hypothesis 1: Setting the age of the “last
interglacial" marine incursion, the Bell Sea, at 130,000 yr B.P. results in a long-term
average diagenetic temperature for the lowlands of +0.6°C. Using this temperature enables us
to predict the age of shells intermediate in age between the “last interglaciation" and the
incursion of the Tyrrell Sea 8000 yr ago. Between these two interglacial marine inundations,
Hudson Bay is predicted to have been free of ice along its southern shore about 35,000,
75,000, and 105,000 yr ago based on amino acid ratios from shells occurring as erratics in
several superimposed tills and fluvial sediments. These results suggest (1) that traditional
concepts of ice-sheet build-up and decay must be reexamined; (2) that “high” sea levels may
have occurred during the Wisconsin Glaciation; and (3) that a critical reappraisal is
required of the open ocean 6189 record as a simple indicator of global ice volume.
An alternative, Hypothesis 2, is also examined. It is based on the assumption that the
35,000-yr-old deposits calculated on the basis of Hypothesis 1 date from the "last
interglaciation"; this, in effect, indicates that the Missinaibi Formation, commonly
accepted as sediments of the “last interglaciation”, are about 500,000 yr old and that the
effective diagenetic temperature in the lowlands during approximately the last 130,000 yr has
been close to -6°C. We argue for rejection of this alternative hypothesis.
40. ANDREWS, J.T., and K. TYLER. 1977. The observed postglacial recovery of Québec and
Nouveau-Québec since 12,000 BP. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 31(3-4):389-
400.
Radiocarbon dated relative sea levels, the tilts of proglacial lake shorelines and raised
marine shorelines, the directions of the tilt of these features, and postglacial delevelling
are used to construct six isobase maps showing relative sea level movements over the last
12,000, 10,000, 8,000, 4,000 and 2,000 years. No map has more than 30 control points and
usually there are only 12 “good” points controlling the isobase patterns. Each map shows the
relationship of the isobases to the current ice sheet extent. Along the southern margin of
the Laurentide Ice Sheet, the maximum postglacial emergence has been quite uniform with the
240 to 200 m isobase always close to the ice margin. Along the northeastern margin of the
ice sheet, the postglacial emergence at the retreating ice edge was closer to 100 nm.
Equidistant diagrams are drawn along planes southeast from southern Hudson Bay and eastward
from Southampton Island. If these diagrams are compared on a Shoreline Relation Diagram, the
two profiles appear similar and compare moderately well with a theoretical SR Diagram
published in 1969. The isobases show a major uplift center located around the area of James
Bay and southern Hudson Bay where a maximum emergence of nearly 300 m occurred in the last
7,500 years. High marine limits southwest of Ungava Bay need to be dated because if they
date close to 8,000 B.P. as we suggest, then more emergence is suggested for the region
southwest of Ungava Bay than we currently allow for.
A.A.
41. ANDREWS, J.T., P.J. WEBBER, and H. NICHOLS. 1979. A late Holocence pollen diagram from
Pangnirtung Pass, Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada. Review of Paleobotany and
Palynology 27:1-28.
A 1.2 m section of organic-rich sediment from near Windy Lake, Pangnirtung Pass, Baffin
Island, Canada, is dated by twelve radiocarbon assays which indicate that the sediment
accumulated at an average rate of 6.5 cm 100 yr l. The base of the studied exposure is about
2500 years old, whereas the sediment at a depth of 4 to 9 cm is dated about 650 years old.
The sampling interval for pollen averages one sample every 39 years. The section is
described in terms of the lithology of the inorganic matrix, in the plant growth form and
moisture preference of the pollen taxa, and in the variations in the influx of exotic pollen
(Alnus, Picea, and Pinus). Principal Components Analysis and clustering of
pollen levels were used to zone five different groupings of the pollen taxa “objectively”.
Both relative and “absolute” pollen values were used in these various steps. Pollen
accumulation varied between 24 and 14,300 grains cm2 yr l with a median value of 501.
Thirteen biozones are recognized primarily from changes in the rates of pollen accumulation
and diversity. The broad climatic interpretation of the pollen stratigraphy has similarities
and differences from nearby glacial moraine chronologies. Sharp increases in exotic pollen
(especially Alnus) are provisionally associated with major advection of southerly air
toward Cumberland Peninsula, southeastern Baffin Island.
42. ANDREWS, M., and J.T. ANDREWS. 1980. Baffin Island Quaternary environments. An
annotated bibliography. Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, Occasional Paper
33:1—123;
Over four hundred and sixty references, the majority of which include abstracts from
secondary sources, are presented. Covering the broad subject area of the Quaternary
environment of Baffin Island, Canada, they are arranged according to thirteen more specific
subject categories. An author index follows the bibliography. Two figures and some
introductory remarks give the user a reference framework.
43. ANTEVS, E. 1931. Late-Glacial correlations and ice recession in Manitoba. Geological
Survey of Canada Memoir 168:1-76.
The disappearance of glacial Lake Ojibway in northern Ontario and Quebec, when the ice front
stood north of Cochrane, sets practically a limit to the extension of the varved clay
chronology in the region south of James Bay. A study of the varved clays from the last
stages of glacial Lake Agassiz in northern Manitoba was, therefore, carried out during the
summer of 1929.
In order to correlate the Late-Glacial ice borders and events in northern Manitoba with those
in western Quebec and eastern Ontario, the existing data concerning the direction of the ice
flow, the moraines, etc., were compiled. This led to an attempt at a general correlation of
the Late-Glacial of the East and the Middle West. The results of these various
investigations are herewith presented. Furthermore, the probable correlation of the Late-
Glacial of North America and of Europe, as well as the basis of attempted correlations
30
between clay varves from America and Europe, are discussed in some detail. A suggestion for
a division of the late Quaternary of North America is also presented.
44. ANTEVS, E. 1955. Varve and radiocarbon chronologies appraised by pollen data. Journal
of Geology 63(5):495-499.
Natural correlation with climatic ages of Canadian postglacial forest types, deduced by
Potzger and Courtemanche, confirms the well-suggested view that the ice border oscillations
at Cochrane antedated the Altithermal which culminated ca. 6,000 years ago. The postglacial
crustal rise of the James Bay country required 8,000-10,000 years according to Gutenberg.
The Cochrane must be the correlative of the European Salpausselkä stage and be some 10,000-
11,000 years old. Since the ice retreat from Milwaukee to Cochrane comprised at least 7,000
years, the radiocarbon age of the Two Creeks forest bed of 11,400 years mst be much too
low.
A.A.
45. ARCHER, D.R. 1966. Deglaciation and post-glacial emergence in the vicinity of Little
Whale River, New Quebec - a preliminary report. McGill University Sub-Arctic Re-
search Laboratory, Research Paper No.21:1-17.
Describes field investigations in this area into various aspects of late- and post-glacial
history. The upper marine limit was measured by altimetry and the chronology of uplift by
lichenometry. Results are graphed and illustrated. Some problems met with in the licheno-
metric observations are mentioned. Emergence since deglaciation has been continuous, but was
most rapid in the early stages. Recent uplift has been at 4-7 ft/century. Some findings
relevant to the ice slope and movement between Hudson Bay and Labrador-Ungava are discussed.
The upper marine limit in this area is more than 900 ft above present sea level.
A.B.
46. ARMSTRONG, J.E. 1981. Post-Vashon Wisconsin glaciation, Fraser Lowland, British
Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 322:1-34.
The late Wisconsin Fraser Glaciation in southwestern British Columbia commenced on the
mainland between 23,000 and 26,000 radiocarbon years ago and terminated about 11,000
radiocarbon years ago. It reached its climax during the Vashon Stade about 15,000 to 15,500
years ago when it extended south to 47°N. The Vashon ice was more than 1800 m thick in the
Fraser Lowland, and the weight of the ice isostatically depressed the area at least 350 m and
possibly 400 m or more.
Withdrawal of Vashon ice was rapid, and from about 13,000 to 11,000 years BP most of the
Fraser Lowland was invaded by the sea. During this interval the eastern part of the Fraser
Lowland was occupied by a piedmont glacier or glaciers that at various times retreated, were
stationary, or surged forward. The glacier or glaciers terminated in the sea for much of
their history, probably in a manner similar to the glaciers of the Yakutat Bay area of
Alaska. Throughout the period glaciomarine sediments were formed largely from dropstones and
debris deposited into seafloor muds by floating pieces of ice (including bergs). During
surges and standstills drift was deposited in places above sea level and on the seafloor.
The deposits laid down during the occupation of the sea comprise the Fort Langley Formation
and the Capilano Sediments.
Isostatic, eustatic and tectonic adjustments between the withdrawal of Vashon ice and
withdrawal of the sea were not uniform for the whole area; however, at least two major
submergences separated by unusually rapid emergences are indicated. The final withdrawal of
the sea and disappearance of floating ice in the eastern part of the Fraser Lowland coincided
with a final surge of piedmont ice. The deposits laid down during this last stade have been
called Sumas. This ice apparently began to advance about 11,400 years ago when sea level was
31
at least 50 m higher than at present. The date at which Sumas ice disappeared is indefinite
but was probably about 11,000 years ago, at which time the sea no longer occupied the area.
A.A.
47. ARMSTRONG, J.E., and J.J. CLAGUE. 1977. Two major Wisconsin lithostratigraphic units
in southwest British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 17(7):1471-
1480.
Two lithostratigraphic units, Quadra Sand and the Cowichan Head Formation, are overlain by
Vashon till and associated glacial sediments and underlain by Dashwood and Semiahmoo drift
deposits in coastal southwest British Columbia. Each unit is formally described and
stratotypes are presented.
Quadra Sand consists of cross-stratified, well-sorted sand, minor gravel, and silt deposited
as outwash in front of glaciers advancing into the Georgia Depression at the beginning of the
Fraser Glaciation. It is diachronous, deposition having commenced earlier than 29,000 BP at
the north end of the Georgia Depression but not until after 15,000 years BP at the south end
of the Puget Lowland.
The Cowichan Head Formation, deposited during the Olympia nonglacial interval, underlies
Quadra Sand and consists of parallel-bedded silts, sand, and gravel, in part plant-bearing.
The unit is divisible into a lower marine member and an upper fluvial and estuarine member.
A.A.
48. ARMSTRONG, J.E., D.R. CRANDELL, D.J. EASTERBROOK, and J.B. NOBLE. 1965. Late
Pleistocene stratigraphy and chronology in southwestern British Columbia and
northwestern Washington. Geological Society of America Bulletin 76:321-330.
Six geologic-climate units are proposed for the late Pleistocene sequence in southwestern
British Columbia and northwestern Washington. They include two major units, the Olympia
Interglaciation and the Fraser Glaciation, and four subdivisions of the latter - the Evans
Creek, Vashon, and Sumas Stades, and the Everson Interstade. The Olympia Interglaciation is
a nonglacial episode that started at least 36,000 years BP and continued until the advance of
Cordilleran glacier ice during the Fraser Glaciation. During the Evans Creek Stade, alpine
glaciers formed in the mountains of western Washington and British Columbia while nonglacial
sediments were still being deposited in the southern Puget Lowland. Further growth of
glaciers in British Columbia resulted in the formation of the Cordilleran ice sheet. This
ice entered the northern end of the area after 25,000 years BP but did not reach the southern
end until after 15,000 years BP. The Vashon Stade of the Fraser Glaciation began with this
advance of Cordilleran ice into the lowlands. It ended with the beginning of marine and
glaciomarine conditions there, which commenced in the southern Puget Lowland about 13,500
years BP and in the Strait of Georgia about 13,000 years BP. The episode represented by the
marine conditions is called the Everson Interstade and lasted about 2000 years, during which
the sea contained much floating ice. The Interstade ended when the land rose with respect to
the sea level forcing withdrawal of the sea and the disappearance of floating ice in most of
northwestern Washington and southwestern British Columbia; in the eastern part of the Fraser
Lowland this event coincided with the advance of a valley glacier during the Sumas Stade.
A.A.
49. ARMSTRONG, J.E., and S.R. HICOCK. 1975. Quaternary landscapes; present and past at
Mary Hill, Coquitlam, B.C. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 75-1B:99-103.
Commencing with the oldest sediments exposed the geological history of Mary Hill may be
summarized as follows:
32
1. The oldest Highbury Sediments found in the pit are organic deposits.
...The climate at this time may have been as warm as the present day
climate, however, only pollen and insect studies will confirm this.
2. The Highway swamp deposits are overlain by fluvial sediments... These
fluvial deposits, ...are possibly proglacial in origin, representing a
climatic interval between a relatively warm climate and a glacial
climate.
Je A major glaciation, represented by the Semiahmoo Drift, resulted from
this cooling climate.
4. As a result of climatic warming, the Semiahmoo glaciation came to a
close.
5. The Quadra Sediments of the Olympia Interglaciation were deposited during
this second warm period which may have lasted 25 000 years. ... The
climate during this period is believed to have been similar or slightly
cooler than the present day climate.
6. The Quadra deposits are overlain by thick fluvial sediments which were
deposited by streams that channelled into the swamps. These fluvial
sediments, which have been included in the Quadra lithologic unit,
probably were laid down during the transitional period from a relatively
warm to a glacial climate.
Ue A continued cooling resulted in a glacial climate once again, commencing
about 22 000 years ago and lasting about 11 000 years. The Mary Hill pit
records three local advances of ice during this period, each accompanied
by deposition of till and glaciofluvial sediments.
pA.C.
50. ASHWORTH, A.C. 1977. A late Wisconsinan Coleopterous assemblage from southern Ontario
and its environmental significance. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 14(7):1625-
1634.
A flood debris assemblage of fossil Coleoptera is described from a 10,600 year old terrace
deposit in southern Ontario. It is a small sample of the fauna that had colonized the region
after deglaciation and although the species are extant, the assemblage is a surprising
mixture of faunistic elements for which there is no known modern analog. Species with wide-
spread boreal, arctic-alpine, northwestern boreal, southern boreal, and eastern distributions
are recorded. The present ecologic and geographic distributions of the species indicate a
valley environment with similar habitat diversity and climate to those which characterize the
tundra-forest transition zone of northern Canada. This interpretation is supported by
macroscopic plant evidence but conflicts with pollen evidence which implies a climate with
warmer summers. To resolve the problem it is proposed that the valley fauna and flora
survived in an isolated cold microenvironment surrounded by regionally warmer conditions and
for which analogies presently exist on the north and east shores of Lake Superior.
A.A.
51. AUER, V. 1930. Peat bogs in southeastern Canada. Geological Survey of Canada Memoir
162:1-32.
The peat bogs of southeastern Canada thus seem to indicate that the lower layers formed
during a warm, dry period; that this was followed by a moist period which, judging by the
presence of deciduous trees, was also probably warm; that this was succeeded by a dry, warm
period, and this in turn by a moist period which possibly was comparatively cool as deciduous
trees decreased in quantity. The climatic changes correspond in a general way, at least, to
those that affected Europe in post-Glacial time. The early dry, warm period corresponds with
33
the Boreal period; the next, the moist probably warm period, with the Atlantic period; the
third, the dry, warm period with the sub-Boreal period; and the last, the moist, probably
cool period, with the sub-Atlantic period.
Excerpt
52. BAKER, D.G. 1980. Botanical and chemical evidence of climatic change: a comment.
Journal of Interdisciplinary History 10(4):813-819.
A review of several proxy data methods to estimate past climates and the “inherent problems
which may limit the ability of each method to provide the kind of quantitative results often
asserted for them.”
A.B.S.
53. BAKER, R.G. 1981. Interglacial and interstadial environments in Yellowstone National
Park. In: Quaternary Paleoclimate. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney. Geo Abstracts,
Norwich. pPp°e 361-375.
The Holocene is characterized on pollen diagrams from Yellowstone National Park by high
percentages of pine, mostly diploxylon, and low percentages of sagebrush, grass, juniper,
spruce, and fir.
Cold interstadial periods are represented by low pine percentages, of mostly the haploxylon
type, and high percentages of sagebrush, grass, and juniper pollen.
Warm interstadial periods are represented by maxima of spruce and fir pollen and by
intermediate percentages of pine, mostly haploxylon, during the cooler phases. At times of
maximum warmth, percentages of pine pollen are still at intermediate levels, but are mostly
of the diploxylon type; spruce and fir pollen percentages are also at intermediate levels.
Grass, sagebrush, and juniper are at intermediate percentages throughout the warm
interstadial interval.
The single interglacial pollen sequence is characterized by a Douglas-fir pollen maximum, by
relatively high percentage of pine pollen, mostly haploxylon, and by low percentages of fir,
spruce, sagebrush, grass, and juniper.
pA.C.
54. BARRY, R.G. 1960. The application of synoptic studies in palaeoclimatology: a case
study for Labrador-Ungava. Geografiska Annaler 4(1):36-44.
Examines characteristic airflow pattern types over this region, and their relation to local
climatological features. A complex response of regional climatic conditions to changing
synoptic situations is demonstrated. Conditions of the winters 1956-57 and 1957-58 are
discussed and analyzed; their possible influence on present and Pleistocene glaciation is
considered. Theories on the glacial history and field evidence of final deglaciation of
Labrador-Ungava are reviewed.
55. BARRY, R.G. 1966. Meteorological aspects of the glacial history of Labrador-Ungava
with special reference to atmospheric vapour transport. Geographical Bulletin
8(4) :319-340.
The patterns of vapour transport and flux convergence over northeastern North America during
two winter seasons are discussed with reference to their implications for the
34
palaeoclimatology of Labrador-Ungava. Various circulation models which have been advanced to
account for the glaciation of the area are examined in the light of the calculations. Mean
total vapour flux is from the west, but the mean eddy component is essentially from the south
and the convergence of this eddy flux dominates the pattern of total flux convergence during
winter. No unique circulation type appears responsible for large flux convergence over the
region, although it seems possible that incursions of cyclonic easterly flow with low index
circulations are important for the development of an ice sheet. The contribution of
different airflow patterns to the seasonal snowfall is examined for stations in the area and
the significance of the amounts is discussed.
Statistical probabilities of low summer temperatures are also considered, following the
hypothesis that this is more important than winter snowfall, and the paper concludes with
some rough estimates of the time required for ice-sheet growth.
A.A.
56. BARRY, R.G. 1973. Conditions favoring glacierization and deglacierization in North
America from a climatological viewpoint. Arctic and Alpine Research 5(3):171-
184.
Approaches to paleoclimatic reconstruction on a local-regional scale through synoptic
climatology and on a global scale through numerical modeling are discussed. Synoptic
climatological considerations indicate the importance of southeasterly flow components for
glacierization in Baffin Island, Labrador-Ungava, and Keewatin. It appears that no
individual synoptic pattern is responsible for most of the ablation of ice bodies in eastern
Baffin Island so that a synoptic climatological approach to deglacierization is likely to be
indeterminate.
The NCAR global circulation model with modified surface boundary conditions has been used to
simulate the circulation at the last glacial maximum in January and July. The input data
include the vertical and horizontal extent of ice, albedos relating to snow cover and
vegetation distributions, and ocean temperature. Comparisons with control cases for present
conditions show weaker jet maxima, but rather stronger low to mid-tropospheric westerly flow
in the Northern Hemisphere, than at present for January and stronger upper westerlies in
July. The MSL pressure maps, which must be interpreted with care in the vicinity of the ice
sheets are also discussed. The reconstructions provide a starting point on which hypotheses
relating to the Wisconsin deglaciation must be based.
A.A.
57. BARRY, R.G. 1975. Climate models in palaeoclimatic reconstruction. Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 17(2):123-137.
A survey of global climate modelling is presented. Various numerical modelling approaches -
diagnostic, vertical column, zonally averaged and global circulation - are outlined, with
emphasis on their applicability to particular types of problems and their limitations.
Palaeoclimatic data available for model input and verification are compared with data
required as model input and model-generated results, respectively.
A.A.
58. BARRY, R.G. 1977. Short-term climatic fluctuations. Progress in Physical Geography
1(1):114-125.
While short-term circulation changes may affect at least a hemisphere, there are regional
differences in climate response as a result of the tropospheric wave structure. TESELS
dangerous to infer global changes from local data, and our data-base does not allow us to
establish the global record over past years. Inherent variability in climatic and especially
precipitation patterns is now better understood. While most changes are internal to the
earth-atmosphere system, some are due to solar variation.
G.A.
59. BARRY, R.G. 1981. The nature and origin of climatic fluctuations in northeastern North
America. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 35(1):41-47.
Features of the atmospheric circulation and climate of northeastern Canada are reviewed. In
particular, the role of the upper level trough and its variability are discussed. It is
shown that longitudinal displacements of the mean summer trough create anomalies of both air
temperature and sea-ice conditions in the region of Baffin Island. Climatic anomaly patterns
in Labrador-Ungava and Keewatin associated with trough displacements are also summarized.
Two examples of the application of such information to paleoclimatological questions are
discussed. One concerns the influx of “exotic” tree pollen into Baffin Island and its
previously postulated relationship to southerly airflow. It is concluded that pollen peaks
cannot yet be reliably used as a paleowind index. The pattern of glacial inception and ice
sheet extension during the Last Glacial Maximum is also briefly considered in the light of
the available climatic information. Finally, the role of the orbital variations affecting
the seasonal pattern of solar radiation is discussed with reference to the last glacial
cycle.
60. BARRY, R.G., J.T. ANDREWS, and M.A. MAHAFFY. 1975. Continental ice sheets: conditions
for growth. Science 190(4218):979-981.
The conditions required for the development of major ice sheets in eastern Canada appear to
have been approximated by those of the Little Ice Age in the 17th through the 19th centuries.
Former extensive snowbanks from this period have been mapped from lichen-free terrain visible
on ERTS! imagery. The climatic changes required to initiate the necessary snow line lowering
may involve only a minor summer cooling. Simulations with an ice-flow model reproduce
plausible ice centers, but the rate of ice sheet buildup is slower than that suggested by
geological evidence of world sea level lowering form 120,000 to 115,000 years before the
present.
A.A.
61. BARRY, R.G., W.H. ARUNDALE, J.T. ANDREWS, R.S. BRADLEY, and H. NICHOLS. 1977.
Environmental change and cultural change in the eastern Canadian Arctic during the
last 5000 years. Arctic and Alpine Research 9(2):193-210.
Archaeological research suggests that cultural changes in the Canadian Arctic are closely
linked to enviromental changes. Current knowledge of postglacial climate and marine
conditions in the eastern Canadian Arctic - an area demonstrably sensitive to small
fluctuations in these conditions - is reviewed in the context of the prehistoric cultural
sequence. Most of the major cultural events since 4500 BP appear to correlate well with the
paleoclimatic conditions inferred from environmental data although specific causal mechanisms
cannot be documented.
The expansions of Arctic Small Tool tradition (ASTt) and later of the Thule people seem to be
related to warmer climatic conditions, whereas the evolution and decline of Dorset culture
seems to show an inverse relation to temperature trends. More work is required on the dating
of environmental and cultural changes and on the precise nature of possible interactions
between environmental factors and cultural response.
A.A.
lEd. note: Earth Resources Technology Satellite.
36
62. BARRY, R.G., R.S. BRADLEY, and J.D. JACOBS. 1975. Synoptic climatological studies of
the Baffin Island area. In: Climate of the Arctic. Edited by: G. Weller and S.A.
Bowling. 24th Alaska Science Conference, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. pp. 82-
90.
Examination of present and past glacierization of eastern Baffin Island in relation to
climate suggests that a decline in summer temperatures in the area during the 1960s, and
perhaps also the concomitant marked increase in persistence of sea ice in Baffin Bay, is
related to a higher frequency of easterly and northeasterly airflow. Apart from the summer
cooling, winters in eastern Baffin Island were milder and more snowy in the 1960s. Such
anomalies are associated with a westward displacement of the mean 700 mb trough over eastern
North America which encourages northward movement of cyclones into Baffin Bay. The evident
sensitivity of this area to climatic fluctuations on both short and long time scales makes it
a rewarding area for interdisciplinary environmental studies.
pA.A.
63. BARRY, R.G., D.L. ELLIOTT, and R.G. CRANE. 1981. The paleoclimatic interpretation of
exotic pollen peaks in Holocene records from the eastern Canadian Arctic: a
discussion. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 33(2-4):153-167.
Processes involved in the transport of “exotic” tree pollen and its deposition in eastern
Arctic Canada are reviewed. Synoptic meteorological situations favoring transport northward
from the boreal forest are analyzed via boundary-layer trajectory computations. To account
for reported exotic pollen peaks in Holocene peat deposits on Baffin Island, the necessary
increase in frequency of southerly wind components may be as much as an order of magnitude,
which could not be accommodated in the available time interval of pollen release, if sources
from all of the Canadian boreal forest are considered. If only Labrador sources are
involved, the absolute increase in southerly airflow may be unexceptional. It is also shown
that changing airflow direction cannot be directly linked with longitudinal displacements of
the 700 mbar trough at 75°W.
Other possible factors that could have produced peaks in exotic pollen include variable
sedimentation rates, variable pollen production, or a non-linear relationship between airflow
frequency and pollen deposition.
A.A.
64. BARRY, R.G., J.D. IVES, and J.T. ANDREWS. 1971. A discussion of atmospheric
circulation during the last ice age. Quaternary Research 1(3):415-418.
The authors review Lamb and Woodroffe's (1970) reconstructions of atmospheric circulation for
several phases of the last Ice Age. Their discussion is concerned “with the proposed timing
of events during the inception phase of the last Ice Age.” Work by other researchers is
considered, and the conclusion is reached that development of the Lamb and Woodroffe
hypothesis “will require a much more rigorously based chronology, and a closer fusing of
geological and palynological field data with modern techniques in synoptic climatology.
A.B.S
65. BARTLETT, G.A., and L. MOLINSKY. 1972. Foraminifera and the Holocene history of the
Gulf of St. Lawrence. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 9(9):1204-1215.
Foraminifera have been utilized to interpret the response of waters in the Gulf of St.
Lawrence to climatic changes during the Holocene. Sediment cores (up to 1000 cm long) from
the Gulf of St. Lawrence and environs, are characterized throughout by meager foraminiferal
faunas. The microfaunas are characteristic of marginal marine environments and are typified
by low foraminiferal numbers (less than 300 and generally less than 100 per unit sample), few
37
genera and species, and hyposaline, shallow-water assemblages. The microfaunal information
indicates that marine waters were more brackish and much shallower during the latter stages,
and immediately following the Wisconsin glaciation. Shallow-water foraminiferal species such
as Elphidium incertum clavatum, Islandiella tslandica, and I. teretis are
commonly the first to inhabit cool temperate to northern environments after glacial retreat.
Consequently, because of the absence of deep water marine microfaunas it is believed that
Many areas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence were at least 100 to 200 m shallower than at present.
The Holocene history of the area is one of transition from a rapidly fluctuating brackish
water environment, to one which is more consistent with the present environment. The
presence of Globigerinoides ruber (pink), a species commonly associated with
subtropical waters, intermixed with the eurybathic benthonic fauna, indicates distinctive
lateral and vertical water-mass zonation in a restricted geographic area. Warm water
incursions into the Gulf of St. Lawrence from the Gulf Stream, which contained the
subtropical foraminiferal species Globigerinoides ruber and Globorotalia
menardit, were intermittent, whereas a persistent cold-water marine influence from the
Arctic via the Labrador Current is indicated by the presence of Globigerina pachyderma.
The adjoining Scotian Shelf faunas, alternating from sparse, to prolific and diverse, during
the Holocene, suggest that conditions there were not significantly different from those in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Extremely brackish and/or shallower waters were present in most of the western Laurentian
Channel and shelf waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence until recently (<6400 + 130
yr B.P.). The baymouth bars, persistent features restricting circulation with most bays,
estuaries, and lagoons adjoining Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick were established
Detweenwn4o 40s 80) and) 2235 2 LSS" yc BP Sediments containing
subtropic and arctic planktonic species, alternating with eurythermal benthonic species, are
indicative of environmental extremes throughout the Holocene. It is believed that many of
these marine fluctuations were neither recorded nor preserved in adjoining continental
sediments of equivalent age.
A.A.
66. BARTLEY, D.D., and B. MATTHEWS. 1969. A palaeobotanical investigation of postglacial
deposits in the Sugluk area of northern Ungava (Quebec, Canada). Review of
Palaeobotany and Palynology 9(1-2):45-61.
A number of peat deposits, mainly associated with raised beaches, were studied in the Sugluk
region of northern Ungava. The peats were exposed in sections cut by river erosion and
usually showed a succession of marine sands, peats and windblown sand. Samples were taken
for the analysis of pollen and macroscopic remains. The conclusions may be summarized as
follows:
1) Pollen analysis suggests that, during the period represented by the
deposits, the area has been covered by treeless tundra.
2) The alternation of dated peats and sands can be interpreted in relation
to the climatic scheme worked out by Nichols (1967) for Keewatin. There
was: a) a warm period represented by peaty deposits dated about 4,000
years and 2,800 years B.P.; b) a cold period from about 2,800 to 1,600
years B.P., with deposition of windblown sand at one site; c) a warm and
moist period from 1,600 to 670 years B.P. characterised by a
considerable development of peat; d) a second cold period characterised
by the cessation of peat growth and the development of sand dunes.
3) The development of living Sphagnum appears to have followed the
amelioration of climate in this century.
38
67. BASSETT, I.J., and J. TERASMAE. 1962. Ragweeds, Ambrosia species, in Canada and
their history in postglacial time. Canadian Journal of Botany 40(1):141-150.
Specific differences of Ambrosia artemtstifoltta, A. triftida, and A.
coronaptfolta are described and their present Canadian distributions are reported in
detail. Ambrosta pollens, identified in fossil assemblages as either A.
artemisiifolia or A. trifida with a few in the size range of A. coronopifolia,
were somewhat more abundant in late-glacial deposits than in younger postglacial sediments
except the subrecent ones. It is only within the last 200 years that ragweeds have again
become abundant in eastern Canada. The migration and spread of the three ragweed species in
eastern and western Canada through postglacial time are discussed. There is evidence through
pollen profiles that Ambrosia species existed further northward in Ontario than they do
at the present time. *<+.lt may be of interest to note that specific differences of
Ambrosta artemistifolia, A. trifida, and A. coronopifolia are described and
their present Canadian distributors are reported in detail. Ambrosta pollen has been
found in southern Ontario and Quebec in interglacial deposits older than 60,000 years.
AA T
68. BECK, A.E. 1979, The effect of Pleistocene climatic variations on the geothermal
regime in Ontario; a reassessment; discussion. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
16(7):1515-1517.
Beck discusses the article by Allis (1978). He reviews the assumptions made by Allis, the
results obtained, and concludes that “the problem is a difficult one and it is not solved by
the substitution of one simplistic approach for another.” He then suggests that the approach
of Cermak (1971) may prove more useful to follow.
A.B.S.
69. BECK, A.E., and A.S. JUDGE. 1969. Analysis of heat flow data--I. Detailed
observations in a single borehole. Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical
Society 18:145-158.
Heat flow data from a 600-m deep diamond drilled borehole in southwestern Ontario has been
used to estimate how short a section of borehole will give a valid heat flow value, to test
for recent and ancient climatic changes, underground waterflows and the variation of
terrestrial heat flow with depth. Temperatures were repeatedly measured at 3-m intervals;
measurements of thermal conductivity, density and porosity were made on specimens sampled at
approximately 4-m intervals along the length of the hole. The mean heat flow for the whole
borehole before applying any corrections is 0.76 h.f.u. while after correcting for the
Wisconsin glaciation the mean value is 1.17 h.f.u., but in both cases some 30 to 100-m
sections of the borehole differ by +20 per cent from the mean values. The
differences cannot be entirely explained as being due to structure, topography, climatic
changes or underground water-flows.
70. BEDNARSKI, J. 1978. Holocene glacial and periglacial environments in the Whistlers
Creek Valley, Jasper National Park (118°6'W, 52°49'N). American Quarternary
Association, National Conference, Abstracts 5:185.
The head of Whistlers Creek Valley is occupied by two cirque glaciers which show evidence of
retreat. Both glaciers have active tongue-shaped rock glaciers immediately downvalley.
Within one of the rock glaciers large thaw pits and exposures of foliated ice, dipping
upvalley, suggest buried glacier ice. Debris supply by avalanching and rockfall are
considered the major causes of burial. Tilting trees indicate that one of the rock glaciers
has advanced ~1 m in the last 45 years. Superimposed lobes on both rock glaciers
39
suggest two periods of recent activity. These periods have been lichenometrically dated
using Rhizocarpon geographicum ~ 1770 and 1885 AD for one rock glacier, and older
than 1700 AD and 1910 AD for the other.
An inactive spatulate and several lobate rock glaciers were also identified. Total lichen
cover, soil development and rock weathering criteria have established that these relic rock
glaciers formed during a substantially older period. Radiocarbon dates and tephra deposits,
however, are not yet available.
Turfbanked and stonebanked lobes and terraces, polygons, frost boils and sorted stripes are
widespread. A number of solifluction forms show evidence of reactivation. Gliding blocks up
to 4 m in length are ploughing gentle, vegetated slopes leaving furrows up to 20 m in length.
The size and significance of these blocks warrant further research.
A.A.
71. BENTLEY, P.A., and E.C. SMITH. 1954-55. The forests of Cape Breton in the seventeenth
and eighteenth centuries. Proceeding of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science
24(part 1):1-15.
A description of the primeval forests of Cape Breton Island has been compiled from the
accounts of observers and writers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. As an aid in
locating the areas described a map has been constructed showing the probable routes followed
by these people in their travels about the island. The accounts used were those of Nicholas
Denys (1672), the Sieur de la Roque (1752), Thomas Pichon (1760), an anonymous account
(1758), Thomas Jeffreys (1760), Samuel Holland (1768), and Joseph Bouchette (1832).
The records left by these men form a fairly complete description of the forests which covered
a coastal strip about the island and the Bras d'Or Lake, an area now largely cleared and
settled. From this it appears that the forests consisted largely of the same associations
which now make up the climax Hemlock - White Pine - Northern Hardwood forests of the
untouched areas of the island. The forest at the edge of the northern plateau, a boreal
forest mainly of fir, has survived relatively untouched, and the poor type forest of fir and
spruce on the south and south-east coasts which is prevalent there today was in existence
three hundred years ago. It is thought that this latter forest is related to the Fir Edaphic
climax of Nichols. Of particular interest in the accounts is the mention of elm in the river
valleys and the frequent reference to oak and ash throughout the hardwood forests since both
species are comparatively rare today.
A.A.
72. BERNABO, J.C., and T. WEBB, III. 1977. Changing patterns in the Holocene pollen record
of northeastern North America: a mapped summary. Quaternary Research 8(1):64-
96.
By mapping the data from 62 radiocarbon-dated pollen diagrams, this paper illustrates the
Holocene history of four major vegetational regions in northeastern North America. Isopoll
maps, difference maps, and isochrone maps are used in order to examine the changing patterns
within the data set and to study broad-scale and long-term vegetational dynamics. Isopoll
Miajpis. show, (the) distributions of spruce i €Pteea), pine €Pinus),,. oak
(Quercus), herb (nonarboreal pollen groups excluding Cyperaceae), and birch + maple +
beech + hemlock (Betula, Acer, Fagus, Tsuga) pollen at specified times from 11,000 BP
to present. Difference maps were constructed by subtracting successive isopoll maps and
illustrate the changing patterns of pollen abundances from one time to the next. The
isochrone maps portray the movement of ecotones and range limits by showing their positions
at a sequence of times during the Holocene. After 11,000 BP, the broad region over which
spruce pollen had dominated progressively shrank as the boreal forest zone was compressed
between the retreating ice margin and the rapidly westward and northward expanding region
where pine was the predominant pollen type. Simultaneously, the oak-pollen-dominated
deciduous forest moved up from the south and the prairie expanded eastward. By 7000 BP, the
prairie had attained its maximum eastward extent with the period of its most rapid expansion
4O
evident between 10,000 and 9000 BP. Many of the trends of the early Holocene were reversed
after 7000 BP with the prairie retreating westward and the boreal and other zones edging
southward. In the last 500 years, man's impact on the vegetation is clearly visible,
especially in the greatly expanded region dominated by herb pollen. The large scale changes
before 7000 BP probably reflect shifts in the macroclimatic patterns that were themselves
being modified by the retreat and disintegration of the Laurentide ice sheet. Subsequent
changes in the pollen and vegetation were less dramatic than those of the early Holocene.
A.A.
73. BERRY, M.O. 1981. Recent changes in temperature, and comments on future climatic
change. In: Climatic Change in Canada 2. Edited by: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus
33:19-27 0
By the early 1980s, it became apparent that a significant cooling of the Northern Hemisphere
had occurred over the previous two decades. A number of apparently anomalous climatic events
with major negative repercussions were also recorded.
The objective of this analysis is to examine recent trends in temperature in Canada, and to
look at some recent climatic events from a longer-term perspective.
In summary, has Canada really become cooler in the 30 years from 1949 to 1978? The eastern
half of the country was colder by 1969-78 than in the decade starting in 1949, with the
cooling trend in most areas (the Lower Great Lakes, Upper Saint Lawrence and Maritimes being
exceptions) intensifying from the second to last decade of the period. In contrast much of
the western half of the country was warmer by the third decade, the main exception being an
area of cooling in northern British Columbia and part of the Yukon.
Excerpts
74. BERTI, A.A. 1975. Paleobotany of Wisconsinan interstadials, eastern Great Lakes
region, North America. Quaternary Research 5(4):591-619.
This study concerns the pollen and plant macrofossils from Mid-Wisconsinan Interstadial sites
within the Wisconsinan ice margin in eastern North America. The time period covered is from
about 55,000 years BP to 22,500 years BP, an interval much longer than the postglacial.
Sediments examined are principally those of large lakes deposited in the Erie and Ontario
basins during intervals of ice retreat.
The Port Talbot I Interval (from about 55,000 to 50,000 years BP) in the Erie basin is
characterized by pollen assemblages alternating from Pinus-dominated zones to one with
abundant Pinus, Quercus, and nonarboreal pollen. These assemblages are
interpreted as indicating relatively warm and dry conditions. Mean July temperatures
fluctuated between 15 and 21°C.
During the succeeding Port Talbot II Interval and Plum Point Interstadial, in both the Erie
and Ontario basins, pollen assemblages are characterized by dominant Pinus and
Picea. Characteristic macrofossils include needles of the boreal Picea and
Larix and leaves of species with a more northerly distribution, such as Dryas
integrifolia, Betula glandulosa var. glandulosa, Vaccinium uliginosum var.
alpinum, and Salix herbacea. These fossil assemblages are interpreted as indicating
cooler and moister conditions in a forest-tundra environment. Mean July temperatures
fluctuated between 10 and 15°C during the Port Talbot II Interval and Plum Point
Interstadial.
pS
75. BESCHEL, R.E. 1961. Dating rock surfaces by lichen growth and its application to
glaciology and physiography (lichenometry). In: Geology of the Arctic, vol. II.
Edited by: G.0. Raasch. University of Toronto Press, Toronto. pp. 1044-1062.
Most of the arctic and alpine crust lichens, especially the genera Rhizocarpon and
Lecidea grow very slowly. This can be concluded indirectly from maximum diameters on rock
surfaces of known age or repeated measurements. The over all constant increment after an
initially sigmoidal growth allows dating of rock surfaces exposed up to 1000-4500 years BP,
depending on the climatic conditions. Lichenometry permits relative dating of events which
led to the exposure of bare rock surfaces within the age limit of the lichens in similar
macroclimates. This can be converted to an absolute scale if one event is dated by other
means, e.g. historical information, or if the growth rate is measured directly. From lichen
Measurements obtained in West Greenland, the Alps, and the Ruwenzori Mountains, the
synchronism of glacier behaviour within the advance period of modern times (400-40 BP)
appears very high. Early hypothermal moraines and boulder streams can be separated clearly
from early modern ones, even if other morphological criteria fail.
Lichen growth rates are inversely proportional to the hygrocontinentality of the area. This
permits calculation of this or similar combined climatic factors through lichenometry, or the
prediction of lichen growth rates from the known climate.
Lichenometry is especially useful where dendrochronology is impossible.
76. BIK, M.J.J. 1968. Morphoclimatic observations on prairie mounds. Zeitschrift fiir
Geomorphologie 12(4):409-469.
Descriptively, the parent form of the present day prairie mound of the Foremost-Cypress Hills
area of southern Alberta approximated a cone and crater in shape, and had greater relief; it
has been substantially “smoothed” by a sequence of morphogenetic events occurring over the
last 10,000 years or so; the central depression as well as major and minor breaches of the
rim are an integral part of the parent form; an explanation of its origin should address
itself to these characteristics, an aspect taken up in another paper (Bik, 1967).
The Allerod Period is represented in the central fill of the mounds through cessation of
niveo-aeolian deposition and colonization with Stagnicola palustris (Muller) (and
presumably other species). During this period, the climate was semi-arid, perhaps comparable
to the present day conditions in the Foremost-Cypress Hills area. Bedded niveo-aeolian
deposits are tentatively assigned to the Earlier Dryas Period, in which periglacial
conditions appear to have occurred in southern Alberta. An upper niveo-aeolian deposit, that
post-dates the Allerod was tentatively placed in the Younger Dryas Period. Initially dry
periglacial conditions changed to moister, cold conditions, since solifluction becomes more
dominant and niveo-aeolian advection less important as time advances. Soil formation
preceded the later niveo-aeolian phase and quite likely marks the Allerod Period in dated
sedimentary sections further west.
Slope stability and soil formation followed the second periglacial phase of landscape
development and was terminated with the deposition of a thin layer of volcanic ash. Slope
instability, quite likely under more arid climatic conditions than occur in the area at the
present time, produced thick colluvial deposits. This phase of slope instability is
tentatively placed in the Xerothermal, on the basis of an analogy with the sequence of
deposits in the Waterton Park area. The volcanic ash most likely represents the Mazama ash
fall.
The superficial stone cover, a common characteristic of the larger prairie mounds of the
Foremost-Cypress Hills area of southern Alberta, resulted from degradation of the higher
slope segments of the mound rims; it developed during the deposition of the colluvium that
rests on the volcanic ash, and may date from the Xerothermal Period. Deposition of this
colluvium occurred in two stages interupted by a phase of erosion, which removed the matrix
42
and resulted in a residual stony horizon. Cessation of colluvial deposition cannot be
assigned an age since no "ante quem" date is available for these deposits.
A.C.
77. BIRKS, H.J.B. 1979. The use of pollen analysis in the reconstuction of past climate:
a review. International Conference on Climate and History, University of East
Anglia, Norwich, July 8-14, Review Papers. pp. 5-28.
Pollen analytical data obtained from lake and bog sediments provide direct information
relevant to the reconstruction of the past flora and vegetation of the area under study. As
both modern floras and modern vegetation are related in a broad way to modern climate, pollen
analysis can provide indirect information relevant to the reconstruction of past climates
over particular time spans (1000-10000 years) with a sample resolution of 100-500 years.
Various approaches are available in reconstructing past climates from palynological data.
The floristic or 'indicator-species' approach is reviewed, in which the modern distributions
of particular species are compared with contemporary climatic patterns. Limitations of this
approach are considered in the light of recent experimental studies on the climatic
tolerances of selected species of contrasting distributions. Studies involving the
distribution and performance of a few selected species in relation to two or three
ecologically important climatic variables are also discussed. The vegetational or
‘multivariate’ approach is described in which modern transfer functions are used to calibrate
modern pollen assemblages in terms of modern climate. These functions are then used to
transform fossil pollen data into quantitative estimates of past climate. Various
refinements to this approach are considered, and the advantages, disadvantages, and
assumptions of the approach are discussed.
78. BLAKE, W., Jr. 1964. Preliminary account of the glacial history of Bathurst Island,
Arctic Archipelago. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 64-30:1-8.
Bathurst Island, in the central part of the Arctic Archipelago, lacks the prominent glacial
landforms such as drumlins and eskers that characterize certain more southerly islands. It
does not appear to have been overridden by the continental North American (Laurentide) ice
sheet during the last glaciation (classical Wisconsin). Nonetheless Bathurst Island bears
undoubted evidence of glaciation in the form of till, erratics, and meltwater channels.
Erratics, commonly of a quartzose sandstone that outcrops on the island, are widespread and
occur at altitudes up to at least 1,100 feet (335 m), far above the limit of marine
submergence. Other important features indicating glaciation are: striae, lakes in bedrock
basins, areas of streamlined drift, end moraines, and areas of dead-ice topography.
Apparently most of these features are related to locally-centred ice cap(s), but the
occurrence of till containing shells above the marine limit at several localities along the
east coast may possibly be the result of a glacier tongue in the straits having impinged upon
the island.
The rapid uplift that has taken place in postglacial time, as determined by radiocarbon
dating of marine shells from the raised beaches, is believed to have resulted from glacial
rebound. Thus the last glaciation of Bathurst Island is inferred to have taken place during
Wisconsin time. The altitude of the marine limit is close to 300 feet (90 m) along the east
central and southeast coasts, but it reaches 400 feet (120 m) in the long inlets that indent
the north coast, suggesting that the ice may have been thicker in the latter area.
The radiocarbon dates on marine shells, plus one on peat, also indicate that much of the
island was ice-free by 9,000 years ago. Since then peat deposits have formed in many
localities, but in two places buried peats are more than 35,000 years old, suggesting that
they are interglacial, or possibly interstadial, in age.
A.A.
79. BLAKE, W., Jr. 1966. End moraines and deglaciation chronology in northern Canada with
special reference to southern Baffin Island. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 66-
26:1-31.
An extensive system of end moraines near Frobisher Bay and on Foxe Peninsula, in southern
Baffin Island, are described for the first time. The section crossing Frobisher Bay can be
traced for some 325 miles (525 km). The high level “strandlines” described from the
southwest side of Frobisher Bay by several workers are in reality a combination of kame
terraces, lateral moraines, and marginal lake terraces--all related to the moraine system and
formed beside a major ice lobe entering Frobisher Bay from the northwest.
Numerous radiocarbon dates show that: 1) ice from Hudson Strait impinged on the south coast
of Baffin Island during the last glaciation, carrying marine shells far above the level of
marine submergence; 2) all or nearly all of Hudson Strait was filled by ice 9,000 years ago,
but was ice free by 8,000 years ago, and the sea had reached the limit of submergence south
of James Bay a short time after 8,000 years BP; 3) the major moraines crossing Frobisher Bay,
near Rae Isthmus at the south end of Melville Peninsula, and at MacAlpine Lake, District of
Mackenzie, were forming some 8,200 years ago, but parts of the moraine system in northern
Baffin Island probably formed earlier; 4) moraine formation continued for several hundred
years after 8,200 BP; 5) innermost Frobisher Bay and Foxe Basin were ice free by 6,900 to
6,700 years ago; and 6) Amadjuak Lake was free of ice before 4,500 BP, although the last mass
of ice, which lay northeast of this lake, may have still been in existence then.
The orientation of the moraines in southern Baffin Island and radiocarbon dates from widely
spaced areas in northern Canada show the need for reappraisal of the “Cockburn Glacial Phase”
hypothesis and the postulated position of the ice-edge 9,500 or 9,000 to 8,000 years ago (cf.
Falconer et al., 1965a, 1965b).
A.A.
80. BLAKE, W., Jr. 1970. Studies of glacial history in Arctic Canada. I. Pumice,
radiocarbon dates, and differential postglacial uplift in the eastern Queen
Elizabeth Islands. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 7(2) :634-669.
Dark brown pumice has been discovered recently on raised beaches of Ellesmere and Devon
Islands, and in archeological sites on Baffin Island. It is similar in appearance and
chemical composition to pumice associated with raised marine features throughout northern
Europe, especially along the coasts of Norway and Spitsbergen. The source area for the
pumice is uncertain, but Iceland is a good possibility.
Radiocarbon dates on driftwood and whale bones embedded in beaches at the “pumice level”, as
well as at higher and lower elevations, indicate that the pumice arrived approximately 5000
years ago.
The pumice serves as a time-line and provides a means of correlating widely-separated marine
features. Because these features now occur at different elevations, the amount and direction
of tilt can be calculated. Also, former ice centers can be delineated, as the areas which
have undergone the greatest uplift are those where the ice cover was once thickest. In
Arctic Canada the “pumice level” rises westward along Jones Sound, from 16.5 m a.s.l. at the
mouth of South Cape Fiord, Ellesmere Island, to 24.5 m at the eastern tip of Colin Archer
Peninsula, Devon Island, ca. 130 km away. It also rises northwestward toward the head of
South Cape Fiord.
The Jones Sound information, plus radiocarbon dates from elsewhere in the Queen Elizabeth
Islands indicating the approximate position of the shoreline at the same time, shows that
there is a region in the eastern and central part of the archipelago where >25 m of uplift
has occurred during the last 5000 years. This region, including considerable areas that are
now sea, is believed to have been covered by a major ice sheet during the last glaciation.
As A
44
81. BLAKE, W., Jr. 1972. Climatic implications of radiocarbon-dated driftwood in the Queen
Elizabeth Islands, Arctic Canada. In: Climatic Changes in Arctic Areas During the
Last Ten-thousand Years. Edited by: Y. Vasari, H. Hyvärinen and S. Hicks. Acta
Universitatis Ouluensis Series A, Scientiae Rerum Naturalium 3, Geologica 1:78-
104.
Numerous radiocarbon dates show that by 10,000 years ago the disintegration of the Innuitian
Ice Sheet was well underway in the western part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, although a
lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet still impinged on the south coast of Melville Island at that
time. By 8,000 years ago all of the inter-island channels were open, with the possible
exception of the northern part of Nares Strait between Ellesmere Island and Greenland. The
oldest driftwood logs discovered, from widely separated parts of the archipelago, are between
8,500 and 8,000 years old. Driftwood 6,500 to 4,500 years old is especially abundant,
indicating that at least as much open water as at present, and probably more, existed during
that interval. The marked decrease in the abundance of driftwood between approximately 4,500
and 500 years BP is attributed to the onset of more severe sea ice conditions, an event which
coincided with the development of ice shelves, especially along the north coast of Ellesmere
Island, but perhaps elsewhere in the archipelago as well.
A.A.
82. BLAKE, W., Jr. 1973. Former occurrence of Mytilus edulis L. on Coburg Island,
Arctic Archipelago. Naturaliste Canadien 100(1):51-58.
Investigations on Coburg Island, Arctic Archipelago, have revealed that the blue mussel,
Mytilus edulis Linné, formerly lived 350 km north of its present limit. The age of the
mussels on Coburg Island is 38,000 radiocarbon years (GSC-1425), and the deposit
probably relates to the warm interval, with accompanying higher sea-level, which corresponds
to the Sangamon Interglacial of continental North America.
A.A.
83. BLAKE, W., Jr. 1974. Periglacial features and landscape evolution, central Bathurst
Island, District of Franklin. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 74-1B:235-244.
While carrying out a reconnaissance of the surficial geology of Bathurst Island in 1963, a
number of observations were made of periglacial features, especially those which occur along
the low, central valley which crosses the island. Much of the 1963 field season, as well as
June 1964, was devoted to collecting samples of terrestrial and marine materials for
radiocarbon dating, in order to establish a chronology of events bearing on the glacial
history of the island (Blake, 1964, 1974).
Close to 8500 years ago the sea filled Polar Bear Pass, which now does not exceed 100 feet
(30 m) in elevation, to a depth of more than 150 feet (46 m). As the land rose relative to
the sea, because of isostatic rebound following removal of the ice load, features such as the
beach ridges shown in Figures 4 and 5, were cut at successively lower elevations; the
particular ones illustrated, above the 200 foot (60 m) level, are close to 8000 years old.
On the other hand, the uppermost layer of Mya truncata shells exposed in a section
along the Caledonian River at the western end of Polar Bear Pass is 4750 + 140
years old (GSC-783; Blake, 1970; Lowden et al., 1971), and sea level at the time these
molluscs were living was an unknown amount above the level at which they now occur, ca. 75
feet (23 m). This is approximately the same elevation as that of the largest lake now
occupying Polar Bear Pass (Figure 1), indicating that this through valley persisted as an arm
of the sea until nearly 4500 years ago.
Excerpts
84. BLAKE, W., Jr. 1974. Studies of glacial history in Arctic Canada. II. Interglacial
peat deposits on Bathurst Island. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 11(8):1025-
1042.
Sixteen radiocarbon age determinations on peat deposits and buried organic layers at 10
localities within the Queen Elizabeth Islands have resulted in ages between >30,000 and
51,000 years. Similar results have been obtained from the southern Arctic islands, and as
yet only one meaningful finite date in the 50,000 to 25,000 year-range has resulted from the
dating of driftwood or in situ terrestrial organic materials in the entire
archipelago.
On Bathurst Island, where two dates of 250,000 years have been obtained, evidence from the
assemblages of mosses, vascular plants, and insects in peat and organic layers indicates that
climatic conditions were somewhat more favorable than at present when these deposits were
forming. The available data are such that all deposits cannot necessarily be related to the
same non-glacial interval, but the extensive deposits along the Stuart River are poorly
assigned to the Stuart River Interglaciation.
The lack of organic materials dating between 50,000 and 25,000 years in the Queen Elizabeth
Islands may be because: (1) the area was ice-covered throughout Wisconsin time; (2) any mid-
Wisconsin non-glacial interval was too short or had too severe a climate for deposits to
accumulate; (3) organic deposits relating to this interval have been eroded; (4) or deposits
of this age do exist but they have not been collected.
A.A.
85. BLAKE, W., Jr. 1975. Radiocarbon age determinations and postglacial emergence at Cape
Storm, southern Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada. Geografiska Annaler 57A(1-2):1-
Hike
Age determinations on marine mollusks indicate that the northwestern part of Jones Sound
became open to the sea more than 9000 conventional radiocarbon years ago. The presence of
postglacial marine features at elevations of up to 130 m near Cape Storm, Ellesmere Island,
shows that a significant thickness of glacial ice was present in this area, and the
differential uplift of pumice and other materials associated with raised beaches provides
convincing evidence that the former ice cover was thicker to the west and to the north.
Near Cape Storm over fifty l4¢ age determinations on driftwood, whale bone, and marine
mollusks have permitted the construction of a curve showing the pattern of emergence over the
past 9000 to 9500 years. Emergence between 9000 and 8000 years ago proceeded at a rate of 7
m/century, and over one-half of the total emergence (70 m out of 130 m) since the initial
incursion of the sea took place during this interval. By 6500 to 4500 years ago emergence had
slowed to 0.8 m/century, and for the last 2400 years it has averaged <0.3 m/century. The
age determinations are sufficiently numerous and closely-spaced, especially between 6500 and
4400 years BP, to indicate that fluctuations of sea level have not exceeded amplitudes of 2 m
or periods >500 years. The concentration of the pumice and the nature of the features
associated with it suggest that its deposition may be related to: 1) a eustatic rise close
to 5000 years ago; 2) a period of more open water, when wave action and storm surges would
have been more effective; 3) a combination of these two factors. The formation of the
strandline where the pumice occurs is not believed to be related to a slowing-down or
cessation of uplift due to the thickening of ice caps and glaciers.
pA.A.
86. BLAKE, W., Jr. 1976. Glacier ice cores, climate, and chronology around northern Baffin
Bay. American Quaternary Association, 4th Biennial Meeting, Abstracts:20-21.
Methods of deriving a time scale from glacier ice cores, such as those recovered from Camp
Century, Greenland, and from Devon Island, are among the topics discussed by Paterson in his
Abstract for this AMQUA session. My contribution is intended to summarize the available
chronological evidence from land areas around northern Baffin Bay, because the chronology of
events deduced from the ice cores must accommodate the marine and terrestrial record as to
when nearby areas were glacierized and when they were ice-free.
Sections exposed in widely separated localities - at Cape Storm, southern Ellesmere Island,
on Coburg Island (at the mouth of Jones Sound) and on Saunders Island (northwestern
Greenland) - display a similar stratigraphic succession. The oldest Holocene marine strata
were deposited close to 9000 radiocarbon years ago, although the postglacial marine incursion
may have reached some localities by 10,000 years BP. Critical dates are: 9330 +
110 years (GSC-1415; 100.5 m a.s.l.) at Cape Storm, 8940 + 10 years (GSC-1426; 7
m a.s.l.) on Coburg Island, and 8970 + 100 years (GSC-2210; 13 m a.s.l.) on
Saunders Island. These age determinations are in agreement with others around northern
Baffin Bay; e-g-, molluscs at Cape Tennyson, southeastern Ellesmere Island, are 9040
90) years) old (GSC-11058; 30) masse. )i- The fossiliferous strata are underlain by
beds, till-like in places, which do not contain marine molluscs; these beds are believed to
have been deposited during a glacial episode. Marine molluscs are present beneath the non-
fossiliferous units at each site, and on Coburg and Saunders Islands the fauna is
characterized by the presence of Mytilus edulis L. This mussel, although it now
lives in these high latitudes along the Greenland coast, is not known to occur north of
Baffin Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Age determinations indicate that the
Myttlus-bearing beds are >38,000 years old (GSC-1425) on Coburg Island and >40,000 years
old (GSC-2143) on Saunders Island; the uppermost dated molluscs in the strata underlying the
till-like unit at Cape Storm are >34,000 years old (GSC-2209).
Paterson also has cited reasons why changes in the oxygen isotope ratios (6) with
depth cannot be equated directly with changes in temperature. However, the time scale for
changes in 6, as derived by Dansgaard and co-workers, is in good general agreement
with the chronology derived from radiocarbon dating of marine molluscs on nearby coasts:
1. The faunal composition and the nature of the strata above the
Mytilus-bearing horizons suggest that environmental conditions as
favourable as during the Holocene have not existed for a period of time
exceeding 40,000 years; the same conclusion is implied by the
6 record.
2. A pronounced change in 6 is indicated as having occurred
between 13,000 and 10,000 years BP. The evidence from the marine fauna
in no way contradicts the hypothesis that this was a period of warming,
during which large volumes of ice were being removed, and that the
incursion of the sea onto the existing islands (areas now above sea
level) took place between 10,000 and 9000 years ago.
3. In the Camp Century core the maximum values of 6 during the
Holocene occur between 6000 and 5000 years BP. This coincides with the
period, as determined by the distribution of 14¢-dated driftwood,
during which there was apparently a less extensive cover of sea ice in
the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is also the time when the ice shelf
fringing the northern coast of Ellesmere Island was much less extensive,
if in fact it existed at all.
87. BLAKE, W., Jr. 1978. Aspects of glacial history, southeastern Ellesmere Island,
District of Franklin. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 78-1A:175-182.
Field work around Makinson Inlet, Ellesmere Island, has revealed that erratics, striated rock
surfaces, and marginal drainage channels are widespread. These features, plus the glacial
sculpture on Bowman Island, show that a major outlet glacier formerly flowed eastward in
Makinson Inlet, draining a significant mass of ice that lay to the west of the present-day
ice caps. A fossil peat deposit indicates an ice-free interval >44,000 years (GSC-140-2) ago
with a climate more favourable than that of the west today. During Holocene time the sea
47
penetrated to the head of the west arm of Makinson Inlet by 8930 + 100 years BP
(GSC-2519) and to the head of the north arm by 7330 + 80 years BP (GSC-1972).
A.A.
88. BLAKE, W., Jr. 1981. Neoglacial fluctuations of glaciers, southeastern Ellesmere
Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Geografiska Annaler 63A(3-4):201-218.
Two new series of radiocarbon age determinations form the basis for this paper. The first
series shows that both the outer east coast of Ellesmere Island (north to latitude 78°36')
and much of Makinson Inlet were free of glacier ice prior to 9000 radiocarbon years ago
(dates uncorrected for the apparent age of sea water). However, on the basis of the
available data the head of the north arm of Makinson Inlet, north of the present site of
Split Lake, was not invaded by a marine fauna until about 2000 years later, presumably
because of the persistence of glacier ice in this trough.
The second series of age determinations relates to fluctuations of outlet glaciers during
Holocene time. Dates’ of 5180 = 260 years (GSC—2909) “and ~ 25907 = “150
years (GSC-3191) for the bottom and top, respectively, of a massive peat deposit bracket a
period during which outlet glacier 7A-45, north of the head of Makinson Inlet, was smaller
than it is at present. Data from several sites suggest an advance of glaciers about 1000
years ago, and a second advance, during the last 100 years or so, is recorded at the margins
of a number of glaciers draining the ice caps in central and southeastern Ellesmere Island.
A.A.
89. BLAKE, W., Jr., and J.V. MATTHEWS, Jr. 1979. New data on an interglacial peat deposit
near Makinson Inlet, Ellesmere Island, District of Franklin. Geological Survey of
Canada Paper 79-1A:157-164.
Examination of peat samples collected in 1977 near Makinson Inlet has revealed the presence
of fossils of Andromeda polifolia and Menyanthes trifoltata, plants which do not
live in the Arctic Islands today. Likewise, fragments of the ground beetle Amara
alpina and the ladybird beetle Wephus georgei, neither of which occurs as far north
today, are present. The occurrence of these fossils beyond their present limits, coupled
with the fact that the uppermost layer of peat in the deposit is >52 000 years old (GSC-
2677), suggests that the peat is an interglacial deposit.
A.A.
90. BLASING, T.J., and H.C. FRITTS. 1975. Past climate of Alaska and northwestern Canada
as reconstructed from tree rings. In: Climate of the Arctic. Edited by: G.
Weller and S. Bowling. 24th Alaska Science Conference, University of Alaska,
Fairbanks. pp. 48-58.
Spatial anomaly patterns of sea-level pressures over North America, the North Pacific, and
eastern Asia in the 20th century can be statistically calibrated with spatial anomaly pattern
of tree growth in semi-arid western North America. Growth anomalies prior to 1900 were
substituted into the calibration equations to reconstruct past circulation features for the
18th and 19th centuries. The success of the reconstructions for the Arctic was tested
against climatic data where possible and against the variations in growth of Arctic trees
which respond to variations in climate. Ten different types of tree-growth anomaly pattern
were identified in the Arctic between 1800 and 1939. Tentative Arctic trees were compared to
circulation anomalies over the Arctic as reconstructed from the arid-site trees to the south.
Both of these sources of information were used to infer climatic conditions for the period
1800-1939. Tentative inferences are presented as to climatic conditions for each of five
48
regions in Alaska and northwestern Canada in hope that they may be tested against other lines
of evidence.
A.A.
91. BLISS, L.C. 1975. Devon Island, Canada. In: Structure and Function of Tundra Eco-
systems. Edited by: T. Rosswall and 0.W. Heal. Ecological Bulletin (Stockholm)
20:17-60.
The author conducted an investigation of the Truelove Lowland located along the northeast
coast of Devon Island to determine “energy flow through the system and its ma jor
components.”
“Much of the island was deglaciated 8,/00 years B.P. These coastal lowlands result from
postglacial rebound following deglaciation. Radiocarbon dating has shown that the upper
marine limit is at 76 m, dating to ca. 9,450 B.P.
“Due to the shallow nature of peats in the Lowland, it is difficult to obtain Post-Wisconsin
paleobotanical information. Cores taken to a depth of 170 cm in the raised center of an ice-
wedge polygon contained thin peat horizons. The basal peat in this locality was radiocarbon
dated) bys Barre to. be 2,450) #9) “years. The pollen spectrum is poor quantitatively
and qualitatively. Pollen of Saltx arctica Pall., Cyperaceae, and Poaceae is most
numerous and shows no major shift in importance with depth. The spectrum corresponds
qualitatively to present vegetation.
“Macrofossil plant remains were well preserved throughout the profile. Mosses, rich in
species diversity predominate but with considerable amounts of Salix and Dryas
leaves and twigs below 125 cm. No seeds or fruits were found, probably the result of low
production and their harvest by birds and lemming. The limited data do not permit an
evaluation of oscillating climate as has been possible in Greenland and northern Ungava."
Excerpts
92. BOER, G.J., and K. HIGUCHI. 1981. Climatic variability in the northern hemisphere.
First Conference on Climate Variations of the American Meterological Society. Jan.
19-23, 1981, San Diego. Abstracts, p. 8.
An analysis of variance of the 1000-500 mb thickness field is performed to investigate
climatic variability from 1949-75. The thickness field and the transient eddy, standing eddy
and north-south variances, averaged over the Northern Hemispheric cap from 25°N to the pole,
are obtained on a monthly basis.
The resulting time series are analyzed to their trends and interrelationships. This study is
an outgrowth of a previous study on this subject. In this study, the long-term trends (or
lack thereof) in the variability measures are investigated on a monthly and seasonal basis.
A.A.
93. BOLIN, B. 1975. Energy and Climate. Stockholm University for Secretariat for Future
Studies. 58 pp.
Topics dealt with include climatic changes since the last glaciation, some aspects of the
general circulation of the atmosphere and its importance on the distribution of climatic
zones on the earth, energy fluxes in the climatic system, climatic changes and their possible
causes, and possible future climatic changes caused by an increasing energy production.
49
94. BOMBIN, M., and C. SCHWEGER. 1978. Silicophytoliths as paleoecological indicators to
the reconstruction of the late Pleistocene steppe-tundra of the Yukon Territory,
Canada. American Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts 5:187.
Most plants contain opaline silica bodies deposited in cells or intercellular spaces
particularly in the leaves, but diagnostic morphotypes appear to be more common among the
Mono-cotyledons. These silicophytoliths ... are generally well preserved in sediments and
soils, to a greater extent than pollen. Silicophytoliths are widely deposited in leaves,
inflorescences and roots of the Gramineae; they display nearly constant morphology, with
taxonomic specificity suggested at least at the level of genera, although no complete studies
on species assemblages have been made. Different grasses display overlapping morphotypes
making discrimination in the fossil assemblage a very difficult task.
Phytolith analysis is a promising technique in taxonomy and paleoecology, but the lack of
descriptive information on morphology and species morphotypes frequencies has limited its
application.
The first author is engaged in a research project to formalize phytolith analysis, and at the
same time apply the method to interpretation of Late Pleistocene sequences in the Yukon
Territory, using reference collections in preparation and assemblages representing present
day environments. During the late glacial, unglaciated areas of the Yukon have been
characterized as arctic grassland steppe or steppe-tundra, evidenced by high percentages
of Artemista, Cyperaceae and Gramineae pollen. Since the two latter families cannot be
distinguished further, there is a great need for application of another paleoecological
method. Identification of grass, sedge and herbaceous cover to at least the generic level,
using silicophytolith analysis, would allow comparisons with extant northern grasslands,
particularly the so called "relic steppes.” This work should provide proxy data for
paleoclimatic inferences, pedology, paleopedology, permafrost and stratigraphic correlation.
Field research will concentrate on stratigraphic exposures in the Old Crow-Porcupine Basin.
pA.A.
95. BORISENKOV, E.P. 1975. Energetics estimation of climatic trends in the present
century. In: Long-term Climatic Fluctuations, World Meteorological Organization,
Geneva WMO-421:269-278.
The energetics principle of estimation and interpretation as a method of analysing the
climatic trends of the past century are discussed.
G.A.
96. BORNS, H.W., Jr., and R.P. GOLDTHWAIT. 1966. Late-Pleistocene fluctuations of
Kaskawulsh Glacier, southwestern Yukon Territory, Canada. American Journal of
Science 264(8):600-619.
The 45-mile-long Kaskawulsh is one of many outlet glaciers draining the glacier-filled
coastal Icefield Ranges into the dry interior of the Yukon Territory. Its deposits express
the major climatic changes of the last 10,000 years. A great retreat, many miles up valley
from the present terminus, occurred 12,000 to 9,000 years ago leaving drift clinging to
valley walls and completed alluvial fans. Winds over the active valley train added up to 8
feet of loess (Kluane loess) on these deposits and buried 9,/700-year-old vegetation near the
present glacier terminus. During the Slims nonglacial interval (essentially the Hypsithermal
interval) weathering developed a bright red-yellow paleosol (Slims Soil) in this loess. In
the lower parts of a bog, just above the Neoglacial terminal moraine, there are dominant
grass pollen and moss spores which suggest a wetter climate than today. But just above the
3300-year-old date in this bog, peat with sedge, spruce, and Artemisia pollen show a marked
change to a drier climate like that of today. In addition, a new unweathered loess
(Neoglacial loess) covers the red-yellow paleosol and 2600-year-old vegetation. The climatic
change and reactivated outwash signal the Neoglacial advance 2600 to 3000 years ago.
Kaskawulsh Glacier reached its terminal position, where it left a prominent loop moraine, by
approximately 300 years ago (cl4 dates) and was there as late as 145 years ago when it bent
over a spruce tree with countable rings. Halting retreat for the last century has left two
ice-cored loop moraines: the older one completely formed in 1939.
A.A.
97. BORNS, H.W., Jr., and T.J. HUGHES. 1977. The implications of the Pineo Ridge readvance
in Maine. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 31(3-4):203-206.
Much of the Laurentide ice sheet in Maine, Atlantic Provinces, and southern Quebec was a
“marine ice sheet”, that is it was grounded below the prevailing sea level. When proper
conditions prevailed, calving bays progressed into the ice sheet along ice streams
partitioning it, leaving those portions grounded above sea level as residual ice caps. At
least by 12,800 yrs BP a calving bay had progressed up the St. Lawrence Lowland at least to
Ottawa while a similar, but less extensive calving bay developed in central Maine at
approximately the same time. Concurrently, ice draining north into the St. Lawrence and
south into the Central Maine calving bay rapidly lowered the surface of the intervening ice
sheet until it eventually divided over the NE-SW trending Boundary and Longfellow Mountains
and probably over other highland areas as well. A major consequence of these nearly
simultaneous processes was the separation of an initial large ice cap over part of Maine, New
Brunswick, and Quebec which was bounded on the west by the calving bay in Central Maine, to
the north by the calving bay in the St. Lawrence Lowland, to the south by the Bay of Fundy,
and to the east by the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In coastal Maine, east of the calving bay, the
margin of the ice cap receded above the marine limit at least 40 km and subsequently
readvanced terminating at Pineo Ridge moraine approximately 12,700 yrs BP. These events are
the stratigraphic and chronologic equivalent of the Cary-Pt. Huron recession/Pt. Huron
readvance of the Great Lakes region.
Although a great deal more research is necessary the chronology and significance of these
events when combined suggest a hemispheric climatic pattern including “cold" periods roughly
between 13,000 and 12,000 yrs BP and between 11,000 and 10,000 yrs BP separated by a “warm”
period from approximately 12,000 to 11,000 yrs BP.
A.A.+
98. BOULTON, G.S., J.H. DICKSON, H. NICHOLS, M. NICHOLS, and S.K. SHORT. 1976. Late
Holocene glacier fluctuations and vegetation changes at Maktak Fiord, Baffin
Island, N.W.T., Canada. Arctic and Alpine Research 8(4):343-356.
Maktak Glacier is a major distributary of the Penny Ice Cap and thus changes in its frontal
position reflect variations in the mass balance of the ice cap. The Neo-glacial terminal
moraine of this glacier consists of a 20-m thick sedimentary sequence of till, overlain by up
to 18 m of sands and gravels which contain a l1-m thick peat bed. These sediments were
deformed by glacier pushing and are overlain by a younger till. The basal till and the
overlying sands and gravels beneath the peat were deposited during the retreat from the
Cockburn Stade. The site was deglaciated at some time after 5000 to 6000 BP. Peat on a
terrace surface was studied using “absolute” pollen analyses, and clustering routines to
distinguish pollen zones. The start of peat growth at 2500 BP (synchronous with such events
elsewhere) is attributable to altered permafrost levels and/or increases in precipitation/-
evaporation budgets, producing wetter conditions locally. The vegetational history began
with a moist willow episode, which was followed by a dominantly grass community as local
conditions became drier. The initial rapid growth of peat conditions became progressively
slower throughout the profile, until by 1500 BP the slow accumulation of humified peat was
overwhelmed by windblown sand which inhibited further growth. A subsequent Maktak Glacier
advance deposited sands and gravels over the peat bed. Between 350 and 65 BP, glacial
pushing and overriding of the terrace and peat sediments occurred. Exotic tree pollens were
identified in the sediments; their changing frequencies may provide some tentative measure of
changing airflows into the High Arctic.
The eastern part of the Penny Ice Cap, as represented by the Maktak Glacier, may have a
relatively simple Holocene history of post-Cockburn decline, growth after 4000 BP, and
decline in recent decades. This contrasts with more complex response patterns of small
cirque glaciers in the same areas. It is stressed that the data used in the paper cannot
identify small-scale glacier oscillations.
A.A.
99. BOUSFIELD, E.L. 1961. Noteworthy records of marine molluscs from the Bay of Fundy.
National Museum of Canada, Natural History Papers 10:1-3.
While visiting the coarse sand beach inside Partridge Island, south of Parrsboro, Nova
Scotia, on July 22, 1958, the writer found three fragmentary valves of a heavy ark shell and
eight partial valves of a strongly ribbed venerid clam.
On the assumption ... that the present molluscan material is subfossil, we may deduce
probable conditions of water temperature and faunistic assemblages that formerly prevailed in
that area. The presence of “Virginian” littoral marine molluscan and crustacean faunas in
eastern Canada, separated from their present centres of distribution (Cape Cod to Cape
Hatteras) by a large area of cold water (Gulf of Maine), has previously been attributed to
one or more post-Pleistocene warm periods (e.g. Bousfield, 1956, 1958). Higher water
temperatures would have been a logical result of lowered sea-levels and reduced tidal mixing,
particularly in the northern part of the Gulf of Maine, immediately following the last ice
advance. Conditions were evidently sufficiently warm not only to have permitted the
continuous dispersal of Virginian faunas throughout the northern Gulf region, from which they
are now all but excluded, but also to have invited the northward penetration of Carolinian
elements into the Canadian Atlantic region. ... We may surmise, therefore, that temperature
conditions in the Bay of Fundy may have formerly been analogous to those of present-day
southern Chesapeake Bay and that the molluscan fauna included Virginian and Carolinian
elements such as Pecten trradians, Polinices duplicata, Donax fossor, and Busycon
cannaltculata, which may yet be discovered as fossils in the region.
Excerpts
100. BOUSFIELD, E.L., and M.L.H. THOMAS. 1975. Post-glacial changes in distribution of
littoral marine invertebrates in the Canadian Atlantic region. In: Environmental
Change in the Maritimes. Edited by: J.G. Ogden, III and M.J. Harvey. Proceedings
of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science 27, Supplement 3:47-60.
In a series of seven coloured maps, the authors attempt to reconstruct summer surface
temperatures for the Canadian Atlantic Coastal region (40°N-55°N, 45°W-80°W) in an effort to
explain the present distribution of littoral marine invertebrates. In immediate post-
Wisconsin time (15,000 BP) sea levels about 450 ft. below present, exposing all areas to the
edge of the continental shelf. Climate was 5-10°C below present - still warm enough to
provide a possible refugium for terrestrial, freshwater and intertidal arctic-boreal species
on the unglaciated outer shelf margin. In early postglacial time (12,500 BP) continental ice
was retreating rapidly inland and climate had waned to 5-10°C below present average levels.
The coastal shelf was covered by a shallow sea studded with islands. During the early
Hypsithermal period (9,500 BP), continental ice had withdrawn leaving a main ice cap in
central Québec. Sea levels were rising rapidly but were still about 150 ft. below present on
the outer coast, and climate was warming. In the mid-Hypsithermal (7,000 BP), mean
temperatures were at least 2.5°C above present. Sea level rose to less than 100 ft. below
present drowning many offshore islands. The warm-water fauna was continuous from southern
New England to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. By 5,500 BP the climate was cooling and sea levels
were less than 50 ft. below present. The warm-water fauna was being eliminated from outer
coastal regions. By 3,000 BP the climate had cooled to nearly present levels, marked by
short fluctuations. The warm-water fauna of the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence was isolated
from that to the south.
101. BOWERING, R. 1981. Impact of climate variability on water resources management. In:
Climate Change Seminar Proceedings. Regina, March 17-19. Canadian Climate Centre,
Downsview. pp. 28-32.
The importance of agriculture to Manitoba's economy, and the dependance of agricultural
production on weather creates a direct link between the weather and Manitoba's economy. This
paper will concentrate on variations from normal prairie weather patterns and will review the
types of water resource problems which are caused by abnormal weather patterns, and discuss
steps which can be taken to minimize some of these problems. Finally, the impact of a
permanent climate shift will be briefly discussed.
There appears to be some evidence that the prairie climate is becoming more characterized by
extremes, particularly in the short duration (minutes to days) and in the medium duration (a
few months to a year) categories. During the years 1968, 1973 and 1977 there was virtually
no winter snow accumulation or spring runoff. However in the adjacent years of 1969, 1974,
and 1976, there was extremely heavy winter precipitation and extreme spring flooding. The
300 millimetre rainstorm in the Riding Mountain area in September, 1975 produced the first
catastrophic fall flood in living memory in Manitoba. The 1980 drought in the Winnipeg to
Portage la Prairie area was the worst in 100 years of record. This was followed by over 150
millimetres of rainfall in some parts of the Manitoba Interlake within a 24 hour period in
the month of August, 1980. A good knowledge of climatic variability is an essential feature
of an efficient water resource management system.
Excerpts
102. BOWLING, S.A. 1975. Possible significance of recent weather and circulation anomalies
in northeastern Canada for the initiation of continental glaciation. In: Climate
of the Arctic. Edited by: B. Weller and S.A. Bowling. 24th Alaska Science
Conference, University of Alaska, Fairbanks. pp. 91-97.
The basic causes of climatic fluctuation between glacial and interglacial conditions remain
debatable: On a purely phenomenological basis, though, deep-sea cores and ice-sheet cores
strongly suggest the following: (i) Uninterrupted periods of temperatures near or above
present levels have rarely exceeded 10,000-20,000 years in length. The Holocene has already
lasted around 10,000 years. (ii) Interglacials such as the present tend to be interrupted by
extremely rapid drops to near glacial conditions. Suggested time scales are less than 100
years for cooling, 1,000 years or more for recovery. In addition to the direct effects of a
cold pulse, major redistribution of precipitation would occur, which could have drastic
effects on agriculture.
Most theories are in agreement that the first observable signs of reformation of continental
ice sheets would be an increase in the perennial snow cover in northeastern Canada and/or
Scandinavia. Widespread perennial snow cover would affect the general circulation of the
atmosphere in much of the same way as would a major ice sheet, with two exceptions. The
orographic effect of an ice sheet would not be present, which could lead to even colder
conditions in surrounding areas than would a true ice sheet. Also, a perennial snow cover
which had not yet reached the ice sheet stage would be considerably less stable than a true
ice sheet. Such a perennial snow cover could explain the observed brief cold pulses observed
towards the end of previous interglacials. In terms of a human life span, of course, the
distinction between a 1,000-year cold pulse and the beginning of a major ice sheet would be
unnoticeable.
In the process of examining available climatological data for Labrador-Ungava, Keewatin and
the northeastern Canadian islands, we found that monthly mean temperatures in these areas
were not above normal (and were at times as much as 8°C below normal) from November, 1971 to
February 1973. Investigation of 700 mb monthly mean maps since 1949 indicated that the 700
mb height at 65°N, 75°W was not significantly above normal for at least 18 months. Since the
position 65°N, 75°W is approximately the center of the 700 mb low that has been proposed as
part of an early glacial-age circulation, the recent weather anomalies in the United States
53
and elsewhere may serve as a useful analogue to the climatic anomalies which could be
expected in the early stages of a cold pulse.
A.A.
103. BOWMAN, P.W. 1931. Study of a peat bog near the Matamek River, Quebec, Canada, by the
method of pollen analysis. Ecology 12(4):694-708.
Cores of peat were taken from a Quebec bog, and samples selected at 6-inch intervals were
stained and mounted on slides for study. At least 1,000 spores were counted from each
sample, and a record made of the number of each kind present. Curves were drawn to show the
relative density of each kind of spore at each level. The curves show this to be an ocean
type bog, with sedge present in the lower levels and Sphagnum in the upper. The curves
also suggest that the bog went through an open marsh stage to one of closed forest. Each
curve shows an individual trend and a set of secondary oscillations common to nearly all.
...we may estimate the greatest possible age of this bog to be under 2,500 years.
meses
104. BOYKO-DIAKONOW, M., and J. TERASMAE. 1975. Palynology of Holocene sediments in Perch
Lake, Chalk River, Ontario. In: Hydrological studies on a small basin on the
Canadian Shield; a final summary of the Perch Lake evaporation study 1965-1974.
Edited by: P.J. Barry. Atomic Energy of Canada, Report AECL-5041/I. pp. 189-
220.
A sediment core, 785 cm in length, was collected from the western part of Perch Lake.
Radiocarbon dating on a sample of gyttja from the 594-600 cm depth provided a date of
9,830 + 250 years BP (GSC-1516). A palynological study was conducted, showing
that Terasmae's pollen zones V-I were present.
When the Champlain Sea receded from the area vegetative cover was sparse, seeming to indicate
a cold and moist climate. A warming trend with increasing drier conditions (perhaps
seasonal) is suggested by the decrease in spruce and increase in white pine by about 9,500
years ago. By about 6,500 years ago species which today are typical of the Great Lakes - St.
Lawrence forest (hemlock, beech, maple, oak, elm, birch and ash) appeared, suggesting a
moister climate. This warm, moist climate continued for almost five millenia, becoming
relatively very warm about 5,000 years ago as indicated by the sharp decrease in hemlock.
The climate became colder about 1,000 years ago as beech, hemlock and maple pollen
decreased.
A.B.S.
105. BRADLEY, R.S. 1973. Seasonal climatic fluctuations on Baffin Island during the period
of instrumental records. Arctic 26(3):230-243.
Temperature and precipitation records for Baffin Island are examined on a seasonal basis for
the last 40 to 50 years. Accumulation season temperatures (September to May) during the late
1960s were similar to those which prevailed 30 to 40 years ago. Ablation season temperatures
(June, July, August) during the same period were cooler than for at least 30 years.
Precipitation variations showed much less spatial coherence, but during the last 10 to 15
years there have been marked increases, mostly during winter months. These increases,
accompanied by cooler summers and warmer winters, have led to increased glacierization of the
area. The most recent fluctuation of summer temperatures is related to changes in the
frequency of synoptic types in the area. Baffin Island is sensitive to small changes in
climate which are only revealed by an analysis of temperature and precipitation on a seasonal
basis.
A.A.
106. BRADLEY, R-S. 1973. Recent freezing level changes and climatic deterioration in the
Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Nature 243(5407):398-400.
This paper presents “an analysis of upper air data for the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, which
indicates that marked changes in freezing level heights have occurred during the past two
decades as a result of changes in atmospheric circulation across the area." The critical
change, as evidenced by the freezing level data, probably occurred around 1962-1964. For the
past nine years, 1964-1972, July freezing levels have been much lower at all stations in the
area. “A decrease in the elevation of the freezing level during summer months can ...
greatly decrease the area of snow and ice affected by melting. «+. The large changes in
freezing level height since 1963 have produced significant glaciological responses in the
Canadian Arctic.”
A.B.S.
107. BRADLEY, R.S., and J. ENGLAND. 1978. Recent climatic fluctuations of the Canadian High
Arctic and their significance for glaciology. Arctic and Alpine Research
10(4) :715-731.
Various measures of the character of ablation season conditions in the Canadian High Arctic
(north of 74°N) are discussed based on an analysis of daily climatic data from Alert, Eureka,
Isachsen, Resolute, and Thule. Melting degree-day totals appear to be the most useful index
of “summer warmth". An abrupt change in the summer climate of the region occurred around
1963/64. Various indices indicate a marked decrease in summer temperature after 1963.
During the same period, annual precipitation in the north and northwest has increased.
Glacier mass is strongly controlled by summer climate; in particular, annual melting degree-
day totals are highly correlated with long-term mass-balance records. This enabled mass
balance on the northwest sector of the Devon Island ice cap to be reconstructed back to
1947/48. Cumulative mass losses on the Devon Island ice cap from 1947/48 to 1962/63 are
estimated to be ~ 3500 kg m2, However, from 1963/64 to 1973/74 a total of <350 kg m2
have been lost. Significant ice-cap growth is presently limited by low precipitation even
when mean summer temperatures are very low; an occasional warm summer may therefore
obliterate cumulative mass gains over many years.
The post-1963 change in summer climate appears to be related to the massive increase of
volcanic dust in the upper atmosphere, primarily due to the eruption of Mt. Agung (March
1963). Subsequent eruptions may have caused the cooler conditions to persist. Volcanic dust
affects solar radiation receipts and perhaps also influences the general circulation. If the
high volcanic dust levels of the 1960s are responsible for reduced mass losses on High Arctic
glaciers and ice caps, it is probable that other periods with high atmospheric dust levels
(e.g., 1750 to 1880) had summer temperatures at least as cold as the mid to late 1960s.
Conversely, the period of very negative balance on the Devon Island ice cap from 1947 to 1963
was probably typical of the period back to 1920 when the atmosphere was relatively free of
volcanic dust.
A.A.
108. BRADLEY, R., and G.H. MILLER. 1972. Recent climatic change and increased
glacierization in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Nature 237(5355) :385-387.
This paper reports recent field work on Baffin Island, eastern Canadian Arctic, with an
analysis of available climatic data for the area. Seasonal running means of temperature and
precipitation for the major weather stations were calculated. “For the period 1960 to 1969 a
marked decrease, by as much as 2.1°C, in the mean temperature of the ablation season (June to
August) is apparent; but the accumulation season (September to May) shows an equally marked
increase in temperature, by as much as 2.0°C." Two stations, at Cape Dyer and Frobisher Bay,
are exceptions to this pattern and are a result of local conditions at each site. For the
same 10-year period there have been marked increases of winter precipitation throughout
Baffin Island. The summer precipitation records exhibit greater station to station
variability.
Airflow characteristics for July and August were studied. “From 1961-1965 to 1966-1970 there
was a 29% increase in the number of days on which airflow with an easterly (particularly a
north-easterly) component affected the region and a concurrent decrease in the number of days
on which airflow with a westerly (particularly a south-westerly) component affected the
region. The increased frequency of cool air being advected into the area from the east and
north-east has apparently resulted in lower summer temperatures. A synoptic classification
catalogue for all of the winter months is not yet available but it seems likely that the
observed warming during these months is related to a higher frequency of days on which
relatively warm, moist southerly air entered the region.”
“Short term climatic changes are manifested visually, by field evidence, only in sensitive
regions." Field observations (1969 to 1971) of permanent snowbanks, incipient glaciers, and
the duration of ice cover on small lakes, were compared with aerial photographs taken late in
the ablation seasons of 1949 and 1960. Support is given to the climatological evidence for a
climatic deterioration. “During the past decade mean annual temperatures on Baffin Island
have been increasing, but the net effect on the landscape is an apparent move towards more
glacial conditions."
A.B.S.
109. BRAY, J.R. 1964. Chronology of a small glacier in eastern British Columbia, Canada.
Science 144(3616):287-288.
The age of trees growing on the moraines of a small, high-altitude glacier in the Canadian
Rockies suggests that the date of the maximum post-Pleistocene ice advance was around A.D.
1714, with another later advance about 1832. These two dates are synchronous with the two
major periods of recent ice readvance in the area.
110. BRAY, J.R. 1965. Forest growth and glacier chronology in north-west North America in
relation to solar activity. Nature 205(4970):440-443.
During the period 1610-1964 for which sunspot observations are available, the great majority
of advances of ice in north-west North America occurred at the close of and immediately
following periods of low sunspot activity. Glacial retreat or stagnation occurred during
periods of higher sunspot activity. Tree growth in the Yoho National Park area of British
Columbia was positively correlated with sunspot activity during this period, which may
reflect a relationship between growing season, climate and solar activity. There is also
evidence, although fewer data are at present available, that glacial advance during the past
several millenia has predominated in centuries of lower average sunspot activity, and glacial
retreat and stagnation have predominated in centuries of higher average sunspot activity.
A.C.
111. BRAY, J.R., and G.J. STRUIK. 1963. Forest growth and glacial chronology in eastern
British Columbia, and their relation to recent climatic trends. Canadian Journal
of Botany 41(8):1245-1271.
Recent activity of Yoho Glacier was determined by botanical and geological dating techniques
and from published accounts. Tree growth in four forests adjacent to the end moraine was
measured by increment borings of 200 Picea engelmannit. Drawings of increment cores
were made in the field, to avoid differential shrinkage with storage. From these drawings,
tree growth was calculated in trunk basal area per decade.
Total tree growth was higher from 1581 to 1680, 1761 to 1790, 1851 to 1870, and 1901 to 1960
with lower growth intervening. Total growth was positively related to world temperature and
sunspot activity and negatively related to world precipitation and glacial activity.
Records of glacial activity in Alberta, British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon from 1580 to
1960 showed that two intervals, 1711 to 1724 and 1835 to 1849, contained over one-half of the
glacial advances. These intervals followed the two lowest periods of solar activity (1645-
17153) 1798-1833) since 1610% Periods of high solar activity showed glacial retreat or
stagnation. These results support the solar radiation climatic hypothesis.
Résumés of forest growth, glacial activity, climatic regime, and solar activity for 1580-1960
and 800-1950 gave further evidence of a close relation between solar activity and climate.
The use of solar activity data in predicting climatic trends and glacial activity was
discussed.
pA.A.
112. BRERETON, W.E., and J.A. ELSON. 1979. A late Pleistocene plant-bearing deposit in
Currie Township, near Matheson, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
16(5):1130-1136.
Two overburden test holes drilled to bedrock in Currie Township, southwest of Matheson,
Ontario, penetrated stratified beds containing fossil plant detritus resting on an oxidized
substrate, which are between two till sheets underlying glacial Lake Ojibway-Barlow varved
clays. The fossil plants, chiefly mosses, represent an environment that is common in the
region today, and are radiocarbon dated (GSC-2148) as older than 37,000 years. The
interglacial deposit is tentatively correlated with the Missinaibi Formation in the Moose
River basin of the James Bay lowlands, probably of Sangamon age.
113. BRIGHAM, J.K. 1979. Amino acid geochronology of Quaternary glaciomarine sediments,
Broughton Island, S.E. Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada. Geological Society of
America, Abstracts with Programs 11(7):394.
Marine and glaciomarine terraces on Broughton Island record evidence of glacio-isostatic
adjustments and eustatic sea level changes. Because of the discontinuous nature of the
deposits, both laterally and temporally, stratigraphic control is provided by amino acid
ratios (D-allo-isoleucine/L-isoleucine in the free fraction) of marine molluscs collected
from cliff exposures. D-allo/L-iso ratios subdivide the deposits into six units which
suggest that local ice advanced around Broughton Island to the outer coast at least once
during early-Foxe time (ca. 100,000? BP) and twice during mid-Foxe time (ca. 60-/0,000? BP).
Maximum marine transgressions during these advances reached 72 m, 735 m, and between 30
and 70 m, respectively. Biostratigraphic evidence indicates that subarctic water, warmer
than present, occupied this region during glacial maxima. Late-Foxe time (ca. 25,000-8 ,500?
BP) was characterized by only small local ice advances on the adjacent Baffin mainland and by
eustatic sea level changes created by growth of the Laurentide ice sheet along its southern
margin. An early Holocene (ca. 8,000 BP) sea level rise eroded a prominent bench in older
sediments at 7-9 m a.s.1.
Correlative sequences of glacial and sea level events are recorded in raised terraces 50 km
and 350 km north of Broughton Island, suggesting that glacial fluctuations were synchronous
along the northeast coast of Baffin Island. The chronology of the region stands in marked
contrast to that along the southern margin of the Laurentide ice sheet complex, emphasizing
the asymmetrical shift of glacial advances from north to south through Foxe (Wisconsin?)
time.
A.A.
Un
~
114. BRINKMANN, W.A.Re 1976. Surface temperature trend for the Northern Hemisphere -
updated. Quaternary Research 6(3):355-358.
The surface temperature curve for the Northern Hemisphere was extended to include the years
1969 through 1973 following the same procedure used by H.C. Willett, J.M. Mitchell, Jr., and
C.H. Reitan. The analysis showed a slight warming of 0.02°C between the periods 1965-1969
and 1970-1973, and a significant decrease in the number of negative temperature changes at
individual stations (indicating a decrease in the total area experiencing temperature
decrease).
A.A.
115. BRINKMANN, W.A.R., and R.G. BARRY. 1972. Palaeoclimatological aspects of the synoptic
climatology of Keewatin, Northwest Territories, Canada. Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 11(2):77-91.
Mean monthly composite patterns of surface weather anomalies and 700 mbar height anomalies
are determined for snowy winters and cool summers in both Keewatin and Labrador-Ungava and
also for different positions of the mean 700 mbar trough over eastern Canada. The results
indicate that for the selected regimes precipitation anomalies are characteristically of
opposite sign in Keewatin and northern Ungava whereas temperature conditions in the two areas
are comparable. The implications of the findings are discussed with reference to post-
Glacial palynological evidence from Arctic Canada and to the possible conditions favouring
inception of glaciation in Keewatin.
A.A.
116. BROOKES, I.A., J.H. McANDREWS, and P.H. VON BITTER. 1982. Quaternary interglacial and
associated deposits in southwest Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
19(3):410-423.
A record of late Quaternary environmental change is preserved in sediments near Codroy,
Newfoundland. This coastal cliff section exposes five units. Pollen and spores from unit 3
indicate that during its deposition regional vegetation changed from tundra (Zone A) to
boreal forest (Zone B), and back to tundra (Zone C), through an interglacial cycle of
vegetation change. Balsam fir wood from Zone B is radiocarbon-dated to >40,000 BP. Zone B
is assigned full interglacial status, based on pollen and foraminiferal evidence, and is
tentatively considered to represent the Sangamon interglacial.
C.R.H.
117. BROOKS, C.E.P. 1970. Climate Through the Ages. A Study of the Climatic Factors and
their Variations. 2nd revised edition. Dover, New York. 395 pp.
“The book is divided into three sections. In the first, the various factors of climate are
discussed, and the scope which they offer for the introduction of climatic changes is
considered, quantitatively when possible. This part of the work is essentially a textbook of
meteorology... Various theories of climatic change are discussed in successive chapters as
they arise, but no attempt has been made to include all the theories which have been put
forward from time to time.”...
“The second section of the book applies the principles laid down in the first section to the
various problems presented by geological climates.” ... The third section of the book deals
in considerable detail with the climates of different parts of the world during the
historical period, or from about 5000 B.C. to the present day.
58
Chapters of particular relevance to this bibliography include Chapter 16 “The Climate of the
Quaternary" and Chapter 21 “America and Greenland".
A.B.S.
118. BROWN, J.-L., et P. Gangloff. 1980. Géliformes et sols cryiques dans le sud de
l'Abitibi, Québec. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 34(2):137-158.
Evidence of fossil as well as active patterned ground has been found in forested areas some
400 km south of the permafrost zone, in the southern part of Abitibi (Québec). This paper
describes the occurrence of sorted and non-sorted patterned ground and stresses the
paleoclimatic and pedologic importance of this feature.
pA.A.
119. BRYSON, R.A., W.N. IRVING, and J.A. LARSEN. 1965. Radiocarbon and soil evidence of
former forest in the southern Canadian tundra. Science 147(3653):46-48.
Radiocarbon dating of charcoal on podzols along a transect reaching 280 kilometers north of
the present tree line from Ennadai Lake indicates that former forests were burnt about 3500
years ago and again about 900 years ago. These forests probably were associated with periods
of relatively mild climate.
The history that emerges from this stratigraphy is as follows. After the draining of great
glacier-dammed lakes in southwestern Keewatin not later than 3500 B.C., forest encroached
northward to at least about 63°N and remained until about 1500 B.C., developing a typical
podzol soil. About 1500 B.C. the forest failed to regenerate after fires, and the tree line
retreated south to Ennadai Lake. By A.D. 1000 the forest had again advanced to at least
61°30'N or 62°N. Fires of that time were not followed by forest regeneration north of the
present tree line.
Thus, the tree line twice advanced north of its present position and was farther south than
at present during an intervening period between 1500 B.C. and A.D. 1000. Because the tree
line presently coincides with the position of the Arctic front, we infer that these periods
of northward forest extension were periods with a more northerly frontal position. Judging
that the advances represent periods of relatively milder climate, we correlate the first
advance with the Climatic Optimum and the second with the Little Climatic Optimum.
The known history of human occupancy of this area also reflects this sequence of biotic and
climatic change. Late Paleo-Indian (Protoarchaic) artifacts, like those of buffalo hunters
in the Plains and Great Lakes regions 7000 to 9000 years ago, are found on sites exposed
after the draining of the proglacial lakes in the Dubawnt and Kazan river systems. These
sites were forested until 3500 years ago. The first arrival of Arctic culture in the region
(pre-Dorset stage of the Arctic small-tool tradition) probably took place 3000 to 4000 years
ago, with the onset of more severe climate and the retreat of the forest border. The recent
Caribou Eskimo came after the forest retreat of 900 years ago.
AA
120. BRYSON, R.A., and J.A. KUTZBACH. 1974. On the analysis of pollen-climate canonical
transfer functions. Quaternary Research 4(2):162-174.
Canonical correlation analysis ... provides a means of reconstructing past climates
quantitatively from fossil pollen using a pollen-climate transfer function. This paper
presents a method for analysis of variance of the transfer function model. This method is
used to identify ecological relationships among the pollen and climate variables, to select
climatically sensitive taxa, and to investigate the importance of site factors.
pA.A.
121. BRYSON, R.A., and T.J. MURRAY. 1977. Climates of Hunger: Mankind and the World's
Changing Weather. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison. 171 pp.
This book provides a broad overview of climatic change, illustrating the importance of
examining the past in order to prepare for the future. The effects of some past climatic
changes on civilizations are presented and force an awareness of the implications of climatic
variation.
A.B.S.
122. BRYSON, R.A., and W.M. WENDLAND. 1967. Tentative climatic patterns for some late
glacial and post-glacial episodes in central North America. University of
Wisconsin, Department of Meteorology Technical Report 34:1-27. (Also published in:
Life, Land and Water. Edited by: W.J. Mayer-Oakes. University of Manitoba,
Department of Anthropology Occasional Papers No. 1:271-298. 1967).
Reconstructs airmass regimes over North America (1) during the late glacial period ca 12,000
BP. (2) the period 9000-8000 BP. (3) 5000-3500 BP. Using the technique developed by the
authors which delineates air mass boundaries and fronts by reference to boundaries of biotic
communities, maps are presented for each period showing mean frontal positions and
circulatory patterns. During the late glacial period the upper westerlies were strong along
40-45° in summer while winters were warmer than present over the U.S. The authors consider
it inconceivable that the Arctic Ocean should have been ice-free or even partially open.
Changes to Boreal conditions (period 2) were abrupt and the resulting climatic and
vegetational patterns are described. At this time subsident Pacific air extended further
east than at present, and grasslands were more extensive. Changes to early sub-Boreal time
(period 3) and subsequently are outlined. A consistent matching of climatic pattern and
biotic evidence can be demonstrated for the past 10,000 years. This is particularly true of
the Boreal forest in the sub-Arctic.
A.B.
123. BRYSON, R.A., and W.M. WENDLAND. 1967. Carbon isochrones of the retreat of the
Laurentide ice sheet. University of Wisconsin, Department of Meteorology Technical
Report No. 35:1-26.
Presents a map showing the position of the ice front at 500 year intervals over the last
13,000 years. The retreat is shown to have averaged 12 mi/century over much of eastern North
America. The computational method using radiocarbon dates is explained. Of the many dates
used, isarithmic analysis showed that surprisingly few were clearly incorrect. The most
striking conclusion is the continuous presence of the ice sheets until well after the
accepted close of Wisconsin time ca. 10,500 BP, with continental ice sheets persisting
through the entire hypsithermal period. Hudson Bay and Foxe Basin cleared early (ca. 8000
BP), and a broad low corridor opened from the Arctic to the Plains in Boreal time (ca. 8500
BP). The paleoclimatological implications of the study are discussed.
124. BRYSON, R.A., W.M. WENDLAND, J.D. IVES, and J.T. ANDREWS. 1969. Radiocarbon isochrones
on the disintegration of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Arctic and Alpine Research
La) et—14'
The last great event of the Wisconsin Glacial Stage in North America was the disintegration
of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. This occurred between 13,000 and about 5,000 years ago and had
a profound effect upon the paleogeography of the continent. Analysis of present-day
distribution of fauna and flora, the archaeological record, and climatic and sea-level
fluctuations are intimately bound up with ice sheet disappearance, yet there has been no
systematic attempt to utilize existing radiocarbon and geological data to attempt a plot of
60
the ice sheet perimeter at specific intervals through time. The present paper makes this
attempt in the form of two maps, the first being an objective portrayal of isolines drawn on
the radiocarbon data, the only assumption being that the ice sheet perimeter tended to
parallel the coastline or, more particularly, the trend of the outer edge of the continental
shelves and the southern limit of Wisconsin till on land; the second map is a subjective
interpretation of the first based up geologic field evidence and the climatic and geomorphic
intuition of the writers. Some of the immediate implications raised by the maps are
discussed and a series of significant conclusions are derived: (1) The northern limit of the
Laurentide Ice Sheet proper was close to the arctic mainland coast of Canada. (2) There was
a dramatic change from an east-west ice barrier near latitude 60°N in late-glacial time, to a
broad low corridor from the Arctic Ocean to the Great Plains in Boreal time. (3) The
Laurentide Ice Sheet retained its identity as a distinct unit until about 8,400 years BP
(Cockburn Stade) and had catastrophically disintegrated during Atlantic time within a few
centuries of 8,000 years BP. (4) The three remaining ice remnants centered over Keewatin,
Labrador-Ungava, and Foxe Basin-Baffin Island persisted through the Atlantic climatic episode
(altithermal), that on Baffin Island surviving to the present day in the form of the Barnes
Ice Cap.
A.A.
125. BUDD, W.F. 1981. The importance of ice sheets in long term changes of climate and sea
level. In: Sea Level, Ice, and Climatic Change. Edited by: I. Allison.
International Association of Hydrological Sciences Publication 131:441-471.
A review of the effects of ice sheets on climate as indicated by modelling studies, reveals
that the presence of the ice sheets themselves was the major factor causing the lower
climatic temperatures prevailing during the ice ages. A review of other modelling studies of
the climatic effects of the changing radiation regime, resulting from the Earth's orbital
variations, indicates that the changes are large enough, and of sufficient duration, to cause
the initiation and termination of the ice ages when the added feedback of the ice sheets on
the climate is included. To understand the effect of the orbital radiation changes it is
important to differentiate between annual, summer and June-July periods all as functions of
latitude and whether over land or sea. In particular the June-July changes over land at high
latitudes are very high whereas the global annual changes are negligible. These concepts and
modelling results resolve a number of anomalies in previous palaeo climate studies. A review
of palaeo evidence for changes of ice extent, sea level and climate provides considerable
support for the results of model calculations of ice sheet and climate response to the
orbital variations. These responses show three major periods of lower temperatures and
greater ice extent over the last 120,000 years, separated by periods of milder climate with
low land-ice volumes. In reconciling this pattern with sea-sediment isotope records it is
important also to consider a strong isotope component from the Antarctic ice sheet.
A.A.
126. BUDD, W.F., and I.N. SMITH. 1981. The growth and retreat of ice sheets in response to
orbital radiation changes. In: Sea Level, Ice, and Climatic Change. Edited by:
I. Allison. International Association of Hydrological Sciences Publication
131:369-409.
Present day ablation rates are examined in terms of the present radiation and temperature
regimes. The net accumulation ablation balance regime is derived as a function of position
and elevation from present day precipitation and ablation rates. The net ablation rate as a
function of elevation for each location is then considered to vary in time with the summer
radiation regime resulting from the Earth's orbital changes as originally proposed by
Milankovitch and more recently calculated by Vernekar. A three-dimensional time dependent
ice sheet model based on an empirical flow relation derived from present measured ice sheet
velocities is used to study the effects of the orbital radiation changes and resulting
balance changes on the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. The balance is dependent on location,
‘time and elevation. The location and time variation is prescribed along with the form of the
elevation dependence which is then calculated with time as a result of the current computed
ice sheet elevations. The time period studied is from about 120,000 years BP up to the
61
present. The present ice sheets and bedrock elevations have been digitized on different
grids to study the differences between small-scale and large-scale reactions. Sensitivity
studies have also been carried out to examine the conditions required for the growth of the
Laurentide ice sheet and for its subsequent disappearance. Net ice-volume changes are
tracked as a function of time and the subsequent effects on sea level are compared with
independent evidence for past sea-level changes derived form geographical sources.
A.A.
127. BUDYKO, M.I. 1969. The effect of solar radiation variations on the climate of the
earth. Tellus 21(5):611-619.
Many of the hypotheses about changes in climate failed because they were based mainly on
qualitative considerations allowing different interpretations. To avoid this, Budyko
suggests using quantitative methods based on physical climatology to study this problem of
the explanation of changes in climate. It is found that over the last century there is a
close similarity between the values of direct solar radiation with cloudless skies and
secular temperature variations. To develop this theme, the influence of long-term changes of
radiation, caused partly by variations of atmospheric transparency on the thermal regime of
the earth is to be studied. Allowing for the effects of changes in planetary albedo due to
glaciation, it is suggested that the present thermal regime of the earth is characterized by
high instability and that comparatively small changes of radiation, perhaps only 1-2%, would
be sufficient for the development of ice cover on land and oceans down to temperate
latitudes. To account for the more stable climatic conditions of pre-Tertiary times, it is
considered that the northern polar basin was connected with the oceans of low latitudes with
much wider straits compared with the Quaternary. In this case, the heat income to the basin
as a result of sea currents was more than enough to compensate for reductions in radiation to
volcanic eruptions. During the Tertiary period, isolation of the polar basin increased and
hence the effect of volcanic activity became more important.
G.A.
128. BUDYKO, M.I., and K.Ya. VINNIKOV. 1973. Modern climate variations. Meteorology and
Hydrology 9:1-13.
The analysis of the secular courses of transparency of the atmosphere, the thermal regime,
and the hydrologic cycle for the extraequatorial zone of the Northern Hemisphere shows that
over the greater part of the last century the primary factor determining the variations in
climatic conditions was the fluctuations of the aerosol concentration in the lower
stratosphere and the variations in the total solar radiation connected with them. During the
last two or three decades, the anthropogenic factors have begun to have a noticeable effect.
G.A.
129. BUTZER, K.W. 1976. Pleistocene climates. In: Ecology of the Pleistocene. Edited by:
R.C. West and W.G. Haag. Geoscience and Man 13:27-44.
The entire data base for objective synoptic reconstructions in palaeoclimatology has been
greatly enhanced during the past several decades. The descriptive model of mid-Tertiary
climate differs conspicuously from that of the Holocene interglacial and Pleistocene
glacials. Significant and repeated oscillations of climate already marked the Pliocene and
assume ecological prominence during the early Pleistocene, with full-scale glacial-
interglacial cycles established by 700,000 BP. The nature of these cycles is discussed, and
it is proposed that the term glacial be restricted to times of continental glaciation on
Europe and North America. The Last Interglacial and Last Glacial, so defined date from about
125,000 to 75,000 and about 75,000 to 11,000 BP, respectively. The temporal evolution and
spatial patterning of these episodes are described and analyzed, and an explanatory model is
presented for the climatic anomalies of the Last Glacial. Finally, the differing wavelengths
62
of first-to sixth-order climatic changes are discussed briefly in terms of potential
causative factors.
G.A.
130. CAILLEUX, A. 1973. Eolisations periglaciaires quaternaires au Canada. Biuletyn
Peryglacjalny 22:81-115.
Certainly, the wind-action has been enhanced in the Prairies, since at least the Eocene and
until now by the well-known continentality and relative aridity. But its renewed outbreak in
the Quaternary requires other favouring factors: most probably, during the cold phases, the
low temperature and frost, which thwarted the vegetal cover and left the ground freely
exposed to the strong winds. This periglacial explanation is supported by the association,
in the Quaternary of Edmonton, of high percentages of wind-worn grains, to unequivocal signs
of cold climate, such as involutions, pseudomorphs of typical ice-wedges, sand wedges ...
etc., testifying to mean annual temperatures of at least -2° to -6°C, against +2° to +4°C
presently.
pA.A.
131. CALLENDAR, G.S. 1955. A close parallel between temperature fluctuations in East Canada
and Britain. Royal Meteorological Society Quarterly Journal 81(347):98-99.
A surprising similarity of temperature fluctuation on both sides of the Atlantic is revealed
by examining 10-year moving means of temperature at Kew with that of a group of five stations
in Southern Ontario. The cause would seem to be a matter for meteorologists who study wave
patterns in the zonal westerlies.
Thomas
132. CARDER, A.C. 1962. Climatic trends in the Beaverlodge area. Canadian Journal of Plant
Science 42(4):698-706.
Analysis of the weather records at Beaverlodge from 1916 to 1960 revealed that, although mean
annual temperature increased over this time only %°F, the warming trend in the spring and
fail was for some reason three times greater. This latter condition is very likely
responsible for the marked lengthening of frost-free period over the 45 years. Annual
precipitation increased almost 2 inches with wetter springs, summers and autumns, but there
was a decrease in winter snowfall. The tendency for warm, cool, wet or dry years to come in
groups was marked, but there was no association between the occurrence of these different
types of years. The data were insufficient to determine if any recurrence was cyclic.
A.A.
133. CARRARA, P.E., and J.T. ANDREWS. 1972. The Quaternary history of northern Cumberland
Peninsula, Baffin Island, N.W.T. Part I: The Late-and Neoglacial deposits of the
Akudlermuit and Boas Glaciers. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 9(4):403-414.
Moraines of local glaciers predating the Neoglacial occur in sections of northern Cumberland
Peninsula. A study of these deposits is reported for the area between the heads of Quajon
and Narpaing Fiords. A chronology is developed based on lichenometry, percent of lichen
cover, and the weathering of boulders and pebbles. Initial dating is done by lichenometry
and dates older than about 6000 BP are attempted by establishing rates of weathering. About
12 500 BP glaciers existed in both south- and north-facing corries with an equilibrium line
at 850 m a.s.l. During the next 5000 years the south-facing glaciers retreated and
disappeared. About 7000 BP, moraines were deposited in front of the Akuldermuit and Boas
63
glaciers! — these moraines are no longer ice-cored. The equilibrium line lay between 850 and
975 m.a.s.l. A ‘warm' interval followed and the ice-cores melted. This was followed by an
early Neoglacial advance, dated about 3800 BP for the period of moraine stabilization; after
a 2000 year interval four younger readvances are recorded. All Neoglacial moraines are ice-
cored. During the last few decades the equilibrium line has risen.
A.A.
134. CATCHPOLE, A.J.W. 1980. Historical evidence of climatic change in western and northern
Canada. In: Climatic Change in Canada. Edited by: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus
26:17-60.
The author first provides an introduction to the nature and role of historical evidence of
climatic change. Types and sources of this evidence in western and northern Canada are
given; these include Hudson's Bay Company records, Royal Canadian Mounted Police records,
Dominion Land Surveyors' records, Church and Missionary records, and private records.
Relevant climatic information identified from each of these sources and its validity and
usefulness in reconstructing the past is discussed.
A.B.S.
135. CATCHPOLE, A.J.W., and T.F. BALL. 1981. Analysis of historical evidence of climatic
change in western and northern Canada. In: Climatic Change in Canada 2. Edited
by: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus 33:48-96.
Analyses of historical climatic evidence, now in progress at the Universities of Manitoba and
Winnipeg, are based entirely upon Hudson's Bay Company records. The objective is to
thoroughly explore the utility of this valuable historical climatic resource before other
potential Canadian historical sources are examined (Catchpole, 1980). This report deals with
three major aspects of this research: (1) a study of ice conditions on northern rivers and
seas; (2) a reconstruction of dates of first snowfall and first frost in the Hudson Bay
region; (3) the development of a computer-coding system for the retrieval and analysis of
climatic information in the Hudson's Bay Company post journals. The immediate goal of this
report is to present results which have been obtained to date and to outline the methods of
analysis being applied. Interpretation of these and subsequent findings in the light of
knowledge of climatic change in the historical period will be presented in a later report.
Records were obtained from Churchill Factory (1718-1866), York Factory (1714-1850), Moose
Factory (1736-1870), Fort Albany (1721-1921), Eastmain House (1743-1837, 1893-1921), and
Severn House (1761-1897).
ACTES
136. CATCHPOLE, A.J.W., D.W. MOODIE, and B. KAYE. 1970. Content analysis: a method for the
identification of dates of first-freezing and first-breaking from descriptive
accounts. The Professional Geographer 22(5):252-257.
“This paper endeavors to contribute to the study of freeze-up and break-up dates by
establishing a procedure for extracting quantitative data from historical accounts. Methods
of content analysis are applied to the journals of three Hudson's Bay Company fur trading
posts in the interior of western Canada. The posts, selected on the criteria of length and
continuity of the journal records, were located as follows: Edmonton House on and near the
site of present Edmonton, Alberta; Cumberland House on the south shore of Cumberland Lake,
Saskatchewan; Norway House on the southeast shore of Little Playgreen Lake, Manitoba." The
l Ed note: These glacier names have not been accepted by the Canadian Permanent Committee on
Geographic Names.
64
authors review the inaccuracies in the results; observational subjectivity is the primary
difficulty to overcome.
A.B.S.
137. CATCHPOLE, A.J.W., D.W. MOODIE, and D. MILTON. 1976. Freeze-up and break-up of
estuaries on Hudson Bay in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Canadian
Geographer 20(3):279-297.
This paper analyses changes in dates of freeze-up and break-up at four river estuaries on
Hudson Bay in the period 1714-1871. The dates have been reconstructed from daily journals
kept by personnel of the Hudson's Bay Company and concern the estuaries of the Moose, Albany,
Hayes, and Churchill rivers. The journals are those kept at Moose Factory, Fort Albany, York
Factory, Churchill Factory, and Fort Prince of Wales. The locations of the keeping of the
journals in both time and space are shown in Figure 1. The first part of the paper is
concerned with the origin and nature of these dates as measures of change in the freezing and
breaking processes. The second part describes the changes they exhibit.
138. CATTO, N.R., R.J. PATTERSON, and W.A. GORMAN. 1981. Late Quaternary marine sediments
at Chalk River, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 18(8):1261-1267.
The occurrence of marine clays and silts in the Chalk River area necessitates a revision of
the previously accepted position of the northwestern extent of the Champlain Sea in the
Ottawa Valley. The marine origin of these deposits is demonstrated by sedimentological,
geochemical, and paleontological criteria. Boron and Vanadium concentrations indicate a
salinity for this part of the Champlain Sea of from 12 to 16 parts per thousand.
Foraminifera present in the clays suggest a shallow brackish water environment. An
evaluation of elevations of the marine limit indicates that the sea was present at Chalk
River between about 11 300 and 11 100 years BP and thus was a relatively late phase of the
Champlain Sea. It appears that ice cover in the area had prevented an earlier inundation by
Champlain Sea waters.
Till overlying the marine sediments is attributed to a minor readvance starting about 11 000
years ago. The timing and geographic location of this advance strongly indicate a
correlation with the St. Narcisse event, well documented to the east of the Ottawa Valley.
With the subsequent ice retreat, aeolian and lacustrine and, later, fluvial conditions
prevailed, as isostatic recovery had elevated the area above the existing sea level.
A.A.
139. CATTO, N.R., R.J. PATTERSON, and W.A. GORMAN. 1982. The late Quaternary geology of the
Chalk River Region, Ontario and Quebec. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
19(6):1218-1231.
Glacial ice covered the Chalk River area through most of the Wisconsin Stage. About 11 300
years ago, an ice retreat was followed immediately by a short incursion of Champlain Sea
waters, which deposited at least 2.5 m of clay, silt, and sand. A local readvance, probably
associated with the St. Narcisse event, deposited till on the marine sediments. Following
the final retreat of the ice from the area, lacustrine and aeolian deposition occurred
locally for a short time.
About 10 500 years ago, the North Bay drainage route opened, greatly increasing the discharge
of the Ottawa River. A faint terrace at a present elevation of 209 m probably formed at this
time. Changes in the drainage routes of proglacial lakes and in the rate of ice retreat
caused a general decrease in discharge rates, and resulted in the formation of pronounced
terraces, now at 180, 160, and 129 m, and fainter terraces at 170, 141 and 137 m. By about
5000 years BP, the North Bay outlet closed, and the river fell to approximately 111 m, its
present elevation at Chalk River.
During the whole period of terrace formation, alluvial sands were being deposited and, as
river levels fell, exposed sands were reworked by the wind until anchored by vegetation.
Charcoal horizons within the aeolian sequences indicate that forest fires occasionally
destroyed the vegetation cover, re-initiating aeolian activity. Locally, active dunes are
present near Chalk River, but most of the area has been stabilized by vegetation.
140. Causes of Climatic Change. Proceedings of the VII INQUA Congress, Volume 5. Edited by:
J.M. Mitchell. Meteorological Monographs 8(30):1-159. 1968.
A collection of papers derived from the INQUA-NCAR Symposium on causes of climatic change.
Relevant papers have been abstracted separately.
A.B.S.
141. CERMAK, V. 1971. Underground temperature and inferred climatic temperature of the past
millennium. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 10(1):1-19.
There is considerable evidence from different fields of investigation that the world climate
has undergone significant variations, even during the last 1,000 years. The effect of the
change of temperature on the earth's surface in the past may be preserved at depths of
several hundred feet below the surface. The relation between underground and surface
temperature is the reaction of the internal field in a semi-infinite medium to the boundary
conditions. Any change at the surface is propagated downwards, and it is shown that the
detailed record of temperature with depth can be used to trace the past climatic history.
The theory of climatic correction of heat flow are used, and the data are obtained from two
boreholes in northeastern Ontario. After analysis the underground temperature clearly
confirmed the notably warm climate that lasted a few hundred years around A.D. 1000-1200 and
the following cold period after 1500. Both these recent climatic extremes, for which the
terms “Little Climatic Optimum” and “Little Ice Age” were coined, are well substantiated, but
the magnitude of the temperature variations is uncertain. The relation between mean annual
air temperature and surface (ground) temperature depends very much on the precipitation
character and the duration of snow cover. The calculated magnitudes of the surface
temperature changes probably correspond to the minimum changes of the annual air
temperatures, which might have been more pronounced. The data presented indicate for the
Kapuskasing area a surface temperature during the Little Climatic Optimum at least 1.5°C
higher than the reference value; the mean temperature during the Little Ice Age was about 1°C
below this reference value. A remarkable increase since about 1850 has a value in excess of
BAC:
142. CHAKRAVARTI, A.K. 1976. Precipitation deficiency patterns in the Canadian Prairies,
1921-1970. Prairie Forum 1:95-110.
Serious precipitation deficiencies causing droughts vary widely both in areal extent and in
time throughout the agricultural area of the Prairie Provinces. Since, there is, no
universally agreed definition of droughts, and since the availability of water for farming in
the Prairies largely depends on precipitation, precipitation deficiencies according to decile
ranges have been mapped to relate such deficiency patterns with the drought-affected areas as
reported by various government agencies and newspapers. The lowest first and second decile
ranges of annual precipitation indicate a general relationship with severe to moderate
drought conditions as reported for different parts of the Prairies between 1921 and 1970.
Further, it was noticed that even during the years of most deficient precipitation, as in the
thirties, the agricultural areas of the three Prairie Provinces were not all affected
66
equally. The percentages of agricultural area in the Prairies within the lowest two decile
ranges of precipitation for each year from 1921 to 1970 have also been summarized for the
three Prairie Provinces separately.
A general trend revealed here, and which needs further investigation based on detailed data
from the northern prairies, is that, when the southern agricultural areas recorded
precipitation much below normal, the northern areas received generally average to much above-
average precipitation; the reverse was also true. This trend generally reflects the synoptic
patterns involving an abnormal displacement of the North Pacific High Pressure cell, the jet
streams and the cyclonic tracks. The lack of surface and upper-level weather data is a
handicap to a more detailed and specifically a mesoscale synoptic analysis of precipitation-
deficiency patterns, and consequently to a better understanding of the recurrence of
unpredictable droughts in the Canadian prairies.
| Wel NGA
143. CHIU, Y.T. 1974. Archaeomagnetism and archaeoclimatic “forecast”? Nature
250(5468) :642-643.
It has been suggested that the semipermanent pattern of depressions of tropospheric pressure
in the north polar regions may be associated with areas of high magnetic field intensity in
Canada and Siberia. I here test some aspects of the hypothesis by correlating
archaeomagnetic and archaeoclimatic observations from various regions of the globe. Although
there may be a tenuous correlation between them in some cases, the total pattern of
archaeoclimatic regimes from central Europe to western America does not seem to follow the
westward drift of the geomagnetic field pattern. I suggest that climatic regimes may be
composed of a global component related to variations of the solar constant - and of a
possible westward drifting component. The archaeomagnetic and archaeoclimatic evidence
available at present indicates only a tenous correlation, at best.
G.A.
144. CHRISTIANSEN, E.A. 1979. The Wisconsinan deglaciation of southern Saskatchewan and
adjacent areas. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 16(4):913-938.
The Wisconsinan deglaciation of southern Saskatchewan and adjacent areas of Alberta,
Manitoba, Montana, and North Dakota is depicted in nine phases of glacial advance, readvance,
and retreat. Although there is some uncertainty whether Phase 1 or 2 represents the
Classical Wisconsin (Woodfordian) terminus, the glacial history from about 17000-10000 years
ago is considered.
Although the glacier margin retreated at an increasing rate in Saskatchewan, the volume of
meltwater released by the melting glacier decreased with time. The large meltwater channels
south of the Cypress Hills as compared to those to the north, and the fact that most of the
glacial lake deposits north of the Cypress Hills came from extraglacial rivers, suggest there
was much more glacial meltwater activity south of the Cypress Hills than north of them. This
in turn suggests that much of the ice melted before significant retreat of the ice front took
place.
A.A.
145. CHURCHER, C.S., and R.L. PETERSON. 1982. Chronologic and evironmental implications of
a new genus of fossil deer from Late Wisconsin deposits at Toronto, Canada.
Quaternary Research 18(2):184-195.
A new cervine deer (Torontoceros hypogaeus) ... has been recovered from deposits of
early Lake Ontario age on the exposed bench of Glacial Lake Iroquois at Toronto, Ontario,
Canada. ... A 14c date of 11,315 + 325 yr BP obtained on the antler allows the
date at which Glacial Lake Iroquois drained to be revised to before 11,400 yr BP. Spruce
67
(Picea), pine (Pinus), and sedges (Cyperaceae) are major components of the
associated pollen spectrum, which implies a typically interstadial or postglacial climate in
which mixed forests grew in the Toronto area.
pA.A.
146. CINQ-MARS, J. 1979. Bluefish Cave I: A late Pleistocene eastern Beringian cave
deposit in the northern Yukon. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 3:1-32.
This paper is presented as an assessment report on the archaeological and paleoecological
potential of a series of small cave and rock-shelter deposits located along the upper-middle
course of the Bluefish River, northern Yukon Territory. It is based on the results of a
preliminary investigation carried out during the 1978 Northern Yukon Research Programme
field-season and deals primarily with data obtained from Bluefish Cave I, the largest of
these features.
Our work at Bluefish Cave I has obviously resulted in accumulation of directly useable or
potential information that goes well beyond the limits of our initial goals. We have at hand
a late Pleistocene deposit, of a kind never encountered before in the northern Yukon, and
containing traces of cultural activities which on the basis of a broad range of
paleoenvironmental information can be tentatively dated from around 13,000 years ago to
around 10,000 years ago. If the cultural evidence belonging to the later part of the
sequence may be tentatively assigned to a Diuktai continuum, the earlier one remains
anonymous and can only be taken as indicative of a human presence in the Porcupine River
basin after the end of the last glacial maximum. This greatly reduces the length of an
apparent regional cultural hiatus and can be taken as suggestive that human populations were
technologically capable of coping with near-glacial environmental conditions that ceased to
exist around or shortly after that time. It also implies that these or other eastern
Beringian groups could very well have been present sometime earlier, during the coldest
phases of the glacial maximum, and it leaves ample room for future speculative exercises
concerning the relationships that may have existed between those populations and those that
were to manifest themselves around 12,000 years ago to the south of the continental ice
sheet, as well as with the much earlier Beringian interstadial populations.
Excerpts
147. CLAGUE, J.J. 1976. Quadra Sand and its relation to the late Wisconsin glaciation of
southwest British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 13(6):803-815.
Quadra Sand is a late Pleistocene lithostratigraphic unit with widespread distribution in the
Georgia Depression, British Columbia and Puget Lowland, Washington. The unit consists mainly
of horizontally and cross-stratified, well sorted sand. It is overlain by till deposited
during the Fraser Glaciation and is underlain by fluvial and marine sediments deposited
during the preceding nonglacial interval.
Quadra Sand was deposited progressively down the axis of the Georgia-Puget Lowland from
source areas in the Coast Mountains to the north and northeast. The unit is markedly
diachronous; it is older than 29000 radiocarbon years at the north end of the Strait of
Georgia, but is younger than 15000 years at the south end of Puget Sound.
Aggradation of the unit occurred during the climatic deterioration at the beginning of the
Fraser Glaciation. Thick, well sorted sand was deposited in part as distal outwash aprons at
successive positions in front of, and perhaps along the margins of, glaciers advancing from
the Coast Mountains into the Georgia-Puget Lowland during late Wisconsin time.
