Paleoglaciology of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean during the late Pleistocene

Abstract

Published paleogeographic reconstructions reveal pronounced differences between the North Atlantic and North Pacific regions in terms of oceanic circulation, glaciation and paleoclimate. However, the author's analysis, conducted with due regard for the laws of glacier‐ocean interrelations has allowed him to reach the conclusion that the paleogeography of the two regions under consideration was basically similar. This refers not only to the atmospheric and oceanic circulations but also to the distribution of ice domes and ice sheets on the continents and of ice shelves in marine areas. The development of marine ice sheets was closely linked to hydrological subarctic fronts in both oceans where mass‐ and energy‐exchange was most active in the ocean‐atmosphere system. The growing isolation of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea caused by glacio‐eustatic regression interrupted the inflow of warm ocean water via the Tsushima and Aleutian currents respectively. These conditions in both oceans provided the basis for the development of a stable ice cover. Geological and geomorphological data appear to confirm these inferences.