Age and significance of fossil white spruce (Picea glauca), Tunica Hills, Louisiana-Mississippi

Radiocarbon dates indicate a Farmdalian through Woodfordian age for fossil white spruce (Picea glauca) in the Tunica Hills, a greater time span than previously documented. These dates, furthermore, require revision of the ages of fluvial terrace deposits in the region. Spruce-bearing Terrace 1 sediments, previously regarded as late Woodfordian to Holocene age, are of Farmdalian to late Holocene age. Terrace 2 sediments, previously assigned a Sangamonian or Farmdalian age, are of probable Altonian age. Plant fossils in Terrace 1 sediments represent two climatically and temporally distinct assemblages: a cool-temperate, Farmdalian-Woodfordian assemblage dominated by white spruce but including deciduous hardwoods suggestive of an oak-hickory association; and a warm-temperate Holocene assemblage composed of southern hardwoods and nonarboreal species representative of the modern flora of the Tunica Hills. Locally, fossils of white spruce have been reworked into younger Terrace 1 sediments containing the warm-temperate plant assemblage. The transition from the cool-temperate flora to the modern warm-temperate flora in the Tunica Hills probably occurred around 12,000 yr B.P.     

Environmental changes and growth history of a cold-water carbonate mound (Propeller Mound,Porcupine Seabight)

On- and off-mound sediment cores from Propeller Mound (Hovland Mound province, Porcupine Seabight) were analysed to understand better the evolution of a carbonate mound. The evaluation of benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the off-mound position helps to determine the changes of the environmental controls on Propeller Mound in glacial and interglacial times. Two different assemblages describe the Holocene and Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 and late MIS 3 (∼31 kyr BP). The different assemblages are related to changes in oceanographic conditions, surface productivity and the waxing and waning of the British Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) during the last glacial stages. The interglacial assemblage is related to a higher supply of organic material and stronger current intensities in water depth of recent coral growth. During the last glaciation the benthic faunas showed high abundances of cassidulinid species, implying cold bottom waters and a reduced availability of organic matter. High sedimentation rates and the domination of Elphidium excavatum point to shelf erosion related to sea-level lowering (∼50 m) and the progradation of the BIIS onto the shelf. A different assemblage described for the on-mound core is dominated by Discanomalina coronata, Gavelinopsis translucens, Planulina ariminensis, Cibicides lobatulus and to a lower degree by Hyrrokkin sarcophaga. These species are only found or show significantly higher relative abundances in on-mound samples and their maximum contribution in the lower part of the record indicates a higher coral growth density on Propeller Mound in an earlier period. They are less abundant during the Holocene, however. This dataset portrays the boundary conditions of the habitable range for the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa, which dominates the deep-water reefal ecosystem on the upper flanks of Propeller Mound. The growth of this ecosystem occurs during interglacial and interstadial periods, whereas a retreat of corals is documented in the absence of glacial sediments on-mound. Glacial conditions with cold intermediate waters, a weak current regime and high sedimentation rates provide an unfavourable environmental setting for Lophelia corals to grow. A Late Pleistocene decrease is observed in the mound growth for Propeller Mound, which might face its complete burial in the future, as it already happened to the buried mounds of the Magellan Mound province further north.     

末次冰期以来中国季风区西北边缘沙漠演化研究

我国季风区西北边缘的沙漠是全球中纬度敏感带的重要组成部分.本文选取区内的毛乌素沙地、共和沙地和腾格里沙漠,通过对末次冰期以来地层年代学、沉积相和地层空间分布的研究,重点探讨了末次冰期和全新世时期两个特征时段的沙漠演化.其中末次冰期是沙漠的持续发展、扩张期,奠定了沙漠的空间格局;全新世早期沙漠总体趋于固定、缩小,中期沙漠大部处于固定、缩小状态,晚期沙漠有所扩大,但未达到末次冰期的最大规模.     

