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Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of feldspar is one of the promising solutions towards reliable chronological constraints on the ages of Pleistocene marine terraces. Marine terraces developed along the southeastern coast of the Kii Peninsula, southwestern Japan, face a seismogenic region along the Nankai Trough. In this study, we determined the emergence age of one of these marine terraces by feldspar OSL dating of the marine terrace sediments. The target marine terrace was previously correlated with marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e based on morphostratigraphy. The samples for post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) dating were obtained from foreshore deposits of marine terraces. The first infrared stimulation temperature was fixed at 50°C (IRSL50/150 and IRSL50/225), and the pIRIR signals were measured at 150°C (pIRIR150) and 225 °C (pIRIR225). The resulting IRSL50/150, IRSL50/225, pIRIR150, and pIRIR225 ages with standard errors are 105 ± 4, 120 ± 4, 125 ± 5, and 137 ± 4 ka, respectively. The IRSL50/225 age was consistent with the pIRIR150 age, corresponding to MIS 5e. The IRSL50/150 and IRIR225 ages were younger and older than the IRSL50/150 and pIRIR225 ages, respectively. These results show that the Mm1 surface of the marine terrace corresponds to MIS 5e rather than MIS 5c or 7a–c, which is consistent with the chronological framework based on the morphological features of the terraces in the study area. The underestimation/overestimation of IRSL50/150/pIRIR225 ages can be attributed to the underestimation/overestimation of the fading rate. A more robust and comprehensive chronological framework for the marine terraces of the peninsula could be achieved by conducting OSL dating of the marine terraces above and below the MIS 5e terrace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of feldspar is one of the promising solutions towards reliable chronological constraints on the ages of Pleistocene marine terraces. Marine terraces developed along the southeastern coast of the Kii Peninsula, southwestern Japan, face a seismogenic region along the Nankai Trough. In this study, we determined the emergence age of one of these marine terraces by feldspar OSL dating of the marine terrace sediments. The target marine terrace was previously correlated with marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e based on morphostratigraphy. The samples for post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) dating were obtained from foreshore deposits of marine terraces. The first infrared stimulation temperature was fixed at 50°C (IRSL50/150 and IRSL50/225), and the pIRIR signals were measured at 150°C (pIRIR150) and 225 °C (pIRIR225). The resulting IRSL50/150, IRSL50/225, pIRIR150, and pIRIR225 ages with standard errors are 105 ± 4, 120 ± 4, 125 ± 5, and 137 ± 4 ka, respectively. The IRSL50/225 age was consistent with the pIRIR150 age, corresponding to MIS 5e. The IRSL50/150 and IRIR225 ages were younger and older than the IRSL50/150 and pIRIR225 ages, respectively. These results show that the Mm1 surface of the marine terrace corresponds to MIS 5e rather than MIS 5c or 7a–c, which is consistent with the chronological framework based on the morphological features of the terraces in the study area. The underestimation/overestimation of IRSL50/150/pIRIR225 ages can be attributed to the underestimation/overestimation of the fading rate. A more robust and comprehensive chronological framework for the marine terraces of the peninsula could be achieved by conducting OSL dating of the marine terraces above and below the MIS 5e terrace. Graphical Abstract

Glacial-interglacial cycles are characteristic of the large-scale reorganisation of global climate during the Quaternary. Therefore, records of warmer-than-present periods, such as the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e, draw particular interest as they may aid scientists to predict how marine ecosystems may change in the future. However, fish fossil records during such warming periods are less clear. Here, we aim to reconstruct local fish fauna during the MIS 5e by describing fossil otoliths from two localities in central Japan belonging to the Otsu Sand and Mud Member of the Yokosuka Formation. A total of 544 otoliths were analysed, revealing the presence of at least 35 taxa. The fish assemblages reflect a mixture of coastal to oceanic epi-mesopelagic species. In addition, the remarkable occurrences of two present-day tropical species and its species composition demonstrate a possible complex tropical to subtropical-like fish fauna in the higher latitude Palaeo-Tokyo Bay during the warmer-than-present last interglacial period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A revaluation of the relative sea-level (RSL) indicators in the Baia di Infreschi (Cilento, Southern Italy) supported by new 30 U/Th dating on speleothems indicates that the upper level of Lithophaga burrows identified by Bini et al. (2020) at ∼9 m a.s.l. and correlated to the Last Interglacial (LIG) highstand should be referred to the highstand of the MIS 9e, whereas the local RSL for the highstand of the LIG is now reassessed at 5.3 ± 0.18 m a.s.l. The upper level of the Lithophaga marker can be followed for ∼12 km along the coast, suggesting a substantial absence of important relative tectonic movements. In the Baia di Infreschi an additional marine indicator, a notch sealed by a flowstone dated ∼110 ka, indicates several phases of RSL stationing below the maximum highstand of the LIG. The presence of flowstones as low as 2 m a.s.l. dated to the MIS 7 shows that the highstand of MIS 7 was probably below the present sea level. All these evidences allow us to reassess the stratigraphy of some archaeological caves in the area, indicating that the sedimentary successions preserved there are older than what was previously believed.

The chronology of the Mikulino Interglacial and its individual phases has been the subject of discussion. The goal of this study is to evaluate the time limits of the main stages of the Mikulino Interglacial on the Russian Plain according to 230Th/U dating and paleobotanical studies of lake and peat sediments from the known sections located in Tver Province on the Bolshaya Dubenka River, Malaya Kosha River, Granichnaya River, and Sizhina River (Kileshino-2 section). An improved geochronological approach has been applied to identify the layers that are suitable for the 230Th/U isochronous approximation. Together with palynological and carpological studies, this made it possible to date the layers corresponding to relatively narrow time intervals in the development of plant formations at the different stages of the Last Interglacial. New paleobotanical studies of buried lake and peat sediments from the sections located on the Bolshaya Dubenka River, Malaya Kosha River, and Granichnaya River allowed us to reconstruct the vegetation development of the Mikulino Interglacial in the interval of pollen zones M1–M7, i.e., more pollen zones have been analyzed and in greater detail than in the 1960s–1970s. A chronological scheme of the main stages of the development of vegetation in the Mikulino Interglacial is proposed based on the results of 230Th/U dating and paleobotanical studies of the deposits from the sections in Tver Province together