variations in mode of formation and temperature of oceanic deep waters over the past 125 000 years marked changes in the deep water temperature of the different oceanic basins during the past 125 kyr are revealed by a detailed comparison of the oxygen isotopic composition ofbenthicforaminiferafrom sediment cores taken from the norwegian sea and the pacific atlantic and southern oceans the last interglacial deep water temperatures were similar to the modern ones at the 5e 5d transition around 115 kyr bp the deep water temperatures dropped below approximately 0 c in the pacific and southern indian oceans in the atlantic ocean the deep water temperature dropped in 2 successive steps at 115 and 75ky bp the global ocean deep water temperatures were in the 0 to 1 c range for the whole of the last ice age isotope stages 4 2

eolian dune interdune sand sheet and siliciclastic sabkha sediments of an offshore prograding sand sea dhahran area saudi arabia an offshore prograding sand sea exists along portions of the arabian gulf coastline near dhahran saudi arabia in this region sediments of eolian dune interdune sand sheet and siliciclastic sabkha intercalate with marine deposits this depositional setting is characterized by strong offshore winds which supply abundant sand to the coastline and cause at present time the outbuilding of the dune system this quartz detrital dominant setting contrasts markedly with the carbonate dominant setting resulting from onshore winds in the trucial coast area to the south the broad intercalation of eolian and marine deposits which results creates ideal potential for subregional stratigraphic petroleum traps due to pinch out of porous and permeable dune sands into impermeable m rine mudstones within the eolian system itself are potential reservoir rocks dunes sources organic rich sabkha and interdune deposits and seals zones of early cementation in all deposits early cementation is very common in all facies of the eolian sand sea the early cementation occurs owing to 1 soil formation 2 deposition of pore filling gypsiferous cements from saturated solutions near water table and 3 addition of sand size windblown evaporitic material to sands downwind of sabkhas

following the last neanderthals mammal tracks in late pleistocene coastal dunes of gibraltar s iberian peninsula abstract the aeolian pleistocene deposits recorded in the rock of gibraltar s iberian peninsula present a significant sedimentary thickness that fills the wide sea caves and covers its steep slopes in catalan bay these deposits register the development of cliff foot and rampant dunes that form a 35 sand ramp 1 km long and up to 300 m in height formed by moderately to well sorted sands slightly carbonated and weakly cemented this morphosedimentary evidence is associated with mis 5 2 sea level fluctuations its internal structure shows lamination sets of 2 3 m in thickness and planar and trough cross bedding in these beds five morphotypes of mammalian footprints have been recognized in vertical cross sections and convex hyporeliefs most of them present a moderate degree of conservation due to the poor cementation of the sands these icnites are related to the activity of terrestrial mammals possibly belonging to homininae proboscidea artiodactila and carnivora the affinity between the footprints and their tracemakers has been established in the basis of their physical parameters the shape of the footprints their comparison with similar footprints and the correlation with the fossil fauna of vertebrates described for the late pleistocene in gibraltar these findings represent the first palaeoichnological record in the aeolian sediments of gibraltar and indirectly corroborate the occupation of the coastal dune landscape by several terrestrial mammals during the late pleistocene in addition they help reconstructing the animal behaviour and interaction with the extensive dune systems that developed at the foot of the rock slopes the age of the tracks has been established within the mis 2 during the probable middle upper palaeolithic transition in the climate refuge of gibraltar

the cause of carbon isotope minimum events on glacial terminations the occurrence of carbon isotope minima at the beginning of glacial terminations is a common feature of planktic foraminifera carbon isotopic records from the indo pacific sub antarctic and south atlantic we use the 13 c record of a thermocline dwelling foraminifera neogloboquadrina dutertrei and surface temperature estimates from the eastern equatorial pacific to demonstrate that the onset of 13 c minimum events and the initiation of southern ocean warming occurred simultaneously timing agreement between the marine record and the 13 c minimum in an antarctic atmospheric record suggests that the deglacial events were a response to the breakdown of surface water stratification renewed circumpolar deep water upwelling and advection of low 13 c waters to the convergence zone at the sub antarctic front on the basis of age agreement between the absolute 13 c minimum in surface records and the shift from low to high 13 c in the deep south atlantic we suggest that the 13 c rise that marks the end of the carbon isotope minima was due to the resumption of north atlantic deep water influence in the southern ocean

stratigraphic context of old crow tephra holitna lowland interior southwest alaska abstract a thick deposit of old crow tephra was discovered in a bluff exposure along the middle holitna river near the kulukbuk hills 61 20 n latitude 157 10 w longitude in interior southwest alaska this locality is the southwesternmost known deposit of old crow tephra in alaska thickness and grain size data from this site support a source volcano in the eastern aleutian arc pleistocene stratigraphic sequences in the lowland are dominated by upward fining eolian sand sheet deposits and loess separated by organic silt these deposits record at least two episodes of regional glaciation and an intervening nonglacial period marine oxygen isotope stage 3 stage 5 or both old crow tephra crops out near the top of the lower upward fining eolian unit indicating that the ash erupted near the end of an interval of periglacial eolian sedimentation the sequence of eolian deposits that contain old crow tephra probably accumulated during the latter part of marine oxygen isotope stage 6 whereas the overlying eolian sequence formed during the last glaciation stage 2 this stratigraphic position is consistent with other stratigraphic contexts for the tephra and with fission track and thermoluminescence ages of ca 140 000 10 000 yr b p

isogramma meek and worthen 1870 dictyonellida brachiopoda from the upper palaeozoic of east asia implications for biogeography and evolutionary trends abstract isogramma manchoukuoensis from the upper carboniferous of northeast china is redefined based on re examination of the type specimens isogramma specimens from the middle permian of northeastern japan are reassigned to i aff paotechowensis a new family schizopleuroniidae is proposed to include schizopleuronia but excludes megapleuronia which belongs to the megapleuroniidae liao 1983 the family isogrammidae is considered to be a transitional group in the eichwaldid isogrammid schizopleuronid evolutionary lineage within the dictyonellida a review of the global distribution of isogramma species reveals that the genus has a total of 56 species ranging from the mississippian early carboniferous to the lopingian late permian isogramma diversified rapidly after its origination in the middle visean and its species diversity remained high throughout the mississippian the genus possibly suffered a severe mid carboniferous boundary mass extinction with no early carboniferous species surviving this event bashkirian isogramma species show low diversity followed by a global recovery in the moscovian during the latest carboniferous isogramma became highly diversified again at the carboniferous permian c p transition isogramma underwent another dramatic diversity drop followed by several stepwise declines in diversity during the early middle permian the wuchiapingian i sinosa is the last isogramma species ukraine was the possible centre of origin for isogramma from ukraine isogramma spread over the moscow basin of russia central europe germany austria south europe spain and west europe england ireland and scotland and migrated to the north american midcontinent and south china during the late visean early carboniferous in europe isogramma migrated to spain and eastern europe serbia in the moscovian from there it then dispersed into central asia uzbekistan and kazakhstan in the kasimovian gzhelian in the palaeo tethys isogramma migrated from south china to northeast and northwest china in the moscovian spread over the north china block during the c p transition moved to russian siberia japan and the qiangtang terrane of the palaeo tethys during the early late permian in north america isogramma spread over the midcontinent during the late carboniferous and early middle permian and migrated to south america bolivia in latest carboniferous biogeographically isogramma was confined principally to the palaeo tropical and warm to temperate zones throughout the late palaeozoic with the possible exception of the artinskian as a questionable species of the genus also occurs in the transbaikal region of southeast russia

wuchiapingian early lopingian permian global brachiopod palaeobiogeography a quantitative approach abstract a global presence absence database of 212 wuchiapingian early lopingian permian brachiopod genera from 30 stations is analysed by cluster analysis nonmetric multidimensional scaling and minimum spanning tree to document the global palaeobiogeographical patterns five core groups are revealed by the quantitative analysis and interpreted as representing five marine biotic provinces they are the cathaysian tropical western tethyan tropical himalayan warm temperate austrazean cold temperate and greenland svalbard provinces cold temperate the cathaysian province is composed of many isolated or semi isolated islands situated in the palaeotethys whereas the other four provinces occurred mainly on the continental shelves of pangea the western tethyan province along the western coast of the palaeotethys the himalayan province on the northern margin of gondwanaland the austrazean province along the southeastern margin of gondwanaland and the greenland svalbard province on the northern margin of pangea in addition nonmetric multidimensional scaling helped to identify key biogeographic determinants latitude related thermal gradient appears to have accounted for most of the variance in the data geographic distance and ocean circulation may have also played a major but subordinate role in the delineation and or enhancement of some of the provinces comparison with early and middle permian global marine provincialism indicates that marine biotic provinces had significantly reduced during the lopingian late permian in the lead up to the end permian mass extinction

