Quaternary Science Reviews最新文献

{"title":"Lacustrine shallow biogenic gas production linked to climatically forced increase in organic matter burial following the Mid-Pleistocene Transition","authors":"Mingxuan Zhang ,&nbsp;Detian Yan ,&nbsp;Peter M.J. Douglas ,&nbsp;Wanle Liang ,&nbsp;Jikang Wang ,&nbsp;Dong Ni ,&nbsp;Suhe Yun","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109446","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109446","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The sediments in the Hetao Basin of North China during the Quaternary are dominated by fluvial-lacustrine deposition, with widespread development of biogenic gas. However, the controlling factors of organic matter (OM) accumulation and preservation in biogenic gas source rocks remain unclear, and their potential influence by the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT) requires further investigation. This study analyzed gamma ray (GR), Rubidium strontium ratio (Rb/Sr), mean grain size, total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN) and organic carbon stable isotopes (δ¹³C_org), along with optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and electron spin resonance (ESR) dating, to establish a two million-year astronomical timescale and explore the impact of the MPT on accumulation and preservation of OM. The results indicate that: 1) The MPT at ca. 1.1 to 0.75 Ma is well recorded in the GR, Rb/Sr and mean grain size data of the lake sediments, and is characterized by a shift in the dominant cyclicity from ∼41-kyr obliquity to ∼100-kyr eccentricity cycle; 2) The sedimentary cycles of the Hetao Basin lakes were primarily controlled by astronomical forcing through dynamic feedbacks within the ice sheet–climate system. These cycles represent the indirect climatic effects of orbital variations via their modulation of ice volume and monsoon intensity; 3). After the MPT, increased input of terrestrial organic matter during interglacial periods, favorable depositional environments and the extension of glacial-interglacial cycles created favorable conditions for the accumulation and preservation of organic matter in source rocks, thereby providing the inputs required for biogenic gas formation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"363 ","pages":"Article 109446"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144139745","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 paleoecological insights for the Late Pleistocene Neanderthal mountain occurrence at Buena Pinta Cave (Iberian Central System, Pinilla-del-Valle, Madrid, Spain)","authors":"Hugues-Alexandre Blain ,&nbsp;César Laplana ,&nbsp;Christian Sánchez-Bandera ,&nbsp;Clara Mielgo ,&nbsp;Ángel Blanco-Lapaz ,&nbsp;Rafael Marquina-Blasco ,&nbsp;Ana Fagoaga ,&nbsp;Josep Francesc Bisbal-Chinesta ,&nbsp;David Manuel Martín-Perea ,&nbsp;Christophe Falguères ,&nbsp;Tom Higham ,&nbsp;Maria Blanca Ruiz Zapata ,&nbsp;Maria José Gil García ,&nbsp;Paloma Sevilla ,&nbsp;Rosa Huguet ,&nbsp;Belen Márquez ,&nbsp;Alfredo Pérez-González ,&nbsp;Juan Luis Arsuaga ,&nbsp;Enrique Baquedano","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109355","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109355","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Late Pleistocene sequence from the archaeological site of the Buena Pinta Cave (Pinilla del Valle, Madrid) has furnished the following ectothermic vertebrates: <em>Salmo trutta</em>, <em>Alytes</em> gr. <em>A. obstetricans-almogavarii</em>, <em>Pelobates cultripes</em>, <em>Bufo spinosus</em>, <em>Epidalea calamita</em>, <em>Pelophylax perezi</em>, <em>Rana iberica</em>, Testudines indet., <em>Timon lepidus</em>, Lacertidae indet. (large- and medium-sized), <em>Anguis fragilis</em>, <em>Natrix maura</em>, <em>Coronella</em> cf. <em>C. austriaca</em>, Colubridae/Psammophiidae indet., and <em>Vipera</em> cf. <em>V. latastei</em>. All these taxa are currently present in central Iberian Peninsula, with representation in the Lozoya Valley or its closest surrounding areas. The amphibians and reptiles suggest a quite similar to a much warmer climate (from +1.0 to +3.5 °C) than the present one, with a higher difference about modern values during the coldest month than during the warmest month. Annual rainfall was more abundant (from +9 to +397 mm) than today. Reconstructed landscapes suggest the predominance of humid environments throughout the sequence, primarily composed by open humid habitats (mainly comprised between 35.2 and 45.5 %) and woodland environments including medium scrublands to forest formations (27.3–40.0 %). Aquatic and peri-aquatic areas (9.5–20.5 %), such as rivers or ponds with riverside vegetation are also quite well represented, in accordance with one of the few fossil records of a water frog (<em>P. perezi</em>) in the Pinilla del Valle localities, and the very hypothetical occurrence of a terrapin in the Layer 2. In addition, the presence of brown trout (<em>Salmo trutta</em>) also supports the presence of a mature river characterized by cold/temperate and running waters. All these data suggest that the whole Late Pleistocene sequence of the Buena Pinta Cave may have occurred during a temperate to warm and humid period, more probably during the beginning of the Marine Isotope Stage 3 rather than during the end of the Marine Isotope Stage 4, as formerly suggested.