Last Interglacial Research Articles

Climate-soil model reveals causes of differences between Marine Isotope Stage 5e and 13 paleosols

Research Article| December 08, 2017 Climate-soil model reveals causes of differences between Marine Isotope Stage 5e and 13 paleosols Peter A. Finke; Peter A. Finke 1Department of Soil Management, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Qiuzhen Yin; Qiuzhen Yin 2Earth and Life Institute, Georges Lemaitre Center for Earth and Climate Research, Université Catholique de Louvain, Place Louis Pasteur 3, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Nicholas J. Bernardini; Nicholas J. Bernardini 3Department of Geology and Soil Science, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Yanyan Yu Yanyan Yu 4Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS), 19 Beitucheng Xilu, Chaoyang District, 100029 Beijing, China5CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, 100101 Beijing, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Peter A. Finke 1Department of Soil Management, Ghent University, Coupure links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium Qiuzhen Yin 2Earth and Life Institute, Georges Lemaitre Center for Earth and Climate Research, Université Catholique de Louvain, Place Louis Pasteur 3, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium Nicholas J. Bernardini 3Department of Geology and Soil Science, Ghent University, Krijgslaan 281, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium Yanyan Yu 4Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS), 19 Beitucheng Xilu, Chaoyang District, 100029 Beijing, China5CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, 16 Lincui Road, Chaoyang District, 100101 Beijing, China Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 08 May 2017 Revision Received: 19 Oct 2017 Accepted: 31 Oct 2017 First Online: 08 Dec 2017 Online Issn: 1943-2682 Print Issn: 0091-7613 © 2017 Geological Society of America Geology (2018) 46 (2): 99–102. https://doi.org/10.1130/G39301.1 Article history Received: 08 May 2017 Revision Received: 19 Oct 2017 Accepted: 31 Oct 2017 First Online: 08 Dec 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Peter A. Finke, Qiuzhen Yin, Nicholas J. Bernardini, Yanyan Yu; Climate-soil model reveals causes of differences between Marine Isotope Stage 5e and 13 paleosols. Geology 2017;; 46 (2): 99–102. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G39301.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Over the last decades, numerous studies have used the loess-paleosol sequences in China to reconstruct the East Asian climate and to investigate their linkage with global climate change. The paleosols embedded in the loess developed during warm periods and contain valuable information on climate and vegetation under warm conditions. However, because soil formation is controlled by multiple factors, it is not straightforward to obtain a pure climate signal based on soil property analyses. This leads often to debates and questions. Here, for the first time, we use a soil formation model together with a climate model to identify the main factors that control the paleosol formation. A case study has been performed on paleosols in the Chinese Loess Plateau of the last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 5e) and the interglacial at ca. 500 kyr B.P. (MIS 13). Our results show that although the peak warmth and peak summer monsoon precipitation are stronger during MIS 5e, the soil formation is stronger during MIS 13, which is supported by field evidence. This is mainly due to larger accumulative precipitation surplus, weaker dust deposition, and longer interglacial duration during MIS 13. Our results provide a new interpretation of the climate signal recorded by the paleosols, and an explanation for the seeming paradox that strongly developed soils formed during relatively weak interglacials. They also highlight the necessity to include proxy modeling in paleoclimate studies. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

Late Quaternary coastal evolution and aeolian sedimentation in the tectonically-active southern Atacama Desert, Chile

