Late Pleistocene–Holocene environmental and climatic history of a freshwater paramo ecosystem in the northern Andes - Luisa Patiño; Maria Isabel Velez; Marion Weber; César A. Velásquez‐r; Santiago David; Manuela Rueda; Ivonne Castañeda; Diana Arboleda (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
This study presents the first multi‐proxy palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic history for northern South America based on the palaeolimnological reconstruction of a pond located in a dry paramo at 3570 masl. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the study area was under glacial conditions, then during global events Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1), Bølling–Allerød (BA), and the Younger Dryas (YD), the pond expanded, accumulation rates and proxies for erosion reached the highest values, indicative of humid conditions, with maxima in humidity during the BA and YD. Dry conditions and pond desiccation occurred in the Greenlandian–Northgrippian and by 6010 cal a bp the area was transformed into the mire of today. Comparisons with records from other sites in South America indicate that changes in humidity are most likely controlled by the Intertropical Convergence Zone, mainly during the glacial and postglacial, and by changes in the Pacific Ocean, more pronounced after the YD.

Vicissitudes experienced by the oldest urban center in Bangladesh in relation to the migration of the Brahmaputra River - Gang Hu; Ping Wang; Sufi Mostafizur Rahman; Dehong Li; Muhammad Mahbubul Alam; Jiafu Zhang; Zhengyao Jin; Anchuan Fan; Jie Chen; Aimin Zhang; Wenqing Yang (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. There are 57 trans‐frontier rivers in the country, the widest being the Brahmaputra River. The river's channels have frequently changed course, but the relationship between such river migrations and human settlement patterns has remained unstudied. In this paper, optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon dating techniques were applied to sedimentary and organic materials in the oldest urban center (Wari‐Bateshwar) in Bangladesh. The results showed that the landscape around the urban center was dominated by floodplain and peatland facies between 7.9–7.6 and 4.7–1.6 ka, respectively. Humans occupied this area at ~3.2 ka, and manufactured delicate semi‐precious gemstone beads between ~2.4 and 1.8 ka. The urban center might be the same as an important city of the Gangaridai described in historical records. Due to fluvial migration at ~1.8 ka, the area surrounding the urban center was covered by fluvial sand. Humans might have been forced to abandon the urban center, leading to the bead processing technology in Bangladesh being lost forever.

Impact of Pleistocene–Holocene climate shifts on vegetation and fire dynamics and its implications for Prearchaic humans in the central Great Basin, USA - Sandra Olivia Brugger; David Rhode (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The effects of climate change during the Terminal Pleistocene–Early Holocene transition on ecosystems and early Prearchaic hunter‐gatherers in the central Great Basin of North America are not well understood. We present a palynological reconstruction of regional vegetation and fire history in Grass Valley, central Nevada, from ~14 to ~7.5k cal a BP showing that Pinus ‐dominated woodlands were replaced by dry‐adapted steppe and desert vegetation accompanied by an increase in regional fire activity at the beginning of the Holocene, in response to summer warming and a drying climate. Following a severe drought period peaking ~10.2–9.3k cal a BP, Pinus woodlands partially recovered contemporaneously with the 8.2k cal a BP climate anomaly. Local wetlands provided important resource patches for human foraging societies, and periodic declines of wetlands in response to changing local hydrological conditions may have necessitated adjustments in subsistence and settlement practices and technology.

Sedimentary evidence and luminescence and ESR dating of Early Pleistocene high lake levels of Megalake Tengger, northwestern China - Fan Yuxin; Li Zhenjun; Yang Guangliang; Yi Shuangwen; Zhang Qingsong; Liu Wenhao; Mou Xuesong (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The timing of high lake‐level stands during the Late Pleistocene in western China remains controversial. Here we report new results from Megalake Tengger based on a study of palaeo‐shorelines and a drill core from Baijian Lake in the northwestern Tengger Desert. Multiple dating methods, based on luminescence signals (quartz optically stimulated luminescence, K‐feldspar post infrared‐infrared stimulated luminescence) and electron spin resonance signals of quartz, were used to date beach sands from palaeo‐shoreline profiles at altitudes of ~1310 m (+20 m above lake level), ~1320 m (+30 m) and ~1350 m (+60 m), and from the top 20 m of sandy sediments from the drill core obtained from the modern beach of Baijian Lake. The dating results show that high lake‐level stands associated with the previously reported Megalake Tengger (~1310–1320 m) occurred during the late Early to Middle Pleistocene, which is much earlier than previously reported. In addition, no geomorphological evidence of shorelines and sedimentary evidence from the drill core profile were found to support the previously reported Late Pleistocene lake levels. Our results indicate that the exact age of the previously reported ‘high lake level event’ in a large part of northwestern China during the Late Pleistocene needs to be re‐evaluated.

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Actualistic taphonomy of barn owl pellet‐derived small mammal bone accumulations in arid environments of South America - JOSÉ Manuel LÓPEZ (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The avian family of barn owls (Tytonidae, Strigiformes) is the most geographically widespread group of owls in the world and one of the most common accumulators of small mammal bone and tooth remains recovered from archaeological and palaeontological sites. The present study analyses the taphonomic characteristics of modern barn owl pellet‐derived small mammal bone and tooth accumulations at three roosting sites from the central Monte Desert, one of the most arid regions of South America. In order to identify the taphonomic signature of this predator in the formation of zooarchaeological and palaeontological accumulations, taxonomic structure, relative abundance of skeletal elements, bone and teeth breakage patterns, and digestion were evaluated. Taphonomic results locate the barn owl in modification category 1 (light modifier). Although the general taphonomic results obtained in the present study were similar to a common barn owl pattern, the three samples showed variability both among them and with other samples previously reported in different regions of the world. Very light digestion was detected on incisors, whereas the proportion of digestion on incisors was close to 20%. Cricetid and murid rodents as well as marsupials were detected. Salinomys delicatus , a scarcely known and endangered cricetid species, was recovered.

The use of iron chemical analysis of podzols to date the Late Pleistocene–Holocene deglaciation history of the Central Italian Alps - Alessandro Longhi; Damiano Monticelli; Mauro Guglielmin (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Podzols that have developed on glacial and periglacial features provide the opportunity to reconstruct glacial evolution after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) using different soil indices. Analysing 17 soils classified as podzol, we used the crystallinity ratio of free iron oxides (CRF) on both the A and Bs horizons, and absolute ages for the same landforms containing the soil profile, to create dating curves. Two equations were generated: age = 4566.9 × ln (CRF) + 1760 (1), and age = 3907 × ln (CRF) + 3508.2 (2). The reliability of the curves was evaluated with the Fe o /Fe d ratio, and with the difference of ages calculated using both equations. Equation (2) is considered more reliable because the A horizon may be influenced by new pedogenesis on the pre‐existing podzol, leading to the development of a new type of soil. By dating the soils, we reconstructed the glacial history of the three main upper branches of the LGM Adda Glacier in the Central Italian Alps, specifically the Stelvio Pass area (ST), Gavia Pass area (GV), and the Val Viola valley (VV). Seven glacial advances were identified at 16.7–14.7 ka (phase I), 12.3 ka (phase II), 11 ka (phase III), 10–9.7 ka (phase IV), 9 ka (phase V), 7.5 ka (phase VI) and 5.3 ka (phase VII). The first five phases are chronologically similar to the main Late Pleistocene–Early Holocene phases recorded in the Central European Alps. The last two Holocene phases, which are both longer in duration than the Little Ice Age, are recorded in ST and GV. Interestingly, these phases generally are not recorded in the rest of the Central European Alps, where the late Holocene glaciers were smaller than their present size.

Ecometrics and the paleoecological implications of Pleistocene faunas from the western coastal plains of the Cape Floristic Region, South Africa - J. Tyler Faith; David R. Braun; Benjamin Davies; Larisa R. G. DeSantis; Matthew J. Douglass; Irene Esteban; Vincent Hare; Naomi E. Levin; Julie Luyt; Robyn Pickering; Mitchell J. Power; Judith Sealy; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The Pleistocene ungulate communities from the western coastal plains of South Africa's Cape Floristic Region (CFR) are diverse and dominated by grazers, in contrast to the region's Holocene and historical faunas, which are relatively species‐poor and dominated by small‐bodied browsers and mixed feeders. An expansion of grassy habitats is clearly implied by the Pleistocene faunas, but the presence of ruminant grazers that cannot survive the summer dry season typical of the region today suggests other important paleoecological changes. Here we use dental ecometrics to explore the paleoecological implications of the region's Pleistocene faunas. We show that the dental traits (hypsodonty and occlusal topography) of the ungulates that occurred historically in the CFR track annual and summer aridity, and we use these relationships to reconstruct past aridity. Our results indicate that the Pleistocene faunas signal paleoenvironments that were on average less arid than today, including during the summer, consistent with other lines of evidence that suggest a higher water table and expansion of well‐watered habitats. Greater water availability can be explained by lower temperature and reduced evapotranspiration during cooler phases of the Pleistocene, probably coupled with enhanced groundwater recharge due to increased winter precipitation.

Reconstructing the spatial distribution of large vegetation formations during the mid‐Holocene in Romania: a predictive modeling approach - Cristian Valeriu Patriche; Radu Gabriel Pîrnău; Bogdan Roşca (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The present study tests the usefulness of SoLIM software and GIS techniques for the reconstruction of large vegetation formations from the mid‐Holocene period in Romania. We used current reference climate data (temperature, precipitation) and the current extent of ecological regions in Romania to derive climate optimality functions for each vegetation formation. The optimality functions were used to simulate current and past distributions of vegetation. The results showed that the current and mid‐Holocene simulated spatial distributions of vegetation are quite similar. Changes were found for about 14% of the Romanian territory (33 946 km 2 ), the most important being the retreat of coniferous forests in favor of mixed forests and of mixed forests in favor of forest steppe. The former is validated by previous pollen‐based studies showing the transition from coniferous forests to mixed forests that occurred in several areas of the country after the mid‐Holocene. The study demonstrates the potential of this methodological approach to reconstruct past vegetation formations, and at the same time that it is a straightforward and expert knowledge‐based method. Although our application uses only climate factors, the results can be further refined by incorporating additional drivers (soil and landform information, site‐specific pollen and fossil data, wildfire data) for a more accurate inference of paleovegetation.

Consistent long‐term Holocene warming trend at different elevations in the Altai Mountains in arid central Asia - Zhiguo Rao; Haichun Guo; Jiantao Cao; Fuxi Shi; Guodong Jia; Yunxia Li; Fahu Chen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Recent results indicate contrasting Holocene moisture histories at different elevations in arid central Asia (ACA). However, relatively little is known about Holocene temperature changes at different elevations. Here we report an independently dated peat brGDGTs‐based MBT' 5ME record from the Narenxia peatland (NRX) in the southern Altai Mountains. The record suggests a long‐term warming trend since ~7.7 cal. kyr bp , with a warmer stage during ~7–5.5 cal. kyr bp , a cold stage during ~5.5–4 cal. kyr bp , and a warming trend over the last ~4 kyr. The long‐term warming trend indicated by the NRX MBT' 5ME record is largely consistent with Holocene temperature records from nearby sites covering an altitudinal range of ~1700–4100 m above sea level. This consistent long‐term warming trend at different elevations differs from the long‐term Holocene drying/wetting trends at high/low elevations of the Altai Mountains. We propose that the warming trend and consequent permafrost thawing at high elevations could have resulted in increased meltwater runoff, which would have contributed to the long‐term wetting trend at low elevations. Our findings potentially provide an improved understanding of regional climate change and associated water resource availability, with implications for their possible future status.

Quaternary exhumation history of the NE Tibetan Plateau revealed by peculiar distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in core extracts from the Sanhu depression, eastern Qaidam basin - Mengsha Yin; Haiping Huang (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Reworked organic matter (ROM) has been frequently encountered in fresh organic matter (FOM) in young sedimentary basins. Our study reports an ROM‐dominated sequence from 21 borehole cores of the Late Pliocene–Quaternary strata in the Sanhu depression of the eastern Qaidam basin in northwestern China. Reworked organic matter occurrence is confirmed by Rock‐Eval pyrolysis results, high Ro values, and reversed polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) maturity trends showing elevated maturities. Rock–source correlation using molecular fingerprints of biomarkers shows ROM was derived from Jurassic freshwater lacustrine source rocks dominated by terrestrial input, contrasting the immature Quaternary FOM developed in anoxic, saline lacustrine facies. The ROM provenance is traced northward to the southern Qilian Mountains. Maximum burial depths of ROM prior to erosion have been inferred by a burial depth–Rc (calculated vitrinite reflectance) correlation. Two chronological boundaries (1.83 Ma and 3.12 Ma) displaying distinct biomarker fingerprints are obtained from a previously reported chronological framework in the study area. Accordingly, an eroded thickness of 1214 m and an average erosion rate of 94 cm/ka of the ROM provenance areas during this temporal interval are derived. Our study has illustrated the potential value of geochemical compositions of ROM with constrained provenances in investigating the exhumation history of a mountain.

Formational history of the Wicklow Trough: a marine‐transgressed tunnel valley revealing ice flow velocity and retreat rates for the largest ice stream draining the late‐Devensian British–Irish Ice Sheet - Mark Coughlan; Zsuzsanna TÓth; Katrien J. J. Van Landeghem; Stephen Mccarron; Andrew J. Wheeler (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The Wicklow Trough is one of several Irish Sea bathymetric deeps, yet unusually isolated from the main depression, the Western Trough. Its formation has been described as proglacial or subglacial, linked to the Irish Sea Ice Stream (ISIS) during the Last Glacial Maximum. The evolution of the Wicklow Trough and neighbouring deeps, therefore, help us to understand ISIS dynamics, when it was the main ice stream draining the former British–Irish Ice Sheet. The morphology and sub‐seabed stratigraphy of the 18 km long and 2 km wide Wicklow Trough is described here from new multibeam echosounder data, 60 km of sparker seismic profiles and five sediment cores. At a maximum water depth of 82 m, the deep consists of four overdeepened sections. The heterogeneous glacial sediments in the Trough overlay bedrock, with indications of flank mass‐wasting and subglacial bedforms on its floor. The evidence strongly suggests that the Wicklow Trough is a tunnel valley formed by time‐transgressive erosional processes, with pressurised meltwater as the dominant agent during gradual or slow ice sheet retreat. Its location may be fault‐controlled, and the northern end of the Wicklow Trough could mark a transition from rapid to slow grounded ice margin retreat, which could be tested with modelling.

The new 14 C chronology for the Palaeolithic site of La Ferrassie, France: the disappearance of Neanderthals and the arrival of Homo sapiens in France - S. Talamo; V. Aldeias; P. Goldberg; L. Chiotti; H. L. Dibble; G. Guérin; J.‐J. Hublin; S. Madelaine; R. Maria; D. Sandgathe; T. E. Steele; A. Turq; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The grand abri at La Ferrassie (France) has been a key site for Palaeolithic research since the early part of the 20th century. It became the eponymous site for one variant of Middle Palaeolithic stone tools, and its sequence was used to define stages of the Aurignacian, an early phase of the Upper Palaeolithic. Several Neanderthal remains, including two relatively intact skeletons, make it one of the most important sites for the study of Neanderthal morphology and one of the more important data sets when discussing the Neanderthal treatment of the dead. However, the site has remained essentially undated. Our goal here is to provide a robust chronological framework of the La Ferrassie sequence to be used for broad regional models about human behaviour during the late Middle to Upper Palaeolithic periods. To achieve this goal, we used a combination of modern excavation methods, extensive geoarchaeological analyses, and radiocarbon dating. If we accept that Neanderthals were responsible for the Châtelperronian, then our results suggest an overlap of ca. 1600 years with the newly arrived Homo sapiens found elsewhere in France.

Molecular fossils as a tool for tracking Holocene sea‐level change in the Loch of Stenness, Orkney - Martina L. G. Conti; Martin R. Bates; Richard C. Preece; Kirsty E. H. Penkman; Brendan J. Keely (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Sediments deposited in the Loch of Stenness (Orkney Islands, Scotland) during the Holocene transgression, previously dated to between ~5939–5612 bp , were analysed for molecular fossils – lipids and chlorophyll pigments from primary producers – that complement conventional microfossil and lithological approaches for studying past sea‐level change. While microfossil and lithological studies identified a transgression between 102 and 81 cm core depth, key molecular fossils fluctuate in occurrence and concentration between 118 and 85 cm, suggesting an earlier start to the transgression. Terrestrial lipid concentrations decreased and algal‐derived, short‐chain, n ‐alkanoic acid concentrations increased at 118 cm, indicating a disruption of the freshwater lake conditions associated with the early stages of the marine transgression. The lipid and pigment analyses provided information that complements and extends that from microfossil analysis, presenting a more complete record of Holocene sea‐level changes and local vegetation changes in the Loch of Stenness. The isostatic stability of Stenness during the Holocene points towards other factors to explain the transgression, such as regional factors and/or melting of the Antarctic ice sheet (which occurred up to 3 ka).

Till kinematics in the Stargard drumlin field, NW Poland constrained by microstructural proxies - Piotr Hermanowski; Jan A. Piotrowski; Piotr Duda (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Deciphering the relationships between streamlined subglacial landforms and deposits therein helps to constrain the dynamics of past ice sheets. Here we present microstructural analyses of till from the largest drumlin field in the North European Lowland generated by a major palaeo‐ice stream of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. Data derived from thin sections and X‐ray microtomography (μCT) reveal multiple microstructures including microshears, circular structures, grain stacks and crushed grains. Long axes of micro‐clasts measured in thin sections are directionally clustered and have low, down‐ice‐oriented dip angles. Some samples reveal subordinate clustering oriented at high angles to the main direction. The μCT data show low clustering strengths of clasts and no systematic fabric pattern in the entire set of samples. There is no correspondence between the clast orientations and the directions of drumlin long axes, suggesting that the till is antecedent in relation to the drumlin‐shaping process. The observations indicate spatially and temporally variable, shallow‐seated brittle and ductile deformation controlled by porewater pressure fluctuations and generated time‐transgressively parallel to till accretion. Consistently with previous studies, the data suggest that the Stargard drumlins are erosional remnants of a pre‐existing terrain shaped by material removal from the inter‐drumlin areas.

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Modelling Last Glacial Maximum ice cap with the Parallel Ice Sheet Model to infer palaeoclimate in south‐west Turkey - Adem Candaş; M. Akif Sarikaya; Oğuzhan KÖSE; Ömer L. Şen; Attila Çiner (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Modelling palaeoglaciers in mountainous terrain is challenging due to the need for detailed ice flow computations in relatively narrow and steep valleys, high‐resolution climate estimations, knowledge of pre‐ice topography, and proxy‐based palaeoclimate forcing. The Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM), a numerical model that approximates glacier sliding and deformation to simulate large ice sheets such as Greenland and Antarctica, was recently adapted to alpine environments. In an attempt to reconstruct the climate conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) on Mount Dedegöl in SW Turkey, we used PISM and explored palaeoglacier dynamics at high spatial resolution (100 m) in a relatively small domain (225 km 2 ). Palaeoice‐flow fields were modelled as a function of present temperature and precipitation. Nine different palaeoclimate simulations were run to reach the steady‐state glacier extents and the modelled glacial areas were compared with the field‐based and chronologically well‐established ice extents. Although our results provide a non‐unique solution, best‐fit scenarios indicate that the LGM climate on Mount Dedegöl was between 9.2 and 10.6 °C colder than today, while precipitation levels were the same as today. More humid (20% wetter) or arid (20% drier) conditions than today bring the palaeotemperature estimates to 7.7–8.8 or 11.5–13.2 °C lower than present, respectively.

Ocean/atmosphere interaction and Malthusian catastrophes on the northern fringe of the Asian summer monsoon region in China, 1368–1911 - Harry F. Lee; Ricci P. H. Yue (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
How and to what extent are human societies affected by climate change? There has been a growing body of research using big historical data and statistical analyses to provide scientific answers to this inter‐disciplinary research question. However, quantitative analysis measuring the historical demographic impact of ocean/atmosphere interaction is still scanty. Here we use 544 years (1368–1911) of historical records to trace the demographic impact brought about by ocean/atmosphere interaction in Shaanxi, located on the northern fringe of the Asian summer monsoon region in China. Our results show that: (1) North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) caused Malthusian catastrophes mainly through drought at the inter‐annual scale; (2) drought reinforced the synchrony of various Malthusian catastrophes at the inter‐annual to multi‐decadal scale; and (3) the unusual cycles of NAO drove drought and various Malthusian catastrophes in the cold 1550–1730 period at the multi‐decadal scale. This study represents a pioneering attempt to quantitatively assess the demographic impact caused by the ocean/atmosphere in historical China. Our findings may help to conceptualise the climate–human nexus in those ecologically marginal regions that are impacted by ocean/atmosphere interaction, and to explain the synchrony of social crisis in Eurasia in the 17th century.

A continuous tephrostratigraphic record from the Labrador Sea spanning the last 65 ka - Sunniva Rutledal; Haflidi Haflidason; Sarah M. P. Berben; Lisa Griem; Eystein Jansen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Volcanic ash preserved in marine sediment sequences is key for independent synchronization of palaeoclimate records within and across different climate archives. Here we present a continuous tephrostratigraphic record from the Labrador Sea, spanning the last 65–5 ka, an area and time period that has not been investigated in detail within the established North Atlantic tephra framework. We investigated marine sediment core GS16‐204‐22CC for increased tephra occurrences and geochemically analysed the major element composition of tephra shards to identify their source volcano(es). In total we observed eight tephra zones, of which five concentration peaks show isochronous features that can be used as independent tie‐points in future studies. The main transport mechanism of tephra shards to the site was near‐instantaneous deposition by drifting of sea ice along the East Greenland Current. Our results show that the Icelandic Veidivötn volcanic system was the dominant source of tephra material, especially between late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 and early MIS 3. The Veidivötn system generated volcanic eruptions in cycles of ca. 3–5 ka. We speculate that the quantity of tephra delivered to the Labrador Sea was a result of variable Icelandic ice volume and/or changes in the transportation pathway towards the Labrador Sea.

Architecture of tunnel valleys in the southeastern North Sea: new insights from high‐resolution seismic imaging - Arne Lohrberg; Klaus Schwarzer; Daniel Unverricht; Andreas Omlin; Sebastian Krastel (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Tunnel valleys are assumed to form near the margin of ice sheets. Hence, they can be used to reconstruct the dynamics of former ice margins. The detailed formation and infill of tunnel valleys, however, are still not well understood. Here, we present a dense grid of high‐resolution 2D multi‐channel reflection seismic data from the German sector of the southeastern North Sea imaging tunnel valleys in very great detail. Three tunnel valley systems were traced over distances ranging between 11 and 21 km. All tunnel valleys are completely filled and buried. They differ in incision depth, incision width and number of incisions. The tunnel valleys cut 130–380 m deep into Neogene, Palaeogene and Cretaceous sediments; they show a lower V‐shaped and an upper U‐shaped morphology. For individual tunnel valleys, the overall incision direction ranges from east–west to northeast–southwest. Two tunnel valleys intersect at an oblique angle without reuse of the thalweg. These valleys incise into a pre‐existing glaciotectonic complex consisting of thrust sheets in the northwest of the study area. The analysis of the glaciotectonic complex and the tunnel valleys leads us to assume that we identified several marginal positions of (pre‐)Elsterian ice lobes in the southeastern North Sea.

Revisiting an old profile: an updated geoarchaeological study at Nasera Rockshelter (Tanzania) - David Manuel MartÍn‐Perea; JosÉ‐Manuel MaÍllo‐FernÁndez; Alicia Medialdea; Juan MarÍn; Irene Solano‐MegÍas; Agness Gidna; Audax Mabulla (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Nasera Rockshelter hosts a highly continuous sedimentary record, containing a wide array of archaeological remains from Middle Stone Age, Later Stone Age and Pastoralist occupations. Excavated by L. Leakey and M. Mehlman, geological studies carried out by R. Hay included granulometric and general mineralogical analyses but lacked individualized, detailed description and interpretation of each of the 25 levels exposed. This study presents updated detailed geological descriptions and interpretations of 17 levels exposed during excavations in 2018.

First record of the Eurasian jaguar in southern Asia and a review of dental differences between pantherine cats - Qigao Jiangzuo; Jinyi Liu (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Felid material from the middle Early Pleistocene Haro River quarry, northern Pakistan, is described. Most of the material is referred to the Eurasian jaguar, Panthera gombaszogensis georgica , representing the first record of the jaguar in southern Asia. A systematic review of dental morphology of all living species of Pantherinae is made to provide a better background for studying the evolution of pantherine cats. A renewed dispersal scenario of the jaguar in Eurasia is provided. Panthera gombaszogensis georgica is suggested to be a distinct subspecies distributed in central, western and southern Asia during the Early Pleistocene, characterized by relatively small body size and slender dentition. The Eurasian jaguar does not possess the derived dental characters of the living jaguar Panthera onca (e.g. weak or no canine vertical groove, robust premolars), and presumably did not specialize on hard‐shelled prey, and therefore should be viewed as a distinct species from the living P. onca . Two additional felids from the Haro River Quarry, the large sabre‐toothed felid? Megantereon sp. and a small undetermined feline, are also reported. The Felidae faunal composition of southern Asia during the Early Pleistocene is generally similar to that of northern Eurasia, and the paleoenvironment is probably slightly more closed.

Hydrological changes during the Roman Climatic Optimum in northern Tuscany (Central Italy) as evidenced by speleothem records and archaeological data - M. Bini; G. Zanchetta; E. Regattieri; I. Isola; R. N. Drysdale; F. Fabiani; S. Genovesi; J. C. Hellstrom (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Study of the climate in the Mediterranean basin during different historical periods has taken on a particular importance, particularly regarding its role (together with other factors) in the evolution of human settlement patterns. Although the Roman age is traditionally considered a period with a favourable climate, recent studies have revealed considerable complexity in terms of regional climate variations. In this paper, we compare the hydrological change from speleothem proxy records with flood reconstructions from archaeological sites for Northern Tuscany (central Italy). We identify a period of oscillating climatic conditions culminating in a multidecadal dry event during the 1st century bc , followed by a century of increased precipitation at the beginning of the Roman Empire and subsequently a return to drier conditions in the 2nd century ad. The period of rainfall increase documented by the speleothems agrees with both the archaeological flood record as well as historical flood data available for the Tiber River, ca. 300 km to the south. These data also suggest a return to wetter conditions following the 3nd and 4rd centuries ad.

From cave geomorphology to Palaeolithic human behaviour: speleogenesis, palaeoenvironmental changes and archaeological insight in the Atxurra‐Armiña cave (northern Iberian Peninsula) - Martin Arriolabengoa; Inaki Intxaurbe; Mª Ángeles Medina‐Alcaide; Olivia Rivero; Joseba Rios‐Garaizar; Inaki LÍbano; Peru Bilbao; Arantza Aranburu; Hai Cheng; Richard Lawrence Edwards; Diego Garate (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
A detailed geomorphological study was performed in the Atxurra‐Armiña cave system (northern Iberian Peninsula) to decode landscape evolution, palaeoenvironmental changes and human use of a cave within an Inner Archaeological Context. The results show an average incision rate of the river of –1 for at least the last 419 ka, with interruptions due to sedimentary inputs. Moreover, allostratigraphic units comprising fluviokarstic deposits at the base and flowstone formation at the top have been shown to be climatically controlled, formed either during glacial–interglacial cycles or during interstadial cycles. Finally, when the cave was used by humans in the Late Magdalenian, the lower entrance was closed, and they must therefore have entered the cave through the upper entrance. To reach the sectors selected to decorate the panels, they probably travelled from the upper cave level, as the current crawlway was wider than today, according to our U/Th dating. Once these visitors reached the panels, the floor in the main gallery would have been around 15 cm lower than at present. However, the morphology of the conduit was similar; this has significant implications for understanding and interpreting the human use of the cave during the Palaeolithic.

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Speleothem and glacier records of latest Pleistocene–early Holocene climate change in the western North American interior - Brendon J. Quirk; Glen N. Mackey; Diego P. Fernandez; Andy Armstrong; Jeffrey R. Moore (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Rapid and high‐magnitude North Atlantic climate oscillations following the Last Glacial Maximum have been correlated to climate change events in western North America. However, the strength of teleconnections between the North Atlantic and the interior of western North America remains poorly understood. We present a U‐series calibrated speleothem record from Timpanogos Cave National Monument, located at 2040 m asl in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, spanning 13.5–10.6 ka. Additionally, we carried out a climate reconstruction for a coeval glacier advance in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. Our results indicate that between 13.5 and 12.8 ka, the Wasatch was probably first cool and dry and then warmed. After 12.8 ka, our record suggests cool and/or wetter conditions followed by reduced moisture until 11.8 ka, followed by an early Holocene wet period. The Timpanogos record exhibits few similarities with those from the North Atlantic. Climate reconstructions of the Titcomb Basin glacier suggest modest temperature depressions relative to modern ( 150%). The high‐altitude speleothem record presented here provides a valuable basis for understanding latest Pleistocene–early Holocene glacial episodes in western North America.

