Quaternary Science Advances最新文献

{"title":"Holocene vegetation and climatic changes in the coastal tropical rainforests of Nigeria","authors":"E.A. Orijemie ,&nbsp;M.C. França ,&nbsp;M.A. Sowunmi","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100198","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100198","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A Mid-Late Holocene palynological and charcoal record of vegetation and climatic changes in the tropical rainforest of West Africa is presented based on sediment cores from four localities in southwest Nigeria. The localities namely Ahanve, Ogudu, Otolu-Lekki and Ikorigho are situated along gradients in riverine and coastal systems that drain into the Atlantic Ocean. The aim was to reconstruct the vegetation history of the tropical rainforest, infer past climate variabilities and ascertain the presence of humans and their impact on the landscape. The record shows that the Mid Holocene, <em>c</em>.6600-5600 BP, was characterised by predominantly diverse and extensive tropical rain forests that comprised lowland rainforest, mangrove swamp forest and freshwater swamp forest that are consistent with the African Humid Phase (AHP); climatic conditions were warm and wet with high sea levels. In the early stages of the Late Holocene, there is evidence of decline in the tropical rainforests with brief spells of climatic variability signalling the gradual end of the AHP. Subsequently, the pollen record revealed evidence of forest disturbance: specifically the replacement of the mangroves and lowland rainforests by coastal savannas and an <em>Elaeis guineensis</em>-dominated secondary forest, respectively, in Ahanve at cal. 3100 yr BP; and the decline and eventual recovery of the vegetation types in Ogudu after cal. 2760-2730 yr BP. These environmental disturbances are attributed to prolonged period of increased desiccation within a warm climate as well as the differentia in marine and riverine influence of both localities. Further decline in the tropical rainforest after cal. 1240-1200 yr BP were accompanied by substantial increase in oil palm (<em>Elaeis guineensis</em>), the emergence of exotic plants of South American and Asian origin, substantial increases in charcoal particles that were complemented by archaeological data. The pollen and charcoal data have shown that the decline of the tropical rain forests in the area beginning from the late Holocene was initially climate driven while subsequent and recent decline has been exacerbated by anthropogenic factors.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"14 ","pages":"Article 100198"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000364/pdfft?md5=67a2c10104460a58e0f7981cf06ae214&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000364-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141051346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Landslide susceptibility modeling in the Kulfo river catchment, rift valley, Ethiopia: An integrated geospatial and statistical analysis","authors":"Tsedal Mulugeta,&nbsp;Leulalem Shano,&nbsp;Muralitharan Jothimani","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100191","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100191","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Landslides occur when debris, rocks, or soil particles move downward. Examining the susceptibility of landslides is essential for safeguarding human well-being and assessing the consequences of landslides on the natural surroundings and ecosystems. This study utilized the frequency ratio technique to evaluate the probability of landslides happening in the Kulfo River watershed, situated in the Rift Valley area of Ethiopia. In order to ensure a comprehensive analysis, many data sources were employed, including satellite images, geological data, and historical records of landslides. This study developed a systematic approach to assess the probability of landslides by considering ten (10) influential factors: land use/land cover, slope, aspect, elevation, curvature, lithology, proximity to lineament, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The ten influential elements were prioritised based on literature review, expert knowledge, and preliminary study area analysis. The aforementioned causal elements are integrated with a comprehensive landslide inventory map. The sensitivity of the study's area to landslides was mapped using a frequency ratio (FR) model. Subsequently, it was classified as representing various degrees of vulnerability, spanning from extremely minimal to quite significant. The effectiveness of the suggested model was measured by evaluating the accuracy of the generated map of landslide susceptibility by the area under the curve (AUC) technique. Based on the most recent study results, the success rate curve has an area under the curve (AUC) of 79.6%, which indicates a highly satisfactory level of performance. Policymakers may utilize the findings of this study to make educated decisions on how to mitigate the risks of landslides in relation to land use and preparedness for disasters.