Planktonic foraminifers in the southern Bering Sea: Changes in composition and productivity during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene

Taxonomic composition and distribution of planktonic foraminifers are studied in section of Core GC-11 that penetrated through Upper Quaternary sediments of the Bowers Ridge western slope, the southern Bering Sea. As is shown, structure of foraminiferal assemblage and productivity have varied substantially during the last 32000 calendar years in response to changes in surface water temperatures and water mass circulation in the northern part of the Pacific, the Bering Sea included. The productivity was maximal during deglaciation epoch, being notably lower in the Holocene and minimal at the glaciation time.     

Baota landslide in the Three Gorges area and its OSL dating

Large old landslides are common in the Three Gorges area. Baota landslide, a large rockslide, is one of the largest landslides in the Three Gorges area. In the landslide body there are two terraces to be recognized. The two terrace deposits is not a two-grade terrace, but mainly remnants left by an occurrence of Baota landslide. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating suggests that the age of the terrace deposits is 38–32 kyr BP. The OSL ages along with other Thermoluminescence (TL) and Radiocarbon (¹⁴C) ages support the conclusion that the Baota landslide was originally triggered by strong precipitation occurred in a warm climate period of 30,000–40,000 years BP.     

Benthic foraminifers in upper Quaternary sediments of the southern Bering Sea: Distribution and paleoceanographic interpretations

Composition and distribution of benthic foraminifers, being coupled with isotopic-geochemical data on Upper Pleistocene and Holocene sediments from the southern Bering Sea (Core GC-11; 53°31′ N, 178°51′E, water depth 3060 m), demonstrate variations in bottom water properties during the last 54 kyr. Their abundance increased to some extent during short periods corresponding to warm Dansgaard-Oeshger interstadials 14, 12, 8, and 2 of marine isotopic stages (MIS) 3 and 2. The first and second deglaciation phases separated by the Younger Dryas cooling episode are marked by significant abundance peaks of benthic foraminifers (an order magnitude higher than in the glacial period), although their share in community of benthic and planktonic foraminifers taken together decreases. Species typical of stable high-productivity areas gain the dominant position. A significant proportion of agglutinated species in the Holocene sediments is indicative of Ca ions deficiency that accelerates dissolution of carbonate tests up to their disappearance approximately 2.5–3 ka ago.     

Provenance and depositional environments of Quaternary sediments from the western North Sea Basin

As the majority of the data on Quaternary sediments from the North Sea Basin are seismostratigraphical, we analysed the Elsterian Swarte Bank Formation, the Late Saalian Fisher Formation and the Late Weichselian (Dimlington Stadial) Bolders Bank Formation in order to determine genesis and provenance. The Swarte Bank Formation is a subglacial till containing palynomorphs from the Moray Forth and the northeastern North Sea, and metamorphic heavy minerals from the Scottish Highlands. The Fisher Formation was sampled from the northern and central North Sea. In the north, it is interpreted as a subglacial till, with glaciomarine sediments cropping out further south. These sediments exhibit a provenance signature consistent with the Midland Valley of Scotland, the Eocene of the North Sea Basin, the Grampian Highlands and northeast Scotland. The Bolders Bank Formation is a subglacial till containing palynomorphs from the Midland Valley of Scotland, northern Britain, and a metamorphic heavy‐mineral suite indicative of the Grampian Highlands, Southern Uplands and northeast Scotland. These data demonstrate that there was repeated glaciation of the North Sea Basin during the Middle and Late Pleistocene, with ice sheets originating in northern Scotland. There was no evidence for a Scandinavian ice sheet in the western North Sea basin. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Testing an approach to OSL dating of Late Devensian glaciofluvial sediments of the British Isles

