First indication of Storegga tsunami deposits from East Greenland

A 2.73 m long sediment sequence from Loon Lake, located at 18 m a.s.l. on outer Geographical Society Ø, East Greenland, was investigated for its chronology and changes in physical and biogeochemical properties, macrofossils, and grain‐size distribution. The predominance of marine fossils throughout the sequence, dated by ¹⁴C AMS to between 8630 and 7535 cal. yr BP, shows that the Loon Lake at that time was a marine basin, which according to existing sea‐level curves was about 15–35 m deep. The sequence mainly consists of fine grained homogeneous sediments, which are interrupted by a 0.72 m thick sandy horizon with erosive basis and distinct fluctuations in the grain‐size distribution and in the physical and biogeochemical properties. According to the radiocarbon dates, this sandy horizon was deposited after 8500–8300 cal. yr BP and is interpreted as originating from the Storegga tsunami. The record from Loon Lake provides the first indication of Storegga tsunami deposits from East Greenland. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dating recent floodplain sediments in the Hawkesbury‐Nepean River system,eastern Australia using single‐grain quartz OSL

Two fluvial sediment cores taken from a floodplain of the Hawkesbury‐Nepean River system in the Sydney region, eastern Australia are dated using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) to provide a reliable chronology essential for the management and planning of water resources. Nine charcoal ¹⁴C (AMS) dates constrain these OSL ages. Quartz extracted from seven OSL samples from each of the cores was measured using both single‐grain and multi‐grain OSL techniques. Three of the single‐grain natural dose distributions appear to be well bleached, but the others appear to be incompletely bleached to various degrees. Three minimum‐age models (MAM, MAM_UL and IEU) are applied to the single‐grain dose distributions. We conclude that these models give consistent age estimates. For one of the cores it appears to be necessary to use a minimum‐age model to obtain accurate ages, but in the other core incomplete bleaching is probably less important than postdepositional mixing and mixing during sampling. As a result, the burial age is probably best estimated using the weighted average of the individual single‐grain dose estimates. The application of multi‐grain OSL techniques to these samples results in an average apparent age overestimation of ～200 years, which is significant for these samples, but negligible for sediments older than a few thousand years. The intention is that the chronology obtained in this study will be used in conjunction with a proxy flood record, derived from floodplain sediments, to gain an understanding of the long‐term variability in periods of high and low rainfall in eastern Australia.     

Postglacial changes in the Asian summer monsoon system: a pollen record from the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau

Zhou, W., Yu, S.‐Y., Burr, G. S., Kukla, G. J., Jull, A. J. T., Xian, F., Xiao, J., Colman, S. M., Yu, H., Liu, Z. & Kong, X. 2010: Postglacial changes in the Asian summer monsoon system: a pollen record from the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 528–539. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00150.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. A new pollen record constrained by 32 AMS radiocarbon dates from the Hongyuan peatland in the Zoige Basin reveals the long‐term dynamics of an alpine wetland ecosystem on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau over the last 13 500 years. Changes in pollen assemblages and influxes suggest that local vegetation has experienced three distinct stages, from alpine coniferous forest–meadow (13 500–11 500 cal. a BP), through alpine coniferous forest (11 500–3000 cal. a BP), back to alpine coniferous forest–meadow (3000 cal. a BP–present). This record reflects an ecosystem response along a transition zone where the South Asian and East Asian monsoon systems may have had different palaeoclimatic influences. A comparison of this record with other pollen records across the Tibetan Plateau shows common features with regard to large‐scale Holocene climatic changes, but highlights a pattern of regional temporal and spatial variability that depends on the topography and position relative to the South Asian and East Asian monsoon fronts.     

