The Pleistocene/Holocene boundary: a proposed boundary-stratotype in Gothenburg, Sweden

The boundary between the last two geological epochs, the Pleistocene and the Holocene, is placed at 'the date 10,000 B.P., measured in radiocarbon years'. In the European chronostratigraphy, this corresponds to the Younger Dryas/Preboreal boundary, the pollen zone III/IV boundary and the Late Glacial/Postglacial boundary. The stratal sequence in the Botanical Garden of Gothenburg is proposed as a suitable boundary-stratotype of the Pleistocene/Holocene that fulfils the stratigraphical rules of marine environment and accessibility. A core, labelled B 873, has been analyzed for multiple parameters by various authors. The suggested Pleistocene/Holocene boundary in Core B 873 is indicated by a lithologic boundary, a palynological change tentatively correlated with the pollen zone III/IV boundary, and a distinct palaeomagnetic intensity maximum, the 'Gålön Magnetic Intensity Maximum', identified in numerous other cores at the Younger Dryas/Preboreal boundary and at the drainage of the Baltic Ice Lake in varved clay sequences (with the peak dated at the drainage ±4 varves). This boundary is closely radiocarbon dated at 10,000 B.P. (10,000–9950 B.P.) in terrestrial-lacustrine sequences within the proposed type area in Gothenburg and in Southern Sweden, the established type region for the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary. The corresponding varve date is 9965 varves B.P. (De Geer's varve –1073). The various parameters directly and indirectly connected with the study of Core B 873 make global correlations possible. Because every region has its own local characteristics, however, it will be necessary to establish regional type sections, hypostratotypes.     

末次冰消期晚期青藏高原东北部气候变化

我国最大的内陆封闭湖泊青海湖的沉积岩芯为研究末次冰期/全新世过渡期间青藏高原东北部的环境变化和季风降水演变提供了连续高分辨率环境档案。对两孔岩芯的多学科研究结果表明:大约14000～11600aB.P.期间气候干冷,湖泊的自生碳酸盐和有机质生产率远低于全新世;季节性入湖径流量在11600aB.P.突然增大;从10700aB.P.起,夏季蒸发量突然增大,干旱化作用导致碳酸盐滩湖环境;区域降水量在10000aB.P.的增大结束了滩湖环境,标志了早全新世温暖较湿气候的开始。全新世早期的青海湖水深比现在要浅20m左右,表明那时的有效湿度显然比现在要低很多。14000～10000aB.P.期间青海湖水深不超过6m,说明在末次冰消期的这一时段中,青藏高原东北部没有形成大规模冰融水。在10700～10000aB.P.期间突发的干旱事件与西欧的新仙女木事件(YoungerDryas)年代相当,但没有气候变冷的证据。青藏高原东北部末次冰消期的气候变化表现了明显的阶段性特征和有效湿度的突然改变。区域季风降水量和夏季温度的变化决定了该过渡期的这种变化格局     

新疆乌鲁木齐河流域北部平原区水文地球化学

乌鲁木齐河流域是西北干旱地区内流盆地的典型代表,也是水文地质研究的重点区域。本次研究利用以往工作的资料,并在流域下游北部平原区采集地下水和地表水样品21组,用无机离子作为示踪剂,结合环境同位素的分析,提出乌鲁木齐河流域平原区的地表水普遍溶解有蒸发盐,与晚全新世(近4000年)以来我国西北地区气候不断变得干旱有关;并将北部平原区的地下水划分为三层不同水体:现代水(埋深21~65 m)是乌鲁木齐河河水经蒸发后入渗补给的,而下面二层水为晚全新世初期(埋深179~259 m)和晚更新世末次冰期(埋深~353 m)补给的水都是原地的降水入渗。     

High-Resolution Seismic Reflection Evidence for Middle Holocene Environmental Change, Owasco Lake, New York

Approximately 70 km of new decimeter-resolution seismic reflection profile data from Owasco Lake, New York define a middle Holocene (4600 ¹⁴C yr B.P.) erosion surface in the north end of the lake at water depths as great as 26 m. Beneath the lake, post-glacial sediments are up to 9 m thick and represent about 10% of the total sediment fill. Early to middle Holocene sediments, 6 m thick, contain biogenic gas at the south end of the basin and a large (4 km×300 m×15 m) subaqueous slide deposit along the east-central portion of the lake. Late Holocene sediments are thinner or absent, particularly at the north end of the lake. The middle Holocene erosion surface may have been produced by a drop in lake level. Alternatively, it may represent a change in climate during the transition between the relatively warm Holocene hypsithermal and cool neoglacial. At this time (4600 ¹⁴C yr B.P.) circulation in Owasco Lake appears to have evolved from sluggish to active. The increased circulation, which persists today, probably resulted from atmospheric cold fronts with strong southwesterly winds that piled up water at the north end of the lake. The increased water circulation may have been ultimately driven by decreasing insolation, which produced an increased pole-to-equator thermal gradient and, thus, stronger global winds that began at the transition between the hypsithermal and neoglacial.     

