Late Pleistocene sedimentology,taphonomy and megafauna extinction on the Darling Downs,southeastern Queensland

The Kings Creek catchment, southeastern Queensland, contains a variety of Pleistocene – Holocene depositional settings. Fluvial depositional accumulation processes in the catchment reflect both high-energy channel and low-energy episodic overbank deposition. The lithofacies and depositional environments of locality QML796 were examined in detail to aid interpretation of taphonomic accumulation patterns of large and small taxa in the deposit. The basal fossiliferous unit was deposited in a meandering channel and passes upward into overbank deposits that include ephemeral interfluve channels and splays. The most striking taphonomic observations on vertebrates at the locality include: (i) low representation of post-cranial elements; (ii) high degree of bone breakage; (iii) variable abrasion with most identifiable bone elements having a low to moderate degree of abrasion; (iv) low rates of bone weathering; (v) a low degree of carnivore bone modification; and (vi) a low degree of articulated or associated specimens. Collectively, these data suggest that the material was transported into the deposit from the surrounding proximal floodplain and that the assemblages reflect substantial hydraulic sorting. However, despite that, sequential faunal horizons show a stepwise decrease in taxonomic diversity that cannot be explained by sampling or taphonomic bias. The decreasing diversity includes loss of some, but not all, megafauna and is consistent with a progressive local loss of megafauna in the catchment over an extended interval of time. Data are consistent with a climate change model for megafauna extinction but not with nearly simultaneous extinction of megafauna as required by the human-induced blitzkrieg extinction hypothesis.     

Pipe-like molybdenite-wolframite-bismuth deposits of wolfram camp,North Queensland,Australia

Mineralium Deposita - Branching, pipe-like, quartz-rich molybdenite-wolframite-bismuth pipes occur within the altered margin and roof zone of a Permian high level leucoadamellite. The alteration...     

Proterozoic copper deposits in NW Queensland,Australia: Sulfur isotopic data

Sulfur isotopic disequilibrium is commonly observed between associated pyrite and copper sulfides in NW Queensland. A sulfur isotopic study of copper mineralization in dolomites at Paradise Valley and arenites at Mammoth has allowed the significance of such disequilibrium to be evaluated. Copper mineralization at Paradise Valley is characterized by a greater enrichment in ³⁴S, with δ³⁴S values often greater than +30‰, for both copper sulfides and associated syngenetic/diagneetic pyrite. At Mammoth, copper sulfides have isotopic compositions (δ³⁴S=?15.9 to ?0.3‰) transitional between disseminated syngenetic/diagenetic pyrite (δ³⁴S=?5.7 to ?1.7‰) and epigenetic vein pyrite (δ³⁴S=?17.9 to ?7.1‰) suggesting progressive reaction and replacement of syngenetic/diagenetic pyrite by a copper-bearing mineralizing fluid under oxidizing conditions. The isotopic data, within the constraints imposed by geological and geochemical factors, support a model of reaction between copper-bearing mineralizing fluids and pre-existing syngenetic/diagenetic pyrite for both the carbonate- and arenite-hosted deposits.     

The Late Pleistocene megafauna of the Chulym River basin,southeastern West Siberian Plain: chronology and stable isotope composition

New data were obtained for the Chulym River basin in the southeastern part of the West Siberian Plain, one of the understudied parts of Siberia in terms of age and composition of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes for Late Pleistocene megafauna. The ¹⁴C dates from the Sergeevo outcrop, the most complete section of Late Quaternary deposits in the region, are mostly greater than ~30 550 bp. Other localities yielded ¹⁴C values in the range from >44 500 to ~19 300 bp. The finite date of ~42 270 bp for the Khozarian steppe elephant (Mammuthus trogontherii chosaricus) from Asino is intriguing because previously it was not detected in the Late Pleistocene of Siberia after the last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage 5e), ~115 000–130 000 years ago. Stable isotope data show both similarities and differences compared to the pre-Last Glacial Maximum megafaunal species in other parts of Siberia.     

