diatom inferred salinity in palaeolakes an indirect tracer of climate change lakes in arid and semi arid regions respond to climatic change through shifts in lake water volume and ionic concentration because diatom distribution is highly correlated with lake hydrochemistry diatoms can be used to infer changes in salinity and brine composition and thus to infer past climates here we critically examine the use of diatom inferred salinity as a climate proxy with examples taken from both modern waterbodies and sedimentary profiles sediment records may contain assemblages mixed from periods or sites of differing hydrochemistries because of the high degree of spatial and temporal heterogeneity in saline systems dissolution and diagenesis in saline brines may further complicate interpretation of sedimentary assemblages furthermore threshold effects salinity regulation via groundwater seepage antecedent conditions and other aspects of local hydrology may modify the relationship between salinity change and climatic forcing these complexities necessitate critical examination of the ecology and taphonomy of sedimentary assemblages as well as evaluation of potential non linearities in the salinity climate relationship through comparison of diatom inferred salinity with other proxy records of hydrochemical change historical documents where they exist and with other regional lake systems

holocene river development and environmental change in upper wharfedale yorkshire dales england this paper provides the first radiometrically dated evidence of holocene alluvial landform development in upper wharfedale yorkshire dales four river terraces are identified terraces 1 and 2 are closely linked to late devensian and early holocene environmental change with gravel reworked from local glacial and periglacial sources prior to cementation by carbonate rich waters u series dating of cement provides age estimates for cementation of between ca 5 1 7 4 kyr bp for terrace 1 and ca 3 6 8 0 kyr bp for terrace 2 u series dating of tufas overlying terraces 1 and 2 produced ages of ca 4 2 4 5 kyr bp and ca 2 1 2 2 kyr bp respectively and provide upper age limits for terrace formation terrace 3 marks a change in sediment calibre supply and sedimentation style and 14c dating suggests that the principal source of fine grained material may be agricultural expansion in the yorkshire dales from ca ad 600 1350 cal yr bp radiocarbon dates indicate that terrace 4 was deposited from the eleventh century with initiation of the contemporary floodplain between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries ad both these lowest units contain sediments contaminated with heavy metals as a result of mining activities within the catchment the evidence presented in this study is comparable to that of research undertaken in upland environments elsewhere in northern and western britain thereby adding to the corpus of information currently available for evaluating the fluvial geomorphological response to climate and vegetation change during the holocene copyright 2000 john wiley sons ltd

slip along the sultanhani fault in central anatolia from deformed pleistocene shorelines of palaeo lake konya and implications for seismic hazards in low strain regions

challenges in reservoir characterization geohorizons from a summary of the state of the art and current trends within reservoir characterization practice and research this paper suggests and discusses new avenues and focal points for the future despite today s high activity level and the many recent apparent advances within reservoir characterization practice and technology the province average recovery factors have not increased significantly production forecasts are still notoriously in error and the mainstream day to day geoscience reservoir engineering approach to modeling mapping gridding visualizing and forecasting the behavior of reservoirs in a typical oil company has not changed noticeably during the last five years even if the large and easy reservoirs have been found and developed in many basins evidence suggests that researchers are not outsmarting nature to give up more of its oil now than she did before even recently predicted production profiles turn out to be surprisingly erroneous so what can be done what are the major challenges in reservoir characterization research which are the areas with the greatest potential payoff suggestions for future research activities are scattered throughout this paper but it is believed than in order to outsmart nature you have to know her hence detailed reservoir tomography by some known e g seismic or as yet undiscovered technology whichmore yields images of all faults the correct structure map and geological architectural flow unit and barrier details down to 1 m resolution is on top of the reservoir characterization research wish list less

the quaternary evolution of the gulf of corinth central greece coupling between surface processes and flow in the lower continental crust abstract the gulf of corinth in central greece is an active normal fault zone with particularly clear evidence of isostatic footwall uplift constrained by quaternary marine terraces and hanging wall subsidence and sedimentation it is bounded to the south by a pliocene to early pleistocene sedimentary basin which is now eroding into the gulf previous work has suggested that the relief across this region has increased dramatically since the early pleistocene due to the isostatic response to increased rates of footwall erosion and hanging wall sedimentation it is indeed assumed here that incision accompanying the draw down of global sea level at 0 9 ma during the first major pleistocene glaciation initiated the erosion of the basin south of the gulf of corinth and so abruptly increased the sedimentation rate in the gulf the resulting transient thermal and isostatic response to these changes is modelled with the subsiding depocentre and eroding sediment source coupled by flow in the lower continental crust the subsequent enhancement of relief involving an increase in bathymetry from near zero to 900 m and 500 m of uplift of the eroding land surface in the sediment source is shown to be a direct consequence of this change the model is sensitive to the effective viscosity of the lower crust and can thus resolve this parameter by matching observations a value of 6 1019 pa s is indicated suggesting a viscosity at the moho no greater than 1018 pa s similar transient topographic effects caused by increased rates of sedimentation and erosion are likely to be widespread within the geological record suggesting that this coupling process involving flow in the weak lower crust may be of major geological and geomorphological importance

quantifying lateral heterogeneities in fluvio deltaic sediments using three dimensional reflection seismic data offshore gulf of mexico scale invariant statistics and strong anisotropy in rock properties are documented from well log and three dimensional seismic data in pleistocene fluvial and deltaic deposits in the eugene island 330 field gulf of mexico systematic quantification of lateral lithologic heterogeneity within a stratigraphic framework using reflection seismic data reveals that fluvial and deltaic depositional systems exhibit statistical behavior related to stratigraphic fabric well log and seismic data profiles show a decay in power spectra with wavenumber k according to k with between 1 and 2 3 vertical and horizontal well log data exhibit power law scaling behavior with between 1 and 2 horizontal seismic horizon slices were extracted from within fluvial and deltaic deposits seismic data from fluvial and deltaic deposits exhibit distinct differences in variance and each depositional system reveals directional anisotropy in one dimensional seismic data profiles from the fluvial deposit reveal anisotropy along depositional strike 1 1 and dip 2 2 the higher correlation observed in the direction of stratigraphic dip for the fluvial deposit may reflect the depositional fabric associated with channel systems correlation parameters obtained in specific depositional environments can potentially be used to quantify rock fabric and provide constraints in the modeling of sedimentary processes

fluvial response to climate change during and after the last glacial maximum in central anatolia turkey abstract fluvial response to climate change during and after the last glacial maximum lgm included incision aggradation phases recorded in sediment cores from the valley floor of the kizilirmak in central anatolia a numerical chronology was established by ams dating of fluvial sediments and ar ar dating of a basalt sample capping the youngest terrace late pleistocene terrace indicating that the main incision phase was completed at the end of the lgm the succeeding aggradation phase in the valley took place from the end of the lgm onwards it appears that the major climatic transition from the lgm to the late glacial gave rise to aggradation in the fluvial system and this event seems to be consistent with the timing of the regression phase of pluvial lakes and the termination of paleoglacier advances in the high mountains of anatolia this study of fluvial systems in anatolia indicates that the coldest periods are not always characterized by fluvial aggradation

rate of strike slip motion on the amanos fault karasu valley southern turkey constrained by k ar dating and geochemical analysis of quaternary basalts the left lateral amanos fault follows a 200 km long and up to 2 km high escarpment that bounds the eastern margin of the amanos mountain range and the western margin of the karasu valley in southern turkey just east of the northeastern corner of the mediterranean sea regional kinematic models have reached diverse conclusions as to the role of this fault in accommodating relative motion between either the african and arabian turkish and african or turkish and arabian plates local studies have tried to estimate its slip rate by k ar dating quaternary basalts that erupted within the amanos mountains flowed across it into the karasu valley and have since become offset however these studies have yielded a wide range of results ranging from 0 3 to 15 mm a 1 which do not allow the overall role and significance of this fault in accommodating crustal deformation to be determined we have used the cassignol k ar method to date nine quaternary basalt samples from the vicinity of the southern part of the amanos fault these basalts exhibit a diverse chemistry which we interpret as a consequence varying degrees of partial melting of their source combined with variable crustal contamination this dating allows us to constrain the quaternary slip rate on the amanos fault to 1 0 to 1 6 mm a 1 the dramatic discrepancies between past estimates of this slip rate are partly due to technical difficulties in k ar dating of young basalts by isotope dilution in addition previous studies at the key locality of hacilar have unwittingly dated different chemically distinct flow units of different ages that are juxtaposed this low slip rate indicates that at present the amanos fault takes up a small proportion of the relative motion between the african and arabian plates which is transferred southward to the dead sea fault zone it also provides strong evidence against the long standing view that its slip continues offshore to the southwest along a hypothetical left lateral fault zone located south of cyprus

