Benthic foraminifers in upper Quaternary sediments of the southern Bering Sea: Distribution and paleoceanographic interpretations

Composition and distribution of benthic foraminifers, being coupled with isotopic-geochemical data on Upper Pleistocene and Holocene sediments from the southern Bering Sea (Core GC-11; 53°31′ N, 178°51′E, water depth 3060 m), demonstrate variations in bottom water properties during the last 54 kyr. Their abundance increased to some extent during short periods corresponding to warm Dansgaard-Oeshger interstadials 14, 12, 8, and 2 of marine isotopic stages (MIS) 3 and 2. The first and second deglaciation phases separated by the Younger Dryas cooling episode are marked by significant abundance peaks of benthic foraminifers (an order magnitude higher than in the glacial period), although their share in community of benthic and planktonic foraminifers taken together decreases. Species typical of stable high-productivity areas gain the dominant position. A significant proportion of agglutinated species in the Holocene sediments is indicative of Ca ions deficiency that accelerates dissolution of carbonate tests up to their disappearance approximately 2.5–3 ka ago.     

Establishing the Late Pleistocene-Holocene sedimentation boundary in the southern North Sea using OSL dating of shallow continental shelf sediments

This paper provides insight into the fate of Late Weichselian and Early Holocene sediments accumulated in the German sector of the southern North Sea. A combination of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and radiocarbon dating was applied to set up the chronology. Seven cores were studied to obtain ten quartz OSL samples and ten radiocarbon samples. The core locations were chosen along a southeast to northwest transect along the western side of the Elbe palaeovalley, giving a good coverage of the entire German North Sea area. All samples for OSL dating showed a significant scatter in the equivalent dose (D_e) distribution of quartz due to heterogeneous bleaching. The Minimum Age Model (MAM-3) was found to be the most suitable to extract true burial ages. It was inferred from the study that sedimentation did still occur during the late deglaciation period in many areas. These are mainly Late Weichselian glaciofluvial or glaciolacustrine sediments directly overlain by early Holocene fluvial and/or transgressive deposits and followed by modern marine sands. However, considerable late Weichselian erosion or a possible period of non-deposition was observed in the highland area to the northeast of the Dogger Bank and a small discontinuity in the near-shore region was noticed, probably due to early Holocene fluvial erosion. Relicts of a palaeo-river bank or terrace were identified in core 14VC to the east of the Dogger Bank. A possible interpretation of the Pleistocene-Holocene interface along the core transect is provided based on lithology and measured OSL and radiocarbon ages.     

Planktonic Foraminiferal and Alkenone Records of the Last Deglaciation from the Eastern Arabian Sea

The oxygen isotope record of planktonic foraminifera from tropical core MD77194 (Eastern Arabian Sea) exhibits a clear two-step deglaciation with a brief δ¹⁸O transient event. In the tropics, this δ¹⁸O maximum could correspond to a cooling or to a change in the δ¹⁸O content of sea water. In this study, past sea-surface temperature (SST) and primary production (PP) are reconstructed from foraminiferal transfer functions and compared to values estimated from alkenone measurements. SST and PP records from both proxies indicate a 1.5–2.5°C deglacial warming, coupled with a PP decrease, and a 0.5–1°C cooling during the Younger Dryas (YD). A detailed comparison between independent micropaleontological and geochemical proxies helps us identify potential biases and thus strengthen the paleo-reconstructions.     

