Postglacial vegetational history of Tonquin Pass, British Columbia

1983 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 776-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. S. Kearney ◽  
B. H. Luckman
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
National Park ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Warm Period ◽  
Canadian Rockies ◽  
Jasper National Park ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cool Conditions

A pollen and macrofossil study of peat sediments in Tonquin Pass, British Columbia provides the oldest dated record of vegetational and climatic changes in the middle Canadian Rockies. Paleoecological interpretation of these events dated by tephrochronology and radiocarbon dating is facilitated by comparisons with other regional pollen profiles.Late Wisconsin ice receded from Tonquin Pass prior to 10 000 years BP. By 9700 years BP a Pinus contorta forest with an understory dominated by ferns had colonized the area. The climate of this period was cool and moist. Following this interval was a brief episode (9000–8040 years BP) of haploxylon pine dominance during which the climate became colder. A long warm period beginning by 8040 years BP was characterized by desiccation of local meadows and fens and invasions of these areas by trees, principally Picea. Dated fossil Picea and Abies logs from alpine bogs within Jasper National Park document that timberlines had advanced beyond present limits by 8770 years BP. These data indicate a considerable lag in the registration of this interval in the Tonquin record.During the last 4300 years the retreat of trees from meadows and increases in the representation of several alpine taxa indicate that generally moist and cool conditions have prevailed. Evidence for Holocene timberline fluctuations in the Jasper area suggests an overall lowering in timberline elevation and further cooling since 1700 years BP.

scholarly journals Neoglacial history of Robson Glacier, British Columbia

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (11) ◽  
pp. 1153-1164 ◽  
Author(s):  
B.H. Luckman ◽  
M.H. Masiokas ◽  
K. Nicolussi
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Tree Line ◽  
Canadian Rockies ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Forest Sites ◽  
History Of ◽  
Subfossil Wood ◽  
Glacier Advance

As glaciers in the Canadian Rockies recede, glacier forefields continue to yield subfossil wood from sites overridden by these glaciers during the Holocene. Robson Glacier in British Columbia formerly extended below tree line, and recession over the last century has progressively revealed a number of buried forest sites that are providing one of the more complete records of glacier history in the Canadian Rockies during the latter half of the Holocene. The glacier was advancing ca. 5.5 km upvalley of the Little Ice Age terminus ca. 5.26 cal ka BP, at sites ca. 2 km upvalley ca. 4.02 cal ka BP and ca. 3.55 cal ka BP, and 0.5–1 km upvalley between 1140 and 1350 A.D. There is also limited evidence based on detrital wood of an additional period of glacier advance ca. 3.24 cal ka BP. This record is more similar to glacier histories further west in British Columbia than elsewhere in the Rockies and provides the first evidence for a post-Hypsithermal glacier advance at ca. 5.26 cal ka BP in the Rockies. The utilization of the wiggle-matching approach using multiple 14C dates from sample locations determined by dendrochronological analyses enabled the recognition of 14C outliers and an increase in the precision and accuracy of the dating of glacier advances.

The developmental history of peatlands at Muskiki and Marguerite lakes, Alberta

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (12) ◽  
pp. 3534-3544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Kubiw ◽  
Michael Hickman ◽  
Dale F. Vitt
Keyword(s):  
Species Composition ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Warm Period ◽  
Vegetation Changes ◽  
Developmental History ◽  
Peat Accumulation ◽  
Fire Activity ◽  
History Of ◽  
Peat Stratigraphy

The peat stratigraphy of fens at Muskiki Lake (52°50′N, 116°51′W) and Marguerite Lake (54°38′N, 110°43′W) in central Alberta was examined to determine the developmental history of the fens on the basis of radiocarbon dating and bryophyte macrofossil analyses. Peat accumulation at Muskiki Lake peatland began about 9000 years BP via lake filling. Expansion of the peatland by paludification and vegetation changes, including string and flark formation, are secondary occurrences, the latter occurring subsequent to environmental changes, including mid-Holocene thermal events. Peat inception at Marguerite Lake began about 2400 years BP via paludification. This delay, relative to Muskiki Lake peatland, may be related to the mid-Holocene warm period. Fire activity and increased wetness, as well as autogenic successional processes, altered species composition and abundance.

