Pollen Analysis and Discussion of Time-Scales in Canadian Ice Cores

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Abstract
Previous pollen analyses of ice cores from Devon and Ellesmere islands have contributed considerably to our knowledge of past climate in the Canadian High Arctic. In this case, in 1979, bulk (35–83 litres) water samples were melted down a hole 139 m deep, drilled to bedrock, 1.2 km from the top of the flow line in Agassiz Ice Cap in northern Ellesmere Island. Analysis of ten of these samples, plus some taken in very dirty ice from the melt tank during drilling 7 years ago, has yielded pollen concentrations that, together with the oygen-isotope (6) signatures, suggest the Agassiz Ice Cap began its growth during the last interglacial period. A discrepancy between melt-tank and bulk-sample pollen concentrations is believed to be due to a loss of pollen from the melt-tank samples during the drilling process.