A late Pleistocene–Holocene multi‐proxy record of palaeoenvironmental change from Still Bay, southern Cape Coast, South Africa - Lynne J. Quick; Andrew S. Carr; Michael E. Meadows; Arnoud Boom; Mark D. Bateman; David L. Roberts; Paula J. Reimer; Brian M. Chase (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
The southern Cape is a key focus for southern African palaeoenvironmental research as it represents the transitional region between temperate westerlies and sub‐tropical rainfall sources. This study presents pollen, plant biomarker, geochemical and charcoal data preserved in the Rietvlei wetland. The bulk of the record spans the last 16 ka, but it also provides rare insights into late Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (ca. 35–30k cal a BP). The data suggest that during the Pleistocene the development and permanence of this wetland was probably influenced by sea‐level change via control on the local water table; notably lower sea levels within MIS 2 resulted in very limited wetland productivity. The MIS 3 section provides evidence both supporting previous suggestions of relatively humid conditions, but also some indication of periodic arid phases. The Holocene record suggests clear contrasts between the early (11–7k cal a BP; relatively humid), mid‐Holocene (7–3.3k cal a BP; more arid, less productive wetland conditions) and latest Holocene (last 2k cal a BP; resurgence in both fynbos and aquatic/riparian pollen). While isolating the roles of winter/summer rainfall remains challenging, these data clarify the nature of change during key episodes in the regional palaeoenvironmental record.

A simple method to establish calcite:aragonite ratios in archaeological mollusc shells - Emma Loftus; Keith Rogers; Julia Lee‐Thorp (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Oxygen isotope thermometry from archaeological mollusc shells relies on preservation of the original crystal structure; in particular that metastable aragonite has not undergone recrystallization to calcite. Conventional methods for detecting recrystallization, however, require large sample sizes and extensive calibration, so that they cannot address variable shifts across sampling surfaces and in practice are rarely fully applied. Here we show that attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR‐ATR) can be applied to rapidly quantify biogenic aragonite and recrystallized calcite contents in mollusc shells at a sufficient level of accuracy. We established a series of calibration curves based on artificial mixtures of calcite and aragonite for comparison with archaeological samples. This method offers an improvement over existing tools. Most importantly, spectra can be determined from small samples that can be recovered for subsequent isotope analysis, thus allowing assessments of crystal structure at high spatial resolution across the shell surface and within an entire assemblage.

A Marine Isotope Stage 4 age for Pleistocene raised beach deposits near Fethard, southern Ireland - Colman Gallagher; Matt W. Telfer; Colm Ó Cofaigh (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Raised beach deposits around the Irish coast have been interpreted as interglacial or last glacial in age. On the south coast of Ireland, the Courtmacsherry Formation raised beach (CFB), near Fethard, County Wexford, was dated using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). This site was previously dated to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6–5, but more recent dating of the CFB elsewhere along the south coast shows it is considerably younger (MIS 4–3). The OSL analyses in this paper aimed to determine if new dating would support the greater age of the Fethard raised beach or realign it with the CFB. The new OSL ages place the formation of the Fethard raised beach between 57 ± 6 and 45 ± 6 ka, with 53 ± 5 ka the most likely age if a single depositional event is assumed. This is consistent with OSL dates of the CFB elsewhere. An MIS 4–3 age has important implications in understanding the palaeogeography and timing of glaciation in Ireland, and requires a reassessment of regional relative sea level history. As the eustatic response to global ice volume resulted in lowered relative sea level during MIS 4–2, a crustal response to glaciation is implied by the new dates.

Vegetation dynamics from a coastal peatland: insights from combined plant macrofossil and pollen data - Martyn Waller; Richard Early (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
This paper reports the results of plant‐macrofossil investigations from a peat layer buried within coastal alluvium at the Caburn, a site adjacent to the English chalkland. The data collected are compared against a published mid‐Holocene pollen sequence with the macrofossil record providing greater taxonomic resolution and establishing a local presence for many taxa. Alnus glutinosa pollen is abundant and Alnus macrofossils are recorded continuously over a c . 3000 cal year period. Fluctuations in the number of Alnus propagules and the presence of seeds of light‐demanding herbaceous plants suggest that regeneration occurred at a local scale, a process which is likely to have been promoted by a rising water table and sediment consolidation. Taxus baccata macrofossils were also recovered, indicating that the high pollen values previously reported may be the result of yew being present within the wetland area. The Tilia macrofossils establish the presence nearby of T . cordata , T . × europaea and T . platyphyllos . High pollen values for Quercus , Tilia and Alnus coincide with the occurrence of their anthers. Deposition within inflorescences is therefore likely to have been an important mode of pollen delivery. The usefulness of both techniques in studies that utilize peats derived from fen carr vegetation are discussed.

Sortable silt cycles in Svalbard slope sediments 74–0 ka - Simon P. Jessen; Tine L. Rasmussen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
The grain size of sortable silt (SS, 10–63 μm) was studied in sediment core JM04‐025PC from a sediment drift on the lower part of the western Svalbard slope. The study aims to reconstruct the bottom current activity and intermediate water circulation in the Greenland Sea. The SS record covers the last 74 ka and shows consistent millennial‐scale oscillations in grain size. The youngest part of the record (

Stable isotope evidence of late MIS 3 to middle Holocene palaeoenvironments from Sehonghong Rockshelter, eastern Lesotho - Emma Loftus; Brian A. Stewart; Genevieve Dewar; Julia Lee‐Thorp (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Evidence for human occupation of southern Africa's high‐altitude Maloti–Drakensberg Mountains is surprisingly common in the last glacial, yet the attraction of this relatively severe, cold region for hunter‐foragers remains unclear. Sehonghong Rockshelter (1870 m asl), in the eastern Lesotho Highlands, provides evidence for human occupation spanning Marine Isotope Stage 3 through the late Holocene. Excellent organic preservation provides opportunities for establishing multiple palaeoenvironmental proxy records to address this conundrum. In high‐altitude zones, the proportions of C 3 and C 4 plants archived in soil organic matter and faunal enamel provide sensitive indicators of past temperature shifts. We first extended the radiocarbon chronology to ca. 35 ka using ABOx‐SC radiocarbon dates of charcoals. Next we analysed stable isotopes in soil organic matter from the sedimentary sequence, and in faunal tooth enamel from the newly dated lower strata. The results suggest, predictably, that C 3 vegetation and low temperatures prevailed until early warming at ca. 15 ka, with a series of sharp shifts thereafter. Low values for δ 13 C and δ 18 O in faunal enamel ca. 33 ka suggest a negative temperature excursion at this time, and potentially greater precipitation as snowfall in the highlands compared with lower altitudes.

Vegetation, fire, and climate history during the last 18 500 cal a BP in south‐western Yunnan Province, China - Xiayun Xiao; J. I. Shen; Simon G. Haberle; Yong Han; Bin Xue; Enlou Zhang; Sumin Wang; Guobang Tong (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
High‐resolution pollen and charcoal records from Qinghai Lake in south‐western China are presented. The records reveal variations in vegetation, fire and climate history since 18 500 cal a BP. The results show that seven significant vegetation changes are recorded, which are responses to climate changes and/or fire events. Frequent and intensive fires occurred during the periods 17 900–15 000, 13 000–11 500 and 4280–980 cal a BP, corresponding to relatively dry climatic conditions. Combined with the climatic record from Tiancai Lake, the regional climatic changes since 18 500 cal a BP in western Yunnan Province are reconstructed. Namely, the Heinrich Event 1, the Bølling–Allerød warm period and the Younger Dryas event during the last deglaciation are ubiquitous in western Yunnan Province. The start of the Holocene is recorded at 11 500 cal a BP. The Holocene climatic optimum occurred between 8450 and 4280 cal a BP. After 4280 cal a BP, the climate deteriorated, accompanied by evidence for human impact. Based on this study, we consider that vegetation and climatic changes since 18 500 cal a BP in south‐western Yunnan Province are primarily driven by September and average summer solar insolation, with some associated influence from regional sea‐surface temperature and sea‐level rise.

Pollen–climate reconstruction from northern South Island, New Zealand (41°S), reveals varying high‐ and low‐latitude teleconnections over the last 16 000 years - Ignacio A. Jara; Rewi M. Newnham; Marcus J. Vandergoes; Courtney R. Foster; David J. Lowe; Janet M. Wilmshurst; Patricio I. Moreno; James A. Renwick; Aline M. Homes (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
We present a 16 000‐year vegetation and climate reconstruction from pollen and plant macrofossil records obtained at a small alpine lake in South Island, New Zealand (41°S). The expansion of lowland forest taxa suggests a lifting of the altitudinal forest limits because of a warming pulse between 13 and 10k cal a BP and between 7 and 6k cal a BP, while their decline relative to upland forest taxa indicates cooling phases between 10 and 7k cal a BP and over the last 3000 years. The modern treeline was first established locally by 9.7k cal a BP. Forest persisted at the site until 3k cal a BP then disappeared from the record. Close correspondence between the temperature trends inferred from the pollen and macrofossil records and proxies from Antarctica and the Southern Ocean suggests a strong teleconnection between New Zealand and the Southern Hemisphere high‐latitudes between 15 and 6k cal a BP. We note that the breakdown of this coupling, a cooling trend in Adelaide Tarn and the local disappearance of beech forest after 3k cal a BP occur during a period of increased frequency of El Niño events, suggesting an enhanced teleconnection with the low‐latitudes during the late Holocene.

Chronological variations in handaxes: patterns detected from fluvial archives in north‐west Europe - David R. Bridgland; Mark J. White (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
The use of handaxe morphology as a cultural and temporal marker within the Quaternary Lower–Middle Palaeolithic record has had a very chequered history, and abuses in the past have led recent generations of archaeologist to reject it out of hand. In Britain, however, advances in dating Pleistocene sediments, setting their ages within a framework of ∼11 glacial–interglacial cycles over the past 1 Ma, has revealed several patterns in technology and morphology that must be related to changing practices and cultural preferences over time. These are not predictable, nor are they linear, but nevertheless they may aid understanding of the movements of different peoples in and out of Britain over the past 500 000 years. It is also clear that such patterns are to be expected over a much wider region of the nearby continent, although they might not be identical, or even similar, to those established for southern Britain. This paper extends from explanation of the British patterns to an exploration of the extent to which something comparable can be recognized in neighbouring areas of continental Europe: a baseline for a planned collaborative survey of data from the Acheulean of north‐west European river systems.

North‐West European MIS 11 malacological successions: a framework for the timing of Acheulean settlements - N. Limondin‐Lozouet; P. Antoine; J.‐J. Bahain; D. Cliquet; S. Coutard; J. Dabkowski; B. Ghaleb; J.‐L. Locht; E. Nicoud; P. Voinchet (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Apart from a few lacustrine sequences, in North‐West Europe the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 interglacial is mainly represented in fluvial sequences and is particularly well preserved in calcareous tufa formations. These are favourable for the preservation of a range of fossil groups and several of them have yielded artefacts of Acheulean affinity. Molluscan shells are the most abundant proxy, occurring throughout these calcareous deposits. They provide a valuable means for reconstructing the palaeoenvironments contemporaneous with human occupation, allowing direct comparisons between sites. The La Celle tufa (northern France) provides the longest malacological succession, which allows a detailed reconstruction of the development of forest cover. Successive arrivals of forest species, first from an Atlantic corridor and later from central and southern European routeways, allow characterization of vegetational development. The initial immigrants indicate the spread of closed habitats, while a peak in the diversity of thermophilous snails corresponds to the optimum phase of deciduous forest expansion. A subsequent decrease in forest molluscs, together with expansion of hygrophilous species, indicates the decline of closed canopy conditions. The occurrence of critical forest species, especially those now extinct or occurring far beyond their modern ranges, provides a framework within which associated Acheulean industries can be set.

MIS 13–12 in Britain and the North Atlantic: understanding the palaeoclimatic context of the earliest Acheulean - Ian Candy; Danielle Schreve; Tom S. White (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Research over the last two decades has revealed a rich record of Lower Palaeolithic occupation in Britain before 450 000 years. Acheulean industries (Mode II) first appear in the later part of the early Middle Pleistocene [Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 19–13]. This paper reviews: (i) the age of the earliest Acheulean in Britain; (ii) the climates under which the earliest Acheulean industries occur, as recorded by the palaeoecological assemblages that are found at key archaeological sites; and (iii) the spatial and temporal pattern of regional climate change, i.e. the magnitude of glacial/interglacial cycles that occurred as a backdrop to the first arrival of Mode II archaeology in Britain. This review suggests that in Britain, the earliest Acheulean populations arrived during MIS 13 and that early occupation occurred under a range of climatic/environmental settings but frequently under post‐temperate late interglacial or interstadial‐type cool boreal environments. Furthermore, this review shows that the pattern of climate forcing in Western Europe during MIS 13–12 was not analogous to the interglacial cycles of the past 450 000 years as latitudinal climate gradients appear to have been less pronounced. The paper concludes by discussing the significance of these observations for understanding the arrival of the earliest Acheulean in Britain.

Hominin subsistence and site function of TD10.1 bone bed level at Gran Dolina site (Atapuerca) during the late Acheulean - Antonio Rodríguez‐Hidalgo; Palmira Saladié; Andreu Ollé; Eudald Carbonell (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
In a recent paper, Stiner reviewed certain trends in the Middle Palaeolithic (MP) economy and social behaviour, including most notably galvanization of the prime‐age ungulate hunting niche, and the intensification of occupations in the form of domestic–residential camps. However, the emergence of these trends is blurred when we observe the European archaeological record before Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 7. Our aim in this paper is to test the validity of some key arguments related to subsistence and occupation to assess the Lower Palaeolithic roots of these MP trends, using the faunal record of the TD10.1 bone bed level (ca. 300 ka) at Gran Dolina (Atapuerca). The taphonomic results from this level indicate an assemblage composed almost exclusively of prime‐age ungulates. Anthropogenic marks are very abundant, reflecting a wide variety of domestic activities. Early primary access to the carcasses by hominins, indicated by the taxonomic and mortality patterns, suggests the procurement of animal carcasses by regular hunting. Red deer, accompanied in lower proportions by other prey species, reinforce the selective character of the hominin subsistence strategies at the Gran Dolina TD10.1 bone bed, expanding temporally and geographically our documentation of the MP hominin predatory niche. Taphonomy, together with other results from technology and archaeo‐stratigraphy, suggest that the bone bed accumulation reflects long‐term hominin use of the site as a residential base camp, suggesting deep roots for the observed MP subsistence and occupational patterns.

The earliest securely dated hominin fossil in Italy and evidence of Acheulian occupation during glacial MIS 16 at Notarchirico (Venosa, Basilicata, Italy) - Alison Pereira; Sébastien Nomade; Pierre Voinchet; Jean Jacques Bahain; Christophe Falguères; Henri Garon; David Lefèvre; Jean Paul Raynal; Vincent Scao; Marcello Piperno (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
The Early Middle Pleistocene site of Notarchirico (Basilicata, Italy) is a 7‐m‐thick fluvially emplaced sedimentary sequence rich in volcanic materials coming from the Monte Vulture stratovolcano. This site consists of 11 archaeological layers, some of which have yielded handaxes. One femur attributed to Homo heidelbergensis was also recovered from an upper level. We present in this study new 40 Ar/ 39 Ar and electron spin resonance ages that delimit the time of occupation of Notarchirico to between 670 ± 4 ka (14 ka) and 614 ± 4 ka (12 ka), therefore spanning mainly the glacial Marine Isotope Stage 16. Handaxes found in archaeosurface F are now securely dated to between 670 ± 4 ka (14 ka) and 661 ± 4 ka (14 ka) and prove that hominid populations living in southern Italy used Acheulian technology as early as the beginning of this stage. Futhermore, we placed the age of the human femur between 661 ± 4 ka (14 ka) and 614± 4 ka (12 ka). This fossil is therefore the oldest Middle Pleistocene human fossil discovered in Italy so far. Thanks to this new chronological framework, Notarchirico is now a key site in our understanding of the Early Acheulian culture in Western Europe.

The continental record of Marine Isotope Stage 11 (Middle Pleistocene) on the Iberian Peninsula characterized by herpetofaunal assemblages - Hugues‐Alexandre Blain; Iván Lozano‐Fernández; Andreu Ollé; Jesus Rodríguez; Manuel Santonja; Alfredo Pérez‐González (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11 in Iberia is documented at three main Acheulean archaeological sites: Gran Dolina (Burgos, Atapuerca), Áridos‐1 (Madrid) and Ambrona (Soria). As the amphibians and reptiles recovered as fossils from these sites are not extinct and their ecology can be directly studied, mutual climatic range and habitat weighting methods have been applied to the herpetofaunal assemblages to estimate climatic and environmental parameters during MIS 11. Compared with today, mean annual temperature varies from +2.7 to +0.3 °C and mean annual precipitation varies from +311.7 to +74.4 mm, suggesting, in accordance with the numerical dates for each locality, a progressive decrease in temperature and rainfall from the fully interglacial conditions of MIS 11c to the end of MIS 11. The presence of woodland areas is also well substantiated throughout the duration of MIS 11, at least during the interglacial and interstadial periods.

Editorial: Chronology, palaeoenvironments and subsistence in the Acheulean of western Europe - Danielle Schreve; Marie‐Hélène Moncel; David Bridgland (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)

The morphological affinities of the Middle Pleistocene hominin teeth from Pontnewydd Cave, Wales - Tim Compton; Chris Stringer (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Seventeen Middle Pleistocene hominin teeth were excavated at Pontnewydd Cave in North Wales between 1980 and 1995 with a probable age of ∼225 ka, associated with handaxe and levallois artefacts. Their Neanderthal characteristics and their affinities with other European Middle Pleistocene teeth and the major sites of Atapuerca‐SH in Spain and Krapina in Croatia are explored. The Pontnewydd teeth are shown to have a marked similarity to those of Atapuerca‐SH, more pronounced than similarities to teeth from other European Middle Pleistocene sites, and to belong in the pre‐Neanderthal stage of Neanderthal evolution. Distinct dental morphological differences between later European Middle Pleistocene specimens, together with those from Atapuerca‐SH, and European Middle Pleistocene Homo heidelbergensis specimens are identified, contradicting the view that both the Pontnewydd and the Atapuerca‐SH fossils belong in that species. Additionally, the similarities in dental morphology between European and non‐European H . heidelbergensis specimens are demonstrated. We argue that when sites are grouped together for comparative purposes this should be done on morphological grounds, and not by apparent date, in view of the possible contemporaneity of European Middle Pleistocene sites that exhibit different degrees of Neanderthal affinities.

Barranc de la Boella (Catalonia, Spain): an Acheulean elephant butchering site from the European late Early Pleistocene - M. Mosquera; P. Saladié; A. Ollé; I. Cáceres; R. Huguet; J. J. Villalaín; A. Carrancho; D. Bourlès; R. Braucher; J. Vallverdú (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Evidence of late Early Pleistocene elephant butchery activity has been excavated in the Pit 1 locality at Barranc de la Boella (Catalonia, Spain). The fossil assemblage mainly comprises the remains of one prime adult individual of Mammuthus meridionalis , together with 125 lithic artefacts, among which several refitting groups of chert have been identified. The lithic assemblage from the Pit 1 locality is composed of cobbles, cores, simple and retouched flakes, together with a large, well‐fashioned pick of hard‐wearing schist. Spatial, zooarchaeological, taphonomic, technical and use‐wear analyses confirm that the occupation was devoted to butchery of the mammoth carcass. The activity zone is in a fluvio‐deltaic area that incises the terrace T+60 of the lower Francolí river basin, 50 m a.s.l. Palaeomagnetic and cosmogenic analyses, as well as microfaunal ( Mimomys savini , Victoriamys chalinei ) and macrofaunal biostratigraphy ( Mammuthus meridionalis ), support the timing of the occupation to the late Matuyama chron. These various lines of evidence point to Barranc de la Boella being the oldest Early Acheulean butchering site in Europe. Ongoing excavations at several localities at Barranc de la Boella are yielding new data on the palaeoenvironmental, geochronological and technological framework of these occupations. Finally, the evidence is integrated into current understanding of the subsistence strategies practised by Early Pleistocene hominins.

New chronological data (ESR and ESR/U‐series) for the earliest Acheulian sites of north‐western Europe - Pierre Voinchet; Davinia Moreno; Jean‐Jacques Bahain; Hélène Tissoux; Olivier Tombret; Christophe Falguères; Marie‐Hélène Moncel; Danielle Schreve; Ian Candy; Pierre Antoine; Nick Ashton; Matt Beamish; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Increasing evidence suggests that bifacial technology (Acheulian, Mode 2) arrived in Europe during the early Middle Pleistocene, i.e. significantly earlier than previously proposed. In northern France and Britain, much of the age attribution for these assemblages has been based on biostratigraphy and lithostratigraphy rather than absolute dates. This study presents a systematic application of electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of sedimentary quartz and ESR/U‐series dating of fossil tooth enamel to key Acheulian sites of this area. Although the age estimates have large associated uncertainties, most of the derived dates are consistent with existing age estimates. The new chronologies and the problems associated with dating material of early Middle Pleistocene age are discussed. In Britain, the earliest archaeology (cores and flakes, Mode 1) is older than Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 15, whereas localities containing Acheulian technologies span late MIS 15/MIS 13 through to MIS 9. A similar pattern is seen in northern France although age estimates from sites such as la Noira suggest the possible appearance of the Acheulian in central France as early as MIS 17. The dates presented here support the suggestion that the earliest Acheulian appeared in NW Europe during the early Middle Pleistocene, significantly after its appearance in the southern parts of the continent.

Mid‐MIS3 climate inferred from reconstructing the Dalijia Shan ice cap, north‐eastern Tibetan Plateau - JIE WANG; HANG CUI; JONATHAN M. HARBOR; LIMIN ZHENG; PAN YAO (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
The local last glacial maximum (LGM L ) on Dalijia Shan occurred during mid‐marine isotope stage 3 (MIS3), which is consistent with some Tibetan Plateau records, but asynchronous with the MIS2 global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM G ). Paleoclimatic reconstructions are key to advancing understanding such spatial and temporal patterns of paleoglaciation. Using multiple methods we reconstructed mid‐MIS3 equilibrium‐line altitude (ELA) on Dalijia Shan and inferred temperature depressions. Geomorphic ELA reconstructions combined with empirical data on current ELA temperature and precipitation yield a mid‐MIS3 ELA of 4000 ± 78 m a.s.l. (618–851 m lower than current, and a temperature depression of 3.3–6.8 °C). Independent glacial modeling using the degree‐day approach suggests a mid‐MIS3 ELA between 3971 and 4024 m a.s.l. and a temperature depression of 4.2–5.6 °C. The consistency of these results indicate that mid‐MIS3 temperature depressions in the Dalijia Shan region were 3.3–6.8 °C, which is less than the LGM G temperature depression inferred from regional climatic proxy data. Combined with other proxy data, this suggests that the LGM L glacial advance in Dalijia Shan resulted from lower temperatures and slightly reduced precipitation compared with present, whereas the LGM G advance was more restricted because much colder conditions were combined with much lower precipitation.

Drumlin sedimentology in a hard‐bed, lowland setting, Connemara, western Ireland: implications for subglacial bedform generation in areas of sparse till cover - DAVID J. A. EVANS; DAVID H. ROBERTS; COLM Ó COFAIGH (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Cores of coastal drumlins in Connemara contain stratified diamictons that interdigitate with gravelly clinoforms and finer grained rhythmites. The diamictons are interpreted as subaqueous mud apron deposits delivered by subglacial till advection to continuously failing subaqueous ice‐contact fans, whose strata were being syn‐depositionally over‐steepened by glacitectonic deformation. The localized nature of the stratified sediments reflects the emergence of subglacial deforming tills and meltwater deposits in a glacilacustrine environment to produce interdigitated mass flow diamictons and grounding line fans/wedges. These depo‐centres became glacitectonized and subglacially streamlined during glacier overriding and hence regional drumlin sedimentology reflects the varying degrees of inheritance of pre‐existing glacigenic deposits and suggests that drumlin production relates more to the position of localized sediment accumulations at the glacier bed than full‐depth till deformation processes (e.g. instability mechanisms) within the same drumlin field. Till cored drumlins give way down ice to stratified cored drumlins with till caps and then to stratified drumlins. This zonation is compatible with the increased lateral variability in drumlin composition that would arise from the occurrence of linear assemblages of glacifluvial (esker) and subaqueous (grounding line) sediments in an otherwise marginal‐thickening till sheet.

Feldspar composition as an efficient tool for tephra identification: a case study from Holocene and Lateglacial lacustrine sequences (Jura, France) - GWÉNOLÉ JOUANNIC; ANNE‐VÉRONIQUE WALTER‐SIMONNET; GILLES BOSSUET; CAROLE BEGEOT; ANNE‐LISE DEVELLE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Four volcanic ash layers have been identified in Lateglacial and Holocene sediments from three lakes in the Jura Mountains: the Vasset Tephra and the Nugère Tephra (Chaîne des Puys), the Vedde Ash (Icelandic), and the Laacher See Tephra (LST; Eifel). Some of these are invisible to the naked eye and have been detected by magnetic susceptibility measurements and X‐ray fluorescence analysis. These layers are composed of rare glass shards in association with feldspars and pyroxenes. In lacustrine carbonated sediment formations where glass shards are scarce and altered, the geochemical analysis of feldspar composition appears to be an effective substitute tool for characterization of the tephra. The identification of the Middle LST‐C phase in our sites modifies the currently known spatial distribution of the LST (Eifel, Germany). The identification of two tephras from the Chaîne des Puys volcanic sources in Jurassian sites, the trachytic Vasset Tephra and the trachy‐andesitic Nugère Tephra, provides new time markers for the early Holocene and late Allerød, respectively, thereby enhancing our knowledge of their distribution throughout Western Europe. More generally, these results confirm the major scientific value of lacustrine sequences from the Jura region for cryptotephra research, especially within Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental studies.

A multiproxy (micro‐XRF, pollen, chironomid and stable isotope) lake sediment record for the Lateglacial to Holocene transition from Thomastown Bog, Ireland - JONATHAN N. TURNER; NAOMI HOLMES; STEPHEN R. DAVIS; MELANIE J. LENG; CATHERINE LANGDON; ROBERT G. SCAIFE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
A multiproxy Lateglacial environmental record is presented for a ca. 3.5‐m lacustrine sequence retrieved from a small basin (ca. 2 km 2 ) at Thomastown Bog in County Meath, Ireland. Sediment chemistry, pollen, chironomid and stable isotope data provide a detailed picture of catchment and lake system changes from the end of the last glacial (GS‐2a) to the early Holocene that correspond closely to existing local and regional models of climate change. Concomitant adjustments in independent proxy records are matched to the NGRIP oxygen isotope curve giving 12 event‐episodes ranging from major climatic shifts to lower amplitude, centennial‐ to sub‐centennial‐scale adjustments, including a previously unreported regressive period of landscape instability during the north‐west European ‘Rammelbeek Phase’. The study emphasizes the potential of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction from sediment chemistry where the sediment mixing system reflects autochthonous versus allochthonous inputs. The investigation also indicates problems of interpreting isotope data derived from bulk marl due to possible lag effects controlling the delivery of soil and groundwater and multiple sources of HCO 3– (aq.). These research findings have implications for core site selection and for studies attempting to use stable isotopes for correlation purposes.

A Lateglacial 10 Be production rate from glacial lake shorelines in Scotland - DAVID SMALL; DEREK FABEL (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
The identification of tephra within varved deposits of a former ice‐dammed lake that existed in Scotland during the Younger Dryas provides an opportunity to calibrate 10 Be production rates using previously published 10 Be concentrations from the lake shoreline and independently derived ages for the tephras derived from the Greenland Ice Core records. The best‐estimate ages of the tephras yield indistinguishable 10 Be production rate values for spallation with an average value of 4.26 ± 0.21 atoms g −1 a −1 using the ‘Lm’ scaling scheme. These values are in best agreement with the most proximal reference 10 Be production rate from Norway.

Earthworm calcite granules: a new tracker of millennial‐timescale environmental changes in Last Glacial loess deposits - CHARLOTTE PRUD'HOMME; PIERRE ANTOINE; OLIVIER MOINE; ELODIE TURPIN; LAURE HUGUENARD; VINCENT ROBERT; JEAN‐PHILIPPE DEGEAI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Earthworm calcite granules (ECG) are secreted by several earthworm species, mostly Lumbricus terrestris and Lumbricus rubellus , which release them at the surface and in the upper part of soil horizons. For a long time, they have been found in various calcareous Quaternary deposits, but more recently in Western European loess sequences where they can be abundant in specific layers. In this study, we present the first continuous record of ECG abundance variations from two loess sequences in northern France dating from the last glacial period. The aim of this research is to evaluate the reliability of ECG as a new palaeoenvironmental proxy for the study of loess environments. ECG counts reveal a link between their abundance and the nature of stratigraphic units, i.e. very high abundances in tundra gley and boreal brown soil horizons and almost none in typical calcareous loess. These abundance variations are similar to those of terrestrial molluscs. The ECG signal thus suggests, along with sedimentological parameters (grain size index, calcium carbonate, total organic carbon), that milder climatic conditions occurred during the development of tundra gleys during the Upper Pleniglacial (∼20–35 ka), and of boreal brown soils during the Middle Pleniglacial (∼35–40 ka).

Reconstructed centennial variability of Late Holocene storminess from Cors Fochno, Wales, UK - L. C. ORME; S. J. DAVIES; G. A. T. DULLER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Future anthropogenic climate forcing is forecast to increase storm intensity and frequency over Northern Europe, due to a northward shift of the storm tracks, and a positive North Atlantic Oscillation. However understanding the significance of such a change is difficult because the natural variability of storminess beyond the range of instrumental data is poorly known. Here we present a decadal‐resolution record of storminess covering the Late Holocene, based on a 4‐m‐long core taken from the peat bog of Cors Fochno in mid‐Wales, UK. Storminess is indicated by variations in the minerogenic content as well as bromine deposited from sea spray. Twelve episodes of enhanced storm activity are identified during the last 4.5 cal ka BP. Although the age model gives some uncertainty in the timings, it appears that storminess increased at the onset and close of North Atlantic cold events associated with oceanic changes, with reduced storm activity at their peak. Cors Fochno is strongly influenced by westerly moving storms, so it is suggested that the patterns were due to variations in the intensity of westerly airflow and atmospheric circulation during times when the latitudinal temperature gradient was steepened.

