Facies Composition and Stratigraphic Position of the Quaternary Upper Yenisei Sequence in the Tuva and Minusa Depressions

2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (10) ◽  
pp. 1127-1138
Author(s):  
I.D. Zol’nikov ◽  
I.S. Novikov ◽  
E.V. Deev ◽  
A.V. Shpansky ◽  
M.V. Mikharevich
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Lacustrine Sediments ◽  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
Luminescence Dating ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
Gorny Altai ◽  
Stratigraphic Position ◽  
Geochronological Dating ◽  
Current Ripples

Abstract —The paper concerns the sediment sequence, which is widespread in the Yenisei valley and in the Tuva and Minusa depressions and also present in the valleys of the southern Chulym plain. The sediments of this sequence were previously described as “Neogene mud-shedding”, as well as moraines, alluvial fan deposits, alluvium of Middle Pleistocene high terraces, and lacustrine sediments. The giant ripple marks on the Upper Yenisei terraces was commonly interpreted as ribbed moraines; however, in recent studies, these ridges have been repeatedly referred to as marks of giant current ripples. Besides, some recently published papers provide description of geology of this sequence fragments suggesting its deposition by cataclysmic floods. Geomorphological analysis of the area shows Pleistocene glaciers to have been localized within the medium–high mountainous areas. The glaciers did not reach the Tuva and Minusa depressions and occupied large areas only in the Todzha basin and on the periphery of the Darkhat basin, forming a glacial dam at its outlet, which resulted in glacial-dammed lakes filling the basin completely. These lakes outburst, and the resultant flooding led to the deposition of megaflood sediments, which we refer to here as the Upper Yenisei sediment sequence. A detailed analysis of its facies architecture revealed similarity of these sediments to those of the Sal’dzhar and Inya sequences in Gorny Altai. Most of the Upper Yenisei megaflood sediments are localized in topographic lows of the Tuva and Minusa depressions. Beyond the Altai–Sayan mountainous area, the megaflood sediments of the Upper Yenisei sequence compose high terraces of the Yenisei, Chulym, Chet’, and Kiya rivers in the southern Chulym plain. The formation of Upper Yenisei sequence dates to the first half of the Late Pleistocene, inasmuch as it contains inset alluvial sediments of the second terrace of the Yenisei River. The available data allow suggesting that the Upper Yenisei sequence formed in the first Late Pleistocene regional glaciation. The Sal’dzhar sequence in Gorny Altai and the fourth terrace of the Ob’ River on the Fore-Altai plain are stratigraphic analogs of the Upper Yenisei sequence. The Upper Yenisei and Sal’dzhar sequences can thus be considered future regional markers serving as a link for the local stratigraphic schemes of the Altai–Sayan mountainous area and adjacent West Siberian plains. The results obtained call for verification by geochronological dating, first of all, by modern luminescence dating methods covering a wider chronological interval than radiocarbon dating.

Eolian and fluvial sedimentation in the southwestern Sinai Mountains, Egypt: a record of flash floods during the late Pleistocene

2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-299
Author(s):  
Jörg Völkel ◽  
Jörg Grunert ◽  
Matthias Leopold ◽  
Kerstin Hürkamp ◽  
Juliane Huber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Arid Environment ◽  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
Luminescence Dating ◽  
Alluvial Fans ◽  
Extreme Floods ◽  
Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating ◽  
Fluvial Sedimentation ◽  
Southwestern Sinai ◽  
The Last Glacial

Wadis emerging from the southwestern Sinai Mountains (Egypt) westwards to the Gulf of Suez are filled by >40 m thick late Pleistocene sediments, which have been subsequently incised to bedrock after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Sedimentation and erosion resulted from changes in the basin's hydrological conditions caused by climate variations. Sediment characteristics indicate distinct processes ranging from high to low energy flow regimes. Airborne material is important as a sediment source. The fills are associated with alluvial fans at wadi mouths at the mountain fronts. Each alluvial fan is associated and physically correlated with the respective sediment fill in its contributing wadi. The alluvial fans have steep gradients and are only a few kilometers long or wide. The alluvial fans converge as they emerge from the adjacent valleys. According to optically stimulated luminescence dating, the initial sediment has an age of ∼45 ka and the sedimentation ends ∼19 ka, i.e., happened mainly during marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 and early MIS 2 formation and initial incision sometime during LGM. As the delivery of sediments in such a hyper-arid environment is by extreme floods, this study indicates an interval of intense fluvial activity, probably related to increased frequency of extreme floods in Southern Sinai. This potentially indicates a paleoclimatic change in this hyper-arid environment.

