Large Palaeolake Research Articles

We Came for the Lake—Late Pleistocene Landscape Reconstruction in Lieth Moor, District Pinneberg, Germany

The Lieth Moor area, located in the district of Pinneberg, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, is a hotspot of Late Palaeolithic settlement activity. The exceptional abundance of archaeological sites is commonly attributed to the presence of a large palaeolake. However, in the Weichselian Late glacial, there were numerous large lakes in Schleswig-Holstein. Thus, a well-founded explanation for the find concentration in Lieth Moor is still lacking, and forming a research desideratum until today. To improve our understanding of this Late Pleistocene landscape and its appeal to hunter–gatherer groups of that time, we conducted a large-scale archaeogeophysical study focusing on a possible ford of the potential palaeolake. We employed Ground-Penetrating Radar and Electromagnetic Induction measurements, supplemented by existing legacy drill-probing data, to identify and map limnic gyttja (organic lake mud) sediments and their spatial distribution within the area. The findings of our study indicate that during the Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene, the Lieth Moor area comprised a cluster of small ponds rather than a continuous lake. These ponds likely interconnected during periods of increased water levels. The presence of dry islands within the region corresponds with archaeological evidence, suggesting that Late Palaeolithic communities visited some of these islands. The absence of the previously postulated palaeolake places the known findings within a completely new palaeoenvironmental context: instead of the previously suspected ford, we assume that the proximity to the Elbe Palaeovalley played a decisive role in the repeated habitation of Lieth Moor. This area, rich in fresh water and fish, along with the dune chain situated to the west, serving as both a vantage point and windbreak, presented an ideal location for awaiting animals migrating along the river Elbe and/or as a resting place within the settlement system of mobile hunter–fisher–gatherer groups.

Hydrological History of a Palaeolake and Valley System on the Planetary Dichotomy in Arabia Terra, Mars

AbstractHundreds of ancient palaeolake basins have been identified and cataloged on Mars, indicating the distribution and availability of liquid water as well as sites of astrobiological potential. Palaeolakes are widely distributed across the Noachian aged terrains of the southern highlands, but Arabia Terra hosts few documented palaeolakes and even fewer examples of open‐basin palaeolakes. Here we present a detailed topographic and geomorphological study of a previously unknown set of seven open‐basin palaeolakes adjacent to the planetary dichotomy in western Arabia Terra. High resolution topographic data were used to aid identification and characterization of palaeolakes within subtle and irregular basins, revealing two palaeolake systems terminating at the dichotomy, including a ∼160 km chain of six palaeolakes connected by short valley segments. Analysis and correlation of multiple, temporally distinct palaeolake fill levels within each palaeolake basin indicate a complex and prolonged hydrological history during the Noachian. Drainage catchments and collapse features place this system in the context of regional hydrology and the history of the planetary dichotomy, showing evidence for both groundwater sources and surface accumulation. Furthermore, the arrangement of large palaeolakes fed by far smaller palaeolakes, indicates a consistent flow of water through the system, buffered by reservoirs, rather than a catastrophic overflow of lakes cascading down through the system.

Palaeoenvironments and landscape diversity in Egypt during the Last Interglacial and its implications on the dispersal of Homo sapiens

ABSTRACT The Last Interglacial period is important for the spread of humans from Africa to Eurasia. Significant wetter climatic conditions allowed humans to live in the present-day arid landscape in Northeastern Africa. However, not only the environment but also other parameters, such as the topography and the availability of good raw material sources, impact past human behaviour. Our mapping with the integration of archaeological sites and environmental archives clarifies regional differences and similarities across Egypt. The Eastern Desert is characterized by a small structured landscape with an above-average occurrence of eligible raw material and it differs from the more homogeneous landscape of the Western Desert with its large palaeo-lakes. The given map allows a more distinct evaluation of regional variabilities for Out-of-Africa’s northern migration route as a complex intermediate scale between a global and local approach to human-environment relations.

Weichselian Lateglacial environmental and vegetation development in the Moervaart palaeolake area (NW Belgium); implications for former human occupation patterns

