A long pollen record from Lac du Bouchet, Massif Central, France: for the period ca. 325 to 100 ka BP (OIS 9c to OIS 5e)

Pollen analysis was carried out on sediments older than the Würm pleniglacial (OIS 4), in two new sequences (H and I) derived from the centre of Lac du Bouchet, Massif Central. The inferred vegetation history enables, for the first time in France, five temperate episodes to be defined which pre-date the last interglacial. These temperate episodes alternate with episodes during which the changes in vegetation are indicative of glacial climates. Comparison of these climatic episodes with the oceanic isotope record shows that the pollen record of sequences H and I from Lac du Bouchet spans the time interval from OIS 9c (Ussel interstadial) to OIS 5e (Ribains/Eemian interglacial). In the organic sediments from the Amargiers interstadial (OIS 9a), a trachytic layer, Ar/Ar dated to ca 275 ka, enables a correlation to be established with the upper part of a sequence derived from the nearby Praclaux crater, the lower part of this sequence being of Holsteinian age (OIS 11c). The cross-dating of the pollen sequences from Lac du Bouchet (cores H, I and D) and from Praclaux provides a complete record from the Massif Central, southern France, of successive glacial and interglacial episodes that span the last ca. 400 ka, that is the interval from the Holsteinian to the Holocene.     

Implications of Stratigraphic and Paleoclimatic Records of the Last Interglaciation from the Nordic Seas

Climatic reconstruction of glacial to interglacial episodes from oxygen isotopes in sediment cores from the Nordic seas is complicated by strong local meltwater contributions to the oxygen isotope changes. Combination of benthic and planktic foraminiferal isotope data with foraminiferal abundances and ice-rafted debris (IRD) allows separation of local and global effects and subdivision of the marine oxygen isotope events 6.2–5.4, which include the last interglaciation, into: (1) a meltwater phase after glacial stage 6, recorded by large amounts of IRD and low foraminiferal abundance, indicating surface water warming; (2) an IRD-free period with high deposition rates of subpolar foraminifera and other CaCO₃pelagic components, recognized here as the “full” interglaciation; and (3) a phase with the recurrence of IRD and the demise of subpolar species. Comparison of ice-core records and marine data implies that the global climate during the last full interglaciation and that during the postdeglacial Holocene were similar. The records show no significantly different variations in the proxy data. In contrast, the oxygen isotopes of planktic foraminifera and ice cores indicate significant differences during each of the deglacial transitions (Terminations I and II) that preceded these two interglaciations. These suggest that during Termination II the climatic evolution in the Nordic seas was less affected by abrupt changes in ocean–atmosphere circulation than during the last glacial to interglacial transition.     

白令海北部陆坡100ka来的古海洋学记录及海冰的扩张历史

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

Paleoenvironments and correlations of interglacial sediments in the North Sea

Benthic foraminiferal faunas suggesting interglacial climatic conditions are present in several shallow drillings in the North Sea and in northern Jutland. Denmark. The interglacial deposits in six of the cores arc correlated by means of isoleucine epimerization, paleomagnetic data and environmental inferences. Four episodes of interglacial circulation are recorded in sediments of Brunhes age and one warm episode is found just below the Brunhes Matuyama boundary. The Holocene and Eemian faunas of the North Sea are richer in species and individuals and contain more thermophilous species than the older interglacial faunas. However. a much more northern distribution of Bulimina marginata in sediments of Eemian age suggests that oceanic circulation was different during this period than during the Holocene. Sediments of the three other Brunhes interglacials (the Holsteinian, the Norwegian Trench and the Devils Hole Interglacial) and the Leerdam Interglacial record periods of relatively cooler conditions and possibly reduced inflow of Atlantic water.     

