The Late Quaternary vegetational and climatic history of Easter Island

Easter Island occupies an exceptionally isolated position in the south Pacific Ocean. It is entirely volcanic, and is famous for its giant statues. Late Quaternary sediments have been investigated in three craters: Rano Raraku, Rano Aroi and Rano Kao, giving a continuous record over the past 30 Ka. Pollen records indicate that the island was formerly forested. Palynological and sedimentological evidence suggests a Late Pleistocene climate slightly cooler and drier than the present. Deforestation by people occurred mainly between 1200 and 800 yr BP. This may have led to an ecological disaster and to the decline of the megalithic civilization. The depauperation of the present native flora owes more to human activity than to isolation.     

Middle to Late Pleistocene vegetation history and climatic changes at Lake Kopais, Southeast Greece

This study presents a detailed vegetation history of Lake Kopais, Southeast Greece based on pollen analysis of a 120 m-long sediment core. The record extends from the Holocene back to Oxygen Isotope Stage 11, and it gives a detailed history of Mediterranean evergreen woodlands during the last 500 ka. Vegetation of glacials consisted of open steppe with Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia associated with Tubuliflorae and other herbs, while that of interglacials was dominated by temperate Quercus forest. The Last Interglacial (Substage 5e) shows a complete vegetation succession starting with Juniperus and Betula, followed by deciduous oak and ending with Pinus and Abies. Wild olive is abundant in Substages 11c and 5e, suggesting very warm climatic conditions in Stage 11. Stages 9 and 7 were significantly cooler than 11 and 5e. The Pterocarya occurrence near the bottom of the core provides a possible equivalent of the Holsteinian Interglacial.     

Late Cainozoic stratigraphy,palaeomagnetic chronology and vegetational history from Lake George,N.S.W.

The sedimentary record from Lake George provides the longest relatively continuous Quaternary continental sequence yet available from Australia, and may record one of the longest Upper Cainozoic lacustrine records in the world.

Palaeomagnetic analysis of a 36 m core from the lake floor identifies a sequence of deposition extending through the Brunhes and Matuyama, to the Gauss magnetic Chron. A longer core from the same site, but with incomplete recovery, extends to 72 m in lacustrine sediment; the age of the base of this core estimated by extrapolation is between 4.2 and 7 Ma. As there are still older and deeper sediments in the basin, extending to an estimated depth of 134 m, the age of the tectonic formation of the Lake George basin must be reckoned as Middle Miocene or older.

The pattern of facies organisation through time demonstrates a phase of deep water deposition extending from the base of the cored sequence (72 m) up to 51.5 m, at which time a major change took place. A disconformity developed at this level, associated with a period of deep weathering and a prolonged phase of slope mantle deposition (from 51.5 to 30.8 m). A gradual return to lacustrine environments, with diminishing proportion of slope wash detritus, resulted in increased rates of deposition coincident with the Jaramillo Subchron at 21.5 m. Thereafter, throughout the Brunhes magnetic Chron, lacustrine conditions dominated, varying from deep to lake dry conditions in a rhythmic fashion, and reflecting the major climatic oscillations of the past 700 000 years, becoming more regular in the past 400 000 years.

The pollen analytical record of the upper 8.6 m, covering the last 350 000 years, provides the main framework for the reconstruction of climatic history. The pollen and algal records indicate a sequence of vegetation and lake level changes, in which four major glacial/interglacial cycles are correlated with stages 1 to 10 of the ¹⁸0 marine record. This provides by far the longest continuous biostratigraphic framework for the Quaternary period in Australia.

Comparison between the palaeoclimatic record and the lake level evidence shows that there is no simple correlation between the lake level fluctuations and the glacial/ interglacial oscillations. In fact, major falls in the lake level occured both at the peak of cold glacials and during the warm interglacials. Though the falls in the lake levels during a warm period (interglacial) can be explained by high rates of evaporation, drying during maximum cold can be explained best in terms of a fall in precipitation. Permanent to deep‐lake conditions generally occurred during intermediate cool periods following warm intervals, when perhaps the seas were still warm and low rates of evaporation on land prevailed. On the other hand, short periods of shallow to deep lake levels also occurred during warm (interglacial) periods, showing that these were associated with reasonably high rates of precipitation.     

