Seismites in Late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits of the northwestern Kola region (northern Baltic Shield)

New data on soft-sediment deformation in Late Pleistocene and Holocene deposits of the northwestern Kola Peninsula (Pechenga River valley) are reported and analyzed in terms of paleoseismicity implications. Soft-sediment deformation is assigned to paleoseismic triggers on the basis of special criteria. One sedimentary section in the Pechenga valley bears signature of several seismic events at the Late Pleistocene–Holocene boundary, constrained by radiocarbon dates. According to the morphology, sizes, and types of seismites, the earthquakes had an MSK-64 intensity at least VI–VII. The observed earthquake-induced deformation may be associated with tectonic subsidence of the Pechenga valley block.     

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.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene Paleoenvironments of Chalco Lake, Central Mexico

In order to establish paleoenvironmental conditions during the late Quaternary, four cores from the Basin of Mexico (central Mexico) were drilled in Chalco Lake, located in the southeastern part of the basin. The upper 8 m of two parallel cores were studied, using paleomagnetic, loss-on-ignition, pollen, and diatom analyses. Based on 11 ¹⁴C ages, the analyzed record spans the last 19,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Volcanic activity has affected microfossil abundances, both directly and indirectly, resulting in absence or reduction of pollen and diatom assemblages. Important volcanic activity took place between 19,000 and 15,000 yr B.P. when the lake was a shallow alkaline marsh and an increase of grassland pollen suggests a dry, cold climate. During this interval, abrupt environmental changes with increasing moisture occurred. From 15,000 until 12,500 yr B.P. the lake level increased and the pollen indicates wetter conditions. The highest lake level is registered from 12,500 to ca. 9000 yr B.P. The end of the Pleistocene is characterized by an increase in humidity. From 9000 until ca. 3000 yr B.P. Chalco Lake was a saline marsh and the pollen record indicates warmer conditions. After 3000 yr B.P. the lake level increased and human disturbance dominates the lacustrine record.     

Spatiotemporal relationships of dike magmatism in the Kola region, the Fennoscandian Shield

A brief geological and petrographic characterization of the Early Precambrian dike complexes of the Kola region is given along with data on new estimates of dike age and analysis of their distribution over the entire Fennoscandian Shield. The emplacement of dikes in the Archean core of the shield continued after consolidation of the sialic crust 2.74?C1.76 Ga ago. After the Svecofennian Orogeny, dikes continued to form in the west in the area of newly formed crust, while the amagmatic period began in the Archean domain. The intense formation of dikes in the Svecofennian domain lasted approximately for 1 Ga (1.8?C0.84 Ga). The younger igneous rocks in the crustal domains of different age are less abundant and localized at their margins. A similar distribution of dikes is characteristic of other shields in different continents. This implies that the formation of the sialic crust in the shields is not completed by its consolidation and formation of the craton. For 1 Ga after completion of this process, the crust is underplated by mantle-derived magmas. This process is reflected at the Earth??s surface in the development of mantle-derived mafic and anorogenic granitoid magmatism. The process of crust formation is ended as the subcratonic lithosphere cools and the amagmatic period of the craton history is started. Beginning from this moment, the manifestations of cratonic magmatism were related either to the superposed tectonomagmatic reactivation of the cold craton under the effect of crust formation in the adjacent mobile belts or to the ascent of mantle plumes.     

Lateglacial and Holocene environmental history of the central Kola region,northwestern Russia revealed by a sediment succession from Lake Imandra

