Phase relationship and surface water mass change in the Northeast Atlantic during Marine Isotope Stage 11 (MIS 11)

Planktic foraminiferal census data, faunal sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and oxygen isotopic and lithic records from a site in the northeast Atlantic were analyzed to study the interglacial dynamics of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11, a period thought to closely resemble the Holocene on the basis of orbital forcing. Interglacial conditions during MIS 11 persisted for approximately 26 ka. After the main deglacial meltwater processes ceased, a 10- to 12-ka-long transitional period marked by significant water mass circulation changes occurred before surface waters finally reached their thermal maximum. This SST peak occurred between 400 and 397 ka, inferred from the abundance of the most thermophilic foraminiferal species and was coincident with lowest sea level according to benthic isotope values. The ensuing stepwise SST decrease characterizes the overall climate deterioration preceding the increase in global ice volume by  3 ka. This cooling trend was followed by a more pronounced cold event that began at 388 ka, and that terminated in the recurrence of icebergs at the site around 382 ka. Because the water mass configuration of early MIS 11 evolved quite differently from that of the early Holocene, there is little evidence that MIS 11 can serve as an appropriate analogue for a future Holocene climate, despite the similarity in some orbital parameters.     

A Multi-cycle Climatic Fluctuation Record of the Last Interglacial Period:Typical Stratigraphic Section in the Salawusu River Valley on the Ordos Plateau,China

The Last Interglacial Period strata in the Milanggouwan section in the Salawusu River valley on the Ordos Plateau, China, have 8.5 sedimentary cycles composed alternately of eolian dune sands, fluvio-lacustrine facies and paleosols. Based on comprehensive analyses on the distribution of magnetic susceptibility and CaCO3 and paleo-ecology indicated by fossils in the region, it is considered that the sedimentation cycles resulted from dry-cold and warm-humid climate fluctuations. Magnetic susceptibility values and CaCO3 contents in stratigraphic sectors Ⅰ, Ⅲ, Ⅴ and Ⅱ, Ⅳ basically respectively present peaks and low vales, and the former three can in time correlate with MIS5a, MIS5c and MIS5e successively and the latter two with MIS5b and MIS5d. In addition, some horizons of eolian dune sands and the low vales of their magnetic susceptibility and CaCO3 are also correlated with 6 periods of cooling events indicated by the higher content of foraminifer Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (S.) documented in the V29-191 drill in the North Atlantic and the cold events recorded by δ^18O in the ice cores in GRIP, especially with 9 periods of dust events in Chinese Loess Plateau.     

珠江三角洲MIS 5间冰期海平面波动新证据

珠江三角洲第四系广泛发育沉积间断,致使该区域的古环境重建仍然存在诸多疑问,特别是对全新统以下的沉积旋回发育时代及其反映的海平面变化历史等争议尚大。近年从珠江三角洲中部平原钻取的一个长50多米的岩芯中,首次在第四纪地层中见到6个明显的红色沉积层,综合利用沉积学、年代学及区域对比分析后认为,该套地层包含了MIS6以来的沉积,6个红色沉积层中,除最顶部红色层为末次冰期(MIS4～2)形成的典型花斑粘土层外,其余5个红色层均应为MIS5间冰期海平面阶段性降低的沉积产物,反映在MIS5海侵过程中海平面有过多次显著波动。地球化学和矿物学分析结果进一步指示,自下而上6个红色沉积层经受过的化学风化作用强度增大,指示MIS5以来研究区相对水面波动降低的幅度和(或)持续时间从早期到晚期呈增加趋势。     

Climatic Character of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e in the Representative Regions of the World: A Review