Analyses of aeolianites and associated dune, surficial carbonate and marine terrace sediments from north-central Chile (27° 54′ S) yield a record of environmental change for the coastal southern Atacama Desert spanning at least the last glacial-interglacial cycle. Optically stimulated luminescence dating indicates phases of aeolian dune construction at around 130, 111–98, 77–69 and 41–28ka. Thin-section and stable carbon and oxygen isotope analyses suggest a predominantly marine sediment source for the three oldest dune phases. Aeolianites appear to have accumulated mainly from tectonically-uplifted interglacial marine sediments that were deflated during windier and/or stormier intervals. Bedding orientations indicate that sand-transporting winds varied in direction from S-ESE during MIS 5e and WNW-ESE during MIS 5c-5a. Winds from the southeast quadrant are unusual today in this region of the Atacama, suggesting either major shifts in atmospheric circulation or topographic airflow modification. Thin-section evidence indicates that the aeolianites were cemented by two phases of vadose carbonate, tentatively linked to wetter periods around 70 and 45ka. Tectonic uplift in the area has proceeded at an average rate of 305–542mmkyr−1. The study illustrates the complexity of understanding onshore-offshore sediment fluxes in the context of Late Quaternary sea-level fluctuations for an area undergoing rapid tectonic uplift.

Synoptic conditions of fine-particle transport to the last interglacial Red Sea-Dead Sea from Nd-Sr compositions of sediment cores

The sediments deposited at the depocenter of the Dead Sea comprise high-resolution archive of hydrological changes in the lake's watershed and record the desert dust transport to the region. This paper reconstructs the dust transport to the region during the termination of glacial Marine Isotope Stage 6 (MIS 6; ∼135–129 ka) and the last interglacial peak period (MIS5e, ∼129–116 ka). We use chemical and Nd and Sr isotope compositions of fine detritus material recovered from sediment core drilled at the deepest floor of the Dead Sea. The data is integrated with data achieved from cores drilled at the floor of the Red Sea, thus, forming a Red Sea-Dead Sea transect extending from the desert belt to the Mediterranean climate zone. The Dead Sea accumulated flood sediments derived from three regional surface cover types: settled desert dust, mountain loess-soils and loess-soils filling valleys in the Dead Sea watershed termed here “Valley Loess”. The Valley Loess shows a distinct 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.7081 ± 1, inherited from dissolved detrital calcites that originate from dried waterbodies in the Sahara and are transported with the dust to the entire transect.Our hydro-climate and synoptic conditions reconstruction illustrates the following history: During glacial period MIS6, Mediterranean cyclones governed the transport of Saharan dust and rains to the Dead Sea watershed, driving the development of both mountain soils and Valley Loess. Then, at Heinrich event 11, dry western winds blew Saharan dust over the entire Red Sea - Dead Sea transect marking latitudinal expansion of the desert belt. Later, when global sea-level rose, the Dead Sea watershed went through extreme aridity, the lake retreated, depositing salt and accumulating fine detritus of the Valley Loess. During peak interglacial MIS 5e, enhanced flooding activity flushed the mountain soils and fine detritus from all around the Dead Sea and Red Sea, marking a significant “contraction” of the desert belt. At the end of MIS 5e the effect of the regional precipitation diminished and the Dead Sea and Red Sea areas re-entered sever arid conditions with extensive salt deposition at the Dead Sea.

Giant boulders and Last Interglacial storm intensity in the North Atlantic

As global climate warms and sea level rises, coastal areas will be subject to more frequent extreme flooding and hurricanes. Geologic evidence for extreme coastal storms during past warm periods has the potential to provide fundamental insights into their future intensity. Recent studies argue that during the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e, ∼128-116 ka) tropical and extratropical North Atlantic cyclones may have been more intense than at present, and may have produced waves larger than those observed historically. Such strong swells are inferred to have created a number of geologic features that can be observed today along the coastlines of Bermuda and the Bahamas. In this paper, we investigate the most iconic among these features: massive boulders atop a cliff in North Eleuthera, Bahamas. We combine geologic field surveys, wave models, and boulder transport equations to test the hypothesis that such boulders must have been emplaced by storms of greater-than-historical intensity. By contrast, our results suggest that with the higher relative sea level (RSL) estimated for the Bahamas during MIS 5e, boulders of this size could have been transported by waves generated by storms of historical intensity. Thus, while the megaboulders of Eleuthera cannot be used as geologic proof for past "superstorms," they do show that with rising sea levels, cliffs and coastal barriers will be subject to significantly greater erosional energy, even without changes in storm intensity.