Late Weichselian and early Flandrian vegetational history of Varanger peninsula, northeast Norway

Relative a absolute (pollen concentration) diagrams are presented from Bergebyvatnet, Holmfjellvatnet and Stjernevatnet on Varanger peninsula. All three sites are outside the younger Dryas (Main substage) moraines and the pollen assemblage zones are correlated biostratigraphically with chronozones from Allerød to Middle Flandrian. Radiocarbon dates from Bergebyvatnet appear to have been affected by hard water error, but dates from the other two sites agree will with the inferred chronostratigraphy. Pollen diagrams from Varanger peninsula suggest broadly similar vegetational histories, the longest record beign that from Østcrvatnet (H. C. Prentice 1981, Boreas , Vol. 10, pp. 53–70). Open tundra-like conditions prevailed throughout the Late Weichselian, with Salix dominance interrupted by unstable vegetation with abundant Artemisia during the Older and Younger Dryas zones. Major vegetational and floristic changes began just before 10,000 B.P., the rapid scquence from herb pollen flora was rich and varied, including a mixture of floristic clements similar to that found during the Late Weichselian in southern Scandinavia. Basiphilous herbs were particularly abundant at Østervatnet and Bergebyvtnet. Betula nand and species of Ericales became locallydominant just before the full establishment of B. pubescens , which rapidly spread beyond its present limit. Later immigrants included Alnus incana; Juniperus communis ; and Pinus sylvestris , which reached the south western part.     

Late Quaternary vegetational and climatic change in the Popayán region,southern Colombian Andes

Late Pleistocene and Holocene vegetational and climatic change have been studied palynologically at a site at 1750 m elevation in the subandean vegetation belt near Popayán, in the southern Colombian Andes. Time control on the pollen record is based on six AMS ¹⁴C ages, ranging from possibly Middle Pleniglacial time (around 50000 yr BP) to 1092 ± 44 yr BP. Because of the presence of two hiatuses only the Middle Pleniglacial and Late Holocene periods (the last 2300 yr BP) are represented. Pollen data indicate the presence of closed subandean forest during glacial time. Changes in the contribution of pollen originating from the uppermost and lowermost subandean forest belts, changes in the contribution of a number of other subandean forest taxa, and changes in species composition between the three pollen zones, suggest that the climate during the Middle Pleniglacial was markedly colder, and perhaps also wetter, than during the Late Holocene. Pollen assemblages from the Late Holocene indicate that the landscape has been affected by deforestation and agriculture since at least 2300 yr BP, but that human impact decreased in the last 780 yr BP. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Holocene vegetational history,human impact and pollen representativity variations in northern Cumbria,England

The comparison of pollen diagrams and their inferred vegetational histories are an important component of palaeoecological research. Radiocarbon-dated pollen profiles from three cores taken from two adjacent mires located in northern Cumbria, Bolton Fell Moss and Walton Moss, have been used to reconstruct the Late Holocene vegetation history between the Bronze Age and the present day. The profiles have been interpreted in the light of available archaeological and historical records and, although the pollen records are broadly similar, there are some notable differences between them, particularly during Iron Age and medieval times. Dissimilarities between the diagrams are explored numerically, and the statistical and palynological results are discussed in relation to pollen representativity. The results suggest that it may be advantageous to construct more than one pollen diagram from a mire, or even adjacent mires, as extra-local pollen may be a more important part of the pollen rain than previously envisaged. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late quaternary history of Lake Manitoba,Canada