The Last Interglacial or Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, is of great interest because it serves as an analog for the Holocene. The climate change and duration during Marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e are considerably well understood for recent and future climate. Despite great interest in this subject over many years, a number of issues concerning the climate circumstances of MIS 5e are by no means resolved. We analyzed 35 published palaeoclimate records with reliable chronologies and robust proxies in typical region of the world to evaluate climate change during MIS 5e. These data indicate that: ① The duration of this warm phase is thought to range from (128±2) ka to (116±2) ka. The climate of MIS 5e was likely relatively stable with a number of abrupt, weak amplitude, cool and/or arid events. And the difference between regions is noticeable for the occurrence, amplitude, onset and duration of these events. For example, marine records from the North Atlantic indicate that the climate of MIS 5e was relatively stable, however the records from Norwegian sea show that the climate of MIS 5e had a significant changes at the beginning and cold event in the Mid-Eemian; The δ¹⁸O, δD and CH₄ in the ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica imply that climate was relatively stable during the last interglacial period, while in Europe from the north to the south the duration of this phase became shorter and the intensity of climatic events became stronger. In addition, the climatic conditions of MIS 5e reconstructed by climate proxy from China are various and have the subject of some controversy. ②The global climate response to the insolation forcing would have been uniform on suborbital timescale. Nevertheless, as a result of regional sundry climatic forcing factors, global millennial-scale/century-scale climate oscillations were marked by significant local features during stage 5e. ③ Based on the better chronological controls, the estimation of climate parameters, the high-resolution climate records, and precise knowledge of the phase relationship between climate changes in global, the earlier depiction for climate circumstances and environment change during Marine Isotope Stage 5e should be refined and our understanding of the climate dynamics and mechanism and climate modelling should be improved.     

南海西部浮游有孔虫记录的MIS 3期表层海洋环境变化

对南海西部越南岸外上升流区17954-2站浮游有孔虫属种组合变化、浮游有孔虫氧同位素、AMS14C测年的分析以及浮游有孔虫表层海水温度、温跃层转换函数的研究结果表明:在MIS3期,南海西部表层海水温度大体呈现暖-冷-暖的变化趋势;温跃层深度由浅到深阶段性变化;短时间尺度上温度与温跃层发生幅度较大的快速变化。暖事件（IS）对应于浮游有孔虫暖水种、混合层属种含量的增加,冷水种、温跃层属种含量的减少以及冬夏SST的升高;冷事件则与之相反。表层海水生产力亦大致呈现3个阶段（61～51ka,51～42ka和42～32ka）的变化,在千年尺度的快速气候事件中,暖事件对应浮游有孔虫生产力属种含量降低,冷事件对应升高。此外,在MIS3内部分暖事件（IS6和IS11～13）表现出表层海水温度降低,温跃层深度变浅和表层海水生产力升高的状况,表明该区此时上升流的存在,其形成原因推测是由于东亚夏季风加强的结果。     

MIS2期南海北部粘土矿物记录的东亚夏季风快速变化

运用伊利石结晶度线性剥离法,定量计算了华南、台湾和吕宋这3个主要物源区对南海北部陆坡MD12-3432和MD12-3434两个岩芯（分别为50.80 m和8.33 m）MIS 2期粘土相对贡献量的时间序列变化。结果显示,台湾对两个岩芯的贡献最大（36%~62%）,吕宋的贡献次之（28%~50%）,二者之和一般大于90%,而来自华南的贡献最小（3%~17%）。台湾和吕宋的贡献量呈现显著反向的千年时间尺度快速波动,二者贡献量随东亚夏季风增强或减弱而显著变化,因此,吕宋/台湾贡献量比值可以用于指示东亚夏季风的快速演化。吕宋/台湾粘土贡献量比值在Bølling-Allerød和Dansgaard-Oeschger 2事件期间的增加,反映了同时期东亚夏季风的快速增强;而在Heinrich 1和Heinrich 2事件期间的减小,则指示了东亚夏季风的减弱。吕宋/台湾贡献量比值对东亚夏季风快速变化的指示,在一定程度上要明显优于蒙脱石/（伊利石+绿泥石）比值。南海北部MIS 2期粘土矿物对东亚夏季风快速变化的响应具有明显的空间差异性,受洋流搬运扰动和物源控制作用影响,陆坡相对浅水区粘土矿物记录的东亚夏季风快速变化信息相对有限,而深水稳定的沉积环境则更有利于保存东亚夏季风快速变化信息。