浙江北湖桥岩芯记录的早-中全新世环境演变

通过对浙江余杭北湖桥钻孔(简称BHQ孔)沉积物中总有机碳(TOC)和碳同位素(δ13C_org)的分析,结合碳氮比(C/N)、粒度参数、年代和孢粉资料,探讨了研究区域早中全新世期间气候演变规律。结果表明,BHQ孔所在区域早中全新世期间,环境变化可以划分为3段:①11.4~8.7 ka B.P.,δ13C_org在-27.24‰~-23.4‰范围内波动升高,TOC含量(0.19%~0.69%)呈显著增加趋势,指示气候由冷干逐渐转向温湿。②8.7~8.0 ka B.P.,TOC含量偏低,δ13C_org(-24.91‰~-22.93‰)较为偏正,指示气候呈冷干-温湿-温干。③8.0~4.2 ka B.P.,TOC含量(0.18%~2.18%)和δ13C_org(-26.33‰~-19.09‰)变化频繁且幅度较大,但整体上TOC含量偏高,δ13C_org偏负,指示该段时期内气候总体呈暖湿特征,且存在不同尺度的冷暖波动。其中在8.0~5.7 ka B.P.期间,TOC含量(0.43%~2.18%)明显偏高,δ13C_org(-25.79‰~-23.15‰)明显偏负,指示气候温暖湿润,对应于区域全新世大暖期;此外本段时期内还记录到5.5 ka B.P.和4.2 ka B.P.两次冷事件。由此表明湖沼相沉积物TOC及δ13C_org可以记录降水量和温度的变化状况,能有效指示古气候的变化规律,同时研究结果初步揭示了浙北地区早中全新世期间气候演变特点。     

Stratigraphic indications of a Pleistocene/Holocene transgression in the Göta ÁUlv river valley, SW Sweden

A stratigraphically recorded transgression deposit from a bog at 50 m above sea level near Lödöse, north of Gothenburg, has been analyzed with a view to determining its isolation course. Pollen and ¹⁴C analyses were used for dating, and the interpretation of water-level changes and isolation were based on diatom analysis. The transgression phase began at about 10,000 years B.P. and the basin was isolated before the time of the rational Corylus limit (C°), which in this area is at about 9,700 years B.P.     

Lateglacial,early and middle holocene environments,human occupation,and resource use in the Atacama (Northern Chile)

Paleoenvironmental data from the Atacama Altiplano (21°–24°S) indicate that water, vegetation and animal resources were more abundant during lateglacial and early Holocene times than today. The rate of precipitation increased above 4000 m elevation to 400–500 mm/yr compared to the present 200 mm/yr. Dry conditions prevailed below 3500 m. Evidence of Paleoindian habitation is still missing, even though there is no evidence for environmental prohibitors during lateglacial time. The early Archaic hunters (10,820 yr B.P.-ca. 8500 yr B.P.) inhabited the Altiplano (high Puna) and its western slope, where water was available due to higher river runoff from the Altiplano, and the resources in different elevation zones were accessible. Natural resources decreased significantly during the middle Archaic period (8500-ca. 5000 yr B.P.). Lakes receded to today's levels, pedogenesis in the Altiplano terminated, and human activities were restricted to the most stable sites in the Río Lao and the Río Purifica catchments north of 23°S. The less stable oases south of 23°S (Salar de Atacama and Punta Negra) were abandoned. The climatic changes are best explained by shifts of the (sub)tropical circulation. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Human responses to Middle Holocene climate change on California's Channel Islands