A Lateglacial archaeological site in the far north‐west of Europe at Rubha Port an t‐Seilich, Isle of Islay, western Scotland: Ahrensburgian‐style artefacts, absolute dating and geoarchaeology - STEVEN MITHEN; KAREN WICKS; ANNE PIRIE; FELIX RIEDE; CHRISTINE LANE; ROWENA BANERJEA; VICTORIA CULLEN; MATTHEW GITTINS; NICHOLAS PANKHURST (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
The exact pattern, process and timing of the human re‐colonization of northern Europe after the end of the last Ice Age remain controversial. Recent research has provided increasingly early dates for at least pioneer explorations of latitudes above 54°N in many regions, yet the far north‐west of the European landmass, Scotland, has remained an unexplained exception to this pattern. Although the recently described Hamburgian artefacts from Howburn and an assemblage belonging to the arch‐backed point complex from Kilmelfort Cave have established at least a sporadic human presence during earlier stages of the Lateglacial Interstadial, we currently lack evidence for Younger Dryas/Greenland Stadial 1 (GS‐1) activity other than rare stray finds that have been claimed to be of Ahrensburgian affiliation but are difficult to interpret in isolation. We here report the discovery of chipped stone artefacts with technological and typological characteristics similar to those of the continental Ahrensburgian at a locality in western Scotland. A preliminary analysis of associated tephra, pollen and phytoliths, along with microstratigraphic analysis, suggest the artefacts represent one or more episodes of human activity that fall within the second half of GS‐1 and the Preboreal period. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Significant differences in late Quaternary bedrock erosion and transport: East versus West Greenland ∼70°N – evidence from the mineralogy of offshore glacial marine sediments - JOHN T. ANDREWS; ANDERS A. BJORK; DENNIS D. EBERL; ANNE E. JENNINGS; EMILY P. VERPLANCK (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
We use quantitative X‐ray diffraction to determine the mineralogy of late Quaternary marine sediments from the West and East Greenland shelves offshore from early Tertiary basalt outcrops. Despite the similar basalt outcrop area (60 000–70 000 km 2 ), there are significant differences between East and West Greenland sediments in the fraction of minerals (e.g. pyroxene) sourced from the basalt outcrops. We demonstrate the differences in the mineralogy between East and West Greenland marine sediments on three scales: (1) modern day, (2) late Quaternary inputs and (3) detailed down‐core variations in 10 cores from the two margins. On the East Greenland Shelf (EGS), late Quaternary samples have an average quartz weight per cent of 6.2 ± 2.3 versus 12.8 ± 3.9 from the West Greenland Shelf (WGS), and 12.02 ± 4.8 versus 1.9 ± 2.3 wt% for pyroxene. K‐means clustering indicated only 9% of the samples did not fit a simple EGS vs. WGS dichotomy. Sediments from the EGS and WGS are also isotopically distinct, with the EGS having higher ϵ Nd (−18 to 4) than those from the WGS (ϵ Nd = −25 to −35). We attribute the striking dichotomy in sediment composition to fundamentally different long‐term Quaternary styles of glaciation on the two basalt outcrops.

Lateglacial to Holocene relative sea‐level changes in the Stykkishólmur area, northern Snæfellsnes, Iceland - MARTIN D. BRADER; JEREMY M. LLOYD; MICHAEL J. BENTLEY; ANTHONY J. NEWTON (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Comparatively little research has been undertaken on relative sea‐level (RSL) change in western Iceland. This paper presents the results of diatom, tephrochronological and radiocarbon analyses on six isolation basins and two coastal lowland sediment cores from the Stykkishólmur area, northern Snæfellsnes, western Iceland. The analyses provide a reconstruction of Lateglacial to mid‐Holocene RSL changes in the region. The marine limit is measured to 65–69 m above sea level (asl), with formation being estimated at 13.5 cal ka BP. RSL fall initially occurred rapidly following marine limit formation, until ca. 12.6 cal ka BP, when the rate of RSL fall decreased. RSL fell below present in the Stykkishólmur area during the early Holocene (by ca. 10 cal ka BP). The rates of RSL change noted in the Stykkishólmur area demonstrate lesser ice thicknesses in Snæfellsnes than Vestfirðir during the Younger Dryas, when viewed in the regional context. Consequently, the data provide an insight into patterns of glacio‐isostatic adjustment surrounding Breiðafjörður, a hypothesized major ice stream at the Last Glacial Maximum.

A diatom–conductivity transfer function for reconstructing past changes in the Southern Hemisphere westerly winds over the Southern Ocean - KRYSTYNA M. SAUNDERS; DOMINIC A. HODGSON; SHELLEY MCMURTRIE; MARTIN GROSJEAN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Sub‐Antarctic islands are ideally placed to reconstruct past changes in Southern Hemisphere westerly wind behaviour. They lie within their core belt (50–60°S) and the strong winds deliver sea salt ions to the islands resulting in a west to east conductivity gradient in their water bodies. This means that the stronger (or weaker) the winds, the higher (or lower) the conductivity values measured in the water bodies. A survey of the water chemistry and diatom assemblages of lakes and ponds on sub‐Antarctic Campbell Island (52°32′S, 169°8′E) revealed that, similar to other sub‐Antarctic islands, conductivity was the most important, statistically significant ecological variable explaining turnover in diatom community structure. Based on this, a diatom–conductivity transfer function was developed (simple weighted averaging with inverse deshrinking: R 2 = 0.86, R 2 jack = 0.66, RMSEP = 0.25 log 10 μS cm −1 ). This transfer function will be applied to lake sediment cores from the western edge of the Campbell Island plateau to reconstruct past conductivity/sea spray and therefore directly reconstruct changes in Southern Hemisphere westerly wind strength within their core belt.

Potential for Southern Hemisphere climate surprises - P. A. MAYEWSKI; T. BRACEGIRDLE; I. GOODWIN; D. SCHNEIDER; N. A. N. BERTLER; S. BIRKEL; A. CARLETON; M. H. ENGLAND; J‐H. KANG; A. KHAN; J. RUSSELL; J. TURNER; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Climate model results suggest that future climate change in Antarctica will be accompanied by continued strengthening and poleward contraction of the Southern Ocean westerly wind belt. Paleoclimate records suggest past changes in the westerly winds can be abrupt and that healing of the Antarctic ozone hole could lead to poleward contraction of the westerlies and increased meridional atmospheric transport of warm air regionally into Antarctica. An abrupt shift to more meridional circulation could lead to notable changes in moisture availability for extra‐Antarctic regions, increased Antarctic ice sheet disintegration and more rapid sea‐level rise.

From pollen percentage to vegetation cover: evaluation of the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm in western Norway - KARI LOE HJELLE; INGVILD KRISTINE MEHL; SHINYA SUGITA; GIDSKE LEKNÆS ANDERSEN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)

Revised human impact in north‐western Germany during the Neolithic: methodological limits and challenges - ANNETTE KRAMER; FELIX BITTMANN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
The present study aims to improve our understanding of the chronology of vegetation changes in north‐western Germany during the Neolithic. Therefore, four archived peat profiles from small mires that had been pollen analysed and partly conventionally radiocarbon dated during the 1990s were re‐evaluated. Based on new accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dates, there are considerable differences between the existing and the newly developed age–depth models. These are also caused by the exclusion of pollen events that were previously assumed to be synchronous, and results from archaeological investigations as dating horizons, hence avoiding circular reasoning in the present study. In addition to the re‐evaluation of archived material, a new profile was recovered, pollen analysed and AMS radiocarbon dated to gain insights into the regional vegetation development and to put local human impact on the landscape in a broader context. The results indicate three different phases of human‐induced vegetation changes. The local vegetation changes do not follow this general pattern, but reflect a very patchy landscape which in turn probably refers to quite small pollen source areas. The study emphasizes that vegetation changes seen in local pollen profiles should neither be regarded as general trends nor be used as dating horizons for neighbouring sites.

The application of δ 13 C, TOC and C/N geochemistry to reconstruct Holocene relative sea levels and paleoenvironments in the Thames Estuary, UK - NICOLE S. KHAN; CHRISTOPHER H. VANE; BENJAMIN P. HORTON; CAROLINE HILLIER; JAMES B. RIDING; CHRISTOPHER P. KENDRICK (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
We examined the use of δ 13 C, TOC and C/N geochemistry of sedimentary organic matter to reconstruct former sea levels and paleoenvironments in the absence of suitable microfossil data. The modern distribution of δ 13 C, TOC and C/N of 33 vegetation and 74 surface sediment samples collected from four coastal wetlands in the Thames Estuary and Norfolk, UK are described. The δ 13 C, TOC and C/N geochemistry of sediments varied in relation to the input of in situ vascular vegetation versus allochthonous particulate organic matter and algae, which was controlled primarily by tidal inundation. We reviewed published and unpublished studies to produce an English database of vegetation ( n = 257) and sediment ( n = 132) δ 13 C, TOC and C/N geochemistry. Four elevation‐dependent environments in the database had statistically distinct δ 13 C, TOC and C/N values: (1) tidal flat/low marsh (δ 13 C: −24.9 ± 1.2‰; TOC: 3.6 ± 1.7%; C/N: 9.9 ± 0.8); (2) middle marsh/high (δ 13 C: −26.2 ± 1.0‰; TOC: 9.8 ± 6.7%; C/N: 12.1 ± 1.8); (3) reed swamp (δ 13 C: −27.9 ± 0.7‰: TOC: 36.5 ± 11.5%; C/N: 13.9 ± 1.2); and (4) fen carr (δ 13 C: −29.0 ± 0.6‰; TOC: 41.6 ± 5.7%; C/N: 17.4 ± 3.1). The δ 13 C, TOC and C/N geochemistry database was applied to a Holocene sediment core collected from the Thames Estuary to produce three new sea‐level index points and one limiting date, illustrating the utility of δ 13 C, TOC and C/N values to reconstruct Holocene relative sea levels. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Pine stumps in Irish peats: is their occurrence a valid proxy climate indicator? - ALWYNNE H. MCGEEVER; FRASER J.G. MITCHELL (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
We investigate the temporal and spatial distribution of pine ( Pinus sylvestris ) stumps preserved in peat deposits to test whether their occurrence can be used as an indicator of climatic shifts to drier conditions. Radiocarbon dates of sub‐fossil stumps were collected from the literature, along with environmental data throughout the island of Ireland. Data were analysed using non‐parametric statistical techniques. There was no distinct geographical pattern observed in the distribution of pine stumps on bog surfaces. Tree ages ranged from 66 to 500 years with 85.7 % of these

Measuring Quaternary time: A 50‐year perspective - JOHN LOWE; MIKE WALKER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Over the last 50 years, there have been significant developments in the range and sophistication of the chronological tools now available to Quaternary scientists. Notable milestones include the introduction of new methods (e.g. optically stimulated luminescence, cosmogenic radionuclide dating, ice‐layer counting, molecular ‘clocks’) and the refinement of established techniques (e.g. accelerator mass spectrometry 14 C dating, 14 C calibration, high‐precision uranium‐series dating, argon–argon dating, cryptotephra analysis). Developing new techniques and methodologies for measuring Quaternary time is not an end in itself, however: it is stimulated by a parallel need, which is a deeper understanding of the mode, pattern and rates of environmental processes, and how different processes inter‐connect. Here we review some of the important limitations that continue to constrain our ability to provide coherent chronologies for Quaternary environmental reconstructions at both millennial and sub‐millennial timescales. We focus our discussion on two unique stratigraphic templates: first, the marine oxygen isotope sequence that spans the full Quaternary period; and, second, the Greenland ice‐core record, which provides a basis for dating environmental changes through the last glacial cycle.

‘Study the past, if you would divine the future’: a retrospective on measuring and understanding Quaternary climate change - DANNY MCCARROLL (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Research on Quaternary climate change is reviewed from the perspective of the real or potential contribution to improving our ability to predict the climate of the future. For convenience the literature is divided into four timescales: orbital, sub‐Milankovitch, Holocene and the last 2000 years. Four ‘challenges’ provide a framework for discussion: better understanding of the way the climate system works, better forecasting of the drivers of climate change, improved estimates of climate sensitivity (change in global mean annual temperature per unit increase in forcing) and evaluation of the models used to predict the climate of the future. Although a great deal of progress has been made, it is concluded that there are some aspects of our scientific culture that limit our potential. These include our tradition of storytelling rather than critical hypothesis testing, an over‐emphasis on the role of surface water sinking in the far north Atlantic as a driver of ocean circulation and an attendant under‐emphasis on the critical importance of changes in atmospheric circulation, and a lack of rigour in testing the hypothesis that changes in solar irradiance are an important driver of climate change.

Sea level in time and space: revolutions and inconvenient truths - W. ROLAND GEHRELS; IAN SHENNAN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
In this paper we identify four ‘revolutions’ that in our view have shaped the study of sea‐level changes in recent decades. (i) The search for ‘eustasy’ . One of the most hotly debated issues in the 1960s is still relevant as models of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) require input of the amount of meltwater transferred to the world's oceans following the demise of the large Pleistocene ice sheets. (ii) Resolution of sea‐level archives . All sea‐level archives have limitations in their resolving power but are we willing to define these? From studies of salt‐marsh deposits and corals it is highly likely that climate‐driven metre‐scale sea‐level fluctuations have not occurred during the middle and late Holocene. (iii) Rapid sea‐level changes . Improved coring technology has resulted in the suggestion of meltwater pulses during the last deglaciation. Low‐frequency high‐magnitude events have been documented along seismically active shorelines and provide information on seismic hazards and storm impacts. (iv) Merging of empirical sea‐level investigations and models . Much sea‐level research in the past two decades has embraced the integration of models and field‐derived data, providing testable hypotheses and insights into processes. We conclude with some reminders about the ‘inconvenient truths’ that keep the sea‐level scientist honest.

Editorial: Quaternary revolutions - DAN J. CHARMAN; GEOFF A. T. DULLER; ANTONY J. LONG; DANIELLE C. SCHREVE; JAMES D. SCOURSE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)

The current and future applications of ancient DNA in Quaternary science - TERENCE A. BROWN; IAN M. BARNES (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
The introduction of next‐generation sequencing methods has broadened the scope and utility of ancient DNA (aDNA) research, and is opening up exciting new applications in Quaternary science. Palaeogenomes – partial or complete genome sequences for extinct taxa – are now available for Neanderthals and Denisovans, various megafauna, and preserved microorganisms. The analysis of aDNA in sediments, including cores in which there are no visible macro‐ or microfossils, is helping to reconstruct past ecosystems, especially in Arctic regions where aDNA preservation is relatively good. In this review we follow the development of aDNA research over the last 30 years, showing how the problems caused by contamination of ancient samples with modern DNA have gradually been overcome, and highlighting those technical challenges that still exist. We then survey the current standing of palaeogenomics and sedimentary aDNA studies, and indicate how these fields might be developed further in coming years.

Cryptotephras: the revolution in correlation and precision dating - SIWAN M. DAVIES (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
From its Icelandic origins in the study of visible tephra horizons, tephrochronology took a remarkable step in the late 1980 s with the discovery of a ca. 4300‐year‐old microscopic ash layer in a Scottish peat bog. Since then, the search for these cryptotephra deposits in distal areas has gone from strength to strength. Indeed, a recent discovery demonstrates how a few fine‐grained glass shards from an Alaskan eruption have been dispersed more than 7000 km to northern Europe. Instantaneous deposition of geochemically distinct volcanic ash over such large geographical areas gives rise to a powerful correlation tool with considerable potential for addressing a range of scientific questions. A prerequisite of this work is the establishment of regional tephrochronological frameworks that include well‐constrained age estimates and robust geochemical signatures for each deposit. With distal sites revealing a complex record of previously unknown volcanic events, frameworks are regularly revised, and it has become apparent that some closely timed eruptions have similar geochemical signatures. The search for unique and robust geochemical fingerprints thus hinges on rigorous analysis by electron microprobe and laser ablation‐inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectrometry. Historical developments and significant breakthroughs are presented to chart the revolution in correlation and precision dating over the last 50 years using tephrochronology and cryptotephrochronology.

A test of the cosmogenic 3 He production rate in the south‐west Pacific (39°S) - SHAUN R. EAVES; GISELA WINCKLER; JOERG M. SCHAEFER; MARCUS J. VANDERGOES; BRENT V. ALLOWAY; ANDREW N. MACKINTOSH; DOUGAL B. TOWNSEND; MATTHEW T. RYAN; XUN LI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Calculation of surface exposure ages, using in situ cosmogenic nuclides, requires accurate knowledge of local production rates. Here, we report the first attempt to calibrate cosmogenic 3 He production in the south‐west Pacific region. We present a new radiocarbon chronology that precisely dates the emplacement of the Murimotu Formation, a large debris avalanche deposit in central North Island, New Zealand (ca. 830 m asl; 39°S), which occurred 10.4–10.6 cal ka BP. Measurements of cosmogenic 3 He in pyroxene separated from large andesitic blocks exposed during this event yield a sea‐level high‐latitude production rate of 120 ± 12 atoms g −1 a −1 (‘Lm’ scaling). This is consistent with a recent global compilation, comprised predominantly of calibration sites located in the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, we conclude that the globally compiled cosmogenic 3 He production rate is valid in the south‐west Pacific. Using independent, proximal calibrations of cosmogenic isotopes 10 Be and 14 C from quartz in New Zealand, we derive cosmogenic 3 He/ 10 Be and 3 He/ 14 C production ratios of 32.2 ± 3.2 and 10.6 ± 1.6, respectively.

Progradation rates of coastal barriers estimated from the 14 C age of soil organic matter - T. BOSKI; R.J. ANGULO; M.C. SOUZA; E.G. BARBOZA; H. KNICKER; J.A. GONZÁLEZ‐PÉREZ; F.J. GONZÁLEZ‐VILA (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
The antecedent geomorphological and structural framework combined with nearshore dynamics and sediment budget provided the conditions necessary for the formation of coastal plains along the southern Brazilian littoral during the Holocene. To establish a temporal framework for littoral accretion, we applied 14 C dating of humic organic material from the B‐horizon of spodosols. The dated soils developed under Atlantic tropical forest, which covers the coastal barriers along the Santa Catarina shoreline of south‐east Brazil. The obtained ages point to a highly coherent trend in barrier accretion and indicate that the transfer of organic matter from the surface to the B‐horizon has largely been occurring vertically at the same time as the sediment surface was colonized by Atlantic forest. Accretion of the strandplain in the coastal cell of Volta Velha began ca. 6800 cal a BP, initially at a rate of ca. 22 cm a −1 and reaching 58 cm a −1 during the last 3 ka. Structural analysis of the dated humic material was by analytical pyrolysis and solid‐state 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Both techniques revealed marked compositional differences between the organic matter of different ages, which are discussed in terms of time‐dependent degradation processes.

Last Glacial droughts and fire regimes in the central Mexican highlands - E. TORRES‐RODRÍGUEZ; S. LOZANO‐GARCÍA; P. ROY; B. ORTEGA; L. BERAMENDI‐OROSCO; A. CORREA‐METRIO; M. CABALLERO (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Over the last glacial cycle, climate variations in the Neotropics were related to diverse forcing mechanisms whose understanding has been limited because of the scarcity of continuous long records. Here we use high‐resolution charcoal particle accumulation, inorganic carbon precipitation and magnetic susceptibility data from Lake Chalco, located in high‐altitude tropical central Mexico, to assess the fire regimes and drought periods between ∼85 and 10.8k cal a BP. Overall, drought intervals were characterized by high carbonate deposition and were contemporary with high spring insolation. Most of the high fire activity periods were coupled with droughts, whereas some of them seem to have responded to volcanic activity in the basin. Periods of more fire activity during the latest part of Marine Isotope Stage 3 were associated with a long interval of higher spring insolation. Increase in drought frequency during 47–27k cal a BP were possibly linked to a more active Laurentide Ice Sheet influencing the oceanic and atmospheric controls of the tropical climatic system. In fact, Chalco and Cariaco records show similar millennial‐scale trends, suggesting a role of the Intertropical Convergence Zone in modulating moisture availability in the region.

Hydrological variability over the Apennines during the Early Last Glacial precession minimum, as revealed by a stable isotope record from Sulmona basin, Central Italy - ELEONORA REGATTIERI; BIAGIO GIACCIO; GIOVANNI ZANCHETTA; RUSSELL N. DRYSDALE; PAOLO GALLI; SEBASTIEN NOMADE; EDOARDO PERONACE; SABINE WULF (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
A multi‐proxy record was acquired from a Late Pleistocene lacustrine succession in the Sulmona basin, central Italy. Previous and new tephrostratigraphic analyses of six volcanic ash layers constrain the investigated interval to between 92.3 and 115.0 ka. The δ 18 O composition is interpreted as a proxy for precipitation amount in the high‐altitude catchment of the karst recharge system. The oxygen record shows millennial variability that is consistent with Greenland Interstadials GI25–23 and North Atlantic cold events C24–C22, indicating a strong Mediterranean–North Atlantic climate teleconnection. However, while no appreciable isotopic difference between the three interstadials is revealed by the Greenland record, the Sulmona section reveals a wetter climate during GI24 compared with GI23 and GI25. Comparison of our record with speleothem and pollen data from central and southern Italy suggests higher seasonality of the precipitation (wet winter–dry summer) for GI24, which matches a precession minimum. The wettest period recorded at Sulmona is also coincident with the deposition of Sapropel S4 in the Tyrrhenian Sea, suggesting a teleconnection between a higher seasonality in the western Mediterranean and strengthening of the boreal monsoon system.

Hydrological variations on the Central Tibetan Plateau since the Last Glacial Maximum and their teleconnection to inter‐regional and hemispheric climate variations - THOMAS KASPER; TORSTEN HABERZETTL; JUNBO WANG; GERHARD DAUT; STEFAN DOBERSCHÜtz; LIPING ZHU; ROLAND MÄUSBACHER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Decadal to sub‐decadal variability of inflow, evaporation and biological productivity derived from Lake Nam Co was used to reconstruct hydrological changes for the past ca. 24 k cal a BP. The timing of these variations corresponds to known climatic shifts on the Northern Hemisphere. After a dry and cold Last Glacial Maximum the lake level of Nam Co initially rose at ca. 20 k cal a BP. Moist but further cold conditions between ca. 16.2 and 14 k cal a BP correspond to Heinrich Event 1. A warm and moist phase between ca. 14 and 13 k cal a BP is expressed as a massive enhancement in inflow and biological productivity and might be associated with a first intensification of the Indian Ocean Summer Monsoon coinciding with the Bølling–Allerød complex. A two‐step decrease in inflow and a contemporaneous decline in biological productivity until ca. 11.8 k cal a BP points to cool and dry conditions during the Younger Dryas. Lake levels peak at ca. 9.4 k cal a BP, although hydrological conditions remain relatively stable during the Holocene with only low‐amplitude variations observed.

Tephra analysis in ombrotrophic peatlands: A geochemical comparison of acid digestion and density separation techniques - T. P. ROLAND; H. MACKAY; P. D. M. HUGHES (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Ombrotrophic peatlands often lack any substantial local mineral component and therefore present exceptional opportunities for the extraction and identification of tephra horizons. Following concerns of shard geochemistry alteration during isolation using acid digestion, an alternative methodology using heavy liquids has been proposed. However, harsh basic and acidic digestions are rarely required in organic‐rich, ombrotrophic peatlands. Consequently, this study tested for geochemical differences between tephra shards from a known rhyolitic eruption, isolated from the same stratigraphic depth of a peat sequence using density separation and an acid digestion methodology typically applied to ombrotrophic peat samples and analysed using electron probe microanalysis. Findings suggest that the two samples could not be geochemically distinguished using visual and statistical methods and that, in the context of rhyolitic tephras in ombrotrophic peats, acid digestion can be used without significant effects on the interpretation of results. Density separation may still be required in peatlands with high mineral input and further work is required to examine the effect of the acid digestion technique on tephra of non‐rhyolitic compositions.

Editorial - GEOFF A. T. DULLER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)

Landscape sensitivity and ecological change in western Zambia: The long‐term perspective from dambo cut‐and‐fill sediments - S. L. BURROUGH; D. S. G. THOMAS; E. A. ORIJEMIE; K. J. WILLIS (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
A series of small, shallow seasonally, or interannually, waterlogged depressions (dambos) in the upper Zambezi Valley in western Zambia hold shallow peat deposits and are bounded on their western margin by sandy lunette dunes. Using luminescence dating of sands, fossil pollen analyses and the macrocharcoal record from cored peat, the long‐term stability of these landforms and the vegetation they now support is investigated at a site east of the upper Zambezi. Although the upper lunette dune sediments accumulated between 14 ± 2 and 6 ± 1 ka, the onset of peat accumulation and preservation within the dambo did not occur until 2800 cal a BP, suggesting that only from this point onwards were conditions stable and wet enough year‐round to allow the formation and preservation of peat during this time. Results from this study indicate that the long‐term behaviour of the dambo conforms to a cut‐and‐fill dynamic, where under more arid conditions the dambo becomes a dry pan, providing a sediment source for the adjacent lunette dune. In contrast, during wetter times, when the dambo holds surface water year‐round, it becomes an organic‐rich sediment repository preserving a fossil pollen record of long‐term vegetation change.

Last interglacial vegetation and climate history from the Portuguese coast - T. A. MINCKLEY; J. A. HAWS; M. M. BENEDETTI; S. C. BREWER; S. L. FORMAN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
We examine the Atlantic maritime vegetation history from Praia Rei Cortiço, Portugal, to understand natural vegetation patterns and infer climatic conditions during the transition from the last interglacial to early glacial periods. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of quartz grains from sediments surrounding the 1.3‐m‐thick organic deposit date the section to within 120–89 ka. Pollen data were used to reconstruct the vegetation history and determine a range of possible past climates using an ensemble of seven modern analogue approaches. A five‐part environmental sequence transitioned from heath‐pine‐dominated communities, deciduous hardwood forests and pine forests to heathlands surrounded by steppe‐like environments. Mixed temperate and Mediterranean forest elements existed during the last interglacial period at Praia Rei Cortiço, suggesting a proximal limit to these floras. Abundant Fagus pollen (>6%) suggests local beech populations existed within maritime forests of the Iberian Atlantic margin, representing a greater distribution of this genus during interglacial periods than has previously been recognized. Climate reconstructions indicate that variations in moisture availability may have been a major driver of the observed environmental changes.

A diatom record of mid‐ to late Holocene palaeoenvironmental changes in the southern Okinawa Trough - DONGLING LI; HUI JIANG; KAREN LUISE KNUDSEN; SVANTE BJÖRCK; JESPER OLSEN; MEIXUN ZHAO; TIEGANG LI; JIALIN LI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2015)
Palaeoceanographic changes over the last 6800 years are documented in a diatom record from core MD05–2908 from the southern Okinawa Trough. Changes in diatom components are used to reflect variations in the strength of the Kuroshio Current and the influence of coastal waters, and these changes are compared with records of the East Asian summer monsoon, which exerts an important influence on regional climate and oceanography. A decreasing trend in the contribution of coastal diatoms during the last 6800 years is related to the weakening of the East Asian summer monsoon during the Holocene in response to diminishing insolation and a southward shift in the intertropical convergence zone. Relatively high abundances of the Kuroshio Current indicator species during the intervals 2600–2200 and 4800–3600 cal a BP, and lower abundances during the intervals 3200–2800 and 2200–1300 cal a BP, imply that there is no consistent weakening of the Kuroshio Current during the interval 4500–3000 cal a BP − the Pulleniatina Minimum Event, which is a widespread feature in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. A major reduction in coastal diatoms at 3200 cal a BP and a slight decrease in the Kuroshio Current indicator species during the interval 3200–2800 cal a BP indicate that a palaeoceanographic shift occurred in the southern Okinawa Trough, which coincided with a Northern Hemisphere climatic cooling, denoted the Neoglaciation in Europe. In addition, changes in the freshwater species component of the record are suggested mainly to result from variations in flood frequency in north‐eastern Taiwan caused by typhoons. A dramatic increase in the frequency of flood events during the last millennium may have been caused by relatively strong El Niño‐Southern Oscillation activity, compared with the more stable period between 6800 and 1000 cal a BP, which experienced a low frequency of flood events.

Postglacial variability in near‐bottom current speed on the continental shelf off south‐west Spitsbergen - BEATA STERNAL; WITOLD SZCZUCISKI; MATTHIAS FORWICK; MAREK ZAJĄCZKOWSKI; STANISŁAW LORENC; JOANNA PRZYTARSKA (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
This study documents changes in the sedimentary environment on the outer continental shelf off south‐west Spitsbergen during the last ∼14 000 cal a BP using sedimentological, mineralogical and geochemical data from a sea‐bed sediment core. We use the sortable silt fraction to infer fluctuations of near‐bottom current speed and determine sediment provenance and sediment transport paths. For most of the record length, sediments were derived from distal sources by the West Spitsbergen Current (WSC) and the East Spitsbergen Current (ESC). However, before ∼12 000 and after ∼1800 cal a BP sediments were also sourced from proximal sources in south‐west Spitsbergen. The slowest near‐bottom currents were recorded between 10 300 and 9700 cal a BP when an increase in water stratification occurred, probably due to the strengthening of the ESC and an associated reduction in the northward water and heat flux. Near‐bottom currents related to WSC activity were at their maximum between 9000 and 7500 cal a BP, i.e. during a period of elevated water temperature, probably resulting in maximum relative heat fluxes to the Arctic.