The sand thus provides a minimum age for the initial climatic change accompanying the Fraser
Glaciation. This change apparently occurred before 28800 years BP, substantially earlier
than glacial occupation of the southern Interior Plateau of British Columbia. Thus, several
68
thousand years may have intervened between the alpine and ice-sheet phases of the Fraser
Glaciation.
148. CLAGUE, J.J. 1977. Quadra Sand: a study of the late Pleistocene geology and
geomorphic history of coastal southwest British Columbia. Geological Survey of
Canada Paper 77-17:1-24.
Quadra Sand is a late Pleistocene lithostratigraphic unit with widespread distribution in the
Georgia Depression, British Columbia and Puget Lowland, Washington. The unit consists of
horizontally and cross-stratified, well-sorted sand, minor silt, and gravel. It is overlain
by till and related glacial sediments deposited during the Fraser Glaciation and is underlain
by fluvial, estuarine, and marine sediments deposited during the preceding nonglacial
interval.
The unit is part of an apparently unbroken stratigraphic succession which records the major
climatic oscillations of late Pleistocene time: till deposited during a pre-Fraser
glaciation; glaciomarine sediments laid down during the subsequent transition to nonglacial
conditions; marine, estuarine, and fluvial sediments deposited during the Olympia nonglacial
interval; outwash deposited during the following nonglacial-glacial transition; and till
deposited under full glacial conditions of the Fraser Glaciation.
Stratigraphic evidence, paleocurrent data, sand mineralogy, and radiocarbon dates indicate
that Quadra Sand was deposited progressively down the axis of the Georgia Depression and
Puget Lowland from source areas in the Coast Mountains to the north and northeast. The unit
is markedly diachronous; it is older than 29,000 radiocarbon years at the north end of the
Strait of Georgia but is younger than 15,000 years at the south end of Puget Sound.
Aggradation of Quadra Sand is thought to have been climatically induced. The initial influx
of sand into the Georgia Depression probably occurred during a period of climatic
deterioration at the onset of the Fraser Glaciation. The sand was deposited, in part, as
distal outwash aprons at successive positions in front of, and perhaps along the margins of,
glaciers moving from the coast Mountains into the Georgia Depression and Puget Lowland during
late Wisconsin time. After deposition at a site, but before burial by ice, the sand was
dissected by meltwater and the eroded detritus was transported farther down the basin to
sites where aggradation continued.
Quadra Sand buried older fluvial and estuarine deposits which, in turn, were laid down over
marine sediments filling much of the Strait of Georgia. The present patchy distribution of
Quadra and older sediments is due, in large part, to scour by glaciers at the height of the
Fraser Glaciation.
A.A.
149. CLAGUE, J.J. 1978. Mid-Wisconsinan climates of the Pacific Northwest. Geological
Survey of Canada Paper 78-1B:95-100.
A controversy among earth scientists as to whether or not British Columbia and northwestern
Washington were glaciated during mid-Wisconsinan time highlights the present uncertainty over
late Pleistocene climates and environments in the Pacific Northwest. A review of relevant
terrestrial lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic information and selected paleoclimatic
data from deep-sea cores shows that a lengthy nonglacial interval characterized by a sharply
fluctuating, but generally cooler, climate occurred in the Pacific Northwest during mid-
Wisconsinan time. Although remnant ice caps probably persisted in eastern and northeastern
Canada during this interval, lowland areas adjacent to the presently glacerized mountains of
western Canada were continuously ice free.
The Pleistocene Cordilleran glacier complex was controlled by different climatic factors from
the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The precipitation and temperature regimes in the Cordillera,
unlike those in other areas of Canada, are affected strongly by the Pacific Ocean. Both warm
69
surface waters in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and reduced air temperatures probably were
required for the growth of ice sheets in British Columbia, and these conditions apparently
were not fulfilled during mid-Wisconsinan time.
A.A.
150. CLAGUE, J.J. 1980. Late Quaternary geology and geochronology of British Columbia; Part
1, Radiocarbon dates. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 80-13:1-28.
The “Radiocarbon Geochronology of Southern British Columbia” (Fulton, 1971) provides a
summary of the radiocarbon dated Quaternary history of southern British Columbia and a
compilation of most radiocarbon dates of geologic significance published before 1971. Since
the publication of this important paper, new information has been gathered on the Quaternary
of British Columbia. A much larger number of radiocarbon determinations is now available,
resulting in a corresponding improvement in the chronology of geologic events of late to
Quaternary age. The present report has been prepared to make available to researchers this
expanded body of knowledge.
In the following tables, geologically relevant radiocarbon dates published prior to 1980 are
presented within a late Quaternary geologic climate framework consisting of three parts:
Olympia nonglacial interval (or interglaciation), Fraser for British Columbia and adjacent
areas are compatible with this framework.
The radiocarbon dates are listed in eight tables as follows: Table 1, dates beyond the
radiocarbon dating range; Table 2, finite dates on sediments of the Olympia nonglacial
interval; Tables 3 and 4, dates pertaining to the advance and recessional phases of the
Fraser Glaciation, respectively; Table 5, dates bearing on postglacial sea levels; Table 6,
dates relating to volcanic flows and tephras; Table 7, dates bearing on postglacial climates;
and Table 8, miscellaneous dates. The miscellaneous dates relate to (1) floodplain
aggradation and degradation and deltaic progradation, (2) eolian activity, (3) landslides,
(4) microfossil zonation in lakes and bogs, (5) prehistoric animal habitation, and (6) the
relationship between radiocarbon age and sidereal age. Also in Table 8 are unclassified
dates, including many from contaminated samples.
pA.I.
151. CLAGUE, J.J. 1981. Late Quaternary geology and geochronology of British Columbia.
Part 2: Summary and discussion of radiocarbon-dated Quaternary history. Geological
Survey of Canada Paper 80-35:1-41.
The Olympia nonglacial interval probably began more than 59,000 years ago. At times during
this interval, temperatures were probably similar to, or cooler than, those at present.
Apparently alpine glaciers did not spread into plateau or lowland areas of southern and
central British Columbia. Climatic deterioration marking the Olympia nonglacial-Fraser
Glaciation transition occurred during several thousand years. Fossil pollen studies in
southwestern British Columbia indicate that between 29,000 and 21,000 years ago there was a
gradual deterioration in climate marked by progressive replacement in lowland areas of
temperate plants by subalpine, and finally alpine or tundra vegetation. The Cordilleran
glacier complex reached its maximum extent about 15,000 years ago. Then climate warmed
rapidly - perhaps mean July temperatures were 2 to 5°C lower than present on the Olympic
Peninsula. Climate was probably as warm or warmer than present from 10,500 to 8,000 years
ago until at least 6,600 years ago or later. This warm interval was followed in most regions
by a cooler, moister period which has persisted until today. These data are mainly derived
from paleobotanical and geological studies.
C.R.H.
70
152. CLAGUE, J.J., J.E. ARMSTRONG, and W.H. MATHEWS. 1980. Advance of the late Wisconsin
Cordilleran Ice Sheet in southern British Columbia since 22,000 yr BP. Quaternary
Research 13(3):322-326.
Radiocarbon dates from critical stratigraphic localities in southern British Columbia
indicate that the growth history of the late Wisconsin Cordilleran Ice Sheet was different
from that of most of the Laurentide Ice Sheet to the east. Much of southern British Columbia
remained free of ice until after about 19,000 to 20,000 years ago; only adjacent to the Coast
Mountains is there a record of lowland glacier tongues in the interval 22,000 to 20,000 yr
BP. A major advance to the climax of late Wisconsin Cordilleran glacier ice in the northern
States was not begun until after about 18,000 yr BP in the southwest of British Columbia and
after about 17,500 yr BP in the southeast. The rate of glacier growth must have been very
rapid in the two to three millennia prior to the climax, which has been dated in western
Washington at shortly after 15,000 yr BP.
A.A.
153. CLAGUE, J.J., R.H. GARDNER, K.E. RICKER, and M.W. DONLEY. 1977. Bibliography of marine
geoscience information, Pacific regions of Canada, 1900-1976. Geological Survey of
Canada Paper 7/7-22:1-43.
A selective bibliography of marine geoscience information for Pacific regions of Canada has
been compiled. Approximately 900 citations are indexed according to subject matter and
geographic coverage.
The inventory area is bounded by Dixon Entrance on the north; the Gulf-San Juan Islands, Juan
de Fuca Strait, and the continental margin southwest of Vancouver Island on the south; and by
the inlets of mainland British Columbia and the Fraser Delta on the east. Included in this
area is the continental margin west of the Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island, and
that portion of the East Pacific Rise west of the continental slope. A large number of the
more important studies of abyssal regions of the eastern North Pacific Ocean also are
included.
An attempt to quantify perceptions of global climate change to the year 2000 has been the
initial focus of an interdepartmental study at The National Defense University. Subjective
probabilities for the occurrence of specified climatic events were elicited by a survey of 24
climatologists from seven countries. Individual quantitative reponses to ten major questions
were weighted according to expertise and then averaged, a method of aggregation which
preserved the climatologists' collective uncertainty about future climate trends. The
aggregated The bibliography comprises published papers, maps, and readily available
Manuscript reports concerned wholly or partly with marine geology, geochemistry, and
geophysics. Studies of Quaternary sediments and the crust beneath the seafloor constitute
the bulk of the catalogued information, but maps and papers concerned with seafloor
morphology, Quaternary sea level fluctuations, and processes of marine sedimentation and
coastal erosion are included. Company reports, abstracts of papers presented orally at
scientific meetings, and documents not accessible to the public have been excluded from this
bibliography.
pA.A.
154. CLAGUE, J., J.R. HARPER, R.J. HEBDA, and D.E. HOWES. 1982. Late Quaternary sea levels
and crustal movements, coastal British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth
Sciences 19(3):597-618.
Late Quaternary sea-level fluctuations on the British Columbia coast have been established
from studies of terrestrial and marine sediments and landforms. These studies indicate that
the sea-level history of mainland British Columbia and eastern Vancouver Island is very
different from that of the Queen Charlotte Islands and western Vancouver Island.
Specifically, in the former areas, there was a rapid rise of submerged coastal lowlands
between about 13 000 and 10 000 years ago. Emergence culminated about 6000-9000 years ago,
71
depending on the locality, when the sea, relative to the land, was 12 m or more lower than at
present in some areas. During middle and late Holocene time, relative sea level rose on the
mainland coast and at least locally on eastern Vancouver Island, resulting in inundation of
coastal archaeological sites and low-lying terrestrial vegetation. Tidal records and precise
levelling suggest ongoing submergence of at least part of this region.
In contrast, shorelines on the Queen Charlotte Islands were below present from before 13 700
years ago until approximately 9500-10 000 years ago. A transgression at the close of the
Pleistocene climaxed about 7500-8500 years ago when relative sea level probably was about
15 m above present in most areas. Most of the emergence that followed apparently occurred in
the last 5000-6000 years. There has been a similar pattern of emergence on the west coast of
Vancouver Island during the late Holocene time.
The above patterns of late Quaternary sea-level change are attributed to complex isostatic
response to downwasting and retreat of the late Wisconsin Cordilleran Ice Sheet, to transfers
of water from melting ice sheets to oceans, and to plate interactions on the British Columbia
continental margin. Late Pleistocene and early Holocene crustal movements were dominantly
isostatic. Although the recent regression on the outer coast likely is due, at least in
part, to tectonic uplift, some late Holocene sea-level change in this area and elsewhere on
the British Columbia coast may be either eustatic in nature or a residual isostatic response
to deglaciation, which occurred thousands of years earlier.
A.A.
155. CLARK, D.L. 1969. Paleoecology and sedimentation in part of the Arctic Basin. In:
U.S. Naval Arctic Research Laboratory Dedication Symposium, Fairbanks, Alaska,
Proceedings. Arctic 22(3):233-245.
The author reviews the history of sedimentologic and resulting paleoecologic interpretations
of the Arctic Basin. This is followed by a discussion of the more than 300 sediment cores
obtained during the drift of T-3; analysis procedures, the factors studied, and possible
implications of the results are presented. Investigations that appear promising for the
future are briefly outlined.
A.B.S.
156. CLARK, D.L. 1982. Origin, nature and world climate effect of Arctic Ocean ice-cover.
Nature 300:321-324.
During the Cenozoic, an open water Arctic Ocean changed to the modern permanently ice-covered
condition. Significant global climatic effects accompanied this change. The author reviews
three “theories” proposed to explain the evolution of the modern Arctic Ocean: (1) the
“fluctuating regime” theory proposes that the late Miocene-Holocene interval was represented
by three paleoclimatic regimes, only the most recent of which (occurring from approximately
0.7 M years to Recent) was characterized by a perennial ice-cover; (2) the “steady-state”
theory, also based on interpretation of sediment cores, argues that the same kind of glacial-
marine sediment that accumulates today under an average of 3 m ice, has been accumulating for
at least 5 M years; (3) the “ice-cap” theory suggesting that Pleistocene sea level changes
and oxygen isotope records from benthic foraminifera of the lower latitude oceans could be
more easily explained if the Arctic Ocean had an Antarctic size ice-cap 1,000 m thick during
all or most of the Pleistocene.
The author concludes that: glacial-marine sediment was forming in the central Arctic at
least 5 M years ago; from then to the present, glacial-marine sediment, transported by
icebergs and pack-ice, has accumulated in the central Arctic Ocean, and that these intervals
of relatively rapid sedimentation attenuated with times of accumulation of finer-grained,
mainly ice-pack transported sediment and greater organic productivity; from about 2 to 0.7 M
years, calcareous dinoflagellates left a record of attenuating abundances and rareness -
probably during this period surface conditions permitted greater productivity than had been
possible before 2 or since 0.7 M years; there is no Arctic Ocean evidence to support the idea
of ice caps 1,000 m thick during the Pleistocene; significant climatic changes are indicated
D
if winter ice-cover is reduced and summer ice cover disappears from the Arctic Ocean as some
climate modellers, postulating increased C0 in the atmosphere in future, predict.
C.R.H.
157. CLARKE, A.H. Jr., and J.S. ERSKINE. 1961. Pre-columbian Zittorina littorea in
Nova Scotia. Science 134(3476):393-394,
Littorina littorea, an abundant northeast North American gastropod, was thought to have
been introduced from Europe about 1840. Shells of that species found on ancient Micmac
Indian camp sites in Nova Scotia have been radiocarbon-dated as pre-Columbian. Failure of
L. littorea to extend its range southward before 1840 may have been due to oceanographic
factors.
A.A.
158. CLARKE, A.H., D.R. GRANT, and E. MACPHERSON. 1972. The relationship of Atractodon
stonet (Pilsbry) (Mollusca, Buccinidae) to the Pleistocene stratigraphy and
paleoecology of southwestern Nova Scotia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
9:1030-1038.
The extinct Pleistocene buccinid gastropod Atractodon stonei (Pilsbry 1893), formerly
known as Weptunea stonet (Pilsbry), has been found in a southern Nova Scotian deposit.
The species had been previously reported only from (presumably) Sangamon deposits at
Nantucket Island, Massachusetts and at other locations south to Cape Hatteras, North
Carolina. Associated molluscs from all A. stonet deposits show that it probably lived
in about 5 to 20 fm and in a climate like that of the present Acadian marine zoogeographic
region.
Although the Nova Scotian specimens produced radiocarbon ages of 38,000 years BP,
stratigraphic and paleoclimatological data indicate Sangamon age, and the radiocarbon dates
are presumed to be too young. Atractodon stonet may qualify as a useful Pleistocene
(Sangamon) index fossil representative of relatively specific paleoecological conditions.
A.A.
159. Climate Change Seminar Proceedings. Regina, March 17-19. Canadian Climate Centre,
Downsview. 170 pp. 1981.
The Canadian Council of Resource and Environment Ministers sponsored a Climate Change Seminar
in Regina, Saskatchewan, March 17-19, 1981. “This CCREM Seminar marks a milestone in the
continuing dialogue among the governments in Canada concerning the sharing of knowledge and
improving our understanding of climate and of the impacts of climate". This volume contains
the provincial/territorial, federal and invited presentations together with group discussion
reports. The presentations have been annotated individually by author.
A.B.S.
160. Climate Change to the Year 2000. A survey of expert opinion. Conducted by the Research
Directorate of the National Defense University, Washington, D.C. 109 pp. 1978.
An attempt to quantify perceptions of global climate change to the year 2000 has been the
initial focus of an interdepartmental study at The National Defense University. Subjective
probabilities for the occurrence of specified climatic events were elicited by a survey of 24
climatologists from seven countries. Individual quantitative responses to ten major
questions were weighted according to expertise and then averaged, a method of aggregation
which preserved the climatologists' collective uncertainty about future climate trends. The
aggregated subjective probabilities were used to construct five possible climate scenarios
for the year 2000, each having a “probability” of occurrence. The aggregated probabilities
of contingent events are compared from scenario to scenario, across zones of latitude, and by
time periods.
The derived climate scenarios manifest a broad range of perceptions about possible
temperature trends to the end of this century, but suggest as most likely a climate
resembling the average for the past 30 years. Collectively, the respondents tended to
anticipate a slight global warming rather than a cooling. More specifically, their
assessments pointed toward only ome chance in five that changes in average global
temperatures will fall outside the range of -0.3°C to +0.6°C, although any temperature change
was generally perceived as being amplified in the higher latitudes of both hemispheres. The
respondents also gave fairly strong credence to a 20- to 22-year cycle of drought in the High
Plains of the United States but did not agree on its causes.
Consequences of the possible climatic changes delineated in the scenarios are being
considered in subsequent phases of this research. A generalized climate response methodology
will be demonstrated by its application to crop yield data gathered from a survey of
agricultural scientists. The policy implications of the resultant climate/crop scenarios
will be examined using a world food economic model.
A.A.
161. Climatic Change. Edited by: J. Gribbin. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
280 pp. 1978.
This book intends to present “an overview of the basics of climatic change, intended for any
scientifically literate person with an interest in climate”. The various authors are
specialists in different climate-related disciplines. Their contributions review current
thinking on the subject of climatic change and provide the necessary background information
for its comprehension. This volume takes a global approach to its subject.
A.B.S.
162. Climatic Change in Canada. Edited by: C.R. Harrington. Syllogeus 26:1-246. 1980.
Five articles deal with the subject of climatic change in Canada during the past 20,000
years; a project of the National Museum of Natural Sciences. Articles are annotated
individually.
A.B.S.
163. Climatic Change in Canada 2. Edited by: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus 33:1-220. 1981.
Eight articles provide results and interpretations of studies of climatic change in Canada
during the past 20,000 years; National Museum of Natural Sciences Climatic Change Project.
Articles are annotated individually.
A.B.S.
164. Climatic Changes in Arctic Areas During the Last Ten-Thousand Years. Edited by: Y.
Vasari, H. Hyvarinen and S. Hicks. Acta Universitatis Ouluensis Series A,
Scientiae Rerum Naturalium 3, Geologica 1:1-511. 1972.
Proceedings of a symposium held at Oulanka and Kevo, Finland, from October 4-10, 1971. "The
Symposium hoped to achieve some coordination of current data from the Arctic by inviting to
discussions active scientists from the various disciplines involved and by publishing their
74
reports and discussions as a special volume.’
separately.
Individual reports have been annotated
A.B.S.
165. COGLEY, J.G., and S.B. McCANN. 1976. An exceptional storm and its effects in the
Canadian High Arctic. Arctic and Alpine Research 8(1):105-110.
Heavy precipitation fell over the eastern Queen Elizabeth Islands on July 21-23, 1973; 54.6
mm fell at Vendom Fiord, south central Ellesmere Island. The rainfall at Vendom Fiord was
associated with a depression which had moved over the rest of the archipelago without
producing unusual precipitation. None of the official weather stations in the region
reported exceptional amounts, yet there is evidence that the record from Vendom Fiord was
representative of a much larger area. The storm was responsible for inundation of flood
plains, reworking of coarse alluvium, and rapid mass movements on slopes in the locality of
Vendom Fiord, and it is possible that it was the catalyst for a glacier outburst flood
(j6kulhlaup) which issued from an ice-dammed lake 10 days later. Depressions which impinge
upon the mountains of the eastern High Arctic merit futher climatological attention.
A.A.
166. COLBERT, E.H. 1963. Climatic zonation and terrestrial faunas. In: Problems in
Paleoclimatology. Edited by: E. A. Nairn. InterScience, New York. pp. 617-
637.
The evidence of the terrestrial vertebrates, especially the large ectotherms, is of value in
the study of past climates. Upon the basis of such evidence, which of course supplements
evidence from other disciplines, it seems probable that during the major extent of geologic
history the world was generally tropical and subtropical over much of its surface, and
climatic zones were ill defined. «+. With the close of Cretaceous times the world entered
upon a new phase of climatic history, and during the Cenozoic there was a gradual cooling of
climates and an establishment of climatic zones, more sharply defined than they had been in
Late Paleozoic and Mesozoic history. These developments are supported by the evidence of
mammalian distributions and intercontinental migrations. The process of climatic zonation
reached its culmination in the Pleistocene epoch, when mammalian faunas shifted north and
south in the northern hemisphere in accordance with the advances and retreats of the
continental glaciers...
pA.C.
167. COLEMAN, A.P. 1895. Glacial and interglacial deposits near Toronto. Journal of
Geology 3:622-645.
The results of examinations of Pleistocene insect and plant remains from the Scarboro'
Heights are detailed. The fauna has a boreal aspect and the flora gives evidence that the
climate was like that of the northern part of the Gulf of St. Lawrence or southern Labrador -
cool and wet. Investigation of the interglacial deposits along the Don however, indicate a
climate as warm as that of Toronto at present, if not considerably warmer. The author
attempts a correlation of the results obtained from these two localities and a reconstruction
of the postglacial history of the Toronto region.
A.B.S.
168. COLEMAN, A.P. 1933. The Pleistocene of the Toronto region (including the Toronto
Interglacial Formation). Ontario Department of Mines, Annual Report, 1932, 41
(Part 7):1-55.
Includes a complete description of Pleistocene geology of the Toronto region. Three sheets
of till and two interglacial series have been found in the region: the Wisconsin till, the
Sangamon interglacial sand, the Illinoian middle complex of tills and varves, the Yarmouth
interglacial Toronto beds, and the Kansan or Nebraskan lowest till. Comments on the climatic
conditions at the time of formation is given with the description of each of the many beds.
L.G.
169. COMTOIS, P. 1982. Histoire holocéne du climat et de la végétation à Lanoraie (Québec).
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 19(10):1938-1952.
Four cores from a peat complex at Lanoraie, Quebec have yielded samples of: fossil pollen
used for analysis of vegetational history; and oxygen isotopic data indicating climatic
variations. The regional vegetation evidently went through the following stages: (1)
establishment of a pioneer forest of pine, oak, elm and walnut; (2) development of a sugar
maple forest, contemporaneous with migration of beech and correlated with a maximum pollen
influx and a climatic optimum at about 3,500 years BP; (3) increase in spruce and fir after
1,500 years BP, related to climatic cooling.
C.R.H.
170. CONNOR, A.J. 1933. Droughts in Western Canada. In: The Canada Yearbook. Acting
King's Printer, Ottawa. pp. 47-59.
The author devised a unit Q equal to the 12-month precipitation value, beginning with August
lst, divided by the sum of the temperatures for the months of May, June and July. These are
further arranged into a series of progressive quotients which give a graphic history of
western weather from the standpoint of soil moisture. The author found the Q values reached
a maximum at sunspot minimum, then fell sharply for two years but there was a secondary peak
one year before sunspot maximum. Q values fell steeply at the maximum and for a succeeding
year when they began to rise slowly back to the peak at the sunspot minima. Since the
correlation between weather and wheat yield is poor, sunspots would be of no value in
predicting the yield of any particular year.
Thomas
171. CONOLLY, J.R., and M. EWING. 1965. Pleistocene glacial-marine zones in North Atlantic
deep-sea sediments. Nature 208(5006):135-138.
North Atlantic deep-sea sediments provide a record of Pleistocene history. Ericson et
al. (1961) delineated glacial-marine zones "consisting of different Foraminifera
assemblages deposited during cold and warm periods of the Pleistocene." By determining the
relative abundance of ice-rafted detritus present in the core, the authors were able to
define these same zones. Their results indicate “that the abundance and distribution of ice-
rafted detritus in deep-sea cores in the North Atlantic could provide a powerful tool for
delineating even minor fluctuations in the Pleistocene climate.”
A.B.S.
76
172. COOPE, G.R. 1967. The value of Quaternary insect faunas in the interpretation of
ancient ecology and climate. In: Quaternary Paleoecology. Edited by: E.J.
Cushing and H.E. Wright, Jr. pp. 359-380.
Insect remains, mostly of beetles, are abundant in Quaternary deposits; any organic silt is
likely to yield insect fossils, especially if it contains macroscopic plant debris. These
fragments may frequently be matched with modern species; the number of extinct forms is
extremely small. With modern ecological requirements of the species as guides, it is possible
to postulate ancient environments. Factors are discussed that limit the occurrence of
species to particular habitats.
Of particular interest are the climatic factors that determine insect distribution. The
response of insects to changes in climate is extremely prompt, because they have a rapid
dispersal rate and do not have to wait upon the development of particular soil conditions.
Caution must be exercised, however, in the selection of suitable species for climatic
interpretation, because many species live in habitats that do not reflect the macroclimate
e.g. species that live in heaps of decaying plant refuse.
The climatic implications of insect assemblages are discussed for the Eemian (Sangamon)
Interglacial, the Weichselian (Wisconsin) Glaciation, and the postglacial period. Comparison
of the occurrence of carabid ground beetles at different altitudes in the Scandinavian
mountains with fossil assemblages in Britain has made it possible to infer something of the
thermal environment during the glacial summer. The occurrence together in fossil assemblages
of species that today seem to be climatically incompatible is discussed, and an attempt is
made to reconcile the conflicting evidence.
A.A.
173. COOPER, W.S. 1942. Contributions of botanical science to the knowledge of postglacial
climates. Journal of Geology 50(8):981-994.
Botanical science contributes to the knowledge of postglacial climates through inference from
fossils and from the distribution of existing vegetation. In the first field the materials
include complete plant communities of the past preserved intact and individual plants and
plant parts. The bogs of the glaciated region furnish as evidence successive layers of peat
of differing character and pollen grains of plants which grew at successive periods.
Analysis of the pollen content of the stratified bog deposits is yielding a wealth of
evidence concerning post-Pleistocene forest history and therefore as to the concomitant
climatic sequence. In inference from present distribution of vegetation, relic colonies of
plants are considered as indicators of earlier dominance of types different from those of
today and therefore of climatic change. There is almost universal agreement among students
of these phenomena that the evidence from fossils and from present distribution indicates a
postglacial climatic sequence as follows: from glacial through boreal to a warm and probably
dry middle period, followed by a return to the cooler and probably moister conditions of the
present. Several nonbotanical lines of investigation provide evidence supporting or
consistent with this sequence.
A.A.
174. CORLISS, B.H., A.S. HUNT, and L.D. KEIGWIN, Jr. 1982. Benthonic foraminiferal faunal
and isotopic data for the post-glacial evolution of the Champlain Sea. Quaternary
Research 17(3):325-338.
Benthonic foraminiferal faunal and isotopic data from Champlain Sea sediments (approximately
12,500 to 10,000 yr B.P. in age) in two piston cores from Lake Champlain provide a detailed,
apparently continuous record of the evolution of the Champlain Sea. Cassidulina
reniforme and Islandiella helenae are the dominant benthonic foraminifera during the
initial phase of the Champlain Sea, and are replaced by Elphidium excavatum forma
elavatum and Protelphidtum orbiculare as the dominant species during the remainder
of the sea's history. The oxygen-isotopic data show a gradual decrease in 6180 between
approximately 12,500 and 10,900 yr B.P., followed by 613C data have a similar trend
as 6180, with generally decreasing values up the section. The isotopic and faunal data
suggest that nearly marine conditions were present in the initial phase of the Champlain Sea,
followed by gradually decreasing salinities and increasing temperatures as the sea evolved.
The beginning of the rapid isotopic decrease at approximately 10,900 yr B.P. marks the onset
of the largest environmental change in the history of the Champlain Sea, probably reflecting
a major pulse of meltwater from the Laurentide Ice Sheet.
A.A.
175. COX, A. 1968. Polar wandering, continental drift, and the onset of Quaternary
glaciation. In: Causes of Climatic Change. Edited by: J.M. Mitchell, Jr.
Meteorological Monographs 8(30):112-125.
Continents occupied much of the region around the north pole during the glaciations that
occurred in the late Paleozoic and late Cenozoic eras. The geologic evidence is thus at
least permissive that polar continentality is a necessary condition for glaciation. However,
continents also occupied the polar regions during most of the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and
Cenozoic eras at times when glaciation did not occur, so that clearly polar continentality is
not a sufficient condition for glaciation. Polar wandering has been linked to the onset of
glaciation by several theories which suggest that the glaciation began as the rotation axis
migrated toward potential glaciation generating regions such as Antarctica or the Arctic
Ocean. These theories are not in agreement with paleomagnetic evidence, which indicates that
the rotation axis has been within the present polar region for an interval at least 10 times
longer than the interval of glaciation. Similarly, rates of continental drift are too small
to permit changes in the configuration of the continents to have played an important role in
the onset of Quaternary glaciation. The possibility remains that vertical movements of land
masses, many of which occurred at the end of the Pliocene, may have played a significant role
in the initiation of Quaternary glaciation.
A.A.
176. CRADDOCK, J.M. 1974. Phenological indicators and past climates. Weather 29(9):332-
343.
This paper considers which phenological events, if any, are capable of providing absolute
checks on instrumental standards of the earliest meteorological records. The first dates of
wine-making for example, may depend on the temperatures of the preceding spring and summer
but they may also be determined by changes in the French taste for wine and other non-
meterological factors. The best indicator appears to be the first date of grain harvest,
followed by the dates of leafing of some trees. The paper compares different phenological
diaries especially those of Marsham, Cox and Whistlecraft, outlining their contents and the
problems associated with their interpretations. The Royal Meteorological Society's Annual
Phenological Report was published from 1875-1947 and then discontinued: this is also
described and discussed. A good phenological indicator must correspond to some weather
factor which can be quantified, and must not be disturbed by non-meteorological influences.
G.A.
177. CRAIG, B.G. 1959. Pingo in the Thelon Valley, Northwest Territories; radiocarbon age
and historical significance of the contained organic material. Geological Society
of America Bulletin 70(4):509-510.
Examination of the organic material, largely Ceratopnyllum demersum and of the pollen
assemblage indicates that a warmer climate prevailed. The material has a radiocarbon age of
5,500 + 250 years. The formation of the pingo may be due to the marked cooling of
climate following the thermal optimum.
78
178. CRAIG, B.G.,and J.G. FYLES. 1961. Pleistocene geology of Arctic Canada. In: Geology
of the Arctic, Volume 1. Edited by: G.0. Raasch. University of Toronto Press,
Toronto. pp. 403-420.
Preliminary outline of Pleistocene history of this region, some areas and some parts of the
geological record treated in detail, the Cordillera omitted entirely. Continental ice-sheets
formerly covered the region except some western Queen Elizabeth Islands, where evidence
indicates only local glaciation. Three principal ice-sheets or glacier complexes partly
coalesced during their maximum stand; these are called the Wisconsin Laurentide [ice-sheet],
the Ellesmere-Baffin glacier-complex, and the Cordilleran ice-sheet. Interglacial deposits
are widely distributed in the Mackenzie delta. Gravels, sands, and silts of the late
Tertiary or earliest Pleistocene Beaufort formation occupy the western parts of the
westernmost islands. These deposits seem to have originated far to the east and southeast;
pollen studies indicate the Beaufort formation may form a late stage in the transition from
the warm Tertiary to the cool Pleistocene. Large moraines and prominent ice lobes were
features of the outermost northwest Wisconsin Laurentide ice-sheet; within the marginal zone,
a radial pattern of drumlins, eskers, etc., record the retreat towards the Keewatin ice-
divide, which was ice-free about 7,000 years ago. Limit of post-glacial marine submergence
increases in elevation from the periphery to the interior of the area covered by the
Laurentide ice-sheet. In the northwest, isostatic adjustment was complete before final
eustatic rise of sea level 5,000-6,000 years ago. Radiocarbon ages of post-glacial materials
are summarized on map and table.
179. CRAIG, G.Y. 1963. An ecological approach to the study of fossil marine invertebrates.
In: Problems in Paleoclimatology. Edited by: A.E. Nairn. Interscience, New
York. pp. 583-590.
A difficulty exists when utilizing faunal evidence for climate reconstruction. ... it may
sometimes be overlooked that a faunal assemblage is not quite the same as a fossil
population. A variety of causes operate which may result in the addition of exotic elements
to an existing population. The result may be confusing. Statistical studies on a single
species or a species of a population may well prove rewarding from the climatological aspect
- a quite different state of affairs from the use of a key fossil.
Editor
180. CRANE, R.G. 1978. Seasonal variations of sea ice extent in the Davis Strait-Labrador
Sea area and relationships with synoptic scale atmospheric circulation. Arctic
31(4) :434-447.
Using published data sources for south-eastern Baffin Island, Ungava Bay and the northern
Labrador Sea area, a study of the general patterns of sea ice growth and decay has been made
for the years 1964 to 1974. From a comparison of individual years an “early” and a “late”
pattern of both ice advance and ice retreat are recognised. Mean daily sea-level pressure
patterns for June-July and for October-mid-November are examined and a relationship is
established between the type of ice advance or retreat pattern and the synoptic circulation
over the area. In the years of early ice retreat there is an increased frequency of
southerly airflow over the region. Strong winds and the advection of warm air leads to the
more rapid removal of the ice compared to years of late ice retreat. Similarly for the years
of early ice advance there is an increased frequency of northerly and westerly flow, bringing
lower temperatures and an influx of second-year and multi-year ice into the area.
A.A.
79
181. CRARY, A.P., J.L. KULP, and E.W. MARSHALL. 1955. Evidences of climatic change from ice
island studies. Science 122(3181):1171-1173.
An Arctic Ocean ice island T-3 was occupied by the U.S. Air Force from March 1952 until May
1954 for the collection of meteorological, oceanographic, and geophysical data. Cores were
taken through the upper part of the island and revealed a large surface dirt layer. Below
this layer, in the first 90 feet of ice, there were about 85 dirt layers (although these
contained significantly less material than the surface layer), and at 90 feet a heavy dirt
layer was found. The ice below this layer, 20 feet cored, was dirt-free. Carbon-14 dating
of these dirt layers was utilized in an attempt to reconstruct the island's history. It
would appear that the dirt layer began forming following the Climatic Optimum. In the last
two hundred years there has been another warm period. The authors believe this historical
record has significance for future climatic implications.
A.B.S.
182. CRONIN, T.M. 1976. Late Wisconsin marine environments of the St. Lawrence Lowlands.
Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs 8(6):825-826.
The late Wisconsin Champlain Sea inundated the isostatically depressed St. Lawrence Lowlands
from about 12,500 to 10,000 yr BP. More than 55 foraminiferal and 35 ostracode species have
been recovered from deposits in eastern Canada and the United States. Early Champlain Sea
faunas, characterized by typically frigid to subfrigid marine assemblages, reflect
glaciomarine conditions. ... The relatively diverse foraminiferal assemblage resembles those
from recent high latitude seas.
About 11,000 yr BP an abrupt faunal change occurred correlative with a post-Valders retreat
of the Laurentide ice sheet. The sea was colonized by a cold temperate, brackish water fauna
which included euryhaline marine (Heterocypridets sorbyana), euryhaline fresh
(Ilyocypris gibba, Cyprideis torosa), and typically brackish (Cytherura gtbba,
Cytheromomorpha fuscata, Cythere lutea) water ostracodes, and a meager eurytopic
foraminiferal assemblage dominated by the genus Elphidium Estimated annual water
temperatures ranged from 0-20°C; salinities were mostly mesohaline (3-18 ppt). The late
Champlain Sea assemblage provides faunal evidence that from 11,000 to 10,000 yr BP: 1) rapid
deglaciation of the Laurentide ice sheet following a brief Valders readvance, supplemented by
Great Lakes drainage, diluted the sea with large volumes of fresh water; 2) warm Gulf Stream
water entered the sea through the Gulf of St. Lawrence; 3) cold temperate conditions existed
in the St. Lawrence Lowlands in contrast to synchronous polar-subpolar northwestern Atlantic
Ocean conditions at a comparable latitude.
pA.A.
183. CRONIN, T.M. 1976. An Arctic foraminiferal fauna from Champlain Sea deposits in
Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 13(12):1678-1682.
A new Champlain Sea fossil locality near Kars, Ontario has yielded at least 41 species of
benthonic Foraminifera, 18 of which are recorded from this sea for the first time.
Taxonomically the assemblage is almost identical to living faunas from Arctic seas.
Paleosalinities of about 30 to 35 ppt and a range of annual paleotemperatures from 0°C to
12°C are indicated by the Foraminifera. A 14c radiocarbon date of 10900 + 100 a
BP (GSC 2312) was obtained from shells of ÆHiatella arctica, suggesting deposition
relatively late in the marine episode. The existence of arctic - subarctic environmental
conditions at this time in Ontario can be directly attributed to the proximity of the post-
Valders Laurentide ice sheet.
A.A.
80
184. CRONIN, T.M. 1977. Champlain Sea Foraminifera and Ostracoda: a systematic and
paleoecological synthesis. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 31(1-2):107-122.
Champlain Sea deposits from Québec, Ontario and the United States yielded over 40 ostracode
and 60 benthonic foraminiferal species. Geographical trends in foraminiferal species
diversity as measured by the Shannon-Wiener Information Function, H(S), show highest
diversities (H(S)=1.6-1.7) in the western Champlain Sea of Ontario, southern Québec and near
Québec City, while a significantly less diverse fauna (H(S)=1.0) inhabited the Champlain
Valley. Three environmentally distinct phases of the sea based on ostracode species
distribution were recognized in the Champlain Valley and southern Québec. An early period,
characterized by fresh water and euryhaline marine species, represents a lacustrine-marine
transition. Subsequently, frigid to subfrigid, polyhaline to euhaline conditions prevailed.
Finally, some time between 11,000 and 10,600 years BP a salinity decrease and a water
temperature increase is inferred from the dominance of mesohaline, cold temperate ostracode
species. Additional evidence for temporal salinity variations are mean foraminiferal species
diversity values which are 1.0, 1.5 and 1.2 respectively for the three phases.
A.A.
185. CRONIN, T.M. 1977. Late-Wisconsin marine environments of the Champlain Valley (New
York, Quebec). Quaternary Research 7(2):238-253.
The Champlain Sea occupied the Champlain Valley from about 12,500 to 10,000 yr BP. Following
an initial maximum limit of inundation, isostatic crustal rebound caused the sea's gradual
regression, which is documented by the parallel alignment of tilted shoreline features at
successively lower elevations along a north-south profile. Two new radiocarbon shell dates,
Li 5096S 3 17/5.. (OG.200O)e~ elevation DS em, Ang lO SOS ON OC MOINE
elevation 47 m, date early and late Champlain Sea deposits, respectively. From the elevation
(ASL) and invertebrate fauna of littoral deposits, three environmentally distinct phases of
the sea were recognized. Early Champlain Sea Transitional phase deposits at high elevations
are characterized by a mixed association of fresh and euryhaline marine ostracodes. Frigid-
subfrigid climates and fluctuating salinities of this period possibly reflect intermixing of
the fresh waters of Lake Vermont with incoming marine waters. Hiatella arctica phase
faunas indicate similar climatic conditions but significantly higher salinities (polyhaline).
Deposits from the final phase of the sea, the Mya arenaria phase, were found at low
elevations just above the present level of Lake Champlain. A predominantly cold-temperate,
mesohaline fauna characterizes this period. The influences of Lake Algonquin drainage, warm
Gulf Stream water and perhaps the retreating Laurentide Ice Sheet are discussed as possible
causes for the observed faunal and environmental changes.
A.A.
186. CRONIN, T.M. 1978. Ostracode and foraminifer species diversity in a Pleistocene inland
sea. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs 10(2):38.
Fossiliferous deposits of the late Pleistocene (12,500 - 10,000 yr BP) Champlain Sea afford
the opportunity to study microfaunal species diversity under the rigorous environmental
conditions of an inland sea. Connected with the Atlantic Ocean by a narrow strait, the
Champlain Sea inundated 55,000 km2 of the St. Lawrence Lowlands of Quebec, Ontario, New York,
and Vermont. Ostracode and foraminifer assemblages indicate mainly frigid to subfrigid
climatic conditions, and paleosalinities that varied from nearly fresh through normal marine
conditions.
The ostracode and benthic foraminifer-diversity measures for more than 50 samples included
species number (S), the Shannon-Wiener Index (H(S)), and equitability (E). The results show
that: (1) A total of 80 foraminifer and 40 ostracode species were found, and, for a given
sample, foraminiferal S usually exceeds ostracode S, but H(S) values are comparable; samples
yielding high ostracode H(S) also gave high foraminiferal H(S). (2) Throughout most of the
sea, H(S) averaged 1.5-1.6. (3) In the narrow arm of the sea, the Champlain Valley,
diversity was low (H(S)=1.0). (4) In the Champlain Valley, temporal diversity trends show
81
initially low diversity (H(S)=1.0), then a period of high diversity (H(S)=1.6), and finally
another period of low diversity (H(S)=1.0). In general, Champlain Sea S and H(S) values are
comparable with those of the present Baltic Sea. The data suggest that the single most
important factor influencing microfaunal species diversity in the Champlain Sea was
salinity.
187. CRONIN, T.M. 1981. Paleoclimatic implications of Late Pleistocene marine ostracodes
from the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Micropaleontology 27(4):384-418.
A study of marine and brackish-water ostracodes from Champlain Sea deposits yields data on
bottom-water paleotemperatures for three phases of deposition of the sea. The phases are:
(1) Transitional (12,500 to 11,600 years BP, frigid climate, -2 to 5-10°C bottom water
temperature, oligohaline to mesohaline salinities (0-18 PPT)); (2) MHtatella aretica
(11,600 to 11,000-10,600 years BP, frigid to subfrigid, 0 to 12°C, polyhaline to euhaline
(18-35 PPT)--"normal" marine conditions); (3) Mya aranaria (11,000-10,600 to 10,000
years BP, cold temperate, 0 to 20-22°C, diahaline to mesohaline (1-18 PPT)). The significant
warming that occurred during the last phase lagged behind the North Atlantic warming,
apparently because of the protected nature of the inland Champlain Sea. Also, in the
northwestern part of the sea, closer to the Laurentide ice margin, frigid to subfrigid
conditions persisted for slightly longer.
C.R.H.
188. CROPPER, J.P., and H.C. FRITTS. 1981. Tree-ring width chronologies from the North
American Arctic. Arctic and Alpine Research 13(3):245-260.
A survey of the literature and data filed at the Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research at the
University of Arizona reveals 94 tree-ring chronologies of potential use for climatic studies
in the North American Arctic. Many of the older chronologies are inadequately replicated,
but the geographic coverage in Alaska and the Yukon is good. The chronology statistics
indicate their quality is limited and probably less than that of trees from the eastern and
western United States sites. Much re-collection is needed to enlarge the chronologies and to
extend the common period of overlap with the available climatic data. Future examination of
the newer materials will provide a better indication of the true possibilities for climatic
calibration and analysis.
A.A.
189. CROSSMAN, E.J., and C.R. HARINGTON. 1970. Pleistocene pike, FEsox Lucius, and
Esox sp., from the Yukon Territory and Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth
Sciences 7:1130-1138.
Two fish dentaries from Pleistocene deposits in the Old Crow area are referable to Esox
luctus, the northern pike. They provide the first definite fossil record of the species
for North America. The Don Brickyard tooth is older than the Old Crow fossils. Et
definitely represents an esocid, but we are unable to identify it to species. ... The Yukon
fossils tend to confirm the idea that the species was present in the Beringian refugium
during the Wisconsin glaciation. Mammal fossils suggest that the environment of the Old Crow
area during the late Wisconsin consisted of extensive grassy uplands broken by spruce
woodland, with lakes, ponds, and sluggish streams in lower areas. Very likely northern pike
lived in the latter type of habitat, where rooted, aquatic vegetation was available.
Since E. luctus today has such a wide temperature tolerance we can say only that its
presence at Toronto during the last interglacial could well indicate a warm water well-
vegetated, lacustrine habitat.
pA.C.*
82
190. CROWE, R.B. 1958. Recent temperature fluctuations and trends for the British Columbia
coast. Department of Transport, Meteorological Branch, CIR-3137, TEC.-228:1-11.
Five-year running averages of mean annual temperature and cumulative percentual deviations of
these are plotted for selected British Columbia coast stations. Thirty-year averages and
percentual deviations of mean annual temperature are tabulated for the same stations. The
same procedure is followed with mean seasonal and mean annual temperature for Agassiz, B.C.
A general rising trend in mean annual temperature of from one to two degrees Fahrenheit over
the fifty-year period beginning about 1900 is found for the British Columbia coast. This
rising trend is most pronounced in winter and least evident in summer and there is some
evidence that the trend may have begun to level off or may have ended. An irregular period
of 15 to 20 years between successive major maxima or minima of mean annual temperature is
noted. Fluctuations of mean seasonal temperature are more irregular than those of annual
values.
Thomas
191. CROWE, R.B. 1960. Recent precipitation fluctuations and trends for the British
Columbia coast. Department of Transport, Meteorological Branch, CIR.-3309, TEC.-
318:1-4.
Five-year running averages of total annual precipitation are plotted and thirty-year averages
of total annual precipitation are tabulated for a number of British Columbia coast stations.
The same procedure is followed with total seasonal and annual precipitation for Agassiz,
B.C.
No significant decrease or increase in total annual precipitation has occurred over the
British Columbia coast during the past half century and a regular period of ten to twenty
years between successive major maxima or minima of total annual precipitation is noted.
Summer precipitation along the British Columbia south coast was significantly lower during
the second quarter of this century than it was during the first quarter.
Thomas
192. CUMBAA, S.L., D.E. MCALLISTER, and R.E. MORLAN. 1981. Late Pleistocene fish fossils
of Coregonus, Stenodus, Thymallus, Catostomus, Lota, and Cottus from
the Old Crow basin, northern Yukon, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
18:1740-1754.
Fossils of the broad whitefish (Coregonus nasus), inconnu (Stenodus leucichthys),
longnose sucker (Catostomus catostomus), burbot (Lota lota), freshwater sculpin
(Cottus sp.) and Arctic grayling (Thymallus arctieus) from a disconformity at
locality 15, Old Crow River may date to about 60,000 BP. The fossils could have been
deposited in a meandering riverine and tributary stream environment like today's. The fish
species represented, consistent with other fossil evidence, indicate climatic conditions
similar to the present in early mid-Wisconsin time.
C.R.H.
193. CURRIE, B.W. 1954. Climatic trends on the Canadian Prairies. Agricultural Institute
Review 9(1):21-23.
Using data from Winnipeg, Regina and Edmonton, the author showed that one may anticipate over
a long period of years higher than average temperature and precipitation for two to four
years centred on the years with minimum sunspot activity. The author suggested that the
83
moist conditions that prevailed on the Prairies during the 1870s and the earlier part of this
century were exceptional, and that the precipitation during the past 15 years is more nearly
typical of the Prairies. Using accumulated heating degree days, he showed that since 1890 at
Winnipeg there has been more than a fifteen percent decrease in the amount of fuel required
for heating. At Regina, during the months of January, April, July and October, there has
been an increase in temperature since 1913. During the past three or four years there has
been some indication of a return to cooler conditions. The author believes that a slow
extension northward of the Prairies and the northern forests has now started, an extension
that could continue for some hundreds or even thousands of years.
Thomas
194. CURRIE, B.W. 1978. The growing season--climatic trends. Institute of Space and
Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. pp. 24-42.
While there is some indication that the length of the growing season for the Canadian
Prairies as a whole has been decreasing since the late 1960s, this decrease is not evident
from the data examined on the length of the frost-free season. The recent downward trend in
the length of the growing season may be related to the solar influences studied by
Venkatarangan (1978). If such is the case, an upward trend in the length can be anticipated
during the next five to six years. However, if the downward trend continues, due to lower
average temperatures such as have occurred in the past, the length of the frost-free season
will decrease as indicated most conveniently by the median dates for the last spring frost
and the first autumn frost.
A.C.
195. CURRIE, B.W., and P. VENKATARANGAN. 1978. Relationships between solar disturbances and
the precipitation and temperature on the Canadian Prairies. Institute of Space and
Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon. 58 pp.
From their investigation the authors are convinced that solar disturbances as indicated by
relative sunspot numbers contribute to a variation of Prairie precipitation, the above normal
precipitation occurring in several years centered on the sunspot minimum. While period of
years of some length have suggested a relationship between solar disturbance and temperature,
the presence of a component corresponding to solar disturbances is doubtful. A cycle of
about 4 to 5 years appears to be the dominant one. The difference between the maximum and
the minimum of the precipitation variation on an average basis is about 3 inches, an amount
which can have a significant effect on crop yields.
pA.C.
196. CWYNAR, L. 1978. A late-Quaternary pollen diagram from unglaciated northern Yukon.
American Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts 5:162.
A 4-m section of sediment has been retrieved from a lake in a tectonic basin in tundra
(68°23'N, 138°23'W) 35 km NE of the Old Crow Flats and 30 km east of the nearest stand of
trees. Twelve radiocarbon dates from the upper 3 m indicate a minimum age of 20,000 BP and
permit the calculation of sedimentation rates. A dramatic increase in the sedimentation rate
between 120-250 cm (13,000-10,000 BP) probably marks the draining of the proglacial lake
which occupied the Old Crow Flats. An extrapolation of the sedimentation rate from 250-300
cm to the base of the section suggests that the record may span the past 35,000 years.
A preliminary analysis suggests 3 broadly defined pollen assemblage zones; a _ basal
Betula-Cruciferae-Gramineae-Artemisia zone, succeeded by a Betula zone which
is then followed by a Betula-Alnus zone. The basal zone, with its high values of
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Cruciferae (up to 18%) and low total pollen influx (<50 grains cm 2year”l), is interpreted as
a discontinuous herbaceous tundra. This herbaceous tundra was replaced by a dwarf birch-
willow shrub tundra about 16,000 BP. Alder became widespread at 8,000 BP.
A.A.
197. CWYNAR, L.C. 1982. A late-Quaternary vegetation from Hanging Lake, northern Yukon.
Ecological Monographs 52(1):1-24.
A 403-cm core recovered from Hanging Lake in unglaciated northern Yukon dates back to 25,000
and possibly 33,000 years BP, according to 21 radiocarbon dates. From prior to 33,000 to
18,450 years BP, a herb zone (having high percentages of Gramineae, Artemisia and
Cruciferae) with affinities to modern arctic plant communities was dominant. From 18,450 to
14,600 years BP, a Salix-Cyperaceae zone occurred suggesting snowbed and willow scrub
communities developed. Between 14,600 and 11,100 years BP dwarf birches spread and the local
flora was richer and more diverse - a result of warming climate. From 11,100 to 8,900 years
BP, wet heath became locally abundant and spruce became regionally abundant, probably in
response to warmer, wetter climate. From 8,900 years BP to the present there was regional
expansion of Alnus erispa.
C.R.H.
198. CWYNAR, L.C., and J.C. RITCHIE. 1980. Arctic steppe-tundra; a Yukon perspective.
Science 208(4450) :1375-1377.
The first reliable, securely dated full- and late-glacial pollen stratigraphy from Eastern
Beringia forces the rejection of the widely held hypothesis of a steppe-tundra or grassland
associated with extinct vertebrates and early humans. The arctic-alpine fossil flora and low
pollen influx suggest a sparse tundra similar to modern herb fell-field vegetation.
A.A.
199. DAMON, P.E. 1968. The relationship between terrestrial factors and climate. In:
Causes of Climatic Change. Edited by: J.M. Mitchell, Jr. Meteorological
Monographs 8(30):106-111.
Large scale crustal warping (epeirogeny) and mountain-building (orogeny) have had a profound
influence on the control of climate during geologic time. During periods of maximum
transgression of epicontinental seas onto the continents, mild, uniform climates prevail over
most of the earth. During periods of maximum regression of the epicontinental seas, climates
are cooler and more differentiated. Orogeny is also accompanied by retreat of epicontinentai
seas and has a similar but shorter-term influence on climate. The time scale of epeirogeny
is 250 million years (m.y.), whereas the time scale of orogeny is 40 m.y.
Orogenesis continues during both the regressive and transgressive phase of epeirogeny. It is
not by itself a sufficient cause for the onset of continental glaciation. However, when
mountain building (orogeny) coincides with maximum continental upwarp during the regressive
phase of epeirogeny, continental glaciation ensues. This fact is borne out by the geologic
record in Quaternary, late Paleozoic and late Precambrian time. However, the time scale of
this “pulse of the earth" is too long to explain glacial-interglacial oscillation.
Volcanic dust and meteoritic impact are important factors in stochastic perturbation of
climate which may affect evolution by adding fortuitous calamity to overall climatic stress,
However, the geologic record does not justify invoking these factors to explain glacial-
interglacial oscillation.
It is probably necessary to call upon astronomic factors to explain these oscillations. The
geometric factors invoked by Milankovitch must still be considered and to this must be added
Opik's flickering sun hypothesis. The complex interaction of the sun-earth system leaves
little room for confidence in excessively simplistic hypotheses.
A.A.
200. DANSEREAU, P. 1968. Alpine vegetation in eastern North America. Cranbrook Institute
Science News Letter 37(8):94-102.
The Ice Age was, in many respects quite adverse to arctic plants. The pollen rain, conserved
intact for thousands of years in peat and lake sediments, reveals the shifts in plant
dominance throughout the postglacial period. There is little evidence of an initial treeless
vegetation in most pollen profiles in eastern North America, even at relatively high
altitudes. At the peak of the Ice Age arctic plants must have taken refuge in ice-free
areas, either in the unglaciated high Arctic, in the driftless area of Wisconsin, or south of
the shifting ice-sheet. Another safety zone was on the now submerged coastline from the Gulf
of St. Lawrence to New England and New York. The postglacial climatic fluctuations are
documented by present-day distribution of species in both latitudinal and altitudinal
zonation presented here.
G.A.
201. DANSGAARD, W., H.B. CLAUSEN, N. GUNDESTRUP, C.U. HAMMER, S.F. JOHNSEN, P.M.
KRISTINSDOTTIR, and N. REEH. 1982. A new Greenland deep ice core. Science 218
(4579) :1273-1277.
A 2035-m-long ice core was lifted from the south Greenland ice cap at Dye 3 (65°N, 44°W).
Comparison of the oxygen isotopic profile with that from Camp Century in northwest Greenland
and with a deep-sea foraminifera record indicates that the Dye 3 core reaches back about
90,000 years BP in a continuous sequence. Absolute dating of the core has, so far, reached
3,600 years BP. The core yields valuable paleoclimatic information. As in the Devon Island
(Canadian Arctic Islands) ice core, the Wisconsin to Holocene shift in 6 is about 7 per
mil. The extremely high 4s in the silty part of the Dye 3 core (up to 4 per mil higher
than mid-Holocene values) suggest a warm period of deposition (Eem/Sangamon interglacial?),
probably with lower surface elevations in south Greenland than exist today.
C.R.H.
202. DARBY, D.A. 1975. Kaolinite and other clay minerals in Arctic Ocean sediments.
Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 45(1):272-279.
Estimates of clay mineral assemblages in deep-sea cores indicate widespread occurrence of
kaolinite throughout the Amerasian half of the Arctic Ocean. Illite is the dominant clay
mineral but the kaolinite/chlorite ratio of nearly 1.0 is twice that reported in North
Atlantic and North Pacific sediments. Kaolinite averages 26% and is present throughout the
lengths of all cores, some of which penetrate 2.8-3.0 m.y. old sediment. The widespread
accumulations of kaolinite under conditions apparently unfavorable to its formation has
special paleoclimatic significance because it has been used as an indicator of “low latitude”
weathering. The kaolinite in Arctic Ocean sediments is apparently derived from shales and
“relict” soils of northern Alaska and Canada.
A.A.
203. DAVID, P.P. 1966. The late-Wisconsin Prelate Ferry paleosol of Saskatchewan. Canadian
Journal of Earth Sciences 3(5):685-696.
Five occurrences of the Prelate Ferry paleosol are known in exposures in the tributaries of
the South Saskatchewan Valley between the Prelate Ferry and Lancer Ferry crossings, in
86
Saskatchewan. At the reference section, 8 miles north of Prelate, Saskatchewan, the paleosol
is best developed, and comprises a very dark brown Ajp horizon, 12 inches thick; a grey
A2p horizon, 7 inches; a dark brown Bjp and a lighter B2p horizon, 12 and 19 inches
thick respectively; and a Cy horizon, more than 10 inches thick. The paleosol, a planosol
or possibly a solodized-solonetz, developed on the lower till and is buried by 120 feet of
sediments comprising two till sheets and three beds of stratified drift. The nonglacial
Prelate Ferry interval during which the paleosol formed had a local climate similar to that
of today. The beginning of the interval is not known, but it ended about 20 000 years ago,
when the last major ice advance occurred in the area. Laboratory examinations indicate that
the paleosol is pollen-sterile; it shows an upward decrease in grain size; it is weathered,
noncalcareous in most parts; it is slightly to strongly alkaline; and it has a clay mineral
content similar to that of the underlying till.
A.A.
204. DAVID, P.P. 1981. Stabilized dune ridges in northern Saskatchewan. Canadian Journal
of Earth Sciences 18(2):286-310.
Stabliized dune ridges occurring in northern Saskatchewan have previously been identified as
variedly as "“ice-crack moraines" and longitudinal dunes. Investigations of their
morphological, structural, and sedimentary attributes reveal that they are, indeed, of eolian
origin, but they form a particular group within the parabolic dune association, namely, the
“Cree Lake type dune ridges". The ridges occur in association with other types of parabolic
dunes and other eolian features, such as loess and wind-abraded glacial blocks and bedrock
outcrops. The dunes and the associated eolian features, were all formed by southeasterly
paleowinds of uniform direction. The dune ridges developed from primary parabolic dunes of
simple and composite types through the process of dune elongation. At the same time, exposed
rock surfaces were abraded by the wind and loess was deposited downwind from the developing
dune fields. The southeasterly direction of the paleowinds, which is almost directly
opposite to the direction of the present-day winds affecting dunes in the Lake Athabasca
area, was due to adiabatic air masses coming off the ice sheet from the east and affected
eolian activity in quite a large region in northern Saskatchewan and Alberta. The somewhat
cool and sufficiently dry adiabatic winds checked the vegetation on the dunes and in the
areas around them. The development of the dune ridges came to an end when a sudden climatic
change evoked the rapid stabilization of the dunes by vegetation but not before most of the
ridges became partly deformed by southwesterly crosswinds resulting from the same climatic
change. The period of eolian activity is estimated from the age of the local ice frontal
positions to have been between 10,000 and 8,800 years BP. Only one other region is known
from North America, namely the St. Lawrence Lowland in the east, where analogous eolian
environment prevailed in the zone peripheral to the continental ice sheet and produced
comparable eolian features.
A.A.
205. DAVIS, M.B. 1967. Late-glacial climate in northern United States: a comparison of New
England and the Great Lakes Region. In: Quaternary Paleoecology. Edited by: E.J.
Cushing and H.E. Wright, Jr., Yale University Press, New Haven. pp. 11-43.
Pollen assemblages in surface sediments from Canada display geographical correlations with
modern vegetation. Pollen deposited within regions of boreal, mixed, and deciduous forest
are sufficiently distinct to allow identification of these three vegetational types from
fossil pollen assemblages. Further subdivision is possible, since pollen within each type is
characteristic for eastern, central, and west-central Canada. Pollen assemblages from tundra
far from any forest are different from forest pollen assemblages, but near the tree limit
tundra and forest-tundra produce quite similar assemblages.
Comparison with these surface samples indicates that late-glacial pollen sequences from
southern New England record a long interval of tundra persisting until about 12,000 years
ago. An open spruce woodland developed 10,500 years ago. During the intervening period
(12,000-10,500 B.P.) the vegetation may have resembled park-tundra or alternatively, spruce-
oak woodland similar to modern vegetation near the prairie in Manitoba. There is no clear
evidence for reversals in the general trend of climatic warming at this time. In Nova Scotia
a late-glacial pollen sequence resembles modern assemblages in Labrador, and it may record a
change from tundra to forest rather than a complete oscillation of vegetation and climate.
In the Great Lakes region there was only a narrow belt of tundra vegetation, succeeded by a
woodland and forest which may have resembled modern vegetation of the boreal forest and
forest-tundra to the north. At the end of late-glacial time, about 10,000 years ago, forest
developed in New England similar to modern mixed forest in Ontario; in Minnesota a pine-birch
pollen assemblage records a vegetation that may have resembled modern forests of southern
Manitoba. Throughout late-glacial and early postglacial time the climate appears to have
been cold and relatively continental, without a clearly recorded temperature oscillation
correlative with the Allergd of northern Europe.
A.A.
206. DAVIS, M.B. 1969. Palynology and environmental history during the Quaternary period.
American Scientist 57(3):317-332.
Pollen grains preserved in sediment provide a record of. the terrestrial vegetation
surrounding a site of deposition. In southern New England, for example, after the retreat of
the ice sheet, tundra changed first to park-tundra, and then to spruce woodland. Before a
closed Boreal forest could develop on the landscape, conditions changed to favor a more
temperate kind of vegetation. This was a mixed coniferous-deciduous forest like the modern
forests of east-central Ontario. Later a temperate deciduous forest became established.
With similar information from widely-distributed sites, vegetation changes can be compared
over large regions, and the migrations of species can be followed as they expanded northward
onto deglaciated landscape. Modern communities can be compared with ancient ones; some plant
associations appear to have had a long history, while others are the product of recent
adjustments to the postglacial environment. With sufficient geographical coverage we shall
be able to evaluate the effect regional vegetation change has had on animal populations, to
assess its influence on high extinction rates of mammals, on rapid rates of morphological
evolution, and on the rapid development of human culture, that characterize the end of the
Ice Age.
207. DAVIS, M.B. 1975. Paleoecologic interpretation of pollen deposits. Quaternary Non-
marine Paleoecology Conference, University of Waterloo, Waterloo. Program and
Abstracts.
Pollen assemblages in modern sediments are correlated with regional vegetation; when these
assemblages are identified in ancient sediments, they serve to characterize past vegetation
over an entire region, averaged over many kinds of local habitats. Smaller basins, which
collect pollen from a smaller area, yield supplementary information, providing data on the
history of individual forest stands. Local events, e.g. succession following the blowdown of
individual trees, can be followed by this method. By choosing the size of the pollen site,
palynologists can obtain information at whatever geographical scale is relevant. Generally
regional information is more useful for mapping paleoclimates.
Comparisons of modern influx rates with tree censuses indicate that pollen influx is a direct
(although imprecise) measure of population size. Calibration of pollen influx permits direct
translation of pollen diagrams into population counts for individual species and genera,
extending over many millenia. Climatic interpretations can be based on autecological
information rather than regional correlation. Calibration of pollen influx also provides a
means for reconstructing ancient plant communities whose pollen assemblages have no modern
analog.
88
208. DAVIS, P.T. 1978. Correlation of Holocene moraine stabilization and influx of “exotic”
pine and spruce pollen, Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island. American Quaternary
Association, National Conference. Abstracts 5:163.
Chronologies derived from glacier moraine lichenometric ages and from palynologic sequences
recorded in C!4-dated peat sections and lacustrine sediments have been used in a study of
Holocene climatic change. A lichen growth rate curve for Rhtzocarpon geographicum s.1.
is derived from the work of Miller (1973) and Andrews and Barnett (1978). Dating control for
the older part of the curve includes five cl4 dates on archeological sites and glacial lake
shorelines. A general agreement of lichenometric ages of moraine stabilization (end of
glacier advance) from three areas of Baffin Island may be observed in the following summary:
SOUTHERN NORTHERN BARNES ICE WINDY LAKE PEAT
CUMBERLAND CUMBERLAND CAP EXOTIC POLLEN
PENINSULA PENINSULA (Andrews & (PINE & SPRUCE)
(this study) (Miller, 1973) Barnett, 1978) INFLUX
years B.P. years B.P. years B.P. years B.P.
<400 <200; 350 and 200 <100
450
800-1200 750-900 600-800 700 and 800
1500-1650 1350 and 1450 1400-1600
1950-2050; 1900-2100 2000 and 2550 2000; 2300-2450
2000-2400
2900-3300 2900-3100 2750 and 3150 2900; 2000-3150
3600 and 3800 4250 3600 and 3750
Palynological data derived from the top 120 cm of the Windy Lake peat section in Pangnirtung
Pass are in press (Nichols, Andrews, and Kelley; Andrews, Nichols, and Webber). However,
these data have been reinterpreted and additional pollen data have been derived and analyzed
from the 127 to 225 cm depth of the Windy Lake peat section. The timing of discrete periods
of influx of “exotic” pine and spruce pollen also is noted in the above summary. Presumably,
these exotic pollen are carried up to 1000 km from points south to Baffin Island by warm
Summertime air masses. The correlation (see summary above) suggests that the influx of warm
air masses into Baffin Island also is reponsible for the ending of glacier advance and the
beginning of glacier retreat (moraine stabilization).
A.A.
209. DAVIS, P.T. 1980. Late Holocene glacial, vegetational, and climatic history of
Pangnirtung and Kingnait Fiord area, Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada. Ph.D. thesis,
University of Colorado, Boulder.
In this area, glacier moraine records and lacustrine and peaty sediment sections document
complex responses to late Holocene climatic changes.
Studies of modern pollen deposition in surface lacustrine sediments, moss polsters, and
Tauber traps allow interpretation of past palynological records in terms of qualitative
vegetational changes. Meteorological records and contemporary local and regional pollen were
also used to develop transfer functions and to estimate numerical paleoclimatic variations.
Pollen diagrams from the Windy Lake peat are dominated by Gramineae throughout its 3/700-year
record except for a short-lived Salix peak about 2400 years BP. Three sand layers and
the cessation of peat growth about 2050-1950, 1700-1450, and 600-0 years BP probably indicate
greater cold, but transfer functions suggest that the sand layers may not reflect extremely
dry conditions. Exotic tree pollen numbers mirror peaks of total pollen concentration and
89
may indicate slower sediment accumulation, increased vegetation productivity, and/or more
intense southerly airflow. Peaks of exotic Picea and Pinus pollen from the Windy
Lake peat do not strongly correlate with dates on moraine stabilization. However, resolution
of radiocarbon and lichenometric chronologies are here at the limit of their capabilities.
The dominant pollen taxa from Iglutalik Lake during the last 4000 years fluctuate
synchronously and exhibit six peaks at 3950, 3550-3450, 2650, 1800, 1200-1100, and 550 years
BP, roughly correlating with periods of glacier retreat. This may have been due to warmer
climatic effects. Exotic Alnus pollen decreased as exotic Ptcea and Pinus
increased between 4000 and 3300 years BP at Iglutalik Lake due to warm, southerly, summer
winds passing over advancing forests in central Labrador. The transfer function
paleoclimatic estimates from Iglutalik and Windy Lake sites show parallels in July
temperatures, but contrasts in summer precipitation, possibly due to presence or absence of
maritime (sea-ice) effects.
pA.A.
210. DAVIS, R.B., and T. WEBB, III. 1975. The contemporary distribution of pollen in
eastern North America: a comparison with the vegetation. Quaternary Research
5:395-434.
By mapping and summarizing 478 pollen counts from surface samples at 406 locations in eastern
North America, this study documents the relationships between the distributions of pollen and
vegetation on a continental scale. The most common pollen types in this region are pine,
birch, oak, and spruce. Maps showing isopercentage contours or isopolls for 13 important
pollen types reflect the general N-S zonation of the vegetation. The maps and tabulations of
average pollen spectra for the six major vegetation regions indicate high values for the
following pollen types in each region: (1) tundra-nonarboreal birch, sedge, and alder; (2)
forest/tundra-spruce, nonarboreal birch and alder; (3) boreal forest-spruce, jack pine
(type), and arboreal birch with fir in the southeastern part; (4) conifer/hardwood forest-
white pine, arboreal birch, and hemlock with beech, maple, and oak in the southern part; (5)
deciduous forest-oak, pine, hickory, and elm, with beech and maple in the northern part, and
highest values of oak and hickory west of the Appalachian crest; and (6) southeastern forest-
pine, oak, hickory, tupelo, and Myricaceae. In some cases, less abundant pollen types are
diagnostic for the region, e.g., bald cypress in the southeast. In the conifer-hardwood
region and southward, pollen of weeds associated with deforestation and agriculture is
abundant. The maps also show that much of southeastern U.S. and the area just to the east of
Hudson Bay are in need of additional sampling. At 51 of the sites, absolute pollen
frequencies (APF; grains/ml lake sediment) were obtained. These confirm the major
conclusions from the percentage data, but differences are evident, e.g., the percentages of
alder pollen peak in the tundra whereas alder APFs peak in the boreal forest, and spruce
percentages peak in the forest-tundra whereas spruce APFs peak in the boreal forest. Because
the APF data reflect the patterns of absolute abundance of individual taxa in the vegetation
as well as the overall forest densities, future counts of modern pollen should include APF
determinations. The effects of sedimentation processes on APF quantities indicate that APF
samples should be obtained from moderate-size lakes of similar morphology and hydrology and
that, in each lake, several samples from the profundal zone should be pooled to create a
sample representative of that lake.
A.A.
211. DAWSON, Sir J.W. 1893. The Canadian Ice Age: being notes on the Pleistocene geology
of Canada, with special reference to the life of the period and its climatal
conditions. W.V. Dawson, Montreal. 301 pp.
Two chapters detail the physical and climatic conditions including the causes of glaciation,
differential elevation, moraines, ice action, and the distribution of erratics. The author
remarks on climatic variations in the glacial age. Temperatures in the early glacial period
must have been low; there was a great snow accumulation on the Cordillera and the Laurentian
highlands. During the mid-Pleistocene the mean temperature was somewhat lower than at
present. The later Pleistocene witnessed great variation in land elevation and corresponding
90
fluctuations in temperature. The author further deduces that our present climate is
separated from that of the glacial age by one somewhat warmer. The other chapters in this
volume are concerned with historical details, local geographical details, Pleistocene
fossils, and general conclusions.
A.B.S.
212. DELORME, L.D. 1968. Pleistocene freshwater Ostracoda from Yukon, Canada. Canadian
Journal of Zoology 46(5):859-876.
Pleistocene deposits along the Porcupine River, south of the Old Crow basin in the Yukon
Territory have yielded 30 species of freshwater Ostracoda. Two of these, Eucypris
foveata and Limocythere liporeticulata, are new. Certain species within the faunal
assemblages are restricted holarctic.
213. DELORME, L.D. 1975. The use of shelled invertebrates in the study of paleoecology.
Quaternary Non-marine Paleoecology Conference, University of Waterloo, Waterloo.
Program and Abstracts.
Quantitative and specific distribution of shelled invertebrates are dependent on the physical
and chemical limitations imposed by the aquatic habitat in which these organisms live in,
which in turn are controlled by geological, hydrological, biological, and climatic factors.
Once the nature of these controls has been defined for a region, the ecological limitations
of specific ostracodes and molluscs can be determined. Knowing the species tolerance limits
then allows one to reconstruct the environments of the past through paleolimnologic,
paleoclimatic, and paleohydrologic interpretations.
A.A.
214. DELORME, L.D., S.C. ZOLTAI, and L.L. KALAS. 1977. Freshwater shelled invertebrate
indicators of paleoclimate in northwestern Canada during late glacial times.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 14(9):2029-2046.
Paleoclimatic interpretations based on shelled invertebrates from four sites in the northwest
corner of the Northwest Territories, Canada, during the time interval 14,410-6,820 years BP,
indicate that the mean annual temperature was about 8.2-11.6°C higher than at present, and
that the annual precipitation was about 55-235 mm greater than at the present time. Based on
potential evapotranspiration, it can be computed that the length of the growing season was
about 156 days long as compared to between 90 and 135 growing days at the present time for
the same area.
A.A.
215. DELORME, L.D., S.C. ZOLTAI, and L.L. KALAS. 1978. Freshwater shelled invertebrate
indicators of paleoclimate in northwestern Canada during late glacial times:
reply. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 15(3):462-463.
The authors respond to Mackay's (1978) discussion of their earlier paper. “... it is likely
that the mean annual air temperatures were in the lower part of the range (-0.4°C) as given
by Delorme et al. (1977). This would place the site in a discontinuous permafrost zone where
the already existing permafrost could have been preserved, especially in exposed coastal
areas, and additional permafrost could have developed in peatlands.“ The authors note two
problems in interpreting quantitative paleoclimatic interpretations.
A.B.S.
91
216. DENISON, F.N. 1934. Weather cycles on the North Pacific. Proceedings of the 5th
Pacific Science Congress 3(A4)23:1785-1787.
The author examined annual precipitation, summer temperature and winter temperature data from
stations in British Columbia with the following conclusions. Short-period cycles were
discovered in precipitation although the most striking feature was a decrease in
precipitation culminating about 1930. Since that time precipitation has been increasing. At
Barkerville, a high-level station, there is a secular increase from 1896 to 1920 followed by
decreasing precipitation in 1932. Summer temperatures all indicated a secular rise from
about the turn of the century to 1928. At Vancouver, this amounted to 3°F. Winter
temperatures showed a secular rise since the beginning of records, especially in the north
where Atlin exhibited a secular rise from 1906 to 1931 of about 12°.
Thomas
217. DENTON, G.H., and W. KARLEN. 1973. Holocene climatic variations - their pattern and
possible cause. Quaternary Research 3(2):155-205.
In the northeastern St. Elias Mountains in southern Yukon Territory and Alaska, cl4-dated
fluctuations of 14 glacier termini show two major intervals of Holocene glacier expansion;
the older dating from 3300-2400 calendar years BP and the younger corresponding to the Little
Ice Age of the last several centuries. Both were about equivalent in magnitude. In
addition, a less-extensive and short-lived advance occurred about 1250-1050 calendar years BP
(A.D. 700-900). Conversely, glacier recession, commonly accompanied by rise in altitude of
spruce tree line, occurred 5975-6175, 4030-3300, 2400-1250, 1050-460 calendar years BP, and
from A.D. 1920 to the present. Examination of worldwide Holocene glacier fluctuations
reinforces this scheme and points to a third major interval of glacier advances about 5800-
4900 calendar years BP; this interval generally was less intense than the two younger major
intervals. Finally, detailed mapping and dating of Holocene moraines fronting 40 glaciers in
the Kebnekaise and Sarek Mountans in Swedish Lapland reveals again that the Holocene was
punctuated by repeated intervals of glacier expansion that correspond to those found in the
St. Elias Mountains and elsewhere. The two youngest intervals, which occurred during the
Little Ice Age and again about 2300-3000 calendar years BP, were approximately equal in
intensity. Advances of the two older intervals, which occurred approximately 5000 and 8000
calendar years BP, were generally less on all four broad expansion intervals; those of the
Little Ice Age culminated about A.D. 1500-1640, 1710, 1780, 1850, 1890, and 1916. In the
mountains of Swedish Lapland, Holocene mean summer temperature rarely, if ever, was lower
than 1°C below the 1931-1960 summer mean and varied by less than 3.5°C over the last two
broad intervals of Holocene glacial expansion and contraction.
Viewed as a whole, therefore, the Holocene experienced alternating intervals of glacier
expansion and contraction that probably were superimposed on the broad climatic trends
recognized in pollen profiles and deep-sea cores. Expansion intervals lasted up to 900 years
and contraction intervals up to 1/50 years. Dates of glacial maxima indicate that the major
Holocene intervals of expansion peaked at about 200-330, 2800 and 5300 calendar years BP,
suggesting a recurrence of major glacier activity about each 2500 years. If projected
further into the past, this Holocene pattern predicts that alternating glacier expansion-
contraction intervals should have been superimposed on the Late-Wisconsin glaciation, with
glacier readvances peaking about 7800, 10,300, 12,800, and 15,300 calendar years BP. These
major readvances should have been separated by intervals of general recession, some of which
might have been punctuated by short-lived advances. Furthermore, the time scales of Holocene
events and their Late-Wisconsin analogues should be comparable. Considering possible errors
in cl4 dating, this extended Holocene scheme agrees reasonably well with the chronology and
magnitude of such Late-Wisconsin events as the Cochrane-Cockburn readvance (8000-8200 C 4 yr
BP), the Pre-Boreal interstadial, the Fennoscandian readvances during the Younger Dryas
stadial (10,850-10,050 varve yr BP), the Allergd interstadial (11,800-10,900 cl4 yr BP), the
Port Huron readvance (12,/700-13,000 cl4 yr BP), the Cary/Port Huron interstadial (centred
about 13,300 cl4 yr BP), and the Cary stadial (14,000-15,000 cl4 yr BP). Moreover,
comparison of presumed analogues such as the Little Ice Age and the Younger Dryas, or the
Aller #d and the Roman Empire-Middle Ages warm interval, show marked similarities. These
results suggest that a recurring pattern of minor climatic variations, with a dominant
overprint of cold intervals peaking about each 2,500 years, was superimposed on long-term
92.
Holocene and Late-Wisconsin climatic trends. Should this pattern continue to repeat itself,
the Little Ice Age will be succeeded within the next few centuries by a long interval of
milder climates similar to those of the Roman Empire and Middle Ages.
Short-term atmospheric cl4 variations measured from tree rings correlate closely with
Holocene glacier and tree-line fluctuations during the last 7000 years. Such a
correspondence, firstly, suggest that the record of short-term cl4 variations may be an
empirical indicator of palaeoclimates and, secondly, points to a possible cause of Holocene
climatic variations. The most prominent explanation of short-term cl4 variations involves
modulation of the galactic cosmic-ray flux by varying solar corpuscular activity. If this
explanation proves valid and if the solar constant can be shown to vary with corpuscular
output, it would suggest that Holocene glacier and climatic fluctuations, because of their
close correlation with short-term Cl4 variations, were caused by varying solar activity. By
extension, this would imply a similar cause for Late-Wisconsin climatic fluctuations such as
the Allerÿd and Younger Dryas.
218. DENTON, G.H., and W. KARLEN. 1977. Holocene glacial and tree-line variations in the
White River Valley and Skolai Pass, Alaska and Yukon Territory. Quaternary
Research 7(1):63-111.
Complex glacier and tree-line fluctuations in the White River valley on the northern flank of
the St. Elias and Wrangell Mountains in southern Alaska and Yukon Territory are recognized by
detailed moraine maps and drift stratigraphy, and are dated by dendrochronology,
lichenometry, 14¢ ages, and stratigraphic relations of drift to the eastern (1230 l4c yr BP)
and northern (1980 14¢ yr BP) lobes of the White River Ash. The results show two major
intervals of expansion, one concurrent with the well-known and widespread Little Ice Age and
the other dated between 2900 and 2100 !4c yr BP, with a culmination about 2600 and 2800 l4¢
Wie 126 Here, the ages of Little Ice Age moraines suggest fluctuating glacier expansion
between AD 1500 and the early 20th century. Much of the 20th century has experienced glacier
recession, but probably it would be premature to declare the Little Ice Age over. The
complex moraine systems of the older expansion interval lie immediately downvalley from
Little Ice Age moraines, suggesting that the two expansion intervals represent similar events
in the Holocene, and hence that the Little Ice Age is not unique. Another very short-lived
advance occurred about 1230 to 1050 14c yr BP. Spruce immigrated into the valley to a
minimum altitude of 3500 feet (1067 m), about 600 feet (183 m) below the current spruce tree
line of 4100 feet (1250 m), at least by 8020 14¢ yr BP. Subsequent intervals of high tree
line were in accord with glacier recession; in fact, several spruce-wood deposits above
current tree line occur bedded between Holocene tills. High deposits of fossil wood range up
to 76 m above present tree line and are dated at about 5250, 3600 to 3000, and 2100 to 1230
14¢ yr BP. St. Elias glacial and tree-line fluctuations, which probably are controlled
predominantly by summer temperature and by length of the growing ablation season, correlate
closely with a detailed Holocene tree-ring curve from California, suggesting a degree of
synchronism of Holocene summer-temperature changes between the two areas. This synchronism
is strengthened by comparison with the glacier record from British Columbia and Mt. Rainier.
Likewise, broad synchronism of Holocene events exists across the Arctic between the St. Elias
Mountains and Swedish Lapland. Finally, two sequences from the Southern Hemisphere show
similar records, in so far as dating allows. Hence, we believe that a preliminary case can
be made for broad synchronism of Holocene climatic fluctuations in several regions, although
further data are needed and several areas, particularly Colorado and Baffin Island, show
major differences in the regional pattern.
219. DENTON, G.H., and M. STUIVER. 1966. Neoglacial chronology, mortheastern St. Elias
Mountains, Canada. American Journal of Science 264(8):577-599.
In the northeastern St. Elias Mountains, Yukon, Canada, drift morphology and stratigraphy,
combined with thirteen cl4 dates, suggest the following Neoglacial and pre-Neoglacial
chronology for the Donjek and Kaskawulsh Glaciers: (1) About 12,500 BP (Y-1386) ice of the
93
Kluane glaciation (=classical Wisconsin by cl4 dating) receded from near Kluane Lake and
about 9780 BP (Y-1483) withdrew behind the position presently occupied by Kaskawulsh
Neoglacial moraines. (2) During the Slims nonglacial interval (basically Hypsithermal),
glaciers maintained retracted positions; the Kaskawulsh terminus was located at least 13.7
miles up-glacier from its present position. (3) The initial Neoglacial advance, represented
by onset of loess deposition, began shortly before 2640 BP (Y-1435). (4) Continuous loess
deposition suggests that throughout the Neoglaciation glaciers maintained positions more
extensive than those occupied during the Slims interval. (5) The youngest major Neoglacial
advance, the most extensive of the last 9780 years (Y-1483), occurred through the last few
centuries and is bracketed by seven cl4 dates. Glacier retreat from this maximum began
before A.D. 1874 (Donjek Glacier) and A.D. 1865 (Kaskawulsh Glacier).
Comparison of northeastern St. Elias events with those elsewhere supports the concepts that
(1) the initial widespread Neoglacial advance shortly antedated 2600 to 2800 BP and (2) at
least some major Neoglacial events were essentially synchronous throughout the Northern
Hemisphere.
A.A.
220. DERBYSHIRE, E. 1960. Glaciation and subsequent climatic changes in central Quebec-
Labrador: a critical review. Geografiska Annaler 42(1):49-61.
Recent theories on the origin and dissipation of the Laurentide ice sheet suggest the
relationship of ice-dispersion centres to precipitation rather than to relief. Assuming the
necessary secular drop in temperature, the climatic regime during glaciation is reconstructed
in terms of present climatic features. Present climate is the result of two basic factors:
geographic position, and relation of the physical character and configuration of the land-
Mass to marine areas. Chief features of oceanic and atmospheric circulation are described;
proximity of present climate to glacial conditions (6°-11°F) is estimated. Some late-glacial
and postglacial pollen correlations indicate similarity of the climatic history of Quebec-
Labrador and the rest of the North Atlantic region.
A.B.
221. Descriptive Palaeoecology. Edited by: A.E.M. Nairn. Interscience, New York. 380 pp.
1961.
Includes a few papers relevant to Canada: geological evidence of cold climate;
paleozoological evidence of climate: invertebrates and vertebrates; paleobotanical evidence
of climate; and the climatic history of Europe and North America.
222. De VRIES, B., and C.D. BIRD. 1965. Bryophyte subfossils of a late-glacial deposit from
the Missouri Coteau, Saskatchewan. Canadian Journal of Botany 43(8):947-953.
Bryophyte and associated macro-subfossils were recovered from a kettle located in prairie
southwest of Moose Jaw in the Missouri Coteau of southern Saskatchewan. The higher plants
were discussed in an earlier paper.
Three samples taken from the organic layer gave cl4 datings ranging from 11,650 +
150) to) 10,270) & 50) BPI.
Sixteen species and one variety of Musci were recovered. Eleven of these were found in the
lowermost zone at a depth of 510-450 cm. This zone was composed of bryophytes and higher
plants characteristic of a modern Picea forest. Fifteen bryophyte taxa were recovered
from the middle zone at a depth of 450-290 cm. The macro-subfossils in this zone are typical
of a present-day Populus-Picea forest. No bryophytes were found in the upper layer,
94
290-280 cm characterized by higher plant macro-subfossils and pollen typical of a modern
Picea forest.
All bryophytes recovered belong to present-day taxa; however, many of the boreal species are
not now found in the region as the southern margin of the boreal forest is now 200 miles to
the north.
223. DILLON, L.S. 1956. Wisconsin climate and life zones in North America. Science 123
(3188) :167-176.
This paper attempts to reconstruct the climatic and biogeographic conditions that prevailed
at the maximum of the last glacial period. To describe the development of the continental
ice sheet, the author postulates: (1) an increase in precipitation (beginning in the region
of Greenland and northeastern Canada) and; (2) a gradual decrease in mean temperature in the
more polar latitudes. At the period of maximum glaciation there appears to have occurred a
clinal depression of mean temperature of 25° at the edge of the ice sheet. A series of maps
detail the ice sheet's development.
Such glaciation greatly influenced the continent's biota; some palynological and
biogeographic data are presented, mainly from the United States. Maps compare present life
zones and selected species distributions with those hypothesized for the Wisconsin
glaciation.
A.B.S.
224. DIONNE, J.-C. 1975. Paleoclimatic significance of late Pleistocene ice-wedge casts in
southern Quebec, Canada. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
17(1):65-76.
Ice-wedge casts in southern Quebec are exclusive to deposits pertaining to two ice front
positions during the retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet: the Highland front morainic system
located at the southern margin of the St. Lawrence lowlands, and the St. Narcisse front
morainic system located at the southern margin of the Laurentides highlands. Wedge casts
filled with sand and gravel are relic of true ice wedges and give evidence of former
permafrost conditions in the ground during the retreat of the ice sheet in that area between
13 000 and 16 000 years BP. Mean annual air temperature was lower than -6°C, a difference of
8-12° with the present-day temperature. Humidity was high enough to allow the growth of ice
wedges in the permafrost. These rigorous climatic conditions prevailed during a few
centuries only. There is no positive evidence of tundra conditiors in southern Quebec
younger than 11 000 years ago.
A.A.
225. DIONNE, J.-C. 1976. Ice-drifted boulders as paleoclimatic indicator, south shore of
lower St. Lawrence estuary. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin
60(4):664-665. (Abstract).
Ice-drifted boulders are at the surface of the postglacial marine-clay terraces and in raised
beaches on the south shore of the St. Lawrence estuary from the present shoreline up to the
highest Goldthwait Sea shoreline. They are mainly Precambrian crystalline rocks which were
drifted from the north shore of St. Lawrence across a distance of 30 to 55 km. Proportions
of crystalline boulders concentrated in modern and ancient beaches and tidal flats range from
60 to 90 percent, but variation is less than 5 percent in neighboring till deposits.
Ice-drifted boulders at the different levels formerly occupied by the Goldthwait Sea show
that floating and shore ice were present in the St. Lawrence from the early phases of
postglacial submergence until the present.
Mean annual air temperature today in the area considered is 3.3°C at Trois-Pistoles and 2.7°
at Pointe-au-Pere, 300 km northeast of Quebec City, with 5 months with a mean temperature
below 0°, mean temperature for January being respectively -11.8 and -10.8°. Shore and
floating ice are present from December to April.
Since the retreat of the Laurentide ice sheet the climate in the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary
probably was similar to the present one with possibly some colder and warmer phases; however,
it was cold enough to allow freeze-up and ice drifting of boulders from the north shore to
the south shore of the estuary. In absence of other evidence in sediments, ice-drifted
boulders could be a valuable indicator of a temperate climate with cold winter.
A.A.
226. DONAHUE, P.F., and T. HABGOOD. 1974. Analysis of the pollen and spore rain at two
archaeological sites on the Nechako Plateau, British Columbia. Syesis 7:93-99.
Pollen and spore analysis of surface and subsurface samples taken from the vicinity of two
archaeological sites [Ulkatcho, believed to have been permanently occupied shortly before
1793 and abandoned by 1945; Tezli, believed to have been initially occupied as early as 2000
B.C. (S-769 3850 + 140; 1900 B.C.)] in the central plateau of British Columbia
indicate little if any change in the vegetation pattern within the time period represented by
the sediments sampled. All levels included, in order of decreasing frequency, Pinus,
Picea, Alnus, Abies, Tsuga, and Salix. Local hydrological fluctuations are
reflected in changes in the herbaceous components.
Other than the reflection of local hydrological changes, there is no evidence for climatic
change over the time period represented by the sediment trap profile. Our 38 cm profile was
sampled at 3.8 cm intervals ...
A Ant
227. DONN, W.L., and M. EWING. 1968. The theory of an ice-free Arctic Ocean. In: Causes
of Climatic Change. Edited by: J.M. Mitchell, Jr. Meteorological Monographs 8
(30):100-105.
On the basis of IGY and post-IGY data and interpretations, the original Ewing-Donn model of
the Arctic Ocean control of glacial-interglacial stages has been modified. According to the
revision, the importance of the ice-free Arctic Ocean is in the initiating of high-latitude
glaciation followed by glacial growth to lower latitudes in those regions where an adequate
moisture supply is present. The Arctic Ocean surface would freeze once a good-sized
peripheral ice sheet formed and would have no direct effect in the nourishment of continental
ice sheets thereafter. A glacial stage is terminated, not by the decrease of Atlantic Ocean
sea level below the Iceland-Faroe-Scotland sill (Wyville Thomson ridge) but by the decreased
atmospheric moisture supply consequent upon the lowered temperature of the Atlantic Ocean.
Geologic data interpretable in terms of ice thickness seem to support the theory of an Arctic
source of moisture of the growth of high-latitude ice sheets in North America and Siberia.
Geologic evidence from field observations on land and from the analysis of cores from the
deep sea indicate that glaciation commenced well before the beginning of the Pleistocene.
When considered together with uncertainties attached to the precise time of the migration of
the geographic north pole into the Arctic basin, the earlier problem of the lag between the
time the paleomagnetic pole became centered in the Arctic and the beginning of glaciation is
diminished considerably.
A.A.
96
228. DONN, W.L., and D. SHAW. 1975. The evolution of climate. In: Long-term Climatic
Fluctuations, World Meteorological Organization, WMO-421. pp. 53-64.
A quantitative evaluation is made of the climatic effects of polar wandering plus continental
drift in order to determine whether this mechanism alone could explain the deterioration of
climate that occurred from the warmth of Mesozoic time to the ice age conditions of the late
Cenozoic.
229. DORF. E. 1960. Climatic changes of the past and present. American Scientist 48
(3):341-364.
Traces climatic changes during the Cenozoic era (mainly on paleobotanical evidence) and
considers future trends. Late Eocene fossils indicate: subtropical forests in southeastern
Alaska; a warm temperate forest belt from central Alaska to central Greenland, Spitsbergen
and Siberia; subarctic, boreal forest on Ellesmere Island (at 82°30'N). Pleistocene fossils
record northern plants and animals south of present limits, e.g. musk oxen in southern United
States. The present interglacial warming trend is expected to continue for two centuries,
with probable return to another glacial stage in 10,000-15,000 years. Indications (several
from the Arctic) of warmer climate during the past century are cited. Contrary to the
general trend, some areas, e.g. the Hudson Bay region are becoming cooler.
A.B.
230. DREDGE, L.A. 1982. Relict ice-scour marks and late phases of Lake Agassiz in
northernmost Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 19(5):1079-1087.
In northern Manitoba, intersecting grooves 300-1800 m long are ice-scour marks created by the
dragging of iceberg keels along rises in the bed of a glacial lake whose water plane was at
about 305 m asl. The lake was bounded by glacial ice on its northern and eastern margins.
The occurrence of scours on topographic divides indicates that a single extensive lake,
thought to be a northern extremity of Lake Agassiz, occupied the area as far north as Seal
River at the time the ice scours were formed. The lake extended as far west as Sprott Lake
and eastwards into the Hudson Bay Lowlands into an area later occupied by Tyrrell Sea. The
preservation of the scour marks suggests that the lake drained suddenly.
Ice-scour marks are easily recognized on air photographs and provide a means of identifying
areas that have been inundated by glacial lakes. Scours in emerged marine sediment are
generally obliterated by littoral processes.
231. DREIMANIS, A. 1953. Two late Wisconsin interstadial deposits from Ontario, Canada.
Geological Society of America Bulletin 64(12):1414. (Abstract).
Of the two deposits, one is from the shore of Lake Erie 9 miles west of Port Stanley,
Ontario; it consists of lacustrine silt and gyttja and is covered by two till beds which up
to now have been correlated with the lithologically similar early and late Cary tills of
northern Ohio. cl4 date of the gyttja (10,900 + 400) suggests a later age - the
Two Creeks interval - for this interstadial deposit. Pollen analysis reveals the existence
of forests along Lake Erie consisting principally of jack-pine and spruce.
The other deposit is from North Bay and consists of a peat bed covered by a thin layer of
very bouldery till. Pollen analysis records growth of birch, hemlock, pine, spruce, fir, oak
(in a descending order of importance) and some elm, linden, beech and alder. The results of
pollen analysis suggest that the peat was deposited during the postglacial thermal maximum or
slightly later.
If the cl4 dating of the first interstadial deposit is correct, the retreat of Wisconsin ice
from Ontario was later than assumed by most Pleistocene geologists, with Mankato ice twice
occupying the Lake Erie basin and a readvance of ice down to North Bay during the “little ice
age” after the postglacial thermal maximum.
A.A.
232. DREIMANIS, A. 1967. Mastodons, their geologic age and extinction in Ontario, Canada.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 4(4):663-675.
Most Canadian occurrences of mastodons are from southern Ontario. About four-fifths of them
have been found below Lake Warren shore, thus being younger than 12 400 years B.P.; the
youngest radiocarbon date is 8 910 + 150 years B.P. Though most mastodons entered
Ontario after the retreat of the Wisconsin ice sheet, a few occurrences may belong to the
Mid- and Early Wisconsin interstadials. Association of spruce pollen with mastodon bones and
concentration of mastodons in the poorly drained lacustrine plains during the late-glacial
and early postglacial time suggest that mastodons preferred spruce forest or woodlands. The
extinction of mastodons might have been initiated by gradual shrinking of these spruce
forests, and completed by their disappearance from southwestern Ontario, owing to increasing
warmth and dryness of postglacial climate, and improvement of drainage along the lowered
Great Lakes. Mastodons did not find their way to the northern boreal spruce forests, being
separated from them by a wide belt of pine and hardwood forests, which meanwhile had
developed over the better drained morainic areas of southern Ontario. Weakened by less
suitable food, mastodons became more sensitive to diseases and an easier prey to the
Paleoindians.
233. DREIMANIS, A. 1968. Extinction of mastodons in eastern North America: testing a new
climatic environmental hypothesis. Ohio Journal of Science 68(6):257-272.
More than 600 late Wisconsin mastodon occurrences are known from the glaciated and
periglacial portions of eastern North America. Most of them have been found in poorly
drained lowlands, swamps, and valleys, and on the continental shelf. Of the 28 radiocarbon-
dated mastodon bones or associated wood from the entire area of eastern North America, 80
percent are 9,000-12,000 years old. Spruce forests or open woodlands have been indicated by
palynologic investigations of 18 mastodon sites; wood or cones of spruce and trees associated
with spruce forests have been found at ten sites.
This evidence and the distribution pattern of mastodons near the northern boundary of the
area of their occurrences suggest that the mastodons of eastern North America were associated
with open spruce woodlands or spruce forests. Their extinction was probably initiated by the
rapidly increasing dryness 10,000-11,000 years ago, which caused first the retreat of the
spruce forests into the moister lowlands and finally their disappearance from the area
occupied by mastodons. A migration of mastodons from the relict spruce enclaves toward the
more northerly located spruce forests was hampered because these two areas were probably
separated by a rapidly expanding belt of pine and hardwood forests over the better-drained
morainic, kame, and dune areas in the Great Lakes Region.
A.A.
234. DREIMANIS, A., and P.F. KARROW. 1972. Glacial history of the Great Lakes - St.
Lawrence region, the classification of the Wisconsin(an) stage, and its
correlatives. 24th International Geological Congress, Section 12:5-15.
Major glacial advances and retreats in the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence region suggest a
natural division of the Wisconsin(an) Stage into three substages: Early, Middle and Late
Wisconsin(an). A more detailed classification can be developed best in the St. Lawrence -
Lake Ontario - Lake Erie - Lake Huron region, as here ice marginal positions can be
98
correlated with levels of the proglacial lakes which depended upon opening and closing of
their outlets by glacial retreats and readvances. In the northeastern portion of the region
a correlation with sea level changes is also possible. Abundant radiocarbon dates have been
obtained on non-glacial material and the glacial chronology is inferred. Step-by-step
tracing in the field, and lithologic, textural and fabric analyses of tills have greatly
assisted in correlations. Climatic interpretations have been based on the fossil record,
particularly palynologic data.
All the above information permits subdivision of the three Wisconsin(an) substages into
several stadials and interstadials and phases and intervals, by using already established
names (St. Pierre, Port Talbot, Plum Point and Erie Interstadial) and introducing new ones,
particularly for the glacial stadials and phases.
The proposed classification of the Wisconsin(an) Stage in the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence
region compares well with deep-sea and Greenland ice core paleotemperatures, and general
glacial histories of the northern hemisphere.
A.A.
235. DREIMANIS, A., J. TERASMAE, and G.D. McKENZIE. 1966. The Port Talbot interstade of the
Wisconsin Glaciation. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 3(3):305-325.
The Port Talbot interstade is a cool, long, nonglacial interval separating the Early from the
Late or Main Wisconsin in the Lake Erie region. Recent test borings at its type locality,
lithologic and palynologic investigations of the cores, and new radiocarbon dates suggest
that this interval was considerably longer than previously assumed. It began more than
48 000 years before present (B.P.) and ended, if the Plum Point interval is included, 24 000
years B.P.
The entire nonglacial interval comprises two relatively warm episodes, with boreal climate
(Port Talbot I and II), separated by a brief glacial readvance that reached Lake Erie from
the north; 100 varves were deposited during this readvance. Another similar readvance
separates the Port Talbot I beds from the Plum Point (?) sands and silts. Pine (Pinus)
and spruce (Picea) pollen predominate throughout the section, with relative abundance of
oak (Quercus) in the Port Talbot I green clay. The pollen assemblages are dissimilar
from those of the Sangamon interglacial or postglacial in southern Ontario.
236. DUMANSKI, J. 1969. Micromorphology as a tool in Quaternary research. In: Pedology
and Quaternary Research. Edited by: S. Pawluk. University of Alberta Press,
Edmonton. pp. 39-52.
Soil fabric consists of both relatively stable and relatively mobile constituents. In
studying such material in thin section, the soil morphologist attempts to determine the
nature of soil in its undisturbed state, and endeavours to explain the observed dynamics in
terms of the physical and chemical environment in which soil is forming.
Soil process is very often reflected in the manner of organization of soil plasma which, in
turn, constitutes a reflection on the environment of soil formation. Investigations spread
over most of the world have established that there is a dependence among fabric type, solid
profile characteristics, and environmental conditions. Such information can often be of
considerable use in Quaternary research, but its proper application is highly dependent on a
detailed knowledge of presently important soils, their associated microfabrics, and
corresponding environmental conditions. Microfabrics of soils found in the Northern Great
Plains are discussed.
Excerpt
99
237. DUNBAR, M.J. 1946. The state of the West Greenland Current up to 1944. Journal of the
Fisheries Research Board of Canada 6(7):460-471.
Temperature records from the mouth of Godthaab fjord, west Greenland, during 1942-1944, show
a cooling of the water over these three years, particularly marked in the first half of the
year. The temperature history of the West Greenland Current is traced by means of available
records since 1883. It is found that warmer conditions existed during the decade of 1880,
followed by a colder period up to about 1920, when the present warm period began. The peak
of the present warm period appears to have been reached in the middle 1930s, and it is
possible that the cycle is about to return to colder conditions, with a weakening of the
Atlantic component of the current.
A.A.
238. DUNBAR, M.J. 1954. A note on climatic change in the sea. Arctic 7(1):27-30.
As both temperature and northward water transport has increased in the north Atlantic, the
author reasons that this must be balanced by an increased flow of polar water southward
implying that the polar outlets east of Greenland and in the Canadian eastern Arctic should
show less climatic change than other areas in the north Atlantic regions during the past 35
years. The author states that this happened both in the recent warming period ending about
1940, and in the short warm period which occurred in the 1880s. The effect of the 1915-45
period has been comparatively unimportant in the Canadian eastern Arctic, but there is
evidence that the effect was stronger in the 1880s. The author concludes that if the present
relaxation of the Atlantic circulation gives way in due course, to an increase in circulation
again, which is probable, a northward transport of heat to a degree greater than the recent
warm period will occur. We might look forward to a time when the cold upper layer of Polar
water in the Arctic Ocean is finally washed out. If and when that happens the climate of the
north will no doubt become suddenly considerably milder and moist.
Thomas
239. DUNBAR, M.J. 1955. The present status of climatic change in the Atlantic sector of
northern seas, with special reference to Canadian eastern Arctic waters.
Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada 49(3):1-7.
A review and discussion “to draw attention to certain aspects of the shorter cycle of
variation in the sea.” The influence of these climatic changes is demonstrated by the
fluctuations in certain fish populations.
A.B.S.
240. DUNBAR, M.J. 1959. Arctic marine zoogeography. In: Problems of the Pleistocene Epoch
and Arctic Area. Compiled by: G.R. Lowther. Publications of McGill University
Museums (Montreal) No. 1:55-63.
The author traces the marine history of the Pleistocene in the north from analysis of deep-
sea sediment cores. The results of Wiseman (1954) "show a steadily increasing temperature
from a date approximately 13,500 years ago to a maximum about 5000 years ago, followed by a
gradual decline to the present time. This is in agreement with climatic information obtained
by other methods. Along the path of this decline there have been oscillations, shorter
periods of milder climate which have interrupted the overall cooling. The most recent of
these mild periods appears now to be at its peak or just past it, probably the latter, and it
has had drastic effects on the zoogeography of the northern seas...". The author compares
glacial and postglacial patterns and faunal elements with those of the present.
100
241. DUNBAR, M.J. 1968. Ecological Development in Polar Regions: A Study in Evolution.
Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey. 119 pp.
“We shall be examining the responses to the Pleistocene demands and challenges mainly in
terms of ecosystem development, ecosystemlimitation, and geographic distribution. Our
purpose is to put Arctic life in its evolutionary perspective and to demonstrate that the
Arctic has problems for life which extend considerably beyond ice, snow, and cold water.”
Chapter 3 (pp. 28-36) entitled "The Pleistocene Event" describes changes in the climate.
There is a short review of some of the evidence and theories put forward in an attempt to
explain environmental changes. Pleistocene climatic oscillations and the possible effects of
future changes are also mentioned in Chapter 8, “Rehearsal and Discussion”.
L.G.
242. DUNBAR, M.J. 1972. Increasing severity of ice conditions in Baffin Bay and Davis
Strait and its effect on the extreme limits of ice. In: Sea Ice Conference
Proceedings. Edited by: T. Karlsson. Reykjavik. pp. 87-93.
Warming trends in the Northern Hemisphere in the 1920s and 1930s came to an end in the 1940s,
with falling temperatures thereafter. Ice conditions, according to the author should reflect
the same trend with a bit of lag and the change might first become noticeable in the boundary
areas of the ice covered waters. This is a fact in Greenland and the paper documents the
same trend in Baffin Bay and Davis Strait using air reconnaissance data for the 1950s and
1960s. Mapped results illustrate that ice conditions in the areas studied were markedly more
severe in the 1960s than the 1950s. According to the author it is reasonable to assume that
the deterioration of ice conditions will continue for at least another two decades. “One
point of great interest in the Baffin Bay data is the smallness of the variation in maximum
extent of ice. ... A similar stability of the ice limit has been noted in the Bering Sea,
and the contrast with conditions in the Greenland Sea, where the outer limits seem to react
so sensitively to climatic change, is quite striking”. Records of the Danish Meteorological
Institute (1901) and accounts of whalers and explorers are included in the study.
“We have thus an ice limit that fluctuates considerably along the west coast of Greenland,
but apparently varies little across Davis Strait, though this is not fully proved". Possible
reasons are advanced. It seems that Davis Strait contains three types of ice limits, i.e.
those where a warm northerly current flows towards the ice, those where a cold southerly
current flows away from the ice and those where the current flows along the ice edge. On the
east side the formation of ice is limited by the heat transported by the West Greenland
current, while on the west the ice is carried far to the south on the cold Labrador current
to the east coast of Newfoundland; these two limits vary considerably. The ice edge in the
centre of Davis Strait runs parallel to the current direction, though it does not constitute
the southern limit of ice formation but rather the flank of a southward moving stream. The
author suggests that the controlling factor is also the contiguity of a warmer water mass in
which ice can neither form nor long survive.
The author feels that “the total ice production in Baffin Bay should be greater rather than
less in warming periods, because more ice will form to replace that carried out on the
increased current. It will however presumably melt more quickly in the warmer waters farther
south, thus reducing the amount of fluctuation in the extreme ice limit and perhaps forming
to some extent a self-regulating system. Whether the faster-moving, faster-forming ice will
represent a net increase in ice volume is less clear, as it will presumably be less thick
than the ice forming in the slower-moving pack of the cold period. This factor too should be
to some extent self-regulating, and the net volume may not vary very much. “These
speculations, however, apply more to maximum, or winter, conditions than to summer”.
L.G.
101
243. DUNBAR, M.J. 1973. On the west Greenland sea-life area of the Atlantic salmon. Arctic
26(1):3-6.
During the 1960s salmon appeared in the region west of Greenland. The author attributes this
to marine climatic change; “the warming period in West Greenland came to an end and signs of
a return to colder conditions appeared.” Migration and navigation of the salmon are
discussed.
A.B.S.
244. DUNBAR, M.J. 1976. Climatic change and northern development. Arctic 29(4):183-193.
The warm decades in the early part of the present century were replaced by a cooling trend
from 1940 to about 1970, followed by the suggestion of a reversal in the past five years.
The most complete record of these changes in northern sea areas is to be found in West
Greenland where whole ecosystems moved north then retreated south. During the recent warming
trend, the southern limit of sea ice in the Svalbard - Jan Mayen region retreated 200-300 km
northward between 1928 and 1936, and then moved south again during the cooling period. The
need for a means of predicting ice conditions is becoming acute. On land, faunal changes
have accompanied the changes of climate. The changes in the potential for agriculture,
aquaculture and stock breeding are important for northern development. Prediction of these
changes of climate is the crucial need.
245. DUNBAR, M.J., and D.H. THOMSON. 1979. West Greenland salmon and climatic change.
Meddelelser om Grénland 202(4):5-19.
Climatic variations affecting the West Greenland marine region since the 16th century are
reviewed in association with historical records of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.)
in that area. There is evidence that the salmon, which are very abundant at present during
their sea-life in West Greenland waters, were also present in some numbers in the years
around 1600 and 1810. In all three periods the marine climate was cooling, following a
warming phase. A possible hydrographic mechanism for this effect is suggested in the
alternation of a strong zonal (west-east) climatic system over the North Atlantic region,
giving warmer conditions in West Greenland, and periods of weakening of this zonal system and
the appearance of anomalous easterly winds in South Greenland. The latter cause East
Greenland Current water and Irminger Current water to increase in transport in the formation
of the West Greenland Current, and are associated with a southward movement of the Iceland
Low and a reduction in pressure gradient between the Iceland Low and the Azores High.
246. DYCK, W., and J.G. FYLES. 1963. Geological Survey of Canada radiocarbon dates.
Geological Survey of Canada Paper 63-21:1-31. (reprinted from Radiocarbon 4:13-26;
5:39=55,)
Title self-explanatory.
C.R.H.
102
247. DYCK, W., and J.G. FYLES. 1964. Geological Survey of Canada radiocarbon dates.
Geological Survey of Canada Paper 64-40:1-15. (reprinted from Radiocarbon 6:167-
181.)
Title self-explanatory.
C.R.H.
248. DYCK, W., J.G. FYLES, and W. BLAKE, Jr. 1965. Geological Survey of Canada radiocarbon
dates. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 65-4:1-23. (reprinted from Radiocarbon
7:24-46.)
Title self-explanatory.
C.R.H.
249. DYCK, W., J.A. LOWDEN, J.G. FYLES, and W. BLAKE, Jr. 1966. Geological Survey of Canada
radiocarbon dates. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 66-48:1-32. (reprinted from
Radiocarbon 8:96-127.)
Title self-explanatory.
C.R.H.
250. DYLIK, J. 1964. Le thermokarst, phénomène négligé dans les études du Pléistocène.
Annales de géographie 73(399):513-523).
Distinguishes between the chemical erosion of extra-arctic karst processes and the physical
changes of thermokarst in permafrost zones, where the melting of ground ice is a basic factor
in thermokarst. Two main types of development, generally caused by climatic warming, and
local in very cold regions, are described. Evidence of thermokarst is provided by patterned
ground, solifluction phenomena, cave-in or thaw lakes, etc. Current research discloses more
on recent thermokarst phenomena than on fossil thermokarst from the Pleistocene, though
general belief is noted in the existence of a warm interval which caused the ice to melt.
Thermokarst structures and processes help in determining the paleogeography of the
Pleistocene, and provide important paleoclimatic evidence.
251. DZERDZEEVSKII, B.L. 1969. Climatic epochs in the twentieth century and some comments
on the analysis of past climates. In: Quaternary Geology and Climate. Edited by:
H.E. Wright, Jr. Proceedings VII Congress INQUA, Volume 16 (National Academy of
Sciences, Publication 1701, Washington). pp. 49-60.
For the reconstruction of past climates the synchronisation of tree-ring measurements and
pollen samples, obtained from isolated and usually distant points, is very important.
However, the analysis of climatic data and dynamic processes and their relationships with
other geographical components is of even greater importance. Some results of such
investigations are discussed in this paper. The existence of two climatic epochs in the 20th
century is described. A meridional circulation prevailed during the first epoch, and a zonal
one during the second. The beginning of a third epoch in the 1950s is confirmed. The change
of temperature and precipitation and noticeable reaction of the vegetation to those climatic
fluctuations was observed.
G.A.
103
252. EATON, G.P. 1963. Volcanic ash deposits as a guide to atmospheric circulation in the
geologic past. Journal of Geophysical Research 68(2):521-528.
Infers information on the direction of upper air winds for various periods from deposits of
windborne volcanic ash. The direction of the long axis of a given deposit is approximately
parallel to the vector resultant wind experienced by the falling ash. A map of 24 Recent ash
deposits, both terrestrial and marine, from the eruptions of Mt. Spurr, Mt. Katmai in Alaska,
Bezymyannyy in Kamchatka, and others shows excellent agreement with the observed circulation
of the lower atmosphere. Studies of Ordovician, Permian, Cretaceous, and Tertiary ash
deposits probably would yield data for construction of a planetary circulation map for those
periods.
A.B.
253. EDDY J.A. 1977. Climate and the changing sun. Climatic Change 1(2):173-190.
Long-term changes in the level of solar activity are found in historical records and in
fossil radiocarbon in tree-rings. Typical of these changes are the Maunder Minimum (A.D.
1645-1715), the Spôrer Minimum (A.D. 1400-1510), and a Medieval Maximum (c. A.D. 1120-1280).
18 such features are identified in the tree-ring radiocarbon record of the past 7500 years
and compared with a record of world climate. In every case when long-term solar activity
falls, mid-latitude glaciers advance and climate cools; at times of high solar activity
glaciers recede and climate warms. We propose that changes in the level of solar activity
and in climate may have a common cause: slow changes in the solar constant, of about 1%
amplitude.
G.A.
254. EDMONDS, T.C., and C.H. ANDERSON. 1960. Note on climatic trends in the Lower Peace
River region of northern Alberta. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 40(1):204-
206.
“There are two major climatic factors determining the type of agriculture for any region:
precipitation, and temperature together with associated phenomena. The long-term averages
and trends of these factors are important in determining the future agricultural activities
of a specific area.” The authors document the trends that have developed in annual
precipitation, mean annual temperature and killing frost-free period at Fort Vermilion.
These trends are evident despite large year-to-year fluctuations. Total annual precipitation
shows a decided increase during the last 50 years. Over this period there has been a 3°F
rise in mean annual temperature. Similarly the trend in killing frost-free period shows an
increase “from the 10-year average of 81 days in the period 1909-1918 to an average of 101
days in the period 1949-1958. This large increase has a marked bearing on varietal and crop
usage.
A.B.S.
255. EK, C., C. HILLAIRE-MARCEL, et B. TRUDEL. 1981. Sédimentologie et paléoclimatologie
isotopique dans une grotte de Gaspésie, Québec. Géographie physique et Quaternaire
35(3):317-328.
The object of the study is a cave known as "Spéos de la Fée", at La Rédemption. Developed by
flowing water in Silurian limestones to the west of Lac Matapedia, its present morphology is
influenced by collapse features near the two entrances. In the principal passage-a dip tube-
water-lain silt and fine sand deposits are overlain by a diamicton containing clasts of
various lithological composition, and amongst them striated limestone pebbles. The isotopic
composition of the carbonate fraction of the sediments (6 13¢ and 6 180) indicate
that these fragments are derived directly from the bedrock. A stalactite dated at 7355
+ 190 BP (UQ-101) was analysed for its composition in 13¢ and 180. The results were
104
then compared to the isotopic composition of present day carbon dioxide and water in the
cave. The conclusions were reached that the precipitation of carbonates ( d3c =
-60/50 and 6 180 «= -109/ 9) occurred in equilibrium with water derived mainly
from snow melt. The 180 values of the concretion thus reflect winter precipitation
conditions.
A.A.
256. ELIAS, S.A. 1982. Holocene insect faunas from two sites at Ennadai Lake, Keewatin,
Northwest Territories, Canada. Quaternary Research 17(3):371-390.
Ennadai Lake, in the forest-tundra ecotonal region of Keewatin, Northwest Territories,
Canada, has been the subject of several paleoecological investigations (palynology, plant
macrofossils, fossil soils). This study concerns Holocene insect fossils at Ennadai, a new
approach in a region shown to be sensitive to climatic change. The Ennadai I site yielded 53
taxa, representing 13 families of Coleoptera and 7 families of other insects and arachnids,
including abundant ants. These fossils range in age from about 6300 to 630 yr B.P. The
Ennadai II site produced fossils of 58 taxa, including 13 beetle families and 15 families of
other arthropods, ranging in age from 4700 to 8/70 yr B.P. The insect evidence suggests the
presence of trees in the Ennadai region from 6000 to 2200 yr B.P. A conifer pollen decline
from 4800 to 4500 yr B.P. at Ennadai has previously been interpreted as an opening up or
retreat of forest in response to climatic cooling, but the insect fossils reveal the
continued presence of trees during this interval. Both insect assemblages suggest trends of
forest retreat and tundra expansion between about 2200 and 1500 yr B.P., presumably due to
climatic cooling, with a return of woodland by about 1000 yr B.P.
A.A.
257. ELSON, J.A. 1969. Late Quaternary marine submergence of Quebec. Revue Géographie de
Montréal 23(3):247-258.
About 220,000 km2 of Quebec was submerged mainly during the deglaciation of the last 13,000
years. This resulted from slow isostatic uplift of the crust concurrent with eustatic rise
of sea level. The earliest submergence was in the Gulf and the St. Lawrence estuary from
about 13,000 to 10,000 years ago. The Champlain Sea occupied the upper St. Lawrence and
Ottawa valleys from about 12,000 to 10,000 years ago and was succeeded by the smaller
Lampsilis Lake which was drained prior to 7,000 years ago. The Lake St. John area was
flooded by the Laflamme Sea from about 10,300 to 8,700 years ago. Marine submergence of
valleys and narrow parts of the coast in the Ungava Bay regions occurred from 8,000 to 6,000
years ago. The coast of Hudson and James bays was extensively inundated from about 7,000 to
3,000 years ago. Crustal uplifts ranging from 150 to 275 m have occurred since deglaciation,
generally at rates of from 5 to 10 m per century for the first 2,000 to 4,000 years.
Eustatic rise of sea level exceeded the rate of uplift roughly 10,800 years ago, sometime
between 6,000 to 8,000 years ago, and about 5,000 years ago, resulting in local temporary
regression and transgression of the sea. Fossils reflect conditions of salinity and
temperature in the submerged areas.
258. ELSON, J.-A. 1969. Radiocarbon dates, Mya arenaria phase of the Champlain Sea.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 6(3):367-372.
The history of the Champlain Sea is divided into an early cold period of subarctic water
termed the dHiatella phase that lasted from its inception about 11 800 years ago (Two
Creeks time), until a low water phase about 10 800 years ago (Younger Dryas or Valders time).
This was followed by an interval of warmer boreal water, here called the Mya arenaria
phase, that lasted from about 10 800 years ago until 10 000 years ago or the end of the
Champlain Sea.
105
General descriptions, previously unpublished, of Groningen dates GrN 2031 (10 870 +
10) Wawa), Chaser AOS ClO 450 ae OQ Wows, winch “es 2 0 (ClO “SO ae o@)
BP), and GrN 2035 (10 330 4 100 B-P.) are presented. These dates record the
Mya arenaria phase of the Champlain Sea, which may have had an initial rising
(transgressive) phase, though the stratigraphic evidence, supported by three sets of
radiocarbon dates, is not wholly conclusive.
A.A.
259. EMERSON, D. 1983. Late glacial molluscs from the Cooking Lake moraine, Alberta,
Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 20(1):160-162.
Several species of freshwater mollusc, with radiocarbon dates of 10 900 - 9050 years BP, have
been recovered from supraglacial and intraglacial lacustrine sediments in the Cooking Lake
moraine region of south-central Alberta, Canada. The organisms indicate the onset of a
warming trend in the region that lasted at least 2000 years, marking the final stages of
melting in the continental Wisconsin ice sheet.
This period of climatic amelioration coincides with a similar trend in southwestern Alberta
during the time interval 13 000 - 9000 years BP based also on the evidence of late and early
postglacial molluscan communities.
A.A.
260. EMILIANI, C. 1955. Pleistocene temperatures. Journal of Geology 63(6):538-578.
Through oxygen isotopic analyses of Foraminifera from Atlantic, Caribbean, and Pacific deep-
sea cores, the author obtains temperature records.
“In one Pacific core which extends to the Pliocene, the 610-cm level below top is believed to
represent the Plio-Pleistocene boundary. About fifteen complete temperature cycles occur
above this level, and the length of Pleistocene time is estimated at about 600,000 years.
“Closely spaced samples from short pilot cores furnish a detailed temperature record for
postglacial times. A continuous temperature increase from about 16,500 to about 6,000 years
ago is indicated, followed by a small temperature decrease. The temperature maximum at about
6,000 years ago is correlated with the “Climatic Optimum". ...
“Good correlation exists between times of temperature minima as indicated by extrapolated
rates of sedimentation and times of insolation minima in high northern latitudes. Control of
world climate during the Pleistocene by insolation in the high northern latitudes is
indicated. A retardation of about 5,000 years occurred between temperature and insolation
cycles." The author explains the glacial epoch and its ages by a theory combining
topographical and insolation effects. He believes a new ice age may begin in about 10,000
years.
A.B.S.
261. EMILIANI, C. 1971. The last interglacial: paleotemperatures and chronology. Science
171(3971):571-573;
The o18/016 analysis and Th230/pa231 dating of deep-sea cores showed that the last
interglacial age, with an early major temperature maximum followed by two smaller ones,
extended from 100,000 to 70,000 years ago and was preceded by a glacial age extending from
120,000 to 100,000 years ago. The 018/016 analysis and Th230 /pa231 dating of speleothems
confirm and refine these ages.
106
262. EMILIANI, C., and W.F. LIBBY. 1976. First Miami conference on isotope climatology and
paleoclimatology. Eos 57(11):830-836.
This conference included papers on solar neutrinos and the isotopic record from the ocean
floor, tree-rings, speleothems and fossil waters, geochronology and the Brunhes epoch and
radiocarbon and global climate. The major problem area was identified as the rate and
frequency of climatic change, the study of which is a prerequisite for achieving precise
climate prediction.
G.A.
263. ENGLAND, J. 1976. The maximum advance of the Greenland ice sheet onto northeastern
Ellesmere Island and subsequent events. American Quaternary Association, Abstracts
4:138.
Previous field work on northeastern Ellesmere Island indicated that the Greenland Ice Sheet
had formerly advanced onto the eastern margin of the Hazen Plateau. Evidence for this
advance was based on the presence of red granite erratics overlying the sedimentary rocks of
the Franklin Geosyncline. In 1975 a 20 km, east to west transect was made across central
Judge Daly Promontory, northeastern Ellesmere Island, at a point 25 km across from the
westernmost shore of Greenland. The upper limit of granite erratics in this locality clearly
reflects a former extension of the Greenland Ice Sheet onto Ellesmere Island. This advance,
however, is suprisingly limited and many upland surfaces along this transect extend above the
till which is the uppermost and oldest glacial event observed in the area. Periglacial rock
weathering on some of the unglaciated summits has evolved from bedrock through massive block-
fields to coarse frost hummocks and homogenous mats of travertine-coated rock chips (2-4 cm
in length). Weathering of the bedrock in the zone of the Greenland till is also considerable
(oxidation >lm, tors >2m) and, surrounding the tors, both the felsenmeer and thick
accumulations of colluvium are incorporating the sparse granite erratics. The granite
erratics are commonly characterized by frost shattering and active granular exfoliation. One
amino-acid date from shells in an ice-contact terrace (marine till) in the zone of the
Greenland advance tentatively dates at 80,000 - 160,000 B.P. and a peat palsa has accumulated
in the adjacent spillway.
Subsequent to this there occurred the maximum advance of the northeastern Ellesmere Island
ice out to Robeson Channel. Lateral moraines from this advance cross-cut the Greenland till
at lower elevations and represent a thin, topographically-controlled ice terminus which
floated and calved-off in the isostatically-depressed embayments along Robeson Channel.
Evidence for such ice shelves are present in two major valleys adjacent to Robeson Channel
where sharply descending kame moraines suddenly become horizontal for several kilometers.
There ice shelves suggest relative sea levels ca. 160-200 m above present. Weathering of the
Cape Rawson sandstone, a widely distributed erratic in this region, suggests that these
moraines predate the last glaciation. Five samples of shells associated with these ice-shelf
moraines and proglacial marine sediments indicate ages >35,000 B.P. based on the amino-acid
dating method whereas one 14C date on corresponding material is 29,700 + 5400 B.P.
In addition, bedded sands overridden by this advance contain the locally extinct species
Dryas octopetalla. No Greenland ice advance onto Ellesmere Island is in evidence
following the deposition of the outermost Ellesmere Island glacial till. Evidence from the
Quaternary stratigraphy on northeastern Ellesmere Island suggests that several weathering
zones of widely differing ages exist in the area. These surfaces are relevant to the
understanding of past glacial activity in the High Arctic, and consequently to the
interpretation of ice cores, the existence of refugia and paleoclimatic reconstructions.
A.A.
264. ENGLAND, J. 1976. Late Quaternary glaciation of the eastern Queen Elizabeth Islands,
N.W.T., Canada: Alternative models. Quaternary Research 6(2):185-202.
It has been suggested that during the last glaciation the Innuitian Ice Sheet existed over
the eastern Queen Elizabeth Islands. This is based on the pattern of postglacial emergence
107
over this area and the timing of driftwood penetration into the interisland channels.
Alternative interpretations of both sets of data raise questions about the presence of the
Innuitian Ice Sheet at this time. Field observations on northeastern Ellesmere Island, plus
additional data pertaining to the presence of multiple tills and “old” radiometric dates on
lacustrine deposits, shelly tills, and raised marine features suggest that the maximum
glaciation over this region, equivalent to the Innuitian Ice Sheet, predates the last
glaciation. Palaeoclimatic conditions are also discussed in relation to these data.
It seems reasonable to suggest.... that maximum glaciation over the Queen Elizabeth Islands,
equivalent to the Innuitian Ice Sheet, was attained when a meridional circulation pattern had
generally unrestricted access into the arctic archipelago. It is questionable, therefore,
that the Laurentide and Innuitian maxima were contemporaneous. It is more likely that their
buildup, in time, was out of phase.
It is suggested that during the last glaciation of the Queen Elizabeth Islands there was a
convergent but not coalescent advance of the existing upland icefields. This noncontiguous
ice cover over the Queen Elizabeth Islands is termed the Franklin Ice Complex. ees
suggested that the term Innuitian Ice Sheet be reserved for contiguous older glaciations over
this same area.
NINE
265. ENGLAND, J., and R.S. BRADLEY. 1978. Past glacial activity in the Canadian High
Arctic. Science 200(4339):265-270.
Field observations on northeast Ellesmere Island indicate that the maximum advance of the
northwest Greenland Ice Sheet was 100 kilometers beyond its present margin. This occurred
before the outermost Ellesmere Island ice advance, which took place more than 30,000 years
before present (B.P.). Recession from the Ellesmere Island ice margin began at least 28,000
to 30,000 and possibly more than 35,000 years B.P. During this sequence of glacial events,
significant land areas remained free of ice. The late Wisconsin ice extent along both
northeast Ellesmere Island and northwest Greenland was extremely limited, leaving an ice-free
corridor along Kennedy and Robeson channels. Recession from these ice margins is indicated
by initial postglacial emergence around 8100 to 8400 years B.P. The relatively minor extent
of late Wisconsin ice in the High Arctic probably reflects a period of extreme aridity
occasioned by the buildup of the Laurentide Ice Sheet to the south.
