Quaternary International最新文献

{"title":"Late Pleistocene morphological variability of Uvigerina cocoaensis and its subspecies in the quasi-isolated Central Equatorial Indian Ocean Basin","authors":"Puja Vijay ,&nbsp;Neelakantan Ravindran Nisha ,&nbsp;Naveen Gandhi","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110105","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110105","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Central Equatorial Indian Ocean (CEIO) constitutes a key region for inter-basin water exchange within the Indian Ocean, primarily modulated by the seasonal reversal of the summer and winter monsoons. The CEIO also contributes indirectly to global ocean circulation by linking equatorial Indian Ocean processes with exchanges through the Indonesian Throughflow and to ventilation pathways of the Arabian Sea. In the present investigation, the core location is situated near the Cape Comorin Ridge in the CEIO, and the ridge serves as a topographic barrier that restricts inter-basin water exchange, thereby creating a quasi-isolated regional basin. This quasi-isolation provides a unique natural setting to study localized circulation, water mass transformation, and biogeochemical processes. The deep-sea benthic foraminiferal records of the CEIO shows a high abundance and diversity of uvigerinids since this region is uniquely influenced by a strong oxygen minimum zone, monsoon-driven productivity, and semi-isolated circulation. <em>Uvigerina cocoaensi</em>s and its subspecies, recorded from the study area, serve as key bioindicators of past oceanographic and climatic conditions. The observed morphological adaptations reflect environmental changes closely tied to glacial-interglacial cycles. Stratigraphic records obtained through the present investigation further reveal a progressive climatic transition, underscoring the significance of <em>U. cocoaensis</em> as a proxy for reconstructing paleoenvironmental dynamics in the CEIO. This study presents the first comprehensive analysis of <em>U. cocoaensis</em> and its subspecies from the Indian Ocean, drawing the evolutionary trajectory of these species within the CEIO during the Late Pleistocene. Detailed morphometric and taxonomic analyses of <em>U. cocoaensis</em> and its subspecies from this region suggests that the CEIO may have functioned as a quasi-isolated basin during the Late Pleistocene, promoting localized evolutionary processes. Notably, while <em>U. cocoaensis</em> has a long stratigraphic record in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean dating back to the Tertiary (Eocene), its late Pleistocene expression in the CEIO highlights a distinct regional evolutionary pathway. The appearance (∼85 cal ka BP) and disappearance (∼138 cal ka BP) of <em>U. cocoaensis</em> and its subspecies in the CEIO reflect adaptive responses to oceanographic and climatic perturbations, including shifts in productivity, water mass properties, and oxygenation levels of the region. Thus, their first recovery in the CEIO provides new regional evidence to reconstruct paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic conditions of the area, highlighting the potential of the CEIO as a quasi-isolated regional basin in the marine realm.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"756 ","pages":"Article 110105"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145885792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Foraminiferal and geochemical evidence of the late Quaternary monsoon and oceanographic shifts in the southern Bay of Bengal","authors":"Kavya Aravind ,&nbsp;Neelakandan Ravindran Nisha ,&nbsp;Naveen Gandhi ,&nbsp;Pankaj Kumar","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110106","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110106","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The southern Bay of Bengal (BoB) is a pivotal region for paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic research, owing to its intricate interactions among monsoonal dynamics, ocean circulation, sedimentation patterns, and regional hydrology. Being the northern boundary of the tropical Indian Ocean, the area experiences significant freshwater input from major river systems and is modulated by the seasonal monsoonal wind regime. In this study, we present the first high-resolution, multi-proxy reconstruction of surface hydrographic and climatic variations over the past 44 kyr BP in the southern BoB. Our analysis integrates stable isotope records, planktonic foraminiferal assemblage distributions, textural studies and trace elemental data. The stable isotope records, along with the planktonic foraminiferal species abundances, indicate a strengthened Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 1 and 3, whereas a weakened ISM with predominant northeast monsoon influence during MIS 2. Species such as <em>Globigerinoides ruber</em>, <em>Pulleniatina obliquiloculata</em>, and <em>Neogloboquadrina dutertrei</em> exhibit sensitivity to variations in temperature, salinity, and thermocline depth, displaying distinct responses during major climatic events such as the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), Heinrich Events, and the Younger Dryas. Proxy records reveal rapid deglacial warming coupled with monsoon intensification, while mid-Holocene trends suggest a gradual weakening of the ISM. Cluster and factor analyses effectively differentiate surface, thermocline, and subsurface dwelling foraminiferal species, facilitating comprehensive reconstructions of vertical water column structures. Fluctuations in planktonic/benthic foraminiferal (PF/BF) ratios, along with variations in trace elements such as molybdenum (Mo), vanadium (V), and uranium (U), underscore changes in productivity and bottom-water oxygenation over the last 44 kyr BP in the southern BoB. This comprehensive dataset highlights the intricate interplay between global climatic forces and regional monsoonal variability, which have collectively shaped the paleoceanographic evolution of the southern Bay of Bengal.