Journal of Quaternary Science最新文献

{"title":"The Anthropocene: Proposal, rejection, consequences, alternatives, and a lesson","authors":"Valentí Rull","doi":"10.1002/jqs.70077","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70077","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The term “Anthropocene” was proposed in 2000 to denote a new epoch in the Geological Time Scale, characterized by the global human impact on the Earth system. In 2023, the Anthropocene Working Group submitted a formal proposal to the International Commission on Stratigraphy, which rejected it on the grounds that it did not meet the criteria for establishing a new geological epoch. Consequently, the Anthropocene currently lacks a formal definition or geological status. The possibility of submitting a different proposal remains, but defining a globally synchronous chronological boundary—essential for a geological epoch—is challenging due to the heterogeneous and uneven nature of human impacts. Alternatively, the Anthropocene could be considered a geological event or episode, which are time-transgressive and do not require formalization, although this would necessitate terminological adjustments, since the suffix “-cene” inherently denotes an epoch in stratigraphic terminology. In the absence of a precise definition, the best approach is either to clarify the concept of the Anthropocene used in each case or to adopt a different name free of stratigraphic implications while a formal geological solution is pursued. Using the term to refer to anything other than a geological epoch is incorrect and may create inconsistencies. Currently, the Anthropocene remains in a definitional void but is widely used in environmental research, activism, and broader professional and popular contexts. The genie is out of the bottle.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":16929,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Quaternary Science","volume":"41 5","pages":"661-665"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148532475","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The Glacial Legacy of the Geneva Basin: Morphology and implications of an intricate tunnel valley system revealed from 3D seismic data","authors":"Ovie Emmanuel Eruteya,&nbsp;Emna Meftah,&nbsp;Andrea Moscariello","doi":"10.1002/jqs.70075","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70075","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Like other perialpine basins and glaciated margins, the Geneva Basin in SW Switzerland is characterised by buried tunnel valleys, which are elongated incisions widely attributed to subglacial meltwater erosion beneath continental ice sheets. However, an inclusive understanding of the geological control on the evolution of the glacial landscape concerning the associated tunnel valley network is limited in the Geneva Basin. The lack of high-density and high-quality subsurface data sets mostly hampers this. Here, we present an updated map of the top Molasse bedrock underlying the glacio–fluvial Quaternary deposit based on the integration of the newly acquired 180 km² 3D seismic data set and pre-existing 2D seismic and borehole data sets. A seismogeomorphological interpretation coupled with attribute analysis of the data set revealed a drastic change in the morphology of the bedrock when compared to previous interpretations. This is especially within the perimeter of the 3D seismic data, revealing an intricately well-defined geometry of the tunnel valleys network mapped in the Geneva Basin when compared with earlier studies. The bedrock was eroded by four tunnel valleys now named Montbrillant–Aire la Ville valley, Thônex–Plan-les-Ouates valley, Versoix–Avully valley, and Petit Lac–Avusy valley, and (smallest–largest) mostly trending NE–SW, reaching a depth of ca. 250 m in the Geneva Bay area. The seismic data also portray structural controls related to faults on the deepening and alignment of segments of the tunnel valleys. The longitudinal profiles generated for the tunnel valleys show a markedly undulatory thalweg, with predominantly U-shaped and some localised V-shaped cross-sectional morphology. This geometry indicates that incision processes operated across significant topographic gradients along the tunnel valley axis. This characteristic is consistent with a polyphase origin for the tunnel valley network, likely modulated by repeated episodes of subglacial meltwater catastrophically eroding the Molasse substratum. This was associated with successive glacial advance–retreat cycles of the Rhône and Arve glaciers. This study demonstrates the unmatched capability of 3D seismic data sets in resolving the configuration of buried Quaternary tunnel valleys within this peri-alpine realm. Importantly, it shows that an updated Molasse bedrock depth and Quaternary isopach map is vital for groundwater management, geothermal energy, resource extraction, and infrastructure planning in the Geneva Basin.