Quantitative reconstruction of Early Pleistocene climate in southeastern Australia and implications for atmospheric circulation

Today, southeastern Australia experiences a winter-dominated rainfall regime, governed by the seasonal migration of the highly zonal Southern Hemisphere subtropical anticyclone. The late Cenozoic history of this rainfall regime is poorly understood, but it has been widely accepted that its onset was a product of the intensification and northward migration of the subtropical anticyclone, driven by steepening of hemispheric temperature gradients associated with the initiation of extensive Northern Hemisphere glaciation, ～2.6 million years ago (Ma). Here, we use fossil beetle remains from Stony Creek Basin, a small palaeolake record in upland southeastern Australia deposited over ～280,000 years between ～1.84 and 1.56 Ma, to quantitatively reconstruct regional climate during the Early Pleistocene. Climate reconstructions based on coexistence of extant beetle taxa indicate that temperatures were consistently 1–3 °C warmer than present, and rainfall as high as or substantially higher than today, throughout the record. In particular, beetle data indicate that rainfall was similar to today during winter, but 2–2.4 times higher than today during summer. This is consistent with the presence of diverse rainforest pollen also present in the record, and indicates that the modern, winter-dominated rainfall regime was not yet in place by ～1.5 Ma, at least one million years later than previously thought. We suggest that the Southern Hemisphere anticyclonic circulation must have been much less intense during the Early Pleistocene than today, rather than shifted meridionally as previously argued.     

西藏扎布耶湖晚更新世沉积物230 年代学研究

本文应用全溶样品的等时线模式,较成功地测定了藏北高原西南部扎布耶盐湖SZK01孔岩芯中含不等量碳酸盐粘土的230Th/238U年龄,建立了青藏高原腹地海拔4000 m以上湖泊120 ka以来连续的同位素年龄标尺,从而为扎布耶盐湖及其周缘地区古环境古气候演化研究奠定了时间坐标。根据230Th/238U年龄数据,SZK01孔的平均沉积速率约为68 cm/ka。然而不同层段的沉积速率差异较大,变化在20.8~128.8 cm/ka,其快慢变化反映了该湖从短命深湖、动荡浅湖、滨湖到盐湖的环境变化,与高分辨率SZK02孔的研究结果相一致。讨论了测年模式的适应性﹑样品的U封闭性和应用的优越性,提出开展湖区及周边各类型水体的U、Th同位素化学行为研究和检验沉积物中多源Th对定年的影响将是今后年代学研究的重要内容。     

C and Th/U dating of Pleistocene and Holocene stromatolites from East African paleolakes

During recent humid episodes, stromatolites were built along paleolake margins, some 60 m above the modern water level of Lakes Natron and Magadi (southern Gregory Rift Valley). Three generations of stromatolites are observed, the more recent ones frequently covering pebbles and boulders eroded from the older ones. The youngest one yielded ¹⁴C ages ranging from approximately 12,000 to 10,000 yr B.P. Their δ¹³C values (≥2.6%) suggest isotopic equilibrium between the paleolake total inorganic dissolved carbon and the atmospheric CO₂, thereby lending credence to the reliability of the ¹⁴C. An initial ²³⁰Th/²³²Th ratio in the detrital component was determined by Th/U measurements on the ¹⁴C dated stromatolites. Using this value a ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U chronology for the older stromatolites was calculated. Ages of ≥240,000 and 135,000 ± 10,000 yr were obtained for the first and second generations, respectively. A humid episode apparently characterized eastern Africa during each glacial-interglacial transition. ¹⁸O and ¹³C measurements on stromatolites, when compared to values on modern waters and carbonates, provide paleohydrological information. Long residence time of the paleolake waters and less seasonally contrasted regimes are inferred.     

Th/U/U and Pa/U ages from a single fossil coral fragment by multi-collector magnetic-sector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

The ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U/²³⁸U age dating of corals via alpha counting or mass spectrometry has significantly contributed to our understanding of sea level, radiocarbon calibration, rates of ocean and climate change, and timing of El Nino, among many applications. Age dating of corals by mass spectrometry is remarkably precise, but many samples exposed to freshwater yield inaccurate ages. The first indication of open-system ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U/²³⁸U ages is elevated ²³⁴U/²³⁸U_initial values, very common in samples older than 100,000 yr. For samples younger than 100,000 yr that have ²³⁴U/²³⁸U_initial values close to seawater, there is a need for age validation. Redundant ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U/²³⁸U and ²³¹Pa/²³⁵U ages in a single fossil coral fragment are possible by Multi-Collector Magnetic Sector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (MC-MS-ICPMS) and standard anion exchange column chemistry, modified to permit the separation of uranium, thorium, and protactinium isotopes from a single solution. A high-efficiency nebulizer employed for sample introduction permits the determination of both ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U/²³⁸U and ²³¹Pa/²³⁵U ages in fragments as small as 500 mg. We have obtained excellent agreement between ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U/²³⁸U and ²³¹Pa/²³⁵U ages in Barbados corals (30 ka) and suggest that the methods described in this paper can be used to test the ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U/²³⁸U age accuracy.Separate fractions of U, Th, and Pa are measured by employing a multi-dynamic procedure, whereby ²³⁸U is measured on a Faraday cup simultaneously with all minor isotopes measured with a Daly ion counting detector. The multi-dynamic procedure also permits correcting for both the Daly to Faraday gain and for mass discrimination during sample analyses. The analytical precision of ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U/²³⁸U and ²³¹Pa/²³⁵U dates is generally better than ±0.3% and ±1.5%, respectively (2 Relative Standard deviation [RSD]). Additional errors resulting from uncertainties in the decay constant for ²³¹Pa and from undetermined sources currently limit the ²³¹Pa/²³⁵U age uncertainty to about ±2.5%. U isotope data and ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U/²³⁸U ages agree with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) reference materials and with measurements made by Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS) in our laboratory.     