cold and wet last glacial maximum on mount sandiras sw turkey inferred from cosmogenic dating and glacier modeling abstract in situ cosmogenic 36 cl was measured in boulders from moraines on mount sandiras 37 1 n 28 8 e 2295 m the southwestern most previously glaciated mountain in turkey valleys on the north side of the mountain were filled with 1 5 km long glaciers that terminated at an altitude of 1900 m the glacial activity on mount sandiras correlates with the broadly defined last glacial maximum lgm the maximum glaciation occurred approximately 20 4 1 3 ka 1 1 ka 1000 calendar years ago when glaciers started retreating and the most extensive moraines were deposited the glaciers readvanced and retreated by 19 6 1 6 ka ago and then again by 16 2 0 5 ka using the glacier modeling and the paleoclimate proxies from the eastern mediterranean we estimated that if temperatures during lgm were 8 5 11 5 c lower than modern precipitation was up to 1 9 times more than that of today thus the local lgm climate was cold and wet which is at odds with the conventional view of the lgm as being cold and dry in the region

wet conditions during the last glaciation in the chihuahuan desert alta babicora basin mexico abstract a 467 cm core b94 3 from the alta babicora basin in the chihuahuan desert northern mexico 29 n 108 w documents lake level and climate changes over the past ca 65 000 yr chronological control is provided by four accelerator mass spectrometry 14 c dates and five u series dates on diatom silica the core has been analyzed for magnetic susceptibility loss on ignition carbonate content sediment chemistry and mineralogy and pollen and diatom composition the basin was occupied by a deep freshwater lake throughout the late pleistocene which based on shoreline evidence was at least 19 m deeper than today the lake shallowed after ca 57 000 yr b p high variability typified the period between 54 600 and 38 000 yr b p probably with periodic desiccation and deflation a deep water lake was reestablished after 38 000 yr b p and persisted until ca 29 000 yr b p shallowing occurred through the last glacial maximum although the lake was still deeper than at present the pleistocene holocene transition was marked by a distinctive change in the diatom flora there is no diatom record for much of the holocene but other proxies indicate generally dry stable catchment conditions the babicora record is more akin to those from the southwest united states than it is to central america and northern south america wet conditions in the late pleistocene are attributed to winter rainfall from midlatitudes in contrast to the modern tropical summer rainfall regime

chronology of late pleistocene glacier variations at the uludag mountain nw turkey abstract surface exposure ages with cosmogenic 10be and 26al on glaciogenic landforms at the uludag mountain nw turkey mt uludag 40 04 15 n 29 13 18 e 2542 m above sea level indicate that the local maximum glaciation occurred no later than 20 3 1 5 ka ago this is in agreement with other exposure age data sets from anatolia and is in accordance with the timing of the last maximum glaciation in the european alps coinciding with the global last glacial maximum lgm 21 2 ka geomorphologically constrained subsequent glacier oscillations were dated to the lateglacial period and show distinct phases of readvanced glaciers around 16 1 1 2 ka 13 3 1 1 ka and 11 5 1 0 ka ago this indicates an oscillating glacier recession in nw anatolia during termination 1 published surface exposure ages related to the lateglacial gschnitz and egesen moraines in the european alps are in good agreement with the derived glacier chronology at the uludag mountain this implies the parallel occurrence of major climatic shifts on millennial time scale in the european alps and nw turkey during the marine isotope stage mis 2

geoarchaeological research at barcin hoyuk implications for the initial neolithic occupation of northwest anatolia landscape archaeological research has been undertaken on the mound of barcin hoyuk in northwest anatolia turkey it is the oldest neolithic site in the region making it of particular interest in regard to the spread of farming from the regions of origin southeast and central anatolia to northwest anatolia this study shows that the site was founded approximately 8550 a cal bp on a natural elevation in a generally wet environment at the edge of a retreating lake the site was subject to environmental shifts in younger periods with a phase of arid conditions and erosion at least prior to the bronze age succeeded by a phase of more humid conditions and rising lake levels mostly in the last two millennia and finally a return to arid conditions and declining lake levels considering the neolithic environmental conditions the local environment of barcin hoyuk resembled the local environment of catalhoyuk a central anatolian site this suggests that despite the general differences between the regions the earliest sedentary population of northwest anatolia favoured local conditions similar to those of central anatolia while younger sites in the aforementioned region diverge to slightly different localities

paleohydrological implications of late quaternary fluvial deposits in and around archaeological sites in syria abstract the importance of fluvial processes to the development of late quaternary landforms in arid regions is well established particularly for the american southwest in contrast much less information exists about past fluvial processes for other arid regions such as arabic countries in the middle east this paper reviews the characteristics of late quaternary fluvial deposits and landforms in syria an arid country with little previous quaternary geomorphic research relatively detailed information has been obtained from areas adjacent to archaeological sites because of collaborative activities with geomorphologists and other geoscientists such activities have resulted in intensive field surveys and associated results of complementary archaeological studies of lithic artifacts are useful for establishing the chronology of fluvial deposits although the number of existing studies is limited the available information points to marked changes in the mode of fluvial processes in response to late quaternary climatic change fluvial sedimentation was enhanced during the wet periods of mis 3 4 the pleistocene holocene transition and the mid holocene in contrast the lgm was characterized by limited fluvial sedimentation under a drier climate as well as enhanced carbonate precipitation near the land surface to form calcrete and oncoids

preliminary slip rate estimates for the duzce segment of the north anatolian fault zone from offset geomorphic markers abstract new estimates on the quaternary slip rate of the active transform margin of north anatolia are provided we investigated the area struck by a mw 7 1 earthquake on the 12th of november 1999 that ruptured the duzce fault segment of the north anatolian fault in order to analyze the spectacular tectonically driven cumulative landforms and the drainage pattern settings we carried out a 1 25 000 scale geological and geomorphological mapping along the fault trace we reconstruct and describe as offset geomorphic markers right hand stream deflections and fluvial terraces inset into alluvial fan deposits radiocarbon dating indicates that 100 m stream deflections were built up by the last 7000 yrs of fault activity conversely two documented and correlated late pleistocene fluvial terraces are horizontally offset by 300 and 900 m respectively these were dated by means of optically stimulated luminescence osl to 21 ka bp and 60 ka bp assuming a constant rate of deformation for the duzce fault ages and related offsets translate to consistent slip rates that yield an average slip rate of 15 0 3 2 mm yr for the last 60 ka thus the duzce fault importantly contributes to the north anatolian margin deformation suggesting a present day partitioning of displacement rates with the mudurnu fault to the south and confirming its important role in the seismic hazard of the area

seismic stratigraphy facies architecture and reservoir character of a pleistocene shelf margin delta complex eugene island block 330 field offshore louisiana the ga interval of the eugene island block 330 field is the deposit of a late pleistocene 0 8 ma shelf margin lowstand delta complex we integrated three dimensional 3 d seismic wireline log core and cuttings data to examine the delta s internal architecture and to reconstruct its depositional history this interval displays a complex vertical and lateral interfingering of channel clinoform and base of slope failure deposits over short distances a few kilometers and is the product of delta lobe progradation and switching accompanied by syndepositional structural development growth faults rollover anticline and relative sea level change we then integrated our sequence stratigraphic interpretation with production data hydrocarbon accumulations in the interval are primarily associated with the updip facies delta mouth bar delta front beneath the flooding surface at the top of the interval and not the sequence boundary at the base of the interval maps of seismic amplitudes

woodland vegetation and fuel exploitation at the prehistoric campsite of pinarbasi south central anatolia turkey the evidence from the wood charcoal macro remains this paper presents the results of the analysis of wood charcoal macro remains from the multi period prehistoric rock shelters of pinarbasi in the konya plain south central anatolia retrieval and analytical methods are also reported in detail together with some methodologies previously untested in the field of charcoal analysis aiming at the quantitative description of context related variation in the preservation status of archaeological wood charcoal assemblages the patterns observed in the charcoal record are interpreted as a reflection of the prehistoric strategies for firewood exploitation in their local and regional palaeoenvironmental context

modern and early middle holocene shells of the freshwater mollusc unio from catalhoyuk in the konya basin turkey preliminary palaeoclimatic implications from molluscan isotope data carbon and oxygen isotope ratios in the shells of the freshwater unio mollusc yield information on the isotopic composition of the water in which the shell was formed which in turn relates to climatic conditions prevailing during the bivalves life span here we analysed shells from one modern unio from a modern lake shore in anatolia and 4 subfossil unio shells from catalhoyuk dated between 7200 bc and 5000 bc neolithic and chalcolithic periods sequential carbon and oxygen isotope analysis along the surface of the shells provides information on seasonal or shorter term variability of lake waters during the lifetime of the organisms 18o values of the modern shell are consistent with it being collected from a dammed portion of the seyhan river that does not undergo intensive summer evaporation this is in contrast to many of the surface water bodies in anatolia which suffer extensive evaporation in the arid summers 18o values of the subfossil shells from the catalhoyuk middens indicate that the bivalves came from lakes which evaporated extensively during the summer months but were replenished by high winter rainfall suggesting that the subfossil shells lived in relatively small lakes or ponds stable isotope analysis along the growth of freshwater bivalves is one of the few methods for investigating seasonal water fluctuations in the past these results may alter current interpretations on the environment of catalhoyuk during the neolithic although more work is needed to confirm these initial findings

