The evolutionary dynamics of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) over the last glacial period remains understudied, despite its potential in providing a “cold case” for climate sensitivity studies. Here, we investigate SE Asian-Pacific paleoclimate records to decipher the dominant underlying mechanism that governed tropical Asian-Pacific hydrology during MIS 3. Our results suggest that the glacial

This study investigates the spatio-temporal postglacial development of the vegetation in the northwestern part of the forest-tundra of northern Québec, Canada. Six lake sediment cores and 59 modern sediment samples were collected in an area of 16 by 7 km and analyzed for pollen and charcoal. Following a brief herb and shrub tundra period and a period with abundant Alnus, Picea mariana grew in the region

Stalagmites are an extraordinarily powerful resource for the reconstruction of climatological palaeoseasonality. Here, we provide a review of different types of seasonality preserved by stalagmites and methods for extracting this information. A new drip classification scheme is introduced, which facilitates the identification of stalagmites fed by seasonally responsive drips and which highlights the

The northern mid- to high-latitudes have the highest total number and area of lakes on Earth. Lake origins in these regions are diverse, but to a large extent coupled to glacial, permafrost, and peatland histories. The synthesis of 1207 northern lake initiation records presented here provides an analog for rapid landscape-level change in response to climate warming, and its subsequent attenuation by

Estimating the environmental and societal impact of recent volcanic eruptions is a task aided by direct measurements and historical sources. Beyond the reach of first-hand accounts, our understanding of pre-historic volcanism is often hindered by dating uncertainties inherent to geological archives. Here, we minimize dating errors by analyzing the annually laminated sequences of two Central European

The Qinling Mountain Range represents the current transition zone between the temperate and subtropical ecosystems of Eastern Central China. Climate changes have certainly affected the vegetation composition to the north and south of this mountain range in different ways. Here, we reconstruct past regional land-cover changes by applying the REVEALS model to pollen records from the temperate, temperate–subtropical

Wildfire impacts ecosystems, climate, carbon cycling, societies, and human health. Quantification of these impacts relies upon climate and fire models, which are constrained by historical observations that are limited to the past 30 years. But in regions where records are sparse, like Equatorial Asia (EQAS), fire activities are assumed to be insignificant before the 1960s. We present a 200-year charcoal

The South China Sea (SCS) is an important research area of the tropical water cycle and an important pathway by which the Asian monsoon transports water vapor and heat from the tropical ocean to the Asian continent, yet its response to low-latitude tropical processes is poorly resolved. Here, we report high-resolution records of the oxygen isotopes (δ18O) of planktic Globigerinoides ruber and Globorotalia

Subsistence patterns during the Early Bronze Age I through the Iron Age II (3600-586 BCE) are the topic of many archaeobotanical and zooarchaeological studies. The results of these two disciplines are usually published separately, depriving us of an all-encompassing view of subsistence and agriculture during this time period since people did not solely make use of animal or plant products. In this

Ecological processes operating across the spatial scale can be equivalently found operating across the temporal scale. Such processes may affect community structure and species richness relationships in ways that can be analysed using the fossil record. The best studied involve the combination of the Species-Area-Relationship and the Species-Time-Relationship into a single space-time equivalence of

Moving into montane rainforests was a unique behavioural innovation developed by Pleistocene Homo sapiens as they expanded out of Africa and through Southeast Asia and Sahul for the first time. However, faunal sequences from these environments that shed light on past hunting practices are rare. In this paper we assess zooarchaeological evidence from Yuku and Kiowa, two sites that span that Pleistocene

The Mekong River, which has high economic and ecological importance, has an extensive floodplain and delta plain that extends from Cambodia to Vietnam. Understanding the Holocene evolution of the fluvial system is needed in order to predict the future development of the system and develop a strategy to guide the sustainable management. This paper reconstructs the Holocene sedimentary evolution of the

Long-term hydroclimate variability at low latitudes exerts a strong influence on global climate, yet its timing and mechanisms are poorly documented for the central Pacific region. Here we present the molecular and hydrogen isotopic compositions of long-chain n-alkanes in a montane wetland deposit at Mount Kaʻala on the Island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, which document hydrological conditions and related vegetation

Current models of early hominin biological and cultural evolution are shaped almost entirely by the data accumulated from the East African Rift System (EARS) over the last decades. In contrast, little is known about the archaeological record from the high-elevation regions on either side of the Rift. Melka Wakena is a newly discovered site-complex on the Southeastern Ethiopian Highlands (SEH) (>2300 m

The Southern Ocean is widely recognized as a potential cause of the lower atmospheric concentration of CO2 during ice ages, but the mechanism is debated. Focusing on the Southern Ocean surface, we review biogeochemical paleoproxy data and carbon cycle concepts that together favor the view that both the Antarctic and Subantarctic Zones (AZ and SAZ) of the Southern Ocean played roles in lowering ice

Greenland stadials and interstadials (GS and GIS) are prominent features in ice core records of the last glacial period and are characterized by millennial-scale climate oscillations with sub-decadal- to decadal-scale hydroclimatic shifts. Over the past two decades, studies of Chinese stalagmite records have revealed corresponding Chinese Stadials/Interstadials (CS/CIS). However, the CS/CIS shifts

Easter Island (Rapa Nui) is well known for the enigmas surrounding its unique megalithic statues, the moai, and the prehistoric (i.e., pre-European contact) Rapanui society that built them. These enigmas include, among others, the time of the island’s settlement, the geographical origin of the first settlers, the technology associated with moai transportation and emplacement, the occurrence (or not)

The widespread formation of organic rich sediments in south-east Australia during the Holocene (Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 1) reflects the return of wetter and warmer climates following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Yet, little is known about whether a similar event occurred in the region during the previous interglacial (MIS 5e). A 6.8 m sediment core (#LC2) from the now ephemeral Lake Couridjah

The Mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT; 1200 to 800 thousand years, kyr) is marked by the shift from 41-kyr to 100-kyr interglacial-glacial cyclicity without substantial change in the astronomical forcing. This change in climate response relied on internal feedback processes including interaction between ice sheet/sea ice, ocean circulation and the carbon cycle. It was suggested that a major perturbation

This paper illustrates long-term trends in human population and climate from the Late Pleistocene to the Late Holocene (14,000–2500 cal. yr. BP) in order to assess to what degree climate change impacted human societies in the Near East. It draws on a large corpus of archaeo-demographic data, including anthropogenic radiocarbon dates (n = 10,653) and archaeological site survey (n = 22,533), and 16 hydro-climatic

The variation of stable water isotopes (δ18O, δD) in climate archives is an important proxy to understand the evolution of South Asian monsoon (SA) precipitation over the Holocene. In this study, using an isotope-enabled climate-model, we examine the responses of water isotopes in precipitation over the SA region to orbital changes in the early to late Holocene (8 ka to 0 ka). Precipitation is enhanced

Few sedimentary archives of lake meromixis are available in palaeolimnological records, because long-term observations are limited in time and indisputable sediment proxies of hypolimnetic anoxia are still scarce. Here we use visible and near infrared (VNIR), and short-wave infra-red (SWIR) hyperspectral imaging combined with geochemical analyses to reconstruct lake stratification history, redox status

Geomorphic features (fossil terraces, notches and sea cliffs) from the southern Red Sea coasts provide valuable indicators of past sea-level change that enable the quantification of both the timing and magnitude of the mid-Holocene sea-level highstand. We demonstrate the utility of wave-cut notches in the southern Red Sea, and present U-series dated sea-level indicators from two locations on the As-Salif

The mechanism of abrupt climate changes in east Asia since the last deglaciation remains poorly explored due to the low number of high-resolution geological archives. Here we present a major and trace element including rare-earth elements (REEs) analysis of a 6 m peat archive from the Hengduan Mountains to reconstruct the rapid changes in monsoonal climate since the last deglaciation. The physicochemical

The prevalence of large game found in association with Middle Paleolithic tools has traditionally biased our ideas of Neanderthal subsistence practices. Studies document the exploitation of small mammals, birds, and plants by Neanderthals, whereas data on aquatic resources are still scarce and data on fish are almost non-existent. This article presents a review of fish remains from 11 Middle Palaeolithic

The late Quaternary climate history along the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau (NETP) is still a matter of debate with respect to signals in lake deposits and related catchment processes. Here we summarize the current knowledge based on lake development and eolian accumulation in catchments on the NETP. Interlinked processes between selected lakes and their catchments on the NETP show a relatively clear

The Lambert Glacier-Amery Ice Shelf system (LGAISS) is the largest outlet glacier system in East Antarctica but its response to past climate variability is poorly constrained. In this study, we explore its dynamics over the last ∼520 thousand years using new high-resolution sedimentary records retrieved off Prydz Bay. Episodic occurrences of iceberg rafted debris indicate a dynamic ice sheet throughout

Radiocarbon dates and marine tephra suggest that the upper 10 m of core MD99-2274 off North Iceland extends from ∼0 to ∼65 ka BP. A multi-proxy sediment and biomarker study at a ∼0.5 ky resolution is used to derive a paleoclimate scenario for this area of the southwestern Nordic Seas, which during the Holocene had intermittent excursions of icebergs and a seasonal cover of drifting sea ice across the

