Middle Holocene Coastal Environmental and Climate Change on the Southern Coast of Korea

The Laacher See Event- (LSE-) volcanism isochrone of 12.850 yrs BP (Bujatti-Narbeshuber, 1997), proxy for P/H boundary KISS (Bujatti-Narbeshuber, 1996), was improved from Gerzensee varves to 13.034 cal yrs BP (Van Raden, 2019).    This LSE date now separates end Pleistocene, first, mainly oceanic-water KISS, from the second, Holocene-Younger Dryas Onset (YDO), continental-ice impact, as predicted by KISS-hypothesis, separating:„ a continental Koefels-comet ice-impact, from the mainly oceanic KISS, at the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary, associated with global warming, dendro C14 spikes, faunal mass extinction...“ (Bujatti-Narbeshuber, 1996; Max, 2022).    Oceanic-water LSE-KISS (13.034 cal yrs BP, varves) of end Alleroed temperature maximum, separates by 157 yrs from continental-ice YDO-KISS (12.877 cal yrs BP, varve-date). A larger gap of 184 yrs results, taking C 14 dated YD-KISS (12.850 cal yrs BP), approaching 200 yrs of earlier varve-studies (Bujatti-Narbeshuber, 1997).    LSE-KISS varve-date differs by 47 yrs from geo-magnetic Gothenberg Excursion Onset- (GEO-) isochrone of 13.081 cal yrs BP (Chen, 2020), suggesting geo-magnetic reversal, True Polar Wander (TPW) GEO-TPW-KISS from 2 Koefels-comet (Taurid-) fragments. This considers end-paleolithic Magdalenian Impact Sequelae Symbolisations (MISS).    Questioning P/H isostatic-unloading volcanism (Zielinsky, 1996), LSE-KISS volcanism is from Mid Atlantic Ridge & Mid Atlantic Plateau (MAR&MAP) impact (Bujatti-Narbeshuber, 1997, 2022), as further corroborated by Greenland (NGRIP) ice-core sulfate monitoring: from LSE-KISS-volcanism (12.978 cal yrs) to YDO (12.867 cal yr BP), within 110 yrs, an unprecedented, bipolar-volcanic-eruption-quadruplet resulted (Lin, 2022).    The first Taurid LSE-KISS (Varves-date: 13.034 cal yrs BP, GEO-date: 13.084 cal yrs BP.) into oceanic-water is evident from two 700 km Mid Atlantic Ridge & Plateau Lowering Events (MARPLES) releasing two separate Tsunamis (Bujatti-Narbeshuber, 2022): Resulting in submarine explosive-magmatism-silicates, seafloor-carbonates, volcanic-ash and sea-water in huge strato-meso-spheric overheated steam-plume moving eastward by eolian transport, descending in drowning rain-flood, largely contributing to Eurasian loess sediment layer (Muck, 1976).    This is stratigraphically verified in e.g. relative stratigraphic positions in Netherland, Geldrop-Aalsterhut, with Younger Coversand I, bleached (!) (AMS 13.080- 12.915 cal yrs BP) underlying intercalated (!), charcoal rich (AMS 12.785-12.650 cal yrs BP) Usselo Horizon (Andronikov, 2016). It corresponds to US, Black Mats stratigraphy from second Taurid, continental-ice, YD-KISS (12.850 cal yrs BP, C14) plus Carolina Bays (CB) with: 1. Soft, white, loess sediment from first oceanic LSE-KISS. 2. YD-KISS proxies-stratum. 3. e.g. Carolina-Florida-coast-sand-disturbances, within 1.500 km radius of continental-ice YD-KISS ice-ejecta impact-curtain of 500.000 CB (LIDAR) 4. Black Mats after YD-KISS.    After visiting Koefels-crater an “below continental-glacier-ice, circular geomagnetic-anomaly with paleoseismic Koefels-corridor of twelfe Holocene rockfalls”, Eugene Shoemaker (Vienna, May 5th 1997), when asked about Carolina Bays causation, is quoted: “Eugene spoke of a late Pleistocene origin of the Bays and as glaciological features while I preferred the paleoseismic interpretation. I interprete them as paleoseismic impact-seismic liquefaction features. They … are the first evidence for a late Pleistocene impact event. Dated by me …12.850 BP (1950) in calendar years”. (Bujatti-Narbeshuber, NHM letter to John Grant III, Sept. 22nd 1997).    Both P/H-impacts break&make, Pleistocene criticality&Holocene damped flow, through 700 km geomorphological threshold (GLOVES) submersion & through (GTT) water, CO2 Greenhouse-gas-production, beyond glaciation threshold for hot climate prediction.