Extensive early and middle Wisconsin glaciation on the western Olympic Peninsula, Washington, and the variability of Pacific moisture delivery to the northwestern United States
Thackray GD. 2001. Extensive early and middle Wisconsin glaciation on the western Olympic Peninsula, Washington, and the variability of Pacific moisture delivery to the northwestern United States. Quaternary Research. 55:257-270
From the Abstract: "Large glaciers descended western valleys of the Olympic Mountains six times during the last (Wisconsin) glaciation, terminating in the Pacific coastal lowlands. The glaciers constructed extensive landforms and thick stratigraphic sequences, which commonly contain wood and other organic detritus. The organic material, coupled with stratigraphic data, provides a detailed radiocarbon chronology of late Pleistocene ice-margin fluctuations. ... Local pollen data indicate intensified summer cooling during successive stadial events, precipitation -- not summer temperature -- influenced the magnitude of glaciation most strongly. Regional aridity, independently documented by extensive pollen evidence, limited ice extent during the last glacial maximum. The timing of glacier advances suggests causal links with North Atlantic Bond cycles and Henrich events."
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Thackray, Glenn
- Units
- OLYM
- Keywords
- Geomorphology, Glaciers, Hoh River Watershed, Palynology, Pleistocene, Queets River Watershed, radiocarbon, Stratigraphy