Phase-lagged warming and the disruption of climatic rhythms during the Matuyama–Brunhes magnetic polarity transition

The influence of the geomagnetic field on climate, a long hotly disputed issue, was examined for the Matuyama–Brunhes (MB) magnetic polarity transition using palynological and paleomagnetic data sets from a high accumulation rate (ca. 50 cm/kyr) sediment core from Osaka Bay. During the period from marine oxygen isotope stages (MIS) 20 to 18, climate change is well correlated with global ice volume variation in the precession cycle, with the exception of the early half of MIS 19. The postglacial warming after substage 20.2 was interrupted by cooling that began just before the sea-level highstand correlated with substage 19.3 and persisted until about a mid-point between 19.3 and 19.2, followed by a rapid warming. The thermal maximum clearly postdates the highest sea-level highstand by 6–7 kyr, and the connection between orbital forcing and climate was disrupted. The cooling event coincided with the center of the paleointensity low during the MB transition. This unusual climate cooling across a sea-level peak is very likely related to the field intensity decrease. The data from Osaka Bay may suggest an instance where the geomagnetic field has influenced climate in the past.     

The Mid-Miocene Pollen Record of the Xunhua Basin, NE Tibetan Plateau: Implications for Global Climate Change

The northeastern Tibetan Plateau is located at the convergence of the Asian winter and summer monsoons and westerlies; thus, this area has witnessed historic climate changes.The Xunhua basin is an intermontane basin on the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau.The basin contains more than 2000 m of Cenozoic fluvial–lacustrine sediments, recording a long history of climate and environmental changes.We collected the mid-Miocene sediments from the Xunhua basin and used palynological methods to discuss the relationship between aridification in the interior of Asia, global cooling, and uplift of the Tibetan Plateau.Based on the palynological analysis of the Xigou section, Xunhua basin, the palynological diagram is subdivided into three pollen zones and past vegetation and climate are reconstructed.Zone I, Ephedripites–Nitraridites–Chenopodipollis–Quercoidites(14.0–12.5 Ma), represents mixed shrub–steppe vegetation with a dry and cold climate.In zone II, Pinaceae–Betulaepollenites–Ephedripites–Chenopodipollis–Graminidites(12.5–8.0 Ma), the vegetation and climate conditions improved, even though the vegetation was still dominated by shrub–steppe taxa.Zone III, Ephedripites–Nitrariadites–Chenopodipollis(8.0–5.0 Ma), represents desert steppe vegetation with drier and colder climate.The palynological records suggest that shrub–steppe dominated the whole Xigou section and the content gradually increased, implying a protracted aridification process, although there was an obvious climate improvement during 12.5–8.0 Ma.The aridification in the Xunhua basin and surrounding mountains during 14.0–12.5 Ma was probably related to global cooling induced by the rapid expansion of the East Antarctic ice-sheets and the relatively higher evaporation rate.During the 12.5–8.0 Ma period, although topographic changes(uplift of Jishi Shan) decreased precipitation and strengthened aridification in the Xunhua basin on leeward slopes, the improved vegetation and climate conditions were probably controlled by the decrease in evaporation rates as a result of continuous cooling.From 8.0 to 5.0 Ma, the rapid development of the desert steppe can be attributed to global cooling and uplift of the Tibetan Plateau.     

Paleoclimate evolution and aridification mechanism of the eastern Tethys during the Callovian–Oxfordian: evidence from geochemical records of the Qiangtang Basin,Tibetan Plateau

Global climate during the Jurassic has been commonly described as a uniform greenhouse climate for a long time. However, the climate scenario of a cool episode during the Callovian–Oxfordian transition following by a warming trend during the Oxfordian (163.53 to 157.4 Ma) is documented in many localities of the western Tethys. It is still unclear if a correlatable climate scenario also occurred in the eastern Tethys during the same time interval. In this study, a detailed geochemical analysis on the 1060 m thick successions (the Xiali and Suowa formations) from the Yanshiping section of the Qiangtang Basin, located in the eastern Tethys margin during the Callovian–Oxfordian periods, was performed. To reveal the climate evolution of the basin, carbonate content and soluble salt concentrations (SO₄²⁻, Cl⁻) were chosen as climatic indices. The results show that the overall climate patterns during the deposition of the Xiali and Suowa formations can be divided into three stages: relatively humid (~ 164.0 to 160.9 Ma), dry (~ 160.9 to 159.6 Ma), semi-dry (~ 159.6 to 156.8 Ma). A similar warming climate scenario also occurred in eastern Tethys during the Callovian–Oxfordian transition (~ 160.9 to 159.6 Ma). Besides, we clarify that the Jurassic True polar wander (TPW), the motion of the lithosphere and mantle with respect to Earth’s spin axis, inducing climatic shifts were responsible for the aridification of the Qiangtang Basin during the Callovian–Oxfordian transition with a review of the paleolatitude of the Xiali formation (19.7 + 2.8/−2.6° N) and the Suowa formation (20.7 + 4.1/−3.7° N). It is because the TPW rotations shifted the East Asia blocks (the North and South China, Qiangtang, and Qaidam blocks) from the humid zone to the tropical/subtropical arid zone and triggered the remarkable aridification during the Middle-Late Jurassic (ca. 165–155 Ma).

