Climatic Optimum Research Articles

Development of a Middle–Late Holocene subaqueous clinoform in the northern Jiangsu coastal zone, western South Yellow Sea

The northern Jiangsu coastal zone (NJCZ) is part of the western coast of the South Yellow Sea and is located between the mouths of the Yellow and Yangtze rivers. The two rivers and the Huaihe River have discharged into the NJCZ at various times during the Holocene. As a result, multi-stage deltas and clinoforms have developed in the NJCZ, including the old Yellow River delta (OYRD) (1128–1855 CE). An old clinoform has recently been identified just below the OYRD, but its age and origin are uncertain because of limited data. In this study, integrated analyses of a new borehole core SYS-1601 penetrating the clinoform were conducted to document the evolution of the NJCZ and to provide a study case for other coastal regions influenced by major river systems and complex hydrodynamic conditions. Analyses included accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, measurements of grain size and Sr-Nd isotopes, and identification of benthic foraminifera and ostracoda. Results show that the evolution of the subaqueous clinoform prior to the development of the OYRD in the western South Yellow Sea was concurrent with and genetically linked to the formation of the Huaihe delta on the NJCZ. The clinoform started to form at the same time as the Middle Holocene maximum flooding of the NJCZ at ∼7.0 ka. Cross-shelf progradation of the clinoform was coeval with progradation of the Huaihe delta and terminated at 1128 CE, when the Yellow River changed course and started to discharge off the Jiangsu coast to form the OYRD. The clinoform exhibits an overall coarsening-upward succession, comprising clayey silt and silt in the lower part grading upwards into silt and sandy silt, and its sediment was sourced largely from the Huaihe and Yangtze rivers. During the development of the clinoform from ∼7.0 ka to 1128 CE, the Yellow River did not flow into the South Yellow Sea through the Jiangsu coast for a sufficiently long time to contribute a substantial amount of sediment to the formation of the clinoform. The initiation and evolution of the clinoform were controlled mainly by complex interactions of dynamic processes, geomorphological conditions, and sediment supply into the western South Yellow Sea during the Middle–Late Holocene.

Mineral magnetic variation of the minle loess/palaeosol sequence of the late glacial to holocene period in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

SUMMARY Located at the modern junction of the Asian Summer Monsoon and the Westerlies, the northeastern Tibetan Plateau and western Chinese Loess Plateau are in distinct climatic setting from the middle and eastern Chinese Loess Plateau. Besides, Holocene climate variations near the Asian Summer Monsoon margin are highly debated with different models proposed. We carried out environmental magnetic analyses on the Minle loess section, with continuous deposition between 13.3–0.5 ka, located near this margin. Results show that the magnetic susceptibilities of palaeosols are dominantly contributed by superparamagnetic (SP) and single-domain (SD) maghemite and/or magnetite produced by pedogenesis. Limited changes in the content of haematite indicate that dust origin hardly influenced the magnetic mineral variations. The section is divided into four substages according to the changes in magnetic indices and provides a full scene of Holocene climatic evolutions. During the coldest and driest Late Glacial (13.3–11.7 ka), it displays the weakest pedogenesis, as suggested by the lowest SP and SD concentration. The strongest pedogenesis in the Minle section produced higher magnetic susceptibility than the loess records in the Chinese Loess Plateau during the early Holocene Optimum (11.7–8.1 ka). The subsequently declined summer insolation, equatorward migrated Westerlies and the weakened Asian Summer Monsoon led to weak pedogenesis during the middle Holocene (8.1–5.3 ka). Stronger pedogenesis during the late Holocene (5.3–0.5 ka) than the middle Holocene might be due to lower evapotranspiration from weaker insolation and/or to the enhanced winter Westerlies. We attribute the spatiotemporal differences in climatic records of the Chinese loess to precipitation, effective humidity and aeolian geomorphological processes.