Quaternary sediments in the northwestern part of the Barents Sea and their relation to the underlying Mesozoic bedrock

A sedimentological study of Quaternary sediments from the northwestern part of the Barents Sea shows that their composition is controlled by the underlying Mesozoic bedrock and that very little sediment has been supplied from outside sources. The Quaternary sediments consist of Pleistocene glacial clays (moraines) and Holocene gravel, sand and mud, derived by erosion of the clay-rich moraines, which again have been derived from underlying Mesozoic rocks. On the shallow Spitsbergen Bank (30-100 m depth) we find a high energy facies of bioclastic carbonate sand and gravel and lag deposits of Mesozoic rock fragments from the underlying moraine. ¹⁴C-datings of the bioclastic carbonates (Molluscs and Barnacles) suggest that soft bottom conditions with Mya truncata prevailed in early Holocene time, succeeded by a hard bottom high energy environment with Barnacles in the last 2000-3000 years. This may be due to a southward movement of the oceanic polar front into the Spitsbergen Bank due to colder climate in Late Holocene (subatlantic) time, which at present day produces strong bottom currents down to 100 m depth. On the Spitsbergen Bank carbonate sedimentation has succeeded glacial sedimentation as a result of withdrawal of clastic sediment supply in Holocene time and high organic productivity because of upwelling. A similar mechanism may have been operating during earlier glaciations, i.e. in Late Precambrian time to produce an association of glacial and carbonate sediments although the biological precipitation was different at that time. In Late Precambrian time precipitation or carbonate by algaes may have occurred in colder water on the shelves due to higher saturation of carbonate in the sea water.     

Pollen analysis of the 1973 ice core from Devon Island glacier,Canada

Meltwater from a 299-m-long ice core was filtered and analyzed for fossil pollen and spores. Pollen concentration was higher in the late Holocene and interglacial intervals (ca. 7 liter^?1) than in the early Holocene and Wisconsinan (ca. 1–2 liter^?1) ones. The late Holocene and interglacial assemblages were dominated by Alnus (alder), whereas the early Holocene and Wisconsinan ones were dominated by Betula (birch) and Artemisia (sage). During the Holocene and probably the last interglaciation, most of the pollen and spores were blown a minimum of 1000 km from low arctic shrub tundra and adjacent subarctic Picea (spruce) forest; these areas were dominated by the arctic air mass during the summer pollinating season. During the Wisconsinan-early Holocene, glacier ice and arctic air were more widespread and pollen sources were more distant; thus, at this time relatively little pollen was incorporated into the ice.The Devon ice-core data suggest that there should have been pollen in the continental ice sheet of Wisconsin time. When the ice sheet retreated this pollen would be carried by meltwater and redeposited with silt and clay together with contemporary pollen, producing an ecologically anomalous assemblage.     

南海北部陆坡ODP 1144站位第四纪硅藻及其古环境演变

中国南海北部陆坡ODP 1144站位硅藻植物群的研究，建立了西太平洋边缘海一个新的中更新世晚期以来的硅藻生物地层图式，根据硅藻化石中具有指示意义的硅藻种的分布和生态变化（暖水种和冷水种），划分了8个硅藻组合带，其硅藻组合带分别在不同的高低海面环境下形成的，根据ODP1144站位氧同位素（OIS）测定结果，8个硅藻组合带与OIS 1－8期相对应。1、3、5、7硅藻组合带相当于OIS1、3、5、7期，间冰期是以热带和亚热带硅藻占优势，其中冷期出现大量的沿岸硅藻为特征，反映高海平面温暖的气候条件；2、4、6、8硅藻组合带相当于OIS2、4、6、8期，冰期是以亚热带，热带和出现较多冷水硅藻为特征，反映低海平面较冷气候条件，硅藻丰度值的变化与冰期和间冰期有关，可以证实间冰期时期高的海平面和较低的生物生产力以及冰期时低的海平面和高的生物生产力，而生物生产力的变化又与沉积时期沿岸流或上升流的强弱及水团活动有密切关系，进而揭示该区古海洋环境的演化与季风强弱之间的内在关系。     

