Last interglacial (MIS 5e) surface water conditions at the Vøring Plateau (Norwegian Sea), based on dinoflagellate cysts

Sediments from the last interglacial, marine isotope stage 5e (MIS 5e), have been studied for their dinoflagellate cyst content in a core retrieved from the Vøring Plateau, Norwegian Sea. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the data, and comparison with the surface sample and published Holocene data from the core, reveal distinct differences in hydrological surface conditions between the late Holocene and MIS 5e. A higher number of co-dominant, subordinate species in the last interglacial samples suggests there was a more pronounced seasonality of the surface water at this time. This is supported by the significant presence of Bitectatodinium tepikiense , a species that was virtually absent from the area for most of the Holocene. The seasonality signal is further substantiated by transfer-function reconstructions, which also indicates a stronger stratification of the upper water column during MIS 5e. Moreover, the assemblage data clearly show that optimal, fully marine interglacial conditions prevailed only late in MIS 5e (between ca. 117.5 and 116.5 Kya), which is in contrast with the climatic optimum early in the Holocene. Stable oxygen isotope values from planktic foraminifera for this MIS 5e optimum are comparable with the average Holocene values, but are generally ca. 0.3‰ higher than those of the earlier part of the last interglacial ( sensu stricto ). These higher δ¹⁸O values are likely to be the result of the enhanced and prolonged influence of Saalian deglacial meltwater, thus corroborating the existence of a quite differently structured sea surface, as suggested by the dinocyst data.     

Unusual carbon and oxygen isotopic ratios of ostracodal calcite from last interglacial (Sangamon episode) lacustrine sediment in Raymond Basin, Illinois, USA

The stable isotopic records of ostracode valves deposited during the last interglaciation in Raymond Basin, Illinois, have ¹³C and ¹⁸O values as high as +16.5 and +9.2 respectively, the highest values yet reported from continental ostracodal calcite. Located in south-central Illinois, Raymond, Pittsburg, Bald Knob, and Hopwood Farm basins collectively have yielded important long pollen and ostracode records that date from about 130000 years ago to the present. Although fossils from the present-day interglaciation are not well preserved, these records constitute the only described, conformable, fossiliferous successions of this age from the interior of glaciated North America.The high ¹³C values from Raymond Basin are attributed to the residual effects of methane loss either by ebullition or by emission through the stems of senescent emergent aquatic vegetation. A mass balance model suggests that an increase in ¹³C of dissolved inorganic carbon on the order of +15 is possible within a few hours given modest rates of methanogenesis of about 0.02 mol m^-2 d^-1. The ¹³C records from other studies of ostracode valves have values approaching, but not exceeding about +14 suggesting a limiting value to ¹³C enrichment due to simultaneous inputs and outputs of dissolved inorganic carbon.Values of ¹⁸O in ostracodal calcite are quite variable (–4 to +9) in sediment from the late Sangamon subepisode. A model of isotopic enrichment in a desiccating water body implies that a reduction in reservoir volume of 20% could produce this range of isotopic values. High humidity and evaporation probably account for most of the ¹⁸O variability.     

陇西黄土沉积记录反映的末次间冰期以来青藏高原东北部季风的演化过程

对黄土高原西部的陇西盆地中断岘黄土剖面地层中的磁化率、粒度、CaCO3含量和有机碳含量等气候代用指标进行了综合分析。研究表明,青藏高原东北部地区在末次间冰期以来,其冬、夏季风的变化分别经历了多次相对增强的时期;其演化阶段基本可与深海氧同位素曲线(SPEC-MAP)对比,并且与同期的印度洋季风强度变化存在着较高的一致性。由此可以认为,全球冰量变化可能不是控制青藏高原季风演变的决定因素,而其它因素如太阳辐射变化及高原下垫面状况对高原季风演化可能具有更为重要的意义。     

High-frequency climatic oscillations during the last deglaciation as revealed by oxygen-isotope records of benthic organisms (Ammersee,southern Germany)

High-resolution oxygen-isotope records of benthic ostracods and molluscs from Ammersee, southern Germany, show high-frequency climatic changes during the last deglaciation and parallel in great detail published faunal and floral variations reconstructed from Norwegian Sea sediments and isotope variations in Greenland ice cores. The marine and the terrestrial records give evidence of a synchronous late glacial climatic development in Greenland, NW- and Mid-Europe. However,¹⁴C-ages of the supraregional climatic events and of two tephra layers in the marine sediments of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean are significantly older than the¹⁴C-ages of the corresponding horizons on land. These differences strongly suggest that major short-term events have affected the exchangeable carbon on earth during the dramatic environmental changes related to the deglaciation and in particular have affected the CO₂-distribution within the ocean and between ocean and atmosphere. Dating methods independent of climatic variations and of the global carbon budget should be given priority to refine the timescales of the marine and atmospheric processes during the last deglaciation.This is the fourth paper in a series of papers published in this issue on high-resolution paleolimnology. These papers were presented at the Sixth International Palaeolimnology Symposium held 19–21 April, 1993 at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. Dr. A. F. Lotter and Dr. M. Sturm served as guest editors for these papers.