Parabolic dune distribution, morphology and activity during the last 20 000 years: A global overview

AbstractParabolic dunes form and migrate in almost every climate and geographic zones of the world, ranging from the tropical coastlines to the arid continental deserts. Despite their extensive distribution and their importance within the aeolian sediment landscape, the understanding of their morphological development, activity and link with climates remains somewhat limited to local or regional scales. A good understanding of the present climate conditions under which parabolic dunes are formed and/or reactivated would be significantly helpful to constrain past climate models. Similarly, an improved knowledge of parabolic dunes behaviour during past climatic episodes would provide some valuable long‐term data to better predict their future activity. This review first aims at providing a non‐exhaustive global database on parabolic dune morphology and the present wind regimes with which they are associated. To do so, the morphology of 750 dunes distributed worldwide was first analysed using a high‐resolution global digital elevation model, suggesting an intrinsic relationship between the different measured morphoparameters. The analysis of the associated local wind regimes shows that parabolic dunes develop under strong unidirectional winds, which are more conspicuous in coastal than continental environments. Dunes of different ages are globally aligned with present prevailing winds, which suggests a prevalent control of long‐term global atmospheric circulation on dune orientations. Finally, this study explores the link between parabolic dune activity and climates over the past 20 000 years by reviewing ages from the literature and combining them with the ones compiled in the INQUA Dunes Atlas Chronologic Database. Overall, it appears that changes towards drier conditions have triggered dunes migration during both warm and cold periods of the Last Glacial Maximum, Holocene Climate Optimum, Roman Climate Optimum, Medieval Climate Optimum and Little Ice Age. The present day aeolian activity is predominantly linked with deteriorating environmental conditions caused by human disturbances.

How SST during Ice Age to the New Epoch, Last Interglacial to Holocene, and Miocene and Pliocene's affect the intensity of the Asian summer monsoon

Hypothesis from out group is: in warmer climates monsoons dry seasons were drier. Our group aim is to identify the locations that had greater temperatures in the past in order to predict the power of the monsoon in a warmer future. In order to comprehend how monsoons might impact a hot globe, we shall find the relationship between ocean surface temperature and monsoon strength. Essay mainly focus on three major factors of the past to explore the purpose: the historical period, the last interglacial and Holocene, and the Miocene Climatic optimum.

Cricetid, eomyid and murid fauna from the Middle Miocene site (MN6) of Devínska Nová Ves – Bonanza (Slovakia)

Rodents play an important role in all current and extinct ecosystems. In this study we present the fossil record of cricetids, eomyids and murids from Devínská Nová Ves–Bonanza (Vienna Basin, Slovakia). A detailed morphometric analysis revealed the presence of Eumyarion cf. latior, Democricetodon vindobonensis, Karydomys sp., Anomalomys sp., Neocometes brunonis, Keramidomys carpathicus, and Eomyops sp. This species association with other taxa available from the locality indicates an early MN6 age, probably slightly younger than the neighbouring locality Devínská Nová Ves–Štokeravská vápenka = Neudorf an dem March – die Spaltenfüllung or Zapfe’s Fissures. Paleoenvironmental specificities of the locality dated after the peak of the Mid-Miocene Climatic Optimum are discussed. This faunal assemblage, together with geological setting, suggests a mixed insular or peninsular area with subtropical forests close to freshwater bodies in the vicinity of a saltwater sea.

A High Arctic inner shelf–fjord system from the Last Glacial Maximum to the present: Bessel Fjord and southwest Dove Bugt, northeastern Greenland

Abstract. The Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) responds rapidly to the present climate; therefore, its response to the predicted future warming is of concern. To learn more about the impact of future climatic warming on the ice sheet, decoding its behavior during past periods of warmer than present climate is important. However, due to the scarcity of marine studies reconstructing ice sheet conditions on the Northeast Greenland shelf and adjacent fjords, the timing of the deglaciation over marine regions and its connection to forcing factors remain poorly constrained. This includes data collected in fjords that encompass the Holocene thermal maximum (HTM), a period in which the climate was warmer than it is at present. This paper aims to use new bathymetric data and the analysis of sediment gravity cores to enhance our understanding of ice dynamics of the GrIS in a fjord and inner shelf environment as well as give insight into the timing of deglaciation and provide a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of southwestern Dove Bugt and Bessel Fjord since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). North–south-oriented glacial lineations and the absence of pronounced moraines in southwest Dove Bugt, an inner continental shelf embayment (trough), suggest the southwards and offshore flow of Storstrømmen, the southern branch of the Northeast Greenland Ice Stream (NEGIS). Sedimentological data suggest that an ice body, theorized to be the NEGIS, may have retreated from the region slightly before ∼ 11.4 cal ka BP. The seabed morphology of Bessel Fjord, a fjord terminating in southern Dove Bugt, includes numerous basins separated by thresholds. The position of basin thresholds, which include some recessional moraines, suggest that the GrIS had undergone multiple halts or readvances during deglaciation, likely during one of the cold events identified in the Greenland Summit temperature records. A minimum age of 7.1 cal ka BP is proposed for the retreat of ice through the fjord to or west of its present-day position in the Bessel Fjord catchment area. This suggests that the GrIS retreated from the marine realm in Early Holocene, around the onset of the HTM in this region, a period when the mean July temperature was at least 2–3 ∘C higher than at present and remained at or west of this onshore position for the remainder of the Holocene. The transition from predominantly mud to muddy sand layers in a mid-fjord core at ∼ 4 cal ka BP may be the result of increased sediment input from nearby and growing ice caps. This shift may suggest that in the Late Holocene (Meghalayan), a period characterized by a temperature drop to modern values, ice caps in Bessel Fjord probably fluctuated with greater sensitivity to climatic conditions than the northeastern sector of the GrIS.