with previously published data obtained for the Nizhnyaya Boyarshchina section in Smolensk Province. The beginning of the Mikulino Interglacial is recorded at about 130–126 ka. Its first phase, corresponding to the M2 zone, ended about 118 ka. The preoptimal stages of vegetation development (zones M3 and M4) fit into the time interval of about 118–112 ka, while the climatic optimum of the Interglacial (zones M5 and M6) began about 112 ka and ended about 100 ka. Thus, the duration of the Mikulino Interglacial was likely to be at least 25 000 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge on the Eemian (MIS 5e) fauna of Poland is based on vertebrate remains from 16 open-air localities and 8 cave sites. Considering the short period of time covered by MIS 5e, the amount of data is surprisingly large. There is still an ongoing debate on whether the age of some assemblages is Eemian, latest Saalian or even earliest Weichselian. There are faunal assemblages or stratigraphically isolated finds with some disputable evidence. The full picture of the evolution of the Eemian vertebrate fauna in the present-day territory of Poland is still far from being complete. The finds of various groups of vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) from the Eemian Interglacial of Poland are analysed in terms of their environmental preferences. A number of thermophilic species or forms which preferred temperate climate conditions are known from this period. Among them, Clethrionomys glareolus, Glis glis, Meles meles, Martes martes, Lynx lynx, Felis silvestris, Sus scrofa, Palaeoloxodon antiquus, and Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis indicate a forest environment. The presence of species that preferred more open environments (Cricetus cricetus, Mammuthus primigenius, Coelodonta antiquitatis, and Equus ferus) is also recorded for the Eemian Interglacial of Poland. Characteristic was the presence of the large broad-toothed and flat-headed Ursus arctos taubachensis, which additionally often outnumbered remains of Ursus spelaeus sensu lato in the contemporary layers. The Eemian vertebrate fauna of Poland consisted of about 150 species (representing 61 genera and 26 families), most of which were recorded earlier from other localities of this age in central and eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along the south coast of the North Island of New Zealand, elevated Pleistocene marine terraces provide evidence for vertical deformation associated with active crustal faults and the westward subduction of the Pacific Plate at the southern Hikurangi margin. We have reassessed the age and elevation of these terraces. Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) data of their cover bed sediments (20 new ages) provide the first numerical ages for most of these terraces. Shore platform elevations have been surveyed using differential Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurements of the wave-cut bedrock straths underlying these terraces. These new data allow the terraces to be temporally correlated across the margin. Seven different-aged terraces were identified and mapped along the Wellington south coast; these are preserved discontinuously between the westernmost site at Tongue Point, and Ngawi near Cape Palliser, to the east. The OSL data indicate that most of these terraces formed at MIS 5a, 5c, 5e (Last Interglacial) and 7a. The terraces are best preserved within the Hikurangi margin forearc, where they decrease in altitude towards the west, indicating long wavelength, westward tectonic tilting. The terraces are locally offset by a number of active crustal faults, most notably the Wairarapa and Ohariu faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate instability in the Eemian Interglacial is gaining more and more evidence. One of such oscillations in the Beckentin record is indicated by the disappearance of the Cladocera and changes in macroremains at the beginning of E4a (Corylus phase). They confirm the shallowing of the reservoir, probably caused by climate changes, but not reflected in the palynological record. However, a significant oscillation observed in the first half of the E5 (Carpinus phase), ~5860 years after the boreal forests subsided and ~6290 years after the onset of interglacial forestation, suggests that, although not being an analogue of the OHO (Older Holsteinian Oscillations) in MIS 11c and the 8.2 ka cold event in the Holocene, it is very similar to these oscillations. The Eemian oscillation was noted also in the Bispingen profile in northern Germany, ~6500 years after the interglacial forestation. However, the course of vegetation changes there differs from that in Beckentin. The analysis of macroremains and Cladocera confirms the disappearance of rush and water vegetation in the water reservoir at that time in Beckentin. These results confirm that numerous climatic oscillations could have occurred in the Eemian Interglacial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peesey Swamp on southern Yorke Peninsula, southern Australia, is a north-northwesterly—south-southeasterly trending lowland depression, approximately 24 km long and 4 to 10 km wide. The richly fossiliferous mollusc and foraminiferal faunal assemblages of the last interglacial Glanville Formation in Peesey Swamp indicate that the paleoenvironment was a low- to medium-energy, sheltered sandflat to shallow-water seaway during the Last Interglacial Maximum (Marine Isotope Substage [MIS] 5e; 128–116 ka). The presence of the fossil bivalve molluscs Katelysia rhytiphora, Chlamys (Equichlamys) bifrons and Fulvia tenuicostata, in life position, indicate that the paleowater depth was ≤4 m in Peesey Swamp. The seaway cut across southern Yorke Peninsula, establishing a marine connection between southern Spencer Gulf and Investigator Strait during deposition of these taxa. Amino acid racemisation dating of the fossil marine molluscs Katelysia sp. and Fulvia tenuicostata confirms that the shelly assemblages at Peesey Swamp are correlative with the last interglacial Glanville Formation, a succession of richly fossiliferous, mixed quartz–skeletal carbonate sands documented from many sites along the southern Australian coastline. This study illustrates the significant changes in the geographical configuration of coastlines that may accompany relatively modest (<5 m) sea-level changes on low-gradient coastal landscapes. Peesey Swamp on southern Yorke Peninsula was flooded by seawater forming a 4 to 10 km-wide seaway during the Last Interglacial Maximum (MIS 5e). Fossil mollusc and foraminiferal assemblages reveal deposition within shallow subtidal to intertidal sandflat environments indicating that the paleowater depth and height of sea-level in Peesey Swamp was ≤4 m. Amino acid racemisation dating of fossil marine molluscs confirms that the shelly assemblages at Peesey Swamp are of last interglacial (MIS 5e) age. The distribution of the foraminifer Marginopora vertebralis indicates that the eastward flow of the warm-water Leeuwin Current, during the Last Interglacial Maximum, was retarded by the biogeographical barriers of Kangaroo Island and Fleurieu Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Upper Pleistocene (Marine Isotope Stage 5e; ca 120 ka) stratigraphic record from the Bahamas comprises large, kilometre‐long parabolic ridges of oolitic composition, that point landward, and