</p>","PeriodicalId":16929,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Quaternary Science","volume":"41 5","pages":"732-753"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jqs.70075","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148533029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Astragalus ecomorphology in Quaternary elephantids","authors":"Darío Fidalgo,&nbsp;Palmira Saladié,&nbsp;Josep Valverdú,&nbsp;Antonio Pineda,&nbsp;Rosa Huguet,&nbsp;Joan Madurell-Malapeira,&nbsp;Antonio Rosas","doi":"10.1002/jqs.70073","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70073","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The astragalus plays a fundamental role in the graviportal locomotion of proboscideans, reflecting the biomechanical constraints imposed by large body masses. This study analyses the morphological variability of the astragalus in Quaternary elephantids using linear biometry and 3D geometric morphometrics, incorporating an unpublished astragalus of <i>Mammuthus meridionalis</i> from the Calabrian (ca. 0.9 Ma) of Barranc de la Boella (eastern Iberian Peninsula) within a broad comparative framework of fossil and extant forms. The results reveal a marked allometric relationship, whereby larger individuals have relatively flatter astragali, regardless of their taxonomic affinity. The Barranc de la Boella specimen fits this pattern perfectly, showing dimensions comparable to those of the largest elephantids of the Gelasian, Calabrian and Chibanian. No clear phylogenetic signal is detected in the morphology of the astragalus, suggesting that body size dominates the observed variation and limits its usefulness in discriminating specific taxonomic affinities or ecological adaptations.</p>","PeriodicalId":16929,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Quaternary Science","volume":"41 5","pages":"666-671"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jqs.70073","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148533945","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Marine Isotope Stage 4 glaciation in northern England, UK: Evidence from Victoria Cave, North Yorkshire","authors":"Tom C. Lord,&nbsp;Peter Wilson,&nbsp;Joyce Lundberg,&nbsp;Adrian P. Palmer,&nbsp;Matt W. Telfer,&nbsp;Rhiannon E. Stevens,&nbsp;Phillip J. Murphy,&nbsp;Mark Lewis","doi":"10.1002/jqs.70081","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70081","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Victoria Cave, north Yorkshire, England, contains a long sequence of Pleistocene clastic sediments and calcite flowstones. Earlier work, using U–Th dating, established that the flowstone units formed in interglacial stages corresponding to Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 13, 11, 9, 7 and 5. The intervening laminated sediments were therefore assigned to glacial stages (MIS 12, 10, 6 and 2) and regarded as rhythmites that settled from ponded glacial meltwater in the cave. Victoria Cave is a rare instance of cave rhythmites that formed over a number of glacial–interglacial cycles. The macro- and micromorphologies of the rhythmites support the above interpretation, and the mineralogy demonstrates that the sediments probably derive from rock types within the local area. An OSL age of 66 ± 8.4 ka from the uppermost unit of the rhythmites and two ¹⁴C ages of 46.1–54.9 cal. ka BP and 48.9–&gt;55.0 cal. ka BP, for horse and reindeer, respectively, from the overlying Bone-bearing Cave Earth provide a new chronology for these Late Pleistocene sediments. Together, these results indicate that the youngest rhythmites in Victoria Cave formed during MIS 4 and not MIS 2 as previously assumed. This provides strong support for more widespread glaciation in northern England in MIS 4 (~71–59 ka) than has previously been recognised. The MIS 4 rhythmites represent the most tightly constrained cave rhythmites in Britain and the first terrestrial-based evidence from this area for glaciation at that time.</p>","PeriodicalId":16929,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Quaternary Science","volume":"41 5","pages":"770-783"},"PeriodicalIF":1.9,"publicationDate":"2026-07-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jqs.70081","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148533957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16929,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Quaternary Science","volume":"41 4","pages":"i-iii"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148070470","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16929,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Quaternary Science","volume":"41 4","pages":"i-iii"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148070469","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From shape to source: sedimentary charcoal morphology as a proxy for tropical burned biomass composition","authors":"Fiona Cornet,&nbsp;Vincent Montade,&nbsp;Stéphanie C. Bodin,&nbsp;Justine Descloitre,&nbsp;Maxime Réjou-Méchain,&nbsp;Gaëlle Viennois,&nbsp;Julie C. Aleman,&nbsp;Chimène Assi-Kaudjhis,&nbsp;William F. Kenney,&nbsp;Richard Oslisly,&nbsp;Monique G. Tossou,&nbsp;Laurent Bremond,&nbsp;Charly Favier","doi":"10.1002/jqs.70053","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70053","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Sedimentary charcoal elongation is increasingly being used in paleoecology to distinguish herbaceous from woody fuel in past fires. However, the relationship between charcoal morphotypes and plant types has never been formally tested in tropical environments, despite its potential to improve understanding of fire regimes and deforestation, and to analyze long-term ecosystem resilience. Separation between herbaceous and woody charcoal commonly relies on a fixed elongation threshold, but this arbitrary division overlooks the morphological continuum of charcoal and may bias interpretations. To address this, we developed a Bayesian model to classify charcoal fragments into herbaceous and woody subpopulations based on their elongation distributions. We applied it to 19 sediment charcoal records spanning the last 30 years across a broad geographic and vegetation gradient in West and Central Africa. Compared with contemporary vegetation cover derived from remote sensing, the estimated proportion of woody charcoal was significantly positively correlated with tree cover, validating our approach and confirming charcoal elongation as a reliable proxy for past fire-related biomass sources. Finally, we applied the model to a paleosequence from Lake Sélé (Benin) to reconstruct temporal changes in biomass and compared results with fossil pollen data, further assessing the proxy relevance for reconstructing past fire regimes and advancing tropical paleoecology.