Ostracod palaeoecology and environmental change in the Laptev and Kara seas (Siberian Arctic) during the last 18 000 years

Fossil ostracod assemblages were investigated in five AMS ¹⁴ C‐dated cores from various water depths of the Laptev and Kara seas ranging from the upper continental slope (270 m) to the present‐day shelf depth (40 m). Six fossil assemblages were distinguished. These represent the varying environmental conditions at the North Siberian continental margin since about 18 ka. In the cores from the shelf the ostracod assemblages reflect the gradual transition from an estuarine brackish‐water environment to modern marine conditions since 12.3 ka, as induced by the regional early Holocene transgression. The core from the upper continental slope dates back to c. 17.6 ka and contains assemblages that are absent in the shelf cores. The assemblage older than 10 ka stands out as a specific community dominated by relatively deep‐water Arctic and North Atlantic species that also contains euryhaline species. Such an assemblage provides evidence for past inflows of Atlantic‐derived waters from as early as c. 17.2 ka, probably facilitated by upwelling in coastal polynyas, and a considerable riverine freshwater influence with enhanced surface water stratification owing to the proximity of the palaeocoastline until early Holocene times. In all studied cores, relative increases in euryhaline species dominant in the inner‐shelf regions are recorded in the mid–late Holocene sediments (<7 ka), which otherwise already contain modern‐like ostracod assemblages with relatively deep‐water species. This observation suggests euryhaline species to be largely sea‐ice‐ and/or iceberg‐rafted and therefore may provide evidence for a climate cooling trend.     

Isotopic Stratification and Its Implications in Groundwater of Northern China

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Holocene and Pleistocene fringing reef growth and the role of accommodation space and exposure to waves and currents (Bora Bora,Society Islands,French Polynesia)

Holocene fringing reef development around Bora Bora is controlled by variations in accommodation space (as a function of sea‐level and antecedent topography) and exposure to waves and currents. Subsidence ranged from 0 to 0·11 m kyr^?1, and did not create significant accommodation space. A windward fringing reef started to grow 8·7 kyr bp , retrograded towards the coast over a Pleistocene fringing reef until ca 6·0 kyr bp , and then prograded towards the lagoon after sea‐level had reached its present level. The retrograding portion of the reef is dominated by corals, calcareous algae and microbialite frameworks; the prograding portion is largely detrital. The reef is up to 13·5 m thick and accreted vertically with an average rate of 3·12 m kyr^?1. Lateral growth amounts to 13·3 m kyr^?1. Reef corals are dominated by an inner Pocillopora assemblage and an outer Acropora assemblage. Both assemblages comprise thick crusts of coralline algae. Palaeobathymetry suggests deposition in 0 to 10 m depth. An underlying Pleistocene fringing reef formed during the sea‐level highstand of Marine Isotope Stage 5e, and is also characterized by the occurrence of corals, coralline algal crusts and microbialites. A previously investigated, leeward fringing reef started to form contemporaneously (8·78 kyr bp ), but is thicker (up to 20 m) and solely prograded throughout the Holocene. A shallow Pocillopora assemblage and a deeper water Montipora assemblage were identified, but detrital facies dominate. At the Holocene reef base, only basalt was recovered. The Holocene windward–leeward differences are a consequence of less accommodation space on the eastern island side that eventually led to a more complex reef architecture. As a result of higher rates of exposure and flushing, the reef framework on the windward island side is more abundant and experienced stronger cementation. In the Pleistocene, the environmental conditions on the leeward island side were presumably unfavourable for fringing reef growth.     

