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The use of archaeological proxy records representative of population dynamics is paramount for a richer understanding of prehistoric cultural change, but its use require a dialectic assessment between proximate climatic drivers and ultimate cultural responses. Focusing on the Stone Age archaeological record of Western Norway (11,500–4300 cal. BP), this paper presents an exhaustive empirical curation and statistical testing between changing climates and demographic responses among coastal hunter-fisher-gatherers. The results connect long-term demographic fluctuations with changes in annual mean temperatures and seasonality and the results are discussed in relation changes in technology, subsistence and mobility. The paper also highlights the process of population decline and cultural loss towards the end of the Late Mesolithic (ca. 7000–6000 cal. BP) and emerging cultural novelties and population re-growth during the Early and Middle Neolithic (ca. 6000–4300 cal. BP). However, despite its strong correlation, the archaeological record of Western Norway lacks sufficient detail to ascribe an exclusive explanatory role to climate change, especially in episodes of significant population decline. This helps to emphasise that changing climates, while evidently central, form but a part of a larger system of interactions leading to demographic fluctuations and cultural change, the substantiation of which requires significant empirical improvements to the archaeological record. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore and integrate different currencies that may underlie large-game hunting to guide a trans-Holocene analysis of variation in artiodactyl utilization using massive archaeofaunal data-sets from predominantly open-air sites from the Bonneville and Wyoming basins. The available empirical data continue to suggest that artiodactyls yield consistently higher return rates than lagomorphs allowing us to leverage predictions from both the prey choice and energetic risk-gain models that the relative importance of artiodactyl hunting should scale closely with climate-based change in their abundance on the landscape. We document with modeled climate data that seasonal variables correlated with the relative frequency of artiodactyl hunting, but that summer temperature had a significant overriding effect in both regions. Controlling for the negative relationship between summer temperature and artiodactyl abundances, we then document enhanced artiodactyl hunting in general and bison more specifically during the Fremont period that is consistent with a costly signaling hypothesis and the unique socio-ecological conditions of this context. Thus, climatic variation and its influence on artiodactyl abundances drives the overall trajectory of Holocene large game hunting variation but measurable and more subtle influences of costly signaling are also detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climatic fluctuations and geological events since the LGM are believed to have significantly impacted the population size, distribution, and mobility of many species that we observe today. In this paper, we determined the processes driving the phylogeographic structure of the Korean endemic white forsythia by combining the use of genome‐wide SNPs and predicting paleoclimatic habitats during the LGM (21 kya), Early Holocene (10 kya), Mid‐Holocene (6 kya), and Late Holocene (3 kya). Using a maximum of 1897 SNPs retrieved from 124 samples across nine wild populations, five environmental predictors, and the species' natural occurrence records, we aimed to infer the species' demographic history and reconstruct its possible paleodistributions with the use of approximate Bayesian computation and ecological niche models, respectively. Under this integrated framework, we found strong evidence for patterns of range shift and expansion, and population divergence events from the onset of the Holocene, resulting in the formation of its five distinct genetic units. The most highly supported model inferred that after the split of an ancestral population into the southern group and a larger central metapopulation lineage, the latter gave rise to the eastern and northern clusters, before finally dividing into two sub‐central groups. While the use of molecular data allowed us to identify and refine the (phylo)genetic relationships of the species' lineages and populations, the use of ecological data helped us infer a past LGM refugium and the directions of post‐glacial range dynamics. The time frames of these demographic events were shown to be congruent with climatic and geological events that affected the central Korean Peninsula during these periods. These findings gave us a better understanding of the consequences of past spatiotemporal factors that may have resulted in the current fragmented population distribution of this endangered plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the first continuous multi-proxy record of climate and vegetation change from the central Namib Desert extending over