A.S.
266. EPSTEIN, S., and R.P. SHARP. 1959. Oxygen-isotope variations in the Malaspina and
Saskatchewan Glaciers. Journal of Geology 67(1):88-102.
Reports oxygen-isotope analysis of ice and firn samples collected in 1953-1954 from these
glaciers in Alaska and Canada. The method of analysis is described; and the data, tabulated
and graphed, are discussed as to the possibility of using oxygen-isotope relations as natural
tracers in glaciers. The 018/016 ratios in the samples varied with the climatic environment
in which the ice originated; ice from higher latitudes and altitudes had lower ratios. In
Malaspina Glacier, ice originating in the upper Seward Basin had a higher 018/016 ratio than
material supplied from higher mountain slopes bounding the basin. Oxygen-isotope data
confirm a former hypothesis that the deformed and thinned bands of ice in the outer part of
the glacier represent individual valley glaciers separated by medial moraines.
267. ERICSON, D.B., M. Ewing, and G. Wollin. 1964. Sediment cores from the arctic and
subarctic seas. Science 144(3623):1183-1192.
Presents a reconstruction of the Pleistocene climate of the Arctic Basin and Greenland Sea
based on study of 58 cores from the former and 26 from the latter. A similarity of
108
depositional processes between them and the Atlantic is revealed. The fluctuation in numbers
in Globigerina pachyderma tests, indicate climatically controlled variations in the
thickness and continuity of the arctic ice cover. Coiling direction of Globtgerina
suggests a northward shift of the 7.2°C isotherm at the end of the last glacial, and that the
isotherm has never extended into the Norwegian Sea in the past 70,000 years. Ice movements
in the area are also reconstructed.
268. ERICSON, D.B., M. EWING, G. WOLLIN, and B.C. HEEZEN. 1961. Atlantic deep-sea sediment
cores. Geological Society of America Bulletin 72(2):193-286.
Studies of lithology, particle-size distributions, and micropaleontology and chemical
analyses of 221 Atlantic and Caribbean deep-sea cores lead to new conceptions of processes of
sedimentation, rates of sediment accumulation, Pleistocene chronology, and pre-Pleistocene
history of the Atlantic basin.
Variations in the planktonic Foraminifera in 108 of the cores and extrapolation of rates of
sediment accumulation determined by 37 radiocarbon dates in 10 cores show that the last
period of climate comparable with the present ended about 60,000 years ago. A faunal change
indicating climatic amelioration, probably corresponding to the beginning of postglacial
time, occurred about 11,000 years ago. Cross-correlations by micropaleontological methods
establish the continuity of the climatic record deduced from the planktonic Foraminifera.
Study of variation in the planktonic Foraminifera leads to a different Pleistocene chronology
from that proposed by Emiliani (1955).
pA.A.
269. EWING, M. 1960. The ice ages theory. Journal of the Alberta Society of Petroleum
Geologists 8(7):191-201.
Presents oceanographic evidence for a major climatic change 11,000 yrs. ago, which terminated
the last ice age; and postulates conditions which may have caused glacial and interglacial
periods during the Pleistocene.
A.B.
270. EWING, M., and W.L. DONN. 1956. A theory of ice ages. Science 123(3207):1061-1066.
Contains “a preliminary report of new ideas related to the origin of glacial climates" based
on 20 years' observations. It is postulated that "some mechanical process has caused the
poles to migrate to positions very favorable for the development of glacial climates". The
changes during the Pleistocene are assumed to have resulted from alternations of ice-free and
ice-covered states of the Arctic Ocean caused by polar dislocation from its freely
circulating to enclosed areas. The same mechanism could explain similar climatic changes in
early epochs. The theory complies with the doctrine of uniformitarianism and claims no
external or catastrophic events.
A.B.
271. EWING, M., and W.L. DONN. 1960. On Pleistocene surface temperatures of the North
Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Science 131(3393):99.
Authors propose two additional interpretations to Ericson's hypothesis on the coiling
directions of Globigerina pachyderma and their relation to Pleistocene North Atlantic
temperatures: a hypothesis based on water mass distribution and a thermal node concept.
272. EWING, M., and W.L. DONN. 1961. Pleistocene climate changes. In: International
Symposium on Arctic Geology, Proceedings. Edited by: G.0. Raasch, University of
Toronto Press, Toronto. Volume 2. pp. 931-941.
Discusses the ice-free condition of the Arctic Ocean as the direct cause of the Pleistocene
glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere. Evidence indicating an open Arctic Ocean during the
Pleistocene is found in studies of air temperature gradients, postglacial uplifts, arctic
seismicity, and the overall heat budget of the arctic area. Glacial-interglacial stages of
the Pleistocene are explained by an oscillating meteorological model, which provides a direct
source for the large snow accumulation in the regions around the Arctic Ocean and for
alternating ice-free and ice-covered states of the ocean itself. Southern Hemisphere
glaciation, except for Antarctica, is explained as the result of global cooling produced by
the extensive glaciation in northern regions.
A.B.
273. EWING, M., and W.L. DONN. 1963. Polar wandering and climate. Society of Economic
Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Special Publication 10:94-99.
Abundant evidence indicates an open Arctic Ocean during the Wisconsin glacial stage; the ice-
free ocean is believed directly responsible for this glaciation. Alternating ice-free and
ice-covered states of the Arctic would account for oscillations of Pleistocene climate.
Climatic oscillations in the Northern Hemisphere produced similar variations in the Southern
Hemisphere; the Antarctic icecap however, probably persisted through the entire Pleistocene.
The cooling which began in the Oligocene and culminated in the Pleistocene is attributed to a
shift of the geographic poles from an open, freely circulating ocean environment to their
present thermally isolated positions.
A.B.
274. EWING, M., W.L. Donn, and W. Farrand. 1960. Revised estimate of Pleistocene ice volume
and sea-level lowering. Geological Society of America Bulletin 71(12), part
2:1861. (Abstract).
Studies in the Canadian Arctic Islands, Siberia, and Greenland suggest that the Pleistocene
ice sheets were thicker and covered a greater area than hitherto supposed. The estimate of
glacioeustatic fall in sea level (-300 ft.) is revised: -400 to -500 ft.
275. EYLES, N. 1977. Late Wisconsinan glacitectonic structures and evidence of postglacial
permafrost in north-central Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
14(12) 22797-2806.
Rhythmically-bedded glaciofluvial sediments deposited subaqueously and now exposed on an
emerged coastal foreland in north-central Newfoundland, exhibit postdepositional deformation
structures such as synclinal folds and faulted zones of ground collapse, the result of
melting of underlying buried glacier ice. A high rate of glaciofluvial deposition is
indicated. The development of fault systems in those sediments overlying decaying glacier
ice can be compared with laboratory simulations of vertical foundering in sedimentary rocks.
Ice-wedge casts transecting folded and faulted sections in the area are indisputable evidence
of subsequent permafrost conditions, i-e. a period when mean annual air temperatures lay
below -6°C. A rise of at least 10.4°C in mean annual air temperature is indicated since that
time. A severe periglacial climate is considered to have existed in the area from 12000 to
10000 years BP and ice wedges developed with a minimum growth rate of 1.25 mm/year.
Comparison with reports of ice-wedge casts in Nova Scotia and the west coast of Newfoundland
indicate that the period which they formed in north-central Newfoundland may be correlated
with the tundra pollen zone L-3 of Livingstone and Livingstone, the Greatlakian substage of
the Late Wisconsinan in Midcontinental North America.
A.A.
276. FAIRBRIDGE, R.W. 1972. Climatology of a glacial cycle. Quaternary Research 2(3):283-
302.
A "glacial cycle" is defined as a major global climatic oscillation of the order of 10° yr,
developed within an “ice age" sensu lato which may last 106-107 yr and which recurs at
widely spaced intervals in geologic time (ca. 2 x 108 yr). The ice age situation thus only
persists during 5-10% of all geologic time and is preconditioned by geotectonics and
not by extraterrestrial controls.
The repetitive nature of the glacial cycle is demonstrated by independent records from
(a) glacigenic, ice-melt deposits, ïi.e., tills and fluvioglacial terrace accumulations;
(b) eolian by-products, i-e., loess; (c) marine terraces and beach deposits, eustasy
inversely reflecting the ice volumes; and (d) deep-sea deposits, biologically and
lithologically reflecting the climatic events. Only the marine section offers a continuous,
uninterrupted record. Different chronometric techniques confirm a major cycle of the order
of 10° yr (eight repetitions in the last 700,000 yr), but there are multiple types of
modulation, in part related to self-accelerating feedback, either negative (retardation) or
positive, leading to acceleration.
Within any given cycle there is an Interglacial, Anaglacial, Pleniglacial and Kataglacial
phase, characteristics of which are repeated on a small scale in minor cycles. Their timing
is variable in a latitudinal sense, apparently steered by radiation changes that first affect
the tropics.
Interglacials are defined in their classical stratotype areas of NW Europe, by sedimentary
sequences characterized by the pollen of deciduous forests, pointing to climates at least as
warm as those of the present time. The present cycle began ca. 10,000 YBP, with the start of
the Holocene epoch, and the contemporary warm phase is seen as a typical interglacial stage.
Such warm peaks characteristically last about 10,000 yr. Symptoms of the expected ensuing
glaciation range from a global fall in temperature since mid Holocene, to tropical
desiccation (growth of deserts) and high latitude retreat of tree lines.
A.A.
277. FAIRBRIDGE, R.W., and C. HILLAIRE-MARCEL. 1977. An 8,000-yr palaeoclimatic record of
the "Double-Hale' 45-yr solar cycle. Nature 268(5619):413-416.
A series of isostatically-emerged Holocene beach ridges on the east side of Hudson Bay have
been precisely surveyed and dated back to 8,300 BP. They number 185 and show a nearly
uniform rhythm of about 45 yr correlated here with the 'Double-Hale' solar magnetic cycle.
(Time is in sidereal yr.) Longer correlations are suggested with eustatic sea-level curve
and with planetary conjunction cycles. The coupling mechanism with terrestrial
meteorological behaviour is believed to be by means of stratospheric generation of polar
cirrus cloud and low-latitude ozone, affecting the planetary albedo.
A.A.
278. FALCONER, G. 1966. Preservation of vegetation and patterned ground under a thin ice
body in northern Baffin Island, N.W.T. Geographical Bulletin 8:194-200.
A thin ice body in northern Baffin Island is undergoing rapid recession revealing undisturbed
patterned ground features and vegetation. A sample of moss thus exposed has a radiocarbon
age of 330 + 75 years, and supports previous estimates of the occurence of a
markedly more nival period in parts of arctic Canada two to three centuries ago.
279. FALCONER, G., J.T. ANDREWS, and J.D. IVES. 1965. Late Wisconsin end moraines in
northern Canada. Science 147(3658):608-610.
A system of end moraines nearly 2240 kilometers long has been identified by field
investigations and aerial photography. It extends through northeastern Keewatin, Melville
Peninsula, and Baffin Island and marks the border of a late-Wisconsin ice sheet centered over
Foxe Basin and Hudson Bay 8000 or 9000 years ago.
280. FALCONER, G., J.D. IVES, O.H. LOKEN, and J.T. ANDREWS. 1965. Major end moraines in
eastern and central Arctic Canada. Geographical Bulletin 7(2):137-153.
A system of end moraines more than 2,000 km long, has been identified by field investigation
and from air photographs. It runs parallel to the northeast coast of Baffin Island
approximately along the line of the fiord heads; it extends down the west coast of Melville
Peninsula and across northern Keewatin and demarcates the border of a late-Wisconsin ice
sheet that was centred over Foxe Basin and Hudson Bay between 8,000 and 9,000 years ago. The
various units of the system are described, and related radiocarbon dates are discussed. A
tentative correlation with the Cochrane Readvance and with moraine units in northwestern
Ontario and in the Lake Athabasca-Cree Lake area is made. The names “Cockburn Glacial Phase”
and “Cockburn Moraine System" are proposed for use on a regional scale; this involves a
redefinition of the Cockburn moraines of northeast Baffin Island as originally proposed by
Ives and Andrews (1963).
281. FIEUX, M., and H. STOMMEL. 1975. Preliminary look at feasibility of using marine
reports of sea surface temperature for documenting climatic change in the Western
North Atlantic. Journal of Marine Research 35 (Supplement): 83-95.
The nature and quality of sea-surface temperature (SST) records for 20°-40°N 50°-60°W have
been examined to determine their suitability for historical analysis of SST, and for evidence
of climatic variation. The data demonstrate, using six-year means for individual months, a
warming from 1910-1920 to a maximum in 1950-1960, and thereafter a cooling.
282. FILLON, R.H. 1975. Deglaciation of the Labrador continental shelf. Nature 253(5491):
429-431.
This study, which used 1,100 km of deep-towed 3.5 kHz sparker profiles, 1,200 km of side-scan
sonar records, 2,000 km of echo sounding profiles and 165 bottom sediment samples collected
during cruises of CSS Dawson and CFAV Sackville has identified moraines and other relict
glacial land forms on the outer Labrador Shelf.
Faunal evidence indicates a warming of ocean water in the eastern Arctic region beginning
before 8,000 yr BP. The Cockburn-Cochrane readvance of closely similar age has been
interpreted to be the result of a glacial surge to a new equilibrium profile in response to
rapid deglaciation of a part of Hudson Bay. It is therefore tempting to speculate that the
retreat of ice from the seaward edge of Hamilton Bank occurred at about the same time as the
opening of Hudson Bay and that both areas were deglaciated in response to a general warming
192
of the ice sheet. The ensuing readvance on Hamilton Bank is seen as an adjustment to a new
equilibrium profile and as a corollary to the Cockburn-Cochrane event.
A radiometric deglacial chronology for south-eastern Labrador has not yet been established.
Deglaciation dates of 16,000-14,000 yr BP have been inferred for the Labrador Shelf, but
published and unpublished l4cdates from the Hamlet Inlet area are consistently younger than
8,700 yr BP. These dates and the probable triggering effect of the climatic warming imply
that deglaciation of the Labrador Shelf may have been in progress as late as 9,000 yr BP.
Excerpts
283. FILLON, R.H. 1976. The Sangamonian/Wisconsinan transition in the Labrador Sea.
Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs 8(6):864.
Cores from the northern and eastern Labrador Sea are correlated with dated shard zones (9K
and 65K) from the North Atlantic (Ruddiman and Glover, 1972). The longest core (Hu 75-42)
from 62°40'N, 53°55'W and 2400 m w.d. appears to have a nearly constant sedimentation rate.
It was examined at 1.6K intervals through the Sangamonian/Wisconsinan transition. Comparison
with trigger cores as well as faunal, isotope and % C03 paleotemperature curves from other
areas has demonstrated that high radiolarian and diatom numbers consistently signify warm
episodes while N. pachyderma behaves reciprocally throughout much of the section.
Based on extrapolated ages, there appears to be a very close correspondence in time and sign
between oscillations in the radiolarian abundance curve of Hu 75-42 and paleotemperature
curves from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. This suggests that contemporaneous
oceanographic changes occur in arctic and tropical water masses with the advent of climatic
deterioration. These events appear to be masked in some intermediate areas and anomalous
water bodies such as the ice lowered Arctic Ocean. The spread of ice across channnels in the
Arctic Archipelago would have effectively blocked the Arctic Ocean source of cold, low
salinity Labrador Current Water. This would have, at least initially, retarded winter sea
ice development while allowing increased surface cooling and associated 0 enriched bottom
water formation. This could have caused a deepening of the lysocline and may be reponsible
for an increase in preserved WN. pachyderma tests during the climatic transition.
Abundant diatoms throughout the core imply an absence of any long lasting perennial ice cover
during the Wisconsinan.
284. FILLON, R.H., and J.C. DUPLESSY. 1980. Labrador Sea bio-, tephro-, oxygen isotopic
stratigraphy and late Quaternary paleo-oceanographic trends. Canadian Journal of
Earth Sciences 17(7):831-854.
A stratigraphic framework for eastern Labrador Sea cores has been developed for the interval
0-90,000 years BP through analysis of oxygen isotopes, volcanic ash, benthonic foraminifera,
and the radiolarian Diplocyclas davistana. Benthonic and planktonic foraminiferal
isotope stratigraphy and the time scale of Shackleton and Opdyke provide a basis for the
approximate dating of a series of marker events which include ash zones at ca. 59,000
and < 21,000 years BP; benthonic foraminiferal abundance maxima at ca. 83,000,
75,000, 60,000, 19,000, and 3,000 years BP; and D. davisiana percentage maxima at
ca. 90,000, 73,000, 64,000, 54,000, 45,000-32,000, and 10,000 years BP. Incursions of
subpolar planktonic foraminifera into the area during parts of isotopic stage 2 (between
about 13,000 and 25,000 years BP but probably excluding the 15,000-18,000 years BP glacial
maximum interval) and during the isotopic stage 4/5a transition (around 75,000 years BP)
suggest that the eastern Labrador Sea was free of sea ice, at least in summer during periods
of rapid continental ice sheet growth which lead to the isotopic stage 4 and stage 2 glacial
maxima. A larger than normal stage l/stage 2 difference in the isotopic composition of
benthonic foraminifera (1.8 0/00) implies that this open water and attendant surface cooling
was a potential source for colder than modern deep water. In contrast the Norwegian Sea was
a reservoir of warmer than modern deep water during the last glacial.
285. FISHER, D.A. 1979. Comparison of 105 years of oxygen isotope and insoluble impurity
profiles from the Devon Island and Camp Century ice cores. Quaternary Research
11(3):299-305.
Oxygen-isotope profiles for the Devon Island ice cap and Camp Century Greenland are affected
by a number of variables, some of which must have been the same for both sites. The
two 6 (180) records spanning about 120,000 years are brought into relative alignment by
comparison of major Ô features, and subsequent verification that the insoluble
particulate concentration records were also in phase for this alignment. The difference
between the Ô profiles is shown to be mainly a function of the altitude of the
accumulation area for Camp Century. This altitude seems to have been higher than present for
the last 100,000 years, suggesting the present flow line through the site has never been
shorter. The maximum altitude for the Camp Century accumulation area is 1500 m above the
present site and is almost synchronous with the maximum in particulate concentration that
occurs at 16,000 yr B.P. The synchronism is likely due to the maximum sea-level lowering
that exposed vast areas of continental shelf to wind erosion.
A.A.
286. FISHER, D.A., and R.M. KOERNER. 1981. Some aspects of climatic change in the High
Arctic during the Holocene as deduced from ice cores. In: Quaternary
Paleoclimate. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney. Geo Abstracts, Norwich. pp. 249-271.
Time series of climate-related variables obtained from Greenland and Arctic Canada are
presented and compared to each other and to other climate-related time series. Oxygen
isotope ratios from the Devon Island Ice Cap are shown to provide a detailed proxy
temperature record of a 2-3°C cooling over the last 5000 years. They also contain variations
in anti-phase with 14¢ production rates, thus lending some support to the solar-constant
theory of climate change. Insoluble micro-particle concentrations and acidity of the Devon
ice core samples are nearly constant over the last 5000 years, suggesting that atmospheric
turbidity and volcanic activity have not been the primary controlling mechanisms in the
cooling since the climatic optimum 5000 years ago. There is a significant trend of
decreasing ionic content of the ice, which is explainable in terms of decreasing availability
of marine-derived salts and sulphates and/or decreasing cloudiness over the 5000 years of
record.
The data representing the last 500 years are examined in detail and both the 64 (180),
and the varying amounts of ice layering, attest to the unique coldness of the Little Ice Age
some 200 years ago, and the equally unique warmth of the first half of the present century.
A preliminary study of acid layers, Ô (180), and melt layers in the cores, lead the
authors to conclude that it is dangerous to assume that volcanic activity has caused major
temperature fluctuations in ths 500-year interval.
A.A.
287. FITZHUGH, W. 1977. Population movement and culture change on the central Labrador
coast. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 288:481-497.
For the purpose of this paper three conclusions are of special interest: (1) seven major
cultural changes have occurred within the past 7,000 years; (2) each change exhibits
characteristics indicating the arrival of a new population, rather than development from
existing traditions; (3) each is also an ethnic shift either from Indian to Eskimo or vice
versa.
The most important independent variable in northern ecology is climate. Its influence on
animal and human distributions and population sizes is relatively well understood and might
help explain the observed culture history pattern.
As can be seen, there is a remarkably close correlation of culture-historical events--
specifically, population movements--on the central Labrador coast with major climate shifts
in the North American Arctic and Subarctic: (1) Maritime Archaic Indians moved north along
114
the Labrador coast during the period of northward forest expansion in the Hypsithermal. In
northern regions they may actually precede the forest, first occupying the central and north
coast during the alder-birch thicket vegetation period, a fact that may help explain their
maritime specialization. (2) Maritime Archaic retreat coincides with Pre-Dorset Eskimo
advance south into the central coast. Evidence of a cooling trend is not found in pollen
diagrams but is seen in ice core data. (3) Brinex-Charles Intermediate Indian groups move
north at least to the Okak region by 3,400 BP during an ice-core warm period, but glacier
advances and pollen diagrams suggest this is a cooling period. (4) Groswater Dorset culture
moves south at the beginning of a cool period, which intensifies by 2,500 BP, when (5) Early
Middle Dorset people advance south, replacing Groswater Dorset on the central coast.
(6) Point Revenge Indians move north in an intensifying warm period ca. 1,000 BP, replacing
Dorset Eskimos at least as far north as Okak. (7) Labrador Inuit (Eskimo) replace Indians on
all of the central Labrador coast about 400 years ago, at the onset of the Little Ice Age.
This paper demonstrates that climatic change and associated environmental shifts along the
forest-tundra boundary in central Labrador may have influenced cultural events repeatedly.
The coincidence of most ethnic changes and population movements with recognized climatic
shifts strongly suggests causal relationships, filtered, as expected, through social and
economic processes. The repeated shifts in ethnic boundaries conform closely to the proposed
model of culture change based on traditional Eskimo and Indian adaptations to shifts in
forest and Arctic marine environments. It suggests that habitat expansion rather than new
cultural adaptation was the mechanism by which these changes occurred. There is also
indication that the ethnic tension zone that existed for the last 4,000 years resulted in
competition for common resources and affected cultural distributions and movements and rates
of change.
Excerpts
288. FLEROW, C.C. 1967. On the origin of the mammalian fauna of Canada. In: The Bering
Land Bridge. Edited by: D.M. Hopkins. Stanford University Press, Stanford.
pp- 271-280.
We can say confidently that the typical Pleistocene mammals of northeastern Asia were unable
to survive the period of the Holocene thermal maximum and the resulting change in the
vegetation. The formation of Sphagnum associations (muskegs) in northern regions
deprived most species of large herbivorous animals (including horses, oxen, and many species
of deer and antelope) of their main source of forage. Rhinoceroses and mammoths became
extinct at the same time and probably for the same reason. Only the musk-ox and the wood
bison survived this crisis in America, persisting in areas where remnants of Pleistocene
landscapes were preserved. These “living fossils", once contemporaries of the mammoth,
survived to the present time as the last representatives of the Pleistocene fauna.
Excerpts
289. FLETCHER, J.0. 1968. The influence of the Arctic pack ice on climate. In: Causes of
Climatic Change. Edited by: J.M. Mitchell, Jr. Meteorological Monographs
8(30):93-99.
An assessment is made of each component of the heat budgets of the surface and of the earth-
atmosphere system in the central Arctic, both for an ice-covered ocean and for an ice-free
ocean. The annual patterns of atmospheric heat loss for both conditions are obtained as
residuals; the relation of these patterns to general atmospheric circulation and glacier
accumulation is discussed.
It is shown that atmospheric cooling in the Arctic is closely related to certain indices of
atmospheric circulation. An ice-free Arctic Ocean would probably be associated with
atmospheric circulation more vigorous in summer at subarctic latitudes and of comparable
vigor in winter. The cool summers and warm, moist winters would be highly conducive to
glacier growth.
290. FLINT, R.F. 1947. Glacial Geology and the Pleistocene Epoch. Wiley and Sons, New
York. 589 pp.
A portion of the book is devoted to climate and its fluctuations. Conditions in Canada
during glacials and interglacials are described. Postglacial fluctuations are described in
greater detail, using evidence from lakes, invertebrates, botany, sea floor, etc. Various
hypotheses to explain climatic change are reviewed. Changes in the distribution of plants
and animals in concordance with climatic variations are presented.
L.G.
291. FLINT, R.F. 1952. The ice age in the North American Arctic. Arctic 5(3):135-152.
Contains remarks on the glacial and interglacial ages together constituting the Pleistocene
epoch inaccurately termed the "ice age”. Then follow sections on evidence of glaciation;
distribution and types of former glaciers; growth and disappearance of glaciers; evidence of
repeated glacial ages; glacial lakes; the postglacial sea and rise of the land; chronology
and causes of glaciation; glaciation and life.
A.B.
292. FLINT, R.F. 1976. Physical evidence of Quaternary climatic change. Quaternary
Research 6(4):519-528.
Changes of climate have characterized parts, and at times apparently all, of Earth's surface.
Changes that have occurred during the Quaternary period have special significance because,
being comparatively recent, they are revealed by physical geologic features that are still at
or near the surface, as yet little damaged by erosion. Although some of these features can
be interpreted in terms that are broadly quantitative, most are still only qualitative in
that they are limited to specifying climatic parameters that are positive or negative
relative to those prevailing today in the same area. The common parameters indicated by the
physical evidence include temperature (mean annual or summer) and precipitation (mean annual
or seasonal). More rarely directions and minimum speeds of effective winds can be specified.
A useful basis for recontructions of former climates is a check list of the relict geologic
features from which climatic inferences can be drawn. Such a list includes: (1) former
presence of glaciers: features of glacial erosion, sediments deposited by glaciers,
structures created by glacial pushing and dragging; (2) former presence of floating ice:
scorings; ice-rafted sediments; ice-rafted clasts in alluvium; (3) displacement of the
regional snowline; (4) latitude limits reached by former ice sheets; (5) fluctuation of
isotopic paleotemperatures; (6) eustatic fluctuation of sea level; (7) relict features
created by frost action; frost-wedged rubble; colluvium deposited by gelifluction and frost
creep; frost cracks, ice-wedge casts, and patterned ground; (8) relict eolian features: wind-
blown sediments, deflation basins; (9) pluvial features; (10) fluvial features; (11) relict
soils; color of sediments; (12) stratigraphy of caverns; (13) temperature and precipitation.
A.A.
293. FORD, D.C., R.S. HARMON, H.P. SCHWARCZ, T.M. WIGLEY, and P. THOMPSON. 1976. Geo-
hydrologic and thermometric observations in the vicinity of the Columbia Icefield,
Alberta and British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Glaciology 16(74):219-229.
The Columbia Icefield rests upon limestones containing natural caves that drain waters from
the glacier sole. The principal cave is sealed at one end by an extrusion of glacier ice 300
m below the icefield surface. The hydrologic regime of the cave indicates that the modern
icefield is temperate in character and that water is present at the glacier sole throughout
the year. An interpretation of the air temperature pattern in the cave suggests that the
geothermal flux to the glacier is only 10-40% of the expected value because heat is
abstracted by melt water circulating through the rock. U, Th and O isotopic analyses of
116
calcite speleothems further indicate that the base of the icefield has probably been during
the Classical Wisconsinan - main Wiirm period. The inundation implies maintenance of a
permanent water table at some hundreds of meters above the base in a valley glacier 750-800 m
in depth.
Specimen 73 010 displays equilibrium fractionation. It is considered that the 6 180
variation probably represents a variation of temperature of approximately 5 deg, that is 2
deg warmer to 3 deg cooler than the present value of +3.5°C at the site. An increase of 2
deg in the mean annual external air temperature would not suffice alone to destroy the
Columbia Icefield.
Probably this persisted at approximately its modern dimensions during the period 155-93 ka.
Three warm peaks and one cold trough occur in the 73 010 record. The peaks correlate well
with 6 189 peaks that we have measured in specimens which grew at the same time in
caves in Bermuda and Kentucky. There is also good agreement with the two older of the three
raised coral reefs in Barbados taken to represent climatic optima during the Last
Interglacial (Broecker & van Donk, 1970). This suggests that the deep cave speleothems of
Castleguard Cave (and therefore the hydrogeothermal state there at a given time) record
climatic events of greater than continental scale.
AA
294. FORD, D.C., and H.P. SCHWARCZ. 1977. Radiometric age studies of speleothem.
Geological Survey of Canada Paper 77-1C:49-51.
The dating and stable isotopic analysis of speleothem has been continued to extend our record
of temperature and glacial activity in Canada during the past 350 000 years. Recent work on
this project was focused on Vancouver Island where an extensive series of caves was sampled
for speleothem. Paleomagnetic studies of speleothem from Vancouver Island and the Rocky
Mountains have been initiated. Both 230Th/234y and 231pa/235y dating are being applied to
speleothem samples through alpha-particle spectrometry. Analyses of stable isotope profiles
were made from the Vancouver Island suite of samples. Fluid inclusion studies of speleothem
have begun using the direct analysis of 189/160 ratios through fluorination of water
liberated by crushing of speleothem. An attempt is being made to improve the uranium series
dating of molluscs, through beneficiation of the molluscan tests.
In co-operation with Dr. R.S. Harmon, a synthesis of dates on speleothems formed in caves
along the western North American Cordillera over the past 350 000 years has been completed.
Periods of intense glaciation are recognizable by the absence of appreciable deposition of
travertine and hiatuses in the growth of individual speleothems. These interruptions
presumably are due to freezing of water sources and to lowering of biotic activity in the
overlying soil. From this synthesis periods of cool climate can be recognized at the
following intervals: (Ka = 1000 years BP) 345-320 Ka, 275-240 Ka, 180-155 Ka, and 90-20 Ka.
The intensity of the warm intervals, as inferred from the aggregate frequency of speleothem
growth during the interval, appears to have decreased from 350 000 years BP to the present.
Excerpts
295. FOSCOLOS, A.E., N.W. RUTTER, and O.L. HUGHES. 1977. The use of pedological studies in
interpreting the Quaternary history of central Yukon Territory. Geological Survey
of Canada Bulletin 27:1-48.
Soils and paleosols were investigated from pre-Reid (early Pleistocene), Reid (Illinoian or
early Wisconsinan) and McConnell (classical Wisconsinan) surfaces in central Yukon.
Paleosols on the pre-Reid surface indicate that it was subjected to two distinct climates, an
initial one which was warm and subhumid with grassland-shrub vegetation and later a more
temperate and humid climate characterized by the development of a Luvisol with a red,
textural B horizon, in places over 190 cm (75 in) thick. Subsequently, the climate became
colder, resulting in the Reid glaciation. Thermal contraction cracks developed in the pre-
Reid deposits beyond the limit of Reid glaciation and were filled with eolian sand, as well
as minor silt and clay, to form sand wedges. During the subsequent Reid-McConnell
interglacial, a cool, subhumid climate prevailed as evidenced by the Brunisolic
characteristics of paleosols on deposits of Reid age. This was followed by a cold period
which climaxed with the advent of the McConnell glaciation. Sand wedges also formed in the
deposits of the Reid glaciation; the wedges are shallower and narrower than those on the pre-
Reid surface, suggesting a shorter cold period. During retreatal stages of the McConnell
glaciation, a thin blanket of loess was deposited over McConnell, Reid and pre-Reid surfaces,
covering the soils on the Reid and pre-Reid surfaces during postglacial (Holocene) time.
Finally, Brunisolic soils developed on the loess blanket and, locally, where the loess is
very thin or lacking, on deposits of McConnell age.
A.A.
296. FRENZEL, B. 1966. Climatic change in the Atlantic/sub-Boreal transition in the
Northern Hemisphere: botanical evidence. In: World Climate from 8000 to O B.C.
Edited by: J.S. Sawyer. Royal Meteorological Society, London. pp. 99-123.
Summarizes various theories of climatic changes in Europe and North America during this
period. One chart correlates six Alaskan studies with twelve others in North America,
another uses data from Kamchatka. Evidence indicates that the beginning of the sub-Atlantic
climatic deterioration began 2000-1500 BC in Yakutia and northern Siberia but much later
elsewhere in Eurasia. A valuable bibliography of palynological references is included.
297. FRENZEL, B. 1973. Climatic Fluctuations of the Ice Age. (Translated by A.E.M. Nairn).
Case Western Reserve University Press, Cleveland. 306 pp.
A text book on climatic changes. Relevant sections include methods of investigating ancient
climates; principal climatic fluctuations and changes of the Ice Age; and climatic
fluctuations during the last cold period in the Northern Hemisphere.
L.G.
298. FRENZEL, B. 1975. The distribution pattern of Holocene climatic change in the Northern
Hemisphere. In: Long-term Climatic Fluctuations. World Meteorological
Organization, Geneva WMO-421. pp. 105-118.
The factors to be taken into consideration before evaluating past climate are briefly
considered, followed by a discussion of the difficulties in finding out the times when
climate changed definitely.
G.A.
299. FREY, D.G. 1975. Interpretation of Quaternary paleoecology from Cladocera and midges,
and prognosis regarding useability of other organisms. Quaternary Non-marine
Paleoecology Conference, University of Waterloo, Waterloo. Program and
Abstracts.
The offshore sediments of a lake represent an integration by species of the Cladocera.
Actual abundance of littoral species increases toward shore, whereas planktonic species
exhibit a peak abundance in the region of the metalimnion. Changes in the ratio of
planktonic to littoral species has been used to infer fluctuations in water level. Changes
in species composition, including species substitution, allow interpretations about natural
eutrophication, development of marshes peripherally during the filling-in process, and marked
changes in climate in non-glaciated regions. Shifts in size distribution of species or among
species are possibly the result of immigration of planktivorous fishes. Approximation of
chydorid distribution by species to the MacArthur broken-stick model indicates stability and
118
balance within the aquatic ecosystem. Departures from this predicted distribution,
representing perturbations in the system, have been shown to be associated with change in
climate, volcanism, and major activities of man. Community composition is related to lake
type, as shown by multivariate analysis. Because the remains of the Cladocera can be
identified precisely to species, they can be used for working out present and past
distributions and inferring morphological and ecological stability.
Remains of midges (Chironomidae and Chaoborinae) likewise show a peak abundance in the
general region of the metalimnion, resulting from the offshore transport of littoral species,
but, except in response to marked and rapid changes in water level, relatively few remains of
littoral species become incorporated into hypolimnetic sediments. Hence, the species
recovered from these sediments provide good indication of changes in oxygen content
accompanying eutrophication, or oligotrophication. Initial successional changes in ultra-
oligotrophic lakes are possibly controlled more by the food levels in the sediments than
changes in oxygen content of the overlying water. Some recent studies are remarkably
detailed and incisive in their interpretation.
Some other groups of invertebrates (aside from Coleoptera, molluscs, and ostracods reported
elsewhere in this symposium) that are well represented in lake and bog sediments seem to have
a high information content but, except for bog rhizopods, are still relatively unexploited
scientifically. These include the rhizopods, sponges, neorhabdocoeles, rotifers, bryozoans,
copepods, and mites. The species of bog rhizopods show definite relationships to past
fluctuations in water content, hence regional climate, with the tyrofoxene species being
associated with recurrence surfaces.
Interpretation of the past requires an integration of evidence not only from the
morphological remains of various groups of plants (including algae, especially diatoms) and
animals but also sedimentary chemistry, mineralogy, and the fabric or structure of the
sediments.
A.A.
300. FRITTS, H.C. 1971. Dendroclimatology and dendroecology. Quaternary Research 1(4):419-
449.
Dendrochronology is the science of dating annual growth layers (rings) in woody plants. Two
related subdisciplines are dendroclimatology and dendroecology. The former uses the
information in dated rings to study problems of present and past climates, while the latter
deals with changes in the local environment rather than regional climate.
Successful applications of dendroclimatology and dendroecology depend upon careful
stratification. Ring-width samples are selected from trees on limiting sites, where widths
of growth layers vary greatly from one year to the next (sensitivity) and autocorrelation of
the widths is not high. Rings also must be cross-dated and sufficiently replicated to
provide precise dating. This selection and dating assures that the climatic information
common to all trees, which is analogous to the “signal”, is large and properly placed in
time. The random error or non-climatic variations in growth, among trees, is analogous to
“noise” and is reduced when ring-width indices are averaged for many trees.
Some basic facts about the growth are presented along with a discussion of important
physiological processes operating throughout the roots, stems, and leaves. Certain gradients
associated with tree height, cambial age, and physiological activity control the size of the
growth layers as they vary throughout the tree. These biological gradients interact with
environmental variables and complicate the task of modeling the relationships linking growth
with environment.
Biological models are described for the relationships between variations in ring widths from
conifers on arid sites, and variations in temperature and precipitation. These climatic
factors may influence the tree at any time in the year. Conditions preceding the growing
season sometimes have a greater influence on ring width than conditions during the growing
season, and the relative effects of these factors on growth vary with latitude, altitude, and
differences in factors of the site. The effects of some climatic factors on growth are
negligible during certain times of the year, but important at other times. Climatic factors
are sometimes directly related to growth and at other times are inversely related to growth.
Statistical methods are described for ascertaining these differences in the climatic response
of trees from different sites.
A practical example is given of a tree-ring study and the mechanics are described for
stratification and selection of tree-ring materials, for laboratory preparation, for cross-
dating, and for computer processing. Several methods for calibration of the ring-width data
with climatic variation are described. The most recent is multivariate analysis, which
allows simultaneous calibration of a variety of tree-ring data representing different sites
with a number of variables of climate.
Several examples of applications of tree-ring analysis to problems of environment and climate
are described. One is a specification from tree rings of anomalies in atmosphere circulation
for a portion of the Northern Hemisphere since 1700 A.D. Another example treats and
specifies past conditions in terms of conditional probabilities. Other methods of comparing
present climate with past climate are described along with new developments in reconstructing
past hydrologic conditions from tree rings.
Tree-ring studies will be applied in the future to problems of temperate and mesic
environments, and to problems of physiological, genetic, and anatomical variations within and
among trees. New developments in the use of X-ray techniques will facilitate the measurement
and study of cell size and cell density. Tree rings are an important source of information
on productivity and dry-matter accumulation at various sites. Some tree-ring studies will
deal with environmental pollution. Statistical developments will improve estimation of
certain past anomalies in weather factors and the reconstruction of atmosphere circulation
associated with climate variability and change. Such information should improve chances for
measuring and assessing the possibility of inadvertent modification of climate by man.
A.A.
301. FRITTS, H.C. 1976. Tree Rings and Climate. Academic Press, London and New York.
The history and method of tree ring dating and cross-dating is reviewed. By the application
of statistics to tree ring and climatic data, a response or transfer function is derived,
relating monthly precipitation and temperature to growth at a given site. Using multivariate
Statistics, an assembly of sites with differing response functions can be calibrated against
known climatic conditions over a given period. By substituting tree ring data from an
earlier period of the assembly into the model, estimates can be made of climatic conditions
in this period. The climate reconstructions can be verified by independent tree ring data,
and by journals, historical data and other forms of proxy data.
G.A.
302. FRITTS, H.C. 1981. Regionally averaged climatic variation over North America recon-
structed by tree-ring analysis. First Conference on Climatic Variations of the
American Meteorological Society, January 19-23, San Diego. Abstracts. p. 24.
Spatial arrays of seasonal temperature, precipitation, and pressure anomalies over North
America and the North Pacific for 1901-62 are calibrated with spatial arrays of tree-ring
width anomalies from western North America via their principal components. The resulting
transfer functions are applied to principal components of past tree growth to obtain
estimates of the principal components of climate, which are then transformed into real world
estimates of past climate. All estimates are verified against independent climatic data, and
the means of two or three estimates for each season are pooled to obtain verified annual
averages, regionally averaged values, and time series which were analyzed for the variance
spectra. Samples of the most interesting variations are shown; interrelationships between
temperature, precipitation, and pressure are described; and some of their applications to
problems of climatic variation are discussed.
A.A.
120
303 + FRITTS > H.C. > T.J. BLASING > E. DeWITT > G.R. LOFGREN, and K.B. McDOUGALL. 1976 .
Reconstruction of past climatic wariability. Final Report, University of Arizona,
Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, Tucson. 71 pp.
The following are among the achievements made during the first 3 years of a 5-year project to
reconstruct past climatic fluctuations in the northern hemisphere from variations in the
growth rings of trees: 1) growing international collaboration stimulated by this research
effort; 2) development of 127 high quality tree ring chronologies from North America and
Europe; 3) the establishment of the international tree ring data bank; 4) evaluation of
multivariate techniques for calibration and analysis; and 5) the selection of a revised data
set for reconstructing North American climate.
G.A.
304. FRITTS, H.C., G.R. LOFGREN, and G.A. GORDON. 1979. Reconstructing seasonal to
centenary variations in climate from tree-ring evidence. International Conference
on Climate and History, University of East Anglia, Norwich, July 8-14, Review
Papers. pp. 29-58.
Ring-width variation from conifers in arid North America provide information on short time-
scale variations in paleoclimate. Dendroclimatic data are especially useful because: 1) they
can be dated to the exact year, 2) they can resolve seasonal fluctuations in climate, 3) the
climatic signal can be separated from nonclimatic noise, and 4) the data are available from a
variety of climatic regimes throughout the world. Dendroclimatic reconstructions are
obtained by calibrating 65 tree-ring chronologies from western North America with spatial
variations in seasonal temperature, precipitation, or sea level pressure for North America
and the North Pacific. Spatial variations in the tree-ring record are transformed into
statistical estimates of variations in the seasonal meteorological variables from 1600-1962.
The synoptic-scale climatic anomalies that are detected may last from one season to several
centuries. Verification of the reconstructions is accomplished using independent
meteorological data, historical information, or proxy data. The well-dated, spatially
continuous seasonal maps of climate derived from tree rings allow the association of isolated
historical facts with meaningful synoptic-scale climatic patterns. The dendroclimatic
reconstructions along with historical and other proxy data can serve as a reliable record
bridging the gap between the modern meteorological record and the long-term record of
traditional paleoclimatology.
305. FRITTS, H.C., G.R. LOFGREN, and G.A. GORDON. 1979. Variations in climate since 1602 as
reconstructed from tree rings. Quaternary Research 12(1):18-46.
Spatial anomalies of tree-ring chronologies can provide information on high-frequency spatial
anomalies in paleoclimate representing droughts, colder-than-normal intervals, and other
synoptic-scale features. Examples are presented in which 65 tree-ring chronologies are
calibrated with spatial anomalies in North American meteorological records of seasonal
temperature and precipitation, and with sea-level pressure over the North American and North
Pacific sectors. Multivariate transfer functions are obtained that scale and convert the
past spatial variations in the tree-ring record into estimates of past variations in the
meteorological record. Objective verifications of the reconstructions are obtained using
independent meteorological observations for time periods other than those used in the
calibration. Historical information or other proxy data from the 19th century are also used
for verifying the decadal (or longer) and regional reconstructions and for identifying
strengths and weaknesses of the various sources of information. The reconstructed winter and
summer temperatures for the United States and southwestern Canada and winter precipitation
for the Columbia Basin and California during the 17/7th through 19th centuries were found to
differ from the 20th century means with large-scale variations evident. Extreme winters
similar to 1976-77 are also identified and found to be more frequent in the past, especially
in the 17th century. The climatic reconstructions in this time domain are dominated by high-
frequency-synoptic-scale fluctuations that can be interpreted as cyclonic-scale changes in
atmospheric circulation. Such reconstructions may be useful for testing various climatic
121
models and estimates developed primarily from 20th-century meteorological data against the
longer estimated record for the 17th through 19th centuries.
A.A.
306. FRITZ, P., and T.W. ANDERSON. 1975. Paleoclimates and Lake Erie: a study using 180 and
13¢ in Mollusca and Ostracoda shells. Quaternary Non-marine Paleoecology
Conference, University of Waterloo, Waterloo. Program and Abstracts.
The oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions of Mollusca and Ostracoda shells from sediments
of Lake Erie (core #13194) can be correlated with major climatic and hydrodynamic events.
The lowest 180 contents (5180 = -10 to -129/ 9 PDB) were found in shells formed some
13,000 to 15,000 years ago in a glacial lake preceeding Early Lake Erie. This lake had
initially little or no aquatic vegetation and the dissolved inorganic carbon had a
613¢ - 00/50 PDB. The 13C contents decrease with increasing vegetation and reach
their lowest levels about 12,700 years ago. At this time we observe also a rise of about
40/00 in 180 in the lake which points towards a major climatic improvement at the time of the
spruce advance in the drainage basin. Our records are then missing until about 15,000 yr BP
at which time both 180 and l3C are still identical to what they were 12,700 years ago - which
does not imply constant climatic conditions during this interval. Between about 10,000 and
8,000 a second rise in 180 occurs and 6180 values as high as -20 /op. are now re onde
corresponding with the onset of pine. This coincides with a rise in 3C to about -49/ 09
which indicates that the climatic improvement was paralleled by a deepening of Lake Erie and
thus a decrease in the relative importance of aquatic vegetation. During subsequent
millennia the 180 slowly decreases with only two clearly visible breaks; one at about 6,000
yr BP and the other in the very recent history. At both times the 180 contents decreased by
1 to 20/50 and are probably related to changes in the hydro- Se regime of Lake Erie. The
3C contents increase slowly and reach again values close to 00 /00 n the benthos samples.
However, man's activities and the input of increased amounts of isotopically M carbon
into the lake has caused a decrease in 613C in modern samples by as much as 70 /00 from
the value observed in the benthos.
A.A.
307. FRITZ, P., T.W. ANDERSON, and C.F.M. LEWIS. 1975. Late-Quaternary climatic trends and
history of Lake Erie from stable isotope studies. Science 190(4211):267-269.
Oxygen and carbon isotope measurements on mollusk and carbonate shells separated from a long
sediment core in central Lake Erie document climatic changes of the Great Lakes region and
the evolution of Lake Erie since deglaciation. On the basis of 180 data, two major climatic
improvements are recognized, one occurring between 13,000 and 12,000 years before the present
(B.P.) and the other between 10,000 and 8,000 years B.P. Changing drainage patterns are also
reflected in the 180 contents of the Lake Erie water. Carbon isotopes reflect changes in
aquatic vegetation and water depth. The settlement and industrialization of the lake Erie
drainage basin is documented in the 13¢ and 180 contents of modern mollusks.
308. FULTON, R.J. 1971. Radiocarbon geochronology of southern British Columbia. Geological
Survey of Canada Paper 71-37:1-28.
The radiocarbon-dated Quaternary history of southern British Columbia extends over the past
52,000 years. This interval has been subdivided into 3 major geologic-climate units: Olympia
Interglaciation, Fraser Glaciation, and Postglacial.
In southern British Columbia the Olympia Interglaciation began more than 52,000 years ago
and ended about 19,000 years BP. Meagre information available from the west coast suggests
that the climate during this period was cool and damp but probably not too different from
present. Bison and Equus bones collected from deposits of this age in the
122
interior of British Columbia indicate that the climate was such that it could support large
herbivorous animals. The Olympia Interglaciation sedimentary framework, the processes active
and the deposits formed, were similar to those of the same area at present. Three major
depositional cycles have been recognized: (1) an early period of deposition at base levels
higher than present, (2) a period of low base levels, and (3) a late episode of deposition at
base levels above those of present day.
Fraser Glaciation ice did not occupy the lowlands of southern British Columbia until later
than 19,000 years ago, but probably began to build-up in the mountainous areas before that
time. Parts of the west coast were ice-free about 13,000 years ago and all of southern
British Columbia was probably as free of ice as at present by 10,000 years BP.
From the time of deglaciation to about 8,000 years ago, isostatic movements tended to control
local sea level and to mask eustatic changes. The apparent sea levels were high, due to
isostatic depression at the time of Fraser deglaciation. Isostatic adjustments caused local
sea levels to fall during deglaciation, rise again about 11,000 years ago and fall below the
present level about 8,000 years BP. At that time, it appears that approximate isostatic
equilibrium was achieved and the later sea level history is largely one of changes in
response to worldwide eustatic fluctuations.
The Postglacial record of southern British Columbia includes four dated ash falls:
(1) Mazama, about 6,600 year BP; (2) St. Helens Y, about 3,300 years BP; (3) Bridge River,
about 2,400 years BP, and (4) St. Helens W. (?), later than 1,200 years BP. The climate was
cold 12,000 years ago, but it warmed sufficiently to be similar to the present when most of
southern British Columbia was deglaciated. A thermal maximum about 6,000 years ago was
followed by a cooler period which persisted until present. Glacial advances took place 3,000
to 2,500 years ago and in the past few centuries. During this most recent advance, the
alpine glaciers of southern British Columbia were more extensive than at any time since the
end of Fraser Glaciation about 10,000 years ago.
A.A.
309. FULTON, R.J., and G.W. SMITH. 1978. Late Pleistocene stratigraphy of south-central
British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 15(6):971-980.
The late Pleistocene deposits of south-central British Columbia record two major glacial and
two major nonglacial periods of deposition. The oldest recognized Pleistocene deposits,
called Westwold Sediments, were deposited during a nonglacial interval more than 60000 years
ago. Little information is available on the climate of this period, but permafrost may have
been present at one time during final stages of deposition of Westwold Sediments. The latter
part of this nonglacial period is probably correlative with the early Wisconsin Substage of
the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Valley area. However, deposition of the Westwold Sediments may
have begun during the Sangamon Interglacial.
Okanagan Centre Drift is the name applied to sediments deposited during the glaciation that
followed deposition of Westwold Sediments. Okanagan Centre Drift is known to be older than
43800 years BP and probably is older than 51000. It is considered to correlate with an early
Wisconsin glacial period.
Bessette Sediments were deposited during the last major nonglacial period, which in south-
central British Columbia persisted from at least 43800 years BP (possibly more than 51000) to
about 19000 years BP. This episode corresponds to Olympia Interglaciation of the Pacific
Coast region and the mid-Wisconsin Substage of the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence Valley area.
During parts of Olympia Interglaciation the climate was probably as warm as the present-day
climate in the interior of British Columbia. Information from coastal regions indicates that
there may have been periods of cooler and moister climate.
Kamloops Lake Drift was deposited during the last major glaciaton of south-central British
Columbia. Ice occupied lowland areas from approximately 19000 to 10000 years BP. This
period corresponds approximately to the Fraser Glaciation of the Pacific Coast region and the
late Wisconsin Substage of central and eastern parts of North America.
A.A.
123
310. FYLES, J.G. 1963. Surficial geology of Horne Lake and Parksville map-areas, Vancouver
Island, British Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada Memoir 318:1-142.
This report is concerned with part of the eastern coastal lowland of Vancouver Island, the
first range of mountains and the intermontane Alberni Valley. Thick surficial deposits on
the coastal lowland record two glaciations separated by a major interstadial interval. The
principal surficial deposits are, from oldest to youngest: Mapleguard sediments, Dashwood
drift, Quadra sediments, Vashon drift, Capilano sediments (early post-glacial), and Salish
sediments (modern).
The Mapleguard sediments are unfossiliferous clays, silts, and sands. The Dashwood drift
consists of a till-sheet complex deposited during an ‘old' regional glaciation. The Quadra
sediments comprise a lower marine (and glaciomarine) clay unit, a middle plant-bearing silt-
gravel unit, and a thick upper fluvial sand unit. The Quadra records a major cool
interstadial interval and has yielded radiocarbon ages ranging from 25,000 to more than
40,000 years.
Varied glacial deposits comprising the Vashon drift relate to a single glacial invasion
equivalent to the ‘'classical' Wisconsin. An ice-sheet complex covered the entire region,
except for a few high peaks, at the glacial climax, and then separated into a network of
glaciers and glacial remnants during deglaciation. Retreating glacial lobes in the Georgia
depression and Alberni Valley were bordered by the sea.
Since retreat of the glacier, marine, fluvial, lacustrine, swamp, and colluvial deposits have
accumulated. Deglaciation was followed by a cool interval during which the land rose
relative to the sea by 500 feet in the coastal lowland and 300 feet in Alberni Valley.
Organic materials formed during the later half of this uplift have radiocarbon ages of 11,500
to 12,350 years. The last several thousand years (possibly 5,000 or more) have been
characterized by a climate like the present and a sea-level that was within a few feet of the
present.
A.A.
311. GAGNON, R., et S. PAYETTE. 1981. Fluctuations Holocénes de la limite des forêts de
mélézes, Rivière aux Feuilles, Nouveau-Québec: une analyse macrofossile en milieu
tourbeux. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 35(1):57-72.
The aim of this project was to outline the fluctuations of the limit of tamarack forests
during the Holocene, based on wood macrofossil evidence collected in organic deposits at
Rivière aux Feuilles, Nouveau-Québec (ca. 58°15'N, 72°W). The history of postglacial forest-
line is based on an exhaustive collection of more than 700 macrofossils, from which a
sampling of 67 macrofossils were radiocarbon dated. Results indicate that the tamarack was
present in the area in 4500 years BP. Since then the tamarack transgressed, at least twice,
the position of the modern forest-lines: 1) between 3500 and 2700 years BP, when the maximum
forest-line expansion towards the north took place; and 2) between 2000 and 1600 years BP,
when a less extensive northward displacement was registered. Very few macrofossils dated
around 2650-2400, 2100-2000, 1600-1300 years BP were collected. This is interpreted as a
regression of tree populations during these periods. After 1300 years BP no forest-line
displacement was registered; however, there were local expansions of tamarack populations
between 1000 and 600 years BP, and regressions between 550 and 250 years BP. In spite of an
intensive search in organic deposits, no tamarack macrofossil was collected further north
than 5 km of the modern forest-line.
124
312. GASCOYNE, M-, D.C. FORD, and H.P. SCHWARCZ. 1981. Late Pleistocene chronology and
paleoclimate of Vancouver Island determined from cave deposits. Canadian Journal
of Earth Sciences 18(11):1643-1652.
Several speleothems from Cascade Cave near Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, have been dated by
the 230rh/234y method. The greater abundance of speleothems formed during the period 65,000-
45,000 BP suggests that this was the warmest Pate of the Olympia interstadial. Using modern
cave temperature and the variation of 64 80 of seawater over the dated period, the
profiles of 6 180 are interpreted in terms of a paleotemperature record for the Olympia
interstadial in Vancouver Island. Results shows a gradual cooling from 4°C at 64,000 BP, to
0°C between 35,000 and 28,000 BP. Growth ceased at 28,000 BP, possibly due to the
persistence of freezing conditions. These results are consistent with conditions necessary
for speleothem growth and with published work on surficial Wisconsin deposits in the area.
No distinct, short warming or cooling events are seen in the record, probably due to thermal
buffering by the adjacent ocean.
C.R.H.
313. GASCOYNE, M., H.P. SCHWARCZ, and D.C. FORD. 1980. A paleotemperature record for the
mid-Wisconsin in Vancouver Island. Nature 285(5765):474-476.
Calcite speleothems are deposits of calcium carbonate (stalagmites and flowstones) found in
limestone caves. They are formed by precipitation from groundwater supersaturated in Ca2+
and HCO3. Their oxygen isotopic composition is controlled by the isotopic composition of
the seepage waters from which they are deposited and by the temperature of formation. We
report here the discovery of mid-Wisconsin speleothems from a cave in Vancouver Island which
are significantly depleted in 189 relative to modern calcite in the same cave. We interpret
the variations in O content over this period as an absolute palaeotemperature record for
the area.
These data show a gradual cooling at this site between 65 and 30 kyr BP at an almost constant
rate, comparable with the uniform rate of continental ice accumulation suggested by Figure l.
The local setting of this cave suggests that its temperature is responding to the average
sea-surface temperatures of water masses along the northern Pacific coast and that these in
turn were gradually cooling through this interval.
A. Aout
314. GEORGIADES, A.P. 1977. Trends and cycles of temperature in the Prairies. Weather
32(3): 99-101.
At Winnipeg (1875-1973), Regina (1884-1973) and Saskatoon (1902-1973) the annual mean
temperature increased up to about 1930. Using two sets of data, up to and including 1931,
and 1932 to 1973, and linear trend analysis the slope 'b' is found to be positive up to 1931
but negative after. Power spectrum analysis shows significant peaks for Winnipeg at period
4.16 years and 3.33 years, for Regina at 2.56 and 5.00 years and for Saskatoon at 2.63 and
5.00.
G.A.
315. GIDDINGS, J.L., Jr. 1947. Mackenzie River delta chronology. Tree-ring Bulletin
13(4):26-29.
Comparison of tree growth on the MacKenzie River with weather records from Aklavik shows no
strong relation to precipitation with marked agreement to mean July temperature. Temperature
of the growing season appears to form the principal control of cross dating quality.
Thomas
316. GIDDINGS, J.L., Jr. 1954. Tree-ring dating in the American Arctic. Tree-ring Bulletin
20(3/4):23-25.
In a survey article the author points out the difficulties in interpreting tree rings in the
Arctic and the correlation of this growth with temperature and precipitation. Cross-dating
is much more difficult in the Arctic than it is in the south.
Thomas
317. GODMAIRE, A., et S. PAYETTE. 1981. Dynamique spatio-temporelle d'une bande forestière
près de la limite des forêts, Rivière aux Feuilles, Nouveau-Québec. Géographie
physique et Quaternaire 35(1):73-85.
The spatial distribution of dead or living individuals among larch (Larix laricina (Du
Roi) K. Koch) and black spruce (Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP.) populations within a forest
strip has allowed us to reconstruct the forest evolution since 1550 years BP. The influence
of climatic conditions and forest fires on these populations could thus be determined. The
fluctuation of success in tree species regeneration and that of the spatial distribution of
trees which appeared during the last five decades are ascribed to climatic conditions. Two
recent fires (100 and 160 years ago) have in part influenced the distribution pattern as well
as the success of colonization of older trees. These fires have restricted the tree
populations to a damp depression and have affected their structure. The different soil
horizons containing charcoal, detected on the site, (1550 + 130 years BP, 1170
+ 100 years BP, 640 + 80 years BP) and their spatial distribution indicate
that forest fires have had an influence on the extent of the forest cover. Prior to 1550
years BP, the forest strip covered a greater surface than today. After the fire of 1170
years BP, a change in the number and the dynamic of fires, associated with periglacial
activity during that period, suggests a cooler climate. Finally, the spatial fluctuations of
the tree populations are associated with the climatic changes that have occurred since 1550
years BP and that are brought out by the absence or the success of tree species regeneration
since the larch and the black spruce have burnt.
A.A.
318. GODSON, W.L. 1975. Is the earth getting hotter or colder? Canadian Geographical
Journal 90(5):42-50.
The author discusses some consequences of world-wide climatic change but the emphasis is on
Canada. He presents some of the possible man-made influences on climate, describes
Pleistocene trends, and exposes study programs, planned and present, on climate change. He
concludes, “... Canada is more weather-sensitive than countries whose economies are not so
heavily dependent upon outdoor activity and climate. Our country therefore has the most
compelling reasons to accept responsibility and leadership in climatic research and in the
application of new knowledge."
L.G.
319. GOLDTHWAIT, R.P. 1966. Evidence from Alaskan glaciers of major climatic changes. In:
World Climate from 8000 to 0 B.C. Edited by: J.S. Sawyer. Royal Meteorological
Society, London. pp. 40-53.
Studies of glaciers in the Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska and the Icefield Ranges,
Yukon Territory are reviewed, with maps and stratigraphic sections, and the main findings
relevant to climatic change are summarized. They appear to establish a unified history of
major glacial fluctuation, and indicate a 4400-yr warm period ending approximately 2700 BC,
followed by ice expansion 2700-2200 BC and a greater expansion commencing ca. 400 BC and in
126
many cases reaching climax as late as 1890 AD. Some climatic deductions are discussed and a
correlation with other Cordilleran glaciers attempted.
320. GORDON, J.E. 1980. Recent climatic trends and local glacier margin fluctuations in
West Greenland. Nature 284(5752):157-159.
Recent climatic trends in the Arctic have been characterized by a general cooling between the
mid-1950s and the late-1960s, following by a return to warmer conditions in the early 1970s.
Throughout the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and at Thule in north-west Greenland a marked
decrease in summer temperature occurred after 1963, and winter precipitation increased.
These changes were accompanied by a lowering of the average July freezing level height by as
much as 500m, decreased glacier mass loss and increased glaciation. Here I report similar
climatic trends in West Greenland and demonstrate different glacier reponses, in particular
an advance of cirque and small valley glaciers since about 1968, contrasting with a
simultaneous retreat of larger valley and icefield outlet glaciers.
The advance of the cirque and small valley glaciers since about 1968 coincides in its first
part with a period of decreased summer temperatures and a trend towards colder, wetter
springs and colder, drier autumns, and can be seen as a direct response to this climatic
deterioration. However, despite a reversal in all these trends after 1971, the glaciers have
continued to advance at least until 1978. Therefore, the observed pattern of glacier margin
fluctuations matches only in part the recent temperature trends. The continued advance of
the glaciers probably reflects a lag in their response to the increased precipitation during
the late 1950s and 1960s. The magnitude of this lag is at least 9 yr judging from the fact
that precipitation began to decrease sharply after 1969.
The temporary reactivation interrupting the continued recession of one of the outlet glaciers
and the largest valley glacier can be explained as a direct response to the climatic cooling,
particularly in summer seasons during the late 1960s and early 1970s. However, these
glaciers do not seem to have responded significantly to the increased precipitation in the
1950s and 1960s. This could reflect either a lag or a damping of any effects due to the size
of the glaciers. The former is more probable because of the magnitude and duration of the
precipitation increase. The continued recession of the two outlet and the largest valley
glaciers at present can be explained partly as a direct response to the recent climatic
warming and partly as a lag response to the relatively low precipitation during the 1940s and
early 1950s. If this is the case, then a minimum lag of 20 to 30 yr in the response of these
glaciers to precipitation changes is implied.
321. GRANDTNER, M.M., P.Y. BLANCHETTE, R. COULOMBE, N. TETRAULT, et S. BERNARD. 1977.
Végétation, sol et écoclimat actuel des tourbiéres de la région de Québec.
Géographie physique et Quaternaire 31(1-2):135-138.
The authors present some of the results of recent ecological studies in the following bogs of
Québec City area: Les Saules, Champigny, Beauséjour and Harlaka. Their vegetation has been
classified in thirteen associations, grouped in four physionomic units. They occupy
different types of soils which belong mainly to the organic and gleysolic orders. The
ecoclimate of these bogs is significantly different from the general climate; radiation under
canopy is lower and soil temperature is lower in summer. The authors suggest some possible
utilizations of these results in paleoecology and in management, interpretation and
protection of these environments. They propose that the two bogs from Greater Québec be used
for ecological interpretation of nature and that the Beauséjour bog, after being enlarged,
should be declared an integral ecological preserve.
A.A.
322. GRANT, D.R. 1975. Recent coastal submergence of the Maritime Provinces. In:
Environmental Change in the Maritimes. Edited by: J.G. Ogden, III and M.J.
Harvey. Proceedings of the Nova Scotia Institute of Science 27 (Supplement 3):83-
102.
For more than a century it has been known that the Maritimes are submerging. This report
describes the extent, age, sequence, rate and causes of the relative rise of sea level,
primarily by determining the radiocarbon and calendar ages of submerged features that
originated at or near former high tide, and measuring their depths below present high tide.
Variations in the rate of sea-level rise, and a recent acceleration are reflected in
stratigraphy of coastal deposits and discontinuities of beach morphology. Evidence of
submergence during the last 5000 years is recorded by tree-stumps and other freshwater
vegetation overridden by transgressing barrier beaches, and buried beneath tidal marshes.
Supplementary evidence for the last 1000 years includes drowned Indian campsites, colonial
artifacts buried in tidal mud, and the rise of high tide at the fortress of Louisbourg.
Tide-gauge records and geodetic re-levelling confirm that the coast is still submerging
today.
Forty-seven age and depth determinations on former lower positions of high-tide datum
indicate the region is submerging 30 cm (one foot) per century, whereas average world-wide
rate of sea-level rise is only 6 cm/century. Excessive submergence in the Maritimes is
believed due to subsidence of the earth's crust as a former glacier-marginal bulge collapses.
In the Bay of Fundy an additional factor has been the amplification of tidal range as world-
wide rise of sea level widened and deepened the entrance, and optimized basin geometry. Both
subsidence and tidal change are indirect consequences of climatic change. Details of past
climatic variation, and indications of future change, can be deciphered from the shape and
composition of Maritime coastal features.
323. GRANT, D.R. 1977. Glacial style and ice limits, the Quaternary stratigraphic record,
and changes of land and ocean level in the Atlantic Provinces, Canada. Géographie
physique et Quaternaire 31(3-4):247-260.
Evidence from scattered stratigraphic sections, from the relationship of a sequence of ice
flow indicators to a raised interglacial marine platform, together with the limits of freshly
glaciated terrain against weathered bedrock areas, indicates that late Wisconsinan glaciers
spread weakly toward, and in many areas not beyond, the present coast. These were fed by a
complex of small ice caps located on broad lowlands and uplands. The limiting factor was the
deep submarine channels that transect the region. Thus, Laurentide ice was limited to
northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. With this pattern of centripetal flow toward the Gulf, large
areas remained unglacierized. There is now better geological corroboration of Fernald's
hypothesis of nunatak botanic refugia, though there was, perhaps during early Wisconsinan
time, grounded ice in the Gulf and an outlet glacier in Laurentian Channel. Raised
postglacial shorelines fit the model, with a general tilt toward the main shield ice sheet,
but with two broad domes reflecting the ice complexes over New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
Older emerged and submerged shorelines beyond the glacial limit complicate the pattern. At
present northern regions are still rebounding while a zone of subsidence is migrating inland
from the continental margin.
A.A.
324. GRAY, J., and P. THOMPSON. 1976. Climatic information from 180/160 ratios of cellulose
in tree rings. Nature 262(5568):481-482.
The high precision of dendrochronology makes possible the construction of short
(~ 9000 yr) detailed records of past climates. This paper explores the possibility of
using the oxygen isotopic composition of cellulose from tree rings as a '‘thermometer' to
measure past temperatures. Using meteorological data from Edmonton we have shown that
128
temperatures can be measured with a precision of ~ +0.15°C when averaged
over a 5-yr period.
325. GRAY, J., and P. THOMPSON. 1977. Climatic information from 185/16) analysis of
cellulose, lignin and whole wood from tree rings. Nature 270(5639):708-709.
The oxygen isotopic composition of cellulose, whole wood and lignin from tree rings in a
white spruce Picea glauca which grew in the Edmonton area from 1882 to 1969 have been
measured. Using meteorological records we have evaluated the responses of the 185/16, ratios
of the three components of the tree rings to seasonal temperatures. Results show a high
correlation between cellulose 18/1 65 ratios and mean annual temperature, a poorer, though
still significant correlation between whole wood 18 0/ 16, ratios and mean annual temperature
and no significant correlation between lignin 18 o/1 Q ratios and mean annual temperature.
G.A.
326. GRAYSON, D.K. 1975. A Bibliography of the Literature on North American Climates of the
Past 13,000 Years. Garland, New York. 206 pp.
Contains 1398 titles, without annotations. Each entry is indexed according to seven
geographical subdivisions of the United States and Canada. There is also a “General”
category for those studies dealing with much or all of North America.
327. GRAYSON, J.F. 1958. The postglacial history of vegetation and climate in the Labrador
—Quebec region as determined by palynology. Dissertation Abstracts 18(4):1229.
Palynological evidence indicates three regional periods. Tundra vegetation dominated during
the first period. A Betula-Alnus association succeeded the tundra and was dominant
during the second period. The boreal woodland succeeded the Betula-Alnus association
and has been dominant for the past 4000 to 5000 years. Superimposed upon these regional
periods, local succession in the vicinity of each station apparently developed in the same
order as the regional succession.
As for climatic change, only a continued warming trend, with pulsations, from the time of
deglaciation of this region to the present is substantiated.
Much of this region was deglaciated about 8000 years ago and practically all of it about 6000
years ago.
A warm period, which reached its maximum about 3500 years ago, is indicated. hes sis
questionable whether this period was warmer than the present climate of this region.
No evidence was found to support the Final Period Revertance Theory in this region.
pA.A.
328. GRYNIEWSKI, P.N. 1981. Impact of climate on programs of the Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources. In: Climate Change Seminar Proceedings. Regina, March 17-19.
Canadian Climate Centre, Downsview. pp. 53-59.
"A number of programs operated by the Ministry are markedly affected by climate, and
especially by changes in climate. The cost to the economy of climatic changes can be
AL)
enormous. Rather than cover the entire spectrum of climate change, this paper deals with the
impact of climatic variability on three programs of the Ontario Ministry of Natural
Resources, namely, flood mitigation, silviculture and forest fire management.”
329. GUNNARSSON, G. 1979. Some interdisciplinary problems of climate and history: a study
in causal relations and other questions of methodology. International Conference
on Climate and History, University of East Anglia, Norwich, July 8-14, Abstracts,
pp. 27-28.
For connecting climate history and human history the causal link must be studied carefully.
This is usually agriculture and fishing; in other words economically applied biology. The
impact of the climate on these basic occupations must be studied scientifically, without any
vague suggestions. Usually such a study reveals a far more complex picture than the simple
correlation between man and nature usually given.
The decision to apply ecological factors in explaining human history can first be made when
all the relevant explanatory factors have been studied. Usually one finds that purely
economic factors have at least the same significance in explaining a historical process as
ecological factors. It is therefore a good rule to use in the first instance the
endogenous variables when explaining a human society.
This does not mean that climatic theories (as exogenous variables) about human society
are useless or dangerous. On the contrary, they often seek to explain something previously
not explained and by raising the question they may stimulate research. But more importantly
the study of how the challenge of the climate is met by society is essentially a socio-
economic one. Some knowledge about the challenge, that is the climate, is a prerequisite for
such studies. The synthesis of ecological history and socio-economic history may have a very
high explanatory value as regards human history. This we can do best by studying the history
of the vulnerability of man to climate. There are indications that this vulnerability has
been constantly changing in history, during some periods increasing and other periods
decreasing. This type of study obviously excludes all monocausal explanations.
Many concrete examples will be taken from Icelandic economic history before 1800. Iceland
has often been considered as one of the marginal areas for human population because of the
climate. My conclusion is that socio-economic factors give the best explanations for
economic and demographic crises in Iceland, both during the Middle Ages and the Little Ice
Age.
Natural scientists should be well aware of the possible political implications of their
trade: for example, in explaining a process only through the inevitability of nature,
when alternative explanations may easily be found.
Historical records may be of great value to the natural scientist in his/her work. But
he/she must avoid the use of subjective judgements or indirect evidence (such as fishing or
agricultural yields). For instance, records of fish catches tell us little about marine
biology but much about technological history.
330. GUTHRIE, R.D. 1980. Bison and man in North America. Canadian Journal of Anthropology
1) :55-73;
Rapid evolutionary changes in bison morphology and the frequent occurrence of bison in
archaeological sites make them particularly important in North American Quaternary studies.
Major morphological trends in bison evolution are discussed in an update of bison
paleogeography, and a conceptual model is proposed to account for the changes in bison
evolution. Central to this picture is the steppe bison, B. priscus, which dominated
the Holarctic throughout the last half of the Pleistocene. It was used as a food item in
Eurasia and Beringia but was not the major prey species. In North America, however, bison
became the staple meat resource at the end of the last glacial. The increasing density of
130
bison resulted from vegetational change and the extinction of competitor species.
Seasonality of available resources was critical in bison adaptations and numbers, which in
turn affected the modes of human bison hunting and human density in North America.
A.A.
331. HAAG, W.G. 1962. The Bering Strait land bridge. Scientific American 206(1):112-123.
Presents geological, botanical, and zoological evidence for a broad land bridge between Asia
and North America, making possible the large-scale migration of animal and plant life during
Tertiary and Pleistocene time. Recent studies indicate that the Bering-Chukchi plain was as
much as 1300 mi. wide, was above water throughout most of the Tertiary as well as during
maximum glaciation in the Pleistocene. Neither the Chukotsk Peninsula in Siberia nor the
Seward Peninsula in Alaska was blocked by ice; much of central Alaska remained ice-free
during the ice age. The theory on the causes of glaciation, requiring a warm Arctic Ocean to
provide moisture for precipitation over the Hudson Bay area, postulates also conditions
favorable for life on the land bridge. Zoological and botanical evidence suggests a wide
bridge: the animals that crossed it were not typical cold-climate species, and a bridge 700
mi. wide is believed necessary to account for the present distribution of plants in Alaska
and northeastern Siberia.
A.B.
332. HADDEN, K.A. 1975. A pollen diagram from a postglacial peat bog in Hants County, Nova
Scotia. Canadian Journal of Botany 53(1):39-47.
The pollen stratigraphy of a 6./-m section of bog peat from west-central Nova Scotia shows
three major pollen zones, viz., the zone of spruce maximum (9180-8505 before present (BP));
the zone of pine and oak maxima (8505-6290 BP); and the upper deciduous zone, which could be
more accurately described as the bimodal hemlock zone (6290 BP to present day). The zone of
hemlock minimum is dated at 4415 BP. The spruce assemblage denotes a cool, wet climate. The
decrease in spruce and increases to maxima of pine and oak are interpreted in terms of higher
temperatures and lower precipitation. Further temperature increase, perhaps accompanied by
increased precipitation, resulted in the migration of hemlock into the area subsequently
suppressed during the period of maximum warmth and dryness. Increased precipitation followed
by decreased temperatures led firstly to a second hemlock stage and later to increased
coniferous growth. Increased representation of grasses and adventives in the upper levels of
the assemblage are indicative of European colonization.
333. HAGE, K.D. 1977. Local history as a source of climatic information. In: Applications
of Climatology: Proceedings of the Workshop and Annual Meeting sponsored by the
Alberta Climatological Committee. Edited by: J.M. Powell. Canadian Forestry
Service, Northern Forest Research Centre Edmonton, Alberta, Information Report
NOR-X-193:11-28.
Local or community history in its many forms contains numerous observations of the impact of
weather and climate on life and property, and of weather events of small time and space
scales that are usually lost between official weather stations. Large numbers of local
histories have been compiled by community organizations in recent years and these are being
used as sources of data for a study of tornadoes in Alberta. Preliminary results, based on a
small unverified sample, are shown for southern Alberta (Townships 1-25) and south-central
Alberta (Townships 26-50). Special attention is paid to possible temporal and spacial bias
exhibited by these data and by the official list of Alberta tornadoes to interpretation
problems and to date-time verification problems. Formulas for estimating average lengths and
widths of tornado destruction paths from census and local history statistics are presented as
examples to illustrate the kinds of parameters and assumptions that will be needed in future
quantitative analyses.
G.A.
334. HALSTEAD, E.C. 1968. The Cowichan Ice tongue, Vancouver Island. Canadian Journal of
Earth Sciences 5:1409-1415.
The nature of distribution of unconsolidated surficial deposits on southeastern Vancouver
Island suggest that glacier ice occupied the Cowichan Valley during a period of the late
Pleistocene Epoch that extends from an early alpine phase, Evans Creek Stade, until after the
last or Sumas Stade of the Fraser glaciation. The distribution of drift deposits, the
Saanichton gravel, and attendant till define, in general, the limits of the Cowichan Ice
tongue that later coalesced with ice of the Strait of Georgia. Temporary halting during
deglaciation, assumed to be related to the colder temperatures of the Sumas Stade as
evidenced on British Columbia's mainland, resulted in the deposition of the Koksilah gravel,
a group of ice contact deltas, kame moraines, and kettled kames, which overlie till deposits
of the Cowichan Ice tongue and (or) Vashon till.
A.C.
335. HAMELIN, L.E. 1957. Les tourbiéres réticulées du Québec-Labrador subarctique:
interprétation morpho-climatique. Cahiers de géographie de Québec 2(3):87-106.
String-bogs are essentially marshy zones of ponds separated by strips of vegetation, the
whole presenting a rectilinear or concentric pattern. They are found in Quebec-Labrador 50°-
55°N., are related to an optimum thickness of peat, and occur far south of permafrost limits
in regions where snow maintains great depth. Formation of the bogs approx. 4000 B.C.-
1600 A.D. is traced briefly; a combination of formative processes is suggested: sub-aquatic
solifluction, gathering of isolated vegetation-covered hillocks, tearing of the plant
covering by internal balls of ice, shifting of malleable peaty material, differential
formation of ice in the ponds, snow action. Similar bogs are found in other parts of Canada,
Alaska, Scandinavia and U.S.S.R. A brief review of the literature is given.
336. HANSEN, H.P. 1940. Paleoecology of two peat bogs in southwestern British Columbia.
American Journal of Botany 27(3):144-149.
Pollen analyses of two peat post-Vashon bogs in southwestern British Columbia show that the
pioneer postglacial forests consisted largely of lodgepole pine, suggesting an initial cool
and damp period.
This was followed by a spruce-pine forest with a predominance of spruce, indicating an
increase in moisture and temperature.
A third period of decreasing moisture and temperature is marked by the increase and dominance
of Douglas fir and hemlock, which has existed to the present.
The method of formation of Lulu Island, its physiographic and edaphic instability, its
position in relation to winds and adjacent forests, and plant succession on the island and
bog are responsible for an inaccurate representation of nearby forests by their pollen as
preserved in the peat. The Westminster bog, however, probably records a fairly accurate
representation of adjacent forests.
Climatic interpretations are tentative but essentially agree with those of pollen analyses of
other bogs in the Pacific Northwest.
A.S.
132
337. HANSEN, H.P. 1949. Postglacial forests in west central Alberta, Canada. Bulletin of
the Torrey Botanical Club 76(4):278-289.
Pollen analysis of four peat sections from bogs lying between Edmonton and the Rockies in
west central Alberta, reveal that lodgepole pine and spruce have been the predominant forest
tree species in adjacent areas during the time represented by the sedimentary columns. Since
these bogs lie west of the border of the Altamont (Late Wisconsin) moraine and on older
Keewatin drift, but probably east of the Late Wisconsin Cordilleran ice border, it is
possible that they record pre-Late-Wisconsin forests, that had persisted in an ice-free
corridor during this glacial stage. This is consistent with Hultén's theory that continental
western American radiants from a Beringia center had migrated southward before the Wisconsin
glaciations and persisted in ice-free areas close to or within the ice front during at least
the Late Wisconsin stage. The postglacial warm, dry interval, evidenced from so many
sources, may be slightly recorded by an influx of grasses with some chenopods and composites
in the vicinity of the Edson bog, 125 miles west of Edmonton.
A.S.
338. HANSEN, H.-P. 1950. Pollen analysis of three bogs on Vancouver Island, Canada. Journal
of Ecology 38(2):270-276.
Although the pollen profiles of the three sections reflect the different climates in the
three areas, both present and during the post-glacial, there seem to be few or no trends that
denote climatic fluctuations. The recorded changes in forest composition probably represent
normal forest succession in response to a general amelioration of the climate and
modification of the sterile mineral substratum left in the wake of glaciation. These changes
were undoubtedly somewhat conditioned by periodic fire and perhaps insect and fungus disease.
The warm, dry period which has been dated as between 8000 and 4000 years ago, and is well
recorded in pollen profiles from eastern Oregon and Washington and the Willamette Valley in
western Oregon, is not in evidence (Hansen, 1947). Although this xerothermic stage is not
clearly borne out by pollen profiles of bogs from the Puget Lowland, the consistence of the
profiles in showing Douglas fir as attaining its maximum below a volcanic ash level, dated at
6000 years, and the expansion of western hemlock above the ash horizon, suggests a cooler and
moister period in more recent time. In the Qualicum Beach section hemlock expands in the
upper third, and in the Black Creek section hemlock has been the predominant species during
the time represented by the upper two-thirds. The higher proportions of hemlock in the
forests in more recent time may reflect slightly increased moisture, but the general increase
of this species throughout most of the profiles also suggests development of a soil profile
with sufficient humus which is so essential for this species to thrive. The small size of
Vancouver Island, the several life zones and prevailing westerly winds have resulted in
dilution of the pollen from forests adjacent to the bogs by that from inland forests at
higher altitudes. It seems doubtful that the marine climate has fluctuated materially since
the early post-glacial amelioration of the proglacial influence.
Excerpt
339. HANSEN, H.P. 1952. Postglacial forests in South Central Alberta, Canada. American
Journal of Botany 36(1):54-65.
Pollen analyses of seven peat sections in the vicinity of Edmonton, Alberta, reveal that pine
is predominantly represented throughout. The age of the sections is uncertain, but it seems
probable that most of them are post-Altamont (Late Wisconsin), while some may be a little
older. Unless pine is over-represented, its recorded predominance in the lowest levels is
somewhat anomalous as compared with the record of spruce-fir predominance in the earliest
postglacial pollen-bearing sediments of the Great Lakes region and New England. Several
possible causes of this disparity are suggested. An influx of grasses, chenopods, and
composites denotes a warm, dry maximum during the Postglacial, which is further supported by
the present extent of the black soil zones showing that grasslands were far more extensive at
one time than at present. An abrupt increase of spruce to its maximum in the upper levels
suggests a cooler and moister climate in more recent time. Continued spruce expansion to the
present apparently was interrupted by fire and cultivation, the first probably more prevalent
in the Cordilleran forest to the west where lodgepole pine has recently expanded. Clearing
of spruce forests in the vicinity of the bogs may also be responsible for spruce decline in
the upper two horizons of most sections.
A.S.
340. HANSEN, H.P. 1952. Postglacial forests in the Grande Prairie-Lesser Slave Lake region
of Alberta, Canada. Ecology 33(1):31-40.
Pollen profiles from eleven peat sections in the Grande Prairie-Lesser Slave Lake region of
Alberta reveal that pine (Pinus) is more abundantly represented in the western part and
becomes less abundant eastward with the exception of the easternmost section which lies on
the pine-forested sandy glacial outwash north of Edmonton. The pollen proportion averages of
pine decrease eastward while those of spruce (Picea) conversely increase. In nine
sections pine is recorded to its maximum at the top while spruce attains its maximum at some
point between the top and bottom. The expansion of pine in the upper levels may reflect the
influence of fire and a drier climate in more recent time. Fir (Abies is only
slightly represented and its trends do not seem to be significant. The absence of aspen
(Populus) pollen, due to its poor preservation, undoubtedly distorts the pollen
profiles and presents an incomplete picture of forest succession.
The chronology of the recorded forest history is not clear because it is not known whether
the region was covered by the Late Wisconsin ice, although vast lakes in the region probably
prevented extensive forest development until postglacial time. The relative shallowness of
the muskegs does not point to great antiquity, and they may have developed since the warm,
dry maximum. The region was postglacially invaded by species of the subalpine Cordilleran
forest, the boreal forest and the grassland. Species of the Cordilleran and boreal forests
may have persisted in refugia in northeastern British Columbia and central Yukon during the
last glaciation.
A.S.
341. HANSEN, H.P. 1955. Postglacial forests in south central and central British Columbia.
American Journal of Science 253(11):640-658.
Pollen analyses were made of 25 peat sections obtained in summers 1947 and 1952 (under grants
from the American Philosophical Society and the Arctic Institute of North America). Present
vegetation of the region and postglacial vegetation as revealed in the peat sections are
described, and an interpretation of postglacial climate and chronology is given. Significant
chronological correlation was found with postglacial thermal maximum of south central Oregon
and eastern Washington. The thermal maximum may have occurred about 6,000 years ago, with
the xerothermic interval lasting from 7,500 to 3,500 years ago.
342. HARE, F.K. 1951. Some notes on post-glacial climatic change in eastern Canada. Royal
Meteorological Society, Canadian Branch 2(7):8-18.
This paper reviews the several methods in use for the reconstruction of past climates and
discusses the evidence so far obtained by each method in eastern Canada. It presents little
new material. The methods discussed are : i) Pollen Analysis; ii) Tree-ring Analysis; iii)
Statistical Analysis of climatological Data. Some attempt is also made at general
conclusions as to the post-glacial changes of climate east of Hudson Bay and the Great
Lakes.
Thomas
343. HARE, F.K. 1973. On the climatology of post-Wisconsin events in Canada. Journal of
Arctic and Alpine Research 5(3), Part 1:169-170.
The surviving glacial ice of the Northern Hemisphere lies under the eastern limbs of the
troughs of the bipolar wave in the circumpolar westerlies. Other distributions such as
forest-tundra and the arctic tree line are closely related to the Arctic front, which is also
deformed by the bipolar wave. There is some evidence that in the post-Wisconsin warming
the phase of these waves was essentially the same as today, and that quite small
changes in amplitude are sufficient to account for most climatic variations since that time.
A.A.
344. HARE, F.K. 1976. Late Pleistocene and Holocene climates: some persistent problems.
Quaternary Research 6(4):507-517. :
The author identifies..."some disturbing and persistent problems that tend to defy solution.”
Three broad areas of uncertainty are discussed: (1) the post-Wisconsin retreat phase; (2)
energetics of the post-Wisconsin phase; and (3) bioclimate of the displaced biota. The
author reviews present knowledge of paleoclimates in North America, including further
unanswered questions and conflicting evidence. There is a need for more cross-specialist
pooling of evidence and experience in paleoclimatological research.
A.B.S.
345. HARE, F.K. 1981. Future climate and the Canadian economy. In: Climate Change Seminar
Proceedings. Regina. March 17-19. Canadian Climate Centre, Downsview. pp. 92-
122.
“In this keynote address I have chosen ... to concentrate on the possibility of future
climatic change, chiefly from the carbon dioxide effect, and the possible consequences for
our economy.”
“The CO) question is not yet well articulated, but this much can be said: there will be
benefits as well as costs for most societies. It is not clear whether Canada will lose or
gain from the changes, if they eventuate. It is by no means certain, indeed, that they will
ever happen. And if they do we do not know in detail how drastic they will be, or how they
will distribute themselves across the national map. All that scientists can advise at
present is to be wary: the country should be on yellow alert.”
“This means that we should work hard to understand and predict the impending changes, and to
monitor the atmosphere, oceans and biota so as to offset any hardships the changes may bring,
and to exploit any opportunities created. If these things are done Canada may on balance
profit from the CO» effect."
"Since this is a world-wide problem, and since Canada's prosperity depends on foreign trade,
we must also involve ourselves in international efforts to answer the same question.
Participation in the World Climate Programme and similar efforts is not merely a duty; it is
a defence of the national interest.”
Excerpts
346. HARINGTON, C.R. 1968. A Pleistocene muskox (Symbos) from Dease Lake, British
Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 5(5):1161-1165.
A Symbos skull fragment from Pleistocene deposits of northern British Columbia
constitutes the first record of that genus for the province. In Canada, remains of this
large muskox have been collected previously in western Yukon and southeastern Saskatchewan.
Most of the other known specimens have been found in Alaska and the central United States,
135
and the Canadian occurrences help to link these two areas of Symbos range.
Symbos was adapted to warmer surroundings than Ovibos - perhaps a steppe or parkland
environment.
The specimen described suggests that Symbos herds grazed on intermontane range in
northern British Columbia during a warm period in the latter half of the Pleistocene Epoch.
Only at such times would that area have been free from alpine glaciation.
Ney at
347. HARINGTON, C.R. 1977. Marine mammals in the Champlain Sea and the Great Lakes. In:
Amerinds and their Paleoenvironments in Northeastern North America. Edited by:
W.S. Newman and B. Salwen. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 288:508-537.
Analyses of fossil mollusks, the remains of invertebrates and vertebrates, fossil pollen, and
plant macrofossils, indicate “the Champlain Sea environment was probably very much like that
of the present Gulf of St. Lawrence, where many species that formerly inhabited the inland
sea are still found. A major trend in the history of the sea was that the water became
increasingly shallower, warmer, and less salty as time progressed. Water was generally
fresher in the western and southern extremities of the sea than elsewhere.” It is within
this framework that the author discusses “the kinds, distribution and relative abundance of
marine mammals in the Champlain Sea as indicated by fossils, not neglecting
paleoenvironmental clues that are occasionally brought to light by the evidence.”
A.B.S.
348. HARINGTON, C.R. 1978. Quaternary vertebrate faunas of Canada and Alaska and their
suggested chronological sequence. Syllogeus 15:1-105.
Thirty-one Canadian and Alaskan Quaternary vertebrate faunas, ranging in age from about
1,800,000 to 5,000 years, are reviewed against a background of some of the major
characteristics of the ice age in northern North America, and an attempt is made to outline
their chronological sequence. For each fauna a list of species is given, and the following
points are dealt with where possible: suggested geological age, stratigraphy at the site,
palaeoenvironmental implications, and pertinent references. Where interest seems to warrant
it, single species or specimens are discussed. Radiocarbon dates on bone from Pleistocene
vertebrates or from associated organic material are included.
In conclusion, significant features of the faunas are reviewed from oldest to youngest and in
relation to several faunas of similar age from northeastern Siberia and the Great Plains of
the United States. Early man is mentioned briefly. Evidence suggests that people were
present in the northern Yukon about 27,000 years ago, and perhaps even earlier than 32,000
years ago in southern Alberta.
A.A.
349. HARINGTON, C.R. 1980. Faunal exchanges between Siberia and North America: evidence
from Quaternary land mammal remains in Siberia, Alaska and the Yukon Territory.
Canadian Journal of Anthropology 1(1):45-49.
In this discussion, I wish to shift the focus in order to describe mammalian relationships
between Eurasia (often western Beringia, i.e. unglaciated areas of northeastern Siberia) and
North America (often eastern Beringia, i.e. unglaciated areas of Alaska and the Yukon) during
the Quaternary, not neglecting information that may be derived from some of the larger-sized
species.
On the basis of fossils collected from sites in the Yukon alone, the movement of mammals from
Eurasia to North America has been extensive. I estimate that 75 percent of 62 species of
136
Quaternary land mammals were derived from Eurasia; the remainder having come from southern
North America (Harington, 1977). It is likely that the Eurasian species entered by a series
of Bering land connections that occurred during glacial maxima.
Excerpts
350. HARINGTON, C.R. 1980. Radiocarbon dates on some Quaternary mammals and artifacts from
northern North America. Arctic 33(4):815-832.
Nine radiocarbon dates on five genera of Quaternary mammals from northern North America are
discussed. Of particular interest are: (a) a 29,000-year-old artifact from the Yukon
Territory; (b) the first evidence that steppe mammoths (Mammuthus columbt or M.
armentacus) occupied eastern Beringia during the peak of the Wisconsin glaciation; (c)
dates indicating that saiga antelopes (Satga tataricd) and Yukon short-faced bears
(Aretodus simus yukonensts) occupied the Yukon-Alaska region in mid-Wisconsin time; (d)
dates indicating that bison (Bison sp.) lived near the arctic coast of the Northwest
Territories, and tundra muskoxen (Ovtbos moschatus) lived in the western Yukon in late
postglacial time; and (e) dates suggesting that tundra muskoxen have occupied the central
Canadian Arctic Islands for the last 7000 years.
351. HARINGTON, C.R. 1980. The impact of changing climate on people in Canada; and the
National Museum of Natural Sciences Climatic Change Project. In: Climatic Change
in Canada. Edited by: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus 26:5-15.
The author illustrates the impact of climatic change on the people of Canada by mentioning
several examples. These include the changes in population of the Yukon Territory before the
peak of the Wisconsin glaciation and at its close, the dry period in the Canadian prairies
between 1928 and 1937, and the warming of the waters between Canada and Greenland between
1917 and 1940. Such examples constitute a strong argument for supporting a comprehensive
research program on climatic change in Canada.
The goals and proposed methodology of the National Museum of Natural Sciences Project on
Climatic Change are outlined.
A.B.S.
352. HARINGTON, C.R. 1981. Pleistocene saiga antelopes in North America and their
paleoenvironmental implications. In: Quaternary Paleoclimate. Edited by: W.C.
Mahaney. Geo Abstracts, Norwich. pp. 193-225.
Six fossils from central Alaska, one from northern Alaska and one from east of the Mackenzie
Delta in Canada are referred to the saiga antelope (Satga tataricd). This species
seems to have dispersed from Eurasia as far westward as England, and as far eastward as
northwestern Canada, during the late Pleistocene. The species became extinct in western
Europe and North America toward the close of the last (Würm/Wisconsin) glaciation, but
survives in central Eurasia. Because living saigas are particularly adapted to dry steppe-
grasslands, it is likely that they crossed broad, steppe-like plains of the northern Bering
Isthmus during glacial phases of the late Pleistocene. Presumably the kind of northern
steppe to which they had adapted once extended eastward, up the Yukon River valley to central
Alaska, and along the Arctic Coastal Plain to Baillie Islands in Canada. Saiga antelope
remains appear to be useful paleoenvironmental indicators. They suggest the presence of
steppe-like vegetation, generally low, flattish terrain, rather arid climatic conditions and
above all, shallow snow cover.
157
353. HARINGTON, C.R., and S. OCCHIETTI. 1980. Pleistocene eider duck ( Somateria
cf. mollissima) from Champlain Sea deposits near Shawinigan, Québec.
Géographie physique et Quaternaire 34(2):239-245.
Study of a pelvic fragment -- probably that of a Common Eider (Somateria cf.
mollissima) -- from marine littoral sediments near Shawinigan, Québec, indicates that a
population of eiders occupied the northern shore of the Champlain Sea about 10 300 years BP.
Food and habitat requirements of living Common Eiders appear to have been met in the
Shawinigan area at that time. In other words the bird fossil is compatible with associated
paleoenvironmental evidence.
354. HARINGTON, C.R., and D.E. SERGEANT. 1972. Pleistocene ringed seal skeleton from
Champlain Sea deposits near Hull, Quebec - a reidentification. Canadian Journal of
Earth Sciences 9(8):1039-1051.
A seal skeleton from Champlain Sea deposits near Hull, Quebec, formerly identified as
probably belonging to a young harp or harbor seal, actually represents a seven year old
ringed seal. The skeleton was deposited in situ probably during an early cold phase
of the Champlain Sea about 12 000-11 000 yr B.P. The specimen suggests that fast ice existed
near the western margin of the Champlain Sea during winter and spring.
A.A.
355. HARINGTON, C.R., and D.M. SHACKLETON. 1978. A tooth of Mammthus primigenius
from Chestermere Lake near Calgary, Alberta, and the distribution of mammoths in
southwestern Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 15(8):1272-1283.
Four species of mammoths are currently recognized as having lived in southwestern Canada
during the Pleistocene. The most primitive, the southern mammoth (Mammuthus
meridionalis), apparently entered North America from Eurasia via the Bering Isthmus during
the Nebraskan glaciation, first appearing on the Canadian plains (Wellsch Valley) about 1.7
Ma ago. This species evidently survived in that region (Medicine Hat) until the following
Kansan glaciation.
Of the remaining mammoths, the imperial (Mammuthus tmperator) and the Columbian
(Mammuthus columbi) seem to have been adapted to warmer conditions than the woolly
mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius). Imperial mammoth fossils are known mainly from
southeastern Vancouver Island. Possibly they preferred a moister type of habitat than
Columbian mammoths. M. tmperator may have lived in British Columbia and Alberta during
the late Pleistocene.
Apparently Columbian mammoths were most common in the southern regions of the western
Canadian provinces during the Yarmouth and Sangamon interglacials. They seem to have been
particularly abundant in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan during the Sangamon interglacial.
The fossils are suggestive evidence that cool grasslands with some shrubs and scattered trees
covered the region at that time.
Fossils that can be definitely referred to woolly mammoths are relatively scarce in
southwestern Canada, but are sufficient to show that tundra-like habitat (perhaps having some
of the characteristics of arctic steppe (Matthews 1976) such as a high percentage of grasses)
occurred in parts of southern Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, and south-central and
east-central British Columbia during parts of the Wisconsin glaciation. ...
pA.C.
138
356. HARINGTON, C.R., H.W. TIPPER, and R.J. MOTT. 1974. Mammoth from Babine Lake, British
Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 11(2):285-303.
Remains of a partially articulated mammoth skeleton were exposed during stripping operations
at a mining site on Babine Lake, British Columbia. The bones lay in silty pond deposits in a
bedrock depression, and were overlain by a thin layer of gravel and a thick layer of glacial
ele Although no molar teeth were found, limb proportions show that the specimen was a
large mammoth, like the Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus cf. M. columbi). Two
Gad Moca bonesdaltes) (Of = 42 NO OO | S60! ya Bee anid 243) BOOT SON BP. on
wood from the silty fossiliferous layer, and another of 34 000 + 690 yr B.P. on
Mammoth bone suggest that the animal sank in sticky pond deposits and died there.
Paleobotanical evidence indicates that, during this part of the Olympia Interglaciation, the
vegetation near Babine Lake was similar to present shrub tundra just beyond the treeline in
northern Canada.
357. HARMON, R.S. 1975. Late Pleistocene climatic variations in the vicinity of the
Columbia Icefields, Banff National Park, Alberta. Geological Society of America,
Abstracts with Programs 7(6):773-774.
Castleguard Cave runs beneath the southcentral portion of the Columbia Icefield and acts as a
drainage route for glacial meltwater. It contains a complex suite of clastic and chemical
sediments which show evidence of multiple phases of deposition and erosion attributed to the
growth and decline of the Columbia Icefield in response to cyclic changes in Pleistocene
climate.
Calcite speleothems from the cave give U/Th ages of 1300, 2700, 8000, 55,000 124,000 and
93,000-154,000 years BP. Together with other dated Canadian speleothems these ages suggest
that speleothem growth is largely restricted to periods of warm (interglacial) climate.
The single speleothem indicating continuous growth from 93,000-154,000 years BP was also
analyzed for 018/016 and cl3/cl2 ratios and found to be an equilibrium deposit. An axial
traverse of the specimen exhibits cyclical à 018 variations with 6 018 minima
interpreted as temperature maxima. Periods of warm climate are recorded at 105,000, 120,000
and 145,000 years BP, with only the 105,000 event exceeding 4 018 values of speleothems
presently forming in the cave. This paleoclimate record is in excellent agreement with the
speleothem record from temperate areas of North America and broadly comparable to the marine
paleoclimate record.
A.A.
358. HARMON, R.S., D.C. FORD, and H.P. SCHWARCZ. 1977. Interglacial chronology of the Rocky
and Mackenzie Mountains based upon 230rh-234y dating of calcite speleothems.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 14(11):2543-2552.
Fifty-four 230rh-234y ages for 36 different speleothems (calcium carbonate layers deposited
in caves) from mountain karst areas of western North America (Nahanni region, Northwest
Territories; Columbia Icefield region, Alberta and British Columbia; Crowsnest Pass area,
Alberta and British Columbia; Bear River Range, Utah) cluster into five distinct age groups.
Interpreting episodes of speleothem deposition to correspond broadly to periods of
interglacial climate, it is possible to construct a general picture of climatic change in the
Rocky and Mackenzie Mountains between 41°N and 62°N during the past 350,000 years. Thus,
interglacials are recognized at: (1) present to about 15,000 years B.P.; (2) 90,000 to
150,000 years B.P.; (3) 185,000 to 235,000 years B.P.; (4) 275,000 to 320,000 years B.P.;
(5) 2350,000 years B.P. These interglacials agree well with periods of high sea stand
and warm climate observed in the marine paleoclimatic record.
139
359. HARMON, R.S. > P. THOMPSON, H.P. SCHWARCZ > and D.C. FORD. 1978. Late Pleistocene
paleoclimates of North America as inferred from stable isotope studies of
speleothems. Quaternary Research 9(1):54-70.
Some speleothems (CaC03 cave deposits) can be demonstrated to have been formed in oxygen
isotopic equilibrium with their parent seepage waters and thus a record of relative
fluctuations in depositional temperature can be obtained from the 64 180 variations in
successive growth layers of such deposits. These temperature fluctuations reflect variations
in the average annual air temperature at the surface above the cave, and therefore permit
inference of past continental climate changes. Equilibrium deposits have been obtained from
caves in San Luis Potosi, Bermuda, Kentucky, West Virginia, Iowa, and Alberta, ranging in age
from 200,000 years BP to the present, as determined by 230rh/234y dating of the speleothems.
The 6 180 time curves for the six sites show the following synchronous climatic
fluctuations: warm periods from 190 to 165 and from 120 to 100 Ka, at 60 and 10 Ka, and cold
periods from 95 to 65 and from 55 to 20 Ka. The periods of thermal maxima correspond in time
to the interglacial periods of the marine foraminiferal isotopic and faunal temperature
records and to periods of high sea stand as observed from radiometric dating of raised coral
reefs. Maxima and minima in insolation appear to be synchronous with this record as well.
A.A.
360. HARPER, F. 1962. Changes in climate, faunal distribution, and life zones in the Ungava
Peninsula. Polar Notes 3:20-41.
It is beyond question that a definite change of climate has taken place in the Ungava
Peninsula and elsewhere during the past four decades or so, with various resulting changes in
faunal distribution and perhaps slowly developing changes in floral distribution as well.
When Merriam originated his life-zone theory, he did not, probably, anticipate that
conditions would presently arise, in the form of an ameliorating climate, whereby that theory
would be so dramatically tested and perhaps corroborated. Birds and other animals, in their
recent northward advances, have, at the very least, demonstrated their responsiveness to
changing temperatures. Until such a change occurred, there was no satisfactory means of
testing the validity of the theory.
Despite the deficiencies of Merriam's theory and the criticisms to which it has been
subjected by Kendeigh (1932; 1954) and others, it still retains a certain usefulness in
defining the ranges of animals and plants. Testimony as to that usefulness is furnished by
the republication of his map in such recent works as that of Anderson (1947) on Canadian
mammals and that of Muesebeck, Krombein, and Townes (1951) on North American Hymenoptera. It
is doubtless significant that such botanists as Hustich (1949; 1951), Raymond (1950), and
Rousseau (1952) and such a geographer as Hare (1950) recognize major zonal divisions in the
Ungava Peninsula that correspond broadly with Merriam's life zones.
Each of the boreal zones (Arctic, Hudsonian, and Canadian) stretches across Canada as far
west as the Rockies without very abrupt or striking changes in its flora or fauna; and it is
evident that Merriam's theory holds better for these than for the austral zones (Transition,
Upper Austral, and Lower Austral). The latter, being interrupted in the Midwest by vast
areas of prairies and plains, naturally fails to exhibit a transcontinental uniformity of
flora and fauna comparable with that in each of the boreal zones. It is also evident that
human agencies have had, up to the present time, a far less serious and disturbing effect
upon original conditions in the boreal zones than in the austral zones.
The late Joseph Grinnell maintained a general faith in the concept of temperature-delimited
life zones. In a joint paper by Hall and Grinnell (1919:38) we read: “The idea that life-
zones are altitudinal or latitudinal is correct only in a very general way or incidentally.
They are instead, primarily biologic, that is, they are composed of and determined by a
certain assemblage of plant and animal species, and are affected by altitude or latitude only
as these modify the climate, more especially the temperature during the critical periods of
an organism's existence."
140
Grinnell writes further (1927:324-325): "The gist of C. Hart Merriam's life-zone tenet,
temperature control, is now receiving confirmation upon the basis of a vastly greater
accumulation of meteorological figures and distributional facts than were at his disposal 25
to 35 years ago”. At the same time he points out the need of recognizing rainfall and plant
associations as factors in the distribution of birds.
The present communication is not to be regarded as an unqualified brief on behalf of
isotherm-delimited life zones. It poses, rather than settles, the question of the
geographical stability of such zones. It is little more than an attempt to show how various
animals (particularly birds) seem to have pushed their ranges northward during (and
presumably as a result of) the recent amelioration of the climate, keeping pace with a
northward advance of the life zones of which they are characteristic species. The important
role of climate in determining the distribution of living organisms is thus emphasized anew.
The promptness with which at least some of the more mobile vertebrates have responded to the
recent climatic changes is particularly evident and notable.
A.S.C.
361. HARRIS, A.H., and P. MUNDEL. 1974. Size reduction in bighorn sheep (Ovis
canadensis) at the close of the Pleistocene. Journal of Mammalogy 55(3):678-
680.
Ovis “fossil specimens from southern Canada and interior United States dating from before
about 10,000 radiocarbon years ago average considerably larger than those from after that
date.” The authors suggest that environmental deterioration resulted in a general selection
for smaller size at the close of the Pleistocene. “The present subspecies, then, would be a
reflection of this selection, other selective adjustments more regional in nature, and an
increase in geographic isolation as suitable habitat decreased in Holocene time.”
A.B.S.
362. HARRIS, S.A. 1967. Areal distribution of the various combinations of Quaternary
climates. Cahiers de géographie de Québec 11(22):55-62.
In this paper, the apparent extent of various simple combinations of climatic variations
during Quaternary times are outlined and some of their implications in physical geography are
discussed.
pA.A.
363. HARRISON, J.E. 1976. Dated organic material below Mazama tephra: Elk Valley, British
Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 76-1C:169-170.
Two samples were collected from a horizontal organic layer, producing dates of 11 900
tlOOM years | Bab. CGSC—2142)) and 12) 200 —2) 60 (years BaP A(GSCE- 2275)
Pollen analysis of the first sample "revealed an assemblage dominated by pine (Pinus),
with only minor amounts of spruce (Picea), western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla,
birch (Betula), alder (Alnus), grasses (Gramineae), composite (Liguliflorae), and
members of the evening-primrose family (Onagraceae)." Occurrence of a forest fire was
indicated by the charred nature of the woody material. The site was deglaciated some time
before 12 000 B.P. This date may further serve as a minimum date for deglaciation of the
lower and middle Kananaskis Valley.
A.B.S.
141
364. HARVEY, L.D.D. 1980. Solar variability as a contributing factor to Holocene climatic
change. Progress in Physical Geography 4(4) :487-530.
... This review evaluates in three ways the hypothesis that solar variability contributed to
Holocene climatic change: by compiling global evidence from proxy climatic indicators for
the last 7500 years; by critically examining evidence for and against solar variability
during the last 7500 years, and finally by examining possible mechanisms of a solar
variability-climate relationship which previously have not been considered in a discussion of
Holocene climate. The review closes with a brief discussion of the possible relevance to man
of a knowledge of the causes of Holocene climatic change.
pA.A.
365. HATTERSLEY-SMITH, G.F. 1960. Studies of englacial profiles in the Lake Hazen area of
northern Ellesmere Island. Journal of Glaciology 3(27):610-625.
Reports on the glaciological research of the Canadian IGY expedition in 1957-1958. The
method of nourishment of the icecap and of Gilman Glacier was studied in pit and bore hole
profiles above and below the equilibrium line, which was found at about 1,200 m. elevation.
Between approx. 1,450 and 2,000 m., accumulation is by firn formation; between 1,280 and
1,450 m., interfingering of firn and superimposed ice occurs. At 1,800 m. the mean annual
accumulation over the past 20 years is estimated as 12.8 g. cm-2. The budget deficit of
Gilman Glacier during the last 20 years is discussed, noting possible climatic trends.
A.B.
366. HATTERSLEY-SMITH, G.F. 1960. Some remarks on glaciers and climate in northern
Ellesmere Island. Geografiska Annaler 42(1):45-48.
Reviews work on glacial history and post-glacial climate of this area, especially in relation
to the recent theory of ice ages of Ewing and Donn. Conditions at time of maximum ice cover
and climatic changes resulting in subsequent glacial retreat and fluctuation are postulated.
An open Arctic Ocean would probably be conducive to a milder and moister climate; a rise in
temperature at higher (accumulation) elevations in northern Ellesmere might bring about
greater precipitation and advance of glaciers.
A.B.
367. HATTERSLEY-SMITH, G.F. 1963. Climatic inferences from firn studies in northern
Ellesmere Island. Geografiska Annaler 45(2-3):139-151.
Presents results of studies made in 1958 and 1961 on Gilman Glacier and on the northern
Ellesmere icecap, as part of the Canadian IGY and subsequent programs. The firn stratigraphy
is described for an elevation which is close to the boundary between the dry snow and the
percolation facies. Evidence of increased summer melting on the icecap in the last 35 yrs.
is correlated with a 2°C. increase of mean summer temperature at Upernavik on the west coast
of Greenland, to show that the climatic warming of the late 1920s and the 1930s in central
West Greenland and elsewhere also affected northern Ellesmere Island, where no continuous
meteorological records were kept before 1948. The Upernavik record, on the other hand, goes
back to 1874, with minor gaps, and is a useful indicator of conditions over a fairly wide
area.
A.B.
368. HATTERSLEY-SMITH, G.F. 1969. Glacial features of Tanquary Fiord and adjoining areas of
northern Ellesmere Island, N.W.T. Journal of Glaciology 8(52):23-50.
The former ice cover of northern Ellesmere is confirmed as much more extensive than the
present, though the age of maximum glaciation is not known. In the Tanquary Fiord area, the
conclusion is based on bathymetric data indicating considerable over-deepening of fiords,
morphology of main valleys, and presence of moraines, erratics and glacial lake deposits at
high levels. The fiord became free of glacial ice and peat was forming in the valleys at
least 6500 yr ago. A long period of river erosion followed the main retreat of the ice.
Within the last 4000 yr, glaciers advanced to re-occupy V-shaped valleys, and small icecaps
were probably regenerated. In the last 900 yr, there has been little change in the terminal
position of most major glaciers.
A.B.
369. HATTERSLEY-SMITH, G.F. 1972. Climatic change and related problems in northern
Ellesmere Island N.W.T., Canada. In: Climatic Change in Arctic Areas During the
Last Ten Thousand Years. Edited by: Y. Vasari, H. Hyvdrinen and S. Hicks. Acta
Universitatis Ouluensis Series A, Scientiae Rerum Naturalium 3, Geologica 1:137-
148.
The Defence Research Board has supported interdisciplinary studies in northern Ellesmere
Island since 1953. Drawing on some of the results of this work, I shall first summarize our
limited knowledge of the times of onset of (i) the climatic warming leading to general
deglaciation and (ii) the subsequent fluctuation towards cooler conditions that led to the
growth of ice shelves off the north coast of Ellesmere Island. I shall then review the
present status of the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf; describe the unusual oceanographic conditions in
Disraeli Fiord that result from the presence of the ice shelf; and look briefly at the
peculiar structure of certain glacial lakes in the same area. All these phenomena are
directly or indirectly related to climatic change. It will be seen that present climatic
cooling appears to be affecting the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, and I shall provide evidence of the
same trend affecting the Gilman Glacier and adjoining ice cap and of a parallel deterioration
in sea ice conditions in Nansen Sound. Finally, it will be worth looking at the possible
information on past climate that could be obtained from deep coring on one of the main ice
caps of northern Ellesmere Island.
370. HATTERSLEY-SMITH, G.F., and A. LONG. 1967. Postglacial uplift at Tanquary Fiord,
northern Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories. Arctic 20(4):255-260.
Constructs a postglacial uplift curve for the upper part of Tanquary Fiord from radiocarbon
ages of marine shells and peat. Data show the head of the fiord to be clear of glacial ice
by at least 6500 yr BP. During 6500-5000 yr BP isostatic uplift was at a rate of about 3.5
m/century and subsequently about 25 cm/century.
A.B.
371. HATTIE, S.A., and R.A. HORNSTEIN. 1963. Recent precipitation fluctuations and trends
in the Atlantic Provinces. Department of Transport, Meteorological Branch CIR-
3864, TEC-475:1-9.
Five-year running averages of seasonal and annual precipitation are plotted, and thirty-year
averages of these quantities are tabulated for a number of stations in the Atlantic
Provinces.
At all stations studied except Truro, N.S., an increasing trend appears to have been in
progress during the last twenty-five to forty-five years. There are also periodic short-term
143
variations with eight to fifteen years between successive maxima and minima. At Truro there
are fluctuations with a period of about thirty years which are more noticeable than either
short-term or long-term variations.
A.A.
372. HAWKES, B.C. 1979. Fire history and fuel appraisal of Kananaskis Provincial Park,
Part I. In: Proceedings of the International Fire Management Workshop. Canadian
Forestry Service, Information Report NORX-215. pp. 80-87.
The fire history of Kananaskis Provincial Park is not as complex as that of lower-elevation
montane forests in the Rocky Mountains. The area east of Lower Kananaskis Lake (facility
zone) is covered by extensive tracts of even-age lodgepole pine regeneration as a result of
fires in 1920, 1890, and 1858. Most fires in Kananaskis Provincial Park were large (+1000
ha) and of medium to high relative fire intensity (derived from height of fire scars, type of
stand replacement, and more recent fire reports). The park has a catastrophic fire regime
where “natural” fires are usually conflagrations, killing the overstory and understory of the
forest. Low-intensity surface fires usually have occurred on the edges and backing sections
of large fires.
The results indicate that the park has had 11 major fires since 1712, with an average of 21
years between fires. A total of 17 fires occurred form 1712 to 1920, with a mean fire return
interval (MFRI) of 14 years and a range of 3-38 years. The last major fire was in 1920.
The total number of fires since 1/12 and the MFRI's for four areas of Kananaskis Provincial
Park are listed. The lower Kananaskis Valley has had over twice the number of fires as the
other areas. This area is where all the park facilities are being built.
Burn direction of major fires in the lower Kananaskis seems to be related to the prevailing
wind patterns. Most fires have burned through the area east of the Lower Kananaskis Lake.
Fire reports of more recent large fires in the Kananaskis Valley indicate that spotting can
occur up to 5 km (3 mi) ahead of the fire. This kind of fire behavior expected from large
fires in Kananaskis must be reckoned with by resource planners in developing the valley.
Excerpts
373. HAZELL, S.D. 1978. Two late Quaternary pollen diagrams from southeast British
Columbia. American Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts
5:167.
Sediment cores were lifted from two lakes, 2 km apart, in the Purcell Mountains (50°45'N,
116°20'W), about 200 km west of the ice-free corridor. The lakes are at an elevation of
1,130 m, surrounded by a montane forest dominated by Pinus contorta, with Picea,
Abies, and Pseudotsuga.
The pollen diagrams of the two lakes are similar. After deglaciation, there is a late-
Pleistocene Pinus-Artemista-Gramineae zone, followed by a previously unreported early
Holocene Pinus-Juntperus zone. Betula and Alnus replace Juntperus
around 7,000 years BP. From the mid to late Holocene, Picea, Abies, Pseudotsuga,
and Tsuga percentages increase while Betula percentages decrease.
The pollen analysis suggests that after deglaciation there was a steppe-tundra, dominated
by Artemisia, with scattered Pinus stands. This was followed by a forest-tundra,
dominated by Pinus and Juniperus. During the past 7,000 years, there has been a
closed-canopy, Pinus dominated forest, with Picea, Abies, and Pseudotsuga
gradually increasing in importance.
A detailed analysis of the 3 cm thick Mazama ash showed elevated percentages of
Artemisia and Gramineae pollen in the upper 1 cm of ash and 3 cm of overlying sediment;
Mehringer et al. (1977) found that high Artemisia percentages did not persist to
144
overlying sediment. My analysis suggests that the ash deposition enabled Artemisia
steppe to expand in extent for up to 100 years at the expense of forest.
A.A.
374. HEBDA, R.J., and G.E. ROUSE. 1979. Palynology of two Holocene cores from the Hesquiat
Peninsula, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Syesis 12:121-130.
Cores from Village Lake and Whicknit meadows on Hesquiat Peninsula were analysed for
palynomorphs as part of an archaeological investigation. The palynologic results show a
definite and interesting series of events for the eastern Hesquiat Peninsula during the last
2760 + 80 years. A gradual shift occurred from marine to brackish to freshwater
conditions in Village Lake, correlated with progressive emergence of the immediate area, and
possibly of the entire peninsula. The shift to a freshwater regime was accompanied by
significant changes in vegetation around the lake basin. The early vegetation consisted of a
hemlock-spruce forest with chenopods, grasses, and Ambrosia inhabiting the salt marshes
and beaches. As uplift proceeded and saltwater influence decreased, cedar stands developed
around the basin, and the yellow water lily (Wuphar), pond-weed (Potamogeton),
buck-bean (Menyanthes), and sedges became the chief inhabitants of aquatic habitats.
From the paleoecologic changes and the basal date, the minimum late Holocene uplift for this
area has been .11 m/century. This sequence provides a reference to which the development of
other small coastal lakes and surrounding lowlands can be compared. On the flat lands of the
interior of the peninsula, Myrtca-dominated boggy meadows developed about 1080
+ 110 years ago.
375. HENOCH, W.E.S. 1971. Estimate of glaciers secular (1948-1966) volumetric change and
its contribution to the discharge in the Upper North Saskatchewan River Basin.
Journal of Hydrology 12(2):145-160.
The recent trend of glacier recession in the Rocky Mountains began in the late 19th century.
Since that time numerous studies of glaciers have been made but estimates of glacier volume
decrease and the resultant increase in river discharge are lacking.
Quantitative measurements show that glacier volume loss in the Upper North Saskatchewan River
Basin during the period 1948-1966 was 1000 x 106m3. This is approximately 4% of the total
discharge determined from the records of the hydrometric stations at Saskatchewan Crossing
and Mistaya River.
A.A.
376. HERMAN, Y. 1978. Late Cenozoic paleoceanographic events in the Arctic. Geological
Society of America, Abstracts with Programs 10(7):420.
Deep-sea foraminiferal records and oxygen isotope data have been used to reconstruct oceanic
climates of the Arctic during the last 4 m.y. Magnetic stratigraphy and biostratigraphic
correlations provide the time control points and the time framework. Frigid, polar climates
were established in the Arctic 4 m.y. ago; the low abundance of open ocean fauna between 4
and 2.5 m.y. BP appears to be due to post-depositional solution rather than to lack of
productivity. Approximately 2.5 m.y. ago an abrupt change occurred in the hydrologic regime
of the basin and was maintained almost continuously until ~ O0.7-0.9 m.y. BP. In
addition to cold water species, temperate-subarctic, low-salinity tolerant planktonic forms
populated the sea. Cores raised from the crest of the Alpha Cordillera contain abundant
coarse ice-rafted detritus, and large percentages of shallow water forams, endemic to
continental shelves, suggesting active ice-shelf and iceberg sediment transport to the
central Arctic. During the last ~ 0./7-0.9 m.y., a time of marked global temperature
fluctuations, the cold Arctic surface water underwent mainly salinity oscillations: The
temporal absence of fauna was probably due to reduced productivity, a consequence of marked
145
density stratification brought about by low salinities. Global temperature fluctuations
appear to have been roughly synchronous, however, the expression of these fluctuations
differs in various oceanic regions. While ice-rafting is a reliable indicator of glacial
conditions in subpolar marine sediments in the Arctic it may be most abundant during
deglaciations and early phases of interglacials.
A.A.
377. HEUSSER, C.J. 1955. Pollen profiles from the Queen Charlotte Islands, British
Columbia. Canadian Journal of Botany 33(5):429-449.
Five peat sections were excavated from muskegs on Langara, Graham, and Moresby Islands of the
Queen Charlottes with the primary purpose of reconstructing the postglacial plant succession
and associated climatic and physiographic alterations. A secondary purpose was to support or
disprove the geological and zoological data favoring the existence of refugia in which biota
survived from preglacial or interglacial time. The oldest pollen record tends to support
this contention. The record is older than any derived from sections heretofore studied on
the northwest coast. Twenty-three plant entities are represented in the bottom sediments
below the lodgepole pine maximum which in these other sections marks the oldest peat. In
addition, 27% of the coniferous pollen at the base of the section is constituted of climax
forest trees, thus implying the presence of long-established forest when pollen sedimentation
began. The number and kinds of pollen in the basal peat favour the interpretation that
vegetation persisted in refugia through at least the last glaciation. The pollen profiles
further corroborate earlier findings for changes in land-sea level relations and for the
following postglacial climatic sequence: early cool-moist, warmer and drier (thermal
maximum), and late cooler and wetter.
378. HEUSSER, C.J. 1956. Postglacial environments in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Ecological Monographs 26:263-302.
Glacier variations and pollen profiles provide evidence for reconstructing the postglacial
environments in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The area of investigation is constituted by
Robson, Jasper, Banff, and Yoho Parks which are situated along more than 250 mi. of the
continental divide in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.
The region is one of massive mountains consisting almost entirely of sedimentary rock that
has been thrust and faulted into blocks and folds. Glaciation by the Cordilleran Glacier
Complex affected much of the region although the higher peaks were not overridden by ice.
Data were gathered from 12 glaciers between the vicinity of Mt. Robson to the northwest and
that of Kicking Horse Pass at the southeast, a distance of 175 miles.
Peat sections were removed from 4 deposits by means of a Hiller borer fitted with additional
shafts. The Jasper section was longest at 4.0 m in length and consisted of sedge peat
overlying limnic sediments in which a stratum of volcanic ash was present at 3.0 m depth.
The pollen sequence shows pine-spruce-fir constituting the early record and succeeded by
pine-spruce-Douglas fir, thence pine-spruce-fir, and finally pine-spruce-western hemlock.
The environments implied by the pollen and glacier data are represented by intervals of cool
and moist climate during the early and late postglacial with the thermal maximum interposed.
The late postglacial is coincident with glacier rejuvenation at which time a series of maxima
was attained in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The latter is thought
to have been the most dynamic since in several instances it exceeded, at least in part,
positions reached by earlier advances. After about 1930, recession, which has been
conspicuously progressive from the second half of the nineteenth century, has been more
pronounced. This trend is in keeping with the meteorological record which shows warming and
a decrease in precipitation from the late 1800s up until the late 1930s. Since the early
1940s temperatures have fallen and precipitation risen into the present decade. A lag in the
response of glaciers to this most recent climatic change seems apparent as all termini
146
visited in 1953 were retreating. Elsewhere in North America certain glaciers appear to be
undergoing regeneration, particularly those in the Pacific Northwest.
pA.S.
379. HEUSSER, C.J. 1966. Polar hemispheric correlation: palynological evidence from Chile
and the Pacific Northwest of America. In: World Climate from 8000 to O B.C.
Edited by: J.S. Sawyer. Royal Meteorological Society, London. pp. 124-141.
Pollen diagrams and peat stratigraphy of sections from north Pacific America (46°-59°N) and
southern Chile (41°30'-46°40'S) are brought together for the purpose of constructing a
working model to serve as the basis for comparing the climates of temperate latitudes in the
polar hemispheres during the late-glacial and post-glacial. The model, thus far developed,
shows a general parallelism for the climatic trends in these regions, and within the limits
of the ‘radiocarbon chronological control available, the times of change appear to run in
harmony.
The late-glacial, which dates from 15,000-16,000 B.P. consists of three zones, partitioned on
the basis of western European stratigraphy. Average summer temperature in zone I (=Older
Dryas) was c 11°C, being depressed c 5° compared with the present; in zone II (=Alleréd) it
increased 3-4°; and in zone III (=Younger Dryas) it fell again to c 11°. Humidity, however,
was contrasted between the regions during the late-glacial. Zones I and III which were
wetter compared to zone II in Chile were drier in north Pacific America by comparison to zone
ETS
The post-glacial begins 10,000-10,500 B.P. and its five zones follow the stratigraphic scheme
proposed by Blytt and Sernander for southern Scandinavia. The climate of zone IV (=Pre-
Boreal) was cool and moist with temperatures 3-5° colder than the present, but warmer
conditions ensued, reaching maxima of 1-2° warmer than today in zone V (=Boreal). Sites of
greater continentality appear to have had less humid climate whereas oceanic sites continued
to be wet. Zone VI (=Atlantic) was wetter and cooler than the previous interval by c 2-3°
except at low elevations near the ocean where temperature changes were not recognizable. A
uniformly drier climate which was also somewhat warmer prevailed in zone VII (=sub-Boreal)
but changed rather abruptly at the opening of zone VIII (=sub-Atlantic), at about 2500-3000
B.P., becoming generally wet and on the order of 2-3° cooler.
A.S.
380. HEUSSER, C.J., L.E. HEUSSER, and S.S. STREETER. 1980. Quaternary temperatures and
precipitation for the northwest coast of North America. Nature 286(5774):702-704.
Palynologists utilize present-day pollen rain to interpret the climatic setting of pollen
records from Quaternary deposits. Analogues are sought which relate the present with the
past. Because climatic conditions at mid-latitudes during the Quaternary were diverse, often
ranging from a tundra type at one extreme to a closed forest type at the other, a modern data
set should cover the extremes of vegetation and climate expected during this time. For
interpreting climatic parameters from Quaternary pollen in land and marine cores, we
calculated a pair of regression equations relating modern pollen rain from the Pacific
coastal forest and tundra to mean July temperature and mean annual precipitation at a series
of sites from the Aleutian Islands to northern California. We describe here how application
of these equations to Quaternary pollen profiles from western Washington enabled us to
quantify temperature and precipitation over the past ~ 80,000 yr.
The glaciation periods during the Pleistocene were cold and relatively dry with ameliorated
moist episodes intervening. During the Holocene, coolness was associated with greater
precipitation, and intervals of warmth were drier. This suggests that the prevailing
mechanism controlling the climate on the northwest coast during the present interglaciation
contrasts with the mechanism in effect during glaciation.
AA
147
381. HICOCK, S.R., A. DREIMANIS, J.E. ARMSTRONG, H.C. PALMER, and N.W. RUTTER. 1979. Pre-
Fraser stratigraphy, Georgia Depression, British Columbia. Geological Society of
America, Abstracts with Programs 11(7):443.
