Late Pleistocene to early Holocene environmental changes on Store Koldewey, coastal north-east Greenland

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Martin Klug

2016-12-01

Full Text Available A lake sediment sequence from southern Store Koldewey, north-east Greenland, has been investigated using a multidisciplinary approach, including geophysical, geochemical, biogeochemical, biological and sedimentological methods. Chronological constraints are provided by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS 14C dating of bulk sediment and complemented with published water moss ages. The record consists of three major sediment units. Their individual structural, textural, geophysical and geochemical characteristics indicate variable input of sediment and meltwater due to variable proximity of the ice margin and therefore reflect the growth and decay of a local glacier during the late Weichselian. Radiocarbon dating of bulk sediment samples from the lowermost unit gave ages of 42 to 34 calibrated thousand years (cal Ky B.P. and indicates that this material is redeposited in the lake basin during or after the ice advance at the end of the Pleistocene. Increased meltwater and sediment input from a retreating ice margin following the Younger Dryas is indicated by the occurrence of a sandy to gravely section. Fine-grained and laminated sediments were deposited during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition and indicate calm sedimentation conditions with an ice margin outside of the lake catchment. The reoccurrence of coarse sediments during the early Holocene may indicate increased meltwater input in response to the cold spell at about 9.3 Kya with increased snow accumulation rather than fluctuations of local glaciers. The dating results furthermore show that AMS 14C dating of bulk sediment samples deposited during glacier decay in High Arctic environments can give problematic ages.

Role of the mid-Holocene environmental transition in the decline of late Neolithic cultures in the deserts of NE China

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Guo, Licheng; Xiong, Shangfa; Ding, Zhongli; Jin, Guiyun; Wu, Jiabin; Ye, Wei

2018-06-01

The mid-Holocene environmental transition was characterised by global cooling and the abrupt weakening of the Northern Hemisphere monsoon systems. It is generally considered the key driver of the collapse of several mid-Holocene agricultural societies, on a global scale. However, only a few previous studies have tried to verify the climatic origin of the collapse of these societies, using the compilation of spatiotemporal data at a large scale. Especially, the nature of mid-Holocene human-environment interactions in the climatically-sensitive margin of the East Asian summer monsoon front remains to be thoroughly understood. However, a systematic compilation of archaeological data at a regional scale can be used to verify the role the mid-Holocene environmental transition played in the collapse of late Neolithic cultures in China. Here, we present a regional compilation of Holocene records from sub-aerial sedimentary deposits, lake sediments, and archaeological sites in the deserts of NE China and the adjacent regions to explore human-environment interactions during the mid-Holocene. Comparison of the records of Holocene climate change with the evolution of archaeological sites reveals that the mid-Holocene environmental transition resulted in ecosystem degradation in the deserts of NE China, rendering these areas much less habitable. Faced with substantially increased environmental pressures, the late Neolithic inhabitants used several subsistence strategies to adapt to the environmental transition, including change in agricultural practices and ultimately migration. Overall, our results support the view that a widespread mid-Holocene drought destroyed the rain-fed agricultural and/or plant-based subsistence economies, ultimately contributing to the collapse of late Neolithic cultures in NE China.

Early Holocene estuary development of the Hesselø Bay area, southern Kattegat, Denmark and its implication for Ancylus Lake drainage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bendixen, Carina; Boldreel, Lars Ole; Jensen, Jørn Bo

2017-01-01

environment and a description of coastal processes associated with a river outlet into the bay are presented. Weichselian glacial deposits form the lowermost interpreted unit, covered by late glacial (LG) and postglacial (PG, Holocene) sediments. A funnel-shaped estuary existed at the mouth of channels......High-resolution shallow seismic data, sediment core information, radiocarbon dating and sequence stratigraphy have been used to interpret the late glacial to early Holocene geological evolution of Hesselø Bay in the southern Kattegat, Denmark. A reconstruction of the early Holocene coastal...... in the period 10.3–9.2 cal. ka BP; the channels drained water from south to north. The early PG is characterised by estuarine and coastal deposits. The early Holocene bars that developed in the estuary are preserved as morphological features on the present-day seabed, possibly as a result of rapid relative sea...

Early Holocene pecan, Carya illinoensis, in the Mississippi River Valley near Muscatine, Iowa*1

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Bettis, E. Arthur; Baker, Richard G.; Nations, Brenda K.; Benn, David W.

1990-01-01

A fossil pecan, Carya illinoensis (Wang.) K. Koch, from floodplain sediments of the Mississippi River near Muscatine, Iowa, was accelerator-dated at 7280 ± 120 yr B.P. This discovery indicates that pecan was at or near its present northern limit by that time. Carya pollen profiles from the Mississippi River Trench indicate that hickory pollen percentages were much higher in the valley than at upland locations during the early Holocene. Pecan, the hickory with the most restricted riparian habitat, is the likely candidate for producing these peaks in Carya pollen percentages. Therefore, pecan may have reached its northern limit as early as 10,300 yr B.P. Its abundance in Early Archaic archaeological sites and the co-occurrence of early Holocene Carya pollen peaks with the arrival of the Dalton artifact complex in the Upper Mississippi Valley suggest that humans may have played a role in the early dispersal of pecan.

Morphological and genetic evidence for early Holocene cattle management in northeastern China

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Zhang, Hucai; Paijmans, Johanna L. A.; Chang, Fengqin

2013-01-01

The domestication of cattle is generally accepted to have taken place in two independent centres: around 10,500 years ago in the Near East, giving rise to modern taurine cattle, and two millennia later in southern Asia, giving rise to zebu cattle. Here we provide firmly dated morphological...... and genetic evidence for early Holocene management of taurine cattle in northeastern China. We describe conjoining mandibles from this region that show evidence of oral stereotypy, dated to the early Holocene by two independent (14)C dates. Using Illumina high-throughput sequencing coupled with DNA...... hybridization capture, we characterize 15,406 bp of the mitogenome with on average 16.7-fold coverage. Phylogenetic analyses reveal a hitherto unknown mitochondrial haplogroup that falls outside the known taurine diversity. Our data suggest that the first attempts to manage cattle in northern China predate...

Late Glacial to Early Holocene socio-ecological responses to climatic instability within the Mediterranean basin

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Fernández-López de Pablo, Javier; Jones, Samantha E.; Burjachs, Francesc

2018-03-01

The period spanning the Late Glacial and the Early Holocene (≈19-8.2 ka) witnessed a dramatic sequence of climate and palaeoenvironmental changes (Rasmussen et al., 2014). Interestingly, some of the most significant transformations ever documented in human Prehistory took place during this period such as the intensification of hunter-gatherer economic systems, the domestication process of wild plants and animals, and the spread of farming across Eurasia. Understanding the role of climate and environmental dynamics on long-term cultural and economic trajectories, as well as specific human responses to episodes of rapid climate change, still remains as one of the main challenges of archaeological research (Kintigh et al., 2014).

Impact of a drier Early-Mid-Holocene climate upon Amazonian forests.

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Mayle, Francis E; Power, Mitchell J

2008-05-27

This paper uses a palaeoecological approach to examine the impact of drier climatic conditions of the Early-Mid-Holocene (ca 8000-4000 years ago) upon Amazonia's forests and their fire regimes. Palaeovegetation (pollen data) and palaeofire (charcoal) records are synthesized from 20 sites within the present tropical forest biome, and the underlying causes of any emergent patterns or changes are explored by reference to independent palaeoclimate data and present-day patterns of precipitation, forest cover and fire activity across Amazonia. During the Early-Mid-Holocene, Andean cloud forest taxa were replaced by lowland tree taxa as the cloud base rose while lowland ecotonal areas, which are presently covered by evergreen rainforest, were instead dominated by savannahs and/or semi-deciduous dry forests. Elsewhere in the Amazon Basin there is considerable spatial and temporal variation in patterns of vegetation disturbance and fire, which probably reflects the complex heterogeneous patterns in precipitation and seasonality across the basin, and the interactions between climate change, drought- and fire susceptibility of the forests, and Palaeo-Indian land use. Our analysis shows that the forest biome in most parts of Amazonia appears to have been remarkably resilient to climatic conditions significantly drier than those of today, despite widespread evidence of forest burning. Only in ecotonal areas is there evidence of biome replacement in the Holocene. From this palaeoecological perspective, we argue against the Amazon forest 'dieback' scenario simulated for the future.

Tracking Lateglacial and early Holocene environmental change: a palaeolimnological study of sediment at Preluca Tiganului, NW Romania

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Angelica Feurdean

2005-04-01

Full Text Available Palaeoecological, palaeohydrological, and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Late Glacial and the early Holocene have been performed from sediment accumulated in a small former crater lake, in the GutâI Mountains, NW Romania. Pollen, lithology, mineral magnetic, and loss-on-ignition analyses in conjunction to radiocarbon dating have been use for this purpose. The data indicates that during the Late Glacial period, vegetation dynamics were likely driven by climatic fluctuations. The climate events during the Late Glacial are well mirrored in local vegetation assemblage development, and past lake level fluctuations. These climatic events recorded in south-eastern Europe, are well correlated with the climate events from the North Western Europe and Greenland ice core stratigraphy.

Holocene environmental changes and climate development in Greenland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engels, Stefan; Helmens, Karin

2010-12-01

The primary aim of this report is to give an overview of the Holocene environmental and climatic changes in Greenland and to describe the development of the periglacial environment during the Holocene. Special emphasis is given to the influence of the ice sheet on its surroundings, both in terms of time (with respect to the response of the biosphere to deglaciation or ice sheet proximity) and in space (through the influence of the ice sheet on the regional climate, more specifically on temperature and aridity). Published records are reviewed, and regional trends are summarized. A range of different natural archives is available for such studies, including ice-core data, marine records, and continental sources of information, including peat profiles and lacustrine records. Because of the high number of lakes in all ice-free areas of Greenland, the lacustrine records offer the opportunity to get a spatial overview of past changes in environment and climate as well. This report focuses on (palaeo-) ecological studies, as it is intended to assemble basic information for future studies on adaptation of the biosphere to changes in climate. There is a bias towards pollen- and macro-remain-based reconstructions of past changes, as these dominate performed palaeoecological studies in Greenland; unfortunately, only a limited number of studies exist that include more modern proxies such as diatoms or chironomids (climate-indicators), but where available in the literature, these have been included. The report starts with an introduction where the current climatic and biological zonation of Greenland is discussed together with an overview of the geology of Greenland (on the full geological timescale) in order to put the following sections in perspective. Chapter 2 discusses the ice sheet history of Greenland from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) onward where special emphasis is given to the spatial variability of deglaciation at the onset of the Holocene. To enhance the

Holocene environmental changes and climate development in Greenland

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Engels, Stefan; Helmens, Karin (Dept. of Physical Geography and Quaternary Geology, Stockholm Univ., Stockholm (Sweden))

2010-12-15

The primary aim of this report is to give an overview of the Holocene environmental and climatic changes in Greenland and to describe the development of the periglacial environment during the Holocene. Special emphasis is given to the influence of the ice sheet on its surroundings, both in terms of time (with respect to the response of the biosphere to deglaciation or ice sheet proximity) and in space (through the influence of the ice sheet on the regional climate, more specifically on temperature and aridity). Published records are reviewed, and regional trends are summarized. A range of different natural archives is available for such studies, including ice-core data, marine records, and continental sources of information, including peat profiles and lacustrine records. Because of the high number of lakes in all ice-free areas of Greenland, the lacustrine records offer the opportunity to get a spatial overview of past changes in environment and climate as well. This report focuses on (palaeo-) ecological studies, as it is intended to assemble basic information for future studies on adaptation of the biosphere to changes in climate. There is a bias towards pollen- and macro-remain-based reconstructions of past changes, as these dominate performed palaeoecological studies in Greenland; unfortunately, only a limited number of studies exist that include more modern proxies such as diatoms or chironomids (climate-indicators), but where available in the literature, these have been included. The report starts with an introduction where the current climatic and biological zonation of Greenland is discussed together with an overview of the geology of Greenland (on the full geological timescale) in order to put the following sections in perspective. Chapter 2 discusses the ice sheet history of Greenland from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) onward where special emphasis is given to the spatial variability of deglaciation at the onset of the Holocene. To enhance the

Holocene climatic fluctuations and periodic changes in the Asian southwest monsoon region

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Zhang, Wenxiang; Niu, Jie; Ming, Qingzhong; Shi, Zhengtao; Lei, Guoliang; Huang, Linpei; Long, Xian'e.; Chang, Fengqin

2018-05-01

Climatic changes in the Asian southwest monsoon (ASWM) during the Holocene have become a topic of recent studies. It is important to understand the patterns and causes of Holocene climatic changes and their relationship with global changes. Based on the climate proxies and wavelet analysis of Lugu Lake in the ASWM region, the climatic fluctuations and periodic changes in the ASWM region during the Holocene have been reconstructed with a high-precision chronology. The results indicate the intensification of ASWM began to increase with Northern Hemisphere low-latitude solar insolation (LSI) and solar activity during the early Holocene, and gradually decreased during the late Holocene, exhibiting an apparent synchrony with numerous records of ASWM region. Meanwhile, an apparent 1000-a quasi-periodic signal is present in the environment proxies, and it demonstrates that the environmental change in the ASWM region has been driven mainly by LSI and solar activity.

Oleistocene mammals in the late-early Holocene in Santa Lucia river basin (Uruguay southern)

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Ubilla, M.; Perea, D.; Corona, A.; Rinderknecht, A.; Sanchez, A.

2012-01-01

This work is about the fossileferous outcrops belongs to the late Pleistocene - early Holocene in Santa Lucia River. It enable to analyse the last records of megafauna vertebrate extinctions (olistecene mammals) with the climate conditions / environment

Early-Holocene greening of the Afro-Asian dust belt changed sources of mineral dust in West Asia

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Sharifi, Arash; Murphy, Lisa N.; Pourmand, Ali; Clement, Amy C.; Canuel, Elizabeth A.; Naderi Beni, Abdolmajid; Lahijani, Hamid A. K.; Delanghe, Doriane; Ahmady-Birgani, Hesam

2018-01-01

Production, transport and deposition of mineral dust have significant impacts on different components of the Earth systems through time and space. In modern times, dust plumes are associated with their source region(s) using satellite and land-based measurements and trajectory analysis of air masses through time. Reconstruction of past changes in the sources of mineral dust as related to changes in climate, however, must rely on the knowledge of the geochemical and mineralogical composition of modern and paleo-dust, and that of their potential source origins. In this contribution, we present a 13,000-yr record of variations in radiogenic Sr-Nd-Hf isotopes and Rare Earth Element (REE) anomalies as well as dust grain size from an ombrotrophic (rain fed) peat core in NW Iran as proxies of past changes in the sources of dust over the interior of West Asia. Our data shows that although the grain size of dust varies in a narrow range through the entire record, the geochemical fingerprint of dust particles deposited during the low-flux, early Holocene period (11,700-6,000 yr BP) is distinctly different from aerosols deposited during high dust flux periods of the Younger Dryas and the mid-late Holocene (6,000-present). Our findings indicate that the composition of mineral dust deposited at the study site changed as a function of prevailing atmospheric circulation regimes and land exposure throughout the last deglacial period and the Holocene. Simulations of atmospheric circulation over the region show the Northern Hemisphere Summer Westerly Jet was displaced poleward across the study area during the early Holocene when Northern Hemisphere insolation was higher due to the Earth's orbital configuration. This shift, coupled with lower dust emissions simulated based on greening of the Afro-Asian Dust Belt during the early Holocene likely led to potential sources in Central Asia dominating dust export to West Asia during this period. In contrast, the dominant western and

Early to Middle Holocene sea level fluctuation, coastal progradation and the Neolithic occupation in the Yaojiang Valley of southern Hangzhou Bay, Eastern China

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Liu, Yan; Sun, Qianli; Fan, Daidu; Dai, Bin; Ma, Fuwei; Xu, Lichen; Chen, Jing; Chen, Zhongyuan

2018-06-01

The Yaojiang Valley (YJV) of southern Hangzhou Bay was the birthplace of the well-known Hemudu Culture (HC), one of the representatives of Neolithic civilization in eastern China. To explore the magnitude of natural environmental effects on the HC trajectory, the palaeo-embayment setting of the YJV was studied in detail for the first time in terms of 3D Holocene strata supported by a series of new radiocarbon-dated cores. The results indicated that the local relative sea level rose rapidly during the Early Holocene in the YJV, reached its maximum flooding surface ca. 7900 cal yr BP, and then remained stable ca. 7900-7600 cal yr BP. Thereupon, an estuary stretching inland was first formed by marine transgression, and then, it was transformed to an alluvial-coastal plain by regressive progradation. The alluvial plain was initiated in the foothills and then spread towards the valley centre after sea level stabilization ca. 7600 cal yr BP. Accompanying these natural environmental changes, the earliest arrivals of foragers in the valley occurred no later than ca. 7000 cal yr BP. They engaged in rice farming and fostered the HC for approximately two millennia from ca. 7000-5000 cal yr BP as more lands developed from coastal progradation. The rise and development of the HC are closely associated with the sea level-induced landscape changes in the YJV in the Early-Middle Holocene, but the enigmatic exodus of the HC people after ca. 5000 cal yr BP is still contentious and possibly linked with the rapid waterlogging and deterioration of this setting in such a low-lying coastal plain as well as with associated social reasons.

Middle-Late Holocene environmental history of Kulunda (Southwestern Siberia): vegetation, climate, humans

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Rudaya, N.; Nazarova, L.; Papin, D.; Nourgaliev, D.

2012-04-01

Environmental reconstruction of Mid-Late Holocene vegetation and climate was inferred from pollen records of Lake Big Yarovoe (Kulunda steppe, Southwestern Siberia). Reconstruction suggests generally prevalence of steppe during last 4.45 ka. Relatively warm and dry climate, open semi-desert and dry steppes with patchy birch forest spread between 4.45 and 3.80 ka BP. The largest development of conifers forest started in Kulunda after 3.80 ka BP. Constant presence of dark-coniferous trees Abies and especially Picea between 3.80 and 2.7 ka BP indicates the most humid period in the region during studied time. Onset of the Late Holocene is characterised by dominance of steppe with birch and pine forests in lowlands and river valleys. After AD 1860, open steppe and semi-desert vegetation with fragmentary birch forest have been dominated parallel to sharp reduction of conifers in Kulunda. These results are in agreement with general scheme of Holocene environmental history of surrounding areas including Baraba forest-steppe, Kazakh Upland and Altai Mountains. Territory of Kulunda consists many archaeological sites of Bronze, Iron and Middle Ages. Second half of Bronze Age (4.45-3.80 ka BP) was represented by local human cultures or migrants from the North Kazakhstan. The main archaeological culture of Kulunda alike in the whole Ob`-Irtysh interfluve in this period was Elunino culture. The economical activities of Elunino community were connected with animal breeding especially with sheep and goats. The most humid period (~1795-710 BC; 3.8-2.7 ka BP) in Kulunda corresponded to the end of early Bronze Age and to the onset of the Iron Age. In 18 century BC Andronovo culture, associated with the Indo-Iranians and migrants from Central Kazakhstan, spread in the region. Cattle breeding economy was distinctive features of Andronovo people, however, increase of sheep, goats and horses with transition to nomadic life style was characteristic of the late Bronze Age. This trend is in

Paleolimnological reconstruction of environmental variability during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene in the south-east Baltic region

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Kublitskiy, Iurii; Subetto, Dmitriy; Druzhinina, Olga; Kulkova, Marianna; Arslanov, Khikmatula

2016-04-01

The main goal of our research is the high-resolution reconstruction of environmental and climatic changes in SE Baltic region since the Last Glacial Maximum by palaeolimnological data. The 6 objects - lakes and peat-bogs, were studied since 2009 in the Kaliningrad region, Russian Federation. According to palaeolimnological studies of bottom sediments of the Kamyshovoe Lake (N 54°22,6`; E22°42,8`, 189 m a.s.l.), located in the Vishtynets Highland, the south-east part of Kaliningrad district, the environmental and climatic changes after the late glacial have been reconstructed. At that moment the radiocarbon and loss-on-ignition (LOI) data, geochemistry and diatom analysis for the whole sediment core, and pollen analyze for the bottom part of the core have been completed. According to the pollen data the Alleröd interstadial starts at 13 200 cal. yrs BP and is marked by the rising of birch and pine pollen. The transition to the Younger Dryas around 12 700 cal. yrs BP corresponds with the development of patches of shrublands in which light-demanding species, such as juniper, flourished and communities of steppe herbs. The late Preboreal is marked by the appearance of Populus and an increase of the role of grasses in the vegetation cover 11 300-11 100 cal. yrs BP (Druzinina et al., 2015). The Holocene climatic zones have been identified by LOI and geochemistry analyses. The Boreal period started about 10 200 cal. yrs BP, Atlantic around 9100 cal. yrs BP, Subboreal 5800 cal. yrs BP, and Subatlantic 3200 cal. yrs BP (Kublitskiy et al., 2015). During the conference the new palaeolimnological data of environmental variability during the late Pleistocene and Holocene in SE Baltic region will be presented. Acknowledgements The investigations have been granted by the Russian Fund for Basic Research (12-05-33013, 13-05-41457, 15-35-50721). References Druzhinina, O., Subetto, D., Stančikaitė, M., Vaikutienė, G., Kublitsky, J., Arslanov, Kh., 2015. Sediment record from the

Holocene Evolution of Qing'ao Embayment, Southern China

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Switzer, A. D.; Yu, F.; Chen, B.; Zheng, Z.; Wang, D.

2012-12-01

The Holocene evolution of the Qing'ao embayment, Nan'ao Island, southern China, is primarily the result of the interaction of tectonic activity, climate variation and changes in relative sea level. Characterizing the evolutionary history of the relatively small Qing'ao embayment during the Holocene will help improve our understanding of the driving mechanisms of coastal evolution in the area. To reconstruct the Holocene evolution history we analyzed the grain size, loss on ignition (LOI) and carbonate content of modern and core samples. Modern environmental analogs were examined in surface samples ranging from the coastal sand dunes through to offshore. The results of these modern samples suggest that dune sand (mean size of ~2.33Phi) are slightly finer than beach sand (mean size of 2.13Phi), and nearshore sediment is much coarser than offshore sediment (mean size of 5.90Phi). This modern analogs were then applied to 8 percussion cores from the Qing'ao embayment. A chronological framework obtained from 11 radiocarbon samples suggests that the embayment started to accept deposition since early Holocene, ~8500 cal. yr. BP. Three main phases of Holocene evolution were identified. A basin wide shell-rich sand sheet forms the basal Holocene facies and overlies clay rich presumably Pleistocene sediments or bedrock. This facies records an initial sedimentation phase associated with the early Holocene transgression into the embayment (~8500-6000 cal. yr. BP). The basal facies grades upward to a mixed sandy-mud facies which includes lagoonal clayey-silts, flood tide delta sands and records an estuarine phase lasting from ~6000-1000 cal. yr. BP that appears coincident with falling regional sea levels. Coincident with the estuarine phase is a period of coastal dune building recorded as yet undated massive sands that are found in the upper fill. Toward the end of the estuarine phase it is apparent that dune migration has restricted the lagoon entrance and that this was

Sea-level change and demography during the last glacial termination and early Holocene across the Australian continent

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Williams, Alan N.; Ulm, Sean; Sapienza, Tom; Lewis, Stephen; Turney, Chris S. M.

2018-02-01

Future changes in sea-level are projected to have significant environmental and social impacts, but we have limited understanding of comparable rates of change in the past. Using comprehensive palaeoenvironmental and archaeological datasets, we report the first quantitative model of the timing, spatial extent and pace of sea-level change in the Sahul region between 35-8 ka, and explore its effects on hunter-gatherer populations. Results show that the continental landmass (excluding New Guinea) increased to 9.80 million km2 during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), before a reduction of 2.12 million km2 (or ∼21.6%) to the early Holocene (8 ka). Almost 90% of this inundation occurs during and immediately following Meltwater Pulse (MWP) 1a between 14.6 and 8 ka. The location of coastlines changed on average by 139 km between the LGM and early Holocene, with some areas >300 km, and at a rate of up to 23.7 m per year (∼0.6 km land lost every 25-year generation). Spatially, inundation was highly variable, with greatest impacts across the northern half of Australia, while large parts of the east, south and west coastal margins were relatively unaffected. Hunter-gatherer populations remained low throughout (hypothesis that late Pleistocene coastal populations were low, with use of coastal resources embedded in broad-ranging foraging strategies, and which would have been severely disrupted in some regions and at some time periods by sea-level change outpacing tolerances of mangals and other near-shore ecological communities.

A Late Glacial to Holocene record of environmental change from Lake Dojran (Macedonia, Greece

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A. Francke

2013-02-01

Full Text Available A Late Glacial to Holocene sediment sequence (Co1260, 717 cm from Lake Dojran, located at the boarder of the F.Y.R. of Macedonia and Greece, has been investigated to provide information on climate variability in the Balkan region. A robust age-model was established from 13 radiocarbon ages, and indicates that the base of the sequence was deposited at ca. 12 500 cal yr BP, when the lake-level was low. Variations in sedimentological (H2O, TOC, CaCO3, TS, TOC/TN, TOC/TS, grain-size, XRF, δ18Ocarb, δ13Ccarb, δ13Corg data were linked to hydro-acoustic data and indicate that warmer and more humid climate conditions characterised the remaining period of the Younger Dryas until the beginning of the Holocene. The Holocene exhibits significant environmental variations, including the 8.2 and 4.2 ka cooling events, the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age. Human induced erosion processes in the catchment of Lake Dojran intensified after 2800 cal yr BP.

Climate, catchment runoff and limnological drivers of carbon and oxygen isotope composition of diatom frustules from the central andean altiplano during the Lateglacial and Early Holocene

OpenAIRE

Hernández, Armand; Bao, Roberto; Giralt, Santiago; Sáez, Alberto; Leng, Melanie J.; Barker, Philips A.; Kendrick, C.P.; Sloane, Hilary J.

2013-01-01

Diatom-based carbon and oxygen isotope analyses (δ13Cdiatom and δ18Odiatom) were performed on diatomrich laminated sediments of Lake Chungará (Andean Altiplano, northern Chile) deposited during the Lateglacial and Early Holocene (12,400e8300 cal years BP) to reconstruct climate change and environmental response across this major climate transition. The δ13Cdiatom data show both centennial-tomillennial scale changes related to fluctuations in lake productivity and CO2 concentration in the lake...

Influence of Holocene environmental change and anthropogenic impact on the diversity and distribution of roe deer.

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Baker, K H; Hoelzel, A R

2014-06-01

Extant patterns of population structure and levels of diversity are a consequence of factors that vary in both space and time. Our objective in this study is to investigate a species that has responded to both natural and anthropogenic changes in ways that have shaped modern populations and provide insight into the key processes. The roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) is one of the two species of deer native to Britain. During the last glacial maximum (LGM), the British habitat was largely under ice and there was a land bridge to mainland Europe. As the Earth warmed during the early Holocene, the land bridge was lost. Subsequent hunting on the British mainland left the southern region extirpated of roe deer, whereas a refugial population remained in the north. Later reintroductions from Europe led to population expansion, especially in southern United Kingdom. Here, we combine data from ancient and modern DNA to track population dynamics and patterns of connectivity, and test hypotheses about the influence of natural and anthropogenic environmental change. We find that past expansion and divergence events coincided with a warming environment and the subsequent closure of the land bridge between Europe and the United Kingdom. We also find turnover in British roe deer haplotypes between the late-Holocene and modern day that have likely resulted from recent human disturbance activities such as habitat perturbation, overhunting and restocking.

The NAO Influence on the Early to Mid-Holocene North Atlantic Coastal Upwelling

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Hernandez, A.; Cachão, M.; Sousa, P.; Trigo, R. M.; Freitas, M. C.

2017-12-01

Coastal upwelling regions yield some of the oceanic most productive ecosystems, being crucial for the worldwide social and economic development. Most upwelling systems, emerging cold nutrient-rich deep waters, are located in the eastern boundaries of the Atlantic and Pacific basins, and are driven by meridional wind fields parallel to the coastal shore. These winds are associated with the subsiding branch of the large-scale Anticyclonic high pressure systems that dominate the subtropical ocean basins, and therefore can be displaced or intensified within the context of past and future climate changes. However, the role of the current global warming influencing the coastal upwelling is, as yet, unclear. Therefore it is essential to derive a long-term perspective, beyond the era of instrumental measurements, to detect similar warm periods in the past that have triggered changes in the upwelling patterns. In this work, the upwelling dynamics in the Iberian North Atlantic margin during the early and mid-Holocene is reconstructed, using calcareous nannofossils from a decadally resolved estuarine sediment core located in southwestern Portugal. Results suggest that the coastal dynamics reflects changes in winds direction likely related to shifts in the NAO-like conditions. Furthermore, the reconstructed centennial-scale variations in the upwelling are synchronous with changes in solar irradiance, a major external forcing factor of the climate system that is known to exert influence in atmospheric circulation patterns. In addition, these proxy-based data interpretations are in agreement with wind field and solar irradiance simulation modelling for the mid-Holocene. Therefore, the conclusion that the solar activity via the NAO modulation controlled the North Atlantic upwelling of western Iberia during the early and mid-Holocene at decadal to centennial timescales can be derived. The financial support for attending this meeting was possible through FCT project UID/GEO/50019

Coastal Marsh Longevity, Ecological Succession, and Organic Carbon Dynamics During Early Holocene Sea-Level Rise

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Vetter, L.; Schreiner, K. M.; Rosenheim, B. E.; Tornqvist, T. E.

2016-02-01

Coastal marsh environments perform essential ecosystem services, including nutrient filtering, soil organic matter storage, and storm surge abatement, yet much is still unknown about their formation and fate under periods of sea-level change. During the early Holocene (7-10 ka), rapid sea-level rise in coastal Louisiana was one of the primary controls over marsh development and longevity. Here, we investigate plant community composition and succession and soil organic matter storage in early Holocene coastal marshes in Louisiana using bulk elemental ratios, lignin phenol biomarkers and stable isotopes from peat layers. Sediment cores were collected in southeastern Louisiana and contain a record of an early Holocene transgressive sea-level sequence 16-25 m below present sea-level. The sedimentary record consists of an immature paleosol overlain by basal peat that accumulated in an estuarine marsh, overlain by marine lagoonal muds. A re-established marsh peat is present 1-4 m above the initial transition to marine conditions, indicating a sequence of marsh development, sea-level rise and onset of marine conditions, and then further marsh development as the rate of relative sea-level rise decelerated. Plant community composition in coastal marshes was determined through cupric oxide oxidation and lignin-phenol and non-lignin-phenol biomarker abundances. The degradation state of soil organic matter and the specific source of stabilized organic matter within the sedimentary peats were determined through lignin-phenol biomarker ratios. Organic matter sources ranged from terrestrial to marine over the course of sea-level rise, and different sites showed different amounts of marine organic matter influence and different levels of terrestrial organic matter degradation. These results have important implications for reconstructing the response of coastal marshes and their plant communities to accelerated rates of sea-level rise projected through 2100.

Holocene environmental changes in northern Lebanon as inferred from a multiproxy study on lacustrine-palustrine sediment

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Vidal, Laurence; Jenna, Hage-Hassen; Demory, François; Develle, Anne-Lise; van Campo, Elise; Elias, Ata

2016-04-01

The reconstruction of the Levantine post-glacial environmental evolution is essential to understand the interactions between variability of regional water cycle, dynamics of the global climate, and cultural evolution. We present a paleolacustrine record from the karstic Yammouneh basin (34.06N-34.09N; 36.0E-36.03E, 1360 m a.s.l.), located on the eastern flank of Mount Lebanon (northern Levant). Holocene sediments (retrieved from gully and a trenbch) (1.5 to 3.6 m thick) consist of pale lacustrine chalk interrupted by an ash layer and remarkable centimetric beds of ocher to dark brown silty clays used, in addition to 14C ages, as stratigraphical markers. Lacustrine biogenic remains are diversified and abundant (ostracods, gastropods, charophytes, chlorophyceae, plant debris…) all reflecting a freswater, generally shallow waterbody. We analysed the sediment mineralogy and geochemistry, TOM contents, magnetic properties, pollen and calcite oxygen isotope composition derived from ostracod shells. These sequences are compared to former data from 2 trenches and 1 core collected in different points of the basin (Daeron et al., 2007; Develle et al., 2009, 2010). A total of 42 AMS 14C dating (partly carbonized wood) provide a solid chronology from the YD to present. Results reveal the following main features : 1- intervals dominated by authigenic calcite suggest that the major water supply was the karstic springs, which still deliver Ca-rich water and low surface runoff; 2- the lake oxygen isotope composition has been impacted by the source isotope composition throughout the Holocene and by increased inland rainfall during the early Holocene; 3- a decideous oak forest, implying much more soil water availability than today, was developed around the lake from ca. 11.5 to 9.5 kyr (the very bad pollen preservation after 8.3 kyr reflects oxidation or frequent oscillations of the water level); 4- four paleosols evidenced from lithofacies and magnetic properties are identified

Asynchronous Changes in Vegetation, Runoff and Erosion in the Nile River Watershed during the Holocene

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blanchet, C.; Frank, M.; Schouten, S.

2014-01-01

The termination of the African Humid Period in northeastern Africa during the early Holocene was marked by the southward migration of the rain belt and the disappearance of the Green Sahara. This interval of drastic environmental changes was also marked by the initiation of food production by North

Holocene seasonal variability inferred from multiple proxy records from Crevice Lake, Yellowstone National Park, USA

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Whitlock, Cathy; Dean, Walter E.; Fritz, Sherilyn C.; Stevens, Lora R.; Stone, Jeffery R.; Power, Mitchell J.; Rosenbaum, Joseph R.; Pierce, Kenneth L.; Bracht-Flyr, Brandi B.

2012-01-01

A 9400-yr-old record from Crevice Lake, a semi-closed alkaline lake in northern Yellowstone National Park, was analyzed for pollen, charcoal, geochemistry, mineralogy, diatoms, and stable isotopes to develop a nuanced understanding of Holocene environmental history in a region of northern Rocky Mountains that receives both summer and winter precipitation. The limited surface area, conical bathymetry, and deep water (> 31 m) of Crevice Lake create oxygen-deficient conditions in the hypolimnion and preserve annually laminated sediment (varves) for much of the record. Pollen data indicate that the watershed supported a closed Pinus-dominated forest and low fire frequency prior to 8200 cal yr BP, followed by open parkland until 2600 cal yr BP, and open mixed-conifer forest thereafter. Fire activity shifted from infrequent stand-replacing fires initially to frequent surface fires in the middle Holocene and stand-replacing events in recent centuries. Low values of δ18O suggest high winter precipitation in the early Holocene, followed by steadily drier conditions after 8500 cal yr BP. Carbonate-rich sediments before 5000 cal yr BP imply warmer summer conditions than after 5000 cal yr BP. High values of molybdenum (Mo), uranium (U), and sulfur (S) indicate anoxic bottom-waters before 8000 cal yr BP, between 4400 and 3900 cal yr BP, and after 2400 cal yr BP. The diatom record indicates extensive water-column mixing in spring and early summer through much of the Holocene, but a period between 2200 and 800 cal yr BP had strong summer stratification, phosphate limitation, and oxygen-deficient bottom waters. Together, the proxy data suggest wet winters, protracted springs, and warm effectively wet summers in the early Holocene and less snowpack, cool springs, warm dry summers in the middle Holocene. In the late Holocene, the region and lake experienced extreme changes in winter, spring, and summer conditions, with particularly short springs and dry summers and winters during

Early Holocene estuary development of the Hesselø Bay area, southern Kattegat, Denmark and its implication for Ancylus Lake drainage

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Bendixen, Carina; Boldreel, Lars Ole; Jensen, Jørn Bo; Bennike, Ole; Hübscher, Christian; Clausen, Ole Rønø

2017-12-01

High-resolution shallow seismic data, sediment core information, radiocarbon dating and sequence stratigraphy have been used to interpret the late glacial to early Holocene geological evolution of Hesselø Bay in the southern Kattegat, Denmark. A reconstruction of the early Holocene coastal environment and a description of coastal processes associated with a river outlet into the bay are presented. Weichselian glacial deposits form the lowermost interpreted unit, covered by late glacial (LG) and postglacial (PG, Holocene) sediments. A funnel-shaped estuary existed at the mouth of channels in the period 10.3-9.2 cal. ka BP; the channels drained water from south to north. The early PG is characterised by estuarine and coastal deposits. The early Holocene bars that developed in the estuary are preserved as morphological features on the present-day seabed, possibly as a result of rapid relative sea-level rise. The estuary existed simultaneously with the occurrence and drainage of the Ancylus Lake. The drainage of this lake occurred through the Dana River (palaeo-Great Belt channel) into the southern Kattegat and then into the study area. The level of the Ancylus Lake in the Baltic Sea region dropped significantly at about 10.2 cal. ka BP at the same time as the estuary developed in the Kattegat region. One outcome of the present study is an enhanced understanding of the Ancylus Lake drainage path. No evidence of major erosion is seen, which indicates non-catastrophic continuous water flow from the south without major drainage events of the Ancylus Lake to the southern Kattegat. During the Littorina transgression, coastal estuarine conditions characterized the Hesselø Bay area where elongated ridges formed a bar system. As the Littorina transgression continued, back-stepping of the bar system and coastline occurred. When the transgression breached the Great Belt threshold, flooding caused major erosion throughout the study area.

Holocene history and environmental reconstruction of a Hercynian mire and surrounding mountain landscape based on multiple proxies

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Dudová, Lydie; Hájková, Petra; Opravilová, Věra; Hájek, Michal

2014-07-01

We discovered the first peat section covering the entire Holocene in the Hrubý Jeseník Mountains, representing an island of unique alpine vegetation whose history may display transitional features between the Hercynian and Carpathian regions. We analysed pollen, plant macrofossils (more abundant in bottom layers), testate amoebae (more abundant in upper layers), peat stratigraphy and chemistry. We found that the landscape development indeed differed from other Hercynian mountains located westward. This is represented by Pinus cembra and Larix during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition, the early expansion of spruce around 10,450 cal yr BP, and survival of Larix during the climatic optimum. The early Holocene climatic fluctuations are traced in our profile by species compositions of both the mire and surrounding forests. The mire started to develop as a calcium-rich percolation fen with some species recently considered to be postglacial relicts (Meesia triquetra, Betula nana), shifted into ombrotrophy around 7450 cal yr BP by autogenic succession and changed into a pauperised, nutrient-enriched spruce woodland due to modern forestry activities. We therefore concluded that its recent vegetation is not a product of natural processes. From a methodological viewpoint we demonstrated how using multiple biotic proxies and extensive training sets in transfer functions may overcome taphonomic problems.

Early Holocene humidity patterns in the Iberian Peninsula reconstructed from lake, pollen and speleothem records

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Morellón, Mario; Aranbarri, Josu; Moreno, Ana; González-Sampériz, Penélope; Valero-Garcés, Blas L.

2018-02-01

Comparison of selected, well-dated, lacustrine, speleothem and terrestrial pollen records spanning the Holocene onset and the Early Holocene (ca. 11.7-8 cal kyrs BP) in the Iberian Peninsula shows large hydrological fluctuations and landscape changes with a complex regional pattern in timing and intensity. Marine pollen records from Alboran, the Mediterranean and off shore Atlantic sites show a step-wise increase in moisture and forest during this transition. However, available continental records point to two main patterns of spatial and temporal hydrological variability: i) Atlantic-influenced sites located at the northwestern areas (Enol, Sanabria, Lucenza, PRD-4), characterized by a gradual increase in humidity from the end of the Younger Dryas to the Mid Holocene, similarly to most North Atlantic records; and ii) continental and Mediterranean-influenced sites (Laguna Grande, Villarquemado, Fuentillejo, Padul, Estanya, Banyoles, Salines), with prolonged arid conditions of variable temporal extension after the Younger Dryas, followed by an abrupt increase in moisture at 10-9 cal kyrs BP. Different local climate conditions influenced by topography or the variable sensitivity (gradual versus threshold values) of the proxies analyzed in each case are evaluated. Vegetation composition (conifers versus mesothermophilous taxa) and resilience would explain a subdued response of vegetation in central continental areas while in Mediterranean sites, insufficient summer moisture availability could not maintain high lake levels and promote mesophyte forest, in contrast to Atlantic-influenced areas. Comparison with available climate models, Greenland ice cores, North Atlantic marine sequences and continental records from Central and Northern Europe and the whole Mediterranean region underlines the distinctive character of the hydrological changes occurred in inner Iberia throughout the Early Holocene. The persistent arid conditions might be explained by the intensification

Early-to-middle Holocene sea-level fluctuations, coastal progradation and the Neolithic occupations in Yaojiang valley of southern Hangzhou bay, eastern China

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Liu, Y.; Sun, Q.; Fan, D.; Chen, Z.

2017-12-01

The formation of Holocene coast in eastern China provided material base for the development of Neolithic civilizations. The coastal Yaojiang valley of south Hangzhou bay was one of the examples where the well-known Neolithic Hemudu Culture (HC) of Eastern China initiated. Here, we studied the early-to-middle Holocene environment changes in relation to sea-level fluctuations on the basis of a serial of sediment cores based on a set of new Accelerator Mass Spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14C) chronology. The result indicated that relative sea-level rose rapidly in the Yaojiang valley at the early Holocene, reaching its maximum at ca. 8000-7800 cal yr BP and then decelerated at ca. 7800-7500 cal yr BP. The alluvial plain in Yaojiang valley began to form at the foothills first and then grew towards the valley center accompanying with the sea-level stabilization after ca. 7500 cal yr BP. This progressive progradation of alluvial plain would attract the early arrivals of foragers to dwell at the foothills to engaging in rice farming after ca.7000 cal yr BP and starting the epic Hemudu Culture. The HC people then move down to the valley center as more land became available thanks to sediment aggregation and progradation. The rise and development of HC were closely associated with the sea-level induced landscape changes in Yaojiang valley at the early-middle Holocene, and the unstable hydraulic condition in the valley after 5000 cal yr BP could be accountable for the cultural termination.

Sequence stratigraphy and environmental background of the late Pleistocene and Holocene occupation in the Southeast Primor'ye (the Russian Far East)

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Chlachula, Jiri; Krupyanko, Alexander A.

2016-06-01

The paper presents the results of Quaternary palaeoecology and geoarchaeology studies in the Zerkal'naya Basin, with new insights about sequenced natural shifts during the prehistoric occupation of this marginally explored NE Asian maritime territory. The Basin is part of the continental drainage system and the main physiographic and biotic corridor for peopling of the transitive coastal interior SE Primor'ye Region. The Final Pleistocene and Holocene environmental (biotic and abiotic) proxy records from the Upper/Final Palaeolithic to early historical sites document a dynamic climate change with vegetation cover transformations within riverine and mountain valley ecosystems of the Russian Far East. Most of the archaeological sites located on the low terraces and bedrock promontories along the main river channel and its tributary streams suggest traditional hunter gathered lifestyles based on seasonal salmon-fishing supplemented by pastoral economy. Tundra-forests with larch trees, dwarf birch thickets and polypod ferns from the basal stratigraphic units of the late Last Glacial occupation sites associated with the Upper Palaeolithic micro-blade and bifacial stone tool traditions (14C-dated to 19,000-12,000 cal yrs BP) indicate rather pronounced conditions and much lower MAT comparing today. Following a final Pleistocene cooling event, a major climate warming marked the onset of Holocene accompanied by a regional humidity increase promoting the formation of a mixed broadleaved-coniferous oak-dominant taiga, and culminating in the mid-Holocene Climatic Optimum. The appearance of mosaic parklands ca. 5,000-4,000 cal yrs BP. may be partly attributed to the expansion of the Far Eastern Neolithic cultures practicing forest clearance for pastures and dwellings. A progressing landscape opening indicated by the spread of light-demanding thickets and birch-dominated riverine biotopes with Artemisia suggests a further vegetation cover transformation during the late Neolithic

Holocene environmental change in the Albertine Rift : sediment-based evidence from Virunga volcanoes

OpenAIRE

McGlynn, Gayle

2012-01-01

The Albertine Rift is one of the most important conservation areas in tropical Africa, with exceptionally high levels of biodiversity (including rare and endemic montane flora and fauna) and high human population densities. Environmental changes in the Albertine Rift during the Holocene have been influenced both by long-term climate change and by human activity, although establishing clear cause-effect relationships is often problematic - particularly as this area is known to have had a long ...

Preliminary Study of Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene Plant Food Strategies in China

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Hayashi Tang, M.; Liu, X.; Fritz, G.; Zhao, Z.

2017-12-01

In recent decades, studies on the domestication and early cultivation of seed crops have contributed significantly to how we understand human-plant interactions, and their impact on human social organisation and the environment. It is becoming clear, however, that plants have been critical to the human diet for much longer and in more diverse ways than previously assumed. This paper is a preliminary attempt at identifying and addressing early prehistoric plant food strategies in China. In particular, very little is known about the use of vegetatively propagated plants, despite their significant representation in modern crops. Many ingredients of Chinese medicine are also roots and tubers (or vegetative storage organs, VSOs). Unlike seed crops, however, we lack a systematic criterion for examining diagnostic characters of different VSO taxa in the archaeological record. To address this issue, we characterized commonly consumed and historically significant VSOs in China, by studying experimentally charred modern samples under the optical microscope and scanning electron microscope. We then compared the characteristics of these modern VSO samples against plant remains from Late Pleistocene to early Holocene archaeological sites in China, such as Zengpiyan (Guangxi), Zhaoguodong (Guizhou), and Jiahu (Henan) sites. We found that different taxa of VSOs can be differentiated by using multiple lines of evidence, including: shape and size of various cells, texture and arrangement of cell walls, as well as anatomical arrangements of organs, especially the vascular bundles. Though identification can be difficult when fragile cell structures have collapsed or deteriorated, more robust features are often preserved for diagnosis. Our results suggest that the potential for studying the role of vegetatively propagated plants in early human-environmental interactions is overlooked, and can be expanded significantly with further investment in their systematic identification.

Methane turnover and environmental change from Holocene biomarker records in a thermokarst lake in Arctic Alaska

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Elvert, Marcus; Pohlman, John; Becker, Kevin W.; Gaglioti, Benjamin V.; Hinrichs, Kai-Uwe; Wooller, Matthew J.

2016-01-01

Arctic lakes and wetlands contribute a substantial amount of methane to the contemporary atmosphere, yet profound knowledge gaps remain regarding the intensity and climatic control of past methane emissions from this source. In this study, we reconstruct methane turnover and environmental conditions, including estimates of mean annual and summer temperature, from a thermokarst lake (Lake Qalluuraq) on the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska for the Holocene by using source-specific lipid biomarkers preserved in a radiocarbon-dated sediment core. Our results document a more prominent role for methane in the carbon cycle when the lake basin was an emergent fen habitat between ~12,300 and ~10,000 cal yr BP, a time period closely coinciding with the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM) in North Alaska. Enhanced methane turnover was stimulated by relatively warm temperatures, increased moisture, nutrient supply, and primary productivity. After ~10,000 cal yr BP, a thermokarst lake with abundant submerged mosses evolved, and through the mid-Holocene temperatures were approximately 3°C cooler. Under these conditions, organic matter decomposition was attenuated, which facilitated the accumulation of submerged mosses within a shallower Lake Qalluuraq. Reduced methane assimilation into biomass during the mid-Holocene suggests that thermokarst lakes are carbon sinks during cold periods. In the late-Holocene from ~2700 cal yr BP to the most recent time, however, temperatures and carbon deposition rose and methane oxidation intensified, indicating that more rapid organic matter decomposition and enhanced methane production could amplify climate feedback via potential methane emissions in the future.

The impact of early Holocene Arctic Shelf flooding on climate in an atmosphere–ocean–sea–ice model

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Blaschek, M.; Renssen, H.

2013-01-01

Glacial terminations are characterized by a strong rise in sea level related to melting ice sheets. This rise in sea level is not uniform all over the world, because regional effects (uplift and subsidence of coastal zones) are superimposed on global trends. During the early Holocene the Siberian

Holocene paleoclimate inferred from salinity histories of adjacent lakes in southwestern Sicily (Italy)

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Curry, B Brandon; Henne, Paul; Mezquita-Joanes, Francesc; Marrone, Federico; Pieri, Valentina; La Mantia, Tommaso; Calo, Camilla; Tinner, Willy

2016-01-01

Marked uncertainties persist regarding the climatic evolution of the Mediterranean region during the Holocene. For instance, whether moisture availability gradually decreased, remained relatively constant, or increased during the last 7000 years remains a matter of debate. To assess Holocene limnology, hydrology and moisture dynamics, the coastal lakes Lago Preola and Gorgo Basso, located in southwestern Sicily, were investigated through several stratigraphic analyses of ostracodes, including multivariate analyses of assemblages, transfer functions of salinity, and biochemical analyses of valves (Sr/Ca, δ18O and δ13C). During the early Holocene, the Gorgo Basso and Lago Preola ostracode records are similar. After an initial period of moderate salinity (1690–6100 mg/l from ca. 10,000–8190 cal yr BP), syndepositional or diagenetic dissolution of ostracode valves suggests that salinity declined to Greek civilization took root in Sicily (2600 cal yr BP), and it completely dominates the record during Roman occupation (roughly 2100 to 1700 cal yr BP). These freshwater conditions at Gorgo Basso suggest high effective moisture when evergreen olive-oak forests collapsed in response to increased Greco-Roman land use and fire. Ostracode valve geochemistry (Sr/Ca, δ18O) suggests significant changes in early vs. late Holocene hydrochemistry, either as changes in salinity or in the seasonality of precipitation. Harmonizing the autecological and geochemical data from Gorgo Basso suggests the latter was more likely, with relatively more late Holocene precipitation falling during the spring, summer, and fall, than winter compared to the early Holocene. Our ostracode-inferred paleosalinity data indicate that moisture availability did not decline during the late Holocene in the central Mediterranean region. Instead, moisture availability was lowest during the early Holocene, and most abundant during the late Holocene.

Preliminary Report on Unique Laminated Holocene Sediments from the Qarun Lake in Egypt

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Marks Leszek

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The Lake Qarun (Faiyum Oasis, northern Egypt is a relic of the much larger Holocene lake. Past lake levels and extensions were reconstructed, based on setting of archaeological sites scattered along northern paleoshores of the ancient lake. However, geoarcheological works did not yield enough data to establish continuous environmental history of the lake. A deep drilling FA-1 on the southeastern shore of the lake, performed in 2014, supplied with a core, 26 m long that is the one of the longest lake sediment cores in northeastern Africa. The basal section of the core consisted of thin-laminated diatom marly deposits, underlain at the Late Pleistocene/Holocene boundary by coarse-grained sands. The sediment lamine were quite well developed, especially in the lower part of the core. Preliminary results indicated annually deposited sediment sequence with seasonality signals provided by microlamine of diatoms, calcite, organic matter and clastic material. Early Holocene varved sediments from the Faiyum Oasis supplied with exceptional paleoenvironmental data for northeastern Africa, which enriched a record from previous logs drilled at the southwestern margin of the Qarun Lake.

Palaeoenvironmental implications of a Holocene sequence of lacustrine-peat sediments from the desert-loess transitional zone in Northern China

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Jia, Feifei; Lu, Ruijie; Liu, Xiaokang; Zhao, Chao; Lv, Zhiqiang; Gao, Shangyu

2018-05-01

A high-resolution lacustrine-peat record from the desert-loess transitional zone in Northern China was obtained to reconstruct Holocene environmental change in the region. AMS 14C dates are used to provide a chronology. The results indicate that the site was a desert environment before 12.2 cal kyr BP, and was then occupied by a paleolake which started to shrink, with a wetland occurring from 6.2 to 3.0 cal kyr BP. Subsequently, the site became a seasonally water-filled depression. Based on the lithology and measurements of grain size and total organic carbon content, the climate changed from arid to humid at 12.2 cal kyr BP, and became more humid after 8.3 cal kyr BP. From 6.2 to 3.0 cal kyr BP, precipitation decreased but the climate remained at an optimum. After 3.0 cal kyr BP, the climate was dry overall but with several humid intervals. A comparison of paleoclimatic records from lacustrine and aeolian deposits from the region reveals a discrepancy about the nature of the early Holocene climate, and we conclude that this is because lacustrine sediments responded more sensitively to precipitation than aeolian deposits when the temperature was low. The environmental evolution of the region was synchronous with changes in the Asian summer monsoon (ASM), but temperature also played a key role in the early Holocene.

Sediment biomarkers elucidate the Holocene ontogeny of a shallow lake.

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T E Arnold

Full Text Available We carried out geochemical analyses on a sediment core from Lake Harris, Florida (USA to identify sources of organic matter to the sediment throughout the Holocene, and relate changes in those sources to shifts in past climate and environmental conditions. We hypothesized that the sources of organic matter changed in response to regional hydrologic shifts following de-glaciation, and to human population expansion in the state during the 20th century. Hydroclimate shifts in Florida were related to: 1 a steady rise in relative sea level and the fresh water table that began in the early Holocene, 2 wetland formation and expansion ca. 5,000 cal yrs BP, and 3 the onset of the modern El Niño (ENSO cycle ~3,000 cal yrs BP. Stratigraphic changes in sediment variables from Lake Harris reflect each of these hydroclimate periods. Early in the Holocene, Lake Harris was a marsh-like system in a relatively dry, open-prairie environment. Organic sediments deposited at that time were derived largely from terrestrial sources, as inferred from high TOC/TN ratios, a dominance of longer-chain of n-alkanes (n-C29-31, relatively negative organic carbon isotope values (δ13CTOC, and low biogenic silica concentrations. In the middle Holocene, a positive shift in δ13CTOC coincided with the onset of wetter conditions in Florida. Submerged macrophyte biomarkers (n-C21-23 dominated, and during that period bulk organic carbon isotope values were most similar to δ13C values of mid-chain-length n-alkanes. In the late Holocene, δ13CTOC values declined, CaCO3 levels decreased to trace amounts, organic carbon concentrations increased and diatom biogenic silica concentrations increased from 10 to 120 mg g-1. Around 2,900 cal yrs BP, the effects of ENSO intensified and many Florida lakes deepened to their current limnetic state. Concentrations of algal and cyanobacterial biomarkers in the Lake Harris core increased by orders of magnitude after about AD 1940, in response to

Holocene vegetation change in the northern Peten and its implications for Maya prehistory

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Wahl, David; Byrne, Roger; Schreiner, Thomas; Hansen, Richard

2006-05-01

An ˜8400 cal yr record of vegetation change from the northern Peten, Guatemala, provides new insights into the environmental history of the archaeological area known as the Mirador Basin. Pollen, loss on ignition, and magnetic susceptibility analyses indicate warm and humid conditions in the early to mid-Holocene. Evidence for a decrease in forest cover around 4600 cal yr B.P. coincides with the first appearance of Zea mays pollen, suggesting that human activity was responsible. The period between 3450 cal yr B.P. and 1000 cal yr B.P. is characterized by a further decline in forest pollen types, includes an abrupt increase in weedy taxa, and exhibits the highest magnetic susceptibility values since the early Holocene, all of which suggest further agricultural disturbance in the watershed. A brief drop in disturbance indicators around 1800 cal yr B.P. may represent the Preclassic abandonment of the area. Changing pollen frequencies around 1000 cal yr B.P. indicate a cessation of human disturbance, which represents the Late Classic collapse of the southern Maya lowlands.

Contributions of a Strengthened Early Holocene Monsoon and Sediment Loading to Present-Day Subsidence of the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta

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Karpytchev, M.; Ballu, V.; Krien, Y.; Becker, M.; Goodbred, S.; Spada, G.; Calmant, S.; Shum, C. K.; Khan, Z.

2018-02-01

The contribution of subsidence to relative sea level rise in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta (GBD) is largely unknown and may considerably enhance exposure of the Bengal Basin populations to sea level rise and storm surges. This paper focuses on estimating the present-day subsidence induced by Holocene sediment in the Bengal Basin and by oceanic loading due to eustatic sea level rise over the past 18 kyr. Using a viscoelastic Earth model and sediment deposition history based on in situ measurements, results suggest that massive sediment influx initiated in the early Holocene under a strengthened South Asian monsoon may have contributed significantly to the present-day subsidence of the GBD. We estimate that the Holocene loading generates up to 1.6 mm/yr of the present-day subsidence along the GBD coast, depending on the rheological model of the Earth. This rate is close to the twentieth century global mean sea level rise (1.1-1.7 mm/yr). Thus, past climate change, by way of enhanced sedimentation, is impacting vulnerability of the GBD populations.

Sediment records of Yellow River channel migration and Holocene environmental evolution of the Hetao Plain, northern China

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Wang, Jingzhong; Wu, Jinglu; Pan, Baotian; Jia, Hongjuan; Li, Xiao; Wei, Hao

2018-05-01

The origin and evolution of lakes in the Hetao Plain, northern China, were influenced by climate variation, channel migration, and human activity. We analyzed a suite of sediment cores from the region to investigate Yellow River channel migration and environmental change in this region over the Holocene. Short sediment cores show that environmental indicators changed markedly around CE 1850, a time that corresponds to flood events, when large amounts of river water accumulated in the western part of the Hetao Plain, giving rise to abundant small lakes. Multiple sediment variables (environmental proxies) from two long cores collected in the Tushenze Paleolake area show that sediments deposited between 12.0 and 9.0 cal ka BP were yellow clay, indicative of fluvial deposition and channel migration. From 9.0 to 7.5 cal ka BP, sand was deposited, reflecting a desert environment. From 7.5 to 2.2 cal ka BP, however, the sediments were blue-gray clay that represents lacustrine facies of Lake Tushenze, which owes its origin to an increase in strength of the East Asian monsoon. At about 2.2 cal ka BP, the north branch of the Yellow River was flooded, and the Tushenze Paleolake developed further. Around 2.0 cal ka BP, the paleolake shrank and eolian sedimentation was recorded. The analyzed sediment records are consistent with the written history from the region, which documents channel migration and environmental changes in the Hetao Plain over the Holocene.

Environmental Assessment for the Air Force Research Laboratory Security Fence Project, Edwards Air Force Base, California

Science.gov (United States)

2012-11-26

Pleistocene/Early-Holocene Prehistory (12,000 to 7,000 BP). The Lake Mojave Period in the southwestern Great Basin comprises a regional manifestation...adaptive patterns with focal exploitation of such habitats (Tetra Tech 2010). Middle-Holocene Prehistory (8,000 to 4,000 BP). Succeeding Lake Mojave in the...Security Fence at Edwards Air Force Base, California Late Holocene Prehistory (4,000 to Contact). With return to more “favorable” environmental

Holocene Planktonic Foraminiferal Assemblage Shifts on the California Margin; Environmental Forcing of Medieval Chumash Society?

Science.gov (United States)

Fisler, J. A.; Hendy, I.

2005-12-01

The contribution of D. Kennett and J.P. Kennett to recent literature on native Chumash cultural evolution has linked societal changes between 500 and 1300 A.D. with a rapidly-changing environment. As large-amplitude fluctuations in surface water and climate conditions at the California Margin would have had severe implications for local flora and fauna, high resolution paleooceanographic records from ODP Site 893 should record these environmental changes. The planktonic foraminifera of Santa Barbara Basin are known to be sensitive to climate change over glacial/interglacial and stadial/interstadial time scales. Here we present a Holocene record of planktonic foraminiferal assemblage change that demonstrates this sensitivity continued through what is generally considered to be a warm stable climatic interval. Absolute numbers of planktonic foraminifera specimens decreased through the Holocene, from a peak of over 30,000 specimens/cm3 at 9 kyr BP to several thousand in the last millennia. Eurythermal, high nutrient species G. bulloides and G. quinqueloba show opposite abundance trends throughout deglaciation, with significant decreases in G. bulloides abundance during the Late Holocene while G. quinqueloba increases in abundance. Significant assemblage shifts occurring at 2 kyr BP are particularly pronounced in N. pachyderma dextral/sinistral ratios. Large fluctuations in the dextral/sinistral ratio occur during this interval, varying between 50 and 95%. The most recent decrease in the ratio occurs 800 yrs BP before returning to modern values at 500 yr BP. Assemblage data suggest more dramatic environmental change than indicated by planktonic oxygen isotope records. While N. pachyderma dextral/sinistral ratios generally follow oxygen isotopes throughout the Holocene, the records decouple at 2 kyr BP when the first substantial decrease in the ratio occurs. Salinity may, in part, explain this observation. ODP Site 893 is located at the confluence of the cool

Early Holocene hydroclimate of Baffin Bay: Understanding the interplay between abrupt climate change events and ice sheet fluctuations

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Corcoran, M. C.; Thomas, E. K.; Castañeda, I. S.; Briner, J. P.

2017-12-01

Understanding the causes of ice sheet fluctuations resulting in sea level rise is essential in today's warming climate. In high-latitude ice-sheet-proximal environments such as Baffin Bay, studying both the cause and the rate of ice sheet variability during past abrupt climate change events aids in predictions. Past climate reconstructions are used to understand ice sheet responses to changes in temperature and precipitation. The 9,300 and 8,200 yr BP events are examples of abrupt climate change events in the Baffin Bay region during which there were multiple re-advances of the Greenland and Laurentide ice sheets. High-resolution (decadal-scale) hydroclimate variability near the ice sheet margins during these abrupt climate change events is still unknown. We will generate a decadal-scale record of early Holocene temperature and precipitation using leaf wax hydrogen isotopes, δ2Hwax, from a lake sediment archive on Baffin Island, western Baffin Bay, to better understand abrupt climate change in this region. Shifts in temperature and moisture source result in changes in environmental water δ2H, which in turn is reflected in δ2Hwax, allowing for past hydroclimate to be determined from these compound-specific isotopes. The combination of terrestrial and aquatic δ2Hwax is used to determine soil evaporation and is ultimately used to reconstruct moisture variability. We will compare our results with a previous analysis of δ2Hwax and branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers, a temperature and pH proxy, in lake sediment from western Greenland, eastern Baffin Bay, which indicates that cool and dry climate occurred in response to freshwater forcing events in the Labrador Sea. Reconstructing and comparing records on both the western and eastern sides of Baffin Bay during the early Holocene will allow for a spatial understanding of temperature and moisture balance changes during abrupt climate events, aiding in ice sheet modeling and predictions of future sea level

New insights into broad spectrum communities of the Early Holocene Near East: The birds of Hallan Çemi

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Zeder, Melinda A.; Spitzer, Megan D.

2016-11-01

The Early Holocene in Near East was a pivotal transitional period that witnessed dramatic changes in climate and environment, human settlement, major changes in subsistence strategies focusing on a broad range of different plant and animal resources, and a radical restructuring of social relations. The remarkable corpus of avifauna from the Early Holocene site of Hallan Çemi in southeastern Turkey sheds new light on key issues about this dynamic period that has been termed the ;Broad Spectrum Revolution;. The avifauna from this important site demonstrate how Hallan Çemi occupants took advantage of the site's strategic location at the junction of multiple environmental zones by extracting a diverse range of seasonally available resources from both near-by and more distant eco-zones to cobble together a stable subsistence economy capable of supporting this small community throughout the year. They give testimony to the impacts of resource utilization over time, especially on species unable to rebound from sustained human hunting. At the same time, they show how Hallan Çemi residents mitigated these impacts by replacing depleted resources with alternative, more resilient ones that could be more sustainably harvested. They open a window onto the growing investment in feasting and ritual activity that helped bind this community together. In so doing they provide a means of empirically evaluating the efficacy of contrasting explanatory frameworks for the Broad Spectrum Revolution that gave rise to the subsequent domestication of plant and animals in the Near East. Contrary to frameworks that cast these developments as responses to resource depression, lessons learned from the Hallan Çemi avifauna lend support to frameworks that emphasize the human capacity to strategically target, capitalize, and improve upon circumscribed resource rich environments in a way that permits more permanent occupation of these niches. And they underscore the degree to which social and

A marine to freshwater sediment succession from Kowhai Beach wetland, Northland : implications for Holocene sea level

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hicks, H.; Nichol, S.L.

2007-01-01

An infilled wetland located behind coastal dunes in north-east Northland is used to reconstruct a local history of environmental change spanning early Holocene (c. 7000 yr BP) to modern time. Proxy indicators (sediment texture, diatoms and pollen) provide evidence for a transition from marginal marine- to brackish- to freshwater-conditions in the wetland. Radiocarbon ages constrain the chronology of this succession to 7880-7430 cal. yr BP for the early period of marine conditions, 3570-3210 cal. yr BP for the latter brackish phase and 1060-800 cal. yr BP for the change to freshwater conditions. Within this succession, the diatom record preserves a strong brackish signal at core depths above the limit of the modern tidal range. This is presented as preliminary evidence for a mid-Holocene sea level highstand for northern New Zealand of approximately 1.2 m above present mean sea level. (author). 40 refs., 7 figs., 1 tab

Human occupation and environmental change in Holocene from a case of XDW2 relic site in the Tibetan Plateau at above 4000 meters above sea level.

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Hou, G.; Li, F.; Zhu, Y.

2017-12-01

XDW2 is an important microlithic cultural relics with continuous stratum that is located in the the Tibetan plateau at above 4,000 masl, wich is a window of revealing the evolution of early human activities and the response and adaptation to extreme environmental in the principal part of Tibetan plateau. So it has important research significance. The analysis on human activity indicator(stoneware, potsherds) and environmental indicators(magnetic susceptibility, color, granularity and pollen) showed: the winter wind and dust storm intensity is weak in this area during 7.0-6 cal. Ka BP, pedogenesis is strong, the climate is humid, environment is suitable relatively, when is Holocene Megathermal; the active phase of microlithic human activities occurred during 7.2-6 cal. ka BP, and quickly weakened after 6 cal. ka BP. The number of stone tools reveal that human activities are concentrated before and after 7-6.2 cal. ka BP, charcoal fragmental concentration indicates that microlithic human activity reached the peak at around 6.7 cal. ka BP. Thus relatively suitable environment during Holocene Megathermal is the important motivating factor of active hunter-gatherer activities in the principal part of Tibetan plateau. After 6 cal. ka BP, summer monsoon weakened rapidly, agricultural growers in the Loess Plateau began to expand towards the plateau, under the effect of environmental degradation and new technologies, microlithic hunter-gatherers in the principal part of plateau moved towards the river valley at low altitude, and learnt settlement and plantation, microlithic activity in the main plateau began to decline.

Holocene moisture variations over the arid central Asia revealed by a comprehensive sand-dune record from the central Tian Shan, NW China

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Long, Hao; Shen, Ji; Chen, Jianhui; Tsukamoto, Sumiko; Yang, Linhai; Cheng, Hongyi; Frechen, Manfred

2017-10-01

Arid central Asia (ACA) is one of the largest arid (desert) areas in the world, and its climate is dominated by the westerlies. In this study, we examined sand dune evolution from the Bayanbulak Basin in the Tian Shan (Xinjiang, NW China), aiming to infer the Holocene moisture history of the ACA. Combined with stratigraphic observation and environmental proxies analysis (grain size, magnetic susceptibility and total organic content), large numbers of luminescence ages from multiple sites (eight sections, 79 samples) were applied to reconstruct the evolution of the sand dune accumulation in the study basin. The overall results imply very dry conditions characterized by sand dune accumulation at ∼12-6.5 ka, a wet interval between ∼6.5 and 0.8 ka when soil formation occurred, and decreased moisture during the last 0.8 ka. This moisture variation pattern is generally consistent with that inferred from many lacustrine records in the core zone of ACA, suggesting a widespread dry period in the early-to-middle Holocene and relatively wet middle-to-late Holocene. Thus, the moisture history derived from the current sand dune system contrasts with that in Asian monsoon areas, which are characterized by a strong monsoon (high precipitation) in the early and mid-Holocene and a weak monsoon (low precipitation and dry climate) during the late Holocene. Our results strongly suggest that the winter solar insolation and the external boundary conditions such as atmospheric CO2 concentration, ice sheets, and meltwater fluxes, have been major influential factors triggering the Holocene moisture evolution in the core zone of ACA.

Middle Holocene rapid environmental changes and human adaptation in Greece

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Lespez, Laurent; Glais, Arthur; Lopez-Saez, José-Antonio; Le Drezen, Yann; Tsirtsoni, Zoï; Davidson, Robert; Biree, Laetitia; Malamidou, Dimitra

2016-03-01

Numerous researchers discuss of the collapse of civilizations in response to abrupt climate change in the Mediterranean region. The period between 6500 and 5000 cal yr BP is one of the least studied episodes of rapid climate change at the end of the Late Neolithic. This period is characterized by a dramatic decline in settlement and a cultural break in the Balkans. High-resolution paleoenvironmental proxy data obtained in the Lower Angitis Valley enables an examination of the societal responses to rapid climatic change in Greece. Development of a lasting fluvio-lacustrine environment followed by enhanced fluvial activity is evident from 6000 cal yr BP. Paleoecological data show a succession of dry events at 5800-5700, 5450 and 5000-4900 cal yr BP. These events correspond to incursion of cold air masses to the eastern Mediterranean, confirming the climatic instability of the middle Holocene climate transition. Two periods with farming and pastural activities (6300-5600 and 5100-4700 cal BP) are evident. The intervening period is marked by environmental changes, but the continuous occurrence of anthropogenic taxa suggests the persistence of human activities despite the absence of archaeological evidence. The environmental factors alone were not sufficient to trigger the observed societal changes.

Pleistocene and Holocene Iberian flora: a complete picture and review

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González Sampériz, Penélope

2010-05-01

A detailed analysis of the location and composition of Iberian vegetation types during the whole Pleistocene and Holocene periods shows a complex patched landscape with persistence of different types of ecosystems, even during glacial times. In addition, recent, high-resolution palaeoecological records are changing the traditional picture of post-glacial vegetation succession in the Iberian Peninsula. The main available charcoal and pollen sequences include, coniferous and deciduous forest, steppes, shrublands, savannahs and glacial refugia during the Pleistocene for Meso-thermophytes (phytodiversity reservoirs), in different proportions. This panorama suggests an environmental complexity that relates biotic responses to climate changes forced by Milankovitch cycles, suborbital forcings and by the latitudinal and physiographic particularities of the Iberian Peninsula. Thus, many factors are critical in the course of vegetational developments and strong regional differences are observed since the Early Pleistocene. Currently, the flora of Iberia is located in two biogeographical/climatic regions: the Eurosiberian and the Mediterranean. The first one includes northern and northwestern areas of the peninsula, where post-glacial responses of vegetation are very similar to Central Europe, although with some particularities due to its proximity to both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean region. The second one comprises the main territory of Iberia and shows more complex patterns and singularities, now and in the past. Steppe landscapes dominated extensive areas over all the territory during the cold spells of the Quaternary, especially during the Late Pleistocene up to the Last Glacial Maximum, but differences in composition of the dominant taxa (Compositae versus Artemisia) are observed since the Early Pleistocene, probably related to moisture regional gradients. Coastal shelves and intramountainous valleys, even in continental areas, are spots of floristic

Holocene environmental changes recorded in Dicksonfjorden and Woodfjorden, Svalbard: impacts of global climate changes in a glacial-marine system

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Joo, Y. J.; Nam, S. I.; Son, Y. J.; Forwick, M.

2017-12-01

Fjords in the Svalbard archipelago are characterized by an extreme environmental gradient between 1) the glacial system affected by tidewater glaciers and seasonal sea ice inside the fjords and 2) the warm Atlantic Water intrusion by the West Spitsbergen Current from open ocean. As sediment is largely supplied from the terrestrial source area exposed along the steep slopes of the fjords, the changes in the surface processes affected by glaciers are likely preserved in the sediments in the inner fjords. On the other hand, variations in the influence of the warm Atlantic Water in the marine realm (e.g. marine productivity) can be archived in the sediment deposited in the vicinity of the entrance to the fjords. Since the last deglaciation of the Svalbard-Barents ice sheet ( 13000 yrs BP), the Svalbard fjords have faced dramatic climate changes including the early Holocene Climate Optimum (HCO) and subsequent cooling that eventually led to the current cold and dry climate. We investigate the Holocene environmental changes in both terrestrial and marine realms based on stable isotopic and inorganic geochemical analyses of sediments deposited in Dicksonfjorden and Woodfjorden in the western and northern Spitsbergen, respectively. The two fjords are expected to provide intriguing information regarding how terrestrial and marine realms of the Arctic fjords system responded to regional and global climate changes. Being a branch of the larger Isfjorden, Dicksonfjorden penetrates deeply to the land, whereas Woodfjorden is rather directly connected to the open ocean. Accordingly, the results suggest that the Dicksonfjorden sediment records mainly terrestrial signals with marked fluctuations in sediment composition that coincide with major climate changes (e.g. HCO). On the contrary, the two Woodfjorden cores collected from different parts of the fjord exhibit contrasting results, likely illustrating differing response of terrestrial and marine realms to the climate changes in

Human responses to Middle Holocene climate change on California's Channel Islands

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Kennett, Douglas J.; Kennett, James P.; Erlandson, Jon M.; Cannariato, Kevin G.

2007-02-01

High-resolution archaeological and paleoenvironmental records from California's Channel Islands provide a unique opportunity to examine potential relationships between climatically induced environmental changes and prehistoric human behavioral responses. Available climate records in western North America (7-3.8 ka) indicate a severe dry interval between 6.3 and 4.8 ka embedded within a generally warm and dry Middle Holocene. Very dry conditions in western North America between 6.3 and 4.8 ka correlate with cold to moderate sea-surface temperatures (SST) along the southern California Coast evident in Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Core 893A/B (Santa Barbara Basin). An episode of inferred high marine productivity between 6.3 and 5.8 ka corresponds with the coldest estimated SSTs of the Middle Holocene, otherwise marked by warm/low productivity marine conditions (7.5-3.8 ka). The impact of this severe aridity on humans was different between the northern and southern Channel Islands, apparently related to degree of island isolation, size and productivity of islands relative to population, fresh water availability, and on-going social relationships between island and continental populations. Northern Channel Islanders seem to have been largely unaffected by this severe arid phase. In contrast, cultural changes on the southern Channel Islands were likely influenced by the climatically induced environmental changes. We suggest that productive marine conditions coupled with a dry terrestrial climate between 6.3 and 5.8 ka stimulated early village development and intensified fishing on the more remote southern islands. Contact with people on the adjacent southern California Coast increased during this time with increased participation in a down-the-line trade network extending into the western Great Basin and central Oregon. Genetic similarities between Middle Holocene burial populations on the southern Channel Islands and modern California Uto-Aztecan populations suggest

A persistent Holocene wetting trend in arid central Asia, with wettest conditions in the late Holocene, revealed by multi-proxy analyses of loess-paleosol sequences in Xinjiang, China

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Chen, Fahu; Jia, Jia; Chen, Jianhui; Li, Guoqiang; Zhang, Xiaojian; Xie, Haichao; Xia, Dunsheng; Huang, Wei; An, Chengbang

2016-08-01

There are significant differences in the interpretation of the moisture (precipitation) history of arid central Asia (ACA) during the Holocene, as inferred on one hand from speleothem oxygen isotope records, and on the other from lake sediments. Here we present the results of measurements of climatically-sensitive magnetic properties and soil color from four well-dated loess-paleosol sequences from the northern slopes of the Tienshan Mountains and the Yili River valley, Xinjiang, China, in the core area of ACA. Our results demonstrate that the characteristic Holocene paleosol, indicating relatively moist conditions, generally formed after ∼6 ka (1 ka = 1000 cal yr BP) in the study region, and that the accumulation of unweathered loess prevailed during the early Holocene, indicating a dry climate at that time. The magnetic proxies further reveal a trend of generally increasing moisture since the Last Glacial Maximum, with the wettest climate occurring during the late Holocene. This trend of increasing moisture during the Holocene is representative of the Xinjiang region and possibly of the whole of the core area of ACA, and is in marked contrast both to the mid-Holocene moisture maximum observed in the East Asian summer monsoon region and to the general decrease in the strength of the Indian summer monsoon since the early Holocene. Our findings are supported by the results of a climate simulation which indicate a trend of increasing summer and winter precipitation during the Holocene in the core area of ACA, caused mainly by an increase in the strength of the westerlies effected by an increasing latitudinal insolation gradient and by a negative trend of the Arctic Oscillation (AO) or North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).