Benthic biota (nummulites) response to a hyperthermal event: Eccentricity-modulated precession control on climate during the middle Eocene warming in the Southern Mediterranean

Earth's future environment depends critically on how the marine ecosystems react to the current greenhouse conditions. Past warming events from the Middle Eocene can shed light on the nature of these reactions. Middle Eocene sedimentary archives from the Tethyan margins record the Middle Eocene Climatic Optimum (MECO) with varying carbon isotope excursions from site to site. The present study integrates stable isotopes, the abundance of benthic fauna, and astrochronology to look for the timing of the MECO peak warming and the maximum abundance of nummulites in the Southern Mediterranean (Tunisia). A mesotrophic environment during the lower Bartonian with high eustatic sea level promotes the formation of a shallow water carbonate platform in central Tunisia from 40.6 Ma to 39.8 Ma. Nummulites occur in low abundance in the Lower Reneiche Limestone unit (LRL, Bey et al., 2015) from 40.6 to 40.2 Ma, then increase, reaching maximum abundance at the Upper Reneiche Limestone unit (URL, 40.1 to 40 Ma). Maximum accumulation of nummulites and negative excursion of δ18O in the URL occurred during the MECO's warming peak (40.07 to 40 Ma), 200 kyr after the middle Eocene third-order maximum flooding surface. The nummulitic beds represent warmer climates and higher sea levels (arid to semi-arid climate), and the short marl intervals reflect enhanced detrital input (humid climate and lower sea level). The eccentricity modulations were extracted using a lowpass filter applied on a wide-band precession filter then we computed the instantaneous amplitude using Hilbert Transform. The Spearman-rank correlation assesses the potential introduction of amplitude modulations during tuning. Power Decomposition Analysis (PDA) indicates a dominant short eccentricity forcing on the regional climate during the MECO with a minor obliquity component. Variations in magnetic susceptibility and CaCO3 content suggest a combined control of climate and sea-level cycles controlled by eccentricity-modulated precession cycles.

Climate variability in the northern Levant from the highly resolved Qadisha record (Lebanon) during the Holocene optimum

AbstractNew stalagmites from Qadisha Cave (Lebanon) located at 1720 m above sea level provide a high-resolution and well-dated record for northern Mount Lebanon. The stalagmites grew discontinuously from 9.2 to 5.7 and at 3.5 ka, and they show a tendency to move from a more negative oxygen isotope signal at ~9.1 ka to a more positive signal at ~5.8 ka. Such a trend reflects a change from a wetter to a drier climate at high altitudes. The δ13C signal shows rapid shifts throughout the record and a decreasing trend toward more negative values in the mid-Holocene, suggesting enhanced soil activity. In the short-term trend, Qadisha stalagmites record rapid dry/wet changes on centennial scales, with a tendency to more rapid dry events toward the mid-Holocene. Such changes are characterized by overall good agreement between both geochemical proxies and stalagmite growth and might be affected by the seasonal variations in snow cover. The Qadisha record is in good agreement with other Levantine records, showing more humid conditions from 9 to 7 ka. After 7 ka, a drier climate seems to affect sites at both low- and high-altitude areas. The Qadisha record reflects uniquely mountainous climate characteristics compared with other records, specifically the effect of snow cover and its duration regulating the effective infiltration.

Leaf mesophyll structure and tree biomass of birches from different climatic zones in Northern Eurasia

In the context of global climate change, it is becoming increasingly important to study the adaptation of forest-forming species, assess their productivity and predict the transformation of forest ecosystems. Here we present the analysis of leaf mesophyll structure and tree biomass in populations of Betula pendula Roth and Betula pubescens Ehrh. along the global climatic transect representing the latitudinal distribution area of these species in Northern Eurasia. It has been shown that with distance from climatic optimum, biological productivity decreases and a structural rearrangement of leaf mesophyll based on a change in cell size and providing a positive carbon balance occurs. High correlations between photosynthetic cells volumes and stem biomass were found. It was concluded that mesophyll cells sizes underlie the structural adaptation of photosynthesis to climate, that determine birch productivity under changing growth conditions. The sizes of photosynthetic cells can be considered as a good predictors of woody species productivity and transformation of forest ecosystems under global climatic changes.