     

Post-Glacial climatic change on Boothia Peninsula, Nunavut, Canada

A high temporal resolution pollen diagram from a lake in the mid-Arctic region of the Boothia Peninsula, Nunavut, Canada, documents the history of the regional vegetation and climate for the past 7200 yr. Major tundra pollen taxa in the core include Cyperaceae and Salix, with Cyperaceae comprising over 50% of the pollen in the early and late Holocene. Tree pollen, transported from far to the south, comprised a large percentage of the pollen sum, with Pinus accounting for 30% of the pollen in some levels of the core. Pollen percentages and concentrations of taxa typical of the mid-Arctic were highest in the mid-Holocene, corresponding to warm conditions. Decreasing pollen concentrations indicate cooling temperatures, with more rapid decreases occurring around 4200, 3800-3400, and 2500 cal yr BP. Pollen percentages of Salix, Cyperaceae, and Artemisia increased in the past 35 yr in response to global warming. Reconstructions of July temperature using the modern analog technique showed that the mid-Holocene (5800-2800 cal yr BP) was approximately 1 °C higher than during the past 1000 yr.     

Orbitally forced sea-level changes in the upper Turonian–lower Coniacian of the Tethyan Himalaya,southern Tibet

Although the mid-Cretaceous is considered to be a typical interval of greenhouse climate and high sea level, cooling events associated with regressions were inferred in recent years. We conducted a biostratigraphic, chemostratigraphic, sequence stratigraphic and cyclostratigraphic investigation of upper Turonian–lower Coniacian marine strata in the Tethyan Himalaya zone, to retrace the sea-level variations and to clarify their global correlations. According to the planktonic foraminiferal zonation, the studied interval is part of the late Turonian–early Coniacian Marginoruncana sigali and D. concavata Zones. The carbon isotope curve shows a good correlation to reference curves in the Boreal and western Tethys realms with all major and minor late Turonian δ¹³C events identified, indicating that the C-isotope curve provides an excellent tool for global stratigraphic correlation in the Turonian. Based on the lithological variations of clastic input and physical and chemical proxies, the succession is divided into two third order and eight fourth order sequences. Spectral analysis indicates that fourth order sea-level changes were linked to the astronomically stable 405-kyr eccentricity cycle. Comparison with classic global sea-level curves, we suggest that late Turonian–early Coniacian sea-level changes along the southeastern Tethyan margin were controlled by eustasy. The significant regressions during ∼90–89.8 Ma and ∼92–91.4 Ma, which are recorded in different continents, may be interpreted as the result of continental ice expansion, giving some support to the notion that ephemeral polar ice sheets existed even in the super-greenhouse world.     

Stepwise palaeoclimate change across the Eocene–Oligocene transition recorded in continental NW Europe by mineralogical assemblages and δ15Norg (Rennes Basin,France)

The Eocene–Oligocene transition (EOT, ~34 Ma) is the largest global cooling of the Cenozoic Era and led the Earth's climatic system to change from a greenhouse to an icehouse mode. Although it is well documented in marine settings, the few studies focusing on continental environments have demonstrated regional heterogeneities. The study core CDB1, located in the Rennes Basin (Western France), is a unique terrestrial (lacustrine–palustrine) record comprising well‐preserved and terrestrial‐derived organic‐rich sediments encompassing the EOT. Clay minerals and the first organic nitrogen isotope record (δ¹⁵N_org) of terrestrial origin for this period are used to reconstruct palaeoclimate changes across this key interval. As suggested in worldwide marine and a few continental records, a stepwise transition from warm/humid conditions in the Late Eocene to cooler/drier conditions in the Early Oligocene is confirmed in the area. In addition, an episode of drier conditions in the Late Eocene and humid/dry cycles in the Early Oligocene are suggested.     