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"362 ","pages":"Article 109355"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144134482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Late middle Pleistocene malacological evidence of loess deposition in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine","authors":"Witold Paweł Alexandrowicz ,&nbsp;Maria Łanczont ,&nbsp;Roman Dmytruk ,&nbsp;Andriy Bogucki ,&nbsp;Andriy Yatsyshyn ,&nbsp;Olena Tomeniuk ,&nbsp;Paulina Laskowska-Piekoszewska","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109406","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109406","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>About a dozen sites from the Late Middle Pleistocene, including loess attributed to MIS 6 (L2 loess) and MIS 8 (L3 loess), have been described in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine. Mollusc shells were found in thirteen profiles (four sites in Poland and nine in Ukraine). The occurrence of 26 taxa and over 22,500 specimens was recognised. The malacological analysis allowed us to distinguish five types of mollusc assemblages with different taxonomic composition and ecological structure, indicating the variability of depositional conditions of the discussed sediments. The defined assemblages were characterised by the occurrence of open-country taxa representing dry (<em>Pupilla loessica</em>, <em>Pupilla muscorum</em> and <em>Vallonia tenuilabris</em>) or humid (<em>Succinella oblonga elongata</em> and <em>Trochulus hispidus</em>) environments. Fauna typical of habitats with high humidity (with <em>Vertigo genesii</em> and <em>Vertigo parcedentata</em>) and aquatic (with <em>Gyraulus laevis</em> and <em>Galba truncatula</em>) occurred much less frequently. The ecological structure and taxonomic composition of the malacofauna occurring in the L2 and L3 loess showed great similarities. This implies similar climatic and environmental conditions on a sub-continental scale (Central Europe at the northeastern foreland of the Carpathians) during the Late Middle Pleistocene. In this context, the main contributors to the diversity of malacocoenoses are: (i) continental/regional factors (physical-geographical, climatic, i.e. succession of climatic phases: colder, warmer, drier and wetter, during glacial periods and related phases of intensified loess deposition interspersed with periods of increased pedogenesis), (ii) orographic/morphological barriers, and (iii) local conditions prevailing in specific geographical regions or even near the particular profiles (relief and microrelief, insolation, water conditions).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"362 ","pages":"Article 109406"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144134484","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Vulnerability of montane forests of Cameroon in the face of climate change: Insight from the last glacial-interglacial transition","authors":"Anne-Marie Lézine ,&nbsp;Gaston Achoundong ,&nbsp;Barthélémy Tchiengué","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109410","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109410","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Aim</h3><div>Afromontane forests of Cameroon are part of the West Africa Biodiversity Hotspot. Often located within or on the fringes of densely populated regions, they are currently highly threatened by the combined effect of climate change and of anthropogenic pressure. In order to provide bases for their conservation and management this article aims at studying the turnover of species and in particular the behavior of <em>Podocarpus milanjianus/latifolius</em> during the last glacial-interglacial transition, a period characterized by dramatic shifts in climatic conditions.</div></div><div><h3>Location</h3><div>Cameroon highlands, Lake Bambili, Lake Mbi, Lake Child and Lake Monoun.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>Pollen analyses.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The expansion of the post-glacial Afromontane forest took place in two main stages, coinciding with periods of increased precipitation. The first phase of development dates back to 14.5 ka. It was interrupted by the dry event of the Younger Dryas (YD) starting at 12.5 ka. The Afromontane forest then resumed its expansion from 11.5 ka, reaching its optimum between 9.8 and 8.5 ka. This was characterized by the massive expansion of <em>Podocarpus</em> in the northern sector of the Cameroon Volcanic Line (CVL) (Bambili, Mbi, Monoun). In the southern sector, closer to the coast, on the other hand, Afromontane forest elements declined in favor of sub-montane elements during the Holocene (Child).