Paleomag., amino acid, 6018, and pollen studies of sub-Quadra sediments have confirmed
correlations suggested by previous workers. The sequence of (oldest to youngest): Westlynn
glaciation (Westlynn drift; Illinoian?), Highbury interglaciation (Mapleguard formation;
Sangamon?), Semiahmoo glaciation (Dashwood drift; early-Wisconsin), and Olympia nonglacial
interval (Cowichan Head Fm; mid-Wisconsin), is now established and the first three events and
formations will soon be formalized. The Cowichan Head Fm. was previously defined by 14¢
dates and lithostratigraphy. Pollen studies show that: Spruce (20%)>Pine (10)>Fir-Hemlock
(G)2Dous. Fie (CE Dashwood glaciomarine is correlated by similar patterns from six
sections (5-10 m thick) of remanent magnetic INC and DEC, and polar wandering paths; by
similar amino acid D/L ratios from aspartic (.35-.65), glutamic (.15-.3), leucine (.25-.4),
phenylalanine (.3-.5), proline (.4-.75), and valine (.15-.25) and by AP proportions: Pine
(30%)>Spruce (10)>Fir=Hemlock (5)>Doug. Fir (<1). The Mapleguard Fm. is correlated by
pollen: Doug. Fir (12%)>Hemlock (9)>Pine (7)>Spruce=Fir (4). Noticeable deviations in INC
and DEC curves from Dashwood glaciomarine may correlate with the Blake event; if true it
pushes the Highbury/Semiahmoo boundary at least back to 110,000 BP in this area. Semiahmoo
ice movements inferred from till fabrics and glaciotectonic structures suggest a model of
valley glaciers feeding the St. of Georgia lobe which split to form the Puget and Juan de
Fuca lobes. 6018 ratios from Dashwood marine molluscs at 8 sites contain negative
values (-.67 to -6.37); reflecting freshwater influx) which become more positive down fiord
valleys towards the St. of Georgia. The most positive values (.41-1.72) are near the St. of
Juan de Fuca which leads to the open Pacific. The Georgia Depression appears to have been a
closed marine basin during Semiahmoo deglaciation when meltwater flow was concentrated down
major fiords into the Strait of Georgia, greatly reducing seawater salinity. AP studies
agree with previous ones that the Highbury Interglaciation was at least as warm as present;
that Semiahmoo deglaciation was cooler; and the Olympia was intermediate with fluctuating
periods of cooler than to as warm as now.
A.A.
382. HICOCK, S.R., R.J. HEBDA, and J.E. ARMSTRONG. 1982. Lag of the Fraser glacial maximum
in the Pacific Northwest: pollen and macrofossil evidence from western Fraser
Lowland, British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 19(12):2288-2296.
Pollen and macrofossil evidence from two sites in northwestern Fraser Lowland reveals that
Abies lastocarpa - Picea cf. engelmannit forest and parkland grew there
about 18 000 years ago under cold humid continental conditions. Taxus brevifolia was
also a significant constituent of this forest. This plant assemblage resembles the ESSFl
Biogeoclimatic Zone of subalpine elevations in the northern interior of British Columbia
(900-2250 m). Climate was probably cold with low to moderate rainfall and characterized by
long, cold, wet winters and very short, probably dry, frost-free summers. Mean annual
temperature was depressed about 8°C and the tree line was probably 1200-1500 m lower than
today.
Fraser Lowland was probably removed from Pacific oceanic influence because the land-sea
interface was located on the continental shelf to the west of Vancouver Island and Washington
about the time of the last global glacial maximum, global depression of sea level, and Quadra
Sand aggradation in the Pacific Northwest. Lowland glaciation was probably delayed because
of insufficient precipitation in the drier macroclimate and the precipitation shadow created
behind mountains on Vancouver Island and Olympic Peninsula. We speculate that, as Laurentide
ice decayed, there was a northward shift of zonal weather patterns over the eastern Pacific,
bringing very wet winters to the Fraser Lowland and providing moisture for rapid, extensive,
Vashon glaciation, which culminated about 14 500 BP, lagging at least 3000 years behind the
Laurentide glacial maximum.
il Ed. note: Stands for the Engelmann Spruce - Subalpine Fir Biogeoclimatic Zone.
148
383. HICOCK, S.R., K. HOBSON, and J.E. ARMSTRONG. 1982. Late Pleistocene proboscideans and
early Fraser glacial sedimentation in eastern Fraser Lowland, British Columbia.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 19(5):899-906.
Three recently radiocarbon-dated tusk segments from eastern Fraser Lowland indicate
Pleistocene proboscideans (probably mammoths) lived there between 22 700 and 21 400 years ago
during early Fraser (for the Fraser Lowland) ice advance into the area. Palynomorphs from
silty sand adhering to a tusk indicate the animals grazed on open grassy floodplain.
Sedimentologic and altimeter studies of tusk-bearing gravel indicate an early Fraser sandur,
at least 10-km long and deposited at the same time as Coquitlam Drift, formed in Chilliwack
Valley at the same time that a sandur or kame terrace was deposited against the north side of
Promontory Ridge. Probably about 21 000 years ago (the time of Coquitlam glacial maximum in
western Fraser Lowland) ice blocked Chilliwack Valley, creating a glacial lake whose
freshwater, Pediastrum-bearing, laminated silt has been observed up “to” 200) masi
Stratigraphy and history of the area following deposition of the above gravels and silt are
still uncertain without more chronologic control. However, proboscideans could have migrated
southward and westward, away from ice advancing into Fraser Lowland, across ancestral Strait
of Georgia via the Quadra sandur, and onto southeastern Vancouver Island to which earliest
Fraser glacial ice probably advanced after 17 000 years BP.
A.A.
384. HILLAIRE-MARCEL, C. 1972. Note sur une population Pleistocène de Mya arenaria
(Linné), St-Joseph-du-Lac, Québec. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,
Palaeoecology 12:275-283.
The fossil population, on which this note is based was obtained from the littoral deposits of
the Champlain sea in the vicinity of St-Joseph-du-Lac (Québec). It would appear to merit a
special study as regards some characteristics of paleoecological interest. In addition to
having been preserved in their vertical living position, the shells show a general
orientation on the ventral side towards the bottom of the sedimentary slope. When the sand
becomes coarser, they occur in a vertical burrow, perfectly preserved. A comparison of the
fossil population with the living forms studied by Swan (1952a) in the Gulf of St Lawrence
allows discussion of the conditions of life prevailing at that time.
385. HILLAIRE-MARCEL, C. 1977. Les isotopes du carbone et de l'oxygène dans les mers post-
glaciaires du Québec. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 31(1-2):81-106.
Preliminary investigations of isotopic compositions of faunas, sediments and calcareous
concretions from the post-glacial seas of Quebec, permitted to define an average range of
composition for each of them. The Goldthwait, Iberville and Tyrrell seas have compositions
similar to those presently found in Arctic waters. On the contrary, closed basins, such as
the Champlain Sea, show marked negative compositions which can be attributed to influx of
melt-water and more generally, continental waters. The amplitude of the variations due to
that factor masks isotopic changes brought about by temperature fluctuations. Systematic
differences of composition exist between shallow and deep water faunas. Those can be related
to the presence of water layers which have different salinity and temperature. The
similarities in the isotopic composition range between the Champlain Sea and the present
James Bay tend to indicate a gross. similar hydrological system. Finally, the homogeneity of
isotopic composition of calcareous concretions in each basin show that most of the
concretions are formed shortly after deposition of the sediments. In addition, the isotopic
data suggest that waters, at least the deeper waters, have a deficit in 14C in most marine
basins. This would yield greater 14¢ ages for shells, compared to those obtained with
continental wood in isotopic equilibrium with the atmosphere.
149
386. HILLAIRE-MARCEL, C. 1980. Les faunes des mers post-glaciaires du Québec: quelques
considérations paléoécologiques. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 34(1):3-59.
A paleoecological study of the fossil fauna of the post-glacial seas of Québec, with special
attention on mollusks, permit the delineation of type-communities. These benthonic
communities are distributed according to the depth, with small variations from the northern
basins to the generally more brackish southern seas. Thus, epibiontic (epifaunal)
communities living on coarse sediments are the intertidal Mytilus edulis community, and
the deeper water Hiatella arctica community which may be subdivided in two sub-
communities. The endobiontic (infaunal) communities living in sandy, silty or clayey shallow
water sediments, include the Mya arenaria and Macoma balthica communities and the
deeper water Macoma calcarea community which may be subdivided in three sub-
communities. The Portlandia arctica community deserves a special status because it is
mainly associated with glacio-marine muddy environments. These communities, which correspond
to well-defined litho facies, very often succeeded each other in relation to the decreasing
depth of the basins due to post-glacial rebound. Thus, they do not reflect climatic trends,
but simply hydrological changes caused by shoaling of each basin. Occasionally, some “warm”
water species migrated northward for a short period of time during middle or late Holocene.
They reflect a slightly delayed climatic optimum in the Arctic.
A.A.
387. HILLAIRE-MARCEL, C., and R.W. FAIRBRIDGE. 1978. Isostasy and eustasy of Hudson Bay.
Geology 6(2):117-122.
In the eastern Hudson Bay area, a “staircase” of 185 Holocene strandlines provides a
continuous record of emergence from about 8,000 yr B.P. (sidereal) to the present. Ages were
obtained from corrected radiocarbon analyses of shells and from application of a newly
discovered 45-yr cycle in beach building that is presumed to be related to the “double Hale”
solar cycle. Thus, we deduced a record of climatic storminess.
The mean curve of emergence confirms Andrews's model of glacio-isostatic uplift. Analysis of
the residuals in the emergence curve can be transformed to an approximate eustatic curve,
which shows some degree of coincidence with other sea-level curves derived from low latitudes
as well as with several climatic indicators. The strandline analysis appears to be a
powerful new tool for Holocene climate analysis and prediction.
A.A.
388. HILLAIRE-MARCEL, C., and S. OCCHIETTI. 1977. Fréquence des datations au 14C de faunes
marines post-glaciaires de l'Est du Canada et variations paléoclimatiques.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 21(1):17-54.
A statistical analysis of radiocarbon dates for 365 samples associated with postglacial
marine deposits of Eastern Canada and New England, U.S.A., yield a non-random statistical
distribution. This distribution pattern is explained by two principal controls (that are
partly interdependent): (1) secondary eustatic fluctuations, creating relative
stabilizations of the sea level with an uplifting land; and (2) more generally the climatic
variations. Other factors involved may include: (1) limitations of 14¢ dating method;
(2) non-statistical sampling methodology adopted by the Quaternary geologists; (3) lack of
intensive study of some of the marine basins; and (4) incidence of rapidly changing
paleogeographic events (opening and shoaling of marine basins, glacial readvances and changes
in the ice flow). The statistical appraisal of errors in published l4C dates and the
standard deviation, calculated with sliding means, enable us to screen out the influence of
most of the non-climatic factors. With this technique, we are also able to draw a curve
based on a general synthesis of all variations in 14C dates distribution. In this way, the
irregularities observed in the synthesis curve are now ccrrelated with paleoclimatic and
paleogeographic events that took place in Eastern Canada between 15,000 years B.P. to
present. That curve shows a close correlation during the Holocene with other climatic
indicators and gives some original information concerning the period 15,000-10,000 B.P. No
attempt has been made to adjust radiocarbon years for two reasons: (1) lack of agreement
between comparative curves prior to 7,000 B.P., and (2) lack of information concerning the
effect of “old waters” on shell dates.
A.A.
389. HILLAIRE-MARCEL, C., and S. OCCHIETTI. 1980. Chronology, paleogeography, and
paleoclimatic significance of the late and post-glacial events in eastern Canada.
Zeitschrift ftir Geomorphologie 24(4) :373-392.
In a tentative synthesis of statistical marine 14c chronology, isostatic and eustatic
movements, continental glacial features and post-glacial marine limits, the paleogeographic
evolution during the late and post-glacial times in eastern Canada, with special reference to
Quebec, is here reassessed. Publications on these data, and fieldwork by the authors, are
used in the drawing of maps of isochrones of Laurentide ice retreat, maximum diachronous
extension of post-glacial lakes and seas, emergence observed since 7,500 BP and of
paleogeography at 10,000-10,500 BP. The post-glacial uplift of Quebec is reconsidered with
new regional emergence curves. A time-space diagram from 15,000 to 8,000 BP indicates the
main steps in the retreat of the Laurentide ice-sheet in eastern Canada and the associated
marine episodes.
390. HILLAIRE-MARCEL, C., S. OCCHIETTI, L. MARCHAND, and R. RAJEWICZ. 1981. Analysis of
recent climatic changes in Quebec: Some preliminary data. In: Climatic Change in
Canada 2. Edited by: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus 33:28-47.
As part of a project on the climate of Canada over the past 20,000 years, we were asked by
the National Museum of Natural Sciences to carry out a study of recent climatic variations in
eastern Canada, essentially on the basis of historical data. The first stage (Hillaire-
Marcel eur \TE 1980) involved planning our research. This paper summarizes results
obtained since 1977. Temperature data based on instrumental records for Montreal were
compiled for the period 1840-1975 and compared with a corresponding series of records for the
Toronto region. In conjunction with this, indirect information on climate, such as port
activity at Montreal, was processed and correlated with the instrumental data. Finally, we
developed programs for statistical processing and spectrum analysis of short chronological
series. These programs allow us to isolate the tendencies underlying the chronological
series, and, above all, to bring to light the cyclical nature of recurring events. The
programs were tested, as a preliminary step, in the context of the sea level data and
recorded levels of inland bodies of water in southeastern Canada.
Figure 3 shows temperatures recorded since 1840 in Montreal. The coldest year recorded was
1875 and the warmest, 1953. Extreme fluctuations are evident over brief periods - almost 4°C
between 1875 and 1877, for example.
A comparison of thermometric records for Montreal and Toronto (Figure 4) shows that
temperature fluctuations were nearly parallel. Later, we will analyze these data
statistically to show differences in range between the two series. The average difference
between them, as far as can be determined on the basis of 10-year averages (Figure 5) from
1880 to the present, is about 2°C. Interestingly, this difference is due mainly to low
winter temperatures in Montreal. There is not much difference in summer averages for the two
cities (Figure 6). Apparently, in these two cities, weather conditions are similar in summer
and different in winter. This is probably because heat retained by the Great Lakes in summer
is released in winter thus moderating Toronto temperatures then, and because of latitudinal
differences between Toronto and Montreal. Further interpretation will be possible once the
barometric readings have been compiled and compared to the thermometric series.
The period 1860-1874 was an unusual one; temperature fluctuations between Montreal and
Toronto show phase fluctuations, or are sometimes intermingled. This is probably the effect
of changes in instrumentation (especially in Montreal), in the location of stations, or in
the recording schedule. For example, six different recording stations can be identified in
Montreal during this period.
NCTE:
391. HILLAIRE-MARCEL, C., S. OCCHIETTI, and G. PRICHONNET. 1980. Historical, hydrological
and physical evidence of changing climate in eastern Canada. In: Climatic Change
in Canada. Edited by: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus 26:61-72.
Within their research program of using “historical data to trace the variations in climate
which have occurred in eastern Canada since colonization” the authors are conducting three
projects.
(1) Historical study of variations in climate in eastern Canada: Inventory of
documents.
Newpapers and periodicals, and reports of port and maritime activity are
being used to reconstruct these climatic variations.
(2) Study of variations in the flow of rivers and in the level of some of the
lakes of southern Quebec: Ice jams, ice break ups, floods, movement of
sediment.
Various documents will provide the data, which will be graphically and
statistically analyzed.
(3) Physical data on the climate and climatic cycles in eastern Canada during
historical times.
Physical data from several selected sites will be correlated with a view to
reveal fluctuation tendencies and note future cycles.
A.B.S.
392. HILLAIRE-MARCEL, C., and P. PAGE. 1981. Paléotémperatures isotopiques du Lac Glaciaire
de Deschaillons. In: Quaternary Paleoclimate. Edited by: W.-C. Mahaney. Geo
Abstracts, Norwich. pp. 273-298.
Lake Deschaillons varves (beginning of Guildwood Stadial, Wisconsin) contain calcareous
concretions which, according to their isotopic composition (180, 13¢, 14c), precipitated
during two different periods. Some concretions formed during the period of sedimentation,
whilst others developed after the ice retreated from the St. Lawrence Lowlands (i.e. during
Champlain Sea and Lake Lampsilis times). The 13C content of the concretions indicates a
mainly biological origin for carbon which, in turn, suggests the influence of bacterial
activity in Cat precipitation. With careful isotopic controls, it is possible to give some
credence to the /4c age of the underlying St. Pierre peat beds. The observed changes in the
189/169 ratio of the synsedimentary concretions have been associated with (1) a decrease of
lake water temperature and (2) a progressive depletion of lake water in heavy isotopes. The
latter factor reflects “lighter precipitations" with the cooling climate which preceded the
ice invasion. The change in the 189/160 ratio of the lake water corresponds to a decrease of
the annual mean temperature of the St. Lawrence Lowlands, from c. +3°C to -5°C, using
Dansgaard's relation between 180 in precipitations and temperature.
A.A.
393. HILLAIRE-MARCEL, C., J.M. SOUCY, and A. CAILLEUX. 1979. Analyse isotopique de
concrétions sous-glaciaires de l'inlandsis laurentidien et teneur en oxygène 18 de
la glace. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 16(7):1494-1498.
Calcareous concretions occurring on Grenvillian gneiss have been discovered north of Hull,
Quebec. Their structure and isotopic composition (6 PDB180 ~ -260/50:
6 PDBl3C = 09/99; 14c age >35000 BP) indicate subglacial conditions of
precipitation. It is concluded that they were deposited at the base of the Laurentide ice
sheet. Assuming equilibrium conditions with the subglacial film of water during
precipitation of calcite, it is possible to define a -27.5 to -31.80/60 (vs. “standard mean
ocean water” (SMOW)) range for the oxygen-18 content of the ice.
A.A.
394. HILLS, L.V., and E.V. SANGSTER. 1980. A review of paleobotanical studies dealing with
the last 20,000 years; Alaska, Canada and Greenland. In: Climatic Change in
Canada. Edited by: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus 26:73-224.
This paper provides a resumé of published paleobotanical data from Alaska, Canada, and
Greenland. Articles are first listed according to site location (Figures 1 to 5, Table 1),
then a summary of each article is presented (Table 2).
A.B.S.
395. HOBSON, G.D., and J. TERASMAE. 1969. Pleistocene geology of the buried St. Davids
Gorge, Niagara Falls, Ontario: geophysical and palynological studies. Geological
Survey of Canada Paper 68-67:1-16.
No fossiliferous beds were found in the boreholes between St. Davids and Lake Ontario below
the Niagara escarpment. In the St. Davids Gorge, however, borehole 5 revealed the presence
of pollen and plant macrofossils in silt, clay and sand at a depth of 106-183 feet from
surface. These beds are both overlain and underlain by glacial deposits. Wood from the 150-
foot level was dated at 22,800 + 450 years before present (GSC-816). Pollen
assemblages in samples taken from the 80-foot sequence of nonglacial beds were dominated by
spruce! and pine2 with small numbers of fir?, birch4 and several different types of non-tree
pollen”. Spores and ferns, fungi, and Selaginella were found in some samples and pre-
Pleistocene spores were present frequently. Moss leaves, fragments of bark, leaf cuticle and
conifer needles, and twigs indicate presence of local vegetation. Cold climatic conditions
are inferred from the palynological evidence and a late mid-Wisconsin age has been assigned
to the nonglacial beds. The St. Davids Gorge was cut either during the last interglacial
(Sangamon) interval, or earlier.
pA.A.
396. HODGSON, D.A. 1978. Absence of late Quaternary glacial features on the Ringnes and
adjacent islands, Arctic Archipelago. Geological Society of America, Abstracts
with Programs 10(7):422.
No evidence of Late Wisconsinan glacial or fluvio-glacial erosion or deposition has been
found on the essentially fluvial and marine landscape of Amund Ringnes, Cornwall, Ellef
(Picea)
(Pinus bankstana)
(Abtes)
(Betula)
(including f. ex. Artemisia, Ambrosia, and Chenopodiaceae).
OW & © ND re
Ringnes, Graham or King Christian Islands. Dominant materials are weathered bedrock overlain
by marine sediments (beyond the range of standard 1l4¢ dating) and by Holocene marine
sediments. Beach gravels with 'old' shells occur above the Holocene marine limit. Weathered
till covers <1% of the area; the uppermost of two tills on Table Island is overlain by marine
sediments with 'old' shells.
The Holocene marine limit, at least 9000 14c years old, lies at ca. 110 m a.s.l. in the
central and eastern islands named, sloping to ca. 50 m in the west. There are no erosional
marine landforms at the elevation of the highest Holocene shells. Beach gravels underlying
the offshore marine sediments indicate an early Holocene transgression. Gravel-filled forest
fissures beneath the offshore marine beds occur at two locations. However shells immediately
above the onlap facies, at elevations close to present sea level, are no older than the
highest Holocene surface samples.
Obviously, the islands had no warm-based Late Wisconsinan ice cover, and marginal meltwater
features expected from cold-based ice are entirely lacking. Furthermore, Holocene uplift is
not explained by the influence of distant ice caps and ice sheets, using current geophysical
theory. The Ringnes Islands are 500 km from the nearest point of Greenland, and 300 km from
the present day major Ellesmere ice caps, and at least 400 km north of the Late Wisconsinan
Laurentide margin. It is suggested that Holocene uplift resulted from disappearance or
contraction of ice caps on uplands bordering Norwegian Bay from Bathurst Island through Devon
and Ellesmere Islands to Axel Heiberg Island, rather than from the influence of the more
intensive Innuitian Ice Sheet.
A.A.
397. HOELLER, A.E. 1982. The role of environmental and historical evidence in climate
reconstruction: a preliminary review and appraisal. Canadian Climate Centre,
Downsview, Report No. 82-3:1-113.
This report presents an initial review and appraisal of some of the sources of proxy data
that can provide a valuable contribution toward reconstruction of the climates of the past
10,000 years, and which may be particularly applicable to Canadian climate reconstruction.
The proxy data sources explored are tree-rings, ice cores, sea cores, pollen, paleosols, lake
levels, the climatic evidence from human history retained in historical documents and
archeology. In addition to the above, a brief consideration of the C-14 dating technique and
its alternatives is included. A bibliography accompanies each section of the review, which
in conjunction with the text, provides an overview of paleoclimatology and its techniques, as
well as sufficient resources for more in-depth reading.
pA.le
398. HOFFMANN, R.S. 1980. Of mice and men: Beringian dispersal and the ice-free corridor.
Canadian Journal of Anthropology 1(1):51-52.
By analogy to other mammalian dispersers of the late Pleistocene, I venture to predict that
humans first crossed eastward across the Bering land bridge in the early Würm-Wisconsin (70-
50 thousand yrs. BP), as cold-steppe predators into the interior of the Alaska-Yukon ice-free
refugium, as littoral scavengers along the southern margin of the land bridge, or both. It
seems very likely that during the Early Wisconsin a large glacial ice barrier resulted from
coalescence of Cordilleran and Laurentide ice, but that deglaciation was sufficient during
the Middle Wisconsin (35-25 thousand yrs. BP) to form an “ice-free corridor" and probably
drowned the Bering land bridge for a time (Hopkins, 1973). During this time, humans
dispersed southward out of the Alaska-Yukon refugium into mid-latitude North America and
probably beyond. After 25 thousand yrs. BP, a second episode of glacial coalescence, perhaps
10,000 years in length, prevented dispersal southward out of the Beringian region (Rutter,
1980). Finally, with the climatic change that brought the Wisconsin to an end about 13,000
yrs. BP, the ice-free corridor opened again, permitting a second wave of human immigrants to
spread southward throughout North and South America.
Excerpt
399. HOLLOWAY, R.G. 1978. Absolute pollen analysis of Lake Wabamun, Alberta, Canada.
American Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts 5:213.
A 16 m core was obtained from stratified sediments in Lake Wabamun, Alberta, revealing a
16000 year history in this region. Absolute pollen frequencies were calculated and indicated
a fairly stable vegetational and, by implication, climatic history for this time period.
Geologic evidence from central Alberta suggest that Lake Wabamun was not covered by the
Laurentide Ice Sheet 16000 years ago but instead was located between two lobes of this Late
Wisconsin maximum glacial advance. Pollen data reveal that 16000 years ago the Lake Wabamun
area supported a Tundra type vegetation similar to what is presently found in the Arctic
Archipelago. Other data suggest that the increase in the pollen influx (ca. 12000 BP)
resulted from the major retreat of the ice sheet and colonization by various plant
communities. By 11000 BP the early colonization was followed by a Boreal Forest type
vegetation assemblage which remained until severely reduced by a short, but destructive
deposition of volcanic ash, preceeding the re-establishment of the forest. A warming trend
followed which culminated in the Hypsithermal Period. This warming trend was characterized
in the pollen record by fluxuating increases and decreases in the arboreal component which
suggest the presence of a forest-grassland ecotone. The Hypsithermal represented the largest
expansion of prairie elements into central Alberta. The climatic conditions present during
the Hypsithermal affected the pollen preservation and resulted in such a low fossil pollen
yield that no interpretation for this period can be offered at this time. Following the
Hypsithermal, conditions became cooler and moister allowing for the re-establishment of a
Boreal Forest. At approximately 2000 BP the pollen concentration begins to decrease, and is
interpreted to represent a change to a more Parkland-like or ecotone type vegetation. A
sharp decrease in the pollen influx is also noted at ca. 1000 BP. It is possible that the
decrease noted in both the pollen influx and the organic content represent a slight change in
the regional vegetation. On the other hand, it may also represent evidence of vegetational
modification by early human populations in this area.
A.A.
400. HOLLOWAY, R.G., V.M. BRYANT, Jr., and S. VALASTRO. 1981. A 16,000 year pollen record
from Lake Wabamun, Alberta, Canada. Palynology 5:195-208.
Analysis of fossil pollen from Lake Wabamun sediments record a Late Quaternary vegetational
record for the last 16,000 years and indicates that the area between the Laurentide and
Cordilleran ice centers was ice-free since at least 16,000 years B.P. Pollen influx and
pollen percentage data indicate a vegetational sequence beginning with a tundra vegetation
from 16,000-11,750 years ago. By 11,750 years B.P., birch and alder colonized the area but
was soon followed by a cold-climate type coniferous forest composed primarily of spruce with
some elements of birch and poplar. A warming trend begins around 9250 years B.P. which
culminates in the Hypsithermal. However, pollen preservation is poor during this portion of
the record for direct vegetational reconstruction. Immediately following the Hypsithermal, a
spruce-poplar vegetational association was present that was similar to some present boreal
forest areas in northern Alberta. Around 2000 years B.P. the pollen influx values decline
and suggest a shift to a poplar-dominated vegetation with spruce still abundant. This
vegetation assemblage seems to have marked the beginning of the present aspen grove and
parkland vegetation found in central Alberta today.
A.A.
401. HOOKE, R.L., E.C. ALEXANDER, Jr., and R.J. GUSTAFSON. 1980. Temperature profiles in
the Barnes Ice Cap, Baffin Island, Canada, and heat flux from the subglacial
terrane. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 17(9):1174-1188.
Temperature measurements were made in seven boreholes, ranging in depth from 50-276 m, in the
Barnes Ice Cap. Hole B4, D4, and T0975 are approximately 1 km from the margin and an average
of 8 km apart. Holes TO91, T081, TO6l, and TO20 lie along a 10.2 km flow line passing
through T0975. Temperature profiles are convex upward in all holes except TO20, reflecting
un
the combined effects of longitudinal and upward vertical advection, and frictional heating.
The profile in TO20 is concave near the bottom of the hole, as a result of downward vertical
advection, but convex above mid-depth, owing to a 2.5°C cooling of the near-surface ice in
the early 1940s.
Modeling, using a finite difference scheme, suggests that the profiles are in equilibrium
with slightly lower vertical velocities and longitudinal advection rates than exist at
present, and that temperatures at the glacier surface have increased 0.1-1.5°C over the last
few decades. The modeling further suggests that the heat flux from the subglacial terrane
beneath most holes is 0.5-0.8 heat-flow units (HFU), which is somewhat lower than the average
geothermal flux on the Canadian Shield. The heat flux seems to decrease down-glacier along
the flow line through T0975, apparently reflecting climatic warming of about 2° at the end of
the Little Ice Age. In contrast, the heat flux appears to increase southeastward from the
flow line, reaching an anomalously high value of about 1.9 HFU at B4. This trend is
unexplained.
Measurements of U, Th, and K in rock samples collected near the margin suggest heat
production rates of about 5 heat-generation units (HGU), which is slightly higher than
previous measurements on Baffin Island.
A.A.
402. HOPKINS, D.M. 1972. The paleogeography and climatic history of Beringia during late
Cenozoic time. Inter-Nord 12:121-150.
Beringia (Alaskal, northeastern Siberia, and the intervening continental shelves) has played
a strategic role in the evolution of northern biota during late Cenozoic time, because of its
position athwart restrictions in both intercontinental and interhemispheric dispersal routes.
Exposures of the extensive shelf areas during marine regressions and changes in water
circulation across the shelf during transgressions have had dramatic effects upon the
climate. A dichotomy between a maritime climate in the generally mountainous southern
coastal fringe and a more continental climate in uplands and lowlands further north has been
an enduring feature of Beringian history. But the continentality of the central and northern
regions was greatly enhanced during intervals of low sea level, when Beringia was a single,
broad landmass and when extensive ice caps in the coastal mountains blocked northward
penetration of moist air masses. It is clear that the North Pacific Ocean and southern
Bering Sea have been the persistent sources of moisture and that the Arctic Ocean, ice-free
or not, failed to contribute importantly to precipitation in Beringia.
A temperate climate prevailed in Beringia until shortly before the beginning of the
Pleistocene Epoch, although glaciation began in the mountains of Alaska and probably in the
mountains of Kamchatka and the Koryak region some 10 m.y. ago. The effects of severe frost
action are first recorded in lowland areas about 2.0 m.y. ago, and the earliest evidence of
permafrost is in deposits about 1.0 + 0.5 m.y. old. Forest vegetation probably
covered most of Beringia throughout the Pliocene Epoch; the tundra biome did not appear until
near the beginning of the Pleistocene Epoch. The Arctic Ocean seems to have been either ice
free or only seasonally icebound until well into Pleistocene time.
A series of progressively “colder” interglacial marine transgressions culminated in the
middle Pleistocene Kotzebuan Transgression, during which cold, Arctic water flowed southward
through the Bering Strait. Glaciers may have been present in the mountains of Chukotka and
northern Alaska, and this may have resulted in local changes in albedo sufficient to trigger
subsequent growth of continental ice caps during the penultimate (Illinoian or Salle)
glaciation. Paleoclimatic data are inadequate for a detailed reconstruction of the climate
during the penultimate glaciation, but of the several episodes recorded in Beringia, this was
the most extensive.
The last (Sangamon or Eem) interglaciation was a time of relatively mild climate during which
spruce forest extended well north and west of the modern forest limit in Alaska, and birch
woodlands became established in sheltered valleys in Chukotka. The distribution of fossil
l Ed note: Western Yukon should be included.
156
marine mollusks indicates that warm Pacific water entered southwestern Bering Sea and
meandered northward to Bering Strait and thence into the Chukchi Sea. Winter sea ice
probably was restricted to regions north of the strait. The last interglaciation was
punctuated, however, by a marine regression during which the climate temporarily became more
severe.
Climatic fluctuations during the early part of the last (Wisconsin or Warthe) glaciation are
poorly understood, but this cold cycle culminated in a period of extremely severe climate
between 13,000 and 20,000 years ago. Glaciers covered the mountain ranges bordering the
Pacific Ocean and southwestern Bering Sea, as well as large areas in the Brooks Range and the
mountains of Chukotka. The climate of central and northern Beringia was strongly continental
and very dry. Persistent barometric highs over the polar sea ice resulted in strong
northeast winds in regions north of the Arctic Circle, and the ice fields of southern Alaska
produced strong and persistent katabatic southwest winds in central Alaska. Tundra-steppe
clothed most of unglaciated Beringia. Forest biota persisted only in a few unglaciated
enclaves in Kamchatka and in a refugium on the continental shelf somewhere near the modern
Yukon River Delta.
There is no clear record in Beringia of the dramatic climatic oscillations recorded in
temperate latitudes between 13,000 and 10,000 years ago. Bering Strait was reopened as a
sinuous, shallow seaway, when sea level rose to -38 meters about 13,000 or 14,000 years ago,
and this brought a milder climate to western Alaska and probably also to Chukotka. However,
the climate of central Alaska remained cold and dry. Evidence for strong northeast winds on
the Pribilof Islands suggests that the persistent barometric high was now located over pack
ice on the continental shelf of the Chukchi Sea.
A sharp vegetation change records a rapid warming throughout Beringia about 10,000 years ago.
In most parts of Beringia, the Holocene warming seems to have peaked in a minor thermal
maximum about 5,000 years ago, but northwestern Alaska has experienced two climatic optima-
one within the interval 10,000 to 8,000 years ago and another during the last three -decades-
during which forest biota expanded to their furthest limits. These expansions of forest
biota in northwestern Alaska seem to have taken place during intervals when summer weather
was clear and warm, but the cause of this local summer warming remains obscure.
A.A.
403. HORBERG, L., and R.A. ROBIE. 1955. Postglacial volcanic ash in the Rocky Mountain
Piedmont, Montana and Alberta. Geological Society of America Bulletin 66:949-956.
A volcanic ash layer, which occurs in postglacial alluvium and colluvium at several
localities in southern Alberta and northwestern Montana, is named Galata ash. The
stratigraphic relations and physical properties of the ash indicate a single episode of
volcanic activity and possible correlation with an ash layer in southwestern Glacier Park
assigned on the basis of pollen analyses to the postglacial Xerothermic period.
A.A.
404. HORN, D.R. 1963. Marine geology, Peary Channel, District of Franklin. Geological
Survey of Canada Paper 63-11:1-33.
Reports the 1961 survey of Hasseland Massey Sounds and Peary and Sverdrup Channels in a
10,000 sq. mi. area in the Queen Elizabeth Islands, east of that reported by Marlowe and
Vilks, q.v. Main features of sea-floor morphology are noted and their significance indicated;
sources and characteristics of the fluvial and recent marine sediments, some of them unique
to arctic regions, are discussed. Most of the 44 cores taken offshore consist of a surface
layer of dark brown silty clay underlain by dark gray to black interbedded silt and clay; it
averages 34 cm. thick. The second layer at less than 190 m. depth has oxidized soil, coarse
sands at 200 m., grading downward into coarse silt at about 400 m., and below that, clay.
Environmental conditions during deposition of the second layer were unlike those today; the
water was cooler, and faunal content is less in that part of the offshore cores. Data on
inshore and offshore core samples are tabulated. Submarine topography is interpreted on a
map 1 in.: 10 mi. A longitudinal and four transverse profiles are included.
A.B.
405. HOWDEN, H.F. 1975. Late Quaternary history of some maritime insects. In:
Environmental Change in the Maritimes. Edited by: J.G. Ogden, III and
M.J. Harvey. Proceedings of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science 27(Supplement
3) :61-66.
Discusses past insect distributions, mostly beetles. The results seem to indicate, at least
for the eastern maritime beetles associated with deciduous forests, that they survived
glaciation in southeastern North America, and reinvaded the maritime regions gradually during
the last 10,000 years.
L.G.
406. HUFTY, A. 1981. Fluctuations climatiques récentes au Québec. Géographie physique et
Quaternaire 35(1):49-55.
The problem is approached in three separate, but complementary manners centring on a study of
temperature regimes in Québec. These regimes indicate irregular fluctuations around a slight
tendency upward, that is most evident in the St. Lawrence Lowlands and that peaks around
1950. These variations are in part global and a number of authors, in particular Budyko and
Bryson, have tried to account for them by means of energy budget models that indicate the
climatic consequences of changes in the amount of dust and C02 present in the atmosphere, as
well as of volcanic eruptions. These climatic theories are becoming better and better known,
even outside the scientific community, and there is some indication that the perception of
climatic change has increased even more than climate itself.
A.A.
407. HUGHES, O.L., C.R. HARINGTON, J.-A. JANSSENS, J.V. MATTHEWS, Jr., R.E. MORLAN,
N.W. RUTTER, and C.E. SCHWEGER. 1981. Upper Pleistocene stratigraphy,
paleoecology, and archaeology of the northern Yukon interior, eastern Beringia.
1. Bonnet Plume Basin. Arctic 34(4):329-365.
New stratigraphic and chronometric data show that Bonnet Plume Basin, in northeastern Yukon
Territory, was glaciated in late Wisconsinan time rather than during an earlier advance of
Laurentide ice. This conclusion has important ramifications not only for the interpretation
of all-time glacial limits farther north along the Richardson Mountains but also for non-
glaciated basins in the Porcupine drainage to the northwest. The late Wisconsinan glacial
episode in Bonnet Plume Basin is here named the Hungry Creek advance after the principal
Quaternary section in the basin. Sediments beneath the till at Hungry Creek have produced
well-preserved pollen, plant macrofossils, insects, and a few vertebrate remains. The plant
and invertebrate fossils provide a detailed, if temporally restricted, record of a portion of
the mid-Wisconsinan interstadial, while the vertebrate fossils include the oldest Yukon
specimen of the Yukon wild ass. Some of the mid-Wisconsinan sediments have also yielded
distinctive chert flakes that represent either a previously unreported product of natural
fracturing or a by-product of stone tool manufacture by human residents of Bonnet Plume
Basin.
In addition to presenting new data on these diverse but interrelated topics, this paper
serves as an introduction to a series of reports that will treat in turn the Upper
Pleistocene record of Bluefish, Old Crow, and Bell basins, respectively.
A.A.
408. HURT, W.R. 1966. The Altithermal and the prehistory of the Northern Plains.
Quaternaria 8(15):101-114.
To explain the relative difficulty of finding sites of human occupancy in the Northern Plains
during the Altithermal (c. 5000-2500 B.C.) archaelogists have postulated that the climate, as
in the Grand Basin, was so arid that man and the grazing animals emigrated to better watered
areas. Tables of known archaeological sites on the Northern Plains show that the duration of
Sparse population lasted from about 5000 to 3600 B.C., that is for most of the Altithermal.
Because of the lack of research in the Northern Plains there is little direct evidence
concerning the specific features of climate of the Altithermal. However, archaeological,
geological and palynological sites prove that this period of sparse population is associated
with the postglacial thermal maximum. One can postulate that a similar climate existed in
the most central area. Certain parts of the Northern Plains, because of their physical
features, received relatively more precipitation than the area as a whole. Therefore, during
the severest Altithermal droughts man may have moved to the more favourable habitats.
G.A.
409. HYVARINEN, H., and J.C. RITCHIE. 1975% Pollen stratigraphy of Mackenzie pingo
sediments, N.W.T., Canada. Arctic and Alpine Research 7(3):261-272.
Two eroded pingos, of the closed system type abundant in the uplands east of the Mackenzie
Delta, yielded sections of pond sediment of Holocene age. Pollen stratigraphy of both
sections confirms the general sequence established earlier by Ritchie (1972): Zone I
dominated by Betula glandulosa associated with low frequencies of Salix and
Artemisia; Zone II dominated by Picea (20 to 40%) and Betula (50%) and Zone
III showing roughly equal representation of Alnus, Betula, and Picea. Zone IV is
represented only at the Hendrickson Island site and is distinguished from Zone III by the
increases in Betula, ericads, and sedges, and a decline of Alnus. Radiocarbon
analyses suggest that the growth of the two pingos was initiated at least 2,500 years ago.
The Zone I assemblage, which has been widely reported in the northwest Arctic-Subarctic of
North America was replaced by Zone II about 9,000 BP; at Eskimo Lakes it represents a
migration of spruce into birch-dominated tundra, but it is unlikely that spruce actually grew
at Hendrickson Island. The Zone III to IV changes confirm the proposition (Ritchie and Hare,
1972) that the tree line has retreated to its present position during the postglacial.
A.A.
410. The Ice-free Corridor and Peopling the New World. Edited by: N.W. Rutter and
C.E. Schweger. Canadian Journal of Anthropology 1(1):1-139. 1980.
Proceedings of the 5th Biennial Meeting of the American Quaternary Association, Sept. 2-4,
1978 in Edmonton. Articles are annotated individually.
A.B.S.
411. INGRAM, M.J., and D.J. UNDERHILL. 1979. The use of documentary sources for the study
of past climates. International Conference on Climate and History, University of
East Anglia, Norwich, July 8-14. Review Papers, pp. 59-90.
Documentary evidence is an important source of detailed information on past climates,
particularly for the period from about 1100 A.D. to the beginnings of the era of instrumental
meteorology. This paper is concerned with the study and climatic interpretation of this
evidence. It comprises four sections. The first provides a survey of the available sources,
offering some insights into the historical milieux which produced them and indicating in very
general terms the kinds of information they contain. There are, however, many pitfalls
involved in using historical records, and in the second section we discuss the most basic of
159
them, the problems involved in assessing the reliability of sources as records of events.
The third section deals with the more difficult problems of source interpretation and
analysis, some attention being given to the use of content of the material to produce
climatologically valuable data. In turn we consider the analysis of early instrumental
observations; the construction of meteorological series from the relatively few types of
documentary data which provide continuous series of more or less homogeneous information; and
the analysis of fragmentary and nonhomogeneous series using indexation procedures and spatial
Mapping techniques (the latter being used to make possible the analysis of qualitative
material in terms of atmospheric circulation patterns).
412. IRVING, W.N., and C.R. HARINGTON. 1973. Upper Pleistocene radio-carbon dated artefacts
from the northern Yukon. Science 179(4071):335-340.
In 1966 a caribou bone fleshing tool was collected with two mammoth bone artefacts and a rich
assemblage of Pleistocene fossils at a site in the Old Crow Basin, Yukon Territory. The
fleshing tool was radiocarbon dated at 27,000 (+ 3000/- 2000) years B.P. (GX-1640),
indicating that people lived in this part of the Beringian refugium before the peak of the
last (Wisconsin) glaciation.
In addition to plant, mollusc, fish and bird remains, 18 species of mammals are recorded from
the site, 9 of which are extinct in the Yukon. Faunal remains consist of two components:
(1) a cold-adapted component including a number of species derived from Eurasia (e.g. woolly
Mammoth, caribou, bison and arctic fox); and (2) a warm-adapted component derived from
southern North America (e.g. camel, giant beaver, American mastodon). It is postulated that
the two components are approximately of similar age, suggesting a period of transition from a
warm (Sangamon interglacial?) climate to a cooler (Wisconsin glacial) one, in which extensive
loess-steppe grasslands occurred.
C.R.H.
413. IVES, J.D. 1958-59. Glacial drainage channels as indicators of late-glacial conditions
in Labrador-Ungava: a discussion. Cahiers de Géographie de Québec 3(5):57-72.
The majority of glacial drainage channels in the vicinity of Schefferville were formed in
sub-lateral or sub-glacial positions. The study of these channels can lead to an evaluation
of the conditions prevailing during the final phase of wastage of the ice mass. The ice, at
least during the final stages of wastage, was at the pressure melting point, the snowline was
well above the land surface and large volumes of melt-water formed annually. The author
concludes that the mean annual temperature (and particularly the summer temperature) during
the period of final melting of the ice sheet on the “lake plateau" was comparable with, if
not, higher, than that of today; a conclusion hardly compatible with botanists' views. It is
suggested that temperature was warmer than the vegetation indicates, there being a lag
between rate of climatic amelioration and development of vegetation.
L.G.
414. IVES, J.D. 1962. Indications of recent extensive glacierization in north central
Baffin Island, N.W.T. Journal of Glaciology 4(32):197-205.
Studies of the geomorphology and rock lichen development north of the Barnes Ice Cap prompt
the conclusion that 70 per cent of this extensive, interior region was covered by permanent
ice some 300 to 400 yr. ago. Contemporaneously the northern Barnes Ice Cap was significantly
larger than today; it dammed up a lake in the upper Isortoq valley, over 80 km. long and up
to 300 m deep. Excluding the ice cap, less than 2 per cent of the area is glacierized today;
this represents a dramatic reduction in surface area of the former ice cover. Similarly,
significant recession of the ice cap implies that glaciers of the “Baffin type” are in a less
healthy budgetary state than hitherto has been assumed.
160
Proof of former extensive ice cover rests largely upon restricted rock lichen development.
When sufficient time has elapsed for complete colonization, few indications of the former
existence of an ice cover will remain. This type of glacierization may have affected large
areas in the high Arctic. Absence of evidence of glaciation, therefore, cannot be relied
upon to delimit nunatak areas (plant refugia) during the last glaciation.
415. IVES, J.D. 1978. The maximum extent of the Laurentide Ice Sheet along the east coast
of North America during the last glaciation. Arctic 31:24-53.
During the last hundred years, two widely opposing views of the maximum extent of the
Laurentide Ice Sheet have prevailed at different times. Between 1860 and 1940, it was
assumed that ice extent along the eastern seaboard was limited and that ice-free areas
persisted during the Maximum of the Last Glaciation. After 1940, this interpretation was
replaced by one contending that all high coastal mountains were inundated. This view,
proposed by the late R.F. Flint, was widely accepted as fact until the last few years. This
paper reviews the opposing interpretations and analyses the frequently equivocal field
evidence and the developments of thought responsible for them. On the basis of field work
carried out over the last twenty years, it is suggested that the earlier viewpoint was the
more accurate. A map is presented of the author's conclusions regarding maximum ice limits.
A.A.
416. IVES, J.D., J.T. ANDREWS, and R.G. BARRY. 1975. Growth and decay of the Laurentide Ice
Sheet and comparisons with Fenno-Scandinavia. Naturwissenschaften 62(3):118-125.
The history of thought relating to the initiation, growth, and decay of the Laurentide Ice
Sheet is traced and the traditional hypothesis of “highland origin and windward growth" is
re-examined. Extensive field data from Labrador-Ungava and Baffin Island are reviewed in a
climatological context. An alternative conceptual model of “instantaneous glacierization”,
based on a late Neoglacial extensive snow cover over much of the eastern Canadian Arctic and
Subarctic, is proposed. Comparisons with Fenno-Scandinavia are made in the light of this new
model.
417. IVES, J.D., H. NICHOLS, and S.K. SHORT. 1976. Glacial history and paleoecology of
northeastern Nouveau-Québec and northern Labrador. Arctic 29(1):48-52.
Lake sediment cores were taken from ten lakes ranging from Boundary Lake, north of
Schefferville, to Miriam Lake in the Four Peaks area of the Torngat Mountains. ... Initial
field examination of the Torngat Mountain and George River basin cores revealed that the
topmost sequence was consistently a layer of coarse sand overlying more organic sediments.
this indicates a recent environmental disturbance involving accelerated soil erosion. ...
[A study of three weathering zones, Torngat, Koroksoak and Saglek, in the southern Torngat
Mountains was also conducted. ] «+. a tentative correlation is made between Baffin Island
Zone III, Labrador Saglek Zone, and the maximum extent of Wisconsin ice in the eastern
Canadian Arctic. The Koroksoak Zone bears numerous signs of former glacial activity and
presumably can be related to a pre-Wisconsin glaciation, or glaciations. ...
Extracts?
161
418. JACKSON, L.E., Jr. 1979. New evidence for the existence of an ice free corridor in the
Rocky Mountain Foothills near Calgary, Alberta, during late Wisconsinan time.
Geological Survey of Canada Paper 79-1A:107-111.
A 12 m core from a bog near Turner Valley, Alberta, has yielded l4C dates of 18 400
+ 380 years and 18 500 + 1090 years B.P. from near its bottom. These
dates provide minimum ages for the end of the last glaciation during which Rocky Mountain
provenance ice advanced east of the mountain front and covered much of the Foothills. A
buried soil horizon near southeast Calgary lies between the youngest glacial till and
glaciolacustrine silts. The stratigraphic position of the soil horizon precludes an advance
of the Laurentide Ice Sheet into the Foothills since at least the end of the early
Wisconsinan stage.
A.A.
419. JACKSON, L.E., Jr. 1980. Quaternary stratigraphy and history of the Alberta portion of
the Kananaskis Lakes Map Area (82-J) and its implications for the existence of an
ice-free corridor during Wisconsinan time. Canadian Journal of Anthropology
1(1):9-10.
In conclusion, four glaciations are recorded in the Alberta portion of the Kananaskis Lakes
sheet. The third glaciation of at least Early Wisconsinan age involved the last coalescence
of Rocky Mountain and Laurentide ice in this area. During the Late Wisconsinan, valley
glaciers advanced only as far as the mountain front, whereas the Laurentide ice sheet never
advanced above about 1036 m elevation east of the Kananaskis Lakes Sheet.
Excerpt
420. JACOBS, J.D., and C.Y.Y. LEUNG. 1981. Paleoclimatic implications of topoclimatic
diversity in Arctic Canada. In: Quaternary Paleoclimate. Edited by:
W.C. Mahaney. Geo Abstracts, Norwich. pp. 63-75.
It has often been observed that in the Arctic, particularly in areas of varied relief, a wide
range of microclimatic conditions may be encountered over short distances and under the same
regional climatic influences. Such topoclimatic diversity is most evident in the spatial
patterns and relative and absolute abundances of vegetation.
Field investigations in coastal areas of moderate relief (0 to 600 m.a.s.1.) in Baffin Island
have provided the empirical basis for modeling and mapping topoclimates in relative terms.
LANDSAT imagery and aerial photographs permit extension of the method to other areas. The
topoclimate mapping method uses theoretical solar radiation on slopes and sheltering effects
upon prevailing winds to identify areas of relatively favorable microclimates. Good spatial
correspondence is found between such maps and vegetation maps derived from LANDSAT imagery.
The high degree of spatial variability in microclimate and plant habitat is paralleled by a
large temporal variability in regional climate. Associated with the short-term climatic
fluctuations are occasional extreme weather events which can have a pronounced impact upon
the landscape.
Taken together, these observations point to the need for caution in the interpretation of
proxy climatic data from widely scattered sites. The reconstruction of past climates and
landscapes should proceed on the assumption that the degree of spatial variety observed in
the present existed also in the past.
A.A.
162
421. JACOBS, J.D., and J.P. NEWELL. 1979. Recent-year-to-year variations in seasonal
temperatures and sea ice conditions in the eastern Canadian Arctic. Arctic
32(4) :345-354.
Mean summer and winter temperatures for the 1957-1978 period have been analyzed for four
eastern arctic stations. Standard deviations on the order of 3°C in winter and 1°C in summer
indicate the magnitude of the interannual variations, and these departures are found to be
synchronous over the region. Several indices of sea ice severity also show significant year-
to-year variations, but these are not spatially coherent. Relationships between climatic
parameters and sea ice are examined in order to explain these differences.
A.A.
422. JACOBS, J.D., and G. SABO,III. 1978. Environments and adaptations of the Thule Culture
on the Davis Strait coast of Baffin Island. Arctic and Alpine Research 10(3):595-
615.
The eastern coast of Baffin Island is a climatically severe, topographically complex arctic
region. Archaeological and historical evidence show that the area was occupied over part, if
not all, of the last two millenia by small Eskimo populations. Investigations of the
distribution and environments of dwelling sites along a portion of the Davis Strait coast
indicate a pattern of site selection which provides the optimum local environment from a
demonstrably wide range of alternatives. Site surveys give some indication of the degree of
topoclimatic diversity which exists in the region. It is suggested that the observed
patterns of site selection and utilization represent a particular local adaptation on the
part of Thule culture inhabitants to this climatically stressful region.
423. JACOBY, G.C., and E.R. COOK. 1981. Past temperature variations inferred from a 400-
year tree-ring chronology from Yukon Territory, Canada. Arctic and Alpine Research
13(4) :409-418.
A time series of ring-width indices from 27 cores of 13 white spruce trees (Picea
glauca) from a site near the Dempster Highway, Yukon Territory (65°20'N, 138°20'W) shows
growth response to summer temperatures and other climatic variables. Temperature information
can be inferred for the last 400 years. The earliest part of the tree-ring curve shows
effects of the “Little Ice Age”, there is a warmer period centering around the late 1700s,
and then a severe cooling trend toward the mid-1800s followed by the Northern Hemisphere
warming. Since about 1950, there appears to be a trend toward cooler temperatures.
C.R.H.
424. JACOBY, G.C., and L.D. ULAN. 1981. Review of dendroclimatology in the forest-tundra
ecotone of Alaska and Canada. In: Climatic Change in Canada 2. Edited by:
C.R. Harington. Syllogeus 33:97-128.
In the high-latitude forest-tundra ecotone, temperature shifts are larger compared to lower
latitudes, and climatically sensitive tree-ring series longer than 500 years can be
developed. Long-term climatic data are _ scarce. This paper reviews recent
dendroclimatological studies from the forest-tundra ecotone of Alaska and Canada.
In this region, the dating of tree-ring material is more difficult, and the climatic signal
less obvious, than in southwestern United States. However, the potential is high for
dendroclimatology and archaeology using ring widths and the newer method of x-ray
densitometry.
163
Our studies indicate that both temperature and moisture information are recorded in the rings
of subarctic trees, especially in summer. Effects of the Little Ice Age and recent Northern
Hemisphere warming are shown in past tree growth at several sites. There are also
significant differences in sub-arctic tree growth based on data from sites across North
America. Efforts are continuing to develop a transect of dendroclimatological sites for the
northern forest-tundra ecotone.
A.S.
425. JACOBY, G.C., and L.D. ULAN. 1982. Reconstruction of past ice conditions in a Hudson
Bay estuary using tree rings. Nature 298(5875) :637-639.
A tree-ring chronology is derived from annual ring-width measurements of 15 increment cores
from 7 white spruce (Picea glauca) from flat, poorly-drained muskeg near Churchill,
Manitoba. Ten of these cores extended back to 1686 or earlier. Calibration of climatic data
derived from the tree rings with climatic data derived from historical documents (1741-1769
A.D.) for first complete freeze of the Churchill River estuary shows a high degree of
correlation. Based on this evidence, the authors reconstruct a record of days of first
complete freezing of the Churchill River estuary for 298 years (1680-1977). The
reconstruction is verified by modern data (1967-1977). The authors believe that additional
reconstruction of ice conditions over wide areas can be achieved using tree-ring
information.
C.R.H.
426. JANKOVSKA, V., and L.C. BLISS. 1977. Palynological analysis of a peat from Truelove
Lowland. In: Truelove Lowland Devon Island, Canada: A High Arctic Ecosystem.
Edited by: L.C. Bliss. University of Alberta Press, Edmonton. pp. 139-142.
A basal peat cored to determine pollen and plant material content, had an age of 2,450
ia990)syears, BeP. Garr, 1971); Moss peat and identifiable moss leaves predominated
throughout the profile. Salix aretica and Poaceae accounted for most pollen; the
absolute amount throughout the profile was low. Comparing this profile with others from Axel
Heiberg Island and Greenland, the slow accumulation of peat in Truelove Lowland indicates a
cold, dry climate has prevailed for the past 1,000+ years.
427. JANSON, E., and E. HALFERT. 1937. A pollen analysis of a bog in northern Ontario.
Papers of the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts and Letters 22:95-98.
This study is concerned with a northern Ontario bog at about 46°-47°N. and 79°-80°W.
The plant list indicates the typical subboreal flora of the Canadian coniferous forest.
The presence of Quercus in the lower layers of the peat and its subsequent absence
would indicate inception of the bog deposits during a warmer climate than now prevails in
this area.
The decrease of Pinus and the increase of Abies and Picea may perhaps
signify an increase in humidity.
A.S.
164
428. JOHNSON, F., and G.M. RAUP. 1964. Geobotanical and archaeological reconnaissance. In:
Investigation in Southwest Yukon. Phillips Academy, Robert S. Peabody Foundation
for Archaeology, Andover, Massachusetts, Paper 6.6(1-2):3-198.
Reconstructs regional cultural developments on the basis of changes in climate, biota and
topography inferred from the stratigraphy of silt deposits. Hunters followed herds into the
Kluane Lake grasslands after retreat of glaciers and persisted through the Hypsithermal
period, the hunting techniques changing with the appearance of large game and increasing
forestation at the close of that period. The slow forest advance is attributed to the
extreme aridity of the Dezadeash-Shakwak region aggravated, earlier, by a Hypsithermal
climate. Contemporary landforms, surficial deposits and vegetation are described,
archeological finds noted and ethnographic data supplied on the Athapaskan Indian community
at Burwash Landing.
A.B.
429. JOHNSON, L.P.V. 1940. Relation of sunspot periodicity to precipitation, temperature
and crop yields in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Canadian Journal of Research
18(3):79-81.
Coefficients of correlation (r) were calculated for sunspot data as related to annual
precipitation and to temperature data for Edmonton, Calgary, Medicine Hat, Swift Current,
Battleford and Qu'Appelle; and as related to data on the yields of wheat, oats and barley in
Alberta and Saskatchewan. In all cases, the correlation was negative but only in the cases
of precipitation at Edmonton, Calgary and Battleford were the values significant. Data
giving significant values of (r) are given graphical treatment. It was concluded that while
the sunspot cycle probably bears some casual relation to precipitation and perhaps. also to
temperature and indirectly to crop yields, it, nevertheless does not provide a basis for long
range weather forecasting owing to the confusing effects of other determining facts. The
literature on sunspot periodicity in relation to terrestrial phenomena is reviewed briefly.
Thomas
430. JOHNSON, R.G., and J.T. ANDREWS. 1979. Rapid ice-sheet growth and initiation of the
last glaciation. Quaternary Research 12(1):119-134.
Calculations based on temperature-corrected oxygen-isotope ratios from deep-sea cores yield a
glacioeustatic sea-level fall in excess of 50 m during the first 10,000 yr of the last
glaciation, and generally support the local regression of about 70 m inferred from
tectonically rising New Guinea beaches. We propose that this rapid glacial buildup depended
on high-latitude cooling, and large increases of high-latitude regional winter precipitation
in the Laurentide and the Fennoscandian-Barents Sea areas, and that these factors were caused
by a critical alternation of North Atlantic Drift currents and their associated subpolar
atmospheric circulation. In support of this, faunal data from northeast North Atlantic deep-
sea cores show that the glacial buildup was accompanied by a sudden loss of most of the North
Atlantic Drift from the Greenland-Norwegian Sea, a factor favoring reduced heat input into
the higher latitudes. Subpolar mollusk and foraminifera faunas from elevated marine deposits
on the Baffin Island coast, and northwest North Atlantic core data suggest a continuation or
an associated restoration of subpolar water west of Greenland as far north as Baffin Bay, a
factor favoring precipitation in the northeast Canadian region. Heat transport and
atmospheric circulation considerations suggest that the loss of the northeast North Atlantic
Drift was itself a major instrument of high-latitude climate change, and probably marked the
initiation of major new ice-sheet growth.
A.A.
431. JONES, V.K. 1974. Late neoglacial regimes of an inland cirque glacier and their
paleoclimatic implications. In: Quaternary Environments: Proceedings of a
Symposium. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney. York University, Toronto. Geographical
Monographs No.5:293-294.
Cathedral Glacier, a compound sub-Polar cirque glacier at 59°20'N, is located in Atlin
Provincial Park on the continental flank of the northern Boundary Range in northwestern
British Columbia. Active ice fills a bifurcated upper basin near 7,000 feet and flows past
the eastern side of a medial nunatak at 5,400 feet to a receding terminus at 5,200 feet.
Seasonal névé-lines for 1971, 1972 and 1973 were at 5,700, 6,300 and 5,500 feet,
respectively. An ice-cored terminal moraine at 4,800 feet, laid down about 1920, continues
to advance slowly. This is overriding a stable moraine, dated lichenometrically as mid-19th
century,at its base. These terminal moraines mark the maximum post-Wisconsinan extension of
the glacier.
Comparison of post-1900 meteorological data from the continental interior with that of the
maritime coastal (Juneau) area indicates relative fluctuations in temperature and
precipitation over time. Such fluctuations over much longer time spans are also revealed by
palynological investigations of post-Wisconsinan bogs in the Atlin area and glacio-climatic
interpretations from the Juneau Icefield, directly south of the study area.
The pattern of recent climatic fluctuations is examined in relation to circum-Polar westerly
circulation in the upper atmosphere and its interaction with the linear topography of the
Alaska-Canada Boundary Range. Changes in atmospheric circulation appear to have a causal
relation to varying glacio-climatic regimes described in this and coastal areas. Thus, they
may provide a significant key to interpretation of earlier Quaternary climatic variations.
pA.A.
432. JORDAN, R. 1975. Pollen diagrams from Hamilton Inlet, central Labrador, and their
environmental implications for the northern Maritime Archaic. Arctic Anthropology
12(2):92-116.
Palaeoenvironments in Hamilton Inlet, central Labrador, Canada and the environmental
implications for the northern Maritime Archaic are discussed. In order to investigate
palaeoenvironments, a series of five lake sediment cores was procured and analyzed for fossil
pollen.
Glacial recession proceeded from east to west beginning c. 9000 B.P. along the present
coastline. Western Lake Melville was ice-free c. 6500 B.P. and final wastage of the ice
sheet culminated c. 5800 B.P. on the interior plateau. Five pollen zones are evident based
on the relative frequency of arboreal pollen, reflecting the process of the Holocene
revegetation. Inferred cover types were as follows: barren landscape, periglacial tundra,
alder thicket, birch-fir woodland and spruce forest. Spruce immigrated between 5800 and 5200
years ago into central Labrador. Thereafter, only relatively minor fluctuations of the
forest-tundra boundary are registered. These changes reflect a mild period between 6500 B.P.
and 4000 B.P.
The Maritime Archaic were the first people to occupy central Labrador, spreading into this
region c. 6000 to 5500 B.P. from the Strait of Belle Isle region with the establishment of
forested conditions. Primary economic activity was oriented to the procurement of marine
resources, including sea mammals. Interior resources may have been severely limited during
the initial period of expansion. The Maritime Archaic disappears from the Labrador Coast
about 3800 B.P. during a period of climatic deterioration, which may have influenced the
distribution, abundance and availability of marine resources.
A.A.
166
433. JUNGERIUS, P.D. 1967. The influence of Pleistocene climatic changes on the development
of the polygenetic pediments in the Cypress Hills area, Alberta. Geographical
Bulletin 9(3):218-231.
The geomorphological history of the unglaciated pediments south of the Cypress Hills plateau
is reflected in the materials covering their surface. Deposits and soils formed in an arid
or semi-arid environment alternate with solifluction deposits and other periglacial features.
The pediments are produced by a combination of pediplanation and cryoplanation.
A.A.
434. JUNGERIUS, P.D. 1969. Soil evidence of postglacial tree line fluctuations in the
Cypress Hills area, Alberta, Canada. Arctic and Alpine Research 1(4):235-246.
Soil evidence in the Cypress Hills suggests that the tree line has advanced beyond its
present position several times since the Wisconsin glaciation. The first and major of these
events extended from about 4,500 to 3,600 years BP. The tree line fluctuations, which are
presumably due to climatic changes, are recorded in polygenetic soil profiles on erosional
sites, and in a sequence of buried soils on depositional sites.
A.A.
435. KALAS, L.L. 1975. Malacological evidence of interglacial environments at Toronto,
Ontario, Canada: a quantitative approach. Quaternary Non-marine Paleoecology
Conference, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario. Program and Abstracts.
Excavations in the western portion of the Don Valley Brickyard, Toronto, Ontario, have
exposed remnants of a 6-m-thick fossiliferous gravelly-sandy layer of the Don Formation
situated 12-18 m above the present Lake Ontario level. The layer rests on _ bedrock
(Ordovician shale) and was formerly overlain by more than 30 m of complex sediments including
till sheets of the last glaciation. The exposure was sampled for shelled invertebrates in 12
cm sample intervals. In each sample interval there were recognizable amounts of mollusc
specimens making possible a construction of a malacological diagram for the entire section.
Totally, more than 55 species of mollusc were recovered. The most diverse group were
Sphaeriacean clams, Prosobranchia and Unionaceans. An interpretation of the
paleoenvironments of the fossil assemblages was obtained using computer techniques based on
detailed studies of the ecological requirements of these mollusc species in recent Canadian
environments and taking into consideration functional ranges of the mollusc species within
their total distributional patterns. Forty-three environmental parameters (physical,
chemical, climatological and biological) were determined for each of the sample intervals.
An evaluation of these parameters showed that the mollusc-bearing layer was deposited by a
medium sized river much larger than the present Don River which drained into a nearby lake
embayment. The relationship of climatic and slight isostatic oscillations, lateral shifting
of the river mid-channel and strong fluctuations of the lake level made the depositional
environment unsteady. Episodic shallowing is evident near the base and upper part of the bed
sequence. All variations in environmental parameters during the period of bed deposition
range well within the optimal interglacial conditions.
436. KANUGA, K.K. 1979. History of weather and climate modification. International
Conference on Climate and History. University of East Anglia, Norwich, July 8-14.
Abstracts, pp. 31-32.
This paper brings together a 32-year history of man's deliberate weather and climate
modification activities, based on the vast body of scientific knowledge and experience gained
through a combination of laboratory, field and numerical experimentation, since the
revolutionary dry-ice cloud seeding experiment conducted by Shaefer in 1946. The major
167
aspects of the subject included are: (i) Artificial stimulation of precipitation,
(41) Dispersal of fog, (iii) Suppression of hail, (iv) Mitigation of lightning, and
(v) Taming of severe storms.
A review has also been made of the inadvertent large-scale weather and climate modifications
which have largely occurred in the last 200 years due to man's increasing activities in
urbanisation, industrialisation and use of fossil fuels.
The possible legal, social, political, economic, agricultural and ecological ramifications of
man's deliberate and inadvertent activities in modifying weather and climate have been
discussed. The general public opinion on the subject is also debated.
A.A.
437. KARROW, P.F. 1963. Pleistocene geology of the Hamilton-Galt area. Ontario Department
of Mines, Geological Report 16:1-68.
The Hamilton-Galt report-area, at the west end of Lake Ontario, straddles the Niagara
Escarpment, and is underlain by rocks of Ordovician and Silurian age. Tills representing six
ice advances have been identified; all are believed to be Wisconsinan, and mostly Late
Wisconsinan, in age. From oldest to youngest, they are mapped as “lower beds", Canning Till,
Catfish Creek drift (Tazewell?), Port Stanley drift (Cary), Wentworth Till (Port Huron), and
Halton Till (Port Huron).
During and following these ice-advances, shore features and bottom sediments were left by the
glacial lakes Whittlesey, Warren, Peel, and Iroquois. Lake Iroquois has been dated at about
12,000 years ago. Wentworth Till is the surface till over much of the Galt map-area and
forms 200 drumlins and several end moraines. Sand and gravel are produced mainly from
extensive outwash and spillway deposits and, in lesser amounts, from raised beaches, eskers,
and kames.
[Fossils identified from the Lake Iroquois deposits indicate cold, shallow water conditions.
Pollen in the Lake Ontario sediments indicates a warmer climate in the upper levels and a
cold climate in the lower levels. A kettle bog near Crieff was studied and a pollen diagram
constructed. The base of the bog was radiocarbon-dated at 11,950 + 350 years and
the diagram records that as time passed, the climate became warmer, and evergreens were
replaced by deciduous trees. ]
Aske
438. KARROW, P.F. 1976. The interglacial-glacial transition in the Toronto interglacial.
Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs 8(6):946-947.
Changing climate and paleogeography during the time from the climatic optimum of an
interglacial (Sangamonian?) to the first subsequent glaciation, are recorded by four
formations in the Toronto area, Ontario.
The Don Formation comprises 7 m of stratified clay to gravel resting on till or bedrock. Don
fossils grade upward from basal warm climate indicators through a cooling sequence. The
unconformably overlying deltaic Scarborough Formation, 45 m of sand over clay, contains
fossils indicating much cooler climate; water level in the Ontario basin was about 30 m
higher than in Don time, suggesting ice blockage of the St. Lawrence valley. Reopening of
St. Lawrence drainage (St. Pierre Interstade?) is suggested by deep valleys cut as much as 45
m into the Scarborough and Don Fms; thick channel fill deposits comprise the Pottery Road
Formation. Some warming is inferred at this time but is poorly documented by the contained
fossils. Initial glaciation at Toronto is represented by the overlying Sunnybrook Till.
These units are beyond the normal range of cl4 dating, and an absolute chronology depends on
application of new dating methods not yet fully developed and proven. Otherwise, qualitative
estimates can only be derived from inferred geological relationships and rates of process
action such as isostatic uplift, valley cutting, sedimentation, ice advance and retreat, etc.
168
Evidence at hand suggests that the change from full interglacial to full glacial was gradual
and oscillatory, and probably spanned more than 10,000 years.
A.A.
439. KARROW, P.F., and T.W. ANDERSON. 1975. Palynological study of lake sediment profiles
from southwestern New Brunswick: discussion. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
12(10) :1808-1812.
The authors refer to the results obtained by Mott (1975); their discussion is focussed on
some problems of radiocarbon dating of calcareous materials. The effects of various factors,
such as landscape evolution, compaction, and sedimentation rate, on ages in sediment profiles
are illustrated. The authors “would emphasize the need to identify as specifically as
possible, materials being radiocarbon dated, to regard with suspicion bog bottom dates as
minimum dates for deglaciation, and to bear in mind the possibility of old carbonate errors
in the dating of many materials, particularly marl, shells, gyttja, and aqueous plant
material.”
A.B.S.
440. KARROW, P.F., T.W. ANDERSON, A.H. CLARKE, L.D. DELORME, and M.R. SREENIVASA. 1975
Stratigraphy, paleontology, and age of Lake Algonquin sediments in southwestern
Ontario, Canada. Quaternary Research 5(1):49-87.
Molluscs, ostracodes, diatoms, pollen, plant macrofossils, peat, and wood have been found in
glacial Lake Algonquin sediments, and estuarine-alluvial sediments of the same age, in
southern Ontario. Molluscs and ostracodes are particularly abundant and widespread. Pollen
analysis of Lake Algonquin sediments, bogs on the Algonquin terrace, and upland bogs above
the Algonquin terrace, indicate that Lake Algonquin was still in existence at the time of the
Spruce-Pine pollen transition, previously dated at an average of 10,600 yr BP at a number of
sites in Michigan, Ohio, and southern Ontario. Wood in estuarine-alluvial sediments graded
to the Algonquin level is of similar radiocarbon age. Evidence from several sites in the
eastern Great Lakes area suggests the presence of a preceding low-water stage (Kirkfield
outlet stage); drowned and alluviated valleys and fining-upward sediment sequences have been
identified in this study as further supporting evidence. Lake Algonquin drained from the
southern sites by isostatic tilting and eventual opening of the “North Bay outlet” some time
shortly after 10,400 yr BP.
Our radiocarbon dates suggest the low-water stage has an age of about 11,000 yr BP, and that
Lake Algonquin drained 10,000-15,000 y.a. Dates previously published for the Lake Michigan
basin are generally too young in comparison with ours, and dates on the Champlain Sea are
generally too old. More critical evaluation of all dating results is desirable.
From fossil remains we suggest a rapidly expanding fauna in the waters of Lake Algonquin.
The spruce pollen period was a time of rapid faunal and floral migration, when the ice front
was retreating from Kirkfield to North Bay, Ontario. Diversity of some species and fossil
numbers increased substantially at the transition from spruce to pine just before Lake
Algonquin drained.
441. KARROW, P.F., J.R. CLARK, and J. TERASMAE. 1961. The age of Lake Iroquois and Lake
Ontario. Journal of Geology 69(6):659-667.
Recent geological and engineering investigations at Hamilton, Ontario, have resulted in the
discovery of buried plant-bearing beds in deposits of Lake Iroquois and Lake Ontario.
Fossils in these beds indicate cold, shallow-water conditions of sedimentation for the
earlier-deposited beds and warmer conditions for later-deposited layers. Radiocarbon dating
of buried wood suggests that Lake Iroquois was formed during the retreat of Port Huron ice.
169
The Valders drift boundary is inferred to be north of Lake Ontario. Lake Ontario probably
began over 10,000 years ago.
A.A.
442. KARROW, P.F., A.H. CLARKE, and H.B. HERRINGTON. 1972. Pleistocene molluscs from Lake
Iroquois deposits in Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 9(5):589-595.
Nearly 30 taxa of Pleistocene freshwater snails and sphaeriids have been found in recent
years at eight localities in glacial Lake Iroquois deposits. Older reports of molluscs from
Lake Iroquois deposits by Ami (1900) and Coleman (1899, 1933) probably represent confusion
with shells from Lake Algonquin and Wisconsinan interstadial deposits at Toronto.
Molluscs are most abundant in shallow-water sediments deposited in former lagoons and near
former river mouths in Lake Iroquois. A northeastward limit of occurrences near Oshawa,
Ontario may reflect the influence of the retreating ice-margin in eastern Ontario 12 000
years ago. Shells have been found occasionally in deposits of lower level, post-Iroquois
(but pre-Champlain Sea) lake stages in eastern Ontario. The Lake Iroquois fauna suggests the
presence of vegetation both on land and in the water with water conditions at individual
sites varying from oligotrophic to eutrophic.
443. KARROW, P.F., R.J. HEBDA, and E.W. PRESANT. 1978. Interstadial (middle Wisconsinan?)
paleosol and fossils from Guelph, Ontario. Geological Society of America,
Abstracts with Programs 10(7):432.
The Victoria Street railway underpass excavation revealed an upper sandy till (Port Stanley)
over a hard coarse middle till (Catfish Creek) over a stratified sand and silt and weathered
diamicton (colluvium?). An underlying lens of organic sediment rested in a depression on a
paleosol developed on sand and gravel. Below the gravel, a lower till rests on Silurian
Guelph Dolomite. Three continuously-cored holes were drilled to supplement the information
from the temporary cut exposures.
The organic lens and overlying stratified sediments contain pollen dominated by pine and
spruce, with some deciduous types. Aquatic plant macrofossils and insect remains are also
present. Terrestrial and aquatic molluscs and ostracods record the local pond environment of
the organic lens. A radiocarbon date of 35,000 years suggests a Port Talbot or older age.
The paleosol in the gravel is deep enough to suggest a long time or warm climate.
Development of a Bt horizon is indicated by clay, Fe, Al, and Mn accumulation. Interstadial
paleosols are rare in Southern Ontario and have had little study. All of the few sites known
apparently are of Port Talbot age.
A.A.
444, KARROW, P.F., R.J. HEBDA, E.W. PRESANT, and G.J. ROSS. 1982. Late Quaternary inter-
till paleosol and biota at Guelph, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
19(9):1857-1872.
A paleosol and overlying fossiliferous sediments were exposed between an underlying glacial
till of Illinoian or early Wisconsin age, and overlying tills (probably including two of late
Wisconsin age - 25,000 to 14,000 years B.P.) along Victoria Road in Guelph, Ontario. The
Guelph paleosol is probably best classified as a Gleyed Brunisol or a weakly developed Gleyed
Luvisol. Since it is like many of the present soils of southern Ontario, presumably the
Guelph paleosol would have taken 10,000 or more years to cevelop under climatic conditions
similar to those in the region now. Organic pond sediments overlying this soil contained
remains of plant macrofossils, pollen, molluscs, arthropods and insects, indicating a cooler
and drier climate than present. Fine organic material from these sediments yielded
170
radiocarbon dates of >45,000 years B.P. (WAT-310, WAT-367), and the authors suggest the
intertill deposits may be of Sangamon interglacial or early middle Wisconsin age.
C.R.H.
445. KARROW, P.F., and J. TERASMAE. 1970. Pollen-bearing sediments of the St. Davids buried
valley fill at the Whirlpool, Niagara River gorge, Ontario. Canadian Journal of
Earth Sciences 7(2):539-542.
Continued studies of the buried St. Davids gorge, an ancient valley of the Niagara River,
have indicated that the upper part of the gorge was filled in mid-Wisconsinan time and later.
Lacustrine sediments dated at 23 000 years B.P. were deposited in the gorge when the late
Wisconsinan ice caused the water level to rise in the Lake Ontario basin by blocking the
eastern outlet, prior to overriding the Niagara area. Palynological studies support the
correlation of the dated lacustrine deposits in the gorge with the Plum Point Interstade of
southern Ontario.
A.A.
446. KAY, P.A. 1978. Dendroecology in Canada's forest-tundra transition zone. Arctic and
Alpine Research 10(1):133-138.
Black spruce in forest outliers has a slower growth rate, more high frequency variation, and
less persistence than at the forest limit. Climate variation accounts for more variance in
ring widths at the forest limit than within outliers, which occupy protective sites that
mitigate stress. Growth behaviour at the forest limit can be interpreted in terms of Arctic
Front positions. A two-century long chronology of tree growth is presented. [This study is
from the eastern Northwest Territories. ]
The statistically significant results indicate that mild summers and dry conditions
(indicating relatively cloud-free conditions) favor wide ring widths, whereas cool and wet
(cloudy) summers favor narrow ring widths. Precise details of the climate/growth
relationship will aid in accurate paleoclimate reconstructions.
INNS
447. KAY, P.A. 1979. Multi-variate statistical estimates of Holocene vegetation and climate
change, forest-tundra transition zone, NWI, Canada. Quaternary Research 11(1):125-
140.
Newly derived fossil pollen data were obtained from four sites along a transect from the
boreal forest limit into tundra in the eastern Northwest Territories. Multivariate
statistical analyses were employed to interpret the pollen assemblages. Transfer functions
were constructed between the pollen data and climatic data, and paleoclimatic estimates were
derived. The objective nature of the reconstuctions provides an independent verification of
the general outlines of the chronology of tree-line movements during the mid- and late-
Holocene as established in previous paleosol and pollen studies. Boreal forest extended to
approximately 62°N, associated with mean July temperatures 1 to 3°C above modern means, from
at least 5500 to 3700 B.P. Although a major episode of southward displacement of tree line
at about 3700 yr B.P. is recorded, later events are not clearly represented. Considerations
of the statistics, the time scales, and the nature of the pollen rain suggest only
conservative interpretations of the results are possible. It is suggested that the pollen
sites may have been sensitive recorders of regional vegetation change only when they were
near the ecotone, corresponding to a climatic threshold.
A.A.
448. KEARNEY, M.S., and B.H. LUCKMAN. 1981. Evidence for late Wisconsin-early Holocene
climatic/vegetational change in Jasper National Park, Alberta. In: Quaternary
Paleoclimate. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney. Geo Abstracts, Norwich. pp. 85-105.
Basal cl4 dates of 9660 and 9600 yr. BP from two sites close to the Continental Divide
indicate late-Wisconsin glaciers had receded to positions at or close to their present limits
prior to 10,000 yr. BP. The deposits of two subsequent glacial advances have been recognized
by Luckman and Osborn (1979). The older advance (Crowfoot) is represented by moraines and
rock glacier deposits which predate 6600 yr. BP. The younger advance (Cavell) was usually
the most extensive Holocene glacial event and shows very limited rock glacier development.
Intermediate-age advances may occur on some rock glaciers, but no absolute dating control is
available for these features.
Preliminary pollen diagrams are presented for the early Holocene period (c. 9700-5000 yr. BP)
for 3 sites in different ecological environments: Excelsior Basin (2150 m, above treeline),
Tonquin Creek (1935 m, subalpine) and Maligne Lake (1675 m, montane forest). Three major
vegetation/climatic zones are recognized but the two oldest are present only in the Tonquin
diagram and have no contemporary analogues in pollen rain data from the area. The earliest
zones (9700-9200 yr. BP) dominated by the pollen of Pinus contorta and Polypodiaceae
may be largely seral in nature or indicate slightly warmer conditions than present. The
succeeding Pinus albicaulis - Abies lasiocarpa - Picea engelmanii zone (9200-8500
yr. BP) suggests slightly cooler conditions. The Hypsithermal Interval (8500-5500 yr. BP) is
present at all three sites and has two warmer phases separated by a cooler period between
8000-7500 yr. BP. Palynological and macrofossil evidence indicates that during the warmer
periods valley floor sites dried out and treeline advanced at upper elevations. Dated tree
remains from sites above present treelines confirm the occurrence of higher treelines than at
present c. 980, 5920 and 8060 yr. BP. The available pollen data suggest that the Crowfoot
Advance occurred between 9200-8500 yr. BP or predates 9700 yr. BP.
A.A.
449. KELLER, G. 1978. Late Neogene climatic oscillations across the mid-latitudes of the
North Pacific. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs
10(7):433.
Frequency distributions of temperature sensitive planktonic foraminiferal species identify
five major paleoclimatic cool events extending across the mid-latitudes of the North Pacific.
A major cooling occurred during the latest Miocene to early Pliocene. This period is
followed by a short cooling at about 3.2 - 3.4 m.y. Warmer temperatures resumed during the
late Pliocene followed by a cool period commencing at about 2.4 m.y. Warm but oscillating
temperatures prevailed during early Pleistocene followed by a cooling at about 1.2 my. A
further cooling is indicated during the late Pleistocene beginning at about 0.7 m.y. ago.
Paleoclimatic interpretations based on frequency distributions of planktonic foraminifera are
supported by oxygen isotope analysis.
pA.A.
450. KELLOGG, W.W. 1981. Climate change and society: environmental effects and societal
consequences of climate change induced by increasing carbon dioxide. In: Climate
Change Seminar Proceedings. Regina, March 17-19. Canadian Climate Centre,
Downsview. pp. 129-153.
While we may never be able to predict future climatic change and how societies will respond
to it, we can clarify the relative merits of alternative long-term policies of strategies.
We believe that the most useful strategies are those that can mitigate the adverse impacts of
the changes and make specific activities--such as agriculture and human settlements--less
vulnerable to climatic impacts from whatever cause.
Having made an initial (and by no means exhaustive) examination of the various strategies, we
can see that each one will also help cope with short-term weather and climate variability--
172
devastating events such as droughts, floods, heat waves, and cold spells that cause hardship
every year. Some strategies will also help alleviate chronic environmental problems such as
the loss of arable soil and tropical forests; international and national measures to preserve
these precious natural assets are long overdue. Perhaps the stimulus of an impending climate
change will help to spur such actions.
Climatic impact studies will help to estimate the effects of climatic changes, which should
enable us to better plan agriculture production, land use, and human settlements, and to
develop water resources and marketing strategies. However, new and improved methodologies of
climate impact assessment are needed as well as more scientists interested in working on
impact studies.
Apart from the research needed to improve our ability to carry out impact studies, it is
imperative that we implement international programs to cope with carbon dioxide-induced
changes. Some international mechanisms already exist that might help us deal with this
unprecedented set of global problems. All of them should be explored and their use
encouraged. Most importantly, nations should be made aware of the problem of climatic change
and of the strategies that could mitigate its effects.
For some countries the change may be favourable, while for others it may be adverse. But we
Must emphasize that the prospect of a global climatic change is just one of a number of
global environmental and societal problems. In the first half of the next century the world
could well have twice as many people, consume three times as much food, and burn four times
as much energy. Thus, impacts of climatic change must be superimposed on this backdrop. Our
future problems will be serious even without a shifting climate.
pA.C.
451. KELLY, P.M., P.D. JONES, C.B. SEAR, and B. CHERRY. 1981. Variations in arctic surface
air temperature 1881-1977. First Conference on Climate Variations of the American
Meteorological Society, January 19-23, San Diego. Abstracts, p. 22.
Annual and seasonal changes in Arctic air temperature over the period 1881-1977 are
described. The analysis is based on a new data set containing homogenized and gridded
instrumental station data for regions north of 65°N. Trends in the average temperature of
the Arctic are compared with those of the Northern Hemisphere, and it is shown that the
rapidity, as well as the magnitude, of the longer-term fluctuations (on time scales greater
than 20 years) are greater in higher latitudes. Characteristic spatial patterns of variation
in the Arctic temperature field are determined by eigenvector analysis. Longer term trends
are strongest over northwest Greenland in winter and northwest Siberia in other seasons.
Interannual fluctuations are strongest over the ice-edge in the Barents Sea and over the
shelf seas off Siberia and Alaska. These interannual fluctuations show evidence of
characteristic time scales of variation, which may be related to processes of sea-ice
formation, advection, and decay.
452. KENDALL, G.R., and M.K. THOMAS. 1956. Variability and trends of precipitation in the
Prairie Provinces. Canadian Society of Agronomy, Proceedings of the Second Annual
Meeting, Toronto. pp. C.17-30.
Precipitation in the agricultural: portion of the Canadian Prairies ranges from 12 to 22
inches on the average, and has a well marked maximum in the summer season. The range of the
coefficient of variation of annual precipitation is 20 to 28 per cent, the higher values
occurring in the drier sections of the area. Using data for the period 1891 to 1955, it is
shown that heavy precipitation during the first decade of this century was followed by a long
period of generally subnormal precipitation. During the early 1950s however, precipitation
has again increased to a relatively high level.
453. KERR, D.P. 1951. Methods in paleoclimatology with reference to Canada. Royal
Meteorological Society, Canadian Branch 2(7):1-6.
The author introduces Paleoclimatology and reviews the literature with particular reference
to Canada.
Thomas
454. KETCHEN, K.S. 1956. Climatic trends and fluctuations in yield of marine fisheries of
the northeast Pacific. Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
13(3):357-374.
Mean annual air temperature at San Francisco, California, New Westminster and Masset, British
Columbia, all had a rising trend from 1920 to 1940, then declined to 1950. Amplitude was
greatest at Masset, least at San Francisco. The 20-year rise is similar to the story in the
North Atlantic Ocean, but the recent decline has no parallel there. Prior to 1920 there were
considerable differences among the above three stations. Mean annual ocean temperature at
Nanaimo, B.C., is similar to air temperature at New Westminster since 1915. “Winter” ocean
temperatures (February-April) show similar but not identical trends, and are thought to best
represent conditions at the time eggs and larvae of most commercial bottom fishes are in the
water.
Suggestive short-term correlations have been observed as follows: 1. a positive correlation
between winter temperature and abundance of brill 6 years later; 2. a negative correlation
between winter temperature and rock sole abundance 5 years later; 3. a negative correlation
between winter temperature and strength of year-classes in lemon sole. Over a long period,
there is much resemblance between the temperature history since 1910 and the abundance of
halibut broods, as indicated by catch per unit effort 10 years later (southern grounds) or 12
years later (western grounds). The relationship is positive, and for western grounds is
similar even in details. Over a somewhat shorter period, blackcod abundance has varied
inversely with winter temperature. Marked changes in abundance and distribution of true
(grey) cod since about 1900 cannot be related to temperature series available.
455. KHAN, E. 1970. Biostratigraphy and palaeontology of a Sangamon deposit at Fort
Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. National Museum of Natural Sciences Publications in
Palaeontology (Ottawa) No. 5:1-82.
A gravel pit % mile southwest of Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, was studied. Pleistocene
vertebrate fossils were found in the Echo Lake gravels, which lie between 170 ft of overlying
and 150 ft of underlying till. The upper sand layer, whichwas 20 ft thick, yielded no
vertebrate remains, but did contain four aquatic and four terrestrial species of
invertebrates. Vertebrate fossils were collected from four gravel beds, with channel B of
the third gravel bed being the most fossiliferous.
Remains of Canis sp., Taxidea sp., Mammuthus cf. columbt, Equus seotti,
Camelops cf. hesternus, Cervalces roosevelti, Bison latifrons, and Symbos
cavifrons were identified.
These species can be regarded as temperate climate animals, except for Symbos, which
may have been adapted to cold conditions. The presence of their remains in the gravel beds
indicates that the gravels are interglacial stream deposits rather than outwash deposits. A
grassland environment is envisioned for the fauna because of the predominance of remains of
grazing animals. The biostratigraphic evidence strongly suggests a Sangamon interglacial age
for the faunal assemblage.
The upper sand layer, a periglacial deposit, evidently was laid down when the river's flow to
the east was obstructed. It represents either a cold phase within the Sangamon or the
beginning of the Wisconsin glaciation.
A.S.
456. KING, L.H. 1976. Relict iceberg furrows on the Laurentian Channel and western Grand
Banks. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 13(8):1082-1092.
A side-scan sonar survey along the western bank of the Laurentian Channel and on the western
Grand Banks revealed the occurrence of iceberg furrows that are probably of Late Pleistocene
age. The occurrence of furrows in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is significant in that it helps
to date iceberg furrows along the northeast Newfoundland-Labrador margin of the northwest
Atlantic, provides data on the history of deglaciation of the offshore area of the Atlantic
Provinces, provides a means of evaluating sea level curves, and provides additional evidence
for the broad regional extent of the Late Pleistocene shoreline at 115 to 120 m.
A.A.
457. KING, R.H., and G.R. BREWSTER. 1974. Pedogenesis in a subalpine environment. In:
Quaternary Environments: Proceedings of a Symposium. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney.
First York University Symposium on Quaternary Research. Geographical Monographs
No. 5:277 (Abstract).
Soil genesis in the Bow Pass area of Banff National Park, Alberta, is examined for changes in
soil development that have occurred since deglaciation. Following deglaciation within the
subalpine zone at approximately 10,000 years BP, initial pedogenesis in a calcareous till was
interrupted by the deposition of a complex aeolian material containing large amounts of
volcanic ash. Previous research in the area has established the presence of three separate
ash layers; Mazama ash, dated at 6,500 years BP, St. Helen's Y ash (3,500 years BP), and
Bridge River ash (2,500 years BP). However, site instability within the study area, due to a
variety of geomorphic processes, has resulted in an intermixing of the various ash layers.
Nevertheless, it is possible to differentiate the loessic mantle from the underlying till
using mineralogical and particle-size parameters. Pedogenesis subsequent to the deposition
of the loess has involved both parent materials. Although this makes the identification of
specific pedogenic processes extremely difficult, Brunisols, Podzols, and Luvisols have been
identified within the subalpine zone.
pA.A.
458. KINSMAN, W.A. 1981. Impact of climate change and variability on water and other
related resources. In: Climate Change Seminar Proceedings. Regina, March 17-19.
Canadian Climate Centre, Downsview. pp. 43-50.
“The increasing variability of weather conditions and possible warming effects will
significantly alter the hydrologic characteristics which will affect the availability of
water to meet present and future demands. The problems of water management relating to
hydrologic design and forecasts will become more serious and widespread. The need for a
better understanding of the climate and the use of climatic data for hydrologic forecasts
will assume added importance. Only with adequate climatic data can we reliably forecast the
impact of climate change and variability on our resources and environment.”
The author outlines Newfoundland's current climatological network and the areas which require
attention. Recommendations designed to facilitate gathering of appropriate data are
proposed.
A.B.S.
459. KLASSEN, R.W. 1972. Wisconsin events and the Assiniboine and Qu'Appelle valleys of
Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 9(5):544-560.
The Assiniboine and Qu'Appelle valleys formed as spillways and meltwater channels, mostly
within partly re-excavated ancestral valleys of probable Early Wisconsin age. It is unlikely
this region was glaciated in Mid-Wisconsin time and the Late Wisconsin glaciation was
relatively weak resulting in only partial infilling of Early Wisconsin valleys with Alluviun,
drift, and ice. The alluvial fill below the valley bottoms commonly includes a thick (100 to
200 ft (30.48 to 60.96 m)) lower unit mostly of Mid-Wisconsin and Late Wisconsin age, and a
thinner (60 to 100 ft (18.28 to 30.48 m)) upper unit of Late Wisconsin and Recent Age.
The modern valley system formed between 15 000 and 12 000 years ago. The Qu'Appelle Valley
was cut to its maximum late glacial depth more than 14 000 years ago and the Assiniboine
Valley about 12 000 years ago. Subsquent infilling of most parts of the valleys with
alluvium and colluvium has continued at a gradually diminishing rate to the present.
A.A.
460. KLASSEN, R.W. 1978. A unique stratigraphic record of late Tertiary-Quaternary events
in southeastern Yukon. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 15(11):1884-1886.
A succession of fluvial sediments with minor coal, basaltic lava, five tills, and
fossiliferous intertill sediments exposed along the Liard River where it crosses the Liard
Plain provides a remarkably continuous record of geologic-climatic events in this region.
The coal bearing sediments and lava were previously described and interpreted as Tertiary-
Quaternary in age. The Quaternary sediments record four major intervals of glaciation and
three nonglacial intervals not previously recognized in this region.
A.A.
461. KLASSEN, R.W., L.D. DELORME, and R.J. MOTT. 1967. Geology and paleontology of
Pleistocene deposits in southwestern Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
4(3):433-447.
Sediments containing fossils and organic material occur within Pleistocene deposits
underlying multiple tills in the Duck Mountain and Riding Mountain Uplands of southwestern
Manitoba. Pollen, ostracods, and mollusks within the sediments on Duck Mountain indicate a
cool-warm-cool climatic sequence, which began more than 37 760 years B.P. Bones of a ground
squirrel (Citellus ) and vole (Microtus) were recovered from an intertill silt on
Riding Mountain. Grass associated with the bones was dated as more than 31 300 radiocarbon
years B.P.
The sediments may be correlative with some of the beds of the recently redefined Port Talbot
interstade in the Lake Erie region, though it is inferred they are older and correlative
either with an early Wisconsin interstade or with the Sangamon interglacial in the mid-
western United States.
462. KNOX, J. 1981. Blocking in the Northern Hemisphere. First Conference on Climate
Variations of the American Meteorological Society, January 19-23, San Diego.
Abstracts, p. 8.
The incidence of blocking in the Northern Hemisphere from 1946-78 has been examined by the
use of “blocking signatures." These are 500 mb positive height anomalies related to blocking
episodes, which qualify according to empirically derived thresholds of latitude and anomaly
intensity. Areal and longitudinal frequency distributions confirm the findings of previous
investigations for the oceans. However, there is strong evidence that a much higher
incidence of blocking occurs over eastern Siberia, the Arctic Ocean, and northeastern Canada
than the literature would suggest. Typical synoptic evolutions associated with blocking over
these three regions will be illustrated. Findings concerning wavenumber signatures
associated with Atlantic and Pacific blocking will also be presented with particular emphasis
on the winter of 1978-79. Variation of blocking frequency since 1946 will be examined for
secular change.
A.A.
463. KOERNER, R.M. 1977. Devon Island ice cap: core stratigraphy and paleoclimate. Science
196(4285) :15-18.
Valuable paleoclimatic information can be gained by studying the distribution of melt layers
in deep ice cores. A profile representing the percentage of ice in melt layers in a core
drilled from the Devon Island ice cap plotted against both time and depth shows that the ice
cap has experienced a period of very warm summers since 1925, following a period of colder
summers between about 1600 and 1925. The earlier period was coldest between 1680 and 1730.
There is a high correlation between the melt-layer ice percentage and the mass balance of the
ice cap. The relation between them suggests that the ice cap mass balance was zero
(accumulation equaled ablation) during the colder period but is negative in the present
warmer one. There is no firm evidence of a present cooling trend in the summer conditions on
the ice cap. A comparison with the melt-layer ice percentage in cores from the other major
Canadian Arctic ice caps shows that the variation of summer conditions found for the Devon
Island ice cap is representative for all the large ice caps for about 90 percent of the time.
There is also a good correlation between melt-layer percentage and summer sea-ice conditions
in the archipelago. This suggests that the search for the northwest passage was influenced
by changing climate, with the 19th-century peak of the often tragic exploration coinciding
with a period of very cold summers.
A.S.
464. KOERNER, R.M. 1980. Basal ice and paleoclimate. Eos 61(5):50 (Abstract).
A series of ice cores from two Canadian High Arctic ice caps have given insight into the
nature of the ice/bedrock interface there, both past and present. Three of these cores (two
are 299 m and one 337 m long), located 1-2 km down the flowline on Devon Island and northern
Ellesmere Island, show there is a sharp interface between bedrock and basal ice. There are
no rock fragments or floor frozen within the ice. The evidence strongly points to the ice
caps having been frozen to their beds throughout their 100,000 year history. Another core
(137 m long), taken this May, 1979, at the top of the flowline on a northern Ellesmere Island
ice cap, contained 2.75 m of ice containing a high clay fraction at its base. The nature of
the inclusions suggests substantial bottom melting of the ice cap at some stage during its
history. The present interpretation is that this dirty basal ice at the top of the present
northern Ellesmere ice cap flowline dates from a pre-Wisconsin ice age when the ice cap was
thick enough to melt at its bed. It has survived the Sangamon interglacial, unlike the very
old ice at the other downslope sites, because of the greater elevation of the bedrock at the
upper site. It means that the Wisconsin ice sheet was substantially thinner on Ellesmere
Island than the earlier ice sheet. It also means that the ice caps expanded downslope during
what is presently identified as an interglacial period preceding the Wisconsin ice age.
465. KOERNER, R.M., and D.A. FISHER. 1979. Liquid natural gas transport through Parry
Channel and climatic change. Energy, Mines and Resources Canada Internal Report.
19 pp.
The unique warmth of the first half of this century is emphasized, and a prediction of a LG
annual, and a 1-2°C summer cooling over the next 50 years is given. The authors stress that
planning should be made on the basis that the coldest summer of the last 10 years will be the
norm of the next 50 years.
A.A.
466. KOERNER, R.M., and D.A. FISHER. 1979. Discontinuous flow, ice texture, and dirt
content in the basal layers of the Devon Island ice cap. Journal of Glaciology
23(89) :209-222.
Surface-to-bedrock cores obtained with a CRREL thermal drill were taken in 1972 and 1973 from
the top of the Devon Island ice cap. There are very pronounced variations in oxygen isotope,
microparticle concentration, and ice texture in the lowermost 5 m of the core. There is a
section of isotopically cold, very fine bubbly ice with high micro-particle concentrations
between 2.6 and 4.4 m above the bed, considered to represent the Last Ice Age. There is
coarse, isotopically warm, clean ice above and below this. For 1.2 m above the bed, the ice
is finer again with high micro-particle concentrations but it shows very low bubble
concentration and is isotopically the warmest in the core. While the broad variations are
common to both cores, in detail there are significant variations despite the fact that the
cores were taken only 27 m apart. The variations, when analysed statistically, show that at
least 25-30% of the originally continuous profile is missing from each core. Faulting within
the near-bedrock ice may be responsible for some of the effect but bubble fabric also gives
evidence for irregular nonlaminar flow. Because of the strong relationship between crystal
size and micro-particle concentrations in the Devon Island cores, it is suggested that the
fine-grained nature of dirty layers in the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets is due to the
effect of the dirt inclusions and of shearing. Steep isotopic gradients in the Devon Island
cores are shown to be evidence for possible shearing, which does not effect any change in the
crystal texture. Clear ice near the bed is considered a tectonic feature, but the lack of
effect on its bed by the ice cap confirms the non-erosional nature of an ice cap frozen to
its bed.
In terms of paleoclimatic history, it means that, because of bedrock effects, ice caps of
intermediate depth (i.e. < 400 m) can give continuous information only over the last
approximate 5000 years. Between 5000 and 10000 BP the time series becomes slightly
discontinuous and beyond 10000 BP so discontinuous as to allow only broad climatic inferences
to be drawn.
A.A.
467. KOERNER, R.M., and D.A. FISHER. 1981. Studying climatic change from Canadian High
Arctic ice cores. In: Climatic Change in Canada 2. Edited by: C.R. Harington.
Syllogeus 33:195-218.
The Polar Continental Shelf Project began its driliing program in 1965 with an 112 m
thermally drilled surface-to-bedrock core (M65) on Meighen Ice Cap. The program continued
with a 212 m core on Devon Island Ice Cap in 1971 (D71), and two surface-to-bedrock cores 299
m in length from the same ice cap in 1972 and 1973 (D72, D73). Presently we are engaged in
drilling on the Agassiz Ice Cap on Northern Ellesmere Island where, to date, a 337 m core
(Ag77) and a 137 m core (Ag79) have been drilled. Both extend from the surface to bedrock.
All these cores come from, or close to, the top of the flow-line on each ice cap.
The main conclusion we can draw from D/72 and D/3 cores is that, generally, High Arctic
climate has been cooling over the past 5,000 years. However, the 6 record represents
annual temperatures, and a shorter record of summer melting in the same cores suggests that
while the summer temperature changes lag behind the annual ones, there may be a more complex
and generally poor relationship between the two. Thus, the present negative balance of the
Devon Island Ice Cap and the Meighen Ice Cap climatic record can be much better related to
the summer melt record, and in particular, summer paleotemperatures as seen in certain Arctic
pollen records. As far as summer climate is concerned, our cores show a very warm period 20-
70 years BP, and another from about 1000-2000 BP.
We are unable to determine the driving force behind the overall temperature decline at the
drill sites, a trend which is in general agreement with other proxy temperature records
elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere. We have good evidence that neither increasing volcanic
activity nor changing turbidity are the causes. We predict that the cooling in the High
Arctic will continue for about another 50 years. The cooling will be of the order of 0.5-
Ge We think that summers will cool for about 20-50 years longer than the annual
temperatures, and by about twice the amount of annual cooling. These predictions do not
include any anthropogenic effects which may, for example in the case of CO generation,
counteract the cooling effect. Our future concerns are with our Ag/7 and Ag79 cores where we
have an improved time scale based partly on volcanic layers.
Generally, our cores indicate that the large ice caps on Devon, Ellesmere and Axel Heiberg
Islands are about 100,000 years, or more, old. The Meighen Ice Cap and Ward-Hunt Ice Shelf
probably began their growth as conditions grew more favourable for glacierization 4,000 years
ago. The remaining small ice caps are probably younger still, beginning growth at the end of
the warm period 2000-1000 years ago which formed dirt layers on the Ward-Hunt Ice shelf and a
relic ablation surface on the Meighen Ice Cap. This is because a large number of the small
ice caps are 40 m, or less, thick and probably would not have survived the 1000-2000 BP warm
period.
ACC
468. KOERNER, R.M., and W.S.B. PATERSON. 1974. Analysis of a core through the Meighen Ice
Cap, Arctic Canada, and its paleoclimatic implications. Quaternary Research
4(3):253-263.
Analyses of crystal size, bubble content, oxygen isotope ratio, specific electrolytic
conductivity, and the distribution of firn and dirt layers in a core, 121.2 m long, from
surface to bedrock near the highest point of the Meighen Ice Cap, leads to the following
outline of the ice cap's history. The ice cap, which has always been stagnant, originated in
the cold period that followed the postglacial Climatic Optimum. After initial growth came a
period of negative mass balance in which the area and thickness of the ice cap diminished and
the surface slope at the core site steepened. The end of this period, at least 600 y.a., is
marked by a discontinuity at 54 m. depth in the core; above this level, the values of most
parameters differ significantly from their values below. There followed a period of growth
by the end of which, some 80 y.a., the ice cap had attained its maximum thickness; this
period included the coldest interval in the ice cap's history. Ablation has predominated
since then and up to 13 m of ice have been lost at the core site. This history resembles
that of the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf.
A.A.
469. KOERNER, R.M., WeSeBe PATERSON, and H.R. KROUSE. 1973. 6180 profile in ice
formed between the equilibrium and firn lines. Nature Physical Science
245(148):137-140.
Accumulation throughout the history of the stagnant Meighen Ice Cap in the northern Canadian
Arctic Islands has been almost entirely in the form of superimposed ice with occasional years
of firn accumulation - a mode of accumulation quite different to that in most of Antarctica
and Greenland. Analyses of cores pose a few problems. The palaeoclimatic value of 180
profiles in areas close to the equilibrium and firn lines of subpolar ice caps is limited by:
1) a relatively complex relationship between the original 6 value of the snow cover and
the final 6 value of the annual superimposed ice layer, the relationship depending
mainly on whether summer precipitation forms part of the annual ice layer; 2) the effect of
isotopic enrichment of the solid phase during the process of meltwater percolation through
recrystallising snow; 3) ablation of annual layers in warm summers. The isotope data has
nevertheless proved valuable in confirming that the Meighen Ice Cap is post-Wisconsin in age
(probably between 5,000 and 10,000 years old).
L.G.
179
470. KOERNER, R., and R.D. RUSSELL. 1979. 6180 variations in snow on the Devon Island
ice cap, Northwest Territories, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
16(7):1419-1427.
A study of 6180 variations of snow samples taken on traverses across the Devon Island
ice cap in June 1971, 1972, and 1973 has shown a difference between the accumulation
conditions on the southeast and northwest sides of the ice cap. On the southeast side there
is an increasing depletion of 6189 in the snow with increasing elevation. This pattern
is attributed to the effect of orographic uplift of air masses moving over the ice cap from
the southeast, which promotes condensation and precipitation due to adiabatic cooling On
the northwest side of the ice cap there is no evidence of any further depletion of 80 in
snow, neither with increasing distance from the possible moisture source in Baffin Bay to the
southeast nor with increasing elevation if the air mass comes from the northwest. In this
case condensation is due to isobaric cooling so that precipitation is generally from level
cloud bases. The changes inferred for the isotopic composition of the water vapour as it
rises up the southeast slope are found to be consistent with its depletion through
precipitation under near-equilibrium conditions. It is calculated that approximately 30% of
the moisture at sea level on the southeast side of the ice cap and 8% at the top of the ice
cap are of local origin. Lower temporal and aerial variability of the Ô values on the
southeast side of the ice cap is attributed to dominance of the Baffin Bay low on that side
effecting consistency of storm conditions there.
The 6 values of ice in the ablation zone on the Sverdrup Glacier show the combined
effect of ice movement from the accumulation to the ablation zone and climatic change during
the period of movement from cold to warm and back to cold conditions again.
471. KORPIJAAKKO, M-L., and N.W. RADFORTH. 1972. On postglacial development of muskeg in
the province of New Brunswick. In: Proceedings of the 4th International Peat
Congress I-IV, Helsinki. pp. 341-360.
Radiocarbon dates for basal peat in studied muskegs range from 11,000 to 7200 years B.P. The
oldest age which is for St. Quentin Bog could account for an earlier ice retreat from this
upland and for an immediate initiation of paludification following the deglaciation.
Coastal muskeg areas are results of primary paludification that has taken place after crustal
uplift had exposed flat coastal areas. The influence of humid marine climate, which is
favourable for paludification, shows not only as a uniform deposit of relatively pure
Sphagnum peat but also in the early initiation of the growth of Sphagna in large
quantities (about 7500 years B.P.) The accumulation of peat (predominantly Sphagnum)
has been especially vigorous during the last 5000 years. This has resulted in the raised
bogs typical especially of the coastal areas.
Further inland (e.g. Bull Pasture Bog and St. Quentin Bog) the filling in of small water
bodies by vegetation has been a significant factor in the initiation of paludification which,
after that, has proceeded as a primary forestland paludification encroaching on the
surrounding mineral terrain.
Regarding the climatic differences as based on pollen diagrams, large scale fluctuations are
clearly distinguishable: ice retreat (Zone VII), initial warm period (Zone VI), moist,
coolng trend (Zone V), increasing warmth (Zone IV), dry, maximum warmth (Zone IIIb, IIIa),
colder and moist (Zones II,I). For description of climatic changes within the province of
New Brunswick, the existing material is at present not comprehensive enough, but the authors
believe that such a description is possible as well as correlation of postglacial climatic
changes on both sides of the Atlantic with further investigations.
pA.C.
180
472. KRAUS, E.B. 1960. Synoptic and dynamic aspects of climatic change. Quarterly Journal
of the Royal Meteorological Society 86(367):1-15.
The changing pattern of world climate during the last hundred years is compared with the
inferred pattern of the Pleistocene. Relatively cool climates at high latitudes appear to
have been associated much of the time with reduced tropical sea-surface temperatures, a lower
snow-line on tropical mountains, reduced aridity on the desert fringes and increased storm
activity along continental east coasts in middle latitudes. Relatively warm climates at high
latitudes tend to be associated with the opposite complex of conditions.
Considerations of the water balance suggest that a small temperature decrease would be
necessary and sufficient for the re-establishment of glacial conditions in many regions.
Increased snowfall would help but is not essential. Synoptic considerations indicate that
glaciation was associated necessarily with strong upper westerlies at relatively low
latitudes over the continents and probably with vigorous anticyclones over the subtropical
oceans.
An increased infra-red cooling rate in the upper air, particularly over the tropics, could
produce all the necessary conditions for the establishment of a glacial/pluvial phase.
Possible causes for changes in the infra-red cooling rate are discussed.
[Includes reference to climate change in Canada. ]
esis
473. KUKLA, G. 1981. Climatic role of snow covers. In: Sea Level, Ice, and Climatic
Change. Edited by: I. Allison. International Association of Hydrological
Sciences Publication 131:79-107.
Snow cover is the critical variable of the climate system because of its high reflectivity,
high emissivity, low water vapour pressure, and low conductivity. Formation and dissipation
of snow covers closely depends on the amount, as well as the spectral and the singular
distribution of incoming shortwave radiation. The deposition of snow induces a step in the
response of surface temperature to insolation forcing. Weak energetic impulses are
multiplied by potent feedbacks which operate in the marginal belt of snow and ice, here
called the transition zone. Combined impact of the industrial and volcanic aerosols and of
the C0» on the deposition and melt of the snow in the high and middle northern latitudes is
an urgent problem of immediate concern. This is because: (a) the concentration of
industrial aerosols and of C0) reach a seasonal peak in spring when the sensitivity of snow
to energy forcing is high; (b) the future concentrations of aerosols and of C02 in high
latitudes will be affected by the worldwide energy policies; and (c) contrary to the
expectations of climate models, the C0) increase in the last 30 years is accompanied by a
marked oscillatory cooling of the northern high and middle latitudes.
A.A.
474. LABELLE, C., et P.J.H. Richard. 1981. Végétation tardiglaciaire et postglaciaire au
sud-est du parc des Laurentides, Québec. Géographie physique et Quaternaire
35():345=359;
Pollen analysis of the sediments of three lakes located south-east of the Laurentides
Provincial Park served to reconstruct different stages in the post-Wisconsinan vegetational
history. Those stages proved to be widespread within the studied area. The first stage
(subzone la) corresponds to a very open landscape, but the scarce vegetation cover already
consisted of many herb and shrub taxa. After a transitional stage (subzone 1b), a very rich
tundra-like vegetation occurred (subzone lc), followed by a shrub-dominated vegetation in
which Betula glandulosa played an important role (subzone ld). Populus cf.
tremuloides initiated the afforestation stage (subzone 2a), followed by Ptcea
mariana. The afforestation was completed by the immigration of many tree species
181
(Betula papyrifera, Pinus cf. divaricata, Abies balsamea, Picea glauca and
Larix laricina) during the next stage (subzone 2b). The pollen of Alnus cf.
ertspa shows maximum abundance within subzone 2b. The dating of these stages is hampered
by the lack of chronological control of the largely inorganic sediments to which they belong.
However, at least one thousand years passed between ice retreat and the immigration of
Populus cf. tremuloides. The forest vegetation history (zone 3) that followed
afforestation has been quite monotonous. Only minor changes of the abundance of species
like Pinus strobus, Picea mariana and Pinus cf. divaricata are revealed by
the pollen diagrams. Most of the tree species were present very early in the Holocene.
A.A.
475. LAGAREC, D. 1979. Problémes de paleoclimatologie post-glaciaire du Québec meridional.
Geoscope 10(1):7-12.
This article deals with problems related to periglacial in meridional Québec. The subject is
broached through three pertinent questions: (1) has meridional Québec known a post-glacial
permafrost? (2) when was this permafrost formed? (3) what is the paleoclimatic meaning of
these indicators?
A.A.
476. LAMB, H.F. 1980. Late Quaternary vegetational history of southeastern Labrador.
Arctic and Alpine Research 12(2):117-135.
Pollen percentage and influx diagrams for three lake-sediment cores from southeastern
Labrador are subdivided into three regional pollen assemblage zones: (I) Betula-Salix-
Cyperaceae zone, 10,500 to 9000 14¢ yr BP; (II) Alnus-Abtes-Picea zone, 9000 to 5000
WJZ (UIE) Picea zone, 5000 BP to present. Pollen influx was low in zone I, rose in
zone II, and then abruptly increased in the upper part of zone II when tree pollen was first
deposited in significant amounts. Influx reached a maximum about 4000 yr ago and declined
substantially after 2500 BP.
An early phase of tundra was succeeded 9000 yr ago by Betula-Alnus shrub-tundra as the
climate warmed. Trees then colonized the shrub-tundra at 6000 BP arriving late relative to
sites farther south and west. The initial forest community is interpreted as a park-tundra
of Picea glauca with abundant Abies balsamea and probably with some Betula
papyrtfera. After a period of about 700 yr, Abies declined in favor of Picea
martana as soil conditions began to deteriorate. The formation of peat was probably
accelerated at this time.
The pollen record from a site on the south coast shows that the coastal region was never
forested. The pollen influx record shows distinct similarities to that of the inland sites,
suggesting that climate was most temperate about 4000 yr ago and that a deterioration took
place about 2500 BP.
A.A.
477. LAMB, H.-H. 1964. The role of atmosphere and oceans in relation to climatic changes and
the growth of ice-sheets on land. In: Problems in Palaeoclimatology. Edited by:
A.E.M. Nairn. London. Ppp. 332-348.
Lamb ... surveys briefly what is known of the changes in extent of ice on land and sea during
the last few centuries. In spite of notably great temperature changes between A.D. 1200,
1550-1850 and 1900-1950, it seems clear that there was no significant tendency to start
rebuilding the great Pleistocene continental ice-sheets in the northern hemisphere. The
findings of recent work on changes in the atmospheric and oceanic circulations during the
last 1000 years suggest that the recent cold epoch set in too sharply and in ways that
probably rapidly reduced the precipitation in high northern latitudes. Probable causes of
182
this period of cold climate were considered by Lamb and in light of these studies he
attempted an appraisal of the current ideas concerning the origins of the Pleistocene
glaciation and factors governing the growth and decay of glaciers at the present time.
Editor
478. LAMB, H.H. 1966. The Changing Climate; Selected Papers. Methuen, London. 236 pp.
A collection of papers by one of the leading scholars in the field of climatic changes and
trends. Several chapters contain arctic material, and chapter 5, p. 140-56, reviews the role
of atomsphere and oceans in relation to high-latitude climatic change and the growth of ice
sheets on land. Displacements in the mean direction of depression tracks are viewed as
highly significant. The problem of identifying eustatic change in sea level is briefly
considered, and snow accumulation on Greenland is discussed with map and graphs. A number of
theories of ice age development are briefly reviewed. The author considers an Arctic Ocean
ice-free on the Atlantic side of the Lomonosov Ridge but frozen on the Alaskan side to offer
a possible compromise between the views of Ewing and Donn, and Karlstrom.
479. LAMB, H.H. 1969. Climatic fluctuations. In: World Survey of Climatology, Volume 2,
General Climatology 2. Edited by: H. Flohn. Elsevier, Amsterdam. pp. 173-249.
Long-term changes of climate are the result of changes in the general circulation of the
atmosphere. The chapter has six sections: climatic history, the record of instrumental
observations, circulation studies, the extension of the circulation analysis to the years
before 1750, the nature of the Little Ice Age (1430-1850) and a summary of causes and course
of climatic variations. This last section includes study of variation in solar output,
variation of the astronomical relationship between the earth and the sun, the effect of C09
and water vapour on the transmission of energy through the atmosphere, variations in albedo,
in the amount of heat stored in the oceans and in the extent of polar ice. While data are
quoted from all over the world, the largest historical records are from NW Europe, and most
of the maps refer to the northern hemisphere.
G.A.
480. LAMB, H.-H. 1972. Climate: Present, Past and Future. Volume 1. Fundamentals and
Climate Now. Methuen, London. 613 pp.
The first volume of this two-volume work explains the present-day world distribution of
climates and provides a skeleton reference of facts and figures for comparison. This
understanding of the present day provides a basis from which one can proceed to examine and
discuss the differences that are found to have characterized other climatic epochs. Most of
the book is concerned with the causation of climate, with discussion of radiation and heat
balance, the global circulation, seasonal changes, the stratosphere, cyclic and quasi-
periodic phenomena, the oceans and the water balance. There are also chapters on anomalous
patterns of atmospheric circulation and some observed causes of climatic variation. The
final chapter describes present world climate with world maps of particular variables,
discussion of Kôppen's climatic classification and a table of monthly and other values, where
possible for 1851-1950 for 236 stations.
G.A.
183
481. LAMB, H.H. 1977. Climate: Present, Past and Future. Volume 2. Climatic History and
the Future. Methuen, London. 836 pp.
A compilation and discussion of sources of proxy data including meteorology and para-
meteorological phenomena, dating methods, field evidence of past climates interpreted by
physical science, the same for biological sciences, and finally evidence from human history
and archaeology. This evidence is reviewed over decreasing time-scales: the whole of earth
history (with concentration on Triassic to Tertiary times), the Quaternary ice
age/interglacial fluctuations, postglacial times, historical times, and finally the period
since instrumental records began. This Part III,(pp. 21-654 of this volume) is concluded by
100 pp. of tabulated supplementary data. Part IV discusses man-made climatic changes and the
problem of long-range forecasting, with a summary of 24 scientifically-based forecasting
systems. References are arranged by chapters (and sub-sections for one chapter) and total
over 1500.
G.A.
482. LAMB. H.H., R.P.W. LEWIS, and A. WOODROFFE. 1966. Atmospheric circulation and the main
climatic variables between 8000 and O B.C.; meteorological evidence. in:
International Symposium on World Climate, 8000-0 B.C. Proceedings. pp. 174-217.
Analyzes paleobiological and meteorological evidence for changes in temperature,
precipitation and atmospheric circulation during this period. Maps show climatic conditions
ca 6500 BC, 4000 BC, 2000 BC and 500 BC with extent of continental glaciers and tree limits
indicated. Atmospheric thickness values for these dates, computed from the available
evidence, are mapped. Isobaric patterns are also plotted for the Arctic and sub-Arctic, both
for January and July, for each date. A sequence of meteorological variations based on these
maps is postulated. A bibliography is included.
A.B.
483. LAMB, H.H., and A. WOODROFFE. 1970. Atmospheric circulation during the last Ice Age.
Quaternary Research 1(1):29-58.
The prevailing surface temperatures in summer and winter at several different stages of the
last ice age, indicated at various points scattered over the Northern Hemisphere, by
botanical, glaciological, marine biological, oceanographic, etc. evidence, are used to derive
probable distributions of 1000-500 mbar thickness, roughly equivalent to mean temperature of
the lowest 5 km of the atmosphere and indicating the general flow pattern of the atmosphere
in depth. From these thermal wind patterns, computation of the tendency to cyclonic and
anticyclonic development is possible. Maps of this development field, taken together with
the indicated steering of surface cyclones and anticyclones by the thermal winds, make it
possible to sketch probable distributions of surface pressure (and, by implication, surface
winds) prevailing during each of the glacial stages studied. New light is thrown on the
onset of glaciation and on the regimes associated with the maximum extent of glaciation, with
the Allerdd warm epoch and the Post-Allerôd cold stage when there was some readvance of the
ice.
484. LARSEN, J.A., and R.G. BARRY. 1974. Paleoclimatology. in: Arctic and Alpine
Environments. Edited by: J.D. Ives and R.G. Barry. Methuen, London. pp. 253-276.
Recurring ice ages have persisted for 5-10% of geological time. Climate characteristics have
not been constant since the end of the last ice age. The Arctic Ocean was not a factor in
the growth or melting of Pleistocene continental glaciers. Theoretical evidence exists for
three possible causes of climatic change. Radiation changes and ocean-atmosphere
184
interactions are favoured. Recent circulation changes have implications for future climatic
changes. Continual reassessment of existing synthesis is essential.
G.A.
485. LASALLE, P. 1966. Late Quaternary vegetation and glacial history in the St. Lawrence
Lowlands, Canada. Leidse Geologische Mededélingen 38:91-128.
This paper presents data of various kinds concerning the Quaternary geology of the
St. Lawrence Lowlands: pollen diagrams, clé dates, and diatom floras. These data show that
the highest parts of the St. Lawrence Lowlands were already deglaciated more than 12,000
years ago, as appears from the existence of glacial lakes around some of the Monteregian
Hills.
The collected evidence seems to confirm the data concerning the age of the Champlain Sea: it
lasted from approximately 11,400 years B.P. to somewhat before 9,500 years B.P.
The data supply also evidence for a lowering of sea level during the Champlain Sea episode,
related to the St. Narcisse readvance, followed by a sea level rise (indicated by deeper
water) after the retreat of the St. Narcisse ice.
As to the pollen diagrams presented here, they show that the New England pollen zonation can
be applied to the lacustrine pollen sequence of the St. Lawrence Lowlands, and strongly
suggest (together with cl4 dates) that a correlation exists between the Younger Dryas of
northwestern Europe, the St. Narcisse readvance, and the first part of the pollen zone A4
from New England as described by Davis and other workers.
The diatom data of Lake Hertel appear to confirm the present elevation of the maximum marine
limit level in the Montreal area as being approximately 5/70 feet or 171 meters. Finally the
diatom floras supply information on the paleoecological conditions of the lakes studied.
A.A.
486. LASALLE, P., and J.A. ELSON. 1975. Emplacement of the St. Narcisse moraine as a
climatic event in eastern Canada. Quaternary Research 5(4):621-625.
The length (more than 300 km) and size of the St. Narcisse morainic system suggest that it
represents an important glacial event, probably climatically controlled and not related to a
surge. Dates on marine materials (shells) both from within and external to the moraine
suggest that its time of emplacement was roughly 11,000 years ago, well after the beginning
of the Champlain Sea Episode, but still possibly correlative with the Valders event of the
Lake Michigan area.
487. LASALLE, P., G. MARTINEAU, and L. CHAUVIN. 1979. Lits de bryophytes du Wisconsin
moyen, Vallée-Jonction, Québec. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 16(3):593-
598.
A shallow-water bryophyte arctic to subarctic assemblage, collected in what appears to be
shallow-water lake sediments, has been dated at greater than 39,000 14¢ years BP(QU-327). It
is probably correlative with the Massawipi (St. Pierre) formation.
A.A.
185
488. LAST, W.M., and J.T. TELLER. 1979. Holocene and late Pleistocene sedimentation history
of Lake Manitoba, Canada. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs
11(5):234.
Lake Manitoba, a remnant of glacial Lake Agassiz, contains more than 13 m of lacustrine
sediment in its main south basin. Cores of this sediment record are composed dominantly of
silty clay and clayey silt except toward the extreme southern end of the basin where less
clayey and more sandy units are common. The clay content, quartz, feldspar and dolomite, as
well as K, Na, Fe, and Mg, show a general increase with depth in the cores, while silt,
moisture content, organic matter, calcite, total carbonates, and Ca decrease with depth.
Within this sequence there are three distinctive marker zones at 4500-6000, 7500-8500, and
9500-10,500 years BP. These zones are characterized by a blocky to pelletal structure,
contrasting color, and a comparatively low moisture content. In some cases, they exhibit
significant changes in organic matter, carbonate content, and clay mineralogy.
We suggest that these marker zones represent episodes of low water when either (1) seasonal
or periodic drying dessiccated the lake floor and induced the pedogenic-like structure, or
(2) complete winter freezing of the reduced-lake volume caused dehydration of the near-
surface mud and development of the blocky structure.
The changes recorded in the postglacial record of Lake Manitoba reflect an interplay of the
following variables: (1) areal extent of the lake; (2) watershed size; (3) climatic changes;
(4) diversion of the old Assiniboine River; and (5) surface stability of the watershed in
relation to source materials.
A.A.
489. LEGGAT, K.R., B.L. MAGILL, N. VAN WASS, and H.S. SANDHU. 1981. The impacts of climate
change and variability on Alberta's resources and environment. Im: Climate Change
Seminar Proceedings. Regina, March 17-19. Canadian Climate Centre, Downsview.
Ppp. 12-25 .
“Historical records appear to indicate that Alberta is subject to a greater degree of
variability than the rest of Canada. As climate aberrations may exert significant impacts
upon resources and the environment, it is necessary to investigate the potential impacts of
climate fluctuations, and equally as important, man's role in changing the climate. Through
these investigations, planning and management strategies may be formulated for the beneficial
development and use of Alberta's resources and environment.”
The authors discuss the formation and growth of the Alberta Climatological Association and
its activities. The report highlights, by sector, environmental impacts of climate
fluctuations; these sectors include agriculture, air, fish and wildlife, forestry, water and
others. Improved data bases, improved weatherproofing and improved forecasting are the three
areas identified as high priority for “counteracting the impacts of climate fluctuations in
Alberta”.
A.B.S.
490. LEWIS, C.F.M., T.W. ANDERSON, and A.A. BERTI. 1966. Geological and palynological
studies of Early Lake Erie deposits. Proceedings of the Ninth Conference on Great
Lakes Research, University of Michigan, Great Lakes Research Division, Publication
15:176-191.
Coring and echosounding of Lake Erie bottom sediments have indicated a thin lag concentrate
of sand, in places with plant detritus, pelecypods, gastropods and other fossils, underlying
Recent silty clay muds and overlying clay till or late-glacial lacustrine clays. Buried
shallow pond organic sediments in the western basin and relict beach deposits, wave-cut
terraces and intrabasinal discharge channels in the central basin, some of which are buried,
all indicate former low water levels in central and western Lake Erie much below those at
186
present. This evidence, combined with radiocarbon dates of 10,200 and 11,300 years B.P. on
the organic material and information from nearby regions, suggests that Early Lake Erie came
into existence about 12,400 years ago, with water levels, 100 ft (30 m) lower than at
present, at approximately 470 ft above sea level. From this stage lake levels rose rapidly
as the outlet area at Buffalo, N.Y., was uplifted isostatically following deglaciation, and
probably reached their present elevation 9,000 to 10,000 years ago.
