Tephras in lacustrine sediments of the Sarliève marsh (French Massif Central): age and preservation

The Sarliève marsh sediments (Massif Central, France) contain two tephras. The first tephra [, ca. 12 000 BP], regionally well known, enables to date the beginning of lacustrine infill to the Lateglacial. The second tephra, the ‘tephra de Sarliève’, the emitting volcano of which is unknown, would be dated to around the Early Subboreal from pollen data. This occurrence, after the discovery of the ‘tephra de Beaunit’, emphasizes that volcanic eruption(s) occurred in the ‘Chaîne des Puys’ or in the volcanic Cézallier more than 1000 years after the last known eruption (Pavin) in the ‘Chaîne des Puys’ at around 6.6/6.7 ka (5800/5900 BP). In the Sarliève piles, these tephras, well preserved in thick and more silicated deposits of deltas, were not observed in carbonated basin sediments where they were altered. The abundance of authigenic zeolites formed during the Lateglacial in restricted depocentre lacustrine waters allows us to detect initial CF1 tephra occurrence. To cite this article: A. Fourmont et al., C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

The late Quaternary tephrostratigraphical record of the San Gregorio Magno basin (southern Italy)

Twenty‐one primary pyroclastic layers were found embedded in the lacustrine sediments of the San Gregorio Magno basin (Southern Apennines). These sand‐sized layers were characterised by a noticeable juvenile fragments content and by a sharp basal contact with the underlying clay and silt sediments. The tephra layers have been correlated with terrestrial counterparts from well‐known eruptive events of the Campanian volcanic area, or with reference layers from deep sea sediment cores and from the Monticchio maar sequence. The investigation of the San Gregorio Magno tephra layers made it possible to deduce that lacustrine sedimentation at San Gregorio Magno basin began before 170k yr BP and lasted at least until the emplacement of the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff, which occurred about 15k yr BP. The tephrochronology allowed determination of the varying sedimentation rate that occurred in the basin. Correlation of the lacustrine record with marine sequences has allowed development of a late Quaternary tephrostratotype for southern Italy. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary tephrochronology of Sweden: a review

Studies of Late Quaternary sediments in south and central Sweden have yielded a detailed tephrochronology for the Last Glacial–Interglacial transition (LGIT; ca. 15,000–10,000 cal. yr BP) and the Holocene. More than ten tephra layers have been detected and geochemically characterised. The most widespread tephra from the LGIT is the rhyolitic phase of the Vedde Ash (ca. 12,000 cal. yr BP) which has been found in lacustrine sediments and marine clays south of the Younger Dryas moraines in south Sweden. Other horizons from the LGIT identified to date include the Borrobol tephra (ca. 14,400 cal. yr BP), the Hässeldalen tephra (ca. 11,500 cal. yr BP), the 10-ka Askja tephra (ca. 11,300 cal. yr BP) and the Högstorpsmossen tephra (ca. 10,200 cal. yr BP). The most significant Holocene isochrones are Hekla-4 (ca. 4260 cal. yr BP), Hekla-Selsund/Kebister (ca. 3750 cal. yr BP), Hekla-3 (ca. 3000 cal. yr BP) and Askja-1875. Two new Late Holocene tephra horizons (the Stömyren tephra, ca. 2100 cal. yr BP and the Gullbergby tephra; ca. 2700 cal. yr BP) were identified in single sites and are so far less valuable as marker horizons, but are potentially important for the future.     

Late Quaternary environmental change of Yellow River Basin: An organic geochemical record in Bohai Sea (North China)

