Quaternary Science Advances最新文献

{"title":"Changes in the particulate organic carbon pump efficiency since the Last Glacial Maximum in the northwestern Philippine Sea","authors":"Pierrick Fenies ,&nbsp;Maria-Angela Bassetti ,&nbsp;Natalia Vazquez Riveiros ,&nbsp;Sze Ling Ho ,&nbsp;Yuan-Pin Chang ,&nbsp;Ludvig Löwemark ,&nbsp;Florian Bretonnière ,&nbsp;Nathalie Babonneau ,&nbsp;Gueorgui Ratzov ,&nbsp;Shu-Kun Hsu ,&nbsp;Chih-Chieh Su","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100223","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100223","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Changes in bottom and pore water oxygenation over glacial – interglacial cycles have influenced the ocean's capacity to store particulate organic carbon regardless of its source, either the marine primary productivity or the continent-to-ocean transfer of terrestrial organic matter. In the Philippine Sea, east off Taiwan, despite being currently oligotrophic, the enhanced East Asian Winter Monsoon during the Last Glacial Maximum and the Heinrich Stadial 1 might have altered the nutrient budget in surface waters by providing nutrients from the Eurasian loess dust and deepening the vertical mixing, bringing nutrients from the nutrient-enriched Kuroshio Current subsurface waters to the surface. During the deglaciation, previous studies also suggest an overall weakening of the marine biological pump during the Heinrich Stadial 1, and the rise in sea level is expected to have led to a global significant decline in the ability of continents to bury their particulate organic carbon in marine sediments. However, changes in the continent-ocean transfer of terrestrial organic matter and on the marine biological pump around Taiwan remain poorly constrained.</p><p>In the present study, we have thus aimed to reconstruct bottom – pore water oxygenation, past marine primary productivity and continental-ocean transfer of terrestrial particulate organic carbon to the ocean since the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, in order to better constrain the ability of marine sediments to capture atmospheric carbon over the past 20,000 years. To this end, sediment core MD18-3523 has been recovered from a levee of Hoping Canyon, north-east of Taiwan, in the Ryukyu forearc basin. The reconstructions were made possible by the application of multivariate statistics and transfer functions on benthic foraminiferal assemblages, by the measurement of total organic carbon concentration and by the investigation of chemical element ratios obtained from X-ray fluorescence (XRF).</p><p>We observed a transition across the Bølling–Allerød and the Younger Dryas from suboxic-dysoxic bottom – pore waters during Heinrich Stadial 1 to oxic-suboxic during the Holocene, and revealed an increase in marine primary productivity during Heinrich Stadial 1 in all probability due to intensified East Asian Winter Monsoon winds. We have also identified periods of enhanced terrestrial particulate organic carbon transfer to the ocean driven by short-lived extreme events, most likely typhoons, during the Bølling–Allerød, at the beginning of the Early Holocene and the end of the Late Holocene, when the typhoon dynamics affecting Taiwan were intensified. Overall, these findings suggest an enhanced marine biological pump during the Heinrich Stadial 1 and an efficient carbon turbidity pump during the Bølling–Allerød, the Early and Late Holocene, contrasting with the western coast of Taiwan.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100223"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000613/pdfft?md5=3a550c3e733cb20292faf25182dd472a&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000613-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141838488","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":"When to generalise and when to specialise? Climate change and hominin biocultural adaptability in the African early and middle stone age","authors":"James Clark ,&nbsp;Gonzalo J. Linares-Matás","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100218","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100218","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>A growing number of authors have discussed the role of climate change in periods of important biological and cultural transition along the hominin lineage. This paper establishes a biocultural framework elucidating human behavioural adaptations during the African Early and Middle Stone Age, centred on three crucial dimensions of hunter-gatherer adaptation: mobility, social network dynamics, and technology. We contend that landscape properties, specifically resource diversity and seasonal to inter-annual resource variability, can be used to model the specific responses of hominin groups to climate change over time, based on their awareness of these properties. Specifically, we focus on hominin technological generalisation and specialisation, meaning the extent to which there is a high degree of specificity (or fit) between final tool form and the task(s) in which the tool is deployed.