revision of the plio pleistocene cycles and their application to sequence stratigraphy and shelf and slope sediments in the gulf of mexico abstract the ages cycles and correlation of the pliocene and pleistocene have been discussed and argued for decades the revision of the pliocene pleistocene sequence chronostratigraphy presented in this paper is based on data obtained from more than 100 wells in the south additions and deepwater areas offshore louisiana and texas gulf of mexico the high resolution biostratigraphic data combined with well log sequence stratigraphic interpretations and correlations of the seismic record sections through a two way time log or synthetic seismogram permits the pliocene and pleistocene series to be divided into 14 fourth order sequences and seven third order sequences we have discussed and illustrated the most important events that have led up to this detailed revision of the plio pleistocene this documentation is very important because most of these papers have been published in journals that have not been readily available to most geologists and geophysicists

9th millennium plant subsistence in the central anatolian highlands new evidence from pinarbasi karaman province central anatolia plant macrofossil analysis phytolith analysis and ams radiocarbon dating at pinarbasi in central anatolia confirm the presence and continuity of plant gathering practice as a key subsistence strategy from c 9000 7700 cal bc results demonstrate the use of almond terebinth and hackberry as food plants similar to palaeolithic epipalaeolithic subsistence strategies in the antalya region crop and or crop progenitor use is unsupported with sporadic cereal macrofossils rare and shown by direct radiocarbon dating to be intrusive a conclusion supported by the phytolith analysis seed exploitation is also rejected results confirm the presence of sedentary foragers from 9000 cal bc in central anatolia contemporary with the levantine ppna early ppnb suggest a different plant subsistence focus to contemporary forager societies in the fertile crescent and indicate economic differences with contemporary sites in central anatolia which were already cultivating crops

environmental and climatic changes during the last 20 000 years at lake tuz central turkey abstract our study demonstrates the importance of detailed lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic analyses of deposits of lake side terraces and alluvial fans in attempts to identify fluctuations of climate characteristics such as precipitation and evaporation rates and of local conditions for water balance changes in the central part of turkey during the last 20 000 years lake tuz basin central part of the anatolian plateau turkey had two high lake level stages dated as about 20 000 17 000 years ago and about 13 000 years ago at the high lake stages water level rose more than 15 m higher than the present lake level and the lake area spread widely to near the southern edge of the basin as inferred by lithologic and chronological investigation of drilling cores in the holocene lake level fell and the southeast part of the basin became extensive lake terraces alluvial fans have formed along the edge of the upland area on the terraces in the holocene stratigraphy and dating of the fan deposits show the fluctuations in the depositional rates of the fans major formative stages of the fans are dated about 7000 5500 and 2500 2000 years bp and several times of minor stages probably 4300 and 3000 years bp occurred between the two major stages our archaeological research shows that there are strong relationships between the distributions of archaeological sites of this area and the above geo environmental histories

an evaluation of the diatom response to late quaternary environmental change in two lakes in the konya basin turkey by comparison with stable isotope data abstract in palaeolimnological studies of closed basin lakes diatoms provide an excellent source of palaeoclimate data owing to their sensitivity to salinity and lake level change one of the best ways of assessing the relationships between diatom species response salinity and lake level change is comparison with other proxy indicators such as stable isotopes the sensitivity of different lake systems to climate change changes in the ratio of precipitation to evapotranspiration depends to a large extent on the character of the basin hydrology here we compare evidence for late quaternary palaeohydrological change in two lakes which have contrasting groundwater hydrology located in close proximity to each other in the konya basin southern central turkey and whose sediment core chronologies show considerable overlap suleymanhaci golu has alternated between being hydrologically closed and open during its history and the diatom record shows clear evidence for changes in palaeoconductivity and lake level which correspond well to inferred changes in evaporative concentration during the late pleistocene and part of the holocene in contrast the diatom record of the karstic spring fed pool pinarbasi indicates that it remained fresh throughout the late pleistocene it is subject to major aquifer flow and behaves effectively as an open system in this case the complacency of the diatom record is important in allowing inferences on temperature effects to be drawn from relatively subtle shifts in stable isotope values

crustal structure of the eratosthenes seamount cyprus and s turkey from an amphibian wide angle seismic profile abstract in 2010 project cococo incipient continent continent collision recorded a 650 km long amphibian n s wide angle seismic profile extending from the anatolian plateau across southern turkey and cyprus to just south of the eratosthenes seamount esm the aim of the project is to reveal the impact of the transition from subduction to continent continent collision of africa with anatolia arrival picking finite differences ray tracing and inversion of the offshore and on offshore data produced a tomographic model across southern cyprus the accretionary wedge and the esm the main features of this model are 1 crustal p velocities predominantly lower than 6 5 km s beneath the esm 2 crustal thickness between 28 and 37 km 3 an upper crustal reflection at 5 km depth beneath the esm 4 the likely presence of oceanic crust south of the esm and a transform margin north of it and 5 a 12 km thick ophiolite sequence on cyprus land shots on turkey also recorded on cyprus gravity data and geological and previous seismic investigations allow to derive a layered velocity model beneath anatolia and the northern part of cyprus the main features of this model are 1 moho depths of 38 45 km beneath the anatolian plateau 2 an upper and lower crust with large lateral changes in velocity and thickness 3 a north dipping subducting plate below cyprus with a steepening of the dip angle of the plate at about 45 km depth thus the wide angle seismic and gravity data provide detailed insights into the 2 d geometry and velocity structures associated with the cyprus arc collision zone finally integrated analysis of the geophysics and geology allows a comprehensive interpretation of the crustal structure related to the collision process

environmental and climatic changes during the pleistocene holocene in the bor plain central anatolia turkey abstract the bor plain lies in a round shaped flat basin in the southern part of the central anatolia it is located at the southeastern end of the tuzgolu fault zone which is the nw trending active normal fault zone and extends between the north of the tuzgolu lake tuz at nw and at kemerhisar nigde se according to geomorphologic and geologic studies this plain was occupied by lake during the pleistocene the first high lake level terrace and the latest high lake level terrace were determined at 1170 1150 m and 1110 1100 m respectively pleistocene and holocene alluvial and lacustrine deposits are composed of claystone sandstone mudstone limestone and paleosol units these units contain mostly calcite and clay minerals palygorskite smectites illite and chlorite and lesser amounts of quartz phillipsite cristobalite feldspar plagioclase goethite and muscovite the results of this study are compared with the results of sedimentologic and dating obtained from konya eregli plain according to this comparison 1 the latest high lake terraces were dated 23 000 to 17 000 yr bp the high lake level was changed 2 sandy level with carbonate determined in stratigraphy indicates that a dry phase dominated after 17 000 yr bp and 3 black and brown muds indicate that the shallow freshwater lacustrine phases and sandy levels were formed between 12 500 and 1100 yr bp during late glacial stage paleosols muddy levels and shallow lake deposits were formed in the environment of the holocene during 6000 5000 yr bp carbonate rich sandstone and mudstone deposits show that this period was interrupted by the second drought in the latest stage temperatures have increased due to hot climate conditions and salinization has begun and been still ongoing

holocene fluvial development of the upper tigris valley southeastern turkey as documented by archaeological data abstract this study was carried out to elucidate the holocene development of the valley of the tigris river between bismil and batman which will be inundated by the reservoir waters of ilisu dam to be built in upper tigris valley and to collect the geoarchaeological data of the mounds located there in the tigris valley 4 5 and 2 3 m terraces were formed in the holocene according to geoarchaeological data obtained from the mound located on the 4 5 m terrace it was determined that the tigris river has been flowing in the same bed from the neolithic age the floodplains of the 4 5 m terrace occurred as a result of floods which took place in three different cycles the first caused the formation of late pleistocene early holocene channel and floodplain material composed of coarse gravel and sandy silt on this floodplain with a relative altitude of 2 m above river level late neolithic settlements 6000 5500 bc were formed the second cycle is represented by the formation of early chalcolithic 5500 4000 bc floodplain material there were late chalcolithic and early bronze age 4000 2650 bc settlements formed on this floodplain with a relative altitude of 3 3 5 m above river level the third and the final cycle is represented by 1 2 m thick yellowish orange flood deposits which started to form from the end of early bronze age i these cover the early bronze age i cemetery 2800 2650 bc and settlements belonging to earlier periods as in the case of asagi salat mound

