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Under glacial climates, continental ice sheets such as, e.g., the Greenland Ice Sheet, extended onto the continental shelves and often carved out deep cross‐shelf troughs. The sedimentary infill of such troughs commonly is a product of the complex interactions between the ice sheets, largely driving sediment input into the ocean, and the surrounding water masses. Off West Greenland, research has focused on the Disko and Uummannaq troughs, leaving the northerly adjacent Upernavik trough relatively understudied. Hence, neither the chronology of deglaciation nor the details of its postglacial infill are sufficiently well understood. Here, we combine computed tomography image‐derived information with geochemical and granulometric data from four sediment cores recovered from the Upernavik trough that point to (i) deglaciation of the mid‐shelf probably around 13.4 cal. ka BP that was most likely driven by a northward advection of warmer Atlantic waters during the Bølling–Allerød, (ii) the presence of widespread mass wasting around 8 cal. ka BP on the inner shelf and (iii) the complex interplay between various modes of sediment input, transport and deposition under hemipelagic sedimentation afterwards. While this interplay complicates provenance studies, we identify two major sediment delivery mechanisms that control transport and deposition from four sediment source areas. Through the Early Holocene the relative contributions of sediments from the various sources changed from a predominantly local origin to more southerly sources, mainly driven by decreasing input from the local sources. The integration of relative sediment source contributions with varying sedimentation rates challenges previous studies postulating intensified sediment delivery from the south through a greater influence of the West Greenland Current and highlights the need for the integration of sediment input and transport mechanisms into provenance studies in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of the structures and intensities of past glaciations is crucial for understanding Quaternary palaeoclimatic evolution. Terrestrial molluscs are a reliable proxy of past environmental conditions and can provide specific climatic insights into glacials. Here we compare the climatic evolution of the last two glacials, based on mollusc fossils from the L2 and L1 loess units (equivalent to Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 6 and 4–2, respectively) of the Xifeng and Luochuan sections of the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). The results show that both glacials had a tripartite structure but with different intensities, as indicated by variations in the abundance of the dominant cold‐aridiphilous (CA) mollusc species, Vallonia tenera and Pupilla aeoli. The first stage, from ~191 to 184 ka for MIS 6, and from ~71 to 57 ka for MIS 4, was characterized by a cold, arid climate, as indicated by the abundance of V. tenera and P. aeoli, and the limited occurrence of thermo‐humidiphilous (TH) species. The second stage, from ~184 to 155 ka for MIS 6, and from ~57 to 29 ka for MIS 3, was characterized by a relatively mild, humid climate, indicated by a decrease in V. tenera and P. aeoli, and an increase in TH species. The last stage, from ~155 to 130 ka for MIS 6, and from ~29 to 11.7 ka for MIS 2, experienced the coldest and driest conditions, as indicated by the dominance of V. tenera and P. aeoli in late MIS 6 and by the reduced occurrence of the grassland biomass, necessary for the growth of CA species, in MIS 2. The climate during MIS 2 was much colder and drier than that during late MIS 6. We suggest that the structures of the glacials were controlled mainly by insolation driven by changing astronomical configurations, amongst which obliquity likely played the major role. The different glacial intensities across the CLP may also have been related to variations in Northern Hemisphere ice sheets and the temperature of the tropical oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate regarding the history of water‐level fluctuations in Lake Baikal extends back to the late 19th century and is rooted in the interpretation of the sequence of palaeo‐shoreline terraces observed around the Baikal trough. Modern studies identify terraces up to 200 m above and down to 40 m below the present‐day Lake Baikal water level, and opinions are split between (i) those who regard the lake‐level fluctuations as a function of shifts in water balance associated with glacial and interglacial periods, and (ii) those who attribute the changes to predominantly tectonic factors, permitting water‐balance fluctuations of not more than a few tens of metres. In either case, a definitive lake‐level scheme must also constrain the relative elevation of the Baikal's outlet, which has not been fixed over time. Here, we focus upon the lake‐level changes over the past 50 000 years with a new set of observations from an outstanding sequence of palaeo‐shoreline terraces on Bolshoi Ushkanii Island located in central Lake Baikal. By determining the 14C age of soils rapidly buried by beach deposits on two terraces, we provide direct evidence of lake‐level highstands at ~120–122 and ~72–83 m during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 (Karginsk interstadial). By integrating these results with the repeated subsidence of Baikal's outlet threshold since MIS 5e, we show that lake‐level fluctuations closely align with swings in glacial and interglacial climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we reconstruct the style and timing of the late Quaternary glaciation pattern in a monsoon‐influenced precipitation‐deprived region (Dhauliganga basin) of the Central Himalaya, India. We present detailed glacial geomorphological mapping, aided by topographic maps, satellite data, Google Earth images, global positioning system survey, and fieldwork (2012–2016), supported by optically stimulated luminescence dating. Our estimations for the magnitude and timing of glaciations in the Dunagiri Glacier valley suggest five sets of glacial advances. The oldest and most extensive glaciation in the valley is Dunagiri Glacial Stage‐I (DGS‐I), represented by a discontinuous moraine ridge that extends down to ~10 km (~2700 m a.s.l.) from the present‐day snout and formed 13±3 ka ago. The DGS‐II stage is present in the form of a small moraine ridge (~3000 m a.s.l.) that formed 10±2 ka ago. The DGS‐III and DGS‐IV glacial stages are 5–6 and 3.5 ka old, respectively. The youngest stage (DGS‐V) of glaciation belongs to the neoglaciation episode ~1 ka old. DGS‐I was the most extensive glaciation in the valley and corresponds to the global Last Glacial Maximum. The glaciation pattern has been correlated with the estimates of present‐day glacial sensitivity to climate and explained as forcing factors sensitive to temperature and/or precipitation changes in the region. The observations based on prevailing climate correlations aided with available glacial chronologies underline the fact that the glacial valleys situated in precipitation‐deprived regions have preserved a delayed response of glaciations to regional climatic events. Estimates for the timing and pattern of glaciation in the present study suggest a different glacial response for modern climatic changes than previously assumed. We suggest that individual glacier advances differ regionally and, therefore, should not be interpreted as being reflective of a change in the whole geographical belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, fluvial deposits of Middle Pleistocene age in the mountain‐foreland area of southern Poland (Eastern Sudetes and Western Carpathians) are studied in order to document the evolution of fluvial systems during the coldest stages of glacial periods when the Scandinavian Ice Sheet advanced far to the south. The focus is on fluvial response to climate change and glacial impact on river system behaviour. Also considered is the tectonic uplift of the mountain part of river catchments and its potential influence on the style of fluvial sedimentation in the fore‐mountain area. Three drainage basins that were active during the Elsterian and Saalian glaciations are investigated. Facies analyses are carried out on thick successions of braided river deposits covered with till or glaciolacustrine sediments, which result in a reconstruction of the fluvial activity synchronous with the ice‐sheet advance. The results suggest that fluvial activity declined prior to ice‐sheet advance into the fore‐mountain area. This climatically induced change is directly recorded in alluvial successions by upward‐decreasing bed thicknesses and grain sizes. River longitudinal profiles were shortened in front of the advancing ice sheet. The base level of the studied rivers, created by the ice‐sheet margin, rose in parallel with glacial advance. As a result, the successive reaches of rivers (degradational, transitional, aggradational) underwent shortening and moved upstream within the catchments. Moreover, tectonically induced local increases of river slopes may have influenced the depositional processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a well‐dated, high‐resolution and continuous sediment record spanning the last c. 24 000 years from lake Bolshoye Shchuchye located in the Polar Ural Mountains, Arctic Russia. This is the first continuous sediment succession reaching back into the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ever retrieved from this region. We reconstruct the glacial and climate history in the area since the LGM based on sedimentological and geochemical analysis of a 24‐m‐long sediment core. A robust chronology was established using a combination of AMS14C‐dating, the position of the Vedde Ash and varve counting. The varved part of the sediment core spans across the LGM from 24 to 18.7 cal. ka BP. We conclude that the lake basin remained ice‐free throughout the LGM, but that mountain glaciers were present in the lake catchment. A decrease in both glacial varve preservation and sedimentation rate suggests that these glaciers started to retreat c. 18.7 cal. ka BP and had disappeared