</p><p>In this regard, we argue that the archaeological record reveals punctuated and discontinuous specialisation during certain phases of the Early Stone Age driven by landscape predictability. These periods encourage the expression of relevant innovations and stepwise increases in technological complexity. While some of them become lost to demographic or cultural stochasticity, others end up forming the basis for a standardisation of generalised forms within the context of unexpected climatic deterioration. This is highlighted by the late Acheulean: following a period of greater generalisation in the late Early Pleistocene correlating with repeated and severe orbitally-forced periods of aridity, smaller biface forms become more common (or absent) and regional experimentation with prepared-core technology in Eastern Africa takes place in the context of a return to more humid and stable climatic conditions. The onset of more arid and variable climates associated with the emergence of the Middle Stone Age led to the continental expansion of the prepared-core technological substrate underpinning generalised assemblages. The cycle continues in the Middle Stone Age with a return to climatic stability in the Late Pleistocene and subsequent regional diversification of this techno-complex, in which hominins responded with greater toolkit specialisation in a number of different ways. In this context, we support the existence of a cyclical and non-linear relationship between environmental adaptation and cognitive evolution, as part of a wider biocultural feedback loop, which contributes to explain the evolutionary roots of our “generalist specialist” niche.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100218"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266603342400056X/pdfft?md5=2cf907fe01483eff7c572857eb4c9142&pid=1-s2.0-S266603342400056X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141844913","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":"Integration of geospatial analysis, frequency ratio, and analytical hierarchy process for landslide susceptibility assessment in the maze catchment, omo valley, southern Ethiopia","authors":"Obse Kebeba ,&nbsp;Leulalem Shano ,&nbsp;Yadeta Chemdesa ,&nbsp;Muralitharan Jothimani","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100203","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>This investigation was conducted in southern Ethiopia's Maze watershed in the Omo River Valley. Frequency ratio (FR) and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) techniques were used to assess landslide susceptibility in the region. Identifying causative components and landslide inventory data achieved the goal. Remote sensing and on-site investigations found 793 landslide polygons. To assess vulnerability, the landslide inventory information is categorized into two groups: the training dataset (70%) and the validation dataset (30%). This study examined “slope, aspect, curvature, lithology, land use and cover, normalized vegetation index, and proximity to fault lines, rivers, and distance to road as landslide controlling factors”. The spatial analysis capabilities in Arc GIS were used to overlay the weights of all landslide-causing components to create the susceptibility map. A final landslide susceptibility map is produced using FR and AHP methods and categorized as “very low,” “low,” “moderate,” “high,” and “very high.” The frequency ratio method divides the region into susceptibility classes by frequency. The very low, low, medium, high, and very high susceptibility groups cover 25%, 20%, 18%, and 19% of the territory. The analytical hierarchical process technique shows that 3%, 7%, 26%, 36%, and 28% of the area are very low, low, medium, moderate, and very high landslide susceptibility. The receiver operating characteristic curve was employed to validate the area-underlayer susceptibility maps. The success rates were determined using the FR and AHP approaches, resulting in AUC numbers of 0.873 and 0.87. Similarly, the prediction rates were determined to be 0.81 and 0.80. The landslide susceptibility maps will significantly influence land resource allocation.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100203"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000418/pdfft?md5=bc7a811795cb2747ae4b8a2c34953eca&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000418-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141303559","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":"Nitrogen uptakes dynamics with environmental variables in the southwest Bay of Bengal","authors":"Kandasamy Priyanka ,&nbsp;Ranjitkumar Sarangi ,&nbsp;Vajravelu Manigandan ,&nbsp;Durairaj Poornima ,&nbsp;Ayyappan Saravanakumar","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100213","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100213","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Nitrate uptake is an essential nutrient for primary production. A study focused on the surface waters of the Bay of Bengal (BoB), new, regenerated, and total production were estimated from nitrate, ammonia, and urea (nitrogen uptakes). Understanding nitrogen uptake rates in coastal waters, where nutrient limitations can disturb environmental biological productivity, is essential. A detailed study of these uptake rates and metabolic processes is required to develop effective mitigation strategies to prevent further degradation of these ecosystems. Total production ranged between 1.39 and 7.43 mmol N m² d⁻¹, new production ranged between 0.58 and 2.83 mmol N m² d⁻¹ and