Contribution of estuaries to commercial fisheries in temperate Western Australia and the concept of estuarine dependence

Fisheries catch statistics for temperate Western Australia are considered in conjunction with life cycle data to elucidate the importance of estuaries to the commercial and recreational fisheries in this region. The data are used to discuss whether the term estuarine-dependent is strictly applicable to all species of finfish found in abundance in estuaries. Between 1976 and 1984, 96 species of finfish, 7 species of crustaceans and 12 species of mollusks contributed to the large commercial fishery in estuaries, protected coastal areas and open marine waters of temperate Western Australia. The mean annual weight and monetary value (in 1984 terms) of this fishery was 21,355 t and $A151.3×10⁶. The contribution of the weight (4,340 t) and value ($A3.7×10⁶) of the estuarine-dependent species to the total fishery was 20.3 and 2.4%, respectively. Estuarine-dependent marine species frequently use protected inshore waters in temperate Western Australia, and have to do so when they occur in subtropical regions in Western Australia where there are no permanent estuaries. Even the semi-anadromous Perth herring and some species which are estuarinesensu stricto in south-western Australia complete their life cycle within the marine waters of this latter more northern region. Since virtually none of the commercially important marine species in temperate Western Australia can be considered to be entirely dependent on estuaries, and a similar conclusion is valid for many species of marine teleosts found in abundance in estuaries in temperate waters elsewhere in the world, these marine species would be best regarded as estuarine opportunists rather than estuarine dependents.     

A record of late Quaternary vegetation from Davis Lake,southern Puget Lowland,Washington

Pollen and macrofossil analyses of a core spanning 26,000 yr from Davis Lake reveal late Pleistocene and Holocene vegetational patterns in the Puget Lowland. The core ranges lithologically from a basal inorganic clay to a detritus gyttja to an upper fibrous peat and includes eight tephra units. The late Pleistocene pollen sequence records two intervals of tundra-parkland vegetation. The earlier of these has high percentages of Picea, Gramineae, and Artemisia pollen and represents the vegetation during the Evans Creek Stade (Fraser Glaciation) (ca. 25,000–17,000 yr B.P.). The later parkland interval is dominated by Picea, Tsuga mertensiana, and Gramineae. It corresponds to the maximum ice advance in the Puget Lowland during the Vashon Stade (Fraser Glaciation) (ca. 14,000 yr B.P.). An increase in Pinus ontorta pollen between the two tundra-parkland intervals suggests a temporary rise in treeline during an unnamed interstade. After 13,500 yr B.P., a mixed woodland of subalpine and lowland conifers grew at Davis Lake during a period of rapid climatic amelioration. In the early Holocene, the prolonged expansion of Pseudotsuga and Alnus woodland suggests dry, temperate conditions similar to those of present rainshadow sites in the Puget Lowland. More-mesic forests of Tsuga eterophylla, Thuja plicata, and Pseudotsuga, similar to present lowland vegetation, appeared in the late Holocene (ca. 5500 yr B.P.).     

Holocene annual mean temperature changes in Estonia and their relationship to solar insolation and atmospheric circulation patterns

We reconstructed annual mean temperature (T_ann) trends from three radiocarbon-dated Holocene pollen stratigraphies from lake sediments in Estonia, northern Europe. The reconstructions were carried out using a North-European pollen-climate calibration model based on weighted averaging partial least-squares regression. The cross-validated prediction error of the model is 0.89°C and the coefficient of determination between observed modern T_ann values and those predicted by the model is 0.88. In the reconstruction, the Holocene thermal maximum (HTM) is distinguishable at 8000-4500 cal yr B.P., with the expansion of thermophilous tree species and T_ann on average 2.5°C higher than at present. The pollen-stratigraphical data reflect progressively warmer and drier summers during the HTM. Analogously with the modern decadal-scale climatic variability in North Europe, we interpret this as an indication of increasing climatic continentality due to the intensification of anticyclonic circulation and meridional air flow. Post-HTM cooling started abruptly at around 4500 cal yr B.P. All three reconstructions show a transient (ca. 300 years) cooling of 1.5-2.0°C at 8600-8000 cal yr B.P. We tentatively correlate this cold event with the North-Atlantic “8.2 ka event” at 8400-8000 cal yr B.P. Provided that the 8.2 ka event was caused by freshening of the North-Atlantic surface water, our data provide evidence of the climatic and vegetational responsiveness of the boundary of the temperate and boreal zones to the weakening of the North-Atlantic thermohaline circulation and the zonal energy transport over Europe. No other cold events of comparable magnitude are indicated during the last 8000 years.     