from the catchment by 14.35 cal. ka BP. There are no indications of glacier regrowth during the Younger Dryas. We infer a distinct climatic amelioration following the onset of the Holocene and an Early to Middle Holocene thermal optimum between 10–5 cal. ka BP. Our results provide a long‐awaited continuous and high‐resolution record of past climate that supplements the existing, more fragmentary data from moraines and exposed strata along river banks and coastal cliffs around the Russian Arctic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a multi‐proxy record from Lake Kotokel in the Baikal region at decadal‐to‐multidecadal resolution and provides a reconstruction of terrestrial and aquatic environments in the area during a 2000‐year interval of globally harsh climate often referred to as the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The studied lake is situated near the eastern shoreline of Lake Baikal, in a climatically sensitive zone that hosts boreal taiga and cold deciduous forests, cold steppe associations typical for northern Mongolia, and mountain tundra vegetation. The results provide a detailed picture of the period in focus, indicating (i) a driest phase (c. 24.0–23.4 cal. ka BP) with low precipitation, high summer evaporation, and low lake levels, (ii) a transitional interval of unstable conditions (c. 23.4–22.6 cal. ka BP), and (iii) a phase (c. 22.6–22.0 cal. ka BP) of relatively high precipitation (and moisture availability) and relatively high lake levels. One hotly debated issue in late Quaternary research is regional summer thermal conditions during the LGM. Our chironomid‐based reconstruction suggests at least 3.5 °C higher than present summer temperatures between c. 22.6 and 22.0 cal. ka BP, which are well in line with warmer and wetter conditions in the North Atlantic region inferred from Greenland ice‐cores. Overall, it appears that environments in central Eurasia during the LGM were affected by much colder than present winter temperatures and higher than present summer temperatures, although the effects of temperature oscillations were strongly influenced by changes in humidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A loess‐palaeosol succession from the last glacial cycle was palaeomagnetically studied in the Rivne abandoned brickyard (western Ukraine). Two samples of undisturbed loess from the same depth of parallel sections display steep negative inclinations. These reversed directions in the loess dated at c. 18 ka may possibly be correlated with the Hilina Pali palaeomagnetic excursion. This is the first occurrence of the Hilina Pali in a loess sediment. Unfortunately, the loess with negative inclination does not form any continuous layer that could be suitable for studies of detailed features of geomagnetic field inversion. Another six samples from an illuvial horizon of the Holocene soil also showed negative inclinations and strongly deviated declinations. This part of the section does not represent, however, any palaeomagnetic excursion. The anomalous magnetization in maghemite‐ and titanomagnetite‐rich sediment results most probably from self‐reversal remagnetization. A new insight into palaeomagnetic excursions noted in loess, especially in its parts affected by pedogenic processes, is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glacial geomorphology relating to the Loch Lomond Stadial (Younger Dryas) in Britain is used to construct five glacial landsystem models. These landsystems lie on a continuum of increasing ice thickness and decreasing topographic control and typify the principal styles of glaciation during the stadial. The landsystems comprise: the cirque/niche glacier landsystem, the alpine icefield landsystem, the lowland piedmont lobe landsystem, the plateau icefield landsystem and the icecap landsystem. Geomorphological features representing the icecap landsystem are present only at the centre of the West Highland Glacier Complex, which was flanked primarily by satellite alpine and plateau icefields. The cirque/niche glacier landsystem was present predominantly in areas that experienced conditions only marginally favourable for glacier development at peripheral sites. Three styles of glacier retreat are recorded by the geomorphology: active, two-phase and uninterrupted retreat. Of these, active retreat appears to be most widespread within the Loch Lomond Stadial limits. These retreat styles reflect a combination of climatic and topographic conditions, coupled with local factors influencing the preservation of landforms from which retreat dynamics can be inferred. Likewise, the distribution of landsystems was influenced by an interplay between topography and climate, with glacier formation being facilitated in locations where topographical conditions aided in the accumulation of snow. The pattern also supports the existence of previously recognized northward and eastward precipitation gradients across Britain during the stadial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ice sheets that advance upvalley, against the regional gradient, commonly block drainage and result in ice-dammed proglacial lakes along their margins during advance and retreat phases. Ice-dammed glacial lakes described in regional depositional models, in which ice blocks a major lake outlet, are often confined to basins in which the glacial lake palaeogeographical position generally remains semi-stable (e.g. Great Lakes basins). However, in places where ice retreats downvalley, blocking regional drainage, the palaeogeographical position and lake level of glacial lakes evolve temporally in response to the position of the ice margin (referred to here as 'multi-stage' lakes). In order to understand the sedimentary record of multi-stage lakes, sediments were examined in 14 cored boreholes in the Peace and Wabasca valleys in north-central Alberta, Canada. Three facies associations ( FAI- III) were identified from core, and record Middle Wisconsinan ice-distal to ice-proximal glaciolacustrine ( FAI) sediments deposited during ice advance, Late Wisconsinan subglacial and ice-marginal sediments ( FAII) deposited during ice-occupation, and glaciolacustrine sediments ( FAIII) that record ice retreat from the study area. Modelling of the lateral extent of FAs using water wells and gamma-ray logs, combined with interpreted outlets and mapped moraines based on Li DAR imagery, facilitated palaeogeographical reconstruction of lakes and the identification of four major retreat-phase lake stages. These lake reconstructions, together with the vertical succession of FAs, are used to develop a depositional model for ice-dammed lakes during a cycle of glacial advance and retreat. This depositional model may be applied in other areas where meltwater was impounded by glacial ice advancing up the regional gradient, in order to understand the complex interaction between depositional processes, ice-marginal position, and supply of meltwater and sediment in the lake basin. In particular, this model could be applied to decipher the genetic origin of diamicts previously interpreted to record strictly subglacial deposition or multiple re-advances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence of a dynamic Holocene glacial history is preserved in the terrestrial and marine archives of St. Jonsfjorden, a small fjord-system on the west coast of Spitsbergen, Svalbard. High-resolution, remotely sensed imagery from marine and terrestrial environments was used to construct geomorphological maps that highlight an intricate glacial history of the entire fjord-system. The geomorphology and stratigraphy indicate an early Holocene local glacier advance constrained to the Lateglacial-early Holocene transition. Identification and 14C dating of the thermophilous bivalve mollusc Modiolus modiolus to 10.0±0.12 cal. ka BP suggest a rapid northward migration of the species shortly after deglaciation. Further evidence enhances the understanding of the onset and subsequent climax of the Neoglacial-Little Ice Age in inner St. Jonsfjorden. The present-day terminus of Osbornebreen, the dominating glacier system in St. Jonsfjorden, is located over 8.5 km up-fjord from its Neoglacial maximum extent. Cross-cutting relationships suggest subsequent advances of all the smaller glaciers in the area following the break-up of Osbornebreen. Glacial deposits, landforms and their cross-cutting relationships observed in both terrestrial and marine settings imply a complex and highly dynamic environment through the later part of the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we report standard quartz SAR OSL and post-IR infrared (IR) stimulated luminescence (post-IR IRSL; pIRIR290) measurements made on sand-sized quartz and K-feldspar extracts from the loess-palaeosol sequence at Niuyangzigou in northeastern China. The quartz OSL characteristics are satisfactory. Extensive pIRIR50,290 dose recovery tests were performed by adding doses on top of the natural dose. We found that dose recovery ratios improve significantly when the test dose ranges between ∼15 and ∼80% of the total dose, and good dose recovery (within ±5% of unity) can be obtained up to ~800 Gy. Otherwise, the dose recovery ratio deviates from unity. The De values also depend on the test dose size and so we conclude that the effect of test dose size should be routinely considered in pIRIR dating. First IR stimulation plateau pIRIR290 results are compared with multiple elevated temperature-pIRIR (MET-pIRIR) data. It appears that the low temperature MET-pIRIR data are strongly affected by poor dose recovery, but this is not the case for the pIRIR290 results. Natural signal measurements at the highest (first IR) stimulation temperature on a sample expected to be in field saturation suggest that ∼10% signal loss occurs in pIRIR signals. Long-term laboratory bleaching experiments (>80 days) show that a constant (or very difficult to bleach) residual pIRIR290 signal is reached after ∼300 h, corresponding to a dose of 6.2±0.7 Gy. Quartz OSL and feldspar pIRIR50,290 ages are in good agreement at least back to c. 70 ka. Beyond this the quartz ages begin to underestimate but the feldspar ages are in agreement with the expected Last