Holocene coastal change at Luce Bay, South West Scotland - David E. Smith; Richard M. Tipping; Jason T. Jordan; Mathew Blackett (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Coastal change during the Mid‐ to Late Holocene at Luce Bay, South West Scotland, is examined using morphological, stratigraphic and biostratigraphical techniques supported by radiocarbon dating. Deglaciation left extensive sediments, providing a source for depositional coastal landforms. Glacio‐isostatic uplift resulted in the registration of evidence for former relative sea levels (RSLs), which support the pattern of Holocene RSL change for the northern Irish Sea as determined by shoreline‐based Gaussian trend surface models. The rate of RSL rise was rapid from before ca . 8600 to ca . 7800 cal a bp , but then slowed, changing by ca . 4400 cal a bp RSL was falling towards present levels. As these changes were taking place, coastal barriers developed and dunes formed across them. In the West of the Bay, a lagoon forming to landward of the barriers and dunes acted as a sediment sink for dune sand. Changes in the coastal landscape influenced the occupation of the area by early human societies. This study illustrates the value of combining an understanding of process geomorphology, RSL and archaeology in studies of coastal change.

Contrasting impacts of the 8.2‐ and 4.2‐ka abrupt climatic events on the regional vegetation of the Hulun Lake region in north‐eastern China - Shengrui Zhang; Jule Xiao; Qinghai Xu; Ruilin Wen; Jiawei Fan; Yun Huang; Manyue Li; Jian Liang (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Studies of the vegetation response to abrupt climatic events may provide valuable insights into assessing the impacts of such events under future global warming scenarios. Here we present a detailed record of regional vegetation change based on high‐resolution pollen records for the intervals 9000–7000 and 5000–3000 cal a bp from the Hulun Lake region of north‐eastern China. Our aims were to determine the regional expression of the 8.2‐ and 4.2‐ka events in north‐eastern China, especially their effects on vegetation composition. The results show that the response of the vegetation of the Hulun Lake region to the climatic cooling of the 8.2‐ka event was relatively minor; however, the 4.2‐ka event, which resulted in climatic aridification, resulted in pronounced vegetation degradation. We suggest that the specific characteristics of the 8.2‐ and 4.2‐ka events, together with their duration and the regional climatic background on an orbital time scale, were the main factors responsible for the contrasting vegetation responses. The strengthening and northward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) tended to offset the cooling effect of the 8.2‐ka event on regional vegetation in the mid–high latitudes of East Asia; in contrast, the decrease in summer insolation in the Northern Hemisphere and the southward shift of the ITCZ may have intensified the drought effect of the 4.2‐ka event in East Asia and the associated vegetation degradation. Under future global warming scenarios, both extreme cooling events and extreme drought events may cause a deterioration of the ecological environment; however, the resulting regional vegetation responses may be substantially different.

Revisiting the palaeoenvironmental and climatic history of the Cherangani Hills using fungal spores - Vicky Chelangat Cheruiyot; Daniel Gebregiorgis; Benjamin Opiyo; Lawrence Morara Kiage (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Fungi are highly sensitive to environmental and climatic changes. Palaeoecological reconstructions utilising tropical African fungal spores, however, are rare and patchy. Here, we show that fossil fungal spores preserved in core KAP‐01 from the Cherangani Hills in Kenya tracks critical environmental changes in the African tropics since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), largely synchronous with observations in the pollen record from the same site. Consistent with the pollen record, the presence of fungal taxa in the record, albeit meagre, during the LGM point to an intermittent wetter Cherangani that allowed for the presence of the observed taxa and the prevalence of cool, dry conditions during the last deglaciation. The elevated fungal spore activity during the Late Holocene is evidence for warm, moist environmental conditions and broadly consistent with the pollen record. These different fungal spore taxa, which can be employed to track distinct environmental conditions and processes, provide a dimension that can be overlooked if the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment were to rely solely on pollen. Thus the fungal spore record enables us to affirm the interpretation of the prevalence of warm, moist conditions evident from such as the Holocene pollen record.

Summer precipitation for the England and Wales region, 1201–2000 ce , from stable oxygen isotopes in oak tree rings - Neil J. Loader; Giles H. F. Young; Danny McCarroll; Darren Davies; Daniel Miles; Christopher Bronk Ramsey (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Oxygen isotope ratios from oak tree rings are used to extend the May–August precipitation totals of the England and Wales precipitation series back to 1201 ce. The agreement between instrumental and reconstructed values is unusually strong, with more than half of the variance explained and standard verification tests passed. The stability of this relationship is confirmed using split‐period calibration and verification. This allows the reconstruction to be variance‐scaled to the full length of the instrumental series back to 1766. Direct comparison with historical reports of very wet and dry summers show good agreement. Near‐constant replication, with a minimum of 10 timbers sourced from historic buildings across central southern England ensures signal strength does not change over time. Summers during the late 20th century appear anomalously dry and those of the 21st century very close to the pre‐20th century average with no evidence in the record of prolonged ‘megadroughts’ across England and Wales.

Palaeogeographical changes in response to glacial–interglacial cycles, as recorded in Middle and Late Pleistocene seismic stratigraphy, southern North Sea - Stephen J. Eaton; David M. Hodgson; Natasha L. M. Barlow; Estelle E. J. Mortimer; Claire L. Mellett (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Offshore stratigraphic records from the North Sea contain information to reconstruct palaeo‐ice‐sheet extent and understand sedimentary processes and landscape response to Pleistocene glacial–interglacial cycles. We document three major Middle to Late Pleistocene stratigraphic packages over a 401‐km 2 area (Norfolk Vanguard/Boreas Offshore Wind Farm), offshore East Anglia, UK, through the integration of 2D seismic, borehole and cone penetration test data. The lowermost unit is predominantly fluviatile [Yarmouth Roads Formation, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 19–13], including three northward‐draining valleys. The middle unit (Swarte Bank Formation) records the southernmost extent of tunnel valley‐fills in this area of the North Sea, providing evidence for subglacial conditions most likely during the Anglian stage (MIS 12) glaciation. The Yarmouth Roads and Swarte Bank deposits are truncated and overlain by low‐energy estuarine silts and clays (Brown Bank Formation; MIS 5d–4). Smaller scale features, including dune‐scale bedforms, and abrupt changes in cone penetration test parameters, provide evidence for episodic changes in relative sea level within MIS 5. The landscape evolution recorded in deposits of ~MIS 19–5 are strongly related to glacial–interglacial cycles, although a distinctive aspect of this low‐relief ice‐marginal setting are opposing sediment transport directions under contrasting sedimentary process regimes.

Hekla 1947, 1845, 1510 and 1158 tephra in Finland: challenges of tracing tephra from moderate eruptions - Maarit Kalliokoski; Esther Ruth Guðmundsdóttir; Stefan Wastegård (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Several cryptotephra layers that originate from Icelandic volcanic eruptions with a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of ≤ 4 and tephra volumes of 3 have previously been identified in Northern Europe, albeit within a restricted geographical area. One of these is the Hekla 1947 tephra that formed a visible fall‐out in southern Finland. We searched for the Hekla 1947 tephra from peat archives within the previously inferred fall‐out zone but found no evidence of its presence. Instead, we report the first identification of Hekla 1845 and Hekla 1510 cryptotephra layers outside of Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Ireland and the UK. Additionally, Hekla 1158 tephra was found in Finland for the first time. Our results confirm that Icelandic eruptions of moderate size can form cryptotephra deposits that are extensive enough to be used in inter‐regional correlations of environmental archives and carry a great potential for refining regional tephrochronological frameworks. Our results also reveal that Icelandic tephra has been dispersed into Finnish airspace at least seven times during the past millennium and in addition to a direct eastward route the ash clouds can travel either via a northerly or a southerly transport pathway.

Cultural land use and vegetation dynamics in the uplands of northern Portugal from the Middle Ages to the Modern period - Carla Sá Ferreira; Gill Plunkett; Luís Fontes (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
In Europe, mountain landscapes have evolved in a long‐term relationship with human communities and present‐day landscapes reflect that ancient interaction. The present study aims to reconstruct human activity in two mountain areas in northern Portugal using palynological analysis integrated with the available regional historical, archaeological and palaeoenvironmental archives. Pollen records from two sedimentary sequences span the Medieval and Modern periods and show that mixed agriculture and livestock grazing were consistently present in both regions throughout these times. Variations in cultural indicators show that the extent of farming fluctuated throughout time, with a general increase in cultivation during the Medieval period but with contractions likely coinciding with times of social disturbance. Historical sources suggest that sociopolitical factors and population pressure were fundamental in the utilisation of upland spaces. This study did not find any convincing evidence to suggest that fire was a fundamental factor in heathland spread. We conclude that long‐term occupation of the uplands was sustained by low‐intensity land use throughout the Medieval to post‐Medieval periods, and that the present landscape has assumed a very different character following depopulation of the mountain areas and a shift towards commercial forestry.

Beach ridges of Dali Lake in Inner Mongolia reveal precipitation variation during the Holocene - Mengyao Jiang; Zhiyong Han; Xusheng Li; Yong Wang; Thomas Stevens; Jun Cheng; Cunjuan Lv; Yuwen Zhou; Qianqian Yang; Zhiwei Xu; Shuangwen Yi; Huayu Lu (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Variability in East Asian summer monsoon precipitation during the Holocene remains of debate. In this study, we use a closed lake with well‐dated lake beach ridges located on the margin of the East Asian summer monsoon, a region highly sensitive to monsoon precipitation changes, to obtain a temporal sequence of water volume in North China. The elevation of each beach ridge calibrated to the modern lake level was surveyed. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of undisturbed sediments of beach ridges was performed. The lake area and water volume corresponding to each beach ridge were calculated using a digital elevation model. This study reveals relatively reduced monsoon precipitation from ~12 to 7 ka interrupted by strengthening of the monsoon circulation to a maximum from ~7 to ~5 ka and followed by greatly reduced monsoon intensity until the present day. These results demonstrate that changes in the East Asian summer monsoon precipitation may not be directly driven by global temperature or atmospheric CO 2 content. Rather, we suggest that variation in the the monsoon margin precipitation is probably mainly driven by ice volume and subordinately by the summer solar insolation difference between mid‐latitude land and low‐latitude ocean.

Identifying the accidental‐natural mortality of leporids in the archaeological record: insights from a taphonomical analysis of a pitfall without evidence of human presence - Maxime Pelletier; Emmanuel Desclaux; Jean‐Baptiste Mallye; Evelyne CrÉgut‐Bonnoure (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Leporids (Lagomorpha, Mammalia), especially the mountain hare ( Lepus timidus ) and the European rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus ), have been among the most abundant small game in western Europe since the Pleistocene. These animals are preferred prey for more than 40 predators, which increases the chances of finding their skeletal remains at archaeological or natural sites, and in particular karstic formations alternately occupied by Palaeolithic human societies and other predators. Moreover, specific eco‐ethological characteristics for both species also offer the possibility to produce a substantial quantity of their bones accumulated by natural mortality without predation, making it more difficult to identify their origin in the fossil record. Despite this fact, the taphonomic signature of accidental‐natural accumulations of leporids in karsts, such as pitfalls, has never been properly characterised. In order to address these issues, we carried out a detailed taphonomic study of leporid remains in a pitfall without any evidence of human activity, namely at Coulet des Roches (Monieux, Vaucluse, south‐eastern France). At this site, leporids are the most abundant species throughout the Last Glacial Maximum sedimentary sequence. The bone accumulation was analysed in order to determine the most relevant criteria to identify a natural accumulation that results from the accidental fall of individuals in the pitfall. The relative proportions of each species are consistent with their current ethology, and their mortality profiles are compatible with the structure of a living natural population. The completeness rate of the different skeletal portions for both species is relatively high, bones are less fragmented and, unlike what might be expected, very few anatomical connections were preserved. The observed anatomical representation, breakage, and bone surface modification patterns are discussed and compared with available data concerning accumulations with predation. Taken together, the identified criteria contribute valuable help in the recognition of accidental mortality in the fossil record, as well as to evaluate the proportion of leporid bones accumulated naturally and those accumulated by predation, human or not, in a deposit.

Last glacial maximum ecology and climate from terrestrial gastropod assemblages in Peoria loess, western Kentucky - David A. Grimley; Ronald C. Counts; Jessica L. Conroy; Hong Wang; Sarah N. Dendy; Catherine B. Nield (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The Rocks loess section, in unglaciated western Kentucky, provides a high‐resolution environmental record during the last glacial maximum onset. The Peoria Silt (9 m thick) contains 26 terrestrial gastropod species, with up to 15 species within a single 5 cm interval. Thirteen radiocarbon ages, using shells or charcoal, range between 30 and 24.5 cal ka; younger loess has been leached or eroded. Stratigraphic shifts in gastropod assemblages imply significant cooling, particularly ~27 cal ka, as solar insolation was decreasing and the southern Laurentide Ice Sheet rapidly advancing. Midwestern to southern species (e.g. Anguispira kochi , Gastrocopta pentodon , Hawaii miniscula , Helicodiscus parallelus , Vallonia perspectiva ) occur only in the lowermost Peoria Silt (~30–27 cal ka). In contrast, cold‐tolerant species ( Columella alticola , Vertigo modesta, Vallonia gracilicosta) occur only in full glacial Peoria Silt (27–24.5 cal ka). Inferred mean July temperatures, from mutual climatic range methods, range from ~23 °C at 30 cal ka, cooling to ~18 °C by 26 cal ka; about 3–8 °C cooler than today (~26 °C). Superimposed on this cooling trend are multi‐centennial variations in detrital carbonate, fossil shell concentrations, palaeotemperature estimates, and oxygen isotope values ( Vertigo , Discus, Helicodiscus ). The finer‐scale variations imply relatively synchronous fluctuations in glacial sediment supply, loess sedimentation, and climate.

A first Holocene leaf wax isotope‐based paleoclimate record from the semi‐humid to semi‐arid south‐eastern Caucasian lowlands - Marcel Bliedtner; Roland Zech; Jana Zech; Imke Schäfer; Hans von Suchodoletz (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The Holocene paleoclimate of the Caucasus region is rather complex and not yet well understood: while existing studies are mainly based on pollen records from high‐altitude and humid lowland regions, no records are available from the semi‐humid to semi‐arid south‐eastern Caucasian lowlands. Therefore, this study investigated compound‐specific δ 2 H and δ 13 C isotopes of leaf wax biomarkers from Holocene floodplain soils in eastern Georgia. Our results show that the leaf wax δ 2 H signal from the paleosols mostly reflects changes in the moisture source and its isotopic composition. Depleted δ 2 H values before ~8 cal ka bp change towards enriched values after ~5 cal ka bp and become again depleted after ~1.6 cal ka bp. This trend could be caused by Holocene changes of the isotopic compositions of the Black and eastern Mediterranean Sea, and/or by varying contribution of both moisture sources linked with the North Atlantic Oscillation. The leaf wax δ 13 C signal from the paleosols directly indicates varying local water availability and drought stress. Depleted δ 13 C values before ~8 and after ~5 cal ka bp indicate wetter local conditions with higher water availability, whereas more enriched values during the middle Holocene (~8 until at least 5 cal ka bp ) indicate drier conditions with increased drought stress.

Sedimentary and foraminiferal records of Late Quaternary environmental change west of Ireland and implications for the last British–Irish Ice Sheet - Jared L. Peters; Sara Benetti; Paul Dunlop; Andrew J. Wheeler (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Palaeoenvironmental change following deglaciation of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet on the continental shelf west of Ireland was investigated using multiproxy analyses of sediment and foraminifera data from nine sediment cores. Lithofacies associations record various depositional regimes across the shelf, which evolve from subglacial to postglacial conditions. Census data provide the first characterisation of benthic foraminifera populations across the continental shelf and multivariate analyses reveal three distinct biotopes. Biomineralization within these biotopes is restricted to ≤21 200 cal a bp by four radiocarbon ages. The transition from glacial to postglacial benthic foraminifera populations near the shelf break marks the establishment of productive, nutrient‐rich, ice‐distal conditions at ~20 900 cal a bp ; these conditions may also mark the start of favourable conditions for postglacial cold‐water coral growth. Postglacial conditions on the inner shelf were not established until bp , suggesting glacial conditions west of Ireland may have persisted into the Bølling–Allerød Interstadial.

Late Quaternary vegetation and climate dynamics in central‐eastern Brazil: insights from a ~35k cal a bp peat record in the Cerrado biome - Ingrid Horák‐Terra; Antonio Martínez Cortizas; Cynthia Fernandes Pinto Da Luz; Alexandre Christófaro Silva; Tim Mighall; Plínio Barbosa De Camargo; Carlos Victor Mendonça‐Filho; Paulo Eduardo De Oliveira; Francisco Willian Cruz; Pablo Vidal‐Torrado (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The late Quaternary evolution of central‐eastern Brazil has been under‐researched. Questions remain as to the origin of the Cerrado, a highly endangered biome, and other types of vegetation, such as the Capões – small vegetation islands of semi‐deciduous and mountain forests. We investigated the factors that influenced the expansion and contraction of the Cerrado and Capões during the late Quaternary (last ~35 ka), using a multi‐proxy approach: stable isotopes (δ 13 C, δ 15 N), geochemistry, pollen and multivariate statistics derived from a peat core (Pinheiro mire, Serra do Espinhaço Meridional). Five major shifts in precipitation, temperature, vegetation and landscape stability occurred at different timescales. Our study revealed that changes in the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) seem to have been coeval with these shifts: from the Late Glacial Maximum to mid‐Holocene the SACZ remained near (~29.6 to ~16.5k cal a bp ) and over (~16.5 to ~6.1 k cal a bp ) the study area, providing humidity to the region. This challenges previous research which suggested that climate was drier for this time period. At present, the Capões are likely to be a remnant of a more humid climate; meanwhile, the Cerrado biome seems to have stablished in the late Holocene, after ~3.1 k cal a bp .

Samples not in stratigraphic order are not suitable for constraining ages of paleo‐lake stands - Yonaton Goldsmith; Hai Xu (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)

Issue Information (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)

New insights into Southern Caucasian glacial–interglacial climate conditions inferred from Quaternary gastropod fauna - Christiane Richter; Daniel Wolf; Frank Walther; Stefan Meng; Lilit Sahakyan; Hayk Hovakimyan; Tilmann Wolpert; Markus Fuchs; Dominik Faust (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
In the present study, we performed gastropod analyses on loess–palaeosol sequences from northeast Armenia (Southern Caucasia) covering at least three glacial–interglacial cycles. The elaborated ecostratigraphy shows significant patterns of species composition related to the succession of pedocomplexes and loess, respectively. Pedocomplexes included species that can be associated with high‐grass to forest‐steppe biomes, indicating increased humidity for these sections compared to the loess layers. In contrast, loess layers that relate to glacial periods are associated with gastropod species of semidesert environments with shrub‐ and shortgrass‐steppes, indicating semiarid to arid conditions. Furthermore, the loess deposits do not show any evidence for cold‐adapted gastropod species. Therefore, we suggest that average July temperatures in the study area were above 10 °C, even during periods of loess deposition. Consequently, we propose that the limiting factor for tree growth during glacial periods was aridity, rather than temperature. In addition, we observe environmental differences between the various glacial times, with our results indicating a trend towards steadily increasing aridity in Southern Caucasia across the Middle to Late Pleistocene.

Reply to “Comments: Samples not in stratigraphic order are not suitable to constrain ages of palaeo‐lake stands” - ZHIYONG HAN; XUSHENG LI (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)

Indirect dating of an olive tree planting event using luminescence of the sediments lying beneath the roots of the tree: a pilot study in the south‐western part of Anatolia, Turkey - Eren Şahiner; Georgios S. Polymeris; M. Altay Atlihan; Selcuk Aktürk; Niyazi Meriç (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The aim of the present study is to attempt assessing the age of a monumental olive tree located between the Antique Cities of Militus (Didim‐Aydın region) and Iasos (Milas‐Muğla region). Wood from the trunk of an olive tree is not appropriate for conventional dating approaches such as dendrochronology or 14 C. The sediments closely located surrounding and beneath the roots of the olive tree are considered indicative of the age of the planting event; therefore these sediments were dated using both quartz and feldspar luminescence signal protocols. Methodological aspects including the preheating plateaus, equivalent dose statistical approaches and dose rate using gamma spectrometry are also discussed, as dating of the associated palaeochannel sediments of the area are presented for the first time in the dating literature. The optically stimulated luminescence and/or infrared stimulated luminescence ages are extrapolated to date the event of the tree planting; it is the first time in the literature that an age is reported for an olive tree in the eastern Mediterranean region. The present study stands as the first experimental evidence that olive trees have been cultivated in the area since the Iron Age.

Issue Information (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)

Geology, stratigraphy and palaeoenvironmental evolution of the Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis ‐bearing Quaternary palaeolake(s) of Gorzów Wielkopolski (NW Poland, Central Europe) - Artur Sobczyk; Ryszard K. Borówka; Janusz Badura; Renata Stachowicz‐Rybka; Julita Tomkowiak; Anna Hrynowiecka; Joanna Sławińska; Michał Tomczak; Mateusz Pitura; Mariusz Lamentowicz; Piotr Kołaczek; Monika Karpińska‐Kołaczek; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The sedimentary succession exposed in the Gorzów Wielkopolski area includes Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e) or Early Weichselian (MIS 5d–e) deposits. The sedimentary sequence has been the object of intense interdisciplinary study, which has resulted in the identification of at least two palaeolake horizons. Both yielded fossil remains of large mammals, alongside pollen and plant macrofossils. All these proxies have been used to reconstruct the environmental conditions prevailing at the time of deposition, as well as to define the geological context and the biochronological position of the fauna. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of the glaciofluvial layers of the GS3 succession to 123.6 ± 10.1 (below the lower palaeolake) and 72.0 ± 5.2 ka (above the upper palaeolake) indicate that the site formed during the Middle–Late Pleistocene (MIS 6 – MIS 5). Radiocarbon‐dating of the lacustrine organic matter revealed a tight cluster of Middle Pleniglacial Period (MIS 3) ages in the range of ~41–32 ka cal bp (Hengelo – Denekamp Interstadials). Holocene organic layers have also been found, with 14 C ages within a range of 4330–4280 cal bp (Neolithic). Pollen and plant macrofossil records, together with sedimentological and geochemical data, confirm the dating to the Eemian Interglacial.

Holocene variability in climate and oceanic conditions in the winter rainfall zone of South Africa—inferred from a high resolution diatom record from Verlorenvlei - Kelly L. Kirsten; Thomas Kasper; Hayley C. Cawthra; Paul Strobel; Lynne J. Quick; Michael E. Meadows; Torsten Haberzettl (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
We present a diatom record from a well‐dated 15.25 m composite sedimentary core from Verlorenvlei, a shallow coastal lake on the west coast of South Africa. We show that fluctuations in the diatom record occur in response to changes in sea level, ocean–atmosphere interactions and latitudinal shifts in the wind belts. During the early to mid‐Holocene, the system primarily responds to sea level changes. A marine community that favours high nutrients is evident, particularly during 9200–8000, 7420–7000 and 6200–5600 cal a bp , corroborating periods of Benguela upwelling linked to fluctuations in the southeast trade winds. Increases in bioproductivity (%TOC, C/N) and fresher‐water diatoms are associated with wetter conditions over the region and the northward migration of the southern westerly wind belt, most notably between 8000 and 7500 cal a bp and over the last 700 years. The latter trends are concomitant with changes in the extent of Antarctic sea ice and availability of moisture in southern South America. During the late Holocene, as sea levels stabilised to modern levels, climate variability is more strongly evident. The body of evidence further reveals the sensitivity of the region to high‐latitude atmospheric mechanisms, but also showcases the significance of the southeast trade winds.

Rock magnetics of carbonate systems–investigating palaeodune archives on Fuerteventura (Canary Islands) - Florian Schneider; Christopher‐Bastian Roettig; Daniel Wolf; Philipp Baumgart; Ulrich Hambach; Dominik Faust (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The mineral magnetic properties of Pleistocene aeolian dune sands from the island of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands, Spain) were studied in order to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental evolution of Pleistocene climates during their formation. The palaeodunes on Fuerteventura mainly consist of carbonate sands admixed with dust and material of volcanic origin. Due to the low magnetic background caused by the diamagnetic character of carbonate sands, these archives offer a lot of potential for environmental magnetic studies to detect the imprint of dust, volcanic material and paedogenesis. Four sections of alternating palaeosurface–aeolianite sequences in palaeodune fields have been analysed by means of extensive rock magnetic measurements. These Quaternary archives consist of deposits originating from different sources. I. material blown from the shallow shelf, II. material of volcanic origin, and III. long‐range transported dust. The rock magnetic findings enable a more detailed interpretation of the palaeosurfaces within the sequences. We are able to differentiate semiquantitatively between the different source materials on one hand and to distinguish on the other hand those from soil‐forming processes. Soil formation is only weakly developed in the dust imprints in the palaeosol aeolianite sequences, linked to sparse vegetation cover during the Pleistocene on Fuerteventura.

Relative pollen productivities of the major plant taxa of subtropical evergreen–deciduous mixed woodland in China - Fangyuan Jiang; Qinghai Xu; Shengrui Zhang; Furong Li; Kun Zhang; Meng Wang; Wei Shen; Yuanhao Sun; Zhongze Zhou (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Quantifying the relationship between pollen and vegetation is an essential step in the pollen‐based quantitative reconstruction of past vegetation cover. In this study, we use the Extended R‐Value (ERV) model and a modern dataset of pollen (collected from moss polsters) and related vegetation from 50 sites in the Daba Mountains (subtropical China) to (i) estimate the relevant source area of pollen (RSAP) of the moss samples and the relative pollen productivities (RPPs) of nine major plant taxa‐characteristic of the region, and (ii) evaluate the obtained RPPs. The RSAP estimates of moss polsters vary between 225 and 610 m depending on the ERV submodels and models of pollen dispersal and deposition used. The RPP estimates are different from values published in previous studies from temperate and subtropical China. This may be explained by differences in methodology, climate and vegetation (species composition and spatial distribution), of which vegetation is probably the most important factor. The ranking of the RPP estimates for the nine taxa is Pinus > Juglandaceae > D − Quercus (deciduous Quercus ) > Poaceae > Rosaceae > Cyperaceae > Anacardiaceae > Castanea > Fabaceae. We use a ‘leave‐one‐out’ cross‐validation strategy and the Landscape Reconstruction Algorithm (LRA) for pollen‐based reconstruction of regional and local plant cover to evaluate the ERV model‐based RPP estimates. Both the REVEALS (Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites)‐based and the LOVE (LOcal Vegetation Estimates)‐based plant cover using the RPP estimates are closer to the modern vegetation composition than pollen percentages, thus confirming the applicability of the ERV model and the LRA approach in subtropical China.

Reconstruction of the Late Holocene climate and environmental history from North Bolgoda Lake, Sri Lanka, using lipid biomarkers and pollen records - Kasun Gayantha; Joyanto Routh; Krishnamurthy Anupama; Jean Lazar; Srinivasan Prasad; Rohana Chandrajith; Patrick Roberts; Gerd Gleixner (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The catastrophic impact and unpredictability of the Indian Ocean Monsoon (IOM) over South Asia are evident from devastating floods, mudslides and droughts in one of the most densely populated regions of the globe. However, our understanding as to how the IOM has varied in the past, as well as its impact on local environments, remains limited. This is particularly the case for Sri Lanka, where erosional landscapes have limited the availability of well‐stratified, high‐resolution terrestrial archives. Here, we present novel data from an undisturbed sediment core retrieved from the coastal Bolgoda Lake. This includes the presentation of a revised Late Holocene age model as well as an innovative combination of pollen, source‐specific biomarkers, and compound‐specific stable carbon isotopes of n‐ alkanes to reconstruct the shifts in precipitation, salinity and vegetation cover. Our record documents variable climate between 3000 years and the present, with arid conditions c. 2334 and 2067 cal a bp. This extreme dry period was preceded and followed by more wet conditions. The high‐resolution palaeoenvironmental reconstruction fills a major gap in our knowledge on the ramifications of IOM shifts across South Asia and provides insights during a time of major redistribution of dense human settlements across Sri Lanka.

Climate control on stacked paleosols in the Pleistocene of the Po Basin (northern Italy) - Luigi Bruno; Michela Marchi; Ilaria Bertolini; Guido Gottardi; Alessandro Amorosi (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Paleosols are recurrent features in alluvial successions and provide information about past sedimentary dynamics and climate change. Through sedimentological analysis on six sediment cores, the mud‐dominated succession beneath the medieval ‘Two Towers’ of Bologna was investigated down to 100 m depth. A succession of weakly developed paleosols (Inceptisols) was identified. Four paleosols (P1, P2, P3 and PH) were radiocarbon‐dated to 40–10 cal ka bp . Organic matter and CaCO 3 determinations indicate low groundwater levels during soil development, which spanned periods bp . Weakly developed paleosols in alluvial successions can provide clues to millennial‐scale climatic and environmental variations. In particular, the paleosol‐bearing succession of the Po Plain represents an unprecedent record of environmental changes across the Late Pleistocene (MIS 3 and 2) in the Mediterranean region.

