Quaternary Science Reviews最新文献

{"title":"Masters on the matters of ecology: Novelties in the early Neanderthal ungulate procurement and palaeoecology from MIS8/7 record of the Velika Balanica cave (Serbia)","authors":"Stefan Milošević ,&nbsp;Vesna Dimitrijević ,&nbsp;Ana Belen Marín-Arroyo ,&nbsp;Senka Plavšić-Gogić ,&nbsp;Dušan Mihailović","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109554","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109554","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recent new insights have revealed complex shifts in socioeconomic aspects during the Lower to Middle Palaeolithic transition (MIS 9-7), which is important to understand how the Neanderthals established themselves in Eurasia. These include novelties in lithic industry devised for different economic tasks, spread use of fire, and first appearance of primarily human accumulated herbivore remains with little or no interference of other carnivores. As the early sites with Quina assemblages were discovered in the Near East, and in the Central Balkans at Velika Balanica cave, it is argued that this technology originated among eastern hominins, and was first introduced to the northern Mediterranean arch and its hinterlands much earlier, around the time of MIS 9/8. Unlike the classic and much later Quina Mousterian in Western Europe, which is associated with a cold climate (MIS 4), the Quina behavior in Balanica occurs in moderate climatic and ecological conditions. Here in the Central Balkans the Quina is used on a novel prey – the ibex. At Velika Balanica, in the Layer 3 presented here and dated to MIS 8/7, beside red deer, considerable part of fauna is comprised of ibex, which is the one of earliest evidence about the Neanderthal technology adapted for this prey and in different ecological settings such as rugged mountainous terrain. This is an important point in human subsistence behavior because ibex exploitation by classic Neanderthals in the southern European peninsulas has a long tradition, and it is a subsistence adaptation originally devised by the Neanderthals. Red deer and ibex were acquired and processed in different manners, but interestingly with the same toolkit. Spatial organization in Velika Balanica is also identified, with an activity and a refusal zone, further attesting to organization of the living space that arose around the fireplace.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"368 ","pages":"Article 109554"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144827589","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 Holocene history of Arsine Glacier (Western European Alps): a detailed 10Be record of oscillations driven by climate and modulated by rock avalanches","authors":"Melaine Le Roy ,&nbsp;Irene Schimmelpfennig ,&nbsp;Philip Deline ,&nbsp;Julien Carcaillet ,&nbsp;Tancrède P.M. Leger ,&nbsp;Pierre Jégot ,&nbsp;Philippe Schoeneich ,&nbsp;Diego Cusicanqui ,&nbsp;Felix Martin Hofmann ,&nbsp;Xavier Bodin","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109455","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109455","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Lateglacial to Early Holocene (EH) glacier variations in the Alps have recently been thoroughly refined using ¹⁰Be terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) exposure dating of moraines. In contrast, knowledge of the spatial extent reached by glaciers during the Neoglacial period (∼4.2–0.14 ka) is still fragmentary because of the scarcity of preserved moraines predating the Little Ice Age (LIA). In addition, although the climatic meaning of the geomorphological imprints left by debris-covered glaciers or rock glaciers is increasingly investigated, direct comparison with those of debris-free glaciers is often not possible. Here, we provide an unprecedentedly large TCN dataset for the region (n = 53) constraining the behaviour of Arsine Glacier, French Alps, from the end of the Lateglacial to the end of the LIA. Stadial moraines are present in both the western and eastern valleys formerly occupied by two separate branches of the ice body, up to c. 3 km from the extant glacier front. Further upslope, the forefield of Arsine Glacier is characterized by two prominent geomorphic complexes. The first is a peculiar landform with concentric ridges, previously interpreted as a moraine-derived rock glacier. It is framed by an extensive and chaotic boulder field and is overtopped – in the most glacier-proximal part – by the second outstanding feature, a large complex of unvegetated lateral and frontal composite moraines. The chronological results indicate that the most distal moraine sets testify to five oscillations of the western glacier branch between <strong>11.88 ± 0.43 ka</strong> and <strong>11.10 ± 0.37 ka</strong>. Robust constraints on the spatial extent of these positions