Interglacial age palaeosol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Magdalen Islands (Québec, Canada) are a key location for unravelling the glacial and sea-level history of the Maritime Provinces of eastern Canada. Although many sedimentary sequences have been described in the literature, absolute ages are lacking, impeding an accurate interpretation of the deposits and the establishment of a precise chronological framework. This study provides a detailed description of 21 stratigraphical sequences located throughout the archipelago, as well as the first comprehensive luminescence chronology from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to c. 10 ka. In addition to the five samples collected for age control purposes, 34 luminescence samples were taken from 17 different sites in glacial, periglacial and coastal deposits. The stratigraphical and chronological data reveal that the islands were at the crossroads of two icecaps during the LGM; the southern islands were glaciated by the Escuminac icecap located in the western Gulf of St. Lawrence whereas the northern archipelago was glaciated at the end of the LGM by an ice flow from Newfoundland. The glacial deposit covering the northern Magdalen Islands was associated with the Newfoundland icecap; here it is named the Grande-Entrée till and is dated to c. 20 ka. OSL ages between c. 23 and 17 ka acquired from cryopediment and coastal deposits on the southern islands indicate that this part of the archipelago was deglaciated shortly after the LGM and was affected by a high sea level and periglacial processes. Around 15 ka, the entire archipelago was deglaciated and partially submerged until c. 10 ka. This data set is the first major contribution to a detailed chronology of the Magdalen Islands and constitutes the first step towards interpreting the glacial and sea-level history of the central area of the Gulf of St. Lawrence; this new understanding will provide input to regional marine and glacial modelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kapp Ekholm site, in central Spitsbergen, shows alternating units of glaciomarine sandy silt and diamicton representing three glacial cycles and is key in reconstructing the Late Pleistocene glacial history of Svalbard. Part of the site is reinvestigated here by focusing on re-dating two units (B and F) interpreted as interglacial/interstadial glaciomarine deposits, in order to constrain the controversial chronology. A combination of Optical Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) on quartz, infrared stimulated luminescence with a 50 °C readout temperature (IRSL50) and post infrared-infrared stimulated luminescence (pIR), both on feldspar, was applied. While Formation B was beyond the dateable range of OSL, IRSL50 and pIR ages lead to the conclusion that this unit represents the Last Interglacial, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, and the underlying diamicton the MIS 6 glacial. Formation F yielded ages implying that the formation represents the MIS 5a interstadial and the underlying diamicton is interpreted to represent the MIS 5b stadial. This agrees with conclusions drawn concerning the Pleistocene glaciations elsewhere on Svalbard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of present-day communities and ecosystems resembling those reconstructed from the fossil record can help improve our understanding of historical distribution patterns and species composition of past communities. Here, we use a unique data set of 570 plots explored for vascular plant and 315 for land-snail assemblages located along a 650-km-long transect running across a steep climatic gradient in the Russian Altai Mountains and their foothills in southern Siberia. We analysed climatic and habitat requirements of modern populations for eight land-snail and 16 vascular plant species that are considered characteristic of the full-glacial environment of central Europe based on (i) fossil evidence from loess deposits (snails) or (ii) refugial patterns of their modern distributions (plants). The analysis yielded consistent predictions of the full-glacial central European climate derived from both snail and plant populations. We found that the distribution of these 24 species was limited to the areas with mean annual temperature varying from −6.7 to 3.4 °C (median −2.5 °C) and with total annual precipitation varying from 137 to 593 mm (median 283 mm). In both groups there were species limited to areas with colder and drier macroclimates (e.g. snails Columella columella and Pupilla loessica, and plants Kobresia myosuroides and Krascheninnikovia ceratoides), whereas other species preferred areas with relatively warmer and/or moister macroclimates (e.g. snails Pupilla turcmenica and P. alpicola, and plants Artemisia laciniata and Carex capillaris). Analysis of climatic conditions also indicated that distributional shifts of the studied species during the Pleistocene/Holocene transition were closely related to their climatic tolerances. Our results suggest that the habitat requirements of southern Siberian populations can provide realistic insights into the reconstruction of Eurasian, especially central European, glacial environments. Data obtained from modern populations also highlight the importance of wet habitats as refugia in the generally dry full-glacial landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fossil diatom record from the Hässeldala Port palaeolake, southeastern Sweden, offers an excellent opportunity to investigate how past climatic shifts influenced catchment conditions and early lake development. The record, dating to between 13 900 and 11 200 cal. a BP, covers a climatically dynamic period, starting with deglaciation followed by oscillations between warmer and colder climate states. The stratigraphical changes in the fossil diatom assemblages show a trend of less open-water taxa and a successively more complex periphytic community as the lake shallows and the aquatic habitat structure develops. A diatom-based reconstruction of lake water pH indicates a natural acidification trend early in the record from 13 900 to 12 500 cal. a BP. From 12 500 cal. a BP, coincident with the start of climate cooling, to 11 300 cal. a BP this trend is disrupted and lake waters become more alkaline. A cooler and drier climate most likely resulted in reduced soil organic matter build-up as well as more frozen ground that impeded hydrological flow and decreased the input of dissolved organic matter and organic acids into the lake system. This study demonstrates the importance of the hydrological system as a link between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems during early lake ontogeny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of a high-resolution suite of modern glacial sediments from Jostedalen, southern Norway, using a portable optically stimulated luminescence ( OSL) reader, provides insights into the processes of sediment bleaching in glacial environments at the catchment scale. High-magnitude, low-frequency processes result in the least effective sediment bleaching, whereas low-magnitude, high-frequency events provide greater bleaching opportunities. Changes in sediment bleaching can also be identified at the scale of individual bar features: tails of braid-bars and side-attached bar deposits have the lowest portable reader signal intensities, as well as the smallest conventional OSL residual doses. In addition to improving our understanding of the processes of sediment bleaching, portable reader investigations can also facilitate more rapid and comprehensive modern analogue investigations, which are commonly used to confirm that the OSL signals of modern glacial sediments are well bleached. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field investigation has shown that the middle reaches of the Yarlung Zangbo River, in Tibet (known as the Bhramaputra River in reaches downstream) has 11 terraces. The ages of these terraces were determined as follows: T11>2000 ka, T10 = 1783 ka, T9 = 1238 ka, T8 = 683 ka, T7 = 382 ka, T6 = 150 ka, T5 = 82 ka, T4 = 67 ka, T3 = 43 ka, T2 = 28 ka and T1 = 10 ka. These terraces formed during several stages of the Quaternary when the Tibetan Plateau was uplifting, recording tectonic-climatic cycles or subcycles of 1.2, 0.4, 0.1, 0.04 and 0.02 million years duration. The tectonic-climatic cycles identified by this study are correlated with red soil and palaeosol records. The preservation of the Oligocene to Early Miocene conglomeratic Dazhuka Formation, close to the present altitude of the main planation surface of the Tibetan Plateau and occurring only in the Yarlung Zangbo valley, suggests that this river has existed since at least 7 Ma. Discoveries of old and thick fluvial gravel layers extending to within 630 m of the valley floor show that the Yarlung Zangbo River was already incised by 2000 m or more below the surface of the Tibetan Plateau, that much of the incision from plateau to valley floor had been accomplished and that the plateau was already substantially uplifted prior to the Quaternary. In addition to its importance for understanding the evolution of the Tibetan Plateau, this study documents the impact of varying rates of tectonic uplift on river development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in the supply of water and sediment to high-latitude rivers related to contemporary climate change and glacier fluctuations largely determine the activity of fluvial processes. This study reconstructs fluvial dynamics since the end of the Little Ice Age ( LIA) in two small, partially glaciated basins in the southern part of Spitsbergen, Svalbard Archipelago. We use a combination of aerial photograph interpretation, field mapping and dendrochronological analysis. Sequences of abandoned channels and glacifluvial terraces are distinctly visible in middle and lower parts of the Brattegg and Arie basins in this area. The advance of glaciers during the LIA in the upper part of the basins led to the development of a braiding pattern and to channel aggradation corresponding to the highest glacifluvial levels. The decreasing activity of these braidplains occurred