Impacts of climate and river flooding on the hydro-ecology of a floodplain basin, Peace-Athabasca Delta, Canada since A.D. 1700

Multi-proxy paleolimnological analyses on lake sediment cores from “Spruce Island Lake” (58° 50.82′ N, 111° 28.84′ W), a perched basin in the northern Peace sector of the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), Canada, give insights into the relative roles of flow regulation of the Peace River and climatic variability on the basin hydro-ecology. Results indicate substantial variability in basin hydro-ecology over the past 300 years ranging from seasonal to periodic desiccation in the 1700s to markedly wetter conditions during the early 1800s to early 1900s. The reconstruction is consistent with (1) dry climatic conditions that defined the peak of the Little Ice Age and subsequent amelioration evident in conventional ring-width and isotopic analyses of tree-ring records located hydrologically and climatically upstream of the PAD, and (2) Peace River flood history inferred from sub-annual magnetic susceptibility measurements from another lake sediment record in the Peace sector of the PAD. Although regulation of the Peace River for hydroelectric power generation since 1968 has long been considered a major stressor of the PAD ecosystem leading to reduced frequency of ice-jam and open-water flooding and an extended period of drying, our results show that current hydro-ecological status is not unprecedented as both wetter and drier conditions have persisted for decades in the recent past under natural climatic variability. Furthermore, paleolimnological evidence from Spruce Island Lake indicates that recently observed dryness is part of a longer trend which began some 20-40 years prior to Peace River regulation.     

Latest Pleistocene paleoecology of Jefferson's ground sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii) and elk-moose (Cervalces scotti) in northern Illinois

New records of Jefferson's ground sloth (Megalonyx jeffersonii) and elk-moose (Cervalces scotti) from Lang Farm provide the first precise temporal correlation of these taxa with the specific environments inhabited by them near the time of their extinction. Six AMS ¹⁴C measurements establish an age of 11,405 ± 50 ¹⁴C yr B.P. for Lang Farm Cervalces and an age of 11,430 ± 60 or 11,485 ± 40 ¹⁴C yr B.P. for the Megalonyx. These measurements represent the youngest ¹⁴C dates for these two genera based on direct dating. Comparison of the dates with pollen data from northern Illinois indicates that these species inhabited a nonanalog environment that was transitional from mid-latitude tundra to mixed conifer and deciduous woodland. Although spruce (Picea sp.) was dominant, it was less abundant than prior to 12,500 ¹⁴C yr B.P. The presence of black ash (Fraxinus nigra) and fir (Abies sp.) indicates a wet climate and heavy winter precipitation. This may have been the preferred habitat for Cervalces because of its narrow geographic range. However, this habitat type was only one of many occupied by Megalonyx as indicated by its broad geographic distribution.     

Climate, agriculture, and cycles of human occupation over the last 4000 yr in southern Zacatecas, Mexico

Scholars attribute the growth and decline of Classic period (AD 200-900) settlements in the semi-arid northern frontier zone of Mesoamerica to rainfall cycles that controlled the extent of arable land. However, there is little empirical evidence to support this claim. We present phytolith, organic carbon, and magnetic susceptibility analyses of a 4000-yr alluvial record of climate and human land use from the Malpaso Valley, the site of one such Classic frontier community. The earliest farming occupation is detected around 500 BC and appears related to a slight increase of aridity, similar to the level of the modern day valley. By AD 500, the valley's Classic period Mesoamerican settlements were founded under these same dry conditions, which continued into the Postclassic period. This indicates that the La Quemada occupation did not develop during a period of increased rainfall, but rather an arid phase. The most dramatic changes detected in the valley resulted from the erosion associated with Spanish Colonial grazing and deforestation that began in the 16th century. The landscape of the modern Malpaso Valley is thus primarily the product of a series of intense and rapid transformations that were concentrated within the last 400 yr.     

An Overview of the Applications of Lipid Carbon Isotope Compositions in the Paleoenvironmental and Paleoecological Reconstructions in Lacustrine and Peat Deposits

Lipids preserved in geological materials mainly originate from cell membrane and leaf waxes, and have the potential to infer biological sources, metabolic pathways, and environmental information. Thus,lipid-based proxies have been widely applied to reconstruct paleoenvironment and paleoecology in the Quaternary. Except the concentration and molecular composition, the carbon isotope compositions of lipids are also a type of important signal sources. For photoautotrophs, the carbon isotope compositions of lipids are mainly mediated by the carbon isotope discrimination during the photosynthesis and lipid biosynthesis processes. In contrast, the carbon isotope compositions of heterotroph derived lipids are controlled by substrates and the carbon isotope fractionation during biosynthesis. In this review, we overview the advances of applications of lipid carbon isotope ratios in lacustrine and peat deposits. In the near future, more attention is suggested to pay to instrumental techniques, such as reduce the sample amount, direct analysis the carbon isotope compositions of molecules with relatively large molecular weight (e.g. BHPs, GDGTs), and widely application of compound-specific radiocarbon isotope analysis. In addition, combination of carbon isotope ratios from multi lipids, or the application of dual carbon and hydrogen isotope ratios of lipids, will shed more information on the response of ecological processes to climate changes. Furthermore, more works are worthy to investigate the relation between biogeochemical processes and paleoclimate changes in the Quaternary.     