An eosimiid primate of South Asian affinities in the Paleogene of Western Amazonia and the origin of New World monkeys

Recent fossil discoveries in Western Amazonia revealed that two distinct anthropoid primate clades of African origin colonized South America near the Eocene/Oligocene transition (ca. 34 Ma). Here, we describe a diminutive fossil primate from Brazilian Amazonia and suggest that, surprisingly, a third clade of anthropoids was involved in the Paleogene colonization of South America by primates. This new taxon, Ashaninkacebus simpsoni gen. et sp. nov., has strong dental affinities with Asian African stem anthropoids: the Eosimiiformes. Morphology-based phylogenetic analyses of early Old World anthropoids and extinct and extant New World monkeys (platyrrhines) support relationships of both Ashaninkacebus and Amamria (late middle Eocene, North Africa) to the South Asian Eosimiidae. Afro-Arabia, then a mega island, played the role of a biogeographic stopover between South Asia and South America for anthropoid primates and hystricognathous rodents. The earliest primates from South America bear little adaptive resemblance to later Oligocene-early Miocene platyrrhine monkeys, and the scarcity of available paleontological data precludes elucidating firmly their affinities with or within Platyrrhini. Nonetheless, these data shed light on some of their life history traits, revealing a particularly small body size and a diet consisting primarily of insects and possibly fruit, which would have increased their chances of survival on a natural floating island during this extraordinary over-water trip to South America from Africa. Divergence-time estimates between Old and New World taxa indicate that the transatlantic dispersal(s) could source in the intense flooding events associated with the late middle Eocene climatic optimum (ca. 40.5 Ma) in Western Africa.

Global warming drove the Mid-Miocene climate humidification in the northern Tibetan Plateau

The Miocene is a key transitional period for the Asian monsoon evolution and establishment of modern-like geomorphic landscapes in the northern Tibetan Plateau. Elucidating the Miocene paleoenvironmental changes and their relationships with climate and tectonics are significant in understanding future hydrological changes in the northern Tibet under a warming climate. In this study, detailed lithological and rock magnetic investigations were conducted on a Miocene fluvial-lacustrine sediment sequence from the Linxia Basin in Northeast Tibet, to understand the paleoenvironmental and palaeohydrological response to the tectonics and global climatic change, especially to the effects of the Middle Miocene Climatic optimum (MMCO). The results demonstrated that strong waterlogged reducing environments during MMCO precluded the occurrences of pedogenesis in the Linxia Basin owing to highly humid climates. As the precipitation decreased significantly before and after MMCO, pedogenesis occurred increasingly owing to temperate and well-drained conditions. A synthesis of the lithological and magnetic variations in Miocene fluvial-lacustrine sediments further indicated that climate humidification prevailed in most areas of the northern Tibetan Plateau during MMCO. These observations demonstrate that global climate change, rather than the tectonic uplift, significantly influenced the Mid-Miocene paleoenvironmental evolution in northern Tibet.

Late Paleocene to early Oligocene fire ecology of the south Mongolian highland

Changes in fire ecology during warm and cold periods in the geological past are important because of their effects on terrestrial ecosystems and the global carbon cycle. We examined the charcoal concentrations of the Erden Obo section in Inner Mongolia to reconstruct the evolution of wildfire and their relationship to the regional vegetation from the Late Paleocene through Early Oligocene. Our data show that fire frequency were relatively high from the end of the Paleocene to the beginning of the Eocene, in accord with other paleofire records worldwide. However, low fire frequency occurred during the Early Eocene Climate Optimum (EECO), coincident with the change in the regional vegetation from shrubland to forest due to the strengthening of the regional rainfall, and we suggest that the humid climate may have been responsible for this decrease. High frequency fire occurred after the Middle Eocene, near-synchronously with the transition of the regional vegetation from forest to steppe. The high-frequency fire was most likely triggered by regional drought during the aridification process after the Middle Eocene. We propose that these temporal changes in the fire ecology were consistent within the northern temperate zone from the Late Paleocene through Early Oligocene, and we suggest that studies of global wildfires need to be evaluated within the context of paleovegetation zones and ecosystem evolution.