Vegetation and environments since the Last Glacial Maximum in the Southern Tablelands, New South Wales - JUSTINE KEMP; GEOFF HOPE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Regional changes in vegetation and environment in the last 16 ka have been reconstructed from Micalong Swamp and Willigobung Swamp (35°S) on the western Southern Tablelands of New South Wales (NSW). Micalong Swamp lies at 980 m above sea level (a.s.l.), which is close to the subalpine treeline at this latitude. Willigobung Swamp (780 m a.s.l.) approaches the modern ecotone between dry and wet montane forest formations. The sites are sensitive to shifts in temperature and precipitation and are the first reported pollen records from the western montane slopes of NSW. A radiocarbon‐based chronology indicates that Micalong Swamp was a swampy, gravel floodplain surrounded by alpine grassland before 16.1 ka. Subalpine woodland may have become established at 1000 m by 16–14 ka. Organic fen sedimentation developed

Tephra redeposition and mixing in a Late‐glacial hillside basin determined by fusion of clustering analyses of glass‐shard geochemistry - SOLÈNE POUGET; MARCUS BURSIK; GALINA ROGOVA (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Two discontinuous tephra layers were discovered at Burney Spring Mountain, northern California. Stratigraphic relationships suggest that they are two distinct primary fall tephras. The geochemistries of these tephras from electron probe microanalysis were compared with those of known layers found in the area to test for potential correlations, using clustering analysis on geochemistry. In most cases, geochemical data from a tephra layer can be assigned to a single cluster, but in some cases the analyses are spread over several clusters. This spreading is a direct result of mixing and reworking of several tephra layers. The mixing, in turn, appears to be related to the influence of wind in a marshy environment.

Speleogenetic evidence from Ogof Draenen for a pre‐Devensian glaciation in the Brecon Beacons, South Wales, UK - ANDREW R. FARRANT; CHRISTOPHER J. M. SMITH; STEPHEN R. NOBLE; MICHAEL J. SIMMS; DAVID A. RICHARDS (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
The British Isles have been affected by as many as 30 glaciations during the Quaternary. However, the evidence for pre‐Devensian glaciations in upland regions is scarce. Understanding the extent and timing of earlier upland glaciations is essential for modelling the long‐term evolution and sensitivity of the British Ice Sheet. Caves, being protected from surface erosion and weathering, can preserve evidence of earlier glaciations in the form of speleothem and sediment archives. The ∼70‐km‐long Ogof Draenen cave system in South Wales, UK, contains multiple cave levels related to changes in the surface topography and drainage during the past 0.5 Ma. The cave contains evidence of massive influxes of sediment that were sufficient to choke the cave and alter the underground drainage. Analysis of the cave sediments, passage morphology and geometry suggests the cave once acted as a subterranean glacial spill‐way before being overridden by ice. Speleothem U‐series data demonstrate that this sediment influx occurred before Marine Isotope State (MIS) 9, probably during the Anglian glaciation (MIS 12). Evidence from Ogof Draenen indicates the impact of subsequent glaciations on the landscape evolution of the region was minimal and that much of the surface topography dates from the Anglian. Copyright © 2014 British Geological Survey (NERC). Journal of Quaternary Science © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Potential seasonal calibration for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction using skeletal microstructures and strontium measurements from the cold‐water coral Lophelia pertusa - VINCENT MOUCHI; QUENTIN G. CROWLEY; ANDREW L. JACKSON; FRANK MCDERMOTT; XAVIER MONTEYS; MARC DE RAFÉLIS; JOSÉ LUIS RUEDA; FRANCK LARTAUD (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Lophelia pertusa is a colonial cold‐water coral species with a wide spatial distribution in recent marine waters. Analysing the chemistry of its skeleton allows reconstruction of environmental parameter variations. While numerous studies have attempted to interpret such analyses, little information is available on the microstructures of Lophelia pertusa and their temporal constraints. This study introduces newly recognized microstructures in the coral wall following growth along the radial axis. The thicknesses of these ‘micro‐layers’ are correlated with strontium concentrations and can be used to estimate seasonal growth rates of single polyps from the colony. We propose that each of these micro‐layers represents a period of 1 month of mineralization and can locate two decreasing periods in growth rate during a year: one caused by limited food availability during winter months and one in autumn linked to gametogenesis. High‐frequency study of strontium concentrations using this interpretation shows a lunar cycle. We demonstrate that while the micro‐layers are present in all L. pertusa specimens from four locations in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, growth patterns reveal a complex organization that limits their visibility. Strontium fluctuations, however, appear to be a promising mechanism by which to establish a temporal calibration.

A glacial cryptic refuge in south‐east Australia: human occupation and mobility from 36 000 years ago in the Sydney Basin, New South Wales - ALAN N. WILLIAMS; FENELLA ATKINSON; MICHELLE LAU; PHILLIP S. TOMS (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Excavations across a source‐bordering dune overlooking the Hawkesbury River in north‐west Sydney, Australia, suggest initial occupation of the region by at least 36 ka, with variable but uninterrupted use until the early Holocene; following abandonment, the site was then re‐occupied by ∼3 ka. Along with a handful of other sites, the results provide the earliest reliable evidence of permanent regional populations within south‐eastern Australia, and support a model in which early colonizers followed the coastal fringe with forays along the main river systems. The evidence is consistent with the demographic model of Williams, 2013 ( Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B 280 : 20130486), which suggested low, but established regional populations before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), a population nadir following the LGM and increasing use of the region from ∼12 to 8 ka. The site exhibits increased use at the onset and peak of the LGM, and provides an example of a cryptic refuge as defined by Smith, 2013 ( The Archaeology of Australia's Deserts . Cambridge University Press: New York). Specifically, changing artefact densities and attributes show the site was used repeatedly, but for shorter periods through this time, and suggest it formed one of a series of key localities in a point‐to‐point (rather than home‐base) subsistence strategy. This strategy was maintained until the site's abandonment in the early Holocene, despite changing population and climatic conditions through the Terminal Pleistocene.

Estimating tectonic uplift of the Cape Fear Arch (south‐eastern United States) using reconstructions of Holocene relative sea level - ORSON VAN DE PLASSCHE; ALEX J. WRIGHT; BENJAMIN P. HORTON; SIMON E. ENGELHART; ANDREW C. KEMP; DAVID MALLINSON; ROBERT E. KOPP (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
We use relative sea‐level (RSL) reconstructions and a spatiotemporal statistical model to estimate the rate of uplift of the Cape Fear Arch, a Mesozoic structural high, during the last ∼4000 years. We reconstructed RSL using 12 radiocarbon‐dated samples of basal salt‐marsh sediment preserved at Elizabeth Creek Marsh on the Cape Fear River. The new data show that RSL rose by ∼3 m during the past ∼4.6 ka at an average rate of 0.67 ± 0.12 mm a −1 . RSL reconstructions from other sites in southern North Carolina (which have rates of 0.91 ± 0.10 to 0.84 ± 0.24 mm a −1 ) probably show ( P > 0.9) higher rates of regional RSL rise for the same period, while sites from northern South Carolina (which have rates of 0.72 ± 0.17 to 0.80 ± 0.21 mm a −1 ) probably ( P > 0.67) show the same. We attribute the differences between Elizabeth Creek Marsh and neighboring regions to uplift of the Cape Fear Arch, which we estimate to be 0.24 ± 0.15 mm a −1 . Uplift of the arch may be responsible for lower rates of 20 th century RSL rise recorded by the Wilmington tide gauge relative to rates measured elsewhere along the US mid‐Atlantic coast.

Presence of cave bears in western Austria before the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum: new radiocarbon dates and palaeoclimatic considerations - CHRISTOPH SPÖTL; PAULA J. REIMER; GERNOT RABEDER; DENIS SCHOLZ (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Tischoferhöhle and Pendling‐Bärenhöhle near Kufstein, Tyrol, are among the only locations where remains of cave bear, Ursus spelaeus ‐group, were found in the western part of Austria. One sample from each site was radiocarbon‐dated four decades ago to ca. 28 14 C ka BP. Here we report that attempts to date additional samples from Pendling‐Bärenhöhle have failed due to the lack of collagen, casting doubts on the validity of the original measurement. We also unsuccessfully tried to date flowstone clasts embedded in the bone‐bearing sediment to provide maximum constraints on the age of this sediment. Ten cave bear bones from Tischoferhöhle showing good collagen preservation were radiocarbon‐dated to 31.1–39.9 14 C ka BP, again pointing towards an age underestimation by the original radiocarbon‐dated sample from this site. These new dates from Tischoferhöhle are therefore currently the only reliable cave bear dates in western Austria and constrain the interval of cave occupation to 44.3–33.5 cal ka BP. We re‐calibrate and re‐evaluate dates of alpine cave bear samples in the context of available palaeoclimate information from the greater alpine region covering the transition into the Last Glacial Maximum, eventually leading to the demise of this megafauna.

Individual glass shard trace element analyses confirm that all known Toba tephra reported from India is from the c . 75‐ka Youngest Toba eruption - NICHOLAS J. G. PEARCE; JOHN A. WESTGATE; EMMA GATTI; JINNAPPA N. PATTAN; GOPAL PARTHIBAN; HEMA ACHYUTHAN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Uncertainty over the identity and age of Toba tephras across peninsular India persists, with radiometric age dates contradicting earlier compositional data, which have been used to identify this important stratigraphic marker as the Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT). To address this issue, new single glass shard analyses have been performed for samples from Morgaon and Bori (north‐western India), which have recently been dated at c . 800 ka. These, and indeed all Toba tephra samples thus far analysed from India, show the presence of four populations of glass shards (defined by their Ba/Y ratio), which uniquely identifies them as products of the c . 75‐ka Youngest Toba eruption. Confirmation that the YTT fingerprint is characteristic comes from new analyses of Oldest Toba Tuff (OTT) glass shards from five sites in the Indian Ocean. These are compositionally identical to Layer D from the ODP site 758 sediment core ( c . 800 ka), and belong to a single, low‐Ba population, clearly different from YTT. These analyses show that there is essentially no reworked OTT material in the YTT eruption, and indicate unequivocally that all known Toba tephra occurrences in India belong to the c . 75‐ka Youngest Toba eruption.

Solar forcing of Caribbean drought events during the last millennium - MICHAEL J. BURN; SUZANNE E. PALMER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Anthropogenic climate change is expected to increase the frequency of drought events in the earth's subtropical regions. However, the climate dynamics of these regions are not fully understood and debate surrounds how external forcing factors such as solar and volcanic forcing influence long‐term rainfall patterns in the subtropics. Here, we present the first high‐resolution reconstruction of Caribbean drought events over the last millennium based on analyses of sediment geochemical data from a continuous high‐resolution coastal lake‐sediment record in Jamaica. The record suggests extended episodes of drought occurred during the so‐called Little Ice Age (1400–1850 CE), which were associated with El‐Niño‐like conditions in the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean and controlled by low natural radiative forcing. Comparison of the Jamaican drought record with previously published palaeoclimatic archives from within the circum‐Caribbean region suggests that dry conditions were associated with the southward migration of the Hadley Cell, a stronger North Atlantic High and the concomitant intensification of the north‐east trade winds and the Caribbean Low Level Jet. We conclude that pre‐industrial climatic change in the region was probably controlled by solar forcing and modulated by the combined influence of El Niño Southern Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation.

Biochronological data inferred from the Early Pleistocene small mammals of the Barranc de la Boella site (Tarragona, north‐eastern Spain) - IVÁN LOZANO‐FERNÁNDEZ; SANDRA BAÑULS‐CARDONA; HUGUES‐ALEXANDRE BLAIN; JUAN MANUEL LÓPEZ‐GARCÍA; JOSEP VALLVERDÚ; JORDI AGUSTÍ; GLORIA CUENCA‐BESCÓS (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
In 2007, remains of Mammuthus meridionalis and 334 lithic artefacts were recovered in level 2 of Barranc de la Boella. The presence of M. meridionalis allows us to assign an age older than 700 ka to this level, which represents one of the few sites of this age with palaeontological remains associated with lithic industry. It also enables us to shed light on questions pertaining to the chronology and the biogeography of the earliest European human settlements. In this paper, the small mammals from the Barranc de la Boella site are described for the first time, with special emphasis on the arvicolines. The presence of Victoriamys chalinei and Mimomys savini allows us to estimate the age of level 2. Level 2 of the Barranc de la Boella site ranges between the top of the Jaramillo subchron (0.99 Ma) and shortly after the Brunhes–Matuyama transition at 0.78 Ma, thus covering a time span of great importance for our knowledge of the earliest human occupations in Western Europe.

Holocene vegetation history, precipitation changes and Indian Summer Monsoon evolution documented from sediments of Xingyun Lake, south‐west China - FAHU CHEN; XUEMEI CHEN; JIANHUI CHEN; AIFENG ZHOU; DUO WU; LINGYU TANG; XIAOJIAN ZHANG; XIAOZHONG HUANG; JUNQING YU (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
We present a pollen‐based precipitation reconstruction and multi‐proxy records from a 485‐cm‐long sequence from a sediment core from Xingyun Lake, Yunnan Plateau, south‐west China, which depicts the evolution of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) during the last 8500 years. Pollen and other palaeoenvironmental records document several stages of vegetation history and climate change. The warmest and wettest climate in the Xingyun Lake catchment occurred before 5500 cal a BP, and subsequently the climate became gradually drier. After 2000 cal a BP the regional environmental conditions became unstable, and a wet Medieval Warm Period is probably recorded. Our reconstruction of the ISM is similar to that portrayed by Holocene speleothem δ 18 O records from southern China, but is distinctly different from the East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) evolution, which features a mid‐Holocene maximum. Our results support the hypothesis that the ISM and EASM evolved asynchronously during the Holocene, and imply that the Chinese speleothem δ 18 O records from southern China may principally reflect changes in moisture source from the Indian monsoon domain, and thus record the history of the ISM rather than the EASM.

Paleoenvironmental implications of two relative indicator rodent taxa during the Pleistocene to Holocene transition in south‐eastern Washington state, USA - R. LEE LYMAN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Local pollen data, diminution of body size of three ungulate species, and decreased mammalian richness and evenness all indicate grass decreased in abundance during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition (PHT) in eastern Washington state, USA. This paleoenvironmental history suggests that the abundance of remains of Microtus sp. should decrease as remains of Peromyscus maniculatus increase in abundance during the PHT. These two taxa have well‐known ecologies relative to one another. PHT sediments at the Marmes archeological site in south‐eastern Washington state are sorted into three chronologically sequent, isotaphonomic analytical units. Relative abundances of remains of Microtus sp. and P. maniculatus shift across the analytical units in the predicted manner whether raw abundances or rarified abundances are considered. These results suggest relative abundances of remains of Microtus sp. and P. maniculatus recovered from other sites may be used as relative indicators of paleohabitats. Their abundances at Homestead Cave, Utah, shift as predicted from the Late Pleistocene through the Early Holocene.

Identifying the pollen of an extinct spruce species in the Late Quaternary sediments of the Tunica Hills region, south‐eastern United States - L. MANDER; J. RODRIGUEZ; P. G. MUELLER; S. T. JACKSON; S. W. PUNYASENA (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Late Quaternary fluvial deposits in the Tunica Hills region of Louisiana and Mississippi are rich in spruce macrofossils of the extinct species Picea critchfieldii , the one recognized plant extinction of the Late Quaternary. However, the morphology of P. critchfieldii pollen is unknown, presenting a barrier to the interpretation of pollen spectra from the last glacial of North America. To address this issue, we undertook a morphometric study of Picea pollen from Tunica Hills. Morphometric data, together with qualitative observations of pollen morphology using Apotome fluorescence microscopy, indicate that Picea pollen from Tunica Hills is morphologically distinct from the pollen of P. glauca , P. mariana and P. rubens . Measurements of grain length, corpus width and corpus height indicate that Picea pollen from Tunica Hills is larger than the pollen of P. mariana and P. rubens , and is slightly larger than P. glauca pollen. We argue that the morphologically distinctive Tunica Hills Picea pollen was probably produced by the extinct spruce species P. critchfieldii . These morphological differences could be used to identify P. critchfieldii in existing and newly collected pollen records, which would refine its paleoecologic and biogeographic history and clarify the nature and timing of its extinction in the Late Quaternary.

The detailed tephrostratigraphy of a core from the south‐east Black Sea spanning the last ∼60 ka - VICTORIA L. CULLEN; VICTORIA C. SMITH; HELGE W. ARZ (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
One visible volcanic ash layer and 21 non‐visible, cryptotephra horizons have been identified in the M72/5‐25‐GC1 core from the south‐east Black Sea that spans the last ∼60 ka. Glass chemistry suggests that the tephras derive from Italian, Hellenic and Turkish sources. The visible tephra layer is trachytic in composition and has been correlated to the ∼39 ka Campanian Ignimbrite super‐eruption from Campi Flegrei caldera, Italy. Two cryptotephra layers are associated with eruptions from Acigöl volcano (Turkey) around the Last Glacial Maximum, another is linked to activity at Erciyes Dagi in the Early Holocene (Perikartini or Karagüllü), and a cryptotephra layer near the top of the core correlates to the ∼3.6k cal a BP Minoan (marine Z2) tephra from Santorini (Thera), Greece. This extends the known dispersal area for all these volcanic ash units. Many other calc‐alkaline rhyolite layers preserved in the core are likely to be from central Anatolian sources but the lack of detailed proximal data for many of the volcanoes in the region prohibits further correlations. The tephrostratigraphy and glass compositional data presented here allow the tephra layers to be used to correlate sedimentary archives across the region, and help to extend the Mediterranean tephrochronology framework towards the east.

Towards a protocol for the trace element analysis of glass from rhyolitic shards in tephra deposits by laser ablation ICP‐MS - NICHOLAS J. G. PEARCE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) is used widely to analyse single volcanic glass shards from Quaternary tephra deposits for stratigraphic correlation. As yet, no generally accepted protocol for these analyses exists and published methods report significant differences in crater size and calibration strategies. Using Ca as the ‘internal standard’ (Ca I.S. ), and not Si I.S. , for the analysis of rhyolitic glass can cause significant problems, because of ablation of (i) Ca‐rich phenocrysts, notably ‘ubiquitous’ plagioclase, but also calcic‐amphibole, apatite and allanite or (ii) mounting epoxy resin which can contribute to the Ca internal standard signal. Using Ca I.S. can cause underreporting of many elements which concentrate in Ca‐rich phenocrysts, making their ablation difficult to recognize, but when using Si I.S. , no such underreporting occurs. Additionally, larger ablation craters (50 µm diameter) potentially incorporate even small volumes of phenocryst material, whereas smaller craters ( I.S. , allowing recognition and removal of analyses incorporating Ca‐rich phenocrysts and avoiding issues related to the ablation of the mounting resin.

The use of multivariate statistics to resolve multiple contamination signals in the oxygen isotope analysis of biogenic silica - KATY E. WILSON; MELANIE J. LENG; ANSON W. MACKAY (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Analysis of the oxygen isotope composition (δ 18 O) of diatom silica is a commonly used tool for palaeoclimate reconstruction that recent studies have demonstrated may be complicated by the presence of non‐diatom detrital material. Such contamination can mask any true climate‐driven signal, leading to spurious results. Analysis of the 2.6‐Ma Barsemoi diatomites from the East African Rift Valley highlights the presence of both tephra and clay in purified samples. Here we present a new method for assessing the relative contribution and geochemical composition of contamination components where sedimentary samples may be affected by more than one type of contamination. This approach shows that the incorporation of analytical techniques, such as X‐ray fluorescence spectrometry, coupled with statistical modelling, can be used to develop a three end‐member model to successfully resolve climate‐driven changes in δ 18 O diatom . Mass‐balance corrections made to δ 18 O diatom data demonstrate the importance of adopting quantitative geochemical analysis in tandem with the δ 18 O analysis of biogenic silica, to obtain accurate and meaningful results for palaeoclimate reconstruction.

A Middle Palaeolithic site in the southern North Sea: investigating the archaeology and palaeogeography of Area 240 - L. TIZZARD; A. R. BICKET; J. BENJAMIN; D. DE LOECKER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
The potential for Middle Palaeolithic sites to survive beneath the sea in northern latitudes has been established by intensive investigation within Area 240, a marine aggregate licence area situated in the North Sea, 11 km off the coast of Norfolk, England. The fortuitous discovery of bifacial handaxes, and Levallois flakes and cores, led to a major programme of fieldwork and analysis between 2008 and 2013. The artefacts were primarily recovered from Marine Isotope Stage 8/7 floodplain sediments deposited between 250 and 200 ka. It is considered that the hand axes and Levallois products are contemporaneous in geological terms with taphonomically complex sedimentary contexts, as observed in several north‐west European sites. The Early Middle Palaeolithic (EMP) lithics have survived multiple phases of glaciation and marine transgression. The investigations confirm that the artefacts are not a ‘chance’ find, but indicate clear relationships to submerged and buried landscapes that, although complex, can be examined in detail using a variety of existing fieldwork and analytical methods. The palaeogeographical context of the finds also offers expanded interpretations of the distribution of EMP hominins in the southern North Sea, not predictable from onshore archaeological records.

Provenance of sediment in the Labrador Current: a record of hinterland glaciation over the past 125 ka - LONGJIANG MAO; DAVID J. W. PIPER; FRANCKY SAINT‐ANGE; JOHN T. ANDREWS; MARKUS KIENAST (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
The Labrador Current flows southward along the continental margin off eastern Canada and is the principal source of sediment to the outer continental margin areas where ice sheets did not cross the continental shelf. We present multi‐proxy mineralogical and geochemical records based principally on X‐ray diffraction and X‐ray fluorescence for core 2011031‐059 from northern Flemish Cap to determine changes in supply and hence to reconstruct provenance evolution during the last glacial cycle. The calcite to dolomite ratios in Heinrich layers ranged from 2 to 4, suggesting carbonate layers derived from Hudson Strait as early as Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5a–d. Mineral abundance shows three time‐dependent predominant sediment sources other than in Heinrich layers: (i) Baffin Bay shelves and adjacent land in MIS 5 and 1, with high Ca, Sr, kaolinite and feldspars and low clay minerals and calcite/dolomite ratios; (ii) Labrador in MIS 3, with low clays and grey color; and (iii) north‐east Newfoundland Shelf in MIS 2 and 4, with higher concentrations of clay minerals, red sandstones and transition elements. These results allow a reconstruction of principal ice streams supplying the north‐west Atlantic over the last full glacial cycle.

Lateglacial cryptotephra detected within clay varves in Östergötland, south‐east Sweden - A. MACLEOD; L. BRUNNBERG; S. WASTEGÅRD; T. HANG; I. P. MATTHEWS (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Here we present a 710‐year‐long floating varve record from south‐east Sweden. Tephra analyses confirm the presence of the rhyolitic Vedde Ash preserved within two consecutive varve years, confirming the Younger Dryas age of the varve series. This permits, for the first time, direct correlation of Swedish varved clay with other records of equivalent resolution which also preserve the Vedde Ash and demonstrates that the potential exists to independently date the Swedish Timescale. This discovery will allow direct comparison of rates, timing and duration of key climatic events across Europe and the North Atlantic region in records of equivalent resolution.

Using palaeoenvironmental DNA to reconstruct past environments: progress and prospects - NICOLAS J. RAWLENCE; DAVID J. LOWE; JAMIE R. WOOD; JENNIFER M. YOUNG; G. JOCK CHURCHMAN; YU‐TUAN HUANG; ALAN COOPER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Palaeoenvironmental DNA (PalEnDNA) is defined as ancient DNA (aDNA) originating from disseminated genetic material within palaeoenvironmental samples. Sources of PalEnDNA include marine and lake sediments, peat, loess, till, ice, permafrost, palaeosols, coprolites, preserved gut contents, dental calculus, tephras, and soils as well as deposits in caves/rockshelters and at archaeological sites. PalEnDNA analysis provides a relatively new tool for Quaternary and archaeological sciences and its applications have included palaeoenvironmental and palaeodietary reconstructions, testing hypotheses regarding megafaunal extinctions, human–environment interactions, taxonomic studies, and studies of DNA damage. Because PalEnDNA samples comprise markedly different materials, and represent wide‐ranging depositional and taphonomic contexts, various issues must be addressed to achieve robust, reproducible findings. Such issues include climatic and temporal limitations, the biological origin and state (free versus bound) of PalEnDNA, stratigraphic reliability, sterile sampling, ability to distinguish modern from aDNA signals, DNA damage and PCR amplification, DNA extraction methods, and taxonomic resolution. In this review, we provide a non‐specialist introduction to the use of PalEnDNA for Quaternary and archaeological researchers, assess attributes and limitations of this palaeoenvironmental tool, and discuss future prospects of using PalEnDNA to reconstruct past environments.

The relative controls on forest fires and fuel source fluctuations in the Holocene deciduous forests of southern Wisconsin, USA - JOSHUA R. MUELLER; COLIN J. LONG; JOSEPH J. WILLIAMS; ANDREA NURSE; KENDRA K. MCLAUCHLAN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Reconstructing fire regimes and fuel characteristics is an important aspect of understanding past forest ecosystem processes. Fuel sources and fire regimes in the upper Midwestern United States have been shown to be sensitive to regional climatic variability, such as drought periods on millennial timescales. Yet, records documenting the connections between disturbance activity and the corresponding fuel source fluctuations in mesic deciduous forests and prairie/oak savanna in this region are limited. Thus, it has been difficult to provide a framework to evaluate changes in moisture availability on fire activity and the relationships with fuel source fluctuations in this region. We present high‐resolution charcoal analyses of lake sediments from four sites in southern Wisconsin (USA) to characterize fire activity and fuel source fluctuation in mesic deciduous forests and prairie/oak savanna over the last 10 000 years. We found that fire occurrence across the four study sites has been asynchronous throughout the Holocene, because of site‐specific differences that have strongly influenced local fire regimes. Additionally, we found that during periods of high fire activity the primary fuels were from arboreal sources, and during periods of low fire activity the primary fuels were from non‐arboreal sources. However, fluctuations in fuel sources did not always correspond to changes in vegetation, or changes in fire frequency.

Quaternary climatic instability in south‐east Australia from a multi‐proxy speleothem record - M. WEBB; J. DREDGE; P. A. BARKER; W. MÜLLER; C. JEX; J. DESMARCHELIER; J. HELLSTROM; P. M. WYNN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Milankovitch‐scale Quaternary climatic oscillations within south‐east Australia are known to be characterized by relatively arid glacial and wet interglacial stages. However, terrestrial proxy records of environmental change are scarce, based largely on river terraces, dune sediments and pollen sequences. Here we present a speleothem‐based palaeoclimate record from Yarrangobilly caves, south‐east Australia. The oxygen isotopic composition of calcite (δ 18 O calcite ) is taken to represent rainfall amount and used as an aridity index. High‐resolution trace element profiles and UV fluorescence support interpretations based on δ 18 O calcite , allowing further designation of key phases of speleothem growth into periods of relative aridity and moisture excess. A hiatus of approximately 37 ka duration divides the record into two key phases of growth which can be mapped onto marine isotope stages 5c–a and 3, respectively. Increasing aridity in the latter half of MIS 5 led to cessation of speleothem growth for the duration of MIS 4. Growth recommences during MIS 3, associated with greater moisture availability, enhanced vegetation and augmented biogeochemical cycling. This speleothem record provides a unique context of terrestrial environmental change and depicts hydrological conditions which fluctuate markedly over the 70‐ka period covering the time of megafauna extinction and human arrival on the continent.

Rapid flooding of the southern Vietnam shelf during the early to mid‐Holocene - RIK TJALLINGII; KARL STATTEGGER; PAOLO STOCCHI; YOSHIKI SAITO; ANDREAS WETZEL (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
A new sea‐level record derived from coastal deposits of the South Vietnam shelf covers the deglacial sea‐level history between 13.0 and 9.0 ka BP. This record reveals a relatively constant rate of sea‐level rise and matches well with model results based on the RSES‐ANU global ice‐sheet model. However, the sea‐level observations reveal a significant discrepancy with model results based on the ICE‐5G global ice‐sheet model, which further questions the existence of Meltwater Pulse 1B The incised‐valley deposits of the South Vietnam shelf also complete the deglacial coastal evolution of southern Vietnam. The regional sea‐level records of the South Vietnam shelf, the Mekong Delta and the Cambodian lowlands reveal an offset of about 18 m between 9.0 and 8.2 ka BP. The shoreline retreat of more than 200 km related to this offset was mainly caused by the differential hydro‐isostatic adjustment between the South Vietnam shelf and the Cambodian lowlands. However, the GIA‐model results cannot fully explain this fast relative sea‐level rise due to the topographic changes and, possibly, alternative melt‐water sources not accounted for in the current models.

Orbital‐ and millennial‐scale climate and vegetation changes between 32.5 and 6.9k cal a BP from Hanon Maar paleolake on Jeju Island, South Korea - JUNGJAE PARK; HYOUN SOO LIM; JAESOO LIM; KEUN BAE YU; JINMU CHOI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Orbital‐ and millennial‐scale climate and vegetation changes between 32.5 and 6.9k cal a BP from Hanon Maar paleolake on Jeju Island, Korea, were demonstrated by high‐resolution multi‐proxy data (pollen, magnetic susceptibility, total organic carbon, carbon/nitrogen ratios and sediment grain size). High‐resolution pollen records provided detailed information on the vegetation response to climate change. The Thalictrum pollen percentage, which corresponded to the magnetic susceptibility data, and the first principal component of principal‐component analysis of pollen data were good indicators of the orbital‐ and millennial‐scale dry/wet cycle in the study area. Hanon pollen and magnetic susceptibility records suggested that colder and drier conditions were prevalent between 25.2 and 17.6k cal a BP in the study area due to a precession‐induced decrease in summer insolation. Hanon multi‐proxy data were correlated with oxygen isotope records from Greenland and Hulu cave, suggesting the possible teleconnection of millennial‐scale climate oscillations between North Atlantic and East Asian regions. According to our results, Heinrich‐like cold events probably occurred around 31.1, 25.2 and 16.7k cal a BP, and the warm intervals observed around 30.7 and 29.9k cal a BP may have corresponded to Dansgaard–Oeschger warm events 4 and 3, respectively.