In the British and Irish Isles, the understanding of expansion and retreat of the last ice sheet in Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 has been hindered by a lack of chronological control for the timing of its maximum extent and subsequent retreat stages. In this research, a suite of lithofacies from a former distal ice marginal sandur at Orrisdale, Isle of Man, were identified and selected for optically stimulated luminescence dating. Different‐size fractions of quartz grains were extracted from selected lithofacies types with the aim of identifying which depositional environments and grain size fractions are best suited for optical dating. Tests have been undertaken to identify the luminescence properties of this quartz, including preheat dose recovery and constant‐wave optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) decay curve fitting. Equivalent dose distributions for all samples were wide and positively skewed, indicative of heterogeneous bleaching. A comprehensive statistically based decision‐making protocol has been defined in order to find the appropriate statistical model for burial dose estimation. Ages in the range of 17–14 ka have been obtained which agree with the expected geologically constrained chronology. The Orrisdale Formation is contemporaneous with Heinrich Event 1 and the Killard Point Stadial identified in eastern Ireland ca. 16.4 ka. The suggested approach for OSL dating of glaciofluvial sediments has the potential for much wider application to high latitude or temperate areas where there is an abundance of such sediments and where improved chronological control is much needed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The extension of the Late Weichselian/Late Devensian ice sheets in the North Sea Basin

The distribution of large channel-like features, comprising Weichselian/Devensian incisions, in the western North Sea provides evidence for a much larger extension of the last ice sheet than currently assumed. Morphological comparison of the incisions with those in North Germany and Poland reveals a striking similarity in shape and distribution. The features on the North Sea floor are interpreted as being formed by meltwater erosion within the margin of the ice sheet. The widespread absence of Weichselian/Devensian till in the area under consideration may be attributed to later erosion. Large-scale reworking and redistribution of sediments is indicated by the complete sediment infill of the majority of the incisions.     

第四纪沉积物光释光测年中等效剂量测定方法的对比研究

准确地测定碎屑矿物沉积后吸收的等效剂量第四纪沉积物释光测年中最关键的一环。用光释光测年技术对几年全新世坡积物,古土地和黄土等样品中的石英,长石等碎屑矿物进行了测定等效剂量的对比研究。     

The magnetic properties of Quaternary and Tertiary sediments in the southern North Sea

Cores from boreholes penetrating late Quaternary, glacial, interglacial and postglacial sediments and the underlying late Cenozoic delta complex of the southern North Sea have been examined for their magnetic properties. A magnetic polarity stratigraphy has been established as an aid to biostratigraphic dating of the sediments; the Kaena-Gauss and Gauss—Matuyama transitions and the base and top of the Olduvai subchron have been identified. The strength and stability of laboratory-induced isothermal remanent magnetisation display clear magneto-petrological variations, which match lithostratigraphic changes in the cores. Principal component analysis has picked out a basin-wide and palaeoenvironmental consistency in the magnetic data. Large, multi-domain magnetite grains predominate in the post-deltaic and fluvio-deltaic sediments, whereas smaller greigite or titanomagnetite grains are concentrated in the intertidal and marine deltaic facies. Since heavy mineral analysis indicates that most of the deltaic detritus derived from common source areas, the differences in magnetic mineralogy have probably been caused by the sediment transport processes operating within the delta complex.     

Tectono-stratigraphic modelling of the North Sicily continental margin (southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