at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, immediately prior to a significant incision period. A second generation of braided channels developed during the first half of the 20th century. Ice-marginal lake development, less input of fine-grained sediment to the river channel, and fast incision began from the second half of the 20th century onward. During the last two decades, the main fluvial response to the climatic warming has been contraction of flow within a narrower channel and the abandonment of braidplains. The increased lateral erosion and rate of downcutting and the formation of the most downstream reaches of the modern valley bottom occurred in the 1980s and 1990s. This process was intensified under flood conditions generated by extreme rainfall events. These micro-scale (small partially glaciated basins) observations concerning the changes of the activity of fluvial processes since the end of LIA may be helpful for the reconstruction of past fluvial changes over longer time scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper the effects of rapid, high-amplitude base-level changes during the last glacial-interglacial transition were studied for the Ain River in eastern France. During the Würm glacial maximum ( MIS 2) rapid aggradation by deep-water Gilbert-type deltas and shallow-water fan deltas occurred at the margins of a 20 to 50 m deep proglacial lake. A temporal high-amplitude lake-level fall of 60 m resulted in gravel deposition by forced-regressive deltas, followed by rapid lake-level rise and fine-grained glaciolacustrine deposition. During the final deglaciation, a rapid base-level fall of 40 m resulted in a complex fluvial response. Knickpoint formation and headward incision of the highstand deltas and concomitant deposition of gravel sheets by forced-regressive deltas and braided systems occurred in several depocentres on the former glacial lake floor. Preservation of highstand and falling-stage deposits and terrace formation in the incised valley depended on vertical incision and lateral channel migration. Terraces are well developed in the former lake-floor depressions, whereas vertical incision was dominant in the higher lake-floor areas. The Ain terrace staircase was likely formed by autogenic processes during a single allogenic base-level fall. This case study possibly offers an analogue for the preservation of interglacial highstand coastal deltas during sea-level fall at warm-to-cold climate transitions, although the rates of base-level fall are different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tunnel valleys are elongated incisions formed by meltwater underneath ice sheets that rest on unlithified bed materials. The formation of tunnel valleys is commonly believed to be influenced by the properties of the preglacial bed; however, a detailed analysis of this relationship has not been performed to date. To determine whether tunnel-valley location and morphology are controlled by the substratum, a 3 D seismic survey was combined with lithological data from the Wadden Sea area in the Dutch sector of the southern North Sea Basin. This study shows that tunnel-valley floors often coincide with seismic reflectors that mark lithological boundaries in the substratum, and that the location and depth of tunnel-valley incision vary as a function of the properties of the substratum as expressed by lithological and geophysical-log variations. Tunnel valleys are incised preferentially into fine-grained layers, while the top of coarser-grained units commonly coincide with the tunnel-valley floor. These observations indicate that the geometry and orientation of tunnel valleys in the study area are controlled by contrasts in lithological properties of the bed. An explanation for the observed lithological control might lie in large water-pressure differences over fine-grained and impermeable layers along the flow-path of subglacial meltwater flowing through the substratum, from areas with high pore-water pressure towards areas with relatively low pressures in the vicinity of meltwater channels. These pressure differences might have been sufficient for the fracturing and fluidization of these layers. The concepts presented here have implications for existing genetic models and for the prediction of tunnel-valley morphology in understudied areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sediments from the last interglacial ( Eemian) in Jameson Land, East Greenland, and the Thule area, NW Greenland, have revealed a number of insect fragments of both arctic and more or less warmth-demanding species. Altogether, the interglacial fauna of Coleoptera (beetles) indicates boreal conditions. Undoubtedly, a large fraction of the insect fauna succumbed when the mild Eemian climate cooled drastically during the last glacial stage. However, a group of hardy species now found far north into the High Arctic might be glacial survivors. It is, however, still puzzling why well-adapted arctic beetle species such as Amara alpina and Isochnus arcticus did not survive the last glacial stage in Greenland. Two factors that have not been sufficiently considered when discussing survival contra extinction are the importance of microclimate and the number of sun-hours during the Arctic summer. Even among the Coleoptera, which as a group fares quite badly in the Arctic, there might be survivors, at least among those found both during the interglacial and as fossils during the early Holocene. First of all, glacial survival applies to the seed bug Nysius groenlandicus, which was widespread during the Eemian, was found soon after the last deglaciation, and is now almost omnipresent in Greenland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knudsen, K. L., Jiang, H., Kristensen, P., Gibbard, P. L. & Haila, H. 2011: Early Last Interglacial palaeoenvironments in the western Baltic Sea: benthic foraminiferal stable isotopes and diatom-based sea-surface salinity. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2011.00206.x. ISSN 0300-9483. Stable isotopes from benthic foraminifera, combined with diatom assemblage analysis and diatom-based sea-surface salinity reconstructions, are used for the interpretation of changes in bottom- and surface-water conditions through the early Eemian at Ristinge Klint in the western Baltic Sea. Correlation of the sediments with the Eemian Stage is based on a previously published pollen analysis that indicates that they represent pollen zones E2-E5 and span ∼3400 years. An initial brackish-water phase, initiated c. 300 years after the beginning of the interglacial, is characterized by a rapid increase in sea-surface and sea-bottom salinity, followed by a major increase at c. 650 years, which is related to the opening of the Danish Straits to the western Baltic. The diatoms allow estimation of the maximum sea-surface salinity in the time interval of c. 650-1250 years. After that, slightly reduced salinity is estimated for the interval of c. 1250-2600 years (with minimum values at c. 1600-2200 years). This may be related to a period of high precipitation/humidity and thus increased freshwater run-off from land. Together with a continuous increase in the water depth, this may have contributed to the gradual development of a stratified water column after c. 1600 years. The stratification was, however, particularly pronounced between c. 2600 and 3400 years, a period with particularly high sea-surface temperature, as well as bottom-water salinity, and thus a maximum influence of Atlantic water masses. The freshwater run-off from land may have been reduced as a result of particularly high summer temperatures during the climatic optimum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Krüger, L. C., Paus, A., Svendsen, J. I. & Bjune, A. E. 2011: Lateglacial vegetation and palaeoenvironment in W Norway, with new pollen data from the Sunnmøre region. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2011.00213.x. ISSN 0300-9483. Two sediment sequences from Sunnmøre, northern W Norway, were pollen-analytically studied to reconstruct the Lateglacial vegetation history and climate. The coastal Dimnamyra was deglaciated around 15.3 ka BP, whereas Løkjingsmyra, further inland, became ice-free around 14 ka BP. The pioneer vegetation dominated by snow-bed communities was gradually replaced by grassland and sparse heath vegetation. A pronounced peak in Poaceae around 12.9 ka BP may reflect warmer and/or drier conditions. The Younger Dryas (YD) cooling phase shows increasing snow-bed vegetation and the local establishment of Artemisia norvegica. A subsequent vegetation closure from grassland to heath signals the Holocene warming. Birch forests were established 500-600 years after the YD-Holocene transition. This development follows the pattern of the Sunnmøre region, which is clearly different from the Empetrum dominance in the Lateglacial interstadial further south in W Norway. The Lateglacial oscillations GI-1d (Older Dryas) and GI-1b (Gerzensee) are hardly traceable in the north, in contrast to southern W Norway. The southern vegetation was probably closer to an ecotone and more susceptible to climate changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erbs-Hansen, D. R., Knudsen, K. L., Gary, A. C., Jansen, E., Gyllencreutz, R., Scao, V. & Lambeck, K. 2011: Late Younger Dryas and early Holocene palaeoenvironments in the Skagerrak, eastern North Atlantic: a multiproxy study. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2011.00205.x. ISSN 0300-9843 A high-resolution study of palaeoenvironmental changes through the late Younger Dryas and early Holocene in the Skagerrak, the eastern North Atlantic, is based on multiproxy analyses of core MD99-2286 combined with palaeowater depth modelling for the area. The late Younger Dryas was characterized by a cold ice-distal benthic foraminiferal fauna. After the transition to the Preboreal ( c. 11 650 cal. a BP) this fauna was replaced by a Cassidulina neoteretis-dominated fauna, indicating the influence of chilled Atlantic Water at the sea floor. Persisting relatively cold bottom-water conditions until c. 10 300 cal. a BP are presumably a result of an outflow of glacial meltwater from the Baltic area across south-central Sweden, which led to a strong stratification of the water column at MD99-2286, as also indicated by C. neoteretis. A short-term peak in the C/N ratio at c. 10 200 cal. a BP is suggested to indicate input of terrestrial material, which may represent the drainage of an ice-dammed lake in southern Norway, the Glomma event. After the last drainage route across south-central Sweden closed, c. 10 300 cal. a BP, the meltwater influence diminished, and the Skagerrak resembled a fjord with a stable inflow of waters from the North Atlantic through the Norwegian Trench and a gradual increase in boreal species. Full interglacial conditions were established at the sea floor from c. 9250 cal. a BP. Subsequent warm stable conditions were interrupted by a short-term cooling around 8300-8200 cal. a BP, representing the 8.2 ka event. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lüthgens, C., Böse, M. & Preusser, F. 2011: Age of the Pomeranian ice-marginal position in northeastern Germany determined by Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of glaciofluvial sediments. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2011.00211.x. ISSN 0300-9843 The Pomeranian ice margin is one of the most prominent ice-marginal features of the Weichselian glaciation in northern Europe. Previous results of surface-exposure dating (SED) of this ice margin disagree with established chronologies and ice retreat patterns, i.e. are much younger than previously expected. We crosscheck the age of the Pomeranian ice-marginal position in northeastern Germany using single-grain quartz Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating of glaciofluvial sediments. OSL dating indicates an active ice margin between 20.1±1.6 ka and 19.4±2.4 ka forming outwash plains attributed to the Pomeranian ice-marginal position. On the basis of these results, we suggest a critical reassessment of previous SED data available for the Pomeranian ice-marginal position within their respective regional geomorphological contexts. From a process-based point of view, SED ages derived from glacigenic boulders document the stabilization of the landscape after melting of dead ice and landscape transformation under periglacial conditions rather than the presence of an ice margin. SED indicates a first phase of boulder stabilization at around 16.4±0.7 ka, followed by landscape stabilization within the area attributed to the recessional Gerswalder subphase around 15.2±0.5 ka. A final phase of accumulation of glaciolacustrine and glaciofluvial sediments at around 14.7±1.0 ka documents the melting of buried dead ice at that time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finlayson, A., Golledge, N., Bradwell, T. & Fabel, D. 2011: Evolution of a Lateglacial mountain icecap in northern Scotland. Boreas, Vol. 40, pp. 536-554. 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2010.00202.x. ISSN 0300-9483. Detailed geomorphological mapping of the Beinn Dearg massif, northern Scotland, was conducted to examine the maximum (Younger Dryas) extent, and earlier interstadial evolution, of an icecap that existed during the Lateglacial period (14.7-11.7 cal. ka BP). Landform evidence indicates a plateau icecap configuration during the Younger Dryas. The interpreted age is supported by new cosmogenic exposure ages and previously reported interstadial sediments beyond the icecap margin. The reconstructed Younger Dryas Beinn Dearg icecap covered 176 km. Equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) of ∼570-580 m were calculated for the icecap as a whole. The empirically reconstructed icecap is compared with recent numerical model simulations. The two methods produce an icecap with a similar configuration; however, differences are apparent in the extent of eastern and western outlets (±1-5 km), and in the spatial variation of ELAs. Results suggest that the numerical simulation overestimates the western and underestimates the eastern icecap extent. We attempt to quantify these differences in terms of icecap mass balance and assess their possible causes. Geomorphological evidence for the pre-Younger Dryas icecap configuration indicates that the Beinn Dearg massif remained an important source during earlier deglaciation. In contrast, the neighbouring Fannich mountains acted as an 'unzipping' zone, and were ice-free on their northern side by the Allerød (Greenland Interstadial 1c to 1a). Deglaciation continued over the western Beinn Dearg plateau, with the possibility that glaciers remained in some central and eastern catchments prior to (Younger Dryas) icecap (re)growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passchier, S., Laban, C., Mesdag, C.S. & Rijsdijk, K.F. 2010: Subglacial bed conditions during Late Pleistocene glaciations and their impact on ice dynamics in the southern North Sea. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 633–647. 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2009.00138.x. ISSN 0300-9483. Changes in subglacial bed conditions through multiple glaciations and their effect on ice dynamics are addressed through an analysis of glacigenic sequences in the Upper Pleistocene stratigraphy of the southern North Sea basin. During Elsterian (MIS 12) ice growth, till deposition was subdued when ice became stagnant over a permeable substrate of fluvial sediments, and meltwater infiltrated into the bed. Headward erosion during glacial retreat produced a dense network of glacial valleys up to several hundreds of metres deep. A Saalian (MIS 6) glacial advance phase resulted in the deposition of a sheet of stiff sandy tills and terminal moraines. Meltwater was at least partially evacuated through the till layer, resulting in the development of a rigid bed. During the later part of the Saalian glaciation, ice-stream inception can be related to the development of a glacial lake to the north and west of the study area. The presence of meltwater channels incised into the floors of glacial troughs is indicative of high subglacial water pressures, which may have played a role in the onset of ice streaming. We speculate that streaming ice flow in the later part of the Saalian glaciation caused the relatively early deglaciation, as recorded in the Amsterdam Terminal borehole. These results suggest that changing subglacial bed conditions through glacial cycles could have a strong impact on ice dynamics and require consideration in ice-sheet reconstructions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kirkbride, M.P. & Bell, C.M. 2009: Edge-roundness of boulders of Torridonian Sandstone (northwest Scotland): applications for relative dating and implications for warm and cold climate weathering rates. Boreas, 10.1111/j. 1502-3885.2009.00131.x. ISSN 0300-9483. The relative ages of late Quaternary morainic and rock avalanche deposits on Late Precambrian Torridonian Sandstone are determined from the characteristic edge-roundness of constituent boulders. Because weathering of sandstone is manifest as edge-rounding by granular disintegration, a relative chronology can be derived by measuring the effective radii of curvature of a sample of boulder edges. Thirteen samples totalling 597 individual boulder edges fall into two statistically distinct groups. Moraines of inferred Younger Dryas age (12.9–11.5 kyr BP) are distinguished from moraines of the Wester Ross Re-advance (≤14.0 kyr BP). One moraine previously assumed to be of Younger Dryas age is reassigned to the older group. The method allows spatial extrapolation of deposit ages from dated sites where lithological and sampling criteria are met. Calculated rates of edge-rounding imply that granular disintegration was several times more rapid during cold stadial climates than during the Holocene. Used as a proxy for boulder ‘erosion rate’, this indicates that surface loss of grains in glacial climates exceeds that during interglacials by a factor of 2–5, with implications for the calculation of exposure ages from cosmogenic nuclides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alexanderson, H., Johnsen, T. & Murray, A. S. 2009: Re-dating the Pilgrimstad Interstadial with OSL: a warmer climate and a smaller ice sheet during the Swedish Middle Weichselian (MIS 3)? Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2009.00130.x. ISSN 0300-9483. Pilgrimstad in central Sweden is an important locality for reconstructing environmental changes during the last glacial period (the Weichselian). Its central location has implications for the Scandinavian Ice Sheet as a whole. The site has been assigned an Early Weichselian age (marine isotope stage (MIS) 5 a/c; >74 ka), based on pollen stratigraphic correlations with type sections in continental Europe, but the few absolute dating attempts so far have given uncertain results. We re-excavated the site and collected 10 samples for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating from mineral- and organic-rich sediments within the new Pilgrimstad section. Single aliquots of quartz were analysed using a post-IR blue single aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol. Dose recovery tests were satisfactory and OSL ages are internally consistent. All, except one from an underlying unit that is older, lie in the range 52–36 ka, which places the interstadial sediments in the Middle Weichselian (MIS 3); this is compatible with existing radiocarbon ages, including two measured with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The mean of the OSL ages is 44±6 ka ( n=9). The OSL ages cannot be assigned to the Early Weichselian for all reasonable adjustments to water content estimates and other parameters. The new ages suggest that climate was relatively mild and that the Scandinavian Ice Sheet was absent or restricted to the mountains for at least parts of MIS 3. These results are supported by other recent studies completed in Fennoscandia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to proximity of the North Atlantic Stream and the shelf, the Andøya biota are assumed to have responded rapidly to climatic changes taking place after the Weichselian glaciation. Palynological, macrofossil, loss-on-ignition, tephra and 14C data from three sites at the northern part of the island