Non-steady long-term uplift rates and Pleistocene marine terrace development along the Andean margin of Chile (31°S) inferred from 10Be dating

Pleistocene uplift of the Chilean coast is recorded by the formation of wave-cut platforms resulting from marine erosion during sea-level highstands. In the Altos de Talinay area (~ 31°S), we have identified a sequence of 5 wave-cut platforms. Using in situ produced ¹⁰Be exposure ages we show that these platforms were formed during interglacial periods at 6, 122, 232, 321 and 690 ka. These ages correspond to marine isotopic stages (MIS) or substages (MISS) 1, 5e, 7e, 9c and 17. Shoreline angle elevations used in conjunction with our chronology of wave-cut platform formation, illustrate that surface uplift rates vary from 103 ± 69 mm/ka between 122 and 6 ka, to 1158 ± 416 mm/ka between 321 and 232 ka. The absence of preserved platforms related to the MIS 11, 13 and 15 highstands likely reflects slow uplift rates during these times. We suggest that since 700 ka, the Altos de Talinay area was predominantly uplifted during 2 short periods following MIS 17 and MISS 9c. This episodic uplift of the Chilean coast in the Pleistocene may result from subduction related processes, such as pulses of tectonic accretion at the base of the forearc wedge.     

Timing for high lake levels of Qinghai Lake in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau since the Last Interglaciation based on quartz OSL dating

Qinghai Lake is situated in the northeast of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). Its size and proximity to the junction of three major climate systems make it sensitive to climate changes. Some investigations on shorelines of Qinghai Lake suggested highstands during MIS 3, but to what extent the lake level was higher than today is yet undetermined. Others proposed that the maximum highstands probably dated to MIS 5. It has also been shown that the lake level 120 m higher than today occurred at around 12 ka. Most of these previous ages were obtained using ¹⁴C dating or multiple-aliquot IRSL/OSL dating. For ¹⁴C dating, because of the dating limit (<40 ka) and the lack of suitable dating materials in this arid area, it is difficult to establish reliable chronological control. In the present study, seven samples collected from lacustrine deposits (five samples) and sand wedges (two samples) were dated using quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) with the single aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol. OSL dating results showed that (1) the lake had experienced two high lake levels, one was in MIS 5 and another in early to middle MIS 3; (2) no evidence of high lake levels in MIS 4 has been found; (3) the alluvial gravels, whose surface is at an elevation of ～3246 m, were formed at least 28.8 ± 2.3 ka ago, and the widespread sand wedges within the alluvial gravels were formed during the period of 15.1–28.8 ka, which implied that the lake level had not reached an elevation of ～3240 m after 28.8 ± 2.3 ka.     

40Ar/39Ar temporal framework for the Alleret maar lacustrine sequence (French Massif-Central): Volcanological and paleoclimatic implications

The Alleret maar (Massif Central, France) is part of the few Western European early middle Pleistocene lacustrine sequences. In the AL3 core several new ash layers were recovered in the 10 first meters of the sedimentary filling. We obtained three ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages, which range from 683 ± 5 ka (MSWD: 1.2, n = 17) to 722 ± 6 ka (MSWD: 3.2, n = 18). All the studied ash layers belong to the Super-Besse eruptive cycle of the Sancy volcano. Based on the chronostratigraphy that we have derived we estimate that the age of the main eruption could correspond to the Sancy volcano caldera formation at 725 ka close to the end of MIS 18 and that the Super-Besse explosive episode duration lasted only about 40 ka. The time framework we build evidences that the Alleret lacustrine sequence represents a time interval of probably 180 ka spanning from MIS 18 to MIS 14. This sequence offers the first well constrained comparison between terrestrial environmental history and that preserved in marine sediments during the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution.     