A palynological study of postglacial vegetation changes in the University Research Forest, southwestern British Columbia

1973 ◽  
Vol 51 (11) ◽  
pp. 2085-2103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rolf W. Mathewes
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Vegetation History ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Silty Clay ◽  
Pollen Diagram ◽  
History Of ◽  
Palynological Study ◽  
The University

The postglacial vegetation history 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. Lodge-pole 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 zones are recognized, beginning with a previously undescribed assemblage of Pinus contorta, Salix, and Shepherdia in clay older than 12 350 ± 190 B.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 the postglacial vegetation history of cedar (Thuja and perhaps Chamaecyparis) in southwestern British Columbia is presented from pollen and macrofossil analyses.At about 10 500 B.P. in both lakes, pollen of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) 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.

THE ATHABASCA VALLEY ERRATICS TRAIN, ALBERTA AND PLEISTOCENE ICE MOVEMENTS ACROSS THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE

1967 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Roed ◽  
E. W. Mountjoy ◽  
N. W. Rutter
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Rocky Mountains ◽  
Late Stage ◽  
National Park ◽  
Rocky Mountain ◽  
Metamorphic Rocks ◽  
Jasper National Park ◽  
Continental Divide ◽  
Park Area

The Athabasca Valley Erratics Train contains a variety of low- to medium- grade metamorphic rocks, the most abundant of which is talcose schist, with lesser amounts of garnet schist and biotite–quartz schist. This erratics train occurs in and west of the Athabasca Valley west of Edson, Alberta. It is probably a late stage deposit of the same glacier that carried and deposited the Erratics Train, Foothills of Alberta. The metamorphic erratics were incorporated into a glacier that originated in the northern part of the Monashee Mountains and Premier Range of British Columbia. This ice movement is also recorded by numerous U-shaped valleys, which extend across the Continental Divide. Thus, during a brief period in late(?) Wisconsin time, the Cordilleran ice in the Rocky Mountains of the Jasper National Park area was partly derived from west of the Continental Divide and the Rocky Mountain Trench. These data agree with the inferred ice movements shown on the 1958 Glacial Map of Canada.

The outbreak history of Dothistroma needle blight: an emerging forest disease in northwestern British Columbia, Canada

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (12) ◽  
pp. 2505-2519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cedar Welsh ◽  
Kathy Lewis ◽  
Alex Woods
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Pine Trees ◽  
Environmental Trigger ◽  
History Of ◽  
Current Outbreak ◽  
Dothistroma Needle Blight ◽  
Needle Blight

Native pathogens are normally limited in the damage they cause by host resistance and (or) environmental conditions that limit one or more phases of the disease cycle. Changes to host or environmental conditions can relax these limits and result in disease emergence. Until recently, Dothistroma needle blight (Dothistroma), caused by Dothistroma septosporum (Dorog.) Morelet, has had only minor impacts on native forest trees in western North America. Over the past decade in the forests of northwestern British Columbia, Canada, Dothistroma has caused extensive mortality in managed plantations of lodgepole pine ( Pinus contorta Dougl. ex Loud. var. latifolia Engelm.), and even mature pine trees are succumbing. We used dendrochronological techniques to reconstruct the temporal patterns of past Dothistroma outbreaks in the area using tree-ring series from sites with documented outbreaks. We found that Dothistroma outbreaks in northwest British Columbia have occurred periodically over the last 174 years, with an increase in outbreak incidence and extent since the 1940s. The most distinct change observed in the outbreak history has been the greater severity and synchrony among the sites affected during the current outbreak. A recently observed climate change trend over the study area may represent an environmental trigger that synchronized the current outbreak causing the widespread emergence of the disease.

scholarly journals Stratigraphy, Radiocarbon Dating, and Culture History of Charlie Lake Cave, British Columbia

ARCTIC ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan C. Driver ◽  
Martin Handly ◽  
Knut R. Fladmark ◽  
D. Erle Nelson ◽  
Gregg M. Sullivan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Culture History ◽  
History Of

Holocene and latest Pleistocene cirque glaciations in the Shuswap Highland, British Columbia

1978 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 865-873 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Duford ◽  
G. D. Osborn
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Early Holocene ◽  
Glacial Deposits ◽  
Canadian Rockies ◽  
Radiocarbon Age ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
The World

