Last Deglaciation Climatic Fluctuation Record by the Palaeo-Daocheng Ice Cap, Southeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The last deglaciation, a key period for understanding present and future climate changes, has long been the hot topic for palaeoclimatological study. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau（QTP） is often a target study area for understanding hemispheric, or even global environment changes. The glacial landforms on the QTP provide a unique perspective for its climate change. In order to investigate the onset of the last deglaciation at the QTP and its regional correlation, the terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides（TCN） 10 Be and 26 Al surface exposure dating was chosen to date the roche moutonnée, the polished surface and the moraine debris located at the palaeo-Daocheng Ice Cap（pDIC）, southeastern QTP. Our results show that the onset of the last deglaciation is at about 19 ka, followed by another warming event occurring around 15 ka in the p-DIC area. These timings agree well with other records, e.g. equivalent with a rapid sea level rise at 19 ka and the onset of B？lling warming event at about 15 ka. Thus, our new data can provide good reveal constraint on the climate evolution at the QTP.

Evolution of Palaeoenvironment of the South Yellow Sea Since the Last Deglaciation

The sediments in core YS01 recovered from the South Yellow Sea mud deposit zone contain abundant benthic foraminifera,particularly shallow continental shelf species,but rare of planktonic foraminifera.The benthic foraminifera are dominated by stenohaline cold shallow-water species and euryhaline brackish-water species.In this paper,the palaeoenvironmental changes were discussed based on the grain-size compositions and benthic foraminiferal assemblages.Six different benthic foraminiferal assemblages were discriminated by species analysis from the foraminiferal fauna.According to AMS14C dating data in core YS01,we identified four main stages of marine environmental changes since the last deglaciation:a near-shore depositional stage(13.1–9.5 kyr B.P.),a transitional stage from near-shore deposition to shallow-sea deposition(9.5–5.6 kyr B.P.),a high sea level stage with shallow-sea deposition(5.6–2.9 kyr B.P.),and a stable shallow-sea depositional stage(2.9 kyr B.P.to the present).

Precise dating of abrupt shifts in the Asian Monsoon during the last deglaciation based on stalagmite data from Yamen Cave, Guizhou Province, China

Based on 33 U/Th dates and 1020 oxygen isotopic data from stalagmite Y1 from Yamen Cave, Guizhou Province, China, a record of the Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM) was established. The record covers the last deglaciation and the early Holocene (from 16.2 to 7.3 ka BP) with an average oxygen isotope resolution of 9 years. The main millennial-scale deglacial events first identified in Greenland (Greenland Interstadial Events: GIS 1e through GIS 1a) and later in China are clearly present in the Y1 record. By analogy to earlier work, we refer to these as Chinese Interstadials (CIS): CIS A.1e to CIS A.1a. The onset of these events in Y1 δ18O records are nominally dated at: 14750±50, 14100±60, 13870±80, 13370±80, and 12990±80 a BP. The end of CIS A.1a or the beginning of the Younger Dryas (YD) event is nominally at 12850±50 a BP and the end of the YD dates to 11500±40 a BP. The δ18O values shift by close to 3‰ during the transition into the Bφlling-Allerφd (BA, the onset of CIS A.1e) and at the end of the YD. Comparisons of Y1 to previously published early Holocene records show no significant phase differences. Thus, the East Asia Monsoon and the Indian Monsoon do not appear to have been out of phase during this interval. The Y1 record confirms earlier work that suggested that solar insolation and North Atlantic climate both affect the Asian Monsoon.

Stepwise paleoceanographic changes during the lastdeglaciation in the southern South China Sea: Records of stable isotope and microfossils

Quantitative analyses of microfossils and stable isotopic analysis were carried out for Core SCS-12 in the southwestern slope of the South China Sea (SCS). A high-resolution paleoceanographic record for the last 13 ka was revealed with the AMS 14 C dates. The southern SCS has experienced stepwise paleoceanographic changes since the last deglaciation. The oxygen isotopic stage 1/2 boundary around 12.05 ka B.P. and the end of the last deglaciation around 7.70 ka B.P. are two rapid change periods (corresponding to the termination I\-A and termination I\-B, respectively), in between is a slow change period. The authors infer that the sea level stood at -110 m before the termination I\-A, roughly the same as today after the termination I\-B, and about -50 m in between. Subsequently, the average winter sea surface temperature and salinity obviously increased while paleo-productivity decreased since 12.05 ka B.P. The early Holocene CaCO\-3 preservation spike, coupled with a high abundance of pteropoda and CaCO\-3 content, occurred around 7.70 ka B.P.