Climate characteristics of the eastern Mongolian Plateau,China during the early Early Cretaceous (145–132 Ma): Palynological evidence from the Tongbomiao Formation in Well Hong-6, Hailar Basin

This study identified two palynological assemblages, namely Bayanhuasporites-Cycadopites-Protoconiferus and Cicatricosisporites-Cedripites-Perinopollenites, in the Tongbomiao Formation in the Hongqi Sag in the Hailar Basin, Inner Mongolia, China for the first time. The former is distributed in the lower part of the Tongbomiao Formation and is characterized by abundant gymnosperm pollen and diverse fern spores. Among them, the gymnosperm pollen is dominated by Paleoconifer (4.98%–31.62%) and Cycadopite (8.55%–25.23%) pollen grains and also includes other pollen grains such as Classopollis, Parcisporites, Erlianpollis, Callialasporites, and Jiaohepollis. The fern spores in the former palynological assemblage contain Bayanhuasporite (0–8.96%), Granulatisporites (0.93%–6.97%), and some important Cretaceous genera, such as Cicatricosisporites, Concavissimisporites, Densoisporites, Hsuisporites, Foraminisporis, and Leptolepidites. The Cicatricosisporites-Cedripites-Perinopollenites palynological assemblage is distributed in the upper part of the Tongbomiao Formation. Gymnosperm (77.30%), Pinaceae (31.9%), and Paleoconiferus (19.02%) pollen predominate this palynological assemblage, and Quadraeculina, Erlianpollis, and Jiaohepollis pollen are also common in this assemblage. The fern spores in this palynological assemblage include abundant Cicatricosisporites (4.29%). Besides, Concavissimisporites, Aequitriradites, and Leptolepidites are also common in this palynological assemblage. No angiosperm pollen has been found in both palynological assemblages. The identification of both palynological assemblages provides important evidence for the biostratigraphic correlation between the Hailar Basin and its adjacent areas. It also enables the reconstructions of the Berriasian-Valanginian (Early Cretaceous) vegetation and the paleoclimate on the eastern Mongolian Plateau during 141–132 Ma. The vegetation reconstructed on the palynological data of the represented by Hailar Basin in eastern Mongolian Plateau (141.6–141.4 Ma), form conifer forest or conifer broad-leaved mixed forest to conifer forest with shrubs and grassland, the climate belongs to warm temperate and warm-subtropicalt, the highest temperature is estimated to reach 35–38°C. Form 132.3 Ma, the vegetation type is conifer forest, and its paleoclimate is sub-humid warm temperate, the highest temperature is estimated to reach 24–29°C.©2022 China Geology Editorial Office.     

Multi-proxy record of postglacial environmental change, south-central Melville Island, Northwest Territories, Canada

A sediment core from Lake BC01 (75°10.945′N, 111°55.181′W, 225 m asl) on south-central Melville Island, NWT, Canada, provides the first continuous postglacial environmental record for the region. Fossil pollen results indicate that the postglacial landscape was dominated by Poaceae and Salix, typical of a High Arctic plant community, whereas the Arctic herb Oxyria underwent a gradual increase during the late Holocene. Pollen-based climate reconstructions suggests the presence of a cold and dry period ~12,000 cal yr BP, possibly representing the Younger Dryas, followed by warmer and wetter conditions from 11,000 to 5000 cal yr BP, likely reflective of the Holocene Thermal Maximum. The climate then underwent a gradual cooling and drying from 5000 cal yr BP to the present, suggesting a late Holocene neoglacial cooling. Diatom preservation was poor prior to 5000 cal yr BP, when conditions were warmest, suggesting that diatom dissolution may in part be climatically controlled. Diatom concentrations were highest ~4500 cal yr BP but then decreased substantially by 3500 cal yr BP and remained low before recovering slightly in the 20th century. An abrupt warming occurred during the past 70 yr at the site, although the magnitude of this warming did not exceed that of the early Holocene.     