Climatic and environmental conditions favoring the crossing of the Carpathians by early Neolithic populations

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Perşoiu, Ioana; Perşoiu, Aurel

2015-04-01

The study of the origin and spread of Neolithic has been the subject of heated debate since the early studies of Childe (1942). To what extent the dispersal process was influenced by environmental factors is still debated, one of the issues being whether climatic conditions influencing agricultural practices, could have influenced the dispersal route, "blocking" some of the Neolithic societies in front of ecological barriers. Data from Neolithic sites in SE Europe shows that a continuous stream of people and cultures flowed through the Danube's Iron Gates towards Central Europe, while in the eastern part of Europe this process was delayed, people and cultures "moving" around the Carpathians and crossing them with a delay of ca. 1000 years. One of the possible avenues for this crossing is the floodplain of Someşu Mic River (Transylvanian depression), home to the oldest (~8500 cal. BP) Neolithic settlement in Romania. In this paper, we review the climatic and environmental changes that affected the region at the time of Neolithic dispersal. Pollen and stable isotopes in cave ice indicate an early Holocene rapid warming during summer months, peaking around 7 ka cal. BP; and a delayed warming for autumn and winter months, peaking at 5 ka cal. BP, both followed by a continuous cooling trend towards the present. Someşu Mic River developed and maintained a narrow sinuous channel during the Holocene, with local development of meanders and anabranches, in response to both climatic and geologic controlling factors. Archaeological finds in the floodplain and the lower terraces suggest that human societies in the region responded in sensitive manner to these climatic and environmental changes. During warm and dry periods, with low fluvial activity, the number of settlements increased in the floodplain's perimeter, while during the short cold and humid periods, the number of settlements rapidly increased on the lower terraces and on the valley slopes, disappearing from the

Holocene vegetation, environment, and tephra recorded from Lake Pupuke, Auckland, New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horrocks, M.; Augustinus, P.; Deng, Y.; Shane, P.; Andersson, S.

2005-01-01

Lake Pupuke provides a near-complete, high-resolution environmental record of the Holocene from northern New Zealand. Tephra beds constrain the timing of a range of proxy indicators of environmental change, and demonstrate errors in a radiocarbon chronology. Agathis australis forest progressively increases from c. 7000 yr BP and, in conjunction with indicators of reduced biomass productivity, support a model of long-term climate change to drier conditions over the Holocene. However, except for Agathis, conifer-hardwood forest dominated mainly by Dacrydium cupressinum shows little change throughout the pre-human Holocene, suggesting environmental stability. Dramatic vegetation change occurred only within the last millennium as a result of large-scale Polynesian deforestation by fire. This happened a short time before the local eruption of c. 638 cal. yr BP Rangitoto Tephra. The identification of two eruptions of tephra from Rangitoto volcano has implications for future hazard planning in the Auckland region, because the volcanoes were previously considered single event centres. Changes in atmospheric circulation since the Late Glacial, possibly causing lower frequency of distal ashfall in Auckland during the Holocene, complicates the use of long-term records in hazard frequency assessment. (author). 39 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs

Holocene glacial fluctuations in southern South America

Science.gov (United States)

Reynhout, S.; Sagredo, E. A.; Kaplan, M. R.; Aravena, J. C.; Martini, M. A.; Strelin, J. A.; Schaefer, J. M.

2016-12-01

Understanding the timing and magnitude of former glacier fluctuations is critical to decipher long-term climatic trends and to unravel both natural cycles and human impact on the current glacial behavior. Despite more than seven decades of research efforts, a unifying model of Holocene glacial fluctuations in Southern South America remains elusive. Here, we present the state-of-the-art regarding the timing of Holocene glacial fluctuation in southern Patagonia-Tierra del Fuego, with a focus on a new generation of high-resolution radiocarbon and 10Be surface exposure dating chronologies. Recently acquired evidence suggest that after receding from advanced Late Glacial positions, Patagonian glaciers were for the most part close to, or even behind, present ice margins during the Early Holocene. On the other hand, emerging chronologies indicate that in some areas there were extensive expansions (century scale?) that punctuated the warm interval. Subsequently, we have evidence of multiple millennial timescale glacial advances starting in the middle Holocene. Several glacial maxima are defined by moraines and other landforms from 7000 years ago to the 19th century, with a gap sometime between 4,500 and 2,500 years ago. The last set of advances began around 800-600 years ago. Although glacial activity is documented in Patagonia at the same time as the European Little Ice Age, the extent of these glacial events are less prominent than those of the mid-Holocene. The causes that may explain these glacial fluctuations remain elusive. Finally, we discuss ongoing efforts to better define the timing and extent of Holocene glaciations in southern South America, and to establish the basis to test competing hypothesis of regional Holocene climate variability.

Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene Rock Art from the Mongolian Altai: The Material and its Cultural Implications

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Esther Jacobson-Tepfer

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Rock-pecked images from the northern Mongolian Altai attest to the presence of human communities within the high valleys of that region during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene. The material provides evidence that is hitherto largely missing from the archaeological record of that region. This paper reviews the rock art, its find sites and larger physical contexts and uses evidence from paleoenvironmental studies to propose dating and cultural significance. The material is compared with other sites said to have Paleolithic imagery from Mongolia and the adjoining Russian Altai. The body of presented material offers a major resource for the study of early hunter-gatherer communities at the interface of Central and North Asia.

Holocene vegetational and coastal environmental changes from the Lago Crispim record in northeastern Pará State, eastern Amazonia.

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Behling, H; Lima da Costa, M

2001-04-01

Vegetational and coastal environmental changes have been interpreted from a 600cm long and 764014C yr B.P. old sediment core from Lago Crispim located in the northeastern Pará State in northern Brazil. The radiocarbon dated sediment core was studied by multi-element geochemistry, pollen and charcoal analysis.Holocene Atlantic sea-level rise caused an elevation of local water table, which allowed the formation of organic deposits in a probably former inter-dune valley. Dense, diverse and tall Amazon rain forest, and some restinga (coastal vegetation) covered the study area at the beginning of the record at 764014C yr B.P. Mangrove vegetation developed along rivers close to the core site at that time. Subsequent decrease in less mangrove vegetation near the study site indicates a sea-level regression, beginning since around 700014C yr B.P. Lower sea-levels probably favoured the formation of a local Mauritia/Mauritiella palm swamp at 662014C yr B.P. Oscillations of higher and lower sea-level stands probably changed the size of the local palm swamp area several times between 6620 and 363014C yr B.P. Sea-level transgression at around 363014C yr B.P., caused marked coastal environmental changes: the development of mangroves near the site, the replacement of the local palm swamp by a Cyperaceae swamp, the substitution of the surrounding former Amazon rain forest and some restinga vegetation mainly by salt marshes. High amount carbonised particles suggest a strong human impact by burning on the coastal ecosystems during this late Holocene period.Highest concentrations of NaCl and also Ca, Mg and K in the upper sediment core indicate that the Atlantic was close during the late Holocene period. The core site, which is today 500m from the coastline and only 1-2m above modern sea-level, was apparently never reached by marine excursions during the Holocene.Less representation of mangrove since ca. 184014C yr B.P., may be related due to a slightly lower sea-level or to human

Holocene fire dynamics in Fennoscandia

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Clear, Jennifer; Seppa, Heikki; Kuosmanen, Niina; Molinari, Chiara; Lehsten, Veiko; Allen, Katherine; Bradshaw, Richard

2015-04-01

Prescribed burning is advocated in Fennoscandia to promote regeneration and to encourage biodiversity. This method of forest management is based on the perception that fire was much more frequent in the recent past and over a century of active fire suppression has created a boreal forest ecosystem almost free of natural fire. The absence of fire is thought to have contributed to the widespread dominance of Picea abies (Norway spruce) with the successive spruce dominated forest further reducing fire ignition potential. However, humans have altered the natural fire dynamics of Fennoscandia since the early- to mid-Holocene and disentangling the anthropogenic driven fire dynamics from the natural fire dynamics is challenging. Through palaeoecology and sedimentary charcoal deposits we are able to explore the Holocene spatial and temporal variability and changing drivers of fire and vegetation dynamics in Fennoscandia. At the local-scale, two forest hollow environments (history are compared to identify unique and mutual changes in disturbance history. Pollen derived quantitative reconstruction of vegetation at both the local- and regional-scale identifies local-scale disturbance dynamics and large-scale ecosystem response. Spatio-temporal heterogeneity and variability in biomass burning is explored throughout Fennoscandia and Denmark to identify the changing drives of fire dynamics throughout the Holocene. Palaeo-vegetation reconstructions are compared to process-based, climate driven dynamic vegetation model output to test the significance of fire frequency as a driver of vegetation composition and dynamics. Early-Holocene fire regimes in Fennoscandia are driven by natural climate variations and fuel availability. The establishment and spread of Norway spruce is driven by an increase in continentality of climate, but local natural and anthropogenic ecosystem disturbance may have aided this spread. The expansion of spruce led to a step-wise reduction in regional biomass

Onset and Multiple Fluctuations of Holocene Glaciation in the Sierra Nevada, California

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Bowerman, N. D.; Clark, D. H.

2004-12-01

Multiple sediment cores from two paternoster tarns (First and Second lakes) in North Fork Big Pine Creek, Sierra Nevada, preserve the most detailed and complete record of Holocene glaciation yet recovered in the range; they indicate that the glacier was absent during the early Holocene, reformed in the late Holocene, and experienced several expansions and contractions, culminating with the Matthes maximum during the last ˜200 years. The lakes are fed by outwash from the Palisade Glacier, the largest ( ˜1.3 km2) and presumably longest-lived glacier in the Sierra Nevada, and capture essentially all of the rock flour produced by the glacier. Distinct late-Holocene (Matthes) and late-Pleistocene (Recess Peak) moraines lie between the modern glacier and the lakes. Thus, the lakes have received continuous sedimentation since the retreat of the Tioga glacier ( ˜15,000 yr B.P.), and therefore capture rock flour related to all subsequent advances. First and Second lakes occupy relatively deep bedrock basins at 3036 m and 3066 m asl., respectively. Third Lake, a shallow (rock flour (outwash) from the upstream Palisade Glacier, most likely related to formation and expansions of the glacier in the late Holocene. The maximum peak at the top of the cores confirms the moraine record, which indicates that the maximum Holocene advance of Sierran glaciers occurred during the late Little Ice Age (last ˜200 yr) At least one tephra layer, possibly related to the Mono/Inyo dome complexes, occurs in the middle depths of the First Lake cores. Other narrow peaks in MS may also be associated with tephra deposits. Ongoing detailed analyses of the sediments, including AMS radiocarbon dating, visual and x-ray imaging, particle size analysis, organic content, tephrochronology, diatom assemblages, and palynology will constrain the timing and character of the environmental fluctuations related to the rock-flour flux. We will present results of these analyses at the meeting.

High Arctic Holocene temperature record from the Agassiz ice cap and Greenland ice sheet evolution.

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Lecavalier, Benoit S; Fisher, David A; Milne, Glenn A; Vinther, Bo M; Tarasov, Lev; Huybrechts, Philippe; Lacelle, Denis; Main, Brittany; Zheng, James; Bourgeois, Jocelyne; Dyke, Arthur S

2017-06-06

We present a revised and extended high Arctic air temperature reconstruction from a single proxy that spans the past ∼12,000 y (up to 2009 CE). Our reconstruction from the Agassiz ice cap (Ellesmere Island, Canada) indicates an earlier and warmer Holocene thermal maximum with early Holocene temperatures that are 4-5 °C warmer compared with a previous reconstruction, and regularly exceed contemporary values for a period of ∼3,000 y. Our results show that air temperatures in this region are now at their warmest in the past 6,800-7,800 y, and that the recent rate of temperature change is unprecedented over the entire Holocene. The warmer early Holocene inferred from the Agassiz ice core leads to an estimated ∼1 km of ice thinning in northwest Greenland during the early Holocene using the Camp Century ice core. Ice modeling results show that this large thinning is consistent with our air temperature reconstruction. The modeling results also demonstrate the broader significance of the enhanced warming, with a retreat of the northern ice margin behind its present position in the mid Holocene and a ∼25% increase in total Greenland ice sheet mass loss (∼1.4 m sea-level equivalent) during the last deglaciation, both of which have implications for interpreting geodetic measurements of land uplift and gravity changes in northern Greenland.

Appalachian Piedmont landscapes from the Permian to the Holocene

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Cleaves, E.T.

1989-01-01

Between the Potomac and Susquehanna Rivers and from the Blue Ridge to the Fall Zone, landscapes of the Piedmont are illustrated for times in the Holocene, Late Wisconsin, Early Miocene, Early Cretaceous, Late Triassic, and Permian. Landscape evolution took place in tectonic settings marked by major plate collisions (Permian), arching and rifting (Late Triassic) and development of the Atlantic passive margin by sea floor spreading (Early Cretaceous). Erosion proceeded concurrently with tectonic uplift and continued after cessation of major tectonic activity. Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf sediments record three major erosional periods: (1) Late Triassic-Early Jurassic; (2) Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous; and (3) Middle Miocene-Holocene. The Middle Miocene-Holocene pulse is related to neotectonic activity and major climatic fluctuations. In the Piedmont upland the Holocene landscape is interpreted as an upland surface of low relief undergoing dissection. Major rivers and streams are incised into a landscape on which the landforms show a delicate adjustment to rock lithologies. The Fall Zone has apparently evolved from a combination of warping, faulting, and differential erosion since Late Miocene. The periglacial environment of the Late Wisconsin (and earlier glacial epochs) resulted in increased physical erosion and reduced chemical weathering. Even with lowered saprolitization rates, geochemical modeling suggests that 80 m or more of saprolite may have formed since Late Miocene. This volume of saprolite suggests major erosion of upland surfaces and seemingly contradicts available field evidence. Greatly subdued relief characterized the Early Miocene time, near the end of a prolonged interval of tropical morphogenesis. The ancestral Susquehanna and Potomac Rivers occupied approximately their present locations. In Early Cretaceous time local relief may have been as much as 900 m, and a major axial river draining both the Piedmont and Appalachians flowed southeast

Holocene palaeoenvironmental history of the Amazonian mangrove belt

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Cohen, Marcelo Cancela Lisboa; Pessenda, Luiz Carlos Ruiz; Behling, Hermann; de Fátima Rossetti, Dilce; França, Marlon Carlos; Guimarães, José Tasso Felix; Friaes, Yuri; Smith, Clarisse Beltrão

2012-11-01

Wetland dynamic in the northern Brazilian Amazon region during the Holocene was reviewed using palynological, carbon and nitrogen isotopes records, and C/N ratio previously published. The integration of 72 radiocarbon dates recorded in 34 sediment cores sampled along the marine and fluvial littoral, and mainly influenced by the Amazon River, reveals that marine influence and mangrove vegetation were wider than today on the mouth of Amazon River between >8990-8690 and 2300-2230 cal yr BP, forming a continuous mangrove belt along the northern Brazilian Amazon littoral. The establishment of this mangrove strip is a direct consequence of the marine incursion caused by post-glacial sea-level rise possibly associated with tectonic subsidence during the Early and Middle Holocene. In the Late Holocene, in areas influenced by the Amazon River discharge, the mangroves were replaced by freshwater vegetation, and the coast morphology evolved from an estuarine dominated into a rectilinear coast due to coastal progradation. Nevertheless, the marine-influenced littoral, which is currently dominated by mangroves and salt-marsh vegetation, has persistently had brackish water vegetation over tidal mud flats throughout the entire Holocene. Likely, the fragmentation of this continuous mangrove line during the Late Holocene was caused by the increase of river freshwater discharge associated to the change from dry into wet climates in the Late Holocene. This caused a significant decrease of tidal water salinity in areas near the mouth of Amazon River. These changes in the Amazon discharge are probably associated with dry and wet periods in the northern Amazon region during the Holocene.

Anchoring the landscape: human utilization of the Cerro Gavilán 2 rockshelter, Middle Orinoco, from the Early Holocene to the present

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Kay Scaramelli

Full Text Available Abstract Initial archaeological investigations at Cerro Gavilán 2, a rockshelter located in the Bolívar State of Venezuela, reveal evidence for human activity that spans the Early Holocene to the present. This report summarizes the information obtained through surface collection, limited excavation, and documentation of the surface features and rock art in the cave. Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS 14C analysis established dates from excavated strata that range between 9250 ± 60 BP to 3440 ± 40 BP, and are associated with a unifacial flake technology and charred faunal and floral remains, whereas surface remains span the known ceramic sequence for the area. Rock art corresponds to distinctive superimposed styles that indicate continual repainting of the cave through time, serving to anchor the site to the landscape for multiple societies inhabiting the region. It is suggested that the shelter may have fulfilled different functions over time and a sequence of seasonal residential, ritual, and funerary activities is proposed. The rich cultural context found in Cerro Gavilán 2 contributes to advances in Amazonian archaeology that are redefining our knowledge of early developments and the complexity of human/environmental interactions in tropical America.

Paleohydrology reconstruction and Holocene climate variability in the South Adriatic Sea

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G. Siani

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Holocene paleohydrology reconstruction is derived combining planktonic and benthic stable oxygen and carbon isotopes, sea surface temperatures (SSTs and oxygen isotope composition of seawater (δ18Ow from a high sedimentation core collected in the South Adriatic Sea (SAS. Core chronology is based on 10 AMS 14C measures on planktonic foraminifera and tephra layers. Results reveal two contrasted paleohydrological periods that reflect (i a marked lowering of δ18Ow/salinity during the early to mid-Holocene (11.5 ka to 6.3 ka, including the two-step sapropel S1 deposition, followed during the mid- to upper Holocene by (ii a prevailing period of increased salinity and enhanced arid conditions in the South Adriatic Basin. Superimposed on these trends, short-term centennial-scale hydrological events punctuated the Holocene period in the SAS. During the early to mid-Holocene, two main SST coolings together with prominent δ18Ow/salinity lowering delineate the sapropel S1 interruption and the post-sapropel phase between 7.3 to 6.3 ka. After 6 ka, centennial-scale δ18Ow and G. bulloides δ13C lowering, mostly centered between 3 to 0.6 ka, reflect short-term hydrological changes related to more intensive runoff of the Po and/or Apennine rivers. These short-term events, even of lesser amplitude compared to the early to mid-Holocene period, may have induced a lowering of sea surface density and consequently reduced and/or inhibited the formation of deep bottom waters in the SAS. Comparison of the emerging centennial- to millennial-scale hydrological record with previous climatic records from the central Mediterranean area and north of the Alps reveal possible synchronicities (within the radiocarbon-dating uncertainty between phases of lower salinity in the SAS and periods of wetter climatic conditions around the north-central Adriatic Sea. Finally, wavelet analyses provide new clues about the potential origin of climate variability in the SAS, confirming

Early to Middle Holocene landscape exploitation in a drying environment: Two case studies compared from the central Sahara (SW Fezzan, Libya)

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Cremaschi, Mauro; Zerboni, Andrea

2009-08-01

The erg Uan Kasa and the wadi Tanezzuft (Libyan Sahara) reacted in different ways to Holocene climatic changes. Consequently, the human groups settled there responded with different ways of adaptation to the drying environment. In the erg Uan Kasa, shallow lakes were formed from the Early to the Mid-Holocene, and their shores were densely inhabited from the Epipalaeolithic to the Pastoral-Neolithic periods. The erg dried out at c. 5000 years BP, but the area was not completely abandoned, as indicated by minor Late Pastoral-Neolithic sites composed of scattered fireplaces. During the wet Holocene, the wadi Tanezzuft was a large meandering river, and its banks were densely settled. At c. 5000 years BP, the stream was not completely dried out, but it changed its pattern, originating an alluvial plain. A large oasis was formed between c. 4000 and 2000 years BP, exploited by Late Pastoral-Neolithic pastoral communities, and later by Garamantians, which introduced soil management and agricultural practices. The Tanezzuft oasis suffered a drastic reduction in size during the first centuries AD, at the time of the abandonment of the Garamantian settlements.

Holocene sea-level change and the emergence of Neolithic seafaring in the Fuzhou Basin (Fujian, China)

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Rolett, Barry V.; Zheng, Zhuo; Yue, Yuanfu

2011-04-01

Neolithic seafaring across the Taiwan Strait began approximately 5000 years ago and involved open-sea voyages over distances of at least 130 km. Rapid sea-level rise preceded the emergence of open-sea voyaging, but the possible role of environmental change as a stimulus for the development of seafaring is poorly understood. We investigate this problem by presenting a record of Holocene sea-level change and coastal transformation based on sediment cores obtained from the Fuzhou Basin on the coast of Fujian, China. The cores are located in direct proximity to archaeological sites of the Tanshishan Neolithic culture (5000-4300 cal BP), which is significant for its similarity to the earliest Neolithic cultures of Taiwan. Multiple lines of evidence record the early Holocene inundation of the Fuzhou Basin around 9000 cal BP, the mid-Holocene sea-level highstand, and the final Holocene marine transgression. This final transition is precisely documented, with AMS dates showing the change occurred close to 1900 cal BP. Our paleogeographic reconstruction shows that a large estuary filled the Fuzhou Basin during the mid-Holocene. Tanshishan and Zhuangbianshan, two of the major Fuzhou Basin Neolithic sites, are located today on hills nearly 80 km from the modern coastline. However, when the sites were settled around 5500-5000 cal BP, the marine transgression had transformed these hills into islands in the upper estuary. We suggest that the Neolithic era estuary setting, together with the lack of land suitable for rice paddy agriculture, inhibited intensive food production but favored a maritime orientation and the development of seafaring.

Holocene climate changes in eastern Beringia (NW North America) – A systematic review of multi-proxy evidence

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Kaufman, Darrell S.; Axford, Yarrow L.; Henderson, Andrew C.G.; McKay, Nicolas P.; Oswald, W. Wyatt; Saenger, Casey; Anderson, R. Scott; Bailey, Hannah L.; Clegg, Benjamin; Gajewski, Konrad; Hu, Feng Sheng; Jones, Miriam C.; Massa, Charly; Routson, Cody C.; Werner, Al; Wooller, Matthew J.; Yu, Zicheng

2016-01-01

Reconstructing climates of the past relies on a variety of evidence from a large number of sites to capture the varied features of climate and the spatial heterogeneity of climate change. This review summarizes available information from diverse Holocene paleoenvironmental records across eastern Beringia (Alaska, westernmost Canada and adjacent seas), and it quantifies the primary trends of temperature- and moisture-sensitive records based in part on midges, pollen, and biogeochemical indicators (compiled in the recently published Arctic Holocene database, and updated here to v2.1). The composite time series from these proxy records are compared with new summaries of mountain-glacier and lake-level fluctuations, terrestrial water-isotope records, sea-ice and sea-surface-temperature analyses, and peatland and thaw-lake initiation frequencies to clarify multi-centennial- to millennial-scale trends in Holocene climate change. To focus the synthesis, the paleo data are used to frame specific questions that can be addressed with simulations by Earth system models to investigate the causes and dynamics of past and future climate change. This systematic review shows that, during the early Holocene (11.7–8.2 ka; 1 ka = 1000 cal yr BP), rather than a prominent thermal maximum as suggested previously, temperatures were highly variable, at times both higher and lower than present (approximate mid-20th-century average), with no clear spatial pattern. Composited pollen, midge and other proxy records average out the variability and show the overall lowest summer and mean-annual temperatures across the study region during the earliest Holocene, followed by warming over the early Holocene. The sparse data available on early Holocene glaciation show that glaciers in southern Alaska were as extensive then as they were during the late Holocene. Early Holocene lake levels were low in interior Alaska, but moisture indicators show pronounced differences across the region. The highest

The power of paradigms : examining the evidential basis for Early to Mid-Holocene pigs and pottery in Melanesia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

O'Connor, S.; Barham, A.; Aplin, K.; Dobney, K.; Fairbairn, A.; Richards, M.

2011-01-01

The origin and timing of the introduction of pigs and pottery into New Guinea are continuous topics. Arguments have centred on whether domestic pigs and pottery technology entered New Guinea following the 'Austronesian expansion' from southeast Asia into Island Melanesia, c 3300 calBP, or in the Early to Mid-Holocene. We review the history of the debate and present new dates on pig bone and pottery contexts from archaeological sites, including Taora and Lachitu, on the north coast of mainland Papua New Guinea (PNG), where earlier data supported claims for early pig and pottery. We argue that theoretical positions about 'Neolithic' origins in PNG influenced the relative willingness to accept early dates prima facie and conclude that current evidence shows neither pig nor pottery arrived before 3000 calBP in mainland PNG. (author). 96 refs., 11 figs., 6 tabs.

The Holocene warm-humid phases in the North China Plain as recorded by multi-proxy records

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Cui, Jianxin; Zhou, Shangzhe; Chang, Hong

2009-02-01

The grain size and palinology of sediment and the frequency of 14C dada provide an integrated reconstruction of the Holocene warm-humid phases of the North China Plain. Two clear intense and long-lasting warm-humid phases were identified by comprehensive research in this region. The first phase was dated back to the early Holocene (9 000-7 000 a BP), and the second was centered at 5 000-3 000 a BP. The warm-humid episode between 9 000 and 7 000 a BP was also recognized at other sites showing global climatic trends rather than local events. Compared with the concern to the warm-humid phase of the early Holocene, the second one was not paid enough attention in the last few decades. The compilation of the Holocene paleoclimate data suggests that perhaps the second warm-humid phase was pervasive in monsoon region of China. In perspective of environmental archaeology, much attention should be devoted to it, because the flourish and adaptation of the Neolithic cultures and the building up of the first state seem to corresponding to the general warm-humid climatic conditions of this period. In addition, a warm-humid interval at 7 200-6 500 a BP was recognized by the grain size data from three sites. However, this warm-humid event was not shown in pollen assemblage and temporal distribution of 14C data. Perhaps, the resolution for climatic reconstruction from pollen and temporal distribution of 14C data cited here is relatively low and small-amplitude and short-period climatic events cannot be well reflected by the data. Due to the difference in locality and elevation of sampling site, as well as in resolution of proxy records, it is difficult to make precise correlation. Further work is needed in the future.

Holocene reef accretion: southwest Molokai, Hawaii, U.S.A.

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Engels, Mary S.; Fletcher, Charles H.; Field, Michael E.; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Grossman, Eric E.; Rooney, John J.B.; Conger, Christopher L.; Glenn, Craig

2004-01-01

Two reef systems off south Molokai, Hale O Lono and Hikauhi (separated by only 10 km), show strong and fundamental differences in modern ecosystem structure and Holocene accretion history that reflect the influence of wave-induced near-bed shear stresses on reef development in Hawaii. Both sites are exposed to similar impacts from south, Kona, and trade-wind swell. However, the Hale O Lono site is exposed to north swell and the Hikuahi site is not. As a result, the reef at Hale O Lono records no late Holocene net accretion while the reef at Hikauhi records consistent and robust accretion over late Holocene time. Analysis and dating of 24 cores from Hale O Lono and Hikauhi reveal the presence of five major lithofacies that reflect paleo-environmental conditions. In order of decreasing depositional energy they are: (1) coral-algal bindstone; (2) mixed skeletal rudstone; (3) massive coral framestone; (4) unconsolidated floatstone; and (5) branching coral framestone-bafflestone. At Hale O Lono, 10 cores document a backstepping reef ranging from ∼ 8,100 cal yr BP (offshore) to ∼ 4,800 cal yr BP (nearshore). A depauperate community of modern coral diminishes shoreward and seaward of ∼ 15 m depth due to wave energy, disrupted recruitment activities, and physical abrasion. Evidence suggests a change from conditions conducive to accretion during the early Holocene to conditions detrimental to accretion in the late Holocene. Reef structure at Hikauhi, reconstructed from 14 cores, reveals a thick, rapidly accreting and young reef (maximum age ∼ 900 cal yr BP). Living coral cover on this reef increases seaward with distance from the reef crest but terminates at a depth of ∼ 20 m where the reef ends in a large sand field. The primary limitation on vertical reef growth is accommodation space under wave base, not recruitment activities or energy conditions. Interpretations of cored lithofacies suggest that modern reef growth on the southwest corner of Molokai, and by

A Holocene temperature reconstruction from northern New Zealand: a test of North Atlantic Holocene climate patterns as a global template

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van den Bos, Valerie; Rees, Andrew; Newnham, Rewi; Augustinus, Paul

2017-04-01

Holocene climate variability has been well defined in the North Atlantic (Walker et al., 2012), but the global extent of this climate change stratigraphy is debatable. If the North Atlantic serves as a global template for Holocene climate, then New Zealand (NZ) is ideally positioned to test this assertion, as it is distal from the northern drivers. Additionally, it is one of the few landmasses in the Southern Hemisphere that is influenced by both sub-tropical and extra-tropical climatic regimes, which may be more important controls in the southern mid-latitudes. Although much work has been done to characterise the Holocene in NZ using pollen, most of these records lack the resolution or sensitivity to determine whether abrupt or short-lived events occurred. The NZ-INTIMATE climate event stratigraphy lacks a type section for the Holocene (Alloway et al., 2007). Records from northern NZ typically show little change, other than a possible early Holocene warming. Here, we present a combined pollen and chironomid temperature reconstruction from Lake Pupuke (northern NZ), the first of its kind in NZ that covers the entire Holocene. By comparing mean annual temperatures reconstructed from fossil pollen and mean summer temperatures inferred from chironomid remains, we can assess changes in seasonality. Mean summer temperature was reconstructed from the chironomid record using a weighted averaging partial least squares (WA-PLS) model (n comp = 2, r2booth = 0.77, RMSEP = 1.4°C) developed from an expanded version of Dieffenbacher-Krall et al. (2007)'s chironomid training set. Preliminary results show evidence for cool summers during the early Holocene as well as around the period of the Little Ice Age as defined in the North Atlantic region. These and other climate patterns determined from the Pupuke chironomid and pollen records will be compared with other evidence from northern New Zealand and with the North Atlantic record of Holocene climate variability. References

Non-uniform and diachronous Holocene floodplain evolution: a case study from the Dijle catchment, Belgium

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Broothaerts, N.; Notebaert, B.; Verstraeten, G.; Kasse, C.; Bohncke, S.J.P.; Vandenberghe, J.

2014-01-01

Fluvial architecture changed under the influence of increasing human impact throughout the Holocene in many north-west European catchments. Typically, peat formation - in a marshy environment during the Early and Middle Holocene - is replaced by clastic overbank deposition. In this study we show the

Benthic foraminifera response to Holocene environmental changes in the ria de Muros (NW Spain)

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Diz, P.; Francés, G.; Pena, L. D.; Nombela, M. A.; Alejo, I.

2003-04-01

Benthic foraminifera assemblages from the outer sector of the ría de Muros have been analyzed in order to obtain a detailed reconstruction of Holocene environmental evolution. The studied core (EUGC-3B: 42' 45.10'N; 9' 02.23'W, at 38 m.b.s.l. and 410 cm length) consists of muddy sand from the core bottom (8200 cal yr BP) to 200 cm (2700 cal yr BP) and mainly mud from 200 cm to the core top. Measurements of geochemical properties carried out by a XRF core scanner revealed different signatures in the two aforementioned intervals and an enhancing terrigenous influence during the last 2000 yr. The prevalence of Bulimina spp., Nonion fabum, Ammonia beccarii and Cibicides ungerianus along the whole core indicates high organic carbon concentration and/or low oxygenation levels into the sediment. Nevertheless, the percentage of these species shows noticeable changes, indicating the existence of five periods with different environmental conditions. The basal assemblage (8200-7500 cal yr BP) is dominated by epifaunal taxa and it can be interpreted as a low sea level assemblage. An increase of fresh water influence during the Holocene Climate Optimum (7500-5000 cal yr BP) is revealed by maxima percentages of A. beccarii. The oceanic influence increased during the Subboreal period (5000-2750 cal yr BP) leading to an active water interchange between the ría and the open ocean and a higher marine productivity. The oceanic influence is recorded by the increase of typical marine species as Elphidium advenum, Bulimina spp., N. fabum, and Nonionella turgida. The appearance of Rectuvigerina phlegeri at 4000 cal yr BP denotes full marine conditions. Environmental conditions similar to the current ones were achieved during the Subatlantic period (2750-Rec). In a first step an assemblage dominated by Bulimina spp. N. fabum, and C. ungerianus permit us to interpret a relatively stable period with episodic pulses of fluvial influence. Afterwards the appearance and the rapid increase of

Palynological Investigation of the Holocene Thermal Optimum in New Zealand

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Newnham, R. M.; McGlone, M. S.; Wilmshurst, J. M.

2005-12-01

It has long been assumed in New Zealand (NZ) that the Holocene Thermal Optimum (HTO) occurred at the beginning of the Holocene. Nearly 40 years ago, Hendy and Wilson pioneered the use of 18O/16O composition of calcite in NZ speleothems to reconstruct past climate and in so doing showed an HTO occurring earlier in NZ than in comparable Northern Hemisphere records (Hendy & Wilson,1968). More recent work on NZ speleothems (Williams et al., 2005) corroborates the concept of an early HTO dated between ca 11.7 and 10.6 ka, but there is no definitive description of the event as a NZ-wide phenomenon, no intensive dating of it, nor temperature quantification. Moreover, there is no firm conclusion as to whether it is registered consistently between different proxies and across NZ regions. Until recently, attempts to quantify past climate change from NZ pollen data have been hindered by failure to demonstrate robust relationships between modern pollen assemblages and climate due, it is thought, to strong anthropogenic modification of natural vegetation patterns and steep climatic gradients (Norton et al., 1986). However, as deforestation commenced only ca 700 years ago, and is unambiguously detected in pollen records from throughout NZ, an almost unique opportunity exists to develop pollen-climate transfer functions using pre-human pollen-vegetation sources. McGlone and Wilmshurst have assembled an extensive (138-site) `modern' pollen database, based on ca 700 yr BP pre-deforestation pollen assemblages from peat and lake cores. This now provides a basis for more secure pollen-climate reconstruction than hitherto has been possible. Statistical modelling of the environmental determinants of patterns in the pre-deforestation pollen database indicates the strongest relationship (r2 > 0.8) is with Mean Annual Temperature (MAT) and suggests that this parameter can be reliably reconstructed, with error estimates, from Late Quaternary NZ pollen profiles. We use this database to

Holocene climate variability and oceanographic changes off western South Africa

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Zhao, Xueqin; Dupont, Lydie; E Meadows, Michael; Schefuß, Enno; Bouimetarhan, Ilham; Wefer, Gerold

2017-04-01

South Africa is located at a critical transition zone between subtropical and warm-temperate climate zones influenced by the Indian and Atlantic oceans. Presently, the seasonal changes of atmospheric and oceanic systems induce a pronounced rainfall seasonality comprised of two different rainfall zones over South Africa. How did this seasonality develop during the Holocene? To obtain a better understanding of how South African climates have evolved during the Holocene, we conduct a comprehensive spatial-temporal approach including pollen and dinoflagellate cyst records from marine sediment samples retrieved from the Namaqualand mudbelt, a Holocene terrigenous mud deposit on the shelf of western South Africa. The representation of different vegetation communities in western South Africa is assessed through pollen analysis of surface sediments. This approach allows for climate reconstructions of the summer rainfall zone (SRZ) using Group 1 (Poaceae, Cyperaceae, Phragmites-type and Typha) and winter rainfall zone (WRZ) using Group 2 (Restionaceae, Ericaceae, Anthospermum, Stoebe/Elytropappus-type, Cliffortia, Passerina, Artemisia-type and Pentzia-type) from a single marine archive. The fossil pollen data from gravity core GeoB8331-4 indicate contrasting climate patterns in the SRZ and WRZ especially during the early and middle Holocene. The rainfall amount in the SRZ is dominated by insolation forcing, while in the WRZ it is mainly attributed to the latitudinal position of the southern westerlies. Dinoflagellate cyst data show significantly different oceanographic conditions associated with climate changes on land. High percentages of autotrophic taxa like Operculodinium centrocarpum and Spiniferites spp. indicate warm and stratified conditions during the early Holocene, suggesting reduced upwelling. In contrast, the middle Holocene is characterized by a strong increase in heterotrophic taxa in particular Lejeunecysta paratenella and Echinidinium spp., indicating cool

Holocene multi-proxy environmental reconstruction from lake Hakluytvatnet, Amsterdamøya Island, Svalbard (79.5°N)

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Gjerde, Marthe; Bakke, Jostein; D'Andrea, William J.; Balascio, Nicholas L.; Bradley, Raymond S.; Vasskog, Kristian; Ólafsdóttir, Sædis; Røthe, Torgeir O.; Perren, Bianca B.; Hormes, Anne

2018-03-01

High resolution proxy records of past climate are sparse in the Arctic due to low organic production that restricts the use of radiocarbon dating and challenging logistics that make data collection difficult. Here, we present a new lake record from lake Hakluytvatnet at Amsterdamøya island (79.5°N), the northwesternmost island on Svalbard. Multi-proxy analyses of lake sediments in combination with geomorphological mapping reveal large environmental shifts that have taken place at Amsterdamøya during the Holocene. A robust chronology has been established for the lake sediment core through 28 AMS radiocarbon ages, and this gives an exceptionally well-constrained age control for a lake at this latitude. The Holocene was a period with large changes in the Hakluytvatnet catchment, and the onset of the Neoglacial (ca. 5 ka) marks the start of modern-day conditions in the catchment. The Neoglacial is characterized by fluctuations in the minerogenic input to the lake as well as internal productivity, and we suggest that these fluctuations are driven by atmospherically forced precipitation changes as well as sea ice extent modulating the amount of moisture that can reach Hakluytvatnet.

Late Pleistocene and Holocene mammal extinctions on continental Africa

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Faith, J. Tyler

2014-01-01

Understanding the cause of late Quaternary mammal extinctions is the subject of intense debate spanning the fields of archeology and paleontology. In the global context, the losses on continental Africa have received little attention and are poorly understood. This study aims to inspire new discussion of African extinctions through a review of the extinct species and the chronology and possible causes of those extinctions. There are at least 24 large mammal (> 5 kg) species known to have disappeared from continental Africa during the late Pleistocene or Holocene, indicating a much greater taxonomic breadth than previously recognized. Among the better sampled taxa, these losses are restricted to the terminal Pleistocene and early Holocene, between 13,000 and 6000 yrs ago. The African extinctions preferentially affected species that are grazers or prefer grasslands. Where good terrestrial paleoenvironmental records are present, extinctions are associated with changes in the availability, productivity, or structure of grassland habitats, suggesting that environmental changes played a decisive role in the losses. In the broader evolutionary context, these extinctions represent recent examples of selective taxonomic winnowing characterized by the loss of grassland specialists and the establishment of large mammal communities composed of more ecologically flexible taxa over the last million years. There is little reason to believe that humans played an important role in African extinctions.

Holocene Climate Variability on the Centennial and Millennial Time Scale

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Eun Hee Lee

2014-12-01

Full Text Available There have been many suggestions and much debate about climate variability during the Holocene. However, their complex forcing factors and mechanisms have not yet been clearly identified. In this paper, we have examined the Holocene climate cycles and features based on the wavelet analyses of 14C, 10Be, and 18O records. The wavelet results of the 14C and 10Be data show that the cycles of ~2180-2310, ~970, ~500-520, ~350-360, and ~210-220 years are dominant, and the ~1720 and ~1500 year cycles are relatively weak and subdominant. In particular, the ~2180-2310 year periodicity corresponding to the Hallstatt cycle is constantly significant throughout the Holocene, while the ~970 year cycle corresponding to the Eddy cycle is mainly prominent in the early half of the Holocene. In addition, distinctive signals of the ~210-220 year period corresponding to the de Vries cycle appear recurrently in the wavelet distribution of 14C and 10Be, which coincide with the grand solar minima periods. These de Vries cycle events occurred every ~2270 years on average, implying a connection with the Hallstatt cycle. In contrast, the wavelet results of 18O data show that the cycles of ~1900-2000, ~900-1000, and ~550-560 years are dominant, while the ~2750 and ~2500 year cycles are subdominant. The periods of ~2750, ~2500, and ~1900 years being derived from the 18O records of NGRIP, GRIP and GISP2 ice cores, respectively, are rather longer or shorter than the Hallstatt cycle derived from the 14C and 10Be records. The records of these three sites all show the ~900-1000 year periodicity corresponding to the Eddy cycle in the early half of the Holocene.

Holocene temperature variability revealed by brGDGTs in subtropical southwestern China

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Feng, X.; Zhao, C.

2017-12-01

Subtropical areas are important source region of moisture and heat in global climate system. Paleoclimate reconstructions from these regions, especially quantitative records, would not only help to better understand the nature of climate system through time, but also provide important constraining dataset for long-term ecosystem variations in these ecological important areas. To date, quantitative climate records with reliable chronological controls are still limited from terrestrial archives in subtropical areas. Here we present a 50-year-resolution quantitative temperature record throughout the Holocene based on branched GDGTs at a small alpine lake, Tiancai Lake (26°38'E, 99°43'N, 3898 m.a.s.l) in southwestern China. The record is based on a temporal calibration between instrumental mean annual air temperature (MAAT) and brGDGT compounds (GDGT-IIIa, GDGT-IIa', GDGT-IIb, GDGT-Ia and GDGT-Ic). The MAAT was relatively low -0.6 ° between 11 and 7.5 ka, then abruptly increased 1 ° to 4 °until 7 ka. The MAAT was relatively warm 2° between 7 and 1 ka, then decreased to 1° over the last 1 ka. The Middle to Late Holocene was 3 ° warmer than the Early Holocene. The MAAT variation at Lake Tiancai is supported by changes in evergreen oaks and Tsuga from the same sediment core, suggesting that the growth of cold-tolerant forest in place of subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest has been driven by the decrease in MAAT. The early Holocene cold interval revealed by our record and pollen data is different with the chironomid-based summer temperature reconstruction from the same lake, the latter has been driven by summer insolation. This difference suggests that a pronounced winter contribution to the mean annual temperature during the early Holocene, which was probably caused by a low winter insolation, and strengthened by a sparse vegetation cover and influences of winter ice/snow cover in tropical high latitude regions.

Mid- to late-Holocene coastal environmental changes in southwest Florida, USA

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Soelen, E.E. van; Brooks, G.R.; Larson, R.A.; Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.; Reichart, G.-J.

2012-01-01

During the Holocene, Florida experienced major changes in precipitation and runoff. To better understand these processes, shallow marine sediment cores from Charlotte Harbor (southwest Florida) were studied, covering approximately the past 9000 years. Whole core XRF scanning was applied to

Glaciation in the Andes during the Lateglacial and Holocene

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Rodbell, Donald T.; Smith, Jacqueline A.; Mark, Bryan G.

2009-10-01

This review updates the chronology of Andean glaciation during the Lateglacial and the Holocene from the numerous articles and reviews published over the past three decades. The Andes, which include some of the world's wettest and driest mountainous regions, offer an unparalleled opportunity to elucidate spatial and temporal patterns of glaciation along a continuous 68-degree meridional transect. The geographic and altitudinal extent of modern glaciers and the sensitivity of both modern and former glaciers to respond to changes in specific climatic variables reflect broad-scale atmospheric circulation and consequent regional moisture patterns. Glaciers in the tropical Andes and in the mid-latitude Andes are likely to have been far more sensitive to changes in temperature than glaciers in the dry subtropical Andes. Broad-scale temporal and spatial patterns of glaciation during the Lateglacial are apparent. In the southernmost Andes, the Lateglacial chronology appears to have a strong Antarctic signature with the best-dated moraines correlating closely with the Antarctic Cold Reversal. The southernmost Andes do not appear to have experienced a significant ice advance coeval with the Younger Dryas (YD) climatic reversal. At the other end of the Andes, from ˜0 to 9°N, a stronger YD connection may exist, but critical stratigraphic and geochronologic work is required before a YD ice advance can be fully demonstrated. In the central Andes of Peru, well-dated moraines record a significant ice readvance at the onset of the YD, but ice was retreating during much of the remaining YD interval. The spatial-temporal pattern of Holocene glaciation exhibits tantalizing but incomplete evidence for an Early to Mid-Holocene ice advance(s) in many regions, but not in the arid subtropical Andes, where moraines deposited during or slightly prior to the Little Ice Age (LIA) record the most extensive advance of the Holocene. In many regions, there is strong evidence for Neoglacial

Latest Pleistocene and Holocene Glacier Fluctuations in southernmost Patagonia

Science.gov (United States)

Menounos, B.; Maurer, M.; Clague, J. J.; osborn, G.; Ponce, F.; Davis, P. T.; Rabassa, J.; Coronato, A.; Marr, R.

2011-12-01

Summer insolation has been proposed to explain long-term glacier fluctuations during the Holocene. If correct, the record of glacier fluctuations at high latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere should differ from that in the Northern Hemisphere. Testing this insolation hypothesis has been hampered by dating uncertainties of many Holocene glacier chronologies from Patagonia. We report on our ongoing research aimed at developing a regional glacier chronology at the southern end of the Andes north and west of Ushuaia, Argentina. We have found evidence for an advance of cirque glaciers at the end of the Pleistocene; one or locally two closely spaced moraines extend up to 2 km beyond Little Ice Age moraines. Radiocarbon dating of terrestrial macrofossils recovered from basal sediments behind two of these moraines yielded ages of 10,320 ± 25 and 10,330 ± 30 14C yr BP. These moraines may record glacier advances coeval with the Antarctic Cold Reversal; surface exposure dating of these moraines is currently in progress to test this hypothesis. We find no evidence of Holocene moraines older than 6800 14C yr BP, based on the distribution of Hudson tephra of that age. At some sites, there is evidence for an early Neoglacial advance of glaciers slightly beyond (Peru. We have documented multiple wood mats with stumps in growth position separated by till units in a 100 m section of the northeast lateral moraine at Stoppani Glacier (54.78 S, 68.98 W), 50 km west of Ushuaia. Ten radiocarbon ages on these wood mats range in age from 3510 ± 15 to 135 ± 15 14C yr BP. The mats decrease in age up-section; many overlap with published age ranges for Neoglacial advances in western Canada. Taken together, these data: a) do not support the summer insolation hypothesis for Holocene glacier fluctuations in southernmost Patagonia; b) confirm paleobotanical evidence for a warm, dry early Holocene; and c) suggest that many Neoglacial advances in southernmost Patagonia and western North America

Paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstruction for middle and late holocene in Uruguay southeastern New contributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Del Puerto, L.; Bracco, R.; Inda, H.; Garcia, F.; Panario, D.; Castineira, C.; Capdepont, I.

2012-01-01

This work is about the study carried out within the framework of the environmental evolution and the prehistoric human occupation on coastal lagoons in the east of Uruguay. The analysis of the sediments in the zone enable the reconstruction of the Holocene climate history as well as the construction of the Paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental model belong to the middle and late Holocene

Reconstruction of Holocene environmental changes in Southern Kurils (North-Western Pacific) based on palaeolake sediment proxies from Shikotan Island

Science.gov (United States)

Nazarova, Larisa; Grebennikova, Tatiana A.; Razjigaeva, Nadezhda G.; Ganzey, Larisa A.; Belyanina, Nina I.; Arslanov, Khikmat A.; Kaistrenko, Victor M.; Gorbunov, Aleksey O.; Kharlamov, Andrey A.; Rudaya, Natalia; Palagushkina, Olga; Biskaborn, Boris K.; Diekmann, Bernhard

2017-12-01

We investigated a well-dated sediment section of a palaeolake situated in the coastal zone of Shikotan Island (Lesser Kurils) for organic sediment-geochemistry and biotic components (diatoms, chironomids, pollen) in order to provide a reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental changes and palaeo-events (tsunamis, sea-level fluctuations and landslides) in Holocene. During the ca 8000 years of sedimentation the changes in organic sediment-geochemistry and in composition of the diatoms and chironomids as well as the shifts in composition of terrestrial vegetation suggest that the period until ca 5800 cal yr BP was characterized by a warm and humid climate (corresponds to middle Holocene optimum) with climate cooling thereafter. A warm period reconstructed from ca 900 to at least ca 580 cal yr BP corresponds to a transition to a Nara-Heian-Kamakura warm stage and can be correlated to a Medieval Warm Period. After 580 cal yr PB, the lake gradually dried out and climatic signals could not be obtained from the declining lacustrine biological communities, but the increasing role of spruce and disappearance of the oak from the vegetation give evidences of the climate cooling that can be correlated with the LIA. The marine regression stages at the investigated site are identified for ca 6200-5900 (at the end of the middle Holocene transgression), ca 5500-5100 (Middle Jomon regression or Kemigawa regression), and ca 1070-360 cal yr BP (at the end of Heian transgression). The lithological structure of sediments and the diatom compositions give evidences for the multiple tsunami events of different strengths in the Island. Most remarkable of them can be dated at around ca 7000, 6460, 5750, 4800, 950 cal yr BP. The new results help to understand the Holocene environmental history of the Southern Kurils as a part of the Kuril-Kamchatka and Aleutian Marginal Sea-Island Arc Systems in the North-Western Pacific region.

A stable-isotope tree-ring timescale of the Late Glacial/Holocene boundary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, Bernd; Kromer, Bernd; Trimborn, Peter

1991-01-01

Late Glacial and Holocene tree-ring chronologies, like deep-sea sediments or polar ice cores, contain information about past environments. Changes in tree-ring growth rates can be related to past climate anomalies and changes in the isotope composition of tree-ring cellulose reflect changes in the composition of the atmosphere and the hydrosphere. We have established a 9,928-year absolutely dated dendrochronological record of Holocene oak (Quercus robur, Quercus petraea)-and a 1,604-year floating Late Glacial and Early Holocene chronology of pine (Pinus sylvestris) from subfossil tree remnants deposited in alluvial terraces of south central European rivers. The pine sequence provides records of dendro-dated 14 C, 13 C and 2 H patterns for the late Younger Dryas and the entire Preboreal (10,100-9,000 yr BP). Through the use of dendrochronology, radiocarbon age calibration and stable isotope analysis, we suggest that the Late Glacial/Holocene transition may be identified and dated by 13 C and 2 H tree-ring chronologies. (author)

Multiproxy records of Holocene climate and glacier variability from sediment cores in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Schweinsberg, A. D.; Licciardi, J. M.; Rodbell, D. T.; Stansell, N.; Tapia, P. M.

2012-12-01

Sediments contained in glacier-fed lakes and bogs provide continuous high-resolution records of glacial activity, and preserve multiproxy evidence of Holocene climate change. Tropical glacier fluctuations offer critical insight on regional paleoclimatic trends and controls, however, continuous sediment records of past tropical climates are limited. Recent cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure ages of moraine sequences in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru (13°20'S latitude) reveal a glacial culmination during the early Holocene and a less extensive glaciation coincident with the Little Ice Age of the Northern Hemisphere. Here we supplement the existing 10Be moraine chronology with the first continuous records of multiproxy climate data in this mountain range from sediment cores recovered from bogs in direct stratigraphic contact with 10Be-dated moraines. Radiocarbon-dated sedimentological changes in a 2-meter long bog core reveal that the Holocene is characterized by alternating inorganic and organic-rich laminae, suggesting high-frequency climatic variability. Carbon measurements, bulk density, and bulk sedimentation rates are used to derive a record of clastic sediment flux that serves as a proxy indicator of former glacier activity. Preliminary analyses of the bog core reveal approximately 70 diatom taxa that indicate both rheophilic and lentic environments. Initial results show a general decrease in magnetic susceptibility and clastic flux throughout the early to mid-Holocene, which suggests an interval of deglaciation. An episode of high clastic flux from 3.8 to 2.0 ka may reflect a late Holocene glacial readvance. Volcanic glass fragments and an anomalous peak in magnetic susceptibility may correspond to the historical 1600 AD eruption of Huaynaputina. Ten new bog and lake sediment cores were collected during the 2012 field expedition and analytical measurements are underway. Ongoing efforts are focused on analyzing diatom assemblage data, developing

Miscanti-1: Human occupation during the arid Mid-Holocene event in the high-altitude lakes of the Atacama Desert, South America

Science.gov (United States)

Núñez, Lautaro; Loyola, Rodrigo; Cartajena, Isabel; López, Patricio; Santander, Boris; Maldonado, Antonio; de Souza, Patricio; Carrasco, Carlos

2018-02-01

This paper presents an interdisciplinary study of the Miscanti-1 archaeological site, located in the Holocene terrace deposits accumulated on the eastern margin of Miscanti Lake (4120 m.a.s.l.), northern Chile (23.7° S, 67.7° W). The human response to environmental and climatic variability in the Mid-Holocene (9500-4500 cal yr BP) is discussed through the zooarchaeological, lithic and paleoenvironmental records. We propose that, due to the increased aridity of the period, Miscanti Lake became a brackish paleowetland that attracted discrete groups of hunter-gatherers from lower elevation Andean areas. In contrast with the high frequency of human occupations known for the humid Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene (12600-9500 yr cal BP), the Miscanti-1 site is one of the few occupations recorded in the Atacama Highlands during the Mid-Holocene period. Data analysis suggests logistic and short-term campsite use for hunting the wild camelids that were attracted by the wetlands and fresh water (8100-8300 yr cal BP). In contrast to previous proposals for this period, we propose that access to high altitude environments did not cease, but was made possible by a shift to highly scheduled mobility and a specialized bifacial technology. Finally, the temporal and spatial links of Miscanti-1 are discussed in a regional context.

Human-environment interaction during the Mesolithic- Neolithic transition in the NE Iberian Peninsula. Vegetation history, climate change and human impact during the Early-Middle Holocene in the Eastern Pre-Pyrenees

Science.gov (United States)

Revelles, J.; Burjachs, F.; Palomo, A.; Piqué, R.; Iriarte, E.; Pérez-Obiol, R.; Terradas, X.

2018-03-01

The synthetic analysis of several pollen records from sub-Mediterranean lowland Pre-Pyrenean regions evidences expansion of forests during the Early Holocene in Northeastern Iberia and the establishment of dense deciduous broadleaf forests during the Holocene Climate Optimum. Pollen records show the broadleaf deciduous forests resilience against cooling phases during the Mid-Holocene period, with slight regressions of oak woodlands and expansion of conifers or xerophytic taxa contemporary to some cooling episodes (i.e. 8.2 and 7.2 kyr cal. BP). Major vegetation changes influenced by climate change occurred in the transition to the Late Holocene, in terms of the start of a succession from broadleaf deciduous forests to evergreen sclerophyllous woodlands. The lack of evidence of previous occupation seems to support the Neolithisation of the NE Iberian Peninsula as a result of a process of migration of farming populations to uninhabited or sparsely inhabited territories. In that context, remarkable changes in vegetation were recorded from 7.3 kyr cal. BP onwards in the Lake Banyoles area, where the establishment of permanent farming settlements caused the deforestation of oak woodlands. In La Garrotxa region, short deforestation episodes affecting broadleaf deciduous forests, together with expansion of grasslands and presence of Cerealia-t were documented in the period 7.4-6.0 kyr cal. BP. Finally, in the coastal area, where less evidence of Early Neolithic occupations is recorded, evidence of Neolithic impact is reflected in the presence of Cerealia-t in 6.5-6.2 kyr cal. BP, but no strong human transformation of landscape was carried out until more recent chronologies.

Insights Into Deglacial Through Holocene Climate Variability At The Peru-Chile Margin From Very High Sedimentation Rate Marine Cores

Science.gov (United States)

Chazen, C.; Dejong, H.; Altabet, M.; Herbert, T.

2007-12-01

The Peru-Chile upwelling system is situated at the epicenter of the modern ENSO System. The high settling flux of organic materials and poor ventilation of subsurface waters makes the Peru upwelling system one of the world's three major oxygen minimum/denitrification zones (Codispoti and Christensen, 1985). Extremely high sedimentation rates and permanent hypoxic/anoxic subsurface waters create excellent conditions for the preservation of organic matter. Despite the significance of this region in regards to paleoceanography and paleoclimatology, relatively little work has been done to characterize past Peruvian climate because carbonate dissolution hinders the use of conventional paleoclimate methods and hiatuses frequently interrupt the record. However, using nitrogen isotopes and alkenone paleothermometry on multiple sediment cores from the Margin we have managed to overcome many of these challenges to create a nearly continuous SST (Uk`37), productivity (C37total), biogenic opal and denitrification (δN15) record from the LGM through the late Holocene. Remarkably, recent work has revealed an annually laminated core, which spans from 1.4-8.0ka uninterrupted, providing a unique window into Holocene climate variability. Modern-day upwelling induced climate at the Peru-Chile margin is characterized by cold temperatures (21.5°C) high productivity and strong denitrification, which has persisted since the mid Holocene (4ka). The mid Holocene also marks the beginning of a dramatic increase in seasonality and ENSO variability consistent with other tropical climate indicators. Climate variability in the Mid-early Holocene shows a distinctively different pattern from that of the late Holocene; unproductive warm temperatures persist through the early Holocene in what can be described as a permanent El Niño-like state. Early tropical warming occurred near 17ka along with an unprecedented increase in denitrification, which is decoupled from local productivity. Early onset

Anthropogenic Origin of Siliceous Scoria Droplets from Pleistocene and Holocene Archeaological Sites in Northern Syria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thy, Peter; Willcox, George; Barfod, Gry

2015-01-01

Siliceous scoria droplets, measuring from 1 to 10 mm, from one late Pleistocene and four early Holocene archaeological sites in northern Syria are compared to similar droplets previously suggested to be the result of a cosmic impact at the onset of the Younger Dryas global cooling event. The !ndi......Siliceous scoria droplets, measuring from 1 to 10 mm, from one late Pleistocene and four early Holocene archaeological sites in northern Syria are compared to similar droplets previously suggested to be the result of a cosmic impact at the onset of the Younger Dryas global cooling event...

Valley evolution of the Lower Rhine in LGM, Lateglacial and Early Holocene.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cohen, K.M.; Hoek, W.Z.; Stouthamer, E.; Geurts, A.H.; Janssens, M.; Kasse, C.; Busschers, F.S.; Hijma, M.P.; Erkens, G.

2013-01-01

The impact of transient climate change, for example at glacial-interglacial transitions, on the alluvial valley of the lower reaches of larger river systems has become a classic topic of fluvial geomorphology and quaternary geological study. The process of contraction of Holocene river activity into

Holocene coastal dune development and environmental changes in Helis area (NW Peloponnese, Greece

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L. STAMATOPOULOS

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The coastal area of western Peloponnese is characterized by Pleistocene and Holocene marine deposits. The study area shows the effects of different phases of coastal morphology evolution and is located along a wave-dominated and microtidal coast in the northwestern Peloponnese, 40 km southwest of Patras city. Three significant morphogenetic phases occurred during the Holocene. The first was radiometrically aged from 7000 to 3810 years BP, marking the end of the rapid postglacial transgression. The second, between 3810 and 1400 years BP, was characterized by high rates of sedimentation, possibly because of the proximity of the mouth of the Peneus River, and resulted in the accumulation of predominantly fluvial sediments. During the third and younger phase, from 1400 years BP to the present, landward migration of the coast and deposition of aeolian sands occurred. Archaeological and morphological evidences suggest that this last phase should be related to a low sea-level stand followed by a slow sea-level rise, up to the present-day position and by humid-temperate climate. The collected data concerning the Holocene coastal dune belts, suggest that main phases of dune development could be related to the effects of sea-level changes, climatic conditions, and in a subordinate way, to human activity.

Anthropogenic impact and lead pollution throughout the Holocene in Southern Iberia.

Science.gov (United States)

García-Alix, A; Jimenez-Espejo, F J; Lozano, J A; Jiménez-Moreno, G; Martinez-Ruiz, F; García Sanjuán, L; Aranda Jiménez, G; García Alfonso, E; Ruiz-Puertas, G; Anderson, R Scott

2013-04-01

Present day lead pollution is an environmental hazard of global proportions. A correct determination of natural lead levels is very important in order to evaluate anthropogenic lead contributions. In this paper, the anthropogenic signature of early metallurgy in Southern Iberia during the Holocene, more specifically during the Late Prehistory, was assessed by mean of a multiproxy approach: comparison of atmospheric lead pollution, fire regimes, deforestation, mass sediment transport, and archeological data. Although the onset of metallurgy in Southern Iberia is a matter of controversy, here we show the oldest lead pollution record from Western Europe in a continuous paleoenvironmental sequence, which suggests clear lead pollution caused by metallurgical activities since ~3900 cal BP (Early Bronze Age). This lead pollution was especially important during Late Bronze and Early Iron ages. At the same time, since ~4000 cal BP, an increase in fire activity is observed in this area, which is also coupled with deforestation and increased erosion rates. This study also shows that the lead pollution record locally reached near present-day values many times in the past, suggesting intensive use and manipulation of lead during those periods in this area. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Asynchronous changes in vegetation, runoff and erosion in the nile river watershed during the holocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Blanchet, Cécile L; Frank, Martin; Schouten, Stefan

2014-01-01

The termination of the African Humid Period in northeastern Africa during the early Holocene was marked by the southward migration of the rain belt and the disappearance of the Green Sahara. This interval of drastic environmental changes was also marked by the initiation of food production by North African hunter-gatherer populations and thus provides critical information on human-environment relationships. However, existing records of regional climatic and environmental changes exhibit large differences in timing and modes of the wet/dry transition at the end of the African Humid Period. Here we present independent records of changes in river runoff, vegetation and erosion in the Nile River watershed during the Holocene obtained from a unique sedimentary sequence on the Nile River fan using organic and inorganic proxy data. This high-resolution reconstruction allows to examine the phase relationship between the changes of these three parameters and provides a detailed picture of the environmental conditions during the Paleolithic/Neolithic transition. The data show that river runoff decreased gradually during the wet/arid transition at the end of the AHP whereas rapid shifts of vegetation and erosion occurred earlier between 8.7 and ∼6 ka BP. These asynchronous changes are compared to other regional records and provide new insights into the threshold responses of the environment to climatic changes. Our record demonstrates that the degradation of the environment in northeastern Africa was more abrupt and occurred earlier than previously thought and may have accelerated the process of domestication in order to secure sustainable food resources for the Neolithic African populations.

Holocene and latest Pleistocene climate and glacier fluctuations in Iceland

Science.gov (United States)

Geirsdóttir, Áslaug; Miller, Gifford H.; Axford, Yarrow; Ólafsdóttir, Sædís

2009-10-01

Multiproxy climate records from Iceland document complex changes in terrestrial climate and glacier fluctuations through the Holocene, revealing some coherent patterns of change as well as significant spatial variability. Most studies on the Last Glacial Maximum and subsequent deglaciation reveal a dynamic Iceland Ice Sheet (IIS) that responded abruptly to changes in ocean currents and sea level. The IIS broke up catastrophically around 15 ka as the Polar Front migrated northward and sea level rose. Indications of regional advance or halt of the glaciers are seen in late Alleröd/early Younger Dryas time and again in PreBoreal time. Due to the apparent rise of relative sea level in Iceland during this time, most sites contain evidence for fluctuating, tidewater glacier termini occupying paleo fjords and bays. The time between the end of the Younger Dryas and the Preboreal was characterized by repeated jökulhlaups that eroded glacial deposits. By 10.3 ka, the main ice sheet was in rapid retreat across the highlands of Iceland. The Holocene thermal maximum (HTM) was reached after 8 ka with land temperatures estimated to be 3 °C higher than the 1961-1990 reference, and net precipitation similar to modern. Such temperatures imply largely ice-free conditions across Iceland in the early to mid-Holocene. Several marine and lacustrine sediment climate proxies record substantial summer temperature depression between 8.5 and 8 ka, but no moraines have been detected from that time. Termination of the HTM and onset of Neoglacial cooling took place sometime after 6 ka with increased glacier activity between 4.5 and 4.0 ka, intensifying between 3.0 and 2.5 ka. Although a distinct warming during the Medieval Warm Period is not dramatically apparent in Icelandic records, the interval from ca AD 0 to 1200 is commonly characterized by relative stability with slow rates of change. The literature most commonly describes Little Ice Age moraines (ca AD 1250-1900) as representing the

Liquefaction along Late Pleistocene to early Holocene Faults as Revealed by Lidar in Northwest Tasmania, Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Webb, J.; Gardner, T.

2016-12-01

In northwest Tasmania well-preserved mid-Holocene beach ridges with maximum radiocarbon ages of 5.25 ka occur along the coast; inland are a parallel set of lower relief beach ridges of probable MIS 5e age. The latter are cut by northeast-striking faults clearly visible on LIDAR images, with a maximum vertical displacement (evident as difference in topographic elevation) of 3 m. Also distinct on the LIDAR images are large sand boils along the fault lines; they are up to 5 m in diameter and 2-3 m high and mostly occur on the hanging wall close to the fault traces. Without LIDAR it would have been almost impossible to distinguish either the fault scarps or the sand boils. Excavations through the sand boils show that they are massive, with no internal structure, suggesting that they formed in a single event. They are composed of well-sorted, very fine white sand, identical to the sand in the underlying beach ridges. The sand boils overlie a peaty paleosol; this formed in the tea-tree swamp that formerly covered the area, and has been offset along the faults. Radiocarbon dating of the buried organic-rich paleosol gave ages of 14.8-7.2 ka, suggesting that the faulting is latest Pleistocene to early Holocene in age; it occurred prior to deposition of the mid-Holocene beach ridges, which are not offset. The beach ridge sediments are up to 7 m thick and contain an iron-cemented hard pan 1-3 m below the surface. The water table is very shallow and close to the ground surface, so the sands of the beach ridges are mostly saturated. During faulting these sands experienced extensive liquefaction. The resulting sand boils rose to a substantial height of 2-3 m, probably possibly reflecting the elevation of the potentiometric surface within the confined part of the beach ridge sediments below the iron-cemented hard pan. Motion on the faults was predominantly dip slip (shown by an absence of horizontal offset) and probably reverse, which is consistent with the present-day northwest

Holocene limestones of part of the western continental shelf of India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Nair, R.R.; Hashimi, N.H.; Guptha, M.V.S.

, while those on te upper continental slope (130-180 m) are algal bryozoan limestones. The limestones have a radiocarbon age ranging between 9,000 and 11,000 years. Depositional environmental on the continental shelf during the Holocene appears...

Organic carbon accumulation and reactivity in central Swedish lakes during the Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Chmiel, H.; Kokic, J.; Niggemann, J.; Dittmar, T.; Sobek, S.

2012-04-01

Sedimentation and burial of particulate organic carbon (POC), received from terrestrial sources and from lake internal primary production, are responsible for the progressive accumulation and long-term storage of organic matter in lake basins. For lakes in the boreal zone of central Sweden it can be presumed, that the onset of POC accumulation occurred during the early Holocene (˜8000 BP.) after the retreat of the Scandinavian ice sheet. In this study we investigated carbon mass accumulation rates (CMARs), as well as sources and reactivity of deposited organic material, for seven lakes in central Sweden (60°N, 15°E), in order to obtain a detailed temporal resolution of carbon burial and preservation in boreal lakes. Sediment long-cores were sampled in March 2011 from the ice, and CMARs were calculated from water contents, dry bulk densities, carbon contents and radiocarbon (14C) ages of the depth profiles. To indicate the sources of the organic material and characterize its diagenetic state, we determined carbon-nitrogen ratios (C/N) as well as amounts and compositions of lignin phenols. The transitions from organic rich sediment layers to glacial till deposits were found to be in sediment depths of ˜3 m in each lake. POC contents were on average highest (25-34 wt. % C), in small lakes (≤ 0.07 km2) and lowest (10-18 wt. % C) in the larger lakes (≥ 165 km2). The CMARs over the Holocene showed significant variations and were on average lower in the early Holocene, compared to recent accumulation rates. C/N values and the composition of lignin phenols further provided indications of important changes in organic matter source and reactivity over the Holocene. In summary, our data suggest that boreal lake sediments were a significantly stronger sink for organic carbon during the last ~150 years than during earlier periods of the Holocene.

Millennial-scale faunal record reveals differential resilience of European large mammals to human impacts across the Holocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Crees, Jennifer J; Carbone, Chris; Sommer, Robert S; Benecke, Norbert; Turvey, Samuel T

2016-03-30

The use of short-term indicators for understanding patterns and processes of biodiversity loss can mask longer-term faunal responses to human pressures. We use an extensive database of approximately 18,700 mammalian zooarchaeological records for the last 11,700 years across Europe to reconstruct spatio-temporal dynamics of Holocene range change for 15 large-bodied mammal species. European mammals experienced protracted, non-congruent range losses, with significant declines starting in some species approximately 3000 years ago and continuing to the present, and with the timing, duration and magnitude of declines varying individually between species. Some European mammals became globally extinct during the Holocene, whereas others experienced limited or no significant range change. These findings demonstrate the relatively early onset of prehistoric human impacts on postglacial biodiversity, and mirror species-specific patterns of mammalian extinction during the Late Pleistocene. Herbivores experienced significantly greater declines than carnivores, revealing an important historical extinction filter that informs our understanding of relative resilience and vulnerability to human pressures for different taxa. We highlight the importance of large-scale, long-term datasets for understanding complex protracted extinction processes, although the dynamic pattern of progressive faunal depletion of European mammal assemblages across the Holocene challenges easy identification of 'static' past baselines to inform current-day environmental management and restoration. © 2016 The Author(s).

1300 km long late Pleistocene-Holocene shelf edge barrier reef system along the western continental shelf of India: Occurrence and significance

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Vora, K.H.; Wagle, B.G.; Veerayya, M.; Almeida, F.; Karisiddaiah, S.M.

. It is surmised that coral/algal reef growth commenced with the advent of the Holocene trangression and favorable antecedent topography, and continued until early Holocene. Subsequently, rapid sea level rise drowned the reefs. The shelf edge reefs, therefore...

Anticyclonic atmospheric circulation as an analogue for the warm and dry mid-Holocene summer climate in central Scandinavia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Antonsson

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Climate reconstructions from central Scandinavia suggest that annual and summer temperatures were rising during the early Holocene and reached their maximum after 8000 cal yr BP. The period with highest temperatures was characterized by increasingly low lake-levels and dry climate, with driest and warmest conditions at about 7000 to 5000 cal yr BP. We compare the reconstructed climate pattern with simulations of a climate model for the last 9000 years and show that the model, which is predominantly driven by solar insolation patterns, suggests less prominent mid-Holocene dry and warm period in Scandinavia than the reconstructions. As an additional explanation for the reconstructed climate, we argue that the trend from the moist early Holocene towards dry and warm mid-Holocene was caused by a changing atmospheric circulation pattern with a mid-Holocene dominance of summer-time anticyclonic circulation. An extreme case of the anticyclonic conditions is the persistent blocking high, an atmospheric pressure pattern that at present often causes long spells of particularly dry and warm summer weather, or "Indian summers". The argument is tested with daily instrumental temperature and precipitation records in central Sweden and an objective circulation classification based on surface air pressure over the period 1900–2002. We conclude that the differences between the precipitation and temperature climates under anticyclonic and non-anticyclonic conditions are significant. Further, warm and dry combination, as indicated by mid-Holocene reconstructions, is a typical pattern under anticyclonic conditions. These results indicate that the presented hypothesis for the mid-Holocene climate is likely valid.

Quantitative Holocene climatic reconstructions for the lower Yangtze region of China

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Jianyong; Dodson, John; Yan, Hong; Wang, Weiming; Innes, James B.; Zong, Yongqiang; Zhang, Xiaojian; Xu, Qinghai; Ni, Jian; Lu, Fengyan

2018-02-01

Quantitative proxy-based and high-resolution palaeoclimatic datasets are scarce for the lower reaches of the Yangtze River (LYR) basin. This region is in a transitional vegetation zone which is climatologically sensitive; and as a birthplace for prehistorical civilization in China, it is important to understand how palaeoclimatic dynamics played a role in affecting cultural development in the region. We present a pollen-based and regionally-averaged Holocene climatic twin-dataset for mean total annual precipitation (PANN) and mean annual temperature (TANN) covering the last 10,000 years for the LYR region. This is based on the technique of weighted averaging-partial least squares regression to establish robust calibration models for obtaining reliable climatic inferences. The pollen-based reconstructions generally show an early Holocene climatic optimum with both abundant monsoonal rainfall and warm thermal conditions, and a declining pattern of both PANN and TANN values in the middle to late Holocene. The main driving forces behind the Holocene climatic changes in the LYR area are likely summer solar insolation associated with tropical or subtropical macro-scale climatic circulations such as the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH), and El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Regional multi-proxy comparisons indicate that the Holocene variations in precipitation and temperature for the LYR region display an in-phase relationship with other related proxy records from southern monsoonal China and the Indian monsoon-influenced regions, but are inconsistent with the Holocene moisture or temperature records from northern monsoonal China and the westerly-dominated region in northwestern China. Overall, our comprehensive palaeoclimatic dataset and models may be significant tools for understanding the Holocene Asian monsoonal evolution and for anticipating its future dynamics in eastern Asia.

Holocene Sea-Level Database For The Caribbean Region

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Khan, N. S.; Horton, B.; Engelhart, S. E.; Peltier, W. R.; Scatena, F. N.; Vane, C. H.; Liu, S.

2013-12-01

located furthest away from the former Laurentide Ice Sheet. Rates of RSL change were highest during the early Holocene and have decreased over time due primarily to the reduction of ice equivalent meltwater input. Sea-level observations are compared to predictions from glacio-isostatic adjustment (GIA) models, and the relative influence of tectonic vertical land movements on the RSL records in each region is assessed. Background rates of late Holocene RSL change are also compared to local tide gauge records to determine excess rates of 20th century RSL rise.

Patagonian and southern South Atlantic view of Holocene climate

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Kaplan, M. R.; Schaefer, J. M.; Strelin, J. A.; Denton, G. H.; Anderson, R. F.; Vandergoes, M. J.; Finkel, R. C.; Schwartz, R.; Travis, S. G.; Garcia, J. L.; Martini, M. A.; Nielsen, S. H. H.

2016-06-01

We present a comprehensive 10Be chronology for Holocene moraines in the Lago Argentino basin, on the east side of the South Patagonian Icefield. We focus on three different areas, where prior studies show ample glacier moraine records exist because they were formed by outlet glaciers sensitive to climate change. The 10Be dated records are from the Lago Pearson, Herminita Península-Brazo Upsala, and Lago Frías areas, which span a distance of almost 100 km adjacent to the modern Icefield. New 10Be ages show that expanded glaciers and moraine building events occurred at least at 6120 ± 390 (n = 13), 4450 ± 220 (n = 7), 1450 or 1410 ± 110 (n = 18), 360 ± 30 (n = 5), and 240 ± 20 (n = 8) years ago. Furthermore, other less well-dated glacier expansions of the Upsala Glacier occurred between 1400 and ∼1000 and ∼2300 and ∼2000 years ago. The most extensive glaciers occurred over the interval from ∼6100 to ∼4500 years ago, and their margins over the last ∼600 years were well within and lower than those in the middle Holocene. The 10Be ages agree with 14C-limiting data for the glacier histories in this area. We then link southern South American, adjacent South Atlantic, and other Southern Hemisphere records to elucidate broader regional patterns of climate and their possible causes. In the early Holocene, a far southward position of the westerly winds fostered warmth, small Patagonian glaciers, and reduced sea ice coverage over the South Atlantic. Although we infer a pronounced southward displacement of the westerlies during the early Holocene, these conditions did not occur throughout the southern mid-high latitudes, an important exception being over the southwest Pacific sector. Subsequently, a northward locus and/or expansion of the winds over the Patagonia-South Atlantic sector promoted the largest glaciers between ∼6100 and ∼4500 years ago and greatest sea ice coverage. Over the last few millennia, the South Patagonian Icefield has experienced

Alkenone-based reconstructions reveal four-phase Holocene temperature evolution for High Arctic Svalbard

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van der Bilt, Willem G. M.; D'Andrea, William J.; Bakke, Jostein; Balascio, Nicholas L.; Werner, Johannes P.; Gjerde, Marthe; Bradley, Raymond S.

2018-03-01

Situated at the crossroads of major oceanic and atmospheric circulation patterns, the Arctic is a key component of Earth's climate system. Compounded by sea-ice feedbacks, even modest shifts in the region's heat budget drive large climate responses. This is highlighted by the observed amplified response of the Arctic to global warming. Assessing the imprint and signature of underlying forcing mechanisms require paleoclimate records, allowing us to expand our knowledge beyond the short instrumental period and contextualize ongoing warming. However, such datasets are scarce and sparse in the Arctic, limiting our ability to address these issues. Here, we present two quantitative Holocene-length paleotemperature records from the High Arctic Svalbard archipelago, situated in the climatically sensitive Arctic North Atlantic. Temperature estimates are based on U37K unsaturation ratios from sediment cores of two lakes. Our data reveal a dynamic Holocene temperature evolution, with reconstructed summer lake water temperatures spanning a range of ∼6-8 °C, and characterized by four phases. The Early Holocene was marked by an early onset (∼10.5 ka cal. BP) of insolation-driven Hypsithermal conditions, likely compounded by strengthening oceanic heat transport. This warm interval was interrupted by cooling between ∼10.5-8.3 ka cal. BP that we attribute to cooling effects from the melting Northern Hemisphere ice sheets. Temperatures declined throughout the Middle Holocene, following a gradual trend that was accentuated by two cooling steps between ∼7.8-7 ka cal. BP and around ∼4.4-4.3 ka cal. BP. These transitions coincide with a strengthening influence of Arctic water and sea-ice in the adjacent Fram Strait. During the Late Holocene (past 4 ka), temperature change decoupled from the still-declining insolation, and fluctuated around comparatively cold mean conditions. By showing that Holocene Svalbard temperatures were governed by an alternation of forcings, this study

Holocene precipitation changes in the deep tropics recorded by Speleothems (Invited)

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Wang, X.; Auler, A. S.; Edwards, R.; Kong, X.; Cheng, H.; Cruz, F. W.; Wang, Y.; Broecker, W. S.

