Last glacial megafaunal death assemblage and early human occupation at Lake Menindee, southeastern Australia

2006 ◽  
Vol 66 (2) ◽  
pp. 332-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew L. Cupper ◽  
Jacqui Duncan
Keyword(s):  
Human Occupation ◽  
Faunal Assemblage ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Southeastern Australia ◽  
Aeolian Sediments ◽  
Climatic Aridity ◽  
Early Human ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractThe Tedford subfossil locality at Lake Menindee preserves a diverse assemblage of marsupials, monotremes and placental rodents. Of the 38 mammal taxa recorded at the site, almost a third are of extinct megafauna. Some of the bones are articulated or semi-articulated and include almost complete skeletons, indicating that aeolian sediments rapidly buried the animals following death. New optical ages show the site dates to the early part of the last glacial (55,700 ± 1300 yr weighted mean age). This is close to the 51,200–39,800 yr Australia-wide extinction age for megafauna suggested by Roberts et al. [2001, Science 292:1888–1892], but like all previous researchers, we cannot conclusively determine whether humans were implicated in the deaths of the animals. Although an intrusive hearth at the site dating to 45,100 ± 1400 yr ago is the oldest evidence of human occupation of the Darling River, no artifacts were identified in situ within the sub-fossil-bearing unit. Non-anthropogenic causes, such as natural senescence or ecosystem stress due to climatic aridity, probably explain the mortality of the faunal assemblage at Lake Menindee.

Comparing a new paleomap of European loess landscapes to an atmospheric dust circulation model

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janina J. (Bösken) Nett ◽  
Frank Lehmkuhl ◽  
Erik J. Schaffernicht ◽  
Stephan Pötter ◽  
Philipp Schulte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Glacial Maximum ◽  
Source Areas ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
Aeolian Sediments ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
The Last Glacial

<p>Loess is an important archive of environmental change covering approximately 10% of the Earth’s terrestrial surface. Numerous studies have analyzed loess deposits and in particular loess-paleosol sequences. To analyze these sequences, it is important to know the spatial distribution of aeolian sediments, their location relative to potential source areas, and the geomorphology of the sink area. We investigated these aspects by compiling a new map of aeolian sediments in Europe using highly resolved geodata from 27 countries (Lehmkuhl et al., in press). To determine the most relevant factors for the European loess distribution, we further mapped potential source areas and divided the map into different facies domains. We analyzed the geomorphological and paleoenvironmental effects on the deposition and preservation of Late Pleistocene loess. Finally, the geodata-based results were compared with results obtained from high-resolved regional numerical climate-dust experiments for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Europe, which were performed with the LGM-adapted Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem-LGM; Schaffernicht et al., 2020).  Complementing the mapping-based findings with the WRF-Chem-LGM experiments results in an improved understanding of the Late Pleistocene loess landscape in Europe.</p><p> </p><p>References:</p><p>Lehmkuhl, F., Nett, J.J., Pötter, S., Schulte, P., Sprafke, T., Jary, Z., Antoine, P., Wacha, L., Wolf, D., Zerboni, A., Hošek, J., Marković, S.B., Obreht, I., Sümegi, P., Veres, D., Zeeden, C., Boemke, B., Schaubert, V., Viehweger, J., Hambach, U. (in press). Loess landscapes of Europe – Mapping, geomorphology, and zonal differentiation. Earth-Science Reviews. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2020.103496</p><p>Schaffernicht, E.J., Ludwig, P., Shao, Y., 2020. Linkage between dust cycle and loess of the last Glacial Maximum in Europe. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 20, 4969–4986. Doi:10.5194/acp-20-4969-2020.</p>

Late Cainozoic history of vegetation, fire, lake levels and climate, at Lake George, New South Wales, Australia

1985 ◽  
Vol 311 (1151) ◽  
pp. 379-447 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Lapse Rate ◽  
Lake Levels ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Southeastern Australia ◽  
General Terms ◽  
Cool Temperate ◽  
Lake Catchment ◽  
Brunhes Chron ◽  
Lake George ◽  
The Last Glacial