The Younger Dryas impact hypothesis: a cosmic catastrophe - VANCE T. HOLLIDAY; TODD SUROVELL; DAVID J. MELTZER; DONALD K. GRAYSON; MARK BOSLOUGH (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
In this paper we review the evidence for the Younger Dryas impact hypothesis (YDIH), which proposes that at ∼12.9k cal a BP North America, South America, Europe and the Middle East were subjected to some sort of extraterrestrial event. This purported event is proposed as a catastrophic process responsible for: terminal Pleistocene environmental changes (onset of YD cooling, continent‐scale wildfires); extinction of late Pleistocene mammals; and demise of the Clovis ‘culture’ in North America, the earliest well‐documented, continent‐scale settlement of the region. The basic physics in the YDIH is not in accord with the physics of impacts nor the basic laws of physics. No YD boundary (YDB) crater, craters or other direct indicators of an impact are known. Age control is weak to non‐existent at 26 of the 29 localities claimed to have evidence for the YDIH. Attempts to reproduce the results of physical and geochemical analyses used to support the YDIH have failed or show that many indicators are not unique to an impact nor to ∼12.9k cal a BP. The depositional environments of purported indicators at most sites tend to concentrate particulate matter and probably created many ‘YDB zones’. Geomorphic, stratigraphic and fire records show no evidence of any sort of catastrophic changes in the environment at or immediately following the YDB. Late Pleistocene extinctions varied in time and across space. Archeological data provide no indication of population decline, demographic collapse or major adaptive shifts at or just after ∼12.9 ka. The data and the hypotheses generated by YDIH proponents are contradictory, inconsistent and incoherent.

Re‐evaluation of the Roseau Tuff eruptive sequence and other ignimbrites in Dominica, Lesser Antilles - TRACY M. HOWE; JAN M. LINDSAY; PHIL SHANE; AXEL K. SCHMITT; DANIEL F. STOCKLI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
The island of Dominica hosts several ignimbrites, including the Roseau Tuff, thought to represent the largest eruption in the Caribbean in the past 200 000 years. The volcanic stratigraphy of the island is poorly understood due to limited outcrops and a paucity of geochemical and geochronological data. The discovery of a new fully accessible exposure of three ignimbrites intercalated with paleosols provides an opportunity to re‐evaluate the current stratigraphic framework of ignimbrite‐forming eruptions on the island. Whole‐rock analyses of pumice clasts from Dominica ignimbrites are andesitic (61–66% SiO 2 ) and in most cases are geochemically indistinguishable. Ignimbrites in the north of the island have less evolved glass compositions (73–75% SiO 2 ) and more mafic orthopyroxene compositions (En > 56) than their southern counterparts (75–78% SiO 2 ; En

A natural experiment suggests little direct temperature forcing of the peatland palaeoclimate record - RICHARD J. PAYNE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
An important uncertainty in the interpretation of peat‐based Holocene climate reconstructions is what aspect of climate is recorded. Testate amoeba palaeoecological records have generally been interpreted in terms of water table depth but an increasing weight of experimental evidence shows that testate amoeba communities may respond to temperature independent of hydrological variability. In most ombrotrophic peatlands, variability in water table depth is driven by a combination of both temperature and precipitation, making it difficult to isolate any direct forcing by temperature. An unusual peatland ecosystem in which water tables are extremely stable offers an approach to this question. If testate amoeba communities show variability through time in these percolation bogs this implies a direct influence of temperature. This study presents a late Holocene testate amoeba record from the Imnati percolation bog in western Georgia. Below a phase of recent eutrophication results show essentially no variability in testate amoeba community composition or inferred water table depth through more than 4 m of peat representing over 2000 years. It is improbable that there has been no temperature variability over this period and the data therefore imply that direct temperature forcing of the palaeoecological record is minimal, at least for this region and time‐scale.

Luminescence chronology of late Quaternary moraines and Last Glacial Maximum equilibrium‐line altitude reconstruction from Parlung Zangbo Valley, south‐eastern Tibetan Plateau - RENRONG CHEN; SHANGZHE ZHOU; ZHONGPING LAI; XIANJIAO OU; RONG CHEN; YINGBIN DENG (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Optically stimulated luminescence dating was applied to samples from glacial sediments in the Parlung Zangbo Valleys (Daba and Charao) of the south‐eastern Tibetan Plateau to better constrain the timing of Late Quaternary glaciation, which is thought to have been linked to the Indian monsoon. The single aliquot regenerative‐dose protocol on quartz was used for equivalent dose ( D e ) determination using small aliquots. For samples from the Daba Valley, the comparison of ages using two grain size fractions, middle (38–63 µm) and coarse (90–250 µm) were conducted. The coarse grain ages in the Daba Valley (P3) and Charao Valley (P7) range from 16.4 to 26.0 ka, and are consistent with previously published cosmogenic radionuclide exposure ages in the Baiyu Valley (PB1). Our dating results reveal that these moraines were formed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). We then reconstruct the past equilibrium‐line altitudes (ELAs) during the LGM for five glacial valleys in the study area, which range from 3286 to 4014 m with an average value of 3730 m, while the contemporary average ELA is 4655 m. After correction for terrain uplift (about 8 m since the LGM), the difference in the ELA values between the LGM and today is 917 m. According to these data, the estimated temperature during the LGM is 6.3 °C lower than present for the Parlung Zangbo River Valley.

Volcanic stratigraphy of the Quaternary La Garrotxa Volcanic Field (north‐east Iberian Peninsula) - XAVIER BOLÓS; LLORENÇ PLANAGUMÀ; JOAN MARTÍ (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
The monogenetic Quaternary La Garrotxa Volcanic Field forms part of the Catalan Volcanic Zone (north‐east Iberian Peninsula), one of the alkaline volcanic provinces of the European rift system. It harbours more than 50 basaltic monogenetic cones that range in age from the Middle Pleistocene to the Early Holocene and include cinder and scoria cones, lava flows, tuff rings and maars. This study is the result of extensive fieldwork, including the study of ephemeral outcrops and the stratigraphic logging of new water wells and geotechnical drill holes, also taking into account existing information gathered by recent geophysical studies that have applied shallow geophysical methods to establish the substrate geology of this volcanic field. We have obtained a comprehensive volcanic stratigraphy of the area that identifies the products of each single eruption, their relative stratigraphy and their surface area. This volcanic stratigraphy constitutes an essential tool for understanding the evolution of this volcanic field and for establishing a correct volcanic hazard assessment for the area, but it also provides a precise reference for the Quaternary tephrochronology of the lake sediments in neighbouring areas.

Climate over mainland Southeast Asia 10.5–5 ka - AKKANEEWUT CHABANGBORN; BARBARA WOHLFARTH (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
We assembled and evaluated Holocene palaeo‐vegetation records regarding semi‐quantitative precipitation and temperature for mainland Southeast Asia and compared these with precipitation reconstructions for the Indian Ocean (IOM) and East Asian (EAM) monsoon sub‐systems. Our results indicate that temperatures and precipitation in mainland Southeast Asia generally exceeded 18 °C and 1100 mm a −1 during the Holocene. Mainland Southeast Asia experienced cool/wet climatic conditions between 10.5 and 10 ka BP, a warmer/drier climate between 10 and 9 ka BP, cooler/wetter conditions between 9 and 7 ka BP, and moderately warmer/drier conditions since 7 ka BP. The reconstructed summer monsoon intensity compares well with the reconstructed hydroclimate for the EAM region, but diverges from that of the IOM region between 10.5 and 9 ka BP and 7–6.5 ka BP. This discrepancy is explained by differences in land–sea configuration, and regional sea‐level history. A strengthening/weakening of the Asian summer monsoon between 9 and 7 ka BP and after 6.5 ka BP, respectively, is observed across the whole Asian monsoon region. Our new data sets support an asynchronous onset of the Asian summer monsoon optimum.

West Greenland and global in situ 14 C production‐rate calibrations - NICOLÁS E. YOUNG; JOERG M. SCHAEFER; BRENT GOEHRING; NATHANIEL LIFTON; IRENE SCHIMMELPFENNIG; JASON P. BRINER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
The in situ cosmogenic nuclide 14 C is unique compared with other nuclides because of its short half‐life, and when combined with longer‐lived isotopes (e.g. 10 Be), in situ 14 C can be a powerful tool for deciphering recent and complex surface exposure histories. Like all in situ cosmogenic nuclides, quantifying earth surface processes with in situ 14 C requires a well‐constrained in situ 14 C production rate. We present a production‐rate calibration from an independently dated moraine in West Greenland, previously used as an in situ 10 Be production‐rate calibration site. The local in situ 14 C production rate is 22.8 ± 1.4 atoms g −1 a −1 (69.28°N, 50.76°W; 350 m asl) and when scaled to sea level/high latitude using time‐dependent Lal/Stone scaling (Lm), we calculate a spallation‐only in situ 14 C production rate of 12.0 ± 0.9 atoms g −1 a −1 and a 14 C/ 10 Be production rate ratio of 3.1 ± 0.2. The West Greenland in situ 14 C production rate is indistinguishable from the New Zealand, Promontory Point and Scottish Highlands in situ 14 C production rates. When combined, we calculate a global production rate of 12.1 ± 0.5 atoms g −1 a −1 (Lm).

Northern European summer temperature variations over the Common Era from integrated tree‐ring density records - JAN ESPER; ELISABETH DÜTHORN; PAUL J. KRUSIC; MAURI TIMONEN; ULF BÜNTGEN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Tree‐ring chronologies of maximum latewood density are most suitable to reconstruct annually resolved summer temperature variations of the late Holocene. The two longest such chronologies have been developed in northern Europe stretching back to the 2nd century BC, and the 5th century AD. We show where similarities between the two chronologies exist, and combine portions of both into a new summer temperature reconstruction for the Common Era. To minimize the transfer of potential biases, we assess the contribution of the candidate reconstructions' measurements, and exclude data (i) from exceptionally young and old trees, and (ii) produced by different laboratory technologies. Our new composite reconstruction reveals warmer conditions during Roman, Medieval and recent times, separated by prolonged cooling during the Migration period and Little Ice Age. Twentieth century warmth, as indicated in one of the existing density records, is reduced in the new reconstruction, also affecting the overall, millennial‐scale, cooling trend over the late Holocene (−0.30 °C per 1000 years). Due to the reduced biological memory, typical for tree‐ring density measurements, the new reconstruction is most suitable for evaluating the rate and speed of abrupt summer cooling following large volcanic eruptions.

Evidence for ca. 7‐ka maximum Holocene transgression on the Peninsular Malaysia east coast - PETER R. PARHAM; YOSHIKI SAITO; NORAISYAH SAPON; ROKIAH SURIADI; NOOR AZARIYAH MOHTAR (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
In situ fossil coral and shelly marine deposits occur up to 50 cm above mean sea level in north‐east Peninsular Malaysia. The fossil reef comprises over 15 coral species and associated molluscs. Radiocarbon ages of corals range from 7238 to 6909 cal a BP. The reef occurs adjacent to bedrock hills that formed a mainland peninsula when the coral was living. Abundant well‐preserved fossil molluscs with bivalves commonly articulated occur in ditch tailings from coastal plains flanking these hills. Landward, a sand ridge represents part of the maximum transgression shoreline. When alive, the fossil coral reef required clear water and full marine conditions seaward of the peninsula. The maximum transgression here occurred ca. 7 ka with stable environmental conditions persisting long enough for diverse coral reef development. Assuming a similar tidal range to today, relative sea level ca. 7 ka would have been between 1.4 and 3 m above present. Between then and ca. 6 ka, abundant sediment supply resulted in barrier‐beach construction seaward of the coral reef, converting the area to a lagoonal environment unsuitable for coral and burial by muddy deposits. Assuming that regional relative sea‐level data indicate maximum Holocene highstand up to +5 m between 6 and 4 ka are correct, then the maximum transgression preceded maximum sea level by at least 1000 years.

IntCal13 calibrated ages of the Vedde and Saksunarvatn ashes and the Younger Dryas boundaries from Kråkenes, western Norway - ØYSTEIN S. LOHNE; JAN MANGERUD; HILARY H. BIRKS (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
From Kråkenes Lake in western Norway there exist 118 accelerator mass spectrometry 14 C dates for the time interval 12 000–8000 14 C a BP that we earlier calibrated using the IntCal09 data set. These yielded the most accurate and precise ages available for the Younger Dryas boundaries and the Vedde and Saksunarvatn ashes. Here we present a new calibration using the recently published IntCal13 data set. All differences between the two sets of calibrated ages are within the ± 1σ error of the original IntCal09 results. The most significant differences are that the error for the Allerød/Younger Dryas boundary decreased, that this boundary became slightly older and that the length of the Younger Dryas increased slightly.

Processes of flood‐triggered detrital layer deposition in the varved Lake Mondsee sediment record revealed by a dual calibration approach - LUCAS KÄMPF; ACHIM BRAUER; TINA SWIERCZYNSKI; MARKUS CZYMZIK; PHILIP MUELLER; PETER DULSKI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
A succession of 23 sub‐millimetre to maximum 12‐mm‐thick, mostly flood‐triggered detrital layers, deposited between 1976 and 2005, was analysed in 12 varved surface sediment cores from meso‐scale peri‐alpine Lake Mondsee applying microfacies and high‐resolution micro X‐ray fluorescence analyses. Detailed intrabasin comparison of these layers enabled identification of (i) different source areas of detrital sediments, (ii) flood‐triggered sediment flux and local erosion events, and (iii) seasonal differences of suspended flood sediment distribution within the lake basin. Additional calibration of the detrital layer record with river discharge and precipitation data reveals different empirical thresholds for flood layer deposition for different parts of the basin. At proximal locations detrital layer deposition requires floods exceeding a daily discharge of 40 m 3 s −1 , whereas at a location 2 km more distal an hourly discharge of 80 m 3 s −1 and at least 2 days of discharge above 40 m 3 s −1 are necessary. Furthermore, we observe a better correlation between layer thickness and flood amplitude in the depocentre than in distal and proximal areas of the basin. Although our results are partly site‐specific, the applied dual calibration approach is suitable to precisely decipher flood layer formation processes and, thereby, improve the interpretation of long flood time series from lake sediments.

Testate amoebae as a proxy for reconstructing Holocene water table dynamics in southern Patagonian peat bogs - SIMON VAN BELLEN; DMITRI MAUQUOY; RICHARD J. PAYNE; THOMAS P. ROLAND; TIM J. DALEY; PAUL D. M. HUGHES; NEIL J. LOADER; F. ALAYNE STREET‐PERROTT; EMMA M. RICE; VERÓNICA A. PANCOTTO (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Testate amoebae are abundant and diverse in Sphagnum peat bogs and have been used extensively as indicators of past water table depths. Although these unicellular protists are widely dispersed with globally similar hydrological preferences, regional variations in communities demand region‐specific transfer functions. Here we present the first transfer function for southern Patagonian bogs, based on 154 surface samples obtained from transects in five bogs sampled in 2012 and 2013. Significant variance was explained by pH, electrical conductivity and, in particular, water table depth. Transfer functions for water table were constructed using weighted averaging and evaluated by cross‐validation and independent test sets. The optimal transfer function has predictive ability, but relatively high prediction errors given the wide range in sampled water tables. The use of independent test sets, as well as cross‐validation, allows a more rigorous assessment of model performance than most previous studies. For a subset of locations we compare surface and subsurface samples to demonstrate significant differences in community composition, possibly due to vertical zonation. Our results provide the first quantification of hydrological optima and tolerances for several rare species, which may include Southern Hemisphere endemics and pave the way for palaeohydrological reconstructions in southern Patagonian bogs.

Late Quaternary (15 ka to present) development of a sandy landscape in the Mol area, Campine region, north‐east Belgium - K. BEERTEN; N. VANDERSMISSEN; K. DEFORCE; N. VANDENBERGHE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
The geomorphological analysis of two sections cut into a sandy landscape in north‐east Belgium enabled the establishment of a chronology for a sequence of events during the last 15 ka that illustrate the polycyclical nature of the evolution of such landscapes. Field descriptions, analytical sediment and soil characterization, and pollen analysis are combined with the optically stimulated luminescence dating method to unravel the recent geomorphological history of the investigated site. The principal results include apparently discontinuous sand deposition between ∼15 and 12 ka, landscape stabilization and Podzol formation between ∼12 and 1 ka, the development of a drift sand landscape between ∼650 and 200 a, and renewed stabilization over the last two centuries. The results are discussed in the light of climate, land‐use and vegetation changes and compared with findings at similar sites in the European Sand Belt.

36 Cl production rate from K‐spallation in the European Alps (Chironico landslide, Switzerland) - IRENE SCHIMMELPFENNIG; JOERG M. SCHAEFER; AARON E. PUTNAM; TOBY KOFFMAN; LUCILLA BENEDETTI; SUSAN IVY‐OCHS; ASTER TEAM; CHRISTIAN SCHLÜCHTER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
The abundant production of in situ cosmogenic 36 Cl from potassium renders 36 Cl measurements in K‐rich rocks or minerals, such as K‐feldspars, potentially useful for precisely dating rock surfaces, either in single‐nuclide or in multi‐nuclide studies, for example combined with 10 Be measurements in quartz. However, significant discrepancies in experimentally calibrated 36 Cl production rates from spallation of potassium ( 36 P K‐sp ), referenced to sea‐level/high‐latitude (SLHL), limit the accuracy of 36 Cl dating from K‐rich lithologies. We present a new 36 Cl calibration using K‐feldspars, in which K‐spallation is the most dominant 36 Cl production pathway (>92% of total 36 Cl), thus minimizing uncertainties from the complex multi‐pathway 36 Cl production systematics. The samples are derived from boulders of an ∼13.4 ka‐old landslide in the Swiss Alps (∼820 m, 46.43°N, 8.85°E). We obtain a local 36 P K‐sp of 306 ± 16 atoms 36 Cl (g K) −1 a −1 and an SLHL 36 P K‐sp of 145.5 ± 7.7 atoms 36 Cl (g K) −1 a −1 , when scaled with a standard scaling protocol (‘Lm’). Applying this SLHL 36 P K‐sp to determine 36 Cl exposure ages of K‐feldspars from 10 Be‐dated moraine boulders yields excellent agreement, confirming the validity of the new SLHL 36 P K‐sp for surface exposure studies, involving 36 Cl in K‐feldspars, in the Alps.

Online oxygen isotope analysis of sub‐milligram quantities of biogenic opal using the inductive high‐temperature carbon reduction method coupled with continuous‐flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry - AKIRA IJIRI; MASAKO YAMANE; MINORU IKEHARA; YUSUKE YOKOYAMA; YUSUKE OKAZAKI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
We present a method for determining sub‐milligram quantities of biogenic opal. The method employs the inductive high‐temperature carbon reduction method for dehydration of opal and reduction of silica, and a continuous‐flow isotope ratio mass spectrometry system for direct analysis of the oxygen isotope ratio in the evolved carbon monoxide. The accuracy and precision of the online analytical system were evaluated by isotopic analysis of various quantities of standard SiO 2 in the range 40–538 µg. The time required to analyse a single sample was relatively short (50 min); hence, our method is suitable for routine analysis for paleoenvironmental studies that require large amounts of time‐series data. The method was validated for samples in the sub‐milligram range and can be applied to oxygen isotope analysis of various types of biogenic opal that have not been analysed because of their small amounts in natural samples. We successfully applied our method to (i) the first oxygen isotope analysis of monospecific radiolarian skeletons and (ii) high‐resolution oxygen isotope analysis of Holocene diatom frustules from the Southern Ocean.

An 18 000‐year pollen and sedimentary record from the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, Morocco - M. NOUR EL BAIT; A. RHOUJJATI; F. EYNAUD; A. BENKADDOUR; L. DEZILEAU; K. WAINER; T. GOSLAR; C. KHATER; J. TABEL; R. CHEDDADI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
A new record from the heart of the Moroccan Middle Atlas cedar forests spans the last 18 000 years and provides valuable insight into our understanding of the natural vegetation and environmental changes. The approach is based on the study of pollen content, geochemical elements and grain size analysis. The pollen data indicate that the vegetation was dominated by herbaceous plants until 9000 BP. Such open landscape allowed greater soil erosion and an input of chemical elements from the watershed. After 9000 BP, tree cover, mainly oak, increased slightly and was accompanied by a higher taxonomic diversity. However, several steppe elements remain well represented in the area until 5000 BP, which suggests that the climate was rather dry during the first part of the Holocene. After 6000 BP, the climate became more favourable to expansion of the forest ecosystems, including Cedrus atlantica , thereby reducing erosion. A strong reduction of the tree pollen percentages is recorded after 2000 BP, which may be related to increasing human activities during the Roman period. These forest changes are concomitant with an increase of lead and copper concentrations in the record, probably related to Roman metalworking activities.

Erratum (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)

Last glacial hydrological variations at the southern margin of sub‐tropical North America and a regional comparison - PRIYADARSI D. ROY; MARCELA P. CHARLES‐POLO; NAYELI LOPEZ‐BALBIAUX; TERESA PI‐PUIG; G. MUTHU SANKAR; RUFINO LOZANO‐SANTACRUZ; SOCORRO LOZANO‐GARCÍA; FRANCISCO M. ROMERO (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Geochemical and magnetic characteristics of sediments from paleolake La Salada provide information about the last glacial hydrological conditions at the southern margin of sub‐tropical North America. Proxy records of runoff, lake water salinity, brine composition and provenance of organic matter are based on multi‐element concentration, magnetic susceptibility, mineralogy, carbonate content and C/N relation. Runoff was higher than average during ca. 43–36k cal a BP and at ca. 33k cal a BP. A shift in mineralogical assemblage from calcite > protodolomite–halite to protodolomite–gaylussite suggests that the brine composition changed from Ca–(Mg–Na)–HCO 3 –(Cl) to Mg–Na–Ca–HCO 3 because of more runoff after the desiccation event at ca. 28k cal a BP. In general, organic matter deposited during the intervals of more runoff and deeper lake conditions were sourced from lacustrine phytoplankton. The contribution of terrestrial vegetation dominates during the intervals of reduced runoff. Comparison with other records provides a regional perspective of moisture variability. Humid conditions at ca. 33k cal a BP could be due to more summer precipitation in northern Mexico as well as increased winter rainfall in the south‐western USA.

A 560–440 ka tephra record from the Mercure Basin, southern Italy: volcanological and tephrostratigraphic implications - BIAGIO GIACCIO; PAOLO GALLI; EDOARDO PERONACE; ILENIA ARIENZO; SEBASTIEN NOMADE; GIAN PAOLO CAVINATO; MARCO MANCINI; PAOLO MESSINA; GIANLUCA SOTTILI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Integrated electron microprobe analyses (EMPAs) on glass and Sr–Nd isotope analyses have been performed on 17 tephras from the Middle Pleistocene Mercure lacustrine succession, southern Apennines. Two 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages and the recognition of four relevant tephras from Colli Albani, Sabatini and possibly Roccamonfina volcanoes allowed us to ascribe the investigated succession to the late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 15–12 interval (560–440 ka). The Sr–Nd isotopes and major element glass compositions allowed us to attribute 10 out of the other 13 tephras to a poorly known activity of the Roccamofina volcano, whereas two layers were tentatively attributed to previously unknown Middle Pleistocene activity of Ponza Island or Campanian volcanoes, and one to Salina Island. The tephrostratigraphic correlation of the Mercure tephras with the Acerno lacustrine pollen record (Campania) also allowed us to evaluate the climatostratigraphic position of the tephras within the framework of the MIS 15–12 climatic variability. These results were obtained by combining the Sr–Nd isotope ratio with EMPA and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronological data. This confirms the notable consistency of this approach for studying the Mediterranean Middle Pleistocene tephrostratigraphy, which, despite its great potential for both volcanology and Quaternary studies, has been hitherto barely explored.

Hydrology and climatology at Laguna La Gaiba, lowland Bolivia: complex responses to climatic forcings over the last 25 000 years - SARAH E. METCALFE; BRONWEN S. WHITNEY; KATHARINE A. FITZPATRICK; FRANCIS E. MAYLE; NEIL J. LOADER; F. ALAYNE STREET‐PERROTT; DAVID G. MANN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Diatom, geochemical and isotopic data provide a record of environmental change in Laguna La Gaiba, lowland Bolivia (17°45′S, 57°35′W), over the last ca. 25 000 years. High‐resolution diatom analysis around the Last Glacial–Interglacial Transition provides new insights into this period of change. The full and late glacial lake was generally quite shallow, but with evidence of periodic flooding. At about 13 100 cal a BP, just before the start of the Younger Dryas chronozone, the diatoms indicate shallower water conditions, but there is a marked change at about 12 200 cal a BP indicating the onset of a period of high variability, with rising water levels punctuated by periodic drying. From ca. 11 800 to 10 000 cal a BP, stable, deeper water conditions persisted. There is evidence for drying in the early to middle Holocene, but not as pronounced as that reported from elsewhere in the southern hemisphere tropics of South America. This was followed by the onset of wetter conditions in the late Holocene consistent with insolation forcing. Conditions very similar to present were established about 2100 cal a BP. A complex response to both insolation forcing and millennial‐scale events originating in the North Atlantic is noted.

Tracing long‐term tropical montane ecosystem change in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania - JEMMA FINCH; MATTHEW WOOLLER; ROB MARCHANT (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Pollen, charcoal, stable carbon and nitrogen isotope, and radiocarbon analyses are used to reconstruct a palaeoenvironmental record from the Eastern Arc Mountains (EAM), Tanzania, dating back >45 000 years. A sedimentary hiatus covering the last glacial‐interglacial transition (LGIT) and early to mid Holocene follows the lead up to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) period. A late Holocene portion of the record is included as a modern analogue. Before 45 000 cal a BP, very low regional pollen counts imply open vegetation surrounding the site. Subsequently, the development of extensive montane forest characterizes a relatively mesic pre‐LGM. The transition into the LGM witnessed a marked shift from C 3 ‐ to C 4 ‐dominated biomass, representing an expansion of open forest dominated by grasses. These changes may be attributed to a combination of enhanced moisture stress and CO 2 limitation, factors that may have been exacerbated by an intensive fire regime, as evident from the charcoal record. This is supported by a decrease in montane forest taxa, coupled with an associated expansion of C 4 graminoids and ericaceous heathland to form a montane grassland mosaic similar to that previously recorded on other East African mountains around the time of the LGM but not, to date, having been shown in the Eastern Arc Mountains.

Modelling glacier advances and related climate conditions during the last glaciation cycle in the Kuzigun Valley, Tashkurgan catchment, on the north‐west Tibetan Plateau - XIANGKE XU; GUOCHENG DONG; BAOLIN PAN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Understanding regional climate during the last glaciation cycle (LGC) is far from complete for the north‐western Tibetan Plateau. Recent improvements in understanding glacial extents and chronologies in the Tashkurgan catchment, north‐west Tibetan Plateau, present an opportunity to estimate the glacial climatic conditions of the LGC. Here we use a coupled mass‐balance and ice‐flow model to reconstruct glacier advances in the Kuzigun Valley during the LGC and quantify the related climate conditions in the Tashkurgan, Hangdi, and Kuzigun glacial stages for the region. The model results show that the Kuzigun Valley contained ice volumes of 5.713 ± 0.005, 4.874 ± 0.005 and 3.631 ± 0.004 km 3 with equilibrium line altitude‐lowering values of ∼500, ∼560 and ∼610 m in the three successive glacial stages, respectively. By referencing the climatic δ 18 O proxy records, we conclude that temperature decreased by 5–8, ∼4 and 140% modern values in the Kuzigun, Hangdi and Tashkurgan glacial stages, respectively. Our climatic estimates for the Kuzigun stage are generally consistent with previous studies that showed the Last Glacial Maximum climate was 4–9 °C colder than today on the Tibetan Plateau. More accurate climate proxies are needed for evaluating our modelled Tashkurgan climatic conditions.

Evaluating long‐term regional climate variability in the maritime region of the St. Lawrence North Shore (eastern Canada) using a multi‐site comparison of peat‐based paleohydrological records - GABRIEL MAGNAN; MICHELLE GARNEAU (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
This study presents paleohydrological reconstructions from ombrotrophic peatlands (bogs) along the north shore of the Estuary and the Gulf of St. Lawrence in eastern Canada. Past water table depths were reconstructed based on testate amoebae analyses within four peatlands from two maritime ecoclimatic regions (boreal and subarctic) using a new transfer function. The comparison of multiple peat‐based paleohydrological records was used to distinguish climate‐driven changes from variations related to site‐specific factors. Coherence between the water table reconstructions at the regional scale suggests a common climatic influence on bog paleohydrology but there are inconsistencies which also suggest an influence of non‐climatic factors (e.g. internal peatland processes and feedbacks). The surface drying and increased hydrological variability after 3000 cal a BP in the studied bogs coincide with the transition from the Holocene Climatic Optimum to the Neoglacial cooling documented by proxy climate records in eastern Canada. The bogs of Havre St‐Pierre have experienced major drying during the late Holocene, indicating important annual‐to‐centennial water deficits at the peatland surface. Regional differences in the magnitude of the hydrological fluctuations may result from distinctive climatic conditions or could indicate that bog surface wetness in the Gulf of St. Lawrence was more sensitive to past climate changes.

Multiproxy diet analysis of the last meal of an early Holocene Yakutian bison - BAS VAN GEEL; ALBERT PROTOPOPOV; IAN BULL; ELZA DUIJM; FIONA GILL; YOURI LAMMERS; ALINE NIEMAN; NATALIA RUDAYA; SVETLANA TROFIMOVA; ALEXEI N. TIKHONOV; RUTGER VOS; SNEZHANA ZHILICH; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Pollen, botanical macrofossils, chemical components and ancient DNA were studied in samples from the rumen of a frozen Yakutian bison ( Bison priscus ) that lived ca. 10,500 cal a BP. The dialkyl glycerol ether lipid archaeol (2,3‐di‐ O ‐phytanyl‐ sn ‐glycerol) was detected and is interpreted to have been derived from methanogenic Archaea in the rumen. This is the oldest reported occurrence of archaeol attributed to digestive tract Archaea. Remains of shrubs ( Alnus , Betula , Salix ) and Poaceae indicate that the animal probably lived in a landscape of predominantly dry soils, intermixed with wetlands containing herbaceous plant species, as indicated by remains of Comarum palustre , Caltha palustris , Eriophorum , Sparganium , Menyanthes trifoliata and Utricularia . All recorded taxa still occur in the present‐day Yakutian tundra vegetation. We discuss the representativeness in space and time of the methods used. Both the botanical microfossil and the macrofossil records may be biased because of differences in pollen production and dispersal between species, the food choice of the bison, and the season of death of the animal. Similarities and differences are discussed to highlight pitfalls of the individual analytical techniques. We highlight the power of data integration.