2010-12-01

We have obtained a high-resolution oxygen isotope (δ18O) record of cave calcite from Paraiso Cave, eastern Amazon, which covers most of the Holocene. Its chronology was determined by U-Th ages from three column-shaped stalagmites. Their δ18O profiles replicate among their contemporaneous growth periods. Therefore, the samples were likely precipitated under equilibrium conditions and their oxygen isotopic variations are primarily caused by climate change. We find that the δ18O decreases steadily from ~11.0 to 5.0 thousand years ago, with a growth gap between ~8.4 to 6.3 thousand years ago, and then gradually increases until the present. The large amplitude of the δ18O change (up to 4 per mil) suggests that the variation in δ18O value is dominated by meteoric precipitation change at this equatorial site. In order to investigate the interactions between the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), monsoons and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity during the Holocene, we compare the Paraiso record to speleothem records from other locations in the deep tropics, namely, cave sites from Flores, Borneo and Peru. We find that all these speleothem records are consistent, with a progressive δ18O decrease (rainfall increase) during the early Holocene, probably in response to the southward retreat of the ITCZ from its northernmost location in the early Holocene. This is evident from the strong anti-correlation between the speleothem monsoonal records from China and southern Brazil. However, our record is distinct from the others during the last 4 thousand years, when it switches to a continuous δ18O increase (rainfall decrease) trend, while the others flatten out. We propose that, during the late Holocene, the strengthened South American Summer Monsoon may override the ENSO influence and cause the discrepancy in precipitation between eastern Amazon and other deep tropical cave sites.

Holocene reef development where wave energy reduces accommodation

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Grossman, Eric E.; Fletcher, Charles H.

2004-01-01

Analyses of 32 drill cores obtained from the windward reef of Kailua Bay, Oahu, Hawaii, indicate that high wave energy significantly reduced accommodation space for reef development in the Holocene and produced variable architecture because of the combined influence of sea-level history and wave exposure over a complex antecedent topography. A paleostream valley within the late Pleistocene insular limestone shelf provided accommodation space for more than 11 m of vertical accretion since sea level flooded the bay 8000 yr BP. Virtually no net accretion (pile-up of fore-reef-derived rubble (rudstone) and sparse bindstone, and (3) a final stage of catch-up bindstone accretion in depths > 6 m. Coral framestone accreted at rates of 2.5-6.0 mm/yr in water depths > 11 m during the early Holocene; it abruptly terminated at ~4500 yr BP because of wave scour as sea level stabilized. More than 4 m of rudstone derived from the upper fore reef accreted at depths of 6 to 13 m below sea level between 4000 and 1500 yr BP coincident with late Holocene relative sea-level fall. Variations in the thickness, composition, and age of these reef facies across spatial scales of 10-1000 m within Kailua Bay illustrate the importance of antecedent topography and wave-related stress in reducing accommodation space for reef development set by sea level. Although accommodation space of 6 to 17 m has existed through most of the Holocene, the Kailua reef has been unable to catch up to sea level because of persistent high wave stress.

Early to mid-Holocene spatiotemporal vegetation changes and tsunami impact in a paradigmatic coastal transitional system (Doñana National Park, southwestern Europe)

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Manzano, Saúl; Carrión, José S.; López-Merino, Lourdes; Ochando, Juan; Munuera, Manuel; Fernández, Santiago; González-Sampériz, Penélope

2018-02-01

The southern European Doñana wetlands host a highly biodiverse landscape mosaic of complex transitional ecosystems. It is one of the largest protected natural sites in Europe, nowadays endangered by intensive agricultural practices, and more recently tourism and human-induced fires. Its present-day spatial heterogeneity has been deeply investigated for the last three decades. However, a long-term perspective has not been applied systematically to this unique landscape. In this new study, a palaeoecological approach was selected in order to unravel patterns of landscape dynamism comparing dry upland and aquatic ecosystems. A 709 cm-long sediment core was retrieved and a multi-proxy approach applied (palynological, microcharcoal, grain size, magnetic susceptibility, loss-on-ignition and multivariate statistical analyses). Pollen signatures show how sensitive aquatic wetland vegetation was to environmental changes while terrestrial vegetation was stable at millennial scale. The impact of several high energy events punctuates the Early and Middle Holocene sequence, two of which relate to the local tsunami record ( 6.6 and 9.1 cal. kyr BP). Contrasting impacts of these two events in the aquatic and upland ecosystems show the importance of landscape configuration and the contingent history as key elements for coastal protection.

Human used upper montane ecosystem in the Horton Plains, central Sri Lanka - a link to Lateglacial and early Holocene climate and environmental changes

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Premathilake, Rathnasiri

2012-09-01

This study utilizes radiocarbon-dated pollen, spores, Sphagnum spp. macrofossils and total organic carbon proxies to examine variability of past climate, environment and human activity in montane rainforest, grassland and wetland of the Horton Plains (HP), central Sri Lanka since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The LGM is largely characterized by grasslands and xerophytic herbs dominated open habitats. Arid-LGM punctuated climatic ameliorations, which took place in short episodes. Humans appear to have reached the HP ecosystem after 18,000 cal yrs BP occasionally. The first Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) induced changes in South West Monsoon (SWM) rains occurred at low latitudes between 16,200 and 15,900 cal yrs BP suggesting an onset of monsoon rains. After this event, monsoon rains weakened for several millennia except the period 13,700-13,000 cal yrs BP, but human activity seems to have continued with biomass burning and clearances by slash and burn. Very large size grass pollen grains, which are morphologically similar to pollen from closer forms of Oryza nivara, were found after 13,800 cal yrs BP. Early Holocene extreme and abrupt climate changes seem to have promoted the forms of O. nivara populations in association with humans. New data from the HP would therefore be most interesting to investigate the dispersal and use of domesticated rice in South Asia.

Rapid Holocene thinning of outlet glaciers followed by readvance in the western Ross Embayment, Antarctica

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Jones, R. S.; Whitmore, R.; Mackintosh, A.; Norton, K. P.; Eaves, S.; Stutz, J.

2017-12-01

Investigating Antarctic deglaciation following the LGM provides an opportunity to better understand patterns, mechanisms and drivers of ice sheet retreat. In the Ross Sea sector, geomorphic features preserved on the seafloor indicate that streaming East Antarctic outlet glaciers once extended >100 km offshore of South Victoria Land prior to back-stepping towards their modern configurations. In order to adequately interpret the style and causes of this retreat, the timing and magnitude of corresponding ice thickness change is required. We present new constraints on ice surface lowering from Mawson Glacier, an outlet of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet that flows into the western Ross Sea. Surface-exposure (10Be) ages from samples collected in elevation transects above the modern ice surface reveal that rapid thinning occurred at 5-8 ka, broadly coeval with new ages of grounding-line retreat at 6 ka and rapid thinning recorded at nearby Mackay Glacier at 7 ka. Our data also show that a moraine formed near to the modern ice margin of Mawson Glacier at 0.8 ka, which, together with historical observations, indicates that glaciers in this region readvanced during the last thousand years. We argue that 1) the accelerated thinning of outlet glaciers was driven by local grounding-line retreat through overdeepened basins during the early-mid Holocene, and 2) the glaciers subsequently readvanced, possibly linked to late Holocene sea-ice expansion, before retreating to their current positions. Our work demonstrates that these outlet glaciers were closely coupled to environmental and topography-induced perturbations near their termini throughout the Holocene.

Reconstructing recent environmental change in the Carpathian Basin; advocating an interdisciplinary approach for 2020 environmental science

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Simon HUTCHINSON

2012-10-01

Full Text Available An interdisciplinary approach to environmental science is particularly important in the field of palaeoenvironmental research. Indeed, while the majority of such studies employ a range of proxies in their investigation, the more innovative studies tend to truly cross discipline boundaries. The investigation of depositional environments (e.g., lake sediments and mires as archives of environmental history has a long tradition in the Carpathian region. However, glacial lakes across the region have also been described as under-investigated despite their potential for palaeolimnological study (Buczko et al. 2009. Studies have also largely focused on relatively early (Late Glacial and Early Holocene environmental change.  Nevertheless, there is an increasing interest in the reconstruction of more human-driven impacts on the environment and events in the very recent past on a century to decade timescale e.g., post Industrial Revolution and following political change from the mid 1940s and in the late 1980s. Furthermore, efforts have are also being made to inform the debate about future climate and environmental changes linking palaeoenvironmental records to predictive computer modelling.

Holocene Faunal Trends in West Siberia and Their Causes

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Gashev, S. N.; Aleshina, A. O.; Zuban, I. A.; Lupinos, M. Y.; Mardonova, L. B.; Mitropolskiy, M. G.; Selyukov, A. G.; Sorokina, N. V.; Stolbov, V. A.; Shapovalov, S. I.

2017-12-01

Based on an analysis of the transformation of vertebrate and invertebrate fauna of West Siberia in the Holocene, the classification and periodization of the main faunal trends are presented. Against the background of changing environmental conditions, the key regularities of the faunal dynamics, and the ways some species penetrate into the territory of the region and others disappear from the beginning of the Holocene to the present time have been indicated. Three global and four fluctuating trends are identified. The anthropogenic trend is ascertained separately. A conclusion is made about the prevailing causes of these changes, associated primarily with periodic climatic processes of different levels, determined by planetary geological and cosmic cycles. It is emphasized that, in the historical period, anthropogenic factors play a significant role in the regional faunal dynamics.

Holocene Enviromental Changes in AN Amazonian Floodplain Lake

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Moreira, L.; Moreira-Turcq, P. F.; Turcq, B.; Cordeiro, R. C.

2011-12-01

not change, suggesting the permanence of a flooded vegetation. The carbon flux increases significantly, reaching peaks of 17 g C/m2/year. The Aulacoseira sp became dominant reaching a peak in this phase. These characteristics show conditions progressively wetter during the Late Holocene. The shift from a shorter annual water levels during the Early-Mid Holocene (phase III) to a long annual high water levels since 3200 years cal BP can suggest a climate change from a drier Early-mid Holocene to a wetter Late Holocene.

Estuarine development and early Holocene transgression across an aeolianite substrate, Caesarea, central Israel

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Goff, John A.; Austin, James A.; Goodman-Tchernov, Beverly N.

2018-04-01

Estuaries are important features on the coastal landscape due to their potential for rich, diverse, and abundant resources. The modern coast of the southeast Mediterranean is largely devoid of estuaries except in rare circumstances where ample sands are delivered to the shore, such as east of the Nile Delta. Whether or not today's condition is reflective of that present during lower sea-levels is greatly speculative in part due to a dearth of high-resolution sub-surface mapping in the shallower (sediments in water depths 45-10 mbsl, both within paleo-channels of the Crocodile and Hadera rivers, and more broadly across the shelf. These water depths correspond to early Holocene dates ( 10.5-7.5 ka) which, based on global sea-level curves, was a period of rapid ( 1-1.7 cm/yr) sea-level rise. Now-submerged aeolianite ridges (locally referred to as 'kurkar'), cemented aeolian deposits formed during pre-Last-Glacial-Maximum (LGM) seaward advance (regression) of the coastline, likely provided some offshore barrier for estuarine development. These were insufficient, however, to account for all the estuarine deposition interpreted, leading us to hypothesize that sand-constructed barrier islands were also present as sea-level rose during the Holocene. This supply of sand, clearly greater than what is evident today, could have originated from sea-level rise phase eroding Nile Delta sediments transported northward by littoral currents, or from increased output from local rivers during wetter climatic conditions. We also observe a transition from linear, shore-parallel aeolianite ridge morphology features on land and in shallow water, to nested, arcuate features below 30 mbsl. Whereas the linear ridges are thought to be coastal foredune remnants abandoned by the retreating shoreline, the arcuate forms resemble fossil parabolic (blowout) dunes. Based on the recent initiation of parabolic dunes on Cape Cod following anthropogenic denudation of forests there, we suggest that

Holocene Lake and Shallow Water Sediments at Mograt Island, Sudan

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Dittrich Annett

2017-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents the results of stratigraphic excavation and soil studies carried out at Mograt Island, the largest of the Nilotic islands in Sudan. Due to its restricted insular environments, Holocene alluvial deposits were observed to be interlocked with archaeological remains of different periods, allowing for a combined chronostratigraphic approach to study both cultural and climatic events. To better understand the environmental context through soil components and pedological features at a microscopic scale, soil block samples were accordingly collected and studied by the application of soil micromorphology. This approach provides insights into the history of Nile terrace aggradation through the suspension of Nile sediment loads under stillwater conditions as well as of the periodical establishment of shallow water pools at the islands′ plateaus by the surface run-off from local rains. Since these patterns vary significantly from the present situation, they offer a key to the scenario in which specific early agricultural and animal herding practices evolved.

Precise Surface Exposure Dating of Early Holocene and Little Ice Age Moraines in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of Southern Peru

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Licciardi, J. M.; Schaefer, J. M.; Lund, D. C.; Taggart, J. R.

2008-12-01

We have established precise ages of two glacial events in the tropical Andean highlands of southern Peru. The field site is located on the flanks of Nevado Salcantay (6271 m asl; 13°20'S latitude), the highest peak in the Cordillera Vilcabamba. A two-fold sequence of nested lateral and end moraines was mapped in a glacial trough emanating from the south face of Salcantay. Well-defined outer and inner moraines were deposited by valley glaciers that terminated 5 km and 3 km, respectively, from their head on the Salcantay massif. Cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure dating of boulders on the outer (n = 7) and inner (n = 7) moraine crests expands upon initial age control for these deposits and improves substantially on the precision of earlier 10Be measurements. The new results yield mean ages of 9.0 ± 0.3 ka for the outer moraine and 195 ± 24 years for the inner moraine, corresponding to glacial events during the early and latest Holocene. These ages are derived using the CRONUS-Earth 10Be exposure age calculator with Lal-Stone production rate scaling and the default height-pressure relationship. The inner moraine age correlates with the timing of the Little Ice Age as defined from northern mid- and high latitude records, and indicates considerable expansion of glaciers heading on Nevado Salcantay during this climatic minimum. Recent geomorphic mapping has identified similar sequences of moraines in adjacent drainages on and near Salcantay, suggesting a broader regional signal of two prominent Holocene glacial events in this segment of the southern Peruvian Andes; 10Be dating of these additional moraines is underway. Our new glacier chronologies complement ice core and lacustrine paleoclimate records in the vicinity, thereby increasing spatial and temporal coverage for identifying patterns of climate change in the tropical Andes during the Holocene. Apart from their paleoclimatic significance, the results also demonstrate a newly- developed capability of 10Be exposure

Simple technologies and diverse food strategies of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene at Huaca Prieta, Coastal Peru.

Science.gov (United States)

Dillehay, Tom D; Goodbred, Steve; Pino, Mario; Vásquez Sánchez, Víctor F; Tham, Teresa Rosales; Adovasio, James; Collins, Michael B; Netherly, Patricia J; Hastorf, Christine A; Chiou, Katherine L; Piperno, Dolores; Rey, Isabel; Velchoff, Nancy

2017-05-01

Simple pebble tools, ephemeral cultural features, and the remains of maritime and terrestrial foods are present in undisturbed Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene deposits underneath a large human-made mound at Huaca Prieta and nearby sites on the Pacific coast of northern Peru. Radiocarbon ages indicate an intermittent human presence dated between ~15,000 and 8000 calendar years ago before the mound was built. The absence of fishhooks, harpoons, and bifacial stone tools suggests that technologies of gathering, trapping, clubbing, and exchange were used primarily to procure food resources along the shoreline and in estuarine wetlands and distant mountains. The stone artifacts are minimally worked unifacial stone tools characteristic of several areas of South America. Remains of avocado, bean, and possibly cultivated squash and chile pepper are also present, suggesting human transport and consumption. Our new findings emphasize an early coastal lifeway of diverse food procurement strategies that suggest detailed observation of resource availability in multiple environments and a knowledgeable economic organization, although technologies were simple and campsites were seemingly ephemeral and discontinuous. These findings raise questions about the pace of early human movement along some areas of the Pacific coast and the level of knowledge and technology required to exploit maritime and inland resources.

Variability of East Asian summer monsoon precipitation during the Holocene and possible forcing mechanisms

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Lu, Fuzhi; Ma, Chunmei; Zhu, Cheng; Lu, Huayu; Zhang, Xiaojian; Huang, Kangyou; Guo, Tianhong; Li, Kaifeng; Li, Lan; Li, Bing; Zhang, Wenqing

2018-03-01

Projecting how the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) rainfall will change with global warming is essential for human sustainability. Reconstructing Holocene climate can provide critical insight into its forcing and future variability. However, quantitative reconstructions of Holocene summer precipitation are lacking for tropical and subtropical China, which is the core region of the EASM influence. Here we present high-resolution annual and summer rainfall reconstructions covering the whole Holocene based on the pollen record at Xinjie site from the lower Yangtze region. Summer rainfall was less seasonal and 30% higher than modern values at 10-6 cal kyr BP and gradually declined thereafter, which broadly followed the Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. Over the last two millennia, however, the summer rainfall has deviated from the downward trend of summer insolation. We argue that greenhouse gas forcing might have offset summer insolation forcing and contributed to the late Holocene rainfall anomaly, which is supported by the TraCE-21 ka transient simulation. Besides, tropical sea-surface temperatures could modulate summer rainfall by affecting evaporation of seawater. The rainfall pattern concurs with stalagmite and other proxy records from southern China but differs from mid-Holocene rainfall maximum recorded in arid/semiarid northern China. Summer rainfall in northern China was strongly suppressed by high-northern-latitude ice volume forcing during the early Holocene in spite of high summer insolation. In addition, the El Niño/Southern Oscillation might be responsible for droughts of northern China and floods of southern China during the late Holocene. Furthermore, quantitative rainfall reconstructions indicate that the Paleoclimate Modeling Intercomparison Project (PMIP) simulations underestimate the magnitude of Holocene precipitation changes. Our results highlight the spatial and temporal variability of the Holocene EASM precipitation and potential forcing

Atlantic Water advection vs. glacier dynamics in northern Spitsbergen since early deglaciation

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M. Bartels

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Atlantic Water (AW advection plays an important role in climatic, oceanographic and environmental conditions in the eastern Arctic. Situated along the only deep connection between the Atlantic and the Arctic oceans, the Svalbard Archipelago is an ideal location to reconstruct the past AW advection history and document its linkage with local glacier dynamics, as illustrated in the present study of a 275 cm long sedimentary record from Woodfjorden (northern Spitsbergen; water depth: 171 m spanning the last  ∼  15 500 years. Sedimentological, micropalaeontological and geochemical analyses were used to reconstruct changes in marine environmental conditions, sea ice cover and glacier activity. Data illustrate a partial break-up of the Svalbard–Barents Sea Ice Sheet from Heinrich Stadial 1 onwards (until  ∼  14.6 ka. During the Bølling–Allerød ( ∼  14.6–12.7 ka, AW penetrated as a bottom water mass into the fjord system and contributed significantly to the destabilization of local glaciers. During the Younger Dryas ( ∼  12.7–11.7 ka, it intruded into intermediate waters while evidence for a glacier advance is lacking. A short-term deepening of the halocline occurred at the very end of this interval. During the early Holocene ( ∼  11.7–7.8 ka, mild conditions led to glacier retreat, a reduced sea ice cover and increasing sea surface temperatures, with a brief interruption during the Preboreal Oscillation ( ∼  11.1–10.8 ka. Due to a  ∼  6000-year gap, the mid-Holocene is not recorded in this sediment core. During the late Holocene ( ∼  1.8–0.4 ka, a slightly reduced AW inflow and lower sea surface temperatures compared to the early Holocene are reconstructed. Glaciers, which previously retreated to the shallower inner parts of the Woodfjorden system, likely advanced during the late Holocene. In particular, topographic control in concert with the reduced

Holocene sea-level changes in the Falkland Islands

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Newton, Tom; Gehrels, Roland; Daley, Tim; Long, Antony; Bentley, Mike

2014-05-01

present sea level. RSL then fell slowly during the middle and late Holocene, eroding the elevated tidal flat deposits in places, and allowing development of thin salt marsh deposits and encroachment of freshwater marsh. Our new sea-level index points are roughly in agreement with GIA model predictions but place tight constraints on the timing of early Holocene RSL rise and the height and timing of the maximum Holocene RSL position.

Unexpected early extinction of the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) in Sweden and climatic impact on its Holocene range.

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Sommer, Robert S; Lindqvist, Charlotte; Persson, Arne; Bringsøe, Henrik; Rhodin, Anders G J; Schneeweiss, Norbert; Siroký, Pavel; Bachmann, Lutz; Fritz, Uwe

2009-03-01

Using ancient DNA sequences of subfossil European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis) from Britain, Central and North Europe and accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating for turtle remains from most Swedish sites, we provide evidence for a Holocene range expansion of the pond turtle from the southeastern Balkans into Britain, Central Europe and Scandinavia, according to the 'grasshopper pattern' of Hewitt. Northeastern Europe and adjacent Asia were colonized from another refuge located further east. With increasing annual mean temperatures, pond turtles reached southern Sweden approximately 9800 years ago. Until approximately 5500 years ago, rising temperatures facilitated a further range expansion up to Ostergötland, Sweden (approximately 58 degrees 30'N). However, around 5500 years ago pond turtle records suddenly terminate in Sweden, some 1500 years before the Holocene thermal maximum ended in Scandinavia and distinctly earlier than previously thought. This extinction coincides with a temporary cooling oscillation during the Holocene thermal maximum and is likely related to lower summer temperatures deteriorating reproductive success. Although climatic conditions improved later again, recolonization of Sweden from southern source populations was prevented by the Holocene submergence of the previous land connection via the Danish Straits that occurred approximately 8500 years ago.

Mediterranean moisture source for an Early-Holocene humid period in the Northern Red Sea

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arz, H.W.; Lamy, F.; Paetzold, J.; Mueller, P.J.; Prins, M.A.

2003-01-01

Paleosalinity and terrigenous sediment input changes reconstructed on two sediment cores from the northernmost Red Sea were used to infer hydrological changes at the southern margin of the Mediterranean climate zone during the Holocene. Between approximately 9.25 and 7.25 thousand years ago, about

Palynological evidence for vegetation patterns in the Transvaal (South Africa during the late Pleistocene and Holocene

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L. Scott

1983-11-01

Full Text Available Palynological evidence relating to the nature of Late Quaternary vegetation types and plant migrations in the Transvaal is briefly summarized. It is suggested that, after an early temperate, relatively moist phase and a subsequent relatively dry phase lasting until about 25 000 yr B.P., a vegetation-type with ericaceous elements developed. It resembled belts presently occurring above the treeline and was possibly widespread over the plains of the Transvaal during the last glacial maximum period. In the central parts of the province, warm semi-arid savanna subsequently expanded during the early Holocene and was followed by a more broad-leafed type of woodland in the late Holocene. This change probably resulted from slightly wetter and, at times, also slightly warmer and cooler conditions.

Celtic field agriculture and Early Anthropogenic Environmental change in soil records of the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt region, NW Europe.

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Van der Sanden, Germaine; Kluiving, Sjoerd; Roymans, Nico

2017-04-01

Archaeological research is fundamental in the process of obtaining a greater understanding on the intricate dynamics between the human species and the 'natural' environment. Deep historical processes can evaluate the complex interactions that eventually led to the human species as the dominating agent, in terms of the Earth's biotic and abiotic processes. Regional landscape studies can determine whether the human species can be evaluated as a formative element in soil formation processes during the Holocene. This study is directed to examine early anthropogenic land cover change (ALCC) in the Meuse-Demer-Scheldt region, in the southern Netherlands and northern Belgium, between the Late Bronze Age and Early Roman Period (1050-200 AD). The introduction of an extensive agricultural system, the Celtic field system, in co-relation with demographic rise, led to increased anthropogenic pressure on the MDS landscape. Throughout the Holocene, demographic rise pressured farmers to develop increasingly efficient and innovative methods of extracting more yields per unit area farmed resulting in a decrease in land use per capita over time (Kaplan et al. 2010; Boserup, 1965,1981)). The land use per capita under Celtic field technology was relatively high compared to contemporary numbers, based on the assumption that land use per capita did not remain constant. The MDS region is a clear example of early Holocene ALCC and modification of terrestrial ecosystems due to excessive clearance of vegetation. Early Holocene ALCC resulted in ecological deficiencies in the landscape, e.g. deforestation, acceleration of podzolisation and a decrease in terrestrial carbon storage as well as water retention capacity. ALCC can impact climate through biogeophysical and biogeochemical feedbacks to the atmosphere, and result in regional negative radiative forcing. Here we hypothesize that the previously presumed fundamental restructuring that led to a structural bipartition in the landscape due to

Toward explaining the Holocene carbon dioxide and carbon isotope records: Results from transient ocean carbon cycle-climate simulations

Science.gov (United States)

Menviel, L.; Joos, F.

2012-03-01

The Bern3D model was applied to quantify the mechanisms of carbon cycle changes during the Holocene (last 11,000 years). We rely on scenarios from the literature to prescribe the evolution of shallow water carbonate deposition and of land carbon inventory changes over the glacial termination (18,000 to 11,000 years ago) and the Holocene and modify these scenarios within uncertainties. Model results are consistent with Holocene records of atmospheric CO2 and δ13C as well as the spatiotemporal evolution of δ13C and carbonate ion concentration in the deep sea. Deposition of shallow water carbonate, carbonate compensation of land uptake during the glacial termination, land carbon uptake and release during the Holocene, and the response of the ocean-sediment system to marine changes during the termination contribute roughly equally to the reconstructed late Holocene pCO2 rise of 20 ppmv. The 5 ppmv early Holocene pCO2 decrease reflects terrestrial uptake largely compensated by carbonate deposition and ocean sediment responses. Additional small contributions arise from Holocene changes in sea surface temperature, ocean circulation, and export productivity. The Holocene pCO2 variations result from the subtle balance of forcings and processes acting on different timescales and partly in opposite direction as well as from memory effects associated with changes occurring during the termination. Different interglacial periods with different forcing histories are thus expected to yield different pCO2 evolutions as documented by ice cores.

Timing and magnitude of the Caribbean mid-Holocene highstand

Science.gov (United States)

Ashe, E.; Khan, N.; Horton, B.; Brocard, G. Y.; Dutton, A.; Engelhart, S. E.; Kopp, R. E.; Hill, D. F.; Peltier, W. R.; Scatena, F. N.

2015-12-01

We present a database of published and new relative sea-level (RSL) data for the past 13 ka, which constrains the Holocene sea-level histories of the Caribbean coast of Central and South America (Florida Keys, USA to Guyana) and the Bahamas and Greater and Lesser Antilles islands. Our evaluation of mangrove peat and Acropora palmata sea-level indicators from geological investigations provides 503 sea-level index points and 242 limiting dates. We subdivide the database into 21 regions based on the availability of data, tectonic setting, and distance from the former Laurentide ice sheet. Most index points (75%) and limiting dates (90%) are <8 ka, although there is an unusual temporal distribution with the greatest amount of the data (~28%) occurring between 6-8 ka. We reassess and screen radiocarbon and U/Th ages of mangrove peat and coral data. We use the stratigraphic position (overburden thickness) of index points account for sediment compaction, and use the paleotidal model of Hill et al. (2011) to account for Holocene changes in paleotidal range. A noisy-input Gaussian process regression model calculates that the rates of RSL change were highest during the early Holocene (3-8 mm/yr) and have decreased over time (< 2 mm/yr), which is related to the reduction of ice equivalent meltwater input and collapse of the proglacial forebulge during the Holocene. The sea-level reconstructions demonstrate that RSL did not exceed the present height (0 m) during the Holocene in the majority of locations, with the exception of a small highstand (<2 m) on the northern coast of South America along the Orinoco Delta and Suriname/Guyana located furthest away from the former Laurentide Ice Sheet. The different sea-level histories are an ongoing isostatic response to deglaciation of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and suggest subsidence resulting from collapse of the proglacial forebulge reaches further south than previously considered.

The evolution of Saharan dust input in Lanzarote (Canary Islands): Lower Holocene triggering by human activity in the northwest Sahara?

Science.gov (United States)

von Suchodoletz, H.; Oberhänsli, H.; Faust, D.; Zöller, L.; Hambach, U.; Fuchs, M.

2009-04-01

A Holocene increase of Saharan dust input to the area of the Canary islands is accompanied by a strong coarsening of this material during the Early Holocene as recorded in loess-like sediments deposited on Lanzarote. Whereas natural causes can be ruled out for the coarsening that is exceptional during the period of the last 180 ka, it is assumed that anthropogenic activity strongly mobilized dust in an area on the pathway of dust prior to its arrival in Lanzarote comprising parts of Western Sahara and northern Mauritania. Although scarce archaeological data from the coastal area of that region do not point to strong anthropogenic activity during the Early Holocene yet, a high density of unexplored archaeological remains reported from the coastal hinterlands does not exclude this hypothesis. Thus, the results of this study highlight the need of further archaeological investigations in that Saharan region.

Insolation driven biomagnetic response to Holocene Warm Period in semi-arid East Asia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Liu, S.; Deng, Chenglong; Xiao, Jule; Li, Jinhua; Paterson, Greig; Chang, Liao; Yi, Liang; Qin, Huafeng; Pan, Yongxin; Zhu, Rixiang

2015-01-01

The Holocene Warm Period (HWP) provides valuable insights into the climate system and biotic responses to environmental variability and thus serves as an excellent analogue for future global climate changes. Here we document, for the first time, that warm and wet HWP conditions were highly

Late Pleistocene to Holocene environmental changes as recorded in the sulfur geochemistry of coastal plain sediments, southwestern Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Y.-G.; Liu, J.C.-L.; Shieh, Y.-N.; Liu, T.-K.

2004-01-01

A core, drilled at San-liao-wan in the southwestern coastal plain of Taiwan, has been analyzed for total sulfur contents, isotopic values, as well as ratios of pyritic sulfur to organic carbon. Our results demonstrate a close relationship between late Pleistocene sea-level change and the proxies generated in this study. The inorganic sulfur contents indicate that at our study site, the Holocene transgression started at ???11 ka and remained under seawater for thousands of years until the late Holocene, corresponding to a depth of 20 m in the study core. The uppermost 20 m of core shows relatively high total organic carbon (TOC) and ??34S of inorganic sulfur, suggesting a transitional environment such as muddy lagoon or marsh, before the site turned into a modern coastal plain. In the lower part of the core, at depths of 110-145 m (corresponding ages of ???12-30 ka), low sulfur contents are recorded, probably indicating fluvial sediments deposited during the oceanic isotope stage (OIS) 2, a sea-level lowstand. The lower part of the core, roughly within OIS 3, records at least two transgressions, although the transgressional signals may be somewhat obscured by subsequent weathering. The reworked origin of organic matter reported in previous studies is confirmed by our organic sulfur data; however, the marine organic source was periodically dominant. The modern high sulfate concentrations in pore water have no correlation to the other sulfur species in the sediments, probably indicating that the sulfate migrated into the site subsequent to early diagenesis. ?? 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Early Holocene forest fires, drift sands, and Usselo-type paleosols in the Laarder Wasmeren area near Hilversum, the Netherlands: Implications for the history of sand landscapes and the potential role of Mesolithic land use

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sevink, J.; van Geel, B.; Jansen, B.; Wallinga, J.

In the Laarder Wasmeren area in the western Netherlands, Late Pleistocene cover sands and overlying early Holocene drift sands show various paleosols, which can be characterized as more or less incipient podzols. We dated those soils and sands by radiocarbon analysis and OSL, and we used

Origin and dynamics of the northern South American coastal savanna belt during the Holocene - the role of climate, sea-level, fire and humans

Science.gov (United States)

Alizadeh, Kamaleddin; Cohen, Marcelo; Behling, Hermann

2015-08-01

Presence of a coastal savanna belt expanding from British Guiana to northeastern Brazil cannot be explained by present-day climate. Using pollen and charcoal analyses on an 11.6 k old sediment core from a coastal depression in the savanna belt near the mouth of the Amazon River we investigated the paleoenvironmental history to shed light on this question. Results indicate that small areas of savanna accompanied by a forest type composed primarily by the genus Micropholis (Sapotaceae) that has no modern analog existed at the beginning of the Holocene. After 11,200 cal yr BP, savanna accompanied by few trees replaced the forest. In depressions swamp forest developed and by ca 10,000 cal yr BP replaced by Mauritia swamps. Between 8500 and 5600 cal yr BP gallery forest (composed mainly of Euphorbiaceae) and swamp forest succeeded the treeless savanna. The modern vegetation with alternating gallery forest and savanna developed after 5600 cal yr BP. We suggest that the early Holocene no-analog forest is a relict of previously more extensive forest under cooler and moister Lateglacial conditions. The early Holocene savanna expansion indicates a drier phase probably related to the shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) towards its northernmost position. The mid-Holocene forest expansion is probably a result of the combined influence of equatorwards shift of ITCZ joining the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ). The ecosystem variability during the last 5600 cal yr BP, formed perhaps under influence of intensified ENSO condition. High charcoal concentrations, especially during the early Holocene, indicate that natural and/or anthropogenic fires may have maintained the savanna. However, our results propose that climate change is the main driving factor for the formation of the coastal savanna in this region. Our results also show that the early Holocene sea level rise established mangroves near the study site until 7500 cal yr BP and promoted swamp formation in

Stalagmite-derived Last Glacial Maximum - Mid Holocene Indian Monsoon Record from Krem Mawmluh, Meghalaya, NE India

Science.gov (United States)

Lone, M. A.; Routh, J.; Kumar, V.; Mangini, A.; Rangarajan, R.; Ghosh, P.; Munnuru Singamshetty, K.; Shen, C. C.; Ahmad, S. M.; Mii, H. S.

2016-12-01

Seasonal reversals in monsoon winds strongly influence rainfall patterns on the Indian sub-continent regulating the socio-economy of south Asian region. High-resolution centennial-millennial scale records of climate change from the core zone of the monsoon impacted region are nonetheless very few. Here, we report Indian summer monsoon (ISM) variability record from an 87-cm long stalagmite (KM-1) from Krem Mawmluh in the Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. The absolute dated stalagmite record ranges from 22.7 (LGM) to 6.7 ka (Mid Holocene), revealing last glacial-interglacial paleoclimatic changes over the Indian sub-continent. A sharp change in δ18O ( 5‰) and growth rate post Younger Dryas (YD) is marked by continued rapid speleogenesis in KM-1 and coincides with monsoon intensification during the early Holocene. Prominent multi-centennial to millennial scale dry phases in ISM activity are observed from LGM to YD. During early to mid-Holocene, the record shows significant multi-decadal to centennial scale changes. The high frequency δ18O variations referring to abrupt changes in ISM activity are believed to be driven by changes in temperature and shifting of Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone.

Millennial Scale Variability of the AMOC and its Link to Climate During the Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Thornalley, D. J.; Oppo, D.; Keigwin, L. D.; Hall, I. R.; Moffa Sanchez, P.

2014-12-01

Several proxy and modelling studies suggest that there may have been considerable change in the operation the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) during the Holocene. Yet despite its importance for regional and global climate, the Holocene history of the AMOC is poorly constrained. Improving our knowledge of past AMOC variability will contribute to our general understanding of the dynamics of ocean circulation and the role it may play in causing or amplifying climate variability on millennial timescales. We present Holocene grain-size records in depth transects from Blake Outer Ridge and Cape Hatteras, sampling the full-depth range of the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC), the lower limb of the AMOC. These records will complement a depth-transect of grain-size records sampling the Iceland-Scotland (I-S) overflow, showing Holocene variations that reflect deglacial meltwater forcing in the early Holocene and insolation-forced trends from the middle-to-late Holocene (Thornalley et al., 2013, Climate of the Past). We will also present detailed grain-size records for the last 2,000 years, both in a depth transect of cores off Cape Hatteras, and from cores in the Iceland Basin, sampling the I-S overflow. Our extensive datasets enable us to provide a coherent synthesis of changes in the flow strength of key components of the AMOC on centennial-millennial and orbital timescales, which we can use to develop our understanding of past millennial-scale climate variability. Specific questions to be addressed include: How well coupled are Holocene trends in Iceland-Scotland overflow and the DWBC? How did I-S overflow and the AMOC vary during the last millennia, including the last ~150 years since the end of the Little Ice Age? Initial results suggest a long-term anti-phasing of the Nordic overflows, wherein mid-late Holocene weakening of the I-S overflow has been compensated for by a strengthening of Denmark Strait overflow. We will also report on pronounced

The roles of fire in Holocene ecosystem changes of West Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Dupont, L. M.; Schefuß, E.

2018-01-01

The climate changes associated with the Holocene wet phase in the Sahara, the African Humid Period, are subject to ongoing debate discussing interactions between climate and vegetation and possible feedbacks between vegetation, albedo, desertification, and dust. However, very little attention has been given to the role of fire in shaping the land cover, although it is known that fires are important in the formation and consolidation of the African savanna. To fill this gap, we investigated the interaction between precipitation changes, vegetation shifts, and fire occurrence in West Africa by combining stable isotope measurements on plant waxes with pollen and micro-charcoal counts of marine sediments retrieved offshore of Cape Blanc. Our study focuses on the roles of fire at the dry limit of savanna during the Holocene evolution of precipitation changes indicating that the impact of fire during a relative wet climate differs from that during aridification. During the humid early Holocene, increased savanna extension and diversification ran parallel to increased fire occurrence. In contrast, after aridification of northern Africa started at the end of the African Humid Period, a maximum in fire occurrence correlated with a deterioration of the vegetation promoting desertification.

Reconstruction of Redox Conditions and Productivity in Coastal Waters of the Bothnian Sea during the Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Dijkstra, N.; Quintana Krupinski, N. B.; Slomp, C. P.

2014-12-01

Hypoxia is a growing problem in coastal waters worldwide, and is a well-known cause of benthic mortality. The semi-enclosed Baltic Sea is currently the world's largest human-induced dead zone. During the early Holocene, it experienced several periods of natural hypoxia following the intrusion of seawater into the previous freshwater lake. Recent studies suggest that at that time, the hypoxia expanded north to include the deep basin of the Bothnian Sea. In this study, we assess whether the coastal zone of the Bothnian Sea was also hypoxic during the early Holocene. We analysed a unique sediment record (0 - 30 mbsf) from the Ångermanälven estuary, which was retrieved during the International Ocean Discovery Programme (IODP) Baltic Sea Paleoenvironment Expedition 347 in 2013. Using geochemical proxies and foraminifera abundances, we reconstruct the changes in redox conditions, salinity and productivity in the estuary. Our preliminary results suggest that bottom waters in this coastal basin became anoxic upon the intrusion of brackish seawater in the early Holocene and that the productivity was elevated. The presence of benthic foraminifera in this estuary during the mid-Holocene suggests more saline conditions in the Bothnian Sea than today. Due to isostatic uplift, the estuary likely gradually became more isolated from the Bothnian Sea, which itself became more isolated from the Baltic Sea. Both factors likely explain the subsequent re-oxygenation of bottom waters and gradual refreshening of the estuary as recorded in the sediments. Interestingly, the upper meters of sediment are enriched in minerals that contain iron, phosphorus and manganese. We postulate that the refreshening of the estuary triggered the formation of these minerals, thereby increasing the phosphorus retention in these sediments and further reducing primary productivity. This enhanced retention linked to refreshening may contribute to the current oligotrophic conditions in the Bothnian Sea.

Climate variability during the deglaciation and Holocene in a high-altitude alpine lake deduced from the sedimentary record from Laguna Seca, Sierra Nevada, southern Iberian Peninsula

Science.gov (United States)

Camuera, Jon; Jiménez-Moreno, Gonzalo; José Ramos-Román, María; García-Alix, Antonio; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco; Anderson, R. Scott

2017-04-01

High-resolution X-ray fluorescence (XRF), magnetic susceptibility (MS), color and lithological analyses have been carried out on a 3.6 m-long sediment core from Laguna Seca, a high-elevation dry lake from Sierra Nevada mountain range, southern Spain. This is the longest sedimentary record retrieved from an alpine lake in southern Iberian Peninsula. Besides, alpine lakes are very sensitive environments to climate changes and previous studies showed that Laguna Seca could provide an excellent record to identify millennial-scale climate variations during deglaciation and the whole Holocene. XRF analyses, in particular high calcium and low K/Ca ratios, show aridity phases, very well represented during Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the Younger Dryas (YD). Arid events are also shown at ca. 8.1 ka BP, ca. 4.4 ka BP and the latest Holocene. On the other hand, negative values in calcium and positive values in K/Ca appear in the Bølling-Allerød (BA) and during the early Holocene until ca. 6 ka BP, indicating more humidity and higher run-off. A progressive aridification trend is also observed in the Holocene, changing from more humid conditions during the early Holocene to more aridity during the late Holocene.

A Stalagmite record of Holocene Indonesian-Australian summer monsoon variability from the Australian tropics

Science.gov (United States)

Denniston, Rhawn F.; Wyrwoll, Karl-Heinz; Polyak, Victor J.; Brown, Josephine R.; Asmerom, Yemane; Wanamaker, Alan D.; LaPointe, Zachary; Ellerbroek, Rebecca; Barthelmes, Michael; Cleary, Daniel; Cugley, John; Woods, David; Humphreys, William F.

2013-10-01

Oxygen isotopic data from a suite of calcite and aragonite stalagmites from cave KNI-51, located in the eastern Kimberley region of tropical Western Australia, represent the first absolute-dated, high-resolution speleothem record of the Holocene Indonesian-Australian summer monsoon (IASM) from the Australian tropics. Stalagmite oxygen isotopic values track monsoon intensity via amount effects in precipitation and reveal a dynamic Holocene IASM which strengthened in the early Holocene, decreased in strength by 4 ka, with a further decrease from ˜2 to 1 ka, before strengthening again at 1 ka to years to levels similar to those between 4 and 2 ka. The relationships between the KNI-51 IASM reconstruction and those from published speleothem time series from Flores and Borneo, in combination with other data sets, appear largely inconsistent with changes in the position and/or organization of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Instead, we argue that the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) may have played a dominant role in driving IASM variability since at least the middle Holocene. Given the muted modern monsoon rainfall responses to most El Niño events in the Kimberley, an impact of ENSO on regional monsoon precipitation over northwestern Australia would suggest non-stationarity in the long-term relationship between ENSO forcing and IASM rainfall, possibly due to changes in the mean state of the tropical Pacific over the Holocene.

Marine water from mid-Holocene sea level highstand trapped in a coastal aquifer: Evidence from groundwater isotopes, and environmental significance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Stephen [School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne (Australia); Currell, Matthew, E-mail: Matthew.currell@rmit.edu.au [School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne (Australia); Cendón, Dioni I. [Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Kirrawee (Australia); Connected Water Initiative, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney (Australia)

2016-02-15

A multi-layered coastal aquifer in southeast Australia was assessed using environmental isotopes, to identify the origins of salinity and its links to palaeo-environmental setting. Spatial distribution of groundwater salinity (electrical conductivity values ranging from 0.395 to 56.1 mS/cm) was examined along the coastline along with geological, isotopic and chemical data. This allowed assessment of different salinity sources and emplacement mechanisms. Molar chloride/bromide ratios range from 619 to 1070 (621 to 705 in samples with EC > 15 mS/cm), indicating salts are predominantly marine. Two distinct vertical salinity profiles were observed, one with increasing salinity with depth and another with saline shallow water overlying fresh groundwater. The saline shallow groundwater (EC = 45.4 to 55.7 mS/cm) has somewhat marine-like stable isotope ratios (δ{sup 18}O = − 2.4 to − 1.9 ‰) and radiocarbon activities indicative of middle Holocene emplacement (47.4 to 60.4 pMC). This overlies fresher groundwater with late Pleistocene radiocarbon ages and meteoric stable isotopes (δ{sup 18}O = − 5.5 to − 4.6‰). The configuration suggests surface inundation of the upper sediments by marine water during the mid-Holocene (c. 2–8 kyr BP), when sea level was 1–2 m above today's level. Profiles of chloride, stable isotopes, and radiocarbon indicate mixing between this pre-modern marine water and fresh meteoric groundwater to varying degrees around the coastline. Mixing calculations using chloride and stable isotopes show that in addition to fresh-marine water mixing, some salinity is derived from transpiration by halophytic vegetation (e.g. mangroves). The δ{sup 13}C ratios in saline water (− 17.6 to − 18.4‰) also have vegetation/organic matter signatures, consistent with emplacement by surface inundation and extensive interaction between vegetation and recharging groundwater. Saline shallow groundwater is preserved only in areas where low

Sedimentologic and paleontologic study of the southeast coast of Buenos Aires province, Argentina: A late Pleistocene Holocene paleoenvironmental reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Aramayo, S. A.; Téllez, B. Gutiérrez; Schillizzi, R. A.

2005-10-01

A paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the southeast coast of Buenos Aires province, Argentina, is made mainly on the basis of paleontological and paleoichnological studies, supported by sedimentological analyses and radiocarbon dating. Continental late Pleistocene and continental, transitional, and marine Holocene stratigraphic units are identified. The former comprises fossil mammals and ichnites of 16000-12,000 BP. The continental early Holocene time, ca. 8100 BP, is represented by an interdune paleoenvironment in which shallow brackish ponds were colonized by diatoms, fish, rodents, and birds. A transitional paleoenvironment in the middle Holocene—6930-6570 BP—is recorded by deposits formed by estuarine crabs. During the late Holocene, between 5000 and 4800 BP, a marine transgression was recorded by a rich mollusc fauna.

Fluvial landscape development in the southwestern Kalahari during the Holocene - Chronology and provenance of fluvial deposits in the Molopo Canyon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ramisch, Arne; Bens, Oliver; Buylaert, Jan-Pieter

2017-01-01

are sparse and often discontinuous. Hence, little is known about Holocene environmental change in this region. This study focuses on reconstructing paleoenvironmental change from the timing and provenance of fluvial deposits located within the Molopo Canyon, which connects the southern Kalahari drainage...... to the deposition of alluvial fills. These results suggest that the southern Kalahari Drainage remained endorheic and therefore disconnected from the Orange River throughout the Holocene....

Large floods and climatic change during the Holocene on the Ara River, Central Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Grossman, Michael J.

2001-07-01

A reconstruction of part of the Holocene large flood record for the Ara River in central Japan is presented. Maximum intermediate gravel-size dimensions of terrace and modern floodplain gravels were measured along an 18-km reach of the river and were used in tractive force equations to estimate minimum competent flood depths. Results suggest that the magnitudes of large floods on the Ara River have varied in a non-random fashion since the end of the last glacial period. Large floods with greater magnitudes occurred during the warming period of the post-glacial and the warmer early to middle Holocene (to ˜5500 years BP). A shift in the magnitudes of large floods occurred ˜5500-5000 years BP. From this time, during the cooler middle to late Holocene, large floods generally had lower magnitudes. In the modern period, large flood magnitudes are the largest in the data set. As typhoons are the main cause of large floods on the Ara River in the modern record, the variation in large flood magnitudes suggests that the incidence of typhoon visits to the central Japan changed as the climate changed during the Holocene. Further, significant dates in the large flood record on the Ara River correspond to significant dates in Europe and the USA.

Holocene Tree Line and Climate Change on the Queen Charlotte Islands, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Pellatt, Marlow G.; Mathewes, Rolf W.

1997-07-01

Palynological study of two subalpine ponds on the Queen Charlotte Islands reveals changes in tree line and climate during the Holocene. The findings agree with previous reconstructions, from nearby Louise Pond on the Queen Charlotte Islands, that suggest a warmer-than-present climate and higher-than-present tree lines in the early Holocene (ca. 9600-6600 14C yr B.P.). Basal ages at SC1 Pond and Shangri-La Bog indicate that the basins did not hold permanent water before 7200 14C yr B.P., consistent with a warmer and drier early Holocene previously inferred from Louise Pond. Pollen and plant macrofossils indicate the initial establishment of subalpine conditions by 6090 ± 90 14C yr B.P., similar to the 5790 ± 130 14C yr B.P. age for cooling inferred from Louise Pond. Conditions similar to present were established at SC1 Pond by 3460 ± 100 14C yr B.P., confirming the previous estimate of 3400 14C yr B.P. at Louise Pond. This 3400 14C yr B.P. vegetation shift on the Queen Charlotte Islands corresponds with the beginning of the Tiedemann glacial advance in the south-coastal mountains of British Columbia (ca. 3300 14C yr B.P.), the Peyto and Robson glacial advances between 3300 and 2800 14C yr B.P. in the Rocky Mountains, and climatic cooling inferred from palynological studies throughout southern British Columbia, northern Washington, and southeast Alaska. These findings confirm that changes in regional climate influenced changes in vegetation in coastal British Columbia.

Contrasting Responses of the Humboldt Current Ecosystem between the Holocene and MIS5e Interglacials Revealed from Multiple Sediment Records

Science.gov (United States)

Salvatteci, R.; Schneider, R. R.; Blanz, T.; Martinez, P.; Crosta, X.

2016-12-01

The Humboldt Current Ecosystem (HCE) off Peru yields about 10% of the global fish catch, producing more fish per unit area than any other region in the world. The high productivity is maintained by the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water from the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), driven by strong trade winds. However, the potential impacts of climate change on upwelling dynamics and oceanographic conditions in the near future are uncertain, threatening local and global economies. Here, we unravel the response of the HCE to contrasting climatic conditions during the last two interglacials (i.e. Holocene and MIS5e) providing an independent insight about the relation between climatic factors and upwelling and productivity dynamics. For this purpose, we used multiple cores to reconstruct past changes in OMZ and upwelling intensity, productivity and fish biomass variability. Chronologies for the Holocene were obtained by multiple 14C ages and laminae correlations among cores, while for the MIS5e they were mainly done by correlation of prominent features in several proxies with other published records. We used a multiproxy approach including alkenones to reconstruct sea surface temperatures, δ15N as a proxy for water column denitrification, redox sensitive metals as proxies for sediment redox conditions, and diatom and fish debris assemblages to reconstruct ecological changes. The results show a very different response of the HCE to climate conditions during the last 2 interglacials, likely driven by changes in Tropical Pacific dynamics. During the Holocene we find that 1) the Late Holocene exhibits higher multi-centennial scale variability compared to the Early Holocene, 2) increased upwelling and a weak OMZ during the mid-Holocene, and 3) long term increase in productivity (diatoms and fishes) from the Early to the Late Holocene. During the MIS5e we find an 1) intense OMZ, 2) strong water column stratification, 3) high siliceous biomass, and 4) low fish biomass compared

Holocene climate variability in the western Mediterranean through a multiproxy analysis from Padul peat bog (Sierra Nevada, Spain)

Science.gov (United States)

Ramos-Román, María J.; Jiménez-Moreno, Gonzalo; Camuera, Jon; García-Alix, Antonio; Anderson, R. Scott; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco J.; Sachse, Dirk

2017-04-01

The Iberian Peninsula, located in the Mediterranean area, is an interesting location for paleoclimate studies due to its geographic situation between arid and humid climates. Sediments from peat bogs and lakes from Sierra Nevada, in southeastern Iberian Peninsula, have been very informative in terms of how vegetation and wetland environments were impacted by Holocene climate change. These studies are essential if we want to understand the past climate change in the area, which is the key to identify the possible environmental response of the Sierra Nevada ecosystems to future climate scenarios. Padul basin, located in the southwest of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, contains a ca. 100 m-thick peat bog sedimentary sequence that was deposited during the past 1 Ma making this area interesting for paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic reconstructions. A new 43 m-long sedimentary record has recently been retrieved from the Padul peat bog. In this study we have developed a multiproxy analysis of the Holocene part of the Padul-15-05 core including pollen analysis, XRF-core scanner, magnetic susceptibility and organic geochemistry, supported by an age control based on AMS radiocarbon dates, providing with information about vegetation and climate variability during the past 9.9 cal ka BP. This multiproxy reconstruction of the Padul-15-05 evidences the Mediterranean as a sensitive area with respect to global-scale climate system, showing relevant climate episodes such as the ca. 8, 7.5, 6.5 and 5.5 cal ka BP events during the early and middle Holocene. The trend to aridification to the late Holocene is interrupted by more arid and humid periods as the Iberian Roman Humid Period (from ca. 3 to 1.6 cal ka BP), the Dark Ages (from ca. 1.5 to 1.1 cal ka BP), the Medieval Climate Anomaly (from ca. 1.1 to 1.3 cal ka BP) and the Little Ice Age period (from ca. 500 to 100 cal yr BP).

Quantitative Temperature Reconstructions from Holocene and Late Glacial Lake Sediments in the Tropical Andes using Chironomidae (non-biting midges)

Science.gov (United States)

Matthews-Bird, F.; Gosling, W. D.; Brooks, S. J.; Montoya, E.; Coe, A. L.

2014-12-01

Chironomidae (non-biting midges) is a family of two-winged aquatic insects of the order Diptera. They are globally distributed and one of the most diverse families within aquatic ecosystems. The insects are stenotopic, and the rapid turnover of species and their ability to colonise quickly favourable habitats means chironomids are extremely sensitive to environmental change, notably temperature. Through the development of quantitative temperature inference models chironomids have become important palaeoecological tools. Proxies capable of generating independent estimates of past climate are crucial to disentangling climate signals and ecosystem response in the palaeoecological record. This project has developed the first modern environmental calibration data set in order to use chironomids from the Tropical Andes as quantitative climate proxies. Using surface sediments from c. 60 lakes from Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador we have developed an inference model capable of reconstructing temperatures, with a prediction error of 1-2°C, from fossil assemblages. Here we present the first Lateglacial and Holocene chironomid-inferred temperature reconstructions from two sites in the tropical Andes. The first record, from a high elevation (4153 m asl) lake in the Bolivian Andes, shows persistently cool temperatures for the past 15 kyr, punctuated by warm episodes in the early Holocene (9-10 kyr BP). The chironomid-inferred Holocene temperature trends from a lake sediment record on the eastern Andean flank of Ecuador (1248 m asl) spanning the last 5 millennia are synchronous with temperature changes in the NGRIP ice core record. The temperature estimates suggest along the eastern flank of the Andes, at lower latitudes (~1°S), climate closely resemble the well-established fluctuations of the Northern Hemisphere for this time period. Late-glacial climate fluctuations across South America are still disputed with some palaeoecological records suggesting evidence for Younger Dryas

Late-Holocene environment and climatic changes in Ameralik Fjord, southwest Greenland: evidence from the sedimentary record

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Henrik S.; Jensen, Karin G.; Kuijpers, Antoon

2006-01-01

  Sedimentological and geochemical (XRF) data together with information from diatom and benthic foraminifera records of a 3.5 m long gravity core from Ameralik fjord, southern West Greenland, is used for reconstructing late Holocene environmental changes in this area. The changes are linked...... to large-scale North Atlantic ocean and climate variability. AMS 14C-dating of benthic foraminifera indicates that the sediment core covers the last 4400 years and may include the termination of the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM). The late HTM (4.4-3.2 ka BP) is characterized by high accumulation rates...

Pottery use by early Holocene hunter-gatherers of the Korean peninsula closely linked with the exploitation of marine resources

Science.gov (United States)

Shoda, Shinya; Lucquin, Alexandre; Ahn, Jae-ho; Hwang, Chul-joo; Craig, Oliver E.

2017-08-01

The earliest pottery on the Korean peninsula dates to the early Holocene, notably later than other regions of East Asia, such as Japan, the Russian Far East and Southern China. To shed light on the function of such early Korean pottery and to understand the motivations for its adoption, organic residue analysis was conducted on pottery sherds and adhered surface deposit on the wall of pottery vessels (foodcrusts) excavated from the Sejuk shell midden (7.7-6.8ka calBP) on the southeastern coast and the Jukbyeon-ri site (7.9-6.9ka calBP) on the eastern coast of the Korean peninsula, that represents the earliest pottery assemblages with reliable radiocarbon dates. Through chemical and isotopic residue analysis, we conclude that the use of pottery at these sites was oriented towards marine resources, supported by lipid biomarkers typical of aquatic organisms and stable carbon isotope values that matched authentic marine reference fats. The findings contrast with other archaeological evidence, which shows that a wider range of available food resources were exploited. Therefore, we conclude pottery was used selectively for processing aquatic organisms perhaps including the rendering of aquatic oils for storage. Early pottery use in Korea is broadly similar to other prehistoric temperate hunter-gatherers, such as in Japan, northern Europe and northern America. However, it is also notable that elaborately decorated red burnished pottery excavated from isolated location at the Jukbyeon-ri site had a different usage pattern, which indicates that division of pottery use by vessel form was established even at this early stage.

Biomarker records of Holocene climate variations in Asian interior

Science.gov (United States)

Song, M.; Liu, Z.; Liu, W.; Zhao, C.; Li, S.; He, Y.

2012-12-01

Understanding Holocene climate fluctuation may provide clues to projection of future climate change. Lake sediments in the arid central Asia (ACA), as an archive of past climate information, keep attracting considerable interest. We have retrieved several sediment cores from Lake Manas, an endorheic lake in Zunggar desert, Xinjiang Province, China. Biomarker proxies including alkenone Uk'37, %C37:4 and C37 concentration (C37 Conc), and physical proxies including density and magnetic susceptibility (MS) have been analyzed. We have found substantial climatic and environmental changes during the late Holocene. Density, MS and Uk'37 values are high during Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and C37 Conc is very low. During the Little Ice Age, density and MS decrease, Uk'37 values drop to near 0.1, C37 Conc is increased by 2 to 3 magnitude. Thus, warm and dry conditions dominated MWP while cold and wet conditions dominated LIA, a typical "Westerly" pattern which is opposite to the hydrological variation in Asian monsoonal regions. Biomarker records' correlation with solar irradiance (SI), the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), the 1000year ACA Moisture Index (ACAM), and the North Hemisphere Temperature (NHT) suggests SI as one of the forcing factor on temperature fluctuation and cold and wet LIA possibly resulting from westerly-jet shift, negative NAO oscillation and the lower evaporation induced by the decrease of temperature. Biomarker records for the whole Holocene will be also presented.

Pedogenic calcite as evidence for an early Holocene dry period in the San Francisco Bay area, California

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Borchardt, G.; Lienkaemper, J.J.

1999-01-01

Rainfall at the site of Union City, California, during early Holocene time appears to have been about half that of today, 470 mm/yr. We base this conclusion on detailed descriptions and particle-size analyses of 12 soil profiles and 1:20 scale logs of the fluvial stratigraphy in two 100-m-long, 5-m-deep excavations dug perpendicular to the axis of an alluvial fan along the Hayward fault. Subsidence and right-lateral movement along the fault allowed an offset stream to produce a nearly continuous alluvial record documented by 35 14C ages on detrital charcoal. Bk (calcitic) horizons in paleosols developed in the fan suggest that a relatively dry climatic period occurred from 10 to 7 ka (calendar-corrected ages). The pedogenic calcite exists primarily as vertically oriented filaments and fine, cavernous nodules formed at ped intersections. Soils and paleosols formed before 10 ka or since 7 ka did not have Bk horizons. Bk horizons that were buried suddenly at 7 ka were overlain by leached zones averaging 41 ?? 3 cm thick - about half the current depth of leaching.

Characterising Late-Holocene glacier variability in the southern tropical Andes

Science.gov (United States)

Bromley, G.; Winckler, G.; Hall, B. L.; Schaefer, J. M.

2011-12-01

Accurate resolution of both the timing and magnitude of Late-Holocene climate events, such as the Little Ice Age, is vital in order to test different hypotheses for the causes and propagation of such climate variability. However, in contrast to higher latitudes, well-dated records from the tropics are relatively rare and the overall climatic structure of the last millennium remains unresolved. Much of this uncertainty stems from difficulties associated with radiocarbon dating in these dry, often high-altitude environments, a situation that now is being addressed through the application and refinement of cosmogenic surface-exposure methods. We present detailed Late-Holocene moraine records, resolved with radiocarbon and surface-exposure dating, from sites across the Andes of southern Peru. Specifically, we describe glacial records from both the arid Western Cordillera, where glaciation is limited by moisture availability, and the humid Eastern Cordillera, where ablation is controlled primarily by air temperature. In both locations, the most recent advance is marked by two to three unweathered terminal moraines located several hundred metres beyond the modern ice margins. Our chronology indicates that, while the advance occurred broadly in step with the classic 'Little Ice Age', the maximum glacial extent in southern Peru was achieved relatively early on and that the 18th and 19th centuries were dominated by glacier retreat. In a broader temporal context, our data also confirm that, in contrast to northern temperate latitudes, the event in southern Peru was the most recent significant interruption in a progressive Holocene retreat. The consistency in glacier response between the different climate zones suggests (i) that this pattern of Late-Holocene climate variability was of at least regional extent and (ii) that temperature fluctuations were the primary driving mechanism.

Lipid biomarkers in Holocene and glacial sediments from ancient Lake Ohrid (Macedonia, Albania

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J. Holtvoeth

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Organic matter preserved in Lake Ohrid sediments originates from aquatic and terrestrial sources. Its variable composition reflects climate-controlled changes in the lake basin's hydrology and related organic matter export, i.e. changes in primary productivity, terrestrial plant matter input and soil erosion. Here, we present first results from lipid biomarker investigations of Lake Ohrid sediments from two near-shore settings: site Lz1120 near the southern shore, with low-lying lands nearby and probably influenced by river discharge, and site Co1202 which is close to the steep eastern slopes. Variable proportions of terrestrial n-alkanoic acids and n-alkanols as well as compositional changes of ω-hydroxy acids document differences in soil organic matter supply between the sites and during different climate stages (glacial, Holocene, 8.2 ka cooling event. Changes in the vegetation cover are suggested by changes in the dominant chain length of terrestrial n-alkanols. Effective microbial degradation of labile organic matter and in situ contribution of organic matter derived from the microbes themselves are both evident in the sediments. We found evidence for anoxic conditions within the photic zone by detecting epicholestanol and tetrahymanol from sulphur-oxidising phototrophic bacteria and bacterivorous ciliates and for the influence of a settled human community from the occurrence of coprostanol, a biomarker for human and animal faeces (pigs, sheep, goats, in an early Holocene sample. This study illustrates the potential of lipid biomarkers for future environmental reconstructions using one of Europe's oldest continental climate archives, Lake Ohrid.

Paleoparasitological finding of eggs of nematodes in rodent coprolites dated at the early Holocene from the archaeological site Cerro Casa de Piedra 7, Santa Cruz, Argentina.

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Sardella, N H; Fugassa, M H

2011-12-01

The aim of the present study was to examine the parasite remains present in rodent coprolites collected from the archaeological site Cerro Casa de Piedra 7 (CCP7), located in the Perito Moreno National Park (47°57'S, 72°05'W), Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. Eight coprolites obtained from the layer 17, dated at 10,620 ± 40 to 9,390 ± 40 yr B.P., were examined for parasites. Feces were processed whole, rehydrated, homogenized, subjected to spontaneous sedimentation, and examined via light microscopy. Eggs of parasites were measured and photographed. Seven of 8 coprolites possessed 199 eggs of 2, probably new, species of nematodes, including 43 eggs of Heteroxynema sp. Hall, 1916 (Cavioxyura sp. Quentin, 1975) (Oxyurida, Heteroxynematidae), and 156 eggs of Trichuris sp. Roederer, 1761 (Trichinellida, Trichuridae). Heteroxynema sp. is cited for the first time from ancient material worldwide. The finding of Trichuris spp. in both rodents and other host samples from the area under study is indicative of the stability of the biological and environmental conditions for this nematode genus to establish in the Patagonian Early Holocene. The rodent host was assigned to an unknown species of Caviomorpha (Hystricognathi) that lived during the Pleistocenic transition in Patagonia.

Reconstructing Holocene hematite and goethite variations in the Indus Canyon to trace changes in the Asian monsoon system

Science.gov (United States)

Koehler, Cornelia; Clift, Peter; Pressling, Nicola; Limmer, David; Giosan, Liviu; Tabrez, Ali

2010-05-01

In order to study Holocene Asian monsoon variations, we reconstructed changes in chemical weathering by examining sediments from the Indus Canyon. During the late Holocene, the Asian monsoon system had periods of high and low intensities that influenced the civilisations living in its realm. For example, the demise of the Harappan civilisation has been linked to a weakened monsoon system around 4 ka. The sediments in the Indus Canyon, which originate from the River Indus and its Himalayan tributaries, provide an ideal, natural environmental archive of the South Asian monsoon system. In order to investigate the alternation between arid and humid monsoonal climatic conditions, variations are traced using the magnetic minerals hematite and goethite, which form under distinct environmental conditions: goethite is stable under humid conditions, whereas hematite forms from the dehydration of goethite under arid conditions. The two minerals are characterised and quantified using environmental magnetic measurements, as well as diffuse reflectance spectrometry. Combining both approaches will enable us to reconstruct variations in chemical weathering over time. Furthermore, because this is governed by temperature and the availability of moisture, our weathering record will allow us to understand monsoon variability during the Holocene and test whether summer rain intensity has been decreasing in SW Asia since 8 ka. In addition, the multi-component analysis of colour reflectance spectra identifies different mineral components including hematite/goethite, clay mineral mixtures, calcite and organics. We will present our results from the multi-sensor core logger equipped with a Minolta spectrometer, measuring both magnetic susceptibility and the optical properties of the split sediment cores. Initial results indicate the presence of hematite and goethite in the sediment. There is an increasing hematite content up the cores, indicating an aridification trend during the Holocene

Southern westerly winds: a pacemaker of Holocene glacial fluctuations in Patagonia?

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Sagredo, E. A.; Reynhout, S.; Kaplan, M. R.; Patricio, M. I.; Aravena, J. C.; Martini, M. A.; Schaefer, J. M.

2017-12-01

A well-resolved glacial chronology is crucial to compare sequences of glacial/climate events within and between regions, and thus, to unravel mechanisms underlying past climate changes. Important efforts have been made towards understanding the Holocene climate evolution of the Southern Andes; however, the timing, patterns and causes of glacial fluctuations during this period still remain elusive. Recent advances in terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide surface exposure dating, together with the establishment of a Patagonian 10Be production rate, have opened new possibilities for establishing high-resolution glacial chronologies at centennial/decadal scale. Here we present a 10Be surface exposure chronology of fluctuations of a small, climate-sensitive mountain glacier at Mt. Fitz Roy area (49.3°S), spanning from the last glacial termination to the present. Thirty new 10Be ages show glacial advances and moraine building events at 17.1±0.9 ka, 13.5±0.5 ka, 10.2±0.7 ka or 9.9±0.5 ka, 6.9±0.2 ka, 6.1±0.3 ka, 4.5±0.2 ka and 0.5±0.1 ka. Similar to the pattern observed in New Zealand, this sequence features progressively less extensive glacial advances during the late-glacial and early Holocene, followed by advances of roughly similar extent during the mid- to late-Holocene. We suggest that while the magnitude of Holocene glacial fluctuations in Patagonia is modulated by SH summer insolation ("modulator"), the specific timing of these glacial events is influenced by centennial-scale shifts of the Southern Westerly Winds ("pacemaker").

An approach to palaeoseismicity in the Olkiluoto (sea) area during the early holocene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hutri, K.L.

2007-06-01

Olkiluoto Island is situated in the northern Baltic Sea, near the southwestern coast of Finland, and is the proposed location of a spent nuclear fuel repository. This study examined Holocene palaeoseismicity in the Olkiluoto area and in the surrounding sea areas by computer simulations together with acoustic-seismic, sedimentological and dating methods. The most abundant rock type on the island is migmatic mica gneiss, intruded by tonalites, granodiorites and granites. The surrounding Baltic Sea seabed consists of Palaeoproterozoic crystalline bedrock, which is to a great extent covered by younger Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks. The area contains several ancient deep-seated fracture zones that divide it into bedrock blocks. The response of bedrock at the Olkiluoto site was modelled considering four future ice-age scenarios. Each scenario produced shear displacements of fractures with different times of occurrence and varying recovery rates. Generally, the larger the maximum ice load, the larger were the permanent shear displacements. For a basic case, the maximum shear displacements were a few centimetres at the proposed nuclear waste repository level, at proximately 500 m b.s.l. high-resolution, low-frequency echo-sounding was used to examine the Holocene submarine sedimentary structures and possible direct and indirect indicators of palaeoseismic activity in the northern Baltic Sea. Echo-sounding profiles of Holocene submarine sediments revealed slides and slumps, normal faults, debris flows and turbidite-type structures. The profiles also showed pockmarks and other structures related to gas or groundwater seepages, which might be related to fracture zone activation. Evidence of postglacial reactivation in the study area was derived from the spatial occurrence of some of the structures, especial the faults and the seepages, in the vicinity of some old bedrock fracture zones. Palaeoseismic event(s) (a single or several events) in the Olkiluoto area were dated

Isotope heterogeneity of Pre-Holocene groundwater in Iceland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sveinbjörnsdóttir, Á.E.; Arnorsson, S.; Heinemeier, Jan

2007-01-01

In recent years, it has been shown that groundwater with a Pre-Holocene component is more common in the Icelandic bedrock than previously thought. Some of the Pre-Holocene water samples are more depleted in delta H-2 and delta O-18 than any mean annual precipitation in Iceland today due to the cold...... climate at that time. However, most often Pre-Holocene water components cannot be detected based on the water isotopes alone due to mixing with younger and isotopically heavier water. The Cl concentration in relation to the water isotopes in specific areas has proved to be a good indicator of a Pre......-Holocene component in the groundwater. The deuterium excess value may also help to identify water from a different climate regime, if no oxygen shift has occurred. The relative abundance of a Pre-Holocene water component of the Icelandic groundwater has led to the understanding that combined interpretation of water...

Multidecadal variations in the early Holocene outflow of Red Sea Water into the Arabian Sea

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jung, S.J.A.; Ganssen, G.M.; Davies, G.R.

2001-01-01

We present Holocene stable oxygen isotope data from the deep Arabian Sea off Somalia at a decadal time resolution as a proxy for the history of intermediate/upper deep water. These data show an overall δ18O reduction by 0.5‰ between 10 and ~6.5 kyr B.P. superimposed upon short-term δ18O variations

Three distinct Holocene intervals of stalagmite deposition and nondeposition revealed in NW Madagascar, and their paleoclimate implications

Science.gov (United States)

Riavo Gilbertinie Voarintsoa, Ny; Railsback, Loren Bruce; Brook, George Albert; Wang, Lixin; Kathayat, Gayatri; Cheng, Hai; Li, Xianglei; Edwards, Richard Lawrence; Rakotondrazafy, Amos Fety Michel; Olga Madison Razanatseheno, Marie

2017-12-01

Petrographic features, mineralogy, and stable isotopes from two stalagmites, ANJB-2 and MAJ-5, respectively from Anjohibe and Anjokipoty caves, allow distinction of three intervals of the Holocene in NW Madagascar. The Malagasy early Holocene (between ca. 9.8 and 7.8 ka) and late Holocene (after ca. 1.6 ka) intervals (MEHI and MLHI, respectively) record evidence of stalagmite deposition. The Malagasy middle Holocene interval (MMHI, between ca. 7.8 and 1.6 ka) is marked by a depositional hiatus of ca. 6500 years. Deposition of these stalagmites indicates that the two caves were sufficiently supplied with water to allow stalagmite formation. This suggests that the MEHI and MLHI intervals may have been comparatively wet in NW Madagascar. In contrast, the long-term depositional hiatus during the MMHI implies it was relatively drier than the MEHI and the MLHI. The alternating wet-dry-wet conditions during the Holocene may have been linked to the long-term migrations of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). When the ITCZ's mean position is farther south, NW Madagascar experiences wetter conditions, such as during the MEHI and MLHI, and when it moves north, NW Madagascar climate becomes drier, such as during the MMHI. A similar wet-dry-wet succession during the Holocene has been reported in neighboring locations, such as southeastern Africa. Beyond these three subdivisions, the records also suggest wet conditions around the cold 8.2 ka event, suggesting a causal relationship. However, additional Southern Hemisphere high-resolution data will be needed to confirm this.

Lacustrine Records of Holocene Mountain Glacier Fluctuations from Western Greenland

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Schweinsberg, A.; Briner, J. P.; Bennike, O.

2014-12-01

Recent studies have focused on documenting fluctuations of the Greenland Ice Sheet margin throughout the Holocene but few data exist that constrain past changes of local glaciers independent of the ice sheet. Our research combines proglacial lake sediment analysis with cosmogenic 10Be dating of Holocene moraines and radiocarbon dating of ice-cap-killed vegetation with an overall objective to use this multi-proxy approach to generate a detailed record of the coupled climate-glacier system through the Holocene. Here, we present lacustrine records of mountain glacier variability from continuous pro-glacial lake sediment sequences recovered from two glaciated catchments in northeastern Nuussuaq, western Greenland. We use radiocarbon-dated sediments from Sikuiui and Pauiaivik lakes to reconstruct the timing of advance and retreat of local glaciers. Sediments were characterized with magnetic susceptibility (MS), gamma density, Itrax XRF and visible reflectance spectroscopy at 0.2 cm intervals and sediment organic matter at 0.5 cm intervals. Basal radiocarbon ages provide minimum-age constraints on deglaciation from Sikuiui and Pauiaivik lakes of ~9.6 and 8.7 ka, respectively. Organic-rich gyttja from deglaciation until ~5.0 ka in Pauiaivik Lake suggests minimal glacial extent there while slightly elevated MS values from ~9.0 - 7.0 ka in Sikuiui Lake may reflect early Holocene glacial advances. Minerogenic sediment input gradually increases starting at ~5.0 ka in Pauiaivik Lake, which we interpret as the onset of Neoglaciation in the catchment. Furthermore, a distinct episode of enhanced glacial activity from ~4.0 - 2.2 ka in Sikuiui Lake may be correlative to a period of persistent snowline lowering evidenced by radiocarbon dates of ice-killed vegetation from nearby ice cap margins. Results from these lacustrine records and our ice-killed vegetation dataset suggest a middle Holocene onset of Neoglaciation ~5.0 - 4.0 ka in this region. We are supplementing these records

Chrysophyte cysts from lake sediments reveal the submillennial winter/spring climate variability in the northwestern Mediterranean region throughout the Holocene

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Pla, Sergi [Queen' s University, PEARL, Department of Biology, Kingston, ON (Canada); Catalan, Jordi [CSIC, CSIC-UB Limnology Group, Centre for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB), Blanes (Spain)

2005-02-01

In the last decade, much effort was dedicated to the reconstruction of past climate at high temporal resolution. Here, we show the suitability of chrysophyte cysts from lake sediments for revealing continental climate variability when used in sensitive sites, such as those in high mountains. We demonstrate that altitude is a main factor influencing the present distribution of chrysophytes and develop a transfer function to evaluate the local ''altitude anomaly'' on a lake site throughout time. Based on our knowledge of chrysophyte ecology, the altitude anomalies are interpreted as winter/spring climate signatures. The method was applied to a Holocene record from a lake in the Pyrenees showing submillennial climatic variability in this northwestern Mediterranean zone. A warming trend was present from the early Holocene to 4 kyear BP. Comparison with pollen-based reconstructions of summer temperatures denoted a contrasting decrease in continentality between the two parts of the Holocene. Oscillations of 1 cycle per ca. 2,000 years appeared throughout the record. The warmest Holocene winters were recorded during the Medieval Warm Period at ca. AD900 and 450 and the Roman Warm Period (2.7-2.4 kyear BP). Winters in the period AD1,050-1,175 were inferred to be as cold as in the Little Ice Age. The period between 3 and 7 kyear BPshowed lower intensity in the fluctuations than in early and late Holocene. The cold event, 8,200 years ago, appeared embedded in a warm fluctuation. Another cold fluctuation was recorded around 9 kyear BP, which is in agreement with Irish and Greenland records. (orig.)