The results of pollen, spore, algal and charcoal particle analyses from an 18 m core sample, dating from ca . 730000-0 a before present (B.P.), from Lake George are described along with an account of a five year study of modern pollen-rain from the same site. Also, pollen analyses of two isolated samples, dating about 4-7 Ma B.P., in a separate core from the same location are reported for comparison. The sedimentary sequence is dated by means of magnetostratigraphy and radiocarbon. The microfossil record from Lake George provides the longest relatively continuous Quaternary continental sequence yet available from Australia and may document one of the world’s longest combined record of vegetation, bush-fires, lake levels and climates together with the record of accompanying plant migrations, redistributions and extinctions. It is so far the only chronologically secure Late Cainozoic palynological database available in Australia that spans the entire Brunhes Chron. The altitudinal shifts of vegetation belts inferred from the palynological sequence suggest significant past changes in terrestrial temperatures of the order of glacialinterglacial cycles. It is revealed that the upper treeline was depressed by 1200-1500 m and 300-600 m, respectively, during the glacial maxima and the cool-temperate intervals, and reverted during the interglacials. Assuming an average lapse rate of 0.7 °C per 100 m, the drop in mean temperature for the warmest month (January) with respect to the present during the glacial maxima and the cool-temperate periods respectively may have been about 8—10 °C and 2—4 °C. A series of about eight glacial-interglacial cycles (phases I-XIX ) are recognized during the Brunhes Chron at Lake George broadly corresponding to stages 1-19 of the deep sea 18 O palaeotemperature record. A correlation between the palaeotemperature sequence and the former lake levels at Lake George is presented for the relatively more continuous section, ca. 350000-0 a B.P., with a view to resolve past precipitation changes. It is inferred that periods of considerably lower precipitation than at present prevailed during the glacial maxima. Conversely, periods of higher precipitation than at present occurred for some considerable lengths of time during the interglacials. In general terms, the precipitation levels increased during both interglacials and interstadials with respect to glacial maxima. The plant microfossil evidence indicates that Eucalyptus -dominated, dry sclerophyll (low, open) forests, now growing in the lake catchment, and probably elsewhere in southeastern Australia are the result of a comparatively recent development. It is shown that the relatively ‘ fire-sensitive’ Casuarina -dominated forests, combined several equally or more ‘fire-sensitive’ rainforest taxa, dominated the vegetation for at least half a million years during all but the last two interglacials. The relatively ‘fire-tolerant’, Eucalyptus -dominated forests started to expand onwards from the last interglacial, some 130000 years ago, in conjunction with large increases in the amount of charcoal in the sediment. Since then, not only did the amount of charcoal remain at a generally high level but the overall dominance of open, eucalypt forest is maintained throughout during the warmer periods except for a cool-temperate interstadial interval (zone D) during the last glacial. The ‘fire-sensitive’ Casuarina (under 23 μm type) as well as all the rainforest taxa declined at the end of the last glacial and finally disappeared from the lake catchment during the Holocene, culminating in the total extinction of Casuarina type under 23 μm during the last few hundred years. Some of the changes in flora during the Brunhes Chron were undoubtedly the result of long-term climatic change but most appear to have been precipitated through increased fire-frequencies only during the last 130000 years (with the maximum impact occurring during the last 10000 years), probably on account of the bush-firing activities of early man in Australia. This presupposes the presence of the Aboriginal people some 90000 years earlier than the oldest available archaeological evidence for human occupation of the Australian continent, a proposition that remains to be tested by future archaeological investigations. In biogeographical terms, the studies reveal that a number of Gondwanic taxa, commonly seen during the late Tertiary in southeastern Australia, survived well into the Pleistocene and finally disappeared during the late Brunhes from Lake George.

Lower Danube loess - a crucial palaeoclimatic archive for the last glacial cycle in Southeast Europe

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Pötter ◽  
Janina Bösken ◽  
Igor Obreht ◽  
Philipp Schulte ◽  
Daniel Veres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Regional Scale ◽  
Danube River ◽  
Left Bank ◽  
Accumulation Rates ◽  
Southeast Europe ◽  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Danube Basin ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Aeolian Sediments ◽  
The Last Glacial

