Early Weichselian interstadial sediments at Härnösand, Sweden

The till-covered organic sediments at Härnösand have been resampled and reinvestigated with respect to their micro- and macrofossil content. The sediments were deposited in a shallow freshwater basin with a sandy substratum and probably under oligotrophic conditions. The regional vegetation consisted of a shrub or herb tundra, later changing into an open Betula forest with scattered Picea and Larix . In the lake, submerged plants such as Potamogeton filiformis and Isoëtes lacustris grew, together with Carex . On the shores the vegetation consisted of Betula nana , occasional Betula trees, Salix and Selaginella selaginoides . The beetle fauna suggests an average July temperature of 10–11°C. The flora indicates limited leaching and, thus, deposition during a relatively long and warm interstadial is suggested. The Härnösand sediments are subsequently correlated with the Brörup Interstadial.     

Near-shore Baltic Ice Lake deposits in Fakse Bugt, southeast Denmark

Shallow seismic, sedimentological and macrofossil data and AMS radiocarbon dates on terrestrial plant remains from submarine deposits in Fakse Bugt in the southwestern part of the Baltic Sea are presented. The sediments were deposited near the shore of the Baltic Ice Lake, mostly in barrier-lagoon environments, during two highstand episodes dated to around 12.5–12.2 ¹⁴C ka BP and 10.6–10.3 ka BP. Coastal sediments from the highstands indicate maximum water levels of 13–15 m and 13 m below present sea level, respectively. During the first episode Salix polaris was widespread in the land area, and during the second episode Dryas octopetala and Betula nana were the most common woody plants. During the lowstand episode Betula pubescens woods dominated. The flora and fauna of the Baltic Ice Lake were rather diverse, reflecting the long and increasing distance to the margin of the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet. Calcium-carbonate-rich, mesotrophic water characterized the Baltic Ice Lake in Fakse Bugt.     

末次冰消期内蒙古东部气候不稳定性:布日敦湖花粉记录

内蒙古东部植被是我国北方重要的生态系统屏障,东亚夏季风降水变化是影响当地水资源分布、植被演替、农牧业经济发展的重要因素.为了更好预测未来季风边缘带植被景观、降水变化趋势和评估干旱事件可能产生的影响,需要在该区域开展更多地质增温期历史相似型研究.本文选择生态系统脆弱、对夏季风变化响应敏感的内蒙古东部布日敦湖作为研究点,通过钻取长386 cm的湖泊沉积物并选取底部厚度176 cm(386~210 cm),分析其中的花粉指标,结合高精度AMS 14C测年,来重建该地区末次冰消期高分辨率植被演替过程和降水不稳定性特征.结果表明,布日敦湖岩芯386~210 cm沉积物年代跨度为14918~10693 a B. P..湖泊周围植被在14918~14167 a B. P.为以蒿属、禾本科等草本植物为主的草原景观;而在14167~12695 a B. P.,以桦属为代表的先锋树种出现在湖泊西部山地丘陵区,并逐渐发展成为以桦属为建群种的温带落叶阔叶林;12695~11505 a B. P.,桦属和其他阔叶乔木明显减少,湖泊西部地区植被迅速退化为开阔的疏林草原景观;11505~10693 a B. P.,植被逐渐恢复为与现今类似的森林草原交错生长群落.乔木/非乔木花粉含量比值( AP/NAP)和主要陆生植物花粉百分比主成分分析(PCA)结果说明,研究区植被演替主要受降水控制.将该结果与沉积相、沉积速率变化相结合,证明14512 a B. P.布日敦湖流域内降水突然增加,在14512~12695 a B. P.期间气候最为湿润,并伴随3次百年尺度降水波动事件.而12695 a B. P.时降水迅速减少,在12695~11505 a B. P.发生千年尺度干旱事件.布日敦湖地区降水变化总体趋势与北方季风边缘带其他高分辨率湖泊记录相似,但内部结构存在一定差异.在年代误差范围内,降水突变与北高纬博令-阿勒罗德(BA)间冰阶和新仙女木(YD)冰阶温度异常事件发生时间相一致.北半球夏季太阳辐射岁差周期变化、北大西洋经向反转环流(AMOC)循环速率、西风急流强度和位置等均可能导致西太平洋副热带高压位置异常偏移,进而影响东亚夏季风北部边缘带降水变化.     

