Chronology of Late Weichselian glaciation in the western part of the East European Plain

A database consisting of radiocarbon (¹⁴C), optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), thermoluminescence (TL) and beryllium (¹⁰Be) dates was used for timing the advance of the Late Weichselian Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS), determining the age of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the rate of deglaciation. The study area encompasses the southeastern sector of the last SIS between the Baltic Sea and the LGM position in the western part of the East European Plain, covering the Karelian Ice‐Stream Complex (ISC) area in the east and the Baltic ISC area in the west. The linear advance and recession rates of the last SIS were estimated to be between 110 and 330 m a^?1 and between 50 and 170 m a^?1, respectively. The onset of the last SIS in the Karelian ISC area reached the western shores of Latvia not before 26 OSL ka, and in the Baltic ISC area, on the southern shores of the Gulf of Finland, not before 21 OSL ka. The last SIS reached close to the LGM position earliest in NW Belarus, not earlier than 22.6 cal. ¹⁴C ka BP, and latest in the NE of Belarus, not earlier than 19.1 cal. ¹⁴C ka BP. The Baltic ISC area between the LGM position and the western shores of Latvia was deglaciated in about 8 ka, and in the Karelian ISC area, between the LGM position and the southern shores of the Gulf of Finland, in about 2.6 ka. The whole area between the LGM position and the Baltic Sea was deglaciated between 14.2 ¹⁰Be ka and 13.3 cal. ¹⁴C ka BP.     

Some Pleistocene periglacial problems in southern Africa

Amplification is made to some of Butzer's comments on various Pleistocene 'periglacial' phenomena in southern Africa. In particular, the 'nivation' cirques occurring above 2,000 m in the Drakensberg-Lesotho upland are now thought to have been formed by a combination of frost-shattering and solifluction wasting. Because of a gradational sequence from purely frost-shattered forms in central Lesotho to pronounced cirques in the Drankensberg, a lateral palaeoclimatic variation is suggested with a somewhat higher precipitation in the latter area. This contention is supported by palaeosol evidence.     

Soil Parameters for Quantitative Estimation of Late Holocene Climate Changes in the Southern East European Plain

Doklady Earth Sciences - The results of studies of the regularities of evolution of soils and the environment in the steppe zone of the East European Plain are presented. Different culture-based...     

Patterns of Late Pleistocene proglacial fluvial sedimentation in the SE Lithuanian Plain

We investigated proglacial fluvial sedimentation processes in the SE Lithuanian Plain by means of lithofacies analysis. The main parameters on which interpretations were based, were depositional structures of sandy sediments, paleohydraulic parameters and grain-size distribution. The development of the SE Lithuanian Plain illustrates the phenomenal shift of proglacial fluvial sedimentation from outwash plain to ice-marginal river during the ice retreat of the last glaciation. Three facies assemblages of braidplain deposits and two facies assemblages of palaeovalley deposits were distinguished in the sandy plain by means of qualitative and quantitative sedimentological research. This raises the question how the commonly accepted development of a SE orientated outwash plain could turn into an almost perpendicular (SW running) ice-marginal river. The vertical and lateral transitions of outwash plain facies present a classical example of braidplain evolution on slightly inclined lowlands, with well expressed proximal, middle and distal parts. Mid- and side-channel (point-bar) deposits of the proglacial valley point, however, which is unusual for proglacial fluvial systems, to a meandering character of the ice-marginal river. River types of various scale show a change from braided into meandering in the proglacial subenvironment. Lithofacies analysis and paleohydraulic parameters show distinct differences of the hydrodynamic regime during the first stage of the sandy plain development: from sedimentation on an outwash plain in a proglacial valley to sedimentation on a braidplain in a wide ice-marginal valley. The outwash system is characterized by a distinct downstream decrease in energy, whereas the ice-marginal river maintained most of its power and velocity.     