Late Pleistocene to Holocene record of changing uplift rates in southern Calabria and northeastern Sicily (southern Italy, Central Mediterranean Sea)

A combination of published and new radiometric dates on uplifted Holocene fossil beaches from northeastern Sicily and southern Calabria (southern Italy) is compared with the altitude of the inner margin of the Last Interglacial (LIg) (Late Pleistocene, 124 ka) and older marine terraces in order to gain a regional-scale outline of uplift rates and their temporal changes in a region which is one of the fastest uplifting sectors of the Central Mediterranean Sea. Late Holocene radiocarbon dates from Ioppolo (southern Calabria) and Ganzirri (northeast Sicily), two newly discovered sites are here presented for the first time. The Holocene uplift rates are highest at St. Alessio and Taormina in eastern Sicily (2.4 mm/y) and at Scilla in southwestern Calabria (2.1 mm/y), two sites located across the Messina Straits and which separate the island of Sicily from mainland Italy. Uplift rates decrease towards the south and north from this centre of uplift. Late Holocene uplift rates show an apparent increase of between 64 and 124% when compared with the longer-term uplift rates calculated from the LIg highstand terraces. Furthermore, we discovered that the locations of fastest Late Pleistocene and Late Holocene uplift rates spatially coincide. To what extent the Holocene increase in uplift rates results from incomplete elastic strain release along the major extensional faults which frame the seismotectonic of the area, or indicate a true change in regional tectonic processes, is not resolved. Nonetheless, the heterogeneity of uplift, with a well-defined centre that crosses the Messina Straits, and its persistence at different time-scales indicates a tight connection between wider regional processes and fault-related displacement in controlling crustal instability in this area.     

Stratigraphic development during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene offshore of the Yellow River delta, Bohai Sea

A 61-m-long sediment core (HB-1) and 690 km of high-resolution seismic profiles from offshore of the Yellow River delta, Bohai Sea, were analyzed to document the stratigraphy and sea-level changes during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dating and analyses of benthic foraminifera, ostracods, the mineral composition, and sedimentary characteristics were performed for core HB-1, and seven depositional units (DU 1–DU 7 in descending order) were identified. The seismic reflection data were interpreted in light of the sedimentological data of the core and correlated with other well-studied cores obtained previously in the Bohai Sea area. Seven seismic units (SU 1 to SU 7 in descending order) were distinguished and interpreted as follows: SU 7 corresponds to marine facies in Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 5; SU 6, to terrestrial facies in MIS 4; SU 5 and SU 4, to alternating terrestrial and marine facies (DU 7–DU 5) in MIS 3; SU 3, to terrestrial facies (DU 4) in MIS 2; SU 2, to Holocene marine facies (DU 3 and DU 2); and SU 1, to modern Yellow River delta sediments deposited since 1855 (DU 1).The sedimentary facies from DU 7 to DU 5 reflect sea-level fluctuations during MIS 3, and the boundary between DU 5 and DU 6, which coincides with that between SU 4 and SU 5, is a distinctive, laterally continuous, undulating erosion surface, with up to 20 m of relief. This surface reflects subaerial exposure between transgressions during MIS 3. Estimated sea levels during MIS 3 ranged from −35 ± 5 to −60 ± 5 m or lower, with short-term fluctuations of 20 m. Sedimentary environments in the Bohai Sea area were governed mainly by eustatic sea-level changes and the Bohai Strait topography, which controls the entry of sea water into the Bohai Sea area.The mineral composition of the sediment core suggests that the Yellow River did not discharge into the Bohai Sea, or at least did not influence the study area significantly, during parts of MIS 3 and MIS 2 to the early Holocene (11–8.5 cal kyr BP).     

Palaeoceanographic change in the northeastern South China Sea during the last 15000 years