scholarly journals Luminescence dating of a late Middle Pleistocene glacial advance in eastern England

2021 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip L. Gibbard ◽  
Mark D. Bateman ◽  
Jane Leathard ◽  
R.G. West
Keyword(s):  
Previous Investigation ◽  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
Luminescence Dating ◽  
Marine Isotope Stage ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Eastern Margin ◽  
First Time ◽  
Late Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Glacial Advance

Abstract Previous investigation of isolated landforms, on the eastern margin of the East Anglian Fenland, England, has demonstrated that they represent an ice-marginal delta and alluvial fan complex deposited at the margin of an ice lobe that entered the Fenland during the ‘Tottenhill glaciation’ (termed the ‘Skertchly Line’). They have been attributed, based on regional correlations, to a glaciation during the Late Wolstonian (i.e. Late Saalian) Substage (Drenthe Stadial, early Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6). This paper aimed to test this correlation by directly optically luminescence dating, for the first time, sediments found within the Skertchly Line at Shouldham Thorpe, Norfolk, and Maidscross Hill, Suffolk, together with those in associated kame terrace deposits at Watlington, Norfolk. Ages ranged from 244 ± 10 ka to 12.8 ± 0.46 ka, all the results being younger than MIS 8 with some clearly showing the landforms have been subsequently subjected to periglacial processes, particularly during the Late Devensian Substage (∼MIS 2). Most of the remainder fall within the range 169–212 ka and could be assigned to MIS 6, thus confirming the previously proposed age of the glaciation. The local and regional implications of these conclusions are discussed, the maximum ice limit being linked to that of the Amersfoort–Nijmegen glaciotectonic ridge limit in the central Netherlands.

scholarly journals Pleistocene horses (genus Equus) in the central Balkans

2003 ◽  
pp. 55-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Forsten ◽  
Vesna Dimitrijevic
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
River Valley ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Northern Greece ◽  
The North ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Morava River ◽  
River Valleys

A review of the fossil horses of the genus Equus from the central Balkans, a mountainous area comprising Serbia and Montenegro, is presented in this paper. The time period covered by the finds is from the late Early to and including the Late Pleistocene, but the record is not complete: the dated finds are Late Pleistocene in age, while Early and Middle Pleistocene are poorly represented. The horses found resemble those from neighbouring countries from the same time period, probably showing the importance of river valleys as migration routes. The Morava River valley runs in a roughly south-to-north direction, connecting, via the Danube and Tisa River valleys the Hungarian Pannonian Plain in the north with northern Greece in the south, via the Vardar River valley in Macedonia. In Pleistocene, large mammals, including horses, probably used this route for dispersal.

scholarly journals Pleistocene glaciations of the SE Altai, Russia, based on geomorphological data and absolute dating of glacial deposits in Chagan reference section

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna R Agatova ◽  
Roman K Nepop
Keyword(s):  
Lacustrine Sediments ◽  
Luminescence Dating ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Pleistocene Glaciations ◽  
Strong Response ◽  
Glacial Deposits ◽  
Radiocarbon Dates ◽  
Glacial Sediments ◽  
Absolute Dating ◽  
Reference Section

AbstractGeomorphological evidence of at least two Pleistocene glacial epochsis noted within the Chagan-Uzun river basin, SE Altai. A review and analysis of all available absolute dates for reference Chagan section is presented. The highest correlation amongst all TL dates is observed for the lens of glacio-lacustrine sediments – the most suitable among glacial deposits for luminescence dating, and indicates its possible Middle Pleistocene age. IRSL dates obtained from feldspar indicate a Middle Pleistocene age of moraines already in the upper part of the section. The small number of obtained IRSL dates does not allow making geochronological reconstructions of the Pleistocene glaciations, but gives the possibility for further experiments with different variation of OSL (IRSL) techniques. Strong low temperature peak in TL signal and strong response to IR stimulation are specific regional quartz features, which could be explained by combination of short transportation distance and low number of depositional cycles for mineral grains. Available radiocarbon dates of carbonate concretions from this section are not related to the age of moraine sedimentation and most likely indicate the period of the Chagan river incision into the ancient glacial deposits.This study has shown that TL method is not valid for dating glacial sediments and TL dates cannot be utilized as chronostratigraphic markers. Generally, the Chagan section could hardly serve as a reference section for the Altai stratigraphy; available depositional correlation schemes for the Russian Altai and Siberia which are based on several TL dates obtained in the last century needs to be improved.