vegetation and climate of anatolia and adjacent regions during the last glacial period abstract reinterpretation of vegetation and climatic conditions of anatolia and neighboring regions during last glacial 30 15 cal ka bp have been done using a non quantitative biomization approach based on previously published plant functional types the results suggest that the climate was cold and humid before 25 cal ka bp and also during the period 23 19 cal ka bp except east anatolia forest vegetation was 80 90 of the land cover in the northwestern anatolia and black sea coast and 50 60 along the mediterranean coast at the same period during heinrich event 2 from 25 to 23 cal ka bp steppe vegetation dominated the anatolian region due to the sudden change to very cold and arid conditions approximately between 18 and 16 cal ka bp in the late glacial during heinrich event 1 a brief interval of cold and arid conditions resulted in weaker steppe vegetation over some part of anatolia around at 15 cal ka bp suitable climatic conditions for forest vegetation prevailed across a great part of anatolia except for eastern anatolia and western iran which are highlands

age palaeoenvironments and climatic significance of late pleistocene konya lake turkey abstract the konya basin a closed depression at the southern margin of the anatolian plateau contained a shallow but extensive lake during the late quaternary nearshore sands and gravels containing dreissena shells form prominent depositional terraces around the basin edges at elevations between 1005 and 1020 m and the highest has been dated at more than 30 000 yr b p the last major phase of limnic sedimentation occurred between 23 000 and 17 000 yr b p after which the lake fragmented into a number of subbasins or secondary depressions which evolved to become either marshes or playas a final expansion of these residual lakes has been dated to ca 11 000 yr b p in one secondary depression archaeological and other evidence indicate that only minor lake level fluctuations occurred during the holocene the dominant sedimentary process over the last 10 000 years has been alluviation at the basin margin the konya sequence confirms that the most recent period of high lake levels in the northern near east was of the last glacial age the palaeolakes of anatolia and iran were however more a product of reduced evaporation brought about by temperature depression than of changes in precipitation and thus belie their often used description as an indicator of pluvial climatic conditions

fluvial stratigraphy and palaeoenvironments in the pasinler basin eastern turkey valley floor sediments from the pasinler basin eastern turkey provide evidence for pleistocene and holocene floodplain conditions three terrace surfaces are present evidence for tectonic processes active during the late neogene is widespread within the basin but tectonic processes do not appear to have substantially influenced the details of the holocene palaeoenvironmental record significant changes in hydrology are recorded with more stable floodplain conditions occurring at around 9000 5500 and 4000 cal yr bp incision occurred sometime after approximately 4000 bp probably as a response to dual climatic and human controls comparisons with key sites in the anatolian region and beyond suggest these changes are part of a regional climatic pattern perhaps influenced by changes in the east african monsoon differences in the details of the records across the region reflect the characteristics of the local environment which increasingly in the latter holocene includes human activity

facies in a shelf edge delta an example from the subsurface of the gulf of mexico middle pliocene mississippi canyon block 109 two vertically stacked shelf edge delta systems in the middle pliocene of mississippi canyon block 109 have been described using a three dimensional seismic survey 400 ft 122 m of conventional core and electric logs possible characteristic facies associations and features of these shelf edge deltas include extensive upper delta slope deformation locally ponded slump induced turbidites in the upper slope a complex association of gravity and tractional deposits relatively thin preserved mouth bar deposits and the absence of delta plain facies six facies have been identified in cores 1 structureless sands interpreted as high density turbidites 2 laminated sands 2 1 sharp based planar horizontal laminations interpreted as bouma b and bc division turbid tes 2 2 low angle discordant laminations interpreted as strong wave activity deposits 2 3 a complex mixture of lamination styles that may be a product of turbidity currents waves or possibly river fed underflows 3 thinly interbedded ripple laminated sands including 3 1 asymmetrical cross laminations interpreted as unidirectional traction current lamination and 3 2 c division turbidites or ripple lamination with mud drapes on foresets or with a symmetrical form interpreted as wave or possibly tidal current lamination 4 contorted muddy fine sands and silts interpreted as mud flows and slumps 5 laminated silts and muds interpreted as low energy wave deposits or possibly d division turbidites and 6 muds interpreted as quiet water deposits in the cored intervals o the deltas turbidite sands immediately overlie muddy slumps in the upper delta slope suggesting that retrogressive slope failure of developing slump structures tapped back into the mouth bar causing sandy turbidity currents to develop the upper delta is represented on seismic data as a series of prograding clinoforms approximately 400 ft 122 m thick electric logs indicate these clinoforms are composed of a lower mud dominated interval an upper delta slope dominated by slumps with areally restricted turbidite sands and coarsening and cleaning upward mouth bar deposits composed of ripple laminated and parallel laminated sands interbedded with muds and silts the lower delta contains similar vertical sequences but also contains a distinct log and seismic facies that may be either a major shelf edge failure or a later channel feature incised across the entire delta apart from this possible channel neither delta shows evidence of emergent delta plain facies

field survey and geological effects of the 15 november 2006 kuril tsunami in the middle kuril islands the near field expression of the tsunami produced by the 15 november 2006 kuril earthquake mw 8 1 8 4 in the middle kuril islands russia including runup of up to 20 m remained unknown until we conducted a post tsunami survey in the summer of 2007 because the earthquake occurred between summer field expeditions in 2006 and 2007 we have observations topographic profiles and photographs from three months before and nine months after the tsunami we thoroughly surveyed portions of the islands of simushir and matua and also did surveys on parts of ketoi yankicha ryponkicha and rasshua tsunami runup in the near field of the middle kuril islands over a distance of about 200 km averaged 10 m over 130 locations surveyed and was typically between 5 and 15 m local topography strongly affected inundation and somewhat affected runup higher runup generally occurred along steep protruding headlands whereas longer inundation distances occurred on lower flatter coastal plains sediment transport was ubiquitous where sediment was available deposit grain size was typically sand but ranged from mud to large boulders wherever there were sandy beaches a more or less continuous sand sheet was present on the coastal plain erosion was extensive often more extensive than deposition in both space and volume especially in areas with runup of more than 10 m the tsunami eroded the beach landward stripped vegetation created scours and trim lines cut through ridges and plucked rocks out of the coastal plain

the tempo of holocene climatic change in the eastern mediterranean region new high resolution crater lake sediment data from central turkey this study presents results from a multi proxy analysis of cores taken in a crater lake sequence from eski acigol in central turkey which cover the period from pre c 16000 cal yr bp to the present the sediments comprise an upper unit of generally non laminated banded to massive silts and peats of mid to late holocene age overlying a laminated unit of late pleistocene to early mid holocene age the laminae comprising mainly aragonite amorphous silica diatom frustules and organic matter were formed in a relatively deep dilute meromictic lake pollen data indicate an abrupt replacement of artemisia chenopod steppe by grass oak terebinth parkland during the period of laminae deposition marking the start of the holocene a gradual increase in tree pollen during the early holocene came to an end c 6500 cal yr bp u series and adjusted c 14 timescale when mesic deciduous taxa declined at the same time as lake levels fell human impact on regional vegetation is inferred from a sharp decline in oak around 4500 4000 cal yr bp diatom isotopic and mineralogical data indicate that during the second half of the holocene the lake became relatively shallow and oscillated between fresh and brackish evaporated water conditions the contrast between wetter early and drier late holocene climatic conditions is matched by other eastern and central mediterranean proxy climate data while the eski acigol sequence resembles holocene hydroclimatic changes in the saharo arabian zone and was also apparently linked to orbital forcing it is unlikely to have had the same direct cause i e an expansion and subsequent retreat of monsoon rainfall

palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the alluvial landscape of neolithic catalhoyuk central southern turkey the implications for early agriculture and responses to environmental change archaeological discussions of early agriculture have often used the neolithic village of catalhoyuk in central southern turkey as a key example of the restricting effect of environment on agricultural production and organization central to these discussions is the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the landscape surrounding the site this paper presents an important new dataset from an intensive coring programme undertaken between 2007 and 2013 in the immediate environs of the site designed to improve significantly the spatial resolution of palaeoenvironmental data using sediment analyses including organic content magnetic susceptibility particle size total carbon and nitrogen contents and carbon isotope analysis coupled with 3d modelling we are able to present a new reconstruction of the palaeotopography and sedimentary environments of the site our findings have major implications for our understanding of neolithic agricultural production and social practice we present four phases of environmental development phase 1 consists of the final phases of regression of palaeolake konya in the later parts of the pleistocene dominated by erosion due to wind and water that created an undulating surface of the marl deposited in the palaeolake phase 2 occurs in the latest pleistocene and early holocene and indicates increased wetness probably characteristic of a humid anabranching channel system in which there are localized pockets of wetter conditions in phase 3a this infilling continues producing a flatter surface and there are fewer pockets being occupied by wetter conditions the fluvial regime shifts from humid to dryland anabranching conditions the earliest period of occupation of the neolithic east mound coincides with this phase phase 3b coincides with the shift of occupation to the west mound in the chalcolithic when there is evidence for a very localized wetter area to the southeast of the west mound but otherwise a continuation of the dryland anabranching system finally phase 4 shows a shift to the pre modern style of fluvial environment modified by channelization this reanalysis demonstrates the importance of extensive spatial sampling as part of geoarchaeological investigations with this new evidence we demonstrate that the landscape was highly variable in time and space with increasingly dry conditions developing from the early holocene onwards in contrast to earlier landscape reconstructions that have presented marshy conditions during the early holocene that impacted agriculture we argue that localized areas of the floodplain would have afforded significant opportunities for agriculture closer to the site in this way the results have important implications for how we understand agricultural practices in the early neolithic

evidence for holocene environmental changes in the northern fertile crescent provided by pedogenic carbonate coatings abstract holocene environmental changes in the northern fertile crescent remain poorly understood because of the scarcity of local proxy records in the region in this study we investigated pedogenic soil formed carbonate coatings on stones at the pre pottery neolithic site gobekli tepe as an indicator of local early mid holocene environmental changes the 14c ages and stable isotopic composition of carbon and oxygen in thin 0 2 0 3 mm thick pedogenic carbonate lamina indicate two main periods of coating formation the early holocene ca 10000 6000 cal yr bp and the mid holocene ca 6000 4000 cal yr bp during the first period there was an inverse relationship between 13c and 18o curves a decrease in 13c values coincide with an increase in 18o values for this period a trend towards higher temperatures is suggested in the mid holocene the mean rate of coating growth was 2 3 times higher than in the early holocene both 13c and 18o reached their maximum values during this time and the direction of changes of the 13c and 18o curves became similar the combination of data suggests that this period was the most humid in the holocene and on average warmer than the early holocene at ca 4000 cal yr bp secondary accumulation of carbonate ceased presumably reflecting a shift to a more arid climate

u series dating of impure carbonates an isochron technique using total sample dissolution abstract u series dating is a well established technique for age determination of late quaternary carbonates materials of sufficient purity for nominal dating however are not as common as materials with mechanically inseparable aluminosilicate detritus detritus contaminates the sample with extraneous th we propose that correction for contamination is best accomplished with the isochron technique using total sample dissolution tsd experiments were conducted on artificial mixtures of natural detritus and carbonate and on an impure carbonate of known age results show that significant and unpredictable transfer of radionuclides occur from the detritus to the leachate in commonly used selective leaching procedures the effects of correcting via leachate residue pairs and isochron plots were assessed isochrons using tsd gave best results followed by isochron plots of leachates only

pliocene and quaternary regional uplift in western turkey the gediz river terrace staircase and the volcanism at kula abstract along the upper reaches of the gediz river in western turkey in the eastern part of the aegean extensional province the land surface has uplifted by 400 m since the middle pliocene this uplift is revealed by progressive gorge incision and its rate can be established because river terraces are capped by basalt flows that have been k ar and ar ar dated at present the local uplift rate is 0 2 mm a 1 uplift at this rate began around the start of the middle pleistocene following a span of time when the uplift was much slower this was itself preceded by an earlier uplift phase apparently in the late late pliocene and early early pleistocene when the uplift rate was comparable to the present the resulting regional uplift history resembles what is observed in other regions and is analogously interpreted as the isostatic response to changing rates of surface processes linked to global environmental change we suggest that this present phase of surface uplift amounting so far to 150 m is being caused by the nonsteady state thermal and isostatic response of the crust to erosion following an increase in erosion rates in the late early pleistocene most likely as a result of the first large northern hemisphere glaciation during oxygen isotope stage 22 at 870 ka we suggest that the earlier uplift phase responsible for the initial 250 m of uplift resulted from a similar increase in erosion rates caused by the deterioration in local climate at 3 1 ma this uplift thus has no direct relationship to the crustal extension occurring in western turkey the rate and sense of which are thought not to have changed significantly on this time scale our results thus suggest that the present often deeply incised landscape of western turkey has largely developed from the middle pleistocene onwards for reasons not directly related to the active normal faulting that is also occurring the local isostatic consequences of this active faulting are instead superimposed onto this background of regional surface uplift modelling of this surface uplift indicates that the effective viscosity of the lower continental crust beneath this part of turkey is of the order of 1019 pa s similar to a recent estimate for beneath central greece the lower uplift rates observed in western turkey compared with central greece result from the longer typical distances of fluvial sediment transport which cause weaker coupling by lower crustal flow between offshore depocentres and eroding onshore regions that provide the sediment source

tidal signatures in a shelf margin delta based on its anomalous thickness 150 m and stratigraphic position above continental slope mudstone an upward coarsening succession consisting in part of tidal rhythmites in the glenelg field offshore nova scotia canada is interpreted to be a strongly tide influenced shelf margin delta deposit a large funnel shaped erosional shelf edge invagination is observed where the paleoshelf edge is resolved in three dimensional seismic data adjacent to glenelg we propose that the delta at glenelg prograded into a similar shelf edge invagination within which tidal currents were amplified and wave energy was attenuated given that funnel shaped invaginations e g slope canyon heads slump scars fluvially incised knickmarks are relatively common along modern shelf edges and that fluvio deltaic systems should be focused into these topographic lows during regression across the shelf it seems likely that shelf edge invaginations play an important but underappreciated role in mediating terrigenous clastic sedimentation during sea level lowstands

fluid flow in the south eugene island area offshore louisiana results of numerical simulations abstract numerical simulations of heat and fluid transport in the south eugene island sei area offshore louisiana suggest fluids migrate from deep abnormally pressured sediments along fault zones and into overlying oil and gas reservoirs in the simulations fluid flow along the fault produces a narrow thermal anomaly around the fault a negative thermal anomaly forms adjacent to the thermal maximum when permeable sediments dip away from the fault zone in the simulations this negative thermal anomaly dissipates 100 200 years after it forms the presence of a similar negative thermal anomaly in the sei area suggests that fluid movement in the area is a recent event the observation that the thermal maximum in the study area is not centered about the fault zone further suggests that the primary vertical conduit for fluid flow in the sei area is not a major fault but minor splay faults in the hanging wall

palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the eastern part of the karapinar ayranci coal deposit central turkey abstract regional tectonic movements during the neogene period resulted in the development of several fault controlled basins in central anatolia many of these basins host economic coal deposits the recently discovered karapinar ayranci coal deposit is the most important one due to its large reserves c 1 8 gt and location in the vicinity of important urban areas the paper aims to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental conditions before during and after coal formation in the eastern part of karapinar ayranci deposit by means of coal petrography and mineralogical data combined with sedimentological and palaeontological data the basinal infilling consists of mainly lacustrine fluvial and alluvial sediments the coal seams comprise several beds intercalating with claystone mudstone and marl the coal being lignite in rank displays high ash yield 36 4 wt on dry basis and high total sulphur content avg 7 7 wt on dry ash free basis facies diagrams and lithological features of the coal seams suggest that peat was accumulating under pure telmatic to limnotelmatic conditions however peat accumulation ceased several times due to a rise in water level therefore clastic e g quartz clay minerals and authigenic e g pyrite mineral contents are variable along the seam profile gastropod and ostracod fauna points to freshwater conditions in the palaeomire high total sulphur and evaporite mineral e g halite contents usually point to brackish saline conditions during peat accumulation however in case of the karapinar ayranci deposit high sulphur contents can be related to sulphate rich karstic aquifer which contributed to the palaeomire water supply

early holocene environments in the wadi faynan jordan hunt c elrishi h gilbertson d grattan j mclaren s pyatt b rushworth g barker g early holocene environments in the wadi faynan jordan the holocene 2004 14 6 pp 921 930

esr and 230th 234u dating of speleothems from aladaglar mountain range amr in turkey abstract electron spin resonance esr and 230 th 234 u ages of speleothem samples collected from karstic caves located around 3000 m elevation in the aladaglar mountain range amr south central turkey were determined in order to provide new insight and information regarding late pleistocene climate esr ages were validated with the 230 th 234 u ages of test samples the esr ages of 21 different layers of six speleothem samples were found to range mostly between about 59 and 4 ka which cover the marine oxygen isotope stages mis mis 3 to mis 1 among all only six layers appear to have deposited during mis 8 and 5 most of the samples dated were deposited during the late glacial stage mis 2 it appears that a cooler climate with a perennial and steady recharge was more conducive to speleothem development rather than a warmer climate with seasonal recharge in the amr during the late quaternary this argument supports previous findings that suggest a two fold increase in last glacial maximum mean precipitation in turkey with respect to the present value

