2005/01/01 by Kenneth L. Cole, Samantha T. Arundel · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Botany, Ecology, and Taxonomy Studies #Plant Diversity and Evolution
paper · doi:10.1130/g21769.1
openalex publication_date 2005/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/22
Research Article| September 01, 2005 Carbon isotopes from fossil packrat pellets and elevational movements of Utah agave plants reveal the Younger Dryas cold period in Grand Canyon, Arizona Kenneth L. Cole; Kenneth L. Cole 1Southwest Biological Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, P.O. Box 5614, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Samantha T. Arundel Samantha T. Arundel 2Department of Geography, Planning, and Recreation, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Kenneth L. Cole 1Southwest Biological Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey, P.O. Box 5614, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA Samantha T. Arundel 2Department of Geography, Planning, and Recreation, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona 86011, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 06 Apr 2005 Revision Received: 10 May 2005 Accepted: 12 May 2005 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (2005) 33 (9): 713–716. https://doi.org/10.1130/G21769.1 Article history Received: 06 Apr 2005 Revision Received: 10 May 2005 Accepted: 12 May 2005 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Kenneth L. Cole, Samantha T. Arundel; Carbon isotopes from fossil packrat pellets and elevational movements of Utah agave plants reveal the Younger Dryas cold period in Grand Canyon, Arizona. Geology 2005;; 33 (9): 713–716. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G21769.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Carbon isotopes in rodent fecal pellets were measured on packrat (Neotoma spp.) middens from the Grand Canyon, Arizona. The pellet samples reflect the abundance of cold-intolerant C4 and Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant species relative to the predominant C3 vegetation in the packrat diet. The temporal sequence of isotopic results suggests a temperature decline followed by a sharp increase corresponding to the Bølling/ Allerød–Younger Dryas–early Holocene sequence. This pattern was then tested using the past distribution of Utah agave (Agave utahensis). Spatial analyses of the range of this temperature-sensitive CAM species demonstrate that its upper elevational limit is controlled by winter minimum temperature. Applying this paleotemperature proxy to the past elevational limits of Utah agave suggests that minimum winter temperatures were ∼8 °C below modern values during the Last Glacial Maximum, 4.5–6.5 °C below modern during the Bølling/Allerød, and 7.5–8.7 °C below modern during the early Younger Dryas. As the Younger Dryas terminated, temperatures warmed ∼4 °C between ca. 11.8 ka and 11.5 ka. These extreme fluctuations in winter minimum temperature have not been generally accepted for terrestrial paleoecological records from the arid southwestern United States, likely because of large statistical uncertainties of older radiocarbon results and reliance on proxies for summer temperatures, which were less affected. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.