planktic foraminiferal sedimentation and the marine calcite budget 1 the vertical flux and sedimentation rate of planktic foraminiferal tests are quantified and a global planktic foraminiferal cac0 3 budget is presented test and calcite flux rates are calculated according to the distribution of species obtained from multinet and sediment trap samples modern planktic foraminiferal population dynamics are discussed as a prerequisite for the quantification of the calcite budget highlighting the importance of ecological autecological e g reproduction and biogeochemical conditions that determine the presence or absence of species to complete the open marine particulate caco 3 inventory the contribution of coccolithophores pteropods and calcareous dinophytes is discussed based on the studied regions the global planktic foraminiferal calcite flux rate at 100 m depth amounts to 1 3 3 2 gt yr 1 equivalent to 23 56 of the total open marine caco 3 flux the preservation of tests varies on a regional and temporal scale and is affected by local hydrography and dissolution during most of the year off peak periods many tests dissolve above 700 m water depth while settling through the water column with on average only 1 3 of the initially exported caco 3 reaching the deep seafloor pulsed flux events mass dumps of fast settling particles yield a major contribution of tests to the formation of deep sea sediments on average 25 of the initially produced planktic foraminiferal test cac0 3 settles on the seafloor the total planktic foraminiferal contribution of caco 3 to global surface sediments amounts to 0 36 0 88 gt yr 1 32 80 of the total deep marine calcite budget

impact of oceanic reorganizations on the ocean carbon cycle and atmospheric carbon dioxide content a zonally averaged circulation biogeochemical ocean model is used to explore how the distribution of po4 and 13c in the major basins and the atmospheric pco2 respond to rapid changes in the thermohaline circulation thc different evolutions of the atlantic thc are simulated by applying surface freshwater pulses typical for example of heinrich events and the last deglaciation in the model when the thc completely collapses po4 increases 0 5 mmol m 3 and 13c decreases 1 because of a longer residence time of waters at the surface these surface anomalies are propagated to the bottom north atlantic when the thc resumes when the thermohaline overturning is only partly reduced and at shallower depths changes in bottom waters are accompanied by a po4 decrease and 13c increase at intermediate levels in the mid latitude atlantic this results in enhanced vertical gradients of these properties consistent with chemical and isotopic reconstructions for the last glacial maximum finally the atmospheric pco2 increases during the cold period in the north atlantic when the thc is reduced with an amplitude 7 30 atm and timescale 10 to 1 2 10 yr depending on the intensity of the thc change this is qualitatively consistent with recent data from an antarctic ice core documenting a pco2 increase during the younger dryas and after heinrich events 4 and 5

simulation of atmospheric radiocarbon during abrupt oceanic circulation changes trying to reconcile models and reconstructions abstract an abrupt increase in the atmospheric 14 c content at the beginning of the younger dryas about 13 000 years ago has been related to a slow down of the global oceanic circulation this has been well simulated by box models but the amplitude and timing of such a 14 c change could not be represented with dynamical models we have forced a climate model of intermediate complexity with a meltwater discharge to test three model parameters that have the potential to strongly influence the simulated 14 c change and may help us to reconcile the model results with reconstructions we find that a decrease of the tropical wind speed accompanying a slow down of the oceanic circulation largely amplifies the circulation induced 14 c change and brings it closer to the reconstructions second we find that vertical mixing in a dynamical ocean model leads to a substantial damping in the 14 c response of simple models third we demonstrate that neglecting radiocarbon reservoir age variations during abrupt climate change may lead to a substantial overestimate of atmospheric 14 c fluctuations reconstructed from paleoceanographic archives

representation of the carbon cycle in box models and gcms 2 organic pump 1 box models of the ocean atmosphere co 2 system rely on mechanisms at polar outcrops to alter the strength of the ocean s organic carbon pump gcm based carbon system models are reportedly less sensitive to the same processes here we separate the carbon pumps in a three box model and the gcm based princeton ocean biogeochemistry model to show how the organic pumps operate in the two kinds of models the organic pumps are found to be quite different in two respects deep water in the three box model is relatively well equilibrated with respect to the pco 2 of the atmosphere while deep water in the gcm tends to be poorly equilibrated this makes the organic pump inherently stronger in the gcm than in the three box model the second difference has to do with the role of polar nutrient utilization the organic pump in the gcm is shown to have natural upper and lower limits that are set by the initial po 4 concentrations in the deep water formed in the north atlantic and southern ocean the strength of the organic pump can swing between these limits in response to changes in deep water formation that alter the mix of northern and southern deep water thus unlike the situation in the three box model the organic pump in the gcm can become weaker or stronger without changes in polar nutrient utilization

stratigraphy and palaeoclimatic significance of late quaternary loess palaeosol sequences of the last interglacial glacial cycle in central alaska abstract loess is one of the most widespread subaerial deposits in alaska and adjacent yukon territory and may have a history that goes back 3 ma based on mineralogy and major and trace element chemistry central alaskan loess has a composition that is distinctive from other loess bodies of the world although it is quartz dominated central alaskan loess was probably derived from a variety of rock types including granites metabasalts and schists detailed stratigraphic data and pedologic criteria indicate that contrary to early studies many palaeosols are present in central alaskan loess sections the buried soils indicate that loess sedimentation was episodic or at least rates of deposition decreased to the point where pedogenesis could keep ahead of aeolian input as in china loess deposition and pedogenesis are likely competing processes and neither stops completely during either phase of the loess soil formation cycle loess deposition in central alaska took place before and probably during the last interglacial period during stadials of the mid wisconsin period during the last glacial period and during the holocene an unexpected result of our geochronological studies is that only moderate loess deposition took place during the last glacial period our studies lead us to conclude that vegetation plays a key role in loess accumulation in alaska factors favouring loess production are enhanced during glacial periods but factors that favour loess accumulation are diminished during glacial periods the most important of these is vegetation boreal forest serves as an effective loess trap but sparsely distributed herb tundra does not thus thick accumulations of loess should not be expected where tundra vegetation was dominant and this is borne out by modern studies near the treeline in central alaska much of the stratigraphic diversity of north american loess including that found in the central lowlands the great plains and alaska is explained by a new model that emphasizes the relative importance of loess production factors versus loess accumulation factors

middle permian brachiopods from the tumenling formation in the wuchang area southern heilongjiang ne china and their palaeobiogeographical implications abstract this paper describes nine brachiopod species in eight genera from the tumenling formation in the wuchang area southern heilongjiang northeast china the tumenling fauna is constrained to a wordian capitanian guadalupian middle permian age based on the correlation of the faunas and previously published data from the same horizons in the same area this middle permian brachiopod fauna is characterized by an admixture of elements of boreal affinity kochiproductus sp yakovlevia sp stenoscisma margaritovi gypospirifer volatilis spiriferella keilhavii spiriferella lita and alispiriferella neimongolensis with palaeoequatorial forms spinomarginifera sp vediproductus sp and leptodus nobilis the wuchang fauna as a whole is comparable to several contemporaneous faunas described from inner mongolia in northern china jilin in northeast china south primorye in eastern russia and the hida gaien belt of japan in terms of its index elements and its boreal palaeoequatorial mixture during the middle permian these areas or blocks were referred to the inner mongolia japan transition zone or the northern transition zone between the palaeoequatorial and boreal realms the overwhelming majority of the boreal elements reveal that the wuchang area was probably situated in the northern subzone of this transitional zone which belongs to the southern margin of the bureya block these east and northeast asian blocks acted as migratory stepping stones bridging faunal migration between the palaeoequatorial and boreal realms during the middle permian

aeolian processes and features in cool climates this review concentrates on the characteristics of wind processes and products in cold lowland deserts its main aims are to show how difficult it can be to separate wind generated from water generated processes and features without detailed study of lamination types to suggest cold aeolian interpretations for some ancient pre quaternary rocks and to encourage students to revisit many ancient deposits with such interpretations in mind although upper quaternary and recent cold climate aeolian deposits have been studied for many years there are very few older examples described martian features are included since mars is now one of the most exciting areas of study

