Chronology,stratigraphy and palaeoenvironmental interpretation of a Late Pleistocene to mid‐Holocene cave accumulation on Kangaroo Island,South Australia

Chronological, sedimentological and geochemical analyses of a clastic infill from Kelly Hill Cave (5K1), Kangaroo Island, document a palaeoenvironmental record that spans from the Late Pleistocene to the middle Holocene. We AMS radiocarbon‐dated bone collagen and U–Th‐dated speleothem to determine that fossiliferous sediments were deposited between >20 ka and 7 ka ago. Most of the 15 sedimentary layers are dominated by sand‐ and silt‐sized quartz that is physically and geochemically comparable with surface soils in the Kelly Hill area. Late Pleistocene and Last Glacial Maximum strata are represented primarily by homogeneous, poorly sorted quartz‐rich sediments that contain little organic matter, but include a thin layer composed largely of silt‐sized clay pellets that resemble sediments deflated from playa lakes. Microstructures observed in petrographic slides indicate that, with the exception of one layer, all sediments experienced little reworking once deposited in the cave. Some layers display pedogenic microstructures such as redeposited clays and opaline silica infilling that indicate postdepositional modification; that is, cave‐floor soil development. Overlying Holocene‐aged sediments also consist mainly of quartz but have much greater organic matter content. Some of these sediments have been strongly influenced by re‐precipitated organic matter that appears to have been transported into the cave via vadose drip water. The presence of dissolved organic matter in soil/vadose waters suggests a high vegetation density and acidic soils, which are congruent with the more equitable climatic conditions characteristic of the Holocene. The sediments described here provide a valuable palaeoenvironmental record that will facilitate future interpretation of associated vertebrate fossils.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene History at Mubwindi Swamp, Southwest Uganda

Deposits beneath Mubwindi Swamp provide a partial record of vegetation history since at least 43,000 yr ago. We studied pollen from two cores and obtained nine radiocarbon ages from one of these cores and three radiocarbon ages from the other. Pollen deposited before and soon after the last glacial maximum represents vegetation very different from the modern vegetation of the Mubwindi Swamp catchment. Although species now associated with higher altitudes were dominant some elements of moist lower montane forest persisted, possibly because of favorable soils or topography. The pollen data provides evidence for a late glacial montane forest refuge near Mubwindi Swamp. Moist lower montane forest became much more widespread soon after the glacial maximum. The only irrefutably Holocene sediments from Mubwindi Swamp date to the past 2500 yr. During this time a combination of climatic and human-induced changes in vegetation can be seen in the pollen records.     

Terrestrial-marine transition in the Cambrian rocks of Kangaroo Island, South Australia

The upper part of the Lower Cambrian succession in northeast Kangaroo Island comprises three interbedded facies associations. The fine-grained association is composed of siltstone, mudstone and minor sandstone. It contains flat lamination and abundant ripple cross-lamination which shows bipolar palaeocurrents, and occurs in combinations of flaser bedding, lenticular bedding and wavy lamination. Although body fossils are relatively rare, trilobite traces and desiccation cracks are common, and the association is interpreted as a predominantly subtidal to intertidal deposit. The conglomerate facies association contains horizontally bedded cobble to boulder conglomerate, with subordinate trough cross-stratified coarse sandstone to granule/pebble conglomerate. Fabrics and structures in the coarse conglomerates are consistent with alluvial transport (stream and debris flow), but not beach deposition. The conglomerate association is attributed to tectonic uplift and erosion of a Precambrian-Lower Cambrian succession developed adjacent to the present north coast of Kangaroo Island. Southward progradation of an alluvial fan complex occurred across east-west oriented tidal flats on which limited wave activity reworked sand and fine gravel, but not coarser material. The sandstone facies association mainly comprises trough cross-stratified and plane-laminated sandstone, the latter with current lineation predominantly sub-parallel to the east-west shoreline. Trough cross-stratification is ascribed to onshore waves and longshore currents, and current lineation to predominantly shore-parallel tidal currents, augmented by longshore drift and storm surge. Tectonic movements gave rise to cycles of transgression and regression as tidal and alluvial processes dominated alternately.     