Bulk geochemical characterization (total organic carbon, grain size distribution, carbon isotope composition) and molecular biomarkers (lignin phenols, straight chain aliphatic hydrocarbons, glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers) were analyzed for a 21 m core from the Bohai Sea (North China), spanning ca 21 ka BP. These paleo-proxies presented remarkable differences between the late glacial period and the Holocene, reflecting continental and coastal environments, respectively. Two peat layers were deposited during the period of ca 9000-8460 yr BP. Thereafter the core site has been consistently covered by seawater until recent reclamation of land from the sea. The occurrence of a total organic carbon maximum from ca 6000-3800 yr BP was attributed to delivery of organic carbon enriched sediments via the Yellow River, consistent with increased vegetation density and higher development of soil under warm and humid mid-Holocene climate conditions. The distributions of lignin phenol compositions and C₃₁/C₂₉n-alkane ratio suggested the largest expansion of woody plants between ca 5300 and 4000 yr BP, corresponding to the extremely favorable climatic conditions. Since ca 3800 yr BP, an abrupt increase in the C₃₁/C₂₉n-alkane ratio suggested higher abundance of grasses, consistent with a drying climate trend after the mid-Holocene. Since our coastal sediments close to the Yellow River outflow contain catchment-integrated environmental signals of the river basin, molecular proxies demonstrate that the variability of vegetation distributions in the Holocene is a widespread phenomenon in those areas adjacent to Yellow River Basin.     

The Late Holocene to Pleistocene tephrostratigraphic record of Lake Ohrid (Albania)

We present in this work a tephrostratigraphic record from a sediment piston core (JO 2004) from Lake Ohrid. Five tephra layers were recognised, all from explosive eruptions of southern Italy volcanoes. A multidisciplinary study was carried out, including stratigraphy, AMS ¹⁴C chronology and geochemistry. The five tephra layers were correlated with terrestrial proximal counterparts and with both marine and lacustrine tephra layers already known in the central Mediterranean area. The oldest is from Pantelleria Island (P11, 131 ka BP). Other three tephra layers are from Campanian volcanoes: X6, Campanian Ignimbrite-Y5 and SMP1-Y3 (107, 39 and 31 ka BP respectively). The youngest tephra layer corresponds to the FL eruption from Etna Volcano (3.4 ka BP). In three cases these recognitions confirm previous findings in the Balkans, while two of them were for the first time recognised in the area, with a significant enlargement of the previous assessed dispersal areas.     

A geological constraint on relative sea level in Marine Isotope Stage 3 in the Larsemann Hills, Lambert Glacier region, East Antarctica (31 366–33 228 cal yr BP)

In this paper we present geological evidence from the Larsemann Hills (Lambert Glacier – Amery Ice Shelf region, East Antarctica) of marine sediments at an altitude of c. 8 m a.s.l., as revealed by diatom, pigment and geochemical proxies in a lake sediment core. The sediments yielded radiocarbon dates between c. 26 650 and 28 750 ¹⁴C yr BP (31 366–33 228 cal yr BP). This information can be used to constrain relative sea level adjacent to the Lambert Glacier at the end of Marine Isotope Stage 3. These data are compared with the age and altitude of Marine Isotope Stage 3 marine deposits elsewhere in East Antarctica and discussed with reference to late Quaternary ice sheet history and eustatic sea-level change.     

Cryptotephra detection using high-resolution trace-element analysis of Holocene marine sediments, southwest Japan

Detection techniques for invisible tephra, known as cryptotephra, have been exploited to construct precise and high-resolution correlations for a broad range of sedimentary sequences. We demonstrate that continuous trace-element profiles are an effective means for detecting probable positions of distal cryptotephra in Holocene hemipelagic sediments. Instrumental neutron activation analyses were performed on specimens of bulk sediments from five piston and gravity cores (water depths: 300-1500 m) taken from the southern Japan/East Sea. The down-core variations in the Ta/Sc ratio identify the positions of one to three alkaline cryptotephra in four of these cores. The Cr/Sc profiles show the position of one rhyolitic cryptotephra in three of the cores. The existence of tephra-derived components (glass ± crystals) was confirmed by microscopic observation, SEM-EPMA analysis and refractive index measurement on grains extracted from these layers. Based on microscopic observation and the stratigraphic correlations between cores, we identified eruption ages of the cryptotephras at 6.3, 7.5 and 9.3 ¹⁴C kyr BP, and two source volcanoes around 800 and 400 km from the study area.The tephra layers visible to the naked eye contained volcanic grains coarser than 200 μm, and the alkaline and rhyolitic tephra component comprised >20% and >33% of the sediment on weight basis, respectively. In contrast, the range of particle sizes of the cryptotephras detected in this study is finer than 125 μm, and almost all of the glass shards were finer than 40 μm. The alkaline and rhyolitic cryptotephras made up only 2-17% and 22-24%, respectively, of the sediment on weigh basis. The high sensitivity of this method stems from the significant difference in trace-element contents between the tephras and enclosing hemipelagic sediments in the core. Alkaline U-Oki tephra was enriched in Ta by one order of magnitude over that of the sediment, and depleted in Sc by one order. The rhyolitic tephra, K-Ah, was depleted by about one order in Cr relative to that of enclosing the sediment. The differences in chemical composition between within-plate alkaline tephras and hemipelagic sediments are usually so large that trace-element geochemical method is likely to be useful for alkaline cryptotephra detection in other areas with similar tectonic characteristics.     