末次间冰期东亚季风气候不稳定的神农架洞穴石笋记录

基于神农架永兴洞石笋(YX21)4个230 Th年龄和303个δ18O测试数据,建立了东亚季风末次间冰期持续时间约2 ka(127.32±1.23～124.95±1.16 ka BP)的洞穴石笋高分辨率δ18O的时间序列。该洞穴末次间冰期δ18O变化曲线表现出高频振荡特征,表明东亚季风末次间冰期降水的不稳定性,并识别出该时段4个季风冷事件,这种冷事件可能与北大西洋冰漂碎屑事件有关。谱分析结果显示百年和十年际尺度的季风降水变化响应于太阳活动周期。     

Sedimentology,palaeoecology and geochronology of Last Interglacial deposits from Deeping St James,Lincolnshire, England

Pollen, plant macrofossil, molluscan and coleopteran data from organic muds below the low terrace of the River Welland at Deeping St James, Lincolnshire indicate deposition in the mixed oak forest phase of a Late Pleistocene interglacial. Coleopteran and molluscan data suggest summer temperatures up to 4°C warmer than at present in eastern England, and plant macrofossil material suggests a climate more continental than that of Britain in the Holocene. No direct analogue of this biota, however, exists currently in Europe. Biostratigraphical indications from the pollen coleoptera and Mollusca suggest an age in the Ipswichian Interglacial. Thermoluminescence dates between 120 ka and 75 ka and amino-acid ratios with a mean of 0.11 show that deposition of the sediments took place during Oxygen Isotope Stage 5. This accurate dating of a partial Ipswichian succession allows discussion of the ages of a number of other interglacial sites in eastern England of assumed Ipswichian age. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A pollen record from Birket Qarun and the recent history of the Fayum,Egypt

Sediments and fossil pollen of two short cores from Birket Qarun, Egypt, reflect Nile floods, lake levels, and agricultural developments of the last 325 yr, and demonstrate the potential of a long and detailed record from the Fayum Depression. The chronology of these cores is inferred by correlation of historic events with changes in the fossil and sedimentary records.Subangular clay clasts and blocky structure resulting from occasional exposure, drying, and reworking of lake sediments reflect low Nile floods of the mid-1600s. Abundant pollen of shallowwater, rooted aquatic plants provides evidence for continued low lake levels through the 1700s. A high lake level, resulting from the extreme Nile flood of 1817–1818, is recorded by hystrichospheres, reworked by wave action, from Eocene marine sediments exposed on the north shore of Birket Qarun.Political administration, as reflected in agricultural policy, is also recorded in lake history. Changing lake levels are, in part, correlated with canal neglect during Mamluk and Ottoman control, and renewed canal maintenance under the agricultural policy of Mohammed Ali. Increased cattail (Typha) pollen dates from perenial irrigation after 1873. Olive and date pollen, and pollen of newly introduced exotic trees, are abundant after 1930 as a result of accelerated introduction and cultivation of fruit, lumber, fuel, and windbreak trees following World War I. The sequence of introduction of exotic plants is reflected in the pollen of Zea mays, from the New World, followed by Casuarina from Southeast Asia and Australia, and Eucalyptus from Australia.     

Environmental variability during the Last Interglacial: a new high‐resolution pollen record from Tenaghi Philippon,Greece

A new high‐resolution Last Interglacial pollen record from the Tenaghi Philippon peatland, northeast Greece, documents variability in forest composition and cover, which we attribute to changes in temperature and moisture availability. The declining stage of the interglacial was marked by a stepwise decrease in temperate tree populations and culminated in the complete collapse of forest at the onset of the ensuing stadial. The coincidence of the onset of the stepwise declining trend with the increased prominence of North Atlantic ice‐rafting events suggests that ecological thresholds in southern Europe were only crossed once ice rafting events intensified, and implies that changes in North Atlantic ocean circulation were an important contributing factor to the declining temperate forest cover in southern Europe. Our results provide evidence for intra‐interglacial variability in the low mid latitudes and suggest a coupling between the high northern latitudes and the northeast Mediterranean during this interval. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Holocene climate changes in southern Greenland: evidence from lake sediments

