Late Devensian and Holocene relative sea‐level change in North Wales,UK

Deglacial sea‐level index points defining relative sea‐level (RSL) change are critical for testing glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) model output. Only a few observations are available from North Wales and until recently these provided a poor fit to GIA model output for the British‐Irish Ice Sheet. We present results of an integrated offshore geophysical (seismic reflection), coring (drilling rig), sedimentological, micropalaeontological (foraminifera), biostratigraphical (palynology) and geochronological (AMS ¹⁴C) investigation into a sequence of multiple peat/organic sediment horizons interbedded within a thick estuarine–marine sequence of minerogenic clay‐silts to silty sands from the NE Menai Strait, North Wales. Ten new sea‐level index points and nine new limiting dates from the Devensian Late‐glacial and early Holocene are integrated with twelve pre‐existing Holocene sea‐level index points and one limiting point from North Wales to generate a regional RSL record. This record is similar to the most recent GIA predictions for North Wales RSL change, supporting either greater ice load and later deglaciation than in the GIA predictions generated before 2004, or a modified eustatic function. There is no evidence for a mid‐Holocene highstand. Tidally corrected RSL data indicate initial breaching of the Menai Strait between 8.8 and 8.4 ka BP to form a tidal causeway, with final submergence between 5.8 and 4.6 ka BP. Final breaching converted the NE Menai Strait from a flood‐dominated estuary into a high energy ebb tidal delta with extensive tidal scouring of pre‐existing Late‐glacial and Holocene sequences. The study confirms the value of utilising offshore drilling/coring technology to recover sea‐level records which relate to intervals when rates of both eustatic and isostatic change were at their greatest, and therefore of most value for constraining GIA models. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A study of Holocene floodplain particle size characteristics with special reference to palaeochannel infills from the upper Severn basin,Wales, UK

Multiple sedimentary units from floodplain reaches at Welshpool on the upper River Severn and at the confluence of the Afon Tanat and Afon Vyrnwy (mid‐Wales, UK) were examined to ascertain if they have distinctive particle size characteristics. Changes in particle size characteristics and their possible relationship to known human and climatic impacts are also discussed. Ellipse plots of particle size characteristics from the River Severn floodplain at Welshpool show that coarse‐grained outwash deposits can be clearly discriminated from channel margin or palaeochannel sediments. In contrast, at the Afon Tanat–Vyrnwy study reach, this discrimination is not seen so clearly. The relationships between age and particle size characteristics from the most sampled sedimentary environment, palaeochannel infills, were also examined. The data from the River Severn floodplain at Welshpool show that palaeochannel sediments reveal a gradual but clear increase in particle size from the mid‐ to late Holocene towards the present day. Sediments deposited in the period 90–160 years BP are markedly coarser. It is suggested that these changes may be related to the combined effect of land‐use changes, metal mining impacts and changes in flood frequency and magnitude that occurred at this time within the upper Severn basin. In contrast, the particle size characteristics of post Late Devensian/Early Holocene units from Tanat–Vyrnwy palaeochannels were random with no discernible age–size patterns. It is suggested that the non‐systematic grain size distribution may be due to the steeper valley gradients of the Tanat–Vyrnwy system (and by inference higher stream powers) and its relatively narrow valley form enabling more effective coupling between coarser outwash deposits found on and at the edges of hillslopes and the valley floor. Although the two study reaches have undergone comparable environmental change during the Holocene and lie in the piedmont zone of their catchments, palaeochannel units of the same age possess distinctly different characteristics. Intrinsic reach‐scale geomorphic factors would appear to preclude the uniform application of particle size characteristics to determine alluvial response to environmental change. Consequently, care needs to be applied to the use of such data for environmental discrimination because the phenomenon of equifinality means that a specific set of sediment characteristics is not necessarily exclusive to specific fluvial environments in either space or time. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Early to middle Holocene silicic tephra horizons from the Katla volcanic system,Iceland: new results from the Faroe Islands