have been up to now called 'chevrons'. A debate about their genesis has led previous researchers to consider two processes of deposition: (i) a catastrophic event involving giant storm‐generated waves produced by specific climatic conditions at the end of Marine Isotope Stage 5e; and (ii) a more uniformitarian process which characterizes 'chevrons' as aeolian parabolic dunes because of their similar morphology. Since there are few unequivocal sedimentological criteria to discriminate aeolian from water‐deposited sediments, only a quantitative, multi‐method approach could provide enough evidence to produce a viable diagnosis on the genetic processes involved. Following this reasoning, the quantification of the morphological parameters of 'chevrons', a precise study of their sedimentary structures on previously and newly discovered sections, and several statistical grain‐size analyses, all advocate for an aeolian origin. Moreover, when the aforementioned characteristics of 'chevrons' are compared with those of storm deposits (for example, washovers) and parabolic dunes occurring elsewhere on Earth, the dissimilarity with the former and the resemblance with the latter is evident. Amino‐acid racemization dating, together with stratigraphic and petrographic investigations, constrain the age of the 'chevrons' to the late part of Marine Isotope Stage 5e. Their occurrence during this specific time interval can be explained by both strengthened easterly winds and drier climatic conditions associated with changing vegetation cover. Fixation of the arms by sparse vegetation, coupled with the loose 'chevron' nose sediment migrating farther inland, form the peculiar U‐shaped morphology of these ridges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global inventories of stable sea-level markers for the peak of the last interglacial period, Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 5e, play a pivotal role in determining sea-level changes and in testing models of glacial isostatic adjustment. Here, we present surveying and radiometric dating results for emergent terraces from northern Madagascar, which is generally regarded as a stable equatorial site. Fossil coral specimens were dated using conventional and open-system corrected uranium series methods. Elevation of the upper (undated) terrace decreases from 33.8 m to 29.5 m over a distance of 35 km. An intermediate terrace has an average radiometric age of 130.7 ± 13.2 ka (i.e. MIS 5e). Its elevation decreases from 9.3 m to 2.8 m over a distance of 80 km. The record of the lowest terrace is fragmentary and consists of beach rock containing rare corals with ages of 1.6–3.8 ka. The spatial gradient of the MIS 5e marker is inconsistent with glacio-isostatic adjustment calculations. Instead, we propose that variable elevations of this marker around Madagascar, and possibly throughout the Indian Ocean, at least partly reflect spatial patterns of dynamic topography generated by sub-plate mantle convection. • Flight of three coral reef terraces in northern Madagascar correspond to Holocene, last and previous interglacial periods. • Upper terrace tilted from 33.8 m to 29.5 m over 35 km. Intermediate terrace tilted from 9.3 m to 2.8 m over 80 km. • Tilting cannot be generated by glacial isostatic adjustment alone. • Tilting likely to be generated in part by growth of a sub-plate thermal anomaly within the asthenosphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Earth's climate experienced a major warming during the last interglacial period (Eemian, MIS 5e, LIG 128 to 114 ky). The rapid climate change altered ecosystems causing a geographical redistribution of flora and fauna. Due to the scarcity of archaeological sites representing this period, the effect of these events on the behavior of Neanderthal hunter-gatherers in Western Europe has been poorly understood. New evidence from a wellpreserved archaeological layer (XV) at Baume (cave) Moula-Guercy in Southeastern France, attributed to the optimum Eemian Interglacial, unparalleled on the European continent, allows us to consider the challenges Neanderthals faced as these new ecosystems and ecological communities formed. We argue that, on the European continent, the human population collapsed, maintaining itself only in a few regions. We further suggest that these environmental upheavals, including depletion of prey biomass at the beginning of the Upper Pleistocene, contributed to the rise of cannibalistic behavior in Neanderthals, as exhibited among remains found at the Baume Moula-Guercy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the article "Superstorms: Comments on Bahamian Fenestrae and Boulder Evidence from the Last Interglacial" that was published in the previous issue of the journal. It highlights challenges and issues related to superstorms which include reliability of aminostratigraphy; rain-induced fensestrae; and close inspection of outcrops.

The Last Interglacial period, Marine Isotope Stage 5e (MIS 5e ∼116–128 ka), is thought to have had a warmer, but less stable climate than the present interglacial. One key factor that has the potential to influence the ocean and climate is sea ice, but its presence and extent throughout MIS 5e is poorly constrained. Here we reconstruct the sea surface hydrography and sea ice variability in the Labrador Sea, a region influenced by the subpolar gyre (SPG) and where deep water formation occurs, in order to evaluate the potential of sea ice to drive or amplify ocean variability. We analysed biomarkers (highly branched isoprenoids, HBIs, and sterols), dinoflagellate cyst assemblages and stable oxygen isotopes from the late stages of MIS 6, throughout MIS 5e, into MIS 5d. Our results show that the late glacial MIS 6 was likely characterised by a thick multiyear sea ice cover. During the first phase of MIS 5e, the hydrography was highly variable. The initial 1500 years (128–126.5 ka) were characterised by the presence of a seasonal Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) accompanied by subsurface warmth. As the sea ice retreated, cool, likely polar-sourced water dominated the surface and subsurface ocean (126.5–124 ka), until an abrupt surge of sea ice marked the final pulse of the remnants of the deglaciation. The second half of MIS 5e (124–116 ka) was characterised by a persistent inflow of warm water, only interrupted by incursions of cold water as summer insolation declined. Seasonal sea ice returned to the Eirik Drift during MIS 5d. We infer that sea ice variability throughout MIS 5e was coupled with the variability of the SPG. Especially the location of a proximal MIZ to the Labrador Sea convection region could have been important for SPG dynamics. In addition, the presence of sea ice at the transitions into and out of MIS 5e could point to its important role in modulating and enhancing the magnitude and coherence of climate signals at major climatic transitions. • The Eirik Drift was covered by perennial sea ice cover during the later stages of MIS 6. • MIS 5e sea ice variability was coupled with subpolar gyre (SPG) dynamics. • A marginal ice zone (MIZ) in the earliest MIS 5e may have helped maintain an active SPG. • Sea ice is not a prerequisite for SPG variability. • Sea ice may have amplified the climate signal of the last glacial inception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yorke Peninsula in southern Australia is an