Biostratigraphic correlation of Pleistocene marine deposits and sea levels,Atlantic coastal plain of the southeastern United States

Marine ostracodes from 50 localities were studied to determine the age and elevation of Pleistocene sea levels in the Atlantic coastal plain from Maryland to northern Florida. Using ostracode taxon and concurrent ranges, published planktic biostratigraphic, paleomagnetic, and radiometric data, ostracode assemblage zones representing early (1.8-1.0 my), middle (0.7-0.4 my), and late (0.3-0.01 my) Pleistocene deposition were recognized and used as a basis for correlation. Ostracode biofacies signifying lagoonal, oyster bank, estuarine, open sound, and inner sublittoral environments provided estimated ranges of paleodepths for each locality. From these data the following minimum and maximum Pleistocene sea-level estimates were determined for the southeastern coastal plain: late Pleistocene, 2–10 m from Maryland to northern Florida; middle Pleistocene, 6–15 m in northern South Carolina; early Pleistocene, 4–22 m in central North Carolina, 13–35 m in southern North Carolina, and 6–27 m in South Carolina. Climatically induced glacio-eustatic sea-level fluctuations adequately account for the late Pleistocene sea-level data, but other factors, possibly differential crustal uplift, may have complicated the early Pleistocene record.     

Mineralogy,paragenesis and genesis of the braunite deposits of the Mary Valley Manganese Belt,Queensland, Australia

The Mary Valley manganese deposits exhibit mineralogy and textures characteristic of at least four parageneses. The deposits consist mainly of isolated occurrences of braunite, together with a number of lower and higher valency manganese oxides, and manganese silicates, in bedded radiolarian cherts and jaspers of Permian age. The parageneses are: (a) Braunite — quartz (primary), (b) Braunite — hausmannite — spessartine — tephroite — quartz (metamorphic). (c) Hydrated manganese silicates — barite — braunite — hausmannite (hydrothermal veins), (d) Tetravalent manganese oxides (pyrolusite, cryptomelane, manjiroite, nsutite) (supergene). The primary mineralisation is interpreted as the result of the geochemical separation of Mn from Fe in a submarine exhalative system, and the precipitation of Mn as oxide within bedded radiolarian oozes and submarine lavas. During diagenesis this hydrothermal manganese oxide reacted with silica to produce primary braunite. The later geological of evolution of this volcanogenicsedimentary deposit involved metamorphism, hydrothermal veining by remobilised manganese, and supergene enrichment.     

Recent and Pleistocene beach/dune sequences,western Australia

Wave-dominated sandy shores occur along much of the coast of Western Australia. Despite local variations there is a characteristic distribution of lithofacies (corresponding to different geomorphic zones). Five lithofacies are recognised: (1) trough-bedded sand/gravel; (2) laminated sand; (3) laminated/bubble sand; (4) laminated/disrupted sand; and (5) aeolian cross-stratified sand.The trough-bedded sand/gravel lithofacies is being deposited in the shallow shoreface below LWL. The laminated sand and laminated/bubble sand lithofacies are sands with gravel layers being deposited on the foreshore swash zone; extensive bubble (or vesicular) sand is common towards HWL especially in berms. The laminated/disrupted sand lithofacies is being deposited on the backshore between HWL and storm water levels and consists of horizontally layered to homogeneous sands with storm debris, especially wood, weed and floatable skeletons (e.g. Sepla and Spirula). The aeolian cross-stratified sand lithofacies is forming in beach ridge/dune areas and consists of fine sands with large-scale, generally landward-dipping forests; soils and rootlets are common.Recognition of these lithofacies within a sedimentary sequence enables reconstruction of gross shoreline conditions in terms of wave and eolian environments, tidal and storm heights, and palaeogeography. Each of these lithofacies with their characteristic features is recognised in Pleistocene sequences in Perth Basin. The Pleistocene sequences fit a model of coastal progradation with the trough-bedded sand/gravel lithofacies at the base and the aeolian sand lithofacies at the top. The value of such a stratigraphic sequence, however, extends beyond the Pleistocene.     