Examination of the cores indicated that pollen is sufficiently abundant and well preserved in
the sediments for palynological studies. Pollen diagrams can be correlated with one another
and with those outside of the Lake Erie basin. The presence of a legible pollen record
indicates that sedimentation has been probably continuous and undisturbed at the sites
investigated since low-level Early Lake Erie. Palynological studies support the geological
evidence of a low lake stage and provide a means for dating and correlating sediment
sequences which do not contain enough organic matter for radiocarbon analysis.
A.A.
491. LICHTI-FEDEROVICH, S. 1970. The pollen stratigraphy of a dated section of Late
Pleistocene lake sediment from central Alberta. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
7(3):938-945.
A 5.5 m section of limnic sediment from Lofty Lake in the Mixedwood Section of the Boreal
Forest in central Alberta has yielded the first complete Late Pleistocene pollen stratigraphy
for the province. The basal organic sediment was radiocarbon dated at 11400 + 190
yr (GSC-1049) and a layer of Mount Mazama type ash was recognized at the 398 cm level. This
represents the furthest extension into Canada of Mazama ash records. Five pollen assemblage
zones have been identified - at the base, a Populus-Salix-Shepherdia-Artemisia
assemblage, which is unique in the Late Pleistocene of N. America, and is interpreted as a
pioneer forest and shrub community which occupied the area immediately following
deglaciation. This is succeeded by a spruce dominated assemblage which conforms in general
to many early Late Pleistocene Picea assemblages from western Canada and adjacent
United States, interpreted as a pioneering version of the boreal forest. There follows a
tree birch dominated assemblage with poplar and hazel, suggesting a slight amelioration of
climate, and this trend appears to have continued to about 6000 B.P. when a birch-alder-herb
assemblage reaches its maximum; this is followed by a spruce-birch-alder assemblage, which
continued to the present and is interpreted as an expression of a deterioration in climate
about 3500 BP. The apparent absence at the site of grassland, although the birch-alder-herb
assemblage suggests that the grassland might have advanced closer to the site than at present
(240 km (150 miles)), supports the hypothesis that there was never a Late Pleistocene
connection between the Peace River and the main southern grasslands.
A.A.
492. LICHTI-FEDEROVICH, S. 1972. Pollen stratigraphy of a sediment core from Alpen Siding
Lake, Alberta. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 72-1B:113-115.
The pollen stratigraphy of a sediment core recovered from Alpen Siding Lake, Alberta has been
determined. Marly gyttja from the base of the core provided a date of 10,700 +
170 years B.P. (GSC-1093), obtained through 14C dating. "The reconstruction of the
vegetation and paleoecological inferences to be drawn from this section are similar to those
reported for the Lofty Lake site. A pioneer poplar-shrub community is followed,
successively, by a spruce forest (the pollen assemblage being similar to those recorded
widely from equivalent Late Pleistocene sediments in the Western Interior of the continent),
a birch forest community with poplar and hazel, a birch-alder-herb community, and finally a
mixed spruce-birch-pine forest which has persisted to the present day.”
A.B.S.
187
493. LICHTI-FEDEROVICH, S. 1973. Palynology of six sections of Late Quaternary sediments
from the Old Crow River, Yukon Territory. Canadian Journal of Botany 51(3):553-
564.
The Old Crow Plain, northern Yukon Territory, Canada, is a large flat lowland consisting of
basin-fill sediments of Late Quaternary age. The modern Arctic treeline passes across the
northern tip of the lowland, and much of the vegetation consists of tundra and shrub tundra,
with scattered groves of spruce mainly on alluvial deposits. Steep scarps have been exposed
by the downcutting of the Old Crow River in these basin-fill sediments, and good exposures of
Late Quaternary sediments are available for investigation. Samples from six of these
exposures were analyzed for pollen. Although many parts of the sections were barren, it has
been possible to derive pollen diagrams with discrete pollen zones for the six sections, and
four pollen assemblage types have been identified. Their occurrence in the stratigraphic
sequence suggests the following pattern of pollen stratigraphy; the lowermost sedimentary
units, probably deposited early in the interstadial following an Early Wisconsin glaciation,
are of pollen assemblage types III (Glumiflorae-herb) or IV (Betula-herb), both
indicative of tundra vegetation; the middle levels of the sediment show, consistently, pollen
spectra of type IL (Picea-Betula-Glumiflorae-herb), indicating forest groves with
tundra, quite similar to the modern vegetation. The sediment underlying the Upper
Glaciolacustrine Unit (correlative, according to Hughes (1969), with the Classical Wisconsin
Stadial) yields pollen assemblage type III (Glumiflorae-herb), which is interpreted as
indicating a rich and varied tundra. These vegetation reconstructions are consonant with a
tentative paleoclimatic interpretation in terms of a tripartite interstadial climate showing
severe tundra climate - milder forest or forest-tundra climate - severe tundra climate. Two
of the sections have incomplete pollen stratigraphy for the uppermost postglacial silts and
peats. They suggest that vegetation similar to the present day became established in the Old
Crow Plain in mid-postglacial time.
A.A.
494. LICHTI-FEDEROVICH, S. 1974. Najas guadalupensis (Spreng.) Morong. in the
Missinaibi Formation, northern Ontario. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 74-
1201
A noteworthy paleofloristic record was made during megafossil analysis of peat samples
collected from the Missinaibi Formation by R.G. Skinner, Geological Survey of Canada, in
1972. These beds of interglacial peat and silt (Skinner, 1973) occur at Moose River Crossing
(50°19'N, 81°18'W) in northern Ontario within the James Bay lowlands. A total of 20 seeds
of Najas guadalupensis (Spreng.) Morong. was recorded from peat samples. A complete
report of the megafossil analysis and pollen stratigraphy of this material will be published
separately.
This record of WNajas guadalupensis is notable because of the paleofloristic
implications.
The occurrence of this species of southern affinity in an assemblage of plants of distinctly
boreal-northern provenance is of interest. The species has not been recorded previously in
pre-Wisconsin sediments of Canada, although it has been found by Gruger (1972) in sediments
of Farmdalian and older age in south-central Illinois.
The most likely explanation for the apparent anomaly of its association with species of
different floristic and ecological affinity is that it occurred at this site during some non-
glacial late-Quaternary episode as a northern ecotype which has either not been recorded so
far in modern communities or has not persisted to the present day.
Excerpts
188
495. LICHTI-FEDEROVICH, S. 1974. Palynology of two sections of late Quaternary sediments
from the Porcupine River, Yukon Territory. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 74-
23:1-6.
Two exposures of Quaternary sediments along the Porcupine River, northern Yukon Territory,
were sampled. The upper part of the pollen and sediment stratigraphic record shows a close
correlation with results from the Old Crow Flats area. Two glacio-lacustrine units are
correlative with the Classical Wisconsin and the lower with an older glacial stage.
The sediments underlying the Lower Glacio-lacustrine Unit yield a pollen assemblage distinct
from any occurring in younger strata. This assemblage is distinguished by the occurrence of
pine and hazel pollen, associated with tree birch, alder and spruce. Subzones with and
without hazel are recognized. The assemblage is interpreted as indicating the presence of a
forest dominated by spruce and birch with some pine also present. The upper pollen zones are
characterized by pollen assemblage types identical to those of the Old Crow area, which were
interpreted as representing a transition from arctic tundra through boreal forest to
subarctic or arctic tundra.
A.A.
496. LICHTI-FEDEROVICH, S. 1975. Pollen analysis of ice core samples from the Devon Island
ice cap. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 75-1A:441-443.
Samples dated at 2900-3000 yrs B.P.; 6000-8000 yrs B.P. and 12,000-50,000 yrs B.P. were
collected. The spectra from all levels are dominated by pollen from distant sources. They
correlate with parts of the pollen stratigraphy which has been developed for the western Low
Arctic of North America (Hopkins, 1972; Ritchie, 1972). The near absence of pine suggests a
western origin; this is concordant with modern air mass circulation in the Arctic (Hare and
Hay, 1974).
497. LICHTI-FEDEROVICH, S. 1975. Pollen analysis of surface snow from five Canadian Arctic
ice caps. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 75-1B:135-137.
Pollen and spore totals from snow samples of five Arctic Island ice caps are presented; the
totals are small and have limited interpretive value. Nevertheless, a common feature is the
preponderance of exotic types, with origins in boreal and temperate regions.
498. Life, Land and Water. Edited by: W.J. Mayer-Oakes. Proceedings of the 1966 Conference
on Environmental Studies of the Glacial Lake Agassiz Region, University of Manitoba
Press, Winnipeg. Department of Anthropology, University of Manitoba Occasional
Paper No. 1:1-414. 1967.
Glacial Lake Agassiz is a subject that can only be addressed effectively through
interdisciplinary study. This volume contains such studies. Relevant papers to this
bibliography have been annotated individually.
A.B.S.
189
499. LINDSEY, C.C. 1978. Aquatic zoogeography and the Ice-free Corridor. American
Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts 5:31-34.
Unlike botanical evidence, the paleontology of fish has contributed little to reconstruction
of the Quaternary climate and events in the Ice-free Corridor. Quaternary fossil fish finds
are Arctic Grayling and Northern Pike, both from Late Pleistocene deposits near Old Crow
(McAllister and Harington, 1969; Crossman and Harington, 1970). Both species are currently
widespread, ranging from the Arctic coast to south of 50°N in North America and in Eurasia.
Probably each survived in both the Beringian and Mississippian refugia, judging from present
distributions and from suggestion of slightly different morphological types among survivors
in the two areas (McPhail and Lindsey, 1970).
The presence or absence of certain aquatic species in lakes in or near the Ice-free Corridor
in NWI and YT indicate that some drainage patterns have been drastically altered by glacial
maxima.
In summary, the northern samples support the possibility of a much more extensive temporary
Yukon River drainage than has been suspected. That drainage could conceivably have had its
source at or even south of the northern Alberta border, but its southern limit, and the
contribution of endemic forms from within the Ice-free Corridor, cannot be identified without
sampling more key lakes.
Evidence about palaeoecological conditions in water bodies in the Corridor is only available
from modern distributions in special circumstances. In certain isolated lakes (e.g. Margaret
L., YT) a distinct fish population persists which evidently originated from a drainage not
now connected to that lake. This is evidence that climate has been continuously tolerable to
that species since the disconnection of the drainage, i.e. there has been open water on the
lake each summer, and temperature has never risen above acceptable limits. Unfortunately,
ancient lakes in the Corridor have often filled in and enriched so that now no fish persist,
probably due to winter anoxia under ice-cover. Here only zooplankton species offer
historical evidence, but this is less reliable due to uncertainty as to the time of entry to
the lake (birds' feet, wind drift etc.?). Greatest promise lies with increasingly sensitive
biochemical methods to detect distinctive genotypes in geographically isolated fish
populations.
pA.A.
500. LIU, K.B. 1980. Pollen evidence of late-Quaternary climatic changes in Canada; a
review; Part 1, Western Canada. Ontario Geographer 15:83-101.
The occurrence and timing of the Hypsithermal is a major problem of palynological research in
western Canada. Evidence for a mid-postglacial warm (and dry) interval has been well
documented for sites close to the forest/prairie ecotone, where change from an early
Picea-dominated assemblage to a NAP-dominated assemblage in the pollen diagrams has been
interpreted as a northward expansion of the prairie into spruce forest (Ritchie, 1976).
Pollen and megafossil/paleosol evidences for a mid-postglacial advance of the arctic treeline
have also been documented from the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula (Ritchie and Hare, 1971) and
Keewatin (Bryson et al., 1965; Nichols, 1967a). But in areas farther away from
ecotones, changes in the pollen diagrams are less distinct and their interpretation is
complicated by the differential migration of species, such as Ptcea, Alnus and
Pinus in the northwest and Pinus and Quercus in the southeast of the study
region (e.g. Miller and Anderson, 1974; Rampton, 1971; Ritchie, 1976, 1977). On the other
hand, a mid-postglacial warm interval is not evident from the pollen record in coastal
British Columbia, probably as a result of oceanic influence. These results echo the
theoretic problems discussed in an earlier section of this paper, that the usefulness of
pollen analysis in paleoclimatic reconstruction is site-dependent, being more sensitive in
ecologically stressed environments than in areas far from ecotones. The role played by
nonclimatic factors (e.g. differential migration, differential pollen representation, etc.)
should be adequately considered in any paleoclimatic reconstruction based on pollen data.
A.S.
190
501. LIVINGSTONE, D.A. 1968. Some interstadial and postglacial pollen diagrams from eastern
Canada. Ecological Monographs 38(2):87-125.
The author presents pollen diagrams of one postglacial section from Gaspé Peninsula and of
one interstadial and six postglacial sections from Nova Scotia.
The interstadial deposit from western Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, has an age of over
38,000 years. Two pollen zones were revealed, the lower characterized by high values of
alder pollen, the upper by spruce pollen. The author notes no similarity to any postglacial
zone from Nova Scotia.
The analysis of seven postglacial lake deposits revealed three herbaceous pollen zones, L-1,
L-2, L-3, so far found only at one locality in eastern Canada. The author suggests that
those sites presenting the incomplete upper part of this three-zone record of a climatic
oscillation were uncovered by retreating glacier ice at successively later times. In most
localities three arboreal pollen zones, A, B, C, could be distinguished above the herbaceous
zones. Spectra contained in the A zone at Gaspé suggests the climate was not as warm as
present. Zone C was divisible into three subzones at all localities; the spectra contained
in C-2 zones from the Gaspé and Nova Scotia sites suggest a slight cooling of climate since
the end of C-2 time.
A.B.S.
502. LIVINGSTONE, D.A., and A.H. ESTES. 1967. A carbon-dated pollen diagram from the Cape
Breton Plateau, Nova Scotia. Canadian Journal of Botany 45(3):339-359.
Organic sedimentation in a lake near the southwestern edge of the Cape Breton Plateau began
about 9000 years ago. Before that time the vegetation was an open tundra, probably with
scattered conifer and poplar trees. Since then the vegetation has been dominated by closed
fir forest of a variety of types not dissimilar to forests growing in various parts of Nova
Scotia today. Organic sedimentation and the establishment of forest, and by implication
deglaciation, began more recently at Wreck Cove Lake than at any other Nova Scotian locality
that has been investigated. The establishment of forest occurred 1300 years sooner in part
of lowland Cape Breton, and 1800 years sooner in part of mainland Nova Scotia, than it did on
the Cape Breton Plateau. The length of postglacial, preforest time, which cannot be measured
by radiocarbon dating appears to have been much shorter at Wreck Cove than it was in lowland
Cape Breton. The Cape Breton Plateau was not, as some phytogeographers have suggested, a
nunatak during glacial time. It may have been a center of late-glacial readvance.
A.A.
503. LIVINGSTONE, D.A., and B.G.R. LIVINGSTONE. 1958. Late-glacial and postglacial
vegetation from Gillis Lake in Richmond County, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.
American Journal of Science 256 (5):341-359.
Pollen analysis of a deposit from Gillis Lake, Richmond County, Nova Scotia, has yielded a
stratigraphy consisting of nine zones, two of which are tentatively divided into sub-zones.
The three bottom zones are characterized by the pollen of open vegetation, particularly of
heaths, willow, sedges, grasses and Artemisia. The second of these three zones
contains more shrub pollen than the other two, and appears to represent a transitory warm
time corresponding to the Two Creeks interval. The upper limit of these late-glacial zones
has been carbon-dated at 10,340 + 220 years, which suggests that this part of Nova
Scotia was deglaciated shortly before Two Creeks time and has been ice-free since. The
amount of coniferous pollen in the late-glacial zones suggests that the vegetation was not
completely open, but the presence of tree species immediately after deglaciation has not been
definitely established. The vegetation was certainly open enough to permit much wider ranges
of a number of plants now restricted to isolated bare-ground habitats, including, by
inference, many of the Cordilleran disjunct species. Ulmus, a genus whose native
status in Nova Scotia has been in doubt, has been part of the vegetation since the entry of
mixed deciduous forest, and Artemisia have been intermittently present during post-
191
glacial time. The influence of European settlement on the vegetation is clearly shown in the
top sub-zone of the profile.
A.A.
504. LOCKE, C.W., and W.W. LOCKE, III. 1977. Little Ice Age snow-cover extent and
paleoglaciation thresholds: north-central Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada. Arctic
and Alpine Research 9(3):291-300.
On air photographs, light-colored areas representing reduced lichen cover indicate the
maximum extent of permanent snow cover in the recent past. Lichen-free areas were mapped on
1:50,000, 1:250,000, and 1:1,000,000 map sheets of north-central Baffin Island using air
photographs and LANDSAT-1 satellite imagery. Present ice and lakes cover 37% of the study
area (97,000 km2). During the Little Ice Age (350 to 100 yr BP), ice and lakes covered about
50% of the study area - an increase of 35%. The amount of lichen-free area is greatest in
the elevational range of 450 to 600 m a.s.1.
A limited amount of lichenometrical measurements indicate that the lichen-free areas probably
represent a period of more extensive snow cover approximately synchronous with the Little Ice
Age.
Paleoglaciation thresholds and paleoequilibrium-line altitudes increased in elevation toward
the northeast with lowest elevations southwest of the Barnes Ice Cap. Paleoglaciation
thresholds ranged from 500 to 850 m a.s.l. whereas paleoequilibrium line altitudes ranged
from 300 to 900 m a.s.1. Present glaciation thresholds and equilibrium-line altitudes ranged
from approximately 100 to 400 m higher than the paleovalues. The difference between present
and paleovalues is greatest over the mountainous east coast and decreases to the west.
A.A.
505 LOCKE, W.W., III. 1979. Etching of hornblende grains in Arctic soils: an indicator of
relative age and paleoclimate. Quaternary Research 11(2):197-212.
The degree of etching of hornblende grains in soils is defined as the mean depth of maximum
etching on 100 grains per sample and is a function of: (1) the depth in the profile; (2) the
age of the deposit on which the soil is formed; and (3) the climate since deposition. In
soils formed on moraines in the eastern Canadian Arctic, etching decreases logarithmically
with increasing age. The most important climatic parameter with respect to etching appears
to be the effective precipitation. Equally important in terms of soil moisture regimen is
the presence of unfrozen water. Both affect the rate of etching as a function of depth and
age.
For Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada, this technique allows a climatic
reconstruction as follows: (1) a warm wet period preceded the last glaciation; (2) a mild
moist period occurred between ca. 100,000 and 60,000 yr B.P.; (3) extreme aridity and/or cold
prevailed between ca. 60,000 and 8000 yr B.P.; (4) a mild moist climate returned between
ca. 8000 and 3200 yr B.P.; and (5) cool dry conditions occurred between ca. 3200 yr B.P.; and
the present.
Part of the climatic reconstruction is corroborated by etching in cryoturbated soils.
Comparisons with stable soils indicate that the surface soils began to form ca. 4000 yr B.P.
on previously frost-stirred terrain. These data are concordant with the onset of cool dry
conditions as determined above.
A.A.t
192
506. LOEWE, F. 1971. Considerations on the origin of the Quaternary ice sheet of North
America. Arctic and Alpine Research 3(4):331-344,
It is generally agreed that the Quaternary ice sheets of the Northern Hemisphere were brought
about by a cooling of the atmosphere. A temperature decrease tends to reduce water vapor in
the air and thus the precipitation. Ahlmann's curve connecting summer temperature and
apparent accumulation at the glaciation limit is probably not applicable to the start of the
Labrador-Ungava ice sheet which could have been initiated with smaller accumulation than the
curve indicates. However, a cooling of 6°C with the present precipitation hardly seems
sufficient. It is unlikely that “glacial ice” of high density could have started an ice
sheet itself. Even if the possiblility of a growth of the Keewatin ice sheet from “valley
ice” is accepted, a cooling of only 6°C would not be enough. The region would then have had
the climate of unglacierized northern Siberia today. The start of the North American ice
sheet would have required an initial cooling considerably greater than 6°C, or a decrease of
6°C with precipitation somewhat higher than the present. The condition which brought about
the synoptic and climatic changes which started the Quaternary ice sheet of North America are
still not established.
A.A.
507. LOKEN, O.H. 1965. Postglacial emergence at the south end of Inugsuin Fiord, Baffin
Island, N.W.T. Geographical Bulletin 7(3-4):243-258.
A beach deposit from Inugsuin Fiord, Baffin Island, is described and its mode of formation
outlined. It was possible to relate a number of shell samples to the sea levels prevailing
when the shells lived. An accurate emergence curve has been drawn which is similar in form
to curves obtained from other areas. The early part of postglacial time was characterized by
a rate of emergence much smaller than observed in other areas and there are distinct
differences between the pattern of emergence on the west and the east coasts of Baffin
Island.
A pronounced bench on the beach deposit is discussed and is believed to be associated with a
postglacial halt in the process of emergence. This is possibly a parallel to a postglacial
transgression in northern Labrador and of late Tapes age. Fossil evidence suggests a climate
in early postglacial time warmer than the present.
A.A.
508. LONGLEY, R.W. 1953. Temperature trends in Canada. Royal Meteorological Society.
Proceedings of the Meteorological Conference, Toronto. pp. 207-211.
The author used data from 50 to 60 locations across the country and grouped the stations into
fourteen regions for the preparation of ten year running means. He found that in every
district in which records went back to 1880, the decade of the '80s was cold. The absolute
minimum occurred during the decade 1879-1888. He took 1903 as the end of the universal cold
spell and showed that immediately thereafter there were only minor fluctuations and none
which were found in all districts. In Eastern Canada the period 1903-1926 is marked by a
slow falling temperature in some regions, and the period 1926-1952 saw a general rise in
temperature although in many districts a reversal was in evidence between 1939 and 1943.
Northern Ontario was the only eastern district for which the decade ending in 1952 was not
the warmest on record. In western Canada the trend for the past ten years is decidedly
different. 1946-47 saw the end of the very warm decades and in all districts these were the
warmest or very nearly the warmest decades on record. The succeeding five years saw mean
temperatures drop, and in Alberta the decade ending in 1951 was the coldest since 1904.
During the past 10 years the line of demarcation between the cooling of the west and the
warming of the east is not well‘defined, but is located in northwestern Ontario. In British
Columbia there was a cold period around 1920, a warming period in the early 1930s, a short
drop until 1937 and rising until the mid '40s. The data for northwestern Canada show many of
these same fluctuations. Evidently, the factors controlling temperature fluctuations in
British Columbia influence the Yukon and the Mackenzie River Valley much more than they do
193
the Prairie Provinces. The Northeast Arctic, Hudson Strait temperatures have apparently
followed those of eastern Canada. In conclusion, the author states that the spatial as well
as the temporal extent of the temperature fluctuations have been seen to be quite variable.
Some changes are gradual, and others such as the recent drop in western Canada are abrupt.
Some changes are general and others local. For example, the drop in temperature near 1920
was limited to British Columbia.
Thomas
509. LONGLEY, R.W. 1954. Mean annual temperatures and running mean temperatures for
selected Canadian stations. Department of Transport, Meteorological Division CIR.-
2481, TEC.-186:1-45.
Annual and ten year running mean annual temperatures are listed year by year for 62 Canadian
stations from the beginning of record to 1952. Another table shows ten year running mean
annual temperatures by districts. This circular contains the basic data used in the
preparation of the paper “Temperature Trends in Canada”.
Thomas
510. LOUBERE, P. 1982. Plankton ecology and the paleoceanographic-climatic record.
Quaternary Research 17(3):314-324.
The paleoceanographic-climatic record represented by deep-sea microfossils reflects
conditions for only certain times of the year. Also, the relative abundances of microfossil
species in deep-sea sediments do not usually reflect only one paleoceanographic variable,
such as temperature. Rather, species distributions represent the integration of many factors
that control biological production in the oceans. This influences the information on past
climates that can be extracted from fossil material. The seasonal limitation is due to the
cyclic nature of biological production in the open ocean. Case studies of the sediment
record in the Atlantic for two species of planktonic Foraminifera, left-coiling
Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (Ehrenberg) and Globigerinoides ruber (d'Orbigny),
illustrates seasonal bias in environmental data reported by the relative abundances of
species in deep-sea sediments. In addition, the study of G. ruber illustrates the
operation of two oceanographic parameters in controlling a species distribution. These
examples demonstrate that the environmental signal in the sediments is the result of the
interplay of the ecological tolerance of the plankton species with seasonally variable
biological and physical properties of the upper ocean.
A.A.
511. LOVE, D. 1959. The postglacial development of the flora of Manitoba: a discussion.
Canadian Journal on Botany 37(4):547-585.
An attempt is made to establish the development of the flora of Manitoba, Canada, after the
complete extermination by the Wisconsin glacier of any pre-existing vegetation.
Based upon geology, palynology, and floristics, a theory is constructed that the ice was at
first followed by a cold (marsh) grassland, covering the bottom of the drained Lake Agassiz
I, and a riverine spruce (-pine) parkland of western origin, which persisted throughout the
Valders period and the damming up of Lake Agassiz II. Around 9000 B.P. a deciduous forest
flora started to fill in around the edges of Lake Agassiz II, and a pine-oak savanna occupied
the drier portions of the upland. This flora reached its maximum north- and westwards
distribution towards the peak of the Hypsithermal. Also during the Hypsithermal it is
suggested that a western (-southwestern) prairie flora covered the bottom of the draining
Lake Agassiz II, reaching its farthest extension towards the north and east. During the same
time, the Arctic flora expanded over the Hudson's Bay Lowland. The last part to be covered
by vegetation seems to have been the zone now called taiga, probably as late as 3000-4000
years ago. The spruce forest and its undervegetation seems to have arrived both from the
194
west and from the east, and in recent times (from 2000 to 3000 B.P.) is in a stage of
expansion, forcing itself into the deciduous zone, which in turn is expanding over the
prairie, save for the checking activities of Man (fire and cultivation).
A.A.
512. LOVE, D. 1962. Plants and Pleistocene. In: Problems of the Pleistocene Epoch and
Arctic Area. Volume 2. Compiled by: G.R. Lowther. Publications of McGill
University Museums (Montreal), No. 2. pp. 17-39.
In general it can be said that the Pleistocene Era meant a gradual extinction of the existing
floras as well as a zonal re-arrangement of vegetation belts in certain regions during the
Ice Ages. In turn each interglacial period allowed a gradual come-back of the vegetation
into the devastated areas and a fusion of species which had suffered a split distribution
because of the continental ice covers. It seems, however, that each interglacial was long
enough for a complete recovery of the flora. During the different interglacials the come-
back developed somewhat differently...". [The author demonstrates these re-arrangements by
surveying the changes in poppies, particularly Papaver radicatum. ]
Excerpt?
513. LOWDEN, J.A., and W. BLAKE, Jr. 1968. Geological Survey of Canada radiocarbon dates.
Geological Survey of Canada Paper 68-2B:1-39. (reprinted from Radiocarbon 10:207-
245.)
Title is self-explanatory.
C.R.H.
514. LOWDEN, J.A., and W. BLAKE, Jr. 1973. Geological Survey of Canada radiocarbon dates.
Geological Survey of Canada Paper 73-7:1-61.
Title is self-explanatory.
C.R.H.
515. LOWDEN, J.A., J.G. FYLES, and W. BLAKE, Jr. 1967. Geological Survey of Canada
radiocarbon dates. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 6/7-2B:1-42. (reprinted from
Radiocarbon 9:156-197.)
Title is self-explanatory.
516. LOWDEN, J.A., I.M. ROBERTSON, and W. BLAKE, Jr. 1971. Geological Survey of Canada
radiocarbon dates. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 71-7:1-69. (reprinted from
Radiocarbon 13(2):255-324.)
Title is self-explanatory.
195
517. LOWTHER, G.R., compiler. 1959. Problems of the Pleistocene Epoch and Arctic Area.
Publications of McGill University Museums (Montreal), No. 1. 119 pp.
The eight papers included in this volume are a selection from those presented at a seminar in
the spring of 1957. The purpose of this selection was to provide a background to Pleistocene
and Arctic studies. Papers determined relevant to this bibliography have been annotated
separately.
A.B.S.
518. LOWTHER, G.R., compiler. 1962. Problems of the Pleistocene Epoch and Arctic Area.
Volume 2. Publications of McGill University Museums (Montreal), No. 2. 67 pp.
The six papers included in this volume are a selection from those presented at a seminar held
in the academic year 1958-59. Papers determined relevant to this bibliography have been
annotated separately.
A.B.S.
519. LUCKMAN, B.H. 1977. Lichenometric dating of Holocene moraine at Mount Edith Cavell,
Jasper, Alberta. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 14(8):1809-1822.
A preliminary growth curve for the lichen Rhizocarpon geographicum over a 250 year per-
iod was determined on moraines of quartzite debris at Mount Edith Cavell and Penstock Creek,
Jasper National Park, Alberta. The dating control was obtained by dendrochronology and from
documentary and photographic sources. The average growth over this period is 25 mm/century
but the curve appears to be exponential in form and can be subdivided into 42 mm/century for
the first 110 years and 11.4 mm/century for the subsequent 140 years. The latter figure
gives a maximum estimate for the linear phase of Rhizocarpon geographicum in this area.
Four “Little Ice Age” moraines are identified and dated as 1705 + 5, 1720
te Sl S560 ea “7 an dl Oo BOL 7OMAD at Mounite | Exdaetihe Cave de amid
TAG She Fi Fee) LISE» Shi, DER Seaeye md 0 l'OM atic Dae Dae
Penstock Creek. Recession of Cavell Glacier averaged about 16 m/year from 1927-1963 and 6-8
m/year from 1963-1975. Angel Glacier shows a similar pattern but has maintained its frontal
position since 1962. Remnants of at least three “pre-Little Ice Age” moraines occur in two
small areas at Mount Edith Cavell. The minimum lichenometric age for the oldest moraine is
about 1800 BP. The presence of Bridge River Ash in the soils in front of the 1705 moraine
indicates no greater glacial advance in the last 2600 years. Thus although several glacial
advances occurred at this site during the Holocene they were of similar or smaller extent
than the “Little Ice Age” maximum.
A.A.
520. LUKENS, P.W., Jr. 1967. The Tailrace Bay site fauna. In: Life, Land and Water.
Edited by: W.J. Mayer-Oakes. Proceedings of the 1966 Conference on Environmental
Studies of the Glacial Lake Agassiz Region. Department of Anthropology, University
of Manitoba Occasional Paper 1:313-321.
Comparison of the Grand Rapids archeological fauna with the recent terrestrial fauna of the
Manitoba north lowlands suggests no major faunal changes and hence, by inference, no major
environmental shifts during the period of human occupation. The obvious faunal differences
are recent, the result of extirpation or environmental alteration by the white man. Thus we
can tentatively assume that the major habitats in the Grand Rapids area have not changed
markedly during the past 4500 years. However, it is likely that vegetational succession has
changed the relative proportions of the various habitats. The faunas in turn may be
different, but the differences would be in distribution and abundance rather than kind.
Excerpt
196
521. LUTWICK, L.E. 1969. Identification of phytoliths in soils. In: Pedology and
Quaternary Research. Edited by: S. Pawluk. University of Alberta Press,
Edmonton. pp. 77-82.
Phytoliths are biogenetic opals formed in mature cells of plants, especially grasses. Some
phytoliths have shapes characteristic of the plant species in which they were found. The
occurrence of phytoliths in soils provides a fossil record of components of previous
vegetation communities that occupied the site under study.
Phytoliths in some buried soils were used to indicate that the soils were of grassland
origin. This was supported by evidence from the infrared spectra of the humic acids.
In surface soils of the forest-grassland transition zone, the occurrence of fescue phytoliths
indicated the previous occurrence of fescue grasses where aspen trees and reed grasses
presently occur. Since the trees can be supported in that climate and since fescue grasses
do not tolerate shade, there has been a change in environment, probably the suppression of
fire since settlement occurred.
The occurrence of reed-grass phytoliths in cumulic soils of the foothills indicates that such
soils were derived from water discharge zones. Overland flow from water recharge zones is
probably non-existent or only of minor influence in the colluviation process contributing to
the development of these soils.
A.A.
522. LYONS, J.B., and J.E. MIELKE. 1973. Holocene history of a portion of northernmost
Ellesmere Island. Arctic 26(4):314-323.
Radiocarbon dates and glaciological features of the Ward Hunt area along northernmost
Ellesmere Island suggest the following chronology, which is consistent with world-wide
climatic oscillations: 1) 10,000-4100 B.P.: deglaciation, and development of several marine
levels, particularly one now 40 m above sea level, at 7500 + 300 B.P.; 2) 4100-
2400 years B.P.: climatic deterioration, glacial readvance and formation of ice shelves;
3) 2400-1400 years B.P.: general climatic amelioration; development of dust ablation horizon
on Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, glacial retreat; 4) 1400 B.P.-present: climatic deterioration, with
renewed thickening of Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, and beginnings of growth of ice rises; the last-
mentioned experienced maximum growth in the interval between 350-170 years ago; slight
glacial readvance.
The isostatic rebound curve for northernmost Ellesmere Island differs from that of the
Tanquary Fiord area 80 miles (128 km) to the south because of differing Pleistocene ice
thicknesses. We estimate these to average at least 600 m for the former area, and 1800 m for
the latter.
A.A.
523. MACDONALD, G.M. 1982. Late Quaternary paleoenvironments of the Morley Flats and
Kananaskis Valley of southwestern Alberta. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
19(1):23-35.
A 3.1 m section of limnic sediment and peat from a bog on the Morley Flats and a 2.8 m
section of limnic sediment from Wedge Lake in the Kananaskis Valley have yielded the first
comprehensive late Quaternary biostratigraphic record from southwestern Alberta. Both
sections were analyzed for subfossil pollen, molluscs, and several sedimentary indices. Two
distinct pollen zones were recognized. The basal zone, characterized by high relative
abundancy of Artemisia-Salix-Jumiperus, suggests that the Morley Flats were dominated
by a sparse vegetation composed of aggressive pioneer species following deglaciation until
prior to approximately 10,000 BP. Similarly, the mollusc fauna from this zone is dominated
by northern ranging species. The second zone is typified by a predominance of Pinus
and Picea. This reflects the expansion of coniferous forest into the region. Both the
197
relative abundance of southern ranging mollusc species and the total carbonate concentration
in the sediment in-crease in this zone. The vegetation of the region has remained generally
stable since at least 9395 BP. However, increases in the abundance of Pinus relative
to Picea and Abies in the mid-Holocene suggest that this period experienced an
increase in fire frequency, possibly generated by climatic amelioration.
524. MACKAY, J.R. 1976. Ice-wedges as indicators of recent climatic change, western Arctic
coast. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 76-1A:233-234.
Many active ice wedges along the western Arctic coast have been rejuvenated in response to a
thinning of the active layer and upward permafrost aggradation. When the general cooling
trend was interrupted by warm periods, the tops of the new ice wedges were truncated, so that
subsequent cooling and cracking produced tertiary wedges. The evidence from active ice
wedges along the western Arctic coast suggests a thinning of the active layer of about 10 per
cent to a maximum of 40 per cent in the recent past.
A.C.
525. MACKAY, J.R. 1978. Freshwater shelled invertebrate indicators of paleoclimate in
northwestern Canada during late glacial times: discussion. Canadian Journal of
Earth Sciences 15(3):461-462.
The preservation of both icy Pleistocene sediments and the lower portions of relic ice wedges
beneath a widespread thaw unconformity within 60 km of site 3 of Delorme et al. (1977)
suggest a maximum postglacial thaw of only a few metres. Permafrost has then been present,
along the western Arctic Coast, throughout postglacial time. Therefore mean annual ground
temperatures have not risen above 0°C except for very brief periods measurable only in years
not centuries. As present mean annual air temperatures in Canada tend to be several degrees
colder than mean annual ground temperatures, it seems probable that mean annual air
temperatures were several degrees below 0°C during the postulated warm interval 14 410 - 6820
years BP.
A.C.
526. MACKAY, J.R., and J. TERASMAE. 1963. Pollen diagrams in the Mackenzie Delta area,
N.W.T. Arctic 16(4):228-238.
The sequence of postglacial climatic changes, although apparent from the studies made, cannot
yet be satisfactorily interpreted from the available evidence. Radiocarbon dates for
driftwood in the Ibyuk pingo and [Eskimo Lakes] suggest that the area was icefree 12,000 to
11,000 years ago. Around 8,200 BP the area was probably forested to the same extent as at
present. It is also quite possible that postglacial reforestation began much earlier south
of the area studied and to the west of it. Evidence for a warmer postglacial climate than
the present is widespread [and described in the text].
Indirect evidence for climatic change comes from a study of the ages of the pingos of the
Mackenzie Delta area. Most of the 1,400 pingos have a cover of vegetation with an underlying
thin peat layer, tundra polygons with ice wedges many feet in width, and a thicker peat
deposit is feathering out against the sides; ... the majority are well over a thousand years
old. ... For the Mackenzie Delta pingos, a cooling trend for the past few thousand years
accompanied by diminishing precipitation would best account for pingo formation.
“The following, decidedly tentative sequence of climatic events is proposed for the Mackenzie
Delta area. Deglaciation occurred about 12,000 years ago. Palynological studies indicate a
rather cool-dry climate (compared with the present) from 8,500 to 7,500 years ago. This
episode was followed by a warmer one with possibly less available moisture and with more
rapid decay of peat locally (pollen poorly preserved, peat accumulation slow). A later
198
increase in available moisture has been assumed to be indicated by a maximum of Ericaceae.
The maximum of Myrica pollen suggests a probable cooling of the climate with a later
increase in moisture as shown by an increase of alder and Ericaceae. The abundance of
Sphagnum spores in the upper part of the Twin Lakes diagram lends support to the
assumption of increased available moisture in late postglacial time. A cooling was
associated with the formation of many pingos in the past several thousand years."
Excerpt?
527. MACNEISH, R.S. 1962. A discussion of the Recent geology and archaeological sites in
the northern and southern Yukon. In: Problems of the Pleistocene Epoch and Arctic
Area. Volume 2. Compiled by: G.R. Lowther. Publications of McGill University
Museums (Montreal), No. 2. pp. 40-43.
The comparison of these two Yukon sequences reveals a number of similarities that may
indicate similar general climatic trends common to all the Yukon during the last part of the
Pleistocene and Recent periods. In both areas the climate seems to have been like the
present for the last 2,000 years. From 2 to 4,000 years ago both areas had the same somewhat
cooler period. The pink soils of the south Yukon and the humic soils of the Firth River seem
to represent a warm dry period - perhaps the post-glacial optimum from 4,000 to 7,000 years
ago. At this point in our sequences the similarities cease. The Yukon coast had a cold-wet
period of glacial conditions. On the other hand, the southwest Yukon had a cold-dry period,
preceded by glacial conditions.
Excerpt
528. MACNEISH, R.S. 1964. Archaeological excavations, comparisons and speculations. In:
Investigation in Southwest Yukon. Phillips Academy, Robert S. Peabody Foundation
for Archaeology, Andover, Massachusetts. Paper 6.6(1-2):201-488.
Correlates the Lake Kluane-Dezadeash-upper Yukon River culture sequences of traditions in the
American Northwest and east Asia: distribution of common traits are tabulated and movements
across the Bering Strait area traced. The occupation history of five stratified sites in
southwest Yukon is described, cultural components considered, and seven sequential phases
identified. Kluane, the oldest complex is dated about 8,000 BC, i.e. coeval with grassland
and tundra vegetation. The fifth or Taye Lake phase of about 500 BC corresponded to the
period of extensive forestation. Excavated artifacts and osteological materials, also the
prehistoric to recent settlement patterns are treated in appendix.
529. MACPHERSON, J.B. 1981. The development of the vegetation of Newfoundland and climatic
change during the Holocene. In: The Natural Environment of Newfoundland, Past and
Present. Edited by: A.G. and J.B. Macpherson. Department of Geography, Memorial
University of Newfoundland, St. John's. pp. 189-217.
The core of this chapter, consists of a series of maps dealing with representative random
pollen spectra and vegetation boundaries, and pollen spectra maps for the periods 10,000,
9,000, 8,000, 7,000, 6,000, 5,000, 4,000 and 2,000 B.P. In the latter maps, pollen spectra
are shown in pie diagrams for each site, the diagrams being divided according to relative
percentages of the following types: tundra, shrub, birch, boreal trees and temperate trees.
Fifty-seven references are given.
The author suggests a changing sequence of dominant controls upon the climate of Newfoundland
and Labrador during the Holocene. First, residual ice over Labrador acted as a source of
arctic air, and fewer frontal systems than at present would have passed over Newfoundland.
As ice disappeared, and warming occurred to the south, the equivalent of the Bermuda High
affected the Maritime Provinces, and possibly also southern Newfoundland, in summer, while
weak frontal systems passed over Labrador and Baffin Island. As atmospheric temperatures
began to decline, the North Atlantic remained warm, and vigorous cyclonic activity affected
199
eastern Canada. Reduction in ocean surface temperatures has been associated with a regional
climatic deterioration since 3,000 B.P.
C.R.H.
530. MADDEN, R.A., and V. RAMANATHAN. 1980. Detecting climate change due to increasing
carbon dioxide. Science 209(4458):763-768.
The observed interannual variability of temperature at 60°N has been investigated. The
results indicate that the surface warming due to increased carbon dioxide which is predicted
by three-dimensional climate models should be detectable now. It is not, possibly because
the predicted warming is being delayed more than a decade by ocean thermal inertia, or
because there is a compensating cooling due to other factors. Further consideration of the
uncertainties in model predictions and of the likely delays introduced by ocean thermal
inertia extends the range of time for the detection of warming, if it occurs, to the year
2000. The effects of increasing carbon dioxide should be looked for in several variables
simultaneously in order to minimize the ambiguities that could result from unrecognized
compensating cooling.
A.S.
531. MAHER, W.J. 1968. Muskox bone of possible Wisconsin age from Banks Island, Northwest
Territories. Arctic 21(4):260-266.
Part of a metacarpal of Ovibos was found in 1963 on Banks Island, Northwest
Territories, Canada, near 121°54'W, 73°23'N. The bone was indistinguishable from Ovtbos
moschatus. A Carbon-14 date in excess of 34,000 years was determined. The possible
existence of a Wisconsin refugium on Banks Island is discussed. Evidence suggests that a
refugium existed there isolated from Beringia. In addition to plant species, two small
mammal species Lemmus stbiricus and Lepus arcticus and possibly muskoxen survived
in the Banks Island refugium.
A.A.
532. MANGERUD, J., and S. GULLIKSEN. 1975. Apparent radiocarbon ages of recent marine
shells from Norway, Spitsbergen, and Arctic Canada. Quaternary Research 5(2):263-
273.
The mean apparent radiocarbon ages of marine shells, collected alive before the initiation of
atomic bomb testing, and also before the main input of dead carbon derived from fossil fuels,
are found to be 440 yr for the coast of Norway, 510 yr for Spitsbergen, and 750 yr for
Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada. The relationship between these apparent ages and the
oceanic circulation pattern is discussed. Also possible variations of the apparent ages back
in time are discussed.
533. MANLEY, G. 1961. Late and postglacial climatic fluctuations and their relationship to
those shown by the instrumental record of the past 300 years. Annals of the New
York Academy of Sciences 95(1):162-172.
Compares evidence on the smaller climatic fluctuations of recent centuries with that on the
larger changes connected with the ice age. Vast accumulation and extension of ice sheets
that probably began in Greenland in the Miocene, is the most significant result of large-
scale climatic change of the ice age period. Recent climatic ameliorations and diminution of
the arctic sea ice, are associated with increased meridional transport of warmth into the
Arctic Basin, mainly through the atmosphere, but partly by means of ocean surface water.
Author concludes that significant climatic fluctuation in the past required “persistence of
200
circulation patterns” over periods up to many decades long; North Atlantic climate has become
rather unstable during the past three-four centuries, perhaps because of the changes in the
arctic ice; the marked climatic “oscillation” near the northeast Atlantic in 1688-1739 shows
no close relation to either vulcanicity or sunspots, suggesting an oceanographic factor as
explanation of such short-period changes.
534. MARSHALL, P., and M.C. BROWN. 1974. Ice in Coulthard Cave, Alberta. Canadian Journal
of Earth Sciences 11(4):510-518.
Coulthard Cave is located in the Crowsnest Pass area of southwestern Alberta, at an elevation
of 2650 m above mean sea level. The entrance of the cave faces north, and all but one of the
passages in the cave end in massive ice blockages. Oriented ice samples were removed and
studied by crystallographic techniques in a cold laboratory which revealed a layering (not
evident to the eye) similar to that formed by the freezing of a horizontal water surface,
i-e- a) “pond” ~ Although present-day temperatures in the cave never exceed O°C, large
scallop-like depressions in the ice suggest slow erosion by sublimation. An experiment
indicated a sublimation rate of 3 mm/yr. Sublimation of the ice permits entrapped sediment
to reach the ice surface. Continual downward lowering of the ice surface facilitates the
movement by normal trajectory of sediment toward the scallop edges where it forms
interstitial ridges. These ridges form on both vertical and overhanging ice surfaces. It is
concluded that the ice probably did not form during the Pleistocene Period but rather after
the late Hypsithermal warm period.
A.A.
535. MARTIN, P.S. 1958. Pleistocene ecology and biogeography of North America. In:
Zoogeography, a Symposium. American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Publication 51:375-420.
A study of climatic and environmental changes in the Pleistocene and their role, and man's
role, in the extinction of mammals. The climatic-environmental changes are outlined in
detail from the full glacial down to the present, with maps illustrating the changing
vegetation from the icecaps through the tundra and taiga to the subtropical belt. Extinction
is analyzed as to its intensity during the Pleistocene, groups affected and spared, factors
causing extinction, including possible role of man. Present arctic regions are included in
the study, with numerous references to Alaska.
536. MATHEWES, R.W. 1973. A palynological study of postglacial vegetation changes in the
University Research Forest, southwestern British Columbia. Canadian Journal of
Botany 51(11):2085-2103.
The postglacial vegetation of the University of British Columbia Research Forest was
investigated using percentage and absolute pollen analysis, macrofossil analysis, and
radiocarbon dating. A marine silty clay deposit records the oldest (12 690 + 190
years before present (B.P.)) assemblage of terrestrial plant remains so far recovered from
the postglacial of south-coastal British Columbia. Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta)
dominated this early vegetation, although some Abies, Picea, Alnus and herbs were also
present. Sediment cores from two lakes were also studied. The older is Marion Lake, where
five pollen assemblage zone are recognized beginning with a previously undescribed assemblage
of Pinus contorta, Salix, and Shepherdia in clay older than 12 350 +
lI0RB-P. The pollen diagram from Surprise Lake (11 230 + 230 B.P.) is divided
into three pollen zones which show the same major trends of vegetation change as the Marion
Lake diagram. The first report of postglacial vegetation history of cedar (Thuja and
perhaps Chamaecyparis) in southwestern British Columbia is presented from pollen and
macrofossil analyses.
201
At about 10 500 B.P. in both lakes, pollen of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menztesit) began
a rapid increase, probably in response to climatic amelioration. The palynological evidence,
supported by well-preserved bryophyte subfossils, suggests that humid coastal conditions have
prevailed in the study area since about 10 500 B.P., with virtually no evidence for a
classical Hypsithermal interval between 8500 B.P. and 3000 B.P.
A.A.
537. MATHEWES, R.W. 1978. Palynology and paleoenvironmental interpretation of sediments at
the Point Grey sea-cliffs, southwestern British Columbia. American Quaternary
Association, National Conference, Abstracts 5:222.
Pollen analyses were carried out on peat and organic silt samples dated about 25,000
+ 600 B.P. (GSC-109) from exposures along Wreck Beach. Samples were collected 7 to 8
m above beach level, at the contact between Quadra Sand and underlying silty beds which are
referrable either to the Cowichan Head Formation or the Quadra Sand unit. All samples are
dominated by non-arboreal pollen (82-96%), principally Cyperaceae, Gramineae, and Compositae.
Sedge pollen ranges between 49% and 88%, suggesting local overrepresentation, which is
confirmed by anthers, leaves, and achenes in the sediments. Present-day alluvial marshes and
delta-front marshes of the Fraser River exhibit pollen assemblages similar to the Point Grey
samples in their high sedge and grass pollen content and the presence of Salix,
Potentilla, Equisetum, and cf. Periconia.
Arboreal pollen types found at Point Grey are Pinus contorta, Picea, and Alnus,
with only sporadic occurrences of Abies, Betula, Pinus albicaulis/monticola, Tsuga
heterophylla, Tsuga mertensiana, and Cupressaceae. Their relatively low abundance is due
in part to high local presence of NAP, but may also suggest a predominantly upland origin for
most taxa.
After comparison with reference material, Polemonium pollen are identified as belonging
to the Polemonium caeruleum complex, suggesting a cooler climate at the time of
deposition than at present. The presence of Polygonum bistortoides/viviparum, Artemisia,
Gentiana, Thalictrum, Botrychium, Caryophyllaceae, and others also supports the
interpretation of cooler climate, perhaps similar to present-day subalpine conditions. High
pollen concentrations in the sediments (60,000-120,000 grains/ml) suggest that conditions
were not severe enough to be termed alpine or arctic around 25,000 B.P.
A.A.
538. MATHEWES, R.W. 1979. A paleoecological analysis of Quadra Sand at Point Grey, British
Columbia, based on indicator pollen. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 16(4):847-
858.
Pollen and spore percentages and concentrations were determined from six peaty zones about
24500 radiocarbon years old at the Point Grey sea cliffs. All samples are dominated by
nonarboreal pollen, especially Cyperaceae of local origin and Gramineae. Analysis of
‘indicator pollen' suggests that two floristic elements were present, a local wetland
component and a montane to subalpine element. This study supports the geological contention
that the Quadra Sand was deposited in a braided river environment under a cooler macroclimate
than exists at present. Pollen concentrations in the samples are within the range of some
bog and lake sediments presently accumulating in the Fraser Lowland area of southwestern
British Columbia, suggesting that. climatic conditions were not of alpine severity around
24500 BP, although the indicator pollen assemblage suggests a climatic regime similar to
present-day midmontane or subalpine conditions.
202
539. MATHEWES, R.W, C.E. BORDEN, and G.E. ROUSE. 1972. New radiocarbon dates from the Yale
area of the Lower Fraser River Canyon, British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth
Sciences 9(8):1055-1057.
Three new radiocarbon dates from two lakes near Yale, B.C. established that ice-free
conditions existed in parts of the Lower Fraser Canyon as early as 11 430 + 150
B.P. A volcanic ash layer found in both lakes is considered to have come from the Mount
Mazama eruption, based on a radiocarbon date from Squeah Lake. Mention is made of the
problematic relationship of the three new dates to post-Vashon chronology in this area.
A.A.
540. MATHEWES, R.W., and J.J. CLAGUE. 1982. Stratigraphic relationships and paleoecology of
a late-glacial peat bed from the Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 19(6):1185-1195.
The stratigraphic relationships of late-glacial and Holocene sediments exposed in sea cliffs
at Cape Ball on the Queen Charlotte Islands are summarized, based on section descriptions and
13 radiocarbon dates on wood, peat, and marine pelecypod shells. One peat bed dated at 12
“OO ar WOO" years BP (ESI y ea WO” POW a OO Be (ERC—31595) “wae
investigated for pollen and plant macrofossils. This study extends the late Pleistocene
vegetation history of the Queen Charlotte Islands by about 1550 years, and suggests that the
record will date back to before 13 700 + 100 BP (GSC-3222).
Four local pollen zones are described from the 70-cm-thick peat, herb-dominated zone (CB-1),
characterized by up to 60% grass pollen, and including a unique assemblage with abundant
Apiaceae, Cyperaceae, Empetrum/Ericaceae, Polemontum, Plantago macrocarpa,
Fritillarta, and Ranunculus. A high diversity of other herbs, including
subalpine/alpine species and two taxa presently absent from the Charlottes (Armeria
maritima and Polemonium caeruleum type), suggests that this zone represents an open
floodplain vegetation with no modern analogue. Zone CB-2 (63-45 cm) is dominated by Pinus
contorta type pollen (65-70%) and moderate values for fern spores. Zone CB-3 (45-30 cm)
shows a rapid rise of Picea pollen from 3 to 39%, followed by a drop to about 12%.
Fern spores (20-50%) and Alnus (6%) also reach maximum levels in this zone. Abundant
wood fragments and sand inclusions are compatible with an interpretation of a swampy flood-
plain forest during this interval. The uppermost zone (30-0 cm) exhibits high Pinus
contorta (40-60%) and Cyperaceae (12-38%) values, along with a moderate abundance of
grasses, ferns, and Apiaceae. Estuarine and marine sediments with pelecypod shells,
deposited during a marine transgression, overlie the peat bed.
Implications for the controversy over the existence of late Pleistocene refugia in the
Charlottes are briefly discussed.
A.A.
541. MATHEWES, R.W., and L.E. HEUSSER. 1981. A 12 000-year palynological record of
temperature and precipitation trends in southwestern British Columbia. Canadian
Journal of Botany 59(5):707-710.
Transfer functions for converting pollen frequencies to estimates of mean July temperature
and mean annual precipitation were applied to fossil pollen data from a sediment core in
Marion Lake. The paleotemperature curve shows low July temperatures near 14°C at the base of
the core at about 12 000 before present (B.P.), rising rapidly between 10 400 B.P. and 10 000
B.P. to maximum values slightly above 16°C. Maximum temperatures cluster between 10 000 B.P.
and approximately 7500 B.P., declining steadily thereafter until 6000 B.P. Little change is
apparent from 6000 B.P. to the present. The reconstructed precipitation curve also shows a
three-part zonation, with moderately high values between 12 000 and 10 400 B.P. dropping
rapidly to minimum Holocene values between 10 000 and 7500 B.P. Precipitation rises to
modern levels near the Mazama ash bed. The informal term “early Holocene xerothermic inter-
val” is applied to the pre-Mazama interval of maximum temperatures and minimum precipitation.
203
The late-glacial age at the base of the core is confirmed by a new radiocarbon date of
11 920 + 245 years B.P. (1-6857) on lodgepole pine needles screened from the basal
clays.
A.A.
542. MATHEWES, R.W., and G.E. ROUSE. 1975. Palynology and paleoecology of postglacial
sediments from the Lower Fraser River Canyon of British Columbia. Canadian Journal
of Earth Sciences 12(5):745-756.
The postglacial history of vegetation in the Yale area of the lower Fraser River Canyon is
described from sediments of two lakes using percentage pollen analysis supplemented with
macrofossil evidence and radiocarbon dating. Deposition of postglacial sediments, ranging
from basal clays to gyttjas, began about 11 500 y B.P. Three distinct pollen assemblage
zones are distinguished, reflecting in part the main climatic conditions for the intervals.
The oldest zone, with high percentages of pine (Pinus) and alder (Alnus) pollen,
suggests cool and moist conditions following withdrawal of glacial ice. This is followed by
marked increases in Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga), grasses and other nonarboreal pollen,
suggesting, in part, warmer and drier conditions. The third zone, ranging from about the Mt.
Mazama ash at 6600 y B.P. to the present, is marked by high alder and Douglas-fir, and
increasing cedar (Thuja-Chamaecyparis type), western hemlock (Tsuga
heterophylla), fir (Abies) and birch; an assemblage indicating a return to wetter
conditions. This sequence contrasts with previously described successions that recognized
the classical Hypsithermal in adjacent areas. The sequence of inferred vegetational changes,
although similar to those described for the Haney area to the west, suggest that the Yale
area has been a biogeoclimatically transitional area for much of postglacial time.
A.A.
543. MATHEWS, W.-H. 1951. Historic and prehistoric fluctuations of alpine glaciers in the
Mount Garibaldi map-area, southwestern British Columbia. Journal of Geology 59(4):
357-380.
Historical, botanical, and geological studies in a part of the Coast Mountains of British
Columbia show that all the existing glaciers of that area are retreating from climaxes
attained in the early part of the eighteenth century and in the middle of the nineteenth
century. A rapid rate of shrinkage, amounting to a loss in depth of as much as 12% feet of
ice annually, has prevailed however, only since the second and third decades of this century
and has coincided approximately with a relatively warm period indicated by meteorological
records. In three of four glaciers studied, the maximum advance of the last three centuries
exceeded any other since the latter part of the Pleistocene epoch, and one of these three
glaciers has been as extensive as it was in 1947 for only about four centuries since the
deglaciation of its basin by the Cordilleran ice sheet in late Wisconsin time. For a fourth
glacier, however, the advances of the past few centuries failed by far to reach the limits of
a much earlier, probably late Pleistocene, advance. Reduction in its potential accumulation
area as a result of unusually rapid lowering of its cirque head wall by erosion may account
for the anomalous behavior of this glacier. Many low-level cirques, formed by early or pre-
Wisconsin alpine glaciation, have not been reoccupied by local bodies of ice during or since
the disappearance of the Cordilleran ice sheet.
A.A.
544. MATHEWS, W.H. 1978. The geology of the ice-free corridor; discussion; northeastern
British Columbia and adjacent Alberta. American Quaternary Association, National
Conference. Abstracts 5:16-18.
The last ice sheets to have covered northeastern British Columbia and adjacent Alberta have
left a clear record of their presence and movement in the existing land forms and surficial
deposits: grooves and drumlins, meltwater channels, erratics and drift sheets, and traces of
204
former ice-dammed lakes. Air photo and map interpretation supplemented by limited data on
surficial material have been used to reconstruct the history of the ice retreat.
Three glacier systems were involved: the Laurentide ice sheet originating over the Canadian
Shield, the Cordilleran ice sheet originating in the interior of British Columbia, and a
system of valley glaciers from the northern Rocky Mountains (between latitudes 57° and 59°
north).
At the climax of the last glaciation all the area was ice-covered (Fig. 1) except for the
high summits and ridges of the northern Rocky Mountains. The earliest exposure of land east
of the mountain front between latitudes 56° and 60° north was closed to the Alaska Highway
where relatively high-level lakes and meltwater channels were developed. A series of large
lakes, dammed by Laurentide ice, then developed in the Peace River valley, with water levels
falling as retreating ice exposed lower outlets. The extent of these lakes has been
interpreted from the distribution of shorelines, bottom deposits, tributary and outlet
channels. The disposition of Laurentide ice farther north is inferred from ice-flow
patterns, meltwater channels, and glaciological considerations. The contemporaneous
positions of Cordilleran and Rocky Mountain ice fronts (Fig. 2) can in some stages be
inferred from the elevations of lakes, or of spillways controlled by Laurentide ice.
Laurentide ice withdrew more rapidly from the area than did Cordilleran ice, and a very late
local ice advance from the northern Rocky Mountains is indicated.
Most of the retreatal stages discussed date back to the period from about 13,500 to 10,000
years BP.
A.A.
545. MATHEWS, W.-H. 1979. Late Quaternary environmental history affecting human habitation
of the Pacific Northwest. Canadian Journal of Archaeology 3:145-156.
This paper reviews the record of late Quaternary environmental conditions and suggests how
these could have affected habitation by early man in the Pacific Northwest. Emphasis is
given to conditions since about 30,000 B.P. so as to include the possibility of human
habitation before the last climax of glaciation, 15,000 years ago. The environments in the
coastal area of British Columbia and Washington have been stressed as this is where most data
have so far been collected, but in recognition of speculations concerning passage of early
man through the interior of British Columbia some thoughts have been offered for this area as
well. Whether man did, in fact appear on the scene to face these conditions during or before
the last glaciation is as yet unresolved, but the problems he might have faced had he done so
still merit consideration.
546. MATTHEWS, B. 1967. Late Quaternary marine fossils from Frobisher Bay (Baffin Island,
N.W.T., Canada). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 3(2):243-
263 °
Eighteen species of fossil marine pelecypod and eighteen species of Foraminifera collected
from raised beach deposits (with strandlines at 27 ft., 48 ft., and 77 ft. above sea-level)
at Frobisher Bay, yield possible evidence of postglacial changes in the marine environment.
A few of the little-known species of pelecypod are described. Six of the species are
recorded for the first time in raised marine deposits of arctic Canada: two are pan-arctic
species (i.e., Axinopsida orbiculata and Yoldia fraterna) and three species
(i.e., Volsella demissa, Nucula delphinodonta, Lyonsia hyalina) do not occur in
Canadian arctic waters at the present time and suggest more favourable environmental
conditions during the Atlantic climatic phase. The present distribution of the other
species, Yoldia sapotilla, is still uncertain.
The presence in sediments at 21 ft. above sea level of temperate Foraminifera Globulina
inaequalis and the pelagic Foraminifera Orbulina miversa may also point to warmer
conditions about 6,000-6,500 years ago.
205
Radiocarbon datings of 6,140 + 170 and 6,440 + 160 years B.P. were
determined on shells from 48 ft. and 11 ft. above sea-level respectively. The latter date
indicates the upper part of Frobisher Bay was deglaciated at least 6,500 years ago, while the
former date suggests an average land emergence of about 1 ft./century in the last 6,000
years.
A.S.
547. MATTHEWS, B. 1967. Late Quaternary land emergence in northern Ungava, Quebec. Arctic
20: 176-202.
Twenty-one cl4 dates of material from Late Quaternary marine terraces are used to construct
an isostatic uplift curve. The phase of rapid uplift averaged about 26 ft. per 100 years,
while for the past 5,200 years uplift was just under 1 ft. per 100 years. Updoming resulted
in an upward (southerly) tilt of the "Glacier Beach" (460-ft. strandline) and “Upper Tunit
Beach" (100-ft. strandline) at about 5.6 ft. per mile and 3.6 ft. per mile respectively. The
cl4 dates indicate that the general deglaciation of northern Ungava occurred about 7,000 to
8,000 years ago. Twelve well-formed marine terraces have been identified at the heads of the
major fjords. The fauna of the “Upper and Lower Aporrhais Beaches" (40 ft. and 55 ft.
strandlines) suggests that optimal marine conditions occurred about 3,900 to 5,230
radiocarbon years ago during a possible marine transgression. Hydroclimatic conditions
during the formation of Aporrhais deposits in Sugluk Inlet (62°10'N) corresponded to
those at 58°15'N.
A.A.
548. MATTHEWS, B. 1975. Archaeological sites in the Labrador-Ungava Peninsula: cultural
origin and climatic significance. Arctic 28(4):245-262.
Ruins of structures in Arctic Quebec and Labrador were investigated, all apparently less than
1,500 years old and abandoned by their Eskimo inhabitants more than 150 years ago. ... From
radiocarbon dating of fossilized animal bones, it is concluded that some of the structures
were occupied during a mild period 600-700 years ago. Climate and vegetation of that period
were reconstructed from pollen analysis and fossil remains.
pA.A.
549. MATTHEWS, J.V., Jr. 1975. Use of Late Cenozoic beetle fossils for dating and
correlation. Quaternary Non-marine Paleoecology Conference, University of
Waterloo, Waterloo. Program and Abstracts.
The documented slow rate of evolution among Coleoptera (beetles) during the Quaternary seems
to preclude the use of their fossils for dating and correlation. This paper provides several
examples to show that this supposition may not be entirely true.
Fossils of extinct species referred to Helophorus (Cyphelophorus) occur in an
assemblage from the Beaufort Formation on Meighen Island (Queen Elizabeth Islands, N.W.T.)
and in the 5.7 million year old Lava Camp assemblage from western Alaska. The Lava Camp
Cyphelophorus species seems to be the most primitive known member of a lineage leading
through the Meighen Island species to the extant H. (Cyphelophorus) tuberculatus Gyll.
If so, Beaufort sediments on Meighen Island are probably younger than 5.7 million years, a
fact not indicated by other paleontological evidence.
Such stages of evolution criteria may be applicable in special cases to Quaternary sediments.
For, example the established sequence portraying reduction of flight wings in Tachinus
apterus Makl. during the Pleistocene may be useful for dating TJ. apterus fossil
flight wings of unknown age. Such fossils occur at several Alaskan sites.
206
Late Tertiary assemblages from Alaska and Canada are known to contain fossils of several
strictly Palaearctic taxa. Fossils of these from other sites will have increasing
chronologic significance as the time of North American extinction of these Old World taxa is
discovered.
Finally the overall taxonomic composition and diversity of fossil insect assemblages often
have age implications. This is especially true in areas such as parts of the Arctic
Archipelago where entire insect orders are missing as a result of the severe climate. In
such cases very small assemblages of fossils may have chronologic significance.
A.A.
550. MATTHEWS, J.V., Jr. 1975. Insects and plant macrofossils from two Quaternary exposures
in the Old Crow — Porcupine region, Yukon Territory, Canada. Arctic and Alpine
Research 7(3):249-259.
Insect fossils and plant macrofossils have been recovered at two exposures in the Old Crow-
Porcupine region, (northern Yukon Territory). One assemblage of fossils, from an exposure on
the Porcupine River in the Bluefish Basin, is probably about 32,400 years old, while the
other, from an exposure in the Old Crow Basin, is older than 44,000 years.
Both assemblages seem to have been deposited when the sites from which they come were within
a region of forest-tundra. The Porcupine River assemblage indicates that tree line along the
middle Porcupine drainage during mid-Wisconsin time was significantly lower than at present.
At that time more northern areas such as the Old Crow Basin would have been totally treeless
in contrast with the forest-tundra vegetation there today.
The Old Crow assemblage probably represents climatic conditions as warm as at present. It
includes fossils of one insect species and two plant species that do not occur today in the
Old Crow Basin. The insect, a beetle (Micralymma brevilingue Schiddt) is now found
farther north in a special type of tundra habitat. One of the plants, Alnus tneana,
may be absent today simply because of paucity of suitable habitat. The other, Wajas
flexilis, has a contemporary northern limit far to the south of the Yukon Territory.
Because WNajas does not grow in the Yukon Territory today, it is possible that its
fossils imply warmer climate. However, such a conclusion is tempered by the further
possibility that Wajas is absent today not because of present climatic conditions but
because of the severity of late Wisconsin climate in eastern Beringia (the Alaska-Yukon
unglaciated refugium).
A.A.
551. MATTHEWS, J.V., Jr. 1975. Incongruence of macrofossil and pollen evidence: a case
from the late Pleistocene of the northern Yukon coast. Geological Survey of Canada
Paper 75-1B:139-146.
This paper deals with a small assemblage of plant and animal macrofossils and pollen from a
coastal Yukon site near the Alaska border.
The fossils indicate a tundra environment. Dwarf birches were growing at the site, yet this
fact is not clearly indicated by the pollen evidence. A similar case of incongruent pollen
and macrofossil evidence from a site near Inuvik, N.W.T. is cited to illustrate a potential
danger of relying on pollen evidence alone to plot the dispersal history of plants.
[The macrofossils are dated at about 11,000 years BP. According to the author, extralimital
plant individuals someday may serve as sensitive indicators of short term climatic change. ]
pA.I.+
207
552. MATTHEWS, J.V., Jr. 1976. Arctic-steppe; an extinct biome. American Quaternary
Association, National Conference, Abstracts 4:73-79.
Paleoecological studies over the past 15 years in unglaciated Alaska and the Yukon Territory
provide strong evidence that during the late Pleistocene these regions, when joined with
central and eastern Asia by the Bering Land Bridge, constituted the eastern end of a huge
grassland biome, unequalled today in size or character. It has been called periglacial-
steppe, tundra-steppe and steppe-tundra; however, the term arctic steppe seems more
appropriate since it reflects both the regional extent of the environment as well as its
dissimilarity to contemporary tundra.
The tenure of arctic-steppe coincides with exposure of the Bering Land Bridge and adjacent
areas of the continental shelf. Accordingly, it may be assumed that the arctic-steppe
climate of Siberia and Alaska-Yukon was more continental than at present. However,
differences of physiography and variation in width of the arctic continental shelf dictate
that all areas occupied by the arctic-steppe biome were not equally continental.
Arctic-steppe climate was “arctic” in terms of mean annual temperature, but because of its
continentality summers may have been relatively warm and dry. Such conditions are probably
responsible for the distinctly non-tundra substrate conditions that are implied by fossils of
certain plants, mammals, and insects in late Pleistocene Alaska-Yukon and Siberian fossil
assemblages. Indirect phytogeographical data also suggest presence of certain steppe plant
species that cannot grow in western Alaska and far eastern Siberia today. While favouring
some plants arctic-steppe summer climate was undoubtedly inimical to others. Thus it is
possible that the rarity of spruce and several common tundra shrubs in arctic-steppe
assemblages is due to aridity, not cold temperatures.
In Alaska-Yukon the decline of the arctic-steppe environment is signaled by an abrupt
increase in abundance of shrub birch 12,000 to 14,000 years ago. Steppe conditions continued
to persist in some regions, possibly due to the feedback effect of the large mammal
community, some members of which apparently survived until 10,000 years ago. At that time
the land bridge was submerged and large areas of tundra and taiga were once again forming in
northern areas. By 8500 years ago the arctic-steppe biome had disappeared. A similar
contraction of steppe lands must have occurred at the end of the Illinoian glaciation, but
did not result in the extinction of so many of the megafauna species. Man was a part of the
Wisconsinan arctic-steppe biome, and its demise may be a function of his contribution to the
extinction of the large ungulates as their range (and gene pools) became constricted in the
face of expanding forests and tundra.
pA.A.
553. MAXWELL, J.B. 1981. Climatic regions of the Canadian Arctic Islands. Arctic 34(3):
225-240.
A comprehensive assessment of the climate of the Canadian Arctic Islands and adjacent waters
led to identification of five climatic regions. Temperature trends, based on modern
meteorological records, are given. The northwestern region indicates a gradual temperature
decrease from the early 1950s into the 1970s followed by a levelling out or even a slight
increase. The south-central region is characterized by a gradual temperature decrease from
the late 1940s to the early 1960s followed by a slight increase. No conclusive trends are
evident in the western region. In the eastern part of the eastern region, temperatures rise
to a peak in the early to mid-1950s and decline thereafter. Farther north, temperature
declined since the mid-1950s. In the northern region, Alert and Eureka show a marked
temperature decrease from the early 1950s through the 1970s. Since at least the early 1960s
there has been measurable climatic cooling in the northern and eastern Arctic, but this
cooling is not greatly reflected in the central and western Arctic south of Parry Channel.
C.R.H.
208
554. MAYBANK, J. 1981. Climate Change - the potential impact for the Prairie Provinces.
In: Climate Change Seminar Proceedings. Regina, March 17-19. Canadian Climate
Centre, Downsview. pp. 122-128.
“The Prairie Provinces are a particularly good area to seek out the effects of possible
climate change scenarios as they lie near the low temperature boundary of preferred human
inhabitation, viz. the 2°C annual isotherm. The prairie climate displays marked variability.
Agriculture is especially sensitive and I shall tend to concentrate on the effects of various
cimate changes on it. However, other activities are not immune."
As one example, a simple all-season warming trend extended through 20 years or so will be
beneficial in terms of energy use reduction. However freeze-up delay would be detrimental to
transport activities in the north. The author considers other climate changes in a similar
fashion.
A.B.S.
555. McALLISTER, D.E., and C.R. HARINGTON. 1969. Pleistocene grayling, Thymallus,
from Yukon, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 6(5):1185-1190.
Eleven cycloid scales from Pleistocene deposits in the Old Crow area, Yukon Territory,
radiocarbon dated by shells from the same horizon at 32,400 + 770 year BP, appear
to be inseparable from those of recent Arctic grayling, Thymallus arcticus (Pallas,
1776). They provide the first fossil record of the genus Thymllus and the subfamily
Thymallinae for North America, and confirm previous suggestions that Thymallus arcticus
survived the Wisconsin glaciation in the Beringian refugium. -.. Associated faunal and
floral evidence suggests that the graylings lived in a cool, shallow lake with wet meadow
habitat and coniferous trees nearby.
pA.C.
556. McANDREWS, J.H. 1972. Pollen analyses of the sediments of Lake Ontario. 24th
International Geological Congress, Montreal, Section 8:223-227.
Analyses were made on 91 surface sediment samples and values were derived of both percentages
and concentrations (grains per gram dry sediment) of 61 taxa. Concentration was highest,
over 80,000 in the deep-water clays, but was less than 40,000 in shallow, near-shore silts
and sands. Pollen of ragweed and tree pollen, especially pine and oak, dominate the
relatively uniform assemblage, however, the significant percentage variations reflect
nearness to upland source regions, river discharges and recycling of sediment.
Two deep-water (over 180 m) cores at stations 80 km apart penetrated 5 to 7 m of postglacial
sediment and 9 to 11 m of late-glacial sediment. Eight pollen assemblage zones are present
and correlate with radiocarbon- and varve-dated pollen assemblages from sediment of nearby
small lakes. The pollen concentration of the seven postglacial zones is 35 times greater
than the Late-glacial spruce zone reflecting both greater pollen influx and lesser rate of
matrix accumulation. The ragweed zone begins at a depth 15 to 20 cm from the surface and
represents forest clearance around the Lake beginning in the early 19th century.
A.A.
557. McANDREWS, J.H. 1973. Pollen analysis of the sediments of the Great Lakes of North
America. In: Holocene Palynology and Marine Palynology. Edited by: N.A.
Khotinsky and E.V. Koreneva. Proceedings of the 3rd International Palynological
Conference, Moscow. pp. 76-80.
The Great Lakes began to form about 14,500 years ago with the retreat of glacial ice. Lake
levels were primarily controlled by changing outlet elevations related to ice dams and
209
isostatic rebound. Sediments of the Great Lakes contain pollen assemblages similar enough to
the traditionally studied assemblages of small lakes to make stratigraphic correlations.
Differences in contemporaneous assemblages from Great Lakes and small lakes are related to
vegetation of the source region, mode of transport and recycling of older sediments. Pollen
diagrams contribute to the history of the Great Lakes by providing information on the
chronology and environment of sedimentation.
A.S.
558. McANDREWS, J.-H. 1976. Holocene pollen analysis from northern Quebec. American
Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts 4:111.
A lake in the forest-tundra at 56°N, 64°W was cored to a depth of 270 cm. Four C-14 dates
range from 500 years at the surface to 4,100 years near the bottom. The percentage pollen
diagram is generally similar to nearby published diagrams in indicating a succession from
sedge-willow tundra to birch-alder tundra followed by a spruce-dominated forest-tundra for
the last 3,000 years. However, the pollen influx indicates that the maximum abundance of
spruce trees was 3,000 years ago and that since then a “palynologically silent" lichen-heath
tundra has become widespread. This reduction of trees and spread of tundra is somewhat
similar to published reports from western Canada.
A.A.
559. McANDREWS, J.H. 1981. Late Quaternary climate of Ontario: temperature trends from the
fossil pollen record. In: Quaternary Paleoclimate. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney.
Geo Abstracts, Norwich. pp. 319-333.
In eastern Ontario, zonal vegetation boundaries parallel isotherms of mean annual
temperatures. Because modern pollen rain reflects zonal vegetation one can trace zonal
vegetation and temperature trends with critical pollen diagrams from the time of deglaciation
(14,000 BP).
Immediately after deglaciation temperature was -2°C or lower. It rose to the modern value of
+9°C by 8000 years ago in southern Ontario. In northern Ontario a modern temperature of +1°C
was reached about 6500 years ago--this was followed during the next millenium by a
Hypsithermal of +2°C to +3°C. However, there is no indication of a mid-Holocene Hypsithermal
in southern Ontario.
A.A.
560. McANDREWS, J.H., M. BOYKO, R. BRYNE, and B. FINLAYSON. 1974. Investigations at
Crawford Lake. Friends of the Pleistocene, 37th Annual Reunion, Toronto. pp. 1-
10.
*+.. two distinct episodes of agriculture can be recognized in the Crawford Lake sediments of
the last millenium. An important application of varve chronology to vegetation
reconstruction is that dates for regionally recognized pollen events may be correlated with
neighbouring lakes having massive sediments. Rates of sedimentation and pollen influx may
then be calculated.
pA.C.
561. McANDREWS, J.H., M. SAARNISTO, and R.J. ADAMS. 1975. Pollen and plant macrofossils in
four Lake Nipissing deposits near Georgian Bay, Ontario. Quaternary Non-marine
Paleoecology Conference, University of Waterloo, Waterloo. Program and
Abstracts.
Lake Nipissing beaches surround Georgian Bay at elevations of up to 35 meters above modern
water level. Holocene uplift and erosion at the St. Clair River outlet account for the
elevation. Gravel mining, ditching and stream dissection produced four sections containing
organic horizons that range in radiocarbon age from 6800 to 5530 years BP. These dates and
their elevations agree with previously published estimates of the rate of uplift.
Pine dominates the pollen assemblages except in the southernmost section where hemlock is co-
dominant. Pollen, leaves and seeds of tamarack, willow, sweet gale, water-willow, sedge,
water milfoil, naiad, water lily and other aquatic plants indicate that shrubby bogs, marshes
and shallow ponds occupied local depressions. Subsequent water level rises to the Lake
Nipissing maximum about 5500 years ago caused these organic accumulations to be buried
beneath sand and gravel.
A.A.
562. McANDREWS, J.H., et G. SAMSON. 1977. Analyse pollinique et implications archéologiques
et géomorphologiques, lac de la Hutte Sauvage (Mushuau Nipi), Nouveau-Québec.
Géographie physique et Quaternaire 31(1-2):177-183.
Two pollen cores were collected in the northern section of Indian House Lake and pollen
analysis revealed a 4-phase vegetative history of 4,100 years: 1) herb tundra (4,700-4,100
BP); 2) shrub tundra (4,100-3,700 BP); 3) rich forest-tundra (3,700-2,500 BP); 4) present
forest-tundra (2,500-0 BP). Pollen influx analysis indicates that the shrub-tundra was
rather rich. Trees began to colonize the area about 4,000 years BP and reached a climax ca.
3,000 BP. From 2,/00 BP, the vegetation becomes impoverished and at about 2,500 BP a
climatic change caused the lowering of the tree limit and the thinning of the taiga patches.
Pollen data allows the reconstruction of the vegetative environment in which the prehistoric
populations of the Mushuau Nipi evolved. Also, we suggest a direct effect of the major
vegetative and climatic changes on the ecosystem. Finally, the 14¢ dating of the pollen
cores (4,100 BP and 3,700 BP) introduces certain problems concerning the post-glacial and
pro-glacial lake stages at Indian House Lake. The lower terrace system (0-35 m above lake
levei) on which all the archaeological sites were found did not begin to form earlier than
about 4,000 BP.
A.A.
563. McGHEE, R. 1970. Speculations on climatic change and Thule culture development. Folk
11/12:173-184.
Environmental changes, and especially climatic changes, are the primary variables
traditionally cited by Arctic prehistorians as explanation for cultural variations. The
necessary relationship between climatic change and cultural modification is obvious in a
climatically marginal area such as the Arctic, but until very recently our knowledge of
climatic conditions over the past millenium could support only simplistic statements
suggesting a loose relationship between gross cultural and climatic events. Recently
however, several lines of evidence (shifts in the northern limit of the boreal forest,
glacial advances on the eastern Arctic islands, palynological and peat accumulation studies,
Scandinavian historical records) have converged to allow the construction of a basic sequence
of climatic episodes which have occurred in the Canadian Arctic over the past 1000 years.
From a general knowledge of human ecology in Arctic regions, we may suggest that there were
two non-climatic environmental variables of paramount importance to aboriginal cultural
adaptions over the past 1000 years: (1) the annual and seasonal distribution of various
types of sea ice, and (2) the annual and seasonal availability of various species of food
animals, especially sea mammals. Both of these variables are strongly influenced by changes
in weather patterns from one year to the next. A series of hard winters or long summers
could produce significant changes in the ‘expected distribution' of sea ice or sea mammals,
and aboriginal cultural patterns must have been closely adjusted to these "expected
distribution’ parameters. By postulating the effect of known climatic changes on these two
variables, we can construct a speculative model of culturally-significant environmental
changes in the North American Arctic over the past millenium. Hypotheses regarding the
nature of Thule culture development arise from an attempt to fit archaeological evidence to
this speculative model of environmental change.
[A discussion of climatic episodes over the past 1000 years details the above model].
Excerpts
564. McGHEE, R. 1972. Climatic change and the development of Canadian Arctic cultural
traditions: In: Climatic Change in Arctic Areas During the Last Ten Thousand
Years. Edited by: S. Vasari, H.-H. Hyvärinen and S. Hicks. Acta Universitatis
Ouluensis Series A, Scientiae Rerum Naturalium 3, Geologica 1:39-60.
The archaeological evidence presently available from Arctic Canada allows us to make only
tentative and generalized statements relating to the human responses to past climatic
changes. The reponses which suggest adaptation to ameliorated climatic conditions, probably
as expressed in decreased extent of sea ice and greater availability of food animals, are
listed in Figure 2. In comparing these cultural indicators with the Greenland ice core
measurements (Dansgaard et al. 1969), and the position of the forest limit in Keewatin
(Nichols 1968), it is apparent that the correlation of culturally indicated warm periods with
warm periods as indicated by the other lines of evidence is at best general.
A closer correlation appears to exist between the ends of the culturally indicated warm
periods and episodes of rapid or extreme cooling as suggested by the other lines of evidence.
This is the sort of correlation which might be expected in dealing with human adaptations to
Arctic conditions. It would seem likely that negative responses to deteriorating conditions,
e-g- population reduction through starvation or abandonment of an area, would have occurred
much more rapidly than positive responses to ameliorating conditions involving several
decades or even centuries of technological adjustment and population increase.
565. McGHEE, R. 1979. Archaeological evidence for climatic change during the past 5000
years. International Conference on Climate and History, University of East Anglia,
Norwich, July 8-14. Review Papers, pp. 109-127.
"Recent archaeological work on the northern islands of Arctic Canada is briefly described.
Prehistorical occupation of these islands appears to have been conditioned by sea ice
distribution, which can be correlated with climatic variables. The area supported human
occupation during the periods of approximately 4000-3500 BP, 3000-2500 BP, and 1500-300 BP.”
The nature and extent of the summer sea ice “directly conditions the density and distribution
of sea mammal populations, the primary food resource of most Arctic island peoples.
Indirectly, the amount of open water influences the amount of precipitation falling on the
High Arctic, and is a factor in the amount of food available for the herbivores (muskoxen and
caribou) which are the other major food resource of the area.”
A review of human occupation of the Barren Grounds is presented. The alternating occurrences
of Paleoeskimo and Indian populations suggest climatic influences; “tundra was more extensive
between 500 and 1000 BC.”
Excerptst
212
566. McLELLAN, H.J. 1955. Changes in bottom temperatures on the Scotian Shelf. Journal of
the Fisheries Research Board of Canada 12(3):375-386.
A comparison of recent bottom temperatures on the Scotian Shelf with those observed in the
period 1934 to 1939 shows that, in general, these temperatures have been higher by from one
to three Centigrade degrees in the more recent period. The change has been due to the
variation in the intermediate layer which was both colder and of greater thickness during the
early period.
A.A.
567. McMANUS, D.A. 1970. Criteria of climatic change in the inorganic components of marine
sediments. Quaternary Research 1(1):72-102.
The most commonly used criteria in marine sediments for detecting climatic changes are the
remains of organisms and the position of the shorelines, for these two types of criteria can
have a relatively quick response to climatic change. The inorganic components of marine
sediments, however, also provide useful criteria. On the inner continental shelf where the
best correlation should be found between modern terrigenous marine sediments and modern
climates, sediment texture is the main criterion. Where land ice reaches the sea, gravel may
be deposited, but much of the inner shelf in polar climates receives abundant mud, containing
a small amount of clay minerals. From tropical humid climates abundant mud is delivered
composed mainly of clay minerals, but knowledge of their composition is required, because the
largest rivers do not have a dominance of tropical sediment products. In arid climates and
midlatitude moderate rainfall climates, inner shelf sand is indicative, although it also
possibly reflects the common entrapment of mud in estuaries and the presence of the middle
latitude cyclone belt in which storms remove the fine material present on the inner shelf.
Climate also controls extensive carbonate deposits. In deep-sea sediments composition
contains more important criteria than texture. Some criteria appear to be reliable for
various aspects of modern climates and therefore should be useful in detecting climatic
changes. These criteria include the size, surface texture, and mineralogical and chemical
composition of eolian transported material downwind of arid lands; global dust in latitudinal
bands of atmospheric circulation; volcanic ash downwind of geologically instantaneous events;
surface texture of quartz grains and the abundance of terrigenous material in pelagic
sediments as indication of glaciation; chlorite from a polar climate; kaolinite from a
tropical climate, and inorganically precipitated calcium carbonate in enclosed seas. Less
definitive criteria are possibly the rate of turbidity current activity, iron-rich layers in
the sediment, sedimentation from the nepheloid zone, construction of features by bottom
currents, organic matter content, and sedimentation rate. Speculations include the intensity
of benthic faunal reworking of sediment. Using these criteria it is possible to identify the
sediment products of the extreme climates: polar, tropical rainy, and dry (desert), and
thereby to infer the existence of these climates. The modern climates apparently are not so
easily detected. The criteria also indicate the nature of the water, wind, and ice processes
delivering the sediment products to the sea. Extreme values in the frequency or magnitude of
the climate-associated processes have great significance in the supplying of terrigenous
material, and changes in these extreme values could produce salient changes in the
sedimentary sequence. The criteria of climatic change might well be considered criteria of
change in extreme values of the processes.
568. McROBERTS, J.H.E. 1968. Post-glacial history of Northumberland Strait based on benthic
Foraminifera. Maritime Sediments 4(3):88-95.
The post-glacial history of Northumberland Strait may be postulated as follows: immediately
after the deglaciation of the area, sea level was lower by approximately 71 metres (300
feet). At this time the Strait would be completely exposed to subaerial influences.
Drainage of the area was most likely to the north through the Cape Breton trough to the
Laurentian Channel. Inundation of the area by marine waters about 11,800 years B.P. flooded
the Strait and opened the Isthmus of Chignecto. As conditions became warmer, Crassostrea
215
virginica and Ammonia beccarit migrated into the region. Isostatic rebound in
the area resulted in the closure of the Isthmus of Chignecto at 6400 + B.P.
(Bartlett, personal communication) and exposed the regions of core 3 and 11 to fresh water
influence. At this time, water may have continued to drain through the Cape Breton trough.
After 3000 + B.P. marine waters again invaded the Strait. A reversal, in
conjunction with a fresh water influx around 1700 + B.P. resulted in a decline in
the foraminiferal populations. This was followed by a brief period of more favourable
conditions. The appearance of the depauperate fauna marked the onset of present
Northumberland Strait conditions.
A.C.
569. MERCER, J.H. 1956. Geomorphology and glacial history of southernmost Baffin Island.
Geological Society of America Bulletin 67:553-570.
The southernmost peninsula of Baffin Island is a tilted peneplane, with an escarpment along
Frobisher Bay. During most of the Wisconsin age, precipitation in the area must have been
low, and there is evidence that the higher parts of the escarpment remained above the ice.
Cirques with submerged floors show that during a considerable part of the glacial ages sea
level was lower than today. Strand lines up to 1425 feet A.T. indicate very great depression
of the land in the late Wisconsin, possibly connected with an increase of ice in the Hudson
Strait area as precipitation increased after the disappearance of the topographic barrier of
the main Laurentide Ice Sheet. When the sea level was between 210 and 180 feet the overflow
from an ice-dammed lake cut two great gorges and formed a large bay-head delta. The dam may
have been the northern margin of an ice sheet centered in the Quebec-Labrador Peninsula.
There is evidence of a warmer period in the recent past, and the present small icecaps are
probably the rejuvenated relics of a larger icecap.
A.A.
570. MERCER, J.H. 1970. A former ice sheet in the Arctic Ocean? Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 8(1):19-27.
Similarities of setting between the Arctic Ocean today and the former sea now occupied by the
West Antarctic ice sheet and its associated ice shelves suggest that, under prolonged full-
Glacial conditions, a cold ice cover of West Antarctic type could have developed in the
Arctic Ocean, consisting of a complex of iceshelves and ice grounded far below sea level.
During the Last Glacial the ice cover probably consisted of ice shelves only except for a
grounded ice sheet in the epicontinental Barents Sea, but during an earlier Glacial, an ice
sheet centered in the American sector of the Arctic Ocean may have extended onto the adjacent
land, carrying shelly drift far above the marine limit in the Canadian Arctic islands, and
inundating northwest Alaska.
A.S.
571. MEUNIER, G. 1981. The effects of climatic variation on the management of recreational
facilities and resources in Quebec. In: Climate Change Seminar Proceedings.
Regina, March 17-19. Canadian Climate Centre, Downsview. pp. 72-78.
“Climatic variation affects participation in outdoor recreational activities.” The author
considers two examples to illustrate the relationship between climatic variation and the
Management of an outdoor recreational resource: deer hunting and alpine skiing. The
conclusion is that research on climate variation is essential.
A.B.S.
214
572. MILLER, A.A.L., P.J. MUDIE, and D.B. SCOTT. 1982. Holocene history of Bedford Basin,
Nova Scotia: foraminifera, dinoflagellate, and pollen records. Canadian Journal
of Earth Sciences 19(12):2342-2367.
Three piston cores from Bedford Basin, a silled coastal inlet, provide the basis for a
micropaleontological study of postglacial to recent sediments. Five faunal units (four
foraminiferal, one arcellacean) are found in core 79-11: a surface assemblage, followed by
deep estuarine, marginal marine, transition, and freshwater (arcellacean) assemblages. The
other cores contain only expanded marine sequences. The top of the transition zone in core
79-11 has a C-14 age of 5830 + 230 years BP, indicating a rise in sea level of at
least 20 m (the sill depth) during the Holocene.
Four dinoflagellate assemblage zones are found in core 79-11. The first (0. centrocarpum
- B. tepikiense) is typical of a silled basin with marine water of near-normal salinity;
the second (P. conicoides - Cyst C) indicates a temperate marine environment with
strong fluvial influence (marginal marine); the third (P. limbatum) is dominated by
freshwater cysts, and the fourth (Dinocyst sp. A) is dominated by subarctic brackish water
cysts.
Four pollen assemblage zones are found in core 79-11. Zones Cl1-C3 indicate mixed boreal-
deciduous forest vegetation. Zone B indicates early Holocene park-woodland vegetation, the
base of which has a C-14 age of 7705 + 550 BP. The palynozones in the marine
sediment core are correlatable with C-14 dated stratigraphies from Nova Scotian lakes.
Foraminifera and dinoflagellate assemblages in core 79-11 reflect the response of the
microfauna and microflora to changes in water depth, salinity, and temperature, which have
accompanied changes in sea level and climate during the past 8000 years. Major changes in
the marine biota during the recent period of urban development may be due to increased
sediment influx and effluent discharge. The effects of anthropogenic changes are small,
however, compared to those accompanying the Holocene marine transgression.
A.A.
573. MILLER, B.B. 1975. Nonmarine molluscs in Quaternary paleoecology. Quaternary Non-
marine Paleoecology Conference, University of Waterloo, Waterloo. Program and
Abstracts.
The precision of reconstruction of Quaternary environments using nonmarine molluscs is
related to the degree of certainty with which fossil material can be referred to living
species. Knowledge of a demonstrated, implied or inferred relationship between living
species and the environment, in which the effects of the interaction are expressed as
limitation of geographic range, phenotypic variation in shell morphology or shell chemistry,
forms the basis for environmental interpretations. Many such interactions have been
described. Examples of some of these include: (1) distributional patterns related to
temperature, available moisture, and soil composition (Drake 1973; Taylor, 1960; Oughton,
1948); (2) relationship of shell obesity and shell size to differences in the availability of
food between lentic and lotic habitats (Ortmann, 1920; Berry, 1943), the size of the aquatic
habitat (Van der schalie, 1938), and topographic elevation (Archer, 1948). The development
of spinosity has been attributed to increased salinity (Leonard and Franzen, 1944).
Variation in the development of apertural lamellae and smoothness of the shell have been
correlated with change in elevation (Vagvolgyi, 1968). Variation in isotopic and trace
element composition of shell material has been related to conditions in the local habitat
(Weber and La Rocque, 1964; Nelson, 1967).
Limitations in the use of nonmarine molluscs are imposed by the uncertainties involved in the
identification of certain species from shell material, inadequacy of distributional and
ecological data for many living species, and the very real possibility that some
physiological changes have developed in some species even though there may be no recognizable
difference in shell morphology.
Nh
Re
un
574. MILLER, G.H. 1973. Late Quaternary glacial and climatic history of northern Cumberland
Peninsula, Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada. Quaternary Research 3(4):561-583.
Radiocarbon dates on molluscs in marine facies associated with glacial deposits in northern
Cumberland Peninsula indicate both main fiord (Laurentide) ice and local glaciers remained at
their late Wisconsin maxima until ca. 8000 BP. Essentially continuous deglaciation followed;
local corrie glaciers melted out by 7100 BP and by 5500 BP fiord glaciers had receded behind
the present margin of the Penny Ice Cap. The Hypsithermal warm interval probably lasted from
ca. 8000 to 5000 BP. Lichenometry and radiocarbon dates on peat and buried organic horizons
delimit a detailed Neoglacial chronology. Of 46 outlet and corrie glaciers investigated, the
oldest Neoglacial moraines are dated lichenometrically at 3200 + 600 BP.
Subsequent advances terminated immediately prior to ca. 1650,780,350, and 65 yr BP, the most
recent of which marked the most extensive ice coverage during the Neoglacial. The highest
occurrence of lateral moraines from late Wisconsin advances of local and Laurentide ice
suggest that at the late Wisconsin glacial maximum, depression of snowline varied from 450 m
below present at the coast to 350 m below present level in the vicinity of the Penny Ice Cap.
Moraines, surrounded by glacial ice and lying above the present steady-state ELA, suggest
that during the Hypsithermal snowline was up to ca. 200 m above its present elevation. A
radiometrically controlled reconstruction of relative summer paleotemperatures for the
postglacial derived independently of lichenometry agrees well with the lichenometric age
dating of moraines. The data suggest that between ca. 1650 and 900 BP climatic conditions
were unfavorable for glacier growth, whereas the period ca. 800-65 yr BP was one of general
glacial activity. During the last decade permanent snow cover has been increasing in the
area. Previously reported data on climatic trends in the Canadian Arctic based on
palynological analyses are similar to the chronology reported here.
575. MILLER, G.H. 1975. Glacial and climatic history of northern Cumberland Peninsula,
Baffin Island, Canada, during the last 10,000 years. Ph.D. Thesis, University of
Colorado. 253 pp. Dissertation Abstracts International 36(5):2121B.
Climatic fluctuations have been reconstructed for the last 20,000 years based on i) the
glacial moraine record, ii) inferred paleoenvironmental relationships of buried organic
accumulations, iii) archaeological and paleobotanical evidence, and iv) the difference in
response of two characteristic glacier types. The late Wisconsin climate was cold (summer
temperatures >4°C below present values) and dry (<1/3 of present winter precipitation
receipts). These conditions resulted from the highly zonal global circulation which
persisted throughout the main glacial phases. When the global circulation returned to a non-
glacial mode, increased cyclogenesis in Baffin Bay resulted in increased precipitation.
Although this was probably accompanied by increased advection of relatively warm southern
air, summer temperatures remained low due to the large amounts of remnant ice over much of
northern North America, and the northeastern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet underwent a
minor advance. By 8000 BP summer temperatures had increased substantially and ablation
became dominant, and at about the same time the marine environment ameliorated. This local
thermal maximum persisted from about 8000 to 5000 BP with maximum terrestrial temperatures
reached between 7000 to 5000 BP.
The climatic reconstructions derived for Cumberland Peninsula broadly agree with other arctic
paleoclimatic histories.
pD.A.I.
576. MILLER, G.H. 1976. Climatic and chronological differences between the northeastern and
southern Laurentide margins and their implications to ice-core correlations.
American Quaternary Association, Abstracts 4:28-29.
Three major Wisconsin till units have been recognized in the Clyde River area of eastern
Baffin Island. Fossiliferous marine units formed during glacio-isostatic depression and
recovery associated with each of these advances yield chronologic and marine environmental
216
data. The late Wisconsin advance, represented by the Cockburn Moraine System near the fiord
heads, remained at or near its maximum extent until ca. 8500 BP. The two older advances were
considerably more extensive, both extending onto the continental shelf. The younger of these
advances had receded behind the present coastline prior to 48,000 14 yr BP, the date on
in situ molluscs in marine sediments overlying till of this advance. This, Chl cis
separated from the older extensive Wisconsin advance by a substantial non-glacial interval.
An interglacial soil-forming episode preceded the earliest Wisconsin advance.
Micro and macrofossil faunal assemblages in marine sediments associated with the two “early”
Wisconsin tills are rich and contain species indicating that marine environments warmer than
present prevailed during these most extensive Wisconsin Laurentide advances. In contrast,
the terrestrial moraine record suggests that during the late Wisconsin stade, when the
southern Laurentide margin attained or closely approximated its maximum extent, northern
regions experienced restricted glacial activity, probably as a result of an arid, cold
climatic regime. Shell collections dated between 8400 and 10,000 BP (the oldest late
Wisconsin shells) contain an impoverished cold-water fauna, whereas younger collections are
richer and include species of Subarctic affinity. This may be related to the reestablishment
of the West Greenland Current about 8400 BP.
These data suggest arctic glaciations are primarily precipitation controlled, with the most
extensive advances characterized by ameliorated marine episodes, terrestrial temperatures
equal to or above present values and increased advection of moist southerly air into high
latitudes. Episodes of extensive Laurentide Ice at southerly latitudes, however, correlate
with periods of limited activity along the northern margins due to exceptionally cold, arid
conditions under a more zonal global circulation regime. Although major arctic glaciations
are apparently precipitation-controlled, the relatively small-scale events within the
Neoglacial are more likely dependent on summer temperature variation.
Because of the differences in climatic controls and resultant glacial chronologies between
the southern Laurentide margin and more northerly regions, it is imperative to first compare
high latitude ice-core chronologies with the local stratigraphic sequence before attempting
one to one correlations with fluctuations along the southern Laurentide margin.
A.A.
577. MILLER, G.H. 1976. Anomalous local glacier activity, Baffin Island, Canada:
paleoclimatic implications. Geology 4(8):502-504.
Some local cirque glaciers on eastern Baffin Island were more extensive during the "Little
Ice Age” than at any time in at least the past 34,000 yr and possibly the past 60,000 yr.
The most reasonable paleoclimatic explanation of such anomalous glacier activity is that
during the last glacial maximum in southern Canada, Arctic regions experienced diminished
precipitation.
Local mountain glacier activity in the eastern Canadian Arctic is primarily controlled by
precipitation variations; reduced mountain glacier activity during the Wisconsin Glaciation
was a consequence of the prevailing arid, cold climate. Precipitation increases at the end
of the Wisconsin Glaciation were accompanied by a parallel summer temperature rise, causing
wide-spread recession of both Laurentide and local ice. The climatic deterioration of late
Holocene time, occurring while precipitation remained relatively high, caused local glaciers
to expand to their recent maxima.
ANA GET
578. MILLER, G.H. 1980. Late Foxe glaciation of southern Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada.
Geological Society of America Bulletin 91(7):399-405.
A continental outlet glacier terminating in outer Frobisher Bay, southern Baffin Island,
Arctic Canada, deposited the Hall moraine immediately prior to 10,760 yr B.P. (dated by cl4),
This moraine and associated Cl4 dates provide the first documentation of a pre-Holocene late
Foxe (late Wisconsin) ice advance from the eastern Canadian Arctic. A second moraine system
217
deposited near the head of the bay is of Cockburn age (8,000 to 9,000 yr), and it correlates
with the maximum late Foxe advance farther north on Baffin Island. A compilation of cl4
dates related to the maximum late Foxe advance and marine paleoclimatology along 2,500 km of
eastern Arctic coastline suggests a parallel but time-transgressive latitudinal relationship.
There is considerable evidence for dominantly local ice accumulation centers and a prominent
glacial advance between 11,000 and 10,000 yr B.P. from widely scattered sites surrounding the
North Atlantic Ocean.
A.A.
579. MILLER, G.H., J.T. ANDREWS, and S.K. SHORT. 1977. The last interglacial-glacial cycle,
Clyde foreland, Baffin Island, N.W.T.: stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and
chronology. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 14(12):2824-2857.
A study of the stratigraphic sequence (14C and amino acid age control), marine bivalve faunal
changes, and palynology of buried soils and organic-rich sediment collected from the Clyde
Foreland Formation in the extensive cliff sections of the Clyde foreland, eastern Baffin
Island, N.W.T., suggests the following last interglacial-Foxe (last glaciation) glacial-
present interglacial sequence.
(1) Cape Christian Member (ca. 130,000 years BP?)
Consists of the Sledgepointer till overlain by the Cape Christian marine sediments. In
sttu molluscan fauna, collected from the marine sediment, contain a moderately warm
bivalve assemblage. A well-developed soil that formed on the marine sediments (Cape
Christian soil) contains an interglacial pollen assemblage dominated by dwarf birch. U-
series dates of >115,000 and ca. 130,000 years BP on molluscs from the Cape Christian marine
sediments suggest that they were deposited during the last interglaciation, here termed the
Cape Christian Interglaciation. The development of a subarctic pollen assemblage in the Cape
Christian soil has not been duplicated during the present interglaciation, suggesting higher
summer temperatures and perhaps a duration well in excess of 10,000 years for the last
interglaciation.
(2) Kuvinilk Member
Consists of fossiliferous marine sediments, locally divided by the Clyde till into upper
and lower units. The Clyde till was deposited by the earliest and most extensive advance of
the Foxe (last) Glaciation. Kuvinilk marine sediments both under- and overlying the Clyde
till contain the pecten Chlamys islandicus, indicating that the outlet glacier advanced
into a subarctic marine environment. Amino acid ratios from in situ pelecypod shells
above and below the Clyde till are not statistically different, but contrast markedly with
ratios obtained from the same species in the Cape Christian Member. Organic horizons within
the Kuvinilk marine sediments contain a relatively rich pollen assemblage, although
‘absolute' counts are low.
(3) Kogalu Member (>35,000 14c years BP)
Sediments of the Kogalu Member unconformably overlie those of the Kuvinilk Member, but are
of a similar character. The dominant sediments are marine in origin, but in places are
divided into upper and lower units by the Ayr Lake till. Amino acid ratios from in
situ shells above and below the Ayr Lake till are indistinguishable, but substantially
less than those in the Kuvinilk Member, suggesting the two members are separated by a
considerable time interval. Radiocarbon dates on shells in the Kogalu marine sediments range
from 33,000 to 47,700 years BP, but these may be only minimum estimates. The sea
transgressed to a maximum level 70-80 m asl, coincident with the glacial maximum. Subarctic
marine fauna of interstadial-interglacial character occur within the Kogalu marine
sediments.
(4) Eglinton Member (10,000 years BP to present)
A major unconformity exists between the Kogalu and Eglinton Member. Ravenscraig marine
sediments were deposited during an early Holocene marine trangression-regression cycle; the
oldest dates on these sediments dre ca. 10,000 years BP. Locally a vegetation mat occurs at
the base or within the Ravenscraig unit. Pollen from these beds is sparse, but indicates a
terrestrial vegetation assemblage as diverse as that of today. There is no evidence that
Laurentide Ice reached the foreland during the last 30,000 years. Eolian sands that overlie
a soil development on the marine sediments record a late Holocene climatic deterioration.
218
Pollen in organic-rich sediments at the base of, and within, the eolian sands record a
vegetation shift in response to climatic change.
A.A.
580. MILLER, G.H., R.S. BRADLEY, and J.T. ANDREWS. 1975. The glaciation level and lowest
equilibrium line altitude in the High Canadian Arctic: maps and climatic
interpretation. Arctic and Alpine Research 7(2):155-168.
The glaciation level (GL) over the Queen Elizabeth Islands is highest over the main mountain
areas. There are extremely steep gradients approaching 15 m kn-1 along the northwestern
margin of the archipelago where the glaciation level is very low (300 m a.s.1.). Although
the glaciation level mirrors topography on a gross scale, at the finer level the relationship
breaks down, probably because of the effect of the mountains on precipitation patterns.
There appears to be a sharp decline in the elevation of the glaciation level between the
Canadian islands and northwest Greenland. The elevation of the lowest equilibrium line
altitudes (ELAs) are 100 to 200 m below the GL with a minimum elevation of 200 m a.s.l. The
GL represents a theoretical surface where winter mass accumulation is equalled by summer mass
ablation. The two primary controls on the elevation and gradient are, therefore, related to
the pattern of winter snow accumulation and summer snowmelt. An analysis of available
climatic data (one meteorological station per 100,000 km?) is limited by the sparsity of
records and the bias of existing stations to a coastal location. Nevertheless, on the
shorter time scale, fluctuations in the height of the July freezing level correlate strongly
with changes in glacier ELAs. However, there is little spatial correlation between decadal
maps of July freezing levels and either GL or ELA surfaces.
A.A.
581. MILLER, G.H., and A.S. DYKE. 1974. Proposed extent of Late Wisconsin Laurentide ice on
eastern Baffin Island. Geology 2(3):125-130.
Numerous raised glaciomarine deposits have been reported over the past 15 yr for which
associated molluscan fauna have !4c ages greater than 25,000 yr. For many of these deposits
the shells are considered indigenous and there is no evidence of glacial overriding;
therefore, they collectively delimit a maximum outer limit for younger advances. Within this
limit only one moraine system exists for which related 14¢-dated deposits have finite ages.
This moraine system, termed the Cockburn Moraine, is traceable with intermittent breaks from
Cumberland Peninsula to the northern part of Baffin Island, and several studies suggest that
ice remained at this moraine until about 8,000 yr BP. We propose that the Cockburn Moraine
marks the maximum extent of late Wisconsin Laurentide ice in this area. South of Cumberland
Peninsula, the Cockburn Moraine loses coherency; consequently, the location of the maximum
stand of late Wisconsin ice in this region is less precise and is based on morphologic
criteria and moraine segments with ages similar to the Cockburn Moraine farther north. It is
most realistic to assume that decreased precipitation and temperatures in Arctic regions
occurred during the pleniglacial, and that increased precipitation associated with renewed
cyclogenesis in Baffin Bay during the late glacial phase allowed ice to remain at its maximum
late Wisconsin stand well into the Holocene, despite increased temperatures. Although some
of our arguments may be considered speculative, we feel a wide variety of independent lines
of evidence support the form of the maximum ice margin and the basic conclusions of a
restricted extent of ice on Baffin Island throughout the late Wisconsin. The glacial history
of the northeastern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet is distinctly different from that of
the southern margin, and it is doubtful that any one marginal area characterizes the ice
sheet as a whole. Thus, correlating the Laurentide record with other Wisconsin stratigraphic
sections must be done with caution.
A.C.
582. MILLER, G.H., and L.D. WILLIAMS. 1974. Late Wisconsin paleoclimate derived from a
snowmelt program and variations in glacier response: eastern Baffin Island.
Geological Society of America, Abstract with Programs 6(7):870.
Certain glaciers on Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island responded differently to late
Quaternary climatic episodes. Glaciers which have an area/elevation profile with
considerable area above 1000 m and narrow outlet glaciers (Type I) were equally extensive at
the late Wisconsin and Neoglacial maxima. In contrast, other basins now occupied by
restricted cirque glaciers contained extensive late Wisconsin glaciers which had different
area/elevation profiles from the former case, with most area at moderate elevations (600 -
1000 m) (Type II). Using semi-empirical models relating glacier accumulation and ablation to
gross climatic parameters it is possible to derive paleoclimatic estimates from the available
data. To expand the Type II while maintaining, but not expanding, the Type I glaciers
requires a snowline depression which will allow accumulation between 600 and 1000 m but
decrease the accumulation above 1000 m (present ELA's are 800 - 900 m). This can be
accomplished only by a summer temperature lowering (accumulation at lower elevations) and a
precipitation decrease (decreased accumulation at high elevations). To determine the
magnitude of the precipitation and temperature changes we developed a computerized mass
balance program which calculated the net balance in 150 m elevational increments throughout
the ablation season. The late Wisconsin climate was simulated by iterations with different
precipitation and summer temperature values. The climatic simulation resulting in the
nearest approximation to the observed late Wisconsin glacier responses was a climate
equivalent to a summer temperature <4°C and annual precipitation <l/3 of present
values. Thus the late Wisconsin climates along the northeastern and southern margins of the
Laurentide Ice Sheet were dissimilar.
583. MILLER, M.M., and J.H. ANDERSON. 1974. Out-of-phase Holocene climatic trends in the
maritime and continental sectors of the Alaska-Canada Boundary Range. In:
Quaternary Environments: Proceedings of a Symposium. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney.
First York University Symposium on Quaternary Research. Geographical Monographs
No. 5:33-58.
Comparative field studies of Quaternary glacial sequences and palynological profiles in
kettle-hole bogs are described with respect to the coastal and interior flanks of the Alaska-
Canada Boundary Range on a transect from Juneau, Alaska (Taku District) to Atlin, B.C.
(Cassiar District). Special attention is given to the problem of out-of-phase glacio-climatic
fluctuations in the maritime versus continental sectors of this Cordilleran region, within
the framework of secular changes since Valders time...ca., 10,5000 to 11,000 yrs BP.
Based on radiocarbon dating of key horizons in the stratigraphic sequence, a table of
climatic trends is noted for each region where today the mean annual sea-level precipitation
regimes are 228 cm (in the temperate Sitka spruce and hemlock forest of the Juneau sector)
and 25 cm (in the dry semi-arid white spruce and pine forests of the Atlin sector).
References to "warmer and drier” and “warmer and wetter” designate precipitation regimes in
each sector which characterized a period of increased storminess in the Thermal Maximum. All
other adjectives (e.g. “warm”, ‘“cool") are relative to the respective Thermal Maximum
conditions in each sector. The climatic characterizations are interpreted as follows:
220
ATLIN (CASSIAR) TAKU (JUNEAU)
INTERVAL, YEARS B.P. DISTRICT DISTRICT
0) = 750 warm-wet warmer-drier
2,500 750 cold-dry (decreased storminess) cooler-wetter
cooling-wetting
5F250= 5500 warm-wet maximum warmth and dryness
55005250 warmer-wetter (increased maximum warmth and dryness
storminess) relative warming-drying
ther
mal 8,000 - 5,500 warm-wet cool-moist
Maxi-
mum 9,000 - 8,000 cool-dry relative warming-drying
10,000 - 9,000 cooler-drier cooler-wetter
10,500 - 10,000 cool-dry coldest
11,000 — 10,500 cooler-drier coldest (Valders equiv.)
The significance of this climatic sequence is discussed in terms of secular shifts in the
Arctic Front and related storm path positions along the North Pacific Coast during the
Holocene. Corroborating information is introduced from known variations of glaciers in this
region since A.D. 1500 and from analyses of meteorological trends in the coastal sector where
relatively continuous records have beeen maintained since A.D. 1840.
A.A.
584. MILLER, N.G., and R.R. IRELAND. 1978. A floristic account of the bryophytes of
Bathurst Island, Arctic Canada. Farlow Herbarium of Harvard University, Occasional
Paper 13:1-38.
Based primarily on collections made by the authors in 1973 and 1974, the bryophyte flora of
the central part of Bathurst Island (ca. 75°43'N, 98°25'W), Northwest Territories, Canada, is
reported to consist of 21 species of Hepaticae (including 4 represented by varieties) and 112
species of Musci (11 of which are represented by one or more varieties).
Although the occurrence of North Temperate Zone species of bryophytes in the Arctic has been
used as evidence for postulating that certain areas escaped Pleistocene glaciation, the
central part of Bathurst Island clearly shows the effects of both glacier activity and
postglacial marine submergence (Blake, 1974a). Polar Bear Pass, the valley in which the
reseach station is situated, was flooded by sea water to a depth exceeding 45 m beginning
about 8500 years ago. The valley remained water filled, though at progressively lower
levels, until approximately 4500 years ago, at which time the northern and southern portions
of the island became joined. The collecting site for Seligeria campylopoda was the
first beach ridge above the tundra meadow that now fills part of Polar Bear Pass. This beach
was exposed perhaps 5000 years ago. The collection of Pterygoneurum ovatum was made in
the upland north of the Pass. Deglaciation of Bathurst Island is believed to have begun
prior to 10,000 years ago and by 9000 B.P. extensive areas were ice-free (Blake, 1964).
Thus, the occurrence of both species reflects immigration at some time(s) during the
Postglacial.
PA. Ae ©
585. MOCK, S.J., and W.D. HIBLER,III. 1976. The 20-yr oscillation in eastern North American
temperature records. Nature 261(5560):484-486.
*..we have examined January temperature records for 19 stations in eastern North America.
Our results show that: first, a pervasive 20-yr peak exists in the spectra of January
temperatures in eastern Canada and the United States; secondly, the 20-yr oscillation was
largely in phase over this region until approximately 1960; and thirdly, the predictability
of this oscillation is, at best, only marginal.
Excerpt
221
586. MODE, W.N. 1978. Preliminary Holocene pollen stratigraphy, Clyde Foreland, Baffin
Island. American Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts 5:172.
Pollen analysis of lacustrine sediment, underlain by littoral sand, reveals a sequence which
begins during a period of optimum climate, shown by high amounts of shrub Betula pollen
in the basal sediments. Though no dates have yet been received, dated shorelines within a
few km and at the same altitude are 5000-6000 cl4 years old, and this is the maximum expected
age of the basal lake sediments.
Relative and “absolute” pollen diagrams suggest five zones. The basal zone, from 125-100 cm,
can be termed the dwarf Betula zone because of its high Betula percentages (18-
337) From 95 to 60 cm, Betula percentages drop to very low levels while Poaceae and
then Salix replace it as the dominant taxa. These two basal zones also feature the
highest spore percentages in the core and this birch-lycopod-fern assemblage seems to have no
modern analogue.
The upper three zones are all dominated by Salix (and to a lesser extent Poaceae), and
assemblages are similar to those of modern pollen deposition in the area. From 50-55
em, Saltx is near its highest values (54-55%), but in the next zone above (45-25
cm), Salix decreases and is largely replaced by Poaceae, but also by slightly
increased Betula percentages (6-10%), and by the highest Alnus (3-14%) of the
core. These two zones also have the highest Ericaceae and Cyperaceae values of the core. In
the uppermost zone (1-20 cm), Salix again dominates (49-61%) and Poaceae is also
important (12-24%).
Though the timing is not yet known, it is likely that the basal Betula zone represents
the period of optimum climate of the Holocene, when dwarf birch was growing near the site.
The northern limit of dwarf birch on Baffin Island is now 400-450 km south of Clyde, and the
upper four zones of the pollen diagram represent the deterioration of climate following the
optimum during which birch presumably migrated south. The pollen zone from 45-25 cm with its
increased Alnus and Betula, may represent a reversal of the general climatic
deterioration.
A.A.
587. MOLFINO, B., N.G. KIPP, and J.J. MORLEY. 1982. Comparison of Foraminiferal, Cocco-
lithophorid, and Radiolarian paleotemperature equations: assemblage coherency and
estimate concordancy. Quaternary Research 17(3):279-313.
The Imbrie-Kipp method of paleotemperature estimation is rigorously tested by comparing
Atlantic temperature equations independently derived from the microfossils of three biotic
groups: the Foraminifera, Coccolithophorida, and Radiolaria. This method consists of two
steps: factor analysis of the modern sea-bed data of the individual groups which resolves
discrete biogeographic assemblages and regression analysis of the modern assemblage data with
observed sea-surface temperature data to obtain paleotemperature equations. Assemblage
biogeography shows a simple subdivision into warm (low latitude) and cold (high latitude) for
all biotic groups. Between biotic groups there is greater similarity among high-latitude
assemblages than low-latitude ones. Correlating the assemblage data with observed sea-
surface temperatures to produce temperature distribution patterns shows differences of less
than 2°C in their optimum and critical temperatures. Regression analysis produced accurate
temperature equations for each biotic group, all with standard errors of estimate of less
than or equal to 2°C. Multiple correlation coefficients were all greater than 0.970.
Applying these equations to two multiple biotic data sets (the modern and ice-age sea-bed
data) and comparing their temperature estimates using the standard error pooled, shows over
87% concordancy for both data sets. Unlike the modern data, the discordancy among
temperature estimates of the ice-age data shows a distinct geographic distribution; its cause
is believed to be oceanographic, a difference in the water-mass structure between the modern
and ice-age ocean.
222
588. MOODIE, D.W. 1977. The Hudson's Bay Company's Archives: a resource for historical
geography. Canadian Geographer 21(3):268-274.
The author describes the nature and content of the Hudson's Bay Company's Archives (300 years
old) which includes considerable information on climate.
L.G.
589. MOODIE, D.W., and A.J.W. CATCHPOLE. 1975. Environmental data from historical documents
by content analysis: freeze-up and break-up of estuaries on Hudson Bay 1714-1871.
Manitoba Geographical Studies 5:1-119.
This study uses the method of content analysis to identify dates of freeze-up and break-up
from historical descriptions of these events. ... Its general purpose, therefore, is to
demonstrate the use of content analysis as a method capable of yielding objective and valid
environmental data from descriptive historical sources. Although the specific procedures
employed in the study relate to the reconstruction of dates of freeze-up and break-up, they
can be modified for use in any environmental research into descriptive, historical accounts.
Chapter I. ... briefly examines the general problems that confront the environmental
scientist in historical research and on the other hand, it shows that certain methodological
characteristics of content analysis recommend it as more suitable for the solution of these
problems than traditional methods of historical investigation. Chapter II is concerned with
the nature of content analysis and describes the terms and procedures of the methodology as
it has been applied in this study. Subsequent chapters are devoted to a step-by-step
application of the method to historical descriptions of freeze-up and break-up of four river
estuaries on Hudson Bay in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The descriptions are
derived from daily records by personnel of the Hudson's Bay Company during this period, and
relate to the estuaries of the Moose, Albany, Hayes and Churchill Rivers.
Chapter III describes and assesses contemporary standards and norms for the observation of
freeze-up and break-up in Canada. In Chapter IV, content analysis frequency counts are used
to establish the degree to which contemporary standards and criteria can be applied to the
historical observations made by the Hudson's Bay Company journalists. The results of these
investigations are combined in Chapter V to establish the procedures for retrieving the dates
of freeze-up and break-up from the documents. This requires posing the questions that are to
be put to the documents in the form of explicit categories of analysis, and devising rules
whereby the retrieval of the requisite information via the categories is to be achieved. In
Chapter VI, these procedures are implemented on a sample of the historical accounts in order
to test the reliability or objectivity of the method.
Following the reliability testing, a full-scale analysis was conducted to retrieve the dates
from the entire body of manuscript accounts. The problem of validating these dates is
discussed in the first part of Chapter VII and, in the second part, validity tests are
conducted upon certain types of dates selected for this purpose. Finally, a list of the
selected dates of freeze-up and break-up embracing the period 1714-1871 is appended for the
estuaries of the Moose, Albany, Hayes and Churchill Rivers.
A.I.
590. MOODIE, D.W., and A.J.W. CATCHPOLE. 1976. Valid climatological data from historical
sources by content analysis. Science 193(4247):51-53.
Content analysis is used to derive dates of freeze-up and break-up from historical
descriptions of river estuaries on Hudson Bay between 1714 and 1871. Validity testing of
these dates indicates that they are comparable with modern data. It is thus proposed that
the method affords potential for the systematic retrieval of a broad array of environmental
data from the historical past.
A.A.
591. MOORE, T.C., Jr. 1973. Late Pleistocene-Holocene oceanographic changes in the
Northeastern Pacific. Quaternary Research 3(1):99-109.
The distributions of the radiolarian assemblages in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean were
determined and correlated with the average summer temperature of the near surface waters of
this region. These assemblages were compared with those in three sediment cores taken
beneath the Transition Zone waters. This comparison indicates that the assemblage off Oregon
at the last maximum cold interval (24,000 yr B.P.) was like that now found off southern
Alaska. The correlation of the radiolarian assemblages with temperature gives an estimate of
11°C for the average summer temperature at that time. This is approximately 4°C cooler than
present day conditions in the area. Superimposed on the general warming trend that began
24,000 ya, there are minor oscillations in the assemblages which correspond to estimates of
temperature change of about 2°C in the Pleistocene and about 1°C in the Holocene. In the
Holocene, these minor warm intervals appear to be approximately synchronous with advances in
mountain glaciers.
A.A.
592. MORGAN, A. 1975. Fossil beetle assemblages from the Early Wisconsinan Scarborough
Formation, Toronto, Canada. Quaternary Non-marine Paleoecology Conference,
University of Waterloo, Waterloo. Program and Abstracts.
Samples of detrital organic material were collected in a vertical sequence through the
Scarborough Formation of the Scarborough Bluffs, east of Toronto along the shore of Lake
Ontario. The samples were taken at varying intervals throughout the lower silt and clay unit
at Cudia Park. The upper deltaic sand unit was randomly sampled between the Cudia Park and
the Seminary sections wherever detrital lenses were available.
The organic material contained large numbers of fossil invertebrates such as caddisflies,
midges, flies, bugs, ostracods, mites and spiders, but predominantly beetles. About 100 taxa
of beetles have been found, 30 of which have been identified specifically. No extinct
species were recognised with certainty, contrary to Scudders' findings described in a series
of papers around 1900.
The faunal assemblages show no distinct differences through the sequence, indicating that the
environmental parameters remained more or less constant during this Early Wisconsinan period.
Several species now live on open tundra, some are distributed quite widely in North America,
but the majority find conditions acceptable near the northern limits of the boreal forest.
This suggests that the tree line was probably close to the Toronto area at the time the
Scarborough Formation was deposited and that there was a sub-arctic climate.
593. MORGAN, A., and A.V. MORGAN. 1976. Climatic interpretations from the fossil insect
faunas of the Don and Scarborough formations, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geological
Society of America, Abstracts with Programs 8(6):1020.
The fossil insects of the Don and Scarborough formations in Toronto indicate that a climatic
deterioration occurred between the deposition of the two sequences. Unfortunately sites
containing transitional faunas between the Sangamon Don beds and the Early Wisconsin
Scarborough deposits have not yet been located, and the rapidity of the change is uncertain.
The presence of fossil insects from the Don Valley Brickyard at the Scarborough Bluffs has
been known for about 100 years, but the beetles were thought to be extinct. Fresh exposures
of detrital organic material have been collected during the past six field seasons and a
moderately well-preserved beetle fauna has been recovered from both localities. A re-
examination of the fossil faunas has revealed that all the species are living today, but in
widely differing geographic localities. The ecological interpretation of the Don fauna
indicates a deciduous forest environment beside a large, slowly moving, well vegetated river
flowing into a shallow lake embayment. The Scarborough insects, however, lived near the
northern limits of the boreal forest with patchy, open tundra nearby. The mean annual
224
temperature at the time that the Don beds were deposited was probably similar to that of the
Toronto area today, about 4.5 to 7.5°C (40 to 45°F). The Scarborough beetle fauna indicates
a much cooler environment with a mean annual temperature between -9.5° to -6.5°C (15 to
20°F).
A.A.
594. MORGAN, A.V. 1969. Intraformational periglacial structures in the Nose Hill gravels
and sands, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Journal of Geology 77(3):358-364.
A gravel and sand sequence at Calgary, Alberta, resting unconformably on Paskapoo sandstone
and overlain by a late Wisconsin till, has within it two distinct horizons of structures
attributable to periglacial activity. The lower horizon shows involutions and deranged and
frost-shattered pebbles, while the upper horizon shows fossil ice wedges. A periglacial
environment probably existed in southwestern Alberta at least twice during the gravel and
sand deposition, and the sequence is probably of Pleistocene age, although predating the
earliest Laurentide ice advance in the area. The average annual temperature in the Calgary
area was approximately 9°-14°C cooler than at present.
A.A.
595. MORGAN, A.V. 1972. Late Wisconsinan ice-wedge polygons near Kitchener, Ontario,
Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 9(6):607-617.
Reconnaissance from a light aircraft has revealed areas of polygonal ground east of
Kitchener, Ontario. Examination of aerial-photographs of the same region has shown
additional polygons all developed upon Port Stanley II Till. Trenching of a polygon has
exposed wedge-shaped sand and gravel infilled structures interpreted as ice-wedge casts. The
wedges are believed to have been active prior to 13 O00 years B.P., probably under tundra
conditions, with mean annual air temperatures some 25°F (13-14°C) cooler than present.
A.A.
596. MORGAN, A.V., RF. MILLER, and A. MORGAN. 1982. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of
southwestern Ontario between 11,000 and 10,000 yrs. B.P. using fossil insects as
indicators. (North American Paleontological Convention III, Abstracts of Papers).
Journal of Paleontology 56(2)(supplement):19.
Seven fossil insect localities from southern Ontario, and one site in northwestern New York,
have been used to provide an environmental reconstruction of the region around the time of
the palynological spruce-pine transition. Five of the sites are positioned near or at the
margins of major lakes which formerly occupied the region. The Parkhill (ca. 10,850
yr. B.P.), Eighteen Mile River (ea. 10,600) and Wales (ca. 10,300) sites were
adjacent to Glacial Lake Algonquin, while the Lockport Gulf (ca. 10,900 and younger)
and Peatsah (ea. 10,750) sites were located beside the margin of Early Lake Ontario.
The remaining localities are lacustrine sequences of marls at Gage St. (>11,000-<10,000) and
Little Lake (ca. 10,000); while the Brampton Site (>11,000-<10,000) is principally
composed of woody peat. Analyses of the faunas suggest regionally high temperatures
(ca. 16° to 18°C) for sites inland from Lake Algonquin, but localised environments
appear to have provided cooler habitats for certain species living in areas adjacent to Lake
Algonquin and Early Lake Ontario. There appears to be no insect evidence for any major
climatic change during the transition between spruce dominant and pine dominant vegetation
seen in the pollen profiles of the region.