A 180 ka record of environmental change at Erdut (Croatia): a new chronology for the loess–palaeosol sequence and its implications for environmental interpretation - Kaja Fenn; Julie A. Durcan; David S. G. Thomas; Adriano Banak (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
While there are numerous thick loess–palaeosol sequences preserved across the Carpathian Basin, well dated sites that provide terrestrial palaeoenvironmental records extending beyond last glacial–interglacial cycle are scarce. Robust chronologies are essential for correlations of loess with other long‐term Quaternary records and to further understanding of the palaeoenvironment and climate of this important region beyond the last 125 ka. Here a new geochronology based on 13 post‐infrared infrared stimulated luminescence ages focused on the lower part of the loess–palaeosol sequence at Erdut is presented. The results show that the lower part of the Erdut profile spans the penultimate glacial cycle (MIS 7 to MIS 5). The considerable sediments overlaying the investigated part of the profile suggest that this section spans two glacial cycles, rather than the previously suggested one. The most likely source of the discrepancy is the use of uncorrected infrared stimulated luminescence signal, which can cause age underestimation if not accounted for. This study demonstrates the need to revisit sites such as Erdut, re‐date them using updated measurement protocols, and update existing palaeoenvironmental interpretations.

Detecting stratigraphical issues using direct radiocarbon dating from small‐mammal remains - Juan Rofes; Sophie Cersoy; Antoine Zazzo; Aurelien Royer; Pierre‐Yves Nicod; Veronique Laroulandie; Mathieu Langlais; Yvan Pailler; Celine Leandri; Franck Leandri; Matthieu Lebon; Anne Tresset (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Frequently preserved in archaeological and palaeontological sites, the tiny size of small‐mammal remains favours percolations into underlying layers along stratigraphic sequences. This is one of the various post‐depositional processes that may affect the integrity of the original deposits and therefore the subsequent scientific interpretations. Recent developments in sample preparation offer the possibility of detecting intrusive episodes through the absolute dating of minute amounts of bone (down to 10 mg), meaning that isolated elements (such as mandibles in this case) are sufficient to obtain reliable radiocarbon dates if collagen is moderately to well preserved. The radiocarbon dates obtained here for small‐mammal bones (recovered from pre‐Bølling to recent deposits) and their comparison with previous dates obtained from other sources (large‐mammal bones, charcoal, botanical samples, etc.), with different protocols and instruments, illustrate the potential of small‐mammal dating to reveal (and eventually contribute a solution to) stratigraphical issues in different archaeological contexts.

Review of Heine, Klaus, 2019. Das Quartär in den Tropen. Springer, Berlin, 754 pages. ISBN 978‐3‐662‐57383‐0. - Henry Hooghiemstra (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)

Identification of Icelandic tephras from the last two millennia in the White Sea region (Vodoprovodnoe peat bog, northwestern Russia) - Polina Vakhrameeva; Maxim Portnyagin; Vera Ponomareva; Peter M. Abbott; Tatiana Repkina; Anna Novikova; Andreas Koutsodendris; Jörg Pross (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The generation of reliable age models for palaeoenvironmental and archaeological records in the Eurasian Arctic is often problematic when using conventional dating techniques. Tephrochronology can potentially improve the chronologies of such records and synchronise disparate sedimentary archives. However, to date, systematic tephra studies are lacking for this region. This paper presents the first cryptotephra data from the White Sea region (northwestern Russia) based on a peat core spanning the past ~1800 years. We identify seven geochemical glass populations that derive from six Icelandic volcanoes and correlate four of them to north European tephra isochrons; these include Askja ad 1875, the basaltic component of the ad 877 Landnám tephra, and tephras BTD‐15 (c. ad 1750–1650) and SL‐2/SB‐2 ( ad 803–767) from unknown eruptions of Katla and Snæfellsjökull, respectively. The remaining three populations originate from Grímsvötn, Hekla and Katla; however, their attribution to individual eruptions remains ambiguous. These findings highlight the potential to extend the Late Holocene tephrochronological framework of northern Europe to the west Eurasian Arctic. The detection of at least three basaltic tephras in the core suggests that basaltic shards can be transported over larger distances than previously known and that peatlands are well suited to preserve such components.

Geomorphological and seismostratigraphic evidence for multidirectional polyphase glaciation of the northern Celtic Sea - Zsuzsanna Tóth; Stephen McCarron; Andrew J. Wheeler; Stefan Wenau; Stephen Davis; Aaron Lim; Volkhard Spiess (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
High‐resolution seismic and bathymetric data offshore southeast Ireland and LIDaR data in County Waterford are presented that partially overlap previous studies. The observed Quaternary stratigraphic succession offshore southeast Ireland (between Dungarvan and Kilmore Quay) records a sequence of depositional and erosional events that supports regional glacial models derived from nearby coastal sediment stratigraphies and landforms. A regionally widespread, acoustically massive facies interpreted as the ‘Irish Sea Till’ infills an uneven, channelized bedrock surface overlying irregular mounds and deposits in bedrock lows that are probably earlier Pleistocene diamicts. The till is truncated and overlain by a thin, stratified facies, suggesting the development of a regional palaeolake following ice recession of the Irish Sea Ice Stream. A north–south oriented seabed ridge to the north is interpreted as an esker, representing southward flowing subglacial drainage associated with a restricted ice sheet advance of the Irish Ice Sheet onto the Celtic Sea shelf. Onshore topographic data reveal streamlined bedforms that corroborate a southerly advance of ice onto the shelf across County Waterford. The combined evidence supports previous palaeoglaciological models. Significantly, for the first time, this study defines a southern limit for a Late Midlandian Irish Ice Sheet advance onto the Celtic Sea shelf. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Comparisons between marine productivity and terrestrial input records in the Gulf of California over the last 28 ka - Elsa Arellano‐Torres; Astrid J. Mora‐Rivera; Paola Vázquez‐Romero; Enrique H. Nava‐Sánchez; Juan José Kasper‐Zubillaga; M. Socorro Lozano‐García (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
We study the marine and terrestrial contributions in the Gulf of California (GC) to understand the relationship between continental climate and oceanographic variability over the last 28 ka. In Core AII125‐8‐JPC‐20, we examine aeolian and riverine inputs as nutrients for biological productivity. We use biogenic silica (%opal), total organic carbon (%TOC) and calcium carbonate (%CaCO 3 ) as proxies for primary productivity, and lithic fraction distributions as proxies for terrigenous transport. At the core site, biogenic and lithic components are in phase at millennial‐scale in response to regional climate conditions. During the Late Pleistocene, the GC shelf area was above sea level and the western margin showed transient episodes of increased fluvial inputs. Episodic increases in %opal and reduced %TOC suggest upwelling events but ineffective C‐export to the sediment. During stadial events (Heinrich 2, Heinrich 1, Younger Dryas), regional declines in %opal, but increases in %CaCO 3 and TOC, suggest efficient C‐export by carbonate organisms. During most of the Holocene, dust inputs are higher. Episodic increases in %TOC suggest higher C‐accumulation, although this is not controlled by siliceous or calcareous organisms. In the GC, besides upwelling and current advection, nutrient inputs driven by terrestrial climate have an impact on the biological C‐pump. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Issue Information (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)

On the devil's tracks: unexpected news from the Foresta ichnosite (Roccamonfina volcano, central Italy) - Adolfo Panarello; Maria Rita Palombo; Italo Biddittu; Mauro Antonio Di Vito; Gennaro Farinaro; Paolo Mietto (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The Foresta ichnosite is well known for preserving some of the oldest human fossil footprints recorded in Europe so far. This research aims to: i) describe new footprints that are larger than those already reported, some of which form a new trackway that moves in the opposite direction to all the others; ii) announce the discovery of some stone tools also in the surroundings of the Foresta ichnosite. The new results increase the total number of human fossil footprints to at least 81, specify the direction and the number of footprints of Trackway C, and identify three new directions of walking at the site. More compelling and complete estimates of the dimensional range of all ichnological evidence enables us, furthermore, to estimate the number of trackmakers walking on the trampled surface as a minimum of five, one of them likely being an adult male. The general shape of all the recorded footprints suggests that the Foresta trackmakers share some similarities with those at Sima de los Huesos, and belong to the same taxonomical group as the Ceprano skull. All the new evidence enables us to better understand the presence of hominin populations in the Roccamonfina volcano area during the Middle Pleistocene. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A first look at oxygen isotope records from modern and Holocene‐aged gastropod ( Stenomelania ) shells from Lake Kutubu, Papua New Guinea - Kelsie Long; Larissa Schneider; Ian S. Williams; Stewart J. Fallon; Hilary Stuart‐Williams; Simon Haberle (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The oxygen isotopic composition of Stenomelania gastropod shells was investigated to reconstruct Holocene palaeoclimate change at Lake Kutubu in the southern highlands of Papua New Guinea. Oxygen isotope (δ 18 O) values recorded in aquatic gastropod shells change according to ambient water δ 18 O values and temperature. The gastropod shells appear to form in oxygen isotopic equilibrium with the surrounding water and record a shift in average shell oxygen isotopic composition through time, probably as a result of warmer/wetter conditions at ca. 600–900 and 5900–6200 cal a bp. Shorter term fluctuations in oxygen isotope values were also identified and may relate to changes in the intensity or source of rainfall. Further δ 18 O analyses of gastropod shells or other carbonate proxies found in the Lake Kutubu sediments are warranted. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Editorial - C. Neil Roberts (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)

To what extent did changes in temperature affect China's socioeconomic development from the Western Han Dynasty to the Five Dynasties period? - Jia He; Yun Su; Xiuqi Fang (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Analysing the contribution of climate and non‐climate change factors to social development and the occurrence of historical events represents important research on the impact of climate change. This study identifies combinations of social subsystem indices affected by temperature changes using the conceptual framework of food security, a priori knowledge and logical reasoning to statistically analyse three 10‐year data series (grain harvest grades, famine indices and economic levels) from the Western Han Dynasty to the Five Dynasties period of ancient China (210 bc to 960 ad ). The results are as follows. For 94 of the 118 decades in the study period, social development was relatively directly related to temperature effects. On a decadal scale, against a cold background, grain production was closely related to temperature conditions in 40.7% of all decades. Economic prosperity and depressions in 5.1 and 21.2% of these decades, respectively, were directly related to temperature effects. Against a warm background, grain production was closely related to temperature conditions in 39% of all decades. Economic prosperity and depressions in 22 and 8.5% of these decades, respectively, were directly related to the temperature effects. The century and decadal‐scale characteristics were the same. Specifically, when mostly negative combinations of natural–socioeconomic factors dominated, the proportion of decades was slightly higher in cold than in warm periods. This case study enables a scientific understanding of the effect of changes in mean climate values/trends on social development and further demonstrates the different effects of the climate change process and mechanism. Climate cooling and warming may bring more positive than negative impacts in some regions and more negative than positive impacts in others. Complex feedback may amplify or reduce the impact of climate cooling and warming. Climate that evolves unfavourably has an impact more strongly correlated with the socioeconomic system's vulnerability and adaptability. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The multi‐component Hekla Ö Tephra, Iceland: a complex widespread mid‐Holocene tephra layer - Daníel Freyr Jónsson; Esther Ruth Gudmundsdóttir; Gudrún Larsen; Bergrún Arna Óladóttir; Egill Erlendsson; Sigrún Dögg Eddudóttir; Olgeir Sigmarsson (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Large Plinian eruptions from Hekla volcano, Iceland, produce compositionally zoned tephra used as key markers in tephrochronology. However, spatial variations in chemical composition of a tephra layer may complicate its identification. An example is the 5950–6180 cal a bp Hekla Ö tephra layer, which shows compositional spread from rhyolite, dacite and andesite to basalt. In soil sections north of Hekla, the SiO 2 content of the tephra glass reaches 76 wt% in the lowest unit of the Hekla Ö deposit and decreases to 62–63 wt% in the uppermost unit. Intermingled within the whole deposit are basalt tephra grains having 46–47 wt% SiO 2 . The composition of the basalt glass includes primitive basalt and a more evolved basalt (MgO >6 and 2 content from the east to the west of Hekla volcano. Consequently, an individual tephra layer from a large explosive eruption can have different composition at different locations. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Post‐Last Glacial Maximum evolution of a “fjord‐type” lake based on high‐resolution seismic data: the Lago Roca/Acigami (southern Tierra del Fuego, Argentina/Chile) - Donaldo Mauricio Bran; Jorge Gabriel Lozano; Dario Civile; Emanuele Lodolo; María E. Cerredo; Alejandro Tassone; Luca Baradello; Maurizio Grossi; Juan Vilas (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Lago Roca/Acigami is a “fjord‐type” lake located in the southernmost part of South America, in the proximity of the Beagle Channel. A high‐resolution seismic survey was carried out to analyse the seismic stratigraphy of the lake and to shed some light on the post‐Last Glacial Maximum history of the area. Six seismic units were recognised, and their nature and depositional context were interpreted using seismic stratigraphy and acoustic facies analysis. A buried large ridge was identified within the glacial unit (SU1), interpreted as a frontal moraine that indicates a stabilisation phase. After retreat of the glacier from the basin, the trough was flooded by meltwater and a lake developed (SU2). The seismic facies, from bottom to top, depict a transition from ice‐contact (SU2; SU3) to ice‐distal proglacial conditions (SU4). A thick draping unit (SU5) marks a marine transgressive event and the instauration of a fjord environment in the basin. The marine transgression was a rapid event preceded by a fall in the lake level that caused an erosional unconformity. During the fjord phase the sedimentation remained controlled by meltwater discharge. Sea level fall, and subsequent disconnection from the Beagle Channel was accompanied by a progradation of the glaciofluvial deltaic sediments and the occurrence of several mass‐wasting deposits (SU6). © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Did the Harappan settlement of Dholavira (India) collapse during the onset of Meghalayan stage drought? - Torsa Sengupta; Arati Deshpande Mukherjee; Ravi Bhushan; F. Ram; M. K. Bera; Harsh Raj; Ankur J. Dabhi; R. S. Bisht; Y. S. Rawat; S. K. Bhattacharya; Navin Juyal; Anindya Sarkar (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Radiocarbon dating of archaeological carbonates from seven cultural stages of Dholavira, Great Rann of Kachchh (GRK), the largest excavated Harappan settlement in India, suggests the beginning of occupation at ~5500 years BP (pre‐Harappan), and continuation until ~3800 years BP (early part of the Late Harappan period). The settlement rapidly expanded under favourable monsoonal climate conditions when architectural elements such as the Citadel, Bailey, Lower and Middle Town were added between the Early and mid‐Mature Harappan periods. Abundant local mangroves grew around the GRK sustaining prolific populations of the edible gastropod Terebralia palustris . Oxygen isotope (δ 18 O) sclerochronology of Early Harappan gastropod shell suggests seasonal mixing of some depleted (δ 18 O ~ −12‰) river water in summer/monsoon months (through ancient Saraswati and/or Indus distributary channels) with seawater that periodically inundated the GRK. Evaporation from this semi‐enclosed water body during the non‐monsoon months enriched the δ 18 O of water/shell carbonates. The humid fluvial landscape possibly changed due to a catastrophic drought driving the final collapse of the settlement of Dholavira exactly at the onset of the Meghalayan (Late Holocene) stage (~4300–4100 years BP ). Indeed, Dholavira presents a classic case for understanding how climate change can increase future drought risk as predicted by the IPCC working group. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

LakeCC: a tool for efficiently identifying lake basins with application to palaeogeographic reconstructions of North America - Sebastian Hinck; Evan J. Gowan; Gerrit Lohmann (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Along the margins of continental ice sheets, lakes formed in isostatically depressed basins during glacial retreat. Their shorelines and extent are sensitive to the ice margin and the glacial history of the region. Proglacial lakes, in turn, also impact the glacial isostatic adjustment due to loading, and ice dynamics by posing a marine‐like boundary condition at the ice margin. In this study we present a tool that efficiently identifies lake basins and the corresponding maximum water level for a given ice sheet and topography reconstruction. This algorithm, called the LakeCC model, iteratively checks the whole map for a set of increasing water levels and fills isolated basins until they overflow into the ocean. We apply it to the present‐day Great Lakes and the results show good agreement (∼1−4%) with measured lake volume and depth. We then apply it to two topography reconstructions of North America between the Last Glacial Maximum and the present. The model successfully reconstructs glacial lakes such as Lake Agassiz, Lake McConnell and the predecessors of the Great Lakes. LakeCC can be used to judge the quality of ice sheet reconstructions. © 2019 The Authors Journal of Quaternary Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Crossing new frontiers: extending tephrochronology as a global geoscientific research tool - Peter M. Abbott; Britta J. L. Jensen; David J. Lowe; Takehiko Suzuki; Daniel Veres (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)

Fingerprinting the Late Pleistocene tephras of Ciomadul volcano, eastern–central Europe - Szabolcs Harangi; Kata Molnár; Axel K. Schmitt; István Dunkl; Ioan Seghedi; Ágnes Novothny; Mihály Molnár; Balázs Kiss; Theodoros Ntaflos; Paul R. D. Mason; Réka Lukács (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Late Pleistocene tephras derived by large explosive volcanic eruptions are widespread in the Mediterranean and surrounding areas. They are important isochronous markers in stratigraphic sections and therefore it is important to constrain their sources. We report here tephrochronology results using multiple criteria to characterize the volcanic products of the Late Pleistocene Ciomadul volcano in eastern–central Europe. This dacitic volcano had an explosive eruption stage between 57 and 30 ka. The specific petrological character (ash texture, occurrence of plagioclase and amphibole phenocrysts and their compositions), the high‐K calc‐alkaline major element composition and particularly the distinct trace element characteristics provide a strong fingerprint of the Ciomadul volcano. This can be used for correlating tephra and cryptotephra occurrences within this timeframe. Remarkably, during this period several volcanic eruptions produced tephras with similar glass major element composition. However, they differ from Ciomadul tephras by glass trace element abundances, ratios of strongly incompatible trace elements and their mineral cargo that serve as discrimination tools. We used (U‐Th)/He zircon dates combined with U‐Th in situ rim dates along with luminescence and radiocarbon dating to constrain the age of the explosive eruptions of Ciomadul that yielded distal tephra layers but lack of identified proximal deposits.

Issue Information (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)

In memoriam and dedication: Richard John Payne (1978–2019) - M. Jane Bunting; Jeff Blackford; Maria J. Gehrels; W. Roland Gehrels (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)

Far‐travelled ash in past and future eruptions: combining tephrochronology with volcanic studies - Katharine V. Cashman; Alison C. Rust (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Studies of recent eruptions have improved our understanding of volcanic ash transport and deposition, but have also raised important questions about the behaviour of far‐travelled (distal) volcanic ash. In particular, it is difficult to reconcile estimates of distal ash mass and transport distance determined from eyewitness accounts, mapped deposits, satellite‐based observations and cryptotephra records. Here we address this problem using data from well‐characterized eruptions that, collectively, include all four data types. Data from recent eruptions allow us to relate eyewitness accounts to mapped deposits on the ground and satellite‐based observations of ash in the air; observations from an historical eruption link eyewitness accounts to cryptotephra deposits. Together these examples show that (i) 10–20% of the erupted mass is typically deposited outside the mapped limits; (ii) estimates of the ash mass transported in volcanic clouds cannot account for all of this unmapped ash; and (iii) ash fall observed at distances beyond mapped deposits can have measurable impacts, and can form cryptotephra deposits with high (>~1000 cm −3 ) shard counts. We conclude that cryptotephra data can be incorporated into volcanological studies of ash transport and deposition and provide important insight into both the behaviour and impacts of far‐travelled volcanic ash particles.

History of scoria‐cone eruptions on the eastern shoulder of the Kenya–Tanzania Rift revealed in the 250‐ka sediment record of Lake Chala near Mount Kilimanjaro - Catherine Martin‐Jones; Christine Lane; Maarten Van Daele; Thijs Van Der Meeren; Christian Wolff; Heather Moorhouse; Emma Tomlinson; Dirk Verschuren (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Reconstructions of the timing and frequency of past eruptions are important to assess the propensity for future volcanic activity, yet in volcanic areas such as the East African Rift only piecemeal eruption histories exist. Understanding the volcanic history of scoria‐cone fields, where eruptions are often infrequent and deposits strongly weathered, is particularly challenging. Here we reconstruct a history of volcanism from scoria cones situated along the eastern shoulders of the Kenya–Tanzania Rift, using a sequence of tephra (volcanic ash) layers preserved in the ~250‐ka sediment record of Lake Chala near Mount Kilimanjaro. Seven visible and two non‐visible (crypto‐) tephra layers in the Lake Chala sequence are attributed to activity from the Mt Kilimanjaro (northern Tanzania) and the Chyulu Hills (southern Kenya) volcanic fields, on the basis of their glass chemistry, textural characteristics and known eruption chronology. The Lake Chala record of eruptions from scoria cones in the Chyulu Hills volcanic field confirms geological and historical evidence of its recent activity, and provides first‐order age estimates for seven previously unknown eruptions. Long and well‐resolved sedimentary records such as that of Lake Chala have significant potential for resolving regional eruption chronologies spanning hundreds of thousands of years.

Tephra glass chemistry provides storage and discharge details of five magma reservoirs which fed the 75 ka Youngest Toba Tuff eruption, northern Sumatra - Nicholas J.G. Pearce; John A. Westgate; Guilherme A.R. Gualda; Emma Gatti; Ros F. Muhammad (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The Youngest Toba Tuff contains five distinct glass populations, identified from Ba, Sr and Y compositions, termed PI (lowest Ba) – PV (highest Ba), representing five compositionally distinct pre‐eruptive magma batches that fed the eruption. The PI–PV compositions display systematic changes, with higher FeO, CaO, MgO, TiO 2 and lower incompatible element concentrations in the low‐SiO 2 PIV/PV, than the high‐SiO 2 PI–PIII compositions. Glass shard abundances indicate PIV and PV were the least voluminous magma batches, and PI and PIII the most voluminous. Pressure estimates using rhyolite‐MELTS indicate PV magma equilibrated at ~6 km, and PI magma at ~3.8 km. Glass population proportions in distal tephra and proximal (caldera‐wall) material describe an eruption which commenced by emptying the deepest PIV and PV reservoirs, this being preferentially deposited in a narrow band across southern India (possibly due to jet‐stream and/or plinian eruption transport), and as abundant pumice clasts in the lowermost proximal ignimbrites. Later, shallower magma reservoirs erupted, with PI being the most abundant as the eruption ended, sourcing the majority of distal ash from co‐ignimbrite clouds (PI‐ and PIII‐dominant), where associated ignimbrites isolated earlier (PIV‐ and PV‐rich) deposits. This study shows how analysis of tephra glass compositional data can yield pre‐eruption magma volume estimates, and enable aspects of magma storage conditions and eruption dynamics to be described.

Glacier Peak and mid‐Lateglacial Katla cryptotephras in Scotland: potential new intercontinental and marine‐terrestrial correlations - Sean D. F. Pyne‐O'Donnell; Britta J. L. Jensen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Using contiguous high resolution sampling methods, we report the detection of a Glacier Peak volcanic ash from North America in Lateglacial Interstadial lake sediments in western Scotland. It occurs in close proximity to the Icelandic Borrobol and Penifiler tephras, but is distinguishable by its rhyolitic major‐element composition that is consistent with the earliest set G layer, one of a number of mid‐Interstadial Glacier Peak eruptions dated between 13.71 and 13.41 cal ka bp. Another cryptotephra layer present in these same Interstadial sediments has a rhyolitic composition consistent with the Icelandic Katla source. However, it is in a stratigraphic position below the widespread mid‐Lateglacial Stadial Vedde Ash from Katla, which is also present in these cores. The Katla layer is stratigraphically well defined, suggesting primary airfall, and is compositionally similar to a mid‐Interstadial rhyolitic tephra reported from a North Atlantic marine sequence south of Iceland dated to ~13.6 ka. The detection of Glacier Peak G in the European tephrostratigraphy will permit direct high‐precision correlation of mid‐Interstadial palaeoenvironments between North American and European terrestrial sequences. Any correlation between the new Katla layer and similar marine layers remains provisional, though if verified would permit similar correlation between North Atlantic marine and European terrestrial records.

Machine learning classifiers for attributing tephra to source volcanoes: an evaluation of methods for Alaska tephras - Matthew S. M. Bolton; Britta J. L. Jensen; Kristi Wallace; Nore Praet; David Fortin; Darrell Kaufman; Marc De Batist (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Glass composition‐based correlations of volcanic ash (tephra) traditionally rely on extensive manual plotting. Many previous statistical methods for testing correlations are limited by using geochemical means, masking diagnostic variability. We suggest that machine learning classifiers can expedite correlation, quickly narrowing the list of likely candidates using well‐trained models. Eruptives from Alaska's Aleutian Arc‐Alaska Peninsula and Wrangell volcanic field were used as a test environment for 11 supervised classification algorithms, trained on nearly 2000 electron probe microanalysis measurements of glass major oxides, representing 10 volcanic sources. Artificial neural networks and random forests were consistently among the top‐performing learners (accuracy and kappa > 0.96). Their combination as an average ensemble effectively improves their performance. Using this combined model on tephras from Eklutna Lake, south‐central Alaska, showed that predictions match traditional methods and can speed correlation. Although classifiers are useful tools, they should aid expert analysis, not replace it. The Eklutna Lake tephras are mostly from Redoubt Volcano. Besides tephras from known Holocene‐active sources, Holocene tephra geochemically consistent with Pleistocene Emmons Lake Volcanic Center (Dawson tephra), but from a yet unknown source, is evident. These tephras are mostly anchored by a highly resolved varved chronology and represent new important regional stratigraphic markers.

Glass geochemical compositions from widespread tephras erupted over the last 200 years from Mount St. Helens - ZHEN HUI FOO; Britta J. L. Jensen; Matthew S. M. Bolton (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Building reliable chronologies from lake sediments, peat and other paleoenvironmental archives can be challenging, especially for historical times where radiocarbon is unreliable. Nineteenth‐ and 20th‐century eruptions from Mount St. Helens (MSH) provide important chronostratigraphic markers for regional paleoenvironmental studies within this time frame, but are constrained by poorly geochemically characterized tephra and/or limited published data. Here, we present glass geochemistry from the most significant eruptions from this time. This includes proximal, medial and distal deposits of the 18 May 1980 MSH eruption, layer T ( ad 1799/1800), a new tephra that we argue represents the ad 1842 eruption, and the 22 July 1980 eruption that had reported ashfall in Canada. Our results indicate that most tephras ejected during these eruptions, within a time frame of ~200 years, have distinct glass geochemical characteristics that can be used to identify distal deposits for tephrochronological studies. Layer T is on trend with analyses of the 1980 eruption but has a distinct dacitic glass population. The 1980 and ad 1842 eruptions are similar, both having rhyolitic glass compositions, but the ad 1842 event can be differentiated by a more constrained SiO 2 range in the main geochemical population, and the presence of a unique SiO 2 sub‐population.

Middle to late Pleistocene record of explosive volcanic eruptions in marine sediments offshore Kamchatka (Meiji Rise, NW Pacific) - Alexander N. Derkachev; Sergey A. Gorbarenko; Vera V. Ponomareva; Maxim V. Portnyagin; Galina I. Malakhova; Yanguang Liu (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
This paper presents the first detailed study of a late Pleistocene marine tephra sequence from the NW Pacific, downwind from the Kamchatka volcanic arc. Sediment core SO201‐2‐40, located on the Meiji Rise ~400 km offshore the peninsula, includes 25 tephras deposited within the last 215 ka. Volcanic glass from the tephras was characterized using single‐shard electron microprobe analysis and laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry. The age of tephras was derived from a new age model based on paleomagnetic and paleoclimate studies. Geochemical correlation of distal tephras to Kamchatkan pyroclastic deposits allowed the identification of tephras from the Karymsky, Gorely, Opala and Shiveluch eruptive centers. Three of these tephras were also correlated to other marine and terrestrial sites and hence are identified as the best markers for the north‐west Pacific region. These are an early Holocene tephra from the Karymsky caldera (~8.7 ka) and two tephras falling into the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 glacial time: an MIS 6.4 tephra from Shiveluch (~141 ka) and the MIS 6.5 Rauchua tephra (~175 ka) from Karymsky. The data presented in this study can be used in paleovolcanological and paleoceanographic reconstructions.

Proximal–distal fall deposit correlation of VEI‐5 tephra (Towada‐Chuseri) from Towada volcano, northeast Japan - Daisuke Ishimura; Reona Hiramine (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
A tephra layer offers an isochronous surface in sediments, thus serving as a key bed and/or an age marker. Recent high‐resolution sediment research (e.g. varved sediments) has revealed optically invisible tephra fingerprints and provided high‐precision tephra ages. However, a tephra‐based correlation cannot succeed without detailed knowledge of the tephra characteristics in a proximal area to correlate with tephra in high‐resolution sediments in remote areas. Here we documented the detailed characteristics of Towada‐Chuseri (To‐Cu) tephra, which is associated with the Middle Holocene volcanic explosivity index 5 eruption of Towada volcano, northeast Japan. We used To‐Cu tephra samples to achieve the proximal–distal correlation of three members: Chuseri pumice (Cu), Kanegasawa pumice (Kn) and Utarube ash (Ut). These distal occurrences correlate with proximal To‐Cu tephra based on volcanic glass morphology and refractive index, as well as on major element composition of volcanic glass shards. Refractive indices allow the preliminary correlation of each member, and major element composition helps in distinguishing Ut from the other members. Glass morphology provides additional support. These correlations reveal that To‐Cu, especially Cu, covered central to northeast Japan while confirming that To‐Cu is the representative tephra in the Middle Holocene of the Tohoku region.