The postglacial history of Lake Manitoba has been deduced from a study of the changes in physical, mineralogical, and chemical variables in sediment cores collected from the lake. Six lithostratigraphic units are recognized in the South Basin of the lake. Weakly developed pedogenic zones, reflecting dry or extremely low water conditions in the basin, separate five of these six units. The initial phase of lacustrine sedimentation in the Lake Manitoba basin began shortly after 12,000 yr B.P. as water was impounded in front of the receding glacier to form Lake Agassiz. By 11,000 yr ago, continued retreat of the ice sheet opened lower outlets to the east and much of Lake Agassiz drained, including the Lake Manitoba basin. Water levels again rose at 9900 yr B.P., but by about 9200 yr B.P. the South Basin was again dry. For the next 4700 yr there was an alternation of wet and dry conditions in the basin in response to the interaction of a warmer and drier climate and differential crustal rebound of the basin. About 4500 yr ago a new phase of Lake Manitoba sedimentation was initiated when the Assiniboine River began to discharge into the South Basin. The Assiniboine River was diverted out of the Lake Manitoba watershed about 2200 yr ago. Erosion and redistribution of the sandy deltaic sediments deposited by the Assiniboine River has created the barrier beach that now separates the extensive marsh to the south of the lake from the main lake.     

Late Wisconsin climate in northeastern USA and southeastern Canada,reconstructed from fossil beetle assemblages

Mean July and January temperatures are reconstructed from radiocarbon-dated fossil beetle assemblages, yielding a synthesis of palaeoclimatic history of the regions south of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in North America from 35 000 to 8500 yr BP. Mean July temperatures close to the last glacial maximum were 11–12°C colder than present; mean January temperatures were possibly 10–19°C colder. Mutual climatic range analyses of the beetle assemblages show warming of mean summer temperatures as early as 13.7 kyr, although ice-proximal sites were consistently about 5°C cooler than ice-distal sites. Late-glacial mean summer temperatures peaked between 12 and 11 kyr, then remained fairly constant through the early Holocene. Mean winter temperatures did not reach modern values until after 10 kyr.     

Aspartic acid racemization in Late Wisconsin Lake Ontario sediments

We have determined aspartic acid racemization and [¹⁴C] ages in sediment from a 17-m piston core recovered from Lake Ontario. This core represents a depositional record extending back into the Late Wisconsin. Total organic radiocarbon ages of the glaciolacustrine lower section of the core are older than the true depositional age. Hence we suggest that these ages do not represent time elapsed since deposition but rather may be up to several thousand years too old due to mixing with ¹⁴C-depleted organic matter and possibly also d-amino acids contained by the glacier and deposited as the glacier receded. Further studies are suggested that might test this hypothesis as well as establish the general applicability of racemization dating to clay sediments.     

Late Holocene history of Waldsea Lake,Saskatchewan, Canada

The post-Hypsithermal history of Waldsea Lake, a saline meromictic lake located in south-central Saskatchewan, has been deduced from a study of the changes in physical, mineralogical, and paleobiological parameters in sediment cores from the basin. Six lithostratigraphic units and three palynological zones are identified in the most recent sediment. These units and zones indicate that a shallow hypersaline lake with extensive mudflats existed about 4000 yr B.P. In response to the subsequent trend toward a cooler and wetter climate, deeper water conditions ensued, and by about 3000 yr ago a relatively deep stratified lake occupied the Waldsea Basin. A short climatic reversal about 2500 yr B.P. again caused low-water and mudflat conditions, but by 2000 yr ago the lake had regained its higher levels. The past 2000 yr of Waldsea's history have been relatively uneventful, except for a minor lowering of the lake about 700 yr B.P.     