Comparatively few Icelandic tephra horizons dated to the early part of the Holocene have so far been detected outside Iceland. Here, I present several tephra horizons that have been recorded in a Holocene peat sequence on the Faroe Islands. Geochemical analyses show that at least two dacitic and one rhyolitic tephra layers were erupted from the Katla volcanic system on southern Iceland between ca. 8000 and 5900 cal. yr BP. The upper two layers can be correlated with the SILK tephras described from southern Iceland, whereas the third, dated to ca. 8000 cal. yr BP, has a geochemistry virtually identical to the rhyolitic component of the Vedde Ash. The results suggest that the Late Weichselian and early Holocene eruption history of the Katla volcano was probably more complex than inferred from Iceland. A new, early Holocene rhyolitic tephra dated to ca. 10 500 cal. yr BP probably originates in the Snæfellsnes volcanic centre in western Iceland. These new findings may play an important role in developing a Holocene tephra framework for northwest Europe. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Temporal changes in Holocene δ18O records from the northwest and central North Iceland Shelf

The region of north Iceland is highly sensitive climatically owing to its location with respect to atmospheric and oceanographic fronts. In this study we present total carbonate and δ¹⁸O records of benthic and planktic Foraminifera from nine sediment cores from the North Iceland Shelf. The results of this work indicate that the deglaciation of the Vestfirdir Peninsula was completed by 10 200 cal. yr BP. The 8200 cal. yr BP cold event is present only as a minor isotopic event, and seems not to have had much of a cooling effect on the bottom waters of the northwest Iceland shelf. The Holocene maximum warmth, attributed to a stronger North Icelandic Irminger Current, occurred between ca. 7800 and 6200 cal. yr BP. Over the past 4500 cal. yr BP a general cooling trend has occurred on the North Iceland Shelf, and superimposed on this overall cooling trend are a number of oscillations between periods when relatively warmer and cooler waters occupied the shelf. Relatively cooler waters were present at 4200–4000 cal. yr BP, 3200–2900 cal. yr BP, 2500–2350 cal. yr BP and 600–200 cal. yr BP, whereas relatively warmer waters were present on the shelf at 3750–3450 cal. yr BP, 2800–2600 cal. yr BP and 1700–1000 cal. yr BP. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

琼北火山活动分期与全新世岩浆演化

琼北火山活动始于始新世以来,早第三纪火山岩以夹层隐伏于不同时期的地层中。本文新提供的琼北火山岩K-AT年龄和砂岩捕虏体热释光年龄,从年代学上确定了琼北存在全新世火山喷发活动。琼北地表火山岩从早到晚分为6期：蓬莱期(中新世)、金牛岭期(上新世)、多文岭期(早更新世)、东英期(中更新世)、道堂期(晚更新世)、雷虎岭期(全新世)。雷虎岭期又分为早晚两个亚期：雷虎岭亚期和马鞍岭亚期,它们分别属于橄榄拉斑玄武岩和石英拉斑玄武岩。火山岩稀土元素、微量元素和Sr,Nd,Pb同位素地球化学特征揭示,岩浆来自亏损地幔(DMM)和富集岩石圈或亏损地幔(DMM)与俯冲洋壳两种不同的地球化学组分混合源区。橄榄拉斑玄武岩是相对原始的地幔岩浆。橄榄拉斑玄武岩岩浆经约10％橄榄石分离结晶可以形成石英拉斑玄武岩浆。岩浆上升过程中未受明显的陆壳混染。     

A speleothem record of Holocene climate variability from southwestern Mexico

A paleoclimate reconstruction for the Holocene based upon variations of δ¹⁸O in a U-Th dated stalagmite from southwestern Mexico is presented. Our results indicate that the arrival of moisture to the area has been strongly linked to the input of glacial meltwaters into the North Atlantic throughout the Holocene. The record also suggests a complex interplay between Caribbean and Pacific moisture sources, modulated by the North Atlantic SST and the position of the ITCZ, where Pacific moisture becomes increasingly more influential through ENSO since ~ 4.3 ka. The interruption of stalagmite growth during the largest climatic anomalies of the Holocene (10.3 and 8.2 ka) is evidenced by the presence of hiatuses, which suggest a severe disruption in the arrival of moisture to the area. The δ¹⁸O record presented here has important implications for understanding the evolution of the North American Monsoon and climate in southwestern Mexico, as it represents one of the most detailed archives of climate variability for the area spanning most of the Holocene.     

