Millennial-scale variations of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) remain elusive due to sparse and controversial reconstructions. By compiling a variety of alkenone-based sea surface temperature (SST) estimates, we find that the west–east SST gradient in the southern South China Sea (SCS) well documents the temporal dynamics of the winter “cold tongue” off the southern Vietnam and by inference, variations in the EAWM intensity over the past 26 ka. Our results reveal that the winter “cold tongue” SSTs were significantly colder during Heinrich event 1 and the Younger Dryas event, resulting in an increased west–east SST gradient in the southern SCS due to a strengthened EAWM. Within dating uncertainties, an intensified EAWM during cold stadials was coeval with the shutdown or a reduction in strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), exhibiting a strong linkage between the AMOC and the EAWM system. The west–east SST gradient also indicates an enhanced EAWM during the early Holocene, which may be induced by postglacial ice-sheet dynamics and a strong seasonal contrast in solar insolation. Our findings suggest that the EAWM was probably modulated by a complex interplay between the AMOC, solar insolation and ice-sheet dynamics on sub-orbital time scales.

Detailed reconstructions of the vegetation of Iberia during the last glacial inception are rare due to the limited number of terrestrial sites recording this period. Active retreat of El Asperillo cliff, located on the Atlantic coast of southwestern Iberia, has exposed a fossil organic level dating back to one of the early stades of the last glacial cycle. Pollen and macrofossil analyses from this site show that the Doñana area was covered mainly by steppic vegetation; temperate trees survived the coldest periods, albeit in reduced numbers. Mediterranean taxa are extremely reduced, in contrast with other dry areas of southern Iberia over this time span. This vegetation suggests cold and arid climatic conditions, in accordance with paleoclimatic reconstructions based on several Atlantic marine cores.

An interdisciplinary study of a small sedimentary basin at Neumark Nord 2 (NN2), Germany, has yielded a high-resolution record of the palaeomagnetic Blake Event, which we are able to place at the early part of the last interglacial pollen sequence documented from the same section. We use this data to calculate the duration of this stratigraphically important event at 3400 ± 350 yr. More importantly, the Neumark Nord 2 data enables precise terrestrial–marine correlation for the Eemian stage in central Europe. This shows a remarkably large time lag of ca. 5000 yr between the MIS 5e ‘peak’ in the marine record and the start of the last interglacial in this region.

The present paper refers to research conducted in the tectonic-karst depression of Campo Felice in the central Apennines (Italy), in which glacial, alluvial and lacustrine sediments have been preserved. Stratigraphic interpretations of sediments underlying the Campo Felice Plain are based on evidence obtained from nine continuous-core boreholes. The boreholes reach a depth of 120 m and provide evidence of five sedimentation cycles separated by erosion surfaces. Each cycle is interpreted as an initial response to a mainly warm stage, characterized by low-energy alluvial and colluvial deposition, pedogenesis, and limited episodes of marsh formation. In turn, a mainly cold stage follows during which a lake formed, and glaciers developed and expanded, leading to deposition of glacial and fluvioglacial deposits. The chronological framework is established by eleven accelerator mass spectrometer 14C ages and three 39Ar–40Ar ages on leucites from interbedded tephra layers. These age determinations indicate five glacial advances that respectively occurred during marine oxygen isotope stages 2, 3–4, 6, 10 and 14.

We have developed an 87Sr/86Sr, 234U/238U, and δ18O data set from carbonates associated with late Quaternary paleolake cycles on the southern Bolivian Altiplano as a tool for tracking and understanding the causes of lake-level fluctuations. Distinctive groupings of 87Sr/86Sr ratios are observed. Ratios are highest for the Ouki lake cycle (120–95 ka) at 0.70932, lowest for Coipasa lake cycle (12.8–11.4 ka) at 0.70853, and intermediate at 0.70881 to 0.70884 for the Salinas (95–80 ka), Inca Huasi (~ 45 ka), Sajsi (24–20.5 ka), and Tauca (18.1–14.1 ka) lake cycles. These Sr ratios reflect variable contributions from the eastern and western Cordilleras. The Laca hydrologic divide exerts a primary influence on modern and paleolake 87Sr/86Sr ratios; waters show higher 87Sr/86Sr ratios north of this divide. Most lake cycles were sustained by slightly more rainfall north of this divide but with minimal input from Lake Titicaca. The Coipasa lake cycle appears to have been sustained mainly by rainfall south of this divide. In contrast, the Ouki lake cycle was an expansive lake, deepest in the northern (Poópo) basin, and spilling southward. These results indicate that regional variability in central Andean wet events can be reconstructed using geochemical patterns from this lake system.

