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Quaternary
Number of Followers: 2  Open Access journalISSN (Online) 2571-550X Published by MDPI  [258 journals]
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- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 38: Development History of the
Loess–Paleosol Profiles of Pécel, Kisdorog and
Bonyhádvarasd, Hungary
Authors: László Makó, Péter Cseh, Balázs Nagy, Pál Sümegi, Dávid Molnár
First page: 38
Abstract: This study covers the examination of four loess–paleosol profiles in Hungary through grain size composition, organic matter, carbonate content and magnetic susceptibility measurements. One of the profiles (with a thickness of 25.72 m) can be found in the Gödöllő hills, on the border of town Pécel, and the other three profiles (Kisdorog-West—5.60 m, Kisdorog-East—6.40 and Bonyhádvarasd—8.16 m) are located in the Tolna hills of the Transdanubia region. The sections were continuously sampled with an interval of 4 cm. The same interval was also applied to the other three profiles. During the field exploration of the Pécel profile, we were able to study the complete loess wall, which was deposited on the sediment of the nearby Rákos stream. Based on the Ostracod fauna of the clay sediment beneath, the fluvial deposit can be considered as originating from the Upper Miocene. In the case of the Transdanubian sections, a significant change can be observed in the prevailing wind direction based on the grain size analyses. In addition, the results of magnetic susceptibility measurements suggest that the development of the Pécel profile took place during MIS 9–10, while the age of the three Transdanubian sections can be assumed to be the MIS 2–4.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-07-02
DOI: 10.3390/quat6030038
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 3 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 39: Reconstructing the Paleoenvironmental
Evolution of Lake Kolon (Hungary) through Integrated Geochemical and
Sedimentological Analyses of Quaternary Sediments
Authors: Tamás Zsolt Vári, Sándor Gulyás, Pál Sümegi
First page: 39
Abstract: Lake Kolon (Hungary), situated in the middle of the Turjánvidék area between the saline lakes of the Danube valley and the Homokhátság, is one of the most significant natural aquatic habitats in the Danube–Tisza Interfluve region. The central question of this study is how the lake changed, and how environmental factors and human activities have influenced these paleoenvironmental changes in Lake Kolon. A multiproxy analysis of a core sequence (loss on ignition, grain size, magnetic susceptibility, and geochemistry) provided crucial insights. Notably, correlations are observed in the following relationships: (1) clay, organic matter, and elements derived from organic sources, such as Na, K, and Zn; (2) MS, sand, inorganic matter, and elements originating from inorganic sources, such as Fe, Al, Ti, Na, K, and P; and (3) carbonate content and elements originating from carbonate sources, such as Ca and Mg. The lake’s paleoenvironment underwent significant changes in the past 27,000 years. Late-Pleistocene wind-blown sand provided the bottom for an oligotrophic lake (17,700 BP), followed by a calcareous mesotrophic Chara-lake phase (13,800 BP). Peat accumulation, along with the eutrophic lake phase, began at the Pleistocene–Holocene boundary around 11,700 BP. From 10,300 BP, with the emergence of an extended peatland phase, the percentage of organic matter (peat) increased significantly. Anthropogenic changes occurred from around 9000–8000 BP due to the different emerging cultures in the Carpathian basin, and from 942–579 BP due to the Hungarian settlements and activity nearby, respectively.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-07-03
DOI: 10.3390/quat6030039
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 3 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 40: Magnetic Susceptibility Prospecting and
Geochemical Characterization of Taxco’s Mining Waste Dam Guerrero I
(Mexico)
Authors: Juan Morales, María del Sol Hernández Bernal, Nayeli Pérez Rodríguez, Avto Goguitchaichvili
First page: 40
Abstract: Mining activity at Taxco produces seven mining waste deposits, which are problematic for the health of the community and for the environment in general. This study targets the Guerrero I mining waste dam (the youngest of the region), located south of Taxco de Alarcon, in the northern portion of Guerrero State, Mexico. This study reports the vertical magnetic susceptibility prospecting results and geochemical characterization of 27 tailing samples from the Guerrero I dam. Results from magnetic techniques provide evidence for different deposit layers of variable mineral composition, in agreement with the lithological column. The short evolution period of this relatively young dam is corroborated by the practically constant and close to 1 S-300 ratio (low oxidation degree of the magnetic mineralogy) and the mainly neutral pH character at the dam’s upper part. Most maximum concentrations of potentially toxic elements are below the maximum permissible levels for agriculture/residential use, except for those of Pb and Zn, with average enrichment factors above 90 and 50 times the corresponding regional background concentrations, respectively. Simple sample preparation and fast magnetic and X-ray fluorescence elemental concentration measurements, together with a suitable systematic sampling distribution, result in an advantageous proxy method for a quick and cost-effective heavy metal evaluation of mining waste dams.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-07-05
DOI: 10.3390/quat6030040
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 3 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 41: New Perspectives on the Quaternary
Paleogeography of Coastal Ecuador and Its Relationships with Climate
Change
Authors: María Quiñónez-Macías, Kervin Chunga, Theofilos Toulkeridis, Alvaro Mora-Mendoza, Angelo Constantine
First page: 41
Abstract: Well-preserved Quaternary sedimentary sequences in the central coast of Ecuador have provided sufficient relevant information for paleogeographic reconstruction and climatic evolution, from stratigraphic, geochemical, and biological analysis. The Jaramijo canton site is one of the most remarkable results in the stratigraphic correlation of lithological units with delineation of a paleo sea-cliff of age 14C 43,245 ± 460 B.P. (belonging to the MIS-3). This MIS-3 is associated with a period of glaciation, but the data obtained, such as δ 18O, indicate paleo-temperature values of −1 to −1.5, which are interpreted in this study, indicate that the central coast of Ecuador has an interstadial phase (warm years in a glacial stage). Two more paleo-coastal cliffs have been mapped from orthophoto analysis, but these are younger. The sedimentary levels analyzed in this study include deposits that occurred in MIS 3 to MIS 1. Holocene transgression has modified the central coast of Ecuador and increased the level of coastal climate hazard by sea level rise. Indeed, paleo-coastlines have been evidenced from bathymetric data in the depth contours of −5.5 m and −7.6 m, at 440 and 650 m distances from the up-to-date coastline. For the Jaramijó site, the rate of cliff-erosion and wave-cut platforms are in the order of 1.1 to 2.4 m/yr. These cliff-erosion rates, with a moderate to high coastal vulnerability index, can be increased if we consider mathematical models with an estimated sea-level rise scenario to be, in 2100, about +1 to +1.4 m.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-07-13
DOI: 10.3390/quat6030041
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 3 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 42: Anticipation, Discovery and Serendipity in
Quaternary Paleoecology: Personal Experiences from the Iberian Pyrenees
Authors: Valentí Rull
First page: 42
Abstract: This essay is a personal insight based on my own experience in the Iberian Pyrenees, which addresses three situations common in paleoecological research, such as the verification of previously devised hypotheses (anticipation), the finding on unknown events in unstudied sites (discovery) and the finding of unexpected outputs in already known areas (serendipity). The account is concentrated on the value of the coring sites by themselves as generators of paleoecological knowledge, rather than on the actual findings, which are presented and discussed in the corresponding data papers. The main aim is to show that there is still much room for new findings, even in areas that have been surveyed for a long time and are supposed to be well known, from a paleoecological perspective. Finally, some general lessons are derived and conceptualized.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-07-18
DOI: 10.3390/quat6030042
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 3 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 43: A Multidisciplinary Study of Wild Grapevines
in the River Crati Natural Reserve, South Italy (Calabria): Implications
in Conservation Biology and Palaeoecological Reconstructions
Authors: Eleonora Clò, Paola Torri, Michele Baliva, Agostino Brusco, Roberto Marchianò, Elisabetta Sgarbi, Jordan Palli, Anna Maria Mercuri, Gianluca Piovesan, Assunta Florenzano
First page: 43
Abstract: Nowadays, wild grapevine populations are quite limited and sporadic mainly due to habitat destruction, land-use change, and the spread of pathogens that have reduced their distribution range. Palaeoecological, archaeobotanical, and genetic studies indicate that modern cultivars of Vitis vinifera are the results of the domestication of the dioecious, and sometimes hermaphrodite, wild species standing in riparian zones and wet environments. Wild grapevine populations have declined as a consequence of various forms of anthropogenic disturbance and were assigned by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species to the Least Concern category. The River Crati Natural Reserve (Riserva Naturale Foce del Crati), located in southern Italy, hosts a population of Vitis vinifera subsp. sylvestris in a rewilding wet forest close to the Ionian Sea. These protected areas are of high scientific, biogeographic, and conservation interest in terms of Mediterranean biodiversity. Dendroecological and pollen morpho-biometric analyses of the wild grapevine are presented in this study. Palaeoecological perspectives for a landscape management strategy aimed at conserving and restoring the relic grapevine population are discussed.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-08-07
DOI: 10.3390/quat6030043
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 3 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 44: Vegetation Dynamics and Megaherbivore
Presence of MIS 3 Stadials and Interstadials 10–8 Obtained from a
