Pleistocene–Holocene environmental change in the Canary Archipelago as inferred from the stable isotope composition of land snail shells

The isotopic composition of land snail shells was analyzed to investigate environmental changes in the eastern Canary Islands (28–29°N) over the last ~ 50 ka. Shell δ¹³C values range from −8.9‰ to 3.8‰. At various times during the glacial interval (~ 15 to ~ 50 ka), moving average shell δ¹³C values were 3‰ higher than today, suggesting a larger proportion of C₄ plants at those periods. Shell δ¹⁸O values range from −1.9‰ to 4.5‰, with moving average δ¹⁸O values exhibiting a noisy but long-term increase from 0.1‰ at ~ 50 ka to 1.6–1.8‰ during the LGM (~ 15–22 ka). Subsequently, the moving average δ¹⁸O values range from 0.0‰ at ~ 12 ka to 0.9‰ at present. Calculations using a published snail flux balance model for δ¹⁸O, constrained by regional temperatures and ocean δ¹⁸O values, suggest that relative humidity at the times of snail activity fluctuated but exhibited a long-term decline over the last ~ 50 ka, eventually resulting in the current semiarid conditions of the eastern Canary Islands (consistent with the aridification process in the nearby Sahara). Thus, low-latitude oceanic island land snail shells may be isotopic archives of glacial to interglacial and tropical/subtropical environmental change.     

New optically stimulated luminescence ages provide evidence of MIS3 and MIS2 eolian activity on Black Mesa, northeastern Arizona, USA

Eolian deposition on the semiarid southern Colorado Plateau has been attributed to episodic aridity during the Quaternary Period. However, OSL ages from three topographically controlled (e.g. falling) dunes on Black Mesa in northeastern Arizona indicate that eolian sediments there were deposited in deep tributary valleys as early as 35–30 ka, with most sand deposited before 20 ka. In contrast, the oldest OSL ages for sand sheets fall within the Pleistocene-Holocene climatic transition (~ 12–8 ka). Thus most eolian sediment accumulated on Black Mesa under climatic conditions that were in general cooler, moister, and more variable than today, not more arid, pointing to a considerable increase in sediment supply.     

Mississippi Valley regional source of loess on the southern Green Bay Lobe land surface, Wisconsin

Loess has been recognized on the glacial land surface of the Green Bay Lobe for over 100 yr, but no systematic explanation of the source of the loess has been advanced. Intriguingly, the loess on the Green Bay Lobe land surface is thicker than predicted by regional thinning trends from the Mississippi Valley and is geographically separated from much loess of southwest Wisconsin by a sandy region devoid of loess. Mapping based on soil survey interpretation indicates that the loess occurs above an escarpment marking the eastern end of the sandy loess-free region. Particle size fining trends demonstrate that the loess was transported by northwesterly winds. Clay mineralogy of the Green Bay Lobe loess is distinctly different than glaciogenic sediments and matches loess of the Mississippi Valley, indicating a regional source and long distance transport of the loess. We propose the loess was transported from the regional source along a surface of transport produced by migration of eolian sand through low-relief landscapes including the glacial Lake Wisconsin basin. Eolian sand migration caused repeated entrainment of dust leading to east-southeastward transport. The loess accumulated above an escarpment that limited sand mobility and re-entrainment of loess beyond this topographic barrier.     

High-resolution stratigraphy and depositional model of wind- and water-laid deposits in the ordovician Guaritas rift (Southernmost Brazil)

The upper portion of the Pedra Pintada Alloformation includes about 100 m of mostly eolian deposits. This paper emphasizes the vertical succession and lateral association of sedimentary facies, based on analysis of outcrop data and aerial photographs, as well as the hierarchy and origin of bounding surfaces. It aims to propose a high-resolution stratigraphic and depositional model that may be useful to exploitation of eolian reservoirs. The succession has been preserved due to basin subsidence, and is described in terms of four facies associations that constitute three dominantly eolian units. These units are sharply bounded by major flooding surfaces (super surfaces) that, in turn, are overlain by 1 to 2 m thick, dominantly water-laid facies (lacustrine, fluvial, deltaic and eolian). Both their internal organization and boundaries were controlled by changes in the base level rise rate. The basal Eolian Unit is composed of crescentic eolian dunes and damp interdune deposits ascribed to a wet eolian system. On the other hand, eolian units II and III, also characterized by crescentic eolian dunes (simple and compound) deposits, were related to dry eolian systems, since they comprise dry (eventually wet) interdune facies. Eolian Unit III is truncated by basinwide unconformity, which is then overlain by the ephemeral fluvial deposits (Varzinha Alloformation). This second type of super surface is related to climate-induced wind erosion (deflation) down to the water table level (regional Stokes surface) followed by fluvial incision linked to tectonic activity.     

