Modeling Pleistocene local climatic parameters using macrophysical climate modeling and the paleoecology of Pleistocene megafauna

Application of Macrophysical Climate Modeling to sites containing specimens with reliable radiocarbon dates of the extinct giant beaver, Castoroides ohioensis, allows an examination and comparison of their climatic parameters and the establishment of a rudimentary climatic envelope for this extinct species. Two climatic parameters were examined for this study, temperature and precipitation. An analysis of eight sites with the giant beaver indicates that the species was cold tolerant and lived under colder January and July temperatures than exist at these sites today. At five of the eight sites the model suggests there was a shift in seasonal precipitation from the greatest amount of precipitation taking place during the late summer-fall in the Pleistocene to spring-early summer today. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.