The sedimentary succession of piston core RC26-16, dated by ¹⁴C accelerator mass spectrometry, provides a nearly continuous palaeoceanographic record of the northeastern South China Sea for the last 15000 yr. Planktic foraminiferal assemblages indicate that winter sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) rose from 18°C to about 24°C from the last glacial to the Holocene. A short-lived cooling of 1°C in winter temperature centred at about 11000 ¹⁴C yr ago may reflect the Younger Dryas cooling event in this area. Summer SSTs have remained between 27°C and 29°C throughout the record. The temperature difference between summer and winter was about ca. 9°C during the last glacial, much higher than the Holocene value of ca. 5°C. During the late Holocene a short-lived cooling event occurred at about 4000 ¹⁴C yr ago. Oxygen and carbon isotopic gradients between surface (0–50 m) and subsurface (50–100 m) waters were smaller during the last glacial than those in the Holocene. The fluctuation in the isotopic gradients are caused most likely by changes in upwelling intensity. Smaller gradients indicate stronger upwelling during the glacial winter monsoon. The fauna-derived estimates of nutrient content of the surface waters indicate that the upwelling induced higher fertility and biological productivity during the glacial. The winter monsoon became weaker during the Holocene. The carbonate compensation depth and foraminiferal lysocline were shallower during the Holocene, except for a short-lived deepening at about 5000 ¹⁴C yr ago. A preservation peak of planktic foraminifera and calcium carbonate occurred between 13400 and 12000 ¹⁴C yr ago, synchronous to the global preservation event of Termination I.     

Sediment distribution and provenance since Late Pleistocene in Laizhou Bay,Bohai Sea,China

There are three transgression-regression events and evolutions of the sedimentary environment by sea level changes since the Pleistocene in the southern section of the Bohai Sea, China. It is obvious that a multi-source fluvial delta sedimentary system may be more dominant in a sedimentary environment. Based on previous research and survey or historical data, we carried out studies on the division of sedimentary units, sedimentary facies analysis and strata division and comparison, which aim to establish the sedimentary stratigraph of Laizhou Bay. We focus on the sedimentary procession of the Laizhou Bay since the early Late Pleistocene. It can be divided into two glacial periods and three interglacial periods, corresponding to two regression and three transgression events in Laizhou Bay since Late Pleistocene. In 124.6–72.0 ka BP, 60.0–24.4 ka BP and 10.2–4.0 ka BP, three times warm-wet periods occurred, respectively corresponding to the Cangzhou transgression, Xianxian transgression, and Huanghua transgression. In 72.0–60.0 ka BP and 24.4–10.2 ka BP, two dry and cold periods, it was the continental sedimentary environment, corresponding to Wurm early glacier and Wurm late glacier. The results show: (1) Sediments have the characteristics of phase and stage under the terrestrial input of the Yellow River and middle-small rivers in the southern section of the Bohai Sea. (2) PI moved towards coastal in Cangzhou transgression strata in early Late Pleistocene. PI moved northward from land in Xianxian transgression strata in the late Pleistocene. PI moved further north in the Huanghua transgression strata in Holocene. (3) During the regressive period, the land source input increased and the estuarine or lagoon sedimentation developed, which manifested as progradational superposition. (4) During the transgressive period, it mainly developed shallow coastal sediment and transitionally formed regressive deposition to the south in delta/tidal flat deposition.©2019 China Geology Editorial Office.     

南海北部晚更新世以来的古海洋环境演化特征——来自N-31柱样的沉积记录

对南海北部N-31柱状样沉积物进行了浮游有孔虫定量分析鉴定、氧碳同位素、碳酸盐含量和粒度测试以及AMS14C测年,并采用古生态转换函数计算了表层海水古温度和温跃层深度,揭示了该海区约55 ka以来的古海洋环境特征.转换函数计算的表层海水古温度结果表明,夏季温度的变化范围为27.0～29.6℃,变化幅度为2.6℃,冬季温...     

南黄海西北部晚更新世以来的沉积环境演化

利用在南黄海西北部陆架获得的3500 km高分辨率浅地层剖面资料,结合3口地质钻孔的岩芯资料,建立了研究区晚更新世以来的沉积地层格架,厘定了地层地质年代。研究表明,过孔的浅地层剖面与钻孔岩芯的沉积地层有很好的对应关系。浅地层剖面可划分出5个主要不整合面(T5～T1)和6个主要地震单元(SU6-SU1),相应的钻孔岩芯可划分出6个主要的沉积单元(DU6-DU1),反映了大约128 ka以来的地层结构和沉积环境演化。钻孔沉积物岩性相特征、测年数据和地层反射特征表明研究区氧同位素5期(MIS5)发育了滨浅海相和三角洲相沉积,MIS 4发育了河流湖泊相沉积,MIS 3发育了三角洲相沉积,MIS 2发育了河流和河口相沉积,MIS 1发育了近岸水下楔形沉积。晚更新世以来,南黄海构造相对稳定,影响沉积环境演化的主要因素是海平面变化和沉积物物源。本文的研究对于深入了解南黄海西北部陆海相互作用过程、地质环境演化以及揭示全球变化的区域响应具有重要的科学意义。     

