High‐resolution quantification of earthworm calcite granules from western European loess sequences reveals stadial–interstadial climatic variability during the Last Glacial

High concentrations of calcite fossil granules produced by earthworms (ECG) have been identified in most of the stratigraphical units along the loess‐palaeosol reference sequence of Nussloch (Germany). They are particularly abundant in interstadial brown soils and in tundra gley horizons, the latter reflecting short‐term phases of aggradation then degradation of permafrost. These granules are characterized by a radial crystalline structure produced in the earthworms by specific bio‐mineralization processes. In our study, we used this biological indicator combined with ¹⁴C and OSL dating, and sedimentological parameters to characterize millennial‐time scale climatic variations recorded in loess sequences. The approach is based on high‐resolution counts of ECG throughout a 17‐m‐thick loess sequence (332 samples). Strong increases in granule and mollusc concentrations suggest warmer climate conditions during palaeosol formation phases, associated with increasing biodiversity, biological activity and vegetation cover. Decreased granule concentrations occur within primary loess deposits, indicating a strong correlation with palaeoenvironmental conditions and demonstrating the reliability of ECG concentration variations as a new palaeoenvironmental proxy. Finally, this pattern is also recorded in loess sequences located about 600 km westward in northern France demonstrating the large‐scale validity of this new palaeoclimatic proxy.     

Pattern of abrupt climatic fluctuation in the East Asian Monsoon during the Last Glacial: Evidence from Chinese loess records

Records of two loess sections located in mid-eastern and western margins of the East Asian Monsoon area captured 20 Dansgaard-Oescher events and six Heinrich events. All these suggested that the climate in the East Asian Monsoon area fluctuated rapidly on millennial to century timescales during the whole Last Glacial. We found that these loess-based events of rapid climate fluctuations were generally synchronous with those of GRIP records, but that there were differences between the Shagou loess section in the west and the Wangguan loess section in the east: the former was more sensitive to climate change than the latter. Compared with earlier studies on loess records covering the Last Glacial from neighboring areas, we discovered that the magnitude of Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles decreased gradually from west to east and we suggest that it resulted from the combined effect of the Westerlies and the East Asian Monsoon.     

Mollusk record of millennial climate variability in the Loess Plateau during the Last Glacial Maximum

A high-resolution terrestrial mollusk record from the Loess Plateau of China has been studied to characterize climate variability during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The rapid successions in mollusk taxa in the Weinan loess sequence reveal that climate changes occurred at least four times in this period. In the loess region, millennia-scale climate fluctuations existed, as documented in the grain size and weathering intensity records. Our results show such millennia-scale fluctuations reflecting changes in both temperature and precipitation, rather than a simple cold and warm alternation. Changes in temperature and precipitation were not in phase during the LGM. Temperature varied earlier than precipitation, which could have been the effect of winter and summer monsoon interactions. Our data also reveal that the East Asian summer monsoons could reach the southeast part of the Loess Plateau during the whole of the LGM. The intensification of winter monsoons during the LGM led to short duration of summer monsoons annually impacting on the Loess Plateau, but the intrinsic intensity of summer monsoons would not have changed significantly, thus providing the thermo-hydrological conditions for temperate-humidiphilous mollusks to persistently grow and develop in the glacial age.     

A high-resolution speleothem proxy record of the Late Glacial in the European Alps: extending the NALPS19 record until the beginning of the Holocene

Previous research has shown that speleothems from the northern rim of the European Alps captured submillennial-scale climate change during the last glacial period with exceptional sensitivity and resolution, mimicking Greenland ice-core records. Here we extend this so-called NALPS19 record across the Late Glacial using two stalagmites which grew continuously into the Holocene. Both specimens show the same high-amplitude δ¹⁸O signal as Greenland ice cores down to decadal resolution. The start of the warming at the onset of the equivalent of Greenland Interstadial (GI) GI-1e at 14.66 ± 0.18 ka agrees with the North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) (14.64 ± 0.28 ka) and comprised a temperature rise of about 5–6 °C. The transition from the equivalent of GI-1a into the equivalent of Greenland Stadial (GS) GS-1 (broadly equivalent to the Younger Dryas) commenced at 13.02 ± 0.13 ka which is consistent with NGRIP (12.80 ± 0.26 ka) within errors. The onset of the Holocene started at 11.78 ± 0.14 ka (11.65 ± 0.10 ka at NGRIP) and involved a warming of about 4–5 °C. In contrast to δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C values show no response to (sub)millennial climate shifts due to strong rock-buffering and only record a long-term trend of soil development starting with the rapid warming at 14.7 ka.     

