Pleistocene Geology Research Articles

The Quaternary sequence of the Nahr el Kebir, NW Syria: An important repository for evidence of Palaeolithic occupation and landscape evolution in the eastern Mediterranean

The third largest river in Syria, the Nahr el Kebir has a well-preserved record of river-terrace deposits that have produced substantial Palaeolithic artefact assemblages both from within the terrace deposits and from the land surfaces above and around them. At the Mediterranean coastline, the fluvial gravels interdigitate with raised shoreline terrace deposits, providing an insight into the temporal and climatic relations of both of these important geomorphological and morphostratigraphical archives, as well as their relationship with each other. New research is reported here on the Pleistocene geology and geomorphology of the Nahr el Kebir and the associated Palaeolithic archaeology, the latter having been reinterpreted based on reassessment of museum collections arising from earlier detailed work. Field visits revealed an additional, hitherto unrecognized low-level river terrace, whereas one of the previously recognized Palaeolithic levels can be shown to coincide with slope deposits that armour hilltops rather than representing a genuine fluvial formation. The new understanding of these geomorphological and sedimentary archives supports ideas that this corner of the Mediterranean has experienced unusually rapid uplift during the recent Quaternary, as a result of which the local rivers, including the Kebir, have deepened their valleys rapidly. Consequently, only the recent part of the Quaternary is recorded in the Kebir system and the ages envisaged previously for the terrace deposits and the Palaeolithic artefact assemblages were considerable overestimates in many cases, a finding that has significance for their correlation with those from the wider region. Reassessment of the Palaeolithic archaeology suggests a settlement history initially dominated by groups using handaxes, alongside simple core working (0.5–0.3 Ma), followed by a major change with the appearance of Levallois core working alongside handaxes, marking the transition to the early Middle Palaeolithic.

Comments on: “Anatomy of a late quaternary carbonate island: Constraints on timing and magnitude of sea-level fluctuations, West Caicos, Turks and Caicos Islands, BWI” by Kerans et al. [Quat Sci. Rev. 205 (2019), 193–223

We comment on interpretations of the evolution of late Pleistocene geology on West Caicos Island, Caicos Platform, B.W.I. by Kerans et al. (2019), which omits our documentation of the interrelationship of carbonate facies in outcrop and in boreholes (Dravis and Wanless, 2017). We further disagree with their geochronological dating assumptions/results that are the basis for interpreting late Quaternary sea-level fluctuations.

Living on the Edge? Transformation of a Marginal Pleistocene Landscape Into a Settlement Area in the Northeastern Part of the Netherlands

ABSTRACTThis paper will examine settlement location during the Iron Age in the northeast part of the Netherlands, an area shaped by Pleistocene geology. In recent years, a number of Late Iron Age/Early Roman settlements situated on the low lying slopes of sand ridges and nearby stream ridges revealed traces of an earlier Iron Age occupation. Palynological data revealed that this part of the landscape was used by humans before it was transformed into an area of settlement. An analysis of excavation data from two key sites at Denekamp-De Borchert and Groningen-Helpermaar, as well as other known sites, lead to the conclusion that the transformation of ‘peripheral landscapes’ into permanent settlement locations was preceded by a phase of arable cultivation which left no trace of permanent habitation. It is also suggested that the impact of human behaviour on the natural landscape in the Early and Middle Iron Age was much bigger than previously anticipated. When excavating this type of settlement areas dating to the Late Iron Age, archaeologists must be aware that only of a small group of archaeological features exist. The proposed model for the choice of settlement location may be more widespread, because of similarities in landscape between the study area presented here and other landscapes in Northwest-Europe (e.g. parts of Germany and Denmark).