Paleoecological and climatic changes of the Upper Lerma Basin, Central Mexico during the Holocene

The record of Almoloya Lake in the Upper Lerma basin starts with the deposition of the late Pleistocene Upper Toluca Pumice layer. The data from this interval indicate a period of climatic instability that lasted until 8500 cal yr B.P., when temperature conditions stabilized, although moisture fluctuations continued until 8000 cal yr B.P. Between 8500 and 5000 cal yr B.P. a temperate climate is indicated by dominance of Pinus. From 5000 to 3000 cal yr B.P. Quercus forest expanded, suggesting a warm temperate climate: a first indication of drier environmental conditions is an increase in grassland between 4200 and 3500 cal yr B.P. During the Late Holocene (3300 to 500 cal yr B.P.) the increase of Pinus and grassland indicates temperate dry conditions, with a considerable increase of Pinus between 1100 and 950 cal yr B.P. At the end of this period, humidity increased. The main tendency during the Holocene was a change from humid to dry conditions. During the Early Holocene, Almoloya Lake was larger and deeper; the changing humidity regime resulted in a fragmented marshland, with the presence of aquatic and subaquatic vegetation types.     

Changes in the Thermal Climate in Northwestern Europe during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3, Estimated from Fossil Insect assemblages

More than 30 fossil coleopteran (beetle) assemblages have been recorded from oxygen isotope stage 3 in northern Europe, comprising several hundred identified species. Using the mutual climatic range method for quantifying palaeotemperatures, these assemblages show that the climates of the times can be divided into two distinct interstadial types. One, a short phase of temperate/oceanic climate occurred between 43,000 and 42,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. when conditions were not much different from those of the present day. In spite of the temperate climate, trees did not colonize northwestern Europe at this time. Two, both before and after this temperate interlude there were phases of cold/continental climate during which summers were too cold for trees to grow and winters were of Siberian intensity. It is possible that periods of even colder conditions intervened from time to time between the interstadial but, because of the intensity of the cold, biological systems were so inhibited that no fossil evidence for them can be found in northern Europe. Evidence for them must be sought in the fossil records from the warmer parts of southern Europe or in the physical evidence in the Greenland ice cores.     

Spatial evaluation of phosphorus retention in riparian zones using remote sensing data

Riparian zones act as important buffer zones for non-point source pollution, thus improving the health of aquatic ecosystems. Previous research has shown that riparian zones play an important role, and that land use has an important effect, on phosphorus (P) retention. A spatial basin-scale approach for analyzing P retention and land use effects could be important in preventing pollution in riparian zones. In this study, a riparian phosphorus cycle model based on EcoHAT was generated with algorithms from soil moisture and heat models, simplified soil and plant phosphorus models, plant growth models, and universal soil loss equations. Based on remote sensing data, model performance was enhanced for spatial and temporal prediction of P retention in the riparian zone. A modified soil and plant P model was used to simulate the soil P cycle of a riparian zone in a temperate continental monsoon climate in northern China. A laboratory experiment and a field experiment were conducted to validate the P cycle model. High coefficients of determination (R ²) between simulated and observed values indicate that the model provides reliable results. P uptake variations were the same as the net primary productivity (NPP) trends, which were affected by soil temperature and moisture in the temperate continental monsoon climate. Beginning in June, the monthly content increased, with the maximum appearing in August, when the most precipitation and the highest temperatures occur. The spatial distribution of P uptake rates from March to September showed that areas near water frequently had relatively high values from May to August, which is contrary to results obtained in March, April, and September. The P uptake amounts for different land uses changed according to expectation. The average monthly P uptake rates for farmlands and grasslands were more than those for orchards and lowlands, which had moderate P uptake rates, followed by shrubs and forests. The spatial distribution of soil erosion demonstrated that the soil erosion came primarily from high-intensity agricultural land in the western and central areas, while the northern and eastern study regions, which were less affected by human activity, experienced relatively slight soil erosion. From the point of view of P pollution prevention, the spatial structure of riparian zones and the spatial distribution of land use around the Guanting reservoir are thus not favorable.     