Late quaternary vegetational change in the Kotzebue sound area, northwestern Alaska

Two sediment cores from Kaiyak and Squirrel lakes in northwestern Alaska yielded pollen records that date to ca. 39,000 and 27,000 yr B.P., respectively. Between 39,000 and 14,000 yr B.P., the vegetation around these lakes was dominated by Gramineae and Cyperaceae with some Salix and possibly Betula nana/glandulosa forming a local, shrub component of the vegetation. Betula pollen percentages increased about 14,000 yr B.P., indicating the presence of a birchdominated shrub tundra. Alnus pollen appeared at both sites between 9000 and 8000yr B.P., and Picea pollen (mostly P. mariana) arrived at Squirrel Lake about 5000 yr B.P. The current foresttundra mosaic around Squirrel Lake was established at this time, whereas shrub tundra existed near Kaiyak Lake throughout the Holocene. When compared to other pollen records from north-western North America, these cores (1) represent a meadow component of lowland. Beringian tundra between 39,000 and 14,000 yr B.P., (2) demonstrate an early Holocene arrival of Alnus in northwestern Alaska that predates most other Alnus horizons in northern Alaska or northwestern Canada, and (3) show an east-to-west migration of Picea across northern Alaska from 9000 to 5000 yr B.P.     

Late Saalian and Eemian palaeoenvironmental history of the Bol''shoy Lyakhovsky Island (Laptev Sea region, Arctic Siberia)

Palaeoenvironmental records from permafrost sequences complemented by infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) and [Formula: See Text]Th/U dates from Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island (73°20'N, 141°30'E) document the environmental history in the region for at least the past 200 ka. Pollen spectra and insect fauna indicate that relatively wet grass-sedge tundra habitats dominated during an interstadial c. 200-170 ka BP. Summers were rather warm and wet, while stable isotopes reflect severe winter conditions. The pollen spectra reflect sparser grass-sedge vegetation during a Taz (Late Saalian) stage, c. 170-130 ka BP, with environmental conditions much more severe compared with the previous interstadial. Open Poaceae and Artemisia plant associations dominated vegetation at the beginning of the Kazantsevo (Eemian) c. 130 ka BP. Some shrubs (Alnus fruticosa, Salix, Betula nana) grew in more protected and wetter places as well. The climate was relatively warm during this time, resulting in the melting of Saalian ice wedges. Later, during the interglacial optimum, shrub tundra with Alnus fruticosa and Betula nana s.l. dominated vegetation. Climate was relatively wet and warm. Quantitative pollen-based climate reconstruction suggests that mean July temperatures were 4-5°C higher than the present during the optimum of the Eemian, while late Eemian records indicate significant climate deterioration.     

Revision of the early Holocene lake sediment based chronology and event stratigraphy on Hochstetter Forland, NE Greenland

The previously established and often debated lake sediment based chronology and event stratigraphy from Hochstetter Forland, NE Greenland, has been re-examined. These new studies show that the last deglaciation of the coastal area is several thousand years younger than previously described. The main reason behind the difference is the fact that the older chronology was based on ¹⁴C datings of bulk sediment samples, which are now shown to contain enough coal fragments to produce erroneous ages. The re-examination was performed on sediments from two lakes located within the Nanok moraine system: one is situated at or slightly above the marine limit around 65 m. the other at 21–22 m a.s.l. The combined stratigraphy from the two lakes shows that the area was deglaciated before 9000 BP, after which followed deposition of glaciomarine sediments, fining upwards. The first vegetation seems to have been dominated by grasses, Lycopodium and Polypodiaceae. At c . 8000 BP the limnic production increased significantly and a pioneer vegetation characterized the area. At this time the 'Artemisia' grains appear. A short but distinct climatic cooling occurs at c . 7500 BP causing a significant drop in lake productivity and possibly also producing coarser sediments in the (glacio)marine environment. About 200 years later the lake productivity again increased, very rapidly, and the marine sediments became finer and more rich in molluscs, as a response to the beginning of the climatic optimum. Because of the time-lag between climate and vegetation response it took another 300 years before Betulci nana immigrated, at the same time as the 'Artemisia' grains disappeared, and another several hundred years before a real dwarf-shrub vegetation developed in these parts of Hochstetter Forland. Before the lower lake was isolated from the sea at c . 6000 BP, coarse wave-washed sediments, followed by a typical isolation sequence, were deposited in it.     