A Holocene lake sediment record is presented from Lake N14 situated on Angissoq Island 15 km off the main coast of southern Greenland. The palaeoclimatic development has been interpreted on the basis of flux and percentage content of biogenic silica, clastic material, organic material and sulphur as well as sedimentation rate, moss content and magnetic susceptibility. A total of 43 radiocarbon dates has ensured a reliable chronology. It is argued that varying sediment composition mainly reflects changing precipitation. By analogy with the present meteorological conditions in southern Greenland, Holocene climate development is inferred. Between 11 550 and 9300 cal. yr BP temperature and precipitation increase markedly, but this period is climatically unstable. From 9300 yr BP conditions become more stable and a Holocene climatic optimum, characterised by warm and humid conditions, is observed from 8000 to 5000 cal. yr BP. From 4700 cal. yr BP the first signs of a climatic deterioration are observed, and from 3700 cal. yr BP the climate has become more dry and cold. Superimposed on the climatic long‐term trend is climate variability on a centennial time‐scale that increases in amplitude after 3700 cal. yr BP. A climatic scenario related to the strength and position of the Greenland high‐pressure cell and the Iceland low‐pressure cell is proposed to explain the Holocene centennial climate variability. A comparison of the Lake N14 record with a terrestrial as well as a marine record from the eastern North Atlantic Ocean suggests that the centennial climate variability was uniform over large areas at certain times. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Correlation of Swedish glacial varves with the Greenland (GRIP) oxygen isotope record

A mean varve thickness curve has been constructed for a part of the Swedish varve chronology from the northwestern Baltic proper. The mean varve thickness curve has been correlated with the δ¹⁸O record from the GRIP ice-core using the Younger Dryas–Preboreal climate shift. This climate shift was defined by pollen analyses. The Scandinavian ice-sheet responded to a warming at the end of the Younger Dryas, ca. 10995 to 10700 clay-varve yr BP. Warming is recorded as a sequence of increasing mean varve thickness and ice-rafted debris suggesting intense calving of the ice front. The Younger Dryas–Preboreal climatic shift is dated to ca. 10650 clay-varve yr BP, about 40 yr after the final drainage of the Baltic Ice Lake. Both the pollen spectra and a drastic increase in varve thickness reflect this climatic shift. A climate deterioration, correlated with the Preboreal oscillation, is dated to ca. 10440 to 10320 clay-varve yr BP and coincides with the brackish water phase of the Yoldia Sea stage. The ages of the climatic oscillations at the Younger Dryas–Preboreal transition show an 875 yr discrepancy compared with the GRIP record, suggesting a large error in the Swedish varve chronology in the part younger than ca. 10300 clay-varve yr BP. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Holocene pollen record of persistent droughts from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, USA

Pollen and algae microfossils preserved in sediments from Pyramid Lake, Nevada, provide evidence for periods of persistent drought during the Holocene age. We analyzed one hundred nineteen 1-cm-thick samples for pollen and algae from a set of cores that span the past 7630 years. The early middle Holocene, 7600 to 6300 cal yr B.P., was found to be the driest period, although it included one short but intense wet phase. We suggest that Lake Tahoe was below its rim for most of this period, greatly reducing the volume and depth of Pyramid Lake. Middle Holocene aridity eased between 5000 and 3500 cal yr B.P. and climate became variable with distinct wet and dry phases. Lake Tahoe probably spilled intermittently during this time. No core was recovered that represented the period between 3500 and 2600 cal yr B.P. The past 2500 years appear to have had recurrent persistent droughts. The timing and magnitude of droughts identified in the pollen record compares favorably with previously published δ¹⁸O data from Pyramid Lake. The timing of these droughts also agrees with the ages of submerged rooted stumps in the Eastern Sierra Nevada and woodrat midden data from central Nevada. Prolonged drought episodes appear to correspond with the timing of ice drift minima (solar maxima) identified from North Atlantic marine sediments, suggesting that changes in solar irradiance may be a possible mechanism influencing century-scale drought in the western Great Basin.     