Bolshaya Imandra, the northern sub-basin of Lake Imandra, was investigated by a hydro-acoustic survey followed by sediment coring down to the acoustic basement. The sediment record was analysed by a combined physical, biogeochemical, sedimentological, granulometrical and micropalaeontological approach to reconstruct the regional climatic and environmental history. Chronological control was obtained by ¹⁴C dating, ¹³⁷Cs, and Hg markers as well as pollen stratigraphy and revealed that the sediment succession offers the first continuous record spanning the Lateglacial and Holocene for this lake. Following the deglaciation prior to c. 13 200 cal. a BP, the lake's sub-basin initially was occupied by a glacifluvial river system, before a proglacial lake with glaciolacustrine sedimentation established. Rather mild climate, a sparse vegetation cover and successive retreat of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) from the lake catchment characterized the Bølling/Allerød interstadial, lasting until 12 710 cal. a BP. During the subsequent Younger Dryas chronozone, until 11 550 cal. a BP, climate cooling led to a decrease in vegetation cover and a re-advance of the SIS. The SIS disappeared from the catchment at the Holocene transition, but small glaciers persisted in the mountains at the eastern lake shore. During the Early Holocene, until 8400 cal. a BP, sedimentation changed from glaciolacustrine to lacustrine and rising temperatures caused the spread of thermophilous vegetation. The Middle Holocene, until 3700 cal. a BP, comprises the regional Holocene Thermal Maximum (8000–4600 cal. a BP) with relatively stable temperatures, denser vegetation cover and absence of mountain glaciers. Reoccurrence of mountain glaciers during the Late Holocene, until 30 cal. a BP, presumably results from a slight cooling and increased humidity. Since c. 30 cal. a BP Lake Imandra has been strongly influenced by human impact, originating in industrial and mining activities. Our results are in overall agreement with vegetation and climate reconstructions in the Kola region.     

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.     

Late Pleistocene–Holocene rise and collapse of Lake Suguta,northern Kenya Rift

The Late Pleistocene to Middle Holocene African Humid Period (AHP) was characterized by dramatic hydrologic fluctuations in the tropics. A better knowledge of the timing, spatial extent, and magnitude of these hydrological fluctuations is essential to decipher the climate-forcing mechanisms that controlled them. The Suguta Valley (2°N, northern Kenya Rift) has recorded extreme environmental changes during the AHP. Extensive outcrops of lacustrine sediments, ubiquitous wave-cut notches, shorelines, and broad terrace treads along the valley margins are the vestiges of Lake Suguta, which once filled an 80 km long and 20 km wide volcano–tectonic depression. Lake Suguta was deep between 16.5 and 8.5 cal ka BP. During its maximum highstand, it attained a water depth of ca 300 m, a surface area of ca 2150 km², and a volume of ca 390 km³. The spatial distribution of lake sediments, the elevation of palaeo-shorelines, and other geomorphic evidences suggest that palaeo-Lake Suguta had an overflow towards the Turkana basin to the north. After 8.5 cal ka BP, Lake Suguta abruptly disappeared. A comparison of the Lake Suguta water-level curve with other reconstructed water levels from the northern part of the East African Rift System shows that local insolation, which is dominated by precessional cycles, may have controlled the timing of lake highstands in this region. Our data show that changes of lake levels close to the Equator seem to be driven by fluctuations of spring insolation, while fluctuations north of the Equator are apparently related to variations in summer insolation. However, since these inferred timings of lake-level changes are mostly based on the radiocarbon dating of carbonate shells, which may have been affected by a local age reservoir, alternative dating methods are needed to support this regional synthesis. Between 12.7 and 11.8 cal ka BP, approximately during the Northern Hemisphere high-latitude Younger Dryas, the water level of Lake Suguta fell by ca 50 m, suggesting that remote influences also affected local hydrology.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene glaciation of the Fish Lake valley,northeastern Alaska Range,Alaska

We reconstructed a chronology of glaciation spanning from the Late Pleistocene through the late Holocene for Fish Lake valley in the north‐eastern Alaska Range using ¹⁰Be surface exposure dating and lichenometry. After it attained its maximum late Wisconsin extent, the Fish Lake valley glacier began to retreat ca. 16.5 ka, and then experienced a readvance or standstill at 11.6 ± 0.3 ka. Evidence of the earliest Holocene glacial activity in the valley is a moraine immediately in front of Little Ice Age (LIA) moraines and is dated to 3.3–3.0 ka. A subsequent advance culminated at ca. AD 610–900 and several LIA moraine crests date to AD 1290, 1640, 1860 and 1910. Our results indicate that ¹⁰Be dating from high‐elevation sites can be used to help constrain late Holocene glacial histories in Alaska, even when other dating techniques are unavailable. Close agreement between ¹⁰Be and lichenometric ages reveal that ¹⁰Be ages on late Holocene moraines may be as accurate as other dating methods. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comprehensive paleoseismic geological studies in a key site in southwestern Kola Peninsula (Northeast of the Fennoscandian Shield)

