revisiting tectonic corrections applied to pleistocene sea level highstands tectonic displacement contaminates estimates of peak eustatic sea level and equivalently minimum continental ice volumes determined from the elevation of quaternary interglacial highstand markers for sites at which a stratigraphic or geomorphic marker of peak marine isotope stage mis 5e sea level exists the standard approach for estimating local tectonic uplift or subsidence rates takes the difference between the elevation of the local highstand marker and a reference mis 5e eustatic value commonly chosen as 6 m and divides by the age of the marker the resulting rate is then applied to correct the elevation of all other local observed sea level markers for tectonic displacement including peak highstands of different ages e g mis 5a mis 5c and mis 11 under the assumption that the tectonic rate remained constant over those periods this approach introduces two potentially significant errors first the peak eustatic value adopted for mis 5e in most previous studies i e 6 m is likely incorrect second local peak sea level during mis 5e is characterized by significant departures from eustasy due to glacial isostatic adjustment in response to both successive glacial interglacial cycles and excess polar ice sheet melt relative to present day values we use numerical models of glacial isostatic adjustment that incorporate both of these effects to quantify the plausible range of the combined error and show that even at sites far from melting ice sheets local peak sea level during mis 5e may depart from eustasy by 2 4 m or more we also demonstrate that the associated error in the estimated tectonic rates can significantly alter previous estimates of peak eustatic sea level during quaternary highstands notably those associated with earlier interglacials e g mis 11

uranium series dating of pedogenic silica and carbonate crater flat nevada a 230th 234u 238u dating study on pedogenic silica carbonate clast rinds and matrix laminae from alluvium in crater flat nevada was conducted using small sample thermal ionization mass spectrometry tims analyses on a large suite of samples though the 232th content of these soils is not particularly low mostly 0 1 9 ppm the high u content of the silica component mostly 4 26 ppm makes them particularly suitable for 230th u dating on single 10 to 200 mg totally digested samples using tims we observed that 1 both micro within rind and macro stratigraphic mappable deposit order of the 230th u ages were preserved in all cases 2 back calculated initial 234u 238u fall in a restricted range typically 1 67 0 19 so that 234u 238u ages with errors of about 100 kyr 2 could be reliably determined for the oldest 400 to 1000 ka rinds and 3 though 13 of the samples were 350 ka only three showed evidence for an open system history even though the sensitivity of such old samples to isotopic disruption is very high an attempt to use leach residue techniques to separate pedogenic from detrital u and th failed yielding corrupt 230th u ages we conclude that 230th u ages determined from totally dissolved multiple sub mm size subsamples provide more reliable estimates of soil chronology than methods employing larger samples chemical enhancement of 238u 232th or isochrons

u th ages obtained by mass spectrometry in corals from barbados sea level during the past 130 000 years the study of the sea level record during the last glacial cycle has primarily proceeded indirectly by means of oxygen isotope measurements on foraminifera from deep sea sediments1 2 the direct approach of dating sea level indicators stagnated during the past decade mainly because the samples required to complete our knowledge of the past glaciations are below the present day sea level3 7 using the 14c ages of acropora palmata samples collected by drilling offshore the island of barbados fairbanks8 presented the first detailed chronology for the last deglaciation this radiocarbon chronology is limited to the past 30 kyr because of the short half life of 14c 5 730 yr we must therefore rely on other dating methods to obtain information for the whole last glacial cycle during the past four years 230th 234u dating of corals by thermal ionization mass spectrometry has been shown to be significantly more precise and accurate than the classical counting method9 14 we have used this technique to measure u th ages in coral samples from the barbados collection and from subaerially exposed outcrops see also ref 15 here we present results bearing on the sea level record for the past 130 000 years we conclude that the last deglaciation started 3 000 years earlier than previously thought and confirm that there were two surges in melt water8 at about 11 kyr and 14 kyr bp before present

linking water quality changes to geochemical processes occurring in a reactive soil column during treated wastewater infiltration using a large scale pilot experiment insights into mn behavior the spatial and temporal evolution of the physical properties and chemical composition of water and soil during the infiltration of treated wastewater through a reactive soil column at the pilot scale 25 m3 were investigated for 18 months major and trace elements and organic carbon were measured monthly in treated wastewater output water and pore water o2 co2 ch4 n2o n2 h2s and h2 were measured occasionally in soil air geochemical processes occurring in the soil changed rapidly over the study period nitrification was effective in the top 1 5 m of soil during the first 8 months thereafter the organic carbon load from treated wastewater and the treated wastewater left above the infiltration surface due to clogging organic matter accumulation and precipitation of carbonates created anaerobic conditions that led to denitrification and reductive dissolution of mn oxides in the soil the latter led to the release of both mn exceeding the who drinking water limit by a factor of up to 2 and ni that was strongly associated with the mn oxides forty five percent of the ni that had accumulated in the soil during the first year was released dissolved element concentrations were non uniform because of the spatial and temporal distribution of redox reactions in the soil due to the heterogeneous distribution of organic matter and or non uniform flow water saturation residence time the soil was very effective in removing phosphate fe and li and removing degrading organic carbon and nh4 in contrast ba no3 and to a lesser extent ca were exported removal rates were moderate for as and total nitrogen and low for k na ni and mn however removal rates of nitrogen species nh4 no3 total nitrogen mn fe ni and as were strongly dependent on redox conditions which varied during the experiment the evolution of geochemical processes occurring in the soil column therefore has significant implications on the quality of water moving from the soil to groundwater and provides key knowledge for the management of groundwater under artificial recharge

aminostratigraphy of quaternary shorelines in the mediterranean basin the age and correlation of shorelines around the mediterranean basin have been addressed by analyzing the extent of isoleucine epimerization aile ile ratio in protein preserved in molluscan fossils collected from raised marine deposits the taxodont genera glycymeris and arca were selected as the primary taxa for this study because of their simple shell structure reproducible aile ile ratios and ubiquitous occurrence direct comparison of aile ile ratios in associated mollusks allows correlation of disjunct marine deposits and relative dating of sequential marine units in nearby areas that have similar thermal histories the thermal gradient across the mediterranean basin is however sufficiently high that shells from isochronous shorelines have significantly higher ratios at warmer than at cooler localities absolute dating primarily u series dates on corals directly associated with molluscan samples provides an independent calibration of the amino acid data and compensates for dissimilar thermal histories aile ile ratios in shells from 46 marine units cluster into 5 discrete groups c e f g and k that are related to positive sea level events interglacials interstadials associated with odd numbered deep sea isotopic stages the most complete sequences are in southern italy where group c ratios in glycymeris that average 0 30 are associated with the neotyrrhenian a post last interglacial late stage 5 high sea level event group e ratios 0 38 are associated with classical eutyrrhenian deposits from which four u series coral dates 126 7 ka substantiate the correlation to isotope substage 5e group f ratios 0 50 are associated with u series coral and mollusk dates between 200 and 300 ka the deposits are tentatively correlated with stage 7 deposits that have group g ratios 0 58 are correlated with stage 9 shells from lower pleistocene marine deposits that have ratios between 1 0 and 1 2 group k constrain the ages of the younger groups an exponential decrease in the epimerization rate inhibits resolution of the older events aile ile ratios in last interglacial deposits are similar in the northern and central region of the study area but increase sharply in southern sicily north africa and crete similar to the modern thermal gradient a lacuna between group g and group k is similar to gaps identified in california and alaska suggesting generally lower interglacial sea levels between stage 11 and sometime before the brunhes matuyama boundary

th u dating of strombus bubonius bearing marine terraces in southeastern spain single dates obtained on mollusk shells by the u series nuclides method are highly unreliable primarily because of the mobility of uranium isotopes however in several cases a statistical approach was demonstrated to yield coherent chronologies in both continental and marine environments the authors report on 34 new th and u isotope measurements on strombus bubonius and glycymeris glycymeris fossils from raised marine terraces in the almeria area southeastern spain the results yield a coherent chronology that indicates the presence of the warm water s bubonius fauna in the mediterranean basin reconsideration of the tyrrhenian stratigraphy based on the presence of s bubonius is thus required

sea level records at 80 ka from tectonically stable platforms florida and bermuda studies from tectonically active coasts on new guinea and barbados have suggested that sea level at 80 ka was significantly lower than present whereas data from the atlantic and pacific coasts of north america indicate an 80 ka sea level close to that of the present we determined ages of corals from a shallow submerged reef off the florida keys and an emergent marine deposit on bermuda both localities are on tectonically stable platforms distant from plate boundaries uranium series ages show that corals at both localities grew during the 80 ka sea level highstand and geologic data show that sea level at that time was no lower than 7 9 m below present florida and may have been 1 2 m above present bermuda the ice volume discrepancy of the 80 ka sea level estimates is greater than the volume of the greenland or west antarctic ice sheets comparison of our ages with high latitude insolation values indicates that the sea level stand near the present at 80 ka could have been orbitally forced

uranium series ages of corals sea level history and palaeozoogeography canary islands spain an exploratory study for two quaternary interglacial periods abstract we present the first u series ages of corals from emergent marine deposits on the canary islands deposits at 20 m are 481 39 ka possibly correlative to marine isotope stage or mis 11 while those at 12 and 8 m are 120 5 0 8 ka and 130 2 0 8 ka respectively correlative to mis 5 5 the age elevations and uplift rates derived from mis 5 5 deposits on the canary islands allow calculations of hypothetical palaeo sea levels during the mis 11 high sea stand estimates indicate that the mis 11 high sea stand likely was at least 9 m relative to present sea level and could have been as high as 24 m the most conservative estimates of palaeo sea level during mis 11 would require an ice mass loss equivalent to all of the modern greenland and west antarctic ice sheets the more extreme estimates would require additional ice mass loss from the east antarctic ice sheet extralimital southern species of mollusks found in both mis 11 and mis 5 5 deposits on the canary islands imply warmer than modern sea surface temperatures during at least a part of mis 11 and much warmer sea surface temperatures during at least a part of mis 5 5 both mis 11 and mis 5 5 marine deposits on the canary islands contain extralimital northern species of mollusks as well indicating cooler than present waters at times during these interglacial periods we hypothesize that the co occurrence of extralimital southern and northern species of marine invertebrates in the fossil record of the canary islands reflects its geographic location with respect to major synoptic scale controls on climate and ocean currents previous interglacials may have been characterized by early insolation forced warming along with northward migration of the intertropical convergence zone itcz accompanied by weakened trade winds and diminished upwelling this allowed the arrival of extralimital southern taxa from the tropical senegalese faunal province during later parts of the mis 11 and 5 5 interglacials decreased insolation may have resulted in southward migration of the itcz strengthened trade winds and re establishment of upwelling such conditions may have brought about not only local extinction of the senegalese fauna but allowed southward migration of the cooler water mediterranean fauna to the canary islands in the later parts of interglacials a complex palaeoclimate record that is mirrored in the deep sea core record

tracks and trackways of myotragus balearicus bate artiodactyla caprinae in pleistocene aeolianites from mallorca balearic islands western mediterranean tracks and trackways of the ruminant goat myotragus balearicus bate 1909 are abundant in the late pleistocene aeolianites of the south coast of mallorca spain the carbonate aeolianites form impressive dunes and related sand ramps that were initiated as echo dunes in front of a 20 40 m high paleocliff of miocene reefal limestone where the dunes built up to the cliff top they covered it as an aeolian ramp the dunes and sand ramps were active during the dry summer months but were passive during the wet winter period the small goat like animals were abundant on the island and for unknown reasons crossed the aeolian accumulations in large numbers this study deals with the tracks formed in the dune deposits all preserved trackways indicate impression into moist sand special features of the tracks include the structure produced by the withdrawal of the foot here called the axis and a disturbance zone of plastic deformation around this on dune crests the disturbance zone surrounds the axis more or less symmetrically however in addition a pressure pad of dislocated slightly rotated sediment bound by curved microfaults is commonly produced posterior to the axis by propulsive pressure of the foot on steep stoss and lee slopes the pressure pad becomes oriented in a down slope position as a result of gravitational slip of the walking animal combination of disturbance of the sediment in this way by manus followed by overprinting of similar disturbance by pes produces highly complicated track structure this structure may be characteristic of artiodactylous mammals in soft sand particularly aeolian deposits the structure is designated as bifidipes aeolis isp nov