Aquatic ecosystem responses to Holocene climate change and biome development in boreal, central Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Mackay, Anson W.; Bezrukova, Elena V.; Leng, Melanie J.; Meaney, Miriam; Nunes, Ana; Piotrowska, Natalia; Self, Angela; Shchetnikov, Alexander; Shilland, Ewan; Tarasov, Pavel; Wang, Luo; White, Dustin

2012-05-01

Boreal ecosystems are highly vulnerable to climate change, and severe ecological impacts in the near future are virtually certain to occur. We undertook a multiproxy study on an alpine lake (ESM-1) at the modern tree-line in boreal, southern Siberia. Steppe and tundra biomes were extensive in eastern Sayan landscapes during the early Holocene. Boreal forest quickly expanded by 9.1 ka BP, and dominated the landscape until c 0.7 ka BP, when the greatest period of compositional turnover occurred. At this time, alpine meadow landscape expanded and Picea obovata colonised new habitats along river valleys and lake shorelines, because of prevailing cool, moist conditions. During the early Holocene, chironomid assemblages were dominated by cold stenotherms. Diatoms for much of the Holocene were dominated by alkaliphilous, fragilarioid taxa, up until 0.2 ka BP, when epiphytic species expanded, indicative of increased habitat availability. C/N mass ratios ranged between 9.5 and 13.5 (11.1-15.8 C/N atomic ratios), indicative of algal communities dominating organic matter contributions to bottom sediments with small, persistent contributions from vascular plants. However, δ13C values increased steadily from -34.9‰ during the early Holocene (9.3 ka BP) to -24.8‰ by 0.6 ka BP. This large shift in magnitude may be due to a number of factors, including increasing within-lake productivity, increasing disequilibrium between the isotopic balance of the lake with the atmosphere as the lake became isotopically ‘mature’, and declining soil respiration linked to small, but distinct retreat in forest biomes. The influence of climatic variables on landscape vegetation was assessed using redundancy analysis (RDA), a linear, direct ordination technique. Changes in July insolation at 60 °N significantly explained over one-fifth of the variation in species composition, while changes in estimates of northern hemisphere temperature and ice-rafted debris events in the North Atlantic

Reconciling divergent trends and millennial variations in Holocene temperatures

Science.gov (United States)

Marsicek, Jeremiah; Shuman, Bryan N.; Bartlein, Patrick J.; Shafer, Sarah L.; Brewer, Simon

2018-02-01

Cooling during most of the past two millennia has been widely recognized and has been inferred to be the dominant global temperature trend of the past 11,700 years (the Holocene epoch). However, long-term cooling has been difficult to reconcile with global forcing, and climate models consistently simulate long-term warming. The divergence between simulations and reconstructions emerges primarily for northern mid-latitudes, for which pronounced cooling has been inferred from marine and coastal records using multiple approaches. Here we show that temperatures reconstructed from sub-fossil pollen from 642 sites across North America and Europe closely match simulations, and that long-term warming, not cooling, defined the Holocene until around 2,000 years ago. The reconstructions indicate that evidence of long-term cooling was limited to North Atlantic records. Early Holocene temperatures on the continents were more than two degrees Celsius below those of the past two millennia, consistent with the simulated effects of remnant ice sheets in the climate model Community Climate System Model 3 (CCSM3). CCSM3 simulates increases in ‘growing degree days’—a measure of the accumulated warmth above five degrees Celsius per year—of more than 300 kelvin days over the Holocene, consistent with inferences from the pollen data. It also simulates a decrease in mean summer temperatures of more than two degrees Celsius, which correlates with reconstructed marine trends and highlights the potential importance of the different subseasonal sensitivities of the records. Despite the differing trends, pollen- and marine-based reconstructions are correlated at millennial-to-centennial scales, probably in response to ice-sheet and meltwater dynamics, and to stochastic dynamics similar to the temperature variations produced by CCSM3. Although our results depend on a single source of palaeoclimatic data (pollen) and a single climate-model simulation, they reinforce the notion that

PALEOENVIRONMENTAL RECONSTRUCTION FROM BENTHIC FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES OF EARLY HOLOCENE, SHALLOW MARINE DEPOSITS IN GOMBONG, CENTRAL JAVA

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Luli Gustiani

2017-07-01

Full Text Available A 30m-long sediment core covering the Holocene period was taken from the area of Gombong in the southern part of Central Java. The sediments were deposited in a shallow marine to lagoonal environment that was confirmed by the dominance of Ammonia beccarii along the core intervals. In addition, the species Quinqueloculina poeyana, Miliolinella lakemacquariensis, and Miliolinella subrotunda were also found in the sediments that are typical of normal shallow marine conditions. The decrease and increase in the abundance of these species throughout the core is an expression of sea level change in the area, which results the environmental changes. Low sea level is expressed by the dominance of Ammonia beccarii, and the low abundances or absence of the other three species. In contrast, high sea level stands are reflected by the presence of all four species. The high sea level would imply favorable conditions for benthic foraminifera because it would result in normal shallow marine conditions in the area. Finally, from this benthic assemblages study, it can be assumed that the environmental transformation from the originally shallow marine environment into land was occurred at level 5.5m depths of the sediment core, when all benthic foraminifera were terminated, including Ammonia beccarii. These new results from the shallow marine deposits in the Gombong area are a new contribution to the understanding of paleoenvironmental change in the region, which in turn is important for understanding sea level change as well as climate change in the region.

Holocene elemental, lead isotope and charcoal record from peat in southern Poland

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K. Tudyka

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This article presents a mid-resolution elemental, isotopic and charcoal record from 10700 BC to AD 500 in a peat core located in Żyglin (southern Poland. The objective is to give insight into the proxies with emphasis on lead (Pb sources in this minerogenic peat deposit. During the Early Holocene (10700–7550 BC the average 206Pb/207Pb quotient was around 1.196. This isotopic signature is consistent with natural dust derived from long-distance soil and rock weathering. The Mid-Holocene period (7550–3200 BC shows a significant change in the peat accumulation conditions. The growth rate is approximately 0.04 mm yr-1 and the 206Pb/207Pb quotients are shifted toward values that are found in local galena ores. This is simultaneous with a significantly increased lead flux which further confirms local sources of material in this peat deposit. In the Late Holocene period (3200 BC–AD 500 a large quantity of charcoal particles with diameters ranging from 2 mm up to 3 cm is found; also, Pb, Zn and Cu fluxes reach their highest values. This period corresponds to the Eneolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, and human impact is recorded as charcoal.

Impacts of Evolutionary History on Endangerment in a Changing Climate: Miocene upwelling, Holocene Pluvial Cycles and Endemics at the Mouth of the Colorado River.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, D. K.

2006-12-01

The environmental conditions communities experienced during their diversification and recent geologic history informs us as to which environmental changes are most likely to impact species in those communities. Three examples follow: 1) Recent compilation of molecular and paleontological data document that higher aspects of the trophic chain in the Pacific Northwest, including the salmon genus Onchoyrhynchus, alcid birds (Auks & Puffins) and crabs of the genus Cancer speciated dramatically in response to enhanced upwelling of the mid Miocene (Jacobs et al. 2004). Consistent with this evolutionary origin, population dynamics and endangerment of these taxa are associated with the changing productivity regime of the Pacific as well as more direct human impacts. 2) Pluvials in the Eurasian and African continent respond to the precession cycle, as a result wetland habitats were much more expansive in the early and middle Holocene. Late Holocene wetland habitat contraction combines with increasing anthropogenic manipulation of these cyclically limited hydrologic resources to yield a suite of endangered taxa across these continents as is statistically documented by analysis of Redbook data. 3) Our recent work documents the evolution of endemic fish and Molluscan taxa in association with the Colorado River Delta. These endemic taxa are then vulnerable to the to impacts on the Colorado Delta where anthropogenic use of water resources combine with the threat of climate provide combined threats to this ecosystem. The Environmental/Evolutionary history of lineages clearly has strong implications for how anthropogenic changes impacts and endangers those lineages. Jacobs D.K. et al. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 2004. 32:601 52

Synthesizing late Holocene paleoclimate reconstructions: Lessons learned, common challenges, and implications for future research

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Rodysill, J. R.

2017-12-01

Proxy-based reconstructions provide vital information for developing histories of environmental and climate changes. Networks of spatiotemporal paleoclimate information are powerful tools for understanding dynamical processes within the global climate system and improving model-based predictions of the patterns and magnitudes of climate changes at local- to global-scales. Compiling individual paleoclimate records and integrating reconstructed climate information in the context of an ensemble of multi-proxy records, which are fundamental for developing a spatiotemporal climate data network, are hindered by challenges related to data and information accessibility, chronological uncertainty, sampling resolution, climate proxy type, and differences between depositional environments. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) North American Holocene Climate Synthesis Working Group has been compiling and integrating multi-proxy paleoclimate data as part of an ongoing effort to synthesize Holocene climate records from North America. The USGS North American Holocene Climate Synthesis Working Group recently completed a late Holocene hydroclimate synthesis for the North American continent using several proxy types from a range of depositional environments, including lakes, wetlands, coastal marine, and cave speleothems. Using new age-depth relationships derived from the Bacon software package, we identified century-scale patterns of wetness and dryness for the past 2000 years with an age uncertainty-based confidence rating for each proxy record. Additionally, for highly-resolved North American lake sediment records, we computed average late Holocene sediment deposition rates and identified temporal trends in age uncertainty that are common to multiple lakes. This presentation addresses strengths and challenges of compiling and integrating data from different paleoclimate archives, with a particular focus on lake sediments, which may inform and guide future paleolimnological studies.

Sensitivity of sediment magnetic records to climate change during Holocene for the northern South China Sea

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Ouyang, Tingping; Li, Mingkun; Zhao, Xiang; Zhu, Zhaoyu; Tian, Chengjing; Qiu, Yan; Peng, Xuechao; Hu, Qiao

2016-05-01

Magnetic property has been proved to be a sensitive proxy to climate change for both terrestrial and marine sediments. Based on the schedule frame established by AMS 14C dating of foraminifera, detail magnetic analyses were performed for core PC24 sediments at sampling intervals of 2 cm to discuss magnetic sensitivity of marine sediment to climate during Holocene for the northern South China Sea. The results indicated that: 1) Concentration dependent magnetic parameters are positive corresponding to variation of temperature. The frequency dependent susceptibility coefficient basically reflected the variation in humidity; 2) XARM/SIRM was more sensitive to detrital magnetite particles and SIRM/X was more effective to biogenic magnetite particles. Variations of XARM/SIRM and SIRM/X are corresponding to precipitation and temperature, respectively; 3) the Holocene Megathermal in the study area was identified as 7.5-3.4 cal. ka BP. The warmest stage of Holocene for the study area should be during 6.1 to 3.9 cal. ka BP; 4) The 8 ka cold event was characterized as cold and dry during 8.55 to 8.25 cal. ka BP; 5) During early and middle Holocene, the climate combinations were warm dry and cold wet. It turned to warm and wet after 2.7 cal. ka BP.

Sensitivity of sediment magnetic records to climate change during Holocene for the northern South China Sea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tingping eOuyang

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Magnetic property has been proved to be a sensitive proxy to climate change for both terrestrial and marine sediments. Based on the schedule frame established by AMS 14C dating of foraminifera, detail magnetic analyses were performed for core PC24 sediments at sampling intervals of 2 cm to discuss magnetic sensitivity of marine sediment to climate during Holocene for the northern South China Sea. The results indicated that: 1 Concentration dependent magnetic parameters are positive corresponding to variation of temperature. The frequency dependent susceptibility coefficient basically reflected the variation in humidity; 2 XARM/SIRM was more sensitive to detrital magnetite particles and SIRM/X was more effective to biogenic magnetite particles. Variations of XARM/SIRM and SIRM/X are corresponding to precipitation and temperature, respectively; 3 the Holocene Megathermal in the study area was identified as 7.5-3.4 cal. ka BP. The warmest stage of Holocene for the study area should be during 6.1 to 3.9 cal. ka BP; 4 The 8 ka cold event was characterized as cold and dry during 8.55 to 8.25 cal. ka BP; 5 During early and middle Holocene, the climate combinations were warm dry and cold wet. It turned to warm and wet after 2.7 cal. ka BP.

Holocene sea-level changes along the Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel, southernmost South America

Science.gov (United States)

Porter, Stephen C.; Stuiver, Minze; Heusser, Calvin J.

1984-07-01

Radiocarbon-dated marine sediments from five coastal sites along the Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel in southernmost Chile permit construction of a curve of relative sea-level fluctuations during the Holocene. Morphologic and stratigraphic data point to coastal submergence during the early Holocene as the sea rose to a maximum level at least 3.5 m higher than present about 5000 yr ago. Progressive emergence then followed during the late Holocene. Data from widely separated localities define a smooth curve, the form of which is explainable in terms of isostatic and hydroisostatic deformation of the crust resulting from changing ice and water loads. Apparently anomalous data from one site located more than 100 km behind the outer limit of the last glaciation may reflect isostatic response to deglaciation. The sea-level curve resembles one derived by Clark and Bloom (1979, In "Proceedings of the 1978 International Symposium on Coastal Evolution in the Quaternary, Sao Paulo, Brasil," pp. 41-60. Sao Paulo) using a spherical Earth model, both in amplitude and in the timing of the maximum submergence.

A multiproxy fjord sediment record of Holocene climate change from the subantarctic Auckland Islands

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Browne, I. M.; Moy, C. M.; Wilson, G. S.; Neil, H.; Riesselman, C. R.

2014-12-01

The Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds (SHWW) and the associated oceanic fronts have a major influence on atmospheric and oceanic circulation in the Southern Hemisphere. Sediment cores recovered from fjords along the eastern margin of the sub-Antarctic Auckland Islands (51°S, 166°E) are ideally located to sensitively record changes in the strength and position of the SHWW throughout the Holocene. A 5.75m core from Hanfield Inlet preserves both marine and terrestrial environmental components, which we use to develop a multiproxy record of past climatic conditions. This core, composed entirely of brown marine mud and silt, was recovered from a depth of 44m. Based on the entrance sill depth of the fjord (10mbsl) and our knowledge of regional sea level rise, we infer that the base of the core will be early Holocene in age, which will be confirmed using radiocarbon age dating. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages (125-500μm fraction) in surface and downcore samples are dominated by three taxa, Nonionellina flemingi, Cassidulina carinata and Quinqueloculina seminula. These species are either shallow infaunal or infaunal. We will use stable carbon (δ¹³C) and oxygen (δ¹⁸O) isotope geochemistry of the benthic foraminifera Nonionellina flemingi, Bolivina cf. earlandi, Trifarina angulosa, Bulimina marginata f. marginata and Cibicides species (all identified from Rose Bengal stained box-core samples) to reconstruct water column fluctuations associated with frontal migration. These results will compliment bulk sediment C and N concentration and isotope reconstructions of terrestrial organic matter delivery to fjord sub-basins over the past 12,000 years.

Changes in Ocean Circulation with an Ice-Free Arctic: Reconstructing Early Holocene Arctic Ocean Circulation Using Geochemical Signals from Individual Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral) Shells

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Livsey, C.; Spero, H. J.; Kozdon, R.

2016-12-01

The impacts of sea ice decrease and consequent hydrologic changes in the Arctic Ocean will be experienced globally as ocean and atmospheric temperatures continue to rise, though it is not evident to what extent. Understanding the structure of the Arctic water column during the early/mid Holocene sea ice minimum ( 6-10 kya), a post-glacial analogue of a seasonally ice-free Arctic, will help us to predict what the changes we can expect as the Earth warms over the next century. Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (sinistral; Nps) is a species of planktonic foraminifera that dominates assemblages in the polar oceans. This species grows its chambers (ontogenetic calcite) in the surface waters and subsequently descends through the water column to below the mixed layer where it quickly adds a thick crust of calcite (Kohfeld et al., 1996). Therefore, geochemical signals from both the surface waters and sub-mixed layer depths are captured within single Nps shells. We were able to target ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), therefore capturing signals from both the ontogenetic and crust calcite in single Nps shells. This data was combined with laser ablation- inductively coupled mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) Mg/Ca profiles of trace metals through the two layers of calcite of the same shells, to determine the thermal structure of the water column. Combining δ18O, temperature, and salinity gradients from locations across the Arctic basin allow us to reconstruct the hydrography of the early Holocene Arctic sea ice minimum. These results will be compared with modern Arctic water column characteristics in order to develop a conceptual model of Arctic Ocean oceanographic change due to global warming. Kohfeld, K.E., Fairbanks, R.G., Smith, S.L., Walsh, I.D., 1996. Neogloboquadrina pachyderma(sinistral coiling) as paleoceanographic tracers in polar oceans: Evidence from northeast water polynya plankton tows, sediment traps, and surface sediments. Paleoceanography 11, 679-699.

Mid-Holocene onset of high-amplitude decadal to centennial scale variability along the Peru Chile Margin

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Chazen, C. R.; Altabet, M.; Herbert, T. D.

2008-12-01

Understanding the natural climate variations in the eastern tropical Pacific is crucial for predicting the evolution of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) system and for anticipating the ways in which increases in atmospheric CO2 will affect climate. Here we present the first continuous, high-resolution (11-12 yr) climate record across the mid-Holocene transition (10ka-1.4ka) from the Peru-Chile Margin near the epicenter of the modern ENSO system. Although the high productivity of the Peru margin should promote high deposition rates, and the anaerobic bottom water conditions should inhibit sediment mixing by benthic organisms, nearly all sediment cores recovered from this region suffer from major gaps in Holocene sedimentation. Our data comes from a ~5 meter piston core collected from the mid-Peruvian shelf (15° 15"S, 75° 58"W, ~250mwd) in the heart of the oxygen minimum/denitrification zone that provides the first uninterrupted archive of conditions along the Peru-Chile margin. A suite of geochemical proxies allow us to reconstruct sea surface temperature (SST- Uk'37), phytoplankton productivity (C37total and %BSi), and thermocline ventilation (δ15N), variables that are tightly correlated to ENSO events today. Despite the observation that the mean late Holocene state of all three variables did not change over the last 10,000 years, our data reveal a dramatic increase in climate variability after the mid Holocene (~5ka); represented by prolonged periods (50-200yrs) of climate extremes, which are absent in the early Holocene. To further investigate these climate extremes we examine benthic foraminiferal assemblages and oxygen isotopes in combination with our other proxy records in selected late Holocene sections. The roughly centennial-scale oscillations do not show typical El Niño-La Niña correlations between proxies. We therefore posit that a significant fraction of super-ENSO variance during the course of the Holocene may originate outside the tropics

History of formation of forests in the plain part of Ukraine in the Holocene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bezusko, L.G.; Mosyakin, S.L.; Tsymbalyuk, Z.M.; Bezusko, A.G.

2005-01-01

Full text: The authors analyzed and generalized the results of palynological and radiocarbon-dating studies of Holocene deposits of the forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones of Ukraine. Based on the obtained data, we reconstructed the pattern of main changes of vegetation and climate starting from 10,300 years BP. We consider changes in forest vegetation of the studied area in the Early (PB-1, PB-2, BO-1, BO-2, BO-3), Middle (AT-1, AT-2, AT-3, SB-1, SB-2, SB-3) and Late Holocene. For most important forest-forming trees (species of Pinus, Betula, Alnus, Quercus, Tilia, Carpinus, Fagus etc.), the main periods of their maximum participation in Ukrainian forest vegetation were identified. Broadleaf forests and mixed forests with participation of broadleaf trees were most widespread in Ukraine 4,500-6,200 years BP. During the second phase of the Atlantic time of the Holocene the northern border of the steppe zone in Ukraine was stable. Expansion of forest communities in the steppe zone progressed through gradual increase of forest areas that originally occurred in flood plains and ravines. (author)

Holocene environmental change along the southern Cape coast of South Africa - Insights from the Eilandvlei sediment record spanning the last 8.9 kyr

Science.gov (United States)

Wündsch, Michael; Haberzettl, Torsten; Cawthra, Hayley C.; Kirsten, Kelly L.; Quick, Lynne J.; Zabel, Matthias; Frenzel, Peter; Hahn, Annette; Baade, Jussi; Daut, Gerhard; Kasper, Thomas; Meadows, Michael E.; Mäusbacher, Roland

2018-04-01

This study investigates Holocene sediments from Eilandvlei, a coastal lake located within the Wilderness embayment at the southern Cape coast of South Africa. The evolution of the present estuarine/coastal lake system is reconstructed based on seismic data as well as a multi-proxy approach on a 30.5 m sediment core spanning the last 8.9 kyr. Geochemical (Ca, TOC/S, Br/TOC) and micropalaeontological data (diatoms, foraminifera) reflect changes in the degree of marine influence at the core site. The embayment likely developed via distinct phases of connectivity to the Indian Ocean caused by sea level changes and dune progradation. Marine conditions prevailed at the core site from 8900 to 4700 cal BP. The rapid sea level rise during the early Holocene caused the inundation of a palaeovalley that most likely had formed at lower sea levels during the Pleistocene. Towards the mid-Holocene the sea level exceeded its present height around 7500 cal BP creating a marine embayment. At 4700 cal BP, the embayment became distinctly more disconnected from the ocean turning into a lagoon system that persisted until 1200 cal BP. Subsequently, the marine influence further decreased and the present estuarine/coastal lake system was established. Grain size and geochemical data (Fe, Si/Al, chemical index of alteration (CIA)) further reflect changes in the deposition of terrigenous sediments at the core site. While the sedimentation of fine-grained (climatic conditions than today from 8900 to 7900 cal BP and 6400 to 3000 cal BP. In contrast, the periods between 7900-6400 cal BP and 3000 cal BP-present were likely characterized by high river discharge and thus, generally more rainfall. The reconstructed palaeoclimatic variations are discussed within the context of e.g., shifts in the position of the Antarctic sea ice extent and the mid-latitude westerly wind belt as well as changes in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

Early Holocene environmental change and the impact of Mesolithic man in the Tungelroysche Beek Valley, N-Limburg

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Woelders, L.; Kort, J.W. de; Hoek, W.Z.

2012-01-01

An archaeological excavation in the Tungelroysche Beek Valley revealed an Early Mesolithic site with the unique discovery of the remains of two red deer specimens (Cervus elaphus), likely the victims of Early Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. A core taken by the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed

Relationships between holocene vegetation and the spreading out of civilizations and languages in Southwestern-Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

David, F.

1991-01-01

A pluridisciplinary approach is proposed, which deals with the reconstitution of holocene environments and estimation of the human impact. This effects varies in time and space, as in the case of South Eastern Mediterranean countries (Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran), where advanced civilization appeared very early. Special attention is paid to palynology, archaeology and linguistic

Cosmogenic 10Be Dating of Early and Latest Holocene Moraines on Nevado Salcantay in the Southern Peruvian Andes

Science.gov (United States)

Licciardi, J. M.; Schaefer, J. M.; Lund, D. C.

2007-12-01

A two-fold sequence of nested lateral and end moraines was mapped in a glacial trough emanating from the southwest flank of Nevado Salcantay (6271 m; ~13°S latitude), the highest peak in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru. The field area is situated 25 km due south of the archaeological site of Machu Picchu. Outer and inner moraines in the sequence were deposited by valley glaciers that terminated ~5 km and ~3 km, respectively, from their headwall on the Salcantay summit massif. Cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure dating of granitic boulders sampled on the Salcantay moraines is underway and has provided the first numerical ages for these deposits. Initial results indicate ages of 8.1 ± 0.1 10Be ka for the outer moraine and 200 ± 20 10Be years for the sharp-crested inner moraine. These ages are derived using the CRONUS-Earth 10Be exposure age calculator (version 2.0) and expressed with respect to the Lal- Stone production rate scaling scheme using the standard atmosphere. The outer and inner moraine ages correspond to glacial events during the early and latest Holocene, respectively. Further 10Be dating of the mapped moraines and similar deposits observed in adjacent drainages on Nevado Salcantay is anticipated to yield a high-resolution chronology of valley glaciation in this segment of the southern Peruvian Andes. The new results bridge an important gap between existing Andean glacier records to the north and south, and complement available ice core and lacustrine paleoclimate records in the vicinity, thereby expanding spatial and temporal coverage for identifying patterns of Holocene climate change in the tropical Andes. Notably, the inner moraine age correlates with the timing of the Little Ice Age as defined in northern mid- and high latitude glacier records, and suggests considerable expansion of valley glaciers in the southern Peruvian Andes during this climatic minimum. Apart from their paleoclimatic significance, the initial results also demonstrate

Coastal glaciers advanced onto Jameson Land, East Greenland during the late glacial–early Holocene Milne Land Stade

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Helena Alexanderson

2014-01-01

Full Text Available We report on 10Be and optically stimulated luminescence ages from moraines and glaciolacustrine sediments on eastern Jameson Land, East Greenland. Sampled landforms and sediment are associated with advances of outlet glaciers from the local Liverpool Land ice cap situated in the coastal Scoresby Sund region. Previous studies have tentatively correlated these advances with the Milne Land Stade moraines, which are prominent moraine sets deposited by mountain glaciers in the inner Scoresby Sund region. Recent constraints on the formation of the outer and inner of these moraines have suggested two advances of local glaciers, one prior to or during the Younger Dryas and another during the Preboreal. In this paper, we test the correlation of the Liverpool Land glacial advance with the Milne Land Stade. Our results show that outlet glaciers from the Liverpool Land ice cap reached ice-marginal positions marked by moraines in east-facing valleys on Jameson Land sometime during late glacial–early Holocene time (ca. 13–11 Kya. This confirms the correlation of these moraines with the Milne Land Stade moraines described elsewhere in the Scoresby Sund region.

Similar speleothem δ18O signals indicating diverging climate variations in inland central Asia and monsoonal south Asia during the Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Jin, Liya; Zhang, Xiaojian

2017-04-01

High-resolution and precisely dated speleothem oxygen isotope (δ18O) records from Asia have provided key evidence for past monsoonal changes. It is found that δ18O records of stalagmites from Kesang Cave (42°52'N, 81°45'E, Xinjiang, China) in inland central Asia were very similar to those from Qunf Cave (17°10'N, 54°18'E, southern Oman) in South Asia, shifting from light to heavy throughout the Holocene, which was regarded as a signal that strong Asian summer monsoon (ASM) may have intruded into the Kesang Cave site and/or adjacent areas in inland central Asia to produce heavy rainfall during the high insolation times (e.g. the early Holocene). However, this is in contrast to conclusions based on other Holocene proxy records and modeling simulations, showing a persistent wetting trend in arid central Asia during the Holocene with a dryer condition in the early Holocene and the wettest condition in the late Holocene. With an analysis of model-proxy data comparison, we revealed a possible physical mechanism responsible for the Holocene evolution of moisture/precipitation in Asian summer monsoon (ASM)-dominated regions and that in the inland central Asia. It is revealed that a recurrent circumglobal teleconnection (CGT) pattern in the summertime mid-latitude circulation of the Northern Hemisphere was closely related to the ASM and the climate of inland central Asia, acting as a bridge linking the ASM to insolation, high-latitude forcing (North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST)), and low-latitude forcing (tropical Ocean SST). Also, the CGT influence speleothem δ18O values in South Asia via its effect on the amount of precipitation. In addition, the moisture source from the Indian Ocean is associated with relatively high δ18O values compared with that from the North Atlantic Ocean, leading to increased precipitation δ18O values. Hence, the CGT has probably been the key factor responsible for the in-phase relationship in speleothem δ18O values (Kesang Cave

Geochemical record of Holocene to Recent sedimentation on the Western Indus continental shelf, Arabian Sea

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Limmer, David R.; BöNing, Philipp; Giosan, Liviu; Ponton, Camilo; KöHler, Cornelia M.; Cooper, Matthew J.; Tabrez, Ali R.; Clift, Peter D.

2012-01-01

We present a multiproxy geochemical analysis of two cores recovered from the Indus Shelf spanning the Early Holocene to Recent (<14 ka). Indus-23 is located close to the modern Indus River, while Indus-10 is positioned ˜100 km further west. The Holocene transgression at Indus-10 was over a surface that was strongly weathered during the last glacial sea level lowstand. Lower Holocene sediments at Indus-10 have higherɛNdvalues compared to those at the river mouth indicating some sediment supply from the Makran coast, either during the deposition or via reworking of older sediments outcropping on the shelf. Sediment transport from Makran occurred during transgressive intervals when sea level crossed the mid shelf. The sediment flux from non-Indus sources to Indus-10 peaked between 11 ka and 8 ka. A hiatus at Indus-23 from 8 ka until 1.3 ka indicates non-deposition or erosion of existing Indus Shelf sequences. HigherɛNdvalues seen on the shelf compared to the delta imply reworking of older delta sediments in building Holocene clinoforms. Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), Mg/Al and Sr isotopes are all affected by erosion of detrital carbonate, which reduced through the Holocene. K/Al data suggest that silicate weathering peaked ca. 4-6 ka and was higher at Indus-10 compared to Indus-23. Fine-grained sediments that make up the shelf have geochemical signatures that are different from the coarser grained bulk sediments measured in the delta plain. The Indus Shelf data highlight the complexity of reconstructing records of continental erosion and provenance in marine settings.

Reconstruction of glacier variability from lake sediments reveals dynamic Holocene climate in Svalbard

Science.gov (United States)

van der Bilt, Willem G. M.; Bakke, Jostein; Vasskog, Kristian; D'Andrea, William J.; Bradley, Raymond S.; Ólafsdóttir, Sædis

2015-10-01

The Arctic is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth. Holocene proxy time-series are increasingly used to put this amplified response in perspective by understanding Arctic climate processes beyond the instrumental period. However, available datasets are scarce, unevenly distributed and often of coarse resolution. Glaciers are sensitive recorders of climate shifts and variations in rock-flour production transfer this signal to the lacustrine sediment archives of downstream lakes. Here, we present the first full Holocene record of continuous glacier variability on Svalbard from glacier-fed Lake Hajeren. This reconstruction is based on an undisturbed lake sediment core that covers the entire Holocene and resolves variability on centennial scales owing to 26 dating points. A toolbox of physical, geochemical (XRF) and magnetic proxies in combination with multivariate statistics has allowed us to fingerprint glacier activity in addition to other processes affecting the sediment record. Evidence from variations in sediment density, validated by changes in Ti concentrations, reveal glaciers remained present in the catchment following deglaciation prior to 11,300 cal BP, culminating in a Holocene maximum between 9.6 and 9.5 ka cal BP. Correspondence with freshwater pulses from Hudson Strait suggests that Early Holocene glacier advances were driven by the melting Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS). We find that glaciers disappeared from the catchment between 7.4 and 6.7 ka cal BP, following a late Hypsithermal. Glacier reformation around 4250 cal BP marks the onset of the Neoglacial, supporting previous findings. Between 3380 and 3230 cal BP, we find evidence for a previously unreported centennial-scale glacier advance. Both events are concurrent with well-documented episodes of North Atlantic cooling. We argue that this brief forcing created suitable conditions for glaciers to reform in the catchment against a background of gradual orbital cooling. These findings highlight the

Holocene climate variability in arid Central Asia as revealed from high-resolution sedimentological and geochemical analyses of laminated sediments from Lake Chatyr Kol (Central Tian Shan, Kyrgyzstan)

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Lauterbach, S.; Plessen, B.; Dulski, P.; Mingram, J.; Prasad, S.

2013-12-01

A pronounced trend from a predominantly wet climate during the early Holocene towards significantly drier conditions since the mid-Holocene, mainly attributed to the weakening of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM), is documented in numerous palaeoclimate records from the monsoon-influenced parts of Asia, e.g. the Tibetan Plateau and north- and southeastern China. In contrast, climate in the adjacent regions of mid-latitude arid Central Asia, located north and northwest of the Tibetan Plateau, is supposed to have been characterized by pronounced dry conditions during the early Holocene, wet conditions during the mid-Holocene and a rather moderate drying during the late Holocene, which is mainly attributed to the complex interplay between the mid-latitude Westerlies and the ASM. However, although mid-latitude Central Asia thus might represent a key region for the understanding of teleconnections between the ASM system and the Westerlies, knowledge about past climate development in this region is still ambiguous due to the limited number of high-resolution palaeoclimate records. Hence, new well-dated and highly resolved palaeoclimate records from this region are expected to provide important information about spatio-temporal changes in the regional interplay between Westerlies and ASM and thus aid the understanding of global climate teleconnections. As a part of the project CADY (Central Asian Climate Dynamics), aiming at reconstructing past climatic and hydrological variability in Central Asia, a sediment core of about 6.25 m length has been recovered from alpine Lake Chatyr Kol (40°36' N, 75°14' E, 3530 m a. s. l., surface area ~170 km2, maximum depth ~20 m), located in the Central Tian Shan of Kyrgyzstan. Sediment microfacies analysis on large-scale petrographic thin sections reveals continuously sub-mm scale laminated sediments throughout the record except for the uppermost ca. 60 cm. Microsedimentological characterization of these laminae, which are most probably

The Mt Logan Holocene-late Wisconsinan isotope record

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dahl-Jensen, Dorthe; Fisher, David; Osterberg, Erich

2008-01-01

Mt Logan • stable isotopes • Holocene • ENSO • peat • N Pacific • sudden change Udgivelsesdato: August......Mt Logan • stable isotopes • Holocene • ENSO • peat • N Pacific • sudden change Udgivelsesdato: August...

Floodplain construction of the Rio Grande at El Paso, Texas, USA: response to Holocene climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Stephen A.; Peterson, John A.

2013-04-01

The Rio Grande is one of the larger rivers in North America, and the development of its floodplain is related to Holocene climate and climate change. The late Pleistocene through early Holocene channel is characterized by a meander or braided system with lateral cutting and backfilling, resulting in the valley-wide deposition of massive to cross-bedded, fine-to-medium textured sand. The late Pleistocene-early Holocene floodplain is also the sand source for the adjacent Bolson sand sheet. The sand sheet stopped accumulating new sand 5000 yrs ago, an event directly related to the shutting off of the sand supply caused by the deposition of overbank muds that covered and sealed the floodplain surface. During the middle Holocene, the river may have dried intermittently with the floodplain becoming deflated and local sand dunes forming on the floodplain. After 5000 yrs the climate was less arid and the river shifted to a regime of increased flooding and overbank deposition of silt and clay. By 2500 yrs, a late Holocene period of wet climate resulted in further overbank deposition and the formation of a cumulic Mollisol across the floodplain, the Socorro paleosol. The period of wet climate corresponds to the Audubon Neoglacial and active rock glaciers in the southern Rocky Mountains, speleothem growth in nearby caves, and other evidence for wet-cool conditions in the region. After 1000 yrs, the climate became drier, and the deposition and accumulation of overbank muds by the flooding Rio Grande came to a halt. Even though the river has flooded often in historic times, and presumably during late prehistoric times as well, there is little evidence for deposition of overbank sediments on the floodplain since A.D. 1000. Accordingly, the present-day surface of the Lower Valley is ten centuries old. Three channels occur on the US side of the Lower Valley floodplain, and during the past 2500 yrs stream flow has shifted from one to the other by the avulsion process of channel

Holocene fire activity and vegetation response in South-Eastern Iberia

Science.gov (United States)

Gil-Romera, Graciela; Carrión, José S.; Pausas, Juli G.; Sevilla-Callejo, Miguel; Lamb, Henry F.; Fernández, Santiago; Burjachs, Francesc

2010-05-01

Since fire has been recognized as an essential disturbance in Mediterranean landscapes, the study of long-term fire ecology has developed rapidly. We have reconstructed a sequence of vegetation dynamics and fire changes across south-eastern Iberia by coupling records of climate, fire, vegetation and human activities. We calculated fire activity anomalies (FAAs) in relation to 3 ka cal BP for 10-8 ka cal BP, 6 ka cal BP, 4 ka cal BP and the present. For most of the Early to the Mid-Holocene uneven, but low fire events were the main vegetation driver at high altitudes where broadleaved and coniferous trees presented a highly dynamic post-fire response. At mid-altitudes in the mainland Segura Mountains, fire activity remained relatively stable, at similar levels to recent times. We hypothesize that coastal areas, both mountains and lowlands, were more fire-prone landscapes as biomass was more likely to have accumulated than in the inland regions, triggering regular fire events. The wet and warm phase towards the Mid-Holocene (between ca 8 and 6 ka cal BP) affected the whole region and promoted the spread of mesophytic forest co-existing with Pinus, as FAAs appear strongly negative at 6 ka cal BP, with a less important role of fire. Mid and Late Holocene landscapes were shaped by an increasing aridity trend and the rise of human occupation, especially in the coastal mountains where forest disappeared from ca 2 ka cal BP. Mediterranean-type vegetation (evergreen oaks and Pinus pinaster- halepensis types) showed the fastest post-fire vegetation dynamics over time.

A model for the Holocene extinction of the mammal megafauna in Ecuador

Science.gov (United States)

Ficcarelli, G.; Coltorti, M.; Moreno-Espinosa, M.; Pieruccini, P. L.; Rook, L.; Torre, D.

2003-03-01

This paper presents the results of multidisciplinary research in the Ecuadorian coastal regions, with particular emphasis on the Santa Elena Peninsula. The new evidence, together with previous data gathered on the Ecuadorian cordillera during the last 12 years, allows us to formulate a model that accounts for most of the mammal megafauna extinction at the Pleistocene/Holocene transition. After the illustration of geomorphological and paleontological evidences of the area of the Santa Elena Peninsula (and other sites), and of a summary of the paleoclimatic data, the main results and conclusions of this work are: (1) Late Pleistocene mammal assemblages survived in the Ecuadorian coast until the Early Holocene sea level rise; (2) Prior to the extinction of most of the megafauna elements (mastodons, ground sloths, equids, sabre-tooth felids), the mammal communities at Santa Elena Peninsula comprise elements with differing habitat requirements, attesting conditions of high biological pressure; (3) At the El Cautivo site (Santa Elena Peninsula), we have discovered Holocene sediments containing the first known occurrences in Ecuador of lithic artifacts that are associated with mammal megafauna remains; (4) During the last 10,000 years, the coastal region of Ecuador underwent significant changes in vegetation cover. At the Pleistocene/Holocene transition the climate changed from very arid conditions to humid conditions. Our data indicates that the megafauna definitively abandoned the Cordillera areas around 12,000 yr BP due to t he increasing aridity, and subsequently migrated to coastal areas where ecological conditions still were suitable, Santa Elena Peninsula and mainly Amazonian areas being typical. We conclude that the unusual high faunal concentrations and the change to dense vegetation cover (due to a rapid increase in precipitation in the lower Holocene) at 8000-6000 yr BP, caused the final collapse and extinction of most elements of the mammal megafauna

New data for natural situation of Prebaikal region in holocene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuz'min, S.B.; Dan'ko, L.V.; Snytko, V.A.; Bezrukova, E.V.; Orlova, L.A.

2007-01-01

On the basis of the radiocarbon dating data one performed a comprehensive study of the paragenetic series of loose deposits of the layers located in the Baikal Lake western coast central part. The main changes of the natural situations of the Baikal Lake region in the holocene were revealed to take place in the early Subatlantic period (2290+-90 14 C years ago), in the latter half of the Medieval optimum (1410 - 1040+-60 14 C years ago) and in the Cryogenic period (885+-30 - 365+-30 14 C years ago) [ru

Quantifying the effects of land use and climate on Holocene vegetation in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Marquer, Laurent; Gaillard, Marie-José; Sugita, Shinya; Poska, Anneli; Trondman, Anna-Kari; Mazier, Florence; Nielsen, Anne Birgitte; Fyfe, Ralph M.; Jönsson, Anna Maria; Smith, Benjamin; Kaplan, Jed O.; Alenius, Teija; Birks, H. John B.; Bjune, Anne E.; Christiansen, Jörg; Dodson, John; Edwards, Kevin J.; Giesecke, Thomas; Herzschuh, Ulrike; Kangur, Mihkel; Koff, Tiiu; Latałowa, Małgorzata; Lechterbeck, Jutta; Olofsson, Jörgen; Seppä, Heikki

2017-09-01

Early agriculture can be detected in palaeovegetation records, but quantification of the relative importance of climate and land use in influencing regional vegetation composition since the onset of agriculture is a topic that is rarely addressed. We present a novel approach that combines pollen-based REVEALS estimates of plant cover with climate, anthropogenic land-cover and dynamic vegetation modelling results. This is used to quantify the relative impacts of land use and climate on Holocene vegetation at a sub-continental scale, i.e. northern and western Europe north of the Alps. We use redundancy analysis and variation partitioning to quantify the percentage of variation in vegetation composition explained by the climate and land-use variables, and Monte Carlo permutation tests to assess the statistical significance of each variable. We further use a similarity index to combine pollen-based REVEALS estimates with climate-driven dynamic vegetation modelling results. The overall results indicate that climate is the major driver of vegetation when the Holocene is considered as a whole and at the sub-continental scale, although land use is important regionally. Four critical phases of land-use effects on vegetation are identified. The first phase (from 7000 to 6500 BP) corresponds to the early impacts on vegetation of farming and Neolithic forest clearance and to the dominance of climate as a driver of vegetation change. During the second phase (from 4500 to 4000 BP), land use becomes a major control of vegetation. Climate is still the principal driver, although its influence decreases gradually. The third phase (from 2000 to 1500 BP) is characterised by the continued role of climate on vegetation as a consequence of late-Holocene climate shifts and specific climate events that influence vegetation as well as land use. The last phase (from 500 to 350 BP) shows an acceleration of vegetation changes, in particular during the last century, caused by new farming

Holocene sea level, a semi-empirical contemplation

Science.gov (United States)

Bittermann, K.; Kemp, A.; Vermeer, M.; Rahmstorf, S.

2017-12-01

Holocene eustatic sea level from approximately -10,000-1800 CE was characterized by an increase of about 60m, with the rate progressively slowing down until sea level almost stabilizes between 500-1800 CE. Global and northern-hemisphere temperatures rose from the last glacial termination until the `Holocene Optimum'. From ­­there, up to the start of the recent anthropogenic rise, they almost steadily decline. How are the sea-level and temperature evolutions linked? We investigate this with semi-empirical sea-level models. We found that, due to the nature of Milankovitch forcing, northern-hemisphere temperature (we used the Greenland temperature by Vinther et al., 2009) is a better model driver than global mean temperature because the evolving mass of northern-hemisphere land ice was the dominant cause of Holocene global sea-level trends. The adjustment timescale for this contribution is 1200 years (900-1500 years; 90% confidence interval). To fit the observed sea-level history, the model requires a small additional constant rate (Bittermann 2016). This rate turns out to be of the same order of magnitude as reconstructions of Antarctic sea-level contributions (Briggs et al. 2014, Golledge et al. 2014). In reality this contribution is unlikely to be constant but rather has a dominant timescale that is large compared to the time considered. We thus propose that Holocene sea level can be described by a linear combination of a temperature driven rate, which becomes negative in the late Holocene (as Northern Hemisphere ice masses are diminished), and a positive, approximately constant term (possibly from Antarctica), which starts to dominate from the middle of the Holocene until the start of industrialization. Bibliography: Bittermann, K. 2016. Semi-empirical sea-level modelling. PhD Thesis University of Potsdam. Briggs, R.D., et al. 2014. A data-constrained large ensemble analysis of Antarctic evolution since the Eemian. Quaternary science reviews, 103, 91

Holocene record of glacier variability from lake sediments reveals tripartite climate history for Svalbard

Science.gov (United States)

van der Bilt, Willem; Bakke, Jostein; Vasskog, Kristian; D`Andrea, William; Bradley, Raymond; Olafsdottir, Sædis

2016-04-01

The Arctic is responding sensitively to ongoing global climate change, warming and moistening faster than any other region on the planet. Holocene proxy paleoclimate time series are increasingly used to put this amplified response in perspective by understanding Arctic climate processes beyond the instrumental period. Glaciers rapidly respond to climate shifts as demonstrated by their current demise around the world. This response has a composite climate signature, marked by shifts in hydroclimate (winter precipitation) as well as (summer) temperature. Attendant changes in glacier size are recorded by variations in glacigenic rock flour that may be deposited in downstream lakes. Here, we present a Holocene reconstruction of glacier activity, based on sediments from Hajeren, a glacier-fed lake on northwest Spitsbergen in the High Arctic Svalbard archipelago. Owing to undisturbed sediments and robust age control, we could resolve variability on a sub-centennial scale. To ensure the accurate detection of glacier activity, we applied a toolbox of physical, magnetic and geochemical proxies in conjunction with multivariate statistics. Our findings indicate a three-stage Holocene climate history for Svalbard, driving by melt water pulses, episodic Atlantic cooling and a decline in orbitally driven summer insolation. Correspondence between inferred advances, including a Holocene glacier maximum around 9.5 ka BP, suggests forcing by the melting LIS during the Early Holocene. Following a late Holocene Thermal Maximum around 7.4 ka BP, glaciers disappeared from the catchment. Glaciers reformed around 4.2 ka BP during the regional onset of the Neoglacial, supporting previous findings. This transition did, however, not mark the onset of persistent glacier activity in the catchment, but a series of centennial-scale cycles of growth and decay, including events around 3.3 and 1.1 ka BP. As orbitally driven insolation declined towards the present, the glaciation threshold

Late Holocene sea-level rise in Tampa Bay: Integrated reconstruction using biomarkers, pollen, organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts, and diatoms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Soelen, E.E. van; Lammertsma, E.I.; Cremer, H.; Donders, T.H.; Sangiorgi, F.; Brooks, G.R.; Larson, R.A.; Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.; Wagner-Cremer, F.; Reichart, G.J.

2010-01-01

A suite of organic geochemical, micropaleontological and palynological proxies was applied to sediments from Southwest Florida, to study the Holocene environmental changes associated with sea-level rise. Sediments were recovered from Hillsborough Bay, part of Tampa Bay, and studied using biomarkers,

Patch-reef morphology as a proxy for Holocene sea-level variability, Northern Florida Keys, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Brock, J.C.; Palaseanu-Lovejoy, M.; Wright, C.W.; Nayegandhi, A.

2008-01-01

A portion of the northern Florida Keys reef tract was mapped with the NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL) and the morphology of patch reefs was related to variations in Holocene sea level. Following creation of a lidar digital elevation model (DEM), geospatial analyses delineated morphologic attributes of 1,034 patch reefs (reef depth, basal area, height, volume, and topographic complexity). Morphometric analysis revealed two morphologically different populations of patch reefs associated with two distinct depth intervals above and below a water depth of 7.7 m. Compared to shallow reefs, the deep reefs were smaller in area and volume and showed no trend in topographic complexity relative to water depth. Shallow reefs were more variable in area and volume and became flatter and less topographically complex with decreasing water depth. The knoll-like morphology of deep reefs was interpreted as consistent with steady and relatively rapidly rising early Holocene sea level that restricted the lateral growth of reefs. The morphology of shallow 'pancake-shaped' reefs at the highest platform elevations was interpreted as consistent with fluctuating sea level during the late Holocene. Although the ultimate cause for the morphometric depth trends remains open to interpretation, these interpretations are compatible with a recent eustatic sea-level curve that hindcasts fluctuating late Holocene sea level. Thus it is suggested that the morphologic differences represent two stages of reef accretion that occurred during different sea-level conditions. ?? 2008 Springer-Verlag.

Holocene vegetation history from fossil rodent middens near Arequipa, Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Holmgren, C.A.; Betancourt, J.L.; Rylander, K.A.; Roque, J.; Tovar, O.; Zeballos, H.; Linares, E.; Quade, Jay

2001-01-01

Rodent (Abrocoma, Lagidium, Phyllotis) middens collected from 2350 to 2750 m elevation near Arequipa, Peru (16??S), provide an ???9600-yr vegetation history of the northern Atacama Desert, based on identification of >50 species of plant macrofossils. These midden floras show considerable stability throughout the Holocene, with slightly more mesophytic plant assemblages in the middle Holocene. Unlike the southwestern United States, rodent middens of mid-Holocene age are common. In the Arequipa area, the midden record does not reflect any effects of a mid-Holocene mega drought proposed from the extreme lowstand (100 m below modern levels, >6000 to 3500 yr B.P.) of Lake Titicaca, only 200 km east of Arequipa. This is perhaps not surprising, given other evidence for wetter summers on the Pacific slope of the Andes during the middle Holocene as well as the poor correlation of summer rainfall among modern weather stations in the central AndesAtacama Desert. The apparent difference in paleoclimatic reconstructions suggests that it is premature to relate changes observed during the Holocene to changes in El Nin??o Southern Oscillation modes. ?? 2001 University of Washington.

Recent evolution and divergence among populations of a rare Mexican endemic, Chihuahua spruce, following holocene climatic warming

Science.gov (United States)

F. Thomas Ledig; Virginia Jacob-Cervantes; Paul D. Hodgskiss

1997-01-01

Fragmentation and reduction in population size are expected to reduce genetic diversity. However, examples from natural populations of forest trees are scarce. The range of Chihuahua spruce retreated northward and fragmented coincident with the warming climate that marked the early Holocene. The isolated populations vary from 15 to 2441 trees, which provided an...

Middle-Holocene sea-level fluctuations interrupted the developing Hemudu culture in the lower Yangtze River, China

Science.gov (United States)

He, Keyang; Lu, Houyuan; Zheng, Yunfei; Zhang, Jianping; Xu, Deke; Huan, Xiujia; Wang, Jiehua; Lei, Shao

2018-05-01

The eastern coastal zone of China is densely populated and widely recognized as a center of rice domestication, which has undergone dramatic sea-level fluctuation during the Holocene epoch. Hemudu culture is distributed mainly in the eastern coastal area and was once presumed as a mature agricultural economy based on rice, making it an ideal case for examining the remarkable human-environment interaction in the Lower Yangtze River. Though numerous studies have been conducted on the cultural evolution, ecological environment, and rice domestication of Hemudu culture, the impact of sea-level fluctuation on human settlement and food production remains controversial. In this study, we report high-resolution pollen, phytolith, and diatom records, and accurately measured elevation from the Yushan site, which is the closest site of Hemudu culture to the modern coastline. Based on the data gathered, we suggest that the Hemudu culture and subsequent Liangzhu culture developed in the context of regression and were interrupted by two transgressions that occurred during 6300-5600 BP and 5000-4500 BP. The regional ecological environment of the Yushan site alternated between intertidal mudflat and freshwater wetlands induced by sea-level fluctuations in the mid-late Holocene. Though rice was cultivated in the wetland as early as 6700 BP, this cultivation was subsequently discontinued due to the transgression; thus, full domestication of rice did not occur until 5600 BP in this region. Comprehensive analysis of multiple proxies in this study promote the understanding of the relationship between environmental evolution, cultural interruption, and rice domestication.

Microfaunal analysis of late Quaternary deposits of the northern Bering Sea.

Science.gov (United States)

McDougall, K.

1982-01-01

Holocene microfaunal associations and distribution patterns define three inner-shelf (1-20m) biofacies in Norton Sound, northern Bering Sea. The Holocene facies relations are the basis for interpreting early Holocene and late Pleistocene environmental conditions in the NE Bering Sea area. Norton Sound cores provide evidence of two marine transgressions and a varying river input.-from Author

Colonizing Dynamic Alluvial and Coastal Landscapes in the Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Kidder, T.; Liu, X.; Ervin, K.

2017-12-01

Throughout the Holocene humans have had to adapt to dynamic, rapidly changing alluvial and coastal landscapes. Understanding when people inhabit a given environment is an important starting point for exploring human adaptations, but increasingly we need to consider how, and especially why certain environments are used—or not used— so we can understand the consequences of these human actions. Using four case studies—one from the Yellow River Valley, China, one from coastal Jiangsu, China, one from the Mississippi River Valley (Mississippi, USA) and one from the Mississippi River delta (Louisiana , USA)—we develop a model of how humans at various stages of cultural development colonize new environments. Using archaeological data and ecological modeling we investigate the relationship between the timing of landscape colonization and the ecological richness and predictability of any given environment. As new landscapes emerge and mature humans adopt different strategies for exploiting these novel environments that begins with episodic use and increasingly shifts to stable, long-term habitation. The early phase of landscape colonization appears to be the most significant period because it shapes human environmental practices and sets each culture on a trajectory of socio-cultural development. Thus, human-environment interaction is a critical part of the emergence of cultural patterns that shapes the past, present, and even the future.

Olea europaea L. in the North Mediterranean Basin during the Pleniglacial and the Early-Middle Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Carrión, Yolanda; Ntinou, Maria; Badal, Ernestina

2010-04-01

The paper aims to define the natural distribution of Olea europaea L. var. sylvestris (Miller) Lehr. in the North Mediterranean basin during the Pleniglacial and the Early-Middle Holocene by means of the identification of its wood-charcoal and/or wood at prehistoric sites. For this purpose we have reviewed the previously available information and we have combined it with new wood-charcoal analyses data. We have taken under consideration the presence and frequency of O. europaea L. in the available wood-charcoal sequences, the characteristics of the accompanying flora, the associated chrono-cultural contexts, the broader biogeographical context and the AMS dates provided by Olea wood-charcoal or endocarps. According to the available evidence, during the Middle and Late Pleniglacial (ca 59-11.5 ka cal. BP), Olea would have persisted in thermophilous refugia located in the southern areas of the North Mediterranean basin, the southern Levant and the north of Africa. The Last Glacial Maximum (ca 22-18 ka cal. BP) probably reduced the distribution area of Olea. During the Preboreal and the Boreal (ca 11 500-8800 cal. BP) the species started to expand in the thermomediterranean bioclimatic level. In the western Mediterranean, during the Atlantic period (ca 8800-5600 cal. BP), the species became very abundant or dominant in the thermophilous plant formations and expanded to favorable enclaves outside the limits of the thermomediterranean level.

Can environmental conditions experienced in early life influence future generations?

Science.gov (United States)

Burton, Tim; Metcalfe, Neil B

2014-06-22

The consequences of early developmental conditions for performance in later life are now subjected to convergent interest from many different biological sub-disciplines. However, striking data, largely from the biomedical literature, show that environmental effects experienced even before conception can be transmissible to subsequent generations. Here, we review the growing evidence from natural systems for these cross-generational effects of early life conditions, showing that they can be generated by diverse environmental stressors, affect offspring in many ways and can be transmitted directly or indirectly by both parental lines for several generations. In doing so, we emphasize why early life might be so sensitive to the transmission of environmentally induced effects across generations. We also summarize recent theoretical advancements within the field of developmental plasticity, and discuss how parents might assemble different 'internal' and 'external' cues, even from the earliest stages of life, to instruct their investment decisions in offspring. In doing so, we provide a preliminary framework within the context of adaptive plasticity for understanding inter-generational phenomena that arise from early life conditions.

Neoglacial Antarctic sea-ice expansion driven by mid-Holocene retreat of the Ross Ice Shelf.

Science.gov (United States)

Bendle, J. A.; Newton, K.; Mckay, R. M.; Crosta, X.; Etourneau, J.; Anya, A. B.; Seki, O.; Golledge, N. R.; Bertler, N. A. N.; Willmott, V.; Schouten, S.; Riesselman, C. R.; Masse, G.; Dunbar, R. B.

2017-12-01

Recent decades have seen expanding Antarctic sea-ice coverage, coeval with thinning West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) ice shelves and the rapid freshening of surface and bottom waters along the Antarctic margin. The mid-Holocene Neoglacial transition represents the last comparable baseline shift in sea-ice behaviour. The drivers and feedbacks involved in both the recent and Holocene events are poorly understood and characterised by large proxy-model mismatches. We present new records of compound specific fatty acid isotope analyses (δ2H-FA), highly-branched isoprenoid alkenes (HBIs) TEX86L temperatures, grain-size, mass accumulations rates (MARs) and image analyses from a 171m Holocene sediment sequence from Site U1357 (IODP leg 318). In combination with published records we reconstruct Holocene changes in glacial meltwater, sedimentary inputs and sea-ice. The early Holocene (11 to 10 ka) is characterised by large fluctuations in inputs of deglacial meltwater and sediments and seismic evidence of downlapping material from the south, suggesting a dominating influence from glacial retreat of the local outlet glaciers. From 10 to 8 ka there is decreasing meltwater inputs, an onlapping drift and advection of material from the east. After ca. 8 ka positively correlated δ2H-FA and MARs infer that pulses of glacial melt correlate to stronger easterly currents, driving erosion of material from upstream banks and that the Ross Ice Shelf (RIS) becomes a major influence. A large mid-Holocene meltwater pulse (preceded by warming TEX86L temperatures) is evident between ca. 6 to 4.5 ka, culminating in a rapid and permanent increase in sea-ice from 4.5 ka. This is coeval with cosmogenic nuclide evidence for a rapid thinning of the Antarctic ice sheet during the mid-Holocene (Hein et al., 2016). We suggest this represents a final major pulse of deglaciation from the Ross Ice Shelf, which initiates the Neoglacial, driving cool surface waters along the coast and greater sea

Late Holocene environmental reconstruction using cave sediments from Belize

Science.gov (United States)

Polk, Jason S.; van Beynen, Philip E.; Reeder, Philip P.

2007-07-01

Cave sediments collected from Reflection Cave on the Vaca Plateau, Belize show variations in the δ13C values of their fulvic acids (FAs), which indicate periods of vegetation change caused by climatic and Maya influences during the late Holocene. The δ13C values range from - 27.11‰ to - 21.52‰, a shift of ˜ 5.59‰, which suggests fluctuating contributions of C 3 and C 4 plants throughout the last 2.5 ka, with C 4 plant input reflecting periods of Maya agriculture. Maya activity in the study area occurred at different intensities from ˜ 2600 cal yr BP until ˜ 1500 cal yr BP, after which agricultural practices waned as the Maya depopulated the area. These changes in plant assemblages were in response to changes in available water resources, with increased aridity leading to the eventual abandonment of agricultural areas. The Ix Chel archaeological site, located in the study area, is a highland site that would have been among the first agricultural settlements to be affected during periods of aridity. During these periods, minimal water resources would have been available in this highly karstified, well-drained area, and supplemental groundwater extraction would have been difficult due to the extreme depth of the water table.

An Evaluation of Early Education Based on Physical Environmental Guidelines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donna J. Satterlee

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The integration of environmental policies with political support for action on these policies is of prime significance for mobilization and progression of improving indoor environments. However, state licensing agencies and local county ordinances for child care centers do not universally follow these policies and standards. As a result, most early childhood educational programs operate without proper indoor environments. Indoor air quality, temperature, ventilation, daylighting, and acoustics are crucial factors for educational settings in early childhood education. This study documents the physical environment in early childhood education centers in three counties in Maryland. Results indicate that building performance and indoor air quality standards vary according to the socioeconomic status of children who attend early childhood programs, and environmental factors correlate with educational achievement (as measured by kindergarten readiness scores.

Holocene surface-rupturing earthquakes along the Yadong Cross Structure (Himalaya)

Science.gov (United States)

Ferry, M. A.; Roth, T.; Jean-Francois, R.; Cattin, R.

2017-12-01

The Himalayan Arc accommodates 2 cm/yr of shortening from the India-Eurasia collision, mostly along the Main Himalayan Thust. Perpendicularly to the main structures, regional cross structures formed by en échelon grabens and half-grabens mark Quaternary extension from central Tibet to the Himalayas. The Yadong-Gulu Rift system is the most striking one with a total length of 500 km. Its southernmost segment -the 100-km-long Yadong half-graben- entrenches through the Himalayas and forms a 500-to-1500-m-deep asymmetric basin. The average basin surface elevation of 4500 m contrasts with high reliefs of the Jomolhari range that reach 7326 m. They are separated by the N15 Yadong normal fault (also called Jomolhari Fault System, JFS) that forms spectacular triangular facets and affects glacial landforms. Though observed as early as the 1980s, offset moraines were never studied in detail in terms of measured displacement or age determination. Recent efforts from paleoclimate studies yielded a high-resolution framework to identify the various stages of Holocene glacial advances and associated moraine formation. These landforms display specific geomorphometric features recognized regionally (ELA, rugosity, crest freshness) that allow correlating across the various glacial valleys within the Yadong Rift and across similar settings in western Bhutan and eastern Nepal. This serves as a robust basis to place our moraine sequence within the Holocene paleoclimatic record and propose formation ages. By combining satellite images from Sentinel-2 (10 m, visible and NIR), Pléiades (0.5 m, visible) and a Pléiades-derived tri-stereo photogrammetric DEM (1 m), we map the fault trace and affected landforms in details and extract topographic profiles to measure vertical offsets. Paleoclimatic age constraints yield age-vs-displacement measurements along the whole 100-km-long JFS and define a chronology of Holocene deformation events. Within the limits of our observations, we conclude

Holocene glacier and climate variations in Vestfirðir, Iceland, from the modeling of Drangajökull ice cap

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Leif S.; Flowers, Gwenn E.; Jarosch, Alexander H.; Aðalgeirsdóttir, Guðfinna Th; Geirsdóttir, Áslaug; Miller, Gifford H.; Harning, David J.; Thorsteinsson, Thorsteinn; Magnússon, Eyjólfur; Pálsson, Finnur

2018-06-01

Drangajökull is a maritime ice cap located in northwest (Vestfirðir) Iceland. Drangajökull's evolution is therefore closely linked to atmospheric and ocean variability. In order to better constrain the Holocene climate and glacier history of Vestfirðir we model the past evolution of Drangajökull ice cap. Simulations from 10 ka to present are forced by general circulation model output, ice-core-based temperature reconstructions, and sea-surface temperature reconstructions. Based on these 10-thousand year simulations, Drangajökull did not persist through the Holocene. We estimate that air temperatures were 2.5-3.0 °C higher during the Holocene Thermal Maximum than the local 1960-1990 average. Simulations support Drangajökull's late Holocene inception between 2 and 1 ka, though intermittent ice likely occupied cirques as early as 2.6 ka. Drangajökull is primarily a Little Ice Age ice cap: it expanded between 1300 and 1750 CE, with the most rapid growth occurring between 1600 and 1750 CE. The maximum Holocene extent of Drangajökull occurred between 1700 and 1925 CE, despite the lowest late Holocene temperatures, occurring between 1650 and 1720 CE. Between 1700 and 1925 CE temperatures were likely 0.6-0.8 °C lower than the 1950-2015 reference temperature. The modern equilibrium line altitude (ELA) is bracketed by topographic thresholds: a 1 °C temperature increase from the modern ELA would eliminate the ice cap's accumulation area, while a reduction of 0.5 °C would lead to the rapid expansion of the ice cap across Vestfirðir. The proximity of Drangajökull to topographic thresholds may explain its late inception and rapid expansion during the Little Ice Age.

Palaeoclimate significance of speleothems in crystalline rocks: a test case from the Late Glacial and early Holocene (Vinschgau, northern Italy)

Science.gov (United States)

Koltai, Gabriella; Cheng, Hai; Spötl, Christoph

2018-03-01

Partly coeval flowstones formed in fractured gneiss and schist were studied to test the palaeoclimate significance of this new type of speleothem archive on a decadal-to-millennial timescale. The samples encompass a few hundred to a few thousand years of the Late Glacial and the early Holocene. The speleothem fabric is primarily comprised of columnar fascicular optic calcite and acicular aragonite, both indicative of elevated Mg / Ca ratios in the groundwater. Stable isotopes suggest that aragonite is more prone to disequilibrium isotope fractionation driven by evaporation and prior calcite/aragonite precipitation than calcite. Changes in mineralogy are therefore attributed to these two internal fracture processes rather than to palaeoclimate. Flowstones formed in the same fracture show similar δ18O changes on centennial scales, which broadly correspond to regional lacustrine δ18O records, suggesting that such speleothems may provide an opportunity to investigate past climate conditions in non-karstic areas. The shortness of overlapping periods in flowstone growth and the complexity of in-aquifer processes, however, render the establishment of a robust stacked δ18O record challenging.

South America Monsoon variability on millennial to multi-centennial time scale during the Holocene in central eastern Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Strikis, N. M.; Cruz, F. W.; Cheng, H.; Karmann, I.; Vuille, M.; Edwards, R.; Wang, X.; Paula, M. S.; Novello, V. F.; Auler, A.

2011-12-01

A paleoprecipitation reconstruction based on high resolution and well-dated speleothem oxygen isotope records shows that the monsoon precipitation over central eastern Brazil underwent to strong variations on millennial to multi-centennial time-scales during the Holocene. This new record indicates that abrupt events of increase in monsoon precipitation are correlated to Bond events 6, 5 and 4 and also with 8.2 ky event during the early and mid-Holocene, with a mean amplitude of 1.5 % (PDB). The pacing and structure of such events are general consistent with variations in solar activity suggested by atmospheric Δ14 C records. In the late-Holocene, abrupt events of increase in monsoon precipitation peaking at 3.2, 2.7 and 2.3 ky B.P. are approximately synchronous with periods of low solar minima. In this regard, the most prominent event occurred during the late Holocene occurred at ~2.7 ky B.P. In addition, these positive anomalies of the precipitation recorded in central eastern Brazil are also in good agreement with variations in Titicaca lake level. The good correspondence between the speleothem and marine records imply that the variations in the north Atlantic sea surface temperature is the main forcing for abrupt millennial to multi-centennial precipitations variation within the region under influence of South American Monsoon.

Insolation driven biomagnetic response to Holocene Warm Period in semi-arid East Asia

OpenAIRE

Liu, S.; Deng, Chenglong; Xiao, Jule; Li, Jinhua; Paterson, Greig; Chang, Liao; Yi, Liang; Qin, Huafeng; Pan, Yongxin; Zhu, Rixiang

2015-01-01

The Holocene Warm Period (HWP) provides valuable insights into the climate system and biotic responses to environmental variability and thus serves as an excellent analogue for future global climate changes. Here we document, for the first time, that warm and wet HWP conditions were highly favourable for magnetofossil proliferation in the semi-arid Asian interior. The pronounced increase of magnetofossil concentrations at ~9.8 ka and decrease at ~5.9 ka in Dali Lake coincided respectively wit...

Mid-Wisconsin to Holocene permafrost and landscape dynamics based on a drained lake basin core from the northern Seward Peninsula, northwest Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Lenz, Josefine; Grosse, Guido; Jones, Benjamin M.; Anthony, Katey M. Walter; Bobrov, Anatoly; Wulf, Sabine; Wetterich, Sebastian

2016-01-01

Permafrost-related processes drive regional landscape dynamics in the Arctic terrestrial system. A better understanding of past periods indicative of permafrost degradation and aggradation is important for predicting the future response of Arctic landscapes to climate change. Here, we used a multi-proxy approach to analyse a ~ 4 m long sediment core from a drained thermokarst lake basin on the northern Seward Peninsula in western Arctic Alaska (USA). Sedimentological, biogeochemical, geochronological, micropalaeontological (ostracoda, testate amoebae) and tephra analyses were used to determine the long-term environmental Early-Wisconsin to Holocene history preserved in our core for central Beringia. Yedoma accumulation dominated throughout the Early to Late-Wisconsin but was interrupted by wetland formation from 44.5 to 41.5 ka BP. The latter was terminated by the deposition of 1 m of volcanic tephra, most likely originating from the South Killeak Maar eruption at about 42 ka BP. Yedoma deposition continued until 22.5 ka BP and was followed by a depositional hiatus in the sediment core between 22.5 and 0.23 ka BP. We interpret this hiatus as due to intense thermokarst activity in the areas surrounding the site, which served as a sediment source during the Late-Wisconsin to Holocene climate transition. The lake forming the modern basin on the upland initiated around 0.23 ka BP and drained catastrophically in spring 2005. The present study emphasises that Arctic lake systems and periglacial landscapes are highly dynamic and that permafrost formation as well as degradation in central Beringia was controlled by regional to global climate patterns as well as by local disturbances.

Isotopic chemical weathering behaviour of Pb derived from a high-Alpine Holocene lake-sediment record

Science.gov (United States)

Gutjahr, Marcus; Süfke, Finn; Gilli, Adrian; Anselmetti, Flavio; Glur, Lukas; Eisenhauer, Anton

2017-04-01

Several studies assessing the chemical weathering systematics of Pb isotopes provided evidence for the incongruent release of Pb from source rocks during early stages of chemical weathering, resulting in runoff compositions more radiogenic (higher) than the bulk source-rock composition [e.g. 1]. Deep NW Atlantic seawater Pb isotope records covering the last glacial-interglacial transition further support these findings. Clear excursions towards highly radiogenic Pb isotopic input in the deep NW Atlantic seen during the early Holocene, hence after the large-scale retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in North America, are interpreted to be controlled by preferential release of radiogenic Pb from U- and Th-rich mineral phases during early stages of chemical weathering that are less resistant to chemical dissolution than other rock-forming mineral phases [2-4]. To date, however, no terrestrial Pb isotope record exists that could corroborate the evidence from deep marine sites for efficient late deglacial weathering and washout of radiogenic Pb. We present a high-resolution adsorbed Pb isotope record from a sediment core retrieved from Alpine Lake Grimsel (1908 m.a.s.l.) in Switzerland, consisting of 117 Pb compositions over the past 10 kyr. This high-Alpine study area is ideally located for incipient and prolonged chemical weathering studies. The method used to extract the adsorbed lake Pb isotope signal is identical to previous marine approaches targeting the authigenic Fe-Mn oxyhydroxides fraction within the lake sediments [5, 6]. The Pb isotope compositions are further accompanied by various elemental ratios derived from the same samples that equally trace climatic boundary conditions in the Grimsel Lake area. The Pb isotopic composition recorded in Lake Grimsel is remarkably constant throughout the majority of the Holocene until ˜2.5 ka BP, despite variable sediment composition and -age, and isotopically relatively close to the signature of the granitic source rock

Biomization and quantitative climate reconstruction techniques in northwestern Mexico—With an application to four Holocene pollen sequences

Science.gov (United States)

Ortega-Rosas, C. I.; Guiot, J.; Peñalba, M. C.; Ortiz-Acosta, M. E.

2008-04-01

New paleovegetation and paleoclimatic reconstructions from the Sierra Madre Occidental (SMO) in northwestern Mexico are presented. This work involves climate and biome reconstruction using Plant Functional Types (PFT) assigned to pollen taxa. We used fossil pollen data from four Holocene peat bogs located at different altitudes (1500-2000 m) at the border region of Sonora and Chihuahua at around 28° N latitude (Ortega-Rosas, C.I. 2003. Palinología de la Ciénega de Camilo: datos para la historia de la vegetación y el clima del Holoceno medio y superior en el NW de la Sierra Madre Occidental, Sonora, Mexico. Master Thesis, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F.; Ortega-Rosas, C.I., Peñalba, M.C., Guiot, J. Holocene altitudinal shifts in vegetation belts and environmental changes in the Sierra Madre Occidental, Northwestern Mexico. Submitted for publication of Palaeobotany and Palynology). The closest modern pollen data come from pollen analysis across an altitudinal transect from the Sonoran Desert towards the highlands of the temperate SMO at the same latitude (Ortega-Rosas, C.I. 2003. Palinología de la Ciénega de Camilo: datos para la historia de la vegetación y el clima del Holoceno medio y superior en el NW de la Sierra Madre Occidental, Sonora, Mexico. Master Thesis, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México D.F.). An additional modern pollen dataset of 400 sites across NW Mexico and the SW United States was compiled from different sources (Davis, O.K., 1995. Climate and vegetation pattern in surface samples from arid western U.S.A.: application to Holocene climatic reconstruction. Palynology 19, 95-119, North American Pollen Database, Latin-American Pollen Database, personal data, and different scientific papers). For the biomization method (Prentice, I.C., Guiot, J., Huntley, B., Jolly, D., Cheddadi, R., 1996. Reconstructing biomes from paleoecological data: a general method and its application to European pollen data at 0 and

Modeling the sensitivity of sediment and water runoff dynamics to Holocene climate and land use changes at the catchment scale

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Notebaert, B.; Verstraeten, G.; Ward, P.J.; Renssen, H.; Van Rompaey, A.

2011-01-01

An increasing number of studies have indicated that soil erosion, sediment redistribution and water discharge during the Holocene have varied greatly under influence of environmental changes. In this paper we have used a modeling approach to study the driving forces for soil erosion and sediment

Contribution of early environmental stress to alcoholism vulnerability

OpenAIRE

Campbell, Joannalee C.; Szumlinski, Karen K.; Kippin, Tod E.

2009-01-01

The most problematic aspects of alcohol abuse disorder are excessive alcohol consumption and the inability to refrain from alcohol consumption during attempted abstinence. The root causes that predispose certain individuals to these problems are poorly understood but are believed to be produced by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Early environmental trauma alters neurodevelopmental trajectories that can predispose an individual to a number of neuropsychiatric disorders, inc...

Mid-Holocene to Present Climate Transition in Tropical South America

Science.gov (United States)

Turcq, B.; Cordeiro, R.; Sifeddine, A.; Braconnot, P.; Dias, P. S.; Costa, R.; Jorgetti, T.

2008-12-01

The classical illustration of Holocene climate changes in tropical South America is the huge rising of Titicaca lake level from 4400 to 4000 cal BP. Because the Amazon basin is the source of Andean rainfalls we have explored Amazonian data of climate changes during the Holocene to better understand the cause of this abrupt transition. Amazonian data confirm the existence of mid-Holocene dryness: (1) lacustrine level studies show a lower precipitation/evaporation budget than present, with the lowest lake levels between 8500 and 6800 cal BP; (2) although the dominant Holocene vegetation has always been the rainforest in the heart of Amazonia, this forest expanded towards the northwestern and southwestern regions from 6800 to 1550 cal BP, moreover, pioneer elements of the rainforest developed during the mid-Holocene and the best example is those of Cecropia, between 9000 and 5000 cal BP. (3) soil d13C indicates a forest expansion over savannas areas in Roraima (north), Mato Grosso and Rondonia (southwest), during the Holocene. (4) the mid-Holocene (8000- 4000 cal BP) is characterized by repeated occurrences of forest fires, marked by the presence of charcoals in soils and lacustrine sediments. However these different records are not characterized by abrupt transitions at the end of the Middle Holocene in Amazonia. In the Andean records there is a clear north-south shift in the timing of the transition. Analysis of coupled Ocean Atmosphere Model simulations suggest that convection in Amazon basin is directly controlled by insolation leading to an almost linear response of local climate to the global forcing. Differently, in the eastern and south-western regions where the rain is brought by the South American Monsoon, the climate transition appears more abrupt. It may be because the involved climate mechanisms are more complex and depend on Ocean/Atmosphere/Vegetation coupled process (ITCZ position, ZCAS formation, etc.). Tectonic movements or threshold links to

Application of accelerator mass spectrometry on Environmental studies concerning ages of holocene fires in Central amazon forest

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, G.M.; Gomes, P. R. S.; Anjos, R. M.; Lubian, J.; Cordeiro, R.C.; Turcq, B.; Sifeddine, A.; Di Tada, M.; Cresswell, R. G.; Fifield, L. K.

1999-01-01

The Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) technique was used to determine the radiocarbon age of Holocene fires in forests of the Amazon Region. Most of the ages were found to be within the 1000-1500 years range. These disturbances were probably caused by climatic anomalies, and they have modified the structure and dynamics of the region vegetation

A multiproxy study of Holocene water-depth and environmental changes in Lake St Ana, Eastern Carpathian Mountains, Romania

Science.gov (United States)

Magyari, E. K.; Buczkó, K.; Braun, M.; Jakab, G.

2009-04-01

This study presents the results of a multi-disciplinary investigation carried out on the sediment of a crater lake (Lake Saint Ana, 950 m a.s.l.) from the Eastern Carpathian Mountains. The lake is set in a base-poor volcanic environment with oligotrophic and slightly acidic water. Loss-on-ignition, major and trace element, pollen, plant macrofossil and siliceous algae analyses were used to reconstruct Holocene environmental and water-depth changes. Diatom-based transfer functions were applied to estimate the lake's trophic status and pH, while reconstruction of the water-depth changes was based on the plant macrofossil and diatom records. The lowest Holocene water-depths were found between 9,000 and 7,400 calibrated BP years, when the crater was occupied by Sphagnum-bog and bog-pools. The major trend from 7,400 years BP was a gradual increase, but the basin was still dominated by poor-fen and poor fen-pools. Significant increases in water-depth, and meso/oligotrophic lake conditions were found from 5,350(1), 3,300(2) and 2,700 years BP. Of these, the first two coincided with major terrestrial vegetation changes, namely the establishment of Carpinus betulus on the crater slope (1), and the replacement of the lakeshore Picea abies forest by Fagus sylvatica (2). The chemical record clearly indicated significant soil changes along with the canopy changes (from coniferous to deciduous), that in turn led to increased in-lake productivity and pH. A further increase in water-depth around 2,700 years BP resulted in stable thermal stratification and hypolimnetic anoxia that via P-release further increased in-lake productivity and eventually led to phytoplankton blooms with large populations of Scenedesmus cf. S. brasiliensis. High productivity was depressed by anthropogenic lakeshore forest clearances commencing from ca. 1,000 years BP that led to the re-establishment of Picea abies on the lakeshore and consequent acidification of the lake-water. On the whole, these data

Holocene Lake-Level Fluctuations of Lake Aricota, Southern Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Placzek, Christa; Quade, Jay; Betancourt, Julio L.