白令海北部陆坡100ka来的古海洋学记录及海冰的扩张历史

白令海北部陆坡B2-9柱状样中生源组分的研究显示, 自MIS5.3期以来表层生产力指标的粗组分和蛋白石含量呈阶梯状增加, 反映表层生产力阶段式的增长.全新世表层生产力达到最高, 并且MIS3.2~2期高, 比MIS5.3~3.3期最低.高有机碳含量对应于高C/N比值, 显示有机碳混合来源, 不能作为表层生产力的指标.MIS5.1, 3.3~3.2期和全新世高的有机碳含量和C/N比值反映间冰期陆源有机物质输入量的增加.MIS5.3期至中全新世, 不断增加的陆源砂级和粉砂级颗粒组分说明随着气候的逐渐变冷, 陆架海冰在不断扩张.伐冰碎屑和碳屑颗粒冰期、间冰段和末次冰消期升高, 而间冰期降低, 反映冰期白令海陆架海冰扩张和间冰期海冰消融的过程.冰期海冰扩张与北美大陆气候的相互关联, 揭示了晚第四纪冰期旋回中白令海海冰扩张及其对全球气候变化的响应.      

渤海东部晚更新世以来的沉积物地球化学特征

为探讨渤海东部晚更新世以来的元素地球化学特征及控制因素,对渤海东部DLC70-1孔157个沉积物样品进行了化学成分、粒度及测年分析。结果表明,晚更新世以来研究区沉积物的物质来源与沉积环境较为稳定;根据DLC70-1孔沉积物地球化学特征,钻孔岩芯可划分为6层,反映了末次间冰期（暖期）晚期以来渤海东部沉积物物源的变化以及海面波动。Al₂O₃、MgO、TFe₂O₃、MnO、TiO₂、Cu、Zn、Pb、Cr和Rb等元素与细粒沉积物呈正相关,SiO₂、Na₂O与粗粒沉积物呈正相关,K₂O、Sr和Ba分布与沉积物粒度无明显正或负的相关性;R-型因子分析得出三种主要组合类型,以Mg、Sr和Ba为代表,分别对应陆源细粒物质输入与黄河物质、海河物质和滦河物质的影响。运用Ba/Al₂O₃与Sr/Al₂O₃、MgO/Al₂O₃与K₂O/Al₂O₃离散图分析了DLC70-1孔的物质来源,结果表明沉积物主要来源于黄河,该孔中上部32.30~49.00 m和9.30~23.20 m沉积物受到了滦河和海河物质的影响。     

南海深水区晚更新世以来沉积速率、沉积通量与物质组成

通过调查所获得柱样沉积物氧碳同位素测年资料及多学科综合分析表明,晚更新世以来南海沉积速率和沉积通量具有以下几个特征 :(1)总体上为间冰期沉积速率低、冰期沉积速率高,冰期沉积速率是间冰期沉积速率的 1.3～ 1.6倍;(2 )南海沉积速率趋势面分析表明,氧同位素 1期东北陆坡和西南陆坡沉积速率高,氧同位素 2、3期沉积速率分布特征相似,与 1期有所不同,东北陆坡沉积速率高于西南陆坡,表明氧同位素 2期之后,南海的沉积环境发生明显的改变,造成上述沉积速率分布的主要控制因素是南海周围的河流分布、季风、海流等;(3)南海东部沉积通量与物质组成分析表明,末次冰期以来沉积总通量北部陆坡区明显高于深海区,前者是后者 2～ 3倍,并有自北向南逐渐降低的趋势;(4)硅质生物沉积通量冰期明显高于间冰期,末次冰期以来东北部陆坡区的硅质生物沉积通量最高,末次冰期之前恰好相反,深海盆高于陆坡区;(5 )末次冰期以来,陆源沉积约占南海东部海域沉积的 4 4 %以上。     