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"14 ","pages":"Article 100191"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000297/pdfft?md5=0c1d6dece5633f8236e858f56ed06c2e&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000297-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141058399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Tracing the Late Quaternary coastal evolution of Central Kerala, India, around the lost ancient port Muziris using multi-proxy study of the sedimentary archives","authors":"Prasenjit Das ,&nbsp;D. Padmalal ,&nbsp;K.P.N. Kumaran ,&nbsp;Ruta B. Limaye ,&nbsp;S. Vishnu Mohan ,&nbsp;Upasana S. Banerji ,&nbsp;Ravi Bhushan","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100197","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100197","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Central Kerala coast in Southwest India serves as a valuable natural archive for studies of the Late Quaternary coastal evolution, palaeoclimate, and maritime trades. The coast is an archeologically and culturally significant region in South India, located in the mouth of the longest river in Kerala, the Periyar River. The riverbank of the Periyar at its mouth is believed to host the ancient port Muziris, whose remnants are found in the areas around where the Periyar River joins the Arabian Sea. Sea level oscillations and climate variabilities in the past have played a pivotal role in the destruction of the Muziris port. Recent excavations unearthed many artifacts from nearby areas of the river confluence; however, the exact location of the port remains unresolved. The present study is an attempt to trace out the coastal evolutionary processes and palaeoclimatic conditions that prevailed in the area during the Late Quaternary period using three drilled cores retrieved from this stretch of the coastal lands. A multi-proxy approach, combining geochemical, mineralogical, palynological, and geochronological tools was used in the study. The Holocene deposit in the study area is composed mainly of sand and clay-dominant sediments that fall within an age range of 1.1–8.1 cal kyr BP, whereas the underlying sedimentary sequence dates to a maximum of 31.5–37.9 cal kyr BP. The inorganic and organic elemental compositions, together with the textural and palynological attributes, indicate that Holocene sedimentation occurred here under fluctuating environmental conditions with significant changes in climate and sea level positions. The upper part of this section bears the signature of the humid depositional environment that prevailed during the Late Holocene when sand-dominated sediments were deposited and brought in under the influence of longshore drift. The sediments from the lower part of the section carry the signature of the Holocene transgression when deposition took place under submerged conditions with considerable marine influence but receiving significant terrestrial inputs. The study highlights the location of the historically significant lost ancient port of Muziris at Kodungallur near the mouth of the Periyar River. A three-fold evolutionary model proposed for the coastal segment revealed that the location of the Muziris port was part of the Periyar River near Kodungallur, as mentioned by the historians, and the settlement near Pattanam may be considered a satellite township of the ancient Muziris port.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"14 ","pages":"Article 100197"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000352/pdfft?md5=03648b40e222b00ab75090e4039c7524&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000352-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140947851","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Magnetic polarity stratigraphy of quaternary sediments from Ramganga paleolake, NW Himalaya, India and its paleoenvironmental implications","authors":"M. Venkateshwarlu ,&nbsp;A.V. Satyakumar ,&nbsp;N. Ramesh Babu ,&nbsp;Anoop Kumar Singh","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100196","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100196","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Paleomagnetic records from the sediments provide the foundation for studying variations in the geomagnetic field across the geological time sacle. Here, we report a new paleomagnetic data from Quaternary sediments of Ramganga Paleolake, NW Himalaya, India, to provide more insight into the global geomagnetic excursions and paleoenvironmental implications. Paleomagnetic and rock magnetic analyses were performed on a 5 m thick vertical profile of unconsolidated sediments from the Ramganga paleolake (29°46′867″N; 79°14′043″E), located in the Lesser Himalaya at a height of 798 m. One hundred fifty oriented samples from 50 sites (10 cm intervals) were obtained from the vertical section. Extrapolating the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates from literature indicates that the entire section was probably deposited between 38 and 0.8 ka. The rock magnetic data shows that the remanence is carried by a low coercivity mineral and a significant amount of a soft magnetic mineral, most likely magnetite. Virtual Geomagnetic Pole (VGP) latitudes were calculated. Plot of the VGP latitudes against the sample locations from the litho-column allows us for the construction of Magnetic Polarity Stratigraphy (MPS) column. The MPS of the Ramganga paleolake has detected three geomagnetic excursions that are correlated with the global events: the Mono Lake Event (∼28.4-25.8 ka), the Gulf of Mexico Event (∼12.5–17 ka), and the Bagwalipokar Excursion Events (15.5-14.7 ka and 8-2.85 ka) respectively. The lower and middle portion of the paleolake represents the low and high energy depositional environment during the sediment deposition due to wet and arid climatic conditions.