末次间冰期以来地球气候系统的突变

地球气候系统的突然变化是近年来地学研究的热点。取自极地冰芯、海洋沉积物和陆地的古气候记录表明,末次间冰期以来全球经历了一系列数百年—千年时间尺度的气候突变事件,证明了在末次冰期—间冰期旋回大尺度气候变化背景下,全球气候存在较大不稳定性这一基本事实。尽管末次间冰期以来这些数百年—千年时间尺度气候突变事件的成因和影响范围还存在明显的不确定性,但已从诸如末次间冰期(MIS 5e)中期的干冷事件、末次冰期的Dansgaard-Oeschger旋回、Heinrich事件和Younger Dryas事件以及发生在全新世冰后期的一些降温事件的研究中,获得对过去130 ka来气候变化过程总体上的认识和理解。综述了近年来的主要研究成果,介绍了有关末次间冰期以来全球气候突变事件发生的时间、过程和机制等最新的研究进展。     

Elsterian‐Holsteinian deposits at Kås Hoved,northern Denmark: sediments,foraminifera, ostracods,and stable isotopes

The coastal cliff section at Kås Hoved in northern Denmark represents one of the largest exposures of marine interglacial deposits in Europe. High‐resolution analyses of sediments, foraminifera, ostracods, and stable isotopes (oxygen and carbon) in glacial‐interglacial marine sediments from this section, as well as from two adjacent boreholes, are the basis for an interpretation of marine environmental and climatic change through the Late Elsterian‐Holsteinian glacial‐interglacial cycle. The overlying glacial deposits show two ice advances during the Saalian and Weichselian glaciations. The assemblages in the initial glacier‐proximal part of the marine Late Elsterian succession reveal fluctuations in the inflow of sediment‐loaded meltwater to the area. This is followed by faunal indication of glacier‐distal, open marine conditions, coinciding with a gradual climatic change from arctic to subarctic environments. Continuous marine sedimentation during the glacial‐interglacial transition is presumably a result of a large‐scale isostatic subsidence caused by the preceding extended Elsterian glaciation. The similarity of the climatic signature of the interglacial Holsteinian and Holocene assemblages in this region indicates that the Atlantic Ocean circulation was similar during these two interglacials, whereas Eemian interglacial assemblages indicate a comparatively high water temperature associated with an enhanced North Atlantic Current. The foraminiferal zones are correlated with other Elsterian‐Holsteinian sites in Denmark, as well as those in the type area for the Holsteinian interglacial in northern Germany and the southern North Sea. Correlation of the NW European Holsteinian succession with the marine isotope stages MIS 7, 9 or 11 is still unresolved.     

Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy of late Quaternary Arctic sediments

Calcareous nannofossil assemblages of late Quaternary age have been investigated in short sediment cores from the eastern Arctic Ocean and the Norwegian Sea. The ages estimated in these cores are mainly based on calibration with northern North Atlantic reference material, where the first appearance of Emiliania huxleyi occurs in oxygen isotope stage 8 at 264,000 years B.P., and its sharp increase in relative abundance occurs in oxygen isotope stage 4 at 61,000 years B.P. Minor amounts of reworked Cretaceous and Tertiary specimens are present throughout the cores. Intervals where nannofossils occur in abundance represent warmer interstadial or interglacial conditions, whereas barren intervals represent glacial conditions. Holocene open water conditions are recognized by high frequencies of Coccolithus pelagicus . Sediment accumulation rates show considerable variation and range between 1 and 13 cm/ka.     

南海北部17937岩心四万年来古环境变化的分子有机地球化学记录

以分子有机地球化学为手段对南海北部四万年来的古环境古气候研究表明, U₃₇k’-SST表层水温在冰期、间冰期平均范围分别为27℃和24℃, LGM与全新世温差达4.5℃; 以高分子量烷烃所代表的陆源物质输入和长链不饱和酮化合物所代表的海洋初级生产力都呈现冰期高、间冰期低特征, 表明冰期时陆源物质输入的增加和海洋表层生产力的提高; 正构烷烃C₃₁/C₂₇记录了南方大陆的植被由冰期时草本植物占优势向间冰期时木本植物占优势的转变.说明南海在末次冰期以来气候的不稳定性, 和海陆生态系统对气候变化的响应以及分子有机地球化学在古环境古气候研究中的巨大潜力.      

