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The Last Interglaciation in Northeast Siberia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Anatoly V. Lozhkin  and
Patricia M. Anderson
Anatoly V. Lozhkin
Affiliation:
North-East Interdisciplinary Research Institute, Russian Academy of Science, Far East Branch, Portovaya 16, Magadan 685010, Russia
Patricia M. Anderson*
Affiliation:
Quaternary Research Center, AK-60, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195
*
To whom correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed
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Abstract

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

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , March 1995 , pp. 147 - 158
Copyright
University of Washington

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