An evaluation of the diatom response to Late Quaternary environmental change in two lakes in the Konya Basin,Turkey, by comparison with stable isotope data

In palaeolimnological studies of closed-basin lakes, diatoms provide an excellent source of palaeoclimate data owing to their sensitivity to salinity and lake-level change. One of the best ways of assessing the relationships between diatom species response, salinity and lake-level change is comparison with other proxy indicators, such as stable isotopes. The sensitivity of different lake systems to climate change (changes in the ratio of precipitation to evapotranspiration) depends to a large extent on the character of the basin hydrology. Here, we compare evidence for Late Quaternary palaeohydrological change in two lakes which have contrasting groundwater hydrology, located in close proximity to each other in the Konya Basin, southern central Turkey, and whose sediment core chronologies show considerable overlap. Süleymanhacı gölü has alternated between being hydrologically closed and open during its history, and the diatom record shows clear evidence for changes in palaeoconductivity and lake level which correspond well to inferred changes in evaporative concentration during the Late Pleistocene and part of the Holocene. In contrast, the diatom record of the karstic spring-fed pool, Pinarbaşi, indicates that it remained fresh throughout the Late Pleistocene; it is subject to major aquifer flow and behaves effectively as an open system. In this case the complacency of the diatom record is important in allowing inferences on temperature effects to be drawn from relatively subtle shifts in stable isotope values.     

Late Quaternary sediments and stratigraphy on the continental shelf off Troms and west Finnmark, northern Norway

Lithologic, paleontologic, and chronostratigraphic investigation of 13 gravity cores indicates the following environmental evolution: a high- (mid-) arctic period with a slight influx of ice-rafted debris occurred during the early middle Weichselian followed by a mid- (high-) arctic environment with a high influx of iceberg-rafted debris during the remainder of the middle Weichselian. The continental ice sheet probably did not extend beyond the inner shelf during middle Weichselian and a minimum relative sea level was ca. −120 m. A low-arctic environment occurred during (parts of) the late Weichselian with an initial winnowing of the sediments. The Norwegian Current entered the area during this substage. A high- (mid-) boreal environment occurred during the Holocene with high winnowing activity in the early Holocene. Winnowing is still very active on the shallower banks in contrast to the deeper banks where it has ceased. Relatively high percentages of carbonate in the form of biogenic skeletal remains occur in the Holocene sediments.     

晚第四纪柴达木盆地东部古湖泊高湖面光释光年代学

高湖面是湖泊演化的鼎盛期,指示区域的温暖湿润气候。关于青藏高原湖泊高湖面的年代有不同的观点。一种观点(主要是基于14C测年)认为在氧同位素三阶段晚期青藏高原普遍存在大湖期或泛湖期,并且其温度和降水可能比全新世还高。另一种观点(主要基于释光、铀系测年等)认为青藏高原湖泊的最高古湖面出现在氧同位素五阶段,之后湖面逐渐下降。柴达木盆地位于青藏高原的东北部,其高湖面年代的研究可为认识青藏高原环境演化提供基础资料。本文选择柴达木盆地东部的托素湖和尕海湖高出现代湖面的湖相沉积和湖岸砂堤为研究对象,利用石英光释光测年方法建立其年代序列。根据沉积物沉积特征和光释光年代结果认为,尕海湖和托素湖古高湖面出现在82～73ka、63～55ka、34.4ka和全新世早期。通过与青藏高原及周边湖泊高湖面年代记录对比,认为尕海湖和托素湖的最高湖面主体出现在氧同位素五阶段,之后湖面逐渐下降。     

Late Quaternary sediments from Nal Sarovar, Gujarat, India: Distribution and provenance

