Late Pleistocene interstadial environment on Faddeyevskiy Island, East-Siberian sea, Russia

Pollen, plant macrofossil, loss-on-ignition and radiocarbon analyses of a 1 .4-m section in thermokarst topography from Faddeyevskiy Island (75 degrees 20'N, 143 degrees 50'E, 30 m elevation) provides new information on Late P leistocene interstadial environmental history of this high Arctic region. C onventional radiocarbon dates (25,700 +/- 1000, 32,780 +/- 500, 35,200 +/- 650 yr BP) and two AMS dates (29,950 +/- 660 and 42,990 +/- 1280 yr BP) ind icate that the deposits accumulated during the Kargian (Boutellier) interva l. Numerous mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) remains that have been collecte d in vicinity of the site in this study were radiocarbon dated to 36,700-18 ,500 yr BP. Rare bison (Bison priscus) bones were dated to 32,200 +/- 600 a nd 33,100 +/- 320 yr BP. Poaceae, Cyperaceae, and Artemisia pollen dominate the spectra with some Ranunculaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Rosaceae, and Astera ceae. The pollen spectra reflect steppe-like (tundra-steppe) vegetation, wh ich was dominant on the exposed shelf of the Arctic Ocean. Numerous Carex m acrofossils suggest that the summer climate was at least 2 degreesC warmer than today. The productivity of the local vegetation during the Kargian int erstadial was high enough to feed the population of grazing mammals.