Climatic and tectonic uplift evolution since ~7 Ma in Gyirong basin, southwestern Tibet plateau: clay mineral evidence

Climate evolution associated with the uplift in Gyirong, southern margin of the Tibetan plateau, was investigated based on the clay mineralogy of the Gyirong sediments, using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy methods. The (chlorite + illite)/(kaolinite + smectite) ratio and the illite crystallinity index suggest the trend of paleoclimate evolution in Gyirong basin during ~7–1.7 Ma BP, with a warm and humid climate in ~7.0–5.8 Ma, a relative cool and dry climate in ~5.8–5.5 Ma, a relative warm and humid climate in ~5.5–2.5 Ma, and a much warmer climate in ~2.5–1.7 Ma, respectively. The fluctuating kaolinite/smectite index and calcite content and the frequent occurrence of gypsum in the episode of ~6.7–5.5 Ma suggest intense climatic fluctuations between humid and more seasonal humid conditions. Five peaks exhibit at 5.8, 4.9, 4.3, 3.6, and 2.5 Ma in the curves of illite and chlorite content and illite crystallinity. The intense uplift and tectonic-forced cooling at ~5.8 and 4.3 Ma were indicated by the high-illite crystallinity index and illite and chlorite content. A remarkable increase in illite and chlorite content associated with only little increase in illite crystallinity at ~3.6 Ma indicates a rapid uplift, but no significant climate change. And a sharp increase in illite crystallinity, while small change in illite and chlorite content at ~2.5 Ma suggests that no remarkable relief was produced by the uplift, which may take place in the whole south Tibet plateau, while cooling at 4.9 Ma is probably a record of the global climate cooling.     

广东雷州半岛晚渐新世—早更新世孢粉共存因子分析及古气候变化重建

广东省雷州半岛新生代钻孔ZKA01揭露的地层序列自下向上为渐新统涠洲组、中新统下洋组、角尾组、灯楼角组、上新统望楼港组、下更新统湛江组和中更新统北海组,涠洲组—望楼港组为滨浅海沉积,湛江组和北海组为陆相河湖相沉积。本文在ZKA01钻孔地层中自下向上88个层位中获取的29311粒孢粉化石的81个属中,选取了常见的种子植物花粉种属42个,通过共存因子分析法,定量重建了研究区晚渐新世—早更新世的古气候参数,划分出晚渐新世—早中新世(25~17 Ma)、中中新世(17~13.5 Ma)、晚中新世—上新世初期(13.5~4 Ma)和上新世—早更新世(4~1.5 Ma)4个气候演化阶段。孢粉共存因子定量法重建的研究区晚渐新世—早更新世4个阶段的古气候变化过程能较好地与全球气候变化的趋势相匹配,晚渐新世—早中新世温度降低的时间拐点大致可与Mi1a气候变冷事件相吻合。中中新世可以与中中新世气候适宜期(MMCO)相对应,表现为炎热潮湿的气候特征。中中新世晚期的气温是下降的,在一定程度上响应了Mi3中中新世气候变冷事件。     

Chironomid-based reconstructions of summer air temperature from lake deposits in Lyndon Stream,New Zealand spanning the MIS 3/2 transition

We present chironomid-based temperature reconstructions from lake sediments deposited between ca 26,600 cal yr BP and 24,500 cal yr BP from Lyndon Stream, South Island, New Zealand. Summer (February mean) temperatures averaged 1 °C cooler, with a maximum inferred cooling of 3.7 °C. These estimates corroborate macrofossil and beetle-based temperature inferences from the same site and suggest climate amelioration (an interstadial) at this time. Other records from the New Zealand region also show a large degree of variability during the late Otiran glacial sequence (34,000–18,000 cal yr BP) including a phase of warming at the MIS 2/3 transition and a maximum cooling that did not occur until the global LGM (ca 20,000 cal yr BP).The very moderate cooling identified here at the MIS 2/3 transition confirms and enhances the long-standing discrepancy in New Zealand records between pollen and other proxies. Low abundances (<20%) of canopy tree pollen in records from late MIS 3 to the end of MIS 2 cannot be explained by the minor (<5 °C) cooling inferred from this and other studies unless other environmental parameters are considered. Further work is required to address this critical issue.     

