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Interglacial theme and variations: 500 k.y. of orbital forcing and associated responses from the terrestrial and marine biosphere, U.S. Pacific Northwest

¹ Center for Geophysical Investigation of the Shallow Subsurface, Boise State University, MS 1536, 1910 University Drive, Boise, Idaho 83725-1536, USA
² Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964, USA
³ Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Box 1846, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA
⁴ College of Ocean and Atmospheric Science, 104 Oceanography Administration Building, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-5503, USA
⁵ U.S. Geological Survey, MS 915, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA

Sediments collected off northern California by Ocean Drilling Program Leg 167 contain time series that show strong, orbitally driven insolation forcing of surface oceanographic conditions. Orbital forcing caused a strong response in the distribution of major terrestrial vegetation but a less predictable response for primary productivity offshore. Terrestrial vegetation responded primarily to regional sea surface temperature (SST). Coastal ocean productivity appears highest when SST is moderately high, not during peak interglacial conditions nor during insolation maxima. When individual interglacial intervals are examined closely, each has a different signature. Two of six interglacials (MIS [marine isotope stage] 5 and MIS 11) have higher SST than modern conditions, but each elicits a different response from the terrestrial and marine communities. The type of vegetation and the strength of upwelling vary between interglacials, depending on the relative strength of factors that drive the warming, including insolation, ice-cap size, and level of greenhouse gases.

Key Words: paleoceanography • paleoclimate • Pleistocene • pollen • paleoproductivity • sea surface temperature • vegetation • alkenones • ODP Site 1020 • Pacific Northwest • western North America

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