European Climatic Response to Millennial-Scale Changes in the Atmosphere–Ocean System during the Last Glacial Period

Pollen, foraminifer, dinocyst, and coarse lithic high-resolution analyses and δ¹⁸O measurements have been carried out for the last-glacial section of marine core MD95-2042 located near the southwestern margin of the Iberian Peninsula. The pollen data indicate a high frequency of vegetational changes on the adjacent continent during this period, suggesting a climatic variability very similar to that of the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles recorded by the Greenland ice cores. The detailed direct correlation of the terrestrial and marine proxy data from core MD95-2042 indicates a three-phase pattern of Heinrich events in land and ocean environments. The first and last phases of the H5 and H4 events are characterized by a mild and humid climate in southwestern Europe, probably associated with the European origin of the ice-rafted detritus. The middle phase exhibits a cold and dry climate in Iberia linked with the maximum input of ice-rafted detritus. This phase seems to correspond with the Laurentide ice-sheet surges. Between the Heinrich events, several cold and dry periods on land are correlated with stades of the Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles. The impact of the Dansgaard-Oeschger stades in southwestern Europe seems to be preferentially connected to the cold winter air masses reaching this mid-latitude region.     

从UB-2孔硅藻记录看末次冰期至早全新世日本海古海洋环境

日本海南部郁陵海盆的UB-2孔沉积物硅藻记录,反映了11000—28000aBP该区古海洋和古气候的变化。对比日本海和格陵兰冰芯(GRIP)δ18O数据,UB-2孔硅藻暖水种比率及淡水—海滨种含量变化清楚地记录了氧同位素3期(MIS3)、末次盛冰期(LGM)、波令—阿勒罗德暖期(B/A)以及新仙女木冷事件(YD)等古气候事件。淡水—海滨种硅藻含量在末次盛冰期阶段明显升高及暖水种数量的显著减少,表明此时日本海为低温、低盐的古海洋环境,这可归因于气候变冷、海平面下降造成的日本海当时相对封闭的海洋环境。自15200aBP起,Paraliasulcata含量逐渐上升,这可能与海平面上升引起的古环境变化有关,可以作为对马海峡开启的标志。全球气候变化引起的海平面变化是该区域古气候变化的主要控制因素。     

倒数第二次冰期气候不稳定性的黄土记录

自格陵兰冰芯的氧同位索曲线发表以来,有关“轨道”以下尺度(即千年级)气候变化历史的研究工作,在全球范围内已做了许多。这些工作较为一致地证明,尽管不同区域内短尺度气候变化的特点不一定相互一致,但冰期气候不稳定性现象还是普遍存在的。但是,迄今为止,有关这方面的研究工作主要集中在末次冰期,因此,气候不稳定性是否存在于第四纪的其它冰期尚不得而知。最近,我们对会宁李家源剖面黄土沉积的S2～L2段落做了详细的采样和粒度分析,样品间距为2cm,粒度分析结果如图l。会宁李家源剖面位于黄土高原西部,S2～S2的总厚度为45m。其中L2的厚度约17m,与L1的厚度大致相当。L2堆积期为倒数第二个冰期,从深海和其它地质     

The Last Interglacial palaeosol in the Belgian loess belt: TL age record

In the Belgian loess plateau, the Rocourt soil is a well-known luvisol horizon that is regarded as representing the Last Interglacial. The name of the soil comes from the locality of Rocourt in the east of the country, where it has been observed for the first time. Later, exposures of a similar soil were found in other localities. Most typically, a sequence of three horizons is observed: a red-brown illuvial Bt horizon, overlain by a bleached horizon and a compound dark horizon. In this paper, we present the results of TL age determinations obtained on sediments directly bracketing the soil at the type locality of Rocourt and at the locality of Momalle more to the west, together with some supplementary data for the exposures at Kesselt to check a controversial result that was obtained earlier (J. Quaternary Sci. 13 (5) (1998) 487). The TL analyses involved both the (total bleach) additive dose and regeneration methods.Our TL ages confirm the assumed chronostratigraphic position (oxygen isotope stage 5) of the soil exposed at the type locality. The ages obtained at Momalle and Kesselt indicate that we are dealing with the same soil here but the palaeodose data are less consistent. This is probably due to the fact that the loess has been disturbed by post-depositional processes such as solifluction, surface run-off, cryo- and bioturbation. This seems to be a major problem with the sediments in the eastern part of the Belgian loess belt.     