A 54-m long core was raised from the bed of the Nal Sarovar, a large shallow lake located in the middle of the low-lying region linking the Gulfs of Kachchh and Khambhat, in western India. A three-layer sequence comprising: Zone-1 (top 3 m), predominantly silty-clay/clayey; Zone-2 (3–18 m), sandy; and Zone-3 (18–54 m), dominated by sticky silty-clay/clayey-silt with occasional thin sand layers and basalt fragments was identified. Smectite and illite are the dominant clay minerals with minor amounts of kaolinite and chlorite. Very high content of smectite (53–97%) in the clays of the lowermost zone (18–54 m) and the geomorphic features of the surrounding region suggested that the sediments were derived from the basaltic terrain of Saurashtra and/or via the Gulf of Khambhat. The clay content in the middle zone (3–18 m), dominantly sandy, is very low. Therefore, provenance for this zone was derived using heavy minerals in the sand fraction. The heavy mineral species in this zone suggested the mixed metamorphic and igneous terrain of Aravallis as the major source. The grain-size distribution of this zone closely matched with the sediments underlying the modern Sabarmati riverbed at Ahmedabad, suggesting fluvial depositional environment. Clays also dominate sediments of the topmost (0–3 m) zone with illite as the dominant (74–81%) specie followed by smectite suggesting derivation from the mixed metamorphic and igneous terrain of Aravallis.     

Radiocarbon age distribution of groundwater in the Konya Closed Basin, central Anatolia, Turkey

Annual abstraction of 2.6?×?10⁹ m³ of groundwater in the 53,000 km² Konya Closed Basin of central Turkey has caused a head decline of 1 m/year over the last few decades. Therefore, understanding the hydrogeology of this large endorheic basin, in a semi-arid climate, is important to sustainable resource management. For this purpose, the groundwater’s radiocarbon age distribution has been investigated along a 150-km transect parallel to regional flow. Results show that the groundwater ranges in age from Recent at the main recharge area of the Taurus Mountains in the south, to about 40,000 years around the terminal Salt Lake located in the north. In this predominantly confined flow system, radiocarbon ages increase linearly by distance from the main recharge area and are in agreement with the hydraulic ages. The mean velocity of regional groundwater flow (3 m/year) is determined by the rate of regional groundwater discharge into the Salt Lake. Calcite dissolution, dedolomitization and geogenic carbon dioxide influx appear to be the dominant geochemical processes that determine the carbon isotope composition along the regional flow path. The groundwater’s oxygen-18 content indicates more humid and cooler paleorecharge. A maximum drop of 5°C is inferred for the past recharge temperature.     

Late Quaternary paleosols, stratigraphy and landscape evolution in the Northern Pampa, Argentina

The field properties, micromorphology, grain-size, geochemistry, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of two late Quaternary sections have been used to reconstruct the sequence of pedosedimentary processes and to provide insights into landscape evolution in part of the Northern Pampa of Argentina. Paleosols developed in paludal sediments adjacent to the Paraná river at Baradero and in loess at Lozada can both be correlated and linked to other sites, thus enabling for the first time the tentative recognition and tracing of a diachronous soil stratigraphic unit that probably spans the equivalent of at least part of marine oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 5. The paleosol at Lozada was truncated and buried beneath fluvial sediments during the time span of OIS 4 and 3. Eolian gradually replaced paludal inputs at Baradero over this period, and there were also two clearly defined breaks in sedimentation and development of paleosols. The period corresponding to OIS 2 was marked by significant loess accumulation at both sites with accretion continuing into the mid-Holocene only at Lozada. The more developed nature of the surface soil at Baradero probably reflects a combination of a moister climate and a longer soil-forming interval.     

Luminescence dating of Late Quaternary sediments from East Greenland

Luminescence dating based on K-feldspars and using both TL and OSL methods have been performed on 94 sediment samples from East Greenland. The ages go back more than 380 ka, but are mainly from the last interglaciation and the subsequent period and include both shallow-marine/coastal-fluvial and ice proximal meltwater sediments. Independent age control indicates that the dates in the first group generally fall within ± 15% of the expected age, although a few samples show larger deviations. The ice proximal sediments, on the other hand, show a much larger spread and exaggerated ages, probably owing to incomplete bleaching. OSL may give better results than TL in these sediments.     

