The Quaternary Period in the United States (Volume 1) (Developments in Quaternary Science, Volume 1)

This book reviews advances in understanding of the past ca. two million years of Earth history - the Quaternary Period - in the United States. It begins with sections on ice and water - as glaciers, permafrost, oceans, rivers, lakes, and aquifers. Six chapters are devoted to the high-latitude Pleistocene ice sheets, to mountain glaciations of the western United States, and to permafrost studies. Other chapters discuss ice-age lakes, caves, sea-level fluctuations, and riverine landscapes. With a chapter on landscape evolution models, the book turns to essays on geologic processes. Two chapters discuss soils and their responses to climate, and wind-blown sediments. Two more describe volcanoes and earthquakes, and the use of Quaternary geology to understand the hazards they pose. The next part of the book is on plants and animals. Five chapters consider the Quaternary history of vegetation in the United States. Other chapters treat forcing functions and vegetation response at different spatial and temporal scales, the role of fire as a catalyst of vegetation change during rapid climate shifts, and the use of tree rings in inferring age and past hydroclimatic conditions. Three chapters address vertebrate paleontology and the extinctions of large mammals at the end of the last glaciation, beetle assemblages and the inferences they permit about past conditions, and the peopling of North America. A final chapter addresses the numerical modeling of Quaternary climates, and the role paleoclimatic studies and climatic modeling has in predicting future response of the Earth's climate system to the changes we have wrought. Content: The southern Laurentide Ice Sheet Review Article Pages 1-16 David M. Mickelson, Patrick M. Colgan The Cordilleran Ice Sheet Review Article Pages 17-43 Derek B. Booth, Kathy Goetz Troost, John J. Clague, Richard B. Waitt Controls, history, outbursts, and impact of large late-Quaternary proglacial lakes in North America Review Article Pages 45-61 James T. Teller Pleistocene glaciations of the Rocky Mountains Review Article Pages 63-76 Kenneth L. Pierce Quaternary alpine glaciation in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, Sierra Nevada, and Hawaii Review Article Pages 77-103 Darrell S. Kaufman, Stephen C. Porter, Alan R. Gillespie Coupling ice-sheet and climate models for simulation of former ice sheets Review Article Pages 105-126 Shawn J. Marshall, David Pollard, Steven Hostetler, Peter U. Clark Permafrost process research in the United States since 1960 Review Article Pages 127-145 Bernard Hallet, Jaakko Putkonen, Ronald S. Sletten, Noel Potter Jr. Quaternary sea-level history of the United States Review Article Pages 147-183 Daniel R. Muhs, John F. Wehmiller, Kathleen R. Simmons, Linda L. York Western lakes Review Article Pages 185-204 Larry Benson Isotopic records from ground-water and cave speleothem calcite in North America Review Article Pages 205-220 Jay Quade Rivers and riverine landscapes Review Article Pages 221-246 David R. Montgomery, Ellen E. Wohl Landscape evolution models Review Article Pages 247-274 Frank J Pazzaglia Eolian sediments Review Article Pages 275-309 Alan J. Busacca, James E. Begét, Helaine W. Markewich, Daniel R. Muhs, Nicholas Lancaster, Mark R. Sweeney Soils and the Quaternary climate system Review Article Pages 311-330 Milan J. Pavich, Oliver A. Chadwick Earthquake recurrence inferred from paleoseismology Review Article Pages 331-350 Brian F. Atwater, Martitia P. Tuttle, Eugene S. Schweig, Charles M. Rubin, David K. Yamaguchi, Eileen Hemphill-Haley Quaternary volcanism in the United States Review Article Pages 351-380 William E. Scott Late-Quaternary vegetation history of the eastern United States Review Article Pages 381-402 Eric C. Grimm, George L. Jacobson Jr. Quaternary vegetation and climate change in the western United States: Developments, perspectives, and prospects Review Article Pages 403-426 Robert S. Thompson, Sarah L. Shafer, Laura E. Strickland, Peter K. Van de Water, Katherine H. Anderson Results and paleoclimate implications of 35 years of paleoecological research in Alaska Review Article Pages 427-440 Patricia M. Anderson, Mary E. Edwards, Linda B. Brubaker Quaternary history from the U.S. tropics Review Article Pages 441-457 Sara Hotchkiss Climatically forced vegetation dynamics in eastern North America during the late Quaternary Period Review Article Pages 459-478 Thompson Webb III, Bryan Shuman, John W. Williams Holocene fire activity as a record of past environmental change Review Article Pages 479-490 Cathy Whitlock, Patrick J. Bartlein Interannual to decadal climate and streamflow variability estimated from tree rings Review Article Pages 491-504 David W. Stahle, Falko K. Fye, Matthew D. Therrell Quaternary Coleoptera of the United States and Canada Review Article Pages 505-517 Allan C. Ashworth Vertebrate paleontology Review Article Pages 519-538 S. David Webb, Russell W. Graham, Anthony D. Barnosky, Christopher J. Bell, Richard Franz, Elizabeth A. Hadly, Ernest L. Lundelius Jr., H. Gregory McDonald, Robert A. Martin, Holmes A. Semken Jr., David W. Steadman Peopling of North America Review Article Pages 539-563 David J. Meltzer Modeling paleoclimates Review Article Pages 565-584 Patrick J Bartlein, Steven W Hostetler Contents Pages VII-VIII Preface Page IX Alan R. Gillespie, Stephen C. Porter, Brian F. Atwater This book reviews advances in understanding of the past ca. two million years of Earth history - the Quaternary Period - in the United States. It begins with sections on ice and water - as glaciers, permafrost, oceans, rivers, lakes, and aquifers. Six chapters are devoted to the high-latitude Pleistocene ice sheets, to mountain glaciations of the western United States, and to permafrost studies. Other chapters discuss ice-age lakes, caves, sea-level fluctuations, and riverine landscapes. P With a chapter on landscape evolution models, the book turns to essays on geologic processes. Two chapters discuss soils and their responses to climate, and wind-blown sediments. Two more describe volcanoes and earthquakes, and the use of Quaternary geology to understand the hazards they pose. P The next part of the book is on plants and animals. Five chapters consider the Quaternary history of vegetation in the United States. Other chapters treat forcing functions and vegetation response at different spatial and temporal scales, the role of fire as a catalyst of vegetation change during rapid climate shifts, and the use of tree rings in inferring age and past hydroclimatic conditions. Three chapters address vertebrate paleontology and the extinctions of large mammals at the end of the last glaciation, beetle assemblages and the inferences they permit about past conditions, and the peopling of North America. A final chapter addresses the numerical modeling of Quaternary climates, and the role paleoclimatic studies and climatic modeling has in predicting future response of the Earth's climate system to the changes we have wrought