important region for reconstructing relative sea-level histories due to its location on the eastern margin of the tectonically stable Gawler Craton and in one of the world's geographically most remote far-field locations from the Pleistocene ice sheets. Richly fossiliferous, skeletal carbonate sands of the last interglacial (125 ka) Glanville Formation crop out in the coastal cliffs along large sectors of southern Yorke Peninsula. Sedimentary facies include deepening-upward intertidal to shallow subtidal facies, relict storm beach facies and cobble and boulder beach deposits in more exposed, higher energy locations. During deposition of the Glanville Formation, southern Yorke Peninsula had a different coastal geography with two prominent marine corridors extending across the southern-most portion of the entire peninsula. In a 3 km long coastal cliff section in southern Hardwicke Bay, the Glanville Formation crops out as an upward-deepening intertidal-subtidal succession capped by supratidal and subaerially-exposed sediments with pervasive calcrete development. The sedimentary succession passes upwards from a basal unit of intertidal sand flat facies with abundant gastropods ( Batillaria diemenensis ) near the upper bounding (disconformity) surface, upwards into richly fossiliferous shelly sands (coquina) representing a shallow subtidal facies formed by sediment aggradation in response to a relative sea-level rise. The subtidal facies is dominated by the bivalve molluscs Katelysia sp. and Amesodesma angusta, signifying a water deepening event. The subtidal facies is in turn overlain by pedogenically modified skeletal carbonate sands with pervasive calcrete development signifying a relative sea level fall at the end of the Last Interglacial Maximum. The upper-bounding surface of the shallow-water subtidal facies ranges from 2.4 to 3.0 m Australian Height Datum (AHD) and by analogy with modern sedimentary environments suggests a maximum palaeo-sea level of 4.8 ± 1.0 m during the Last Interglacial Maximum. Uranium-series ages of 127.3 ± 2.1 to 115.0 ± 5.4 ka on specimens of the solitary coral Plesiastrea versipora from the subtidal facies confirm that the succession was deposited during the Last Interglacial Maximum, and are consistent with the independent stratigraphical evidence that the highstand event was represented by a single phase of relative sea-level rise. Correlation with other occurrences of the Glanville Formation in southern Australia has also been confirmed by aminostratigraphy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Facies analysis, together with palynostratigraphic studies of the Kioroshi Formation, which lies beneath the northern Chiba area of the Kanto Plain of central Japan, reveal the sedimentary processes in the fluvial to coastal settings during marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e in this region. The depositional sequence of the Kioroshi Formation comprises a lower incised valley system and an upper barrier island system. The incised valley system consists of fluvial, estuary, and central basin facies with sandbar facies in the baymouth area. In the study area, the overlying barrier island system includes flood tidal delta, spit, and lagoon facies. These facies form part of the barrier island system known as Paleo-Tokyo Bay, which covered the present-day Kanto Plain. On the basis of palynostratigraphic correlation with the oxygen isotope curve in an offshore core (MD01-2421), the fluvial and estuary facies, together with the lower half of the central basin facies of the incised valley system are interpreted to have accumulated during a sea level rise in the early stage of MIS 5e. The baymouth sandbar also developed and retrograded with the rising sea level and was abruptly covered by the central basin facies during the middle stage of MIS 5e, probably due to the migration of the sandbar to the outer-bay area. The abrupt change corresponds with the initial stage of development of the barrier island system. The landward (westward) retreating bay ravinement erosion resulted in the transition to the barrier island system during middle MIS 5e. Maximum transgression also occurred during middle MIS 5e. The back-barrier lagoon was infilled during the late stage of MIS 5e. The sedimentary processes of the Kioroshi Formation are almost in accordance with the marine isotope curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Last Interglacial in the Arctic region is often described as a time with warmer conditions and significantly less summer sea ice than today. The role of Atlantic water (AW) as the main oceanic heat flux agent into the Arctic Ocean remains, however, unclear. Using high-resolution stable isotope and faunal records from the only deep Arctic Gateway, the Fram Strait, we note for the upper water column a diminished influence of AW and generally colder-than-Holocene surface ocean conditions. After the main Saalian deglaciation had terminated, a first intensification of northward-advected AW happened (~124 ka). However, an intermittent sea surface cooling, triggered by meltwater release at ~122 ka, caused a regional delay in the further development towards peak interglacial conditions. Maximum AW heat advection occurred during late MIS 5e (118.5-116 ka) and interrupted a longer-term cooling trend at the sea surface that started from about 120 ka on. Such a late occurrence of the major AW-derived near-surface warming in the Fram Strait - this is in stark contrast to an early warm peak in the Holocene - compares well in time with upstream records from the Norwegian Sea, altogether implying a coherent development of south-to-north ocean heat transfer through the eastern Nordic Seas and into the high Arctic during the Last Interglacial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molluscs incorporate negligible uranium into their skeleton while they are living, with any uranium uptake occurring post-mortem. As such, closed-system U-series dating of molluscs is unlikely to provide reliable age constraints for marine deposits. Even the application of open-system U-series modelling is challenging, because uranium uptake and loss histories can affect time-integrated uranium distributions and are difficult to constrain. We investigate the chemical and isotopic distribution of uranium in fossil Tridacna gigas (giant clams) from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e (128–116 ka) and MIS 11 (424–374 ka) reefs at Huon Peninsula in Papua New Guinea. The large size of the clams enables detailed chemical and isotopic mapping of uranium using LA-ICPMS and LA-MC-ICPMS techniques. Within each fossil Tridacna specimen, marked differences in uranium concentrations are observed across the three Tridacna growth zones (outer, inner, hinge), with the outer and hinge zones being relatively enriched. In MIS 5e and MIS 11 Tridacna , the outer and hinge zones contain approximately 1 ppm and 5 ppm uranium respectively. In addition to uptake of uranium, loss of uranium appears prevalent, especially in the MIS 11 specimens. The effect of uranium loss is to elevate measured [ 230 Th/ 238 U] values with little effect on [ 234 U/ 238 U] values. Closed-system age estimates are on average 50% too young for the MIS 5e Tridacna, and 25% too young for the MIS 11 Tridacna . A complex, multi-stage uptake and loss history is interpreted for the fossil Tridacna and we demonstrate