Itrax μ‐XRF core scanning for rapid tephrostratigraphic analysis: a case study from the Auckland Volcanic Field maar lakes - Leonie Peti; Patricia S. Gadd; Jenni L. Hopkins; Paul C. Augustinus (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Itrax micro X‐ray fluorescence (μ‐XRF) core scanning is a non‐destructive, rapid approach to measuring elemental concentrations and their variability in sediment cores. As such, it records elemental signatures of tephra layers, which serve as correlation tie points and chronological markers for these sedimentary archives of past climatic changes. The traditional tephra identification approach using electron microprobe‐based geochemical fingerprinting of glass shards is a slow and invasive process, whilst μ‐XRF scanning of rhyolite tephra in sediment cores from Auckland (New Zealand) could provide a faster, non‐invasive approach to aid the recognition of tephra layers. This study highlights the potential and pitfalls in this novel approach: changes in most scanning parameters, and the use of two different Itrax core scanners, still led to similar chemical characterizations of the tephra layers. Changes in other scanning parameters have a biasing influence on the chemical characterization of the tephra, which would lead to misidentification of unknown layers. We demonstrate that μ‐XRF core scanning provides a faster and non‐invasive approach to correlation of sediment sequences using chemically distinct, visually pure tephra layers if a strict scanning protocol is followed. Nevertheless, an extensive database of μ‐XRF‐scanned rhyolite tephra is required for recognition of unknown tephra units using this approach.

A shift in eruption mode of Hekla volcano, Iceland, 3000 years ago: two‐coloured Hekla tephra series, characteristics, dispersal and age - GUDRÚN LARSEN; Bryndís G. Róbertsdóttir; Bergrún A. Óladóttir; JÓN EIRÍKSSON (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Hekla volcano is a major producer of large, widespread silicic tephras. About 3000 years ago, the dominant eruption mode shifted from infrequent large (>1 km 3 ) to more frequent moderate ( 3 ) eruptions. In the following two millennia ≥20 explosive silicic‐to‐intermediate eruptions occurred, and six or more basaltic. Three categories can be identified with dacite/andesite to basaltic andesite in the oldest eruptions through basaltic andesite to basalt in the youngest eruptions. Ten tephra layers of the first category have distinct field characteristics: a pale lower unit and a dark upper unit (two coloured or TC‐layers). Colour separation is sharp indicating a stratified magma chamber origin. The lower unit is dominantly andesitic (61–63% SiO 2 ), while the upper unit is basaltic andesite (53–57% SiO 2 ). Volumes of the eight largest TC‐layers range from 0.2 to 0.7 km 3 as freshly fallen. Radiocarbon and soil accumulation rate dates constrain the TC‐layers to between 3000 and 2200 years ago. Two of these (~2890 and ~2920 b2k) are likely to occur overseas. Low SiO 2 in the last erupted tephra of the TC‐layers is comparable to that of historical Hekla lavas, implying a final effusive phase. The Hekla edifice may, consequently, be younger than 3000 years.

The Late Holocene tephra record of the central Mediterranean Sea: Mapping occurrences and new potential isochrons for the 4.4–2.0 ka time interval - D. D. Insinga; P. Petrosino; I. Alberico; G. J. de Lange; C. Lubritto; F. Molisso; M. Sacchi; R. Sulpizio; J. Wu; F. Lirer (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Five cores from the southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas were studied for their tephra and cryptotephra content in the 4.4–2.0 ka time interval. The chronological framework for each core was obtained by accelerator mass spectrometry 14 C dating, the occurrence of distinct marker tephra and stratigraphic correlation with adjacent records. Tephrochronology allowed us to correlate the analyzed deposits with tephra markers associated with Somma‐Vesuvius (79 ad ), Ischia Island (Cretaio), Mt Etna (FG, FL and FS) and Campi Flegrei (Astroni‐Agnano Monte Spina) events. For the first time in the marine setting, a large single glass data set is provided for the Late Holocene Etnean marker beds including the FS tephra (ca. 4.3 ka). Moreover, unknown deposits from Lipari (ca. 2.2–2.0 ka) and Vulcano (3.6–3.3 ka) are also recognized at more distal sites than previously reported. These results contribute to improve the high‐resolution tephrostratigraphic framework of the central Mediterranean Sea. They also provide new insights into the chemical composition and dispersal pattern of tephras that can be used as inter‐archive tools for regional and ‘local’ stratigraphic correlations and for addressing paleoclimate research.

The importance of grain size and shape in controlling the dispersion of the Vedde cryptotephra - Jennifer Saxby; Alison Rust; Katharine Cashman; Frances Beckett (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Volcanic ash is dispersed in the atmosphere according to meteorology and particle properties, including size and shape. However, the multiple definitions of size and shape for non‐spherical particles affect our ability to use physical particle properties to understand tephra transport. Moreover, although particles are often excluded from operational ash dispersion model setups, ash in tephra deposits 1000 km from source can exceed . Here we measure the shape and size of samples of Vedde ash from Iceland, an exceptionally widespread tephra layer in Europe, collected in Iceland and Norway. Using X‐ray computed tomography and optical microscopy, we show that distal ash is more anisotropic than proximate ash, suggesting that shape exerts an important control on tephra dispersion. Shape also impacts particle size measurements. Particle long axis, a parameter often reported by tephrochronologists, is on average greater than geometric size, used by dispersion modellers. By using geometric size and quantifying shape, we can explain the transport of Vedde ash particles more than 1200 km from source. We define a set of best practices for measuring the size and shape of cryptotephra shards and discuss the benefits and limitations of using physical particle properties to understand cryptotephra transport.

Traces of volcanic ash from the Mediterranean, Iceland and North America in a Holocene record from south Wales, UK - Gwydion Jones; Siwan M. Davies; Richard A. Staff; Neil J. Loader; Sarah J. Davies; Michael J. C. Walker (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
A tephra record is presented for a sediment core from Llyn Llech Owain, south Wales, spanning the early‐ to mid‐Holocene. Seven cryptotephra deposits are discovered with three thought to correlate with known eruptions and the remaining four considered to represent previously undocumented events. One deposit is suggested to correlate with the ~6.9 cal ka bp Lairg A tephra from Iceland, whereas more distant sources are proposed as the origin for two of the tephra deposits. A peak of colourless shards in early‐Holocene sediments is thought to tentatively correlate with the ~9.6 cal ka bp Fondi di Baia tephra (Campi Flegrei) and a second cryptotephra is tentatively correlated with the ~3.6 cal ka bp Aniakchak (CFE) II tephra (Alaska). The Fondi di Baia tephra has never been recorded beyond proximal sites and its discovery in south Wales significantly extends the geographical distribution of ash from this eruption. The remaining four cryptotephra deposits are yet to be correlated with known eruptions, demonstrating that our current understanding of widespread tephra deposits is incomplete. This new tephra record highlights the potential for sites at more southerly and westerly locations in northwest Europe to act as repositories for ash from several volcanic regions.

Late Pleistocene Eifel eruptions: insights from clinopyroxene and glass geochemistry of tephra layers from Eifel Laminated Sediment Archive sediment cores - Michael W. Förster; Anastasia Zemlitskaya; Laura M. Otter; Stephan Buhre; Frank Sirocko (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The Eifel Laminated Sediment Archive (ELSA), which comprises several cores from maar lakes, includes numerous tephra layers spanning the last 140 000 years. The sediment cores are dated by 14 C and thermoluminescence as well as tuned to Greenland stadial–interstadial successions. Within the last glacial cycle, the Eifel Volcanic Fields are source to several widespread tephra layers, namely the Laacher See, Eltville, Rambach and Rocourt Tephra. However, a corresponding source volcano was so far only identified for the Laacher See Tephra. In this study we use glass and clinopyroxene geochemistry to link the remaining tephra layers to possible eruption centers within the West and East Eifel Volcanic Fields: while we demonstrate that the Eltville Tephra originated from an earlier eruption of the Laacher See Volcano at 24 300 a bp from within the East Eifel Volcanic Field, the Rambach and Rocourt Tephras are sourced from the West Eifel Volcanic Field and erupted from Wartgesberg at 27 900 a bp and Pulvermaar at 75 000 a bp , respectively. Phases of volcanic activity peaked at 10 000–30 000 and 60 000–80 000 a bp and were thus erupted around the temperature minima of the last glacial cycle. The longest phase of dormancy between individual vents was around 30 000 years long, within the last interglacial.

Timing, magnitude and geochemistry of major Southeast Asian volcanic eruptions: identifying tephrochronologic markers - Caroline Bouvet De Maisonneuve; Olga Bergal‐Kuvikas (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
We review the current knowledge about Southeast Asian volcanoes and their eruption histories, and focus on identifying tephrochronologic markers representing major explosive eruptions in order to further future palaeoclimate and volcanological studies. Forty‐one volcanic edifices in Southeast Asia have been classified as large calderas by Whelley et al . (2015) and thus have, or are likely to have, produced large explosive eruptions with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 6–8. Unfortunately, only 20 such eruptions have known ages, spanning from 1.2 Ma to 1991 ad , and fewer have geochemical data that can be used for tephrostratigraphic correlations. Volcanic products from different geodynamic regions and different sources can generally be distinguished on major element plots (e.g. K 2 O versus CaO) of matrix glass composition. However, the distinction of multiple eruptions from the same source often requires additional data such as trace element compositions of matrix glass and/or mineral compositions. Biotite, but also magnetite compositions (MgO and TiO 2 content in particular) appear to be very discriminating. Up to nine tuffs in addition to the three to four Toba tuffs can be utilised as widespread tephrochronologic markers and span a range from 1.2 to 1.6 Ma to recent. As only a few Holocene major eruptions have been well characterised and dated, many large calderas are still unstudied, and many distal tephra layers are still lacking a source, more tephrochronologic markers can certainly be defined in the future.

The interpretative value of transformed tephra sequences - Andrew J. Dugmore; Polly I. J. Thompson; Richard T. Streeter; Nick A. Cutler; Anthony J. Newton; Martin P. Kirkbride (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
We explore developments in tephra science that consider more than chronology, using case studies of morphological transformations of tephra deposits. Volcanic processes and prevailing weather conditions determine the distribution of tephra deposits immediately after an eruption, but as these freshly fallen tephra become part of the stratigraphic record, the thickness, morphology and definition of the layers they form changes, reflecting the interplay of the tephra, climate, Earth surface processes, topography and vegetation structure, plus direct or indirect modification caused by people and animals. Once part of the stratigraphic record, there can be further diagnostic changes to the morphology of tephra layers, such as the creation of over folds by cryoturbation. Thus, tephra layers may contain proxy evidence of both past surface environments and subsurface processes. Transformations of tephra deposits can complicate the reconstruction of past volcanic processes and make the application of classical tephrochronology as pioneered by Thorarinsson (Sigurður Þórarinsson in Icelandic) challenging. However, as Thorarinsson also noted, novel sources of environmental data can exist within transformed tephra sequences that include the spread or removal of tephra, variations in layer thickness and internal structures, the nature of contact surfaces and the orientation of layers.

Tephrochronological dating of paleoearthquakes in active volcanic arcs: A case of the Eastern Volcanic Front on the Kamchatka Peninsula (northwest Pacific) - Egor Zelenin; Andrey Kozhurin; Vera Ponomareva; Maxim Portnyagin (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Investigation of active faults is crucial for the seismic hazard assessment and, in the case of volcanic belts, it provides a deeper understanding of the interactions between volcanism and tectonic faulting. In this study, we report the results of the first paleoseismological and tephrochronological investigation undertaken on Holocene faulting in Kamchatka's volcanic belts. The studied trenches and additional excavations are located along the axial fault zone of the Eastern Volcanic Front, where the earlier dated tephra layers provide a robust age control of the faulting events. Electron microprobe analysis of glass from 22 tephra samples permitted correlations among the disparate tephra profiles for constructing a summary tephra sequence. The latter, together with published geochronological data, allowed the construction of a Bayesian age model. Detailed examination of the tephra layers deformed by faulting allowed us to reconstruct and date six faulting events with the offsets of 1 to 20 cm indicating paleoearthquakes with magnitudes of M w

Dawson tephra, a widespread 29‐ka marker bed, in a marine core from Patton Seamount off the Alaska Peninsula and its potential marine–terrestrial correlation - Kaori Aoki (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
A tephra layer with normal grading in the sub‐bottom depth interval 119–122 cm in marine core SO202‐27‐6 was collected on Patton Seamount in the northeast North Pacific Ocean. Based on the geochemistry of volcanic glass shards determined by a wavelength dispersive electron probe micro‐analyser and an X‐ray fluorescence analyser, this layer is correlated to the Dawson tephra, a widespread late Pleistocene time marker tephra in Alaska and the Yukon. The age of the Dawson tephra in the core is 29.03 ± 0.178 ka (1 sigma) based on a published age model. The Dawson tephra is revealed to have been deposited in the transition from marine isotope stage 3 to 2, i.e. the last stage of Heinrich Stadial 3 derived from the ice‐rafted debris signal. According to the correlation between Greenland (NGRIP ice core) and this core, the Dawson tephra occupies the record immediately before inter stadial 4 in the δ 18 O stratigraphy of NGRIP. The Dawson tephra on Patton Seamount includes lithic fragments, which suggests that it was deposited not only by fall‐out but also in part via another mechanism, such as icebergs from the Cordilleran ice sheet or seasonal sea ice.

Major and trace element abundances in volcanic glass shards in visible tephras in SG93 and SG06 drillcore samples from Lake Suigetsu, central Japan, obtained using femtosecond LA–ICP–MS - Seiji Maruyama; Keiji Takemura; Takafumi Hirata; Tohru Yamashita; Tohru Danhara (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The major and trace element concentrations of volcanic glass shards from visible tephra layers in the SG93 and SG06 cores from Lake Suigetsu, central Japan, were determined by femtosecond laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. The glass‐shard analyses, together with the petrographic properties of the tephra samples, allow the Suigetsu tephra layers to be broadly classified into tephras derived from calderas on Kyushu Island, and from Daisen and Sambe volcanoes in the Chugoku district of southwest Japan. The layers correlated with tephras from Kuju caldera and Daisen volcano, and with the younger Sambe tephras, have adakitic elemental features. A Suigetsu tephra sample correlated with the Sambe−Kisuki tephra based on petrographic properties has an elemental pattern similar to that of the Toya tephra from Hokkaido Island, northeast Japan. This match implies that tephras from northeast Japan, as well as Kyushu–Chugoku tephras, are possible correlatives of the Suigetsu tephra layers. Both petrographic properties and major–trace element data of volcanic glass shards are essential for robust tephra correlations, and hierarchical cluster analysis proved additionally useful in statistically evaluating relationships among the tephras.

Vegetation history after the late period of the Last Glacial Age based on phytolith records in Nangodani Valley basin, southern part of the Aso caldera, Japan - Yasuo Miyabuchi; Shinji Sugiyama (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Vegetation history after the late period of the Last Glacial Age has been reconstructed using phytolith records obtained from three tephra sections in the Nangodani Valley basin, southern part of the Aso caldera, south‐west Japan. The topography of the Nangodani Valley basin is divided into three types: somma (caldera rim and wall), caldera floor (central valley) and post‐caldera central cone slope. The vegetation transitions after the late period of the Last Glacial Age in the basin vary between these topographic types. The differences can be explained based on human activities in the valley basin. Grassland dominated by Sasa and Pleioblastus dwarf bamboos (before 8 ka) and Miscanthus and other Andropogoneae pampas grasses (after 8 ka) occurred in the central valley and on the post‐caldera central cone slope, which were strongly affected by human activities including a long period of burning. In contrast, forest with an understory of Bambusoideae plants was preserved on the caldera rim and wall, which was inaccessible because of its steep topography, during the Holocene.

A catalogue of major and trace element data for Icelandic Holocene silicic tephra layers - RH. H. Meara; TH. Thordarson; N. J. G. Pearce; C. Hayward; G. Larsen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Tephra layers with Icelandic provenance have been identified across the North Atlantic region in terrestrial, lacustrine, marine and glacial environments. These tephra layers are used as marker horizons in tephrochronology including climate studies, archaeology and environmental change. The major element chemistries of 19 proximally deposited Holocene Icelandic silicic tephra layers confirm that individual volcanic systems have unique geochemical signatures and that eruptions from the same system can often be distinguished. In addition, glass trace element chemistry highlights subtle geochemical variations between tephra layers which appear to have identical major element chemistry and thus allows for the identification of some, if not all, tephra layers previously considered identical in composition. This paper catalogues the compositional variation between the widespread Holocene Icelandic silicic tephra deposits.

Characterization and correlation of the Hegawa‐Kasamori 5 tephra, a widespread tephra aged c . 450 ka associated with large‐scale pyroclastic flows from southern Kyushu, SW Japan - Fumikatsu Nishizawa; Takehiko Suzuki (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
A Middle Pleistocene widespread tephra, defined here as Hegawa‐Kasamori 5 tephra (Hgw‐Ks5), has been newly recognized over a broad area of Japan. Large‐scale pyroclastic flow deposits associated with co‐ignimbrite ash fall deposits (CAFDs) of Hgw‐Ks5 have been identified in the proximal southern Kyushu area, south‐west Japan. Hgw‐Ks5 possibly originated from the Aira caldera in southern Kyushu, and it is widely spread and intercalated with deposits of the Kasamori Formation, Honshu Island, more than 1000 km away from the source. In the north‐west area of the Aira Caldera, the tephra is sparsely distributed in the form of non‐welded ignimbrites, and is exposed stratigraphically above the well‐known Kobayashi‐Kasamori tephra. Hgw‐Ks5 is characterized through petrographic features, major element geochemistry of glass shards, and refractive indices of orthopyroxene. The results of previous stratigraphic isotope studies indicate that the eruptive age of Hgw‐Ks5 is 434–458 ka (Marine Isotope Stage 12). Assuming that the CAFDs originating from the Aira Caldera are distributed concentrically, the apparent volume of Hgw‐Ks5, estimated from the area of distribution and CAFD thickness, is ~100 km 3 . Therefore, a volcanic explosivity index of 7 is assigned to the Hgw‐Ks5 eruption.

Discovery of cryptotephra at Middle–Upper Paleolithic sites Arma Veirana and Riparo Bombrini, Italy: a new link for broader geographic correlations - Jayde N. Hirniak; Eugene I. Smith; Racheal Johnsen; Minghua Ren; Jamie Hodgkins; Caley Orr; Fabio Negrino; Julien Riel‐Salvatore; Shelby Fitch; Christopher E. Miller; Andrea Zerboni; Guido S. Mariani; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Chemical characterization of cryptotephra is critical for temporally linking archaeological sites. Here, we describe cryptotephra investigations of two Middle–Upper Paleolithic sites from north‐west Italy, Arma Veirana and Riparo Bombrini. Cryptotephra are present as small ( 75 wt.%) with low FeO ( 2 O/Na 2 O > 1 and P2 is also a high silica rhyolite (>75 wt.%) but with higher FeO (2.33–2.65 wt.%). Shards at Riparo Bombrini (P3) are of the same composition as P1 shards at Arma Veirana, providing a distinct link between deposits at both sites. Geochemical characteristics suggest three possible sources for P1 and P3: eruptions from Lipari Island (56–37.7 ka) in Italy, the Acigöl volcanic field (200–20 ka) in Turkey and the Miocene Kirka‐Phrigian caldera (18 Ma) in Turkey. Eruptions from Lipari Island are the most likely source for P1,3 cryptotephra. This study highlights how cryptotephra can benefit archaeology, by providing a direct link between Arma Veirana and Riparo Bombrini as well as other deposits throughout the Mediterranean.

Identification of Lower Pleistocene widespread tephras associated with large caldera‐forming eruptions in the Tohoku area, north‐east Japan - Takehiko Suzuki; Seiji Maruyama; Tohru Danhara; Takafumi Hirata; Hiroshi Machida; Fusao Arai (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
Tephra fingerprinting techniques contributing to volcanology and palaeoenvironmental studies have been developed using a combination of laser‐ablation inductively coupled‐plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) and scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS). In particular, femtosecond LA‐ICP‐MS can determine major‐ and trace element abundances in individual glass shards. On the basis of the major oxide and trace element composition of the glass shards, using those methods, we re‐examined the identification of four lower Pleistocene tephras originating from north‐east Japan. All trace element abundances exhibited the typical pattern of tephras from the Hokkaido–Tohoku area, and major element concentrations were distinct. As a result, we re‐examined the correlation of the widespread Tmg‐R4 tephra (2.0 Ma), and newly defined the widespread Kd44‐Naka tephra (1.968–1.781 Ma), both originating from the Sengan geothermal region. Furthermore, we re‐examined identifications of Sr‐Asn‐Kd8 (1.219 Ma) and Sr‐Kc‐U8 (0.922–0.910 Ma) in central Japan, both derived from the Aizu volcanic region. The extensive distributions of the former two tephras suggest the occurrence of two large caldera‐forming eruptions (Volcanic Explosivity Index 7) during a short period. Also, the distributions and volumes of the latter two tephras are broader and larger than those previously assumed. The results provide insight into large volcanic eruption history and terrestrial and marine palaeoenvironmental history.

Direct and indirect luminescence dating of tephra: A review - Janina Johanna Bösken; Christoph Schmidt (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
In Quaternary studies, tephras are widely used as marker horizons to correlate geological deposits. Therefore, accurate and precise dating is crucial. Among radiometric dating techniques, luminescence dating has the potential to date tephra directly using glass shards, volcanic minerals that formed during the eruption or mineral fragments that originate from the shattered country rock. Moreover, sediments that frame the tephra can be dated to attain an indirect age bracket. A review of numerous luminescence dating studies highlights the method's potential and challenges. While reliable direct dating of volcanic quartz and feldspar as a component in tephra is still methodically difficult mainly due to thermal and athermal signal instability, red thermoluminescence of volcanic quartz and the far‐red emission of volcanic feldspar have been used successfully. Furthermore, the dating of xenolithic quartz within tephra shows great potential. Numerous studies date tephra successfully indirectly. Dating surrounding sediments is generally straightforward as long as samples are not taken too close to the tephra horizons. Here, issues arise from the occurrence of glass shards within the sediments or unreliable determination of dose rates. This includes relocation of radioelements, mixing of tephra into the sediment and disregarding different dose rates of adjacent material.

New major element analyses of proximal tephras from the Azores and suggested correlations with cryptotephras in North‐West Europe - Stefan Wastegård; Hans Johansson; José M. Pacheco (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2020)
The Azores Archipelago is one of the most active volcanic areas in the North Atlantic region. Approximately 30 eruptions have been reported over the last 600 years with some major VEI 5 (Volcanic Explosivity Index) eruptions further back in time. The geochemical composition of associated tephra‐derived glass, however, is not well characterized. An Azorean origin of cryptotephras found in distal areas such as North Africa, the British Isles and Greenland has been suggested, but proximal data from the Azores are scarce and the correlations have only been tentative. These tephras have a traychtic composition, which excludes an Icelandic origin. In a previous study, we presented major element analyses of proximal tephra‐derived glass from five Holocene eruptions on the Azores Islands. There is a striking geochemical similarity between tephras from volcanoes on São Miguel and Irish cryptotephras, and especially with eruptives from the Furnas volcano. Here we present new analyses of proximal tephras that confirm and strengthen a link between Furnas and cryptotephras found in south‐west Ireland. We also suggest a correlation between a previously unsourced tephra found in a Swedish bog with an eruption of the Sete Cidades volcano c. 3880 a cal BP.