</div></div><div><h3>Main conclusions</h3><div>(i) <em>Podocarpus</em> experienced significant changes in abundance/extent within the current Afromontane forest belt during the post-glacial forest transgression. It was a fast colonizer in open and floristically poorly diverse areas where it benefited from the absence of competitors. In contrast, it has been a weak competitor within the Afromontane forest itself compared to more dynamic and fast dispersing tree taxa. (ii) The forest optimum was reached during the early Holocene, after a long period of gradual forest expansion characterized by a high turnover of species; (iii) Migration and stabilization times of the forest environment can be evaluated in centuries, even millennia, that has important implication for forest management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"363 ","pages":"Article 109410"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144125165","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Time-transgressive response of benthic foraminifera to the deglaciation of the Northeast Greenland shelf","authors":"Mads Ramsgaard Stoltenberg ,&nbsp;Tuomas Junna ,&nbsp;Joanna Davies ,&nbsp;Karoline Kristensen ,&nbsp;Katrine Elnegaard Hansen ,&nbsp;Christof Pearce ,&nbsp;Marit-Solveig Seidenkrantz","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109407","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109407","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Proxy-based reconstructions are imperative for understanding long-term ice dynamics, ecological conditions, and oceanographic variability following the deglaciation due to the temporal limitation of instrumental records. This study examines the response of benthic foraminiferal assemblages to the deglaciation of the Northeast Greenland shelf based on three sediment cores from the Belgica Trough (∼77°N), testing to which degree the foraminifera show a consistent response to environmental change. Recent studies from the Belgica Trough reveal that the shelf edge was deglaciated before 16.6 cal ka BP through a stepwise ice retreat, followed by a rapid retreat through the inner shelf, likely before 12.5 cal ka BP. The results of this study reveal the subsequent development of the deglaciated marine environment to exhibit a consistent time-transgressive foraminiferal assemblage succession across the core sites, delineated by three distinct foraminiferal zones. This allows us to further improve previous reconstructions of the deglacial-Holocene paleoenvironmental and paleoceanographic development of the shelf. It also highlights the sensitivity of benthic foraminifera towards the complex interaction between ice dynamics, ecological conditions, and oceanographic variability, proving their reliability and consistency as a proxy. Comparisons with other Arctic deglacial successions suggest the potential for identifying standard assemblages to recognize specific stages in a deglacial succession: Assemblages characterized by the species <em>Stetsonia horvathi</em>, <em>Stainforthia concava,</em> and <em>Glomulina oculus</em> appear as a reliable indicator of sub-ice shelf conditions following deglaciation, while stable higher salinity conditions often found during periods of influx of Atlantic-derived water is characterized by <em>Cassidulina neoteretis</em>, <em>Cassidulina reniforme</em>, and <em>Islandiella norcrossi</em>. High-productivity environments are advantageous for <em>Melonis barleeanus</em>, <em>Stainforthia feylingi</em>, and other eutrophic species, and these species thus make out a reliable standard for recognizing productive paleoenvironments often linked to ice edges or seasonal sea ice. Dissolution of calcareous taxa, and dominance of agglutinated taxa characterize cold, corrosive bottom water conditions and/or periods of brine formation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"362 ","pages":"Article 109407"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144106482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Corrigendum to ‘Ecological environment of early-mid Holocene millet cultivation in northern China: Insights from the Xinglong site’ [Quat. Sci. Rev. 356 (2025) 109295]","authors":"Zhenwei Qiu ,&nbsp;Lina Zhuang ,&nbsp;Huiyun Rao ,&nbsp;Zhihua Yang ,&nbsp;Wenhui Liu ,&nbsp;Guanyu Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109354","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109354","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"362 ","pages":"Article 109354"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144098333","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Past Amazon precipitation under different Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and sea surface temperature scenarios of the last deglaciation","authors":"Júlia Grigolato ,&nbsp;Cristiano M. Chiessi ,&nbsp;Dailson J. Bertassoli Jr. ,&nbsp;Marília C. Campos ,&nbsp;Marília H. Shimizu ,&nbsp;Renê H. Magalhães ,&nbsp;Trevor Nace ,&nbsp;André O. Sawakuchi ,&nbsp;Ingo D. Wahnfried ,&nbsp;Rafael Neri ,&nbsp;Alan C. Cunha ,&nbsp;Cleverson G. Silva ,&nbsp;Paul A. Baker ,&nbsp;Aline Govin ,&nbsp;Matthias Zabel","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109425","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109425","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Changes in the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) have been suggested to affect the mean latitude of the tropical rain-belt and the intensity of the South American Monsoon System. These changes impact Amazonian precipitation patterns, which play a critical role in sustaining the most biodiverse ecosystem on Earth. Consequently, the projected decrease in AMOC strength in response to anthropogenic climate change may constitute