Southern dispersal and Palaeoecological implications of woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis): review of the Iberian occurrences

Cold-adapted large mammal populations spread southward during the coldest and driest phases of the Late Pleistocene reaching the Iberian Peninsula. Presence of woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis) can be identified from 23 Iberian sites, which is compiled and analyzed herein, and the fossil specimens from seven of these sites are described here for first time.Morphological and biometrical analyses demonstrate that the Iberian woolly rhinoceros did not significantly differ from individuals of other European populations, but represent the westernmost part of a continuous Eurasian belt of distribution.The first presence of woolly rhino in the Iberian Peninsula has been identified during the late Middle Pleistocene and early Late Pleistocene. However, the highest abundance of this species is recorded during MIS 3 and 2. The latest Iberian occurrences can be dated around 20 ka BP. The presence of woolly rhinoceros in the Iberian Peninsula correlates with periods of extreme dry and cold climatic conditions documented in Iberian terrestrial and marine sediment sequences.From a palaeobiogeographic point of view, the maximum southern spread of C. antiquitatis on the Iberian Peninsula was registered during the late Middle Pleistocene or early Late Pleistocene, reaching the latitude of Madrid (about 40°N). Subsequently, during MIS 3 and 2, all Iberian finds were restricted to the Northern regions of Iberia (Cantabrian area and Catalonia). The southern expansion of C. antiquitatis during the Late Pleistocene in the Iberian Peninsula reached similar latitudes to other Eurasian regions.The ecological composition of fossil assemblages with presence of woolly rhinoceros was statistically analyzed. Results show that temperate ungulate species are predominant at Iberian assemblages, resulting in a particular mixture of temperate and cold elements different of the typical Eurasian cold-adapted faunal associations. This particular situation suggests two possible explanations: a) Eventual migrations during the coldest time spans, resulting in a mixing of cold and temperate faunas, instead a faunal replacing; b) Persistence of woolly rhinoceros populations in the Iberian Peninsula during interglacial episodes confined at cryptic southern refugia.     

Pollen analysis of some mid-Pleistocene interglacial lagoonal sediments from southern Delaware

Results of pollen analysis on lagoonal sediments from southern Delaware, dated at 500,000–1,000,000 yr B.P. by amino acid racemization, are presented. Three pollen zones are identified in sediments that were deposited during the final stage of an interglacial cycle. A closed forest of mixed conifer-deciduous trees dominated by Tsuga, Pinus, Fagus, Liquidambar, and Quercus is recorded in the basal zone (Zone I). The inferred climate at this time was temperate and moist. A probable lowering of sea level during the deposition of Zone II exposed large areas in the surrounding estuaries and tidal flats which were colonized by marsh and bog plant taxa. Zone III is characterized by Pinus, Quercus, and Picea pollen. A scrub oak-pine association may have been favored on the coarse sandy soils of the Delmarva Peninsula at this time because of a drop in the local water table. The inferred climate during this interval was colder and probably drier than in Zone I.     

Altitudinal and latitudinal migration of Cryptomeria japonica for the past 20,000 years in Japan

Biostatistical analysis of modern pollen assemblages in 152 Japanese surface samples shows that Cryptomeria japonica can normally grow in areas with a mean January temperature of approximately −7° to 7°C, a mean August temperature of 19° to 27°C, and an effective precipitation (total precipitation during the growing season) of over 1000 mm. The full-glacial distribution of the species on both the Sea of Japan and the Pacific coasts (35–36°N lat) indicates that in these areas the maximum possible reduction of temperature was 8.7–10.2°C in January and 6.0–7.3°C in August, and that the effective precipitation was low, being 1000–1350 mm, or 40–55% below the modern level, provided that the species has not changed its physiological characteristics. Populations of C. japonica expanded northward and upslope from their full-glacial areas of distribution immediately after late-glacial climatic amelioration. This expansion appears to have been regulated mainly by the availability of effective precipitation which became high in northeastern Honshu about 4000 yr ago. After about 2500 yr B.P., C. japonica was planted extensively by humans in moist, temperate climatic regions (excluding Hokkaido), and now has its widest distribution since at least the last full-glacial interval.     