Sediment Core from Auel Infilled Maar, Eifel, Germany
Authors: Sarah Britzius, Frank Sirocko
First page: 44
Abstract: We present a record of pollen and spores of coprophilous fungi from a sediment core from Auel infilled maar, Eifel, Germany, covering the period from 42,000 to 36,000 yr b2k. We can show that vegetation cover was dominated by a boreal forest with components of steppe and cold-temperate wood taxa. The proportion of wood taxa was higher during interstadials, whereas steppe-vegetation became more prominent during stadials. During Heinrich stadial 4, temperate taxa are mostly absent. Spores of coprophilous fungi show that megaherbivores were continuously present, albeit in a larger number during stadials when steppe environment with abundant steppe herbs expanded. With the onset of Greenland stadial 9, forests became more open, allowing for steppe-environment to evolve. The shift in vegetation cover coincides with the highest values of herbivore biomass at the time that Neanderthal humans demised and Anatomically Modern Humans most probably arrived in Central and Western Europe. Megaherbivore biomass was a direct consequence of vegetation cover/availability of food resources and thus an indirect consequence of a changing climate. Herds of large herbivores following suitable (steppe) habitats may have been one cause of the migration of AMH into Europe, going along with their prey to productive hunting grounds.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-08-07
DOI: 10.3390/quat6030044
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 3 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 45: Palynology of Gardens and Archaeobotany for
the Environmental Reconstruction of the Charterhouse of Calci-Pisa in
Tuscany (Central Italy)
Authors: Gabriele Gattiglia, Eleonora Rattighieri, Eleonora Clò, Francesca Anichini, Antonio Campus, Marta Rossi, Mauro Buonincontri, Anna Maria Mercuri
First page: 45
Abstract: In central Italy, the Charterhouse of Calci hosts the Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa. This monumental monastery was founded in 1366 by Carthusian monks. The Charterhouse has experienced various transformations over the centuries, until its abandonment in the 1970s. Since 2018, interdisciplinary archaeological research focused on the monks’ gardens (and particularly: the Prior’s, the Apothecary’s, and the Master’s garden) and the green spaces outside the cloister walls, consisting of courtyards and orchards, to determine the individual (gardens) and collective (green spaces and surrounding woods) practices adopted by Carthusians. Palynology and archaeobotany have allowed to reconstruct the plant biodiversity, with flowers and ornamental, aromatic, and medicinal herbs that grew in the gardens, as well as the management of local hilly woods and agricultural practices, including the cultivation of fruit trees, such as chestnut, olive tree, almond tree, and grapevine. Our research has been based on a solid theoretical approach, interpreting archaeological and archaeobotanical data in relation to the intricate network of human and non-human connections. Gardens are seen as a co-creation made together by human and non-human agencies, and their diachronic transformation is read as an expression of personalities of the monks, feelings, and connections with nature and divinity.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-08-08
DOI: 10.3390/quat6030045
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 3 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 46: The Evolution of Paleolithic Hunting
Weapons: A Response to Declining Prey Size
Authors: Miki Ben-Dor, Ran Barkai
First page: 46
Abstract: This paper examines the hypothesis that changes in hunting weapons during the Paleolithic were a direct response to a progressive decline in prey size. The study builds upon a unified hypothesis that explains Paleolithic human evolutionary and behavioral/cultural phenomena, including improved cognitive capabilities, as adaptations to mitigate declined energetic returns due to a decline in prey size. Five selected case studies in Africa and Europe were analyzed to test this hypothesis, focusing on the relative presence of megaherbivores (>1000 kg) in the transition between the Acheulean/Early Stone Age and the Middle Paleolithic/Middle Stone Age. The findings indicate a decline in megaherbivores’ presence and biomass contribution in the studied transition period associated with the introduction of Levallois technology. We review the evolution of hunting weapons, including wooden-tipped and stone-tipped spears and bows and arrows. Analysis of tip size and breakage patterns indicate a reduction in point size over time, aligning with the declining prey size. We propose that changes in hunting weapons and strategies were driven by the practical and ontological incentives presented by the availability and size of prey. Developing smaller, more precise weapons required increased cognitive capacities, leading to the parallel evolution of human cognitive abilities.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-08-24
DOI: 10.3390/quat6030046
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 3 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 47: The Processes of Aggradation and Incision in
the Channels in the Terek River Basin, the North Caucasus: The
Hydrological Fluvial Archives of the Recent Past
Authors: Aleksey Sidorchuk
First page: 47
Abstract: The rates of incision and aggradation in the channels in the Terek River basin (North Caucasus) for the last 50–85 years were estimated at 18 gauging stations. The stage–discharge method (annual low water stages at the same discharges) was applied. The stability of the Terek River channel was recorded on the tectonically subsiding Tersko–Kuma Lowland. On the subsiding Kabardian Plain, channel aggradation up to 14 mm a−1 was registered. The rapid (~32 mm a−1) incision of the Terek River occurs within the antecedent valley of the rising Sunzha Ridge, causing regressive erosion and incision (~25 mm a−1) of rivers on the Ossetian Plain, despite its tectonic subsiding. The rivers in the uplifting mountains of the North Caucasus transport the sediments delivered from slopes as climatically controlled debris flows. Aggradation and incision here alternate without a visible overall trend. The rates of modern channel bed deformations are 10 to 100 times higher than the mean rates of tectonic movements. The main effect of tectonics is the changes in river channel slopes, which cause changes in the bed load transport budget and channel bed deformation. Human-made constructions induce rapid deformations in the channels but have a local effect.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-09-01
DOI: 10.3390/quat6030047
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 3 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 48: Air Temperature Change at the End of the
Late Holocene and in the Anthropocene in the Middle Volga Region, European
Russia
Authors: Yuri P. Perevedentsev, Konstantin M. Shantalinsky, Artyom V. Gusarov, Nadezhda A. Mirsaeva, Timur R. Aukhadeev, Alexander A. Nikolaev
First page: 48
Abstract: The temporal variability of air temperature in the Middle Volga region from 1828 to 2021 is considered according to instrumental observations at the oldest meteorological station in the east of the East European Plain (Kazan University) and throughout the Asian part of Russia against the background of long-term climate fluctuations in the Northern Hemisphere of Earth. A general trend toward an increase in air temperature was revealed. It was found that climate change in Kazan was consistent with the climatic processes that occurred in the Middle Volga region as a whole. The greatest warming for the entire observation period was observed in the winter and spring seasons of the year. In December, warming occurred at a maximum rate of 0.28 °C/10 years. At the same time, the most intense warming process was observed from 1991 to 2021. The analysis of low-frequency fluctuations in the series of monthly average air temperatures made it possible to identify different periods of change, both in type (direction) and intensity. It is shown that in the Middle Volga region, positive anomalies of air temperature have occurred more often than negative ones in recent decades. Statistical data processing was also carried out for 30-year periods, starting from the first period, i.e., 1841–1870. This made it possible to reveal long-term changes in air temperature. Comparisons of climatic parameters in two periods, i.e., 1828–1945 and 1946–2021, allowed us to reliably detect the climatic beginning of the increasingly identifiable Anthropocene epoch (since 1946), characterized by a sharp increase in air temperature, increased interannual variability of the air temperature regime, and a significant increase (by about three times) in the rate of warming in the Middle Volga region. A correlation was made between atmospheric circulation indices and air temperature fluctuations in Kazan over different periods. The closest relationship was found for the 1990–2020 period. It is shown that the contribution of global factors to air temperature variability in the Middle Volga region during the Anthropocene reached 37% in winter and 32% in summer; in annual terms, this contribution amounted to 54%.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-09-01
DOI: 10.3390/quat6030048
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 3 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 49: Diatom Assemblages from the Daginsky Mud
Volcano Sediments (Eastern Sakhalin) and Their Implication
Authors: Ira B. Tsoy, Anna V. Sorochinskaya
First page: 49
Abstract: Diatom assemblages in mud volcanoes are quite rare and are poorly studied. The finding of a rich diatom flora in the sediments of the Daginsky Mud Volcano (DMV), located in the tidal zone of the Nyisky Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk, is of interest to study the conditions for the formation of host sediments in the zone of influence of various extreme factors, such as outflows of gases and water–mud mass, thermal springs, and tides. For this purpose, the taxonomical composition of diatom assemblages and concentration of diatoms in DMV sediments were studied. A comparison was made with the diatoms of geothermal springs of the Russian Far East associated with volcanic activity, and the stratigraphic occurrence of the found extinct diatoms was analyzed, which is important for determining their source and the age of the mud volcano roots. Diatom assemblages from DMV sediments are mainly characterized by the predominance of Metascolioneis tumida, Paralia sulcata, Odontella aurita, Pinnunavis yarrensis, Petroneis marina, Cocconeis scutellum, and Navicula digitoradiata. They consist of diatoms of different biotopes and extinct species. The diversity and abundance of brackish water and marine species indicates the predominant influence of sea waters on the formation of DMV sediments. The diverse freshwater species were mainly introduced into sediments with river runoff, but it is likely that some of these, such as the cosmopolitan alkaliphilic species, are inhabitants of geothermal springs. The presence of extinct species from the underlying Neogene sediments from where they were carried with gas–water–mud masses is the most typical for diatom assemblages of the DMV.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-09-05