High-resolution archaeological and paleoenvironmental records from California's Channel Islands provide a unique opportunity to examine potential relationships between climatically induced environmental changes and prehistoric human behavioral responses. Available climate records in western North America (7–3.8 ka) indicate a severe dry interval between 6.3 and 4.8 ka embedded within a generally warm and dry Middle Holocene. Very dry conditions in western North America between 6.3 and 4.8 ka correlate with cold to moderate sea-surface temperatures (SST) along the southern California Coast evident in Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Core 893A/B (Santa Barbara Basin). An episode of inferred high marine productivity between 6.3 and 5.8 ka corresponds with the coldest estimated SSTs of the Middle Holocene, otherwise marked by warm/low productivity marine conditions (7.5–3.8 ka). The impact of this severe aridity on humans was different between the northern and southern Channel Islands, apparently related to degree of island isolation, size and productivity of islands relative to population, fresh water availability, and on-going social relationships between island and continental populations. Northern Channel Islanders seem to have been largely unaffected by this severe arid phase. In contrast, cultural changes on the southern Channel Islands were likely influenced by the climatically induced environmental changes. We suggest that productive marine conditions coupled with a dry terrestrial climate between 6.3 and 5.8 ka stimulated early village development and intensified fishing on the more remote southern islands. Contact with people on the adjacent southern California Coast increased during this time with increased participation in a down-the-line trade network extending into the western Great Basin and central Oregon. Genetic similarities between Middle Holocene burial populations on the southern Channel Islands and modern California Uto-Aztecan populations suggest Middle Holocene movement of people at this time from southern California desert environs westward to the southern islands, a migration perhaps stimulated by increased continental aridity.     

Organic matter accumulation during the Holocene in the Guadalquivir marshlands (SW Spain)

The distribution of biomarker compounds and magnetic susceptibility observed in the sediment from a 20 m core drilled in the marshlands of the estuarine region of the Guadalquivir River (southwest coast of Spain) has allowed us to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental evolution of this area during the Holocene. Several organic compounds (n‐alkanes, n‐ketones, n‐alkanols, n‐alkanoic acids and organic sulphur), as well as different biomarker ratios, have been used to show changing environmental conditions through time. These geochemical proxies suggest good preservation of the organic matter, although some diagenesis has occurred to particular organic compounds, especially the n‐alkanoic acids. Our data indicate a major allochthonous supply of terrestrial plants, with less influence from aquatic plants or algae through the core. There are markedly different palaeoenvironmental conditions between the uppermost 5 m (last 6 ka cal. B.P.) and the rest of the core. From 5 m (ca 6 ka cal. B.P.) to 19 m (ca 8 ka cal. B.P.) depth the palaeoenvironmental conditions were almost constant. Based on organic sulphur content and n‐alkane content logs, anoxic conditions prevailed from 8 to 6 ka cal. B.P., while oxic conditions with enhanced convection of water (prevalence of fluvial input), and consequently a greater organic matter supply, predominated in the upper 5 m of the core. Similarly, little variation in the magnetic susceptibility profile below 5 m indicates stable environmental conditions, while in the upper 5 m conditions shifted to one with elevated water input and clastic sediment supply. This is linked to palaeofloral alterations in the Guadiamar/Guadalquivir drainage basins and/or anthropogenic effects. We propose that from ca 8 to 6 ka cal. B.P. a stable landscape physiognomy in the surroundings of the estuarine area of the Guadalquivir River, with a predominance of pines and grassland. However, over the last 6 ka cal. B.P. a variation in the terrestrial plant biomarker compounds suggests an alternation of relatively dry and humid phases and/or the impact of human populations on altering the vegetation community have occurred. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An early Holocene narwhal tusk from the Canadian high Arctic

A narwhal (Monodon monoceros) tusk from 34 m above sea level and located at 82°N on the northwest coast of Ellesmere Island has been radiocarbon dated at 6,830 ± 50 B.P. It was collected from a narrow coastal strip which is isolated from the adjacent Arctic Ocean by glacier ice, ice shelf and multiyear pack ice. The specimen represents an early Holocene range extension of 400–700 km over the present. Because the narwhal requires abundant open water to survive, the Holocene tusk is an important independent item of proxy data on palaeoclimatic change. Contemporary migration routes are directly related to seasonal sea ice in the inter-island channels of the central Canadian Arctic archipelago. The presence of a narwhal on the northwest Ellesmere Island coast at 6,830 ± 50 B. P. suggests that sea ice and ice-shelf conditions were more favourable at that time. A comprehensive chronological framework for late Quaternary and Holocene geomorphic/climatic events from northern Ellesmere Island records a warm early Holocene characterized by abundant driftwood entry into the high Arctic. This was followed by a mid-Holocene climatic deterioration during which the ice shelves of the Ellesmere coast formed. Therefore, the narwhal tusk is further evidence that a period of maximum postglacial warmth occurred during the early Holocene in the Canadian high Arctic.     