Late Pleistocene Bison antiquus from Orcas Island, Washington, and the biogeographic importance of an early postglacial land mammal dispersal corridor from the mainland to Vancouver Island

A Bison antiquus cranium and partial skeleton from Ayer Pond wetland on Orcas Island, San Juan Islands, Washington, date to 11,760 ± 70 ¹⁴C yr BP. They lay in lacustrine sediments below peat, unconformably above emergent Everson Glaciomarine Drift (> 12,000 ¹⁴C yr BP). Several bison finds in similar contexts on Orcas and Vancouver Islands dating between 11,750 and 10,800 ¹⁴C yr BP indicate an early postglacial land mammal dispersal corridor with reduced water barriers between mainland and islands. New bison dates and published shell dates allow estimation of early postglacial relative sea-level trends for the San Juans, with a drop below modern datum ∼ 12,000 ¹⁴C yr BP, and assist in evaluation of marine reservoir corrections. Emergence by ∼ 60 m is suggested by data from nearby areas. A tundra-like or meadow community and succeeding open pine parkland before 11,000 ¹⁴C yr BP supported bison but horn-core reduction suggests suboptimal forage or restricted habitat. Expanding mixed-conifer forests after 11,000 ¹⁴C yr BP contributed to bison extirpation. Dispersing ungulates such as bison must have influenced island vegetation establishment and early succession. Possible evidence for butchering by early coastal people adds significance to the Ayer Pond discovery, given its pre-Clovis age.     

The Holocene tephrostratigraphic record of Lake Shkodra (Albania and Montenegro)

Two cores were recovered in the southeastern part of Lake Shkodra (Montenegro and Albania) and sampled for identification of tephra layers. The first core (SK13, 7.8 m long) was recovered from a water depth of 7 m, while the second core (SK19, 5.8 m long) was recovered close to the present‐day shoreline (water depth of 2 m). Magnetic susceptibility investigations show generally low values with some peaks that in some cases are related to tephra layers. Naked‐eye inspection of the cores allowed the identification of four tephra layers in core SK13 and five tephra layers in core SK19. Major element analyses on glass shards and mineral phases allowed correlation of the tephra layers between the two cores, and their attribution to six different Holocene explosive eruptions of southern Italy volcanoes. Two tephra layers have under‐saturated composition of glass shards (foiditic and phonolitic) and were correlated to the AD 472 and the Avellino (ca. 3.9 cal. ka BP) eruptions of Somma‐Vesuvius. One tephra layer has benmoreitic composition and was correlated to the FL eruption of Mount Etna (ca. 3.4 cal. ka BP). The other three tephra layers have trachytic composition and were correlated to Astroni (ca. 4.2 cal. ka BP), Agnano Monte Spina (ca. 4.5 cal. ka BP) and Agnano Pomici Principali (ca. 12.3 cal. ka BP) eruptions of Campi Flegrei. The ages of tephra layers are in broad agreement with eight ¹⁴C accelerator mass spectrometric measurements carried out on plant remains and charcoal from the lake sediments at different depths along the two cores. The recognition of distal tephra layers from Italian volcanoes allowed the physical link of the Holocene archive of Lake Shkodra to other archives located in the central Mediterranean area and the Balkans (i.e. Lake Ohrid). Five of the recognised tephra layers were recognised for the first time in the Balkans area, and this has relevance for volcanic hazard assessment and for ash dispersal forecasting in case of renewed explosive activity from some of the southern Italy volcanoes. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age and significance of the Late Pleistocene Dawson tephra in eastern Beringia

