Medieval Warming, Little Ice Age, and European impact on the environment during the last millennium in the lower Hudson Valley, New York, USA

Authors

Dee Cabaniss Pederson, Lamont-Doherty Earth ObservatoryFollow
Dorothy M. Peteet, NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Dorothy Kurdyla, Center for Accelerated Mass Spectrometry
Tom Guilderson, Center for Accelerated Mass Spectrometry

Date of this Version

2-24-2005

Comments

Published in Quaternary Research 63 (2005)

Abstract

Establishing natural climate variability becomes particularly important in large urban areas in anticipation of droughts. We present a well-dated bi-decadal record of vegetation, climate, land use, and fire frequency from a tidal marsh in the Hudson River Estuary. The classic Medieval Warm Period is evident through striking increases in charcoal and Pinus dominance from ~800–1300 A.D., paralleling paleorecords southward along the Atlantic seaboard. Higher inputs of inorganic sediment during this interval suggest increased watershed erosion during drought conditions. The presence of the Little Ice Age ensues with increases in Picea and Tsuga, coupled with increasing organic percentages due to cooler, moister conditions. European impact is manifested by a decline in arboreal pollen due to land clearance, increased weedy plant cover (i.e., Ambrosia, Plantago, and Rumex), and an increase in inorganic particles to the watershed.