Ages of glacial deposits in cirques of the Shuswap Highland, British Columbia are approximated or bracketed using tephrochronology, radiocarbon dating and lichenometry. There is evidence for two minor Holocene glacial advances. The younger, named the Raft Mountain Advance, is defined by the type Raft Mountain moraine, which is about 100 years old judging from Rhizocarpon lichens. No volcanic ash is found on the moraine or its equivalents. The older, named the Dunn Peak Advance, is defined by the type Dunn Peak moraine and equivalent deposits in the Dunn Peak area. These deposits bear Mazama ash and are thus older than 6600 years; one of the moraines has a minimum radiocarbon age of about 7400 years. The deposits are younger than the Late Wisconsin deglaciation in southern B.C. (about 11 000 years BP). In addition, an earlier event, possibly a stillstand, is represented by a moraine (the Harper Creek moraine) downstream of the type Dunn Peak moraine. This moraine is also bracketed between 6600 and 11 000 years in age. The Dunn Peak Advance may be correlative with an Early Holocene Advance reported from the Canadian Rockies and northern American Rockies, and the Raft Mountain Advance is correlative with very recent advances reported from several parts of the world.

scholarly journals Holocene glacier history of Frank Mackie Glacier, northern British Columbia Coast Mountains

2017 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vikki M. St-Hilaire ◽  
Dan J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Coast Mountains ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
History Of ◽  
Glacier Advance

Frank Mackie Glacier repeatedly advanced across the Bowser River valley in northwestern British Columbia to impound Tide Lake during the Holocene. The most recent infilling of Tide Lake was associated with a late Little Ice Age glacier advance and ended around 1930 when the lake catastrophically drained. Over the last century Frank Mackie Glacier has retreated and down wasted to reveal multiple glaciogenic sedimentary units within the proximal faces of prominent lateral moraines. The units are separated by buried in-situ tree stumps and laterally contiguous wood mats deposited on paleosols. Dendroglaciological and radiocarbon dating of these wood remains show that Frank Mackie Glacier expanded into standing forests at 3710–3300, 2700–2200, 1700–1290, 900–500, and 250–100 cal. years BP. These advances coincide closely in time with the previously established Tide Lake glacier dam chronology and with the Holocene history of other glaciers in the Bowser River watershed. The findings emphasize the likelihood that most glaciers within northwestern British Columbia underwent substantial size and mass balance changes over the last 4000 years, and often spent hundreds of years in advanced positions before retreating.

Evolution of a Late Prehistoric Winter Village on the Interior Plateau of British Columbia: Geophysical Investigations, Radiocarbon Dating, and Spatial Analysis of the Bridge River Site

2008 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Marie Prentiss ◽  
Guy Cross ◽  
Thomas A. Foor ◽  
Mathew Hogan ◽  
Dirk Markle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Late Prehistoric ◽  
History Of ◽  
Geophysical Investigations ◽  
Extensive Program ◽  
New Research ◽  
A Site ◽  
The Village ◽  
River Site

A common issue for archaeologists who study intermediate-scale societies is defining scale and complexity of occupations across entire villages or towns. This can be a major problem since an understanding of site-wide inter-household occupation patterns can be crucial for accurate reconstruction of village demographics and socio-economic organization. In this paper we present new research at the Bridge River site, a large complex hunter-gatherer village in British Columbia, designed to develop a site-wide history of household occupation patterns. We accomplish this through broad-scale geophysical investigations, test excavations and an extensive program of radiocarbon dating. Results of the study suggest that the village grew rapidly between ca. 1800 and 1250 cal. B.P. expanding from 7 to at least 29 simultaneously occupied houses. Variability in household spacing and size indicate that social organization may have grown increasingly complex parallel with rising numbers of households.

Relevance of medieval, Egyptian and American dates to the study of climatic and radiocarbon variability

1990 ◽  
Vol 330 (1615) ◽  
pp. 517-527 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Solar Activity ◽  
Radiocarbon Dating ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Geomagnetic Fields ◽  
Time Variations ◽  
Empirical Research Methods ◽  
Short Time

Basic radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology have been combined to yield calibrated dates that are more accurate than conventional radiocarbon dates. This has been shown to be true for medieval and Egyptian dynastic dating. Because radiocarbon is a cosmogenically produced radioisotope, heliomagnetic and geomagnetic fields play a major role in its synthesis in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Inasmuch as a calibrated radiocarbon record exists for nearly 10000 years, we now seem to possess in the short-time variations of the production rate a history of solar activity expressed via heliomagnetic fields carried by the solar wind. In turn, solar activity has a controlling effect on climate on Earth within modifications provided by the complex interactions of the atmosphere—Earth—ocean system. Both radiocarbon measurements and other empirical research methods agree on variations of climate during historically more recent periods on Earth. This leads to the suggestion that the radiocarbon calibration curve may be also a significant indicator or tracer for climatic changes for the Holocene or the Neolithic-Mesolithic.

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