that they cannot provide independent, reliable geochronological controls on the timing of past reef growth at Huon Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paleo relative sea-level (RSL) indicators formed during the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e have been reported by a large number of studies worldwide. Despite this, three main aspects are seldom reported: (1) use of high-precision survey techniques applied to MIS 5e RSL indicators; (2) application of modern analogs to understand the indicative meaning of MIS 5e RSL indicators; (3) estimates of the effects of glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) on the MIS 5e records. In this study, we show how the three points above have been addressed in a focused study on Last Interglacial outcrops on the island of Mallorca. We measured the elevation of several RSL indicators with high-accuracy differential GPS (vertical accuracies down to 0.1 m) and we established the relationship between each RSL indicator and the paleo sea level through calculation of the indicative meaning for each RSL indicator. In particular, we present a novel technique to calculate the indicative meaning of fossil beach deposits with a phase-averaged morphodynamic model (CSHORE). We show how this approach helps overcoming difficulties with the survey of the modern analogs for these indicators. Our results show that two paleo RSLs are imprinted in Mallorca at + 2.9 ± 0.8 m and + 11.3 ± 1.0 m. We then compare our field-based results with modelled paleo RSL, calculated from the predictions of the ice-earth coupled ANICE-SELEN model, using few different ice-sheet melting scenarios during MIS 5e. We conclude that indicative ranges can be derived from relatively simple morphodynamic models and that the comparison of field-derived and modelled RSL values is a good method to validate possible scenarios of MIS 5e sea-level variability, especially in absence of precise dating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim In this paper, we investigate the role of climate and topography in shaping the distribution of Neanderthals ( Homo neanderthalensis) at different spatial scales. To this end, we compiled the most comprehensive data set on the distribution of this species during the Last Interglacial optimum ( MIS 5e) available to date. This was used to calibrate a palaeo-species distribution model, and analyse variable importance at continental and local scales. Location Europe and Irano-Turanian region (20° N to 70° N, 10° W to 70° E). Methods We used archaeological records and palaeoclimatic and topographic predictors to calibrate a model based on an ensemble of generalized linear models fitted with different combinations of predictors and weighted background data. Area under the curve scores computed by leave-one-out were used to assess variable importance at the continental scale, while local regression combined with recursive partition trees was used to assess variable importance at the local scale. Results Annual rainfall and winter temperatures were the most important predictors at the continental scale, while topography and summer rainfall defined habitat suitability at the local scale. The highest habitat suitability scores were observed along the Mediterranean coastlines. Mountain ranges and continental plains showed low habitat suitability values. Main conclusions The model results confirmed that abiotic drivers played an important role in shaping Neanderthals distribution during the Last Interglacial. The high suitability of the Mediterranean coastlines and the low suitability values of most sites at the northern and eastern distribution limits (Germany, Hungary, Ukraine) challenge the notion of Neanderthals as a species with preference for colder environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The Last Interglacial [LIG, equivalent to marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e] was a period of enhanced global warmth, with potential significance for understanding future climate warming. It has long been proposed that the LIG in Britain (the Ipswichian Interglacial) was significantly warmer than present, based on the occurrence of fossils of extant thermophilous plant and animal species intolerant of the current climate. Here, we review the evidence for palaeotemperatures that can be derived from such fossil taxa (beetles, ostracods, plant macrofossils and herpetiles) to assess the level of warmth that Britain experienced during the LIG. Quantified palaeotemperature reconstructions generated for eight British sequences indicate that the LIG was likely to have been warmer than the present but at only one site (Trafalgar Square) is there strong evidence for climates that were significantly warmer than those experienced during the Holocene. Consequently, while there is evidence to support the idea that the thermal regime of the LIG in Britain was different from that of the Holocene, this evidence is restricted to a single site. The paper concludes by discussing the thermal regime of the LIG in Britain in the context of its role as an analogue for future warming in the 21st century and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fossil assemblage collected around 3.5 m amsl from Ezeiza, Buenos Aires province, have AMS 14 C ages of ca. 33,000 to ca. 40,000 yr BP, whereas in the literature is a report of a conventional 14 C age of >43,000 yr BP. An OSL age from the overlying deposit corresponds to ca. 22,000 yr. The samples contain marine fossils: mollusks, balanids and corals ( Astrangia ). La Coronilla (Uruguay, attributed to MIS 5e) is the locality most related to Ezeiza faunistically, despite is not the nearest one. In consequence, the relationship should be addressed to a more similar age and environment than others. The fauna indicates a higher water temperature than today. In Ezeiza exclusively cold water taxa are absent, and we found seven warm taxa with their southern distribution limit displaced northwards today, plus other six at their southern distribution limit. Around 60% of all the species and more than 70% of the individuals are of warm-temperate waters. In sum, although prima facie the numerical ages would locate the deposit in MIS3, faunistic, temperature, and height evidences show that the Ezeiza mollusk assemblage belong to MIS5e. A stronger than presently Brazil warm current, reaching Southern latitudes, may explain the changes in geographical ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Last Interglacial (MIS 5e, 128–116 ka) is among the most studied past periods in Earth's history. The climate at that time was warmer than today, primarily due to different orbital conditions, with smaller ice sheets and higher sea-level. Field evidence for MIS 5e sea-level was reported from thousands of sites, but often paleo shorelines were measured with low-accuracy techniques and, in some cases, there are contrasting interpretations about paleo sea-level reconstructions. For this reason, large uncertainties still surround both the maximum sea-level attained as well as the pattern of sea-level change throughout MIS 5e. Such uncertainties are exacerbated by the lack of a uniform approach to measuring and interpreting the geological evidence of paleo sea-levels. In this review, we discuss the characteristics of MIS 5e field observations, and we set the basis for a standardized approach to MIS 5e paleo sea-level reconstructions, that is already successfully applied in Holocene sea-level research. Application of the standard definitions and methodologies described in this paper will enhance our ability to compare data from different research groups and different areas, in order to gain deeper insights into MIS 5e sea-level changes. Improving estimates of Last Interglacial sea-level is, in turn, a key to understanding the behavior of ice sheets in a warmer world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Late Pleistocene raised coral reef terraces form extensive outcrops up to 5 km wide along the Saudi coast. Porites coral were dated using U/Th while clastic sediment from Jeddah was dated using thermoluminescence. The pooled mean age for the coral samples is 121.5 ± 0.2 ka suggesting MIS 5e, even for the uplifted 16–20 m high terrace in the north at Haql. In Jeddah the MIS 5e back-reef succession is overlain by fluvial sediment that gave a TL age of 66 ± 13 ka. The structure and faunal composition of the coral terraces suggests that they accumulated in broad shallow embayments following the last interglacial transgression. The consistent elevation of these terraces suggests that the central and southern Saudi coast has been tectonically stable for at least the past 125,000 years and the coral reef terraces (at 3.5–5.5 m elevation) are consistent with the MIS 5e sea level high-stand that peaked at 6–9 m above present sea level. The Saudi coastal coral terrace north of Duba shows progressive uplift to 16–20 m near Haql since 108–120 ka as a result of ongoing transform faulting in the Gulf of Aqaba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent and sub-recent laminated tufa stromatolites can contain high-resolution δ 18 O records of in-stream temperature change. Fossil tufa stromatolites are therefore key targets for reconstructing terrestrial palaeoclimatic, but so far only a few examples have been published. In this research, we studied a 2.5-cm-radius tufa stromatolite from the Eemian of the Somme Basin, Northern France. We show (1) that high-resolution sampling of fossil laminated tufas is highly reproducible. We demonstrate (2) that within the limitations of the δ 18 O method, NW European Eemian seasonality was essentially similar to the present day. Perhaps most important, we show (3) that precise observations from thin section that match the position of lamina boundaries with the position of reversals in direction of δ 18 O values are a record of the style or intensity of seasonality. In this French tufa stromatolite, abrupt δ 18 O reversals do not coincide with sharp lamina boundaries; rather, the lamina boundaries occur where δ 18 O values are either gradually decreasing or increasing. We interpret this to be a record of abrupt changes in the growth rate, accelerating in spring or early summer and decelerating in late autumn or early winter. This contrasts with a published montane record from the Eemian of Greece, where lamina boundaries and δ 18 O reversals do coincide, interpreted as more extreme seasonality caused by cessations in growth due to summer aridity or winter cold. We thus propose this criterion as a method to help identify regional styles of seasonality in tufa stromatolites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The upper successions of the raised reefal limestone of Jeddah coastal plain, especially at Obhur area, were investigated through three temporary exposed geologic sections such as south and northeast Obhur and Al Salam Street. Uranium-series age datings of these successions indicated that their topmost parts were mostly deposited during the last interglacial marine isotope stage 5e (MIS 5e). Lithological-faunal analyses and field observations allowed the division of these successions into two distinct layers: white limestone (lower) and brown shell-rich calcareous clay (upper). The lower layer is enriched with in situ coral boulders of Porites sp. and faviids, as well as with the foraminifers Amphistegina sp., indicating deposition near fore reef and reef crest environments. The upper layer is enriched with molluscs, echinoids, branched (and dwarfed faviids) corals, and the foraminifers Elphidium striatopunctatum and Challengerella bradyi, indicating deposition in back reef, lagoonal environments. The boundary between these two layers is very sharp and irregular, suggesting that the transition from the fore reef to lagoonal conditions was very rapid and catastrophe on coral reef ecosystem due likely to sea-level changes accompanied with warming and increased water runoff. The upper surface of the shell-rich calcareous layer seems to be truncated, but its microfossils could indicate that it was deposited when the sea level was higher than the present mean sea level (MSL) by at least 7 m. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global sea level during the Last Interglacial (LIG, Marine Isotope Sub-stage 5e) peaked between c. 5.5 and 9 m above present, implying significant melt from Greenland and Antarctica. Relative sea level (RSL) observations from several far- and intermediate-field sites suggest abrupt fluctuations or jumps in RSL during the LIG highstand that require one or more episodes of ice-sheet collapse and regrowth. Such events should be manifest as unique sea-level fingerprints, recorded in far-, intermediate- and near-field sites depending on the source(s) of ice-mass change involved. To date, though, no coherent evidence of such fluctuations has been reported from near-field RSL studies in northwest Europe. This is an important problem because RSL fluctuations during the LIG are portrayed as warning signs for how polar ice sheets may behave in a future, warmer than present, world. Here we review the evidence for RSL change during the LIG using stratigraphic data from the best resolved highstand records that exist in the near-field of northwest Europe, from a range of settings that include lagoonal, shallow marine, tidal flat, salt marsh and brackish-water fluviatile environments. Consideration of previously published stratigraphic records from two sites in the Eemian coastal-marine embayment that existed in the central Netherlands, yields no clear indications for abrupt RSL change during the attainment of the near-field highstand. Nor do we find any such indications common to other records from countries bordering the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the White Sea. Two modelling experiments that explore the global signal of hypothetical sea-level oscillations caused by partial collapse and regrowth of either the Greenland or Antarctic LIG ice-sheet, show that the North Sea region is relatively insensitive to mass changes sourced from Greenland but should clearly register events with an Antarctic origin, especially those that occur late in the LIG. The lack of evidence for abrupt sea-level fluctuations at this time in northwest Europe concurs with a lack of clear near-field evidence for ice sheet collapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The comparison of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages of different grain-size fractions has given rise to conflicting results over recent years. To test the reliability and validity of OSL dating of fine- and coarse-grained fractions, 25 samples were collected from a 46-m sediment core taken from the southwestern coast of Korea, which