Middle Pleistocene Interglacials Research Articles

Lower–Middle Pleistocene Stratigraphy of the Southern West Siberian Plain: New Data

Abstract—The Quaternary stratigraphy of the southern West Siberian Plain is considered in the context of the updated International Chronostratigraphic Scale, with the Neogene/Quarternary boundary at 2.588 Ma. New geological, lithological, paleontological, and paleomagnetic data from a reference Quaternary section in the Irtysh River valley near Isakovka Village provide more rigorous constraints on the Lower–Middle Pleistocene stratigraphy and the respective deposition conditions. The Isakovka outcrop exposes two stratigraphically expressed and paleontologically characterized units that were deposited during regional Pleistocene interglacial events of different ages: the Strunino and Serebryanoe alluvium beds lying over eroded surfaces. The species of the Corbicula genus coexisting with numerous species of Palearctic molluscs, small mammals Allophaiomys deucalion, Mimomys reidi, and last rooted lagurids Borsodia found in the Strunino alluvium are known also from continental equivalents of the warm upper Gelasian Stage in different parts of northern Eurasia. Judging by the presence of extant corbicules, the Strunino alluvium was deposited in a warm climate, with a mean annual air temperature above +16 °C and a mean winter temperature no colder than –8 °C, in rivers that remained free from ice all year round. On the basis of fauna constraints for the Serebryanoe alluvium, along with the first appearance of the European Pisidium clessini molluscs in West Siberia, the unit can be correlated with one of the earliest Middle Pleistocene interglacial events. The faunal assemblages and spore-pollen patterns of the two units indicate that the climate during the Serebryanoe deposition was slightly cooler and wetter than during the Strunino deposition, though steppe landscapes predominated on watersheds in both events. The two alluvial beds, which are traceable in river bluffs, at 30 m above the modern water level in a tectonically stable part of West Siberia, mark the hypsometrically higher position of the river network during the Early Pleistocene and early Middle Pleistocene interglacials.

A Long-Term Record of Quaternary Facies Patterns and Palaeonvironmental Trends from the Po Plain (NE Italy) as Revealed by Bio-Sedimentary Data

Understanding Quaternary dynamics of delta-coastal plains across multiple glacial-interglacial cycles in the Milankovitch band (~100 kyrs) is crucial to achieve a robust evaluation of possible environmental response to future climate-change scenarios. In this work, we document the long-term bio-sedimentary record of core 204 S16 (~205 m long), which covers a wide portion of the post-MPR (Mid-Pleistocene Revolution) interval, taking advantage of the highly subsiding context of the SE Po Plain (NE Italy). Detailed facies characterization through an integrated sedimentological and meiofauna (benthic foraminifers and ostracods) approach allowed for the identification of a repetitive pattern of alluvial deposits alternating with four fossiliferous, paralic to shallow-marine units (Units 1–4). The transgressive surfaces identified at the base of these units mark major flooding events, forced by Holocene (Unit 4), Late Pleistocene (Unit 3) and Middle Pleistocene (Units 1, 2) interglacials. Distinct stratigraphic patterns typify the Middle Pleistocene interval, which includes coastal-marine (tidal inlet and bay) deposits. In contrast, lagoonal sediments record the maximum marine influence in the Late Pleistocene-Holocene succession. As a whole, the meiofauna tracks a regressive trend, with the deepest conditions recorded by the oldest Unit 1 (MIS 9/11 age?).

Palaeoenvironments of the MIS 15 site of Cava di Breccia - Casal Selce 2 (central Italian Peninsula) and niche occupation of fossil ungulates during Middle Pleistocene interglacials