Quantitative mineralogical analysis of bulk samples and single particles was carried out on three loess sections of different local climate settings on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP). Mineralogy, geochemistry, and single-particle petrography of loess and paleosols are relatively uniform over the CLP. However, in detail, there are mineralogical changes related to eolian process and chemical weathering. Particle-size sorting eastward from western sources led to an eastward increase of the total phyllosilicate contents enriched in fine illitic clay minerals. After deposition, detrital minerals susceptible to chemical weathering were sequentially altered in a progressive fashion with increasing precipitation in the order of calcite, dolomite, biotite, illite, chlorite, amphibole, and plagioclase. The weathering of biotite, chlorite, and illite resulted in a significant increase of expandable phyllosilicate contents. The sequential weathering of the minerals is reflected chemically in the decrease of Na and Mg and the increase of iron oxidation. Mineralogy of the Chinese loess at individual sites reflects the effects of size fractionation during eolian transportation and progressive sequential weathering along the climatic gradient, and it is essential to consider both effects when using mineralogical and dependent chemical data in the paleoclimatic reconstruction of the CLP.

The alternation of carbonate deposits and paleosols compose the emerged part of the Bermuda archipelago. The pedological units present a complex and diversified mineralogy. Former studies demonstrated that the paleosols are not primarily a product of the unique dissolution of the surrounding carbonates, but contain a massive input of allochthonous non-carbonate detrital material. Researchers during more than the past three decades have attributed this flux of insoluble residues (IR) to Saharan dusts. We carried out systematic field and mineralogical analyses on the Quaternary paleosols from the Bermuda archipelago. Their mineralogical assemblage predominantly includes carbonates, clay minerals (kaolinite, chlorite and chlorite/vermiculite), phosphates, and aluminium and iron oxides/hydroxides. This assemblage is strikingly close to the mineralogy of the weathered volcanic substrate of Bermuda, but noticeably different from the mineralogy of Saharan dust. Moreover, we found volcanic lithoclasts in numerous paleosol profiles all over the archipelago and in all the recorded time intervals. We thus consider the volcanic seamount underlying Bermuda as the main source of non-carbonate minerals detected in the paleosols. This hypothesis further resolves the anomalous maturity of Bermudan paleosols compared to their southern counterparts in the Bahamas and Barbados.

Discrete dune fields are found throughout much of the Great Plains of North America, and the timing of past dune activity is often used as a proxy for paleoclimate because of the intuitive link between dune activity and a more arid climate. This research suggests that feedbacks in the soil-geomorphic system create a relationship between dune activity and climate that varies both spatially and temporally. Older eolian landforms are more resistant to activation because of the long-term accumulation of finer soil particles in a Bt horizon which retain moisture and anchor the deposit even during more arid times. Conversely, younger deposits lack these fines and are more easily reactivated. This spatially variable relationship is supported by soil stratigraphy, particle size analysis, and optical age control. Additionally, the water retention of the Bt horizons is quantifiably greater than that of the soils found in the younger dunes of the area. This complication in the relationship between eolian activity and climate is important because it suggests that caution is needed when using past dune activity as the lone proxy for paleoclimate.

We assessed the performance of a transfer function model for sea-level studies using salt-marsh foraminifera from two estuaries of northern Portugal. An independent data set of 12 samples and 13 sub-fossil samples from a core were used to evaluate if reconstructions and errors derived from current models are adequate. Initial transfer function models provided very strong results as indicated by cross-validation (component 2; r2 = 0.80–0.82; RMSEP ranged from 10.7 to 12.3 cm) and improved its performance by ca. 10% when sample size reached ca. 50. Results derived using an independent test data set indicate that cross-validation is a very effective approach and produces conservative errors when compared to observed errors. We additionally explored the possible effect of transforming the concentration data into percent in the error estimations by comparing the results obtained based on the use of both concentration and compositional data. Results indicate that this type of transformation does not affect the performance of the transfer function. Results derived from a reconstruction of sub-fossil samples from a core indicate that high-resolution sea-level reconstructions are possible, but show that depositional environments have to be selected carefully in order to minimize the impact of possible taphonomical loss.

This study takes a comprehensive approach to characterizing the isolation sequence of Heimerdalsvatnet, a coastal lake in the Lofoten Islands, northern Norway. We use established methods and explore new techniques to assess changes in marine influence. Bathymetric and sub-bottom profiles were acquired to examine basin-wide sedimentation and a 5.8 m sediment core spanning the last 7800 cal yr BP was analyzed. We measured magnetic susceptibility, bulk organic matter properties, molecular biomarkers, diatom assemblages, and elemental profiles acquired by scanning X-ray fluorescence. These characteristics of the sediment reflect detailed changes in salinity and water column conditions as the lake was progressively isolated. Three distinct litho/chemo-stratigraphic units represent a restricted marine phase (7800–6500 cal yr BP), a transitional phase characterized by intermittent marine influence (6500–4900 cal yr BP), and complete isolation and freshwater sedimentation (4900 cal yr BP to present). Although there are uncertainties in the estimate of the threshold elevation of the lake, the timing of these phases generally corresponds with previous interpretations of the local relative sea-level history. This record captures sea-level regression following the Tapes transgression and supports the interpretation of a subsequent sea-level stillstand, dated in Heimerdalsvatnet from 6500 to 4900 cal yr BP.