浙江曹娥江下游XYC孔色度特征及其全新世环境记录*

XYC孔位于钱塘江南岸曹娥江下游地区。在对1717个样品的色度、粒度、总有机碳(TOC)测试分析的基础上,重点探讨该钻孔沉积物色度特征及环境意义,并结合年代框架讨论该地区环境变化特征。初步结论如下: (1)钻孔沉积物呈现高亮度、较低黄度和低红度特征,纵向看,①、②层色度波动明显,③层至⑧层下段色度变化稳定,⑧层上段至⑨层色度波动变化再次增强,呈波动—稳定—再波动特征。(2)亮度值与砂含量及TOC含量相关性较好,沉积动力强,砂含量高,亮度值高;TOC含量高,亮度值低。黄度、彩度值与TOC含量呈较好负相关,对气候的状况及海面变化有较好指示意义。(3)色度及其变化过程指示多水或水下沉积环境,并在一定程度上响应该地区海平面变化以及河流相—潮坪相—浅海相—湖沼相的沉积相变化过程: 9690—9107 cal a BP时段,该区以河流沉积为主,水动力变化不稳定,气候偏干,TOC含量较低,亮度高,红黄度低;9107—8613 cal a BP时段,黄度、彩度值降低,气候转湿,半咸水贝类生物及毕克卷转虫为主的底栖有孔虫的出现,表明研究区发生海侵并逐步由低潮坪转为高潮坪环境;8613—7330 cal a BP时段,黄度、彩度值最低,气候更湿润,伴有正常盐度的异地希望虫和少量抱球虫、圆辐虫等浮游有孔虫,海面进一步上升,成为浅海环境;7330—5131 cal a BP时段,黄度、彩度值升高,海面降低,气候变干,研究区转化为湖沼环境,泥炭发育。     

First evidence of a distal early Holocene ash layer in Eastern Mediterranean deep-sea sediments derived from the Anatolian volcanic province

A hitherto unknown distal volcanic ash layer has been detected in a sediment core recovered from the southeastern Levantine Sea (Eastern Mediterranean Sea). Radiometric, stratigraphic and sedimentological data show that the tephra, here termed as S1 tephra, was deposited between 8970 and 8690 cal yr BP. The high-silica rhyolitic composition excludes an origin from any known eruptions of the Italian, Aegean or Arabian volcanic provinces but suggests a prevailing Central Anatolian provenance. We compare the S1 tephra with proximal to medial-distal tephra deposits from well-known Mediterranean ash layers and ash fall deposits from the Central Anatolian volcanic field using electron probe microanalyses on volcanic glass shards and morphological analyses on ash particles. We postulate a correlation with the Early Holocene ‘Dikkart?n’ dome eruption of Erciyes Da? volcano (Cappadocia, Turkey). So far, no tephra of the Central Anatolian volcanic province has been detected in marine sediment archives in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The occurrence of the S1 tephra in the south-eastern part of the Levantine Sea indicates a wide dispersal of pyroclastic material from Erciyes Da? more than 600 km to the south and is therefore an important tephrostratigraphical marker in sediments of the easternmost Mediterranean Sea and the adjacent hinterland.     

Identification of the Askja-S Tephra in a rare turlough record from Pant-y-Llyn,south Wales

Tephrochronology and especially crypto-tephrochronology is an established chronological technique employed in a range of depositional environments in Europe and beyond. During the late Quaternary, Icelandic cryptotephra deposits are widely found in palaeorecords across northern latitudes of Europe e.g. Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands but are sporadic in southerly latitudes as distance from Iceland increases. As yet, very few Icelandic cryptotephras have been identified in Wales or southern England which may well reflect the geographical limit of Icelandic tephra distribution. Here, however, we report the discovery of an Icelandic cryptotephra deposit within a sediment sequence retrieved from the Pant-y-Llyn turlough (Carmarthenshire, south Wales), the only known turlough in Britain. Turloughs are groundwater-fed ephemeral lakes associated with limestone bedrock and can accumulate sediments that may yield records suitable for palaeoreconstructions. A discrete peak of glass shards originating from the Askja-S eruption is identified in the sediment record. This discovery extends the distribution of this early Holocene eruption giving new insight into its dispersal patterns and also indicates that sedimentary sequences from sites in these more southerly latitudes are valuable repositories for ash preservation. Furthermore, its discovery within a carbonate-rich sequence provides a minimum age constraint on the timing of sediment accumulation and provides an alternative tool for what is typically a problematic dating environment.     