The precambrian of north-western Queensland,Australia

Precambrian rocks, ranging in age from probable Archaean to Upper Proterozoic, crop out over an area of 25,000 square miles in north-western Queensland. They fall into four large divisions, separated by major unconformities. Little is known of the history of the Archaean rocks, which are believed to include altered acid lavas, schists, gneisses and migmatite. The Lower Proterozoic strata form part of an orogenic belt. The Lower Proterozoic lower sequence is rich in altered acid and basic lavas. It has a maximum thickness of not less than 40,000 feet and was strongly deformed by east-west pressure and probably intruded by granite before the Lower Proterozoic upper sequence was deposited. Sediments form the bulk of the Lower Proterozoic upper sequence; these accumulated most thickly to the west and north-west of the core of lower sequence belt, but overlie lower sequence strata. The greatest thickness of sediments is at least 40,000 feet. The sequence was deformed by a renewal of east-west compressive stresses, accompanied by granite emplacement. Folding is strong to moderate, but lacks well-defined linearity in the west of the outcrop area.Upper Proterozoic sediments and lavas accumulated mainly in the west and north-west of the region. They are gently to moderately folded on west to north-west axes.The Precambrian in north-western Queensland, excluding the Camooweal Dolomite, crops out over about 25,000 square miles. Systematic field work was started by joint teams of the Commonwealth Bureau of Mineral Resources and the Geological Survey of Queensland in 1950.Reconnaissance mapping of the region was completed in 1954 but check work and more detailed mapping of areas of economic interest are still in progress. Maps are being prepared at a scale of 1 inch to 4 miles (1: 253,440) and a report on the area is being written (Carter andBrooks, in preparation). The Camooweal Dolomite, of Upper Proterozoic or Lower Cambrian age, is not included. Its stratigraphic and palaeographic position is discussed byNoakes (1956).The reconstruction of the geological history of the region presented below is an interpretation of the data obtained. The evidence is not sufficiently complete to enable a unique interpretation to be made of all aspects of the region's history. In particular the history of granite intrusion has not yet been completely unravelled.Paper published by permission of the Secretary, Department of National Development.     

Late and Middle Pleistocene deposits at Somersham,Cambridgeshire, U.K.: a model for reconstructing fluvial/estuarine depositional environments

Gravel quarries at Somersham, Cambridgeshire, have yielded evidence for a Pleistocene channel of the R. Great Ouse, containing temperate stage sediments between cold stage sediments. In the earlier cold stage, fluviatile gravels and floodplain loessic sediment accumulated. In the later cold stage a further series of gravel units and floodplain sediments were deposited, together with lake sediments. The lake sediments are associated with Lake Sparks, dammed by Late Devensian ice in the Wash at ca. 18.5 ka BP. The lake sediments overlie gravels with a radiocarbon date from an organic horizon indicating a Middle Devensian age. Clast lithological analyses from the earlier and later gravels suggest that reworking of gravels has occurred within a relatively stable catchment. The petrography of the earlier cold stage loessic sediment and temperate stage fine sediment indicates an Anglian affinity, which conflicts with the biostratigraphic interpretation. Pollen and macroscopic plant remains from sediments of both cold stages and from the temperate stage indicate, respectively, assemblages with a typical full-glacial aspect with a rich flora of shrubs and open ground herbs(including an assemblage at ca. 18 ka), and temperate freshwater and marine-influenced organic sediments. On the basis of pollen analysis these are ascribed to substages Ip II and III of the Ipswichian Stage(O.I.S. 5e), with a Pinus-Quercus-Corylus biozone in the former and a biozone with Carpinus in the latter. Marine-influenced sediments, at −3.7 to −0.3 m OD, indicate transgression in Ip II and regression in Ip III.Molluscan assemblages from the temperate stage and the later cold stage are described; two are from the Late Devensian, at a time near the maximum extension of ice into the Wash. Foraminifer and ostracod faunas are described from post-Ipswichian sediments and may be reworked. Radiocarbon dates confirm the age of the later gravel suite as Devensian and a calibration of the measurements is given. Amino acid ratios from Corbicula fluminalis valves from temperate stage sediments are reported, with measurements from different parts of the valve; the results tend to support an Ipswichian age. TL measurements of the earlier cold stage loessic sediment and associated sand indicate a pre-Ipswichian age for the sediments. The earlier cold stage is correlated with the pre-Ipswichian cold stage, the Wolstonian of Mitchell et al.(1973); problems with this correlation are discussed.Various periglacial phenomena, including thermal contraction networks and cracks, diapirs, involutions and coversand are associated with the Devensian sequence. The complex environmental history, based on stratigraphy and palaeontology, is described, and related to other nearby sites in southern Fenland.     