Palynological analyses in the laminated sediment of Lake Holzmaar (Eifel, Germany): duration of Lateglacial and Preboreal biozones

The laminated sediment of Lake Holzmaar (Germany) has provided a continuous varve chronology for the last 3500 varve years (vy) and beyond that a floating varve chronology back to more than 22500 vy BP. This chronology in calendar years, in combination with palynology, enables us to determine the timing and the magnitude of Lateglacial and Early Holocene environmental changes on land (from 13838 to 10930 vy BP). The palynological diagram has a mean time resolution of 27 vy between samples. This paper establishes for the first time the biozonation for Lake Holzmaar below the Laacher See Tephra. Fifteen pollen subzones grouped in four biozones are defined by cluster analysis. After a period disturbed by microturbidites, only a part of the Bølling is present. Three cold periods have been evidenced by pollen analyses: the Older Dryas (96-vy-long), the Younger Dryas (654-vy-long) and the Rammelbeek phase (237-vy-long). The Allerød (883-vy-long) is bipartite with a first Betula -dominated period followed by a Pinus -dominated one. The Younger Dryas is also bipartite, with first a decrease of winter temperatures along with a change to a more continental climate. It is followed by a drier phase with a second decrease in temperatures, probably this time also affecting summer temperatures. The Preboreal is 702-yr-long. The duration of most phases corresponds to published records, except for that of the Younger Dryas. Cluster and rate-of-change analyses indicate a sharp change in the terrestrial vegetation assemblages that may be caused by a sedimentary hiatus of erosive origin during this cold and dry period. As a result, the chronology of Holzmaar has to be revised most likely below the middle of the Younger Dryas. Comparison with the varve record of Meerfelder Maar, a neighbour maar lake, suggests adding 320 vy below 12025 vy.     

Orbital imprint on Holocene palaeohydrological variations in west‐central Europe as reflected by lake‐level changes at Cerin (Jura Mountains,eastern France)

This paper presents a lake‐level record for the Holocene at Lake Cerin (Jura Mountains, eastern France). It is based on a range of sedimentological techniques validated in previous studies, with a combination of systematic lithostratigraphic investigations of the infillings accumulated in the lacustrine basin, and sediment analyses of two selected cores. The chronology is based on 10 radiocarbon dates and pollen stratigraphy. On a millennial scale, the Cerin lake‐level record shows three distinct successive phases characterised by higher lake‐level conditions until ca. 9000 cal. a BP, followed by a maximal lowering at ca. 9000–8500 cal. a BP, and a progressive rise until the present. This rise was punctuated by centennial‐scale fluctuations, with major events around 4000, 2800 and after 1500 cal. a BP. Considered on a multimillennial scale, the general pattern of palaeohydrological changes reconstructed at Cerin reflects the impact of orbitally driven summer insolation. This is in agreement with other regional and extra‐regional palaeoclimatic records, although every record shows peculiarities in timing and shape depending on the proxy used for reconstruction. In this general context, centennial to multicentennial oscillations appear to have been second‐order events in comparison with the major influence of the orbital factor. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Luminescence dating of Middle Pleistocene proglacial deposits from northern Switzerland: methodological aspects and stratigraphical conclusions

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was applied to proglacial deposits from the Klettgau Valley in northern Switzerland, which is understood to record several phases of glaciation prior to the Last Interglacial. The aim was to provide an independent chronology for the different sedimentary units to understand better the complex depositional history of the region. This time range requires care when assessing the reliability of the luminescence protocols applied. Equivalent doses for fine‐ and coarse‐grain quartz remained below 300 Gy, while dose response curves for both fractions continued to display growth above 500 Gy. Dose recovery tests confirmed the ability of the single aliquot regenerative (SAR) protocol to recover laboratory doses of a similar size to burial doses, and isothermal decay measurements confirmed the stability of the quartz signal. Having passed rigorous testing criteria, quartz OSL ages of up to ～200 ka were considered reliable but significantly underestimated expected ages and prompt a reconsideration of earlier interpretations of the stratigraphy for this site. Rather than representing three separate glaciations, quartz luminescence ages instead suggest that these deposits record up to four independent ice advances during Marine Isotope Stage 6. For both single grain and single aliquot feldspar dating, it was not possible to separate the conflicting influences of anomalous fading and partial bleaching. However, uncorrected feldspar central age model ages were found to be in reasonable agreement with quartz age estimates, and suggest that feldspar ages may still offer useful additional information in this region.     