oxygen isotopes and sea level from the time that detailed oxygen isotope records derived from foraminifera living in the constant temperature environment of the abyssal ocean became available there has been a discrepancy between the ice volume record that these records imply and that derived from the altitude of dated coral terraces around the world here we re examine the data and conclude that the temperature of the abyssal ocean has been an actively varying component of the climate system

late quaternary uplift of the troodos ophiolite cyprus uranium series dating of pleistocene coral in an attempt to constrain the timing and mode of tectonic uplift of the classic troodos ophiolite colonial corals were collected from quaternary littoral raised terraces in coastal southern cyprus and dated using the uranium series disequilibrium method a total of 28 samples of cladocora caespitosa were collected at five localities from the 8 11 m high and 3 m high marine terraces the corals yield systematic ages of 185 192 ka ka 103 yr and 116 130 ka for the 8 11 m and 3 m terraces respectively when correlated with the global oxygen isotope stages the results suggest that southern cyprus was uplifted by 18 m during the past 185 192 ka as a single tectonic entity of this uplift 13 m took place between 130 and 185 ka at 24 cm ka and a maximum of 6 m of uplift at 5 cm ka took place over the past 116 ka but with some evidence of coastal subsidence in more recent time an exception the extreme southeast of cyprus cape greco was perhaps uplifted faster during the past 141 ka at a rate of 12 cm ka

late pleistocene paleoclimates and sea level change in the mediterranean as inferred from stable isotope and u series studies of overgrowths on speleothems mallorca spain abstract phreatic overgrowths on speleothems form at the surface of brackish pools which are present in many coastal caves of mallorca spain unlike common vadose speleothems formed in subaerial environments their occurrence directly identifies the height of the sea level at the time of the carbonate deposition because such pools are physically connected with the sea these deposits from the late pleistocene have recorded the same global variations in oxygen isotopes as planktonic and benthonic foraminifera corals and cave deposits a number of phreatic overgrowths on speleothems have been dated using the th u method in order to determine the position of the sea level during late quaternary the same samples as well as some subaerial speleothems have been analysed for 18 o 16 o and 13 c 12 c ratios the former samples allow the analysis of variations in sea water component in the brackish pools associated with glacio eustatic mediterranean fluctuations and the latter permit inferences concerning past continental climate changes some high sea stands have been recognized in correspondence with oxygen isotope stages ois 9 or older 7 5e 5c and 5a phreatic overgrowths on speleothems have also been formed during a colder phase ois 4 demonstrating that also in that period there were environmental conditions favourable for this kind of carbonate precipitation vadose crystallizations have recorded a cold period at 36 ka corresponding with the end of ois 3

reconciliation of sea level observations in the western north atlantic during the last glacial cycle abstract a south to north gradient of increasing marine isotope substage mis 5a 80 ka bp sea level has been recorded across the caribbean and surrounding region relative to present mis 5a sea levels range from 19 m to more than 3 m between barbados haiti the bahamas florida bermuda and the us atlantic coast in contrast no gradient in sea level is observed for the last interglacial period mis 5e 128 118 ka bp at tectonically stable localities in the same region with deposits generally lying several metres above present we demonstrate here that these controversial observations are reconciled by taking into account the isostatic response of the earth to glacial loading and unloading a fundamental effect that is commonly overlooked in the interpretation of sea level observations from different locations to define a global sea level curve furthermore the observed gradient can be used to place constraints on earth rheology and is an important indicator of the behaviour of the north american ice sheets during the last glacial cycle

four climate cycles of recurring deep and surface water destabilizations on the iberian margin centennial climate variability over the last ice age exhibits clear bipolar behavior high resolution analyses of marine sediment cores from the iberian margin trace a number of associated changes simultaneously proxies of sea surface temperature and water mass distribution as well as relative biomarker content demonstrate that this typical north south coupling was pervasive for the cold phases of climate during the past 420 000 years cold episodes after relatively warm and largely ice free periods occurred when the predominance of deep water formation changed from northern to southern sources these results reinforce the connection between rapid climate changes at mediterranean latitudes and century to millennial variability in northern and southern polar regions

uranium series dating of fossil coral reefs extending the sea level record beyond the last glacial cycle abstract absolutely dated records of past sea level change are extremely important for understanding the advance and retreat of the large ice sheets when combined with other complementary climate archives and climate models such records offer the potential to gain an improved understanding of earth s natural climate cycles providing a firmer basis for assessing the role of anthropogenic effects such as greenhouse gas emissions in modifying climate the u series dating of fossil coral reefs has been widely utilized to provide absolutely dated records of past sea level change and numerous observations now exist for the past 130 000 years spanning the last glacial cycle despite this controversies still exist regarding the exact timing and character of sea level events within this time interval and extending the sea level history further back in time on the basis of robust and independent age constraints for older fossil reefs remains very elusive this is primarily due to a progressive loss in the resolution of the u series chronometer as one goes further back in time coupled to a lack of well preserved dateable coral in older fossil reefs to overcome these limitations the primary challenges are three fold first new analytical protocols are required to improve the resolution of the u series chronometer enhanced analytical precision must be coupled to accuracy through continued refinement of the u series decay constant determinations and via the implementation of rigorous inter laboratory calibration exercises second efforts should continue to be focussed on gaining an improved understanding of the mechanisms controlling open system exchange of the u series isotopes in fossil reef systems this will allow the number of reliable u series observations to be extended third alternative dateable archives of past sea level change must continue to be emphasized to further complement the coral reef database these limitations are discussed in the context of current developments that further advance the application of u series chronology to older fossil reef systems formed prior to the last glacial cycle

trench infiltration for managed aquifer recharge to permeable bedrock managed aquifer recharge to permeable bedrock is increasingly being utilized to enhance resources and maintain sustainable groundwater development practices one such target is the navajo sandstone an extensive regional aquifer located throughout the colorado plateau of the western united states spreading basin and bank filtration projects along the sandstone outcrop s western edge in southwestern utah have recently been implemented to meet growth related water demands this paper reports on a new cost effective surface infiltration technique utilizing trenches for enhancing managed aquifer recharge to permeable bedrock a 48 day infiltration trench experiment on outcropping navajo sandstone was conducted to evaluate this alternative surface spreading artificial recharge method final infiltration rates through the bottom of the trench were about 0 5m day these infiltration rates were an order of magnitude higher than rates from a previous surface spreading experiment at the same site the higher rates were likely caused by a combination of factors including the removal of lower permeability soil and surficial caliche deposits access to open vertical sandstone fractures a reduction in physical clogging associated with silt and biofilm layers minimizing viscosity effects by maintaining isothermal conditions minimizing chemical clogging caused by carbonate mineral precipitation associated with algal photosynthesis and diminished gas clogging associated with trapped air and biogenic gases this pilot study illustrates the viability of trench infiltration for enhancing surface spreading of managed aquifer recharge to permeable bedrock published in 2010 by john wiley sons ltd

seasonal latitudinal and diurnal distributions of whistler induced electron precipitation events the seasonal latitudinal and diurnal distributions of whistler induced electron precipitation events detected as subionospheric signal perturbations trimpi events have been studied by means of data sets acquired in 1982 1983 at palmer and siple stations antarctica the data sets substantially larger than any previously examined confirm previous indications of a broad 4 hour maximum in hourly event occurrence rates the peak was centered 1 2 hours after local midnight at palmer for the roughly north south argentina omega 12 9 khz path but was shifted several hours later for the 23 4 khz npm path which has a westerly arrival bearing at palmer the previously reported seasonal variation with peaks at the equinoxes was confirmed activity persisted in the austral winter particularly following a magnetic storm but in general occurred on fewer days and during shorter daily periods comparisons of occurrence data at siple l 4 3 and palmer l 2 4 for particular signal sources showed the number of days of activity to be larger at palmer by a factor of 2 or more comparisons of five months of simultaneous palmer and siple receptions of 21 4 khz nss signals on north south paths suggest that most of the events observed at siple occurred as the result of ionospheric perturbations relatively close to the l shell of palmer that is in the range l 2 3 this result is consistent with the expected variation with latitude of the energy of electrons precipitated due to equatorial gyroresonance at typical whistler frequencies

sea level and climate changes during ois 5e in the western mediterranean palaeontological geomorphological and sedimentological data supported by isotopic dating on oxygen isotopic stage ois 5e deposits from the spanish mediterranean coast are interpreted with the aim of reconstructing climatic instability in the northern hemisphere data point to marked climatic instability during the last interglacial ois 5e with a change in meteorological conditions and consequently in the sedimentary environment the oolitic facies generated during the first part of ois 5e ca 135 kyr shift into reddish conglomeratic facies during the second part ca 117 kyr sea surface temperature sst and salinity are interpreted mainly on the basis of warm senegalese fauna which show chronological and spatial differential distribution throughout the western mediterranean present hydrological and meteorological conditions are used also as modern analogues to reconstruct climatic variability throughout the last interglacial and this variability is interpreted within the wider framework of the north atlantic record all the available data indicate an increase in storminess induced by an increase in the influence of northwesterlies a slight drop of sst in the northern western mediterranean and an important change in meteorological conditions at the end of ois 5e 117 kyr these changes correlate well with the decrease in summer insolation and with the climatic instability recorded in north atlantic high latitudes

the schwartzwalder uranium deposit ii age of uranium mineralization and lead isotope constraints on genesis u pb isotope analyses of ores from the schwartzwalder uranium mine colorado show that these ores have high amounts of initial common pb and that the initial pb was both variable and relatively radiogenic in its pb isotope ratios 206 pb 204 pb 26 30 as a result the only useful approach to dating these ores is with u pb isochrons and even so some means of dealing with the variable initial pb isotope ratios is required because the common pb in these ores was apparently derived from sources of similar age and th u the observed 208 pb 204 pb of these th free ores can be used either to identify sample suites with similar initial pb isotope ratios or to normalize for the variable initial pb isotope ratios the resulting u pb isochrons indicate an age of mineralization for both illinois vein and titan vein ores of 69 3 or 1 1 m y suggesting that the deposit was formed during the earliest stages of laramide uplift and under at least 3 km of phanerozoic cover the initial pb isotope systematics of the ores show that the metals in the schwartzwalder ores were derived from source s of 1 730 or 130 m y age with a th u of 2 2 or 0 2 and 238 u 204 pb of 30 to 60 these restrictions on the source s of the metals rule out the possibility that the deposit could have been formed by remobilization of a proterozoic uranium deposit and both the 69 3 m y age of the ores and their initial pb isotope ratios preclude any contribution of metals to the deposit by younger volcanics such as those in the denver formation

u series measurements in tyrrhenian deposits from mallorca further evidence for two last interglacial high sea levels in the balearic islands the campo de tiro type section for the tyrrhenian ecostratigraphic beds of the balearic islands shows four indurated littoral conglomerates and beach rocks unconformably superimposed the lower two units 1 and 2 are separated by a thin layer of reddish continental silts both contain a typical eutyrrhenian fauna whereas a neotyrrhenian fauna characterizes the overlying units 3 and 4 thu measurements by thermal ionisation mass spectrometry on mollusk shells from these deposits yielded ages of 135 ka unit 1 117 ka units 2 and 3 and a scatter of ages around 100 ka unit 4 the stratigraphic relationships and thu data indicate i that uranium was uptaken by mollusks shells but arca sp each time during a relatively short early diagenetic interval before cementation ensured a fair closure of the radioactive system ii two high sea stands characterized the last interglacial isotopic substage 5e of the balearic islands area iii the duration of this episode was 17 ka and iv the change in faunal assemblages and disconformity observed between units 2 and 3 are due to fluctuations in sea level and surface water conditions which occurred during the second high sea level episode of the last interglacial

