Vegetation and climate of the last glacial-interglacial cycle in Southern Illinois,USA

Raymond Basin and Bald Knob Basin, Montgomery County, Illinois, formed as kettles during Illinoian time. Fossil pollen from these basins provides information on vegetation and climate during the last glacial-interglacial cycle. The pollen profile at Raymond Basin contains an expanded Sangamonian section and an early Wisconsinan section, but both are missing the late Wisconsinan. The ages for the following pollen zones are estimated by correlation with the deep-sea ¹⁸O record.In the late Illinoian,Picea-Pinus pollen zone 1, dating from about 150–130 ka, represents an apparently closed boreal coniferous forest indicating a cold late-glacial climate. The Sangamonian includes three major pollen zones ranging from about 130–75 ka. The early Sangamonian is represented byQuercus-Ulmus-Carya-Fagus dominance in zone 2, indicating vegetation comparable to the modern deciduous forest and climate that was warm and moist. The middle Sangamonian in zone 3, which is characterized byAmbrosia-Poaceae-Cupressaceae-Quercus pollen, suggests a savanna vegetation and a warm, dry climate. The late Sangamonian is subdivided into aQuercus-Ulmus-Carya subzone (4a) that indicates a mesic forest and greater precipitation; aQuercus-Ambrosia subzone (4b) that suggests drier climate and savanna conditions; and aQuercus-Liquidambar-Carya subzone (4c), containing the southeastern forest element,Liquidambar, suggesting the peak in warmth and moisture. The early Wisconsinan is represented by a transitionalPicea-Chenopodiineae zone (5). This unusual assemblage suggests a cool prairie-like vegetation, perhaps with scatteredPicea trees at the end of that depositional interval. The Middle Wisconsinan is marked by the return of high percentages ofPicea andPinus pollen in zone 6. The latest pollen zone (7) is dominated by Chenopodiineae pollen and is absent at Raymond Basin. It is most likely Holocene in age, and probably represents prairie conditions and warm, dry climate.Apparent surface-temperature and apparent effective-moisture curves were derived from the first detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) axis of the pollen data. The first axis correlates well with the normalized deep-sea ¹⁸O curve of sea surface temperature, and the second is controlled mainly by precipitation. The interglacial vegetation differs from that predicted by models driven by orbitally-induced insolation curves.This is the 9th in a series of papers published in this special AMQUA issue. These papers were presented at the 1994 meeting of the American Quaternary Association held 19–22 June, 1994; at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Dr Linda C. K. Shane served as guest editor for these papers.     

Human disturbance and trophic status changes in Crystal Lake, McHenry County, Illinois, USA

The paleolimnology (sediment chemistry, ²¹⁰Pb dating, pollen, and diatoms) of Crystal Lake, McHenry County, Illinois, USA was studied to investigate the impact of European settlement on lake trophic status. Pollen clearly indicates a vegetational shift from Quercus dominance to Ambrosia. ²¹⁰Pb dating suggests that the Ambrosia rise likely occurs around the 1840's, which is consistent with historical records on the European settlement in this area. Coincident with the vegetational shifts, several diatom species, Cyclotella meneghiniana, Fragilaria crotenensis, Asterionella formosa and Tabellaria fenestrata, all increase while C. comta decreases after the settlement. However, C. comta and Aulacoseira ambigua, two dominant species, remain abundant throughout the entire core. Their relative abundances at the surface sediments reach presettlement levels. It is hypothesized that Crystal Lake, a glacial lake rich in CaCO₃, may have been able to assimilate increases of phosphorus by coprecipitating phosphorus with CaCO₃. Such a 'buffering mechanism may be responsible for the lake's resistance to trophic changes or recovery following disturbance.     

Climate change at the monsoon/Westerly boundary in Northern Mexico

Northern Mexico lies close to the present day boundary between mid-latitude (Westerly) and tropical (monsoonal) sources of moisture. Studies from the adjacent southwest USA have shown major changes in lake levels and vegetation distributions over the late Quaternary which have been interpreted in terms of significant variations in the relative strengths and positions of these climate systems. Palaeoclimatic data from this area have, however, left a number of unresolved questions which can only be answered by extending work into northern Mexico, closer to the major source of summer (monsoonal) rain, the Gulf of Mexico. Studies of palaeolake sediments from a series of hydrologically closed lake basins across a range of altitudes (1280 to 2200 m a.s.l.) in northern Chihuahua are in progress using geochemical, mineral magnetic, diatom and plant microfossil analyses. Preliminary results are presented from the Alta Babícora and Encinillas basins. The sites provide records of lacustrine deposition between >11000 and about 2500 yr BP. The diatom record from Babíora provides clear evidence for a deep water lake in this basin in the late glacial which persisted into the early Holocene. A dry episode coinciding with the timing of the Younger Dryas is recorded in Alta Babícora. Conditions wetter than present are indicated up to at least 7000 yr BP.     