DOI: 10.3390/quat6030049
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 3 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 24: The Fish Tanks of the Mediterranean Sea
Authors: Paris Oikonomou, Anna Karkani, Niki Evelpidou, Isidoros Kampolis, Giorgio Spada
First page: 24
Abstract: Roman fish tanks are found in various coastal regions of the Mediterranean, although the vast majority is found on the Tyrrhenian coast of Italy. In this work, a database was developed with information on 62 fish tanks along the Mediterranean coasts to document and compare their features and characteristics. The analysis of the developed database from the Mediterranean fish tanks has shown that, among the 62 fish tanks, ~56% were cut into the rock, indicating that this type of construction was the most popular at that time and probably had advantages over the others. Fish tanks as sea level indicators can provide accurate data on the sea level 2000 years ago. Well-preserved installations with prominent architectural features have a crucial role in determining the paleo sea level. The architectural elements that are mostly used in fish tanks for paleo sea level reconstructions are the crepido, cataractae and channels. Besides the scientific importance of the fish tanks as sea level markers, they also have great cultural and historical significance. Fish tanks can be promoted as heritage monuments and scholarly models to strengthen awareness about climate change, sea level rise and its consequences.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-04-03
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020024
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 25: Assessing Systematic Blade Production in the
Indian Subcontinent with Special Reference to Eastern Gujarat
Authors: Gopesh Jha, Vidhi Kothari, Varun Vyas, P. Ajithprasad
First page: 25
Abstract: Blades as a component of lithic assemblages hold significant importance to understanding the more recent part of human evolution, particularly with regard to the emergence and adaptations of Homo sapiens. The systematic production of elongated stone blanks provides several advantages, including a longer cutting edge and high efficiency in raw material utility. However, the reasons behind the development of these technological forms and the chronological patterns of systematic blade production remain poorly understood in many regions, despite a clear overall intensification in the Late Pleistocene. The South Asian Paleolithic archive is full of blade-bearing assemblages, most of which are defined as Upper Paleolithic or Late Paleolithic. However, many of these previously assumed ‘Upper Paleolithic’ tool components prominently appear in Middle Paleolithic contexts. Here, we discuss some of the most recent case studies of blade-bearing assemblages from Eastern Gujarat that show an in situ emergence of blade technology from advanced Middle Paleolithic technology, suggesting localized origins of blade technology.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-04-03
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020025
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 26: Introduction: Seas, Lakes, and Rivers in the
Adriatic, Alpine, Dinaric, and Pannonian Regions during the Quaternary
Authors: Petra Jamšek Rupnik, Ana Novak, Andrej Šmuc
First page: 26
Abstract: Like other regions located in tectonically active areas, the Adriatic, Alpine, Dinaric, and Pannonian regions have undergone numerous changes during the Quaternary [...]
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-04-07
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020026
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 27: Analysis of GNSS Data for Earthquake
Precursor Studies Using IONOLAB-TEC in the Himalayan Region
Authors: Shivani Joshi, Suresh Kannaujiya, Utkarsh Joshi
First page: 27
Abstract: Earthquake precursors are the indicators that appear before an earthquake. The release of radon gas, ionospheric disturbances, anomalous animal behavior, and so on are examples of seismic and aseismic events. Ionospheric perturbations can be proved to be a reliable method in earthquake prediction. The GNSS data detect changes in the ionosphere through the time lag of the transmitted GPS signals recorded at the Earth-based receivers. A negative TEC anomaly is caused by the stress released from the rocks before the earthquake, which elevates positive ions or p-holes in the atmosphere and decreases the ions in the ionosphere. A positive TEC anomaly follows this because of the increase in ions in the ionosphere. The ionospheric disruption in the Himalayan region is examined before five random earthquakes. For this, data from 15 separate GNSS stations are investigated using IONOLAB-TEC. A promising total electron content (TEC) data estimate with a temporal resolution of 30 s was analyzed. The results of the TEC data analysis depict the anomaly a month before the five earthquakes, followed by the later perturbation in the earthquake preparation zone. TEC anomalies are enhanced more by the uniform spatial distribution of GNSS stations in the epicentral region than by randomly distributed stations. The results of IONOLAB-TEC and the widely used GPS-TEC software were compared. Owing to its temporal resolution, IONOLAB-TEC has edge over the GPS-TEC software in that it can identify even the slightest negative anomalies before an earthquake.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-04-19
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020027
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 28: A Framework for Crop Yield Estimation and
Change Detection Using Image Fusion of Microwave and Optical Satellite
Dataset
Authors: Ravneet Kaur, Reet Kamal Tiwari, Raman Maini, Sartajvir Singh
First page: 28
Abstract: Crop yield prediction is one of the crucial components of agriculture that plays an important role in the decision-making process for sustainable agriculture. Remote sensing provides the most efficient and cost-effective solution for the measurement of important agricultural parameters such as soil moisture level, but retrieval of the soil moisture contents from coarse resolution datasets, especially microwave datasets, remains a challenging task. In the present work, a machine learning-based framework is proposed to generate the enhanced resolution soil moisture products, i.e., classified maps and change maps, using an optical-based moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and microwave-based scatterometer satellite (SCATSAT-1) datasets. In the proposed framework, nearest-neighbor-based image fusion (NNIF), artificial neural networks (ANN), and post-classification-based change detection (PCCD) have been integrated to generate thematic and change maps. To confirm the effectiveness of the proposed framework, random forest post-classification-based change detection (RFPCD) has also been implemented, and it is concluded that the proposed framework achieved better results (88.67–91.80%) as compared to the RFPCD (86.80–87.80%) in the computation of change maps with σ°-HH. This study is important in terms of crop yield prediction analysis via the delivery of enhanced-resolution soil moisture products under all weather conditions.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-04-19
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020028
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 29: Buried River Valleys of the Neogene and
Early Quaternary in the Middle Volga Region, European Russia
Authors: Elena V. Petrova, Artyom V. Gusarov, Achim A. Beylich
First page: 29
Abstract: Buried river valleys from the Neogene–Quaternary time are widespread throughout the Middle Volga region of the Russian Plain. They have been studied for a long period, since the 1940s, with the last major generalizations dating back to the 1980s. This paper presents new results based on GIS mapping using materials from the state geological study of the region in 1960–1970, 1984–1996 and 2000–2002. On the whole, the pattern of the buried valley network is close to the modern valley network of the region. During the Quaternary, the right-sided displacement of the valley incisions prevailed. The incisions of modern river valleys are located above the Neogene (pre-Akchagyl) incisions almost throughout the entire territory. The vertical displacement amplitude ranges from 30 to 200 m. The morphometric characteristics of the paleovalleys (the depth and width of the incisions, as well as the gradients of the bottoms of the paleovalleys) exceeded modern ones. The maximum values were typical for the middle Paleo-Volga valley: the width of the valley reached 10 km, the incision depth was −201.4 m below sea level and the bottom gradient was 0.9–5.0 m/km. The most important factor that influenced the position of paleovalleys and their morphological appearance was fluctuations in the level of the Caspian paleowaterbody. According to this study, the development of paleovalleys began in the Miocene and ended in the Early Quaternary. The alluvial–lacustrine type of sedimentation was predominant. The results of this work contribute to the study of the paleogeography of the Cenozoic of the southeast of the Russian Plain.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-04-30
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020029
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 30: Vegetation Composition in a Typical
Mediterranean Setting (Gulf of Corinth, Greece) during Successive
Quaternary Climatic Cycles
Authors: Aikaterini Kafetzidou, Eugenia Fatourou, Konstantinos Panagiotopoulos, Fabienne Marret, Katerina Kouli
First page: 30
