Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Medieval Warming, Little Ice Age, And European Impact On The Environment During The Last Millennium In The Lower Hudson Valley, New York, Usa, Dee Cabaniss Pederson, Dorothy M. Peteet, Dorothy Kurdyla, Tom Guilderson

United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration: Publications

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 …