Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology最新文献

{"title":"Mangrove species of Southeast Asian origin dispersed into coastal forests of the western Amazon (Early Miocene, Brazil)","authors":"Carina Hoorn ,&nbsp;Giovanni Bogotá-Ángel ,&nbsp;Angelo Plata-Torres ,&nbsp;Diana Ochoa ,&nbsp;Limi Mao ,&nbsp;Hanna van den Hil ,&nbsp;Jelle J.J. Kraak ,&nbsp;Brenda L. Orosco-Arango ,&nbsp;Shweta Basnett ,&nbsp;Huasheng Huang ,&nbsp;Carlos Jaramillo ,&nbsp;Shirley A. Graham ,&nbsp;Fabiany Herrera","doi":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113475","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113475","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In the Neogene, the western Amazon was extensively influenced by marine incursions. This is evident from the fossil record, which includes mangrove pollen, dinoflagellate cysts and microforaminiferal organic linings. Mangroves were thought to be populated only by members of the Rhizophoraceae, although <em>Florschuetzia</em>-type pollen have been also observed in cored sediments from westernmost Brazil. This raises the question as to whether sonneratioid mangroves of Southeast Asian origin extended into the Amazon. To investigate this question, we reanalysed the Brazilian core 1AS-4a-AM and applied light and scanning electron microscopy to selected sporomorphs. We also revised the temporal range of <em>Florschuetzia</em> occurrences and reassessed the morphological description of <em>Florschuetzia impostora</em> by applying confocal microscopy. Based on this study, we extend the description of <em>F. impostora</em> (<span><span>D'Apolito et al., 2021</span></span>) and present a new species, <em>Florschuetzia amazonica</em> sp. nov. Both species strongly resemble <em>F. trilobata</em> and <em>F. ovalis</em>, described from Southeast Asia, but their specific morphological traits, disjunct distribution and short-spanned abundant occurrences differentiate them. In the Amazon, <em>Florschuetzia</em> mangroves occured around 18 Ma and were associated with a high abundance of palm and mangrove-associated sporomorphs (pollen and spores), suggesting that they occurred in the back-mangrove zone, landward of the Rhizophoraceae belt. Extinct Amazonian long-snouted gavialoid crocodiles and river dolphins also resemble Southeast Asian taxa, but paleobiogeographic revision shows they are not related. Although multiple migration pathways were possible, we favor a Pacific route for the Asian sonneratioid mangrove lineages. This Early Miocene (or older) dispersal event contributed to a richer and more complex mangrove ecosystem than is seen in the region today.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19928,"journal":{"name":"Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology","volume":"684 ","pages":"Article 113475"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145842083","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mid-holocene environmental changes and glacial-isostatic uplift recorded in a coastal isolation basin on inexpressible Island, Ross Sea, Antarctica","authors":"Shuo Wang ,&nbsp;Yuzhu Zhang ,&nbsp;Ninglian Wang ,&nbsp;Zhiheng Du ,&nbsp;Yan Zhu ,&nbsp;Peng Cheng ,&nbsp;Yuda Chui","doi":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113516","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113516","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Antarctica's postglacial ice-free regions preserve sedimentary archives that are critical for reconstructing relative sea-level (RSL) changes and glacial-isostatic adjustment (GIA). This study presents a 37 cm sediment core from a coastal isolation basin (NYD Lake) on Inexpressible Island in Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea. The basin's retaining sill is currently 1.1 m above mean sea level. The core spans the past ∼7400 calibrated years and captures a clear environmental transition from a tidal marine setting to a semi-enclosed lacustrine system. Three depositional units are identified: (1) a lower marine unit (below 18 cm; prior to ∼3500 cal yr BP) composed of coarse sand with high sulfur content, indicating strong tidal influence; (2) a transitional unit (18–7 cm) with mixed marine and freshwater signatures, reflecting gradual isolation; and (3) an upper lacustrine unit (above 7 cm; since ∼1700 cal yr BP), characterized by fine silt and organic geochemistry dominated by freshwater algal input but still subject to tidal or wave influence. C/N ratios and δ¹³C values indicate that the source of sedimentary organic matter shifted from a marine–terrestrial mixture to primarily freshwater algal origin after ∼1700 cal yr BP. This transition marks the isolation of the NYD Lake, coinciding with the sill emerging above sea level. Using the sill elevation and the timing of isolation, we estimate a crustal uplift rate of 0.65 ± 0.17 mm/yr. This record provides rare empirical constraints on Holocene RSL changes in the Terra Nova Bay and contributes to improving GIA models and understanding coastal evolution along the western Ross Sea margin.