A new record of Pleistocene hippopotamus from River Severn terrace deposits, Gloucester, UK—palaeoenvironmental setting and stratigraphical significance

A new Pleistocene vertebrate assemblage from fluvial deposits of the River Severn in Gloucester, England, has yielded the remains of hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), a new record for this terrace system, with additional material from probable bison (cf. Bison priscus) and elephant (Elephantidae sp.). The presence of these taxa indicates fully temperate climatic conditions and the occurrence of hippopotamus, a significant biostratigraphical indicator for the British Late Pleistocene, suggests an age for the assemblage within MIS 5e (the Last Interglacial). This would contradict the older MIS 7-6 age for the gravel body that is currently accepted on the basis of deposit mapping and imply a more complex mode of deposition than presently envisaged in the valley.     

北美东部威斯康星中、晚期古环境与气候变化的甲虫化石证据

北美Laurentide冰盖于末次冰期的大部分时间在北美东北部一直存在，冰盖的活动对北美东部冰期时的环境和气候有很大的影响。甲虫分析表明，北美东部中纬度地区在威斯康星中、晚期的气候以寒冷为主，中间分别在42000aB.P.,34000aB.P.和28000aB.P.出现3次明显的气候变暖。此区威斯康星中期气候冷暖波动的幅度和出现的时间可以与同期的格陵兰冰芯记录及北大西洋Heinrich事件对比。     

Some new aspects on the problem of CO2 and climate under particular consideration of the biosphere

A re-examination of the biosphere, in particular of the tropical rain forests, is necessary since there are some contradictions in our present knowledge about carbon fluxes and carbon storage in various reservoirs. Traditional land-use systems as well as modern exploitation methods in the tropical rain forest areas need not be necessarily of such a magnitude that the global carbon cycle would undergo a major upset or even a climatic catastrophe. This conclusion is primarily based on the high photosynthesis rates of the humid tropics and on the very important role of tropical river systems for carbon transport between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.After careful consideration of all known facts this paper comes to the conclusion that 2 × 10¹⁵ g/yr C are released to the atmosphere due to deforestation and burning in the tropical rain forest belt. The same amount is probably being fixed in the temperate forests and the northern ecosystems. A possible steady balance of all terrestrial ecosystems would, therefore, be the result of a particular historical constellation whereby a destruction of vegetation in the tropics would occur simultaneously to an increase of phytomass and also to a humus and peat accumulation in temperate and northern ecosystems.     

Late Quaternary vegetation in the Southwestern Columbia Basin,Washington

A 33,000-yr pollen record from Carp Lake provides information on the vegetation history of the forest/steppe border in the southwestern Columbia Basin. The site is located in the Pinus ponderosa Zone but through much of late Quaternary time the area was probably treeless. Pollen assemblages in sediments dating from 33,000 to 23,500 yr B.P. suggest a period of temperate climate and steppe coinciding with the end of the Olympia Interglaciation. The Fraser Glaciation (ca. 25,000–10,000 yr B.P.) was a period of periglacial steppe or tundra vegetation and conditions too dry and cold to support forests at low altitudes. Aridity is also inferred from the low level of the lake between 21,000 and 8500 yr B.P., and especially after about 13,500 yr B.P. About 10,000 yr B.P. Chenopodiineae and other temperate taxa spread locally, providing palynological evidence for a shift from cold, dry to warm, dry conditions. Pine woodland developed at the site with the onset of humid conditions at 8500 yr B.P.; further cooling is suggested at 4000 yr B.P., when Pseudotsuga and Abies were established locally.     

R／S Analyses of Some Geochemical Indexes for Tianshuihai Lake Core in West Kunlun Mountain and Their Environmental Implications