Oxygen isotope stage 3 fluvial and eolian successions in Europe compared with climate model results

Fluvial and eolian successions of oxygen isotope stage 3 are compared with global (GCM) and regional climate (RCM) modeling experiments of the stage 3 and last glacial maximum climate in Europe. Differences in precipitation between stage-3 stades and interstades were minor, which is confirmed by the fluvial successions. The fluvial response to climate variation is non-uniform, and in southern Europe more pronounced than in northern Europe. The model simulations indicate a strong western winter circulation over Europe during stage 3, which is supported by the eolian deposits data. Wind speeds in the last glacial maximum simulation appear modest compared with those of stage 3, which contrasts with the abundance of eolian deposits. This suggests that during glacial climates the stabilizing effect of vegetation determines eolian sedimentation rates, rather than wind speed. Stage 3 can be divided into an older part (>45,000 cal yr B.P.) with a relatively stable landscape and moist climate and a younger part with more frequent climate change and decreasing landscape stability.     

A continuous record of Holocene eolian activity in West Greenland

Eolian landforms are widespread alongside proglacial valley-sandurs in West Greenland and comprise low-relief sand sheets, climbing dunes, and upland loess. Sedimentary facies mainly reflect distance to outwash-source zones and the influence of vegetation cover. The sediments show stratification types typical for poorly to moderately vegetated sand-sheets, alternately laminated silt/peat sequences, and unstratified loess. Twenty-five accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dates provide the basis for the chronostratigraphy of the inland eolian deposits. ¹⁴C dates from interstratified sand-sheets suggest that the bulk of eolian sands were deposited prior to 3400 cal yr B.P. and after 550 cal yr B.P. This two-phase formation for the inland dunes most likely reflects local changes in proglacial floodplain development and meltwater rerouting associated with a significant recession of the Greenland ice sheet during the mid Holocene climate optimum. Subsequent floodplain regeneration and renewed sand-sheet formation after 550 cal yr B.P. followed when the ice margin readvanced to its present position. In contrast, atmospheric deposition of regionally derived silt in upland peat mires has been continuous since at least 4750 cal yr B.P. Silt influx data demonstrate a strongly episodic history of the intensity of eolian activity over the past five millennia, which tentatively reflects alternating periods of (winter) aridity associated with the variable incursion of maritime air masses over the interior ice-free areas of West Greenland.     

Ba, Si, U, Al, Sc, La, Th, C and C/C in a sediment core in the western subarctic Pacific as proxies of past biological production

A sediment core covering the last 145 kyrs was collected in the western subarctic Pacific (WSAP), and analyzed for Ba, U, Al, Sc, La, Yb, Th, biogenic opal (Opal) and organic carbon (C_org) as well as its isotopic ratio (δ¹³C). This study examined the change of past biological production in WSAP with multiple proxies, together with understanding the relation between Loess from the Asian continent and the biological production. The Loess content was estimated from the metal components, Al, Sc, La, Yb and Th. In this high latitude core (50°N), the Loess content was generally high during the glacial periods, but it was also high even in some interglacial periods. The excess amount of Ba relative to the detrital material composition, Ba_ex, showed the best correlation with the Vostok δD (r = 0.72, p < 0.001), indicating that the biological production was lower in the glacial periods than in the interglacials. This corroborates the pervasive correlation between Ba_ex in the polar region, WSAP and the Antarctic Sea, and Antarctic temperature, combined with previous research. This correlation might be explained by the stratification caused by cooling. In addition, the time variations of Ba_ex in WSAP were similar to those of Ba_ex in the Okhotsk Sea and of other proxies (C_org and Opal) in both the Okhotsk and the Bering Sea, indicating the spatial homogeneity of Ba_ex in WSAP including proximal marginal seas. The Opal content was more weakly correlated with the Vostok δD (r = 0.46, p < 0.001) than Ba_ex, reflecting that Opal in WSAP including proximal marginal seas was spatially heterogeneous compared to Ba_ex. While both the C_org content and U_ex, the excess amount of U relative to the detritus composition, were not positively correlated with the Vostok δD, they behaved similarly in the sediments. The positive correlation between δ¹³C and the Vostok δD (r = 0.42, p < 0.001), between δ¹³C and Ba_ex (r = 0.60, p < 0.001) and between δ¹³C and Opal (r = 0.36, p < 0.01) indicates that δ¹³C in WSAP may give some information on the phytoplankton growth rate. There was not a significant correlation between the spatially homogeneous Ba_ex in WSAP and Loess (r = − 0.16, p > 0.01), suggesting that the increase of biological production with the increase of Loess supply during the glacial periods did not occur.     