A two-dimensional numerical modelling that simulate the kinematic and thermal response of the lithosphere to thinning was used for the quantitative reconstruction of the late Neogene to Recent times tectonic and stratigraphic evolution of the North Sicily continental margin (southern Tyrrhenian Sea). The numerical study of the evolution of the North Sicily margin builds on the crustal image and kinematic interpretation of the margin obtained by Pepe et al. [Tectonics 19 (2000) 241] on the basis of seismic data and gravity modelling. Tectonic modeling indicate that different segments of the margin were undergoing different vertical movements, which are mainly expression of the rifting and thinning of the lithosphere occurred during tectonic evolution of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. A prediction of the pre-rift basement topography and the Moho along the margin converges to a value of 6.5 km for the depth of necking and a temperature-dependent EET (500° isotherm). The model fails to reproduce the morphology of the Solunto High confirming its non-extensional origin. A polyphase evolution is required to reproduce the observed syn- and post-rift stratigraphy. During the first rifting stage (between 9 and 5 Ma), crustal thinning factors reach maximum values of 1.27 in the Cefalù basin. A similar value is predicted for the subcrustal thinning around 60 km NNE of the profile margin. Crustal thinning factors increase during the second rifting stage (from 4 to 2 Ma) and reach values of 2 and up to 3.5 in the Cefalù basin and in the continent–oceanic transition zone, respectively. Similarly, subcrustal lithospheric thinning factors reach values up to 2.5 in the distal sector of the margin. An uplift of more than 100 m is predicted for the North Sicily shelf and surrounding onshore areas during the post-rift stage. The evolution of thermal structure with time is very sensitive to the partial thinning factors describing the evolution of the thinning itself during time. The lithosphere preserved part of its strength during extension. The effective elastic thickness (EET) along the margin through time is 24 km at the onset of rifting and reaches values less to 8 km during the second rifting stage in the northeastern end of the margin.     

Late Quaternary tephrostratigraphy of Baegdusan and Ulleung volcanoes using marine sediments in the Japan Sea/East Sea

Only Ulleung and Baegdusan volcanoes have produced alkaline tephras in the Japan Sea/East Sea during the Quaternary. Little is known about their detailed tephrostratigraphy, except for the U–Oki and B–Tm tephras. Trace element analysis of bulk sediments can be used to identify alkaline cryptotephra because of the large compositional contrast. Five sediment cores spanning the interval between the rhyolitic AT (29.4 ka) and Aso-4 (87 ka) tephras were analyzed using an INAA scanning method. Source volcanoes for the five detected alkaline cryptotephra were identified from major element analyses of hand-picked glass shards: Ulleung (U–Ym, and the newly identified U–Sado), and Baegdusan (B–J, and the newly identified B–Sado and B-Ym). The eruption ages of the U–Ym, U–Sado, B–J, B–Sado, and B–Ym tephras are estimated to be 38 ka, 61 ka, 26 ka, 51 ka, 68–69 ka, and 86 ka, respectively, based on correlations with regional-scale TL (thinly laminated) layer stratigraphy (produced by basin-wide changes in bottom-water oxygen levels in response to millennium-scale paleoclimate variations). This study has allowed construction of an alkaline tephrostratigraphical framework for the late Quaternary linked to global environmental changes in the Japan Sea/East Sea, and improves our knowledge of the eruptive histories of Ulleung and Baegdusan volcanoes.     

东海外陆架浅孔沉积物的岩性和磁性特征及成因讨论?

利用东海外陆架的10根柱状样，进行磁性、粒度、氯离子含量和粘土矿物分析。结果表明：在东海外陆架扬子浅滩前缘，浅部沉积地层自上而下可分为两层。上层为砂泥混合物，含大量贝壳碎片，磁化率与饱和等温剩磁较强，主要是磁铁矿富集所致，反映了冰后期海侵对晚更新世沉积物的强烈改造。研究还发现，现代海底表层沉积物中存在铁硫化物，它是浅海还原环境中铁磁性矿物次生变化的产物。下层为坚硬致密的黄褐色泥质粉砂和粉砂质泥（硬土层），磁化率与饱和等温剩磁较弱，但局部存在剩磁异常高，从矫顽力等磁性特征证明它是硫复铁矿的富集所致。另外，在硫复铁矿富集层中绿泥石和氯离子含量明显富集，反映该硬土层是早期海侵沉积物在末次冰期干冷气候条件下的风化产物。     

Late Quaternary river development in the southwest Chad Basin: OSL dating of sediment from the Komadugu palaeofloodplain (northeast Nigeria)