<p>The vast Pleistocene aeolian sediments of the Lower Danube Basin are an important archive of Quaternary palaeoclimate dynamics in Southeast Europe. The intercalation of loess layers and fossil soils, so called loess-palaeosol sequences (LPS) are interpreted as the results of oscillating climate phases in the past. However, the characteristics of these LPS vary quite strongly, since they are influenced by various factors. Those factors are mainly the (palaeo-) climate, the (palaeo-) relief and the availability of source material, which differ notably, even at a regional scale. Taken that into account, it is crucial to consider local characteristics while comparing data from different LPS.</p><p>Against this backdrop, we compare two LPS from the dry Bărăgan steppe area in southeast Romania: Vlasca (VLA) and Balta Alba Kurgan (BAK). The two sections are approx. 100 km afar and developed under different geomorphic and climatic situations, resulting in varying accumulation rates and post-depositional alterations. Vlasca is a natural exposure on the left bank of the Danube River, whereas BAK is situated in a road cut, approx. 15 km south of the Carpathian bending. The two sites show remarkable differences concerning accumulation rates, grain size, colour, geochemical characteristics as well as magnetic properties, which are interpreted as the results of sediment availability, depositional milieu and especially post-depositional alterations. The variations and the commonalities are used, together with the chronological framework, to better understand the palaeoclimatic evolution of the Lower Danube Basin within the last glacial cycle and to gauge possible ramifications of palaeoclimatic variations on the migration of modern humans.</p>

scholarly journals Ostracods as ecological and isotopic indicators of lake water salinity changes: the Lake Van example

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 2095-2114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeremy McCormack ◽  
Finn Viehberg ◽  
Derya Akdemir ◽  
Adrian Immenhauser ◽  
Ola Kwiecien
Keyword(s):  
Lake Water ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
Water Salinity ◽  
Glacial Period ◽  
Lake Van ◽  
Faunal Assemblage ◽  
Last Glacial Period ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Hydrological Changes ◽  
The Last Glacial

Abstract. Ostracods are common lacustrine calcitic microfossils. Their faunal assemblage and morphological characteristics are important ecological proxies, and their valves are archives of geochemical information related to palaeoclimatic and palaeohydrological changes. In an attempt to assess ostracod ecology (taxonomic diversity and valve morphology) combined with valve geochemistry (δ18O and δ13C) as palaeosalinity indicators, we analysed sedimentary material from the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) Ahlat Ridge site from a terminal and alkaline lake, Lake Van (Turkey), covering the last 150 kyr. Despite a low species diversity, the ostracod faunal assemblage reacted sensitively to changes in the concentration of total dissolved salts in their aquatic environment. Limnocythere inopinata is present throughout the studied interval, while Limnocythere sp. A is restricted to the Last Glacial period and related to increased lake water salinity and alkalinity. The presence of species belonging to the genus Candona is limited to periods of lower salinity. Valves of Limnocytherinae species (incl. L. inopinata) display nodes (hollow protrusions) during intervals of increased salinity. Both the number of noded valves and the number of nodes per valve appear to increase with rising salinity, suggesting that node formation is related to hydrological changes (salinity and/or alkalinity). In contrast to Lake Van's bulk δ18O record, the δ18O values of ostracod valves do record relative changes of the lake volume, with lower values during high lake level periods. The δ13C values of different species reflect ostracod habitat preferences (i.e. infaunal vs. epifaunal) but are less sensitive to hydrological changes. However, combined with other proxies, decreasing Holocene δ13C values may indicate a freshening of the lake water compared to the low lake level during the Last Glacial period. The Lake Van example underscores the significance and value of coupling ostracod ecology and valve geochemistry in palaeoenvironmental studies of endorheic lake basins.

The Pleistocene Prehistory of Siberia

1971 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G. Klein
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Development ◽  
Upper Paleolithic ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Large Numbers ◽  
Open Country ◽  
Major River ◽  
Game Hunting ◽  
River Valleys ◽  
The Last Glacial

Very little is known about the prehistory of Siberia prior to the Sartan (“Main Würm” = “Main Wisconsin”) Stadial of the Last Glacial. It is not yet clear whether this is result of the inadequacy of investigations so far or of the fact that human occupation was relatively limited in pre-Sartan times. The Sartan occupation of Siberia has been well documented by the discovery of a relatively large number of open-air sites in the major river valleys of the region. The large numbers of broken-up animal bones found at many of these sites, in combination with rich inventories of bone and stone artifacts and remains of structures, hearths, ect., show that the Sartan inhabitants of Siberia were comparable in level of cultural development to their European (Upper Paleolithic) contemporaries. More particularly, they seem to have been effective big-game hunters, fully capable of exploiting the comparatively rich game resources of their open country environment. As in Europe, evidence from Siberia suggests that the environmental change (especially reforestation) which took place at the end of the Last Glacial led to decreased reliance on big-game hunting and increased emphasis on other modes of subsistence, especially fishing.

