The climate of North America and adjacent ocean waters ca. 6 ka

2000 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 661-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Gajewski ◽  
Robert Vance ◽  
M Sawada ◽  
Inez Fung ◽  
L Dennis Gignac ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Carbon Storage ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Total Change ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Climate Reconstructions

The climate of North America and the adjacent ocean at 6000 BP was estimated using five independent approaches. Using pollen data, the terrestrial climate was estimated by the movement of ecozone boundaries and by the method of modern analogues. Both analyses indicate warmer temperatures in the western Great Lakes area and the northern Great Plains. A model of Sphagnum-dominated peatland initiation, when forced by Canadian Climate Model 6 ka output projected a cooler and (or) wetter climate for continental western North America. Contrary to this, a reconstruction of the distribution of Sphagnum-dominated peatlands in western Canada indicates that they were located north of their modern distribution, suggesting warmer and (or) drier conditions at 6000 BP. This interpretation is strengthened by observations of lower lake levels at 6000 BP in western Canada. This drier climate may have been associated with warmer conditions as indicated by the quantitative climate reconstructions. In general, eastern North America was drier, while western North America was warmer and drier at 6 ka compared to the present. A model of vegetation and carbon storage, when forced using 6 ka Canadian Climate Model and pollen-based climate reconstructions, showed an increase in area covered by boreal forest, extending north and south of the present location. This was not, however, verified by the fossil data. Additionally, the model showed little total change in carbon storage at 6 ka in the terrestrial biosphere. Estimated sea surface temperatures off eastern Canada suggest warmer surface waters at 6 ka, in agreement with reconstructions based on terrestrial records from the eastern seaboard.

A 13-YEAR SURVEY OF THE APHIDOPHAGOUS COCCINELLIDAE IN MAIZE FIELDS IN EASTERN SOUTH DAKOTA

1990 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 579-581 ◽  
Author(s):  
R.W. Kieckhefer ◽  
N.C. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Zea Mays ◽  
North America ◽  
South Dakota ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
The United States ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Eastern Canada

Coccinellids are a conspicuous group of aphidophagous predators in maize, Zea mays L., in the Northern Great Plains of the United States. Numerous studies have been conducted on the ecology of coccinellids in maize in North America (Ewert and Chiang 1966a, 1966b; Smith 1971; Foott 1973; Wright and Laing 1980; Corderre and Tourneur 1986; Corderre et al. 1987). However, there have been few long-term surveys of coccinellids in maize. Foott (1973) reported on the abundance of coccinellid species inhabiting maize in eastern Canada over a 4-year period; no surveys of this type have been reported for the Northern Great Plains. We sampled coccinellids in maize fields at three sites in eastern South Dakota for 13 consecutive years to determine the species inhabiting the crop and levels of variation in their abundances among sites and years.

The Impact of Sea Surface Temperature Biases on North American Precipitation in a High-Resolution Climate Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 2427-2447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathaniel C. Johnson ◽  
Lakshmi Krishnamurthy ◽  
Andrew T. Wittenberg ◽  
Baoqiang Xiang ◽  
Gabriel A. Vecchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North American ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Western North America ◽  
The North

AbstractPositive precipitation biases over western North America have remained a pervasive problem in the current generation of coupled global climate models. These biases are substantially reduced, however, in a version of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Forecast-Oriented Low Ocean Resolution (FLOR) coupled climate model with systematic sea surface temperature (SST) biases artificially corrected through flux adjustment. This study examines how the SST biases in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans contribute to the North American precipitation biases. Experiments with the FLOR model in which SST biases are removed in the Atlantic and Pacific are carried out to determine the contribution of SST errors in each basin to precipitation statistics over North America. Tropical and North Pacific SST biases have a strong impact on northern North American precipitation, while tropical Atlantic SST biases have a dominant impact on precipitation biases in southern North America, including the western United States. Most notably, negative SST biases in the tropical Atlantic in boreal winter induce an anomalously strong Aleutian low and a southward bias in the North Pacific storm track. In boreal summer, the negative SST biases induce a strengthened North Atlantic subtropical high and Great Plains low-level jet. Each of these impacts contributes to positive annual mean precipitation biases over western North America. Both North Pacific and North Atlantic SST biases induce SST biases in remote basins through dynamical pathways, so a complete attribution of the effects of SST biases on precipitation must account for both the local and remote impacts.

An Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) fossil-bearing locality from the Rocky Mountains of Alberta, yielding the oldest dinosaur skeletal remains from western Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 542-552 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramon S. Nagesan ◽  
James A. Campbell ◽  
Jason D. Pardo ◽  
Kendra I. Lennie ◽  
Matthew J. Vavrek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Early Cretaceous ◽  
Depositional Environment ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Upper Jurassic ◽  
High Energy ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Western North America ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrate ◽  
Overlying Strata

Western North America preserves iconic dinosaur faunas from the Upper Jurassic and Upper Cretaceous, but this record is interrupted by an approximately 20 Myr gap with essentially no terrestrial vertebrate fossil localities. This poorly sampled interval is nonetheless important because it is thought to include a possible mass extinction, the origin of orogenic controls on dinosaur spatial distribution, and the origin of important Upper Cretaceous dinosaur taxa. Therefore, dinosaur-bearing rocks from this interval are of particular interest to vertebrate palaeontologists. In this study, we report on one such locality from Highwood Pass, Alberta. This locality has yielded a multitaxic assemblage, with the most diagnostic material identified so far including ankylosaurian osteoderms and a turtle plastron element. The fossil horizon lies within the upper part of the Pocaterra Creek Member of the Cadomin Formation (Blairmore Group). The fossils are assigned as Berriasian (earliest Cretaceous) in age, based on previous palynomorph analyses of the Pocaterra Creek Member and underlying and overlying strata. The fossils lie within numerous cross-bedded sandstone beds separated by pebble lenses. These sediments are indicative of a relatively high-energy depositional environment, and the distribution of these fossils over multiple beds indicates that they accumulated over multiple events, possibly flash floods. The fossils exhibit a range of surface weathering, having intact to heavily weathered cortices. The presence of definitive dinosaur material from near the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary of Alberta establishes the oldest record of dinosaur body fossils in western Canada and provides a unique opportunity to study the Early Cretaceous dinosaur faunas of western North America.

Notes on Polychaeta from the East Coast of Vancouver Island and from Adjacent Waters, with a Description of a New Species of Aricidea

1956 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Berkeley ◽  
C. Berkeley
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
North America ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Vancouver Island ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Western North America ◽  
A New Species

Records are given of two species and a variety new to western Canada and notes on three other species already known from the region. A new species, Aricidea lopezi, and four species new to western North America, are described from the neighbourhood of Friday Harbour, Washington.

Additions to the Polychaete Fauna of Canada, with Comments on Some Older Records

1954 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-471 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Berkeley ◽  
C. Berkeley
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
North America ◽  
Pacific Coast ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
New Genera ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
New Variety ◽  
The Pacific

Descriptions are given of the new genera Neopygospio (type N. laminifera, nov.) and Novobranchus (type N. pacificus, nov.); of the new species Nereis (Eunereis) wailesi, Spio butleri, Neopygospio laminifera, Novobranchus pacificus; and of the new variety pacificus of Distylia volutacornis (Montagu). All are from the Pacific coast of Canada. Synonymy is proposed of Lepidonotus caelorus Moore with L. squamatus (Linné), and of Goniada eximia Ehlers with Ophioglycera gigantea Verrill. In addition to the new species and variety, records of three species new to western Canada are presented, and notes on others. Thirteen species and a variety new to eastern Canada are recorded, one of them new to North America.

Diversity dynamics of mammals in relation to tectonic and climatic history: comparison of three Neogene records from North America

Paleobiology ◽  
10.1666/12024 ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Badgley ◽  
John A. Finarelli
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Pacific Northwest ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Landscape History ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Faunal Composition ◽  
Topographic Complexity ◽  
Depositional Processes ◽  
Climatic Optimum

In modern ecosystems, regions of topographic heterogeneity, when compared with nearby topographically homogeneous regions, support high species densities of mammals and other groups. This biogeographic pattern could be explained by either greater diversification rates or greater accommodation of species in topographically complex regions. In this context, we assess the hypothesis that changes in landscape history have stimulated diversification in mammals. Landscape history includes tectonic and climatic processes that influence topographic complexity at regional scales. We evaluated the influence of changes in topographic complexity and climate on origination and extinction rates of rodents, the most diverse clade of mammals.We compared the Neogene records of rodent diversity for three regions in North America. The Columbia Basin of the Pacific Northwest (Region 1) and the northern Rocky Mountains (Region 2) were tectonically active over much of the Cenozoic and are characterized by high topographic complexity today. The northern Great Plains (Region 3) have been tectonically quiescent, with low relief, throughout the Cenozoic. These three regions have distinctive geologic histories and substantial fossil records. All three regions showed significant changes in diversification and faunal composition over the Neogene. In the montane regions, originations and extinctions peaked at the onset and close, respectively, of the Miocene Climatic Optimum (17–14 Ma), with significant changes in faunal composition accompanying these episodes of diversification. In the Great Plains, rodents showed considerable turnover but infrequent diversification. Peak Neogene diversity in the Great Plains occurred during cooling after the Miocene Climatic Optimum. These histories suggest that climatic changes interacting with increasing topographic complexity intensify macroevolutionary processes. In addition, close tracking of diversity and fossil productivity with the stratigraphic record suggests either large-scale sampling biases or the mutual response of diversity and depositional processes to changes in landscape history.