A.A.
Nh
N
Un
597. MORGAN, A.V., and A. MORGAN. 1981. Paleoentomological methods of reconstructing
paleoclimate with reference to interglacial and interstadial insect faunas of
southern Ontario. In: Quaternary Paleoclimate. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney. Geo
Abstracts, Norwich. pp. 173-192.
A number of working hypotheses have been established and refined, and insects are now being
used as exceptionally sensitive indicators of climatic change.
In North America the interpretation of climatic change has been limited to research during
the last decade, and the analyses of stenothermic categories have shown considerable
temperature differences between Sangamonian, early Wisconsinan and middle Wisconsinan
deposits in the Toronto region.
Each of the faunas described [from the above deposits] can be placed into a climatic
‘bracket' depending upon the relationship of the indicator species to the different
categories. Thus the beetles from the top of the Don Formation apparently indicate July
temperatures of about 20° to 21°C; the Scarborough Formation beetles suggest July
temperatures of some 11° or 12°C, and the Beaver Valley beetles, July temperatures which
probably did not rise much above 10°C. Estimation of mean annual temperatures are far more
difficult, especially for the colder faunas; however, the Don assemblage probably is
indicative of a mean annual temperature of about 5°-7°C.
pA.A.t
598. MORNER, N.-A. 1971. The Plum Point Interstadial: age, climate and subdivision.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 8(11):1423-1431.
Plum Point Interstadial deposits in Scarborough Bluffs, Toronto, include a layer of unvarved
sandy sediments, which indicates relative low lake level, with the ice margin some distance
away, probably north of the Ontario basin proper. Radiocarbon dates above and below this
layer suggest an age of the most temperate part of the Plum Point Interstadial of 32 000-
28 300 B.P. i-e. exactly the same age as for the Denekamp Interstadial in Europe. The Plum
Point Interstadial in a broad sense can be subdivided, climatically, into three units.
A.A.
599. MORNER, N.-A. 1971. The position of the ocean level during the interstadial at about
30 000 B.P. A discussion from a climatic-glaciologic point of view. Canadian
Journal of Earth Sciences 8(1):132-143.
Several 14c-dated marine shells (and exceptionally even estuarine peat) found at about the
present sea level - just below to just above - in different regions of the world suggest a
eustatic high stand at about 30 000 B.P.; however, this appears to be incorrect for two main
reasons.
Le From a climatic-glaciologic point of view the interstadial at about 30 000
B.P. (Denekamp, Plum Point, etc.) must correspond to an ocean level far below
the present (or roughly corresponding to the Late Glacial one at about 12 000
BP.)
Dre Contamination of a sample containing dead or almost dead carbon by 1-5% modern
carbon will give the sample an apparent age of 36 000-24 000 B.P.
A.A.
600. MORNER, N.-A. 1977. Climatic framework of the end of the Pleistocene and the Holocene:
paleoclimatic variations during the last 35,000 years. Géographie physique et
Quaternaire 31(1-2):23-35.
Paleoclimatic changes are recorded by several methods. These fluctuations follow cycles of
different rank and duration. Seen in a global scale, there can be little doubt that the
climatic changes generally occurred simultaneously all over the globe. This does not mean
that they are equally expressed; on the contrary, these changes are quite locally expressed.
It is the coincidence in time that reveals the global climatic background. The Gothenburg
Magnetic Excursion and Flip, characterized by Pacific VGP positions, provide a new tool for
global correlations. The radiocarbon calibration scale is extended back at least to 10,000
BP via a new method based on shorelines and varves. Because of necessary good dating
control, the present analysis is confined to the last 35,000 years. 1) Correlations of
global climatic data indicate a worldwide synchronism without any detectable time-lag between
different variables. 2) Climatic, glacial and eustatic fluctuations follow four main cycles:
a 21,000-yr cycle, a 5250-yr cycle, an irregular 1000-3600-yr cycle, an irregular 230-1000-yr
cycle. 3) Geoidal-eustasy is a new factor which is related to fundamental geophysical
processes. 4) Integrated studies of multiple parameters in the same long Holocene sediment
cores have revealed a detailed correlation between climatic changes, eustatic changes,
paleomagnetic intensity and polarity changes, atmospheric 14¢ production changes, etc.,
suggesting a mutual origin. 5) The main cause of the 5250-yr cycle and the two irregular
cycles seems to be changes of the core/mantle coupling and interface according to two
different systems. This explains the correlations established and the absence of any time-
lag.
A.A.
601. MORNER, N.-A., and A. DREIMANIS. 1973. The Erie Interstade. Geological Society of
America Memoir 136:107-134.
The type section for the Erie Interstade shows a well-developed beach between two layers of
offshore sands. The section is underlain by a major late Wisconsin till, the Catfish Creek
Till, and is overlain by the Port Stanley Till. The position of the buried beach 3 to 4 m
above present Lake Erie level indicates that the interstadial lake, here named Lake Leverett,
was lower than previously estimated and that it drained eastward, probably via the Mohawk
Lowland, during an ice recession into the Ontario Basin.
The Erie Interstade correlates well with a world-wide amelioration of the climate at about
15,500 yrs B.P. that separates two glacial maxima of the late Wisconsin-Weichselian, the
older 20,000 to 17,000 yrs B.P. and the younger 14,800 to 14,400 yrs B.P.
A.A.
602. MORRISON, A. 1970. Pollen diagrams from interior Labrador. Canadian Journal of Botany
48(11):1957-1975.
Six pollen zones can be distinguished in interior Labrador. The earlier zones represent the
primary succession of vegetation from bare ground to boreal woodland or forest, which
occupied about 500 years between 5700 and 5200 B.P. There have been only minor fluctuations
in the nature of the vegetation since 5200 B.P. Radiocarbon dates show that the zones are
contemporaneous over that part of the Lake Plateau within the Churchill River watershed, but
similar vegetation changes occurred 1000 years earlier in the Kaniapiskau basin, further
north, in New Quebec. These two areas must have been freed of a cover of glacier ice or lake
waters immediately before 5700 B.P. and 6700 B.P. respectively.
A.A.
227
603. MOTT, R.J. 1968. A radiocarbon-dated marine algal bed of the Champlain Sea episode
near Ottawa, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 5:319-324.
A bed of marine algae (seaweed) in a sand pit in Champlain Sea sediments southwest of Ottawa,
Ontario, was dated by the radiocarbon method and gave an age of 10,800 + 150
years (GSC-570). Marine shells from above and below the algal bed gave radiocarbon ages of
OP 6202 00 Te 2 rs 1@G:SIC— 5/897 ))) amid) WO 3:3) OR tal 6107 Byseralz; SACS Ci 51818)
respectively.
The algae and underlying shells have been excellently preserved as a result of rapid burial
following deposition and remaining beneath a high water table. The similarity of the
radiocarbon dates on the algae and on the shells above and below, and with previous dates on
shells from other Champlain Sea deposits indicates the reliability of these shell dates.
A.A.
604. MOTT, R.J. 1969. Palynological studies in central Saskatchewan; contemporary pollen
spectra from surface samples. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 69-32:1-13.
Saskatchewan lies within two vegetational zones: the grasslands or prairie, and the boreal
forest. Surface samples collected as part of a study of the late-glacial and postglacial
geochronology and vegetational and climatic history of central Saskatchewan, yielded
contemporary pollen spectra characteristic of both zones. Pollen spectra typical of the
grasslands contained 60 to 70 per cent herbs, 25 to 35 per cent trees, and 5 per cent or less
shrubs. Spectra from the forested areas showed varying amounts of tree pollen, typically in
excess of 50 per cent, with herb pollen usually less than 35 per cent. Although not as
readily distinguishable by their pollen spectra, some sections of the Boreal Forest Region,
as defined by Rowe (1959), were found to have discernible pollen assemblages. In addition to
the general relative proportions of tree, shrub and herb pollen, data on the abundance of
individual genera are needed in order to differentiate these forest sections.
Detailed study of several long cores already obtained from Saskatchewan may determine the
extent to which the present conclusions will be useful in outlining past vegetation zones.
Preliminary results suggest that at least some of the pollen spectra discussed here are of
diagnostic value.
ING) None
605. MOTT, R.J. 1971. Palynology of a buried organic deposit, River Inhabitants, Cape
Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 71-1B:123-125.
The material collected is more than 39,000 yrs. old. The overlying sediment sequence is
interpreted by Grant to represent: (1) periglacial deposition of colluvium and organic
detritus; (2) proglacial deposition of outwash gravel, and (3) burial by tills of the last
glaciation. The deposit is assigned to an early Wisconsin interstade. Pollen diagrams are
presented, showing boreal forest assemblages dominated by Picea (spruce) and
Alnus (alder), lesser amounts of Pinus (pine), and small percentages of Betula
(birch) and Abies (fir).
606. MOTT, R.J. 1973. Palynological studies in central Saskatchewan. Pollen stratigraphy
from lake sediment sequences. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 72-49:1-18.
Lake sediment sequences from four sites in central Saskatchewan were studied as part of a
project to determine the late-glacial and postglacial vegetational and climatic history of
the area. Several radiocarbon dates help to outline chronology.
228
Boreal vegetation dominated by Picea invaded the area as the ice retreated northward.
Progressively younger radiocarbon dates on the Ptcea zones, 11,560 + 640
(GSC-648) at Prince Albert, 10,260 + 170 (GSC-647) within Prince Albert National
Park, and 8,520 + 170 (GSC-643) near La Ronge, mark the migration northward.
About 10,000 years B.P. a warmer and less humid climate caused grasslands to replace the
boreal vegetation in the south and grasslands prevailed to the present in the Clearwater Lake
area on the Missouri Coteau. Grassland vegetation also invaded the Prince Albert area and,
although open grasslands did not extend as far north as the study site within Prince Albert
National Park, a parkland type of environment may have existed for a short time. The
grasslands retreated with the return of a cooler and more humid climate and a mixed wood
forest developed in the Prince Albert National Park areas. In the La Ronge area the
Picea-dominated vegetation gave way to a mixed wood forest and then, after about 6,000
+ 170 years B.P. (GSC-1335), a coniferous forest gradually developed.
A.A.
607. MOTT, R.J. 1974. Modern pollen spectra from Labrador. Geological Survey of Canada
Paper 74-1B:232-234.
The Lake Plateau region of Labrador with its spruce woodland vegetation is characterized by
modern pollen assemblages dominated by spruce and abundant birch, alder, sedge, and
Sphagnum, with a variety of other taxa in lesser amounts. Similar assemblages have
prevailed in the area over the past 4,000 to 5,000 years, indicating a type of vegetation
similar to the present for this time period (Morrison, 1970).
A.S.
608. MOTT, R.J. 1975. Populus in late-glacial pollen spectra. Quaternary Non-marine
Paleoecology Conference, University of Waterloo, Waterloo. Program and Abstracts.
Populus profiles in pollen diagrams have often been ignored or given little attention
because of problems with identification and preservation. Modern surface spectra aid in the
interpretation of fossil assemblages, but exact modern analogues have not been found. Recent
studies from several localities have revealed peaks in Populus pollen in late-glacial
and/or early Holocene spectra, and relative and absolute frequencies indicate that
Populus may have played a significant role in the transition from tundra to forested
conditions.
609. MOTT, R.J. 1975. Palynological studies of peat monoliths from L'Anse aux Meadows Norse
site, Newfoundland. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 75-1A:451-454.
The main conclusion that can be drawn from the pollen diagrams is that over the time span
involved, that is over the last 1,800 to 2,000 years, there have been no drastic changes in
the vegetation of the area.
Excerpt
610. MOTT, R.J. 1975. Palynological studies of lake sediment profiles from southwestern New
Brunswick. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 12(2):273-288.
Lake sediment cores from two lakes yielded pollen profiles which reflect vegetational and
climatic changes since deglaciation. Radiocarbon dates from specific levels outline the
chronology. Correlation of pollen zones between the two profiles indicate the degree of
error in the anomalously old dates from one of the sites. Total absolute pollen frequencies
are used to aid in interpretation.
Nh
[ÈS]
\O
Following deglaciation a tundra environment prevailed until about 12,000 radiocarbon years
Brey. This was followed by a transition zone in which Betula and Populus were
abundant. About 12,000 years B.P. Picea increased markedly and remained a dominant
part of the vegetation until 9500 years B.P. when Pinus and Quercus became
prominent. Tsuga and various hardwood genera predominated after 6500 years B.P. An
increase in Picea and decline in Tsuga and some hardwood genera produced the
forests which prevailed when the area was settled.
Some indication of the climate that prevailed during the time encompassed by the New
Brunswick profiles can be gained from the pollen data and the inferred vegetation. Following
deglaciation the depauperate flora of herbs and shrubs indicating tundra conditions probably
reflects a cool climate caused at least in part by the close proximity of the retreating ice
sheet. Migration lag is a factor that is difficult to assess and the extant flora may not
accurately represent the climate of the time especially if climatic changes occurred abruptly
as suggested by Bryson and Wendland (1967).
Pollen assemblages and gradually increasing deposition rates about 11,300 years ago attest to
a changing flora with more trees present. If the vegetation of the time is indicative of the
climate then conditions similar to those of the Nichicun Lake area of north-central Quebec at
the present time characterized the area. The great increase in pine pollen and the general
increase in pollen deposition rates at the beginning of Zone 5 about 9500 radiocarbon years
ago, point to further amelioration of the climate until in Zones 4 and 3 thermophilous
hardwood genera were represented in greater amounts of pollen than at any other time before
or since. In more recent times in southwestern New Brunswick, i.e., the last millenium, a
return to cooler and more moist climate is indicated by an increase in spruce pollen and
decline in hemlock and hardwood genera.
The classical sequence of a warming trend to a maximum in warmth and dryness followed by a
return to a somewhat cooler and more moist condition has been discussed in more detail by
Davis (1969) but many factors await further clarification. The role of climate and migration
rates have not been sorted out satisfactorily and such parameters as fire, disease, drought
and others have hardly been dealt with.
A.A. and pA.C.
611. MOTT, R.J. 1976. A Holocene pollen profile from the Sept-Îles area, Québec.
Naturaliste Canadien 103(5):457-467.
The boreal forest of the Sept-Îles area has prevailed for at least the last several thousand
years with fluctuations in the forest composition but not in the individual species involved.
The earliest forest community inferred from the “LD” Lake pollen profile consisted of spruce,
balsam, fir, birch and alder as the dominants with alder more abundant than at the present
time and spruce and birch less abundant. After about 7000 years B.P. balsam fir became
considerably more abundant, partly at the expense of alder and partly as the result of a
general proliferation of species; it dominated until about 6400 years B.P. Spruce and birch
then became more abundant and this forest type, with some minor fluctuations, prevailed to
the present.
The replacement of balsam fir by spruce and birch accompanied by increased pine pollen is
somewhat anomalous in that balsam fir increases usually follow declines in spruce (Richard,
1971; Richard and Poulin, 1976). A return to spruce would suggest a deterioration of the
climate while increased pine indicates the opposite. Richard (1973), in a profile from a
site near Kenogami, encountered increased spruce following a decline in balsam fir for the
same time interval and attributed it to a deterioration of the climate. This does not seem
to be the explanation at “LD” Lake. ...
ASIA
612. MOTT, R.J. 1977. Late-Pleistocene and Holocene palynology in southeastern Québec.
Géographie physique et Quaternaire 31(1-2):139-149.
Several relative and absolute pollen profiles from the Appalachian region outline the
vegetational history of the region. The earliest reliable date of 11,200 radiocarbon years
230
BP, from the watershed area of the Mégantic Hills on the Québec-Maine border, dates the
spruce pollen maximum, indicative of spruce woodland conditions. A second site in the same
area shows tundra conditions existed prior to this time, but no radiocarbon dates are
available to indicate the length of time these conditions persisted. About 10,000
radiocarbon years BP or less, the character of the vegetation changed and closed forest
conditions prevailed. Spruce was still present, but balsam fir and birch increased and other
deciduous species appeared. The continued increase in thermophilous deciduous species and
hemlock and white pine during early-and mid-Holocene resulted in forests in which these taxa
were more prominent than at present. An increase in spruce and decline in thermophilous taxa
in the last few millenia produced the extant forest types.
A.A.
613. MOTT, R.J. 1978. Populus in late-Pleistocene pollen spectra. Canadian Journal
of Botany 56(8):1021-1031.
Populus profiles in pollen diagrams have often been ignored or given little attention
because of problems with identification and preservation. Modern surface spectra aid in the
interpretation of fossil assemblages, but exact modern analogues have not been found. Recent
studies from several localities in Canada have revealed peaks in Populus pollen in
late-Pleistocene and (or) early-Holocene spectra, and relative and absolute frequencies
indicate that Populus may have played a significant role in the transition from tundra
to forested conditions.
A.A.
614. MOTT, R.J., TeWe ANDERSON, and J.V. MATTHEWS, Jr. 1981. Late-glacial paleoenvironments
of sites bordering the Champlain Sea based on pollen and macrofossil evidence. In:
Quaternary Paleoclimate. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney. Geo Abstracts, Norwich.
pp. 129-171.
The landscape bordering the Champlain Sea in the St. Eugene area about 11,050 years BP
supported tundra vegetation and the climate was probably considerably colder than the present
in that area. To the north, between the sea and the ice front standing at the St. Narcisse
moraine, a polar desert with discontinuous herbaceous vegetation prevailed. Trees had
invaded the Appalachians to the south but had not formed closed forests, and the island
formed by the peak of Mont St. Hilaire probably had sparse shrub tundra vegetation with some
spruce trees. By 10,100 years BP the climate had improved considerably. Trees were more
abundant and of greater variety on Mont St. Hilaire and throughout southeastern Quebec giving
the landscape an open boreal forest character. To the north of the diminished Champlain Sea,
shrub vegetation prevailed.
A.S.
615. MOTT, R.J., T.W. ANDERSON, and J.V. MATTHEWS, Jr. 1982. Pollen macrofossil study of an
interglacial deposit in Nova Scotia. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 36(1-
2):197-208.
Pollen, plant macrofossil and arthropod (mainly beetle) remains from a 2-m exposure of peat
and organic clay, underlain by a gray till-like deposit and overlain by more than 20-m of red
till, from Milford Gypsum Quarry, East Milford, Nova Scotia were studied. The integrated
fossil evidence, combined with a radiocarbon date of >50,000 years B.P. (GSC-1642) on wood
(Larix sp.) from the organic sediments, leads to the conclusion that the latter part of
an interglacial interval, probably the Sangamon, is represented.
The latter part of this interglacial was dominated by a mixed hardwood forest (Fagus,
Ulnus, Acer, Quercus and Tilia) - attesting to a climate at least as warm as present
in the area. Climatic conditions then began to deteriorate and the hardwood forest was
replaced by a mixed forest (Betula became dominant), which in turn changed to a
coniferous forest (Picea sp. and Abies balsamea predominating). Other floras of
possible Sangamon age from northeastern North America are mentioned.
C.R.H.
616. MOTT, R.J., and M. CAMFIELD. 1969. Palynological studies in the Ottawa area.
Geological Survey of Canada Paper 69-38:1-16.
One large bog and five buried bog deposits were sampled in the Ottawa area. Radiocarbon
dates, obtained near the base of four of these sections, ranged from about 7,650 years B.P.
to roughly 8,830 years B.P.
Pollen analysis of samples from the six sites revealed four zones, Terasmae's zone IV being
the oldest. At only two of the sites were all four zones present; at the others, all or part
of some zone was missing.
A.A.
617. MOTT, R.J., and L.D. FARLEY-GILL. 1978. A late-Quaternary pollen profile from
Woodstock, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 15(7):1101-1111.
Maplehurst Lake, situated in a former interlobate zone that was deglaciated relatively early
compared to adjacent areas of southern Ontario, provides one of the more complete pollen
records for the region.
Five radiocarbon dates allow determination of sedimentation rates and hence pollen influx
rates. Both relative percentage and pollen influx values outline a vegetational history that
began prior to 12,000 years BP with a herb pollen zone representative of tundra conditions.
This was followed by invasion of spruce that culminated in a spruce woodland environment
which peaked about 11,200 years BP and then declined, to be replaced, beginning about 9500
years BP, by a closed mixed conifer-hardwood forest dominated by pine species. Hemlock
replaced pine as the most abundant coniferous species about 7200 years BP. Hardwoods
completely dominated the forest after 6400 years BP and beech, maple, oak, elm, and ash were
prominent, associated with a wide variety of other deciduous genera. The deciduous hardwood
forest prevailed without major change until recent times when the forests where largely
removed for agriculture. Ragweed, grasses, and other weed taxa indicative of agricultural
activity characterize the pollen spectra of this most recent interval. This sequence of
events parallels those found at sites throughout the Great Lakes region, New England, and
Maritime Canada and adds to the knowledge of migration rates, succession, chronology, and
climate of northeastern North America.
A.A.
618. MOTT, R.J., and L.E. JACKSON, Jr. 1982. An 18 000-year palynological record from the
southern Alberta segment of the classical Wisconsinan “Ice-free Corridor”.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 19(3):504-513.
Radiocarbon dates of 18 300 + 380 years BP (GSC-2668) and 18 400 + 1090
years BP (GSC-2670) on moss fragments from the clay near the base of a core from Chalmers
Bog, Alberta indicate that the classical Wisconsinan “Ice-free Corridor” was in existence in
the foothills of southern Alberta by this time. Palynological studies show sparse,
herbaceous, tundra-like vegetation probably prevailed at this time in the area surrounding
the small lake formed in the abandoned glacial spillway. Later, shrubs became more prominent
to form a shrub tundra environment. Sometime before 8220 years BP (GSC-2851) trees began to
invade the area and the Pinus contorta-dominated coniferous forest extant in the area
today began to form. Bog and fen vegetation invaded the shallow lake basin about this time
as well to form the bog that occupies the basin to the present day.
2512,
619. MOTT, R.J., and V.K. PREST. 1967. Stratigraphy and palynology of buried organic
deposits from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
4(4):709-724.
Pollen analysis of four non-glacial, sub-till deposits on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia,
yielded pollen assemblages indicative of climates cooler than the present in that area. New
radiocarbon dates from Hillsborough (>51 000 years), Bay St. Lawrence (>38 300), and
Whycocomagh (>44 000 years) place the deposition of these deposits in pre-classical Wisconsin
time. The Hillsborough and Whycocomagh deposits are considered to be time-equivalent based
on pollen analysis. A lack of distinct asseblages at Bay St. Lawrence and Benacadie
prohibits correlation with one another and with the Hillsborough and Whycocomagh beds.
Inferences drawn from the pollen flora and the stratigraphy indicate an early Wisconsin
interstadial age for these deposits rather than a Sangamon interglacial age. They are
tentatively correlated with the St. Pierre interstade in Quebec.
The climate during this interval is best indicated by the Hillsborough assemblages. Although
this site yields the longest record of the four, it does not necessarily represent the
complete interval. Generally, cool, wet conditions prevailed throughout, as indicated by
pollen assemblages dominated by Abies, Picea, Alnus and Betula. Minor
fluctuations are indicated by changes in the relative abundances of various genera, but at no
time did the climate become as warm as the present. Similarities with the present pollen
assemblages from Newfoundland and other areas of the Boreal Forest Region can be seen in the
Cape Breton Island assemblages.
AA
620. MUDIE, P.J. 1982. Pollen distribution in recent marine sediments, eastern Canada.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 19(4):729-747.
Analysis of 90 samples from coastal and continental shelf areas off eastern Canada betwen 42
and 69°N shows that Quaternary pollen and spores are present in recent marine muds throughout
this region. Pollen and spore concentrations range from 50 000 to 100 grains per cm? and
they decrease both offshore as a function of distance from vegetation sources and northwards
as a function of lower vegetation density north of the summer Arctic Frontal Zones.
Isopercentage contours show that maximum relative abundances of most palynomorphs occur in
marine sediments adjacent to their regions of highest vegetation representation onshore.
However, Pinus and Picea pollen tend to increase in percentage abundance with
distance offshore. Presence of these tree pollen in marine sediments off Baffin Island
implies that wind transport is an important pathway by which bisaccate pollen types enter the
ocean, in addition to fluvial transport.
Q-mode factor analysis shows that four major factors account for 89% of the variance among
the marine palynomorph samples, while two other factors (6% of the variance) apparently
reflect selective transport of Pinus pollen or local over-representation of Gramineae.
The major factor assemblages are: (1) Boreal Forest Assemblage, with high weightings of
Picea and maximum loadings adjacent to the boreal forest, 48-54°N; (2) Arctic Assemblage,
weighted by Rosaceae, Gramineae, and Cyperaceae, with maximum loadings off Baffin Island, 60-
69°N; (3) Mixed Forest Assemblage, weighted by Betula tree pollen, Picea glauca,
Pinus strobus, Tsuga, and temperate trees (e.g. Quercus, Acer), with maximum
loadings in the southeast, 42-48°N; (4) Subarctic Assemblage, with high weightings of
Sphagum, Alnus, and Lycopodium, and maximum loadings adjacent to forest-tundra
and low arctic tundra, 54-60°N. These regional marine pollen assemblages are empirically
related to contemporary climatic parameters, thus indicating the potential value of pollen
analysis for direct correlation between Quaternary paleoclimatic records onshore and in
marine areas bordering eastern Canada.
A.A.
621. MUDIE, P.J., and C.T. SCHAFER. 1976. Correlation and interpretation of palynological
assemblages in replicate cores of marine sediment from Georges Bay, Nova Scotia.
Maritime Sediments 12(3):100. (Abstract).
Two short, diver-retrieved cores from Georges Bay, 0.6 m long and spaced 4 m apart, were
studied to determine if the pollen records in this marine bay could be used to correlate
Recent terrestrial and marine paleoecological events. By applying a new palynormorph
processing technique, both pollen and dinocyst evidence of environmental changes could be
investigated. Arboreal pollen assemblages and weed pollen markers, including Ambrosia,
Rumex acetosella and Plantago lanceolata, consistently indicate a post-European
depositional history for the upper 30 cm of sediment. In contrast, pollen, cyst and
radiocarbon evidence suggests that the lower half of the cores record a history of
redistributed marine sediment that was originally deposited during a hypsithermal climatic
interval.
A.A.
622. MULLER, F. 1962. Analysis of some stratigraphic observations and radiocarbon dates
from two pingos in the Mackenzie Delta area, N.W.T. Arctic 15(4):278-288.
The Ibyuk Pingo is certainly considerably younger than the glacierization that produced the
glacial deposits in its cover of sediments. ... Sedimentation ceased less than 12,000 years
ago... It is estimated that this pingo is at the most 7,000 to 10,000 years old, i.e., of
late Wisconsin age. ... It is presumed that conditions during the Hypsithermal permitted the
continuance of aggradation of permafrost and thereby the growth of pingos.
The youngest layers of the covering sediments of the Sitiyok Pingo were deposited in a lake
or swamp about 6,000 years ago, that is, during the Hypsithermal. The formation of the
Sitiyok Pingo is therefore likely to have started with the marked general cooling of the
climate that followed the Hypsithermal time, i.e, about 4,000 years ago.
There is ample evidence for a glacierization of the Ibyuk area and the environs of
Tuktoyaktuk, but so far no such evidence has been found around the Sitiyok Pingo. In a brief
reconnaissance to the northeast of Tuktoyaktuk no glacial remnants were observed except for
one huge boulder near Toker Point, 20 km to the north of Sitiyok.
The glacial material contained in the sediment cover of the Ibyuk Pingo is certainly younger
than 285,000 = 2.000) years! and older than’ 125000 + 300 years: hth dis
estimated that the glacierization of the Mackenzie Delta area that produced the Ibyuk till
lasted from 25,000 B.P. to 15,000 B.P., being therefore late Wisconsin.
pA.C.
623. MULLER, F. 1964. Evidence of climatic fluctuations on Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian
Arctic Archipelago. McGill University, Montreal. 11 pp.
Reports detailed investigations 1959-1963 into the glaciology of the White, Thompson and Baby
Glaciers. Glacier mass budgets calculated over four consecutive years are tabulated and
diagrammed. From these and investigation of a deep firn profile, it is concluded that
conditions since 1930 have produced an overall loss of ice mass. The snout of Thompson
Glacier is advancing 20 m/yr due to accumulaton prior to this date. C-14 dating of willow
roots from moraine-outwash interface indicates an early 18th century glacial advance but peat
deposits show that this has not been more than 2 km in last 4000 yr. Datings of driftwood
indicate a climatic optimum 6000 BP. Some evidence was found to confirm the extensive
20,000-10,000 BP glacierization of Fyles and traces an even larger Wisconsin ice maximum. In
general, climatic fluctuations appear to have had a lesser amplitude than in temperate
latitudes.
234
624. NAIDU, A.S., T.C. MOWATT, D.B. HAWKINS, and D.W. HOOD. 1975. Clay mineralogy and
geochemistry of some Arctic Ocean sediments: significance on paleoclimate
interpretation. in: Climate of the Arctic. Edited by: G. Weller and
S.A. Bowling. 24th Alaskan Science Conference. pp. 59-67.
Clay mineral and chemical compositions of contemporary marine sediments of the Arctic were
analyzed by X-ray diffraction and atomic absorption spectrophotometry, respectively. The
clay mineral assemblage of the Arctic Ocean sediments do not substantiate the scheme of
latitudinal variations of clay minerals in world ocean sediments as suggested by some
authors. Thus, interpretation of paleoclimate on the basis of clay mineral assemblages in
ancient marine sediments must be made with extreme caution.
The Arctic Ocean deep-sea clays have a significant deficiency of Mn, Ca, Mg, Na, K, Rb, Co,
Cu, Zn and Ni, as compared with nonpolar deep-sea clays. In view of the possibility that the
difference in polar and nonpolar sediment chemistries may be related to regional differences
in several nonclimatic factors as well as to regional climate, geochemical criteria have
limited applicability as a paleoclimatic indicator. In the Asian-American Basin of the
Arctic Ocean, where the sedimentation rate and source apparently have remained unchanged and
the tectonic history has been stable over the Quaternary, it is tempting to surmise that in
that region the post-Tertiary stratigraphic differences in sediment chemistries do reflect
climatic variations.
A.A.
625. NAMBUDIRI, E.M.V., C.T. SHAY, and J.T. TELLER. 1979. Pollen stratigraphy of late
Pleistocene and Holocene sediments from Lake Manitoba, Canada. Geological Society
of America, Abstracts with Programs 11(5):253.
Pollen analyses of surface and deep core samples, recovered from Lake Manitoba, reveal the
vegetational changes during late Pleistocene and Holocene times. Basal sediments were
deposited in deep water near the western shores of Lake Agassiz. The late-glacial assemblage
is dominated by Picea and Pinus together with Cyperaceae, Artemisia,
Betula, and Chenopodiineae. Picea declines at about 10,000 BP while Pinus and
Gramineae increase.
Reconstruction of the vegetation from these assemblages in the lower part of the core is
complicated by very low pollen concentration and the presence of 60-80% pre-Quaternary
microfossils. Recognition of Aquilapollenites, Hystrichosphaeridium, acritarchs, and
dinoflagellates suggests a Cretaceous assemblage. This large influx is probably the result
of active glacial erosion of Cretaceous bedrock in the region and of wave erosion of the
extensive Cretaceous outcrops which formed the western lake margin during the early, Lake
Agassiz, phase. The presence of Cretaceous palynomorphs indicates that dead carbon was
incorporated into the sediment, and suggests that adjustments should be made to some 14¢
dates. The gradual decline and subsequent disappearance of the Cretaceous component
coincides with the retreat of Lake Agassiz which brought a more stable regional surface and a
higher Holocene pollen influx. The rise in Ambrosta pollen, indicative of the
inception of agricultural activity about 100 years ago, occurs at 35 cm in most cores.
A.A.
626. NAMIAS, J. 1981. Anatomy of Great Plains protracted heat waves. First Conference on
Climate Variations of the American Meteorological Society, January 19-23, San
Diego. Abstracts, p. 12.
Protracted heat waves and associated drought over the Great Plains of the United States, such
as occurred in the summer of 1980, are shown to be macroscale components of the hemispheric
general circulation. Major upper level strong anticyclones with associated subsidence
develop over the central North Atlantic, North Pacific and Southern Plains with intervening
troughs. This amplified circulation pattern, in phase with the normal summer flow pattern,
is not only seasonally forced but appears to be reinforced by: 1) interactions with sea
surface temperature anomalies, and 2) interactions with dry land through enhanced insolation,
high dust counts and radiative effects.
235
The above conclusions are drawn from analyses of some heat waves of the 1930s, the early
1950s and the most recent 1980 summer when the initial seat of generation was in and over the
North Pacific then spreading downstream to a receptive North America and North Atlantic.
A.A.
627. The Natural Environment of Newfoundland, Past and Present. Edited by: A.G. and J.B.
Macpherson. Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland,
St. John's. 265 pp. 1981.
The environment of Newfoundland (including Labrador) is the result of complex evolution and
has been subject to geographical change through time. Much of the province - its soil,
vegetation, wildlife, drainage, climate - has only taken shape during the last 10,000 years,
a period nearly coextensive with the presence of humans there. On the other hand, the land
surface, adjacent ocean, and bedrock reach back to early stages of the Earth's evolution.
This book consists of eight chapters dealing with the geological evolution, marine and
climatic environments, and the plants and animals of Newfoundland. Of these chapters, the
most important for this bibliography is J.B. Macpherson's "The Development of the Vegetation
of Newfoundland and Climatic Change during the Holocene", which is annotated separately.
C.R.H.
628. WEAVE, K.G., A.S. JUDGE, J.A. HUNTER, and H.A. MACAULAY. 1978. Offshore permafrost
distribution in the Beaufort Sea as determined from temperature and seismic
observations. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 78-1C:13-18.
Ice-bonded sediments are found over much of the Beaufort Sea continental shelf but are absent
from most parts of Mackenzie Bay. They reflect Pleistocene climatic conditions which
resulted in the growth of permafrost to depths of 600 m or more. The study made use of oil
industry reflection records to determine the distribution of these sediments.
A.A.
629. NELSON, A.R. 1978. Aminostratigraphy of marine and glaciomarine Quaternary sediments,
Qivitu Peninsula, northern Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island. American
Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts 5:226.
Unconsolidated cliff sediments along the outer coast of the Qivitu Peninsula record a series
of transgressions and regressions due to isostatic and eustatic sea level fluctuations. All
major lithologic units are of marine or glaciomarine origin, suggesting that high relative
sea levels coincided with extensive advances of the glaciers in the fiords bordering the
peninsula. Amino acid ratios on fossil shells provide stratigraphic control. Although many
samples are reworked with fragments of mixed ages, the frequency distribution of free and
combined allo/iso ratios can be used to define local “aminozones” which mark periods of high
relative sea level when molluscs were relatively abundant. Statistical analysis of
lithofacies in 54 stratigraphic sections supports the identification of four marine-
glaciomarine-marine cycles in the cliff sediments. A fifth youngest cycle, cl4 dated at
prior to 10,000 BP, lacks a glaciomarine facies suggesting very limited ice extent during the
late Foxe Glaciation. Based on subarctic molluscan faunas, the uppermost units in each cycle
were deposited by subarctic water masses which extended farther north along the Baffin coast
during periods of isostatic depression than today. High Betula pollen percentages
(20%) in peats overlying subarctic marine deposits suggest the climate may have been warmer
than present following the regression of relative sea level at the end of some cycles.
Interpretation of allo/iso ratios suggests aminozones corresponding with the two oldest
lithologic cycles pre-date the last interglacial.
236
630. NELSON, A.R. 1978. Stratigraphic evidence of ice extent during the last glaciation on
Qivitu Peninsula, eastern Baffin Island. Geological Society of America, Abstracts
with Programs 10(7):462.
Regional glacio-isostatic movements and fluctuating eustatic sea level during the last
glaciation (Foxe Glaciation) have left a series of marine terraces at 15, 25, 40, 70, and 85
masl on the Qivitu Peninsula, northern Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island. Moraines and
glaciomarine deltas contemporaneous with the higher terraces are found along the fiords on
either side of the peninsula, but the relative age of these features cannot be determined
using surface weathering and soil profile data. Sediments exposed in coastal cliffs along
the peninsula record transgressions and regressions associated with these and earlier changes
of relative sea level. All major lithologic units are of marine or glaciomarine origin,
suggesting that high relative sea levels coincided with extensive advances of the glaciers in
the fiords. Subarctic molluscs in raised marine deposits indicate that subarctic water
extended farther north along the Baffin coast during periods of isostatic depression than at
present.
Amino acid ratios on shell material in both marine and glaciomarine units provide detailed
stratigraphic control and allow correlations with fossiliferous glaciomarine deltas.
Although many shell fragments are reworked, the frequency distribution of free and combined
allo/iso ratios can be used to define local "“aminozones" which mark periods of high relative
sea level when molluscs were abundant. Statistical analysis of lithofacies in 54
stratigraphic sections supports the identification of four marine-glaciomarine-marine cycles
in the cliff sediments. Estimated maximum rates for isoleucine epimerization, cl4 and U-
series dates, and biostratigraphic evidence suggest the two younger cycles and their
corresponding aminozones are of Foxe age. The lack of glaciomarine facies in a younger fifth
cycle suggests restricted ice extent during the late Foxe Glaciation.
A.A.
631. NELSON, A.R. 1982. Aminostratigraphy of Quaternary marine and glaciomarine sediments,
Qivitu Peninsula, Baffin Island. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 19(5):945-961.
A complex sequence of cyclical marine and glaciomarine lithofacies exposed along the coastal
lowlands of the Qivitu Peninsula was deposited during the marine transgressions and
regressions that affected this area during repeated glaciation of the region. Multivariate
analysis of amino acid ratios measured on shell fragments of the pelecypods Htatella
arctica and Mya truncata in the lithostratigraphic units provides a basis for their
chronocorrelation through the use of informal regional aminostratigraphic units termed
aminozones. All but the oldest aminozones correspond with particular lithostratigraphic
units deposited during transgressive-regressive periods when relative sea level was higher
than present sea level. Discriminant analysis shows total amino acid fraction allo/iso
ratios from either species are the best overall criteria for assigning a shell sample to a
particular aminozone, but free fraction allo/iso ratios are more useful in the younger zones.
The distribution of ratios in lithostratigraphic units indicates a large proportion of shell
fragments is reworked.
Interpretation of all l4c, uranium-series, paleomagnetic, and amino acid data from eastern
Baffin Island suggest aminozone 1 is <ll 000 years BP, aminozone 2 is 770 000
years BP, aminozone 3 is 790 O00 years BP, and aminozone 4 is 7190 O00 years BP.
The extent of isoleucine epimerization in shell samples indicates some aminozones may be of
early or pre-Quaternary age.
A.A.
632. NICHOLS, H. 1967. The post-glacial history of vegetation and climate at Ennadai Lake,
Keewatin, and Lynn Lake, Manitoba (Canada). Eiszeitalter und Gegenwart 18:176-197.
Peat from Keewatin and Manitoba contained macrofossil and palynological evidence of former
latitudinal movements of the forest-tundra boundary probably in response to the changing
—
location of the mean summer position of the Arctic front. There was very rapid melting of
the large late-Wisconsin icesheet between 8000 and 6000 years B.P., and swift immigration
of Picea, with no evidence of tundra vegetation after deglaciation. From 6000 to 3500
years B.P. the Boreal forest extended far north of its present limit, with a short-lived
cooler phase about 5000 years ago. This generally warm period was followed by cooler and
variable climatic episodes after 3500 B.P. and by a climatic deterioration about 2600 years
ago. There was an amelioration between 1500 and 600 B.P., followed by a prolonged cold
episode which terminated peat growth in the tundra. The approximate mean summer temperatures
at Ennadai Lake have been estimated from the changing location of the northern limit of
forest. The radio-carbon dates for these climatic events coincide with a number of changes
recorded in the climatic history of northwest Europe.
633. NICHOLS, H. 1967. Central Canadian palynology and its relevance to northwestern Europe
in the late Quaternary period. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 2(1-4):231-
243.
Analyses of fossil pollen grains and macroscopic plant remains have been made of peat from
Keewatin and Manitoba in central Canada, at sites in the tundra and at the northern edge of
the Boreal forest. Organic accumulation began immediately after very rapid deglaciation of
the region between 8,000 and 6,500 years ago, when Picea forest swiftly colonized the
bare ground. There is no evidence for establishment of tundra vegetation after the ice
retreat.
There is evidence from pollen analysis, plant macrofossils and fossil soils that the forest
extended north of its present range by about 300 km from 6,000 to 3,500 years B.P. Movements
of the forest limit have been interpreted as reflecting climatic change, and in particular
the latitudinal movement of the Arctic airmass in summer (which is considered to determine
the northern limit of tree growth in central Canada).
Several radiocarbon determinations which have been made of the age of significant horizons in
the pollen diagrams show that the inferred climatic changes were synchronous with those
experienced by northwestern Europe during the last 6,000 years. The changes in this area
also seem to have paralleled those of northern Europe, and this is explained by analogy with
the modern pattern of Northern Hemispheric general circulation.
Because of the global nature of circulation patterns it is to be expected that the timing of
climatic changes should be the same throughout the world, but not that the change should be
in the same direction in all regions. The synchroneity and parallelism mentioned above make
it worthwhile to employ palynological evidence from central Canada (relatively undisturbed by
human activity) to investigate climatic changes in northern Europe, where the fossil-pollen
record for the past 5,000 years has been affected by anthropogenic factors.
A.S.
634. NICHOLS, 4H. 1967. Pollen diagrams from sub-Arctic central Canada. Science
155(3770) :1665-1668.
Peat from Keewatin and Manitoba contained macrofossil and palynological evidence of former
latitudinal movements of the forest-tundra boundary in response to the changing location of
the mean summer position of the Arctic front. Radiocarbon dating demonstrates the
synchroneity of these climatic changes with those registered in northwest Europe during the
past 6000 years.
635. NICHOLS, H. 1968. Pollen analysis, paleotemperatures, and the summer position of the
arctic front in the Post-Glacial history of Keewatin, Canada. American
Meteorological Society Bulletin 49(4):387-388.
Work is based on the interpretation of soil stratigraphy, the identification of plant
macrofossils, the dating of stratified organic materials by radiocarbon assay, and the
analysis of fossil pollen and spores.
"The past changes in the forest limit are believed to have been primarily a response to
alterations in summer climate, and in particular to shifts in the mean position of the arctic
front in summer, a phenomenon which divides relatively cold dry arctic air to the north
(characteristic of the tundra) from warmer moister air of tropical or Pacific origin to the
south (associated with the Boreal Forest).”
A tentative reconstruction of the former location of the northern limit of continuous forest
along the meridian 100°W in central Canada is presented, and from this is derived estimated
changes in mean July temperatures at Ennadai Lake, Keewatin.
L.G.
636. NICHOLS, H. 1968. Palynological contributions to the study of the late-Quaternary
climate of northern Canada. Etudes sur le Quaternaire dans le Monde. Vol. 1,
Paris, VII INQUA Congress. pp. 209-215.
The climatic history which has emerged from this study is as follows: a cold period followed
3,400 BP with maximum severity at 2,100 BP or a little before; then a warmer period occurred
which culminated about 900 BP, and a subsequent dry, cold phase stopped peat growth in this
area.
From 6,800 to 3,200 BP the Boreal spruce forest extended generally north of its present
location reflecting a warm, wet climate at the site [Pelly Lake, northern Keewatin, Canada];
from 3,200 to 1,800 BP the forest limit retreated south exposing the site to tundra
vegetation as a result of a colder, drier climate.
NVARE
637. NICHOLS, H. 1969. Chronology of peat growth in Canada. Palaeogeography, Palaeo-
climatology, Palaeoecology 6(1):61-65.
Published and unpublished radiocarbon dates from immediately above the unconformable mineral
bases of ombrogenous peat bogs are compared with the climatic history of Canada during the
last 4,000 years. Most of the determinations group around a few periods of established
climatic deterioration (such as 3,500 and 2,400 B.P.) which suggests that large tracts of
Canadian peat originated almost simultaneously under the stimulus of climatic change.
A.S.
638. NICHOLS, H. 1969. The late Quaternary history of vegetation and climate at Porcupine
Mountain and Clearwater Bog, Manitoba. Arctic and Alpine Research 1(3):155-167.
Radiocarbon-dated pollen diagrams from two sites in the southern Boreal forest of Canada have
reflected aspects at the local and regional environments since 6,700 and 1,000 BP,
respectively. Spruce forest near Porcupine Mountain was replaced by grassland ca. 6,/00 BP,
with a maximum of prairie taxa occurring just before 5,140 BP and a short-lived reduction of
grass and herb pollen shortly after that date. The grassland episode ended at 4,200 BP when
spruce forest dominated Porcupine Mountain. The site experienced very rapid Sphagnum
peat growth and increased sporogenesis after 2,450 BP.
239
A tentative climatic interpretation is supplied which suggests that 6,700 to 4,200 BP
experienced generally dry, warm summers, with a maximum of this effect just prior to 5,140 BP
and a cooler spell following; after 4,200 BP the summer climate was cooler and moister,
especially from 2,450 to 2,000 BP. The possibility of a regional increase in soil erosion
and sheet flooding prior to 6,700 BP is examined.
Clearwater Bog is underlain by a spruce forest horizon dated 1,200 BP which was established
at a time of reduced water level in Clearwater Lake; the Picea timbers were overlain by
very humified peat dated 900 BP. Unhumified Sphagnum peat later formed and continued
to the modern bog surface. The climatic interpretation is that the summer climate was warm
and dry at 1,200 and 900 BP, and that cooler, wetter summers characterized the period since
then to the present day.
The suggested climatic sequences are synchronous at many points with the scheme previously
developed for southern Keewatin and northern Manitoba, and some of the vegetational changes
are provisionally interpreted as the movement of the southern limit of the Keewatin forest-
tundra boundary described earlier. This correlation encourages comparison with other sites
in the Northern Hemisphere.
A.A.
639. NICHOLS, H. 1970. Late Quaternary pollen diagrams from the Canadian Arctic barren
grounds at Pelly Lake, northern Keewatin, N.W.T. Arctic and Alpine Research
2(1):43-61.
Two peat monoliths were recovered from the high arctic tundra, now too dry and cold to permit
peat growth, near Pelly Lake (66°N, 101°W). The organic materials began to accumulate at
3,400 and 1,100 BP respectively, and both ceased shortly after 900 BP. Absolute pollen
counts, based on numbers of pollen grains per gram (oven-dry weight), revealed parallel
changes in representation of Pinus and Picea pollen which were windblown into the
tundra from the Boreal conifer forest 400 to 500 km to the south and west. The absolute
numbers of pine and spruce pollen declined after 3,360 + 70 BP to joint minima at
about, 2,080. + (60 BP, then, rose, and culminated dn, joint \maxima, ati 900%
75 BP, and then decreased. These variations in Pinus and Picea counts were
probably due to the previously established quasi-latitudinal movements of the forest-tundra
ecotone described from Ennadai Lake (500 km south), with which they were synchronous and
parallel. The local tundra taxa provided little palynological evidence of climatic changes.
The suggested climatic history is that a period of cold summers followed 3,400 BP, with an
episode of maximum severity at ca. 2,100 BP, then a period of warmer summers occurred which
culminated about 900 BP, and a subsequent cold dry phase, which extended to the present,
stopped peat growth in this area. The Pinus and Ptcea maxima coincided with the
shortlived growth of (a, local’ peat bank from 1,060) 55 0 940 5.60), BP
which was synchronous with the Scandinavian exploration and colonization of the North
Atlantic.
A.A.
640. NICHOLS, H. 1972. Summary of the palynological evidence for late-Quaternary vegetation
and climatic change in the central and eastern Canadian Arctic. Climatic Changes
in Arctic Areas During the Last Ten-Thousand Years. Edited by: Y. Vasari,
H. Hyvarinen and S. Hicks. Acta Universitatis Ouluensis Series A, Scientiae Rerum
Naturalium 3, Geologica 1:309-338.
The author has inferred climatic conditions based on Holocene palynological records from
several sites in the Canadian Arctic: Colville Lake, MacAlpine Lake, Pelly Lake, Ennadai
Lake, Axel Heiberg Island, Sugluk and Bathurst Inlet. These sequences show many similarities
in the timing and direction of climatic change despite variations in climatic sensitivity.
Evidently large sections of the forest-tundra ecotones underwent synchronous, quasi-
latitudinal shifts in response to late Quaternary climatic changes.
C.R.H.
240
641. NICHOLS, H. 1974. Arctic North American paleoecology: the recent history of
vegetation and climate deduced from pollen analysis. in: Arctic and Alpine
Environments. Edited by: J.D. Ives and R.G. Barry. Methuen, London. pp. 637-
667.
Pre-6000 BP: Relatively warm climates (warmer than present) are indicated by spruce forest
northern range extensions, rapid peat growth at Colville Lake, and extremely quick melting of
the Late Wisconsin ice sheet in the Ennadai Lake area.
6000-5000 BP: A warmer climate continued throughout this period. The northward extension in
Quebec of white pine by almost 100 km implied a wetter, cooler peat-forming episode followed
5000 BP.
5000-3500 BP: A climatic cooling in the Canadian Arctic is suggested by glacial advances and
evidence of treeline lowering. A recovery to a warmer climate occurred some centuries later,
beginning at Ennadai Lake at c 4500 BP and continuing to 3500 BP, with estimated summer
temperatures c 3°C above modern values.
3500 or 3300-2000 BP: Arctic climates cooled, in a regular decline, until c 2500 or ec 2200
BP. An episode of severely cold climate, maximum severity c 2100 BP, saw the widespread
southern extension of tundra.
2000 BP - Present: By 2000 BP recovery from the severe climatic cooling had begun. Summer
temperatures at Ennadai Lake were estimated to be c 1.5°C above present; a maximum of summer
warmth occurred c 1000 BP at Pelly Lake. Colder summers followed 900 BP. A widespread
cessation of peat growth at Pelly Lake (900 BP), Ennadai (630 BP) and Sugluk (670 BP) was the
result of colder, drier summers. Peat growth has not resumed at any site.
The author believes it is possible to argue that the Late Quaternary climatic histories of
the Alaskan and Canadian arctic sites summarized here exhibit a common timing and direction
of climatic change comparable to those seen in Greenland and northern Europe and northern
Russia.
A.B.S.
642. NICHOLS, H. 1975. Holocene tree-line fluctuations and climatic changes in Mackenzie
and Keewatin territories, Canada. Quaternary Non-marine Paleoecology Conference,
University of Waterloo, Waterloo. Program and Abstracts.
Eight pollen diagrams were obtained from five sites in subarctic Canada near modern tree-
line, along an east-west ecotonal line 1300 km long. “Absolute” pollen analyses, peat
stratigraphy and wood macrofossils clarify previous evidence of climatically-induced
subarctic tree-line movements during mid- to late-Holocene times.
The major climatic events registered at all the sites were synchronous and parallel, though
continental interior forest movements were greater than in northwest Canada. Summers were
substantially warmer than now from 6800 to 3000 BP, with tree-growth up to 400 km north of
modern forest, resulting from mean summer temperatures 4°C higher than now. At 5000 BP there
was minor warming, followed by summer cooling at 4800-4400 BP. Warming followed and peaked
about 3900 BP, and then fires affected the forest until about 3000 BP. A major fire episode
was universally recorded at 3600-3500 BP, resulting from climatic change. Prolonged colder
summers after 3000 BP forced forest retreat and tundra expansion, with further cooling at
2500 BP. Maximum cooling occurred at 2200-2100 BP. There was some summer temperature
recovery by 1900 BP, more strongly marked by 1500 BP. Some warming around 1100 BP was
followed by very cold dry summers from 700 BP to present.
Revised versions of published Holocene tree-line movements and extrapolated summer paleo-
temperature reconstructions are presented.
A.A.
il :
Ed. note: In fact, these are Districts of the Northwest Territories.
241
643. NICHOLS, H. 1975. Palynological and paleoclimatic study of the late Quaternary
displacements of the boreal forest-tundra ecotone in Keewatin and Mackenzie,
N.W.T., Canada. Arctic and Alpine Research Occasional Paper 15:1-87.
A series of six pollen diagrams was prepared from peat profiles from four sites along the
Canadian boreal forest-trundra ecotone to detect ecotonal displacements due to climatic
changes. Two additional short profiles from the High Arctic tundra were prepared to examine
the sensitivity of such analyses to influx of exotic forest pollen due to paleowind shifts
and forest displacements. Bryson's (1966) hypothesis of the control of the northern forest
by the mean summer position of the Arctic Front was used throughout.
The broad outline of the climatic changes is as follows:
The oldest sediments dated back to 6200 BP in an area deglaciated about 8000 BP (Bryson et
al., 1969) and represented a spruce forest environment substantially warmer in summer than
now. This hypsithermal warmth continued until 4800 BP, with possible evidence of cooling at
5600 to 5500 BP and a maximum of summer warmth from 5300/5200 BP to 4800 BP.
A cold summer episode from 4800 BP for several centuries expanded tundra almost down to its
modern limit, and recovery took place between 4500 and 4250 BP, depending on lag in plant
colonization. At 4200 BP there was a brief cooling followed by a peak of summer warmth
around 4000 to 3900 BP. From about 4000 to 3000 BP there were frequent forest fires
throughout the northern forest. The forest was able to recover from these until 3500 BP when
widespread and broadly synchronous fires swept the ecotone from one end to the other over a
period of 100 or 200 years. This was due to summer expansion of cold dry arctic air masses
over the northern forest, which then changed to tundra until 3300 BP. By 3200 BP some
woodland regeneration registered milder summers, but by 3000 BP tundra expanded southwards in
a prolonged episode of colder summers. Further cooling at 2500 BP forced another southward
ecotonal retreat and damaged the tundra plant cover so that windblown sand was incorporated
in peat. Maximum cooling occurred at 2200 to 2100 BP. When warming followed, vegetational
recovery was registered at several dates between 2000 and 1500 BP, due probably to plant
migrational lag. Brief cooling occurred at 1400 BP. Warming around 1200 to 1000 BP allowed
a minor woodland advance, followed by a major cooling after 800 to 600 BP which caused a
major forest retreat. Many peat profiles ceased growth and have not regenerated since. Some
minor warming may have been registered within the last 150 years at a minority of sites.
A survey of eight ecotonal pollen diagrams spanning 1400 km east-west from the west short of
Hudson Bay to beyond Great Bear Lake demonstrates clear synchrony and parallelism in the
movement of this boundary in response to climatic changes over at least the last 6000 14c
years. There is some preliminary evidence which may indicate a greater amplitude of Holocene
ecotonal displacement in the continental interior of Keewatin and Mackenzie than in northwest
Canada, possibly 400 km as compared to about 250 km. This was presumably due in the
northwest to the diminished movement in the upper atmospheric ridge due to compression
between the Cordillera and cold Arctic Ocean. This may imply that the Canadian northwest was
less sensitive to paleoenvironmental change than the continental interior.
An apparently normal aspect of the stability of this forest ecosystem was the instability of
fairly frequent major fires at intervals of one to two centuries, from which the forest
recovered usually within fifty years during the long episodes of favourable climate. It is
tentatively deduced from the pollen diagrams that sizable areas of open woodland (e.g., north
of Great Bear Lake) may be out of equilibrium with the modern climate and may be overdue for
a major fire, after which the trees might be replaced by shrub-tundra.
A schematic reconstruction is presented of the changes in ecotonal location and the deduced
summer paleotemperatures, which broadly supports earlier tentative findings (Nichols, 1967a,
1967b).
pA.S.
242
644. NICHOLS, H. 1976. Climatic variability and recent cooling in northern Canada during
the present interglacial. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs
8(6):1028.
Analogs for climatic changes at the end of the last interglacial may be sought in climatic
interpretations of the Holocene vegetational history of northern Canada, in regions where the
last glaciation began. Maximum sensitivity to Holocene climatic changes was found at the
forest-tundra boundary, controlled by the summer limit of the arctic airmass. Summer
paleotemperature schemes derived from the ecotonal displacements include numerous climatic
alterations, with many sharp, short outbreaks of arctic air, even interrupting the
hypsithermal warmth by mean summer temperature reductions of 3°C; these coolings were
apparently step-like, and progressively pushed the tree-line south in the last 3500 years.
Parallel changes affected a few sites at the southern forest edge at the same time, implying
wholesale southward displacement of the Boreal forest southwards in the late Holocene.
Equivalent ecotonal shifts should be detectable in late Sangamon sediments, and should
provide a perspective on the parallels between the hypothermal episodes of the two
interglacials. Long-distance transport of windblown pollen as a direct response to Holocene
meteorological changes is being used to test these schemes derived from tree-line shifts, and
this approach may be applicable to Sangamon sediments.
A.A.
645. NICHOLS, H. 1976. In or out of phase Holocene climatic changes in the Canadian Arctic
based on palynology. American Quaternary Association, Abstracts 4:113.
The modern relationship between the Canadian forest-tundra boundary and summer climatic
parameters makes the history of this ecotone a useful indicator of past climatic status over
much of northern North America. Palynological studies of Holocene tree line displacements
between west Hudson Bay and Great Bear Lake demonstrate synchronous and climatically uniform
behaviour (Nichols, 1975), while data from east Hudson Bay and Mackenzie Delta have been
previously interpreted out of phase or in antiphase. Reinterpretations of these latter data
now show uniform tree line responses across a very large area of the north. There are more
than two dozen pollen diagrams by several workers spanning 5000 km east-west which form a
framework for regional paleoclimate. This evidence comes from palynological, macrofossil and
stratigraphic studies of tree line displacement, and of long-distance windblown tree pollen
in tundra sediments, and is supported by parallel evidence from fossil soil studies (Sorenson
and Knox, 1973). This large body of data can be linked by a common climatic theme, with
local variations due to local plant succession, soil development, etc., but climatic change
is clearly the underlying forcing function.
The climatic scheme is summarized: 6500 BP - 4800 BP warmer summers than modern, maximum
warmth 5300 - 4800; 4800 -— 4600 cold; 4600 - 3600 warm; 3600 - 3000 cold, then warm; 3000 -
2000 cold, especially 2500 - 2100; 2000 - 800 minor warming; 800 - O BP cold, with recent
warming. This is similar to that proposed for northern New England (Bradstreet and Davis,
1975). All northern Canadian pollen diagrams seem to fall into this broad pattern except for
a few insensitive sites: exceptions are solicited.
A.A.
646. NICHOLS, H. 1976. Historical aspects of the northern Canadian tree line. Arctic
29(1):38-47.
From palynological studies it appears that northernmost dwarf spruces of the tundra and part
of the forest-tundra boundary may be relics from times of prior warmth, and if felled might
not regenerate. This disequilibrium may help explain the partial incongruence of modern
climatic limits with the present forest edge. Seedlings established as a result of recent
warming should therefore be found within the northernmost woodlands rather than in the
southern tundra.
243
647. NICHOLS, H. 1978. The INSTAAR Program of paleo-environmental research in the eastern
Canadian Arctic. American Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts
5:227-229.
This study involves a team effort to collect, analyze and interpret paleo-environmental data
from two regions of north-eastern Canada which apparently formed “trigger areas" for past
glacial inception (Labrador-Ungava and Baffin Island), and may be implicated in future
glaciations. These areas are being used to test the wider applicability of the Holocene
paleo-climatic scheme previously derived from arctic tree-line movements throughout the
Northwest Territories west of Hudson Bay.
(The various studies and their methodologies are reviewed.)
Fossil pollen diagrams have been prepared from lake sediments from the northern Labrador
woodlands (Short and Nichols, 1977) reaching back to 9-10,000 BP, and further diagrams are in
preparation, selected from a score of available lake and peat cores. Initial interpretations
of “absolute” counts suggest mid-and-late Holocene sequences of climatic history similar to
those we reported west of Hudson Bay, but with tundra episodes in earlier Holocene time which
contrast with the forested periods in north-west Canada. The simple equation of tundra
vegetation with cold climate may however, in this case, obscure the possibility that the
climate was sufficiently warm to support woodland, but that the arrival of trees was greatly
delayed in migrational response to early Holocene warmth; substantial long-distance influx of
tree pollen during the tundra episode (probably due to warm southerly winds) supports this
notion (Short and Nichols, 1977, and P. Mudie, p.c.). The early Holocene vegetational
contrasts between eastern and western sub-arctic Canada may thus be more apparent than real
in their climatic implications.
Trace amounts of wind-blown exotic tree pollen in high-arctic tundra sediments of Baffin
Island have proved useful in deducing precise paleo-wind directions based on pollen ratios;
the warmest episodes were associated with forest pollen carried into eastern Baffin Island by
due south winds (Nichols, Kelly and Andrews, 1978).
Modern pollen production, seed viability, and tree regeneration at tree-line are being
examined in comparative studies in Keewatin and Labrador-Ungava by D.L. Elliott, to aid
comprehension of tree pollen influx into the tundra. Initial data support the hypothesis
(derived from historical palynology) that isolated stands of trees in the tundra and the
northern-most woodland fringes resulted from previous warmer episodes and are not in
equilibrium with modern climate.
pA.A.
648. NICHOLS, H., P.M. KELLY, and J.T. ANDREWS. 1978. Holocene palaeo-wind evidence from
palynology in Baffin Island. Nature 273(5658):140-142.
The authors report that “traces of exotic pollen in late Holocene sediments from Baffin
Island can be used as palaeo-wind indicators, and may be associated with periodic shifts of a
trough in the atmosphere”. The pollen grains examined are from peats from Cumberland
Peninsula, a region affected by changes in trough positions, where it is possible to
determine quite precisely the source, and thus the direction, of growing-season paleo-wind.
There is a possibility of periodicity in these southerly paleo-winds.
L.G.
649. NIELSON, E. 1974, A mid-Wisconsinan glacio-marine deposit from Nova Scotia. In:
Quaternary Environments: Proceedings of a Symposium. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney.
First York University Symposium on Quaternary Research. Geographical Monographs
No. 5: 59-60.
The presence of the extinct gastropod Atractodon stonei (Pilsbry) in the marine deposit
at Salmon River, Nova Scotia convinced earlier workers that the deposit should be assigned to
244
the Sangamon Interglacial in spite of two finite cl4 dates averaging 38,600 +
1,300 yr BP. No reason can be found for believing that the Cl4 dates are erroneous; nor is
it clear why Atractodon stonei (Pilsbry) is considered to have become extinct during the
Sangamon. However the two conclusions are incompatible.
The sections comprise a lower till, designated A, overlain by gray fossiliferous sand and
oxidized brown fossiliferous sand - collectively named the Salmon River beds - and three
overlying tills B,C, and D. Ice rafted granules, pebbles, cobbles and boulders are common
throughout the Salmon River beds.
Studies of fabric and the presence of thin, well sorted, horizontally deposited sand layers
in the bottom meter or so of till B suggest that part of till B was deposited in a proglacial
lake and marine embayment. The upper part of till B and all of till C and D were deposited
on land.
The Salmon River beds and till B represent a continuous depositional sequence from glacio-
marine, to water deposited till, to terrestrial till. This sedimentary sequence was
apparently produced by a calving ice shelf supplying ice-rafted material to a sandy, shallow
marine environment followed by advance of ice into the sea with sea level lowering (probably
eustatic). Fauna from the marine beds indicate water temperatures warmer than around Nova
Scotia today. If the northern edge of the Gulf Stream was closer to Nova Scotia when the
Salmon River beds were deposited it would have been possible for a warm-water fauna to live
close to a calving ice shelf.
The top of the Salmon River beds is at approximately +6 m and the faunal evidence suggests
deposition in approximately 10 m of water. If their age is Mid-Wisconsinan, and sea level
was at -25 m , the total post-Salmon River bed rise of the land must have been approximately
41 m. The glacier advance that deposited till A prior to 38,600 yr BP is inferred to have
been extensive enough to cause at least this amount of glacio-isostatic down-warping before
deposition of the Salmon River beds.
The study establishes: (1) Nova Scotia as being ice free for part of the Mid-Wisconsinan,
(2) a possible mechanism for creating a unique glacio-marine environment at the ice margin in
south-western Nova Scotia for part of the Mid-Wisconsinan, and (3) an important marker in the
Nova Scotian till stratigraphy.
A.A.
650. NUIT, D.C. 1959. Recent study of gases in glacier ice. Polar Notes 1:57-65.
The author reviews several studies investigating gases in glacier ice. These studies have
been predominantly from Greenland and Antarctica. He concludes that “by application of the
new techniques now available the study of gas inclusions in glacier ice can provide useful
information about past atmospheric composition and climatic conditions as well as for the
interpretation of glaciological and related phenomena.”
A.B.S.
651. OCCHIETTI, S. 1978. Lithology, stratigraphy, paleogeography and chronology of the
St. Narcisse morainic system. Geological Society of America, Abstracts with
Programs 10(7):465.
The St. Narcisse morainic system, approximately 550 km long, indicates an irregular pattern
of retreat at the margin of the Laurentide ice-sheet. It varies from a short readvance in
the easternmost part to accumulations of outwash and ice-contact deposits at the westernmost
one. The setting of the moraine, inland on the Mt. Tremblant and the Parc des Laurentides
Highlands, suggest strongly a topographically controlled ice margin. About 30% of the known
length of the moraine was built in contact with the Champlain and Goldthwait seas. It has
not been demonstrated that the different segments are of the same age. The moderate width of
the morainic ridges implies a relatively short period of reactivation of the ice. The
average age is estimated to be 10,800 + 200 BP, taking into account: (1) the
245
contradictory 14¢ ages of marine shells and organic matter; (2) the chronological scale
derived from the regional deglaciation patterns and (3) the rates of isostatic rebound. The
St. Narcisse morainic system is tentatively correlated with Sands Sturgeon, Brador and Ten
Mile Lake moraines. It has some common characteristics with the Scandinavian moraines of the
Dryas III time. Apparently, the system is the result of a large scale response of the
southern margin of the Laurentide ice-sheet to (1) the world wide cooling of Dryas III and
(2) a reequilibration of the ice profile after strong wastage of the ice into the post-
glacial seas.
A.A.
652. OCCHIETTI, S., and C. HILLAIRE-MARCEL. 1977. Chronologie 14C des événements paléo-
géographiques du Québec depuis 14 000 ans. Géographie physique et Quaternaire
31(1-2):123-133.
A distribution curve of dates on post-glacial marine shells in Eastern Canada was compiled
taking into account laboratory error. Most of the variations identified on this curve may be
qualitative indicators of secondary climatic fluctuations. Positive values would be related
to climatic warming and to rises of mean sea level greater than or equal to isostatic
rebound; negative values would indicate a relative lowering of shorelines in relation to the
uplifting land and also represent different steps in the deglaciation. Fluctuations in the
curve are correlated with paleogeographic events already identified in Quebec and elsewhere.
The curve therefore provides a chronological frame of reference, with its limits. The curve
shows some major disparities in relation to calendar years. Each date is subject to the
limits of the 14C method and to variables modifying initial 14 composition of marine
organisms. Therefore the proposed time scale of the chronological frame of reference is
divided up into "l4C cold water marine shell” years. Statistical validity is assured because
of the large number of uniformly analyzed radiocarbon dates. Paleogeographic relevance can
be seen from the persistence of the same modes from one postglacial sea to the other and by
good chronological correlations with the events of the Great Lakes area.
653. OGDEN, J.G., III. 1960. Recurrence surfaces and pollen stratigraphy of a postglacial
raised bog, Kings County, Nova Scotia. American Journal of Science 258(5):341-
353.
Pollen analysis of a core from a postglacial raised bog at the head of the Annapolis River
Valley, Kings County, Nova Scotia has revealed the presence of five periods of peat growth.
These periods of peat growth are recognized by the occurrence of light-colored waxy
Sphagnum peat overlying a dark-colored humified Sphagnum peat. The stratigraphy and
microfossil content of the light- and dark-colored peat layers are closely similar to those
of European raised bogs. Recurrence surfaces in Europe have been dated by pollen
stratigraphy, archeology, and by radiocarbon methods. Many recurrence surfaces have been
found to be approximately the same age over wide areas. Periods of peat growth (as shown by
the development of lighter-colored less humified peats) have been shown to correspond with
periods of increased atmospheric moisture.
Testaceous rhizopods in the light-colored peat layers of Caribou Bog confirm the similarity
of the recurrence surfaces of this bog with those of western Europe and Scandinavia.
Chronologic equivalence of the Caribou recurrence surfaces with those of western Europe and
Scandinavia can not be established from this study.
Alkali-extracts of the peat (see Overbeck, 1952) have been used to characterize the sediment
color differences above and below the recurrence surface horizons. A simpler technique,
based on sieved fractions of the sediment is satisfactory and less time-consuming for
describing differences in sediment color density.
The pollen stratigraphy of core CAR-l resembles the pollen sequence described by Auer (1930)
from the same bog. Correlation of the Caribou Bog sequence with data from Gillis Lake on
Cape Breton Island (Livingstone & Livingstone, 1958) and from Aroostook County, Maine
(Deevey, 1951) is also discussed. There is no evidence for any major climatic reversal. The
246
pollen data indicate a gradually warming climate with minor oscillations of moisture (and
perhaps temperature).
A.A.
654. OGDEN, J.G., III. 1965. Pleistocene pollen records from eastern North America.
Botanical Review 31(3):481-504.
A review article on available pollen records from pre-and early Wisconsin to modern times.
Studies at Gillis Lake, Nova Scotia, the Missinaibi beds, James Bay, the Don beds, Toronto
and the Port Talbot Interstadial beds are included, together with inferred climatic
conditions. Plant macrofossils are also discussed. Problems in paleobotany are outlined.
L.G.
655. OGDEN, J.G., III. 1977. The late Quaternary paleoenvironmental record of northeastern
North America. In: Amerinds and Their Paleoenvironments in Northeastern North
America. Edited by: W.S. Newman and B. Salwen. Annals of the New York Academy
of Science 288:16-34.
The author reviews current understanding of late-and postglacial environments in northeastern
North America since the retreat of late Wisconsinan ice and examines some characteristics of
the available data. He reconstructs the environmental history of the sector and points out
gaps in information. “Although ice retreat began 16,000 B.P. the period from 14,000 to
12,000 B.P. saw the greatest amount of land in the “northeastern corridor” opened up and
anticipated the evident major climatic change recorded about 11,300 B.P. The establishment
of the deciduous forest in the northeast occurred very rapidly in the period from 11,000 to
about 9,000 B.P. and represents an environmental and presumably climatic event more dramatic
than any that have occurred before or since. Minor but consistent changes in the proportion
of hemlock, beech, hickory, and elm pollen throughout northeastern North America reflect
subtle but important differences in effective moisture and temperature.”
656. OGDEN, J.G., III. 1980. Late Quaternary paleoenvironments of eastern Canada. In:
Climatic Change in Canada. Edited by: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus 26:225-246.
The author reviews the development of three principal tools developed during the past three
decades; radiocarbon dating, digital computers, and multivariate statistics. These
techniques have led to more sophisticated paleoenvironmental reconstructions. He then
outlines the “preliminary results of an attempt to collate paleoecological information from
eastern Canada". This includes “Age-depth regression of selected radiocarbon-dated sediment
sequences in eastern Canada” and a “Preliminary list of radiocarbon dates on sediment cores
from eastern Canada”.
A.B.S.
657. OGDEN, J.G., III. 1981. There's a chill in the air. In: Climatic Change in Canada 2.
Edited by: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus 33:10-18.
The author provides a brief review of Nova Scotia's climate. He then discusses the
historical records available for analysis. His graphics illustrate an increase in heating
degree-days (computed from the number of days times the number of degrees the temperature is
below 18.3°C, and frequently used in predicting the demand for heating fuel) and a decrease
in growing degree-days (number of days above 5.6°C representing the amount of heat required
for the initiation of plant growth). Both these trends have serious economic implications.
A.B.S.
247
658. O'NEILL, B.J. 1981. Pliocene ard Pleistocene benthic foraminifera from the central
Arctic Ocean. Journal of Paleontology 55(6):1141-1170.
A study of Pliocene and Pleistocene benthic foraminifera in eleven piston cores from the
central Arctic Ocean was undertaken to examine the development of the fauna and to make
inferences about Arctic paleoceanography during the late Cenozoic. The foraminifera can be
divided into three biofacies based on the changing faunal patterns. The Textulariid
Biofacies, which is the oldest, existed during the early Pliocene and was dominated by
textulariids (20 species). Nineteen rotaliid and three miliolid species are also present in
this biofacies, but all are extremely rare. The Transitional Biofacies existed from the end
of the early Pliocene to the middle of the early Pleistocene. During this time calcareous
forms became more abundant and three rotaliid and two miliolid species appeared. Textulariid
diversity dwindled during this time. The Rotaliid Biofacies has existed in the central
Arctic since the mid-early Pleistocene and a trend toward increased rotaliid diversity and
abundance has continued to the present. Twenty-six rotaliid and two miliolid species
appeared during this time.
The sequence of biofacies is interpreted as indicating moderation of bottom conditions in the
central Arctic through late Cenozoic time. The cause of this moderation is suggested to be
increased Atlantic influence on the Arctic due to widening and deepening of the Greenland-
Spitzbergen passage and a thinning of the Arctic ice-cover during the early Pleistocene.
Seventy-five species of foraminifera including two new textulariids, Haplophragmotdes
obecurus n. sp. and Alveolophragmium polarensis n. sp., were recognized in the cores
studied.
A.A.
659. ORVIG, S. 1959. Ice caps and climate. In: Problems of the Pleistocene Epoch and
Arctic Area. Compiled by: G.R. Lowther. Publications of McGill University
Museums, (Montreal) No. 1. pp. 46-54.
The author reviews the known history of climate during the Pleistocene and some of the
attempts to explain climatic fluctuations during that period. He points out that long-term
climatic changes are probably due to a combination of factors. He discusses the question of
influence of ice and snow cover on atmospheric circulation and periglacial climate,
concluding that "The ice masses in the eastern Canadian Arctic are all of little or no
importance to the present climate. Northern Baffin Island and Ellesmere Island have glaciers
showing no marked recession in the last few decades, and the ice-caps seem to be in a state
of approximate balance. Only small fluctuations in temperature and precipitation conditions
will cause these ice masses to expand or waste away. The same is probably the case with all
ice in the northern hemisphere, with the exception of the inland ice of Greenland. Only this
topographical barrier and vast source of cooling is capable of influencing the circulation of
the Arctic. It is highly probable that Brooks' critical size for an ice sheet (30,000 square
miles) is relatively accurate. Smaller icecaps will not have important effects on
temperature or precipitation conditions.”
L.G.
660. OSTERMAN, L.E. 1978. Preliminary results of a study of cores from outer Frobisher Bay.
American Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts 5:230.
Three piston and four trigger weight cores from Frobisher Bay, Baffin Island, have been
sampled to determine the glacial history of the region. Analyses of foraminifera, sediment
size and pollen are in progress. Field work is also being done in Frobisher Bay which will
be correlated to the marine record.
The stratigraphy of the outer cores, HU77-156 and HU77-157, shows a green coarse-grained
diamicton on top of fine-grained grey laminated silty muds. The inner cores, HU//-159 and
HU77-160, do not have a noticeable diamicton layer and are composed of green-black silty muds
with scattered layers of coarser sediment.
248
Two Cl4 dates on shells and sediment have provided estimates of the sedimentation rates in
the bay. Core HU77-159, 969 cm long, has a date of 14,435 + 450 BP at 496 cm, and
a calculated sedimentation rate of 34 cm per 1000 years. Core HU77-157, 142 cm long, has a
date of 24,500 (+1825, -1485) BP at 42 cm, and a sedimentation rate of 1.7 cm per 1000 years.
Using this sedimentation rate for HU/7-157, the green diamicton at the top of the core
represents sedimentation over the last 5,100 years, and may suggest a return to colder
conditions and greater ice rafting.
Given the lengths and the sedimentation rates of these cores, they should provide a record of
climatic fluctuations, interpreted from foraminifera, sediment size and pollen, over the last
30,000 years for HU77-159, and 88,000 years for HU//-157.
A.A.
661. OSTREM, G. 1966. The height of the glaciation limit in southern British Columbia and
Alberta. Geografiska Annaler 48A(3):126-138.
A number of methods for determining the climatic snowline are briefly described. The firn
line on glaciers will normally lie slightly lower than the climatic snowline; however, most
previous methods for its determination are connected with observations on glaciers. From a
study of the distribution of glaciers and the altitudes of surrounding mountain summits, it
is possible to determine a critical height (the “glaciation limit”) which has normally to be
exceeded if glaciers should form. This height is approximately 100 metres above the climatic
snowline.
The glaciation limit was determined on a large number of topographic maps, the results
plotted on a small-scale map, and contour lines were drawn showing its regional variation in
southern British Columbia and Alberta. The source material and possible errors in the
determinations are discussed. A comparison is made with different maps showing
precipitation, continentality, land surface elevation, and the 1961 firn line altitude of
glaciers. It is concluded that the height of the glaciation limit is inversely connected
with the precipitation distribution.
A.A.
662. OSTREM, G. 1972. Height of the glaciation level in northern British Columbia and
southeastern Alaska. Geografiska Annaler 54A(2):76-84.
In glacierized areas there exists a critical height under which glaciers do not normally
develop. Above this height glaciers will form on mountains with a favourable topography
(e-g-, not too steep slopes). It is of glaciological interest to determine this critical
height because it has relevance to certain climatological elements, e.g., continentality.
A previously developed method, the so-called “summit method" was used in this study to
determine the critical height which it is necessary for mountains to exceed - within a given
area - to obtain a glacier. This critical height is termed “glaciation level". Studies of
topographic maps, in general covering a unit area of 15x27 km (one "“half-sheet” 1:50,000
map), revealed the summit elevations of the highest glacier-free and lowest glacier-carrying
mountains. The height of the glaciation level was calculated as the arithmetic mean of these
two summit elevations. To check the quality of source maps, a comparative study was
performed in areas where maps of various scales were available. In general, a somewhat
higher glaciation level was found when the 1:250,000 maps were used. This is thought to be a
result of generalization and omittance of small glaciers on these maps.
Resulting heights, valid for each single unit of area, were plotted on a glacier map at a
scale of 1:2,000,000 and 100-m contours were drawn. The resulting map indicated that the
height of the glaciation level increases from about 900 or 1000 m at the coast to a maximum
of 2700 m in the Rocky Mountains. However, there are certain exceptions from this general
rule - local maxima and certain depressions occur.
249
Depressions in the height of the glaciation level are thought to be related to large-scale
topographic openings in the Coast Mountain system, allowing maritime air masses to penetrate
further inland in certain areas. Detailed winter precipitation studies in the Kitimat-
Terrace area support this assumption. Comparisons were also made with a map of
continentality for Canada that indicated a similar depression in the same area. Snowline
investigations in Scandinavia have also shown local depressions in transient snow line
altitude in areas of maritime influence.
663. OUELLET, M.H. 1975. Paleoclimatological implications of a Late Quaternary molluscan
fauna from Atkins Lake, Ontario. International Association of Theoretical and
Applied Limnology Proceedings 19:2251-2258.
Freshwater molluscs appear to be poor indicators of paleoclimatic fluctuations as revealed by
pollen analysis because of their wide environmental tolerance. Their abundance in Quaternary
lacustrine deposits is probably largely controlled by factors internal to the aquatic
ecosystem such as water and sediment physicochemistry, predation and aquatic vegetation.
A better understanding of these factors and their interrelationship with the aquatic
molluscan fauna might provide us in the future with a more accurate paleolimnological tool
which is greatly needed to shed light on the ontogeny of our lakes.
664. OUELLET, M., et R. POULIN. 1976. Etudes paléoécologique des sédiments du lac Waterloo,
Québec. INRS-Eau (pour le Ministère des Richesses naturalles, Québec), rapport
scientifique 64:1-87.
Studies of pollen, algae and geochemical samples from sediment cores from the bottom of Lake
Waterloo (Shefford County, Quebec) led to the conclusion that the invasion of the region by
forest about 11,500 years B.P. (evidently shrub-birch grassland dominated for the preceding
1,000, or more, years) had a significant effect on the ecological conditions of the lake.
During the forest period, which lasted about 10,000 years, climatic changes and soil
development within the drainage basin were the main factors controlling the development of
Lake Waterloo.
Most of the climatic data are summarized in Figure 7 (Chronology of the paleoecological
history of Lake Waterloo): from about 12,700 to 11,500 years B.P. - very cold; from about
11,500 to 10,500 years B.P. - cold; from about 10,500 to 8,500 years B.P. - less cold; from
about 8,500 to 5,500 years B.P. - warmer and dry; from about 5,500 to 4,500 years B.P. -
warmer?; from about 4,500 to 3,000 years B.P. - warm and humid; from about 3,000 years B.P.
to present -— colder and humid.
C.R.H.
665. PACKER, J.G. 1980. Paleoecology of the ice-free corridor: the phytogeographical
evidence. Canadian Journal of Anthropology 1(1):33-35.
Extant floras are repositories of information about their past history (Packer, 1971), and it
might be thought a fairly simple matter to ascertain how a particular flora came into
existence and what factors were of major importance in shaping it. However, this is
certainly not the case and many problems are associated with trying to understand the
evolutionary development of any existing flora, notwithstanding the fact that it is now
possible to obtain virtually unlimited information on such critical factors as the physical
environment, physiological tolerances and responses of plants, population dynamics, breeding
Systems, cytology, etc. Unfortunately, even with this potential, the analysis of factors
responsible for a particular species distribution present insoluable difficulties, and why a
species that has one distribution and not another can seldom, if ever, be answered.
250
At the present time phytogeographic studies in the area of the ice-free corridor have been
quite limited. One hopes the current paleoecological progress in the area will be paralleled
by an increasing knowledge of its modern flora and phytogeography. If it is, when the
eventual synthesis of corridor paleoecology is attempted, studies of the extant flora will
form part of the framework into which the more localized biostratigraphical data are fitted.
Excerpts
666. PARKER, M.-L. 1976. Improving tree-ring dating in northern Canada by X-ray
densitometry. Syesis 9:163-172.
The potential for obtaining dates from tree-ring samples and of using tree-ring series for
climatic studies is improved through the use of X-ray densitometry. Tree-ring samples from
two locations in the Northwest Territories, near Inuvik in the Mackenzie Delta and on Nahanni
Butte in the Fort Simpson area, are analysed. The intra-annual ring components of earlywood
and latewood for both ring width and ring density are compared with one another and with
climatic factors. Latewood density values provide the best series for crossdating tree-ring
samples. Tree-ring variables are more closely related to temperature than to precipitation,
and density parameters generally relate more closely to climate than do width variables.
Ring-width response to temperature occurs later in the year in the Mackenzie Delta than in
the Fort Simpson area.
A.A.
667. PARKER, M.L., and W.E.S. HENOCH. 1971. The use of Engelmann spruce latewood density
for dendrochronological purposes. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 1(2):90-98.
Two parameters of growth rings from Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmamnit Parry) near
Peyto Lake, Alberta were studied and compared. Indices of maximum density of the latewood
were derived from densitometric plots of X-ray negatives. Indices of ring widths were also
obtained from the same specimens. Latewood density proved to be more useful for
dendrochronological studies than ring width. The indices of density were significantly
correlated with mean maximum air temperature and monthly runoff during August for three
rivers in the region near Peyto Lake. Analysis of latewood density as well as ring width
improves the potential for dating ring-tree materials, and for using them to estimate past
environment, especially for trees, such as the Peyto Lake Engelmann spruce, with rings that
do not vary greatly in width from one year to the next.
A.A.
668. PARKER, M.L., L.A. JOZSA, S.G. JOHNSON, and P.A. BRAMHALL. 1981. Dendrochronological
studies on the coasts of James Bay and Hudson Bay (Parts 1 and 2). In: Climatic
Change in Canada 2. Edited by C.R. Harington. Syllogeus 33:129-188.
Tree-ring samples were collected from four major sites in Quebec along the coasts of James
Bay and Hudson Bay in June, 1979. The tree-ring proxy data are required for checking and
verifying historical records that were kept by the Hudson's Bay Company posts in this region.
Site descriptions are presented here to indicate the diversity of tree-ring sites in the
Boreal Forest region in northern Quebec. As they become available after processing with an
X-ray densitometry system, tree-ring data will be presented in subsequent publications. Part
2 (following) is the first of these reports.
The major objective in collecting, processing and presenting the white spruce tree-ring
chronologies from the Cri Lake site is to provide summary chronologies that can be compared
with other forms of proxy data for purposes of reconstructing past climate. Corollary
objectives are to evaluate the dendrochronological quality of white spruce from the area and
to produce tree-ring chronologies that can be used for dating purposes.
The raw-ring width and density data comprising the tree-ring series contain several
components. To make this preparation of the data most useful for the stated purposes, we
will define three components that seem to be present in all of the tree-ring series that we
have observed through the years. These components are: (1) growth trend from pith to bark
(the "A" component); (2) short-term fluctuations, greater than 10 years in length and shorter
than the ring series of the tree being studied (the “B" component); and (3) year-to-year
fluctuations, with all fluctuations greater than 10 years removed from the series (the "C"
component).
On the basis of visual comparisons, the Cri Lake white spruce trees seem to provide the best
quality chronologies for the area, but this will be determined in more detail after the other
sites are processed.
For the Cri Lake material, an effort has been made to establish a standard format for
processing the tree-ring data that can be followed for processing material from other sites
in the area. The new approach of breaking the chronologies down into components and
producing summary "A", "B", "C", and “B & C" chronologies may prove useful in providing more
information about the relationships between tree-ring data and climatic factors.
Excerpts
669. PASTOURET, L., G.A. AUFFRET, M. HOFFERT, M. MELGUEN, H.D. NEEDHAM, and C. LATOUCHE.
1975. Sedimentation sur la Ride de Terre-Neuve. Canadian Journal of Earth
Sciences 12(6):1019-1035.
The stratification, in part more or less rhythmic, of a fifteen metre long core of
predominantly hemi-pelagic sediment from the northern slope of the Southeast Newfoundland
Ridge reflects changing distribution patterns of different water masses during the late
Quaternary. In particular, the lithological and microfaunal characteristics of the sediments
indicate that, in the area of the core, the cold Labrador Current from the north and the
continental slope water have had a permanent influence on the sedimentation pattern, whereas
the paths of the Gulf Stream water have shifted intermittently. The influence of the Gulf
Stream is clearly identifiable during the Holocene and during the last interglacial (faunal
zone X). Ice-rafted debris and relatively coarse turbidite-type beds are more prominent in
sequences deposited under a glacial regime, notably in those that accumulated near the end of
the late Pleistocene and the beginning of the Holocene. The upper limit of faunal zone X
(Sangamon-Wiirm) is placed close to 1000 cm depth in the core on the basis of the
disappearance at this level of Globorotalia tumida flexuosa (Koch). The resulting
estimate of the subsequent mean sediment accumulation rate is of the order of 10 cm/1000 yr.
A.A.
670. PATERSON, W.S.B., R.M. KOERNER, D. FISHER, S.J. JOHNSEN, H.B. CLAUSEN, W. DANSGAARD,
P. BUCHER, and H. OESCHGER. 1977. An oxygen-isotope climatic record from the
Devon Island ice cap, Arctic Canada. Nature 266(5602):508-511.
Isotope measurements on two adjacent cores through the Devon Island ice cap provide a well-
dated climatic record for the past 5000 yr. Fluctuations in annual values include much
"noise', and ice flow over a rough bed produces distortions in the lowest 5% of core which
covers roughly 120,000 yr. Comparison with the Camp Century, Greenland, record helps to
separate climatic changes from changes in ice thickness or flow pattern.
A.A.
671. PAYETTE, S. 1976. Succession écologique des forêts d'épinette blanche et fluctuations
climatiques, Poste-de-la-Baleine, Nouveau-Québec. Canadian Journal of Botany
54(12):1394-1402.
The stand structures of three white spruce (Picea glauca (Moench) Voss) climax forests
of the hemiarctic zone in New Quebec are described. The forests have a similar structural
252
pattern, characterized by important and irregular variations in the number of individuals per
age, diameter, and height classes. These variations are synchronic and suggest that the
climate strongly influences the forest regeneration. The discontinuous trend in the curves
may possibly be related to changes in seed production and seedling establishment.
Synchronism between the 300-year dendrochronological curve and the stand age-structure is
apparent. The hollow parts of the age curves are related to unfavourable climatic periods
and the peaks to favourable ones. These climatic fluctuations are probably responsible for
either a decrease or an increase in white spruce seed production important to hemiarctic
forest regeneration. Finally, the writer suggests a theoretical age-structure curve for
climax forests in the maritime forest-tundra near Poste-de-la-Baleine, New Quebec.
672. PAYETTE, S., et R. LAJEUNESSE. 1980. Les combes à neige de la Rivière aux Feuilles
(Nouveau-Quebéc): indicateurs paléoclimatiques Holocénes. Géographie physique et
Quaternaire 34(2):209-220.
On the basis of plant macrofossil analysis (charcoals, charred cones of black spruce Picea
martana (Mill.) BSP and larch Larix laricina (DuRoi) K. Koch, wood fragments) and
plant population dynamics, the origin and the evolution of the snow-patch environment are
correlated with the Neoglacial episode. Data suggest that this peculiar environment has
evolved from previously wooded stands. The removal of the forest cover was caused by fires
during cold climatic periods that restricted forest regeneration. The snowpatches therefore
are thought to be a response to several periods of climatic deterioration around 2600, 2200,
1600-1400, 1000-900 and 500-300 years BP. Some snowpatches that appeared early during the
Neoglacial may have experienced a minor tree invasion around 1300-1200 years BP, during a
warmer climatic interval. The gradual development of snowpatch communities, and the overall
regression of the forest cover since 2600 years BP, suggest that the climatic deterioration,
although persisting, was not of great range; forest fires have played some role in the snow
cover expansion, and may have initiated them. Snowpatches located near forest formations
have experienced a larch colonization between 1940 and 1970, which seems to be correlated
with the twentieth century warming trend. Since 1970, a reversal of this trend has been
observed, and it is characterized by at least 17% of larch mortality in the snowpatch
population. This mortality appears to be related to the reactivation of periglacial process.
Finally, the recent formation of large gelifluction lobes along some snowy slopes had
detrimental effects on lowland vegetation, and may eventualy produce suitable conditions for
new snowpatch initiation.
A.A.
673. Pedology and Quaternary Research. Edited by: S. Pawluk. University of Alberta Press,
Edmonton. 218 pp. 1969.
“The symposium is primarily concerned with presenting a series of review papers that should
help in providing a better understanding as to how pedological principals may be applied to
solving problems concerning the Quaternary. Special emphasis is placed on research
methodology and application. Papers dealing with interdisciplinary studies related to
Quaternary pedology are also included.” [Individual papers have been separately
abstracted. ]
+
Excerpts
674. PENTLAND, R.S. 1981. Climate change in Saskatchewan. In: Climatic Change Seminar
Proceedings. Regina, March 17-19. Canadian Climate Centre, Downsview. pp. 79-82.
A borderline climate and a dominantly agricultural economy make Saskatchewan susceptible to
the vagaries of climatic change.
253
Research and extension work and some structural measures have shown us a great deal about how
to live with our climate and how to minimize the adversities of droughts and floods. There
is no doubt that there is much more to be done in these areas before we will be satisfied
that we are making the best use of our climatic and related land resources.
Data deficiencies, particularly in the North, need to be overcome because the North of
Saskatchewan is going to be rapidly converted from a frontier to an integral part of the
province's economy in the next few years.
Data on climate and its inter-relationship with economic and social development must be not
only collected, but used to protect from potential setbacks and to permit continued growth
and improvement.
A.C.
675. PERRY, A.H. 1974. The downward trend of air and sea surface temperatures over the
North Atlantic. Weather 29(12):451-455.
The expansion of the polar vortex, and the displacement of cyclonic activity over the North
Atlantic to lower latitudes have been accompanied by widespread negative sea temperature
anomalies. The mean sea surface temperature for the late 1960s at the nine ocean weather
ships considered together was nearly 1 deg C lower than in the early 1950s. These anomalies
have in turn, been responsible for producing several seasons of anomalous atmospheric
circulation e.g. the summers of 1968, and 1972. The ocean-atmosphere system, however,
includes such a complex feedback between the two media that cause and effect are often
difficult to separate.
G.A.
676. PETTAPIECE, W.W. 1969. The forest-grassland transition. In: Pedology and Quaternary
Research. Edited by: S. Pawluk, University of Alberta Press, Edmonton. pp. 103-
113%
Considerable controversy exists over the interpretation of the forest-grassland transition
zone as an indicator of past environment. Our present knowledge of the transition soils of
the Great Plains region of Canada and their distribution does not necessarily indicate any
major climatic changes in the last few millenia. Most of the observed soil phenomena can be
explained in terms of minor climatic variations of short duration. Particularly important
here may be periods of drought and associated widespread burning.
A.A.
677. PETTAPIECE, W.W., and S.C. ZOLTAI. 1974. Soil environments in the western Canadian
subarctic. Im: Quaternary Environments: Proceedings of a Symposium. Edited by:
W.C. Mahaney. First York University Symposium on Quaternary Research.
Geographical Monographs No. 5:279-292.
An integrated surficial geology-soils-vegetation study was recently completed in the
subarctic of northwestern Canada. This investigation, prompted by energy concerns in the
north, revealed much new information about the relationships between soils and other aspects
of the environment.
The mean annual temperature is well below freezing in the northern taiga of the subarctic,
and where any insulating mat is present, the ground is perennially frozen. Nearly all of the
medium and fine-textured soils have permafrost within 1 m of the surface and are strongly
affected by cryoturbation. The result is a hummocky microrelief and a cyclic soil body that
includes widely different profiles below the hummock and trough. The soil-climate and cryic
processes also vary greatly across the microrelief, strongly affecting the species
distribution within the scrubby black spruce-lichen forest. Thus sphagnum mosses commonly
occur in the wet depressions, tall shrubs and trees on the sides of the hummocks, and small
shrubs and lichens on the relatively dry crests. This kind of soil development, and its
associated environmental implications, dominates in the subarctic west of the Canadian
Shield. Changes have been proposed in the System of Soil Classification of Canada to
recognize these and other permafrost soils in a new order, the Cryosolic Order.
By contrast, the coarser-textured, well-drained deposits contain no permafrost and have a
much warmer and drier soil environment. This is reflected in a white spruce-birch forest
cover and degraded, non-cryoturbated soils characteristic of the more southern boreal
regions.
Forest fires can effect a variety of changes in the soil climate which result in accom-
modating shifts in the other environmental components.
Organic soils of the subarctic also have characteristic features. These include landforms
such as peat plateaus and palsas (Zoltai and Tarnocai, 1971) and the growth of ice wedges in
polygonal networks. The associated surface materials are dominantly fibric sphagnum peats.
Layers of mesic sedge peat indicate periods of no permafrost but they are a natural part of
the cyclic growth of these forms and may not represent climatic shifts. However, the lower
portions of nearly all the organic sections are much more humified or decayed and could
indicate a significantly warmer climatic period, presumably the Altithermal. Preliminary cl4
dates suggest that present environmental conditions were established by 2,500 to 3,000 yrs.
BP.
A complete understanding of present processes and features is definitely necessary for proper
interpretation of past environments. This also applies to such fields as archaeology because
most human activity is influenced by physical surroundings and in the subarctic soil
phenomena such as the presence or absence of permafrost and cryic processes are important
considerations. It is concluded that soil environments in the Canadian subarctic, which are
indicated by the kind and degree of pedologic development, are a fundamental link in the
complete chain of environmental components, including man.
AA
678. PHEASANT, D.R., and J.T. ANDREWS. 1973. Wisconsin glacial chronology and relative sea-
level movements, Narpaing Fiord-Broughton Island Area, eastern Baffin Island,
N.W.T. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 10(11):1621-1641.
Three distinct glacier advances and four major periods of adjustment of relative land and sea
levels are recognized in the Wisconsin age stratigraphic and geomorphologic record of the
Northern Cumberland Peninsula. The coast, which is presently undergoing submergence, is
close to an isostatic equilibrium position following rapid land emergence during post-
Cockburn time (ca. 8000-1000 BP). Laurentide ice advances during two earlier stades--the
Alikdjuak ca. 115,000 BP and the Napiat >40,000 BP--were more extensive than the Cockburn
glacier advances and a positive relationship between ice load and amount of crustal
deflection at the ice margin is demonstrated. Computations based on synchronous raised
marine features and known extent of the ice load indicate a crustal flexural parameter
(©) of >80 km and perhaps >135 km for this area. The date of the Alikdjuak stade
suggests the time transgressive nature of the early-Wisconsin maximum position of the
continental ice sheet margin and supports the hypothesis that continental glaciation may well
have originated in the climatically sensitive uplands of the eastern Canadian arctic/sub-
arctic.
A.A.
679. POORE, R.Z. 1975. Late Cenozoic planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy and
paleoclimatology of the North Atlantic Ocean: DSDP Leg 12. Ph.D. Thesis, Brown
University, 207 pp. Dissertation Abstracts International 37(1):138B.
This thesis consists of three separate but related studies aimed at increasing our knowledge
of Late Cenozoic biostratigraphy and paleoclimatology in the high-latitude regions of the
North Atlantic Ocean.
Pliocene and Pleistocene age sediments were covered at three sites in the Labrador Sea (111,
112, and 113). The Late Pliocene and Pleistocene fauna is less diverse and tropical forms
are rare, being essentially restricted to carbonate intercalations in Late Pliocene
glacially-rafted detrital sediments. No evidence of Gulf Stream influence is seen from
Pleistocene levels in the Labrador Sea.
Quantitative analysis of the Pliocene-Pleistocene planktonic foraminiferal assemblages at
Site 116 suggests the following: 1) A cooling event is indicated in the lower Pliocene
(latest Miocene?). This event is not accompanied by ice-rafted detritus, and thus we infer
that no significant continental glaciation took place in Northern Europe at this time.
2) Subpolar conditions prevailed in the area of Site 116 during most of the Pliocene and in
the lowest part of the Pleistocene. 3) During most of the Pleistocene, conditions analogous
to today (interglacial) in the area of Site 116 were either infrequent, of short duration, or
both.
pD.A.I.
680. POORE, R.Z., and W.A. BERGGREN. 1973. Pliocene-Pleistocene biostratigraphy and
climatology of the Labrador Sea; calcareous plankton. Geological Society of
America, Abstracts with Programs 5(7):769-770.
Sediments of Pliocene and Pleistocene age were recovered at sites 111-113 in the Labrador Sea
on DSDP Leg 12. A time framework is provided by paleomagnetically calibrated biostrati-
graphic datum levels. ...The late Pliocene and Pleistocene fauna is less diverse and
tropical forms are rare and essentially restricted to carbonate intercalations in late
Pliocene glacially rafted detrital sediments. ...Semi-quantitative analyses of the planktonic
foramimifera indicate that the Pliocene-Pleistocene can be broadly characterized by four
faunal assemblages. When plotted against “absolute age”, the distributions of these
assemblages suggest ...the Gulf Stream was excluded from the Labrador Sea during the
Pleistocene.
pA.A.
681. POPLAWSKI, S., and P.F. KARROW. 1981. Ostracodes and paleoenvironments of the late
Quaternary Don and Scarborough Formations, Toronto, Ontario. Canadian Journal of
Earth Sciences 18(9):1497-1505.
Type section exposures at the Don Valley brickyard and Scarborough Bluffs were studied for
ostracode occurences. In all, 12 species were identified from the Don Formation, with
Candona rawsont and Candona caudata being most abundant. A deltaic environment,
with a mixture of fluvial and lacustrine species, is indicated at the brickyard, whereas a
more dominantly lacustrine environment, with fewer ostracode species, is evident at the
bluffs. Climatic conditions are consistent with those of other fossil groups in suggesting
conditions rather like the present.
The Scarborough Formation has yielded only four species of ostracodes, with Candona
caudata the most abundant. A much colder lacustrine environment is indicated for the
Scarborough than for the Don Formation.
A.A.
682. PORTER, S.C. 1979. Glaciological evidence of Holocene climatic change. International
Conference on Climate and History, University of East Anglia, Norwich, July 8-14,
Review Papers. pp. 148-179.
Because glaciers typically respond to changes in their climatic environment by growing or
shrinking in size, they can be used as sensitive paleoclimatic indicators. Evidence gained
from studies of ice cores and glacial deposits makes it possible to construct continuous and
discontinuous time series from which both the direction and magnitude of climatic change can
be inferred. However, glacier surges unrelated to climate, lags in the dynamic response of a
256
glacier terminus to a climatic change, and chronological uncertainties that result from
problems in dating glacial deposits make assessment of the climatic significance of
glaciological data difficult. In few areas do historical observations extend back beyond the
19th century, so the history of glacier activity commonly is reconstructed from morainal
evidence and dated by radiocarbon, dendrochronology, or lichenometry. Radiocarbon dates
frequently are ambiguous due to variations in the atmospheric production rate of EUR and
uncertainties in the lag time between moraine stabilization and establishment of tree
seedlings often render tree-ring dating of limited value, however, fast-growing lichens may
offer a basis for assigning close minimum limiting ages to glacial deposits that are less
than several thousand years old.
Evidence for repeated fluctuations of glaciers during the “Little Ice Age" of the last 4 to 5
centuries is widespread in glaciated alpine regions. Most glaciers achieved maxima in the
17th, 18th or 19th centuries and began a period of marked recession during the second half of
the 19th century. Apparent nonsynchrony of second-order advances among geographic areas may
reflect different climatic histories, differences in response lags of temperate and subpolar
glaciers, or uncertainties in dating. Earlier intervals of glacier expansion similar in
Magnitude to the “Little Ice Age” centered close to 1100-1200, 2800-3000 and 5000-5300 years
ago in a number of areas, but as yet no convincing well-dated global pattern has been
demonstrated. During glacial maxima the snowline typically was lowered ca. 100-200 m,
representing a depression equivalent to about 15% of that at the maximum of the last
glaciation.
An inadequate data base severely restricts any attempt to make a comprehensive global
synthesis of Holocene glacier fluctuations. With additional carefully collected information
from selected sites along three major latitudinal and longitudinal transects, important
insights can be gained regarding the intra and inter-hemispherical sychrony and relative
magnitude of glacier advances, possible periodicities of glacier variations and their causes,
the extent of ice recession between advances, and the magnitude and climatic significance of
snowline fluctuations.
A.A.
683. POTZGER, J.E. 1953. Nineteen bogs from southern Quebec. Canadian Journal of Botany
31(3):383-401.
The 19 pollen profiles from the Gaspé and the St. Lawrence Valley show close correlation with
known facts in glacial geology of this region. Marine invasions and persistence of the
Laurentian icecap prevented forest occupation until climate had warmed considerably. The
warm period was followed by a deteriorating climate as shown by rise in spruce and fir.
During the succeeding very warm period, spruce and fir became rare, pine increased in the
Gaspé region, and hemlock and broadleaved trees associated with pine became important in the
St. Lawrence Valley, while the forests on the lower Laurentian Shield were composed primarily
of pine penetrated by hemlock and broadleaved genera as minor elements. During most recent
times the climate has become colder. Spruce and fir show a decided peak, especially in the
Gaspé and on the Shield, pine declined in all parts of Quebec, but broadleaved genera,
including chestnut in some areas, became prominent in the St. Lawrence Lowland, while decline
of hemlock and pine and increase of spruce, fir, and yellow birch mark the forests on the
southern slopes of the Shield. Pollen profiles are favorably correlated with forest
divisions of Halliday.
684. POTZGER, J.E., and A. COURTEMANCHE. 1954. A radiocarbon date of peat from James Bay in
Quebec. Science 119(3104):908.
Peat material from the bottom level of a bog near Rupert River (51°28'N. 78°45'W.) showed a
radiocarbon age of 2,350 + 200 years. The C-14 dating is part of a study made in
summer 1953 which indicates that forests migrated northward during the warm-dry post-glacial
times, but have since withdrawn southward some 350 miles.
ND
un
4
685. POTZGER, J.E., and A. COURTEMANCHE. 1954. Bog and lake studies on the Laurentian
Shield in Mont Tremblant Park, Quebec. Canadian Journal of Botany 32(5):549-
560.
From the forest type indicated at lowest levels we must infer an initial warm period. This
is attributed to ocean invasion of the St. Lawrence Valley and slow retreat of continental
glaciers. The combination of these factors delayed the forest invasion of the Canadian
Shield until the boreal spruce-fir period, so characteristic of lowest levels in bogs farther
south, had passed. Slight deterioration of climate thereafter with development of local
glaciers on the Shield apparently accounts for the first minor rise of spruce and fir. A
warm-dry period at mid-profiles is indicated by the universal prominent pine peak accompanied
by extreme decline of spruce and fir. The succeeding increase in hemlock and white-red pine
(later replaced by minor peaks of beech-maple) suggests a moister climate with increasing
coolness. Continued cooling during more recent times in turn favored spruce, fir, and yellow
birch. Pine, hemlock, beech, and oak declined to a status of minor elements in the forest
association. The erratic fluctuations of paper birch and its abundance at all levels show
little correlation with major climatic changes.
A.A.
686. POTZGER, J.E., and A. COURTEMANCHE. 1956. Pollen study in the Gatineau Valley, Quebec.
Butler University Botanical Studies 13(1):12-23.
Pollen frequencies in the deposits of five bogs covering a radius of about 50 miles in the
Gatineau Valley of Quebec were determined by conventional methods of pollen analysis. It is
concluded that the Gatineau Valley was one of the most important routes for plant migration
during early post-glacial times. An initial warm period (similar to that of all southern
Quebec) is suggested by highest abundance of oak in the first or second foot-level and pine
forest cover with very low spruce fir. Cooling climate followed soon, marked by a decided
increase in abundance of spruce. Succession is similar at all five bogs. Pine, (low oak
peak) to pine-spruce, to Jack pine, while spruce and fir decreased to negligible
representation, to white-red pine with minor hemlock peak, to pine-spruce-fir-birch which
suggests cooling climate during the recent past. The Gatineau Valley apparently differs
climatically from all of southern Quebec and the Mont Tremblant Park region, which cannot be
attributed to latitude alone.
A.S.
687. POTZGER, J.E., and A. COURTEMANCHE. 1956. A series of bogs across Quebec from the
St. Lawrence Valley to James Bay. Canadian Journal of Botany 34(4):473-500.
The study includes 19 bogs between 45° O07'N and 51° 59'N, spaced at about 50 mile intervals
from the St. Lawrence Valley across the Laurentian Shield to James Bay (Jack River).
Up to lat. 47°N five major climatic changes are recognized for Quebec and are referred to as
Q=1 to) .OQ=5). The pollen profiles suggest that an initial, pronounced warm period (Q-1)
(correlative with the Lake Timiskaming retreat) followed by cooling (Q-2), very likely also
accompanied by local glaciation (correlative with the Cochrane halt), prevailed from the
St. Lawrence Valley to Lac Soscumica bog (50° 39'N). The initial warm period is marked by
prominent pine peaks accompanied by an impressive minor oak peak. During the major
xerothermic period (Q-3), all bogs record a very long and prominent pine climax, with
replacement of Pinus banksiana by the white-red pine group up to the Lacroix River bog
(49° 02'N). From Clova (48° 07'N) to Jack River bog (51° 59'N) jack pine replaced red-white
pine, while the upper half of the profile accumulated. This shows jack pine with a striking
bimodal pattern of representation. Also, north of Clova, jack pine formed an important
association with Picea mariana during the more recent past, introducing the forest type
which prevails up there today. From the St. Lawrence Valley (45° 07'N) to the lower edge of
the Shield at Saint-Lin (45° 55'N) white-red pine held an important place in the forest cover
up to the present. The single most striking feature of the study is that red-white pine
penetrated as important forest associates to the Rupert River (51° 28'N). No doubt
258
white-red pine extended their range northward during the prominent warm-dry period (Q-3)
because their highest representation appears in the lower levels of bogs. The great change
in vegetation type, with more emphasis on boreal species Picea mariana and Pinus
banksiana, from Clova (48° O7'N) northward to James Bay suggests the Cochrane oscillation
influence and subsequent retreat during the ensuing major xerothermic period (Q-3). This
period had probably waned by the time the forests were able to invade the James Bay region,
thus giving rise to a rather monotonously changeless forest history from lat. 50° 54!
northward (Q-5).
Local glaciation is indicated in the bog from Mont Tremblant (Bog 14), where forest history
began during the xerothermic period. Figure 2 presents the highest percentage attained by
species at a given latitude, which at a glance divides the species according to latitudinal
preference, suggesting temperature control.
688. POWELL, J.M. 1981. Impact of climatic variation on boreal forest biomass production.
In: Climatic Change in Canada 2. Edited by: C.R. Harington. Syllogeus 33:189-
194.
The two overall objectives of the study are to determine: (1) extent and degree of past
short- and long-term climatic variation in selected regions of the Boreal Forest to assess
impact of climatic change upon tree and forest growth; (2) quantitative and qualitative
relationships between key climatic parameters/climatic variations, and measures of forest
biomass growth and production in selected regions of the Boreal Forest.
All long-term instrumental climatic records available for the central Boreal Forest zone
(Yukon to northwestern Ontario) will be analyzed to establish regional climatic (particularly
temperature and precipitation) trends and fluctuations. In addition, proxy data relating to
the Boreal Forest zone will be used (e.g. data from dendrochronology, paleobotany, lake
sediments including foraminifera, speleothems, isotopes, archaeology and historical
documents). This will help to establish climatic variations over a longer period.
Excerpts
689. POWELL, L.B. 1932. Tree rings and wheat yields in southern Saskatchewan. Monthly
Weather Review 60(11):220-221.
The author studied radical tree growth at two points in southern Saskatchewan in an attempt
to find a relationship between tree growth and wheat yields. Crop records date back to 1898,
meteorological records to 1883, and a tree ring chart to 1763. He found that there has been
enough moisture in southern Saskatchewan to grow trees for the last 150 years, and that
extremely poor years have been the exception. He found some relationship between tree growth
and wheat yields, especially when one third of each year's growth was carried over to the
next year to allow for the conservation of energy in the tree or soil moisture or both. The
only important cycle found was one of over 50 years, and the lack of short cycles made
prediction of wheat yields from tree growth impossible.
Thomas
690. PREST, V.K. 1977. General stratigraphic framework of the Quaternary in eastern Canada.
Géographie physique et Quaternaire 31(1-2):7-14.
In eastern Canada, interglacial and interstadial deposits have been reported from Nova Scotia
and Quebec, but in the other provinces only Wisconsinan deposits. In Nova Scotia, pollen
from some organic deposits buried beneath one or more tills, indicates a warm, interglacial
climate--presumably the Sangamon Interglacial Interval. Other buried organic deposits, in
contrast, indicate a cool, boreal forest environment. As radiocarbon analyses have given
‘greater than' dates the deposits are considered to be early Wisconsinan. The interval is
259
tentatively correlated with the St. Pierre Interstadial of Quebec. The only known mid-
Wisconsinan deposit is at Salmon River on St. Mary's Bay, in southwestern Nova Scotia, where
the marine shells have been dated at 38,600 14c years. Elsewhere in both coastal and
interior Nova Scotia multiple till sections suggest a more or less continuous ice cover
throughout the Wisconsinan. In Quebec, there is a very limited, but nevertheless important,
record of the Sangamon Interglacial Interval. Compact clayey rhythmites in the Harricana
River Basin, close to James Bay, appear to correlate with the lacustrine member of the
Missinaibi Formation farther west in Ontario. In southern Quebec, there is another
indication of interglacial deposits for the oldest sediments exposed in the Sherbrooke region
and in the Upper Chaudiere River Valley beneath the lowest of three Wisconsinan tills. These
deposits were weathered and cemented prior to deposition of the oldest till. As the gravels
contain pebbles of Laurentian Shield gneiss there obviously was a pre-Sangamon glaciation.
These two areas contain the most complete stratigraphic record of the Wisconsinan yet
established in Quebec.
A.A.
691. PREST, V.K., and D.R. GRANT. 1969. Retreat of the last icesheet from the Maritime
Provinces-Gulf of St. Lawrence region. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 69-33:1-
15.
The popular concept of overriding Laurentide ice (Labradorean sector) in the Maritime
Provinces-Gulf of St. Lawrence region is examined in terms of regional ice-flow patterns and
other supporting data--and is found wanting. A reinterpretation of the data, the glacial
lineations and other features presents a picture of localized, more or less radial outflow
from certain upland and lowland areas. The pattern of ice-flow features and end moraines is
shown to relate to a rising sea level over the period from about 18,000 to 11,000 years BP.
The maritime climatic regime enabled various parts of an Appalachian ice complex to remain
active as the sea encroached on the depressed land masses. The deeper-water parts of the
submerged coast served as 'leads' into the ice fronts, with consequent development of calving
bays and ice drawdown.
It is concluded that Laurentide ice was not as active over the Maritime Provinces as has
generally been believed and that the growth of Appalachian glaciers during the build-up of
the last continental ice sheet may have effectively barred Laurentide ice from some parts of
the region. Laurentian Channel served as an outlet that diverted Laurentide ice through
Cabot Strait to Atlantic Ocean, so that Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton Island do not
show a pattern of Laurentide ice flow, and the Magdalen Islands remained unglaciated.
692. PREST, V.K., J. TERASMAE, J.V. MATTHEWS, Jr., and S. LICHTI-FEDEROVICH. 1976. Late-
Quaternary history of Magdalen Islands, Quebec. Maritime Sediments 12(2):39-59.
The authors' objectives were "to study the geomorphology and surficial deposits of the
Magdalen Islands, to interpret the stratigraphy, chronology and paleoenvironments of the
deposits, and to determine the source areas of foreign stones (chiefly cobbles and
boulders)”. They review both past and present studies of the Islands.
Ten samples were collected from the buried peat deposits at Portage-du-Cap for palynological
analysis. This preliminary evidence “indicates that environmental conditions during
deposition of the Portage-du-Cap buried peat were perhaps more favourable than at any time
during the Holocene and hence, an interglacial age for this stratigraphic unit is implied.”
Macrofossils obtained from the Holocene sediments of eastern Amherst Island “represent the
type of environment that occurs near poorly drained sites on the Magdalen Islands today."
This is in marked contrast to the plant and insect assemblages of Portage-du-Cap, which
tentatively indicate a climate warmer than that of the present.
Diatom analysis revealed a total absence of floral fresh-water forms and a near absence of
true brackish taxa. The dominant component was marine littoral forms, indicating “deposition
260
at or near a shoreline at a time when the sea was higher and probably warmer than at present;
this was probably during an interglacial interval.”
A.B.S.
693. Problems in Palaeoclimatology. Edited by: A.E.M. Nairn. Interscience, New York.
Contains 13 chapters, each dealing with a type of evidence. Chapters relevent to Canada are:
the use of fossil plants in paleoclimatic interpretations; the recognition of ancient
glaciations; geophysical techniques and ancient climates; theoretical considerations and
Quaternary climates; paleontology and climate; and problems of sediments and soils.
L.G.
694. Quaternary Environments: Proceedings of a Symposium. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney. York
University, Toronto. Geographical Monographs No. 5. 318 pp. 1974.
The First York University Symposium on Quaternary Research saw 15 papers presented on topics
concerned with geology, geomorphology, pedology, and palaeoclimatology. Relevant papers have
been separately annotated.
A.B.S.
695. Quaternary Geology and Climate. Edited by: H.E. Wright, Jr. Volume 16 of the
Proceedings of the 7th Congress of the International Association for Quaternary
Research. National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. Publication 1701.
1969.
CL
e»e-a selection of Congress papers, mostly by foreign authors, that treat various geologic
and paleoclimatic subjects or regions in review." Relevant paper by Dzerdzeevskii annotated
separately.
A.B.S.
696. Quaternary Paleoclimate. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney. Geo Abstracts, Norwich. 464 pp.
1981.
Thirteen articles having relevance to climatic change in Canada are annotated individually.
A.B.S.
697. QUIGLEY, R.M., and A. DREIMANIS. 1966. Secondary aragonite in a soil profile. Earth
and Planetary Science Letters 1(5):348-350.
Soft scaly coatings of both aragonite and calcite were observed on sand and gravel particles
at a depth of 0.6-1 m in a soil profile developed in a temperate climate in southern Ontario,
Canada. The presence of the aragonite is believed to be related to warm soil temperatures
and an abundance of Mg in the dolostone rich sand and gravel deposit. The presence or
absence of aragonite may prove of value in differentiating between warm interglacial and cool
interstadial soil profiles.
A.A.
261
698. QUIGLEY, R.M., and A. DREIMANIS. 1972. Weathered interstadial green clay at Port
Talbot, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 9(8):991-1000.
The geologic origin of a distinctive layer of green, weathered clay belonging to the lower
part of the Port Talbot Interstadial sediments (Port Talbot I) on the north shore of Lake
Erie has been reinterpreted in relation to its clay mineralogy, carbonate content, and pollen
data.
In addition to illite and chlorite, both characteristic of all clayey glacial sediments in
the area, the green clay contains abundant smectite probably produced by oxidation weathering
of chlorite in the Bradtville Till. Carbonate contents, normally less than 1% in the green
clay compared to values of 15 to 45% in the overlying and underlying sediments, indicate
extensive solution weathering.
The green clay layer is interpreted to be an accretion gley, weathered in a soil profile
during the early part of the Port Talbot Interstadial and subsequently eroded and deposited
in poorly drained depressions under reducing conditions. An abundance of oak, pine, and
spruce pollen indicate a fairly temperate climate at the beginning of Port Talbot I, becoming
cooler towards the deposition top of the green clay, as suggested by low percentage or
absence of oak pollen.
A.A.
699. QUINLAN, G., and C. BEAUMONT. 1982. The deglaciation of Atlantic Canada as recon-
structed from the postglacial relative sea-level record. Canadian Journal of Earth
Sciences 19(12):2232-2246.
The post-Wisconsinan relative sea-level record from Atlantic Canada is used to reconstruct
the morphology of late Wisconsinan age ice cover during its retreat from the Atlantic region.
The proposed reconstruction has little or no grounded ice in the southern Gulf of
St. Lawrence, an ice dome over the north shore of the St. Lawrence, and thin ice, often less
than 1 km thick, over much of the rest of the area. A sensitivity analysis shows that the
proposed reconstruction is not unique in its ability to account for the relative sea-level
record but that the thickness of ice in any individual area of the reconstruction is unlikely
to be in error by more than a factor or two. The exact position of the ice margin in some
areas is not well constrained by the model; an example is in southeastern Newfoundland.
The numerical model used to relate ice morphology to postglacial relative sea level assumes
that the ice sheets are isostatically equilibrated at the glacial maximum and, therefore,
that load changes associated with earlier ice-sheet growth may be ignored. This assumption
is shown to be reasonable. The same rapid relaxation of the Earth that allows one to ignore
the effects of glacial accumulation, however, prohibits one from recognizing the effects of
large-scale ablation that may have occurred prior to the assumed glacial maximum. For this
reason the proposed reconstruction may be representative of only a late stage in the ablation
of much more extensive and thicker ice sheets.
Surfaces of relative sea level are presented for Atlantic Canada at various times in the
past. These surfaces coincide with observational data where such data exist and are felt to
provide reasonable estimates of relative sea level at all other locations for at least the
last 13 000 years.
700. RADFORTH, N.W. 1945. Report on the spore and pollen constituents of a peat bed in the
Shipshaw area, Quebec. Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada, Series 3,
Section 5, 39:131-142.
Tentatively the writer is inclined to a conclusion that the Shipshaw peat is interglacial and
possibly Sangamon in age. That it is unlikely to be postglacial is supported by evidence
given earlier. That it may be Sangamon in age is based chiefly on the favourable comparison
262
with the Laura and Canton peats. However, the significance of this comparison must not be
overstressed as the evidence is too incomplete.
Then too there is evidence for an alternative, more speculative view that the Shipshaw peat
is Yarmouth in age. Coleman (1941) recorded that the interglacial forest of the Toronto
formation which he regards as probably Yarmouth, indicates a climate of four or five degrees
warmer than at present, and it is a higher temperature of this order that would be more
conducive to success for the Shipshaw peat flora.
Excerpt
701. RADFORTH, N.W., and J. TERASMAE. 1960. A palynological study relating to the
Pleistocene Toronto formation. Canadian Journal of Botany 38(4):571-580.
The present palynological study is used as a new approach to determine the stratigraphical
and chronological position of the Pleistocene interglacial deposits, the Toronto formation,
exposed in sections at Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
An interpretation of lithology, combined with evidence supplied by the pollen and spore
assemblages, indicates that the Don beds, the lower member of the Toronto formation, belong
to the Sangamon Interglacial. The Scarborough beds, the upper member of the formation, were
deposited during a nonglacial interval, cooler than the present. Conformity between the two
members is questioned on grounds of lithological and palynological evidence.
Results of palynological studies, as indicated by this investigation, can be used for inter-
pretation of the mode of deposition of certain laminated sediments and for reconstruction of
past types of landscape.
A.A.
702. RAILTON, J.B. 1975. Post-glacial history of Nova Scotia. In: Environmental Change in
the Maritimes. Edited by: J.G. Ogden, III and M.J. Harvey. Proceedings of the
Nova Scotian Institute of Science 27(Supplement 3):37-41.
The author reviews known dates of post-glacial stratigraphy and evidence for important
climatic changes. The first closed boreal-type forests (spruce, fir, and birch) appear to
have occurred in Nova Scotia around 10,000 years B.P.; the average date for the spruce post-
glacial pollen zone (A zone) is 9821 years B.P. The author provides the average date and
range of classical zones A,B,C1,C2,C3. Although these are not contained in all the lakes and
bogs examined, those zones represented by the spectra examined show the classical sequence of
climatic changes. The A/B transition, spruce replaced by pine, occurred in Nova Scotia about
7300 years B.P. The hypsithermal interval, maximum warmth and dryness, spanned the period
between 8700-5000 years ago. Work done in southwestern Nova Scotia indicates a temperature
rise to an optimum and then a climatic deterioration.
A.B.S.
703. RAMPTON, V. 1971. Late Quaternary vegetational and climatic history of the Snag-
Klutlan area, southwestern Yukon Territory, Canada. Geological Society of America
Bulletin 82(4):959-978.
Present vegetation in the Snag-Klutlan area has a general altitudinal zonation; tree line
being between 4100 and 4400 ft elevation on almost all slopes. Pollen spectra from surface
samples below tree line generally reflect the vegetational composition. Those from above
tree line, however, do not always reflect the surrounding vegetation, because they contain a
large amount of pollen originating from below tree line.
A pollen diagram from pond sediments suggests the following vegetational sequence for the
last 31,000 yrs: 31,000 B.P. through 27,000 B.P., fell-field or sedge-moss tundra followed
263
by shrub tundra; 27,000 B.P. through 10,000 B.P., sedge-moss tundra; 10,000 B.P. through 8700
B.P., shrub tundra; 8700 B.P. through 5700 B.P., spruce woodland; 5700 B.P. through present,
spruce forest. The diagram also suggests the following negative departures of July temper-
atures: 31,000 B.P. through 27,000 B.P., at least 8°F and possibly as much as 16°F; 27,000
B.P. through 13,500 B.P., 13°; 13,500 B.P. through 10,000 B.P., 12°F; 10,000 B.P. through
8700 B.P., 8°F. Precipitation seems to have been lower during cooler intervals than are
present levels. Precipitation also seems to have increased over the last 6000 years.
Logs above the present tree line imply that summer temperatures have fluctuated above present
values between 6000 B.P. and 1220 B.P. Tree-ring studies indicate that temperatures during
the 200 yrs preceding 1940 were as much as 2°F cooler than present.
A.A.
704. REEVES, B.0.K. 1973. The nature and age of the contact between the Laurentide and
Cordilleran ice sheets in the western interior of North America. Arctic and Alpine
Research 5(1):1-16.
The presumed existence of a single mass of coalesced Cordilleran and Laurentide ice during
most of late Wisconsin time is central to many archaeological hypotheses on the peopling of
the New World. The area under concern is a 2,400-km belt of the Western Interior Plains and
adjacent mountains, extending from the 49th parallel to the Arctic Ocean. Multiple
Cordilleran glaciation occurred in the Rocky Mountain area during both late and early
Wisconsin time. Radiocarbon dates indicate the mountain valleys were largely ice-free by
10,500 BP. Multiple Laurentide glaciation also is well established, the last advances in
southern Alberta (late Wisconsin) having terminated east of the mountain front. Southern
Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan were ice-free by ca. 15,000 BP. Incontravertible
evidence for coalescence west of the late Wisconsin ice front comes only from the Athabasca
Valley, where Roed found that the two glaciers coalesced and flowed southeast. This event
occurred either in early Wisconsin or Illinoian time. Since then the western border of the
plains of Alberta has remained ice-free.
A.A.
705. REEVES, B.0.K. 1975. Early Holocene (ca. 8000 to 5500 B.C.) prehistoric land/resource
utilization patterns in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. Arctic and Alpine
Research 7(3):237-248.
Archaeological research in Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta, between 1967 and 1971
located 12 archaeological sites dating in the interval between ca. 8000 and 5500 B.C. Ten of
these were tested and two excavated. The location of these sites is examined in relation to
the late glacial-early Holocene environmental sequence, and various present-day variables--
climate, physiography, vegetation, and ungulate behavior, and hydroseres which structured the
More recent seasonal prehistoric settlement patterns in the Park. The data suggest that a
settlement pattern characterized by seasonal use of the various valley areas and resources
was established by ca. 6000 B.C.