中国北方第四系地下水同位素分层及其指示意义

中国北方第四系地下水中的D, 18O, 3H和14C含量存在明显的分层现象, 这种现象与末次冰期以来的古气候变化有着较好的对应性, 反映了全新世和末次冰期气候条件的差别以及地下水不同的形成机制.深层地下水为晚更新世末次冰期时期形成, 其δ(D) 和δ(18O) 值与全新世补给形成的浅层地下水相比, 分别贫4× 10-3~ 16× 10-3和1× 10-3~ 2× 10-3, 说明末次冰期时期年均气温较低.古地下水中D和18O的大陆梯度与全新世以来地下水中的梯度基本相同, 说明在过去30000a来尽管气温发生变化, 但中国北方大陆的大气循环模式没有发生实质性的改变.地下水同位素分层现象反映了3种不同的补给机制及参与现代水循环程度.这些信息对大陆尺度上的水循环研究和地下水的可持续开发利用有着重要的意义.      

黄河源区第四纪地质研究的新进展

通过对黄河源区的钻孔、自然露头的研究, 建立了黄河源区的第四纪地层层序。第四纪地层可划分为下更新统、中更新统、上更新统和全新统。下更新统为河湖相沉积; 中更新统主要有湖积物、冰碛物和冰水沉积物; 上更新统主要有湖积物、冰碛物、冰水沉积物、洪积物和河流沉积物; 全新统主要由河流沉积物、洪积物和湖积物构成。黄河源区的冰期可划分为3期, 即末次冰期、倒数第二次冰期、倒数第三次冰期, 末次冰期又可分为2个冰阶。黄河源区的湖泊演化可划分为早更新世、中更新世和晚更新世—全新世3个阶段: 早更新世的湖泊范围小; 中更新世的湖泊范围明显扩大, 在位置上也较早更新世的湖泊南移; 晚更新世的湖泊经历了两次的扩张—收缩变化, 到了全新世, 除现今还发育的几个湖泊外, 大多数地区的湖水已退出, 基本上转变为河流环境。在晚更新世末期到全新世初期, 封闭黄河源区的多石峡被切开, 湖水外泄, 现今的黄河形成了, 同时发生了袭夺长江水系的水流。     

末次冰消期以来长江口沉积环境演化及沿岸流变化

长江口附近的沿岸流和水团变化对研究长江三角洲沉积物的“源-汇”机制具有重要意义.对HZK2孔沉积物的粒度、年龄和有孔虫分布特征进行了研究分析.结果表明:HZK2孔52.5 m以上有孔虫均有分布,底栖有孔虫丰度在12 m以上和26.0~52.5 m含量超过40枚/g,代表不同沿岸流和水团的有孔虫属种含量在垂向上呈现明显的分带性.HZK2孔全新世以来经历了河口湾和水下三角洲两大沉积体系,并在全新世早期发育潮流沙脊.末次冰消期,钻孔所在位置受长江冲淡水和苏北沿岸流共同影响.全新世早期,则受苏北沿岸流影响为主;在此之后,长江口冲淡水的作用减弱,苏北、黄海沿岸流影响较强.全新世中晚期,苏北沿岸流、长江冲淡水、江浙沿岸流和东海外海水团多种水体共同作用钻孔所在海域,全新世晚期长江冲淡水作用占绝对优势.      

The taphonomy of mammoth localities in southeastern Wisconsin (USA)

Four southeastern Wisconsin mammoth localities located within a glacial landscape had well-preserved remains found in inter-morainal depressions filled with lacustrine clays covered with peat. Numerous radiocarbon ages dated the mammoths to the late Pleistocene. The taphonomic analysis focused on determining the agency or agencies involved in site formation and the agency or agencies involved in modification to the bones. Statistical approaches to bone orientation data underscored that water transport was not a factor in the formation of the bone beds nor was water movement a disturbance factor. The bone modification profile of the overall assemblage was dominated by chemical weathering, followed by other chemical and microbiological processes. Root etching was the most common biological modification, and the most frequent modifications are involved with the microenvironments of the surface to burial substrate. Potentially cultural modification accounted for only a small portion of the cortical damage to the bones. This general profile indicated an assemblage far more influenced by the immediate environment than by passing animals or people.     