Holocene climate of New England

Stratigraphic studies of pollen and macrofossils from six sites at different elevations in the White Mountains of New Hampshire demonstrate changes in the distributions of four coniferous tree species during the Holocene. Two species presently confined to low elevations extended farther up the mountain slopes during the early Holocene: white pine grew 350 m above its present limit beginning 9000 yr B.P., while hemlock grew 300–400 m above its present limit soon after the species immigrated to the region 7000 yr. B.P. Hemlock disappeared from the highest sites about 5000 yr B.P., but both species persisted at sites 50–350 m above their present limits until the Little Ice Age began a few centuries ago. The history of the two main high-elevation conifers is more difficult to interpret. Spruce and fir first occur near their present upper limits 9000 or 10,000 yr B.P. Fir persisted in abundance at elevations similar to those where it occurs today throughout the Holocene, while spruce became infrequent at all elevations from the beginning of the Holocene until 2000 yr B.P. These facts suggest a more complex series of changes than a mere upward shift of the modern environmental gradient. Nevertheless, we conclude that the minimum climatic change which would explain the upward extensions of hemlock and white pine is a rise in temperature, perhaps as much as 2°C. The interval of maximum warmth started 9000 yr B.P. and lasted at least until 5000 yr B.P., correlative with the Prairie Period in Minnesota.     

Environmental history since 11,000 C yr B.P. of the northeastern Pampas, Argentina, from alluvial sequences of the Luján River

Sedimentological, malacological, and pollen analyses from ¹⁴C-dated alluvial sections from the Luján River provide a detailed record of environmental changes during the Holocene in the northeastern Pampas of Argentina. From 11,200 to 9000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., both sedimentary and biological components suggest that the depositional environment was eutrophic, alkaline, and freshwater to brackish shallow water bodies without significant water circulation. During this time, bioclastic sedimentation was dominant and the shallow water bodies reached maximum development as the climate became more humid, suggesting an increase in precipitation. Short-term fluctuations in climate during the last stage of this interval may have been sufficient to initiate changes in the water bodies, as reduction of the volume alternated with periods of flooding. The beginning of the evolution of shallow swamps in the wide floodplain or huge wetlands was contemporaneous with a sea level lower than the present one. From 9000 and 7000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., mesotrophic, alkaline, brackish, probably anoxic swamps existed. Between 7000 and 3000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., anoxic calcareous swamps were formed, with subaerial exposure and development of the Puesto Berrondo Soil (3500-2900 ¹⁴C yr B.P.). A trend to a reduction of water bodies is recorded from 9000 to ca. 3000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., with a significant reduction after ca. 7000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. A shift to subhumid-dry climate after 7000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. appears to be the main cause. During this time, an additional external forcing toward higher groundwater levels was caused by Holocene marine transgression causing changes in the water bodies levels. The climate became drier during the late Holocene (ca. 3000 yr B.P.), when clastic sedimentation increased, under subhumid-dry conditions. Flood events increased in frequency during this time. From ca. A.D. 1790 to present, the pollen record reflects widespread disturbance of the vegetation during the European settlement.     

Biogeographic implications of a packrat midden sequence from the Sacramento Mountains, south-central New Mexico

Thirteen packrat (Neotoma spp.) and two porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum) middens from 1555 to 1690 m elevation from the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico, provide an 18,000-yr vegetation record in the northern Chiuahuan Desert. The vegetation sequence is a mesic, Wisconsin fullglacial (18,000–16,000 yr B.P.) pinyon-juniper-oak woodland; a xeric, early Holocene (ca. 11,000–8000 yr B.P.) juniper-oak woodland; a middle Holocene (ca. 8000-4000 yr B.P.) desert-grassland; and a late Holocene (ca. 4000 yr B.P. to present) Chihuahuan desertscrub. The frequency of spring freezes and summer droughts in the late Wisconsin probably set the northern limits of Pinus edulis and Juniperus monosperma at about 34°N, or 6° south of today's limit. Rising summer tempratures in the early Holocene eliminated pinyon and other mesic woodland plants from the desert lowlands and allowed the woodland to move upslope. At this time pinyon-juniper woodland and pine forest dominated by Pinus ponderosa probably began their spectacular Holocene expansions to the north. Continued warming in the middle Holocene led to very warm summers with strong monsoons, relatively dry, cold winters, and widespread desert-grasslands. Desertscrub communities in the northern Chihuahuan Desert did not develop until the late Holocene when the biseasonal rainfall shifted slightly back toward the winter, catastrophic winter freezes decreased, and droughts in all seasons increased. The creosote bush desertscrub corridor across the Continental Divide between the Chihuahuan and Sonoran deserts was probably connected for the first time since the last interglaciation.     