Dawson tephra, recently recognized in the Klondike area of Yukon Territory, records one of the largest Quaternary volcanic eruptions in Beringia. Its composition is similar to that of Old Crow tephra, indicating a source in the Aleutian arc-Alaska Peninsula region of southwestern Alaska. Its primary thickness in central Yukon is nearly twice that of Old Crow tephra, which has an estimated eruption volume of >50 km³. The distribution of Dawson tephra is still poorly known, but based on its source area and occurrence in central Yukon, it should be widespread across southern Alaska, Yukon and the Gulf of Alaska. New radiocarbon ages indicate the eruption occurred at about 24,000 ¹⁴C yr BP (ca 27,000 cal yr BP). The Dawson tephra is a valuable marker bed for correlating late Pleistocene records across large areas of eastern Beringia and adjacent marine records.     

Late Quaternary distal tephra-fall deposits in lacustrine sediments, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska

Tephra-fall deposits from Cook Inlet volcanoes were detected in sediment cores from Tustumena and Paradox Lakes, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, using magnetic susceptibility and petrography. The ages of tephra layers were estimated using 21 ¹⁴C ages on macrofossils. Tephras layers are typically fine, gray ash, 1-5 mm thick, and composed of varying proportions of glass shards, pumice, and glass-coated phenocrysts. Of the two lakes, Paradox Lake contained a higher frequency of tephra (0.8 tephra/100 yr; 109 over the 13,200-yr record). The unusually large number of tephra in this lake relative to others previously studied in the area is attributed to the lake's physiography, sedimentology, and limnology. The frequency of ash fall was not constant through the Holocene. In Paradox Lake, tephra layers are absent between ca. 800-2200, 3800-4800, and 9000-10,300 cal yr BP, despite continuously layered lacustrine sediment. In contrast, between 5000 and 9000 cal yr BP, an average of 1.7 tephra layers are present per 100 yr. The peak period of tephra fall (7000-9000 cal yr BP; 2.6 tephra/100 yr) in Paradox Lake is consistent with the increase in volcanism between 7000 and 9000 yr ago recorded in the Greenland ice cores.     

Examination of diatom-based changes from a climatically sensitive prairie lake (Saskatchewan, Canada) at different temporal perspectives

Paleoclimatic records from the climatically sensitive Canadian prairies are relatively rare due to the scarcity of study sites with continuous Holocene stratigraphic sequences. Oro Lake, a meromictic lake in the dry grasslands of Saskatchewan (Canada), contains a continuous Holocene diatom record spanning the last 10,000 years. Here we present analyses at three different time scales and resolution: (1) 1–3 yr resolution of the past 80 years, (2) century-scale analysis of the Holocene, and (3) decadal-scale analysis of the past 7000 years. Recent changes in the diatom assemblages and their respective salinity inferences were significantly related to measured effective moisture (precipitation minus evaporation, P−ET). The droughts of the 1930s, and a wet period during the 1950s are clearly evident in the diatom record, suggesting the Oro Lake record contains a sensitive archive of past climatic conditions. Century-scale analysis of the diatom record during the Holocene is consistent with a cool and moist climate in the early Holocene (prior to ca 9700 cal yr BP, 8600 ¹⁴C yr BP). An abrupt increase in diatom-inferred salinity at 9600 cal yr BP (8500 ¹⁴C yr BP) indicates the onset of an arid climate, with continuing arid conditions throughout the mid-Holocene. Decadal-scale analysis of the past 7000 years suggests that the mid-Holocene was more complex, with extended periods of increased variability in precipitation, particularly between ca 5800–3600 cal yr BP (5000–3200 ¹⁴C yr BP) which is characterized by intervals of increased effective moisture. The past 2000 years is characterized by reduced salinities and generally wetter conditions in comparison to the mid-Holocene. The combination of the different scales of analyses in this study provides a detailed account of the dynamic nature of climate from sub-decadal to millennial scale in the Oro Lake region within the Palliser Triangle. Climate model predictions suggest that the Canadian prairie region may see a higher frequency of extreme droughts under projected global warming, potentially similar to the most arid periods seen during the mid-Holocene when many lake basins completely dried out.     