contained two typically fine-grained tidal units separated stratigraphically by a coarse-grained sand and gravel layer. A single aliquot regenerative dose (SAR) procedure was applied to chemically separated fine- (4–11 μm, n = 16) and coarse- (90–212 μm, n = 24) grained quartz. The ages of coarse-grained quartz in the upper unit were relatively consistent with those of fine-grained quartz in the same unit of Holocene age (12–0 ka). In contrast, in the lower unit the coarse quartz fraction OSL ages are 30–60% (mean 46%) lower than the fine quartz fraction ages. OSL ages for all fine-grained quartz in the lower unit (139–110 ka) were in good agreement with the last interglacial sea-level highstand [Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e]. However, all OSL ages for coarse-grained quartz in this lower unit (90–45 ka) were younger, corresponding broadly to the last glacial period (MIS 4 and 3). OSL ages obtained for fine-grained quartz were in agreement with indirect age controls provided by lithological and palynological data, implying that the use of the SAR protocol to date fine-grained quartz is appropriate for age control of coastal sediments extending to the last interglacial period. The discrepancies between the ages of different grain-size fractions may have arisen from early saturation of the natural signal and, in some cases, from contamination of the feldspar signal in the coarse quartz. However, more research is required to assess the reliability of OSL ages for fine-grained quartz obtained from the high-dose linear region of the dose response curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidisciplinary analysis including paleomagnetic, sedimentologic, sea-level change, luminescence dating and palynologic research was performed on a 25 m long orientated core taken at Rutten, close to Eemian key localities in the Netherlands. The main goal of our research was to test a possible delayed onset of temperate conditions in this region compared to Southern Europe, occurring within the Last Interglacial. The sediments revealed the presence of the paleomagnetic Blake Event in ca. 10 m of lower-deltaic floodbasin sediments that contain a pollen record covering the Eemian. The position of the Blake Event in relation to the pollen stratigraphy concurs with the earlier studied Neumark Nord 2 site. Paleomagnetic correlation to core MD95-2042 off SW Iberia indicates ca. 5 kyr diachroneity between the pollen-based onset of temperate interglacial conditions between northern and southern Europe. The onset of the Eemian in north-western and central Europe (ca. 121.0 ka) post-dates the Marine Isotope Stage 6/5e transition by ca. 10 kyr. In addition, the Rutten data provide evidence for a relatively long duration of the Blake Event of at least 8 kyr. The late onset of the temperate conditions that define the base of the Eemian, imply that NW Europe with the Eemian type area is not the most suited region to define the beginning of the Last Interglacial and Late Pleistocene for global chronostratigraphic use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The privileged location of Santa Maria Island (Azores archipelago) in the middle of the North Atlantic makes the fossiliferous outcrops on this island of utmost importance to gain a better understanding of how coeval living communities relate to the broader evolutionary and biogeographic history of the Atlantic basin during the late Neogene and the Quaternary. Here we focus on this island's MIS 5e fossil record, offering a comprehensive review on the palaeobiodiversity, palaeoecology and palaeobiogeography of the biota living in the mid North Atlantic during this interglacial. Several studies in oceanic islands stress the huge impact of sea level changes on insular communities. Pleistocene sea-level changes occur during the short-time events known as “Terminations” (associated to glacial/interglacial shifts) as well as with the onset of glaciations (associated to interglacial/glacial shifts). Both are responsible for extinctions and local disappearance of species, bottleneck effects and formation of new species, resulting in community structure changes. This work increases the number of fossil marine taxa reported from the Last Interglacial deposits of Santa Maria to 143 species. All the 19 new records are molluscs (13 gastropods and 6 bivalves), thus increasing the number of fossil molluscs to 136 species. Although thermophilic members of the “Senegalese” tropical fauna were found in these deposits, many of the most emblematic species (e.g., Persististrombus latus (= Strombus bubonius ), Cymbula safiana , Harpa doris , Cardita senegalensis , Barbatia plicata , Ctena eburnea or Hyotissa hyotis ) are absent, suggesting that they did not reach the Azores. Our results indicate that the main differences between the species composition of the MIS 5e and the present-day shallow-water Azorean communities are probably due to the dropping of sea surface temperature associated with the onset of the last glaciation, which had both direct and indirect effects on species ecology. A group of 21 thermophilic species was directly affected by the lower sea surface temperature, whereas a group of four sand-associated species was indirectly but similarly affected by the lowering of the sea level. Both groups have locally disappeared from the Azores. However, none of the extant endemic species found on the studied MIS 5e outcrops was apparently affected by the lowering SST. In contrast to the biogeographical relationships of the recent Azorean shallow marine molluscs, which are predominantly with the Mediterranean Region, Portugal and with the Madeira and Canary Islands archipelagos, the palaeobiogeographical relationships of the MIS 5e Azorean marine molluscs are mainly with Canaries and West Africa. Despite the general low similarity of the biogeographical relationships between the Azores and Cape Verde Archipelago, on both the recent and the MIS 5e analysis, this similarity is nevertheless higher for the MIS 5e mollusc assemblages, emphasizing the role of Cape Verde as an important source of warm-water species during the Last Interglacial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the search for a record of eustatic sea level change on glacial–interglacial timescales, the Seychelles ranks as one of the best places on the planet to study. Owing to its location with respect to the former margins of Northern Hemisphere ice sheets that wax and wane on orbital cycles, the local—or relative—sea level history is predicted to lie within a few meters of the globally averaged eustatic signal during the Last Interglacial period. We have surveyed and dated Last Interglacial fossil corals to ascertain peak sea level and hence infer maximum retreat of polar ice sheets during this time interval. We observe a pattern of gradually rising sea level in the Seychelles between ∼129 and 125 thousand years ago (ka), with peak eustatic sea level attained after 125 ka at 7.6 ± 1.7 m higher than present. After accounting for thermal expansion and loss of mountain glaciers, this sea-level budget would require ∼5–8 m of polar ice sheet contribution, relative to today's volume, of which only ∼2 m came from the Greenland ice sheet. This result clearly identifies the Antarctic ice sheet as a significant source of melt water, most likely derived from one of the unstable, marine-based sectors in