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"14 ","pages":"Article 100196"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000340/pdfft?md5=5b7974688072c7140f4106f43dc38495&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000340-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140901804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Simulating taphonomic processes on teeth: The impact of sediment pressure and thermal alteration on dental microwear","authors":"Cristian Micó ,&nbsp;Ruth Blasco ,&nbsp;Florent Rivals","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100195","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100195","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Dietary reconstructions based on dental microwear methodologies may be limited due to the various taphonomic processes that affect the formation of archaeological deposits. These limitations are primarily affected by two issues: 1) taphonomic alterations occurring over dental microwear patterns which mimic dietary signals and can lead to confusion in quantifying these signals, and 2) the exclusion of teeth due to structural damage caused by taphonomic processes, resulting in a reduction of the sample size. Thus, it is necessary to understand how taphonomic processes impact teeth to avoid biases in dietary reconstructions and improve the validity of their interpretations. Under these considerations, we conducted two experiments: one involving the simulation of sediment pressure, and the other focusing on thermal alterations. A hydraulic press and a muffle furnace were used for these purposes. The results of the experiments allowed us to characterise the alterations produced by abrasion caused by sediment pressure, enabling differentiation from dietary signals (scratches, pits, and gouges) and excluding them from dental microwear analyses. However, the thermal alteration experiment showed that this process does not produce significant effects, and even carbonized teeth retain dental microwear, making them appropriate for dietary reconstructions. Additionally, a comparison of archaeological teeth from level IIIb of Teixoneres Cave (Moià, Barcelona) was conducted, confirming the inferences drawn from the experimental results. This research highlights the importance of conducting such studies to better understand the impact of taphonomic processes on dental microwear, which is crucial for accurate dietary and palaeoecological interpretations.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"14 ","pages":"Article 100195"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000339/pdfft?md5=3c189a331b44cd9565191d090f251292&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000339-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140901803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Examining the effects of climate change and human impacts on a high-resolution, late Holocene paleofire record from South Africa's winter rainfall zone","authors":"Stella G. Mosher ,&nbsp;Mitchell J. Power ,&nbsp;Lynne J. Quick ,&nbsp;Torsten Haberzettl ,&nbsp;Thomas Kasper ,&nbsp;Kelly L. Kirsten ,&nbsp;David R. Braun ,&nbsp;J. Tyler Faith","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100194","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100194","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Fire is central to the Cape Floristic Region's highly biodiverse and disturbance-adapted Fynbos Biome. However, prehistoric fire regimes, their ecological consequences, and their relationships with large-scale climate drivers and human activities remain poorly understood. Here, we use a high-resolution sedimentary charcoal record from Verlorenvlei, a coastal lake situated on the west coast, to interrogate links between fire, climate, and pastoralism in the Fynbos Biome. Our record has a robust chronology supported by 24 radiocarbon dates and provides a continuous sedimentary sequence spanning the last 4200 years, documenting fire activity before and after the local arrival of pastoralists in the Verlorenvlei area ∼1500 cal years BP. Fire at Verlorenvlei over the last 4200 years is variable, with relatively low activity until ∼2000 cal years BP, after which variable but generally higher fire activity occurs until the highest period of fire activity from ∼1450 to 1800 CE (∼500–150 cal years BP). The increase in fire activity ∼2000 years ago corresponds with a shift in the diatom assemblage at Verlorenvlei from marine towards brackish and freshwater species, reflecting increased precipitation derived from a strengthening of the southern westerly winds. The peak in fire activity beginning ∼1450 CE (∼500 cal years BP), near the onset of the Little Ice Age, tracks a second diatom-inferred strengthening of the westerly winds. Other southern hemisphere and Antarctic records further corroborate this increased westerly influence after ∼2000 years. Linear regression modeling on the fire record indicates that moisture availability is the primary driver of fire at Verlorenvlei, with little evidence that human populations influenced fire. Our reconstruction suggests that fire activity at Verlorenvlei is limited by moisture availability and that wetter conditions facilitate increased vegetation (i.e., fuel) and intensified fire at this otherwise fuel-limited site. This work has implications for management and conservation decisions in response to future predictions of a warmer and drier climate along South Africa's west coast.