show depression of the glacier equilibrium line altitude ranging from 224 m to 169 m relative to the LIA. The innermost EH complex dated here is interpreted as being related to the regional expression of the Preboreal Oscillation (PBO). The previously interpreted moraine-derived rock glacier was found to rather represent a moraine complex deposited following a rock avalanche covering the eastern branch of the ice body and the surrounding floor. This catastrophic event occurred at <strong>10.71 ± 0.42 ka</strong>, during the first significant warming of the Preboreal period, as shown by dating of the framing boulder field deposit. Dating of the ridges of the resulting moraine complex shows a subsequent advance of c. 1250 m peaking at <strong>10.25 ± 0.42 ka</strong>, followed by persistence of the debris-covered eastern tongue outboard the LIA extent until <strong>9.52 ± 0.43 ka</strong>. By contrast, during this interval no prominent moraine was deposited by the western glacier branch, not affected by the rock avalanche. Like elsewhere in the Alps, no ¹⁰Be boulder ages corresponding to the Mid-Holocene (8.2–4.2 ka) were found. Dating of the glacier-proximal moraine complex allows assigning its deposition to the Neoglacial period. The emplacement of this ","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"368 ","pages":"Article 109455"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144779764","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":"A Glycymeris-rich unit as evidence of a late Pleistocene tsunami event from NW Algeria: A biostratigraphic, taphonomic, and sedimentological approach","authors":"Mohamed Amine Doukani ,&nbsp;Linda Satour ,&nbsp;Caner Kaya Ozer ,&nbsp;Lahcene Belkebir ,&nbsp;Antje H.L. Voelker ,&nbsp;Hassane Tedjeddine ,&nbsp;Bernard Landau ,&nbsp;Alfred Uchman ,&nbsp;Mostefa Bessedik ,&nbsp;Markes E. Johnson ,&nbsp;Ana Hipólito ,&nbsp;José Madeira ,&nbsp;Sérgio P. Ávila","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109552","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109552","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Compared to the extensive research carried out on the Neogene deposits of the Lower Chelif Basin, the Pleistocene series is still poorly studied, with no detailed lithological succession published to date. This study focuses on the <em>Glycymeris</em>-rich Unit (GRU) along the coastal area of the Hachacha Plateau in Northwestern Algeria. This unit unconformably overlies Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene basements. The latter was identified for the first time in this work using a biostratigraphic approach based on calcareous nannofossils and planktonic foraminifera. The GRU is interpreted as a tsunami-related deposit, formed in a coastal environment (foreshore/backshore) during the upper Pleistocene, corresponding to the Last Interglacial period, i.e., Marine Isotopic Substage 5e (MIS 5e). This interpretation provides a first multidisciplinary description of a tsunami deposit in Algeria that is supported by distinctive biotic, taphonomic, and sedimentological features. The deposits contain a mixture of marine organisms from different ecological zones (supralittoral to shallow circalittoral biocenoses), including molluscan assemblages such as the so-called Senegalese fauna (bivalves and gastropods), sponges, serpulids, coralline algae and corals. Occasionally, rare terrestrial snails are also found mixed with the marine fauna. Taphonomic analysis reveals low percentages of boring, absence of encrustation, and excellent shell preservation, suggesting that powerful waves eroded sediment masses and transported them inland from deeper areas beneath the taphonomic active zone. The predominance of sharp-edged fragmented shells, chaotic arrangements with oblique to vertical shell orientations and the good shell sorting, indicates transport by mass flows and rapid deposition during an extreme event – a tsunami –, distinguishing these deposits from those associated with gradual and oscillatory flows, such as storm events. Sedimentological characteristics, including irregular erosive base, lateral facies variations, wide grain size ranges (clay to boulders), normal and inverse grading, and diagnostic structures (both fragile and hard-rock rip-up clasts, high-energy flow features such as horizontal and oblique laminations, and hummocky cross-stratification, injection of sediment into the substrate, imbrication of large angular boulders and soft sediment deformation structures), combined with the active tectonic context of Northwestern Algeria support the interpretation as a seismically triggered tsunami and enhances the understanding of this type of deposits in similar coastal settings.