Environmental changes in the eastern shelf of the Laptev Sea in the late-glacial time

Data on the interaction of the land-sea system have been obtained based on complex palynological analysis (pollen and spores of terrestrial plants and cysts of dinoflagellates and green algae) and the SEM analysis of sediments from boreholes drilled on the Laptev Sea’s eastern shelf and dated by the radiocarbon method. The spore and pollen ensemble revealed for the first time in late-glacial sediments of the boreholes indicates that warming which started within the time interval 15.6–10.7 ka ago was accompanied by short-term cooling events. Sedge and herb phytocoenosis predominated in the vegetation cover of East Arctic Siberia during the cooling. The climate warming favored the distribution of shrub birch tundra. The results of the analysis of organic-walled phytoplankton and the low value of the AH criterion indicate cold-water conditions with a longstanding ice sheet at sea. After the interval that ended 10.7 ka ago, thermophilic species of dinocysts appeared on the outer shelf, and the AH-criterion value increased, which suggests an active inflow of relatively warm North-Atlantic water to the shelf. Based on the comparison of the obtained results, an inference has been made about frequent changes of the climate in the region and the environment in the eastern part of the Laptev Sea during the deglaciation epoch.     

Aptian giant explosive volcanic eruptions in the Songliao Basin and northeast Asia: A possible cause for global climate change and OAE-1a

Volcanism is a natural climate force that causes variations in temperatures. The Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE-1a) was preceded by a prominent negative C-isotope excursion attributed to major volcanism of the Ontong Java plateau (OJP), which presumably resulted in a pCO₂ increase and a climatic change. However, the OJP alone may not adequately explain some important isotopic signatures such as the negative strontium-isotope excursion from 125 Ma to 113 Ma that is recorded in the corresponding marine deposits. We present an independent and hitherto undocumented case, the giant Aptian volcanism in the Songliao Basin and northeast Asia (SB-V) on the Cretaceous active continental margin between the Eurasian and the Pacific plates, which covered an area of ca. 2.3 × 10⁶ km², nearly matching the simultaneous case of the OJP. Intensive strong, explosive volcanic eruptions of the SB-V occurred at 121–109 Ma and introduced a large volume of fine-grained volcanic ash and degassing volatiles into the atmosphere. The Aptian isotopic ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb) of marine carbonates from the Mid-Pacific shift in values between their Barremian pre-excursion high values and the negative magmatic values of the SB-V. The transient global cooling at the onset of the OAE-1a coincided with the beginning of the violent acidic eruption of the SB-V (119.9–120.2 Ma). We therefore infer that the SB-V must have played a role in the Aptian global climatic changes and OAE-1a through the heavy fall of volcanic dust and the outgassing of aerosol and greenhouse gases.     

Environmental conditions in northwestern Russia during MIS 5 inferred from the pollen stratigraphy in a sediment core from Lake Ladoga

Lake Ladoga hosts preglacial sediments, although the Eurasian ice sheet overrode the area during the LGM. These sediments were first discovered by a seismic survey and are investigated using a 22.75‐m‐long core. Its upper 13.30 m comprise Holocene and Lateglacial sediments separated from the lower 11.45 m of preglacial sediments by a hiatus. They consist of highly terrigenous lacustrine sediments, which according to OSL dating, were deposited during an early stage of the last ice age (MIS 5). The palynological data allow a first reconstruction of the Early Weichselian environmental history for northwestern Russia. Birch and alder forests with broad‐leaved taxa dominated during MIS 5d (c. 118–113 ka), suggesting a climate more favourable than in the Holocene. A high content of well‐sorted sands and poorly preserved palynomorphs indicates a shallow‐water environment at least temporarily. More fine‐grained sediments and better preserved organic remains suggest deeper water environments at the core location during MIS 5c (c. 113–88 ka). Pine and spruce became dominant, while broad‐leaved taxa started to disappear, especially after c. 90 ka, pointing to a gradual climate cooling. An increase in open herb‐dominated habitats at the beginning of MIS 5b (c. 88–86 ka) reflects a colder and dryer climate. However, later (c. 86–82 ka) pine and spruce again became more common. Birch and alder forests dominated in the area c. 82–80 ka (beginning of MIS 5a). Although open treeless habitats also became more common at this time, a slight increase in hazel may point to somewhat warmer climate conditions coinciding with the beginning of MIS 5a. The studied sediments also contain numerous remains of freshwater algae and cysts of marine and brackish‐water dinoflagellates and acritarchs documenting that the present lake basin was part of a brackish‐water basin during the Early Weichselian, probably as a gulf of the Pre‐Baltic Sea.     