     

内蒙古萨拉乌苏河流域第四系更新统上部萨拉乌苏阶基本特征剖析

本文概述了对内蒙古萨拉乌苏河流域酒房台剖面更新统上部年代地层-萨拉乌苏阶初步研究的成果.萨拉乌苏阶底部为黄棕色砂层.底界年龄暂定为150 ka.顶界年龄约10 ka,萨拉乌苏阶上部与下部界线年龄约75 ka.萨拉乌苏阶下部以湖沼相沉积为主,夹风、河流堆积物:上部以风成砂为主,夹湖沼相沉积物.150 ka以来该区经受3次水体扩张3次风砂侵入.阶内代表性的古脊椎动物化石,下部是:鄂尔多斯人(即河套人)、主氏水牛、诺氏象、河套大角鹿、哈克图转角羊等:上部是:披毛犀和野驴等.古气候特征是:150～75ka期间,以温湿为主,但中间曾夹有多次气候波动.75～60 ka时期气候转为干冷、多风,60～20 ka间气候明显暖湿,20～10 ka气候又转温.     

Temperature variability and vertical vegetation belt shifts during the last ∼50,000 yr in the Qilian Mountains (NE margin of the Tibetan Plateau, China)

A 13.94-m-long sediment core, collected from a medium-sized lake in the Qilian Mountains (NE Tibetan Plateau, China), was analysed palynologically at 81 horizons. The interpretation of indicator taxa yielded various vertical shifts of the vegetation belts. These palaeovegetation results have been checked with lake surface pollen spectra from 8 lakes representing different altitudinal vegetation belts. Our main findings are the following: A short period of the late Marine Isotope Stage 3 (around ∼46,000 yr ago) was characterized by interglacial temperature conditions with a tree line above its present-day altitude. During the LGM, the vicinity of the lake was not covered by ice but by sparse alpine vegetation and alpine deserts, indicating that the climate was colder by ∼4-7°C than today. Markedly higher temperatures were inferred from higher arboreal pollen frequencies between ∼13,000 and ∼7,000 yr ago with a Holocene temperature optimum and a maximal Picea-Betula mixed-forest expansion between ∼9,000 and ∼7000 yr ago, when temperatures exceeded the present-day conditions by at least 1-2°C. Alpine steppes and meadows and sub-alpine shrub vegetation dominated around the lake since the middle Holocene, suggesting that vegetation and climate conditions were exceptionally stable in comparison to previous periods.     

Reconstruction of climate and vegetation changes of Lake Bayanchagan (Inner Mongolia): Holocene variability of the East Asian monsoon

A high-resolution pollen and Pediastrum record, spanning 12,500 yr, is presented for Lake Bayanchagan (115.21°E, 41.65°N, and 1355 m a.s.l.), southern Inner Mongolia. Individual pollen taxa (PT-MAT) and the PFT affinity scores (PFT-MAT) were used for quantitative climatic reconstruction from pollen and algal data. Both techniques indicate that a cold and dry climate, similar to that of today, prevailed before 10,500 cal yr B.P. The wettest climate occurred between 10,500 and 6500 cal yr B.P., at which time annual precipitation was up to 30–60% higher than today. The early Holocene increases in temperature and precipitation occurred simultaneously, but mid-Holocene cooling started at approximately 8000 cal yr B.P., 1500 yr earlier than the drying. Vegetation reconstruction was based on the objective assignment of pollen taxa to the plant functional type. The results suggest that this region was dominated by steppe vegetation throughout the Holocene, except for the period 9200 to 6700 cal yr B.P., when forest patches were relatively common. Inner Mongolia is situated at the limit of the present East Asian monsoon and patterns of vegetation and climate changes in that region during the Holocene probably reflect fluctuations in the monsoon's response to solar insolation variations. The early to middle Holocene monsoon undoubtedly extended to more northern latitudes than at present.     