new cockles bivalvia cardiidae lymnocardiinae from late pleistocene lake karapinar turkey discovery of a pontocaspian refuge abstract three species of lymnocardiine cockles bivalvia cardiidae from late pleistocene deposits near karapinar konya basin anatolia south turkey are reported two of the three species are described as new monodacna pseudocolorata and adacna yaninae a third species hypanis plicatum is represented by two incomplete valves radiocarbon ages of circa 35 43 ka were obtained for the fauna the lack of lymnocardiine cockles in pleistocene anatolian inland lake deposits raises the possibility that the new record represents a short lived occurrence we raise the possibility that the karapinar basin cockles may have been introduced from the black sea region through avian dispersal although we cannot rule out their cryptic existence in the region during the pleistocene the apparent absence of monodacna colorata group of cockles in the black sea basin during the last glacial raises the possibility that the karapinar region may have served as a true refugium rather than just a sink for pontocaspian biota

chronology of expansion and contraction of four great basin lake systems during the past 35 000 years abstract during the past 35 000 years lake bonneville lake russell and lake searles underwent a major period of lake level change the lakes were at moderate levels or dry at the beginning of the period and seem to have achieved highstands between about 15 000 and 13 500 yr b p the rise of lake lahontan was gradual but not continuous in part because of topographic constraints intrabasin spill lake lahontan also had an oscillation in lake level at 15 500 yr b p radiocarbon age estimations for materials that were deposited in the lake basins indicate that lake bonneville rose more or less gradually from 32 000 yr b p and had major oscillations in level between 23 000 and 21 000 yr b p and between 15 250 and 14 500 yr b p lake russell and lake searles had several major oscillations in lake level between 35 000 and 14 000 yr b p the timing and exact magnitude of the oscillations are difficult to decipher but both lakes may have achieved multiple highstand states all four lakes may have had nearly synchronous recessions between about 14 000 and 13 500 yr b p after the recessions the lakes seem to have temporarily stabilized or experienced a minor increase in size between about 11 500 and 10 000 yr b p these data provide circumstantial evidence that the younger dryas event affected climate on at least a hemispheric scale during the holocene the four lakes remained at low levels and small oscillations in lake level occurred an important aspect of the lake level data is the accompanying expansion of lake surface area at the time of the last highstand lake bonneville and lake lahontan had surface areas about 10 times larger than their mean historical reconstructed areas whereas lake russell and lake searles had surface areas about 5 times larger than their mean historical reconstructed areas differences in the records of effective wetness may have been due to the locations of the basins relative to the position of the jetstream or they may have resulted from lake atmosphere feedback processes

definition of subsurface stratigraphy structure and rock properties from 3 d seismic data abstract this paper summarizes how three dimensional 3 d seismic technology is being used primarily in the petroleum industry to define subsurface structure stratigraphy and rock properties a 3 d seismic data volume a provides a more accurate image of the subsurface than can be obtained with 2 d seismic methods b is continuous and so has a much greater spatial sampling than is obtained with 2 d seismic or other subsurface data e g wells and c can be viewed and interpreted interactively from a variety of perspectives thus enhancing the interpreter s ability to generate an accurate description of subsurface features of interest seismic interpretation was once the almost exclusive realm of geophysicists however most 3 d seismic interpretation today is conducted by multidisciplinary teams that integrate geophysical geological petrophysical and engineering data and concepts into the 3 d seismic interpretation these factors plus proper survey design help to increase the chances of success of a 3 d seismic interpretation project although there are cases where the technology is not appropriate or cannot be applied for economic reasons or otherwise the general success of 3 d seismic has led it to become a mainstay of the petroleum industry the approach and technology first developed in that industry have potential applications in other applied and fundamental earth science disciplines including mining environmental geology structural geology and stratigraphy

glaciations and paleoclimate of mount erciyes central turkey since the last glacial maximum inferred from 36cl cosmogenic dating and glacier modeling abstract forty four boulders from moraines in two glacial valleys of mount erciyes 38 53 n 35 45 e 3917 m central turkey dated with cosmogenic chlorine 36 36cl indicate four periods of glacial activity in the past 22 ka 1 ka 1000 calendar years last glacial maximum lgm glaciers were the most extensive reaching 6 km in length and descending to an altitude of 2150 m above sea level these glaciers started retreating 21 3 0 9 ka 1 ago they readvanced and retreated by 14 6 1 2 ka ago lateglacial and again by 9 3 0 5 ka ago early holocene the latest advance took place 3 8 0 4 ka ago late holocene using glacier modeling together with paleoclimate proxy data from the region we reconstructed the paleoclimate at these four discrete times the results show that lgm climate was 8 11 c colder than today and moisture levels were somewhat similar to modern values with a range between 20 more and 25 less than today the analysis of lateglacial advance suggests that the climate was colder by 4 5 6 4 c based on up to 1 5 times wetter conditions the early holocene was 2 1 4 9 c colder and up to twice as wet as today while the late holocene was 2 4 3 c colder and its precipitation amounts approached to similar conditions as today our paleoclimate reconstructions show a general trend of warming for the last 22 ka and an increase of moisture until early holocene and a decrease after that time the recent glacier terminates at 3450 m on the northwest side of the mountain it is a remnant from the last advance possibly during the little ice age repeated measurements of glacier length between 1902 and 2008 reveal a retreat rate of 4 2 m per year which corresponds to a warming rate of 0 9 1 2 c per century

seven ambiguities in the mediterranean palaeoenvironmental narrative abstract a review of seven outstanding issues on mediterranean palaeoenvironments is presented these are related to the dominant orbital pacing of climate variability the length of the interglacial vegetation succession the influence of the african summer monsoon the seasonality of precipitation during boreal insolation maxima the moisture balance during glacial maxima and the appearance of the mediterranean type climate rhythm and evolution of mediterranean sclerophyllous plants what emerges is that 1 marine 18oplanktonic and sst records show that precession has been a fundamental tempo of mediterranean climate change representing both a low latitude signal runoff from north africa and the direct influence of insolation at mediterranean latitudes but high latitude glacial effects 41 kyr and 100 kyr cycles became superimposed after 2 8 ma sapropel and dust deposition patterns in marine cores reveal that obliquity also has an effect on mediterranean climate through dry wet oscillations which are independent of glacial interglacial variability 2 the temperate part of interglacial vegetation succession has a duration of approximately half a precession cycle this persisted during the interval of obliquity dominated glacial cycles 2 8 1 ma with distinct forest successions following the precessional cycles however these are not always separated by an open vegetation phase because of minimal ice growth producing an impression of a prolonged interglacial forest interval 3 the effect of an enhanced african monsoon during summer insolation maxima has been mainly indirect in terms of nile discharge and runoff along the north african coast leading to increased freshwater input into the mediterranean sea reduced deep water ventilation and sapropel deposition 4 the notion of an accentuated summer rain regime in the northern mediterranean borderlands also contributing to a freshening of the mediterranean sea during boreal insolation maxima is not supported by the available evidence which suggests increased summer aridity 5 recent improvements in chronological precision and data resolution point to an increase in aridity and decreased temperatures during the last glacial maximum 21 2 ka but suggest an increase in effective moisture during the immediately preceding interval of 24 27 ka 6 the mediterranean type climate is not exclusively a post 3 6 ma phenomenon but may have appeared intermittently during the course of the tertiary or before 7 if that is the case then the paradigm that the sclerophyllous evergreen habit represents a pre adaptation to summer drought may need re evaluation

fire climate and the origins of agriculture micro charcoal records of biomass burning during the last glacial interglacial transition in southwest asia this study investigates changes in climate vegetation wildfire and human activity in southwest asia during the transition to neolithic agriculture between ca 16 and ca 9 ka in order to trace the fire history of this region we use microscopic charcoal from lake sediment sequences and present two new records one from south central turkey akgol and the other from the southern levant hula these are interpreted primarily as the result of regional scale fire events with the exception of a single large event ca 13 ka at akgol which phytolith analysis shows was the result of burning of the local marsh vegetation comparison between these and other regional micro charcoal stable isotope and pollen records shows that wildfires were least frequent when the climate was cold and dry glacial lateglacial stadial and the vegetation dominated by chenopod artemisia steppe and that they became more frequent and or bigger at times of warmer wetter but seasonally dry climate lateglacial interstadial early holocene warmer and wetter climates caused an increase in biomass availability with woody matter appearing to provide the main fuel source in sites from the levant while grass fires predominated in the interior uplands of anatolia southwest asia s grasslands reached their greatest extent during the early holocene and they were maintained by dry season burning that helped to delay the spread of woodland by up to 3 ka at the same time as neolithic settlement became established across this grass parkland landscape although climatic changes appear to have acted as the principal pacemaker for fire activity through the last glacial interglacial climatic transition lgit human actions may have amplified shifts in biomass burning fire regimes therefore changed markedly during this time period and both influenced and were influenced by the cultural economic transition from hunter foraging to agriculture and village life copyright 2009 john wiley sons ltd