In this paper, a detailed vegetation and environmental reconstruction for the Lateglacial interstadial in the Moervaart area (NW Belgium) is discussed, in relation to former human occupation patterns. This reconstruction is based on a multi-disciplinary research carried out on calcareous deposits of a large palaeolake (~25km2). The combination of physical (magnetic susceptibility, micromorphology, organic matter, calcium carbonate), botanical (pollen, macrofossils, diatoms), zoological (chironomids, molluscs, ostracods) and chemical analyses (stable carbon and oxygen isotopes) allowed for a highly detailed reconstruction of the lake ecosystem and vegetation surrounding the lake. The chronology of the lake record was provided by radiocarbon dating and comparison with the nearby Rieme sites and regional biostratigraphy.During the Bølling phase, the Moervaart palaeolake formed as result of a major rise of the groundwater table in the area. Water level rise continued during the early Allerød phase and a rich water flora and fauna developed in the lake. From this period onwards, the area provided a suitable landscape for the Federmesser Culture hunter–gatherers with fresh drinking water, extensive and fertile woodlands and lake edges for wild game hunting, plant gathering and fowling. Water levels rose to a maximum at the end of the early Allerød. Thereafter, an outlet for the lake was formed in the east. As a result, water levels gradually decreased during the middle to late Allerød and eventually the Moervaart lake turned into a swamp and ceased to exist. In combination with the prevailing colder conditions, this led to a marked population decrease with probably temporary abandonment of the region.

Evolution of a Late Pleistocene palaeolake in Dali Nor area of southeastern Inner Mongolia Plateau, China

Lithological, geochronological, granulometric, and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analyses of eight lacustrine outcrops indicate the existence of a large palaeolake in Dali Nor area during 149–24.6 ka (MIS5–3) and a small one in upstream of the Xilamulun River during 12.96–11.69 ka. The large palaeolake recorded its highest water level above 1300 m during the MIS3 and covered the whole Dali Nor basin and upstream of the Xilamulun River within an area of about 3000 km2. However, the small palaeolake with a highest water level above 1200 m, covered an area of about 600 km2. Besides the reconstruction of palaeolake areas, this study also looked into the evolutionary process of the palaeolake during the Late Pleistocene. Our data provide insights on the timing of appearance of the large palaeolakes and a better understanding of the mechanism responsible for variations in the environment conditions of dry lands in middle latitudes.

Mapping potential shallow groundwater in the Gobi Desert using remote sensing: Lake Ulaan Nuur

Access to water resources in desert environments is an endemic challenge in developing countries. Shallow water is an essential resource for rural communities and has become significant source for urban centres, agriculture and mining. In the past conventional methodologies were used in the search for water; today advanced remote sensing from space offer new techniques to identify and define potential untapped groundwater in drylands. This research investigates a potential major water resource in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. Using remote sensing from space we integrated topography, radar images and optical images into GIS tools to investigate and identify potential shallow water correlated to large palaeolakes. This work integrates the palaeoclimatic history of southern Mongolia with present water circumstances in the region. Findings indicated Lake Ulaan Nuur as a promising site for hydro-geological testing and water resource prospecting as measurement suggests a past lake area of >19,000 km2 in the Mongolian Gobi.

Hunter-gatherer responses to the changing environment of the Moervaart palaeolake (Nw Belgium) during the Late Glacial and Early Holocene

This paper presents new geo-archaeological perspectives on the Late Glacial and Early Holocene human occupation around a large palaeolake, the Moervaart palaeolake (∼25 km2). Intensive fieldwork, using invasive and non-invasive survey techniques, combined with modelling of the palaeotopography and palaeogroundwater and multi-proxy palaeoecological analyses have resulted in a detailed reconstruction of the landscape during the Final Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic occupation of the area. A major shift in the occupation from the Federmesser Culture to the Early Mesolithic was contemporaneous with a sudden and drastic change in the palaeohydrology of the area between ca. 13,300 and 13,000 cal BP (end of Allerød), which coincided with a short but abrupt cooling event known as the Intra Allerød Cold Period (IACP) GI 1b. It is assumed that this event triggered the sudden drying up of the Moervaart palaeolake and surrounding ponds, which until then had provided Federmesser hunter-gatherers with extensive and fertile grounds for hunting, gathering and drinking water. The population decline which followed this hydrological event was reinforced by the prevailing cold and harsh conditions of the Younger Dryas and probably lasted until the Pre-boreal. Hunter-gatherers returned to the area in the Boreal, now settling along the proximal floodplain regions of a meandering channel which was connected with the southern Scheldt River.

Environmental and cultural dynamics in the lower valley of Rhone and their margin (France) between the last glacial maximum and the optimum Holocene (20 - 8 ka BP)

This paper presents new geo-archaeological perspectives on the Late Glacial and Early Holocene human occupation around a large palaeolake, the Moervaart palaeolake (∼25 km2). Intensive fieldwork, using invasive and non-invasive survey techniques, combined with modelling of the palaeotopography and palaeogroundwater and multi-proxy palaeoecological analyses have resulted in a detailed reconstruction of the landscape during the Final Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic occupation of the area. A major shift in the occupation from the Federmesser Culture to the Early Mesolithic was contemporaneous with a sudden and drastic change in the palaeohydrology of the area between ca. 13,300 and 13,000 cal BP (end of Allerød), which coincided with a short but abrupt cooling event known as the Intra Allerød Cold Period (IACP) GI 1b. It is assumed that this event triggered the sudden drying up of the Moervaart palaeolake and surrounding ponds, which until then had provided Federmesser hunter-gatherers with extensive and fertile grounds for hunting, gathering and drinking water. The population decline which followed this hydrological event was reinforced by the prevailing cold and harsh conditions of the Younger Dryas and probably lasted until the Pre-boreal. Hunter-gatherers returned to the area in the Boreal, now settling along the proximal floodplain regions of a meandering channel which was connected with the southern Scheldt River.