Late Quaternary Iceberg Rafting along the Antarctic Peninsula Continental Rise and in the Weddell and Scotia Seas

Sediment cores from the continental rise west of the Antarctic Peninsula and the northern Weddell and Scotia Seas were investigated for their ice-rafted debris (IRD) content by lithofacies logging and counting of particles >0.2 cm from core x-radiographs. The objective of the study was to determine if there are iceberg-rafted units similar to the Heinrich layers of the North Atlantic that might record periodic, widespread catastrophic collapse of basins within the Antarctic Ice Sheet during the Quaternary. Cores from the Antarctic Peninsula margin contain prominent IRD-rich units, with maximum IRD concentrations in oxygen isotope stages 1, 5, and 7. However, the greater concentration of IRD in interglacial stages is the result of low sedimentation rates and current winnowing, rather than regional-scale episodes of increased iceberg rafting. This is also supported by markedly lower mass accumulation rates (MAR) during interglacial periods versus glacial periods. Furthermore, thinner IRD layers within isotope stages 2–4 and 6 cannot be correlated between individual cores along the margin. This implies that the ice sheet over the Antarctic Peninsula did not undergo widespread catastrophic collapse along its western margin during the late Quaternary (isotope stages 1–7). Sediment cores from the Weddell and Scotia Seas are characterized by low IRD concentrations throughout, and the IRD signal generally appears to be of limited regional significance with few strong peaks that can be correlated between cores. Tentatively, this argues against pervasive, rapid ice-sheet collapse around the Weddell embayment over the last few glacial cycles.     

近13万年来黄土高原干湿气候的时空变迁

第四纪时期，黄土高原粉尘物质的搬运、沉积及其后的成土过程受控于干湿气候的变化。对黄土高原这一特定地区而言，风成沉积序列在地域上的差异主要与东亚地区的季风环流在时间和空间上的变化有关。本文的研究揭示出，近１３万年里，最为显著的成壤期有６期，与这６个成壤期对应的时段也应当是夏季风环流加强、气候温湿的时期；在空间上，全新世适宜期及末次间冰期中与深海氧同位素阶段５ａ，５ｃ，５ｅ对应的时期，夏季风足可以深入到毛乌素沙漠腹地，并具有占优势的环境效应。在阶段３的早、晚期及５ｂ时期夏季风虽然也能深入沙漠－黄土边界带，但其环境效应在黄土高原北部及毛乌素沙漠南缘已不再显著。在阶段２、阶段４及阶段３的中期夏季风已不能深入沙漠－黄土边界带。     

Paleoclimate of Southwestern China for the Past 50,000 yr Inferred from Lake Sediment Records

Long sediment cores (12.5 and 13.5 m) from two lakes in Yunnan Province were used to infer the paleoclimate of southwest China over the past 50,000 yr. During the Holocene and marine isotope stage (MIS 3), bio-induced carbonate precipitation and organic matter (OM) production was high, suggesting warm temperatures and high primary productivity. In contrast, sediment inorganic carbon (IC) and organic carbon (OC) concentrations were low in last glacial deposits from 38,000 to 12,000 cal yr B.P., indicating cool temperatures and low productivity. The 50,000-yr record has alternating peaks of carbonate and coarse-grain (>38 μm) quartz that reflect warm, moist interglacial or interstadial conditions alternating with cold, dry glacial or stadial conditions, respectively. Spectral analysis of the carbonate and quartz signals reveals power concentrated at periods of 7200 and 8900 cal yr, respectively, that may reflect a nonlinear climate response to precessional forcing at a time of reduced eccentricity modulation (McIntyre and Molfino, 1996). Oxygen isotope values of calcite from Yunnan lake cores indicate the summer monsoon was weak during the last glaciation from 50,000 to 12,000 cal yr B.P. The summer monsoon intensified between 12,000 and 8000 cal yr B.P., but weakened gradually in response to insolation forcing during the mid-to-late Holocene. Our results support the Overpeck et al. (1996) model that posits a weak summer monsoon during the last glaciation that responded nonlinearly to insolation forcing when its intensity was affected by Eurasian snow cover and ice-sheet extent. The summer monsoon intensified and responded linearly to seasonal insolation forcing in the Holocene when ice volume diminished.     

