Intra-shoreface erosion in response to rapid sea-level fall: depositional record of a tectonically uplifted strand plain, Pacific coast of Japan

This study documents lowering of the surf zone (i.e. the upper shoreface) leading to intra-shoreface erosion, following two rapid relative sea-level falls along a tectonically uplifted coast during the Holocene, and the characteristics of the resultant prograding shoreface deposits. These findings are based on high-resolution analysis and radiocarbon dating of three new drill cores obtained from the Kujukuri strand plain, Pacific coast of eastern Japan, combined with previously published borehole data and information on modern shoreline profile adjustments. A shallowing-upward sandy succession composed of lower and upper shoreface facies, foreshore and backshore facies was recognized in the drill cores. Two rapid falls in relative sea-level at 2·3 to 2·6 and 1·8 to 2·0 ka are recorded by downstepping of the base of the foreshore facies, and farther seawards by the lowering of an erosional boundary between the upper and lower shoreface facies. Superimposed bed profiles of an adjacent modern beach define an envelope, the base of which reflects shore-normal migration of longshore bars and troughs. The base of the envelope represents an erosional surface that divides the surface mobile layer above from preserved deposits beneath. The surface is concave upwards and steeper than the mean beach profile, and exhibits a flat platform approximately at the lower limit of the upper shoreface equating to the storm surf zone. The seaward transition of this surface, rather than the mean equilibrium profile, controls the metre-scale to decimetre-scale internal structure of the Kujukuri shoreface deposits. Depositional models for sea-level fall based on an exponential equilibrium profile do not adequately account for the presence and migration of longshore bars and troughs.     

Vegetation,climate, and fire during the late-glacial–Holocene transition at Spruce Pond,Hudson Highlands,southeastern New York,USA

Pollen, plant macrofossil, and charcoal records from Spruce Pond (41°14′22″N, 74°12′15″W), southeastern New York, USA dated by AMS provide details about late-glacial–early Holocene vegetation development in the Hudson Highlands from >12410 to 9750 ¹⁴C yr BP. Prior to 12410 yr BP, vegetation was apparently open, dominated by herbs and shrubs (Cyperaceae, Gramineae, Tubuliflorae, Salix, Alnus, Betula), possibly with scattered trees (Picea and Pinus). However, Picea macrofossils are not found until 12410 yr BP. Development of a temperature deciduous–boreal-coniferous forest featuring Quercus, Fraxinus, Ostrya/Carpinus, Pinus, Picea, and Abies occurs between 12410 and 11140 yr BP. A return of predominantly boreal forest taxa between 11140 and 10230 yr BP is interpreted as an expression of the Younger Dryas cooling event. Holocene warming at 10230 yr BP is signalled by arrival of Pinus strobus, coincident with expansion of Quercus-dominated forest. Fire activity, as inferred from charcoal influx, appears to have increased as woodland developed after 12410 yr BP. Two charcoal influx peaks occur during Younger Dryas time. Early Holocene fire activity was relatively high but decreased for approximately 100 yr prior to the establishment of Tsuga canadensis in the forest at 9750 yr BP. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Holocene coastal change at Luce Bay,South West Scotland

Coastal change during the Mid- to Late Holocene at Luce Bay, South West Scotland, is examined using morphological, stratigraphic and biostratigraphical techniques supported by radiocarbon dating. Deglaciation left extensive sediments, providing a source for depositional coastal landforms. Glacio-isostatic uplift resulted in the registration of evidence for former relative sea levels (RSLs), which support the pattern of Holocene RSL change for the northern Irish Sea as determined by shoreline-based Gaussian trend surface models. The rate of RSL rise was rapid from before ca. 8600 to ca. 7800 cal a bp , but then slowed, changing by <3 m over the next 3000 years, a pattern reflected in the convergence of shorelines predicted in the models. By ca. 4400 cal a bp RSL was falling towards present levels. As these changes were taking place, coastal barriers developed and dunes formed across them. In the West of the Bay, a lagoon forming to landward of the barriers and dunes acted as a sediment sink for dune sand. Changes in the coastal landscape influenced the occupation of the area by early human societies. This study illustrates the value of combining an understanding of process geomorphology, RSL and archaeology in studies of coastal change.     

Accumulation rates of volcaniclastic deposits on Loihi Seamount,Hawaii

AMS radiocarbon age dating of planktonic foraminifera in volcaniclastic deposits on Loihi Seamount yields ages ranging from 590 years before present (y BP) at 10 cm depth to 5,880 y BP at 1,007 cm depth in an 11-m-thick section exposed along inward facing, caldera-bounding faults on the eastern side of Loihi’s summit. The accumulation rate of the deposit was about 0.37 cm/y from 5,880 to 3,300 y BP and it consisted of subequal amounts of alkalic and tholeiitic fragments. The rate slowed dramatically at about 3,300 y BP to an average 0.04 cm/y and the particles that have accumulated since consist mostly of alkalic glass fragments. The decrease in accumulation rate could indicate a decrease in volcanic activity at Loihi beginning about 3,300 y BP. This lower level of activity appears to be continuing today.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene activity of the Atacazo–Ninahuilca Volcanic Complex (Ecuador)

The Atacazo–Ninahuilca Volcanic Complex (ANVC) is located in the Western Cordillera of Ecuador, 10 km southwest of Quito. At least six periods of Pleistocene to Holocene activity (N1 to N6) have been preserved in the geologic record as tephra fallouts and pyroclastic flow deposits. New field data, including petrographic and whole-rock geochemical analyses of over forty soil and tephra sections, 100 pumice and lithic samples, and 10 new ¹⁴C ages allow us to constrain: (1) the tephra fall isopachs and detailed characteristics of the last two events (N5–N6) including volume estimates of the tephra and pyroclastic flow deposits and the corresponding volcanic explosivity index (VEI); (2) the petrographical and geochemical correlations between domes, tephras, and pyroclastic flow deposits; and, (3) the timing of the last 4 eruptive events and a period of quiescence that endured a few thousand years (1000–4000).     