Late Quaternary stratigraphy and geochronology of the western Killpecker Dunes, Wyoming, USA

New stratigraphic and geochronologic data from the Killpecker Dunes in southwestern Wyoming facilitate a more precise understanding of the dune field’s history. Prior investigations suggested that evidence for late Pleistocene eolian activity in the dune field was lacking. However, luminescence ages from eolian sand of ∼15,000 yr, as well as Folsom (12,950-11,950 cal yr B.P.) and Agate Basin (12,600-10,700 cal yr) artifacts overlying eolian sand, indicate the dune field existed at least during the latest Pleistocene, with initial eolian sedimentation probably occurring under a dry periglacial climate. The period between ∼13,000 and 8900 cal yr B.P. was characterized by relatively slow eolian sedimentation concomitant with soil formation. Erosion occurred between ∼8182 and 6600 cal yr B.P. on the upwind region of the dune field, followed by relative stability and soil formation between ∼5900 and 2700 cal yr B.P. The first of at least two latest Holocene episodes of eolian sedimentation occurred between ∼2000 and 1500 yr, followed by a brief (∼500 yr) episode of soil formation; a second episode of sedimentation, occurring by at least ∼700 yr, may coincide with a hypothesized Medieval warm period. Recent stabilization of the western Killpecker Dunes likely occurred during the Little Ice Age (∼350-100 yr B.P.). The eolian chronology of the western Killpecker Dunes correlates reasonably well with those of other major dune fields in the Wyoming Basin, suggesting that dune field reactivation resulted primarily due to departures toward aridity during the late Quaternary. Similar to dune fields on the central Great Plains, dune fields in the Wyoming Basin have been active under a periglacial climate during the late Pleistocene, as well as under near-modern conditions during the latest Holocene.     

Palaeotethys-related sediments of the Karaburun Peninsula,western Turkey: constraints on provenance and stratigraphy from detrital zircon geochronology

International Journal of Earth Sciences - Detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology of 15 Late Palaeozoic to Early Mesozoic siliciclastic sandstones from the Karaburun Peninsula in western Turkey...     

Late Quaternary coastal and inner shelf stratigraphy, Apalachicola Delta region, Florida

Since the beginning of the Tertiary the sedimentology of the Gulf of Mexico Basin has been dominated by the depositional activity of the Mississippi River. The sedimentologic influence of the Mississippi diminishes with distance east or west of the Louisiana shelf, however. The Texas and northwest Florida shelf margins, for example, are characterized by a series of smaller deltas. In the inner and mid-shelf areas of these regions the near-surface sedimentary units include infilled stream channels and small deltas. Such features are commonly observed in sub-bottom seismic records from the middle and inner shelf of the northeastern Gulf, along the Apalachicola River coast of northwest Florida.

The Apalachicola River is the principal source of clastic sediment to the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. During the late Holocene virtually all of the river's sediment load has been deposited in the modern Apalachicola Delta and in the river's estuary, Apalachicola Bay, which has been filling rapidly. During late Quaternary lowstands, prior to the development of the modern estuary, the river traversed the present-day inner and mid-shelf, incising a network of channels. Based on seismic records, many of these buried shelf channels were considerably larger than their modern counterparts.

During lowstands the Apalachicola River also deposited coarse sediment on the shelf as deltaic and associated river-mouth sediments. These deposits comprise the modern near-surface sediments of the inner and middle shelf. An investigation of subsurface sedimentary features observed in seismic profiles provides details on the late Quaternary development of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico shelf. Seismic reflection profiles obtained on the inner and mid-shelf regions of northwest Florida reveal an approximately 50 m thickness of late Quaternary sediments, comprised of two and sometimes three discrete clastic sequences. Two lower fluvial sequences total as much as 40–50 m in thickness. A transgressive marine sand deposit overlies the older features in some places, varying in thickness from 0 to 5 m. Identification of seismic facies, combined with stratigraphic data from a suite of coastal boreholes, enables correlation of offshore seismic stratigraphic units with late Tertiary and Quaternary coastal stratigraphy.     