Late Glacial stable isotope record, radiocarbon stratigraphy, pollen and mollusc analyses from the Geiseltal area, Central Germany

Combined investigations of isotopes, pollen, and molliisc shells were carried out on a Latc Glacial limnic high-resolution sediment sequence from the Geiseltal open-cast mine in Central Gcrmany. The dala confirm thc division of the Late Glacial biozones into two colder (Older and Younger Dryas) and two warmer periods (Bølling, Allcrød), which have already bccn cstablishcd lor the Central and Northern German area. Radiocarbon data, mainly based on wood material, cover a time span between c , 10 800 BP and 12 760 BP, indicating a mean sedimentation rate of c . 2 mm/yr. The stable isotope data (δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C) reflect the transition periods between the climatic phases as changes in relative air humidity (transition from dry, cold to warmer. more humid conditions). The dominance of evaporation effects, however, is superimposed on any ternpcratiirc aignal throughout the profile. Repeated conversions of the hydrologic regime (silting-up phases. lake-level variations) characterize the specific history of the lake development.     

A late Pleistocene record of aeolian sedimentation in Blanche Cave, Naracoorte, South Australia

We provide geochemical analyses and grain size data for a clearly layered, 80 cm thick sedimentary deposit close to a roof collapse in Blanche Cave near Naracoorte in SE South Australia. This deposit contains aeolian material deposited between 40 ka and 14 ka cal BP and which yields airborne sediments spanning the Last Glacial Maximum, a period of time with little information for the Australian continent. The deposit also contains abundant vertebrate fossil material derived from owl pellets, accumulation and pitfall entrapment. Below the studied profile, large vertebrate remains are found but are not discussed here. No Holocene sedimentation occurred at the site examined in the cave, and the top of the sequence is capped with a layer that has been anthropologically disturbed and contains exotic Pinus pollen. Chronologies of the deposit were obtained using two dating techniques: single stage accelerator mass spectrometer (SSAMS) ¹⁴C analysis of 23 charcoal samples and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of quartz from 6 sediment samples. The ¹⁴C chronology is preferred to describe the history of the deposits since the OSL chronology, which consistently overestimates the associated radiocarbon dates, may be inaccurate due to complexities in calculating dose rates, and may in addition represent the timing of sediment deposition through the cave opening rather than sediment transport to the deposit site. Morphological analysis of single quartz grains and grain size analysis indicate different provenance that is confirmed through the geochemical analyses of bulk sediment. Major elements were measured by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), trace and rare earth elements by Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA ICP-MS), and Neodymium isotopic ratios were obtained using a Thermal Ionisation Mass Spectrometer (TIMS).Our results indicate that the aeolian material deposited in Blanche Cave over the 40–14 ka cal BP period originated from different sources across South Australia, although Nd isotopes clearly indicate a close association with sediments of the Kanmantoo Group outcropping along the eastern portion of the Mount Lofty Ranges and the Padthaway Ridge further south, both being located to the NW and NNW of the cave. During the latter part of Marine Isotope Stage 3, conditions were wetter and windblown sediment came from the coastal region just north and south of the Coorong Lagoon, with winds originating from the north-northwest. At that time, woody taxa appear to have vegetated the landscape. During the drier phases, especially the Last Glacial Maximum, sediment came from further inland, thus suggesting a different predominant wind direction, more from the northwest. The deglaciation saw material originating from a more northerly direction.     

Terrestrial molluscan records of Weichselian Lower to Middle Pleniglacial climatic changes from the Nussloch loess series (Rhine Valley, Germany): the impact of local factors

Two malacological sequences sampled in loess sections P1 and P3 of Nussloch (Rhine Valley, Germany) provide the most complete and precise molluscan record of western Europe for the Weichselian Lower and Middle Pleniglacial from about 70 to 34 cal. kyr BP. Qualitative and statistical analyses were performed on 134 mollusc samples. In the most complete Lower Pleniglacial record (P1), malacofauna changes reflect three short phases of vegetation development and climatic improvement related to soils and probably interstadials. A steppe to herb/shrub tundra shift characterizes the Lower-Middle Pleniglacial transition and is followed in both malacological records by the same general environmental trend (decline in vegetation and humidity increase) ending with a new increase in temperature and vegetation cover at the top of P3. In the Middle Pleniglacial, the impact of each shorter climatic change on the malacofauna is less recognizable due to a higher sediment compaction and also to being differently recorded in both sequences as the local topography affects soil water resources, soil and vegetation development and malacofauna adaptation. A comparison shows that the western European biostratigraphical framework can thus be improved by coupling molluscan records from loess sections to pollen sequences.     