Re‐interpretation of the Meikirch pollen record,Swiss Alpine Foreland,and implications for Middle Pleistocene chronostratigraphy

The Meikirch drilling site in the Swiss Midlands north of Bern is re‐interpreted using a combination of sedimentological logging, pollen analyses and luminescence dating. The sedimentary sequence comprises about 70 m of lacustrine deposits, overlain by about 39 m of coarse glacial outwash interpreted to represent at least two independent ice advances. Pollen analyses of the apparently complete limnic sequence reveal a basal late glacial period followed by three warm phases that are interrupted by two stadial periods (Meikirch complex). The warm periods were previously correlated with the Holsteinian and Eemian Interglacials. According to luminescence dating, and with consideration of evidence for Middle Pleistocene climate patterns at other central European sites, a correlation of the Meikirch complex with marine isotope stage (MIS) 7 is now proposed. If this correlation is correct, it implies the presence of three intervals with interglacial character during MIS 7. However, the late Middle Pleistocene vegetational features of the Meikirch complex show significant differences when compared with the pollen record from the Velay region, central France. Possible explanations for this discrepancy are distinct Middle Pleistocene patterns of atmospheric circulation over central Europe and a different distribution of vegetation refugia compared to the Eemian Interglacial and the Holocene. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Palaeoenvironmental change recorded in the palaeodunefields of the western Murray Basin,South Australia – New data from single grain OSL-dating

This study is concerned with the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental history of southeastern Australia for the last ～300 ka by establishing a luminescence chronology of dune sand deposition in the western Murray Basin (South Australia). In the study area, vast fields of palaeodunes, stabilised by vegetation, provide evidence of past environmental change. In total 98 samples were collected from dune sand layers at 13 different dune sections. The time of their deposition was determined using optically stimulated luminescence dating of single quartz grains, accounting for the impact of post-depositional mixing by the use of a finite mixture model. The oldest depositional phase demonstrates that dune sand layers of great antiquity are preserved in the western Murray Basin, ranging up to at least 380 ka. Phases of substantial dune sand deposition were identified for the periods 18–38 ka and 63–72 ka. Older depositional phases also exist, but are poorly resolved due to relatively large errors of the luminescence ages. Aeolian deposition during the last termination and the Holocene is relatively limited, with a slight clustering of ages at the time of the Antarctic Cold Reversal and from 5–8 ka. Two modern ages give evidence of very recent dune sand deposition. Comparison with other palaeoclimate records from the region suggests that phases with high aeolian sedimentation coincide with more arid conditions and breaks in the dune record with more humid phases. Thus, although dune records are often discontinuous and their interpretation in palaeoclimatic terms is not always straightforward, the palaeodunes of the western Murray Basin show a good preservation of phases of aeolian activity and provide useful information for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction.     

