New data on the sedimentation rate in the Sea of Azov in the Late Holocene

The sedimentation rates in the Sea of Azov for the period of the last 2000 years (Late Azov stage) were studied by methods of absolute geochronology, lithology, and biostratigraphy. The average sedimentation rate of the Late Azov deposits varied from 0.4–0.8 to 1.5–2.0 mm per year. It reached as much as 4.0–6.0 mm per year in the areas close to the sharp coasts and was defined by the area geomorphology. The scheme of the lithological transects, sedimentation rates, and absolute age of the sediments is presented. The palaeoecology peculiarities of deposit accumulation during the Late Azov stage are described from the diatom and spore-pollen analyses.     

Late Holocene hydroclimate of the western Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico)

Chemical composition, magnetic susceptibility and texture of sediments in a swamp from the Los Petenes Biosphere Reserve provide information about late Holocene hydrological variations on the western margin of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Periods of lower than average amounts of K‐bearing clastics during 2580–2050, 1100–825 and 700–160 cal a BP represent drought intervals. Magnetic minerals were better preserved during these arid intervals, as the swamp was not perennially anoxic. Hydroclimate was unstable during 2580–2050 cal a BP, as several storm‐surge events occurred within an overall arid interval. The drought of 1100–825 cal a BP was contemporary with the Terminal Classic Period and the drought of 700–160 cal a BP was characterized by the lowest erosion as well as highest abundance of authigenic carbonate. Comparison with other climate proxy records from the region suggests that droughts had different geographic coverage. We attribute the different geographic coverage of droughts to variable strengths of polar continental air masses as well as dynamics of the Caribbean Low Level Jet and tropical cyclones that brought precipitation into different parts of the peninsula.

     

Reconstruction of the Holocene climate based on a carbonate sedimentary record from shallow saline Lake Verkhnee Beloe (western Transbaikalia)

We present results of mineralogical and crystallochemical studies of the Holocene carbonate sediments of a small saline lake localized in the Borgoi dry-steppe region, western Transbaikalia. Mg-calcites with a varying Mg content are predominant in the assemblage of endogenic carbonate minerals from bottom sediments. Mathematical modeling of the XRD spectra of carbonates permitted us to identify excess-Ca dolomites, which are an indicator of a shallow (playa) lake. The studies showed that the lacustrine Mg-calcites do not form a continuous series from low- to high-Mg varieties. We discuss the cause of this phenomenon and also consider the existing viewpoints of the structure of low-temperature Mg-calcites and excess-Ca dolomites and their formation conditions in lacustrine sediments. Juxtaposing the carbonate record with the data of lithological analysis, determined stable isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C), and distribution of some geochemical indicators of climatic changes, we reconstructed the intricate evolution of Lake Verkhnee Beloe, which was controlled by the regional climate since the postglacial period till the present day.     

Sequence of magmatic events in the Late Paleozoic of Transbaikalia,Russia (U-Pb isotope data)

The Late Paleozoic intrusive rocks, mostly granitoids, totally occupy more than 200,000 km² on the territory of Transbaikalia. Isotopic U-Pb zircon dating (about 30 samples from the most typical plutons) shows that the Late Paleozoic magmatic cycle lasted for 55–60 m.y., from ~330 Ma to ~275 Ma. During this time span, five intrusive suites were emplaced throughout the region. The earliest are high-K calc-alkaline granites (330–310 Ma) making up the Angara–Vitim batholith of 150,000 km² in area. At later stages, formation of geochemically distinct intrusive suites occurred with total or partial overlap in time. In the interval of 305–285 Ma two suites were emplaced: calc-alkaline granitoids with decreased SiO₂ content (the Chivyrkui suite of quartz monzonite and granodiorite) and the Zaza suite comprising transitional from calc-alkaline to alkaline granite and quartz syenite. At the next stage, in the interval of 285–278 Ma the shoshonitic Low Selenga suite made up of monzonite, syenite and alkali rich microgabbro was formed; this suite was followed, with significant overlap in time (281–276 Ma), by emplacement of Early Kunalei suite of alkaline (alkali feldspar) and peralkaline syenite and granite. Concurrent emplacement of distinct plutonic suites suggests simultaneous magma generation at different depth and, possibly, from different sources. Despite complex sequence of formation of Late Paleozoic intrusive suites, a general trend from high-K calc-alkaline to alkaline and peralkaline granitoids, is clearly recognized. New data on the isotopic U-Pb zircon age support the Rb-Sr isotope data suggesting that emplacement of large volumes of peralkaline and alkaline (alkali feldspar) syenites and granites occurred in two separate stages: Early Permian (281–278 Ma) and Late Triassic (230–210 Ma). Large volumes and specific compositions of granitoids suggest that the Late Paleozoic magmatism in Transbaikalia occurred successively in the post-collisional (330–310 Ma), transitional (305–285 Ma) and intraplate (285–275 Ma) setting.     