regenerated production ranged between 0.83 and 4.59 mmol N m² d⁻¹. The study observed a significant negative correlation nitrogen uptake along with pH, sea surface salinity (SSS), and sea surface temperature (SST) was observed in the study. The R² values for SST were 0.605, 0.619, 0.503, 0.601, and 0.627; for SSS they were 0.688, 0.511, 0.498, 0.579, and 0.644 with nitrogen (Na¹⁵NO₃), ammonium (¹⁵NH₄Cl), urea (CO(¹⁵NH₂)²), regenerated, and total production uptake, respectively. pH was highly correlated with nitrate uptake (R² = 0.525), had a low correlation with ammonium uptake (R² = 0.439) and a moderate correlated with urea uptake (R² = 0.526). A positive relationship of nitrogen uptakes with chlorophyll-a, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) were observed. Chlorophyll-a had R² value of 0.608, 0.126, 0.524, 0.526, 0.578, with Na¹⁵NO₃, ¹⁵NH₄Cl, CO(¹⁵NH₂)², regenerated and total production uptake respectively. Dissolved oxygen (DO) related to ammonium uptake showed a very poor correlation (R² = 0.079) but a better correlation with urea (R² = 0.534). New production uptake rate showed a high positive correlation with DO (R² = 0.645), whereas regenerative production uptake rates showed a relatively low correlation (R² = 0.519). The positive relationship between DIN and nitrogen uptake had corresponding R² value of 0.642, 0.591, 0.558, 0.652 and 0.675 for nitrite, ammonium, urea, regenerated and total production uptakes respectively. Total nitrogen: Total phosphate (TN:TP) showed a positive correlation with ammonium. The TN:TP relationship fit nicely with R² = 0.576 (nitrate uptake), 0.524 (ammonium uptake), and 0.503 (urea uptake) in the coastal BoB. Hence, by applying statistical analysis, principal component analysis and pearson correlation, the interdependency of the environmental parameters enhancing the new production has been confirmed.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100213"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000510/pdfft?md5=6741ecce1fed290f4d06fb0feb1aaa18&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000510-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141438367","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":"Paleoclimate, paleoenvironment, and human impact over the last 400 years based on lipid biomarkers from Lake Höglwörth, Germany","authors":"Sudip Acharya ,&nbsp;Paul Strobel ,&nbsp;Maximilian Prochnow ,&nbsp;Steffen Taut ,&nbsp;Michael Zech ,&nbsp;Antje Schwalb ,&nbsp;Roland Zech","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100231","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100231","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Lipid biomarkers are valuable proxies for reconstructing paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental changes as well as human impact. However, little attention has been paid on evaluating how the combination of biomarkers can be used to reconstruct various aspects of local paleoenvironmental conditions. This study presents a suite of lipid biomarker records from a sediment core from Lake Höglwörth, southern Germany, covering the past 400 years. Compound-specific hydrogen isotopic compositions (δD) of terrestrial <em>n</em>-alkanes (<em>n-</em>C_29-alkane) and <em>n</em>-alkanoic acids (<em>n-</em>C_30-acid) indicate minor changes in isotopic composition of precipitation. The δD of <em>n-</em>C_22-acid is interpreted to record the isotopic composition of the lake water and evaporative enrichment, which drops after 1700 CE, coinciding with the construction of a mill and the related rerouting of a creek into Lake Höglwörth. The δD of <em>n-</em>C_25-alkane is also enriched but decoupled from the reconstructed isotopic composition of precipitation and lake water. Therefore, we suggest that δD of <em>n-</em>C_25-alkane reflects the leaf water isotopic composition of Sphagnum, which is present in the catchment and undergoes transpirative enrichment. Both short-chain compounds have become more enriched over the last century, maybe related to increasing temperature associated with anthropogenic climate warming. The faecal biomarkers record the changes in human population, partly related to the history of the local Monastery, the World Wars I and II as well as the intensive farming after the mid-20th century. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) reveal a significant change in combustion activities associated with human activities such as the industrial revolution, biomass burning, and environmental cleanup as well as the implementation of emission standards. Our study demonstrates that the combination of plant wax compounds, faecal biomarkers, and PAHs from lacustrine sediment serves as a valuable tool to reconstruct and distinguish various aspects of paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental changes including human impacts.