Chironomid and pollen evidence for climate fluctuations during the Last Glacial Termination in NW Patagonia

We present chironomid and pollen records from the Huelmo site (～41°30′S), NW Patagonia, to examine in detail the timing and structure of climate changes during the Last Glacial Termination in the southern mid-latitudes. The chironomid record has the highest temporal and taxonomic resolution for this critical interval, and constitutes the first account of midge faunas at the culmination of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) for the region. The chironomid record suggests cold and wet conditions during the LGM, followed by deglacial warming between 17.6 and 16.8 cal kyr BP. Relatively warm conditions prevailed between ～15–14 cal kyr BP, followed by a reversal in trend with cooling pulses at ～14 and 13.5 cal kyr BP, and warming at the beginning of the Holocene. Cool-temperate conditions prevailed during the Huelmo Mascardi Cold Reversal (HMCR) which, according to chironomid data, exhibits a wet phase (13.5–12.8 cal kyr BP) followed by a conspicuous drier phase (12.8–11.5 cal kyr BP). The chironomid and pollen records from the Huelmo site indicate step-wise deglacial warming beginning at 17.6 cal kyr BP, in agreement with other paleoclimate records from NW Patagonia and isotopic signals from Antarctic ice cores. Peak warmth during the Last Glacial Termination was achieved by ～14.5 cal kyr BP, followed by a cooling trend that commenced during the Antarctic Cold Reversal, which later intensified and persisted during the HMCR (13.5–11.5 cal kyr BP). We observe a shift toward drier conditions at ～12.8 cal kyr BP superimposed upon the HMCR, coeval with intense fire activity and vegetation disturbance during Younger Dryas time.     

Last glacial pollen record from Lanzhou (Northwestern China) and possible forcing mechanisms for the MIS 3 climate change in Middle to East Asia

The vegetation on the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau is highly sensitive to climatic changes and thus represents a potentially interesting environmental archive. Pollen samples from the Fanjiaping Loess section in Lanzhou on the western Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) were analyzed in conjunction with OSL dating. The results indicate that pollen zone B (60.6–46.0 ka, correlative to the early MIS 3) had the greatest abundances of Cupressaceae, Tsuga, Gramineae and Cyperaceae of the entire section, suggesting a warm phase during the last glacial period. These pollen taxa decreased significantly in abundance in the zones C (46.0–39.0 ka) and D (39.0–27.0 ka), reflecting a substantial climate cooling from the middle MIS 3 to MIS 2. These results correlate with climate records from the South China Sea, the CLP, Baikal Lake, North America, North Atlantic Ocean and other regions, and probably correspond with the decline of northern high-latitude insolation and the increase of global ice volume from 50 to 20 ka. In particular, arboreal pollen, fern spore and algae abundances declined sharply since ～40 ka, while shrub and herb pollen reached the highest abundances. Conifer pollen Picea and Abies abundance also rose markedly and increased up the section. This implies significant climate deterioration and likely corresponded with substantial growth of the polar ice sheets since ～40 ka. The decreasing temperature caused by an insolation decline during the last glacial period probably reinforced the cooling effect in a ‘snow/ice/albedo’ feedback, which would result in less climate sensitivity to radiative forcing. Meanwhile, vegetation decline in the Northern Hemisphere during the last glacial period and tundra development at high latitudes possibly caused additional cooling, enhancing the growth of polar ice sheets since 40 ka. The development of polar ice sheets increased the polar-to-equator temperature and pressure gradients, strengthening the westerlies and supplying plenty of moisture to Northwest China during 40–30 ka. Lake sediments developed widely on the Tibetan Plateau during 40–30 ka, probably related to an increase in the seasonality of middle-to-low latitude insolation which caused an enhancement of glacier melting on the Plateau.     

Holocene climate and glacial history of the northeastern Antarctic Peninsula: the marine sedimentary record from a long SHALDRIL core