Diatom Assemblages and Ionic Characterization of Lakes of the Northern Great Plains, North America: A Tool for Reconstructing Past Salinity and Climate Fluctuations

1993 ◽  
Vol 50 (9) ◽  
pp. 1844-1856 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. C. Fritz ◽  
S. Juggins ◽  
R. W. Battarbee
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Environmental Gradient ◽  
Surface Sediments ◽  
Weighted Averaging ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Climate Fluctuations ◽  
Sulfate Salts ◽  
Highly Correlated

The distribution of diatoms with respect to salinity and ionic gradients was studied in lakes of the northern Great Plains of North America. The lakes range from freshwater to hypersaline (0.65–270 g∙L−1) and include a variety of brine types, although the majority are dominated by sulfate salts. Canonical correspondence analysis of diatoms in the surface sediments of 66 lakes and associated water chemistry data indicates that diatom distributions are highly correlated with salinity. The ordination also suggests that brine type forms a significant environmental gradient and separates taxa characteristic of bicarbonate/carbonate lakes from those of sulfate-dominated systems. The salinityoptima and tolerances of diatom species are calculated by weighted averaging regression, and these data provide a tool for the reconstruction of past salinity and the inferance of climatic change in arid and semiarid regions.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Elite Wheat Germ Plasm for Resistance to Tan Spot

Plant Disease ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 90 (10) ◽  
pp. 1320-1325 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. K. Singh ◽  
M. Mergoum ◽  
S. Ali ◽  
T. B. Adhikari ◽  
E. M. Elias ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Great Plains ◽  
Wheat Germ ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Germ Plasm ◽  
The United States ◽  
Tan Spot ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Breeding Lines ◽  
Resistant Varieties

Tan spot, caused by Pyrenophora tritici-repentis, is a serious foliar disease of wheat (Triticum aestivum) in North America. Control of tan spot through management practices and fungicide application is possible; however, the use of resistant varieties is the most effective and economical means of controlling tan spot. This study was conducted to determine the disease reaction of 126 elite hard red spring, white, and durum wheat varieties and advanced breeding lines collected from the northern Great Plains of the United States and Canada to individual races/toxins of P. tritici-repentis. Seedling evaluation of the 126 genotypes was done under controlled environmental conditions with virulent races 2, 3, and 5 of P. tritici-repentis and toxins Ptr ToxA and Ptr ToxB. Based on disease reactions, two resistant varieties and two advanced breeding lines adapted to the northern Great Plains were found to be resistant to all the races and insensitive to the toxins tested. Additionally, six genetically diverse lines/varieties were identified to be resistant to tan spot; however, these sources may not be well adapted to the northern Great Plains. These results suggest that the wheat germ plasm contains a broad genetic base for resistance to the most prevalent races of P. tritici-repentis in North America, and the resistant sources identified in this study may be utilized in wheat breeding programs to develop tan spot resistant varieties.

scholarly journals Prospects for Dynamical Prediction of Meteorological Drought

2012 ◽  
Vol 51 (7) ◽  
pp. 1238-1252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao-Wei Quan ◽  
Martin P. Hoerling ◽  
Bradfield Lyon ◽  
Arun Kumar ◽  
Michael A. Bell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Plains ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Northern Great Plains ◽  
Seasonal Forecasts ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Antecedent Soil Moisture ◽  
Drought Prediction

AbstractThe prospects for U.S. seasonal drought prediction are assessed by diagnosing simulation and hindcast skill of drought indicators during 1982–2008. The 6-month standardized precipitation index is used as the primary drought indicator. The skill of unconditioned, persistence forecasts serves as the baseline against which the performance of dynamical methods is evaluated. Predictions conditioned on the state of global sea surface temperatures (SST) are assessed using atmospheric climate simulations conducted in which observed SSTs are specified. Predictions conditioned on the initial states of atmosphere, land surfaces, and oceans are next analyzed using coupled climate-model experiments. The persistence of the drought indicator yields considerable seasonal skill, with a region’s annual cycle of precipitation driving a strong seasonality in baseline skill. The unconditioned forecast skill for drought is greatest during a region’s climatological dry season and is least during a wet season. Dynamical models forced by observed global SSTs yield increased skill relative to this baseline, with improvements realized during the cold season over regions where precipitation is sensitive to El Niño–Southern Oscillation. Fully coupled initialized model hindcasts yield little additional skill relative to the uninitialized SST-forced simulations. In particular, neither of these dynamical seasonal forecasts materially increases summer skill for the drought indicator over the Great Plains, a consequence of small SST sensitivity of that region’s summer rainfall and the small impact of antecedent soil moisture conditions, on average, upon the summer rainfall. The fully initialized predictions for monthly forecasts appreciably improve on the seasonal skill, however, especially during winter and spring over the northern Great Plains.

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