Late glacial and Holocene landscape change and rapid climate and coastal impacts in the Canal Beagle, southernmost Patagonia - R. D. MCCULLOCH; C. A. Mansilla; F. Morello; R. De Pol‐Holz; M. San Román; E. Tisdall; J. Torres (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Palaeoenvironmental data for the Late Glacial and Holocene periods are provided from Caleta Eugenia, in the eastern sector of Canal Beagle, southernmost Patagonia. The record commences at c. 16 200 cal a bp following glacier retreat in response to climatic warming. However, cooler conditions persisted during the Late Glacial period. The onset of more temperate conditions after c. 12 390 cal a bp is indicated by the arrival of southern beech forest and later establishment at c. 10 640 cal a bp , but the woodland growth was restricted by lower levels of effective moisture. The climate signal is then truncated by a rapid marine incursion at c. 8640 cal a bp which lasted until a more gradual emergence of the coast at c. 6600 cal a bp. During this period the pollen record appears to be dominated by the southern beech woodland. A punctuated hydroseral succession follows the isolation of the site from the sea leading to the re‐establishment of a peat bog. Between c. 5770 cal a bp and the present there were several periods of short rapid climatic change leading to drier conditions, probably as a result of late Holocene periods of climatic warming. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Modelling the vegetation response to the 8.2 ka bp cooling event in Europe and Northern Africa - Huan Li; Hans Renssen; Didier M. Roche; Paul A. Miller (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
The 8.2 ka bp cooling event is assumed to be the most clearly marked abrupt climate event in the Holocene at northern mid‐ to high latitudes. In this study, we simulate the vegetation responses to the 8.2 ka bp climate change event over Europe and Northern Africa. Our results show that all dominant plant functional types (PFTs) over Europe and North Africa respond to these climate changes, but the magnitude, timing and impact factor of their responses are different. Compared with pollen‐based vegetation reconstructions, our simulation generally captures the main features of vegetation responses to the 8.2 ka bp event. Interestingly, in Western Europe, the simulated vegetation after perturbation is different from its initial state, which is consistent with two high‐resolution pollen records. This different vegetation composition indicates the long‐lasting impact of abrupt climate change on vegetation through eco‐physiological and ecosystem demographic processes, such as plant competition. Moreover, our simulations suggest a latitudinal gradient in the magnitude of the event, with more pronounced vegetation responses to the severe cooling in the north and weaker responses to less severe cooling in the south. This effect is not seen in pollen records. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A multi‐method approach to dating the burial and skeleton of Kiacatoo Man, New South Wales, Australia - Timothy Pietsch; Justine Kemp; Colin Pardoe; Rainer Grün; Jon Olley; Rachel Wood (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Kiacatoo Man, a large, rugged Aboriginal adult buried in the Lachlan riverine plains of southeastern Australia, was discovered in 2011. Laser‐ablation uranium series analysis on bone yielded a minimum age for the burial of 27.4 ± 0.4 ka (2σ). Single‐grain, optically stimulated luminescence ages on quartz sediment in which the grave had been dug gave a weighted mean age of 26.4 ± 1.5 ka (1σ). Luminescence samples from the grave infill and from sediment beneath the grave exhibit overdispersed dose distributions consistent with bioturbation or other disturbance, which has obscured the burial signal. The overlap between the minimum (U‐series) and maximum (luminescence) ages places the burial between 27.0 and 29.4 ka (2σ). Luminescence ages obtained from the channel belt of between 28 ± 2 and 25 ± 3 ka indicate that fluvial sedimentation was occurring before the Last Glacial Maximum, which is consistent with the broader geomorphic setting. Together, these results are internally and regionally consistent, and indicate that Kiacatoo Man was one of the more ancient individuals so far identified in Australia. His remains are important to our understanding of patterns of biological variation and other processes that have shaped people in the Murray‐Darling Basin through time. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Meltwater discharge during the Holocene from the Wilkes subglacial basin revealed by beryllium isotope analysis of marine sediments - Bethany Behrens; Yosuke Miyairi; Adam D. Sproson; Masako Yamane; Yusuke Yokoyama (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Understanding Antarctic Ice Sheet dynamics related to global climate change is of scientific and societal interest as the future behaviour of the ice sheet under the currently changing climate is unknown. We present beryllium‐10 ( 10 Be) analysis of a high‐resolution marine sediment core from the Adélie Basin near the eastern Wilkes Land margin, which is susceptible to marine ice sheet instability due to the low‐lying nature and down‐sloping trough of the Wilkes Subglacial Basin. Combined with a newly constructed age model using compound specific radiocarbon dates, the data reveal three events associated with high meteoric 10 Be at ca. ~10 ka, ca. ~6.5 ka and from ca. ~4 ka. We interpret these high meteoric 10 Be events to be derived from the deposition of 10 Be released from the ice sheet during meltwater discharge. In particular, the shift to higher meteoric 10 Be concentration at~4 ka may correspond to changes in climate patterns at this time. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Origin and age of The Hillocks and implications for post‐glacial landscape development in the upper Lake Wakatipu catchment, New Zealand - Samuel T. McColl; Simon J. Cook; Timothy Stahl; Timothy R. H. Davies (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Ambiguous landscape histories can arise from equivocal or incomplete geomorphological, sedimentological or geochronological evidence. In this study, we apply quantitative analyses to robustly assess the origin and age of a field of rounded mounds, known as ‘The Hillocks’. Using clast analysis, the sediment is shown to be consistent with a landslide origin but inconsistent with other glacial sediments in the region. Cosmogenic 10 Be exposure age dating suggests The Hillocks formed ~8 ka. Ground‐penetrating radar reveals that the deposit rests upon deltaic foreset beds; combined with topographical data, we calculate a deposit volume of ~15–27 M m 3 , consistent with the estimated volume of the proposed source area. Overall, our data support a rock avalanche origin, indicating that by 8 ka the valley was ice‐free at The Hillocks’ location, and the level of Lake Wakatipu was lower than 340 m asl by this time. The Dart River delta shoreline was situated somewhere between The Hillocks and the present day shoreline at that time, and has prograded at a maximum average rate of 1 m a −1 since ~8 ka. These findings are significant given the lack of landforms by which to constrain glacial or post‐glacial landscape histories in this region of New Zealand. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Morphostratigraphy and provenance of Plio‐Pleistocene terraces in the south‐eastern Alpine foreland: the Mislinja and Upper Savinja valleys, northern Slovenia - Eva Mencin Gale; Petra Jamšek Rupnik; Mirka Trajanova; Miloš Bavec; Flavio S. Anselmetti; Andrej Šmuc (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
This study focuses on the Plio‐Pleistocene fluvial deposits preserved in the terrace staircases in the south‐eastern Alpine foreland of the Mislinja (MV) and Upper Savinja valleys (USV) in northern Slovenia. The area is located at the north‐eastern margin of the Adria microplate, where neotectonic activity is the prevailing driving force for the terrace formation. The aim of this study is to determine the morphostratigraphy and provenance of the Pliocene to Early Pleistocene gravels using geomorphic and clast lithological analysis. The established morphostratigraphic framework encompasses three terraces in the MV and five terraces in the USV. Due to the lack of age‐relevant data, the morphostratigraphy of the MV and USV is based on the results of geomorphic analysis, clast petrography and data from the literature. Low‐level, middle‐level and high‐level terrace groups were tentatively attributed to the Late and Middle Pleistocene, Early Pleistocene–Pliocene and Pliocene, and compared with the traditional Quaternary stratigraphy of the Alpine foreland. The results of the clast lithological analysis revealed major provenance areas. Moreover, the evolution of long‐term drainage from the Miocene onward was inferred, which suggests that the system reached conformity with the present‐day drainage pattern at the Miocene to Plio‐Pleistocene transition. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Standard chemical‐based tephra extraction methods significantly alter the geochemistry of volcanic glass shards - Claire L. Cooper; Ivan P. Savov; Graeme T. Swindles (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
The chemical compositions of tephra shards are widely utilised in a myriad of disciplines, including volcanology, petrology, tephrochronology, palaeoecology and climate studies. Previous research has raised concerns over the possible chemical alteration of microscopic ( 2 O, Na 2 O, CaO, MgO) and SiO 2 , and the most stable oxides are Al 2 O 3 and FeO. Felsic glasses are considerably less susceptible to alteration by both acidic (HCl, HNO 3 , H 2 SO 4 ) and alkaline (KOH) digestions. Our findings have important implications for interpreting the geochemistry of volcanic glasses. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Holocene palaeoenvironmental reconstruction based on fossil beetle faunas from the Southern Altai region, north‐west China - TIANSHU ZHANG; SCOTT A. ELIAS (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
We present here the results of the first‐ever Quaternary entomological research in China. The Halashazi Wetland, located in the southern Altai Mountain region in the northernmost part of Xinjiang Province, yielded Holocene insect fossils (mostly beetles) from two peat profiles. In total, 55 Coleoptera taxa were found, including 37 identified species. A new species, Helophorus sinoglacialis , was identified. The fauna is strongly northern Holarctic in character. The interval from 10 424 to 9705 cal a BP was probably a cold and wet period, and the study site was above the treeline. From 9665 to 9500 cal a BP it was probably warmer and drier, and treeline moved to higher elevations. Following a depositional hiatus, mid‐Holocene (5400–4400 cal a BP ) insect assemblages represent cold conditions with the site above the treeline. The exception was a brief warming around 5450 cal a BP , when bark beetle evidence suggests that the treeline moved to a higher elevation. Of the 37 identified beetle species from the Halashazi site, 34 (92%) have modern records in Siberia. The Altai Mountains probably served as a dispersal corridor between the Siberian arctic and alpine regions of northern China. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The Falkland Islands’ palaeoecological response to millennial‐scale climate perturbations during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition: Implications for future vegetation stability in the southern ocean islands - Robert G. Scaife; Antony J. Long; Alistair J. Monteath; Paul D. M. Hughes; Michael J. Bentley; Philip Stone (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Oceanic island flora is vulnerable to future climate warming, which is likely to promote changes in vegetation composition, and invasion of non‐native species. Sub‐Antarctic islands are predicted to experience rapid warming during the next century; therefore, establishing trajectories of change in vegetation communities is essential for developing conservation strategies to preserve biological diversity. We present a Late‐glacial‐early Holocene (16 500–6450 cal a bp ) palaeoecological record from Hooker's Point, Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Atlantic. This period spans the Pleistocene‐Holocene transition, providing insight into biological responses to abrupt climate change. Pollen and plant macrofossil records appear insensitive to climatic cooling during the Late‐glacial, but undergo rapid turnover in response to regional warming. The absence of trees throughout the Late‐glacial‐early Holocene enables the recognition of far‐travelled pollen from southern South America. The first occurrence of Nothofagus (southern beech) may reflect changes in the strength and/or position of the Southern Westerly Wind Belt during the Late‐glacial period. Peat inception and accumulation at Hooker's Point is likely to be promoted by the recalcitrant litter of wind‐adapted flora. This recalcitrant litter helps to explain widespread peatland development in a comparatively dry environment, and suggests that wind‐adapted peatlands can remain carbon sinks even under low precipitation regimes. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Site formation processes at Donggutuo: a major Early Pleistocene site in the Nihewan Basin, North China - Zhenxiu Jia; Shuwen Pei; Alfonso Benito‐Calvo; Dongdong Ma; Laura Sanchez‐Romero; Qi Wei (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Understanding site formation processes is crucial for interpreting archaeological context patterns and hominin behaviour as these affect the preserved condition of a site and the integrity of archaeological remains. The fluvio‐lacustrine sequences in the Nihewan Basin of North China are rich sources of early Pleistocene archaeological sites, which offer an important opportunity to investigate human evolution and adapted behaviours in East Asia. Although many Palaeolithic sites have been reported from the Nihewan Basin, North China, few of them focus on site formation processes before interpreting the hominin behaviour patterns. Here, we present a site formation study of four archaeological layers (Layers 6D, 6C, 6B and 6A) in Trench 1 from the Donggutuo (namely DGT‐T1) site in the Nihewan Basin with an age of 1.1 Ma. Through the study of sedimentary contexts, spatial distributions of artefacts and fossils, intra‐assemblage category ratios, debitage size distributions, lithic abrasion, artifact orientation and planar dip, our results show that all the layers had been disturbed by low‐energy sheet wash across the lake shore setting, but to differing extents. The post‐depositional disturbance caused by water decreased from the lower to the upper layers, from Layer 6D to Layer 6A. This indicates that the archaeological remains in DGT‐T1 have not been subject to significant natural modifications and are thus suitable for studying early hominin behaviour in North China. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Evolution of sea‐surface conditions on the northwestern Greenland margin during the Holocene - Myriam Caron; André Rochon; Jean‐Carlos Montero‐Serrano; Guillaume St‐Onge (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Reconstructions of sea‐surface conditions during the Holocene were achieved on two sediment cores from the northwest Greenland margin (AMD14‐204) and Kane Basin (AMD14‐Kane2B) based on dinoflagellate cyst assemblages. On the northwest Greenland margin, sea‐surface conditions were cold with an extended sea ice cover prior to 7750 cal a bp associated with the end of the deglaciation. A major change occurred around ca. 7750 cal a bp with enhanced influence of warmer water from the West Greenland Current, and optimal sea‐surface conditions were observed around 6000 cal a bp . After 3350 cal a bp , results reflect the establishment of the modern assemblages. In the Kane Basin, sea‐surface conditions were not favourable for dinocyst productivity prior to 7880 cal a bp , as the basin was still largely covered by ice. The presence of warmer water is recorded between 7880 and 7200 cal a bp and the highest primary productivity between 5200 and 2100 cal a bp , but sea‐surface conditions remained cold with an extended sea ice cover throughout the Holocene. Overall, the results from this study revealed the strong influence of meltwater discharges and oceanic current variability on the sea‐surface conditions. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

How a river submerges into the sea: a geological record of changing a fluvial to a marine paleoenvironment during early Holocene sea level rise - D.A. HEPP; O.E. ROMERO; T. MÖRZ; R. DE POL‐HOLZ; D. HEBBELN (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Coastal seas, and in particular estuarine systems, were significantly affected by Quaternary sea level changes. Furthermore, the dynamics of shelf and coastal evolution have had a strong impact on coastal landscapes inhabited by humans. The postglacial evolution of the vast North Sea shelf with its huge drainage systems, e.g. the Elbe Paleovalley and its tributary system, is an excellent research target to understand how coastal shelf environments change in response to sea level rise. In this study, we investigate infill sediments of the Paleo‐Ems valley – a drowned extension of the modern Ems River and part of the Elbe Paleovalley drainage system. Radiocarbon‐dated transgression sequences provide several new observations regarding the mode and rate of the river system submerging due to the Holocene transgression. Thus, the Paleo‐Ems valley submerged within a short time span of~200 years since the river was not able to adjust its gradient to the rapid rising sea level. The fate of the Paleo‐Ems is exemplary for the rapid change of a former fluvial landscape into a coastal landscape and finally into a submarine seascape. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Glacial history of the Greenland Ice Sheet and a local ice cap in Qaanaaq, northwest Greenland - Anne Sofie Søndergaard; Nicolaj Krog Larsen; Jesper Olsen; Astrid Strunk; Sarah Woodroffe (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
In this study, we present new information on the glacial history of the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) and a local ice cap in Qaanaaq, northwest Greenland. We use geomorphological mapping, 10 Be exposure dating of boulders, analysis of lake cores, and 14 C dating of reworked marine molluscs and subfossil plants to constrain the glacial history. Our 14 C ages of reworked marine molluscs reveal that the ice extent in the area was at or behind its present‐day position from 42.2 ± 0.4 to 30.6 ± 0.3k cal a BP after which the GrIS expanded to its maximum position during the Last Glacial Maximum. We find evidence of early ice retreat in the deep fjord (Inglefield Bredning) at 11.9 ± 0.6 ka whereas the Taserssuit Valley was deglaciated ~4 ka later at 7.8 ± 0.1k cal a BP. A proglacial lake record suggests that the local ice cap survived the Holocene Thermal Maximum but moss kill‐dates reveal that it was smaller than present for a period of time before 3.3 ± 0.1k until 0.9 ± 0.1k cal a BP, following which the ice in the area expanded towards its Little Ice Age extent. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Optically stimulated luminescence ages of the Hengyu site and their implications for anthropogenic activities in the Fuzhou Basin, South China - Jianhui Jin; Yunming Huang; Yong Zhang; Zhizhong Li; Xuechun Fan; Zhiyong Ling; Fei Zheng; Yan Cheng; Xiaolin Xu; Zhixing Li; Wenjing Zhang (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
The chronologies of few Neolithic sites in the lower reaches of the Min River of China have been well investigated for the middle to late Holocene. In this study, the Hengyu Neolithic site in Fujian Province, South China, which has significant archaeological remains, was dated using blue‐stimulated optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (AMS 14 C) techniques. The results, comprising nine OSL and three AMS 14 C ages through the Neolithic sequence, provide new evidence towards understanding the relationship between environmental evolution and human activities in the middle to late Holocene in the Fuzhou Basin and coastal areas of South China. The ages of the site deposits vary from 6.83 to 1.67 ka and can be divided into two main phases: the Keqiutou–Tanshishan culture period and the Bronze culture period. In contrast, the persistent periods of ancient human activities at the Hengyu site seem to correspond to regional sea‐level changes and the East Asian winter monsoon as a secondary factor, which can affect human activities through sea‐level impacts. The warm and high sea level conditions provided a liveable environment for the ancient humans of Fujian and even South China. The ages of two building column bases are linked to the early stage of the Han dynasty, suggesting a potentially favourable habitation environment; that is, ancient humans occupied and settled this area for the long term within this time period, which is consistent with sea‐level changes and palynology records. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Global travertine deposition modulated by oscillations in climate - Jason W. Ricketts; Lin Ma; Amy E. Wagler; Victor H. Garcia (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Travertine deposits are important records of past fluid flow in the Earth's crust, and document fluid migration through both tectonic activity and changes in climate. While many studies hint at possible relationships between travertine formation and global climate, none have investigated these connections on a global scale. Here we compile 1649 published travertine ages from six continents to test the hypothesis that global and/or regional changes in climate regulate travertine deposition. Peaks in bedded travertine ages occur with main frequencies that correspond to 100‐kyr changes in global climate, where most peaks occur during glacial terminations or interglacial periods, including a large peak that coincides with the Early Holocene climatic optimum. Time–series analysis also suggests a possible connection with 41‐kyr obliquity cycles. At regional scales, many peaks also correspond with local times of high precipitation or wet conditions. This can be attributed to higher groundwater recharge rates, providing the necessary water to form travertine. Many bedded travertine‐depositing systems may therefore be water‐limiting and sufficient CO 2 may be present even during times of no travertine deposition. Exceptions to this conclusion are banded vein travertine deposits, which typically form during times of dry climate when water tables are low. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fluvial sedimentary history of Arlington Canyon, Channel Islands National Park, California - R. Randall Schumann; Jeffrey S. Pigati (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Arlington Canyon, in the northwest part of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, has been the setting for important scientific discoveries over the past half century, including the oldest human remains in North America, several vertebrate fossil sites, and purported evidence of a catastrophic extinction event at the end of the Pleistocene. The canyon is filled with alluvial sediments that date to between 16.4 and 1.1 ka (thousands of calibrated years before present), representing accumulation that occurred primarily in response to rising sea levels during the late Pleistocene and Holocene. The deposits are laterally discontinuous, exhibit a high degree of sedimentary complexity, and contain evidence of past climates and environments, including fossil bones, burned plant macrofossils, and invertebrate microfossils. Here, we show that it is critical to view the observations, data, and conclusions of scientific studies conducted in the canyon within this larger context so that localized facets of the spatially and temporally extensive alluvial deposits are not misinterpreted or misrepresented. By improving the baseline understanding of processes and drivers of sediment accumulation in Arlington Canyon, we hope to offer a solid foundation and better underpinning for future archeological, paleontological, and geochemical studies here and throughout the northern Channel Islands. Published 2019. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

The influence of fine‐scale topography on the impacts of Holocene fire in a Tasmanian montane landscape - HAIDEE CADD; MICHAEL‐SHAWN FLETCHER; MICHELA MARIANI; HENDRIK HEIJNIS; PATRICIA S. GADD (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Tasmania's montane temperate rainforests contain some of Australia's most ancient and endemic flora. Recent landscape‐scale fires have impacted a significant portion of these rainforest ecosystems. The complex and rugged topography of Tasmania results in a highly variable influence of fire across the landscape, rendering predictions of ecosystem response to fire difficult. We assess the role of topographic variation in buffering the influence of fire in these endemic rainforest communities. We developed a new 14 000‐year (14‐ka) palaeoecological dataset from Lake Perry, southern Tasmania, and compared it to neighbouring Lake Osborne ( Eucalyptus species at Lake Osborne after 2.5 ka. Contiguous topographic fire refugia within the Lake Perry catchment probably provided areas of favourable microclimates that discouraged fire spread and supported the recovery of these montane temperate rainforests. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Refining the ice flow chronology and subglacial dynamics across the migrating Labrador Divide of the Laurentide Ice Sheet with age constraints on deglaciation - Jessey M. Rice; Martin Ross; Roger C. Paulen; Samuel E. Kelley; Jason P. Briner; Christina M. Neudorf; Olav B. Lian (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
The Laurentide Ice Sheet was characterized by a dynamic polythermal base. However, important data and knowledge gaps have led to contrasting reconstructions in areas such as the Labrador Ice Divide. In this study, detailed fieldwork was conducted at the southeastern edge of a major landform boundary to resolve the relative ice flow chronology and constrain the evolution of the subglacial dynamics, including the migration and collapse of the Labrador Ice Divide. Surficial mapping and analysis of 94 outcrop‐scale ice flow indicators were used to develop a relative ice flow chronology. 10 Be exposure ages were used with optical ages to confine the timing of deglaciation within the study area. Four phases of ice flow were identified. Flow 1 was a northeasterly ice flow preserved under non‐erosive subglacial conditions associated with the development of an ice divide. Flow 2 was a northwest ice flow, which we correlate to the Ungava Bay Ice Stream and led to a westward migration of the ice divide, preserving Flow 2 features and resulting in Flow 3's eastward‐trending indicators. Flow 4 is limited to sparse fine striations within and around the regional uplands. The new optical ages and 10 Be exposure ages add to the regional geochronology dataset, which further constrains the timing of ice margin retreat in the area to around 8.0 ka. Copyright © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Coniferization of the mixed‐wood boreal forests under warm climate - Cécile C. Remy; Dominic Senici; Han Y. H. Chen; Yves Bergeron; Martin Lavoie; Laure Paradis; Adam A. Ali (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Mixed‐wood boreal forests are characterized by a heterogeneous landscape dominated by coniferous or deciduous species depending on stand moisture and fire activity. Our study highlights the long‐term drivers of these differences between landscapes across mixed‐wood boreal forests to improve simulated vegetation dynamics under predicted climate changes. We investigate the effects of main climate trends and wildfire activities on the vegetation dynamics of two areas characterized by different stand moisture regimes during the last 9000 years. We performed paleofire and pollen analyses in the mixed‐wood boreal forest of north‐western Ontario, derived from lacustrine sediment deposits, to reconstruct historical vegetation dynamics, which encompassed both the Holocene climatic optimum ( ca . 8000–4000 a bp ) and the Neoglacial period ( ca . 4000 a bp ). The past warm and dry period (Holocene climatic optimum) promoted higher fire activity that resulted in an increase in coniferous species abundance in the xeric area. The predicted warmer climate and an increase in drought events should lead to a coniferization of the xeric areas affected by high fire activity while the mesic areas may retain a higher broadleaf abundance, as these areas are not prone to an increase in fire activity. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Tree ring dating using oxygen isotopes: a master chronology for central England - Neil J. Loader; Danny Mccarroll; Daniel Miles; Giles H. F. Young; Darren Davies; Christopher Bronk Ramsey (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Ring‐width dendrochronology, based on matching patterns of ring width variability, works best when trees are growing under significant environmental (climatic) stress. In the UK, and elsewhere in the temperate mid‐latitudes, trees generally experience low stress, so dating is more difficult and often fails. Oxygen isotopes in tree rings passively record changes in the isotopic ratios of summer precipitation, so they carry a strong common signal, which offers potential for cross‐dating. A master chronology covering the period 1200–2000 ce was constructed using the oxygen isotope ratios of the latewood cellulose of oak samples from central England. Two independent chronologies, developed to verify the isotopic signal, were combined ( n = 10 trees) and the method was evaluated by dating timbers of known age and historical timbers that could not be dated by ring‐width dendrochronology, from both within and beyond the central England region. The agreement between samples and the master chronology is exceptionally strong, allowing the dating of timbers with far fewer rings than is normally the case for ring‐width dendrochronology. Tree‐ring oxygen isotope values are more suited to correlation analysis than tree‐ring widths, so it is possible to provide t ‐values that conform to Student's t ‐distribution and can be converted into probabilities of error. A protocol for assigning dates using ‘stable‐isotope dendrochronology’ is proposed, which has the potential to revolutionize the dating of wooden structures and artefacts, allowing the dating of short and invariant ring sequences from young, fast‐grown trees. Such samples are commonplace throughout the historical building and archaeological records and were, until now, considered impossible to date. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

A new late Pleistocene subfossil site (Tsaramody, Sambaina basin, central Madagascar) with implications for the chronology of habitat and megafaunal community change on Madagascar's Central Highlands - Karen E. Samonds; Brooke E. Crowley; Tojoarilala Rinasoa Nadia Rasolofomanana; Miora Christelle Andriambelomanana; Harimalala Tsiory Andrianavalona; Tolotra Niaina Ramihangihajason; Ravoniaina Rakotozandry; Zafindratsaravelo Bototsemily Nomenjanahary; Mitchell T. Irwin; Neil A. Wells; Laurie R. Godfrey (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Madagascar is a complex ‘biodiversity hotspot’ with a rapidly dwindling biota. The Late Quaternary subfossil record includes many extinct species whose loss is attributed to natural climate change and human impacts. Investigation of the chronology of these events is challenging because few localities document pre‐Holocene communities not impacted by humans. Caves with extinct lemurs of large body size comprise some of Madagascar's richest subfossil sites, but provide only a limited window into the island's past. Open highland sites may have fewer primates, but may better document other megafauna, and allow the analysis of the role of the Central Highlands as refugia and as corridors for the dispersal of vertebrates before and after human arrival. Here we present a new subfossil site, Tsaramody (Sambaina basin, Central Madagascar), a high‐altitude wetland area that preserves a diverse late glacial and postglacial vertebrate community. Tsaramody bears testimony to fluctuations in the highland flora during the transition from glacial to postglacial conditions, and the composition of a highland vertebrate community before humans arrived. We compare its biota to those of other sites to begin to document the decline and disappearance of megafauna from some of Madagascar's open ecosystems – wetlands dominated by hippopotamuses and crocodylians. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

High‐resolution bathymetric mapping reveals subaqueous glacial landforms in the Arctic alpine lake Tarfala, Sweden - Nina Kirchner; Riko Noormets; Jakob Kuttenkeuler; Elias Strandell Erstorp; Erik Schytt Holmlund; Gunhild Rosqvist; Per Holmlund; Marika Wennbom; Torbjörn Karlin (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
In Arctic alpine regions, glacio‐lacustrine environments respond sensitively to variations in climate conditions, impacting, for example,glacier extent and rendering former ice‐contact lakes into ice distal lakes and vice versa. Lakefloors may hold morphological records of past glacier extent, but remoteness and long periods of ice cover on such lakes make acquisition of high‐resolution bathymetric datasets challenging. Lake Tarfala and Kebnepakte Glacier, located in the Kebnekaise mountains, northern Sweden, comprise a small, dynamic glacio‐lacustrine system holding a climate archive that is not well studied. Using an autonomous surface vessel, a high‐resolution bathymetric dataset for Lake Tarfala was acquired in 2016, from which previously undiscovered end moraines and a potential grounding line feature were identified. For Kebnepakte Glacier, structure‐from‐motion photogrammetry was used to reconstruct its shape from photographs taken in 1910 and 1945. Combining these methods connects the glacial landform record identified at the lakefloor with the centennial‐scale dynamic behaviour of Kebnepakte Glacier. During its maximum 20 th century extent, attained c . 1910, Kebnepakte Glacier reached far into Lake Tarfala, but had retreated onto land by 1945, at an average of 7.9 m year –1 . Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Fahien reconsidered: Pleistocene exploitation of wild bananas and Holocene introduction of Musa cultivars to Sri Lanka - Edmond De Langhe; Luc Vrydaghs; Xavier Perrier; Tim Denham (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
A recent publication on the phytolith assemblage at Fahien rockshelter, Sri Lanka (Premathilake and Hunt) is argued to represent: the exploitation of wild Musa acuminata and M. balbisiana during the Late Pleistocene; the introduction of edible diploid cultivars from the Southeast Asia–New Guinea region during the early to mid‐Holocene; the generation and cultivation of triploid banana hybrids on Sri Lanka before 6194–5994 cal bp ; and the subsequent spread of derived triploid cultivars to mainland India and westward to Africa. A careful review of the archaeobotanical research presented by Premathilake and Hunt, in the context of broader multidisciplinary evidence (agronomy, archaeobotany, genetics and linguistics) for the domestication and spread of banana cultivars, indicates that three main aspects of their argument are problematic: the lack of clarity in the characterization of banana domestication in the past; the methods used to discriminate phytoliths into banana taxa; and the promotion of Sri Lanka as a source region rather than a recipient of banana cultivars. Following reconsideration, the Fahien evidence is consistent with previous interpretations for the origins of diploid and significant triploid cultivars outside of Sri Lanka and dispersal to that island. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Aspects of human physical and behavioural evolution during the last 1 million years - Julia Galway‐Witham; James Cole; Chris Stringer (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
This paper reviews some of the main advances in our understanding of human evolution over the last 1 million years, presenting a holistic overview of a field defined by interdisciplinary approaches to studying the origins of our species. We begin by briefly summarizing the climatic context across the Old World for the last 1 million years before directly addressing the fossil and archaeological records. The main themes in this work explore (i) recent discoveries in the fossil record over the last 15 years, such as Homo naledi and Homo floresiensis ; (ii) the implications of palaeogenetics for understanding the evolutionary history of, and relationships between, Neanderthals, Denisovans and Homo sapiens ; (iii) the interplay between physiology and metabolic demand, landscape use, and behavioural adaptations in the evolution of morphological and behavioural innovation; and (iv) recent advances in archaeological understanding for the behavioural record, in particular that of the Neanderthals. This paper seeks to provide a broad‐scale, holistic perspective of our current understanding of human evolution for the last 1 Ma, providing a reference point for researchers that can be built upon as new discoveries continue to develop the landscapes of human evolution. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Cave bear occupation in Schwabenreith Cave, Austria, during the early last glacial: constraints from 230 Th/U‐dated speleothems - Christoph Spötl; Denis Scholz; Gernot Rabeder; Paula J. Reimer (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
The cave bear was a prominent member of the Upper Pleistocene fauna in Eurasia. While breakthroughs were recently achieved with respect to its phylogeny using ancient DNA techniques, it is still challenging to date cave bear fossils beyond the radiocarbon age range. Without an accurate and precise chronological framework, however, key questions regarding the palaeoecology cannot be addressed, such as the extent to which large climate swings during the last glacial affected the habitat and possibly even conditioned the final extinction of this mammal. Key to constraining the age of cave bear fossils older than the lower limit of radiocarbon dating is to date interlayered speleothems using 230 Th/U. Here we report new results from one such site in the Eastern European Alps (Schwabenreith Cave), which yielded the highest density of bones of cave bear ( Ursus spelaeus eremus ). Although dating of the flowstones overlying this fossiliferous succession was partly compromised by diagenetic alteration, the 230 Th/U dates indicate that the bear hibernated in this cave after about 113 ka and before about 109 ka. This time interval coincides with the equivalent of Greenland Stadial 25, suggesting possible climate control on the cave bear's habitat and behaviour. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Quaternary Science Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd

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Holocene evolution of the Indian Summer Monsoon inferred from a lacustrine record of Lake Wuxu, south‐east Tibetan Plateau - YONGBO WANG; ENLOU ZHANG; WEIWEI SUN; JIE CHANG; XINGQI LIU; ZHENYU NI; DONGLIANG NING (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
A continuous sediment record since 12.3 cal ka bp from Lake Wuxu (south‐eastern Tibetan Plateau) was investigated in terms of the Holocene evolution of the Indian Summer Monsoon. The molar C/N ratio and stable C isotope were used to identify the source of the organic matter as well as climate conditions. The evolution of Lake Wuxu was summarized wihtin two periods. During the first period (early to mid‐Holocene), the lake received increased fluvially transported materials, reflecting variation in the summer monsoon with solar insolation. The lake level declined and water residence time increased because of reduced river discharge during the second period (late Holocene) corresponding to a weakening of the summer monsoon. The organic material revealed a major contribution from lake primary productivity, which showed identical patterns with a high‐resolution isotope record from Dongge Cave, as well as total solar irradiance. Our record from Lake Wuxu indicates that the Holocene evolution of the Indian Summer Monsoon has been driven by the solar forcing at decadal/centennial to millennial time scales. Furthermore, an abrupt decline in the monsoon was detected at around 4.0 cal ka bp , which is probably caused by an increased frequency of EI Nino‐Southern Oscillation events. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The San Gregorio Magno lacustrine basin (Campania, southern Italy): improved characterization of the tephrostratigraphic markers based on trace elements and isotopic data - P. Petrosino; I. Arienzo; F. C. Mazzeo; J. Natale; M. Petrelli; A. Milia; D. Perugini; M. D′Antonio (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Central–southern Italy is one of the most suitable areas in the world for tephrostratigraphic studies, owing to the numerous volcanic sources with explosive activity during the Pleistocene. This work presents a systematic investigation of the chemical (trace elements) and isotopic (Sr and Nd) compositions of the main tephra markers within lacustrine sediments of the San Gregorio Magno Basin (Campania, southern Italy). This study: (i) provides full geochemical (trace elements and isotopes) characterization of eight significant Upper Pleistocene marker layers (X‐6, X‐5, C‐22, MEGT/Y‐7, CI/Y‐5, C‐10, Y‐3, NYT/C2) widely dispersed over the Mediterranean area; (ii) proposes a new tephra marker for Marine Isotope Stage 7, dated to 240 ka; and (iii) refines the correlations of tephra levels belonging to the investigated sequence. This study highlights that in most cases the Nd isotope composition of the glass and Sr isotope composition of the coexisting minerals are more reliable than 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of the glass, and hence is more helpful as a further tool for tephrostratigraphic correlations, as recently proposed in the literature. Moreover, this study is a first step towards the construction of a complete geochemical database for future tephra investigations in the Mediterranean area. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Topographic controls on plateau icefield recession: insights from the Younger Dryas Monadhliath Icefield, Scotland - Clare M. Boston; Sven Lukas (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Plateau icefields are a common form of mountain ice mass, frequently found in mid‐latitude to high‐arctic regions and increasingly recognized in the Quaternary record. Their top‐heavy hypsometry makes them highly sensitive to changes in climate when the equilibriaum line altitude (ELA) lies above the plateau edge, allowing ice to expand significantly as regional ELAs decrease, and causing rapid recession as climate warms. With respect to future climate warming, it is important to understand the controls on plateau icefield response to climate change in order to better predict recession rates, with implications for water resources and sea‐level rise. Improving knowledge of the controls on glacier recession may also enable further palaeoclimatic information to be extracted from the Quaternary glacial record. We use the distribution of moraines to examine topographic controls on Younger Dryas icefield recession in Scotland. We find that overall valley morphology influences the style of recession, through microclimatic and geometric controls, with bed gradient affecting moraine spacing. Ice mass reconfiguration may occur as recession progresses because ice divide migration could alter the expected response based on hypsometric distribution. These results add to a growing body of research examining controls on glacier recession and offer a step towards unravelling non‐linear ice mass behaviour. Copyright © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evidence of early deglaciation (18 000 cal a bp ) and a postglacial relative sea‐level curve from southern Karmøy, south‐west Norway - Kristian Vasskog; John‐Inge Svendsen; Jan Mangerud; Kristian Agasøster Haaga; Arve Svean; Eva Maria Lunnan (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Based on six consistent radiocarbon dates from the isolation basins Grødheimsvatnet and Kringlemyr, we estimate a minimum deglaciation age for southern Karmøy, an island in outer Boknafjorden (south‐west Norway), of around 18 000 calibrated years before present (18k cal a bp ). We use microscopic phytoplankton, macrofossils, lithostratigraphic evidence and X‐ray fluorescence data to identify the isolation contacts in the basins, and date them to 17.52–17.18k cal a bp in Grødheimsvatnet [15.57 m above present mean sea level (MSL)] and 16.19–15.80k cal a bp in Kringlemyr (11.99 m above MSL). Combining these data with previous studies, we construct a relative sea‐level (RSL) curve from 18k cal a bp until the present, which is ~3 ka longer than any previous RSL reconstruction from southern Norway. Following deglaciation, southern Karmøy has experienced a net emergence of around 16–19 m, although with significant RSL fluctuations. This includes two RSL minima well below present MSL around ~13.8 and ~10k cal a bp , and two maxima that culminated around 5–7 m above MSL during the Younger Dryas and early to mid‐Holocene, respectively. Considering eustatic sea level and modelled gravitational deformation of the geoid, we estimate a net postglacial isostatic uplift of ~120 m. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Coccolithophore responses to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation in the East China Sea region of the Northwest Pacific from ad 1901 to 2013 - Shu Yang; Mingli Yuan; Qian Yang; Jiansheng Huang; Mengran Sun; Jun Sun; Keming Qu; Yao Sun (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
A high‐resolution study of coccolithophores in a sediment core from the East China Sea (ECS) region of the Northwest Pacific revealed that fluctuations in coccolithophore assemblages responded well to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) during 1901–2013. Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa oceanica were the most dominant species, accounting for more than 97% of all the ten detected species. The variation of the two dominant species showed a significant positive correlation, and they both increased during peak values of the PDO. Decreased stratification and increased nutrient supplementation from the bottom water induced by lower sea surface temperatures in the ECS, which were associated with high PDO values, were responsible for the dominant coccolithophore increase. Similarly, the increase of Calcidiscus leptoporus also corresponded to low‐temperature and high‐nutrient conditions associated with the cold phase in the ECS (positive phase of the PDO). The responses of decadal C. leptoporus variations to changes in cold and warm phases of the PDO in the Northwest and Northeast Pacific indicate that C. leptoporus preserved in sediment cores represents a potential indicator for reconstructing phase changes of the PDO during ancient times.