This paper considers the results of detailed paleoseismic and geological investigations in a key site in the wall of the Imandra Lake depression (Kola Peninsula Region, Northeast of the Fennoscandian Shield). Study of different groups of paleoseismic deformations developed in the fault zone and the application of new methods and techniques made it possible to identify a large seismotectonic zone characterized by great earthquakes at the end of the Late Glacial and in the Holocene. The investigation data are indicative of the necessity to estimate the seismic potential in the Kola Atomic plant area in a different way.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene vegetation and climate records from Lake Kotokel, central Baikal region

Climatically driven Late Pleistocene and Holocene vegetation changes were reconstructed based on pollen records from the sediments of Lake Kotokel and Cheremushka Bog, located on the eastern shore of Lake Baikal. The described paleoenvironmental record has higher resolution than records collected from Lake Baikal and unites individual events identified in prior studies of bottom and onshore cores. Remarkable shifts in landscapes and expansions of index plants are as follows. Forest tundra and/or forest steppe landscape with birch, spruce, Artemisia, and Poaceae prevailed at ca. 50–25 ¹⁴C kyr BP. Tundra and/or steppe vegetation dominated by Artemisia and Poaceae was typical for the Last Glacial Maximum. The expansion of shrub birch and willow occurred at ca. 15.5 ¹⁴C kyr BP. Two peaks of spruce expansion at ca. 47.5–42.4 ¹⁴C kyr BP (Karginian time) and at ca. 14.5–13 ka (Bølling-Allerød warm intervals) suggest that the condition were more humid than today. A slight increase in Artemisia at ca. 11–10.5 ¹⁴C kyr BP (13–12 ka) was indicative of the Younger Dryas event. An expansion of birch forests with fir at ca. 12–6.4 ka suggests higher humidity. The currently dominant Scots and Siberian pine forests with birch expanded since 6.4 ka.     

Holocene history of Lake Soldatskoje (Kola Peninsula, Russia) inferred from sedimentary diatom assemblages

A sediment core from Lake Soldatskoje, a small tundra lake located in the northern coastal area of the Kola Peninsula and surrounded by numerous archaeological dwelling sites, was analysed for diatom species. The core covers the entire Holocene, i.e. 10000 radiocarbon years. The diatom record has similarities with studies made earlier from tundra lakes of northern Russia and from Arctic lakes in general. The genus Fragilaria was dominant and many other small, benthic, nordic, cold-water diatom species typical of Arctic lakes were common, including Achnanthes minutissima Kützing, A. pusilla (Grunow) De Toni, Cyclotella tripartita Håkansson and Navicula absoluta Hustedt. Multivariable ordinations were used to characterize the changes in the diatom flora. Diatom-based pH and total phosphorus inferences indicate that the lake has become progressively more acidic and poorer in nutrients. Disturbances in the diatom stratigraphy of Lake Soldatskoje around 4000–5500 ¹⁴C yr BP may be related to human activity.     

中国季风沙区晚更新世以来环境及其变化

本文以对毛乌素沙漠萨拉乌苏河流域米浪沟湾地层剖面晚更新世－全新世砂丘与河湖相、古土壤互为叠覆的高分辨率的气候地层记录的认识出发，同时基于对中国北方现代冬春季节风沙、尘霾活动发生的区域性气候－地质过程的理解，将今释古，反演了该时期中国季风区沙漠沙地曾经历的27个沙漠扩缩的周期性变化，并认为该剖面风砂沉积是过去地质时代季风沙区乃至整个中国沙区类似由现代这种冬春季西伯利亚－蒙古反气旋风系好冬季风向南伸展导致的若干风沙风尘动态过程的结果，而河湖相和古土壤的发育则主要与季风沙区受惠于东亚夏季风的影响有关。     

Late Pleistocene Glacial Events in the Central Apennines, Italy

The study of glacial evidence in the Gran Sasso Massif of the Central Apennines, Italy, has allowed the last maximum advance and the subsequent stadial phases to be dated and the mean annual temperature and quantity of precipitation in the form of snow to be assessed for a number of periods. The glaciers probably reached their maximum extension (Campo Imperatore Stade) ca. 22,600¹⁴C yr B.P. and started to retreat ca. 21,000 yr B.P., leaving behind three recessional moraines. After a first interstade (Fornaca Interstade), the Fontari Stade appears to have taken place shortly after 16,000 yr ago. Ca. 15,000 yr ago the glacier started retreating, leaving behind four more recessional moraines. An interstade (Venacquaro Interstade) preceded the Mount Aquila Stade, datable at ca. 11,000 yr B.P. A strong correlation is evident between the glacial phases on land and the isotopic variations in cores from the Tyrrhenian Sea.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene vegetation history of the Bale Mountains,Ethiopia