The two-step monsoon changes of the last deglaciation recorded in tropical Maar Lake Huguangyan,southern China

The concentrations of biogenic silica, total organic carbon, total nitrogen and total hydrogen inferred from the sediments of tropical Maar Lake Huguangyan, southern China, provide a climate record of the last deglaciation with century resolution. The records fully demonstrate the existence of the two-step shape of the last deglaciation in tropic East Asia, and they point out noticeable differences between the low and high latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, the Boiling first warming at the last deglaciation in the low latitude may have preceded that of the high latitude, whereas the cooling of the Younger Dryas occurred synchronously in the two regions. These results likely suggest that the links between the low and high latitude climates in the Northern Hemisphere during this period are complexity.

Climate background of the evolution from Paleolithic to Neolithic cultural transition during the last deglaciation in the middle reaches of the Yellow River

Shizitan in Jixian County, Shanxi Province, is a site of transitional period from Paleolithic to Neolithic. The dating and the sporopollen analysis show that the middle reaches of the Yellow River where the site is located had been maintaining a steppe environment during 35.1-9.4 kaBP, in which, 35.1-17 kaBP belonged to the last glacial. With cold and dry climate, this period featured a desert steppe environment. In the late of this period, the area had a cold and half-humid steppe environment. The 17.0-11.9 kaBP belonged to the early- and mid-period of the last deglaciation. Mild and half-arid steppe alternates with mild and half-arid steppe, with a small amount of deciduous broadleaf species. During the period of 11.9-10.5 kaBP, cold and dry glacial climate appeared once more, featuring a desert steppe environment. During 10.5-9.4 kaBP, it is mild and half-arid, and later transited toward warm and half-humid. The early phase of this period featured a steppe environment and the later transited into a

Evolution of heat transport pathways in the Indonesian Archipelago during last deglaciation

The Indonesian Archipelago provides important heat transport pathways of the Western Pacific Warm Pool between the northern Indian Ocean and western equatorial Pacific Ocean, that exert important impacts on global climate change. This study investigated AMS 14C, δ18O, planktonic foraminifer assemblages and sedimentation rates in three piston cores collected in the Indonesian Archipelago. The results indicate that changes in the Indonesian Archipelago heat transport pathways were phase characteristic and in steps during the last deglaciation. In the deglaciation Termination IA, at about 12.5 kaBP, sea level rose rapidly in a short time period, and Makassar and Lombok straits widened suddenly for warm and fresh water from the Pacific to pour into the Java Sea and eastern Indian Ocean. During the Termination IB, about 9.5 kaBP, sea level rose rapidly again, and the South China Sea (SCS) started to connect with the Java Sea. With monsoon actions, a large amount of fresh water from the SCS shelf area flew

Rapid oscillations of Chinese monsoon climate since the last deglaciation and its comparison with GISP2 record

The geographic extent of the climate oscillations during the last deglaciation is an open question in the world. Here a high resolution climate record from a 16 000 C-14 a loess sequence in the northwestern margin of the Chinese Loess Plateau is reported. Comparison with GISP2 record shows that all major climate oscillation(e. g. Oldest Dryas/ Bolling/ Older Dryas/Allerod/Younger Dryas) in the North Atlantic region also registered in the record. In addition, the sequence also contains some other distinctive strengthened winter monsoon periods. It is suggested that a coupling mechanism operate between the two areas, and climate oscillations in the North Atlantic region may not be a local phenomenon.