Abstract: The Gulf of Corinth is a semi-isolated basin in central Greece interrupting the Pindus Mountain Range, which nowadays is a biodiversity hotspot. Considering its key location, deep drilling was carried out within the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP; Expedition 381: Corinth Active Rift Development) aiming to improve our understanding of climatic and environmental evolution in the region. Here, we present a new long pollen record from a Mediterranean setting in the southernmost tip of the Balkan Peninsula recording the vegetation succession within the Quaternary. The Corinth pollen record shows no major shifts in arboreal pollen between glacial and interglacial intervals, while Mediterranean and mesophilous taxa remain abundant throughout the study interval. During interglacials, the most frequent reconstructed biomes are cool mixed evergreen needleleaf (CMIX) and deciduous broadleaf forests (DBWB), while graminoid with forb (GRAM) and xerophytic shrubs (XSHB) dominate within glacials. Our findings support the hypothesis that the study area was a significant refugium, providing suitable habitats for Mediterranean, mesophilous and montane trees during successive Quaternary climate cycles.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-05-05
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020030
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 31: Late Pleistocene Paramylodon harlani
(Xenarthra, Mylodontidae) from Térapa, Sonora, Mexico
Authors: H. Gregory McDonald, Jim I. Mead, Sandra L. Swift
First page: 31
Abstract: While the North American mylodont sloth, Parmylodon harlani, has been identified in multiple localities in Mexico, most of these records are from the southern part of the country. Consequently, there is a large geographic gap between its distribution in Mexico and the more northern records of the species in the United States. The recovery of the remains of multiple individuals of Paramylodon harlani, as part of a late Pleistocene fauna in San Clemente de Térapa, Sonora, Mexico, partially fills this geographic gap and provides a broader understanding of the differences in the species’ ecology over a wide latitudinal range. A comparison of the paleoecology of the Térapa site with other sites with P. harlani in the fauna to the south and north provides valuable information on how regional topography and different plant communities impact the sloth’s distribution and underlying causes for its extinction.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-05-07
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020031
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 32: Revisit the Medieval Warm Period and Little
Ice Age in Proxy Records from Zemu Glacier Sediments, Eastern Himalaya:
Vegetation and Climate Reconstruction
Authors: Nivedita Mehrotra, Nathani Basavaiah, Santosh K. Shah
First page: 32
Abstract: The Late Holocene fossil pollen records from the Zemu glacier, located in Yabuk, North Sikkim, in the eastern Himalayas, effectively generated quantitative climate reconstructions based on the transfer function model. The transfer function model was developed by establishing a modern pollen–climate calibration set from the temperate alpine belt of North Sikkim. A redundancy analysis was carried out to detect the pattern of variation of climatic variables in the modern pollen datasets. The mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean temperature of the warming month (MTWA) had the strongest influence on the composition of the modern pollen samples among the climatic variables considered in the analysis. Proxy data in the form of fossil pollen records were analyzed for reconstructing past climate based upon the relationships between modern pollen vegetation assemblages and climatic patterns. Transfer functions for MAP and MTWA were developed with the partial least squares (PLS) approach, and model performance was assessed using leave-one-out cross-validation. The validated model was used to reconstruct MAP and MTWA for the last 2992 cal years BP (1042 BC) in North Sikkim. The variability observed in the reconstructions was analyzed for past global climatic events. It was further compared with the available regional and hemispheric proxy-based climate reconstructions. The reconstructions captured comparable Medieval Warm Period (MWP) and Little Ice Age (LIA)-like events from the Zemu glacier region. The fossil pollen data and climate reconstructions were further compared with the mineral magnetism data of the subsurface sediment profile.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-05-09
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020032
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 33: An Assessment of Soil Phytolith Analysis as
a Palaeoecological Tool for Identifying Pre-Columbian Land Use in
Amazonian Rainforests
Authors: James Hill, Stuart Black, Alejandro Araujo-Murakami, Rene Boot, Roel Brienen, Ted Feldpausch, John Leigue, Samaria Murakami, Abel Monteagudo, Guido Pardo, Marielos Peña-Claros, Oliver L. Phillips, Marisol Toledo, Vincent Vos, Pieter Zuidema, Francis E. Mayle
First page: 33
Abstract: Phytolith analysis is a well-established archaeobotanical tool, having provided important insights into pre-Columbian crop cultivation and domestication across Amazonia through the Holocene. Yet, its use as a palaeoecological tool is in its infancy in Amazonia and its effectiveness for reconstructing pre-Columbian land-use beyond archaeological sites (i.e., ‘off-site’) has so far received little critical attention. This paper examines both new and previously published soil phytolith data from SW Amazonia to assess the robustness of this proxy for reconstructing pre-Columbian land-use. We conducted the study via off-site soil pits radiating 7.5 km beyond a geoglyph in Acre state, Brazil, and 50 km beyond a ring-ditch in northern Bolivia, spanning the expected gradients in historical land-use intensity. We found that the spatio-temporal patterns in palm phytolith data across our soil-pit transects support the hypothesis that pre-Columbian peoples enriched their forests with palms over several millennia, although phytoliths are limited in their ability to capture small-scale crop cultivation and deforestation. Despite these drawbacks, we conclude that off-site soil phytolith analysis can provide novel insights into pre-Columbian land use, provided it is effectively integrated with other land-use (e.g., charcoal) and archaeological data.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-05-11
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020033
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 34: Plants, Fire and Landscape at the
Prehistoric Pile-Dwelling Village of Palù di Livenza (PaluON1),
UNESCO Site in the Italian Alps
Authors: Jessica Zappa, Nicola Degasperi, Michele Bassetti, Assunta Florenzano, Paola Torri, Gabriel Servera-Vives, Anna Maria Mercuri, Roberto Micheli
First page: 34
Abstract: This paper presents palynological data obtained from a trench excavated at the Neolithic pile-dwelling archaeological site of Palù di Livenza (northeastern Italy). The site is in a wetland located in a tectonic basin at the foot of the Cansiglio plateau, crossed by the Livenza river. Environmental conditions have made this wetland a suitable area for settlements since prehistoric times. Thanks to the peaty sediments that characterise the area, archaeological materials and botanical remains have been exceptionally well preserved. Their study has shed light on a Neolithic pile-dwelling settlement that developed in various phases between c. 6350 and 5600 cal BP (c. 4400 and 3650 BC), and has also allowed for a detailed environmental reconstruction of the surrounding environment. A vertical sequence of 20 samples was analysed to study pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs and microcharcoals. An age-depth model was performed based on three radiocarbon dates. The palynological analysis provided insight into the response of vegetation to environmental changes caused by both climatic fluctuations and human pressure. In this sense, it was possible to highlight differences in vegetation cover, some fires, the use of woody resources, the spread of cereal fields, as well as the presence of other cultivated plants and plant processing by the people within the village.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-06-01
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020034
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 35: The Role of Past Climatic Variability in
Fluvial Terrace Formation, a Case Study from River Mureş (Maros),
Romania
Authors: Tamás Bartyik, Petru Urdea, Tímea Kiss, Alexandru Hegyi, György Sipos
First page: 35
Abstract: Fluvial terrace formation is a complex process governed by the interplay of climatic and tectonic forcings. From a climatic perspective, an incision is usually related to climatic transitions, while valley aggradation is attributed to glacial periods. We have reconstructed the formation of Late Pleistocene fluvial terraces along the middle, mountainous section of a temperate zone river (Mureş/Maros) in order to identify the roles of different climatic periods and potential vertical displacement in terrace development. Investigations were based on two profiles representing two different terrace levels. The profiles were subjected to sedimentological and detailed geochronological analyses using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). The results indicated that the investigated terraces represent different incision events coinciding with climatic transition periods. However, a joint MIS 3 valley aggradation period can be identified at both of them. Thus, the relatively mild but highly variable climate of the MIS 3 facilitated sediment mobilization from upland catchments. On the other hand, there is no evidence of aggradation under the cold and stable climate of MIS 2. However, the tectonic setting favours incision at the site. Based on our results, we concluded that the timing of the main events was controlled primarily by climatic forcing. The terrace formation model recognised might also be applied at other rivers in the region.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-06-02
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020035
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 36: Assessment of Pollen Representation in NW
Italy (Liguria and Piedmont)
Authors: Davide Attolini, Francesco Ciani, Maria Angela Guido, Carlo Montanari
First page: 36
Abstract: This research focuses on the recent pollen image of several vegetation types in NW Italy. In 201 arboreal, shrubby, and herbaceous plant populations, pollen samples were taken from moss polsters, and the corresponding vegetation was recorded using the phytosociological method. Since studies on recent pollen rain in the Mediterranean mountains and coast are rare, this research aims to provide new data and tools to better interpret fossil pollen spectra. Pollen analysis provided data for the comparison between surface spectra and vegetation. Davis indices, fidelity, dispersion, and the relation with vegetation data were calculated for each taxon, and PCA was carried out. Most vegetation types are identifiable through the taxa dominating the pollen spectra, as frequently happens in woodlands (e.g., beech woods, chestnut woods, etc.). Characterizing shrubland and certain tree-dominated vegetation types (e.g., Larix forests) through pollen data is more complex. In this regard, Davis indices are particularly useful for identifying pollen/plant association, over- and underrepresentation of pollen, and taxa indicating vegetation types. Pollen threshold values were calculated which allow the assessment of the local presence of a plant. Overall, the achieved results partially confirm those of previous research carried out in the region, greatly expanding the comparisons between several different plant communities and the database in view of future sharing through the EMPD.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-06-09