Land/ocean correlations during the last interglacial/glacial transition, Baffin Bay, northwestern North Atlantic: A review

Evidence from terrestrial sections, ice cores, and marine cores are reviewed and used to develop a scenario for environmental change in the area of the extreme northwest North Atlantic during marine isotope stages 5 and 4. The critical physical link between the landbased glacial chronology and marine events in Baffin Bay is the presence of carbonate rich drift along the Baffin Bay coast of Bylot Island and a detrital carbonate facies (Facies B) in Baffin Bay sediments. Cores from Baffin Bay/Labrador Sea can be dated by means of oxygen isotope variations and by peaks in the abundance of volcanic glass shards. One occurrence of Facies B is dated between late stage 5 and stage 4 and we correlate this event with the Eclipse Glaciation of Bylot Island and the Ayr Lake stade of the Foxe Glaciation of Baffin Island (= Kogalu aminozone). In contrast on West Greenland, amino acid racemization evidence suggests that the Greenland Ice Sheet developed throughout stage 4 and reached a maximum in stage 3 (Svartenhuk advance >40 ka). The oxygen isotope record in the Devon Island Ice Cap (northwest Baffin Bay) indicates that Baffin Bay was largely open during marine isotope stage 5. Analyses of shallow water molluscan and foraminiferal assemblages, deep-water foraminifera, pollen from Iand sections and deep-sea cores, and dinoflagellates from marine cores indicate that interglacial conditions prevailed during much of the stage glaciation.     

Impact of the Kuroshio Current on the South China Sea based on a 115 000 year diatom record

We used the tropical oceanic planktonic diatom species Nitzschia marina, Rhizosolenia bergonii and Azpeitia africana/Azpeitia neocrenulata, most commonly found in the surface sediments of the northeasternmost South China Sea (SCS) where the Kuroshio Current enters the SCS through the Bashi Strait north of Luzon, to analyse the influence of the the Kuroshio Current on the SCS. The impact of the Kuroshio Current seems to be relatively strong during major warm periods and, to a lesser degree, in minor warm periods during the last 115 000 years. The strongest influence took place during the main part of the Holocene and during the very late phase of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e. It is possible to distinguish two magnitudes of change in the impact of the Kuroshio Current on the SCS: large changes occurred at shifts between glacial and interglacial conditions, while smaller changes seem to have recurred in both glacial and interglacial episodes as well as during the Holocene. Climatic/oceanographic changes and sea‐level variations were possibly the two most important mechanisms for the varying influences of the Kuroshio Current on the SCS. The interaction between the Kuroshio Current and monsoon‐related processes may also have played a role. However, because of restricted knowledge of the present‐day Kuroshio Current and the absence of a modern analogue to the ancient SCS due to the marked changes in palaeogeography, this relationship is difficult to establish. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

南沙海区晚第四纪的碳酸盐旋回

根据水深200～2 800m范围内的17个沉积柱状样分析结果,讨论南沙海区晚第四纪沉积中碳酸钙相对含量的垂向和横向变化。南沙海区的碳酸盐旋回普遍属于"大西洋型",冰期时含量低、间冰期含量高,反映出陆源物输入量的控制作用。在平面上,南沙海区的碳酸钙含量与纬度几乎呈线性关系,由北向南递减,冰期时趋势不变而梯度加大。南海南部陆坡由于集水盆地处于热带湿热条件而且有大河注入海区,使碳酸钙含量相对北部陆坡为低。     

