Late-early to middle pleistocene vegetation and climate history of the Highland Valley, British Columbia, Canada

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dc.contributor.authorJonsson, Carl H. W.
dc.contributor.supervisorPospelova, Vera
dc.contributor.supervisorHebda, Richard Joseph
dc.date.accessioned2017-12-22T21:37:45Z
dc.date.copyright2017en_US
dc.date.issued2017-12-22
dc.degree.departmentSchool of Earth and Ocean Sciencesen_US
dc.degree.levelMaster of Science M.Sc.en_US
dc.description.abstractThe climate and vegetation history of the Middle Pleistocene transition in the interior of British Columbia (BC) is poorly understood due largely to the lack of records. Sediments from the overburden of the Teck Highland Valley Copper mine (HVC) of British Columbia straddle the Brunhes-Matuyama paleomagnetic transition, providing a opportunity to study this critical Pleistocene interval. The stratigraphy was described and sampled for paleomagnetic and pollen/spore analysis at reconnaissance scale. The HVC sediments consist mainly of (from bottom to top) a lower glacial drift, >50 m of lakebed sediments, ~50 m of gravel fan deposits, and a >60 m thick drift of mostly glacial till. These units were deposited by a valley glacier, lake, fluvial/debris flow events, and an ice sheet, respectively. Pollen and spore analyses, reveal at least 11 climate-vegetation intervals (9 zones, 2 more possible ones). These are broadly classified as either warm Pinus-Picea parkland and forest, cold Selaginella-rich steppe or arid Artemisia-Poaceae steppe. These intervals suggest a long paleo-environmental record at HVC and indicate fluctuations between glacial and interglacial climates which can tentatively be placed with Marine Isotope Stages 23 through 16 and younger. The HVC record is a unique sequence with the potential to reveal a much more detailed history of this critical time in Earth’s past. Implications of these findings are discussed.en_US
dc.description.embargo2018-12-06
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/8922
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rightsAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.subjectEarly Pleistoceneen_US
dc.subjectMid-Pleistocene revolutionen_US
dc.subjectMid-Pleistocene transitionen_US
dc.subjectMiddle Pleistoceneen_US
dc.subjectpaleoclimateen_US
dc.subjectpalynologyen_US
dc.subjectPleistoceneen_US
dc.subjectpollenen_US
dc.titleLate-early to middle pleistocene vegetation and climate history of the Highland Valley, British Columbia, Canadaen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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