Vegetation history of the penultimate glacial period (Marine isotope stage 6) at Ioannina,north‐west Greece

The vegetational history of the penultimate glacial period, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 (c. 185–135 ka), has remained relatively unexplored. Here we present a new record from the Ioannina basin, north‐west Greece, which constitutes the highest‐resolution terrestrial pollen record for this interval produced to date. It shows that the vegetation history of MIS 6 in this region can be divided into two parts: an early period (185–155 ka) with pronounced oscillations in tree population extent, and a later period (155–135 ka) with much smaller tree populations and subdued oscillations. This pattern is analogous to the MIS 3/MIS 2 division during the last glacial in the same sequence, although the early part of MIS 6 had larger Pinus populations and fewer temperate trees relative to the equivalent interval in MIS 3. This implies cooler and wetter conditions, which is somewhat counterintuitive given the high summer insolation during MIS 6e, but is in line with other palaeoclimatic evidence from the Mediterranean. Comparison with North Atlantic records suggests that despite the absence of pronounced iceberg discharges during MIS 6, North Atlantic millennial‐scale variability had a significant downstream impact on tree populations in north‐west Greece. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes in the Thermal Climate in Northwestern Europe during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3, Estimated from Fossil Insect assemblages

More than 30 fossil coleopteran (beetle) assemblages have been recorded from oxygen isotope stage 3 in northern Europe, comprising several hundred identified species. Using the mutual climatic range method for quantifying palaeotemperatures, these assemblages show that the climates of the times can be divided into two distinct interstadial types. One, a short phase of temperate/oceanic climate occurred between 43,000 and 42,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. when conditions were not much different from those of the present day. In spite of the temperate climate, trees did not colonize northwestern Europe at this time. Two, both before and after this temperate interlude there were phases of cold/continental climate during which summers were too cold for trees to grow and winters were of Siberian intensity. It is possible that periods of even colder conditions intervened from time to time between the interstadial but, because of the intensity of the cold, biological systems were so inhibited that no fossil evidence for them can be found in northern Europe. Evidence for them must be sought in the fossil records from the warmer parts of southern Europe or in the physical evidence in the Greenland ice cores.     

Phases of Environmental Evolution Indicated by Primary Chemical Elements and Paleontological Records in the Upper Pleistocene-Holocene Series for the Salawusu River Valley, China

Studies of lithology, sedimentary facies and the distribution regularity of SiO2 and Al2O3 contents and Al2O3/SiO2 ratio allow us to divide the Upper Pleistocene-Holocene Series represented by the MUanggouwan section in China＇s Salawnsu River valley into six segments： MGS1, MGS2, MGS3, MGS4, MGS5 and MGS6. The boundary ages for MGS1 （the Dishaogouwan and Dagouwan Formations）, MGS2 （the upper Chengchuan Formation）, MGS3 （the middle Chengchuan Formation）, MGS4 （the lower Chengchuan Formation）, MGS5 （most strata of the Salawusu Formation） and MGS6 （the bottom of the Salawusu Formation and the top of the Lishi Formation） correspond to those of MIS1, MIS2, MIS3, MIS4, MISS and MIS6, respectively, from deep sea sediments or continental glaciers. MGS5 can be subdivided into five subsegments （MGS5a, MGS5b, MGS5c, MGS5d and MGS5e） and the boundary ages of these subsegments correspond to those of MISSa, MISSb, MIS5c, MIS5d and MIS5e, respectively. Based on the paleoenvironment and paleoecology indicated by the primary chemical elements, fossil vertebrates, mollusks and pollen grains, we hypothesize that MGS1, MGS2, MGS3, MGS4, MGS5 and MGS6 and the subsegments of MGS5 match the corresponding stages for oxygen isotopes in the deep sea sediments and continental glaciers, and the substages of MIS5 in terms of climatic characters, further explaining the phenomena that determined the formation of the late Quaternary strata and the paleontology of the Salawusu River valley. These phenomena relate to fluctuations in the global climate （and particularly in the East Asian monsoon） during the glacial and interglacial periods.     

