Rapid response of forested vegetation to multiple climatic oscillations during the last deglaciation in the northeastern United States

Isotopic and pollen results from a marl lake (White Lake) in the Mid-Atlantic region of USA indicate the coupling of climate and vegetation changes. Oxygen isotopes of calcite from this site show multiple oscillations at millennial and centennial scales, including the Younger Dryas with 3‰ negative shifts in δ18O at 12.4–11.4 ka (1 ka = 1000 cal yr BP) and three cold events of magnitude 1–2‰ shifts during the Bølling–Allerød warm period (BOA) at 14.3–12.4 ka. Pollen data from the same core show nearly synchronous, close correspondence with isotope-inferred climate shifts, indicating rapid forest response to deglacial climate oscillations in southern New England. A plateau-like BOA is similar to other records around the North Atlantic Ocean.