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Andreev, A.A., P.E. Tarasov, F.A. Romanenko, and L.D. Sulerzhitsky, 1997: Younger Dryas pollen records from Sverdrup Island (Kara Sea). Quaternary Int., 41/42, 135-139, doi:10.1016/S1040-6182(96)00045-6.
Sverdrup Island, in the Kara Sea, is currently occupied by polar desert vegetation. The analysis of Alleröd deposits indicates a climate drier than presently, with increased summer and decreased winter temperatures. The relative scarcity of distal pollen indicates that mainland source areas were located further south than at present. Younger Dryas cooling and increased dryness resulted in an increase of the porportions of Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae and Salix pollen, and in the extent of Sphagnum mosses. Preboreal time was marked by warmer, more humid conditions, with dwarf birches, Ericales and possibly Ainus fruticosa. The increased proportions of distally-derived arboreal birch pollen, coupled with the local component of the assemblinages, indicates that the early Holocene represented the climatic optimum, initiated by the opening of the Arctic Ocean. Subsequent climate fluctuations were muted on Sverdrup Island, due to the development of microclimatic conditions associated with an oceanic regime.
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