Late Quaternary glacial history of the central west coast of Jameson Land, East Greenland

The Late Quaternary ( c . 130,000–10,000 BP) glacial history of the central west coast of Jameson Land, East Greenland, is reconstructed through glacial stratigraphical studies. Seven major sedimentary units are described and defined. They represent two interglacial events (where one is the Holocene). one interstadial event and two glacial events. The older interglacial event comprises marine and fluvial sediments, and is correlated to the Langelandselv interglacial, corresponding to oxygen isotope sub-stage 5e. It is followed by an Early Weichselian major glaciation during the Aucellaelv stade, and subsequently by an Early Weichselian interstadial marine and deltaic event (the Hugin Sø interstade). Sediments relating to the Middle Weichselian have not been recognized in the area. The Hugin Sø interstade deposits have been overrun by a Late Weichselian ice advance, during the Flakkerhuk stade, when the glacier, which probably was a thin, low gradient fjord glacier in Scoresby Sund, draped older sediments and landforms with a thin till. Subsequent to the final deglaciation, some time before 10,000BP, the sea reached the marine limit around 70 m a.s.l., and early Holocene marine, fluvial and littoral sediments were deposited in the coastal areas.     

Hemipelagic Sediment Accumulation Rates in the South China Sea Related to Late Quaternary Sea-Level Changes

Sediments of 13 piston cores from opposite continental slopes of the South China Sea, off southern China and Sabah (northern Borneo), were analyzed by sedimentological methods and dated by oxygen isotope stratigraphy. Sediments mostly consist of hemipelagic clay with 20% carbonate off Sabah and 40% off China. We calculated terrigenous and carbonate accumulation rates for up to 11 time-slices from the Holocene to oxygen-isotope stage 6. Terrigenous accumulation rates generally increase with water depth and reach a maximum at the middle slope off Sabah and at the lower continental slope off China. During glacial and interglacial times this distribution pattern did not markedly change, despite an increase of accumulation rates for glacial periods by a factor of 2 to 5 compared to interglacial periods. Rates are negatively correlated with positions of sea level, which controls the partition of fluviatile terrigenous material for deposition on shelf, slope, and abyssal plain. Carbonate accumulation rates are higher off China by a factor of 2 compared to Sabah, probably indicating higher calcareous plankton productivity.     

冰芯记录中末次间冰期-冰期旋回气候突变事件的研究进展

冰芯记录中的气候变化是古气候研究中的重要组成部分. 极地、中低纬度和热带地区的冰芯记录表明, 在冰期间冰期旋回大尺度气候变化背景下, 全球经历了一系列数百年至千年时间尺度的快速气候突变事件, 诸如末次间冰期的干冷事件、末次冰期的DansgaardOeschger事件、 Heinrich事件和Younger Dryas事件等, 虽然这些穿插在冰阶中的暖湿气候事件、间冰阶中的干冷气候事件的成因、机制和影响范围还存在明显的不确定性. 主要介绍不同区域冰芯记录中末次间冰期冰期旋回这些气候突变事件发生的时间、过程和机制等的研究进展.     

Changes in the source and transport mechanism of terrigenous input to the Indian sector of Southern Ocean during the late Quaternary and its palaeoceanographic implications

Changes in the terrigenous sediment source and transport mechanisms during the late Quaternary have been investigated using four sediment cores within the Indian sector of Southern Ocean, using the magnetic susceptibility (MS) and sedimentological records. Sediments deposited during the Holocene and other interglacial periods were characterised by low MS, low sand content, reduced ice-rafted detritus (IRD) input and increased illite possibly transported via hydrographic advection from the south. The glacial intervals are characterised by high MS, high sand content, increased IRD input and reduced illite clays, derived from both local as well as Antarctic sources. Significant reduction in clay fraction and illite content during glacials suggests that the erosive and transporting capabilities of the deep and bottom waters could have reduced compared to the interglacial times. The changes in terrigenous influx to this region were significantly influenced by the rhythmic glacial-interglacial fluctuations in bottom circulation and the position of the Polar Front.     

