Stratigraphy, depositional environments and level reconstruction of the last interglacial Lake Samra in the Dead Sea basin

In this paper we describe the stratigraphy and sediments deposited in Lake Samra that occupied the Dead Sea basin between ∼ 135 and 75 ka. This information is combined with U/Th dating of primary aragonites in order to estimate a relative lake-level curve that serves as a regional paleohydrological monitor. The lake stood at an elevation of ∼ 340 m below mean sea level (MSL) during most of the last interglacial. This level is relatively higher than the average Holocene Dead Sea (∼ 400 ± 30 m below MSL). At ∼ 120 and ∼ 85 ka, Lake Samra rose to ∼ 320 m below MSL while it dropped to levels lower than ∼ 380 m below MSL at ∼ 135 and ∼ 75 ka, reflecting arid conditions in the drainage area. Lowstands are correlated with warm intervals in the Northern Hemisphere, while minor lake rises are probably related to cold episodes during MIS 5b and MIS 5d. Similar climate relationships are documented for the last glacial highstand Lake Lisan and the lowstand Holocene Dead Sea. Yet, the dominance of detrital calcites and precipitation of travertines in the Dead Sea basin during the last interglacial interval suggest intense pluvial conditions and possible contribution of southern sources of wetness to the region.     

Late Neogene–Quaternary evolution of the intermontane Clusone Basin (Southern Alps,Italy): integration of seismic and geological data

In the Clusone Basin (a large intermontane basin filled by thick late Neogene–Quaternary sediments in the Middle Val Seriana, Southern Alps), two high‐resolution seismic profiles have been acquired in order to reconstruct the geometries of the sediments that fill the depression, with a maximum thickness of more than 200 m as documented by available well data, and to define their relationships with the bedrock, consisting of Late Triassic carbonates. In addition to standard seismic reflection processing, a seismic refraction inversion technique has been applied. The integration of geological (both surface and well data) and seismic data indicates a complex history of the drainage patterns of the Clusone Basin, documenting a shift of the Serio River from a palaeodrainage toward the southeast (Val Borlezza) to the present situation, toward the south (Val Seriana): between the older and the present‐day drainages an important depositional stage occurred, as documented by the thick sediments that fill the Clusone Basin, controlling the capture of the Serio River along the Val Seriana. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reconstructing the palaeoenvironments of the early Pleistocene mammal faunas from the pollen preserved on fossil bones

We carried out a systematic investigation on the pollen content of sediment adhering to skeletal elements of large mammals which originate from the long lacustrine record of Leffe (Early Pleistocene of the Italian Alps). Three local faunas were discovered during mining activities along the intermediate part (spanning from 1.5 to 0.95 Ma) of the basin succession. The excellent pollen preservation allowed testing the reproducibility of the pollen signal from single skeletons. A clear palaeoenvironmental patterning, consistent with the ecological preferences of the considered mammal species, emerged from the canonical correspondence analysis of pollen types diagnostic for vegetation communities. Edaphic factors related to seasonal river activity changes and to the development of swamp forests in the riverbanks are significantly associated to the occurrences of Hippopotamus cf. antiquus, whereas finds of Mammuthus meridionalis belong to fully forested landscapes dominated by conifer or mixed forests of oceanic, warm to cool-temperate climate. Rhinoceros habitats include variable forest cover under different climate states. Distinct cool-temperate, partially open vegetation could be recognized for large deer included Cervalces cf carnutorum.A palynostratigraphic correlation between individual spectra and a reference palynostratigraphic record allowed assignment of many fossil remains to a precise stratigraphic position. This procedure also shown that the Leffe local faunas include specimens accumulated under different environmental and climate states, as a consequence of high-frequency climate changes characterizing the Late Villafranchian Early Pleistocene.     