The Komadugu river system is the major Nigerian tributary to Lake Chad. Its large alluvial complex represents an important archive of the late Quaternary environmental history of the Chad Basin. Modern floodplains are incised into an older fluvial terrace that extends over 5000 km². Evidence from satellite images suggests that the ancient river system was dammed up by the Bama Beach Ridge during high stands of mega Lake Chad. This caused the formation of extensive wetlands with a chaotic network of relic channels. The first set of luminescence ages presented here fits well into the previously established environmental history of the Chad Basin. Both the early and mid‐Holocene pluvial periods as well as a final relatively humid period during the late Holocene are reflected by point bar to overbank deposits or channel fills. The onset of the Holocene was characterised by erosion of older dune fields as indicated by grain‐size distributions of the alluvium. Satellite images and sedimentological observations show that the floodplain was dominated by meandering channels shifted by frequent avulsion, reflecting a high variability in precipitation and discharge patterns at the beginning and end of Holocene humid periods. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

南黄海中部沉积物岩芯常量元素组成与古环境

南黄海中部三个晚第四纪沉积物岩芯的粒度和常量元素组成研究表明,岩芯YS1和YS2沉积物组成接近,而与YS3沉积物明显不同.根据元素地球化学参数推测沉积物的来源不同,YS1和YS2沉积物主要来自中国大陆,以长江沉积物为主;而YS3沉积物则主要来自朝鲜半岛,长江和黄河的细粒沉积物可能通过黄海暖流输运而影响该岩芯沉积.南黄海中部沉积物受黄海暖流的影响显著,暖流形成前后的沉积物物源及沉积环境并不相同.黄海暖流靠近中国大陆一侧沉积区域的沉积环境由于气旋型涡旋的影响,水动力环境较弱,粒径较细,沉积速率缓慢;而靠近朝鲜半岛一侧的粗粒沉积物则由于靠近南黄海东北部的潮成砂体区,水动力环境相对较强,沉积物颗粒较粗,沉积物的形成过程与中部明显不同.     

Indirect dating of an olive tree planting event using luminescence of the sediments lying beneath the roots of the tree: a pilot study in the south-western part of Anatolia,Turkey

The aim of the present study is to attempt assessing the age of a monumental olive tree located between the Antique Cities of Militus (Didim-Aydın region) and Iasos (Milas-Muğla region). Wood from the trunk of an olive tree is not appropriate for conventional dating approaches such as dendrochronology or ¹⁴C. The sediments closely located surrounding and beneath the roots of the olive tree are considered indicative of the age of the planting event; therefore these sediments were dated using both quartz and feldspar luminescence signal protocols. Methodological aspects including the preheating plateaus, equivalent dose statistical approaches and dose rate using gamma spectrometry are also discussed, as dating of the associated palaeochannel sediments of the area are presented for the first time in the dating literature. The optically stimulated luminescence and/or infrared stimulated luminescence ages are extrapolated to date the event of the tree planting; it is the first time in the literature that an age is reported for an olive tree in the eastern Mediterranean region. The present study stands as the first experimental evidence that olive trees have been cultivated in the area since the Iron Age.     

Three-dimensional numerical modeling of Late Quaternary paleoceanography and sedimentation in the northern North Atlantic

Modelling of Late Quaternary paleoceanography and sedimentation in the northern North Atlantic (NNA) is achieved by coupling the ocean general circulation model SCINNA (Sensitivity and Circulation In the NNA) to the sedimentation models SENNA (Sedimentation In the NNA) and PATRINNA (PArticle Tracing In the NNA).SCINNA is based on the primitive equations with conservation of mass, momentum, energy, heat and salt. SENNA and PATRINNA are driven by temperature, salinity and velocity fields derived from SCINNA. The modelling includes three-dimensional circulation of the ocean, sediment transport in the water column and two-dimensional sedimentary processes in a thin bottom layer. SENNA calculates the erosion, transport and deposition of sediments, resulting in sedimentation patterns for specific time intervals. PATRINNA models the transport paths of single sediment grains corresponding to the ocean circulation.The NNA reacts in a highly sensitive manner to small forcing changes, as shown by our sensitivity experiments. From these experiments it is possible to model specific circulation regimes for glacial and interglacial periods, for melt water events and for the onset of glaciation. The different climatic stages in the circulation model produce different sediment patterns in the sedimentation models, which correspond closely to the sedimentary record.     