Diversity dynamics of the Late Cenozoic rodent community from south‐western Kansas: the influence of historical processes on community structure - ROBERT A. MARTIN; PABLO PELÁEZ‐CAMPOMANES (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
This study used the dense late Cenozoic rodent record of south‐western Kansas to test for an equilibrium in species richness through millions of years, identify and clarify historical influences on species richness, determine the relative contribution of immigration, speciation and local extinction to species originations at the community level, and calculate background extinction rates to compare with modern species losses due to anthropogenic activities. The Meade Basin rodent community has been in equilibrium, with an average of about 17 species, for almost 5 million years. No speciation events were identified in the Meade Basin rodent record; although speciation ultimately contributes to the regional species pool, local speciation events contributed little to community structure. Extinctions and immigrations continued through the study period, with elevated bouts of turnover correlated with global cooling events and lowered sea level associated with the Beringian land bridge. Turnover was generated primarily by stochastic climatic agents at several temporal scales, possibly including rapid and devastating regional volcanic ashfalls. None of the extinction rates recorded in the Meade Basin system rivals extinction levels in modern species due to anthropogenic activities.

Evaluating diatom‐derived Holocene pH reconstructions for Arctic lakes using an expanded 171‐lake training set - SARAH A. FINKELSTEIN; JOAN BUNBURY; KONRAD GAJEWSKI; ALEXANDER P. WOLFE; JENNIFER K. ADAMS; JANE E. DEVLIN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Inference models from diatoms preserved in lake sediments can be used to reconstruct long‐term pH changes to better understand the process of lake ontogeny. An expanded diatom training set was developed using taxonomically harmonized modern assemblages in surface sediments of 171 lakes spanning a variety of geological and climatic settings across the Canadian Arctic. Lake‐water pH emerged as a significant variable and the most influential in structuring diatom assemblages. The resulting two‐component weighted‐averaging partial least squares pH inference model performs strongly, even after identifying effects of spatial autocorrelation at distances

Sea‐ice, glaciers and climate dynamics of Baffin Bay and the NW Passage - NICOLAS VAN NIEUWENHOVE; JASON P. BRINER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)

Paleoenvironments during Younger Dryas‐ E arly Holocene retreat of the Greenland Ice Sheet from outer Disko Trough, central west Greenland - ANNE E. JENNINGS; MARIAH E. WALTON; COLM Ó COFAIGH; AOIBHEANN KILFEATHER; JOHN T. ANDREWS; JOSEPH D. ORTIZ; ANNE DE VERNAL; JULIAN A. DOWDESWELL (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Paleoenvironments during the late Younger Dryas through early Holocene retreat of the Greenland Ice Sheet from the outer shelf in the Disko Trough system of central West Greenland were investigated via lithofacies, foraminifera, dinocysts and sediment provenance analyses in radiocarbon‐dated sediment cores from the upper slope (JR175‐VC35) and outer shelf (JR175‐VC20 and HU2008029‐070CC). Core data show that the ice margin retreated rapidly from the outer shelf by calving, beginning by 12.2k cal a BP under cold paleoceanographic conditions with up to 11 months of sea‐ice. Ice retreat into Disko Bugt was well underway by 10.9k cal a BP. Enhanced ice‐sheet ablation in Disko Bugt and elsewhere along the West Greenland coast is inferred from cold glacial marine conditions associated with high sedimentation rates between 10.9 and 9.5k cal a BP on the outer shelf. Glacial marine conditions are recorded on the outer shelf until 7.8k cal a BP. Detrital carbonate‐bearing sediments rich in >2‐mm clasts deposited between 11.6 and 10.6 k cal a BP indicate that icebergs calved from northern Baffin Bay ice margins were melting and releasing sediments along West Greenland while the Greenland Ice Sheet margin was retreating into Disko Bugt.

Variations in the provenance of sediment from ice sheets surrounding Baffin Bay during MIS 2 and 3 and export to the Labrador Shelf Sea: site HU 2008029‐0008 Davis Strait - JOHN T. ANDREWS; OLIVIA T. GIBB; ANNE E. JENNINGS; QUENTIN SIMON (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Based on quantitative X‐ray diffraction mineralogical analysis of cores HU2008029‐0006/0008 (857‐m water depth) located south of the Davis Strait sill, we seek answers to two questions: (i) the temporal correlation of NW Labrador Shelf Sea Heinrich (H‐) and Baffin Bay detrital carbonate (BBDC) events, and (ii) the provenance of the sediments? A sediment‐unmixing model (SedUnMix) is used to determine provenance variations. Although 12 radiocarbon dates were obtained there were many age reversals and we favour a depth/age model for HU2008029‐0008PC based on correlations to well‐dated neighbouring cores north and south of Davis Strait. We find no correlation between H‐ and BBDC events except for H‐0, which appears to be a broadly synchronous event along the NE Canadian margin and is correlative with an episode of major moraine building along this flank of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Unmixing of the sediment composition based on six potential glacial source regions indicates that the bulk of the sediment in 0008PC is derived from glacial erosion of West Greenland, but is punctuated by intervals when dolomite‐rich sediments, derived from outcrops north of Baffin Bay, dominate the composition. Estimated dates on these BBDC events are ∼13, 25 and 30–38 cal ka BP.

Holocene warming marked by abrupt onset of longer summers and reduced storm frequency around Greenland - P. A. MAYEWSKI; S. B. SNEED; S. D. BIRKEL; A. V. KURBATOV; K. A. MAASCH (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
The abrupt climate shifts identified in Greenland ice cores transformed understanding of the climate system. Although primarily studied in the paleoclimate record, abrupt climate change induced by greenhouse gas rise poses a serious threat to modern humans and ecosystems. We present the first ultra‐high‐resolution view (hundreds of samples per year) of the abrupt onset (within 1 year) of the current interglacial (warm) climate retrieved from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project Two (GISP2) ice core archive. This abrupt onset is manifested by a marked reduction in storm event frequency and increase in the length of the summer season around Greenland. We apply this metric to the current rapid climatic amelioration in the Arctic as a precursor for future abrupt climate change events.

A high‐resolution monsoon record of millennial‐scale oscillations during Late MIS 3 from Wulu Cave, south‐west China - FUCAI DUAN; DIANBING LIU; HAI CHENG; XIANFENG WANG; YONGJIN WANG; XINGGONG KONG; SHITAO CHEN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
A speleothem record from south‐western China characterizes in detail the millennial‐scale changes in Asian Monsoon (AM) intensity from 39.3 to 28.7 ka. The calcite δ 18 O profile, with an average resolution of ∼8 years, shows several strong monsoon events concurrent with Greenland Interstadials (GIS) 8–4. To gain a systematic perspective of AM millennial‐scale variability, the new and previously reported data from the same cave are combined, showing that AM variation exhibits a broad similarity with Greenland ice δ 18 O records and with Antarctica but in an opposite sense. For the interval that encompasses GIS 5 and GIS 4.1, however, our stalagmite δ 18 O record depicts a sustained strong monsoon with no distinctive oscillation between these interstadials. Another prominent characteristic in our record is a gradual transition into Chinese Interstadial (CIS) 8, which is well constrained by an annually laminated sequence. We find that an initial rise in monsoon intensity, lasting a few centuries, significantly precedes the abrupt onset of CIS 8 in the AM realm. This suggests that atmospheric moisture and heat transport are probably capable of inducing abrupt climate change when a rapid reorganization of ocean/atmosphere circulations passes a tipping point.

Coccolithophore carbonate during the last 450 ka in the NW Pacific Ocean (ODP site 1209B, Shatsky Rise) - MANUELA BORDIGA; MIRIAM COBIANCHI; CLAUDIA LUPI; NICOLA PELOSI; NICHOLAS L. VENTI; PATRIZIA ZIVERI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
This study focuses on Pleistocene–Holocene sediments from the Shatsky Rise (Ocean Drilling Program Site 1209B, NW Pacific Ocean). We quantify the contribution of calcite made by coccoliths in oceanic sediments, investigating the role of calcareous nannoplankton during the last 450 ka. Coccolith carbonate constitutes 60–90% of bulk carbonate. Coccolith carbonate accumulation rates (CARs) and CaCO 3 fine fraction confirm that coccolithophores are major contributors to the carbonate export and accumulation. Primary productivity shows highest values from marine isotope stage (MIS) 12 to 8. Thereafter, although coccolith calcite content remains high, other sediment components, such as as foraminifera and biogenic opal, seem to be favored, perhaps related to an increase in fertilization by eolian dust. Our results demonstrate the important role of coccolithophore production and sedimentation on the regulation of ocean carbonate chemistry on time scales >1000–100 000 years. On glacial–interglacial scales, coccolithophore productivity could have affected deep‐water saturation by buffering deep‐sea CO 2 through increased carbonate dissolution episodes. Spectral and wavelet analyses are consistent with CARs primarily driven by glacial–interglacial variability and obliquity‐controlled changes. Coccolith‐based paleoceanographic reconstructions allow us to establish that during the last 450 ka the mid‐latitudes of the NW Pacific are controlled by the dynamics of the El Niño Southern Oscillation perturbations and Boreal Monsoon system.

Vegetation, fire and climate history of the Lesser Caucasus: a new Holocene record from Zarishat fen ( A rmenia) - SÉBASTIEN JOANNIN; ADAM A. ALI; VINCENT OLLIVIER; PAUL ROIRON; ODILE PEYRON; SAMY CHEVAUX; SAMUEL NAHAPETYAN; PETROS TOZALAKYAN; ARKADI KARAKHANYAN; CHRISTINE CHATAIGNER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Vegetation, fire and climate history are investigated in the 10 000‐year record of Zarishat fen located today in the steppe grasslands of Armenia (Near East). Pollen‐based climate quantification provides a reconstruction of seasonal parameters. The development of in‐situ water‐dependant plants and of forests at lower altitude at 8200 cal a BP echoes the shift from an arid and cold [annual precipitation (P ann ) = 452 mm; mean temperature of the coldest month (MTCO) = −11.1 °C)] Early Holocene to a more humid and warmer (P ann = 721 mm; MTCO = −6.8 °C) Mid–Late Holocene. This marks the onset of lower seasonality, in particular more effective precipitation brought during late spring by the Westerlies. Paralleling the Mediterranean precipitation pattern, precipitation in the Near East and Central Asia decreased during the Mid–Late Holocene in favour of higher seasonality controlled in winter/spring by the Siberian High. Fire history and sedge‐based fen development record drier phases at approximately 6400, 5300–4900, 3000, 2200–1500 and 400 cal a BP, which resemble the precipitation pattern of the South‐Western Mediterranean and contrast with the Holocene pattern in the South‐Central and South‐Eastern Mediterranean regions. Arid phases in Armenia are believed to be related to multi‐centennial‐scale variation of Westerly activity (North Atlantic Oscillation‐like).

North‐eastern Laurentide, western Greenland and southern Innuitian ice stream dynamics during the last glacial cycle - QUENTIN SIMON; CLAUDE HILLAIRE‐MARCEL; GUILLAUME ST‐ONGE; JOHN T. ANDREWS (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
Precise relationships between high‐frequency ice sheet dynamics and late Quaternary climate variability are still poorly understood, notably with regard to their relative timing and causal mechanisms. Baffin Bay is of particular interest in this regard due to the influence of ice streaming activities from the north‐eastern Laurentide, southern Innuitian and western Greenland ice margins on its sedimentary regimes during glacial times. Here we document such ice margin dynamics using a sedimentological analysis performed on a piston core from central Baffin Bay and spanning the last 115 ka. Lithofacies analysis and mineralogical assemblages are used to reconstruct sediment sources (using the SedUnMix program) and depositional mechanisms. Coarse detrital carbonate (DC, dolomite‐rich) layers are attributed either to north‐eastern Laurentide and Innuitian ice stream surges or to pervasive ice rafted debris delivery processes at distinct periods. Out‐of‐phase fine‐grained glaciomarine sediments with a mineralogical signature from western Greenland, linked to Uummannaq ice streaming activity, are interbedded with the coarse DC layers. The new results suggest that during the last glacial cycle, the north‐eastern Laurentide and southern Innuitian ice streams were sensitive to high‐frequency climate fluctuations, such as the Dansgaard–Oeschger events, while the western Greenland margins were more sensitive to large‐scale climatic/oceanic reorganizations, such as relative sea‐level changes and/or advection of warmer Atlantic waters into the bay.

Testing the sensitivity of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet to Southern Ocean dynamics: past changes and future implications - CHRISTOPHER J. FOGWILL; CHRISTIAN S. M. TURNEY; KATRIN J. MEISSNER; NICHOLAS R. GOLLEDGE; PAUL SPENCE; JASON L. ROBERTS; MATHEW H. ENGLAND; RICHARD T. JONES; LIONEL CARTER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
The stability of Antarctic ice sheets and their potential contribution to sea level under projected future warming remains highly uncertain. The Last Interglacial (135 000–116 000 years ago) provides a potential analogue, with global temperatures 2 °C higher and rates of sea‐level rise >5.6 m ka −1 , leading to sea levels 6.6–9.4 m higher than present. The source(s) of this sea‐level rise remain fiercely debated. Here we report a series of independent model simulations exploring the effects of migrating Southern Hemisphere Westerlies (SHWs) on Southern Ocean circulation and Antarctic ice‐sheet dynamics. We suggest that southerly shifts in winds may have significantly impacted the sub‐polar gyres, inducing pervasive warming (0.2–0.8 °C in the upper 1200 m) adjacent to sectors of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS), which due to their geometries and connectivity to the Southern Ocean are highly sensitive to ocean forcing. We conclude that the EAIS potentially made a substantial, hitherto unsuspected, contribution to interglacial sea levels, and given 21st‐century projections in the Southern Annular Mode and associated SHW migration, we highlight how pervasive circum‐Antarctic warming may threaten EAIS stability.

Environmental changes in Baffin Bay during the Holocene based on the physical and magnetic properties of sediment cores - MARIE‐PIER ST‐ONGE; GUILLAUME ST‐ONGE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2014)
The physical and magnetic properties of four long sediment cores (HU2008‐029‐034PC, ‐038PC, ‐042PC and ‐070PC) sampled in Northern (Smith Sound and Jones Sound) and Eastern (Disko Bugt) Baffin Bay were analysed to reconstruct the Holocene environmental changes in Baffin Bay. Radiocarbon dating of each core revealed sedimentation rates of up to 136 cm ka −1 . Except for specific intervals, magnetic properties and ratios reveal that the magnetic remanence is mostly carried by magnetite and that changes in magnetic grain size and concentration are indicative of environmental variations associated with ice‐rafted debris, sea‐ice, meltwater pulses or terrigenous inputs. These variations indicate that all four cores, which cover a period from 12 360 cal a BP to the present, have sedimentary facies that correspond to the major climatic changes of the Holocene: deglaciation and the climatic optimum. In addition, two cores (HU2008‐029‐038PC and ‐070PC) present the signal of two climatic events with a local influence during the Neoglacial period.

Early and late Holocene glacial fluctuations and tephrostratigraphy, Cabin Lake, Alaska - PAUL D. ZANDER; DARRELL S. KAUFMAN; STEPHEN C. KUEHN; KRISTI L. WALLACE; R. SCOTT ANDERSON (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Marked changes in sediment types deposited in Cabin Lake, near Cordova, Alaska, represent environmental shifts during the early and late Holocene, including fluctuations in the terminal position of Sheridan Glacier. Cabin Lake is situated to receive meltwater during periods when the outwash plain of the advancing Sheridan Glacier had aggraded. A brief early Holocene advance from 11.2 to 11.0 cal ka is represented by glacial rock flour near the base of the sediment core. Non‐glacial lake conditions were restored for about 1000 years before the water level in Cabin Lake lowered and the core site became a fen. The fen indicates drier‐than‐present conditions leading up to the Holocene thermal maximum. An unconformity spanning 5400 years during the mid‐Holocene is overlain by peat until 1110 CE when meltwater from Sheridan Glacier returned to the basin. Three intervals of an advanced Sheridan Glacier are recorded in the Cabin Lake sediments during the late Holocene: 1110–1180, 1260–1540 and 1610–1780 CE. The sedimentary sequence also contains the first five reported tephra deposits from the Copper River delta region, and their geochemical signatures suggest that the sources are the Cook Inlet volcanoes Redoubt, Augustine and Crater Peak, and possibly Mt Churchill in the Wrangell Volcanic field.

A refined understanding of the paleoenvironmental history recorded at the Okanagan Centre section, an MIS 4 stratotype, south‐central British Columbia, Canada - JEROME‐ETIENNE LESEMANN; TRACY A. BRENNAND; OLAV B. LIAN; PAUL SANBORN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The Okanagan Centre section is the stratotype for marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 4 sediments (Okanagan Centre Drift) in the southern interior of British Columbia, Canada. Previous work suggested that these sediments record two glacial and two interglacial cycles. This study reports on detailed sedimentological and geochronological investigations of lithostratigraphic units comprising the Okanagan Centre sequence, revealing successive deposition of subaqueous and subaerial outwash, a subglacial till and glaciolacustrine sediments during MIS 4. A limiting optical age of 113 ± 8 ka defines the base of this sequence. Sedimentological, paleopedological, optical dating and tephrochronological data from sediments near the middle of the sequence reveal soil development (MIS 3) in eolian sediments deposited on a river terrace overlying a deglaciated surface. Within these sediments, identification of Mt. St. Helens set C tephra suggest sedimentation between 50 and 35k 14 C a BP. Optical dating corroborates the tephrochronology and suggests that this surface formed after ∼52 ± 7 ka. The record of MIS 2 glaciation is restricted to deglaciation, and overlies MIS 3 sediments above an unconformity possibly related to regional subglacial meltwater erosion. Eolian sediments containing Mt Mazama set O tephra (∼7.62k cal a BP) cap the sequence.

Combined oxygen and silicon isotope analysis of diatom silica from a deglacial subarctic Pacific record - E. MAIER; B. CHAPLIGIN; A. ABELMANN; R. GERSONDE; O. ESPER; J. REN; H. FRIEDRICHSEN; H. MEYER; R. TIEDEMANN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)

Younger Dryas – early Holocene transition in the south‐eastern Iberian Peninsula: insights from land snail shell middens - YURENA YANES; MAGDALENA GÓMEZ‐PUCHE; MARCO A. ESQUEMBRE‐BEBIA; JAVIER FERNÁNDEZ‐LÓPEZ‐DE‐PABLO (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The land snail Sphincterochila candidissima from archeological records in Villena (SE Spain) was studied isotopically to estimate the Younger Dryas (YD)–early Holocene transition in the western Mediterranean. Live‐collected individuals exhibited body (−21.8 ± 1.6‰) and shell (−5.8 ± 1.4‰) δ 13 C values typical of a C 3 plant diet, probably combined with carbonate ingestion. Calculations of a carbon flux balance‐mixing model suggest that living specimens experienced similar metabolic rates, with comparable ratio of input and output fluxes of bicarbonate from the snail hemolymph. All fossil shells showed comparable δ 13 C values among each other, but values were ∼2‰ higher than living specimens. This may be explained by higher water stress at the YD–Holocene transition or by the Suess effect. Shell δ 18 O values averaged +1.3 ± 0.8‰ for living individuals, −0.5 ± 0.8‰ for Holocene (8.4–10.2 cal ka BP) specimens and +0.4 ± 0.6‰ for YD (12.0–12.4 cal ka BP) snails. An oxygen flux balance‐mixing model suggests that YD shells precipitated during relative humidity (RH) values of ∼79–82%, after which RH increased gradually reaching maximum values of ∼87–88% at ∼8.4–8.6 cal ka BP and, from there, RH eventually declined to present values of ∼82%. Comparisons with other snail data suggest that the xerophilous Sphincterochila records different environmental signatures fro other contemporaneous taxa.

Poor fen succession over ombrotrophic peat related to late Holocene increased surface wetness in subarctic Quebec, Canada - SIMON VAN BELLEN; MICHELLE GARNEAU; ADAM A. ALI; ALEXANDRE LAMARRE; ÉLISABETH C. ROBERT; GABRIEL MAGNAN; HANS ASNONG; STEVE PRATTE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Northern peatlands act as archives of environmental change through their sensitivity to water balance fluctuations, while being significant contributors to global greenhouse gas dynamics. Subarctic fens in north‐eastern Canada are characterized by a dominance of pools and flarks. We aimed to reconstruct the late Holocene hydrological conditions of these fens to establish the timing of the initiation of pool and flark formation and possible links with climate. Testate amoebae and plant macrofossils from five cores, sampled in three fens, were analysed to infer water tables with chronologies based on 14 C and 210 Pb dating. All sites showed the presence of relatively dry, ombrotrophic conditions with abundant Picea from 5000 cal a BP, followed by a first shift to wet, poor fen conditions with pool and flark development around 3000 cal a BP and a subsequent wet shift after ∼800 cal a BP. These trends coincide with previously observed Neoglacial and Little Ice Age cooler and wetter conditions and therefore climate may well have been a dominant factor in the initiation and development of pools and flarks over the late Holocene. The effect of anticipated climate change on subarctic peatlands remains unclear, although wetter conditions might enhance pool expansion to the detriment of terrestrial components.

Lateglacial rock slope failures in north‐west Ireland: age, causes and implications - COLIN K. BALLANTYNE; PETER WILSON; CHRISTOPH SCHNABEL; SHENG XU (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Nine postglacial quartzite rock slope failures (RSFs) in north‐west Ireland were dated using cosmogenic 10 Be. Weighted mean RSF ages range from 17.7 ± 0.9 to 12.5 ± 0.7 ka or 16.6 ± 0.7 to 11.7 ± 0.5 ka, depending on assumed 10 Be production rate. All dated RSFs occurred within ∼5000 years following ice‐sheet deglaciation at ∼17.4ka (∼16.3 ka) and all but two occurred within 2000 years after deglaciation. The timing of RSFs rules out glacial ‘debuttressing’, permafrost degradation and enhanced deglacial cleft‐water pressures as triggers of failure in most cases. We infer that paraglacial stress release and associated fracture propagation were critical in reducing rock masses to critical stability, although earthquakes caused by Lateglacial glacio‐isostatic rebound and/or release of stored tectonic stresses may have triggered failure in some or all cases. In conjunction with data from related studies, our results imply that most undated RSFs outside the limit of Younger Dryas glaciation in the British Isles are of Lateglacial age, and that numerous Lateglacial RSFs occurred inside these limits, with subsequent removal of debris by glaciers. They support the view that paraglacial RSF activity in tectonically stable intraplate terrains was concentrated within a few millennia following deglaciation.

A virtual issue of influential papers published in Journal of Quaternary Science - Antony J. Long (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)

Tephrochronology of the Toba tuffs: four primary glass populations define the 75‐ka Youngest Toba Tuff, northern Sumatra, Indonesia - J. A. WESTGATE; N. J. G. PEARCE; W. T. PERKINS; S. J. PREECE; C. A. CHESNER; R. F. MUHAMMAD (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Four primary glass populations, well defined by their Sr, Ba and Y concentrations, occur in the Youngest Toba Tuff (YTT), which was deposited during a supereruption of the Toba caldera complex in northern Sumatra 75 ka. Average concentrations of major and trace elements indicate a coherent, systematic variation of glass composition across populations. No clear pattern in the areal distribution of these four glass groups can be discerned. The multiple glass populations of the YTT easily distinguish it from the single homogeneous glass population of the Middle Toba Tuff (∼500 ka), as represented by its basal vitrophyre, and that of the Oldest Toba Tuff (∼800 ka), as represented by ash Layer D at the Ocean Drilling Program site 758 in the Indian Ocean.

A Late Younger Dryas–Early Holocene tephrostratigraphy for Fosen, Central Norway - EWA M. LIND; STEFAN WASTEGÅRD; JEPPE J. LARSEN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
A number of rapid climate oscillations occur during the Lateglacial–Early Holocene, 15–8 ka BP period and a well‐developed tephrostratigraphy in association with these oscillations increases the possibilities to correlate climate archives around the North Atlantic. This paper presents a tephrostratigraphy for Fosen peninsula, Central Norway. Both the Vedde Ash ca.12.1 ka BP and the Saksunarvatn Ash ∼10.3 ka BP are important isochrones for correlations of Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental records in the North Atlantic region and have been assigned ages in GICC05. Beside these tephras we have also identified a new tephra, the Fosen Tephra, with a Borrobol‐type geochemistry that occurs above both the Vedde Ash and the Saksunarvatn Ash with an age ∼10.2 ka BP. Several tephras with Borrobol‐type geochemistry have been identified around the North Atlantic. One group is the Borrobol/Penifiler tephras dated to Greenland Interstadial‐1 and another group is dated to the Early Holocene. We suggest that some of the Early Holocene Borrobol‐type tephras and the Fosen Tephra may actually be the same layer. If so, the Fosen Tephra is spread over a large area of the North Atlantic and has the potential to become an important marker for short‐term climate variability in Scandinavia and in the northern hemisphere.

Late Neanderthal occupation in North‐ W est Europe: rediscovery, investigation and dating of a last glacial sediment sequence at the site of La Cotte de Saint Brelade, Jersey - MARTIN BATES; MATTHEW POPE; ANDREW SHAW; BECCY SCOTT; JEAN‐LUC SCHWENNINGER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
In 2011, a programme of field research was undertaken to effect the stabilization of an unstable section in the West Ravine at the key Neanderthal occupation site of La Cotte de St Brelade on the Channel Island of Jersey. As part of this essential remedial work the threatened section was analysed to characterize its archaeological and palaeoenvironmental potential as well provide optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates. The work determined, through two concordant OSL dating programmes, that the section formed part of an extensive sequence of sedimentation spanning >105 to

A pollen record of the Mid‐ P leistocene Transition from Beijing, North China - HANCHAO JIANG; GAOXUAN GUO; XIANGMIN CAI; HONGYAN XU; XIAOLIN MA; NING ZHONG; YANHAO LI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
To reconstruct the history of climate and environment in East Asia during the Early Pleistocene, a palynofloral investigation was conducted on fluviolacustrine sediments in Beijing, North China. The results indicate that herb and shrub taxa were dominant in most of the samples, reflecting an open forest grassland covering the Beijing region during much of the Early Pleistocene. This vegetation generally declined during 1.68–1.25 Ma and recovered in part during 1.25–0.96 Ma. From 0.96 Ma, conifers gradually replaced broad‐leaved trees, shrubs and herbs. After 0.65 Ma, the pollen abundance of conifers, shrubs and herbs all increased significantly. These vegetation changes took place in the context of long‐term global cooling during the Late Cenozoic. A significant increase in Antarctic ice volume at 1.25–1.20 Ma and the resultant increased meridional temperature gradient in the Southern Ocean led to prominent anomalous warming in the tropics and increased heat/moisture flow across the Equator, probably resulting in vegetation recovery in the study area to some extent during 1.25–0.96 Ma. From 0.96 Ma, the stepwise decline of vegetation cover in the study area, especially after 0.65 Ma, was driven by further development of global cooling and increase in polar ice volume.

Eemian and Early Weichselian environments in southern Sweden: a multi‐proxy study of till‐covered organic deposits from the Småland peneplain - GEOFFREY LEMDAHL; ANNA BROSTRÖM; LARS HEDENÄS; KRISTINA ARVIDSSON; SOFIA HOLMGREN; MARIE‐JOSÉ GAILLARD; PER MÖLLER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Based on their luminescence and infinite radiocarbon ages, organic deposits beneath till at two sites on the Småland peneplain, southern Sweden (Nybygget and Stora Gäddevik), are concluded to have formed before the Middle Weichselian. Applied palaeoecological methods include analyses of pollen, diatoms, charcoal fragments, macroscopic remains of vascular plants and mosses, and insect remains. Pollen‐stratigraphical correlations with previously studied interglacial/interstadial sites in southern Sweden, Denmark and northern Germany suggest that the peat at Nybygget dates from the Brørup interstadial or the final stage of the Eemian interglacial, whereas the lake sediments at Stora Gäddevik probably were emplaced during the middle Eemian. We conclude that the peat was formed in a wetland characterized by both wood swamp and open mire vegetation, and surrounded by semi‐open woodlands dominated by pine, birch and hazel. The middle Eemian sequence at the Stora Gäddevik site provides evidence of a moderately nutrient‐rich to nutrient‐rich lake environment with relatively diverse aquatic vegetation. Regional vegetation, as reconstructed using the REVEALS model, was spruce woodland mixed with pine, alder and birch, but also included more open environments with hazel, oak, grasslands and sedge‐dominated wetlands. Water shield ( Brasenia schreberi ), now extinct in Europe, was identified in the Eemian lake deposits, from both pollen and macroscopic remains.

The relationship between the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and temperature variability in China during the last millennium - JIANGLIN WANG; BAO YANG; FREDRIK CHARPENTIER LJUNGQVIST; YAN ZHAO (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Using a large number of temperature‐sensitive proxy records, we investigated the relationship between the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and temperature variability in China during the last millennium. The results indicate a relatively homogeneous pattern of cold/warm anomalies in East, West and the whole of China (EC, WC and WOC). The six major AMO cold phases coincided with cold conditions over EC, WC and WOC, while warm conditions across China occurred during the two major AMO warm phases. This close similarity between the AMO and multi‐decadal temperature variability in China is supported by climate model simulations and emphasizes the critical role of surface heating over the Asian continent in linking the AMO and the Indian summer monsoon. The mid‐latitude westerly anomalies and the propagation of Rossby waves related to the AMO may be two channels linking sea surface temperature anomalies in the North Atlantic and temperature variability over East Asia. Additionally, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation may play an important role in transmitting the AMO signal over the globe. We recommend further climate model studies on the mechanisms responsible for the connection between the AMO and regional to global climate changes.