OSL chronology of Quaternary terraced deposits outcropping between Mt. Etna volcano and the Catania Plain (Sicily,southern Italy)

In this paper we tested the applicability of the Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) technique through Single-Aliquot Regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol, on single grain quartz extracted from alluvial–coastal sediments. Five samples were collected from deposits belonging to a flight of seven orders of coastal–alluvial terraces outcropping in the area between Mt. Etna volcano and the Catania Plain (Sicily, southern Italy), at the front of the Sicilian fold and thrust system. After various performance tests, we obtained OSL ages ranging between 240 ± 12 and 80 ± 4 ka, consistent with the normal evolutionary model of a terraced sequence, moving from the highest to the lowest elevation. Obtained data allowed us to determine a mean uplift rate of 1.2 mm/year during the last 240 ka, mostly related to regional uplift processes coupled with sea-level changes. Moreover, terraces belonging to the two highest orders are folded, forming a large anticline. According to our results, the frontal thrust of the Sicilian chain was active between 236 and 197 ka ago, even though seismological and geodetic data suggest current activity to the back.     

Speleothems in a north Cuban cave register sea‐level changes and Pleistocene uplift rates

A flight of marine terraces along the Cuban coast records Quaternary sea‐level highstands and a general slowly uplifting trend during the Pleistocene. U/Th dating of these limestone terraces is difficult because fossil reef corals have been affected by open system conditions. Terrace ages are thus often based on geological and geomorphological observations. In contrast, the minimum age of the terraces can be constrained by dating speleothems from coastal mixing (flank margin) caves formed during past sea‐level highstands and carving the marine limestones. Speleothems in Santa Catalina Cave have ages >360 ka and show various cycles of subaerial–subaqueous corrosion and speleothem growth. This suggests that the cave was carved during the MIS 11 sea‐level highstand or earlier. Some stalagmites grew during MIS 11 through MIS 8 and were submerged twice, once at the end of MIS 11 and then during MIS 9. Phreatic overgrowths (POS) covering the speleothems suggest anchialine conditions in the cave during MIS 5e. Their altitude at 16 m above present sea level indicates a late Pleistocene uplift rate of <0.1 mm/ka, but modelling also shows uplift to have been insignificant over a long timespan during the middle Pleistocene since the cave was carved. Our study shows that some flank margin caves in the region of Matanzas are older than commonly believed (i.e. MIS 11 rather than MIS 5). These caves not only can be preserved but are good markers of interglacial sea‐level highstands, more reliable than marine abrasion surfaces. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

OSL chronology for lacustrine sediments recording high stands of Gahai Lake in Qaidam Basin,northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

The Qaidam Basin in the northeastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is one of the largest hyper-arid intermontane basins in the northern hemisphere, and has abundant records for the study on palaeo-lake level fluctuations and palaeoclimatic changes. Significant efforts have been invested to define the timing of shoreline deposits using radiocarbon dating. However, due to the dating limit, the absence of organic materials and carbon reservoir effects for radiocarbon dating in arid areas, it is difficult to establish a reliable chronology for shoreline deposits. Therefore, controversy exists regarding the chronology for the high lake level in the Qaidam Basin, as well in the QTP. Some proposed that high lake levels occurred during late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, while others recently argued that the highest lake level in the QTP and adjacent regions existed in MIS 5. In Gahai Lake (now a salt lake), we investigated a section comprising lacustrine and shoreline deposits, which was about 25 m above the present lake level. Seven samples were collected for quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. A sample collected from a fine sand layer (the bottom of the section, and 12 m above the present lake level), which was assumed to have been deposited underwater, gave an OSL age of 82 ± 8 ka. It suggested that the lake level was at least 12 m higher than present in late MIS 5. The high lake level could maintain till about 73 ± 6 ka, and then decreased. This lake level decrease resulted in a gravel layer deposit between 73 ± 6 and 63 ± 6 ka (roughly during MIS 4). The lake level rose again (about 24 m above the present lake level) between 63 ± 6 and 55 ± 5 ka (roughly in early MIS 3). No lacustrine or shoreline deposits higher than the top of the current section were found around Gahai Lake. Thus, higher than present lake levels in Gahai Lake occurred in both late MIS 5 and early MIS 3.     