mass spectrometric 230th 234u 238u dating of the devils hole calcite vein the devils hole calcite vein contains a long term climatic record but requires accurate chronologic control for its interpretation mass spectrometric u series ages for samples from core dh 11 yielded 230 th ages with precisions ranging from less than 1 000 years 2 for samples younger than 140 ka thousands of years ago to less than 50 000 years for the oldest samples 566 ka the 234 u 238 u ages could be determined to a precision of 20 000 years for all ages calcite accumulated continuously from 566 ka until 60 ka at an average rate of 0 7 millimeter per 10 3 years the precise agreement between replicte analyses and the concordance of the 230 th 238 u 234 u 238 u ages for the oldest samples indicate that the dh 11 samples were closed systems and validate the dating technique in general

a structural outline of the serra de tramuntana of mallorca balearic islands abstract the structural and stratigraphic aspects of the balearic islands are described by outlining the geology of the serra de tramuntana this range is part of the southeastern margin of the valencia trough and has the typical features of thrust tectonic areas a stratigraphic column a structural map and three cross sections show the main features of this range thrusts dip to the southeast and are arranged in an imbricate system with a transport direction to the nw the thrusts recorded involve upper paleozoic to middle miocene rocks imbricates bearing thin slices and duplexes developed where thin sequences with pronounced competency contrasts exist folds are also present they usually trend ne sw except in local areas where they are interpreted as being associated with oblique ramps fold axes plunge sub horizontally and folds face the northwest thrust displacements of up to 10 km are deduced from the existence of klippes and windows and shortening of around 50 is deduced from a comparison of deformed and restored cross sections the onset of the main contractional event is pre miocene probably late oligocene in age but major thrust emplacement occurred during the middle miocene the widespread occurrence of compression structures in the balearic islands developed from late oligocene to middle miocene put strong constraints on the models explaining the origin of both the valencia trough and the algerian basin the first must be considered at least in part as the balearic foreland basin and the second could be superimposed on the internal zone of the western mediterranean orogenic belt

an end to the last interglacial highstand before 120 ka relative sea level evidence from infreschi cave southern italy abstract the timing duration and evolution of sea level during the marine isotope stage 5e mis 5e highstand is a subject of intense debate a major problem in resolving this debate is the difficulty of chronologically constraining the sea level fall that followed the peak of the highstand this was mainly controlled by ice sheet dynamics the understanding of which is relevant for assessing future sea level behavior due to global warming here we use stratigraphical and geochoronological u th dating and tephra fingerprinting evidence from the infreschi archaeological cave marina di camerota southern italy to constrain relative sea level rsl evolution during the mis 5e highstand and younger stages uranium thorium dating of speleothem deposition phases places the maximum highstand rsl at 8 90 0 6 m a s l as indicated by the near horizontal upper limit of lithophaga boreholes measured for along a 3 5 km coastal cliff section geochronological data show that rsl fell more than 6 m before 120 ka suggesting a duration of the last interglacial highstand significantly shorter than proposed in some previous studies modelling shows that the rsl trend predicted by the ice 5g and ice 6g ice sheet simulations is consistent with our data but requires an additional significant reduction of both greenland and antarctic ice sheets to match the height of the local maximum highstand if no correction for tectonics is applied reconciling field data and models requires an earlier and likely shorter duration of the mis 5e highstand this suggests that our new data can constrain global ice volume variations during the penultimate deglaciation as well as glacial inception at the end of the last interglacial according to our chronology there is no local evidence of higher than present day sea levels after 120 ka

middle pleistocene magnetostratigraphy and susceptibility stratigraphy data from a carbonate aeolian system mallorca western mediterranean abstract this study shows that successions of pleistocene carbonate aeolian deposits can be placed successfully in a geochronologic framework using magnetostratigraphic and susceptibility stratigraphic analysis supplemented by luminescence dating studies of wave cut platforms and biostratigraphic evidence the investigated aeolian system covers a significant part of southernmost mallorca and is exposed in impressive coastal cliff sections at the study site at els bancals the aeolian system has a maximum thickness of 16 m and is composed of alternating dark red colluvial deposits and greyish red aeolian dune and sand sheet deposits forming seven cyclostratigraphic units each cyclostratigraphic unit represents landscape stabilisation colluviation and soil formation followed by dunefield development when marine carbonate sand was transported far inland by westerly or north westerly winds the aeolian system is located on top of a wave cut marine platform 12 14 m a s l this platform probably formed during a sea level highstand in marine isotope stage mis 11 427 364 ka and renewed marine activity probably later in mis 11 is indicated by the formation of beach deposits two sections at els bancals were sampled for a paleomagnetic study additional samples were taken to detect variations in magnetic susceptibility ms the characteristic remanent magnetisation has been recovered for the most part of the succession in spite of diagenetic overprinting there is evidence for two probably three reversal polarity excursions possible connected to the levantine cr1 and cr0 biwa iii episodes if this correlation is correct the sampled succession represents a time interval in the middle pleistocene between ca 410 and ca 260 ka this age estimate is supported by the ms study and by luminescence dates of 333 70 ka aeolianite from lower part of the succession and 275 23 ka aeolianite from the top of the succession the nature of the succession suggests deposition during alternating warm and moist colluvial deposition soil formation and cold dry and windy conditions dunefield formation the susceptibility signal can be correlated with the insolation signal at 65 n suggesting that environmental variation on mallorca was linked to orbitally forced climate change and it seems that aeolian activity and dunefield formation were linked to glacial or stadial periods

paleoclimatic variations in foraminifer assemblages from the alboran sea western mediterranean during the last 150 ka in odp site 977 detailed analysis of the planktonic foraminifera assemblages of odp site 977 situated in the alboran sea 36 1 9 n 1 57 3 w led us to recognize 42 planktonic foraminiferal events that occurred during marine isotope stages mis 4 and 5 these events were defined by changes in the abundances of neogloboquadrina pachyderma right and left coiling turborotalita quinqueloba globorotalia scitula globorotalia inflata globigerina bulloides and globigerinoides ruber white and pink varieties foraminiferal assemblages changed in response to glacial interglacial and millennial climate variability throughout the last 150 ka based on the estimation of sea surface temperatures sst using the modern analog technique and the oxygen isotope data measured in g bulloides we inferred the oxygen isotopic composition of sea water w sst increased in the alboran sea during the main dansgaard oeschger interstadials such as interstadial 19 to 24 even though n pachyderma left coiling is very scarce before heinrich event he 6 three cold pulses can be identified between 65 and 85 ka ago moreover increases in abundance of t quinqueloba and g scitula are recorded during d o stadials 20 and 21 the maximum temperature which was attained during the last interglacial was about 2 c higher than recent temperature and that reached over the holocene planktic foraminifera assemblages and paleotemperatures remained cold 3 ka after the beginning of termination ii t ii 130 ka ago probably in connection with the occurrence of heinrich event 11 in the north atlantic the abundance of g bulloides during the deposition of organic rich layers orls of mis 5 accompanied by lower isotope values in surface waters w could indicate the presence of a fresher surface layer associated with an increase in marine surface productivity

an open system model for u series age determinations of fossil corals the source of excess 234u in fossil corals and its relationship to u series age determinations has been an outstanding problem in geochronology for more than 20 years with increasing numbers of u series isotope measurements in corals and significant improvements in analytical precision through mass spectrometry it is increasingly apparent that a substantial fraction of observed isotope ratios cannot be reasonably explained by closed system decay moreover observations of a positive correlation between 234u 238u and 230th 238u ratios in corals from the same terrace are difficult to explain however the decay of dissolved uranium and recoil mobilization of uranium daughters produce particle reactive 234th and 230th and the coupled addition of these th isotopes could simultaneously increase coral 234u 238u and 230th 238u here we present a quantitative model based on decay dependent redistribution of 234th and 230th permitting calculation of open system coral ages these equations provide a general solution to the recoil redistribution problem applicable to any alpha decay series while measured isotope ratios of corals from the three youngest stratigraphically defined barbados terraces are inconsistent with closed system decay they fall in broadly linear arrays agreeing with model predictions isotopic arrays of older barbados corals and corals from terraces around the world are also consistent with model predictions suggesting the open system model is generally applicable corals with extreme isotopic compositions that are impossible to produce by closed system decay are consistent with the limited range of isotopic compositions predicted by the model at ages older than 600 ka for corals from a single terrace 234th and 230th redistribution appears to be a source of systematic conventional age error even for corals with slightly elevated 234u however open system ages are consistent even for corals with extremely elevated 234u for the youngest three barbados terraces mean open system terrace ages are consistent with mean conventional terrace ages calculated from pristine samples if the most accurate conventional ages are from corals with an initial 234u 238u identical to modern seawater then the open system model will improve the accuracy of coral u series age determinations and dramatically increase the number of reliable ages

uranium series dating of marine and lacustrine carbonates of the possible uranium series dating schemes the most important and most widely applied to marine carbonates is 230th dating with 231pa dating playing an increasingly important role for this reason this review will focus on these two methods 230th dating also referred to as u th dating or 238u 234u 230th dating involves calculating ages from radioactive decay and ingrowth relationships among 238u 234u and 230th 232th is also typically measured as a long lived essentially stable index isotope over the time scales relevant to 230th dating at present 230th dating can in principle be used to date materials as young as 3 years and in excess of 600 000 years edwards et al 1987a 1993 edwards 1988 see stirling et al 2001 for an example of dating corals in excess of 600 000 years old 231pa dating also referred to as u pa dating involves calculating ages from the ingrowth of 231pa from its grandparent 235u at present 231pa dating can be used to date materials as young as 10 years and as old 250 000 years edwards et al 1997 230th dating covers all of the 231pa time range and more with somewhat higher precision and is therefore the method of choice if a single method is applied however the combination of 231pa and 230th dating is of great importance in assessing possible diagenetic mobilization of the pertinent nuclides and thereby the accuracy of the ages allegre 1964 ku 1968 even if the primary age exceeds the 250 000 year limit of 231pa dating the combined methods can be used to assess the degree to which the samples have remained closed over the past 250 000 years e g edwards et al 1997 thus

sea level history during the last interglacial complex on san nicolas island california implications for glacial isostatic adjustment processes paleozoogeography and tectonics abstract san nicolas island california has one of the best records of fossiliferous quaternary marine terraces in north america with at least fourteen terraces rising to an elevation of 270 m above present day sea level in our studies of the lowest terraces we identified platforms at 38 36 m terrace 2a 33 28 m terrace 2b and 13 8 m terrace 1 uranium series dating of solitary corals from these terraces yields three clusters of ages 120 ka on terrace 2a marine isotope stage mis 5 5 120 and 100 ka on terrace 2b mis 5 5 and 5 3 and 80 ka mis 5 1 on terrace 1 we conclude that corals on terrace 2b that date to 120 ka were reworked from a formerly broader terrace 2a during the 100 ka sea stand fossil faunas differ on the three terraces isolated fragments of terrace 2a have a fauna similar to that of modern waters surrounding san nicolas island a mix of extralimital southern and extralimital northern species is found on terrace 2b and extralimital northern species are on terrace 1 on terrace 2b with its mixed faunas extralimital southern species indicating warmer than present waters are interpreted to be from the 120 ka high sea stand reworked from terrace 2a the extralimital northern species on terrace 2b indicating cooler than present waters are interpreted to be from the 100 ka sea stand the abundant extralimital northern species on terrace 1 indicate cooler than present waters at 80 ka using the highest elevations of the 120 ka platform of terrace 2a and assuming a paleo sea level of 6 m based on previous studies san nicolas island has experienced late quaternary uplift rates of 0 25 0 27 m ka these uplift rates along with shoreline angle elevations and ages of terrace 2b 100 ka and terrace 1 80 ka yield relative local paleo sea level elevations of 2 to 6 m for the 100 ka sea stand and 11 to 12 m for the 80 ka sea stand these estimates are significantly higher than those reported for the 100 ka and 80 ka sea stands on new guinea and barbados numerical models of the glacial isostatic adjustment gia process presented here demonstrate that these differences in the high stands are expected given the variable geographic distances between the sites and the former laurentide and cordilleran ice sheets moreover the numerical results show that the absolute and differential elevations of the observed high stands provide a potentially important constraint on ice volumes during this time interval and on earth structure