U–Th ages constraining the Neanderthal footprint at Vârtop Cave,Romania

Early human footprints are rare in the fossil record. A survey of the literature reveals very few well documented and dated cases. Here, we report the first clear Homo neanderthalensis footprint. It was found in Vârtop Cave, Romania. The individual stepped into calcareous mud that later hardened. The 22 cm long print suggests a body height of ∼1.46 m; a gap of 1.6 cm marks the separation of big and second toes. The date of the footprint is constrained by three coeval dates of ∼62 kyr on sub-samples from the basal layer of a nearby stalagmite that grew on top of the layer of calc-tufa covering the footprint. The lower constraint is a poorly constrained uranium (U)–thorium (Th) isochron date of ∼97 kyr on the calc-tufa layer in which the footprint is embedded. Thus, the Vârtop Cave individual lived in Romania sometime before 62 kyr, long before the appearance of Homo sapiens in Central and Eastern Europe, the earliest records of which date from only ∼35 kyr. To our knowledge, this is the first recognised and dated Homo neanderthalensis footprint.     

Regolith-landform processes and geochemical exploration for base metal deposits in regolith-dominated terrains of the Mt Isa region,northwest Queensland,Australia

The regolith in the Mt Isa region of Queensland consists of a variety of saprolites and duricrusts developed on Proterozoic basement rocks and fresh to weathered Mesozoic, Tertiary and Quaternary cover, all of which has impeded base metals exploration. This paper presents an overview of some of the regolith-geochemical work conducted in the Mt Isa region as part of an industry-supported three year CRC LEME/AMIRA Project. A complex weathering and landscape history has produced a landscape of (a) continuously exposed and exhumed basement rocks that have undergone varying intensities of weathering and partial stripping; (b) weathered and locally eroded Mesozoic cover sequences and (c) areas with younger transported cover concealing basement and Mesozoic cover. Various regolith sample media have been evaluated at a number of prospects and deposits which represent different regolith-landform terrains and landscape history. Geochemical dispersion processes and models are presented and false anomalies explained.Where ferruginous duricrust or ferruginous nodular gravel are preserved on weathered bedrock on an eroded plateau, they exhibit large (> 500 m) multi-element (As, Pb, Sb) dispersion haloes and are useful sampling media. Dispersion haloes in truncated profiles on weathered bedrock covered with colluvium are restricted, are limited to tens of metres from subcrop of the source, and contrast to the extensive anomalies in ferruginous duricrust and nodules. Geochemical exploration in covered areas depends on the possible presence of dispersion through the sediments or leakage along faults or fractures, but may be complicated by high metal backgrounds in the sediments themselves. Some of the most prominent anomalies occur in ferruginous materials and soils representing emergent residual terrain developed on Mesozoic sediments. These are largely due to weathering of sulfide mineralization that continued during submergence in a marine environment, with hydromorphic dispersion into the sediments as they accumulated. Multi-element (Cu, As, Zn, Sb, Au) anomalies occur in basal sediments and at the unconformity, due to a combination of clastic and hydromorphic dispersion and represent a useful sample target. Metal-rich horizons in weathered sediments, higher in the sequence, can also be targeted, particularly by specifically sampling ferruginous units and fragments. However, these are less certainly related to mineralization. Zinc and Cu, concentrated in Fe (and Mn) oxides at redox fronts, may be derived by leaching from the sediments with concentration in the sesquioxides, and be unrelated to any proximal basement mineralization. In all these regolith-dominated terrains, a clear understanding of local geomorphology, regolith framework, topography of unconformities and the origins of ferruginous materials is essential to sample medium selection and data interpretation.     