2001-09-01

Lacustrine deposits exposed around Lake Aricota, Peru (17° 22‧S), a 7.5-km2 lake dammed by debris flows, provide a middle to late Holocene record of lake-level fluctuations. Chronological context for shoreline deposits was obtained from radiocarbon dating of vascular plant remains and other datable material with minimal 14C reservoir effects (<350 yr). Diatomites associated with highstands several meters above the modern lake level indicate wet episodes. Maximum Holocene lake level was attained before 6100 14C yr B.P. and ended ∼2700 14C yr B.P. Moderately high lake levels occurred at 1700 and 1300 14C yr B.P. The highstand at Lake Aricota during the middle Holocene is coeval with a major lowstand at Lake Titicaca (16°S), which is only 130 km to the northeast and shares a similar climatology. Comparisons with other marine and terrestrial records highlight emerging contradictions over the nature of mid-Holocene climate in the central Andes.

Variable uplift rate through time: Holocene coral reef and neotectonics of Lutao, eastern Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Chuan-Chou; Wu, Chung-Che; Dai, Chang-Feng; Gong, Shou-Yeh

2018-05-01

Significant discrepancies have existed regarding rate and timing of the uplift of Lutao (Green Island), located at the border of the ongoing collision between the Eurasia continental plate and the Philippine Sea Plate. To document its neotectonic history, two cores were drilled into Holocene coral reefs exposed at the southeastern coast of Lutao. Twelve pristine fossil corals, nine taken from cores and three on the surface, were 230Th dated. The results show that the coral reefs started to develop at 8,736 ± 56 yr BP (before 1950 CE) with uplift rate varying from 3.6 mm/yr during 8.7-6.0 kyr BP to 1.2 mm/yr in the past six thousand years. Our study strongly suggests that the uplift rate can vary significantly on millennial time scale. Caution should be used when extrapolating uplift rate estimates based on Mid-late Holocene corals to early times for tectonic active locations, such as Lutao.

Holocene evolution of Apalachicola Bay, Florida

Science.gov (United States)

Osterman, L.E.; Twichell, D.C.; Poore, R.Z.

2009-01-01

A program of geophysical mapping and vibracoring was conducted to better understand the geologic evolution of Apalachicola Bay. Analyses of the geophysical data and sediment cores along with age control provided by 34 AMS 14C dates on marine shells and wood reveal the following history. As sea level rose in the early Holocene, fluvial deposits filled the Apalachicola River paleochannel, which extended southward under the central part of the bay and seaward across the continental shelf. Sediments to either side of the paleochannel contain abundant wood fragments, with dates documenting that those areas were forested at 8,000 14C years b.p. As sea level continued to rise, spits formed of headland prodelta deposits. Between ???6,400 and ???2,500 14C years b.p., an Apalachicola prodelta prograded and receded several times across the inner shelf that underlies the western part of the bay. An eastern deltaic lobe was active for a shorter time, between ???5,800 and 5,100 14C years b.p. Estuarine benthic foraminiferal assemblages occurred in the western bay as early as 6,400 14C years b.p., and indicate that there was some physical barrier to open-ocean circulation and shelf species established by that time. It is considered that shoals formed in the region of the present barrier islands as the rising sea flooded an interstream divide. Estuarine conditions were established very early in the post-glacial flooding of the bay. ?? 2009 US Government.

Timing and paleoclimatic significance of Holocene glacier fluctuations in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Licciardi, J. M.; Taggart, J. R.; Schaefer, J. M.; Lund, D. C.

2009-12-01

Past fluctuations in climatically sensitive tropical glaciers provide important insight into regional paleoclimatic trends and forcings, but well-dated chronologies are scarce, particularly during the Holocene. We have established precise cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure ages of moraine sequences in the Cordillera Vilcabamba (13°20’S latitude), located in the outer tropics of southern Peru. Results indicate the dominance of two major glacial culminations and associated climatic shifts in the Vilcabamba, including an early Holocene glacial interval and a somewhat less extensive glaciation late in the ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA) period. Lichenometric measurements on the youngest moraines support the 10Be ages, but uncertainties in the lichen ages arise from the lack of a local lichen growth curve. The Peruvian glacier chronologies differ from a recently-developed New Zealand record but are broadly correlative with well-dated glacial records in Europe, suggesting climate linkages between the tropics and the North Atlantic region. For the latest Holocene, our leading hypothesis is that climate forcings involving southward migration of the Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone can explain concurrent glaciations in tropical South America and northern high latitudes, but the influence of other climate drivers such as the El Niño/Southern Oscillation may have also played a role. Estimated differences between equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) on modern glaciers and those inferred for expanded latest Holocene glaciers reveal an ELA rise of 165-200 m since the LIA, suggesting that temperatures 1.1-1.3°C cooler than present could have sustained glaciers at their LIA maximum positions if temperature was the only control, and thus providing an upper bound on temperature depression during the LIA. However, further work is required to constrain the likely role of precipitation changes. These new Peruvian glacier chronologies and ELA reconstructions complement ice core and

Long-term deforestation in NW Spain: linking the Holocene fire history to vegetation change and human activities

Science.gov (United States)

Kaal, Joeri; Carrión Marco, Yolanda; Asouti, Eleni; Martín Seijo, Maria; Martínez Cortizas, Antonio; Costa Casáis, Manuela; Criado Boado, Felipe

2011-01-01

The Holocene fire regime is thought to have had a key role in deforestation and shrubland expansion in Galicia (NW Spain) but the contribution of past societies to vegetation burning remains poorly understood. This may be, in part, due to the fact that detailed fire records from areas in close proximity to archaeological sites are scarce. To fill this gap, we performed charcoal analysis in five colluvial soils from an archaeological area (Campo Lameiro) and compared the results to earlier studies from this area and palaeo-ecological literature from NW Spain. This analysis allowed for the reconstruction of the vegetation and fire dynamics in the area during the last ca 11 000 yrs. In the Early Holocene, Fabaceae and Betula sp. were dominant in the charcoal record. Quercus sp. started to replace these species around 10 000 cal BP, forming a deciduous forest that prevailed during the Holocene Thermal Maximum until ˜5500 cal BP. Following that, several cycles of potentially fire-induced forest regression with subsequent incomplete recovery eventually led to the formation of an open landscape dominated by shrubs (Erica sp. and Fabaceae). Major episodes of forest regression were (1) ˜5500-5000 cal BP, which marks the mid-Holocene cooling after the Holocene Thermal Maximum, but also the period during which agropastoral activities in NW Spain became widespread, and (2) ˜2000-1500 cal BP, which corresponds roughly to the end of the Roman Warm Period and the transition from the Roman to the Germanic period. The low degree of chronological precision, which is inherent in fire history reconstructions from colluvial soils, made it impossible to distinguish climatic from human-induced fires. Nonetheless, the abundance of synanthropic pollen indicators (e.g. Plantago lanceolata and Urtica dioica) since at least ˜6000 cal BP strongly suggests that humans used fire to generate and maintain pasture.

The Holocene Geoarchaeology of the Desert Nile in Northern Sudan

Science.gov (United States)

Woodward, Jamie; Macklin, Mark; Spencer, Neal; Welsby, Derek; Dalton, Matthew; Hay, Sophie; Hardy, Andrew

2016-04-01

Invited Paper Forty years ago Colin Renfrew declared that "every archaeological problem starts as a problem in geoarchaeology" (Renfrew, 1976 p. 2). With this assertion in mind, this paper draws upon the findings from field research in two sectors of the Nile Valley of Northern Sudan dedicated to the exploration of human-environment interactions during the middle and late Holocene. This part of the Nile corridor contains a rich cultural record and an exceptionally well preserved Holocene fluvial archive. A distinctive feature of these records is the variety of evidence for interaction between desert and river over a range of spatial and temporal scales. This interaction presented both challenges and opportunities for its ancient inhabitants. This paper will present evidence for large-scale landscape changes driven by shifts in global climate. It will also show how we have integrated the archaeological and geological records in the Northern Dongola Reach and at Amara West - where long-term field projects led by archaeologists from the British Museum have recognised the importance of a sustained commitment to interdisciplinary research to achieve a fully integrated geoarchaeological approach across a range of scales. The former project is a large-scale landscape survey with multiple sites across an 80 km reach of the Nile whilst the latter has a strong focus on a single New Kingdom town site and changes in its environmental setting. By combining multiple archaeological and geological datasets - and pioneering the use of OSL dating and strontium isotope analysis in the Desert Nile - we have developed a new understanding of human responses to Holocene climate and landscape change in this region. Renfrew, C. (1976) Archaeology and the earth sciences. In: D.A. Davidson and M.I. Shackley (eds) Geoarchaeology: Earth Science and the Past, Duckworth, London, 1-5.

Inside the "African cattle complex": animal burials in the holocene central Sahara.

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Savino di Lernia

Full Text Available Cattle pastoralism is an important trait of African cultures. Ethnographic studies describe the central role played by domestic cattle within many societies, highlighting its social and ideological value well beyond its mere function as 'walking larder'. Historical depth of this African legacy has been repeatedly assessed in an archaeological perspective, mostly emphasizing a continental vision. Nevertheless, in-depth site-specific studies, with a few exceptions, are lacking. Despite the long tradition of a multi-disciplinary approach to the analysis of pastoral systems in Africa, rarely do early and middle Holocene archaeological contexts feature in the same area the combination of settlement, ceremonial and rock art features so as to be multi-dimensionally explored: the Messak plateau in the Libyan central Sahara represents an outstanding exception. Known for its rich Pleistocene occupation and abundant Holocene rock art, the region, through our research, has also shown to preserve the material evidence of a complex ritual dated to the Middle Pastoral (6080-5120 BP or 5200-3800 BC. This was centred on the frequent deposition in stone monuments of disarticulated animal remains, mostly cattle. Animal burials are known also from other African contexts, but regional extent of the phenomenon, state of preservation of monuments, and associated rock art make the Messak case unique. GIS analysis, excavation data, radiocarbon dating, zooarchaeological and isotopic (Sr, C, O analyses of animal remains, and botanical information are used to explore this highly formalized ritual and the lifeways of a pastoral community in the Holocene Sahara.

Holocene Demographic Changes and the Emergence of Complex Societies in Prehistoric Australia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan N Williams

Full Text Available A continental-scale model of Holocene Australian hunter-gatherer demography and mobility is generated using radiocarbon data and geospatial techniques. Results show a delayed expansion and settlement of much of Australia following the termination of the late Pleistocene until after 9,000 years ago (or 9ka. The onset of the Holocene climatic optimum (9-6ka coincides with rapid expansion, growth and establishment of regional populations across ~75% of Australia, including much of the arid zone. This diffusion from isolated Pleistocene refugia provides a mechanism for the synchronous spread of pan-continental archaeological and linguistic attributes at this time (e.g. Pama-Nyungan language, Panaramitee art style, backed artefacts. We argue longer patch residence times were possible at the end of the optimum, resulting in a shift to more sedentary lifestyles and establishment of low-level food production in some parts of the continent. The onset of El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO; 4.5-2ka restricted low-level food production, and resulted in population fragmentation, abandonment of marginal areas, and reduction in ranging territory of ~26%. Importantly, climate amelioration brought about by more pervasive La Niña conditions (post-2ka, resulted in an intensification of the mobility strategies and technological innovations that were developed in the early- to mid-Holocene. These changes resulted in population expansion and utilization of the entire continent. We propose that it was under these demographically packed conditions that the complex social and religious societies observed at colonial contact were formed.

Holocene Demographic Changes and the Emergence of Complex Societies in Prehistoric Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Alan N.; Ulm, Sean; Turney, Chris S. M.; Rohde, David; White, Gentry

2015-01-01

A continental-scale model of Holocene Australian hunter-gatherer demography and mobility is generated using radiocarbon data and geospatial techniques. Results show a delayed expansion and settlement of much of Australia following the termination of the late Pleistocene until after 9,000 years ago (or 9ka). The onset of the Holocene climatic optimum (9-6ka) coincides with rapid expansion, growth and establishment of regional populations across ~75% of Australia, including much of the arid zone. This diffusion from isolated Pleistocene refugia provides a mechanism for the synchronous spread of pan-continental archaeological and linguistic attributes at this time (e.g. Pama-Nyungan language, Panaramitee art style, backed artefacts). We argue longer patch residence times were possible at the end of the optimum, resulting in a shift to more sedentary lifestyles and establishment of low-level food production in some parts of the continent. The onset of El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO; 4.5-2ka) restricted low-level food production, and resulted in population fragmentation, abandonment of marginal areas, and reduction in ranging territory of ~26%. Importantly, climate amelioration brought about by more pervasive La Niña conditions (post-2ka), resulted in an intensification of the mobility strategies and technological innovations that were developed in the early- to mid-Holocene. These changes resulted in population expansion and utilization of the entire continent. We propose that it was under these demographically packed conditions that the complex social and religious societies observed at colonial contact were formed. PMID:26083101

Hydrologic-energy balance constraints on the Holocene lake-level history of lake Titicaca, South America

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rowe, H.D.; Dunbar, R.B. [Stanford University, Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford, CA (United States)

2004-09-01

A basin-scale hydrologic-energy balance model that integrates modern climatological, hydrological, and hypsographic observations was developed for the modern Lake Titicaca watershed (northern Altiplano, South America) and operated under variable conditions to understand controls on post-glacial changes in lake level. The model simulates changes in five environmental variables (air temperature, cloud fraction, precipitation, relative humidity, and land surface albedo). Relatively small changes in three meteorological variables (mean annual precipitation, temperature, and/or cloud fraction) explain the large mid-Holocene lake-level decrease ({proportional_to}85 m) inferred from seismic reflection profiling and supported by sediment-based paleoproxies from lake sediments. Climatic controls that shape the present-day Altiplano and the sediment-based record of Holocene lake-level change are combined to interpret model-derived lake-level simulations in terms of changes in the mean state of ENSO and its impact on moisture transport to the Altiplano. (orig.)

Hydrologic-energy balance constraints on the Holocene lake-level history of lake Titicaca, South America

Science.gov (United States)

Rowe, H. D.; Dunbar, R. B.

2004-09-01

A basin-scale hydrologic-energy balance model that integrates modern climatological, hydrological, and hypsographic observations was developed for the modern Lake Titicaca watershed (northern Altiplano, South America) and operated under variable conditions to understand controls on post-glacial changes in lake level. The model simulates changes in five environmental variables (air temperature, cloud fraction, precipitation, relative humidity, and land surface albedo). Relatively small changes in three meteorological variables (mean annual precipitation, temperature, and/or cloud fraction) explain the large mid-Holocene lake-level decrease (˜85 m) inferred from seismic reflection profiling and supported by sediment-based paleoproxies from lake sediments. Climatic controls that shape the present-day Altiplano and the sediment-based record of Holocene lake-level change are combined to interpret model-derived lake-level simulations in terms of changes in the mean state of ENSO and its impact on moisture transport to the Altiplano.

Sulfur Geochemistry of a Lacustrine Record from Taiwan Reveals Enhanced Marine Aerosol Input during the Early Holocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Ding, Xiaodong; Li, Dawei; Zheng, Liwei; Bao, Hongyan; Chen, Huei-Fen; Kao, Shuh-Ji

2016-12-12

Lacustrine record of marine aerosol input has rarely been documented. Here, we present the sulfur geochemistry during the last deglaciation and early Holocene of a sediment core retrieved from the Dongyuan Lake in southern Taiwan. An unusually high sulfur peak accompanying pyrite presence is observed at 10.5 ka BP. Such high sulfur content in lacustrine record is unusual. The δ 34 S of sulfur varied from +9.5 to + 17.1‰ with two significant positive shifts at 10.5 and 9.4 ka BP. The sources of sulfur and potential processes involving the sulfur isotope variation including bacterial sulfate reduction, volcanic emissions, in-catchment sulfide oxidation and marine aerosol input are discussed. Enhanced marine aerosol input is the most likely explanation for such sulfur peaks and δ 34 S shifts. The positive δ 34 S shifts appeared concurrently with the maximum landslide events over Taiwan resulted from enhanced typhoon activities. The synchronicity among records suggests that increased typhoon activities promoted sea spray, and consequently enhanced the marine aerosol input with 34 S-enriched sulfate. Our sulfur geochemistry data revealed sea spray history and marine influence onto terrestrial environment at coastal regions. Wider coverage of spatial-temporal lacustrine sulfur geochemistry record is needed to validate the applicability of sulfur proxy in paleoenvironmental research.

Holocene climate in the western Great Lakes national parks and lakeshores: Implications for future climate change

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Margaret; Douglas, Christine; Cole, K.L.; Winkler, Marge; Flaknes, Robyn

2000-01-01

We reconstruct Holocene climate history (last 10,000 years) for each of the U.S. National Park Service units in the western Great Lakes region in order to evaluate their sensitivity to global warming. Annual precipitation, annual temperature, and July and January temperatures were reconstructed by comparing fossil pollen in lake sediment with pollen in surface samples, assuming that ancient climates were similar to modern climate near analogous surface samples. In the early Holocene, most of the parks experienced colder winters, warmer summers, and lower precipitation than today. An exception is Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota where, by 8000 years ago, January temperatures were higher than today. The combination of high mean annual temperature and lower precipitation at Voyageurs resulted in a dry period between 8000 and 5000 years ago, similar to the Prairie Period in regions to the south and west. A mid-Holocene warm-dry period also occurred at other northern and central parks but was much less strongly developed. In southern parks there was no clear evidence of a mid-Holocene warm-dry period. These differences suggest that global model predictions of a warm, dry climate in the northern Great Plains under doubled atmospheric CO2 may be more applicable to Voyageurs than to the other parks. The contrast in reconstructed temperatures at Voyageurs and Isle Royale indicates that the ameliorating effect of the Great Lakes on temperatures has been in effect throughout the Holocene and presumably will continue in the future, thus reducing the potential for species loss caused by future temperature extremes. Increased numbers of mesic trees at all of the parks in the late Holocene reflect increasing annual precipitation. This trend toward more mesic conditions began 6000 years ago in the south and 4000 years ago in the north and increased sharply in recent millennia at parks located today in lake-effect snow belts. This suggests that lake-effect snowfall is

Contrasting evidence of Holocene ice margin retreat, south-western Greenland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Levy, L. B.; Larsen, N. K.; Davidson, T. A.

2017-01-01

Constraining the Greenland Ice Sheet's (GrIS) response to Holocene climate change provides calibrations for ice sheet models that hindcast past ice margin fluctuations. Ice sheet models predict enhanced ice retreat in south-western Greenland during the middle Holocene; however, few geological...... observations corroborating the extensive retreat are available. We present new data from lake sediment cores from the Isua region, south-western Greenland, which provide constraints on Holocene fluctuations of the GrIS margins. Our data indicate that the main GrIS margin was 30 km west of its present...

Re-evaluating the Glacial Vegetation of the Southern Levant and Early Signs of Human Impact on the Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Miebach, A.; Chen, C.; Litt, T.

2017-12-01

Assessing paleoenvironmental conditions is crucial to understand the history of modern humans. The southern Levant functioned as a corridor for human migration processes such as the colonization of Europe and the spread of agriculture. Despite its important role in human history, the Levantine paleoenvironment is still insufficiently investigated. In particular, current reconstructions of the paleovegetation are grounded on poor data bases. Here, we revise former hypotheses about the paleovegetation of the southern Levant during the last glacial based on new palynological results from the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. We further evaluate early signs of anthropogenic influences in the Dead Sea catchment by combining evidence of pollen, micro-charcoal, and spores. The palynological results suggest that drought-adapted herbs, dwarf shrubs, and grasses prevailed in the southern Levant during the last glacial. In contrast to the Holocene, there was no belt of continuous and dense Mediterranean vegetation surrounding the Sea of Galilee during MIS 2. Mediterranean elements such as deciduous oaks only occurred in limited amounts and were probably patchily distributed in the whole study area. The vegetation and moisture gradient was not as strong as today. Since the Lateglacial, the Dead Sea region witnessed several rapid environmental changes. Phases with considerably reduced woodland density, increased fire activity, and enhanced catchment erosion occurred. Although climatic triggers were possible, there is a strong indication of anthropogenic influences due to overall increasing human activities in the region. The study gains new insights into environmental responses of the southern Levant to climate variations in the past. It also contributes towards our understanding of human-environmental interactions during the early Holocene.

Holocene fluctuations of Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru based on lacustrine and surficial geologic archives

Science.gov (United States)

Stroup, J. S.; Kelly, M. A.; Lowell, T. V.; Beal, S. A.; Smith, C. A.

2013-12-01

., 2009). Clastic sedimentation may reflect the glacier thermal regime. Relic plants now being uncovered by the receding QIC (Thompson et al., 2006, 2013) suggest advance of cold-based ice that did not produce significant meltwater or rock flour. Striations, also present on the landscape, indicate warm-based ice conditions, which would produce meltwater and rock flour. We suggest that these striations were likely produced during ice cap retreat. A small QIC during early and middle Holocene time and large QIC during late Holocene time is similar to the Holocene extents of many Northern Hemisphere glaciers and apparently follows the pattern of Northern Hemisphere summer insolation.

Insolation driven biomagnetic response to the Holocene Warm Period in semi-arid East Asia

OpenAIRE

Liu, Suzhen; Deng, Chenglong; Xiao, Jule; Li, Jinhua; Paterson, Greig A.; Chang, Liao; Yi, Liang; Qin, Huafeng; Pan, Yongxin; Zhu, Rixiang

2015-01-01

The Holocene Warm Period (HWP) provides valuable insights into the climate system and biotic responses to environmental variability and thus serves as an excellent analogue for future global climate changes. Here we document, for the first time, that warm and wet HWP conditions were highly favourable for magnetofossil proliferation in the semi-arid Asian interior. The pronounced increase of magnetofossil concentrations at ~9.8?ka and decrease at ~5.9?ka in Dali Lake coincided respectively wit...

Late Holocene climate and environmental change from Asiul cave speleothems: interpretations in light of modern cave monitoring.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Andrew; Wynn, Peter; Barker, Philip; Leng, Melanie; Noble, Steve; Tych, Wlodek

2017-04-01

Northern Iberia offers an excellent location to study fluctuations in North Atlantic Ocean (NA) conditions and the impact that changes in the NA have on atmospheric systems, which dominate Europe's climate. Two speleothems from Cueva de Asiul (Matienzo, N. Spain) have been used to reconstruct rainfall variability in N. Spain throughout the Holocene (Smith et al., 2016a). The carbonate δ18O records from these speleothems are interpreted in the light of a rigorous modern cave monitoring program undertaken at Cueva de Asiul (Smith et al., 2016b). Drip water δ18O reflects a modern rainfall amount effect whilst δ13C appears influenced by Prior Calcite Precipitation (PCP) in the short term and changes in vegetation at long timescales. The speleothem δ18O shows that long duration ( 1500 year) cycles in wetting and drying are prevalent in N. Spain during the Holocene and that dry climate phases are related to the timing of cold events (Bond et al., 2001) in the NA. Here we look in more detail at one of these speleothems, assessing both δ18O and δ13C during the last two thousand years. We show that Cueva de Asiul speleothems not only preserve long duration climate cycles in δ18O, but that they also appear influenced by shorter duration changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), in-sync with other NAO archives (Olsen et al., 2012). However, the Cueva de Asiul record does not appear to preserve a predominately positive NAO signal during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) as is common within many European archives (Trouet et al., 2009), possibly due to the sites' close proximity to the NA and localised oceanic weather systems (Moreno et al., 2012). Alongside climatic changes, the speleothem δ13C shows a clear transition toward higher isotope values around 360 years BP (BP=1950), signalling a major environmental change in the region possibly due to anthropogenic removal of vast swathes of natural forest to support ship building and industry related to the Spanish

Millennial-scale climate variations in western Mediterranean during late Pleistocene-early Holocene: multi-proxy analyses from Padul peatbog (southern Iberian Peninsula)

Science.gov (United States)

Camuera, Jon; Jiménez-Moreno, Gonzalo; José Ramos-Román, María; García-Alix, Antonio; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco; Toney, Jaime L.; Anderson, R. Scott; Kaufman, Darrell; Bright, Jordon; Sachse, Dirk

2017-04-01

Padul peatbog, located in southern Iberian Peninsula (western Mediterranean region) is a unique area for palaeoenvironmental studies due to its location, between arid and temperate climates. Previous studies showed that the Padul peatbog contains a continuous record of the last ca. 0.8-1 Ma, so it is an extraordinary site to identify glacial-interglacial phases as well as Heinrich and D-O events, linked to orbital- and suborbital-scale variations. In 2015, a new 42 m long core was taken from this area, providing an excellent sediment record probably for the last ca. 300,000 years. This study is focused on the paleoenvironmental and climatic reconstruction of the late Pleistocene and the early Holocene (ca. from 50,000 to 9,500 cal. yrs BP), using AMS 14C and AAR dating, high-resolution pollen analysis, lithology, continuous XRF-scanning, X-ray diffraction, magnetic susceptibility and organic geochemistry. These different proxies provide information not only about the regional environment change but also about local changes in the conditions of the Padul lake/peatbog due to variations in water temperature, pH or nutrients.

Multidecadal variations in the early Holocene outflow of Red Sea Water into the Arabian Sea

OpenAIRE

Jung, S.J.A.; Ganssen, G.M.; Davies, G.R.

2001-01-01

We present Holocene stable oxygen isotope data from the deep Arabian Sea off Somalia at a decadal time resolution as a proxy for the history of intermediate/upper deep water. These data show an overall δ18O reduction by 0.5‰ between 10 and ~6.5 kyr B.P. superimposed upon short-term δ18O variations at a decadal-centennial timescale. The amplitude of the decadal variations is 0.3‰ prior, and up to 0.6‰ subsequent, to ~8.1 kyr B.P. We conclude from modeling experiments that the short-term δ18O v...

Anthropogenic and geomorphic controls on peatland dynamics in contrasting floodplain environments during the Holocene and its impact on carbon storage

Science.gov (United States)

Verstraeten, Gert; Broothaerts, Nils; Notebaert, Bastiaan

2016-04-01

Peatlands are an important store of carbon in terrestrial environments, and scientific interest in peatlands has increased strongly in the light of the recent global climatic changes. Much attention has been paid to peatland dynamics in extensive arctic and boreal wetlands or to blanket peat in temperate regions. Nevertheless, long-term dynamics of peat in alluvial wetlands in temperate regions remains largely underresearched. In this study, data from three contrasting environments were used to provide more insights in the anthropogenic and geomorphic controls on peatland dynamics. The results show a high variability in alluvial peatland dynamics between the different study sites. In the central Belgian Loess Belt, alluvial peatlands developed during the early Holocene but gradually disappeared from the Mid-Holocene onwards due to the gradual intensification of agricultural activities in the catchment and consequent higher sedimentation rates in the floodplain system. The end of peat growth is shown to be diachronous at catchment scale, ranging between 6500 and 500 cal a BP. The disappearance of the alluvial peatlands has important implications since it potentially reduces the storage of locally produced C. Nevertheless, it was shown that this reduced production of local C but was outbalanced by the burial of hillslope derived C. Also within the sandy catchments of the Belgian Campine region alluvial peatlands initiated in the early Holocene but, here, they abruptly disappeared in the Mid-Holocene before the onset of intense agricultural activities in the catchment. This suggests that for the sandy regions, anthropogenic impact on peatland dynamics is less important compared to natural factors. For these regions, the disappearance of alluvial peatland formation resulted in a sharp decline in alluvial carbon storage as there is no compensation through hillslope derived C input. For the upper Dee catchment in NE Scotland, Holocene carbon floodplain storage varies

Tropical Peat and Peatland Development in the Floodplains of the Greater Pamba Basin, South-Western India during the Holocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumaran, Navnith K P; Padmalal, Damodaran; Limaye, Ruta B; S, Vishnu Mohan; Jennerjahn, Tim; Gamre, Pradeep G

2016-01-01

Holocene sequences in the humid tropical region of Kerala, South-western (SW) India have preserved abundance of organic-rich sediments in the form of peat and its rapid development in a narrow time frame towards Middle Holocene has been found to be significant. The sub-coastal areas and flood plains of the Greater Pamba Basin have provided palaeorecords of peat indicating that the deposits are essentially formed within freshwater. The combination of factors like stabilized sea level and its subsequent fall since the Middle Holocene, topographic relief and climatic conditions led to rapid peat accumulation across the coastal lowlands. The high rainfall and massive floods coupled with a rising sea level must have inundated > 75% of the coastal plain land converting it into a veritable lagoon-lake system that eventually led to abrupt termination of the forest ecosystem and also converted the floodplains into peatland where accumulation of peat almost to 2.0-3.0 m thickness in coastal lowlands and river basins during the shorter interval in the Middle Holocene. Vast areas of the coastal plains of Kerala have been converted into carbon rich peatland during the Middle Holocene and transforming the entire coastal stretch and associated landforms as one of the relatively youngest peatlands in the extreme southern tip of India. Unlike the uninterrupted formation of peatlands of considerable extent during the Holocene in Southeast Asia, the south Peninsular Indian region has restricted and short intervals of peatlands in the floodplains and coastal lowlands. Such a scenario is attributed to the topographic relief of the terrain and the prevailing hydrological regimes and environmental conditions as a consequence of monsoon variability since Middle Holocene in SW India. Considering the tropical coastal lowlands and associated peatlands are excellent repositories of carbon, they are very important for regional carbon cycling and habitat diversity. The alarming rate of land

Tropical Peat and Peatland Development in the Floodplains of the Greater Pamba Basin, South-Western India during the Holocene.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Navnith K P Kumaran

Full Text Available Holocene sequences in the humid tropical region of Kerala, South-western (SW India have preserved abundance of organic-rich sediments in the form of peat and its rapid development in a narrow time frame towards Middle Holocene has been found to be significant. The sub-coastal areas and flood plains of the Greater Pamba Basin have provided palaeorecords of peat indicating that the deposits are essentially formed within freshwater. The combination of factors like stabilized sea level and its subsequent fall since the Middle Holocene, topographic relief and climatic conditions led to rapid peat accumulation across the coastal lowlands. The high rainfall and massive floods coupled with a rising sea level must have inundated > 75% of the coastal plain land converting it into a veritable lagoon-lake system that eventually led to abrupt termination of the forest ecosystem and also converted the floodplains into peatland where accumulation of peat almost to 2.0-3.0 m thickness in coastal lowlands and river basins during the shorter interval in the Middle Holocene. Vast areas of the coastal plains of Kerala have been converted into carbon rich peatland during the Middle Holocene and transforming the entire coastal stretch and associated landforms as one of the relatively youngest peatlands in the extreme southern tip of India. Unlike the uninterrupted formation of peatlands of considerable extent during the Holocene in Southeast Asia, the south Peninsular Indian region has restricted and short intervals of peatlands in the floodplains and coastal lowlands. Such a scenario is attributed to the topographic relief of the terrain and the prevailing hydrological regimes and environmental conditions as a consequence of monsoon variability since Middle Holocene in SW India. Considering the tropical coastal lowlands and associated peatlands are excellent repositories of carbon, they are very important for regional carbon cycling and habitat diversity. The

Late Glacial-Holocene Pollen-Based Vegetation History from Pass Lake, Prince of Wales Island, Southeastern Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Ager, Thomas A.; Rosenbaum, Joseph G.

2009-01-01

A radiocarbon-dated history of vegetation development since late Wisconsin deglaciation has been reconstructed from pollen evidence preserved in a sediment core from Pass Lake on Prince of Wales Island, southeastern Alaska. The shallow lake is in the south-central part of the island and occupies a low pass that was filled by glacial ice of local origin during the late Wisconsin glaciation. The oldest pollen assemblages indicate that pine woodland (Pinus contorta) had developed in the area by ~13,715 cal yr B.P. An abrupt decline in the pine population, coinciding with expansion of alder (Alnus) and ferns (mostly Polypodiaceae) began ~12,875 yr B.P., and may have been a response to colder, drier climates during the Younger Dryas climatic interval. Mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) began to colonize central Prince of Wales Island by ~11,920 yr B.P. and was soon followed by Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis). Pollen of western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) began to appear in Pass Lake sediments soon after 11,200 yr B.P. The abundance of western hemlock pollen in the Pass Lake core during most of the Holocene appears to be the result of wind transport from trees growing at lower altitudes on the island. The late Holocene pollen record from Pass Lake is incomplete because of one or more unconformities, but the available record suggests that a vegetation change occurred during the late Holocene. Increases in pollen percentages of pine, cedar (probably yellow cedar, Chamaecyparis nootkatensis), and heaths (Ericales) suggest an expansion of muskeg vegetation occurred in the area during the late Holocene. This vegetation change may be related to the onset of cooler, wetter climates that began as early as ~3,774 yr B.P. in the region. This vegetation history provides the first radiocarbon-dated Late Glacial-Holocene terrestrial paleoecological framework for Prince of Wales Island. An analysis of magnetic properties of core sediments from Pass Lake suggests that unconformities

Holocene vegetation, fire and climate interactions on the westernmost fringe of the Mediterranean Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Morales-Molino, César; García-Antón, Mercedes; Postigo-Mijarra, José M.; Morla, Carlos

2013-01-01

A new palaeoecological sequence from the western Iberian Central Range significantly contributes to the knowledge on the Holocene vegetation dynamics in central Iberia. This sequence supports the existence of time-transgressive changes in the vegetation cover during the beginning of the Holocene over these central Iberian mountains, specifically the replacement of boreal birch-pine forests with Mediterranean communities. Anthracological analyses also indicate the replacement of boreal pines (Pinus sylvestris) with Mediterranean ones (Pinus pinaster) during the early Holocene. The observed vegetation changes were generally synchronous with climatic phases previously reconstructed for the western Mediterranean region, and they suggest that the climatic trends were most similar to those recorded in the northern Mediterranean region and central Europe. Several cycles of secondary succession after fire ending with the recovery of mature forest have been identified, which demonstrates that the vegetation of western Iberia was highly resilient to fire disturbance. However, when the recurrence of fire crossed a certain threshold, the original forests were not able to completely recover and shrublands and grasslands became dominant; this occurred approximately 5800-5400 cal yr BP. Afterwards, heathlands established as the dominant vegetation, which were maintained by frequent and severe wildfires most likely associated with human activities in a climatic framework that was less suitable for temperate trees. Finally, our palaeoecological record provides guidelines on how to manage protected areas in Mediterranean mountains of southwestern Europe, especially regarding the conservation and restoration of temperate communities that are threatened there such as birch stands.

Identification of Holocene millennial-scale forcing in the North Atlantic area: Ocean/atmosphere contribution

Science.gov (United States)

Debret, M.; Masson-Delmotte, V.; Christophe, C.; de Vernal, A.; Massei, N.; Eynaud, F.; Nicolle, M.; Frank, N.; Mary, Y.; Magny, M.

2017-12-01

Millennial (1500-year) cycles were evidenced decades ago from the advance and retreat of glaciers but many subsequent studies failed to demonstrate the unequivocal character of such oscillation from paleoclimate time series. Hence, the identification of a persistent 1500 year periodicity remains controversial both for the last glacial episode and the Holocene. Applying wavelet analysis to Holocene climate records, we have identified synchronous millennial-scale oscillations which permit to establish a North Atlantic millennial variability index (NAV-Index), maximum at 5330 ± 245, 3560 ± 190, 1810 ± 160 cal years BP and minimum at 4430 ± 250, 2640 ± 225 and 970 ± 200 years before present. This NAV-index was compared with the millennial variability of cosmogenic 10Be isotope, a proxy of solar activity. Differences between the two sets of records suggest that an internal mechanism (Ocean/atmosphere) must be at the origin of the North Atlantic millennial scale variability. Our data document an increased coherence and magnitude of the North Atlantic millennial variability since 6000 cal. years BP, with a frequency of 1780 ± 240 years. During the early Holocene, deglacial meltwater fluxes had strong regional impact and the coupling between subpolar gyre migration and Atlantic meridional oceanic circulation observed since afterward seems to be related to the end of the Laurentide and Inuitian ice sheet meltwater discharge. Hence, we may conclude that the evolution of this millennial oscillation in the future will depend upon the Greenland stability or melting.

Transgenerational Effects of Early Environmental Insults on Aging and Disease Incidence

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ambeskovic, Mirela; Roseboom, Tessa J.; Metz, Gerlinde A. S.

2017-01-01

Adverse early life experiences are major influences on developmental trajectories with potentially life-long consequences. Prenatal or early postnatal exposure to stress, undernutrition or environmental toxicants may reprogram brain development and increase risk of behavioural and neurological

Late-Holocene environment and climatic changes in Ameralik Fjord, southwest Greenland: evidence from the sedimentary record

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller, Henrik S.; Jensen, Karin G.; Kuijpers, Antoon

2006-01-01

  Sedimentological and geochemical (XRF) data together with information from diatom and benthic foraminifera records of a 3.5 m long gravity core from Ameralik fjord, southern West Greenland, is used for reconstructing late Holocene environmental changes in this area. The changes are linked...... to large-scale North Atlantic ocean and climate variability. AMS 14C-dating of benthic foraminifera indicates that the sediment core covers the last 4400 years and may include the termination of the Holocene Thermal Maximum (HTM). The late HTM (4.4-3.2 ka BP) is characterized by high accumulation rates...... conditions were further characterised by limited sea ice probably related to a mild and relatively windy winter climate. After 3.2 ka BP lower fine-grained sedimentation rates, but a larger input from sea-ice rafted or aeolian coarse material prevailed. This can be related to colder atmospheric conditions...

The Early Anthropogenic Hypothesis: Top-Down and Bottom-up Evidence

Science.gov (United States)

Ruddiman, W. F.

2014-12-01

Two complementary lines of evidence support the early anthropogenic hypothesis. Top-down evidence comes from comparing Holocene greenhouse-gas trends with those during equivalent intervals of previous interglaciations. The increases in CO2 and CH4 during the late Holocene are anomalous compared to the decreasing trends in a stacked average of previous interglaciations, thereby supporting an anthropogenic origin. During interglacial stage 19, the closest Holocene insolation analog, CO2 fell to 245 ppm by the time equivalent to the present, in contrast to the observed pre-industrial rise to 280-285 ppm. The 245-ppm level measured in stage 19 falls at the top of the natural range predicted by the original anthropogenic hypothesis of Ruddiman (2003). Bottom-up evidence comes from a growing list of archeological and other compilations showing major early anthropogenic transformations of Earth's surface. Key examples include: efforts by Dorian Fuller and colleagues mapping the spread of irrigated rice agriculture across southern Asia and its effects on CH4 emissions prior to the industrial era; an additional effort by Fuller showing the spread of methane-emitting domesticated livestock across Asia and Africa (coincident with the spread of fertile crescent livestock across Europe); historical compilations by Jed Kaplan and colleagues documenting very high early per-capita forest clearance in Europe, thus underpinning simulations of extensive pre-industrial clearance and large CO2 emissions; and wide-ranging studies by Erle Ellis and colleagues of early anthropogenic land transformations in China and elsewhere.

A Temperature and Monsoon Record Derived from Environmental Tracers in the Groundwater of Northwest India

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wieser, M.; Aeschbach-Hertig, W.; Schneider, T. [Institute of Environmental Physics, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg (Germany); Deshpande, R. D.; Gupta, S. K. [Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad (India)

2013-07-15

A quantitative palaeoclimate record was derived from the aquifer system of the cambay Basin, gujarat, India, a region characterised by a semi arid, monsoon dominated climate. Stable isotopes generally increase with flow distance and {sup 14}C age, whereas noble gas temperatures (NGTs) show a decline with age, amounting to a difference of {approx}3.5{sup o}C between Holocene and last glacial samples. The paper focuses on the Holocene covariation of the climate proxies. Stable isotopes and excess air show consistent variations, confirming their interpretation as proxies for palaeohumidity. A group of early to mid Holocene samples depleted in stable isotopes and enriched in excess air indicates a phase of strong monsoon during the Holocene climate optimum. This is followed by a drying trend in the second half of the Holocene, and more humid conditions in the youngest part of the record. A temporary rise of NGT in the dry late Holocene may reflect a change in the soil temperature-air temperature relationship. (author)

Holocene river history of the Danube: human-environment interactions on its islands in Hungary

Science.gov (United States)

Viczián, István; Balogh, János; Kis, Éva; Szeberényi, József

2016-04-01

stable, warmer and drier period after a humid period, which is usually linked with revolutionary development of cultures and societies. The Middle Neolithic, the Late Copper Age, the Early and Late Bronze Ages, the Late Iron Age and the first part of the Roman Period, the High Middle Age are among the favourable periods, while the periods in between are characterised by frequent floods, higher water level and unfavourable environmental conditions. Archaeological sites known on small islands are found exactly from the above mentioned periods. The aim of the study was to present the Holocene river history of the Danube, improve a climatic-geomorphological model and reveal the variability of fluvial dynamics and geomorphological processes primarily affected by climate changes.

The origin and disappearance of the late Pleistocene-early Holocene short-lived coastal wetlands along the Carmel coast, Israel

Science.gov (United States)

Sivan, Dorit; Greenbaum, Noam; Cohen-Seffer, Ronit; Sisma-Ventura, Guy; Almogi-Labin, Ahuva

The formation of short-lived backswamps along the Carmel coast of Israel coincides with the rapid global sea-level rise during the late Pleistocene-early Holocene transition. The current study shows that the wetland phenomena originated around 10,000 yr ago and dried up shortly before the local Pre-Pottery Neolithic humans settled on the wetland dark clay sediments 9430 cal yr BP. Palaeontological and stable-isotope data were used in this study to elucidate previously published sedimentological reconstruction obtained from a core drilled into the western trough of the Carmel coastal plain. The water body contained typical brackish calcareous fauna, with variable numerical abundance and low species richness of ostracods and foraminifera. The δ 18O and δ 13C of the ostracod Cyprideis torosa show close similarity to the present Pleistocene coastal aquifer isotopic values. This study therefore concludes that the wetlands were shallow-water bodies fed by groundwater, with no evidence of sea-water mixing. It seems that they developed as the result of high groundwater levels, transportation of sediments landward, and deposition of sand bars at the paleo-river mouths. It is still not fully understood why these wetlands deteriorated abruptly and disappeared within less than 1000 yr.

Holocene Glacier Fluctuations in the Peruvian Andes Indicate Northern Climate Linkages

Science.gov (United States)

Licciardi, Joseph M.; Schaefer, Joerg M.; Taggart, Jean R.; Lund, David C.

2009-09-01

The role of the tropics in triggering, transmitting, and amplifying interhemispheric climate signals remains a key debate in paleoclimatology. Tropical glacier fluctuations provide important insight on regional paleoclimatic trends and forcings, but robust chronologies are scarce. Here, we report precise moraine ages from the Cordillera Vilcabamba (13°20‧S) of southern Peru that indicate prominent glacial events and associated climatic shifts in the outer tropics during the early Holocene and late in the “Little Ice Age” period. Our glacier chronologies differ from the New Zealand record but are broadly correlative with well-dated glacial records in Europe, suggesting climate linkages between the tropics and the North Atlantic region.

Vegetation Response and Landscape Dynamics of Indian Summer Monsoon Variations during Holocene: An Eco-Geomorphological Appraisal of Tropical Evergreen Forest Subfossil Logs

Science.gov (United States)

Kumaran, Navnith K. P.; Padmalal, Damodaran; Nair, Madhavan K.; Limaye, Ruta B.; Guleria, Jaswant S.; Srivastava, Rashmi; Shukla, Anumeha

2014-01-01

The high rainfall and low sea level during Early Holocene had a significant impact on the development and sustenance of dense forest and swamp-marsh cover along the southwest coast of India. This heavy rainfall flooded the coastal plains, forest flourishing in the abandoned river channels and other low-lying areas in midland.The coastline and other areas in lowland of southwestern India supply sufficient evidence of tree trunks of wet evergreen forests getting buried during the Holocene period under varying thickness of clay, silty-clay and even in sand sequences. This preserved subfossil log assemblage forms an excellent proxy for eco-geomorphological and palaeoclimate appraisal reported hitherto from Indian subcontinent, and complements the available palynological data. The bulk of the subfossil logs and partially carbonized wood remains have yielded age prior to the Holocene transgression of 6.5 k yrs BP, suggesting therein that flooding due to heavy rainfall drowned the forest cover, even extending to parts of the present shelf. These preserved logs represent a unique palaeoenvironmental database as they contain observable cellular structure. Some of them can even be compared to modern analogues. As these woods belong to the Late Pleistocene and Holocene, they form a valuable source of climate data that alleviates the lack of contemporaneous meteorological records. These palaeoforests along with pollen proxies depict the warmer environment in this region, which is consistent with a Mid Holocene Thermal Maximum often referred to as Holocene Climate Optimum. Thus, the subfossil logs of tropical evergreen forests constitute new indices of Asian palaeomonsoon, while their occurrence and preservation are attributed to eco-geomorphology and hydrological regimes associated with the intensified Asian Summer Monsoon, as recorded elsewhere. PMID:24727672

Takaka Fossil Cave : a stratified Late Glacial to Late Holocene deposit from Takaka Hill, New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Worthy, T.H.; Roscoe, D.

2003-01-01

A rich terrestrial vertebrate fauna from the pitfall trap deposit of Takaka Fossil Cave on Takaka Hill, South Island, New Zealand, is described. Radiocarbon ages on moa bones bracket the onset of sedimentation in the site to between 12361 and 11354 14 C yrs BP. Euryapteryx geranoides was in the Late Glacial moa fauna that predates the onset of sedi-mentation in the site, but was absent in younger faunas. The moa Anomalopteryx didiformis was present in the Late Glacial fauna as well throughout the Holocene. A total of 1633 bones from 25 species of birds and a further 895 bones of 154 individuals of vertebrates other than birds (two species of frog, one tuatara, three lizards, two bats, and a rat) were identified in the total recovered fauna. A well-preserved partial skeleton of Haast's eagle (Harpagornis moorei) of Late Glacial age had severe arthritis. Unusually small specimens of Euryapteryx were morphologically diagnosed as E. geranoides, and confirmed as such by mitochondrial DNA analysis. The molluscan fauna contained two aquatic, troglobitic hydrobiids and 29 taxa of land snails. While there is little change in species diversity between lower and upper layers, there are marked changes in relative abundance of some taxa that suggest the environment was drier in the Early and Middle Holocene than it was in the Late Holocene. (author). 26 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs

Evidence of Suess solar-cycle bursts in Holocene speleothem d18O records

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Mads Faurschou; Jacobsen, B. H.; Riisager, Peter

2012-01-01

Several studies indicate that changes in solar activity may have driven Holocene subtropical monsoon variability on decadal and centennial timescales, but the strength and nature of this link remains debated. In this study, we combine a recent mapping of the Holocene solar-cycle activity with four...... in driving centennial-scale changes in the hydrological cycle in the subtropics during the Holocene....

Holocene Temperature Reconstructions from Arctic Lakes based on Alkenone Paleothermometry and Non-Destructive Scanning Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

D'Andrea, W. J.; Balascio, N. L.; Bradley, R. S.; Bakke, J.; Gjerde, M.; Kaufman, D. S.; Briner, J. P.; von Gunten, L.

2014-12-01

Generating continuous, accurate and quantitative Holocene temperature estimates from the Arctic is an ongoing challenge. In many Arctic regions, tree ring-based approaches cannot be used and lake sediments provide the most valuable repositories for extracting paleotemperature information. Advances in lacustrine alkenone paleothermometry now allow for quantitative reconstruction of lake-water temperature based on the UK37 values of sedimentary alkenones. In addition, a recent study demonstrated the efficacy of non-destructive scanning reflectance spectroscopy in the visible range (VIS-RS) for high-resolution quantitative temperature reconstruction from arctic lake sediments1. In this presentation, I will report a new UK37-based temperature reconstruction and a scanning VIS-RS record (using the RABD660;670 index as a measure of sedimentary chlorin content) from Kulusuk Lake in southeastern Greenland (65.6°N, 37.1°W). The UK37 record reveals a ~3°C increase in summer lake water temperatures between ~10ka and ~7ka followed by sustained warmth until ~4ka and a gradual (~3°C) cooling until ~400 yr BP. The strong correlation between UK37 and RABD660;670 measured in the same sediment core provides further evidence that in arctic lakes where temperature regulates primary productivity, and thereby sedimentary chlorin content, these proxies can be combined to develop high-resolution quantitative temperature records. The Holocene temperature history of Kulusuk Lake determined using this approach corresponds to changes in the size of the glaciers adjacent to the lake, as inferred from sediment minerogenic properties measured with scanning XRF. Glaciers retreated during early Holocene warming, likely disappeared during the period of mid-Holocene warmth, and advanced after 4ka. I will also discuss new UK37 and RABD660;670 reconstructions from northwestern Svalbard and the central Brooks Range of Alaska within the framework of published regional temperature reconstructions and

Recent Advances in Optical Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring and Early Warning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Zhu

2013-10-01

Full Text Available The growing number of pollutants requires the development of innovative analytical devices that are precise, sensitive, specific, rapid, and easy-to-use to meet the increasing demand for legislative actions on environmental pollution control and early warning. Optical biosensors, as a powerful alternative to conventional analytical techniques, enable the highly sensitive, real-time, and high-frequency monitoring of pollutants without extensive sample preparation. This article reviews important advances in functional biorecognition materials (e.g., enzymes, aptamers, DNAzymes, antibodies and whole cells that facilitate the increasing application of optical biosensors. This work further examines the significant improvements in optical biosensor instrumentation and their environmental applications. Innovative developments of optical biosensors for environmental pollution control and early warning are also discussed.

Holocene and Late Glacial sedimentation near steep slopes in southern Lake Baikal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Sturm

2015-07-01

Full Text Available We here present new data on sedimentation at and near the steep north-slopes of southern Lake Baikal. Short sediment cores were taken at 550 m and at 1366 m water depth, within 3600 m offshore Cape Ivanovskii at the station of the Baikal Deep Underwater NEUTRINO Telescope. The sediments within 3600 m off the northern coast of Southern Lake Baikal are dominated by pelagic deposition. Our data reveal surprisingly little influence from terrigenous material from adjacent coastal areas, tributaries and their catchment. At the shallow-water site (at 550 m water depth, 700 m off shore just 27 cm thick homogenous sediments have accumulated during the Holocene on top of Pleistocene deposits resulting in Holocene sedimentation rates of 0.003 cm a-1. The very low rates are caused by long-term persistent winnowing of fine particles caused by week contour currents along the slope. The uppermost sediments are oxidized down to 22 cm. Very low concentrations of Corg, Sibio and Ntot in Pleistocene sediments increase dramatically within the Holocene. The heavy mineral fraction of the shallow-water sediments contains up to 33.6 % olivine and up to 2.4 % spinel. These rare minerals originate from white marbles of the nearby coastal outcrop Belaya Vyemka of the Early Precambrian Sharyzalgaiskaya Series. At the deep-water site (at 1366 m water depth, 3600 m off shore Holocene sedimentation rates are 10-times higher (0.036 cm a-1. Sediment oxidation occurs just within the uppermost 2 cm. Of the two rare type minerals of the Sharyzalgaiskaya Series spinel does not occur at all and olivine is represented by very diminished concentrations. This indicates insignificant influx of terrestrial material from the nearby shore to the deep-water site . Distal turbidites of far-off sources are intercalated to pelagic sediments at the deep-water site. Breakdown events of deltas at the SE- and S-coast of the basin are suggested to be responsible for the formation of the turbidites

Evidence for Isostatic Emergence and Holocene Environmental Change Recorded in Chironomid Assemblages and Sediment Composition of Coastal Lake T1 in SW Greenland

Science.gov (United States)

Berman, K.; Axford, Y.; Lasher, G. E.

2017-12-01

Multi-proxy analysis of a coastal lake in southwest Greenland near Nuuk provides evidence for regional environmental changes, including the timing of isostatic rebound and the temperature history of the area. T1 (informal name) is a small lake 50 km south of Nuuk, at 17.5 m elevation and currently isolated from glacial meltwater drainage. The lake's sediment record begins approximately 9500 cal years BP, when the site was submerged beneath sea level due to glacial isostatic depression following the Last Glacial Maximum. The record captures the transition of the environment from a submerged, glacially-influenced marine site to a non-glacially fed (and initially meromictic) freshwater lake 8600 cal years BP. Magnetic susceptibility, a proxy for sediment minerogenic content, decreased rapidly from 9500 to 8600 years BP, before abruptly stabilizing and remaining relatively low and steady for the rest of the record. The transition to a lacustrine environment was characterized by a rapid and relatively simultaneous increase in primary productivity (inferred from biogenic silica concentrations) and shift towards terrestrial versus marine sources of organic matter (inferred from carbon:nitrogen ratios and nitrogen isotopes) between 8700 and 8400 years BP. Together, these proxies and the presence of marine shells below the transition provide robust evidence for the transition from a marine environment to a freshwater lake in response to regional postglacial isostatic rebound. Within the Holocene, measures of bulk sediment composition (e.g., biogenic silica, loss-on-ignition and magnetic susceptibility) are relatively stable. Chironomid (Insecta: Diptera: Chironomidae) assemblages, which in some environments are quantitative proxies for summer temperature changes, show species-level shifts within the Holocene that will be interpreted in this presentation alongside indicators of landscape change including carbon:nitrogen ratios, bulk sediment spectral reflectance and bulk

A High-Resolution Reconstruction of Late Holocene Environmental Change from Laguna Ek'Naab, Northern Holmul Region, Peten, Guatemala

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, L.; Wahl, D.; Estrada-Belli, F.

2015-12-01

Widespread demographic shifts in the southern Maya lowlands at the end of the Classic period have been attributed to environmental change caused by human activity and/or climate variability. Fire was essential to landscape modification and was a primary agent of environmental change associated with prehispanic land use. While several studies have provided insight into the dynamic relationship between natural and anthropogenic drivers of change, defining the specific interplay between natural environmental change, human modification of the environment, and cultural response to changes remains a persistent challenge. Here we present the results of a multi-proxy study that reconstructs fire history, agricultural land use, and environmental change during and after Pre-Columbian Maya settlement. Results are interpreted in the context of settlement history as inferred from archaeological mapping around the study site. Our findings suggest landscape disturbance, as indicated by erosion, local burning, and nearby maize agriculture, was at its peak during the Early Classic period. This disturbance was likely due to large-scale settlement at the nearby site of Witzna'. All proxies indicate a slow decline in disturbance into the Late Classic period, beginning around 1300 cal yr BP. Cival and Chanchich, two proximal site centers to the south of Laguna Ek'Naab, supported their largest populations during the Late Preclassic and Late Classic, with little or no settlement during the Early Classic. The data from Laguna Ek'Naab suggests that Witzna' may have been an important center during the Early Classic. Whether the decreasing environmental degradation after 1240 cal yr BP is do to a decline in local population or changing land use strategies is not discernable based on the data thus far. However, the near complete absence of burning and continued decrease in erosion from 1240-1090 cal yr BP suggests little anthropogenic activity in the area. Burning resumes in the watershed

Natural and human controls of the Holocene evolution of the beach, aeolian sand and dunes of Caesarea (Israel)

Science.gov (United States)

Roskin, J.; Sivan, D.; Shtienberg, G.; Roskin, E.; Porat, N.; Bookman, R.

2015-12-01

The study focuses on the Holocene appearance, chronology and drivers of beach sand deposition and inland aeolian sand transport around the Roman-Byzantine ruins of Caesarea, Israel. Beach sand, sand sheets, nebkha, linear and transverse dunes as well as parabolic and transverse interdunes along two transects were sampled in the current study down to their substrate. Sixteen new optically stimulated luminescence ages cluster at ∼5.9-3.3 ka, ∼1.2-1.1 ka (800-900 AD) and ∼190-120 years ago (1825-1895 AD) indicating times of middle and late Holocene sand sheet depositions and historical dune stabilization. The first age cluster indicates that beach sand accumulated when rates of global sea level rise declined around 6-5 ka. Until ∼4 ka sand sheets encroached up to 2.5 km inland. Historical and archaeological evidence points to sand mobilization since the first century AD. Sand sheets dating to 1.2-1.1 ka, coevally found throughout the dunefield represent sand stabilization due to vegetation reestablishment attributed to gradual and fluctuating decline in human activity from the middle Early Islamic period until the 10th century. Historical and chronological evidence of the existence of transverse and coppice dunes from the 19th century suggest that dunes only formed in the last few centuries. The study illustrates the initial role of natural processes, in this case decline in global sea level rise and the primary and later role of fluctuating human activity upon coastal sand mobility. The study distinguishes between sand sheets and dunes and portrays them as sensors of environmental changes.

Early Childhood Environmental Education in Tropical and Coastal Areas: A Meta-Analysis

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Sawitri, D. R.

2017-02-01

Early childhood years are the period of the greatest and most significant developments in ones’ life, and are generally regarded as the basis upon which the rest of their life is constructed. However, these early years are those that traditionally have received the least attention from environmental education. This paper was aimed to summarize several day-to-day activities that can be conducted to educate children in their early years about environment. Environmental education is an educational process that deals with the human interrelationships with the environment, and that uses an interdisciplinary problem solving approach with value clarification. Environmental education is aimed at producing a community that is knowledgeable about the biophysical environment and its associated problems, aware of how to solve these problems, and enthusiastic to work toward their solution. It highlights the progress of knowledge, understanding, attitudes, skills, and commitment for environmental problems and considerations. Further, environmental education can help children expand their ecological worldview, promote active care to the environment, and explain the relationship between modern life style and current environmental problems. Several types of environmental education have been identified from the literature, such as outdoor activities in natural outdoor setting, school gardening, play-based learning, and drawing activities. Each of these activities has its own characteristics and effects on children’s environmental-related attitudes and behaviors. Through these activities, the unique characteristics of tropical and coastal areas can potentially be used to facilitate children to learn about nature and environment. Recommendations for childhood education practitioners and future researchers are discussed.

Development of Laboratory Model Ecosystems as Early Warning Elements of Environmental Pollution

Science.gov (United States)

1974-12-01

AD-AOll 851 DEVELOPMENT OF LABORATORY MODEL ECOSYSTEMS AS EARLY WARNING ELEMENTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION Robert L. Metcalf... ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION Robert L. Metcalf, Ph. D. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Illinois INTRODUCTION Problems of environmental pollution with...house dust is unsafe to breathe (Ewing and Pearson, 1974). Most of the source of our concern about environmental pollution by trace substances relates

Holocene record of precipitation seasonality from lake calcite δ18O in the central Rocky Mountains, United States

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Lesleigh

2011-01-01

A context for recent hydroclimatic extremes and variability is provided by a ~10 k.y. sediment carbonate oxygen isotope (??18O) record at 5-100 yr resolution from Bison Lake, 3255 m above sea level, in northwestern Colorado (United States). Winter precipitation is the primary water source for the alpine headwater lake in the Upper Colorado River Basin and lake water ??18O measurements reflect seasonal variations in precipitation ??18O. Holocene lake water ??18O variations are inferred from endogenic sedimentary calcite ??18O based on comparisons with historic watershed discharge records and tree-ring reconstructions. Drought periods (i.e., drier winters and/or a more rain-dominated seasonal precipitation balance) generally correspond with higher calcite ??18O values, and vice-versa. Early to middle Holocene ??18O values are higher, implying a rain-dominated seasonal precipitation balance. Lower, more variable ??18O values after ca. 3500 yr ago indicate a snow-dominated but more seasonally variable precipitation balance. The middle to late Holocene ??18O record corresponds with records of El Ni??o Southern Oscillation intensification that supports a teleconnection between Rocky Mountain climate and North Pacific sea-surface temperatures at decade to century time scales. ?? 2011 Geological Society of America.

NW Pacific mid-depth ventilation changes during the Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Rella, S.; Uchida, M.

2010-12-01

During the last 50 years the oxygen content of North Pacific Intermediate Water primarily originating in the Okhotsk Sea has declined suggesting decreased mid-depth water circulation, likely leading to changes in biological productivity in the NW Pacific realm and a decrease in CO2 drawdown. It is therefore of high interest to elucidate the climate-oceanic interconnections of the present interglacial period (Holocene) in the NW Pacific, in order to predict possible future climate and surface productivity changes associated with a decrease in mid-depth ventilation in this ecologically sensitive region. However, such efforts have been hampered so far by the lack of appropriate sediment cores with fast sedimentation rates during the Holocene. Core CK05-04 that was recovered in 2005 from off Shimokita peninsula, Japan, at ~1000 m depth shows sedimentation rates of ~80 cm/kyr during the Holocene and therefore presents an ideal opportunity to reconstruct for the first time the Holocene ventilation history of the NW Pacific Ocean. We employ Accelerator Mass Spectroscopy (NIES-TERRA, Tsukuba) radiocarbon analysis of co-existing benthic and planktonic foraminifera to conclude on the ventilation age of the mid-depth water using benthic-planktonic radiocarbon age differences. At the conference we would like to present the results.

Geomorphological and cryostratigraphical analyses of the Zackenberg Valley, NE Greenland and significance of Holocene alluvial fans

Science.gov (United States)

Cable, Stefanie; Christiansen, Hanne H.; Westergaard-Nielsen, Andreas; Kroon, Aart; Elberling, Bo

2018-02-01

In High Arctic northern Greenland, future responses to climatic changes are poorly understood on a landscape scale. Here, we present a study of the geomorphology and cryostratigraphy in the Zackenberg Valley in NE Greenland (74°N) containing a geomorphological map and a simplified geocryological map, combined with analyses of 13 permafrost cores and two exposures. Cores from a solifluction sheet, alluvial fans, and an emerged delta were studied with regards to cryostructures, ice and total carbon contents, grain size distribution, and pore water electrical conductivity; and the samples were AMS 14C dated. The near-surface permafrost on slopes and alluvial fans is ice rich, as opposed to the ice-poor epigenetic permafrost in the emerged delta. Ground ice and carbon distribution are closely linked to sediment transport processes, which largely depend on lithology and topography. Holocene alluvial fans on the lowermost hillslopes, covering 12% of the study area, represent paleoenvironmental archives. During the contrasting climates of the Holocene, the alluvial fans continued to aggrade - through the warmer early Holocene Optimum, the colder late Holocene, and the following climate warming - and by 0.45 mm a- 1, on average. This is caused by three factors: sedimentation, ground ice aggradation, and vegetation growth and is reflected by AMS 14C dating and continuously alternating cryostructures. Highly variable sedimentation rates in space and time at the alluvial fans have been detected. This is also reflected by alternating lenticular and microlenticular cryostructures indicating syngenetic permafrost aggradation during sedimentation with suspended and organic-matrix cryostructures indicating quasi-syngenetic permafrost aggradation in response to vegetation growth in periods with reduced or no sedimentation. Over time, this causes organic matter to become buried, indicating that alluvial fans represent effective carbon sinks that have previously been overlooked.

Latest Pleistocene and Holocene surficial deposits and landforms of Yosemite Valley, California

Science.gov (United States)

Haddon, E. K.; Stock, G. M.; Booth, D. B.

2016-12-01

Field studies on the surficial geology and geomorphology of Yosemite Valley since the 1870's formed an early basis for our understanding of Quaternary landscape evolution in the central Sierra Nevada. These landmark studies described the erosional origin of Yosemite's iconic scenery, but left details of the latest Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentary record for later investigation. We combined mapping of deposits and landforms with geochronology to reconstruct the geomorphic evolution of Yosemite Valley since the 15 ka retreat of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) valley glacier. We document a sustained period of relative landscape stability, characterized by valley-bottom aggradation of glacial till, fluvial sediments, and lacustrine silts, as well as valley-margin accumulation of talus and fan alluvium. Recessional moraines, episodically emplaced rock avalanches, and alluvial fans impeded surface flow and controlled the local base level. This predominantly aggradational regime then shifted to incision in the earliest Holocene, likely due to a diminishing supply of glacial sediment, and created a flight of fluvial terraces inset by up to 9 m. The volume of fringing talus and fan alluvium in comparison with fluvial terrace sequences emphasizes the importance of valley-wall erosion as a sediment source. Cosmogenic 10Be exposure ages from rock avalanche boulders and 14C charcoal ages from deltaic sequences and inset fluvial gravels suggest variable rates of Holocene river incision. Although some incision events likely record local base level changes at the El Capitan LGM recessional moraine, the presence of perched, well-developed outwash terraces downstream indicates a more regional climatic forcing. These findings, including the depositional record of land-use disturbances over the past two centuries, help illuminate the geologic evolution of this celebrated landscape and inform ongoing river-restoration work.

The silence of the layers: Archaeological site visibility in the Pleistocene-Holocene transition at the Ebro Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Alday, Alfonso; Domingo, Rafael; Sebastián, María; Soto, Adriana; Aranbarri, Josu; González-Sampériz, Penélope; Sampietro-Vattuone, María Marta; Utrilla, Pilar; Montes, Lourdes; Peña-Monné, José Luis

2018-03-01

The Ebro Basin constitutes one of the most representative territories in SW Europe for the study of prehistoric societies during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. The correlation of palaeoenvironmental and geomorphological proxies obtained from sedimentary records with chronologically well-constrained reference archaeological sites has allowed defining this time frame precisely, such that three main pilot areas haven been broadly depicted: the Alavese region, the Pre-Pyrenees and the Bajo Aragón. Overall, the human imprint in the Ebro Basin was rare during the Upper Palaeolithic, but more visible from the Upper Magdalenian (14500-13500 cal BP) to Neolithic times (up to 5500 cal BP). Local environmental resources were continuously managed by the prehistoric communities in the different areas of study. In fact, the Ebro Basin acted during those millennia as a whole, developing the same cultural trends, industrial techniques and settlement patterns in parallel throughout the territory. However, some gaps exist in the 14C frequency curve (SCDPD curve). This is partially related to prehistoric sites in particular lithologies and geological structures that could have partly been lost by erosional processes, especially during the Early Holocene. In addition, this gap also parallels the reconstructed climate trend for the Pre-Pyrenean and the Bajo Aragón areas, which are defined by high frequencies of xerophilous flora until ca. 9500 cal BP, suggesting that continental climate features could have hampered the presence of well-established human communities in inland regions. The interdisciplinary research (archaeology, geomorphology and palaeoclimatology) discussed in this paper offers clues to understand the existence of fills and gaps in the archaeological record of the Ebro Basin, and can be applied in other territories with similar geographic and climate patterns.

Glacial to Holocene fluctuations in hydrography and productivity along the southwestern continental margin of India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Thamban, M.; Rao, V.P.; Schneider, R.R.; Grootes, P.M.

was highly reduced (S.W.A. Naqvi, personal communication). during 13–6 ka BP, when the intensity of summer Secondly, the dynamics of the upwelling system monsoon is expected to be high. We suggest that along the southwest coast of India oVers an past changes...: S0031-0182(00)00156-5 114 M. Thamban et al. / Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 165 (2001) 113–127 during the early to mid-Holocene period, following and Malmgren, 1996; Naqvi and Fairbanks, 1996; Overpeck et al., 1996; Zonneveld et...

The Telemetric Early Warning Environmental Radiation Monitoring System of Cyprus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christofides, S [Medical Physics Department, Nicosia General Hospital, Nicosia (Cyprus)

1998-12-31

This paper presents the hardware design, the development of the software and the use of the Telemetric Early Warning Environmental Radiation Monitoring System (TEWERMS) of Cyprus. (author). 3 refs, 6 figs.

Deep water ventilation in the northwestern North Pacific during the last deglaciation and the early Holocene (15-5 cal. kyr B.P.) based on AMS 14C dating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minoshima, Kayo; Kawahata, Hodaka; Irino, Tomohisa; Ikehara, Ken; Aoki, Kaori; Uchida, Masao; Yoneda, Minoru; Shibata, Yasuyuki

2007-01-01

The difference between benthic and planktonic foraminifera radiocarbon (B-P 14 C) age differences in core PC6 (40 o 23.89' N, 143 o 29.87' E) retrieved from the northwestern North Pacific provide a clue to the reconstruction of deep water circulation during the last deglaciation and the early Holocene (15-5 cal. kyr B.P.). The observed B-P 14 C age differences ranged from 1030 to 1630 years, which are comparable to the present-day apparent ventilation age. It suggested that the ventilation generally remained similar during 15-5 cal. kyr B.P. However, B-P 14 C age difference slightly reduced at 14.6 cal. kyr B.P., indicating that the higher ventilation temporality could have occurred in the northwestern North Pacific (∼2200 m water depth)

Compilation of information on the climate and evaluation of the hydrochemical and isotopic composition during Late Pleistocene and Holocene

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Andersson, Cecilia

1998-01-01

This report summarises and evaluates some of the existing information on the Late Pleistocene and Holocene climates, i.e. the last 130 000 years. An estimation of the conditions at the Aespoe island (southeast Sweden) has also been made during this time span. The knowledge about Late Pleistocene (Eemian Interglacial and Weichselian glacial) is not yet fully understood. There are still a lot of assumptions concerning this period and more information is needed to be able to establish the climatic conditions. This is not the case for the Weichselian deglaciation and the present interglacial, Holocene, for which the environmental conditions are quite certain. It has been concluded, however, that the Eemian climatic development probably was similar to the Holocene but perhaps somewhat warmer and more humid. The Eemian Baltic Sea level was probably also higher than the present Baltic Sea level and there was a connection between it and the White Sea in the northeast. Aespoe was probably situated below sea level during the greater part of Eemian. Not much is known about the last glacial period, the Weichselian glaciation, until the final deglaciation. The ice sheet during Early Weichselian was probably mostly concentrated to the Scandinavian mountain area and in northern Scandinavia. At least two intervals with higher temperatures have been recorded, the Broerup and Odderade interstadials. The Middle Weichselian substage is characterised by fluctuations, melting and re-advances. Aespoe was probably not glaciated until the middle or latter part of Middle Weichselian. The maximum extension of the Weichselian ice sheet occurred in Late Weichselian, around 20 to 18 ka BP, which was succeeded by the final deglaciation. The retreat of the Weichselian ice sheet is described by for example end moraines and glacial varved clay. The Aespoe area was glaciated until 12 500 BP. Huge quantities of glacial meltwater was released into the Baltic basin as the ice receded. Due to different

Compilation of information on the climate and evaluation of the hydrochemical and isotopic composition during Late Pleistocene and Holocene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Andersson, Cecilia [Intera KB (Sweden)

1998-01-01

This report summarises and evaluates some of the existing information on the Late Pleistocene and Holocene climates, i.e. the last 130 000 years. An estimation of the conditions at the Aespoe island (southeast Sweden) has also been made during this time span. The knowledge about Late Pleistocene (Eemian Interglacial and Weichselian glacial) is not yet fully understood. There are still a lot of assumptions concerning this period and more information is needed to be able to establish the climatic conditions. This is not the case for the Weichselian deglaciation and the present interglacial, Holocene, for which the environmental conditions are quite certain. It has been concluded, however, that the Eemian climatic development probably was similar to the Holocene but perhaps somewhat warmer and more humid. The Eemian Baltic Sea level was probably also higher than the present Baltic Sea level and there was a connection between it and the White Sea in the northeast. Aespoe was probably situated below sea level during the greater part of Eemian. Not much is known about the last glacial period, the Weichselian glaciation, until the final deglaciation. The ice sheet during Early Weichselian was probably mostly concentrated to the Scandinavian mountain area and in northern Scandinavia. At least two intervals with higher temperatures have been recorded, the Broerup and Odderade interstadials. The Middle Weichselian substage is characterised by fluctuations, melting and re-advances. Aespoe was probably not glaciated until the middle or latter part of Middle Weichselian. The maximum extension of the Weichselian ice sheet occurred in Late Weichselian, around 20 to 18 ka BP, which was succeeded by the final deglaciation. The retreat of the Weichselian ice sheet is described by for example end moraines and glacial varved clay. The Aespoe area was glaciated until 12 500 BP. Huge quantities of glacial meltwater was released into the Baltic basin as the ice receded. Due to different

Non-linearities in Holocene floodplain sediment storage

Science.gov (United States)

Notebaert, Bastiaan; Nils, Broothaerts; Jean-François, Berger; Gert, Verstraeten

2013-04-01

Floodplain sediment storage is an important part of the sediment cascade model, buffering sediment delivery between hillslopes and oceans, which is hitherto not fully quantified in contrast to other global sediment budget components. Quantification and dating of floodplain sediment storage is data and financially demanding, limiting contemporary estimates for larger spatial units to simple linear extrapolations from a number of smaller catchments. In this paper we will present non-linearities in both space and time for floodplain sediment budgets in three different catchments. Holocene floodplain sediments of the Dijle catchment in the Belgian loess region, show a clear distinction between morphological stages: early Holocene peat accumulation, followed by mineral floodplain aggradation from the start of the agricultural period on. Contrary to previous assumptions, detailed dating of this morphological change at different shows an important non-linearity in geomorphologic changes of the floodplain, both between and within cross sections. A second example comes from the Pre-Alpine French Valdaine region, where non-linearities and complex system behavior exists between (temporal) patterns of soil erosion and floodplain sediment deposition. In this region Holocene floodplain deposition is characterized by different cut-and-fill phases. The quantification of these different phases shows a complicated image of increasing and decreasing floodplain sediment storage, which hampers the image of increasing sediment accumulation over time. Although fill stages may correspond with large quantities of deposited sediment and traditionally calculated sedimentation rates for such stages are high, they do not necessary correspond with a long-term net increase in floodplain deposition. A third example is based on the floodplain sediment storage in the Amblève catchment, located in the Belgian Ardennes uplands. Detailed floodplain sediment quantification for this catchments shows

A Multiproxy Reconstruction of Holocene Southern Westerlies from the Auckland Islands

Science.gov (United States)

Nichols, J. E.; Moy, C. M.; Peteet, D. M.; Weiss, A.; Curtin, L. G.

2015-12-01

The strength and position of the Southern Hemisphere Westerly Wind belt plays an important role in our understanding of the global carbon cycle and glacial-interglacial climate change. We present a paleoclimate record that is primarily influenced by the strength and latitudinal position of the Southern Hemisphere Westerly Winds from a late Holocene lake sediment core and a peat core that spans the last 13,000 years, both obtained from New Zealand's subantarctic Auckland Islands (50°S, 166°E). Several proxy indicators contribute to our reconstruction. Hydrogen isotope ratios of specific organic molecules allow us to reconstruct the hydrogen isotope ratios of precipitation. Using macrofossil counts and the abundances of leaf wax biomarkers, we are able to estimate the moisture balance at our sites. Model simulations of the Westerlies and the rate and isotope ratios of precipitation allow us to interpret our proxy data as changes in the strength and position of the Westerly Winds. In our lacustrine sediment, we found that the Westerlies have been shifting southward since the Little Ice Age, consistent with modern observations of a southward shift. In the peatland sediment, we found a multi-millennial northward shift in the Westerlies during the middle Holocene. We will present further ongoing work that strengthens the chronology of Auckland Islands environmental change and integrates these results with vegetation shifts identified in pollen and macrofossil data.

Holocene climate dynamics in the central part of the East European plain (Russia)

Science.gov (United States)

Novenko, Elena

2013-04-01

The Holocene climate and vegetation dynamics in the broad-leaved forest zone of the central part of the East European plain have been reconstructed on the base of pollen, plant macrofossil, testate amoebae and radiocarbon data from the mire Klukva (N 53.834812, E 36.252488), located in the kast depression in the Upper Oka River basin (Tula region, European Russia). The reconstruction of main parameters of past climate (the mean annual temperature precipitation) was carried out by the "Best Modern Analog" approach. Reconstructions of vegetation show that in the early Holocene the territory was occupied mainly by birch and pine-birch forests. Significant changes in the plant cover of the Upper Oka River basin are attributed to the 7.5 cal kyr BP). The climatic conditions were favorable for development of the broad-leaved forests those persisted in this area up to industrial period. In the 17th century, when the population density greatly increased and watersheds were ploughed, natural vegetation communities were gradually destroyed and transformed into agricultural landscapes. According to obtained climatic reconstructions the period 10-8.5 cal kyr BP was relatively cold and wet, when the mean annual temperature was in 3°C lower and precipitation was in 50-100 mm higher then nowadays. The significant climate warming occurred in about 7.0-5.0 cal kyr BP (The Holocene thermal maximum): the mean annual temperature in 2°C exceeded the modern value and precipitation was close to that. The environment conditions were drier due to decrease of effective moisture. In the second part of the Holocene the sequence of second-, and even third-order climatic oscillations expressed against the background of the overall slight trend towards cooling have been determined. The most pronounced cool and wet intervals were reconstructed in 2.5-2.0 cal kyr BP and 1.5-1.3 cal kyr BP. The mean annual temperature decreased in 1.5-2 °C and precipitation rose in 200 mm in compare to modern

Millennial-scale variability in Holocene aquatic productivity from Burial Lake, Arctic Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Finkenbinder, Matthew S.; Abbott, Mark B.; Stoner, Joseph S.; Ortiz, Joseph D.; Finney, Bruce P.; Dorfman, Jason M.; Stansell, Nathan D.