Controls on the height and spacing of eolian ripples and transverse dunes: A numerical modeling investigation

Ripples and transverse dunes in areas of abundant sand supply increase in height and spacing as a function of time, grain size, and excess shear velocity. How and why each of these factors influence ripple and transverse dune size, however, is not precisely known. In this paper, the controls on the height and spacing of ripples and transverse dunes in areas of abundant sand supply are investigated using a numerical model for the formation of eolian bedforms from an initially flat surface. This bedform evolution model combines the basic elements of Werner's [Werner, B.T., 1995. Eolian dunes: Computer simulations and attractor interpretation. Geology 23, 1107–1110.] cellular automaton model of dune formation with a model for boundary layer flow over complex topography. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between bed shear stress and slope on the windward (stoss) side of evolving bedforms. Nonlinear boundary layer model results indicate that bed shear stresses on stoss slopes increase with increasing slope angle up to approximately 20°, then decrease with increasing slope angle as backpressure effects become limiting. In the bedform evolution model, the linear boundary layer flow model of Jackson and Hunt [Jackson, P.S., Hunt, J.C.R., 1975. Turbulent wind flow over a low hill. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 101, 929–955.], generalized to 3D, is modified to include the nonlinear relationship between bed shear stress and slope. Bed shear stresses predicted by the modified Jackson and Hunt flow model are then used to predict rates of erosion and deposition iteratively through time within a mass-conservative framework similar to Werner [Werner, B.T., 1995. Eolian dunes: Computer simulations and attractor interpretation. Geology 23, 1107–1110.]. Beginning with a flat bed, the model forms ripples that grow in height and spacing until a dynamic steady-state condition is achieved in which bedforms migrate downwind without further growth. The steady-state ripple spacing predicted by this model is approximately 3000 times greater than the aerodynamic roughness length of the initially flat surface, which is a function of grain size and excess shear velocity. Once steady-state ripples form, they become the dominant roughness element of the surface. The increase in roughness associated with ripple formation triggers the same bedform instability that created ripples, causing dunes to form at a larger scale. In this way, the numerical model of this paper suggests that ripples and dunes are genetically linked. Transverse dunes in this model have a steady-state height and spacing that is controlled by the effective roughness length of the rippled surface, which is shown to be on the order of 500 times greater than the original roughness length, but varies significantly with the details of ripple morphology. The model predictions for ripple and dune spacing and their controlling variables are consistent with field measurements from the published literature. The model of this paper provides a preliminary process-based understanding of the granulometric control of ripples and dunes in areas of abundant sand supply and unidirectional prevailing winds, and it argues for a genetic linkage between ripples and dunes via a scaling relationship between eolian bedform size and the aerodynamic roughness length.     

临夏盆地晚中新世以来的风沙沉积及环境意义

对临夏盆地１５Ｍａ以来地层中的石英砂所作的扫描电镜分析表明,风成砂一直存在,并在８Ｍａ和６～５Ｍａ时含量最高。最大颗粒的平均粒径在（１．５～３．６）／２．６Ｍａ达０．４ｍｍ,３．６～２．６Ｍａ之后显著下降。前者表明３．６～２．６Ｍａ以前,近源风沙作用一直存在,并在８Ｍａ和６～５Ｍａ达到最盛;后者表明第四纪以来,远源风沙沉积盛行,可能反映了青藏高原在３．６～２．６Ｍａ急剧隆丐和与之相关的大气环流的发     

Eolian quartz flux variations in Cheju Island, Korea, during the last 6500 yr and a possible Sun-monsoon linkage

We have obtained a high-resolution sedimentary record covering the last 6500 yr from a maar in Cheju Island, Korea, in order to reconstruct the history of variations in the eolian quartz flux (EQF) and hence Asian dust. The long-term variation of EQF reveals three intervals: a period of high EQF (4000-2000 cal yr B.P.) and two periods of low EQF (6500-4000 cal yr B.P. and 2000 cal yr B.P. to present), which have been affected by the East Asian monsoon due to insolation change and the cold air activity in high latitudes correlated with polar high-pressure systems. This long-term variation is superimposed by millennial- and centennial-scale fluctuations with periodicities of 1137, 739, 214, 162, 137, 127, and 111 yr, implying drier conditions in the source areas in China. The detrended EQF record correlates visually and statistically (cross-spectral analysis) with the atmospheric Δ¹⁴C record (solar proxy). The centennial-scale variability in EQF may be affected by the solar activity through the Sun-East Asian monsoon linkage.