the West and/or East Antarctic ice sheet. Furthermore, the establishment of a +5.9 ± 1.7 m eustatic sea level position by 128.6 ± 0.8 ka would require that partial AIS collapse was coincident with the onset of the sea level highstand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The initial phase of MIS 5e is associated with the first half of the Last Interglacial period. Reconstruction shows a change in plant communities of MIS 5e from broad-leaved Mediterranean species in western Europe to broad-leaved peri-Carpathian species of the East European Plain to broad-leaved-steppe communities of South Urals and dark taiga vegetation of West Siberia. Irrespective of the relative abundance of pollen belonging to temperate-zone communities, all the samples exhibit the same dominant mesophilic species in the forest succession. Alluvial deposits of MIS 4-5 are divided into three members: instratal and substratal alluvium deposited during the interglacial climatic optimum (5e), rhythmic constratal alluvium composed of a climatically contrasting set of substages 5a-d, and a terminal member composed of fine alluvial-deluvialaeolian deposits of MIS 4. Each warming/cooling pair that corresponds to either substages or parts of substages led to the deposition of an alluvial cycle, beginning with 'warm' channels and lateral accumulation, which were followed by 'cool' aggradation and 'cold' floodplain planation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first report of an OSL (optically stimulated luminescence) -dated Eemian marine deposit along the southwest coast of Korea. It was discovered on the Baeksu intertidal shoreface/tidal flat system. Based on the analysis of (up to 46-m-long) drilled cores, the Baeksu tidal deposits can be divided into four sedimentary units. In ascending order these are: 1) basal fluvial gravels, 2) Eemian tidal mud, 3) gravel lag/paleosol, and 4) Holocene tidal deposits. The Eemian tidal sequences were encountered at a core interval of −20 to −38 m below mean sea level, the OSL ages ranging from 138 to 110 ka. Pollen analyses reveal a higher AP (arboreal pollen) to NAP (nonarboreal pollen) ratio, suggesting warm climate conditions similar to that of the Holocene. In addition, marine dinoflagellates and salt marsh pollen were found, these palynofloral records thus also attesting to marine influence in the deposits. In expectation that the Eemian tidal mud succession occurs on a wider geographic scale, the deposit is allocated the stratigraphic name Baeksu Formation (Eemian), the stratotype locality being situated at −20 m below the surface at the Baeksu borehole site. The presence of Eemian tidal muds along the west coast of Korea, which correlate with marine strata in the western Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea, explicitly reveals the occurrence of marine incursions into the eastern margin of the paleo(?)-Yellow Sea land during the last interglacial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Fronte Section, a well-exposed stratigraphic succession from southern Italy (Taranto area), provides an uninterrupted marine sedimentary record of MIS 5e. At this location, a highly expanded (8.5m thick) stratigraphic succession, unconformably overlying Middle Pleistocene marine clay deposits, provides evidence for sea-level fluctuations during the Last Interglacial. An integrated study of Fronte Section, including facies analysis, detailed macrofaunal and meiofaunal characterization, and sequence stratigraphy, is presented. The occurrence of Persististrombus latus (=Strombus bubonius) and other warm-water indicators (“Senegalaise” – “Senegalian” – guests of Gignoux, 1913), together with the presence of the dinocyst Polysphaeridium zoharyi and ten U-series dates on Cladocora caespitosa samples, permit an unequivocal MIS 5e age assignment to the upper part of the study succession. Above a stratigraphic unconformity marked by the boring coastal-lagoonal bivalve Pholas dactylus, the MIS 5e succession displays a first transgressive suite of brackish to shallow-marine deposits. These latter include highly fossiliferous muds rich in C. caespitosa, overlain by a fossil-rich calcarenite, 2m-thick, yielding warm-water “Senegalian” mollusks. Above this prominent stratigraphic marker (regionally called panchina), which is interpreted to represent a short-lived phase of sea-level stillstand or gentle fall during MIS 5e, renewed transgression took place, leading to the accumulation of middle-outer shelf muds, about 5m thick. The maximum flooding zone is clearly identified on the basis of the turnaround from a deepening-up to a shallowing-up trend. The upper part of Fronte Section records a second fossil-rich, sublittoral calcarenite containing warm-water mollusks, which is interpreted to reflect the subsequent phase of sea-level highstand, likely correlative with the MIS 5e plateau. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Two sites within the boreal forest of interior Alaska shed light on the climate and vegetation of terminal marine isotope stage (MIS) 6 (ca. 140-130 kyr ago) and MIS 5e (125-116 kyr ago). The Birch Creek and Koyukuk localities are river-cut exposures with sediments dating from the penultimate glaciation (at least) to the present. Plant macrofossils, pollen, and beetles were analyzed at these sites. Terminal MIS 6-aged samples indicate a cooler than modern climate and the presence of shrub tundra. During MIS 5e, boreal forest grew at the sites and temperatures were similar to modern times. However, the forest may also have been more mesic than today, as indicated by relatively abundant ferns. Winters may have been warmer than today, as suggested by beetle-based climatic reconstructions as well as the presence of two extralimital taxa that today live in regions where winter temperatures are up to 15 °C warmer than at the site localities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This multiproxy study on SE Black Sea sediments provides the first detailed reconstruction of vegetation and environmental history of Northern Anatolia between 134 and 119ka. Here, the glacial–interglacial transition is characterized by several short-lived alternating cold and warm events preceding a meltwater pulse (~130.4–131.7ka). The latter is reconstructed as a cold arid period correlated to Heinrich event 11. The initial warming is evidenced at ~130.4ka by increased primary productivity in the Black Sea, disappearance of ice-rafted detritus, and spreading of oaks in Anatolia. A Younger Dryas-type event is not identifiable. The Eemian vegetation succession corresponds to the main climatic phases in Europe: i) the Quercus–Juniperus phase (128.7–126.4ka) indicates a dry continental climate; ii) the Ostrya–Corylus–Quercus–Carpinus phase (126.4–122.9ka) suggests warm summers, mild winters, and high year-round precipitation; iii) the Fagus–Carpinus phase (122.9–119.5ka) indicates cooling and high precipitation; and iv) increasing Pinus at ~121ka marks the onset of cooler/drier conditions. Generally, pollen reconstructions suggest altitudinal/latitudinal migrations of vegetation belts in Northern Anatolia during the Eemian caused by increased transport of moisture. The evidence for the wide distribution of Fagus around the Black Sea contrasts with the European records and is likely related to climatic and genetic factors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]