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (31°49´N, 70°55´E to 35°50´N, 71°47´E) is located in north western Pakistan in south Asia. The Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan lies to its west, Indian Himalayas to the northeast and Karakorum Mountains south of Tibetan Plateau of China, lying to its north. This PhD-project comprises of three separate studies conducted along a 200 km elevational gradient in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa starting from the sedimentary basin plains of Peshawar valley (275 m a.s.l.) reaching high up to Malam Jabba Hills in Swat (2600 m a.s.l.). The first study based on a specific dataset of 160 Poaceae species reveal trends showing that C3 and C4 polyploid Poaceae species have larger grain sizes than their respective diploid species. C4 species have larger grain size than C3 species in our specific dataset. Grasslands dominated by C3 or C4 Poaceae species from different regions and habitats can be separated by studying the pattern of trend in their increasing or decreasing pollen grain sizes. Polyploidy is more common in C4 than in C3 Poaceae species in our dataset. The method used can be applied on Poaceae pollen grains deposited in environmental archives to reconstruct past climate and to assess the dynamics of past grassland ecosystems. This study will not only help the ongoing palaeo-ecological studies in unravelling aspects such as changes in vegetation composition and shifts in biomes of past grassland ecosystems but also provide useful insights for future predictions. The second study deals with modern pollen spectra from surface samples and their relationship with the surrounding vegetation which provide useful data for the interpretation of future Holocene pollen records. Along the 200 km gradient four distinct elevational zones are defined by dominating plant families, which are reflected in the pollen assemblages by different proportions, indicating a significant correlation between pollen rain and vegetation in families like Poaceae, Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, Verbenaceae, Acanthaceae and Euphorbiaceae. Pollen assemblages also vary considerably from the associated vegetation composition and major discrepancies are caused by large differences in pollen and vegetation proportions in Boraginaceae, Saxifragaceae, Apiaceae, Balsaminaceae and Rubiaceae families. The establishment of a modern pollen rain – vegetation relationship, at least on family level, is necessary for calibration and interpretation of fossil pollen record from such sites. The third study deals with fossil pollen record from Kabal Swat area, providing a detailed history of the vegetation and climate of the Hindu Kush Mountains since the last 3300 years of the late Holocene. From 3300 to 2400 cal yrs BP, the subtropical semiarid herbaceous vegetation represented by Cyperaceae and Poaceae species was dominant in the valley. They were replaced by mixed coniferous forests of Taxus, Pinus, Juglans, Poaceae and Cyperaceae from 2400 to 900 cal yrs BP, suggesting a comparatively moderate climatic variability during the late Holocene. herbaceous vegetation from 2400 to 1500 cal yr BP and again its increase from 1500 to 1200 cal yr BP, points to the respective shrinkage and spread of grassland boundaries in Kabal Swat valley, and also suggest that the area went through respective wet-cool and dry-warm periods. Herbs were mostly abundant in most samples from 900-300 cal yr BP. This change can be attributed to a more pronounced impact of widespread deforestation, agricultural activities and to a drier summer climate. Evergreen trees and shrubs such as Oleaceae, Myrtaceae, Moraceae species, Juglans and Dodonaea dominated and were consistently present from 2400 cal yr BP to the present. Conifers like Pinus, Taxus, Picea, Abies and Cedrus were frequent in the study area from 300 cal yr BP to the present. These conifers mostly occur in the mixed coniferous forests at higher elevation in the alpine area today. Further high resolution Holocene pollen records of the Hindu Kush are needed, to allow a more elaborate comparison with other South and Central Asian palaeo-archives, providing more detailed and applicable knowledge for management and conservation issues.

