U.S. Geological Survey
Landscape Response to Quaternary Climate ChangeThis study focuses on the relationship of climate and climate shifts to responses in the physical and biological (vegetative) landscape across the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region, at both short (decadal) and long (millennial) time-scales during the past 150,000 years of geologic time. Geological and paleobiological evidence indicate that past climate in this region shifted strongly and frequently over this time interval, and subjected the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region to environmental conditions that ranged from nearly Arctic in character to subtropical, over multi-millennial timescales. These shifts show evidence of relatively rapid transitions between sequential climate states; this has societal relevance for the entire eastern U.S., as it currently supports almost 40 percent of the U.S. population. contact: Ron Litwin |