A Holocene pollen record recovered from a guano deposit: Round Spring Cavern,Missouri, USA

Batina, M. C. & Reese, C. A. 2010: A Holocene pollen record recovered from a guano deposit: Round Spring Cavern, Missouri, USA. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00186.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Bat guano deposits have been the subject of relatively few palynological studies. The studies to date have focused on the most modern samples only, and therefore the full potential of bat guano as an archive for fossil pollen analysis remains unknown. In this paper we report the results of pollen analysis on an 88‐cm vertical profile of fossil bat guano from Round Spring Cavern, Missouri. Four AMS radiocarbon dates were in sequence and showed that the guano pile was active between 8155 and approximately 550 cal. yr BP. Pollen is well preserved throughout the profile, with most samples containing less than 10% indeterminable pollen. Wind‐pollinated taxa are better represented than insect‐pollinated taxa, and pollen concentrations range from 842 to 371 660 grains cm^?3. As expected, the dominant vegetation types represented by the pollen assemblage are oak and pine, in accordance with the region's oak–hickory–pine forest. However, there are discrepancies between the guano pollen record and the results of a lake pollen study conducted in southern Missouri. We propose several possible factors that may be influencing the guano pollen record and provide direction for further investigation into the palaeoecological potential of bat guano.     

Floodplain sediments on the divide between Huang He and Chang Jiang,Gansu Province,NW China

At Lingfeng, (34°17'N, 104°08'E) on the northern slopes of the Qinling Mountains, a stratigraphic survey was made of a 21-m-profile of floodplain sediments on the watershed between the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) and Huang He (Yellow River) at 2500 m above sea level. The sediments contain <2 m thick layers of peat and detritical plant matter that had been deposited on the floodplain of the Langouhe. If the radiometric dates are reliable, the chronology of the site spans some 80,000 years, covering an accumulation process from the terminal Last Interglacial up to <24 ka BP. The phase >73 ka BP had cool and wet conditions with a coniferous forest vegetation. Between 73 ka and > 40 ka colder and drier conditions were likely. The vegetation changed from aPicea-Pinus forest to aPicea-Abies-Larix forest with a later increase of non-arboreal pollen. Around 40 ka the climate was warm and moist. The accumulation of silt and organic matter as well as the development of a mixed coniferous forest with high rates of thermophilous trees(Quercus, Castanea) characterize the interstadial conditions at this time. Later on, the climate changed to cool and moist conditions, evidenced by silt and peat accumulation and a coniferous forest vegetation up to <24 ka BP. The loess in this area was deposited after 24 ka and erosion by the tributaries of Chang Jiang and Huang He to a depth of at least 40 m created the watershed between the two river systems.     

Late quaternary chronology of the Taitao Peninsula,southern Chile

Six new radiocarbon ages and a pollen sequence are provided for Laguna Stibnite, a small lake on the Taitao Peninsula, Chile (latitude 46°25'S, longitude 74°24'W). The sediments record a late-glacial to present sequence, with a basal age of 14 335 ± 145 yr BP (Q-2840). The radiocarbon ages provide the basis for a sound chronology in a region of Chile where few palynological studies have been made and where previous radiocarbon ages are ambiguous. The chronology from Laguna Stibnite supports the acceptance of a radiocarbon chronology based on wood fragments (rather than bulk analysis) at a site near Puerto Edén further south in the Chilean Channels (49°08'S). These data from Laguna Stibnite provide evidence for an early deglaciation (before 14 000 yr BP) in this region of southern Chile. The sequence provides no evidence for a climatic reversal between 11 000 yr BP and 10 000 yr BP, the so-called Younger Dryas chron.     

The Fernbank interglacial site near Ithaca, New York, USA

The Fernbank interglacial site, on the west side of Cayuga Lake, New York, has been recently subjected to more detailed study. To a lengthened mollusc list are added ostracodes, insects, fish, pollen, and plant macrofossils. Of these, plants are well preserved and diverse, whereas other groups are poorly preserved and incomplete. Nevertheless, all support the interglacial assignment (Sangamon), which is further supported by minimum age radiocarbon dates (> 50,000 ¹⁴C yr BP) and a TL date of 81 ± 11 ka. In the plant record near the top of the sequence, abundant tree charcoal indicates forest fires. Like the Toronto interglacial record, the plants show a declining July mean temperature from 24 to 18°C (according to transfer functions) through the sequence, from mixed deciduous forest to boreal forest.