the impact of variably saturated conditions on hydrogeochemical changes during artificial recharge of groundwater artificial recharge of groundwater is often used to either purify partially treated wastewater or to enhance the quality of surface water by percolation through a variably saturated zone in many cases the most substantial purification process within the infiltration water is the redox dependent biodegradation of organic substances the present study was aimed at understanding the spatial and temporal distribution of the redox reactions that develop below an artificial recharge pond near lake tegel germany at this site like at many artificial recharge sites the hydraulic regime immediately below the pond is characterised by cyclic changes between saturated and unsaturated conditions these changes which occur during each operational cycle result from the repeated formation of a clogging layer at the pond bottom regular hydrogeochemical analyses of groundwater and seepage water in combination with continuous hydraulic measurements indicate that no3 and mn reducing conditions dominate beneath the pond as long as water saturated conditions prevail manganese fe and so42 reducing conditions are confined to a narrow zone directly below the clogging layer and in zones of lower hydraulic conductivity the formation of the clogging layer leads to a steady decrease of the infiltration rate which ultimatively causes a shift to unsaturated conditions below the clogging layer atmospheric o2 then starts to penetrate from the pond fringes into this region leading to i the re oxidation of the previously formed sulphide minerals and ii the enhanced mineralisation of sedimentary particulate organic c the mineralisation of sedimentary particulate organic c leads to an increased h2co3 production and subsequent dissolution of calcite

timing of the last interglacial high sea level on the seychelles islands indian ocean abstract corals from the seychelles islands indian ocean occur mainly as small coralline algae vermetid remnants found in cavities adhering to the rock surface and they rarely attain more than 2 m 2 in area samples of goniastrea and porites from elevations between 1 7 and 6 m above present mean sea level were dated by tims 238 u 234 u 230 th techniques the ages from well preserved corals lie between 131 000 and 122 000 yr b p in agreement with most other observations of the last interglacial sea level field evidence and dating from high marine limestones from two sections at la digue island indicate a period of coral buildup until 131 000 yr b p followed by a drop in sea level between 131 000 and 122 000 yr b p

sea level oscillations during the last interglacial highstand recorded by bahamas corals whether sea level was stable during the last interglacial remains a subject of debate an analysis of the u th ages of coral reefs in the bahamas corrected for open system behaviour confirms the presence of at least one oscillation within the sea level highstand

raised marine sequences of lanzarote and fuerteventura revisited a reappraisal of relative sea level changes and vertical movements in the eastern canary islands during the quaternary abstract systematic mapping and morphosedimentary analysis of fuerteventura and lanzarote islands supported by laboratory techniques u series mostly by tims 14c analysis and allo isoleucine measurements on biogenic carbonates from raised marine deposits paleomagnetic and a few k ar measurements on volcanic formations related to marine deposits provide a basis for constraining the age of late cainozoic marine units the most complete sequences of raised marine terraces are found at similar elevations in both islands they include up to 12 marine terraces episodes at elevations between 0 m and 70 m above mean sea level asl at least six terraces should be of quaternary age and more recent than 1 2 myr throughout the whole marine sequence with the exception of the holocene terrace the warm fauna assemblage is characterized by the presence of ostrea virleti nerita emiliana and strombus s cf coronatus s cf bubonius however there is a major change highlighted by the disappearance of the first two species below the 8 10 m terrace that could possibly correspond to mis 11 k ar measurements allow an estimate for mean uplift rate of 1 7 cm ka during the last million years the present elevation of the last interglacial deposits about 1 and 2 m asl shows discontinuous vertical movements with possibly a reverse trend since mis 9 in eastern canary islands

pleistocene raised marine terraces of the spanish mediterranean and atlantic coasts records of coastal uplift sea level highstands and climate changes detailed geological mapping morphostratigraphic palaeontological and geochronological uranium series analyses were undertaken on the raised marine terraces and interbedded terrestrial deposits along the spanish peninsular and insular atlantic and mediterranean coasts several sets of pleistocene shallow marine to coastal deposits exposed in a staircase arrangement are interpreted as being emplaced during sea level highstands coeval with interglacials or interstadials correlating with marine oxygen isotopic stages ois 5a 5c 5e 7 9 11 and older up to three highstands have been identified in deposits formed during ois 5e close to the end of ois 5e there is a record of sudden changes in sea surface conditions and climate marked by the disappearance of a major proportion of the warm senegalese fauna switches from oolitic to non oolitic facies and accumulation of boulder beaches dating of the coral cladocora caespitosa found in a layer that also contains strombus bubonius confirms the occurrence of warm fauna in the mediterranean basin during ois 7 as previously suggested by hillaire marcel et al 1986 goy et al 1986a b zazo and goy 1989 also the occurrence of warm faunas in deposits corresponding to an older interglacial probably ois 9 or 11 in the balearic islands suggests similar oceanographic conditions sea surface temperature assuming constant salinity during the last interglacial and at least two interglacials of the middle pleistocene in the western mediterranean a 2002 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

protactinium 231 dating of carbonates by thermal ionization mass spectrometry implications for quaternary climate change measurement of protactinium 231 231pa in carbonates by thermal ionization mass spectroscopy yields 231pa ages that are more than 10 times more precise than those determined by decay counting carbonates between 10 and 250 000 years old can now be dated with 231pa methods barbados corals that have identical 231pa and thorium 230 230th ages indicate that the timing of sea level change over parts of the last glacial cycle is consistent with the predictions of the astronomical theory two devils hole calcite subsamples record identical 231pa and 230th ages suggesting that the chronology of this climate record is accurate

localization of quaternary slip rates in an active rift in 105 years an example from central greece constrained by 234u 230th coral dates from uplifted paleoshorelines mapping dating and modeling of paleoshorelines uplifted in the footwall of the 1981 gulf of corinth earthquake fault greece ms 6 9 6 7 are used to assess its slip rate history relative to other normal faults in the area and study strain localization the 234u 230th coral ages from cladocora caespitosa date uplifted shoreface sediments and paleoshorelines from glacioeustatic sea level highstands at 76 possibly 100 125 175 200 216 240 and 340 ka uplifted quaternary and holocene paleoshorelines decrease in elevation toward the western tip of the fault exhibiting larger tilt angles with age showing that uplift is due to progressive fault slip since 125 ka uplift rates varied from 0 25 to 0 52 mm yr over a distance of 5 km away from the fault tip tilting was also occurring prior to 125 ka but uplift rates were lower because the 125 ka paleoshoreline is at 77 of the elevation of the 240 ka paleoshoreline despite being nearly half its age comparison of paleoshoreline elevations and sedimentology with the quaternary sea level curve shows that slip rates increased by a factor of 3 2 0 2 at 175 75 ka synchronous with cessation of activity on a neighboring normal fault at 382 112 ka we suggest that the rapid localization of up to 10 15 mm yr of extension into the narrow gulf 30 km wide resulted from synchronous fault activity on neighboring faults followed by localization rather than sequential faulting with consequences for the mechanism controlling localization of extension

a revised morpho and chronostratigraphy of the late and middle pleistocene coral reef terraces on southern barbados west indies the barbados coral reef terraces are one of the few type localities worldwide that provide insights into interglacial sea level change during the late and middle pleistocene several sea level estimates have been established since the late 1960s and each has contributed to the barbados model of sea level change this paper presents new morpho and chonostratigraphic data from the barbados coral reef terraces developed over the last 12 years the work is based on significant advances in electron spin resonance esr dating of fossil coral air photo interpretation and a greatly improved geomorphic map of preserved fossil beach formations and reef terraces above present sea level the need for a revision of past published morpho and chronostratigraphies is best demonstrated on the southern part of the island the morpho and chronostratigraphic sequence in this region is both more complex and diverse than has been assumed so far the revised morphostratigraphy presented here includes a differentiation of coral reef terraces wave cut platforms and other erosive features such as notches and cliffs our study of these geomorphic features combined with new numeric dating results esr u th enable a revised estimate of the spatial and temporal variation in tectonic uplift rate within south barbados these new rates are an essential requirement for more precise glacio eustatic sea level reconstructions during the late and middle pleistocene from this region

the reliability of uranium series mollusc dates from the western mediterranean basin abstract fossil mollusc shells from western mediterranean raised beach deposits have been dated using u series techniques sub sampling has allowed intra shell isotopic variability to be assessed although most of the calculated ages appear plausible and some internal consistency exists closer scrutiny of the data reveals that the shells have behaved as geochemically open systems and all the ages therefore must be considered suspect some previously published u series mollusc data from the same region may also contain evidence of open system behaviour and are considered equally unreliable simple modelling suggests considerable variation in isotopic uptake behaviour both within and between shells

beachrock occurrence characteristics formation mechanisms and impacts beachrocks are hard coastal sedimentary formations consisting of various beach sediments lithified through the precipitation of carbonate cements the objectives of this contribution are to a collate and review information on the reported occurrences characteristics and formation mechanisms of beachrocks and b consider their impacts on the coastal zone the analysis of the available information has shown that a beachrock formation is a global and diachronic phenomenon and b the great majority of beachrocks are found in tropical subtropical and low temperate latitude microtidal coasts the cementing agents of beachrocks are composed predominantly of the metastable carbonate phases high magnesian calcite hmc and aragonite ar appearing in a diverse crystalline morphology it has been suggested that cement precipitation in the coastal environment is controlled by i the physicochemical conditions ii the presence of organic compounds and microbes iii the magnitude and distribution of the wave energy along the coast and iv the textural characteristics of the constituent sediments various theories have been proposed to explain beachrock formation itself linking the phenomenon to either physicochemical or biological processes these theories however do not seem to be of universal validity and acceptance as each is able to explain only some of the reported occurrences the presence of beachrocks appears to affect beach morphodynamics by i locking the beach profile ii modifying the nearshore hydrodynamics iii changing the porous character of the beach and thus its response to wave forcing and iv differential bed erosion at the margins of the beachrock outcrops that can alter significantly the long and particularly the cross shore sediment transport therefore although relict submerged beachrock outcrops may provide some coastal protection by reducing the wave energy impinging onto the coastline modern beachrocks may promote offshore loss of unconsolidated beach sediments and buried beachrock outcropping finally the presence of beachrocks may have also significant ecological impacts as the indigenous mobile substrate fauna and flora of the beach is replaced by hard substrate benthic assemblages which are commonly arranged in hydrodynamically controlled zones