Genetic and ecological insights into glacial refugia of walnut (Juglans regia L.).

The distribution and survival of trees during the last glacial maximum (LGM) has been of interest to paleoecologists, biogeographers, and geneticists. Ecological niche models that associate species occurrence and abundance with climatic variables are widely used to gain ecological and evolutionary insights and to predict species distributions over space and time. The present study deals with the glacial history of walnut to address questions related to past distributions through genetic analysis and ecological modeling of the present, LGM and Last Interglacial (LIG) periods. A maximum entropy method was used to project the current walnut distribution model on to the LGM (21–18 kyr BP) and LIG (130–116 kyr BP) climatic conditions. Model tuning identified the walnut data set filtered at 10 km spatial resolution as the best for modeling the current distribution and to hindcast past (LGM and LIG) distributions of walnut. The current distribution model predicted southern Caucasus, parts of West and Central Asia extending into South Asia encompassing northern Afghanistan, Pakistan, northwestern Himalayan region, and southwestern Tibet, as the favorable climatic niche matching the modern distribution of walnut. The hindcast of distributions suggested the occurrence of walnut during LGM was somewhat limited to southern latitudes from southern Caucasus, Central and South Asian regions extending into southwestern Tibet, northeastern India, Himalayan region of Sikkim and Bhutan, and southeastern China. Both CCSM and MIROC projections overlapped, except that MIROC projected a significant presence of walnut in the Balkan Peninsula during the LGM. In contrast, genetic analysis of the current walnut distribution suggested a much narrower area in northern Pakistan and the surrounding areas of Afghanistan, northwestern India, and southern Tajikistan as a plausible hotspot of diversity where walnut may have survived glaciations. Overall, the findings suggest that walnut perhaps survived the last glaciations in several refugia across a wide geographic area between 30° and 45° North latitude. However, humans probably played a significant role in the recent history and modern distribution of walnut.

Chronology and environments of the Pleistocene peopling of North Asia

The Pleistocene peopling of North Asia was a complex evolutionary process controlled by interactions of climates and environments determining the spatial-temporal dynamics of migrations and specific forms of natural adaptations of early humans. The Quaternary geology, palaeoecology and geoarchaeology records uncovered at the investigated occupation sites document an ancient intermittent presence of people in Siberia and the Russian Far East. The earliest homini dispersal into this vast territory is evidenced by rudimentary flaked cobble-flake stone industries associated with the Early(?) and Middle Pleistocene fossiliferous alluvia in the major Siberian (Ob, Yenisei and Lena) basins. More diagnostic and broadly distributed Middle Palaeolithic cultural complexes (time-equivalent to MIS 12–4), often associated with humanly articulated fossil fauna skeletal remains, represent the pre-modern (Neanderthal/early Homo sapiens) traditions characterized by the Levallois prepared-core technology. The biotically productive Last Interglacial (MIS 5e–c) parkland ecosystems preconditioned the documented site density increase and promoted human geographic expansion into the sub-Arctic regions. During the cold and hyper-arid early Last Glacial (MIS 4), most of the land was likely vacated except for the presumed natural refugia in the Alta-Sayan foothills. The subsequent interstadial (MIS 3) warming facilitated colonization of the Siberian Arctic by the late Middle (Neanderthal?) and the progressive Upper Palaeolithic people. Following the Last Glacial Maximum (24–19ka BP), most of North Asia was re-settled by dispersed and the regionally heterogeneous Final Palaeolithic groups adapted to the mosaic post-glacial ecosystems replacing the disappearing and biotically most productive periglacial tundra-steppe. Mapping the Pleistocene climate history and the associated environmental transformations in the boreal and (sub)polar regions in northern Asia has a principal bearing to elucidation of the initial human migrations to the American continent.