quantitative interpretation of atmospheric carbon records over the last glacial termination 1 the glacial interglacial rise in atmospheric pco2 is one of the best known changes in paleoclimate research yet the cause for it is still unknown forcing the coupled ocean atmosphere biosphere box model of the global carbon cycle bicycle with proxy data over the last glacial termination we are able to quantitatively reproduce transient variations in pco2 and its isotopic signatures 13c 14c observed in natural climate archives the sensitivity of the box model of the isotopic carbon cycle bicycle to high or low latitudinal changes is comparable to other multibox models or more complex ocean carbon cycle models respectively the processes considered here ranked by their contribution to the glacial interglacial rise in pco2 in decreasing order are the rise in southern ocean vertical mixing rates 30 ppmv decreases in alkalinity and carbon inventories 30 ppmv the reduction of the biological pump 20 ppmv the rise in ocean temperatures 15 20 ppmv the resumption of ocean circulation 15 20 ppmv and coral reef growth 5 ppmv the regrowth of the terrestrial biosphere sea level rise and the increase in gas exchange through reduced sea ice cover operate in the opposite direction decreasing pco2 during termination i by 30 ppmv according to our model the sequence of events during termination i might have been the following a reduction of aeolian iron fertilization in the southern ocean together with a breakdown in southern ocean stratification the latter caused by rapid sea ice retreat trigger the onset of the pco2 increase after these events the reduced north atlantic deep water nadw formation during the heinrich 1 event and the subsequent resumption of ocean circulation at the beginning of the bolling allerod warm interval are the main processes determining the atmospheric carbon records in the subsequent time period of termination i we further deduce that a complete shutdown of the nadw formation during the younger dryas was very unlikely changes in ocean temperature and the terrestrial carbon storage are the dominant processes explaining atmospheric 13c after the bolling allerod warm interval

paleo sea surface temperature calculations in the equatorial east atlantic from mg ca ratios in planktic foraminifera a comparison to sea surface temperature estimates from u37k oxygen isotopes and foraminiferal transfer function we present two 270 kyr paleo sea surface temperature sst records from the equatorial divergence and the south equatorial current derived from mg ca ratios in the planktic foraminifer globigerinoides sacculifer the present study suggests that the magnesium signature of g sacculifer provides a seasonal sst estimate from the upper 50 m of the water column generated during upwelling in austral low latitude fall winter common to both down core records is a glacial interglacial amplitude of 3 3 5 c for the last climatic changes and lower holocene and glacial oxygen isotope stage 2 temperatures compared with interglacial stage 5 5 and glacial stage 6 temperatures respectively the comparison to published sst estimates from alkenones oxygen isotopes and foraminiferal transfer function from the same core material pinpoints discrepancies and conformities between methods

late pleistocene mammoth trackway from fossil lake oregon abstract behavior of columbian mammoths mammuthus columbi is revealed by a newly discovered trackway at the pleistocene locality of fossil lake oregon our 8 by 20 m excavation of the mammoth trackway found 117 tracks including one 20 m long adult trail partial trackways of 3 additional adults a yearling and a baby all heading generally west the tracks are in the marble bluff biotite tuff 43 2 cal ka which forms a surface horizon to the pogani silty clay loam paleosol natrargid with a cracked surface and a columnar structured subsurface bn horizon like soils under desert soda pans with alkali shrubland directly below is the yada silty clay paleosol xeroll with crumb textured surface a horizon like grassland soils the pasiwa loam psamment is a thin brown siltstone with sparse roots and burrows of lake margin early successional vegetation the pui sandy loam aquent is well bedded tuff and sand a with subhorizontal calcareous rhizomes and adventitious roots like those of lake margin tule reeds schoenoplectus acutus columbian mammoths may have moved like modern elephants with infants in matriarchal groups through landscapes of sagebrush and grassland and this trackway includes a limping female attended by concerned juveniles grassland paleosols common in the fossil lake formation are now rare in the same region perhaps related to extinction of proboscidean and equine grazers

sedimentology of cold climate aeolian sandsheet deposits in the askja region of northeast iceland active aeolian sandsheets cover an area of 270 km2 in the askja region of ne iceland the sandsheet is divided into i a deflationary upwind part that is characterised by deflation lags ventifacted boulder fields and restricted aeolian sand patches in the lee of obstacles ii an accumulating central part that is characterised by continuous aeolian sand cover up to 10 m thick where three scales of aeolian ripples are evident along with larger scale forms including longitudinal zibars and iii a downwind part that is currently subject to aeolian bypass with only localised accumulation occurring in topographic hollows between basaltic lava fields trains of aeolian granule megaripples are a characteristic landform of the downwind part of the sandsheet these sinuous crested oblique bedforms attain heights of 0 35 m and downwind spacings of 6 m they are composed principally of low density pebble grade pumice clasts and other reworked volcaniclastic detritus derived from the nearby askja volcanic centre the distribution of landforms across the sandsheet reflects a regional aeolian sediment budget that is controlled by dynamic interactions between glacial ice margin fluvial aeolian and volcaniclastic processes under the influence of a distinctive climatic regime sediment supply at the upwind sandsheet margin adjacent to the dyngjujokull glacier increases during summer periods when rates of glacial ablation are at a maximum longer term controls on sediment supply rate are determined by episodes of glacier surging and retreat and by periodic eruptions of volcaniclastic debris from the askja volcanic centre the availability of sediment for aeolian transport is controlled by the level of the groundwater table the depth and continuity of the permafrost layer in the proglacial area the degree of development of armoured pebble lags and freezing of the sandsheet surface during winter months the transport capacity of the wind varies on a seasonal basis with mean wind velocities and wind gustiness reaching a maximum during winter periods both winter and summer mean wind velocities have been steadily increasing since formal records began in 1969 the suite of aeolian landforms developed within the askja region as defined by sediment texture and composition and bedform scale morphology and spatial distribution reflects a special set of controlling circumstances which mean that the askja sandsheet deposits differ significantly from those described from elsewhere

dynamics of fossil fuel co2 neutralization by marine caco3 a detailed model of the ocean circulation and carbon cycle was coupled to a mechanistic model of caco3 diagenesis in deep sea sediments to simulate the millennium scale response of the oceans to future fossil fuel co2 emissions to the atmosphere and deep sea simulations of deep sea injection of co2 show that caco3 dissolution is sensitive to passage of high co2 waters through the atlantic ocean but caco3 dissolution has a negligible impact on atmospheric pco2 or the atmospheric stabilization co2 emission in the coming centuries the ultimate fate of the fossil fuel co2 will be to react with caco3 on the seafloor and on land an initial caco3 dissolution spike reverses the net sedimentation rate in the ocean until it is attenuated by an enhanced vertical gradient of alkalinity after about 1000 years the magnitude of the initial spike is sensitive to assumptions about the kinetics for caco3 dissolution but subsequent behavior appears to be less model dependent neutralization by seafloor caco3 occurs on a timescale of 5 6 kyr and is limited to at most 60 70 of the fossil fuel release even if the fossil fuel release is smaller than the seafloor erodible inventory of caco3 additional neutralization by terrestrial caco3 restores a balance between caco3 weathering and seafloor accumulation on a timescale of 8 5 kyr while the deficit of seafloor caco3 the lysocline is replenished with an e folding timescale of approximately 18 kyr the final equilibrium with caco3 leaves 7 8 of the fossil fuel co2 remaining in the atmosphere to be neutralized by the silicate rock cycle on a time frame of hundreds of thousands of years

glacial interglacial co2 change the iron hypothesis several explanations for the 200 to 280 ppm glacial interglacial change in atmospheric co2 concentrations deal with variations in southern ocean phytoplankton productivity and the related use or nonuse of major plant nutrients an hypothesis is presented herein in which arguments are made that new productivity in today s southern ocean 7 4 1013g yr 1 is limited by iron deficiency and hence the phytoplankton are unable to take advantage of the excess surface nitrate phosphate that if used could result in total southern ocean new production of 2 3 1015 g c yr 1 as a consequence of fe limited new productivity holocene interglacial co2 levels preindustrial are as high as they were during the last interglacial 280 ppm in contrast atmospheric dust fe supplies were 50 times higher during the last glacial maximum lgm because of this fe enrichment phytoplankton growth may have been greatly enhanced larger amounts of upwelled nutrients may have been used and the resulting stimulation of new productivity may have contributed to the lgm drawdown of atmospheric co2 to levels of less than 200 ppm background information and arguments in support of this hypothesis are presented

geomagnetic field intensity north atlantic deep water circulation and atmospheric δ14c during the last 50 kyr we present simulated records of past changes in the atmospheric 14c for the last 50 kyr due to changes in geomagnetic field intensity and in the strength of the north atlantic deep water nadw a new geomagnetic record was used largely based on the napis 75 record laj et al phil trans r soc london a 358 2000 1009 1025 which has been extended for the 0 20 kyr interval using archeomagnetic and volcanic data past changes of the nadw were derived from a mineral magnetic study of the cores used in the construction of napis 75 two box models of different complexity 4 and 17 boxes were used to simulate the carbon cycle calculated records of 14c are consistent with experimental determinations for the last 24 kyr for older ages the records calculated with variable oceanic circulation conditions reach values as high as 600 with an average of 500 between 20 and 40 kyr with maxima around 21 30 and 38 kyr gisp2 age model while low values are observed prior to 42 kyr although large inconsistencies in experimental data preclude precise comparison the average record simulated with the 17 box model is overall consistent with the icelandic sea record voelker et al radiocarbon 40 1998 517 534 42 2000 437 452 except for the extremely high peak observed in this record at 40 5 kyr on the other hand the results recently reported from a stalagmite recovered from a submerged cave in the bahamas beck et al science 292 2001 2453 2458 are inconsistent with all our model simulations in the 20 45 kyr interval the improved geomagnetic record combined with the new nadw profile allows us to give a modeled evaluation of the relative contribution of these factors to changes in atmospheric 14c the average simulation provides a first order modeled correction for conventional radiocarbon ages older than 25 kyr for which no calibration curve is available as yet