Last interglacial and Holocene climatic development in the Norwegian Sea region: Ocean front movements and ice-core data

Planktonic foraminiferal evidence suggests that the ocean front systems between Polar and Atlantic surface waters in the Norwegian Sea generally were located closer to Greenland during Oxygen Isotope Substage 5e than in the Holocene. During both these periods oscillations have occurred in the position of the fronts. In the western Norwegian Sea region, the substage 5e influence of warm Atlantic waters was interrupted by a return to polar conditions. These findings support both ice-core data and evidence from Europe that the last interglacial was a period of rapid climatic shifts.     

Glacial-interglacial changes in the surface water characteristics of the Andaman Sea: Evidence from stable isotopic ratios of planktonic foraminifera

Stable carbon and oxygen isotopic analyses of the planktonic foraminifera (Globigerinoides ruber) from a deep sea sediment core (GC-1) in the Andaman Sea show high glacial-to-Holocene δ¹⁸O amplitude of 2.1%o which is consistent with previously published records from this marginal basin and suggest increased salinity and/or decreased temperature in the glacial surface waters of this region. A pulse of¹⁸O enrichment during the last deglaciation can be attributed to a Younger Dryas cooling event and/or to a sudden decrease of fresh water influx from the Irrawady and Salween rivers into the Andaman Sea. High δ¹³C values observed during the isotopic stages 2 and 4 are probably due to the enhanced productivity during glacial times in the Andaman Sea.     

Late Pleistocene and late Holocene lake highstands in the Pyramid Lake subbasin of Lake Lahontan, Nevada, USA

Shoreline geomorphology, shoreline stratigraphy, and radiocarbon dates of organic material incorporated in constructional beach ridges record large lakes during the late Pleistocene and late Holocene in the Pyramid Lake subbasin of Lake Lahontan, Nevada, USA. During the late Holocene, a transgression began at or after 3595 ± 35 ¹⁴C yr B.P. and continued, perhaps in pulses, through 2635 ± 40 ¹⁴C yr B.P., resulting in a lake as high as 1199 m. During the latest Pleistocene and overlapping with the earliest part of the Younger Dryas interval, a lake stood at approximately 1212 m at 10,820 ± 35 ¹⁴C yr B.P. and a geomorphically and stratigraphically distinct suite of constructional shorelines associated with this lake can be traced to 1230 m. These two lake highstands correspond to periods of elevated regional wetness in the western Basin and Range that are not clearly represented in existing northern Sierra Nevada climate proxy records.     

A high-resolution speleothem proxy record of the Late Glacial in the European Alps: extending the NALPS19 record until the beginning of the Holocene

Previous research has shown that speleothems from the northern rim of the European Alps captured submillennial-scale climate change during the last glacial period with exceptional sensitivity and resolution, mimicking Greenland ice-core records. Here we extend this so-called NALPS19 record across the Late Glacial using two stalagmites which grew continuously into the Holocene. Both specimens show the same high-amplitude δ¹⁸O signal as Greenland ice cores down to decadal resolution. The start of the warming at the onset of the equivalent of Greenland Interstadial (GI) GI-1e at 14.66 ± 0.18 ka agrees with the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) (14.64 ± 0.28 ka) and comprised a temperature rise of about 5–6 °C. The transition from the equivalent of GI-1a into the equivalent of Greenland Stadial (GS) GS-1 (broadly equivalent to the Younger Dryas) commenced at 13.02 ± 0.13 ka which is consistent with NGRIP (12.80 ± 0.26 ka) within errors. The onset of the Holocene started at 11.78 ± 0.14 ka (11.65 ± 0.10 ka at NGRIP) and involved a warming of about 4–5 °C. In contrast to δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C values show no response to (sub)millennial climate shifts due to strong rock-buffering and only record a long-term trend of soil development starting with the rapid warming at 14.7 ka.     

