Terrestrial fossils in the marine Presumpscot Formation: implications for Late Wisconsinan paleoenvironments and isostatic rebound along the coast of Maine

Investigations of terrestrially derived organic remains within the late-glacial marine Presumpscot Formation near Portland, Maine, adds one new shrub species, six moss species, and representatives of six families of insects to the fossil biota of the deposit. White spruce (Picea glauca) dominates the plant macrofossil assemblage; the dominant pollen type is also spruce. The total biotic assemblage probably represents remnants of a forest-floor litter layer, eroded along a stream and subsequently deposited offshore. Three accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) dates on spruce needles and cones suggest rapid burial, with marine regression from the area by c 11 500 BP. -Authors