ABSTRACT The Ponte Galeria area within the city of Rome has yielded numerous fossiliferous localities that represent a reference point for the study of the European Middle Pleistocene ecosystems. Within Ponte Galeria a rich collection of fossil mammals has been unearthed from Cava di Breccia – Casal Selce 2 (MIS 15) thus the site represents an optimal laboratory to investigate the palaeoenvironments of a defined territory during the Middle Pleistocene. We investigate the feeding behaviours of the ungulate community of Cava di Breccia – Casal Selce 2 to reconstruct the MIS 15 habitats and also compare the data with those of the nearby site of Fontana Ranuccio (MIS 11) which shares similar faunal composition with Cava di Breccia – Casal Selce 2 to test if ungulates occupied the same niches during two different interglacials. Open habitats with scattered woodlands characterised the Ponte Galeria area during MIS 15, whereas woodlands were more widespread during MIS 11 at Fontana Ranuccio. Ungulates display similar diets in both localities, suggesting that cervids, large bovids and equids adopted the same niche partitioning strategies during both interglacials.

Evolution of the Bystrzyca River valley during Middle Pleistocene Interglacial (Sudetic Foreland, south-western Poland)

Abstract The article depicts the problem of river system development during the Middle Pleistocene Interglacial in the Bystrzyca River Valley (Sudetic Foreland, south-western Poland). Ten research sites located within the Świdnica Plain are presented, in which the structural, grain size (granulometry), petrographic, quartz grain morphoscopy, and heavy mineral analyses were carried out. The study results show the formation of piedmont fan deposits 2–8 km to the NE of the Sudetic Marginal Fault. The location of the fluvial deposits between the Sanian and Odranian tills indicates that they were deposited during the Holsteinian Interglacial (Krzczonów Formation, Mazovian; see Table 1). According toxthe lithofacies analysis, vast alluvial plains, composed of angular gravel grains in the south and of sands in the north, were deposited in the Sudetic Foreland in the environment of a very dynamic river. They are covered with a discontinuous layer of Odranian till. The petrographic spectrum shows 90–99% of local rocks, namely, Sudetic porphyry, Sowie Mts Gneiss and milky quartz, and 1–10% of Scandinavian rocks. In the proto-Bystrzyca river system, the existence of an oxbow lake in the distal part of the Krzczonów fan has been proved, which was developing at the end of the Holsteinian Interglacial. The continuity of the alluvial deposits is interrupted in the vicinity of Świdnica due to both the tectonic movements and the formation of the narrow tectonic graben of Roztoka–Mokrzeszów.

New Stratigraphic Data on the Quaternary Sediments in the Peschanaya River Valley, Northwestern Altai

This paper presents new data on the structure and the lithological, pedological, paleontological, and paleomagnetic features of the Middle and Upper Quaternary sediments in the Peschanaya River valley, the foothills of northwestern Altai. Those horizons contain a loess-soil sequence and sediments relating to two Middle Pleistocene interglacials. On the basis of palinological characteristics of one of the Middle Pleistocene interglacials, the succession of fl oras during the respective stages is reconstructed. The Middle Pleistocene interglacial fl oras of Western Siberia are compared with that reconstructed on the basis of the Karama site, evidencing marked differences. The fl ora around Karama included broad-leaved taxa that were absent during the Middle Pleistocene interglacials of western Siberia, when apart from modern arboreal taxa, only cold-resistant broad-leaved ones were present (Tilia, Corylus, Ulmus, and Juglans). The Karama fl ora resembles the last western Siberian thermophilic fl ora––Barnaul, which existed during the long climatic warming of the Early Pleistocene, corresponding to the Tiglian in northwestern Europe (2.23–1.59 Ma BP). Since the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene, interglacial fl oras of western Siberia have resembled modern ones. In terms of phytocenotic and palaeoclimatic features, Middle Pleistocene interglacial environments of western Siberia display a sharp contrast with those of Barnаul and Karama.