a serious risk to the stability of the Amazon rainforest. AMOC strength was significantly reduced during most millennial-scale stadials (e.g., Heinrich Stadials (HS)) of the last glacial and deglacial periods. These stadials offer valuable opportunities to understand the impact that slowdowns of the AMOC, as well as other concurrent changes of large-scale ocean and atmospheric conditions (e.g., sea ice extent, surface winds, ice sheet height and extent, sea level), had on Amazonian precipitation. Here we reconstruct precipitation changes that occurred in the Amazon Basin from 27.4 to 3.6 cal ka BP with a focus on Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1, 18.6–14.6 cal ka BP) and the Younger Dryas (YD, 12.9–11.7 cal ka BP, also known as Heinrich stadial 0). To achieve this, two marine sediment cores collected from the slope of the western equatorial Atlantic were radiocarbon dated and analyzed for major elemental composition. To support the interpretation of our data, we employed (i) a comprehensive evaluation of major elemental composition in suspended sediments from the major rivers of the Amazon Basin, (ii) a regional compilation of tropical South American hydroclimate records, and (iii) outputs from a transient fully-coupled climate model run covering the last 21 ka. Our results reveal different precipitation patterns in the Amazon Basin during HS1 and the YD that were related to heterogenous displacements of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and heterogenous sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the western equatorial Atlantic and the eastern equatorial Pacific. These changes were at least in part associated to different AMOC scenarios. Furthermore, two distinct phases are discernible within HS1 (i.e., HS1a from 18.6 to 16.6 cal ka BP and HS1b from 16.6 to 14.6 cal ka BP), each being characterized by variations in the relative concentrations of Al, K, Ca, Ti, and Fe. We interpret these sediment composition changes to be related to a shift in the main precipitation locus, that moved from the central Andes (HS1a) to southeastern Amazonia (HS1b). During HS1b, the low-pressure region over the eastern equatorial Pacific (due to a stronger positive SST anomaly in the eastern equatorial Pacific relative to the western equatorial Atlantic) produces, together with a shift further south in the ITCZ position, a positive precipitation anomaly over the southern and eastern Amazon Basin. Precipitation anomalies during the YD were apparently less conspicuous, located in the eastern Amazon Basin, but","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"362 ","pages":"Article 109425"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144098332","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impacts of sea level rise and climate change on the sources, preservation and thermal stability of sedimentary organic carbon in the East China Sea inner shelf since the last deglaciation","authors":"Muhammad Faheem Ashfaq ,&nbsp;Bin Zhao ,&nbsp;Lilei Chen ,&nbsp;Yang Ding ,&nbsp;Nan Wang ,&nbsp;Xiwen Ye ,&nbsp;Chao Gao ,&nbsp;Xiaoyong Duan ,&nbsp;Peng Yao","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109416","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109416","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Large river-dominated marginal seas are important hotspots for organic carbon (OC) burial, yet the long-term preservation of OC from diverse sources and with varying reactivities remains poorly understood. Specific surface area (SSA), median grain size (MGS), total OC (TOC) contents and its stable isotopic composition (δ¹³C), lignin phenols, chlorophyll pigments and thermogravimetric properties of sediments from a gravity core collected from the East China Sea (ECS) inner shelf were analyzed. The overarching objective was to evaluate the impacts of sea level rise and climate change on the sources, preservation and thermal stability of SOC in the ECS inner shelf since the last deglaciation. Prior to seawater intrusion (before 13.2 ka BP), bulk parameters such as TOC and MGS varied slightly, with terrestrial OC being the predominant source. With the sea level rise during the Bølling-Allerød (BA), Younger Dryas (YD) and early Holocene periods (13.2–7.5 ka BP), marine OC increased due to enhanced marine primary production. When the modern current system was established (after 7.5 ka BP), the marine OC decreased along with the increase of soil and plant-derived OC, due in part to increased terrestrial inputs from the Changjiang. Notably, the abrupt cold events occurring during the YD and Holocene periods displayed a significantly higher proportion of terrestrial plant-derived OC with low thermal stability and elevated TOC/SSA ratios. In contrast, thermally stable soil-derived OC was effectively preserved during the mid-late Holocene due to the enhanced East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) and reduced precipitation. These findings highlight the significance of sea level rise and climate change, especially extreme climate events in the sequestration of OC in coastal sediments.