CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Anderson, L.; Abbott, M.B.; and Finney, B.P.
Date : 2006.
Title : Late Holocene North Pacific atmospheric circulation and effective moisture in the southwest Yukon Territory, Canada.
Publication : 22th Pacific Climate Workshop. Climate Variability of the Eastern North Pacific and Western North America. March 26-29, 2006. Asilomar State Beach & Conference Grounds. Pacific Grove, California.
Issue :
Page(s) :
Abstract
Air masses that influence the climate of the southern coast of Alaska and the interior southwest Yukon originate in the Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska, and the Arctic. Trajectories of these air mass systems are largely controlled by variations in the intensity and position of the semi-permanent Aleutian Low (AL). Decadal scale variability of the AL is evident from analyses of instrumental data and is described by climate indices such as the North Pacific Index (NPI) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Previous paleoclimatic studies suggest that variations in AL intensity and/or position were an important control of Alaska and Yukon Holocene climate. Varying atmospheric circulation patterns superimposed on regional topography produce notably different climates on the coast and in the interior. We undertook multi-proxy studies of sediment cores from two lakes in the southwest Yukon with contrasting hydrological settings and analyzed oxygen isotopes to improve the detail and resolution of the regional climatic history. Results indicate that prominent atmospheric circulation shifts over the Gulf of Alaska correspond to effective moisture changes in low elevation interior regions and illustrate the spatially heterogeneous response to late Holocene regional climate change.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology