-
Holocene hydroclimate in highland Costa Rica: new evidence from hydrogen and carbon isotopes in n-alkanes of terrestrial leaf waxes in a 10 000-year sediment profile J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-18 Matthew T. Kerr, Sally P. Horn, Chad S. Lane
We conducted compound-specific stable hydrogen (δD) and carbon (δ13C) isotope analysis on n-alkanes from terrestrial leaf waxes preserved in a 10 000-year sediment profile from Lago de las Morrenas 1 (9.4925° N, 83.4848° W, 3480 m), a glacial lake on the Chirripó massif of the Cordillera de Talamanca in Costa Rica. Our results demonstrate millennial-scale variations in hydroclimate across the Holocene
-
Seasonal climate variations during Marine Isotope Stages 3 and 2 inferred from high-resolution oxygen isotope ratios in horse tooth enamel from Lower Austria J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-18 Lilian Reiss, Christoph Mayr, Kerstin Pasda, Michael M. Joachimski, Thomas Einwögerer, Marc Händel, Andreas Maier
We present sequential oxygen isotope records (δ18Ophosphate vs. VSMOW) of horse tooth enamel phosphate of six individuals from two adjacent Palaeolithic sites in Lower Austria. Three molars from the site Krems-Wachtberg date to 33–31k cal a bp, and three molars from Kammern-Grubgraben to 24–20k cal a bp. All teeth show seasonal isotope variations, which are used to reconstruct the annual oxygen isotope
-
Postglacial flooding and Holocene climate shifts in the Persian Gulf J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-12 Abdolmajid Naderi Beni, Guillaume Leduc, Morteza Djamali, Arash Sharifi, Nick Marriner, Kazuyo Tachikawa, Frauke Rostek, Rik Tjallingii, Hamid Lahijani, Mahboubeh Molavi Arabshahi, Marta Garcia, Laetitia Licari, Martin Tetard, Marie‐Charlotte Bellinghery, Edouard Bard
Postglacial flooding of the Persian Gulf (PG) was important in shaping human history and driving landscape changes in the region. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the postglacial transgression. The position of the PG at the edge of major synoptic systems of the Indian Ocean Summer Monsoon (IOSM) and Mid‐latitude Westerlies (MLW) makes the environment particularly sensitive to Holocene
-
The timing and magnitude of the British–Irish Ice Sheet between Marine Isotope Stages 5d and 2: implications for glacio‐isostatic adjustment, high relative sea levels and ‘giant erratic’ emplacement J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-12 J. D. Scourse
The extent, chronology and dynamics of the pre‐Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 last British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) are not well known. Although the BRITICE‐CHRONO Project has detailed the maximum extent and retreat phases of the last BIIS for the period after 30 ka and into the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the Project identified several pre‐existing datasets and generated new data that implied glaciation
-
Investigating the Upper Holocene palaeoenvironment and human subsistence strategy in the Khor Rori coastal area by studying mollusc remains from the Inqitat plateau (Dhofar, Sultanate of Oman) J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-06 Gaia Crippa, Silvia Lischi, Mauro Cremaschi
Archaeological shells have a great potential for reconstructing past environments and human–environment interactions. The Inqitat plateau (Khor Rori Archaeological Park, Oman) shows rich mollusc assemblages, present in the HAS1 settlement and in a shell midden nearby (Iron Age). By analysing the environmental requirements of the species identified in the assemblages, we reconstruct the past coastal
-
Earliest Records of Holocene Cetaceans in the Black Sea J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-06 Magie Aiken, Elena Gladilina, Canan Çakirlar, Serhii Telizhenko, Luminita Bejenaru, Maia Bukhsianidze, Morten Tange Olsen, Pavel Gol'din
The timing of the Holocene transition of the Black Sea from a brackish lake to a marine sea has long been debated. Here, we report on the earliest records of cetaceans in the Black Sea region as a proxy for the connection with the Mediterranean and the transition from a brackish to marine environment. We base our analysis on cetacean skeletal finds and archival data on cetacean skeletal remains from
-
Mechanism of organic matter enrichment in a basin with shallow biogenic gas: a case study of Pleistocene shale in the Qaidam Basin J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-04 Xiaoxue Liu, Zhenxue Jiang, Xianglu Tang, Zeyu Shao, Mingshuai Xu
Organic matter is the material basis of shale gas. The Qaidam Basin is a key exploration and development area for shallow biogenic shale gas in China. In this study, we have focused on Quaternary Pleistocene shale in the Qaidam Basin, and the mechanism of organic matter enrichment was investigated in terms of water column stratification and paleoclimate. The results show that the K9–K7 section has
-
Chronology of drill cores and the inferred coastal environmental evolution on Haitan Island, South China J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-04 Junjie Qiu, Jianhui Jin, Xinxin Zuo, Xuechun Fan, Junjie Wei, Daiyu Xu, Chenyang Hou
Southeastern China's coastal region is considered one of the key areas for studying prehistoric human–land relationships in the Western Pacific region. This region, which is rich in records of marine civilization, provides an ideal location for recording coastal environmental evolution. In this study, the chronological framework of three borehole cores recovered from Haitan Island, South China, near
-
Refining Holocene sea‐level variations for the Lofoten and Vesterålen archipelagos, northern Norway: implications for prehistoric human–environment interactions J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-03-04 Nicholas L. Balascio, William J. D'Andrea, Roger C. Creel, Leah Marshall, Moussa Dia, Stephen Wickler, R. Scott Anderson, Jacqueline Austermann, Kristian Vasskog, Pål Ringkjøb Nielsen, Svein Olaf Dahl
The Lofoten and Vesterålen archipelagos are located off the outer coast of northern Norway far from the center of the former Fennoscandian Ice Sheet and near the continental shelf edge. Existing relative sea‐level (RSL) data indicate a pronounced mid‐Holocene transgression and interesting connections with the region's prehistoric human settlement history. Here we present seven new sea‐level index points
-
Well‐drained floodplain taphonomic mode of Late Pleistocene vertebrates from Northeast Argentina J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-29 CECILIA R. Méndez, CLAUDIA I. Montalvo, CARLOS A. Luna, Alfredo E. Zurita
The vertebrate assemblage recovered from the Toropí/Yupoí Formation (Late Pleistocene) in the Arroyo Toropí area, Bella Vista (Corrientes Province, Argentina), has been subjected to taphonomic evaluation. The fossil‐bearing levels have been dated to ~53 ka (MIS 3) based on Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating. This assemblage primarily comprises mammal remains, with a notable prevalence of herbivorous
-
Inherited terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides in landscapes of selective glacial erosion: lessons from Lochnagar, Eastern Grampian Mountains, Scotland J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-28 Adrian M. Hall, David E. Sugden, Steven A. Binnie, Andy Hein, Tibor Dunai, Benedikt Ritter, Margaret Stewart
Inheritance from prior exposure often complicates the interpretation of terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) inventories in glaciated terrain. Lochnagar, a mountain in eastern Scotland, holds a clear geomorphological record of corrie glaciation and the thinning of the last Scottish ice sheet over the last ~15 ka. Yet attempts to date the main stages in deglaciation after sampling of 21 granite boulders
-
Late Quaternary ostracode stratigraphy of Mono Lake (California, USA): evidence for benthic ecosystem sensitivity to climate change J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-25 BAILEE N. Hodelka, MICHAEL M. Mcglue, MANUEL R. Palacios‐Fest, ADAM J. Benfield, SARAH J. Ivory, SCOTT W. Starratt, SUSAN R. H. Zimmerman
The response of aquatic ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada (California, USA) to late Quaternary hydroclimate changes remains mostly unknown. Mono Lake, a large endorheic lake just east of the Sierra Nevada, contains an expanded archive of laminated sediments that can be used to examine the response of benthos to environmental changes. Fossil ostracodes from a radiocarbon‐dated core were used to examine
-
The bay barnacle Amphibalanus improvisus (Darwin, 1854) in the Pleistocene of Europe? A review of Pleistocene Balanidae of northern Central Europe J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-20 Stefan Meng, Jaqueline Strahl, Andreas Börner, Kay Krienke, MICHAEL L. Zettler, Claudia Wrozyna
The bay barnacle Amphibalanus improvisus (Darwin, 1854) has been found in Northern Germany in brackish marine sediments of the Holsteinian interglacial. Whereas the cause of the contemporary distribution of this species is anthropogenic and there is evidence that it has resulted mainly from shipping, the fossil findings demonstrate that A. improvisus had also already reached Europe naturally during
-
From oligotrophy to dystrophy: the ontogeny of a humic lake in an extrazonal boreal taiga in Central Europe J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-08 Peter Bitušík, Tímea Chamutiová, Marina Vidhya, Šárka Horáčková, Radovan Pipík, Dušan Starek, Rastislav Milovský, Lucia Žatková, Ladislav Hamerlík
While humic lakes are common in northern Europe, in central Europe they are rare and our understanding of their ontogeny is insufficient. Here, we present the reconstruction of the development of a humic lake in the Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) over the last 8000 years using chironomids along with diatoms, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs. The compositional changes in aquatic proxies suggest three
-
Characterization of dental calculus in the South American Quaternary proboscidean Notiomastodon platensis (Ameghino, 1888) J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-07 Ana Clara Fonseca De Paiva, Laís Alves-Silva, Fernando Henrique De Souza Barbosa