The paper summarizes the current evidence on the post-glacial peopling of Kamchatka based on the latest investigations of Ushki V—currently, the earliest and most informative human occupation site complex on the peninsula. The refined 14С site chronostratigraphy and the geo-contextual multi-proxy records indicate at least four stages of the prehistoric settlement, with the most ancient radiocarbon-dated

The Galería Complex is a cave sediment succession at the Atapuerca paleoanthropological site (Burgos, Spain) that offers detailed environmental information about the late Middle Pleistocene, especially the period between marine oxygen isotope stages MIS10 and MIS7. Previous studies have reconstructed the chronology and detailed the environmental development of this key succession. We introduce rock

The low-water Moorhead Phase of glacial Lake Agassiz has been attributed to rapid drawdown in lake level contemporaneous with the onset of the Younger Dryas cold reversal. We examine the radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence dates associated with the Moorhead and subsequent high-water Emerson Phases in the Lake Agassiz basin. We apply manual and statistical filters to vet the chronological

Global change induced regional environmental variation and related catastrophic surface processes have greatly affected human life and social development during the last decades. These occurrences have also been highlighted by pre-historical catastrophes exposed by archaeological excavation in the Lajia Ruins at the northeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau, which has attracted considerable focus from

Assessing initiation of rock-slope deformation and paleo-slip rates of rockslides is important to understand the impact of climate variability - in particular permafrost changes - on rockslide activity. Norway, with 6–6.5% permafrost cover today, continues to experience spatial and temporal variations in permafrost. We assess the timing of deformation initiation and potential late Pleistocene and Holocene

Lacustrine sedimentary records are valuable archives of regional paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic changes. High-resolution seismic reflection data collected in 2013, in conjunction with data from sediment core Co1309, provide a detailed reconstruction of the preglacial and postglacial environmental and sedimentological history of Lake Ladoga (NW Russia) during the late Quaternary. The exceptionally

The Middle to Late Pleistocene palaeoenvironmental record from the repeatedly glaciated central and eastern Fennoscandia is poorly known. The majority of the glacial and warm interval records have been interpreted to represent only the last, Weichselian, glacial cycle (119–11.7 ka). We have revised the crucial part of the existing stratigraphic documentation in central and southern Finland. Our findings

An important coupled ocean-atmospheric system in the mid- and high latitudes involves the Southern Westerly Winds (SWW) and the Southern Ocean (SO), which controls climate in the southernmost third of the world, deep water formation, and ventilation of CO2 from the deep ocean. Most studies have examined its role as a driver of atmospheric CO2 concentrations during glacial terminations, but very few

The chemical and isotopic compositions of sediments and dust can be used to trace their provenance, providing insights into many Earth surface processes. During past glacial climates, much of the New Zealand (NZ) South Island was blanketed by erosive glacier systems that produced large volumes of sediment. We estimate the expansion of glacial outwash plains based on a sea level lowering of 130 m at

The response of glaciers and ice caps to past climate change provides important insight into how they will react to ongoing and future global warming. In Svalbard, the Holocene glacial history has been studied for many cirque and valley glaciers. However, little is known about how the larger ice caps in Svalbard responded to Late Glacial and Holocene climate changes. Here we use lake sediment cores

We find a consistent relation between orbital geometry and components of the climate system by returning to Milankovitch’s original hypotheses and focusing on the well-established physical concepts of an equilibrium state, disequilibrium from that state, and adjustment towards equilibrium. These mechanisms imply that the state of the climate system at any time depends on; (1) the state of the climate

The varved sediment of Lake Gościąż (Central Poland) is one of the most detailed and complete climate archives of the Late Glacial and the Holocene in Central Europe. Here, we present microfacies analyses in combination with μXRF core scanning and a detailed varve chronology of a new and continuous GOS18 sediment record. This record presents six lithozones that mark the most prominent depositional

Coastal adaptations of Palaeolithic foragers along the north Atlantic seaboard have received renewed attention in the last decade and include growing evidence for exploitation of whale bone by Late Glacial Magdalenian groups to the north of the Pyrenees. Here we present a systematic revision of Magdalenian osseous industries from the Cantabrian region designed to explore whether this phenomenon was

The harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus), today a subarctic species with breeding populations in the White Sea, around the Jan Mayen Islands and Newfoundland, was a common pinniped species in the Baltic Sea during the mid- and late Holocene. It is puzzling how an ice dependent species could breed in the Baltic Sea during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM), and it remains unclear for how long harp seals

We report the first radiocarbon datings and carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) stable isotopes data to reconstruct the paleoecology of medium to large herbivorous mammals from late Quaternary of southwestern Amazon (Acre and Rondônia states, Brazil). AMS 14C dates for Neochoerus sp. (29,072 - 27,713 Cal yr BP), Notiomastodon platensis (25,454 - 24,884 Cal yr BP) and Eremotherium laurillardi (11,320 -