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19928,"journal":{"name":"Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology","volume":"684 ","pages":"Article 113516"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145842084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Moulting behaviors in oryctocephalid trilobites reveal ontogenetic shifts in ecdysial strategies","authors":"Yifan Wang ,&nbsp;Jorge Esteve ,&nbsp;Dezhi Wang ,&nbsp;Guangying Ren ,&nbsp;Hui Zhang ,&nbsp;Xiuchun Luo ,&nbsp;Xinglian Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113527","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113527","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Similar to other arthropods, trilobite underwent ecdysis as a periodic stage, and this life history strategy had a profound effect on their ontogeny and morphological evolution. Previous paleontological studies of moulting behavior in trilobites are based on few exuviae within later meraspides and holaspid phases, and also too little is known about ontogenetic mouting behavior in trilobites. Here, we investigate abundant exuviae exhibiting relatively complete ontogenetic sequences of <em>Arthricocephalus chauveaui</em>, <em>Arthricocephalites xinzhaiheensis</em>, <em>Duyunaspis duyunensis</em> and <em>Changaspis elongata</em> from the Cambrian Stage 4 Balang Formation. The results indicate two clear trends of ontogenetic moulting behavior in oryctocephalid trilobites during development. <em>A</em>. <em>chauveaui</em> utilized a single Somersault moulting pattern, which deals with opening the cephalic sutures (facial and rostral sutures), with lower cephalic unit (LCU) somersaulting anteriorly and lying beneath the trunk in moult assemblages. However, a gradual transition of moulting behavior during the development, from Somersault to Henningsmoen's moulting pattern, i.e., from inverting the LCU to disarticulated cranidium, is confirmed in <em>Ar</em>. <em>xinzhaiheensis</em>, <em>D</em>. <em>duyunensis</em> and <em>C. elongata</em>. This shift during development might reflect an evolutionary experiment with different moulting modes throughout development, a significant transition with macroevolutionary implications. The moulting mode may be canalized by structures that develop or change with growth, meaning that the change in strategy is not optional, but rather a consequence of morphological constraints and developmental pathway.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19928,"journal":{"name":"Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology","volume":"684 ","pages":"Article 113527"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145842087","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reduction in the rate of exhumation of the Gangdese Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) through the Neogene and its implications for crustal shortening of the Himalaya","authors":"Jie Wei,&nbsp;An Wang,&nbsp;Tianyi Shen,&nbsp;Ganyu Lyu,&nbsp;Haoruo Li,&nbsp;Guocan Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113514","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113514","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>During the Neogene, the crustal deformation in the southern Tibetan Plateau propagated southward from the Gangdese Mountains to the Himalaya. This propagation provides a perspective for exploring Himalayan crustal shortening and topographic development through the tectonic history of the Gangdese Mountains. In this paper, we present new thermochronological data (16 apatite (U<img>Th)/He, 25 apatite fission-track, and 23 zircon fission-track ages) from the southern Gangdese Mountains, which delineate a detailed history of attenuating rates of exhumation during the Neogene. Specifically, the southern margin of the Gangdese Mountains is characterized by a rapid exhumation (∼1.08 mm/yr) in the early Miocene, followed by a moderate rate of ∼0.27 mm/yr between 16 and 11 Ma, and subsequently a steady, lower exhumation rate of ∼0.18 mm/yr since 11–8 Ma. These progressively decreasing exhumation rates, interpreted as tectonically driven and coupled with the southward propagation of deformation in the Himalaya, correspond to an inverse correlation in partitioned shortening rates between the Himalaya and the Gangdese Mountains. This relationship enables a first-order estimation of Himalayan crustal shortening based on the tectonically determined exhumation rate in the Gangdese Mountains. Our data and analysis estimate total Neogene crustal shortening of ∼417–522 km across Himalaya, consistent with previous structural studies. Crustal thickening predicted by this shortening supports the interpretation that the modern crustal thickness and paleoelevation of the Himalaya were largely attained by the late Miocene.