A sediment core recovered from Garba Guracha, a glacial lake at 3950 m altitude in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia, at the boundary of the Ericaceous and Afroalpine vegetation belts, provides a 16,700-year pollen record of vegetation response to climatic change. The earliest vegetation recorded was sparse and composed mainly of grasses, Amaranthaceae–Chenopodiaceae and Artemisia, indicating an arid climate. At 13,400 cal BP, Amaranthaceae–Chenopodiaceae pollen declined sharply and Cyperaceae increased, suggesting a change to moister conditions. The Younger Dryas interval is represented by a small increase in Artemisia and reduced Cyperaceae, indicating aridity. Just after the start of the Holocene (11,200 cal BP), the upper altitudinal limit of the Ericaceous belt rose, and woody Ericaceous vegetation extended across the Sanetti plateau, in response to increased moisture and temperature. The marked change from clastic to organic lake sedimentation at this time reflects the increase in woody vegetation cover in the lake catchment, accompanied by soil stabilisation, and increased leaf litter and soil humus content. From about 6000 cal BP, and especially after 4500 cal BP, mid-altitude dry Afromontane Juniper–Podocarpus forests developed on the northern slopes of the mountains in response to reduced rainfall in a shortened wet season. Erica shrub and forest decreased in area and altitude, and the Afroalpine ecosystem expanded on the plateau. Podocarpus declined from about 2000 cal BP, as Juniperus increased to its present dominance at 2500–3300 m altitude. Human impact on the high-altitude Afroalpine and Ericaceous vegetation has been relatively minor, confirming that the endemic biodiversity of the Ethiopian mountains is a legacy of natural Holocene vegetation change, following repeated expansion and contraction of the upland ecosystems during the Quaternary.     

Lake sediments from Store Koldewey, Northeast Greenland, as archive of Late Pleistocene and Holocene climatic and environmental changes

A 2.9 m long sedimentary record was studied from a small lake, here referred to as Duck Lake, located at 76°25'N, 18°45'W on Store Koldewey, an elongated island off the coast of Northeast Greenland. The sediments were investigated for their geophysical and biogeochemical characteristics, and for their fossil chironomid assemblages. Organic matter began to accumulate in the lake at 9.1 cal. kyr BP, which provides a minimum age for the deglaciation of the basin. Although the early to mid-Holocene is known as a thermal maximum in East Greenland, organic matter accumulation in the lake remained low during the early Holocene, likely due to late plant immigration and lack of nutrient availability. Organic matter accumulation increased during the middle and late Holocene, when temperatures in East Greenland gradually decreased. Enhanced soil formation probably led to higher nutrient availability and increased production in the lake. Chironomids are abundant throughout the record after 9.1 cal. kyr BP and seem to react sensitively to changes in temperature and nutrient availability. It is concluded that relative temperature reconstructions based on biogeochemical data have to be regarded critically, particularly in the period shortly after deglaciation when nutrient availability was low. Chironomids may be a suitable tool for climatic reconstructions even in those high arctic environments. However, a better understanding of the ecology of chironomids under these extreme conditions is needed.     

New Oxygen Isotope Diagrams of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Ice Wedges in Mamontova Gora and Syrdakh Lake,Central Yakutia

Doklady Earth Sciences - This paper reports on the oxygen isotope composition of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene syngenetic ice wedges, which were exposed at Mamontova Gora and Syrdakh Lake, the...     