The Beagle Channel crosses the southernmost tip of South America (Tierra del Fuego), connecting the South Atlantic with the Southeastern Pacific. Raised beaches occur up to 10 m above mean sea level (m a.m.s.l.), especially along the northern (Argentinian) shore, and have been dated using marine shells. The southern (Chilean) shore is well-known for its abundance of shell middens at different levels

The oceanography of the western Indian sector of the Southern Ocean is extremely complex due to the presence of several subantartic islands and plateaus that alter the zonal flow of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. The circulation is even more complex around the Kerguelen Islands (KI) as the hydrological fronts merge with the Agulhas Return Current, the latter transporting warm surface waters from

The widely distributed shells of the gastropod Radix are a potential high resolution archive of environmental information. However, previous studies of Radix have used the shells of unidentified species, and the implications of inter- and intra-specific differences in the geochemical attributes of the shells for paleoenvironmental reconstruction are unclear. Here we report the results of a modern process

Increases in the annual minimum temperature (Tmin) has been more obvious than the increase in the annual mean temperature in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau (TP) over the past few decades; however, annual Tmin variability over the long-term in the southeastern TP has received scant attention. Here, we present a 413-year long tree-ring width chronology (TRW), which is composed of 22 site chronologies

Monsoonal water vapour transport is an active component of the hydrological cycle, which has a profound influence on regional climate changes. This study explored how far can the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) transport water vapour to the west during the Holocene using published speleothem oxygen isotope (δ18O) records inferred from modern analogues of precipitation δ18O in the summer monsoon season

Tiwanaku was a regionally significant, state level polity in the south-central Andes from ca. 500–1000 CE. The development of complex society in the region was greatly facilitated through intensified agricultural systems that relied on monsoonal precipitation. At the end of the first millennium CE, the Tiwanaku political regime collapsed, and their raised field systems were mostly abandoned within

Exploring severe social, political, or economic change in past societies can reveal adaptive pathways and strategies that may be of value to contemporary society as we prepare to adapt to this century of disruption. Episodes of large-scale transformation in past societies are often framed as ‘collapse’ – as terminal events instigated by one or more stressors. The focus on cataclysmic episodes, often

The long-term carbon (C) and vegetation dynamics of tropical, high-Andean cushion peatlands are poorly understood. Here, we present radiocarbon-dated paleoecological records and modern microclimate data from high-elevation peatlands currently dominated by the cushion plant Distichia muscoides in the páramo (alpine tundra) of the eastern Colombian Andes. Focusing on a well-dated 4300-year-old peat core

Marine outlet glaciers on Greenland are retreating, yet it is unclear if the recent fast retreat will persist, and how atmosphere and ocean warming will impact future retreat. We show how a marine outlet glacier in Hardangerfjorden retreated rapidly in response to the abrupt warming following the Younger Dryas cold period (approximately 11,600 years before present). This almost 1000 m deep fjord, with

Equifinality constitutes a challenge when interpreting agency in archaeological sites. The fact that a specific type of damage frequently cannot be linked to a single actor, behavior, or ecological context, handicaps correct interpretations of site formation processes. Actualistic studies have been used to address this type of problem by creating models and analogies to infer the processes that occurred

Stalagmite oxygen isotope (δ18O) records have enhanced our understanding of the history of the East Asian monsoon. However, abrupt changes in the monsoon are not constrained well enough to address certain issues and there are still unknowns in the interpretation of cave δ18O records. Here we present a new high-resolution stalagmite record from Shima Cave, central China. Anchored with 24 230Th/U dates

This paper constitutes the first comprehensive review of animal fossils retrieved in Iberian archaeological sites. Out of 633 items from 82 sites, 143 were analyzed and a further 13 assessed and their status clarified by us on 20 sites. Among others, this study is the first one in Iberia to assess the role played by fossil scaphopods and to carry out a systematic description of shark teeth. The relevance

Sedimentary deposits from glacier-fed peatlands provide records of past glacier variability, but the dynamics of these peat-forming ecosystems have rarely been investigated. Through multi-proxy analyses of a 204-cm peat core, we reconstructed the ecological response of a glacier-fed peatland on subantarctic South Georgia to climate and glacier variability over the last 4300 years. A stable peatland

The pattern, timing, and origin of Southern Hemisphere climate change during the last glaciation remains a pressing problem, with implications for the role of orbital forcing in ice-age cycles. Here, we present geomorphological and cosmogenic exposure age data from East Falkland in the South Atlantic region that show onset of glacial conditions by marine isotope stage 4 (∼60–70 ka), with expansion