A high-resolution history of vegetation and climate history on Sunda Shelf since the last glaciation

This paper presents 16500-year-long high-resolution pollen and spore records from sediments of core 18287 on the continental slope of the southern South China Sea. In the period of 16.5―13.9 ka B.P., the low-mountain rainforest dominated the continental slope of the South China Sea. And in the period of 13.9―10.2 ka B.P., the lowland rainforest and ferns expanded greatly, while the low-mountain rainforest shrank, which indicated a warming at the last deglaciation. Also during this period, the pollen sedi-mentation rates reduced sufficiently. This might imply a rise of the sea level and therefore the sub-mergence of the shelf, resulting in the broadening of the distance between the source area and the slope. After 10.2 ka B.P, decreasing of the fern indicates the early Holocene (10.2―7 ka B.P.) is a cold period, while the increasing of fern marks the rising temperature (7―3.6 ka B.P.).     

末次冰消期以来冰岛周边海域古海洋环境及海冰研究进展

冰岛位于北大西洋北部地区,是对全球气候变化最为敏感的区域之一,对其周边海域古海洋环境的深入研究是全球气候变化研究的重要组成部分。海冰的大面积分布是该地区的显著特点之一,对全球气候系统产生较大的影响意义。此外,冰岛周边海域大量火山灰沉积,也为古海洋环境研究提供了可靠的年代资料。本文以冰岛为中心,回顾了冰岛周边海域末次冰消期以来古海洋环境及海冰研究的现状,探讨了该海域不同记录之间的差异,并通过分析末次冰消期以来古环境研究的不足,提出了相应的展望。     

The late Quaternary sedimentary infill of Lake Annecy (northwestern Alps): an overview from two seismic-reflection surveys

The sedimentary fill of Lake Annecy (northwestern Alps) - related to the last glacial/post-glacial episode - was investigated through high resolution (sparker) and very high resolution (2.5 kHz) seismic-reflection surveys. A seismostratigraphic approach led to subdivision of a 150 m-thick pile (maximum thickness in axial part) into five units. Basal units (1 and 2) represent an imbrication of subglacial and glacio-lacustrine deposits, close to the grounding line of the glaciers' fronts (respectively at the northern and southern terminations of the lake). The first acoustically well-stratified unit (3) developed during a fast retreat of the glaciers fronts far from the lake basin, and a progradational alluvial regime, with abundant underflows, in a lake larger than the present one. Unit 4 represents the progressive decrease of this clastic input mixed with the progressive development of in situ bio-induced production. As in many other alpine lakes, a topmost unit (5), relatively thin (about 8-10 m) and with a conspicuous drape configuration, is the signature of the Holocene interglacial climatic conditions with a sedimentation rate of about 1 mm/yr. On the lacustrine basin slopes, slumps and debris flow occurred mainly within Unit 3; they may be due to, either climate-induced high rate terrigenous sedimentation, or/and to a period of increased seismo-tectonic activity.     

Sedimentary characteristics of relict deposits on the western South Yellow Sea

Integrated studies of vertical sedimentary sequences, grain sizes, and benthic foraminifera and ostracoda, in combination with AMS 14C dating, and 210Pb and 137Cs analysis were carried out in three vibracores taken from the area of relict deposits on the western South Yellow Sea. The relict sands, which are about 0.4 m thick, overlie on the Early Holocene coastal marsh or tidal flat deposits with an evident erosional interface in between. The middle and upper parts or sometimes the whole of the relict sands have been reworked under the modern dynamic environment. The sedimentation rate varies between 0.20–0.30 cm year-1. The relict sands show a bimodal grain-size distribution pattern in frequency curves, with a sharp peak in the coarse fraction between 3Φ and 4Φ and a secondary peak in the fine fraction of about 7Φ. Of the benthic foraminiferal and ostracod assemblages, the reworked relict sands are characterized by the mixing of the nearshore euryhaline shallow-water species and deeper water species. The erosional interface at the bottom of the relict sands is considered as a regional ravinement surface formed during the transgression in the Early Holocene due to shoreface retreating landwards. The relict sands were accumulated on the ravinement surface during the transgression in the deglaciation period as lag deposits after winnowing and reworking by marine dynamic processes. And the secondary peak of fine fraction in the frequency curve for the relict sands suggests the input of fine-grained sediments during the reworking process. As the conclusion, the relict sands in the study area are interpreted as a type of reworked relict sediments.     