High-precision U-series measurements of more than 500,000 year old fossil corals

Robust, independent age constraints on the absolute timing of climate events based on the U-series dating of fossil coral are sparse before the last glacial cycle. Using multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with multiple-Faraday protocols, we are able to date ～ 600 ka samples with an uncertainty of better than ± 15 ka (2σ), representing a three-fold improvement in precision compared with previous techniques. Using these methods, we report U-series measurements for a suite of > 500 thousand year old (ka) corals from Henderson Island, an emergent atoll in the south-central Pacific Ocean. The fossil corals show extraordinarily little diagenetic alteration for their age and the best-preserved sample yields a U-series age of 600 ± 15 ka (2σ), which overlaps with the timing of the warm Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 15 interglacial. The open-system model of Villemant and Feuillet [Villemant B. and Feuillet N. (2003) Dating open systems by the ²³⁸U–²³⁴U–²³⁰Th method: application to Quaternary reef terraces. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 210(1–2), 105–118.] and the linear regression (or open-system isochron) is clearly limited for such old samples. However, the open-system model developed by Thompson et al. [Thompson W.G., Spiegelman M.W., Goldstein S.L., and Speed R.C. (2003) An open-system model for U-series age determinations of fossil corals. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 210(1–2), 365–381.] appears to reliably correct for open-system effects in roughly half of the corals, giving a MIS 15 origin for these. Thus the data provide evidence that the systematic addition of ²³⁰Th and ²³⁴U through α-recoil is a dominant open-system process occurring in the Henderson Island fossil reef system. Several coral samples yield significantly older Thompson et al. open-system ages between 650 and 750 ka. The uncertainty on these ages (typically ± 30 kyrs) is too great for precise assignment but most data overlap with the MIS 17 interglacial. The reliability of these ages is currently unclear. It is shown that separate aliquots of the same coral can yield different Thompson model ages. Therefore, there appear to be additional diagenetic mechanisms that create further anomalous excursions in the U-series systematics, limiting the reliability of the Thompson et al. open-system model.     

Aminostratigraphy of surface and subsurface Quaternary sediments,North Carolina coastal plain,USA

The Quaternary stratigraphy and geochronology of the Albemarle Embayment of the North Carolina (NC) Coastal Plain is examined using amino acid racemization (AAR) in marine mollusks, in combination with geophysical, lithologic, and biostratigraphic analysis of 28 rotasonic cores drilled between 2002 and 2006. The Albemarle Embayment is bounded by structural highs to the north and south, and Quaternary strata thin westward toward the Suffolk paleoshoreline, frequently referred to as the Suffolk Scarp. The Quaternary section is up to ～90 m thick, consists of a variety of estuarine, shelf, back-barrier, and lagoonal deposits, and has been influenced by multiple sea-level cycles. The temporal resolution of the amino acid racemization method is tested statistically and with the stratigraphic control provided by this geologic framework, and it is then applied to the correlation and age estimation of subsurface units throughout the region. Over 500 specimens (primarily Mercenaria and Mulinia) from the subsurface section have been analyzed using either gas chromatographic (GC) or reverse-phase liquid chromatographic (RPLC) techniques. The subsurface stratigraphic data are compared with AAR results from numerous natural or excavated exposures from the surrounding region, as well as results from NC beach collections, to develop a comprehensive aminostratigraphic database for the entire Quaternary record within the NC coastal system. Age mixing, recognized in the beach collections, is also seen in subsurface sections, usually where major seismic reflections or core lithology indicate the presence of stratigraphic discontinuities. Kinetic models for racemization are tested within the regional stratigraphic framework, using either radiocarbon or U-series calibrations or comparison with regional biostratigraphy. Three major Pleistocene aminozones [AZ2, AZ3, and AZ4] are found throughout the region, all being found in superposition in several cores. Each can be subdivided, yielding a total of at least eight stratigraphically and statistically distinct aminozones. Kinetic modeling, supplemented with local calibration, indicates that these aminozones represent depositional events ranging from ～80 ka to nearly 2 Ma. Three prominent seismic reflections are interpreted to represent the base of the early, middle, and late Pleistocene, respectively, roughly 2 Ma, 800 ka, and 130 ka. The large number of samples and the available stratigraphic control provide new insights into the capabilities and limitations of aminostratigraphic methods in assessing relative and numerical ages of Atlantic Coastal Plain Quaternary deposits.     