Late Weichselian vegetation, climate, and floral migration at Sandvikvatn, North Rogaland, southwestern Norway

Pollen analysis from Sandvikvatn has elucidated the local Late Weichselian vegetational and climatic history since deglaciation about 14,000 B.P. The pleniglacial period, the first of three climatic main periods and ending c. 13,600 B.P., is an Artemisia -dominated pioneer vegetation on disturbed mineral soils. The Late Weichselian Interstadial (13,600-11,000 B.P.) comprises a Salix -shrub consolidation phase and, from 12,900 B.P., a birch-forest optimum phase. In the Younger Dryas Stadial (11,000–10,100 B.P.) the Artemisia -dominated pioneer vegetation returns. Three climatic oscillations are demonstrated at intervals of about 500 years within the Interstadial. The oldest two, about 12,500 and 12,000 B.P., could both have been connected with the 'Older Dryas'. Cold winters and strong winds, causing soil erosion and drought, are suggested as important factors during the climatic periods unfavourable to woody vegetation. In the pleniglacial and Younger Dryas periods the winds are assumed to be katabatic. During the whole Late Weichselian southern species dominate locally. A northwards spread is demonstrated for the majority of the local late-glacial taxa, including the endemic Primula scandinavica and also Papaver radicatum and Aconitum , both previously discussed as part of the hypothesis of Weichselian ice-free refugia.     

北京地区末次冰消期气候环境变化记录的初步研究

对北京房山县长沟镇附近埋藏末次冰消期湖沼沉积物层序和岩性变化的观测资料，以及１４Ｃ测年、孢粉分析、磁化率、有机碳δ^１３Ｃ值和有机质含量等测定资料的综合研究表明：１)约１３０００ａＢ．Ｐ．以前本区气候相当干冷，植被稀疏；２)约１３０００～１２１００ａＢ．Ｐ．气候明显变暖，植被日趋繁茂，出现针叶－落叶阔叶林；３)约１２１００～１００００ａＢ．Ｐ．气候波动相当显著，十分不稳定，并在约１１６００～１１３００ａＢ．Ｐ．和约１０９５０～１０４８０ａＢ．Ｐ．气候明显向干冷逆转；而在这两个气候逆转之间出现相对湿润或温湿的气候。这一短期气候变化与北大西洋地区有相似之处，又有差异。     

Middle Weichselian environments on western Yamal Peninsula, Kara Sea based on pollen records

Pollen data from two sections from a coastal cliff on the western Yamal Peninsula (69°43.27′N, 66°48.80′E) document the environmental history during the Karginsky (Middle Weichselian) interstadial. Low pollen concentrations, high amounts of redeposited pollen, and relatively high presence of Artemisia pollen characterize sediments deposited at about 33,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Grass-sedge plant associations with few other herbs occupied the area during the late Karginsky interstadial. Artemisia pollen may indicate rather xerophytic vegetation and disturbed soils in the area. The dominance of redeposited pollen reflects scarce (disturbed) vegetation cover and low pollen productivity. The climate was relatively cold and dry. Sediments dated to 32,400 ¹⁴C yr B.P. contain fewer redeposited pollen and concentration of non-redeposited pollen is significantly higher. Pollen contents indicate the dominance of tundra-like grass-sedge vegetation and more humid conditions. Pollen records dated between 30,100 and 25,100 ¹⁴C yr B.P. also reflect scarce tundra-like vegetation during this interval. The presence of Betula nana and Salix pollen may reflect limited presence of shrub communities. This suggests that the climate was somewhat warmer during the latter part of the interstadial. However, generally the pollen records show that harsh environmental conditions prevailed on the Yamal Peninsula during the Karginsky interstadial.     