Asian monsoon climate during the Last Glacial Maximum: palaeo‐data–model comparisons

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (23–19 ka BP) in the Asian monsoon region is generally described as cool and dry, due to a strong winter monsoon. More recently, however, palaeo‐data and climate model simulations have argued for a more variable LGM Asian monsoon climate with distinct regional differences. We compiled, evaluated, and partly re‐assessed proxy records for the Asian monsoon region in terms of wet/dry climatic conditions based on precipitation and effective moisture, and of sea surface temperatures. The comparison of the palaeo‐data set to LGM simulations by the Climate Community System Model version 3 (CCSM3) shows fairly good agreement: a dry LGM climate in the western and northern part due to a strengthened winter monsoon and/or strengthened westerly winds and wetter conditions in equatorial areas, due to a stronger summer monsoon. Data–model discrepancies are seen in some areas and are ascribed to the fairly coarse resolution of CCSM3 and/or to uncertainties in the reconstructions. Differences are also observed between the reconstructed and simulated northern boundaries of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The reconstructions estimate a more southern position over southern India and the Bay of Bengal, whereas CCSM3 simulates a more northern position. In Indochina, the opposite is the case. The palaeo‐data indicate that climatic conditions changed around 20–19 ka BP, with some regions receiving higher precipitation and some experiencing drier conditions, which would imply a distinct shift in summer monsoon intensity. This shift was probably triggered by the late LGM sea‐level rise, which led to changes in atmosphere–ocean interactions in the Indian Ocean. The overall good correspondence between reconstructions and CCSM3 suggests that CCSM3 simulates LGM climate conditions over subtropical and tropical areas fairly well. The few high‐resolution qualitative and quantitative palaeo‐records available for the large Asian monsoon region make reconstructions however still uncertain.     

Climatic oscillations in central Italy during the Last Glacial–Holocene transition: the record from Lake Accesa

This paper presents an event stratigraphy based on data documenting the history of vegetation cover, lake‐level changes and fire frequency, as well as volcanic eruptions, over the Last Glacial–early Holocene transition from a terrestrial sediment sequence recovered at Lake Accesa in Tuscany (north‐central Italy). On the basis of an age–depth model inferred from 13 radiocarbon dates and six tephra horizons, the Oldest Dryas–Bølling warming event was dated to ca. 14 560 cal. yr BP and the Younger Dryas event to ca. 12 700–11 650 cal. yr BP. Four sub‐millennial scale cooling phases were recognised from pollen data at ca. 14 300–14 200, 13 900–13 700, 13 400–13 100 and 11 350–11 150 cal. yr BP. The last three may be Mediterranean equivalents to the Older Dryas (GI‐1d), Intra‐Allerød (GI‐1b) and Preboreal Oscillation (PBO) cooling events defined from the GRIP ice‐core and indicate strong climatic linkages between the North Atlantic and Mediterranean areas during the last Termination. The first may correspond to Intra‐Bølling cold oscillations registered by various palaeoclimatic records in the North Atlantic region. The lake‐level record shows that the sub‐millennial scale climatic oscillations which punctuated the last deglaciation were associated in central Italy with different successive patterns of hydrological changes from the Bølling warming to the 8.2 ka cold reversal. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental variability during the Last Interglacial: a new high‐resolution pollen record from Tenaghi Philippon,Greece

A new high‐resolution Last Interglacial pollen record from the Tenaghi Philippon peatland, northeast Greece, documents variability in forest composition and cover, which we attribute to changes in temperature and moisture availability. The declining stage of the interglacial was marked by a stepwise decrease in temperate tree populations and culminated in the complete collapse of forest at the onset of the ensuing stadial. The coincidence of the onset of the stepwise declining trend with the increased prominence of North Atlantic ice‐rafting events suggests that ecological thresholds in southern Europe were only crossed once ice rafting events intensified, and implies that changes in North Atlantic ocean circulation were an important contributing factor to the declining temperate forest cover in southern Europe. Our results provide evidence for intra‐interglacial variability in the low mid latitudes and suggest a coupling between the high northern latitudes and the northeast Mediterranean during this interval. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evidence for a change in wind regime during the Last Glacial Maximum from the Sydney region