</p>","PeriodicalId":16929,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Quaternary Science","volume":"41 3","pages":"490-506"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jqs.70053","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686239","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Paleoenvironments of the Late Quaternary Tonica thermokarst lake, northeastern Illinois, USA, and an extinct elk-moose (Cervalces)","authors":"Russell W. Graham,&nbsp;Robert E. Warren,&nbsp;Edwin R. Hajic,&nbsp;Terrence J. Frest,&nbsp;Donald P. Schwert,&nbsp;Jacqueline A. Ferguson,&nbsp;Melissa I. Pardi,&nbsp;Eric C. Grimm,&nbsp;Frances B. King","doi":"10.1002/jqs.70045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70045","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The Tonica Depression (TD), a late Quaternary sediment-filled basin in northeastern Illinois, formed as a thermokarst lake as evidenced by a basal trash layer, its depositional history, and its occurrence on a late-Pleistocene permafrost landscape. Stratigraphy and radiocarbon ages reveal that a multiproxy paleoenvironmental record extends throughout the late Wisconsin. Burning of organically enriched sediments has abbreviated the Holocene sequence. The lowest stratum is a glacial diamicton that forms the basin's floor, and at a slightly higher elevation, the rim. Lithofacies 1, supraglacial and debris flow deposits, are draped by undated Peoria Silt (PS). PS yielded molluscs and Coleoptera indicative of spruce forest (<i>Picea</i>) in a cold and harsh climate. Lithofacies 2 (ca. 17 500–18 500 cal yr BP) is a “trash zone” with white spruce (<i>Picea glauca</i>) wood, cones and needles with pollen, Coleoptera, molluscs, and vertebrates, including an elk-moose. A “marl,” Lithofacies 3 (ca. 14 600–17 400 cal yr BP), attests to the deepening of the lake (&gt;2 m) as also reflected by the molluscs, coleoptera, and pollen. The environment was an open spruce forest, but the climate was warmer than the previous ones. The top of this zone is composed of a brick-red deposit with burned organic matter. Lithofacies 4 (ca. 14 600 cal yr BP) is composed of organic silt and lacustrine organic silt: a peaty silt loam. Finally, Middle Archaic artifacts on the rim of TD document human settlement around the depression during the dry and warm Middle Holocene (ca. 6747 cal BP). Tonica is the first well-studied thermokarst lake from temperate latitudes in the United States, and it provides an excellent paleoenvironmental record of the late Pleistocene of north central Illinois.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":16929,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Quaternary Science","volume":"41 3","pages":"433-451"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686053","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Holocene palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of sea level, coastal and vegetation changes along the southern Solway Firth, United Kingdom","authors":"Dayang Siti Maryam Binti Mohd Hanan,&nbsp;Katherine Selby,&nbsp;Sarah L Bradley,&nbsp;Sally Derrett","doi":"10.1002/jqs.70052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70052","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Holocene relative sea level (RSL) changes were reconstructed from four sites along the less-studied southern Solway Firth. A multiproxy approach, including lithostratigraphical and biostratigraphical analyses, combined with radiocarbon dating, produced ten sea level index points (SLIPs). These SLIPs constrained Holocene RSL changes in the region between ~8300 cal BP and ~6018 cal BP and captured the Main Postglacial Transgression. These ten new points are combined with the ten pre-existing SLIPS from the southern Solway Firth to greatly refine the trend of Holocene RSL changes across this region. The Main Postglacial Transgression was shown to occur between ~8320 and 7500 cal BP, reaching a highstand of 3.26 ± 0.56 mOD. The new data were combined with 73 existing SLIPS from two sites around the northern Solway Firth and compared to RSL predictions from glacial isostatic modelling. Comparison between the corrected SLIPs and RSL predictions using British and Irish ice sheet reconstructions showed that the timing of the Main Postglacial Transgression is best captured with a hybrid model for the presence of thick and thin ice sheets. Pollen analysis at Cowgate Farm and Herd Hill provided a record of vegetation and coastal changes, acting as a chronostratigraphic marker when compared to published pollen records of the region. The records show a general transition from saltmarsh to reed swamp, then peat bog as RSL declined through the mid to late Holocene, with some indications of human clearance in the Bronze Age.</p>","PeriodicalId":16929,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Quaternary Science","volume":"41 3","pages":"419-432"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/jqs.70052","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Micromorphology: A practical guide to the microscale analysis of glacial sediments and processes Edited by \u0000 Emrys Phillips and \u0000 John Menzies, 2025, Published by the Quaternary Research Association, ISBN: 0 907780 296 242; ISSN: 0264 9241","authors":"Lewis A. Owen","doi":"10.1002/jqs.70055","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70055","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":16929,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Quaternary Science","volume":"41 3","pages":"540-541"},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147686238","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}