Age constraints on the late Quaternary evolution of Qinghai Lake, Tibetan Plateau

Dating and geomorphology of shoreline features in the Qinghai Lake basin of northwestern China suggest that, contrary to previous interpretations, the lake likely did not reach levels 66-140 m above modern within the past ∼ 90,000 yr. Maximum highstands of ∼ 20-66 m above modern probably date to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5. MIS 3 highstands are undated and uncertain but may have been at or below post-glacial highs. The lake probably reached ∼ 3202-3206 m (+ 8-12 m) during the early Holocene but stayed below ∼ 3202 m after ∼ 8.4 ka. This shoreline history implies significantly different hydrologic balances in the Qinghai Lake basin before ∼ 90 ka and after ∼ 45 ka, possibly the result of a more expansive Asian monsoon in MIS 5.     

Late Holocene glacial and periglacial evolution in the upper Orco Valley, northwestern Italian Alps

The sediments present in some areas of the Orco Valley provide indications on climatic variations that occurred during the last 6000 years on the southern slopes of the Alps. In particular, distribution and ages of peat layers help define periods and extent of glacial fluctuation in the last 2200 years. Sampling of soils involved in periglacial processes provided a basis for development of a chronological framework of late Holocene environmental change. The data indicate a trend toward cooler climate in the second half of the Holocene. A strong relationship exists between phases of River Po flooding and expansion/retreat phases of the Swiss glaciers: major glacial advances were coeval with periods of intense flooding of the River Po, whereas the phases of glacial retreat coincided with periods of little flooding of the Po. Only in three cases do relationships between glacier activity and floods show weak correlations; two of the cases relate to the warmest periods in approximately the last 2200 years, while the third is the present period. Paleoclimatic evidence from the study region indicates the relatively warm Roman Period between about 2200 and 1900 cal yr BP appears to better represent modern conditions than does the Medieval Warm Period.     

Detrital zircon UPb geochronology of the Wuyu (Oiyug) Basin,southern Tibetan Plateau,and its geological implications

Cenozoic strata in the Wuyu Basin record the tectonic evolution of the southern Tibetan Plateau. Here, we use detrital zircon isotope data and paleocurrents based on petrographic and sedimentary facies analyses to constrain the provenance of sediments in the Wuyu Basin. On this basis, we recognize multiple phases of tectonic activity in the southern Tibetan Plateau since the Miocene. Tectonic activity at ca. 15 Ma ended the lacustrine sedimentary facies of the Mangxiang Fm. and caused volcanic eruptions; the Wuyu Basin received deposits of the Laiqing Fm. dominated by volcanic and pyroclastic rocks. Tectonic activity at ca. 8 Ma resulted in the volcanic and pyroclastic rocks of the Laiqing Fm. becoming one of the main provenances for the overlying Wuyu Fm. The lacustrine environment in the Wuyu Basin ended again and shifted to braided river sedimentation, the paleocurrent directions changed from northward to southward, and the central Lhasa subterrane became one of the main provenances at ca. 2.5 Ma. By comparing the detrital zircon ages of our samples in the Wuyu Basin and sands from the Lhasa River, we infer that a long river comparable to the modern Lhasa River existed in the Wuyu Basin area at ca. 2.5 Ma. During the Quaternary, due to the consistent convergence between the Indian and Eurasian plates, the eastern Gangdese Mountains uplifted, which resulted in the blocking of this river and the development of the current geomorphic features in the Wuyu Basin area.     

Geoarchaeology of Pleistocene open-air sites in the Vila Nova da Barquinha-Santa Cita area (Lower Tejo River basin, central Portugal)