of Andøya were studied. The period 12 300–11 950 cal. yr BP was characterized by polar desert vegetation, and 11 950–11 050 cal. yr BP by a moisture-demanding predominantly low-arctic Oxyria vegetation. During the period 11 050–10 650 cal. yr BP, there was a climatic amelioration towards a sub-arctic climate and heaths dominated by Empetrum. After 10 650 cal. yr BP the Oxyria vegetation disappeared. As early as about 10 800 cal. yr BP the bryozoan Cristatella mucedo indicated a climate sufficient for Betula woodland. However, tree birch did not establish until 10 420–10 250 cal. yr BP, indicating a time-lag for the formation of Betula ecotypes adapted to the oceanic climate of Andøya. From about 10 150 to 9400 cal. yr BP the summers were dry and warm. There was a change towards moister, though comparatively warm, climatic conditions about 9400 cal. yr BP. The present data are compared with evidence from marine sediments and the deglaciation history in the region. It is suggested that during most of the period 11 500–10 250 cal. yr BP a similar situation as in present southern Greenland existed, with birch woodland in the inner fjords near the ice sheet and low-arctic heath vegetation along the outer coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research reconstructs ice-sheet processes operating during the Late Devensian in northeast England. The article assesses the lithostratigraphy of the Devensian glacial tills of Whitburn Bay, eastern County Durham, and presents the first detailed analysis of petrological, geochemical and biostratigraphical data to reconstruct lithostratigraphy, provenance and iceflow pathways. Two Devensian tractions tills (the Blackhall and Horden tills) are separated by a boulder pavement, pointing to a switch in ice-bed conditions and the production of a melt-out lag prior to deposition of the upper traction till, the Horden Till. The Blackhall Till contains Magnesian Limestone, Carboniferous Limestone, Whin Sill dolerite and Old Red Sandstone, suggesting a northwesterly source, probably from the Midland Valley and the Southern Uplands. The Horden Till contains erratics and heavy minerals derived from crystalline bedrock sources in the Cheviot Hills and northeast Scotland. Within the Horden Till are numerous sand, clay and gravel-filled canals incised downwards into the diamicton which are attributed to a low-energy, distributed, subglacial canal drainage system. Coupled with hydro-fractures and the boulder pavement, this suggests that a partially decoupled, fast-flowing ice stream deposited the Horden Till. The uphill, landward direction of ice movement indicates that the ice stream was confined in the North Sea Basin, possibly by the presence of Scandinavian Ice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous work has presented contrasting views of the last glaciation on Jameson Land, central East Greenland, and still there is debate about whether the area was: (i) ice-free, (ii) covered with a local non-erosive ice cap(s), or (iii) overridden by the Greenland Ice Sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Here, we use cosmogenic exposure ages from erratics to reconcile these contrasting views. A total of 43 erratics resting on weathered sandstone and on sediment-covered surfaces were sampled from four areas on interior Jameson Land; they give 10Be ages between 10.9 and 269.1 kyr. Eight erratics on weathered sandstone and till-covered surfaces cluster around ∼70 kyr, whereas 10Be ages from erratics on glaciofluvial landforms are substantially younger and range between 10.9 and 47.2 kyr. Deflation is thought to be an important process on the sediment-covered surfaces and the youngest exposure ages are suggested to result from exhumation. The older (>70 kyr) samples have discordant 26Al and 10Be data and are interpreted to have been deposited by the Greenland Ice Sheet several glacial cycles ago. The younger exposure ages (≤70 kyr) are interpreted to represent deposition by the ice sheet during the Late Saalian and by an advance from the local Liverpool Land ice cap in the Early Weichselian. The exposure ages younger than Saalian are explained by periods of shielding by non-erosive ice during the Weichselian glaciation. Our work supports previous studies in that the Saalian Ice Sheet advance was the last to deposit thick sediment sequences and western erratics on interior Jameson Land. However, instead of Jameson Land being ice-free throughout the Weichselian, we document that local ice with limited erosion potential covered and shielded large areas for substantial periods of the last glacial cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryolithological, ground ice and fossil bioindicator (pollen, diatoms, plant macrofossils, rhizopods, insects, mammal bones) records from Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island permafrost sequences (73°20′N, 141°30′E) document the environmental history in the region for the past c. 115 kyr. Vegetation similar to modern subarctic tundra communities prevailed during the Eemian/Early Weichselian transition with a climate warmer than the present. Sparse tundra-like vegetation and harsher climate conditions were predominant during the Early Weichselian. The Middle Weichselian deposits contain peat and peaty soil horizons with bioindicators documenting climate amelioration. Although dwarf willows grew in more protected places, tundra and steppe vegetation prevailed. Climate conditions became colder and drier c. 30 kyr BP. No sediments dated between c. 28.5 and 12.05 14C kyr BP were found, which may reflect active erosion during that time. Herb and shrubby vegetation were predominant 11.6–11.3 14C kyr BP. Summer temperatures were c. 4 °C higher than today. Typical arctic environments prevailed around 10.5 14C kyr BP. Shrub alder and dwarf birch tundra were predominant between c. 9 and 7.6 kyr BP. Reconstructed summer temperatures were at least 4 °C higher than present. However, insect remains reflect that steppe-like habitats existed until c. 8 kyr BP. After 7.6 kyr BP, shrubs gradually disappeared and the vegetation cover became similar to that of modern tundra. Pollen and beetles indicate a severe arctic environment c. 3.7 kyr BP. However, Betula nana, absent on the island today, was still present. Together with our previous study on Bol'shoy Lyakhovsky Island covering the period between about 200 and 115 kyr, a comprehensive terrestrial palaeoenvironmental data set from this area in western Beringia is now available for the past two glacial–interglacial cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pleistocene lateral meltwater channels are commonly used as evidence of cold-based or polythermal ice. However, lateral meltwater channel formation has been observed for >40 years along the margins of a rapidly thinning temperate glacier in Glacier Bay, Alaska. Flights of nested linear lateral meltwater channels and in-and-out channels have formed on the sides of emerging nunataks. Nested channels at Burroughs Glacier are up to 200 m long; they are good proxies for the slope of the ice margin along the land surface and are terminated by subglacial chutes. A perched water table associated with precipitation and high ablation rates in the temperate ice causes surface meltwater to flow toward the margin above less permeable ice. The water flows along the margin and erodes lateral meltwater channels until a subglacial chute carries the water into the subglacial water system. Rates of channel formation range from 0 to 8 channels/year. Spacing and rates of channel formation are controlled by the land-surface slope, ablation rate, erodibility of the substrate and stream discharge. Because lateral meltwater channels have been observed forming along a temperate glacier margin, care must be exercised when using the presence of lateral meltwater channels as definitive evidence of cold-based or polythermal ice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arguments about the extinction of Australia's megafauna have largely rested on anthropogenic factors consequent upon the arrival of humans there, and have lacked any appreciation of the possibilities of climate/environmental changes taking place during the late Quaternary. Moreover, the status of the megafauna at the extinction and in the period leading up to it has largely been ignored. This article assesses the species that existed during the late Quaternary, their continental dispersal, the likely impact of negative climate change during that time and the effect this had on their demography and variety. These factors are discussed together with a synthesis of present data regarding Australia's mega 2004: fauna demography and which species may have reached the extinction threshold. One interpretation of the data suggests a mid–late Quaternary process of demographic fragmentation, disjunction and fluctuation, a restricted continental distribution among a diminishing group and a limited and reducing species variety due to climate and environmental change. It is argued that increasing continental aridity during the mid–late Quaternary was a forcing mechanism behind species distribution, changes to that distribution and population reduction through episodic but widespread drought and vegetation change. This resulted in alteration of the biogeographic status of the megafauna, with increasing stress on and reduction of the population as a whole. In particular, it changed population composition and reduced species variety and overall population size by the beginning of the last glaciation, such that at the time of human entry the population had reached a precarious stage vulnerable to any level of subsequent anthropogenic activity with the arrival of humans in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Main climatic indexes (mean January, July and annual temperatures; duration of the frost-free period; seasonal and annual precipitation; and annual potential evaporation) are estimated for the Last Interglacial Eemian–Mikulino–Kazantsevo–Oxygen Isotopic Substage 5e) climatic optimum in northern Eurasia. Reconstructions are based on the palaeofloristic data from 29 sites. The distribution of temperature deviations from present-day