Postglacial vegetation community change over an elevational gradient on the western Kenai Peninsula, Alaska: pollen records from Sunken Island and Choquette Lakes - R. Scott Anderson; Edward Berg; Chris Williams; Tami Clark (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
The Kenai Peninsula of south‐central Alaska is a region of high topographic diversity with a complex glacial history. The sedimentary record of two small lakes [Sunken Island (SIL; 76 m a.s.l.) in the Kenai Lowlands; Choquette (CL; 527 m a.s.l.) in the Caribou Hills upland] exemplifies the postglacial development of the conifer–hardwood forest over an elevational range there. A herb–shrub tundra was established at both sites after deglaciation. By ~10.7 ka, poplar ( Populus sp.) and alder ( Alnus ) dominated the lowland forest, while alder with minor poplar occurred at the upland site. Lake levels lower than today occurred during the early Holocene until ~8 ka. Subsequently at SIL, the near‐modern Kenai birch ( Betula kenaica ) – white spruce ( Picea glauca ) forest maintained prominence throughout the Holocene. However, at CL, alder dominated with dwarf birch and other subshrubs; small amounts of white spruce arrived ~5.2 ka. Black spruce ( Picea mariana ) grew around SIL by ~4 ka, but never gained prominence at CL. Fire, a prominent agent of disturbance in the Kenai Lowlands since ~8 ka, was essentially absent at the hardwood‐dominated upland site before ~6 ka, and rare thereafter. This suggests an important link between fire and spruce in Kenai forests.

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Late Quaternary sea‐level change and evolution of Belfast Lough, Northern Ireland: new offshore evidence and implications for sea‐level reconstruction - Ruth M. K. Plets; S. Louise Callard; J. Andrew G. Cooper; Joseph T. Kelley; Daniel F. Belknap; Robin J. Edwards; Antony J. Long; Rory J. Quinn; Derek W. T. Jackson (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
The interplay of eustatic and isostatic factors causes complex relative sea‐level (RSL) histories, particularly in paraglacial settings. In this context the past record of RSL is important in understanding ice‐sheet history, earth rheology and resulting glacio‐isostatic adjustment. Field data to develop sea‐level reconstructions are often limited to shallow depths and uncertainty exists as to the veracity of modelled sea‐level curves. We use seismic stratigraphy, 39 vibrocores and 26 radiocarbon dates to investigate the deglacial history of Belfast Lough, Northern Ireland, and reconstruct past RSL. A typical sequence of till, glacimarine and Holocene sediments is preserved. Two sea‐level lowstands (both max. −40 m) are recorded at c. 13.5 and 11.5k cal a bp . Each is followed by a rapid transgression and subsequent periods of RSL stability. The first transgression coincides temporally with a late stage of Meltwater Pulse 1a and the RSL stability occurred between c. 13.0 and c. 12.2k cal a bp (Younger Dryas). The second still/slowstand occurred between c. 10.3 and c. 11.5k cal a bp . Our data provide constraints on the direction and timing of RSL change during deglaciation. Application of the Depth of Closure concept adds an error term to sea‐level reconstructions based on seismic stratigraphic reconstructions.

Seasonal patterns of pollen and the use of pollen as a chronometer in the north‐western Loess Plateau of China - Caili Hu; Yuzhen Ma; Hongwei Meng; Chao Guo; Wei Wang; Dandan Li (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
The use of high‐resolution and highly precise age models is essential for quantitative environmental reconstructions. To assess the reliability of pollen as a chronometer in laminated lake sediments, pollen traps and lake cores, statistical methods were used to study seasonal pollen signals. The results showed that (a) the pollen assemblages from air traps and lake/reservoir surface sediment traps in the north‐western Loess Plateau of China displayed distinct seasonal patterns, which were confirmed by nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS); and (b) The pollen assemblages of the dark and light layers in the Zhenhu Lake cores allowed detection of the seasonality of sediment deposition based on the results of the pollen traps. The NMDS method also showed statistically significant differences between the pollen assemblages of the dark and light layers. Furthermore, instrumental monitoring data and characteristic time markers of historical events (1958 and 2011) were used to cross‐check the chronologies obtained by the pollen assemblages, and the results strengthened the credibility and reliability of pollen as a chronometer.

Stable carbon isotope analysis on fossil Cedrus pollen shows summer aridification in Morocco during the last 5000 years - Benjamin A. Bell; William J. Fletcher; Henk L. Cornelissen; Jennifer F. E. Campbell; Peter Ryan; Helen Grant; Christoph Zielhofer (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Quantitative climate reconstructions from pollen typically rely on empirical relationships between pollen abundances or assemblages and climate, such as the modern analogue technique. However, these techniques may be problematic when applied to fossil sequences, as they cannot separate anthropogenic from climatic influence on pollen assemblages. Here, we reconstruct Mid‐ to Late Holocene summer aridity in the Middle Atlas, Morocco, using stable carbon isotope analysis of isolated fossil Cedrus pollen. This approach is based on well‐documented plant physiological responses to moisture stress and is therefore independent of vegetation composition. We find that there has been a general long‐term trend of increasing summer aridity in the region during the last 5000 years to the present day. The gradual decline of Cedrus atlantica forest in the Late Holocene follows this aridity trend. Additionally, we show how isolating a specific pollen type for carbon isotope analysis yields a robust climate signal, versus using pollen concentrates or bulk sediment. Our findings indicate that climate has become drier in the region and confirms the Mid‐ to Late Holocene aridification trend observed more widely in the western Mediterranean, using a novel proxy for this region with good potential for wider application in other environments.

Late Pleistocene climate of the northern Iberian Peninsula: New insights from palaeoglaciers at Fuentes Carrionas (Cantabrian Mountains) - Ramón Pellitero; José M. Fernández‐Fernández; Néstor Campos; Enrique Serrano; Alfonso Pisabarro (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
New 10 Be dates for glacial landforms in the Fuentes Carrionas area (Cantabrian Mountains, nothern Spain) are presented. Mapped and dated landforms in Fuentes Carrionas made possible a palaeoglacier reconstruction for four glacial stages. Results were compared to other nearby palaeoenvironmental proxies, so a final approximation on the mean annual temperature and annual precipitation that caused the four glacial advance stages is proposed. Glaciers reached their maximum extension at 36 ka, in a cold and dry environment. A second advance stage took place between 18.5 and 19.5 ka, during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), when glaciers advanced in a wet environment, with positive rainfall anomalies. A third glacial advance was dated during the Oldest Dryas, in which climate shifted to extremely cold and dry conditions. Finally, a last stage has been identified and proposed to the Younger Dryas, in which precipitation anomalies are negligible. Our results confirm some of the previously made palaeoglacial and palaeoenvironmental inferences for the Iberian Peninsula, as well as provide valuable and accurate anomalies, which are useful for climate modelling.

Effects of the peat acid digestion protocol on geochemically and morphologically diverse tephra deposits - Alistair J. Monteath; Alex E. Teuten; Paul D. M. Hughes; Stefan Wastegård (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Tephra shards for electron probe microanalysis are most efficiently extracted from peat using acid digestion, which removes organic material that hinders density separation methods. However, strong acids are known to alter glass chemical compositions, and several studies have examined how acid digestion affects rhyolitic volcanic glass. The focus on rhyolitic tephra in these studies leaves considerable uncertainty, as the dissolution rates of natural glasses (including tephra) are determined by the chemical composition and surface area/volume ratio, both of which vary in tephra deposits. Here, we use duplicate samples of basaltic, trachydacitic and rhyolitic tephra to examine physical and geochemical alteration following acid digestion. Scanning electron microscope imagery reveals no discernible degradation of glass surfaces, and electron probe microanalysis results from duplicate samples are statistically indistinguishable. These findings suggest the acid digestion protocol for organic peats does not significantly alter glass geochemistry regardless of shard morphologies or geochemical compositions.

The hematite–goethite enhancement model of loess and an ‘irregular’ case from Paks, Hungary - B. Bradák; Y. Seto; D. Csonka; T. Végh; J. Szeberényi (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
On the basis of a key model of the appearance of hematite and goethite in some Chinese and European loess successions, paleosols generally contain higher proportions of hematite formed by pedogenic processes during warm and humid interglacials, while loess contains sedimentary goethite deposited during colder, glacial periods. Rock magnetic measurements were conducted on samples from Paks (Hungary) loess, revealing an anomalous case. Sediments were found to contain higher amounts of hematite and/or goethite, while the well‐developed paleosols were found to be lacking in hematite but had significant amounts of magnetite and maghemite. This observation demonstrates that the character of pedogenic magnetic mineral alteration and neoformation differs from the hematite/goethite model; the model is therefore not applicable to the Paks succession, possibly due to differences in the regional paleoclimate and pedogenic environment. The results indicate the existence of a further model, in which hematite formation is not significant in the course of pedogenesis.

Elaia, Pergamon's maritime satellite: the rise and fall of an ancient harbour city shaped by shoreline migration - Martin Seeliger; Anna Pint; Stefan Feuser; Svenja Riedesel; Nick Marriner; Peter Frenzel; Felix Pirson; Andreas Bolten; Helmut Brückner (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Throughout human history, communication and trade have been key to society. Because maritime trade facilitated the rapid transportation of passengers and freight at relatively low cost, harbours became hubs for traffic, trade and exchange. This general statement holds true for the Pergamenian kingdom, which ruled wide parts of today's western Turkey during Hellenistic times. Its harbour, located at the city of Elaia on the eastern Aegean shore, was used extensively for commercial and military purposes. This study reconstructs the coastal evolution in and around the ancient harbour of Elaia and compares the observed environmental modifications with archaeological and historical findings. We use micropalaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical proxies to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental dynamics and evolution of the ancient harbour. The geoarchaeological results confirm the archaeological and historical evidence for Elaia's primacy during Hellenistic and early Roman times, and the city's gradual decline during the late Roman period. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that Elaia holds a unique position as a harbour city during ancient times in the eastern Aegean region, because it was not greatly influenced by the high sediment supply associated with river deltas. Consequently, no dredging of the harbour basins is documented, creating exceptional geo‐bioarchives for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions.

Coupling of VAMPERS within iLOVECLIM: experiments during the LGM and Last Deglaciation - Danielle C. Kitover; Hans Renssen; Ronald van Balen; Jef Vandenberghe; Didier M. Roche (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
The VAMPERS (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Permafrost Snow Model) has been coupled within iLOVECLIM, an earth system model. This advancement allows the thermal coupling between permafrost and climate to be examined from a millennial timescale using equilibrium experiments during the Last Glacial Maximum (21 ka) and transient experiments for the subsequent deglaciation period (21–11 ka). It appears that the role of permafrost during both stable and transitional (glacial–interglacial) climate periods is seasonal, resulting in cooler summers and warmer winters by approximately ±2 °C maximum. This conclusion reinforces the importance of including the active layer within climate models. In addition, the coupling of VAMPERS also yields a simulation of transient permafrost conditions, not only for estimating areal changes in extent but also total permafrost gain/loss.

Late Pleistocene glaciation in the Mosquito Range, Colorado, USA: chronology and climate - Keith A. Brugger; Benjamin Laabs; Alexander Reimers; Noah Bensen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
New cosmogenic 10 Be surface exposure ages from 17 moraine boulders in the Mosquito Range of Colorado suggest that glaciers were at their late Pleistocene (Pinedale) maximum extent at ∼21–20 ka, and that ice recession commenced before ∼17 ka. These age limits suggest that the Pinedale Glaciation was synchronous within the Colorado Rocky Mountain region. Locally, the previous (Bull Lake) glaciation appears to have occurred no later than 117 ka, possibly ∼130 ka allowing for reasonable rock weathering rates. Temperature‐index modeling is used to determine the magnitude of temperature depression required to maintain steady‐state mass balances of seven reconstructed glaciers at their maximum extent. Assuming no significant differences in precipitation compared to modern values, mean annual temperatures were ∼8.1 and 7.5 °C lower, respectively, on the eastern and western slopes of the range with quantifiable uncertainties of + 0.8/−0.9 °C. If an average temperature depression of 7.8 °C is assumed for the entire range, precipitation differences − that today are 15–30% greater on the eastern slope due to the influence of winter/early spring snowfall − might have been enhanced. The temperature depressions inferred here are consistent with similarly derived values elsewhere in the Colorado Rockies and those inferred from regional‐scale climate modeling.

Evaluating ice‐rafted debris as a proxy for glacier calving in Upernavik Isfjord, NW Greenland - Flor Vermassen; David J. Wangner; Laurence M. Dyke; Sabine Schmidt; Amalie E. Cordua; Kurt H. Kjær; Konstanze Haubner; Camilla S. Andresen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Records of ice‐rafted debris (IRD) in sediments are commonly used as a proxy for iceberg production and to reconstruct past changes of glacier stability. However, the interpretation of IRD is complex as multiple processes modulate its variability. This study investigates the relationship between IRD variability and glaciological change by measuring IRD records from Upernavik Fjord and comparing these to frontal positions of Upernavik Isstrøm during the past century. Results show that the spatial variability of IRD deposition throughout the fjord is high, indicating that randomness inherent to IRD distorts the calving signal. However, we investigate whether IRD records can be combined to improve the reconstruction, as previously suggested, and show the importance of core site selection and number of cores on this approach. The outer‐fjord core compares relatively well to the observed front positions and this is reflected in the composite record: increased IRD deposition in 1937–1946, 1968–1980, and 1996–1999 occurred during periods of faster retreat. Comparison with climatic records shows that the calving episodes in the late ‘30 s/early ‘40 s and late ‘90 s are related to warm ocean and air temperatures, whereas intensified retreat and calving during the ‘70 s reflects partly an internal glacier response to the fjord geometry.

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Subdividing the Holocene Series/Epoch: formalization of stages/ages and subseries/subepochs, and designation of GSSPs and auxiliary stratotypes - MIKE WALKER; Martin J. Head; John Lowe; Max Berkelhammer; Svante BjÖrck; Hai Cheng; Les C. Cwynar; David Fisher; Vasileios Gkinis; Antony Long; Rewi Newnham; Sune Olander Rasmussen; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
The Holocene, which currently spans ~11 700 years, is the shortest series/epoch within the geological time scale (GTS), yet it contains a rich archive of evidence in stratigraphical contexts that are frequently continuous and often preserved at high levels of resolution. On 14 June 2018, the Executive Committee of the International Union of Geological Sciences formally ratified a proposal to subdivide the Holocene into three stages/ages, along with their equivalent subseries/subepochs, each anchored by a Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP). The new stages are the Greenlandian (Lower/Early Holocene Subseries/Subepoch) with its GSSP in the Greenland NGRIP2 ice core and dated at 11 700 a b2k (before 2000 CE); the Northgrippian (Middle Holocene Subseries/Subepoch) with its GSSP in the Greenland NGRIP1 ice core and dated at 8236 a b2k; and the Meghalayan (Upper/Late Holocene Subseries/Subepoch) with its GSSP in a speleothem from Mawmluh Cave, north‐eastern India, with a date of 4250 a b2k. We explain the nomenclature of the new divisions, describe the procedures involved in the ratification process, designate auxiliary stratotypes to support the GSSPs and consider the implications of the subdivision for defining the Anthropocene as a new unit within the GTS.

Environmental changes in the north‐east Sunda region over the last 40 000 years - Chuanxiu Luo; Simon Haberle; Zhuo Zheng; Rong Xiang; Chixin Chen; Gang Lin; Kumar Sazal (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Pollen and spores from 110 samples from sediment core NS07‐25 from the Nansha Trough in the South China Sea (SCS) were analysed with a particular focus on reconstructing vegetation and climate change and identifying the sources of palynomorphs on the Sunda Shelf during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Palynomorph sources were identified using the Near Analysis function in ArcGIS with 62 data points of the pollen in surface sediment samples from the southern SCS. The results showed that during the LGM, pollen and spores came from the exposed Sundaland, whereas before and after the LGM, pollen and spores came from Borneo. Changes in vegetation and climate were inferred from pollen percentages, concentrations and influx and indicated that during the LGM, ferns, lowland rainforests, upper montane rainforests and lower montane forests were present on the north‐east part of the exposed Sunda Shelf but not over the entire Sunda Shelf. Climate during the LGM was cooler than it is today, but humidity was not substantially lower. During the LGM, grasses and shrubs did not cover the southern continental shelf of the SCS, possibly because they were located in the Intertropical Convergence Zone.

Multi‐millennial scale climate variability during MIS 3 and MIS 2 inferred from luminescence dating of coastal sand dunes and buried paleosol sequences in central Chile, 32°S - Juan‐Luis García; Belisario Andrade; Mauricio Calderón; Christopher Lüthgens (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
The eolian morphostratigraphic archive along the coast of central Chile (∼37–30°S) includes sand dune and buried paleosol sequences that despite their potential as a proxy for past environmental change, remain mostly unstudied north of Patagonia and south of the Atacama Desert core. Here, we present results of a stratigraphic and geochronologic study using the post‐infrared infrared stimulated luminescence signal stimulated at 225 °C (pIRIR225) of potassium‐rich feldspar that show the timing of past climate variability as evidenced from sand dune/buried paleosol couplets at 32°S. Our record shows that periods of sand dune accumulation during Marine Isotope Stages MIS 6, 4, 3 and 2 occurred within ice ages and associated low sea‐level stands, probably affected by similar to, or drier than, present conditions. Intercalated wetter periods inferred from pedogenesis occurred between 53 ± 4 and 52 ± 3 ka, at some time between 52 ± 3 and 36 ± 2 ka, and at some time between 31 ± 2 and 22 ± 2 ka, and reflect times when the southern westerlies rain belt shifted north. Our data reveal that central Chile experienced multi‐millennial periodicity of westerly precipitation throughout the last glacial period. We provide evidence for a humid local Last Glacial Maximum.

Late Pleistocene to Holocene paleoenvironmental changes in the NW Black Sea - Andrei Briceag; Anastasia Yanchilina; William B. F. Ryan; Marius Stoica; Mihaela C. Melinte‐Dobrinescu (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Two gravity cores that penetrated Upper Pleistocene to Upper Holocene sediments in the NW Black Sea have been studied lithologically and microfaunally. The investigations have been coupled with isotopic, calcium carbonate and radiocarbon dating. Six ecological intervals have been distinguished based on changes in microfossil assemblages, giving new insights on the sea‐level and paleoenvironmental changes that took place in the last 25 000 a BP. For the Last Glacial Maximum the ostracod community contains a homogeneous brackish assemblage dominated by Candonidae, suggesting a salinity around 5–8‰. The salinity decrease (to 0.5–5‰) that started concomitantly with the first Meltwater Pulse during Heinrich Stadial 1 is mirrored by increasing diversity and abundance of microfaunal assemblages. This microfaunal increase reached maximum values within the Bølling–Allerød warm period. The shift from Loxoconchidae to Candonidae towards the top of the Younger Dryas suggests a slight increase in salinity. The Preboreal warming period is marked by an abundance increase of ostracod assemblages. During the Late Holocene, stable marine conditions set in, reflected by assemblages similar to those of the present‐day. Based on these data, the first marine influx into the Black Sea before 9390 a BP is assumed.

Late Holocene environmental changes reconstructed from stable isotope and geochemical records from a cushion‐plant peatland in the Chilean Central Andes (27°S) - S. T. Kock; K. Schittek; B. Mächtle; H. Wissel; A. Maldonado; A. Lücke (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
A Late Holocene paleoenvironmental record was obtained from the Lagunillas cushion peatland (LP, 27°12′S, 69°17′W), located in the dry Puna of the western Central Andes. Ten radiocarbon dates build the chronology for the last 1800 cal a BP. Analyses of stable isotopes on cellulose (δ 18 O cell , δ 13 C cell ) and geochemical proxies on organic matter (δ 13 C OM , δ 15 N bulk , TOC, TN, LOI, T 535 ) were conducted to identify major paleoenvironmental changes in this record. Simultaneously, ambient water (δ 18 O, δ 2 H) and plant samples of the dominant species Oxychloe andina (δ 18 O cell , δ 13 C cell ) reveal insights into modern conditions. The record reveals distinct multi‐centennial oscillations of peat layer thickness and δ 18 O cell . Decomposition, changes in the dominating plant species as well as in plant parts (leaves/roots) can be excluded as driving factors for these oscillations. Thus, δ 18 O cell seems to be externally forced and reflects humidity changes. Around 470 cal a BP a distinct change towards increased humidity occurred, lasting during the Little Ice Age until about 70 cal a BP. Humid conditions prevailed between 1530 and 1270 cal a BP. Increasing δ 18 O cell values since 30 cal a BP mark a trend towards again increased aridity.

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Coastal lake records add constraints to the age and magnitude of the Younger Dryas ice‐front oscillation along the Skagerrak coastline in southern Norway - Anders Romundset; Thomas R. Lakeman; Fredrik Høgaas (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Basal records from nine lake basins, located within a small area inside the Younger Dryas Ra moraine in southern Norway, were analysed and radiocarbon dated. Six reworked shell fragments from the lowermost facies in five different basins date to the Bølling–Allerød chronozone and are interpreted to represent an ice‐free coastline before a Younger Dryas ice sheet readvance of at least 8 km. The widespread shell fragments within the Younger Dryas ice margin but pre‐dating the Younger Dryas are demonstrated using a systematic survey of the lowermost strata in a collection of lake basins. A further 13 dated samples, mostly in situ articulated bivalves found in clayey silt overlying the basal facies, yielded overlapping ages close to the Younger Dryas–Holocene boundary. The 13 shell dates, along with two additional similar ages obtained on terrestrial plant macrofossils from basal strata in two basins near the marine limit, provide a minimum‐limiting age of 11.6k cal a BP for ice sheet retreat from the Ra moraine. This suggests that the ice sheet in south‐east Norway retreated from its Younger Dryas maximum position nearly a thousand years later than previously assumed. Similar systematic approaches may lead to improved ice sheet reconstructions from other formerly glaciated coastlines.

Post‐depositional bone destruction in cave sediments: a micromorphological study of the MIS 5a–d cave bear strata of Biśnik Cave, Poland - Magdalena Krajcarz; Maciej T. Krajcarz (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Accumulations of cave bear bones are common in Pleistocene cave sediments. The reasons for the deposition are usually clear, and believed to be associated with the hibernation behavior of bears. Although they are common, little is known about the post‐sedimentary processes that affect the assemblages. The cave bear bone accumulations from the Lower Weichselian layers of Biśnik Cave, Poland, represent an interesting case of intensive post‐depositional bone destruction. Bones are highly fragmented and rounded, although no traces of water currents have been detected in the stratigraphic series. In this paper we use the case of Biśnik Cave as an example of cave bear strata, to describe the taphonomic features of the abraded‐like bones and to recognize the underlying processes. We present a micromorphological study of rounded bones and surrounding sediments to increase knowledge of the depositional context in the cave environment. Micromorphological analysis of the sediments indicated in situ disintegration of bones rather than abrasion. The factor responsible here was internal stress, as opposed to the external pressure of mineral grains in the case of abrasion. We indicate frost action as a possible factor responsible for the post‐depositional bone disintegration.

Evolution of the relative abundance of C 4 plants on the Chinese Loess Plateau since the Last Glacial Maximum and its implications - Wenqi Jiang; Jianyu Wu; Haibin Wu; Qin Li; Yating Lin; Yanyan Yu (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Understanding the distribution of C 3 and C 4 plants and its forcing mechanisms since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) is important for anticipating their possible response to future climate change. The spatiotemporal pattern of C 4 plant abundance on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) is complex and the dominant causal factors are contentious. Here, we use δ 13 C records of organic matter in paleosols from the CLP to reconstruct changes in the representation of C 4 plants since the LGM. The results indicate that the relative abundance of C 4 plants increased after the LGM, reaching a maximum during 10–6 ka bp, and then decreased. Spatially, the representation of C 4 plants was characterized by increasing values from north‐west to south‐east. In addition, the smallest spatial difference (∼10%) in the representation of C 4 plants between the north‐west and south‐east parts of the CLP was during the LGM, and the largest difference (∼30%) was during the early Holocene. We combined our findings with output from the BIOME4 model to study the sensitivity of C 4 plants to changes in climate and atmospheric CO 2 concentration. The results suggest that increasing temperature was the dominant factor driving C 4 plant expansion on the CLP since the LGM.

Submarine Lateglacial lake deposits from the Kattegat, southern Scandinavia - Peter Wiberg‐Larsen; Ole Bennike; Jørn Bo Jensen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Lateglacial submarine lake sediments are reported for the first time from the Kattegat Sea in southern Scandinavia. The Lateglacial sediments were collected from a vibrocore that contained, from top to bottom, Holocene marine muddy sand, Holocene brackish‐water mud, Early Holocene peat with remains of Betula pubescens and telmatic plants, Lateglacial lake deposits that are the focus of this paper, and homogenous sand. Radiocarbon dating of terrestrial plant remains from the Lateglacial sediments gave ages between 12 400 and 12 800 cal a bp, corresponding to the Younger Dryas. The Lateglacial sediments contain remains of Betula nana and other plants indicating a tundra‐like open landscape with dwarf shrub heaths, which is typical for the region. Remains of macrolimnophytes indicate shallow carbonate‐rich, cool lake waters. Remains of larvae of Trichoptera and Chironomidae dominate the invertebrate fauna and indicate a fairly species‐rich fauna. Half of the trichopteran taxa today have their distribution north of Denmark or show a generally northern distribution in Europe. The lake sediments are found at ∼ 24 m below sea level, and the presence of lake sediments shows that this part of Kattegat had not been transgressed by the sea during the Younger Dryas.