Late Holocene sea-level changes and isostasy in western Denmark

Cores and exposed cliff sections in salt marshes around Ho Bugt, a tidal embayment in the northernmost part of the Danish Wadden Sea, were subjected to ¹⁴C dating and litho- and biostratigraphical analyses to reconstruct paleoenvironmental changes and to establish a late Holocene relative sea-level history. Four stages in the late Holocene development of Ho Bugt can be identified: (1) groundwater-table rise and growth of basal peat (from at least 2300 BC to AD 0); (2) salt-marsh formation (0 to AD 250); (3) a freshening phase (AD 250 to AD 1600?), culminating in the drying out of the marshes and producing a distinct black horizon followed by an aeolian phase with sand deposition; and (4) renewed salt-marsh deposition (AD 1600? to present). From 16 calibrated AMS radiocarbon ages on fossil plant fragments and 4 calibrated conventional radiocarbon ages on peat, we reconstructed a local relative sea-level history that shows a steady sea-level rise of 4 m since 4000 cal yr BP. Contrary to suggestions made in the literature, the relative sea-level record of Ho Bugt does not contain a late Holocene highstand. Relative sea-level changes at Ho Bugt are controlled by glacio-isostatic subsidence and can be duplicated by a glacial isostatic adjustment model in which no water is added to the world's oceans after ca. 5000 cal yr BP.     

Middle to Late Holocene glacial variations, periglacial processes and alluvial sedimentation on the higher Apennine massifs (Italy)

The major climatic variations that have affected the summit slopes of the higher Apennine massifs in the last 6000 yr are shown in alternating layers of organic matter-rich soils and alluvial, glacial and periglacial sediments. The burial of the soils, triggered by environmental-climatic variations, took place in several phases. For the last 3000 yr chronological correlations can be drawn between phases of glacial advance, scree and alluvial sedimentation and development of periglacial features. During some periods, the slopes were covered by vegetation up to 2700 m and beyond, while in other phases the same slopes were subject to glacial advances and periglacial processes, and alluvial sediments were deposited on the high plateaus. Around 5740-5590, 1560-1370 and 1300-970 cal yr B.P., organic matter-rich soils formed on slopes currently subject to periglacial and glacial processes; the mean annual temperature must therefore have been higher than at present. Furthermore, on the basis of the variations in the elevation of the lower limit reached by gelifraction, it can be concluded that the oscillations in the minimum winter temperatures could have ranged between 3.0°C lower (ca. 790-150 cal yr B.P.) and 1.2°C higher (ca. 5740-5590 cal yr B.P.) than present minimum winter temperatures. During the last 3000 yr the cold phases recorded by the Calderone Glacier advance in the Apennines essentially match basically the phases of glacial advance in the Alps.     

The rate of sedimentation in Lake Arakhlei (Central Transbaikalia), from radiogeochemical and palynological data

Chemical, radioisotopic, and palynological studies of the bottom sediments of mesotrophic Lake Arakhlei have been carried out for paleoclimatic reconstructions and estimation of the sedimentation rate.     

Glacial retreat sedimentation in the Smalfjord Formation, Late Precambrian, North Norway

Tillites, conglomerates and sandstones occurring in the basal part of the Smalfjord Formation along the Varangerfjord, East Finnmark, North Norway are believed to have formed during the retreat of a glacier. At Kvalnes, on the south side of the fjord, the following sequence, up to 20 m thick, is found: (1) massive monomict tillite interpreted as a subglacial till, (2) massive polymict tillite with lenticular intercalations of stratified sandstone and tillite, interpreted as supraglacial/proglacial drift, (3) polymict conglomerate interstratified with laminated sandstones, interpreted as braided stream deposits. The last named interfingers laterally and is overlain by marine sandstones. At Bigganjargga, near the head of the fjord, a lens of tillite about 3 m thick rests on a striated pavement and is overlain by sandstones and shales. Part of the tillite, containing irregular patches of slightly winnowed tillite, is interpreted as a melt-out till, while a marginal part consisting of inclined tillite beds is interpreted as a series of flow till deposits. The lens is believed to be an oblique section through what was originally an ice-cored moraine ridge. During a subsequent transgression, the moraine was partially eroded, a lag conglomerate was formed, and overlying marine sediments were deposited. Bedded flow tills formed in a supraglacial/proglacial environment may be preserved where the extent of current reworking is very low (such as an isolated end moraine). Stratified conglomerate and sandstone, intimately intercalated with tillite, is to be expected at a glacier margin where glacial meltwater is locally and occasionally abundant, and glacier ablation permits downslope flowage of mobilized supraglacial fluid till.     