杭州湾钱塘江两岸全新世以来的古植被及古气候研究

根据杭州市三个钻孔的孢粉资料对杭州市地区全新世以来的植被和古气候演变进行讨论。这三个钻孔分别位于钱塘江两岸的三盈村(HZ1)、新街三星(HZ2)和下沙镇市场(HZ3),笔者对其进行了孢粉样分析和地层年代学研究。研究结果表明,该区自晚更新世晚期以来的植被演化可以划分为4个阶段:第一阶段为针叶林,气候温凉较湿,海平面低于现今海平面;第二阶段为针叶林或针阔叶混交林,气候温和较湿,海平面接近现今海平面;第三阶段为针阔叶混交林,枫香、榆花粉明显增多,气候温暖较湿,出现高海面;第四阶段为针叶林,气候暖和较湿,海平面接近现今位置。其中第一阶段为末次冰期,第二、三、四阶段为全新世。根据第三阶段的孢粉组合特征、岩性特征以及微体化石可知,全新世中期的气候比较适宜,气候温暖湿润。     

Response of chironomids to Late Quaternary environmental change in the Taitao Peninsula,southern Chile

An Erratum has been published for this article in Journal of Quaternary Science 17(7) 2002, 721. There is conflicting evidence concerning the extent and timing of late Quaternary climate variability in southern South America and how this may be linked to climate change in the Northern Hemisphere. Critical unresolved questions include whether or not a cool period occurred in southern South America during the Younger Dryas Chronozone (YDC) (11 000–10 000 ¹⁴C yr BP; 13 000–11 200 yr BP), and the timing of wet and dry phases during the Holocene. To date most evidence is from glacial, pollen and beetle records but, in an attempt to resolve these questions, we have used chironomid midges as an independent proxy in one of the first studies of its kind in Patagonia. We investigated the dynamics of midge assemblages during the Late‐glacial and Holocene at Lago Stibnite on the Taitao Peninsula, southern Chile (46°S). Changes in the midge assemblage suggest that the climate may have become cooler and drier during the YDC. During the Holocene there were cyclical changes in the midge assemblage that may have been in response to trophic change and/or to changes in precipitation when conditions appear to have been drier than today at 9400–6300 ¹⁴C yr BP and 2400–1600 ¹⁴C yr BP. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stratigraphy of the fluvial deposits of the Salado river basin,Buenos Aires Province: Lithology,chronology and paleoclimate

The regional landscape of the Salado depression is related to weathering, eolian and fluvial processes generated under different climatic conditions. Although during most of the Holocene the climatic conditions were warm and humid, previously, a vast plain dominated by deflation processes and enhanced by weathering processes was developed in an arid environment. Fluvial deposits produced afterwards are continuous and lithologically homogeneous, which allows differentiation and characterization of the entire stratigraphic sequence. The stratigraphic units of this area, closely related to the paleoclimatic conditions, are recognized and characterized. Three lithostratigraphic units of fluvial origin (Members) and two paleosols have been differentiated. The first ones were grouped in the Luján Formation. Some of the units are related to other ones previously recognized in this area (La Chumbiada Member and La Pelada Geosol), but others have no similarity or relationship with previously known units (Gorch and Puente Las Gaviotas Members, and Frigorífico Belgrano Geosol). Radiocarbon ages suggest that the fluvial sequences were deposited after the glacial maximum, corresponding to MIS 1, except for the basal levels of the lower member which is late Late Pleistocene. Although the general paleoclimatic conditions were related to warm and humid climate, events related to water deficits were also recognized, which could be related to the Younger Dryas, the middle Holocene and the late Holocene.     