on the late pleistocene ocean geochemistry and circulation a box model of the atmosphere and ocean was developed to investigate how geochemical distributions extant during the late pleistocene may have come about the model simulates the regional distribution of calcium carbonate dissolution as well as the chemical oceanography and atmospheric co2 13c and radiocarbon if the downward biological flux of particulate carbon increases by a factor of 2 to 3 in the antarctic and if this increase is combined with a relative increase of the atlantic sector antarctic bottom water aabw versus north atlantic deep water nadw source ratio from 1 3 to about 2 1 then the model predicts several changes that seem to be recorded in the sedimentary record as follows 1 a global redistribution of nutrients and 12c from the intermediate to deep water takes place with the atlantic intermediate water phosphate decreasing 0 6 mole kg 1 and the 13c increasing 0 3 to 0 5 2 the dissolved oxygen level of the deep sea is reduced from an average of about 180 to 70 mole kg 1 but the intermediate water oxygen declines only a small amount 3 the decrease in intermediate water nutrient concentration results in lower average organic carbon and calcium carbonate production in the warm surface ocean 4 the atmospheric co2 decreases by 90 to 110 ppm 5 initially a global increase in calcium carbonate dissolution occurs which is followed by a relaxation toward better preservation than exists for the present ocean in the model in this paper the reduction of nadw by itself does not produce these effects rather the nutrient decrease that does occur is found mostly in north pacific intermediate water and the model atmospheric co2 decrease is only 10 to 30 ppm it is observed that 92 of the atmospheric co2 change takes place according to a 200 year time constant in the model this corresponds to the response time of the upper ocean and atmosphere to a change in the stationary state atmospheric pco2 thus according to this model the time lag between the nutrient based cause and the atmospheric co2 response is not expected to be particularly large

integrated ichnofacies models for deserts recurrent patterns and megatrends abstract although it is commonly assumed that the trace fossil record of eolian dunes and associated environments is invariably poor a systematic review of the available information indicates that this is not necessarily the case a model involving five main phases of colonization of desert environments through the phanerozoic is proposed in this paper the first phase cambrian silurian involved animal incursions into coastal dune fields directly from the sea although it is unlikely that these animals would have remained for long periods of time in coastal deserts the second phase devonian reflects the activities of dune pioneers that left their fluvial habitat to enter temporary or permanently into inland deserts the third phase carboniferous permian involved the colonization of deserts by tetrapods the fourth phase triassic cretaceous involved a major exploitation of the infaunal ecospace as reflected by the appearance of more varied behavioral patterns in sub superficial structures the fifth phase paleogene recent reflects the appearance of the ecological dynamic that characterizes modern desert communities the invertebrate ichnofacies for eolian dunes is re named herein as the octopodichnus entradichnus ichnofacies honoring the seminal work of previous workers who simultaneously tackled the issue of eolian dune ichnofacies the chelichnus ichnofacies is retained for vertebrate trace fossil assemblages in eolian settings both ichnofacies occur in mobile and temporary stabilized sandy substrates subject to frequent erosion and deposition and to strong seasonality desert settings consist of complex mosaics of habitats or physical units associated with organism activity trace fossil distribution can be understood as reflecting the partitioning of desert settings in a mosaic of landscape units characterized by water content and its temporal fluctuations nutrient availability nature of the substrate and the dominant organisms present in turn desert systems are dynamic entities that change as a response to regional climate landscape units such as eolian sand seas salt flat and playa lake systems ephemeral rivers and alluvial fans interact in response to regional scale climate variations in hyper arid arid and semiarid climatic settings ancient deserts completely developed under hyper arid climatic conditions rarely preserve trace fossils due to the absence of moisture near the surface however the alternation of wet periods may represent windows for life development and thus preservation of biogenic structures arid deserts display complex patterns of dunes combined with dry wet and flooded interdunes dry desert elements e g dunes interdunes sand sheets typically record the entradichnus octopodichnus and chelichnus ichnofacies slight rises in regional precipitation produce elevation of the water table and increase of fluvial discharges that provide water and sediment to the system these processes may result in the local concentration of trace fossils in wet interdunes and ephemeral fluvial systems illustrating the scoyenia and chelichnus ichnofacies in semiarid systems playa lakes expand by the addition of freshwater evolving into freshwater lakes and fluvial systems may become more common lake margins and fluvial overbanks typically contain trace fossil assemblages that may be ascribed to the scoyenia ichnofacies

ventilation of the north atlantic ocean during the last glacial maximum a comparison between simulated and observed radiocarbon ages the distribution of radiocarbon during simulations of the last glacial maximum with a coupled ocean atmosphere sea ice model is compared with sediment core measurements from the equatorial atlantic ceara rise blake ridge caribbean sea and south china sea during these simulations we introduce a perturbation of north atlantic freshwater fluxes leading to varying strengths of the atlantic meridional overturning the best fit with the observations is obtained for an overturning weakened by 40 compared with today further we simulate the phenomenon of an age reversal found in deep sea corals but we suggest that this indicates rather a sudden interruption of deep water formation instead of an increase in ventilation which was suggested earlier

distribution and characteristics of mixed transitional mid permian late artinskian ufimian marine faunas in asia and their palaeogeographical implications abstract the permian marine biogeography of the asian region is characterised by the development of three broad realms boreal tethyan and gondwanan in the early early permian asselian to early artinskian there seems to have existed sharp biogeographical boundaries with no transitional zones between the realms presumably due to the effect of gondwanan glaciation and sharp climatic zonation the mid permian late artinskian to ufimian of the asian region is distinguished by the rise of two broad transitional zones in which mixed marine faunas flourished the northern transitional zone north and northeast china sikhote alin central and northeast japan is characterised by an admixture of both warm water cathaysian and cold temperate boreal genera the southern transitional zone arabian peninsula iran afghanistan the karakorum southeast and central pamir salt range central and northwest tibet shan thai terrane timor and western irian jaya on the other hand is distinguished by incorporating faunal elements of both gondwanan and cathaysian origin the mixed faunas of both transitional zones share several antitropically distributed genera e g monodiexodina lytvolasma and spiriferella and are succeeded by palaeotropical tethyan faunas of late permian age it has been postulated that the mixed mid permian fauna of the northern transitional zone was probably formed in an epicontinental sea which was connected to both the asian tethys and the arctic which facilitated the migration of cathaysian and boreal forms into the epicontinental sea and subsequent faunal mixing the formation of the mixed faunas of the southern transitional zone on the other hand is probably related to the breaking off of the cimmerian blocks from northern gondwana and subsequent drifting into a lower latitudinal zone with geographical proximity to both gondwana and cathaysia during the mid permian

silicic acid leakage from the southern ocean a possible explanation for glacial atmospheric pco2 1 using a simple box model we investigate the effects of a reduced si n uptake ratio by antarctic phytoplankton on the marine silica cycle and atmospheric pco2 recent incubation experiments demonstrate such a phenomenon in diatoms when iron is added hutchins and bruland 1998 takeda 1998 franck et al 2000 the southern ocean may have supported diatoms with reduced si n uptake ratios compared to today during the dustier glacial times petit et al 1999 a similar reduction in the uptake ratio may be realized with an increased production of nondiatom phytoplankton such as phaeocystis our model shows that reduced si n export ratios in the southern ocean create excess silicic acid which may then be leaked out to lower latitudes any significant consumption of the excess silicic acid by diatoms that leads to an enhancement in their growth at the expense of coccolithophorids diminishes caco3 production and therefore diminishes the carbonate pump in our box model the combination of a reduced carbonate pump and an open system carbonate compensation draw down steady state atmospheric co2 from the interglacial 277 to 230 242 ppm depending on where the excess silicic acid is consumed by comparison the atmospheric pco2 sensitivity of general circulation models to carbonate pump forcing is 3 5 fold greater which combined with carbonate compensation can account for peak glacial atmospheric pco2 we discuss the importance of the initial rain ratio of caco3 to organic carbon on atmospheric pco2 and relevant sedimentary records that support and constrain this silicic acid leakage scenario