The Pleistocene Geology and Geomorphology of Glen Behy, Co. Kerry

Detailed geological and morphographic mapping in Glen Behy has revealed that Pleistocene ice breached the Glen Car/Glen Behy interfluve from the southeast, joined locally generated ice and extended northwestward, over the Knockboy — Stookaniller ridge, into what is now Dingle Bay. The extraneous ice body, fanning out from Glen Car on to the lowlands to the north, also pushed up into the glen through its mouth at Glenbeigh village. This pattern of events was followed on two occasions, probably two separate glaciations. There is no evidence that local ice ever moved north or north-eastward through the mouth of the glen. Coastal exposure of Quaternary sediments indicates that periglacial conditions lasted for long periods, and raised beach sediments record a period of high sea level prior to periglacial conditions. The sequence: glacial — interglacial — glacial is interpreted. The latter two events probably date to the most recent interglacial and glacial periods, but the age of earlier glaciation is uncertain. Much of this paper disproves earlier assumptions about the glaciation of the area.

Palaeoenvironmental Interpretation of Yedoma Silt (Ice Complex) Deposition as Cold‐Climate Loess, Duvanny Yar, Northeast Siberia

Uncertainty about the geological processes that deposited syngenetically frozen ice-rich silt (yedoma) across hundreds of thousands of square kilometres in central and northern Siberia fundamentally limits our understanding of the Pleistocene geology and palaeoecology of western Beringia, the sedimentary processes that led to sequestration of hundreds of Pg of carbon within permafrost and whether yedoma provides a globally significant record of ice-age atmospheric conditions or just regional floodplain activity. Here, we test the hypotheses of aeolian versus waterlain deposition of yedoma silt, elucidate the palaeoenvironmental conditions during deposition and develop a conceptual model of silt deposition to clarify understanding of yedoma formation in northern circumpolar regions during the Late Pleistocene. This is based on a field study in 2009 of the Russian stratotype of the ‘Yedoma Suite’, at Duvanny Yar, in the lower Kolyma River, northern Yakutia, supplemented by observations that we have collected there and at other sites in the Kolyma Lowland since the 1970s. We reconstruct a cold-climate loess region in northern Siberia that forms part of a vast Late Pleistocene permafrost zone extending from northwest Europe across northern Asia to northwest North America, and that was characterised by intense aeolian activity.

Late Pleistocene Geology and Paleolithic Archaeology of the Shimaki Site, Hokkaido, Japan

Here, we assess geochronological, sedimentological, stratigraphic, and stone tool data from Shimaki, an Upper Paleolithic site in southeastern Hokkaido, Japan. Overall, we find that Shimaki's landscape context and flaked‐stone assemblage are similar to sites in Hokkaido that date to just before or at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Based on several numerical ages, we suggest that the artifact‐bearing layer, including a wedge‐shaped core morphologically similar to post‐LGM specimens from Siberia, formed during the LGM, and sites like Shimaki with clear stratigraphy, relatively undisturbed cultural material, and what appear to be transitional artifact forms, may be key to answering questions about the origins of microblades, but, without human fossil remains for ancient DNA comparison, are inadequate to address the fate of Late Pleistocene Siberians.

High resolution magnetostratigraphy and radio-isotope dating of early Pleistocene lake sediments from southern Armenia

The Pleistocene geology of Armenia is dominated by widespread occurrence of sediments recording recurring rapid and drastic changes of the environmental conditions during at least the last 2 million years. These sediments, predominantly diatomites, contain a huge variety of various fossil remains, allowing the reconstruction of flora, fauna as well as the climatic conditions especially during dispersal of early man into Eurasia 1.8 Ma. Radio isotope dating of pumice levels as well as a detailed magnetostratigraphic study have been carried out in Syunik Province near the town of Sisian, southern Armenia, in order to establish a temporal correlation of all major outcrops of paleo-lake sediments and to provide a timeframe for paleoenvironmental studies within this lake sediment succession.A total of 455 oriented drill cores was sampled at six large and four short sections with a sampling resolution between 5 and 20 cm. Detailed paleomagnetic experiments reveal the presence of a characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) pointing either to the north and down or south and up. A positive reversal test suggests the primary character of this magnetization component. Combining the normal and reverse polarity directions results in an overall sample mean direction of D = 354.8°, I = 51.5° with a Fisherian precision parameter k of 14.6 and the associated α95 of 2.9°, combining demagnetization data of 169 samples. In addition, ash layers were sampled for 40Ar/39Ar geochronology at five of the sections studied paleomagnetically and three additional small outcrops. The resulting ages range between 1.31 Ma and 1.08 Ma, with two samples yielding ∼1.65 and 1.90 Ma. The latter are characterized by extremely low abundances of radiogenic 40Ar, suggesting that the mineral system has not been closed since the time of eruption, leading to substantial loss in Ar. Integration of these radio-isotope dates with the polarity data suggests that the normal polarities can be linked to the Jaramillo subchron within the Matuyama reversed polarity chron. Based on the longest interval of normal polarity identified at Ashotavan-2, a lower limit for the sedimentation rate of ∼37 cm/ky can be estimated. Therefore, we infer the duration of lake sedimentation as ∼350 ky, starting at ∼1.4 Ma.