Biomarkers in upper Holocene Eastern North Sea and Wadden Sea sediments

Total extracts of sediment cores from five different stations in the North Sea and Wadden Sea were analysed for their biomarker composition. Only sediments of the Skagerrak contained significant amounts of marine biomarkers (mainly alkenones), other sites contained predominantly terrestrial biomarkers. Bioturbation in the Skagerrak is, however, far too high to determine sea surface temperature (SST) changes within short time intervals. These results indicate that biomarkers contained in these sediments are not useful to reconstruct climate fluctuations during the upper Holocene. High amounts of α-, β- and ω-hydroxy fatty acids as well as small amounts of α, β-dihydroxy fatty acids were released from the insoluble organic material of the sediments from the Wadden Sea station, indicating a significant input of the eelgrass Zostera marina. This was confirmed by microscopic observations. This is the first time the α,β-dihydroxy fatty acids have been found in a sediment core and they have proven to be potential biomarkers for these seagrass species.     

末次冰消期以来东海内陆架沉积物地球化学特征及其古环境意义

尝试对末次冰消期以来东海内陆架沉积物地球化学特征及其蕴含的古环境、古气候信息进行探讨。对位于浙-闽沿岸泥质沉积中心附近的EC2005孔岩性、粒度、常量元素、矿物以及AMS^14C测年数据进行了综合分析,得出以下主要结论：（1）东海内陆架沉积物不同常量元素与TiO2的比值具有不同的环境、气候意义,SiO2、Na2O与TiO2的比值可以用来反映沉积水动力条件的强弱,Al2O3、Fe2O3、MgO、K2O、MnO以及下部湖相沉积层中的CaO、P2O5与TiO2的比值则主要反映了沉积物源区的变化以及与风化程度相关的源区气候变化。（2）研究区自17．3k。BP以来沉积环境经历了剧烈变化,岩芯底部60．20m至41．00m（17．3～13．1kaBP）为湖泊三角洲沉积序列,海水自13．1kaBP开始侵入研究区,形成了41．00m的海相沉积地层。自12．3kaBP研究区受到沿岸流影响,7．3ka BP以来稳定的泥质沉积体开始形成。（3）自末次冰消期初期至末期,气候总体向暖湿方向发展,新仙女木事件、8．2k。冷事件在本孔中有明显的记录,显示出全球性重要气候事件在中纬度浅海陆架海域的区域性响应。     

Stratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of a Quaternary sequence along the Dong Nai River, southern Vietnam

The pre-Holocene Cenozoic sequence outcrops in the terrestrial part of the eastern margin of the Mekong Basin. However, the stratigraphy of the sequence is still unclear. Its detailed stratigraphy and chronology were therefore studied along the Dong Nai River, southern Vietnam, and the lithofacies and the relations among the formations were investigated from the outcrops. The ages of the deposits were determined by using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating.The Ba Mieu Formation was deposited about 176±52 ka during marine isotope stage (MIS) 7–6. The Thu Duc Formation was deposited about 97±27 ka during MIS 5. Both the Ba Mieu and Thu Duc formations are composed of fluvial and tidally influenced coastal deposits. The newly proposed Nhon Trach Formation was originally an eolian (blanket) deposit, but it has been partly reworked by fluvial processes. The Nhon Trach Formation was deposited about 10.9±4.7 ka, in the last part of the Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. The OSL ages for the Ba Mieu, Thu Duc, and Nhon Trach formations are younger than the ages previously assigned to these formations.