Dental calculus, or tartar, is a mineralized biofilm that develops on the teeth, and is often observed on the teeth of the South American proboscidean Notiomastodon platensis. This structure can provide details on paleoecological, paleoenvironmental and paleopathological aspects of a species. However, characterization of tartar in N. platensis is lacking. The aim of this study was to provide a macromorphological
-
Bone diseases in a Pleistocene South American native ungulate species: the case of Toxodon platensis Owen, 1837 (Mammalia, Notoungulata, Toxodontidae) J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-07 Carlos A. Luna, Fernando H. De S. Barbosa, Romina Gonzalez, Ángel R. Miño-Boilini, Carolina Repetto, Alfredo E. Zurita
Knowledge of bone pathologies in South American native ungulates is very scarce, which contrasts with other groups of megamammals such as xenarthrans and proboscideans. In this paper, based on morphological and histological analysis, we describe different bone pathologies in two specimens of Toxodon platensis Owen (Notoungulata), one of the most common taxa in the Late Pleistocene faunistic associations
-
Climate and community in Central Mesa Verde J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-02 Sean Field, Donna M. Glowacki
Periods of acute climate stress – the convergence of low subsistence yields due to poor climate conditions and ineffective buffering strategies due to climate variability – critically reduces peoples’ ability to subsist and mitigate food shortages, thereby creating conditions that could result in profound social change. Here, paleoclimate reconstructions are used to identify periods of acute stress
-
Preservation of plant-wax biomarkers in deserts: implications for Quaternary environment and human evolutionary studies J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-01 Deepak Kumar Jha, Robert Patalano, Jana Ilgner, Hema Achyuthan, ABDULLAH M. Alsharekh, Simon Armitage, James Blinkhorn, Nicole Boivin, PAUL S. Breeze, Ravindra Devra, Nicholas Drake, HUW S. Groucutt, Maria Guagnin, Patrick Roberts, Michael Petraglia
Analysis of plant-wax biomarkers from sedimentary sequences can enable past environmental and hydrological reconstruction and provide insights into past hominin adaptations. However, biomarker preservation in desert contexts has been considered unlikely given the sparse nature of the vegetation within the landscape. Here we evaluate the preservation of n-alkanes and fatty acids collected from four
-
Holocene overflow events of the lower Yellow River recorded in Huangdun ancient lake, northern Jiangsu Plain, China J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-02-01 Rui Zhang, Li Xing, Shi-Yong Yu, Junsheng Nie, Jinjia Wu, Zhao Wang, Shiyue Chen, Zhanfang Hou, Guodong Zhang, Denghui Zhang
Overflow events are important embodiments of the evolutionary characteristics of the lower Yellow River. Lakes in the lower reaches of the Yellow River have the capacity to record these events. Due to the complex provenance and transport pathways of sediments in local lakes, it is difficult to extract reliable information on sediments delivered by the Yellow River based on conventional methods and
-
The southern Brazilian tropical forest during the penultimate Pleistocene glaciation and its termination J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-31 Adriana Mercedes Camejo Aviles, Marie-Pierre Ledru, Fresia Ricardi-Branco, Gisele C. Marquardt, Denise de Campos Bicudo
To describe the composition of the penultimate glacial Brazilian Atlantic forest, we analyzed pollen, charcoal and diatoms deposited in the section from 871 to 1400 cm of core CO14 drilled in the Colônia basin in southeastern Brazil. The landscape was characterized by a cool grassland with three conifer genera: Araucaria, Podocarpus and Ephedra. Total arboreal pollen frequency did not change during
-
First reported fossil occurrences of Phrynosoma sp. from the Columbia Plateau (Washington State, USA) dated to the Late Pleistocene J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-29 Audra J. Richter, Brian J. Pickles, Bax R. Barton
Reptiles, squamates in particular, can be extremely valuable as indicator species due to their commonly small fundamental niche ranges. Yet these taxa are often overlooked in North American Cenozoic palaeoecological studies in favour of mammalian specimens. At the Coyote Canyon Mammoth Site (CCMS) on the Columbia Plateau (eastern Washington State, USA) excavation has focused on the collection and subsequent
-
Forest fires in southwest Western Siberia: the impact of climate and economic transitions over 9000 years J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-22 N. E. Ryabogina, M. I. Nesterova, R. R. Utaygulova, E. D. Trubitsyna
Here we compare the long-term dynamics of fires in the southern taiga of Western Siberia with changes in the environment and ancient economies. Utilizing charcoal particles extracted from peat sediments, we assess charcoal accumulation rates to identify the neighborhood level of fires. Comparison of changes in vegetation, climate and land-use history with fire dynamics reveals that wildfires were climate-dependent
-