sea level history of the past two interglacial periods new evidence from u series dating of reef corals from south florida abstract as a future warm climate analog much attention has been directed to studies of the last interglacial period or marine isotope substage mis 5 5 which occurred 120 000 years ago nevertheless there are still uncertainties with respect to its duration warmth and magnitude of sea level rise here we present new data from tectonically stable peninsular florida and the florida keys that provide estimates of the timing and magnitude of sea level rise during the last interglacial period the last interglacial high sea stand in south florida is recorded by the key largo limestone a fossil reef complex and the miami limestone an oolitic marine sediment thirty five new high precision uranium series ages of fossil corals from the key largo limestone indicate that sea level was significantly above present for at least 9000 years during the last interglacial period and possibly longer ooids from the miami limestone show open system histories with respect to u series dating but show a clear linear trend toward an age of 120 ka correlating this unit with the last interglacial corals of the key largo limestone older fossil reefs at three localities in the florida keys have ages of 200 ka and probably correlate to mis 7 these reefs imply sea level near or slightly above present during the penultimate interglacial period elevation measurements of both the key largo limestone and the miami limestone indicate that local relative sea level was at least 6 6 m and possibly as much as 8 3 m higher than present during the last interglacial period

beachrock a tool for reconstructing relative sea level in the far field abstract today s understanding of sea level change developed through a combination of process based physical modelling and observational data observational data of sea level change derives from coral reefs in the far field of the former ice sheets where a geographically variable relative sea level signal is expected as a response of the earth to ocean loading given this variability and the limited geographical distribution of coral reefs there is a need to explore other non coral based sea level markers to further understand sea level change and for example to fingerprint melt water here we present beachrock as a coastal deposit suitable for relative sea level rsl observations in the far field beachrock is an intertidal deposit forming in the zone where carbonate saturated meteoric and marine water mix and p co 2 decreases we provide the conceptual framework for beachrock analysis and describe techniques suitable for analysing and dating the deposit the approach is standardised by outlining the sediment characteristics in terms of rsl indicative meaning and indicative range and is tested against published data a study conducted on coasts of the mediterranean sea exemplifies the utility of beachrock for rsl reconstruction it is shown that the precision of the reconstruction is derived from the combined uncertainty of age and tidal amplitude or tidal range the uncertainty can be reduced to half the tidal amplitude when a deposit can be ascribed to the upper or lower intertidal zone beachrock based data benefit from the lack of non quantifiable error terms such as post depositional compaction due to the instantaneous formation and high preservation potential of the deposit this underlines the high precision of beachrock based rsl reconstruction which is a prime requirement for testing and extending coral based records

a cool eastern pacific ocean at the close of the last interglacial complex abstract new high precision thermal ionization mass spectrometric tims u series ages of solitary corals balanophyllia elegans from several marine terrace localities along the california and southern oregon coasts date to the 80 000 yr bp high stand of sea correlative with marine isotope substage 5a late in the last interglacial complex ages of multiple corals from localities north of point ano nuevo central california and san nicolas island southern california suggest that this high sea stand could have lasted at least 8000 yr from 84 000 to 76 000 yr bp these ages overlap with those from marine deposits on tectonically stable bermuda and tectonically emergent barbados higher elevation terraces at two california localities in the palos verdes hills and on san nicolas island have corals with ages that range mostly from 121 000 to 116 000 yr bp correlative with marine isotope substage 5e these ages are similar to those reported for other terraces in southern california but are younger than some ages reported from hawaii barbados and the bahamas marine terrace faunas are excellent proxies for nearshore marine paleotemperatures during past high sea stands terraces on the palos verdes hills and san nicolas island dated to the 120 000 yr bp high sea stand have dominantly zoogeographically neutral species in exposed coastal localities indicating nearshore waters similar to those of today in contrast 80 000 yr bp exposed coastal localities typically have molluscan faunas characterized by numerous extralimital northern species and a lack of extralimital southern species these fossil assemblages are indicative of nearshore water temperatures that were cooler than modern temperatures at 80 000 yr bp waters at least as warm as today s at 120 000 yr bp and cooler than present at 80 000 yr bp are in excellent agreement with marine alkenone records and coastal vegetation records derived from pollen data from both southern and northern california decreased insolation or increased upwelling seem inadequate to explain the cool waters off the pacific coast from southern oregon to southern california at 80 000 yr bp we propose that a stronger california current or at least one with a greater component of subarctic waters may explain cooler than modern coastal waters during the 80 000 yr bp high sea stand

comment on sea level and climate changes during ois 5e in the western mediterranean by t bardaji j l goy j l c zazo c hillaire marcel c j dabrio a cabero b ghaleb p g silva j lario geomorphology 104 2009 22 37

tephrostratigraphy of grotta del cavallo southern italy insights on the chronology of middle to upper palaeolithic transition in the mediterranean abstract the grotta del cavallo contains one of the most important stratification of mousterian uluzzian and final epigravettian tecnocomplexes its chronology is of paramount importance for understanding the timing of the transition between middle and upper palaeolithic in the mediterranean region as well as the demise of the neanderthal and the dispersal of the first anatomically modern humans through europe within the stratigraphy of the cave three different volcanic ash layers occur layer g fa and c ii they are located in the middle section of the mousterian layer g in between the mousterian and uluzzian layers layer fa and on top of the uluzzian horizons layer c ii the three tephra layers were chemically fingerprinted and correlated to well known and precisely dated widespread late pleistocene tephra markers specifically layer g fa and c ii were correlated to the x 6 108 7 0 9 ka y 6 45 5 1 0 ka and campanian ignimbrite 39 85 0 14 ka respectively these findings provide robust chronological points allowing to conclude that i the mousterian occupation of the cave took place after the fall of the sea level following the mis 5e high stand ii the mousterian uluzzian boundary can be dated to 45 5 1 0 ka and climatostratigraphically firmly placed at the transition between the greenland interstadial 12 gi12 greenland stadial 12 gs12 iii the uluzzian lasted for at least five millennial spanning the gs12 gi9 period and ended at beginning of the heinrich event 4

u series evidence for two high last interglacial sea levels in southeastern tunisia abstract pleistocene raised marine deposits in southeastern tunisia consist of a siliciclastic unit that culminates at 3 m asl overlain by a carbonate rich unit with strombus bubonius that culminates at 5 m asl 234 u 238 u ratios on fossil ostraea shells from both units are compatible with a marine origin from the uranium incorporated into the shells and show narrowly clustered 230 th ages respectively between 147 and 110 ka and 141 and 100 ka the two units were therefore developed during marine isotopic substage 5e miss 5e last interglacial their heights are comparable to those of contemporaneous marine deposits found in many tectonically stable areas of the world such as in the bahamas and in bermuda and can therefore be used as indicators of eustatic changes during the last interglacial it is argued that on the basis of this evidence the last interglacial was characterised by two eustatic maxima

temperate carbonates on a modern low energy isolated ramp the balearic platform spain abstract this paper presents a depositional model for a temperate low energy carbonate ramp based on descriptive studies of five areas around the balearic islands of mallorca and menorca this low energy ramp differs significantly from other present day temperate carbonate platforms that are primarily high energy open shelves it is characterized by the following lithofacies from shore to basin 1 lagoon 2 barrier island 3 shallow subtidal 4 inner ramp 5 middle ramp and 6 distal ramp subaqueous carbonate dunes are present near slope breaks off menorca and cabrera but they are not representative of the entire ramp balearic ramp sediments differ in composition texture biology and degree of cementation from those on modern low energy tropical ramps balearic ramp carbon tes lack ooids and peloids hermatypic coral buildups and calcareous green algae except in one restricted bay where halimeda is relatively common red algal sands and gravels extend to depths of up to 90 m and are coarser than their strandplain equivalent lime sands skeletal allochems consist of the bryomol rhodalgal association marine cementation is rare and the carbonate fraction of deep water muds is mainly mg calcitic and calcitic in composition aragonite is rare except for the red alga peyssonnelia which is composed of aragonite it is neither a dominant skeletal constituent nor common as a cement the mediterranean sea off mallorca and menorca is a low energy temperate oligotrophic clear water environment the depositional model for the region is an isolated platform configured as a homoclinal ramp ancient counterparts of the balearic ramp are present in the neogene of the mediterranean tethys and the paratethys and though the constituents of fossil assemblages vary with time the biota of the balearic ramp such as bryozoans red algae echinoderms and mollusks ranges from the paleozoic era to the present echinodermal bryomols passing to basinal muds on carbonate ramps are particularly characteristic of the early carboniferous in north america and europe this suggests that the balearic islands temperate ramp may be more representative of some ancient carbonate sequenc s than either temperate high energy open shelves or tropical ramps in the present oceans

the uranium trend dating method principles and application for southern california marine terrace deposits abstract uranium trend dating is an open system method for age estimation of quaternary sediments using disequilibrium in the 238 u 234 u 230 th decay series the technique has been applied to alluvium colluvium loess till and marine sediments in this study we tested the u trend dating method on calcareous marine terrace deposits from the palos verdes hills and san nicolas island california independent age estimates indicate that terraces in these areas range from 80 ka to greater than 1 0 ma two low terraces on san nicolas island yielded u trend plots that have a clustered array of points and the ages of these deposits are indeterminate or highly suspect middle pleistocene terraces and one early pleistocene terrace on san nicolas island and all terraces on the palos verdes hills gave reasonably linear u trend plots and estimated ages that are stratigraphically consistent and in agreement with independent age estimates we conclude that many marine terrace deposits are suitable for u trend dating but u trend plots must be carefully evaluated and u trend ages should be consistent with independent geologic control

new data on the pleistocene of mallorca abstract stratigraphic geomorphologic and isoleucine epimerization studies at 15 sites in mallorca define four aminozones a c e and f g of increasing age that are related to transgressive regressive marine cycles from the holocene to the mid pleistocene calibration of aminozone e glycymeris aile ile mean from all sites 0 41 0 03 n 38 is provided by a 129 7 ka u series coral age on cladocora caespitosa from son grauet of the younger aminozones a relates to the holocene transgression and aminozone c to a mid to late isotopic stage 5 event 90 15 ka revealed only by supralittoral eolianites assigning an age to the older poorly resolved aminozones f and g called f g in this case is uncertain without supporting radiometric data but an age of 180 ka can be assigned to these aminozone s f g based on a kinetic model and other examples in the mediterranean several deposits previously dated u series molluscs between 75 and 300 ka appear to belong to the last interglacial complex stage 5 and aminozone e a proposed revision of the positive sea level history of mallorca shows multiple minor oscillations during the major last interglacial cycle stage 5 and two mid pleistocene sea levels one lower than present and the other at about 14 m a s l

corinth rift margin uplift new evidence from late quaternary marine shorelines 1 new evidence for uplift of the southern margin to the corinth rift one of the world s most rapidly extending continental regions defines an area of uniform uplift separating a more rapidly uplifting western rift flank from a slowly backtilting eastern flank this major tectonic boundary coincides with geophysical evidence for a junction between flat underlying subducted oceanic plate and steep subduction we propose that trench rollback by the anatolian plate over the subducting african plate has led to differential uplift and possible migration of active faulting at the southern rift margin in the last few million years

uranium series coral ages from the us atlantic coastal plain the 80 ka problem revisited abstract uranium series coral ages for emergent units from the passive continental margin us atlantic coastal plain acp suggest sea level above present levels at the end of marine oxygen isotope stage mis 5 contradicting age elevation relations based on marine isotopic or coral reef models of ice equivalent sea level we have reexamined this problem by obtaining high precision 230th 238u and 231pa 235u thermal ionization mass spectrometric ages for recently collected and carefully cleaned acp corals many in situ we recognize samples that show no evidence for diagenesis on the basis of uranium isotopic composition and age concordance combining new and earlier data among those ages close to or within the age range of mis 5 over 85 cluster between 65 and 85 ka bp of the corals that we have analyzed those that show the least evidence for diagenesis on the basis of uranium isotopic composition and age concordance have ages between 80 and 85 ka bp consistent with a mis 5a correlation the units from which these samples have been collected are all emergent and have elevations within 3 5 m of those few units where early stage 5 125 000 ka bp coral ages have been obtained the acp appears to record an unusual history of relative sea level throughout mis 5 a history that is also apparent in the dated coral record for bermuda we speculate that this history is related to the regional near to intermediate field effects of ancestral laurentide ice sheets on last interglacial shorelines of the western north atlantic