Early and Late Weichselian chronology and birch assemblages in Denmark

Biostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy of the Early and Late Weichselian substages in Denmark are discussed and a more complete terminology than previously used is proposed. The size variation in Weichselian birch pollen assemblages was compared with subrecent samples. Mean pollen size and variance of the parent species were determined and the proportions of the parent species were calculated. The results confirm earlier conclusions. Percentage frequency-curves for Betula nana and B. pubescens in Late Weichselian pollen diagrams were calculated.     

东北三江平原几个钻孔剖面的孢粉组合分析及其意义

三江平原位于我国东北的边陲,系黑龙江、松花江、乌苏里江汇流而成的冲积平原。其位置在东经129°11′20″至135°5′10″,北纬43°49′55′至48°27′40″(图1)。     

Archaeological geology of the Rustad Quarry site (32RI775): An early archaic site in Southeastern North Dakota

At The Rustad Quarry Site (32RI775), in southeastern North Dakota, Early Archaic artifacts, bison bone, and hearth features were found in the lowest of three Boroll-like buried soils formed in alluvial fan sediments. Alluvial fan sediments were deposited from 8000 to 4925 B.P., and were then buried by eolian sand. The alluvial fan sediments (mudflows) bury lacustrine sediments (Sherack Formation deposited from 9900 to 9500 B.P. in Glacial Lake Agassiz II), both of which overlie a Moorhead Phase fluvial terrace deposited from 10,900 to 9,900 B.P. Cultural remains were associated with five radiocarbon ages, three on archaeological charcoal (7180 B.P., 7240 B.P., and 7550 B.P.) and two on organic carbon from two welded A-horizons containing the cultural remains (7370 B.P. and 7675 B.P.). A well-developed Aquoll-like soil formed in the lacustrine sediments from 9500 to 8000 B.P. Soil morphology and chemistry of the Boroll-like fan soils, the Aquoll-like lacustrine soil, and other Boroll-like soils formed in eolian and deltaic sediments nearby suggest a subhumid, cool continental climate with riparian woodland and mixed prairie vegetation at the site and surrounding area from 11,400 B.P. to the present. This partially contradicts paleoenvironmental reconstruction from pollen sites nearby that suggest the area was covered by a closed canopy spruce forest from terminal late-Pleistocene to 10,000 B.P. Alluvial fan formation and eolian activity on the adjacent Sheyenne Delta occurred from 8000 to 5000 B.P., which indicates greater landscape instability and drier conditions during the mid-Holocene (Altithermal).     

A Late Pleistocene sequence at Margreteberg, southwestern Sweden

At Margreteberg, southwestern Sweden, a comple Pleistocene sequence has been stratigraphically investigated. Strata of clay, silt, sand, peat and solifluction layers are overlain by till-like sediments which are covered by sandy-clayey strata. By means of biostratigraphical analyses (foraminifera, olluscs, wood remains, pollen and diatoms), a reconstruction of the palaeoenvirnmental development has been obtained. Radiocarbon measurements and amiono acis ratios have been carried out in order to date the sediments. The foraminifera in the lowermost clay strata indicate Arctic or boreal-Arctic marine environment during the Late Saalian or Late Elsterian perods The δ¹⁸ Ovalues and molluscs also suggest that the clay was deposited in glaciomarine conditions. Amino acid ratios (D/L=0.25) of Hiatella in the clay imply an age between the Holsteinian and Eemian Interglacials. Teh peat layers contain a pollen flora. Prtedominated by Picea and Pinus, and are pollen analytically dated to the end of the Eemian interglacial. The solofluction sediments most probably were fromed during the first stage (s) of the Early weichselian and may include the initaial phase of the Brorup Interstadial (the Rodebaek interstadial). During this stage(s) aretic-Subarctic conditions previaled reflected by a pollen flora with a predominance of herbs and shrubs. Acidophilous and aerohpilous diatoms indicate oligotrophic shallow wate conditions in an Arctic environment, when almost no leaching of mineral solis occurred. The solofluction sediments also contain reworked interglacial (Eemian) pollen and brackish-Marine diatoms. Radiocarbon dating of the peat, wood and solofluction sediments yieded infinnite ages>40,000B.P.     