K-feldspar IRSL dating of a Pleistocene river terrace staircase sequence of the Lower Tejo River (Portugal,western Iberia)

We present the results of K-feldspar IRSL dating of the four lower terraces (T3–T6) of the Portuguese Tejo River, in the Arripiado-Chamusca area. Terrace correlation was based upon: a) analysis of aerial photographs, geomorphological mapping and field topographic survey; b) sedimentology of the deposits; and c) luminescence dating. Sediment sampled for luminescence dating gave unusually high dose rates, of between 3.4 and 6.2 Gy/ka and, as a result, quartz OSL was often found to be in saturation. We therefore used the IRSL signal from K-feldspar as the principal luminescence technique. The K-feldspar age results support sometimes complex geomorphic correlations, as fluvial terraces have been vertically displaced by faults (known from previous studies). Integration of these new ages with those obtained previously in the more upstream reaches of the Tejo River in Portugal indicates that the corrected K-feldspar IRSL ages are stratigraphically and geomorphologically consistent over a distance of 120 km along the Tejo valley. However, we are sceptical of the accuracy of the K-feldspar ages of samples from the T3 and T4 terraces (with uncorrected D_e values >500 Gy). In these cases the Dose Rate Correction (DRC) model puts the natural signals close to luminescence saturation, giving a minimum corrected D_e of about 1000 Gy, and thus minimum terrace ages; this may even be true for those doses >200 Gy. Luminescence dating results suggest that: T3 is older than 300 ka, probably ca. 420–360 ka (～Marine Isotope Stage [MIS]11); T4 is ca. 340–150 ka (～MIS9-6); T5 is 136–75 ka (～MIS5); T6 is 60–30 ka (MIS3); an aeolian sand unit that blankets T6 and some of the older terraces is 30–≥12 ka. Collectively, the luminescence ages seem to indicate that regional river downcutting events may be coincident with periods of low sea level (associated, respectively, with the MIS10, MIS6, MIS4 and MIS2).     

Sea-level changes and shelf break prograding sequences during the last 400 ka in the Aegean margins: Subsidence rates and palaeogeographic implications

The subsidence rates of the Aegean margins during the Middle-Upper Pleistocene were evaluated based on new and historical seismic profiling data. High-resolution seismic profiling (AirGun, Sparker and 3.5 kHz) have shown that (at least) four major oblique prograding sequences can be traced below the Aegean marginal slopes at increasing subbottom depths. These palaeo-shelf break glacial delta sediments have been developed during successive low sea-level stands (LST prograding sequences), suggesting continuous and gradual subsidence of the Aegean margins during the last 400 ka. Subsidence rates of the Aegean margins were calculated from the vertical displacement of successive topset-to-foreset transitions (palaeo-shelf break) of the LST prograding sediment sequences.The estimated subsidence rates that were calculated in the active boundaries of the Aegean microplate (North Aegean margins, Gulfs of Patras and Corinth) are high and range from 0.7 to 1.88 m ka^?1, while the lowest values (0.34–0.60 m ka^?1) are related to the low tectonic and seismic activity margins like the margin of Cyclades plateau. Lower subsidence rates (0.34–0.90 m ka^?1) were estimated for the period 146–18 ka BP (oxygen isotopic stages 6–2) and higher (1.46–1.88 m ka^?1) for the period from 425 to 250 ka BP (oxygen isotopic stages 12/10–8). A decrease of about 50% of the subduction rates in the Aegean margins was observed during the last 400 ka.During the isotopic stages 8, 10, 11 and 12, almost the 50–60% of the present Aegean Sea was land with extensive drainage systems and delta plains and large lakes in the central and North Aegean. Marine transgression in the North Aegean was rather occurred during the isotopic 9 interglacial period. The estimated palaeomorphology should imply fan delta development and sediment failures in the steep escarpments of the North Aegean margins and high sedimentation rates and turbidite sediment accumulation in the basins. It is deduced that the Black Sea was isolated from the Mediterranean during the Pleistocene prior oxygen isotopic stage 5.     

Optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments from the Yellow River terraces in Lanzhou: Tectonic and climatic implications

The stratigraphic chronology of Yellow River terraces was investigated and studied in Lanzhou Basin, western Chinese Loess Plateau. The optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating results show that terraces T₁, T₂ and T₃ formed at 8 ka, 20 ka and 70 ka, respectively. Lateral accretion of the riverbed facies gravel sediments occurred during interglacial periods while vertical aggradations of the terrace sediments deposited predominantly under cold and dry glacial period. A thick layer of aeolian loess with a basal age about 35 ka indicates a remarkable drop of air temperature and a dry, cold climate. The temporal correlation between terrace formation and tectonic movement has not yet been established in this research, but the stratigraphic chronology of the terrace sections provides the timing of the terrace formation, the incision rate of the Yellow River, and the slip rate of the fault horizon.     

The K–Ar Cassignol–Gillot technique applied to western Martinique lavas: A record of Lesser Antilles arc activity from 2 Ma to Mount Pelée volcanism

We present 23 new ages from three volcanic complexes of the Lesser Antilles arc in Martinique Island (French West Indies). These ages obtained with the K–Ar Cassignol–Gillot technique are distributed within the whole Quaternary. They allowed us to reconstruct a detailed history of successive volcanic growth and flank collapse stages. Trois Ilets Volcanism has been active during at least 2 Ma, between 2.35 ± 0.03 Ma and 346 ± 27 ka, with monogenetic volcanoes of basaltic-andesite to andesitic compositions. We here propose that magma mixing, which characterizes this volcanism, could have been initiated between 617 and 346 ka by the activation of arc-parallel and arc-transverse fault systems. Meanwhile, the Carbet complex was active 25 km to the north from 998 ± 14 to 322 ± 6 ka, and was partially destroyed by a flank collapse after 602 ± 10 ka. Together with geochemical data, our ages show that Mount Conil and Mount Pelée volcanoes are parts of the same edifice sharing a single magmatic reservoir. Mount Conil started to emerge before 543 ± 8 ka, and andesites erupted until 127 ± 2 ka, when a flank collapse destroyed the western flank of the edifice, probably triggering the emplacement of Piton Marcel, the last eruption of this first stage. We note that this collapse occurred during the transition from oxygen stages 6 to 5, i.e. during glacial to interglacial change, when eustatic level rapidly increased. After that, and until present, Mount Pelée volcano was built with periods of cone growth intercalated by flank collapse events. We here show that a peak of activity occurred between 550 and 330 ka in western Martinique within the three complexes, which are spaced of 15–25 km. Since 330 ka volcanic activity is limited to the northernmost Mount Conil–Mount Pelée complex. Our data are in agreement with the regional scale observations that the whole recent Lesser Antilles arc was subject to a high volcanic activity since 600 ka, probably linked to an increase in magma production. This permanent establishment of rising magma in regularly spaced batches and tectonically controlled, could explain the individual chemical evolution of each edifice and the different eruptive dynamisms occurring at the same time along the recent arc.     

Raised Holocene paleo-shorelines along the Capo Vaticano coast (western Calabria,Italy): Evidence of co-seismic and steady-state deformation

Detailed mapping of geomorphological and biological sea-level markers around the Capo Vaticano promontory (western Calabria, Italy), has documented the occurrence of four Holocene paleo-shorelines raised at different altitudes. The uppermost shoreline (PS1) is represented by a deeply eroded fossiliferous beach deposit, reaching an elevation of ∼2.2 m above the present sea-level, and by a notch whose roof is at ∼2.3 m. The subjacent shoreline PS2 is found at an elevation of ∼1.8 m and is represented by a Dendropoma rim, a barnacle band and by a wave-cut platform. Shoreline PS3 includes remnants of vermetid concretions, a barnacle band, a notch and a marine deposit, and reaches an elevation of ∼1.4 m. The lowermost paleo-shoreline (PS4) includes a wave-cut platform and a notch and reaches an elevation of ∼0.8 m. Radiocarbon dating of material from individual paleo-shorelines points to an average uplift rate of 1.2–1.4 mm/yr in the last ∼6 ka at Capo Vaticano. Our data suggest that Holocene uplift was asymmetric, with a greater magnitude in the south-west sector of the promontory, in a manner similar to the long-term deformation attested by Pleistocene terraces. The larger uplift in the south-western sector is possibly related to the additional contribution, onto a large-wavelength regional signal, of co-seismic deformation events, which are not registered to the north-east. We have recognized four co-seismic uplift events at 5.7–5.4 ka, 3.9–3.5 ka, ∼1.9 ka and <1.8 ka ago, superposed on a regional uplift that in the area, is occurring at a rate of ∼1 mm/yr. Our findings places new constrains on the recent activity of border faults south of the peninsula and on the location of the seismogenic source the 1905 destructive earthquake.     