화분분석에 의한 한국 남동부 해안 산하동 일대의 MIS 5e 대비 해성단구 동정

화분분석에 의한 한국 남동부 해안 산하동 일대의 MIS 5e 대비 해성단구 동정

Atlantic water heat transfer through the Arctic Gateway (Fram Strait) during the Last Interglacial

The Last Interglacial in the Arctic region is often described as a time with warmer conditions and significantly less summer sea ice than today. The role of Atlantic water (AW) as the main oceanic heat flux agent into the Arctic Ocean remains, however, unclear. Using high-resolution stable isotope and faunal records from the only deep Arctic Gateway, the Fram Strait, we note for the upper water column a diminished influence of AW and generally colder-than-Holocene surface ocean conditions. After the main Saalian deglaciation had terminated, a first intensification of northward-advected AW happened (~124ka). However, an intermittent sea surface cooling, triggered by meltwater release at ~122ka, caused a regional delay in the further development towards peak interglacial conditions. Maximum AW heat advection occurred during late MIS 5e (118.5-116ka) and interrupted a longer-term cooling trend at the sea surface that started from about 120ka on. Such a late occurrence of the major AW-derived near-surface warming in the Fram Strait - this is in stark contrast to an early warm peak in the Holocene - compares well in time with upstream records from the Norwegian Sea, altogether implying a coherent development of south-to-north ocean heat transfer through the eastern Nordic Seas and into the high Arctic during the Last Interglacial.

The terrestrial Eemian to late Weichselian sediment record at Beckentin (NE-Germany): First results from lithostratigraphic, palynological and geochronological analyses

Over recent decades a growing number of well-documented records from terrestrial last interglacial sites across central Europe have substantially improved our understanding of Eemian climate and landscape dynamics. Despite this progress, there are also large areas from which little information is available, thus constituting significant paleo-geographic gaps in the last interglacial record. Among the regions with still inadequate paleo-environmental information is the maritime-influenced area of NE-Germany at the southern margin of the Eemian (Baltic) Sea. Here we present first results from a geological investigation of a new last interglacial site, recently discovered during archaeological excavations near Beckentin (SW-Mecklenburg). The study area is located approximately 25 km to the south of the maximum MIS-2 ice limit of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in NE-Germany, and thus lies outside the Weichselian belt of glaciation. Based on lithostratigraphic and sedimentological logging, complemented by geochemical (XRF) and palynological investigations, we divide the local succession into three sections: (1) a basal facies comprising Saalian till and associated glaciofluvial sand, overlain by section (2) consisting of a fen peat which grades into laminated organic to minerogenic mud. The organic deposits of section (2) preserve a near complete Eemian pollen inventory, encompassing pollen zones (PZ) I to VI (Menke and Tynni 1984). Above this rest poorly sorted periglacial sands (section 3) with ventifacts and evidence for cryogenic deformation. Geochronological results from 230Th/U dating of the buried organic-rich deposits at Beckentin, show that these units accumulated in a former dead ice depression between 118 ± 7/6 ka and 114 ± 6/5 ka during the Eemian Interglacial. High-resolution optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) profiling, undertaken with a portable luminescence reader, reveals a significant hiatus between the lacustrine fines and overlying periglacial cover sand. Five OSL ages obtained from these cover sediments and the sand-filling of an ice-wedge cast show that these strata formed between during the last glacial - interglacial transition.

The east-west migration of trees during the Eemian Interglacial registered on isopollen maps of Poland