Quaternary stratigraphy and palaeogeography of Poland

Abstract Though the stratigraphical and palaeogeographical framework of the Quaternary in Poland is still to be completed, several crucial points have been confirmed recently. The preglacial series, accepted for years as belonging to the Lower Pleistocene, is undoubtedly of Early Pliocene age, with a huge hiatus above almost until the uppermost Lower Pleistocene. The earliest glaciation in Poland (Nidanian) occurred at about 900 ka BP when the ice sheet reached the mid-southern part of the country. The following Podlasian Interglacial embraced the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary in the middle, in a similar fashion to the corresponding Cromerian Complex in Western Europe. The late Early and early Middle Pleistocene interglacials in Poland comprised 2–3 optima each, whereas every one of the younger interglacials was characterised by a single optimum only. The Late Vistulian ice sheet was most extensive in the western part of Poland (Leszno Phase) whereas the younger Poznań Phase was more extensive in the central and eastern part of the country. This was due to the varied distance from the glaciation center in Scandinavia, making the ice sheet margin reach a terminal position in different times. Palaeoclimatological research in the Tatra Mountains has provided new evidence for the atmospheric circulation over Europe. During cold phases of the Pleistocene in Poland a continental climate extended further westwards, quite the opposite that occurring during warmer intervals.

Inferences from geochemical characteristics of the upper part of the Middle Pleistocene interglacial deposits in Lithuania

The study presents geochemical characteristics of deposits from the reference sections of the Middle Pleistocene interglacials: 2 from the Butėnai Interglacial and 2 from the problematic Snaigupėlė Interglacial. Geochemical data (the contents of 29 chemical elements, percentages of sediment components) are related to magnetic susceptibility (MS), bedding, lithology and previous palaeobotanical results. Higher content of carbonates and clay in sections of the Snaigupėlė Interglacial can be explained by warmer climate and calmer depositional environment, though the influence of chemical composition of the provenance and underlying tills is also obvious. The influence of oxic-anoxic sedimentary environment fluctuations on MS and on the separation between P-Fe and S-Mn is demonstrated. Many geochemical differences between deposits from the intervals of the Snaigupėlė-705 borehole and the Snaigupėlė outcrop sections which presumably include pollen zone S6 Carpinus-Quercus enable to speculate that these deposits were formed during different interglacials.

What was an interglacial river like? Sedimentological investigation of Holsteinian fluvial deposits in eastern Poland

Holsteinian fluvial deposits in the Samica River valley in eastern Poland have been studied, in an approximately 12-m-thick succession filling palaeochannels and comprising sandy channel facies succeeded by a package of gyttja, peat and silt deposited in oxbow. Channel belts including palaeochannel fills cut into outwash sands and are overlain by diamictic sands reworked by solifluction under periglacial conditions. Sedimentological and palynological investigations in combination allowed the recognition of glacial and interglacial deposits. The channel belt was formed by a typical sand-bed, meandering river with deposition controlled by abundant point bars. The sedimentary evolution of the Samica valley is interpreted in the context of the glacial-interglacial cycle. Valley-scale erosion and change of river style from braided to meandering occurred coevally with the decay of an ice sheet (deglaciation) and the main phase of meandering river sedimentation is attributed to latest Elsterian and early Holsteinian. The next part of the interglacial, from pioneer stage to established temperate conditions, is recorded in a biogenic oxbow-lake fill. The succession studied has been compared with published data on the European fluvial deposits of Middle Pleistocene interglacials. It is pointed out here that river channel patterns in western and eastern Europe differed. Based on this observation, some general hypotheses regarding the continental-scale climatic distinctness are put forward.

The earliest Pleistocene interglacials in Lithuania in the context of global environmental change

Investigations have been carried out in order to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental changes during the earliest Pleistocene interglacials and to establish their relation to global environmental changes. Three sections in east Lithuania exposing the earliest Pleistocene lacustrine deposits lying between the Kalviai (Glacial B, Nidanian?) and Dzūkija (Sanian 1) and between Dzūkija (Sanian 1) and Dainava (Sanian 2) glacial deposits were selected for study. Until now the Slavė-2 and Vindžiūnai-136 successions were considered to have formed during the Vindžiūnai (Augustovian?, Malopolanian) Interglacial and the Kudrė-915 succession during the Turgeliai (Cromerian IV, Ferdynandovian) Interglacial. Geochemical, palaeomagnetic, magnetic susceptibility, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility and palaeobotanical proxies were applied to establish the cyclicity and dynamics of palaeoenvironmental change. The data obtained enable the subdivision of the section into units related to changes in the sedimentary environment. The Matuyama/Brunhes boundary and Jaramillo subchron of the Matuyama chron have been recognized in the Slavė section. The results enable correction of the stratigraphic position of the sections studied. The sedimentation in the Slavė section took place during the Early Pleistocene, while that at the Vindžiūnai-136 and Kudrė-915 took place during two different Middle Pleistocene interglacials.

