A stable isotope record of late Quaternary hydrologic change in the northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska (eastern Beringia)

Amanda L. King; Lesleigh Anderson; Mark B. Abbott; Mary Edwards; Matthew S. Finkenbinder; Bruce P. Finney; Matthew Wooller

doi:10.1002/jqs.3368

A stable isotope record of late Quaternary hydrologic change in the northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska (eastern Beringia)

Journal of Quaternary Science

By: Amanda L. King, Lesleigh Anderson, Mark B. Abbott, Mary Edwards, Matthew S. Finkenbinder, Bruce P. Finney, and Matthew Wooller

https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3368

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Abstract

A submillennial-resolution record of lake water oxygen isotope composition (δ¹⁸O) from chironomid head capsules is presented from Burial Lake, northwest Alaska. The record spans the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ~20–16k cal a bp) to the present and shows a series of large lake δ¹⁸O shifts (~5‰). Relatively low δ¹⁸O values occurred during a period covering the LGM, when the lake was a shallow, closed-basin pond. Higher values characterize deglaciation (~16–11.5k cal a bp) when the lake was still closed but lake levels were higher. A rapid decline between ~11 and 10.5k cal a bp indicates that lake levels rose to overflowing. Lake δ¹⁸O values are interpreted to reflect the combined effects of changes in lake hydrology, growing season temperature and meteoric source water as well as large-scale environmental changes impacting this site, including opening of the Bering Strait and shifts in atmospheric circulation patterns related to ice-sheet dynamics. The results indicate significant shifts in precipitation minus evaporation across the late Pleistocene to early Holocene transition, which are consistent with temporal patterns of vegetation change and paludification. This study provides new perspectives on the paleohydrology of eastern Beringia concomitant with human migration and major turnover in megafaunal assemblages.

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	A stable isotope record of late Quaternary hydrologic change in the northwestern Brooks Range, Alaska (eastern Beringia)
Series title	Journal of Quaternary Science
DOI	10.1002/jqs.3368
Volume	37
Issue	5
Year Published	2022
Language	English
Publisher	Wiley
Contributing office(s)	Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Description	16 p.
First page	928
Last page	943
Country	United States
State	Alaska
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page