Disparity in soil bacterial community succession along a short time-scale deglaciation chronosequence on the Tibetan Plateau

Global warming leads to deglaciations in high-elevation regions,which exposes deglaciated soils to microbial colonization.Disparity in year-to-year successional patterns of bacterial community and influencing factors in freshly deglaciated soils remain unclear.We explored the abundance of bacterial 16S rRNA gene and community succession in deglaciated soils along a 14-year chronosequence after deglaciation using qPCR and Illumina sequencing on the Tibetan Plateau.The results showed that the abundance of bacterial 16S rRNA gene gradually increased with increasing deglaciation age.Soil bacterial community succession was clustered into three deglaciation stages,which were the early(zero-year old),transitional(1-7 years old)and late(8-14 years old)stages.A significantly abrupt bacterial community succession occurred from the early to the transitional stage(P<0.01),while a mild succession(P=0.078)occurred from the transitional to the late stage.The bacterial community at the early and transitional stages were dominated by Proteobacteria,while the late stage was dominated by Actinobacteria.Less abundant(<10%)Acidobacteria,Gemmatimonadetes,Verrucomicrobia,Chloroflexi,Planctomycetes,unclassified bacteria dominantly occurred in the transition and late stage and Cyanobacteria in the early stage.Total organic carbon(24.7%),post deglaciation age(21%),pH(16.5%)and moisture(10.1%)significantly contributed(P<0.05)to the variation of bacterial community succession.Our findings provided a new insight that short time-scale chronosequence is a good model to study yearly resolution of microbial community succession.

A record of deglaciation-related shifting of the proximal zone of a sandur--a case study from the Gwda sandur, NW Poland(MIS 2)

The study analyses a 7.5-m-thick sedimentary succession deposited in the largest sandur(the Gwda sandur, a glacial outwash plain) in NW Poland, during the late Weichselian(MIS 2). Although the study site is located in the distal zone of the sandur, its sedimentological features and palaeohydrological parameters reflect the presence of an energetic, powerful environment typical of the proximal zone. Three sedimentary units were recognized in the studied sedimentary succession:(1) lower unit - fine-grained sands with ripple cross-lamination and horizontal lamination;(2) middle unit - gravelly coarse-grained sands and sandy gravels with planar cross-stratification;and,(3) upper unit - sands and gravelly sands with trough cross-stratification. Although the age of deposition of the sandur is accepted to be convergent with that of end-moraines of the same phase, the sediments in the distal zone of the Gwda sandur correlate with an earlier glaciation phase/subphase. Our findings hint at a complex problem: large sandurs such as the Gwda sandur were probably deposited over a long time, and their successions might record the textural and structural features of the proximal subenvironment, even in their distal parts due to deglaciation-related shifting of the proximal zone of a sandur. This paper presents a new approach to analysing the depositional processes in large sandurs, shows a new light on glaciofluvial water supply dynamics of distal parts of sandurs, and may solve several fundamental problems related to the sandur deposition.

Subsistence strategies of prehistoric hunter-gatherers on the Tibetan Plateau during the Last Deglaciation

The study of prehistoric hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies on the Tibetan Plateau is important for understanding the mechanisms and processes of human adaption to high altitude environments.But to date,only a few Paleolithic sites have been found on the Tibetan Plateau with clear stratigraphy and reliable dating.These sites are mainly distributed in the Qinghai Lake Basin on the northeastern part of the plateau,and the sporadic fauna and flora remains excavated provide limited information about the subsistence strategies of hunter-gatherers.In 2014,relatively abundant animal remains were unearthed in the Lower Cultural Layer (LCL,15400-13100 cal yr BP) of the"151 site"located in the Qinghai Lake Basin,providing important information about human subsistence strategies on the Tibetan Plateau during the Last Deglaciation.Zooarchaeological analysis of these faunal remains indicates that hunter-gatherers at the"151 site"mainly targeted large ungulates of Bos and wild horse/ass,and only brought back the most nutritious parts of animal carcasses including upper and intermediate limb bones,heads,and trunks (ribs and vertebrae).People then processed and consumed the carcasses around single hearths.Our comprehensive analyses of contemporaneous sites in the Qinghai Lake Basin show that a subsistence strategy involving opportunistic hunting of ungulates,high mobility,and short occupation of campsites was used by terminal Pleistocene huntergatherers to adapt to the high-altitude environment on the Tibetan Plateau.This subsistence strategy may have been a first step of gradual hunter-gatherer adaptation to the extreme conditions on the Tibetan Plateau after the Last Glacial Maximum,and laid the foundation for the widespread distribution of hunter-gatherers on the plateau during the Holocene.