中国东北地区晚古生代构造-岩浆演化历史

中国东北地区位于中亚造山带东段,由多个不同构造属性的微陆块拼贴而成,包括额尔古纳地块、兴安地块、松嫩-张广才岭地块、佳木斯地块以及那丹哈达地体。伴随不同微陆块的复杂拼贴演化过程,东北地区发育强烈的晚古生代岩浆作用,因此这些岩浆作用的产物是记录东北地区晚古生代构造演化历史的重要媒介。根据东北地区晚古生代岩浆岩的岩石学、年代学以及地球化学等特征,发现大兴安岭地区晚古生代岩浆作用以石炭纪-二叠纪为主,其中早石炭世岩浆作用的产物为辉长岩-闪长岩-花岗岩组合,晚石炭世产物以花岗质岩石为主以及少量辉长岩,二叠纪岩浆作用的产物以花岗质岩石为主,同时这些晚古生代岩浆岩大部分具有典型的弧属性特征;而吉黑东部地区则广泛发育的晚古生代岩浆岩,以二叠纪花岗质岩石为主,同时包含少量辉长岩,且这些二叠纪岩浆岩普遍表现出典型的弧属性特征。结合岩石学、年代学、地球化学以及同位素等资料,认为大兴安岭地区和吉黑东部岩石可能具有不同的构造-岩浆演化历史,同时东北地区内各微陆块具有复杂的地壳增生历史。

     

Late Holocene climatic history of northern Germany and Denmark: peat macrofossil investigations at Dosenmoor, Schleswig-Holstein, and Svanemose, Jutland

Plant macrofossil remains have been analysed from two raised peat bogs in northern Germany and Denmark. The quantified vegetation reconstructions of each profile were subjected to multivariate analyses to extract records of changing bog surface wetness (BSW), which are interpreted in these rain-fed bogs as being proxy climate signals. Age/depth models were constructed using radiocarbon dates and a number of drier and wetter phases were defined. The records both register cooler/wetter conditions around 2700, 1800 and 1400 cal. yr BP, and at the beginning of the Little Ice Age around AD 1250–1350. These rising bog water tables must have been reflected in poorer conditions for agriculture, and in particular near Dosenmoor where the profile records a catastrophic change to such conditions culminating at 2750–2600 cal. yr BP.     

A history of fire and vegetation in northeastern Minnesota as recorded in lake sediments

The record of charcoal in lake sediments indicates that fire has always been an important ecological factor in the forest history of northeastern Minnesota. The annually laminated sediments of Lake of the Clouds permit precise dating of the charcoal peaks and record the changes in the influx of various pollen types. A detailed record of the past 1000 yr shows that the average frequency of fire is approximately 60–70 yr, with a range of about 20–100 yr. The amount of charcoal in sediments dating between 1000-500 y.a. is consistently higher than that for the last 500 yr, although the fire frequency for the two periods was not appreciably different. Pollen analysis shows no change or only short-term changes in the percentages of major pollen types following charcoal peaks.     

鄂陵湖晚全新世沉积物记录的黄河源区气候环境变化

通过对青藏高原黄河源区鄂陵湖35cm长的沉积物岩芯（NR-1）中总有机碳含量（TOC）、总氮含量（TN）、碳氮比值（C_org/N_tot）以及有机碳同位素（δ¹³C_org）和总氮同位素（δ¹⁵N_tot）等地球化学指标的分析,并结合青海地区文献资料记载的人口数量变化以及高原湖泊水位记录,对研究区近1500a以来的气候环境变化进行了深入探讨。结果表明：近两百多年以来鄂陵湖沉积物中TOC和TN指标呈现明显上升的趋势,与青海东部地区人口数量变化趋势一致,表明近代人类活动已经对青藏高原最大淡水湖生态系统产生了显著的影响;而沉积物中δ¹³C_org值变化与青海湖水文环境重建指标具有可比性,说明高原大型淡水湖泊沉积物δ¹³C_org值可指示湖泊水位波动;此外δ¹⁵N_tot值变化趋势与青藏高原东北部已有的古温度记录总体一致,推测鄂陵湖沉积物δ¹⁵N_tot值可能响应了湖泊水体营养状态的变化,间接指示了湖泊夏季表层水温的波动。本研究为青藏高原腹地高海拔现代湖泊沉积物中有机碳和总氮含量及其同位素指标的解译提供了全新的思路。

     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene glaciation of the Fish Lake valley,northeastern Alaska Range,Alaska