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"756 ","pages":"Article 110106"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145885793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New chronological data for the Middle Paleolithic hominin occupations at Anghilak Cave, Uzbekistan","authors":"Yoshihiro Nishiaki ,&nbsp;Otabek Aripdjanov ,&nbsp;Michelle Glantz ,&nbsp;Toru Tamura ,&nbsp;Hiroyuki Kitagawa ,&nbsp;Saiji Arai ,&nbsp;Terrence Ritzman ,&nbsp;Rustam Suleymanov","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110096","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110096","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Anghilak Cave in southern Uzbekistan is one of the rare Middle Paleolithic sites associated with a hominin fossil in Central Asia. The radiocarbon dates from the 2002–2004 excavations once indicated that the hominin occupations of this site may have persisted into the Upper Paleolithic time-range (approximately 30–50 ka); we conducted additional research to verify those dates using different techniques and materials. This paper presents new sets of accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates based on the samples from our renewed excavations between 2013 and 2017. The results suggest that the Middle Paleolithic layers of Anghilak are likely to be earlier than or at least close to the current limit of AMS dating, and they may go back to as early as 55–85 ka. Accordingly, we regard the Anghilak occupations representing a late Middle Paleolithic rather than those involving the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition or showing a robust example of the late survival of the Middle Paleolithic. At the same time, this new finding helps to develop a better chronology for the Middle Paleolithic hominin occurrences in Central Asia, when different cultural groups may have co-existed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"756 ","pages":"Article 110096"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145885794","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Stone and mammoth ivory tool production, circulation, and human dispersals in the middle Tanana Valley, Alaska: Implications for the Pleistocene peopling of the Americas","authors":"Brian T. Wygal ,&nbsp;Kathryn E. Krasinski ,&nbsp;Lillian Barber ,&nbsp;Charles E. Holmes ,&nbsp;Barbara A. Crass","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110087","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110087","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the middle Tanana Valley of central Alaska, the Holzman archaeological site is located along Shaw Creek's west bank. For the last three decades, the Tanana Valley has been the focus of intense Late Pleistocene archaeological and geological investigations into the interaction between the First Alaskans and Ice Age megafauna, particularly woolly mammoth. Archaeological excavations at the Holzman site have uncovered expedient tools on local quartz with well-preserved hearths, avifauna, and megafauna. Evidence for cooking and ivory tool manufacture dated to 14,000 years ago (14 ka) in component 5b (C5b) has been demonstrated—making Holzman among the earliest sites in the Americas. In the 13.7 ka C5a, an extensive workshop event left abundant local quartz artifacts behind, the by-product of mammoth ivory reduction and manufacture of ivory blanks or preforms, and the earliest known ivory rod tools in the Americas. The Holzman site contributes new information to a growing archaeological record of the middle Tanana Valley during the Late Glacial period. Based on current evidence, the confluence of Shaw Creek with the Tanana River was especially active during the initial arrival of Indigenous people. The subsequent selection of local quartz, cherts, and siltstone occurred with a particular focus on the harvest of woolly mammoth ivory. The evidence suggests a late southern migration by ancestral Clovis people south of the continental ice sheets into the mid-continental North America sometime between 14-13 ka.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"755 ","pages":"Article 110087"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145841923","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Assessing the usage of flammability experiments and charcoal reflectance for interpreting the late Holocene record of fire","authors":"Alicja Bonk ,&nbsp;Claire M. Belcher ,&nbsp;Agnieszka Wacnik ,&nbsp;Wojciech Tylmann","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110095","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110095","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Palaeofire reconstructions typically rely on quantifying fossil charcoal abundance to estimate fire regimes, but this approach does not provide direct information about the preservation of biomass that burned or the energy release of past fires. Here we combine observations of the degradation state of fossil charcoal, using reflected light microscopy, with measurements of charcoal reflectance. We propose that this combined approach enables: 1) the identification of whether plant material burned in palaeofires was degraded prior to charring or was in a fresh state, and 2) inference of the likely energy regime of palaeofires. To demonstrate the potential of this proxy-based method, we apply it to fossil charcoal extracted from a sediment core from Lake Żabińskie in north-eastern Poland, and integrate the results with pollen data to identify periods when palaeofire regimes were likely dominated by low-intensity litter fires, as opposed to more intense surface or crown fires burning live fuels.