Boreal

views updated May 08 2018

Boreal Period in post-glacial (i.e. post-Devensian or Flandrian) times from about 8800 to 7500 BP, which preceded the climatic optimum of early Atlantic times. Pollen records typically show an increasing abundance of thermophilous (warmth-loving) tree species and also indicate the drier, more continental conditions that characterized the ensuing Atlantic period. The early Boreal corresponds to late Pollen Zone V; otherwise the Boreal is linked with Pollen Zone VI, which is sometimes subdivided to give Zones VIa, VIb, and VIc, according to the most abundant tree pollen represented. For Britain, the Boreal period is significant as the last period in post-glacial times in which Britain was joined to mainland Europe by a land bridge across the Dover Strait. See also POLLEN ANALYSIS.

boreal

views updated Jun 27 2018

bo·re·al / ˈbôrēəl/ • adj. of the North or northern regions. ∎  Ecol. relating to or characteristic of the climatic zone south of the Arctic, esp. the cold temperate region dominated by taiga and forests of birch, poplar, and conifers: northern boreal forest. ∎  (Boreal) Bot. relating to or denoting a phytogeographical kingdom comprising the arctic and temperate regions of Eurasia and North America.

boreal

views updated May 14 2018

boreal northern. XV. — (O)F. boréal or late L. boreālis, f. L. boreās — Gr. boréās north wind; see -AL1.

boreal

views updated May 21 2018

boreal Pertaining to the north (from Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind).

boreal

views updated May 14 2018

boreal Pertaining to the north (from Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind).

boreal

views updated May 23 2018

boreal Pertaining to the north (from Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind).

boreal

views updated May 08 2018

boreal Pertaining to the north (from Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind).