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.     

Late Quaternary marine terraces in the Mediterranean coastal area of Syria: Geochronology and neotectonics

In order to provide new data on the neotectonics and geodynamic properties of western Syria, studies of marine terraces have been carried out. The most attention was paid to the lower terraces in the range of 3–5 to 30–35 m above sea level, because they have more complete distributions along the shore. The lower terraces were examined along the coastal area from Tartus to Latakia, and along the carbonate cliff on Arwad Island. Seven ²³⁰Th/U dates for these terraces are in the range of 85–130 ka, suggesting the age interval of the last interglacial (MIS 5). New dates on the lower terraces provide a basis for stratigraphical and geomorphological interpretation as well as neotectonic reconstruction. According to the geomorphological data and lithological composition of those terraces, two main uplifted blocks can be established. One coincides with the Latakia block, and another corresponds to the western margin of the Banias volcanic plateau. These blocks are divided by a subsided structure corresponding to the Nahr el Kebir graben. The amplitude of neotectonic uplifting in the Latakia and Banias blocks reaches 15–20 m for the Late Pleistocene.     

Age estimates of coastal terraces in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and their tectonic implications

The great Indian Ocean earthquake of December 26, 2004 caused significant vertical changes in its rupture zone. About 800 km of the rupture is along the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which forms the outer arc ridge of the subduction zone. Coseismic deformation along the exposed land could be observed as uplift/subsidence. Here we analyze the morphological features along the coast of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, in an effort to reconstruct the past tectonics, taking cues from the coseismic effects. We obtained radiocarbon dates from coastal terraces of the island belt and used them to compute uplift rates, which vary from 1.33 mm yr^− 1 in the Little Andaman to 2.80 mm yr^− 1 in South Andaman and 2.45 mm yr^− 1 in the North Andaman. Our radiocarbon dates converge on  600 yr and  1000 yr old coastal uplifts, which we attribute to the level changes due to two major previous subduction earthquakes in the region.     

Age and significance of the Quaternary cemented deposits of the Duje Valley (Picos de Europa,Northern Spain)

Cemented calcareous breccias appear in the Picos de Europa (Cantabrian Mountains, Spain) resting on glacially abraded surfaces and covered by moraines. U/Th dating of the calcite coating the clasts was successful in two samples, the oldest one indicating that the breccias accumulated during or prior to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11, and the youngest indicating later cementation during MIS 8. The former introduces a limit for the age of the glaciation preceding the breccias, which cannot correspond to an event younger than MIS 12. This is the oldest absolute age so far obtained for intercalated glacial/interglacial deposits of the Iberian Peninsula.     

Late Quaternary deglaciation and climate history of the Larsemann Hills (East Antarctica)

The Late Quaternary climate history of the Larsemann Hills has been reconstructed using siliceous microfossils (diatoms, chrysophytes and silicoflagellates) in sediment cores extracted from three isolation lakes. Results show that the western peninsula, Stornes, and offshore islands were ice‐covered between 30 000 yr BP and 13 500 cal. yr BP. From 13 500 cal. yr BP (shortly after the Antarctic Cold Reversal) the coastal lakes of the Larsemann Hills were deglaciated and biogenic sedimentation commenced. Between 13 500 and 11 500 cal. yr BP conditions were warmer and wetter than during the preceding glacial period, but still colder than today. From 11 500 to 9500 cal. yr BP there is evidence for wet and warm conditions, which probably is related to the early Holocene climate optimum, recorded in Antarctic ice cores. Between 9500 and 7400 cal. yr BP dry and cold conditions are inferred from high lake‐water salinities, and low water levels and an extended duration of nearshore sea‐ice. A second climate optimum occurred between 7400 and 5230 cal. yr BP when stratified, open water conditions during spring and summer characterised the marine coast of Prydz Bay. From 5230 until 2750 cal. yr BP sea‐ice duration in Prydz Bay increased, with conditions similar to the present day. A short return to stratified, open water conditions and a reduction in nearshore winter sea‐ice extent is evident between 2750 and 2200 cal. yr BP. Simultaneously, reconstructions of lake water depth and salinity suggests relatively humid and warm conditions on land between 3000 and 2000 cal. yr BP, which corresponds to a Holocene Hypsithermal reported elsewhere in Antarctica. Finally, dry conditions are recorded around 2000, between 760 and 690, and between 280 and 140 cal. yr BP. These data are consistent with ice‐core records from Antarctica and support the hypothesis that lacustrine and marine sediments on land can be used to evaluate the effect of long‐term climate change on the terrestrial environment. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Native iron in Quaternary deposits of the Darhad Basin (northern Mongolia)

Quaternary sediments from the borehole DBC-1 drilled in the Darhad Basin, northern Mongolia, have been studied by thermomagnetic analysis (248 samples) and probe microanalysis (9 samples) to determine the origin (cosmic or terrestrial) of native iron. Most of the samples showed extremely low contents of native iron. Only 26 samples have iron in contents sufficient for its reliable identification (10^–5–10^–3%). The negligible content of native iron in the Darhad Basin sediments distinguishes them from the earlier studied sediments of different geologic associations of Eurasia and the Atlantic, which we explain by the high sedimentation rate in this basin. However, the bimodal distribution of native-iron contents in the samples with a distinct “zero” mode, similar to that in the objects of Eurasia and the Atlantic, testifies to the predominantly cosmic origin of the native iron.     

Agrarian development and conflicts of land utilization in the coastal plains of Calabria (South Italy)

In the Mediterranean area modern economic development is concentrating more and more on the favourably situated coastal plains. The coastal plains of Calabria, which are examined on the basis of land utilization mapping, form, in this backward S Italian region, individually characteristic areas of different levels of agrarian development. Areas with insufficient aid and stagnating development and those with a strong initial developmental impulse and hesitant further development, stand face-to-face with areas with a continuous upward trend. The latter fit into the ranks of those consolidated agricultural regions of S Italy in which government aid and private initiative are multifariously intertwined and together support the process of development. Up to now, however, the different non-agricultural interests have impeded the continuing progress of the process more and more and given rise to awkward land utilization conflicts. Through settlement expansion, the building of transport facilities and ports for industrial zones as well as tourism, the use of land for agriculture is, to an increasing extent, being taken away so that regional planning seems imperative.     

Eustatic and tectonic controls on Quaternary Ras Leona marine terraces (Strait of Gibraltar, northern Morocco)

Well-preserved Quaternary staircased marine terraces appear on Ras Leona limestone relief. This is a peculiar sector of the Betic-Rif Cordillera, lying in the four-way junction between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and Europe and Africa. The age and altitude correlation of the Ras Leona terraces with travertine-covered lateral equivalent terraces fashioned in the neighbouring Beni Younech area, and comparison with those along the Moroccan Atlantic coasts, would suggest that the Ras Leona terraces were mainly formed by eustatic factors. The importance of the eustasy is supported by further comparisons with Spanish and Moroccan Mediterranean terraces and with different marine terraces developed on passive-margin coasts around the world. A tectonic event occurred mainly during the period between the formation of the Maarifian and the Ouljian terraces (i.e., between 370 and 150 ka). The moderate Quaternary tectonic uplift deduced from the marine terraces and its comparison with uplifted marine terraces developed in active subduction setting disagrees with the model of an active eastwards subduction below the Gibraltar tectonic arc.     

Pleistocene marine deposits in the coastal areas of Kola Peninsula (Russia)

On the basis of field data, datings from both electron spin resonance – and optically stimulated luminescence, and micro- and macrofauna, in addition to presence of diatoms, three Late Pleistocene marine units have been identified in the coastal areas of the Kola Peninsula. The stratigraphically lowest sequence is correlated to the Ponoi Beds and the Boreal transgression, attributed to the marine isotope stages (MIS) 5e to 5d in the White Sea depression and to MIS 5e to 5c in the Barents Sea. Thermophilic fauna and diatoms indicate normal water salinity and a water temperature above zero. The second marine unit, referred as the Strel'na Beds, can be correlated with the Early Weischselian transgression, termed the Belomorian transgression. With low water salinity and a water temperature similar or colder than the present times, Belomorian transgressions are reliably detected in the White Sea and are not clearly found in the Barents Sea. The results obtained from the sediments of the Ponoi and Strel'na Beds indicate a continuously existing marine reservoir from 130 to 80–70 ka ago (entire MIS 5) in the White Sea depression. The early Middle Weichselian Barents–Kara ice-sheet invasion and its recession might have caused the glacioeustatic Middle Weichselian (MIS 3) transgression, and the third Late Pleistocene marine sequence has been deposited in the regressing shallow cold sea with less saline waters. The results help in the understanding of the history of Late Quaternary ice sheets in North Eurasia and provide evidence for the debatable Early and Middle Weichselian marine events.     

Age of the Jombolok lava field (East Sayan): evidence from dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating

Dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating, with reference to remote sensing, digital elevation modeling, geological, and geomorphological data, provide new age constraints for the Jombolok lava field in the East Sayan Mountains (Siberia). The Jombolok lava field originated in the latest Late Pleistocene and underwent at least four phases of volcanic activity recorded in lava flows. Two earliest phases followed shortly one after another more than 13 kyr ago. The third phase corresponding to eruptions of Kropotkin volcano can be timed only relatively. The fourth phase has been dated by dendrochronology and AMS ¹⁴C of well-preserved wood buried under the youngest lava which occurs among older lavas near the Jombolok River mouth. The age of this activity is bracketed between the death of trees caused by eruptions 1268-928 years ago and the beginning of new tree growth on the surface of the most recent lavas 900 years ago.     

Stratotypes of Quaternary deposits of the Yaloman-Katun’ zone (Gorny Altai)

We revised geological data substantiating the unified 1983 Regional Stratigraphic Chart of Gorny Altai Quaternary deposits. Based on our own and literature data, we showed that Lower and Middle Quaternary glacial horizons are erroneously distinguished in the Yaloman-Katun’ zone of southeastern Altai. A new correlation is proposed, according to which the glacial complex of the maximum glaciation (MIS-6) corresponds to the Inya catafluvial series and the glacial complex of the first postmaximum glaciation (MIS-4 unit), to the Sal’dzhar catafluvial series. The lectostratotypes of both series are described. The event history of the second half of the Late Neopleistocene in Gorny Altai (MIS-3 and MIS-2) was less catastrophic for ancient biota and Paleolithic man than it was believed earlier.     

Conditions of accumulation and transformation of organic matter in Recent and Quaternary deposits (Caspian shelf)

This paper reports the study of organic material in cores from several areas of the western Caspian Shelf, and the conditions of alterations of the organic material. Cores from a nearby onshore locality had a similar content and composition of organic material. Grain size, at least in the clay to silt range, appeared to have little effect on content or transformation of the organic material, although exceptions are noted. In general, the bitumen content of the older sediments is greater than that of Recent ones. Gaseous hydrocarbons heavier than methane (ethane, propane and butane) were found both in the gas phase of the cores and adsorbed in the sediments. Redox conditions appear to be critical in determining the direction and degree of transformation of the organic material. -- E. Ingerson.     

Groundwater resource degradation in coastal plains: The example of the Cecina area (Tuscany – Central Italy)

The paper describes the degradation of the groundwater resources in the Cecina area, where seawater intrusion, B contamination and NO₃ pollution are all affecting the heavily exploited Pleistocene aquifer. Over-pumping has brought water levels to about 0 m.a.s.l. as far as about 7 km from the shore line, thereby promoting the seawater intrusion. The intrusion, which is characterized by cation exchange phenomena and Ca–Cl type waters, enters the plain mostly through the shallower horizons. The saline front, which advanced from 0.5 to 1 km in 4 a, has by now reached the foot of the hills to the east of the town, where it is also affecting wells of the local aqueduct. Boron contamination, linked to past discharge of industrial waste transported downstream by the river, reached concentrations as high as 3.5 mg/L in the mid-1980s. Although a decreasing trend is now under way, B content is still close to 1 mg/L. The presence of high NO₃, which, together with the seawater intrusion, represents a major issue for groundwater management in the area, is linked to the widespread utilization of fertilizers. Nitrate concentration, which reaches a maximum of about 300 mg/L in the shallow aquifer horizons and then decreases rather regularly with depth, is strongly influenced by precipitation. However, irrigation also contributes significantly to transporting the NO₃ contamination to depth, as clearly shown by δ¹⁸O data. The severe decline in the quality of the groundwater resource in the Cecina area is further compounded by an overall decrease in water availability in the region of Tuscany, as evidenced by long-term monitoring of precipitation and fluvial discharge.     

Collection of radiocarbon dates on the mammoths (Mammuthus primigenius) and other genera of Wrangel Island, northeast Siberia, Russia

We present and discuss a full list of radiocarbon dates for woolly mammoth and other species of the Mammoth fauna available from Wrangel Island, northeast Siberia, Russia. Most of the radiocarbon dates are published here for the first time. Of the124 radiocarbon dates on mammoth bone, 106 fall between 3700 and 9000 yr ago. We believe these dates bracket the period of mammoth isolation on Wrangel Island and their ultimate extinction, which we attribute to natural causes. The absence of dates between 9–12 ka probably indicates a period when mammoths were absent from Wrangel Island. Long bone dimensions of Holocene mammoths from Wrangel Island indicate that these animals were comparable in size to those on the mainland; although they were not large animals, neither can they be classified as dwarfs. Occurrence of mammoth Holocene refugia on the mainland is suggested. Based on other species of the Mammoth fauna that have also been radiocarbon on Wrangel Island, including horse, bison, musk ox and woolly rhinoceros, it appears that the mammoth was the only species of that fauna that inhabited Wrangel Island in the mid-Holocene.     

Biostratigraphy of the Upper Pleistocene (Upper Neopleistocene)–Holocene deposits of the Lemeza River valley of the Southern Urals region (Russia)

Numerous caves and terraces with late Late Pleistocene (Upper Neopleistocene according to the Russian stratigraphic scale)–Holocene deposits are located in the Lemeza River valley in the surroundings of the Atysh waterfall, the native reserve territory of the Bashkortostan Republic. Lemeza River runs in the southern part of the western slope of the Urals and belongs to the Belaya River valley system (Russian Federation). A summary of the biostratigraphical investigations between 1992 and 2007 in this area is given. Deposits of cave and fluvial origin are characterized in the framework of the regional stratigraphy. The results of mammalian investigations and radiocarbon dating provide the basis for the stratigraphical subdivision. Palynology, mollusca, fishes, amphibian and reptiles are used for the reconstruction the palaeoenvironments. The Southern Urals stratigraphic subdivisions are correlated with Western European (Weichselian-Holocene), Eastern European (Russia) (Leningrad–Ostashkov–Shuvalov) and Uralian (Nevyansk–Polar Urals–Gorbunovsky) stratigraphic schemes.