tropical tales of polar ice evidence of last interglacial polar ice sheet retreat recorded by fossil reefs of the granitic seychelles islands abstract in the search for a record of eustatic sea level change on glacial interglacial timescales the seychelles ranks as one of the best places on the planet to study owing to its location with respect to the former margins of northern hemisphere ice sheets that wax and wane on orbital cycles the local or relative sea level history is predicted to lie within a few meters of the globally averaged eustatic signal during the last interglacial period we have surveyed and dated last interglacial fossil corals to ascertain peak sea level and hence infer maximum retreat of polar ice sheets during this time interval we observe a pattern of gradually rising sea level in the seychelles between 129 and 125 thousand years ago ka with peak eustatic sea level attained after 125 ka at 7 6 1 7 m higher than present after accounting for thermal expansion and loss of mountain glaciers this sea level budget would require 5 8 m of polar ice sheet contribution relative to today s volume of which only 2 m came from the greenland ice sheet this result clearly identifies the antarctic ice sheet as a significant source of melt water most likely derived from one of the unstable marine based sectors in the west and or east antarctic ice sheet furthermore the establishment of a 5 9 1 7 m eustatic sea level position by 128 6 0 8 ka would require that partial ais collapse was coincident with the onset of the sea level highstand

the role of african dust in the formation of quaternary soils on mallorca spain and implications for the genesis of red mediterranean soils abstract african dust additions explain the origin of terra rossa soils that are common on the carbonate platform island of mallorca spain mineralogical and geochemical analyses indicate that quaternary carbonate eolianites on mallorca have a very high purity usually composed of more than 90 carbonate minerals calcite dolomite and aragonite in contrast terra rossa soils developed on these eolianites have lower carbonate contents and contain higher concentrations of quartz and other silicates analyses of immobile trace elements indicate that the non carbonate fractions of the eolianites have distinctive zr hf la yb cr sc and th ta values that differ from the superjacent terra rossa soils these observations indicate that even if sufficient dissolution of the eolianite had taken place to create the soils by residual accumulation immobile element ratios in the soils require an external source however zr hf la yb cr sc and th ta values in the soils fall within the range of values for these element ratios in african dust collected on barbados and mainland spain we conclude that the silicate fractions of terra rossa soils on mallorca are derived mainly though not wholly from far traveled african dust and this process may explain the origin of other terra rossa soils found in southern europe

quaternary marine terraces on sal island cape verde archipelago abstract the quaternary sedimentary record of sal island includes marine and related aeolian and alluvial fan deposits the substratum of the island is volcanic with ages between 25 and 0 6 ma quaternary marine units generally occur as raised marine terraces forming a broad staircase between elevations of 55 60 m and present sea level terraces include a basal conglomerate overlaid by calcarenite both host corals algae and molluscs a chronostratigraphic framework for the middle pleistocene to holocene units has been generated based on a geomorphologic map of the quaternary landforms and associated deposits and morphosedimentary analysis with support of laboratory dating u series by tims in corals 14 c analyses palaeomagnetic measurements and k ar ages from other literature u series dating of corals from marine terraces provides benchmarks for the last interglacial oxygen isotope substage 5e and holocene deposits the present elevation of the marine terraces and their staircase arrangement suggest a change in vertical movement trend around 330 ka from an uplift to either subsidence or stabilization

abrupt temperature changes in the western mediterranean over the past 250 000 years a continuous high resolution western mediterranean sea surface temperature sst alkenone record spanning the past 250 000 years shows that abrupt changes were more common at warming than at cooling during marine isotope stage mis 6 sst oscillated following a stadial interstadial pattern but at lower intensities and rates of change than in the dansgaard oeschger events of mis 3 some of the most prominent events occurred over miss 5 and 7 after prolonged warm periods of high stability climate during the whole period was predominantly maintained in interglacial interstadial conditions whereas the duration of stadials was much shorter

morphology and architecture of a late pleistocene cliff front dune mallorca western mediterranean cliff front dunes are a common coastal feature but this is the first time that the structures indicative of their formation are documented a late pleistocene cliff front dune in southern mallorca has been studied owing to early lithification of the calcarenite its morphology is well preserved the dune occurs in front of a curved near vertical coastal cliff but the bedform cannot be classified as a fixed echo dune the dune grew with time and its brinkline gradually moved closer to the cliff front in the final stage of evolution the top of the dune reached a height of at least 23 m the dune is composed of wind ripple strata these strata are arranged in critical to supercritical climbing dune cross stratification recording its growth stages the angle of climb of the dune increases toward the cliff and reaches 50 the morphological features of cliff front dunes result from both cliff slope and whether the cliff front is curved or straight

timing and duration of the last interglacial evidence for a restricted interval of widespread coral reef growth abstract we report new mass spectrometric u series ages for eight last interglacial fossil reefs along the continental margin of western australia corals were selected in growth position from localities that are characterized by apparently low levels of diagenesis and relative tectonic stability so that the fossil reefs provide critical information on last interglacial sea levels without requiring corrections for tectonic movements in addition we have improved the constraint on the timing of onset of reef growth by recovering drill core coral from the base of the reefs uranium and thorium isotopes were measured with high levels of precision leading to improvements in age resolution and allowing samples which have undergone diagenetic exchange of uranium and thorium to be more easily identified and discarded these data supplement our previous results for rottnest island and leander point leading to more than seventy mass spectrometric u series ages from which constraints can be placed on the timing duration and character of the last interglacial sea level highstand reliable ages show that reef growth started contemporaneously at 128 1 ka along the entire western australian coastline while relative sea levels were at least 3 m above the present level because western australia is located far from the former penultimate glacial maximum ice sheets and are not significantly effected by glacial unloading these data constrain the timing of onset of the last interglacial period to 128 1 ka assuming reef growth started soon after sea level approached interglacial levels a unique regressive reef sequence at mangrove bay constrains the timing of termination of the last interglacial period to 116 1 ka the major episode of reef building however both globally and locally along the western australian coast is restricted to a very narrow interval occurring from 128 ka and 121 ka suggesting that global ocean surface temperatures were warm and or sea levels were stable enough to allow prolific reef growth only during the earlier part of the last interglacial

the last interglacial period on the pacific coast of north america timing and paleoclimate new high precision u series ages of solitary corals balanophyllia elegans coupled with molluscan faunal data from marine terraces on the pacific coast of north america yield information about the timing and warmth of the last interglacial sea level highstand balanophyllia elegans takes up u in isotopic equilibrium with seawater during growth and shortly after death corals from the second terrace on san clemente island offshore southern california the third terrace on punta banda on the pacific coast of northern baja california and the discovery point formation on isla de guadalupe in the pacific ocean offshore baja california date to the peak of the last interglacial period and have u series ages ranging from ca 123 to 114 ka the first terrace on punta banda has corals with ages ranging from ca 83 to 80 ka which corresponds to a sea level highstand formed in the late last interglacial period u series analyses of corals from the cayucos terrace central california and the nestor terrace at point loma southern california show that these fossils have evidence of open system history similar to what has been reported by other workers for the same localities nevertheless a model of continuous secondary u and th uptake shows that two ages of corals are likely present at these localities representing the ca 105 and ca 120 ka sea level highstands reported elsewhere u series ages of last interglacial corals from the pacific coast overlap with but are on average younger than the ages of corals from barbados the bahamas and hawaii this age difference is explained by the nature of the geomorphic response to sea level change fringing or barrier reefs on low latitude coastlines have an accretionary growth style that keeps pace with rising sea level whether on a tectonically rising or stable coastline in contrast midlatitude high energy coastlines are sites of platform cutting during the early part of a sea level high stand and terrace scouring and concomitant sediment and fossil deposition as sea level starts to recede the youngest ages of corals from the pacific coast suggest that sea level was still relatively high at ca 116 ka which is not in agreement with other estimates of relatively large global ice volume at that time reliably dated ca 120 ka marine terrace deposits on the pacific coast have fossil mollusks that indicate water temperatures as warm or warmer than at present in contrast ca 80 ka marine deposits reported here and elsewhere have fossil mollusks indicating cooler than modern water temperatures the presence of both ca 105 ka and ca 120 ka corals on the nestor and cayucos terraces explains a previously enigmatic mixture of warm water and cool water mollusks at ca 105 ka a relatively high sea level with cool waters may have captured the terrace formed during the 120 ka sea level highstand in areas of low uplift rate the inference of cooler than modern waters off the pacific coast of north america at ca 80 ka and ca 105 ka based on marine terrace faunas does not agree with estimates of sea surface temperatures derived from alkenone studies in the santa barbara basin however cooler water temperatures at these times are in agreement with paleotemperature estimates from planktonic foraminiferal data for the santa barbara basin all records from central california to baja california whether from marine terraces or offshore cores indicate at least seasonably warmer than modern waters during the peak of the last interglacial period at ca 120 ka

reconstruction of the mis 5 5 5 3 and 5 1 coastal terraces in latium central italy a re evaluation of the sea level history in the mediterranean sea during the last interglacial abstract we present a geomorphological stratigraphical and geochronological study reconstructing a suite of paleo surfaces in a 200 km long coastal sector of the central tyrrhenian sea between argentario and circeo promontories identification of the near shore deposits associated with these paleo surfaces allow us to define corresponding marine terraces and paleo sea levels 40ar 39ar and esr u th geochronologic constraints on key deposits provide correlation with the terraces previously recognized in the coast of central latium refining their correlation with the marine isotopic stages results of this study enable us to propose a re assessment of the ages for the sea level markers of mis 5 5 5 3 5 1 in the central tyrrhenian sea suggest that a continuous tectonic uplift with an average rate of 0 224 mm yr affects the latium coast since 200 ka provide new evidence for a mis 5 5 paleo sea level marker occurring at 35 m a s l on the coastal sector extending from montalto di castro to latina while it possibly drops down and connects to a paleo sea level ranging 10 5 m between monte circeo and gaeta previously attributed to this interglacial discussing possible evidence of similar elevation of the sea level during mis 5 5 5 3 and 5 1 interglacials in the tyrrhenian sea compare this datum with those from the western pacific and several coral reefs where the differences with respect to tectonically stable regions were attributed either to tectonics or to the glacial isostatic adjustment showing that the presented record of sea level markers may have a strong impact on modeling the post glacial effects in the mediterranean sea and on the paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic studies in this region

uranium series ages of fossil corals from mallorca spain the neotyrrhenian high stand of the mediterranean sea revisited abstract the emergent marine deposits of the mediterranean basin have been recognized as an important record of quaternary sea level history for more than a century previous workers identified what have been interpreted to be two separate high stands of sea in the late quaternary namely the eutyrrhenian thought to be 120 ka and the neotyrrhenian thought to be either 100 ka or 80 ka on mallorca spain both of these named deposits lie close to present sea level implying paleo sea levels slightly above present during both marine isotope stages mis 5 5 5e and either 5 3 5c or 5 1 5a if these interpretations are correct they conflict at least in part with sea level records from far field localities we analyzed corals from the neotyrrhenian beds on mallorca which gave u series ages from 126 ka to 118 ka these ages are consistent with previously published amino acid data that show that the neotyrrhenian and eutyrrhenian deposits are not significantly different in age a fossil molluscan fauna from the neotyrrhenian deposits on mallorca has a warm water paleozoogeographic aspect with nine southward ranging species and four extralimital southern species when compared with sea surface temperatures obtained from planktonic foraminifera and alkenones from odp core 977 in the nearby alboran sea the only time period that shows comparable warmth is mis 5 5 5e consistent with the u series ages of corals from the neotyrrhenian deposits we propose that the neotyrrhenian deposits are a beachrock facies of the same age as the eutyrrhenian deposits this interpretation is consistent with the differences in physical sedimentology of the two deposits explains the u series and amino acid data indicating the same age is consistent with the very slight elevation difference of the neotyrrhenian and eutyrrhenian beds and explains the similar though not identical paleozoogeographic aspects of their fossil faunas