With the decrease of gloal temperature,glacial epoch came over the earth and global climate fluctuated over a great range since the beginning of Quatenary .Paleoclimotologists of various countries have focussed attention to the periodic characteristics and dynamics of climation flucturation in the past many years(Berger,1977;Imbrie and Hays,1984:ding zhongli et al.,1990;Yu zhiwei et al.,1992:Liu Youmei et al.,1996),Although some of the workers have paid their attention to the nonlinear characteristics of the global Quaternary environmental evolution(Nicolis and Nicolis,1984,Lu Houyuan et al.,1993)_,it is worth while to do this kind of work in some special areas in the world,for example the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.Using R/S analysis,the authors calculated the Hurst indexes H of some geochemical proxies,including organic carbon,FeO,Fe2O3 and FeO/Fe2O3,from the Tianshuihai Lake core in West Kunlun Mountain of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,The proxies satisfy the Hurst law with Honrg.carbon=0.735,HFe2O3=0.757,HFeO=0.848and HFeO/Fe2O3=0./646,All the indexs are greater than 0.5,meaning that from 240 to 15ka B.P.,there were some long-run dependencies-persistence in the climatic and environmental evolution around the Tianshuihai Lake area.This is in accordance with the climate there from 240 to 15ka B.P.(Yu Suhua et al.,1996),The paleo-climate and paleo-environment evolution around the Tianshuihai Lake area is of persistence as well as of fluctuation and is a combination of these two components,There are some differences between the four Hurst indexes,Which Probably resulted from the differnet intensitites of Persistence of the four proxies,organic carbon.FeO,Fe2O3 and FeO/Fe2O3,or from the change of drainage system around the Tianshuihai Lake area from opemness to closeness(Li Bingyuan et al.,1991;Sun Honglie,1996:Shi Yafeng et al.1998_).The Qinghai-Tibet plateau was the starter and sensor of the climatic and environmental variation of the surrounding areas(Yao Tandong et al.,1991;Feng Song et al., 1998) and some other scientists even regarded it as the driver and amplifier of global climatic variations (Pan Baotian and Li Jijun,1996).The persistence in which the climate and environment around the Tianshuihai Lake area evolved from 240 to 15ka B.P.is probably a function of the continuous uplift of the palteau in the same period of time.     

Climatic variations in MIS 11 recorded by stable isotopes and trace elements in a French tufa (La Celle,Seine Valley)

Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 palaeoclimate has so far been documented in marine and ice sheet isotopic records. However, excepting some lacustrine pollen records, very little is known about palaeoclimatic conditions in continental areas. This study uses geochemical records in calcareous tufa deposits from rivers as a basis for reconstructing temperate palaeoclimatic conditions. Tufa deposits are now proven to record high‐quality palaeoclimatic information in recent to Holocene deposits. Work on older interglacial tufas is just starting and in this paper we present the first comprehensive results from a MIS 11 tufa. The tufa comes from the Seine Valley (La Celle, northern France). Geochemical data in the tufa calcite are interpreted to record primarily air temperature (δ¹⁸O) and humidity (δ¹³C and Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca). The combined data identify a warm and wet climatic optimum followed by two temperature decreases associated with oscillations in humidity. These marked climatic variations recorded through the La Celle profile are strongly coherent with the palaeoenvironmental reconstructions from malacological data. The abrupt climatic and environmental events recorded could be related to short‐term degradation of vegetation cover in Europe, which is itself controlled by global palaeoclimatic events. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new site from the Spanish Middle Pleistocene with cold-resistant faunal elements: La Parte (Asturias,Spain)

The La Parte (Asturias) northern Spain site contains a cold-adapted mammal faunal assemblage that corresponds to a level radiometrically dated to a minimum age of 150 ka. It represents the most ancient site with cold resistant fauna in the Iberian Peninsula.Among the species recorded in La Parte, Coelodonta antiquitatis and Rangifer tarandus represent the typical cold-adapted large mammal association.The presence of the woolly rhino at La Parte provides relevant environmental information about the Mammoth Steppe. This species was not as abundant in the Middle Pleistocene as during the Late Pleistocene, when its cold-adapted features can be studied from an evolutionary perspective. The remains attributed to R. tarandus suggest an open steppe ecosystem.The presence of Marmota sp. is also confirmed in La Parte. A first interpretation would suggest an alpine or periglacial ecosystem, but based on recent results which do not support the correlation between phylogeny and climatic tolerance for extant species of Marmota (López and Cuenca, 2002. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 186, 311), we propose the presence of this rodent suggests an open landscape with cold conditions.The rest of the taxa included in the La Parte assemblage (Crocuta crocuta, Panthera leo, Cervus elaphus, Megaloceros cf. giganteus, Bison priscus and Equus caballus) are usually associated with typical cold-adapted faunas, but they are also found in woody temperate zones so they do not characterize by themselves a cold period. The faunal association from La Parte suggests a combination of steppic and open woodland ecological conditions.     