2018-05-01

Holocene records of lacustrine primary production are commonly used to reconstruct past changes in environmental and climatic conditions. While several methods exist to infer paleoproductivity trends, few studies to date have applied multiple geochemical indices in the same core sequence from Arctic lakes to evaluate their fidelity and sensitivity to specific climate variables over long (Holocene length) timescales. In this study, we evaluate sub-century to millennial-scale fluctuations in paleoproductivity over the Holocene using geochemical (biogenic opal and sedimentary chlorin) analyses of sediments from Burial Lake in the western Brooks Range, Alaska. Large fluctuations in opal and related proxies occur at millennial timescales over the last 10,000 years. We interpret the changes in opal to result from variability in diatom productivity, which is indirectly mediated by climate primarily through changes in the duration of the ice-free growing season and the availability of limiting nutrients at this oligotrophic, tundra lake. Comparison of the opal and sedimentary chlorin record, which is correlated with TOC, shows contrasting patterns on both short (century to multi-century) and relatively long (millennial) time scales. The concentration of opal far exceeds that of TOC and variations in sediment dry bulk density, driven by changes in the accumulation of opal, are likely responsible in part for the variations in sedimentary chlorin. Further, C/N ratio values indicate a mixed algal-terrestrial source of sedimentary organic matter. This result highlights the complexity in the climatic interpretation of sedimentary chlorin as an index of whole lake production, because the signal is prone to dilution/concentration from opal and also reflects a combination of aquatic and terrestrial production. Time series analysis of the productivity records indicates the presence of a significant ∼1500-yr oscillation in opal concentration, which has been found in North Atlantic

Late Holocene higher sea level and its radiocarbon dates in Okierabu-jima, Ryukyus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koba, Motoharu; Omoto, Kunio; Takahashi, Tatsuo.

1980-01-01

Okierabu-jima of the Ryukyu Islands, which is a poly-terraced Pleistocene raised coral reef island, doesn't have a Holocene raised coral reef, but coastal erosional features showing higher sea levels in Holocene. The authors obtained some data indicating the period of one of the Holocene higher sea levels. All radiocarbon dates concerning Okierabu-jima's Holocene sea-level changes are plotted on the date-height coordinates. The paleo sea level between 5000 and 2000 y. B. P. lies above the broken line drawn from 6 m below to 2.18 m above the present sea level. The period of the highest sea level in Holocene seems to be about 3000 to 2000 y. B. P. in this island. Its height is presumably 2.4 m a. s. l. derived on an average from heights of stacks and coastal benches in the almost all coasts of the island (Koba, 1974). Beach rocks were already formed at the landward extremity of the reef flat corresponding to the almost present sea level about 1300 y. B. P. (author)

Early Eocene climatic optimum: Environmental impact on the North Iberian continental margin

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Payros, A.; Ortiz, S.; Millán, I.; Arostegi, J.; Orue-Etxebarria, X.; Apellaniz, E.

2015-01-01

The early Eocene climatic optimum, which constituted the peak of the long-term early Cenozoic global warming, had a significant impact on the environmental evolution of terrestrial and oceanic areas. Surprisingly, however, its influence on continental margins is poorly known. New insights are

Late Holocene dune mobilizations in the northwestern Negev dunefield, Israel: A response to combined anthropogenic activity and short-term intensified windiness

Science.gov (United States)

Roskin, Joel; Katra, Itzhak; Blumberg, Dan G.

2013-04-01

The study of the effects of past climates on ancient cultures is usually based on geologic records pertaining to rainfall and temperature fluctuations and shifts. This study proposes a paradigm of anthropogenic activity and windiness fluctuations to explain aeolian sedimentation and dune mobilization in the northwestern (NW) Negev Desert dunefield (Israel). The proposed paradigm contributes a different approach to estimating the effect of climate changes on the unprecedented agricultural and urban settlement expansion during the late Roman to Early Islamic period in the northern and central Negev Desert. This study builds upon the late Holocene cluster of luminescence ages of Roskin et al. (Age, origin and climatic controls on vegetated linear dunes in the northwestern Negev Desert (Israel), Quaternary Science Reviews 30 (2011), 1649-1674) coupled with analysis of archaeological finds and historical texts. We suggest that whereas the NW Negev dunefield was generally stable during the Holocene, intermittent dune mobilization during the late Holocene, at ~1.8 ka and mostly 1.4-1.1 ka (~600-900 CE), are linked to periods of human occupation. The idea that the last glacial dune encroachments alone that formed the NW Negev dunefield is connected to cold-event windy climates that may have intensified East Mediterranean cyclonic winter storms, cannot explain the late Holocene dune mobilizations. We conceptually model a connection between late Holocene dune mobilization, widespread anthropogenic occupation and activity, and windiness. We maintain that historic grazing and uprooting shrubs for fuel in the past by nomads and sedentary populations led to decimation of dune stabilizers, biogenic soil crusts and vegetation, causing dune erodibility and low-grade activity. Short-term events of amplified wind power in conjunction with periods of augmented anthropogenic activity that triggered major events of dune mobilization (elongation) and accretion have been preserved in the

Attractiveness of the landscape: Reconstruction of Early to Middle Holocene landscape and occupation history of Flevoland (central Netherlands)

Science.gov (United States)

Van den Biggelaar, Don; Kluiving, Sjoerd; Van Balen, Ronald; Kasse, Kees; Kolen, Jan

2013-04-01

The onset of the Holocene (11 500 BP) is marked by climate warming. Climate warming induced the growth of vegetation, which in combination with precipitation and a long period of non-deposition resulted in the formation of soils at the top of the Pleistocene deposits. As these soils have been present at the surface in Flevoland (central Netherlands) during most of the Mesolithic and Neolithic period, the top Pleistocene is an important archaeological level. Prior to the 1990s, prehistoric occupation in wetland areas, such as the Flevoland region, was seen as a challenging living environment due to its marginal nature. However, since the early 1990s a different approach was raised concerning the suitability of wetland occupation by Mesolithic and Neolithic people. Instead of adapting to the natural conditions, prehistoric people selected an area suitable to their way of life. The question remains why it took so long (Mesolithic-Neolithic transition period: 5300-4600 cal BC) for the inhabitants of the Lower Rhine Basin to adapt to the Neolithic lifestyle, in contrast to the adaptation in the loess zone and later in Britain. This difference in adaptation of the Neolithic lifestyle during this transition period cannot be solely explained by a difference in attitude or other cultural arguments. As postglacial sea-level rise caused large parts of Flevoland (central Netherlands) to inundate during the Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic, the availability of natural resources also changed. It is hypothesized that the availability of a wide range of natural resources, and not exclusively the soil type, predominantly determined the suitability and attractiveness of a region for hunter/gatherers and therefore delayed the transition to a Neolithic lifestyle. To test this hypothesis we have compared two selected areas on the basis of the following parameters: elevation, slope gradient relative to sea-level rise, soil type, past vegetation and the number of archaeological

Holocene soft-sediment deformation of the Santa Fe-Sopetrán Basin, northern Colombian Andes: Evidence for pre-Hispanic seismic activity?

Science.gov (United States)

Suter, F.; Martínez, J. I.; Vélez, M. I.

2011-04-01

The detailed study of four deformed intervals from the Holocene fluvio-lacustrine deposits of the Santa Fe-Sopetrán Basin in northern Colombia shows 17 types of soft-sediment deformation (SSD) structures. Evidence indicates that seismic activity was responsible for the SSD structures, a conclusion reached after considering the environmental conditions at the time of sediment deposition and shortly after, and the detailed analysis of the driving force systems. Other triggers (i.e. overloading and rapid sedimentation), however, are not discarded. Intervals showing SSD structures occurred at centennial frequencies and apparently resulted from Mw 6-7 earthquakes. The Holocene age of these major shaking events should be seriously considered when evaluating the seismic hazard and risk for the middle Cauca Valley and the nearby city of Medellín with 3 million inhabitants.

Holocene lowering of the Laurentide ice sheet affects North Atlantic gyre circulation and climate

Science.gov (United States)

Gregoire, Lauren J.; Ivanovic, Ruza F.; Maycock, Amanda C.; Valdes, Paul J.; Stevenson, Samantha

2018-02-01

The Laurentide ice sheet, which covered Canada during glacial periods, had a major influence on atmospheric circulation and surface climate, but its role in climate during the early Holocene (9-7 ka), when it was thinner and confined around Hudson Bay, is unclear. It has been suggested that the demise of the ice sheet played a role in the 8.2 ka event (an abrupt 1-3 °C Northern Hemisphere cooling lasting 160 years) through the influence of changing topography on atmospheric circulation. To test this hypothesis, and to investigate the broader implications of changing ice sheet topography for climate, we analyse a set of equilibrium climate simulations with ice sheet topographies taken at 500 year intervals from 9.5 to 8.0 ka. Between 9.5 and 8.0 ka, our simulations show a 2 °C cooling south of Iceland and a 1 °C warming between 40° and 50°N in the North Atlantic. These surface temperature changes are associated with a weakening of the subtropical and subpolar gyres caused by a decreasing wind stress curl over the mid-North Atlantic as the ice sheet lowers. The climate response is strongest during the period of peak ice volume change (9.5-8.5 ka), but becomes negligible after 8.5 ka. The climatic effects of the Laurentide ice sheet lowering during the Holocene are restricted to the North Atlantic sector. Thus, topographic forcing is unlikely to have played a major role in the 8.2 ka event and had only a small effect on Holocene climate change compared to the effects of changes in greenhouse gases, insolation and ice sheet meltwater.

Mass-movement and flood-induced deposits in Lake Ledro, southern Alps, Italy: implications for Holocene palaeohydrology and natural hazards

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Simonneau

2013-03-01

recurrence of flash flood events during the Holocene was, however, not high enough to affect pedogenesis processes and highlight several wet regional periods during the Holocene. The Holocene period is divided into four phases of environmental evolution. Over the first half of the Holocene, a progressive stabilization of the soils present through the catchment of Lake Ledro was associated with a progressive reforestation of the area and only interrupted during the wet 8.2 event when the soil destabilization was particularly important. Lower soil erosion was recorded during the mid-Holocene climatic optimum (8000–4200 cal. yr BP and associated with higher algal production. Between 4200 and 3100 cal. yr BP, both wetter climate and human activities within the drainage basin drastically increased soil erosion rates. Finally, from 3100 cal. yr BP to the present-day, data suggest increasing and changing human land use.

Volcanic influence on centennial to millennial Holocene Greenland temperature change.

Science.gov (United States)

Kobashi, Takuro; Menviel, Laurie; Jeltsch-Thömmes, Aurich; Vinther, Bo M; Box, Jason E; Muscheler, Raimund; Nakaegawa, Toshiyuki; Pfister, Patrik L; Döring, Michael; Leuenberger, Markus; Wanner, Heinz; Ohmura, Atsumu

2017-05-03

Solar variability has been hypothesized to be a major driver of North Atlantic millennial-scale climate variations through the Holocene along with orbitally induced insolation change. However, another important climate driver, volcanic forcing has generally been underestimated prior to the past 2,500 years partly owing to the lack of proper proxy temperature records. Here, we reconstruct seasonally unbiased and physically constrained Greenland Summit temperatures over the Holocene using argon and nitrogen isotopes within trapped air in a Greenland ice core (GISP2). We show that a series of volcanic eruptions through the Holocene played an important role in driving centennial to millennial-scale temperature changes in Greenland. The reconstructed Greenland temperature exhibits significant millennial correlations with K + and Na + ions in the GISP2 ice core (proxies for atmospheric circulation patterns), and δ 18 O of Oman and Chinese Dongge cave stalagmites (proxies for monsoon activity), indicating that the reconstructed temperature contains hemispheric signals. Climate model simulations forced with the volcanic forcing further suggest that a series of large volcanic eruptions induced hemispheric-wide centennial to millennial-scale variability through ocean/sea-ice feedbacks. Therefore, we conclude that volcanic activity played a critical role in driving centennial to millennial-scale Holocene temperature variability in Greenland and likely beyond.

Discontinuity surfaces and event stratigraphy of Okha Shell Limestone Member: Implications for Holocene sea level changes, western India

Science.gov (United States)

Bhonde, Uday; Desai, Bhawanisingh G.

2011-08-01

The Okha Shell Limestone Member of Chaya Formation is the coarse grained, shell rich deposit commonly recognized as the beach rocks. It has been age bracketed between Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Late Quaternary sea level changes have been studied with beach rocks along the Saurashtra coastal region. The present study has been carried out in the Okhamandal area of the Saurashtra peninsula especially on the Okha Shell Limestone Member as exposed at various locations along the coast from north to south. Temporal and spatial correlations of the observations have revealed three events in the Okha Shell Limestone Member of Chaya Formation that are correlated laterally. The events show depositional breaks represented by discontinuity surfaces, the taphofacies varieties and ichnological variations. The present study in the context of available geochrnological data of the region suggests a prominent depositional break representing low sea level stand (regression) during an Early Holocene during the deposition of Okha Shell Limestone Member.

Postglacial development of the eastern Gulf of Finland: from Pleistocene glacial lake basins to Holocene lagoon systems

Science.gov (United States)

Ryabchuk, Daria; Sergeev, Alexander; Kotilainen, Aarno; Hyttinen, Outi; Grigoriev, Andrey; Gerasimov, Dmitry; Anisimov, Mikhail; Gusentsova, Tatiana; Zhamoida, Vladimir; Amantov, Aleksey; Budanov, Leonid

2016-04-01

of the reported project. Results of archeological studies helped to reconstruct paleoenvironment of the Holocene coastal zone and to date the "barren" geological formations, e.g. coastal accretion bodies. On the other hand, based on predictive geological and geomorphological models of the coastal systems formation, during archeological expeditions several new sites of Neolithic - Early Metal Epoch were found (Sosnovaya Gora-1, Kuzemkino 2-6). Research was supported by RFBR projects 13-06-00548, 14-05-91763, 15-05-08169, and 15-06-05548, and Academy of Finland CISU project.

Biotic turnover rates during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition

Science.gov (United States)

Stivrins, Normunds; Soininen, Janne; Amon, Leeli; Fontana, Sonia L.; Gryguc, Gražyna; Heikkilä, Maija; Heiri, Oliver; Kisielienė, Dalia; Reitalu, Triin; Stančikaitė, Miglė; Veski, Siim; Seppä, Heikki

2016-11-01

The Northern Hemisphere is currently warming at the rate which is unprecedented during the Holocene. Quantitative palaeoclimatic records show that the most recent time in the geological history with comparable warming rates was during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition (PHT) about 14,000 to 11,000 years ago. To better understand the biotic response to rapid temperature change, we explore the community turnover rates during the PHT by focusing on the Baltic region in the southeastern sector of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet, where an exceptionally dense network on microfossil and macrofossil data that reflect the biotic community history are available. We further use a composite chironomid-based summer temperature reconstruction compiled specifically for our study region to calculate the rate of temperature change during the PHT. The fastest biotic turnover in the terrestrial and aquatic communities occurred during the Younger Dryas-Holocene shift at 11,700 years ago. This general shift in species composition was accompanied by regional extinctions, including disappearance of mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) and reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) and many arctic-alpine plant taxa, such as Dryas octopetala, Salix polaris and Saxifraga aizoides, from the region. This rapid biotic turnover rate occurred when the rate of warming was 0.17 °C/decade, thus slightly lower than the current Northern Hemisphere warming of 0.2 °C/decade. We therefore conclude that the Younger Dryas-Holocene shift with its rapid turnover rates and associated regional extinctions represents an important palaeoanalogue to the current high latitude warming and gives insights about the probable future turnover rates and patterns of the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem change.

Genetic and environmental trends of early growth traits in the ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Data from the Elsenburg Dormer sheep stud were used to estimate genetic and environmental change in early growth traits from 1943 to 1990. .... The Elsenburg stud is not only the foundation Dormer stud, ... derivative-free algorithm. Genet.

Aspect of the early human occupation in Uruguay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Castineira, C.

2012-01-01

This work is about the studies carried out in the geological sedimentary formation called So pa which is located in the basaltic basin in the north of Uruguay. The results obtained allow to recognize characteristics of the late pleistocene - early holocene as well as geometric morpho metrics aspects

Carbon sequestration in Southeast Asian tropical peatlands over the Holocene period: large-scale hydrological controls

Science.gov (United States)

Dommain, R.; Couwenberg, J.; Cobb, A.; Gandois, L.; Kai, F.; Su'ut, N.; Abu Salim, K.; Harvey, C. F.; Glaser, P. H.; Joosten, H.

2012-12-01

Tropical peatlands are recognized as a significant sink of carbon dioxide and an important source of methane. Low latitude peatlands contain an estimated pool of 90 Pg C, of which ca. 70 Pg C is stored in Southeast Asian peatlands. However, the Holocene development of this carbon reservoir is poorly established. Here we provide a synthesis of carbon uptake rates by tropical peatlands in Southeast Asia across millennial timescales for the past 11,000 years. Our reconstruction of the carbon accumulation history for Borneo, Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia is based on a synthesis of radiocarbon dated peat profiles, modeling of peatland extent, and a new carbon accumulation record from Brunei (NW-Borneo). During the early Holocene the first peatlands formed in southern Borneo under the influence of a strong monsoon and rapid rise in sea-level. The carbon accumulation rate (CAR) in these peatlands was on average 60 g C m-2 yr-1 at this time. Peatlands started to spread across the coastal lowlands of Borneo, Sumatra and Peninsular Malaysia after 8000 cal BP only when the rate of rising sea-level decreased. The major phase of coastal peatland initiation lasted from 7000 to 4000 cal BP. This period was marked by a Holocene precipitation maximum, suppressed El Niño activity, and the Holocene maximum in sea-level on the Sunda Shelf. The mean CAR of coastal peatlands at this time was 80 g C m-2 yr-1, with a Holocene peak of ~100 g C m-2 yr-1 from 4900 to 4500 cal BP. Significantly, atmospheric CO2 concentrations measured in the Taylor Dome Antarctic ice core indicate a plateau during this period of otherwise rising CO2 concentrations. During the Late Holocene CAR declined both in coastal peatlands (ca. 70 g C m-2 yr-1) and in southern Borneo (ca. 20 g C m-2 yr-1) in response to falling sea-levels and increased El Niño frequency and intensity. In fact, several peatlands in southern Borneo have stopped accumulating peat-carbon under higher El Niño activity. These results

The greening of the McGill Paleoclimate Model. Part II: Simulation of Holocene millennial-scale natural climate changes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Yi; Mysak, Lawrence A.; Wang, Zhaomin [McGill University, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and Global Environmental and Climate Change Centre (GEC3), Montreal, Quebec (Canada); Brovkin, Victor [Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), 601203, Potsdam (Germany)

2005-04-01

Various proxy data reveal that in many regions of the Northern Hemisphere (NH), the middle Holocene (6 kyr BP) was warmer than the early Holocene (8 kyr BP) as well as the later Holocene, up to the end of the pre-industrial period (1800 AD). This pattern of warming and then cooling in the NH represents the response of the climate system to changes in orbital forcing, vegetation cover and the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) during the Holocene. In an attempt to better understand these changes in the climate system, the McGill Paleoclimate Model (MPM) has been coupled to the dynamic global vegetation model known as VECODE (see Part I of this two-part paper), and a number of sensitivity experiments have been performed with the ''green'' MPM. The model results illustrate the following: (1) the orbital forcing together with the vegetation - albedo feedback result in the gradual cooling of global SAT from about 6 kyr BP to the end of the pre-industrial period; (2) the disappearance of the LIS over the period 8-6 kyr BP, associated with vegetation - albedo feedback, allows the global SAT to increase and reach its maximum at around 6 kyr BP; (3) the northern limit of the boreal forest moves northward during the period 8-6.4 kyr BP due to the LIS retreat; (4) during the period 6.4-0 kyr BP, the northern limit of the boreal forest moves southward about 120 km in response to the decreasing summer insolation in the NH; and (5) the desertification of northern Africa during the period 8-2.6 kyr BP is mainly explained by the decreasing summer monsoon precipitation. (orig.)

Late Pleistocene and Holocene Hydroclimate Variability in the Tropical Andes from Alpine Lake Sediments, Cordillera de Mérida, Venezuela

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, D. J.; Abbott, M. B.; Polissar, P. J.

2014-12-01

The tropics play a major role in the global hydrologic cycle and changes to tropical rainfall patterns have critical implications for water resources and ecosystem dynamics over large geographic scales. In tropical South America, late Pleistocene and Holocene precipitation variability has been documented in geologic records and associated with numerous external and internal variables, including changes in summer insolation, South American summer monsoon strength, Pacific Ocean sea surface temperatures, continental moisture recycling, and other climate processes. However, there are few records from the northern hemisphere tropical Americas, a key region for understanding interhemispheric linkages and the drivers of tropical hydroclimate variability. Here, we present a ~13 ka record of coupled hydroclimate and environmental changes from Laguna Brava, a small (~0.07 km2), hydrologically closed lake basin situated at 2400 m asl in the Cordillera de Mérida, Venezuela. Sediment cores collected from varying water depths and proximity to shore are placed in a chronologic framework using radiocarbon ages from terrestrial macrofossils, and analyzed for a suite of physical, bulk geochemical, and stable isotopic parameters. Compound specific hydrogen isotope (D/H) measurements of terrestrial plant waxes (long-chain n-alkanes) show a sharp increase in the late Pleistocene, followed by a long-term trend toward more negative values that suggest a ~20‰ decrease in the D/H ratios of South American tropical precipitation during the Holocene. This pattern is consistent in sign and magnitude to other South American precipitation reconstructions from both hemispheres, indicating interhemispheric similarities in tropical hydroclimate variability. Superimposed on this continent-scale trend are changes in moisture balance and environmental conditions in the Venezuelan Andes. We reconstruct these parameters at Laguna Brava at multidecadal and centennial resolution and evaluate this

Holocene Dynamics of Temperate Rainforests in West-Central Patagonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Virginia Iglesias

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Analyses of long-term ecosystem dynamics offer insights into the conditions that have led to stability vs. rapid change in the past and the importance of disturbance in regulating community composition. In this study, we (1 used lithology, pollen, and charcoal data from Mallín Casanova (47°S to reconstruct the wetland, vegetation, and fire history of west-central Patagonia; and (2 compared the records with independent paleoenvironmental and archeological information to assess the effects of past climate and human activity on ecosystem dynamics. Pollen data indicate that Nothofagus-Pilgerodendron forests were established by 9,000 cal yr BP. Although the biodiversity of the understory increased between 8,480 and 5,630 cal yr BP, forests remained relatively unchanged from 9,000 to 2,000 cal yr BP. The charcoal record registers high fire-episode frequency in the early Holocene followed by low biomass burning between 6,500 and 2,000 cal yr BP. Covarying trends in charcoal, bog development, and Neoglacial advances suggest that climate was the primary driver of these changes. After 2,000 cal yr BP, the proxy data indicate (a increased fire-episode frequency; (b centennial-scale shifts in bog and forest composition; (c the emergence of vegetation-fire linkages not recorded in previous times; and (d paludification in the last 500 years possibly associated with forest loss. Our results therefore suggest that Nothofagus-Pilgerodendron dominance was maintained through much of the Holocene despite long-term changes in climate and fire. Unparalleled fluctuations in local ecosystems during the last two millennia were governed by disturbance-vegetation-hydrology feedbacks likely triggered by greater climate variability and deforestation.

Holocene volcanic geology, volcanic hazard, and risk on Taveuni, Fiji

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cronin, S.J.; Neall, V.E.

2001-01-01

The Holocene volcanic geology of Taveuni has been mapped in order to produce a volcanic hazard and risk assessment for the island. Taveuni is the third-largest island of the Fiji group and home to 14,500 people. At least cubic km 2.7 of olivine-alkali-basalt magma was erupted from over 100 events throughout the Holocene. Vents are concentrated along a northeast-striking rift zone that is parallel to other regional structural trends. There is an overall trend of younging southward along the rift. Holocene lavas and tephras are grouped within six newly defined eruptive periods, established on a basis of radiocarbon dating. Within these periods, 14 tephra layers, useful as local marker horizons, are recognised. At least 58% of Holocene eruptions produced lava flows, while almost all produced some tephra. Individual eruption event volumes ranged between 0.001 and cubic km 0.20 (dense rock equivalent). Many eruptions involved at least some phases of phreatic and/or phreato-magmatic activity, although dominant hydrovolcanic activity was limited to only a few events. A volcanic hazard map is presented, based on the Holocene geology map and statistical analyses of eruption recurrence. The highest levels of ground-based and near-vent hazards are concentrated along the southern portion of the island's rift axis, with the paths of initial lava flows predicted from present topography. Tephra fall hazards are based on eruption parameters interpreted from mapped Holocene tephra layers. Hawaiian explosive-style eruptions appear to be a dominant eruptive process, with prevailing low-level (<3 km) southeasterly winds dispersing most tephra to the northwestern quadrant. Vulnerable elements (population centres, infrastructure, and economy) on Taveuni have been considered in deriving a volcanic risk assessment for the island. A number of infrastructural and subdivision developments are either under way or planned for the island, driven by its highly fertile soils and availability of

Timing, cause and consequences of mid-Holocene climate transition in the Arabian Sea

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Saraswat, R.; Naik, Dinesh K.; Nigam, R.; Gaur, A.S.

-50,000 years cal BP. Radiocarbon 51, 1111-1150. Roberts, N., Brayshaw, D., Kuzucuoglu, C., Perez, R., Sadori, L., 2011. The mid-Holocene climatic transition in the Mediterranean: Causes and consequences. The Holocene 21, 3-13. Ruddiman, W.F., Ellis, E...

Regional, holocene records of the human dimension of global change: sea-level and land-use change in prehistoric Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Sluyter, Andrew

1997-02-01

Regional, Holocene records hold particular relevance for understanding the reciprocal nature of global environmental change and one of its major human dimensions: "sustainable agriculture", i.e., food production strategies which entail fewer causes of and are less susceptible to environmental change. In an epoch of accelerating anthropogenic transformation, those records reveal the protracted regional causes and consequences of change (often agricultural) in the global system as well as informing models of prehistoric, intensive agriculture which, because of long tenures and high productivities, suggest strategies for sustainable agricultural in the present. This study employs physiographic analysis and the palynological, geochemical record from cores of basin fill to understand the reciprocal relation between environmental and land-use change in the Gulf of Mexico tropical lowland, focusing on a coastal basin sensitive to sea-level change and containing vestiges of prehistoric settlement and wetland agriculture. Fossil pollen reveals that the debut of maize cultivation in the Laguna Catarina watershed dates to ca. 4100 BC, predating the earliest evidence for that cultivar anywhere else in the lowlands of Middle America. Such an early date for a cultivar so central to Neotropical agroecology and environmental change, suggests the urgency of further research in the study region. Moreover, the longest period of continuous agriculture in the basin lasted nearly three millennia (ca. 2400 BC-AD 550) despite eustatic sea-level rise. Geochemical fluxes reveal the reciprocity between land-use and environmental change: slope destabilization, basin aggradation, and eutrophication. The consequent theoretical implications pertain to both applied and basic research. Redeploying ancient agroecologies in dynamic environments necessitates reconstructing the changing operational contexts of putative high productivity and sustainability. Adjusting land use in the face of global

Holocene aeolian activity in the Dinggye area (Southern Tibet, China)

Science.gov (United States)

Pan, Meihui; Wu, Yongqiu; Zheng, Yinghua; Tan, Lihua

2014-03-01

The Dinggye area (Southern Tibet) contains numerous aeolian sediments, including modern and ancient aeolian sand deposition. In this study, we determined the chronological sequences of several profiles of Holocene paleo-aeolian deposits using Optically Stimulate Luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) 14C and conventional 14C) dating. Using the grain size, magnetic susceptibility, organic content and chrome characteristics of the deposits, we reconstructed the Holocene aeolian processes in the Dinggye area. The results from the paleo-aeolian depositional record indicate multiple changes in the intensity of aeolian activity and soil fixing with alternations between cool-dry and warm-humid climate conditions in the Dinggye area during the Holocene. From 12.8 ka B.P. to the present, the climate has fluctuated frequently. From 12.8 to 11.6 ka B.P. and from 9.3 to 4.9 ka B.P., the climate was warm and humid with weak aeolian activity, and a sandy paleosol developed. The peak Holocene megathermal period and the main period of pedogenesis in the study area was from 6.6 to 4.9 ka B.P. Between 11.6 and 9.3 ka B.P. and since 2.0 ka B.P., the sandlot expanded due to a cool, dry and windy climate; aeolian activity was strong and caused the development of moving dunes. The period between 4.9 and 2.0 ka B.P. was relatively cool and dry with slightly strengthened aeolian activity that developed stationary and semi-stationary dunes. In general, the Holocene events recorded by the paleo-aeolian deposits correspond well with those interpreted by other methods, such as records from ice-cores, lacustrine deposits and tree rings, but there are minor discrepancies between the methods.

The sensitivity of the Arctic sea ice to orbitally induced insolation changes: a study of the mid-Holocene Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project 2 and 3 simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Berger

2013-04-01

for surface waves. This is in broad agreement with recent analyses of sea-ice proxies, indicating that beach-ridges formed on the north-eastern coast of Greenland during the early- to mid-Holocene.

Last Glacial Maximum to Holocene climate evolution controlled by sea-level change, Leeuwin Current, and Australian Monsoon in the Northwestern Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Ishiwa, T.; Yokoyama, Y.; McHugh, C.; Reuning, L.; Gallagher, S. J.

2017-12-01

The transition from cold to warm conditions during the last deglaciation influenced climate variability in the Indian Ocean and Pacific as a result of submerge of continental shelf and variations in the Indonesian Throughflow and Australian Monsoon. The shallow continental shelf (Program Expedition 356 Indonesian Throughflow drilled in the northwestern Australian shallow continental shelf and recovered an interval from the Last Glacial Maximum to Holocene in Site U1461. Radiocarbon dating on macrofossils, foraminifera, and bulk organic matter provided a precise age-depth model, leading to high-resolved paleoclimate reconstruction. X-ray elemental analysis results are interpreted as an indicator of sedimentary environmental changes. The upper 20-m part of Site U1461 apparently records the climate transition from the LGM to Holocene in the northwestern Australia, which could be associated with sea-level change, Leeuwin Current activity, and the Australian Monsoon.

Screening compounds for early warnings about environmental pollution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metcalf, R.L.

1974-01-01

A laboratory model ecosystem with a terrestrial-aquatic interface has been used to evaluate the potential environmental effects of nearly 100 micropollutants including insecticides, fungicides, plasticizers, heat transfer agents, flame retardants, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals and heavy metals. These have been evaluated largely by radiotracer techniques but atomic absorption spectrometry has also been used. Emphasis has been placed upon degradation pathways in a variety of organisms and upon quantitative data on biodegradation and bioaccumulation. The laboratory model ecosystem has substantial value as an environmental early warning element in evaluating the pollutant potential of various chemicals which may enter into the environment in trace amounts either purposely in various use patterns or accidentally from effluents of manufacture or waste products. (U.S.)

Aridity of Central Asia through the Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Aizen, E. M.; Aizen, V. B.; Mayewski, P. A.; Zhou, H.; Rodda, C.; Joswiak, D.; Takeuchi, N.; Fujita, K.; Kurbatov, A.; Grigholm, B. O.

2017-12-01

The dynamics of aridity in Central Asia for over the past 12,000 years has been analyzed using deep ice core records recovered from the Siberian Altai, Tien Shan and Pamir glaciers. An analysis of aridity in the 20-21 centuries based on the long-term meteorological observations complements the paleo- climate reconstruction. The goal of our research is to examine an aridity (at low and high temperatures) in Central Asia as a complex of characteristics including air temperature-precipitation relationship (Koppen, 1918, Geiger, 1961, Mezencev, 1973), intensity of dust loading and biomass burning. The stable isotope ratio, soluble ionic and insoluble particulate geochemical components and oxalate preserved in ice were considered in relation to climatic and environmental changes; and to determine the main aerosol sources using ground- and upper-level meteorological data. Multivariate statistical methods were employed for examination of the main geo-chemical components responsible for the preserved aridity variability. Insoluble particle concentrations preserved in the ice core were affected mainly by precipitation regimes and wind speed. Concentration of all size particles was found to be negatively correlated with monthly temperatures indicating low temperatures during the dry particle deposition. Two abrupt depletions in stable isotope records, i.e., Younger Dryas and Centurial Sever Drought (CSD), occurred during cold, dry, windy periods of intensified dust storms in large desert areas. When climate became colder and drier, the Central Asian deserts extended, wind speeds increased loading mineral dust to atmosphere, which formed inversion while the convection processes and precipitation occurrence were limited. Warmer and wetter conditions are associated with less dust loading that occurred during the Holocene climate optimum, medieval warm and modern warm periods. The sudden climate transitions are accompanied by the most intensifying mineral dust loading. From the

Paleoecological Evidence for Late Holocene Range Shifting of Acropora palmata and Orbicella annularis on the Nearshore Southeast Florida Reef Tract

Science.gov (United States)

Modys, A. B.; Zuccarelli, C. L.; Oleinik, A. E.

2016-02-01

Climate fluctuations on the southeast Florida reef tract have been linked to long-term geographic distribution shifts in framework-building coral species Acropora palmata and Orbicella annularis. Previous data suggest that the boundary for active reef accretion driven by these corals contracted southward to its current position at Biscayne Bay throughout the early to middle Holocene ( 8500-5500 cal BP). However, recent observations have shown that while A. palmata and O. annularis are still functionally absent north of this boundary, they are well represented within late Holocene sub-fossil death assemblages found at 3-4 m depths on the nearshore ridge complex (NRC). To assess this disparity, we performed a systematic comparison of taxonomic composition and diversity of living and dead coral assemblages at two locations on the northern NRC. We also determined an estimated age range for the death assemblages from 2 samples of A. palmata and 1 sample of O. annularis using high-resolution AMS radiocarbon dating. Our results show a clear transition from a late Holocene reef assemblage dominated by A. palmata and O. annularis to a modern reef assemblage dominated by less sensitive Porites astreoides. Sub-fossil A. palmata samples dated to 2950-3140 cal BP and 1820-1960 cal BP (2σ), and the sub-fossil O. annularis sample dated to 2290-2420 cal BP (2σ), indicating a total growth period of at least 1000 years. Our findings provide new evidence for a distinct late Holocene range shift in A. palmata and O. annularis on the northern shallow-water ridge complex of the southeast Florida reef tract system.

Zoonotic parasites associated with felines from the Patagonian Holocene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martín Horacio Fugassa

2009-12-01

Full Text Available Feline coprolites were examined for parasites with the aim of studying ancient infections that occurred in the Patagonian region during the Holocene period. Eggs compatible to Trichuris sp., Calodium sp., Eucoleus sp., Nematodirus sp., Oesophagostomum sp. (Nematoda, Monoecocestus sp. (Cestoda and Eimeria macusaniensis (Coccidia were recovered from faecal samples. The results obtained from the analysis provide evidence of consumption by felids of the viscera of both rodents and camelids. This knowledge allows for improved explanations as to the distribution of parasitism and its significance to the health of humans and animals inhabiting the area under study during the Middle Holocene.

Holocene lake-level fluctuations of Lake Aricota, Southern Peru

Science.gov (United States)

Placzek, C.; Quade, Jay; Betancourt, J.L.

2001-01-01

Lacustrine deposits exposed around Lake Aricota, Peru (17?? 22???S), a 7.5-km2 lake dammed by debris flows, provide a middle to late Holocene record of lake-level fluctuations. Chronological context for shoreline deposits was obtained from radiocarbon dating of vascular plant remains and other datable material with minimal 14C reservoir effects (Titicaca (16?? S), which is only 130 km to the northeast and shares a similar climatology. Comparisons with other marine and terrestrial records highlight emerging contradictions over the nature of mid-Holocene climate in the central Andes. ?? 2001 University of Washington.

Scytonemin and Photosynthetic Pigment Proxies for Late Pleistocene/Holocene Environmental Change in the Eastern Great Basin

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Fulton, J. M.; Van Mooy, B. A. S.

2015-12-01

Sedimentary pigments are biomarkers of photosynthetic organisms, most commonly derived from aquatic bacteria and algae but also with potential terrigenous sources. We detected a diverse pigment assemblage with variable down-core distributions in Great Salt Lake (GSL) sediments deposited since ca. 280 ka (GLAD1-GSL00, core 4). The most abundant pigments included derivatives of chlorophyll a, most likely from algae or cyanobacteria, bacteriochlorophyll c from green sulfur bacteria, okenone from purple sulfur bacteria, and scytonemin from UV-exposed cyanobacteria. Scytonemin is a biomarker for colonial cyanobacteria exposed to UV-radiation. In GSL it has potential sources from bioherms on the shoreline or microbiotic soil crusts from the adjacent Great Basin Desert. Scytonemin concentration was highest in the Upper Salt and Sapropel (USS) unit, deposited between 11.5-10 ka in shallow water (ca. 10 m), following deep pluvial Lake Bonneville (30-18 cal ka), the Provo lake level (ca. 18-15 cal ka), and the Gilbert transgression (11.6 cal ka). Scytonemin concentration was very low in sediments deposited during the deep lake phases, even though bioherms were prominent shoreline features. The USS was deposited under hypersaline waters and contained remarkably low concentrations of photosynthetic pigment derivatives that would be expected in organic-matter-rich sediments deposited under productive surface waters or anoxic bottom waters. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic data point toward a desert soil crust source for scytonemin in the USS, similar to what we previously observed in the Holocene Black Sea sapropel. We propose that increased aridity supported the widespread occurrence and erosion of microbiotic soil crusts during deposition of the USS. This is consistent with interpretations of Great Salt Lake hydrology, pointing toward a broader regional aridity event. Holocene sediments above the USS also contain scytonemin at relatively high concentration, consistent with

Contrasting pollen histories of MIS 5e and the Holocene from Lake Titicaca (Bolivia/Peru)

Science.gov (United States)

Hanselman, Jennifer A.; Gosling, William D.; Paduano, Gina M.; Bush, Mark B.

2005-10-01

Two long sediment records (cores LTO1-2B and LT01-3B) from Lake Titicaca, Bolivia/Peru, are compared with a previously analysed Holocene record from this lake (core NE98-1PC). The Holocene records of LT01-2B and NE98-1PC are similar. There are striking differences, however, between the MIS 5e sections of the long cores and the Holocene records. In these records, temperature is probably the dominant parameter that determines the total fossil pollen concentration and is used to time the onset and termination of deglaciation. In contrast, the relative and absolute abundance of specific taxa (e.g. Polylepis/Acaena, Chenopodiaceae) are indicators of relative moisture availability. Although the Holocene contains a period of aridity between ca. 8000 cal. yr BP and 4300 cal. yr BP, it is a minor event compared with the more extreme aridity of MIS 5e. Core LT01-3B showed similar trends during MIS 5e when compared to LT01-2B, as did NE98-1PC when comparing Holocene records. MIS 5e and the Holocene are markedly different interglacials, depicted by shifts in pollen concentration and taxa representation over time.

A historical land use data set for the Holocene; HYDE 3.2

Science.gov (United States)

Klein Goldewijk, Kees

2016-04-01

Land use plays an important role in the climate system (Feddema et al., 2005). Many ecosystem processes are directly or indirectly climate driven, and together with human driven land use changes, they determine how the land surface will evolve through time. To assess the effects of land cover changes on the climate system, models are required which are capable of simulating interactions between the involved components of the Earth system (land, atmosphere, ocean, and carbon cycle). Since driving forces for global environmental change differ among regions, a geographically (spatially) explicit modeling approach is called for, so that it can be incorporated in global and regional (climate and/or biophysical) change models in order to enhance our understanding of the underlying processes and thus improving future projections. Integrated records of the co-evolving human-environment system over millennia are needed to provide a basis for a deeper understanding of the present and for forecasting the future. This requires the major task of assembling and integrating regional and global historical, archaeological, and paleo-environmental records. Humans cannot predict the future. But, if we can adequately understand the past, we can use that understanding to influence our decisions and to create a better, more sustainable and desirable future. Some researchers suggest that mankind has shifted from living in the Holocene (~emergence of agriculture) into the Anthropocene (~humans capable of changing the Earth' atmosphere) since the start of the Industrial Revolution. But in the light of the sheer size and magnitude of some historical land use changes (e.g. collapse of the Roman Empire in the 4th century, the depopulation of Europe due to the Black Plague in the 14th century and the aftermath of the colonization of the Americas in the 16th century), some believe that this point might have occurred earlier in time (Ruddiman, 2003; Kaplan et al., 2010). Many uncertainties still

Holocene deposition and megathrust splay fault geometries within Prince William Sound, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Finn, S.; Liberty, L. M.; Haeussler, P. J.; Pratt, T. L.

2011-12-01

New high resolution sparker seismic reflection data, in conjunction with reprocessed legacy seismic data, provide the basis for a new fault, fold, and Holocene sediment thickness database for Prince William Sound, Alaska. Additionally, legacy airgun seismic data in Prince William Sound and the Gulf of Alaska tie features on these new sparker data to deeper portions of megathrust splay faults. We correlate regionally extensive bathymetric lineaments within Prince William Sound to megathrust splay faults, such as the ones that ruptured in the 1964 M9.2 earthquake. Lastly, we estimate Holocene sediment thickness within Prince William Sound to better constrain the Holocene fault history throughout the region. We identify three seismic facies related to Holocene, Quaternary, and Tertiary strata that are crosscut by numerous high angle normal faults in the hanging wall of the megathrust splay faults. The crustal-scale seismic reflection profiles show splay faults emerging from 20 km depth between the Yakutat block and North American crust and surfacing as the Hanning Bay and Patton Bay faults. A change in exhumation rates, slip rates, and fault orientation appears near Hinchinbrook that we attribute to differences in subducted slab geometry. Based on our slip rate analysis, we calculate average Holocene displacements of 20 m and 100 m in eastern and western Prince William Sound, respectively. Landward of two splay faults exposed on Montague Island, we observe subsidence, faulting, and landslides that record deformation associated with the 1964 and older megathrust earthquakes.

Two Holocene paleofire records from Peten, Guatemala: Implications for natural fire regime and prehispanic Maya land use

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Lysanna; Wahl, David B.

2016-01-01

Although fire was arguably the primary tool used by the Maya to alter the landscape and extract resources, little attention has been paid to biomass burning in paleoenvironmental reconstructions from the Maya lowlands. Here we report two new well-dated, high-resolution records of biomass burning based on analysis of macroscopic fossil charcoal recovered from lacustrine sediment cores. The records extend from the early Holocene, through the full arc of Maya prehistory, the Colonial, and post-Colonial periods (~ 9000 cal yr BP to the present). (Hereafter BP) The study sites, Lago Paixban and Lago Puerto Arturo, are located in northern Peten, Guatemala. Results provide the first quantitative analysis from the region demonstrating that frequent fires have occurred in the closed canopy forests since at least the early Holocene (~ 9000 BP), prior to occupation by sedentary agriculturalists. Following the arrival of agriculture around 4600 BP, the system transitioned from climate controlled to anthropogenic control. During the Maya period, changes in fire regime are muted and do not appear to be driven by changes in climate conditions. Low charcoal influx and fire frequency in the Earliest Preclassic period suggest that land use strategies may have included intensive agriculture much earlier than previously thought. Preliminary results showing concentrations of soot/black-carbon during the middle and late Preclassic periods are lower than modern background values, providing intriguing implications regarding the efficiency of Maya fuel consumption.

Two Holocene paleofire records from Peten, Guatemala: Implications for natural fire regime and prehispanic Maya land use

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Lysanna; Wahl, David

2016-03-01

Although fire was arguably the primary tool used by the Maya to alter the landscape and extract resources, little attention has been paid to biomass burning in paleoenvironmental reconstructions from the Maya lowlands. Here we report two new well-dated, high-resolution records of biomass burning based on analysis of macroscopic fossil charcoal recovered from lacustrine sediment cores. The records extend from the early Holocene, through the full arc of Maya prehistory, the Colonial, and post-Colonial periods ( 9000 cal yr BP to the present). (Hereafter BP) The study sites, Lago Paixban and Lago Puerto Arturo, are located in northern Peten, Guatemala. Results provide the first quantitative analysis from the region demonstrating that frequent fires have occurred in the closed canopy forests since at least the early Holocene ( 9000 BP), prior to occupation by sedentary agriculturalists. Following the arrival of agriculture around 4600 BP, the system transitioned from climate controlled to anthropogenic control. During the Maya period, changes in fire regime are muted and do not appear to be driven by changes in climate conditions. Low charcoal influx and fire frequency in the Earliest Preclassic period suggest that land use strategies may have included intensive agriculture much earlier than previously thought. Preliminary results showing concentrations of soot/black-carbon during the middle and late Preclassic periods are lower than modern background values, providing intriguing implications regarding the efficiency of Maya fuel consumption.

Shared genetic and environmental influences on early temperament and preschool psychiatric disorders in Hispanic twins.

Science.gov (United States)

Silberg, Judy L; Gillespie, Nathan; Moore, Ashlee A; Eaves, Lindon J; Bates, John; Aggen, Steven; Pfister, Elizabeth; Canino, Glorisa

2015-04-01

Despite an increasing recognition that psychiatric disorders can be diagnosed as early as preschool, little is known how early genetic and environmental risk factors contribute to the development of psychiatric disorders during this very early period of development. We assessed infant temperament at age 1, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and separation anxiety disorder (SAD) at ages 3 through 5 years in a sample of Hispanic twins. Genetic, shared, and non-shared environmental effects were estimated for each temperamental construct and psychiatric disorder using the statistical program MX. Multivariate genetic models were fitted to determine whether the same or different sets of genes and environments account for the co-occurrence between early temperament and preschool psychiatric disorders. Additive genetic factors accounted for 61% of the variance in ADHD, 21% in ODD, and 28% in SAD. Shared environmental factors accounted for 34% of the variance in ODD and 15% of SAD. The genetic influence on difficult temperament was significantly associated with preschool ADHD, SAD, and ODD. The association between ODD and SAD was due to both genetic and family environmental factors. The temperamental trait of resistance to control was entirely accounted for by the shared family environment. There are different genetic and family environmental pathways between infant temperament and psychiatric diagnoses in this sample of Puerto Rican preschool age children.

Mid-Holocene Climate and Culture Change in the Atacama Desert, Northern Chile

Science.gov (United States)

Grosjean, Martin; Núñez, Lautaro; Cartajena, Isabel; Messerli, Bruno

1997-09-01

Twenty archaeological campsites intercalated between more than 30 debris flows caused by heavy rainfall events between 6200 and 3100 14C yr B.P. have recently been discovered at Quebrada Puripica in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. This record provides detailed information about extreme, short-lived climatic events during the hyperarid mid-Holocene period. For the first time, we found evidence of continuous human occupation in this area, filling the regional hiatus in the Atacama basin ("Silencio Arqueologico") between 8000 and 4800 14C yr B.P. The transformation of Early Archaic hunters into the complex Late Archaic cultural tradition was an adaptive process. During this time, the site was a local ecological refuge with abundant resources in a generally hostile environment.

A previously unrecognized path of early Holocene base flow and elevated discharge from Lake Minong to Lake Chippewa across eastern Upper Michigan

Science.gov (United States)

Loope, Walter L.; Jol, Harry M.; Fisher, Timothy G.; Blewett, William L.; Loope, Henry M.; Legg, Robert J.

2014-01-01

It has long been hypothesized that flux of fresh meltwater from glacial Lake Minong in North America's Superior Basin to the North Atlantic Ocean triggered rapid climatic shifts during the early Holocene. The spatial context of recent support for this idea demands a reevaluation of the exit point of meltwater from the Superior Basin. We used ground penetrating radar (GPR), foundation borings from six highway bridges, a GIS model of surface topography, geologic maps, U.S. Department of Agriculture–Natural Resources Conservation Service soils maps, and well logs to investigate the possible linkage of Lake Minong with Lake Chippewa in the Lake Michigan Basin across eastern Upper Michigan. GPR suggests that a connecting channel lies buried beneath the present interlake divide at Danaher. A single optical age hints that the channel aggraded to 225 m as elevated receipt of Lake Agassiz meltwater in the Superior Basin began to wane GIS model of Minong's shoreline are consistent with another transgression of Minong after ca. 9.5 ka. At the peak of the latter transgression, the southeastern rim of the Superior Basin (Nadoway Drift Barrier) failed, ending Lake Minong. Upon Minong's final drop, aggradational sediments were deposited at Danaher, infilling the prior breach.

Holocene eolian activity in the Minot dune field, North Dakota

Science.gov (United States)

Muhs, D.R.; Stafford, Thomas W.; Been, J.; Mahan, S.A.; Burdett, J.; Skipp, G.; Rowland, Z.M.

1997-01-01

Stabilized eolian sand is common over much of the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada, including a subhumid area of ??? 1500 km2 near Minot, North Dakota. Eolian landforms consist of sand sheets and northwest-trending parabolic dunes. Dunes and sand sheets in the Minot field are presently stabilized by a cover of prairie grasses or oak woodland. Stratigraphic studies and accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dating of paleosols indicate at least two periods of eolian sand movement in the late Holocene. Pedologic data suggest that all of the dune field has experienced late Holocene dune activity, though not all parts of the dune field may have been active simultaneously. Similar immobile element (Ti, Zr, La, Ce) concentrations support the interpretation that eolian sands are derived from local glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine sediments. However, glaciolacustrine and glaciofluvial source sediments have high Ca concentrations from carbonate minerals, whereas dune sands are depleted in Ca. Because noneolian-derived soils in the area are calcareous, these data indicate that the Minot dune field may have had extended periods of activity in the Holocene, such that eolian abrasion removed soft carbonate minerals. The southwest-facing parts of some presently stabilized dunes were active during the 1930s drought, but were revegetated during the wetter years of the 1940s. These observations indicate that severe droughts accompanied by high temperatures are the most likely cause of Holocene eolian activity.

Environmental insults in early life and submissiveness later in life in mouse models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seico eBenner

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Dominant and subordinate dispositions are not only determined genetically but also nurtured by environmental stimuli during neuroendocrine development. However, the relationship between early life environment and dominance behavior remains elusive. Using the IntelliCage-based competition task for group-housed mice, we have previously described two cases in which environmental insults during the developmental period altered the outcome of dominance behavior later in life. First, mice that were repeatedly isolated from their mother and their littermates (early deprivation; ED, and second, mice perinatally exposed to an environmental pollutant, dioxin, both exhibited subordinate phenotypes, defined by decreased occupancy of limited resource sites under highly competitive circumstances. Similar alterations found in the cortex and limbic area of these two models are suggestive of the presence of neural systems shared across generalized dominance behavior.

Variability of 14C reservoir age and air-sea flux of CO2 in the Peru-Chile upwelling region during the past 12,000 years

Science.gov (United States)

Carré, Matthieu; Jackson, Donald; Maldonado, Antonio; Chase, Brian M.; Sachs, Julian P.

2016-01-01

The variability of radiocarbon marine reservoir age through time and space limits the accuracy of chronologies in marine paleo-environmental archives. We report here new radiocarbon reservoir ages (ΔR) from the central coast of Chile ( 32°S) for the Holocene period and compare these values to existing reservoir age reconstructions from southern Peru and northern Chile. Late Holocene ΔR values show little variability from central Chile to Peru. Prior to 6000 cal yr BP, however, ΔR values were markedly increased in southern Peru and northern Chile, while similar or slightly lower-than-modern ΔR values were observed in central Chile. This extended dataset suggests that the early Holocene was characterized by a substantial increase in the latitudinal gradient of marine reservoir age between central and northern Chile. This change in the marine reservoir ages indicates that the early Holocene air-sea flux of CO2 could have been up to five times more intense than in the late Holocene in the Peruvian upwelling, while slightly reduced in central Chile. Our results show that oceanic circulation changes in the Humboldt system during the Holocene have substantially modified the air-sea carbon flux in this region.

The basics of integrating environmental and engineering in early wind farm siting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alberti, A. [Tetra Tech Inc., Oakville, ON (Canada)

2010-07-01

This PowerPoint presentation discussed methods of integrating environmental and engineering studies into the early phases of wind farm siting plans. Most renewable energy development projects begin by an assessment of the transmission capability and renewable resources, followed by engineering and environmental screening procedures. Transmission screening is conducted to identify preliminary interconnection corridors between potential development sites and potential interconnecting transmission lines. Critical issues analysis (CIA) studies identify conditions, siting issues, and potential environmental and engineering tasks related to early scheduling and budget procedures. The components of a CIA include desktop and field studies that are conducted to document issues that warrant special consideration. Team members are comprised of qualified experts who are familiar with the geographic region and are able to collaborate at an early stage in the project. However, many CIA studies do not consider engineering constructability issues or develop strategies for ensuring community support for wind power projects. Conceptual layouts for wind power facilities include information related to turbine locations, access roads, and transmission lines and equipment. Engineering studies are used to evaluate conditions and potential hazards. Issues related to agricultural sites must also be considered. The final locations of turbines must be checked to ensure constructability and energy production potential. tabs., figs.

Precision radiocarbon dating of a Late Holocene vegetation history

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prior, C.A.; Chester, P.I.

2001-01-01

The purpose of this research is to precisely date vegetation changes associated with early human presence in the Hawkes Bay region. A sequence of AMS radiocarbon ages was obtained using a new technique developed at Rafter Radiocarbon Laboratory. A density separation method was used to concentrate pollen and spores extracted from unconsolidated lake sediments from a small-enclosed lake in coastal foothills of southern Hawkes Bay. Radiocarbon measurements were made on fractions of concentrated pollen, separated from associated organic debris. These ages directly date vegetation communities used to reconstruct the vegetation history of the region. This technique results in more accurate dating of Late Holocene vegetation changes interpreted from palynological analyses than techniques formerly used. Precision dating of palynological studies of New Zealand prehistory and history is necessary for correlation of vegetation changes to cultural changes because of the short time span of human occupation of New Zealand. (author). 35 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

The resilience of postglacial hunter-gatherers to abrupt climate change.

Science.gov (United States)

Blockley, Simon; Candy, Ian; Matthews, Ian; Langdon, Pete; Langdon, Cath; Palmer, Adrian; Lincoln, Paul; Abrook, Ashley; Taylor, Barry; Conneller, Chantal; Bayliss, Alex; MacLeod, Alison; Deeprose, Laura; Darvill, Chris; Kearney, Rebecca; Beavan, Nancy; Staff, Richard; Bamforth, Michael; Taylor, Maisie; Milner, Nicky

2018-05-01

Understanding the resilience of early societies to climate change is an essential part of exploring the environmental sensitivity of human populations. There is significant interest in the role of abrupt climate events as a driver of early Holocene human activity, but there are very few well-dated records directly compared with local climate archives. Here, we present evidence from the internationally important Mesolithic site of Star Carr showing occupation during the early Holocene, which is directly compared with a high-resolution palaeoclimate record from neighbouring lake beds. We show that-once established-there was intensive human activity at the site for several hundred years when the community was subject to multiple, severe, abrupt climate events that impacted air temperatures, the landscape and the ecosystem of the region. However, these results show that occupation and activity at the site persisted regardless of the environmental stresses experienced by this society. The Star Carr population displayed a high level of resilience to climate change, suggesting that postglacial populations were not necessarily held hostage to the flickering switch of climate change. Instead, we show that local, intrinsic changes in the wetland environment were more significant in determining human activity than the large-scale abrupt early Holocene climate events.

Early-Holocene warming in Beringia and its mediation by sea-level and vegetation changes

Science.gov (United States)

Bartlein, P.J.; Edwards, M.E.; Hostetler, Steven W.; Shafer, Sarah; Anderson, P.M.; Brubaker, L. B; Lozhkin, A. V

2015-01-01

Arctic land-cover changes induced by recent global climate change (e.g., expansion of woody vegetation into tundra and effects of permafrost degradation) are expected to generate further feedbacks to the climate system. Past changes can be used to assess our understanding of feedback mechanisms through a combination of process modeling and paleo-observations. The subcontinental region of Beringia (northeastern Siberia, Alaska, and northwestern Canada) was largely ice-free at the peak of deglacial warming and experienced both major vegetation change and loss of permafrost when many arctic regions were still ice covered. The evolution of Beringian climate at this time was largely driven by global features, such as the amplified seasonal cycle of Northern Hemisphere insolation and changes in global ice volume and atmospheric composition, but changes in regional land-surface controls, such as the widespread development of thaw lakes, the replacement of tundra by deciduous forest or woodland, and the flooding of the Bering–Chukchi land bridge, were probably also important. We examined the sensitivity of Beringia's early Holocene climate to these regional-scale controls using a regional climate model (RegCM). Lateral and oceanic boundary conditions were provided by global climate simulations conducted using the GENESIS V2.01 atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) with a mixed-layer ocean. We carried out two present-day simulations of regional climate – one with modern and one with 11 ka geography – plus another simulation for 6 ka. In addition, we performed five ~ 11 ka climate simulations, each driven by the same global AGCM boundary conditions: (i) 11 ka Control, which represents conditions just prior to the major transitions (exposed land bridge, no thaw lakes or wetlands, widespread tundra vegetation), (ii) sea-level rise, which employed present-day continental outlines, (iii) vegetation change, with deciduous needleleaf and deciduous broadleaf boreal

Holocene vegetation and climate change on the Haanja heights, South-East Estonia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saarse, Leili; Rajamaee, Raivo

1997-01-01

The development of forests on the Haanja Heights has been controlled by external factors, including climate, soils, hydrology, and human impact. The sediment sequence from Lake Kirikumaee, which covers about 12 000 years, records the vegetation history throughout the Late Glacial and Holocene. In the Alleroed, woodland tundra with sparse birch and willow was established. Grass-shrub tundra in the Younger Dryas was replaced by birch forest in the Pre-Boreal. During the Holocene two major shifts in vegetation dynamics occurred: the first about 8500 BP with a sharp decline in Betula-Pinus forest and development of broad-leaved forest, and the second about 3500 BP, with a decline in broad-leaved forest and regeneration of Pinus-Betula forest with a high share of Picea. The climate modelling, based on pollen record and lake-level changes, suggest cold, severe climate with low precipitation values in the early Pre-Boreal. Between 9500-8500 BP the climate was rather stable. The lake level first rose, then stabilized, and finally dropped. The sharp climate amelioration in the late Boreal together with the humidity increase resulted in a lake-level rise. The decreased precipitation and rather high summer temperatures, increased evapotranspiration, and reduced water balance are characteristic of the Sub-Boreal. Since 3500 BP, the climate deteriorated and mixed coniferous forest started to dominate. Several small climatic fluctuations, including the Little Ice Age cooling, have been traced by modelling. (author)

Multidecadal variations in the early Holocene outflow of Red Sea Water into the Arabian Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, S. J. A.; Ganssen, G. M.; Davies, G. R.

2001-12-01

We present Holocene stable oxygen isotope data from the deep Arabian Sea off Somalia at a decadal time resolution as a proxy for the history of intermediate/upper deep water. These data show an overall δ18O reduction by 0.5‰ between 10 and ˜6.5 kyr B.P. superimposed upon short-term δ18O variations at a decadal-centennial timescale. The amplitude of the decadal variations is 0.3‰ prior, and up to 0.6‰ subsequent, to ˜8.1 kyr B.P. We conclude from modeling experiments that the short-term δ18O variations between 10 and ˜6.5 kyr B.P. most likely document changes in the evaporation-precipitation balance in the central Red Sea. Changes in water temperature and salinity cause the outflowing Red Sea Water to settle roughly 800 m deeper than today.

Heat export from the tropics drives mid to late Holocene palaeoceanographic changes offshore southern Australia

Science.gov (United States)

Perner, Kerstin; Moros, Matthias; De Deckker, Patrick; Blanz, Thomas; Wacker, Lukas; Telford, Richard; Siegel, Herbert; Schneider, Ralph; Jansen, Eystein

2018-01-01

The Leeuwin Current (LC), an eastern boundary current, transports tropical waters from the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool (IPWP) towards southern latitudes and modulates oceanic conditions offshore southern Australia. New, high-resolution planktic foraminifer assemblage data and alkenone-derived sea surface temperatures (SST) provide an in-depth view on LC variability and mechanisms driving the current's properties during the mid to late Holocene (last c. 7.4 ka BP). Our marine reconstructions highlight a longer-term mid to late Holocene reduction of tropical heat export from the IPWP area into the LC. Mid Holocene (c. 7.4 to 3.5 ka BP) occurrence of high SSTs (>19.5 °C), tropical planktic foraminifera and a well-stratified water column document an enhanced heat export from the tropics. From c. 3.5 ka BP onwards, a weaker LC and a notably reduced tropical heat export cause oceanic cooling offshore southern Australia. The observed mid to late Holocene trends likely result from large-scale changes in the IPWP's heat storage linked to the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon. We propose that a strong and warm LC occurs in response to a La Niña-like state of ENSO during the mid Holocene. The late Holocene LC cooling, however, results from a shift towards an El Niño-like state and a more variable ENSO system that causes cooling of the IPWP. Superimposed on these longer-term trends we find evidence of distinct late Holocene millennial-scale phases of enhanced El Niño/La Niña development, which appear synchronous with northern hemispheric climatic variability. Phases of dominant El Niño-like states occur parallel to North Atlantic cold phases: the '2800 years BP cooling event', the 'Dark Ages' and the 'Little Ice Age', whereas the 'Roman Warm Period' and the 'Medieval Climate Anomaly' parallel periods of a predominant La Niña-like state. Our findings provide further evidence of coherent interhemispheric climatic and oceanic conditions during the mid to late

Reconstruction of Grønfjordbreen dynamics (West Spitsbergen in the Holocene

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O. V. Kokin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the past 80 years, the Grønfjord Glacier front retreated for a distance longer than 2.5 km, and thus, a big part of the proglacial zone became free of ice. The detailed geomorphological survey of this zone made pos‑ sible to identify the following landforms: exaration-glacial, glacial-accumulative, exaration-extrusive, pushmoraine (thrusting, fluvioglacial and limnoglacial ones. Geomorphological analysis of the forms indicat‑ ing the Grønfjord Glacier movement and degradation allowed establishing its dynamics over the last glacial cycle. The river running from the moraine-dammed lake erodes a great thickness of a push-moraine (up to 20‑25  m which is composed by marine sediments, accumulated on the site of the present-day proglacial zone under a relatively higher sea level than now. Careful investigation of lithology and stratigraphy of the push-moraine together with radiocarbon dating of marine shells resulted in determination of chronology of the main sedimentation stages during the Holocene within area of the present-day proglacial zone. During the reconstruction evidences of only two stages of the significant Grønfjord Glacier advance were revealed: in the early Holocene (9.5‑10 thousand years ago and in the little ice age (before beginning of XX century, with the maximum advance at the last stage. Basing on the results of the reconstruction the suggestion had been made that during the little ice age the Grønfjord Glacier was a surging one.

Reconstruction of Last Glacial to early Holocene monsoon variability from relict lake sediments of the Higher Central Himalaya, Uttrakhand, India

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Juyal, N.; Pant, R.K.; Basavaiah, N.

2009-01-01

.5 ka and after14.5–13 ka. The Last Glacial phase ended with the deposition of outwash gravel dated at 11 ka indicating glacial retreat and the onset of Holocene condition. Additionally, centennial scale fluctuations between 16.5 ka and 12.7 ka in the magnetic and geochemical data are seen. A close...... instability in higher northern latitudes. However, centennial scale abrupt changes are attributed to the result of albedo changes on the Himalaya and Tibetan plateau....

Genetic and environmental influences on height from infancy to early adulthood

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jelenkovic, Aline; Sund, Reijo; Hur, Yoon-Mi

2016-01-01

Height variation is known to be determined by both genetic and environmental factors, but a systematic description of how their influences differ by sex, age and global regions is lacking. We conducted an individual-based pooled analysis of 45 twin cohorts from 20 countries, including 180......,520 paired measurements at ages 1-19 years. The proportion of height variation explained by shared environmental factors was greatest in early childhood, but these effects remained present until early adulthood. Accordingly, the relative genetic contribution increased with age and was greatest in adolescence...... (up to 0.83 in boys and 0.76 in girls). Comparing geographic-cultural regions (Europe, North-America and Australia, and East-Asia), genetic variance was greatest in North-America and Australia and lowest in East-Asia, but the relative proportion of genetic variation was roughly similar across...

Sedimentary alkenone distributions reflect salinity changes in the Baltic Sea over the Holocene

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Warden, L.A.; van der Meer, M.T.J.; Moros, Matthias; Sinninghe Damsté, J.S.

2016-01-01

The Baltic Sea has had a complex salinity history since the last deglaciation. Here we show how distributions of alkenones and their δD values varied with past fluctuations in salinity in the Baltic Sea over the Holocene by examining a Holocene record (11.2–0.1 cal kyr BP) from the Arkona Basin.

The Caribbean conundrum of Holocene sea level.

Science.gov (United States)

Jackson, Luke; Mound, Jon

2014-05-01

In the tropics, pre-historic sea-level curve reconstruction is often problematic because it relies upon sea-level indicators whose vertical relationship to the sea surface is poorly constrained. In the Caribbean, fossil corals, mangrove peats and shell material dominate the pre-historic indicator record. The common approach to reconstruction involves the use of modern analogues to these indicators to establish a fixed vertical habitable range. The aim of these reconstructions is to find spatial variability in the Holocene sea level in an area gradually subsiding (different depths. We use the first catalogue to calibrate 14C ages to give a probabilistic age range for each indicator. We use the second catalogue to define a depth probability distribution function (pdf) for mangroves and each coral species. The Holocene indicators are grouped into 12 sub-regions around the Caribbean. For each sub-region we apply our sea-level reconstruction, which involves stepping a fixed-length time window through time and calculating the position (and rate) of sea-level (change) using a thousand realisations of the time/depth pdfs to define an envelope of probable solutions. We find that the sub-regional relative sea-level curves display spatio-temporal variability including a south-east to north-west 1500 year lag in the arrival of Holocene sea level to that of the present day. We demonstrate that these variations are primarily due to glacial-isostatic-adjustment induced sea-level change and that sub-regional variations (where sufficient data exists) are due to local uplift variability.

Holocene glaciation of the central Sierra Nevada, California

Science.gov (United States)

Bowerman, Nicole D.; Clark, Douglas H.

2011-05-01

Sediment cores from two bedrock-dammed lakes in North Fork Big Pine Creek, Sierra Nevada, California, preserve the most detailed and complete record of Holocene glaciation yet recovered in the region. The lakes are fed by outwash from the Palisade Glacier, the largest (˜1.3 km 2) and presumably longest-lived glacier in the range, and capture essentially all of the rock flour it produces. Distinct late-Holocene (Matthes) and late-Pleistocene (Recess Peak) moraines lie between the modern glacier and the lakes. The lakes have therefore received continuous sedimentation from the basin since the retreat of the Tioga glacier (Last Glacial Maximum) and capture rock flour related to all post-LGM advances. A total of eight long cores (up to 5.5 m sediment depth) and one short surface sediment short core preserve a coherent record of fluctuating rock flour flux to the lakes through the Holocene. Age constraints on rock flour spikes in First and Second lakes based on 31 14C-dated macrofossils indicate Holocene glaciation began ˜3200 cal yr B P, followed by a possible glacier maximum at ˜2800 cal yr B P and four distinct glacier maxima at ˜2200, ˜1600, ˜700 and ˜250-170 cal yr. B.P., the most recent maximum being the largest. Reconstruction of the equilibrium-line altitudes (ELA) associated with each distinct advance recorded in the moraines (Recess Peak, Matthes, and modern) indicates ELA depressions (relative to modern) of ˜250 m and 90 m for Recess Peak and Matthes advances, respectively. These differences represent decreases in summer temperatures of 1.7-2.8 °C (Recess Peak) and 0.2-2° (Matthes), and increases in winter precipitation of 22-34 cm snow water equivalent (s.w.e.) (Recess Peak) and 3-26 cm s.w.e. (Matthes) compared to modern conditions. Although small, these changes are significant and similar to those noted in the Cascade Range to the north, and represent a significant departure from historical climate trends in the region.

Sources and characteristics of terrestrial carbon in Holocene-scale sediments of the East Siberian Sea

Science.gov (United States)

Keskitalo, Kirsi; Tesi, Tommaso; Bröder, Lisa; Andersson, August; Pearce, Christof; Sköld, Martin; Semiletov, Igor P.; Dudarev, Oleg V.; Gustafsson, Örjan

2017-09-01

Thawing of permafrost carbon (PF-C) due to climate warming can remobilise considerable amounts of terrestrial carbon from its long-term storage to the marine environment. PF-C can be then be buried in sediments or remineralised to CO2 with implications for the carbon-climate feedback. Studying historical sediment records during past natural climate changes can help us to understand the response of permafrost to current climate warming. In this study, two sediment cores collected from the East Siberian Sea were used to study terrestrial organic carbon sources, composition and degradation during the past ˜ 9500 cal yrs BP. CuO-derived lignin and cutin products (i.e., compounds solely biosynthesised in terrestrial plants) combined with δ13C suggest that there was a higher input of terrestrial organic carbon to the East Siberian Sea between ˜ 9500 and 8200 cal yrs BP than in all later periods. This high input was likely caused by marine transgression and permafrost destabilisation in the early Holocene climatic optimum. Based on source apportionment modelling using dual-carbon isotope (Δ14C, δ13C) data, coastal erosion releasing old Pleistocene permafrost carbon was identified as a significant source of organic matter translocated to the East Siberian Sea during the Holocene.

The impact of environmental gradients on the early life inshore ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The impact of environmental gradients on the early life inshore migration of the short-finned squid Illex illecebrosus. JAA Perez, Rk O'dor. Abstract. Recruitment of the short-finned squid Illex illecebrosus to adult feeding grounds on the shelf off eastern Canada constitutes an important transition from warm food-limited Gulf ...

Holocene aridification of India

Science.gov (United States)

Ponton, C.; Giosan, L.; Eglinton, T.I.; Fuller, D.Q.; Johnson, J.E.; Kumar, P.; Collett, T.S.

2012-01-01

Spanning a latitudinal range typical for deserts, the Indian peninsula is fertile instead and sustains over a billion people through monsoonal rains. Despite the strong link between climate and society, our knowledge of the long-term monsoon variability is incomplete over the Indian subcontinent. Here we reconstruct the Holocene paleoclimate in the core monsoon zone (CMZ) of the Indian peninsula using a sediment core recovered offshore from the mouth of Godavari River. Carbon isotopes of sedimentary leaf waxes provide an integrated and regionally extensive record of the flora in the CMZ and document a gradual increase in aridity-adapted vegetation from ???4,000 until 1,700 years ago followed by the persistence of aridity-adapted plants after that. The oxygen isotopic composition of planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber detects unprecedented high salinity events in the Bay of Bengal over the last 3,000 years, and especially after 1,700 years ago, which suggest that the CMZ aridification intensified in the late Holocene through a series of sub-millennial dry episodes. Cultural changes occurred across the Indian subcontinent as the climate became more arid after ???4,000 years. Sedentary agriculture took hold in the drying central and south India, while the urban Harappan civilization collapsed in the already arid Indus basin. The establishment of a more variable hydroclimate over the last ca. 1,700 years may have led to the rapid proliferation of water-conservation technology in south India. Copyright 2012 by the American Geophysical Union.

The Holocene vegetation history of northern West Jutland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Odgaard, Bent Vad

1994-01-01

. The Holocene history of each lake basin was investigated by mapping of sediment distribution, analysis of loss-on-ignition, coarse inorganic matter, humus content, mineral magnetics, 6°C. pollen and selected other microfossils. These techniques were supplemented by plant macrofossil analysis at one site....... Holocene terrestrial vegetational development was inferred at each site from analyses of pollen and microscopical charred particles. Chronologies were provided by numerous I4C dates. Stratigraphies of wet ground and terrestrial pollen and spore types were zooned by stratigraphically constrained cluster......, the synchronous timing of relatively rapid inferred change in lake and terrestrial vegetation around AD 600 may reflect changes in climate as well as in land-use. Redundancy analysis was used to develop a model between fire intensity (inferred from microscopical charred particles) and vegetational response...

Late Glacial and Holocene sequences in rockshelters and adjacent wetlands of Northern Bohemia, Czech Republic: Correlation of environmental and archaeological records

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Svoboda, Jiří; Pokorný, P.; Horáček, I.; Sázelová, Sandra; Abraham, V.; Divišová, M.; Ivanov, M.; Kozáková, Radka; Novák, J.; Novák, Martin; Šída, P.; Perri, A.

2018-01-01

Roč. 465, January 26 2018 (2018), s. 234-250 ISSN 1040-6182 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-08169S Institutional support: RVO:67985912 Keywords : Czech Republic * sandstone rockshelters * wetlands * Late Glacial * Holocene * Late Paleolithic * Mesolithic * paleoecology * lithic industries Subject RIV: AC - Archeology, Anthropology, Ethnology; AC - Archeology, Anthropology, Ethnology (ARU-G) OBOR OECD: Archaeology; Archaeology (ARU-G) Impact factor: 2.199, year: 2016

Pollen-based reconstruction of Holocene vegetation and climate in southern Italy: the case of Lago Trifoglietti

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S. Joannin

2012-12-01

Full Text Available A high-resolution pollen record from Lago Trifoglietti in Calabria (southern Italy provides new insights into the paleoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes which characterise the Holocene period in the southern Italy. The chronology is based on 11 AMS radiocarbon dates from terrestrial organic material. The Holocene history of the vegetation cover shows the persistence of an important and relatively stable Fagus forest present over that entire period, offering a rare example of a beech woodstand able to withstand climate changes for more than 11 000 yr. Probably in relation with early Holocene dry climate conditions which affected southern Italy, the Trifoglietti pollen record supports a southward delay in thermophyllous forest expansion dated to ca. 13 500 cal BP at Monticchio, ca. 11 000 cal BP at Trifoglietti, and finally ca. 9800 cal BP in Sicily. Regarding the human impact history, the Trifoglietti pollen record shows only poor imprints of agricultural activities and anthopogenic indicators, apart from those indicating pastoralism activities beneath forest cover. The selective exploitation of Abies appears to have been the strongest human impact on the Trifoglietti surroundings. On the basis of (1 a specific ratio between hygrophilous and terrestrial taxa, and (2 the Modern Analogue Technique, the pollen data collected at Lago Trifoglietti led to the establishment of two palaeoclimatic records tracing changes in (1 lake depth and (2 annual precipitation. On a millennial scale, these records give evidence of increasing moisture from ca. 11 000 to ca. 9400 cal BP and maximum humidity from ca. 9400 to ca. 6200 cal BP, prior to a general trend towards the drier climate conditions that have prevailed up to the present. In addition, several successive centennial-scale oscillations appear to have punctuated the entire Holocene. The identification of a cold dry event around 11 300 cal BP, responsible for a marked decline in

Lithostratigraphy and microfacies analyses of the Lateglacial and early Holocene sediment record from Lake Haemelsee (Germany)

Science.gov (United States)

Haliuc, Aritina; Brauer, Achim; Dulski, Peter; Engels, Stefan; Lane, Christine

2015-04-01

Annually laminated sediments are unique continental archives holding essential paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic information providing the opportunity (i) to evaluate the climate variability at inter-annual to decadal scale and (ii) to construct independent and reliable chronologies. Lake Haemelsee in northern Germany (19.5 m a.s.l) is a key site for tracing high-resolution climatic and environmental evolution in W Europe because of its partly varved sediments. Here, we apply lithostratigraphical, geochemical and micro-facies analyses for the bottom sediments (~1700 to 1300 cm sediment depth) in order to investigate the driving mechanisms, timing and amplitude of Lateglacial abrupt climate changes to the onset of the Holocene warming. Detailed investigation includes micro-facies analyses on petrographic thin sections combined with high-resolution µ-XRF element scanning on both fresh sediment core halves (200 µm resolution) and impregnated sediment blocks (50µm resolution). Based on these analyses, the sediment composite profile (378 cm) has been divided in ten lithozones, each exhibiting different sedimentation modes in response to regional and local climatic and environmental changes. Micro-facies analyses revealed that sediments consist of organic matter, siderite, calcite, clay/silt and sand. The basal sediments consist of glacio-fluvial material. Fine laminations are best preserved in lithozone 5 (1522-1573 cm), where minima in element proxies for detrital sediments (Ti, K, Si) and maxima in Fe and Mn indicate the prevalence of anoxic meromictic conditions. Three different varve facies types were distinguished: i) the clastic-organic varves are specific for the intervals 1571-1573 cm and 1536-1541 cm; ii) calcite/siderite-organic varves appear between 1568-1571 and 1541-1545 cm; iii) the siderite-organic varves are characteristic for the middle of the lithozone 5 spanning from 1545-1568 cm. These changes in varve facies reflect the complex answer of

The dating and interpretation of Chusang indicates permanent human occupation of the interior of the Tibetan Plateau in the early Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Meyer, Michael; Aldenderfer, Mark; Wang, Zhijun; Hoffmann, Dirk; Dahl, Jenny; Degering, Detlev; Haas, Randy; Schlütz, Frank; Gliganic, Luke; May, Jan-Hendrik

2017-04-01

central plateau. We suggest that migration onto the plateau during the early Holocene was enabled by the wetter regional climate at that time. These findings challenge (i) current models of the occupation of the Tibetan Plateau and (ii) the original dating of Chusang that - based on OSL multi-grain dating - suggests and an age for the imprints of ca. 20 ka. 1. Aldenderfer, M. (2011): Peopling the Tibetan plateau: Insights from archaeology. High Alt. Med. Biol. 12, 141-147. 2. Chen, F. H. et al. (2015): Agriculture facilitated permanent human occupation of the Tibetan Plateau after 3600 B.P. Science 347, 248-250. 3. Meyer, M.C. et al. (2017): Permanent human occupation of the central Tibetan Plateau in the early Holocene. Science 355, 64-67. 4. Lu, D. et al. (2016): Ancestral Origins and Genetic History of Tibetan Highlanders. The American Journal of Human Genetics 99, 580-594. 5. Xiang, K. et al. (2013): Identification of a Tibetan-specific mutation in the hypoxic gene EGLN1 and its contribution to high-altitude adaptation. Molecular biology and evolution 30, 1889-1898.