reservoir fluids and their migration into the south eugene island block 330 reservoirs offshore louisiana this study in the well documented pliocene pleistocene south eugene island block 330 sei330 field offshore louisiana unravels a complex petroleum system by evaluating both the inorganic and organic geochemical characteristics of reservoir fluids the brines at sei330 dissolved halite prior to entering the reservoirs and equilibrated with reservoir sediments exchanging sodium for calcium magnesium and other cations the systematically varying extent of brine sodium depletion in two reservoirs defines south to north flow in those sands these sands were filled from a fault that bounds the reservoirs on the south oil compositional parameters also show north south variation across these reservoirs the sei330 oils and gases each had different sources in contrast to published jurassic sources for oil carbon isotope data indicate that sei330 hydrocarbon gases probably sourced from early tertiary or cretaceous sediments after oil had migrated through them distribution of biodegraded vs unbiodegraded oils indicates the reservoirs filled much more recently than formation of the salt weld beneath the field oil compositions indicate that some sei330 oils were partially stripped of low molecular weight compounds by their dissolution in a mobile vapor phase gas washed by large volumes of gas several hundred meters below the deepest reservoir modeling of this gas oil interaction aids in identifying deep potential targets in which gas washing occurred hydrocarbon distribution combined with oil chemistry and reservoir pressures indicate reservoirs filled from fault systems on both the north and south sides of the field the fault feeders are wide 100 m structurally complex zones that can direct different types of fluids into different reservoirs

from pleniglacial to holocene a 14c chronostratigraphy of environmental changes in the konya plain turkey abstract in the endoreic semi arid konya basin on the central anatolian plateaux long term hydrological evolution has left various landforms and lacustrine deposits reflecting the regional climatic evolution as well as human influence on the local environments this paper presents results from a cooperative programme grouping several institutes from turkey and france on lacustrine marshy and aeolian sediment sequences of upper pleistocene and holocene age the detailed study of environmental evolution is based on the reconstruction as well as on the characterization of the extension and contraction phases of wetlands occupying the lowest parts of the konya plain a soil and a marsh layer are 14c dated ca 28 000 25 000 yr bp three phases of pleniglacial from ca 22 000 to 17 000 yr bp high lake levels are distinguished complementary osl dates on aeolian dunes confirm the occurrence of two drought periods the first occurs around the start of the late glacial the second after the mid holocene climatic optimum the latter being in phase with a similar drought in other eastern mediterranean regions after 17 000 yr bp no lacustrine phase reached as high a level as the pleniglacial lake during the late glacial a shallow freshwater lacustrine phase is identified from 12 500 to 11 000 yr bp the late glacial to holocene transition corresponds to a general absence of deposits and dateable material thus suggesting a period of drought to which no aeolian features have so far been related the holocene environmental evolution shows a period of marsh and shallow lake extansion from 6000 to 5500 yr bp this wetter period is interrupted by the second drought ca 5500 yrs bp as indicated by aeolian dune activity during the late holocene a renewal of marshes as well as soil development on slopes can be interpreted either as climatic changes or as impacts of human use of water and soil resources during prehistoric and historic times

orbital scale environmental and climatic changes recorded in a new 200 000 year long multiproxy sedimentary record from padul southern iberian peninsula abstract padul is one of the few wetland sites in southern europe and the mediterranean region that exhibits an unusually large temporal span 100 kyr and continuous quaternary sedimentary record previous core based studies from padul yielded paleoecological datasets i e pollen and organic geochemistry but with a poor age control that resulted in rather arbitrary climate inferences therefore precise age control and a multidisciplinary approach is necessary to understand long term regional environmental and climate change and the associated local response of the padul wetland environment here we present a new long sediment record padul 15 05 from this wetland in the southern iberian peninsula with the aim of improving the age control of the sedimentary sequence and carrying out up to date high resolution multiproxy analyses in this study the age control is based on 61 ams radiocarbon dates for the last ca 50 kyr bp and on the extent of amino acid racemization aar in mollusc shells extending back 118 kyr bp no numerical ages are available for the bottom part of the core but the sediment accumulation rates sar and the cyclostratigraphic analysis of the multiproxy data suggest that the core preserves a continuous record of the last 197 kyr from late mis 7 to present with millennial scale time resolution sedimentological lithology magnetic susceptibility xrd color geochemical xrf toc c n carbonate content and paleontological pollen charophytes gastropods data show co varying cyclical paleoenvironmental changes linked to orbital scale climatic variability silicon magnetic susceptibility ms and total organic carbon toc data show periodicities between 26 2 19 6 kyr linked to insolation which is strongly dominated by precession cycles at this latitude high values of si and ms data have been related to high siliciclastic detrital input from sierra nevada range during minima in insolation due to enhanced soil weathering erosion during regional aridity and lower forest cover recorded by the arboreal pollen which could also be favored by a minor biogenic productivity in addition warm climate conditions during maxima in insolation mostly resulted in negative precipitation evapotranspiration balance and low lake levels while cold glacial and stadial periods were mainly characterized by positive precipitation evapotranspiration balance and therefore high lake levels the improved chronology of the padul sedimentary sequence along with a multiproxy study permitted us to better relate environmental and vegetation changes to climatic events and to demonstrate how both local i e lake level sedimentation and regional i e vegetation environments responded to orbital scale climate changes

first evidence for episodic flooding events in the arid interior of central saudi arabia over the last 60 ka although evidence for quaternary environmental changes in the arabian peninsula is now growing research has mostly been conducted in the united arab emirates uae and in the sultanate of oman there have been virtually no recent studies in saudi arabia especially in the central region such as around al quwaiayh in this area there are a series of outwash plains developed along the eastern edge of the arabian shield that formed in the late quaternary four sedimentary sections which are representative of the deposits that have accumulated have been studied and five luminescence ages obtained these are the first luminescence ages acquired from quaternary sediments in central saudi arabia the preserved fluvial deposits in the study area have formed during humid events at ca 54 ka ca 39 ka and ca 0 8 ka in more recent times aeolian sands have been encroaching on to the distal parts of the outwash plains copyright 2008 john wiley sons ltd

radiocarbon chronology of lake bonneville eastern great basin usa abstract lake bonneville occupied a series of connected topographically closed structural basins in the eastern great basin from about 30 ka to 12 ka the following synthesis of lake bonneville history is based on a critical evaluation of the stratigraphic and geomorphic contexts of 83 radiocarbon ages of a variety of samples including wood charcoal dispersed organic matter mollusk shells and tufa the lake began to rise from levels close to average holocene levels after about 28 ka by 22 ka it had transgressed approximately 100 m between 22 and 20 ka it regressed about 45 m in the stansbury oscillation and the stansbury shoreline was formed transgression after 20 ka proceeded in two phases a rapid phase from 20 to 18 ka and a slower phase from 18 to 15 ka the lake overflowed intermittently at its highest level the bonneville shoreline from about 15 to 14 5 ka then catastrophically dropped 100 m during the bonneville flood to the level of the provo shoreline which it occupied until about 14 ka subsequent closed basin regression was rapid and complete by 12 ka and was followed by a modest transgression to form the gilbert shoreline between 10 9 and 10 3 ka the lake bonneville record is an accurate proxy of the changing water balance in the bonneville basin during the late pleistocene although the nature of the climatic changes during this period are still uncertain

chronology and stratigraphy of late quaternary sediments in the konya basin turkey results from the kopal project abstract the late quaternary environmental history of the konya plain in south central turkey is used to examine sediment facies changes in a shallow non outlet basin which has experienced major climatically driven changes in lake extent two principal types of sedimentary archive are used to reconstruct a palaeoenvironmental record namely alluvial sequences on the carsamba alluvial fan and sediments from residual lakes the latter have been used to investigate broader climatic and vegetational histories via palaeolimnological techniques including pollen diatom and stable isotope analysis these changes are dated here by radiometric techniques including radiocarbon ams and conventional osl and u th chronological agreement is generally good between the different dating techniques although typically there is greatly reduced precision beyond ca 25 ka lake sediment cores investigated have basal ages beyond the range of 14c dating but contain hiatuses as a result of subsequent alternation between phases of lacustrine sedimentation and aeolian deflation in contrast to most deepwater non outlet lake systems the konya basin may have been occupied by a single extensive lake for as little as 10 of late quaternary time mainly around the time of the lgm this lake highstand was followed by an important arid interval in the absence of unbroken chronostratigraphic sequences palaeohydrological investigation of shallow non outlet lakes may require analysis of basin wide changes in sedimentation rather than reliance on single core records stratigraphic continuity in such sedimentary environments cannot be assumed and requires independent chronological control through radiometric dating