Late Pleistocene time contains two major glaciations, Bull Lake and Pinedale. Bull Lake
dating in “the YVellowstone Park area fErom + 710,000 to = _ 120000 BP
(Birkeland et al., 1971) is represented by two major advances in Waterton.
Pinedale dating from ca. 20,000 B.C. (Birkeland et al., 1971) to 6000 B.C. (Reeves and
Dormaar, 1972) generally consists in Waterton of four ice frontal positions.
The climate of the Pinedale III/IV interval is not particularly well known in the northern
Rockies, since the older, radiometrically uncontrolled, pollen profiles available for areas
such as Glacier National Park (Hansen, 1949) and Jasper National Park (Heusser, 1956) only
differentiate major post-Pleistocene trends. Unfortunately current palynological data for
Waterton postdates the time period under consideration in this paper. While local data are
lacking, data from south-central British Columbia indicate that the timberline in that area
was at least 300 m above its present position at 7200 B.C. suggesting a drier and warmer
264
climate (Van Ryswyk, 1971). If climate fluctuations are longitudinally time correlative in
the Northern Cordillera, one may infer that similar climatic conditions were extant in
Waterton at this time. Perhaps that atmospheric circulation pattern was similar to that
which existed during the later Atlantic climatic episode (Reeves, 1973).
Environmental conditions during Pinedale IV time are better delineated. Data obtained from
the "Gap", a site 60 km north of Waterton indicate the upper timberline was depressed at
least 600 m from its present position at 2,200 m. Mean annual temperatures decreased 3 to
4°C, and precipitation doubled (Reeves and Dormaar, 1972). Similar data have been obtained
from the Crowsnest Valley, located between the Gap and Waterton (Reeves, 1974).
The Pinedale IV landscape in Waterton differed from that of today in a number of major
aspects. Large areas of the mountain valleys were covered by ice. The alpine life zone ...
was also greatly expanded.
The Atlantic climatic episode dating ca. 6000 to 3000 B.C. follows Pinedale IV's advance and
retreat. Current palynological data (Hills, 1971) from Waterton indicate that the most
marked climatic change occurred during the interval prior to 3500 B.C. At this time the
lower tree line shifted upwards at least 100 m. Data from the mountains to the north
indicate an increase in mean annual temperature of 2°C, and a decrease in precipitation of
about 25%, mainly through decreased winter precipitation (Reeves and Dormaar, 1972).
AA
706. REEVES, B.0.K., and J.F. DORMAAR. 1972. A partial Holocene pedological and archaeo-
logical record from the Southern Alberta Rocky Mountains. Arctic and Alpine
Research 4(4) :325-336.
Salvage excavations at an archaeological site (DiPo-20) located in the Front Range of the
Rocky Mountains in southwestern Alberta revealed the presence of a series of living floors,
radiocarbon dated at ca. 4000, 4700 and 6000 B.C., in association with the Ah horizons of a
series of buried soil profiles. While archaeological information is minimal, analysis of the
buried soils indicates that they formed under a different vegetation cover from that on the
site today. The earliest soil, a Degraded Alpine Eutric Brunisol, inferred to have developed
under subalpine to alpine vegetation and a cold wet climate, suggests depression of the
timberline on the order of 600 m. These climatic characteristics are considered to reflect
those of the last valley glaciation (Pinedale IV). The two later buried soils, Orthic
Regosols, developed under grassland vegetation reflective of a drier warmer climate,
indicating the lower tree line shifted upwards a minimum of 30 m. A return to “normal”
climatic conditions is correlated with the onset of the Neoglacial dated ca. 2800 B.C. in the
Southern Alberta Rockies.
A.A.
707. REIMHERR, G.W. 1979 Paleoclimatology, a bibliography with abstracts. National
Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia. 92pp.
The cited reports describe studies of climate in the geologic past, and involve the inter-
petation of glacial deposits, fossils, and paleogeographical data. [Search period covered
1964-November 1979. Contains 154 abstracts. ]}
AL
708. REITAN, C.H. 1974, A climatic model of solar radiation and temperature change.
Quaternary Research 4(1):25-38.
Mean monthly temperatures for the Northern Hemisphere were determined for the years 1955
through 1968 following the same procedures used by H.C. Willett, and J.M. Mitchell, Jr., in
their studies of long-term trends. It was found that the downward trend they reported
starting in the 1940s continued, though interrupted, into the 1960s.
The temperature data when combined with radiation data and other components of the
hemispheric energy budget led to the formulation of the response ratio, the relationship
between change in incoming solar radiation and change in temperature. When this response
ratio was applied to decrease in direct solar radiation following the eruption of Agung in
1963, a probable cause-effect relationship was suggested.
A.A.
709. REPENNING, C.A. 1980. Faunal exchanges between Siberia and North America. Canadian
Journal of Anthropology 1(1):37-44.
The microtine rodents, because of their rapid rate of evolution in recent geologic time,
their arctic to temperate preferences, and their rapid rate of dispersal in appropriate
environments, provide the most precise record of faunal movement between Siberia and North
America. This record has been calibrated by radiometric dates, the paleomagnetic polarity
scale, oceanic climatic indicators, and the similar history of microtine invasions from
Siberia into Europe. The development of provincialism in the North American fossil microtine
fauna clearly documents the effective beginning of the ice-free corridor east of the
Cordilleran ice sheet. Between microtine dispersal events, Beringian Alaska had a Siberian
fossil fauna bearing no relation to that of North America.
A.A.
710. RICHARD, P. 1971. Two pollen diagrams from the Quebec City area, Canada. Pollen et
Spores 13(4):523-559.
The vegetation history has been reconstructed in two localities around Québec City, on the
basis of pollen analysis. The chronological succession of the plant communities since
deglaciation compares quite well with the present latitudinal vegetational zonation. The
fossil flora of an arctic character, previously found by some authors, is reinforced here by
the discovery of many additional taxa and by a remarkably high percentage of non-arboreal
pollen.
A.S.
711. RICHARD, P. 1973. Histoire postglaciaire de la végétation dans la région de Saint
Raymond de Portneuf, telle que révélée par l'analyse pollinique d'une tourbiére.
Naturaliste Canadien 100(6):561-575.
The pollen diagram gives the postglacial vegetational history for the last 8000 years. The
whole late-glacial is lacking because of the geomorphological position of the bog on a late
glacial outwash plain. The first vegetation is composed of herbs and shrubs, which were
rapidly replaced by an open spruce community. Subsequently, a white birch-balsam fir
community established itself and was replaced afterwards by a yellow birch-balsam fir
community. Sugar maple stands containing yellow birch replaced fir stands and maintained
themselves until present time. Difficulties were encountered in the reconstruction of past
vegetation from the pollen diagram. A methodology is proposed which takes into account the
type of landform and the results of present pollen rain studies of known plant communities.
A.A.
266
712. RICHARD, P. 1973. Histoire postglaciaire comparée de la végétation dans deux localités
au nord du Parc des Laurentides, Québec. Naturaliste Canadien 100(6):577-590.
The regional vegetation history of the Montagnais site began with a tundra and was followed
by a forest made up of exclusively boreal communities. A succession of spruce fir, and fir-
white birch communities led to a rather uniform postglacial history of vegetation. The
situation for the Kenogami site has been very different, since a number of thermophilous
species played a role in the composition of past communities. Even if the initial tundra is
lacking, the vegetational history shows much more variety. On the mesic sites, a fir-white
birch community followed the initial spruce vegetation. After a return of spruce, a fir-
yellow birch community was established and constituted the climax vegetation up to now.
However, during this period, changes occurred on hydric sites in which american elm and black
ash seem to have had the main role. The discovery of another pollen assemblage representing
tundra brings new light on the still poor knowledge we have of this late-glacial vegetational
formation.
713. RICHARD, P. 1973. Histoire postglaciaire comparée de la végétation dans deux localités
au sud de la ville de Québec. Naturaliste Canadien 100(6):591-603.
Vegetational history in the Dosquet region has been registered in peat deposits since about
9,000 B.P. At that time, the freshly water-free land supported spruce communities. These
were replaced by a vegetation dominated by fir and white birch, which gave way to sugar
maple-yellow birch community first and to sugar maple in association with more thermophilous
taxa afterwards. This last situation prevailed until present. Pollen analysis of the “lac à
Busque" sediments show evidence for the tundra from at least 10,000 to 9,300 years B.P.
Betula glandulosa community replaced tundra and was rapidly overcome by spruce vegita-
tion. A fir-dominated community, with white birch, succeeded the spruce and was followed by
sugar maple-yellow birch forest which dominated until now. This study allowed in addition
methodological considerations concerning some feature of the pollen curves of Acer
saccharum and Picea.
A.A.
714. RICHARD, P. 1975. Contribution à l'histoire postglaciaire de la végétation dans la
plaine du Saint-Laurent: Lotbiniére et Princeville. La Revue de Géographie de
Montréal 29(2):95-107.
After the retreat of Postglacial Champlain Sea from the southern part of the central
St. Lawrence lowlands, vegetation took place in the following sequence: spruce stands, fir
communities and later, sugar maple communities. The progressive warming of the climate,
while the sea was still a barrier to plant immigration northward, provoked a “stand still” of
the floral elements and resulted in an intermingling of different plant communities. This
phenomenon is better expressed at Lotbinière. The great diversity of soil conditions allowed
the boreal and meridional floral elements to grow nearly side by side. The same pattern of
site control had a strong influence on the pollen representation of vegetation during the
whole Postglacial. This work stresses the difficulties met to show possible fluctuations in
the floristic composition of the “Laurentian” maple community in the past. The problem
should be solved by the study of local sediments that have registered a very local pollen
input.
A.A.
715. RICHARD, P. 1975. Contribution à l'histoire post-glaciaire de la végétation dans les
Cantons-de-l'est: étude des sites de Weedon et Albion. Cahiers de Géographie de
Québec 19(47):267-284.
The postglacial vegetational history in the region of Weedon has been studied by pollen
analysis of peat bog and lake sediments. Initial tundra vegetation has been replaced by the
267
forest, at about 11,000 B.P. Spruce established first, followed by fir stands (10,600 B.P.)
and, last, maple communities (9,000 B.P.) on the mesic sites. The yellow birch (Betula
alleghaniensis) seems to have experienced a delay in its immigration to the region. This
contributed to allow the existence of an original type of initial maple community, in which
the usual trees now found with maple were then lacking.
716. RICHARD, P. 1976. Relations entre la végétation actuelle et la spectre pollinique au
Québec. Naturaliste Canadien 103(1):53-66.
The pollen analysis of 59 moss polsters distributed throughout southern Quebec led to the
characterization of the present vegetation at the climax domain level. Within a climax
domain, different pollen spectra have been obtained, according to the distribution pattern of
landforms and soils. Nevertheless, characteristic pollen spectra can be recognized for each
climax domain. The tree species that give their name to the vegetation unit, reach their
maximum pollen representation within the unit. Gramineae, Ambrosia and Rumex
pollen are most widespread in the maple region because of high agricultural activities. A
methodology for the interpretation of the pollen diagrams from Quebec is put forward, in the
light of these results. Provided the autecology and sociological affinities of the plants
did not change greatly during the postglacial, and when the climate did not change too fast,
it is possible to trace the climax domains of the past when they correspond to the present
spectra, or reconstruct other climax domains that could have existed.
A.A.
717. RICHARD, P. 1977. Végétation tardiglaciaire au Québec méridional et implications
paléoclimatiques. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 31(1-2):161-176.
Recent pollen-analytical data allow a detailed reconstruction of the initial vegetation which
followed the final retreat of the Wisconsinan ice sheet. The general scheme is the
following: A period of periglacial desert was replaced more or less rapidly by tundra
vegetation. Afforestation of the landscape proceeded either through a taiga phase,
represented by a lichen-black spruce woodland, or by the establishment of an aspen parkland.
Several postglacial vegetation types followed. The paleoclimatic interpretation of the data
indicates severe climatic conditions around 11 400 BP at Mount Shefford, and around 7200 BP
in the southern part of Laurentides Provincial Park. It has not yet been possible to show
evidence for a climatic oscillation during the late-Glacial of Quebec, which appears very
metachroneous. This metachroneity seems to be caused by the differences in altitude of the
main physiographic regions and does not seem to correspond to the metachroneity in the ice
retreat of the Wisconinsan ice sheet. ... There is now a firm basis to the statement that
vegetation similar to the present-day tundra occupied a broad area in front of the ice sheet.
Future research should define the duration and extension of the tundra on one hand, and on
the other hand increase knowledge of its paleoclimatic significance.
pA.A.
718. RICHARD, P. 1977. Histoire Post-Wisconsinienne de la végétation du Québec méridional
par l'analyse pollinique. Service de la recherche, Direction général des forêts,
Ministére des Terres et foréts du Québec. (Publications et rapports divers) Tome
1, 312 pp-, Tome 2, 142 pp.
This research aims at reconstructing the post-Wisconsinan vegetational history of south-
central Québec. The effort has been placed on the pollen morphology of the Quebec flora, on
the methodology of the interpretation of pollen diagrams in the Quebec context, and on the
accumulation of pollen diagrams. This effort on pollen morphology allowed the improvement of
the identifications in pollen analysis. A total of 21 pollen diagrams has been established
from lake or bog sediments in the area. A small scale study of the relations between the
pollen spectra and the present vegetation has been conducted. It shows the possibility of
268
reconstructing past vegetation at the climax domain level, which greatly improves the
interpretation of the pollen diagram in terms of vegetation. Reconstruction of past
vegetation is then expressed in a system, the unit of which serves to describe the present
vegetation cover. Results of this study and several methodological considerations are the
keys to interpreting the pollen diagrams.
719. RICHARD, P. 1978. Histoire tardiglaciaire et postglaciaire de la wégétation au Mont
Shefford, Québec. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 32(1):81-93.
Pollen analysis of a peat bog at Mount Shefford revealed an initial lake stage from about
11,400 to 4,200 BP. The site was subsequently occupied by a bog dominated by Ericaceae
and Myrtca gale, then by an alder thicket (Alnus rugosa) and finally by a forest
dominated by red maple (Acer rubrum). The history of the regional vegetation is the
following: before 11,400 years BP, a cold desert preceded an herb tundra and then, a shrub
tundra that ended at 11,100 BP. The afforestation was characterized first by open stands of
spruce (Picea mariana) and aspen (Populus tremuloides), which proceeded towards
an open parkland until about 10,100 years BP. A balsam fir-white birch domain can be
proposed for the period from 10,100 to 7500 BP, after which the sugar maple-linden domain
dominated until the present day. The Mount Shefford diagram is proposed as a standard-
diagram because of the outstanding completeness of the pollen sequences, the oldest being
contemporaneous with the Saint Narcisse frontal morainic system episode. Methodological
aspects concerning the interpretation in terms of vegetation are discussed, and the main
pollen assemblage zones of south-central Québec are presented.
A.A.
720. RICHARD, P. 1980. Histoire postglaciaire de la végétation au sud du lac Abitibi,
Ontario et Québec. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 34(1):77-94.
Complete sequences of sediments representing the time since ice retreat (ca. 9,000 BP) and
drainage of proglacial Lake Ojibway (ca. 7,900 BP) have been recovered from Lake Yelle and
Lake Clo, two lakes, in a region about 10 km south of Lake Abitibi. The interpretation of
the pollen diagrams leads to the reconstruction of an open forest dominated by black spruce
(Picea martana), with abundant aspen (Populus tremulotdes) and jack pine
(Pinus divaricata), at the southern shore of Lake Ojibway around 8,900 BP. This type
of vegetation lasted about 1,000 years on the islands formed at that time by the hills around
Lake Yelle, while Lake Ojibway's level fell from 355 to 280 m. The forest vegetation
migrated rapidly into the lowlands after the drainage of the proglacial lake. From 7,900 to
7,200 years BP, the forest was a balsam fir - white birch community, on the mesic sites, but
black spruce and jack pine were abundant. From 7,200 to 6,000 BP, the vegetation was at its
maximum diversity and thermophily. White pine (Pinus strobus) migrated into the area,
especially on hills and on xeric sites. Between 6,000 and 3,250 BP, juniper
(Juniperus) became more abundant, the forest canopy being still open. Since 3,250 BP,
the forest cover has closed and black spruce and jack pine have increased at the expense of
white pine, in particular. The balsam fir-white birch community, on the mesic sites, has
remained almost unchanged in the landscape and the vegetational evolution has been
synchronous between the two sites since 7,900 BP.
721. RICHARD, P.J.H. 1981. Palaeoclimatic significance of the late-Pleistocene and Holocene
pollen record in south-central Québec. In: Quaternary Paleoclimate. Edited by:
W.C. Mahaney. Geo Abstracts, Norwich. pp. 335-360.
-Our knowledge of the pollen record in lake and bog deposits of southern Québec has improved
during the last decade. About 250 taxa are now identified, 125 to the specific level.
Pollen assemblages consequently appear more complex, due also to the increasing number of
269
sites analysed. The pollen record can be fitted into pollen zonations with different degrees
of simplification, depending on the criteria used. These criteria lead to different degrees
of paleoclimatic significance. Improving chronological control on the pollen zones shows
Metachronicity that also has a definite effect on the paleoclimatic significance of the
results. The different approaches to paleoclimatic interpretation of the pollen data are
reviewed for the southern Québec record. The thesis that climatic reconstruction must be
made through an adequately detailed reconstruction of the vegetation is put forward. In this
context, duration and competition are primary parameters to look at. These concepts, applied
to the late glacial record of south-central Québec, allow the reconstruction of a
paleoclimatic regionalism that differs essentially from the present-day pattern. There is
also the need for regional climatic reconstructions to be made independently of any global
continental or transcontinental scheme.
A.A.
722. RICHARD, P., and P. POULIN. 1976. Un diagramme pollinique au Mont des Eboulements,
région de Charlevoix, Québec. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 13(1):145-156.
The history of vegetation has been registered in the sediments of Lake Mimi since about 11
000 BP. The initial vegetation traced is a tundra which, under severe climatic conditions,
lasted for abut 1000 years. The herb tundra was progressively replaced by shrub tundra: a
willow. phase (Salix), followed by a dwarf birch phase (Betula cf.
glandulosa) have been traced. These were followed by an afforestation phase characterized
by an aspen community (Populus tremuloides) at about 10 000 BP. Spruce succeeded the
aspen community, probably as an open black spruce (Picea mariana) community with some
dwarf birch and green alder (Alnus crispa). An outstanding Alnus cf.
ertspa pollen peak (48%), supported by the annual pollen influx values, at the end of the
spruce phase, could be interpreted as a return of colder climate that favoured the expansion
of this shrub over forest. This event would date about 9750 BP. An open fir (Abies
balsamea) forest followed, and changed to the balsam fir - white birch (Betula
papyrifera) forest (climax domain), which prevailed until now. The richer sites supported
sugar maple (Acer saccharum) - yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis) community and
fir-yellow birch stands since 6200 BP. Six radiocarbon dates and annual pollen influx values
are offered, and some ecological problems related to the interpretation of the pollen diagram
are discussed.
723. RICHMOND, G.M. 1972. Appraisal of the future climate of the Holocene in the Rocky
Mountains. Quaternary Research 2(3):315-322.
Consideration of the history of Holocene climate in the Rocky Montains indicates that the
over-all trend during the past 2500 yr has been toward increasing warmth, interrupted by
cooler times of minor advances of cirque glaciers. Comparison of Holocene climatic history
with the record of past interglacials in the region suggests that the present interglacial is
not complete and that the climate may become first warmer and subsequently wetter before it
is completed. Correlation of the timing of the regional glacial-interglacial record for the
past 140,000 yr with the record of major sea level changes and with the calculated changes in
the earth's insolation suggest that the present interglacial may be completed within a few
millenia and that it may be followed by a significant cooling of the climate.
A.A.
724, RITCHIE, J.C. 1964. Contributions to the Holocene paleoecology of westcentral Canada.
I. The Riding Mountain area. Canadian Journal of Botany 42(2):181-196.
The results of pollen analysis of three sections of lake sediment, sampled in the Riding
Mountain area of Manitoba, suggest a tentative division of each into four zones. The lower,
interpreted as representing a closed white spruce forest, is followed by an apparently
270
treeless episode tentatively interpreted as a grassland phase; this is followed by a zone
which suggests indirectly the prevalence of deciduous forests, possibly dominated by poplar,
birch, and oak. The development of the mixed boreal forest, which prevails today, is marked
by a rise in the spruce and alder curves. The suggestion that the sections are post-Valders
in age is corroborated to some extent by a carbon-l4 age measurement of 9570 years from a
sample of spruce wood excavated from the bottom of a filled-in kettle in the vicinity;
associated gyttja yielded a pollen spectrum very similar to the I zones of the diagrams.
A.A.
725. RITCHIE, J.C. 1966. Aspects of the late-Pleistocene history of the Canadian flora.
In: The Evolution of Canada's Flora. Edited by: R.L. Taylor and R.A. Ludwig.
University of Toronto Press, Toronto. pp. 66-80.
[The author examines aspects of the late-Pleistocene history of the Western Interior of
Canada. Findings from seven sites are used to suggest an interpretation of vegetation
history. ]
"Thus the late-Pleistocene history of the flora of the Western Interior of Canada will
probably unfold ... as follows:
1 An initial, relatively rapid immigration from the south of a fairly rich,
mixed, transcontinental flora following ice disintegration, made up of floral
elements which later differentiated into low arctic, boreal, and temperate
groups depending upon the particular reaction of their ecological amplitude
with the changing environment.
Die An intrusion northward and eastward of a western plains flora into the areas
which were forested in the late-glacial period. Only careful investigations
in the future will reveal the exact extent of this early, post-glacial,
grassland region.
3. A reappearance in southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan of deciduous forest
elements, some migrating southward from the conifer forest to the immediate
north (Betula) and others extending north and west from the eastern
deciduous forests.”
Excerpt?
726. RITCHIE, J.C. 1969. Absolute pollen frequencies and carbon-14 age of a section of
Holocene lake sediment from the Riding Mountain area of Manitoba. Canadian Journal
of Botany 47(9):1345-1349.
A section of Holocene lake sediment in the southern Boreal Forest of Manitoba was re-sampled
and the sedimentation rate (0.039 cm per annum) calculated from eight carbon-14 age
determinations. Pollen accumulation rates were computed, and an absolute pollen frequency
diagram constructed. It suggests modifications of an earlier reconstruction of vegetation,
based on relative pollen frequencies. A spruce-dominated assemblage occurred from about
11,500 to 10,000 BP, when there was a change to a treeless vegetation of a grassland type.
This persisted until about 2500 BP, with the possible interpolation of an aspen parkland
phase from 6500 to 2500 BP. The Boreal Forest in its present form (dominated by spruce,
birch, and aspen, with local occurrences of pine, fir, larch, and oak) returned at 2500 BP,
presumably in response to a deterioration in climate (cooler and (or) wetter).
727. RITCHIE, J.C. 1972. Pollen analysis of late-Quaternary sediments from the Arctic
treeline of the Mackenzie River Delta region, Northwest Territories, Canada. In:
Climatic Changes in Arctic Areas During the last Ten-Thousand Years. Edited by:
Y. Vasari, H. Hyvdrinen and S. Hicks. Acta Universitatis Ouluensis Series A,
Scientiae Rerum Naturalium 3, Geologica 1:253-271.
[The author presents the findings of four sections of lake sediments of late-Pleistocene age.
The pollen stratigraphy of these four sites]..." is the basis of the following preliminary
reconstruction of vegetation history for the Mackenzie Delta uplands in general:
Age B.P. Vegetation
12 ,900-11,600 Tundra, dominated by dwarf birch, with open sites occupied by
grass-Artemtsia communities.
11 ,600-8 ,500 Invasion by spruce, forming a forest-tundra.
8 ,500-4 ,000 Development of a closed crown spruce forest with white birch.
Alder invasion of the area about 5,500 B.P.
4 ,000-present Retreat of spruce tree-line to present position; Tuktoyaktuk
Peninsula, Richards Island and adjacent area occupied by shrub
tundra with local abundance of alder.
Ritchie and Hare (1971) have outlined the climatological implications of these
reconstructions in the following way. It is suggested that the palynological and megafossil
evidence for an extension northward into the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula of continuous spruce
forest between 8,500 and 4,000 B.P. implies that the mean daily temperatures for the warmest
months were about 5°C higher than at present and the growing season about 30 days longer. It
is suggested that such an amelioration would require a displacement of the median July
position of the Arctic front about 350 km north of its present position.”
Excerpt?
728. RITCHIE, J.C. 1976. The late-Quaternary vegetational history of the Western Interior
of Canada. Canadian Journal of Botany 54(15):1793-1818.
The late-Wisconsinan pollen stratigraphy of the Western Interior of Canada is assembled and
16 representative sites provide a basis for establishing trends of vegetation history. Sites
in the southern, prairie region show an early Picea-Artemisia assemblage (12x103 to
10x103) replaced by a zone dominated by herb pollen. Similarly, sites in the Aspen Parkland
and Transitional zones all have the Picea-Artemisita zone from as early as 13.9x103 to
10x103, followed by a herb zone. It is replaced by an arboreal pollen zone at 4.5x103 to
3x103 B.P. While there is a broad trend common to all sites in the modern boreal forest,
from an early spruce-dominated assemblage to a late postglacial spruce-pine-birch assemblage
identical with modern spectra, there are differences in the details of stratigraphy. Two
sites in central Alberta have a poplar zone preceding the early spruce zone. Sites near the
modern southern forest boundary show a late development (3x103B.P.) of the mixed boreal
forest from prairie and hardwood deciduous forest communities. One site, at Flin Flon,
Saskatchewan, provides clear evidence for a treeless episode (Artemisia-grass-sedge)
preceding the spruce zone.
As the late-Wisconsinan glacial ended, an early version of the boreal forest, dominated by
spruce and lacking pine, spread from adjacent U.S. onto deglaciated surfaces and till over
stagnant ice. It persisted in the southern part of the area until about 10x103 and until
6x103 in the northernmost portions. In the south the spruce forest was replaced directly by
prairie, spreading from the southwest and extending farther north than its modern limit
between 7.5x103 and 6x103. All remnants of ice sheets and glacial lakes had disappeared by
about 7xl03 and the northern part of the area was occupied by a boreal forest undergoing
rapid changes in composition from the early spruce-dominated version to the mixed spruce-
pine-birch poplar mosaic prevalent today. Pine probably spread from western refugia, at
least into areas north and west of L. Winnipeg. At about 3x103 the southern limit of the
forest extended to the south, apparently in response to a climate with cooler and (or) wetter
growing seasons. The rapid replacement of the spruce-dominated boreal forest by grasslands
in the early postglacial was probably a response to warmer and drier growing seasons.
A.A.
729. RITCHIE, J.C. 1977. The modern and late Quaternary vegetation of the Campbell-Dolomite
Uplands, near Inuvik, N.W.T., Canada. Ecological Monographs 47(4):401-423.
The Campbell-Dolomite Uplands comprise a small area (140 km2) of outcropping, faulted
dolomite, limestone, and shale east of the Mackenzie River Delta, ~40 km south of the
northern limit of trees. The major landforms are bedrock ridges and plateaux, steep
colluvium, stable slopes, shorelines, and depressions. A principal component analysis of
vegetation-cover data from 150 stands suggests that much of the variation within the
heterogeneous vegetation is correlated with these broad habitat categories. Stable
surfaces bear an open spruce woodland with alder, tree and dwarf birch, and a varied lichen-
heath-Dryas ground vegetation.
A glacially modified karstic (solution) depression contains a small (8 ha), relatively deep
(22 m), apparently meromictic lake, which yielded a 12,000-yr core of sediment. A conven-
tional percentage diagram, an influx diagram, and numerical analysis (principal components)
suggest a sequence of pollen assemblage zones as follows: (1) Salix-Gramineae-
Artemtsta: 13,000 to 11,300 radiocarbon yr ago, (2) Betula (shrub)-Salix-
Gramineae-Artemista: 11,300 to 10,300, (3) Betula-Populus: 10,300 to 9,700,
(4) Betula-Populus-Juntperus: 9,700 to 8,900, (5) Ptcea-Betula (tree and
shrub)-Juntperus: 9,800 to 6,500, and, (6) Picea-Betula-Alnus: 6,500 to present.
Both percentage data and numerical analyses show that none of the pollen assemblage zones 1
to 5 has a modern analogue.
With 1 exception, these patterns of change in pollen spectra can be interpreted
parsimoniously without reference to regional environmental change. They suggest an initial
phase of migration of willow and herbs from adjacent unglaciated Megaberingia (North Yukon
and Alaska), followed rapidly by dwarf birch and poplar. Megaberingian floristic elements
(e.g., Plantago canescens, Selaginella stbirica) reached the area during this early
phase of migration. Subsequently arriving from the south along the Mackenzie valley were
juniper, ericads, spruce, and finally alder, which intensified competition and restricted the
early Megaberingian herb types to open, unstable habitats where they persist today. Slow
soil development (humus accumulation, rising permafrost table) probably favoured the spread
of the palynologically "silent" elements--lichens, ericads, and Dryas (the dominants of
the modern ground vegetation). Changes in the influx values of Picea suggest a
climatically induced increase in tree density and/or pollen production during the period
9,000-7,000 BP (Zone 5).
A.A.
730. RITCHIE, J.C. 1980. Towards a late-Quaternary paleoecology of the ice-free corridor.
Canadian Journal of Anthropology 1(1):15-28.
The palaeoecology of the area known as the ice-free corridor is as poorly understood and
documented as the geological evidence that there was in fact such an area. In the northern,
Beringian portion the full-glacial (maximum 18,000 BP) was characterized by impoverished,
tundra communities reflecting an environment colder, drier and less productive than during
the Holocene and present-day. Most sites of greater apparent age (Middle Wisconsin), while
they have yielded large numbers of vertebrate fossils, either lack stratigraphic context
entirely or have stratigraphy of uncertain age and provenance. There is fragmentary evidence
for Middle Wisconsin interstadial episodes that supported productive boreal woodland
ecosystems.
213
731. RITCHIE, J.C. 1981. Problems of interpretation of the pollen stratigraphy of northwest
North America. In: Quaternary Paleoclimate. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney. Geo
Abstracts, Norwich. pp. 377-391.
Pollen data from one site in the south Richardson Mountains of the Yukon Territory illustrate
the limitations imposed by investigations in a region of great geological (bedrock) and
topoclimatic diversity.
The paleoclimate model would suggest that the sequence of tundra-type herbs with additions of
a willow element at 13,000 BP, dwarf birch at 12,500 and spruce at 10,000 or 11,000 BP
reflects a change in climate from one similar to modern mid-arctic latitudes through low-
arctic to subarctic or northern boreal over the 3 millennia involved, using the floristic-
climatic zones proposed by Young (1971) as the modern analogue. Such a sequence is
concordant with our general understanding of the nature of hemispheric climatic change from
glacial to interglacial modes over the period 18,000 to 11,000 BP, although the data base for
these reconstructions (e.g. CLIMAP 1976) in northwest North America is scant. On the other
hand, the paleoclimatic sequence suggested by Delorme et al. (1977) for the same time
and area, based on ostracod data interpreted by a modern-analogue numerical technique, is
substantially at variance with the above interpretation. Clearly additional data are
required.
A rival hypothesis to account for the spruce pattern is that it has migrated from southern
refugia, down the Mackenzie valley, reaching western Alaska at roughly 6000 BP (Ritchie,
1979). In fact the available radiocarbon dates for the spruce rise at sites along the
Mackenzie valley and westward into Alaska are still too few--and those available are not
entirely sequential along this supposed migration route--to settle the issue of climatic
change versus differential migration.
pA.At
732. RITCHIE, J.C. 1982. The modern and late-Quaternary vegetation of the Doll Creek area,
north Yukon, Canada. The New Phytologist 90:563-603.
In addition to data on the modern vegetation in the Doll Creek area, northern Yukon
Territory, the author provides detailed pollen analysis from Lateral Pond (where five
radiocarbon dates provided geochronological control: 151,200) e230) "years: {Babe
(GSC=27/518) seas 6 O0ma 210i Tears a Been \UCSC—27.85))in) ola O Olssten SO Ryeanrsce (Ba bss
(GSCE2808) weve STORE S17 OO years REP NCGSC-2852) M6 S00) te GOl eyears Be Pe
(GSC-2854)). Immediately following the peak of the last glaciation (about 18,000 B.P.) the
area supported a sparse herb tundra on lower montane slopes and sedge-grass marsh in poorly-
drained sites. Climate evidently was cold and harsh. Between 16,000 and 12,500 years B.P.
willow, grass, sedge and herbs increased. By 12,500 years B.P. the region was occupied by
treeless communities in response to a slow amelioration of climate. An abrupt warming
occurred about 12,000 years B.P., coincident with the spread of dwarf shrubs (birch and
ericads), and a gradual increase in spruce until the present status of woodland was reached
about 7,500 years B.P. Alder and tree birch expanded to their modern status about 6,000 years
BP.
C.R.H.
733. RITCHIE, J.C., J. CINQ-MARS, et L.C. CWYNAR. 1982. L'environnement tardiglaciaire du
Yukon septentrional, Canada. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 36(1-2):241-250.
Pollen analysis of sediments at Bluefish Caves site approximately 60 km southwest of Old
Crow, Yukon Territory, shows two main pollen assemblages. The assemblage from the late
Wisconsin (16,000 to 12,000 years B.P.) loess indicates the presence of relatively harsh
climatic conditions with sparse herb tundra on the uplands and sedge-grass marshes on the
lowlands. The overlying humus, as well as marking the end of the Pleistocene megafauna in
274
the area, contains a pollen assemblage indicating a great increase in spruce and alder, and a
rapid passage from the earlier cold, dry glacial climate to a warmer, moister climate.
C.R.H.
734. RITCHIE, J.C., and B. DE VRIES. 1964. Contributions to the Holocene paleocology of
westcentral Canada. A late-glacial deposit from the Missouri Coteau. Canadian
Journal of Botany 42(6):677-692.
A buried deposit of limnic sediment was excavated from a site on the Missouri Coteau of
Saskatchewan, within the Mixed Prairie section of the Great Plains. Carbon-14 determinations
indicate that the section is late-glacial, possibly deposited during an interstadial
terminated by the Condie (=Valders?) re-advance. On the basis of the records of about 60
taxa of Tracheophyta and a pollen diagram, the section is characterized by lower, middle, and
upper plant assemblages. It is suggested that the lower and upper assemblages, distinguished
mainly by a Picea-Shepherdia canadensis-Salix-Artemisia pollen spectrum, indicate the
prevalence on mesic sites of a spruce forest. The middle assemblage, having an array of
macrofossils and a few microfossils of temperate geographical affinity and a pollen spectrum
suggesting relatively less spruce and (or) more herbaceous vegetation, is interpreted in
terms of a mixed spruce-poplar forest on mesic sites with shrub and grassland communities on
the more xeric habitats. This tripartite division of the section in terms of ecologically
concordant plant assemblages suggests an amelioration of environment followed by a
deterioration which was probably correlative with the Condie re-advance.
A.A.
735. RITCHIE, J.C., and K.A. HADDEN. 1975. Pollen stratigraphy of Holocene sediments from
the Grand Rapids area, Manitoba, Canada. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology
19(3):193-202.
Two sections of sediment from a shallow lake on The Pas moraine gave a 14¢ age of 7220
+ 110 years, a likely minimum age for the recession of Glacial Lake Agassiz II.
Three pollen zones are recognized as follows: Zone 1, from 7300 to about 6200 BP, dominated
by NAP (40-75%) with 6-22% spruce, 1-10% juniper and minor proportions of other trees,
interpreted as a treeless vegetation, except for scattered spruce, dominated by juniper,
grasses, sagebrush and herbs. Zone 2, from 6200 to 3500 BP, dominated by pine, with a mixed
forest of poplar, pine and spruce. Zone 3, an assemblage occurring from 3500 BP to the
present, consisting of spruce, pine and birch, representing the modern mixed boreal forest.
These findings agree with archaeological data suggesting a shift from a plains to a woodland
culture.
The climatic changes which we infer from this site are, that the area emerged from Glacial
Lake Agassiz II about 7300 BP when the period of maximum post-glacial warmth and dryness was
at its culmination; that about 6500 BP the climate deteriorated slowly, probably expressed as
slightly cooler and less dry summers, causing a southward replacement of grassland and
parkland by forest; and that a more rapid and marked deterioration occurred about 3500 BP.
[Nel Nene
736. RITCHIE, J.C., and F.K. HARE. 1971. Late-Quaternary vegetation and climate near the
Arctic tree line of northwestern North America. Quaternary Research 1(3):331-
342.
Earlier studies in Alaska and northwest Canada have shown inconsistent evidence for the
expected northward extension of the Arctic tree line during the Hypsithermal Interval. Only
megafossil evidence has supported this suggestion; the palynological findings have been
inconclusive. The Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, in the Northwest Territories of Canada, offers
critical sites for studies of late-Pleistocene ecology, because of its geological, biotic,
and climatological features. Palynological and megafossil evidence is presented from sites
on the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, indicating northward advance of the Arctic tree line during the
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period 8500-5500 B.P. Relative pollen frequencies of a core of lake sediment suggest a late-
Pleistocene sequence as follows: 12,900-11,600 dwarf birch tundra; 11,600-8500 forest
tundra; 8500-5500 closed-crown spruce-birch forest; 5500-4000 tall shrub tundra; 4000 present
dwarf birch heath tundra. These results suggest that during the Hypsithermal Interval the
Arctic Front (July position) was further north, over the Beaufort Sea, a displacement from
its present position of about 350 kn. The Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula, presently occupied by
tundra, and dominated by the Arctic airstream in July, was apparently under forest, with
warm, moist Pacific air during the Hypsithermal Interval.
A.A.
737. RITCHIE, J.C., and L.K. KOIVO. 1975. Postglacial diatom stratigraphy in relation to
the recession of Glacial Lake Agassiz. Quaternary Research 5(4):529-540.
The sediment and diatom stratigraphy of a small pond on The Pas moraine, near Grand Rapids,
Manitoba, reveals a change in sedimentary environment related directly to the last stages of
Glacial Lake assiz. Beach sands were replaced by clay 7300 14¢ y-a-, then by organic silt
and, at 4000 14c y-a- by coarse organic detritus; the corresponding diatom assemblages were
(I) a predominantly planktonic spectrum in beach sands; (II) a rich assemblage of
nonplanktonic forms, and (III) a distinctly nonplanktonic acidophilous spectrum. These
results confirm Elson's (1967) reconstruction of the extent and chronology of the final
(Pipun) stage of Glacial Lake Agassiz. The sedimentary environments change from a sandy
beach of a large lake at 7300 BP to a small, eutrophic pond with clay and silt deposition
from 7000 to 4000 BP. From 4000 BP to the present, organic detritus was deposited in a
shallow pond that tended toward dystrophy.
A.A.
738. RITCHIE, J.C., and S. LICHTI-FEDEROVICH. 1967. Pollen dispersal phenomena in arctic-
subarctic Canada. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 3:255-266.
The interpretation of sub-fossil spectra from Holocene deposits is hampered by certain
unresolved problems in pollen analysis. One of these is the qualitative and quantitative
significance of pollen transport by air movement, from one vegetation region to another. An
automatic volumetric pollen-spore trap was used at a subarctic, forest-tundra station to
examine daily pollen spectra from the atmosphere. The results show instances of long-
distance dispersal of pollen of anemophilous tree species confined to temperate North
America. Further, it provides a detailed atmospheric spectrum for a subarctic site.
Cumulative samples from high-, low- and mid-Arctic stations reveal further the extent of
long-distance transport of tree pollen, and the nature of contemporary Arctic spectra.
A.A.
739. RITCHIE, J.C., and S. LICHTI-FEDEROVICH. 1968. Holocene pollen assemblages from the
Tiger Hills, Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 5(4, part 1):873-880.
Coring of three kettle lakes in the moraine area known as the Tiger Hills, Manitoba, yielded
sections of sediment which span the Holocene for this region. Detailed pollen analysis of
two of the sections suggests five main pollen assemblage zones for the Holocene, numbered I
to V from above. Zone V is interpreted as a spruce-dominated vegetation associated with such
pioneering species as Shepherdia canadensis and Artemisia, a type found at
present as local fragments and having no regional equivalent. Zone IV also has no analogue
among recent pollen spectra, and is interpreted as a mosaic of mixed coniferous - broadleaved
deciduous forest stands, and extensive scrub with Juniperus and grassland. Zone III is
dominated by non-arboreal pollen types and suggests grassland, while Zone II has an oak
component, which indicates a savanna type. Zone I is the modern assemblage, with prominent
representation by weedy species. Radiocarbon age determinations suggest that the area was
occupied by the Zone V assemblage from about 12 800 B.P.
276
740. RITCHIE, J.C., and G.A. YARRANTON. 1978. The late-Quaternary history of the boreal
forest of central Canada, based on pollen stratigraphy and principal components
analysis. Journal of Ecology 66(1):199-212.
(1) Pollen stratigraphic data from four l4c-dated sections of Holocene sediment at sites in
the boreal forest region of central Canada were analysed by standard relative frequency
pollen diagrams and by principal components analysis (PCA). Ordination of the 173 pollen
samples on the second and third components of the PCA facilitated comparison between zones
and sites.
(2) Modern pollen samples from 110 sites throughout the modern vegetation zones of the
Western Interior of Canada were ordinated onto the same principal component axes as the sub-
fossil data, to provide a further comparative, graphical description of the data.
(3) The two northern sites revealed a stratigraphic sequence from a treeless Artemisiæ
willow-sedge zone, through a Picea-Juniperus-Artemisia zone, to zones dominated by
mixtures of pine, spruce, birch and alder.
(4) At the two southern sites, by contrast, an early treeless zone was lacking; there were
comparable early spruce and final mixed-forest zones, but the intermediate zones were
dominated by herb and non-coniferous tree types.
741. ROBERTS, A. 1981. Holocene environmental inferences from southern Ontario Paleo Indian
and Archaic archaeological site locations: ©. 11,000 to 2,500 years BP. In:
Quaternary Paleoclimate. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney. Geo Abstracts, Norwich.
pp. 411-421.
The location of a fluted projectile point in an area that is believed to have been glaciated
c. 11,500 to 11,200 yrs. BP is consistent with the scanty geological evidence and verifies
that the Kirkfield outlet was probably deglaciated c. 11,200 yrs. BP.
Until recently, work on southern Ontario Archaic has been limited to a small number of
comparatively well preserved sites. This gave an impression of a relatively extensive
Laurentian Archaic occupation with suggestions of some later Archaic and Paleo Indian
occupations. Surveys along the north shore of Lake Ontario show Archaic occupations similar
to those recently defined in southwestern Ontario. These results support an Early Archaic
“Carolinian" occupation, probably developing out of the preceding Paleo Indian phases. Data
show a respectable correlation between Early and Middle Archaic site locations and the
developing mixed hardwood forest during the period of climatic improvement from c. 9000 to
5000 yrs. BP. This evidence adds further support to the pollen and Coleoptera records for
postglacial climatic change in southern Ontario.
A significant orientation along the north shore of Lake Ontario has been found for the Paleo
Indian, Early Archaic and Middle Archaic sites. There is an avoidance of the kame moraine
and lacustrine deposit areas north of the Oak Ridges Moraine until lake Archaic and Woodland
time (c. 4000 to 600 yrs. BP). This pattern can be explained by two hypotheses:
1. increasing population pressure; and 2. variations in carrying capacity as a result of
climate change. Greater diversity in Archaic adaptations and inferred larger population may
have resulted in resource exploitation in more marginal areas. Evidence for the termination
of the Thermal Maximum coincides with an increasing use of these areas leading to a higher
carrying capacity and, hence, an increased exploitable resource.
A.A.
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742. ROBIN, G. de Q. 1981. Climate into ice: the isotopic record in polar ice sheets. In:
Sea Level, Ice, and Climatic Change. Edited by: I. Allison. International
Association of Hydrological Sciences Publication 131:207-216.
A brief survey of processes that control isotopic 5 values on polar ice sheets is given
along with a summary of various studies of the relationship between mean $ values and
Mean temperatures. It is concluded that the error of temperature changes deduced from a
mean 6 value of an ice sample deposited over N years will be around (0.7 082/N)5,
that is around +0.1°C for a 100 year mean. Empirical time-series studies of mean 4
values and mean temperatures indicate that a ratio of d6/d® of between 0.5 and
1.0 fits most data on a time scale ranging from seasonal variations to millenia. However ice
core data cannot be used to infer past climatic fluctuations of temperature until allowance
has been made for the flow of ice to the drilling site, including allowance for changes of
ice sheet dimensions over the period involved. Data from two Antarctic ice cores appear
consistent with the concept that isotopic profiles indicate changes over wide areas with
errors of the expected magnitude. [Mentions Canada and considers Present and 18,000 BP polar
regions. ]
ING
743. ROE, F.G. 1954. The Alberta wet cycle of 1899-1903: a climatic interlude. Agri-
cultural History 28(3):112-120.
Near Lacombe in south central Alberta, 1899 was a warm year with an abundance of rain in
August, September and October. For the next four years a succession of similar conditions
occurred with the wet season beginning a month earlier each year. In winter, the soil became
a solid block of ice six to seven feet deep. By 1903 water levels were beginning to fall,
but the entire country was like a swamp. In 1904 the snow cover cleared in April and a
normal splendid season followed which broke the wet cycle. During the wet years there were
no mosquitoes, the roads were terrible, and a re-survey of many road allowances was carried
out to place the roads on ridges. The wet cycle also affected the much drier areas of
southern Alberta.
At Lacombe, a clump of white poplar trees was killed by water after three years of the wet
spell. The trees were 70 years old, implying that no such wet cycle had occurred since 1830.
The author theorizes that evaporation has become greater as more of the Prairies have gone
under cultivation. The year 1915 was the year with peak water levels, and since dessication
is progressive, later years with heavy rains have never brought the water levels so high
again.
Thomas
744. ROED, M.A. 1979. Origin of linear moraine and stagnation of the Laurentide Glacier in
parts of Ontario. Geological Association of Canada-Mineralogical Association of
Canada Joint Annual Meeting, Program and Abstracts 4:75.
Reconnaissance field work in northwestern Ontario and near Ottawa has resulted in the
recognition of certain common stratigraphic features of major linear moraines. The
interpretation presented indicates that the moraines formed in ice-walled channels and/or
tunnels which developed along major structural zones of weakness in the stagnating Laurentide
Glacier. Some of the linear moraines are in excess of 300 km in length and rarely exceed 1
km in width. Meltwater flowing along them may have been under considerable hydrostatic head
in places. Later, as disintegration proceeded, most of the tunnels melted and collapsed and
turned into ice-walled lakes that served to level the tops of these features. At Ottawa the
Champlain Sea invaded the region when there was still ice-cored debris along some of the ice-
walled channels, so that fossiliferous till was deposited, considered by some to represent a
younger and separate glacial advance.
The linear moraine features have been considered to represent frontal moraines of a receding
ice-sheet, and the ideas presented here suggest that a major revision of this concept and
other deglaciation concepts is warranted in eastern Canada.
A.A.
745. RUDDIMAN, W.F., and L.K. GLOVER. 1975. Subpolar North Atlantic circulation at 9300 yr
BP: faunal evidence. Quaternary Research 5(3):361-389.
We have examined the circulation of the subpolar North Atlantic at 9300 yr BP by using a
dispersed layer of silicic volcanic ash as a synchronous horizon. At the level of this
datum, we have reconstructed from foraminiferal evidence a geologically synoptic view of
seasonal variations in sea-surface temperatures and salinities. The reconstruction defines
two oceanic fronts at 9300 yr BP: (1) The meridionally oriented Polar Front bordering the
axis of deglacial outflow of Arctic and Laurentide ice and meltwater and (2) a zonal portion
of the Subarctic Convergence along 48°N, marking a major confluence between the subtropical
and subpolar gyres. The 9300-yr configuration primarily differed from the modern pattern in
the more easterly position (by 3°) of the Polar Front and the more southerly (3°) and
easterly (5°) position of the Subarctic Convergence. Both fronts had been merged at 18,000
yr BP into the full glacial Polar Front; 9300 yr BP, they were approaching the end of a
northwestward deglacial retreat toward the modern interglacial positions.
There were two dominant departures at 9300 yr BP from the Earth's modern configuration, both
related to deglaciation: the very large Laurentide Ice Sheet still covering eastern North
America to 48°N, and the region of cold Arctic/Laurentide deglacial outflow. These two
features caused: a more easterly position than now of the region of upper air divergence and
lower air convergence downstream from the Ice Sheet and meltwater outflow; a more intense
expression of this upper air divergence and lower air convergence over the central portion of
the subpolar North Atlantic; and a latitudinally more stable axis of convergence of surface
westerlies over this region. These factors apparently caused the stronger oceanic
convergence along 48°N than at present. They also created a stronger, southeastward-directed
wind drift current, which opposed the meridional (northward) flow typical of the present
interglaciation.
A.A.
746. RUDDIMAN, W.F., and A. MCINTYRE. 1979. Warmth of the subpolar North Atlantic Ocean
during Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet growth. Science 204(4389):173-175.
Two 10,000-year periods of Northern Hemisphere continental ice-sheet growth stand out
prominently within the last full interglacial-to-glacial cycle. During the first half of
each rapid ice-growth phase, the subpolar North Atlantic from 40°N to 60°N maintained warm
sea-surface temperatures comparable to those of today's ocean. The juxtaposition at
latitudes 50°N to 60°N of an “interglacial” ocean alongside a “glacial” land mass,
particularly along eastern North America, is regarded as an optimal configuration for
delivering moisture to the growing ice sheets.
747, RUDDIMAN, W.F., and A. McINTYRE. 1981. The North Atlantic Ocean during the last
deglaciation. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 35:145-214.
The last deglacial warming of the high-latitude North Atlantic Ocean (40°-65°) occurred in
three discrete steps: in the southeast and central regions at 13,000 BP; in the central and
northern sectors at 10,000 BP; and in the western (Labrador Sea) sector between 9,000 and
6,000 BP. This regionally time-transgressive sequence was punctuated by a major cooling and
polar front readvance from 11,000 to 10,000 BP; this briefly returned most of the high-
latitude North Atlantic to almost full-glacial temperatures.
Carbonate productivity levels reached minimum values from 16,000 BP to 13,000 BP and then
gradually rose, reaching maximum values in the Holocene at about 6,000 BP. We interpret
these changes in carbonate productivity as indicating a major influx of products of glacial
wastage (meltwater and icebergs) from 16,000 to 13,000 BP, with considerably reduced influx
after 13,000 BP. Combined with evidence for meltwater to the Gulf of Mexico via the
Mississippi River, this suggests that the bulk of volumetric deglaciation in the Northern
Hemisphere occurred considerably earlier than the main areal retreat of ice-sheet limits.
This implies that the still-extensive ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere were relatively
thin by 13,000 BP. Because there is no palynologic evidence of unusual atmospheric warming
on the southern margins of the ice sheets before 13,000 BP, we infer that this early phase of
rapid ice disintegration occurred largely by iceberg calving and marine downdraw.
We also infer that from 16,000 to 13,000 BP low winter insolation combined with a low-
salinity meltwater layer to form sea ice south to 50°N; after that date, the winter sea-ice
cover diminished significantly. We infer from this that the critical flux of winter moisture
to the ice sheets was largely cut off from 16,000 to 13,000 BP and still significantly
suppressed after 13,000 BP. Moisture starvation thus hastened the disintegration of Northern
Hemisphere ice masses.
The brief but strong ocean cooling roughly coincident with the European Younger Dryas (11,000
to 10,000 BP) appears to mark a major influx of tabular icebergs from a disintegrating Arctic
ice shelf, perhaps enhanced by external forcing at higher frequencies (2,500 yr).
A.A.
748. RUTTER, N.W. 1969. Pleistocene paleosol investigations in parts of Western Canada.
In: Pedology and Quaternary Research. Edited by: S. Pawluk. University of
Alberta Press, Edmonton. pp. 83-102.
Very few Pleistocene paleosols have been described in Western Canada and these are confined
mostly to buried soils. Three areas are discussed that offer promise for relict paleosol
study at the present time —- the Interior Plains, the Rocky Mountains and environs, and parts
of the Yukon. Reconstruction of past geomorphology, climate and vegetation, and time
relationships may be aided by comparing soils on different surfaces and by individual study.
In the Interior Plains, stillstands and readvances of the last glaciation may be detected by
recording differences in weathering intensity and profile thicknesses of soil in till on
either side of a former ice front position. In the southern Rocky Mountains and environs
three surfaces of widely varying age are present — at lower elevations, Wisconsin; at
intermediate elevations, pre-Wisconsin (?); and at higher elevations, unglaciated surfaces.
By relict soil study it may be possible to confirm that the pre-Wisconsin (?) surface
actually represents an interglacial interval. In parts of the Yukon, at least four distinct
surfaces are present. These include a non-glacial surface, at least Miocene age: a high
terrace, whose surface dates from pre-Illinoian time, and lower terraces dating from early
Wisconsin or Illinoian and late Wisconsin times. The presence of ancient surfaces at varying
elevations permits detailed study of the complexities and inter-relationships of soil
development and geomorphic evolution.
A.A.
749, RUTTER, N.W. 1980. Late Pleistocene history of the western Canadian ice-free corridor.
Canadian Journal of Anthropology 1(1):1-8.
Recent investigations of the relationship between Pleistocene Cordilleran and Laurentide
glaciers suggest that the ice-free corridor was closed for a relatively short period during
Wisconsin Glaciation. The corridor could have been closed sometime during Early Wisconsin
(approximately 100,000-120,000 to approximately 50-70,000 years BP) although little is known
about glacial events during this period. It was most likely open during the Middle
Wisconsin. During Late Wisconsin time (approximately 10,000 to 25,000 years BP) the corridor
was probably open from about the U.S.-Canadian border to the Jasper-Edmonton area, closed for
280
a period from the Jasper-Edmonton area northward to the B.C.-Alberta border and open beyond
to the Arctic Ocean. Man could have migrated freely in this region during most of the
Wisconsin.
750. SAARNISTO, M. 1974. The deglaciation history of the Lake Superior region and its
climatic implications. Quaternary Research 4(3):316-339.
A zone of synchronous end moraines has been recognized in the Lake Superior region across
northern Ontario and Michigan. The moraines were formed between 11,000 and 10,100 y.a. as
cold climate resulted in successive halts in the general ice retreat. The cold climate is
also indicated by the presence of tundra near Lake Superior until about 10,000 y.a. This
episode is here referred to as the Algonquin Stadial. It was preceded and followed by rapid
deglaciation. The Algonquin Stadial is comparable in age with the Younger Dryas Stadial of
Europe, and indicates a reversal in the continuous trend toward a warmer climate during Late-
Wisconsin(an) time. The apparent conflict between the present result (based on geologic
evidence) and earlier pollen stratigraphical studies with no reversal is discussed.
Glacial Lake Duluth formed in the western Lake Superior basin before 11,000 BP, followed by a
series of Post-Duluth lakes between approximately 11,000 and over 10,100 BP. The Main Lake
Algonquin stage in the Huron and Michigan basins terminated approximately 11,000 BP. The
subsequent high-level post-Main Algonquin lakes, which were contemporaneous with the Post-
Duluth lakes, existed in the southeastern Lake Superior basin. When the ice margin was along
the north shore 9500 BP Lake Minong occupied the whole Lake Superior basin. By 9000 BP the
ice had retreated north of Lake Superior-Hudson Bay divide.
A.A.
751. SABO, G., III, and J.D. JACOBS. 1980. Aspects of Thule culture adaptations in southern
Baffin Island. Arctic 33(3):487-504.
An archaeological sequence of Neo-Eskimo occupations, based upon excavations of eight Thule
winter houses near Lake Harbour, Baffin Island, is outlined, beginning around A.D. 1100 and
extending into the present century. Relationships between past climatic events, local
environmental characteristics, and the organization of Neo-Eskimo subsistence-settlement
systems are traced throughout this period of time, based on analysis of artifactual, faunal,
and midden deposit data. A rescheduling of procurement systems, coupled with a shift in the
emphasis of fall/winter settlement options, is seen in response to climatic/ecological
changes, commencing after A.D. 1250, which affected the accessibility of bowhead whales,
ringed seal, and caribou. It is suggested that flexibility in the organization of domestic
units and demographic arrangements was an important cultural mechanism permitting Thule and
recent Inuit populations to respond effectively to changes in their biophysical
environments.
A.A.
752. SACHS, H.M. 1975. Radiolarian-based estimate of north Pacific summer sea-surface
temperature regime during the latest glacial maximum. In: Climate of the Arctic.
Edited by: G. Weller and S.A. Bowling. 24th Alaskan Science Conference,
University of Alaska, Fairbanks. pp. 37-42.
Objective quantitative estimates of paleo-oceanographic conditions in the Subarctic Pacific
can be made by analyses of radiolarian assemblages. By appropriate computations, transfer
functions developed in a study of surface sediments can be used to estimate oceanographic
conditions in deep-sea cores containing late Pleistocene faunas. For this study, two core
traverses (at about 166°E and 165°W, between 35° and 50°N) were examined. Glacial maximum
conditions were taken as the most recent temperature minima encountered. (More precise age
control is not yet feasible in these slow deposition-rate, carbonate-free cores). The
results indicate that parts of the North Pacific were significantly colder than today (by
281
about 4-5°C at 45°N), and can be used to reconstruct oceanographic conditions during this
time interval.
A.A.
753. SAVOIE, L., et P. GANGLOFF. 1980. Analyse pollinique d'une palse au site archéologique
de Vieux-Port-Burwell (Killiniq), Territoires du Nord-Ouest. Géographie physique
et Quaternaire 34(3):301-320.
Two pollen diagrams, one located at the summit (A) and the other at the foot (B) of a palsa,
3m from each other, reflect the geomorphological evolution of the site in a fen at Killiniq.
Between 5000 and 580 BP, the same evolution is registered by the two diagrams, i.e., the
progressive development of the fen. The pollinic zonations which mark this period of time
are imputed to paleoclimatic variations. The important low in local pollen representation
which appears around 3700 BP shows that difficult conditions for plant growth prevailed at
that time. Around 2430 BP a break in pollinic zonations IV and III correlates in diagram C,
taken at 300 m from the studied site, to the outcome of minerotrophic peat, which probably
points to an aggradation of the permafrost. Temperatures begin to get warmer around 1430 BP.
Starting from 580 BP, a divergent evolution is recorded by the two pollen diagrams. Peat
grows faster in B. Peat ceases to grow, dires and packs in A. Gramineae pollen takes up
high percentages in the assemblages. All these events are due to the growth of a palsa in
the fen. This palsa dates back to 600 years. It is more the result of progressive
thickening of the peat to a point permitting the formation of a palsa than a climatic
oscillation.
A.A.
754. SCHAFER, C.T., and J.N. SMITH. 1979. Sedimentation at the head of the Saguenay Fjord.
Geological Association of Canada-Mineralogical Association of Canada, Joint Annual
Meeting, Program and Abstracts 4:76.
Unbioturbated marine sediments containing a record of high river discharge events occur at
the head of the Saguenay Fjord, near Saint Fulgence. Preservation of allochthonous benthonic
foraminifera fossils, recognition of occasional rapid sedimentation events associated with
the spring runoff of the Saguenay River, and the unmixed character of the sediment, can be
used in conjunction with several dating techniques to obtain a temporal resolution of
paleoriverine events on a time scale of months to years.
The geologic and geochemical record of the upper 150 cm of sediment reflects (1) the anoxic
character of the benthic environment due to the high flux of terrigeneous material to the
bottom; (2) the transport and deposition of landslide-derived sediment into the head of the
Fjord over several years; (3) an indication of the nature and timing of dissolution processes
that have reduced, or totally eliminated the allochthonous calcareous microfossil assemblage
from the recycled sediment; (4) a cyclic depositional pattern that may be useful in
reconstructing paleoclimatological trends that have caused variations in annual river
discharge over the past millennium.
755. SCHAFER, C.T., and F.J.E. WAGNER. 1978. Foraminifera-mollusc associations in eastern
Chaleur Bay. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 15(6):889-901.
Common associations of mollusc and Foraminifera species were investigated in eastern Chaleur
Bay, Gulf of St. Lawrence. Three depth-related biotopes are recognized. The distribution of
species in this open bay environment appears to be controlled by substrate and (or) water
mass characteristics. North-south differences in shallow water assemblages are related to
summer bottom water temperature; calcareous Foraminifera and molluscs dominate in relatively
high temperature environments. The influx of cold water (<1°C) at intermediate depths (40-80
m) is reflected by an increase in the abundance of arenaceous Foraminifera species such as
282
Reophax scottit, and by the absence of numerous mollusc species that are found at these
depths elsewhere. A deep bay biotope (>80 m) can be recognized primarily on the basis of the
mollusc species Yoldia limatula and Periploma fragile in association with the
Foraminifera species Islandiella islandica. The observed mollusc-Foraminifera
associations can be applied to paleoenvironmental and biostratigraphic studies of north
temperate Holocene marine sediments.
A.A.
756. SCHELL, I.I. 1961. Recent evidence about the nature of climatic changes and its
implications. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 95(1):251-270.
Attempts to reconcile, in the case of the ice age, the seeming paradox of a steeper equator-
to-pole temperature gradient, increased circulation, evaporation and precipitation, with a
decreased solar output that apparently calls for opposite conditions. Essential requirements
for an ice age are exemplified by three theoretical cases, which would produce very much
lower temperatures at the poles, a steeper equator-to-pole temperature gradient, greatly
increased circulation and evaporation, and greater precipitation except over the ice areas.
Three actual cases illustrate the significance of temperature changes; one for a short period
1901-20 to 1921-40, one for a long period from a glacial to an interglacial, and one for the
1851-1900 to 1901-50 period for a limited area based on 165 selected station records.
General effects expected from increasing and decreasing solar output are discussed and
compared with the evidence concerning climatic changes from a glacial to an interglacial.
High-latitude decrease in temperature and greater precipitation near the ice edge took place
during the glacial; temperatures, precipitation and evaporation followed opposite trends in
the interglacial. Lake of ice in northernmost Greenland and Canada is explained by lack of
precipitation and rapid evaporation. Further warming is indicated, with possibly one or more
severe coolings and other less severe coolings before the end of this interglacial.
A.B.
75k) (SCHELL, Tol. 1962. On the iceberg severity off Newfoundland and its prediction.
Journal of Glaciology 4(32):161-172.
Analysis of the iceberg count off Newfoundland for 1880-1925 shows that stronger than usual
NW winds off the Labrador and Newfoundland coasts and relatively low temperatures over
Newfoundland during December-March lead to greater than average berg counts off Newfoundland
in April-June. Conversely, lighter NW winds and higher temperatures lead to lower berg
counts in the following months. The relative strength of winds can be measured by the
pressure difference between Belle Isle and Ivigtut. The relationship investigated provides a
basis for predicting the berg count each year at the end of March, and computed values
compared with actual values on scale 0 to 10 for the following period in 1927-1961 show
marked agreement. A more detailed representation of wind, temperature and other elements
during the winter and early spring in the area would lead to a closer relationship with the
berg count and a broader basis for its prediction.
A.B.
758. SCHELL, I.I., D.A. CORKUM, and E.N. SABBAGH. 1975. Recent climatic changes in the
eastern North American sub-Arctic. In: Climate of the Arctic. Edited by:
G. Weller and S.A. Bowling. 24th Alaskan Science Conference, University of Alaska,
Fairbanks. pp. /6-81.
An analysis of the iceberg count, mainly April-June months, off Newfoundland during the
period 1921-1970 showed a sharp decrease in the number of bergs crossing 48°N, from an
average of 435 bergs per year in the 1921-50 period (470, 419, 418 respectively in the first,
second and third decades) to 240 in the 1951-60 and to 150 in the 1961-70 decades. The
decrease was associated with a decrease in the strength of the December-February
northwesterly winds along the Labrador and Newfoundland coasts as measured by the pressure
differences between 50°N, 60°W and 60°N, 50°W... and also a decrease in the winds further
north, causing fewer bergs to drift southward with the Labrador current. It was also
associated with a more northeasterly direction of the April winds in the 1961-70 decade than
in the preceding 1951-60 decade and with a still greater northeasterly direction than in the
1921-50 period, allowing for a greater proportion of the reduced numbers of bergs to drift
southwestward, there to be grounded in the bays and shallows along the coasts. The decrease
in bergs was further associated with an increase in the December-February air temperatures at
St. John's (Torbay), Newfoundland from -3.6°C to -2.1°C between the 1920/1-1949/0 and 1950/1-
1959/0 periods, and a further increase of 0.2°C in the 1960/1-1969/0 decade over the 1950/1-
1959/0 decade. The low berg count in the 1961-70 decade was followed in 1972 by the heaviest
count on record (1590 bergs) and by another heavy count in excess of 800, or more than twice
the long-term average, in 1973.
Also, the sharp decrease in icebergs in the 1961-70 decade was associated with a marked ice
season extending into September in Baffin Bay, showing that the climatic elements in this
decade underwent different changes in each of the regions in accordance with Faegri's law:
the shorter the period of climatic change, the smaller the area similarly affected.
A.A.
759. SCHOFIELD, W.G., and H. ROBINSON. 1960. Late-glacial and postglacial plant macro-
fossils from Gillis Lake, Richmond County, Nova Scotia. American Journal of
Science 258(7):518-523.
An analysis of plant macrofossils in a deposit from Gillis Lake, Richmond County, Nova Scotia
is compared with the pollen analysis from the same deposit. The macrofossils belong to
aquatic or lake-shore genera or to trees with windborne seeds. Zones containing a variety of
macrofossils from aquatic plants and lacking those from lake-margin species in other zones
are interpreted to reflect a drier climate. Of the two birch species represented, a larger
number or exclusive presence of Betula lutea seeds suggests a milder climate, whereas a
larger representation of B. papyrifera suggests cooler conditions. Using these
criteria, the macrofossil record largely supports the conclusions made from the pollen
analysis. The water milfoil Myrtophyllum heterophyllum is identified from fossil
seeds. This species is presumably extinct in the present flora of Nova Scotia.
A.A.
760. SCHROEDER, J. 1977. Les formes de glaces des grottes de la Nahanni, Territoires du
Nord-Ouest, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 14(5):1179-1185.
Exploration has been continuing on the karst system developed within the cliffs of the First
Canyon (300-1050 m deep) of the South Nahanni River (61°18'N, 124°10'W). Probably the most
northerly on the North American continent, this karst region is within the discontinuous
permafrost zone, at the southern limit of the tundra. The caves contain ice of the type
which depends on the present subarctic climate (two-dimensional hexagonal ice crystals, ice-
like calcite speleothem and ‘secondary' ice), or on a long-term climatic change of
+ 2400 years (massive ice deposits and sponge-like deposits).
A.A.
761. SCHROEDER, R.A. 1974. Kinetics, mechanism and geochemical applications of amino acid
racemization of various fossils. Ph.D. thesis, University of California, San
Diego, 160 pp. Dissertation Abstracts International 35(10):4944B-4945B.
A new technique for geochronology and paleotemperature studies based on the chemical
racemization of amino acids has been developed recently. It is based on the fact that living
organisms contain, almost entirely, only L-amino acids; and, following death of the organism,
racemization of the remnant amino acids gradually increases the proportion of D-enantiomers
present (equal amounts of the D- and L-enantiomers at equilibrium). Equilibrium will be
284
attained for amino acids contained within uncontaminated skeletal fossils after x 10
m.y. at O°C (typical deep-sea temperatures) and after a few hundred thousand years at 20°C
(typical average tropical and temperate continental temperatures); although reliable dating
does not presently extend to these limits.
The base of a core taken from Lake Ontario has been dated by both radiocarbon and aspartic
acid racemization methods at ~ 20,000 years BP and changes in amino acid
concentrations, and profiles have been found to be distinguishing characteristics of the
postglacial vs. glacial sediment. Racemization studies on argillaceous marine abyssal
sediments were not successful, however, because bacterial decomposition had substantially
reduced total amino acid concentration. However, important criteria for the absence of
bacterial contamination in foraminiferal shells, and by implication in other fossils, are
established from these results.
Because the racemization reaction is temperature dependent, the average temperature to which
a fossil has been exposed since its deposition can be calculated, provided the age of the
fossil is known by some independent means.
pD.A.I.
762. SCHULMAN, E. 1947. Dendrochronologies in southwestern Canada. Tree-ring Bulletin
13(2-3):10-24.
Sampling was carried out in southern interior British Columbia and at Banff National Park in
Alberta. The growth of eight groups of cross-dateable trees in southwestern Canada was
plotted. There is a strong tendency for persistence in ring chronology along the entire dry
belt in south central British Columbia, but the chronology at Banff is substantially
different. It is suggested that rainfall is the controlling element in growth. Lists of
tree-ring indices in percent of the general trend of the growth are shown along with graphs
indicating tree growth as an index of rainfall and temperature.
Thomas
763. SCHWARZBACH, M. 1963. Climates of the Past: An Introduction to Paleoclimatology.
(Translated and edited by R.O. Muir), Van Nostrand, London. 329 pp.
A general textbook, which deals with the climatic history of the earth over the last thousand
million years. One chapter is devoted solely to the Quaternary.
A.B.S.
764. SCHWARZBACH, M. 1963. The geological knowledge of the North Atlantic climates of the
past. In: North Atlantic Biota and Their History. Edited by: A. and D. Lôve.
Pergamon Press, Oxford. pp. 11-19.
Outlines the climatic history of the area. Precambrian, Eocambrian, Paleo- and Mesozoic,
Tertiary, and Quaternary climate are analyzed. Precambrian and Eocambrian are relatively
little known; the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras afford more information on Europe and North
America, Greenland and Spitsbergen, through the floras, faunas, limestones and evaporites.
Still better known are the climatic changes in the Tertiary and Quaternary. A summary is
given. Successions of glacial and inter-glacial periods, ice-free refugia during glacial
times, and possible Quaternary land bridges are briefly discussed.
NR
©
Un
765. SCHWEGER, C. 1978. Use of lake sediments for reconstructing prehistoric fire records.
In: Fire Ecology in Resource Management Workshop Proceedings, December 6-7, 1977.
Edited by: D.E. Dube. Canadian Forestry Service Information Report NOR-X-210,
Edmonton. pp. 30-33.
The author reviews the use of pollen analysis of lake and bog sediment cores to yield
information which will permit reconstruction of prehistoric fire records. He discusses
interpretive problems and provides examples from several Canadian locations.
"The Hypsithermal, a mid-Holocene (7000 to 4000 years ago) period of hotter and/or drier
climate, is evidenced by higher charcoal frequencies at Lost Trail Pass Bog. But twice as
much pollen was deposited during the past 2000 years, a period often called the Neoglacial,
noted for its generally cooler and more moist climate. Because explanations involving
natural agencies seem inadequate, it was suggested that aboriginal hunting patterns may have
been responsible. Pollen studies done in central Alberta also demonstrate greater fire
frequencies during the mid-Holocene when grasslands spread northward into the parkland and
boreal forest.”
A.B.S.
766. SCHWEGER, C.E., and J.A.P. JANSSENS. 1980. Paleoecology of the Boutellier nonglacial
interval, St. Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory, Canada. Arctic and Alpine Research
12(3):309-317.
Alluvial, organic-rich sediments associated with the mid-Wisconsin Boutellier nonglacial
interval (38,000 to 30,000 BP), St. Elias Mountains, Yukon Territory, yielded fossil pollen
and bryophytes. Twenty-five pollen taxa were identified; Cyperaceae, Gramineae, and
Artemtsia dominated the pollen assemblages. Arboreal pollen was rare, while Salix
was the only common shrub. Of the fossil bryophytes, Drepanocladus brevifolius was the
most common; Calltergon giganteum and Scorpidium scorptodes were less frequent
and less well preserved.
The pollen record suggests a tundra meadow-tundra steppe mosaic with local willow groves.
The bryophytes indicate an unweathered minerotrophic substrate. Comparisons with other dated
mid-Wisconsin pollen localities of Alaska and Yukon suggest that the Boutellier pollen
samples represent the upper zone of an altitudinal vegetational sequence similar to that of
the present, but displaced downslope.
A.A.
767. Sea Level, Ice, and Climatic Change. Proceedings of the symposium held 7-8 December
1979 during the 17th General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and
Geophysics, Canberra. Edited by: I. Allison. International Association of
Hydrological Sciences Publication 131:1-471. 1981.
The major objective of the symposium was to review current ideas and recent results on the
processes and the effects of interactions between sea level, ice, and climatic change on time
scales of 100 to 10,000,000 years. [Papers relevant to this bibliography have been
individually annotated. ]
Editor?
768. SHARP, R.P. 1951. Glacial history of Wolf Creek, St. Elias Range, Canada. Journal of
Geology 59(2):97-117.
Remnants of late Wisconsin drift on bedrock benches 800-1,500 feet above Wolf Creek are the
oldest evidence of glaciation recognized. Deposits of very latest Wisconsin and possibly, in
part, earliest post-Wisconsin drift are the product of a limited advance or extended pause in
286
recession from the late Wisconsin climax. Wolf Glacier was then at least several hundred
feet thicker, and its terminus was not less than 4 or 5 miles beyond the present snout.
Post-Wisconsin xerothermic conditions caused extensive ice shrinkage, and the glaciers became
smaller than at present. During this period an extensive valley train was formed, alluvial
cones and fans were built, and a mature white spruce forest developed up-valley to its
natural tree line. A subsequent expansion and readvance culminated between 1840 and 1890.
Large raw lateral and terminal moraines and a trim-line in the mature spruce forest are the
principal manifestations of this advance, which is believed to be of climatic, rather than
orogenic or seismic, origin. Subsequently shrinkage, recession, and stagnation have ruled.
The lower 9 miles of Wolf Glacier are stagnant, and this section has experienced 350-500 feet
of vertical ablation, with terminal recession of only a few hundred yards. Degradation was
interrupted by expansion and advance of certain favorably situated ice streams, starting in
the late 1930s and extending into the 1940s. Slight rejuvenation also occurred in the
uppermost stagnant part of Wolf Glacier. This reactivation was on the wane by 1947 and
appears to have been but a minor interruption in the general shrinkage and degradation of the
last fifty to a hundred years. Analysis of records suggests a climatic, rather than a
seismic, cause for this recent rejuvenation.
A.A.
769. SHAW, J., and J. ARCHER. 1978. Winter turbidity current deposits in late Pleistocene
glaciolacustrine varves, Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada. Boreas
7(3):123-130.
Sand units within the winter clay components of distal, glaciolacustrine varves of Kickiniee
Park, British Columbia show a common sequence of cross-lamination, and a similarity in grain
size. A lower division of micro-cross-lamination is succeeded by two divisions of climbing
ripple drift cross-lamination. The two upper divisions are differentiated on the basis of
angle of climb, a marked increase occurring in the top division. The sequence is related to
turbidity currents which swept down-lake during winter. It is possible that the B division
of some turbidite sequences may have formed under conditions of low relief bedforms similar
to those which generated the lower division of the glaciolacustrine sands. Stratigraphic
position and varve thickness are used to support the conclusion that the distal turbidite
sands are down-lake equivalents of proximal grain-flow deposits. The appearance of coarse
grained deposits within winter layers of varves may cause two years of deposition to be
allocated to a single varve. This may introduce large errors when varves are used as time
indicators.
A.A.
770. SHAY, C.T. 1966. Vegetation history of the southern Lake Agassiz basin during the past
12,000 years. In: Life, Land and Water. Edited by: W.J. Mayer-0akes.
University of Manitoba, Department of Anthropology Occasional Paper 1:231-252.
Climate during the formation and subsequent fluctuations of Lake Agassiz I is indicated as
being cool and moist. The forests consisted largely of spruce, larch, Populus, ash,
and paper birch. Between 10-11,000 years ago a climatic warming occurred and Populus,
birch, elm, pine and oak increased or migrated into the area, although they were not
uniformly distributed. An increase of prairie suggests drier conditions began about 9,000
years ago. Between 7,000 and 8,000 years ago a period of maximum aridity occurred, roughly
coinciding with the final disappearance of Lake Agassiz from the basin. Deciduous forest
species increased shortly before 4,000 years ago; climatic conditions apparently became
favourable. The author hypothesizes that Lake Agassiz had a significant influence on the
climate, particularly along its eastern shores.
A.B.S.
771. SHILTS, W.W. 1980. Flow patterns in the central North American ice sheet. Nature
286(5770):213-218.
Patterns of glacial dispersal of lithologically distinctive érratics around Hudson Bay show
the central portion of the North American Laurentide ice sheet to have been made up of at
least two land-based centres, one that grew and dissipated in Keewatin, and one that grew and
dissipated in Nouveau Quebec-Labrador.
A.A.
772. SHORT, S.K. 1978. Palynology: . a Holocene environméntal perspective for archaeology in
Labrador-Ungava. Arctic Anthropology 15(2):9-35.
A series of six pollen diagrams has been prepared for lakes in northeastern Labrador-Ungava
to investigate the chronology of deglaciation, the rate of plant colonization, and episodes
of climatic change, and to provide a paleoenvironmental perspective for archaeological
research in the area.
Thirty-eight cl4 dates provide the chronological control, and show that the earliest organic
records began at 10,500 B.P. There was a prolonged tundra episode at all the older sites,
lasting from 2000 years up to 4000 years. This was followed around 6700-6500 B.P. by low-
arctic shrub communities of dwarf birch and alder domindting the landscape for up to 200
years until open spruce woodland arrived, generally between 4500 and 4000. B.P. Spruce
numbers declined after about 3000 B.P., and tundra has spread into former woodland since that
time. This last period of colder climate has also seen a marked decline in lake
productivity, as measured radiometrically by the rate of sediment accumulation. Thus, recent
vegetational changes are difficult to analyze.
The prolonged episodes of tundra and shrub tundra development suggest that the early Archaic.
occupations of the Labrador coast preceded the arrival of spruce. Colder climatic conditions
are correlated with the expansion of Dorset Eskimo into Labrador-Ungava. .
773. SHORT, S.K., and J.T. ANDREWS. 1980. Palynology of six middle and late Holocene peat
sections, Baffin Island. Géographie physique et Quaternaire 34(1):61-75.
Palynological investigations were undertaken at six sites on the northern Cumberland
Peninsula, Baffin Island. Pollen assemblages from the Canadian High Arctic are rare, and the
purpose of this paper is to expand this record. Twelve pollen diagrams from the six sites
are presented. They suggest that over the last 1000 years, the pollen rain has been
dominated by pollen of the graminoid group. This contrasts with earlier pollen assemblages
between 2500 and 2000 years BP and between 5000 and 4000 BP which were typically more diverse
and included significant quantities of heath and shrub (willow) pollen. A pronounced willow
peak is evident on the diagrams and dates from ca. 2500 BP.
774. SHORT, S.K., and J.D. JACOBS. 1982. A 1100-year paleoclimatic record from Burton Bay -
Tarr Inlet, Baffin Island. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 19(3):398-409.
The pollen study reported here from south of Frobisher Bay adds to our knowledge of late
Holocene pollen spectra from Baffin Island, especially from the poorly known southern area.
The Burton Bay Cliffs site registers two phases: an impoverished, grass-dominated phase,
from ca. 1650 to 900 BP, and an earlier pollen assemblage dated ca. 2000-1650 BP, which was
more diverse and included significant numbers of shrub (birch, willow, heath) pollen. The
288
cooler and drier climatic conditions implied by the upper pollen zone are supported by the
eolian deposition after 900 BP.
pA.C.
775. SHORT, S.K., and H. NICHOLS. 1976. Holocene palynology in subarctic Labrador-Ungava.
American Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts 4:116.
A series of six pollen diagrams has been prepared from lakes in northeastern Labrador-Ungava
to investigate the chronology of deglaciation, the rate of plant colonization of the new
landscape, and the climatic changes affecting the arctic tree line, as compared to northwest
Canada. The relationships of Eskimo and Indian cultural history to environmental changes are
being examined in cooperation with archaeological studies.
Twenty-seven 14¢ dates provide the chronological control, and show that the earliest organic
records began at 8700 BP. Initially, at all the older sites, there was a prolonged tundra
episode, lasting up to one or two thousand years. This was followed metachronously by low-
arctic shrub communities of dwarf birch and alder, dominating the landscape for many
centuries until open spruce woodland arrived, generally about 4000 BP. Prior to the spruce
arrival, there were long "tails" of low Picea numbers. Spruce numbers declined after
about 3000 BP, and tundra has spread into former woodland since that time. The northward
spruce migration was delayed relative to western arctic Canada, possibly due to marine
influence on climate, but the subsequent southward expansion of tundra was synchronous in
both regions. The last three thousand years of colder climate have also seen a very marked
decline in lake productivity, as measured radiometrically by the rate of sediment
accumulation. Thus, the topmost decimeters of these lake sediments date back several
millennia, and should be used with great caution in comparing modern vegetation with “recent”
pollen sedimentation.
A.A.
776. SHORT, S.K., and H. NICHOLS. 1977. Holocene pollen diagrams from subarctic Labrador -
Ungava: vegetational history and climatic change. Arctic and Alpine Research
9(3):265-290.
Six pollen diagrams have been prepared for lakes in northeastern Labrador-Ungava in order to
investigate the chronology of deglaciation, the rate of plantcolonization of the new
landscape, and the climatic changes affecting the arctic tree line, as compared to northwest
Canada.
Thirty-eight 14C dates provide the chronological control, and show that the earliest organic
records began at 10,300 BP. Initially, at all the older sites, there was a prolonged tundra
episode, lasting up to 1000-2000 or more years. This was followed synchronously by low-
arctic shrub communities of dwarf birch and alder, dominating the landscape for many
centuries until open spruce woodland arrived, generally about 4000 BP. Prior to the spruce
arrival, there were long "tails" of low Picea numbers. Spruce numbers declined after
about 3000 BP, and tundra has spread into former woodland since that time. The northward
Spruce migration was delayed relative to western arctic Canada, possibly due to marine
influence on climate, but the subsequent southward expansion of tundra was _ broadly
synchronous in both regions. The last 3000 years of colder climate have also seen a very
marked decline in lake productivity, as measured radiometrically by the rate of sediment
accumulation. Thus, the topmost decimeters of these lake sediments date back several
millennia, and should be used with great caution in comparing modern vegetation with “recent”
pollen sedimentation.
A.A.
777. SHUKLA, J., and K.C. MO. 1981. Seasonal wariation of blocking. First Conference on
Climate Variations of the American Meteorological Society, January 19-23, San
Diego, Abstracts, p. 9.
The daily 500 mb geopotential height fields over the Northern Hemisphere have been examined
for 15 years. The frequencies of occurrence of events of persistent anomalies have been
calculated, where anomaly is defined as the departure from the mean seasonal cycle. The
amplitudes and the persistence characteristics of the anomalies are analyzed for each season
separately. Most of the events of sufficiently large anomalies, which persist for several
days, can be identified as “blocking.”
A strong geographical and seasonal preference is found for the occurrence of blocking events.
The vertical structure of selected blocking situations has also been examined.
A.A.
778. SIGLEO, W.R., and P.F. KARROW. 1977. Pollen-bearing Erie Interstadial sediments from
near St. Mary's, Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 14(8):1888-1896.
The Wildwood Silts, of Erie Interstadial age (16 000 BP), occur between Catfish Creek Till
(Nissouri Stadial) and Tavistock Till (Port Bruce Stadial) near St. Mary's, Ontario. Pollen
analysis of a 16-m core through the silts yields a pollen assemblage dominated by pine and
spruce pollen, resembling those reported from Port Talbot II and Plum Point Interstadial
sediments in Ontario. A forest-tundra environment is inferred at the time of the Erie
Interstadial, with generally sparse vegetative cover.
A.A.
779. SIMPSON, G.C. 1959. World temperatures during the Pleistocene. Quarterly Journal of
the Royal Meteorological Society, London 85(366) :332-349.
By a graphical method of trial and error a family of curves relating the zonal temperatures
of all latitudes with the oscillations of the solar radiation is prepared and discussed.
Results are tabulated and used to plot curves showing the variations of the zonal temperature
of five latitudes (including 55°N and the North Pole) during a complete cycle of solar
radiation and applied to the glacial and interglacial periods.
A.B.
780. SLATER, D.S. 1978. Late Quaternary pollen diagram for the central Mackenzie corridor
area. American Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts 5:176.
In conjunction with the Esker Bay Site archaeological excavation on the shore of Fish Lake,
N.W.T., a small lake located at 63°0.86'N, 122°46.5'W, in the northern boreal forest, was
cored to a depth of 268 cm for pollen analysis. The pollen stratigraphy derived from this
study suggests a vegetational sequence extending back over 10,000 years. The sequence begins
in a steppe-tundra assemblage dominated by Artemisia. This was succeeded by a
Betula-Salix shrub-tundra, followed by a Betula-Populus forest-tundra. À Picea-
Betula-Alnus dominated forest became established by approximately 6000 BP and has
persisted since then with little change. Pinus increases in percentage, particularly
during the last 2000 years, to reach its Holocene maximum at the present day, although still
at levels suggesting long-distance transport.
With the exception of the recent high percentages for Pinus, the pollen stratigraphy
closely resembles that from M Lake in the Mackenzie Delta area. As this is the first
complete Holocene pollen record from the central portion of the Mackenzie Corridor, it bears
290
important ramifications regarding both plant migration and prehistoric human utilization of
this region.
781. SMITH, P.J. 1981. New Brunswick perspective on climatic change. In: Climate Change
Seminar Proceedings, Regina, March 17-19. Canadian Climate Centre, Downsview.
pPpe 33-42.
A survey of various departments of the New Brunswick provincial government by the New
Brunswick Meteorological Committee indicated “that a change in our climate could have highly
significant environmental, economic and social impacts in our province. However the
Magnitude of each impact depends upon the direction and amount of alteration in each
meteorological parameter, and the relative sensitivity of specific activities.”
A summary from a collection of the replies in response to this survey is provided, as an
Appendix. Recommendations for action to help solve climate-related problems within the
province are proposed.
A.B.S.
782, SORENSON, C.J. 1973. Interrelationships between soils and climate and between
paleosols and paleoclimates; forest/tundra ecotone, north-central Canada. Ph.D.
thesis, University of Wisconsin, Madison. 237 pp. Dissertation Abstracts
International 34(10):5023B.
The objectives of this study were: 1) to examine the interactions of surface soils and
modern climate; and 2) to determine from paleosols the positions of former forest/tundra
borders and to estimate the characteristics of paleoclimates. Soil samples were collected
from eskers at 40 sites in and in the vicinity of the forest/tundra ecotone of north central
Canada. Interrelationships among soil properties and climatic measures were determined by
multiple regression analyses so that the genesis of well-drained forest and tundra soils
could be contrasted. Eleven of nineteen soil variables were significantly related to air
mass measures of climate, suggesting that distinctive processes of soil genesis in forest and
in tundra are dependent upon climatic conditions.
Paleosols uncovered in the course of this investigation indicate that the position of the
forest/tundra border has varied from its present position at least seven times during the
late Holocene. A combination of soil morphologic, biotic, and geomorphic evidence is used to
plot the positions of former forest borders which varied from 280 km north of the present
forest border to 50 km south. Major northward migrations of the forest occurred after 2900
BP, 1800 BP, and 800 BP. Southward movements of the forest border are recorded at about 3500
BP, 2600 BP, and 1600 BP.
Canonical correlation was used to associate sets of soil variables with sets of climate
variables. A transformation function was derived from the canonical correlations which
allowed the estimation of paleoclimates from paleosol data. The estimates suggest that
paleoclimates were not much different than today's climate in the vicinity of the ecotone.
Frequencies of Arctic air in summer, for periods when forests were 100 km farther north than
they are today, were only about 5% to 10% less than they are at present. These estimates
suggest that the frequency of cold dry conditions in summer is a critical factor in the
limitations of the northward migration of forest.
pD.A.I.
783, SORENSON, C.J. 1977. Reconstructed Holocene bioclimates. Annals of the Association of
American Geographers 6/7(2):214-222.
Paleopodzols and frost wedge polygons in and near the forest/tundra ecotone indicate that
Holocene fluctuation of the forest border has varied from 280 km (170 mi) north to a minimum
291
of 50 km (30 mi) south of the modern forest border in southwest Keewatin. The 320 km (200
mi) wide range for Keewatin appears to decrease systematically northwestward across Mackenzie
and northeastward across Labrador. Significant forest/tundra border displacements occurred
at least six times during the postglacial period in response to relatively conservative
changes in the incidence of Arctic and Pacific derived air masses.
A.A.
784. SORENSON, C.J., and J.C. KNOX. 1973. Paleosols and paleoclimates related to late
Holocene forest/tundra border migrations: Mackenzie and Keewatin, N.W.T. Canada.
In: International Conference on the Prehistory and Paleoecology of Western North
American Arctic and Subarctic. Edited by: S. Raymond and P. Schledermann.
University of Calgary Archaeological Association. pp. 187-206.
Paleopodzols and frost wedge polygons in and near the forest/tundra ecotone indicate that
Holocene fluctuation of the forest border has varied from 280 km (170 mi) north to a minimum
of 50 km (30 mi) south of the modern forest border in southwest Keewatin. The 320 km (200
mi) wide range for Keewatin appears to decrease systematically northwestward across
Mackenzie.
Canonical transform functions derived from correlation properties between surface soils and
modern climatic variables were applied to characteristics of buried soils to reconstruct
paleo airmass frequencies and former locations of the forest/tundra boundary for climatic
episodes of the Holocene. Key periods of significant forest/tundra border displacement seem
to have occurred at least six times during the post glacial period in response to relatively
conservative changes in the incidence of Arctic and Pacific derived airmasses.
A.A.
785. SORENSON, C.J., J.C. KNOX, J.A. LARSEN, and R.A. BRYSON. 1971. Paleosols and the
forest border in Keewatin, N.W.T. Quaternary Research 1(4) :468-473.
The morphology of paleosols and radiocarbon-dated charcoal from buried surface horizons of
soils provide evidence to suggest that between periods of northward forest encroachment
tundra climate has dominated areas at least 50 km south of the present forest/tundra border
in southwest Keewatin. The present forest/tundra border climate is nearly as severe as any
climate that has prevailed in the area since deglaciation.
A.A.
786. STALKER, A.M. 1977. Indications of Wisconsin and earlier man from the Southwest
Canadian Prairies. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 288:119-136.
The Taber Child is the most direct evidence for the presence of man on the Canadian Prairies
before retreat of the last Wisconsin glacier. It consists of the skull and some other bones
from a four-month-old child, found in alluvial sand some 60 feet below prairie level at a
fresh exposure along the Oldman River just north of Taber, Alberta. Because the sand beds
lie beneath a classical Wisconsin till, the child is at least 18,000 years old. Further, the
bones compare in mineralization and preservation with mid-, or perhaps classical, Wisconsin
bones recovered from near Medicine Hat, to the east. Elsewhere the unit that contained them
has yielded radiocarbon dates on wood of »>32,000 and >49,000 years. The best estimate of
their age is about 40,000 years.
At the Reservoir Gully Site in Medicine Hat, Alberta, intertill beds of probable midclassical
Wisconsin age contain fractured cherts that do not appear to have formed naturally. Because
these beds are no older than those that contained the Taber Child, and are perhaps
substantially younger, the fracturing could well have been done by man. In addition, older
sites near Medicine Hat, and possibly others in Saskatchewan, have yielded cherts that appear
to be fractured and flaked by man. These sites are in late Sangamon beds, probably between
292
120,000 and 80,000 years old. Both Reservoir Gully and the Sangamon sites contain abundant,
scattered bones from animals well suited to support a human population.
Further, man's presence in North America prior to the last glacier advance has always seemed
much more probable to me than the theories developed about man first proceeding south from
Alaska, by a corridor between glaciers, towards the end of the Wisconsin Glaciation about
13,000 years ago--theories that were current and widely accepted when the Taber Child was
found. The innumerable obstacles to migration at that time would include strong, chilling
winds from the nearby glaciers, frequent periods of intense cold, ice barriers where active
glaciers blocked the corridor, cold glacial lakes and tumultuous meltwater rivers to cross,
not to mention the lack of vegetation or animals for firewood, clothing, and proper
sustenance. Such obstacles have always seemed more formidable to me than the time
difficulties associated with journeying south under favorable conditions in mid-Wisconsin or
earlier time. This journey south from Alaska is, of course, a separate matter from the
crossing of Bering Strait from Asia.
ao
787. STALKER, A. MacS. 1980. The geology of the ice-free corridor: the southern half.
Canadian Journal of Anthropology 1(1):11-13.
The concept of an ice-free corridor originally was introduced to explain an apparent sudden
appearance of man in the southern half of North America about 13,000 years ago. Such a
corridor, theoretically, would have enabled man to migrate southward through Canada, along
the front of the Rocky Mountains, after entering the New World from Siberia by a land bridge
provided by glacial lowering of the ocean. As a result, the concept of an ice-free corridor
has always been associated with the movement of man, with the Classical Wisconsin glaciation,
and generally with the latter part of that stage.
In conclusion, the growing realization in recent years that the Classical Wisconsin glacier
was much weaker and less extensive than previously thought greatly enhances the chances of
there having been an ice-free corridor. The logical time for such a corridor suitable for
migration of man, during Classical Wisconsin time, was about 19,000 years ago during a mid-
Classical Wisconsin interstade. Meanwhile, although the likelihood of such a corridor has
increased, the finding of indications of man in North America from even earlier times has
lessened the need for it. Howbeit, even if man were in the New World prior to Classical
Wisconsin glaciation, any available corridor undoubtedly would have been used for fresh waves
of migration from Asia, and perhaps also in the reverse direction.
Excerpts
788. STENE, L.P. 1980. Observations on lateral and overbank deposition--Evidence from
Holocene terraces, southwestern Alberta. Geoiogy 8(7):314-317.
Evidence from terrace sequences in southwestern Alberta shows that overbank deposition rather
than lateral accretion was the dominant form of sedimentation during the Holocene. The thin
basal gravels along most terrace exposures were deposited by lateral-accretion processes
similar to those operating within present-day channels and flood plains. The thicker,
overlying sediments are fine-grained and were produced mainly by overbank deposition from
high-discharge events. A less erosive overbank environment for the latter is supported by
the presence of undisturbed tephra and archaeological cultural horizons. The overbank
deposition appears to have resulted from the combined effects of intense rainfall and fire
denudation of forested slopes.
A.A.
293
Nh
789. STRAIN, P.M., and F.C. TAN. 1979. Carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in the Saguenay
Fjord and the St. Lawrence Estuary and their implications for paleoenvironmental
studies. Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science 8(2):119-126.
Surface water samples (1 m depth) from the Saguenay Fjord and the upper St. Lawrence Estuary
have been analysed for 6130, ECO, and 5180. In the Saguenay Fjord, the
613¢ PDB and concentration of the total dissolved C02 vary from -10.99/g9 and 3.6 ml/1
near the head to —0.40/50 and 30.3 ml/1 at the mouth. The upper St. Lawrence Estuary
exhibits a 613C range of -4.2 to -1.6 and a ZC0> concentration range of 19.8 to
37.6 ml/1.
The measured 613¢, ECO», 6180 and salinity distributions are compared to a
conservative mixing model. The excellent agreement between the measured and predicted
613¢ values in the Saguenay Fjord indicates that the carbon isotope ratio behaves
conservatively. In the upper St. Lawrence Estuary, the much poorer agreement suggests that
significant in situ processes involving the dissolved C0 are operative.
The suggestion that estuarine paleotemperatures may be obtained by extrapolating
613c-5180 shell carbonate curves to marine conditions is open to criticism. The
613c-56180 water curves observed in this work illustrate two different situations
that could produce errors in paleotemperatures estimated by this method.
A.A.
790. STUCKENRATH, R., G.H. MILLER, and J.T. ANDREWS. 1979. Problems of dating Holocene
organic-bearing sediments, Cumberland Peninsula, Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada.
Arctic and Alpine Research 11(1):109-120.
In 1973, several samples of buried organic-bearing sediments were collected from beneath and
within the “layered sands" of Pangnirtung Pass and the Padle/Kingnait Pass, eastern Baffin
Island, N.W.T. Radiocarbon dates on some samples yielded apparent ages in conflict with
their stratigraphic position, and it was clear that contamination was present within these
well-drained sediments. In 1974, three sites were revisited and larger (>3000 g) samples
were collected. Organic content varied between 2.5 and 8.2% by weight. We report the
results of 28 individual age determinations, stratified according to (1) different laboratory
preparations, (2) different size fractions of the organic materials, and (3) different NaOH
solubility fractions. Statistical analysis of these data indicated that in no instance could
we reject a null hypothesis, and hence no statistically significant trends could be outlined.
Differences in age within a sample varied between 720 and 1245 yr. We suggest that the most
reliable fraction for dating these sediments is the <l25-ym organic fraction which is
insoluble in NaOH. However, the >125-ym NaOH-insoluble fraction gave ages consistently
younger than in the <125-um NaQH-insoluble fraction. These age differences might be
associated with a soil residence time for the finer fraction.
A.A.
791. STUPART),, RLF. 1917. Is the climate changing? Journal of the Royal Astronomical
Society of Canada 11(4):197-207.
Sir Frederic reasoned that deforestation would produce a tendency towards slightly warmer
summers and colder winters in Ontario. From study of the earliest Canadian climatic
information in the Relations of the Jesuits, he concluded that the climate of Quebec in the
17th Century was then much as it is in the early Twentieth Century. Sir Frederic concluded
that precipitation data at Toronto give ground from some suspicion that the annual rainfall
has diminished somewhat since 1840. Regarding temperature, he saw a manifest tendency
towards higher mean spring, summer and annual temperatures during the past 20 odd years,
while any upward winter tendency is less noticeable. Also, in the early days of the
observatory, frost seemed to have occurred later and been more severe than in recent years.
The Montreal record gives no apparent indication of change. At Winnipeg, winters have been
milder during the past 17 years than during the first three decades. Precipitation figures
are indicative of no permanent tendency. The Edmonton record is short, but the cold winters
of the '80s are clearly shown, while data indicate that summers have not deteriorated. There
is evidence that 1897 ended a comparatively dry precipitation cycle, since summer rains have
been more ample since that year.
Thomas
792. SUESS, H.E. 1956. Absolute chronology of the last glaciation. Science 123(3192):355-
357
Contains a reconstruction of the climate of the Northern Hemisphere for the last 100,000
years based largely on dating of radioactive deposits from the continent and the deep sea.
Evidence is presented for two superimposed climatic fluctuations of 40,000 and 3,500 years
each, the last glaciation covering at least two of the long periods.
A.B.
793. SUESS, H.E. 1968. Climatic changes, solar activity, and the cosmic-ray production rate
of natural radiocarbon. in: Causes of Climatic Change. Edited by:
J.M. Mitchell, Jr. Meteorological Monographs 8(30):146-150.
The level of the cosmic-ray-produced radiocarbon in atmospheric carbon dioxide fluctuates due
to changes in the cosmic-ray intensity. These changes can be explained by considering the
modulation of the galactic cosmic-ray flux by the sun. There exists a second independent
correlation of the fluctuations of the radiocarbon level with changes in the climate. This
correlation can best be recognized from climatic data as given by Lamb for the time since the
10th century A.D. The two kinds of correlations promise to provide a key to the
understanding of solar-climatic relationships in general. The carbon-14 measurements so far
carried out show that prolonged high solar activity leads to warm winters, and periods of a
quiet sun lead to cold winters in Europe and elsewhere. There is reason to believe that
future determinations of carbon-l4 variations during the past 6000-8000 yr may supply
conclusive evidence regarding the causes of the great ice ages.
794. SWANSON, E.H., Jr. 1966. Ecological communities in Northwest prehistory. In:
Proceedings of the 7th Congress, International Association for Quaternary Research.
Quaternaria 8:91-99.
At the time of contact with European man, Indians in the Pacific Northwest were closely
adapted to their natural setting, for they made their living by hunting, fishing, and
gathering. The efficient use of salmon, deer, and wood on the Northwest Coast is as well
known as the seed gathering of the Great Basin and the big-game hunting of the Northern Rocky
Mountains. Although this is a common observation, well documented in the literature, it can
be made to serve a particular purpose in the study of regional prehistory.
That purpose is the use of prehistoric environments as a basis for examining the history of
particular cultures and, perhaps, the evolution of culture in the Northwest. It may then be
possible to separate cultural from environmental factors in the cultural history. LE Sthe
natural surroundings of similar and different cultures can be analyzed with sufficient
control, then it may be possible to isolate those aspects of culture that have made it
possible for man to free himself increasingly from the control of his environment. En
northwestern North America, environmental concepts and methods may be applied because there
exist many excellent studies of geology, geography, and botany (Daubenmire, 1943; Dort, 1965;
Fryxell and Daugherty, 1963; Hansen, 1947; Heusser, 1960). Further, archaeologists have made
good use of environmental studies in the excavation of a number of important prehistoric
sites, although some of this work remains unpublished.
295
795. SZABO, B.J., G.H. MILLER, J.T. ANDREWS, and M. STUIVER. 1981. Comparison of uraniun-
series, radiocarbon, and amino acid data from marine molluscs, Baffin Island,
Arctic Canada. Geology 9(10):451-457.
Uranium-series and l4C dates and the extent of amino acid racemization are reported for 24
marine shell samples from three areas of Baffin Island, Arctic Canada. When the radiometric
dates are plotted against the ratio of D-alloisoleucine: L-isoleucine in the shells, five
broad age groups are recognized. The uranium-series data indicate that 23lpa is incompletely
retained in most fossil shells and that 230Th is lost from some of the samples. Therefore,
their apparent ages are minimum. However, a few dated samples in each group have yielded
useful age results, and the minimum ages of the five groups of samples are estimated as 7,000
to 15000, 770,000, >136,,000, >r90, 000, "and >300,000 tyr. Calculated
integrated thermal histories based on the epimerization reaction in the mollusc
Hiatella arctica Linné give paleotemperature estimates of around -5°C, compared to the
present mean annual air temperature of about -11°C.
A.A.
796. TANDE, G.F. 1978. Management implications of historic fire periodicity in relation to
changing climate. In: Fire Ecology in Resource Management Workshop Proceedings,
December 6-7, 1977. Edited by: D.E. Dube. Canadian Forestry Service Information
Report NOR-X-210. Edmonton, pp. 17-19.
Specific causal factors leading up to historic fires are not known, although a combination of
weather and climatic factors may induce drought which increases the probability of fire.
Implications of the relationship between fire and climate thus have potential significance
for ecologists and land managers. Forest fire history of the Athabasca River valley around
Jasper townsite, Jasper National Park was used as a basis for discussing some management
implications of fire periodicity in relation to changing climate.
Fire scars were used to establish a fire chronology for the period 1665-1975. The mean fire
return interval (MFRI) for the 43200 ha study area was 4.4 yrs and 5.5 yrs from 1665-1907.
Major fires (500 ha) occurred every 8.4 yrs. Fires covering more than 50% of the area (1889,
1847, 1758) had a MFRI of 65.5 yrs.
Comparisons with other fire history studies in the Canadian Rockies indicated that frequency
and areal extent of forest fires were similar throughout the region, in spite of the fact
that the areas did not experience similar human-use patterns. The area burned per year in
the study area fluctuated erratically and was not well correlated with human-use patterns.
The size of fires increased exponentially with time, terminating with very large fires such
as those in 1889, 1847 and 1758. These irregular exponential curves were attributed to
climatic oscillations and variations of fuel buildup with time. A dendroclimatology record
was used to assess major drought years or potential fire years. About 70% of the fires and
92% of the total area burned from 1700-1913 occurred during below-mean precipitation periods.
The 17581, 1847 and 1758 fires occurred during severe droughts. This and other studies
showed many fire years in common, suggesting major atmospheric circulation anomalies
associated with subcontinental drought. It was therefore concluded that climate was the
principal factor that controlled the frequency and extent of past fires.
Excerpts
797. TARNOCAI, C., and S.C. ZOLTAI. 1978. Earth hummocks of the Canadian Arctic and
Subarctic. Arctic and Alpine Research 10(3):581-594.
Studies in the western Arctic and Subarctic and in the central Arctic indicate that earth
hummocks have an average diameter of 80 to 160 cm and an average height of 40 to 60 cm. They
led. note: Presumably this should read "1889".
296
have developed on materials that have 58 to 99% total clay and silt content and either high
ice content or pure ice layers in the near-surface permafrost. Earth hummocks are cryogenic
in origin with their development being controlled by three major factors: soil texture, soil
moisture, and soil temperature. Most of the earth hummocks have developed during the last
5000 yr, when the climate became colder.
A.A.
798. TAYLOR, A., and A. JUDGE. 1979. Permafrost studies in northern Quebec. Géographie
physique et Quaternaire 33(3-4):245-251.
In cooperation with mining companies, temperature data are being acquired at several sites in
the Cape Smith - Wakeham Bay Belt of Northern Quebec. Cables, containing up to twenty
thermistors, are lowered into exploratory diamond-drill holes upon completion, and allowed to
freeze in place. Three temperature profiles at Asbestos Hill yield low geothermal gradients;
thermal conductivities of core are moderate to low and hence low values of the terrestrial
heat flow are observed. Extrapolating temperature profiles to greater depths gives a
permafrost thickness of at least 540 m. The uncorrected terrestrial heat fluxes calculated
for the shallow holes are about 2/3 that of the lower section of the deeper hole. Such
contrast in heat flow is used to develop a simple model of surface temperature history for
the area for the past 85000 years. Using this geothermal data, engineering estimates may be
made of such parameters as maximum active layer thickness and thaw penetration of both open
pit walls and underground drifts.
The geothermal data examined in this study generally support palaeoclimates proposed by other
disciplines for the past several thousand years. The probabte heat flux for this area,
corrected for a reasonable climatic history, is 38 + 5mWm <.
AAST
799. TEDROW, J.C.F. 1972. Soil morphology as an indicator of climatic changes in the Arctic
areas. In: Climatic Changes in Arctic Areas During the Last Ten-Thousand Years.
Edited by: Y. Vasari, H. Hyvärinen and S. Hicks. Acta Universitatis Ouluensis
Series A, Scientiae Rerum Naturalium 3, Geologica 1:61-74.
The possiblities of using pedologic information to reconstruct past climates of the arctic
region are considered. The arctic region is divided into three soil zones: (1)Polar Desert,
(2) Subpolar Desert and (3) Tundra, with zonal boundaries corresponding approximately to high
arctic, mid-arctic and low arctic, respectively. Within each zone, four genetic varieties of
soil are listed. The old landscapes of the far north of North America including Greenland,
have certain soil properties which suggest a past warmer climate. The time under
consideration in these sectors, however, is Early Pleistocene or possibly Late Tertiary.
Within the Tundra and Polar Desert soil zones, buried organic matter was studied with respect
to age and pollen composition. Ages of the buried organic matter ranged form 1,200 to 10,600
yr BP. Pollen from the buried organic layers is similar to that of the present with some
buried samples indicating possibly warmer conditions.
The buried organic matter which is as much as 4-feet-deep probably reached its present
position during a warmer episode at which time there was deeper seasonal thaw in the soil,
which in turn would suggest warmer summer temperatures. Several cases of buried soil
profiles are considered along with paleoclimate implications.
pA.A.
297
800. TELLER, J.T., and M.M. FENTON. 1980. Late Wisconsinan glacial stratigraphy and history
of southeastern Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 17(1):19-35.
The history of Late Wisconsinan glaciation in southwestern Manitoba has been established by
identifying and correlating ice-laid lithostratigraphic units in the subsurface. Five Late
Wisconsinan tills are defined on the basis of their texture, mineralogic composition, and
stratigraphic position. These new formations are, from youngest to oldest, Marchand,
Whitemouth Lake, Roseau, Senkiw, and Whiteshell Formations.
Late Wisconsinan ice first invaded southeastern Manitoba 22 000 to 24 000 years ago. This
Laurentide glacier advanced from the northeast across the Precambrian Shield and deposited
the sandy Whiteshell and Senkiw tills, which contain abundant Precambrian rock fragments and
minerals and few Paleozoic carbonate grains. Shortly after this, Keewatin ice advanced from
the northwest over Paleozoic carbonate rocks, depositing the loamy carbonate-rich Roseau
Formation throughout most of the area. This ice remained over southeastern Manitoba until
after 13 500 years ago, when it rapidly retreated northward with Lake Agassiz on its heels.
Two brief glacial readvances occurred. The first overrode Lake Agassiz lacustrine sediment
as far south as central North Dakota shortly after about 13 000 years ago. The clayey
Whitemouth Lake till was deposited in southern Manitoba at this time. After a rapid retreat,
the ice briefly pushed southward over southeastern Manitoba about 12 000 years ago to just
south of the International Boundary. The sandy carbonate-rich Marchand Formation was
deposited at this time as the ice overrode its own sandy outwash. By 11 000 years ago, ice
had disappeared from southeastern Manitoba.
A.A.
801. TELLER, J.T., and W.M. LAST. 1981. Late Quaternary history of Lake Manitoba, Canada.
Quaternary Research 16:97-116.
The postglacial history of Lake Manitoba has been deduced from a study of the changes in
physical, mineralogical, and chemical variables in sediment cores collected from the lake.
Six lithostratigraphic units are recognized in the South Basin of the lake. Weakly developed
pedogenic zones, reflecting dry or extremely low water conditions in the basin, separate five
of these six units. The initial phase of lacustrine sedimentation in the Lake Manitoba basin
began shortly after 12,000 yr BP as water was impounded in front of the receding glacier to
form Lake Agassiz. By 11,000 yr ago, continued retreat of the ice sheet opened lower outlets
to the east and much of Lake Agassiz drained, including the Lake Manitoba basin. Water
levels again rose at 9900 yr BP, but by about 9200 yr BP the South Basin was again dry. For
the next 4700 yr there was an alternation of wet and dry conditions in the basin in response
to the interaction of a warmer and drier climate and differential crustal rebound of the
basin. About 4500 yr ago a new phase of Lake Manitoba sedimentation was initiated when the
Assiniboine River began to discharge into the South Basin. The Assiniboine River was
diverted out of the Lake Manitoba watershed about 7200 yr ago. Erosion and redistribution of
the sandy deltaic sediments deposited by the Assiniboine River has created the barrier beach
that now separates the extensive marsh to the south of the lake from the main lake.
A.A.
802. TERASMAE, J. 1956. Palynological study of Pleistocene deposits on Banks Island,
Northwest Territories, Canada. Science 123(3201):801-802.
The locality from which the samples were collected is in the general vicinity of Cape Kellett
along the western shore of Banks Island, approximate lat. 72°N, long. 120°W... The
palynological study suggests that, at the time when the beds from which the samples were
collected were deposited, considerably more favorable climatic conditions than those now
prevailing must have been present on Banks Island to account for the assemblage of pollen
grains, spores, and other plant fossils present in these deposits. The total assemblage and
relative numbers of pollen grains further suggest local forest coverage. The present timber
line lies about 200 mi southwest of Banks Island.
Excerpt
298
803. TERASMAE, J. 1957. Paleobotanical studies of Canadian Pleistocene nonglacial deposits.
Science 126(3269) :351-352.
Results of “a palynologic study of certain nonglacial deposits in the St. Lawrence lowland,
Quebec, and in the James Bay lowland, Ontario... warrant an assessment of the climate of the
nonglacial interval and of the stratigraphic positions of the deposits.” Radiocarbon
determinations of peat and wood samples provided ages of >38,000 yr for nonglacial deposits
on the Missinaibi River and >40,000 yr for nonglacial deposits in the St. Lawrence lowland.
"The palynologic evidence indicates that boreal conditions prevailed during most of the
nonglacial interval in both areas and that the temperature did not reach a maximum as warm as
that of the present. An arctic and subarctic environment is evident at the beginning and
close of the interval (relatively high percentages of birch, alder and nontree pollen)." In
the early and late parts of the interval the predominant trees were black spruce (Picea
martana) and white spruce (P. glauca). Slightly warmer conditions are indicated
during the middle of the interval by higher values of pine pollen (Pinus banksiana).
A.B.S.
804. TERASMAE, J. 1959. Palaeobotanical study of buried peat from the Mackenzie River delta
area, Northwest Territories. Canadian Journal of Botany 37(4):715-717.
A palaeobotanical and palynological study of samples of buried peat from the Mackenzie River
delta area, Northwest Territories, has shown that the peat accumulated during an interglacial
interval. For reference purposes a study of modern pollen of Rubus chamaemorus L. and
of four species of Drosera L. has been made.
805. TERASMAE, J. 1960. Contributions to Canadian palynology No. 2. Part I. A palyno-
logical study of post-glacial deposits in the St. Lawrence Lowlands. Geological
Survey of Canada Bulletin 56:1-22.
After the retreat of the ice, lacustrine conditions prevailed over the part of the St.
Lawrence Lowlands between Montreal and Quebec City. This was followed by the marine
inundation known as the Champlain Sea.
Over much of the area occupied by the Champlain Sea, bogs were subsequently developed and a
study of the pollen content of those bogs has led to the recognition of six pollen zones.
The oldest of these started to form some 9,000 years ago when the sea stood at about the
position of the present 250-foot contour, 200 feet or so below its maximum.
Although marine fossils are largely absent in deposits below this level, the pollen content
of the bogs shows that they started to form in an orderly sequence from higher to lower
levels. Thus, by means of palynological studies terraces on either side of the river may be
correlated.
A.A.
806. TERASMAE, J. 1960. Contributions to Canadian palynology No. 2. Part IL. A palyno-
logical study of the Pleistocene interglacial beds at Toronto, Ontario. Geological
Survey of Canada Bulletin 56:23-41.
Interglacial sands, silts, and clays are exposed in the Don Valley brickyard and the
Scarborough bluffs along the shore of Lake Ontario at Toronto. The basal beds consist of
York till separated by a time interval from the overlying nonglacial beds. These are
subdivided into the Don beds at the base and the Scarborough beds above, which are separated
from each other by a hiatus and possibly a short glacial episode. The glacial beds above
this are subdivided into the Sunnybrook till, the Danforth beds, and the Thorncliffe beds, in
ascending order.
299
Palynological and palaeontological studies show that Don beds were laid down when the annual
Mean temperature was warmer by some 5°F than now, and the Scarborough beds when it was some
10° colder.
The Don beds were certainly deposited during an interglacial period, possibly to be cor-
related with the Sangamon. The Scarborough beds are tentatively assigned to the St. Pierre
interval and may have formed during a substage in the onset of the Wisconsin stage proper.
A.A.
807. TERASMAE, J. 1961. Muskeg: its environment and uses. In: Proceedings of the Seventh
Muskeg Research Conference. National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa. pp. 1-8.
Defines muskeg as “a specific type of environment, caused and affected by a number of
climatic, edaphic and biological factors." Climatic and drainage conditions favorable to its
development are considered. Research studies are noted. Use of peat and muck areas for
farming, fuel, and as a record of past plant and animal life as well as of climatic changes,
is discussed, with examples from author's collecting across Canada.
A.B.
808. TERASMAE, J. 1961. Notes on late-Quaternary climatic changes in Canada. Annals of the
New York Academy of Sciences 95(1):658-675.
Reviews the various sources of paleoclimatic information on Canada, under meteorology,
glacial geology, oceanography, paleontology, botany, soils, and palynology. Edaphic,
genetic, and geologic factors are suggested for consideration in reaching paleoclimatologic
conclusions. Palynological studies in Northern Ontario and Quebec indicate a possible
recurrence of glaciation with a 5°-10°F fall in mean summer temperatures. More paleoclimatic
information may be found in the Canadian Arctic than hitherto expected. Unusual atmospheric
circulation may contribute to the small ice caps on Baffin, Devon, and Ellesmere Islands;
presence of unglaciated areas is not completely explained. Time equivalence of late-
Quaternary climatic changes is the basic requirement for all correlations using palynological
and paleontologic evidence. Migration rates for plants and animals constitute a factor
important in paleoclimatology.
A.B.
809. TERASMAE, J. 1963. Problems of pollen zone correlation in southeastern Canada. Grana
Palynologica 4(2):313-318.
The author discusses palynolgical studies made in the region of Canada including the Maritime
Provinces and southeastern Quebec. After pollen zones had been determined for local areas,
the need for regional correlation of zones became apparent. The author's studies have
revealed several problems when such correlation has been attempted. Factors influencing the
invasion of the area by plant species after glacier retreat include the Champlain Sea episode
in the St. Lawrence Valley region, the effect of the icesheet on vegetation at its margins,
and a climatic zonation which appears to have an east-west trend.
A.B.S.
810. TERASMAE, J. 1963. Notes on palynological studies of varved sediments. Journal of
Sedimentary Petrology 33(2):314-319.
The writer suggests that the term varved should be restricted to laminated and graded
sediments (both inorganic and organic) of annual, or seasonal (composed of a winter and a
summer layer) origin where such nature can be established. He has shown by palynological
300
methods the annual origin of varved clays in the Glacial Lake Barlow - Ojibway basin in
northern Ontario, where a total of 2027 varves has been counted by Antevs (1925) and Hughes
(1956). In this case the varve counts can be used as a time scale for certain events.
Laminated sediments of other than annual origin and those resembling varves only in
appearance should be clearly distinguished from the true varved sediments.
811. TERASMAE, J. 1965. Surficial geology of the Cornwall and St. Lawrence Seaway Project
areas, Ontario. Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 121:1-54.
Evidence has been found of three different movements of glacier ice - Malone, Fort Covington,
and a post-Fort Covington readvance. The Champlain Sea covered the area some 10,000 to
11,000 years ago, and freshwater organic sediments began to accumulate more than 9,430
+ 140 years B.P. as shown by radiocarbon dating.
Palynological studies indicate that the early forest, about 9,500 years ago, was composed of
spruce, balsam fir, jack pine, and birch, with a minor component of hardwood species. An
improvement in climate followed, and the early boreal forest was replaced by a mixed hardwood
forest with pine and hemlock. The clearing of land in historic time was marked by a sudden
increase in weed pollen.
A.A.
812. TERASMAE, J. 1965. A review of palynological studies in eastern Maritime Canada.
Maritime Sediments 1(2):19-22.
The author briefly reviews past and present maritime palynological studies. Each study is
reported in terms of its geographical location, and the sources from which samples were
collected for analysis. Twenty-seven studies are recorded, however no specific results are
presented for any one.
A.B.S.
813. TERASMAE, J. 1967. A review of Quaternary palaeobotany and palynology in Canada.
Geological Survey of Canada Paper 67-13:1-12.
A review of Quaternary palaeobotany and palynology in Canada shows a development from the
early exploratory studies before 1900 to more systematic investigations after 1940.
Extensive peat bog surveys in the early nineteen hundreds stand out because of their economic
objectives. Since 1930 palynological studies have become dominant over investigations of
plant macrofossils. In recent years the potential usefulness of palaeobotanical studies in
both physical and biological sciences dealing with our natural environment has been clearly
established. The methods used in palaeobotanical research have become more precise and
versatile and allow an improved assessment of the basic hypotheses employed in the
interpretation of the Quaternary palaeobotanical and palynological record.
G.A.
814. TERASMAE, J. 1967. Recent pollen deposition in the northeastern District of Mackenzie
(Northwest Territories, Canada). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
3(1):17-27.
Sutface samples of peat, soil, and lake sediments collected by W. Blake in the Bathurst
Inlet-MacAlpine Lake area while studying glacial history were examined for pollen grains and
spores. The pollen-and-spore assemblages obtained reflect the characteristics of local
vegetation and contain a significant component of pine and spruce pollen from a distant
301
source area. The area studied lies 200-250 miles north of the tree-line. A study of peat
deposits has indicated that the meteorological factors influencing long-distance dispersal of
pollen have remained essentially unchanged for the last 2,000 years. This study also
suggests that peat deposition has been extensive only in Late Postglacial time, and commonly
an important discontinuity separates the surface peats from the underlying inorganic deposits
in the MacAlpine Lake area.
A.S .
815. TERASMAE, J. 1967. Notes on Quaternary palaeoecological problems in the Yukon
Territory, and adjacent regions. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 67-46:1-11.
The Yukon Territory has attained a prominent place among problem areas in Canada for
Quaternary research, because parts of northern Yukon are unique in that they remained
unglaciated throughout the Quaternary. Geological and palynological studies have indicated
the presence of a long palaeoecological record in the unglaciated region, but this record is
broken by frequent and important discontinuities. The recycling of deposits by erosion and
redeposition, and their permanently frozen condition complicate the studies. Possible
migration of plants across the postulated Bering Sea land bridge introduces several as yet
poorly known factors into palaeobotanical investigations. Available evidence indicates that
Quaternary climatic changes in Yukon have been approximately contemporaneous with, and
probably of the same magnitude as those further south in the temperate latitudes.
Palaeoecological evidence indicates that human migration could have occurred from Asia to
Yukon and hence southward in late-Quaternary time, some 14,000 years ago, or possibly even
earlier in the mid-Wisconsin nonglacial interval. Recent archaeological studies have
confirmed the probable presence of human occupation in Yukon during late-Quaternary time.
The late-Quaternary extinction of several mammal species in Yukon is an interesting problem;
whether it occurred because of changing palaeoecological conditions or from other causes
remains to be explained.
A.A.
816. TERASMAE, J. 1967. Paleoecology: a practical viewpoint and general considerations.
In: Life, Land and Water. Edited by: W.J. Mayer-Oakes. University of Manitoba,
Department of Anthropology Occasional. Paper 1:207-215.
This is a general review of paleoecology with special emphasis upon its relationship to the
human environment, the myth of unlimited resources, the water crisis and pollution, the
problems of pesticides and conservation and the search for new natural resources.
817. TERASMAE, J. 1967. Postglacial chronology and forest history in the Northern Lake
Huron and Lake Superior regions. In: Quaternary Paleoecology. Proceedings of the
VII INQUA Congress. Edited by: E.J. Cushing and H.E. Wright, Jr. pp. 45-58.
Geochronological studies have indicated that the region immediately north of Lake Huron and
Lake Superior was covered by the continental ice sheet during the Valders’ subage.
Deglaciation about 10,000 years ago was accompanied by a complex sequence of ice-dammed
lakes, with rapidly changing levels, extents, and outlets. High shorelines north of Sault
Ste. Marie at about 1,025-ft. elevation indicate that Glacial Lake Algonquin extended into
the Lake Superior basin. The assumed Nipissing shoreline at Little Pic River, west of White
River, Ontario, has been dated at about 5,900 years B.P. It is suggested that Glacial Lake
Agassiz, west of Lake Superior, was in part contemporaneous with Glacial Lake Algonquin.
Species of arctic plants migrated into this region and reached the headwaters of rivers
flowing north and northeast more than 9,000 years ago, and the arctic species were crowded
out except in localities with rather unique ecological conditions, such as the rugged shore
bluffs of Lake Superior, where they have survived to the present. Some boreal species (e.g.
302
Pinus strobus) ranged north of their present distribution limits during the hypsithermal
interval, which was followed by considerable areal expansion of muskeg. Forest fires have
been a significant ecological factor in most of this region throughout postglacial time, as
indicated in the Red Lake area by consistently high percentages of jack pine (Pinus
banksiana) and birch (Betula) pollen.
G.A.
818. TERASMAE, J. 1968. A discussion of deglaciation and the boreal forest history in the
northern Great Lakes region. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Ontario
99:31-43.
The early postglacial boreal forest in northern Ontario differed from that which occupied the
same region during the rest of postglacial time, because of both geolgical and climatological
factors. For example, in the Hudson Bay and James Bay lowland the general slope of the land
to the east and northeast was greater than now, because the isostatic rebound from glacial
loading which had depressed the crust in the Hudson Bay region was just beginning. This
condition provided for better drainage at that time. In addition, there is evidence to
indicate that climatic conditions were probably both warmer and maybe drier at the same time,
between 7,000 and 5,000 years ago. The subsequent trend towards increased moisture regime
and later a change to cooler climatic conditions some 3,000 or 2,500 years ago certainly
favored expansion of muskeg. The climatic trend was, furthermore, accompanied by isostatic
uplift which caused a decrease of slope towards Hudson Bay and a corresponding deterioration
of drainage.
Evidence for a warmer episode (the hypsithermal) is provided by paleobotanical studies which
have indicated that, for example, the white pine range extended north of its present limit by
some 60 miles or more just prior to 5,000 years ago, according to radiocarbon dates on buried
white pine fossils at Val St. Gilles, Quebec. Both peat stratigraphic studies and
radiocarbon dating have indicated that considerable expansion of muskeg occurred in the
northern Ontario Clay Belt in late postglacial time.
Excerpt
819. TERASMAE, J. 1968. Some problems of the Quaternary palynology in the western mainland
region of the Canadian Arctic. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 68-23:1-26.
The problems concerning palynological studies of Quaternary deposits in the western Canadian
Arctic are summarized and evaluated, and the relatively greater importance of certain aspects
of pollen production, dispersal and deposition in the Arctic than in the more southern
latitudes is pointed out. In the interpretation of the fossil pollen record the discussion
emphasizes the need for awareness of limiting factors evident in palynological techniques.
It is important to integrate palynological interpretations with evidence obtainable from
other sources, such as glaciology, Quaternary geology, climatology, dendrochronology,
geobotany and ecology, in order to suggest meaningful paleoecological and paleoclimatological
reconstructions. The results indicate a causal relationship between Arctic vegetation and
climate and hence, confirm the validity and usefulness of palynological studies in the
investigation of postglacial and Quaternary environmental changes in the Arctic region.