We reconstructed a chronology of glaciation spanning from the Late Pleistocene through the late Holocene for Fish Lake valley in the north‐eastern Alaska Range using ¹⁰Be surface exposure dating and lichenometry. After it attained its maximum late Wisconsin extent, the Fish Lake valley glacier began to retreat ca. 16.5 ka, and then experienced a readvance or standstill at 11.6 ± 0.3 ka. Evidence of the earliest Holocene glacial activity in the valley is a moraine immediately in front of Little Ice Age (LIA) moraines and is dated to 3.3–3.0 ka. A subsequent advance culminated at ca. AD 610–900 and several LIA moraine crests date to AD 1290, 1640, 1860 and 1910. Our results indicate that ¹⁰Be dating from high‐elevation sites can be used to help constrain late Holocene glacial histories in Alaska, even when other dating techniques are unavailable. Close agreement between ¹⁰Be and lichenometric ages reveal that ¹⁰Be ages on late Holocene moraines may be as accurate as other dating methods. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late-glacial and postglacial vegetational history of the Berkshires, western Massachusetts

A pollen analytical investigation of the sediments of Berry Pond, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, has demonstrated a sequence of pollen assemblage zones similar to those detected elsewhere in New England. From about 13,000 to 12,000 yr B.P. the vegetation of the region was treeless, probably tundra. By 11,500 yr tundra had been replaced by open boreal forest. Closed boreal forest became dominant by 10,500 yr. Boreal forests were replaced by mixed coniferous and deciduous forests with much white pine about 9600 yr ago. A “northern hardwoods” complex with much hemlock, beech, and sugar maple succeeded the mixed forests 8600 yr ago. Hemlock declined very rapidly approximately 4800 yr ago and was replaced by birch, oak, beech, ash, and red maple. This decline may have been biologically rather than climatically induced. There is a slight maximum of pine (much of it pitch pine) from 4100 to 2600 yr ago, perhaps indicative of warmer and/or drier conditions. There were slight changes in the forests about 1600 yr ago as chestnut immigrated and spruce and larch increased slightly. European land clearance and subsequent land abandonment are detectable in the uppermost levels.     

Late Quaternary landscape history and geoarchaeology of two drainages on Black Mesa,northeastern Arizona,USA

Two approximately 5‐ to 6‐km drainage segments on Black Mesa preserve unusually complete sequences of late Quaternary alluvium and soils. Radiocarbon‐ and tree‐ring‐dated alluvial and soil stratigraphy suggests entrenched paleoarroyos were beginning to aggrade at about >24,260, 11,070, 9660, 8800, 7060, 3500, 2140, and 1870 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Using the quantity of sediment removal from post‐A.D. 1900 arroyos as analogue, at least 77–200% of total valley alluvium has been removed and replaced by younger sediments during an estimated 11 late Pleistocene and Holocene erosion epicycles. Given that most (59%) of the 150 recorded prehistoric sites in the two study areas occur on valley floors where only about 3% of surface alluvium predates Lolomai phase Basketmaker II occupation (˜1900–1600 yr B.P.), it may be inferred that pre‐Lolomai phase Basketmaker II sites which may have been located along washes have been removed or buried by fluvial erosion. Identification of five buried hearths in alluvial sections, including White Dog and Lolomai phase Basketmaker II sites (dating about 3500 and 1870 ¹⁴C yr B.P., respectively) and one possible Early Archaic site, supports this conclusion. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Holocene vegetational history of the Kootenai River Valley,Montana