This paper presents the results of a small number of dates from sand samples collected at building sites in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. OSL ages of well-sorted, quartz sand ranges from 31 to 24?ka from within well-developed podzol soil profiles within a metre of the surface. The source of this sand appears to be from the east off the inner continental shelf during a period just prior to the maximum of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, Marine Isotope Stage 2) when sea-level was approximately 70–90 m below present level. During a later phase of the LGM, there is evidence from other coastal sites in central NSW and Gippsland, Victoria, that the dominant wind was from the west consistent with evidence from arid and semiarid Australia. Dune orientations in northern NSW into Queensland and other evidence at this time appear to reflect winds from the southeast quadrant. This study highlights the existence of a potential pivot area in dominant wind direction during the LGM between sustained westerly flow in southern area including Victoria and northeast Tasmania and southeast flow of northern NSW into Queensland. In central NSW, the circulation switched from easterly in Stage 2 to westerly as the glacial stage intensified in the LGM sometime after ca 25?ka.     

末次盛冰期华北平原古气候古环境演化

华北平原宁晋泊南王庄剖面的^14C和光释光年代测定表明宁晋泊地区在末次盛冰期有连续的湖相沉积。依据孢粉、碳酸盐、有机碳含量（TOC）及C／N值的高分辨率分析与综合判识，末次盛冰期并不是一个持续的干冷时期，而是存在从凉湿-冷偏湿-冷干的波动变化过程。其中早期明显降温事件，可以与Heinrich事件2（H2）对比，说明全球降温的同步性。本研究说明末次盛冰期（20-16ka BP），在全球气候变冷的背景下，存在一个冬季风不断加强夏季风逐渐变弱的过程。     

Glaciers and climate in Pacific Far NE Russia during the Last Glacial Maximum

A combined geomorphological–physical model approach is used to generate three‐dimensional reconstructions of glaciers in Pacific Far NE Russia during the global Last glacial Maximum (gLGM). The horizontal dimensions of these ice masses are delineated by moraines, their surface elevations are estimated using an iterative flowline model and temporal constraints upon their margins are derived from published age estimates. The equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) of these ice masses are estimated, and gLGM climate is reconstructed using a simple degree–day melt model. The results indicate that, during the gLGM, ice masses occupying the Pekulney, Kankaren and Sredinny mountains of Pacific Far NE Russia were of valley glacier and ice field type. These glaciers were between 7 and 80 km in length, and were considerably less extensive than during pre‐LGM phases of advance. gLGM ice masses in these regions had ELAs of between 575 ± 22 m and 1035 ± 41 m (above sea level) – corresponding to an ELA depression of 350–740 m, relative to present. Data indicate that, in the Pekulney Mountains, this ELA depression occurred because of a 6.4°C reduction in mean July temperature, and 200 mm a^?1 reduction in precipitation, relative to present. Thus reconstructions support a restricted view of gLGM glaciation in Pacific Far NE Russia and indicate that the region's aridity precluded the development of large continental ice sheets. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intra-interstadial environmental changes in Last Glacial loess revealed by molluscan assemblages from the Upper Palaeolithic site of Amiens-Renancourt 1 (Somme,France)

The Amiens-Renancourt 1 site recently yielded one of the most important Upper Palaeolithic human occupations of northern France by the number of flint artefacts and especially by the presence of Venus figurines. All the material comes from a single archaeological layer located in a tundra gley bracketed by loess units. A multi-proxy study combining a detailed stratigraphy, luminescence and radiocarbon datings and high-resolution (5 cm per sample) grain size and molluscan analyses was therefore carried out to reconstruct and date the associated environmental changes and to determine the exact context of the human occupation. The chronological frame thus established supports the correlations of the archaeology-bearing tundra gley and of an underlying arctic brown soil with Greenland interstadials GI-4 and GI-3. Composition changes in the molluscan population enabled the identification of transitional and optimum phases and sub-phases within these two pedogenetic horizons. A conceptual correlation model linking molluscan phases with millennial-scale variations of Greenland ice-core and Sieben Hengste speleothem climate records is proposed. The Human occupation appears contemporaneous to the end of the stadial–interstadial transition of GI-3. Synchronous in Amiens-Renancourt 1 and Nussloch, subsequent micro-gleys may also result from a regional/global forcing. Such a level of detail is unprecedented in a loess sequence.