A.A.
820. TERASMAE, J. 1969. Quaternary palynology in Quebec: a review and future prospects.
La Revue de Géographie de Montréal 23(3):281-288.
This review points out that Québec was, in effect, the birthplace of Canadian Quaternary
palynology. The early studies were concerned with peat resources and from these developed
palynological studies when the usefulness of pollen stratigraphy in correlation, climatic
studies and vegetation history was realized. In the 1950s several major projects were
initiated and with the support of radio-carbon dating the palynological studies became
303
increasingly helpful for geological investigations. However, in spite of the progress made
our present knowledge of palynology in Quebec has not extended past the preliminary phase of
reconnaissance which has, nevertheless, clearly indicated the potential value of
palynological research. The greatest current needs are training of palynologists and
providing financial assistance for basic palynological research in particular because without
an adequate basic knowledge the full potential of this research cannot be realized. A
summary of needs and priorities in Quaternary palynology is given in the last part of this
review.
A.A.
821. TERASMAE, J. 1972. The Pleistocene-Holocene boundary in the Canadian context. 24th
International Geological Congress, Section 12:120-125.
At the 1969 meeting in Paris the INQUA Subcommission for the Study of the Holocene
recommended that the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary be defined in terms of a significant
climatic change and a type section (international stratotype) where evidence (geological,
biological and other) for this change would be available for examination. The age of this
boundary was proposed to be 10,000 radio-carbon years before present.
About 10,000 years ago, a substantial part of Canada was still covered by the residual mass
of the continental ice sheet. This report draws attention to some of the problems that are
related to the establishment of the Pleistocene-Holocene boundary in Canada, and some of the
criteria that could be used for defining this boundary.
pA.A.
822, TERASMAE, J. 1973. Notes on late Wisconsin and early Holocene history of vegetation in
Canada. Arctic and Alpine Research 5(3):201-222.
Nearly all of Canada was covered by the Wisconsin glaciation and most of the country was
deglaciated during the time about 12,000 to 7,000 years ago. The biota generally survived
the glaciation south of the ice sheets in North America, in addition to survival in probable
refugia along the coasts and in Yukon and the Arctic Islands.
The ice sheets (Laurentide and Cordilleran) completely disturbed the vegetation in Canada.
As deglaciation occurred in response to a significant change in climate at the end of the
Pleistocene (about 10,000 years ago), recolonization of Canada by vegetation proceeded from
the refugia and a northward migration of biota from the southern peripheral region of
glaciation. The late glacial episode differed from any subsequent Holocene time episode in
terms of the availablility of large areas of “raw” soils, the very large volume of meltwater
runoff, and the presence of numerous large glacial lakes that at least locally affected the
climate.
The main sources of information about late Wisconsin and Holocene vegetation are records of
plant macrofossils and fossil pollen and spore assemblages preserved in lake sediments, peat
bogs, and alluvial deposits.
Genetic mixing occurred during recolonization when the populations from different refugia met
after having been isolated for several thousand years.
The studies of the fossil record are seriously hindered by the lack of basic palynological
data (pollen deposition and dispersal in relation to the modern vegetation) and the ecology,
phytogeography, and genetics of Canadian vegetation and flora, as well as the relationships
between vegetation and climate in particular.
It has been demonstrated clearly that the palynological and paleobotanical studies can
provide the necessary information required for construction of paleoclimatological models
that can be beneficially used in the study of environmental changes.
A.A.
304
823. TERASMAE, J. 1974. Deglaciation of Port Hood Island, Nova Scotia. Canadian Journal of
Earth Sciences 11(10):1357-1365.
A palynological study and radiocarbon dating of surficial deposits on Port Hood Island, Nova
Scotia, have indicated that deglaciation occurred more than 11 000 yr B.P., and that the
presence of an ‘upper till' in local depressions is attributable to soil - creep processes
under cold and wet climatic conditions some 11 000 to 10 000 yr B.P. No evidence was found
of an ice advance younger than 11 000 yr B.P. in western Cape Breton Island.
A.A.
824. TERASMAE, J. 1974. An evaluation of methods used for reconstruction of Quaternary
environments. In: Quaternary Environments. Edited by: W.C. Mahaney.
Geographical Monographs No. 5:5-32.
The methods for study and reconstruction of Quaternary environments (paleobotany and
palynology, invertebrate and vertebrate paleontology, climatology, hydrology, glaciology,
geomorphic processes, stratigraphy of Quaternary deposits, pedology, sediments, oxygen
isotope ratios, archaeology, sea level and lake level changes, biogeography, permafrost
features, airfall deposits, tree-rings and varves, petrology of peat, and historical records)
can be subdivided into two main categories: those that provide primarily qualitative
information, and others that yield quantitative data on environmental conditions and
changes.
It has been possible to establish a chronological sequence of Late-Quaternary environmental
changes in most of the major geographical regions in Canada. Correlation of these
chronologies within each of the regions is relatively easy and between widely separated
regions (more than 1,500 km apart) rather more difficult on the basis of limited available
data.
The early Holocene biostratigraphic zone boundaries are commonly time-transgressive owing to
the progress of deglaciation, and the same kind of environmental change may be indicated in
the different regions by fossil assemblages composed of different species because of
differences in the past and present specific composition of vegetation and fauna. Therefore,
the correlation of Quaternary environmental changes between the different regions must be
based on some absolute geochronometric method such as the radiocarbon dating, or
dendrochronology.
The established sequence of Quaternary environmental changes, coupled with geochronometric
studies seems to provide a base for the construction and 'calibration' of paleoclimatological
models that can be used to forecast probable environmental changes in the future.
A.A.
825. TERASMAE, J. 1975. Notes on climatic change, environment and man. In: Environmental
Change. Edited by: J.G. Ogden, III and M.J. Harvey. Proceedings of the Nova
Scotian Institute of Science 27(Supplement 3):17-36.
A general survey of the evidence for climatic change, including discussion of the North
American climate of today and at 12 000 BP. We must be careful that we do not aid the
climate to revert to a less favourable earlier state.
G.A.
826. TERASMAE, J. 1976. In search of a palynological tundra. Geoscience and Man 15:77-82.
Pollen assemblages from surface samples of lake-bottom sediment and northern muskeg indicate
that the major vegetation regions (boreal forest, taiga, forest-tundra, and tundra) that
extend from central Quebec to the eastern Arctic can be identified on the basis of
305
palynological information. Although it is possible to recognize modern palynological tundra
in relation to present distribution limits of vegetation, it should not be concluded that
unqualified identification can be made of “palaeo-tundra” that presumably existed in the
periglacial zone that bordered the southern margin of the continental ice sheet in late
Pleistocene time. Our present data base is not adequate with respect to arctic palynological
surface sample coverage and the understanding of atmospheric pollen dispersal over the
northern regions. This information is required for the study of the history of tundra
environment in the Cenozoic palynostratigraphic record.
A.A.
827. TERASMAE, J. 1977. Postglacial history of Canadian muskeg. In: Muskeg and the
Northern Environment in Canada. Edited by: N.W. Radforth and C.0. Brawner.
University of Toronto Press, Toronto. pp. 9-30.
The author deals with the question of how, when and from where all this muskeg arose.
Development of muskeg with deglaciation is briefly reviewed; a description of the muskeg as
an ecosystem and a discussion of postglacial climatic changes and muskeg are presented. He
also gives a regional history of muskeg development.
L.G.
828. TERASMAE, J. 1980. Some problems of late Wisconsin history and geochronology in
southeastern Ontario. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 17(3):361-381.
Palynological studies and radiocarbon dating of sediments from about 20 lakes and bogs in
southeastern Ontario have been used to establish a palynostratigraphic sequence of six
pollen zones extending to approximately 12000 years BP and indicating that deglaciation
occurred between 12500 and 11500 years BP, probably during the Two Creeks interstadial
interval.
The glacial Lake Iroquois existed in the Lake Ontario basin from about 12500 - 11800 years BP
while the Lake Ontario ice lobe was retreating northeastward, and the Kirkfield - Fenelon
Falls outlet from glacial Lake Algonquin (in the Georgian Bay - Lake Huron basin) to Lake
Iroquois opened about 12000 years ago when the Dummer Moraine was deposited as a stagnant ice
disintegration feature south of the Algonquin and Haliburton Highlands.
Most radiocarbon dates (about 25) on marine shells, whale bone, andalgae from Champlain Sea
beach deposits are in the range of 10000 - 11800 years BP, indicating that the Champlain Sea
episode is younger than glacial Lake Iroquois. However, a few Champlain Sea dates are older
than 12000 years BP and present an unresolved problem in geochronological correlation because
they conflict with proposed deglaciation histories in southeastern Ontario.
Late Wisconsin ice marginal positions are poorly known in southeastern Ontario and comprise
another problem for further study.
The end of glacial Lake Algonquin phase (the main drainage event in the North Bay area)
probably occurred between 10800 and 10500 years BP, after the Champlain Sea had reached its
maximum western limit in the Pembroke area (upper Ottawa River valley) as indicated by
stratigraphic relationships of surficial deposits.
A.A.
829. TERASMAE, J., and T.W. ANDERSON. 1970. Hypsithermal range extension of white pine
(Pinus strobue L.) in Quebec, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
7(2):406-413.
Fossil wood, cones, and leaves of white pine (P. strobus L.) were discovered at Val
St. Gilles, Quebec, some 60 miles (~ 96.6 km) north of the present distribution
306
limit of this species. The fossils were buried under several feet of peat, and were dated at
5030 + 130 (GSC-585) radiocarbon years before present. In the pollen diagram from
this peat exposure a white pine pollen maximum coincides with the stratigraphic unit in which
the fossil pine wood was found. This discovery indicates that white pine was growing well
north of its present distribution limit during the Holocene hypsithermal interval, when
climatic conditions were more favorable in this region than at present.
A.A.
830. TERASMAE, J., and B.G. CRAIG. 1958. Discovery of fossil Ceratophyllum demersum
L. in Northwest Territories, Canada. Canadian Journal of Botany 36(5):567-569.
Fossil Ceratophyllum demersum L. was discovered on sites east of Great Slave Lake
Northwest Territories, Canada. This distribution is both north and east of its presently
known range. The palynological evidence supports the conclusion that the climate was warmer
than the present when the silt, in which the fossil plant remains were found, was deposited.
A radiocarbon age of 5400 + 230 years (L-428) has been obtained for the sample.
A.A.
831. TERASMAE, J., and J.G. FYLES. 1959. Palaeobotanical study of late-glacial deposits
from Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Botany 37(5):815-817.
Plant-bearing beds have been discovered by J.G. Fyles in late-glacial deposits from the
Englishman River section, Vancouver Island, B.C. Radiocarbon dating indicated an age of ca.
12,000 years for these _ beds. Fossil cones of Pinus contorta Dougl. and leaves of
Dryas drummondit Richards were discovered and identified. Palynological study indicates
that climate at the time was colder than the present.
A.A.
832. TERASMAE, J., and O.L. HUGHES. 1960. Glacial retreat in the North Bay area, Ontario.
Science 131(3411):1444-1446.
Geological and palynological studies in Ontario and Quebec, supported by radiocarbon dates,
suggest that the opening of the North Bay outlet and the initiation of the Stanley-Chippewa
stages in the Huron and Michigan basins took place 10,000 to 11,000 years ago.
A.A.
833. TERASMAE, J., and O.L. HUGHES. 1960. A palynological and geological study of
Pleistocene deposits in the James Bay Lowlands, Ontario (42 N&). Geological Survey
of Canada Bulletin 62:1-15.
Stratigraphic studies of Pleistocene deposits in the James Bay Lowlands have shown that the
sequence begins with glacial deposits overlying bedrock. This part of the sequence consists
of two members, the lower drift and the middle drift. These glacial deposits are overlain by
layers of peat, silt and clay, here named the Missinaibi beds, which in turn are overlain by
glacial deposits of the main Wisconsin glaciation. Marine clay, commonly fossiliferous,
overlies the upper glacial drift and is overlain by post-glacial fluvial, lacustrine, and
organic deposits.
Palynological studies have been made of both the Missinaibi beds and the post-glacial
deposits. Vegetation during the deposition of the Missinaibi beds was similar to that
present now in the James Bay Lowlands. On basis of palynological evidence an interstadial
307
rank is proposed for the Missinaibi beds, and radiocarbon dating suggests an age of 55,000 to
64,000 years.
A.A.
834. TERASMAE, J., and O.L. HUGHES. 1966. Late-Wisconsinan chronology and history of
vegetation in the Ogilvie Mountains, Yukon Territory, Canada. Paleobotanist 15(1-
2) 2235-242.
Studies of Pleistocene geology and history in the western Ogilvie Mountains, bordering on the
east of the unglaciated region in Yukon, were made by Hughes who has recognized three major
glacial episodes characterized by successive advances and retreats of valley glaciers
originating in cirques along the axis of the southern Ogilvie Ranges. Palynological studies
and radiocarbon dating have been used to support and confirm the chronology of complex
moraine sequence. The youngest of these glacial episodes is believed to have culminated
prior to 10,000-12,900 years ago.
The history of late Wisconsinan vegetation in this area, as inferred from palynological and
paleobotanical studies, holds special interest because of the postulated survival of plants
in the adjacent unglaciated area which provided a potential late-glacial dispersal centre in
addition to migrations reaching the area later from the southeast and south. It seems that
birch, alder, willow and spruce were among the early pioneers from the western source. A
mixing of the western and eastern floral elements after deglaciation is an interesting
problem. The magnitude of the postglacial climatic changes appears to have been smaller than
in the more southerly regions. At several sites studied, the onset of the permafrost regime
has been an important factor in the development of vegetation, because of its influence on
both the groundwater conditions and soil development.
A.A.
835. TERASMAE, J., and P. LASALLE. 1968. Notes on late-glacial palynology and geochronology
at St. Hilaire, Quebec. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 5(2):249-257.
A palynological study supported by radiocarbon dates of late-glacial sediments at
St. Hilaire, Quebec, indicates that the southern part of the St. Lawrence Lowland was
deglaciated prior to 12 500 years B.P. The late-glacial episode comprises several climatic
fluctuations: a probable early cool interval (northern boreal) more than 12 500 years B.P.;
a relatively colder interval (tundra) about 12 500 years B.P., followed by another cool
interval from about 12 000 years B.P. to about 10 000 years ago. Another relatively cold
episode may have occurred about 11 000 years ago. The new studies extend the previously
available palynological record in the St. Lawrence Lowland back in time by about 2 000 years
and include the Champlain Sea episode.
836. TERASMAE, J., and R.J. MOTT. 1964. Pollen deposition in lakes and bogs near Ottawa,
Canada. Canadian Journal of Botany 42(10):1355-1363.
A palynological study of surface samples of lake deposits and peat in the Ottawa area has
indicated that pollen and spore assemblages obtained from these samples reflect both the
local vegetation and the regional one characteristic of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Forest
Region. Palynological differences between the upland sites and those of the clay plain of
the Ottawa Valley are sufficient to identify these environments. Results of this study will
help to strengthen the interpretation based on fossil pollen and spore assemblages found in
postglacial deposits, when past environments are inferred from these fossil assemblages.
A.A.
308
837. TERASMAE, J., and R.J. MOTT. 1971. Postglacial history and palynology of Sable Island,
Nova Scotia. Geoscience and Man 3:17-28.
Sable Island holds especial interest in postglacial palynology because it lies about 180
miles east of Halifax, Nova Scotia, near the edge of the continental shelf and is the only
emerged part left of an extensive archipelago which existed on the shelf during the last
glaciation. A series of buried soil and peat horizons, ranging in age from about 200 to
11,000 radiocarbon years, has been studied palynologically in addition to surface samples and
atmospheric pollen deposition. This study has failed to substantiate the claimed presence of
interglacial surfaces (soils) on the island and supports instead the hypothesis of a
continuously changing and slowly eastwardly migrating complex of sand deposits. The absence
of trees on the island facilitates studies on long distance atmospheric transport of pollen
and spores from the mainland...
A.A.
838. TERASMAE, J., P.J. WEBBER, and J.T. ANDREWS. 1966. A study of late-Quaternary plant-
bearing beds in north-central Baffin Island, Canada. Arctic 19(4):296-318.
Buried plant-bearing beds along Isortoq River at the northern end of Barnes Ice Cap on Baffin
Island have been dated at more than 38,830 and 40,000 years B.P. A palynological and
palaeobotanical study has indicated the presence of species (e.g. dwarf birch) which now
occur several hundred kilometres south of this locality. Because of the inferred climatic
conditions, more favourable than the present, an interglacial age (Sangamon) is assigned to
the Isortoq plant-bearing beds. Folding of the Isotorq beds by overriding ice and the
orientation of the overturned folds indicate accumulation of the initial ice cap east of this
locality.
July temperatures were probably between 7 and 10°C that is, about 1 to 4°C higher than the
present. Total precipitation may have been 38 cm a year which would represent an increase of
12.7 cm, and the growing season may have been 20-25 days longer, that is, a total length of
about 120 days.
AS Aer
839. TERASMAE, J., and N.C. WEEKS. 1979. Natural fires as an index of paleoclimate.
Canadian Field-Naturalist 93(2):116-125.
The charcoal abundance and frequency of occurrence varies stratigraphically in postglacial
lake sediments, and this information can be used together with palynological and
sedimentological data for a reconstruction of paleoclimatic conditions. The gelatin-coated
slides method can be used for continuous sampling of lake sediment cores to determine the
presence of charcoal particles. Changes in the charcoal profile have been related to changes
in the sequence of fossil pollen, specifically that of pine pollen, and from the observed
relationship a climatic control of forest fires is inferred. Forest fires have occurred
naturally in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence and Boreal forest regions during the past 9000
years, and the fire frequency almost doubled during the Pine Pollen Zone about 7000 to 4000
years ago in the southern Boreal forest. The mean fire frequency in the Lac Louis area was
one fire every 95 to 100 years, but during the period characterized by a pine pollen maximun,
PSC HOME BP (CS CAB) Stome42600 + 8 OT r BR PEN(CSC MOINE Mrne fire
frequency increased to one fire every 48 to 56 years.
840. THOMAS, M.K. 1955. Climatic trends along the Atlantic coast of Canada. Transactions
of the Royal Society of Canada, Series 3, 49:15-2:.
Temperature data from the coastal areas of Nova. Scotia and Newfoundland indicate a warming
trend during the past sixty-five years. Decadal means of annual and winter temperatures are
309
currently at their maximum for that period and show increases of 2 and 4 degrees respectively
during the past thirty years. Although summer temperatures were at their maximum in the
early 1930s they are now averaging almost 2 degrees higher than just prior to 1920. The
warming trend is evident at Resolution Island, but is not nearly so pronounced. Trends along
the Labrador and Baffin Island coasts are probably similar to those at Resolution Island and
these stations show greater year to year variation than those on the southeastern coast of
Canada.
A.S.
841. THOMAS, M.K. 1957. Changes in the climate of Ontario. Im: Changes in the Fauna of
Ontario. Royal Ontario Museum, University of Toronto. pp. 57-75.
Prior to the Pleistocene Ice Age, Ontario had climates peculiar to the different geological
ages. Climates warmer than today's existed some 90% of the time, and we are today only in
the warming up phase of this recent ice age. The warmest climates since the ice retreated
from Ontario was probably during the climatic optimum some six thousand years ago. All
evidence indicates that there have been no major changes in our climate during the Christian
era.
Instrumental climatic data are available from Toronto since 1840 and from other places in
Ontario since 1870. There has been a definite increase in temperature during this time, and
at Toronto it amounts to about three degrees Fahrenheit per century when the artificial “city
effect" is discounted. Evidence indicates that this rate, which has not been steady, is
common over southern Ontario, but in northern Ontario it may be less. The trend in
precipitation including snowfall is towards smaller annual amounts. The decrease at Toronto
is between three and four inches over a century, occurring mostly in the autumn and winter
seasons. Since the last few decades of the past century, precipitation over southern Ontario
has decreased by about one inch. Taking into consideration the variation in precipitation
from year to year, this precipitation trend is not considered to be as significant as the
temperature trend towards warmer values.
Thomas
842. THOMAS, M.K. 1960. Canadian Arctic temperatures. Department of Transport,
Meteorological Branch, CIR.-3334, CLI.-24:1-38.
In the sub-Arctic records from Dawson and Fairbanks a warming trend from the 1910s to the
early 1930s is revealed and further warming in the 1940s. In this continental area the trend
during the 1950s has been towards lower temperatures. An entirely different trend has been
observed on the western Arctic coast and is illustrated by data from Barrow and Aklavik.
Along the coast there have not been any marked climatic fluctuations since the beginning
observations in the 1920s. In the eastern Arctic, records from Arctic Bay and nearby Pond
Inlet date back to the 1920s and this area has shown a warm up similar to the one at Dawson
in the 1940s with a subsequent though not as marked, cooling off period during the 1950s...
Thomas
843. THOMAS, M.K. 1961. A bibliography of Canadian climate 1763-1957. Meteorological
Branch, Department of Transport. Division of Building Research, National Research
Council, Ottawa. 114 pp.
A chronological bibliography of Canadian climate. Subject and geographical, author, and
reference indexes are provided. Approximately 1300 references listed by year.
A.B.S.
844. THOMAS, M.K. 1973. References to meteorological studies of climatic fluctuations in
Canada published during the period 1970-January 1973. Atmospheric Environment
Service, DS 4-73:1-3.
Eighteen references, listed by year.
A.B.S.
845. THOMAS, M.K. 1973. A bibliography of Canadian climate 1958-1971. Atmospheric
Environment Service. Environment Canada, Ottawa. 170 pp.
A chronological bibliography of Canadian climate. Subject and geographical, author, and
reference indexes, in English and French, are provided. Approximately 1700 references,
listed by year.
A.B.S.
846. THOMAS, M.K. 1974. Canada's climates are changing more rapidly. Canadian Geographical
Journal 88(5):32-39.
With five identifiable climatic provinces and considerable daily fluctuation, longer term
variations are difficult to establish. Statistical analysis of data for up to 10 years is
usually sufficient to illustrate fluctuations. Likely mechanisms for causing climatic change
are discussed as are methods of detecting post-Pleistocene climatic variations. Fluctuations
since the mid-19th century are described together with spatial variations but prediction with
accuracy is viewed as unlikely.
G.A.
847. THOMAS, M.K. 1975. Meteorological studies of climatic fluctuations in Canada, 1917-
1960. An annotated bibliography. Atmospheric Environment Service DS 7-75:1-9.
Twenty-six annotations, in both English and French, are provided.
A.B.S.
848. THOMAS, M.K. 1975. Recent climatic fluctuations in Canada. Environment Canada.
Atmospheric Environment Service, Climatological Studies 28:1-92.
Discusses climatic variations over the past third of a century. Contents includes data on
such parameters as temperature, precipitation, bright sunshine, cloudiness, snowfall, and
pressure in a regional context. For purpose of this study, Canada is divided into 11
climatic districts.
849. THOMAS, M.K. 1981. Towards a Canadian climate program. In: Climate Change Seminar
Proceedings, Regina. March 17-19. Canadian Climate Centre, Downsview. pp. 86-90.
"Climate is a vital component of Canada's natural environment and its anomalies or
variations, regardless of any long term trends, have marked socio-economic effects. The past
year or so has provided several examples. During the 1979-80 winter, only one third to one
half of normal snowfall occurred in the heavily populated region stretching from Windsor to
Quebec City and the result was a disastrous season for winter outdoor recreation businesses,
311
although millions of dollars were saved in snow removal costs. Drought has been a worry in
the Prairies where a shortage of surface water supplies still exists. A very costly aspect
of the drought in 1980 was the record number of forest fires in Ontario and the Western
Provinces. Monetary loss exceeded a billion dollars in Ontario alone and fire fighting
operations cost nearly $200 million across the country. The early winter of 1980-81 produced
mudslides and floods in British Columbia, record high heating bills in Eastern Canada and
paralyzing snowstorms to areas of the Atlantic Provinces. In mid-winter the abnormally warm
conditions in western Canada spread over the east to the dismay of winter sport enthusiasts
but to the delight of motorists and most householders.”
Such anomalies or variations emphasize the need for a comprehensive climate program.
Environment Canada initiated the Canadian Climate Program in 1978. The author outlines the
objectives and current status of this program.
A.B.S.
850. THOMAS, M.K., and D.W. PHILLIPS. 1979. A bibliography of Canadian climate 1972-1976.
Environment Canada, Atmospheric Environment, Ottawa. 135 pp.
A chronological bibliography of Canadian climate. Subject and geographical, author, and
reference indexes, in English and French, are provided. Approximately 1100 references,
listed by year.
A.B.S.
851. THOMPSON, P., H.-P. SCHWARCZ, and D.C. FORD. 1974. Continental Pleistocene climatic
variations from speleothem age and isotopic data. Science 184(4139):893-895.
Speleothems from continental North American caves [considers the southern Canadian Rockies
and the Northwest Territories] have been dated by means of the 2307p /234y method. Oxygen
isotopic variations in the dated samples and phases of speleothem deposition can be
interpreted in terms of climatic change. A glacial chronology constructed from the age and
isotopic data lends support to the astronomical theory of climatic change.
ASE
852. THOMSON, A. 1935. Variability of Canadian winters. Journal of the Royal Astronomical
Society of Canada 29(4):129-139.
“The winters in Canada east of the Rockies are well known to vary widely in severity from
year to year. The temperature records from nine stations for the past 50 years have been
analyzed to discover any definite trend towards mild or severe winters in Canada, and the
factors are discussed which would tend to produce either cold or mild winters in the various
sections of Canada." The author found that in comparing the record for Toronto and Paris,
Ontario for the period 1890 to 1930 the difference, (i.e., the urban-rural difference) in
temperature, remained almost constant over the period despite a great increase in the
population of Toronto. Taking winter as the months of December, January and February, the
author cites mean winter temperatures at nine different locations in Canada and classifies
the severity of winters in four regions of Canada. The greatest variability is found on the
Prairies followed by eastern Canada, then the Maritimes and finally the least variable
temperature conditions were found in British Columbia.
Thomas
853. THOMSON, A. 1936. Sunspots and weather forecasting in Canada. Journal of the Royal
Astronomical Society of Canada 30(6):215-232.
Precipitation, temperature and cloudiness at stations along the southern border of Canada,
and thunderstorms at Toronto may be affected by variations in sunspots, but records extending
from 30 to 80 years at these stations are not sufficiently long to show it. Temperatures
over the Prairies are possibly slightly lower during years of sunspot maximum, but yearly
values in any cycle will show a random scatter about the mean. The temperature and rainfall
departure at any station for a particular year of the sunspot cycle varies so irregularly
from the mean from one cycle to another, that it is without value to attempt to use the
sunspot variation curve for forecasting weather at stations in Canada. Variations in the
period and amplitude of sunspot fluctuations are so great that the number of sunspots present
a year or so in advance cannot be accurately forecast. Hence, the seasonal weather forecasts
based on sunspot numbers are unreliable.
Thomas
854. TUCKER, C.M., and S.B. McCANN. 1980. Quaternary events on the Burin Peninsula,
Newfoundland, and the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, France. Canadian Journal
of Earth Sciences 17(11):1462-1479.
Morphogenetic mapping of surficial deposits and analysis of infrequent multiple-unit
exposures of drift in the Burin Peninsula and on St. Pierre and Miquelon provide evidence of
the following sequence of late Quaternary events in the south-central coastal region of
Newfoundland. (1) Overall glaciation by Newfoundland-centred ice (pre-Wisconsinan or,
possibly, Early Wisconsinan in age), represented by a few occurrences of weathered till.
(2) Overall glaciation by Newfoundland-centred ice (Early Wisconsinan), widely represented
throughout the peninsula. (3) Marine overlap in the southwest of the peninsula and on
St. Pierre and Miquelon (Mid-Wisconsinan). (4) Partial glaciation by ice from an offshore
source to the southeast (late Mid-Wisconsinan), represented by onshore-directed striae and a
well-developed former ice-marginal position in the lower peninsula. (5) Limited glaciation
by Newfoundland-centred ice of the northern part of the area (Late-Wisconsinan); the former
ice margin is a well-defined feature across the Gisborne basin and small separate ice caps
existed along the central spine of the upper peninsula. In developing the chronology for
these events, the occurrence of marine deposits, containing Foraminifera of proposed Mid-
Wisconsinan age, between two till units at Dantzic Cove in the southwest of the Burin
Peninsula is important.
A.A.
855. TULLY, J.P., A.J. DODIMEAD, and S. TABATA. 1960. An anomalous increase of temperature
in the ocean off the Pacific Coast of Canada through 1957 and 1958. Journal of the
Fisheries Research Board of Canada 17(1):61-80.
The temperature increase extended from the surface to nearly 500 metres depth. Its progress
is shown by temperature distribution on the isopycnal surface which is in the haloclyne
immediately below the depth of seasonal influence. During this period the current veered
northward and strengthened. The spawning migration of sockeye salmon in the ocean was
shifted northward and delayed in association with these anomalous oceanographic conditions.
Thomas
856. Understanding Climatic Change A Program for Action. Compiled by: United States
Committee for the Global Atmospheric Research Program. National Academy of
Sciences, Washington, D.C. 239 pp. 1975.
The first purpose of this report was to advise on the “urgent need for a coherent national
research program on the problem of climatic variation”. The second purpose was to recommend
349
the steps necessary to address this problem in an international context. Topics considered
within the report include: “a discussion of the physical basis of climate and climatic
change, a summary of past climatic variations as drawn from the instrumental and
paleoclimatic record, a brief review of the scope of present research on climatic variation
and the proposed climatic research program”.
A.B.S.
857. VAN RYSWYK, A.L. 1971. Radiocarbon date for a cryoturbated alpine regosol in south
central British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 51:513-515.
Charcoal pieces contained in a buried Ah horizon on Lakeview Mountain in south central
British Columbia have a radiocarbon age of 9120 + 540 years B.P. (GSC-1390). This
date is used in reconstructing the sequence of events affecting the development of an Alpine
Regosol at this site. About 11,500 years ago ice left the area. The climate was warmer
and/or wetter than at present by about 9000 years ago, and could support tree or shrub
vegetation. The charcoal was produced when this vegetation was destroyed by fire. When the
climate became colder and/or drier, tundra-like vegetation dominated and alpine Ah horizons
were formed. The Ah charcoal-containing horizon would have been buried later than 9000 years
B.P., and possibly later than 6600 years B.P. The evidence does not suggest that
cryoturbation has continued to the present.
A.B.S.
858. VASS, S.E. 1981. Climate change and variability; some implications for Prince Edward
Island. In: Climate Change Seminar Proceedings. Regina, March 17-19. Canadian
Climate Centre, Downsview. pp. 60-71.
"The resources and practises most sensitive to climate in Prince Edward Island are
agriculture, tourism and recreation, fisheries, transportation, the distribution and demand
for energy, wildlife, and planned new departures in forest management. Some climatic effects
are direct, some indirect through changes induced in soil and water quality; and though some
effects are self-evident others are subtle and often not clearly understood." The author
discusses the implications of climate variability on these resources.
A.B.S.
859. VENKATARANGAN, P. 1978. Influence of solar activity on growing seasons in the Canadian
Prairies. Institute of Space and Atmospheric Studies, University of Saskatchewan,
Saskatoon. 23 pp.
New evidence of statistically significant changes in the length of the growing season in the
Prairie Provinces is presented to show that a strong connection exists between solar activity
and weather. Further, it is demonstrated that the relationship between solar activity and
weather exists through solar flares. The length of the growing season is observed to
decrease with increasing solar flare activity everywhere in the Prairies. The additional
enchancement in the growing season length found near the peak of a sunspot cycle and the
strong variations noted during the declining phase of a sunspot cycle lead to our principal
interpretative suggestion that energetic solar particles could play a dominant role in the
energetics of Sun-weather relationships. Despite the poor understanding of these variations,
it is shown that the results have some merits of applicability.
A.A.
314
860. VIBE, C. 1967. Arctic animals in relation to climatic fluctuations. Meddelelser om
Grénland 170(5):7-227.
A study of the East Greenland Ice in Davis Strait makes it possible to recognize three main
drift-ice stages which play an important role for climate and ecology in all Greenland.
A) - The drift-ice stagnation stage (approx. 1810-60)
The East Greenland Ice does not advance far north into Davis Strait where the Canadian
Current has a dominating influence. The climate of northern West Greenland is relatively
cold, dry and stable. The populations of sea mammals and sea birds concentrate at central
West Greenland. The winter climate is favourable for the Reindeer in central and northern
West Greenland, and the population increases and culminates.
The population of white Arctic Fox increases and culminates in southeastern Canadian Arctic.
The white percentage increases in West Greenland. The Cod occurs along the coast of southern
West Greenland, but it is not abundant, except for short periods with little drift-ice.
The drift-ice is relatively stable throughout the winter off Northeast Greenland where the
climate is favourable for the Reindeer and the Musk Ox. The populations increase.
B) - The drift-ice pulsation stage (approx. 1860-1910)
The ice of the Arctic Ocean drifts into the Atlantic in larger amounts than before. The East
Greenland Current and the East Greenland ice advance far north into Davis Strait either early
or late in summer. The populations of sea mammals and sea birds decrease in central West
Greenland. The climate becomes relatively unstable and wet. The wet winters are
unfavourable for the Reindeer in West Greenland and the population decreases.
The population of white Arctic Fox decreases in Canadian Eastern Arctic and that of blue
Arctic fox increases in central and northern West Greenland. The white percentage stagnates
or decreases in northern West Greenland. Cod occur only occasionally in short periods with
early drift-ice in Davis Strait.
The drift-ice moves relatively fast off Northeast Greenland where the population of Musk Ox
Stagnates owing to wet winters. The Reindeer becomes extinct in Northeast Greenland.
The population of Greenland Whale stagnates in the Atlantic region.
C) - The drift-ice melting stage (approx. 1910-19607)
The East Greenland Ice decreases in Davis Strait where the Irminger Current has a dominating
influence on climate and production. The populations of sea mammals and sea birds increase
in northern West Greenland and in East Greenland. The Reindeer population of West Greenland
has ample summer grazing, but the winter pastures are often covered by snow and ice - and the
population stagnates in all West Greenland, except for the short dry period 1910-20.
The population of white Arctic Fox increases and culminates in all eastern Canadian Arctic
and in Northeast Greenland, and that of blue Arctic Fox in all West Greenland. The white
percentage decreases in central and increases in northern West Greenland. Cod occur
abundantly along the coast of West Greenland and multiply in Greenlandic waters. The
population increases in periods with little or early drift-ice and decreases in periods with
late drift-ice in Davis Strait.
Northeast Greenland has ample vegetation and the Musk Ox population usually thrives and
increases, but is often threatened by catastrophes in wet autumns and winters when Greenland
Sea has little or no drift-ice.
At present a new “drift-ice stagnation stage" is beginning (approx. 1960-7).
Syl)
861. VIGDORCHIK, M.E. 1981. Isolation of the Arctic from the global ocean during
glaciations. In: Sea Level, Ice, and Climatic Change. Edited by: I. Allison.
International Association of Hydrological Sciences 131:303-322.
Most of the Pleistocene marine deposits of northern Eurasia on the Eurasian coast of the
Arctic Ocean were formed by ‘“cold” marine transgressions which were synchronous with the
early and middle Pleistocene glaciations in northern Eurasia and America (Dneper, Samara,
Illinoian). The organic remains associated with these transgressions indicate sea and air
temperatures colder than in the Holocene, Boreal (Eemian/Sangamon), and Holstein, Likhvin
hypsithermals. This record of Arctic marine transgressions and regressions differs from that
of the global ocean. Repeated and widespread “cold” transgressions in northern Eurasia
cannot be explained by tectonic activity alone. As an alternative, the author in 1971
proposed the hypothesis of complete isolation of the Arctic Ocean during the glaciations.
The key concept of this hypothesis is the formation of isolating barriers in the North
Atlantic (Greenland-Iceland-Faeroes-Scotland) as a cumulative result of (a) glacial-eustatic
regression of the global ocean; (b) isostatic uplift of peripheral blocks around the glacial
shields in a mosaic of plateau basalt sub-oceanic structures in the North Atlantic;
(c) glaciation of emerged and semi-emerged areas in this zone. The glacio-isostatic,
tectonic and faunistic evidence for the concept of Arctic isolation is discussed.
A.A.
862. VILKS, G. 1974. The distribution of planktonic foraminifera in the sediments and water
of the Northwest Passage and northern Baffin Bay: a tool for paleooceanographic
synthesis. Geological Survey of Canada Paper 74-30 (Volume 1):109-121.
The distribution of the various phenotypes of Globorotalia pachyderma (Ehrenberg) is
correlated with oceanographic parameters. Large percentages of small normalform adults were
found in the mixed waters of eastern Lancaster Sound. After death 80% of these fragile
normalforms are destroyed, leaving the Lancaster Sound sediments almost barren of planktonic
foraminifera. The kummerform and quadrate phenotypes that developed under less favourable
conditions have thicker test walls and are consequently more readily preserved. It is
proposed that the fraction of normalform phenotypes in the sediment cores are useful to
interpret paleoenvironments.
A.A.
863. VILKS, G. 1977. Trends in the marine environment of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
during the Holocene. In: Polar Oceans. Edited by: M.J. Dunbar. Arctic
Institute of North America, Calgary. pp. 643-653.
Changes in marine paleoenvironment in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago are discussed on the
basis of foraminiferal assemblages in bottom sediments. In Lancaster Sound during glacial
recession (18,000 - 6,000 years BP), bottom waters were less mobile than at present. In the
Northwest Passage the present circulation was established at 6,000 BP. In Prince of Wales
Strait during the marine maximum the circulation was in the opposite direction to what it is
now. In the northwestern Queen Elizabeth Islands the channels have become shallower during
the Holocene, while the extent of summer ice has remained close to that found at present.
A.A.
864. VILKS, G. 1981. Late glacial-postglacial foraminiferal boundary in sediments of
Eastern Canada, Denmark and Norway. Geoscience Canada 8(2):48-55.
Sediments in cores collected from the Scotian and Labrador shelves contain a faunal
discontinuity where older benthic foraminiferal assemblages dominated by ÆZphidium
excavatum f. clavata change to more diverse present day continental shelf assemblages. A
similar change is found in Late Quaternary borings in Denmark (Jutland) and in the Oslof jord
316
area of Norway. The 14c age of the faunal break varies from 10,000 years BP in the European
sediments to 13,000 years BP on the Scotian Shelf and 15,000 years BP on the Labrador Shelf.
The present day oceanographic setting along the coasts of Norway, Denmark and eastern Canada
was established when the glacial ice retreated inland. The dominance of E. excavatum f.
elavata in the older sediments is related to diluted and cold coastal waters during the
time when continental ice was ablating on the inner shelf. The disappearance of E.
excavatum f. clavata therefore can be used to estimate the Late Glacial-Postglacial
boundary in the Canadian and Scandinavian North Atlantic continental shelf sediments. This
paper reviews the evidence of the faunal break to alert geologists in its possible use.
A.S.
865. VILKS, G., and P.J. MUDIE. 1978. Early deglaciation of the Labrador Shelf. Science
202( 4373) :1181-1183.
Two marine sediment cores from a basin on the southeastern Labrador Shelf penetrate a mud
sequence extending back to 21,000 carbon-14 years before the present (B.P.). The benthic
foraminifera are dominated by subarctic nearshore species indicative of ice-free summer
waters. The pollen record indicates the presence of a sedge-shrub tundra in eastern Labrador
as early as 21,000 years B.P. Both sources of evidence suggest less extensive continental
ice than has previously been reported for this subarctic region.
A.A.
866. VINCENT, J.-S. 1973. A palynological study for the Little Clay Belt, northwestern
Québec. Naturaliste Canadien 100(1):59-70.
Little information is available on the postglacial geochronology, vegetation and
paleoclimates of the Clay Belt of northwestern Québec and northeastern Ontario. Based on the
analysis of a sediment core recovered from Lake Louis, Laverlochére Township, Témiscamingue
County, Québec, a pollen stratigraphy for the Little Clay Belt is presented.
Six stratigraphic pollen zones determined for the Lake Louis site are correlated with other
pollen zones of central Quebec and the St. Lawrence Lowlands. After the initial warm period
that followed deglaciation and the partial drainage of Lake Barlow-Ojibway, a colder, moist
period existed. This was followed by the two distinct periods of the hypsithermal interval
in which the later period is warmer and drier. The hypsithermal was followed by a warm but
moist climate, and then later on by the present cooler, moist climate.
The first vegetation colonized the Lake Louis site 9,090 + 240 B.P. years ago
(GSC-1432). A radiocarbon age determination at the boundary between the two periods of the
hypsithermal gave a date of 7,280 + 250 B.P. (GSC-1481). This dates the shift in
vegetation from jack-pine to white and red pine, which indicates the continuing warming trend
of the climate during that period. Another C-14 age determination at the end of the
hypsithermal gave a date of 4,260 + 240 B.P. (GSC-1491). At this time, the warm
climate had already started to deteriorate in the area. The "Cochrane Surge” probably
occurred at the end of the colder, moist period that followed the initial warm period.
867. VINCENT, J.S. 1978. Limits of ice advance, glacial lakes, and marine transgressions on
Banks Island, District of Franklin; a preliminary interpretation. Geological
Survey of Canada Paper 78-1C:53-62.
Three glaciations with associated marine and glaciolacustiine phases on Banks Island are
recognized for the first time. The oldest (Banks Glaciation) affected all but the northwest
part of the island; glacial lakes Egina and Storkerson were formed during deglaciation. Ice
of the Thomsen Glaciation of pre-Sangamonian age covered the south and east and flowed down
317
Thomsen River valley. Associated with it are glacial lakes Parker and Dissection in the
northeast and a marine transgression, the Big Sea, which followed the ice during deglaciation
and inundated much of western, central, and eastern Banks Island. The youngest, or Amundsen
Glaciation, of probable Early or Middle Wisconsinan age involved two icelobes that impinged
in the east and southwest coasts creating glacial lakes Raddi, Masik, Rufus, De Salis,
Cardwell, and Sarfarssuk at their limit. Ice of the Viscount Melville Glaciation, possibly
equivalent to the Amundsen Glaciation and probably also of Wisconsinan age, impinged on the
north coast and created glacial lakes Ballast and Ivitaruk. The East Coast Submergence,
which inundated the east coast up to 120 m, may be equivalent to the Meek Point Sea that
covered the west up to 20 m; both possibly relate to Early or Middle Wisconsinan
deglaciation. The Schuyter Point Sea of Late Wisconsinan-Holocene age drowned the east coast
up to 25 m and is possibly a transgression that occurred in an icefree area. Sand Hills
Readvance in Thesiger Bay and Russell Readvance on the northeast coast are possibly late
readvances of Amundsen and Viscount Melville ice, respectively.
A.A.
868. VINES, R.G. 1977. Possible relationships between rainfall, crop yields and the sunspot
cycle. Journal of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science 43(1-2):3-13.
Research overseas has shown a possible relationship between sunspots and long-term weather
variations in different parts of the world. Indeed, it has been pointed out that crop
production in both the northern and southern hemispheres seems geared in some way to the
solar cycle, although the connection with sunspot activity is complex.
A study has therefore been made of crop production in both southeastern Australia and the
Canadian Prairies, and the influence of rainfall upon the yield of non-irrigated crops, (such
as wheat, oats, barley and hay), has been examined. Quasi-periodic variations are observed
in the yields of these crops, reflecting similar long-term fluctuations in rainfall which are
possibly associated with changes in solar activity.
A computer technique using past rainfall records as data has been employed to analyse long-
term rainfall trends. The results of the analysis are consistent with the observed 'cyclic'
pattern of crop yields, and also with the incidence of disastrous forest fires in both
Canada and Australia, which are, of course, promoted in drought conditions. The implication
is that major droughts are determined by weather patterns which are distinctive of the areas
concerned, and a study of these patterns does suggest certain connections with the sunspot
cycle.
A.S.
869. VOWINCKEL, E., and S. ORVIG. 1967. Climatic change over the polar ocean. I. The
radiation budget. Archiv fiir Meteorologie, Geophysik und Bioklimatologie, Serie B,
15(1-2):1-23.
Climatic change results from changes in the terms of the energy equation. The present study
consists of an analysis of possible changes in the radiative terms of the Polar Ocean energy
budget.
The absorbed global radiation at the surface depends mainly on clouds and surface albedo.
These factors are discussed, and the absorbed global radiation is presented for various
extreme surface and atmospheric conditions.
The short wave radiation absorbed in the atmosphere is next discussed. It is apparent that
variations in the atmospheric short wave absorption are of rather small importance for
climatic change.
There is greater possibility of variations in long wave radiation than of solar radiation.
Theoretical polar atmospheres are discussed, with the consequent changes in the radiation
balance. The conclusion appears that the atmosphere is at present adjusted in the best
possible way for the conservation of energy.
318
Long wave fluxes have been calculated for the condition of an open Polar Ocean in winter and
for a Polar Ocean completely frozen throughout the year.
It is concluded that, for cloudless conditions, there is little possibility for change in the
long wave balance in summer; the long wave balance would become much more negative in winter;
the development of a winter balance less negative than the present seems unlikely. Changes
in surface conditions are much more important than changes in the atmosphere, for the long
wave radiation budget.
Various radiation budgets are presented, for different assumed conditions. The optimum
surface conditions would occur with winter overcast and summer cloudless sky. The annual
radiation balances would become:
With present Polar Ocean surface: + 23.9Kcal cm-2
With frozen surface: + 3.3Keal cm-2
With open ocean: + 47.1Kcal cm-2
The earth-atmosphere radiation budget is presented for an open Polar Ocean with cloud
conditions such as presently found over the Norwegian Sea. It is apparent that the Polar
Ocean is at present in a delicate radiational balance, and relatively minor variations in any
term can result in a process leading to complete freeze-over or to complete melting.
The atmospheric heat advection required with an open Polar Ocean would decrease
significantly. In winter, it is even possible that this term in the energy budget might
become negative (heat export from the Polar Ocean).
A.S.
870. VOWINCKEL, E., and S. ORVIG. 1969. Climatic change over the polar ocean. II. A method
for calculating synoptic energy budgets. Archiv fiir Meteorologie, Geophysik and
Bioklimatologie, Serie B, 17:121-146.
The objective of this method is to obtain numerical values for all terms in the heat balance
equations for the atmosphere and the earth's surface. The method is to calculate complete
energy budgets using synoptic data. Once a certain number of circulation types have been
investigated, over different regions, it may become possible to discuss the influence of
particular synoptic events on the climate and general circulation. The model can be used for
grid points, or for single stations, or for geographical areas.
871. VOWINCKEL, E., and S. ORVIG. 1969. Climatic change over the polar ocean. III. The
energy budget of an Atlantic cyclone. Archiv für Meteorologie, Geophysik and
Bicklimatologie, Serie B, 17:147-174.
The heat budget of a deep stationary January Low in the North Atlantic is studied, together
with those of a series of peripheral Lows moving around it. The atmospheric and surface
budgets are calculated from synoptic data. The system accomplished heat accumulation in its
northern part and a decrease in heat storage in the Southwest sector. This was made possible
by the effect of the turbulent terms in transporting heat from the ocean.
A.S.
872. WAGNER, F.J.E. 1970. Faunas of the Pleistocene Champlain Sea. Geological Survey of
Canada Bulletin 181:1-104.
The Champlain Sea was a body of water of varying salinity that covered parts of the present
Ottawa - St. Lawrence Lowland from about 11,500 years B.P. to between 8,000 and 9,000 years
B.P. Fossils are widespread throughout the area and have been the subject of numerous
99
studies since 1837. A comprehensive listing of previous records has been issued separately,
and this report presents the results of more recent field work. Species examined by the
writer are described and illustrated.
The faunal assemblages indicate that the Champlain Sea was shallow, with the salinity of the
water ranging from almost fresh in the upper reaches of the Ottawa River and Lake Champlain
areas of inundation, to more nearly marine in the Quebec City area. Water temperatures were
boreal in the earlier stages of the sea and later became more temperate. An attempt to
establish precise temperatures by 018 isotope determinations was not successful.
A.A
873. WAGNER, F.J.E. 1970. Palaeoecology of marine Pleistocene Mollusca, Nova Scotia.
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 14(6):1305-1323.
Fossiliferous Pleistocene sediments are present in western mainland Nova Scotia and on Cape
Breton Island. Two ages of deposits are represented: post-glacial in the Minas Basin area
and mid-Wisconsinan in the Yarmouth-Digby area and Cape Breton. The mid-Wisconsinan age is
based on both radiocarbon and U-Th dates. Molluscan assemblages indicate water temperatures
colder than at present at the time of deposition of the post-glacial sediments, and
comparable to the present for the older deposits. Assemblages from the Yarmouth-Digby area
are compared with those of similar age from Tobaccolot Bay, Long Island, New York, and from
Nantucket Island, Massachusetts. Foraminifera, previously unreported, were found in
sediments of both ages.
A.A.
874. WAHL, E.W., and R.A. BRYSON. 1975. Recent changes in Atlantic surface temperatures.
Nature 254(5495):45-46.
Presents a fuller analysis of data on North Atlantic temperature changes over the past 20
years reported by Rodewald. It seems that the considerable changes are well-based for they
depend largely on weather-ship data. The 1951-72 shift seems to mark a return to the Little
Ice Age conditions, and to amount to about one-sixth of the shift to full glacial conditions.
The core of decreasing temperature lies along the north edge of the North Atlantic drift east
of the Maritimes (45 degrees N) and suggests replacement by the Labrador Current, especially
in the vicinity of the Grand Banks.
G.A.
875. WALSH, J.E., and C.M. JOHNSON. 1979. Interannual atmospheric variability and
associated fluctuations in arctic sea ice extent. Journal of Geophysical Research
84(C11):6915-6928.
Observational data are used to evaluate quantitatively the relationships between arctic sea
ice extent and the high-latitude atmospheric circulation on the seasonal time scale. The sea
ice data set contains 300 monthly grids of observed sea ice concentrations. The atmospheric
variables include sea level pressure, surface temperature, 7/00-mbar height, and 700-mbar
temperature. Statistically significant correlations between the dominant modes of
atmospheric and sea ice variability are found at atmospheric lags of up to 2 months and ice
lags of up to 4 months. The surface temperature field generally shows the strongest
relationship to the sea ice fluctuations. The strongest correlations between ice anomalies
and subsequent atmospheric fluctuations are found in the autumn months of increasing ice
extent. Evidence of sea-atmosphere coupling is also found in the mid-latitude fields of the
North Atlantic. The meteorological difference fields derived from years of extreme ice
extent contain statistically significant pressure differences of up to 10-15 mbar, surface
temperature differences of up to 8° - 9°K, and 700-mbar height differences of up to 16-18
decameters. The anomaly centres tend to migrate seasonally with the ice edge. The
320
statistical predictability of large-scale sea ice fluctuations decays to the level of no
skill at a forecast interval of 5-6 months.
A.A.
876. WEBB, T., III. 1980. The reconstruction of climatic sequences from botanical data.
Journal of Interdisciplinary History 10(4):749-772.
“The temporal sequences of botanical data, ranging from time scales of hundreds of millions
down to tens of years, are a rich source of information about past climates". A review of
the calibration of botanical data in climatic terms is illustrated by two examples, both from
the United States.
A.B.S.
877. WEBB, T., Ill. 1981. Northern hemisphere climatic patterns 5000-7000 years ago:
status report. First Conference on Climate Variations of the American
Meteorological Society, January 19-23, San Diego. Abstracts, p. 25.
Estimates of global ice-volume from deep sea cores for 6000 years ago indicate a minimum of
ice and thus a maximum contrast from full glacial conditions 18,000 years ago. Mapping the
climatic patterns for this “glacial minimum" world will permit comparisons to show the
extreme climatic contrasts in a glacial/interglacial cycle and will also help in estimating
how much current climatic patterns differ from those of mid-interglacial time. The most
current maps will be described that show patterns derived from pollen, lake-level, and
foraminifera data from North America, the North Atlantic, Europe, the Soviet Union, and North
Africa.
A.A.
878. WEBB, T., III, and J.H. McANDREWS. 1976. Corresponding patterns of contemporary pollen
and vegetation in central North America. Geological Society of America Memoir
145:267-299.
Use of modern pollen spectra as a basis for interpreting diagrams of fossil spectra requires
compilation of the modern spectra in readily accessible form, such as contoured maps of
percentage values of individual pollen types. Maps are presented that show the distribution
of modern pollen based on 606 samples from central North America (lat 35°N to 70°N, long 75°W
to 110°W). Only data published after 1960 are included, and data from 69 sites are presented
for the first time. The maps show differences in the pollen percentages among vegetational
regions. For example, peak pollen values of Cyperaceae and Betula occur in the tundra;
high values of Picea appear in the northern boreal forest; high values of Pinus
appear in the southern boreal forest and the adjacent conifer-hardwood forest; high values
of Tsuga, Fagus, and Acer occur eastward in the conifer-hardwood forest; high
values of Quercus, Ambrosta, Fraxinus, and Carya occur in the deciduous forest;
and high values of nontree pollen (Gramineae, Artemisia, Chenopodiineae, and
Compositae) appear in the prairie.
Trend-surface analysis and principal components analysis summarize the regional trends of
each pollen type and illustrate the patterns of covarying pollen types within the data.
Although these data provide a basis for interpreting the major fossil pollen zones for
Holocene time in central North America, additional sampling and more detailed examination of
the data are required for description of the fine-scale changes within fossil zones.
A.A.
3241
879. WENDLAND, W.M., and R.A. BRYSON. 1970. Atmospheric dustiness, man, and climatic
change. Biological Conservation 2(2):125-128.
During the past century the world's mean temperature generally rose at least until the early
1940s, since when it has decreased. Three primary reasons for these trends have been
hypothesized by various authors, namely, rising concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide
brought about by the burning of fossil fuels, sunspot number variations, and dust injected
into the atmosphere by volcanic eruptions. Although each of the above can explain short-term
temperature trends, they cannot, singly, explain the entire record. The few observations for
atmospheric dust concentrations that exist suggest that a catastrophic rise in concentration
since the 1930s, due to human activities, may have overcome the warming trend prior to 1940
and caused the subsequent decrease in world mean temperature. The conservational
implications of climatic charge may be enormous - especially in terms of biogeography and
biological productivity.
A.A.
880. WENDLAND, W.M., and R.A. BRYSON. 1974. Dating climatic episodes of the Holocene.
Quaternary Research 4(1):9-24.
Monitoring evidence indicates that the Holocene embraced a sequence of rather discrete
climatic episodes. The transitions between these environmental episodes apparently were
abrupt and globally synchronous. This paper reports on statistical analyses of radiocarbon
dates associated with environmental change and cultural change.
Over 800 l4C dates associated with pollen maxima and minima, sea level maxima and minima, and
top and bottom surfaces of peat beds were simultaneously analyzed to identify times of
globally synchronous environmental discontinuities.
Some 3700 14c dates associated with 155 cultural continua of the world were collectively
analyzed to identify worldwide synchroneities in appearance and termination of the cultures.
Significant globally synchronous discontinuities were identified in each independent
analysis. The dates of environmental and cultural discontinuities are rather similar,
particularly during the recent half of the Holocene. The fact that the cultural
discontinuities mostly follow rather closely those of the paleobotanical record suggests that
there has been a distinct climatic impact on the cultural history of man.
A.A.
881. WENNER, C.G. 1947. Pollen diagrams from Labrador. Geografiska Annaler 29:137-373.
In the east of the U.S.A. and the south-east of Canada, the tree limits of the temperate
areas have moved northwards in the same way as can be proved in Europe during a postglacial
warm period.
In Finnish Lappland and Petsamo the northern limit of the conifer forest has moved northwards
before subatlantic time, and during the same period the pine limit in the Scandinavian
mountain chain was a hundred meters or so higher than at the present time. Along the east
coast of Labrador it has not been possible to prove any major movement of the conifer forest
limit towards the barren region. Judging by the pollen diagrams the principal effect of the
postglacial warm period in Labrador has been to enhance the forests in the boundary region
between the forest and the barren region.
During the warm period it is possible that the alder zone stretched higher up the mountains
and further out on the coastal tundra than it does today. Similar movements of an alder zone
seem to have occurred on tundras outside Labrador, both in the New world and the Old.
In eastern Labrador there have also been variations in humidity affecting both the vegetation
and its deposits, presumably contemporary with similar variations of climate in the north of
322
Europe -— at any rate towards the end of postglacial time. It seems as though the xerothermic
phase in Labrador, terminating with heath horizon III, has been synchronous with the
subboreal phase in Northern Europe.
[In the last century there have been variations in climate as follows:] In the north of
Labrador the mean temperature for the year seems to have risen and the humidity probably
sunk. This explains the present shrinkage of glacierettes, and also perhaps the drying up of
the forest on land specially dependent on water. It seems too as if the drying up of surface
of certain swamps has taken place over a whole region and may be connected with the climatic
fluctuation of this century.
Similar phenomena have probably taken place during a postglacial warm period. Such a period
might have favoured the forest in its struggle region by the sea except where it has locally
dried up. As a result of the dryness, the formation of peat in the bogs has probably been of
relatively small proportions.
Excerptst
882. WESTGATE, J.A. 1969. The Quaternary geology of the Edmonton area, Alberta. In:
Pedology and Quaternary Research. Edited by: S. Pawluk. University of Alberta
Press, Edmonton. pp. 129-151.
New data on the Quaternary stratigraphy of the Edmonton area are presented within the
geological framework established by other workers.
The oldest Quaternary deposits in the Edmonton area are fluviatile gravels and sands, known
as the Saskatchewan Gravels. ...Periglacial structures within the Saskatchewan Gravels,
including ice-wedge casts, fossil sand wedges, involutions and once-frozen angular blocks of
sand, clearly attest to some horizons accumulating under cold-climate conditions.
A grayish brown, dense clay loam till with some inclusions of stratified sand overlies the
Saskatchewan Gravels or sits directly on bedrock. ...
The North Saskatchewan Valley contains several postglacial alluvial terraces. Little is
known about the sedimentary sequence and chronology of the older and higher terraces but the
lowermost two developed during the last 10,000 years. Mazama ash is present in the alluvium
of the youngest terraces.
Mammalian remains from the youngest beds of the Saskatchewan Gravels suggest that the entire
glacial succession is of late Pleistocene age.
pA.A.
883. WESTGATE, J.A., P. FRITZ, J.V. MATTHEWS, Jr., L. KALAS, L.D. DELORME, R. GREEN, and
R. AARIO. 1972. Geochronology and palaeoecology of mid-Wisconsin sediments in
west-central Alberta, Canada. 24th International Geological Congress, Abstracts:
380.
Twenty feet of massive, fine-grained fossiliferous sediments of Mid-Wisconsin age lie between
laminated proglacial lacustrine silts and clays in a thick sequence of Pleistocene deposits
exposed in the Smoky River Valley, near Watino, Alberta. Their age is indicated by C-14
dates on wood and peat: »>38,000 years B.P. (GX-1207), 3 ft (lm) above base; 43,500
(0), (CSC IO20) ae Ags Gees (los Mn) Si5 500 EM 300 Ge S 00 2615)EMAE
13 ft (4m); and 27,400 + 850 (1-4878) at 18 ft (5.5m).
The sediments, with their contained pollen, molluscs, ostracods and insects, show that the
depositional environment was the floodplain of a large meandering river where oxbow-type
lakes developed and evolved at times into alkaline, eutrophic water bodies. Low AP pollen
frequencies (mainly spruce) are commonly less than the NAP pollen (mainly grasses and
sedges), suggesting an open vegetation with only scattered conifers. Ecosystem evolution of
the oxbow lakes was sporadically interrupted by the influx of coarse detritus during floods;
323
the resultant sresheulng of lake water is closely monitored by the relatively low 018 content
of mollusc shells. 018 (PDB) values range from -13 to -9.5 for Lymaea sp., -12.7 to
-8.2 for Pisidium sp., and -11.5 to -7.3 for Gyraulus parvus (Say). The higher
values are typical of the forms that live in quiet, strongly evaporating water bodies in this
area today. With the exception of a few individuals, insect, ostracod, and mollusc
assemblages are very similar to those that occur in central Alberta today.
From this palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, it follows that Laurentide and Cordilleran
glaciers must have been separated by a very wide “corridor” at this latitude throughout most
of the Mid-Wisconsin interval.
A.A.
884. WEYL, P.K. 1968. The role of the oceans in climatic change: a theory of the ice ages.
In: Causes of Climatic Change. Edited by: J.M. Mitchell, Jr. Proceedings VII
Congress INQUA. Meteorological Monographs 8(30):37-62.
Changes in the surface salinity distribution in the World Ocean, by changing the extent of
sea ice in the North Atlantic and Antarctic, can lead to climatic change. By reducing the
water vapour flux across Central America, the salinity of the North Atlantic is reduced. If
this change persists over a sufficient length of time, a glacial climate could be initiated.
An examination of the “Little Ice Age” tends to confirm this hypothesis. A return to an
interglacial climate may be the result of over-extension of glaciers followed by stagnation
of the bottom water. Stagnation is terminated by geothermal heating at the ocean floor,
followed by vertical mixing of the warmed, saltier water into the subarctic gyre of the North
Atlantic. This, in turn, results in a reduction of sea ice and in climatic warming.
A.A.
885. WHITE, J.M., and R.W. MATHEWES. 1982. Holocene vegetation and climatic change in the
Peace River district, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 19(3):555-570.
A sediment core from a pond on the Alberta Plateau in the Peace River district of British
Columbia was studied using pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating. Percentage and influx
diagrams were produced, and radiocarbon dates were corrected to calendar years to calcualte
the sedimentation rate. The 231 cm core terminated in clay, and a basal date of 7250
+ 120 years BP was obtained, several thousand years after the recession of Glacial
Lake Peace. The formation of the pond is interpreted as resulting from a climatic change,
probably a transition from the peak of the Hypsithermal. Zone 1, from 7250 to 5500 years BP,
is interpreted as representing a seasonal slough, with upland vegetation percentages
consistent with a boreal forest. At about 5500 years BP a permanent pond with surrounding
sedge wetlands was formed. Vegetation has been essentially moderr during the last 3100
years. Measurements of spruce grains suggest the presence of black and white spruce
throughout the pollen record. The formation of permanent ponds and wetlands on the Alberta
Plateau at about 5500 years BP is thought to have been the most important vegetation change
of the last 7000 years, which may have affected faunal and human populations.
886. WHITE, J.M., R.W. MATHEWES, and W.H. MATHEWS. 1979. Radiocarbon dates from Boone Lake
and their relation to the “Ice-free Corridor” in the Peace River District of
Alberta, Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 16(9):1870-1874.
Four new radiocarbon dates spanning the period of 10 740 + 395 to greater than
30 000 BP from a core taken from the bed of high-level lake in the Saddle Hills of
northwestern Alberta suggest that these hills escaped glacial overriding during late
Wisconsinan glaciation.
324
887. WILLIAMS, J. 1980. Anomalies in temperature and rainfall during warm arctic seasons as
a guide to the formulation of climatic scenarios. Climatic Change 2(3):249-266.
Recently much concern has been expressed regarding the impact of an increased atmospheric C09
concentration on climate. Unfortunately, present understanding and models of the climate
system are not good enough for reliable prediction of such impacts. This paper presents an
analysis of recent climate data in order to illustrate the nature of regional temperature and
rainfall changes in different seasons and to provide some guidance with regard to points
which might be borne in mind when scenarios of future climate (especially those taking into
account human impacts) are being formulated.
Since it is believed that an increased atmospheric C09 concentration will cause a warming and
models and data suggest that the Arctic is more sensitive to climatic change than other
latitudes, anomalies associated with warm Arctic seasons have been studied.
The regional temperature, precipitation and pressure anomalies in the northern hemisphere for
the 10 warmest Arctic winters and 10 warmest Arctic summers during the last 70 years have
been investigated. Even when the Arctic area is warm, there are circulation changes such
that large coherent anomalies occur elsewhere, with some regions warming and some cooling.
The 10 warmest Arctic winters were characterised by larger amplitude anomalies, in the Arctic
and elsewhere, than the 10 warmest summers, illustrating the difference in response between
seasons. The precipitation differences for the 10 warmest Arctic winters and summers show
for North America large coherent areas of increase or decrease, which again differ according
to season. However, in winter the differences are not statistically significant, while the
differences in two areas are significant in summer.
A.A.
888. WILLIAMS, L.D. 1975. The variation of corrie elevation and equilibrium line altitude
with aspect in eastern Baffin Island, N.W.T., Canada. Arctic and Alpine Research
7(2):169-181.
It has been common practice to estimate ice-age climates by calculating the difference in
temperature, at an assumed lapse rate, between the elevation of the present snowline and that
represented by the lowest corries (cirques) in a region. Such a procedure not only ignores
many other factors which may affect corrie glacierization, but is actually incorrect, because
the change in snowline for a given temperature change does not depend only on lapse rate.
This study suggests that the variation of equilibrium line altitude (ELA) with aspect
provides a climatic “signature” supplementary to that of lowest ELA. A method of computing
heat and water balances on glaciers from climatic data is described and tested against
observations on Baffin Island glaciers. This model is used to estimate ELA as a function of
aspect in the Okoa Bay area of Baffin Island, using 1963 to 1972 climatic data, and then for
two contrasting climates which have been suggested for early and late stages in the last
glaciation. The results are compared with distributions of corrie glaciers and ice-free
corries in the area.
A.A.
889. WILLIAMS, L.D. 1975. Effect of insolation changes on late summer snow cover in
northern Canada. In: Long-term Climatic Fluctuations. World Meteorological
Organization, Geneva, WMO-421:287-292.
The extent of snow cover which might have existed in the Canadian Arctic at 116 000 BP when
Milankovich variations gave a summer radiation minimum at these latitudes, and just preceding
the apparent large increase in snowfall and glacial maximum there, is estimated. The
concepts and methods employed are outlined and the simulation results discussed.
G.A.
890. WILLIAMS, L.D. 1978. Ice-sheet initiation and climatic influences of expanded snow
cover in Arctic Canada. Quaternary Research 10(2):141-149.
It has been suggested that the Laurentide Ice Sheet originated with extensive perennial snow
cover, and that the snow cover affected climate so as to aid ice-sheet development. In this
study, a large increase in extent of October lst snow cover in the Canadian Arctic from 1967-
70 to 1971-75 is compared to changes in October means of other climate variables. Over the
area of snow-cover expansion, mean surface air temperature decreased by up to 3°C, mean 500-
mbar height was lowered by over 60 m, and precipitation was increased by up to a factor of
two. These effects, if applied to the entire summer, together with the temperature change
computed by Shaw and Donn for a Northern Hemisphere summer insolation minimum (the
Milankovich effect), can account for glacierization of the Central Canadian Arctic.
A.A.
891. WILLIAMS, L.D. 1978. The Little Ice Age glaciation level on Baffin Island, Arctic
Canada. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 25(3):199-207.
Mapping of the perennial snow/ice cover which existed on Baffin Island about 300 years ago,
by means of light-toned areas of sparse lichen cover visible on satellite photographs, has
made it possible to map the Little Ice Age glaciation level (a type of snowline). Comparison
with the modern glaciation level (which is 200-300 m higher) is not meaningful, for it is not
necessarily in equilibrium with the present climate. However, energy/mass balance modelling
gives a 1963-1972 mean “snowline"” which roughly approximates the modern glaciation level, and
a 1.5°C temperature decrease gives a similarly rough approximation to the Little Ice Age
glaciation level. A more important observation, perhaps, is that the Little Ice Age
glaciation level dipped westward, and in west Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula it was
only 100-200 m higher than extensive plateaus of the central Canadian arctic west of Baffin
Island. This suggests that these plateaus would have been glacierized early in a glacial
episode, and early glacierization of the central Canadian arctic west of Baffin Island. This
suggests that these plateaus would have been glacerized early in a glacial episode, and early
glacerization of the central Canadian arctic (by its effect on atmospheric circulation) has
been considered to be important for inception of the North American ice sheet.
A.A.
892. WILLIAMS, N.E., and A.V. MORGAN. 1977. Fossil caddisflies (Insecta: Trichoptera) from
the Don Formation, Toronto, Ontario, and their use in paleoecology. Canadian
Journal of Zoology 55:519-527.
Chitinous parts of caddisfly larvae have been recovered from Sangamonian Interglacial silts
and clays from the Don Valley brickyard Toronto, Ontario. These indicate that deposition
took place at the mouth of a river. Various characteristics of this river, the large lake
into which it flowed, and the watershed are deduced. It is suggested that the prognosis for
paleoecological use of this insect group is good. By looking at sufficiently large
assemblages of taxa it should be possible to deduce the type of water body, its size,
temperature, substrate, depth, productivity, nature of the surrounding watershed, and its
climate.
NST Aan
893. WILLIAMS, N.E., J.-A. WESTGATE, D.D. WILLIAMS, A. MORGAN, and A.V. MORGAN. 1981.
Invertebrate fossils (Insecta: Trichoptera, Diptera, Coleoptera) from the
Pleistocene Scarborough Formation at Toronto, Ontario, and their paleoenvironmental
significance. Quaternary Research 16(2):146-166.
Larval caddisfly, chironomid, and beetle remains have been recovered from the Pleistocene
Scarborough Formation in the Toronto region of southern Ontario. Previous work on plant and
326
animal remains from the Scarborough Formation suggests climatic conditions somewhat cooler
than those of present-day southern Ontario. The mean July temperature at Toronto today is
20.5°C, and the mean annual temperature is 7.5°C. Terasmae (1960) suggested on the basis of
pollen and plant macrofossils that most of the Scarborough beds were deposited during a
boreal climatic regime with a mean annual temperature about 5.5°C (10°F) lower than present.
This agrees well with our evidence from caddisfly, chironomid, and beetle remains from
assemblages A and B. However, previous work on beetles from a locality (Cudia Park) 5 km
west of site 1 (Morgan, 1972, 1975; Morgan and Morgan, 1976) has indicated that an even
cooler, perhaps subarctic, climate existed during deposition of the upper part of the
Scarborough Formation. The numerous northern boreal beetle species identified in the latter
sediments were not found in assemblages A and B at site l. It is likely, therefore, that
significant climatic differences prevailed over the period during which the Scarborough
Formation accumulated. We suggest that both aquatic and terrestrial insects are good
indicators of macroclimate.
Excerpt
894. WILLIAMSON, M.A. 1982. Distribution of recent Foraminifera on the Nova Scotian shelf
and slope. (North American Paleontological Convention III, Abstracts of Papers).
Journal of Paleontology 56(2, supplement) :30.
Surficial sediment samples from the Nova Scotian shelf and slope were examined from
foraminiferal abundances in order to determine modern assemblage compositions, distributions,
and limiting oceanographic parameters. Q mode factor analysis of the raw data reveals eight
significant assemblages accounting for 89% of the initial data. Six of the assemblages occur
on the shelf proper (<200 m) and are restricted to distinct physiographic regions. There
appears to be a faunal boundary running obliquely across the shelf, with bank and basin
assemblages north of the line being compositionally dissimilar to those in the south. This
variation can be linked to the distribution and influence of bottom water characters. On the
shelf edge a distinct fauna is recognized along with several progressively deeper occurring
slope assemblages. The factor analysis enables down slope transport of components of shelf
faunas to be recognized and accounted for. Implications for palaeoceanography of Eastern
Canada marine Quaternary sequences are discussed.
A.A.
895. WILSON, A.T. 1980. Isotope evidence for past climatic and environmental change.
Journal of Interdisciplinary History 10(4):795-812.
This article shows that records of interest to historians exist not only in written records
but also in the chemical and isotope composition of stratigraphic deposits in cave, ocean,
and lake sediments, tree rings, and ice sheets. Even today stratigraphic sequences may be
recording some aspects of man's activity more accurately and more quantitatively than man
himself.
A.C.
896. WILSON, C. 1979. The warm season along the east coast of Hudson's Bay during the early
nineteenth century. International Conference on Climate and History, University of
East Anglia, Norwich, July 8-14. Abstracts, pp. 63-64.
This paper describes part of a study of the nineteenth century climate along the east coast
of Hudson's Bay based on the material in the Hudson's Bay Company and Royal Society archives.
In 1814, the Hudson's Bay Company sent directives to those in charge of the Bay Posts to
record relevant information concerning the food-producing potential of their local
environment during the warm season; where possible, they were to keep a Meteorological
Register. The archival material for the years 1814 to 1821 (the year of the union with the
North West Company) thus provides a useful documentary basis for a climatic study.
Instrumental material in these Registers, for Great Whale River, Fort George and Eastmain,
consists principally of temperature readings; only one or two include barometric values.
Wind direction is also entered and remarks on state of sky, precipitation or extreme weather
are included. The Post journals, Annual Reports and Correspondence ofen contain further
comments, as well as remarks related to the impact of the weather.
The calibration of the temperature record has been approached from a physical and statistical
standpoint, to incorporate both the systematic quantitative differences which might be
expected as a result of changes in instruments and observing practices (given the distinctive
radiative qualities of these northern sites), and an extended application of Canadian Quality
Control procedures. The more subjective weather remarks are rated on a three- to five-point
scale. In addition, an attempt has been made to incorporate comments on snow cover and ice,
vegetation and agriculture, birds and animals, human ecology and damage to property by
studying the research literature relating these phenomena to certain aspects of the weather.
This material is integrated graphically.
Considering the historical evidence as a whole, the characteristics of the individual warm
seasons are presented, with studies of certain periods of anomalous weather. From 1814 to
1821, the seasons show large fluctuations, with the possibility that in 1816 and 1817 they
may have been colder than those on modern record. The results for the period are compared
with tree-ring studies for this region, and with the results of others working in other
areas. The early years of the nineteenth century in England were also beset by economic and
social difficulties for business enterprises. The impact of the unfavourable weather from
1815 to 1817 on these marginal Bay communities made it virtually impossible to implement some
of the Company's remedial policies. Some aspects of this impact are discussed.
A.A.
897. WILSON, C.V. 1982. The summer season along the east coast of Hudson Bay during the
nineteenth century. Canadian Climate Centre, Downsview, Report 82-4:1-223.
There is evidence that the temperature observations for Whale River, Big River and Eastmain
from 1814 to 1821 were taken with care, and are reliable and consistent within the
limitations of the instrumentation, sites, instrument exposure and observing practices of the
period. It is believed that in their corrected form they are accurate to within acceptable
limits of error compared with the modern series at Great Whale, Fort George and Eastmain. As
such, they indicate that the period was generally cooler than recent times, and that the
summers of 1816 and 1817 were colder than any on modern record.
pA.C.
898. WILSON, L.R. 1946. Pollen evidence for tundra in the wicinity of Lake Superior and
James Bay. American Journal of Botany 33(3):227. (Abstract).
In the United States no definite proof is at this time known from peat pollen studies for the
existence of tundra at the time when the Pleistocene ice was melting. All basal deposits in
peat bogs contain pollen of forest trees. This is considered to indicate that trees in the
United States migrated northward almost as fast as the glacial ice wasted. Anticyclonic
winds from the glaciers probably prevented pollen from being transported from more southern
localities.
In the vicinity of lake Nipigon, and Cochrane, Ontario, peat bogs have been found that
contain no tree pollen in their lowest levels. The peat is of tundral type, consisting of
grasses, sedges, and mosses. It appears that the present tree line was extended northward
from a position somewhere to the south of these bogs, after glacial Lake Objibway time.
328
899. WILSON, M. 1975. Holocene mammalian faunas on the Northern Great Plains of North
America. Quaternary Non-Marine Paleoecology Conference, University of Waterloo,
Waterloo. Program and Abstracts.
The Late Glacial Northern Plains fauna includes eight extinct taxa of mammals. Radiocarbon
dates on Mammuthus spp. remains at several sites suggest extinction about 10,000 years
BP. Other extinctions may have been synchronous, but absolute dates are few. The timing of
extinction allows climatic and human-overkill hypotheses to be considered; perhaps both
factors were involved.
Bison underwent progressive reduction in size through Late Glacial, Pre-Boreal, and Boreal
periods, but by 6500 BP were still very large. Large bison of later periods probably
represent population extremes. The rate of diminution may have accelerated during Atlantic
(Altithermal) times.
Faunal remains from early post-Atlantic times have a very modern appearance, with species in
their modern ranges. The Sub-Boreal Cactus Flower Local Fauna from S.E. Alberta includes the
characteristic forms Antilocapra americana, Sylvilagus nuttallii, and Vulpes
velox as early as 4000 BP. If climatic change during the Atlantic interval was major (as
the dwarfing of bison might suggest), readjustment of the fauna to “modern” conditions must
have been rapid.
Although the diminution of bison suggests some climatic stress during the Atlantic, the
evidence from subsequent faunas and from the few Atlantic-aged data favour an hypothesis that
Atlantic stress was not extreme. Changes in the seasonality of storms and other aspects of
the climate during this interval may have differentially affected various grassland mammalian
species.
A.A.
900. WILSON, M. 1978. Holocene geology and archaeology of the Bow River Floodplain at
Calgary, Alberta. American Quaternary Association, National Conference, Abstracts
5:181.
Drainage of Glacial Lake Calgary in Late Pleistocene times was followed by scouring of the
Bow Valley to a bedrock surface. A subsequent Cordilleran ice rejuvenation 11,500 to 11,000
years ago resulted in deposition of thick gravels, by a braided river in the Calgary area. A
date of 11,300 + 290 yr BP (RL-757) on very large bison bones from these gravels
in Calgary negates previous estimates of lake drainage as late as 9000 yr BP. Subsequent
terraces at Cochrane were described by Stalker as cut terraces, but cut-and-fill sequences
are present at Calgary. Probably two true terrace surfaces postdate the gravel fill surface
at Calgary, with additional point bar sufaces complicating the sequence. A widespread soil
and black A and red brown B is observed below Mazama Ash and seems to record a stable period
of thick vegetative cover (open-canopy forest) from 10,000 to 8,400 years ago. Shortly after
8,400 years BP surface erosion was renewed, perhaps through deterioration of the vegetative
cover, causing extensive valley-wall slope reduction and growth of valley-marginal fans.
There is some evidence for limited incision of the Bow R. (ca. 2 m) since the Mazama ash
fall.
The geologic picture suggests that early postglacial archaeological sites should be sought on
the lake plain, rather than in the river valley. Scarcity of sites from the 8,400-to-10,000
BP period could reflect the density of cover and a relatively dispersed low-visibility human
occupation. Communal bison kills appear shortly after 8,400 years BP, from which point sites
are more abundant.
A.A.
329
901. WILSON, R.G. 1981. Climatic variations and their impact on British Columbia. In:
Climate Change Seminar Proceedings. Regina, March 17-19. Canadian Climate Centre,
Downsview. pp. 26-27.
“British Columbia is frequently characterized as a land of climatic differences and extremes.
The Province encompasses coastal rainforests, interior deserts, northern boreal forests, and
mountain-top glaciers. This diversity is a significant asset to British Columbia, but it
also indicates a strong susceptibility to climatic variations."
“It is anticipated that increased variability and/or change of our existing climates in
British Columbia would have major impacts in several resource and economic areas: water
Management, air management, fish and wildlife, marine resources, agriculture, forestry,
transport, and tourism.”
The author details research, data and practical applications objectives and stresses the need
for cooperation between provincial and federal programs.
A.B.S.
902. WINN, C.E. 1977. Vegetation history and geochronology of several sites in south
southwestern Ontario with discussion on mastodon extinction in southern Ontario.
M.Sc. thesis, Brock University, St. Catherines, Ontario.
This study has three purposes: to establish a chronologically controlled vegetational
history of a number of sites in south southwestern Ontario; to utilize the resulting data to
support and/or add to the current understanding of Quaternary geology and stratigraphy, and
the glacial and postglacial history of the Great Lakes in south southwestern Ontario; and to
attempt to propose a possible explanation for the extinction of the mastodon in southern
Ontario.
Palynological and geochronological analyses were conducted on material collected from eleven
sites (east to west): Verbeke Mastodon Site, Woloshko Mastodon site, Walker Pond II, Pond
Mill I, Lake Hunger Bog, Bouckaert Site, Mabee Site, Cornell Bog, Colles Lake I, Folden
Mastodon Site and Forest Pond. Individual geochronologically controlled (where possible)
vegetational histories were reconstructed for each of the sites investigated.
The results of the individual studies, when considered in overview, indicated the existence
of an established closed boreal forest throughout south southwestern Ontario by 10,000 years
BP. This evidence for a significant climatic change coincident throughout south southwestern
Ontario supports the proposed age of 10,000 years BP for the Pleistocene/Holocene Boundary
(Terasmae, 1972).
Remnant patches of ‘open spruce parkland' persisted in small local ‘wet' areas. It was in
these areas that the mastodon was restricted during early Holocene time. With continued
encroachment by the surrounding boreal forest, possibly speeded up by this browser's
destructive feeding habits, the spruce enclaves shrank and the mastodon became extinct in
southwestern Ontario.
The results of this thesis basically support Dreimanis' (1967, 1968) proposed 'Environmental-
Climatic' theory for mastodon extinction.
It is suggested that increased dryness during the present interglacial compared to the
climate of earlier interglacials may be the key to unravelling the problem of mastodon
extinction in eastern North America.
A.A.
330
903. The Wisconsin Deglaciation of Canada. Edited by: J.B. Bird. Arctic and Alpine
Research 5(3):163-238. 1973.
As chairman of the IGU/INQUA Symposium held at the 22nd International Geographical Congress,
Montreal, Canada, August 1972, the editor provides an introduction to individual papers
within this volume. Attention was “focussed on the period commencing when major signs of
continuing deglaciation became evident, in eastern Canada, roughly 12,000 years ago--by which
time the areas of the ice sheet had been reduced by approximately 30% from its maximum
position, and already considerable areas in the south and especially the southwestern sectors
had been uncovered." Relevant papers have been individually annotated.
A.B.S.
904. WISEMAN, M.A., H.C. FRITTS, and J. TERASMAE. 1976. Dendroclimatic inferences from Fort
Chimo, northeastern Canada. American Quaternary Association, National Conference,
Abstracts 4:165.
Eighty cross sections of Larix laricina (Du Roi) K. Koch were collected in August,
1974, on the northern treeline east of Hudson's Bay near Ft. Chimo, Ungava, Canada
(lat. 58°22'N; long. 68°23'W). Crossdating of the ring widths is of classic quality with
considerable high-frequency variation, but low-frequency variations in growth produce a
first-order autocorrelation of 0.61. Data for measured radii from 18 trees were standardized
by fitting a negative exponential or straight line to derive indices depicted in the figure.
In a response function analysis, climatic data for 1947-1974 from Fort Chimo reduced 28% of
the ring-width variance, and prior growth reduced 57%. Ring widths respond directly to
warmer-than-average temperatures during seven months of the April-November period.
Precipitation in the prior July, September, November, December, and the current June is
inversely correlated with growth. Narrow rings are often accompanied by frost damage
indicating freezing during the growing season. It may be inferred that there were persistent
intervals of spring/summer/autumn cold in the first 65 years of the 19th century (see figure)
and that the area has been experiencing a return to this cold condition in recent years.
A.A.
905. WOLLIN, G., G.J. KUKLA, D.B. ERICSON, W.B.F. RYAN, and J. WOLLIN. 1973. Magnetic
intensity and climatic changes 1925-1970. Nature 242(5392):34-37.
The results are reported of correlations between short period changes in magnetism and
climate, based on direct instrumental observations. Total intensity curves based on annual
means correlated with 10-yr means of air temperature at the nearest weather stations. The
intensity is decreasing at observatories in Mexico, Canada, and the United States while the
climate is getting warmer. At observatories in Greenland, Scotland, Sweden, and Egypt the
intensity is increasing whereas the climate is getting colder. Observations suggest that the
trends in intensity from most of the magnetic observatories in the world with records over at
least 30 yr correlate negatively with the 10-yr means of air temperature. The authors
conclude that a close relationship links changes of the Earth's magnetic field and climate.
This may be a direct cause and effect relationship but the possiblity that both the Earth's
Magnetic field and climate show parallel reactions to the processes in the sun cannot be
excluded.
G.A.
331
906. World Climate from 8,000 to O B.C. Edited by: J.S. Sawyer. Proceedings of the
International Symposium held at Imperial College, London, April 18-19. Royal
Meteorological Society, London, 1966. 299 pp.
Contains 15 papers and introductory address given at this symposium held at Imperial College,
London 18-19 April 1966: and deals particularily with the Arctic. [Relevent papers have
been individually annotated. ]
AB ca
907. WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION. 1976. The World Meteorological Organization's
statement on climatic change. Environmental Conservation 3(3):227-230.
The WMO statement on climatic change stresses how man's welfare continues to be highly
dependent on climate. Climate exhibits variations on all time-scales. Long term global
trends are expected, but are obscured by shorter term and/or regional changes due to natural
or man-made causes. An appended Technical Report by the WMO discusses past climates,
physical causes of climatic fluctuations, effects of man's activities on climate, assessment
of climatic developments in the next 100-200 yr, effects of climatic variability on the
environment and man's activities, and future action.
G.A.
908. WRIGHT, H.E., Jr. 1964. Aspects of the early postglacial forest succession in the
Great Lakes region. Ecology 45(3):439-448.
Pollen diagrams of lake sediments imply that during fluctuating retreat of the Wisconsin ice
sheet the Great lakes region was dominated by a spruce forest that may have contained some
thermophilous deciduous trees like ash, elm, and oak but contained no pine and little birch,
the two genera that today are such common associates of spruce in the Boreal Forest of
Canada. Following relatively rapid destruction of this spruce forest about 10,500 years ago,
presumably as a consequence of the climatic warming, birch and pine apparently invaded the
area and were followed in rapid succession by elm, oak, and other deciduous trees. Although
forest composition cannot be described in detail, the almost certain absence of any type of
pine from the late-glacial forest requires special explanation. The hypothesis here
presented proposes that during Wisconsin glaciation jack pine was unable to follow spruce in
a general southward migration across the Great Lakes region to the central United States but
took refuge instead in the Appalachian Highlands, and that during late-glacial time the
versatile spruce was such an adaptable pioneer on deglaciated ground that it soon formed a
closed forest. Birch and especially pine, far removed in their glacial refuges, were slower
migrants and did not reach the western Great Lakes area in quantity until the spruce forest
deteriorated. The subsequent succession of elm and oak may also reflect relative rates of
migration from glacial refuges.
A.A.
909. WRIGHT, H.E., Jr. 1971. Retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet from 14,000 to 9000 years
ago. Quaternary Research 1(3):316-330.
The intricate pattern of moraines of the Laurentide ice sheet in the Great Lakes region
reflects the marked lobation of the ice margin in late Wisconsin time, and this in turn
reflects the distribution of stream-cut lowlands etched in preglacial times in the weak-rock
belts of gentle Paleozoic fold structures. It is difficult to trace and correlate moraines
from lobe to lobe and to evaluate the magnitude of recession before readvance, but three
breaks stands out in the sequence, with readvances at about 14,500, 13,000, and 11,500 years
ago. The first, corresponding to the Cary advance of the Lake Michigan lobe, is represented
to the west by distant advance of the Des Moines lobe in Iowa, and to the east by the
overriding of lake beds by the Erie lobe. The 13,000-year advance is best represented by the
332
Port Huron moraine of the Lake Michigan and Huron lobes, but by relatively little action to
west and east. The 11,500 year advance is based on the Valders till of the Lake Michigan
lobe, but presumed correlations to east and west prove to be generally older, and the
question is raised that these and some other ice advances in the Great Lakes region may
represent surges of the ice rather than regional climatic change. Surging may involve the
buildup of subglacial meltwater, which can provide the basal sliding necessary for rapid
forward movement. It would be most favored by the conditions in the western Lake Superior
basin, where the Superior lobe had a suitable form and thermal regime, as estimated from
geomorphic and paleoclimatic criteria. The Valders advance of the Lake Michigan and Green
Bay lobes may also have resulted from a surge: the eastern part of the Lake Superior basin,
whence the ice advanced, has a pattern of deep gorges that resemble subglacial tunnel
valleys, which imply great quantities of subglacial water that may have produced glacial
surges before the water became channeled.
A.A.
910. WRIGHT, P.B. 1970. Portrait of climatic change (sources: Author, Department of
Oceanography, University of Hawaii, Honolulu; or T.D. Davies, Environmental
Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England). c40 pp.
A survey of the field of climatic change and related topics and a review of recent books.
Designed for the non-climatologist or teachers, the booklet includes details of 16 books
published since 1966 whose central theme is climatic change, assessed in terms of content,
comprehensiveness and level of readership. Comments are also made about some 50 additional
books and reports.
911. YAPP, C.J., and S. EPSTEIN. 1977. Climatic implications of D/H ratios of meteoric
water over North America (9500-22,000 B.P.) as inferred from ancient wood cellulose
C-H hydrogen. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 34(3):333-350.
6D and 613C values have been measured for unexchangeable hydrogen and the total
carbon of cellulose extracted from 40 North American l4C-dated trees that range in age from
9500 to 22,000 years B.P. Meteoric waters which precipitated over ice-free regions of North
America in the interval 14,000-22,000 B.P. had more positive 46D values than
corresponding modern waters by an average of 19 0/00: Lower ocean temperatures and smaller
temperature gradients than exist at present between ocean and ice-free North America are
indicated for the late Wisconsin glacial maximum. This is compatible with warmer winters and
cooler summers for this glacial period. The OD value of the North American ice sheet
during the Late Wisconsin maximum was approximately -100 0/00 as determined from the
inferred ÔD values of the waters of proglacial lakes Agassiz and Whittlesey. From this
figure the increase in 6180 of the oceans during the glacial maximum can be calculated
to have been +0.8 0/00: At the point where they began to move over the ice, air masses
supplying moisture to the North American ice sheet contained a little more than 50% of their
original moisture content, which is a much greater percentage than exists in air masses
supplying the modern Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. This relatively vapor-rich air
coupled with lower summer temperatures, which reduced ablation, probably contributed to the
maintenance and growth of the ice sheet. The transition from glacial to interglacial
conditions in North America was rapid and occurred within a 2000-3000-year interval.
However, the transition may not have been synchronous over North America.
G.A.
912. ZOLTAI, S.C., and C. TARNOCAI. 1975. Perennially frozen peatlands in the Western
Arctic and Subarctic of Canada. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 12(1):28-43.
Perennially frozen peatlands were divided into five morphological types: peat plateaus,
polygonal peat plateaus, palsas, fen ridges and lowland polygons. One hundred and eight
333
different peatlands were cored, measured and sampled. The internal structure of all but the
lowland polygons suggests that the peat was deposited in wet fens unaffected by permafrost,
and the permafrost developed only after a thin layer of Sphagnum covered them. The
lowland polygons evolved in a permafrost environment. The study area was divided into four
regions on the basis of predominance of different peatlands forms.
The radiocarbon ages of basal organic deposits show that the continental glacier had melted
from the areas east of the mountains and initial organic material accumulation began between
14400 and 10000 years ago. The main peat build-up began one to several thousand years later,
mainly between 10500 and 5600 radiocarbon years ago. Regional trends are difficult to
discern, as local circumstances such as basin formation, erosion, base drainage, etc. played
a dominant role in permitting the peat accumulation. Generally, the oldest basal peat
deposits occur near the mountains and the ages tend to be younger eastward.
The age of the surface peat 2710 and 2650 years before present (BGS 147;218), indicate the
time of establishment of Sphagnum caps at those sites, followed by permafrost
development. The period around 3500 years B.P. and 2400 B.P. were times of climatic
deterioration in northern Canada (Nichols, 1969), and the dates 2710 and 2650 B.P. are
probably related to these fluctuating climatic conditions.
The meager data permit only speculation on the chronosequence of regional peatland
development. Apparently, peatland development began soon after the melting of the
continental glaciers and peat accumulation proceeded at a rapid rate especially beginning
about 8000 years ago. Permafrost was present, but it was less widespread both in the north
and in the south than at the present. A minor cooling some 3000 to 4000 years ago produced
an increase in peat plateaus, restricting peat accumulation to unfrozen fens. Polygonal peat
plateaus probably developed at this time. Peatlands in the tundra were continuously subject
to permafrost after the melting of continental glaciers.
In the more southern parts of Canada the melting of continental glaciers was followed by a
dry and warm period, permitting only restricted peat accumulation between 7500 and 6000 years
ago (Terasmae, 1972). This was followed by a wetter and then a cooler period when rapid peat
accumulation took place. In the north, however, the climate was favourable for peat
accumulation during the warm period (8000 to 4000 years ago), but peat formation was reduced
during the cooler period beginning about 4000 years ago. Such shifting of regions of peat
accumulation in accordance to climatic changes occurs throughout the peatland regions of
Canada (Terasmae, 1972).
A.A.
334
GUIDE
TO
INDEX
SCALE
100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 /
g Co ° 900 1000 MILES ~
Sn ee oS =
200 400 600 600 1000 1200 1400 KILOMETERS
FIGURE 1: Geographical regions of Canada used in the index; I - British Columbia; II -
Alberta; III - Saskatchewan; IV - Manitoba; V - Ontario; VI - Québec; VII - New
Brunswick; VIII - Prince Edward Island; IX - Nova Scotia; X - Newfoundland; XI -
Yukon Territory; XII - Northwest Territories (Mainland); XIII - Northwest
Territories (Islands).
336
PE:
PRE
HISTORIC
10,000
Z 20m 4 > C
2 MILLION
crh
FIGURE 2: Geological time periods used in the index. Numbers on
left represent years B.P. (approximate).
397%
TABLE 1: SUBJECTS LISTED IN THE INDEX
General
Agriculture
Archaeology (including Culture)
Atmospheric (including Circulation,
Influences)
Bibliographies
Chemistry (including Isotopic Analysis)
Climate - General
— Trends
— Forecasting
Modelling
Concepts
Dating Methods (including Radiocarbon
Dating)
Fire History
Foraminifera
Geology - General
Geomorphology
Stratigraphy
Sedimentology
Glaciology
Historic Accounts
Hydro logy
338
Insects
Lichenometry
Molluscs
Oceanography
Ostracodes
Paleobotany (including Plant
Macrofossils)
Paleoecology
Paleohydrology
Paleomagnetism
Paleoceanography
Palynology
Pedology (including Paleosols)
Sea Level
Solar Effects
Speleology
Temperature Reconstructions
Tree-ring Studies (including
Dendrochronology and
Dendroclimatology)
Vertebrates
Volcanic Ash (including
Tephrochronology and
Tephrostratigraphy )
INDEX
ALBERTA
Quaternary
6 130 293 ser 358 359 419 544 618 705 882 886
Pleistocene
355 418 433 594 748 749 786 883
Holocene
76 3}3}7/ 339 340 378 399 400 434 491 492 523 534 613 676
728 765 788
Holocene - Prehistoric
144 259 403 448 457 706 899 900
Holocene — Historic
70 ill 182 136 142 170 193 194 1105) 254 266 324 525 333
372 37/5) 429 452 519 661 667 743 762 796 859 868
General
489 554
Agriculture
170 429 554 868
Archaeology
705 706 786 900
Atmospheric
130
Chemistry
266 293 324 325 357 259
Climate - Trends
132 142 170 193 194 195 254 378 429 452 743 868
Fire History
3722 DAS) 765 796 868
Geology - General
544 900
Geology - Geomorphology
70 76 2590) 8433 519 788
Geology - Stratigraphy
6 378 403 418 419 523 594 788 882 883
Glaciology
6 70 JBL 144 259 266 293 375 378 418 419 519 544 661
705 749 886
Historic Accounts
111 136 333
Hydrology
SITE
Insects
883
Lichenometry
70 519
Molluscs
259 223 883
Ostracodes
883
Paleobotany
448 618
Paleoecology
337 339 340
706 728 883
Palynology
337 339 340
883
Pedology
418 434 457
Solar Effects
111 170 195
Speleology
293 357 358
Temperature Reconstructions
130 293 594
Tree-ring Studies
111 324 325
Vertebrates
355 882 899
Volcanic Ash
76 399 403
BRITISH COLUMBIA
Quaternary
46 47 49
545
340
355
676
429
359
667
457
399
399
706
859
762
491
748 900
868
LS 153 2938
308
310
544
Pleistocene
8 9 48 148 149 152
383 537 538 539 543 749
Holocene
7 13 226 336 338 341
857 885
Holocene — Prehistoric
109 154 363 37719 540 831
Holocene -— Historic
110 kal 190 191 216 454
General
150 901
Agriculture
868
Archaeology
226
Bibliographies
1558
Chemistry
293 381 851
Climate - General
901
Climate - Trends
190 191 216 378 454 868
Climate - Modelling
541
Fire History
857 868
Geology - General
48 151 544
Geology - Geomorphology
9 334 543
Geology - Sedimentology
542
Geology - Stratigraphy
8 47 49 147 148 309
536 769
Glaciology
9 46 48 109 110 111
431 543 544 545 661 662
309
769
S}7/S)
543
312
851
374
661
313
377
662
334
378
762
363
293
346
431
855
378
308
355
536
868
381
334
356
541
382
378
382
542
383
382
341
Historic Accounts
111 543
Oceanography
454 855
Paleobotany
356 363 379 382 536 537 540
Paleoecology
7 15 336 338 341 346 355
536 537 538 540 542 543 545
Paleomagnetism
381
Palynology
7 8 13 151 226 336 338
381 382 536 537 538 540 541
Pedology
857
Sea Level
150 154 308 545
Solar Effects
110 Talal 868
Speleology
293 294 312 313 358 851
Temperature Reconstructions
293 313 379 541
Tree-ring Studies
110 dt 762
Vertebrates
308 346 355 356 383 454
Volcanic Ash
308 336 338 363 539 542
MANITOBA
Quaternary
130 725
Pleistocene
355 461 748 800
Holocene
459 511 520 625 632 633 634
739 740
342
542
356
885
341
542
638
543
363
545
676
545
374
313
831
724
831
SHY
374
885
726
379
377
728
135
ET
Holocene — Prehistoric
43 144 488
Holocene - Historic
101 136 137
859 868 878
General
554
Agriculture
170 554 868
Archaeology
520
Atmospheric
130 633 634
Climate - Trends
101 142 170
Fire History
632 868
Geology - General
230 459 511
Geology - Stratigraphy
43 459 737
801
142 170 1105 194
738
193 194 195 314
800 801
Geology - Sedimentology
461 488 UST
Glaciology
43 144 230
Historic Accounts
136 197 589
Molluscs
461
Ostracodes
461
Paleobotany
632 633 634
Paleoecology
355 461 SEUL
Palynology
461 511 625
740 878
800
590
195
452
314
868
425
452
589
590
738
Pedology
633 676 748
Solar Effects
170 195 859 868
Temperature Reconstructions
130 632
Tree-ring Studies
425
Vertebrates
355 461 520
NEW BRUNSWICK
Quaternary
1 323 405 610 620
Holocene
65 72 100 322 342 471 568 613
Holocene — Prehistoric
51 97 691 699 809
Holocene — Historic
srl 755
General
781
Bibliographies
812
Climate - General
781
Climate - Trends
100 371
Dating Methods
439 656
Foraminifera
65 568 755
Geology - Geomorphology
323 691
Geology - Stratigraphy
1 322 323
Glaciology
1 Si” 323° 0169106099
344
656
812
Insects
405
Molluscs
100 155
Paleobotany
51 471
Paleoecology
72 471 610 613 656
Paleoceanography
1 65 100 568
Palynology
51 72 342 471 610 613 620 809 812
Sea Level
100 322 323 691 699
Tree-ring Studies
342
NEWFOUNDLAND
Quaternary
1 59 60 220 283 284 323 405 416 417 620 669 854
Pleistocene
2 56 116 680 Ti 865
Holocene
28 30 54 65 100 287 322 Bi 342 432 476 602 609 647
656 WHS 776 783 812 881
Holocene - Prehistoric
97 22115) 282 5}3}5) 413 456 529 691 699 772 809 864
Holocene —- Historic
16 55 102 ES 180 188 371 548 607 757 758 840 890
General
627 647 To 758
Archaeology
287 432 548 U2
Atmospheric
54 55 59 102 180 220 529 757 758 783
Bibliographies
812
Chemistry
284
Climate - Trends
30 100 102 B27, sl 758 840
Climate - Modelling
28 30 56 60 is
Concepts
220
Dating Methods
656
Foraminifera
2 65 116 283 284 680 854
Geology - Geomorphology
16 282 323 413 456 609 691
Geology - Stratigraphy
1 2 116 215 282 283 284
Geology - Sedimentology
116
Glaciology
1 54 35) 56 60 97 220
854 890
Hydrology
458
Insects
405
Lichenometry
6C
Molluscs
100 417
Oceanography
180 voy 758
Ostracodes
116
Paleobotany
116 335
Paleoecology
116 327 417 432 476 548 602
346
890
864
783
322
323
607
865
323
413
656
417
416
669
417
783
854
691
881
699
771
Paleoceanography
1 2 65 100 282 283 284
Palynology
116 220 327 342 432 476 529
HU) 776 809 812 865 881
Pedology
96 AQ) iF 748
Temperature Reconstructions
28 2115
Tree-ring Studies
188 342
Vertebrates
548
Volcanic Ash
284
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES — MAINLAND
Quaternary
59 60 350 358 499 622
Pleistocene
56 178 352 TFA 804 851
Holocene
28 30 38 119 256 409 565
642 643 645 646 677 727 729
797 819
Holocene - Prehistoric
27 32 177 214 215 279 280
Holocene - Historic
102 106 107 115 SS) 446 524
General
819
Archaeology
119 178 565
Atmospheric
59 102 106 633 634 635 736
Chemistry
851
Climate - General
645
669 680 864
548 602 607
632 633 634
736 753 765
447 525 526
666 738 814
738 783 784
609
635
780
760
842
620
636
783
826
878
647
639
784
830
890
772
640
785
347
Climate - Trends
30 102 106 107
Climate - Modelling
27 28 30 38
Dating Methods
666
Fire History
119 632 643 677
Geology - General
32 178 245 524
Geology - Geomorphology
i 178 279 280
Geology - Stratigraphy
214 622 638
Glaciology
32 56 60 106
Insects
256
Lichenometry
60
Molluscs
32 178 214 280
Ostracodes
214
Paleobotany
ey 178 214 632
797 804 830
Paleoecology
119 214 256 352
646 727 729 736
Palynology
27 39 7, 178
640 642 643 645
826 830 878
Pedology
ae) 633 635 677
Sea Level
60 178
348
315
56
765
525
409
107
633
409
783
214
646
783
842
60
797
526
279
634
449
814
409
727
784
890
115
753
622
635
526
819
447
729
785
447
783
FA
639
632
830
526
736
890
640
633
632
738
642
634
633
153
643
636
634
780
646
640
635
804
677
642
636
814
736
643
639
819
Speleology
358 760 851
Temperature Reconstructions
27 28 38 ANNE 525 632
Tree-ring Studies
SS 446 666
Vertebrates
350552 499
Volcanic Ash
107
NORTHWEST TERRITORIES - ISLANDS
Quaternary
19 22 23 24 42 59 60
366 404 416 464 496 505 576
660 670 678 795 888
Pleistocene
36 82 84 89 178 263 264
802 838 867
Holocene
17 20 21 75 28 30 35
11333) 181 208 209 286 369 370
565 574 Sy) 583 586 640 641
Holocene - Prehistoric
26 27 33 34 79 81 83
426 469 507 325) 546 578 582
Holocene -— Historic
29 31 62 102 105 106 107
401 414 420 421 463 465 497
890 891
General
420 465 584 628 647
Archaeology
178 422 563 565 JUS 75
Atmospheric
59 62 63 102 106 108 180
Bibliographies
42
Chemistry
19 36 115 263 285 286 430
670
78
9)
647
584
108
504
208
466
640
86
581
352
38
466
JS
91
648
165
524
430
468
642
87
620
430
41
467
73
215
790
180
32.
470
643
113
623
219
826
242
553
265
629
278
Sie
629
285
630
628
88
522
368
365
580
630
350
631
659
98
563
396
367
738
Climate - General
165
Climate - Trends
30 62 102
Climate - Forecasting
465 467
Climate Modelling
20 22 27
Concepts
34 466 563
Dating Methods
532 790 795
Foraminifera
155 430 546
Geology - General
85 87 1e
105
28
178
Geology - Geomorphology
21 26 Sil
280 368 370
Geology - Stratigraphy
80 86 98
34
396
404
Geology - Sedimentology
155
Glaciology
22 23 24
83 86 88
285 286 365
467 468 469
580 581 582
Historic Accounts
242
Insects
84 89 549
Lichenometry
211 29 60
Molluscs
17 19 36
574 576 579
Oceanography
180 242 369
350
532
106 107 108 365
30 37 38 60
78 79 83 98
404 414 507 569
576 579 583 629
26 29 31 33
106 107 108 133
367 368 369 401
496 497 504 522
623 659 670 867
208 414 504 574
83 85 86 113
629 630 795
421
401
630
35
181
414
569
888
891
463
197
178
575
631
36
263
416
574
890
467
208
578
660
60
264
430
JS
891
553
209
581
678
62
265
463
576
430
580
278
630
78
274
464
SE)
890
279
678
81
279
466
578
Paleobotany
80 81 84 85 87 89 91 178
797 802 838
Paleoecology
84 98 155 352 SO 57/5) 583 640
Paleoceanography
17 19 366 546
Palynology
20 27 Sy 38 41 63 91 98
579 583 586 620 629 640 641 647
838
Pedology
505
Sea Level
60 83 13 178 263 274 546 569
Temperature Reconstructions
20 Za} 28 38 209 2115 525 574
Vertebrates
80 85 350 352 531
Volcanic Ash
107
NOVA SCOTIA
Quaternary
il 323 405 501 620 654
Pleistocene
158 605 615 619 649 690 873
Holocene
12 65 72 100 157 322 332 342
759 812 837
Holocene — Prehistoric
51 97 99 456 691 699 702 809
Holocene — Historic
71 371 566 585 621 656 840 894
Archaeology
157
Bibliographies
812
Climate - Trends
100 371 566 585 657 840
263
641
178
648
584
640
502
823
278
774
208
738
UD
503
864
370
838
209
115)
838
568
DS
426
774
Sie.
623
496
802
653
640
497
826
656
351
Climate — Forecasting
585
Dating Methods
656
Foraminifera
65 568 572 864 873 894
Geology - General
837
Geology - Geomorphology
323 456 691
Geology - Stratigraphy
1 158 322 323 572 605 615
Geology - Sedimentology
12
Glaciology
1 97 323 691 699 823
Historic Accounts
7A 657
Insects
405 615
Molluscs
99 100 157 158 649 873
Oceanography
566
Paleobotany
51 615 653 654 159
Paleoecology
vol FZ: 158 332 502 503 572
Paleoceanography
1 65 99 100 568 649 864
Palynology
51 72 332 342 501 502 503
654 690 702 759 809 812 823
Sea Level
100 522. 323 456 572 691 699
Tree-ring Studies
342
352
619
615
772
837
649
621
690
656
615
702
702
619
823
759
620
837
621
873
653
ONTARIO
Quaternary
69 234 437 556 654
Pleistocene
10 11 39 68 74
443 444 445 494 592
833 892 893 898
Holocene
WD: 104 141 232 306
720 817 818 839 866
Holocene — Prehistoric
44 50 51 97 138
347 440 44] 561 595
832 872 902 909
Holocene — Historic
3 15 1931 135 137
General
141 328
Agriculture
560 868
Archaeology
560 741
Atmospheric
738
Chemistry
10 ju 39 68 174
Climate - Trends
gyal 550 585 841 868
Climate - Forecasting
585
Concepts
39
Dating Methods
656
Fire History
3 139 817 839 868
Foraminifera
138 174 182 183 184
Geology - General
10 nl 68 811 817
725
112
593
307
139
596
328
306
832
811
167
597
388
145
601
585
307
841
168
598
427
174
603
589
189
681
490
182
616
590
255
698
559
183
663
738
395
701
560
184
741
836
435
803
613
186
750
868
438
806
617
231
778
878
442
810
656
258
828
353
Geology - Geomorphology
139 437 5008) 595
Geology - Stratigraphy
39 44 2 139
441 443 444 445
806 833
Geology - Sedimentology
113} 138 235 560
Glaciology
10 11 68 97
Historic Accounts
185 137 589 590
Insects
50 167 443 444
Molluscs
39 258 306 307
Ostrocodes
182 184 186 306
Paleobotany
50 St 74 112
725 803 818 893
Paleoecology
50 72 74 104
395 427 435 441
663 681 698 720
Paleohydrology
307
Paleoceanography
138 174 182 184
Palynology
15 44 50 51
440 441 443 444
698 701 720 US
866 878 898 902
Pedology
443 444 697
Sea Level
138 234 490
Solar Effects
868
354
744
167
592
435
307
444
778
738
750
168
595
698
593
440
440
490
803
258
74
556
778
909
231
596
441
44]
440
168
494
811
347
104
559
803
235
601
442
443
441
183
592
817
388
145
560
806
307
603
909
892
443
681
443
828
231
561
810
395
698
893
444
872
444
189
595
872
435
701
603
494
231
596
892
307
616
828
437
744
663
561
232
597
893
395
617
832
438
778
872
603
235
613
898
427
654
833
440
803
654
307
656
902
437
663
836
Temperature Reconstructions
69 74 598
Vertebrates
145 189 232 347 872 902
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Quaternary
1 323 405 620
Holocene
14 65 100 322 342 568 656
Holocene - Prehistoric
97 691
Holocene - Historic
371 585
General
858
Bibliographies
812
Climate - General
858
Climate - Trends
100 371 585
Climate - Forecasting
585
Dating Methods
656
Foraminifera
65 568
Geology - Geomorphology
323 691
Geology - Stratigraphy
1 322 323
Glaciology
1 i 323) 691
Insects
405
Molluscs
100
812
Paleoecology
14 656
Paleoceanography
1 65 100 568
Palynology
143425) 16207) 812
Sea Level
100 322 323 691
Temperature Reconstructions
14
Tree-ring Studies
342
QUEBEC
Quaternary
1 5 59 220 234 392 416
Pleistocene
2 39 56 393 487 690 700
Holocene
20 28 37 40 45 54 66
31107. 3217 342 354 387 388 389
641 645 647 652 656 664 672
713 714 TAS) JU, 718 719 720
Holocene - Prehistoric
4 51 97 139 174 182 184
559 384 385 386 413 475 485
805 809 826 829 832 835 872
Holocene - Historic
16 55 102 115 135 180 188
668 671 716 738 789 878 890
General
360 391 475 Shi 647 798
Archaeology
548 562 772
Atmospheric
54 55 59 102 180 220 738
Bibliographies
812
Chemistry
39 169 174 255 385 392 393
gt
72
474
683
122
185
486
909
321
896
501
803
103
547
685
His)
187
614
360
897
169
558
686
776
224
651
390
904
257
611
710
818
258
691
406
798
277
612
711
839
335
699
548
311
613
T2
866
347
772
585
Climate
Dal
Climate
102
Climate
585
Climate
20
Concepts
39
General
645
Trends
327 360 390 406 585 890 896
Forecasting
Modelling
28 37) 56 LS)
220 789
Dating Methods
656
Fire History
139 317 672 839
Foraminifera
2 174 182 184 486 547 SCT 7)
Geology General
225 832
Geology Geomorphology
16 40 118 139 185 224 Zi 387
691 692 za 909
Geology Stratigraphy
1 2 4 39 139 417 614 690
Geology - Sedimentology
754
Glaciology
1 5 45 54 55 56 97 220
691 699 771 832 890 909
Historic Accounts
135 3911: 896
Insects
614 692
Lichenometry
45
Molluscs
39 258 384 385 386 417 485 547
Oceanography
180 789
897
413
803
225
614
904
485
234
872
486
413
547
416
562
417
651
683
3917
Ostrocodes
182 184
Paleobotany
4 Sjil
803 818
Paleoecology
4 66
548 562
Hilo) 7/ilat
866 872
Paleohydrology
392
Paleoceanography
1 2
692 872
Palynology
4 20
548 558
686 687
719 720
829 832
Pedology
Hite} Sail
Sea Level
40 185
Solar Effects
277 387
Speleology
255
Temperature Reconstructions
20 28
185
66
829
72
611
Ja?
174
37
562
690
Well
835
224
Tree-ring Studies
188 342
Vertebrates
347 353
SASKATCHEWAN
Quaternary
130 725
Pleistocene
203 355
668
354
455
187
103
169
612
713
182
51
611
692
722
866
748
547
613
714
184
66
612
700
738
878
387
786
872
614
T/A)
187
72
613
710
772
485
641
716
258
103
614
Tila
hi
547
487
327
656
717
347
169
620
712
776
691
547
353
664
719
353
220
641
713
803
699
614
384
683
720
385
S27)
645
714
805
672
386
684
722
386
342
647
715
809
685
776
388
474
664
716
812
686
803
389
485
683
717
820
700
547
687
829
652
501
685
718
826
Holocene
459 606 613 676
Holocene - Prehistoric
144 204 222 408
Holocene - Historic
136 142 170 193
General
554 674
Agriculture
170 429 554 689
Archaeology
408 786
Atmospheric
130 204
Climate - General
674
Climate - Trends
142 170 193 194
Fire History
868
Geology - General
459
Geology - Geomorphology
203 204 222
Geology Stratigraphy
455 459
Geology - Sedimentology
734
Glaciology
144
Historic Accounts
136 689
Paleobotany
222 1225; 734
Paleoecology
222 399 455 606
Palynology
604 606 613 125
728
868
740
314
429
429
452
452
689
604
868
689
868
878
Pedology
203 676 748
Solar Effects
170 195 429 859 868
Temperature Reconstructions
130
Tree-ring Studies
689
Vertebrates
355 455
YUKON TERRITORY
Quaternary
196 197 198 295 348 349 350 398
815 834
Pleistocene
94 189 192 242 352 407 412 550
Holocene
96 217 218 2110 319 428 527 528
Holocene - Prehistoric
146 SIL 592 TS) 153
Holocene - Historic
188 423 842
General
815 819
Archaeology
146 398 407 412 428 527) 528
Climate - Trends
217 423 842
Concepts
94
Fire History
677
Geology - General
527 797
Geology - Geomorphology
96 Dia 218 768 834
Geology - Stratigraphy
348 407 428 460 493 495
499
703
768
Glaciology
Ney AT IMS PUY SUS 7e)
Insects
407 550
Molluscs
412
Ostrocodes
212
Paleobotany
218 407 412 428 493 550
Paleoecology
94 96 146 189 192 197
527 528 550 551 357 555
Palynology
96 196 197 198 407 493
766 819 834
Pedology
96 295 677 748
Temperature Reconstructions
703
Tree-ring Studies
96 188 218 423 703 768
Vertebrates
189 192 349 350 352 398
CANADA — GENERAL
Quaternary
24 126 156 162 163 288
821 824
Pleistocene
2 205 ZA 352 361 415
Holocene
7 28 30 61 63 65
644 645 646 782 822 827
Holocene — Prehistoric
18 33 124 343 456 500
Holocene - Historic
73 90 102 134 210 238
791 846 848 849 852 853
834
551
198
613
495
407
318
ZZ
67
863
608
239
855
677
348
703
527
412
348
bz
206
704
305
860
797
499
351
518
307
799
391
862
834
407
133)
613
551
394
679
326
903
424
868
412
766
703
I)
410
749
342
908
508
887
493
815
731
416
787
397
Oi
509
890
495
819
192.
665
889
564
585
499
834
733
808
637
588
361
General
159 162 163 246
512 53 514 S15
903
Agriculture
868
Archaeology
61 564
Atmospheric
63 90 102 343
Bibliographies
326 394 843 844
Chemistry
307
Climate - General
159 351 645 849
Climate - Trends
30 61 73 102
848 852 853 860
Climate - Forecasting
585 853
Climate - Modelling
28 30 126 782
Concepts
156 343
Fire History
868
Foraminifera
2 65 E55 679
Geology - General
211 787
Geology - Geomorphology
18 456
Geology - Stratigraphy
2 307 348
Geology - Sedimentology
155
Glaciology
18 24 33 124
247
516
345
845
238
868
822
862
126
248 249 318
Si 518 644
782
847 850
305 508 509
887 890
889
863
415 416 704
345
688
749
391
821
808
397
822
890
410
824
844
903
453
846
498
849
847
Historic Accounts
SRE SION 588 791
Molluscs
17 307
Oceanography
238 299 855
Ostrocodes
307
Paleobotany
394 637 646 807 808 813 822 827 912
Paleoecology
155205 206 288 307 348 352 361 646 665 808 816 822 908
Paleohydrology
307 498
Paleoceanography
2 17 65 156 679 862 863
Palynology
63 67 205 206 ZOP SO 342 500 608 645 646 OX) AMONT)
822 908
Pedology
782 799 808
Sea Level
456
Solar Effects
853 868
Temperature Reconstructions
28 67
Tree-ring Studies
90 305 342 424
Vertebrates
239 288 348 352 361 860
NORTH AMERICA
Quaternary
200 202 223 236 288 294 330 344 348 349 350 358 359 380
394 398 410 506 545 591 654 725 746 om
Pleistocene
48 56 74 149 171 205 235 291 352 361 415 517 518 535
Yih 851 873
Holocene
21
770
72 122
794 825
Holocene - Prehistoric
18
552
Holocene — Historic
90
626
General
344
Archaeol
398
Atmosphe
90
Bibliogr
326
Chemistr
266
Climate
856
Climate
217
Climate
585
Climate
56
Concepts
876
Fire His
765
Foramini
ial
Geology
48
Geology
18
Geology
44
364
123
44 53 97
597! 596 655
111 120 188
662 842 874
410 498 517
ogy
408 794
ric
122 626 911
aphies
394
Y
307 359 851
- General
- Trends
229 305 454
— Forecasting
- Modelling
120 747
tory
fera
182 449 747
— General
21147
— Geomorphology
21 185 218
— Stratigraphy
235 307 348
217 218
124 144
699 704
210 266
878
518 825
911
585 842
873
485 750
403 490
307
173
747
281
856
909
319
182
750
302
326
185
899
304
388
233
908
305
490
379
909
316
641
403
424
728
408
454
765
485
585
Geology - Sedimentology
202 235 SO
Glaciology
18 48 56 97 abil 123 124 144
319 415 506 545 655 662 699 704
Historic Accounts
ileal
Insects
549 596
Lichenomet ry
Zi
Molluscs
307 485 873
Oceanography
281 454 874 911
Ostrocodes
182 185 307
Paleobotany
TU NT) DO Ss) TON LIU CSS SAG
Paleoecology
55 72 74 173 205 223 229 235
361 379 490 535 545 552 596 641
Paleohydrology
307 498
Paleoceanography
y 182 388 449 SOL 746 747
Palynology
44 53 72 74 120 175 200 205
380 485 545 357 641 654 655 725
Pedology
236
Sea Level
185 485 490 545 699
Solar Effects
abil
Speleology
294 358 359 851
Temperature Reconstructions
74 379 380
149
746
654
235
655
210
728
27
TTA
725
288
728
223
770
218
909
770
307
770
233
878
223
911
876
330
794
235
908
266
911
348
873
307
291
352
908
379
365
Tree-ring Studies
90 UL 188) 218 302, 304 305
Vertebrates
223 233 288 330 348 349 350
Volcanic Ash
403
GLOBAL
Quaternary
17 125 126 172 175 201 202
276 285 288 292 293 297 348
484 573 600 673 694 695 696
Pleistocene
64 129 166 241 250 261 267
430 477 483 512 570 587 599
Holocene
21 61 80 93 143 164 206
632 633 634 653 682 723 742
Holocene - Prehistoric
75 417) 175 343 379 482 552
Holocene - Historic
16 90 92 95 110 114 128
245 251 252 253 300 301 303
479 510 530 532 533 567 624
869 870 871 875 879 884 905
General
92 58 93 95 117 121 140
292 296 297 298 362 402 410
512 600 693 694 695 696 758
907
Agriculture
868
Archaeology
61 398 481 528 880
Atmospheric
58 64 90 128 227 251 252
482 483 484 530 532 533 633
875 879
Bibliographies
707 910
Chemistry
201 260 261 285 286 293 376
366
227
349
730
268
658
217
880
601
ES
320
675
161
450
763
289
634
240
362
763
269
659
286
881
745
176
329
708
164
462
764
343
659
260
398
764
271
749
296
747
237
411
756
2241
472
777
430
675
262
410
792
272
752
298
799
238
436
758
228
478
815
450
758
265
416
815
274
779
364
864
242
451
793
241
479
877
473
869
709
270
472
854
290
861
528
877
243
462
860
262
480
880
477
870
899
273
481
331
547
906
244
477
868
290
481
906
479
871
Climate
436
Climate
61
451
Climate
160
Climate
57
Concepts
T7)
411
General
Trends
92 95 114
482 533 675
Forecasting
481 723
Model ling
125 126 129
143 7/5) 176
473 510 567
Dating Methods
481
532
Fire History
632 868
Foraminifera
155 201 240 260
747 854 864
Geology - General
199 292 sel
Geology Geomorphology
16 21 219] 250
Geology - Stratigraphy
80 348 601 854
Geology Sedimentology
155 202 268 567
Glaciology
15 110 125 126
289 293 320 416
861
Historic Accounts
176 242 411
Insects
172 299
Lichenometry
ZA 75
Molluscs
179
213 430 532
276
905
329
658
285
749
320
907
343
745
286
854
Oceanography
237 238 242 243
869 870 871 875
Ostrocodes
213 547
Paleobotany
80 117) 296 331
Paleoecology
155 173 179 206
634 AIO" NS, 881
Paleomagnetism
143 905
Paleoceanography
227 240) 426026)!
745 747 792 861
Palynology
77 173 206 207
Pedology
521 673 799
Sea Level
274 547 599 723
Solar Effects
110 127 255 364
Speleology
261 293
Temperature Reconstructions
260 293 379 632
Tree-ring Studies
90 110 300 301
Vertebrates
80 166 243 245
Volcanic Ash
252 745
244
884
379
207
267
864
296
767
708
303
288
245 289 477
547 632 633
288 348 379
269 270 20a
779 7193 868
779
331 348 349
479
528
634
484
547
653
709
532
552
376
799
860
533
510
881
675
75
658
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RECENT SYLLOGEUS TITLES / TITRES RECENTS DANS LA COLLECTION SYLLOGEUS
No. 38
No. 39
No. 40
No. 41
No. 42
No. 43
No. 44
No. 45
No. 46
No. 47
No. 48
No. 49
No. 50
Jarzen, David M. (1982)
PALYNOLOGY OF DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK (CAMPANIAN) ALBERTA. 69 p-
Russell, D.A. and G. Rice, editors (1982)
K-TEC II: CRETACEOUS-TERTIARY EXTINCTIONS AND POSSIBLE TERRESTRIAL AND EXTRA-
TERRESTRIAL CAUSES. 151 p.
Fournier, Judith A. and Colin D. Levings (1982)
POLYCHAETES RECORDED NEAR TWO PULP MILLS ON THE NORTH COAST OF BRITISH COLUMBIA: A
PRELIMINARY TAXONOMIC AND ECOLOGICAL ACCOUNT. 91 p.
Bélanger-Steigerwald, Michèle, and/et Don E. McAllister (1982)
LIST OF THE CANADIAN MARINE FISH SPECIES IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES,
NATIONAL MUSEUMS OF CANADA / LISTE DES ESPECES DE POISSONS MARINS DU CANADA AU MUSEE
NATIONAL DES SCIENCES NATURELLES, MUSEES NATIONAUX DU CANADA. 30 p.
Shih, Chang-tai, and/et Diana R. Laubitz (1983)
SURVEY OF INVERTEBRATE ZOOLOGISTS IN CANADA — 1982 / REPERTOIRE DES ZOOLOGISTES DES
INVERTEBRES AU CANADA — 1982. 93 p.
Ouellet, Henri et Michel Gosselin (1983)
LES NOMS FRANÇAIS DES OISEAUX D' AMERIQUE DU NORD. 36 p.
Faber, Daniel J., editor (1983)
PROCEEDINGS OF 1981 WORKSHOP ON CARE AND MAINTENANCE OF NATURAL HISTORY COLLECTIONS.
15 ps
Lanteigne, J. and D.E. McAllister (1983)
THE PYGMY SMELT, OSMERUS SPECTRUM COPE, 1870, A FORGOTTEN SIBLING SPECIES OF EASTERN
NORTH AMERICAN FISH. 32 p.
Frank, Peter G. (1983)
A CHECKLIST AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE SIPUNCULA FROM CANADIAN AND ADJACENT WATERS. 47
p-
Ireland, Robert R. and Linda M. Ley (in press)
TYPE SPECIMENS OF BRYOPHYTES IN THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL SCIENCES, NATIONAL
MUSEUMS OF CANADA.
Bouchard, André, Denis Barabé, Madeleine Dumais, et/and Stuart Hay (1983)
- Ed
LES PLANTES VASCULAIRES RARES DU QUEBEC. / THE RARE VASCULAR PLANTS OF QUEBEC. 75 p.
{ 79 p.
Harington, C.R., editor (1983)
CLIMATIC CHANGE IN CANADA 3. 343 p.
Hinds, Harold R. (in press)
THE RARE VASCULAR PLANTS OF NEW BRUNSWICK. / LES PLANTES VASCULAIRES RARES DU
NOUVEAU-BRUNSWICK.
f
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