Late Pleistocene and early Holocene change in the Weddell Sea: a new climate record from the Patriot Hills, Ellsworth Mountains, West Antarctica - CHRIS TURNEY; CHRIS FOGWILL; TAS D. VAN OMMEN; ANDREW D. MOY; DAVID ETHERIDGE; MAURO RUBINO; MARK A. J. CURRAN; ANDRÉS RIVERA (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The transition from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene (30 000–5000 years ago) was a period of considerable climate variability, which has been associated with changes in deep water formation and the intensity of the Meridional Overturning Circulation. Although numerous records exist across the North Atlantic region, few Antarctic ice core records have been obtained from the south. Here we exploit the potential of upwelling ancient ice – so‐called blue ice areas (BIAs) – from the Patriot Hills in the Ellsworth Mountains to derive the first deuterium isotope record (δD) from continental Antarctica south of the Weddell Sea. Gas analysis and glaciological considerations provide a first relative chronology. Inferred temperature trends from the Patriot Hills BIA and snow pit suggest changing climate influences during the transition between the last glacial period and Holocene. Under modern conditions, the interplay between the Antarctic high‐pressure system and the Southern Annular Mode appears to play a significant role in controlling katabatic wind flow over the site while the BIA record suggests that greater sea ice extent during the last glacial period was a major control. Our results demonstrate the considerable potential of the Patriot Hills site for reconstructing past climate change in the south Atlantic region.

Deeply rooted glaciotectonism in western Denmark: geological composition, structural characteristics and the origin of Varde hill‐island - A.‐S. HØYER; F. JØRGENSEN; J. A. PIOTROWSKI; P. R. JAKOBSEN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
We investigate a hill‐island in western Denmark, a major cupola‐hill‐type thrust complex generated by ice‐marginal glaciotectonism. The study uses a unique dataset of densely spaced airborne electromagnetic data, high‐resolution seismic data and borehole information to document the complexity of deeply rooted thrust sheets comprising Miocene to middle Pleistocene deposits. The deformation spans at least 150 m of sediment thickness, placing this complex among the largest glaciotectonic features on record. The main stages of formation of the hill‐island were (1) erosion of Miocene deposits by subglacial tunnel valleys and infill of these valleys in the pre‐Elsterian and Elsterian time, (2) two phases of glaciotectonic thrusting during the Saalian glaciation, (3) erosion by the Saalian ice sheet removing a significant part of the thrust complex and (4) periglacial and postglacial erosion of the hill‐island excavating the glaciotectonic elements. Palaeoglaciological calculations suggest that the Saalian ice sheet that caused the thrusting was thick, had a steep profile, rested on a permafrost wedge and moved slowly, which contrasts with the highly mobile, thin ice lobes of the Last Glaciation.

Revisiting the Faroe Marine Ash Zone III in two Greenland ice cores: implications for marine‐ice correlations - A. J. BOURNE; S. M. DAVIES; P. M. ABBOTT; S. O. RASMUSSEN; J. P. STEFFENSEN; A. SVENSSON (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Nineteen new Icelandic tephra layers are identified in NGRIP and NEEM ice spanning Greenland Interstadial‐9 (GI‐9) and the early phase of GI‐8 (∼38 000–40 500 b2k). Fourteen tephras are identified in the NGRIP record and five direct correlatives are identified in NEEM, thus indicating the occurrence of 14 separate volcanic events. With two exceptions, the tephras are tholeiitic basalt in composition and despite having very similar geochemical signatures can, in most cases, be discriminated from one another using their TiO 2 values. All of these tephra layers fall within the compositional range of the Faroe Marine Ash Zone III (FMAZ III) deposit previously identified in ocean cores from the Faroes region and previously correlated to NGRIP 2066.95 m by Davies et al . ( ). Thus, the FMAZ III in the marine realm is most likely a complex ash zone that represents a series of closely timed Grimsvötn eruptions that, as yet, can only be stratigraphically separated in the high‐resolution ice‐core records. The geochemical signatures and stratigraphic positions of the new ice‐core layers means that the FMAZ III tephra deposit, as currently defined in the marine realm, cannot be correlated to NGRIP 2066.95 m or any other ice‐core tephra horizons preserved during this interval.

Apparent OSL ages of modern deposits from Fåbergstølsdalen, Norway: implications for sampling glacial sediments - G. E. KING; R. A. J. ROBINSON; A. A. FINCH (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The application of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating within glacial settings can be limited where sediments have not had their OSL signal fully reset by sunlight exposure. Heterogeneous bleaching can result in age overestimations, and although it is recognized that certain depositional settings are more likely to have experienced sufficient sunlight exposure to bleach the OSL signal, no comprehensive study has empirically investigated the processes of sediment bleaching, or the variability in bleaching between deposits of the same type and within the same glacial catchment. A suite of modern glacial and glaciofluvial sediments from Fåbergstølsdalen, southern Norway, have been analysed to explore the controls that sedimentary processes and depositional setting have on bleaching of the OSL signal of quartz. There is considerable variability in the residual OSL ages of similar modern deposits, which reflects high sensitivity of the OSL signal to sediment source, sedimentary process, transport distance and depositional setting. Overdispersion values are greatest for the sediments which have been most heterogeneously bleached and these sediments have the lowest residual ages. Sampling strategies that incorporate sufficient consideration of the depositional framework of sample settings can minimize the effects of unbleached residuals on OSL age determinations.

Early to mid‐ H olocene rapid sea‐level rise and coastal response on the southern Yangtze delta plain, China - ZHANGHUA WANG; QING ZHAN; HAIYAN LONG; YOSHIKI SAITO; XIAOQIN GAO; XUXU WU; LIN LI; YANAN ZHAO (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
We used accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14 C‐dated sediments of the Holocene basal supratidal flat to upper tidal flat facies in 11 cores on the southern Yangtze delta plain to reconstruct relative sea levels of 8.5–8.0 cal ka BP. Three cores were further AMS 14 C dated and used to examine the evolution of sedimentary geomorphological environments in response to the rapid sea‐level rise during the early to mid‐Holocene. Results demonstrate relative sea‐level rise of around 30 mm a −1 from 8.5 to 8.3 cal ka BP and around 10 mm a −1 from 8.3 to 8.0 cal ka BP. Retrogradation from supratidal to lower tidal flat environments occurred in response to the rapid sea‐level rise at 8.5–8.3 cal ka BP, and aggradation from middle to upper tidal flat occurred at 8.3–7.9 cal ka BP. Further retreat of the tidal flat at 7.9–7.2 cal ka BP implies a mean sea‐level rise rate exceeding 5 mm a −1 at this time. We suggest that the rapid relative sea‐level rise during 8.3–8.5 cal ka BP and subsequent slower rise caused drastic changes in the coastal zone and that these changes are key phenomena for understanding the coastal response to future sea‐level rise.

A 1300‐year multi‐proxy, high‐resolution record from a rich fen in northern Poland: reconstructing hydrology, land use and climate change - M. LAMENTOWICZ; M. GAŁKA; K. MILECKA; K. TOBOLSKI; Ł. LAMENTOWICZ; B. FIAŁKIEWICZ‐KOZIEŁ; M. BLAAUW (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Here we present the first high‐resolution multi‐proxy analysis of a rich fen in the central‐eastern European lowlands. The fen is located in the young glacial landscape of the Stążki river valley. We investigated the fen's development pathways, asking three main questions: (i) what was the pattern and timing of the peatland's vegetation succession, (ii) how did land use and climate affect the succession in the fen ecosystem, and (iii) to what degree does the reconstructed hydrology for this site correlate with those of other sites in the region in terms of past climate change? Several stages of fen history were determined, beginning with the lake‐to‐fen transition ca. AD 700. Brown mosses dominated the sampling site from this period to the present. No human impact was found to have occurred until ca. AD 1700, when the first forest cutting began. Around AD 1890 a more significant disturbance took place – this date marks the clear cutting of forests and dramatic landscape openness. Deforestation changed the hydrology and chemistry of the mire, which was revealed by a shift in local plant and testate amoebae communities. We also compared a potential climatic signal recorded in the peat profile before AD 1700 with other sites from the region. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Combined oxygen and silicon isotope analysis of diatom silica from a deglacial subarctic Pacific record - E. MAIER; B. CHAPLIGIN; A. ABELMANN; R. GERSONDE; O. ESPER; J. REN; H. FRIEDRICHSEN; H. MEYER; R. TIEDEMANN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
We present an SiF 4 separation line, coupled to a laser fluorination system, which allows for an efficient combined silica δ 18 O and δ 30 Si analysis (50 min per sample). The required sample weight of 1.5–2.0 mg allows for high‐resolution isotope studies on biogenic opal. Besides analytical tests, the new instrumentation set‐up was used to analyse two marine diatom fractions (>63 µm, 10–20 µm) with different diatom species compositions extracted from a Bølling/Allerød–Holocene core section [MD01‐2416, North‐West (NW) Pacific] to evaluate the palaeoceanographic significance of the diatom isotopic signals and to address isotopic effects related to contamination and species‐related isotope effects (vital and environmental effects). While δ 30 Si offsets between the two fractions were not discernible, supporting the absence of species‐related silicon isotope effects, systematic offsets occur between the δ 18 O records. Although small, these offsets point to species‐related isotope effects, as bias by contamination can be discarded. The new records strengthen the palaeoceanographic history during the last deglaciation in the NW Pacific characterized by a sequence of events with varying surface water structure and biological productivity. With such palaeoceanographic evolution it becomes unlikely that the observed systematic δ 18 O offsets signal seasonal temperature variability. This calls for reconsideration of vital effects, generally excluded to affect δ 18 O measurements. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Holocene river and slope activity in the Visoko Basin, Bosnia‐ H erzegovina – climate and land‐use effects - S. DREIBRODT; C. LUBOS; R. HOFMANN; N. MÜLLER‐SCHEEßEL; I. RICHLING; O. NELLE; M. FUCHS; K. RASSMANN; Z. KUJUNDŽIĆ‐VEJZAGIĆ; H.‐R. BORK; J. MÜLLER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Alluvial and colluvial deposits were investigated at prehistoric tells close to the Bosna River. The chronology is based on ten radiocarbon ages, five optically stimulated luminescence ages, and on the archaeological record. Fluvial activity of the Bosna River is indicated by overbank fines [ca. 5000 (±1000) BC , 500 BC until today] and a phase of lateral displacement of the river bed with subsequent channel fills ca. 2000–500 BC . Early Holocene fluvial activity was probably triggered by climatic variability but might have promoted the expansion of Neolithic societies into the Visoko Basin. Mid‐ to late Holocene river activity occurred under increased climatic aridity but coincided with the expansion of prehistoric settlements to a wider area of the river basin on hard rocks in the adjacent mountainous areas. The destruction of the thin soil cover in the mountains is discussed as a probable trigger for enduring subsequent river activity. This is also indicated by a change in the geochemical signature of the alluvial sediments. The proposed mechanism might explain the mid to late Holocene river history in other regions. The potential of geochemical analyses and diachronous high‐resolution archaeological records to make inferences regarding sediment sources and geomorphological processes is demonstrated. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A new radiocarbon chronology of Baumkirchen, stratotype for the onset of the Upper Würmian in the Alps - CHRISTOPH SPÖTL; PAULA J. REIMER; REINHARD STARNBERGER; RON W. REIMER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The start of the Upper Würmian in the Alps was marked by massive fluvioglacial aggradation prior to the arrival of the Central Alpine glaciers. In 1984, the Subcommission on European Quaternary Stratigraphy defined the clay pit of Baumkirchen (in the foreland of the Inn Valley, Austria) as the stratotype for the Middle to Upper Würmian boundary in the Alps. Key for the selection of this site was its radiocarbon chronology, which still ranks among the most important datasets of this time interval in the Alps. In this study we re‐sampled all available original plant specimens and established an accelerator mass spectrometry chronology which supersedes the published 40‐year‐old chronology. The new data show a much smaller scatter and yielded slightly older conventional radiocarbon dates clustering at ca. 31 14 C ka BP. When calibrated using INTCAL13 the new data suggest that the sampled interval of 653–681 m in the clay pit was deposited 34–36 cal ka BP. Using two new radiocarbon dates of bone fragments found in the fluvioglacial gravel above the banded clays allows us to constrain the timing of the marked change from lacustrine to fluvioglacial sedimentation to ca. 32–33 cal ka BP, which suggests a possible link to the Heinrich 3 event in the North Atlantic. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

How robust are Holocene treeline simulations? A model–data comparison in the European Arctic treeline region - KEYAN FANG; JESSE L. MORRIS; J. SAKARI SALONEN; PAUL A. MILLER; HANS RENSSEN; MARTIN T. SYKES; HEIKKI SEPPÄ (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Treeline encroachments and retractions can provide global‐scale feedbacks to the climate system, and treeline dynamics are therefore of great relevance for understanding global climate variability. To assess the accuracy of long‐term treeline simulations based on the generalized dynamic vegetation model LPJ‐GUESS, we simulate European Arctic treeline dynamics over the past 9000 years and compare the results with fossil‐based reconstructions. The results show that while LPJ‐GUESS is limited in its ability to capture species‐level current treeline patterns and past dynamics, it is generally able to realistically simulate the Holocene coniferous treeline changes with a cutoff biomass carbon of 2 C kg m −2 . The model captures the northward expansion of the boreal forest during the mid Holocene and correctly simulates a treeline retreat in response to climate cooling during the last 3000 years. However, there are data–simulation disagreements particularly during the early Holocene, which mainly result from the differences between the two palaeoclimate model scenarios used to drive the simulations. We suggest that the spatial accuracy of the model could be improved by incorporating the influence of topographic features, the extent of the Arctic peatlands, the tree species life‐history characteristics, microclimate and other ecological factors. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Issues in the absolute chronology of the Early– M iddle Bronze Age transition in Sicily and southern Italy: a Bayesian radiocarbon view - GIANMARCO ALBERTI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
This article focuses on the Early–Middle Bronze Age (MBA) transition in Sicily and southern Italy from a Bayesian radiocarbon perspective. The aims are to: (i) estimate the beginning of the MBA (i.e. Thapsos–Milazzese culture in Sicily; Apennine culture in southern Italy) at four key‐sites; (ii) assess the existence of a site‐wide variability; and (iii) understand if an offset is likely to have existed between the beginning of the MBA and the Aegean Late Helladic (LH) IIIA phase, which currently marks the start of the MBA. The study indicates that the MBA probably started earlier at Portella (95.4% range 1541–1430, mode 1465 BC) and Roca Vecchia (1706–1394, mode 1460 BC) than at Coppa Nevigata (1527–1292, mode 1410 BC; or 1490–1265, mode 1380 BC) and Ustica (1609–1261, mode 1405 BC). Also, the beginning of the MBA at Portella and Roca Vecchia is probably earlier than that of the LH IIIA. This suggests that the current synchronization between MBA and LH IIIA, based on historical grounds, needs revision as radiocarbon evidence points to an earlier start of the MBA at two of the four sites. Overall, by means of scientific dating methods and Bayesian modelling, the study allows us to set in a different perspective the chronology proposed in the current literature based on historical synchronizations. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Contribution of relative sea‐level rise to historical hurricane flooding in New York City - ANDREW C. KEMP; BENJAMIN P. HORTON (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Flooding during hurricanes is a hazard for New York City. Flood height is determined by storm surge characteristics, timing (high or low tide) and relative sea‐level (RSL) change. The contribution from these factors is estimated for seven historical hurricanes (1788–2012) that caused flooding in New York City. Measurements from The Battery tide gauge and historical accounts are supplemented with a RSL reconstruction from Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. RSL was reconstructed from foraminifera preserved in salt‐marsh sediment that was dated using marker horizons of lead and copper pollution and 137 Cs activity. Between the 1788 hurricane and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, RSL rose by 56 cm, including 15 cm from glacio‐isostatic adjustment. Storm surge characteristics and timing with respect to astronomical tides remain the dominant factors in determining flood height. However, RSL rise will raise the base level for flood heights in New York City and exacerbate flooding caused by future hurricanes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Revised Chronology of the Sulmona Lacustrine Succession, Central Italy - BIAGIO GIACCIO; FRANCESCA CASTORINA; SEBASTIEN NOMADE; GIANCARLO SCARDIA; MARIO VOLTAGGIO; LEONARDO SAGNOTTI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
We present new stratigraphic, palaeomagnetic, 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar data from a lacustrine succession of the Sulmona basin, central Italy, which, according to an early study, included six unconformity‐bounded lacustrine units (from SUL6, oldest, to SUL1, youngest) spanning the interval >600 to 2 ka. The results of the present study, on the one hand confirm some of the previous conclusions, but by contrast reveal that units SUL2 and SUL1, previously attributed to the Holocene, are actually equivalent to the older SUL6 and SUL5 units – here dated to ∼814–>530 ka and ∼530–

New Lateglacial fauna and early Mesolithic human remains from northern England - IAN R. SMITH; DAVID M. WILKINSON; HANNAH J. O'REGAN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Fauna from the Lateglacial Interstadial are largely limited to isolated findspots. Here we report on material from the site of Kent's Bank Cavern, Cumbria, dated to the Allerød/Younger Dryas boundary. The identification of elk ( Alces alces ) and horse ( Equus sp.) and the inferred presence of a large canid indicates that fauna of economic utility to humans were in this area at the time. The presence of humans is attested to by records of Federmesser points from two nearby cave sites. We also report on early Mesolithic human remains from Kent's Bank Cavern. This assemblage represents one of very few Lateglacial faunas in northern Britain, and the most northerly early Mesolithic human remains in the British Isles, making Kent's Bank of importance to discussions of both resource distribution and mortuary rituals in these periods. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Architecture of the lower terraces and evolution of the Dordogne River at Bergerac (south‐west France) during the last glacial–interglacial cycle - PASCAL BERTRAN; MARINE FROUIN; NORBERT MERCIER; FABIEN NAESSENS; FRÉDÉRIC PRODEO; ALAIN QUEFFELEC; COLETTE SIRIEIX; LUCA SITZIA (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The lower terraces of the Dordogne River at Bergerac (south‐west France) were studied in detail using cores, trenches, ground penetrating radar profiles, and 14 C, optically stimulated luminescence and infrared stimulated luminescence dating. This study shows that the lowest terrace (Fx) is made up of two major lithostratigraphic units: (i) dominantly horizontal gravel strata interpreted as compound bar deposits in a braided river, which pre‐date 18–17 ka, and (ii) thick lateral accretion gravel units (point bars) formed in an anabranching river during the Late Pleniglacial and Lateglacial. Most of the anabranching channels were abandoned at ca. 11–10 ka following shrinkage of the river bed into a single meandering channel and were partially filled by gyttjas during the Boreal chronozone. Finally, the channels were plugged by overbank fines until about 5 ka. Floods seldom reached the Fx terrace during the late Holocene and accretion became negligible. The main phase of bedrock incision spanned the Holocene, whereas the period of channel adjustment to change in river regime during late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 only led to a redistribution of the Pleniglacial gravels. The higher terrace (Fw3) formed before the Eemian and was covered by colluvial fans, mainly during MIS 2 and 3. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Reconstructing Holocene sea level using salt‐marsh foraminifera and transfer functions: lessons from New Jersey, USA - ANDREW C. KEMP; RICHARD J. TELFORD; BENJAMIN P. HORTON; SHIMON C. ANISFELD; CHRISTOPHER K. SOMMERFIELD (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
We present an expanded training set of salt‐marsh foraminifera for reconstructing Holocene relative sea‐level change from 12 sites in New Jersey that represent varied physiographic environments. Seven groups of foraminifera are recognized, including four high‐ or transitional‐marsh assemblages and a low‐salinity assemblage. A weighted‐averaging transfer function trained on this dataset was applied to a dated core from Barnegat Bay to reconstruct sea level with uncertainties of ± 14% of tidal range. We evaluate the transfer function using seven tests. (1) Leave‐one‐site‐out cross validation suggests that training sets of salt‐marsh foraminifera are robust to spatial autocorrelation caused by sampling along transects. (2) Segment‐wise analysis shows that the transfer function performs best at densely sampled elevations and overall estimates of model performance are over optimistic. (3) Dissimilarity and (4) non‐metric multi‐dimensional scaling evaluated the analogy between modern and core samples. The closest modern analogues for core samples were drawn from six sites demonstrating the necessity of a multi‐site training set. (5) Goodness‐of‐fit statistics assessed the validity of reconstructions. (6) The transfer function failed a test of significance because of the unusual properties of some cores selected for sea‐level reconstruction. (7) Agreement between reconstructed sea level and tide‐gauge measurements demonstrates the transfer function's utility. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Precise 14 C ages of the Vedde and Saksunarvatn ashes and the Younger Dryas boundaries from western Norway and their comparison with the Greenland Ice Core ( GICC 05) chronology - ØYSTEIN S. LOHNE; JAN MANGERUD; HILARY H. BIRKS (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The Greenland ice cores with the GICC05 chronology represent a standard for late Quaternary climate events and their ages, whereas many other palaeoclimatic archives are dependent on 14 C dates. It is therefore critical to know if the ice‐core and the calibrated 14 C chronologies are identical, and if not to quantify the offset between them. We present Bayesian age–depth modelling of 118 accelerator mass spectrometry 14 C dates from Kråkenes Lake, calibrated using INTCAL09, that provide high precision ages of 12 066 ± 42 and 10 210 ± 35 cal a BP for the Vedde and Saksunarvatn ashes, respectively. The lower and upper Younger Dryas boundaries have ages of 12 710 ± 52 and 11 546 ± 59 cal a BP, respectively. The four dated levels coincide with correlative levels in GICC05 within the dating uncertainties, but are all consistently younger at Kråkenes. The ages of the tephra chronostratigraphic markers suggest a mean offset of ∼70 years to older ages in the GICC05 compared with the INTCAL09 time scale. Responses to small climate changes ∼30 years before the Younger Dryas boundaries at Kråkenes are suggested to correspond to the defined Greenland Stadial 1 boundaries. This suggested difference in timing (30 years) and time scale offset (70 years) mean that the Greenland Stadial 1 boundaries appear ∼100 years older than the Younger Dryas boundaries.

Reconstructing Quaternary Rhine– M euse dynamics in the southern North Sea: architecture, seismo‐lithofacies associations and malacological biozonation - K. F. RIJSDIJK; I. C. KROON; T. MEIJER; S. PASSCHIER; T. A. G. P. VAN DIJK; F. P. M. BUNNIK; A. C. JANSE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Mapping the Middle to Upper Pleistocene Rhine–Meuse sequence in the southern North Sea based on new core and seismic data has allowed a detailed palaeoenvironmental re‐assessment. An integrated seismo‐lithostratigraphic and malacological biostratigraphic framework is correlated with the optically stimulated luminescence‐dated Rhine–Meuse sequence onshore. The data point to a dynamic interplay of fluvial and marine systems in the southern part of the North Sea driven by longer‐term (>100 ka) tectonic and epeirogenic processes and shorter‐term ( 100 ka) uplift of the Wealden–Artois synclinorium and compaction‐driven subsidence of Tertiary shales within the Voorne Trough. The dominant erosive sedimentary signatures within the Rhine–Meuse sequence resulted through shorter‐term (

Humans, megafauna and environmental change in tropical Australia - MICHAEL I. BIRD; LINDSAY B. HUTLEY; MICHAEL J. LAWES; JON LLOYD; JON G. LULY; PETER V. RIDD; RICHARD G. ROBERTS; SEAN ULM; CHRISTOPHER M. WURSTER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Debate concerning the environmental impact of human arrival in Australia has continued for more than a century. Here we review the evidence for human impact and the mechanisms by which humans may have affected the environment of tropical Australia. We limit our review to tropical Australia because, over three decades ago, it was proposed that the imposition of an anthropogenic fire regime upon human occupation of the Australian continent may have resulted in profound changes in regional vegetation and climate across this region. We conclude that ecological processes and vegetation–fire–climate–human feedbacks do exist that could have driven a significant shift in boundary conditions and ecosystem state at the sub‐continental scale through the sustained imposition of an anthropogenic fire regime over tens of millennia. These potential feedbacks operate through the inhibition of forest expansion both directly, by targeted burning at established forest edges and newly irrupted forest patches, and indirectly, through lengthening of the dry season because of changes to the timing of burning. However, the impact of any such anthropogenic forcing may have been entirely overshadowed by the effects of natural climate change and variability, as well as the generally low nutrient status of Australian soils. A robust assessment of the degree to which the environment of tropical Australia at the large scale has been modified from its ‘natural’ state because of human occupation will require new, coordinated collaborations between indigenous traditional landowners, archaeologists, anthropologists, geochronologists, geoscientists, ecologists, climatologists and modellers.

Establishment of modern circulation pattern at c . 6000 cal a BP in Disko Bugt, central West Greenland: opening of the Vaigat Strait - KERSTIN PERNER; MATTHIAS MOROS; IAN SNOWBALL; JEREMY M. LLOYD; ANTOON KUIJPERS; THOMAS RICHTER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Variations in the Holocene circulation of the West Greenland Current (WGC) in the Disko Bugt region have been reconstructed from a suite of sediment cores. Palaeoceanographic proxies include magnetic susceptibility (MS) and X‐ray fluorescence titanium counts, which document a major shift in circulation at c . 6000 cal a BP. Before this date, sediments in southern Disko Bugt were characterized by high terrigeneous and basaltic input, suggesting widespread influence of meltwater plumes. Our data show that the WGC re‐circulated in the southern Disko Bugt area because a potential northern pathway, the narrow Vaigat Strait, was blocked by icebergs that calved from marine outlet glaciers in eastern Disko Bugt. Sediments in southern Disko Bugt deposited after c . 6000 cal a BP have significantly lower terrestrial and basaltic sediment input, which coincides with minimum Holocene ice sheet extent. The reduced meltwater and iceberg discharge to the embayment caused the Vaigat Strait to become free of blocking icebergs and terrigenous input was partly diverted to the outer shelf. Thus, the modern circulation pattern of the WGC was established in the Disko Bugt region through the opening of the Vaigat Strait c . 6000 cal a BP.

Cryptotephrochronology of the Eemian and the last interglacial–glacial transition in the North East Atlantic - PETER M. ABBOTT; WILLIAM E. N. AUSTIN; SIWAN M. DAVIES; NICHOLAS J. G. PEARCE; FIONA D. HIBBERT (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The Eemian interglacial and the onset of the subsequent glacial period serve as the most recent analogue for the natural operation of the climate system during the current interglacial. Pronounced climatic oscillations occurred during this period, but their nature and pattern are poorly understood due to dating limitations and unknown phase relationships between different regions and archives. Tephrochronology offers considerable potential for precise correlation of disparate palaeoclimatic archives preserving evidence of these rapid climatic transitions through the tracing of common isochronous tephra horizons. We outline the identification of three previously unknown cryptotephra horizons within a marine core from the Rockall Trough, North East Atlantic. This sequence preserves a high‐resolution record of this interval and shard size, geochemical heterogeneity and the co‐variance of shard concentrations with ice‐rafted debris data are utilized to demonstrate that primary airfall was the most likely transport and depositional pathway. The main geochemical populations of these horizons have similar transitional alkali major and trace element compositions, suggesting that they were derived from a common Icelandic source, potentially the Öræfajökull volcanic system. These tephra horizons represent additions to the North Atlantic event stratigraphy for this period and tentative correlations to Icelandic terrestrial deposits are proposed for two horizons.

Freshwater influx, hydrographic reorganization and the dispersal of ice‐rafted detritus in the sub‐polar North Atlantic Ocean during the last deglaciation - DAVID SMALL; WILLIAM AUSTIN; VINCENT RINTERKNECHT (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
A sediment core from the north‐east North Atlantic contains high‐resolution co‐registered foraminiferal δ 18 O and ice‐rafted detritus (IRD) records for the last deglaciation. These reveal a distinct ice‐rafting event that occurred at the time of Greenland Interstade 1d (GI‐1d), a feature also seen in other high‐resolution cores from the North Atlantic. The occurrence of a geographically widespread peak in IRD at ice distal sites at a time when increased freshwater flux to the surface ocean is inferred to have caused rapid cooling suggests a mechanistic link between the processes, analogous to the Younger Dryas (GS‐1) cooling episode. The general absence of IRD at southern locations at other times during GI‐1 when the flux of icebergs from surviving ice sheets to northern locations continued suggests that the GI‐1d IRD peak represents a time of hyrdrographic reorganization which changed IRD dispersal. While numerous studies have suggested freshwater flux as a major driver of rapid climate oscillations observed around the North Atlantic during the last deglaciation, the evidence presented here both supports that mechanism and highlights the potential for rapid and major reorganization of the North Atlantic's surface hydrography to explain changes in IRD flux independently of ice sheet calving dynamics.

A strong regional temperature signal in low‐elevation Huon pine - K. J. ALLEN; D. M. DREW; G. M. DOWNES; R. EVANS; E. R. COOK; M. BATTAGLIA; P. J. BAKER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
We have produced the first annually resolved, centennial‐length tree‐ring chronologies, based on tracheid radial diameter (TRD) and microfibril angle for south‐eastern Australia (SEA) from what would commonly be considered a dendroclimatically suboptimal site. The chronologies exhibit a strong regional temperature signal for the austral summer (nominally November–April) that extends across much of SEA. The strength and spatial extent of the temperature–TRD correlations surpass those between the iconic Tasmanian Mt Read ring‐width chronology and austral summer temperatures, and are more time‐stable. We demonstrate that the value of wood property chronologies for their ability to improve the both the quality and the quantity of highly climate‐sensitive series available for regional annual‐resolution climate reconstructions, in data‐sparse regions in Australasia and beyond, should be examined. In light of the ‘divergence debate’, the time‐stability of relationships with climate, relative to other tree‐ring proxies, also requires further investigation.