Configuration and timing of the postglacial marine incursion along the eastern Ungava Peninsula (Nunavik, Canada): implications for deglaciation models J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-12 Claudie Lefebvre-Fortier, Martin Roy, Hugo Dubé-Loubert, Etienne Brouard, JOERG M. Schaefer
The final deglaciation stages of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in northern Quebec–Labrador were marked by the incursion of the d'Iberville Sea into the coastal areas of Ungava Bay. Remote and field mapping of raised marine strandlines along the Ungava Peninsula east coast show that the maximum marine limit decreases from south (165 m) to north (100 m), reflecting differential uplift linked to an ice mass
-
Vertical acoustic blanking in seismic data from the German North Sea: a spotlight to shallow gas-bearing incised channels J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-08 Niklas Ahlrichs, Axel Ehrhardt, Michael Schnabel, Christian Berndt
Seismic data from the North Sea commonly show vertical acoustic blanking (VAB) often interpreted as fluid conduits with implications for Quaternary development. The robustness of this interpretation has long been controversial as the infill of tunnel valleys can also cause vertical blanking. Using 2D and 3D seismic data and sediment echosounder data from the German North Sea, we investigate VAB to
-
Late MIS5a in the southern North Sea: new chronostratigraphic insights from the Brown Bank Formation J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-08 Irene M. Waajen, Freek S. Busschers, Timme H. Donders, Sytze Van Heteren, Ruth Plets, Jakob Wallinga, Rick Hennekam, Gert-Jan Reichart, Tim Kinnaird, Friederike Wagner-Cremer
The Brown Bank Formation (BB Fm) is a clay-rich sedimentary unit that is distributed over a large area in the southern North Sea. It is easily recognisable in 2D acoustic reflection profiles, forming sets of subparallel high-amplitude reflections. Previous studies have provided only fragmentary information on the facies, and a variety of interpretations on the depositional environment and age of the
-
Where did the water come from? Wetlands and shallow lakes in semi-arid dunefields from South America during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2024-01-08 Alfonsina Tripaldi, Ivana L. Ozán, Guillermo Heider, María J. Orgeira, Steven L. Forman
Stabilized and active dunes and sand sheet deposits abound in a small lake-dotted semi-arid region of the Western Pampean Dunefield, Argentina. Here, a multi-scale and multi-proxy study of three sites, across a hydrologic gradient from lakes to a dryland with groundwater levels at more than 25 m depth, analyzes calcareous and ferruginous rhizoliths, calcareous crusts, hypocoatings, pedogenic carbonate
-
Influence of flooding variability on the development of an Amazonian peatland J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-28 D. Sassoon, W. J. Fletcher, K. H. Roucoux, P. Ryan, I. T. Lawson, E. N. Honorio Coronado, J. Del Aguila Pasquel, T. Bishop, C. M. Åkesson, A. Hastie
Peat in the Pastaza–Marañón Foreland Basin (PMFB), northern Peru, forms beneath open wetlands, palm swamps, pole forests and seasonally flooded forests. These vegetation communities may represent different successional stages of peatlands, but the spatiotemporal patterns of peatland development in Amazonia are still poorly understood. We present a new geochemical and palaeoecological record spanning
-
Rapid deglaciation of the La Vega gorge (Sierra de Gredos, Iberian Peninsula) at the end of the global Last Glacial Maximum J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-20 Jesús Alcalá-Reygosa, Néstor Campos, Irene Schimmelpfennig, Jorge Sanjurjo-Sánchez, Laetitia Léanni, José Juan Zamorano
Previous studies from the Iberian Central System and other mountains of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe suggest that deglaciation in this area occurred at the end or immediately after the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, 26.5–19 ka). In this research, we investigate the timing and speed of deglaciation of the palaeoglacier in La Vega gorge (Iberian Central system) since the global LGM, dating the
-
Evaluating the impact of the Storegga tsunami on Mesolithic communities in Northumberland J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-19 Patrick D Sharrocks, Jon Hill
The Holocene Storegga tsunami, 8120–8175 cal a bp, resulted in run-up heights of up to 3–6 m around mainland UK and coincided with a suggested large population decline in the coastally focused Mesolithic population in Northern Britain. At Howick, Northumberland, the site of a Mesolithic settlement, a nearby sediment deposit may be of tsunamigenic origin, but this is uncertain. Here, a numerical model
-
Late Wolstonian and Ipswichian (MIS 6/5e) sediment fill in a limestone sinkhole, Askham Fell, northern England J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-19 Paul A. Carling, David J. A. Evans, Mahmoud Abbas, Xianjiao Ou, Zhongping Lai
In 2019 a sinkhole (doline) occurred in Late Devensian till above fissured limestone in northern England. Most sediment plugging the fissure was evacuated down into a karstic drainage system. The residual sedimentary fill comprises three main lithofacies, dated using optically stimulated luminescence to between 170.7 ± 40.0 and 56.1 ± 13.5 ka. The earliest date demonstrates fissures were present in