Glacier retreat, rock weathering and the growth of lichensin the Churup Valley, Peruvian Tropical Andes

The most heavily glacierized tropical range in the world– the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca-has been losing ice since the end of the Little Ice Age(LIA).In this study,the decline of the Churup glacier(9°28’18"S;77°25’02"W)and associated processes were documented employing multi-proxy approach including the analysis of remotely sensed images(1948-2016),the Schmidt hammer rock test and lichenometric dating.It is shown that Churup glacier has lost the vast majority of its estimated LIA extent(1.05±0.1 km^2;45.0×10^6-57.4×10^6 m^3).The rate of glacier retreat is documented to vary in space(SE,SW and NW-facing slopes)and time,with the peak between 1986 and 1995.With an area of 0.045 km^2 in 2016,it is expected that the complete deglaciation of the Churup valley is inevitable in the near future.Recently(post-LIA)exposed bedrock surfaces have shown higher R-values(54.2-66.4,AVG 63.3,STDEV 2.9)compared to pre-LIA exposed surfaces(46.1-59.3,AVG 50.1,STDEV 4.9),confirming the links to the duration of rock weathering.The Lichenometric dating is applied to recently exposed areas and elevations above 4800 m a.s.l.,revealing only limited reliability and agreement with the age of deglaciation estimated from remotely-sensed images in such an environment.

Reconstructing the post-LGM deglacial history of Hollingsworth Glacier on Ricker Hills,Transantarctic Mountains,Antarctica

The Transantarctic Mountains are an important corridor between the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Western Ross Sea,where most current ice streams and outlet glaciers arise.We investigated Ricker Hills,the largest exposed mountainous region between Southern Victoria Land and Terra Nova Bay,and dated the glacial landforms using in-situ cosmogenic-nuclide 10 Be surface exposure dating to reconstruct the paleo-glacial dynamics.The surface of the Hollingsworth glacier lowered since the middle of Marine Isotope Stage(MIS)2(22.1 ka);therefore,the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM)occurred before that period.Cosmogenic,geomorphic,and climatic records constrained the glacial surface slope to be between 5.4°and 6.8°.The ice was 270-320 m thicker at the LGM(MIS 2)than presently but did not override the top surface of the Benson Knob.Moreover,previous glacial periods such as the local LGM(MIS 4)or Penultimate Glacial Maximum(MIS 6)maintained thicker ice than the LGM(MIS 2).The Ross Ice Shelf opening during the mid-Holocene(~6 ka)caused the rapid collapse of the terminal outlet glaciers and supplied notable snow accumulation upstream,which stagnated lowering.The greatest lowering and retreat occurred during the late Holocene(2.3~0.8 ka),when elephant seal colonies thrived in the Ross Embayment.

Geochemistry of Sediments from a Subalpine Lake Sedimentary Succession in the Western Nanling Mountains,Southern China:Implications for Catchment Weathering During the Last 15400 Years

In the present work,15400 yr old geochemical records of a core from the subalpine Daping swamp are presented with the aim to examine the relationship between the chemical weathering and the climatic changes in the region of the western Nanling Mountains,China.The climate of the study region was deeply controlled by the East Asian summer monsoon.The results indicate that,in the past 15400 yrs,the values of chemical index of alteration(CIA)ranged from 73.9%to 88.2%(mean:85.3%),suggested a medium and high intensity of chemical weathering.The local exogenous clastic materials,which were derived from the weathered residues,played a key role in contributing towards the sediments.Since the climate-induced chemical weathering exerted strong influences on the geochemical features of weathered residues,the geochemical characteristics of the sediments were deeply impacted by climatic conditions.Wetter and warmer conditions would favor increased chemical weathering,resulting in more leaching of soluble and mobile elements(e.g.,Ba and Sr)and leaving the resistant and immobile elements(e.g.,Al and Ti)enriched in the weathered residues.These materials were then eroded and transported into the lake,and led to the sediments characterized by the characteristic of having depleted soluble elements.In contrast,dry and cold conditions would result in an opposite trend.In this sense,the geochemical records can serve as proxies to indicate changes of chemical weathering intensity,which were closely related to the evolution of summer monsoon.

