Non-synchronous records of Holocene aeolian sand deposition and landscape stability at adjacent lake-side sites in the Falkland Islands,South Atlantic: a caution

Lithostratigraphical interpretation and ¹⁴C dating of adjacent lake-side sedimentary sequences at the Sulivan House lakes, West Falkland, indicate between-site non-synchronous records of Holocene aeolian sand deposition and landscape stability. It is inferred that the sands are associated with deflation of exposed sandy shorelines at times of lower lake levels, whereas stability phases are characterised by peat formation and/or organic matter incorporation into sand horizons at times of ‘normal’ lake levels. The data imply that a cautious approach to interpretation of lake-side sediments may be warranted if the purpose is to use lake-level changes and aeolian — non-aeolian interbeds as proxy indicators of regional climatic signals. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stone run (block stream) formation in the Falkland Islands over several cold stages,deduced from cosmogenic isotope (10Be and 26Al) surface exposure dating

Cosmogenic isotope (¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al) surface exposure dating has been applied to valley‐axis and hillslope stone runs (relict periglacial block streams) and their source outcrops in the Falkland Islands, South Atlantic. The data indicate that stone runs are considerably older landforms than previously envisaged and afford no evidence that they are a product of the Last Glacial Maximum; the samples range in apparent ¹⁰Be age from 42k to 731k yr BP, but some of these are minima. The results indicate that valley‐axis stone runs may be up to 700–800k yr old, have simple exposure histories and are composite landforms that developed over several cold stages. Analyses of some hillslope and outcrop samples also demonstrate simple exposure histories with ¹⁰Be ages from 42k to 658k yr BP. In contrast, isotopic ratios from other hillslope and outcrop samples reveal they have had a complex exposure history involving periods of burial or shielding; the samples range in ¹⁰Be age from 59k to 569k yr BP and these are regarded as minimum age estimates. Larger stone runs may be older than smaller runs and there is a possibility that stone runs older than 800k yr exist in other parts of the Falklands. The assertion that glaciation in the Falklands was restricted to the highest uplands is supported by the data, and the potential for age determination of other boulder‐strewn and bedrock landforms, using cosmogenic isotope analysis, in order to extend the geochronology of Quaternary events and processes is noted. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pleistocene sediments,soils and landscape evolution at Stebbing,Essex

Pleistocene sediments and soils exposed at Stebbing in central Essex, England are described, analysed and interpreted. The sand and gravel units above Eocene London Clay and Upper Pliocene Red Crag are shown to be a high level member of the Kesgrave Formation, with a surface immediately beneath that of the Westland Green Gravels, which are tentatively assigned to the Pre-Pastonian ‘a’ Stage of the British Quaternary succession. The rubified, argillic soil developed in the surface of these fluvial deposits is a composite of the Valley Farm and Barham Soils and displays micromorphological evidence of several phases of clay illuviation, gleying and clay coating disruption. Originally truncated and buried beneath Anglian gelifluction deposits, cover sand and till, the soil has been exhumed in most places by subsequent erosion. The full succession, however, is preserved within large gulls that formed by periglacial cambering prior to this erosion. More recent loess incorporation and pedogenesis have modified the exhumed soil and the materials within the gulls.     

Fire and vegetation history on Santa Rosa Island,Channel Islands,and long‐term environmental change in southern California