The latest Ursus spelaeus in Italy,a new contribution to the extinction chronology of the cave bear

The skeleton of a young prime adult cave bear, Ursus spelaeus, was found in Chiostraccio Cave (Siena, Tuscany, central Italy), only slightly buried under rock falls. The specimen was dated yielding a conventional age of 24,030 ± 100 ¹⁴C yr BP (29,200–28,550 cal yr BP), which makes it the latest known representative of the species in Italy. The skeleton was accompanied by the remains of wolf (Canis lupus), wild boar (Sus scrofa), aurochs (Bos primigenius), red deer (Cervus elaphus), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), bat (Vespertinus murinus), and crow (Corvus monedula). The site seems confirming that the latest Italian U. spelaeus populations shared the risk of intrusion. The association of the cave bear with other animals suggests that the assemblage is an attritional palimpsest of remains of different species not originally associated in life. Cave bears were probably more vegetarian than brown bears and possibly became extinct when plant productivity dropped at the onset of MIS 2. Central and southern Italy may have offered isolated and sheltered refugia for cave bears.     

A late Holocene paleoenvironmental reconstruction from Agua Caliente,southern Belize,linked to regional climate variability and cultural change at the Maya polity of Uxbenká

We report high-resolution macroscopic charcoal, pollen and sedimentological data for Agua Caliente, a freshwater lagoon located in southern Belize, and infer a late Holocene record of human land-use/climate interactions for the nearby prehistoric Maya center of Uxbenká. Land-use activities spanning the initial clearance of forests for agriculture through the drought-linked Maya collapse and continuing into the historic recolonization of the region are all reflected in the record. Human land alteration in association with swidden agriculture is evident early in the record during the Middle Preclassic starting ca. 2600 cal yr BP. Fire slowly tapered off during the Late and Terminal Classic, consistent with the gradual political demise and depopulation of the Uxbenká polity sometime between ca. 1150 and 950 cal yr BP, during a period of multiple droughts evident in a nearby speleothem record. Fire activity was at its lowest during the Maya Postclassic ca. 950–430 cal yr BP, but rose consistent with increasing recolonization of the region between ca. 430 cal yr BP and present. These data suggest that this environmental record provides both a proxy for 2800 years of cultural change, including colonization, growth, decline, and reorganization of regional populations, and an independent confirmation of recent paleoclimate reconstructions from the same region.     

Geochronology and paleoenvironment of pluvial Harper Lake,Mojave Desert,California, USA

Accurate reconstruction of the paleo-Mojave River and pluvial lake (Harper, Manix, Cronese, and Mojave) system of southern California is critical to understanding paleoclimate and the North American polar jet stream position over the last 500 ka. Previous studies inferred a polar jet stream south of 35°N at 18 ka and at ~ 40°N at 17–14 ka. Highstand sediments of Harper Lake, the upstream-most pluvial lake along the Mojave River, have yielded uncalibrated radiocarbon ages ranging from 24,000 to > 30,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. Based on geologic mapping, radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dating, we infer a ~ 45–40 ka age for the Harper Lake highstand sediments. Combining the Harper Lake highstand with other Great Basin pluvial lake/spring and marine climate records, we infer that the North American polar jet stream was south of 35°N about 45–40 ka, but shifted to 40°N by ~ 35 ka. Ostracodes (Limnocythere ceriotuberosa) from Harper Lake highstand sediments are consistent with an alkaline lake environment that received seasonal inflow from the Mojave River, thus confirming the lake was fed by the Mojave River. The ~ 45–40 ka highstand at Harper Lake coincides with a shallowing interval at downstream Lake Manix.     