Stratigraphic framework and sedimentary evolution during the Cryogenian-Ediacaran transition in northeastern Sichuan Basin,South China

The northeastern Sichuan area in the northern Yangtze margin has unique Ediacaran geological records,especially the Doushantuo Formation(DST),and become a hot research area in recent years.However,the Cryogenian-Ediacaran(C-E)boundary has not been precisely identified,which restricts the in-depth study of geological information during this crucial transitional period and is unfavorable for a systematic and complete understanding of the Yangtze Block and even the global paleogeographic pattern.This study conducted stratigraphy,sedimentology,and chronostratigraphy to establish the stratigraphic framework and sedimentary evolution of the C-E transition strata in northeastern Sichuan.The results showed that the Ediacaran sediments,without the cap dolomite,unconformably overlaid the Cryogenian sediments in the studied area.The Member II of the DST,characterized by 50-160 m of red-green sandstone(approximately equivalent to the original Chengkou“Guanyinya Formation”),directly overlaid the Cryogenian sediments and displayed a 623±2.3 Ma maximum depositional age from the detrital zircon U-Pb dating.Regional stratigraphic correlations indicate that the C-E transition strata in northeastern Sichuan had a consistent lithological association and sedimentary sequence characteristics but differed from the Three Gorges.Typically,the upper Nantuo massive glacial diamictites transition to the icebergs rafted lonestone-bearing mudstones at the top,then change upward to DST barrier coast sandstones.The proposed DST of the northeastern Sichuan Basin was divided into three lithostratigraphic members without the regional Member I cap dolomite:(i)Member II purple-red,gray-green sandstone strata,(ii)MemberⅢblack mudstone strata,and(iii)Member IV P-Mn bearing strata.During the C-E transition,the study area experienced(i)the global deglaciation stage in the terminal Marinoan glaciation and(ii)the filling-leveling up stage with clastic rocks in the early Ediacaran.Overall,the early Ediacaran of northeastern Sichuan succeeded the paleogeographic features of the late Cryogenian.

OSL chronology reveals Late Pleistocene floods and their impact on landform evolution in the lower reaches of the Keriya River in the Taklimakan Desert

The impacts of climate change on the relationship between fluvial processes and dune landform evolution have been studied.However,the chronology data used to examine this relationship are deficient.The Keriya River has a glacial origin in the Kunlun Mountains on the south margin of the Tarim Basin.The river flows into the Taklimakan Desert,the second largest shifting-dune desert in the world.The dry channels and shifting dunes in this area provide an ideal opportunity to investigate fluvial and aeolian landform evolution processes and their relationship with climate change.We investigated this area during 2008-2011 and obtained 18 fluvial sediment samples from 16 sections for optically stimulated luminescence(OSL)dating.The results show that the ages ranged from 3.4-44.1 ka.Most of the samples(13)were Holocene in age,around 11 ka,8-9 ka,5-6.5 ka,4.6 ka,and 3.4-3.7 ka and were distributed along ancient river channels around sites of Yuansha and Karadun.Two samples close to the Hotan River(38-47 ka)fall within the Marine Isotope Stage 3(MIS3).Three samples(from one section)were located near ancient channels flowing towards the Yuansha Site and had ages of around 14.5 ka,i.e.,during the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM).The analyses of the sediment samples and OSL ages suggest that the Keriya River flooded in the Holocene,the LGM,and MIS3.Fluvial sediments provided the source material for the dunes,and fluvial processes affected the landform evolution in the lower Keriya River.Our results suggest that most of the dunes covered in fluvial sediments in the lower reaches and the area west of the Keriya River developed since the Holocene.This differs from the results of previous studies,which suggested that they developed since the Han(202BC-220AD)and Tang(618-907AD)dynasties.The OSL ages of the fluvial sediments are consistent with the reported deglaciation(after glacial advance)ages in the alpine mountains surrounding the Tarim Basin.This suggests that climate fluctuations may have affected the occurrence of floods and the formation of dunes in the Taklimakan Desert.