The long‐term history of vegetation and fire was investigated at two locations – Soledad Pond (275 m; from ca. 12 000 cal. a BP) and Abalone Rocks Marsh (0 m; from ca. 7000 cal. a BP) – on Santa Rosa Island, situated off the coast of southern California. A coastal conifer forest covered highlands of Santa Rosa during the last glacial, but by ca. 11 800 cal. a BP Pinus stands, coastal sage scrub and grassland replaced the forest as the climate warmed. The early Holocene became increasingly drier, particularly after ca. 9150 cal. a BP, as the pond dried frequently, and coastal sage scrub covered the nearby hillslopes. By ca. 6900 cal. a BP grasslands recovered at both sites. Pollen of wetland plants became prominent at Soledad Pond after ca. 4500 cal. a BP, and at Abalone Rocks Marsh after ca. 3465 cal. a BP. Diatoms suggest freshening of the Abalone Rocks Marsh somewhat later, probably by additional runoff from the highlands. Introduction of non‐native species by ranchers occurred subsequent to AD 1850. Charcoal influx is high early in the record, but declines during the early Holocene when minimal biomass suggests extended drought. A general increase occurs after ca. 7000 cal. a BP, and especially after ca. 4500 cal. a BP. The Holocene pattern closely resembles population levels constructed from the archaeological record, and suggests a potential influence by humans on the fire regime of the islands, particularly during the late Holocene. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Pleistocene deposits at Block Fen,Cambridgeshire, England

Organic sediments in a gravel quarry at Block Fen, Cambridgeshire, form a sheet dividing lower from upper gravels. Analyses of pollen, macroscopic plant remains and molluscs from these organic sediments are presented. They indicate the presence of temperate freshwater and slightly brackish fine floodplain sediments, which, on the basis of the palaeobotany, are correlated with the temperate Ipswichian Stage. The freshwater sediments, ascribed to Ipswichian substage IIb, occur at ca. ?3 m OD. Marine-influenced tidal sediments, ascribed to Ipswichian substage III, occur at ca. ?6 m OD. No evidence was found for the presence of more than one temperate stage in the sequence. The lower gravels are then correlated with the cold Wolstonian Stage and the upper gravels with the cold Devensian Stage. In contrast to the woodland environments indicated by the palaeobotany of the Ipswichian organic sediments, post-Ipswichian pollen diagrams and macroscopic plant remains in the upper suite of sands and gravels indicate open tree-less vegetation typical of the cold Devensian Stage. They also contain a typical cold-stage mollusc fauna. The sediments containing these floras and faunas are associated with thermal contraction cracks, indicating the presence of permafrost. The final sand and gravel aggradation in the Devensian forms the Block Fen Terrace, near 0 m OD. The evidence indicates that it is younger than the lacustrine sediments resulting from the blocking of the Fenland at the Wash by Late Devensian ice at ca. 18.5 ka BP. The sequence at Block Fen is related to nearby Ipswichian and Devensian sediments at Chatteris, March, Wimblington and Mepal, and to deposits at Wretton on the east margin of Fenland. The correlation permits an outline reconstruction of the history of the valley carrying the River Great Ouse between the Isle of Ely and the Chatteris and March ‘islands’ from the time of a gravel aggradation before the Ipswichian to the Flandrian. The reconstruction shows the time and level of the Ipswichian marine incursion into the Middle Level of Fenland and the extent of aggradation and erosion in the Devensian.     

Chronology of Late Pleistocene environmental changes in the lower Mahi basin,western India

Sediments exposed in the lower Mahi basin at the southern fringe of the Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India, provide evidence of three distinct depositional environments, namely marine, aeolian and fluvial. These have been used to reconstruct Late Pleistocene environmental and tectonic history of the region. Infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) chronology of the fluvial and aeolian litho‐units provides evidence of two major fluvial aggradation phases in the region corresponding to Oxygen Isotopic Stages 5 and 3. The basal marine clay is inferred to represent the last interglacial stage and its present elevation at +20 m a.s.l. is attributed to post‐depositional tectonism. Comparison of fluvial records from other regions indicates interhemispherically documented wetter phases during Oxygen Isotope Stages 5 and 3. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

