Latest Quaternary papers

The Cueva del Camino site (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid, Spain) is located in the upper valley of the Lozoya River in the Sierra de Guadarrama, a mountain range extending NE−SW within the Central Range System. Due to its location within a mountain range on the central Iberian Peninsula at an altitude of 1114 m a.s.l. and the numerical dating of its sediments, the palaeontological site of Cueva del Camino has proved a highly relevant location for studying the ecological changes linked to the climatic fluctuations at the end of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 and the beginning of MIS 4. Environmental reconstructions suggest a rather open, patchy landscape throughout the succession, with abundant evidence of dry meadows, scrublands and rocky habitats. The climate can be considered as generally warm, reaching mean annual temperatures (MATs) of up to 13.8°C (i.e. higher than today's by up to 2.9°C). Three cooler events can be seen throughout the succession as reflected by the presence of Rana iberica, Anguis fragilis and Coronella austriaca. The first of these events may correlate with MIS 5b; the second in the Central sector may correlate with the Stadial I pollen event occurring at the end of MIS 5a; and the third event, corresponding to the coldest MAT of the entire succession with MATs 0.9°C lower than today's, may correspond to the transition from MIS 5a to MIS 4. The evolution of mean annual precipitation (MAP) is characterized by warm periods, drier and cold periods, as well as wetter periods (up to +356 mm compared to today's MAP values), similar to what occurs today in the high-elevation areas of the neighbouring mountains. Our study gives new quantitative estimations for the climatic fluctuations in mountain environments of central Spain at the MIS 5/4 transition and their associated ecological changes.

The geomorphology of the south-western and central Lake District, England is used to reconstruct the mountain palaeoglaciology pertaining to the Lateglacial and Younger Dryas. Limitations to previous ice-mass reconstructions and consequent palaeoclimatic inferences include: (i) the use of static (steady-state) glacier reconstructions, (ii) the assumption of a single-stage Younger Dryas advance, (iii) greatly varying ice-volume estimates, (iv) inexplicable spatial variations in ELA (Equilibrium Line Altitude), and (v) a lack of robust extent chronology. Here we present geomorphological mapping based on aerial photography and the NextMap Britain Digital Elevation Model, checked by ground survey. Former glacier extents were inferred and ELAs were calculated using the Balance Ratio method of Osmaston. Independently, a time-dependant 2-D ice-flow model was forced by a regional ELA history that was scaled to the GRIP record. This provided a dynamic reconstruction of a mountain ice field that allowed for non-steady-state glacier evolution. Fluctuations in climate during the Younger Dryas resulted in multiple glacial advance positions that show agreement with the location of mapped moraines, and may further explain some of the ELA variations found in previous local and static reconstructions. Modelling based on the GRIP record predicts three phases: an initial maximum extent, a middle minor advance or stillstand, and a pronounced but less extensive final advance. The comparisons find that the reconstructions derived from geomorphological evidence are effective representations of steady-state glacier geometries, but we do propose different extents for some glaciers and, in particular, a large former glacier in Upper Eskdale.

We provide evidence for the subglacial to ice-marginal successive deposition of the Lohtaja−Kivijärvi ice lobe margin esker influenced by the changes in the meltwater delivery and proglacial water depth within the Finnish Lake District lobe trunk during the last deglaciation in Finland. The study is mostly based on the sedimentological data from the 100 km long esker chain with 15 logged sites. The long breaks in the lobe margin esker and the re-emerged deposition along the stable position of the subglacial meltwater route were related to the discontinuities and reappearances of the neighbouring eskers. This considerable variability in the meltwater discharge and debris transport under the described deglacial conditions cannot be explained by markedly decreased meltwater production due to palaeoclimatic factors or lack of debris within the trunk region. The primary control on the changes in meltwater availability and related esker deposition was thus due to the spatial and temporal changes in ice mass properties and shifting of the meltwater flow paths within the trunk. These changes were initiated by the topographically higher and partly supra-aquatic Suomenselkä watershed area with subsequent deepening of the proglacial water during the deglaciation. The understanding of the long-lived esker deposition along the former ice-stream trunk margin adds to the evaluation of palaeoglaciological reconstructions and geomorphologically based spatial models for ice-stream landscapes.