biogeochemical processes in infiltration basins and their impact on the recharging effluent the soil aquifer treatment sat system of the shafdan plant israel abstract soil aquifer treatment sat systems utilize infiltration basins for recharging pre treated effluent into the aquifer for water quality improvement the present research focuses on the diurnal and seasonal variations of oxygen carbon and nitrogen species in the infiltration basins and in the uppermost vadose zone for determining the impact of different environmental conditions on the composition of the infiltrating effluent the study was conducted in one of the infiltration basins of the dan region sewage reclamation project shafdan israel solar radiation and aeration were recognized to be the two main factors controlling the chemical composition of the effluent within the basin and the uppermost vadose zone the effluent entering the basin show initial enrichment with dissolved oxygen do due to gas exchange caused by injection through the inlet fountain and turbulence during basin filling the do ph and dissolved inorganic carbon dic fluctuate diurnally as a result of intense in basin daylight photosynthesis and nighttime respiration do and ph increase during day and decrease during night and the dic shows an opposite behavior the daylight net primary production was 240 mol l 1 d 1 and the diurnal respiration rate was 430 mol l 1 d 1 assuming that the nighttime respiration rate is constant over a whole diurnal cycle the gross primary production during daylight was 450 mol l 1 d 1 dissolved organic carbon doc and inorganic nitrogen species nh 4 no 3 varied significantly in the uppermost vadose zone however neither the vadose zone nor the basin showed diurnal fluctuations it appears that chemical variations between three sampling campaigns conducted in different seasons stemmed mainly from the efficiency of basin aeration that resulted from changes in basin s operation regime and local environmental conditions the results of this study lead to the following basin management recommendations 1 keeping short flooding and drying cycles and allowing complete basin desiccation before the next flooding and 2 flooding the basin during daytime starting at dawn to maximize oxygen production and minimize infiltration during nighttime following these routines would result in higher redox potential of the infiltrating effluent

millstone quarries along the mediterranean coast chronology morphological variability and relationships with past sea levels abstract the coast of the mediterranean provide several remnants of ancient coastal quarries which are now useful to study sea level change occurring during the last millennia millstones quarries were exploited with same quarrying techniques from rocks like beachrocks sandstones or similar lithologies were shaped to be suitable to grind olives seeds and wheat to produce oil and flour or to break apart soft rocks in this study we integrated historical sources aerial photography field surveys and palaeo sea level modelling to investigate a number of millstones quarries with the aim to asses the intervening sea level change that occurred since the quarries were abandoned we investigated on their chronology spatial distribution and spatial relationship to the sea level our results indicate that most of these were carved close to sea level between 1 45 ka and 0 25 ka cal bp but mainly around 0 45 cal ka bp despite the uncertainties associated with the chronology in we found good agreement between their lowest elevation between 0 33 m and 0 06 m and the paleo sea levels as predicted by the gia models

the timing of high sea levels over the past 200 000 years the 230 th ages and 234 u 238 u ratios were determined for barbados corals that grew during periods of high sea level within the last 200 000 years the similarity of the initial 234 u 238 u ratios of some of the corals to the modern marine value suggests that these samples are pristine and that the marine 234 u 238 u ratio 83 000 and 200 000 years ago was within 2 per mil of the modern value the accuracies of the 230 th ages are evaluated on the basis of the 234 u 238 u values and a model of the behavior of uranium and thorium isotopes during diagenesis for the last three interglacial and two intervening interstadial periods sea level peaked at or after peaks in summer insolation in the northern hemisphere this overall pattern supports the idea that glacial interglacial cycles are caused by changes in earth9s orbital geometry the sea level drop at the end of the penultimate interglacial the last interglacial and a subsequent interstadial period lagged behind the decrease in insolation by 5 000 to 10 000 years

retracing the quaternary history of sea level changes in the spanish mediterranean atlantic coasts geomorphological and sedimentological approach abstract this study analyses coastal geomorphic responses to the various sea level changes that occurred throughout the quaternary period in the mediterranean and atlantic coasts of spain particular emphasis is paid to the geomorphic and stratigraphic record of the changes in amplitude duration and frequency associated with the major gradual climate changes observed in marine cores and ice oxygen isotope records during the early and middle pleistocene ca 2 6 myr ca 1 4 0 8 myr ca 0 4 0 2 myr and also with the rapid and abrupt late pleistocene and holocene climate changes with this aim the best preserved and most complete sedimentary sequences known in the spanish mediterranean and atlantic coasts covering diverse geodynamic and climatic contexts were selected and analyses this study is mainly based on field investigation of geomorphic sedimentologic and stratigraphic features of mapped morphosedimentary units combined with reliable chronological data the analyses include the interpretation of sedimentary environments the 3 d reconstruction of facies and morphosedimentary unit arrangement paying special attention to the lateral geomorphic relationships between marine and terrestrial morphosedimentary units developed during interglacials under sea level highstand scenarios the interglacials occurred during four key quaternary periods might be related with major gradual changes associated with glacial climate cycles reported from marine and ice oxygen isotope records almost coeval changes in geomorphological styles are reported from all studied areas regardless of their specific geodynamic context results from the mediterranean realm suggest that this area is more sensitive to climatic and sea level variability than the spanish atlantic coast particularly in the case of rapid and abrupt changes

coral indicators of past sea level change a global repository of u series dated benchmarks fossil corals provide valuable data for reconstructing past sea levels as they are often well preserved in the fossil record and can be dated with u series methods here we present a global and internally consistent database of usingle bondth dated fossil coral sea level indicators including full consideration of all known associated uncertainties both vertical and chronological we include carefully determined taxon specific depth distributions rather than blanket depth uncertainty terms as used in most previous work this is based on a synthesis of extensive modern ecological information on depth ranges these ranges are found to be spatially variable between ocean basins between regions and on sub regional scales because depth itself is not limiting instead depth distributions arise from complex physical chemical and biological interactions with coral reef growth distribution and composition one of the main causes for recognition of the greater depth variability of coral taxa has been the routine inclusion of deep diving and rov surveys in coral ecological studies over the past few decades which has broken through the shallow water bias of early surveys by adding frequent observations on deeper occurrences although more are needed it is also clear from our assessment that coral habitat depth distributions must be determined on the species level to reduce uncertainties in reconstructions of past sea levels and that application to sea level studies then requires these studies also to identify fossil corals to the species level samples identified only to the genus level give rise to wide uncertainties in habitat depth and hence sea level our database contains extensive metadata to assist evaluations of dating quality as well as geomorphic and stratigraphic metadata we demonstrate with examples how such metadata can help to evaluate sea level reconstructions for example by identifying outlier points one example discusses the last interglacial lig where we use the available data with their uncertainties to assess probabilistically the time at which local sea levels exceed that of the present which yields a mean age of 124 6 ka with 95 probability bounds at 118 5 and 129 5 ka we conclude with identification of key outstanding issues relating to i current incomplete understanding of tectonic setting including the current lack of independent verification of uplift subsidence rates and reliance of somewhat unsatisfactory and circular use of the elevation of last interglacial deposits ii the depth distributions of coral taxa and iii the complete documentation of stratigraphic geomorphological and other contextual information with suggestions for strategies to address these issues

palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironmental responses in the western mediterranean over the last 140 ka evidence from mallorca spain climatic change in the western mediterranean basin over the last 140 ka has been investigated from sediment and soil sequences along the coast of the northeastern part of mallorca spain palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironments are reconstructed from sediment and soil structures marine and terrestrial molluscan fauna grain size distributions mineral magnetics sediment and soil chemistry sem and oxygen isotope values dating is by osl and amino acid geochronometry along with marine molluscan faunal assemblages all oxygen isotope stages and substages from ois 6 to 1 are recorded mean annual temperatures m a t of c 19 2 c for the climatic optimum of the last interglacial compare with c 17 3 c for the present and are associated with high sea level extensive woodland and stable soils although wide temperature ranges are detected during this stage with values as low as c 10 3 c through ois 5d to 5a m a t fluctuated from 8 2 c to 17 9 c low sea level open vegetation effective river activity and aeolian sand and dust deposition characterize 5d and 5b while relatively high sea level and soil development on stable landscapes dominate ois 5c and 5a ois 4 is represented by m a t of c 4 9 c with aeolian sand and loess deposition limited river activity and weak soil development loess deposition persisted into ois 3 but at this time the m a t was c 13 c and with higher humidity and vegetation growth during the lgm ois 2 m a t was c 8 1 c and effective river slope and aeolian processes along with associated with limited vegetation cover were responsible for the most extensive changes in the landscape major rates of change occur during periods of climatic deterioration when the high levels of geomorphic energy were imposed on a landscape undergoing a breakdown of vegetation cover

extralimital senegalese species during marine isotope stages 5 5 and 11 in the canary islands 29 n sea surface temperature estimates abstract the presence of harpa doris roding 1798 in marine deposits of the last interglacial period 130 120 ka marine isotope stage or mis 5 5 in the canary islands gran canaria lanzarote and fuerteventura enabled us to compare this occurrence with its present habitat in the gulf of guinea and the cape verde islands well to the south this comparison leads to the conclusion that sea surface temperatures ssts in the waters around the canary islands during the last interglacial period were at least 3 3 c higher than today h doris is found in association with the large gastropod persististrombus latus gmelin 1791 as well as the coral siderastrea radians pallas 1766 the presence of these extralimital southern warm water species in the canary islands during the last interglacial period also implies a northward expansion of plankton feeding larvae in seawater with a high chlorophyll a content such conditions would require a shortening of the southern arm of the cool canary current that dominates the waters around the canary islands at present marine deposits dating to 400 ka mis 11 are also found on the canary islands in these deposits the presence of saccostrea cucullata born 1778 allows a comparison with its present habitat in the gulf of guinea in this analysis we conclude that ssts in waters around the canary islands during this major interglacial period were at least 4 2 c higher than today middle pleistocene fossils of s cucullata have also been found in the western mediterranean sea and morocco as well as the cape verde islands if these deposits also date to mis 11 sst warming could have been a regional phenomenon including much of the eastern atlantic ocean and mediterranean sea

similarities and dissimilarities between the last two deglaciations and interglaciations in the north atlantic region abstract sea surface temperatures ssts recorded by alkenones and oxygen isotopes in the alboran basin are used here to describe at an unprecedented fine temporal resolution the present interglaciation pig initiated at 11 7 ka bp the last interglaciation lig onset approximately at 129 ka and respective deglaciations similarities and dissimilarities in the progression of these periods are reviewed in comparison with ice cores and stalagmites cold spells coeval with the heinrich events h described in the north atlantic include multi decadal scale oscillations not previously obvious up to 4 c in less than eight centuries within the stadials associated with h1 and h11 ca 133 ka and 17 ka respectively these abrupt oscillations precede the accumulation of organic rich layers deposited when perihelion moves from alignment with nh spring equinox to the summer solstice a reference for deglaciations events observed during the last deglaciation at 17 ka 14 8 ka and 11 7 ka are reminiscent of events occurred during the penultimate deglaciation at ca 136 ka 132 ka and 129 ka respectively the sst trend during the pig is no more than 2 c from 20 c to 18 c up to 0 2 c ka the trend is steeper during the lig i e up to a 5 c change from the early interglaciation to immediately before the glacial inception from 23 c to 18 c up to 0 4 c ka events are superimposed upon a long term trend towards colder ssts beginning with sst maxima followed by temperate periods until perihelion aligned with the nh autumn equinox before ca 5 3 ka for the pig and 121 ka for the lig a cold spell of around eight centuries at 2 8 ka during the pig was possibly mimicked during the lig at ca 118 ka by a sst fall of around 1 c in a millennium these events led interglacial sst to stabilise at around 18 c the glacial inception barely evident at the beginning ca 115 ka north atlantic event c25 after perihelion passage in the nh winter solstice culminated with a sst drop of at least 2 c in two millennia event c24 ca 111 ka the little ice age 0 7 ka also occurred after the latest perihelion passage in the nh winter solstice and could be an example of how a glacial pre inception event following an interglaciation might be