热解法用于礼村黄土-古土壤地层~(14)C测年

采用简单的热解方法分离黄土-古土壤不同有机组分进行14C测年的探索,通过加热使黄土-古土壤有机质发生裂解,选择400℃作为试验温度,对陕西省岐山县礼村剖面黄土-古土壤粉末样品在400℃下挥发出的Py-V组分和残留下的Py-R组分分别进行14C(AMS)测年,并结合该剖面同层位黄土地层与考古文化层接触关系,认为礼村剖面受人类活动影响强烈的地层中,Py-V组分年龄能代表真实年龄;在未受人类活动影响自然沉积地层中,Py-R组分年龄能代表真实年龄。     

Temporal and spatial variations of radiocarbon in Japan Sea bottom water

In 1995 and 2000, the radiocarbon ratio (Δ¹⁴C) of total dissolved inorganic carbon was measured in the Japan Sea where deep and bottom waters are formed within the sea itself. We found that (1) since 1979, the Δ¹⁴C in bottom water below about 2000-m depth in the western Japan Basin (WJB) had increased by about 30‰ by 1995, and (2) the bottom Δ¹⁴C in the WJB did not change between 1995 and 2000. The former finding was due to penetration of surface bomb-produced radiocarbon into the bottom water owing to bottom ventilation, whereas the latter was caused by stagnation of the bottom ventilation there. In the eastern Japan Basin (EJB), the bottom Δ¹⁴C also increased by about 30‰ between 1979 and 2002. Recent stagnation of the bottom ventilation in the EJB is also suggested from analyses of constant bomb-produced tritium between 1984 and 1999. The temporal variations of Δ¹⁴C, tritium, and dissolved oxygen in the bottom waters indicate that: (1) new bottom water is formed south of Vladivostok in the WJB only in severe winters; and (2) the new bottom water then follows the path of a cyclonic abyssal circulation of the Japan Sea, which results in the increases in dissolved oxygen and the transient tracers in the bottom waters in the EJB and Yamato Basin with an approximate 3-to 6-year time lag. This process is consistent with the spatial variations of Δ¹⁴C, bomb-produced ¹³⁷Cs, and chlorofluorocarbon-11 in the bottom waters of the Japan Sea.     

Discovery of cryptotephra at Middle–Upper Paleolithic sites Arma Veirana and Riparo Bombrini,Italy: a new link for broader geographic correlations

Chemical characterization of cryptotephra is critical for temporally linking archaeological sites. Here, we describe cryptotephra investigations of two Middle–Upper Paleolithic sites from north-west Italy, Arma Veirana and Riparo Bombrini. Cryptotephra are present as small (<100 µm) rhyolitic glass shards at both sites, with geochemical signatures rare for volcanoes in the Mediterranean region. Two chemically distinct shard populations are present at Arma Veirana (P1 and P2). P1 is a high silica rhyolite (>75 wt.%) with low FeO (<1 wt.%) and a K₂O/Na₂O > 1 and P2 is also a high silica rhyolite (>75 wt.%) but with higher FeO (2.33–2.65 wt.%). Shards at Riparo Bombrini (P3) are of the same composition as P1 shards at Arma Veirana, providing a distinct link between deposits at both sites. Geochemical characteristics suggest three possible sources for P1 and P3: eruptions from Lipari Island (56–37.7 ka) in Italy, the Acigöl volcanic field (200–20 ka) in Turkey and the Miocene Kirka-Phrigian caldera (18 Ma) in Turkey. Eruptions from Lipari Island are the most likely source for P1,3 cryptotephra. This study highlights how cryptotephra can benefit archaeology, by providing a direct link between Arma Veirana and Riparo Bombrini as well as other deposits throughout the Mediterranean.     

Geochemical and stratigraphic evidence of environmental change at Lynch's Crater, Queensland, Australia

This is one of the first applications of geochemical proxies to define changes in vegetation, hydrology and atmospheric dust influence on a peat deposit in the southern hemisphere. A 6.6 m deep peat record from Lynch's Crater in NE-Queensland, Australia, provides a sensitive  5000 to 30,000 cal years BP archive of environmental change. The deposit consists of 1.5 m of ombrotrophic peat underlain by a minerotrophic peat. Within the minerotrophic section, sponge spicules and diatom fragments offer evidence of prolonged flooding of the peat environment resulting in several layers containing (up to 50%) high inorganic material. The Ca and Mg data display episodes of enhanced dust influx and nutrient recycling and support previous palynological studies that show a Pleistocene to Holocene switch from sclerophyll woodlands to rainforest vegetation.