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100231"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000698/pdfft?md5=65396d2dc4b811f24f75e83edad4f7b3&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000698-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142002243","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":"Variation of ecosystem resilience across the anthropogenic biomes of India: A comprehensive analysis","authors":"Subhojit Shaw ,&nbsp;Aparajita Chattopadhyay ,&nbsp;Karikkathil C. Arun Kumar","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100214","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100214","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Quantifying ecosystem resilience under drought is crucial for sustainable development strategies. This study aims to investigate the spatial and temporal variability of Net Primary Productivity (NPP) across anthropogenic biomes in India (2000 to 2020) and to understand the post-drought long-term ecosystem resilience. A time series study of monthly precipitation, standardized precipitation index (SPI), and NPP were applied to understand ecosystem resilience across twenty anthropogenic biomes. Mann-Kendall test was used to quantify the magnitude and direction of the trend. In addition, bivariate raster maps of mean precipitation and soil moisture were presented in relation to ecosystem resilience in India. The forested areas in the Himalayan region and the Western Ghats of India were identified with resilient ecosystem that can withstand climate change. However, the croplands and rangelands were non-resilient to drought, making them vulnerable to climate change. Northern and western part of India falls under catastrophic to critical non-resilient ecosystem. Soil moisture availability in the biome, forest cover, type of land use, agricultural practices, and climate shocks are mainly influencing the resilience of the anthropogenic biomes in India. The resilience assessment can be used by policymakers to plan anthropogenic interventions in harmony with nature.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100214"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000522/pdfft?md5=42b8ca9f40e2f899910a186c1109e6db&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000522-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141630292","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":"Reviewer Thank you","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2023.100069","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2023.100069","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100069"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033423000011/pdfft?md5=22c9a097ed38be1d02c2fe18ba67a97d&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033423000011-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142228663","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":"An integrated approach to identify flood hazard and risk areas in Melka Soda district, Southern Ethiopia","authors":"Dechasa Diriba ,&nbsp;Shankar Karuppannan","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100211","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100211","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Flooding is a severe meteorological event that can result in fatalities and major economic losses. This study utilizes geographic information system, remote sensing technology, and multi-criteria decision making to create an accurate flood susceptibility map for the Melka Soda district in Southern Ethiopia. Various factors such as normalized difference vegetation index, landuse landcover, soil type, drainage density, slope, rainfall, geology, and elevation were taken into consideration when mapping out areas susceptible to flooding. The results indicate that 7.1%, 16.6%, 20%, 29.9%, and 26.4% of the district are classified as very low, low, moderate, high, and very high hazard zones, respectively. By analyzing population density and land use in conjunction with the flood hazard map, five zones of varying risk levels were identified: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high-risk zones covering 12.4%, 29.5%, 39%, 10.6%, and 7.5% of the district respectively. This showed that 18.1% of the district is classified as having a high to very high level of flood risk. To validate this result, survey data was used to map 28 flood points in the area, and a receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted, resulting in an area under the curve of 86.7%. This confirms the accuracy of the proposed framework, which can assist authorities in creating development policies that consider the current flood risk in the area.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100211"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000492/pdfft?md5=339e23fe9634b0bdc528c8d2fa105ab8&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000492-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141486623","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":"Evaluation of watertightness and slope stability analysis of Upper Guder dam, West Showa, Central Ethiopia","authors":"Belay Birhanu ,&nbsp;Yadeta C. Chemeda ,&nbsp;Tola Garo ,&nbsp;Shankar Karuppannan","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100230","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100230","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Ethiopia is currently emphasizing the construction of micro dams to enhance agricultural productivity and assure food security. The Upper Guder Dam, situated in the West Shoa Zone, Central Ethiopia, is one such project. However, the dam faces challenges due to complex geological and structural conditions, including leakage and slope instability. Hence, this study focuses on addressing the