permian gondwana boreal antitropicality with special reference to brachiopod faunas in a reconstructed global permian marine biogeographic framework antitropicality is defined as a biogeographic phenomenon whereby a taxon occurs only in the boreal and gondwanan realms and is lacking completely or nearly so in the intervening palaeoequatorial realm we recognise three types of antitropical distributions bipolar high latitude generally 50 latitude in each hemisphere bitemperate approximately between 30 and 50 latitudes in each hemisphere and a combination of both evidence of permian antitropicality has been reported from almost all major marine invertebrate groups both pelagic or benthic forms and is best known at the generic level although an increasing number of antitropical species have also been recognised antitropicality appears to have occurred throughout most of the permian but its strength varied from stage to stage judging by the number of brachiopod genera shared between the two hemispheres the phenomenon manifests itself most strongly from the sakmarian to the kazanian wordian suggesting a prolonged interval of enhanced biotic interchanges between the gondwanan and boreal realms possible migration pathways and mechanisms are reviewed and discussed among a number of existing scenarios invoked to explain the origin of both modern and geological antitropicality we here present data particularly supporting 1 a south to north stepping stone migratory mechanism via island terranes scattered in the eastern palaeotethys 2 a vicariance model exemplified by the spatio temporal distribution of tomiopsis and 3 a shelf north to south migration along the western coast of the palaeotethys as suggested by sowerbina in addition we also consider dispersal along the western coast of pangea facilitated at times by upwelling systems as an additional migration pathway for intercontinental biotic exchanges during the permian although corroborating data are required at present

reappraisal of antarctic seasonal sea ice at the last glacial maximum we used modern analog technique applied to antarctic diatoms to quantitatively reconstruct seasonal sea ice extent at the last glacial maximum winter maximum sea ice limit occurred around 48 s in the atlantic and western indian sectors around 55 s in the eastern indian and western pacific sectors and around 58 60 s in the eastern pacific sector of the southern ocean summer maximum sea ice extents during the last ice age and today are similar which contradicts climap s findings this implies a reduced summer albedo feedback of the southern hemisphere and a greater transfer of heat and moisture from the ocean to the atmosphere than shown by previous qualitative studies

neogene avian and mammalian tracks from death valley national monument california their context classification and preservation abstract the copper canyon formation consists of over 3000 m of basalt and alluvial fan and lacustrine strata deposited in a small neogene basin lacustrine strata are of two typs fine grained dolomitic carbonates deposited in a playa lake environment and calcitic bioclastic carbonates deposited in a freshwater lake environment bedding surfaces of the playa lake carbonates deposited in shoreline environments commonly contain avian and mammalian footprints tracks of artiodactyls are most abundant those of birds horses carnivores and proboscideans are less common using the binomial avian and mammalian footprint classification scheme of vialov 1966 four different mammalian ichnogenera containing thirteeen ichnospecies as well as six ichnospecies of avian tracks are recognized environmental factors of the ancient copper canyon playa lake which contributed to good footprint preservation included 1 periods of flooding and intense evaporation which resulted in receding shorelines that presented wet fine grained sediment surfaces for impression and subsequent subaerial exposure and 2 periodically high sedimentation rates which insured quick burial of the tracks while vertebrate footprints also occur in sandstones and conglomerates deposited in alluvial fan environments the morphological distinctness of tracks is best preserved in fine grained dolomitic carbonate and siltstone strata deposited in the playa lake environment distinctness of preserved tracks also increases with apparent decrease within a certain range of sediment water content at the time of impression an examination of preserved morphologies has allowed several sediment water content states important to footprint preservation to be deduced changes in sediment water content at the time of impression acted to produce a wide range of track morphologies for each individual trackmaker an examination of track abundance and occurrence within the formation suggests increasing visitation by larger vertebrates to the playa lake as lake water freshened the rare ocurrence of tracks of small mammals and low amount of vertebrate bioturbation within the playa deposits also suggests that the ancient copper canyon playa lake lacked a resident vertebrate population of its own probably receiving only migrating visitors seeking food and water the footprints in the copper canyon formation reflect part of the wide diversity of vertebrates present in southern california during the hemphillian

past extent of sea ice in the northern north atlantic inferred from foraminiferal paleotemperature estimates 1 using 150 core top samples we developed a conservative but fairly robust new measure to reconstruct past changes in maximum seasonal sea ice distribution in the northern north atlantic hitherto a major unknown the proxy is based on similarity maximum modern analog technique simmax estimates of threshold temperatures near the sea surface sst today almost 100 of all sites with sst 2 5 c during summer 0 4 for winters 1978 1987 and 0 75 c for little ice age winters lie seaward of the sea ice margin when applied to 60 sediment records of the last glacial maximum this proxy shows that peak glacial sea ice was far more restricted than in the classic climap project members 1981 reconstruction during glacial summer sea ice only covered the arctic ocean and western fram strait the northern north atlantic and nordic seas were largely ice free and thus formed a high latitude moisture source for the continued buildup of continental ice sheets in contrast sea ice spread far south across the iceland faeroe ridge during glacial winter with an inferred patch of sea ice also in the central east atlantic near the center of the azores high a broad ice free channel extended from 50 to 60 n forming an ideal site for large scale convection of glacial upper north atlantic deep water the extreme seasonality in glacial sea ice formation and melt in the nordic seas implies a major consumption of the regional energy income

glacial water mass geometry and the distribution of δ13c of σco2 in the western atlantic ocean 1 oxygen and carbon isotopic data were produced on the benthic foraminiferal taxa cibicidoides and planulina from 25 new piston cores gravity cores and multicores from the brazil margin the cores span water depths from about 400 to 3000 m and intersect the major water masses in this region these new data fill a critical gap in the south atlantic ocean and provide the motivation for updating the classic glacial western atlantic 13c transect of duplessy et al 1988 the distribution of 13c of co2 requires the presence of three distinct water masses in the glacial atlantic ocean a shallow 1000 m southern source water mass with an end member 13c value of about 0 3 0 5 vpdb a middepth 1500 m northern source water mass with an end member value of about 1 5 and a deep 2000 m southern source water with an end member value of less than 0 2 and perhaps as low as the 0 9 values observed in the south atlantic sector of the southern ocean ninnemann and charles 2002 the origins of the water masses are supported by the meridional gradients in benthic foraminiferal 18o a revised glacial section of deep water 13c documents the positions and gradients among these end member intermediate and deep water masses the large property gradients in the presence of strong vertical mixing can only be maintained by a vigorous overturning circulation

southern ocean origin for the resumption of atlantic thermohaline circulation during deglaciation during the two most recent deglaciations the southern hemisphere warmed before greenland at the same time the northern atlantic ocean was exposed to meltwater discharge which is generally assumed to reduce the formation of north atlantic deep water yet during deglaciation the atlantic thermohaline circulation became more vigorous in the transition from a weak glacial to a strong interglacial mode here we use a three dimensional ocean circulation model to investigate the impact of southern ocean warming and the associated sea ice retreat on the atlantic thermohaline circulation we find that a gradual warming in the southern ocean during deglaciation induces an abrupt resumption of the interglacial mode of the thermohaline circulation triggered by increased mass transport into the atlantic ocean via the warm indian ocean and cold pacific ocean water route this effect prevails over the influence of meltwater discharge which would oppose a strengthening of the thermohaline circulation a southern ocean trigger for the transition into an interglacial mode of circulation provides a consistent picture of southern and northern hemispheric climate change at times of deglaciation in agreement with the available proxy records

dust and sea salt variability in central east antarctica dome c over the last 45 kyrs and its implications for southern high latitude climate a detailed record of non sea salt calcium a proxy for dust and sea salt sodium a proxy for sea salt covering the last 45 kyr is presented it shows that in the first part of the transition from the last glacial period to the holocene 18 15 kyr bp the changes in dust flux mainly reflect changes at the dust source namely vegetation cover and local climate the changes in the later part of the transition 12 11 kyr bp are similar in extent to the changes seen in sea salt and most likely reflect a reorganization of the atmospheric circulation during the last glacial period considerable variation of dust but not of sea salt is observed pointing to climatic changes in patagonia the main dust source for dome c a comparison of the glacial records from dome c and taylor dome suggests that similar influences controlled aerosol input at both sites during this period

the rosa keystone dunes field the geoarchaeology and paleoecology of a late quaternary stabilized dune field in eastern beringia stabilized sand sheets and dunes hold a remarkable amount of information on paleoenvironmental conditions under which late quaternary landscapes evolved in northern subarctic regions we provide the results of a project focused on understanding the development of lowland environments and ecosystems including dunes and sand sheets which were critical habitat for early human occupations in subarctic regions our study area is the rosa keystone dunes field in the shaw creek flats of the middle tanana river basin interior alaska one of the oldest continuously occupied areas in north america 14 000 cal bp to present the disturbance regimes of reactivated dunes and associated forest fire cycles between 12 500 and 8800 cal bp fostered a unique early to mid successional mixed vegetation community including herbaceous tundra shrubs and deciduous trees this environment provided key habitats for large grazers and browsers significant resources for early hunter gatherer populations in central alaska aft