Iron mineralogical proxies and Quaternary climate change in SE-European loess–paleosol sequences

The loess–paleosol sequences Batajnica/Stari Slankamen (Serbia) and Mircea Voda (Romania) represent key archives for the climate and landscape development of the middle and lower Danube Basin during the last 700,000years. For deciphering the Quaternary climate evolution in these regions, the Batajnica/Stari Slankamen and Mircea Voda sites are for the first time studied by a multi-proxy approach based on iron mineralogical parameters. Changes in the iron mineralogical composition are identified and characterized by rock magnetic investigations, diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and Munsell color based proxies. The results show that environmental conditions during mid- and early Middle Pleistocene interglacials were more favorable for hematite formation, suggesting a more oxidizing pedoclimate as in the more recent interglacials. This is also reflected in a gradual increase of the anhysteretic remanent magnetization vs. saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (ARM/SIRM) ratio. In the studied profiles changes in this ratio can be linked to a preferential hematitization of coarse-grained ferrimagnetica and relates to warmer climate conditions and a more extended estival dry period. At the same time, rock magnetic parameters indicate a preferential destruction of fine-grained magnetic particles in older paleosols resulting from seasonal excess moisture.A progressive cooling and decrease of rainfall during the Middle and Late Pleistocene is evidenced not only for interglacial pedocomplexes but also for glacial loess layers. This finding is in line with previously published proxy records of silicate weathering and clay formation at these sites and similar trends reported from other sites in the European steppe belt. Relating iron mineralogical proxies to paleopedological characteristics and proxies of silicate weathering, additionally a change in the seasonal pattern of the interglacial temperature and precipitation regime from a Mediterranean type to a steppe type climate is revealed, highlighting the potential of such a multi-proxy approach.Possible triggers for this paleoenvironmental evolution are discussed, as well, finally highlighting a “Quaternary uplift hypothesis”, which best could explain the inferred trend of cooling, aridification and increasing continentality. Accordingly, changes in atmospheric circulation and rain shadow effects induced by small-scale uplift of European mountain belts (Alps, Carpathians, Dinaric Alps) would provide a driving mechanism for the westward extension of the Eurasian steppe belt into Central and SE-Europe during the Quaternary.

Middle Pleistocene interglacials in east-central Alaska

Middle Pleistocene interglacials in east-central Alaska

The intensity of interglacial warmth in northwest Europe over the last 800,000 yrs: An absence of the MBE in Europe?

The mid-Brunhes Event (MBE) is a climatic transition occurring between MIS 13 and 11 that separates two global climatic modes: (a) early Middle Pleistocene interglacials (780-450 ka) that are characterised by only moderate warmth and (b) Middle and Late Pleistocene interglacials (occurring after 450 ka) that are characterised by greater warmth consistent with, or warmer than, the Holocene. This event is observable within a variety of long climate records, such as SPECMAP and EPICA, but its effect on terrestrial systems is poorly understood.

New evidence for vegetation development and timing of Upper Middle Pleistocene interglacials in Northern Germany and tentative correlations

This paper discusses palynological investigations and new 230Th/U ages of two Upper Middle Pleistocene sequences of the formerly glaciated Northern German Lowlands, the Reinsdorf sequence at the open mine of Schöningen, Lower Saxony and the North Friesian site of Leck. New 230Th/U ages of late interglacial organic layers of the archaeological lake margin site of the Reinsdorf sequence ranging from 280 to 343 ka give evidence for a correlation of those deposits with Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 9. Near and long distance correlation by means of palynological investigations of Holsteinian and related interglacial continental deposits and their correlation with the MIS is discussed. Isotopic investigations of uranium and thorium from organic-rich mud deposits at core Leck 8 point to an open-system, and age estimation by 230Th/U-dating remains therefore unclear. Compared to other Upper Middle Pleistocene warm periods in North Germany, correlations of the Leck-Interglacial with the Holsteinian and the Reinsdorf interglacial can be excluded. In comparison with sediment successions from the Nachtigall section at Höxter and the section Ottostraße at Göttingen, the Leck-Interglacial is discussed as a correlative of a warm temperate phase of MIS 7.