"These Rude Implements": Competing Claims for Authenticity in the Eolithic Controversy

The acceptance of eoliths as man-made is surprising, given that Victorian science had first dismissed the idea with respect to hand axes. I argue that scientific innovation involves an imaginative impulse that leads easily to over-optimistic interpretation, and that the eoliths were "invented" because they satisfied a requirement of a particular way of thinking. Once arguments in their favor had been accepted, the default "mindset" became one of disproving claims for human fabrication. The debate was conducted at a time when the rules of Pleistocene geology and archaeological interpretation were being established, and it determined the limit of what was scientifically credible.

The Bytham river reconsidered

The English Midlands is one of the most important regions for British Pleistocene geology. The Middle Pleistocene glacial sediments of the region, termed the Wolston Formation, overlie deposits of a pre-existing river system, the Baginton Formation. The latter are characteristically composed of quartz-rich sediment derived from underlying Triassic bedrock. This SW–NE aligned proto-Soar system was overridden by the Wolstonian ice. Its lack of terraces or discrete sedimentary units implies that the river can only have existed for a limited period. The deposits accumulated during a period of climate change from boreal (?interstadial) to subarctic conditions. A reinterpretation of these sediments as the headwaters of a pre-Anglian ‘Bytham river’, aligned towards East Anglia across the Fenland, where they were linked to the Ingham Formation deposits, found favour for two decades. This was especially so when the Wolston Formation sediments were reassigned to the earlier, Anglian Stage. However, recent work has shown that the ‘Bytham river’ could not have existed in the form suggested by some authors since pre-Anglian-age fluvial sediments are absent from the eastern Fenland margin, except possibly certain deposits at High Lodge, Suffolk. Therefore a re-examination of the evidence is required.It is concluded that the Wolstonian glaciation (late Saalian, Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 6) indeed post-dates that during the Anglian Stage (Elsterian, MIS 12). In addition, it appears that the Baginton (proto-Soar) stream, as originally conceived, almost certainly did not exist before the early Wolstonian (early Saalian) Stage, following a significant period of fluvial incision. Rather than being aligned towards East Anglia, the substantial proto-Soar flowed into south Lincolnshire and thence potentially to the North Sea via the Wash and the Silver Pit depression. By contrast, the pre-Anglian Ingham Formation deposits of central East Anglia were almost certainly deposited by a separate proto-Trent river that drained the East Midlands over an extended period as a left-bank Thames' tributary. Together these conclusions reinforce the view that the main drainage alignment in southern England during the pre-Anglian period was NW to SE parallel to the regional tilt of the landmass.

Fred Shotton: a ‘hero’ of military applications of geology during World War II

F. W. Shotton, FRS, Professor of Geology at the University of Sheffield 1945–1949, and at Birmingham 1949–1974, is best known for his research on Pleistocene geology of the English Midlands. However, during the Second World War he became a distinguished military geologist. From May 1941 to September 1943, based in Egypt, he used hydrogeology to guide development of potable water supplies for British forces operational in the Middle East and northern Africa. Recalled to the UK after campaign victory, from October 1943 he helped plan for the Allied liberation of Normandy by providing terrain evaluation (primarily through preparation of specialist maps and contribution of technical advice) relating to beach conditions, suitability of ground for the rapid construction of temporary airfields, and water supply. Following D-Day, 6 June 1944, he was based in northern France and later Belgium, and was involved with further water supply tasks, discussions on quarrying of aggregate, and assessment of soil conditions likely to influence off-road vehicle mobility or the siting of airfields and military depots, thus contributing to Allied victory in Europe in May 1945. Preparing to go into Germany, he was granted early demobilization to resume his academic career. Wartime achievements generated few of his hundred significant publications, but postwar influenced his inspirational teaching and academic leadership.