scholarly journals Palaeoclimate characteristics in interior Siberia of MIS 6–2: first insights from the Batagay permafrost mega-thaw slump in the Yana Highlands

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 795-818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kseniia Ashastina ◽  
Lutz Schirrmeister ◽  
Margret Fuchs ◽  
Frank Kienast
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Detailed Comparison ◽  
Plant Macrofossils ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Cold Stage ◽  
Dry Conditions ◽  
Winter Time ◽  
Geochronological Dating ◽  
Ice Complex

Abstract. Syngenetic permafrost deposits formed extensively on and around the arising Beringian subcontinent during the Late Pleistocene sea level lowstands. Syngenetic deposition implies that all material, both mineral and organic, freezes parallel to sedimentation and remains frozen until degradation of the permafrost. Permafrost is therefore a unique archive of Late Pleistocene palaeoclimate. Most studied permafrost outcrops are situated in the coastal lowlands of northeastern Siberia; inland sections are, however, scarcely available. Here, we describe the stratigraphical, cryolithological, and geochronological characteristics of a permafrost sequence near Batagay in the Siberian Yana Highlands, the interior of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia), Russia, with focus on the Late Pleistocene Yedoma ice complex (YIC). The recently formed Batagay mega-thaw slump exposes permafrost deposits to a depth of up to 80 m and gives insight into a climate record close to Verkhoyansk, which has the most severe continental climate in the Northern Hemisphere. Geochronological dating (optically stimulated luminescence, OSL, and 14C ages) and stratigraphic implications delivered a temporal frame from the Middle Pleistocene to the Holocene for our sedimentological interpretations and also revealed interruptions in the deposition. The sequence of lithological units indicates a succession of several distinct climate phases: a Middle Pleistocene ice complex indicates cold stage climate. Then, ice wedge growth stopped due to highly increased sedimentation rates and eventually a rise in temperature. Full interglacial climate conditions existed during accumulation of an organic-rich layer – plant macrofossils reflected open forest vegetation existing under dry conditions during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5e. The Late Pleistocene YIC (MIS 4–MIS 2) suggests severe cold-stage climate conditions. No alas deposits, potentially indicating thermokarst processes, were detected at the site. A detailed comparison of the permafrost deposits exposed in the Batagay thaw slump with well-studied permafrost sequences, both coastal and inland, is made to highlight common features and differences in their formation processes and palaeoclimatic histories. Fluvial and lacustrine influence is temporarily common in the majority of permafrost exposures, but has to be excluded for the Batagay sequence. We interpret the characteristics of permafrost deposits at this location as a result of various climatically induced processes that are partly seasonally controlled. Nival deposition might have been dominant during winter time, whereas proluvial and aeolian deposition could have prevailed during the snowmelt period and the dry summer season.

Cosmogenic-nuclide burial ages for Quaternary drilling core sediments in the Yangtze River De, China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Qi
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Yangtze River ◽  
Luminescence Dating ◽  
Early Pleistocene ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
The Yangtze River ◽  
Quaternary Sediments ◽  
Cosmogenic Nuclide ◽  
Drilling Core ◽  
Early Late

<p>The establishment of Quaternary drilling core time rulers is an important basis for analyzing the evolution of the Quaternary environment in the plain areas．After analyzing the lithology, color, material composition, sedimentary structure and interface of the Quaternary sediments with a total thickness of 95.5m in YBK1 core in the east side of Yunhe Bridge in Shiqiao Town, Yangzhou City，dividing the stratum in detail，and using dating methods like AMS<sup>14</sup>C，OSL，cosmogenic nuclide and paleomagnetism. Based on four AMS<sup>14</sup>C, ten OSL and two <sup>26</sup>Al and <sup>10</sup>Be burial ages from Quaternary drilling core sediments in the Yangtze River De, the Quaternary stratigraphic-time ruler of YBK1 core was established．The Quaternary sediments is overlying the Pukou group red siltstone，and it is composed of four sets of strata，which from old to new respectively are: the upper part of the early Late-Pleistocene Qidong Group，with age of 0. 1 0. 3Ma，thickness of 30. 20m; the lower part of the early Late-Pleistocene Kunshan Group，with age of 0. 1 0. 045Ma，thickness of 1. 80m; the middle part of the later Late-Pleistocene Gehu Group，with age of 0. 045 ～ 0. 01Ma，thickness of only 3. 40m; the Holocene Rudong Group，with large thickness of 55. 10m. According to the lithological characteristics of YBK1 core，Early-Pleistocene and Early-Middle-Pleistocene sediments are non-existent</p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Quaternary Strata; Burial dating; luminescence dating, the Yangtze River De</p>