abutment slope stability and watertightness condition of this dam. Accordingly, the study employed discontinuity surveying, Seismic Refraction Tomography (SRT), Rock Quality Designation (RQD), and Lugeon testing to assess the water tightness. Additionally, kinematic analysis and the Limit Equilibrium Method (LEM) were used to evaluate abutment slope stability. Results from surface geological mapping and core drilling showed that the dam site is constituted by quaternary soil, tuff, and basalt. The Lugeon test results indicate that the left abutment of the dam is susceptible to leakage down to a depth of 40 m, which suggests that the permeable zone extends deeper than the results revealed by the SRT. Furthermore, this test demonstrated that the dam's right and central foundations are susceptible to leakage to the drilled depths. The SRT revealed that the central foundation, right, and left abutments of the dam are susceptible to leakage to the depth of 35 m, 30 m, and 34 m, respectively. Moreover, the kinematic analysis revealed that a section of the left abutment of the dam is susceptible to wedge mode of failure due to the intersection of JS1 and JS2. The LEM modeling of the right abutment of the dam also depicted that this section of the dam is unstable under saturated conditions which illustrates the importance of precipitation as the major slope destabilizing factor in the study area. Based on the study findings, this study recommended the use of curtain grouting to address the water tightness issue and slope angle reduction to mitigate the slope instability problem.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100230"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000686/pdfft?md5=4a8cb83d45f06467cb05d3e59e81f632&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000686-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141997953","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":"Taphonomic and zooarchaeological analysis of fauna from the Howiesons Poort and post-Howiesons Poort at Klasies River main site: Examining links between the environment and subsistence behaviour in Marine Isotope Stages 4 and 3","authors":"Jerome P. Reynard ,&nbsp;Alexandra Pearson ,&nbsp;Pamela Akuku ,&nbsp;Sarah Wurz","doi":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100220","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.qsa.2024.100220","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 4 and 3 were significant periods encompassing some 50,000 years, including at least two techno-cultural entities: the Howiesons Poort (HP) and post-HP. Exploring subsistence and environmental changes during these periods may help us understand broader aspects of behavioural and occupational patterns over MIS 4 and 3. In this paper, we report on taphonomic analyses of a sample of early HP, late HP and post-HP fauna from Klasies River main site cave 1A. We use these and other faunal data to examine the links between subsistence behaviour and the environment during the HP and post-HP. The results of our analyses indicate that percussion marks are abundant in the HP, with percussion mark frequencies more prevalent in the later HP than the early HP indicating that humans were the primary accumulators of fauna in the HP. Other taphonomic data such as fracture patterns, burning and trampling marks also suggests that human activity was more prevalent in the HP than the post-HP. In contrast, in the post-HP, the prevalence of zoogenic marks on small mammal remains, and comparisons to actualistic assemblages indicate that carnivores probably contributed significantly to the post-HP assemblage. In all the samples investigated, crania dominate skeletal-part profiles. This could be a result of taphonomic bias, or it could indicate that foraging likely occurred relatively close to the site. Analyses of carcass-part utility show that marrow-extraction may have been a key subsistence strategy in the HP. In the post-HP, bone density-mediated attrition had a significant effect on fauna making it challenging to ascertain subsistence patterns, but preliminary analysis may also suggest marrow extraction in combination with other strategies.</p><p>Post-depositional taphonomic marks such as manganese staining suggest that post-HP and late HP deposits were significantly more affected by moisture than the early HP deposits. Previous investigations of large mammal data point to more closed environments in the early HP, while our data indicate that the environment in the late HP and post-HP was largely similar. In comparing our data to previously analysed micromammal proxy data, we show that major environmental changes at KRM occurred after the shift to post-HP lithic technology. However, the taphonomic data suggests a close relationship between changing subsistence strategies and the MIS4/3 transition.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":34142,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Advances","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100220"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2024-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666033424000583/pdfft?md5=3f5457c9823234586ac89bbc06886974&pid=1-s2.0-S2666033424000583-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141841931","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}