现代长江口的形成及末次冰消期以来沉积环境演变

利用在长江口崇明岛获得的一个第四纪钻孔,对中更新世末以来的沉积物进行了OSL、14C测年,在此基础上进行岩性、微体古生物和孢粉分析,以探讨现代长江口形成的基础以及末次冰消期以来在气候-海平面波动控制下河口沉积环境的演变。研究结果显示,本孔所在地中更新世末处于湖沼环境,但晚更新世一直以河流环境为主,且主要发育末次冰期的河道滞留相沉积。在此基础上,随着末次冰消期海平面的上升,先后发育了河口湾和三角洲沉积体系。末次冰消期的海平面快速上升在本孔沉积物记录中体现为微体古生物化石较丰富,潮流作用显著。全新世早期长江口堆积速率明显高于全新世中晚期,应当反映了温暖湿润的季风气候条件下入海泥沙非常丰富。     

Late Quaternary deglaciation and climate history of the Larsemann Hills (East Antarctica)

The Late Quaternary climate history of the Larsemann Hills has been reconstructed using siliceous microfossils (diatoms, chrysophytes and silicoflagellates) in sediment cores extracted from three isolation lakes. Results show that the western peninsula, Stornes, and offshore islands were ice‐covered between 30 000 yr BP and 13 500 cal. yr BP. From 13 500 cal. yr BP (shortly after the Antarctic Cold Reversal) the coastal lakes of the Larsemann Hills were deglaciated and biogenic sedimentation commenced. Between 13 500 and 11 500 cal. yr BP conditions were warmer and wetter than during the preceding glacial period, but still colder than today. From 11 500 to 9500 cal. yr BP there is evidence for wet and warm conditions, which probably is related to the early Holocene climate optimum, recorded in Antarctic ice cores. Between 9500 and 7400 cal. yr BP dry and cold conditions are inferred from high lake‐water salinities, and low water levels and an extended duration of nearshore sea‐ice. A second climate optimum occurred between 7400 and 5230 cal. yr BP when stratified, open water conditions during spring and summer characterised the marine coast of Prydz Bay. From 5230 until 2750 cal. yr BP sea‐ice duration in Prydz Bay increased, with conditions similar to the present day. A short return to stratified, open water conditions and a reduction in nearshore winter sea‐ice extent is evident between 2750 and 2200 cal. yr BP. Simultaneously, reconstructions of lake water depth and salinity suggests relatively humid and warm conditions on land between 3000 and 2000 cal. yr BP, which corresponds to a Holocene Hypsithermal reported elsewhere in Antarctica. Finally, dry conditions are recorded around 2000, between 760 and 690, and between 280 and 140 cal. yr BP. These data are consistent with ice‐core records from Antarctica and support the hypothesis that lacustrine and marine sediments on land can be used to evaluate the effect of long‐term climate change on the terrestrial environment. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intense reducing conditions during the last deglaciation and Heinrich events (H1, H2, H3) in sediments from the oxygen minimum zone off Goa,eastern Arabian Sea

Two sediment cores, ABP-32/GC-01R and ABP-32/GC-03 were collected at a water depth of 642 m and 1086 m off Goa from the present day Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) of eastern Arabian Sea (EAS) cover time span of last 18 ka and 32 ka respectively were analysed for multi-proxy redox-sensitive elements to understand the variation in the redox conditions and factors responsible for its development.Redox-sensitive elements concentration and their normalized ratios (Mn/Al, U/Th, Mo/Al and Ce/Ce*) suggest that sediment core ABP-32/GC-01R is under more reducing conditions due to its location within the centre of OMZ compared to core ABP-32/GC-03 which is at the base of OMZ. Sediments from the EAS are of non-euxinic environments where dissolved sulfide is present but restricted to the sediment pore-waters. Lack of significant correlation (r=< 0.1) of organic carbon with U and Mo suggest that productivity may not have control on the development of reducing conditions. The lowest Mn/Al ratio, strong negative Ce/Ce* anomaly and remarkable enrichment of U/Th and Mo/Al ratios during the last deglaciation, and Heinrich events (H1, H2, H3) indicate intense reducing conditions probably due to poor ventilation by oxygen depleted bottom waters from Subantarctic Mode Waters (SAMW) - Antarctic Intermediate waters (AAIW). There is a distinct lathanide fractionation in the sediment cores where, La_(n)/Yb_(n) ratio is <1, ≈1 and >1 during the last 10 ka (Holocene), 14–10 ka (includes-Younger Dryas and Bǿlling-Allerǿd), 18–14 ka (last deglaciation) and Heinrich events suggesting less reducing, terrigenous dominated and intense reducing condition respectively.     

Palaeoceanographic change in the northeastern South China Sea during the last 15000 years

The sedimentary succession of piston core RC26-16, dated by ¹⁴C accelerator mass spectrometry, provides a nearly continuous palaeoceanographic record of the northeastern South China Sea for the last 15000 yr. Planktic foraminiferal assemblages indicate that winter sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) rose from 18°C to about 24°C from the last glacial to the Holocene. A short-lived cooling of 1°C in winter temperature centred at about 11000 ¹⁴C yr ago may reflect the Younger Dryas cooling event in this area. Summer SSTs have remained between 27°C and 29°C throughout the record. The temperature difference between summer and winter was about ca. 9°C during the last glacial, much higher than the Holocene value of ca. 5°C. During the late Holocene a short-lived cooling event occurred at about 4000 ¹⁴C yr ago. Oxygen and carbon isotopic gradients between surface (0–50 m) and subsurface (50–100 m) waters were smaller during the last glacial than those in the Holocene. The fluctuation in the isotopic gradients are caused most likely by changes in upwelling intensity. Smaller gradients indicate stronger upwelling during the glacial winter monsoon. The fauna-derived estimates of nutrient content of the surface waters indicate that the upwelling induced higher fertility and biological productivity during the glacial. The winter monsoon became weaker during the Holocene. The carbonate compensation depth and foraminiferal lysocline were shallower during the Holocene, except for a short-lived deepening at about 5000 ¹⁴C yr ago. A preservation peak of planktic foraminifera and calcium carbonate occurred between 13400 and 12000 ¹⁴C yr ago, synchronous to the global preservation event of Termination I.     