Radiocarbon constraints on the Holocene flood deposits of the Ning‐Zhen Mountains,lower Yangtze River area of China

Lying athwart both the temperate and subtropical zones, the Ning‐Zhen Mountains are particularly prone to extreme floods in the summer months when cold fronts collide with the subtropics‐derived warm airmasses. The Holocene flood deposits in the region may provide a long‐term perspective on hydrographical change and its palaeoclimatic implications. Radiocarbon dates on carbonised wood preserved in flooding sediments reveal that the region has experienced a number of catastrophic floods throughout the middle Holocene. These extreme flooding events cluster into three periods: (i) 9200–8200 cal. yr BP, (ii) 7600–5800 cal. yr BP and (iii) 5200–4000 cal. yr BP, corresponding to the times when the East Asian monsoon has been intensified under warm conditions. The significant falls in flooding frequency around 8200 cal. yr BP, 5800 cal. yr BP and 4000 cal. yr BP may have resulted from substantial reduction in regional precipitation, probably associated with meridional displacement of the planetary frontal system. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Timing and style of Late Pleistocene glaciation in the Queer Shan,northern Hengduan Mountains in the eastern Tibetan Plateau

Glacial landforms and sediments provide evidence for the existence of two Late Pleistocene major glacial advances in the Queer Shan, northern Hengduan Mountains in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. In the current study, optically stimulated luminescence and electron spin resonance dating results reveal that the two glacial advances occurred during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in MIS 2, respectively. Geomorphic evidence shows that the glacial advance during MIS 3 was more extensive than that in MIS 2. This glacial advance is synchronous with other glaciated areas in the Himalaya and Tibet, but contrasts with global ice volumes that reached their maximum extent during the LGM. Glaciers in the Queer Shan are of the summer accumulation type and are mainly fed by precipitation from the south Asian monsoon. Palaeoclimate proxies show that during MIS 3 the south Asian monsoon strengthened and extended further north into the Tibetan Plateau to supply more precipitation as snow at high altitudes. This in turn led to positive glacier mass balances and caused glaciers to advance. However, during the LGM, despite cooler temperature than in MIS 3, the weakened south Asian monsoon and the associated reduced precipitation were not as favourable for glacier expansion as in MIS 3. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Oyambre coastal terrace: a detailed sedimentary record of the Last Interglacial Stage in northern Iberia (Cantabrian coast,Spain)

A detailed study is presented of a 15.3-m-thick Pleistocene coastal terrace located on the Cantabrian coast (northern Spain). Stratigraphic, sedimentological, topographic and micropalaeontological information is combined with a chronology based on luminescence dating to characterize the deposits. The sedimentary succession records: (i) a basal transgressive system, consisting of a wave-cut surface covered by a lower layer of beach gravels and upper beach pebbly sands; and (ii) a thicker upper highstand system (aggrading), comprising medium to very fine aeolian sands interbedded with thin palustrine muds. Luminescence dating involved a detailed sampling strategy (36 samples and two modern analogues) and the use of both quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and feldspar post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence single aliquot regeneration protocols; feldspar results were used to confirm the completeness of bleaching of the quartz OSL signal. The quartz OSL luminescence age–depth relationship shows significant dispersion, but nevertheless two rapid phases of deposition can be clearly identified: one at ~130 ka [Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 5] and one at ~100 ka (MIS 5c). The top of the succession is dated to ~70 ka. The MIS 5e marine maximum flooding surface is identified at an elevation of 6.85 m above mean seal level. This elevation provides evidence of a regional sea-level highstand for this sector of the Cantabrian coast.     

