Evidence of the Younger Dryas From Queen Charlotte Sound
Studies
involving pollen analysis, plant macrofossil analysis and radiocarbon dating
in the Queen Charlotte Sound area indicated a cooling between ~11,300 and
10,000 Bp which may represent the Younger Dryas cold phase. These studies
indicated that hemispheric or global driving mechanisms may be responsible
for the cold stadial of the Younger Dryas Event.
Some of the major forams used were Cassidulina reniforme which is a cold water indicator and Epistominella vitreawhich indicates near modern day temperature waters.
Other benthic foraminiferal studies continue to be carried out to reconstruct paleoceanographic changes in coastal BC during the late Quaternary.