Pleistocene geology of the Palaeolithic sequence at Redhill, Thetford, Norfolk, England

The Pleistocene river terrace deposits in the Little Ouse valley at Redhill are described and related to earlier records. Lowestoft Formation (Anglian-age) glacial deposits underlie the interfluve area into which the valley was excavated, whilst the present valley is underlain by Holocene alluvial sediments beneath the modern river floodplain. The sediments beneath the Redhill terrace represent deposition in a gravel-bed braided-type stream. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey clarifies the internal structure, areal distribution and relation of the sediments to bedrock in the local area. The sediments are overlain by aeolian ‘cover sand’. The valley sides provided a source of chalk and flint, the latter exploited locally by Palaeolithic humans, as indicated by the prolific finds of palaeoliths from the sediments. Contemporaneous periglacial conditions are indicated by putty chalk, silty sand and associated sharp flint pebbles and diamicton-like coarse gravel with highly angular clasts, which was interbedded with the fluvial sediment. These materials, together with the artefacts, were soliflucted onto the river braidplain. The Redhill artefact assemblage includes Late Middle Acheulian pointed and sub-cordate hand-axes. Comparison of the artefact and vertebrate assemblages with those from the River Thames' sequence shows a striking similarity to those recovered from the Lynch Hill/Corbets Tey Member (late Middle Pleistocene Wolstonian Stage; Marine Isotope Stages 10–8). This appears to represent a significant period of human occupation of lowland Britain.

Case study of a relict iceberg scour exposed at Scarborough Bluffs, Toronto, Ontario: implications for pipeline engineering

Ice scour is a common process on high latitude shelves and has been studied extensively though laboratory and numerical modelling. Direct observations of ice scours in outcrop are very rare. This paper describes a Late Pleistocene iceberg scour observable in soil cliff exposures at Cudia Park, Scarborough Bluffs, Toronto, Ontario. The structure is cut into a glaciolacustrine clayey silt, is about 10 m wide and 4 m deep, and is filled with sands deposited in shallow water. A description of the scour and a simplified finite element model of sub-ice scour soil deformation are presented. It is estimated that the Cudia scour was caused by a small iceberg with a mass of 0.04 Mt, in a water depth between 10 and 30 m, acting with a downward force of 5 MN, which is consistent with modern iceberg scours. The relevance of the Cudia scour to pipeline engineering (design burial depths) is demonstrated, with reference to the design methodology of the Centre for Cold Ocean Research and Engineering (C-CORE). The Cudia scour provides an additional outcrop example of a subscour bearing capacity-type failure and is the only outcrop example to date with lateral berm piles, which are a characteristic part of modern iceberg scours.Key words: iceberg scour, Scarborough Bluffs, pipeline engineering, finite element modelling, Pleistocene geology.

Chapter 19 The glaciation of the Lake District

Abstract Assuming that there was a Lakeland massif by the end of the Tertiary, let us turn now to discuss the history of investigations of Quaternary geology in the Lakes. For this purpose we must again return to the nineteenth century. To modern eyes, the Lake District shows numerous manifestations of glacial activity, and many interesting studies of glaciation have been undertaken there over the last 150 years or so. However, it was not the area of Britain where the most important early ideas about glaciation and glacial phenomena were developed. The Scots were the leaders in such investigations, and Andrew Ramsay's work in Wales came before the development of detailed glacial work in the Lakes. Nevertheless, it was inevitable that geologists should turn their attention to glaciation in the Lakes, and in this chapter I examine some of the work done on the Pleistocene geology of the region, considering how it related to the development of theories in other regions and to the general development of Pleistocene stratigraphy. When Sedgwick did his early work in the Lakes in 1822-1824, he saw plenty of evidence for what, following William Buckland, he called 'alluvium' and 'diluvium'. The latter referred, in the words of Buckland (1819, p. 532), to 'the superficial gravel beds produced by the last universal deluge', and was regarded as a product of marine deposition, even though the material was generally unsorted and often contained angular clasts. Such material was to be found all over the place in the Lakes,

What Does Our Perspective on Deep Time Have to Offer in a New Millennium?