-
Equids (Equus sp.) in southern Spain from the Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-18 Eloísa Bernáldez-Sánchez, Esteban García-Viñas, Fernando Sanguino, David Villalón, Jennifer A. Leonard
The genus Equus was represented on the Iberian Peninsula by four species during the late Quaternary: the wild, now extinct, E. ferus (wild horse) and E. hydruntinus (European wild ass) and the extant, domestic E. caballus (horse) and E. asinus (donkey). The distribution and timing of the extinctions of the wild species and arrival of the domestic species is important to understand the changing environment
-
Coastal Lagoonal Evolution within the Early Holocene Humber Estuary, eastern England J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-18 M. J. Grant, T. Hill, S. Evans, M. Law
Rapid sea-level rise during the Early Holocene around the North Sea coastal lowlands provided conditions under which estuarine and coastal features, with no modern equivalents, could be created. Investigation of nearshore sediments within the Outer Humber Estuary, UK, has identified a tidal lagoonal system, created between c. 9000 and 7800 cal a bp. These sequences show the initial flooding of a carr
-
A tale of two islands: tectonic and orbital controls on marine terrace reoccupation, Channel Islands National Park, California, USA J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-15 Daniel R. Muhs, Lindsey T. Groves, Kathleen R. Simmons, R. Randall Schumann, Stephen B. DeVogel
In areas of low uplift rate on the Pacific Coast of North America, reoccupation of emergent marine terraces by later high sea-stands has been hypothesised to explain the existence of thermally anomalous fauna (mixtures of warm and cool species) of last interglacial age. If uplift rates have been low for much of the Quaternary, it follows that higher (older) terraces should also show evidence of reoccupation
-
The importance of terrestrial carbon sequestration during Termination 1 J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-13 GEORGE L. Jacobson, STEPHEN A. Norton, KIRK A. Maasch
During the transition from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to the Holocene, terrestrial carbon sequestration occurred primarily in boreal forests and forest soils largely on landscapes that had been covered by ice sheets. Major processes operating during this period included radiative warming from rising concentrations of atmospheric CO2 (degassing oceans and oxidation of permafrost); increased seasonal
-
The recent evolution of the salt marsh ‘Pantano Grande’ (NE Sicily, Italy): interplay between natural and human activity over the last 3700 years J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-11 Palli Jordan, Monaco Lorenzo, Bini Monica, Cosma Emanuela, Giaccio Biagio, Izdebski Adam, Masi Alessia, Mensing Scott, Piovesan Gianluca, Rossi Veronica, Sadori Laura, Wagner Bernd, Zanchetta Giovanni
Combined natural processes and human activities shaped the late Holocene landscape history in many Mediterranean regions. This is especially true with areas subjected to specific human interest, such as coastal areas morphologically suitable to the establishment of harbours. Here, we test the hypothesis on the location of the Roman harbour Portus Trajectus in Peloro Cape (NE Sicily, Italy) and describe
-
Radiocarbon dates from the Netherlands and Doggerland as a proxy for vegetation and faunal biomass between 55 and 5 ka cal bp J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-12-06 B. Van Geel, J. Van Der Plicht, C. Kasse, D. Mol
Three hundred forty-one radiocarbon dates from the Groningen radiocarbon database are compiled in this study. They show for the first time that organic sediment samples from the eastern Netherlands and mammal bones from Doggerland reflect shifts in the presence and the density of vegetation (food for herbivores) and mammal biomass during the last ice age (Weichselian Stage, ~119–14.7 ka cal bp). Comparison
-
Rapid terrace incision and Quaternary landscape evolution in central Patagonia J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-28 Varyl Robert Thorndycraft
The debate over isostatic uplift versus discharge as drivers of Quaternary river incision is explored here through geospatial analysis of a ~250-m-relief terrace sequence from the Río Pinturas (Argentine Patagonia). The geomorphic setting of the Cañadon Caracoles reach allows evaluation of discharge as a driver of terrace incision because advancing ice during Pleistocene glaciations blocked Pacific
-
Quaternary alluvial paleosols of the Atbara River, eastern Sudan: description and paleoenvironments J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-22 M. Mohammednoor, F. Bibi, A. Eisawi, S. Tsukamoto, R. Bussert
Quaternary climatic changes in the Nile Basin and their effects on the evolution of African mammals and vegetation are poorly understood, particularly for the last 1 Ma. Pleistocene (~230 to <17 ka) alluvial sediments exposed along the middle stretches of the Atbara River in eastern Sudan are rich in fossil vertebrates and are ideal for paleoenvironmental reconstruction during this time interval. We