Summer air temperature, reconstructions from the last glacial stage based on rodents from the site Taillis-des-Coteaux (Vienne), Western France

2014 ◽  
Vol 82 (2) ◽  
pp. 420-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurélien Royer ◽  
Christophe Lécuyer ◽  
Sophie Montuire ◽  
Jérôme Primault ◽  
François Fourel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Isotope Composition ◽  
Archaeological Site ◽  
Sedimentary Sequence ◽  
Human Occupation ◽  
Tooth Formation ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractThe oxygen isotope composition of phosphate from tooth enamel of rodents (δ18Op) constitutes a valuable proxy to reconstruct past air temperatures in continental environments. This method has been applied to rodent dental remains from three genera, Arvicola sp., Microtus sp. and Dicrostonyx sp., coming from Taillis-des-Coteaux, Vienne, France. This archaeological site contains an exceptionally preserved sedimentary sequence spanning almost the whole Upper Palaeolithic, including seven stratigraphic layers dated from 35 to 17 cal ka BP. The abundant presence of rodent remains offers the opportunity to quantify the climatic fluctuations coeval of the various stages of human occupation of the site. Differences between δ18Op values of Arvicola sp. and Microtus sp. teeth are interpreted as the result of heterochrony in tooth formation as well as differences in ecology. Mean δ18Op values of Microtus sp. are preferentially used to reconstruct summer air temperatures, which range from 16.0 ± 3.7 to 19.1 ± 3.1°C throughout the sedimentary sequence; however, the highest variability is observed during the last glacial maximum.

Chronology of glaciations in the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Iberia) during the Last Glacial Cycle based on in situ-produced 10Be

2016 ◽  
Vol 138 ◽  
pp. 31-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Rodríguez-Rodríguez ◽  
Montserrat Jiménez-Sánchez ◽  
María José Domínguez-Cuesta ◽  
Vincent Rinterknecht ◽  
Raimon Pallàs ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Glacial Cycle ◽  
Cantabrian Mountains ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Nw Iberia ◽  
The Last Glacial

Stratigraphy, Pollen Analysis, and Paleoclimatic Interpretation of Pulbeena Swamp, Northwestern Tasmania

1982 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 108-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. A. Colhoun ◽  
G. van de Geer ◽  
W. G. Mook
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Analysis ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Major Phase ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Last Glacial ◽  
Pollen Zone ◽  
Peat Deposits ◽  
Glacial Stage ◽  
The Last Glacial

AbstractSedimentary, palynologic, and 14C analysis of 480 cm of freshwater marl and swamp-peat deposits, formed under the influence of fluctuating artesian springs, provides a paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic record of approximately 65,000 yr for northwestern Tasmania.The Holocene (Pollen Zone 1, 11,000-0 yr B.P.) climate was warm and moist, and forest vegetation was dominant throughout the area. During the later part of the last glacial stage (Pollen Zone 2, 35,000–11,000 yr B.P.) the climate was generally drier, and grassy open environments were widespread. The driest part of this period occurred between 25,000 to 11,000 yr B.P., when temperatures in western Tasmania were markedly reduced during the last major phase of glaciation. Prior to 35,000 yr B.P. (Pollen Zones 3–9) a long “interstadial complex” dating to the middle of the last glacial stage is recognized. During this period the climate was generally moist, and forest and scrub communities were more important than during the later part of the last glacial stage, except during Pollen Zone 5 when high Gramineae plus Compositae values suggest drier conditions. High Gramineae and Compositae values also occur in Pollen Zone 10 at the base of the diagram. They suggest that a phase of drier and cooler climatic conditions occurred during the early part of the last glacial stage.

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