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"368 ","pages":"Article 109552"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144779765","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":"A multi-proxy paleotempestological reconstruction from Cabo Rojo, southwestern Puerto Rico","authors":"Nicholas Culligan ,&nbsp;Kam-biu Liu ,&nbsp;Thomas A. Bianchette ,&nbsp;Ethan J. Tiong ,&nbsp;Michael Martínez-Colón ,&nbsp;Tristan Lam","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109545","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109545","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Puerto Rico is frequently struck by hurricanes, often when they are near peak intensity. Despite this, the long-term hurricane history of mainland Puerto Rico is understudied. Long-term trends (∼1300 years) of hurricane strikes in Cabo Rojo, southwestern Puerto Rico, were determined in this study using multi-proxy techniques including X-ray fluorescence, loss-on-ignition, grain size, and benthic foraminifera identification on sediment cores from a coastal lagoon. Six hurricane events were identified, characterized by the presence of allochthonous foraminifera, elevated carbonate content, high ratios of Cl/Br, K/Ti, and Ca/Ti, and high concentrations of the marine indicator elements Cl and Ca. The bottom 20–30 cm of each core was comprised of mangrove peat, with a sharp upper boundary leading into multiple fining upwards layers of sand, indicating major disturbances and an ecological shift of the site from mangrove forest to an open lagoon system. The chronology of hurricane strikes could be divided into two periods: a quiescent period from 700 CE to the mid-17th century during which only two hurricane strikes were recorded, and an active period from the mid-17th century to present during which four hurricane strikes were identified, a pattern which is consistent with other circum-Caribbean studies. This study represents the first paleotempestological reconstruction of hurricane activity in southwest Puerto Rico, and the ecological, sedimentological, and geochemical data presented within can be used by policy makers and other stakeholders to better understand past and current trends of hurricane events in the region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"368 ","pages":"Article 109545"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144779766","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":"Climate warming and the persistence of buried ice in the Pyrenees: Multi-Proxy evidence from Clots de la Menera cirque (Andorra)","authors":"Marc Oliva ,&nbsp;Josep Ventura ,&nbsp;Valentí Turu ,&nbsp;Xavier Ros ,&nbsp;Anna Echeverria ,&nbsp;Attila Çiner ,&nbsp;M. Akif Sarıkaya ,&nbsp;Claudia Pérez-Ramos ,&nbsp;Julia García-Oteyza ,&nbsp;Josep Maria Bonsoms ,&nbsp;Oriol Monserrat ,&nbsp;Pedro Espín-López ,&nbsp;David Palacios ,&nbsp;José M. Fernández-Fernández ,&nbsp;Enrique Serrano ,&nbsp;Juan Ignacio López-Moreno ,&nbsp;Marcelo Fernandes ,&nbsp;Pere Esteban ,&nbsp;Bodo Bookhagen ,&nbsp;Stella Winkler ,&nbsp;Steven A. Binnie","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109564","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109564","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Central-Eastern Pyrenees experienced extensive glaciation during the Late Pleistocene's cold phases, with the final deglaciation occurring during Termination-1 (∼19-11 ka). This period saw multiple glacial advances and retreats, leaving abundant geomorphic evidence in valleys and cirques. This is the case of the Clots de la Menera (CM) Cirque, located in Andorra, a cirque formed below relatively low peaks (<em>ca.</em> 2600–2800 m a.s.l.) in the transition zone between the Central and Eastern Pyrenees, which contains a wide variety of glacial and periglacial landforms. This study aims to refine our understanding of the timing and processes that shape the present-day mountain landscape at the cirque level by presenting a multi-approach study of the environmental evolution from the last glaciation to the present conditions in the CM Cirque. Cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) dating of a moraine and a polished surface reveals the final deglaciation of the cirque at 14.9 ± 0.1 ka and 12.8 ± 1.3 ka, respectively. As the glaciers disappeared, two rock glaciers (RG1 and RG2) formed shortly thereafter at 9.7 ± 0.5 ka and 11.1 ± 0.6 ka, respectively. Differential synthetic interferometric aperture radar (InSAR) data suggest that these rock glaciers remain active, moving at 1.1–4.1 cm yr⁻¹. Geophysical surveys, including Vertical Electrical Sounding and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, suggest the presence of frozen masses within the core of the rock glacier, which likely corresponds to permafrost conditions and buried ice. Thermal measurements further support the probable occurrence of frozen bodies within these rock glaciers, recording winter temperatures of −4 °C at the snow/ground interface. Therefore, CRE