Luminescence chronology of the Palaeolithic–Neolithic transition in the Yujiagou site at the Nihewan Basin, northern China - Xue Rui; Yu‐Jie Guo; Jia‐Fu Zhang; Yue Hu; Hui‐Jie Mei; You‐Ping Wang; Fei Xie; Bo Li (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
The relationship between the Palaeolithic–Neolithic cultural transition and environmental changes is important for understanding human history. However, the timing and nature of human behaviour at the transition, and their relationship to local environmental conditions, remain poorly understood. The Yujiagou archaeological site in the Nihewan Basin, northern China, provides valuable chronological and archaeological information about cultural changes in northern China due to its continuous archaeological sequence of cultural layers from the Palaeolithic to Neolithic. In this study, we apply post‐infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) dating on individual feldspar grains to date the Yujiagou deposits. We provide a revised chronology for the archaeological sequence at the site. We combine these results with multi‐proxy climatic indicators to gain insights into palaeoenvironmental changes in the region. The results show that the age of the artefact‐bearing deposits ranges from 13.5 to 9.7 ka. Polished stones and pottery begin to occur in the archaeological layer around 13 ka, corresponding to a transitional period when the local climate changed from cold to warm. This site provides evidence for understanding the process that led to the regional transition from hunter‐gathering to farming.

Issue Information (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)

Middle Wisconsinan marine shells near Repulse Bay, Nunavut, Canada: implications for Marine Isotope Stage 3 ice‐free conditions and Laurentide Ice Sheet dynamics in north‐west Hudson Bay - Isabelle McMartin; Janet E. Campbell; Lynda A. Dredge (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Evidence suggesting a reduction of the Laurentide Ice Sheet (LIS) during Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3) is widespread but the boundaries of the ice sheet and the timing of minimum ice extent are still poorly constrained. Radiocarbon dating of glacially transported marine mollusks in Rae Isthmus ice stream till south of Repulse Bay, Nunavut, Canada, provides new evidence for MIS 3 deglaciation in the north‐west part of Hudson Bay. Middle Wisconsinan finite 14 C ages varying between 31.7 and 39.2k 14 C a BP (∼35.0 and 43.7k cal a) indicate a marine event(s) for a minimum of ∼8.7k cal years. Our findings suggest ice‐free conditions in the ice stream source area in proto‐Roes Welcome Sound, and therefore significant glacial recession of the LIS margin during the Middle Wisconsinan, much farther in the interior of the ice sheet than previously known. The marine incursion possibly occurred because of a calving bay developed from the north in the Gulf of Boothia − Committee Bay area following the recession and collapse of the ice stream. After the MIS 3 marine episode(s), the topographically controlled ice stream stemming from the eastern end of the Keewatin Ice Divide was re‐activated, and maintained until deglaciation.

A pollen–climate calibration from western Patagonia for palaeoclimatic reconstructions - Vincent Montade; Odile Peyron; Charly Favier; Jean Pierre Francois; Simon G. Haberle (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Palaeoecological studies of sediment records from the western margins of southern South America have revealed vegetation dynamics to be under the influence of major regional climate drivers such as the Southern Westerly Winds, Southern Annular Mode and El Niño Southern Oscillation. Despite the substantial number of palynological records in this region, very few quantitative pollen‐based climate reconstructions using surface samples have been made. In this context, our objective was first to investigate the modern pollen–vegetation–climate relationships in the western Patagonian. The results show that the modern pollen dataset reflects the main vegetation types and that summer precipitation and winter temperature represent the main climate parameters controlling vegetation distribution. Secondly using this pollen–climate dataset we evaluate and compare the performance of two models (Weighted Averaging Partial Least Squares and Modern Analog Technique). We used these models to make climate reconstructions from two oceanic pollen records from western Patagonia. Compared with independent climate indicators, our pollen‐inferred climate reconstructions reveal the same overall trends, showing the potential of pollen–climate transfer functions applied to this region. This study provides much needed data for quantitative climate reconstructions in South America, but which also needs to be improved by enlarging the modern pollen dataset.

Late Quaternary meltwater pulses and sea level change - Stephan Harrison; David E. Smith; Neil F. Glasser (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
After the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) global mean sea level (GMSL) rise was characterized by rapid increases over short (decadal to centennial) timescales superimposed on a longer term secular rise and these have been termed meltwater pulses (MWPs). In this paper we review the timing, impact and nature of these and the effects of rapid drainage of large post‐glacial MWPs into the world's oceans. We identify nine MWPs, four of which occurred in three periods of rapid sea level rise (19.5–18.8, 14.8–13.0 and 11.5–11.1 ka BP ). The rest are dated to the period during the Early Holocene sea level rise after 11 ka BP . We show that drainage of the known post‐glacial lakes in total produced less than around 1.2 m of the 125 m of GMSLR since the LGM.

Late Quaternary glaciations and cosmogenic 36 Cl geochronology of Mount Dedegöl, south‐west Turkey - Oğuzhan Köse; M. Akİf Sarıkaya; Attİla Çİner; Adem Candaş (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
We present details on the timing of glaciations during the late Quaternary in the western Taurus Mountain Range of Turkey. Twenty‐five boulders from prominent moraines in three northern glacial valleys of Mount Dedegöl (37.40°N, 31.17°E, 2992 m above sea level, ∼15 km west of Lake Beyşehir) were dated based on cosmogenic 36 Cl surface exposure. The geomorphological mapping of the N‐NE‐trending Sayacak, Kisbe and Karagöl valleys and their in situ produced 36 Cl glacial chronology revealed several glacial episodes during the late Quaternary from (pre‐Last Glacial Maximum (pre‐LGM) to early Holocene. Pre‐LGM glaciations are represented by a push‐hummocky moraine complex in the northern Sayacak Valley and dated to 29.7 ± 2.9 ka. The ages obtained from these hummocky moraines give substantial evidence regarding ice accumulation before the global LGM. In the same valley, glaciers reached their maximum positions at the LGM and deposited lateral moraines at 19.7 ± 1.6 ka. Lateglacial moraines were dated to between 16.4 ± 0.7 and 12.0 ± 1.0 ka in the nearby east‐facing Karagöl valley. The youngest glacial stages occurred during the Younger Dryas stadial (11.5 ± 0.8 ka) and early Holocene (9.8 ± 1.4 ka) in Mount Dedegöl.

Rhyolitic and dacitic component of the Askja 1875 tephra in southern and central Finland: first step towards a Finnish tephrochronology - Maarit Kalliokoski; Stefan Wastegård; Timo Saarinen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
Tephra from Icelandic volcanic eruptions is frequently dispersed to northern Europe, but so far tephra has not been detected in Finnish sedimentary records. We report the first finding of a cryptotephra layer in southern and central Finland. Sediment samples from five lakes and 10 peatlands, most of them located in the tephra fallout zone of the Hekla 1947 eruption, were investigated for the presence of cryptotephra to assess the potential for tephrochronology in Finland. Tephra shards were extracted from their host matrix and electron probe microanalysis was conducted on single shards for geochemical characterization. Our results confirm the presence of Askja 1875 tephra in Finland, thus extending the known dispersal area of the Askja 1875 tephra eastwards. Most of the shards are rhyolitic, but a minor concentration of tephra with dacitic composition forms a narrow dispersal zone extending from Sweden to southern Finland. This zone possibly represents the main dispersal axis of the tephra in the distal area. Our results suggest that Finnish environmental research could benefit greatly from adding tephrochronology to the array of dating methods commonly used. Additionally, the absence of Hekla 1947 tephra in the previously inferred fall‐out zone is an important result indicating the complexity of tephra deposition and preservation.

Deglaciation chronology of the Donegal Ice Centre, north‐west Ireland - Peter Wilson; Colin K. Ballantyne; Sara Benetti; David Small; Derek Fabel; Chris D. Clark (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
During the Last Glacial Maximum, Donegal in north‐west Ireland functioned as an independent centre of ice dispersal that separated and fed into the Donegal Bay Ice Lobe (sourced in the Irish Midlands) to the south and the Hebrides/Malin Sea Ice Stream to the north. We report geochronological data that demonstrate marked contrasts in the timing and rate of deglaciation in northern and southern Donegal. In northern Donegal, which occupied an inter‐ice‐stream/lobe location, decoupling from the Hebrides/Malin Sea Ice Stream resulted in formation of a marine embayment along the north coast by ∼22–21 ka, and subsequent slow (∼4 ± 1 m a −1 ) climatically driven inland retreat of the ice margin to mountain source areas by ∼17 ka. By contrast, in southern Donegal, which lay near the axis of the Donegal Bay Ice Lobe, deglaciation was delayed until ∼18 ka following readvance of ice to a moraine in outer Donegal Bay. The ice margin subsequently underwent net retreat, apparently uninterrupted by readvances, at a net rate of ∼ 18 ± 6 m a −1 . A mean terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide age of ∼15.0 ka obtained for samples from the foothills of the Blue Stack Mountains in south‐east Donegal indicates that ice persisted in valley heads and cirques at the beginning of the Lateglacial Interstadial, suggesting that these and nearby mountains supported the last remnants of the Irish Ice Sheet before complete deglaciation of Ireland, and that almost all the shrinkage of the ice sheet in this sector occurred under stadial conditions before the onset of interstadial warming at ∼14.7 ka.

Late Quaternary glaciations in the Cogarbu valley, Bhutanese Himalaya - Xu Peng; Yixin Chen; Gengnian Liu; Beibei Liu; Yingkui Li; Qing Liu; Yesong Han; Weilin Yang; Zhijiu Cui (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2019)
This study investigates the late Quaternary glacial history of the Cogarbu valley on the northern slopes of the Bhutanese Himalaya using 10 Be surface exposure dating. Five major glacial events were constrained based on 28 10 Be exposure ages. The equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of the oldest and most extensive glacial event (M5–M9) is ∼489 m lower than the present, followed by four other events (M4, M3, M2 and M1) with ELA depressions of ∼452, ∼200, ∼76 and ∼42 m, respectively. The exposure ages of the oldest glacial event (M5–M9) are ∼23.4–19.1 ka, corresponding to the global Last Glacial Maximum (gLGM). The second (M4, ∼15.8 ka) and the third oldest events (M3, ∼11.5 ka) coincide with the Heinrich‐1 and Younger Dryas event, respectively. The fourth oldest glacial event (∼1.2–0.82 ka) occurred during the Late Holocene. The latest glacial event (∼0.77–0.53 ka) represents the Little Ice Age glacial advances. These glacial events are broadly synchronous with those from other regions across the monsoon‐influenced Himalaya. All these events occurred during the cold periods, despite relatively dry conditions. It appears that temperature is the major factor driving glacial fluctuations since the gLGM in the Bhutanese Himalaya.

Abrupt rise in the contribution of CH 4 ‐derived carbon to benthic secondary production of a shallow hemiboreal/boreal lake - Simon Belle; Ilmar Tõnno; Normunds Stivrins; Rene Freiberg; Siim Veski (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Understanding long‐term carbon flows through aquatic food webs is essential to assess impact of climatic and environmental changes on lake ecosystems. We reconstructed temporal changes in carbon sources fuelling chironomid biomass in a small and shallow hemiboreal/boreal lake over the last 11 000 years. Results were compared with temporal dynamics of known potential controlling factors: summer air temperature, human activities, phytoplankton assemblages and organic matter composition. We report an abrupt rise in the contribution of methane‐derived carbon to chironomid biomass. However, this sudden increase was not the consequence of drastic changes in the composition of sedimentary organic matter, mean air temperature, lake trophic state or human activities in the catchment area. Our results suggest that shallowing of the lake caused by sedimentary infilling processes was a possible driver of the expansion of anoxic zones, enhancing CH 4 cycling in lake sediments. However, complementary studies are needed to better understand the mechanisms by which lake shallowing could affect carbon flows to aquatic consumers, and then better assess the natural dynamics of past carbon processing in the benthic food web of shallow lakes.

Early Marine Isotope Stage 3 human occupation of the Shandong Peninsula, coastal North China - Feng Li; Jian Wang; Xinying Zhou; Xiaomin Wang; Hao Long; Yupeng Chen; John W. Olsen; Fuyou Chen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Archeological studies of coastal sites have yielded a large body of information regarding the dispersal of modern humans from Africa and the coastal adaptations of various hominin groups. Coastal areas have been attractive to humans since at least the late Middle Pleistocene, according to research conducted in Africa and the circum‐Mediterranean region. However, little information concerning Paleolithic occupations has come to light in coastal areas of China. Here, we report on the chronology, archeology and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Pleistocene Dazhushan site on the east coast of the Shandong Peninsula in North China. Evidence indicates that prehistoric humans employing a flake technology occupied the current coastal area of the peninsula by at least early Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3; c . 57–29 ka) when the region was an inland area dominated by a mixed broadleaved forest and grassland environment occupied by terrestrial herbivores. Based on archeological evidence brought to light along the current Chinese coastline, correlated with sea level changes that have occurred since MIS 3, we suggest that future studies of coastal migrations and adaptations in eastern China will be considerably enhanced by a deeper understanding of the geomorphological evolution of those coastal regions.

Issue Information (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)

Sedimentation during Marine Isotope Stage 3 at the eastern margins of the Glacial Lake Humber basin, England - David J. A. Evans; David H. Roberts; Mark D. Bateman; Alicia Medialdea; Jeremy Ely; Steven G. Moreton; Chris D. Clark; Derek Fabel (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
The stratigraphic sequence at North Cave, on the eastern margins of the Lake Humber basin, records the deposition of a fluvioperiglacial fan (LFs 1–4), with early sedimentation (LF1) dating to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (optically stimulated luminescence date range 41.8–38.6 ka and 14 C dates 41.6–49 ka BP). Three phases of permafrost and ice wedge development during MIS 3 are evident and indicate possible fan abandonment and hence periods of reduced nival runoff. Involution structures dated to 11.1 ka with large boulders and fine‐grained sorted circles in LF4b are interpreted as periglacially cryoturbated littoral deposits with boulders derived from anchor ice, initially deposited at the margins of Lake Humber up to an altitude of 8 m OD during MIS 2. The style and age of fluvioperiglacial fan deposition at North Cave is compatible with several mid‐Devensian sites around Britain characterized by significant nival melt and run‐off from steeply incised valleys in permafrozen cuesta landscapes. This phase of fluvioperiglacial fan aggradation to near or below 0 m OD is recorded around the glacial lakes Humber and Fenland basins and indicates that no glacial lakes existed at that time.

Pollen and non‐pollen palynomorphs of Lake Chalco as indicators of paleolimnological changes in high‐elevation tropical central Mexico since MIS 5 - Esperanza Torres‐Rodríguez; Socorro Lozano‐García; Margarita Caballero‐Miranda; Beatriz Ortega‐Guerrero; Susana Sosa‐Nájera; Priyadarsi Debajyoti‐Roy (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Aquatic pollen and non‐pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) from a 72‐m‐long sediment core from Lake Chalco in central Mexico document macrophyte vegetation and paleolimnological conditions during the last glacial (∼85–10.8 k cal a BP ). We compared macrophyte vegetation and NPP records with data for authigenic carbonate deposition estimated from concentrations of total inorganic carbon. We estimated saline and variable trophic conditions during the last glacial. An association indicative of higher salinity conditions characterized by NPP and diatom assemblages characteristic of alkaline and saline environments is documented. Changes in hydrophyte taxa and microalgae assemblages were related to trophic level fluctuations. Higher salinity environments were contemporary with arid intervals reconstructed based on abundances of inorganic carbonate. Two main periods were evident in this record: (i) 85–29 k cal a BP [Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5b–MIS 3] characterized by saline conditions with high abundance of Type‐TXA, and variable high carbonate content, and (ii) 29–10.8 k cal a BP (MIS 2–MIS 1) when conditions changed to higher trophic levels and lower salinities, characterized by extremely low values of Type‐TXA and carbonate content. Spring and summer insolation and latitudinal position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone over the last glacial were considered as possible controllers of the recorded paleoenvironmental changes.

Stratigraphic pollen analysis performed on a late Pleistocene cypress forest preserved on the northern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf - Carl A. Reese; Grant L. Harley; Kristine L. DeLong; Samuel J. Bentley SR.; Kehui Xu; Suyapa Gonzalez; Jonathan T. Truong; Jeffrey Obelcz; Alicia Caporaso (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Stratigraphic pollen analysis of terrestrial peat–mud layers from a buried bald cypress ( Taxodium distichum ) forest allows study of autochthonous fossil pollen profiles from a glacial refugium along the northern Gulf of Mexico coast in the context of fluctuating sea levels. The site is in 18 m of water, offshore from Orange Beach, Alabama, USA. Exposed cypress stumps are in growth position, still rooted in sediment. Radiocarbon dating of peat and optically stimulated luminescence dating of subjacent sediments yielded an age range of 72–45 ka. We hypothesize the site was rapidly buried by floodplain aggradation from pulsed sea‐level rise during the glacial interval. Pollen results from the lowermost peat layer are consistent with a bald cypress − tupelo gum ( Nyssa aquatica ) backwater forest. This was followed by a brief transitional period where the pollen assemblage is similar to Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Levee/Bar Forests, but may be evidence of a no‐modern analog community. Final Pleistocene pollen spectra indicate a more open environment, dominated by grasses (Poaceae) and sedges (Cyperaceae).

Biotic controls on Holocene fire frequency in a temperate mountain forest, Czech Republic - Přemysl Bobek; Pavel Šamonil; Eva Jamrichová (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Mountain spruce–beech–fir mixed forests are an important type of vegetation at higher elevations in temperate Europe. We aimed to determine how fire disturbances have affected long‐term vegetation dynamics and to assess their contribution to soil formation. We detected fire episodes using a soil charcoal record extensively dated based on 14 C and combined with pollen and macrocharcoal records from a local peat bog. Altitudinal shifts of the timberline during the Younger Dryas–Holocene transition seem to be responsible for an abrupt occurrence of fire at 11 200 cal a BP. The minimum fire frequency estimation based on dated soil charcoal particles showed variation during the early to mid‐Holocene in response to climatic changes. A marked decrease of fire frequency since 6200 cal a BP is attributed to the transformation of vegetation from Picea abies ‐dominated forests into mixed Fagus sylvatica–Abies alba stands. Once Fagus sylvatica established a dense canopy a profound alteration of the disturbance regime occurred, leading to the exclusion of fire, and has indirectly accelerated the process of podzolization. Thus, the synergistic effects of biotic change are capable of amplifying a climatic impulse, illustrating the important influence of bottom‐up controls on fire regimes and soil development.

Giant deer ( Megaloceros giganteus ) diet from Mid‐Weichselian deposits under the present North Sea inferred from molar‐embedded botanical remains - B. van Geel; J. Sevink; D. Mol; B. W. Langeveld; R. W. J. M. van der Ham; C. J. M. van der Kraan; J. van der Plicht; J. S. Haile; A. Rey‐Iglesia; E. D. Lorenzen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
The molar of a giant deer, Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799), was discovered in sandy deposits of the North Sea, about 10 km west of the present shoreline of the Netherlands. Compacted masticated plant remains were preserved in the molar's deep folds. A palaeoecological analysis of these plant remains shows the complete dominance of pollen from Artemisia (sage) and other Asteraceae Tubuliflorae (Compositae), indicating that the animal foraged in a steppe environment, and may have preferred to eat Artemisia , which contain a high level of nutrients such as calcium and phosphorous components, which are important for antler building. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the plant remains are of mid‐Weichselian age [38 570 (+300, −290) 14 C a BP, Greenland Interstadial‐11]. This is the first study of the food choice of M. giganteus based on palaeoecological evidence. We hypothesize about links between the extirpation of M. giganteus at the onset of the Holocene in North‐West Europe and the transition from a landscape with highly dynamic geomorphological processes and consequently prevalence of immature and nutrient‐rich soils, to a less dynamic landscape with stable, leached and acidifying soils, and the decline of Artemisia and other calciphilous plants.

Holocene relative mean sea‐level changes in the Wadden Sea area, northern Netherlands - Erik W. Meijles; Patrick Kiden; Harm‐Jan Streurman; Johannes van der Plicht; Peter C. Vos; W. Roland Gehrels; Robert E. Kopp (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Although the Netherlands has a long tradition of sea‐level research, no Holocene relative sea‐level curve is available for the north of the country. Previous studies hypothesized that the relative sea‐level reconstruction for the western Netherlands is also valid for the northern part of the country. However, glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models predict a lower and steeper relative sea‐level curve because of greater postglacial isostatic subsidence. Long‐term data of relative sea‐level change are important to inform GIA models and understand postglacial vertical land motion related to the rebound of Fennoscandia and neotectonic activity. We compiled and evaluated a set of basal peat radiocarbon dates to reconstruct the Holocene relative mean sea‐level rise in the Dutch Wadden Sea area. For the early Holocene, this reconstruction is lower than the western Netherlands curve. After 6400 cal a BP, the curve for the Wadden Sea is statistically indistinguishable from that for the western Netherlands, a result that conflicts with GIA model results. It remains to be investigated whether the problem lies with the GIA model predictions or with the quality of the available data. Additional basal peat radiocarbon dates from suitable sites should be collected to further resolve this problem.

Nitrogen isotope (δ 15 N) patterns for amino acids in lemur bones are inconsistent with aridity driving megafaunal extinction in south‐western Madagascar - Sean W. Hixon; Emma A. Elliott Smith; Brooke E. Crowley; George H. Perry; Jeannot Randrianasy; Jean Freddy Ranaivoarisoa; Douglas J. Kennett; Seth D. Newsome (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Most endemic species with body masses >10 kg on Madagascar went extinct within the past 1000 years. The extent to which human predation, anthropogenic landscape transformation and aridification may separately or together explain this extinction pattern remains controversial. We present nitrogen isotope (δ 15 N) values of individual amino acids preserved in bones from now‐extinct Pachylemur insignis and extant Propithecus verreauxi from two subfossil sites in south‐western Madagascar: Tsirave and Taolambiby. The amino acid‐specific approach allows us to identify environmental signals that are otherwise difficult to recognize in bulk collagen δ 15 N values. Specifically, we use the δ 15 N values of source amino acids (phenylalanine and lysine) as a proxy for habitat aridity between ca . 4000 years ago and present and the spacing of δ 15 N values between trophic and source amino acids to quantify trophic levels for these two lemur species. Despite paleoenvironmental evidence for lowering water tables and the expansion of relatively arid savanna between 4000 and 1000 years ago, our isotope data suggest that these lemurs did not live in increasingly arid habitats and did not change their trophic level. Together, our results support the hypothesis that aridity alone did not play a major role in late Holocene megafaunal extinctions in south‐western Madagascar.

Causes and consequences of Arctic freshwater routing into the Nordic Seas during late Marine Isotope Stage 5 - Maciej M. Telesiński; Henning A. Bauch; Robert F. Spielhagen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)

Holocene tephrostratigraphy in Vestfirðir, NW Iceland - Esther Ruth Gudmundsdóttir; Anders Schomacker; Skafti Brynjólfsson; Ólafur Ingólfsson; Nicolaj K. Larsen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
We present a tephra stratigraphical and tephrochronological record from eight lakes in Vestfirðir, NW Iceland. About 50 tephra units have been identified, representing nearly 30 eruptive events originating from five volcanic systems: Hekla, Katla, Snæfellsjökull, Grímsvötn and Veiðivötn‐Bárðarbunga. Most of the tephra layers originate from Grímsvötn, although there is a prominent presence of andesitic to basaltic tephra layers from Hekla in the record. We propose that the previously described Brattihjalli tephra is actually the 6060‐year‐old Hekla Ö tephra marker layer, recording a more north‐westerly dispersal than before and providing new correlation possibilities across Iceland. Thus, the Hekla Ö tephra covers as large an area in Iceland as the Hekla 5, Hekla 4, Hekla 3 and Hekla 1104 tephra layers, emphasizing its importance as a chronological marker. The tephra markers Hekla 1693, V877/Settlement layer, Sn‐1, Hekla 3 and Hekla 4 have been found and, additionally, our study identifies four potential tephra markers, the Katla D1 ∼2750 cal a BP , Katla D2 ∼3700 cal a BP , Reykjarfjörður tephra ∼8800 cal a BP and Dagverðardalur tephra ∼9300–9500 cal a BP . Our data reveal several new tephra layers in Vestfirðir, including chronological markers important for dating and correlation.

Causes and consequences of Arctic freshwater routing into the Nordic Seas during late Marine Isotope Stage 5 - Maciej M. Telesiński; Henning A. Bauch; Robert F. Spielhagen (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Sediment core PS1904 reveals continuous records of planktic and benthic foraminiferal stable isotopes (δ 18 O/δ 13 C) from the north‐eastern Greenland continental margin. The data show good comparability with other records from the Nordic Seas, allowing the stratigraphic range of PS1904 to be dated to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6. Focusing on MIS 5 reveals light δ 18 O values during MIS 5a compared to the last interglacial peak (MIS 5e) which indicates that surface and bottom water layers were strongly affected by freshwater during the former event. We present two possible scenarios explaining the origin and routing of the freshwater: (i) drainage of a Eurasian proglacial lake coupled with the collapse of the Kara Sea Ice Sheet at the MIS 5b/a boundary, and (ii) destabilization and melting of the nearby Greenland Ice Sheet. Although both scenarios could have acted simultaneously, sediment records from the Eurasian sector of the Arctic Ocean hint at the proglacial lake system in north‐western Siberia as the largest freshwater source. Regardless of the actual source, the freshwater lowered the surface ocean salinity causing water column stratification and sea ice expansion. Increased sea‐ice abundance led to a higher albedo and probably contributed to the cooling and global ice sheet growth that occurred subsequently during MIS 4.

Exploring the vertical accretion of ornithogenic sediments from the Xisha Islands, South China Sea, by seabird subfossils - Liqiang Xu; Jinjun Zhao; Libin Wu; Lin Chen; Xiaodong Liu (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Reef islands of the Xisha Islands, South China Sea, were formed during the mid–late Holocene. However, the vertical accretion of ornithogenic sediments of the islands is not well understood owing to a lack of precise dating. Here we present an analysis of seven of the Xisha Islands, and reconstruct their accumulation history based on radiocarbon analysis of seabird subfossils. From Clam‐based age–depth models, a universal development mode of the Xisha Islands is hypothesized. The mean accumulation rate of guano sediments on the Xisha Islands in the late Holocene was 1.02 ± 0.42 mm a −1 . The sum of the deposition rate of coral sands and the rate of ornithogenic accumulation is lower than or close to the current rate of sea level rise in the Xisha Islands, implying a potential threat to the islands’ safety. This study also provides robust evidence for a sequence of island development associated with seabirds.

Deglaciation of coastal south‐western Spitsbergen dated with in situ cosmogenic 10 Be and 14 C measurements - Nicolás E. Young; Jennifer Lamp; Toby Koffman; Jason P. Briner; Joerg Schaefer; Endre F. Gjermundsen; Henriette Linge; Susan Zimmerman; Thomas P. Guilderson; Derek Fabel; Anne Hormes (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
The Svalbard–Barents ice sheet was predominantly a marine‐based ice sheet and reconstructing the timing and rate of its decay during the last deglaciation informs predictions of future decay of marine‐based ice sheets (e.g. West Antarctica). Records of ice‐sheet change are routinely built with cosmogenic surface exposure ages, but in some regions, this method is complicated by the presence of isotopic inheritance yielding artificially old and erroneous exposure ages for the most recent deglaciation. We present 46 10 Be ages from south‐western Spitsbergen that, when paired with in situ 14 C measurements ( n = 5), constrain the timing of coastal deglaciation following the last glacial maximum. 10 Be and in situ 14 C measurements from bedrock along a ∼400‐m elevation transect reveal inheritance‐skewed 10 Be ages, whereas in situ 14 C measurements constrain 400 m of ice‐sheet thinning and coastal deglaciation at 17.4 ± 1.5 ka. Our in situ 14 C‐dated transect, combined with three additional 10 Be‐dated coastal sites, show that the south‐western margin of the Svalbard–Barents ice sheet retreated out of the Norwegian Sea between ∼18 and 16 ka. In situ 14 C measurements provide key chronological information on ice‐sheet response to the last termination in cases where measurements of long‐lived nuclides are compromised by isotopic inheritance.