庙岛群岛晚更新世以来黄土粒度端元揭示的粉尘堆积过程

山东黄土作为东亚风尘沉积系统的重要组成部分,蕴含中国东部沿海地区古气候及古环境的演变信息,在中国古环境变化研究中具有重要地位。文章通过对庙岛群岛砣矶岛大口北剖面（TJII）690 cm出露部分的粒度数据进行参数化端元分析,探讨了该剖面黄土粉尘的搬运与堆积过程,并结合环境敏感组分的小波分析,提取了该区夏季风与冬季风在年代尺度上的周期变化特征。结果表明,TJII剖面的粉尘搬运与堆积是季风演变过程中高空西风、低空地方风系以及近地气流综合作用的结果,并同时受到海平面升降的影响;虽然TJII剖面中含有高空西风远距离搬运并以湿沉降方式堆积的粉尘物质,但低海平面时出露的大陆架松散沉积物为该剖面的主要粉尘来源,并在尘暴发生时通过短距离的搬运后发生堆积;与此同时,因尘暴发生频率的增加和强地表风对该剖面中浮尘颗粒沉降的阻碍或使其重新卷入大气中形成二次搬运而影响着细粉砂组分在剖面中的含量;进一步对环境敏感端元组分进行小波分析的结果表明,该区的夏季风在0.6 ka、1.4 ka、2.2 ka和5.7 ka尺度上存在着周期旋回特征,其中以5.7 ka为夏季风变化的主周期并与该剖面古土壤的发育存在较为密切联系;而冬季风在0.6 ka、1.6 ka、2.6 ka、3.6 ka和5.5 ka尺度上存在着周期旋回特征,并以5.5 ka为冬季风变化的主周期,初步体现出粒度端元分析和小波变化分析方法在研究山东黄土沉积动力环境和物源特征方面具有较好的适用性。

     

甘肃临洮晚更新世黄土环境变迁

对甘肃临洮县塔湾乡晚更新世黄土-古土壤序列的粒度、磁化率两个环境代用指标进行综合分析, 可划分出以下7个气候阶段: (1) 距底18.5m (92.478.8ka), 平均粒径24.42μm, 平均磁化率716.8×10-6SI, 年均温度7.8℃, 年均降水量500mm, 气候温暖较湿; (2) 距底8.514.8m (78.865.3ka), 平均粒径26.83μm, 平均磁化率为442.3×10-6SI, 年均温度5.2℃, 年均降水量370mm, 气候温干; (3) 距底14.820.3m (65.357.3ka), 平均粒径25.94μm, 平均磁化率320.7×10-6SI, 年均温度3.5℃, 年均降水量280mm, 气候温干偏凉; (4) 距底20.324.9m (57.347.7ka), 平均粒径25.23μm, 平均磁化率516.4×10-6SI, 年均温度6.0℃, 年均降水量410mm, 气候温干偏湿; (5) 距底24.929.4m (47.740.9ka), 平均粒径25.46μm, 平均磁化率299.4×10-6SI, 年均温度在3.1℃, 年均降水量270mm, 气候温干偏凉; (6) 距底29.434.2m (40.932.4ka), 平均粒径21.46μm, 平均磁化率405.5×10-6SI, 年均温度4.7℃, 年均降水量350mm, 气候温干偏湿; (7) 距底34.239m (32.4ka以后), 平均粒径188.89μm, 平均磁化率381.1×10-6SI, 年均温度4.4℃, 年均降水量330mm, 气候温干.这些环境变迁阶段与区域环境变迁具有较好的可对比性, 其中Ⅰ阶段相当于MIS5温暖期; Ⅱ阶段和Ⅲ阶段相当于MIS4降温期; Ⅳ阶段、Ⅴ阶段和Ⅵ阶段相当于MIS3的气候温暖期; Ⅶ阶段相当于MIS2降温期.但与邻区兰州九洲台和若尔盖RM孔相比, 同时期临夏地区气候明显偏温偏湿.      