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19928,"journal":{"name":"Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology","volume":"684 ","pages":"Article 113514"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145799341","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Component-specific carbon and oxygen isotope variability in marine limestones of the Mid-Ludfordian (late Silurian) carbon isotope excursion of the Baltic Basin","authors":"Imre Andreas Martin ,&nbsp;Leho Ainsaar ,&nbsp;Aivo Lepland ,&nbsp;Alicja Wudarska ,&nbsp;Maria Rosa Scicchitano ,&nbsp;Tony Prave","doi":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113504","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113504","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Vidukle-61 core, located in the Baltic Basin of central Lithuania, contains an excellent record of the Mid-Ludfordian Carbon Isotope Excursion (MLCIE; c. 1 Myr duration) identified by carbonate δ¹³C values rising steadily from c. 0 ‰ to 8 ‰, followed by a return to c. 0 ‰ through a 40-m thick interval of marine limestone. Here, we report carbon and oxygen (C<img>O) isotope data obtained by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) on two samples (VID-1 and VID-3) of bioclastic packstone from the zenith of the MLCIE. As reported in a previous study, the two samples have bulk-rock values of 7.37 ‰ and 8.17 ‰ for δ¹³C and − 5.27 ‰ and − 4.68 ‰ for δ¹⁸O (values relative to VPDB and repeatability ±0.1 ‰). In contrast, high-spatial-resolution SIMS analyses of the same samples show δ¹³C values for the calcitic matrix and spar cement ranging between c. 5 ‰ and 11 ‰, and for fossil fragments between c. 6 ‰ and 13 ‰. δ¹⁸O SIMS values of individual components vary by up to ±2 ‰ relative to the bulk-rock baseline values. Based on SIMS results and observed isotopic variations between individual components, we attribute the bulk-rock values as an admixture of original seawater C<img>O isotope compositions that are best preserved in the bioclasts and the isotopic compositions of later-stage fluids from which spar and matrix-bound microspar precipitated. Our findings emphasize the significant differences between component-specific and bulk-rock C<img>O isotope values. While δ¹³C_bulk curves may capture broad temporal trends in the carbon cycle, high-spatial-resolution and component-specific data reveal microscale isotopic heterogeneity, which can deviate considerably from bulk-rock values. Differentiating and identifying the values that best record original carbonate C<img>O isotopic compositions, even in well-preserved carbonate rocks, requires micro-scale studies to resolve C-isotope heterogeneity in carbonate rocks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19928,"journal":{"name":"Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology","volume":"684 ","pages":"Article 113504"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145799343","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Astronomical calibration of the Hirnantian Isotopic Carbon Excursion","authors":"Jiawen Ouyang ,&nbsp;Qiang Fang ,&nbsp;Huaichun Wu ,&nbsp;Runjian Chu ,&nbsp;Meinan Shi ,&nbsp;Congcong Gai ,&nbsp;Yangyang Zhong ,&nbsp;Tianshui Yang ,&nbsp;Haiyan Li","doi":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113498","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113498","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Hirnantian Isotopic Carbon Excursion (HICE) represents one of the largest-magnitude positive carbon isotope excursions in the Phanerozoic Eon. However, uncertainties regarding the timing and duration of the HICE hinders the understanding of the interaction between carbon cycle and paleoclimatic change as well as its impact on the concurrent Late Ordovician Mass Extinction (LOME). The thickness of Hirnantian Stage at the Hanggai section of the South China block is ∼352.7 m, significantly greater than the &lt;1-m thickness observed at Wangjiawan section (Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point, GSSP). Here, we present an astrochronologically calibrated organic carbon isotopic (δ¹³C_org) data series constructed through cyclostratigraphic and chemostratigraphic analyses of the Hanggai section. Our findings reveal that the HICE encompasses two pulses of positive δ¹³C_org excursions, with a cumulative duration of ∼362–461 kyr. This result is further corroborated by an analogous analysis performed on a contemporaneously deposited shallow-marine succession at the Wanhe section of South China block. Our results suggest that the HICE was synchronous with the LOME, causing the extinction of ∼52 % of marine species at an exceptionally high rate of ∼12 %/100 kyr. The sedimentary noise modeling analysis supports positive δ¹³C excursions parallel to glacio-eustatic sea-level regression, indicating a potential cause-and-effect relationship. Our study elucidates a detailed process of the coupling among the glaciation dynamics, climate change and carbon cycle perturbation, as well as their possible linkage to the mass extinction during the Hirnantian.