Environmental changes and growth history of a cold-water carbonate mound (Propeller Mound,Porcupine Seabight)

On- and off-mound sediment cores from Propeller Mound (Hovland Mound province, Porcupine Seabight) were analysed to understand better the evolution of a carbonate mound. The evaluation of benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the off-mound position helps to determine the changes of the environmental controls on Propeller Mound in glacial and interglacial times. Two different assemblages describe the Holocene and Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 and late MIS 3 (∼31 kyr BP). The different assemblages are related to changes in oceanographic conditions, surface productivity and the waxing and waning of the British Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) during the last glacial stages. The interglacial assemblage is related to a higher supply of organic material and stronger current intensities in water depth of recent coral growth. During the last glaciation the benthic faunas showed high abundances of cassidulinid species, implying cold bottom waters and a reduced availability of organic matter. High sedimentation rates and the domination of Elphidium excavatum point to shelf erosion related to sea-level lowering (∼50 m) and the progradation of the BIIS onto the shelf. A different assemblage described for the on-mound core is dominated by Discanomalina coronata, Gavelinopsis translucens, Planulina ariminensis, Cibicides lobatulus and to a lower degree by Hyrrokkin sarcophaga. These species are only found or show significantly higher relative abundances in on-mound samples and their maximum contribution in the lower part of the record indicates a higher coral growth density on Propeller Mound in an earlier period. They are less abundant during the Holocene, however. This dataset portrays the boundary conditions of the habitable range for the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa, which dominates the deep-water reefal ecosystem on the upper flanks of Propeller Mound. The growth of this ecosystem occurs during interglacial and interstadial periods, whereas a retreat of corals is documented in the absence of glacial sediments on-mound. Glacial conditions with cold intermediate waters, a weak current regime and high sedimentation rates provide an unfavourable environmental setting for Lophelia corals to grow. A Late Pleistocene decrease is observed in the mound growth for Propeller Mound, which might face its complete burial in the future, as it already happened to the buried mounds of the Magellan Mound province further north.     

末次间冰期以来兴凯湖黑碳的沉积记录及其环境意义

在我国东北地区,黑碳记录较少,尤其是长时间尺度记录,区域火灾如何响应于气候变化还存在争议。本研究通过对兴凯湖XK08-A2钻孔约336 cm岩芯,共136个沉积物样品的黑碳含量进行了分析,并结合石英光释光和加速器质谱14C测年结果,探讨了末次间冰期以来东北地区火灾历史与古环境的联系。兴凯湖沉积物黑碳含量的平均值在末次间冰期、末次冰期以及全新世分别为0.51±0.10‰、0.68±0.15‰和0.71±0.20‰。兴凯湖沉积物中黑碳含量从下向上呈增加趋势,表明末次间冰期区域火灾的发生频次较低、规模较小,末次冰期火灾的频次升高、规模越来越大,全新世阶段火灾的频次和规模与末次冰期相当。这些变化与轨道尺度东亚夏季风进退以及人类活动密切相关。从末次间冰期到末次冰期,东亚夏季风变化是东北地区火灾发生的主要控制因素。强盛的东亚夏季风带来充沛的降水,促进了低洼地区湿地沼泽的发育,缩短了火风险期,致使发生大规模火灾的概率较低。自然背景下季风降水主导我国东北地区火灾的发生,与黄土高原和西南地区一致,但与欧美地区受温度影响存在显著的空间差异。全新世在人类活动的影响下,虽然东亚夏季风增强,但是区域大规模火灾发生的概率已达到末次冰期的水平。