PALEOSOLS OF THE INTERGLACIAL CLIMATES IN CANADA

Although paleosols are useful indicators of paleoclimates it is first necessary to establish the relationships between the northern limits of the various contemporary soils and the pertinent climatic parameters. It is then necessary to determine the age of the various paleosols and, if possible, their northern limits. Comparison of the distribution and northern limits of the contemporary soils with the distribution and northern limits of the analogous paleosols then permits the reconstruction of the paleoenvironments. It was found that during the pre-Illinoian interglacial periods the central Yukon had a mean annual temperature of about 7°C while during the Sangamonian interglacial period it had a mean annual temperature of about -3°C. During the Holocene epoch, the current interglacial period, the climate has been similar to or only slightly cooler than that existing during the Sangamonian interglacial period. The paleoclimatic reconstruction presented in this paper also relies heavily on both diagnostic soil features and the soil development during the various interglacial periods. -from Author