Late Quaternary palaeoecology of Wyrie Swamp,southeastern South Australia

Pollen analysis of two radiocarbon-dated cores provides a history of Wyrie Swamp and the surrounding vegetation, and the result compares with other palynological data from southeastern South Australia. Eucalypt (Eucalyptus) forest or woodland with a scrub understory was the major element before about 50,000 years BP, between ca. 40,000 and 30,000 BP, and after ca. 11,000 BP. More open woodland prevailed between ca. 50,000 and 40,000 BP, and between ca. 26,000 and 11,000 BP. Casuarina stricta, common on sand dunes, migrated to the area about 10,500 years ago and remained as a dominant species until the time of European settlement at about 1840 ad. Postglacial expansion of this species implies that the climate since 10,500 years ago has been warmer than in the preceding period. It probably was drier during the period from 50,000 to 10,500 BP than in the Holocene. The driest period was from 26,000 to 11,000 BP, perhaps corresponding to the time of the last glaciation in Australia. The site is archaeologically important, as a number of wood and stone artifacts that date between 10,200 and 8000 BP have been recovered from the swamp sediments.     

Chronology of Late Pleistocene environmental changes in the lower Mahi basin,western India

Sediments exposed in the lower Mahi basin at the southern fringe of the Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India, provide evidence of three distinct depositional environments, namely marine, aeolian and fluvial. These have been used to reconstruct Late Pleistocene environmental and tectonic history of the region. Infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) chronology of the fluvial and aeolian litho‐units provides evidence of two major fluvial aggradation phases in the region corresponding to Oxygen Isotopic Stages 5 and 3. The basal marine clay is inferred to represent the last interglacial stage and its present elevation at +20 m a.s.l. is attributed to post‐depositional tectonism. Comparison of fluvial records from other regions indicates interhemispherically documented wetter phases during Oxygen Isotope Stages 5 and 3. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The geology and palaeohydrology of the Kow Swamp fossil hominid site,Victoria, Australia

During a lake‐full phase at the end of the Pleistocene Period, lacustrine silts and aeolian sands were deposited around the eastern margins of Kow Swamp. These sediments have yielded the remains of a large population of early Australian man, retaining certain archaic Homo erectus characteristics.

The lake‐lunette system in which the burials were made provides a geographically isolated situation for the examination of late Pleistocene and Holocene hydrological changes which have left their imprint on the sediments, soils and vegetation.     

Late Oligocene Kangaroo Well Local Fauna from the Ulta Limestone (new name), and climate of the Miocene oscillation across central Australia

The Late Oligocene Kangaroo Well Local Fauna from the Ulta Limestone (new name), northwestern Lake Eyre Basin correlates best with vertebrate assemblages from the Etadunna, Namba and Wipajiri Formations of the central Lake Eyre Basin, and from the Carl Creek Limestone (Karumba Basin) of northwestern Queensland. The biochronologically informative marsupials, Neohelos tirarensis (Diprotodontidae, Zygomaturinae), Marlu sp. cf. M. kutjamarpensis and Pildra sp. cf. P.magnus (Pseudocheiridae), and Ektopodon ulta sp. nov. (Ektopodontidae), indicate that the Kangaroo Well Local Fauna may be slightly older than the Kutjamarpu Local Fauna (Wipajiri Formation) and slightly younger than the Ngama Local Fauna (zone D of the Etadunna Formation) of Late Oligocene age. A new species of primitive ?Wynyardiidae, Ayekaye jaredi sp. nov., is described, and the nomenclature of two extinct gastropods, Glyptophysa rodingae (McMichael) and Cupedora Iloydi (McMichael) (new combinations), the type localities of which are in the Ulta Limestone, is revised in line with current taxonomy. The Ulta Limestone, an alluvial calclithite composed primarily of caliche fabrics, and its correlatives were deposited during the Miocene oscillation climatic event. Palaeoclimatic modelling using sedimentological data, crocodilians and extant analogs of fossil terrestrial gastropods indicates that the average annual temperature at Kangaroo Well during the Late Oligocene was probably between 14 and 20°C, while mean annual rainfall was probably <600 mm. Similar associations from central parts of the Lake Eyre Basin, from Riversleigh, northwestern Queensland, and from Bullock Creek, north‐central Northern Territory, indicate that such conditions were widespread during depositional phases of the Miocene oscillation. Palaeoclimatic indicators do not support the presence of widespread closed forests in northwestern Queensland and across the inland of the Northern Territory and South Australia during the Miocene oscillation.     