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020036
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 37: Late Pleistocene to Holocene
Palaeohydrological History of the Thermal-Spring-Fed Lake Pețea (NW
Romania) Revealed by Radiocarbon Dating and Complex Sedimentological
Investigations
Authors: Sándor Gulyás, Pál Sümegi
First page: 37
Abstract: Understanding sedimentation processes in response to past hydrogeological and climatic changes and capturing millennial-scale variations is a key focus of lacustrine paleoenvironmental research. This study presents the first high-resolution chronology and sedimentary data for the small thermal-spring-fed Lake Pețea, NW Romania, and unravels the evolutionary history of the lake harboring a unique endemic fauna. Its small size and single source of water make it particularly sensitive to hydrological changes. In the recent past, over-exploitation of the thermal water has led to the complete drying up of the lake and the extinction of its fauna. Nevertheless, past spatio-temporal variation of environmental factors, in particular the fluctuation of lake levels and water temperature, must have had a significant impact on the survival and evolution of the endemic mollusk fauna. This fact makes this study particularly important. Based on our results, a three-stage sedimentary evolution occurred, mainly controlled by major climate-driven hydrological changes also seen in regional records, i.e., 17.5–14.5 ka shallow eutrophic lake, 14.5–5.5 ka oligotrophic carbonate-rich lake, and 5.5–0.5 ka shallow eutrophic lake. A major lowstand at 11.7–10.2 ka due to drier climate was followed by progressively rising water levels up to 5 ka followed by a drop. The main control on lake level fluctuations and sedimentary phases was the varying input of thermal water due to recurring increased/decreased recharge of the underground shallow karst water system. The driving factor of thermal water discharge was different during the Late Glacial than the Holocene. It was the warming of the climate at 14.5 ka cal BP and melting of regional ice sheets in addition to increased precipitation that created an oligotrophic lake by recharging the underground thermal water system. Conversely, during the Holocene, increasing/decreasing moisture availability driven by major climate forcings was in control of thermal water recharge, erosion, and fluctuating lake levels.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-06-12
DOI: 10.3390/quat6020037
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 2 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 1: Impacts of Loss of Cryosphere in the High
Mountains of Northwest North America
Authors: John J. Clague, Dan H. Shugar
First page: 1
Abstract: Global atmospheric warming is causing physical and biotic changes in Earth’s high mountains at a rate that is likely unprecedented in the Holocene. We summarize changes in the presently glacierized mountains of northwest North America, including a rapid and large reduction in glacier ice and permafrost, a related increase in slope instability and landslides, river re-routing and other hydrological changes, and changing aquatic ecosystems. Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise and will likely do so for at least the next several decades, if not longer, and mountains will continue to warm, perhaps reaching temperatures up to several degrees Celsius warmer than present over the remainder of this century. As a result, the rate of physical and biotic changes documented in this paper is very likely to dramatically increase and transform high-mountain environments.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-01-01
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010001
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 2: Disentangling Holocene Climate Change and
Human Impact from Palaeoenvironmental Records from the Scottish West Coast
Authors: Katherine A. Selby, Jane Wheeler, Sally Derrett
First page: 2
Abstract: Phases of rapid climate change throughout the early to mid Holocene coincide with regional human population expansion in Scotland and North-West Europe. Palaeoenvironmental signals of climate and anthropogenically driven vegetation changes can therefore be difficult to separate. To identify whether it is possible to distinguish potential signatures of anthropogenic clearance and agricultural activities from climatic drivers of landscape change in the early to mid Holocene in the region, two topographically contrasting sites on the Isle of Skye and the Isle of Bute were investigated. A multiproxy approach including pollen, spore, microcharcoal, loss on ignition and particle size analyses was adopted to investigate changes in vegetation and climate. There are subtle indications that the 8200 cal BP climate event had an effect on the vegetation composition at both sites. Signals of anthropogenic woodland clearance are apparent early in the sequence at Peat Hill (Bute), indicated by a peak in Poaceae (grass) cereal-type (7–14%) at 8592–8793 cal BP, alongside a decrease in arboreal pollen, which could not be associated with a regional episode of climate change. Early to mid Holocene vegetation changes at Lyndale House (Skye) occur alongside regional changes in precipitation and sea level and therefore cannot be readily separated. Continuous declines in arboreal pollen from ca. 5000 cal BP at Lyndale House indicates the onset of widespread clearance on Skye via felling and sustained grazing pressures.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-01-03
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010002
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 3: Early to Mid-Holocene Tree Immigration and
Spread in the Isle of Man: The Roles of Climate and Other Factors
Authors: Richard C. Chiverrell, James B. Innes, Jeff J. Blackford, Peter J. Davey, David H. Roberts, Mairead M. Rutherford, Philippa R. Tomlinson, Simon D. Turner
First page: 3
Abstract: The Isle of Man is a large island which lies in the middle of the northern Irish Sea between Britain and Ireland and, because of its insularity and size, has an impoverished flora compared with the two main islands. This has been the case throughout the postglacial and warrants the island’s description as a separate phytogeographic province. We have considered Holocene tree pollen data from seventeen sites on the island which together preserve a vegetation history that spans the six thousand years of the early and mid-postglacial from the end of the Lateglacial at 11,700 cal. BP to the mid-Holocene Ulmus decline at ca. 5800 cal. BP. Radiocarbon dating of the rational limits of the pollen curves for the main tree taxa has allowed an appraisal of the timing of each one’s expansion to become a significant component of the island’s woodland, and comparison with the dates of their expansion on the adjacent regions of Britain and Ireland. The radiocarbon dates show that, although some variability exists probably due to local factors, there is considerable concordance between the timings of major pollen zone boundaries in Britain and Ireland around the northern Irish Sea. On the Isle of Man the expansions of both Juniperus and Betula were delayed by several centuries compared to the British/Irish data, however the timing of the expansions of Corylus, Ulmus, Quercus, Pinus and Alnus on the Isle of Man all appear closely comparable to the ages for these pollen stratigraphic events in north Wales, northwest England, southwest Scotland and eastern Ireland, as are those for the Ulmus decline. It is likely that local pedological and edaphic factors on the island account for the differences in the first Holocene millennium, while regional climatic factors governed the timings for the rest of the expansions of tree taxa across the wider region, including the Isle of Man. Disturbance, including by human agency, was important at the site scale and perhaps triggered early tree expansion in some places, including Quercus, Ulmus and Alnus. Insularity seems not to have been a significant factor in the expansion of the major forest trees.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-01-04
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010003
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 4: The Evaluation of Non-Destructive Tests for
the Strength and Physical Properties of Granite, Marble, and Sandstone: A
Case Study from North Pakistan
Authors: Waqas Ahmed, Niaz Ahmad, Hammad Tariq Janjuhah, Ihtisham Islam, Muhammad Sajid, George Kontakiotis
First page: 4
Abstract: Nondestructive tests, commonly employed in rock mechanics, estimate mechanical parameters without affecting the rocks in situ properties. This study evaluates non-destructive tests (ultrasonic pulse velocity and Schmidt hammer) for forecasting the strength and physical properties of commonly used rocks. Weathering grades and moisture content are provided as variables that produce variances in both non-destructive tests. The coefficient of determination (R²) and subsequent empirical equations for the best-fit trend line are calculated using a simple regression method. The ultrasonic pulse velocity is found to be more efficient in estimating most of the physical properties (specific gravity, porosity, water absorption, and dry density) of granite, marble, and sandstone, with high correlation coefficients. Whereas the Schmidt hammer is found to be more reproducible in determining the strength (compressive and tensile) of granite, marble, and sandstone. The student’s t-test proved the sensitivity and correctness of the acquired equations from the suggested correlations, and agreement was established between measured and estimated plots of strength and physical properties. Although the student’s t-test confirms that the performance of all empirical models established in this study are significant, any non-destructive test with a low R² value should be used with caution when estimating the studied properties.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-01-04
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010004
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 5: Climate Change, Fire and Human Activity Drive