values in northern Eurasia, as well as in the northern hemisphere as a whole, indicates certain areas where temperatures during the Last Interglacial climatic optimum were lower than at present. The greatest positive deviations occurred in the high latitudes and gradually decreased towards mid-latitudes. At about 45°N the mean January temperature was close to that of the present day. For the mean July temperature, the zone with minor deviations is situated further to the north, at 55°N. South of 50°N, an area with small negative temperature deviations from the present-day values is reconstructed. A similar decrease in temperature deviations from high to low latitudes was the general tendency in various warm epochs, including the Holocene and the Eocene optima. In the arid and semi-arid regions of northern Eurasia, a considerable increase in precipitation took place, while air temperatures were close to those of the present or even slightly lower. Another peculiarity of the climate in the Last Interglacial climatic optimum relates to the meridional temperature gradient, one of the factors strongly influencing the intensity of the Westerlies in the mid-latitudes of the northern hemisphere. Our reconstructions for northern Eurasia tend to contradict this rule. The paradox can be explained by a compensation mechanism: a substantial increase in winter temperature in Siberia indicates that the Siberian atmospheric High was weaker and smaller at the Last Interglacial climatic optimum than at present. The reduced role of the Siberian High was compensated by more frequent invasions of the Atlantic air masses from the west, even though the meridional temperature gradient was smaller than at present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transverse-to-iceflow ribbed moraine occurs in abundance in the coastal zone of northern Sweden, particularly in areas below the highest shoreline (200–230 m a.s.l.), but occasionally also slightly above. Based on detailed sedimentological and structural investigations of machine-dug sections across five ribbed moraine ridges, it is concluded that these vertically and distally prograding moraine ridges were formed as a result of subglacial folding/thrust stacking and lee-side cavity deposition. The proximal part of the moraines (Proximal Element) was formed by subglacial folding and thrust stacking of sequences of pre-existing sediments, whereas the distal part (Distal Element) was formed by glaciofluvial and gravity-flow deposition in lee-side cavities. The initial thrusting and folding is suggested to be a result of differences in bed rheology at the ice-marginal zone during the early or late melt season, and that generated a compressive zone transverse to ice flow as a result of a more mobile bed up-glacier compared to a less mobile bed down-glacier. It is considered that the lee-side cavities were formed as a result of ice-bed separation on the distal slope of the thrust/fold-created obstruction. The lee-side cavities formed an integral part of a subglacial linked-cavity drainage network regulated in their degree of interconnection, size and shape by fluctuations in basal meltwater pressure/discharge and basal iceflow velocity. The proximal and distal elements of the ribbed moraine ridges are erosively cut and/or draped with a consistently more homogeneous deforming bed till (Draping Element) marking the final phase of ribbed moraine formation considered to be contemporaneous with De Geer moraine formation further down-flow at the receding ice-sheet margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Surduk loess section in Serbia provides a 20 m thick pedosedimentary record of the last interglacial–glacial climatic cycle (Upper Pleistocene). Based on optical dating, a chronostratigraphy could be established for the last climatic cycle, yielding the first numerical ages of a loess record from the middle Danube basin. Infrared-stimulated luminescence (IR-OSL) dating has been applied to the polymineral silt fraction using a multiple aliquot additive-dose protocol to determine the equivalent dose ( D E). Within error limits, all age estimates are in stratigraphic order. Owing to the application of shine-plateau tests, the samples showed no evidence of insufficient bleaching. The Surduk loess section comprises three major periods of soil formation. Based on the IR-OSL chronostratigraphy, the lowermost pedocomplex is attributed to the Last Interglacial and to the Early Glacial (Marine Isotope Stage – MIS 5e to 5a). The middle part of the section exhibits a succession of weakly developed brown soils and a humic horizon, named ‘Surduk soil’, formed during MIS 3. On top of the section, recent soil formation is related to the Holocene. Thick loess deposits are preserved between these palaeosols and are attributed to the Lower and Upper Pleniglacials (MIS 4 and 2), respectively. Estimated mean sedimentation rates are 0.1–0.2 mm/yr for the last glacial cycle, with a strong increase to 0.6 mm/yr with onset of the Pleniglacial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface exposure dating, using in situ produced cosmogenic 10Be, is applied to determine the time since deglaciation of bedrock surfaces in the Grimsel Pass region. Nine 10Be dates from bedrock surfaces corrected for cover by snow are minimum ages for deglaciation of the pass. Four 10Be dates from surfaces below 2500 meters above sea level (m a.s.l.) on Nägelisgrätli, east of Grimsel Pass, yield ages that range from about 14 000 to 11 300 years. Three 10Be dates from locations above 2600 m a.s.l. on Nägelisgrätli are between about 11 700 and 10 400 years. Two 10Be dates from locations at 2560 m a.s.l. below Juchlistock are about 12 100 and 11 000 years. The geographical distribution of 10Be dates on Nägelisgrätli either may show the timing of progressive deglaciation of Grimsel Pass or may reflect differences in subglacial erosion of bedrock in the pass region. All dates are discussed in the context of deglaciation of the late Würmian Alpine ice cap and deglaciation from Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice extents in other regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advance of the Late Weichselian (Valdaian) Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) in northwestern Russia took place after a period of periglacial conditions. Till of the last SIS, Bobrovo till, overlies glacial deposits from the previous Barents and Kara Sea ice sheets and marine deposits of the Last Interglacial. The till is identified by its contents of Scandinavian erratics and it has directional properties of westerly provenance. Above the deglaciation sediments, and extra marginally, it is replaced by glaciofluvial and glaciolacustrine deposits. At its maximum extent, the last SIS was more restricted in Russia than previously outlined and the time of termination at 18–16 cal. kyr BP was almost 10 kyr delayed compared to the southwestern part of the ice sheet. We argue that the lithology of the ice sheets’ substrate, and especially the location of former proglacial lake basins, influenced the dynamics of the ice sheet and guided the direction of flow. We advocate that, while reaching the maximum extent, lobe-shaped glaciers protruded eastward from SIS and moved along the path of water-filled lowland basins. Ice-sheet collapse and deglaciation in the region commenced when ice lobes were detached from the main ice sheet. During the Lateglacial warming, disintegration and melting took place in a 200–600 km wide zone along the northeastern rim of SIS associated with thick Quaternary accumulations. Deglaciation occurred through aerial downwasting within large fields of dead ice developed during successively detached ice lobes. Deglaciation led to the development of hummocky moraine landscapes with scattered periglacial and ice-dammed lakes, while a sub-arctic flora invaded the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dating results from terrestrial records in the northern foreland of the Alps have been compiled in order to establish an independent chronostratigraphy for the climate history of this region. U/Th dates of peat deposited during the final phase of the Last Interglacial indicate that it lasted until at least c. 115 000 yr ago. The Early Würmian started with a period of severe cold climate causing a substitution of forest by tundra-like vegetation. It is assumed that during this period glaciers advanced to the margin of the foreland of at least the Western Alps. Sediments attributed to this glaciation are dated to about 103 000 yr. Three subsequent interstadials, all characterized by coniferous forest, were interrupted by cold stadials with steppe to tundra-like vegetation. The first interstadial is dated to about 95 000 yr. There is evidence for an interstadial with open coniferous woodland and three phases of steppe vegetation during the Middle Würmian, between c. 50 000 and 30 000 yr ago. The last glaciation of the Alpine Foreland reached its maximum extension between 24 000 and 21 500 yr and glaciers rapidly collapsed before ∼17 500 yr ago. A series of minor re-advances during the Lateglacial is reported from within the Alps, but the glaciers barely reached the main Alpine valleys during this time. The last of these advances formed the Egesen moraine and occurred at about 11 800 yr ago during the Younger Dryas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hummocky terrain composed of boulder gravel and a wavy contact between stratified till and sand are described and explained as products of subglacial meltwater activity beneath the Saginaw Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in south-central Michigan. Exposures and geophysical investigations of hummocky terrain in a runnel channel reveal that hummocks (∼100 m diameter) are glaciofluvial bedforms with a supraglacial melt-out till or till flow veneer. The hummocky terrain is interpreted as a subglacial glaciofluvial landscape rather than one of stagnant ice processes commonly assumed for hummocky landscapes. Sandy bedforms at another site are in-phase with a wavy contact at the base of a stratified till exposed for 50 m along the margin of a runnel channel. The 0.4 m thick