Glacial-interglacial changes and Holocene variations in Arabian Sea denitrification

Science.gov (United States)

Gaye, Birgit; Böll, Anna; Segschneider, Joachim; Burdanowitz, Nicole; Emeis, Kay-Christian; Ramaswamy, Venkitasubramani; Lahajnar, Niko; Lückge, Andreas; Rixen, Tim

2018-01-01

At present, the Arabian Sea has a permanent oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) at water depths between about 100 and 1200 m. Active denitrification in the upper part of the OMZ is recorded by enhanced δ15N values in the sediments. Sediment cores show a δ15N increase during the middle and late Holocene, which is contrary to the trend in the other two regions of water column denitrification in the eastern tropical North and South Pacific. We calculated composite sea surface temperature (SST) and δ15N ratios in time slices of 1000 years of the last 25 kyr to better understand the reasons for the establishment of the Arabian Sea OMZ and its response to changes in the Asian monsoon system. Low δ15N values of 4-7 ‰ during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and stadials (Younger Dryas and Heinrich events) suggest that denitrification was inactive or weak during Pleistocene cold phases, while warm interstadials (ISs) had elevated δ15N. Fast changes in upwelling intensities and OMZ ventilation from the Antarctic were responsible for these strong millennial-scale variations during the glacial. During the entire Holocene δ15N values > 6 ‰ indicate a relatively stable OMZ with enhanced denitrification. The OMZ develops parallel to the strengthening of the SW monsoon and monsoonal upwelling after the LGM. Despite the relatively stable climatic conditions of the Holocene, the δ15N records show regionally different trends in the Arabian Sea. In the upwelling areas in the western part of the basin, δ15N values are lower during the mid-Holocene (4.2-8.2 ka BP) compared to the late Holocene ( ventilation of the OMZ during the period of the most intense southwest monsoonal upwelling. In contrast, δ15N values in the northern and eastern Arabian Sea rose during the last 8 kyr. The displacement of the core of the OMZ from the region of maximum productivity in the western Arabian Sea to its present position in the northeast was established during the middle and late Holocene. This was

Glacial–interglacial changes and Holocene variations in Arabian Sea denitrification

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B. Gaye

2018-01-01

Full Text Available At present, the Arabian Sea has a permanent oxygen minimum zone (OMZ at water depths between about 100 and 1200 m. Active denitrification in the upper part of the OMZ is recorded by enhanced δ15N values in the sediments. Sediment cores show a δ15N increase during the middle and late Holocene, which is contrary to the trend in the other two regions of water column denitrification in the eastern tropical North and South Pacific. We calculated composite sea surface temperature (SST and δ15N ratios in time slices of 1000 years of the last 25 kyr to better understand the reasons for the establishment of the Arabian Sea OMZ and its response to changes in the Asian monsoon system. Low δ15N values of 4–7 ‰ during the last glacial maximum (LGM and stadials (Younger Dryas and Heinrich events suggest that denitrification was inactive or weak during Pleistocene cold phases, while warm interstadials (ISs had elevated δ15N. Fast changes in upwelling intensities and OMZ ventilation from the Antarctic were responsible for these strong millennial-scale variations during the glacial. During the entire Holocene δ15N values  >  6 ‰ indicate a relatively stable OMZ with enhanced denitrification. The OMZ develops parallel to the strengthening of the SW monsoon and monsoonal upwelling after the LGM. Despite the relatively stable climatic conditions of the Holocene, the δ15N records show regionally different trends in the Arabian Sea. In the upwelling areas in the western part of the basin, δ15N values are lower during the mid-Holocene (4.2–8.2 ka BP compared to the late Holocene ( <  4.2 ka BP due to stronger ventilation of the OMZ during the period of the most intense southwest monsoonal upwelling. In contrast, δ15N values in the northern and eastern Arabian Sea rose during the last 8 kyr. The displacement of the core of the OMZ from the region of maximum productivity in the western Arabian Sea to its present position

The Holocene History of Placentia Bay, Newfoundland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sheldon, Christina; Seidenkrantz, Marit-Solveig; Reynisson, Njall

2013-01-01

Marine sediments analyzed from cores taken in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland, located in the Labrador Sea, captured oceanographic and climatic changes from the end of the Younger Dryas through the Holocene. Placentia Bay is an ideal site to capture changes in both the south-flowing Labrador Current ...

Mitochondrial haplogroup H1 in north Africa: an early holocene arrival from Iberia.

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Claudio Ottoni

Full Text Available The Tuareg of the Fezzan region (Libya are characterized by an extremely high frequency (61% of haplogroup H1, a mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA haplogroup that is common in all Western European populations. To define how and when H1 spread from Europe to North Africa up to the Central Sahara, in Fezzan, we investigated the complete mitochondrial genomes of eleven Libyan Tuareg belonging to H1. Coalescence time estimates suggest an arrival of the European H1 mtDNAs at about 8,000-9,000 years ago, while phylogenetic analyses reveal three novel H1 branches, termed H1v, H1w and H1x, which appear to be specific for North African populations, but whose frequencies can be extremely different even in relatively close Tuareg villages. Overall, these findings support the scenario of an arrival of haplogroup H1 in North Africa from Iberia at the beginning of the Holocene, as a consequence of the improvement in climate conditions after the Younger Dryas cold snap, followed by in situ formation of local H1 sub-haplogroups. This process of autochthonous differentiation continues in the Libyan Tuareg who, probably due to isolation and recent founder events, are characterized by village-specific maternal mtDNA lineages.

Accretion history and stratigraphy of mid-Holocene coral reefs from Southeast Florida, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Stathakopoulos, A.; Riegl, B. M.; Swart, P. K.

2013-05-01

suggest the mid-Holocene (~8-5 ka) was punctuated by a transition to a more moist and warm climate and/or a potentially rapid sea-level rise. The color and texture of cements support increased freshwater input as a likely agent of reef demise. We also observed that the once-dominant Caribbean reef builder Acropora palmata was mostly present throughout the early and mid-Holocene but absent thereafter. Reef geomorphology was strongly determined by the length of presence of this species, as the thickness, size, and shape of the three linear reefs clearly reflect its declining importance during the Holocene in Florida.

Holocene soil pH changes and East Asian summer monsoon evolution derived from loess brGDGTs in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Y.; Sun, Q.; Zhao, H.

2017-12-01

GDGTs-based proxies have been used successfully to reconstruct paleo-temperature from loess-paleosol sequences during the past few years. However, the pH variations of loess sediments derived from GDGTs covering the geological history remain poorly constrained. Here we present two pH records spanning the last 12 ka (1ka=1000years) based on the modified cyclization ratio index (CBT') of the branched GDGTs using regional CBT'-pH empirical relationship from two well-dated loess-paleosol sections (YWY14 and SHD09) in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. The results indicate that a slightly alkaline condition occurred during 12 8.5 ka with pH values ranging from 6.98 to 7.24, then CBT'-derived pH decreased from 8.5 to 6.5 ka with values from 7.19 to 6.49 and gradually increased thereafter. The reconstructed pH values from topmost samples can be well compared with instrumental pH values of the surrounding surface soil. The lowest intervals of CBT'-derived pH values during the mid-Holocene in our records are consistent with the results of highest tree pollen percentage from the adjacent lake sediments and regional weakest aeolian activities, which reveals that the moisture maximum during that period, but conflicted with previous results of the wettest early-Holocene inferred from speleothem or ostracod shell oxygen isotope (δ18O) values. Taking together, we conclude that Holocene humidity evolution (wettest middle Holocene) in response to the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) changes exerts important control on pH variations of loess deposits in northeastern Tibetan Plateau. CBT'-derived pH variations can be potentially used as an indicator of EASM evolution reconstructions. In addition, we argue that speleothem or ostracod shell δ18O records are essentially a signal of the isotopic composition of precipitations rather than EASM intensity.

Fire and vegetation history on Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands, and long-term environmental change in southern California

Science.gov (United States)

Starratt, Scott W.; Pinter, N.; Anderson, Robert S.; Jass, R.B.

2009-01-01

The long-term history of vegetation and fire was investigated at two locations – Soledad Pond (275 m; from ca. 12 000 cal. a BP) and Abalone Rocks Marsh (0 m; from ca. 7000 cal. a BP) – on Santa Rosa Island, situated off the coast of southern California. A coastal conifer forest covered highlands of Santa Rosa during the last glacial, but by ca. 11 800 cal. a BP Pinus stands, coastal sage scrub and grassland replaced the forest as the climate warmed. The early Holocene became increasingly drier, particularly after ca. 9150 cal. a BP, as the pond dried frequently, and coastal sage scrub covered the nearby hillslopes. By ca. 6900 cal. a BP grasslands recovered at both sites. Pollen of wetland plants became prominent at Soledad Pond after ca. 4500 cal. a BP, and at Abalone Rocks Marsh after ca. 3465 cal. a BP. Diatoms suggest freshening of the Abalone Rocks Marsh somewhat later, probably by additional runoff from the highlands. Introduction of non-native species by ranchers occurred subsequent to AD 1850. Charcoal influx is high early in the record, but declines during the early Holocene when minimal biomass suggests extended drought. A general increase occurs after ca. 7000 cal. a BP, and especially after ca. 4500 cal. a BP. The Holocene pattern closely resembles population levels constructed from the archaeological record, and suggests a potential influence by humans on the fire regime of the islands, particularly during the late Holocene.

Calcite raft geochemistry as a hydrological proxy for Holocene aquifer conditions in Hoyo Negro and Ich Balam (Sac Actun Cave System), Quintana Roo, Mexico

Science.gov (United States)

Kovacs, Shawn E.; Reinhardt, Eduard G.; Chatters, James C.; Rissolo, Dominique; Schwarcz, Henry P.; Collins, Shawn V.; Kim, Sang-Tae; Nava Blank, Alberto; Luna Erreguerena, Pilar

2017-11-01

Two cores from calcite rafts deposits located in Cenote Ich Balam and Hoyo Negro were dated and analyzed for 87Sr/86Sr, δ18O, δ13C, Sr/Ca and Cl/Ca. The geochemical records show changing aquifer salinity spanning the last ∼ 8.5 cal kyrs BP and interrelationships with Holocene climate trends (wet and dry periods). During the wet mid-Holocene, the salinity of the meteoric Water Mass (WM; at 7.8-8.3 cal kyrs BP) was relatively high at 1.5-2.7 ppt and then became less saline (1.0-1.5 ppt) during the last ∼ 7000 yrs as climate became progressively drier. High salinity of the meteoric WM during the wet mid-Holocene is attributed to increased turbulent mixing between the meteoric and underlying marine WM. Increased precipitation, in terms of amount, frequency, and intensity (e.g. hurricanes) causes higher flow of meteoric water towards the coast and mixing at the halocline, a phenomenon recorded with recent instrumental monitoring of the aquifer. Conversely, during dry periods reduced precipitation and flow in the meteoric WM would result in lower salinity. Karst properties and Holocene sea-level rise also seem to have an effect on the aquifer. When the regionally extensive network of shallow cave passages (∼ 10-12 m water depth) are flooded at ∼ 8000 cal yrs BP, there is a rapid shift in salinity. This study demonstrates that calcite raft deposits can be used as paleo-environmental recorders documenting the effects of sea level and climate change on aquifer condition.

On the evolution of a holocene barrier coast

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fruergaard, Mikkel

in a distinct stratal stacking pattern of each of the investigated coastal barrier systems. We conclude that the overall infilling of the barrier systems over the Holocene was mainly controlled by sea-level rise and sediment supply. However, major storms and tidal channel migration have greatly affected......This thesis investigates the sedimentary evolution of a Holocene barrier coast with special focus on how barrier system stratigraphy is affected by changes in sea-level and sediment supply. Coastal barrier systems comprise about 13% of the world’s coastlines and they are mportant components...... of the stratigraphic record of the Earth. Sea-level rise and sediment supply are the two most important factors controlling barrier system evolution. Detailed depositional reconstructions of a number of barrier systems from the Danish Wadden Sea area have been carried out in order to evaluate the sedimentary effects...

Holocene environmental changes in southern Kamchatka, Far Eastern Russia, inferred from a pollen and testate amoebae peat succession record

Science.gov (United States)

Klimaschewski, A.; Barnekow, L.; Bennett, K. D.; Andreev, A. A.; Andrén, E.; Bobrov, A. A.; Hammarlund, D.

2015-11-01

High resolution palaeoenvironmental records in Far-Eastern Russia are rare, and the Kamchatka Peninsula is among the least studied areas of the region. This paper describes a record spanning the last ca. 11,000 yr, obtained from a bog in the southern part of Kamchatka. The radiocarbon dated core was analysed for pollen, testate amoebae, charcoal and loss-on-ignition (LOI). The vegetation during the early Holocene was dominated by grasses (Poaceae), birch (Betula) and heath (Ericaceae p. p.). Around 10,300 cal yr BP there was a substantial change in the vegetation cover to shrub alder (Alnus viridis s.l.) stands with sedges and ferns (Polypodiophyta) as well as herbs such as meadow rue (Thalictrum) in the understory. In the surroundings of Utka peatlands started to form. The variations in the vegetation cover were most probably caused by climatic changes. At the beginning of sediment accumulation, before 10,300 cal yr BP, the composition of the vegetation points to cooler summers and/or decreased annual precipitation. Around 10,300 cal yr BP, changes in vegetation occurred due to rising temperatures and/or changed water regimes. Increased abundancies of dry indicating testate amoebae after 9100 cal yr BP point to intermediate to dry soil conditions. Between 8600 and 7700 cal yr BP tree alder (Alnus incana) was widely spread at the site which probably indicates optimal environmental conditions. The tephra layer at 381-384.5 cm (ca. 8500 cal yr BP) produces a strong impact on the testate amoebae assemblages. At 7700 cal yr BP there was a sudden drop of A. incana in the local vegetation. From this time on, A. incana and also A. viridis decrease continuously whereas Betula gradually increases. The upper part of the sequence (after 6300 cal yr BP) shows higher abundancies of meadowsweet (Filipendula) and sweet gale (Myrica) pollen. After 6300 cal yr BP, changes in testate amoebae demonstrate variable soil moisture conditions at the site. Between 3700 and 1800 cal yr BP

Sediment Buffering and Transport in the Holocene Indus River System

Science.gov (United States)

Clift, P. D.; Giosan, L.; Henstock, T.; Tabrez, A. R.; Vanlaningham, S.; Alizai, A. H.; Limmer, D. R.; Danish, M.

2009-12-01

Submarine fans are the largest sediment bodies on Earth and potentially hold records of erosion that could be used to assess the response of continents to changing climate in terms of both physical erosion and chemical weathering. However, buffering between the mountain sources and the abyssal plain may make detailed correlation of climate and erosion records difficult. We investigated the nature of sediment transport in the Indus drainage in SW Asia. Through trenching in the flood plain, drilling in the delta and new seismic and coring data from the shelf and canyon we can now constrain sediment transport from source to sink since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The Indus was affected by intensification of the summer monsoon during the Early Holocene and subsequent weakening since ca. 8 ka. Sediment delivery to the delta was very rapid at 12-8 ka, but slowed along with the weakening monsoon. At the LGM erosion in the Karakoram dominated the supply of sandy material, while the proportion of Lesser Himalayan flux increased with strengthening summer rainfall after 12 ka. Total load also increased at that time. Since 5 ka incision of rivers into the upper parts of the flood plain has reworked Lower Holocene sediments, although the total flux slowed. Coring in the Indus canyon shows that sediment has not reached the lower canyon since ca. 7 ka, but that sedimentation has recently been very rapid in the head of the canyon. We conclude that variations in sealevel and terrestrial climate have introduced a lag of at least 7 k.y. into the deep sea fan record and that monsoon strength is a primary control on whether sediment is stored or released in the flood plain.

Holocene Millennial-scale Surface and Bottom Water Variability, Feni Drift, NE Atlantic Ocean: Foraminiferal Assemblages

Science.gov (United States)

Lassen, S. J.; Richter, T. O.; de Stigter, H. C.; van Weering, T. C. E.; de Haas, H.

A high-resolution sediment core from Feni Drift (ENAM9606, 56N 14W, 2543 m wa- ter depth) was investigated for planktonic and benthic foraminiferal assemblages dur- ing the last 12,000 years. During the Preboreal, peak abundances of T.quinqueloba indicate the passage of the Arctic front over the core site. Holocene planktonic foraminiferal assemblages indicate a gradual warming trend of surface water masses punctuated by a major cooling (8,200ky event s.l.), and possibly a slight cooling dur- ing the last 3,000 years. The interval from 10 to 5kyrs shows higher and fluctuating abundances of T.quinqueloba and G.bulloides, which suggest proximity of the subarc- tic front and enhanced spring blooms compared to the upper Holocene. Abundance peaks of N.pachyderma(s) and/or T.quinqueloba indicate a series of millennial-scale cooling events during the entire Holocene, which can be correlated to similar episodes previously described from other locations in the North Atlantic and Norwegian- Greenland Sea. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages indicate a gradual transition from seasonal, spring-bloom related food supply in the Lower Holocene (dominance of the phytodetritus species E.exigua) to possibly lower, but more sustained food supply in the Upper Holocene (dominance of C.obtusa and C.laevigata).

Holocene emerged coral reef in Takarajima and Kodakarajima, Ryukyu islands, Southwest Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakata, Takashi; Omoto, Kunio; Koba, Motoharu

1978-01-01

Due to the recent development of radiometric dating, coral reefs emerged in Holocene epoch are studied intensively worldwidely in relation to sea level change and coral reef formation. Attempt was made to determine the age, pattern and growth rate of coral reefs in the marginal area of coral sea in the Northwest Pacific. Field observation was made in the emerged coral reefs in Takarajima and Kodakarajima islands and the samples for radiocarbon dating were taken from geological sections across the emerged reefs. These islands are located at about 29 deg 10 min N, 129 deg 15 min E, where warm Kuroshio current pushes the margin of coral sea northward, and furnished with flourishing development of coral reefs emerged in both pleistocence and Holocene epochs. Though without earthquake records, it is assumed that Holocene reefs have been terraced due to sudden uplift associated with major earthquakes. (Mori, K.)

Holocene emerged coral reef in Takarajima and Kodakarajima, Ryukyu islands, Southwest Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nakata, T; Omoto, K; Koba, M [Tohoku Univ., Sendai (Japan). Faculty of Science

1978-06-01

Due to the recent development of radiometric dating, coral reefs emerged in Holocene epoch are studied intensively worldwidely in relation to sea level change and coral reef formation. Attempt was made to determine the age, pattern and growth rate of coral reefs in the marginal area of coral sea in the Northwest Pacific. Field observation was made in the emerged coral reefs in Takarajima and Kodakarajima islands and the samples for radiocarbon dating were taken from geological sections across the emerged reefs. These islands are located at about 29 deg 10 min N, 129 deg 15 min E, where warm Kuroshio current pushes the margin of coral sea northward, and furnished with flourishing development of coral reefs emerged in both pleistocence and Holocene epochs. Though without earthquake records, it is assumed that Holocene reefs have been terraced due to sudden uplift associated with major earthquakes.

Monsoonal response to mid-holocene orbital forcing in a high resolution GCM

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. H. C. Bosmans

2012-04-01

Full Text Available In this study, we use a sophisticated high-resolution atmosphere-ocean coupled climate model, EC-Earth, to investigate the effect of Mid-Holocene orbital forcing on summer monsoons on both hemispheres. During the Mid-Holocene (6 ka, there was more summer insolation on the Northern Hemisphere than today, which intensified the meridional temperature and pressure gradients. Over North Africa, monsoonal precipitation is intensified through increased landward monsoon winds and moisture advection as well as decreased moisture convergence over the oceans and more convergence over land compared to the pre-industrial simulation. Precipitation also extends further north as the ITCZ shifts northward in response to the stronger poleward gradient of insolation. This increase and poleward extent is stronger than in most previous ocean-atmosphere GCM simulations. In north-westernmost Africa, precipitation extends up to 35° N. Over tropical Africa, internal feedbacks completely overcome the direct warming effect of increased insolation. We also find a weakened African Easterly Jet. Over Asia, monsoonal precipitation during the Mid-Holocene is increased as well, but the response is different than over North-Africa. There is more convection over land at the expense of convection over the ocean, but precipitation does not extend further northward, monsoon winds over the ocean are weaker and the surrounding ocean does not provide more moisture. On the Southern Hemisphere, summer insolation and the poleward insolation gradient were weaker during the Mid-Holocene, resulting in a reduced South American monsoon through decreased monsoon winds and less convection, as well as an equatorward shift in the ITCZ. This study corroborates the findings of paleodata research as well as previous model studies, while giving a more detailed account of Mid-Holocene monsoons.

Holocene climatic fluctuations from Lower Brahmaputra flood plain ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

BP which is well-matched with the peak period of the Holocene climatic optimum. However, during ... Warm Period and Little Ice Age (LIA) in this ... The maximum temperature is 30.4 ..... V 2007 Climatic changes during the last 1800 yrs from.

Holocene estuarine sediments as a source of arsenic in Pleistocene groundwater in suburbs of Hanoi, Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Kuroda, Keisuke; Hayashi, Takeshi; Funabiki, Ayako; Do, An Thuan; Canh, Vu Duc; Nga, Tran Thi Viet; Takizawa, Satoshi

2017-06-01

Groundwater pollution by arsenic is a major health threat in suburban areas of Hanoi, Vietnam. The present study evaluates the effect of the sedimentary environments of the Pleistocene and Holocene deposits, and the recharge systems, on the groundwater arsenic pollution in Hanoi suburbs distant from the Red River. At two study sites (Linh Dam and Tai Mo communes), undisturbed soil cores identified a Pleistocene confined aquifer (PCA) and Holocene unconfined aquifer (HUA) as major aquifers, and Holocene estuarine and deltaic sediments as an aquitard layer between the two aquifers. The Holocene estuarine sediments (approximately 25-40 m depth, 9.6-4.8 cal ka BP) contained notably high concentrations of arsenic and organic matter, both likely to have been accumulated by mangroves during the Holocene sea-level highstand. The pore waters in these particular sediments exhibited elevated levels of arsenic and dissolved organic carbon. Arsenic in groundwater was higher in the PCA (25-94 μg/L) than in the HUA (5.2-42 μg/L), in both the monitoring wells and neighboring household tubewells. Elevated arsenic concentration in the PCA groundwater was likely due to vertical infiltration through the arsenic-rich and organic-matter-rich overlying Holocene estuarine sediments, caused by massive groundwater abstraction from the PCA. Countermeasures to prevent arsenic pollution of the PCA groundwater may include seeking alternative water resources, reducing water consumption, and/or appropriate choice of aquifers for groundwater supply.

Heavy sediment influx during early Holocene: Inference from clay mineral studies in a core from the western Bay of Bengal

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Reddy, N.P.C.; Rao, K.M.

is attributed to heavy sediment influx du r- ing Mid Termination (MT) (12,500 ? 10,000 years BP), due to i n creased precipitation and run - off resulting from high inte n sity monsoonal regime. C LAY minerals are a powerful source for the interpret a... to address to the prov e nance of the sediments in a sediment core from the western Bengal Fan. In this paper, we report clay mi n eralogy and provide an explanation for the heavy sed i ment deposition du r ing the Holocene. A sediment core of 650...

Holocene faulting in the Bellingham forearc basin: upper-plate deformation at the northern end of the Cascadia subduction zone

Science.gov (United States)

Kelsey, Harvey M.; Sherrod, Brian L.; Blakely, Richard J.; Haugerud, Ralph A.

2013-01-01

The northern Cascadia forearc takes up most of the strain transmitted northward via the Oregon Coast block from the northward-migrating Sierra Nevada block. The north-south contractional strain in the forearc manifests in upper-plate faults active during the Holocene, the northern-most components of which are faults within the Bellingham Basin. The Bellingham Basin is the northern of four basins of the actively deforming northern Cascadia forearc. A set of Holocene faults, Drayton Harbor, Birch Bay, and Sandy Point faults, occur within the Bellingham Basin and can be traced from onshore to offshore using a combination of aeromagnetic lineaments, paleoseismic investigations and scarps identified using LiDAR imagery. With the recognition of such Holocene faults, the northernmost margin of the actively deforming Cascadia forearc extends 60 km north of the previously recognized limit of Holocene forearc deformation. Although to date no Holocene faults are recognized at the northern boundary of the Bellingham Basin, which is 15 km north of the international border, there is no compelling tectonic reason to expect that Holocene faults are limited to south of the international border.

Upper Pleistocene and Holocene palaeoenvironmental records in Cueva Mayor karst (Atapuerca, Spain from different proxies: speleothem crystal fabrics, palynology and archaeology.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Virginia Martínez-Pillado

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The Cueva Mayor karst system of Atapuerca, in Northern Spain, hosts a highly significant record of human occupation from the Pleistocene. The climatic context of the human activities during the Pleistocene-Holocene for this inland site has not been well constrained, since existing records of the palaeoclimatic evolution of the Northern Iberian Peninsula are from more distal coastal and high-elevation sites. In this study, we interpret the palaeoenvironmental information recorded on the petrography of a stalagmite and the pollen spectra of the Sierra de Atapuerca karst system during the last 20 kyr. The integration of both types of records has allowed us to define four palaeoenvironmental stages. During the Upper Pleistocene and until 12.8 kyr BP, the climate was cold and dry, toward the end of the interval evolving to wetter and warmer conditions. From 12.8 to 7.7 kyr BP, during the Mesolithic-Neolithic, a major erosion event in both records marks the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Around 5.9 kyr BP, the Late Neolithic, environmental conditions indicate a climatic optimum with a marked seasonality. The environmental conditions became drier from 4.2 kyr BP until the present, with a decrease in the woodlands. This aridity signal might be amplified by the impact of a more intense human agricultural activity after 3.1 kyr BP, during the Bronze Age.

Lake Baikal isotope records of Holocene Central Asian precipitation

Science.gov (United States)

Swann, George E. A.; Mackay, Anson W.; Vologina, Elena; Jones, Matthew D.; Panizzo, Virginia N.; Leng, Melanie J.; Sloane, Hilary J.; Snelling, Andrea M.; Sturm, Michael

2018-06-01

Climate models currently provide conflicting predictions of future climate change across Central Asia. With concern over the potential for a change in water availability to impact communities and ecosystems across the region, an understanding of historical trends in precipitation is required to aid model development and assess the vulnerability of the region to future changes in the hydroclimate. Here we present a record from Lake Baikal, located in the southern Siberian region of central Asia close to the Mongolian border, which demonstrates a relationship between the oxygen isotope composition of diatom silica (δ18Odiatom) and precipitation to the region over the 20th and 21st Century. From this, we suggest that annual rates of precipitation in recent times are at their lowest for the past 10,000 years and identify significant long-term variations in precipitation throughout the early to late Holocene interval. Based on comparisons to other regional records, these trends are suggested to reflect conditions across the wider Central Asian region around Lake Baikal and highlight the potential for further changes in precipitation with future climate change.

Late-glacial and Holocene Vegetation and Climate Variability, Including Major Droughts, in the Sky Lakes Region of Southeastern New York State

Science.gov (United States)

Menking, Kirsten M.; Peteet, Dorothy M.; Anderson, Roger Y.

2012-01-01

Sediment cores from Lakes Minnewaska and Mohonk in the Shawangunk Mountains of southeastern New York were analyzed for pollen, plantmacrofossils, macroscopic charcoal, organic carbon content, carbon isotopic composition, carbon/nitrogen ratio, and lithologic changes to determine the vegetation and landscape history of the greater Catskill Mountain region since deglaciation. Pollen stratigraphy generally matches the New England pollen zones identified by Deevey (1939) and Davis (1969), with boreal genera (Picea, Abies) present during the late Pleistocene yielding to a mixed Pinus, Quercus and Tsuga forest in the early Holocene. Lake Minnewaska sediments record the Younger Dryas and possibly the 8.2 cal kyr BP climatic events in pollen and sediment chemistry along with an 1400 cal yr interval of wet conditions (increasing Tsuga and declining Quercus) centered about 6400 cal yr BP. BothMinnewaska andMohonk reveal a protracted drought interval in themiddle Holocene, 5700-4100 cal yr BP, during which Pinus rigida colonized the watershed, lake levels fell, and frequent fires led to enhanced hillslope erosion. Together, the records show at least three wet-dry cycles throughout the Holocene and both similarities and differences to climate records in New England and central New York. Drought intervals raise concerns for water resources in the New York City metropolitan area and may reflect a combination of enhanced La Niña, negative phase NAO, and positive phase PNA climatic patterns and/or northward shifts of storm tracks.

LATE GLACIAL AND HOLOCENE BIOCLIMATIC RECONSTRUCTION IN SOUTHERN ITALY: THE TRIFOGLIETTI LAKE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Brugiapaglia

2013-04-01

Full Text Available The pollen record from Trifoglietti lake (Calabria region provides new information about the paleoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes occurred during the LateGlacial and Holocene period. The LateGlacial part of the record, for which only preliminary data is available, is a new and original sequence from southern Italy. The Holocene sequence, with 11 AMS radiocarbon dates shows a stable Fagus forest for the entire period. Apart from sporadic pastoralism activities and the selective exploitation of Abies, only a weak human impact is recognized in the pollen records. Lake level oscillations have been reconstructed and annual precipitations quantified using the Modern Analogue Technique. The reconstruction was effectuated both at millennial and centennial scale: the first shows an increasing of moisture from 11000 to 9400 cal BP and a maximum of humidity from 9400 to 6200 cal BP. Moreover, several climatic oscillations punctuated the Holocene and therefore superimposed the millennial trend.

Life cycle assessment based environmental impact estimation model for pre-stressed concrete beam bridge in the early design phase

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Kyong Ju; Yun, Won Gun; Cho, Namho; Ha, Jikwang

2017-01-01

The late rise in global concern for environmental issues such as global warming and air pollution is accentuating the need for environmental assessments in the construction industry. Promptly evaluating the environmental loads of the various design alternatives during the early stages of a construction project and adopting the most environmentally sustainable candidate is therefore of large importance. Yet, research on the early evaluation of a construction project's environmental load in order to aid the decision making process is hitherto lacking. In light of this dilemma, this study proposes a model for estimating the environmental load by employing only the most basic information accessible during the early design phases of a project for the pre-stressed concrete (PSC) beam bridge, the most common bridge structure. Firstly, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on the data from 99 bridges by integrating the bills of quantities (BOQ) with a life cycle inventory (LCI) database. The processed data was then utilized to construct a case based reasoning (CBR) model for estimating the environmental load. The accuracy of the estimation model was then validated using five test cases; the model's mean absolute error rates (MAER) for the total environmental load was calculated as 7.09%. Such test results were shown to be superior compared to those obtained from a multiple-regression based model and a slab area base-unit analysis model. Henceforth application of this model during the early stages of a project is expected to highly complement environmentally friendly designs and construction by facilitating the swift evaluation of the environmental load from multiple standpoints. - Highlights: • This study is to develop the model of assessing the environmental impacts on LCA. • Bills of quantity from completed designs of PSC Beam were linked with the LCI DB. • Previous cases were used to estimate the environmental load of new case by CBR model. • CBR

Life cycle assessment based environmental impact estimation model for pre-stressed concrete beam bridge in the early design phase

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Kyong Ju, E-mail: kjkim@cau.ac.kr; Yun, Won Gun, E-mail: ogun78@naver.com; Cho, Namho, E-mail: nhc51@cau.ac.kr; Ha, Jikwang, E-mail: wlrhkd29@gmail.com

2017-05-15

The late rise in global concern for environmental issues such as global warming and air pollution is accentuating the need for environmental assessments in the construction industry. Promptly evaluating the environmental loads of the various design alternatives during the early stages of a construction project and adopting the most environmentally sustainable candidate is therefore of large importance. Yet, research on the early evaluation of a construction project's environmental load in order to aid the decision making process is hitherto lacking. In light of this dilemma, this study proposes a model for estimating the environmental load by employing only the most basic information accessible during the early design phases of a project for the pre-stressed concrete (PSC) beam bridge, the most common bridge structure. Firstly, a life cycle assessment (LCA) was conducted on the data from 99 bridges by integrating the bills of quantities (BOQ) with a life cycle inventory (LCI) database. The processed data was then utilized to construct a case based reasoning (CBR) model for estimating the environmental load. The accuracy of the estimation model was then validated using five test cases; the model's mean absolute error rates (MAER) for the total environmental load was calculated as 7.09%. Such test results were shown to be superior compared to those obtained from a multiple-regression based model and a slab area base-unit analysis model. Henceforth application of this model during the early stages of a project is expected to highly complement environmentally friendly designs and construction by facilitating the swift evaluation of the environmental load from multiple standpoints. - Highlights: • This study is to develop the model of assessing the environmental impacts on LCA. • Bills of quantity from completed designs of PSC Beam were linked with the LCI DB. • Previous cases were used to estimate the environmental load of new case by CBR model. • CBR

Holocene fluctuations in human population demonstrate repeated links to food production and climate.

Science.gov (United States)

Bevan, Andrew; Colledge, Sue; Fuller, Dorian; Fyfe, Ralph; Shennan, Stephen; Stevens, Chris

2017-12-05

We consider the long-term relationship between human demography, food production, and Holocene climate via an archaeological radiocarbon date series of unprecedented sampling density and detail. There is striking consistency in the inferred human population dynamics across different regions of Britain and Ireland during the middle and later Holocene. Major cross-regional population downturns in population coincide with episodes of more abrupt change in North Atlantic climate and witness societal responses in food procurement as visible in directly dated plants and animals, often with moves toward hardier cereals, increased pastoralism, and/or gathered resources. For the Neolithic, this evidence questions existing models of wholly endogenous demographic boom-bust. For the wider Holocene, it demonstrates that climate-related disruptions have been quasi-periodic drivers of societal and subsistence change. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Drainage system inversion in the Guadalentin Depression during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene (Murcia, Spain)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Calmel-Avila, M.; Silva, P. G.; Bardaji, T.; Goy, J. L.; Zazo, C.

2009-07-01

This article presents the results of studies conducted in the central sector of Guadalentin depression (Murcia) for the abnormal accumulation (more than 17 m) of Pleistocene and Holocene deposits upstream of Romeral tectonic threshold (Librilla). {sup 1}4C dating. ruins and archaeological sites, together with its stratigraphic analysis show that the three sequences that constitute the Holocene detrital filling of the Depression, prograded are superimposed on the upper Pleistocene travertine upstream from the confluence of the River Guadalentin the Rambla de Librilla. Between Librilla and threshold Romeral Holocene deposits only appear along the left bank (15-17m). By contrast the right side shows significant lifting of the Pleistocene travertine up area Romeral threshold, where the substrate allora Neogene. (Author) 11 refs.

The Holocene in the coastal zone of Uruguay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Rodriguez, F.

2011-07-01

This book represents a compilation of several scientific Holocene paleoenvironmental aspects of the coastal zone in Uruguay. It includes information about geological, geomorphological, evolutionary genetics, paleontological, paleobotanic, paleoclimatological, paleolimnological, paleoceanographic and archeologic aspects. The chapters presented were arbitrated by national and foreign recognized scientists

Holocene depositional history of a large glaciated estuary, Penobscot Bay, Maine

Science.gov (United States)

Knebel, H.J.

1986-01-01

Data from seismic-reflection profiles, sidescan sonar images, and sediment samples reveal the Holocene depositional history of the large (1100 km2) glaciated Penobscot Bay estuary of coastal Maine. Previous work has shown that the late Wisconsinan ice sheet retreated from the three main passages of the bay between 12,700 and 13,500 years ago and was accompanied by a marine transgression during which ice and sea were in contact. Isostatic recovery of the crust caused the bay to emerge during the immediate postglacial period, and relative sea level fell to at least -40 m sometime between 9000 and 11,500 years ago. During lowered sea level, the ancestral Penobscot River flowed across the subaerially exposed head of the bay and debouched into Middle Passage. Organic-matter-rich mud from the river was deposited rapidly in remnant, glacially scoured depressions in the lower reaches of Middle and West Passages behind a shallow (???20 m water depth) bedrock sill across the bay mouth. East Passage was isolated from the rest of the bay system and received only small amounts of locally derived fine-grained sediments. During the Holocene transgression that accompanied the eustatic rise of sea level, the locus of sedimentation shifted to the head of the bay. Here, heterogeneous fluvial deposits filled the ancestral valley of the Penobscot River as base level rose, and the migrating surf zone created a gently dipping erosional unconformity, marked by a thin (energy conditions and the waning influence of the Penobscot River at the head of the bay. In contrast, relatively thick (up to 25 m) silty clays accumulated within a subbottom trough in the western half of the bay head. This deposit apparently developed late in the transgression after sea level had reached -20 m and after the westward transport of fine-grained sediments from the Penobscot River had been established. During and since the late Holocene transgression of sea level, waves and currents have eroded, reworked, and

External-environmental and internal-health early life predictors of adolescent development.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartman, Sarah; Li, Zhi; Nettle, Daniel; Belsky, Jay

2017-12-01

A wealth of evidence documents associations between various aspects of the rearing environment and later development. Two evolutionary-inspired models advance explanations for why and how such early experiences shape later functioning: (a) the external-prediction model, which highlights the role of the early environment (e.g., parenting) in regulating children's development, and (b) the internal-prediction model, which emphasizes internal state (i.e., health) as the critical regulator. Thus, by using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the current project draws from both models by investigating whether the effect of the early environment on later adolescent functioning is subject to an indirect effect by internal-health variables. Results showed a significant indirect effect of internal health on the relation between the early environment and adolescent behavior. Specifically, early environmental adversity during the first 5 years of life predicted lower quality health during childhood, which then led to problematic adolescent functioning and earlier age of menarche for girls. In addition, for girls, early adversity predicted lower quality health that forecasted earlier age of menarche leading to increased adolescent risk taking. The discussion highlights the importance of integrating both internal and external models to further understand the developmental processes that effect adolescent behavior.

Environmental changes and human settlement in the central Marches (Italy during the early-middle Holocene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilberto Calderoni

2007-12-01

Full Text Available In the Early Holocene, the central Marches (Italy underwent a widespread development of forest cover and soils which drastically reduced slope degradation and related aggradation processes in riverbeds. In such conditions, streams deeply incised the previous alluvial sediments. In the Apennine sectors, linear erosion was locally prevented by the growth of travertine dams in correspondence with river channel knickpoints and waterfalls. Fluvial deposition prevailed in the peri-Adriatic hilly belt, where river valleys still extended from the present coastline to the uprising Adriatic Sea, as testified by a 50-m-deep cored log, drilled near the Potenza River mouth. Several archaeological sites, ranging from the Mesolithic to the Aeneolithic, testify the recurrent presence of small-scale human groups on the alluvial plains of the lower valley sectors. Sandy-clayey sediments, emplaced by flooding episodes, repeatedly buried these settlements which were commonly located on the riversides. Small Aeneolithic communities were also present in the mountain sectors, around travertine-dammed swampy-lacustrine basins. On top of the sequences, Bronze Age sites were locally found. Widespread deforestation started in the early Iron Age (about 3000 yr BP, when alluvial plains and terraces were permanently occupied by large-scale human settlements. Geo-archaeological evidence of systematic deforestation at 2950 ± 50 14C yr BP, consisting of numerous round-shaped 1.5-3 m wide hollows, filled with soil sediments and upturned blocks of alluvial gravels, were found on top of a fluvial terrace in the Esino River basin. From the Iron Age to recent historical times, notwithstanding the progressive increase of debris supply to the drainage systems due to the spreading agricultural-pastoral activities, erosion dominated almost everywhere in the Marches rivers, likely induced by climatic factors.À l’Holocène inférieur, comme ailleurs dans le monde, les Marches

An organizational early-warning system for safety, health, and environmental crises

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shrivastava, P.

1992-01-01

Early-warning systems have played an important role in preventing major industrial accidents and technological disasters. These systems record critical operating and performance parameters and raise warnings or alarms if these parameters cross acceptable limits. Most early-warning systems used in hazardous industries focus on the technological system and to a lesser extent on their human operators. However, industrial disasters are caused not only by technological and human failure, but also by organizational, regulatory, infrastructural, and community preparedness failures. Hazardous industries can benefit from the development of early-warning systems that have a broader scope than the core technology. These systems could cover financial, human resource, organizational policies, regulatory, infrastructural, and community-related variables. This paper develops some basic concepts that can help build managerially useful early-warning systems for safety, health, and environmental (SHE) incidents. It identifies variables that should be tracked, the threshold levels for these variables, and possible managerial reactions to warnings

Holocene environmental changes in Red River Delta, Vietnam as ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

63

2VNU Key Laboratory of Geoenvironment and Climate change Response – 334 ... Keywords: Environmental change; Stable isotopes; C/N ratios; Red River ...... and Meade R H 1983 World-wide delivery of river sediment to the oceans; The.

Early Human Occupation on the Northeast Tibetan Plateau

Science.gov (United States)

Rhode, D.; Madsen, D.; Brantingham, P.; Perrault, C.

2010-12-01

The Tibetan Plateau presents great challenges for human occupation: low oxygen, high ultraviolet radiation, harsh seasonal climate, low overall biological productivity. How and when early humans were able to cope physiologically, genetically, and behaviorally with these extremes is important for understanding the history of human adaptive flexibility. Our investigations of prehistoric human settlement on the northeast Tibetan Plateau focus on (a) establishing well-dated evidence for occupation of altitudes >3000 m, (b) the environmental context of high altitude adaptation, and (c) relations of hunting and pastoralism to lower-altitude agrarian systems. We observe two major prehistoric settlement patterns in the Qinghai Lake area. The earliest, ~15,000-7500 yr old, consists of small isolated firehearths with sparse associated stone tools and wild mammal remains (1). Numerous hearths often occur in the same localities, indicating repeated short-duration occupations by small hunting parties. A second pattern, ~9000-4000 yr old, was established during the Holocene climatic optimum. These sites represent prolonged seasonal residential occupation, containing dark anthropogenic midden, hearth and pit constructions, abundant stone tools, occasional ceramics, and abundant diverse faunal remains (including medium-large mammals but lacking domestic sheep/yak)(2). These Plateau-margin base camps allowed greater intensity of use of the high Plateau. Residential occupation was strongly influenced by nearby lower-altitude farming communities; development of the socioeconomic landscape along the Yellow River likely played at least as great a role in Plateau occupation patterns as did Holocene environmental changes. Holocene vegetation changes in the NE Tibetan Plateau have been attributed to climate (3) or anthropogenic modification (4). Our results document changes in shrub/tree presence from ~12,000-4000 BP, similar to pollen records, that likely reflect climate rather than

North Atlantic-Fennoscandian Holocene climate trends and mechanisms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sejrup, H.P.; Seppä, H.; McKay, N.; Kaufman, D.S.; Geirsdottir, A.; de Vernal, A.; Renssen, H.; Husum, K.; Jennings, A.; Andrews, J.T.

2016-01-01

To investigate the mechanisms behind Holocene regional climate trends from north of 58°N in the North Atlantic-Fennoscandian region Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed and a temperature anomaly stack produced from 81 proxy derived summer temperature time series from 74 sites. The PC

Exploring the Causes of Mid-Holocene Drought in the Rocky Mountains Using Hydrologic Forward Models

Science.gov (United States)

Meador, E.; Morrill, C.

2017-12-01

We present a quantitative model-data comparison for mid-Holocene (6 ka) lake levels in the Rocky Mountains, with the goals of assessing the skill coupled climate models and hydrologic forward models in simulating climate change and improving our understanding of the factors causing past changes in water resources. The mid-Holocene climate in this area may in some ways be similar to expected future climate, thus improved understanding of the factors causing past changes in water resources have the potential to aid in the process of water allocation for large areas that share a relatively small water source. This project focuses on Little Windy Hill Pond in the Medicine Bow Forest in the Rocky Mountains in southern Wyoming. We first calibrated the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) catchment hydrologic model and the one-dimensional Hostetler Bartlein lake energy-balance model to modern observations, using U.S. Geological Survey stream discharge data and Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) data to ensure appropriate selection of model parameters. Once the models were calibrated to modern conditions, we forced them with output from eight mid-Holocene coupled climate model simulations completed as part of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project, Phase 5. Forcing from nearly all of the CMIP5 models generates intense, short-lived droughts for the mid-Holocene that are more severe than any we modeled for the past six decades. The severity of the mid-Holocene droughts could be sufficient, depending on sediment processes in the lake, to account for low lake levels recorded by loss-on-ignition in sediment cores. Our preliminary analysis of model output indicates that the combined effects of decreased snowmelt runoff and increased summer lake evaporation cause low mid-Holocene lake levels. These factors are also expected to be important in the future under anthropogenic climate change.

A Holocene record of ocean productivity and upwelling from the northern California continental slope

Science.gov (United States)

Addison, Jason A.; Barron, John A.; Finney, Bruce P.; Kusler, Jennifer E.; Bukry, David; Heusser, Linda E.; Alexander, Clark R.

2018-01-01

The Holocene upwelling history of the northern California continental slope is examined using the high-resolution record of TN062-O550 (40.9°N, 124.6°W, 550 m water depth). This 7-m-long marine sediment core spans the last ∼7500 years, and we use it to test the hypothesis that marine productivity in the California Current System (CCS) driven by coastal upwelling has co-varied with Holocene millennial-scale warm intervals. A combination of biogenic sediment concentrations (opal, total organic C, and total N), stable isotopes (organic matter δ13C and bulk sedimentary δ15N), and key microfossil indicators of upwelling were used to test this hypothesis. The record of biogenic accumulation in TN062-O550 shows considerable Holocene variability despite being located within 50 km of the mouth of the Eel River, which is one of the largest sources of terrigenous sediment to the Northeast Pacific Ocean margin. A key time interval beginning at ∼2900 calibrated years before present (cal yr BP) indicates the onset of modern upwelling in the CCS, and this period also corresponds to the most intense period of upwelling in the last 7500 years. When these results are placed into a regional CCS context during the Holocene, it was found that the timing of upwelling intensification at TN062-O550 corresponds closely to that seen at nearby ODP Site 1019, as well as in the Santa Barbara Basin of southern California. Other CCS records with less refined age control show similar results, which suggest late Holocene upwelling intensification may be synchronous throughout the CCS. Based on the strong correspondence between the alkenone sea surface temperature record at ODP Site 1019 and the onset of late Holocene upwelling in northern California, we suggest that CCS warming may be conducive to upwelling intensification, though future changes are unclear as the mechanisms forcing SST variability may differ.

Deglacial and Holocene sea-ice variability north of Iceland and response to ocean circulation changes

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Xiaotong; Zhao, Meixun; Knudsen, Karen Luise; Sha, Longbin; Eiríksson, Jón; Gudmundsdóttir, Esther; Jiang, Hui; Guo, Zhigang

2017-08-01

Sea-ice conditions on the North Icelandic shelf constitute a key component for the study of the climatic gradients between the Arctic and the North Atlantic Oceans at the Polar Front between the cold East Icelandic Current delivering Polar surface water and the relatively warm Irminger Current derived from the North Atlantic Current. The variability of sea ice contributes to heat reduction (albedo) and gas exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere, and further affects the deep-water formation. However, lack of long-term and high-resolution sea-ice records in the region hinders the understanding of palaeoceanographic change mechanisms during the last glacial-interglacial cycle. Here, we present a sea-ice record back to 15 ka (cal. ka BP) based on the sea-ice biomarker IP25, phytoplankton biomarker brassicasterol and terrestrial biomarker long-chain n-alkanols in piston core MD99-2272 from the North Icelandic shelf. During the Bølling/Allerød (14.7-12.9 ka), the North Icelandic shelf was characterized by extensive spring sea-ice cover linked to reduced flow of warm Atlantic Water and dominant Polar water influence, as well as strong meltwater input in the area. This pattern showed an anti-phase relationship with the ice-free/less ice conditions in marginal areas of the eastern Nordic Seas, where the Atlantic Water inflow was strong, and contributed to an enhanced deep-water formation. Prolonged sea-ice cover with occasional occurrence of seasonal sea ice prevailed during the Younger Dryas (12.9-11.7 ka) interrupted by a brief interval of enhanced Irminger Current and deposition of the Vedde Ash, as opposed to abruptly increased sea-ice conditions in the eastern Nordic Seas. The seasonal sea ice decreased gradually from the Younger Dryas to the onset of the Holocene corresponding to increasing insolation. Ice-free conditions and sea surface warming were observed for the Early Holocene, followed by expansion of sea ice during the Mid-Holocene.

The structure and composition of Holocene coral reefs in the Middle Florida Keys

Science.gov (United States)

Toth, Lauren T.; Stathakopoulos, Anastasios; Kuffner, Ilsa B.

2016-07-21

The Florida Keys reef tract (FKRT) is the largest coral-reef ecosystem in the continental United States. The modern FKRT extends for 362 kilometers along the coast of South Florida from Dry Tortugas National Park in the southwest, through the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), to Fowey Rocks reef in Biscayne National Park in the northeast. Most reefs along the FKRT are sheltered by the exposed islands of the Florida Keys; however, large channels are located between the islands of the Middle Keys. These openings allow for tidal transport of water from Florida Bay onto reefs in the area. The characteristics of the water masses coming from Florida Bay, which can experience broad swings in temperature, salinity, nutrients, and turbidity over short periods of time, are generally unfavorable or “inimical” to coral growth and reef development.Although reef habitats are ubiquitous throughout most of the Upper and Lower Keys, relatively few modern reefs exist in the Middle Keys most likely because of the impacts of inimical waters from Florida Bay. The reefs that are present in the Middle Keys generally are poorly developed compared with reefs elsewhere in the region. For example, Acropora palmata has been the dominant coral on shallow-water reefs in the Caribbean over the last 1.5 million years until populations of the coral declined throughout the region in recent decades. Although A. palmata was historically abundant in the Florida Keys, it was conspicuously absent from reefs in the Middle Keys. Instead, contemporary reefs in the Middle Keys have been dominated by occasional massive (that is, boulder or head) corals and, more often, small, non-reef-building corals.Holocene reef cores have been collected from many locations along the FKRT; however, despite the potential importance of the history of reefs in the Middle Florida Keys to our understanding of the environmental controls on reef development throughout the FKRT, there are currently no published

Holocene variations of wildfire occurrence as a guide for sustainable management of the northeastern Canadian boreal forest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed El-Guellab

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Background Cumulative impacts of wildfires and forest harvesting can cause shifts from closed-crown forest to open woodland in boreal ecosystems. To lower the probability of occurrence of such catastrophic regime shifts, forest logging must decrease when fire frequency increases, so that the combined disturbance rate does not exceed the Holocene maximum. Knowing how climate warming will affect fire regimes is thus crucial to sustainably manage the forest. This study aimed to provide a guide to determine sustainable forest harvesting levels, by reconstructing the Holocene fire history at the northern limit of commercial forestry in Quebec using charcoal particles preserved in lake sediments. Methods Sediment cores were sampled from four lakes located close to the northern limit of commercial forestry in Quebec. The cores were sliced into consecutive 0.5 cm thick subsamples from which 1 cm3 was extracted to count and measure charcoal particles larger than 150 microns. Age-depth models were obtained for each core based on accelerator mass spectroscopy (AMS radiocarbon dates. Holocene fire histories were reconstructed by combining charcoal counts and age-depth models to obtain charcoal accumulation rates and, after statistical treatment, long-term trends in fire occurrence (expressed as number of fires per 1000 years. Results Fire occurrence varied between the four studied sites, but fires generally occurred more often during warm and dry periods of the Holocene, especially during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (7000–3500 cal. BP, when fire occurrence was twice as high as at present. Conclusions The current fire regime in the study area is still within the natural range of variability observed over the Holocene. However, climatic conditions comparable to the Holocene Thermal Maximum could be reached within the next few decades, thus substantially reducing the amount of wood available to the forest industry.

Holocene paleoearthquakes on the strike-slip Porters Pass Fault, Canterbury, New Zealand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howard, M.; Nicol, A.; Campbell, J.; Pettinga, J.R.

2005-01-01

The Porters Pass Fault comprises a series of discontinuous Holocene active traces which extend for c. 40 km between the Rakaia and Waimakariri Rivers in the foothills of the Southern Alps. There have been no historical earthquakes on the Porters Pass Fault (i.e., within the last 150 yr), and the purpose of this paper is to establish the timing and magnitudes of displacements on the fault at the ground surface during Holocene paleoearthquakes. Displaced geomorphic features (e.g., relict streams, stream channels, and ridge crests), measured using either tape measure (n = 20) or surveying equipment (n = 5), range from 5.5 to 33 m right lateral strike slip and are consistent with six earthquakes characterised by slip per event of c. 5-7 m. The timing of these earthquakes is constrained by radiocarbon dates from four trenches excavated across the fault and two auger sites from within swamps produced by ponding of drainage along the fault scarp. These data indicate markedly different Holocene earthquake histories along the fault length separated by a behavioural segment boundary near Lake Coleridge. On the eastern segment at least six Holocene earthquakes were identified at 8400-9000, 5700-6700, 4500-6000, 2300-2500, 800-1100, and 500-600 yr BP, producing an average recurrence interval of c. 1500 yr. On the western segment of the fault in the Rakaia River valley, a single surface-rupturing earthquake displaced Acheron Advance glacial deposits (c.10,000-14,000 yr in age) and may represent the southward continuation of the 2300-2500 yr event identified on the eastern segment. These data suggest Holocene slip rates of 3.2-4.1 mm/yr and 0.3-0.9 mm/yr on the eastern and western sections of the fault, respectively. Displacement and timing data suggest that earthquakes ruptured the western segment of the fault in no more than one-sixth of cases and that for a sample period of 10,000 yr the recurrence intervals were not characteristic. (auth). 45 refs., 10 figs., 3 tabs

Holocene megathermal abrupt environmental changes derived from {sup 14}C dating of a coral reef at Leizhou Peninsula, South China Sea

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shen Chengde; Yi Weixi E-mail: cdshen@gig.ac.cn; Yu Kefu; Sun Yanmin; Liu Tungsheng; Beer, J.; Hajdas, I.; Bonani, G

2004-08-01

A depth profile of a Goniopora coral reef at Leizhou Peninsula, South China Sea, was radiocarbon dated using liquid scintillation counting (LSC) and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The time of formation, during 6600-7400 cal BP, can be divided into nine stages, each terminated by abrupt growth cessation of Goniopora and appearance of Ostrea shells. The results show that, during the Holocene megathermal (8.2-3.3 ka BP), large climatic changes have occurred in the South China Sea area.

Holocene Paleoceanographic Environments at the Chukchi-Alaskan Margin: Implications for Future Changes

Science.gov (United States)

Polyak, L.; Nam, S. I.; Dipre, G.; Kim, S. Y.; Ortiz, J. D.; Darby, D. A.

2017-12-01

The impacts of the North Pacific oceanic and atmospheric system on the Arctic Ocean result in accelerated sea-ice retreat and related changes in hydrography and biota in the western Arctic. Paleoclimatic records from the Pacific sector of the Arctic are key for understanding the long-term history of these interactions. As opposed to stratigraphically long but strongly compressed sediment cores recovered from the deep Arctic Ocean, sediment depocenters on the Chukchi-Alaskan margin yield continuous, medium to high resolution records formed since the last deglaciation. While early Holocene conditions were non-analogous to modern environments due to the effects of prolonged deglaciation and insufficiently high sea levels, mid to late Holocene sediments are more relevant for recent and modern climate variability. Notably, a large depocenter at the Alaskan margin has sedimentation rates estimated as high as a few millimeters per year, thus providing a decadal to near-annual resolution. This high accumulation can be explained by sediment delivery via the Alaskan Coastal Current originating from the Bering Sea and supposedly controlled by the Aleutian Low pressure center. Preliminary results from sediment cores recovering the last several centuries, along with a comparison with other paleoclimatic proxy records from the Arctic-North Pacific region, indicate a persistent role of the Aleutian Low in the Bering Strait inflow and attendant deposition. More proxy studies are underway to reconstruct the history of this circulation system and its relationship with sea ice extent. The expected results will improve our understanding of natural variability in oceanic and atmospheric conditions at the Chukchi-Alaskan margin, a critical area for modulating the Arctic climate change.

Climate and vegetation changes during the Lateglacial and early–middle Holocene at Lake Ledro (southern Alps, Italy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Joannin

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Adding to the on-going debate regarding vegetation recolonisation (more particularly the timing in Europe and climate change since the Lateglacial, this study investigates a long sediment core (LL081 from Lake Ledro (652 m a.s.l., southern Alps, Italy. Environmental changes were reconstructed using multiproxy analysis (pollen-based vegetation and climate reconstruction, lake levels, magnetic susceptibility and X-ray fluorescence (XRF measurements recorded climate and land-use changes during the Lateglacial and early–middle Holocene. The well-dated and high-resolution pollen record of Lake Ledro is compared with vegetation records from the southern and northern Alps to trace the history of tree species distribution. An altitude-dependent progressive time delay of the first continuous occurrence of Abies (fir and of the Larix (larch development has been observed since the Lateglacial in the southern Alps. This pattern suggests that the mid-altitude Lake Ledro area was not a refuge and that trees originated from lowlands or hilly areas (e.g. Euganean Hills in northern Italy. Preboreal oscillations (ca. 11 000 cal BP, Boreal oscillations (ca. 10 200, 9300 cal BP and the 8.2 kyr cold event suggest a centennial-scale climate forcing in the studied area. Picea (spruce expansion occurred preferentially around 10 200 and 8200 cal BP in the south-eastern Alps, and therefore reflects the long-lasting cumulative effects of successive boreal and the 8.2 kyr cold event. The extension of Abies is contemporaneous with the 8.2 kyr event, but its development in the southern Alps benefits from the wettest interval 8200–7300 cal BP evidenced in high lake levels, flood activity and pollen-based climate reconstructions. Since ca. 7500 cal BP, a weak signal of pollen-based anthropogenic activities suggest weak human impact. The period between ca. 5700 and ca. 4100 cal BP is considered as a transition period to colder and wetter conditions (particularly during

Evaluation of the Holocene environmental changes of the southwest ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

the palaeo-environmental conditions of western coast of India during this epoch through the analysis of ... India had experienced high intensity rainfall during the earlier part of the Atlantic chronozone due to ..... of evergreen forest elements in pollen spectra also .... Quaternary peat deposits from Vembanad Lake (lagoon),.

Diagenesis of Holocene reef and associated beachrock of certain ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

ally exposed corals of Holocene and Last Inter- glacial age, which may be subjected to diagenesis, primarily in the ... During the period of low tide, spring reef flat is covered by ..... Kallankurichchi formation, Ariyalur group, South India and its ...

The reconstruction of late Holocene environmental change at Redhead Lagoon, NSW, using a multiple-method approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franklin, N.; Gale, S.

1999-01-01

Full text: The aim of this project is to reconstruct the late Holocene history of environmental change at Redhead Lagoon, an enclosed lake basin located to the northeast of Lake Macquarie in eastern New South Wales. The project focuses on the relationship between land use changes and the quantity and quality of sediment deposited within the basin over time. Twenty-nine cores between 3 m and 6 m deep were taken from a 50 m grid across the lake basin. Variations in magnetic susceptibility were employed to correlate the cores across the lake. A representative 'master core' was selected for detailed laboratory analysis, including bulk density, mineral bulk density, plant organic content, mineral magnetic properties and geochemistry. Critical for the success of this study is the establishment of a reliable and accurate chronology of sedimentation. To achieve this, the radioisotope Caesium- 137 was used as a dating technique in combination with measurements of various chemical and physical properties of the sediments - which were used as chronological markers. The 137 Cs analysis has provided a chronology extending back to ∼1955 at a depth of 0.20 m. The dates have been verified by comparison with geochemical markers and documented records of land use changes in the area. However, the technique was unable to provide reliable dates lower down the core, so a tentative chronology for the rest of the sequence has been assigned using the results of the geochemical analysis. Records of well-documented historic events with distinct physical/chemical signatures, such as the rise in heavy metal concentrations resulting from the opening of the lead-zinc smelter at Cockle Creek in 1897, provided a reliable chronological framework. The results show that human activity has had a profound effect in disturbing the natural pattern of deposition in the lake basin. Agricultural and coal-mining activities within the catchment had the greatest effect on rates of sediment accumulation

[Environmental and genetic variables related with alterations in language acquisition in early childhood].

Science.gov (United States)

Moriano-Gutierrez, A; Colomer-Revuelta, J; Sanjuan, J; Carot-Sierra, J M

2017-01-01

A great deal of research has addressed problems in the correct acquisition of language, but with few overall conclusions. The reasons for this lie in the individual variability, the existence of different measures for assessing language and the fact that a complex network of genetic and environmental factors are involved in its development. To review the environmental and genetic variables that have been studied to date, in order to gain a better under-standing of the causes of specific language impairment and create new evidence that can help in the development of screening systems for the early detection of these disorders. The environmental variables related with poorer early child language development include male gender, low level of education of the mother, familial history of problems with language or psychiatric problems, perinatal problems and health problems in early childhood. Bilingualism seems to be a protective factor. Temperament and language are related. Within the genetic factors there are several specific genes associated with language, two of which have a greater influence on its physiological acquisition: FOXP2 and CNTNAP2. The other genes that are most related with specific language disorders are ATP2C2, CMIP, ROBO2, ZNF277 and NOP9. The key to comprehending the development of specific language disorders lies in reaching an understanding of the true role played by genes in the ontogenesis, in the regulation of the different developmental processes, and how this role is modulated by the environment.

The III working days of the Cenozoic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2012-06-01

The third working days in geology were organized by the Uruguayan Society of geology and took place in DINAMIGE in June - 2012. The lectures were given by national and foreign professionals and included important topics such as mineral raw materials used in the archaeological artifacts in Guayacas - Dayman - Paysandu . The Holocene in the coastal zone of Uruguay. Aspect of the early human occupation in Uruguay. Change effects in the land use about the mineral clay (eucalyptus forestation, illite). Paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstruction for middle and late holocene (Rocha). Gas hydrate resource quantification in Uruguay. Application of the geophysical techniques in the environmental pollution in Montevideo - Piriapolis. Environmental evolution and builders of small hills in India Muerta zone. Human or natural forcing in the geomorphological processes in Pocitos and Ramirez beaches (80 years of aerophotographic records).Tipology and nomenclature proposal for technological soil. Quarries reconditioning methodology. Hydraulic conductivity in sugar cane cultivated in soils previous vinaza application. Paleosoils and pedogenic calcretes formations in Fray Bentos (Oligocene - early miocene) Raigon (late pliocene and Middle pleistocene) and Libertad (early - middle pleistocene). Tectonics and sedimentary process in the continental talud in Uruguay. Rio de la Plata as paleoenvironmental focus using diatomos as proxies. Oleistocene mammals in the late-early Holocene in Santa Lucia river basin (Uruguay southern). Anthropization in Montevideo Bay during the Holocene. Paleocene stratigraphic plays in Uruguay offshore. Continental Influence versus marine transition in Rio de la Plata zone - internal continental shelf of the South Atlantic - a multiproxy study. Macrofossils vegetable in Palmar formation (later pleistocene) in Entre Rios - Argentina. Phytolith analysis in quaternary fluvial sediment (plio-pleistocene) in San Salvador and Palmar formation - Uruguay

Strength of forest-albedo feedback in mid-Holocene climate simulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Otto

2011-09-01

Full Text Available Reconstructions of the mid-Holocene climate, 6000 years before present, suggest that spring temperatures were higher at high northern latitudes compared to the pre-industrial period. A positive feedback between expansion of forest and climate presumably contributed to this warming. In the presence of snow, forests have a lower albedo than grass land. Therefore, the expansion of forest likely favoured a warming in spring, counteracting the lower insolation at the mid-Holocene.

We investigate the sensitivity of the vegetation-atmosphere interaction under mid-Holocene orbital forcing with respect to the strength of the forest-albedo feedback by using a comprehensive coupled atmosphere-vegetation model (ECHAM5/JSBACH. We perform two sets of model simulations: a first set of simulations with a relatively weak reduction of albedo of snow by forest; and a second set of simulations with a relatively strong reduction of the albedo of snow by forest.

We show that the parameterisation of the albedo of snow leads to uncertainties in the temperature signal. Compared to the set with weak snow masking, the simulations with strong snow masking reveal a spring warming that is three times higher, by 0.34 °C north of 60° N. This warming is related to a forest expansion of only 13%.

Vegetation and environmental dynamics in the Páramo of Jimbura region in the southeastern Ecuadorian Andes during the late Quaternary

Science.gov (United States)

Villota, Andrea; León-Yánez, Susana; Behling, Hermann

2012-12-01

The last 15,000 years of vegetation, fire and climate history were reconstructed from the Laguna Natosa Peat bog core (3600 m elevation) in the Páramo of Jimbura region in the Cordillera Real, close to the Peruvian border of southern Ecuador in the southernmost part of the Andean depression. The pollen record, dated by 5 radiocarbon dates, indicates that during the late Glacial (ca. 15,000-12,000 cal yr BP) a gradual expansion of mountain forest, restricting the páramo vegetation to small patches, and a shift of the forest line to higher elevation took place; reflecting an increase in temperature. However, a clear signal of the warmer Bølling/Allerød interstadial and the cooler Younger Dryas period, are not reflected in the record. During the transition from the late Glacial to the early/mid-Holocene (ca. 12,000-4800 cal yr BP), tree taxa such as Hedyosmum and Podocarpaceae are well represented, suggesting that the upper forest line, especially in the mid-Holocene, reached slightly higher elevations than at present. Hence, páramo vegetation was limited, indicating warmer climatic conditions for the early to mid-Holocene period than today. The late Holocene from 4800 cal yr BP until the present is characterized by higher occurrences of páramo taxa. During this period, the upper forest line shifted downwards giving room to the expansion of the páramo vegetation to its current size. Fire was rare during the late Glacial period but became more frequent after about 8000 cal yr BP, probably due to the dry event during the mid-Holocene and increased human activity.

Low-frequency and high-frequency changes in temperature and effective humidity during the Holocene in south-central Sweden: implications for atmospheric and oceanic forcings of climate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seppae, H. [University of Helsinki, Department of Geology, 64, Helsinki (Finland); Hammarlund, D. [Lund University, GeoBiosphere Science Centre, Quaternary Sciences, Lund (Sweden); Antonsson, K. [Uppsala University, Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala (Sweden)

2005-08-01

An integrated use of independent palaeoclimatological proxy techniques that reflect different components of the climate system provides a potential key for functional analysis of past climate changes. Here we report a 10,000 year quantitative record of annual mean temperature (T{sub ann}), based on pollen-climate transfer functions and pollen-stratigraphical data from Lake Flarken, south-central Sweden. The pollen-based temperature reconstruction is compared with a reconstruction of effective humidity, as reflected by a {delta}{sup 18}O record obtained on stratigraphy of lacustrine carbonates from Lake Igelsjoen, c. 10 km from Lake Flarken, which gives evidence of pronounced changes in effective humidity. The relatively low T{sub ann}, and high effective humidity as reflected by a low evaporation/inflow ratio suggest a maritime early Holocene climate (10,000-8,300 cal year BP), seemingly incompatible with the highly seasonal solar insolation configuration. We argue that the maritime climate was due to the stronger-than-present zonal flow, enhanced by the high early Holocene sea-surface temperatures in the North Atlantic. The maritime climate mode was disrupted by the abrupt cold event at 8,200 cal year BP, followed at 8,000 cal year BP by a stable Holocene Thermal Maximum. The latter was characterized by T{sub ann} values about 2.5 C higher than at present and markedly dry conditions, indicative of stable summer-time anti-cyclonic circulation, possibly corresponding with modern blocking anticyclonic conditions. The last 4,300 year period is characterized by an increasingly cold, moist, and unstable climate. The results demonstrate the value of combining two independent palaeoclimatic proxies in enhancing the reliability, generality, and interpretability of the palaeoclimatic results. Further methodological refinements especially in resolving past seasonal climatic contrasts are needed to better understand the role of different forcing factors in driving millennial

Precipitation change and its effects on prehistorical human activities in the Gonghe Basin, Northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during middle and late Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Xiaoqing; Hou, Guangliang; Wang, Fangfang; Wang, Qingbo

2018-02-01

Northeastern Qinghai-tibet Plateau is considered as the ideal region for study of the climate change during the Holocene. Based on the meteorological data, the surface & fossil pollen data, this paper reconstructed the precipitation series of the region since middle Holocene with the GIS and MAT techniques, and discussed its relationship with prehistorical human activities. The results indicate that there are four major climatic phases: (I) Middle Holocene Humid Phase (6300-5000 aBP), with the primitive millet-farming first imported into the region; (II) Late Middle Holocene Sub-humid Phase (5000-3900 aBP), with the millet-farming spread rapidly within the region; (III) Late Holocene Fluctuation Phase (3900-2900 aBP), with the mean annual precipitation dropped down to lower than 240 mm, and a production mode-shift to a combination of cropping and husbandry; (IV) Late Holocene Stationary Phase (2900-0 aBP), with a precipitation alike the modern time, and a steady farming-pastoral economic pattern.

Multi-Decadal to Millennial Scale Holocene Hydrologic Variation in the Southern Hemisphere Tropics of South America

Science.gov (United States)

Ekdahl, E. J.; Fritz, S. C.; Baker, P. A.; Burns, S. J.; Coley, K.; Rigsby, C. A.

2005-12-01

Numerous sites in the Northern Hemisphere show multi-decadal to millennial scale climate variation during the Holocene, many of which have been correlated with changes in atmospheric radiocarbon production or with changes in North Atlantic oceanic circulation. The manifestation of such climate variability in the hydrology of the Southern Hemisphere tropics of South America is unclear, because of the limited number of records at suitably high resolution. In the Lake Titicaca drainage basin of Bolivia and Peru, high-resolution lacustrine records reveal the overall pattern of Holocene lake-level change, the influence of precessional forcing of the South American Summer Monsoon, and the effects of high-frequency climate variability in records of lake productivity and lake ecology. Precessional forcing of regional precipitation is evident in the Lake Titicaca basin as a massive (ca. 85 m) mid-Holocene decline in lake level beginning about 7800 cal yr BP and a subsequent rise in lake level after 4000 cal yr BP. Here we show that multi-decadal to millennial-scale climate variability, superimposed upon the envelope of change at orbital time scales, is similar in timing and pattern to the ice-rafted debris record of Holocene Bond events in the North Atlantic. A high-resolution carbon isotopic record from Lake Titicaca that spans the entire Holocene suggests that cold intervals of Holocene Bond events are periods of increased precipitation, thus indicating an anti-phasing of precipitation variation on the Altiplano relative to the Northern Hemisphere tropics. A similar pattern of variation is also evident in high-resolution (2-30 yr spacing) diatom and geochemical records that span the last 7000 yr from two smaller lakes, Lagos Umayo and Lagunillas, in the Lake Titicaca drainage basin.

Holocene vegetation and climate changes in the central Mediterranean inferred from a high-resolution marine pollen record (Adriatic Sea

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N. Combourieu-Nebout

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The high-resolution multiproxy study of the Adriatic marine core MD 90-917 provides new insights to reconstruct vegetation and regional climate changes over the southcentral Mediterranean during the Younger Dryas (YD and Holocene. Pollen records show the rapid forest colonization of the Italian and Balkan borderlands and the gradual installation of the Mediterranean association during the Holocene. Quantitative estimates based on pollen data provide Holocene precipitations and temperatures in the Adriatic Sea using a multi-method approach. Clay mineral ratios from the same core reflect the relative contributions of riverine (illite and smectite and eolian (kaolinite contributions to the site, and thus act as an additional proxy with which to evaluate precipitation changes in the Holocene. Vegetation climate reconstructions show the response to the Preboreal oscillation (PBO, most likely driven by changes in temperature and seasonal precipitation, which is linked to increasing river inputs from Adriatic rivers recorded by increase in clay mineral contribution to marine sediments. Pollen-inferred temperature declines during the early–mid Holocene, then increases during the mid–late Holocene, similar to southwestern Mediterranean climatic patterns during the Holocene. Several short vegetation and climatic events appear in the record, indicating the sensitivity of vegetation in the region to millennial-scale variability. Reconstructed summer precipitation shows a regional maximum (170–200 mm between 8000 and 7000 similar to the general pattern across southern Europe. Two important shifts in vegetation occur at 7700 cal yr BP (calendar years before present and between 7500 and 7000 cal yr BP and are correlated with increased river inputs around the Adriatic Basin respectively from the northern (7700 event and from the central Adriatic borderlands (7500–7000 event. During the mid-Holocene, the wet summers lead to permanent moisture all year

Holocene coastal paleoenvironmental record, Bay of Brest

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Fernane, Assia; Gandouin, Emmanuel; Goslin, Jérôme; Penaud, Aurélie; Van Vliet lanoë, Brigitte

2013-04-01

Coastal areas are sensitive environments regarding the risk of submersion and the impact on biodiversity induced by salinity changes. These areas thus provide good palaeocecological archives to monitor palaeo sea level changes and the associated adaptation of different biological communities. The north-western coast of France has poorly been investigated regarding its Holocene palaeoecological signatures (Morzadec-Kerfourn, 1974; Naughton et al., 2007). Chironomids have been recognized to be an efficient tool for palaeoclimate and palaeosalinity reconstructions in lakes (Brooks, 2006), and more recently in river floodplains (Gandouin et al, 2006). In this study, environmental changes related to both climate processes and human disturbances, were reconstructed over the last 5000 years, based on pollen and chironomid assemblages from two coastal cores retrieved at Pors Milin (Brittany, NW France). The sedimentary sequences consist of terrestrial peaty layers interdigited with marine clastic deposits. The study area is composed by a sandy beach, truncating the peat, limited by a high sandy bar, and a back marsh developed at + 4 m NGF. Pollen and chironomid results reveal that anthropogenic factors would mainly control environmental changes that occurred in this sector. The disappearance of many chironomid taxa (inhabitants of main river channel) and the dramatic fall in diversity may have been induced by the development of the Merovingian forest clearance at Pors Milin. Indeed, we suggest that the development of agriculture, the river embankment and the draining of wetlands may explain the chironomid habitat loss and the subsequent fall of biodiversity. This change in faunal assemblages occurred synchronously with a decrease in the "arborean / non arborean" pollen ratio reflecting the land opening of the watershed. Several nitrophilous and anthropogenic pollen taxa reinforce our hypothesis concerning the development of agricultural and livestock farming activities at

Holocene palaeosols and aeolian activities in the Umimmalissuaq valley, West Greenland

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Müller, Michael; Thiel, Christine; Kühn, Peter

2016-01-01

Aeolian sand sheets and active dunefields preserve an ancient Holocene land surface represented by palaeosols that occur around the present ice margin in the Kangerlussuaq area, West Greenland. To determine the relation between Holocene aeolian activities and periods of soil formation, both...... margin (60 wt%) are comparable with aeolian sand sheets currently formed at greater distances (4–5 km) from the present ice margin. We propose a transport distance for fine....... This period was characterised by low but constant aeolian activity. Since aeolian activity intensified after around 300 cal. yr b2k and is still resulting in active dunefields with coarse and medium sand accumulation, the ice margin must have reached its present position at that time....