This paper aims to provide insight into human occupation and landscape change during the Pleistocene in a central area of the Lower Tejo basin (Portugal). Detailed geomorphological mapping, coupled with lithostratigraphy, sedimentology and luminescence dating, supports the identification of a complete terrace staircase sequence. It consists of six gravely terraces located below the culminant (Pliocene) basin unit. A chronological framework for the sedimentary sequences and associated human industries is proposed and correlated with marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS): T1 terrace, not dated; T2, not dated; T3, >300 ka; T4, ∼300-160 ka (MIS8, MIS7 and MIS6); T5, ∼136-75 ka (MIS5); T6, ∼62-30 ka (MIS3); colluvium and aeolian sands, ∼30-14 ka (MIS2); valley fill deposits, ∼14 ka to present (MIS1). The oldest artefacts were found at the base of the T4 terrace, with the local stratigraphic level dated to ≥175 ± 6 ka (Middle Pleistocene). The lithic assemblages collected from distinct stratigraphic levels (T4, T5 top, T6 terraces and colluvium) are characterized by the predominance of opportunistic technological choices, a feature that can be attributed partly to the preferential exploitation of the available raw material, dominated by local-sourced quartzites and quartz pebbles. The adaptation to local raw material (texture and volume), together with subsistence patterns and behaviours, could explain the rarity of Acheulian types (handaxes and cleavers) and picks in the T4 terraces of the Tejo tributaries; this is in contrast to the same terrace of the Tejo valley, in which these types are found. Interpretation of the environmental conditions (controlled by climate and glacio-eustatic sea-level changes) affecting the hunter-gatherer human groups is also presented.     

The timing of sea-level high-stands during Marine Isotope Stages 7.5 and 9: Constraints from the uranium-series dating of fossil corals from Henderson Island

Direct dating of fossil coral reefs using the U-series chronometer provides an important independent test of the Milankovitch orbital forcing theory of climate change. However, well-dated fossil corals pre-dating the last interglacial period (>130 thousand years ago; ka) are scarce due to, (1) a lack of sampling localities, (2) insufficient analytical precision in U-series dating methods, and (3) diagenesis which acts to violate the assumption of closed-system U-series isotopic decay in fossil corals. Here we present 50 new high-precision U-series age determinations for fossil corals from Henderson Island, an emergent coral atoll in the central South Pacific. U-series age determinations associated with the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 9 interglacial and MIS 7.5 interstadial periods are reported. The fossil corals show relatively little open-system U-series behaviour in comparison to other localities with fossil coral reefs formed prior to the last glacial cycle, however, open-system U-series behaviour is still evident in most of the dated corals. In particular, percent-level shifts in the [²³⁰Th/²³⁸U]_act composition are observed, leading to conventional U-series ages that are significantly younger or older than the true sample age. This open-system U-series behaviour is not accounted for by any of the open-system U-series models, indicating that new models should be derived. The new U-series ages reported here support and extend earlier findings reported in Stirling et al. (2001), providing evidence of prolific coral reef development on Henderson Island at ∼320 ka, most likely correlated with MIS 9.3, and subsequent reef development at ∼307 ka during MIS 9.1, while relative sea-level was potentially ∼20 m lower than during MIS 9.3. The U-series ages for additional well-preserved fossil corals are suggestive of minor reef development on Henderson Island during MIS 7.5 (245-230 ka) at 240.3 ± 0.8 and 234.7 ± 1.3 ka. All U-series observations are consistent with the Milankovitch theory of climate change, in terms of the timing of onset and termination of the dated interglacial and interstadial periods. The best preserved samples also suggest that the oceanic ²³⁴U/²³⁸U during MIS 9 and MIS 7.5 was within five permil of the modern open ocean composition.     

Late Holocene vegetation and climate oscillations in the Qaidam Basin of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Pollen evidence from sediment cores at Hurleg and Toson lakes in the Qaidam Basin was obtained to examine vegetation and climatic change in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The chronologies were controlled by ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs analysis and AMS ¹⁴C dating. Pollen assemblages from both lakes are dominated by Chenopodiaceae (∼ 40%), Artemisia (∼ 30-35%) and Poaceae (∼ 20-25%), with continued occurrence but low abundance of Nitraria, Ephedra, and Cyperaceae. Artemisia/Chenopodiaceae (A/C) pollen ratios from two lakes show coherent large oscillations at centennial timescale during the last 1000 yr. A/C ratios were high around AD 1170, 1270, 1450, 1700 and 1920, suggesting that the vegetation was more “steppe-like” under a relatively moist climate than that during the intervening periods. Wet-dry climate shifts at the two lakes (2800 m asl) are in opposite phases to precipitation changes derived from tree-ring records in the surrounding mountains (> 3700 m asl) and to pollen and snow accumulation records from Dunde ice core (5300 m asl), showing that a dry climate in the basin corresponds with a wet interval in the mountains, especially around AD 1600. This contrasting pattern implies that topography might have played an important role in mediating moisture changes at regional scale in this topographically complex region.     