The directions of the post-Wartanian (post-Saalian) migration of some thermophilous trees and shrubs into the territory of Poland was reconstructed on the basis of isopollen maps, prepared for the Eemian Interglacial based on the palynological data from 187 Polish pollen profiles. Isopollen maps clearly demonstrated, that all thermophilous trees, which appeared in this area in the early Eemian (Quercus, Ulmus, Fraxinus), migrated from the east or north-east. Also Tilia and Alnus, which arrived in the area of Poland in the middle part of the Eemian Interglacial migrated from the east. Picea, which colonized the territory of Poland twice: first at the very early stage of the interglacial, and then in the younger Eemian, migrated from the east and north-east. Only Corylus, Carpinus betulus and Abies alba migrated from other directions (from the south, from the south-west and from the south-west, respectively). Domination of the western and south-western directions of migration routes clearly differentiates the Eemian Interglacial from the Holocene, during which the majority of trees and shrubs migrated into territory of Poland from the south, south-east, south-west and west, and only a few, such as Ulmus and Picea, also from the east and north-east. We assumed that the most probable reason of this difference was a presence of the Wartanian (Saalian) refugia of many trees, including thermophilous taxa, in the Eastern Europe (west Russia or Black See region). From those regions, together with the decay of the ice sheet, these trees migrated directly into Central Europe along the northern slopes of the Carpathians, or at first migrated to the north via regions which were beyond the maximum range of the Saalian, and from there to the west after the ice sheet melted in this part of Europe.

Simulating climate and stable water isotopes during the Last Interglacial using a coupled climate‐isotope model

AbstractUnderstanding the dynamics of warm climate states has gained increasing importance in the face of anthropogenic climate change, and while it is possible to simulate warm interglacial climates, these simulated results cannot be evaluated without the aid of geochemical proxies. One such proxy is δ18O, which allows for inference about both a climate state's hydrology and temperature. We utilize a stable water isotope equipped climate model to simulate three stages during the Last Interglacial (LIG), corresponding to 130, 125, and 120 kyr before present, using forcings for orbital configuration as well as greenhouse gases. We discover heterogeneous responses in the mean δ18O signal to the climate forcing, with large areas of depletion in the LIG δ18O signal over the tropical Atlantic, the Sahel, and the Indian subcontinent, and with enrichment over the Pacific and Arctic Oceans. While we find that the climatology mean relationship between δ18O and temperature remains stable during the LIG, we also discover that this relationship is not spatially consistent. Our results suggest that great care must be taken when comparing δ18O records of different paleoclimate archives with the results of climate models as both the qualitative and quantitative interpretation of δ18O variations as a proxy for past temperature changes may be problematic due to the complexity of the signals.

Genesis, evolution, and catastrophic burying of the Ryshkovo paleosol of the Mikulino Interglacial (MIS 5e)

The results of a hierarchical morphogenetic, physicochemical, and mineralogical study of the Ryshkovo full-profile texture-differentiated paleosol of the Mikulino Interglacial from the section at Aleksandrov quarry in Kursk oblast are discussed. The correlation analysis of the stratigraphy of this section with global geological records made it possible to determine the position of the Ryshkovo paleosol in the chronostratigraphic system of the Late Pleistocene and to attribute it to stage MIS 5e; the duration of pedogenesis for this paleosol was no more than 12–15 ka. The results of the study indicate that the Ryshkovo paleosol is close in its properties to the Holocene soddy-podzolic soils of the East European Plain. No direct evidences in favor of the former interpretation of this paleosol as a lessivated soil genetically close to Luvisols of nemoral broadleaved forest of Central Europe have been found. The difference between the paleosol of the Mikulino Interglacial and the modern soddy-podzolic soils is mainly related to the distribution of clay coatings. In the upper part of the illuvial horizon of Mikulino paleosol, clay coatings are few in number, and typical tongues of podzolized (albic) material are absent in the profile. At the same time, silty coatings (skeletans) are abundant even in the lower part of the illuvial horizon. In general, the Mikulino paleosol is characterized by a smaller diversity of clay pedofeatures. These differences might be related to less contrasting fluctuations of the environmental conditions in the second half of the Mikulino Interglacial, to the periodical renewal of the eluvial part of Mikulino paleosol by erosional and accumulative processes, and to the absence of anthropogenic impacts on the soil during the Mikulino Interglacial. The burying of the Ryshkovo paleosol took place due to the intense development of erosional processes induced by the contrasting climatic events at the end of the interglacial period accompanied by catastrophic forest fires and sharp cooling of the climate upon the transition to the Valdai glaciation.