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"362 ","pages":"Article 109416"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144089747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"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 last interglacial and mid-Holocene sea level variability in the northern Indian Ocean and the influence of hydro-isostasy","authors":"P.N. Ranasinghe ,&nbsp;L.H.M.T.M.B. Ambillapitiya ,&nbsp;Tanghua Li ,&nbsp;Chuan-Chou Shen ,&nbsp;G.K. Ranasinghe ,&nbsp;Sze-Chieh Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109403","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109403","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Microtidal coastline around Sri Lanka, situated at the tectonically stable northern Indian Ocean, provides reliable evidence for sea level studies and to understand the hydro isostatic influence on eustatic changes. As the past sea level data are limited in the northern Indian Ocean region and due to the significant discrepancies among the outcomes of previous work, this study used stable, in situ sea level indicators to study the past sea level changes in the region.</div><div>Emerged and submerged in situ corals from both north (16 samples) and south (14 samples) were used as marine limiting points (MLP) while beach rocks (06 samples) were used as sea level index points (SLIPs) and lagoon sediment (01 samples) was used as terrestrial limiting point (TLP). Their elevations were measured precisely from the modern mean sea level. Age dating was carried out using Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS), gas bench radiocarbon techniques, and the U-Th method.</div><div>Emerged corals at Punkuduthiviu (1.22 m), Iranathivu (0.82 m), and Kachchatheevu (3.55 m), islands located in the Palk Strait, record the evidence for Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e (≊ 128 ka BP relative to 1950 AD) and MIS 5c (≊ 107 ka BP) sea level highstand in the northern Indian Ocean. Corals in northern Islands show that the mid-Holocene highstand (MHH) relative sea level (RSL) was &gt;1.5 m in the north around 6500 cal yrs BP and started decreasing after that. When considering the eroded height and evidence from a wave-cut notch in Kachchatheevu, it can be inferred that the MHH RSL reached about 2 m. In contrast, RSL during MHH in the south reached its maximum (∼1.6 m) about 1000 yrs later (∼5500 cal yrs BP), as evidenced by corals and beach rocks. The post-glacial sea level reached the modern mean tidal level at the southern coast between 6250 and 6500 cal yrs BP and gradually decreased after the MHH. Most MLPs and SLIPs in the south are at lower elevations than in the north. The Holocene sea level variability in the north and south predicted by the ICE-6G_C Glacial Isostatic Adjustment model closely matches field data. The differences in magnitude and timing of MHH between north and south can be explained by contrasting local deflections in continental shelves caused by meltwater loading and transgression velocities, with the broad and gently sloping continental shelf in the north vs. the narrow and steeper shelf in the south.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"362 ","pages":"Article 109403"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144084065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Reconstructing Late Pleistocene relative sea levels on transgressed shelves: an example from central California","authors":"Elisa Medri ,&nbsp;Alexander R. Simms ,&nbsp;Jared Kluesner ,&nbsp;Samuel Y. Johnson ,&nbsp;Stuart P. Nishenko ,&nbsp;H. Gary Greene ,&nbsp;James E. Conrad ,&nbsp;Devin Rand","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109408","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109408","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Although prevalent for the late Holocene, relative sea level (RSL) constraints during and immediately after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) are sparse. This scarcity of data is particularly pronounced along mid-latitude shelves such as central California, which lack post LGM RSL constraints older than 12 ka. In this study we collected 7 sediment cores and high-resolution seismic data from Estero Bay to constrain RSLs across the central California shelf between ∼9 and ∼16 ka. We reconstructed these RSLs using two sea-level indicators found within our sediment cores: the wave ravinement shell hash burial surface (WRSHBS) and the sedimentary contact between offshore mud facies and ripple cross-laminated sands. To determine the indicative meaning of these two sea-level indicators, we examined the relationship between the local wave regime, modern bathymetric profiles, and the depth of preservation of each sea-level indicator. After correcting for tectonic uplift, we estimated sea levels in central California to have been ∼39 ± 7.5 and 49 ± 7.5 m below present sea level between 9 and 12 ka, in agreement with previous RSL reconstructions along this coast. Between 13.8 and 15.9 ka, we estimate sea levels to have reached ∼86 ± 8–99 ± 8 m below present sea level. Our findings offer a Late Pleistocene RSL reconstruction for central California and develop new methodologies for estimating past RSLs on similar mid-latitude shelves.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"361 ","pages":"Article 109408"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144072361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}