Pleistocene environmental dynamics recorded in the loess of the middle and lower Danube basin

The substantial loess deposits of the middle and lower Danube basin in southeastern Europe represent one of the thickest and most comprehensive terrestrial palaeoenvironmental records on the continent, yet are also the least well understood. Environmental conditions over the last million years have resulted in relatively continuous deposits uninterrupted by glaciation and tundra conditions, which nevertheless reflect oscillations between relatively warm-humid (“interglacial”) and cold-dry (“glacial”) intervals. This relative environmental stability may have proven important for hominins migrating into and through the region.The loess stratigraphy comprises distinct loess-paleosol sequences, reflecting glacial-interglacial phases which can be quantified for intensity using environmental magnetism and geochemistry. These phases are emphasised by variations in vegetation and malacofauna which respond to climatic change. The loess deposits demonstrate broadly similar sedimentological characteristics across the basin.Danubian loess deposits initiated in response to the tectonic formation of the Pannonian basin, retreat of the large palaeolakes, and increased sediment supply from the Danube. The period from ∼1 Ma–500 ka (MIS 27–13) was characterised by alternating loess deposition and pedogenesis during glacial and interglacial periods respectively, in response to relatively humid, forested conditions. This period represents the opening of the Danube corridor and provides the backdrop for initial hominin arrival into Europe. After ∼500 ka, and particularly after MIS 9, loess accumulation rates increased in response to relatively more steppic, arid, environments. MIS 9 and 13–15 were the most humid phases of the last ∼600 ky. The MIS 5 interglacial period was the warmest, and relatively most humid, period preceding the Holocene, and was followed by substantially increased loess accumulation during MIS 4, which may be linked to North Atlantic circulation. The complexity of the MIS 3 interstadial paleosol suggests that conditions were not uniformly warm and wet during this time. MIS 3 corresponds with the first arrival of anatomically modern humans to Europe. The last glacial maximum and Younger Dryas of MIS 2 were characterised by substantially increased loess accumulation indicating cold steppe environments most likely influenced by the North Atlantic, although conditions were sufficiently mild that the region acted as a refugium for thermophilic biota, as may also have been the case for most of the Pleistocene glacial cycles. The Holocene soil represents relatively wamer and more humid conditions corresponding to the current interglacial.

Multiple phases of North African humidity recorded in lacustrine sediments from the Fazzan Basin, Libyan Sahara

The Fazzan Basin of south-west Libya is at present arid with less than 20 mm of rainfall per annum. However, regionally extensive limestones, lacustrine sands and coquina (fossiliferous carbonate rock) deposits show that the Fazzan Basin previously contained a large palaeolake, indicating that the climate in the past was more humid. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating techniques have been applied to key lacustrine deposits within the basin in an attempt to provide an internally consistent chronology for this humidity record. Results indicate that palaeolake sediments within the Fazzan Basin record a very long history of palaeohydrological change, ranging from present day arid conditions to humidity capable of sustaining a lake with an approximate area of 76,250 km 2. The existence of humid periods in mid oxygen isotope stage 5 and the early Holocene is confirmed. An older lacustrine event, tentatively correlated to oxygen isotope stage 11, is also recognized. In addition, evidence is presented for at least two humid phases beyond the age range over which the conventional OSL dating technique is applicable. This study demonstrates that OSL dating of palaeolake sediments within the Fazzan Basin offers the potential to provide a detailed record of North African humidity spanning several glacial–interglacial cycles.

Humidity changes in southern Tunisia during the Late Pleistocene inferred from U–Th dating of mollusc shells