rapid sea level fall and deep ocean temperature change since the last interglacial period we have dated huon peninsula papua new guinea and barbados corals that formed at times since the last interglacial period applying both 230 th and 231 pa dating techniques as a test of age accuracy we show that marine isotope stage mis 5e ended prior to 113 1 8 0 7 kyr when sea level was 319 m during mis 5b sea level was 357 m at 92 6 8 0 5 kyr having dropped about 40 m in approximately 10 kyr during the mis 5c 5b transition sea level then rose more than 40 m during the mis 5b 5a transition also in about 10 kyr mis 5a lasted until at least 76 2 8 0 4 kyr at a level of 324 m at that time combined with earlier data that places mis 4 sea level at 381 m at 70 8 kyr our late mis 5a data indicate that sea level fell almost 60 m in less than 6 kyr 10 6 m kyr during the mis 5 4 transition the magnitude of the drop is half that of the glacial interglacial amplitude and approximatelyequivalent to the volume of the present dayantarctic ice sheet during this interval the minimum average rate of net continental ice accumulation was 18 cm yr likely facilitated by efficient moisture transport from lower latitudes at three specific times 60 6 8 0 3 50 8 8 0 3 and 36 8 0 2 kyr during mis 3 sea level was between 385 and 374 m sea level then dropped to 3107 m at 23 7 8 0 1 kyr early in mis 2 before dropping further to last glacial maximum lgm values and then rising to present values during the last deglaciation times of rapid sea level drop correspond to times of high winter insolation at low northern latitudes and high winter latitudinal gradients in northern hemisphere insolation supporting the idea that these factors mayhave resulted in high water vapor pressure in moisture sources and efficient moisture transport to high latitude glaciers therebycontributing to glacial buildup we combined our sea level results with deep sea n 18 o records as a means of estimating the temperature and ice volume components in the marine n 18 o record this analysis confirms large deep ocean temperature shifts following mis 5e and during termination i deep ocean temperatures changed bymuch smaller amounts between mis 5c and 2 maximum temperature shift in the deep pacific is about 2 whereas the shift at a site in the atlantic is 4 under glacial conditions temperatures at both sites are near the freezing point the shift in the atlantic is likelycaused bya combination of changing proportions of northern and southern source waters as well as changing temperature at the sites where these deep waters form

seasonal variation of clogging of an artificial recharge basin in a northern climate abstract the decrease of infiltration rate and the depth cause and hydraulic effect of clogging were evaluated for a sandy artificial recharge test basin during the application of water containing between 51 and 61 mg l 1 suspended solids infiltration rate decreased by two orders of magnitude under fall operational conditions for a clean sand surface clogging was caused by clay deposition within the basin soil profile during early operation times 19 75 h followed by the complete interception of sediment in the surface filter cake during later operational times impedance decreased by two to three orders of magnitude in the surface 8 cm and by zero to two orders of magnitude from 8 to 38 cm increased clay content following basin operation was measured to a depth of 5 cm during the spring test sediment movement and deposition were similar to the fall test in addition carbonates and iron oxyhydroxides precipitated causing cementation of the surface soil grains the cementation caused increased hydraulic impedance and resulted in a decrease of total recharge carbonate precipitation was caused by increased basin water ph resulting from algal photosynthesis allowing the basin to dry and crack for ten days resulted in a substantial recovery 64 of infiltration rate following the drying treatment the basin reclogged more quickly than for the previous test on clean sands and the impedance of the surface layer reached values larger than those prior to the drying treatment the decrease of impedance caused by drying was confined to the surface layer and no effect was observed below 8 cm following the natural drying treatment total recharge was about half that of the clean basin

timing and warmth of the last interglacial period new u series evidence from hawaii and bermuda and a new fossil compilation for north america abstract the timing and duration of the last interglacial period have been controversial with some studies suggesting a relatively short duration that is orbitally forced and others suggesting a long duration that is at most only partly related to orbital forcing new high precison thermal ionization mass spectrometric tims u series ages of last interglacial corals from hawaii and bermuda test these competing hypotheses waimanalo formation corals from slowly uplifting oahu hawaii range in age from 134 to 113 ka with most ages between 125 and 115 ka combined with published u series ages from nearby lanai the data suggest a long last interglacial period that may have occurred from 136 to at least 115 ka the results indicate that orbital forcing may not have been the only control on ice sheet growth and decay because sea level would have been high at times of relatively low northern hemisphere summer insolation on tectonically stable bermuda deposits from the 200 ka penultimate interglacial period 120 ka peak last interglacial period and 80 ka late last interglacial period high sea stands have been newly dated fossil corals on bermuda are derived from patch reefs that likely were catch up responses to sea level rise it is expected that u series ages of last interglacial corals on bermuda should overlap with but not be as old as the range of corals on oahu last interglacial corals on bermuda give a range of 125 113 ka which supports this hypothesis a large number of emergent marine deposits on hawaii bermuda and along coastal north america have now been dated to the last interglacial period both oahu and bermuda have marine invertebrate faunas with a number of extralimital southern species of mollusks suggesting warmer than present waters during the last interglacial period warmer waters are also suggested for last interglacial localities around most of north america from florida to canada and greenland and baja california to alaska these observations are consistent with similar warm water faunas of last interglacial age reported from japan the mediterranean basin and western australia it is likely that significant changes in ocean currents took place during the last interglacial period with a movement of relatively warm waters to higher latitudes than is the case today

the maximum warmings of the pleistocene world climate recorded in the canary islands abstract evidence of the warmest pleistocene climatic changes is preserved in the eastern canary islands although the existence of raised fossiliferous marine deposits in northern gran canaria has been known since the 19th century their chronology and significance with regard to past sea levels and temperatures have remained uncertain here we show three marine transgressions recorded by raised marine deposits the highest 85 m above sea level masl and oldest marine deposit is interbedded in basaltic lava flows and has been dated using both palaeomagnetic and radiometric methods the age of these deposits located on the northwest coast of gran canaria near the town of agaete places the marine transgression in a first pleistocene interglacial into the plio pleistocene limit the marine deposit at an intermediate altitude 35 masl has been dated using the unspiked k ar method on a pillowed basaltic lava flow the age of these deposits in arucas places the transgression in the penultimate european mindel riss sense interglacial the deposits at 12 masl in las palmas are attributed to the last pleistocene interglacial on the basis of their fossil content which is similar to that of the matagorda deposits in lanzarote and matas blancas in fuerteventura radiometric dating of a lava flow overlying similar deposits at el cotillo in fuerteventura has been carried out the molluscan fauna associated with the deposits permits an estimation of the sea temperatures by reference to their present biogeographical distributions the plio pleistocene boundary coincides at agaete end of olduvai event with a high sea level between 1 8 and 1 75 ma oxygen isotopic stage ois 63 the dated marine deposits at arucas 0 42 ma place an interglacial in ois 11 3 and finally we confirm that in the canaries with only one high sea level with a senegalese fauna ois 5 5 they are not an outpost for the mediterranean tyrrhenian deposits with strombus oscillations

geomorphological characteristics and slope processes associated with different basins mallorca western mediterranean abstract we compare the different geomorphological processes which occurred in pliocene quaternary times on two very similar slopes in mallorca one located at the tramuntana range and the other in the llevant ranges both slopes have the same geological structure the same stratigraphic and lithological levels and the same altitude and orientation the different slope processes are due to the relationship between the accommodation space and the sedimentation rate in the adjacent basins in the valencia trough located n of the tramuntana range the sedimentation rate has not been sufficient to fill the accommodation space whereas in the alcudia basin adjacent to the llevant ranges the sedimentation rate has been sufficient to fill the accommodation space this difference has resulted in major landslides on the tramuntana slope whereas the llevant slope is characterized mainly by alluvial fans and debris screes

last interglacial coastal environments in the mediterranean saharan transition zone abstract the coast of tunisia stretches from the western mediterranean climate belt in the north to the saharan desert climate belt in the south the sediments of this coastal strip provide a record of sea level change if an accurate chronology of the coastal deposits is available we have here surveyed and analysed coastal sites and established a chronology based on optical dating techniques the optical ages range from 156 ka to 62 ka 2 level and cluster around the last interglacial period 125 75 ka our study shows that sea level rose after termination ii for about 25 ka leading to a transgressive deposit at 120 ka a disconformity shown by some deposits suggests a brief drop of sea level during this transgressional phase subsequently for around 40 ka the coastal area became covered by soils colluvia and aeolian sediments indicating a slowly falling sea level while the composition of sediments at the north coast did not change the deposits at the central and south coast experienced a drastic change from a quartz to a carbonate dominated sedimentation sometime during the last interglacial littoral sedimentation ceased at 70 ka when the coast became sediment starved in the course of the falling sea level

decoding last interglacial sea level variations in the western mediterranean using speleothem encrustations from coastal caves in mallorca and sardinia a field data model comparison u th ages of phreatic overgrowths on speleothems in coastal caves of the western mediterranean record high sea level positions during marine isotope stage mis 5e of the last interglacial while relative sea level rsl on the southeastern coast of mallorca stood 2 6 m above present sea level apsl during mis 5e it stood 4 3 m apsl at this time in northwestern sardinia the difference between the two sites during mis 5e and the deviation from the eustatic sea level trend during the holocene was investigated using the numerical code selen the offset between the eustatic curve and those pertaining to the two sites principally reflect the vertical deformations and geoidal variations in response to meltwater loading as sardinia is closer to the center of the mediterranean basin the hydro isostatic component of rsl is enhanced here compared to mallorca which results in a modeled offset of 60 cm between the two sites this result is qualitatively useful as it provides a partial reconciliation for the site differences however the need for refinement in the model is also recognized as it does not match the observation based on u th dating of speleothem overgrowths in mallorca that sea level there has remained stable for the past 2800 years overall the results of the study first suggest that both sites largely track the eustatic sea level curve and second suggest that glacial isostatic adjustment is a viable mechanism to reconcile some if not most of the relatively small elevation difference of mis 5e sea level observed at mallorca and sardinia although minor tectonic adjustments cannot be ruled out in explaining some low amplitude local variations

age dating and the orbital theory of the ice ages development of a high resolution 0 to 300 000 year chronostratigraphy using the concept of orbital tuning a continuous high resolution deep sea chronostratigraphy has been developed spanning the last 300 000 yr the chronology is developed using a stacked oxygen isotope stratigraphy and four different orbital tuning approaches each of which is based upon a different assumption concerning the response of the orbital signal recorded in the data each approach yields a separate chronology the error measured by the standard deviation about the average of these four results which represents the best chronology has an average magnitude of only 2500 yr this small value indicates that the chronology produced is insensitive to the specific orbital tuning technique used excellent convergence between chronologies developed using each of five different paleoclimatological indicators from a single core is also obtained the resultant chronology is also insensitive to the specific indicator used the error associated with each tuning approach is estimated independently and propagated through to the average result the resulting error estimate is independent of that associated with the degree of convergence and has an average magnitude of 3500 yr in excellent agreement with the 2500 yr estimate transfer of the final chronology to the stacked record leads to an estimated error of 1500 yr thus the final chronology has an average error of 5000 yr