Journal of Quaternary Science最新文献

Understanding the long-term Quaternary glacial history of the Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands is crucial for contextualizing ice sheet responses to climate change. While Holocene deglaciation is relatively well-studied, direct terrestrial evidence for pre-Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) events remains scarce. This study investigates the depositional age of glacial sediments underlying Holocene patterned ground on Barton Peninsula, King George Island. A 50.5 cm sediment core (AG-9) from a homogeneous diamicton at ~25 m above present sea level (a.s.l.) revealed a provenance from local Eocene magmatic bedrocks. Feldspar post-infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) dating, focusing on a cumulative analysis of all accepted aliquots from the core, yielded a Central Age Model De of 226 ± 12 Gy. Combined with an environmental dose rate of 2.32 ± 0.12 Gy/ka and a g-value of 2.07 ± 0.84%/decade, this results in a fading-corrected luminescence age of 121 ± 9 ka. This age places the till deposition within Marine Isotope Stage 5e (MIS-5e), the Last Interglacial. Key implications include the following: (1) The MIS-5e glaciation provides a terminus post quem (a point in time after which an event must have occurred) for the onset of the subsequent glacial cycle in this locality. (2) The in-situ preservation of the bulk of these MIS-5e deposits, which subsequently served as the substrate for Holocene periglacial landforms, suggests largely continuous and non-erosive ice cover from MIS-5e until Holocene deglaciation. (3) The depositional setting at ~25 m a.s.l. is interpreted as a terrestrial marker of glacial advance to the higher MIS-5e relative sea level, considering subsequent glacio-isostatic adjustments. The MIS-5e age challenges narratives focused solely on LGM/Holocene events, highlights the potential for uncovering older Quaternary terrestrial records, and offers new perspectives on the region's long-term glacial dynamics and ice-sheet sensitivity.

More than five decades after the first report of fossil remains found in a limestone quarry near Crespià, NE Spain, we provide here the first dating results for the palaeontological assemblage from Incarcal-I, one of the various fossil-rich sinkholes identified at the locality that has yielded ~2,000 remains representing at least 15 taxa of large mammals. Palaeomagnetism in conjunction with combined U-series and electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of fossil teeth consistently constrain the age of Incarcal-I to the latest part of the Early Pleistocene. Specifically, with palaeomagnetic results showing reverse magnetic polarities for the large majority of the samples and no indisputable evidence of normal polarity in the stratigraphic succession, the deposits may be reasonably correlated to the Matuyama Chron (2.61–0.77 Ma), thus providing a minimum age constraint of 0.77 Ma for the sedimentary infill. Additionally, direct dating of two fossil teeth of Hippopotamus antiquus using the most advanced analytical procedures, through a combination of unusually high sampling density (n = 17) for bulk ESR and U-series analyses and high-resolution laser ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) analyses, yields a mean age of 862 ± 52 ka (1σ). Interestingly, the data set collected shows the exceptionally high spatial homogeneity of the ESR and U-series data across dental tissues and of the natural radioactivity of the sedimentary environment. Furthermore, the uncertainty around the uranium uptake modelling carries very little weight in the age calculation, which is unusual for such old fossil teeth. Consequently, this set of evidence supports the robustness and reliability of the ESR chronology, adding a new solid chronological tie point for biochronological inferences. In summary, the various lines of evidence available enable confident positioning of Incarcal-I in the latest part of the Early Pleistocene, that is, somewhere between the end of the Jaramillo Subchron (1.01 Ma) and the Matuyama–Brunhes boundary (0.77 Ma). The numerical dating results indicate that the fossil assemblage of Incarcal-I is coeval with those from other well-constrained key Spanish localities such as Atapuerca Gran Dolina TD4-6, and Vallparadís Station EVT7, highlighting the overall exceptional density of the Iberian fossil record between ~0.8 and ~1.0 Ma. Finally, a critical evaluation of the existing age constraints available for the Calabrian (1.80–0.77 Ma) fossil localities of the Iberian Peninsula is also proposed here, with a first tentative classification of the sites into four main categories (A to D) based on the robustness and precision of their chronostratigraphic framework.

The internal and external climatic forcings of the Earth frequently influence lake levels by regulating atmospheric circulation systems. Notably, the interaction between westerly winds and monsoons in mid-to-low latitudes triggers complicated lake level modes on millennial scales. A thorough investigation into the mechanisms of climatic forcings affecting lake levels, particularly the interplay between westerly winds and monsoons, could provide valuable insights for predicting future hydroclimate. We present a systematic global study of the response of lake levels to climate forcings in closed basins since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), based on continuous lake level simulations under five different forcing conditions and numerous paleoclimate records. Results show that the change in solar insolation driven by the Earth's orbit was the main climatic forcing affecting lake level patterns in low-latitude monsoon-dominated closed basins since the LGM. In contrast, greenhouse gases and continental ice sheets were the primary forcings controlling lake level patterns in mid-latitude westerly wind-dominated closed basins since the LGM. Additionally, meltwater injection into the North Atlantic caused the dramatic lake level fluctuations during the last deglaciation by influencing the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation.

Open data expectations in Quaternary science increasingly intersect with Indigenous cultural and intellectual property (ICIP). Research on Indigenous lands and knowledge often proceeds without formal consent or governance, continuing extractive practices. This correspondence argues that ICIP and Indigenous data sovereignty must be integrated across project design, sampling, interpretation, archiving and secondary use. Biophysical data are also culturally situated when they describe landscapes shaped by Indigenous stewardship. Journals, repositories and institutions should require evidence of community permissions and shared decision-making. Ethical research practice demands Indigenous authority over how data are generated, interpreted and circulated.

Human–environment interactions have been affected by sudden climate changes in the Eastern Mediterranean region for thousands of years. Recent studies project a 20% decrease in precipitation by the end of this century compared to the 20th century. Therefore, high-resolution paleoclimate data are needed to develop robust future climate projections and modeling studies for the Eastern Mediterranean. This study investigates the mid-to-late Holocene paleoclimatic shifts and their impacts on civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean using high-resolution isotope records from the Dim-3 stalagmite (Dim Cave, southern Türkiye). A precise and robust age–depth model was constructed using 23 U/Th dating results, spanning from 4149 to 996 years (yr) BP. The isotope results show the driest conditions occurring at 3986 yr BP, with a rapid shift to wetter conditions after 3890 yr BP. These wetter conditions were followed by a prolonged dry period from 3280 to 2720 yr BP. A subsequent wet period between 2720 and 2228 yr BP was interrupted by a 698-year growth hiatus in the stalagmite. In the final section of the record (1530–972 yr BP), initially wet climatic conditions transitioned to drier periods around 1425 yr BP and again between 1150 and 1075 yr BP. The Dim-3 isotope record shows enriched isotopic values between 4140 and 3890 yr BP, coinciding with the “4.2 ka drying event.” While a brief humid period was observed between 3050 and 2920 yr BP, the overall isotope values show an enriched trend from 3250 to 2800 yr BP, indicating the imprint of the 3.2 ka and Bond 2 events.