A 10 B e production‐rate calibration for the Arctic - NICOLÁs E. YOUNG; JOERG M. SCHAEFER; JASON P. BRINER; BRENT M. GOEHRING (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
We present a Baffin Bay 10 Be production‐rate calibration derived from glacial deposits in western Greenland and Baffin Island, and test our results against published 10 Be calibration datasets to develop an Arctic 10 Be production rate. Our calibration comprises: (i) 10 Be measurements from moraine boulders linked to a 14 C‐dated moraine at Jakobshavn Isfjord in western Greenland, (ii) an independent and previously published 10 Be production rate at Jakobshavn Isfjord and (iii) re‐measured 10 Be concentrations from a Baffin Island calibration site that is included in the north‐eastern North America dataset. Combined, we calculate a sea‐level/high‐latitude 10 Be production rate for the Baffin Bay region of 3.96 ± 0.07 atoms g −1 a −1 (Lal/Stone scaling model). After testing the Baffin Bay rate against calibration sites in Norway and north‐eastern North America, we calculate a more conservative Arctic production rate of 3.96 ± 0.15 atoms g −1 a −1 . The Baffin Bay and Arctic 10 Be production rates are indistinguishable from the north‐eastern North America 10 Be production rate (3.91 ± 0.19 atoms g −1 a −1 ) and yield overall uncertainties of 10 Be‐based chronologies of ice‐margin change and allow 10 Be‐based chronologies to be more confidently compared with high‐resolution climate records, such as those from Greenland ice cores.

Epipalaeolithic settlement dynamics in southwest Asia: new radiocarbon evidence from the Azraq Basin - TOBIAS RICHTER; LISA A. MAHER; ANDREW N. GARRARD; KEVAN EDINBOROUGH; MATTHEW D. JONES; JAY T. STOCK (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
A series of radiocarbon dates from two Epipalaeolithic sites – Kharaneh IV and Ayn Qasiyya – in the Azraq Basin of eastern Jordan provide a new perspective on the chronology and settlement patterns of this part of southwest Asia during the Late Pleistocene. We discuss the implications to our understanding of the chronology of Late Pleistocene lithic industries, particularly in regard to current hypotheses for the abandonment of eastern Jordan's ‘mega‐sites’, Kharaneh IV and Jilat 6. Modelling a series of accelerator mass spectrometry dates from Kharaneh IV indicates a much shorter span of occupation for the site than previously assumed by the size and density of its deposits. Given the high density of material accumulated over a relatively short time span, we show that Kharaneh IV was an aggregation site occupied intensively by a significant number of people, providing new perspectives on the east Jordanian phenomenon of Epipalaeolithic ‘mega‐sites’.

Surface exposure dating ( 36 C l and 10 B e) of post‐ L ast Glacial Maximum valley moraines, Lake District, northwest England: some issues and implications - PETER WILSON; CHRISTOPH SCHNABEL; KLAUS M. WILCKEN; PETER J. VINCENT (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)

Evidence for Storegga tsunami run‐up at the head of Nordfjord, western Norway - KRISTIAN VASSKOG; NICOLAS WALDMANN; STEIN BONDEVIK; ATLE NESJE; EMMANUEL CHAPRON; DANIEL ARIZTEGUI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Numerical simulations show that the Storegga tsunami (∼8 150 cal a BP) penetrated into fjords and sounds along the Norwegian coast because of its large wavelengths of about 600–800 km. Despite this, deposits from the tsunami have not previously been reported from the innermost fjord district, probably because suitable sedimentary archives are lacking in the steep fjord landscape. Here we describe a persistent and well‐defined depositional unit, up to 3 m thick, found in a lake sequence at the head of the 106‐km‐long Nordfjord, which we interpret as a deposit from the Storegga tsunami. The unit is identified and mapped in seismic profiles as a continuous semi‐transparent unit which in places cut deeply into the underlying strata. In sediment cores the unit consists of grey silt with sub‐units containing shell or plant fragments, gravel and sand clasts, and redeposited lake mud. Radiocarbon ages date the deposit to the time of the Storegga tsunami (∼8 150 cal a BP). We estimate a minimum run‐up of 1–7.5 m for the tsunami based on the inferred elevation of the lake outlet relative to sea level at that time. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Interglacial intensity in the North Atlantic over the last 800 000 years: investigating the complexity of the mid‐ B runhes Event - IAN CANDY; ERIN L. MCCLYMONT (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The mid‐Brunhes Event (MBE) represents a step‐like increase, between Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 13/11, in the intensity of interglacial warmth. A transect of palaeoclimatic records in the North Atlantic from 40°N to the Nordic Seas indicates strong differences in the expression of the MBE within this region. Between 40 and 56°N sea surface and air temperature records suggest that all interglacials of the past 800 000 years were characterized by similar levels of warmth, so there is no evidence for an MBE in these latitudes of the North Atlantic. North of 56°N there is increasing evidence for interglacials MIS 19–13 being cold relative to MIS 11–1. As most records of long‐term interglacial diversity suggest the MBE is a global event the North Atlantic is clearly anomalous. Furthermore, the strong spatial difference in temperature conditions during interglacials MIS 19–13 in the North Atlantic means that the temperature gradient across this region would have been enhanced, in fact effectively doubled in magnitude, during this interval. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Drought, disease, defoliation and death: forest pathogens as agents of past vegetation change - MARTYN WALLER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The temperate and boreal forests of Europe and North America have been subject to repeated pathogen (fungal disease and phytophagus insect) outbreaks over the last 100 years. Palaeoecology can, potentially, offer a long‐term perspective on such disturbance episodes, providing information on their triggers, frequency and impact. Mid‐Holocene declines in Tsuga and Ulmus pollen dominate the Quaternary literature on forest pathogens, yet the role of pathogens, and even the presence of pathogenic fungal diseases, during these events has yet to be established. Pathogen‐focused research strategies, informed by the sequence of events documented in modern outbreaks, and undertaken at high temporal resolution using a multi‐proxy approach, are required. It is argued that forest pathogens are likely to have been significant agents of past vegetation change, even in cases where climate change was the primary stress factor. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Surface exposure dating ( 36 C l and 10 B e) of post‐ L ast Glacial Maximum valley moraines, Lake District, northwest England: some issues and implications - PETER WILSON; CHRISTOPH SCHNABEL; KLAUS M. WILCKEN; PETER J. VINCENT (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Surface exposure ages ( 36 Cl and 10 Be) have been obtained from 16 boulders at the margins of and within the limits of former valley glaciers at four sites in the Lake District, northwest England. The established view is that the Lake District functioned as an independent centre of ice dispersal during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 26–21 ka) of the Dimlington Stade (≈Greenland Stades 2–3) and that the glacial‐depositional landforms at the sampled sites are products of stillstands or readvances of the ice margins following the LGM. However, several of the apparent 36 Cl surface exposure ages pre‐date rather than post‐date the LGM. It is inferred that these boulders retain levels of 36 Cl inherited from a previous period of exposure rather than indicating moraine formation prior to the LGM and their subsequent survival beneath LGM ice. An implication is that Lake District glaciers achieved limited erosion of bedrock during the build‐up to and at the maximum of the LGM, and that glacial erosion rates increased at a late stage in that period. Single 36 Cl and 10 Be exposure ages from two sites suggest a stillstand or readvance of valley glaciers prior to the Loch Lomond (Younger Dryas) Stade (LLS; Greenland Stade 1) and Windermere (Lateglacial) Interstade (Greenland Interstade 1), but additional ages are required in order to confirm or refute these individual ages. An LLS age for glacial‐depositional landforms at both these sites had previously been proposed. 36 Cl surface exposure ages for boulders on moraines within the LLS limit do not fully support emplacement at that time; there is a possibility that these moraines are associated with a pre‐LLS stillstand or readvance of the valley glacier. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Influence of tidal‐range change and sediment compaction on Holocene relative sea‐level change in New Jersey, USA - BENJAMIN P. HORTON; SIMON E. ENGELHART; DAVID F. HILL; ANDREW C. KEMP; DARIA NIKITINA; KENNETH G. MILLER; W. RICHARD PELTIER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
We investigated the effect of tidal‐range change and sediment compaction on reconstructions of Holocene relative sea level (RSL) in New Jersey, USA. We updated a published sea‐level database to generate 50 sea‐level index points and ten limiting dates that define continuously rising RSL in New Jersey during the Holocene. There is scatter among the index points, particularly those older than 7 ka. A numerical model estimated that paleotidal range was relatively constant during the mid and late Holocene, but rapidly increased between 9 and 8 ka, leading to an underestimation of RSL by ∼0.5 m. We adjusted the sea‐level index points using the paleotidal model prior to assessing the influence of compaction on organic samples with clastic deposits above and below (an intercalated sea‐level index point). We found a significant relationship ( p = 0.01) with the thickness of the overburden ( r = 0.85). We altered the altitude of intercalated index points using this simple stratigraphic relationship, which reduced vertical scatter in sea‐level reconstructions. We conclude that RSL rose at an average rate of 4 mm a −1 from 10 ka to 6 ka, 2 mm a −1 from 6 ka to 2 ka, and 1.3 mm a −1 from 2 ka to AD 1900. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fjord stratigraphy and processes – evidence from the NE Atlantic Fensfjorden system - BERIT OLINE HJELSTUEN; HEIDI KJENNBAKKEN; VEGARD BLEIKLI; REMI ANTHONI ERSLAND; SIGURD KVILHAUG; CHRISTINE EULER; SVANHILD ALVHEIM (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Fjords commonly hold sediment basins with high temporal resolution that mirror land‐ and marine‐based processes and depositional environments during a glacial–interglacial cycle. Here, we present TOPAS seismic profiles, with a vertical resolution of 3 and the sediment basins evolved reach a maximum thickness of 100 m. The basins are characterized by a lower acoustically well‐laminated glacimarine unit, of Allerød and Younger Dryas age. This unit is overlain by several acoustically transparent lenses, interpreted to be slide debrites. We suggest these slide debrites to be a result of recurrent mass failures that occurred between 11 500 and 2100 cal a BP. A thin late Holocene hemipelagic unit drapes the slide debrites. During the late Holocene the sedimentation rates in Fensfjorden decreased from 0.110 to 0.040 cm a −1 and two turbidity currents occurred in the 2040–1190 cal a BP time period. This ability to map fjord processes in more detail has, furthermore, made it possible to revise the established stratigraphical framework for NE Atlantic fjords. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Recognition of the Minoan tephra in the Acigöl Basin, western Turkey: implications for inter‐archive correlations and fine ash dispersal - R. SULPIZIO; M. C. ALÇIÇEK; G. ZANCHETTA; L. SOLARI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
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 km 2 , 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. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Stable carbon isotopic evidence for climate change across the late Pleistocene to early Holocene from Lesotho, southern Africa - P. ROBERTS; J. A. LEE‐THORP; P. J. MITCHELL; C. ARTHUR (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Although significant environmental and climatic changes are likely to have occurred across the Pleistocene/Holocene transition in southern Africa, records are sparse, with information regarding temperature change especially rare. We thus know little about the conditions facing Later Stone Age human populations at this time, particularly those in the highland interior where temperature shifts would have had strong impacts on floral and faunal distributions. In Lesotho, a well‐defined altitudinal distribution of C 3 and C 4 photosynthetic plant taxa, and their remains in soil organic matter, provides a means of estimating past temperature shifts. We applied this principle to stratified sediments from two archaeological sequences in the Lesotho lowlands ( c . 1600 m a.s.l.) to produce a palaeotemperature record focusing on the period 14 000–9500 cal a BP. The results show an overall trend from exclusively C 3 vegetation at the Last Glacial Maximum towards greater contributions of C 4 taxa, and thus warmer conditions, during the Holocene. However, large temperature fluctuations are evident within this trend, with rapid changes of up to 4 °C visible between 11 200 and 9500 cal a BP. The continued presence of hunter‐gatherers during this time suggests that the region must have remained attractive to human populations despite significant climatic instability and cool episodes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Deglaciation chronology of the Galloway Hills Ice Centre, southwest Scotland - COLIN K. BALLANTYNE; VINCENT RINTERKNECHT; DELIA M. GHEORGHIU (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
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 10 Be 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. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Late Pleistocene– H olocene records from Lake Ulaan, southern Mongolia: implications for east Asian palaeomonsoonal climate changes - MIN KYUNG LEE; YONG IL LEE; HYOUN SOO LIM; JAE IL LEE; HO IL YOON (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
A 5.88‐m‐long core taken from Lake Ulaan was studied for high‐resolution paleoclimatic changes during the last 17 000 years. The core sediments are divided into three units based on grain‐size distribution: unit 1 (top to 392 cm depth, covering the last 11 200 years), unit 2 (392–530 cm, 11.2–15 ka) and unit 3 (530–588 cm, 15.0–16.7 ka). These sediments were transported by local westerly winds (units 1 and 3) and fluvial processes (unit 2). Based on major element compositions and geological setting of adjacent areas, provenance of unit 1 sediments was interpreted to be the Lake terrane, and that of unit 2 to be the Idermeg terrane. Unit 3 sediments were derived from the Gobi Altai terrane. The records of total organic carbon, C/N ratio and weathering intensity suggest that paleoclimate in the source area of Lake Ulaan sediment was most humid during the Early Holocene, humid during the mid‐Holocene and dry in the Late Holocene. The decrease of humidity through the Holocene is a typical characteristic of the East Asian monsoon region. Comparison with lacustrine records of other Mongolia regions suggests that the northern boundary of East Asian summer‐monsoon influence could have been located further north than previously assumed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

P alaeoenvironmental implications of evaporative gaylussite crystals from Lonar Lake, central India - A. ANOOP; S. PRASAD; B. PLESSEN; N. BASAVAIAH; B. GAYE; R. NAUMANN; P. MENZEL; S. WEISE; A. BRAUER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
We have undertaken petrographic, mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic investigations on carbonate minerals found within a 10‐m‐long core from Lonar Lake, central India, with the aim of evaluating their potential as palaeoenvironmental proxies. The core encompasses the entire Holocene and is the first well‐dated high‐resolution record from central India. While calcite and/or aragonite were found throughout the core, the mineral gaylussite was found only in two specific intervals (4630–3890 and 2040–560 cal a BP). Hydrochemical and isotope data from inflowing streams and lake waters indicate that evaporitic processes play a dominant role in the precipitation of carbonates within this lake. Isotopic (δ 18 O and δ 13 C) studies on the evaporative gaylussite crystals and residual bulk carbonates (calcite) from the long core show that evaporation is the major control on δ 18 O enrichment in both the minerals. However, in case of δ 13 C additional mechanisms, for example methanogenesis (gaylussite) and phytoplankton productivity (calcium carbonate), play an additional important role in some intervals. We also discuss the relevance of our investigation for palaeoclimate reconstruction and late Holocene monsoon variability. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Pollen‐based palaeoclimate reconstructions over long glacial–interglacial timescales: methodological tests based on the Holocene and MIS 5d–c deposits at Sokli, northern Finland - J. SAKARI SALONEN; KARIN F. HELMENS; HEIKKI SEPPä; H. JOHN B. BIRKS (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Palaeoclimatic reconstructions over long glacial–interglacial timescales present major methodological challenges, as calibration methods based on modern climate and vegetation patterns may yield biased reconstructions from non‐analogue palaeoclimates, such as severely continental glacial periods. In this work, we present pollen‐based summer temperature reconstructions based on Holocene and early Weichselian (Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 5d–c) deposits at Sokli, northern Finland. We attempt to improve the robustness of reconstructions of continental palaeoclimates by using two calibration sets, with one located in the region surrounding the fossil site and another in a more continental region in northwestern Russia. We assess the reliability of the reconstructions by estimating the compositional fit between fossil and calibration samples and by comparison with independent, plant macrofossil‐based reconstructions. We find the fossil samples to fit the extra‐regional, high‐continentality calibration set better during the early Holocene and MIS 5d–c. Especially in MIS 5d–c, however, even the high‐continentality calibration set fits the fossil samples poorly compared to the fit achieved in the mid and late Holocene. Thus our results highlight the problem of finding applicable calibration data for pre‐Holocene periods. We finally discuss the relative strengths and vulnerabilities of different calibration methods in reconstruction of non‐analogue palaeoclimates. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Early Pleistocene palaeoenvironments at the time of the Homo antecessor settlement in the Gran Dolina cave (Atapuerca, Spain) - HUGUES‐ALEXANDRE BLAIN; GLORIA CUENCA‐BESCÓS; FRANCESC BURJACHS; JUAN MANUEL LÓPEZ‐GARCÍA; IVÁN LOZANO‐FERNÁNDEZ; JORDI ROSELL (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Hominin remains unearthed from level TD6‐2 of Gran Dolina have been dated to slightly more than 0.8 Ma. Owing to the importance of this discovery, every effort is being made to reconstruct the environment where these hominins once lived. In this paper, the mutual climatic range and habitat weighting methods are applied to the herpetofaunal assemblages in order to estimate climatic and environmental parameters. TD6‐2 is thus characterized by a warm and humid climate. Mean annual temperature is estimated at 2.1°C higher than at present in Burgos, with a greater increase in temperature during summer (+3.1°C) than during winter (+1.4°C). Rainfall was more abundant than at present (+407.2 mm), occurring as at present principally during spring and autumn. Humid meadows and riparian woody habitats were common. The association between warm climatic conditions and the not fully developed forest suggests that the several episodes of high‐intensity occupation in TD6‐2 may correspond to a recolonization by Homo antecessor of the high inland plateaus of the Iberian Peninsula from the Mediterranean seashore, using the Ebro valley as a savannah‐type corridor after a cold glacial period. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Developing millennial tree ring chronologies in the fire‐prone North American boreal forest - DOMINIQUE ARSENEAULT; BENJAMIN DY; FABIO GENNARETTI; JULIA AUTIN; YVES BÉGIN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
A denser global network of millennial tree ring chronologies is needed to verify whether the warming of the last century is anomalously rapid or of large amplitude in the context of the last millennium. The North American boreal forest in particular has been poorly represented in long climatic reconstructions based on tree rings, because of short tree longevity, as well as frequent and severe wildfires. In this study, we exhaustively sampled tree remains in the littoral zone of two lakes and partially sampled seven additional lakes in the northern boreal forest of eastern Canada to verify if highly replicated millennial tree ring chronologies could be developed. In total, 989 black spruce [ Picea mariana (Mill.) BSP.] tree remains were sampled, of which 529 could be crossdated, providing a master chronology spanning the AD 676–1991 time period. Radiocarbon dating of a floating chronology indicates that maximum residence time of tree remains outside of sediments is at least 1500 years. Past fires halted or reduced wood inputs at least once at all but one site and thus influenced the replication of local chronologies. However, fire effects can be minimized using appropriate site selection criteria (old‐growth forest on the leeward shore, sharp deepening of the littoral zone, burial of tree remains by fine sediments), such that it would be possible to develop a network of several highly and evenly replicated multi‐century local chronologies. These tree ring chronologies would have desirable properties for extracting low‐frequency tree growth trends and for reconstructing forest disturbance histories. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Tephrochronology and the late Holocene volcanic and flood history of Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland - ANDREW J. DUGMORE; ANTHONY J. NEWTON; KATE T. SMITH; KERRY‐ANN MAIRS (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The hugely disruptive Eyjafjallajökull eruptions of 2010 AD are well known, but the recent history of the volcano is not, which compromises both Icelandic and international hazard assessments and risk planning. This paper identifies and dates the floods caused by two flank eruptions (the c . 920 AD eruption of the Skerin ridge and 6–7th century AD activity around Miðtungugil) and clarifies understanding of c . 6th century AD central vent eruption. These specific contributions to volcanic history are used to illustrate applications of tephrochronology with widespread relevance: how to date eruptions that generate little tephra, better understand the flood hazards presented by glaciated, mountainous volcanoes and the relationship between long‐term patterns of activity in neighbouring volcanoes, in this case Eyjafjallajökull and its close (and much larger) neighbour, the volcano Katla. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The last millennium largest floods in the hyperarid Kuiseb River basin, Namib Desert - T. GRODEK; G. BENITO; B. A. BOTERO; Y. JACOBY; N. PORAT; I. HAVIV; G. CLOETE; Y. ENZEL (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The largest Kuiseb River floods initiate at the basin's semi‐arid headwater. Downstream, along the hyperarid Namib Desert, these floodwaters are feeding shallow alluvial aquifers, the only available water for human activity and for the natural ecology. Here, we characterize the largest floods and their changing frequency and magnitudes using palaeohydrological methods. Along 120 km of the rivers canyon 35 palaeoflood deposit sites were identified. At five of these sites we conducted stratigraphic and geochronological analyses and flood discharge estimations. The upper bound of the largest flood over the late Holocene is ∼1475 m 3 s −1 . Over the last 1300 years more than ten floods have exceeded 1250 m 3 s −1 . An additional 33 floods exceeded 400 m 3 s −1 . The last millennium was characterized by one large flood every 30–40 years during the periods 1250–1335, 1355–1565 and 1715 AD to the present. A slight increase in flood frequency (not magnitude) occurred during 1565–1715 AD (one large flood in ∼20 years) and during two short episodes, 1185–1205 and 1335–1355 AD (seven and four floods in 20 years, respectively). These episodes of increased flood frequency are associated with other proxy records of higher water availability in the Namib. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Plant stable isotope composition across habitat gradients in a semi‐arid savanna: implications for environmental reconstruction - JACQUELINE CODRON; JULIA A. LEE‐THORP; MATT SPONHEIMER; DARYL CODRON (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Field studies of plant stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition have revealed relationships with temperature and precipitation. These relationships conform to theoretical predictions of how extrinsic factors impact on ecophysiological processes such as photosynthesis and nitrogen cycling. However, examination of many datasets reveals high levels of variation, especially across environments with moderate precipitation ( −1 ). To test for extrinsic effects on plant isotope composition in such environments, we studied data from plants collected over three years from multiple habitats and seasons in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Our sample is sufficiently large to evaluate not only effects of environmental variables (rainfall up to ∼800 mm a −1 , temperature, physical habitat structure) but also taxonomic effects. Species composition of habitats accounted for most of the variation in our data, followed by physical habitat structure (e.g. wooded or riverine compared with open, grassy habitats), while rainfall and temperature had only indirect or negligible effects. The latter finding concurs with subsections of existing datasets and we suggest therefore that such effects usually become visible in datasets that span environmental extremes, implying environmental ranges within which plant isotope variations cannot readily be ascribed to climate. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sea‐surface hydrographical conditions off South Faeroes and within the North‐ E astern North Atlantic through MIS 2: the response of dinocysts - CLÉMENCE CAULLE; AURÉLIE PENAUD; FRÉDÉRIQUE EYNAUD; SÉBASTIEN ZARAGOSI; DIDIER M. ROCHE; ELIZABETH MICHEL; SÉBASTIEN BOULAY; THOMAS RICHTER (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The last glacial period, showing the progressive development of large boreal ice sheets, was punctuated by large climatic excursions. These excursions were triggered mainly by atmosphere–ocean–ice coupled dynamics and are thus exemplary case studies of natural climate variability. To characterize the sea‐surface palaeohydrographical changes accompanying these oscillations along the European margin, we have integrated new palynological data (dinocysts) acquired on core MD99‐2281 (60°N, Faeroe Margin) during Marine Isotope Stage 2 in a latitudinal transect including published cores MD95‐2002 (47°N, Celtic Margin) and MD95‐2010 (66°N, Vöring Plateau). This transect is superimposed on the modern North Atlantic Drift pathway, but also at the outskirts of glacial European ice sheets, thus ideally located to track sea‐ice extent and ice‐sheet instabilities through time. The results show a coherent and sensitive response of sea‐surface environments to the complex chain of abrupt events that punctuated the end of the last glacial period. The Last Glacial Maximum was marked by large seasonal contrasts of temperatures, whereas Heinrich events (HE) were characterized by a sharp cooling and sea‐ice development. A tripartite structure is identified within HE1, with indices of melting at 19k cal a BP, followed by a temperate phase synchronous of a relative stability of ice sheets, and a terminal phase (17.5–15k cal a BP) characteristic of the ‘conventional Laurentian’ HE1. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Abrupt variability of the last 24 ka BP recorded by coccolithophore assemblages off the Iberian Margin (core MD03‐2699) - ELIANA PALUMBO; JOSÉ A. FLORES; CARMEN PERUGIA; DARIO EMANUELE; ZACCARIA PETRILLO; TERESA RODRIGUES; ANTJE H. L. VOELKER; FILOMENA O. AMORE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
A high‐resolution coccolithophore study allowed reconstructing sea surface conditions during the last 24 ka BP off the Iberian Margin. Variations in nannoplankton accumulation rate, cold‐water species, Florisphaera profunda , Umbilicosphaera sibogae and Coccolithus pelagicus ssp. azorinus trends suggest the occurrence of substantial changes in surface water dynamics. Palaeoproductivity shows changes during the glacial and the interglacial transition from intense glacial upwelling to persistent interglacial stratification. A drastic productivity decline occurred between ∼18 and 13 ka BP related to the arrival of subpolar waters indicated by the presence of the subarctic subspecies C. pelagicus pelagicus and increased percentages of tetra‐unsaturated alkenones. Abrupt variability at core MD03‐2699 during the last 24 ka BP was observed in palaeoproductivity and sea surface temperatures proxies. Increases of reworked species fluxes were observed during the Last Glacial Maximum and during the transition to the Holocene, likely connected to turbidity currents and/or contourites formed by Mediterranean outflow intensification. In addition, C. pelagicus ssp. pelagicus presence, Gephyrocapsa muellerae and tetra‐alkenone percentages reveal rapid coolings coeval with the Holocene Bond cycles and rapid climate coolings recognized for the Northern Hemisphere between 11.02 and 1.7 ka BP and associated with subpolar water arrival at the site. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Speleothem constraints on marine isotope stage ( MIS ) 5 relative sea levels, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico - GINA E. MOSELEY; PETER L. SMART; DAVID A. RICHARDS; DIRK L. HOFFMANN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Rates of sea‐level fall at the termination of the last interglacial are poorly defined and archives from which sea‐level elevations are constrained during marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 in the western North Atlantic–Caribbean region are restricted spatially to a few key sites. Here, growth periods of presently submerged but subaerially deposited speleothems from the Yucatan Peninsula, south‐east Mexico, are dated using the 230 Th/ 234 U multi‐collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric method. The growth periods, used to constrain maximum elevations of relative sea level, are in agreement with glacio‐isostatic adjustment models for the near to intermediate region of the former North American ice sheets. Furthermore, our data provide additional constraints on the timing of peak relative sea levels during MIS 5a and 5c, and the timing of the regression following the last interglacial highstand. Combining our data with coral archives of minimum relative sea level from the same region provides a novel approach to calculating the rate of relative sea‐level fall, although initial estimates are poorly constrained because of the wide range in ages observed for the most suitable corals. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A new flow cytometry method enabling rapid purification of fossil pollen from terrestrial sediments for AMS radiocarbon dating - RICHARD K. TENNANT; RICHARD T. JONES; FIONA BROCK; CHARLOTTE COOK; CHRIS S. M. TURNEY; JOHN LOVE; ROB LEE (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Radiocarbon ( 14 C) accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) dating has played a significant role towards improving our understanding of the timing of events and rates of change in archaeological and environmental records over the last 50 000 years. Although it is not always possible to find suitable macrofossils for 14 C dating, microfossils, notably plant pollen, are a viable alternative. Obtaining preserved pollen samples of known provenance and of sufficient quantity for dating by 14 C AMS is, however, challenging because of time‐consuming methods of extraction and purification and possible contamination from other organic material. Here we report a new, rapid and straightforward method using flow cytometry (FCM) to distinguish, sort and collect sufficient quantities of fossil pollen with minimal contamination from lake sediments for radiocarbon dating. Using this approach, we demonstrate 14 C AMS ages that date back to at least 40 ka BP. While future work may be required to refine purification methodologies for different sample types and to precisely quantify the dating limit of this approach, FCM dating of microfossils shows considerable promise in generating robust geochronological frameworks for sequences that have previously proved problematic. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

New findings regarding the Saksunarvatn Ash in Germany - C. W. F. BRAMHAM‐LAW; M. THEUERKAUF; C. S. LANE; J. MANGERUD (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The Saksunarvatn Ash is an important tephra layer for the correlation of Early Holocene environmental records in northern Europe, the North Atlantic and Greenland. The Saksunarvatn Ash is believed to have been produced by eruptions of the Grimsvötn volcanic system ∼10.3 ka BP, which had two axes of dispersal, one plume in a north‐west direction over northern Iceland and into Greenland, and a second southerly plume covering the Faroe Isles, Shetland Isles, western Norway and northern Germany. Here we present data from Potremser Moor, north‐east Germany, extending the easterly margin of the ash fallout zone. We also present single grain trace element data from the type site at Saksunarvatn as well as from Potremser Moor. The Saksunarvatn Ash is indistinguishable between Potremser Moor and Saksunarvatn, suggesting the two tephras were produced by the same eruption. Trace element compositions from both sites are similar to data from the North Atlantic marine core (LINK 14:185), but different from the GRIP ice core (GRIP 1528.61 m), indicating that the south‐east and north‐west plumes may have arisen from separate eruption events. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Reply to Comment on: Coarse clast ridge sequences as suitable archives for past storm events? Case study on the Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia - Anja M. Scheffers; Sander R. Scheffers; Dieter H. Kelletat; Peter Squire; Lindsay Collins; Yuexing Feng; Jian‐Xin Zhao; Renaud Joannes‐Boyau; Simon Matthias May; Gerhard Schellmann; Heather Freeman (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)

Re‐analysis of key evidence in the case for a hemispherically synchronous response to the Younger Dryas climatic event - Helen Green; Jon Woodhead; John Hellstrom; Robyn Pickering; Russell Drysdale (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)

Bayesian modelling the retreat of the Irish Sea Ice Stream - Richard C. Chiverrell; Ian M. Thrasher; Geoffrey S. P. Thomas; Andreas Lang; James D. Scourse; Katrien J. J. van Landeghem; Danny Mccarroll; Chris D. Clark; Colm Ó Cofaigh; David J. A. Evans; Colin K. Ballantyne (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
We present an 8000‐year history spanning 650 km of ice margin retreat for the largest marine‐terminating ice stream draining the former British–Irish Ice Sheet. Bayesian modelling of the geochronological data shows the ISIS expanded 34.0–25.3 ka, accelerating into the Celtic Sea to reach maximum limits 25.3–24.5 ka before a collapse with rapid marginal retreat to the northern Irish Sea Basin (ISB). This retreat was rapid and driven by climatic warming, sea‐level rise, mega‐tidal amplitudes and reactivation of meridional circulation in the North Atlantic. The retreat, though rapid, is uneven, with the stepped retreat pattern possibly a function of the passage of the ice stream between normal and adverse ice bed gradients and changing ice stream geometry. Initially, wide calving margins and adverse slopes encouraged rapid retreat (∼550 m a −1 ) that slowed (∼100 m a −1 ) at the topographic constriction and bathymetric high between southern Ireland and Wales before rates increased (∼200 m a −1 ) across adverse bed slopes and wider and deeper basin configuration in the northern ISB. These data point to the importance of the ice bed slope and lateral extent in predicting the longer‐term (>1000 a) patterns and rates of ice‐marginal retreat during phases of rapid collapse, which has implications for the modelling of projected rapid retreat of present‐day ice streams. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comment on: Coarse clast ridge sequences as suitable archives for past storm events? Case study on the Houtman Abrolhos, Western Australia - Jonathan Nott (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)