Late Quaternary Paleohydrology of the Madre de Dios River, southwestern Amazon Basin, Peru

A Holocene sequence of vegetation change at Lake Eteza, coastal KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Climatic crises have been increasing rapidly since the late Holocene worldwide. Strategic planning needs multi-proxy records to understand the rate of ecosystem and climatic perturbations for generating mitigation maps. We present multiproxy records with isotopic composition (δ 13 C TOC , δ 15 N Bulk ), total organic carbon (TOC%), total nitrogen (TN%), total organic carbon to total nitrogen (C/N) ratio, palynofacies and grain size analysis of an AMS radiocarbon-dated Holocene sediment profile recovered from Kondagai lake (KLD), Tamil Nadu, India. Data sets are used to interpret the organic matter source and variation in the sediment deposition pattern. Enriched values of δ 13 C TOC and finer grain size between ~4.5 and 3.7 k cal yrs BP. represent the sources of organic matter were mostly aquatic plankton and C4-type vegetation (Poaceae), attested with low terrestrial inputs, which supports the fungal production, suggesting the shallower lake levels and drier period (parallel with the 4.2 ka event), indicating the weaker phase of the Indian monsoon. From ~3.7 to 2.5 k cal yrs BP, the lake had a high water level, marked by increased terrestrial flux, with higher sand % and depleted δ 13 C TOC values. From ~2.5 to 0.9 k cal yr BP, Lake witnessed the continuity of a warm episode, represented by the depleted values of δ 13 C TOC and coarser grain fraction at the episodic scale suggest the lake level fluctuation with marked flooding events. Higher values of δ 15 N Bulk , and C/N ratio suggest the altered element cycling in the latest phase of KLD Lake, coincides with Roman warm period (RWP). The findings enhance our understanding of organic matter sources, marking flooding events and lake level changes in accordance with monsoon variabilities, land use alteration by the combination of natural and anthropogenic actions. This investigation also highlighted the integrated effects of Indian monsoon and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variabilities over the last 4.5 k cal yrs BP.

This study aims to supplement the paleogeodetic database of past Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes and further our understanding of the Cascadia subduction zone seismic and tsunami hazards. I first address a previously identified spatial gap within the Cascadia paleogeodetic database in southern Cascadia by refining the timing and magnitude of Cascadia subduction zone earthquakes over the past 2000 years in northern Humboldt Bay, California (~44.8°N, -124.2°W). There, I mapped wetland stratigraphy consistent with past megathrust earthquakes across three marshes; Jacoby Creek, McDaniel Creek, and Mad River Slough. To improve the existing paleoseismic chronology at northern Humboldt Bay, I employed Bayesian age modeling based on 21 minimum and maximum limiting ages of short-lived plant macrofossils. These AMS ages found above and below subsidence contacts coupled to the construction of Bayesian age models provide the tightest age distributions for stratigraphic evidence of plate boundary earthquakes along the southern Cascadia coastline over the last 2 ka. These subduction zone earthquakes are dated to CE 1700, ~870 cal yrs BP, ~1125 cal yrs BP, and ~1600 cal yrs BP. I also provide estimates of coseismic subsidence of 0.90 ±0.46m for the 1700 earthquake, 0.39±0.33 m for the ~870 cal yr BP earthquake, 0.99±0.44 m ~1125 cal yr BP earthquake, and ≥0.86 m for the ~1600 cal yr BP earthquake using a validated foraminiferal-based Bayesian transfer function (BTF). To further improve our confidence in the BTF analysis required an evaluation of the stratigraphic and biostratigraphic variability preserved within the wetland stratigraphy across northern Humboldt Bay. Therefore, I compiled a large stratigraphic and biostratigraphic dataset that allowed for inter- and intra-site variability and replicability assessments of foraminiferal BTF coseismic subsidence estimates. I analyzed 26 sediment cores containing the four mud-over-peat contacts; nine for the 1700 contact (average of 0.63 ±0.36 m subsidence), five for the ~870 cal yr BP earthquake (average of 0.39 ±0.35 m), six for the ~1125 cal yr BP earthquake (average of 0.7±0.39 m) and six for the ~1600 cal yr BP earthquake.(≥0.86 m). The estimate for the 1600 cal yr BP earthquake is a minimum because, across the estuary, the contact formed above the upper limit of foraminiferal habitation. Intra-site variability of coseismic subsidence estimates reached a maximum of 0.59 m for the 1700 earthquake at McDaniel Creek. Inter-site averaged coseismic subsidence variability reached a maximum of 0.47 ±0.48 m between McDaniel Creek (0.80 ±0.41 m) and Mad River Slough (0.33 ±0.25