Vegetation Change during the Last Eight Millennia in the Xistral Mountains
of NW Iberia
Authors: Tim M. Mighall, Antonio Martínez Cortizas, Noemí Silva-Sánchez, Olalla López-Costas, Lourdes López-Merino
First page: 5
Abstract: An 8500-year record of high-resolution pollen, non-pollen palynomorph, microscopic charcoal and selected geochemical data (Ti, Zr and Pb) is presented from an ombrotrophic mire from the Xistral Mountains, Galicia, North-West Iberia. The results suggest that vegetation changes over the last eight millennia are primarily the result of human disturbance, fire and climate change. Climate and fire were the main factors influencing vegetation development during the early to mid-Holocene, including a short-lived decline in forest cover c. 8.2 cal. ka BP. Changes associated with the 4.2 and 2.8 cal. Ka BP events are less well defined. Human impact on vegetation became more pronounced by the late Holocene with major periods of forest disturbance from c. 3.1 cal. ka BP onwards: during the end of Metal Ages, Roman period and culminating in the permanent decline of deciduous forests in the post-Roman period, as agriculture and metallurgy intensified, leading to the creation of a cultural landscape. Climate change appears to become less influential as human activity dominates during the Late Holocene.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-01-05
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010005
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 6: Prehistoric Astronomical Observatories and
Paleoclimatic Records in Bulgaria Estimate Astroclimate during
4000–4500 BCE: A Critical Assessment
Authors: Alexey Stoev, Yavor Shopov, Penka Maglova, Ognyan Ognyanov, Lyubomira Raykova
First page: 6
Abstract: Prehistoric astronomical observatories include a specific type of rock-cut monuments from the Mountainous Thrace in Bulgaria, with a specific shape and orientation in space, which are part of the characteristic representatives of the archeoastronomical sites on the Balkan Peninsula from the period of 4000–4500 BCE. Earlier societies focused on the triad “astronomical instrument”—celestial objects—trained observers. When choosing sites for the construction of oriented stone complexes for astronomical observations, prehistoric people were interested in the number of clear days and nights within the tropical year, which is connected with the paleoclimate of the region and to the astroclimate, which determines the possibility of observing heavenly bodies. Here we examine 13 prehistoric astronomical observatories using the methods of archaeoastronomy in order to determine the period of their operation. Since the existence of a large number of such objects is indirect evidence of a good astroclimate, we make an assessment of the paleoclimate in the relevant era in the Bulgarian lands in order to find out if it was suitable for astronomical observations. The estimations are made according to the geological data and solar insolation luminescence proxy records of the evolution of cave speleothems from Duhlata cave in the village of Bosnek, Pernik municipality, which is still the only available experimental record of past solar insolation in Europe covering the last 20,000 years. The number of clear days and nights are estimated, and a critical assessment of the possibility of successful observations of the Sun during equinoxes and solstices is made using the methods of “horizon” astronomy and meridional culminations. It is also shown that the climate at the end of the Ice Age was cooler than today. About 11,700 years ago (11,700 radiocarbon years before 1950 CE or 11,700 BP), the climate began to warm, and forest vegetation developed on the territory liberated from the glaciers. During the Upper Atlantic (6–8 thousand years BCE), the average annual temperature on the Balkan Peninsula and in particular in Bulgaria was about 2–2.5 °C higher than it is today. This climate allows some very good astroclimatic conditions for observations of the Sun near the horizon and increases the accuracy of the observational data in determining the time of occurrence in its extreme positions on the horizon. We show that changes in climate (and astroclimate accordingly) influence the type of prehistoric astronomical observatories.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-01-05
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010006
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 7: Sedimentary Ancient DNA Reveals Local
Vegetation Changes Driven by Glacial Activity and Climate
Authors: Lucas D. Elliott, Dilli P. Rijal, Antony G. Brown, Jostein Bakke, Lasse Topstad, Peter D. Heintzman, Inger G. Alsos
First page: 7
Abstract: Disentangling the effects of glaciers and climate on vegetation is complicated by the confounding role that climate plays in both systems. We reconstructed changes in vegetation occurring over the Holocene at Jøkelvatnet, a lake located directly downstream from the Langfjordjøkel glacier in northern Norway. We used a sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) metabarcoding dataset of 38 samples from a lake sediment core spanning 10,400 years using primers targeting the P6 loop of the trnL (UAA) intron. A total of 193 plant taxa were identified revealing a pattern of continually increasing richness over the time period. Vegetation surveys conducted around Jøkelvatnet show a high concordance with the taxa identified through sedaDNA metabarcoding. We identified four distinct vegetation assemblage zones with transitions at ca. 9.7, 8.4 and 4.3 ka with the first and last mirroring climatic shifts recorded by the Langfjordjøkel glacier. Soil disturbance trait values of the vegetation increased with glacial activity, suggesting that the glacier had a direct impact on plants growing in the catchment. Temperature optimum and moisture trait values correlated with both glacial activity and reconstructed climatic variables showing direct and indirect effects of climate change on the vegetation. In contrast to other catchments without an active glacier, the vegetation at Jøkelvatnet has displayed an increased sensitivity to climate change throughout the Middle and Late Holocene. Beyond the direct impact of climate change on arctic and alpine vegetation, our results suggest the ongoing disappearance of glaciers will have an additional effect on plant communities.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-01-07
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010007
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 8: Taphonomy and Palaeoecology of Quaternary
Vertebrates: Advances in Fossil and Experimental Studies
Authors: Stoetzel, Ochoa, Rofes
First page: 8
Abstract: Since the founding work of Efremov in 1940 [...]
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-01-10
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010008
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 9: Acknowledgment to the Reviewers of Quaternary
in 2022
Authors: Quaternary Editorial Office Quaternary Editorial Office
First page: 9
Abstract: High-quality academic publishing is built on rigorous peer review [...]
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-01-16
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010009
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 10: Seismic Activity in the Celje Basin
Authors: Miklós Kázmér, Petra Jamšek Rupnik, Krzysztof Gaidzik
First page: 10
Abstract: Searching for unknown earthquakes in Slovenia in the first millennium, we performed archaeoseismological analysis of Roman settlements. The Mesto pod mestom museum in Celje exhibits a paved Roman road, which suffered severe deformation. Built on fine gravel and sand from the Savinja River, the road displays a bulge and trench, pop-up structures, and pavement slabs tilted up to 40°. The city wall was built over the deformed road in Late Roman times, supported by a foundation containing recycled material (spolia) from public buildings, including an emperor’s statue. We hypothesize that a severe earthquake hit the town before 350 AD, causing widespread destruction. Seismic-induced liquefaction caused differential subsidence, deforming the road. One of the nearby faults from the strike-slip Periadriatic fault system was the seismic source of this event.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-02-01
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010010
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 11: Vegetation Dynamics and Hydro-Climatic
Changes during the Middle Holocene from the Central Himalaya, India
Authors: Mohammad Firoze Quamar, Anoop K. Singh, Lalit M. Joshi, Bahadur S. Kotlia, Dhruv Sen Singh, Corina Anca Simion, Tiberiu Sava, Nagendra Prasad
First page: 11
Abstract: Understanding the spatiotemporal monsoonal variability during the Holocene helps in understanding the rise and fall of many civilizations. In this study, a 2.65 m high palaeo lake sedimentary profile from the Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, Uttarakhand State, India was pollen analysed to reconstruct the variability in the monsoonal precipitation during the Middle Holocene. The study revealed that between ~7522 and 7216 cal yr BP, conifers dominated mixed broad-leaved forests occurred around the landscape of the study area, indicating a less cold and dry climate with decreased monsoon precipitation. Broad-leaved taxa during this phase show increased values considerably, indicating amelioration in climatic condition, which could be, in global perspective, broadly falling within the time-interval of the Holocene Climate Optimum (HCO; 7000–4000 BP). Between ~7216 and 6526 cal yr BP, dense conifers-dominated mixed broad-leaved forests transformed the conifers-dominated broad-leaved forests around the study area under a cold and drier climate with further reduction in monsoon precipitation. Subsequently, between ~6526 and 5987 cal yr BP, conifers-dominated broad-leaved forests continued to grow, but with lesser frequencies, around the study area under a comparatively less cold and dry climate with reduced monsoon precipitation. Finally, between ~5987 and 5817 cal yr BP, the frequencies of conifers-dominated broad-leaved forests further decreased around the landscape of the study area under a comparatively lesser cold and dry climate, probably indicating decreased monsoonal precipitation. Hence, the present study mainly showed the dominance of conifers forests around the study area between ~7522 and 7216 cal yr BP, ~7216 and 6526 cal yr BP, ~6526 and 5987 cal yr BP and between ~5987 and 5817 cal yr BP; however, broad-leaved forests also demonstrated increasing tendency between ~7522 and 7216 cal yr BP in the milieu of cold and dry climates. Moreover, the study also revealed that a lake was formed around 7522 cal yr BP along the Kulur River, a tributary of Saryu River around the study area and existed until 5817 cal yr BP.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-02-01