Western Palaearctic palaeoenvironmental conditions during the Early and early Middle Pleistocene inferred from large mammal communities, and implications for hominin dispersal in Europe

Large-scale fluctuations in global climate and resulting changes in ecology had a profound effect on human evolution and dispersal. Though hominin remains are scarce, studies focussing on the more abundant records of fossil land mammal communities can contribute greatly to our knowledge of the palaeoenvironmental circumstances that influenced and directed the global spread of hominins. To produce a comprehensive and accurate account of the evolution of western Palaearctic habitat diversity between 2.6 and 0.4 Ma BP, information generated from large mammal communities from 221 key sites has been included in this study. The palaeoecological conditions of the western Palaearctic during the Early and early Middle Pleistocene were principally controlled by the following key factors: (1) a widespread trend of temperature decrease, (2) the periodicity of the global temperature record, (3) the intensity of single climatic stages, (4) the temporal pattern of climatic variation, (5) geographical position, and (6) the distribution of continental water resources. A general picture of the evolution of western Palaearctic habitat diversity saw the replacement of extensive forested terrain by an alternating sequence of varied savannah-like and forested habitats during the 2.6–1.8 Ma span, as well as an alternation between different types of predominantly open habitats between 1.8 and 1.2 Ma. Both of these processes were governed by 41 ka temperature periodicity. During the 1.2–0.9 Ma time span, irregular climatic fluctuations were more common and habitat variability increased. The subsequent 0.9–0.4 Ma interval, a period controlled by 100 ka periodicity, was by comparison more stable, with longer climatic cycles alternating between open and forested landscapes. During the entire Early and early Middle Pleistocene, assemblages of large mammal communities reveal a distinct trend of decreasing continentality between Eastern and South-Eastern Europe on the one hand, and South-Western and North-Western Europe on the other. This trend was due to the effect of the Atlantic Ocean, while in Southern Europe the relatively low continentality was balanced by influences from the Mediterranean Sea. When plotted against evidence of hominin occurrence, the data on western Palaearctic habitat diversity inferred from large mammal communities indicate clear environmental stimuli for the earliest human dispersal in Europe. These are: (1) a wide range of habitats, implying a high diversity of resources; (2) mild climates with low seasonality, implying a lack of strong environmental fluctuations. Around 1.8 Ma at the latest, hominins of African origin entered the western Palaearctic for the first time, taking advantage of the diversity of habitats and resources, particularly along large river systems. Their subsequent westward spread between 1.7 and 1.3 Ma was restricted to Mediterranean-influenced areas, which offered a high variability of habitats and relatively low seasonality. The increase in environmental diversity, which occurred from 1.2 Ma onwards, opened up South-Eastern and Eastern Europe for hominin occupation. According to the available records, North-Western and Central Europe were initially colonized during late Early to early Middle Pleistocene interglacials, when these regions experienced periods of low seasonality and considerable habitat diversity.

Distinguishing between the late Middle Pleistocene interglacials of the British Isles: A multivariate approach to horse biostratigraphy

Over the last decades, it has proven difficult to correlate late Middle Pleistocene terrestrial sites with the marine oxygen isotope record and with other terrestrial sites. For the British Isles, a biostratigraphic framework has been developed for the late Middle Pleistocene, incorporating geological, faunal and floral evidence. Multivariate analyses of British late Middle Pleistocene caballoid horse metapodials and first phalanges group the samples in accordance with the dates previously assigned to them, corroborating the existing biostratigraphic scheme. Principal components analysis shows that the main sources of variation in these skeletal elements are differences in size, slenderness and adaptations to the substrate. Discriminant function analysis provides a reliable method for identifying temporal affinities of horse remains. This analysis of the British material can be instrumental in the development of a better biostratigraphy for late Middle Pleistocene continental European sites.