much of the last ca. 39,000 years. Derived from rock hyrax middens, evidence from stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes, pollen, and microcharcoal reveals significant differences between glacial-age and Holocene climates and vegetation types. Although still arid to semi-arid, conditions during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stages (MIS) 2–3 were significantly more humid than in the Late Holocene. Considerable associated vegetation change is apparent, with cooler temperatures and higher/more-regular rainfall promoting the westward expansion of relatively mesic shrubby karroid vegetation during MIS 2–3. With the last glacial–interglacial transition, increasing temperatures and less/less-regular rainfall resulted in marked vegetation changes and the establishment of current xeric grasslands. The inter-plant spacing of the karroid vegetation promoted by wetter conditions does not carry fire effectively, and the microcharcoal record indicates that more extensive fires may develop only with the development of grassier vegetation under drier conditions. As with other terrestrial records from the Namib Desert and environs, no Cape flora elements were found to support previously hypothesised expansion of the Fynbos Biome during the last glacial period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drylands are diverse and dynamic ecosystems that have been occupied by humans throughout the Holocene. Nonetheless, drylands are often conceived of as marginal, rare, and inimical to human livelihoods. This Special Issue interrogates the interactions between humans and arid and aridifying environments to investigate how drylands offer unique risks and opportunities to their resilient inhabitants. This article introduces the 11 environmental archeology papers and 1 discussion paper in this Special Issue, the proceedings of a 2021 virtual workshop on the topics of risk and resilience. Each contribution explores a different geographic and chronological context around the globe. We also introduce three subthemes of this Special Issue: "Multi-Scalar Analysis," "Abundance and Diversity," and "Cascading Risks." Collectively, a key strength of the case studies in this volume is the range of environmental archeology methods and datasets that they showcase. These authors draw out details within a multi-scalar understanding of risk and risk perception in the particular contexts in which they work. As we face compounding contemporary risks associated with the global impacts of a changing climate, it is more important than ever to recognize the range of human relationships with aridification, and the dynamic, localized socio-environmental histories of drylands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the early Holocene onward, the Indian Subcontinent has accommodated a range of diverse human cultures and associated ecological adaptations and lifestyles. Around 10 kyrs ago, the Subcontinent has witnessed the development of later Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and their subsequent regional transitions to pastoralist (Neolithic) and agricultural (Chalcolithic) lifeways. The Holocene climate records reveal discrepancies in the timing and duration of climatic events, which can be attributed to a vast geographic isolation, the influence of height, elevation, and local climatic conditions. These changing climatic patterns including the development of a geographically variable monsoon directly impacted these various cultures including the Harappans and their contemporaries as well as younger Historical and Medieval empires across India, at various levels. In some regions, environmental changes led to uneven cultural transitions, geographic migrations, and the development of regionally-distinct material cultures along with establishment of sedentary life-ways. This paper attempts to present a review broadly correlating general climatic patterns throughout the Holocene period of India with regional cultural dynamics. All geomorphic-climatic zones of the Subcontinent showed strong inter-proxy coherence between 9 and 5 kyrs in response to increased precipitation. After this warming period ends, we see a moderate dry period as a result of a weakening monsoon and an overall tendency toward aridity throughout all zones (after 4 kyrs). The temporal variation of human habitation and respective adaptive responses suggest broad linkages to the varying climatic and physiographic features at a regional scale. Learning how this shaped human eco-dynamics in the past can help us expand our understanding of human history and implement lessons for the present as well as the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent climate and environment over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) have undergone significant changes, dominated by variations in the Westerlies and the Indian summer monsoon. However, long‐term shifts in atmospheric circulation during the transitional seasons are still lacking. Here we investigate the modern distribution of Tsuga pollen over the central‐western TP and confirm