Coupled controls of climate, geology, and biota on late Pleistocene alluvial fan morphodynamics along the coast of the hyperarid Atacama Desert

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janek Walk ◽  
Melanie Bartz ◽  
Georg Stauch ◽  
Mark Reyers ◽  
Steven A. Binnie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Atacama Desert ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Alluvial Fan ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Luminescence Dating ◽  
Alluvial Fans ◽  
Functional Relationships ◽  
Marine Terraces

<p>In the hyperarid environment of the Atacama Desert, alluvial fans are the principle fluvial geo-archive reflecting variations in climate and tectonics in their architecture. While they have been studied in the core of the desert to reconstruct long-term palaeoenvironmental changes from the Oligocene to the Quaternary and, in particular, to constrain the onset of hyperaridity, alluvial fans along the coast (20.5°S – 25.5°S) are younger and show a much higher activity; thus, they can serve as archives during the Pleistocene to Holocene evolution. However, past and recent morphodynamics of the coastal alluvial fans (CAF) are yet poorly reconstructed so that the understanding of an interplay between climatic, geologic, and biotic controls is still challenging.</p><p>We related climatic, lithologic, and tectonic source-area characteristics to geomorphometric parameters of the CAF and their catchments. Geomorphometric analyses were conducted based on the 12.5 m TanDEM‑X WorldDEM™, lithological and tectonic data were extracted from regional geological maps, and the frequency of heavy rainfall events derived from a regional Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was used as a climate parameter. We further combined luminescence dating, cosmogenic nuclide exposure dating, and existing chronological data to constrain the timing of Pleistocene alluvial fan deposition as well as the ages of interbedded marine terraces.</p><p>Results indicate a primary climatic control on CAF dynamics shown in the functional relationships with catchment hydromorphometrics that mirror a high susceptibility to debris-flows as well as in the temporal pattern of CAF activity. Distinct phases of CAF activity occurred during the late Pleistocene (95–80 ka, 60–45 ka, and 35-20 ka) and the Holocene – driven by atmospheric changes from the Pacific Ocean. The primary source of precipitation is reflected along the latitudinal gradient: frontal systems and cut-off lows mainly originating from the extratropics. Towards the south, an increasing density of Loma vegetation can be observed so that also possible feedback mechanisms of biota on sediment supply need to be considered. While source-area lithology is of negligible relevance for CAF morphodynamics, an important long-term influence of tectonics can be seen in the regional uplift, which in turn controls the catchment shape and relief. From the numerical dating of the marine terraces, uplift rates ranging between ~0.06 and ~0.57 m/ka were derived for the late Pleistocene period.</p><p>Acknowledgement: TanDEM-X WorldDEM™ data is provided by a DLR Science grant, 2017.</p><p>References: <br>Bartz, M., Walk, J., Binnie, S.A., Brill, D., Stauch, G., Lehmkuhl, F., Hoffmeister, D., Brückner, H., in press. Late Pleistocene alluvial fan evolution along the coastal Atacama Desert (N Chile). Global and Planetary Change, 103091. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2019.103091</p><p>Walk, J., Stauch, G., Reyers, M., Vásquez, P., Sepúlveda, F.A., Bartz, M., Hoffmeister, D., Brückner, H., Lehmkuhl, F., 2020. Gradients in climate, geology, and topography affecting coastal alluvial fan morphodynamics in hyperarid regions – The Atacama perspective. Global and Planetary Change 185, 102994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2019.102994</p>

The middle Pleistocene deposits at Marks Tey, Essex

1970 ◽  
Vol 257 (817) ◽  
pp. 373-437 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Lacustrine Sediments ◽  
Late Glacial ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Interglacial Period ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
Lacustrine Deposits ◽  
Stratigraphic Position ◽  
Boulder Clay ◽  
Glacial Periods