Late Weichselian and early Flandrian vegetational history of Varanger peninsula, northeast Norway

Relative a absolute (pollen concentration) diagrams are presented from Bergebyvatnet, Holmfjellvatnet and Stjernevatnet on Varanger peninsula. All three sites are outside the younger Dryas (Main substage) moraines and the pollen assemblage zones are correlated biostratigraphically with chronozones from Allerød to Middle Flandrian. Radiocarbon dates from Bergebyvatnet appear to have been affected by hard water error, but dates from the other two sites agree will with the inferred chronostratigraphy. Pollen diagrams from Varanger peninsula suggest broadly similar vegetational histories, the longest record beign that from Østcrvatnet (H. C. Prentice 1981, Boreas , Vol. 10, pp. 53–70). Open tundra-like conditions prevailed throughout the Late Weichselian, with Salix dominance interrupted by unstable vegetation with abundant Artemisia during the Older and Younger Dryas zones. Major vegetational and floristic changes began just before 10,000 B.P., the rapid scquence from herb pollen flora was rich and varied, including a mixture of floristic clements similar to that found during the Late Weichselian in southern Scandinavia. Basiphilous herbs were particularly abundant at Østervatnet and Bergebyvtnet. Betula nand and species of Ericales became locallydominant just before the full establishment of B. pubescens , which rapidly spread beyond its present limit. Later immigrants included Alnus incana; Juniperus communis ; and Pinus sylvestris , which reached the south western part.     

Lateglacial and early Holocene vegetation and climate gradients in the Nordfjord–Ålesund area,western Norway

Birks, H. H. & van Dinter, M. 2010: Lateglacial and early Holocene vegetation and climate gradients in the Nordfjord–Ålesund area, western Norway. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 783–798. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00161.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Modern climate in western Norway shows a strong west–east gradient in oceanicity–continentality (coast to inner fjord) and altitudinal temperature gradients that control the regional and altitudinal zonation of vegetation. To discover if similar gradients existed during the Lateglacial and early Holocene, plant‐macrofossil analyses were made from five lacustrine sediment sequences in the Nordfjord–Ålesund region selected to sample the present climatic gradients. The macrofossil assemblages could be interpreted as analogues of the present vegetation, thus allowing reconstruction of past vegetation and climates. When the five sites were compared, climatic gradients could be detected. During the Lateglacial interstadial, mid‐alpine assemblages with Salix herbacea and S. polaris occurred at the lowland coast and upland inland sites, whereas the inland lowland site had low‐alpine dwarf‐shrub heath dominated by Betula nana, demonstrating a strong west–east gradient in temperature and precipitation and an altitudinal gradient inland. During the Younger Dryas stadial, assemblages at the lowland coast and upland inland sites resembled high‐alpine vegetation, whereas the inland lowland site was warmer with mid‐alpine vegetation, demonstrating west–east and altitudinal temperature gradients. Gradients became less pronounced in the Holocene. The early abundance of Betula nana in the inner fjord sites but its rarity at the coast is striking and reflects the oceanicity gradient. All sites became forested with Betula pubescens a few centuries into the Holocene. This forest was probably close to tree line at 370 m a.s.l. at the coast. Inland, there was no detectable altitudinal gradient, with the tree line well above 400 m a.s.l. reflecting the present pattern of tree‐line elevation.     