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19928,"journal":{"name":"Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology","volume":"684 ","pages":"Article 113498"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145842167","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vegetation responses to the mid-Holocene abrupt climate events in the Forest-Steppe Ecotone in northern China","authors":"Yao Zhang ,&nbsp;Lili Niu ,&nbsp;Qiaoyu Cui ,&nbsp;Yi Lin ,&nbsp;Zhiping Zhang ,&nbsp;Jiaju Zhao ,&nbsp;Xinwei Yan ,&nbsp;Aifeng Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113506","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113506","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Vegetation ecosystems in the East Asian monsoon margin in northern China are highly sensitive and ecologically vulnerable. Understanding long-term vegetation dynamics and their responses to abrupt climate events is critical for guiding ecological conservation and sustainable land-use planning. In this study, we reconstructed vegetation dynamics using a high-resolution pollen record from the Qixing peatland in the Saihanba region. Results indicated that climate was the primary driver of vegetation changes, while temperature and precipitation variations were asynchronous. The mid-Holocene was characterized by maximum precipitation; however, an abrupt cooling event between 7000 and 5500 cal yr BP triggered a rapid decline in deciduous broadleaf trees alongside a concurrent expansion of herbaceous vegetation, ultimately leading to steppe-dominated ecosystems. This transition was accompanied by reduced vegetation diversity and increased spatial heterogeneity. Subsequently, coniferous forests dominated by <em>Pinus</em>, as a major component of the secondary vegetation, became prevalent. However, a sudden shift to aridity around 5000 cal yr BP associated with the weakening of the East Asian summer monsoon prompted a rapid spread of herbs, along with a recovery in diversity and evenness. This study demonstrates that abrupt climate shifts caused forest retreat and grassland expansion once critical climatic thresholds were exceeded across the monsoon marginal zone. Given the current context of accelerated climate warming and increasingly frequent extreme climatic events, urgent protective measures are essential for these highly vulnerable ecosystems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19928,"journal":{"name":"Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology","volume":"684 ","pages":"Article 113506"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145799344","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dinoflagellate cyst and vegetational dynamics during the Early Jurassic (late Pliensbachian–early Toarcian) in Tibet","authors":"Changjun Ji ,&nbsp;Ahmed Mansour ,&nbsp;Zhenhan Wu ,&nbsp;James B. Riding ,&nbsp;Yun Chen ,&nbsp;Qian Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113500","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113500","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The late Pliensbachian–early Toarcian (Early Jurassic) marks a critical interval in Earth history, characterised by major palaeoclimatic, palaeoenvironmental, and palaeoceanographical perturbations. This study examines the Pliensbachian–Toarcian Quse Formation at the Qixiangcuo section in the Southern Qiangtang Basin (Tibet), using palynological analysis to investigate dinoflagellate cyst evolutionary patterns and vegetation dynamics prior to and during the Jenkyns Event. Palynological data showed a clear record of late Pliensbachian dinoflagellate cyst radiation, likely owing to cooler climatic and enhanced water mass circulation between the Arctic-Boreal and Tethyan realms. Prior to the Jenkyns Event, a dinoflagellate cyst acme is observed, possibly controlled by sea-level rise, increased seawater salinity, and well-ventilated conditions. During the Jenkyns Event, a blackout event of dinoflagellate cysts occurred in the Southern Qiangtang Basin, consistent with records from the central Tethys and Boreal regions, likely triggered by global warming and rising seawater temperatures. Pollen assemblages across the Pliensbachian-Toarcian transition are dominated by Cheirolepidiaceae conifers (<em>Classopollis</em>), compared to reduced cycadophytes, bennettites, and ginkgophytes, and sparse fern spores. This reflects a vegetation turnover towards xerophytic, drought-tolerant vegetation in arid lowland environments, likely linked to the initial phase of Karoo-Ferrar volcanism. During the Jenkyns Event, Cheirolepid coniferous pollen remained dominant before temporarily disappearing, indicating a demise of mixed wet mire-conifer communities and a shift towards drought-adapted flora. Similar patterns of deforestation and vegetation crisis are observed across the Tethys and Boreal realms, contemporaneous with the main phase of the Karoo-Ferrar volcanism and rising atmospheric CO₂. Regional comparisons of vegetation response across