Late cretaceous and cenozoic stratigraphy of the Baikal Rift sediments

The data obtained from long-term field studies in the Baikal Rift area are summarized. A new stratigraphic scheme is developed on the basis of previous stratigraphic research of N.A. Logachev. The new elements of the scheme are (1) the use of regional correlation horizons; (2) recognition of pre-Tankhoi (pre-Late Oligocene) sediments correlated with the Maastrichtian-Early Oligocene deposits of the Baikal Fore-deep; (3) elimination from the scheme of the Khalagai and Anosovka formations and distinction on their basis of the Tagai, Sasa, Osinovka, and Shankhaikha formations; (4) recognition of several weathering crust beds and Neogene paleosols. The “lower Eopleistocene (Upper Pliocene)” red-rock formation of Logachev is subdivided into the following stratigraphic units: the Cretaceous-Paleogene unit characterized by a few finds of Early Oligocene fossils, the Upper Miocene-Lower Pliocene red clay bearing numerous fossil remains, and the Upper Pliocene reddish clay with abundant localities of fossils. The sections examined in the land portion of the Baikal Rift are correlated with bottom sediments of the Baikal depression and are subdivided into three instead of the two commonly accepted large tectonic-lithological-stratigraphic complexes. Stratigraphic studies provide a new insight into the history of the Baikal Rift and into some general questions of the continental rift formation.     

Late Quaternary vegetation in the Southwestern Columbia Basin,Washington

A 33,000-yr pollen record from Carp Lake provides information on the vegetation history of the forest/steppe border in the southwestern Columbia Basin. The site is located in the Pinus ponderosa Zone but through much of late Quaternary time the area was probably treeless. Pollen assemblages in sediments dating from 33,000 to 23,500 yr B.P. suggest a period of temperate climate and steppe coinciding with the end of the Olympia Interglaciation. The Fraser Glaciation (ca. 25,000–10,000 yr B.P.) was a period of periglacial steppe or tundra vegetation and conditions too dry and cold to support forests at low altitudes. Aridity is also inferred from the low level of the lake between 21,000 and 8500 yr B.P., and especially after about 13,500 yr B.P. About 10,000 yr B.P. Chenopodiineae and other temperate taxa spread locally, providing palynological evidence for a shift from cold, dry to warm, dry conditions. Pine woodland developed at the site with the onset of humid conditions at 8500 yr B.P.; further cooling is suggested at 4000 yr B.P., when Pseudotsuga and Abies were established locally.     

Late Quaternary stratigraphy and paleo-oceanography of the Grand Banks continental margin, eastern Canada

Quaternary sediments cored on the continental slope off the Grand Banks and on nearby seamounts and abyssal hills have been correlated back to at least isotopic stage 6. using lithologic and hioslratigraphic markers and warm-cold cyclicity in microfossil assemblages. The sequence is dated using limited oxygen isotope and ^l4C data. The oldest continental slope cores penetrate to a glacial stade with an extrapolated age of 50. 0(H) B. P. The oldest scamount cores probably penetrate to isotopic stage 13. Watcrmass distribution over the area results from interaction of the Labrador Current with locally generated shelf water, and to a lesser extent, the Gulf Stream. Planktic foraminiferal assemblages and sedimentological evidence suggest that arctic Labrador Current core water extends onto the eastern Grand Banks only during full interglacials. During intcrstadials, this arctic core water is absent, probably because its source-was blocked by ice. Cold water during stadials probably results mostly from local cooling on the continental shelf.     

Chronology and correlation of Quaternary magnetostratigraphy and nannofossil biostratigraphy in Norwegian-Greenland Sea sediments

Paleomagnetic analyses of a series of sediment cores from the Norwegian—Greenland Sea document the existence of seven short-lived geomagnetic events during the last about 500.000 years. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy, correlated to oxygen isotope chronostratigraphy, provides a time framework to infer age and duration of these periods of extreme divergence of the earth's magnetic paleofield from the regular normal polarity configuration of the Brunhes Chron. The geomagnetic events typically extend over 5 to 10 kyr. Two events are observed within the oxygen isotope stage 2–4 interval. A short event is recorded at the stage 4/5 boundary and another just below the stage 5/6 boundary. Additional three geomagnetic events are identified in oxygen isotope stage 6, at the stage 9/10 boundary and near the top of oxygen isotope stage 13, respectively.