Optical dating of a hyperconcentrated flow deposit on a Yellow River terrace in Hukou,Shaanxi, China

A sand layer, interpreted as a hyperconcentrated flow deposit, was found interbedded between loess on a Yellow River terrace in Hukou, Shaanxi, China. The site is known as the Longwangchan Palaeolithic site. The deposits from the terrace were dated using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). Two samples from the sand layer were dated to 30 ± 2 and 33 ± 3 ka using coarse-grained (CG) quartz, and to 82 ± 7 and 94 ± 5 ka using fine-grained (FG) quartz, respectively. The CG quartz OSL ages are believed to be reliable on the basis of the OSL ages of the bracketing loess samples. The overestimation of the FG quartz OSL ages of the sand samples is explained in terms of hyperconcentrated flow processes during sediment transport and deposition. The large difference between the CG and FG quartz OSL ages of the sand samples helps to better understand the formation of the hyperconcentrated flow deposit. The hyperconcentrated flow deposit in this study indicates an extreme river flood occurring at ～30 ka in this area. In addition, the stone artifacts found in the lower loess layer overlying the bedrock of the terrace were dated to ～47 ka.     

A long-term rock uplift rate for eastern Crete and geodynamic implications for the Hellenic subduction zone

The island of Crete in the forearc of the Hellenic subduction zone has a rugged topography with local relief exceeding 2 km. Based on the elevation of marine shorelines, rates of rock uplift during the Late Holocene were previously estimated to range between 1 and 4 mm/a in different parts of the island. These rates may, however, not be representative for longer timescales, because subduction earthquakes with up to 9 m of vertical coseismic displacement have affected Crete in the Late Holocene. Here we use a well preserved sequence of marine terraces near Kato Zakros in eastern Crete to determine the rate of rock uplift over the last ∼600 ka. Field investigations and topographic profiles document a flight of more than 13 marine bedrock terraces that were carved into limestones of the Tripolitza unit. Preliminary age constraints for the terraces were obtained by ¹⁰Be exposure dating of rare quartz-bearing sandstone clasts, which are present on some terraces. The ¹⁰Be ages of these samples, which have been corrected for an inherited nuclide component, yielded exposure ages between ∼100 ka and zero. Combined with geomorphologic evidence the two oldest ¹⁰Be ages suggest that the terraces T₄ and T₅, with shoreline angles at an elevation of ∼68 and ∼76 m above sea level, respectively, formed during the marine isotope stage 5e about 120 ka ago. The correlation of the higher terraces (T₆ to T₁₃) with regional sea-level highstands indicates sustained rock uplift at a rate of ∼0.5 m/ka since at least ∼600 ka. As normal faulting has dominated the tectonics of Crete during the last several million years, upper crustal shortening can be ruled out as a cause for rock uplift. We argue that the sustained uplift of the island results from the continuous underplating of sediments, which are transferred from the subducting African plate to the base of the crust beneath Crete.     

Evaluating Quaternary dating methods: Radiocarbon,U-series,luminescence, and amino acid racemization dates of a late Pleistocene emu egg

A whole emu egg, with infilling sediment believed to be coeval with egg laying and burial, was found in late Pleistocene lunette sediments near Lake Eyre, central Australia. The stratigraphic context and initial amino acid racemization (AAR) results suggested an age between 25 ka and 35 ka, ideal for a multiple cross-dating comparison. The sediment infilling the egg provided material for luminescence dating that minimized problems of association. Age estimations from AAR, ¹⁴C and U series methods were obtained from the eggshell and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of the infilling sediment. All methods agreed within their respective dating uncertainties confirming the utility of all four methods. They indicate an age for the emu egg of 31.24 ± 0.34 ka.     