Marine terraces of the Promontorio de Cabrera (Pleistocene, northern Dominican Republic)

Eleven marine terraces, locally faulted and southward-tilted, can be recognized in the Promontorio de Cabrera, at the eastern end of the Cordillera Septentrional in the northern Dominican Republic. The lower terraces (T1-T7) are reefal platforms belonging to the La Isabela Formation, whereas the upper ones (T8-T11) are abrasion platforms sculpted in the carbonates of the Los Haitises Formation. The terraces formed during Pleistocene uplift, initially as a series of erosional steps and later as staircase offlapping depositional terraces. According to available radiometric data, the lower terrace (T1) formed in the MIS 5e and its uplift rate can be estimated as 0.15-0.17 mm/year in the northern sector. This uplift rate suggests that T2 formed in the Middle Pleistocene, T3 in the Middle Pleistocene-Calabrian boundary, T4-T8 in the Calabrian, and T9-T11 in the Gelasian. The Promontorio de Cabrera has been built by the continuous uplift and emersion of successive terraces since the Early Pleistocene (Gelasian).

Paleogeographic evolution of eastern Hispaniola

The geological record of Hispaniola documents a continuous increase in island surface since the Early Pleistocene due to the emergence of marine deposits. In eastern Hispaniola, the Llanura Costera del Caribe and the Los Haitises regions formed by the emergence in the Early-Middle Pleistocene of limestone of the Los Haitises Formation, and marls and marly limestone of the Yanigua Formation (Pliocene-Early Pleistocene). These formations were both deposited on the platforms surrounding the precursor relief of the Cordillera Oriental. In the Coastal Belt of the Llanura Costera del Caribe, continued uplift and Pleistocene global sea-level changes are reflected by two main stepped depositional terraces comprising reef limestone of the La Isabela Formation. Radiometric dating indicates the lowest terrace of the La Isabela Formation (Lower Surface of the Llanura Costera del Caribe) formed during MIS 5e in the Late Pleistocene. The age of the Upper Surface of the Llanura Costera del Caribe estimated by extrapolation of uplift rates deduced from the age of the lowest terrace is consistent with the available biostratigraphic age (Early Pleistocene) for the last deposition phases of the Los Haitises Formation. Correlation of the Upper Surface with erosional surfaces in the Cordillera Oriental and the Los Haitises region allows a reconstruction of the palaeogeographic changes in eastern Hispaniola during the Quaternary.

Late Pleistocene gastropods from the raised reefal limestone of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: taxonomic and palaeoenvironmental implications

A temporarily exposed 6-m succession of raised reefal limestone terrace south of Sharm Obhur (Jeddah) was investigated with regard to macrofossil gastropods and their palaeoenvironmental implications. The studied succession consists of two distinct layers. The lower layer consists of white limestone (4 m thick) of Late Pleistocene age, while the upper layer consists of shell-rich calcareous clay (2 m thick) and belongs to the last interglacial marine isotope stage 5e (MIS 5e). Its lithology was correlated with a nearby temporarily exposed 3-m succession, indicating that the deposition of the MIS 5e was not continuous, as indicated by the occurrence of a 0.4-m-thick weathered layer between the lower white limestone and upper calcareous clay. The studied 6-m succession yielded a very rich gastropod fauna with 90 species belonging to 4 subclasses, 5 orders, 16 superfamilies, 33 families and 64 genera. The clayey layer showed higher species richness (65 species) than the limestone layer (18 species), indicating a rapid change in the coral reef environment during the deposition of the interval of MIS 5e. It is assumed that, after the weathering interval, the sea level could not rebound to the same level as it was during the deposition of the white limestone, leading to deposition of calcareous clay in a shallow platform or embayment, allowing proliferation of gastropod species. Littorinimorpha and Neogastropoda species represent about 75% of the total recorded gastropod taxa, whereas Vetigastropoda and Caenogastropoda represent only 25% of the total recorded taxa. Superfamilies Cerithioidea and Stromboidea dominated the clay layer, whereas no particular species dominated the limestone layer.