A well-oxygenated eastern tropical Pacific during the warm Miocene.

The oxygen content of the oceans is susceptible to climate change and has declined in recent decades1, with the largest effect in oxygen-deficient zones (ODZs)2, that is, mid-depth ocean regions with oxygen concentrations <5 μmol kg-1 (ref. 3). Earth-system-model simulations of climate warming predict that ODZs will expand until at least 2100. The response on timescales of hundreds to thousands of years, however, remains uncertain3-5. Here we investigate changes in the response of ocean oxygenation during the warmer-than-present Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO; 17.0-14.8 million years ago (Ma)). Our planktic foraminifera I/Ca and δ15N data, palaeoceanographic proxies sensitive to ODZ extent and intensity, indicate that dissolved-oxygen concentrations in the eastern tropical Pacific (ETP) exceeded 100 µmol kg-1 during the MCO. Paired Mg/Ca-derived temperature data suggest that an ODZ developed in response to an increased west-to-east temperature gradient and shoaling of the ETP thermocline. Our records align with model simulations of data from recent decades to centuries6,7, suggesting that weaker equatorial Pacific trade winds during warm periods may lead to decreased upwellingin the ETP, causing equatorial productivity and subsurface oxygen demand to be less concentrated in the east. These findings shed light on how warm-climate states such as during the MCO may affect ocean oxygenation. If the MCO is considered as a possible analogue for future warming, our findings seem to support models suggesting that the recent deoxygenation trend and expansion of the ETP ODZ may eventually reverse3,4.

Ultra-long dendroscales of the high latitudes in North America and the high latitudes in Eurasia

Based on 7,000-year tree-ring chronologies for the Pinus aristata from the tree line of White Mountains and Great Basin of North America (Ferguson’s scale), and Larix sibirica from the polar forest edge on Yamal Peninsula (Northern Eurasia, Khantemirov’s scale) reconstructed the Holocene section from its climatic optimum to the present day. Mathematically precise global rhythm, which repeat three times on charts of dendrochronological scales with a frequency in 2,600 years, are revealed. The relationship of the stem growth with flctuations in level of the World Ocean, Caspian Sea and Arctic sea ice, as well as the development of global droughts, has been determined.Regularities of the climate change, synchronously recorded in ultra-long dendroscales of two continents of the Northern Hemisphere by astronomically accurate rhythm in 2,600 years, most reliably reflct the Earth’s climate in recent millennia and provide the only key to its prediction in future.

Eruption history of the Columbia River Basalt Group constrained by high-precision U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology

Large igneous province volcanism of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) has been suggested to play a causal role in elevated global temperatures and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels of the Miocene Climate Optimum (MCO). However, assessing the connection between volcanism and warming is dependent upon an accurate and precise chronology for the timing and duration of CRBG emplacement. Building on our previous work (Kasbohm and Schoene, 2018), we present fifteen new high-precision ages, using CA-ID-TIMS U-Pb on zircon and multi-collector 40Ar/39Ar on basaltic groundmass, to provide a detailed dual-chronometer timeline for CRBG eruptions. We use both sets of new ages and precise stratigraphic positions of our samples in an integrated Markov Chain Monte Carlo model to calculate average long-term emplacement rates for main-phase CRBG volcanism of 0.2-0.9 km3/a, with a high likelihood of one prominent hiatus of 60-120 kyr duration occurring after main-phase emplacement. We analyzed trace elements and hafnium isotopes of each dated zircon from CRBG interbeds. The compositions are consistent with both Cascades subduction volcanism and evolved syn-CRBG volcanism proximal to the depositional area. Our age model also yields ages for all magnetic field reversals during the main phase of CRBG emplacement, which can be used to improve calibrations of Miocene paleoclimate records. We find that main-phase CRBG emplacement is coincident with the greatest sustained warmth of the MCO in astronomically-tuned records. Our work shows the power of using both U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology in an integrated stratigraphic context to assess data reliability and develop the most robust age model possible for large igneous province emplacement.