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010011
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 12: ‘Pine Decline or pine declines'’
Analysis and Interpretation of Bog-Pines from Wem Moss, Shropshire, UK
Authors: Jonathan G. A. Lageard
First page: 12
Abstract: A dendrochronological investigation was undertaken on subfossil Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) stumps following their discovery during conservation management at Wem Moss, a small (28 ha) former raised mire in Shropshire, UK. Two ring-width chronologies were constructed from 14 of the 17 trees sampled spanning 198 and 208 years, respectively. Whilst dendrochronological dating was not possible, radiocarbon assays provided an estimated age for this mire-rooting woodland of between 3015 and 2505 years cal. BCE, coinciding with the age traditionally associated with the widespread mortality of pine trees throughout much of the UK and Ireland, often referred to as the Pine Decline (ca. 4000 radiocarbon years BP). Placed in a wider geographical context, the Wem Moss pines are located within the lowland Meres and Mosses region, where previous studies on subfossil pine have demonstrated protracted declines in mire-rooting trees. These have included tree mortality significantly post-dating the Pine Decline, especially at larger peatland sites that exceed 5 km2. Such macrofossil evidence for the presence of Scots pine into the late Holocene is supported by continuous Pinus pollen representation at peatland sites in the Welsh Marches (English–Welsh border), suggesting the possible survival of native Scots pine trees in this area up to the present day. The investigation of Wem Moss bog pines and their wider geographical context highlights the incomplete and patchy nature of palaeo-vegetational records and also the need for future genetic research on living Scots pine in possible refugial areas in Britain and Ireland.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-02-02
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010012
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 13: Evaluation of the Linkages between Ecosystem
Services and Land Use/Land Cover Changes in Matenchose Watershed, Rift
Valley Basin, Ethiopia
Authors: Markos Mathewos, Alemu O. Aga
First page: 13
Abstract: The global ecosystem services that are essential to sustaining life on the planet have been disrupted by different anthropogenic activities. This study’s objective is to examine how ecosystem services vary with changes in land use and land cover (LULC) across 29 years at the Matenchose watershed. Landsat images for 1991 (TM), 2003 (ETM+), and 2020 (OLI-8) were used for the categorization of LULC. To evaluate the changes in ecosystems service valuations (ESVs) as a result of LULC changes in combination with ArcGIS, the value transfer valuation approach was utilized. Farmlands, towns, and bare land exhibited growing trends among the five major LULC classes, but forest and grassland showed declining trends. From 1991 to 2020, ESVs decreased by a total of US $157.24 million due to the LULC modifications. In terms of ESV functions, provisional services (US $89.23 million) and cultural services (US $69.36 million) made up the majority of the loss of ESV. Overall, the reduction of ESV showed the environment is degrading because of existing LULC changes, this calls for immediate sustainable land management intervention by responsible actors. To attain sustainable development goals regarding food and life on the land, it is imperative to reverse the loss of ecosystem services.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-02-03
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010013
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 14: Evidence for an Extreme Cooling Event Prior
to the Laschamp Geomagnetic Excursion in Eifel Maar Sediments
Authors: Johannes Albert, Frank Sirocko
First page: 14
Abstract: We present a timeseries of flood and slumping phases in central Europe for the past 65,000 years from event layers in sediment cores from infilled Eifel maar basins (Germany). Palynological, petrographic and organic carbon (chlorins) records are used to understand the precise timing of these events. Periods of increased flood activity seem to coincide with Heinrich stadials in marine sediment records, which are associated with cold and more arid climate conditions, indicating a vegetation response within the maars’ catchment areas. This multi-proxy correlation reveals prominent slumps at different maar sites during Greenland Stadial (GS) 12. The stratigraphy is based on sediment records from the Auel infilled maar and we thus call this event Auel Cold Event (ACE). Frozen and fractured sediment packages within the slump suggest deep frost or permafrost conditions for the region during the stadial. The results agree well with sediment archives and archeological sites across Europe that report severely cold and arid conditions for the stadial. This supports the assumption that GS12 was indeed one of the coldest periods of the last glacial cycle rather than the Heinrich stadials. Based on our age model, the ACE occurred at 43,500 yr b2k (years before the year 2000), which coincides with the initial weakening of Earth’s magnetic field strength prior to the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-02-12
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010014
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 15: Chihuahuan Desert Vegetation Development
during the Past 10,000 Years According to Pollen and Sediment Data at
Upper Arroyo, Saltillo, Mexico
Authors: Bruce M. Albert
First page: 15
Abstract: Pollen and sediment data from a 10.5 m-deep alluvial exposure and a secondary tributary exposure at Upper Arroyo, a seasonal river, in Saltillo, Mexico, were examined with the aim of reconstructing the vegetation and environmental history during the Holocene as a whole. The role of climate change in Chihuahuan Desert flora development after 8800 BP was assessed, in addition to more local physiographic factors, such as erosion and accumulation, soil development and denudation, and hydrological entrenchment. Climate change appeared to have been a principal agent of vegetation change in the Early and Middle Holocene, with a periodic expansion of desert vegetation. A reduction in the environmental carrying capacities for mesophytic flora according to physiographic factors, such as soil erosion and channel entrenchment, was then identified after 2300 BP, also promoting azonal ecological niches for xerophytic vegetation in southern Coahuila, Mexico, that persist despite modern variations in precipitation.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-02-13
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010015
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 16: What Does the “Elephant-Equus”
Event Mean Today' Reflections on Mammal Dispersal Events around the
Authors: Alessio Iannucci, Raffaele Sardella
First page: 16
Abstract: The dispersal of primitive elephantines and monodactyl equids in Eurasia has long been regarded as representative of a substantial turnover in mammal faunas, denoting the spread of open environments linked to the onset of cold and dry conditions in the Northern Hemisphere. During the 1980s, this event was named the “Elephant-Equus event” and it was correlated with the Gauss-Matuyama reversal, today corresponding to the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition and the beginning of the Quaternary, dated at ~2.6 Ma. Therefore, the Elephant-Equus event became a concept of prominent biochronological and paleoecological significance, especially in western Europe. Yet, uncertainties surrounding the taxonomy and chronology of early “elephant” and “Equus”, as well as conceptual differences in adopting (or understanding) the Elephant-Equus event as an intercontinental dispersal event or as a stratigraphic datum, engendered ambiguity and debate. Here, we provide a succinct review of the Elephant-Equus event, considering separately the available evidence on the “elephant” and the “Equus”. Elephantines dispersed out of Africa during the Pliocene (Piacenzian). Their earliest calibrated occurrences from eastern Europe date at ~3.2 Ma and they are usually referred to Mammuthus rumanus, although the allocation of several samples to this species is tentative. Available dating constraints for other localities do not resolve whether the dispersal of Mammuthus was synchronous across Eurasia, but this possibility cannot be ruled out. The spread of Mammuthus was part of an intercontinental faunal exchange between Africa and Eurasia that occurred during the Piacenzian, but in this scenario, Mammuthus is quite unique in being the only genus of African origin dispersing to western Eurasia. The arrival of monodactyl equids from North America coincides with the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition, with several occurrences dated or calibrated at ~2.6 Ma and no compelling evidence prior to this age. In Europe, early monodactyl equids are often aligned to Equus livenzovensis, but the material from the type locality of this species is chronologically time-averaged and taxonomically heterogeneous, and western European samples are seldom abundant or informative. Regardless, this does not diminish the biochronological significance of the “Equus event”. Indeed, while the term “Elephant-Equus event” should no longer be used, as the appearance of elephantines in the European fossil record markedly precedes that of monodactyl equids, we endorse the use of the “Equus event” as a valid alternative to refer to the intercontinental dispersal event that characterizes the middle Villafranchian faunal turnover, epitomized by but not limited to monodactyl equids.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-02-28
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010016
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 17: Neanderthal Hunting Weapons Re-Assessed: A
Tip Cross-Sectional Area Analysis of Middle Palaeolithic Point Assemblages
from South Eastern France
Authors: Marlize Lombard, Marie-Hélène Moncel
First page: 17