Small mammal fauna in Europe during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene

Evolutionary changes in European small mammals during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene, from the Likhvin (Holsteinian, Hoxnian) Interglacial (MIS 11) to the beginning of the Mikulino (Eemian) Interglacial (MIS 5e), that is between 424 ka BP and 130 ka BP were traced. Trends in evolutionary change were documented, and East European and West European faunas were compared. An integrated analysis of available theriological, geological, and geochronological data for the second half of the Middle Pleistocene in Europe has shown marked changes in the small mammal fauna throughout the period under consideration and provided information on the climate and environments at different time intervals. Changes traceable in the Arvicolinae phyletic lines made a correlation between the West European and East European mammal localities possible. The biostratigraphic scheme of the second half of the Middle Pleistocene has been developed and maps of small mammal localities compiled.

Last interglacial to Holocene sedimentation on intertidal to subtidal flats revealed by seismic and deep-core sediment analyses, southwest coast of Korea

Over the past two decades, tidal flats in the west coast of Korea (eastern Yellow Sea) have been extensively investigated to reveal sedimentation and stratigraphic evolution coupled with sea level changes. In spite of such efforts, their sedimentary record and evolution pattern particularly in the deeper subtidal area are relatively little documented. To expand and fulfill our knowledge on sedimentation history from last interglacial to the Holocene, three drilled cores (up to ca. 28 m in length) and Chirp seismic profiles obtained from the subtidal zones along the southwestern coast of Korea were examined, with supplementary OSL and 14C-AMS age dates. Based on the sedimentary facies analysis correlated with seismic units, the subtidal deposits can be divided into four units: Unit I) basal fluvial deposit (MIS 6?), Unit II) tidal deposits (MIS 5e), Unit III) transition deposits between salt marsh and oxidized inland coastal dune (early Holocene), and Unit IV) Holocene tidal deposits, in ascending order. These units can be then grouped into two sedimentary sequences, a lower sequence S1 (Unit I and II) and an upper S2 (Unit III and IV) separated by an unconformable surface, being responded to two cycles in sea-level fluctuations. Each sequence started with non-marine deposits formed during lowstand in sea-level, and then overlain by tidal successions deposited during transgression. The feature thus indicates two tidal deposits, i.e., last interglacial and the Holocene in ages, preserved in the macrotidal west coast of Korea, possibly being major constituents of coastal successions to be survived in the records. This can be used to correlate with other marine strata in the western (Chinese) Yellow Sea since the last interglacial.

Potential Distribution of Fossil Xenarthrans in South America during the Late Pleistocene: co-Occurrence and Provincialism

Species distribution models (SDMs) are helpful for understanding actual and potential biogeographical traits of organisms. These models have recently started to be applied in the study of fossil xenarthrans. SDMs were generated for 15 South American late Pleistocene xenarthrans: eight Cingulata (Glyptodon clavipes, Doedicurus clavicaudatus, Panochthus tuberculatus, Neosclerocalyptus paskoensis, Pampatherium typum, Pampatherium humboldtii, Holmesina paulacoutoi, and Holmesina occidentalis) and seven Folivora (Glossotherium robustum, Lestodon armatus, Mylodon darwinii, Catonyx cuvieri, Catonyx (=Scelidodon) chilensis, Megatherium americanum, and Eremotherium laurillardi). Models were evaluated for three periods: the last interglacial (LIG), the last glacial maximum (LGM), and the Holocene climatic optimum (HCO). Co-occurrence records were studied based on the overlap of the potential distributions and compared with the available biome reconstructions of South America during the LGM to analyze species distribution patterns, ecological requirements, and possible interactions. Our results suggest the existence of provincialization within xenarthran megamammals grouped in at least three bioregions. Northern and southwestern taxa overlap in the Rio de la Plata region where also some endemic taxa are found. We observed overlapping potential distributions but separated and continuous realized distributions between closely related xenarthrans suggesting competitive exclusion. A generalized reduction in potential habitats at the end of the Pleistocene was not obvious as some taxa show stable potential areas during HCO when comparing with LGM. Nonetheless, fragmentation of the most suitable areas due to climate variation and the impact of reduction in available land due to sea level changes cannot be ruled out as involved in the extinction.

