We present a quantitative reconstruction of the thermal regime spanning the late-glacial period of Nova Scotia (14 700 to 11 600 BP) as inferred by analyzing fossil midges from a small lake (Lac à Magie) in southwestern Nova Scotia. The GS-1 event (equivalent to the Younger Dryas, dating from 12 700 to 11 600 BP in Maritime Canada) was marked by a 5 °C decline in inferred mean July surface-water temperatures and a 15% drop in organic content. Previous pollen and plant macrofossil analyses of this site demonstrate a response of vegetation to GS-1 cooling. These data, coupled with a midge-inferred temperature reconstruction from a nearby site, suggest that late-glacial climate change was less pronounced in southern Nova Scotia than in other sites in Maritime Canada and adjacent eastern North America.

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