The Last Glacial Maximum in Wyoming. A Story From Tooth Enamel – #365papers – 2017 – 44

#365papers for February 13, 2017

Kohn and McKay, 2012, Paleoecology of the late Pleistocene-Holocene faunas of eastern and central Wyoming, USA, with implications for LGM climate models: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 326-328, p. 42-53.

What’s it about?

This paper uses measurements of stable isotopes of carbon and oxygen from tooth enamel to interpret past mean annual precipitation and other climatic variables for two caves in Wyoming.

Why does it matter?

We want to understand past climate. We need to be certain that what we’re using to approximate past environments is accurate. This paper uses several methods to arrive at the same conclusion, lending support to the validity of the methods and to computer models used to do similar predictions.

Why did I read this?

This paper deals with isotopes from Natural Trap Cave, Wyoming, which is where I am currently doing active research. I was interested in how the authors looked at their dataand how it compares with my own results.