Abstract: There are many opinions and arguments about the types of weapons that Neanderthals may have used. We list five assumptions about Neanderthal weapon-assisted hunting and suggest that the tip cross-sectional area (TCSA) approach may be used to assess these, and to provide a hypothetical overview of stone-tipped weaponry used in south eastern France between MIS 7 and MIS 3. We analysed stone points from Abri du Maras, Saint-Marcel, Grotte du Figuier, and Payre, and discuss possible hunting strategies in tandem with faunal evidence. Our results suggest that early Neanderthals may have hunted with bimanual thrusting spears in combination with one-handed stabbing spears, but that later groups possibly introduced javelin hunting to the Neanderthal arsenal. Stone-tipped assegais or one-handed stabbing spears, however, stand out as the Neanderthal weapons of choice throughout the Middle Palaeolithic, and we discuss the adaptive advantages of hunting with these weapons. Comparative results that include assemblages from elsewhere in the Old World suggest similarities in hunting with stone-tipped weapons between Neanderthal and H. sapiens before MIS 5, marked differences during MIS 5–4, but similarities again during MIS 3. We suggest that caution is needed when attributing MIS 3 point assemblages to Neanderthals based on age and/or technology only.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-03-01
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010017
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 18: Evidence of Copper and Iron Deposits of the
Protohistoric City of Temesa
Authors: Virgilio Vecchio, Maurizio Cannatà, Edoardo Proverbio, Elpida Piperopoulos, Lorenzo Torrisi, Letteria Silipigni
First page: 18
Abstract: With the name ‘Temesa’ (Latin Tempsa), the ancients identified a settlement located along the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria, cited by sources as an international metal exchange emporium. The town is mentioned by Homer as being famous in the ancient world for the production of bronze, and in the I century A.D. Strabo wrote that there were rich copper mines near the city. Many years of study led to the recognition of Temesa as a complex urban system located between the Oliva and Savuto rivers, near Amantea. To confirm this hypothesis, we searched, in the surrounding rocky outcrops, for the presence of minerals useful for the extraction of iron and copper. Samples of 3 different rock stratifications were taken near the protohistoric settlement of Serra Aiello. The observation under an polarized reflected light microscope and the X-ray diffraction patterns revealed the presence of many minerals useful for the extraction of iron and copper in every sample. The heating of samples under both oxidizing and reducing conditions helped us to better quantify copper and iron minerals content causing, at the same time, the appearance of a marked paramagnetic behavior that could be associated with the presence of goethite. X ray fluorescence analysis showed a high concentration of iron and a low copper content.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-03-07
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010018
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 19: Vegetation History and Estuarine Ecology of
the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain in Relation to Climate and Sea-Level Changes
According to Three Pollen Cores
Authors: Bruce M. Albert
First page: 19
Abstract: The vegetation history of the Texas Gulf Coastal Plain in the Holocene is considered according to pollen evidence from three coring sites where both terrestrial and marine ecology are reconstructed. These pollen sites record oscillations in the limit of the Southeastern US Forest zone in relation to climate changes, with a major, southward migration of the forest limit and expansion of the range limit of Betula nigra being recorded in the 6th millennium BP and a northward migration in the 4th millennium BP. The appearance of Rhizophora pollen also indicates increased tropical influence in the Middle Holocene. Moreover, changes in the salinity profiles of estuaries are reconstructed in relation to broader coastal environmental changes, such as sea-level oscillations and the formation of barrier islands, with a major sea-level transgression phase being recorded in the 4th millennium BP and still-stand conditions after the 3rd millennium BP. These vegetation changes are finally compared to occupational evidence of prehistoric humans in the Central Texas Gulf Coastal Plain region in relation to ecological factors. Here, human occupation of the coastal zone is correlated with afforestation, the proliferation of pecan and the emergence of low-salinity estuaries.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-03-09
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010019
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 20: The Role of Large Mammals as Vitamin C
Sources for MIS 3 Hominins
Authors: José Luis Guil-Guerrero
First page: 20
Abstract: The acquisition of large prey by hominins living during the Marine Isotope Stage 3, including Neanderthals and Anatomically Modern Humans, had nutritional and bioenergetic implications: these contain high fat amounts, provide a high energy return, and the strategies and skills required to acquire small prey were different from those required to acquire the former. Vitamin C availability at several MIS 3 periods could have had a strong seasonal variability and would have been decisive for hominin groups’ survival. During the cold periods of the MIS 3, Paleolithic hominins had variable available amounts of vitamin C-containing plants only in the short summers, and for the remainder of the year, viscera would have been their best source of vitamin C. Meanwhile, the dependence on small mammals could have caused an erratic distribution of viscera to be consumed by such hominins, thus leading to chronic scurvy, and compromising their survival. Then, the hunting of large mammals would have helped to meet the daily vitamin C needs, besides an efficient energy supply. Therefore, the decline of large prey during the MIS 3 could have been critical for hominins survival, and thus the efficient exploitation of alternative vitamin C-rich food resources such as birds and aquatic animals could have favored the evolutionary success of hominin populations.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-03-10
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010020
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 21: High-Resolution Multiproxy Record of
Environmental Changes and Anthropogenic Activities at Unguja Ukuu,
Zanzibar, Tanzania during the Last 5000 Years
Authors: Apichaya Englong, Paramita Punwong, Rob Marchant, Tosak Seelanan, Stephanie Wynne-Jones, Prae Chirawatkul
First page: 21
Abstract: A high-resolution multiproxy sedimentary record comprising pollen, charcoal, trace element, stratigraphy and particle size data is used to reveal environmental changes from the mangrove ecosystem at Unguja Ukuu, Zanzibar, Tanzania, over the last 5000 years. Historical human–environment interactions over the last millennia are explored by a comparison of the stratigraphic and archaeological data. The area was characterised by a mixture of mangrove forest and beaches, indicating a low level of tidal inundation to at least 3300 BCE. From 2750 BCE, mangrove forest expanded as the area experienced sea-level rise. Further sea-level rise is recorded between 600 and 1100 CE, indicated by the pollen record, particle size analysis and the presence of shell fragments. After 1100 CE, mangrove forest decreased with back mangrove species increasing, indicating a falling sea level. Cocos nucifera decreased after 1900 CE, which reflects a recent sea-level rise and possibly a phase of exploitation. Cereal pollen shows a high presence at around 1500 CE, which coincided with the arrival of the Portuguese on Zanzibar and the transition to Omani colonisation. The sedimentation rate in the core top indicates that mangroves in Unguja Ukuu cannot keep pace with the current rate of sea-level rise.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-03-13
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010021
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 22: Enigmatic Surface Ruptures at Cape Rytyi and
Surroundings, Baikal Rift, Siberia: Seismic Hazard Implication
Authors: Oksana V. Lunina, Ivan A. Denisenko, Anton A. Gladkov, Carlos Braga
First page: 22
Abstract: The geomorphic expression of active faulting and distinction of paleoseismic events in areas that are rapidly obscured by erosion/sedimentation still remains a considerable scientific problem. The present article discusses the revealing of surface faulting ruptures and their parameters to identify capable faults without trenching and to estimate the magnitude of earthquakes. The case study was at Cape Rytyi, located in Baikal-Lena Nature Reserve on the northwestern shore of Lake Baikal. Based on unmanned aerial photography, GPR, and structural observations, we mapped and investigated the relation between geomorphological forms and ruptures. The obtained results show that past landslides and paleoruptures at Cape Rytyi and its surroundings are associated with at least two earthquakes. The Mw of the earlier event was 7.3 (Ms = 7.4); the Mw of the later one was 7.1 (Ms = 7.3). The paleoruptures in the distal part of the delta of the Rita River and on the southeastern slope of the Baikal Ridge were included in the seismogenic rupture zone, which traces some 37 km along the Kocherikovsky fault. The approximate intervals in which earthquakes occurred are 12–5 ka and 4–0.3 ka, respectively. The applied analysis methods can be useful for paleoseismology and assessing seismic hazards in similar regions elsewhere.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-03-16
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010022
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
- Quaternary, Vol. 6, Pages 23: Local Differentiation in the Loess
Deposition as a Function of Dust Source: Key Study Novo Orahovo Loess
Paleosol Sequence (Vojvodina, Serbia)
Authors: Slobodan B. Marković, Jef Vandenberghe, Zoran M. Perić, Dávid Filyó, Tamás Bartyik, Milica G. Radaković, Qingzhen Hao, Rastko S. Marković, Tin Lukić, Nemanja Tomić, Milivoj B. Gavrilov, Aleksandar Antić, Ivana Cvijanović, György Sipos
First page: 23
Abstract: Typical patterns of the Late Pleistocene loess–paleosol units are preserved in the Novo Orahovo brickyard, Northern Serbia. Presented preliminary luminescence chronology supports the chronostratigraphic interpretations of global isotopic marine climate reconstructions. Magnetic susceptibility and sedimentological evidence exhibit general similarities with the marine oxygen-isotope stratigraphy. These records provide new insights into the dust accumulation regimes over the eastern side of the Bačka loess plateau and offer new paleoenvironmental information for the region. They represent an important step forward towards the establishment of a catena from the thin loess-like sediments of the Banat foothills in the east towards the thicker and seemingly more complete loess sections of the southeastern and central Carpathian Basin. Grain-size data from the loess record of Nova Orahovo explain the regional differentiation in dust deposition.
Citation: Quaternary
PubDate: 2023-03-16
DOI: 10.3390/quat6010023
Issue No: Vol. 6, No. 1 (2023)