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"756 ","pages":"Article 110095"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145771910","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Fossil record, radiocarbon dating (14C AMS) and isotopic paleoecology (δ13C) of Boa sp. Linnaeus, 1758 from the Late Pleistocene of Bahia, Brazil","authors":"Levi Caires Nascimento ,&nbsp;João Paulo da Costa ,&nbsp;Annie Schmaltz Hsiou ,&nbsp;Gabriela Alves Lage ,&nbsp;André Vieira Araújo ,&nbsp;Luciano Artemio Leal ,&nbsp;Alexander Cherkinsky ,&nbsp;Mário André Trindade Dantas","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110088","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110088","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study presents a detailed analysis of fossilized remains of <em>Boa</em> sp. from the Late Pleistocene, recovered from Toca do Angico in the municipality of Campo Formoso, Bahia, Brazil. The material consists of 29 precloacal vertebrae, representing one of the most numerous Pleistocene assemblages described for the genus in the country. The morphological analysis allowed for a confident taxonomic identification at the generic level, based on a diagnostic set of vertebral characters typical of Boidae and consistent with <em>Boa</em>, although specific-level resolution was not possible due to the lack of reliable osteological differences among species of the genus. Body-size estimates indicate a moderately large individual, with a mean snout–vent length of approximately 2.67 m and an estimated total body length of about 2.96 m, values that exceed the average recorded for most modern individuals but remain within the known limits for the genus. Radiocarbon dating of the specimen yielded a calibrated age between 42,422 and 42,701 cal yr BP. The <em>δ</em>¹³C value (−7.5 ‰), associated with a low <em>p</em>_<em>i</em>C₃ (0.25), indicates that the individual inhabited open environments dominated by C₄ vegetation and fed predominantly on prey isotopically linked to this type of plant cover. Together, these data reinforce the presence of open savanna environments in the interior of northeastern Brazil during the Late Pleistocene. This study expands current knowledge on the distribution, ecology, and paleoenvironmental context of <em>Boa</em> sp., while also highlighting the importance of karst systems for the preservation of the Quaternary fossil record.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"755 ","pages":"Article 110088"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145799196","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Romito 9: A new Palaeolithic burial from Grotta del Romito (Calabria, Italy)","authors":"F. Martini ,&nbsp;D. Lo Vetro ,&nbsp;F. Macciardi ,&nbsp;L. Calcagnile ,&nbsp;G. Quarta ,&nbsp;G. De Benedetto ,&nbsp;G. Vincenti ,&nbsp;O. Rickards ,&nbsp;G. Scorrano ,&nbsp;P.F. Fabbri","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110020","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110020","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During recent excavations at Grotta del Romito (Papasidero, northern Calabria, Italy), a new Upper Palaeolithic burial—designated Romito 9—was identified. The burial pit had been partially disturbed ab antiquo, resulting in an altered depositional context. The burial pertains to a female individual, approximately 11–12 years of age, and is associated with an archaeological layer dated to 16,129 ± 100 uncal BP (19,809–19,157 cal BP, 2σ), corresponding to the evolved phase of the local Epigravettian culture. Romito 9 presents a richly furnished burial, featuring the use of red ochre and abundant ornamentation. It represents the earliest known funerary evidence chronologically positioned between the Gravettian burials of Italy and those of the Final Epigravettian. This intermediate position underscores the continuity of complex ceremonial traditions characteristic of the Gravettian, prior to the ritual simplification documented in southern Italy during the Final Epigravettian. The individual, likely a prepubertal female at the time of death, exhibits dental dimensions more closely aligned with Middle Upper Palaeolithic (MUP) individuals than with those from the Late Upper Palaeolithic (LUP). Her estimated adult stature would have exceeded that of Romito's LUP adult females by approximately 20 cm, approaching the maximum values recorded for LUP females and aligning closely with the average stature of LUP adult males from the site. Given the paucity of comparative data for LUP individuals of the same age range, her body proportions and overall dimensions appear to be more consistent with MUP populations. A meticulous excavation strategy, combined with detailed post-excavation analysis of the funerary context, facilitated the reconstruction of both taphonomic and post-depositional processes. This work further enabled the creation of a visual model illustrating the original position of the buried individual and portions of the associated ornamentation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"755 ","pages":"Article 110020"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145799197","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Late Pliocene to Early Pleistocene Lomekwi faunas, West Turkana, Kenya: systematics, paleoecology, and biochronology","authors":"Denis Geraads ,&nbsp;René Bobe ,&nbsp;Thomas A. Püschel ,&nbsp;Carol V. Ward ,&nbsp;J. Michael Plavcan ,&nbsp;Fredrick Kyalo Manthi","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110078","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110078","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We describe here the vertebrate fauna collected by the West Turkana Paleo Project at Lomekwi, a site best known for yielding the holotype of <em>Kenyanthropus platyops</em> and Lomekwian stone tools, and consisting of several collecting areas providing fossil samples ranging in age from about 3.6 to 2.2 Ma. Analysis of the newly recovered material, alongside a thorough revision of earlier collections, has led to the identification