Late Pleistocene stratigraphy and depositional environments of the Fynselv area, Jameson Land, East Greenland

Deposits of Late Pleistocene age were investigated near the Fynselv river on the southwestern coast of Jameson Land. East Greenland. The deposits are of fluvial, deltaic shallow marine and glacigenic origin. Four stratigraphic units are recorded. Unit I consists of deltaic and shallow marine deposits reflecting a relative sea level of at least 20 m above the present. Elevated fluvial deposits represent the subaerial part of the depositional system. The system existed during full interglacial and subarctic conditions as indicated by remains or flora and Fauna and unit I is correlated with the Langelandselv interglaciation (isotopic substage 5e). Unit II consists of a till deposited by a glacier in the Scoresby Sund Fjord during the beginning of the Early Weichselian referred to as the Aucellaelv stade. The glacier probably melted in a marine environment. Unit III represents a marine delta system during the Hugin Sø interstade. and reveals a relative sea level of at least 62 m above the present. Unit IV consists of till and kame deposits assumed to be deposited by a glacier in the Scoresby Sund Fjord during the Flakkerhuk stade. probably a Late Weichselian glacier advance.     

藏南吉隆盆地中新世—早更新世沉积演化

位于喜马拉雅北麓的吉隆盆地中新统旦增竹康组,为冲积扇-辫状河沉积。沃马组沉积演化自下而上依次为扇三角洲-滨浅湖-扇三角洲,总体上表现为进积-退积-进积的沉积旋回。沃马剖面在10～7.4Ma期间,古流向主体为SEE向;7.4～1.67Ma,古水流方向主体为SWW向,说明7.4Ma以后,吉隆盆地古地理格局发生显著变化,古地势由原来的西高东低转变为后期的东高西低。根据沉积学、磁性地层学、年代学等方面的研究资料,将10Ma以来吉隆盆地的湖盆演化大致划分为3个阶段:10～7.4Ma,湖盆裂陷形成期;7.4～3.6Ma,湖盆扩展与稳定发展期;3.6～1.67Ma,湖盆萎缩消亡期,代表了盆地周围喜山的3次隆升期,即10～7.4Ma、7.4～3.6Ma和3.6～1.67Ma,其中3.6～1.67Ma为强烈隆升期。     

Late Wisconsin periglacial environments of the southern margin of the Laurentide Ice Sheet reconstructed from pollen analyses

Full‐glacial pollen assemblages from four radiocarbon‐dated interstadial deposits in southwestern Ohio and southeastern Indiana imply the presence of herbaceous vegetation (tundra or muskeg with subarctic indicator Selaginella selaginoides) on the southern margin of the Miami lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet ca. 20 000 ¹⁴C yr BP. Scattered Picea (spruce) and possibly Pinus (pine) may have developed regionally ca. 19 000 ¹⁴C yr BP, and ca. 18 000 ¹⁴C yr BP, respectively. Spruce stumps in growth position support a local source of pollen. Prior to the ca. 14 000 ¹⁴C yr BP glacial advance, small amounts of Quercus (oak) and other deciduous pollen suggest development of regional boreal (conifer–hardwood) forests. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

First record of Bison antiquus from the Late Pleistocene of southern Mexico

In Mexico, just 54% of the reported Pleistocene Bison material has been identified to species. Current paleontological research in northwestern Oaxaca, southern Mexico, has allowed collection of several specimens of Bison antiquus that are part of the Viko Vijin Local Fauna. B. antiquus had a very wide geographic distribution, from lowlands to mountainous landscapes of North and Central America. The B. antiquus record from southern Mexico links their former records from central Mexico and middle Central America and confirms this wide geographic distribution. The univariate mesowear score of the B. antiquus specimens from Oaxaca is in the lower extreme of grazers and the upper end of mixed-feeders, suggesting that they had a less abrasive diet than the modern plains Bison, as has been observed in other samples of this species from diverse parts of North America. The presence of B. antiquus in the Viko Vijin L. F. constrains the age of this fossil assemblage within a range from 60 Ka to 11.7 Ka.     