stratified till is overlain by up to 5 m of compact, pebble-rich, sandy subglacial melt-out till. The contact between the till and sand has a wave form with a 0.5 m amplitude and 3-5 m wavelength. Bedding within the stratified till, sandy bedforms and melt-out till are mostly in-phase with each other. Clasts from the overlying stratified till penetrate and deform the underlying sand recording recoupling of the ice to its bed. Ice ripples cut into the base of river ice have a similar morphology and are considered analogs for cavities cut into the base of the glacier and subsequently filled with sand. Subglacial meltwater activity was not coeval at each study site, indicating that subglacial meltwater played important roles in the evolution of the subglacial environment beneath the Saginaw Lobe at different times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The provenance of the Happisburgh Till and Corton Till of the Corton Formation is investigated using erratic clast lithologies and allochthonous palynomorphs to test whether the long held assumption that they were deposited by ice that originated in Scandinavia is valid. The results show a wide range of lithologies including Carboniferous Limestone and Coal Measures, and Permian Magnesian Limestone that are not found in Scandinavia, and an absence of distinctive Scandinavian material such as rhomb porphyry and larvikite. Lithologies found indicate deposition by an ice sheet which flowed southwards into north-east East Anglia from central and southern Scotland eroding and transporting materials derived from outcrops in these areas and from eastern England and the western margins of the southern North Sea Basin. It is concluded that the long held assumption that the Happisburgh Till and Corton Till of the Corton Formation were deposited by a Scandinavian ice sheet is erroneous and that they were instead deposited by Scottish ice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sediment sequences retrieved from Lake Medvedevskoye (60°13'N; 29°54'E) and Lake Pastorskoye (60°13'N; 30°02'E), Karelian Isthmus, northwestern Russia, were analysed for lithology, pollen and diatom stratigraphy, total organic carbon content and mineral magnetic parameters. Age control for both sequences was provided by AMS [sup 14]C measurements and the Vedde Ash tephra. The reconstructed climatic and environmental development shows the deglaciation of the sites and the establishment of sparse shrub and herb/grass vegetation before 12650 cal. yrs BP ('Allerød'; GI-1a). Steppe tundra and cold, dry conditions prevailed until about 11000 cal. yrs BP, i.e. throughout the 'Younger Dryas' (GS-1) and the earliest Holocene. The establishment of open Picea-Pinus-Betula forest around the lakes at about 11000 cal. yrs BP coincides with the first distinct change towards gradually warmer and more humid climatic conditions. Boreal forest with Picea, Pinus, Betula, Alnus incana and Corylus was present at the lower altitude site between c. 10700 and 10200 cal. yrs BP, while open Betula-Pinus forest continued to dominate the vegetation around the higher altitude site. After a short, possibly colder, phase around 10200-10000 cal. yrs BP, which is expressed by a marked reduction in vegetation cover and decreased lake productivity, climatic conditions became significantly warmer and possibly more humid. Boreal forest with Pinus, Betula, Picea, Alnus incana, Corylus and Ulmus became widespread in the region after 10000 cal. yrs BP. The delayed environmental response of the lakes and their catchment to hemispheric warming at the Pleistocene/Holocene boundary may be explained by a sustained blocking of westerly air masses due to the presence of the Scandinavian ice sheet and associated strengthened easterlies and anticyclonic circulation and/or extensive permafrost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mean July and January temperatures are reconstructed from radiocarbon-dated fossil beetle assemblages from late-glacial sites in the Maritimes Region of eastern Canada. Fossil-bearing sediments date from 12 700 [sup 14]C yr BP (14 950 cal yr BP) to younger than 10 800 [sup 14]C yr BP (12 730 cal yr BP), spanning a period which includes stratigraphic, palynological, chironomid and coleopteran evidence for a climatic deterioration during the Younger Dryas in North America. Mutual Climatic Range data suggest several `events' in the coleopteran record from the Maritimes that appear similar to climate events recorded in the GRIP ice-core record, including the (Younger Dryas) cooling event from GI-1a to GS-1 beginning c. 12 650 GRIP yr BP Some of the major temperature oscillations of Greenland Interstadial 1 may also be reflected in the coleopteran record of the Maritimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on field investigations in northern Russia and interpretation of offshore seismic data, we have made a preliminary reconstruction of the maximum ice-sheet extent in the Barents and Kara Sea region during the Early/Middle Weichselian and the Late Weichselian. Our investigations indicate that the Barents and Kara ice sheets attained their maximum Weichselian positions in northern Russia prior to 50 000 yr BP, whereas the northeastern flank of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet advanced to a maximum position shortly after 17 000 calendar years ago. During the Late Weichselian (25 000-10 000 yr BP), much of the Russian Arctic remained ice-free. According to our reconstruction, the extent of the ice sheets in the Barents and Kara Sea region during the Late Weichselian glacial maximum was less than half that of the maximum model which, up to now, has been widely used as a boundary condition for testing and refining General Circulation Models (GCMs). Preliminary numerical-modelling experiments predict Late Weichselian ice sheets which are larger than the ice extent implied for the Kara Sea region from dated geological evidence, suggesting very low precipitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This synopsis highlights some of the main results presented in this issue of Boreas. The collection of papers deals with ice sheet reconstruction in space and time, isostatic and eustatic response to deglaciation, land to shelf sediment interaction, and Eemian and Holocene environmental variations. The most significant new results are that the last glacial maximum of the Kara Sea and Barents Sea ice sheets were both much smaller and much older than in most previous hypotheses. This puts new constraints on, for example, climate and ice sheet linkages, ice sheet interactions (Scandinavian-Barents Sea-Kara Sea), and land-ocean riverine input through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Taymyr Peninsula constitutes the eastern delimitation of a possible Kara Sea basin ice sheet. The existence of such an ice sheet during the last global glacial maximum (LGM), i.e. during the Late Weichselian/Upper Zyryansk, is favoured by some Russian scientists. However, a growing number of studies point towards a more minimalistic view concerning the areal extent of Late Weichselian/Upper Zyryansk Siberian glaciation. Investigations carried out by us along the central Byrranga Mountains and in the Taymyr Lake basin south thereof, reject the possibility of a Late Weichselian/Upper Zyryansk glaciation of this area. Our conclusion is based on the following: Dating of a continuous lacustrine sediment sequence at Cape Sabler on the Taymyr Lake shows that it spans at least the period 39-17 ka BP. Even younger ages have been reported, suggesting that this lacustrine environment prevailed until shortly before the Holocene. The distribution of these sediments indicates the existence of a paleo-Taymyr lake reaching c. 60 m above present sea level. A reconnaissance of the central part of the Byrranga Mountains gave no evidence of any more recent glacial coverage. The only evidence of glaciation - an indirect one - is deltaic sequences around 100-120 m a.s.l., suggesting glacio-isostatic depression and a large input of glacial meltwater from the north. However, [sup 14]C and ESR datings of these marine sediments suggest that they are of Early Weichselian/Lower Zyryansk or older age. As they are not covered by till and show no glaciotectonic disturbances, they support our opinion that there was no Late Weichselian/Lower Zyryansk glaciation in this area. We thus suggest that the Taymyr Peninsula was most probably glaciated during the early part of the last glacial cycle (when there was only small- to medium-scale glaciation in Scandinavia), but not glaciated during the later part of that cycle (which had the maximum ice-sheet coverage over north-western Europe). This fits a climatic scenario suggesting that the Taymyr area, like most of Siberia, would come into precipitation shadow during times with large-scale ice-sheet coverage of Scandinavia and the rest of north-western Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last glacial maximum (LGM) of the Scandinavian ice sheet in the Arkhangelsk region has been identified morphologically as ridges and hummocks in an otherwise flat topography. Stratigraphically the limit is marked by the presence of till above Mikhulinian (last interglacial) sediments inside the ridges and by the absence of till outside the ridges. During the LGM, ice flowed into the region from the north and northwest forming a lobe in the Dvina-Vaga depression. The continuation northward, northeast of Arkhangelsk, is still somewhat uncertain, but evidence suggests that the outer margin of the Scandinavian ice sheet was situated in the Mezen drainage basin. Luminescence and radiocarbon dates suggest that the maximum position was attained after some 17 ka ago, and that deglaciation started close to 15 ka ago. This age for the maximum position is younger than the maximum position in the western peripheral areas of the Scandinavian ice sheet. This may be accounted for by initial ice build-up in the west followed by a successive migration of the ice divide(s) to the east as ice growth continued. Deglaciation was either by lateral retreat or isolation of dead ice masses causing areal downwasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]