the Jenkyns Event reflect different magnitudes of predominance and recovery patterns in Cheirolepid conifers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19928,"journal":{"name":"Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology","volume":"684 ","pages":"Article 113500"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145799354","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New insights into the Neogene sedimentary Formations of south-western India: Implications for provenance, palaeovegetation and depositional environment","authors":"K.V. Sarath ,&nbsp;K. Sandeep ,&nbsp;Alka Absur ,&nbsp;Namitha Ajay ,&nbsp;Poonam Verma ,&nbsp;Yogesh P. Singh ,&nbsp;A.K. Rafaz ,&nbsp;V. Nandakumar ,&nbsp;G. Indu ,&nbsp;E. Shaji","doi":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113499","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113499","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Warkalli Formation represents a key Neogene sedimentary archive along the south-western coast of India. This study examines the northern extension of the Formation exposed around Cheruvathur village, Kerala, integrating sedimentological, geochemical, and palynological data to reconstruct provenance, weathering conditions, palaeovegetation, and depositional environment. The succession is composed of arenaceous–argillaceous sediments capped by laterite and is classified into four facies associations: floodplain, active channel, lagoonal/lacustrine, and dune–beach transition facies, indicating major shifts in fluvial dynamics and changes in the coastline. Extremely high values of Chemical Index of Alteration and Fe-Al enrichment suggest intense tropical chemical weathering and derivation from nearby felsic to intermediate basement rocks, with minor mafic contributions. Pollen spectra dominated by pteridophyte spores and angiosperm pollen, along with fungal remains, indicate warm and humid climatic conditions with freshwater to coastal vegetation and episodic tidal influence. These observations collectively imply strong monsoonal forcing, short sediment transport, and fluctuating sea levels during the Mio-Pliocene. The study provides new insights into Neogene palaeoenvironmental evolution along the passive western margin of India and highlights the climatic sensitivity of tropical coastal depositional systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19928,"journal":{"name":"Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology","volume":"684 ","pages":"Article 113499"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145842085","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"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 paleolandscape of Melka Kunture (Ethiopia) at the time of the earliest human peopling","authors":"Rita T. Melis ,&nbsp;Margherita Mussi","doi":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113520","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.palaeo.2025.113520","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The archeological site-complex of Melka Kunture, at 2000 m asl on the west side of the Main Ethiopian Rift, lies in a half-graben crossed by the upper Awash River. Sedimentation processes led to the building up of stratigraphic sequences consisting of primary volcaniclastic deposits interbedded with reworked volcaniclastics emplaced in a floodplain environment. We describe here the changing paleolandscape and the implications on hominin peopling from 2,000,000 to 600,000 years ago, using the sequence of the thoroughly investigated Gombore gully with added information from other sites of Melka Kunture. Together with archaeology and paleontology, detailed information is provided by stratigraphic sections, pollen and stable isotope analysis and by the ichnological record.</div><div>The available data show a fluvial dynamic landscape characterized by a floodplain with a meandering river, gravel lag deposits and fine-grained overbank deposits. The vegetation was of Afromontane type. A major volcano-tectonic event at 1.2 Ma blanketed the area with products which clogged the valley before the river was eventually able to resume its course. The abundant artefacts and faunal remains in the gravel deposits suggest that during the Early Pleistocene and the early Middle Pleistocene, before and after the 1.2 Ma event both <em>Homo erectus</em> with Oldowan and then Acheulean lithic productions, and later on <em>H. heidelbergensis</em> with middle Acheulean ones, repeatedly came to those well-drained spots. Single-purpose sites also exist in different environments and other ones provide evidence of hominins roaming through the plain.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19928,"journal":{"name":"Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology","volume":"684 ","pages":"Article 113520"},"PeriodicalIF":2.7,"publicationDate":"2026-02-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145885193","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}