西藏中部扎西错布晚更新世晚期微体古生物与环境变化初步研究

西藏中部扎西错布东岸T1剖面厚639cm,含6属11种介形类和1属2种以上轮藻类。据其在地层中的分布特征划分出8个生物组合,各组合间的差异表现在介形类动物群的丰度、分异度和每个种的丰度变化,根据生物属种生态特征和组合变化探讨湖区大约18653～13144aBP生态环境及气候变化情况如下:①约18653～17239aBP,湖区气候较干(冷),湖面收缩下降,湖水有一定含盐度(可能达中盐水18‰),其间有波动:18309～17809aBP,气候曾一度暖湿,湖面扩大,水质淡化;②约17239～13920aBP,气候较暖湿,水质含盐度降低,其间有气候波动,分别在16506～15213aBP和15213～13963aBP时段偏干(冷)和偏湿冷,相应地其水质含盐度增加或减小;③13920～13144aBP,气候突变,湖泊环境突然恶化,介形类灭绝,仅剩下对气候环境反应滞后的轮藻类低等植物。     

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.     

云南昆明盆地中更新世晚期以来的孢粉记录及古气候演化

通过“昆明市活断层探测与地震危险性评价”项目获得了昆明盆地的东西两侧各一个钻孔的孢粉资料和测年数据,对比分析了昆明盆地自中更新世晚期以来的植被演替和古气候演化。研究表明,沉积环境对孢粉记录有重要的影响作用。近200 ka BP以来,昆明盆地总体经历了温凉偏干（201~180 ka BP）—温和偏干（180~132 ka BP）—温暖偏干（132~89 ka BP）—温和偏湿（89~75 ka BP）—温暖湿润（75~38 ka BP）—温凉偏湿（38~22 ka BP）—温暖偏干（22~6 ka BP）的气候变化。从区域和全球对比上来看,昆明盆地与滇中和滇西地区的气候变化较为一致,同时又有自身的一些特点。     

滇西北金沙江小中甸盆地晚更新世的介形类及其古环境

本文研究了滇西北地区金沙江小中甸盆地两条剖面(A和B)的介形类组合特征。据地层沉积特征和介形虫分布规律,结合光释光测年数据和野外调查研究,初步认为滇西北金沙江小中甸盆地存在倒数第二次冰期末期和末次冰期早冰阶的沉积,气候以冷湿为主,间以短暂的温干、冷干变化。     

Stratigraphy and lithology of Late Pleistocene sediments at Møvatn, Hardangervidda, South Norway

Stratigraphic, textural, mineralogical, geochemical and palynological investigations indicate the existence of: lacustrine clay from late Eemian (Hovden thermomer); dark indicateclayey basal till of the Early Weichselian age (Hovden kryomer); lacustrine sediments from an Early or Middle Weichselian interstadial (Førnes thermomer); and basal till from Middle/ Late Weichselian (Førnes kryomer). The environment during the thermomers is discussed.     

腾格里沙漠西北缘青土湖中更新世晚期以来沉积环境变迁

以腾格里沙漠西北缘青土湖钻孔ZK1为研究对象,通过对钻孔沉积物的光释光年代、粒度、磁化率等研究,揭示了该湖泊自中更新世晚期以来的环境变迁。研究结果表明：该地区中更新世晚期经历了干冷→暖湿两个阶段,晚更新世经历了湿暖→干冷两个阶段,与深海氧同位素的末次间冰期、末次冰期气候旋回特征吻合,全新世主要经历了干冷→暖湿的气候波动。反映了腾格里沙漠西北缘晚第四纪的气候波动变化特征,特别是为本区中更新世晚期以来的气候环境变化的研究提供了依据。     

Late Devensian and Holocene relative sea‐level changes on the Isle of Skye,Scotland, UK