A Last Interglacial pollen-temperature reconstruction, central North Island, New Zealand

We present new pollen-temperature reconstructions for the Last Interglacial from central North Island, New Zealand using partial least squares regression (PLS) and modern analogue technique applied with the New Zealand pre-deforestation calibration pollen dataset. The pollen-bearing organic sequence includes numerous millimetre- to decimetre- thick tephra mostly from the adjacent Tongariro Volcanic Centre and is overlain by tephric cover-beds including the c. 25.4 ka cal BP Kawakawa/Oruanui Tephra. Fine-resolution pollen and preliminary diatom analyses above and below prominent tephra layers showed that significant vegetation impact followed only the thickest ashfall event (22 cm thickness), with vegetation recovery taking several hundred years. Apart from this, changes in the longer-term pollen record are likely to be related to climate oscillations that resemble the classic five-fold subdivision of MIS 5. The warmest interval, ascribed to MIS 5e, was characterised by tall, temperate rainforest, and occurs at the base of the sequence, with mean annual temperatures reaching around 1.1 °C higher than present. Mean annual temperatures declined to ∼4 °C below present during MIS 5d and MIS 5b and were within 1–2 °C of present during MIS 5c. The PLS temperature reconstructions are corroborated by estimates derived independently from elevational changes to vegetation communities, corresponding to modern temperature controls, inferred from the Karioi pollen spectra. Temperatures reconstructed quantitatively by the modern analogue technique were up to 1.3 °C higher for MIS 5e, MIS 5d and MIS 5b, possibly reflecting weaker modern vegetation analogues for these intervals.

Effect of irregular, complex underlying topography in Holocene sedimentation revealed from late Quaternary sequences in the mid-western coast of Korea

Through a detailed analysis of seismic profile and vibra-/drilling-core sediments (up to 25.5 m long) with AMS 14C ages from a tidal flat in the mid-western coast of Korea, we reconstruct development of coastal sedimentary sequences in response to sea-level changes for more than about 150 ka, and reveal effect of irregular, complex underlying topography in the Holocene coastal sedimentation. Unit I overlying rock basement and the lower part of Unit II consist of fluvial sediments deposited during sea-level lowstands prior to interglacial period of Eemian Stage (MIS 5e). During the sea-level highstand of MIS 5e, muddy tidal sediments between 7.40 and 10.76 m deep below the present tidal-flat surface were deposited in the upper to middle part of Unit II. The study area had been subaerially exposed for a long duration from MIS 5e to ca. 10 ka. During this period, the muddy tidal sediments in Unit II had been underwent oxidization and significant erosion by fluvial process, forming irregular and complex morphology of the upper boundary of Unit II with a large topographic relief (up to ca. 7 m) even over a short (ca. 560 m) distance. On the upper boundary of Unit II, topographic highs could act as barriers for weakening wave effects from ca. 8–9 ka to 3–4 ka (period of relatively rapid sea-level rise), depositing muddy tidal sediments (Unit III-B). As the muddy tidal sediments (Unit III-B) filled the irregular, complex underlying morphology, surface topography was nearly flat without barriers around about 3–4 ka. Since then, the nearly flat surface morphology without barriers, together with relatively slow sea-level rise and direct exposure of strong onshore winter waves/storms, could promote to deposit wave-/storm-driven sandy sediments (Unit III-A). This study suggests that change in surface morphology could affect stratigraphic evolution of the Holocene coastal sequence by variation in depositional regime.