渤海湾沿岸贝壳堤对潮滩有孔虫海面变化指示意义的影响

通过对渤海湾沿岸有贝壳堤发育和无贝壳堤发育的2类现代开放潮滩有孔虫组合的对比,研究了该2类潮滩环境沉积物中有孔虫的海面指示意义。5个有孔虫组合带被MHWST(平均大潮高潮位)、MHW(平均高潮位)、MHWNT(平均大潮低潮位)和MSL(平均海面)分隔,分别对应潮滩的高盐沼、低盐沼、潮间带上部、潮间带中上部和潮间带中下部5个不同亚环境。不同亚环境沉积物因其所含的有孔虫群的独特性,均可作为高精度海面标志物,误差为各亚带高差的1/2。沿岸贝壳堤可对潮滩有孔虫的属种组成产生影响,影响程度从高潮位向低潮位逐渐降低。在MHWNT潮位之下,有孔虫组合不再受到沿岸贝壳堤的影响。     

湛江湾柱状沉积物n-alkanes和PAHs组合分子特征及其环境指示作用

本文对湛江湾湾内、湾口和湾外柱状沉积物n-alkanes和PAHs的空间分布、成分谱特征和排放源进行调查分析。结果表明:(1)n-alkanes和PAHs的空间分布一致,浓度水平由高到低依次为:湾内、湾口、湾外,垂直变化不明显;(2)n-alkanes和PAHs的成分谱和L/H、CPI、Ant/(Ant+Phe)、Flu/(Flu+Pyr)、BaA/(BaA+Chry)、IP/(IP+BghiP)等特征参数比值以及主成分分析结果表明C₂₅～C₃₅高碳数n-alkanes的高等植物贡献具有绝对优势,C₁₄～C₂₄中低碳数的n-alkanes和PAHs则有共同的石油、化石燃料燃烧和生物质燃烧等人为源;(3)C₁₄～C₂₄中低碳n-alkanes与PAHs的源解析结果相同,其线性相关系数在0.67以上,表明两者具有较好的相关性,但两者之间的定量关系还需进一步的研究。本研究表明n-alkanes和PAHs对人为源的指示具有一致性,两者具有良好的相关性,能够较好地反映城市的社会经济状况,在进一步的研究中可以建立两者之间的定量关系并形成新的参数,提高人为源解析结果的准确性,深入反映人类活动对海洋环境的影响。     

北京地区百花山、东灵山表土花粉的特征分析

本文分析了北京地区百花山、东灵山两个垂直带谱不同植被类型的表土花粉，通过表土花粉百分比和浓度图式分析，结合垂直带谱的植被特征，初步回答了某些植物科属表土花粉与其植被的特征关系，并试图结合植物科属花粉产量的特征、散布能力、保存条件及地形特征对表土花粉中一些植物科属的代表性作了探讨，从而为依据化石孢粉恢复北京地区乃至华北地区的历史植被和环境提供了重要参考资料。     

霞浦No.1孔晚第四纪古气候因子的定量估算

本文使用孢粉图式、最优分割、对应分析和Q型聚类分析方法，将福建霞浦No.1孔的孢粉划分为8个孢粉组合带，并由此推论出8个植被演替阶段。依据对应分析结果和一系列热力学计算公式，本文估算了该孢粉所反映的古气候因子。它们包括年平均温度、相对温度、绝对湿度、水汽压、年蒸发量、干燥度、年降水量。并依据之些古气候因子，认为该孔孢粉反映的该地区晚第四纪古气侯有7个阶段。     

香港-大亚湾近岸海域表层沉积物的孢粉分布规律

对香港大亚湾近岸海域表层沉积物的孢粉分析结果表明．蕨类孢子占绝对优势，其次是木本植物花粉，而草本植物花粉含量较少，这一结果总体上与岸区丘陵低地植被受人为干扰破坏后的表土孢粉组合特征一致。大亚湾和大鹏湾的孢子沉积离岸越近含量越高，湾内的沉积规律与海流和沉积粒度的分布有关。香港海域则在靠伶仃洋一侧孢子含量较高，反映了蕨类孢子以径流搬运为主。此外，木本植物和草本植物花粉总量离岸越远含量越低，松属在木本植物中占优势．其相对含量向外海增加。     

海桑属花粉在南海晚第四纪地层中的分布及其意义

海桑属(Sonneratia)植物是热带滨海特有的盐滩植物,是气候和环境的指示植物,其花粉可作为滨海相沉积的重要标志。此属花粉在南海南部晚第四纪地层中分布较广,在南海中部的深海盆地,由于海流的影响,也有少量的断续分布,而处于南海北部的香港地区,在晚更新世中晚期的地层中,曾大量出现过。分析海桑属花粉在晚第四纪地层中的分布,对深入研究南海海区的物质来源、古环境和古气候等有着重要的意义。