Middle Pleistocene cold stage climates in the Mediterranean: New evidence from the glacial record

A major reduction in summer temperatures during a Middle Pleistocene glacial cycle caused the most extensive glaciation recorded in the Mediterranean region. Glaciers in the mountains of Greece formed during marine isotope stage (MIS) 12 (474 000–427 000 years BP) under climatic conditions characterised by mean summer temperatures at least 11 °C cooler than today and annual precipitation of ≤ 2300 mm at the equilibrium line altitude (1741 m a.s.l.). This represents the coldest mean summer temperatures recorded in Greece during at least the last 430 000 years. Later Pleistocene glaciations (MIS 6 and 5d-2) were characterised by warmer summer temperatures and higher annual precipitation.     

Luminescence dating of baked earth and sediments from the Qujialing archaeological site,China

The Qujialing site is a representative Neolithic archaeological site in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, China. Absence of suitable material for radiocarbon dating in this region makes the timing of the similar sites difficult. Here we applied optically stimulated luminescence (OSL–SAR) and thermoluminescence (TL–SAR) techniques to date the archaeological and natural deposits from the Qujialing site with known age, testing the techniques on samples at archaeological sites in this region. The results showed that the luminescence properties of quartz from sediment and baked earth samples are very similar. The quartz OSL ages obtained for a sediment sample and a baked earth sample from the cultural layer are 5.4 ± 0.3 and 5.1 ± 0.3 ka, respectively. The quartz TL age of the baked earth sample is 5.6 ± 0.5 ka. These dates are consistent with the calibrated radiocarbon ages (4.9 ± 0.1 and 5.1 ± 0.1 ka cal BP (±1σ)) of the two charcoal samples from the cultural layer at a nearby locality, and are also in agreement with the age of Qujialing culture period. The results indicate that the OSL dating techniques can be applied to date similar archaeological sites in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, China.     

Quartz OSL dating of sand dunes of Late Pleistocene in the Mu Us Desert in northern China

The Mu Us Desert, located in the northwestern fringe of the East Asian monsoon region, is sensitive to climate variability. The desert is characterized by mobile, semi-fixed and fixed sand dunes. Alternating units of dune sands and sandy palaeosols in the Mu Us Desert imply multiple episodes of dune building and stabilization, in response to the ebb and flow of the East Asian monsoon. Desert evolution and climatic change of high-resolution in the Mu Us Desert are still poorly understood due to limited numerical dating results. In the present study, 19 samples collected from five sand dune sections along a northwest–southeast transect in the Mu Us Desert were dated using quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and single aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol. Internal checks of the OSL dating indicate that the SAR protocol is appropriate for equivalent dose (D_e) determination for the samples under study. Combined with the lithologic stratigraphy and the luminescence chronology, the sand dune development in the Mu Us Desert during the Late Pleistocene is discussed. Our results indicate that the sand was mobilized approximately at 91 ka, 71 ka, 48–22 ka, 5 ka, 1 ka, and 0.44 ka; the sand was fixed approximately at 65 ka and Holocene Optimum period in the interior Mu Us Desert. The Mu Us Desert formed at least before ～144 ka, and has shown increasing aridity in the Late Pleistocene.     

Kobo 1 and L'Abri aux Vaches (Mali,West Africa): Two case studies for the optical dating of bioturbated sediments

The purpose of the study was to provide further chronological data for the microlithic assemblages in the region of the Dogon Country (Mali). In two sites, Kobo 1 and L'Abri aux Vaches, the absence of any characteristic material could not help in concluding whether the microliths were of Pleistocene or Holocene age. Radiocarbon dating failed because the analysed charcoals appeared to have been introduced following recent bioturbation. These were visible in the archaeological sections and therefore, an attempt at dating with single-grain optically stimulated luminescence was made. After discussing the appropriate way of applying the Finite Mixture Model, we are able to conclude that the sediments containing the microliths from L'Abri aux Vaches were deposited during the beginning and the middle of the Holocene period (13.5 ± 1.0 and 5.9 ± 0.4 ka). For Kobo 1, the analysis reveals extensive bioturbation, precluding the obtaining of any reliable result.