a new estimate of the caco3 to organic carbon export ratio 1 we use an ocean biogeochemical transport box model of the top 100 m of the water column to estimate the caco3 to organic carbon export ratio from observations of the vertical gradients of potential alkalinity and nitrate we find a global average molar export ratio of 0 06 0 03 this is substantially smaller than earlier estimates of 0 25 on which a majority of ocean biogeochemical models had based their parameterization of caco3 production contrary to the pattern of coccolithophore blooms determined from satellite observations which show high latitude predominance we find maximum export ratios in the equatorial region and generally smaller ratios in the subtropical and subpolar gyres our results suggest a dominant contribution to global calcification by low latitude nonbloom forming coccolithophores or other organisms such as foraminifera and pteropods

late pleistocene eolian sand sheets in alaska abstract nonglaciated lowlands in central and southwestern alaska contain extensive deposits of upper quaternary eolian sand derived largely from major outwash rivers although surface dunes are common deep exposures consistently reveal that subhorizontally stratified sand and silt deposits dominate over dune cross strata we hypothesize that 1 many of the subhorizontally stratified deposits represent full glacial eolian sand sheets formed when sand supply was limited by seasonally variable combinations of ice cementation snow cover high groundwater tables and vegetation and 2 many surface dunes reflect late glacial and postglacial reworking under conditions of increased short term availability of loose sand the morphology of some surface dunes may therefore reflect mainly the intensity of reworking since the last glacial maximum rather than full glacial paleowind vectors or the age of the bulk of the underlying deposits

a diverse pleistocene marsupial trackway assemblage from the victorian volcanic plains australia abstract a diverse assemblage of late pleistocene marsupial trackways on a lake bed in south western victoria provides the first information relating to the gaits and morphology of several megafaunal species and represents the most speciose and best preserved megafaunal footprint site in australia the 60 110 ka volcaniclastic lacustrine sedimentary rocks preserve trackways of the diprotodontid diprotodon optatum a macropodid probably protemnodon sp and a large vombatid perhaps ramsayia magna or phascolomys medius and possible prints of the marsupial lion thylacoleo carnifex the footprints were imprinted within a short time period demonstrating the association of the taxa present rather than the time averaged accumulations usually observed in skeletal fossil deposits individual manus and pes prints are distinguishable in some trackways and in many cases some digital pad morphology is also present several parameters traditionally used to differentiate ichnotaxa including trackway gauge and the degree of print in turning relative to the midline are shown to be subject to significant intraspecific variation in marsupials sexual dimorphism in the trackway proportions of diprotodon and its potential for occurrence in all large bodied quadrupedal marsupials is identified here for the first time

geochemical evidence for the origin of late quaternary loess in central alaska loess is extensive in central alaska but there are uncertainties about its source and the direction of paleo winds that deposited it both northerly and southerly winds have been inferred the most likely sources of loess are the tanana river south the nenana river southeast and the yukon river north late quaternary loess in central alaska has immobile trace element compositions cr sc th ta th sc th u eu eu gdn ybn that indicate derivation mostly from the tanana river however other ratios as sb zr hf lan ybn and quantitative modeling indicate that the yukon river was also a source during the last glacial period there may have been a longer residence time of the siberian and canadian high pressure cells along with a strengthened aleutian low pressure cell this would have generated regional scale northeasterly winds and explains derivation of loess from the yukon river however superim posed upon this synoptic scale circulation there may have been strong southerly katabatic winds from expanded glaciers on the northern flank of the alaska range these winds could have provided eolian silt from the tanana river yukon river and tanana river sediments are highly calcareous whereas fairbanks area loess is not this suggests that carbonate leaching in loess kept ahead of sedimentation and that late quaternary loess in central alaska was deposited relatively

application of vertebrate trace fossils to palaeoenvironmental analysis abstract this is a review of the main uses of vertebrate trace fossils ichnofabrics and ichnofacies in the palaeoenvironmental analysis of sedimentary sequences the article accounts for the significant developments produced in the last three decades including the application of the ichnofacies concept to vertebrate trace fossils recognition of footprints in cross sectional view and their distinction from inorganic structures and burrow fills is first discussed the response of different substrates showing contrasting water content and imprinted by different animals or devices is compared in terms of the morphology of the resultant footprint trackways with sand crescents are typical of aeolian cross strata and are absent in associated flat lying to low angle deposits thick packages of highly bioturbated sandy dune and interdune sediments have been interpreted as reflecting periods of increased rainfall neoichnological observations in modern lake basins suggest that distinct zones can be recognized in the margins of fossil ponds and lakes including onshore shoreline and shallow subaqueous zones abundant flamingo like footprints and flamingo nest mounds are good indicators of alkaline and or saline lake waters hippopotamus trails are found closely associated with modern and fossil freshwater wetlands dinosaur and pterosaur swim traces from lacustrine and fluvial deposits can be used to estimate water depth turtle crocodile amphibian hippopotamus and fish swim traces allow one to infer a subaqueous substrate certain modern intertidal fish feeding traces are oriented with the predominant tidal current and can be used as palaeocurrent indicators the preferential orientation of tetrapod trackways in lacustrine and fluvial deposits is analyzed vertebrate trace fossils can help to infer discharge variability in fluvial channels the descriptions of vertebrate ichnofabrics are commonly limited to heavily bioturbated beds due to trampling by vertebrates and to a few examples of ichnofabrics with discrete trace fossils the nature and implications of the recognized vertebrate ichnofacies are still being debated and have a limited utility in palaeoenvironmental analysis the distinction of a potential vertebrate burrow ichnofacies in carbonate bearing palaeosols is proposed to represent well drained soils developed under arid or semiarid climate

global review of permian muir wood and cooper 1960 brachiopoda morphology palaeobiogeographical and palaeogeographical implications a global review of the stratigraphical and geographical distribution of tyloplecta reveals that the genus ranges in age from kungurian to changhsingian middle to late permian tyloplecta first evolved in south china in the kungurian late early permian the genus went through its first diversification in the guadalupian suffered a major extinction at the end of the guadalupian and re diversified in the wuchiapingian t yangtzeensis persisted into the changhsingian as the only survivor of the genus involved in the end permian mass extinction palaeogeographically south china is not only the centre of origin for the genus but also an area of diversification and evolution in addition to south china tyloplecta has also been recorded from the far east russia japan central thailand laos cambodia qiangtang terrane of tibet salt range iran armenia hungary yugoslavia and slovenia this geographic spread suggests that tyloplecta was primarily restricted to the palaeotethys and is indicative of warm water palaeoequatorial conditions its presence in some of the northeast asian terranes e g parts of japan and far east russia and in the salt range pakistan and central and north iran part of the cimmerian microcontinents demonstrate that the genus invaded the middle palaeolatitudinal regions in both hemispheres during the late middle permian in response to increased shallow marine biotic communications between cathaysia in the eastern palaeotethys and southern angaraland and between cathaysia and peri gondwanaland the invasion of tyloplecta and some other taxa into the southern shore waters of angaraland may be explained by assuming ocean surface current connections and close palaeogeographical proximities between the south china sino korea and bureya blocks in comparison the invasion of tyloplecta into the peri gondwanaland region is more likely a result of reduced palaeogeographical distance between south china and peri gondwanaland and the appearance of the cimmerian microcontinents as migratory stepping stones

ventilation of the glacial deep pacific ocean measurements of the age difference between coexisting benthic and planktic foraminifera from western equatorial pacific deep sea cores suggest that during peak glacial time the radiocarbon age of water at 2 kilometers depth was no greater than that of today these results make unlikely suggestions that a slowdown in deep ocean ventilation was responsible for a sizable fraction of the increase of the ratio of carbon 14 14c to carbon in the atmosphere and surface ocean during glacial time comparison of 14c ages for coexisting wood and planktic foraminifera from the same site suggests that the atmosphere to surface ocean 14c to c ratio difference was not substantially different from today s

climate impact of late quaternary equatorial pacific sea surface temperature variations magnesium calcium data from planktonic foraminifera in equatorial pacific sediment cores demonstrate that tropical pacific sea surface temperatures ssts were 2 8 0 7 c colder than the present at the last glacial maximum glacial interglacial temperature differences as great as 5 c are observed over the last 450 thousand years changes in sst coincide with changes in antarctic air temperature and precede changes in continental ice volume by about 3 thousand years suggesting that tropical cooling played a major role in driving ice age climate comparison of sst estimates from eastern and western sites indicates that the equatorial pacific zonal sst gradient was similar or somewhat larger during glacial episodes extraction of a salinity proxy from the magnesium calcium and oxygen isotope data indicates that transport of water vapor into the western pacific was enhanced during glacial episodes