Channel morphology and river flow in the northern Russian Plain in the Late Glacial and Holocene

The relicts of large meandering palaeochannels are found throughout the territory of the periglacial zone of the Last (Valdai=Weichselian) Glaciation on the Russian Plain. Channel widths of macromeanders can be 15 times larger than the recent meanders of the same rivers. Palaeolandscape and palaeohydrological reconstructions show that these periglacial river channels were formed under conditions of high spring water flow, up to eight times greater than the modern discharges, when the flow coefficient was close to 0.9-1.0 due to presence of permafrost, summers were dry and streams lacked ground water supply. Permafrost degradation increased soil permeability in spring and increased ground water flow in summer, causing a decrease of annual flow (due mainly to the flood flow decrease in spring). As a result, large periglacial channels were abandoned and transformed into lakes and bogs. Late Holocene channels have much smaller channel widths and meander lengths. These were formed under conditions of lower annual flows and much steadier flow regime.     

Late Pleistostene-Holocene sedimentation in lakes of central Transbaikalia: Implications for climate and environment changes

We present integrated mineralogical, geochemical, and palynological data for Late Pleistocene-Holocene bottom sediments of Lake Arakhlei located in the Beklemishev tectonic basin in the southern Vitim Plateau (central Transbaikalia). The sediment samples were studied by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, laser particle sizing, spore-pollen analysis, radiocarbon (¹⁴C AMS) dating, and XRF spectrometry. The cored 128 cm long section of lake sediments consists of two units: One is composed mainly of layered silicates (illite-smectite, illite, chlorite, chlorite-smectite, muscovite, and kaolinite) and organic matter (OM) but no carbonates from 0 to 80 cm and the other contains authigenic Ca-Mg carbonates (up to 30%) of Mg-calcite and excess-Ca dolomite from 80 to 128 cm. The sediments also contain a rare mineral weddellite CaC₂O₄2H₂O discovered for the first time in Transbaikalian lakes. The evolution of Lake Arakhlei and its drainage basin comprised four stages, with pollen zones that mark the Late Pleistocene and Holocene climate history of the Beklemishev basin. The reconstructed history of Lake Arakhlei for the past ~ 15,500 years followed general climatic changes in the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, integrated research, including detailed analysis of mineral components and spore-pollen assemblages in lake sediments, is a workable tool for studying climatic controls of continental sedimentation.     

Morphology and History of Development of the Moscow River Valley in the Late Glacial and Holocene

Doklady Earth Sciences - The morphology of the floodplain–channel complex of the Moscow River and its development history before the beginning of intensive human intervention in its...     

Microfaunas,microfloras and the environmental stratigraphy of the Late Glacial and Holocene in Cardigan Bay

The distribution of foraminifers, ostracods, diatoms and pollen is studied in cores from submarine boreholes. This reveals that the history of the Flandrian transgression is largely the record of the infilling of meltwater channels cut during the early Late Glacial with transgressive estuarine and finally marine deposits. It also supports the idea of the ‘climatic earliness’ of the Welsh seaboard at all stages. Estuarine deposits in excess of —51 m O.D. suggest that Late Glacial sea levels were initially as low as —60 m O.D. and support the idea that the Welsh ice withdrew before 14,000 years B.P. The sea-level rise plots as a smooth curve but was probably episodic in its early phases.     

New data on the age of gold mineralization of the Lugokan ore cluster (Eastern Transbaikalia)

The Lugokan ore cluster is located in the southeastern part of Transbaikalia within the Aga–Borzya structural–formational zone of the Mongol–Okhotsk orogenic belt. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating of K-bearing minerals of syngenetic to ore parageneses has been carried out applying stepwise heating technique: it has been demonstrated that the earliest gold-ore mineral associations are Au–pyrite–arsenopyrite (163 ±1.9 Ma) and Au–chalcopyrite (160 ±2 Ma). The later parageneses encompass the Au–polymetallic (156.3 ± 1.8 Ma) and Au–Bi (155.9 ± 4.5 Ma) one. By their ages and position in the general scheme of the Late Jurassic magmatism of Eastern Transbaikalia, the Lugokan’s ore cluster gold-bearing mineral associations corresponds to the time of intrusion of the Shakhtama pluton (161 Ma) and the Porphyry Complex (159–155 Ma).     