At Marks Tey, Essex, Pleistocene lacustrine sediments rest on chalky boulder clay and occupy a deep, narrow trough cut into the subglacial surface. The central deposits of the former lake basin consist of laminated clay muds, partly brecciated, overlain by laminated grey clay, which is at present exploited for brickmaking. Together these strata have a maximum proved thickness of at least 35 m. The marginal sediments of the basin are thinner and more organic, and indicate some fluctuation of water level during deposition. Palaeobotanical evidence suggests that the basin was formed during the Lowestoft glaciation, possibly by subglacial erosion, and was gradually infilled during the course of the entire Hoxnian interglacial and the earliest part of the ensuing Gipping glacial period. Pollen analysis of the lacustrine deposits yielded the first complete vegetational record throughout the Hoxnian interglacial from the Lowestoft Late-glacial to the Gipping Early-glacial periods. The vegetational and climatic development of the interglacial can be reconstructed from the palaeobotanical evidence. The grey clay of Gipping age contained a macroflora of ‘full-glacial’ aspect. Of particular note are (1) the closing zones of the interglacial (Ho III and Ho IV ), which have not been fully recorded before; (2) the occurrence during this period of such exotic plant types as Vitis, Pterocarya and Ericacf. terminalis ; and (3) a high non-tree pollen phase during subzone H o l i e similar to that recorded by West (1956) from the same subzone at Hoxne. A preliminary investigation has been made of diatomaceous lamination structures in the interglacial clay mud. This lamination, which appears to be annual, suggests that the timespan of the interglacial period was of the order of 30000 to 50000 years. The interglacial deposits rest on chalky boulder clay, corresponding to the Springfield Till of Clayton (1957, 1960). There is no sign of till overlying the lacustrine deposits. Nearby, other Hoxnian deposits at Copford and Rivenhall End, Kelvedon, rest in a similar stratigraphic position. This fact implies that all the till deposits of south-east Essex belong to the Lowestoft glaciation, and that the Gipping ice advance did not extend as far south as commonly assumed.

Pleistocene Climatic Changes and Landscape Evolution in the Kashmir Basin, India: Paleopedologic and Chronostratigraphic Studies

1987 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnt Bronger ◽  
Rajendra K. Pant ◽  
Ashok K. Singhvi
Keyword(s):  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Lacustrine Sediments ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Moisture Regime ◽  
Last Interglacial ◽  
Soil Moisture Regime ◽  
Modern Soil ◽  
Kashmir Basin ◽  
Middle And Late Pleistocene

AbstractThe Kashmir Basin is filled with Pliocene-Pleistocene fluvio-lacustrine sediments. On the flank of the Pir Panjal these sediments, called “Lower Karewas”, are covered with loess deposits up to 25 m thick that contain numerous middle and late Pleistocene paleosols, mostly polygenetic pedocomplexes, which were classified by micromorphological studies. Thermoluminescence dates provide a chronostratigraphy of the late Pleistocene loess-paleosol sequences. On the Himalayan flank, the “Upper Karewas” are covered only with late Pleistocene loess-paleosol sequences. Their base is the last interglacial soil, developed ca. 110,000 ± 10,000 yr B.P. This soil is genetically comparable to the modern soil and, therefore, is thought to have developed under a deciduous forest in a “xeric” soil moisture regime. The loesses of last glacial age on both flanks of the basin contain three humus-rich Ah, mostly Aht, horizons, indicating three warm and mostly humid climatic episodes between ca. 80,000 and 50,000 yr B.P. The middle Pleistocene loesses contain at least four Bwt, or thick Bt, horizons developed during four interglacial periods, having climates similar to the present. Large parts of the Karewa Lake must have lasted until the end of the penultimate glacial age.

Hominin transition to Upper Pliocene

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco J. Ayala ◽  
Camilo J. Cela-Conde
Keyword(s):  
Brain Development ◽  
Late Pleistocene ◽  
Technological Progress ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Middle Pleistocene ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Australopithecus Afarensis ◽  
Phylogenetic Significance ◽  
Homo Neanderthalensis ◽  
Surprising Discovery

This chapter analyzes the transition of the hominins from the Middle Pleistocene to the Late Pleistocene. Two alternative models are explored, the “Multiregional Hypothesis” (MH) and the “Replacement Hypothesis,” and how each model evaluates the existing relationships between the taxa Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. Next is the investigation of the transitional (or “archaic,” if this grade is taken into account) exemplars found in Europe, Africa, and Asia and their evolutionary significance. In particular, the comparison between H. erectus and H. sapiens in China and Java is investigated, as the main foundation of the MH. The chapter ends with the surprising discovery of Homo floresiensis and its description and interpretations concerning its taxonomic and phylogenetic significance. The correlation between brain development and technological progress is at odds with the attribution of perforators, microblades, and fishing hooks to a hominin with a small cranial volume, similar to that of Australopithecus afarensis.

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