Environmental context of Pleistocene peopling of the Central Urals

The broader territory of the Urals has principal significance for elucidating the historical processes and environmental contexts of the Pleistocene expansion of people from the south-eastern parts of Europe into West Siberia and the northern Russian Arctic regions. Interaction of past climate change and the regional topographic modelling triggered by neotectonic activity reflected by pronounced natural transformations attest to the complexity of the Quaternary development in the Central Urals, affecting timing and intensity of the earliest human occupation of this territory. The initial peopling of the western (Fore-Ural) area is associated with the Early Palaeolithic dispersal into the marginal East European Plain, probably during some climatically favourable Middle Pleistocene interglacials. The Chusoaya River valley transecting the Central Ural Mountain range was one of the main geographic corridors for the subsequent Middle and Upper Palaeolithic migrations into the eastern (Trans-Ural) regions of West Siberia. A long-term behavioural adjustment to cold periglacial habitats is linked to progressive cultural and biological evolution during the Late Pleistocene. The north-central Trans-Urals Upper Palaeolithic Complex in the Sosva River basin with open occupation sites based on “mammoth fauna” exploitation indicates adaptation to sub-polar tundra-steppe environments of the West Siberian Plain during the last glacial stage. Geoarchaeological records provide further insights into the timing and ecology conditions of the Pleistocene colonisation of north-central Eurasia. The present study summarises the current evidence on trajectories of the Pleistocene environmental development in the broader Central Urals, still a marginally investigated geographical area of Eurasia.

Correlation of Pleistocene sediments from boreholes in the Ludwigshafen area, western Heidelberg Basin

Abstract. Cores from several boreholes in the Ludwigshafen area were analysed to investigate their sedimentology, palynology, palaeomagnetics, rock magnetics and heavy mineral composition. The preliminary results are presented from the new Ludwigshafen-Parkinsel borehole P35, which was drilled 500 m WSW of borehole P34, to a total depth of 300 m. Correlation between the two boreholes reveals similarities and dissimilarities in stratigraphy, structure and the thickness of the sediments. As a result of core documentation and the preliminary evaluation of the investigation results, a good correlation is established between the coarse and fi ne-grained sequences in both boreholes down to a depth of 122 m. However, the Plio-Pleistocene boundary in borehole P35 is much deeper than in P34. A fault throw of 42 m is assumed, attributable to young tectonics. The poor correlation between the thicknesses of the sediments in the lower sections of the two boreholes suggests that tectonism was particularly active in the Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene. The different occurrence of interglacial sequences in the two Ludwigshafen boreholes can be attributed to fl uvial dynamics and neotectonic events. Further palynological analysis is required to determine whether the alternation of at least fi ve interglacial periods determined in the Ludwigshafen-Parkinsel P34 borehole, can also be confi rmed in the P35 borehole. The information gained so far from the correlation of the already analysed Middle Pleistocene interglacials in the Ludwigshafen/Mannheim area, as well as the links with the primarily Lower Pleistocene sections in Schifferstadt, already suggest that this would allow a much better understanding of the changes in vegetation and climate during the Pleistocene.

Terrestrial and freshwater carbonates in Hoxnian interglacial deposits, UK: micromorphology, stable isotopic composition and palaeoenvironmental significance