Late Pleistocene glaciers in Darhad Basin, northern Mongolia

Late Pleistocene glaciers around Darhad Basin advanced to near their maximum positions at least three times, twice during the Zyrianka glaciation (at ∼ 17-19 ka and ∼ 35-53 ka), and at least once earlier. The Zyrianka glaciers were smaller than their predecessors, but the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) difference was < 75 m. End moraines of the Zyrianka glaciers were ∼ 1600 m asl; ELAs were 2100-2400 m asl. ¹⁴C and luminescence dating of lake sediments confirm the existence of paleolake highstands in Darhad Basin before ∼ 35 ka. Geologic evidence and ¹⁰Be cosmic-ray exposure dating of drift suggests that at ∼ 17-19 ka the basin was filled at least briefly by a glacier-dammed lake ∼ 140 m deep. However, lake sediments from that time have not yet been recognized in the region. A shallower paleolake briefly occupied the basin at ∼ 11 ka, but between ∼ 11 and 17 ka and after ∼ 10 ka the basin was probably largely dry. The timing of maximum glacier advances in Darhad appears to be approximately synchronous across northern Mongolia, but different from Siberia and western Central Asia, supporting the inference that paleoclimate in Central Asia differed among regions.     

Central Antarctic provenance of Permian sandstones in Dronning Maud Land and the Karoo Basin: Integration of U-Pb and TDM ages and host-rock affinity from detrital zircons

In conjugate SE Africa and Antarctica, Early Permian sandstones of the Swartrant Formation of the Ellisras Basin, Vryheid Formation of the Karoo Basin, and Amelang Plateau Formation of Dronning Maud Land (DML) were deposited after Gondwanan glaciation on a westward paleoslope. We analysed detrital zircons for U-Pb ages by a laser ablation microprobe-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LAM-ICPMS) and attached age significance only to clusters of three or more overlapping analyses. We analysed Hf-isotope compositions by a multi-collector spectrometer (LAM-MC-ICPMS) and trace elements by electron microprobe (EMP) and ICPMS. These analyses indicate the rock type and source (whether crustal or juvenile mantle) of the host magma, and a “crustal” model age (T_DM^C). The integrated analysis gives a more distinctive, and more easily interpreted, picture of crustal evolution in the provenance area than age data alone.Zircons from the Ellisras Basin are aged 2700-2540 Ma with minor populations about 2815 Ma and 2040 Ma, which correspond with the ages of the upslope parts of the proximal Kaapvaal Craton and Limpopo Belt. Mafic rock is the dominant host rock, and it reflects the Archean granite-greenstone terrane of the Kaapvaal Craton.The three Karoo Basin samples and the two DML samples have zircons with these common properties: (1) 1160-880 Ma, host magma mafic granitoid (< 65% SiO₂) derived from juvenile depleted mantle sources (ε_Hf positive) at 1.65 Ga and 1.35 Ga, with T_DM^C of 2.0-0.9 Ga; (2) 760 to 480 Ma, host magma granitoid and low-heavy rare earth element rock (?alkaline rock-carbonatite), derived from mixed crustal and juvenile depleted mantle sources (ε_Hf positive and negative) at 1.50 Ga and 1.35 Ga, with T_DM^C of 2.0-0.9 Ga.Together with similar detrital zircons in Triassic sandstone of SE Australia, these properties reflect those in upslope central Antarctica, indicating a provenance of ∼ 1000 Ma (Grenville) cratons embedded in 700-500 Ma (Pan-Gondwanaland) fold belts. Detrital zircons in Cambrian sediments of the Ellsworth-Whitmore Mountains block and Cambrian metasediments of the Welch Mountains with comparable properties suggest that the central Antarctic provenance operated also in the ∼ 500 Ma Cambrian.     