黄淮海平原晚新生代重大地质事件

晚新生代以来,青藏高原的隆升导致中国地貌格局、古气候系统及晚新生代沉积体系发生巨变。青藏高原以东至边缘海的广大区域形成统一水系,将巨量沉积物搬运至中国东部连续堆积形成黄淮海平原。太行山的隆升、边缘海陆架的沉降,黄河的贯通及晚第四纪大规模海侵等,深刻改造了黄淮海平原的自然环境,至今仍然影响其社会经济的发展,成为重要的科学问题。针对这些事件的研究,对于理解晚新生代黄淮海平原的形成和演化具有重要意义,也可为缓解该地区目前紧张的人地关系提供理论基础。对晚新生代黄淮海平原形成发育的构造地貌过程、黄河贯通和晚第四纪海侵等重大事件研究现状进行了综合分析,认为：①青藏高原隆升是黄淮海平原当今地貌及海陆格局形成的根本原因;②黄河贯通对黄淮海平原地表过程、水系演化及源-汇体系带来深远影响;③沿海地区晚更新世以来3次重要的海侵事件及相关的海陆相互作用,不但造成了沉积环境的变化,还形成了下切河谷特殊地貌景观;④晚新生代黄淮海地区重大地质事件的时间节点是中新世和晚第四纪。系统总结了黄淮海平原在构造-气候相互作用、地貌动态演化和年代学研究中存在的问题,认为未来亟需对黄淮海平原开展多学科系统性的工作。     

Paleodynamics of the southern margin of the East European craton

The tectonic and geodynamic evolution of the southern European part of Russia from the Donets Basin (Donbas) and the northern Caspian region in the north to the Mountainous Crimea and the Greater Caucasus in the south is considered. This territory embraces the southern margin of the East-European craton and the northern periphery of the Tethys Ocean, which originated in the Neoproterozoic, as well as its marginal seas till the formation of the modern Azov-Black Sea and Caspian basins.     

浑善达克沙地南缘晚更新世黄土-古土壤序列的高分辨率磁性气候记录

浑善达克沙地处于季风边缘区,目前对该区域末次间冰期以来的古气候演化历史及其动力学机制尚不清楚。文章以浑善达克沙地南缘山间低洼地带北沟剖面总厚度4.72 m（未见底）的黄土-古土壤序列为研究对象,开展了光释光测年和精细的岩石磁学、环境磁学、地球化学和漫反射光谱分析。结果表明：1）该剖面记录了末次间冰期以来完整的风成堆积历史,并通过东亚夏季风指标（Rb/Sr及χ_ARM/χ）与深海氧同位素曲线的对比建立了13万年来该黄土-古土壤序列精细的年龄模式;2）在黄土高原上常规的用来指示成壤强度和夏季风强度的磁参数并不完全适用于干旱-半干旱地区（400 mm等降水线附近）的风成黄土,而地球化学指标在指示季风边缘区的地球化学风化过程上表现出一定的合理性,北沟剖面复杂的磁信号可能是对末次冰期季风边缘区显著减弱的夏季风的阈值响应;3）在末次间冰期东亚夏季风可以延伸到内蒙古中东部,北沟剖面记录了浑善达克沙地南缘末次间冰期以来区域古季风的演化历史。

     

Late Precambrian and Early Cambrian in the East European platform

Carbon suboxide polymers reacted with hydroxylamine and ammonia under UV irradiation in aqueous medium to form amino acids such as glycine, alanine, serine, threonine, aspartic acid and glutamic acid. This finding suggests that carbon suboxide is a new candidate as starting material for the synthesis of biomolecules on the primitive earth.     

辽南晚更新世风成沉积序列与古气候意义

作为中国东部重要的第四纪风成堆积地层,辽南风成沉积反映的气候振荡记录对于揭示区域古气候变化、东亚季风变迁等有着不言而喻的重要性。本研究利用辽南老虎村5.44 m厚的风成沉积剖面作为研究对象,采用光释光（OSL）测年技术建立了研究区沉积地层的年代框架,通过岩石学和代用指标重建了晚更新世期间的风成沉积历史。结果表明：风成活动发生在71.7~61.7 ka,49.4~42.4 ka和约23.0 ka,分别对应深海氧同位素阶段（MIS）5a~4、3b和2,寒冷干燥的气候条件与增强的东亚冬季风促使风成活动加剧;而MIS 3a和MIS 3c的沉积中断可能受到了暖湿气候的影响。研究区的粒度数据表明在MIS5/4转变时期有一个短暂的冬季风波动,同时,中值粒径增大可能与海因里希事件（H6、H5、H2）有关,未来仍需更多的区域气候纪录来支持这一观点。

     

Diversity of recent planktonic foraminifera in the southern Indian Ocean and Late Pleistocene paleotemperatures