the effect of oil under in situ conditions on the seismic properties of rocks direct hydrocarbon indicators dhis on seismic sections are commonly thought to be diagnostic only of gas however oil sands can also generate dhis such as bright spots and flat events since oils under in situ conditions can contain large amounts of solution gas this dissolved gas substantially decreases the velocity of sound and the density of the oils as compared to measurements of these properties at surface conditions hydrocarbon indicators caused by oil sands are investigated by first measuring the elastic properties of an oil as a function of gas oil ratio next calculating the elastic properties of additional oil compositions under in situ conditions using standard pressure volume temperature pvt measurements and then calculating the compressional velocity in oil saturated rocks for several typical oils using gaasmann s equation the potential for seismic anomalies caused by oil saturated rocks is higher than thought because the properties of oil under reservoir conditions can differ signif

multi proxy records of quaternary fluvio lacustrine sediments around lakes eymir and mogan ankara central anatolia turkey this paper presents the mineralogical geochemical palynological and stable isotopic compositions of the late pleistocene holocene fluvio lacustrine sediments around lakes eymir and mogan ankara central anatolia it is based on the interpretation of the multi proxy records in conjunction with the geochronological data in eight different sections the comparison between the increase decrease in the abundances of carbonates and total clay assemblages is correlated with the changing abundance of coniferous forests and herbaceous plants mainly asteraceae and chenopodiaceae 13c and 18o values and molecular weathering ratios of the sediments revealing the hydrolysis evaporation and leaching together with chemical index of alteration cia provide insight into the climatic changes in the study area between 11 899 and 1428 cal year bp relatively higher total clay amount 18o of around 8 and higher cia 40 with higher hydrolysis suggest humid conditions during 11 899 6448 cal year bp between 6448 and 5763 cal year bp sediments show oscillations between high and relatively low values of the proxy data implying intercalation of dry and wet seasons the last period recorded between 5763 and 1428 cal year bp is realized with high calcite precipitation low total clay and low cia and relatively higher salinization which directly characterize aridity

tsunami generation by horizontal displacement of ocean bottom tsunami generation by an earthquake is generally modeled by water surface displacement identical to the vertical deformation of ocean bottom due to faulting the effect of horizontal deformation is usually neglected however when the tsunami source is on a steep slope and the horizontal displacement is large relative to the vertical displacement the effect becomes significant we show this for two recent earthquakes which generated much larger tsunamis than expected from seismic waves in the case of the 1994 june 2 java indonesia earthquake the focal mechanism was a very shallow dipping thrust and the source was near a very steep trench slope in the case of the 1994 nov 14 mindoro philippines earthquake strike slip faulting extended from ocean to land perpendicular to the coast line in both cases we found that the horizontal motion of slope had an important contribution to the tsunami generation

optimal initial conditions for simulation of seismotectonic tsunamis numerical simulation of seismotectonic tsunamis usually starts with specification of the initial elevation of the water surface in the tsunami source the initial elevation is traditionally set equal to the vertical residual bottom deformation resulting from earthquakes we discuss the imperfectness of the traditional approach and suggest an improved practical method of calculating the initial elevation from the solution of the 3d problem in the framework of potential theory the method takes into account horizontal and vertical components of bottom deformation and bathymetry in the source area within the assumption of instant tsunami generation the suggested method represents the optimal way to specify the initial condition in the tsunami propagation problem the tsunamis in the central kuril islands on 15 november 2006 and 13 january 2007 are taken as examples to demonstrate the efficiency of the new method

surface exposure dating of late pleistocene glaciations at the dedegol mountains lake beysehir sw turkey situated on the interior side of the western central taurus mountains of sw anatolia the muslu valley in the dedegol mountains mt dipoyraz 37 37 07 n 31 19 42 e 2992 m above sea level a s l represents the lower part of a formerly glaciated valley system of 7 5 km in length surface exposure ages with cosmogenic 10be and 26al date a glacier expansion out of the muslu valley 24 3 1 8 ka ago 1 confidence interval and give evidence for pronounced glacier advances prior to the global last glacial maximum lgm 21 2 ka deglaciation commenced no later than 17 7 1 4 ka ago superimposed climatic oscillations are indicated by glacier fluctuations dated around 19 8 1 6 ka and again 13 9 2 3 ka prior to the first major amelioration of climate the late pleistocene glacier chronology from the western central taurus mountains published lake level fluctuation data of palaeolake konya and lake beysehir and nearby pollen data on the central anatolian plateau reveal a conspicuous time correlation of palaeoenvironmental change copyright 2009 john wiley sons ltd

paleohydrological indicators in playas and salt lakes with examples from canada australia and africa abstract the sedimentary records of playas and salt lakes provide some of the best evidence for hydrological change in a region these records are comprised of siliciclastic sediments and chemically precipitated minerals that typically vary temporally and spatially in some cases the interpretation is straightforward with mineralogical sequences related to changing brine concentrations and hydrology as well as to climate in other cases it is difficult to identify the controlling factors which include climate groundwater geological setting and basin morphology in addition diagenesis commonly affects the sedimentary record models of lake level fluctuations are given for basins in the canadian prairies and southeastern australia the lake manitoba model is based mainly on secondary changes associated with pedogenesis that alters the deeper water sediment during low water stages smaller canadian lakes in more arid regions display a larger variety of diagnostic paleohydrological indicators such as specific carbonate and salt mineralogy nature of bedding grain size and secondary alterations decreasing water levels in shallow lakes tend to show a progression from clastics to carbonates to salts and then back to clastics as groundwater levels fall below the lake floor similar parameters are used in australian lakes the hydrological model for the lake tyrrell playa in victoria whose present ionic composition is similar to seawater shows clastics being deposited when average lake levels are high followed by deposition of primary carbonates gypsum and halite once seasonal drying on the lake floor begins secondary gypsum grows within already deposited sediment and clay pelletization in the capillary fringe of surface sediment leads to basin deflation and the accumulation of adjacent eolian lunettes continued water level decline leads to pedogenesis subsequent lake level rises in all of these models may initiate sedimentation in any part of the hydrological cycle and a complete cycle in the sedimentary record appears to be uncommon

of lakes and fields a framework for reconciling palaeoclimatic drought inferences with archaeological impacts abstract quantitative estimates of climate variability are increasingly important in interpretations of archaeological turnovers in arid regions variations in lake levels or lake water oxygen isotope ratios 18o are often used to infer droughts or humid periods along with speleothem 18o pollen and windblown dust records key examples are the centennial scale holocene events associated with the end of the bronze age 1200 bce the end of the copper age 4000 bce and the onset of neolithic expansion 6200 bce whether explicitly stated or only implied causality between archaeological turnovers and inferred droughts is often ascribed to a disturbance to food resources which means a disturbance to the agricultural potential of the study region in the present study a simple framework of equations is presented for evaluation of this causality it quantitatively reveals significant complications in one example substantially improved crop growing potential is found to coincide with dropping lake levels which reflect significant net drought the complications mainly arise from 1 control of annually averaged climate conditions on lake changes versus control of seasonal conditions on the yield potential of fields and 2 changes in the ratios between the overall catchment area of a lake or field and the surface area of the lake or field itself the results demonstrate that lake records per se do not satisfactorily reflect agricultural potential but also that this gap may be bridged with targeted information collection about the regional setting in particular improved results may be obtained from detailed assessments of change in the catchment ratios of the lake s and field s that are being studied e g using digital elevation models along with expert opinions on field irrigation potential the scenarios presented here then allow initial field based assessments and hypothesis formulation to prompt more sophisticated modelling

oxygen isotope stage 3 fluvial and eolian successions in europe compared with climate model results abstract fluvial and eolian successions of oxygen isotope stage 3 are compared with global gcm and regional climate rcm modeling experiments of the stage 3 and last glacial maximum climate in europe differences in precipitation between stage 3 stades and interstades were minor which is confirmed by the fluvial successions the fluvial response to climate variation is non uniform and in southern europe more pronounced than in northern europe the model simulations indicate a strong western winter circulation over europe during stage 3 which is supported by the eolian deposits data wind speeds in the last glacial maximum simulation appear modest compared with those of stage 3 which contrasts with the abundance of eolian deposits this suggests that during glacial climates the stabilizing effect of vegetation determines eolian sedimentation rates rather than wind speed stage 3 can be divided into an older part 45 000 cal yr b p with a relatively stable landscape and moist climate and a younger part with more frequent climate change and decreasing landscape stability