Nutrient regime and upwelling in the northern Benguela since the middle Holocene in a global context – a multi-proxy approach

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S. Meisel

2011-08-01

Full Text Available The last 5500 years of climate change and environmental response in the northern Benguela Coastal Upwelling are reconstructed by means of three sediment cores from the inner shelf off central Namibia. The study is based on nutrient (δ15N, δ13C and productivity proxies (accumulation rates of total organic carbon; ARTOC. Reconstructed sea surface temperatures (alkenone-derived SST and temperatures at subsurface depths (Tδ18O; based on tests of planktonic foraminifers reflect the physical boundary conditions. The selection of proxy indicators proved a valuable basis for robust palaeo-climatic reconstructions, with the resolution ranging from multi-decadal (NAM1 over centennial (core 178 to millennial scale (core 226620. The northern Benguela experienced pronounced and rapid perturbation during the middle and late Holocene, and apparently, not all are purely local in character. In fact, numerous correlations with records from the adjacent South African subcontinent and the northern hemisphere testify to global climatic teleconnections. The Holocene Hypsithermal, for instance, is just as evident as the Little Ice Age (LIA and the Roman Warm Period. The marked SST-rise associated with the latter is substantiated by other marine and terrestrial data from the South African realm. The LIA (at least its early stages manifests itself in intensified winds and upwelling, which accords with increased rainfall receipts above the continental interior. It appears that climate signals are transferred both via the atmosphere and ocean. The combined analysis of SST and Tδ18O proved a useful tool in order to differentiate between both pathways. SSTs are primarily controlled by the intensity of atmospheric circulation features, reflecting changes of upwelling-favourable winds. Tδ18O records the temperature of the source water and often correlates with global ocean conveyor speed due to varying inputs of warm Agulhas Water. It seems as though conveyor slowdown or

Holocene peatland and ice-core data constraints on the timing and magnitude of CO2 emissions from past land use.

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Stocker, Benjamin David; Yu, Zicheng; Massa, Charly; Joos, Fortunat

2017-02-14

CO 2 emissions from preindustrial land-use change (LUC) are subject to large uncertainties. Although atmospheric CO 2 records suggest only a small land carbon (C) source since 5,000 y before present (5 kyBP), the concurrent C sink by peat buildup could mask large early LUC emissions. Here, we combine updated continuous peat C reconstructions with the land C balance inferred from double deconvolution analyses of atmospheric CO 2 and [Formula: see text]C at different temporal scales to investigate the terrestrial C budget of the Holocene and the last millennium and constrain LUC emissions. LUC emissions are estimated with transient model simulations for diverging published scenarios of LU area change and shifting cultivation. Our results reveal a large terrestrial nonpeatland C source after the Mid-Holocene (66 [Formula: see text] 25 PgC at 7-5 kyBP and 115 [Formula: see text] 27 PgC at 5-3 kyBP). Despite high simulated per-capita CO 2 emissions from LUC in early phases of agricultural development, humans emerge as a driver with dominant global C cycle impacts only in the most recent three millennia. Sole anthropogenic causes for particular variations in the CO 2 record ([Formula: see text]20 ppm rise after 7 kyBP and [Formula: see text]10 ppm fall between 1500 CE and 1600 CE) are not supported. This analysis puts a strong constraint on preindustrial vs. industrial-era LUC emissions and suggests that upper-end scenarios for the extent of agricultural expansion before 1850 CE are not compatible with the C budget thereafter.

Peat compaction in deltas : implications for Holocene delta evolution

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van Asselen, S.

2010-01-01

Many deltas contain substantial amounts of peat, which is the most compressible soil type. Therefore, peat compaction potentially leads to high amounts of subsidence in deltas. The main objective of this research was to quantify subsidence due to peat compaction in Holocene fluvial-deltaic settings

The Holocene and the Late Deglaciation: timing and development on the northern Svalbard margin

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Slubowska, M. A.; Koc, N.; Rasmussen, T. L.

2002-12-01

, preliminary results of grain sizes, magnetic susceptibility and reflectance from the Holocene period indicate relatively low variability in the environmental conditions.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Affiliation with Deviant Peers during Adolescence and Early Adulthood

OpenAIRE

Tarantino, Nicholas; Tully, Erin C.; Garcia, Sarah E.; South, Susan; Iacono, William G.; McGue, Matt

2013-01-01

Adolescence and early adulthood is a time when peer groups become increasingly influential in the lives of young people. Youth exposed to deviant peers risk susceptibility to externalizing behaviors and related psychopathology. In addition to environmental correlates of deviant peer affiliation, a growing body of evidence suggests that affiliation with deviant peers is heritable. This study examined the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on affiliation with deviant peers, chang...

Relative sea-level changes and glacio-isostatic adjustment on the Magdalen Islands archipelago (Atlantic Canada) from MIS 5 to the late Holocene

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Rémillard, Audrey M.; St-Onge, Guillaume; Bernatchez, Pascal; Hétu, Bernard; Buylaert, Jan-Pieter; Murray, Andrew S.; Lajeunesse, Patrick

2017-09-01

The Magdalen Islands (Québec, Canada) in the centre of the Gulf of St. Lawrence are located in a strategic position for providing an overview of the relative sea-level (RSL) history of the Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada. Although data are available for the coastal terrestrial areas of the Maritimes, data from the Gulf are very scarce and both the RSL and glacio-isostatic adjustment (GIA) models extrapolate for this central region. This study provides new stratigraphic and chronological data from four outcrops and two coring sites on the Magdalen Islands. In addition to the five samples used mainly for age control purposes, nine new luminescence ages are presented. With these new data added to the available literature, a new RSL curve is reconstructed for the LGM to the late Holocene period and a partial curve is proposed for the interval between the late MIS 4 to the MIS 3. Data also indicate a few insights for the MIS 5 period. Results reveal that for the LGM to the late Holocene, the curve corresponds to the J-shaped curve scenario recognized in the literature. The RSL changes during this period are the result of glacio-isostatic rebound, migration and collapse of the peripheral forebulge, and eustatic sea-level changes. For the LGM to the early Holocene, glacio-isostatic depression curves displaying a few local differences are also proposed. For the late Holocene, the data constrain the curve between two types of indicators, i.e. marine and terrestrial, and indicate that the RSL has risen at least 3 m during the last two millennia. Sediments dated to the MIS 5 and the interval between the late MIS 4 and the MIS 3 illustrate that the GIA following the LGM also occurred for the MIS 5 interglacial and the MIS 3 interstadial. Finally, recent GIA models are discussed in light of the results of this paper.

A Record of Holocene Paleoclimate Evolution from Robertson Bay, Victoria Land, Antarctica

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Riesselman, C. R.; Truax, O.; Wilson, G. S.; Parker, R. L.; Yoo, K. C.; Lee, J. I.; Levy, R. H.; Mckay, R. M.

2017-12-01

Regionally representative records of how Antarctica responded to the transition from the Last Glacial Maximum into the Holocene are an essential component of understanding the processes by which the Antarctic cryosphere responds to a changing climate. Here, we present a high-resolution record of Holocene Antarctic paleoclimate evolution from a previously unstudied section of the Victoria Land margin. In 2015 the Korea Polar Research Institute collected a 571 cm sediment core, GC57, from Robertson Bay, a protected embayment west of Cape Adare and adjacent to the outlet glaciers of the Transantarctic Mountains. Using diatom assemblages, bulk sediment geochemistry, and the magnetic properties of GC57, we aim to reconstruct the response of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet to warming associated with deglaciation and the Holocene climatic optima at the interface between the Ross Sea and the Southern Ocean. Our multiproxy approach allows us to study sea ice extent, seasonality, ocean stratification and circulation, and primary productivity from the mid-Holocene (7,400 14C year BP) to the present. A sea-ice associated diatom assemblage indicative of summer sea surface temperatures below 0˚C dominates the basal section of GC57. Although diatoms are well preserved, the unit is characterized by low wt% biogenic silica (average 9%) and a high concentration of magnetic minerals, indicating that biogenic production persisted despite substantial terrigenous input into the bay. A rapid transition at 4708 14C yr BP is identified by a steep increase in wt% BSi (average 13%), a decrease in magnetic minerals, and a subtle assemblage change towards sea-ice associated diatoms with slightly warmer temperature tolerances. The novel ramped pyrolosis 14C dating methodology allows us to date the carbon fixed concurrent with deposition and generate a robust age model for GC57 with an accuracy previously difficult to achieve given the uncertainties associated with dating bulk acid insoluble

Holocene sea levels of Visakhapatnam shelf, east coast of India

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Rao, K.M.; Rao, T.C.S.

The Holocene sea level changes in the shelf areas off Visakhapatnam was studied from sediment distribution pattern and shallow seismic profiling. Morphological features on the shelf indicate a Late Pleistocene regression down to about -130 m below...

Genetic and environmental influences on affiliation with deviant peers during adolescence and early adulthood.

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Tarantino, Nicholas; Tully, Erin C; Garcia, Sarah E; South, Susan; Iacono, William G; McGue, Matt

2014-03-01

Adolescence and early adulthood is a time when peer groups become increasingly influential in the lives of young people. Youths exposed to deviant peers risk susceptibility to externalizing behaviors and related psychopathology. In addition to environmental correlates of deviant peer affiliation, a growing body of evidence has suggested that affiliation with deviant peers is heritable. This study examined the magnitude of genetic and environmental influences on affiliation with deviant peers, changes in the relative importance of these factors, and which of these factors contribute to the stability of affiliation across this critical developmental period using a longitudinal twin study design that assessed same-sex twins (485 monozygotic pairs, 271 dizygotic pairs) at 3 discrete ages: 15, 18, and 21 years of age. Biometric models revealed that genetic influences increased with age. New genetic influences appeared during late adolescence, and no new genetic influences emerged by age 21. Environmental influences shared by sibling pairs decreased with age, while the proportion of nonshared environmental effects unique to each individual remained relatively stable over the course of development. Shared environmental influences were largely age-overlapping, whereas nonshared environmental influences were largely age-specific. In summary, this study found variance in affiliation with deviant peers is explained by shared and nonshared environment effects as well as by genetic influences (46% by age 21), supporting the role of genetically influenced selection factors. The shared environment was almost exclusively responsible for the stability in late adolescence, while genetic influences were primarily responsible for stability in early adulthood. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.

Broadleaf deciduous forest counterbalanced the direct effect of climate on Holocene fire regime in hemiboreal/boreal region (NE Europe)

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Feurdean, Angelica; Veski, Siim; Florescu, Gabriela; Vannière, Boris; Pfeiffer, Mirjam; O'Hara, Robert B.; Stivrins, Normunds; Amon, Leeli; Heinsalu, Atko; Vassiljev, Jüri; Hickler, Thomas

2017-08-01

Disturbances by fire are essential for the functioning of boreal/hemiboreal forests, but knowledge of long-term fire regime dynamics is limited. We analysed macrocharcoal morphologies and pollen of a sediment record from Lake Lielais Svētiņu (eastern Latvia), and in conjunction with fire traits analysis present the first record of Holocene variability in fire regime, fuel sources and fire types in boreal forests of the Baltic region. We found a phase of moderate to high fire activity during the cool and moist early (mean fire return interval; mFRI of ∼280 years; 11,700-7500 cal yr BP) and the late (mFRI of ∼190 years; 4500-0 cal yr BP) Holocene and low fire activity (mFRI of ∼630 years) during the Holocene Thermal Optimum (7500-4500 cal yr BP). Charcoal morphotypes and the pollen record show the predominance of frequent surface fires, occasionally transitioning to the crown during Pinus sylvestris-Betula boreal forests and less frequent surface fires during the dominance of temperate deciduous forests. In contrast to the prevailing opinion that fires in boreal forests are mostly low to moderate severity surface fires, we found evidence for common occurrence of stand-replacing crown fires in Picea abies canopy. Our results highlight that charcoal morphotypes analysis allows for distinguishing the fuel types and surface from crown fires, therefore significantly advancing our interpretation of fire regime. Future warmer temperatures and increase in the frequency of dry spells and abundant biomass accumulation can enhance the fire risk on the one hand, but will probably promote the expansion of broadleaf deciduous forests to higher latitudes, on the other hand. By highlighting the capability of broadleaf deciduous forests to act as fire-suppressing landscape elements, our results suggest that fire activity may not increase in the Baltic area under future climate change.

Postglacial Human resilience and susceptibility to abrupt climate change new insights from Star Carr

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Blockley, Simon; Abrook, Ashley; Bayliss, Alex; Candy, Ian; Conneller, Chantal; Darvill, Chris; Deeprose, Laura; Kearney, Rebecca; Langdon, Pete; Langdon Langdon, Cath; Lincoln, Paul; Macleod, Alison; Matthews, Ian; Palmer, Adrian; Schreve, Danielle; Taylor, Barry; Milner, Nicky

2017-04-01

We know little about the lives of the early humans who lived during the early Postglacial period (the Lateglacial and Early Holocene), a time characterised by abrupt climate change after 16,000, which includes a series of abrupt climatic transitions linked to the reorganisation of the global environment after the glacial maximum and the last major global warming event at the onset of the Holocene. The hunter-gatherers who lived during the early Postglacial have been characterised as highly mobile, dispersed and living within small groups, and there is much debate as to how they adapted to climatic and environmental change: did they move in response to climatic transitions (and if so what was the climatic threshold), or instead adapt their lifeways to the new environmental conditions? A key area for examining these ideas is the British Isles as it sits on the Atlantic fringe of Northwest Europe with a climate that is highly responsive to the wider climate forcing experienced in the northern Hemisphere. Furthermore, in this period, Britain is directly linked to continental Europe due to lowered global sea levels allowing for the ease of human migration in and out of this region. In general the British record has been seen as being dominated by abandonment and reoccupation in the Postglacial during periods of climatic transition with hunter-gatherer mobility being closely linked to the prevailing environment. Recent discoveries at the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr and surrounding area, linked to local and regional climate records, based on isotopic, chironomid and pollen proxy data and dated at high chronological resolution, offer a new picture. Postglacial human occupation of the area commences at the Pleistocene/Holocene transition but is short lived and appears to end close to the Pre-Boreal Oscillation, However, this is followed by a period where hunter-gatherers occupy Star Carr and settle and invest time and effort into building huts and large scale wooden

Pollen-based reconstruction of Holocene climate variability in the Eifel region evaluated with stable isotopes

Science.gov (United States)

Kühl, Norbert; Moschen, Robert; Wagner, Stefanie

2010-05-01

sediments might strongly react to anthropogenic deforestation, as carbon isotope time series from the adjacent Lake Holzmaar suggest. Reconstructions based on pollen with the pdf-method are robust to the human impact during the last 4000 years, but do not reproduce the fine scale climate variability that can be derived from the stable isotope series (Kühl et al., in press). In contrast, reconstructions on the basis of pollen data show relatively pronounced climate variability (here: January temperature) during the Mid-Holocene, which is known from many other European records. The oxygen isotope time series as available now indicate that at least some of the observed variability indeed reflects climate variability. However, stable carbon isotopes show little concordance. At this stage our results point in the direction that 1) the isotopic composition might reflect a shift in influencing factors during the Holocene, 2) climate trends can robustly be reconstructed with the pdf method and 3) fine scale climate variability can potentially be reconstructed using the pdf-method, given that climate sensitive taxa at their distribution limit are present. The latter two conclusions are of particular importance for the reconstruction of climatic trends and variability of interglacials older than the Holocene, when sites are rare and pollen is often the only suitable proxy in terrestrial records. Kühl, N., Moschen, R., Wagner, S., Brewer, S., Peyron, O., in press. A multiproxy record of Late Holocene natural and anthropogenic environmental change from the Sphagnum peat bog Dürres Maar, Germany: implications for quantitative climate reconstructions based on pollen. J. Quat. Sci., DOI: 10.1002/jqs.1342. Available online. Moschen, R., Kühl, N., Rehberger, I., Lücke, A., 2009. Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes in sub-fossil Sphagnum: Assessment of their applicability for palaeoclimatology. Chemical Geology 259, 262-272.

Centennial-scale vegetation and climate changes in the Middle Atlas, Morocco: new insights from multi-proxy investigations at Lake Sidi Ali

Science.gov (United States)

Fletcher, William; Campbell, Jennifer; Joannin, Sebastien; Mischke, Steffen; Zielhofer, Christoph; de Batist, Marc; Mikdad, Abdes

2016-04-01

The karstic lakes of the Middle Atlas, Morocco, represent a valuable archive of environmental and climatic change for Northwest Africa. Here we present the results of centennial-scale palynological and charcoal analyses as part of a multiproxy palaeolimnological study of sediment cores from Lake Sidi Ali in the Middle Atlas, Morocco (33° 03 N, 05° 00 W; 2,080 m a.s.l.). Supported by absolute dating including 23 more than twenty AMS 14C dates on pollen concentrates, the record covers the entire Holocene and offers insights into vegetation and climate change at a regionally unprecedented centennial-scale. Pollen assemblages are dominated by steppic herbs, evergreen oaks (Quercus), junipers (Cupressaceae) and Atlantic cedar (Cedrus atlantica). A long-term evolution of the montane vegetation is recorded, reflecting progressive changes in the dominant arboreal taxa and leading to the full establishment of the emblematic cedar forests of the area during the mid-Holocene by 6000 cal BP. Orbital-scale changes in seasonality and growing season moisture availability linked to declining summer insolation are implicated, with a transition from (a) warm, dry summers associated with summer drought tolerant taxa especially evergreen Quercus, high algal productivity in the lake, and high background levels of microcharcoal reflecting distant fire activity during the early Holocene, to (b) cool, relatively humid summers with dominance of montane conifers, declining algal productivity in the lake, and episodic local fire activity during the mid- to late Holocene. Superimposed on the long-term environmental changes are recurrent centennial-scale fluctuations in vegetation composition, reflecting competitive dynamics between the major taxa, initially between steppic and arboreal elements, and later between the major tree taxa. Parallels with hydrological proxies including stable O and C isotopes suggest common responses to climatic drivers (fluctuations in moisture sources and

A Southern Ocean trigger for Northwest Pacific ventilation during the Holocene?

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Rella, S. F.; Uchida, M.

2014-02-01

Holocene ocean circulation is poorly understood due to sparsity of dateable marine archives with submillennial-scale resolution. Here we present a record of mid-depth water radiocarbon contents in the Northwest (NW) Pacific Ocean over the last 12.000 years, which shows remarkable millennial-scale variations relative to changes in atmospheric radiocarbon inventory. Apparent decoupling of these variations from regional ventilation and mixing processes leads us to the suggestion that the mid-depth NW Pacific may have responded to changes in Southern Ocean overturning forced by latitudinal displacements of the southern westerly winds. By inference, a tendency of in-phase related North Atlantic and Southern Ocean overturning would argue against the development of a steady bipolar seesaw regime during the Holocene.

Paleoclimatic variations in Maknassy Basin (central Tunisia) during the Holocene period using multidisciplinary approaches

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zouari, K.; Chkir, N.; Ouda, B.

2002-01-01

The signature of humid climatic episodes in the Holocene paleoclimatic history of Tunisia are evident in outcroppings along riverbanks almost all over the Tunisian drainage network. Previous multidisciplinary studies have already identified some sites where these remnants can contribute valuable information for reconstruction of paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic variations in the presently hyper-arid zone of the Northern Sahara. Sedimentary deposits outcropping on Wadi Leben and Wadi Ben Sellam banks, in the Maknassy Basin (Central Tunisia), have been sampled. Multidisciplinary studies, including prehistory, sedimentology, mineralogy, ecology and radiochronology have been conducted to improve palaeoenvironmental interpretations and to determine a precise chronological history of humid episodes during the Holocene in Tunisia. This paper deals with the interpretation of results obtained from the Maknassy Basin in comparison with some other Tunisian sites in order to highlight Holocene humid episodes. Establishment of a precise chronological framework is prerequisite to exploring potential relationships between the occurrence of humid phases and recharge of aquifers located in this area. (author)

Variations in the Strength of the North Atlantic Bottom water during Holocene.

Science.gov (United States)

Kissel, C.; Van Toer, A.; Michel, E.; Cortijo, E.

2012-04-01

One aspect of the Past4Future project is to combine multidisciplinary approaches to monitor changes in ocean circulation during previous interglacial periods. In the framework of this project, our study focusses on the changes in the strength of the North Atlantic deep water during the Holocene period using multiproxy analysis (magnetic and sedimentary). The main part of the study has been conducted on two cores located at the western termination of the northern deep channel of the Charlie-Gibbs fracture zone. This natural E-W corridor is bathed by the Iceland-Scotland overflow water (ISOW) when it passes westward out of the Iceland Basin into the western North Atlantic basin. At present, it is also described as the place where southern sourced silicate-rich Lower Deep Water (LDW) derived from the Antarctic Bottom Waters (AABW) are passing westward, mixing with the ISOW. One core had been taken by the R. V. Charcot in 1977 and the second one is a CASQ core taken during the IMAGES-AMOCINT MD168- cruise in the framework of the 06-EuroMARC-FP-008 Project on board the R.V. Marion Dufresne (French Polar Institute, IPEV) in 2008. Radiocarbon ages indicate an average sedimentation rate of about 90 cm/kyr during early Holocene and 50 cm/kyr through middle and late Holocene allowing a data resolution ranging from 40 to 100 years depending on the proxy. We coupled magnetic properties, anisotropy, sortable silt and benthic foraminifera isotopes. On the long term, a decrease in the amount of magnetic particles (normalized by the carbonate content) is first observed from 10 kyr to 8.6 kyr and then from 6 to 2 kyrs before reaching a steady state during the last two millenia. Following Kissel et al. (2009), this indicates a two steps decrease in the ISOW strength. The mean sortable silt shows exactly the same pattern indicating that not only the intensity of the ISOW but the whole deep water mass bathing the sites has decreased. On the short term, a first very prominent event

Early interglacial carbonate-dilution events in the South China Sea: Implications for strengthened typhoon activities over subtropical East Asia

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Enqing; Tian, Jun; Qiao, Peijun; Wan, Sui; Xie, Xin; Yang, Wenguang

2015-10-01

A compilation of many late Quaternary marine sediment records from the northern South China Sea (SCS) continental slope confirms 15-50% reductions in sedimentary calcium carbonate concentrations between 11.0 and 8.5 ka BP in the early Holocene. This low carbonate% event occurred at a time when the regional sea level rose from -50 m to -10 m, which drowned large areas of continental shelves especially those near and within the Taiwan Strait. This event is associated with a significant increase in bulk sedimentation rates on the upper continental slope and the relative abundance of fine-grained detritus. Sediment provenance analyses suggest a dominant terrigenous input from Taiwan and a minor contribution from Luzon during the low carbonate% event, similar to the background terrigenous deposition in other periods of the Holocene. Two comparable low carbonate% events, respectively from the beginning of marine isotope stages 5.5 and 7.3, have also been recognized, pointing to similar causal factors. While carbonate dissolution and carbonate accumulation rate should not have been responsible, increased terrigenous input and dilution is considered as the main cause for the recurrent low carbonate% events in early interglacials. We further hypothesize that, during early interglacials, fluvial sediment discharge from Taiwan and Luzon intensified due to stronger typhoon activities, and massive fine-grained sediments from these two end members may have been transported to the northern SCS continental slope via surface and deep ocean currents. The conjecture of strengthened typhoon activities over East Asia during the early Holocene is supported by high ocean heat contents in the West Pacific Warm Pool area with the prevailing La Niña-like conditions.

Holocene hydrologic variation at Lake Titicaca, Bolivia/Peru, and its relationship to North Atlantic climate variation

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, P. A.; Fritz, S. C.; Garland, J.; Ekdahl, E.

2005-10-01

A growing number of sites in the Northern Hemisphere show centennial- to millennial-scale climate variation that has been correlated with change in solar variability or with change in North Atlantic circulation. However, it is unclear how (or whether) these oscillations in the climate system are manifest in the Southern Hemisphere because of a lack of sites with suitably high sampling resolution. In this paper, we reconstruct the lake-level history of Lake Titicaca, using the carbon isotopic content of sedimentary organic matter, to evaluate centennial- to millennial-scale precipitation variation and its phasing relative to sites in the Northern Hemisphere. The pattern and timing of lake-level change in Lake Titicaca is similar to the ice-rafted debris record of Holocene Bond events, demonstrating a possible coupling between precipitation variation on the Altiplano and North Atlantic sea-surface temperatures (SSTs). The cold periods of the Holocene Bond events correspond with periods of increased precipitation on the Altiplano. Holocene precipitation variability on the Altiplano is anti-phased with respect to precipitation in the Northern Hemisphere monsoon region. More generally, the tropical Andes underwent large changes in precipitation on centennial-to-millennial timescales during the Holocene.

Holocene vegetation dynamics of Taiga forest in the Southern Altai Mountains documented by sediments from Kanas Lake

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, X.; Chen, F.

2016-12-01

The Chinese Altai is the southern limit of the Taiga forest of the continent, and regional vegetation dynamics during the Holocene will help us to understand regional climate changes, such as the Siberian High variations. Here we present a pollen-based vegetation and climate reconstruction from a well dated sediment core from Kanas Lake, a deep glacial moraine dammed lake in the Southern Altai Mountains (Chinese Altai). The 244-cm-long sequence spans the last 13,500 years, and the chronology is based on nine accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dates from terrestrial plant macrofossils. At least five stages of regional vegetation history are documented: (i) From 13.5 to 11.7 ka (1 ka = 1000 cal yr BP), Kanas Lake region was occupied by steppe dominated by Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae and grass pollen, with low tree coverage. (ii) From 11.7 to 8.5 ka, regional forest build up dramatically indicated by increasing tree pollen percentages, including Picea, Larix, and the highest Junipers, with decreasing Artemisia and increasing Chenopodiaceae. (iii) From 8.5 to 7.2 ka, the forest around the lake became dense with the maximum content of Picea and Betula pollen types. And the steppe pollen types reached their lowest values. (iv) From 7.2 to 4 ka, as a typical tree species of Taiga forest, Larix pollen percentage became much higher than previous stage, and the sum of trees & shrubs pollen types decreased, which possibly indicated cooler and wetter climate (v) After 4 ka, trees & shrubs (e.g. Betula, Junipers) pollen types decreased, with increasing Artemisia and decreasing Chenopodiaceae, which might indicated more humid and cooler climate in the late Holocene. Comparing to the other pollen records in the Altai Mountains, Lake Grusha and Lake Hoton had recorded a slightly different process of vegetation evolution in the early Holocene, where forest was built up in the northern side of the Chinese Altai faster than that of the Kanas Lake area. And the difference could

Aeolian sands and buried soils in the Mecklenburg Lake District, NE Germany: Holocene land-use history and pedo-geomorphic response

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Küster, Mathias; Fülling, Alexander; Kaiser, Knut; Ulrich, Jens

2014-04-01

The present study is a pedo-geomorphic approach to reconstructing Holocene aeolian sand dynamics in the Mecklenburg Lake District (NE Germany). Stratigraphical, sedimentological and soil research supplemented by morphogenetic interpretations of the genesis of dunes and aeolian sands are discussed. A complex Late Holocene aeolian stratigraphy within a drift sand area was developed at the shore of Lake Müritz. The results were confirmed using palynological records, archaeological data and regional history. Accelerated aeolian activity was triggered by the intensification of settlement and land-use activities during the 13th and in the 15th to 16th century AD. After a period of stability beginning with population decline during the ‘Thirty Years War' and continuing through the 18th century, a final aeolian phase due to the establishment of glassworks was identified during the 19th century AD. We assume a direct link between Holocene aeolian dynamics and human activities. Prehistoric Holocene drift sands on terrestrial sites have not been documented in the Mecklenburg Lake District so far. This might be explained either by erosion and incorporation of older aeolian sediments during younger aeolian phases and/or a lower regional land-use intensity in older periods of the Holocene. The investigated drift sands are stratigraphically and sedimentologically characterised by a high degree of heterogeneity, reflecting the spatial and temporal variability of Holocene human impact.

Late Pleistocene - Holocene development of the Tista megafan (West Bengal, India): 10Be cosmogenic and IRSL age constraints

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Abrahami, Rachel; Huyghe, Pascale; van der Beek, Peter; Lowick, Sally; Carcaillet, Julien; Chakraborty, Tapan

2018-04-01

The Himalayan proximal foreland is characterized by Quaternary megafans, of which the formational mechanisms remain debated. The Tista megafan spreads over more than 16,000 km2 from the mountain front, where it is strongly incised, to the confluence of the Tista River with the Jamuna/Brahmaputra River, and stores sediments produced in the Sikkim Himalaya. We propose a scenario for the late Pleistocene - Holocene development of the Tista megafan based on new 10Be cosmogenic and Infra-Red Stimulated Luminescence (IRSL) age constraints, and discuss the main potential controls on its evolution. We suggest that two distal lobes developed successively downstream from a common proximal lobe. Deposition in the proximal lobe took place since at least ∼135 ka and incision began at 3.7-0.7+1.0 ka. The western distal lobe of the megafan was deposited early in the history of the megafan, when the Sikkim Himalaya catchment was drained by a tributary of the Ganga River, and was abandoned in the early Holocene (10-11 ka). The eastern, recent (active. Approximately synchronous incision between terraces in the hinterland and megafan surfaces suggests that incision propagated rapidly through the system. Our data do not evidence a direct link between incicion and tectonic processes. Aggradation and incision episodes appear more compatible with a climatic control, through changes in monsoon intensity and associated sediment flux. Depositional episodes in the Tista megafan, as elsewhere in the Himalaya and its foreland, appear to correlate with periods of strong monsoon precipitation and associated high sediment flux toward the foreland. Abandonment and incision of megafan surfaces and hinterland terraces appear associated to both the onset and the ending of phases of strong monsoon precipitation, during which the balance between water and sediment discharge changes rapidly.

Palynological reconstruction of environmental changes in coastal wetlands of the Florida Everglades since the mid-Holocene

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Qiang; Liu, Kam-biu; Platt, William J.; Rivera-Monroy, Victor H.

2015-05-01

Palynological, loss-on-ignition, and X-ray fluorescence data from a 5.25 m sediment core from a mangrove forest at the mouth of the Shark River Estuary in the southwestern Everglades National Park, Florida were used to reconstruct changes occurring in coastal wetlands since the mid-Holocene. This multi-proxy record contains the longest paleoecological history to date in the southwestern Everglades. The Shark River Estuary basin was formed 5700 cal yr BP in response to increasing precipitation. Initial wetlands were frequently-burned short-hydroperiod prairies, which transitioned into long-hydroperiod prairies with sloughs in which peat deposits began to accumulate continuously about 5250 cal yr BP. Our data suggest that mangrove communities started to appear after 3800 cal yr BP; declines in the abundance of charcoal suggested gradual replacement of fire-dominated wetlands by mangrove forest over the following 2650 yr. By 1150 cal yr BP, a dense Rhizophora mangle dominated mangrove forest had formed at the mouth of the Shark River. The mangrove-dominated coastal ecosystem here was established at least 2000 yr later than has been previously estimated.

A multiple-proxy approach to understanding rapid Holocene climate change in Southeast Greenland

Science.gov (United States)

Davin, S. H.; Bradley, R. S.; Balascio, N. L.; de Wet, G.

2012-12-01

The susceptibility of the Arctic to climate change has made it an excellent workshop for paleoclimatological research. Although there have been previous studies concerning climate variability carried out in the Arctic, there remains a critical dearth of knowledge due the limited number of high-resolution Holocene climate-proxy records available from this region. This gap skews our understanding of observed and predicted climate change, and fuels uncertainty both in the realms of science and policy. This study takes a comprehensive approach to tracking Holocene climate variability in the vicinity of Tasiilaq, Southeast Greenland using a ~5.6 m sediment core from Lower Sermilik Lake. An age-depth model for the core has been established using 8 radiocarbon dates, the oldest of which was taken at 4 m down core and has been been dated to approximately 6.2 kyr BP. The bottom meter of the core below the final radiocarbon date contains a transition from cobbles and coarse sand to organic-rich laminations, indicating the termination of direct glacial influence and therefore likely marking the end of the last glacial period in this region. The remainder of the core is similarly organic-rich, with light-to-dark brown laminations ranging from 0.5 -1 cm in thickness and riddled with turbidites. Using this core in tandem with findings from an on-site assessment of the geomorphic history of the locale we attempt to assess and infer the rapid climatic shifts associated with the Holocene on a sub-centennial scale. Such changes include the termination of the last glacial period, the Mid-Holocene Climatic Optimum, the Neoglacial Period, the Medieval Climatic Optimum, and the Little Ice Age. A multiple proxy approach including magnetic susceptibility, bulk organic geochemistry, elemental profiles acquired by XRF scanning, grain-size, and spectral data will be used to characterize the sediment and infer paleoclimate conditions. Additionally, percent biogenic silica by weight has been

Ceramic production during changing environmental/climatic conditions

Science.gov (United States)

Oestreich, Daniela B.; Glasmacher, Ulrich A.

2015-04-01

Ceramics, with regard to their status as largely everlasting everyday object as well as on the basis of their chronological sensitivity, reflect despite their simplicity the technological level of a culture and therefore also, directly or indirectly, the adaptability of a culture with respect to environmental and/or climatic changes. For that reason the question arises, if it is possible to identify changes in production techniques and raw material sources for ceramic production, as a response to environmental change, e.g. climate change. This paper will present results of a research about Paracas Culture (800 - 200 BC), southern Peru. Through several investigations (e.g. Schittek et al., 2014; Eitel and Mächtle, 2009) it is well known that during Paracas period changes in climate and environmental conditions take place. As a consequence, settlement patterns shifted several times through the various stages of Paracas time. Ceramics from three different sites (Jauranga, Cutamalla, Collanco) and temporal phases of the Paracas period are detailed archaeometric, geochemical and mineralogical characterized, e.g. Raman spectroscopy, XRD, and ICP-MS analyses. The aim of this research is to resolve potential differences in the chemical composition of the Paracas ceramics in space and time and to compare the data with the data sets of pre-Columbian environmental conditions. Thus influences of changing environmental conditions on human societies and their cultural conditions will be discussed. References Eitel, B. and Mächtle, B. 2009. Man and Environment in the eastern Atacama Desert (Southern Peru): Holocene climate changes and their impact on pre-Columbian cultures. In: Reindel, M. & Wagner, G. A. (eds.) New Technologies for Archaeology. Berlin Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag. Schittek, K., Mächtle, B., Schäbitz, F., Forbriger, M., Wennrich, V., Reindel, M., and Eitel, B.. Holocene environmental changes in the highlands of the southern Peruvian Andes (14° S) and their

Late holocene climate derived from vegetation history and plant cellulose stable isotope records from the Great Basin of western North America

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wigand, P.E.; Hemphill, M.L.; Patra, S.M.

1994-01-01

Integration of pollen records, and fossil woodrat midden data recovered from multiple strata of fossil woodrat (Neotoma spp.) dens (middens) in both northern and southern Nevada reveal a detailed paleoclimatic proxy record for the Great Basin during the last 45,000 years in growing detail. Clear, late Holocene climate-linked elevational depressions of plant species' distributions have occurred throughout the Great Basin of up to 200 m below today's and by as much as 1000 m below what they were during the middle Holocene. Horizontal plant range extentions during the Holocene reflecting the final northern most adjustments to Holocene climates range up to several hundred kilometers in the Great Basin. Well documented lags evidenced in the late Holocene response of vegetation communities to increased precipitation indicate reduced effectiveness in the ability of plant communities to assimilate excess precipitation. This resulted in significant runoff that was available for recharge. These responses, although indicating both rapid and dramatic fluctuations of climate for the Holocene, fall far short of the scale of such changes during the late Pleistocene. Extension of these results to Pleistocene woodrat den and pollen data evidence spans lasting several hundred to a thousand or more years during which significantly greater amounts of precipitation would have been available for runnoff or recharge

Ground-Penetrating Radar Study of Fort Morgan Peninsula Holocene Beach Ridges as Sea-level Indicators

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Philbin, A.; Frederick, B.; Blum, M. D.; Tsoflias, G. P.

2017-12-01

Holocene sea-level change along the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM) coast is controversial. One view interprets basal peats from the Mississippi Delta to indicate continual sea-level (SL) rise for the GoM as a whole. An alternate view proposes that data from the subsiding delta is primarily a subsidence signal, and that sandy non-deltaic shorelines indicate that regional SL reached present elevations by the middle Holocene, with minor oscillations since then. In fact, new regional long-term subsidence records from biostratigraphic indicators display significant subsidence in deltaic areas where basal-peat data were collected, and negligible rates along the GoM shoreline to the east. However, the use of sandy progradational shorelines, commonly known as "beach ridge systems", has been criticized for a lack of precise sea-level indicators, and therefore discounted. This research focuses on developing Holocene progradational sandy shorelines along the Alabama coast in the eastern GoM as SL indicators. Sandy shorelines in this area are ideal to examine SL change because they are well preserved, sufficiently distant from the subsiding delta, well mapped, and ages are known from previous work. Two-dimensional ground-penetrating radar imaging of well-dated beach-ridge successions is used here to examine and identify changes through time in the elevation of the shoreface clinoform topset-foreset break, which represents the transition between flat-lying foreshore and seaward-dipping shoreface facies, and forms in the intertidal zone. Beach-ridge successions with optical luminescence ages of ca. 5500-4800 yrs BP display topset-foreset breaks at current mean sea-level elevation, whereas beach-ridge successions from ca. 3500-2400 yrs BP display topset-foreset breaks that are 1 m above present mean SL and the elevation of modern topset-foreset breaks. These data support the view that current sea-level was reached by the middle Holocene, and was higher than present for at least

Holocene climate and fjord glaciations in Northeast Greenland: implications for IRD deposition in the North Atlantic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Reeh, Niels

2004-01-01

been released by intensive sub-glacial melting during the long stay of the ice-islands in coastal waters. The Holocene glacial geological record from Northeast Greenland is compared to the record of ice rafted debris (IRD) from North Atlantic deep-sea sediment cores. The comparison shows that transport...... by icebergs in the form of basal debris is unlikely to be the dominant transport mechanism of IRD to deposition sites in the North Atlantic during the Holocene. The ice rafted debris is more likely to be carried at the surface of sea- (or glacier) ice. This supports the result of previous studies by other...... workers that changes of atmospheric and ocean-surface circulation and temperature are the likely causes of Holocene cycles in IRD concentration in North Atlantic deep-sea sediments....

Genetic and environmental influences on alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, and nicotine use from early adolescence to middle adulthood.

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Kendler, Kenneth S; Schmitt, Eric; Aggen, Steven H; Prescott, Carol A

2008-06-01

While both environmental and genetic factors are important in the etiology of psychoactive substance use (PSU), we know little of how these influences differ through development. To clarify the changing role of genes and environment in PSU from early adolescence through middle adulthood. Retrospective assessment by life history calendar, with univariate and bivariate structural modeling. General community. A total of 1796 members of male-male pairs from the Virginia Adult Twin Study of Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders. Levels of use of alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, and nicotine recorded for every year of the respondent's life. For nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis, familial environmental factors were critical in influencing use in early adolescence and gradually declined in importance through young adulthood. Genetic factors, by contrast, had little or no influence on PSU in early adolescence and gradually increased in their effect with increasing age. The sources of individual differences in caffeine use changed much more modestly over time. Substantial correlations were seen among levels of cannabis, nicotine, and alcohol use and specifically between caffeine and nicotine. In adolescence, those correlations were strongly influenced by shared effects from the familial environment. However, as individuals aged, more and more of the correlation in PSU resulted from genetic factors that influenced use of both substances. These results support an etiologic model for individual differences in PSU in which initiation and early patterns of use are strongly influenced by social and familial environmental factors while later levels of use are strongly influenced by genetic factors. The substantial correlations seen in levels of PSU across substances are largely the result of social environmental factors in adolescence, with genetic factors becoming progressively more important through early and middle adulthood.

Assessing millennial-scale variability during the Holocene: A perspective from the western tropical Pacific

Science.gov (United States)

Khider, D.; Jackson, C. S.; Stott, L. D.

2014-03-01

We investigate the relationship between tropical Pacific and Southern Ocean variability during the Holocene using the stable oxygen isotope and magnesium/calcium records of cooccurring planktonic and benthic foraminifera from a marine sediment core collected in the western equatorial Pacific. The planktonic record exhibits millennial-scale sea surface temperature (SST) oscillations over the Holocene of 0.5°C while the benthic δ18Oc document 0.10‰ millennial-scale changes of Upper Circumpolar Deep Water (UCDW), a water mass which outcrops in the Southern Ocean. Solar forcing as an explanation for millennial-scale SST variability requires (1) a large climate sensitivity and (2) a long 400 year delayed response, suggesting that if solar forcing is the cause of the variability, it would need to be considerably amplified by processes within the climate system at least at the core location. We also explore the possibility that SST variability arose from volcanic forcing using a simple red noise model. Our best estimates of volcanic forcing falls short of reproducing the amplitude of observed SST variations although it produces power at low-frequency similar to that observed in the MD81 record. Although we cannot totally discount the volcanic and solar forcing hypotheses, we are left to consider that the most plausible source for Holocene millennial-scale variability lies within the climate system itself. In particular, UCDW variability coincided with deep North Atlantic changes, indicating a role for the deep ocean in Holocene millennial-scale variability.

Holocene geochemical footprint from Semi-arid alpine wetlands in southern Spain

Science.gov (United States)

García-Alix, Antonio; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco J.; Jiménez-Moreno, Gonzalo; Toney, Jaime L.; Ramos-Román, María J.; Camuera, Jon; Anderson, R. Scott; Delgado-Huertas, Antonio; Martínez-Ruiz, Francisca; Queralt, Ignasi

2018-02-01

Here we provide the geochemical dataset that our research group has collected after 10 years of investigation in the Sierra Nevada National Park in southern Spain. These data come from Holocene sedimentary records from four alpine sites (ranging from ˜2500 to ˜3000 masl): two peatlands and two shallow lakes. Different kinds of organic and inorganic analyses have been conducted. The organic matter in the bulk sediment was characterised using elemental measurements and isotope-ratio mass spectrometry (EA-IRMS). Leaf waxes in the sediment were investigated by means of chromatography with flame-ionization detection and mass spectrometry (GC-FID, GC-MS). Major, minor and trace elements of the sediments were analysed with atomic absorption (AAS), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), as well as X-ray scanning fluorescence. These data can be reused by environmental researchers and soil and land managers of the Sierra Nevada National Park and similar regions to identify the effect of natural climate change, overprinted by human impact, as well as to project new management policies in similar protected areas.

Holocene environmental and parasequence development of the St. Jones Estuary, Delaware (USA): Foraminiferal proxies of natural climatic and anthropogenic change

Science.gov (United States)

Leorri, E.; Martin, R.; McLaughlin, P.

2006-01-01

The benthic foraminiferal record of marshes located along western Delaware Bay (St. Jones Estuary, USA) reflects the response of estuaries to sea-level and paleoclimate change during the Holocene. System tracts are recognized and within them parasequences based on sedimentological and foraminiferal assemblages identification. The parasequences defined by foraminiferal assemblages appear correlative with rapid Holocene climate changes that are of worldwide significance: 6000-5000, 4200-3800, 3500-2500, 1200-1000, and 600??cal years BP. Following postglacial sea-level rise, modern subestuaries and marshes in the region began to develop between 6000 and 4000??years BP, depending on their proximity to the mouth of Delaware Bay and coastal geomorphology. Initial sediments were fluvial in origin, with freshwater marshes established around 4000??years BP. The subsequent sea-level transgression occurred sufficiently slowly that freshwater marshes alternated with salt marshes at the same sites to around 3000??years BP. Locally another two transgressions are identified at 1800 and 1000??years BP respectively. Marine influence increased in the estuaries until 600??years BP (Little Ice Age), when regression occurred. Sea-level began to rise again during the mid-19th Century at the end of the Little Ice Age, when marshes became established. The presence of a sand lens in the upper and middle estuary and the reduction in the number of tests in the top samples in cores from the same area also suggest an anthropogenic influence. The estuary infill resulted in a sharp transgressive sequence, represented by salt marsh foraminiferal assemblages in the upper part of the cores. The increase in marsh foraminifera in both areas suggests an increase in marine influence that might be due to the transgression beginning at the end of the Little Ice Age about 150-180??years ago coupled with anthropogenic straightening of the channel in 1913. ?? 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Disentangling the trajectories of alpha, beta and gamma plant diversity of North American boreal ecoregions since 15,500 years

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Olivier eBlarquez

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Assessment of biodiversity in a changing world is a key issue and studies on the processes and factors influencing its history at relevant time scales are needed. In this study, we analysed temporal trends of plant diversity using fossil pollen records from the North American boreal forest-taiga biome (NABT. We selected 205 pollen records spanning the last 15,500 years. Diversity was decomposed into α and γ richness, and β diversity, using Shannon entropy indices. We investigated temporal and spatial patterns of β diversity by decomposing it into independent turnover (variation in taxonomic composition due to species replacements and nestedness (variation due to species loss components. The palynological diversity of the NABT biome experienced major rearrangements during the Lateglacial and early Holocene in response to major climatic shifts. The β nestedness likely reflected plant immigration processes and generally peaked before the β turnover value, which mirrors spatial and temporal community sorting related to environmental conditions and specific habitat constraints. Palynological diversity was generally maximal during the Lateglacial and the early Holocene and decreased progressively during the Holocene. These results are discussed according to macro-ecological processes, such as immigration, disturbances and environmental fluctuations, with climate most notably as the main ecological driver at millennial scales.

A shift of thermokarst lakes from carbon sources to sinks during the Holocene epoch

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Walter Anthony, K. M.; Zimov, S. A.; Grosse, G.; Jones, Miriam C.; Anthony, P.; Chapin, F. S.; Finlay, J. C.; Mack, M. C.; Davydov, S.; Frenzel, P.F.; Frolking, S.

2014-01-01

Thermokarst lakes formed across vast regions of Siberia and Alaska during the last deglaciation and are thought to be a net source of atmospheric methane and carbon dioxide during the Holocene epoch1,2,3,4. However, the same thermokarst lakes can also sequester carbon5, and it remains uncertain whether carbon uptake by thermokarst lakes can offset their greenhouse gas emissions. Here we use field observations of Siberian permafrost exposures, radiocarbon dating and spatial analyses to quantify Holocene carbon stocks and fluxes in lake sediments overlying thawed Pleistocene-aged permafrost. We find that carbon accumulation in deep thermokarst-lake sediments since the last deglaciation is about 1.6 times larger than the mass of Pleistocene-aged permafrost carbon released as greenhouse gases when the lakes first formed. Although methane and carbon dioxide emissions following thaw lead to immediate radiative warming, carbon uptake in peat-rich sediments occurs over millennial timescales. We assess thermokarst-lake carbon feedbacks to climate with an atmospheric perturbation model and find that thermokarst basins switched from a net radiative warming to a net cooling climate effect about 5,000 years ago. High rates of Holocene carbon accumulation in 20 lake sediments (47±10 grams of carbon per square metre per year; mean±standard error) were driven by thermokarst erosion and deposition of terrestrial organic matter, by nutrient release from thawing permafrost that stimulated lake productivity and by slow decomposition in cold, anoxic lake bottoms. When lakes eventually drained, permafrost formation rapidly sequestered sediment carbon. Our estimate of about 160petagrams of Holocene organic carbon in deep lake basins of Siberia and Alaska increases the circumpolar peat carbon pool estimate for permafrost regions by over 50 per cent (ref. 6). The carbon in perennially frozen drained lake sediments may become vulnerable to mineralization as permafrost disappears7

The Late-Glacial and Holocene Marboré Lake sequence (2612 m a.s.l., Central Pyrenees, Spain): Testing high altitude sites sensitivity to millennial scale vegetation and climate variability

Science.gov (United States)

Leunda, Maria; González-Sampériz, Penélope; Gil-Romera, Graciela; Aranbarri, Josu; Moreno, Ana; Oliva-Urcia, Belén; Sevilla-Callejo, Miguel; Valero-Garcés, Blas

2017-10-01

This paper presents the environmental, climate and vegetation changes reconstructed for the last 14.6 kyr cal BP from the Marboré Lake sedimentary sequence, the highest altitude record (2612 m a.s.l.) in the Pyrenees studied up to date. We investigate the sensitivity of this high altitude site to vegetational and climate dynamics and altitudinal shifts during the Holocene by comparing palynological spectra of the fossil sequence and pollen rain content from current moss pollsters. We hypothesize that the input of sediments in lakes at such altitude is strongly controlled by ice phenology (ice-free summer months) and that during cold periods Pollen Accumulation Rate (PAR) and Pollen Concentration (PC) reflect changes in ice-cover and thus is linked to temperature changes. Low sedimentation rates and low PC and PAR occurred during colder periods as the Younger Dryas (GS-1) and the Holocene onset (12.6-10.2 kyr cal BP), suggesting that the lake-surface remained ice-covered for most of the year during these periods. Warmer conditions are not evident until 10.2 kyr cal BP, when an abrupt increase in sedimentation rate, PC and PAR occur, pointing to a delayed onset of the Holocene temperature increase at high altitude. Well-developed pinewoods and deciduous forest dominated the mid montane belt since 9.3 kyr cal BP until mid-Holocene (5.2 kyr cal BP). A downwards shift in the deciduous forest occurred after 5.2 kyr cal BP, in agreement with the aridity trend observed at a regional and Mediterranean context. The increase of herbaceous taxa during the late-Holocene (3.5 kyr cal BP-present) reflects a general trend to reduced montane forest, as anthropogenic disturbances were not evident until 1.3 kyr cal BP when Olea proportions from lowland areas and other anthropogenic indicators clearly expand. Our study demonstrates the need to perform local experimental approaches to check the effect of ice phenology on high altitude lakes sensitivity to vegetation changes to obtain

Holocene lowering of the Laurentide ice sheet affects North Atlantic gyre circulation and climate

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanovic, R. F.; Gregoire, L. J.; Maycock, A.; Valdes, P. J.

2017-12-01

The Laurentide ice sheet, which covered Canada during glacial periods, had a major influence on atmospheric circulation and surface climate, but its role in climate during the early Holocene (9-7 ka), when it was thinner and confined around Hudson Bay, is unclear. It has been suggested that the demise of the ice sheet played a role in the 8.2 ka event (an abrupt 1-3 °C Northern Hemisphere cooling lasting 160 years) through the influence of changing topography on atmospheric circulation. To test this hypothesis, and to investigate the broader implications of changing ice sheet topography for climate, we analyse a set of equilibrium climate simulations with ice sheet topographies taken at 500 year intervals from 9.5 ka to 8.0 ka. Between 9.5 and 8.0 ka, our simulations show a 2 °C cooling south of Iceland and a 1 °C warming between 40-50° N in the North Atlantic. These surface temperature changes are associated with a weakening of the subtropical and subpolar gyres caused by a decreasing wind stress curl over the mid-North Atlantic as the ice sheet lowers. The climate response is strongest during the period of peak ice volume change (9.5 ka - 8.5 ka), but becomes negligible after 8.5 ka. The climatic effects of the Laurentide ice sheet lowering are restricted to the North Atlantic sector. Thus, topographic forcing did not play a significant role in the 8.2 ka event and had only a small effect on Holocene climate change compared to the effects of changes in greenhouse gases, insolation and ice sheet meltwater.

Can molluscan assemblages give insights into Holocene environmental changes other than sea level rise? A case study from a macrotidal bay (Marennes-Oleron, France)

OpenAIRE

Poirier, Clement; Sauriau, Pierre-guy; Chaumillon, Eric; Allard, Jonathan

2009-01-01

During the Late Holocene, the rate of sea level rise decreased and climate changes, hydrodynamic processes or anthropogenic impacts became predominant parameters governing the sedimentary infill of estuarine environments. The aim of this study is to describe the response of past benthic mollusc communities to these forcing factors. Mollusc skeletal remains were sampled from three 8000, 5500 and 2600 year-long sedimentary records in the Marennes-Oleron Bay (Atlantic Coast, France), where envir...

Investigating extreme flood response to Holocene palaeoclimate in the Chinese monsoonal zone: A palaeoflood case study from the Hanjiang River

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Yongqiang; Huang, Chun Chang; Pang, Jiangli; Zha, Xiaochun; Zhou, Yali; Wang, Longsheng; Zhang, Yuzhu; Hu, Guiming

2015-06-01

Palaeoflood events recorded by slackwater deposits (SWDs) were investigated extensively by sedimentological criteria of palaeohydrology along the upper Hanjiang River valley. Modern flood SWDs were collected for comparison with palaeoflood SWD in the same reaches. Three typical palaeoflood SWDs were observed within Holocene loess-soil blanket on the first river terrace land. The grain size distributions of palaeoflood SWDs are similar to modern flood SWDs, whereas they are different from eolian loess and soil. Palaeoflood SWD lies in three major pedo-stratigraphic boundaries (TS/L0, L0/S0, and S0/Lt) in the Holocene loess-soil profiles. The chronology of three palaeoflood episodes was established by OSL dating and pedo-stratigraphic correlation with the well-dated Holocene loess-soil profiles in the upper Hanjiang River basin. Holocene palaeoflood events were dated to 9500-8500, 3200-2800, and 1800-1700 a B.P., respectively. Palaeoflood discharges were estimated by the palaeoflood model (i.e., slope-area method and step-backwater method). The highest discharges are 51,680-53,950 m3 s- 1 at the 11,500-time scale in the Xunyang reach of the upper Hanjiang River valley. Holocene extraordinary hydroclimatic events in the Hanjiang River often result from abnormal atmospheric circulations from Southwest monsoons in the Chinese monsoonal zone. These results provide a regional expression of extreme flood response to Holocene palaeoclimate to understand the effects of global climatic variations on the river system dynamics.

Holocene paleoclimatic variation in the Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica: A mineral magnetic approach

Science.gov (United States)

Phartiyal, Binita

2014-12-01

An analysis of remanent magnetism and radiocarbon ages in the dry lacustrine/sediment fills of the Schirmacher Oasis (SO) in East Antarctica was conducted to reconstruct past climatic condition. The statistically run mineral magnetic data on paleontological statistics software package (multivariate cluster analysis) placed on accelerator mass spectrometer radiocarbon chronology of the three sediment sections, trace 6 phases of climatic fluctuation between 13 and 3 ka, (Phases 1, 3 and 5 represent cold periods while Phases 2, 4, and 6 represent warm periods). One short warm period (Phase 2, ca. 12.5 ka) occurred in the late Pleistocene, and two marked warm periods (Phase 4, 11-8.7 ka; Phase 6, 4.4-3 ka) occurred in the Holocene. High magnetic susceptibility (χ), saturation isothermal remanent magnetism (SIRM), and soft isothermal remanent magnetism (soft IRM) values correspond to colder periods and low values reflect comparatively warmer lacustrine phases. Holocene Optima (Phase 4) and Mid Holocene Hypsithermal (Phase 6) are distinguished by decreased values of concentrations dependent parameters. Remanence is preserved in the low-coercive minerals. Heavy metals in the sediments include, Fe, Rb, Zn, Mo, Co, Pb, Mn, Cu, and As in order of decreasing abundance.

Holocene alluvial stratigraphy and response to climate change in the Roaring River valley, Front Range, Colorado, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Madole, Richard F.

2012-09-01

Stratigraphic analyses and radiocarbon geochronology of alluvial deposits exposed along the Roaring River, Colorado, lead to three principal conclusions: (1) the opinion that stream channels in the higher parts of the Front Range are relics of the Pleistocene and nonalluvial under the present climate, as argued in a water-rights trial USA v. Colorado, is untenable, (2) beds of clast-supported gravel alternate in vertical succession with beds of fine-grained sediment (sand, mud, and peat) in response to centennial-scale changes in snowmelt-driven peak discharges, and (3) alluvial strata provide information about Holocene climate history that complements the history provided by cirque moraines, periglacial deposits, and paleontological data. Most alluvial strata are of late Holocene age and record, among other things, that: (1) the largest peak flows since the end of the Pleistocene occurred during the late Holocene; (2) the occurrence of a mid- to late Holocene interval (~ 2450-1630(?) cal yr BP) of warmer climate, which is not clearly identified in palynological records; and (3) the Little Ice Age climate seems to have had little impact on stream channels, except perhaps for minor (~ 1 m) incision.

Brief communication: DNA from early Holocene American dog.

Science.gov (United States)

Tito, Raul Y; Belknap, Samuel L; Sobolik, Kristin D; Ingraham, Robert C; Cleeland, Lauren M; Lewis, Cecil M

2011-08-01

We present the oldest genetically identified dog in the Americas, directly dated to 9,260 ± 170 Cal. B.P. The DNA was extracted from an occipital condyle imbedded in a human paleofecal sample from Hinds Cave in southwest Texas. A 368 base pair fragment of the mitochondrial genome control region was sequenced. These data were analyzed with comparable data, which included other ancient dogs and extant dogs, wolves and coyotes from around the world. Compiled with published data, our results characterize ancient American dogs within clades rooted by Eurasian wolves. In the Americas, these data provide no evidence of local interbreeding with wolves. This is a departure from the genetic pattern in other areas of the world where interbreeding with local wolf populations is apparent. Our discovery of domestic dog bone in a human paleofecal sample provides the earliest direct evidence for human consumption of dogs in the New World. These data support the hypothesis that dogs were a food source for early Paleoamericans. Copyright © 2011 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Holocene sea level fluctuations on western Indian continental margin: An update

Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

Hashimi, N.H.; Nigam, R.; Nair, R.R.; Rajagopalan, G.

A new Holocene curve is generated for the western Indian continental margin. While constructing this curve careful selection of the dates were made by giving due considerations to the genetic characteristics of the dated material. This new curve...

Early environmental exposures influence schizophrenia expression even in the presence of strong genetic predisposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Husted, Janice A; Ahmed, Rashid; Chow, Eva W C; Brzustowicz, Linda M; Bassett, Anne S

2012-05-01

There are few studies of environmental factors in familial forms of schizophrenia. We investigated whether childhood adversity or environmental factors were associated with schizophrenia in a familial sample where schizophrenia is associated with the NOSA1P gene. We found that a cumulative adversity index including childhood illness, family instability and cannabis use was significantly associated with narrow schizophrenia, independent of NOSA1P risk genotype, previously measured childhood trauma, covariates and familial clustering (adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval)=1.55 (1.01, 2.38)). The results provide further support that early environmental exposures influence schizophrenia expression even in the presence of strong genetic predisposition. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Geochemical and Sedimentary Record of High Southern Latitude Holocene Climate Evolution from Lago Fagnano, Tierra del Fuego

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Moy, C M; Dunbar, R B; Guilderson, T P; Waldmann, N; Mucciarone, D A; Recasens, C; Austin, J A; Anselmetti, F S

2010-11-19

Situated at the southern margin of the hemispheric westerly wind belt and immediately north of the Antarctic Polar Frontal zone, Tierra del Fuego is well-positioned to monitor coupled changes in the ocean-atmosphere system of the high southern latitudes. Here we describe a Holocene paleoclimate record from sediment cores obtained from Lago Fagnano, a large lake in southern Tierra del Fuego at 55{sup o}S, to investigate past changes in climate related to these two important features of the global climate system. We use an AMS radiocarbon chronology for the last 8,000 years based on pollen concentrates, thereby avoiding contamination from bedrock-derived lignite. Our chronology is consistent with a tephrochronologic age date for deposits from the middle Holocene Volcan Hudson eruption. Combining bulk organic isotopic ({delta}{sup 13}C and {delta}{sup 15}N) and elemental (C and N) parameters with physical sediment properties allow us to better understand sediment provenance and transport mechanisms and to interpret Holocene climate and tectonic change during the last 8,000 years. Co-variability and long-term trends in C/N ratio, carbon accumulation rate, and magnetic susceptibility reflect an overall Holocene increase in the delivery of terrestrial organic and lithogenic material to the deep eastern basin. We attribute this variability to westerly wind-derived precipitation. Increased wind strength and precipitation in the late Holocene drives the Nothofagus forest eastward and enhances run-off and terrigenous inputs to the lake. Superimposed on the long-term trend are a series of abrupt 9 negative departures in C/N ratio, which constrain the presence of seismically-driven mass flow events in the record. We identify an increase in bulk {delta}{sup 13}C between 7,000 and 5,000 cal yr BP that we attribute to enhanced aquatic productivity driven by warmer summer temperatures. The Lago Fagnano {delta}{sup 13}C record shows similarities with Holocene records of sea surface

Early farmers from across Europe directly descended from Neolithic Aegeans

Science.gov (United States)

Hofmanová, Zuzana; Kreutzer, Susanne; Hellenthal, Garrett; Sell, Christian; Diekmann, Yoan; Díez-del-Molino, David; van Dorp, Lucy; López, Saioa; Kousathanas, Athanasios; Link, Vivian; Kirsanow, Karola; Cassidy, Lara M.; Martiniano, Rui; Strobel, Melanie; Scheu, Amelie; Kotsakis, Kostas; Halstead, Paul; Triantaphyllou, Sevi; Kyparissi-Apostolika, Nina; Ziota, Christina; Adaktylou, Fotini; Gopalan, Shyamalika; Bobo, Dean M.; Winkelbach, Laura; Blöcher, Jens; Unterländer, Martina; Leuenberger, Christoph; Çilingiroğlu, Çiler; Horejs, Barbara; Gerritsen, Fokke; Shennan, Stephen J.; Bradley, Daniel G.; Currat, Mathias; Veeramah, Krishna R.; Thomas, Mark G.; Papageorgopoulou, Christina; Burger, Joachim

2016-01-01

Farming and sedentism first appeared in southwestern Asia during the early Holocene and later spread to neighboring regions, including Europe, along multiple dispersal routes. Conspicuous uncertainties remain about the relative roles of migration, cultural diffusion, and admixture with local foragers in the early Neolithization of Europe. Here we present paleogenomic data for five Neolithic individuals from northern Greece and northwestern Turkey spanning the time and region of the earliest spread of farming into Europe. We use a novel approach to recalibrate raw reads and call genotypes from ancient DNA and observe striking genetic similarity both among Aegean early farmers and with those from across Europe. Our study demonstrates a direct genetic link between Mediterranean and Central European early farmers and those of Greece and Anatolia, extending the European Neolithic migratory chain all the way back to southwestern Asia. PMID:27274049

A 13,500 Year Record of Holocene Climate, Fire and Vegetation from Swan Lake, Idaho, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Wahl, D.; Anderson, L.; Miller, D. M.; Rosario, J. J.; Starratt, S.; McGeehin, J. P.; Bright, J. E.

2015-12-01

Modern climate dynamics in the western US are largely determined by a combination of two factors: 1) the strength and position of midlatitude pressure systems, which, in turn, are responsible for the generation and trajectory of winter storms, and 2) the strength of the North America Monsoon (NAM) which brings summer precipitation northward in response to northern hemisphere warming. Paleoclimate records from the Great Basin of the western US suggest some coherence in the timing of major climatic shifts during the Holocene. However, knowledge of the timing and magnitude of these changes at local scales, which can help explain the relative contribution of midlatitude winter storms vs. NAM, is lacking in many places. Here we present new data that constrain the timing and magnitude of late glacial and Holocene climate variability in the northeastern Great Basin, provide insight into past spatial variability of precipitation patterns in the western US, and improve our understanding of regional scale influences on Great Basin climate. In 2011, a 7.65 m sediment core was raised from Swan Lake, a small wetland located in southeastern Idaho that was formed in the spillway channel created by the catastrophic flooding of Lake Bonneville ~18 ka BP. Pollen, charcoal, clumped isotope, diatom, ostracod, and sedimentological data are used to reconstruct vegetation, fire history, and lake level/groundwater flux over the last 13,500 years. Age control is provided by 19 AMS radiocarbon determinations, which are reported as thousands of calibrated years before present (ka BP). This effort builds on earlier work by Bright (1966) who reported on pollen, macrofossils, and sediment type from Swan Lake. Our data suggest cool and wet conditions prevailed until around 12.3 ka BP, after which a drying trend begins. The early Holocene was marked by a warmer, drier climate, which persisted until around 6.2 ka BP. Moister conditions after 6.2 ka BP likely resulted from a combination of enhanced

Landscape trajectories during the Lateglacial and the Holocene in the Loir River Valley (France) : the contribution of Geoarchaeology

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Piana, Juliene

2015-04-01

A multidisciplinary research has been initiated in the Loir River valley where investigations revealed high-potential fluvial records and landforms for environmental and socio-environmental reconstructions. Investigations provide the opportunity to reconstruct landscape trajectories between climate, environmental and societal changes during the last 16000 years, using geoarchaeological and archaeogeographical approaches: sedimentology, soil micromorphology, geochemistry, archaeology, geomatics, geochronology (AGES Program: Ancient Geomorphological EvolutionS of Loire Basin hydrosystem). In the sector of Vaas (Sarthe, France) the research on the Lateglacial and the Holocene sedimentary sequences from the alluvial plain leads to a general overview of the valley evolution from the end of the Weichselian Upper Pleniglacial to the Present. Joined to archaeological (Protohistoric and Antic sites) and historical data (engineering archives, 18th century cadastral registers) this research highlights the importance of anthropogenic and geomorphological heritages in the current fluvial landscape (microtopography, wetlands, archaeological remains, land use). This knowledge constitutes a basis for skills transfer to planners and managers, in sustainable management of hydrological resources (reducing the vulnerability to flooding and low flows), preservation of biodiversity (wetlands protection) and valorization of landscapes (cultural tourism development).

Genetic and environmental influences on non-specific neck pain in early adolescence: A classical twin study

Science.gov (United States)

Ståhl, Minna K; El-Metwally, Ashraf A; Mikkelsson, Marja K; Salminen, Jouko J; Pulkkinen, Lea R; Rose, Richard J; Kaprio, Jaakko A

2012-01-01

Background Prevalence of neck pain has increased among adolescents. The origins of adult chronic neck pain may lie in late childhood, but for early prevention, more information is needed about its aetiology. We investigated the relative roles of genetic and environmental factors in early adolescent neck pain with a classic twin study. Methods Frequency of neck pain was assessed with a validated pain questionnaire in a population-based sample of nearly 1800 pairs of 11–12-year-old Finnish twins. Twin pair similarity for neck pain was quantified by polychoric correlations, and variance components were estimated with biometric structural equation modelling. Results Prevalence of neck pain reported at least once monthly was 38% and at least once weekly 16%, with no significant differences between gender or zygosity. A greater polychoric correlation in liability to neck pain was found in monozygotic (0.67) than for dizygotic pairs (0.38), suggesting strong genetic influences. Model-fitting indicated that 68% (95% CI 62 to 74) of the variation in liability to neck pain could be attributed to genetic effects, with the remainder attributed to unshared environmental effects. No evidence for sex-specific genetic effects or for sex differences in the magnitude of genetic effects was found. Conclusions Genetic and unique environmental factors seem to play the most important roles in liability to neck pain in early adolescence. Future research should be directed to identifying pathways for genetic influences on neck pain and in exploring effectiveness of interventions that target already identified environmental risk factors. PMID:23139100

The effect of a dynamic background albedo scheme on Sahel/Sahara precipitation during the mid-Holocene

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. S. E. Vamborg

2011-02-01

Full Text Available We have implemented a new albedo scheme that takes the dynamic behaviour of the surface below the canopy into account, into the land-surface scheme of the MPI-ESM. The standard (static scheme calculates the seasonal canopy albedo as a function of leaf area index, whereas the background albedo is a gridbox constant derived from satellite measurements. The new (dynamic scheme additionally models the background albedo as a slowly changing function of organic matter in the ground and of litter and standing dead biomass covering the ground. We use the two schemes to investigate the interactions between vegetation, albedo and precipitation in the Sahel/Sahara for two time-slices: pre-industrial and mid-Holocene. The dynamic scheme represents the seasonal cycle of albedo and the correspondence between annual mean albedo and vegetation cover in a more consistent way than the static scheme. It thus gives a better estimate of albedo change between the two time periods. With the introduction of the dynamic scheme, precipitation is increased by 30 mm yr⁻¹ for the pre-industrial simulation and by about 80 mm yr⁻¹ for the mid-Holocene simulation. The present-day dry bias in the Sahel of standard ECHAM5 is thus reduced and the sensitivity of precipitation to mid-Holocene external forcing is increased by around one third. The locations of mid-Holocene lakes, as estimated from reconstructions, lie south of the modelled desert border in both mid-Holocene simulations. The magnitude of simulated rainfall in this area is too low to fully sustain lakes, however it is captured better with the dynamic scheme. The dynamic scheme leads to increased vegetation variability in the remaining desert region, indicating a higher frequency of green spells, thus reaching a better agreement with the vegetation distribution as derived from pollen records.

Peat in the 'Niayes' of Senegal: depositional environment and Holocene evolution

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lezine, A.-M.; Chateauneuf, J.-J. (Laboratoire de Geologie du Quaternaire, Marseille (France). Faculte des Sciences de Luminy)

1991-01-01

The 'Niayes' peat deposits north of Dakar, in Senegal, provide an unusual opportunity to study the continental and littoral detrital environment of the Holocene in West Africa. These organic deposits, that may attain a thickness of 10 m, accumulated in Late Pleistocene interdune basins whose extent and morphology depend closely upon the palaeohydrologic evolution of and the continental model for this zone during the Holocene. The present sub-Canarian climate of this region allows the preservation of an azonal vegetation of Guinean chorological affinity that is evidence of the wider development of now more southerly vegetation during the older Holocene. The nature of the sedimentary facies of these peatfields is closely related to the altitude of the basins of accumulation and the position of the fresh/salt water interface which conditions the recharge of the shallow aquifer. Thus, fresh-water and mangrove-swamp peats exist more or less closely associated according to the site. {sup 14}C age determination gives ages for these deposits between 12000 B.P. and the present, and detailed palynological studies have shown that there were two periods of climatic optimum, one between 9000 and 7000 B.P. and one between 4000 and 2000 B.P. The highly variable rates of sedimentation (0.2-12,5 mm/y for the continental zones and 2 mm/y for the mangrove swamps) are related to the paleotopography of the water-table or to very local fluctuations of sea level. The evolution of the vegetal biomass, evaluated both qualitatively (relative representation of the various vegetation levels) and quantitatively (concentration of pollen per gram of dry sediment) during the course of the Holocene enables reconstruction of the complete climatic and hydrologic history of the region up to dawn of the Present. 38 refs., 5 figs., 1 tab.

Millennial- to century-scale variability in Gulf of Mexico Holocene climate records

Science.gov (United States)

Poore, R.Z.; Dowsett, H.J.; Verardo, S.; Quinn, T.M.

2003-01-01

Proxy records from two piston cores in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) provide a detailed (50-100 year resolution) record of climate variability over the last 14,000 years. Long-term (millennial-scale) trends and changes are related to the transition from glacial to interglacial conditions and movement of the average position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) related to orbital forcing. The ??18O of the surface-dwelling planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber show negative excursions between 14 and 10.2 ka (radiocarbon years) that reflect influx of meltwater into the western GOM during melting of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The relative abundance of the planktic foraminifer Globigerinoides sacculifer is related to transport of Caribbean water into the GOM. Maximum transport of Caribbean surface waters and moisture into the GOM associated with a northward migration of the average position of the ITCZ occurs between about 6.5 and 4.5 ka. In addition, abundance variations of G. sacculifer show century-scale variability throughout most of the Holocene. The GOM record is consistent with records from other areas, suggesting that century-scale variability is a pervasive feature of Holocene climate. The frequency of several cycles in the climate records is similar to cycles identified in proxy records of solar variability, indicating that at least some of the century-scale climate variability during the Holocene is due to external (solar) forcing.

Holocene sea-level fluctuation in the southern hemisphere

Science.gov (United States)

Isla, Federico Ignacio

If rising sea levels dominate in the northern hemisphere (NH), falling or fluctuating sea levels predominate in the southern hemisphere (SH). Endogenic processes (tectonics, isostasy or geoidal changes) could explain local or regional mean sea level (MSL) fluctuations but not an hemispherical one. Evidence from South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia and the Pacific and Indian Oceans suggest that the Holocene transgression rose above the present MSL, in higher latitudes before the tropics. By plotting latitude against the age of MSL arrival at present coasts, good correlation is observed. Oceanic salinity mixing has been already proposed to explain this mid-Holocene sea-level fluctuation. Climate could be the only factor responsible for this hemisphere-wide behavior of MSL. It has been suggested previously that the climate of the SH precedes that of the NH by 3000 years. The climatic optimum, or maximum warmth, occurred predominantly about 6000 BP in the NH, but about 10-9000 BP in the SH. Short-term climatic effects on the sea level (monsoons, southern oscillation/El Niño phenomena) should have significant occurrences during the past in the windiest oceanic hemisphere. This latitudinal trend in former MSL should be considered when using shorelines as reference points for measuring vertical crustal movements.

Holocene tephra deposits in the northern Okinawa Trough

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

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2006-01-01

The mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of sediments of Core CSH1, which was collected from the northern Okinawa Trough, indicate that large amounts of volcanic materials have deposited in the northern Okinawa Trough during the Holocene. On the basis of down-core variations in mineral and element contents of sediments, two layers in the uppermost section of Core CSH1 characterized by high quartz, Na2O, MnO, K2O, uranium contents and low contents of clay minerals, volatiles, Fe2O3, MgO, CaO and strontium, have been identified as the tephra deposits. Systematic grain-size measurements also suggest that sediments from the northern Okinawa Trough are made up of terrigenous materials and volcanic ashes with different proportion during the Holocene. The sediments of tephra layers in Core CSH1 show bi-modal patterns in grain-size distribution with modal grain-sizes of 74.3 and 7.81 μm,respectively. According to the radiocarbon dating on shells of zooplankton foraminifera, two tephra layers in Core CSH1, formed at 7 250 and 10 870 a BP (cal), approximately correspond to the K-Ah tephra [7 300 a BP (cal)] and the eruption of Kuju Volcano (12～10 ka BP), respectively.

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Affiliation with Deviant Peers during Adolescence and Early Adulthood

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Tarantino, Nicholas; Tully, Erin C.; Garcia, Sarah E.; South, Susan; Iacono, William G.; McGue, Matt

2014-01-01

Adolescence and early adulthood is a time when peer groups become increasingly influential in the lives of young people. Youths exposed to deviant peers risk susceptibility to externalizing behaviors and related psychopathology. In addition to environmental correlates of deviant peer affiliation, a growing body of evidence has suggested that…

Compound-specific isotope records of late-quaternary environmental change in southeastern North Carolina

Science.gov (United States)

Lane, Chad S.; Taylor, Audrey K.; Spencer, Jessica; Jones, Kaylee B.

2018-02-01

Reconstructions of late Quaternary paleohydrology are rare from the U.S. Atlantic coastal plain (ACP). Here we present compound-specific hydrogen (δ2Halkane) and carbon (δ13Calkane) isotope analyses of terrestrially-derived n-alkanes from Jones Lake and Singletary Lake in eastern North Carolina spanning the last ∼50,000 years. Combined with pollen, charcoal, and bulk geochemical analyses, the δ2Halkane data indicate arid conditions during the late-Pleistocene, but differing edaphic conditions at the sites perhaps related to differing water table depths. The δ13Calkane data indicate a significant C4 plant component during the late Pleistocene, but other proxies indicate a sparsely-vegetated landscape. The Pleistocene-Holocene transition is marked by rapid fluctuations in δ2Halkane values that are similar to the patterns of Bølling Allerød and Younger Dryas isotope data from Greenland indicating sensitivity of the regional climate to short-lived, high-amplitude climatic events. The δ2Halkane data indicate a mesic early Holocene that supported colonization by Quercus-dominated ecosystems. Evidence of middle Holocene aridity in eastern Tennessee and western North Carolina contrasts with evidence of mesic conditions on the ACP, a geographic pattern similar to modern teleconnected precipitation responses to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. A transition to Pinus-dominated ecosystems ∼5500 cal yr B.P. is accompanied by a large increase charcoal, but is not coincident with any large changes in δ2Halkane values, indicating that hydrologic change was likely not responsible for sustained late-Holocene dominance of Pinus. The lack of a change in middle Holocene hydrology and the spatiotemporally heterogeneous nature of the Quercus-Pinus transition on the ACP indicate prehistoric anthropogenic land management practices may represent the most parsimonious explanation for the regionally pervasive ecological change.