-
A thorny taxonomic issue of Quaternary deer (Cervidae: Mammalia) from the South American Highlands resolved based on the recognition of a paleopathology J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-11-06 Leonardo Santos Avilla, José Luis Román-Carrión, Alline Rotti
The diversity of South American deer genera during the Quaternary is considered one of the greatest in the world. However, this was established during the beginning of the twentieth century, when the recognition of new extinct deer taxa was based only on differences in antler morphology. Thus, South American extinct deer taxa need a detailed taxonomic revision, and this is the case of the Andean deer
-
Reef-wide and long-term skeletal growth records of the mountainous star coral (Orbicella faveolata) from Belize barrier and atoll reefs (Central America) J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-10-31 Simon Felix Zoppe, Eberhard Gischler
Coral reefs are vulnerable marine ecosystems and reef-building corals are especially sensitive to the impacts of environmental change. Skeletal growth records of corals (Scleractinia) can be used as archives of ecological and climatological change. This study focusses on massive Orbicella faveolata coral skeletons from the Belize barrier and atoll reefs. In total, 11 drill cores from 10 coral colonies
-
Climate and atmospheric circulation during the Early and Mid-Holocene inferred from lake-carbonate oxygen-isotope records from western Ireland J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-10-09 Jonathan A. Holmes, Julia Tindall, Matthew Jones, Max Holloway, Neil Roberts, Ingo Feeser
The Early to Mid-Holocene experienced marked climate change over the northern hemisphere mid-latitudes in response to changing insolation and declining ice volume. Oxygen isotopes from lake sediments provide a valuable climate proxy, encoding information regarding temperature, hydroclimate and moisture source. We present oxygen-isotope records from two lakes in western Ireland that are strongly influenced
-
Limited extension of the MIS 2 proglacial lake in the Severnaya Dvina valley, south-eastern margin of the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-09-28 Nataliya Zaretskaya, Anna Utkina, Dmitrii Baranov, Andrei Panin, Svetlana Trofimova, Aleksandra Simakova, Redzhep Kurbanov
The Severnaya Dvina River valley crosses the former south-eastern margin of the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet. Despite a long research history, there remains considerable controversy about the maximum ice-sheet extent and the expansion of proglacial lakes within the Severnaya Dvina fluvial system. The goal of this study was to address these issues using new material from the valleys of the Severnaya
-
Glacier changes since the Last Glacial Maximum on two slopes of Mt Noijin Kang-Sang, Southern Tibetan Plateau J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-09-25 Jinhua Liu, Yingkui Li, Chaolu Yi, Haiping Hu, Baihui Ma, Li Wan
In recent decades, most glaciers have been melting, thinning and retreating globally in response to continuously increasing temperatures. We simulated ice thicknesses and volumes on the east and west slopes of Mt Noijin Kang-Sang, Southern Tibetan Plateau (TP), since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), using a glacial flowline model. The simulated average ice thicknesses during the LGM and Lateglacial
-
A 1500-year record of North Atlantic storm flooding from lacustrine sediments, Shetland Islands (UK) J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-09-21 Katharina Hess, Max Engel, Tasnim Patel, Polina Vakhrameeva, Andreas Koutsodendris, Eckehard Klemt, Thor H. Hansteen, Philipp Kempf, Sue Dawson, Isa Schön, Vanessa M. A. Heyvaert
Severe storm flooding poses a major hazard to the coasts of north-western Europe. However, the long-term recurrence patterns of extreme coastal flooding and their governing factors are poorly understood. Therefore, high-resolution sedimentary records of past North Atlantic storm flooding are required. This multi-proxy study reconstructs storm-induced overwash processes from coastal lake sediments on
-
Mid–late Holocene palaeoclimate and biogeochemical evolution of Wular Lake, Kashmir Valley, India J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-09-21 Rayees Ahmad Shah, Abdur Rahman, M. G. Yadava, Sanjeev Kumar
Continuous multiproxy data were generated to understand the mid–late Holocene palaeoenvironmental history of the Kashmir Valley and the biogeochemistry of Wular Lake, India. For this purpose, geochemical and stable isotopic analyses were carried out on sediment samples retrieved from a 160 cm long trench excavated on the eastern bank of Wular Lake located in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir
-
A new extinct species of Scybalophagus dung beetle supports the collateral extinction hypothesis at the Chilean South American Pleistocene–Holocene boundary J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-09-11 Francisco Tello, Mario Pino, Fernando Vaz-De-Mello, Fernando A. B. Silva