18.5kaB.P.以来东北四海龙湾玛珥湖全岩有机碳同位素记录及其古气候环境意义

结合含水量、TOC含量和TOC/TN比值变化曲线,18·5kaB·P·以来的四海龙湾玛珥湖沉积物全岩有机碳同位素组成（δ13CTOC）记录可划分为3个阶段:1)末次冰期晚期（18·5～14·7kaB·P·）,δ13CTOC值偏正,变化范围为-29·50‰～-26·18‰,平均值约为-28·10‰;2)末次冰消期（14·7～11·7kaB·P·）,δ13CTOC值显著偏负,变化范围为-33·92‰～-28·40‰,平均值约为-31·75‰,在δ13CTOC值变化曲线上表现为一个低谷,但在类似YoungerDryas的冷干事件期间（12·7～11·7kaB·P·）,δ13CTOC值再次显著偏正,最高可达-28·4‰;3)全新世以来（11·7kaB·P.至今）,δ13CTOC值变化幅度不大（-30·85‰～-27·37‰）,基本上都在平均值-29·1‰左右。研究表明,大气CO2浓度变化是影响18·5kaB·P·以来四海龙湾玛珥湖δ13CTOC值变化的主导因素。     

Pattern,style and timing of British–Irish Ice Sheet retreat: Shetland and northern North Sea sector

The offshore sector around Shetland remains one of the least well-studied parts of the former British–Irish Ice Sheet with several long-standing scientific issues unresolved. These key issues include (i) the dominance of a locally sourced ‘Shetland ice cap’ vs an invasive Fennoscandian Ice Sheet; (ii) the flow configuration and style of glaciation at the Last Glacial Maximum (i.e. terrestrial vs marine glaciation); (iii) the nature of confluence between the British–Irish and Fennoscandian Ice Sheets; (iv) the cause, style and rate of ice sheet separation; and (v) the wider implications of ice sheet uncoupling on the tempo of subsequent deglaciation. As part of the Britice-Chrono project, we present new geological (seabed cores), geomorphological, marine geophysical and geochronological data from the northernmost sector of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet (north of 59.5°N) to address these questions. The study area covers ca. 95 000 km², an area approximately the size of Ireland, and includes the islands of Shetland and the surrounding continental shelf, some of the continental slope, and the western margin of the Norwegian Channel. We collect and analyse data from onshore in Shetland and along key transects offshore, to establish the most coherent picture, so far, of former ice-sheet deglaciation in this important sector. Alongside new seabed mapping and Quaternary sediment analysis, we use a multi-proxy suite of new isotopic age assessments, including 32 cosmogenic-nuclide exposure ages from glacially transported boulders and 35 radiocarbon dates from deglacial marine sediments, to develop a synoptic sector-wide reconstruction combining strong onshore and offshore geological evidence with Bayesian chronosequence modelling. The results show widespread and significant spatial fluctuations in size, shape and flow configuration of an ice sheet/ice cap centred on, or to the east of, the Orkney–Shetland Platform, between ~30 and ~15 ka BP. At its maximum extent ca. 26–25 ka BP , this ice sheet was coalescent with the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet to the east. Between ~25 and 23 ka BP the ice sheet in this sector underwent a significant size reduction from ca. 85 000 to <50 000 km², accompanied by several ice-margin oscillations. Soon after, connection was lost with the Fennoscandian Ice Sheet and a marine corridor opened to the east of Shetland. This triggered initial (and unstable) re-growth of a glaciologically independent Shetland Ice Cap ca. 21–20 ka BP with a strong east–west asymmetry with respect to topography. Ice mass growth was followed by rapid collapse, from an area of ca. 45 000 km² to ca. 15 000 km² between 19 and 18 ka BP , stabilizing at ca. 2000 km² by ~17 ka BP. Final deglaciation of Shetland occurred ca. 17–15 ka BP , and may have involved one or more subsidiary ice centres on now-submerged parts of the continental shelf. We suggest that the unusually dynamic behaviour of the northernmost sector of the British–Irish Ice Sheet between 21 and 18 ka BP – characterized by numerous extensive ice sheet/ice mass readvances, rapid loss and flow redistributions – was driven by significant changes in ice mass geometry, ice divide location and calving flux as the glaciologically independent ice cap adjusted to new boundary conditions. We propose that this dynamism was forced to a large degree by internal (glaciological) factors specific to the strongly marine-influenced Shetland Ice Cap.