Palaeobotanical evidence for warm summers in the East Siberian Arctic during the last cold stage


Contact
fkienast [ at ] awi-potsdam.de

Abstract

<jats:p>Plant macrofossils from the “Mamontovy Khayata” permafrost sequence (71°60′N, 129°25′E) on the Bykovsky Peninsula reflect climate and plant biodiversity in west Beringia during the last cold stage. 70 AMS and 20 conventional<jats:sup>14</jats:sup>C dates suggest sediment accumulation between about 60,000 and 7500<jats:sup>14</jats:sup>C yr B.P. The plant remains prove that during the last cold-stage arctic species (<jats:italic>Minuartia arctica</jats:italic>,<jats:italic>Draba</jats:italic>spp.,<jats:italic>Kobresia myosuroides</jats:italic>) coexisted with aquatic (<jats:italic>Potamogeton vaginatus</jats:italic>,<jats:italic>Callitriche hermaphroditica</jats:italic>), littoral (<jats:italic>Ranunculus reptans</jats:italic>,<jats:italic>Rumex maritimus</jats:italic>), meadow (<jats:italic>Hordeum brevisubulatum</jats:italic>,<jats:italic>Puccinellia tenuiflora</jats:italic>) and steppe taxa (<jats:italic>Alyssum obovatum</jats:italic>,<jats:italic>Silene repens</jats:italic>,<jats:italic>Koeleria cristata</jats:italic>,<jats:italic>Linum perenne</jats:italic>). The reconstructed vegetation composition is similar to modern vegetation mosaics in central and northeast Yakutian relict steppe areas. Thus, productive meadow and steppe communities played an important role in the Siberian Arctic vegetation during the late Pleistocene and could have served as food resource for large populations of herbivores. The floristic composition reflects an extremely continental, arid climate with winters colder and summers distinctly warmer than at present. Holocene macrofossil assemblages indicate a successive paludification possibly connected with marine transgression, increased oceanic influence and atmospheric humidity. Although some steppe taxa were still present in the early Holocene, they disappeared completely before ∼2900<jats:sup>14</jats:sup>C yr B.P.</jats:p>



Item Type
Article
Authors
Divisions
Programs
Peer revision
ISI/Scopus peer-reviewed
Publication Status
Published
Eprint ID
11805
DOI https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2005.01.003

Cite as
Kienast, F. , Schirrmeister, L. , Siegert, C. and Tarasov, P. (2005): Palaeobotanical evidence for warm summers in the East Siberian Arctic during the last cold stage , Quaternary Research, 63 (3), pp. 283-300 . doi: https://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2005.01.003


Download
[thumbnail of Fulltext]
Preview
PDF (Fulltext)
Kie2005a.pdf

Download (8MB) | Preview
Cite this document as:

Share


Citation

Research Platforms
N/A

Campaigns
N/A


Actions
Edit Item Edit Item