Other| February 01, 2000 What Does Our Perspective on Deep Time Have to Offer in a New Millennium? FRANCINE MCCARTHY FRANCINE MCCARTHY 1Francine McCarthy was born in Montreal, Quebec and grew up in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She earned a combined honours undergraduate degree in geology and biology at Dalhousie University, and decided to pursue a career in palynology (inspired by a term paper written for her Pleistocene Geology course). Ironically, this decision was accompanied by the onset of pollen allergies. She received a masters degree from the University of Toronto and returned to Dalhousie where she received a PhD. She has been teaching at Brock University since 1991, where she is also director of Environmental Sciences. She has taught courses in a number of “soft rock” geology disciplines, as well as Environmental Sciences and Liberal Studies, and so far has managed to sneak palynology into every course she's taught. Her current research projects focus on Neogene to Recent environmental change in the circum- North Atlantic region, with emphasis on the New Jersey margin and on the Great Lakes Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar PALAIOS (2000) 15 (1): 1–2. https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2000)015<0001:WDOPOD>2.0.CO;2 Article history first online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation FRANCINE MCCARTHY; What Does Our Perspective on Deep Time Have to Offer in a New Millennium?. PALAIOS 2000;; 15 (1): 1–2. doi: https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2000)015<0001:WDOPOD>2.0.CO;2 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 SocietyPALAIOS Search Advanced Search As you read this article it is the year 2000. The advent of this New Year's Day piqued the kind of anticipation (running the gamut from hope to dread) that always accompanies such milestones on the scale that we use to measure the passage of time;lf those of us following the Gregorian calendar, that is. In the Jewish calendar, for instance, it was 23 Tevet, 5760—not nearly as ominous-sounding. The awareness of the passage of time, the ability to record the present, learn from the past, and anticipate the future, are important aspects of human consciousness—they separate us from all... You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

A Quantitative Approach to Developing Regional Ecosystem Classifications

Ecological land classification systems have recently been developed at continental, regional, state, and landscape scales. In most cases, the map units of these systems result from subjectively drawn boundaries, often derived by consensus and with unclear choice and weighting of input data. Such classifications are of variable accuracy and are not reliably repeatable. We combined geographic information systems (GIS) with multivariate statistical analyses to integrate climatic, physiographic, and edaphic databases and produce a classification of regional landscape ecosystems on a 29 340‐km2 quadrangle of northwestern Wisconsin. Climatic regions were identified from a high‐resolution climatic database consisting of 30‐yr mean monthly temperature and precipitation values interpolated over a 1‐km2 grid across the study area. Principal component analysis (PCA) coupled with an isodata clustering algorithm was used to identify regions of similar seasonal climatic trends. Maps of Pleistocene geology and major soil morphosequences were sued to identify the major physiographic and soil regions within the landscape. Climatic and physiographic coverages were integrated to identify regional landscape ecosystems, which potentially differ in characteristic forest composition, successional dynamics, potential productivity, and other ecosystem‐level processes. Validation analysis indicated strong correspondence between forest cover classes from an independently derived Landsat Thematic Mapper classification and ecological region. The development of more standardized data sets and analytical methods for ecoregional classification provides a basis for sound interpretations of forest management at multiple spatial scales.