ages suggest that the still-moving rock glaciers in the CM Cirque formed during the Early Holocene and continued to move due to the preservation of frozen masses within these features at elevations of about 2400–2500 m, well below the regional 0 °C annual isotherm. The results confirm the formation of rock glaciers during deglaciation and demonstrate the persistence of frozen masses in a permafrost environment that no longer receives contributions of ice or debris; with minimal displacement, this landform maintains the stability of the boulders. Integrating these findings enhances our understanding of permafrost distribution in the Pyrenees, its relationship with past environmental change, and the significance of CRE dating in unveiling past rock-glacier dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"368 ","pages":"Article 109564"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144763993","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":"Paleoclimatic evolution since the Late Pleistocene in western Central Asia and its response to mid-latitude westerlies and low-latitude high pressure: insights from aeolian loess-paleosol sections in the Surkhandarya River Basin","authors":"Yuzhu Zhang ,&nbsp;Jinpeng Zhou ,&nbsp;Jian Ma ,&nbsp;Shuheng Li ,&nbsp;Ninglian Wang ,&nbsp;Ulugbek Kholtojiyevich Shapulatov ,&nbsp;Yan Zhu ,&nbsp;Xinwen Xu ,&nbsp;Abdusamad Meligalievich Kurbonov ,&nbsp;Qi Liu ,&nbsp;Yao Jin ,&nbsp;Shukhratjon Boboismoilovich Abdulloev ,&nbsp;Pengpeng Cao ,&nbsp;Mengting Li ,&nbsp;Alisher Shapulatovich Shaidullaev ,&nbsp;Mansurbek Bakhtiyor ugli Normuminov ,&nbsp;Zikun Li ,&nbsp;Shopo'lat Shaydullayev ,&nbsp;Ziang Wang ,&nbsp;Jiahui Wang ,&nbsp;Anvar Akramovich Shodmonov","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109553","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109553","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The aeolian loess-paleosol sections in Central Asia (CA) are a valuable archive of paleoclimatic information due to their geographic location. Based on detailed field investigations in the Surkhandarya River Basin of southern Uzbekistan, western CA, two Late Pleistocene-Holocene aeolian loess-paleosol sections were identified. A multi-proxy approach was applied, incorporating magnetic susceptibility (MS), grain size, colorimetry, total organic carbon (TOC), and geochemical elements to reconstruct wind strength and humidity variations since the Late Pleistocene. The results indicate that: (i) humidity variations can be inferred from proxy indicators, including colorimetric indices, TOC content, clay fraction, Na/K, and Rb/Sr value. Given the weak pedogenesis in this region, MS is primarily governed by wind strength rather than pedogenesis and can thus serve as an indicator of wind activity. The strong correlation between MS variations and Zr/Rb value further supports this interpretation; (ii) prior to ca. 14 ka, the region experienced arid conditions with strong wind activity and weak pedogenesis, likely dominated by cold-dry air masses from Siberia; (iii) during ca. 14–5 ka, the combined influence of the negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation and El Niño events likely enhanced moisture transport by modulating westerly circulation and low-latitude high pressure anomalies, intensifying pedogenesis and paleosol development, which provided favorable conditions for oasis formation and human settlement. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of paleoclimate evolution and its driving mechanisms in western CA while also providing a climatic context for investigating human-environment interactions in the Surkhandarya River Basin.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"368 ","pages":"Article 109553"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144757649","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":"Paleolithic hominin occupations and Quaternary geomorphological evolution in the NE Ararat Depression (Armenia)","authors":"T. Karampaglidis ,&nbsp;K. Fenn ,&nbsp;B. Gasparyan ,&nbsp;R. Braucher ,&nbsp;T. Lauer ,&nbsp;S. Vainer ,&nbsp;H. Gevorgyan ,&nbsp;D. Arakelyan ,&nbsp;I. Oikonomou ,&nbsp;H. Haydosyan ,&nbsp;D. Rogall ,&nbsp;R.M. Carrasco ,&nbsp;J. Pedraza ,&nbsp;A. Petrosyan ,&nbsp;A. Malinsky-Buller","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109532","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109532","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Ararat Depression, at the crossroads of Africa and Eurasia, spans Armenia, Turkey and Iran, providing a unique natural laboratory for studying landscape evolution, hominin lifeways and migration. This research integrates geomorphological mapping and sedimentary analysis with dating techniques such as Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclides (¹⁰Be–²⁶Al) and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) to