Uranium Series Chronology of the Late Pleistocene Basalt from the Longgang Volcanoes, Jilin Province

1 IntroductionThe Longgang volcanic cluster located in the middle partof Longgang Mountain is one of the active volcanoes innortheast China, potentially hazardous of explosion in thefuture (Fan et al., 2002). Within an area of 1700 km2, thereare about 160 volcanic cones, craters and maars (Ou, 1984).Among these volcanoes, the Jinlongdingzi and Dayizishanvolcanoes which are well studied have experiencedrepetitious eruptions (Wang and Jin, 1999). Detailedresearch on their eruption cycles is …     

Late Pleistocene sediments and environmental change at Plaza Creek,Falkland Islands,South Atlantic

Late Pleistocene organic-rich sediments exposed in coastal bluffs near the head of Plaza Creek, East Falkland, have yielded conventional and AMS ¹⁴C dates of between 36 and 28 ka BP, and possess a pollen spectrum dominated by grasses, indicating a vegetation assemblage similar to that of the present day. Although some sample dates are anomalous and contamination by non-contemporaneous carbon cannot be ruled out entirely, the age estimates are consistent with evidence and dates from Antarctica, South America and the amphi-North Atlantic for climate shifts to interstadial conditions at around that time. The organic-rich units are developed in and enclosed by deposits attributed to processes of periglacial mass wasting. Grain-size characteristics suggest that these sediments may have been emplaced by solifluction, shallow translational landsliding and surface wash in at least five mass-wasting episodes. Some of the mass-wasting sediments might correlate with solifluction deposits above and below a podsolic soil dated to 26 ka BP at San Carlos, East Falkland, and with periods of cirque and valley glaciation identified in the uplands of the Falkland Islands. The similarity between late Pleistocene interstadial, Holocene and present-day pollen assemblages, and the lack of vegetation change within these periods, is characteristic of most cool temperate Southern Ocean islands, and may reflect the lack of sensitivity of the vegetation to climate change and/or a lack of climate variability for the time intervals covered. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age of the Cutler Dam Alloformation (Late Pleistocene), Bonneville Basin, Utah

Luminescence geochronology, especially infrared stimulated luminescence analyses on marsh mud, shows that a relatively deep lake reached its peak (1340 m above sea level) in the Bonneville basin 59,000±5000 yr ago. The age is consistent with nonfinite ¹⁴C ages and with amino acid geochronology on ostracodes. The Cutler Dam Alloformation was deposited during this lake cycle, which, like the subsequent Bonneville lake cycle, appears to have reached its maximum highstand following the peak of a global glacial stage (marine oxygen-isotope stage 4) but at a time when other records from North America show evidence for cold climate and expanded glacier ice.     

Late Pleistocene and Holocene glacial history of James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula

Studies of Quaternary glacial stratigraphy and morphology around the Antarctic Peninsula have shown that James Ross Island in the western Weddell Sea probably has the best occurrences of stratigraphic sections with dateable material in the region. The stratigraphy includes sections with indefinite radiocarbon age, and three separate aminozones can be recognized. Except for indications of an early deglaciation around c . 10,000 BP, the field evidence from northern James Ross Island suggests a glacial readvance around 7000 BP. It is concluded that the readvance reflects the combined effects of eustatic sea level rise and Holocene warming, leading to increased precipitation and a positive mass balance. The most recent large-scale deglaciation in the area took place around 6000–5000 BP. This confirms the evidence from lake sediments and moss banks in other parts of the Antarctic Peninsula region, which shows that, in most cases, the initiation of organic deposition took place after c . 6000 BP. The literature on the Holocene glacial and environmental history of the region is reviewed in light of the new field evidence.     

Middle to Late Pleistocene palaeoenvironmental evolution of the southeastern Alpine Valeriano Creek succession (northeastern Italy)

The Middle–Late Pleistocene alluvial and lacustrine succession of Valeriano Creek (southeastern Alpine foothills, 190 m a.s.l.) documents the environmental evolution of the piedmont plain before the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The sedimentary record was investigated by multidisciplinary stratigraphical and sedimentological studies coupled with petrographic and palaeobotanical analysis. A chronology has been provided by luminescence, radiocarbon dating and pollen biochronology. The succession developed at the valley mouth of a small catchment and is confined in the piedmont plain by the alluvial fans of major rivers. The oldest deposits were formed during a cold phase during the late Middle Pleistocene. This part of the piedmont plain was generally stable until Termination II, when it was trenched more than 15 m deep by watercourses. The infilling succession of the trench, mostly by low‐energy alluvial sediments interbedded with mire and peat deposits, documents, for the first time on the southern side of the Alps, the relationships between fluvial activity, vegetation and climate change at the foothills piedmont plain during late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5. The stadial–interstadial climate forcing implies a local reorganisation of fluvial dynamics and of forest composition, although substantial plant cover persisted even during cooler stadials. In accordance with coeval alluvial and speleothem records from the northern side of the Alps, this environmental evolution supports a very restricted Alpine glaciation of the main fluvial catchments of the southeastern Alps during MIS 5a–d. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Magnetic polarity stratigraphy of the Pleistocene section at Portland (Victoria), Australia

Three to seven oriented paleomagnetic samples were collected from 16 sites in the Nelson Bay and Bridgewater formations at Portland, Victoria, which contains the recently discovered Nelson Bay local fauna (L.F.). The entire section has reversed polarity. These results, along with Globorotalia truncatulinoides within the section, and the presence of underlying middle Pliocene-dated basalts, indicate that the Portland section, and the included Nelson Bay L.F., was deposited within the late Matuyama Chron between 1.66 and 0.73 myr ago. This represents the first well-documented pre-¹⁴C Pleistocene mammalian fauna in Australia calibrated in direct stratigraphic context with absolute dating methods. In addition, the reversed polarity for the Bridgewater Formation confirms the previous hypothesis that the depositional history of this beach-sand deposit is time-transgressive across the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary.     

重庆巫山玉米洞遗址晚更新世鼠科动物化石

重庆市巫山县玉米洞遗址出土有大量的哺乳动物化石,是华南中-晚更新世大熊猫-剑齿象动物群的重要组成部分,其中晚更新世中-晚期的鼠科动物较为丰富,在层位上对应于MIS4和MIS2时期。形态学观察显示玉米洞的鼠科化石分别属于5属10种：笔尾树鼠(未定种)Chiropodomys sp.、中华姬鼠Apodemus draco、大耳姬鼠A.latronum、小林姬鼠A.sylvaticus、郑氏攀鼠Vernaya zhengi、巨攀鼠V.giganta、爱氏巨鼠Leopoldamys edwardsi、社鼠Niviventer confucianus、安氏白腹鼠N.andersoni和高原白腹鼠N.excelsior。这一组合既显示了浓厚的华南色彩,也有明显的自身特色,即Chiropodomys sp. 的出现和N.excelsior占据优势地位。鼠科化石的生境分析表指示了晚更新世中-晚期玉米洞遗址与现代类似但更为湿冷的森林或森林灌丛环境。玉米洞遗址鼠科化石的研究丰富了中国中-晚更新世大熊猫-剑齿象动物群中小哺乳动物化石的记录。

     

The age of the lateritized summit surface on Kangaroo Island and adjacent areas of South Australia

Stratigraphic, geomorphological, and radiometric evidence shows that the laterite of the high plains and plateau of Kangaroo Island is older than the Middle Jurassic but younger than the Early Permian. Palaeoclimatic and palaeontological considerations suggest the Triassic as the most likely age of both the laterite and the surface on which it is developed. High‐level lateritized surfaces in the adjacent Mount Lofty Ranges and southern Eyre Peninsula are of similar age.     

Stratigraphic implications of heterogeneous deformation in the Jones Creek conglomerate (Archaean), Kathleen Valley,Western Australia

Rudaceous felsic to ultramafic clastic rocks of the Jones Creek Conglomerate are in tectonic contact with supracrustal mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks and associated fine‐grained sediments. All these rocks have a lower amphibolite facies mineralogy. Heterogeneously developed penetrative deformation has allowed sedimentary structures, including an unconformable contact between the Conglomerate and an adamellite, to be preserved in places. However, narrow, strike‐oriented zones containing blastomylonites and very flattened rudites normally characterize both contacts of the Conglomerate. Structural complexities within and at the contacts of the Conglomerate cast doubt on previous postulates that the Conglomerate separates an older from a younger supracrustal cycle.     