Pleistocene geology and geomorphology of the Smoking Hills Upland and lower Horton River Arctic coast of mainland Canada

The Smoking Hills Upland and lower Horton River valley, on the Arctic coast of Canada 300 km east of the Mackenzie Delta, retain an extended record of subaerial erosion of nearly flat-lying Cretaceous shales. This erosion led to the development of (i) a very gently sloping low-relief upland surface (Early Pleistocene(?)), (ii) a slightly steeper intermediate surface, and (iii) younger steep valley walls, terraces, and broad valley bottoms. No direct glacial contribution to any of these landforms can be recognized. An early interglacial(?) fluvial episode is recorded in plateau-cap sediments. Suggestions of an early (mid-Pleistocene or earlier) glaciation overwhelming the Smoking Hills Upland are found in (i) anomalies in drainage patterns, (ii) disturbances in bedding, believed to have been caused by ice thrusting, and (iii) local occurrences of diamictons. Later, probably Early Wisconsinan, glaciation left meltwater channels in peripheral areas. The Late Wisconsinan ice sheet did not reach the Smoking Hills Upland but may have had an indirect influence by modyfying discharge and sediment transport of Horton River.

The Pleistocene Geology and Geomorphology of Glen Behy, Co. Kerry

Detailed geological and morphographic mapping in Glen Behy has revealed that Pleistocene ice breached the Glen Car/Glen Behy interfluve from the southeast, joined locally generated ice and extended northwestward, over the Knockboy — Stookaniller ridge, into what is now Dingle Bay. The extraneous ice body, fanning out from Glen Car on to the lowlands to the north, also pushed up into the glen through its mouth at Glenbeigh village. This pattern of events was followed on two occasions, probably two separate glaciations. There is no evidence that local ice ever moved north or north-eastward through the mouth of the glen. Coastal exposure of Quaternary sediments indicates that periglacial conditions lasted for long periods, and raised beach sediments record a period of high sea level prior to periglacial conditions. The sequence: glacial — interglacial — glacial is interpreted. The latter two events probably date to the most recent interglacial and glacial periods, but the age of earlier glaciation is uncerta...

History of Kansas Glacial Geology

The glacial features of northeastern Kansas have been investigated scientifically for more than a century; out of this study has come the concept of the "Kansan glaciation," which is recognized as an important stage of continental glaciation during the Pleistocene Epoch. The past glaciation of the American Plains and its implication for river-system development were recognized early by Louis Agassiz in 1868. Evidence for multiple glacial advances was discovered soon after, and T. C. Chamberlin in 1896 designated five glacial periods, of which the Kansan glaciation was next to oldest. The first detailed studies of glacial features in Kansas were carried out by J. E. Todd mostly in the second decade of this century. He emphasized reconstruction of stream and lake drainage developed peripherally to the ice sheet, and he can be regarded as the "father of Kansas glacial geology." The work of Todd was followed closely by that of W. H. Schoewe in the 1920-40's. Schoewe mapped the glacial limit as presently accepted, collected nearly all measurements of glacial striations in the State, and described evidence for multiple ice advances in the region. The modern era of glacial geology in Kansas began in 1952 with a comprehensive report by J. C. Frye and A. B. Leonard. They developed the concept of a cyclical model for interpreting Pleistocene strata of the State, and although now out-dated in some respects, their report remains the "bible" for Pleistocene and glacial geology in Kansas. The complexity of glaciation in Kansas was recognized increasingly during the 1960's and 1970's by many geologists, who recognized evidence for multiple glacial advances from various directions. At least one pre-Kansan and two Kansan advances now are recognized in the State.

1980 AGU Fellows Citations

Charles S. Cox. For his impact on the development of modern oceanography, his development of instruments for measuring the ocean microstructure, and his concepts concerning the eddy diffusion associated with this microstructure.Cesare Emiliani. For his contributions to our knowledge of Quarternary history, Pleistocene geology, and deep‐sea stratigraphy.

The effect of Pleistocene climatic variations on the geothermal regime in Ontario: a reassessment: Reply

A revised glaciation chronology for Ontario that spans the last half million years is derived by combining recent results from oxygen isotope analyses in deep sea cores with evidence from studies of the Pleistocene geology of the province. The chronology suggests that the perturbation to the geothermal gradient may be up to 50% larger than previously thought in central parts of Ontario.