Volcanic eruptions in the Longgang volcanic field,northeastern China,during the past 15,000 years

The Longgang volcanic field, located in northeastern China, is volcanically active with a number of eruptions during the Quaternary but the chronology of the eruptions is poorly defined. Some tephra layers are well preserved in the annually laminated sediments of maar lakes in the region, and facilitate the construction of a much improved chronological framework for the volcanic history of the area. The results of our investigations reveal that three basaltic explosive eruptions occurred at AD 460, 11460 cal yr BP and 14000 cal yr BP, respectively. The largest explosive basaltic eruption (AD 460) produced a thick black scoria layer in the Longgang volcanic field, including lakes. The tephra distribution and chronological data suggest that this eruption is likely to be from the Jinlongdingzi volcano. Two basaltic flood eruptions occurred at Jinlongdingzi. The earlier basaltic eruption produced a lava flow that spread over a forest and encased standing trees. Two radiocarbon ages obtained from charcoal samples collected from the burned remains of these trees are 1828–1989 cal yr BP and 2164–2359 cal yr BP. In the most recent stage of volcanism, the lava flow extended only ca. 2 km, and flowed into Lake Dalongwan. From the present status of the forest ecosystem, which has not yet reached the fully mature successional stage, we estimate that this lava is very young (ca. a few hundreds years old). Jinlongdingzi is a potentially dangerous volcano. Monitoring and assessment of the potential hazards in the Longgang volcanic field should be carried out in the future.     

Silicate weathering in anoxic marine sediments

Two sediment cores retrieved at the northern slope of Sakhalin Island, Sea of Okhotsk, were analyzed for biogenic opal, organic carbon, carbonate, sulfur, major element concentrations, mineral contents, and dissolved substances including nutrients, sulfate, methane, major cations, humic substances, and total alkalinity. Down-core trends in mineral abundance suggest that plagioclase feldspars and other reactive silicate phases (olivine, pyroxene, volcanic ash) are transformed into smectite in the methanogenic sediment sections. The element ratios Na/Al, Mg/Al, and Ca/Al in the solid phase decrease with sediment depth indicating a loss of mobile cations with depth and producing a significant down-core increase in the chemical index of alteration. Pore waters separated from the sediment cores are highly enriched in dissolved magnesium, total alkalinity, humic substances, and boron. The high contents of dissolved organic carbon in the deeper methanogenic sediment sections (50-150 mg dm⁻³) may promote the dissolution of silicate phases through complexation of Al³⁺ and other structure-building cations. A non-steady state transport-reaction model was developed and applied to evaluate the down-core trends observed in the solid and dissolved phases. Dissolved Mg and total alkalinity were used to track the in-situ rates of marine silicate weathering since thermodynamic equilibrium calculations showed that these tracers are not affected by ion exchange processes with sediment surfaces. The modeling showed that silicate weathering is limited to the deeper methanogenic sediment section whereas reverse weathering was the dominant process in the overlying surface sediments. Depth-integrated rates of marine silicate weathering in methanogenic sediments derived from the model (81.4-99.2 mmol CO₂ m⁻² year⁻¹) are lower than the marine weathering rates calculated from the solid phase data (198-245 mmol CO₂ m⁻² year⁻¹) suggesting a decrease in marine weathering over time. The production of CO₂ through reverse weathering in surface sediments (4.22-15.0 mmol CO₂ m⁻² year⁻¹) is about one order of magnitude smaller than the weathering-induced CO₂ consumption in the underlying sediments. The evaluation of pore water data from other continental margin sites shows that silicate weathering is a common process in methanogenic sediments. The global rate of CO₂ consumption through marine silicate weathering estimated here as 5-20 Tmol CO₂ year⁻¹ is as high as the global rate of continental silicate weathering.     