Late Pleistocene Climatic Variations at Achenheim, France, Based on a Magnetic Susceptibility and TL Chronology of Loess

New field investigations of the Achenheim sequence (Alsace, France) allow for the characterization of variations in the low-field magnetic susceptibility over most of the last climatic cycle, i.e., the past 130,000 yr. New stratigraphic data and thermoluminescence measurements permit reassessment of the previous chronological interpretation of the Upper Pleistocene at Achenheim. A high-resolution analysis of magnetic susceptibility discloses the occurrence of a fine-grained “marker” horizon which was also found recently in another section. This horizon is interpreted as a small-scale dust layer deposited prior to the main interval of loess deposition. The horizon, deposited at the marine isotope stage (MIS) 5/4 boundary, has been found in other loess sequences and is especially prevalent in central Europe. It is characterized by low susceptibility values and a grayish color. New thermoluminescence dates indicate that the loess deposition took place after the MIS 5/4 boundary, i.e., after 70,000 yr. These results are consistent with the Greenland GRIP ice-core dust record which also demonstrates a dusty atmosphere after 72,000 yr ago. On a more regional scale, the Achenheim loess sequence demonstrates a reliable correlation between the western side of the Eurasian loess belt and the dust record of the Greenland ice cores.     

西沙石岛风成碳酸盐沉积的早期成岩作用

西沙石岛风成碳酸盐沉积形成于晚更新世,正处于早期成岩阶段。通过薄片、扫描电镜、稳定碳、氧同位素、常量元素和微量元素分析,对石岛风成碳酸盐岩的早期大气淡水成岩作用进行了研究。发现石岛风成碳酸盐沉积的早期成岩固结主要在大气淡水作用下完成,其中蒸发成岩作用在初始固结中可能起着主要作用;在大气淡水作用影响下,部分碎屑颗粒发生溶蚀和新生变形,新生的微亮晶低镁方解石（5~15 μm）镶边胶结在颗粒及孔隙周围,并成为主要的胶结物;而作为大气渗流带和潜流带典型产物的亮晶胶结物则很少占据主导地位。海水成岩作用主要表现为对早期成岩作用的改造,会造成锶、镁含量的增高,但影响范围仅止于浅表层,而且对δ13C和δ18O值的影响微弱。生物化学作用可能参与了古土壤中灰质壳与根管石的形成,但在风成碳酸盐沉积的整体成岩上不具意义。大气淡水成岩作用会造成石岛风成碳酸盐岩δ13C和δ18O值的降低,并使碎屑发生新生变形而导致锶、镁的淋溶。成壤风化作用会导致Al、Fe、Mn、Y、Cr元素在古土壤中明显富集,其中Al、Fe、Mn的富集与成壤风化作用有关,而Y、Cr元素则可能源于长期暴露引起的风尘或火山灰的相对富集。     

西沙石岛风成碳酸盐沉积的早期成岩作用

西沙石岛风成碳酸盐沉积形成于晚更新世,正处于早期成岩阶段.通过薄片、扫描电镜、稳定碳、氧同位素、常量元素和微量元素分析,对石岛风成碳酸盐岩的早期大气淡水成岩作用进行了研究.发现石岛风成碳酸盐沉积的早期成岩固结主要在大气淡水作用下完成,其中蒸发成岩作用在初始固结中可能起着主要作用;在大气淡水作用影响下,部分碎屑颗粒发生溶蚀和新生变形,新生的微亮晶低镁方解石(5 ～15 μm)镶边胶结在颗粒及孔隙周围,并成为主要的胶结物;而作为大气渗流带和潜流带典型产物的亮晶胶结物则很少占据主导地位.海水成岩作用主要表现为对早期成岩作用的改造,会造成锶、镁含量的增高,但影响范围仅止于浅表层,而且对δ13C和δ18O值的影响微弱.生物化学作用可能参与了古土壤中灰质壳与根管石的形成,但在风成碳酸盐沉积的整体成岩上不具意义.大气淡水成岩作用会造成石岛风成碳酸盐岩δ13C和δ18O值的降低,并使碎屑发生新生变形而导致锶、镁的淋溶.成壤风化作用会导致Al、Fe、Mn、Y、Cr元素在古土壤中明显富集,其中Al、Fe、Mn的富集与成壤风化作用有关,而Y、Cr元素则可能源于长期暴露引起的风尘或火山灰的相对富集.