short paper fossil vertebrate tracks and indenter mechanics a reconnaissance study is outlined showing how an improved understanding of the formation and character of fossil vertebrate tracks in soft sediments is provided by the application of the mechanical engineer s indenter theory supported by complementary scaled laboratory experiments only the footprint at the bottom of the shaft cut by the animal9s limbs in general offers the best preservation of the shape of the underside of the foot the character of the foot is less well preserved in the deformed bedding beneath the footprint and among laminae deposited in the shaft after the passage of the animal this understanding will help to reduce errors in the use of tracks in taxonomic biostratigraphic palaeoecological behavioural and environmental studies when a limbed vertebrate traverses yielding sediment the limbs deform the substrate into tracks which vary with the nature size and gait of the animal the forcefulness of its limb movements and the sediment properties most previous geological work on tracks and trackways has emphasized their taxonomic biostratigraphical palaeocological and behavioural significance lockley 1986 leonardi 1987 but without an adequate understanding of their environmental implications lockley 1986 and in particular their genesis and preservation as trace fossils the response of an elastic plastic material to an indenter or punch both in terms of theory calladine 1969 hill 1971 johnson et al 1982 and in the light of qualitative laboratory experiments provides a general mechanical model for track formation and a basis for the assessment of track preservation in sediments the indenter represents the animal9s

revisiting nutrient utilization in the glacial antarctic evidence from a new method for diatom bound n isotopic analysis holocene in the indian sector is smaller than in previous measurements these data suggest no change in the degree of nitrate utilization in the atlantic sector and at most a 20 increase from 25 to 45 in the indian sector the new measurements suggest that during the last ice age in the atlantic sector of the antarctic the atmospheric source of biologically available iron was not so great as to become significant relative to the iron supply from below given the apparent spatial variability in the degree of nitrate drawdown more work is required to develop an adequate picture of the glacial antarctic nutrient field index terms 4806 oceanography biological and chemical carbon cycling 4845 oceanography biological and chemical nutrients and nutrient cycling 4894 oceanography biological and chemical instruments and techniques 9310 information related to geographic region antarctica

the last glacial maximum climate over europe and western siberia a pmip comparison between models and data under the framework of the palaeoclimate modelling intercomparison project pmip 17 climate models 16 of which are atmospheric general circulation models have been run to simulate the climate of the last glacial maximum 21 000 years ago using the same set of boundary conditions parallel to these numerical experiments new consistent data bases have been developed on a continental scale the present work compares the range of the model responses to the large perturbation corresponding to the conditions of the last glacial maximum with consistently derived climate reconstructions from pollen records over europe and western siberia it accounts for the differences in the model results due to the models themselves and directly compares this error bar due to the models to the uncertainties in the climate reconstructions from the pollen records overall the last glacial maximum climate simulated by the models over western europe is warmer especially in winter and wetter than the one depicted by the reconstructions this is the region where the reconstructed increase in temperature precipitation and moisture index from the last glacial maximum to the present conditions is largest the same disagreement but of smaller amplitude is found over central europe and the eastern mediterranean basin while models and data are in broad agreement over western siberia the numerous modelling results allow a study of the link between the changes in atmospheric circulation and those in temperature and an interpretation of the discrepancies in precipitation in terms of those in temperature

pleistocene periglacial eolian deposits in southwestern alaska sedimentary facies and depositional processes abstract pleistocene periglacial eolian sediments are widespread in the nushagak holitna and upper kuskokwim lowlands of southwestern alaska these sediments comprise mainly sand sheet deposits and sand loess intergrades with subordinate sand dune deposits and loess sand sheet deposits range from 1 sharply defined parallel low angle laminae formed by migrating wind ripples to 2 irregular subhorizontal strata which reflect migration of poorly segregated wind ripples accumulation on a sparsely vegetated surface adhesion on a quasi planar bed and or niveo eolian deposition sand loess intergrades represent alternating bed load and suspension deposition related mainly to the stochastic and seasonal variability of former wind systems the dominance of sand sheet deposits over deposits of well formed dunes in the pleistocene eolian record of southwestern alaska reflects the limited availability of loose dry sand in this former periglacial environment immobilization of sand after deposition as low relief sheets resulted from a seasonally variable combination of ice cementation sparse vegetation high water tables and snow cover

sedimentary structures made by shore ice in muddy tidal flat deposits st lawrence estuary quebec abstract well preserved sedimentary structures formed by shore ice are exposed in emergent muddy tidal flat deposits along the shoreline of the st lawrence estuary the sedimentary features are exposed in high marsh micro cliffs 1 to 2 m high features from two localities where they are the most abundant sainte anne de beaupre north shore and montmagny south shore are reported here two categories are distinguished first bowl shaped circular and elongated structures 30 to 100 cm across which are former scoured depressions subsequently filled by stratified mud fine sand and organic debris and second deformations folds a few decimeters to a few meters in size produced by ice block pressure pebble to boulder size dropstones are associated with these structures most features were observed in mud flat and low marsh units facies vertically exposed at these localities the age of these tidalite deposits ranges from about 200 to 600 years these ice made structures and deformations well preserved in a sequence of recent emerged tidal sediments suggest that similar features may be preserved in older rock formations consequently they can be considered as a promising tool for interpreting the former climatic conditions in which tidalites and other shallow marine and lacustrine formations may have been deposited

implications of the glacial co2 iron hypothesis for quaternary climate change 1 the iron hypothesis posits a role for increased supply of mineral aerosol to the ocean surface during glacial periods in driving atmospheric co2 lower that changes in co2 and climate strongly affect dust supply raises the possibility of feedback here i take a systems view in analyzing the properties and implications of such a feedback and consider three primary state variables that can be related empirically to each other dust supply atmospheric co2 and climate surface air temperature the results of this analysis suggest that the dust co2 climate feedback is primarily an intraglacial phenomenon when it can account for about a third of the temperature variability recorded in antarctic ice cores since glacial interglacial cyclicity prior to ca 800 kyr bp is characterized by the absence of a full glacial state such as the last glacial maximum it is possible that destabilization of climate by the marine iron cycle is fundamental to the differences between 41 kyr and 100 kyr climatic regimes the critical role played by the state of the land surface in this feedback also has implications for the longer term evolution of the earth system during the cenozoic

a simple model for the caco3 saturation state of the ocean the strangelove the neritan and the cretan ocean 1 a simple model of the caco3 saturation state of the ocean is presented it can be solved analytically and is intended to identify the fundamental controls on ocean carbonate ion concentration it should also attract researchers unfamiliar with complex biogeochemical models despite its limitations the model calculated caco3 saturation state of today s ocean agrees well with observations in general the model reveals three distinctly different modes of operation the strangelove ocean of high supersaturation which is dominated by inorganic caco3 precipitation 2 the neritan ocean of indefinite saturation dominated by biogenic shallow water caco3 precipitation and 3 the cretan ocean of low saturation dominated by biogenic pelagic caco3 precipitation in the latter mode the deep ocean co32 is remarkably stable provided that the biogenic production of caco3 exceeds the riverine flux of ca2 and co32 this explains the overall constancy of the saturation state of the ocean documented over the last 100 ma the model is then used to address diverse questions one important result is that the recovery of the oceanic carbonate chemistry from fossil fuel neutralization in the future will be accelerated due to expected reduced biogenic calcification

late pleistocene vertebrates and other fossils from epiguruk northwestern alaska abstract sediments exposed at epiguruk a large cutbank on the kobuk river about 170 km inland from kotzebue sound record multiple episodes of glacial age alluviation followed by interstadial downcutting and formation of paleosols vertebrate remains from epiguruk include mammoth bison caribou an equid a canid arctic ground squirrel lemmings and voles radiocarbon ages of bone validated by concordant ages of peat and wood span the interval between about 37 000 and 14 000 yr b p the late pleistocene pollen record is dominated by cyperaceae with artemisia salix betula and gramineae also generally abundant the fossil record from epiguruk indicates that the kobuk river valley supported tundra vegetation with abundant riparian willows during middle and late wisconsin time large herbivores were present during the height of late wisconsin glaciation as well as during its waning stage and the preceding interstadial interval the kobuk river valley would have been a favorable refugium for plants animals and possibly humans throughout the last glaciation

feedback between aeolian dust climate and atmospheric co2 in glacial time 1 enhanced aeolian supply of iron to the biota of the southern ocean during glacial periods is suspected to be an important contributory mechanism to the concurrently low observed mixing ratios of atmospheric co2 declining rates of dust deposition prior to the glacial terminations may be critical in driving the initial deglacial rise in co2 but the reasons behind the dust decline itself are as yet unknown here we show that the dust record from the vostok ice core can be qualitatively derived from a few general assumptions regarding the formation and aging of patagonian sources of aeolian material and the efficiency with which it is transported through the atmosphere we suggest that during glacial periods this dust supply becomes particularly sensitive to changes in global climate and that in turn climate is responsive to the dust due to iron fertilization this positive feedback may mean that during glacial periods the carbon cycle exhibits two quasi steady states characterized by distinct co2 concentrations recognition of this glacial subcycle may help to account for the timing and sequence of events at the terminations