Planktonic foraminiferal assemblages have been examined in 25 trigger core top samples and 51 piston core top samples collected between latitudes 28° S and 55° S and longitudes 79° E and 120° E from the southern Indian Ocean during cruises of the U.S.N.S. Eltanin. Samples taken from water depths exceeding 4000 m and/or showing evidence of calcium carbonate dissolution were eliminated from further analysis. The final piston core data set consists of 34 samples; the trigger core data set containing 21 samples. A close relationship exists between changes in the planktonic foraminiferal assemblages in the surface sediments and surface water temperatures. Species diversity values were computed for each of the core top assemblages using the Shannon-Wiener Index and the Brillouin Index, each of which takes into consideration the number of species and the proportionment of individuals among the species. The Shannon and Brillouin diversity values for all samples are positively correlated (correlation coefficient (r) = +.999). Regression analysis of latitude versus Shannon diversity values in the trigger core samples clearly shows a decrease in diversity with increasing latitude (r = ?.979). Furthermore, a strong correlation (r = +.977) exists between decreasing species diversity (Shannon) and decreasing average summer-winter temperature of the overlying surface waters. A paleotemperature equation derived from the relationship of diversity in trigger core samples and surface water temperature was used to generate paleotemperature curves for five trigger cores and a 6 m piston core of Late Pleistocene age, located beneath the present position of the Subtropical Convergence. A 7–8° C temperature range is suggested between the interglacial and glacial episodes in this Late Pleistocene sequence, and probably reflects latitudinal shifts of the Subtropical Convergence and Australasian Front during the Late Pleistocene.     

下辽河平原晚更新世泥炭的发现及其古气候意义

位于沈阳市东部和西部的2个钻孔剖面均有晚更新世晚期泥炭发育。¹⁴C测年结果表明：东部钻孔泥炭层形成于玉木亚间冰期晚期,西部泥炭层形成于玉木亚间冰期结束之后。孢粉分析结果表明：东部钻孔剖面中的泥炭以暖温带落叶阔叶植物花粉为主,指示温暖湿润的气候环境;西部钻孔剖面中的泥炭以温带草本被子植物花粉为主,山地针、阔叶植物花粉为辅,指示温干偏湿的气候环境。定量古气候分析结果表明,玉木亚间冰期晚期沈阳地区与现今气候相当;玉木亚间冰期结束之后,沈阳地区的气候比现在稍冷。     

Using multidimensional analysis and information functions for macro description of European natural complexes in the second part of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene

This article analyzes the effect of geographic factors on variations in the species diversity of mammals and plants for the European territory. Multidimensional analysis and a number of information parameters have been applied for the first time, which allowed identifying objective indicators of mammal and plant diversity for different time periods in the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene.     

Deep structure of the southeastern part of the East European Platform

The results of CMP seismic data acquisition along regional deep profiles that cross large tectonic elements in the east of the East European Platform are considered. It has been established that the Zhiguli-Pugachev Arch and the Stavropol Depression (southern part of the Melekess Basin), as well as the Volga-Kama Anteclise and Pericaspian Syneclise, conjugate along reverse-thrust faults extending to the lower crust and Moho discontinuity. The position of the southeastern reverse-thrust boundary of the South Tatar Arch has been substantially specified in plan view and illustrated by seismic sections. Based on the results obtained, it is suggested that reverse-thrust faults of different orders are widespread in petroleum provinces in the east of the East European Platform, and this suggestion should be used in geological exploration. The CMP seismic data acquisition is efficient in studying the junction zones of large tectonic elements. It also provides insights into the deep structure of the Earth’s crust and its relationship to the structure and petroleum potential of the sedimentary cover and localization of oilfields. It is expedient to reprocess and integrate earlier seismic data in order to compile tectonic (tectonodynamic) regional maps on a new methodical basis.     

Position of the southern marginal suture of the East European Craton

Old and modern data are given and discussed. They allow us to decide where the real position of the south marginal suture of the East European Craton is. According to the geophysical and aerogeophysical studies, Paleozoic deposits of the Karpinskii Ridge are bedded upon deeply sunken continuation of Archean-Proterozoic complexes comprising the Voronezh massif and crystalline rocks belonging to the Astrakhan Dome. The latter have a pre-Riphean age. It is possible that the crust in the southeastern part of ridge in a narrow zone with >20 km depth of the basement surface (BS) and, partially, in the Sarpinskii trough has oceanic origin.