Detecting,sourcing, and age-dating dredged sediments on the open shelf,southern California,using dead mollusk shells

Molluscan shell debris is an under-exploited means of detecting, sourcing, and age-dating dredged sediments in open-shelf settings. Backscatter features on the Southern California shelf are suggestive of dredged sediment hauled from San Diego Bay but deposited significantly inshore of the EPA-designated ocean disposal site. We find that 36% of all identifiable bivalve shells > 2 mm (44% of shells > 4 mm) in sediment samples from this 'short dump' area are from species known to live exclusively in the Bay; such shells are absent at reference sites of comparable water depth, indicating that their presence in the short-dump area signals non-compliant disposal rather than natural offshore transport or sea level rise. These sediments lack the shells of species that invaded California bays in the 1970s, suggesting that disposal preceded federal regulations. This inexpensive, low-tech method, with its protocol for rejecting alternative hypotheses, will be easy to adapt in other settings.     

Palynostratigraphy and paleobiogeography of the Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous succession in Kabrit-1 well,northeastern Egypt

Well-preserved and abundant Jurassic–Early Cretaceous palynomorph assemblages were recorded from the Kabrit-1 well, north Eastern Desert, Egypt. Thirty-one rock-cutting samples were analyzed and six rock units were differentiated. Seventy-one palynomorph species were identified from the productive samples. Six palynozones were differentiated, and they covered all the studied succession except for a palynomorph barren interval present in the uppermost part. These palynozones arranged in ascending order are as follows: two palynozones were recorded from the Middle-Upper Jurassic (Gonyaulacysta jurassica – Lithodinia jurassica Assemblage Zone and Klukisporites pseudoreticulatus- Systematophora penicillata – Escharisphaeridia pocockii Assemblage Zone) and the other four palynozones characterize the Lower Cretaceous deposits (Pilosisporites trichopapillosus – Cribroperidinium orthoceras Assemblage Zone; Dicheiropollis etruscus Interval Zone; Murospora florida – Afropollis operculatus Assemblage Zone and Afropollis jardinus Range Zone). We infer open marine conditions during deposition of the lower part of the Khalig El Ayoun Formation (Oxfordian-Kimmeridgian) and within the Kharita Formation (Albian), and shallow marine or coastal environments during deposition of the remainder of the studied succession. Paleobiogeographically, Late Jurassic index terrestrial palynomorph species documented here are in common with those previously recorded from North Africa, while marine dinocyst species are common to those documented from the West European and North American province. During the Early Cretaceous, the recorded terrestrial microfloral species were similar to those previously recorded from the West African-South American Province, while the marine dinocyst species were still related to the West European and North American marine palynofloral province.     

Paleoecology of mangroves along the Sibun River, Belize

This study examines a sediment core (SR-63) from a mangrove ecosystem along the Sibun River in Belize, which is subject to both changes in sea-level and in the characteristics of the river's drainage basin. Radiocarbon dates from the core show a decreased sedimentation rate from ~ 6 ka to 1 cal ka BP and a marked change in lithology from primarily mangrove peat to fluvial-derived material at ~ 2.5 cal ka BP. Changes in the sedimentation rates observed in mangrove ecosystems offshore have previously been attributed to changes in relative sea-level and the rate of sea-level rise. Pollen analyses show a decreased abundance of Rhizophora (red mangrove) pollen and an increased abundance of Avicennia (black mangrove) pollen and non-mangrove pollen coeval with the decreased sedimentation rates. Elemental ratios ([N:C]_a) and stable isotope analyses (δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C) show that changes in the composition of the organic material are also coeval with the change in lithology. The decrease in sedimentation rate at the site of core SR-63 and at offshore sites supports the idea that regional changes in hydrology occurred during the Holocene in Belize, influencing both mainland and offshore mangrove ecosystems.     

The Baganuur coal deposit, Mongolia: depositional environments and paleoecology of a Lower Cretaceous coal-bearing intermontane basin in Eastern Asia

The investigations involved geophysical, sedimentological, palynological, chemical and mineralogical studies, supported by field-based infrared spectrometry. The Baganuur Basin, Central Mongolia, is among the rift or pull-apart-basins, which subsided at the boundary between the Jurassic and the Lower Cretaceous in East Asia. During the Berriasian, peat accumulation began in the area under study in Central Mongolia. The palynoflora is akin to the Siberian palynological province. Based on the phytoclast assemblages and the ratios of total sulfur content to total organic content, marine transgressions into this intermontane basin may be ruled out. The coal interseam sediments were laid down prevalently under neutral to slightly alkaline conditions; only in some carbonaceous sediments, the pH of intrastratal solutions was lowered. Suboxic to anoxic conditions persisted during almost the entire Lower Cretaceous period in the Baganuur Basin. Based on the distribution of fining- and coarsening-upward sequences and the organic matter, the basin fill has been subdivided into seven depositional units (A: fluvial–swamp, B: fluvial–lacustrine, C: deltaic–fluvial, D: fluvial, E: fluvial–deltaic–lacustrine/floodplain (?), F: lacustrine–deltaic–swamp, G: swamp–fluvial). A conspicuous change in the fluvial–lacustrine regime and an increase in the sediment supply may be observed at the boundary between depositional units B and C. A strong uplift triggered the onset of an intensive delta sedimentation. Lithoclasts, heavy minerals (e.g., apatite, zircon, garnet, anatase, brookite, epidote, sphene, tourmaline) and phyllosilicates (e.g., kaolinite, smectite, mica, chlorite) attest to a mixing of detrital material. One provenance area was abundant in acidic plutonic rocks as shown by the granitic lithoclasts, the other in volcanic rocks, which produced the vitroclastic debris deposited as tephra fallout. Post-depositional alteration of the siliciclastic interseam sediments was favored by a distinctive facies association of transmissive and sealing horizons. It led to a re-deposition of Ca, U and Sr in the siliciclastics. Post-depositional alteration of the organic material converted it into lignite to subbituminous C coal.