Morphology and internal structure of the Kola Alkaline intrusions,NE Fennoscandian Shield: 3D density modelling and geological implications

The Kola Alkaline Province in the northeastern Fennoscandian Shield comprises the world’s biggest agpaitic region consisting of the Khibina and Lovozero agpaitic complexes in addition to numerous carbonatite intrusions. Gravity data were used to create 3D models of the deep structure of these alkaline complexes down to the upper crustal level. Computer modelling was used for data analysis and presentation.The obtained data give strong evidence for the different internal structures of the Khibina and the Lovozero complexes. Both complexes at deeper levels are suggested to be composed not only of agpaitic nepheline syenites, but also of alkaline ultramafic rocks. The total volume of peridotite, foidite and melilitic rocks which form the lower zones of these two plutons range from 20 to 30% of their total volume. The Khibina and the Lovozero complexes have no common magma conduits within the uppermost crustal levels.Carbonatite intrusions of the Kola Peninsula form (i) subvertical lens-shaped igneous bodies, (ii) lopolith-like subsurface bodies with thin conduits, (iii) subvertical concentric bodies widening downwards which are suggested to represent the upper parts of large alkaline ultrabasic intrusions. The results support the idea of the uniform vertical zonality of carbonatite intrusions which may have had initially uniform magmatic reservoirs. Originally, the shape of the magma chambers for the carbonatite intrusions was close to a lens-like symmetric stock body 16–18 km in height with a vertical length/maximum diameter ratio close to 2:1. Differences in the on-surface structure of the carbonatite intrusions mostly depend on the level of erosion of the magma chambers. Comparative analysis of the morphology and internal structure of carbonatite intrusions have shown varying levels of erosion in different parts of the Kola Peninsula. This leads to the conclusion that the Precambrian crust, together with enclosed carbonatite intrusions, has undergone nonuniform erosion since the time of late Devonian alkaline magmatism. The southern part of the Kola basement appears to be the most eroded portion of northeastern Fennoscandia whereas the western and northwestern shield areas experienced less uplift since the time of the late Devonian alkaline magmatism.     

Paleoseismic investigation along Nalagarh Thrust: Evidence of Late Pleistocene earthquake in Pinjaur Dun,Northwestern sub-Himalaya

The present article is the first time reporting of a paleoearthquake that occurred during Late Pleistocene time along the Nalagarh Thrust (NT) in the Pinjaur Dun in northwestern sub-Himalaya. Using CORONA satellite photographs, multi-spectral IRS satellite data, and aerial photographs, a prominent active fault has been identified at Nalagarh in Pinjaur Dun. This fault in the alluvial fan is located very close to the NT which borders the topographic front of the Tertiary rocks against Quaternary deposits. A trench excavation survey was carried out at Nalagarh for detailed paleoseismic studies across this thrust fault. Displacing all the lithologic units of the fan sequence, the fault plane has an average dip of 30° due ENE and a vertical displacement of 1.6 m and slip of ～2.5 m along the fault. The lithological units, consisting of alternating sand and gravel, show back tilting and asymmetrical tight folding. Based on Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) ages, the oldest litho-unit in the trench is 85.83 ± 7.2 ka and the youngest is 67.05 ± 8.4 ka. The OSL age of the sample collected from the easterly exposure of the fault shows an age of 20 ka. The faulting and associated induced deformation features suggest occurrence of a Late Pleistocene large magnitude earthquake along NT in the Nalagarh region of the Pinjaur Dun following the deposition of the Quaternary sedimentary units. The Late Pleistocene fault substantiates the seismic potential of Pinjaur Dun and calls for more exhaustive study of paleoearthquakes in this fast developing industrial belt and highly populous mountainous region.     

Modelling the evolution of hydrochemical conditions in the Fennoscandian Shield during Holocene time using multidisciplinary information

Three-dimensional, large-scale models for groundwater flow and solute transport are used for the low-temperature, fractured crystalline rock sites in Sweden that are being considered for the geological disposal of spent nuclear fuel. It has been suggested that comparisons between measured and simulated present-day hydrochemical data provide a means to constrain the complex influences of past climatic events and to improve the ability to understand the palaeohydrogeological evolution of the physical system studied. Here the authors demonstrate how the integration of multidisciplinary data and models from one of the sites in Sweden (Forsmark) can aid the appraisal of the hydrochemical conditions at 8000 BC, which is the selected starting point for the palaeohydrogeological modelling of the hydrochemical conditions in the Fennoscandian Shield during the Holocene (last 10 ka). Since a firm understanding of the evolution of the hydrochemical conditions is important for the long-term safety assessment, recognition of the initial hydrochemical conditions is essential for the overall build-up of confidence in the modelling process.