Late Quaternary climate change record from two long sediment cores from Guaymas Basin,Gulf of California

Modern Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California, Mexico) is a region of high diatom productivity where exceptional preservation factors maintain biannually alternating sediment deposition as annual varves. New sediment cores from Guaymas Basin (MD02‐2512 and MD02‐2515) present the opportunity to construct climate records from below the last glacial period. A low‐resolution age model has been constructed from oxygen isotope analysis, correlation with other dated short piston cores from Guaymas Basin and an estimate of sedimentation rate. MD02‐2512 from eastern Guaymas Basin has an age range from the Holocene to late marine isotope stage 6 (MIS 6); MD02‐2515 from western Guaymas Basin has an age range from ～8000 to 40 000 yr. Shipboard analyses of colour reflectance, magnetic susceptibility and sediment density are combined with continuous X‐ray fluorescence scans to reconstruct a picture of glacial climate in the Gulf of California. Eastern Guaymas Basin is affected by glacial sea level fall, which results in a drastic change in productivity rates and sediment type. The laminated record of MIS 5 allows comparison with the Holocene, showing a similarity of sedimentation patterns during deglaciation and a series of very rapid variations just prior to the last glaciation. In western Guaymas Basin there are a series of Younger Dryas‐like events during the glacial, typified by low productivity and high terrigenous input. Long‐term climate and productivity changes appear to be caused by the southward displacement of the Subtropical High pressure zone. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Loess and palaeosols on the High Terrace at Sierentz (France), and implications for the chronology of terrace formation in the Upper Rhine Graben

Pedological investigations in combination with luminescence dating have been used to reconstruct the genesis and chronology of a sediment succession at Sierentz, France. The sequence comprises loess and palaeosols on top of gravel attributed to the High Terrace of River Rhine. According to the dating results, three phases of soil development occurred during different warm phases of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7 (245–190 ka). Soil development on top of the gravel occurred either during early MIS 7 or during an earlier warm phase, possibly MIS 9. The results imply a minimum age of 250 ka for the formation of the High Terrace in this part of the Upper Rhine Graben, contrary to previous assumptions that correlated gravel sheet deposition with MIS 6 (ca. 150 ka). These results and recent findings at other sites suggest that the chronological setting of terrace formation north of the Alps is much more complex than previously assumed.     

Paleoclimate evolution and aridification mechanism of the eastern Tethys during the Callovian–Oxfordian: evidence from geochemical records of the Qiangtang Basin,Tibetan Plateau

Global climate during the Jurassic has been commonly described as a uniform greenhouse climate for a long time. However, the climate scenario of a cool episode during the Callovian–Oxfordian transition following by a warming trend during the Oxfordian (163.53 to 157.4 Ma) is documented in many localities of the western Tethys. It is still unclear if a correlatable climate scenario also occurred in the eastern Tethys during the same time interval. In this study, a detailed geochemical analysis on the 1060 m thick successions (the Xiali and Suowa formations) from the Yanshiping section of the Qiangtang Basin, located in the eastern Tethys margin during the Callovian–Oxfordian periods, was performed. To reveal the climate evolution of the basin, carbonate content and soluble salt concentrations (SO₄²⁻, Cl⁻) were chosen as climatic indices. The results show that the overall climate patterns during the deposition of the Xiali and Suowa formations can be divided into three stages: relatively humid (~ 164.0 to 160.9 Ma), dry (~ 160.9 to 159.6 Ma), semi-dry (~ 159.6 to 156.8 Ma). A similar warming climate scenario also occurred in eastern Tethys during the Callovian–Oxfordian transition (~ 160.9 to 159.6 Ma). Besides, we clarify that the Jurassic True polar wander (TPW), the motion of the lithosphere and mantle with respect to Earth’s spin axis, inducing climatic shifts were responsible for the aridification of the Qiangtang Basin during the Callovian–Oxfordian transition with a review of the paleolatitude of the Xiali formation (19.7 + 2.8/−2.6° N) and the Suowa formation (20.7 + 4.1/−3.7° N). It is because the TPW rotations shifted the East Asia blocks (the North and South China, Qiangtang, and Qaidam blocks) from the humid zone to the tropical/subtropical arid zone and triggered the remarkable aridification during the Middle-Late Jurassic (ca. 165–155 Ma).

