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Earth Sciences

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Doctoral Dissertations

Charcoal

Publication Year

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Evidence Of Late Quaternary Fires From Charcoal And Siliceous Aggregates In Lake Sediments In The Eastern U.S.A., Joanne P. Ballard Aug 2015

Evidence Of Late Quaternary Fires From Charcoal And Siliceous Aggregates In Lake Sediments In The Eastern U.S.A., Joanne P. Ballard

Doctoral Dissertations

The late-glacial transition to the Holocene, 15,000–11,600 cal yr BP, is an enigmatic period of dynamic global changes and a major extinction event in North America. Fire is an agent of disturbance that transforms the environment physically and chemically, and affects plant community composition. To improve understanding of the linkages between fire, vegetation, and climate over the late glacial and Holocene in the eastern U.S., I analyzed lake-sediment cores for charcoal and indicators of wood ash, and compared results to existing pollen records. A new microscopic charcoal record from Anderson Pond, Tennessee revealed high fire activity from 23,000–15,000 cal yr …


Holocene Climate And Environmental History Of Laguna Saladilla, Dominican Republic, Maria Anne Caffrey May 2011

Holocene Climate And Environmental History Of Laguna Saladilla, Dominican Republic, Maria Anne Caffrey

Doctoral Dissertations

Stratigraphic analyses of lacustrine sediments provide powerful tools for reconstructing past environments. The records that result from these analyses are key to understanding present-day climate mechanisms and how the natural environment may respond to anthropogenic climate change in the future. This doctoral dissertation research investigates climate and environmental history at Laguna Saladilla (19° [degrees] 39' N, 71° [degrees] 42' W; ca. 2 masl), a large (220 ha) lake along the north coast of Hispaniola. I reconstructed changes in vegetation and environmental conditions over the mid to late Holocene based on pollen, microscopic charcoal, and diatoms in an 8.51 m sediment …