Holocene thermal maximum mode versus the continuous warming mode: Problems of data-model comparisons and future research prospects

Holocene thermal maximum mode versus the continuous warming mode: Problems of data-model comparisons and future research prospects

Holocene landscape evolution, palaeoclimate and human impact in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria: Interrogating biomarkers, stable isotopes, macrofossils and palynological indicators from a subalpine mire archive

Peatlands are receiving increasing attention in palaeoenvironmental research and represent very useful terrestrial archives for reconstructing vegetation, climate and human history. Previous palaeoenvironmental studies in the Fotsch Valley, Stubai Alps, Austria, focused on geoarchaeological investigations on the Ullafelsen representing a very important prehistorical encampment site used by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers (10.9–9.5 cal. kyr BP). In order to contribute to a better understanding of the landscape evolution of the Fotsch Valley, we here studied the close-by subalpine ‘Potsdamer Hütte Mire’ by applying radiocarbon dating as well as elemental, biomarker, compound-specific stable isotope, palynological and macrofossil analyses on bulk peat samples. The calculated age-depth model using R Bacon indicates the beginning of peat formation during the Early Holocene and shows a strongly reduced peat accumulation rate (PAR) from 170 to 121 cm depth (8.5–2.1 cal. kyr BP) and/or a striking hiatus. Results of leaf wax-derived n-alkane biomarkers as well as macrofossils and palynological indicators reflect the local presence of coniferous trees and the synchronous expansion of deciduous trees during the Early Holocene. The above-mentioned strongly reduced PAR and/or hiatus coincides with the Neolithic, the Bronze and the Iron Age, and goes hand in hand with strong changes in vegetation and an increase of micro-charcoal and black carbon. Despite age uncertainties, these changes can be explained with strongly increasing human and livestock activities in form of deforestation, domestic fires and the beginning of Alpine pastoralism. The latter is confirmed by the finding of pasture and cultural indicator pollen (Cerealia-type, Rumex, Plantago lanceolata, Poaceae) occurring since the Middle to Late Bronze Age. The oxygen isotope composition of sugar biomarkers (δ18Osugars) likely reflects the dry versus humid climatic variability associated with the Holocene climatic optimum during the Mesolithic, the Roman Age, the Late Antique Little Ice Age, the Middle Ages and the Little Ice Age.

Middle Miocene fire activity and C4 vegetation expansion in the Barstow Formation, California, USA

Abstract C4 grassland ecosystems expanded across North America between ca. 8 and 3 Ma. Studies of ungulate enamel and environmental indicators from the middle Miocene Barstow Formation of southern California (USA) have demonstrated the presence of C4 vegetation prior to the late Miocene expansion of C4 grasslands. Fire promotes the growth of modern C4 grasslands and may have contributed to the Miocene expansion of C4 vegetation. We analyzed the concentration and accumulation rate (CHAR) of microscopic charred particles from sediment samples spanning the Barstow Formation in order to investigate the relationship between fire activity, canopy cover, and the presence of C4 vegetation. Concentration and CHAR were low throughout the formation then increased dramatically at 13.5 Ma. Enriched values of δ13C from soil organic matter and phytolith counts indicate the presence of C4 grasses and seasonally dry, open-canopy habitats at this time. The spike in concentration coincides with climatic cooling and drying in southern California after the Miocene Climatic Optimum. Increased fire activity may have contributed to habitat opening from forest to woodland and promoted the spread of C4 plants. This is the first charcoal record of fire activity from the middle Miocene of southwestern North America.

Climate change will cause climatic niche contraction of Vaccinium myrtillus L. and V. vitis-idaea L. in Europe

We estimated climate niche shifts and threat levels under various climate change scenarios for Vaccinium myrtillus L. and V. vitis-idaea L. We developed the MaxEnt species distribution models, and predicted future climatic optima for climate change scenarios for 2041–2060 and 2061–2080. The precipitation of the warmest quarter was the most important factor shaping the climatic niches of the studied species. We predicted the largest shifts in climate niches from the present to the 2040–2060 period, with the most pessimistic scenario predicting significant range losses for both species, mainly in Western Europe. Under the most optimistic SSP126 scenario, both species will lose 39 % of their climatic niche for both periods. In the worst-case scenario (SSP585) for 2061–2080, climatic niche contraction will cover 47 % and 39 % of the current climatic niche for V. myrtillus and V. vitis-idaea, respectively. The predicted changes in species distribution could have far-reaching consequences for temperate and boreal forests due to their crucial biocenotic role in forest ecosystems, high potential for carbon sequestration, and prevention of soil erosion. Furthermore, the changes would likely affect the economic potential regarding fruit production and culturally relevant uses of different parts of the plants, mainly fruits.

Linking rapid eruption of the Linzizong volcanic rocks and Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO): Constraints from the Pana Formation in the Linzhou and Pangduo basins, southern Tibet

Linking rapid eruption of the Linzizong volcanic rocks and Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO): Constraints from the Pana Formation in the Linzhou and Pangduo basins, southern Tibet