Nina Huittinen, Priit Sarv, Jukka Lehto

V. Saltas, F. Vallianatos, E. Gidarakos

Maximiliano Brigante, Graciela Zanini, Marcelo Avena

C.J. Pritchard, P.B. Larson, T.L. Spell, K.D. Tarbert

Suryendu Dutta, Christoph Hartkopf-Fröder, Karin Witte, Rainer Brocke, Ulrich Mann

Lisa K. Gallagher, Andrew W. Glossner, Lee L. Landkamer, Linda A. Figueroa, Kevin W. Mandernack, Junko Munakata-Marr

Spencer G. Lucas

Shen Liu, Caixia Feng, Bor-ming Jahn, Ruizhong Hu, Shan Gao, Ian M. Coulson, Guangying Feng, Shaocong Lai, Chaogui Yang, Yuhong Yang

Here we report the recognition of the Minoan tephra layer in the Acigöl Basin (western Turkey), which represents the most eastward occurrence of this tephra on land and the first in continental deposits out of lacustrine sediments in mainland Turkey. The correlation is supported by glass and mineral geochemistry, which includes solution and laser-ablation ICP-MS data for trace and rare earth elements. Thickness and grain size data allow the extension of already described occurrences to an area of about 359 000 km2, from the eastern Mediterranean to Black Sea throughout central–western Turkey. Coupling dispersal area and grain-size data suggests the joint influence of high and low atmosphere dynamics in dispersal of fine ash during volcanic eruptions. The thickness and lateral continuity of the Minoan tephra in the Acigöl Basin testifies to the widespread impact on the Late Bronze Age environment of mainland Turkey of this important ash deposit.

During the last glacial maximum, the Galloway Hills in southwest Scotland acted as a major centre of ice dispersion within the last British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS). Six new or recalibrated 10Be exposure ages for samples obtained from boulders near the former ice divide yielded uncertainty-weighted mean ages of 15.15 ± 0.72 ka (Lm scaling), or 15.33 ± 0.74 ka (Du scaling). These ages indicate that the former ice dome centred over the Galloway Hills had almost (or completely) disappeared by ca. 15 ka, imply prior deglaciation of all of southwest Scotland and refute suggestions that ice cover persisted in this area during the Lateglacial Interstade. They strongly support recent models advocating extensive deglaciation of all areas occupied by the last BIIS (apart from the Scottish Highlands) prior to warming at the onset of the Lateglacial Interstade (ca. 14.7 ka). Three samples obtained from boulders on a large latero-terminal moraine (Tauchers moraine) near the former ice divide yielded a weighted mean age of 11.91 ± 0.77 ka (Lm scaling) or 12.01 ± 0.78 ka (Du scaling), confirming that the moraine is of Loch Lomond (Younger Dryas) Stadial age, and suggesting that the moraine was deposited 200–500 years before the end of the stade.

Zhangdong Jin, Xiangdong Li, Biao Zhang, Yongming Han, Guangli Zheng

A.H.H. Renner, M. Dumont, J. Beckers, S. Gerland, C. Haas

B. Casey, J.T. Germaine, P.B. Flemings, J.S. Reece, B. Gao, W. Betts

Ruilin Wen, Jule Xiao, Yuzhen Ma, Zhaodong Feng, Yuecong Li, Qinghai Xu

Amin Jamshidi, Mohammad Reza Nikudel, Mashalah Khamechiyan

Juha Kuutti, Kari Kolari, Pieti Marjavaara

Jong-Sub Lee, Joo Yong Lee, Young Moon Kim, Changho Lee