天津大直沽晚第四纪沉积物红外释光测年及环境变迁年代学

对天津大直沽ZH2钻孔晚第四纪沉积物岩芯12个样品的红外释光(IRSL)测年及沉积物记录的环境变化研究结果表明:1)细颗粒(4～11μm)多测片的红外释光(IRSL)技术对水悬浮沉积物的年龄测定有着巨大的潜力,渤海湾西岸全新世环境变化的IRSL年代可与¹⁴C年代相对比;2)大直沽ZH2孔所在地未见晚更新世海侵,并在距今约30 ka至约10 ka期间处于沉积间断状态,距今9.5 ka开始发生海侵,距今5.1 ka发生海退,距今4.4 ka海水已退出ZH2孔所在地,距今2 ka左右已有人类活动.     

Water-level changes in the Hammock River marsh palaeovalley, Connecticut between 13,000 and 6000 (C) yrs B.P.

Detailed analysis of basal organic deposits underlying Hammock River marsh, Connecticut allowed documentation of water-level changes that occurred between 13,000 and 6000 yrs B.P. Four main periods of groundwater- and lake-level movements and related environmental changes can be identified.

1. (1) 12,500-10,200 yrs B.P. (lake stage): very rapid rise of the groundwater table of about 2 to 3 m, resulting in a shallow lake, followed by a more gradual rise of about 2.5 to 1.5 m.

2. (2) 10,200-7000 yrs B.P. (freshwater marsh, stage 1): slow overall rise of the water table interrupted by a drop of at least 1 m between about 9500 and 9000 yrs B.P. and of at least 0.8 m between about 8000 and 7500 yrs B.P., each event leading to oxidation and maceration of organic material.

3. (3) 7000-6400 yrs B.P. (complete desiccation of the swamp): rapid fall of the water table of at least 3.9 m. causing large-scale down-wasting of the accumulated peat.

4. (4) After 6400 yrs B.P. (freshwater marsh, stage 2): rapid rise of the water table.

The water-table rise of period 1 and the lowering of period 3 are attributed to predominantly local causes, while the groundwater fluctuations during period 2 are probably climate-related. The final water-level increase reflects the influence of Holocene relative sea-level rise.     

渤海湾西岸现代岸线钻孔记录的全新世沉积环境与相对海面变化

以渤海湾西岸现代岸线附近的NP3、CH110和BT113三个钻孔全新世岩心为研究对象,采用沉积岩石学、AMS ¹⁴C(accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C,加速器质谱¹⁴C)测年、微体生物聚类分析等方法精细判别沉积相,重建渤海湾西岸全新世沉积演化历史,并利用微体生物组合分带对水深变化的指示,定量讨论全新世相对海面变化。结果表明:渤海湾西岸全新世受海陆交互作用影响,经历了沼泽-潮滩-浅海-前三角洲-三角洲前缘-三角洲平原环境的演化过程。全新世初始阶段,研究区中部和北部发育沼泽环境,南部未见沉积,与上更新统河流相沉积呈不整合接触。全新世早期,研究区潮滩环境发育。潮滩层厚度约1 m,历时数百至1千余年。至7000 cal BP前后水深增大,研究区进入浅海环境。约6000 cal BP,沿岸南北两端先后进入三角洲过渡环境,中部三角洲环境约开始于1500 cal BP。渤海湾西岸地区全新世的环境演化同时记录了该地区的相对海面变化:约10000 cal BP前后,渤海湾相对海平面已接近21.3~20.4 m。约8000 cal BP,相对海平面介于18.6~17.0 m。约6000 cal BP时相对海平面低于6.8 m,5000~1000 cal BP,相对海平面高于-2.5 m,1000~800 cal BP,相对海平面介于-1.3~-0.4 m。8000~5000 cal BP时,相对海面上升约15.0 m,上升速率达5 m/1 ka。     