(Th+U)-Pb monazite ages from Al-Mg-rich metapelites,Rauer Group,east Antarctica

The age of high-temperature granulite-facies metamorphism (>~800–850 °C) in the Rauer Group, Prydz Bay, east Antarctica, is relevant for establishing the metamorphic and temporal architecture of the Prydz Bay mobile belt. Monazites within Al-Mg-rich granulite-facies metapelites give an overall tanh-estimated Pan-African age of ~511±4 Ma (2) using in-situ electron microprobe-based (Th+U)-Pb chronology, consistent with existing U-Pb zircon geochronology from the Rauer Group and Prydz Bay. Monazite occurs primarily within cordierite-bearing coronae and symplectic mineral reaction textures, and also within biotite. Pan-African granulite-facies metamorphism is preferred as responsible for the development of the cordierite-bearing microstructures, and probably (peak) coarse-grained assemblages, constrained using an integrated geologic, geochronologic and metamorphic framework. Thus, Pan-African granulite-facies metamorphism affected the Rauer Group, within the Prydz Bay mobile belt. Moreover, integrated monazite geochronology may be used to decipher the temporal metamorphic histories of potentially complex high-temperature terrains.Electronic Supplementary Material Supplementary material is available for this article if you access the article at . A link in the frame on the left on that page takes you directly to the supplementary material.Editorial responsibility: B. Collins     

U/Th systematics and ages of authigenic carbonates from Hydrate Ridge, Cascadia Margin: recorders of fluid flow variations

Uranium (U) concentrations and activity ratios (δ²³⁴U) of authigenic carbonates are sensitive recorders of different fluid compositions at submarine seeps of hydrocarbon-rich fluids (“cold seeps”) at Hydrate Ridge, off the coast of Oregon, USA. The low U concentrations (mean: 1.3 ± 0.4 μg/g) and high δ²³⁴U values (165-317‰) of gas hydrate carbonates reflect the influence of sedimentary pore water indicating that these carbonates were formed under reducing conditions below or at the seafloor. Their ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U ages span a time interval from 0.8 to 6.4 ka and cluster around 1.2 and 4.7 ka. In contrast, chemoherm carbonates precipitate from marine bottom water marked by relatively high U concentrations (mean: 5.2 ± 0.8 μg/g) and a mean δ²³⁴U ratio of 166 ± 3‰. Their U isotopes reflect the δ²³⁴U ratios of the bottom water being enriched in ²³⁴U relative to normal seawater. Simple mass balance calculations based on U concentrations and their corresponding δ²³⁴U ratios reveal a contribution of about 11% of sedimentary pore water to the bottom water. From the U pore water flux and the reconstructed U pore water concentration a mean flow rate of about 147 ± 68 cm/a can be estimated. ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U ages of chemoherm carbonates range from 7.3 to 267.6 ka. ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U ages of two chemoherms (Alvin and SE-Knoll chemoherm) correspond to time intervals of low sealevel stands in marine isotope stages (MIS) 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. This observation indicates that fluid flow at cold seep sites sensitively reflects pressure changes of the hydraulic head in the sediments. The δ¹⁸O_PDB ratios of the chemoherm carbonates support the hypothesis of precipitation during glacial times. Deviations of the chemoherm δ¹⁸O values from the marine δ¹⁸O record can be interpreted as to reflect temporally and spatially varying bottom water and/or vent fluid temperatures during carbonate precipitation between 2.6 and 8.6°C.     

The first case study of 230Th/U and 14C dating of mid-valdai organic deposits

From the viewpoint of precision and reliability of radioisotopic dating, deposits whose quantitative age can be determined through several methods of geochronometry are of special interest. The mutually conforming finite ¹⁴C and ²³⁰Th/U dates of buried Neopleistocene organic deposits, taken from the Tolokonka section by the North Dvina River (100 km downstream from the city of Kotlas), have been obtained for the first time in Russia. The stratigraphical reference of these results to those obtained via the optically induced luminescence for upper and lower bedding layers has been established. The presented geochronometric data have allowed us to consider the age of oxbow lake organic deposits completely reliable and refer the time of their formation to the Tyrbei warming within the MIS-3. The applicability of the new version of the ²³⁰Th/U method for dating of interglacial and interstadial deposits, for the purpose of solving the Middle and Late Neopleistocene chronostratigraphy issues, is confirmed.