an end to the rain ratio reign 1 one of the most elegant mechanisms forwarded for late quaternary atmospheric co2 variability concerns the sensitivity of calcium carbonate preservation in deep ocean sediments to the relative delivery rates of calcium carbonate and particulate organic carbon the caco3 poc rain ratio it was implicitly assumed that any change in the caco3 poc rain ratio of biogenic material produced in the surface ocean will be communicated directly to the sediments this would allow relatively subtle shifts in ecosystem composition to affect sedimentary caco3 preservation and thus atmospheric co2 however recent research into the controls on the transport of poc to depth suggests that the rain ratio seen by the sediments may instead be buffered against any perturbation occurring at the surface this casts doubt on the viability of hypotheses envisaging ecological changes as a means of accounting for the observed glacial interglacial co2 signal

early marine isotope stage 5 sea levels coastal dune palaeoenvironments and human occupation on the southeast coast of south africa abstract quaternary age human and animal footprints have been reported from coastal deposits along the south african coast these footprints and their sedimentary contexts can inform on quaternary palaeoenvironments and processes stratigraphically associated with the palaeoanthropological record of past human occupation in the coastal zone and exploitation of its resources this study examines the palaeoenvironmental context and sedimentology of marine isotope stage 5 aeolianite at nahoon point southeastern coast of south africa where preserved human footprints have been previously recorded this study identifies seven sedimentary facies from 20 logged profiles through the coastal aeolianite in order to develop a landscape scale stratigraphic framework for coastal palaeoenvironmental reconstruction during the period of the mis 5 highstand two phases of aeolianite deposition are identified which bracket a single stepped sea level transgression phase up to 7 82 0 82 m asl evidenced by intraformational beachrock facies and marine benches this correlates with the second known global mis 5e highstand no evidence for the first highstand reported from the literature was found in the study area aeolianite bed geometries and sedimentary structures indicate that wind regimes and rainfall seasonality were similar to present newly discovered faunal tracks in aeolianites of the first depositional phase suggest the presence of unidentified bovids of varying sizes evidence for human activity is preserved in all three recorded depositional phases suggesting people were present throughout the early mis 5 sequence despite changing environmental conditions this evidence suggests that human occupation of coastal areas and the exploitation of marine food resources was more widespread than generally thought in southern africa during early mis 5

vertebrate tracks in pleistocene eolian sand sheet deposits of alaska abstract deformation structures interpreted as vertebrate hoof and foot tracks occur within upper pleistocene eolian sand sheet deposits in the stabilized kantishna sand sea of central alaska and in the nushagak lowland of southwestern alaska exposures of tracks are generally limited to cross sections which reveal concave up deformation structures in which displacement of preexisting strata diminishes downward deposits in both areas contain tracks that are 6 to 16 cm in diameter and are divided by a central ridge reflecting formation by artiodactyl even toed ungulates larger 21 34 cm tracks without a central ridge observed in the nushagak lowland were formed by proboscideans probably woolly mammoth large vertebrate tracks occur within irregularly stratified sand and silty sand that accumulated upon partially vegetated sand sheets and within thin even wind ripple laminae of unvegetated sand sheets the presence of tracks at multiple stratigraphic levels and preservation of roots and rhizocretions within the eolian deposits suggest that vegetated sand sheets may have formed a locally important grazing habitat for large herbivores during at least part of the last glaciation recognition that vertebrate tracks are preserved in eolian sand sheet deposits and in deposits of other environments as well opens a new source of stratigraphic and paleoecological data to aid reconstruction of the vanished ecosystems of beringia

reconciling down core anticorrelation of diatom carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios from the southern ocean 1 oceanic nutrient cycling in the southern ocean is supposed to have an important impact on glacial interglacial atmospheric co2 changes and global climate in order to characterize such nutrient cycling over the last two climatic cycles we investigated carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios of diatom bound organic matter 13cdiat and 15ndiat respectively in two cores retrieved form the atlantic and indian sectors of the antarctic ocean the two cores show the same isotopic patterns the 13cdiat values are depleted during glacial periods and enriched during interglacial periods indicating lower productivity during cold times the 15ndiat values are enriched during glacial periods and depleted during interglacial periods arguing for greater nitrate utilization during cold times taken at face value this apparent contradiction leads to opposite conclusions on the role of the southern ocean biological pump on the atmospheric co2 changes however the two sets of data can be reconciled by a sea ice plus mixing rate scenario that calls upon a balance between the effect of cutting off gas transfer at the ocean atmosphere boundary and the effect of reducing vertical transport of nutrients through the pycnocline

modeling the dynamics of terrestrial carbon storage since the last glacial maximum a dynamic global vegetation model dgvm was used to simulate global terrestrial carbon storage and stable carbon isotope composition changes for the last 21000 years a paleoclimate scenario was provided by interpolation of coupled agcm mixed layer ocean model experiments co2 atm data were obtained from the byrd and taylor dome ice core records according to the model results terrestrial carbon storage at the last glacial maximum lgm 21 ka was 821 pg c less than today the modeled isotopic composition delta 13 c of total terrestrial carbon at lgm was enriched by 1 5parts per thousand compared to present during the deglaciation 17 9 ka vegetation expanded rapidly into formerly glaciated areas and carbon storage correspondingly increased increasing npp sustained a continuing increase in terrestrial carbon storage through the holocene these results do not support the published hypothesis that terrestrial co2 outgassing drove the ca 20 ppm increase in co2 atm after 8 ka they are consistent with an alternative explanation based on the oceanic caco3 compensation response to the extraction of carbon from the atmosphere ocean system during the deglaciation

worldwide distribution of continental rock lithology implications for the atmospheric soil co2 uptake by continental weathering and alkalinity river transport to the oceans 1 the silicate rock weathering followed by the formation of carbonate rocks in the ocean transfers co2 from the atmosphere to the lithosphere this co2 uptake plays a major role in the regulation of atmospheric co2 concentrations at the geologic timescale and is mainly controlled by the chemical properties of rocks this leads us to develop the first world lithological map with a grid resolution of 1 1 this paper analyzes the spatial distribution of the six main rock types by latitude continents and ocean drainage basins and for 49 large river basins coupling our digital map with the gem co2 model we have also calculated the amount of atmospheric soil co2 consumed by rock weathering and alkalinity river transport to the ocean among all silicate rocks shales and basalts appear to have a significant influence on the amount of co2 uptake by chemical weathering

middle permian brachiopods from central peninsular malaysia faunal affinities between malaysia and west cambodia a moderately diverse permian brachiopod fauna is described from a new rock unit the bera formation in the bera district central pahang peninsular malaysia the fauna consists of 19 taxa including 14 genera and 17 both identified and unidentified typically tethyan species the fauna appears to be correlative on the basis of brachiopods with the neoschwagerina yabeina fusulinid zones in indochina and south china in particular it has strong linkage to member c yabeina beds of the sisophon limestone west cambodia this is indicated by three of the bera species urushtenoidea chaoi ching spyridiophora gubleri termier and termier and transennatia termierorum sp nov being shared with the cambodian fauna a possible early capitanian middle permian age is proposed for the bera brachiopod fauna

increase of atmospheric co2 during deglaciation constraints on the coral reef hypothesis from patterns of deposition 1 the coral reef hypothesis asserts that carbonate production on newly flooded shelves contributes importantly to the rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide during deglaciation we seek to constrain the timing and strength of such carbon dioxide flux by re assessing reef and platform distribution in the world ocean the pattern of reef growth that emerges suggests that emission of co 2 resulting from carbonate production was important particularly during the late stages of deglaciation the effect peaked during the early holocene and presumably contributed to the warming in the climatic optimum

a 0 55 ma paleotemperature record from the subantarctic zone implications for antarctic circumpolar current development 1 estimates of summer sea surface temperatures sssts derived from planktic foraminiferal associations using the modern analog technique and combined with isotopic analyses and determination of ice rafted debris mirror the pleistocene evolution of the planktic subantarctic surface waters in the atlantic ocean the sssts indicate that the isotherms that define the modern polar front zone and subantarctic front were located at more northerly latitudes up to 7 during most of the investigated period which covers the past 550 kyr exceptions are during climatic optima in the early holocene at marine isotope stages mis 5 5 7 1 7 5 9 3 and presumably during mis 11 3 when sssts exceeded modern values by 1 5 c the close similarity between the ssst and the vostok temperature indicates strong regional temperature correlation both records show that mis 9 3 was the warmest period during the last 420 kyr whereas sssts obtained for mis 11 3 are overestimated due to strong carbonate dissolution spectral analysis corroborates that the initiation of warming in southern high latitudes heralds the start of deglaciation on the northern hemisphere

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