Detailed litho‐ and biostratigraphical analyses from three coastal sites in contrasting coastal settings on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, UK, reveal evidence for several changes in relative sea level during the Late Devensian and Holocene. At the start of the record, relative sea level in the area was high at ca. 12 500 ¹⁴C (ca. 14 800 cal.) yr BP but then fell, reaching a low point during the Younger Dryas, at ca. 11 000–10 000 ¹⁴C (ca. 13 000–11 600 cal.) yr BP, when a rock platform, correlated with the Main Rock Platform, was formed. In the early–middle Holocene, relative sea level was rising by ca. 8000 ¹⁴C (ca. 8800 cal.) yr BP and in northeast Skye a lagoonal surface, correlated with the Main Postglacial Shoreline, was formed at ca. 6600 ¹⁴C (ca. 7500 cal.) yr BP. By the late Holocene, relative sea level was again falling, but a rise, registered at at least two sites, began probably before ca. 4000 ¹⁴C (ca. 4500 cal.) yr BP, and a second lagoonal surface in northeast Skye, correlated with the Blairdrummond Shoreline, was formed, although by ca. 3000 ¹⁴C (ca. 3200 cal.) yr BP relative sea level in the area had resumed its downward trend. The pattern of relative sea‐level changes disclosed is compared with evidence elsewhere in Scotland. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pleistocene deposits at Stoke Goldington,in the valley of the Great Ouse,UK

At Stoke Goldington in the valley of the Great Ouse in Buckinghamshire a river terrace at a height of about 7 m above the floodplain is underlain by fluvial sediments representing climatic fluctuations in the late Middle Pleistocene. Near the base of the succession, at a level only 1 m above the modern floodplain, a fossil assemblage, including pollen, plant macrofossils, molluscs, insects and ostracods, provides evidence for the local development of herb-rich grassland under temperate climatic conditions. The fossil record, amino-acid racemisation ratios and uranium disequilibrium dating all suggest deposition of this material during Oxygen Isotope Stage 7. The deposits containing the temperate assemblage are immediately overlain by typical cold-climate gravels of the Great Ouse. These have been subjected to a later cut-and-fill episode, with the fill accumulating in cool climatic conditions. The cut-and-fill episode was succeeded by aggradation, forming the overlying terrace surface. Amino-acid racemisation ratios indicate that the fill was emplaced, and the terrace surface created, during or after Oxygen Isotope Stage 5. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

北大西洋IODP U1313站位早更新世深海沉积物陆源组分粒度特征及其环境意义*

北大西洋地区是全球环境变化研究的热点区域。对IODP（国际综合大洋钻探计划）北大西洋306航次U1313站位深海沉积物陆源组分的粒度分析发现,陆源组分主要由黏土(粒径小于4μm)和极细粉沙(4～8μm)两个粒级构成,以黏土为主,分选性较差。通过与钙质超微化石、有孔虫等生物化石资料和同位素测年等技术相结合,重建了古气候的变化情况：(1)2.415～1.897 Ma BP,气候呈周期性波动;(2)1.897～1.640 Ma BP,气候变化相对平缓;(3)1.640～1.471 Ma BP,气候波动剧烈且频繁。粒度指标所反映的几次粗颗粒增多事件与早更新世期间数次气候变冷事件的发生时间一致。1.6 Ma BP前后粒度参数的突然变化,可能与地球轨道参数的改变有关,进一步证实地球轨道参数作为气候系统外部驱动力的重要性。     

The Late Pleistocene megafauna of the Chulym River basin,southeastern West Siberian Plain: chronology and stable isotope composition

New data were obtained for the Chulym River basin in the southeastern part of the West Siberian Plain, one of the understudied parts of Siberia in terms of age and composition of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes for Late Pleistocene megafauna. The ¹⁴C dates from the Sergeevo outcrop, the most complete section of Late Quaternary deposits in the region, are mostly greater than ~30 550 bp. Other localities yielded ¹⁴C values in the range from >44 500 to ~19 300 bp. The finite date of ~42 270 bp for the Khozarian steppe elephant (Mammuthus trogontherii chosaricus) from Asino is intriguing because previously it was not detected in the Late Pleistocene of Siberia after the last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5e), ~115 000–130 000 years ago. Stable isotope data show both similarities and differences compared to the pre-Last Glacial Maximum megafaunal species in other parts of Siberia.