Lateglacial ice dynamics of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet in northern British Columbia and southern Yukon Territory: retreat pattern of the Liard Lobe reconstructed from the glacial landform record - Martin Margold; Krister N. Jansson; Johan Kleman; Arjen P. Stroeven (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The Liard Lobe formed a part of the north‐eastern sector of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet and drained ice from accumulation areas in the Selwyn, Pelly, Cassiar and Skeena mountains. This study reconstructs the ice retreat pattern of the Liard Lobe during the last deglaciation from the glacial landform record that comprises glacial lineations and landforms of the meltwater system such as eskers, meltwater channels, perched deltas and outwash fans. The spatial distribution of these landforms defines the successive configurations of the ice sheet during the deglaciation. The Liard Lobe retreated to the west and south‐west across the Hyland Highland from its local Last Glacial Maximum position in the south‐eastern Mackenzie Mountains where it coalesced with the Laurentide Ice Sheet. Retreat across the Liard Lowland is evidenced by large esker complexes that stretch across the Liard Lowland cutting across the contemporary drainage network. Ice margin positions from the late stage of deglaciation are reconstructed locally at the foot of the Cassiar Mountains and further up‐valley in an eastern‐facing valley of the Cassiar Mountains. The presented landform record indicates that the deglaciation of the Liard Lobe was accomplished mainly by active ice retreat and that ice stagnation played a minor role in the deglaciation of this region. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Are there any relict rock glaciers in the British mountains? - David Jarman; Peter Wilson; Stephan Harrison (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The existence of a small population of ‘relict rock glaciers’ scattered across the main British mountain areas has previously been inferred from published cases of individual sites or local clusters. Discrete debris accumulations (DDAs) of widely differing character have been identified as ice‐debris landforms (whether ‘rock glaciers’ or ‘protalus lobes’) partly from morphological, sedimentological and topo‐locational evidence, but principally by analogy with both active and relict examples in present‐day arctic/alpine environments, with consequent palaeoclimate inferences. However, re‐interpretation of several supposed rock glaciers as rock slope failures has cast doubt on both the palaeoclimatic reconstructions and the origin of the remaining features. Issues of polygenesis and mimicry/equifinality have contributed to some previous misidentifications. We re‐evaluate the 28 candidate cases based on new field and image‐analysis evidence and place them on a continuum from no ice presence through passive ice presence and glacial shaping to emplacement onto glacier ice with consequent melt‐out topography. A null hypothesis approach (that there are no relict rock glaciers in the British mountains) is pursued, and the evidence indicates that none of the 28 cases clearly warrants classification as a relict rock glacier; their characteristics can be explained without recourse to any significant forward debris movement controlled or facilitated by incorporated or underlying ice as it deforms and melts out. However, only one‐third of the candidate DDAs are attributed in whole or part to rock slope failure ( sensu stricto ), with other debris sources including incremental rockfall, bedrock knolls with coarse debris veneer, protalus rampart and moraine. A few cases deserve more detailed investigation of their structure, morphology and sediments within a broader local glaciological/topographical context, with multitemporal/polygenetic evolution in mind. But it is for future researchers to demonstrate that deforming ice played an incontestable part in shaping these often enigmatic DDAs, given that other causes are simpler and commoner. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Palaeoflood activity and climate change over the last 1400 years recorded by lake sediments in the north‐west European Alps - B. Wilhelm; F. Arnaud; P. Sabatier; O. Magand; E. Chapron; T. Courp; K. Tachikawa; B. Fanget; E. Malet; C. Pignol; E. Bard; J. J. Delannoy (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
A high‐resolution sedimentological and geochemical study of a high‐altitude proglacial lake (Lake Blanc, Aiguilles Rouges, 2352 m a.s.l.) revealed 195 turbidites, 190 of which are related to flood events over the last 1400 years. We used the coarsest sediment fraction of each turbidite as a proxy for the intensity of each flood event. Because most flood events at this locality are triggered by localized summer convective precipitation events, the reconstructed sedimentary record reveals changes in the frequency and intensity of such events over the last millennium. Comparisons with other temperature, palaeohydrological and glacier reconstructions in the region suggest that the most intense events occurred during the warmest periods, i.e. during the Medieval Climate Anomaly (AD 800–1300) and the current period of global warming. On a multi‐decadal time scale, almost all the flood frequency peaks seem to correspond to warmer periods, whereas multi‐centennial variations in flood frequency appear to follow the regional precipitation pattern. Consequently, this new Alpine flood record provides further evidence of a link between climate warming and an increase in the frequency and intensity of flooding on a multi‐decadal time scale, whereas the centennial variability in flood frequencies is related to regional precipitation patterns. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Environmental variability during the Last Interglacial: a new high‐resolution pollen record from Tenaghi Philippon, Greece - Alice M. Milner; Ulrich C. Müller; Katherine H. Roucoux; Richard E. L. Collier; Jörg Pross; Stavros Kalaitzidis; Kimon Christanis; Polychronis C. Tzedakis (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
A new high‐resolution Last Interglacial pollen record from the Tenaghi Philippon peatland, northeast Greece, documents variability in forest composition and cover, which we attribute to changes in temperature and moisture availability. The declining stage of the interglacial was marked by a stepwise decrease in temperate tree populations and culminated in the complete collapse of forest at the onset of the ensuing stadial. The coincidence of the onset of the stepwise declining trend with the increased prominence of North Atlantic ice‐rafting events suggests that ecological thresholds in southern Europe were only crossed once ice rafting events intensified, and implies that changes in North Atlantic ocean circulation were an important contributing factor to the declining temperate forest cover in southern Europe. Our results provide evidence for intra‐interglacial variability in the low mid latitudes and suggest a coupling between the high northern latitudes and the northeast Mediterranean during this interval. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Two paleoecological histories spanning the period of human settlement in southeastern Brazil - Marco F. Raczka; Paulo E. De Oliveira; Mark Bush; Crystal H. McMichael (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The absence of human occupation sites in southeastern Brazil during the mid Holocene has been referred to as the 'Archaic Gap' (8970–1940 cal. a BP) and is predicted to have resulted from increased aridity. A ca. 14 000 cal. a pollen history from two well‐dated lake sediment cores located within the archeological district of Lagoa Santa, in the State of Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil, was used to test this hypothesis. Our analyses indicated that the present cerrado and tropical semi‐deciduous forest mosaic persisted throughout the mid Holocene, until ca. 5500 cal. a BP, and the Lagoa Santa region did not experience especially dry conditions during the Holocene period. The early Holocene pollen spectra contained an assemblage of cold‐adapted taxa such as Podocarpus , Myrsine and Araucaria , co‐occurring with taxa from cerrado, e.g. Caryocar . A replacement of cold taxa by the modern cerrado–semi‐deciduous forest vegetation took place progressively, but appears to have been completed by the mid Holocene. No evidence of sustained drought was found in sedimentation or forest composition, nor any prolonged dry event in the study region. Holocene dryness as an explanation for the abandonment of Lagoa Santa region is not supported by the palynological analyses conducted in this study. Rather it is suggested that unpredictable climate may have underlain that abandonment. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Climate change during the past 1000 years: a high‐temporal‐resolution multiproxy record from a mire in northern Finland - Walter Finsinger; Kristian Schoning; Sheila Hicks; Andreas Lücke; Tomasz Goslar; Friederike Wagner‐cremer; Heidi Hyyppä (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
We present a record of peatland development in relation to climate changes and human activities from the Palomaa mire, a remote site in northern Finland. We used fine‐resolution and continuous sampling to analyse several proxies including pollen (for vegetation on and around the mire), testate amoebae (TA; for mire‐wetness changes), oxygen and carbon isotopes from Sphagnum cellulose (δ 18 O and δ 13 C; for humidity and temperature changes), peat‐accumulation rates and peat‐colour changes. In spite of an excellent accumulation model (30 14 C dates and estimated standard deviation of sample ages Sphagnum surface. Nevertheless, what emerges is that mire development was closely related to water‐table changes rather than to summer temperature and that water‐table decreases were associated with increasing peat‐accumulation rates and more abundant mire vegetation. A rapid fen‐to‐bog transition occurred within a few years around AD 1960 when the water table decreased beyond the historical minimum, supporting the notion that mires can rapidly shift into bogs in response to allogenic factors. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Middle Devensian woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis ) from Whitemoor Haye Quarry, Staffordshire (UK): palaeoenvironmental context and significance - Danielle Schreve; Andy Howard; Andrew Currant; Stephen Brooks; Simon Buteux; Russell Coope; Barnaby Crocker; Michael Field; Malcolm Greenwood; James Greig; Phillip Toms (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
This paper reports the discovery of a rare partial skeleton of a woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis Blumenbach, 1799) and associated fauna from a low Pleistocene terrace of the River Tame at Whitemoor Haye, Staffordshire, UK. A study of the sedimentary deposits around the rhino skeleton and associated organic‐rich clasts containing pollen, plant and arthropod remains suggests that the animal was rapidly buried on a braided river floodplain surrounded by a predominantly treeless, herb‐rich grassland. Highlights of the study include the oldest British chironomid record published to date and novel analysis of the palaeoflow regime using caddisfly remains. For the first time, comparative calculations of coleopteran and chironomid palaeotemperatures have been made on the same samples, suggesting a mean July temperature of 8–11 °C and a mean December temperature of between −22 and −16 °C. Radiocarbon age estimates on skeletal material, supported by optically stimulated luminescence ages from surrounding sediments, indicate that the rhino lived around 41–43 k cal a BP. The combined geochronological, stratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental evidence places the assemblage firmly within the Middle Devensian (Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3). This would agree with other regional evidence for the timing of aggradation for the lowest terrace of the Trent and its tributary systems. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Scale considerations in using diatoms as indicators of sea‐level change: lessons from Alaska - Emma P. Watcham; Ian Shennan; Natasha L. M. Barlow (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
This paper assesses variations in quantitative reconstructions of late Holocene relative sea‐level (RSL) change arising from using modern diatom datasets from different spatial scales, applied to case studies from Alaska. We investigate the implications of model choice in transfer functions using local‐, sub‐regional‐ and regional‐scale modern training sets, and produce recommendations on the creation and selection of modern datasets for reconstructing RSL change over Holocene timescales in tidal marsh environments comparable with those in Alaska. We show that regional modern training sets perform best in terms of providing fossil samples with good modern analogues, and in producing reconstructions that most closely match observations, where these are available. Local training sets are frequently insufficient to provide fossil samples with good modern analogues and may over‐estimate the precision of RSL reconstructions. This is particularly apparent when reconstructing RSL change for periods beyond the last century. For reconstructing RSL change we recommend using regional modern training sets enhanced by local samples. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Multi‐proxy study of Holocene environmental change and human activity in the Central Apennine Mountains, Italy - A. G. Brown; J. Hatton; K. A. Selby; M. J. Leng; N. Christie (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
This paper describes a multi‐proxy palaeoecological investigation undertaken in conjunction with an archaeological survey of the Upper Sangro Valley in the Abruzzo National Park, Central Italy. Despite being a biodiversity hotspot and regarded as a near‐pristine area, the pollen, spore and diatom data all show major changes in the vegetation extending to over 2000 m a.s.l. during the mid to late Holocene. Although there are changes in ecological composition earlier in the Holocene they are different in type and magnitude from the changes which began about 800 cal a BC. The pollen and diatom evidence do not correlate well with regional palaeoclimate data, or on‐site isotopic evidence, but do appear to be related to Samnite (later Iron Age) clearance and upland grazing associated with transhumance and later annexation (and centuriation ) of the lower slopes by Roman surveyors. The greatest change in vegetation was during the period c . AD 500–600 and corresponds with the Byzantine–Gothic Wars, and Lombard–Carolingian settlement reorganization into nucleated hilltop settlements which managed upland grazing. This pattern of intensive land use at all altitudes persisted until the early 20th century and only changed following rural depopulation after World War II. These data illustrate how cultural factors had a profound effect on this mountainous region which, in this case, far outweighed the effects of climatic fluctuations which are known to have occurred from both this study area and the region. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A record of Lateglacial/Holocene environmental change from a high‐elevation site in the Intermountain West, USA - Andrea Brunelle; Thomas A. Minckley; Elliott Lips; Paul Burnett (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Records of past vegetation and fire history can be complicated by changes in the depositional environment of a sampling location. However, these changes can alternatively be used as a measure of climate variability. Our study site, ca. 18.0 cal. ka BP record from Little Brooklyn Lake, Wyoming, located near the crest of the Snowy Range, records three moisture states. Initially, the lake was likely a glacier‐fed pond indicated by the presence of Pediastrum algae colonies. Around 13.0 cal. ka BP this pond transitioned to a meadow environment, suggested by the loss of Pediastrum algae colonies and slow sedimentation rates. Meadow conditions were maintained until ca. 5.0 cal. ka BP when Pediastrum algae colony abundance increased,indicating the formation of a shallow lake. From 18.0 to ca. 5.0 cal. ka BP, the pollen record is suggestive of alpine vegetation conditions with relatively high spruce and herbaceous taxa. Low charcoal influx also characterizes the period between 18.0 and 5.0 cal. ka BP. After 5.0 cal. ka BP, the coincidence of the formation of shallow lake and pollen data, indicating a shift to a spruce and fir forest, suggests an increase in effective moisture. Fire remained rare in this basin over the entire record, however, once the lake established sedimentation rates and charcoal influx increased. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Re‐analysis of key evidence in the case for a hemispherically synchronous response to the Younger Dryas climatic event - Helen Green; Jon Woodhead; John Hellstrom; Robyn Pickering; Russell Drysdale (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
A south‐east Australian speleothem stable isotope record displaying an apparent cooling synchronous with the northern hemisphere Younger Dryas climate event (12.9–11.7 ka) has significantly influenced scientific thinking on the climatic response of the southern hemisphere following the Last Glacial Maximum. This is one of very few records displaying such a response, and yet the cooling was inferred from substantial extrapolation between just three uranium‐series ages. Technological advances since then have produced major improvements in both the spatial resolution and the accuracy of uranium‐series geochronologies. Re‐analysis of this sample has yielded ages of 7.96 ± 0.36 to 7.69 ± 0.33 ka for the interval previously inferred to span the Younger Dryas, and reveals a substantial hiatus in deposition from 6.93 ± 0.64 to 1.83 ± 0.16 ka. These data not only refute the original evidence for an inter‐hemispheric synchroneity of the Younger Dryas but also reject any evidence for neoglacial conditions at 3 ka. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Editorial - Antony J. Long (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)

Holocene and Lateglacial relative sea‐level change in north‐west England: implications for glacial isostatic adjustment models - Jeremy M. Lloyd; Yongqiang Zong; Paul Fish; James B. Innes (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Relative sea‐level (RSL) change is reconstructed for central Cumbria, UK, based on litho‐ and biostratigraphical analysis from the Lateglacial to the late Holocene. The RSL curve is constrained using ten new radiocarbon‐dated sea‐level index points in addition to published data. The sea‐level curve identifies a clear Lateglacial sea‐level highstand approximately 2.3 m OD at c. 15–17 k cal a BP followed by rapid RSL fall to below −5 m OD. RSL then rose rapidly during the early Holocene culminating in a mid‐Holocene highstand of approximately 1 m OD at c. 6 k cal a BP followed by gradual fall to the present level. These new data provide an important test for the RSL predictions from glacial isostatic adjustment models, particularly for the Lateglacial where there are very little data from the UK. The new RSL curve shows similar broad‐scale trends in RSL movement predicted by the models. However, the more recent models fail to predict the Lateglacial sea level highstand above present reconstructed by the new data presented here. Future updates to the models are needed to reduce this mismatch. This study highlights the importance for further RSL data to constrain Lateglacial sea level from sites in northern Britain. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Glacimarine lithofacies, provenance and depositional processes on a West Greenland trough‐mouth fan - C. Ó Cofaigh; J. T. Andrews; A. E. Jennings; J. A. Dowdeswell; K. A. Hogan; A. A. Kilfeather; C. Sheldon (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Along the West Greenland continental margin adjoining Baffin Bay, bathymetric data show a series of large submarine fans located at the mouths of cross‐shelf troughs. One of these fans, termed here ‘Uummannaq Fan’, is a trough‐mouth fan built largely by debris delivered from a fast‐flowing outlet of the Greenland Ice Sheet during past glacial maxima. Cores from this fan provide the first information on glacimarine sedimentary facies within a major West Greenland trough‐mouth fan and on the nature of Late Weichselian–Holocene glacigenic sediment delivery to this region of the Baffin Bay margin. Glacigenic debris flows deposited on the upper slope and extending to at least 1800 m water depth in front of the trough‐mouth are related to the remobilization of subglacial debris that was delivered onto the upper slope at times when an ice stream was positioned at the shelf edge. In contrast, sedimentary facies from the northern sector of the fan are characterized by hemipelagic and ice‐rafted sediments and turbidites; glacigenic debris flows are notably absent in cores from this region. Quantitative X‐ray diffraction studies of the

Statistical testing of a new testate amoeba‐based transfer function for water‐table depth reconstruction on ombrotrophic peatlands in north‐eastern Canada and Maine, United States - Matthew J. Amesbury; Gunnar Mallon; Dan J. Charman; Paul D. M. Hughes; Robert K. Booth; Timothy J. Daley; Michelle Garneau (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Proxy reconstructions of climatic parameters developed using transfer functions are central to the testing of many palaeoclimatic hypotheses on Holocene timescales. However, recent work shows that the mathematical models underpinning many existing transfer functions are susceptible to spatial autocorrelation, clustered training set design and the uneven sampling of environmental gradients. This may result in over‐optimistic performance statistics or, in extreme cases, a lack of predictive power. A new testate amoeba‐based transfer function is presented that fully incorporates the new recommended statistical tests to address these issues. Leave‐one‐out cross‐validation, the most commonly applied method in recent studies to assess model performance, produced over‐optimistic performance statistics for all models tested. However, the preferred model, developed using weighted averaging with tolerance downweighting, retained a predictive capacity equivalent to other published models even when less optimistic performance statistics were chosen. Application of the new statistical tests in the development of transfer functions provides a more thorough assessment of performance and greater confidence in reconstructions based on them. Only when the wider research community have sufficient confidence in transfer function‐based proxy reconstructions will they be commonly used in data comparison and palaeoclimate modelling studies of broader scientific relevance. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Deglacial history of glacial lake windermere, UK: implications for the central British and Irish Ice Sheet - Luke J. W. Pinson; Mark E. Vardy; Justin K. Dix; Timothy J. Henstock; Jonathan M. Bull; Suzanne E. Maclachlan (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
In the UK, a combination of outcrop mapping, satellite digital elevation models, high‐resolution marine geophysical data and a range of dating techniques have constrained the maximum limit and overall retreat behaviour of the British and Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS). The changing styles of deglaciation have been most extensively studied in the west and north‐western sectors of the BIIS, primarily using offshore geophysical surveys. The surviving record in the southern, terrestrial sector is fragmentary, permitting only large‐scale (tens of kilometres) and longer timescale ( c . 1 ka) reconstructions of ice‐margin movement, with limited information on deglacial processes. Here we present a high‐resolution study of the retreat behaviour for a section of the southern ice‐margin from Windermere in the Lake District, using high‐resolution two‐dimensional multi‐channel seismic data, processed using prestack depth migration. By combining the seismic stratigraphy with landform morphologies, extant cores and seismic velocity measurements, we are able to distinguish between: over‐consolidated till; recessional moraines; De Geer moraines; flowed till/ice‐front fan; supra‐/en‐glacial melt‐out till; and subsequent glaciolacustrine/lacustrine sedimentation. The results reveal a complex and active valley glacier withdrawal from Windermere that changed character between basins and produced two small, localized areas of ice‐stagnation and downwasting. This study indicates that similar active ice‐margin retreats probably took place in other valleys of the Lake District during the Late Devensian deglaciation rather than the previously held view of rapid ice‐stagnation and downwasting. When combined with the regional terrestrial record, this supports a model of early ice loss in terrestrial England compared with other parts of the UK. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

10 Be ages of late Pleistocene deglaciation and Neoglaciation in the north‐central Brooks Range, Arctic Alaska - Michael E. Badding; Jason P. Briner; Darrell S. Kaufman (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
We present a chronology of late Pleistocene deglaciation and Neoglaciation for two valleys in the north‐central Brooks Range, Alaska, using cosmogenic 10 Be exposure dating. The two valleys show evidence of ice retreat from the northern range front before ∼16–15 ka, and into individual cirques by ∼14 ka. There is no evidence for a standstill or re‐advance during the Lateglacial period, indicating that a glacier advance during the Younger Dryas, if any, was less extensive than during the Neoglaciation. The maximum glacier expansion during the Neoglacial is delimited by moraines in two cirques separated by about 200 km and dated to 4.6 ± 0.5 and 2.7 ± 0.2 cal ka BP. Both moraine ages agree with previously published lichen‐inferred ages, and confirm that glaciers in the Brooks Range experienced multiple advances of similar magnitude throughout the late Holocene. The similar extent of glaciers during the middle Holocene and the Little Ice Age may imply that the effect of decreasing summer insolation was surpassed by increasing aridity to limit glacier growth as Neoglaciation progressed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

West Antarctica's sensitivity to natural and human‐forced climate change over the Holocene - P. A. Mayewski; K. A. Maasch; D. Dixon; S. B. Sneed; R. Oglesby; E. Korotkikh; M. Potocki; B. Grigholm; K. Kreutz; A. V. Kurbatov; N. Spaulding; J. C. Stager; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
The location and intensity of the austral westerlies strongly influence southern hemisphere precipitation and heat transport with consequences for human society and ecosystems. With future warming, global climate models project increased aridity in southern mid‐latitudes related to continued poleward contraction of the austral westerlies. We utilize Antarctic ice cores to investigate past and to set the stage for the prediction of future behaviour of the westerlies. We show that Holocene West Antarctic ice core reconstructions of atmospheric circulation sensitively record naturally forced progressive as well as abrupt changes. We also show that recent poleward migration of the westerlies coincident with increased emission of greenhouse gases and the Antarctic ozone hole has led to unprecedented penetration, compared with >100,000 years ago, of air masses bringing warmth, extra‐Antarctic source dust and anthropogenic pollutants into West Antarctica. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Temporal correspondence between pluvial lake highstands in the southwestern US and Heinrich Event 1 - Jeffrey S. Munroe; Benjamin J. C. Laabs (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
Pluvial lakes were abundant in the southwestern United States during Pleistocene glaciations, particularly in the Great Basin. Many of these lakes occupied closed basins; therefore, fluctuations of their water surface elevations are valuable sources of paleoclimate information. Histories of the largest lakes are well constrained, whereas dozens of smaller lakes that were present in this region have received relatively little scientific attention. Given their dimensions, these smaller lakes were climatically sensitive and can offer important information about Quaternary climate variability. Here we present new ages for the highstands of three previously undated small lakes based on radiocarbon dating of gastropod shells recovered from beach ridges. These results are combined with other published and unpublished 14 C ages to yield an extensive compilation of highstand shoreline ages for lakes of all sizes throughout the southwestern US. The results indicate that although some lakes reached highstands during the Last Glacial Maximum, the strongest temporal correspondence is between highstands and Heinrich Event H1. These results are consistent with speleothem‐based reconstructions of effective moisture in the southwestern US, which show increased precipitation during stadials of the last glacial cycle. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

New age constraints for the maximum extent of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet (NW sector) - J. D. Everest; T. Bradwell; M. Stoker; S. Dewey (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2013)
This paper presents the first terrestrial age constraints from the outer continental shelf for the maximum extent of the NW sector of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet. Cosmogenic 10 Be ages from eight glacially transported boulders on the island of North Rona show that the Late Devensian (Late Weichselian) British–Irish Ice Sheet overrode the island at its maximal stage and retreated c . 25 ka BP. These new dates, supported by other geological evidence, indicate that the north‐western part of the ice sheet was most extensive between 27 and 25 ka BP, reaching the outer continental shelf during the global eustatic sea‐level minimum at the Last Glacial Maximum. Copyright © 2012 British Geological Survey/Natural Environment Research Council copyright 2012. Reproduced with the permission of BGS/NERC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Assessment of hydrogen isotopic compositions of n ‐fatty acids as paleoclimate proxies in Lake Biwa sediments - Osamu Seki; Kimitaka Kawamura; Ryoshi Ishiwatari (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2012)
Compound specific hydrogen isotopic compositions ( δ D) of free and bound forms of n ‐fatty acids (FA) were measured throughout a 200 m sediment core taken from Lake Biwa to assess application of biomarker δ D values to paleoclimate study in this central Japan lake. The results of our study suggest that the sources of the C 16 n ‐FA in the two forms are different, whereas both free and bound C 28 n ‐FA originate from terrestrial plants. The δ D of combined (free plus bound) C 28 n ‐FA in the 200 m sediment core shows a large variability, with relatively low and high values during the glacial and interglacial periods, respectively. Based on comparison of our record with other marine and lacustrine paleoclimate data, we found that the sedimentary record of C 28 n ‐FA δ D likely reflects the temperature‐induced change in δ D of summer precipitation. This finding suggests that δ D values of C 28 n ‐FA could be used as a proxy for summer paleotemperatures in the sediments of Lake Biwa and other lakes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Insolation and cross‐hemispheric controls on Australian monsoon variability over the past 180 ka: new evidence from offshore southeastern Papua New Guinea - Liang‐Jian Shiau; Min‐Te Chen; Chih‐An Huh; Masanobu Yamamoto; Yusuke Yokoyama (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2012)
The Australian summer monsoon (ASM) is primarily a synoptic feature determined by the differential thermal response to solar insolation between the Australian continent and the western Pacific warm pool (WPWP) in austral summer. Little is known about the process involved in driving long‐term ASM variability. Here we present a 180 ka record of terrestrial fluxes into offshore southeastern Papua New Guinea (PNG), a prevailing monsoon area in the WPWP. Terrestrial fluxes were estimated by a 230 Th‐normalized method, indicating higher terrestrial inputs into the ocean during glacial stages. We argue that the higher terrestrial fluxes are mainly fluvial, which in turn are linked to stronger ASM precipitation on land, though the increased terrestrial flux could possibly also be due to the lowstand or glacial erosion of mountain glaciers. Cross‐spectral analysis indicates that the ASM precipitation maxima are controlled by local summer insolation maxima, WPWP sea‐surface temperature minima and East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) maxima in precession frequency bands (21 ka −1 ). This result suggests that the 21 ka components of the ASM in the past 180 ka are not only insolation driven but also a dynamic component strengthened by cross‐hemispheric pressure gradient resulted from the precession maxima forcing. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Paleoenvironmental changes in the East/Japan Sea during the last 48 ka: indications from high‐resolution X‐ray fluorescence core scanning - Zhengquan Yao; Yanguang Liu; Xuefa Shi; Bong‐Chool Suk (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2012)
Paleoceanographic changes in the East/Japan Sea during the late Quaternary based on high‐resolution elemental variations, particularly correlations between dark–light laminations and millennial‐scale climatic changes, have remained poorly understood because of the lack of the high‐resolution proxies. The recent application of micro‐X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning provides the potential for high‐resolution study on the laminations deposited in the East/Japan Sea. In this study, we present a geochemical study by using micro‐XRF core scanning on a 730 cm core recovered from the East/Japan Sea. Elemental variations and factor analysis indicate that the sedimentary environment changed from anoxic to suboxic conditions from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2–3 to MIS 1, which is induced by increased contribution of high‐salinity sea water from the open ocean due to the rising sea level. The dark and light laminations during MIS 2–3 were correlated with Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles and summer monsoon proxy, with dark‐colored sediments related to higher terrigenous concentration, corresponding to warm–moist and enhanced summer monsoon period. During the interstadial period, more terrigenous sediments were transported to the East/Japan Sea via the strengthened fluvial discharge from the surrounding continents, caused by enhanced monsoon rainfall. Thus the development of the East Asian summer monsoon and consequent variations in fluvial discharge would have significantly affected the paleoceanographic conditions in the East/Japan Sea during the MIS 2–3 sea‐level lowstand. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Reconstruction of oceanographic changes based on diatom records of the core MD012380 since Marine Isotopic Stage 11 in the Banda Sea - Yuan‐Pin Chang; Chung‐Ching Liao; Wei‐Lung Wang (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2012)
Current surface production in the Banda Sea is primarily controlled by monsoonal forcing, the strength of the Indonesian throughflow and surface salinity, and is sensitive to global climate changes. Therefore, variations of paleoproductivity represented by the abundance of diatoms are estimated to assist in understanding possible hydrological changes during glacial–interglacial cycles since Marine Isotopic Stage 11 (MIS 11). During the interglacials, the enhanced austral winter monsoon (southeast monsoon) encourages deepening of the mixed layer and uplifting of the thermocline, thereby increasing surface production. However, accompanied enhancement of the Indonesian throughflow (ITF) within the interglacials brings warm and less‐saline water from the central part of the warm pool water entering the Banda Sea to mitigate development of the upwelling system. Conversely, cooling of the Northern Hemisphere forces the strengthening of the austral summer monsoon (northwest monsoon) to depress the upwelling and reduce production during glacial intervals, whereas the weakening flow of the ITF reduces the influence of low‐salinity capping effects and benefits production. Higher abundance of Chaetoceros sp., dominant in upwelling environments, observed in glacials suggests that strength of the ITF is the most important factor in controlling the vertical thermostructure of the Banda Sea. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.