The aim of this research is an investigation of long-term palaeoclimatic changes. In this paper we present results of a palaeopalynological study of a high mountain peat-lake sediment core from the Yuzhno-Buibynskoe Mire in the Western Sayan Mountains covering the last 13000 cal yrs BP. In addition to qualitative palaeopalynological reconstructions we have performed quantitative reconstructions of T January, T July, and Annual precipitations using our own transfer functions constructed on 118 surface pollen spectra by a method developed by ter Braak and coauthors [16]. The results of the quantitative palaeclimatic reconstructions have demonstrated three types of climate changes in the study area from the Late Glacial period to the present time: cryo-arid climate in the Late Glacial period from 13000 cal yr BP to 11000 cal yr BP (I), humid moderate cool climate in the Middle Holocene (II) and humid cool climate in the Late Holocene after 5000 cal yr BP (III). The cold climate during the Late Glacial period was caused mostly by low winter temperatures combined with low annual precipitation, while the summer temperatures were equal or even higher than modern ones. This is characteristic for the anticyclone influenced areas. The winter temperatures and annual amount of precipitation considerably increased in all areas of the Altai-Sayan region during the early and middle Holocene times, when Atlantic cyclones reached this area. In the Late Holocene period we observe a gradual return to the climatic parameters of the pre-Holocene time.

The Caatinga is dominated by a semiarid climate and a high plant biodiversity dealing with anthropogenic disturbance and climate change. Previous studies suggest that Caatinga became a completely soil‐water pulse-dominated forest in response to reduced water availability at the end of the last ice age, around 10 cal kyr BP. This work aimed to identify vegetative and climatic evolution, and the human influence in the Cariri region, one of the driest parts of Brazil. We sampled soil in a temporal pond to identify pollen. The testimony is 170 cm in lenght and achieves 6,216 cal yr BP at the base. Pollen analysis indicates the presence of taxa representative of humid climates, between 6,216 and ca. 5000 cal yr BP, like Azolla, followed by implantation of Caatinga's modern configuration from ca. 4,900 cal yrs BP. After 2,700 cal yr BP, humid episodes occurred, possibly related to the El Niño - La Niña variation across the region, marked by increased algae and aquatic herbs concentrations. The occurrence of human activity species like Caryocar, Dioscorea, Spondias, and Licania suggest possibly landscape manipulation by pre – Columbian populations, and exotic Pinus and Prosopis reveal changes in the tree cover caused by European colonization in the Caatinga. Keywords: Anthropocene; Dry Forest; Paleogeography; Semiarid Region; Sedimentology, Lakes, Lagoons & Swamps.

Selective transport of palynomorphs in marine turbiditic deposits: An example from the Ascension-Monterey Canyon system offshore central California

Assessment of potential biological activities and distributions of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in sediments of the west coast of South Korea

High-resolution reconstructions of Holocene sea-surface conditions from dinoflagellate cyst assemblages in the northern South China Sea

Multi-proxy records of Holocene hydroclimatic and environmental changes on the southern coast of South Korea

Understanding the spatiotemporal monsoonal variability during the Holocene helps in understanding the rise and fall of many civilizations. In this study, a 2.65 m high palaeo lake sedimentary profile from the Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, Uttarakhand State, India was pollen analysed to reconstruct the variability in the monsoonal precipitation during the Middle Holocene. The study revealed that between ~7522 and 7216 cal yr BP, conifers dominated mixed broad-leaved forests occurred around the landscape of the study area, indicating a less cold and dry climate with decreased monsoon precipitation. Broad-leaved taxa during this phase show increased values considerably, indicating amelioration in climatic condition, which could be, in global perspective, broadly falling within the time-interval of the Holocene Climate Optimum (HCO; 7000–4000 BP). Between ~7216 and 6526 cal yr BP, dense conifers-dominated mixed broad-leaved forests transformed the conifers-dominated broad-leaved forests around the study area under a cold and drier climate with further reduction in monsoon precipitation. Subsequently, between ~6526 and 5987 cal yr BP, conifers-dominated broad-leaved forests continued to grow, but with lesser frequencies, around the study area under a comparatively less cold and dry climate with reduced monsoon precipitation. Finally, between ~5987 and 5817 cal yr BP, the frequencies of conifers-dominated broad-leaved forests further decreased around the landscape of the study area under a comparatively lesser cold and dry climate, probably indicating decreased monsoonal precipitation. Hence, the present study mainly showed the dominance of conifers forests around the study area between ~7522 and 7216 cal yr BP, ~7216 and 6526 cal yr BP, ~6526 and 5987 cal yr BP and between ~5987 and 5817 cal yr BP; however, broad-leaved forests also demonstrated increasing tendency between ~7522 and 7216 cal yr BP in the milieu of cold and dry climates. Moreover, the study also revealed that a lake was formed around 7522 cal yr BP along the Kulur River, a tributary of Saryu River around the study area and existed until 5817 cal yr BP.

Deglaciation modeling of the Patagonian Ice Field since the Last Glacial Maximum has been a topic of intensive research in Central West Patagonia (44°–49°S). However, the chronology of deglaciation onset, acceleration, and the subsequent thinning and recession of the different ice lobes as well as the timing and extension of large proglacial systems are still a matter of discussion. The maximum eastward extension the Lago Cochrane/Pueyrredón ice lobe was around ∼20,000–27,000 cal yrs BP; its associated proglacial lake drained toward the Pacific between 12,600 and 8,000 cal yrs BP. This study presents the first two pollen and charcoal records from the Lago Cochrane/Pueyrredón valley, spanning the last 11,650 cal yrs BP. The Laguna Maldonado record spans between 11,650 and 8,500 cal yrs BP, while the Laguna Anónima record the last 8,500 cal yrs BP, thereby overlapping chronologically. The lithological record of Laguna Maldonado shows that organic sedimentation began at the onset of the Holocene (11,650 cal yrs BP), once the site was free of glacio-lacustrine influence. Between 11,650 and 10,500 cal yrs BP, an open Nothofagus forest developed associated with high fire occurrence/frequency, followed by a transitional phase to a closer forest associated with a shift from low to high fire activity up to 9,400 cal yrs BP. Between 9,400 and 8,500 cal yrs BP, the Laguna Maldonado record suggests the development of an open forest or probably scattered patches of forest of variable size in a steppe matrix, probably related to geomorphological and paraglacial dynamics as well as climatic forcings, while the Laguna Anónima record indicates the development of a closed Nothofagus forest and high to low fire occurrence/frequency from 8,200 to 3,800 cal yrs BP. Since 3,800 cal yrs BP, a highly dynamic open forest or forest patches scattered in a grass/shrub–grass steppe matrix occurred around Laguna Anónima associated with high fire occurrence/frequency synchronous with an important increase in the presence of hunter-gatherers during the last 3,000 years. The results from the Lago Cochrane/Pueyrredón valley are integrated and discussed at the regional scale alongside other records from Central West Patagonia.

A fossil deposit excavated from the floor of Kids Cave, West Coast, South Island, New Zealand, is interpreted as having been primarily accumulated by New Zealand falcon Falco novaeseelandiae, with some contribution by Haast's eagle Harpagornis moorei. The fauna is rich: 3699 bones represented 41 bird species, two frog species, unspecified geckoes and skinks, and one bat species. Fossil deposition was mainly within the Last Glacial Maximum from about 22,000 cal yr bp to about 15,000 cal yr bp, with a marked change in sediment characteristics at the onset of the LGM's coldest period. Chronological control is given by three Uranium-series dates for a speleothem and radiocarbon AMS dating of four avian eggshell samples and one bone. The fauna is the first extensive predator accumulation of LGM age described from the West Coast of the South Island, and it indicates a palaeoenvironment of a mosaic of shrublands with forest patches. The onset of the coldest part of the LGM (Aurora 3 glacial advance, 19,500—19,000 cal yrs bp) saw marked climate cooling/drying affecting the site, but the avifauna indicates that although open-country taxa became more common in this period, some forest persisted nearby throughout the remainder of the LGM.