The Corwen Outlier and its implications for the Mid Mississippian palaeogeography of North Wales,UK

The isolated outlier of Visean (Mid Mississippian) limestones and sandstones near Corwen, North Wales, UK, provides a critical constraint on regional tectonic and palaeogeographical models. The late Asbian to Brigantian succession comprises a series of shoaling‐upwards cycles (parasequences). These were the product of forced, glacioeustatic regressions and have boundaries that testify to emergence, karstic dissolution and soil formation on a low gradient carbonate platform prior to flooding and the resumption of marine deposition. The recognition of two of the main marker beds within the North Wales Visean succession (Main Shale and Coral Bed) together with a newly applied foraminiferal and algal biozonation allow the outlier succession to be correlated with other Visean outcrops in the region and more widely throughout the British Isles. In revealing regional thickness and facies variations, these comparisons show that the outlier succession was deposited landward of the early Asbian shoreline in a region of enhanced subsidence localized along the Bala Lineament. The Corwen Outlier suggests that, within narrow gulfs associated with the region's major tectonic lineaments, Mississippian carbonate facies extended farther south into the contemporary hinterland of older rocks and that, in response to Brigantian climate change, these topographic features likely also influenced fluvial catchments supplying siliciclastic sediment to the platform's landward margin and, subsequently, Namurian deltas. Contrary to earlier suggestions, Visean outcrop patterns, facies distributions and thicknesses in the vicinity of the Bala Lineament can be explained without the need to invoke extensive post‐depositional lateral displacements. BGS © NERC 2013. Geological Journal © John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Holocene climate variability in Sicily from a discontinuous stalagmite record and the Mesolithic to Neolithic transition

Fabric and stable isotopic composition of a Holocene stalagmite (CR1) from a cave in northern Sicily record changes in paleorainfall in the early Holocene. High δ¹³C stable isotope values in the calcite deposited from ca. 8500 to ca. 7500 yr ago are interpreted as reflecting periods of high rainfall. The wet phase was interrupted by two periods of multi-century duration characterized by relatively cool and dry winters centered at ca. 8200 and ca. 7500 yr ago, highlighted by low δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values. A high variability of δ¹³C values is recorded from ca. 7500 to ca. 6500 yr ago and indicates that the transition from a pluvial early Holocene to the present-day climate conditions was punctuated by decadal-scale periods of relatively dry winters. In northern Sicily, the traditional elements of the Neolithic appear at ca. 7700 yr ago. It is possible that changes in rainfall influenced the passage from hunter-gathering to farming and sheep-herding economies.     

An endemic brachiopod fauna from the Middle Ordovician of North Wales

The brachiopod fauna from the base of the Bryn Siltstone Formation (middle Caradoc), Glyn Ceiriog, north Berwyn Hills, North Wales, consists of Platystrophia elevata sp. nov., Salopia abbreviata sp. nov., Kiaeromena ungula (M'Coy) and unnamed species of Hesperorthis?, Reuschella and Bicuspina. The dominant brachiopod species, Leptaena (Leptagonia) ungula M'Coy, 1851 is revised and its current assignment to the leptaenid genus Kiaeromena confirmed, based on the examination of type and topotype material from the Bryn Siltstone Formation. Kiaeromena spjeldnaesi nom. nov. is proposed to replace the junior homonym K. ungula Spjeldnæs, 1957 for that congeneric species from the upper Caradoc rocks of Ringerike, southern Norway. The fauna as a whole is unusual within the context of the Anglo-Welsh province and may represent a rare preserved nearshore community.     

Discovery of Arundian and Holkerian faunas from a Dinantian platform succession in North Wales

For the first time Arundian and Holkerian faunas have been recognized from the lower part of the Dinantian succession in North Wales. These limestones and sandstones, hitherto regarded as Asbian, have a macrofauna and microfauna confirming their older age, and this discovery' has necessitated a revision of the palaeogeography in the North Wales region. Biostratigraphical correlations have been made with contemporaneous platform successions in the Central, Northern, and Southwest Provinces of Britain. A new genus and species of foraminifer, Groessensella moldensis, is described.