The paleogeographic and stratigraphic confinement of giant floods in West Siberia in the Late Neopleistocene–Holocene

The concepts of the role of catastrophic breakthroughs of ice- and rock-dammed and thermokarst lakes in West Siberia in the Late Neopleistocene–Holocene are systematized. The Late Neopleistocene glacial maximum in the mountains and on the plain was obviously at the same time, at 90–60 ka. It has been revealed that the basal part of the Late Quaternary cyclic three-stage upper Ob' River terrace is formed by catafluvial sediments including boulder-gravels, which descend from the valley edge beneath the water line. The Early Karginian (Kharsoimian) marine layers are spatially related to the valleys of the rushed waters of ice-dammed Lake Ermakovskoe. Substantiation is given to the concept of catastrophic flows that arrived at the plain from the Pamir and Tien Shan mountains in the Holocene Optimum and carried the Aral microfauna through the Turgai trough into the Lake Chany area. Floods resulted from the breakthrough of thermokarst lakes in the north of the West Siberian plain were typical in Karginian and Holocene time. The breakthroughs of moraine-dammed basins in the Altai Mountains took place mainly in Karginian time, whereas the breakthroughs of rock-dammed lakes, in the Sartan and Holocene epochs.     

Interglacial high‐tide coasts in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary,southwest Britain: a comparison for the Ipswichian and Holocene

The Ipswichian high‐tide coast in the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary at the time of the highest sea‐levels (5–10 m OD) was wave‐dominated almost everywhere. It is defined by raised beaches and inshore sand shoals, and only in comparatively long but narrow inlets (Somerset Levels) are estuarine conditions evident. The modern Holocene seaway is wave‐dominated at high tide only up to and including the inner Bristol Channel. A muddy upper shore typifies the large, tide‐dominated Severn Estuary to the east and northeast. The larger depth and width of the Ipswichian seaway may explain its greater wave‐dominance, but it is also possible that differences in the sediment regime also contribute to the contrast observed. With water levels continuing to rise, the Holocene seaway could reach Ipswichian depths within a few thousand years and evolve toward greater wave‐dominance. A secondary effect may be the transgression and substantial removal of the Holocene estuarine sequence associated with the Severn Estuary Levels. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

香港西博寮海峡WB7孔的第四纪沉积及硅藻研究

香港西搏寮海峡ＷＢ７孔第四纪沉积物中共有硅藻５４属，１８６个分类单位，该硅藻生物群以沿岸潮间带和近岸浅海种为主，伴有热性，暖热性浮游硅藻。依据硅藻在剖面中的分布特征，丰度及百分比含量变化，自下而上可划分出６个硅藻组合带。并明显反映该沉积时期的古气候与古环境特征，其中第５，６，带相当于全新世，其余４个带均属更新世。     

Weichselian stratigraphy and palaeoenvironments at Bellsund, western Svalbard

A coastal cliff facing the ocean at the west coast of Spitsbergen has been studied, and seven formations of Weichselian and Holocene age have been identified. A reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment and glacial history shows that most of the sediments cover isotope stage 5. From the base of the section, the formation 1 and 2 tills show a regional glaciation that reached the continental shelf shortly after the Eemian. Formation 3 consists of glacimarine to marine sediments dated to 105,000–90,000 BP. Amino acid diagenesis indicates that they were deposited during a c . 10,000-year period of continuous isostatic depression, which indicates contemporaneous glacial loading in the Barents Sea. Foraminifera and molluscs show influx of Atlantic water masses along the west coast of Svalbard at the same time. Local glaciers advanced during the latter part of this period, probably due to the penetration of moist air masses, and deposited formation 4. A widespread weathering horizon shows that the glacial retreat was succeeded by subaerial conditions during the Middle Weichselian. Formation 5 is a till deposited during the Late Weichselian glacial maximum in this area. The glaciation was dominated by ice streams from a dome over southern Spitsbergen, and the last deglaciation of the outer coast is dated to 13,000 BP. A correlation of the events with other areas on Svalbard is discussed, and at least two periods of glaciation in the Barents Sea during the Weichselian are suggested.