The sedimentary framework of the southern basin of Lake George,New York

Information from 240 km of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles has been analyzed to show the bathymetric and subsurface configuration of southern Lake George in the southeastern corner of the Adirondack Mountains, New York. Three units have been identified and sampled in 13 piston cores as long as 7 m and 4 grab samples; they are glacial drift, glaciolacustrine nonorganic clay, and Holocene lake mud rich in organic material. Three deep bedrock basins controlled glacial, glaciolacustrine, and postglacial deposition within the lake. Glaciolacustrine clay is more than 30 m thick in these basins but is generally absent in water depths less than 20 m. An unconformity separates glaciolacustrine clay from overlying Holocene mud in water depths less than 30 m, but the contact is conformable and transitional in deeper water. The unconformity may have originated from subaqueous or subaerial erosion during a low stage of lake level which probably occurred between 10,000 and 700 yr B.P. Holocene lake mud is thin to absent in the shallower waters separating the three basins, but reaches 15-m thickness near the entrance to The Narrows. A new radiocarbon date of 6950 ± 60 yr B.P. was obtained from a wood fragment which was found in the Holocene lake mud. We found no clear evidence of postglacial tectonic disturbances of the lake sediments although recent releveling profiles suggest that the Adirondack Mountains are undergoing contemporary uplift.     

A revised geological range (Late Pliocene) for foraminifer taxon <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bolliella adamsi</Emphasis> Banner et Blow, 1959

The foraminifer taxon Bolliella adamsi Banner et Blow, 1959 is found to co-occur with index planktic foraminifer taxa of the Late Pliocene (Zone N21) in a core of 2.60 m at 1300 m water depth off Tuticorin, Bay of Bengal. This taxon has been previously known as a Holocene taxon of the Indo-Pacific province. This study significantly revises the known stratigraphic range of B. adamsi from the Late Pliocene (uppermost part of Zone N21) to the Holocene in the Bay of Bengal area.     

Holocene climate and landscape evolution East of the Pechora Delta, East-European Russian Arctic

This study presents a multiproxy record of Holocene environmental change in the region East of the Pechora Delta. A peat plateau profile (Ortino II) is analyzed for plant macrofossils, sediment type, loss on ignition, and radiocarbon dating. A paleosol profile (Ortino III) is described and radiocarbon dated. A previously published peat plateau profile (Ortino I) was analyzed for pollen and conifer stomata, loss on ignition, and radiocarbon dating. The interpretation of the latter site is reassessed in view of new evidence. Spruce immigrated to the study area at about 8900 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Peatland development started at approximately the same time. During the Early Holocene Hypsithermal taiga forests occupied most of the present East-European tundra and peatlands were permafrost free. Cooling started after 5000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., resulting in a retreat of forests and permafrost aggradation. Remaining forests disappeared from the study area around 3000 ¹⁴C yr B.P., coinciding with more permafrost aggradation. The retreat of forests resulted in landscape instability and the redistribution of sand by eolian activity. The displacement of the Arctic forest line and permafrost zones indicates a warming of at least 2–3°C in mean July and annual temperatures during the Early Holocene. At least two cooling periods can be recognized for the second half of the Holocene, starting at about 4800 and 3000 ¹⁴C yr B.P.     

14 ka以来苦海沉积物地球化学记录及其古环境意义

对青藏高原东北部封闭咸水湖泊苦海水深最深处KH17钻孔进行沉积物粒度、烧失量和X射线荧光光谱（XRF）测试及XRF测试结果的主成分分析（PCA）,以揭示14 ka以来苦海沉积物特征及其所反映的搬运与沉积过程变化,反演湖泊流域古环境。研究结果表明:第一主成分（PC1）主要包括Ti、Fe、K等元素,指示径流输入强弱;第二主成分（PC2）中载荷值较大的Ca和Sr与碳酸盐含量相关,指示湖泊蒸发强弱;Zr（第三主成分中载荷值最大）与砂组分、Rb与黏土组分含量相关,分别指示风力输入粗颗粒物质和径流输入细颗粒物质情况,其比值可反映化学风化弱强;Fe/Mn、Sr/Ca也能较好地指示沉积物氧化还原环境、湖水盐度和水位情况。基于上述记录所建立的古环境演变重建结果显示:13.6~13.0 ka B.P.苦海水位较低,径流输入相对强;13.0~11.5 ka B.P.受新仙女木事件影响,环境干旱且温度极低,风力作用强,输入物质多;早全新世升温显著,蒸发作用强,内生碳酸盐沉积增多,湖泊水位增加缓慢,中全新世期间达到最高水位;5.3 ka B.P.以后,湖泊经历干旱时期,盐度与碳酸盐沉积增加;2.7 ka B.P.以来水分供给波动,湖泊水位显著振荡。