of 85 vertebrate taxa, which provide biochronological indications that help refine the site's chronology and shed light on the paleoenvironmental conditions prevailing during a critical period of early hominin diversification. The newly described fauna illustrates that during the time of <em>Kenyanthropus,</em> hominins shared their landscapes with a rich assemblage of vertebrates, including abundant megaherbivores, some 28 species of artiodactyls, diverse large and medium-size carnivores, and giant crocodiles as apex predators in the lakes and rivers of the Turkana region in the Pliocene. Among primates, the recurring association of <em>Theropithecus</em> with hominins is found at Lomekwi as it is elsewhere. Paleoenvironmental proxies from the Turkana region emphasize the complex and dynamic nature of the habitats that supported this rich biodiversity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"754 ","pages":"Article 110078"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145797807","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"3D hydrostratigraphic architecture of a Late Pleistocene buried valley infill at Kurikka, west-central Finland","authors":"Annika K. Åberg ,&nbsp;Niko Putkinen ,&nbsp;Nick Eyles ,&nbsp;Juha Davidila ,&nbsp;Michal Malinowski","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110080","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110080","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Almost 70 % of drinking water in Finland is derived from groundwater in complex glacial and interglacial sediments. The thick (∼70 m) late Pleistocene stratigraphic infill of an extensive (&gt;200 km²) buried bedrock valley cut into the underlying crystalline strata of the Fennoscandian Shield at Kurikka in west-central Finland hosts a complex aquifer system that will be used for municipal water for some 150 000 people. This paper briefly reports ongoing hydrostratigraphic and hydrogeological modelling work, the largest current groundwater investigation of its kind on Finland, aimed at improved management of this strategic water supply. This study integrates geological and downhole geophysical data (resistivity, susceptibility, natural gamma/gamma-gamma density) from some 211 boreholes including seismic reflection profiling, to develop a 3D hydrostratigraphic model of the valley fill based on some 1412 km of geological cross-sections. 18 unconformity-bounded depositional systems are recognized within the fill that record successive phases of deposition during the penultimate glaciation (Saalian till: DS4, ca. 191–130 ka) resting on an older sediment unit of indeterminate age (DS1–DS3, &gt;200 ka), Saalian ice-marginal deposits (DS5), Saalian composite (DS6 ca. 191–130 ka), a thick composite Late Saalian-Eemian-Early-Weichselian sediment package (DS7, ca. 130–74 ka), Weichselian succession (DS9–DS14, ca. 74–12 ka), Late Weichselian deglaciation (DS15, ca. 11 ka) and Holocene postglacial sediments (DS16–18, 11ka – present day). The modelling approach used here provides a framework for investigation of groundwater resources elsewhere in Finland where detailed studies are needed to address the impacts of future climate change on water resources.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"755 ","pages":"Article 110080"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145799195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Revisiting the ‘Hole of Bad Aussee’: A key sedimentary record of Quaternary landscape dynamics in the Eastern Alps (Austria)","authors":"Clemens Schmalfuss ,&nbsp;Stephanie Neuhuber ,&nbsp;Gustav Firla ,&nbsp;Christopher Lüthgens ,&nbsp;Bennet Schuster ,&nbsp;Lukas Gegg ,&nbsp;Flavio S. Anselmetti ,&nbsp;Markus Fiebig","doi":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110086","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quaint.2025.110086","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Despite a long history of geologic research in the European Eastern Alps, Quaternary landscape evolution before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) remains poorly constrained due to the scarcity of dated sedimentary archives, particularly in inneralpine regions. In this study, we reinvestigate an 880-m-long drill core from Bad Aussee (Styria, Austria), originally drilled for salt exploration. Sedimentological, geochemical, and geochronological analyses allow us to identify three major depositional units spanning the last two glacial cycles. The succession starts with glaciolacustrine deposition during the penultimate glaciation (Rissian, Marine Isotope Stage 6), consisting mainly of glacially sourced material of local provenance (carbonates and evaporites). In contrast, the &gt;500-m-thick overlying deltaic and lacustrine deposits (Early to Middle Würmian) indicate a source area dominated by crystalline rocks. This observation suggests that, for a prolonged period between the Last Interglacial and the Late Würmian (MIS 2), the Upper Enns Valley drained into today's Traun Valley, crossing the present-day drainage divide. Furthermore, the lack of glacial deposits indicates that glacial advances during this phase did not reach the Bad Aussee Basin. On top of the succession, a carbonate-rich subglacial till can be attributed to the LGM. While questions regarding the formation mechanism of this exceptionally deep and confined Quaternary basin remain, our results challenge the previously suggested model of subglacial dissolution and subsequent formation and rapid infill of a deep lake. Salt-related syndepositional subsidence could serve as an alternative explanation for the observed stratigraphy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":49644,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary International","volume":"755 ","pages":"Article 110086"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145754152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}