reconstruct environmental history over the past 900,000 years. It investigates the formation and preservation of alluvial landforms in response to climatic fluctuations, Quaternary volcanism and tectonic activity, revealing discontinuities in the archaeological record. Late Pleistocene and Holocene alluvial deposits further illustrate the complex interplay between geomorphic processes and human settlement patterns. Findings indicate that the Middle and Upper Paleolithic occupations were shaped by shifting environmental conditions, with hominin presence fluctuating in response to glacial and interglacial cycles. This study enhances our understanding of how landscape evolution influenced hominin dispersal and adaptation in the Southern Caucasus.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"368 ","pages":"Article 109532"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144748622","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":"Close to sunlight or deep underground? New data to reconstruct site formation processes at the Middle Paleolithic Escoural cave (southern Portugal)","authors":"Guillermo Alzate-Casallas ,&nbsp;Ana I. Gomes ,&nbsp;Nolan Ferar ,&nbsp;Sahra Talamo ,&nbsp;Laura Tassoni ,&nbsp;João Cascalheira ,&nbsp;Alvise Barbieri","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109550","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109550","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The ability to exploit the deeper levels of cave systems is regarded as complex human behavior. Evidence that Neanderthals possessed this skill remains limited. The site of Escoural, in southern Portugal, is worldwide renowned for the Upper Paleolithic rock art that was performed in the lowermost level of the cave. The site also preserved Middle Paleolithic sequences in a deep chamber (P1) as well as in an area that today lies outside of the cave (P2). Due to the lack of geoarchaeological analyses, it is currently impossible to clarify whether these materials reflect systematic Neanderthal visits to these site areas. In this study we integrated geoarchaeological data and radiocarbon dating to (i) reconstruct site formation processes, and (ii) explore the interaction between Neanderthals and carnivores at Escoural.</div><div>Micromorphological, stratigraphic, and geochronological results demonstrate that colluviation moved sediments and archaeological finds from upper cave chambers into P1. This process likely mixed separate and distinct assemblages, possibly leading to co-occurring high concentrations of carnivore coprolites and lithic artifacts. In contrast, P2 preserves in situ Neanderthal occupations alternating with carnivore visits. Neanderthal foragers used this area when it was a large chamber located close to the original cave entrance, which was subsequently lost due to roof collapses and likely impacted by modern quarrying activities.</div><div>These findings align with broader Eurasian patterns indicating that Neanderthals primarily used well-lit karstic cavities rather than deep, enclosed spaces. Moreover, this study underscores that post-depositional processes may have profound impacts on our interpretation of Neanderthal and carnivore cave use.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"368 ","pages":"Article 109550"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144757648","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 interpretation of the Rb/Sr ratio of the Ili loess, northeastern Central Asia","authors":"Yanping Wang ,&nbsp;Yougui Song ,&nbsp;Yue Li ,&nbsp;Hamid Gholami ,&nbsp;Haoru Wei ,&nbsp;Mengxiu Zeng ,&nbsp;Xiuling Chen ,&nbsp;Li Han","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109549","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109549","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rubidium/strontium (Rb/Sr) ratio in loess deposits is a widely recognized indicator of pedogenesis and East Asian Summer Monsoon intensity on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). However, its significance in Central Asian loess remains underexplored. This study utilizes machine learning techniques, including Random Forest and Partial Least Squares Regression to investigate the factors influencing the Rb/Sr ratio in the Ili Basin, northeastern Central Asia (NCA). The results reveal a strong correlation between the Rb/Sr ratio and spring to early summer temperature, particularly in March, May, and June. Unlike in the CLP, where leaching primarily drives Rb/Sr variations, vegetation dynamics, which are influenced by temperatures from March to June, are the dominant influence in the Ili Basin. Based on these findings, a stacked Rb/Sr record was reconstructed, spanning the Last Glacial Period to the mid-Holocene. This record is closely similar to NCA temperature variations and related to glacial