Pleistocene stratigraphy in the Lappajarvi meteorite crater in Ostrobothnia, Finland

Seventy-four meters of a 95-m-long drill core recovered from the Lappäjarvi crater, a meteoritic impact site in western Finland, consisted of Pleistocene sediments. These sediments refer to two events of glacial deposition (Saalian and Weichselian) interrupted by non-glacigenic freshwater sedimentation. The sediments contain abundant redeposited Holsteinian and Tertiary microfossils, and possibly represent a pre-Weichselian interstadial not described from elsewhere in Finland. The pollen flora indicates a mixed primary arctic to subarctic succession that followed deglaciation, i.e. the beginning of an interglacial or interstadial event. The secondary pollen component derives from an eroded interglacial deposit that can be interpreted as Holsteinian, or possibly Eemian, in age. The vegetation succession interpreted from the primary pollen flora reflects a transition from arctic conditions to subarctic birch forests. The diatom flora indicates a primary succession that can be observed clearly in the uppermost gyttja layer in which the rich alkaliphilous diatom flora refers to more or less eutrophic conditions. The diatom flora of sediments below the gyttja layer is composed of a primary component and a secondary, redeposited or relict component. The diatoms encountered are interglacial or Tertiary in origin. The results show that meteorite craters can provide long, representative stratigraphic sequences in glacially eroded Precambrian shield areas such as Finland.     

红山文化牛河梁遗址形成的环境背景与人地关系研究

本文对辽宁凌源市红山文化牛河梁遗址区的地形进行了考察,对建筑石料进行了鉴定,证明当时人类对地形和岩性的认识和利用已具有较高水平。对遗址文化层的动植物残体分析、孢粉分析及附近大凌河上游全新世沉积剖面的孢粉分析基础上,对牛河梁遗址形成的环境背景和红山文化晚期繁荣的原因及人地关系问题进行了分析探讨。     

Opal-associated particulate phosphorus: Implications for the marine P cycle

Previous attempts to evaluate ocean P mass balance and residence time have utilized sequential extraction techniques to isolate and analyze P associated with Fe and Mn oxides and oxyhydroxides, authigenic minerals, detrital, and organic phases. However, in many oceanographic settings, diatoms are the primary producers, and the traditional sequential extraction protocol does not result in complete dissolution of diatom frustules and may not liberate all of the opal intrinsic P associated with the frustules themselves. By adding an opal dissolution step to the end of the extraction protocol, additional P was liberated from the sediments, suggesting that there is an opal-associated P fraction that likely contributes to total reactive P concentrations. In opal-rich sediments, the opal-associated P fraction averages as much as 50-60% of extractable P, and total reactive P concentrations are often more than double when the opal-associated P fraction is included. The presence of opal-intrinsic P potentially has significant implications for ocean P mass balance and residence time of P in the oceans. For example, P burial has possibly been underestimated in settings dominated by diatoms. Additionally, consideration of a significant sedimentary opal-P component suggests that the residence time of P in the oceans may be even shorter than currently suspected.     

黄河兰州段河水搬运花粉与累积花粉组合特征初步研究*

对从2011年9月至2012年6月在黄河兰州段采集的24个水样进行了孢粉分析,并探讨了河流搬运花粉组合随时间变化的特征以及累积花粉的组合状况。结果表明,河流中花粉组合和花粉浓度随时间具有明显的变化,春夏时段花粉组合以榆属、杨属、柳属和桦属等乔木花粉为主,秋冬时段以蒿属、藜科等草本花粉为主,且花粉浓度和河流含沙量有较好的正相关关系。根据河水流量与花粉浓度积分计算得出样品采集时段的累积花粉通量,其组合特征与各时间点的花粉组合具有明显的差异,表明单个时间节点花粉组合由于影响因素较多不能够反映流域植被状况,而累积花粉组合可以指示泥沙和花粉源区的植被状况。本研究中黄河兰州段河水搬运花粉可能指示黄河兰州段以上至刘家峡水库之间黄土区的植被情况。     

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.