Younger Dryas事件与北黄海泥炭层的形成

形成于海平面变化处于停滞阶段和湿润气候条件下的泥炭层是古环境变化信息的重要载体。对北黄海4个含泥炭层的沉积剖面进行研究后发现,其均集中在渤海海峡入口处,水深变化在50～54m。泥炭层的AMS14C年龄在10650～1010014 CaBP,与发生在11000～1000014 CaBP间的末次冰消气候回冷事件——Younger Dryas(YD)事件在年代上非常吻合,表明北黄海泥炭层的形成可能与YD事件的全球效应密切相关,可作为YD事件在北黄海陆架响应的一个重要证据。泥炭层在北黄海的集中出现说明,冰后期的海平面上升过程中在YD事件期间存在停滞阶段,这一时期海面已经达到渤海海峡外侧,并可能在此徘徊了近千年。此外,泥炭层的大量出现和孢粉记录表明YD事件发生期间约为10600～1020014 CaBP,此时北黄海可能处在寒冷而湿润的环境。这一发现与全球范围内大部分YD事件的海陆记录存在明显差异,说明不同地区对YD事件的响应存在差异,不能简单地利用单一的干冷模式来分析YD事件在区域上的响应特征和过程。     

晚更新世以来南黄海北部泥质区沉积物元素的分布及来源分析

为研究南黄海北部泥质区元素地球化学特征对于地层划分与物质来源的指示意义,对南黄海北部DLC70-3孔(孔深71.20 m)沉积物作了元素地球化学分析和物源判别。根据元素含量及比值的变化,可将DLC70-3孔岩心划分为5层,它们分别反映了末次间冰期(暖期)晚期以来黄海海面波动以及沉积物物源的变化。运用判别函数、MgO/Na₂O与CIA的散点图等方法分析了DLC70-3孔沉积物的物质来源,结果显示该孔沉积物主要来源于黄河,长江物质对该孔中上部及下部沉积物有较明显影响。DLC70-3孔物源指数反映0~4.50 m和27.80~38.80 m沉积物以黄河源为主,4.50~27.80 m、38.80~55.00 m和55.00~71.20 m沉积物以长江源为主;可见黄河从晚更新世中期到现代对南黄海北部沉积起着重要作用,而长江物质在晚更新世早期开始对南黄海北部沉积就有明显影响。     

Late Quaternary record of Indian summer monsoon-induced stratification and productivity collapse in the Andaman Sea

During each summer monsoon, the northeastern Indian Ocean receives a huge amount of rain and river discharge, resulting in strong stratification and prevalence of oligotrophic conditions. These water column changes impact upper ocean productivity which is reflected in the planktonic foraminifera distribution, providing an opportunity to study the effect of monsoon forcing and stratification history. Analogous to modern-day stratification, very intense water column stratification and productivity collapse were observed associated with Indian summer monsoon (ISM) evolution. This paper reports significant stratification events during MIS 3 (37.0 to 33 and 27 to 24 cal ka), Bølling/Allerød (B/A), early Holocene (10.0 to 8.0 cal ka) and mid-Holocene (7.0 to 5.0 cal ka) which slowly muted upwelling and productivity. The deglacial intensification of the ISM started in the early stages of the Bølling/Allerød (B/A) followed by slight weakening during the Younger Dryas and regained strength during the early Holocene, coinciding with the highest summer insolation at 30°N. A progressive decline in the abundances of productivity and salinity proxies from 4.2 to 2.0 cal ka suggests a gradual weakening of the ISM. The late Quaternary productivity variations in the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea are primarily controlled by salinity-related stratification.