We reconstructed the paleoceanographic evolution of the Japan Sea over the Pleistocene using benthic foraminiferal and organic geochemical records from sediment cores recovered at IODP Site U1426, which was drilled at a water depth of 900 m on the Oki Ridge in the southern Japan Sea. The dominant benthic foraminiferal biofacies and the assemblage composition, total organic and inorganic carbon, coarse

This study presents the first record of stable carbon and oxygen isotopes of well-preserved belemnites and bulk sediment from the Upper Jurassic pelagic carbonates of the Ouarsenis Mountains (northwestern Algeria), which were deposited at the southern margin of the Tethys ocean. Cathodoluminescence and scanning electron microscopy was used to eliminate potentially diagenetically altered specimens (brachiopods

The Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event (T-OAE, ~183 Ma) represents a well-known episode of organic-rich deposition, which is accompanied by a substantial negative carbon-isotope excursion (CIE). Underpinning the relationships between the carbon-cycle perturbation, ocean anoxia, primary productivity feedbacks and the enrichment of sedimentary organic carbon remains a major challenge. Here, we present high-resolution

Tetrapod ichnology is a powerful tool to reconstruct the faunal composition of Middle Triassic ecosystems. However, reconstructions based on a single palaeoenvironment provide an incomplete and impoverished picture of the actual palaeodiversity. In this paper, we analyse Middle Triassic tetrapod ichnoassociations from the detrital Muschelkalk facies of the Catalan Basin of northeast Spain, ranging

Recent work projects significant increases in sea surface temperature by the end of the 21st century. The biological consequences of such temperature increases are poorly understood. Study designs using a conservation paleobiology approach combined with sclerochronology methods can provide a powerful framework in which to assess these consequences. This study focuses on the ecological and economically

El Salt is an important reference site for understanding the extinction of Neanderthal populations in the eastern Iberian Peninsula during MIS 3. In this paper, we describe the small mammal assemblage from Stratigraphic Unit V, the youngest unit with evidence of human presence, based on nearly 1300 specimens. A total of seven rodents (Microtus arvalis, Microtus duodecimcostatus, Microtus cabrerae,

Examining paleoclimate-driven changes of elemental contaminants, such as Arsenic (As), increases the understanding of the mobility and fate of elements under a warming climate scenario. To characterize the variability in As sequestration in the sediments of a freshwater system in response to decadal- to centennial-scale climate oscillations, a freeze-core (CON01) was recovered from Control Lake, Northwest

The Ili Valley is among the main distribution areas of loess deposits in Xinjiang Province, Central Asia, while the provenance of Ili loess remains under debate. In this study, samples from near-surface loess, two types of topsoil and modern riverbed sediment were analyzed for their concentrations of major and trace geochemical elements to determine the relative proportions of different provenances

We investigate changes in calcareous nannofossil and ostracod communities, which reflect surface and bottom water conditions, respectively, across the Cretaceous-Paleogene transition (K-Pg) at the Cerro Azul Section, Jagüel Formation, Neuquén Basin, Argentina. The K-Pg transition at the Cerro Azul Section is characterized by calcareous nannofossil and ostracod turnovers, from assemblages dominated

The detailed record of diagnostic acritarchs from the volcanosedimentary Vallehondo and Playón formations, bracketed between Cambrian Stage 4 strata bearing the trilobite Serrodiscus and Guzhangian (Miaolingian) beds with Sao aff. Hirsuta, allows the establishment of a fine acritarch-based chronostratigraphy. Seven interval zones are defined by the first successive appearances of cosmopolitan index

Middle Permian 87Sr/86Sr variations are recorded by the marine carbonates in the Qianfo section and the Yundadi3 well in the Sichuan Basin of the Yangtze Platform, China. Petrographic and geochemical examinations of micritic carbonates confirmed the preservation of near-primary 87Sr/86Sr signatures that can be utilized to construct a reliable high-resolution Sr isotope profile of the equatorial eastern

Experimental taphonomy using microbial mats offers new insights into the mechanisms involved in the decay of organisms and their preservation as fossils. In this paper, the experimental decay products of soft-bodied insect larvae (the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, and the mealworm, Tenebrio molitor) in microbial mats have been described and compared with those of grylloid fossils derived from

Climate factors, including precipitation and related vegetation cover, which are vital features of monsoon climates, differ across global/regional areas and are highly variable on a catchment scale. The correlation between fluvial processes and the phases of monsoon climate change are poorly understood in the north-eastern Tibetan Plateau (NETP), partially because direct monsoon climatic proxies from

The middle to later Cambrian (Drumian-Jiangshanian Ages, 505–490 Ma) was a time of unique evolutionary dynamics that remain enigmatic. This interval records unusually high rates of faunal turnover that produced a “plateau” within the broader trajectory of rapidly increasing biodiversity seen across the Cambrian Explosion and Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event (GOBE). The oceans during this time

Severe global climate change is proposed to be the major cause of the Permian-Triassic boundary (PTB) mass extinction, while details about the response process are still in debate. In this study, we present geochemical and pyrite morphological data from an Upper Permian-Lower Triassic shale succession in the Western Hubei Trough, northern South China. The stratigraphic evolutions of paleoclimate, paleoredox

Late Oligocene-early Miocene palaeovegetation and palaeoclimate in the Ying-Qiong Basin, South China Sea were comprehensively reconstructed using higher plant-derived biomarkers, palynological records, clay minerals, and kerogen maceral compositions of shales. During the period from about 24.9–18.3 Ma, there are trends of higher relative abundances of plant-derived biomarkers in the younger sediments

The fossil biota of the upper Valanginian–lower Hauterivian sediment hosted vent (SHV) environment of Zengővárkony comprises 39 species, 55 genera and higher taxa representing seven phyla. Thirteen of these taxa are reported from Zengőrvárkony as new species or new subgenera/genera, and this high endemicity is linked to a unique palaeoenvironment. The palaeoenvironment is developed in an outer shelf

The Ballagan Formation of northern Britain provides an exceptional record of Early Mississippian ecosystems that developed as tetrapods emerged onto land. In this paper, we study two 500-metre sections of the formation near Berwick-upon-Tweed, which are characterised by abundant ferroan dolostone beds. Five lithofacies are identified: cemented siltstone and sandstone, homogeneous dolomicrite, mixed

We analyse the late Miocene (early Tortonian) climate of the La Cerdanya Basin (Catalonia, Spain) using the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP) based on an assemblage comprising twenty-nine dicot leaf taxa. Results show a mean annual temperature of 11.4 ± 2.1 °C. The coldest mean monthly temperature was 1.8 ± 3.4 °C while the warmest was 21.6 ± 2.5 °C. Growing season was 6.8 ± 1.1 months

We reconstruct Holocene vegetation dynamics and associated hydroclimate change in the Chaiwopu Basin of the eastern Tianshan Mountains, China. Our study is based on 160 palynological samples from a well-dated peat core. Palynological, assemblages and the associated biome scores show that from ~11.5 to ~9.5 cal. Kyr BP desert vegetation dominated and from ~9.5 to ~7.9 cal. Kyr BP steppe and wetland

The principal objective of the Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling project (HSPDP) is to study the relationship between climate and environmental change and the implications on human evolution in eastern Africa. For this purpose, HSPDP has recovered a 228 m core in the Chemeron Formation of the Baringo Basin (Kenya). The Chemeron Formation spans approximately 3.7 Myr, from around 1.6 to 5.3 Ma, and

In the Lower Cretaceous McMurray Formation (Alberta, Canada), many intervals of intensely bioturbated (Bioturbation Index = 5–6) fine-grained sediments are characterized by high gamma-ray (GR) readings. Several methods, including sedimentary facies analysis, thin-section petrography, handheld spectral gamma-ray, portable X-ray fluorescence, X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry

Abundant metazoans phyla made their first appearances in the fossil record during a relatively short time span in the Ediacaran-Cambrian interval (560–520 Ma) and rapidly expanded ecologically during the early Cambrian, leading to the establishment of metazoan-dominated ecosystems accompanied by widespread biomineralization. This unique evolutionary event was known as the ‘Cambrian Explosion’. Although

The opening and closure of marine gateways have been suggested to substantially affect ocean current circulations and global climatic changes. In the Miocene, the closure of the Tethyan Seaway, which connected the proto-Mediterranean Sea with the Indian and Atlantic Oceans, blocked thermohaline exchanges between them and possibly caused a major climate change in the Middle Miocene Climatic Transition

The Las Minas Gypsum Unit consists of more than 100 m of alternations of gypsum, carbonates and marls in Las Minas Basin (Betic Cordillera). Although this unit has been previously described as lacustrine, a marine influence in the basin has been suggested. This study provides new geochemical and paleontological data supporting the marine influence during the interevaporitic episodes, allowing to refine

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) warming event is marked by a negative carbon isotope excursion (CIE). The magnitude and shape of the CIE differs among carbon archives, but bulk organic carbon isotopes (δ13Corg) in terrestrial sections are often particularly variable and attenuated. Multiple lines of evidence from the Bighorn Basin, Wyoming, USA have revealed that extensive organic carbon

The Northwest Coast of Canada was likely an important location for glacial refugia in the Late Pleistocene. Recently, a caribou (Rangifer tarandus) antler fragment was reported from Graham Island dating prior to the Fraser Glaciation (MIS 3; 48,200–45,200 cal yr BP). The high carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values found in the bulk collagen samples of this caribou prompted further investigation

The stratigraphic evolution of the Guadagnolo Fm, developed on the transition between the Latium-Abruzzi Platform and the Umbria Sabina Basin (central Apennines), was studied through facies and stable isotope analysis. Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy allows to identify the Burdigalian-Langhian boundary, constraining the sections to the lower to middle Miocene. This interval consists of marly

Recent fieldwork has yielded new decapod crustacean material from Upper Jurassic–lowest Cretaceous bioclastic limestones at Kotouč quarry near Štramberk (Moravia, northeastern Czech Republic). Two specimens in this lot can be ascribed to the superfamily Palaeocorystoidea and represent the oldest gymnopleuran crabs known to date. A new genus and species, Moravacarcinus stramberkensis, are here erected

Data from a new comprehensive macrofossil-based compilation of early plant genera are analyzed via a Q-mode factor analysis. This compilation ranges from the Silurian to the earliest Carboniferous and illustrates the key vegetation changes that took place during the configuration of early terrestrial ecosystems. Results reveal that four factors can be used to explain more than 90% of the variance in

Global climate change and tectonism are principal causes of spatial and temporal differences in Ordovician-Silurian (OS) transition sedimentary environments of China's Upper Yangtze Platform. However, the relative significance of each of these drivers is not always obvious. This paper describes results of a geochemical study of a drill core section (Well X3) recovered from Xiang'e Submarine High in

The basal Datangpo Formation in South China deposited in the Cryogenian interglacial period has gained increasing interest with the well development of organic-rich black shale and its hosted manganese (Mn) deposits (Mn carbonate), which contain important clues to the paleoclimate and ocean redox of this critical interval in Earth's history. The depositional environment of Mn deposits is still uncertain

Trace fossils are unique evidence of the body plan and behavioural complexity of animals. Major radiation periods in the Phanerozoic were associated with not only changes in biodiversity, biomass, and ecosystems but also transformations in the relatively implicit, behavioural world. Here we report on a diverse ichnoassemblage from the Middle–Upper Ordovician deep-marine deposits of Inner Mongolia,

Mixed carbonate-siliciclastic platforms developed in the onshore and offshore zones of several basins along the Amazonian coast starting in the Palaeocene. The shutdown of Miocene carbonate accumulation in distinct tectonic settings shows different evolutionary histories along the Eastern Amazonian coast. The shutdown has been attributed to the abundant siliciclastic fluvial inflow from the Andean

The western Kunlun Mountains and the adjacent southwestern Tarim Basin define the northwestern boundary of the intensely deformed Cenozoic Tibetan Plateau, and thus should bear important information on the growth processes of the NW Tibetan Plateau. In this study, the integration of a stratigraphic investigation of the Cenozoic Keliyang succession section and a seismostratigraphic analysis on the seismic

Soil respiration is one of the dominant fluxes of CO2 from terrestrial ecosystems to the atmosphere. Accurate quantification of soil respiration is essential for robust projection of future climate variation and for reliable estimation of paleoatmospheric CO2 levels using soil carbonates. Soil-respired CO2, which is the most uncertain factor in estimating atmospheric CO2 concentration, has been calculated

The Beishan Orogen, located in the southernmost Central Asian Orogenic Belt, is a key area for research on accretionary orogens. The formation of the Beishan Orogen is closely related to the evolution of the Paleo-Asian Ocean, but the closure time of a significant branch of the Paleo-Asian Ocean in the Beishan area, i.e., the Hongliuhe–Niujuanzi–Xichangjing (HNX) Ocean, remains controversial. This

Fossil evidences of a complex food-chain after the end-Permian mass extinction (EPME) event have been reported from the Osawa Formation, which consists of upper Olenekian (Spathian) shallow marine mudstone dominant strata in the South Kitakami Belt in Northeast Japan. It is an important material which records the paleoenvironment of the oceanic region between the eastern Tethys and Panthalassa. This

Climate change during the Little Ice Age (LIA) was characterized by globally widespread but spatiotemporally incoherent cooling with high regional variability. However, the onset, termination, internal structure, and underlying forcing mechanisms of the LIA remain unclear. Here we present a U-Th-dated stalagmite record with an average sampling resolution of 0.8 years and mean age uncertainty less than

The end-Triassic event (ETE), a short global interval occurring at the end of the Triassic Period (~201.5 Ma), was characterized by climate change, environmental upheaval, as well as widespread extinctions in both the marine and terrestrial realms, associated with extensive perturbations of the carbon cycle, principally caused by Central Atlantic Magmatic Province volcanic emplacement in relation to

The neodymium isotope composition (εNd) of planktic foraminifera and the relative abundances and δ13C of the benthic foraminiferal species C. wuellerstorfi from two gravity cores, retrieved from the western margin of South Africa, provide a late Quaternary (MIS 6 to MIS 1) record of the variations in North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) and Southern Component Water (SCW). The εNd records from cores at

The Liangzhu culture (5300– 4300 cal yr BP) is considered to be the testification of the five thousand year history of Chinese civilization, and has thus attracted a great deal of attention from the archaeological community. However, the rise and fall of the Liangzhu culture, especially the cause of its vanishing, is still a topic of intense debate. Since the Liangzhu Ancient City area is a low-lying

The sedimentary deposits of the Lower Paleolithic to Neolithic sites situated in the Belan valley, north-central India offer a unique opportunity to understand the linkage between the prehistoric human environment and fire events. This is the first study to analyse macroscopic charcoal particles from 64 paleosols collected from six archaeological sites in the Belan valley to reconstruct fire activity

Here we describe the Leonardian-age flora from “Emily Irish” (Russell Ranch), a small oxbow lake deposit, which is believed to be one of the most extensively collected, single-excavation floras of this age from any place in the world, including ca. 5200 hand specimens housed at the US National Museum of Natural History. The flora is dominated by a mixture of xeromorphic and meso-hygromorphic elements

Luancaia igen. nov. and its two new ichnospecies, L. candasensis and L. elongata, from the Middle Devonian Naranco Formation of Asturias, northern Spain, record infaunal molting. The new ichnogenus has an elongate to oblong outline, and displays a distinctly trilobate appearance that includes an axial longitudinal lobe characterized by a distinctive ridge flanked by lateral lobes at each side. Well-defined

Lacustrine strata record long-term variations in climatic and tectonic perturbations during orogen evolution. Here we use the sedimentological record of the early to middle Miocene intramontane lacustrine Pranjani Basin (Serbia) to study tectonic and climatic variations during the evolution of the Dinaridic orogen. Our study focuses on a Mg-clay-bearing succession that belongs to the second depositional

Sharks are apex-predators that play an important role in past and present aquatic food webs. However, their diet - especially in extinct species - is often not well constrained. Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) has been successfully applied to reconstruct diet and feeding behaviours of different aquatic and terrestrial vertebrates. However, unlike in mammals, food-to-tooth contact in sharks

Studies of large herbivorous mammal (ungulate) communities have revealed an association between increased tooth crown height (hypsodonty) and a shift to more arid environments over the Cenozoic. Ecometric analyses have also been used to examine the relationship between current climate conditions and crown height of these communities, and very successfully used to estimate past precipitation. Small

The oxygen isotopic composition of sedimentary carbonate (δ18Ocarb) provides information on the regional water balance between precipitation and evaporation in a lacustrine system. A volume effect was proposed to explain the abnormally low δ18Ocarb values in Lake Qinghai on the northern Tibetan Plateau, under the conditions of high evaporation and low water levels, as observed during the early Holocene