Issue Information (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)

High‐resolution reconstruction of 8.2‐ka BP event documented in Père Noël cave, southern Belgium - M. Allan; N. Fagel; H. J. L. van der Lubbe; H. B. Vonhof; H. Cheng; R. Lawrence Edwards; S. Verheyden (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
A distinct shift in δ 18 O, δ 13 C and trace element contents of the Père Noël (PN) stalagmite from southern Belgium revealed an abrupt climatic anomaly at 8.13 ± 0.03 ka BP (before present = before 1950 AD). This anomaly is characterized by a maximum drop in the δ 18 O (−1.4‰ compared the mean) between 8.13 and 8.10 ka BP (±0.03). This drop of δ 18 O coincides with a decrease in δ 13 C and trace element (Sr, Ba and Mg) concentrations suggesting drier conditions. Our precise chronology provides the timing of the outburst of proglacial lakes Agassiz and Ojibway that caused the δ 18 O, δ 13 C and trace elemental anomalies at 8.13–8.10 ± 0.03 ka BP, which corresponds to the 8.2‐ka BP event. The PN stalagmite bears δ 18 O values in fluid inclusions that covary with the δ 18 O values in calcite, suggesting that the speleothem calcite δ 18 O primarily reflects variations in the rainfall δ 18 O. Comparison of the PN record with different marine and terrestrial archives during the 8.2‐ka BP event shows a good agreement in timing and duration, suggesting that the PN speleothem can be regarded as a valuable proxy to better understand the 8.2‐ka BP event.

Marine geomorphological record of Ice Sheet development in East Greenland since the Last Glacial Maximum - Jan Erik Arndt (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Reconstructions of ice sheet development in East Greenland, since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), are poorly constrained. This study compiles swath bathymetric data from five expeditions, to investigate the geomorphology of three glacier outlet systems (Kejser Franz Joseph Fjord, Kong Oscar Fjord, and Scoresby Sund) and reconstruct the post‐LGM ice dynamics and extent. The landforms suggest that ice streams probably reached the shelf edge, via cross‐shelf troughs, in all three systems at the LGM. Off Scoresby Sund, it remains unresolved as to whether a mid‐shelf grounding zone wedge marks a recessional stage or the LGM extent. In the Allerød–Bølling interstadial, ice retreated to the fjord entrances at Kejser Franz Joseph Fjord and Kong Oscar Fjord, as documented by partly overridden terminal moraines, and most probably into the fjord at Scoresby Sund. Subsequent overriding occurred by ice readvance, probably in the Younger Dryas. Large ice‐marginal deposition features, formed on the mid‐shelf and at the entrance of Scoresby Sund, probably mark the maximum ice‐sheet extent after the readvance. Holocene retreat was rapid, except for two phases of stabilization at the entrance of Kong Oscar Fjord. Landslide debris indicates that at least one tsunami affected Scoresby Sund at some time in the Holocene.

Ice margin oscillations during deglaciation of the northern Irish Sea Basin - R. C. Chiverrell; R. K. Smedley; D. Small; C. K. Ballantyne; M. J. Burke; S. L. Callard; C. D. Clark; G. A. T. Duller; D. J. A. Evans; D. Fabel; K. van Landeghem; S. Livingstone; et al. (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
We present a new chronology to constrain ice‐margin retreat in the northern Irish Sea Basin. Estimates on the timing of ice thinning derived from surface exposure ages for boulders from the summits of the Isle of Man and south‐west Cumbria suggest that ice thinning was commensurate with the rapid retreat that followed the short‐lived advance of the Irish Sea Ice Stream (ISIS) to maximum limits in the Celtic Sea. This ice retreat in the northern Irish Sea Basin was fastest at 20 ka in response to a wider calving margin, but slowed as ice stabilized and oscillated against the Isle of Man. We provide the first age constraints for the Scottish Readvance (19.2–18.2 ka) and demonstrate that it was a potentially regional event across the Isle of Man and Cumbrian lowlands not linked with Heinrich Event 1. After the Scottish Readvance, the ice front retreated northwards towards the Southern Uplands of Scotland at the same time as climate north of ∼45°N warmed in response to summer insolation. This sequence demonstrates the importance of internal dynamics in controlling ice retreat rates in the Irish Sea, but also that deglaciation of the northern Irish Sea Basin was a response to climate warming.

Late Devensian deglaciation of south‐west Wales from luminescence and cosmogenic isotope dating - N. F. Glasser; J. R. Davies; M. J. Hambrey; B. J. Davies; D. M. Gheorghiu; J. Balfour; R. K. Smedley; G. A. T. Duller (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
The Welsh Ice Cap was a dynamic component of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet at the Last Glacial Maximum, but there are few chronological constraints on the pace and timing of deglaciation. This paper presents new geomorphological and geochronological evidence that constrains the timing of the separation of the Welsh Ice Cap from the Irish Sea Ice Stream and the subsequent deglaciation of south‐west Wales; and allow these to be assessed in the context of late Pleistocene climatic events. Luminescence ages from glacial outwash sediments south of Cardigan demonstrate that the Irish Sea Ice Stream was receding by ∼26.7 ka. The subsequent recession of the Welsh Ice Cap is documented by cosmogenic ages from landforms and sediments in the Aeron and Teifi valleys and upland areas. Deglaciation of the Cambrian Mountains was underway by ∼19.6 ka. Cross‐valley moraines and associated deglaciation deposits show that minor re‐advances interrupted the recession of the Aeron Glacier twice, and the Teifi Glacier on at least 12 occasions. By ∼14.9 ka, the Aeron valley was probably ice‐free, but the northwards withdrawal of the Teifi glacier had halted in the Tregaron area. The final rapid recession of this glacier into the uplands of central Wales was completed during the Windermere Interstadial (13.5 cal ka BP) when, in common with much of the UK, the whole of Wales is believed to have become ice‐free. There is no evidence that the Cambrian Mountains contained ice‐free enclaves at the Last Glacial Maximum, as has been previously suggested. The new ages presented here support suggestions that there was rapid change in the configuration of the Welsh Ice Cap between 20 and 17 ka as upland areas became exposed and there was increasing topographic control on patterns of ice discharge.

Revisiting an arid LGM using fluvial archives: a luminescence chronology for palaeochannels of the Murrumbidgee River, south‐eastern Australia - Daniela Mueller; Zenobia Jacobs; Tim J. Cohen; David M. Price; Ivars V. Reinfelds; James Shulmeister (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
The Riverine Plain in south‐eastern Australia contains numerous palaeochannels that are much larger than the present rivers and provide evidence about past hydrological conditions. Previous research suggested optima in fluvial activity both before and after the peak of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 21 ± 3 ka), and, in some cases, throughout the LGM. In this study, we revisit palaeochannel remnants of the Gum Creek and Yanco palaeochannel systems along the Murrumbidgee River, which drains the high‐elevation catchments of the Australian Alps in south‐eastern Australia. We date fluvial and aeolian sediments using single‐grain optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and apply thermoluminescence (TL) dating to a subset of samples. We compare the OSL ages to new and previously published TL ages and investigate reasons for age discrepancies between these methods, possible effects of partial bleaching and other factors that may affect luminescence ages. We propose a new OSL‐based chronology for the Gum Creek and Yanco palaeochannel systems and assign periods of enhanced fluvial activity for the Tombullen and Yanco phases to 41–29 and 29–18 ka, respectively. Importantly, we infer that conditions of increased sediment and water discharge persisted for the Murrumbidgee River at the time of the LGM.

The 1‐million‐year‐old quartz assemblage from Pont‐de‐Lavaud (Centre, France) in the European context - Jackie Despriée; Marie‐Hélène Moncel; Marta Arzarello; Gilles Courcimault; Pierre Voinchet; Jean‐Jacques Bahain; Christophe Falguères (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
The Pont‐de‐Lavaud site, located in the Centre Region of France (Creuse Valley), yielded a quartz lithic assemblage composed of a few hundred artefacts with cores, pebble tools, flakes and flake‐tools, mixed with several thousand debris items and pebbles. The archaeological site is covered by a fossil fluvial deposit from the Creuse River (sheet I, with a relative altitude of + 90/105 m), dated by Electron Spin Resonance at the site itself to around 1 Ma. We will focus in this paper on the lithic assemblage with clear anthropogenic features to describe the technological strategies applied to quartz pebbles, with the help of experiments. The core technology is based on short ‘chaînes opératoires’ on local quartz aimed at producing pointed end‐products on pebbles and flakes. The methods and techniques include both the bipolar technique on an anvil and direct percussion with a hard hammer. The reduction sequences were strongly conditioned by the morphology and the physical characteristics of the raw material. Few flakes are retouched. The Pont‐de‐Lavaud lithic assemblage is one example of the diversity of the 1‐Ma European industries. The assemblage shows techno‐cultural behavioural variability at this period and adaptation to raw material constraints. Comparisons with series where the use of quartz is widespread demonstrate the ability of hominins to use stones of varying quality and to adapt technology to the raw material in zones located beyond the 45th parallel north.

A guano‐derived δ 13 C and δ 15 N record of climate since the Medieval Warm Period in north‐west Romania - Daniel M. Cleary; Bogdan P. Onac; Ioan Tanţău; Ferenc L. Forray; Jonathan G. Wynn; Monica Ionita; Tudor Tămaş (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
A 285‐cm core of bat guano was recovered from Măgurici Cave in north‐west Romania and analyzed for δ 13 C, δ 15 N and pollen. Guano deposition occurred from AD 881 until 1240 and from AD 1651 to 2013, allowing for the interpretation of summer variations in precipitation and temperature during the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and the Little Ice Age (LIA). A 2‰ increase in δ 13 C, 1.5‰ decrease in δ 15 N, and the presence of Ulmus , Quercus and Carpinus betulus indicate a warm and dry MWP occurred in the region. The lack of deposition during the beginning of the LIA suggests a possible climate‐induced change in prey availability resulting in bats vacating the cave. Variation of δ 13 C values between −25 and −23‰ at AD 1650 (LIA) indicates similar drier conditions as at the end of MWP. However, a 2‰ decrease in δ 13 C values that occurred between AD 1790 and 1900 suggests climate was trending towards wetter conditions at the end of the LIA. From AD 1938 to 2013, δ 13 C values appear to be more influenced by temperature, indicating that this parameter had a more significant effect on carbon discrimination than water availability.

Ostracod‐based reconstruction of Late Quaternary lake level changes within the Tangra Yumco lake system (southern Tibetan Plateau) - M. Alivernini; L. G. Akita; M. Ahlborn; N. Börner; T. Haberzettl; T. Kasper; B. Plessen; P. Peng; A. Schwalb; J. Wang; P. Frenzel (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Tangra Yumco, a large saline lake located in the central–southern part of the Tibetan Plateau, lies in a hydrologically closed basin and is part of a cascade lake system including Tangqung Co, Tangra Yumco and Xuru Co. The extension and position of this lake system makes it valuable for reconstructing palaeoclimatic variations through the lake history and to compare both with the adjacent lake systems. We reconstructed Late Quaternary lake level changes based on data from two lacustrine sediment cores. A micropalaeontological analysis focusing on Ostracoda was carried out combined with dating ( 14 C, 210 Pb, 137 Cs), sedimentology and stable isotope data from bulk sediment. Ostracod analysis involves the quantitative documentation of associations. An ostracod‐based transfer function for specific conductivity was applied to assess and refine lake level changes and to compare the results with other lake level reconstructions from the Tibetan Plateau for evaluating inter‐regional climatic patterns. Seven ostracod species were detected, with Leucocytherella sinensis dominating the associations followed by Leucocythere ? dorsotuberosa , Limnocythere inopinata and Tonnacypris gyirongensis . Fabaeformiscandona gyirongensis , Candona candida and Candona xizangensis were found in only a few samples and at low percentages. The synthesis of ostracod‐based environmental reconstruction and chronology for samples from Tangra Yumco reveals the evolution of the lake system during the past 17 ka. A low lake level around 17 cal ka BP is followed by a recovering until the reaching of a high stand around 8–9 cal ka BP . Subsequently, between 7.7 and 2.5 cal ka BP , it remained relatively stable with a subsequent short‐living lowstand–highstand cycle at around 2 ka. Thereafter, the ostracod‐based conductivity transfer function shows an increase of conductivity corresponding to a lake level rising phase at around 0.4 ka. The recorded changes are indicators of past climatic conditions and refine the palaeoclimatic models in this area.

Lateglacial/early Holocene palaeoenvironments in the southern North Sea Basin: new data from the Dudgeon offshore wind farm - Alex Brown; John Russell; Rob Scaife; Louise Tizzard; John Whittaker; Sarah F. Wyles (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
It is well known that the North Sea conceals an extensive former landscape of Late Pleistocene and Holocene date that was progressively submerged as result of rising post‐glacial sea levels. Although an increasingly detailed picture is emerging of these submerged palaeolandscapes, well‐dated palaeoenvironmental reconstructions from the North Sea Basin remain few and far between. Pollen, foraminifera, ostracod, plant macrofossil and molluscan data are presented from a radiocarbon‐dated core retrieved from the site of the Dudgeon offshore wind farm, located in the southern North Sea Basin. The palaeoenvironmental analysis provides new data on changing local physical and vegetation environments in the southern North Sea Basin, occurring against a background of global climate change and rising sea levels. Subalpine plant communities gradually gave way to hazel‐dominated woodland during the early Holocene, with freshwater environments replaced by increasing signs of estuarine influence from ca . 9500 to 9000 cal a BP. The thin upper peat (8411–8331 cal a BP) raises the possibility that the final inundation of the Dudgeon site may be linked to meltwater pulses following the collapse of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and the draining of the proglacial Lakes Agassiz and Ojibway.

Southern Hemisphere westerly wind influence on southern New Zealand hydrology during the Lateglacial and Holocene - Harris J. Anderson; Christopher M. Moy; Marcus J. Vandergoes; Jonathan E. Nichols; Christina R. Riesselman; Robert Van Hale (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
The strength and latitudinal position of the southern westerly winds (SWW) influence mid‐latitude precipitation and carbon cycling in the Southern Ocean. Despite the important role the westerlies play in the global climate system, past variability is poorly constrained. Here, we present a geochemical record of hydroclimate change from Lake Von in south‐west New Zealand that spans the last 16 000 years. During the Lateglacial and early Holocene, we find stratigraphic and geochemical evidence for three distinct periods of low lake levels that occur during North Atlantic cold events when the Intertropical Convergence Zone is displaced southwards, Southern Ocean upwelling is enhanced and the Antarctic is rapidly warming. We attribute these hydrological changes to southward shifts of the SWW and associated storm tracks that cause arid conditions in southern New Zealand. During the early Holocene, we find evidence for an extended period of low lake levels that are caused by a combination of diminished wind strength, higher air temperatures and reduced seasonality. Finally, we interpret an overall intensification of the SWW after 5500 cal a bp. Our results support the idea that climate mechanisms originating in the high latitudes and the tropics work together to influence the SWW on millennial timescales.

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Earliest Musa banana from the late Quaternary sequence at Fahien Rock Shelter in Sri Lanka - Rathnasiri Premathilake; Chris O. Hunt (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
The domestication and time of arrival of bananas in South Asia and Africa are unresolved issues. We provide banana seed and leaf phytolith evidence from the archaeological sequence at Fahien Rock Shelter, south‐west Sri Lanka, to help understand the geographical configuration of hybridization, dispersal, cultural association and chronology of banana domestication. Phytolith evidence indicates that Musa accuminata subspecies and M. balbisiana existed in the south‐western lowland rainforest of Sri Lanka from 44952–47854 to 3845–3985 cal a BP. Rock Shelter occupants exploited those taxa for starchy food. Edible diploid bananas may have been introduced from Indonesia or Papua New Guinea before 5994–6194 cal a BP. From this time onwards, phytoliths morphologically identical to those from triploid banana cultivars appeared in the lowland rainforest of Sri Lanka. This precocity appears unique to Sri Lanka. Dispersal of these triploids to the east coast of Africa may have followed maritime trade networks in the Indian Ocean from the first half of the sixth millennium BP. Northward dispersal, e.g . to urban Harappan sites, occurred in the middle of the fifth millennium BP. This discovery shows the interconnection of prehistoric cultures and their engagement with the management of starchy staples in the lowland rainforests of Sri Lanka.

A new multi‐proxy investigation of Late Quaternary palaeoenvironments along the north‐western Barents Sea (Storfjorden Trough Mouth Fan) - Romana Melis; Katia Carbonara; Giuliana Villa; Caterina Morigi; María A. Bárcena; Giovanna Giorgetti; Andrea Caburlotto; Michele Rebesco; Renata G. Lucchi (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
A new integrated micropalaeontological study on planktonic and benthic foraminifera, calcareous nannofossils and diatoms was performed on three sediment cores from the Storfjorden Trough Mouth Fan to reconstruct the Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental and climatic history. Two main intervals were discussed: the last deglaciation (16.2–11.7 ka BP ) and the Holocene. The age model relies on palaeomagnetic parameters together with 10 radiocarbon dates. Deglacial sediments had largely diluted the biogenic content which was scarce and poorly preserved. The first occurrence of Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi (benthic foraminifer), together with Turborotalita quinqueloba (planktonic foraminifer) and Coscinodiscus spp. (diatoms) at 11.3 ka BP followed the end of the Younger Dryas cold event and marked the beginning of the early Holocene warm period. Diatoms and planktonic foraminifers indicated a warming of the surface water from 10.5 to 9.2 ka BP , identifying the Holocene Thermal Maximum event. Bottom water fauna registered these warming conditions less clearly. Cooling events were identified during the Holocene, in particular the 8.2 ka BP event and the Neoglacial between 3.2 and 2 ka BP , as shown by the presence of cold‐water taxa such as Gephyrocapsa muellerae (nannoplankton) and Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (planktonic foraminifer). These events were influenced by sea ice extent, cold or relatively warm current influxes.

Assessing the impact of human activities on surface pollen assemblages in Qinghai Lake Basin, China - Haicheng Wei; Qin Yuan; Qinghai Xu; Zhanjie Qin; Lingqing Wang; Qishun Fan; Fashou Shan (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
The aim of this study is to evaluate the local impact of human activities on surface pollen assemblages and identify pollen indicators associated with grazing and cultivation in the Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau. We analyzed 80 surface and 10 dung pollen samples from five communities of vegetation in the Qinghai Lake Basin. Each vegetation zone was identifiable based on surface pollen assemblages. Principal component analysis of 33 pollen taxa and two supplementary variables of human influences was used to assess the impact of anthropogenic activities on surface pollen assemblages in the Qinghai Lake Basin. Surface pollen assemblages were moderately influenced by cultivation, as indicated by the content of the cultivation‐associated Hordeum‐ type and Brassiaceae pollen. Severe grazing led to changes in pollen assemblages, including increases in Chenopodiaceae, Plantago , Potentilla ‐type, Thymelaeaceae and Aster‐type pollen. Pollen assemblages are similar among dung samples and are dominated by Artemisia , Poaceae, Fabaceae and Asteraceae. Hordeum‐ type pollen content is relatively higher in dung samples, indicating herbivores are important in the dispersion of Cerealia Poaceae pollen into pastures. Characterizing modern pollen assemblages will provide a more precise reference for reconstructing prehistoric human activities during the Holocene based on fossil pollen assemblages in the Qinghai Lake Basin.

Timing of glacial retreat in the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland, conditioned by glacier size and topography - Matt D. Tomkins; Jason M. Dortch; Philip D. Hughes; Jonny J. Huck; Toby N. Tonkin; Iestyn D. Barr (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Reconstructing the deglacial history of palaeo‐glaciers provides vital information on retreat processes, information which can inform predictions of the future behaviour of many of the world's glaciers. On this basis, this paper presents 170 Schmidt Hammer exposure ages from moraine boulders and glacially sculpted bedrock to reveal the post‐Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) history of the Wicklow Mountains, Ireland. These data suggest that large ice masses survived for 4–7 ka after retreat of the Irish Sea Ice Stream and were sustained by summit ice fields until ∼16.6 ka. Post‐LGM retreat was driven by climate and involved numerous short‐term ice front oscillations (≤1 ka), with widespread moraine deposition during Heinrich Stadial 1. In contrast, marked asynchroneity in the timing of Younger Dryas deglaciation is closely linked to snow redistribution which demonstrates the sensitivity of small cirque glaciers (≤1 km 2 ) to local topography. This result has important implications for palaeoclimate reconstructions as cirque glacier dynamics may be (at least partly) decoupled from climate. This is further complicated by post‐depositional processes which can result in moraine ages (e.g. 10 Be) which post‐date retreat. Future palaeoclimate studies should prioritize cirques where snow‐contributing areas are small and where post‐depositional disturbance of moraines is limited.

Characterizing formation processes of Rimrock Lake, a Late Pleistocene–Holocene playa, Harney Basin, south‐eastern Oregon, USA, using an end‐member mixing analysis - Joe D. Collins; Thomas E. Gill; Richard Langford (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Playas collect sediments from different transported processes, producing grain‐size distributions (GSDs) reflecting changes in environment. End‐member mixing analysis (EMMA) was used to derive end‐members (EMs) from 256 sediment samples from Rimrock Lake (Harney Basin, Oregon, USA) and a nearby relict channel. EMMA identified six EMs representing deposition in fluvial, lacustrine, littoral and colluvial environments. Stratigraphy was time‐correlated using nine radiocarbon dates. Results show that Rimrock Lake existed by ∼ 18 535 cal a BP . A relict playa surface also was exposed along its margin and indicates lake contraction ∼ 6190–5990 cal a BP . In the relict channel, a dominant eolian environment is identified at ∼ 8000 cal a BP . These results represent a shift to a more arid environment in the Harney Basin beginning around the mid‐Holocene and are in general agreement with other studies reported in the Great Basin. This study demonstrates the application of EMMA for analyzing complex playa sediments and for linking environmental response across separate but related geomorphic environments. Our results provide a paleoenvironmental record along Harney Basin's western margin between ∼ 18 500 and 6000 cal a BP and demonstrate the use of small playas in the basin as environmental archives.

Evolution of the Galicia Interior Basin over the last 60 ka: sedimentary processes and palaeoceanographic implications - Anxo Mena; Guillermo Francés; Marta Pérez‐Arlucea; Till J. J. Hanebuth; Vera B. Bender; Miguel A. Nombela (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
The Galicia Interior Basin (GIB; NW Iberian Peninsula) is located near a critical transition between the subtropical (temperate) and subpolar (cold) gyres of the North Atlantic. It therefore witnesses oceanographic changes driven by global climatic events. This study reports on the recent (latest Pleistocene) sedimentary, palaeoceanographic and palaeoclimatic history of the basin. We integrated analysis of deep‐sea sediment cores retrieved from an E–W transect across the GIB. The analysis indicated three types of sedimentary processes recording glacial (Marine Isotope Stage 2–4) and deglacial events: along‐slope bottom currents (forming contourite deposits), pelagic and hemipelagic sedimentation, and gravitational dislocation. Variation in depositional patterns and sedimentation rates indicate distinctive transport (along‐slope and down‐slope) and depositional processes. These in turn reflect climatic and oceanographic drivers. We interpret changes in sea level from core evidence showing changes in sediment supply. The cores exhibited conspicuous sedimentary evidence of Heinrich events (HEs). The stratigraphic intervals associated with HEs showed significant lateral variation. We suggest that the lateral variation may result from the development of an oceanographic boundary between surface water masses with different temperature and salinity parameters or changes in surface currents which may have introduced relatively warmer water into the GIB during the last glacial period.

Valley glaciers persisted in the Lake District, north‐west England, until ∼16–15 ka as revealed by terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide ( 10 Be) dating: a response to Heinrich event 1? - Peter Wilson; Ángel Rodés; Alan Smith (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
The Lake District of north‐west England acted as an independent centre of ice dispersal within the more extensive British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) during the Last Glacial Maximum, but relatively little is known about the pattern and timing of glacier retreat. Four new terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide ( 10 Be) surface exposure ages from boulders from a lateral moraine in the Duddon valley, south‐west Lake District, have yielded internally consistent ages with uncertainty‐weighted means of 16.51 ± 0.78 ka (using the Loch Lomond production rate with Lm scaling and 1 mm ka −1 erosion rate) and 16.15 ± 1.30 ka (using CRONUScalc with SA scaling and 1 mm ka −1 erosion rate). It is inferred that glacier retreat from the moraine occurred in the interval ∼16.5–16.1 ka but that a valley glacier continued to exist, probably until ∼15 ka. The Duddon valley ages agree with other surface exposure ages from Wasdale, Watendlath and the Shap fells, together demonstrating that glacier ice was still widespread in the Lake District at ∼17–15 ka. There is also consistency with ages from other sectors of the BIIS that are considered to have responded to North Atlantic Heinrich event 1.

Issue Information (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)

The Laacher See Tephra discovered in southernmost Sweden - Simon A. Larsson; Stefan Wastegård (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
We present the first geochemically confirmed finding of the Laacher See Tephra (LST) on the Swedish mainland, now the northernmost extension of the LST. Sediments were sampled at the Körslättamossen fen, southernmost Sweden, and a high‐concentration cryptotephra occurrence (>65 000 shards cm −3 ) of the LST was found in a sequence of calcareous gyttja. Tephra identification was confirmed by geochemical analysis using field‐emission electron probe microanalysis and through comparison of the results with published LST data from proximal sites and distal sites north‐east of Laacher See. The LST has previously been divided into eruption phases suggested to have spread in several dispersal fans, but it was not possible to confidently determine the phase of the tephra here closer than to the MLST or ULST. The finding of the LST presented here further strengthens the potential of tephrochronological studies in the south Scandinavian region.

Late Pleistocene–Holocene environmental change in eastern Turkey: multi‐proxy palaeoecological data of vegetation and lake‐catchment changes - Demet Bİltekİn; Kürşad Kadİr Erİş; Memet Namık Çağatay; Sena Akçer Ön; Dİcle Bal Akkoca (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
This study presents the first pollen record from Lake Hazar, eastern Turkey, together with previously published multi‐proxy records from core Hz11‐P03. The data provide insight into multi‐centennial‐scale climatic changes during the late Pleistocene–Holocene period. The onset of the Younger Dryas was marked by an increase in the number of herbaceous plants (such as those in the families Poaceae and Asteraceae and the genus Centaurea ) and lake level lowering with a −73 m erosional terrace on the lake margin. At the beginning of the early Holocene, the expansion of deciduous Quercus was attributed to significant afforestation due to high humidity that was presumably sufficient for the establishment of the oak forest. An increase in deciduous Quercus was maintained until the middle Holocene. An increase in herbaceous plants, and lower lake levels occurred during the late Holocene as a result of cold and dry climatic conditions. Moreover, a deciduous Quercus delay was not detected in Lake Hazar, indicating that the presence of a warm and humid climate created favourable conditions for oaks to expand at the onset of the early Holocene.

New geomorphological and chronological constraints for glacial deposits in the Rivoli‐Avigliana end‐moraine system and the lower Susa Valley (Western Alps, NW Italy) - Susan Ivy‐Ochs; Stefania Lucchesi; Paolo Baggio; Gianfranco Fioraso; Franco Gianotti; Giovanni Monegato; Angela A. Graf; Naki Akçar; Marcus Christl; Francesco Carraro; Maria Gabriella Forno; Christian Schlüchter (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
Our new dataset from the Rivoli‐Avigliana end‐moraine system, the westernmost amphitheatre of the Italian Alps, provides an important step towards understanding foreland‐reaching glaciations before and during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Western Alps. 10 Be data from six boulders in pre‐LGM deposits gave ages between 26.8 ± 2.1 and 41.2 ± 1.9 ka. Based on morphological and pedological data, we interpret the oldest age as a minimum age for the glacier advance(s). 10 Be results suggest that the LGM occurred in two major steps. During the first at 24.0 ± 1.5 ka, several ridges were constructed demonstrating oscillation of the Dora Riparia glacier snout at the maximum position. Our data demonstrate a significantly larger LGM extent in the Rivoli‐Avigliana amphitheatre than shown on previous maps. The maximum advance was followed by a short re‐advance of the glacier at 19.6 ± 0.9 ka, as recorded by 10 Be ages from boulders in lateral positions along the lower Susa Valley. The maximum ice surface during the LGM was at 1000–920 m a.s.l. in the final reach of the valley (560–620 m of elevation above the alluvial plain) and at 620–340 m a.s.l. at the continuous moraines in the amphitheatre.

A high‐resolution record of Holocene climate and vegetation dynamics from the southern Cape coast of South Africa: pollen and microcharcoal evidence from Eilandvlei - Lynne J. Quick; Brian M. Chase; Michael Wündsch; Kelly L. Kirsten; Manuel Chevalier; Roland Mäusbacher; Michael E. Meadows; Torsten Haberzettl (Journal of Quaternary Science, 2018)
The southern Cape is a particularly dynamic region of South Africa in terms of climate change as it is influenced by both temperate and tropical circulation systems. This paper presents pollen and microcharcoal data generated from a sediment core extracted from the coastal lake Eilandvlei spanning the last ∼8900 years. With an average sample resolution of 57 years, this record represents the highest resolution record of Holocene vegetation change from the region. The data indicate that cool, seasonal and moderately dry conditions characterized the Wilderness Embayment from ∼8900 to 8000 cal a BP . Afrotemperate forests expanded from ∼8000 cal a BP until 4700 cal a BP . This humid period is followed by indications of more arid and seasonal conditions until 3500 cal a BP . A long‐term increase in forest taxa suggests steadily increasing moisture availability across the late Holocene. Strong affinities are noted with records from more tropical regions of South Africa, suggesting that tropical systems are of importance in maintaining higher moisture availability in the region. An important mechanism of climate change is the Agulhas Current, which transmits what appears to be a localized signal of tropical variability to the southern Cape coast.