Chemical weathering, river geochemistry and atmospheric carbon fluxes from volcanic and ultramafic regions on Luzon Island, the Philippines

We investigated rates of chemical weathering of volcanic and ophiolitic rocks on Luzon Island, the Philippines. Luzon has a tropical climate and is volcanically and tectonically very active, all factors that should enhance chemical weathering. Seventy-five rivers and streams (10 draining ophiolites, 65 draining volcanic bedrock) and two volcanic hot springs were sampled and analyzed for major elements, alkalinity and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr. Cationic fluxes from the volcanic basins are dominated by Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ and dissolved silica concentrations are high (500-1900 μM). Silica concentrations in streams draining ophiolites are lower (400-900 μM), and the cationic charge is mostly Mg²⁺. The areally weighted average CO₂ export flux from our study area is 3.89 ± 0.21 × 10⁶ mol/km²/yr, or 5.99 ± 0.64 × 10⁶ mol/km²/yr from ophiolites and 3.58 ± 0.23 × 10⁶ mol/km²/yr from volcanic areas (uncertainty given as ±1 standard error, s.e.). This is ∼6-10 times higher than the current best estimate of areally averaged global CO₂ export by basalt chemical weathering and ∼2-3 times higher than the current best estimate of CO₂ export by basalt chemical weathering in the tropics. Extrapolating our findings to all tropical arcs, we estimate that around one tenth of all atmospheric carbon exported via silicate weathering to the oceans annually is processed in these environments, which amount to ∼1% of the global exorheic drainage area. Chemical weathering of volcanic terranes in the tropics appears to make a disproportionately large impact on the long-term carbon cycle.     

Late Pleistocene Eolian Sediments Related to Pyroclastic Eruptions of Mauna Kea Volcano, Hawaii

Loess and dune sands that mantle volcanic rocks on the northwest flank of Mauna Kea volcano consist predominantly of fine-grained pyroclasts of the alkalic Laupahoehoe Volcanics produced by explosive eruptions. The loess is divided into lower and upper units, separated by a well-developed paleosol, while older and younger dune sands are separated by loess. Four interstratified tephra marker horizons aid in regional stratigraphic correlation. Radiocarbon ages of charcoal fragments within the loess, U-series ages of rhizoliths in the dune sand, and K/Ar ages and relative stratigraphic positions of lava flows provide a stratigraphic and temporal framework. The lower loess overlies lava flows less than 103,000 ± 10,000 K/Ar yr old, and¹⁴C dates from the paleosol developed at its top average ca. 48,000 yr. Loess separating the dune sand units ranges from ca. 38,000 to 25,000¹⁴C yr old; the youngest ages from the upper loess are 17,000–18,000¹⁴C yr B.P. Dips of sand-dune foreset strata, isopachs on the upper loess, and reconstructed isopachs representing cumulative thickness of tephra associated with late-Pleistocene pyroclastic eruptions suggest that vents upslope (upwind) from the sand dunes were the primary source of the eolian sediments. Average paleowind directions during the eruptive interval (ca. 50,000–15,000 yr B.P.), inferred from cinder-cone asymmetry, distribution of tephra units, orientation of dune foreset strata, and the regional pattern of loess isopachs, suggest that Mauna Kea has remained within the trade-wind belt since before the last glaciation.     

Environmental change and seasonal behavior of mastodons in the Great Lakes region inferred from stable isotope analysis

We investigate seasonal variations in the diet and drinking water of four Great Lakes mastodon (Mammut americanum) specimens using stable isotope analysis of serially sampled inner-enamel bioapatite structural carbonate (δ¹³C_sc, δ¹⁸O_sc), and previously published bulk analyses. Isotopic analyses and thin section measurements showed that mastodon tooth enamel extension rates (~ 12–4 mm/yr, decreasing toward the cervix) were lower than those of mammoths or modern elephants. Mastodons had distinct and highly regular seasonal variations in δ¹³C_sc and δ¹⁸O_sc, which we interpret in the context of local glacial history and vegetation changes. Seasonal variations in δ¹⁸O were large but variations in δ¹³C were small, and may have been obscured if coarser sampling methods than our inner-enamel sampling approach were used. Thus, our approach may be particularly useful for understanding relatively small seasonal changes in δ¹³C within C₃ environments. The seasonal patterns, though not entirely conclusive, suggest that the Ontario mastodons did not migrate over very long distances. Rather, the climate and seasonal dietary patterns of mastodons within the region changed over time, from ~ 12,400 to 10,400 ¹⁴C yr BP (~ 15,000 – 12,000 cal yr BP). Insights gained using these methods can contribute to a better understanding of megafaunal extinctions and Paleoamerican lifeways.