Pollen records in the Kootenai and Fisher River drainages in western Montana reveal a fivezone sequence of Holocene vegetation change. Deposition of Glacier Peak Ash-Layer G (ca. 10,540 ± 660 yr B.P.) in the lowermost sediments (clay intermixed with pebbles) at Tepee Lake gives a minimum date for the initiation of sedimentation. Initial vegetation on the newly deglaciated terrain was dominated by Pinus (probably white bark pine) with small amounts of Gramineae, Picea and Abies, reflecting a relatively cool, moist macroclimate. Two vegetation units appear to contribute to Pollen Zone II (ca. 11,000–7100 yr B.P.): arboreal communities with pines, along with Pseudotsuga or Larix, or both, and treeless vegetation dominated by Artemisia. Pollen Zone II represents an overall warmer macroclimate than occurred upon ice withdrawal. After ca. 7100 yr B.P. (Pollen Zone III) diploxylon pines became a major pollen contributor near both Tepee Lake and McKillop Creek Pond, indicating an expansion of xerophytic forest (P. contorta and P. ponderosa) along with an increase in the prominence of Pseudotsuga menziesii or Larix occidentalis, or both. Artemisia briefly expanded coverage near Tepee Lake concomitant with the Mazama ashfall ca. 6700 yr B.P. A short-term climatic trend with more available water began after ca. 4000 yr B.P. as Abies (probably A. grandis) along with Picea engelmannii became a more regular component of the forest surrounding both sites. Emergence of the modern macroclimate is indicated primarily with the first regular appearance of Tsuga heterophylla in the pollen record by ca. 2700 yr B.P., synchronous with the development of western hemlock forest within the same latitudes in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington.     

The deglaciation history of the Lake Superior region and its climatic implications

A zone of synchronous end moraines has been recognized in the Lake Superior region across northern Ontario and Michigan. The moraines were formed between 11,000 and 10,100 y.a. as cold climate resulted in successive halts in the general ice retreat. The cold climate is also indicated by the presence of tundra near Lake Superior until about 10,000 y.a. This episode is here referred to as the Algonquin Stadial. It was preceded and followed by rapid deglaciation. The Algonquin Stadial is comparable in age with the Younger Dryas Stadial of Europe, and indicates a reversal in the continuous trend toward a warmer climate during Late-Wisconsin (an) time. The apparent conflict between the present result (based on geologic evidence) and earlier pollen stratigraphical studies with no reversal is discussed.Glacial Lake Duluth formed in the western Lake Superior basin before 11,000 BP, followed by a series of Post-Duluth lakes between approximately 11,000 and over 10,100 BP. The Main Lake Algonquin stage in the Huron and Michigan basins terminated approximately 11,000 BP. The subsequent high-level post-Main Algonquin lakes, which were contemporaneous with the Post-Duluth lakes, existed in the southeastern Lake Superior basin. When the ice margin was along the north shore 9500 BP Lake Minong occupied the whole Lake Superior basin. By 9000 BP the ice had retreated north of Lake Superior-Hudson Bay divide.     

Late-glacial vegetational and climatic history of the Allegheny Plateau and the Till Plains of Ohio and Indiana, U.S.A.

Shane, Linda C. K. 1987 03 01: Late-glacial vegetational and climatic history of the Allegheny Plateau and the Till Plains of Ohio and Indiana, U.S.A. Boreas , Vol. 16, pp. 1–20. Oslo. ISSN 0300–9483.
Pollen evidence from the Allegheny Plateau and the Till Plains south of the Great Lakes shows marked post-glacial vegetation gradients. C. 15,500–11,000 B.P .: On the Plateau, spruce forest was rapidly established, persisted for 2,000 years, then began a gradual change to deciduous-conifer forest. On the Till Plains, open spruce forest tundra closed slowly over 1,000 years, declined rapidly c . 13,500 B.P., and a deciduous open woodland developed. C. 11,000–10,300 B.P .: On the Till Plains, a brief cooling is recorded by increases in the abundance of spruce and fir, contemporaneous with the European Younger Dryas. No clear change is seen on the Plateau. 10,300–4,000 B.P .: Warming and/or drying occurred in both areas, as hemlock and jack/red pine trees immigrated, followed by white pine. Conifers disappeared from the Till Plains by 9,800 B.P., but pine and hemlock trees may have persisted on the Plateau. After 10,000 B.P. mixed deciduous forest was established across the entire region. Between 8,000 and 4,000 B.P., further warming/drying is indicated on the Till Plains with development of open oak forest and lake shallowing, and on the Plateau by a minor increase in herbs, lake shallowing, and reduction in pine.