A high-resolution record of Holocene deglacial and climate history was obtained from a 77 m sediment core from the Firth of Tay, Antarctic Peninsula, as part of the SHALDRIL initiative. This study provides a detailed sedimentological record of Holocene paleoclimate and glacial advance and retreat from the eastern side of the peninsula. A robust chronostratigraphy was derived from thirty-three radiocarbon dates on carbonate material. This chronostratigraphic framework was used to establish the timing of glacial and climate events derived from multiple proxies including: magnetic susceptibility, electric resistivity, porosity, ice-rafted debris content, organic carbon content, nitrogen content, biogenic silica content, and diatom and foraminiferal assemblages. The core bottomed-out in a stiff diamicton interpreted as till. Gravelly and sandy mud above the till is interpreted as proximal glaciomarine sediment that represents decoupling of the glacier from the seafloor circa 9400 cal. yr BP and its subsequent landward retreat. This was approximately 5000 yr later than in the Bransfield Basin and South Shetland Islands, on the western side of the peninsula. The Firth of Tay core site remained in a proximal glaciomarine setting until 8300 cal. yr BP, at which time significant glacial retreat took place. Deposition of diatomaceous glaciomarine sediments after 8300 cal. yr BP indicates that an ice shelf has not existed in the area since this time.The onset of seasonally open marine conditions between 7800 and 6000 cal. yr BP followed the deglacial period and is interpreted as the mid-Holocene Climatic Optimum. Open marine conditions lasted until present, with a minor cooling having occurred between 6000 and 4500 cal. yr BP and a period of minor glacial retreat and/or decreased sea ice coverage between 4500 and 3500 cal. yr BP. Finally, climatic cooling and variable sea ice cover occurred from 3500 cal. yr BP to near present and it is interpreted as being part of the Neoglacial. The onset of the Neoglacial appears to have occurred earlier in the Firth of Tay than on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age were not pronounced in the Firth of Tay. The breadth and synchroneity of the rapid regional warming and glacial retreat observed in the Antarctic Peninsula during the last century appear to be unprecedented during the Holocene epoch.     

Short-term fluctuations in vegetation and phytoplankton during the Middle Eocene greenhouse climate: a 640-kyr record from the Messel oil shale (Germany)

The Palaeogene was the most recent greenhouse period on Earth. Especially for the Late Palaeocene and Early Eocene, several superimposed short-term hyperthermal events have been described, including extremes such as the Palaeocene?CEocene Thermal Maximum. Major faunal and floral turnovers in the marine and terrestrial realms were recorded in association with these events. High-resolution palynological analysis of the early Middle Eocene maar lake sediments at Messel, near Darmstadt, Germany, provides an insight into the dynamics of a climax vegetation during the Middle Eocene greenhouse climate in a time span without significant climatic excursions. Numerical techniques like detrended correspondence analysis and wavelet analysis have been applied to recognize cyclic fluctuations and long-term trends in the vegetation through a time interval of approximately 640?kyr. Based on the numerical zoning of the pollen diagram, three phases in the development of the vegetation may be distinguished. Throughout these phases, the climax vegetation did not change substantially in qualitative composition, but a trend towards noticeably less humid conditions probably in combination with a drop of the water level in the lake may be recognized. A shift in algal population from the freshwater dinoflagellate cyst Messelodinium thielepfeifferae to a dominance of Botryococcus in the uppermost part of the core is interpreted as a response to changes in acidity and nutrient availability within the lake. Time series analyses of pollen assemblages show that variations in the Milankovitch range of eccentricity, obliquity and precession can be distinguished. In addition, fluctuations in the sub-Milankovitch range are indicated. This demonstrates that floral changes during steady depositional conditions in the Middle Eocene of Messel were controlled by orbital forcing.     

Decreasing intensity of the last glacial stadials in low latitude terrestrial East Asia inferred by a new observation of pollen records in central Taiwan

The cold intensity of the last glacial stadials corresponding to marine isotope stage (MIS) 5d (or 5b), MIS 4 and MIS 2 in terrestrial East Asia monsoon area is not discussed much due to the paucity of long continuous pollen records. A palynological study of drilling cores from three closely-linked intramontane basins (Toushe, Sun-moon Lake and Yuchi) in central Taiwan provides a history of shifting altitudinal vegetation zones in surrounding mountains during late Quaternary climate changes. By integrating these records, we found that the alpine conifer forest approached its lowest altitude, about 614 m, during the earliest stadial (≒MIS 5d or 5b), and 745 m during the early stadial (≒MIS 4) based on records of Yuchi Basin and Sun-moon Lake. In addition, the pollen records of Toushe Basin and Sun-moon Lake show more temperate conditions for the late stadial (≒MIS 2) than the early stadial (≒MIS 4). This leads to an interpretation of a decreasing intensity of stadials during the last glaciation, which might follow the regional insolation amplitude. Such a decreasing trend in coldness during the last glacial stadials does not exist in the record for the South China Sea which reflects a different sensitivity and response to climatic forcings between terrestrial and marine.