MIS 11 is often considered to be the best climatic analogue for the Holocene. Many studies have suggested, however, that it is a period of extreme climate warmth comparable in temperatures to the Middle and Late Pliocene. In Britain deposits of the Hoxnian interglacial are correlated to MIS 11 and multi-proxy techniques can be used to reconstruct the climate of this interglacial. Soil, groundwater and freshwater carbonates are common in Hoxnian deposits and the stable isotopic composition of these precipitates can be used to increase our understanding of MIS 11 environments in Britain. Carbonates from Marks Tey, Clacton, Swanscombe, Elveden and West Stow are studied, the stratigraphic context of which indicates that their formation is broadly synchronous (in the mid-Hoxnian, pollen zones Ho II to Ho III). The carbon isotopic composition of groundwater and pedogenic carbonates is typically depleted with respect to δ13C (ca −9 to −8‰ VPDB) reflecting uptake of plant respired CO2 during water migration/recharge. The carbon isotopic composition of lacustrine carbonate is more enriched with respect to δ13C (ca 0–1‰VPDB) reflecting the equilibration of lake waters with atmospheric CO2. The δ18O of groundwater and pedogenic carbonates is slightly more enriched than modern soil carbonates but not as enriched as soil carbonates formed under interglacials that were warmer than the Holocene (i.e. the Cromerian). The stable isotopic composition of Hoxnian carbonates does not, therefore, indicate that this interglacial was characterised by uniquely warm climates in the context of other Middle Pleistocene interglacials and the Holocene. This is contrary to many marine and littoral records from around the world but consistent with environmental records from Britain and Europe.

Early and Middle Pleistocene pollen assemblages of deep core drillings in the northern Upper Rhine Graben, Germany

AbstractRecent core drillings, carried out during water-economic exploration in the area of Mannheim/Ludwigshafen/Schifferstadt (Rhine-Neckar region, Germany), have produced a more differentiated stratigraphic division of the Pleistocene sediments of the northern Upper Rhine Graben. Pollen analytical investigations as well as malacological, heavy mineral, palaeomagnetic and lithological research have led to a stratigraphic reinterpretation of the gravel layers and intermediate horizons. Based on the results of the pollen analyses, the Mannheim interglacial period in the upper intermediate horizon (Oberer Zwischenhorizont, OZH) cannot be assigned to the Eemian as stated earlier. The occurrence ofFagus, CeltisandAzolla,along with the results of malacological analyses, indicate a Cromerian age for the Mannheim Interglacial. In addition, a pollen sequence from a different interglacial in the core sediments from Schifferstadt could also be assigned to the Cromerian. The Schifferstadt Interglacial is divided into a lower optimum phase with high values ofUlmus, QuercusandCoryluswhileCarpinusis completely absent, and an upper optimum phase with low values ofCarpinus.Fagusis absent in the whole sequence. The OZH comprises not only the two interglacial pollen sequences described above but also parts of at least four Middle Pleistocene Interglacials. In the lower part of the drillings in Schifferstadt and Ludwigshafen, which are assigned to the Early Pleistocene, pollen assemblages withFagusare likely to correlate with parts of the Tiglian A substage. There is a clear change to a Tertiary type of pollen flora at 91 m at Schifferstadt and at 186 m in Ludwigshafen.

The Pleistocene easternmost distribution in Eurasia of the species associated with the Eemian Palaeoloxodon antiquus assemblage

ABSTRACT The Palaeoloxodon antiquus large‐mammal assemblage was typical of the late middle and late Pleistocene interglacials in Europe. This review examines the assemblage's origins, dispersal and cohesiveness in Eurasia. During the more climatically equable middle‐Pleistocene periods, the Palaeoloxodon assemblage (or closely related) species occurred across central Eurasia almost simultaneously. In Central and Western Europe, these species responded to climatic changes together as an unvarying interglacial assemblage, whereas in Eastern Europe and Siberia, they occurred in diverging assemblages. The boundary of the Palaeoloxodon assemblage can be drawn roughly from Poland to Romania. In Central and Western Europe this interglacial assemblage last occurred during the Eemian. During this period many of the Palaeoloxodon assemblage species may also have co‐occurred in south‐eastern Europe and, except for Bubalus murrensis and Hippopotamus amphibius, further eastwards. The extinct species of the Palaeoloxodon assemblage disappeared in Siberia and Central Asia prior to Europe and the Caucasus whereas the extant species were already present in their modern distribution areas. A quantitative study of faunal associations across Eurasia, following much‐needed comprehensive systematic reviews, would further elucidate the patterns of faunal change associated with local and global climatic changes during the middle to late Pleistocene.