Late Glacial fluvial response of the Niers‐Rhine (western Germany) to climate and vegetation change

The Niers valley was part of the Rhine system that came into existence during the maximum Saalian glaciation and was abandoned at the end of the Weichselian. The aim of the study was to explain the Late Pleniglacial and Late Glacial fluvial dynamics and to explore the external forcing factors: climate change, tectonics and sea level. The sedimentary units have been investigated by large‐scale coring transects and detailed cross‐sections over abandoned channels. The temporal fluvial development has been reconstructed by means of geomorphological relationships, pollen analysis and ¹⁴C dating. The Niers‐Rhine experienced a channel pattern change from braided, via a transformational phase, to meandering in the early Late Glacial. This change in fluvial style is explained by climate amelioration at the Late Pleniglacial to Late Glacial transition (at ca. 12.5 k ¹⁴C yr BP) and climate‐related hydrological, lithological and vegetation changes. A delayed fluvial response of ca. 400 ¹⁴C yr (transitional phase) was established. The channel transformations are not related to tectonic effects and sea‐level changes. Successive river systems have similar gradients of ca. 35–40 cm km^?1. A meandering river system dominated the Allerød and Younger Dryas periods. The threshold towards braiding was not crossed during the Younger Dryas, but increased aeolian activity has been observed on the Younger Dryas point bars. The final abandonment of the Niers‐Rhine was dated shortly after the Younger Dryas to Holocene transition. Traces of Laacher See pumice have been found in the Niers valley, indicating that the Niers‐Rhine was still in use during the Younger Dryas. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimates of Late Glacial and Holocene aeolian activity in Belgium, Poland and Sweden

A set of textural features is proposed as a measure of the degree of transformation of alluvial source deposits into aeolian ones. Analysis of grain-size distribution, quartz-grain rounding and frosting. heavy-mineral and overall mineral composition and micromorphology of quartz-grain surfaces in dune and source deposits in Poland. Belgium and Sweden, enabled a variable degree of sediment transformation to be distinguished. The degree of transformation is termed degree of aeolization. It is shown to be dependent upon the total duration of aeolian episodes. The degree of aeolization of the dune deposits investigated is highest in Poland, intermediate in Belgium and lowest in Sweden.     

Late Glacial and Holocene depositional history in the eastern part of the Szczecin Lagoon (Great Lagoon) basin—NW Poland

Analyses on 27 sediment cores taken from the bottom of the Szczecin Lagoon allowed environmental reconstruction of the postglacial main stages of basin development, based on detailed sedimentological, geochemical, diatomological and malacological studies of selected key cores. Studies revealed that during the Late Glacial and Holocene this area developed in several stages. In the Late Glacial the whole study area constituted a low alluvial plain. At the turn from Younger Dryas to Holocene the alluvial plain was cut through by the Odra river to a level of 10–11 m below sea level (b.s.l.). Along with the first phases of the Holocene marine transgression at the southern Baltic Sea's coasts the accumulation of the limnic-swampy deposits began in this lower part of the Odra valley. At ca. 6–6.5 ka BP the transgression proceeded and Littorina Sea waters flooded the area. At that time the Szczecin Lagoon constituted a marine embayment in which series of sands, partly rich in malacofauna, was deposited. The development of the Swina barrier resulted in the isolation of the embayment from the direct inflow of Baltic Sea waters.     

Holocene sedimentation in the Skagerrak interpreted from chirp sonar and core data

High‐resolution chirp sonar profiling in the northeastern Skagerrak shows acoustically stratified sediments draping a rough‐surfaced substratum. A 32 metre long sediment core retrieved from the survey area encompasses the entire Holocene and latest Pleistocene. The uppermost seismo‐acoustic units in the chirp profiles represent Holocene marine sediments. The lowermost unit is interpreted as ice‐proximal glacial‐marine sediments rapidly deposited during the last deglaciation. The end of ice‐proximal sedimentation is marked by a strong reflector, interpreted to have been formed during latest Pleistocene time as a consequence of rapid ice retreat and drastically lowered sedimentation rate. The subsequent distal glacial‐marine sediments were deposited with initially high sedimentation rates caused by an isostatic rebound‐associated sea‐level fall. Based on correlation between the core and the chirp sonar profiles using measured sediment physical properties and AMS ¹⁴C dating, we propose a revised position for the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary in the seismo‐acoustic stratigraphy of the investigated area. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.