The extinction of megaherbivores (weighing over 1000 kg) at the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary caused drastic changes at multiple trophic levels. However, few examples of Pleistocene insect extinction have been reported in the literature. Here we describe a new extinct dung beetle species, Scybalophagus brellenthinae sp. nov., based on fossil remains recorded from an Upper Pleistocene sequence from
-
Long-and short-term vegetation change and inferred climate dynamics and anthropogenic activity in the central Cerrado during the Holocene J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-09-11 Katerine Escobar-Torrez, Marie-Pierre Ledru, Raquel Franco Cassino, Paula Ribeiro Bianchini, Elder Yokoyama
A paleoecologic analysis of pollen, macrocharcoal and trace elements from a lacustrine sediment core located at Lake Feia, central Cerrado (Goiás State, Brazil), was used to evaluate the relationship between vegetation, fire and climate during the Holocene. The development of cerrado vegetation appears to have begun 6000 years ago, initially with the establishment of an open cerrado, followed from
-
Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of Loch Duart (NW Scotland, UK) since the Last Glacial Maximum: implications from a multiproxy approach J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-09-11 Jennifer Taylor, David Selby, Jeremy M. Lloyd, Luca Podrecca, Andrew L. Masterson, Bradley B. Sageman, Sönke Szidat
A sediment core from the salt marsh fringing Loch Duart, NW Scotland, UK, containing Lateglacial to Holocene sediments, was analysed using a multi-element geochemical approach to elucidate the relative sea level (RSL) and palaeoenvironmental changes associated with the deglaciation of the British and Irish Ice Sheet. Elemental and isotopic measurements of rhenium, osmium, carbon and nitrogen, X-ray
-
A critical re-analysis of constraints on the timing and rate of Laurentide Ice Sheet recession in the northeastern United States J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-08-29 Christopher T. Halsted, Paul R. Bierman, Jeremy D. Shakun, P. Thompson Davis, Lee B. Corbett, Jason S. Drebber, John C. Ridge
We review geochronological data relating to the timing and rate of Laurentide Ice Sheet recession in the northeastern United States and model ice margin movements in a Bayesian framework using compilations of previously published organic 14C (n = 133) and in situ cosmogenic 10Be (n = 95) ages. We compare the resulting method-specific chronologies with glacial varve records that serve as independent
-
The Anthropocene's stratigraphic reality and the humanities: a response to Finney and Gibbard (2023) and to Chvostek (2023) J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-08-24 Julia Adeney Thomas
The Anthropocene Epoch is a crucial conceptual breakthrough not only for stratigraphy but also for the humanities. The question, raised by Chvostek (2023), is how best to create engagement between the sciences of the Anthropocene and the study of values, hopes and power in the world's many cultures past and present. In response, this piece makes three points. First, it discusses some of the collaborations
-
Biomarker proxies for reconstructing Quaternary climate and environmental change J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-08-23 Erin L. McClymont, Helen Mackay, Mark A. Stevenson, Thale Damm-Johnsen, Eleanor Maedhbh Honan, Claire E. Penny, Yasmin A. Cole
To reconstruct past environmental changes, a range of indirect or proxy approaches can be applied to Quaternary archives. Here, we review the complementary and novel insights that have been provided by the analysis of chemical fossils (biomarkers). Biomarkers have a biological source that can be highly specific (e.g. produced by a small group of organisms) or more general. We show that biomarkers are
-
Reviewing the body size of some extinct Brazilian Quaternary Xenarthrans J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-08-16 Fernando H. DE S. Barbosa, Laís Alves-Silva, Alexandre Liparini, Kleberson De Oliveira Porpino
Here we estimate the body mass of 10 iconic species of extinct xenarthrans (cingulates and sloths) from the Quaternary of Brazil using two sets of predictive equations based on postcranial variables. Our results revealed that one of these methods is more reliable in estimating the body mass of the evaluated taxa, even though both methods provide accurate results. The body mass estimates for cingulates
-
Herbivore enamel carbon and oxygen isotopes demonstrate both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals exploited similar habitats in the Zagros Mountains J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-08-16 Michaela Ecker, Nemat Hariri, Saman Heydari-Guran, Elham Ghasidian, Noreen Tuross, Melinda Zeder, Cheryl A. Makarewicz
The extinction of Neanderthal populations has been attributed to the onset of cold and dry climatic conditions during Marine Isotope Stage 3 or their competition with anatomically modern humans for large game resources. However, decoupling climate from competition has long proved difficult. Loess sequences and pollen cores provide regional-scale environmental information but are less well-suited to