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Zusammenfassung Paläomagnetische Analysen einer Serie von Sedimentkernen aus der Norwegisch-Grönländischen See dokumentieren die Existenz von sieben kurzen geomagnetischen Ereignissen innerhalb der letzten etwa 500.000 Jahre. Alter und Dauer dieser extrem von der regulären Konfiguration normaler Polarität des erdmagnetischen Feldes der Brunhes Epoche abweichenden Episoden werden im Zeitrahmen von Biostratigraphien kalkiger Nannofossilien bestimmt, die mit einer Sauerstoffisotopen-Chronostratigraphie korreliert sind. Die geomagnetischen Ereignisse erstrecken sich typischerweise über Zeiträume von 5 bis 10 tausend Jahren. Zwei Ereignisse werden im Intervall der Sauerstoffisotopen Stadien 2–4 beobachtet. Ein kurzes Ereignis fällt in etwa mit der Stadien 4/5 Grenze zusammen, ein weiteres findet sich knapp unterhalb der Stadien 5/6 Grenze. Drei weitere geomagnetische Ereignisse sind im Sauerstoffisotopen Stadium 6, an der Stadien 9/10 Grenze und nahe dem Ende des Stadiums 13 identifiziert worden.

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Résumé Des analyses paléomagnétiques pratiquées dans une série de carottes de sédiments de la mer de Norvège-Groenland montrent l'existence de sept événements géomagnétiques de courte durée, au cours des derniers 500.000 ans. Ces événements sont marqués par une extrême divergence du champ paléomagnétique terrestre par rapport à la configuration régulière de la polarité normale de Brunhes. La biostratigraphie des nannofossiles calcaires, correlée à la chronostratigraphie des isotopes de l'oxygène, fournit un cannevas temporel qui permet d'en préciser l'âge et la durée. Ils s'étendent typiquement sur 5 000 à 10 000 ans. Deux événements sont observés dans l'intervalle 2–4 des stades des isotopes de l'oxygène. Un événement court est enregistré à la limite des stades 4/5 et un autre juste sous la limite 5/6. Les trois autres événements se situent respectivement dans le stade 6, à la limite des stades 9/10 et près du sommet du stade 13.

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, 500.000 7 . , Brunhes, , . 5 10 . 2–4 . 4/5, — 5/6. 6, 9/10 13.

     

现代珠江三角洲地区QZK4孔第四纪沉积年代

在地质环境变迁迅速的现代珠江三角洲地区,对于第四纪沉积的年代存在多种认识。结合南中国海的海平面变化记录,通过AMS14C和光释光测年发现,珠江三角洲腹地QZK4孔第四纪岩心底部最老年龄约为43.71ka BP。岩心记录的第四纪环境对南中国海海平面变化有着良好的响应:岩心下部陆相河流沉积和暴露风化层发育于末次冰期至早全新世的低海平面时期,上部滨海—河口湾沉积发育于早中全新世以来的高海平面时期。根据钻孔岩心的环境分析,推测现代珠江三角洲地区第四纪的底界可能较本钻孔记录的更老。     

Late Quaternary environments and biogeography in the Great Basin

Plant and animal remains found in packrat (Neotoma spp.) middens and cave fill from the eastern and southern Great Basin region reveal the presence of subalpine conifers and boreal mammals at relatively low elevations during the Late Wisconsin. Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) and bristlecone pine (P. longaeva) were important in the late Pleistocene plant communities throughout this region. Spruce (Picea cf. engelmannii) and common juniper (Juniperus communis) were present in some of the more northerly localities, and Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and white fir (Abies concolor) were present in southern and eastern localities. Single needle pinyon pine (Pinus monophylla), common across this region today, was apparently not present north of the Sheep Range of southern Nevada during the Late Wisconsin. Pikas (Ochotona cf. princeps), small boreal mammals present in only a few Great Basin mountain ranges today, were common throughout the region. Heather voles (Phenacomys cf. intermedius) have been found in two cave fill deposits in Nevada, though they are unknown in the Great Basin today. Limber and bristlecone pines are generally restricted to rocky substrates in modern subalpine habitats in the Great Basin, and this may also have been the case when these plants grew at lower elevations during the Late Wisconsin. Subalpine conifers were present on the rock outcrops sampled by the packrat middens, but shrub communities, perhaps dominated by sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), may have been present on alluvial valley-bottom substrates. Forested habitats would thus have been isolated habitat islands, as they are today. Boreal small mammals, including pikas and heather voles, were able to colonize the Great Basin mountain ranges during the late Pleistocene. We suggest that these mammals were able to survive in the intervening valley-bottoms under a cool-summer climatic regime, and that continuous forest or woodland corridors were not necessary for migration.     