     

Differential uplift of the Chinese Tianshan since the Cretaceous: constraints from sedimentary petrography and apatite fission-track dating

The Chinese Tianshan is one of the important international natural laboratories for studying continental geodynamics, but its uplift time, kinematics and mechanism of formation are key unresolved questions. In order to constrain the timing, kinematics and mechanism of uplift of the Chinese Tianshan, we applied sedimentary petrography and apatite fission-track dating to Cretaceous-Tertiary series from the northern Tarim Basin and the Tianshan Mountains. We collected and analyzed 79 sandstone samples and 75 detrital heavy mineral samples from the Kezilenuer-Kuqa profile (northern Tarim Basin) with a well-defined magnetostratigraphy. Our data indicate that detrital mineral maturity abruptly decreased at the disconformity between the Upper and Lower Cretaceous, and decreased again after 15(−12) Ma. The sediments in the northern Tarim Basin changed their provenance at 124 Ma, 26(−24) Ma and 15(−12) Ma, respectively. In addition, we collected and analyzed 36 primary apatite samples from the South, Central and North Tianshan. Our results show that the Chinese Tianshan underwent three phases of differential uplift. The first phase of uplift started at the southern Central Tianshan during the Early Cretaceous and propagated southward. The second phase of uplift started at the northern Central Tianshan during the Late Cretaceous and propagated also southward. The third phase of uplift started at the northern Central Tianshan during the Eocene and propagated both northward and southward. These differential uplifts have caused development of disconformity and drops in mineral maturity of detrital sediments in the northern Tarim Basin. Such a differential and heterogeneous uplift process might have been trigged by collisions of different microcontinents (i.e., Lhasa, Kohistan-Dras and India) at the southern margin of Asia. These collisions reactivated the South Tianshan Fault and then the North Tianshan Suture, and uplifted the Chinese Tianshan step by step.     

Climate drying and associated forest decline in the lowlands of northern Guatemala during the late Holocene

Palynological studies document forest disappearance during the late Holocene in the tropical Maya lowlands of northern Guatemala. The question remains as to whether this vegetation change was driven exclusively by anthropogenic deforestation, as previously suggested, or whether it was partly attributable to climate changes. We report multiple palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment proxies (pollen, geochemical, sedimentological) from sediment cores collected in Lake Petén Itzá, northern Guatemala. Our data indicate that the earliest phase of late Holocene tropical forest reduction in this area started at ∼ 4500 cal yr BP, simultaneous with the onset of a circum-Caribbean drying trend that lasted for ∼ 1500 yr. This forest decline preceded the appearance of anthropogenically associated Zea mays pollen. We conclude that vegetation changes in Petén during the period from ∼ 4500 to ∼ 3000 cal yr BP were largely a consequence of dry climate conditions. Furthermore, palaeoclimate data from low latitudes in North Africa point to teleconnective linkages of this drying trend on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.     

Quantitative reconstruction of Early Pleistocene climate in southeastern Australia and implications for atmospheric circulation

Today, southeastern Australia experiences a winter-dominated rainfall regime, governed by the seasonal migration of the highly zonal Southern Hemisphere subtropical anticyclone. The late Cenozoic history of this rainfall regime is poorly understood, but it has been widely accepted that its onset was a product of the intensification and northward migration of the subtropical anticyclone, driven by steepening of hemispheric temperature gradients associated with the initiation of extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation, ～2.6 million years ago (Ma). Here, we use fossil beetle remains from Stony Creek Basin, a small palaeolake record in upland southeastern Australia deposited over ～280,000 years between ～1.84 and 1.56 Ma, to quantitatively reconstruct regional climate during the Early Pleistocene. Climate reconstructions based on coexistence of extant beetle taxa indicate that temperatures were consistently 1–3 °C warmer than present, and rainfall as high as or substantially higher than today, throughout the record. In particular, beetle data indicate that rainfall was similar to today during winter, but 2–2.4 times higher than today during summer. This is consistent with the presence of diverse rainforest pollen also present in the record, and indicates that the modern, winter-dominated rainfall regime was not yet in place by ～1.5 Ma, at least one million years later than previously thought. We suggest that the Southern Hemisphere anticyclonic circulation must have been much less intense during the Early Pleistocene than today, rather than shifted meridionally as previously argued.     