Rare earth element geochemistry in the inner shelf of the East China Sea and its implication to sediment provenances

Gravity core EC2005, located in the mud wedge off the Zhejiang-Fujian coast in the inner shelf of the East China Sea （ECS）, was analyzed for its lithology, grain size, rare earth elements （REE） and AMS14C dating. Results revealed high-resolution paleoenvironmental evolution and multiple switches of sediment provenances in the inner shelf of ECS. The lithology, grain size and REE concentrations of sediments varied significantly down the core. Mean grain size ranged from 8 to 121 μm, and the values of ΣREE were 152.8-227.9 μg/g. The chondrite- and shale-normalized REE patterns indicated their similarity to the terrigenous sediments in the study area. Between 17.3-12.3 ka BP the sediments in the inner shelf of ECS were mainly originated from local drainage basins. The source then gradually switched to the Yangtze River between 12.3 and 9.8 ka BP. Since about 10-9.8 ka BP, the sediments in the study area were dominantly derived from the Yangtze River. The continuous rising of sea level and formation of coastal current along the inner shelf played a key role in the switches of sediment provenances.

A broad deglacial δ^(13)C minimum event in planktonic foraminiferal records in the Okinawa Trough

The equatorial Pacific upwelling zone has been suspected of playing an important role in the global atmospheric CO2 changes associated with glacial-interglacial cycles. In order to assess the influencing scope of the surface water deglacial δ13C minimum in the tropical low-latitude Pacific, the core DGKS9603, collected from the middle Okinawa Trough, was examined for δ13C records of planktonic fo-raminifera N. dutertrei and G. ruber. The planktonic fo-raminiferal δ13C records show a clear decreasing event from 20 to 6 cal. kaBP., which is characterized by long duration of about 14 ka and amplitude shift of 0.4×10-3. Its minimum value occurred at 15.7 cal kaBP. The event shows fairly synchrony with the surface water deglacial δ13C minimum identified in the tropical Pacific and its marginal seas. Because there is no evidence in planktonic foraminiferal fauna and δ18O records for upwelling and river runoff enhancement, the broad deglacial δ13C minimum event in planktonic foraminiferal records

Deep-sea benthic foraminiferal record of the paleoceanography in the southern Okinawa Trough over the last 20 000 years

Quantitative analyses have been carried out on benthic foraminifera from 66 samples of Core 255 in the southern Okinawa Trough, in combination with the stable isotopic analyses of planktonic and benthic foraminifera and AMS 14C dating, in order to reconstruct the history of change under deep water conditions and surface paleoproduclivity over the last 20 000 years. The variations in the ratio of agglutinants in benthic foraminiferal fauna and the ratio of fragments in planktonic foraminifera] fauna indicate higher carbonate dissolution during the postglacial stage than during the glacial stage. The distribution of species and the results of Q-mode factor analysis show that there are three distinctly different benthic foraminiferal assemblages during the glacial, deglacial and postglacial stages in the Okinawa Trough over the last 20000 years: the glacial Bulimina aculeata assemblage (especially the dominant species Uvigerina pereyrina) is associated with high surface primary productivity and organic

The Younger Dryas in the West Pacific marginal seas

The occurrence and nature of the Younger Dryas (YD) abrupt climatic event in the West Pacific marginal seas are discussed on the basis of 15 sediment cores. This event has been found in all these cores studied with a high-resolution stratigraphy and proved to be common to the West Pacific region. As shown by the isotopic and micropaleontologic analyses, the YD, dated by C-14 at about 11000 to 10000 a B.P., is a brief event of sea surface cooling in winter season following a fresh-water pulse about 12000 a B.P. The 'apparent regression' of the YD recorded in the Changjiang River delta and the Sea of Japan agrees with the interpretation that the YD is a period of slowed sea level rising between two phases of rapid rising. Both the winter surface water cooling and the increasing salinity in the YD imply a strengthening of the winter, but not summer monsoon circulation. This major climatic event in the marginal seas must have had profound impact on the adjacent continent.