Calcareous deposits, mainly consisting of mollusc shell accumulations, which have been dated by the U/Th disequilibrium method, mark the shorelines of paleolake highstands in the Great Chotts Area of Southern Tunisia. The 5 sites studied consist of discontinuous accumulations of fossils of marine-like organisms e.g.: Cerastoderma glaucum, Melania tuberculata, Melanopsis praemorsa, Cerithium rupestre. U/Th isochron plots and age frequency histograms for 39 shell samples are reported here. Limited variations for U content and 234U/ 238U activity ratios (AR) of shells support the hypothesis of closure of the geochemical system with respect to this element. It is remarkable that 234U/ 238U AR of shells collected in Chott Fejej or Chott Jerid are clustered around different values, reflecting probably different groundwater recharge from the Continental Intercalaire (CI) or Complexe Terminal (CT) aquifers. Furthermore waters collected near Wadi el Akarit show 234U/ 238U AR values comparable to those observed for shells. 14C determinations made on aliquots of some of these samples suggested an age distribution between 18 and 34 ka BP. The U/Th data of these 39 shell samples imply that 4 distinct flood episodes of these lakes occurred at about 30, 95–100, 130–150 and 180–200 ka. For the episode centred around 30 ka, the frequency histogram of ages shows a multimodal age group that could represent the existence of several humid pulses rather than a unique event. Moreover, the comparison of δ 13C and δ 18O with those of older humid Pleistocene phases, when very large palaeolakes have been recorded, suggests that these young carbonate shells are not related to a true highstand lake. It is suggested that they represent a period of less humid climatic conditions with carbonate accumulation in minor water ponds in which intensive biological activity could have taken place. It should be noted that this period was less arid than the present.

Environmental change and archaeology: lake evolution and human occupation in the Eastern Sahara during the Holocene

The West Nubian Palaeolake is the most large-scale hydrographic evidence in the Eastern Sahara of the early to mid-Holocene wet phase that affected northern Africa. It is the result of a significant increase in local rainfall due to the northward shift of the tropical rainfall belt. A series of fieldwork-based differential GPS (DGPS) measurements along several profiles across the West Nubian Palaeolake basin provides the first precise topographic data from this up to a 5330 km 2 large palaeolake feature. In combination with sedimentological, geochemical, and archaeological results, an almost complete picture of significant palaeoclimatic changes and human occupation during the early to mid-Holocene for this region is presented. Different stages of palaeolake evolution ranging from non-existence of the lake through stable freshwater conditions to its extinction were identified in the period from 9400 to 3800 14C yr BP. These lake stages coincide with phases of intensive human inhabitation between ca. 6300 and 3500 14C yr BP, and include at least four settlement phases distinguishable by style of pottery. These are known from adjacent areas of the palaeolake region, emphasizing strong prehistoric cultural connections in the Eastern Sahara. During the highstands of the palaeolake in the early to mid-Holocene, the Dotted Wavy-Line pottery relates to the Early Khartoum type culture with its supra-regional distribution from the Nile Valley to the Chad, and possibly with slightly different forms even to the Atlantic coast. Later in the Holocene, Western Nubia with its large palaeolakes and migration paths along palaeowadis, such as Wadi Howar, acted as an important natural and cultural link between the Nile Valley and the Chad Basin until the region was deserted during the fourth millennium BP.

Un paléolac du dernier interglaciaire pléistocène dans l'Extrême-Sud hyperaride de la Jordanie

The fossiliferous deposits of a large palaeolake were recently observed in southern Jordan, overlapping into Saudi Arabia. Preliminary U/Th analyses of Cerastoderma sp. shells date the lake at 116 ± 5.3 kyr and 76.8 ± 8.2 kyr. Archaeological sites with Levailoiso-Mousterian artifacts are superimposed on those deposits, which fit a possible sub-stage 5a date. These new data imply a possible geographical continuity of the Last Pleistocene Interglacial humid phase throughout the Sahara-Arabian arid belt, in the same climatic context, as the palaeolakes in northern Mali and Fezzan.

Albedo changes, Milankovitch forcing, and late Quaternary climate changes in the central Andes

Late Quaternary humidity changes resulted in substantial modifications of the land surface characteristics in the Altiplano of the Atacama Desert, central Andes. Reconstructions of surface albedo, top-of-atmosphere (TOA) albedo, and short-wave net radiation in the Andes of northern Chile for 20, 14, 10, 7 and 0 ka suggest that surface and TOA albedo increased substantially during periods of relatively humid environmental conditions (i.e., with large palaeolakes, glaciers and dense vegetation). The decrease of summer shortwave net radiation and seasonality during the late-glacial/early Holocene humid phase (14 to 10 ka) due to Earth’s surface and atmospheric characteristics added to the effect of orbitally driven negative deviations of Southern Hemisphere austral summer insolation and minimum seasonality at 20 °S. Therefore, in situ radiative forcing is, in contrast to the Northern Hemisphere tropics, not a suitable explanation for enhanced convective precipitation and, ultimately, humid climatic conditions. Our results suggest that late Quaternary humidity changes on the Altiplano reflect a collective response to (1) environmental changes in the source area of the moisture (e.g., re-expansion of the rain forest and increased release of latent heat over Amazonia and the Chaco, warm sea surface temperatures in the E Pacific) and, (2) large-scale circulation patterns and wave structures in the upper troposphere (strength and position of the Bolivian High, divergent flow stimulating convection over the Altiplano), or that they even reflect a response to (3) interhemispherical teleconnections.