The Požarevac loess–paleosol sequence: a record of increased aridity in the south-eastern margin of the Carpathian Basin during the last 350 ka

The loess sequence preserved in the Požarevac brickyard in north-eastern Serbia comprises eight loess units separated by seven paleosols. Geochronological investigation using amino acid racemization and luminescence dating support stratigraphic correlations of loess units L3, S2LL1 and L1 at the Požarevac section with loess of glacial cycles E [Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 10], D (MIS 9–8), C (MIS 7–6) and B (MIS 5–2) across central Europe. Correlation with the marine oxygen-isotope stratigraphy and associated paleoclimatic inferences are further supported by magnetic susceptibility, particle size and carbonate content measured in Požarevac sediments. Malacological investigations at the Požarevac section reveal the continuous presence of the Chondrula tridens and Helicopsis striata faunal assemblages throughout the last 350 ka. The loess malacological fauna, which is characterized by the complete absence of cold-resistant and cold-preferring species, suggests a stable, dry and relatively warm glacial and interglacial climate, compared with other central European loess localities. Together these data suggest that the south-eastern part of the Carpathian (Pannonian, Middle Danube) Basin was a refugium for warm-preferring and xerophilous land-snails during the generally unfavorable glacial climates of the late Middle and Late Pleistocene.     

Multiphase timing of hominin occupations and the paleoenvironment in Luonan Basin, Central China

Thousands of Paleolithic artifacts have been recovered from Paleolithic sites in the Luonan Basin, in the upper South Luohe River of central China. Their discovery suggests that the basin was an important area for hominin settlement during the Pleistocene. However, the initial timing of this occupation and the environmental conditions for this period are still largely unknown. In addition, the sediments are not well dated and most of the artifacts lie on the surface. In an attempt to resolve these issues, a new systemic paleomagnetic analysis was carried out on the loess deposits that contain in situ stone tools. Our detailed loess-paleosol analyses of the stratigraphy of different sites in the basin and Chinese Loess Plateau shows the accumulation of the loess since at least 1.1 million years (Ma) ago. Moreover, recently discovered in situ cores, flakes and retouched stone tools in these deposits show that hominins used this region repeatedly from 0.8-0.7 Ma to 0.4-0.3 and 0.2-0.1 Ma. Pedostratigraphic analyses, magnetic susceptibility and carbon isotope analyses also indicate that these hominins lived in a subtropical to warm-temperate climate with broad-needle-leaf forest vegetation mixed with grasses.     

Polyphase thrusting and dyke emplacement in the central Southern Alps (Northern Italy)

The Triassic succession of the central Southern Alps (Italy) is stacked into several units bounded by south-verging low-angle thrust faults, which are related to two successive steps of crustal shortening. The thrust surfaces are cut by high-angle extensional and strike-slip faults, which controlled the emplacement of hypabissal magmatic intrusions that post-date thrusts motions. Intrusion ages based on SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating span between 42 ± 1 and 39 ± 1 Ma, suggesting close time relationships with the earliest Adamello intrusion stages and, more in general, with the widespread calc-alkaline magmatism described in the Southern Alps. Fission-track ages of magmatic apatites are indistinguishable from U–Pb crystallization ages of zircons, suggesting that the intrusion occurred in country rocks already exhumed above the partial annealing zone of apatite (depth < 2–4 km). These data indicate that the central Southern Alps were already structured and largely exhumed in the Middle Eocene. Although we describe minor faults affecting magmatic bodies and local reactivations of older structures, no major internal deformations have occurred in the area after the Bartonian. Neogene deformations were instead concentrated farther south, along the frontal part of the belt.