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"14 ","pages":"Article 100194"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000327/pdfft?md5=e95fff01e54e8f49016dc0ddf6e64546&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000327-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140909773","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Heavily eroded Pleistocene landscape and site-forming processes of the Acheulean artifacts-bearing Holocene sediments, Eastern Desert, Sudan","authors":"Mirosław Masojć ,&nbsp;Ju Yong Kim ,&nbsp;Hyeon-Seon Ahn ,&nbsp;Jin Cheul Kim ,&nbsp;Youn Soo Lee ,&nbsp;Young Kwan Sohn ,&nbsp;Grzegorz Michalec ,&nbsp;Ahmed Nassr","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100193","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100193","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Since the Middle Pleistocene, the Sahara region has undergone strong environmental changes resulting from climate changes. Dry periods, constituting an ecological barrier to human presence, alternated with wet periods when the Sahara area was covered with green savanna and an extensive network of watercourses, allowing the area to be occupied by hunter-gatherer groups. Responding to the Quaternary climatic changes, hominin dispersal was channeled through vegetated corridors. Such evidence for human settlements connected to Pleistocene green corridors in the Sahara region has been discovered in the research area called EDAR (Eastern Desert Atbara River). This area comprises a cluster of Acheulean and Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites discovered in the fluvial sedimentary context. This manuscript discusses the occurrence of Middle Pleistocene Acheulean artifacts in much younger sediments documented at the site EDAR 6. These Acheulean artifacts are present within thick Holocene calcareous sandy silts formed between 2.7 ka and 8.7 ka based on an optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology, which is also supported by paleomagnetic analysis. The stone gravelly artifacts mantled above the eolian deposits have been known in other Paleolithic sites under the desert environment of Northern Africa. We propose that the relocation of the Palaeolithic artifacts was due to long-lasting erosional and redepositional processes affecting the Acheulean artifacts-bearing sediments since the Middle Pleistocene. We interpret that the cumulative results of the two processes, i.e., the gravel framework dilation and the gravel overpassing, allowed the stone artifacts to be exposed at the surface or incorporated in the Holocene sediment layers.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"14 ","pages":"Article 100193"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000315/pdfft?md5=a3ccc7f80b1d0f52a7bf1a5b82d8c1a5&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000315-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140879196","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Unveiling 4500 years of environmental dynamics and human activity at Songo Mnara, Tanzania","authors":"Apichaya Englong ,&nbsp;Paramita Punwong ,&nbsp;Tosak Seelanan ,&nbsp;Rob Marchant ,&nbsp;Stephanie Wynne-Jones ,&nbsp;Akkaneewut Jirapinyakul ,&nbsp;Jeffrey Fleisher","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100192","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100192","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Coastal East Africa has undergone massive transformations through the Late Holocene, with a combination of changes in sea level, increasing human settlement, and ensuing use of coastal resources. A comprehensive multi-proxy analysis, including pollen, phytolith, charcoal, stratigraphy, particle size, and geochemical data from sedimentary cores extracted from mangrove ecosystems combined with soils from archaeological contexts, provided valuable insights into vegetation dynamics, environmental changes, and human interactions within the mangrove ecosystem of Songo Mnara Island, Tanzania over the last 2590 BCE (4540 cal yr BP). The bottommost layers indicate a lack of vegetation<strong>,</strong> as deduced from the presence of coral rags and high calcium and carbonate content, possibly due to high mid-Holocene sea-level. Evidence of mangrove taxa suggests a decrease in sea level, enabling the establishment of mangroves from around 2590 BCE. A brief period of sea-level rise occurred between 90 BCE and 320 CE before sea-level fell until 1570 CE. Significant evidence of human activity is recorded from around 1400 CE indicated by increased charcoal, crop phytoliths, and evidence of marine resource utilisation. The timing of this human-environment interaction is also linked to the time of lower sea level. However, there was evidence suggesting human abandonment of the island from around 1500 CE. This coincided with a subsequent rise in sea levels and potentially prolonged drought conditions spanning from 1570 to 1700 CE. These factors likely contributed to a shortage of food resources in the area, impacting both agricultural practices due to the scarcity of natural freshwater and the accessibility of marine food resources. From 1700 CE to the present, fluctuations in sea level have been observed, with a signal of recent sea-level rise in tandem with shifts in mangrove, terrestrial herbaceous taxa and fire activity.</p><p>The low sedimentation rates within mangrove areas suggest that the mangroves on Songo Mnara Island may not keep pace with the current rate of sea-level rise.