贵州都匀七星洞石笋剖面晚更新世高分辨率的气候地层学

通过对贵州都匀七星洞4根石笋42件系统的TIMS²³⁰Th测年及694件稳定同位素分析,揭示的气候变化记录时限范围连续1～15万年,稳定同位素样品平均分辨率晚期达150～220a,早期达440～530a。研究表明,石笋^δ18O曲线,相当于海洋记录的终止点Ⅰ及终止点Ⅱ具有特别明显的突变,其年龄分别为11.3kaB.P.及129.3kaB.P.,应为晚更新世顶、底界线的准确年代。晚更新世与深海氧同位素记录MIS2～MIS5e相对应的气候地层单元,其界限年代也分别得到了明确的界定。相当于格陵兰冰芯记录、北大西洋沉积记录的YD事件、Heinrich气候突变事件,几个石笋记录取得了一致的准确定位及定年。其中YD事件为12.76～11.52kaB.P.;Heinrich事件的H1～H6分别为17～15kaB.P.,24.6kaB.P.,30.5kaB.P.,39.3kaB.P.,47.8～46.8kaB.P.以及60.4kaB.P.。对其与北大西洋沉积及格陵兰冰芯记录所揭示的短尺度气候突变事件的可比性,表明东亚季风气候变化,与高纬度地区的气候变化呈遥相关响应,对研究东亚季风气候驱动机制及其与全球气候变化的响应关系和对晚更新世的地层学研究,均具有特别重要的意义。     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987112000898

In more than 4 Ga of geological evolution, the Earth has twice gone through extreme climatic perturbations, when extensive glaciations occurred, together with alternating warm periods which were accompanied by atmospheric oxygenation. The younger of these two episodes of climatic oscillation preceded the Cambrian “explosion” of metazoan life forms, but similar extreme climatic conditions existed between about 2.4 and 2.2 Ga. Over long time periods, changing solar luminosity and mantle temperatures have played important roles in regulating Earth's climate but both periods of climatic upheaval are associated with supercontinents. Enhanced weathering on the orogenically and thermally buoyed supercontinents would have stripped CO₂ from the atmosphere, initiating a cooling trend that resulted in continental glaciation. Ice cover prevented weathering so that CO₂ built up once more, causing collapse of the ice sheets and ushering in a warm climatic episode. This negative feedback loop provides a plausible explanation for multiple glaciations of the Early and Late Proterozoic, and their intimate association with sedimentary rocks formed in warm climates. Between each glacial cycle nutrients were flushed into world oceans, stimulating photosynthetic activity and causing oxygenation of the atmosphere. Accommodation for many ancient glacial deposits was provided by rifting but escape from the climatic cycle was predicated on break-up of the supercontinent, when flooded continental margins had a moderating influence on weathering. The geochemistry of Neoproterozoic cap carbonates carries a strong hydrothermal signal, suggesting that they precipitated from deep sea waters, overturned and spilled onto continental shelves at the termination of glaciations. Paleoproterozoic (Huronian) carbonates of the Espanola Formation were probably formed as a result of ponding and evaporation in a hydrothermally influenced, restricted rift setting. Why did metazoan evolution not take off after the Great Oxidation Event of the Paleoproterozoic? The answer may lie in the huge scar left by the ～2023 Ma Vredefort impact in South Africa, and in the worldwide organic carbon-rich deposits of the Shunga Event, attesting to the near-extirpation of life and possible radical alteration of the course of Earth history.     

Role of late glacial to mid-Holocene climate in catchment weathering in the central Tibetan Plateau

The lightness (L*) and concentrations of Rb, Sr and organic carbon (C_org) have been measured in the age-constrained lake sediment cores recovered from Co Ngoin in the central Tibetan Plateau. Dissolved Sr flux is a dominant control on the variation of Rb/Sr ratios in the sediments. Variations in color and geochemical proxies of Co Ngoin sediments display a continuous history of late glacial to mid-Holocene chemical versus physical weathering intensity in response to past climatic changes between approximately 13,500 and 4500 cal yr B.P. A lower chemical weathering under a late glacial climate was followed by a higher weathering during the Holocene Optimum. Weathering intensity in the central Tibetan Plateau catchment also responds to well-known climatic events, such as the Younger Dryas (YD), and possibly the Holocene Event 5 (HE-5). Although there are differences in time or duration of the climatic events, many of the well-known late glacial to mid-Holocene events occurred in high-elevation Co Ngoin where atmospheric circulation might play a hemispherical role in climatic forcing. The sediment hiatus since c. 4200 ¹⁴C yr B.P. in the Co Ngoin indicates a period of desiccation that was probably associated with a sharp decrease in summer monsoon strength. Our lascustrine results not only imply catchment weathering variations in response to late glacial to mid-Holocene climatic conditions in the central plateau, but also provide further evidence for global connections between regional climates.