杭州湾晚第四纪沉积与古环境演变

通过对杭州湾第四系钻孔的年代地层学、沉积学、古环境学等多学科综合分析,认为XZK169孔全新世沉积始于孔深17.35m处(年代约为10～9kaBP),其下至孔深86.40m沉积属晚更新世。整个沉积层中可分出3个海进—海退旋回晚更新世早期以陆相沉积为主,出现河湖相—滨海湖泊相—河湖相沉积,气候为温凉干燥—温暖湿润—温凉干燥;晚更新世中晚期出现河湖相—潮滩湖相—浅海相—河口湾相沉积,气候为温凉干燥—寒冷干燥—温凉—暖热湿润—温热湿润;经历了末次冰期侵蚀后,全新世出现浅海相—河口湾相沉积,气候以暖热湿润—温暖湿润为主。约在5kaBP,杭州湾与长江口分离。     

Late Quaternary stratigraphy of the northern Rockall trough and Faeroe-Shetland channel,northeast Atlantic Ocean

A late Quaternary deep-water stratigraphic framework has been established for the deep-water areas (>450m) of the northern Rockall Trough and Faeroe-Shetland Channel. Four stratigraphic units (1–4) are identified; these are primarily biostratigraphic units based on dinoflagellate cyst evidence. Unit 1 represents the late Weichselian glacial (pre-13 000 yr BP); unit 2 the Late Glacial Interstadial (11 000-13 000 yr BP); unit 3 is of Younger Dryas age (10 000-11 000 yr BP); and unit 4 represents the Holocene interglacial (post-10 000 yr BP). This stratigraphy is supported by the discovery of the mixed Vedde Ash (10 600 yr BP) and North Atlantic Ash zone 1, and the Saksunarvatn Ash (9000–9100 yr BP), concentrated in units 3 and 4 respectively. The sedimentology indicates that the oceanographic regime underwent a major change between the glacial and interglacial stages. This is marked by the onset of strong bottom current activity, allied to the restoration of overflow of the Norwegian Sea Deep Water into the North Atlantic, towards the end of the Younger Dryas Stadial. Despite intense bioturbation and bottom-current reworking the basic stratigraphic framework is maintained. Recognition of two volcanic ash markers enables correlation with established onshore and offshore sequences of marine and non-marine environments.     

大同盆地第四纪磁性地层学研究及其对比

大同盆地位于黄土高原东北部,行政隶属山西省大同、阳高两县,总面积150多平方公里,它是从太行山北部到大青山间NEE-SWW方向构造成因的山间盆地之一,为晚新生代断陷盆地.第四纪时期,由于气候波动和新构造运动诸因素的综合作用,在盆地内沉积了较厚的河湖相地层及黄土--古土壤序列,并伴有火山喷发物质穿插于上述地层之中,形成独特的地层地貌.研究中以黑山南四沟剖面为主剖面,以东水头,东坨和黄家洼剖面作为辅助剖面进行磁性地层学研究.     

Pollen stratigraphy of the Late Pleistocene sediments at Mommark, Als, South Denmark

Past environmental changes in the Baltic area are discussed on the basis of pollen and spores recovered from marine sediments in a series of cliff sections at Mommark, in southern Denmark. The sediment succession represents Jessen & Milthers' (1928) Eemian pollen zones c-h, or Andersen's (1961 1975) zones E1/2-E7, as well as the earliest Weichselian pollen zone i, or EW-1, the Herning Stadial. A correlation with annually laminated German sequences (e.g. Bispingen) indicates that the sequence spans approximately 11 000 years. Marine deposition began c. 300 years after the beginning of the Eemian Interglacial Stage and continued to shortly before the end of pollen zone E7, at c. 10 600 years after the beginning of the Eemian. Sedimentation rates varied through the time period represented by the sequence, with initial deposition relatively rapid at c. 0.35 cm yr^-1 for the first c. 300 years. Rates then decreased to 0.029 cm yr^-1 for the next 2700 years and remained low, though varying, throughout the rest of the sequence. Overall, the rates indicate that sediment supply was highly restricted throughout the interglacial, possibly reflecting the dense forest vegetation that colonized the hinterland.