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"14 ","pages":"Article 100192"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000303/pdfft?md5=a71068fc523cba30468eddb79a943484&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000303-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140879043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Landscape evolution and hydrology at the Late Pleistocene archaeological site of Narabeb in the Namib Sand Sea, Namibia","authors":"Abi Stone ,&nbsp;George Leader ,&nbsp;Dominic Stratford ,&nbsp;Theodore Marks ,&nbsp;Kaarina Efraim ,&nbsp;Rachel Bynoe ,&nbsp;Rachel Smedley ,&nbsp;Andrew Gunn ,&nbsp;Eugene Marais","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100190","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100190","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Namib Sand Sea (NSS) in Namibia is known to preserve a wide variety of Pleistocene-age archaeological sites. However, few Middle Stone Age (MSA) sites in this region have been systematically investigated and basic questions around chronology and technological organization remain open. Here we examine Narabeb, an open air MSA surface site exposed in an interdune pan, ∼30 km into the northern NSS. Narabeb was first documented in the 1970s, and then re-examined in 2021 and 2022 by members of this team. Lithic technological analysis combined with a geomorphological description of the site, palaeoenvironmental interpretation of fine-grain water-lain sediments, and luminescence ages from northern and southern locations on the Narabeb pan provide some of the first understanding of human-environmental interactions and estimates of chronology from the later-Middle and Late Pleistocene in the NSS. In addition, we apply a quantitative approach to aeolian linear dune accumulation and extension to explore possible scenarios for landscape development at this site, in order to better understand the former water course(s) affecting the area. The new chronology suggests this site contained standing water at, or just after, the MIS 7/6 transition, and again at, or just after, the end of MIS 6 into early MIS 5. The timing of greater phases of water availability have some overlap with the speleothem growth record at Rössing Cave, situated ∼90 km north of the NSS (and ∼135 km north of Narabeb). Our results provide the foundation for larger, regional-scale analyses of early human adaptive strategies in this unique environment within Southern Africa.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"14 ","pages":"Article 100190"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-04-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000285/pdfft?md5=0be1f10aedb89c24c7a851b12ebe91c1&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000285-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140879041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hybridizing genetic random forest and self-attention based CNN-LSTM algorithms for landslide susceptibility mapping in Darjiling and Kurseong, India","authors":"Armin Moghimi ,&nbsp;Chiranjit Singha ,&nbsp;Mahdiyeh Fathi ,&nbsp;Saied Pirasteh ,&nbsp;Ali Mohammadzadeh ,&nbsp;Masood Varshosaz ,&nbsp;Jian Huang ,&nbsp;Huxiong Li","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100187","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Landslides are a prevalent natural hazard in West Bengal, India, particularly in Darjeeling and Kurseong, resulting in substantial socio-economic and physical consequences. This study aims to develop a hybrid model, integrating a Genetic-based Random Forest (GA-RF) and a novel Self-Attention based Convolutional Neural Network and Long Short-term Memory (SA-CNN-LSTM), for accurate landslide susceptibility mapping (LSM) and generate landslide vulnerability-building map in these regions. To achieve this, we compiled a database with 1830 historical data points, incorporating a landslide inventory as the dependent variable and 32 geo-environmental parameters from Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) layers as independent variables. These parameters include features like topography, climate, hydrology, soil properties, terrain distribution, radar features, and anthropogenic influences. Our hybrid model exhibited superior performance with an AUC of 0.92 and RMSE of 0.28, outperforming standalone SA-CNN-LSTM, GA-RF, RF, MLP, and TreeBagger models. Notably, slope, Global Human Modification (gHM), Combined Polarization Index (CPI), distances to streams and roads, and soil erosion emerged as key layers for LSM in the region. Our findings identified around 30% of the study area as having high to very high landslide susceptibility, 20% as moderate, and 50% as low to very low. The vulnerability-building map for 244,552 building footprints indicated varying landslide risk levels, with a significant proportion (27.74%) at high to very high risk. Our model highlighted high-risk zones along roads in the northeastern and southern areas. These insights can enhance landslide risk management in Darjeeling and Kurseong, guiding sustainable strategies for future damage qualification.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"14 ","pages":"Article 100187"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266603342400025X/pdfft?md5=e9d71433e3d787ef274104df0e5cd2df&pid=1-s2.0-S266603342400025X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140632800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}