dynamics on orbital and millennial scales. The stacked Rb/Sr sequence indicates that spring to early summer temperatures in NCA were lowest during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 4 and MIS 3b, then increased to peak around 12.5 ka, and declined from the early to mid-Holocene. Furthermore, a significant warming trend from MIS 3a to MIS 2 is linked to changes in sea surface temperature in the northern tropical Indian Ocean, which influenced the Hadley cell. These findings position the Rb/Sr ratio as a novel paleotemperature proxy for loess in NCA, offering new insights into regional paleoenvironmental dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"368 ","pages":"Article 109549"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144748623","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 quaternary environmental change in eastern Beringia","authors":"Alistair J. Monteath ,&nbsp;Mary E. Edwards ,&nbsp;Duane Froese ,&nbsp;Lesleigh Anderson ,&nbsp;Benjamin V. Gaglioti ,&nbsp;Scott L. Cocker ,&nbsp;Julie Brigham-Grette ,&nbsp;Matthew J. Wooller ,&nbsp;Bruce Finney ,&nbsp;Mark B. Abbott","doi":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109527","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109527","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;div&gt;&lt;div&gt;Eastern Beringia (Alaska and western Yukon) is an extensive, high-latitude region of North America that remained largely unglaciated throughout the Quaternary. Consequently, its sedimentary deposits preserve long-term environmental records that have intrigued scientists for nearly a century. Recent advances in palaeoecological proxies and dating methods have proved critical in addressing long-standing questions about regional late Quaternary environmental change. At the same time, they have led to new and sometimes controversial hypotheses. This review covers recent discoveries and unresolved questions focused on the period 57,000–10,000 calendar years before C.E. 1950 (cal yr BP).&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The middle Wisconsin interstadial (57,000–30,000 cal yr BP) was a period of relative warmth in eastern Beringia, compared with the late Wisconsin (30,000–14,000 cal yr BP). Early in the interstadial occasional &lt;em&gt;Picea&lt;/em&gt; woodland was present amongst widespread shrub tundra. Palaeoecological, sedimentary and isotopic data indicate that climate was cooler and drier than the Holocene, with high rates of aeolian activity. Megafauna typically associated with the ‘mammoth steppe’ ecosystem (woolly mammoth [&lt;em&gt;Mammuthus primigenius&lt;/em&gt;], horse [&lt;em&gt;Equus&lt;/em&gt;] and steppe-bison [&lt;em&gt;Bison priscus&lt;/em&gt;]) were present in some abundance.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The transition towards late Wisconsin cold-stage conditions (35,000–30,000 cal yr BP) coincided with the establishment of the Bering Land Bridge and featured expansion of spatially varied, herbaceous vegetation, sometimes associated with deep active layers. Sedimentary DNA (&lt;em&gt;seda&lt;/em&gt;DNA) and macrofossil evidence show vegetation was not a prairie-like grassland, and the term “steppe-tundra” is a better descriptor. Permafrost pore-ice isotopic (δ&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;O) records suggest a step change in one or more climate drivers ca. 30,000 cal yr BP, by which time steppe-tundra was established across eastern Beringia. It remains uncertain whether &lt;em&gt;Picea&lt;/em&gt; survived cold-stage conditions within isolated refugia, or whether it recolonized from south of the Laurentide-Cordilleran ice sheets. Genetic data suggest that &lt;em&gt;Picea&lt;/em&gt; probably survived &lt;em&gt;in situ&lt;/em&gt;; however, there is no definitive fossil evidence to support this.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div&gt;The end-Pleistocene transition from steppe-tundra to shrub tundra began ca. 15,000 cal yr BP and took place within decades at local scales. The expansion of woody taxa coincided with rising sea levels, reduced sea-ice extent and an abrupt shift in atmospheric circulation that enhanced precipitation. During this time, Earth's orbital configuration caused high early-summer temperatures and strong seasonality, creating growing conditions very different from today. The vegetation consisted of &lt;em&gt;Salix&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;Betula&lt;/em&gt; shrub tundra with open areas of herbs and graminoids. During the deglacial warming trend, the Younger Dryas oscillation (12,800–11,700 cal yr BP) was variably","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"368 ","pages":"Article 109527"},"PeriodicalIF":3.3,"publicationDate":"2025-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144738370","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}