-
Record of a juvenile of Ahytherium aureum from the Late Pleistocene of the Brazilian Intertropical Region: radiocarbon dating, isotopic palaeoecology and evidence of predation by a Felidae J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-07-27 João Paulo da Costa, Hermínio Ismael de Araújo-Júnior, Fernando Henrique de Souza Barbosa, Mário André Trindade Dantas
Teeth and bone remains belonging to the juvenile Megalonychidae family were found in Engrunado cave (Nova Redenção, Bahia, Brazil). We propose an index between the mesiodistal/vestibulo-lingual measurements of caniniforms and molariforms (Imd/vl) to differentiate isolated teeth of Ahytherium aureum and Australonyx aquae, and based on this index, we suggest that the fossil material belonged to A. aureum
-
Mammal taphonomy from a singular Late Pleistocene debris-flow tank deposit in northeastern Brazil J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-07-24 Luana Cardoso De Andrade, Édison Vicente Oliveira, Hermínio Ismael De Araújo Júnior, Fernando Henrique De Souza Barbosa
An integrated taphonomic analysis was applied to a tank deposit from the Zabelê Palaeontological Site (ZPS) in northeast Brazil. The unique sedimentological evidence documents the origin of the mammal assemblage via debris flow. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates put the ZPS in the later Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, which was a time when it was colder and there were fewer trees. The study
-
Vegetation and climate dynamics at the dawn of human settlement: multiproxy palaeoenvironmental evidence from the Hashilan Wetland, western Iran J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-07-21 Reza Safaierad, Roger Matthews, Lydie Dupont, Bernd Zolitschka, Elena Marinova, Morteza Djamali, Christoph Vogt, Ghasem Azizi, Hamid A.K. Lahijani, Wendy Matthews
The scarcity of high-resolution palaeoclimate records from the interior of West Asia has limited our understanding of the mechanisms of past climate change and their potential impacts on early human societies of the Eastern Fertile Crescent. Here, we present a multiproxy sedimentological, geochemical and palynological record from the Hashilan Wetland in the central Zagros Mountains, spanning the time
-
Lacustrine evidence reveals spatially and temporally distinct Holocene ruptures on the Sawtooth Fault, Central Idaho, USA J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-07-21 M. Shapley, G. D. Thackray, E. Johnson, B. Finney
The Sawtooth Fault in central Idaho, USA, is a range-bounding normal fault with a Late Pleistocene–Holocene scarp near the up-valley ends of several range-front lakes. Cores from Redfish Lake, which spans the fault, exhibit evidence of catastrophic sediment re-mobilization in two sequences consisting variably of intraclastic mud-clast conglomerate, massive homogenite, and graded silt and clay. Event
-
Radiocarbon dating and isotopic palaeoecology of Glossotherium phoenesis from the Late Pleistocene of the Santa Elina rock shelter, Central Brazil J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-07-10 Thais Rabito Pansani, Mário André Trindade Dantas, Lidiane Asevedo, Alexander Cherkinsky, Denis Vialou, Águeda Vilhena Vialou, Mírian Liza Alves Forancelli Pacheco
The Santa Elina rock shelter (Central Brazil) stands out with two human occupation layers with ground sloth fossil remains from the Late Pleistocene. Here, we explore the palaeontological aspect of this site. We update the taxonomic assignment of the ground sloth found in the shelter to Glossotherium phoenesis. Radiocarbon dating performed on bioapatite (14Cbioapatite) from two tooth specimens reveal
-
Changing food webs before and during the Last Glacial Maximum based on stable isotopes of animal bone collagen from Lower Austria J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-07-06 Lilian Reiss, Christoph Mayr, Kerstin Pasda, Thomas Einwögerer, Marc Händel, Andreas Lücke, Andreas Maier, Holger Wissel
We investigated palaeofood web structures using stable isotope analyses on animal bone collagen from four Upper Palaeolithic sites dated to the Early Gravettian (Krems-Hundssteig and Krems-Wachtberg: 33–31k cal a bp, Langenlois: 31–29k cal a bp) and to the Early Epigravettian (Kammern-Grubgraben: 24–20k cal a bp). In both periods, δ13C values show niche partitioning between hare, horse and mammoth
-
Assessing Pleistocene–Holocene climatic and environmental change in insular Near Oceania using stable isotope analysis of archaeological fauna J. Quat. Sci. (IF 2.3) Pub Date : 2023-07-06 Patrick Roberts, Sean Hixon, Rebecca Hamilton, Mary Lucas, Jana Ilgner, Sara Marzo, Stuart Hawkins, Sindy Luu, Chris Gosden, Matthew Spriggs, Glenn Summerhayes
In comparison to temperate and arid regions, environmental responses to the Last Glacial Maximum and the Terminal Pleistocene and Holocene boundary remain poorly known for many parts of the tropics, making it challenging to unravel human–landscape interactions across this timeframe. This is particularly the case in insular Near Oceania, where sea-level fluctuations and potential changes in forest cover