Links between NAO fluctuations and inter-annual variability of winter-months precipitation in the Seine River watershed (north-western France)

The inter-annual to multi-decadal winter variability (DJFM) of precipitation on the Seine River watershed (France) was analysed using continuous wavelet transform analysis and compared to the winter North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI). Nine weather stations were used over the 1951 to 2004 period and confirmed the homogeneity of inter-annual fluctuations for all stations but one. Wavelet coherence between SLP over the Icelandic and Azores regions and precipitation highlighted coherence for different scales of variability according to the centre of action considered. Segmentation and wavelet analysis and coherence between precipitation and NAOI over a long period of time (1873–2004) showed: i) increasing variability across the last century at most time scales, especially for NAOI; ii) the existence of change points for the mean and variance of both signals; iii) overall discontinuity of the coherence whatever the scale considered, especially between ∼1910 and ∼1955 for inter-decennial to pluri-decennial scales.     

郑州邙山黄土碳酸盐和白云石含量记录的80 ka以来季风降水变化及驱动机制

揭示东亚季风气候精细变化过程和区域差异,是第四纪古气候学研究的重要内容。本文以季风影响显著的中原郑州黄土堆积上部31 m为研究对象,基于高密度光释光独立定年和619份样品的碳酸盐、白云石含量、磁化率测试,重建了约80 ka以来东亚季风降水/季风强度变化过程。黄土碳酸盐、白云石含量时间序列显示,末次间冰期末期以来,中原地区发生过数次季风降水增强事件,每次降水增强期持续时间短于岁差、偏心率等轨道周期,表明存在亚轨道时间尺度季风快速变化现象。中原黄土碳酸盐/白云石含量主要受土壤呼吸CO₂的影响,土壤呼吸CO₂含量由季风降水和土壤温度控制,因此,碳酸盐/白云石含量是东亚夏季风强度的良好替代指标。中原地区千年时间尺度的季风湿润和干旱事件与其他地区黄土、石笋记录具有同步性,证实在东亚季风降水核心区、中心区和边缘区千年时间尺度干湿变化的同步性,支持季风环流大空间同步增强的模式。这一季风降水型式与现代观测到的"南涝北旱"的"+-+"三极型季风降水分布不同,可能表明不同时间尺度季风降水型式有明显区别。进一步分析表明,季风降水增强/减少事件存在约22 ka和约1.6 ka的周期,表明低纬太阳辐射、大洋环流和高纬度冷事件对东亚季风的联合驱动作用。

     

Geochemistry and origin of rare earth elements (REEs) in the Shengli River oil shale, northern Tibet, China

The Shengli River-Changshe Mountain oil shale zone, located in the North Qiangtang depression, northern Tibet plateau, represents a potentially large marine oil shale resource in China. Twenty-eight samples including oil shale, micritic limestone and marl were collected from the Shengli River area to determine the contents and distribution patterns of rare earth elements (REEs) in marine oil shale. Oil shale samples from the Shengli River area have high ash yield (61.86–67.48%) and TOC content (8.02–13.67%) with low total sulfur (S_t,d) content (0.76–1.39%) and intermediate shale oil content (3.60–16.30%). The total rare earth element (ΣREE) content in oil shale samples is notably depleted (46.79–67.90 μg/g), approximately one third of the mean value of the North American Shale Composite (NASC), and lower than that of world-wide black shales and Chinese coals, but higher than that of world-wide coals and micritic limestone samples (29.21 μg/g) from the Shengli River area. The oil shale samples from the Shengli River area exhibit shale-like Chondrite or NASC-normalized REE patterns similar to those of micritic limestone and marl samples from this area, indicating that REEs of these different lithological samples may have been derived from a similar terrigenous source.REE contents of oil shale samples are highly positive correlated with ash yield and show a positive correlation with Fe and a weakly positive correlation with organic sulfur, and the vertical variations of REEs mainly follow those of Si, Al, K and Ti. All these facts indicate that the REE contents in oil shale seams are mainly controlled by clay minerals and, to a lesser extent, by pyrite, as well as partly associated with oil shale organic constituents. Rare earth elements in the Shengli River oil shale have originated from two sources: a felsic volcanic rock source and a clastic or/and limestone source.