it as an indicator of variable atmospheric circulation in spring. By combining our Tsuga record from Taro Co with existing records in the Tsuga pollen source area, we suggest that a potential particle transport pathway from the southern slope of the Himalayas to the interior of the plateau appeared in the spring of the late Holocene. Our results show that the springtime atmospheric circulation over the southwestern TP during the early and late Holocene is closely related to the substantial remnants of ice sheets at northern high latitudes and the frequency of El Niño events, respectively. Plain Language Summary: The spring climate over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is undergoing significant changes that yield profound impacts on environmental changes such as variations in vegetation phenology and alpine treeline. Knowledge of long‐term variations in atmospheric circulation during spring can improve the understanding of current climatic and environmental change and the projection of future variability. In this paper, we use an exotic pollen grain, which can be transported long distances in the air, as an indicator to trace the variability of spring atmospheric circulation over the TP. The results indicate that the spring meridional atmospheric circulation from the southern slope of the TP to its interior has been enhanced in the last four thousand years, which is mainly influenced by the frequency of El Niño events. Key Points: Spring atmospheric circulation change over the southwestern Tibetan Plateau (TP) during Holocene is reconstructedMeridional atmospheric circulation in spring over the southwestern TP is strengthened in the late HoloceneHigh‐(low‐) latitude forcing mainly influence the variations in spring atmospheric circulation during the early (late) Holocene [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Africa, the cradle of human evolution, has one of the largest and most diverse rainforests in the world. The African rainforests contain evidence of human occupation as well as fluctuating climate during the Pleistocene; such evidence offers archaeologists and palaeoecologists the opportunity to understand how climatic fluctuations have influenced human behaviour. However, compared to the rainforests environments in Asia and South America, the human ecological history of those in West-Central Africa is poorly understood. This is because of comparatively fewer scientific programmes which synergize palaeoecological and archaeological data and thus could enhance the knowledge and allow for an evaluation of the impact of climatic fluctuations on human behaviour in the rainforests of West-Central Africa during the Pleistocene and Holocene periods. The goals of this paper are twofold, namely: (i) to provide a synthesis of the past climatic variability in the rainforests of West-Central Africa, and (ii) to demonstrate the influence of such variability on human behaviour during the Pleistocene to Holocene periods. It is hoped that this paper will stimulate Africanists to adopt an inclusive scientific anthropological and palaeoecological approach in understanding human–climate interactions in the West-Central African rainforests. This article is part of the theme issue 'Tropical forests in the deep human past'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sedimentary sequence of La Narce du Béage Basin is one of the few natural archives covering the last 18 ka cal. BP in the French Massif Central. This paper focuses on the palaeoecological reconstruction of environmental and climatic changes affecting this shallow periglacial lake from the Late-Glacial to the Early Holocene. After field surveys and geophysical mapping, two cores (cores A and D) were extracted and dated. Plant macrofossils, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) and diatom assemblages were compared within the cores to study vegetation, temperature, pH, water level and ice cover changes through time. During the Oldest Dryas (18–14.75 ka cal. BP), climatic conditions were the coldest with a short ice-free season allowing the development of periphytic diatoms only (ecologically comparable to Arctic ones). A cold and dry steppe landscape – exposed to severe erosion – comprised an herbaceous and shrub flora (e.g. Artemisia , Chenopodiaceae, Helianthemum, Ephedra, Hippophaë, Juniperus). Animal presence is suggested by coprophilous fungi. Periphytic diatoms and allochtonous pollen (Cedrus) underline windy conditions, and the possible erosion of neo-formed soils. Then, during the Bølling-Allerød interstadial (14.75–12.7 ka cal. BP), the ice-free season increased and some trees/shrubs (Salix, Betula and Juniperus) established locally within open grasslands. During the Younger Dryas (12.7–11.7 ka cal. BP) cooler conditions favoured steppe taxa again (Helianthemum, Achillea, Artemisia , Caryophyllaceae, Ranunculaceae) and erosion increased. The ice cover on the lake prevailed even if the conditions were not as cold as during the Oldest Dryas. During the Preboreal (11.7–10 ka cal. BP) Isoëtes echinospora and I. lacustris developed in the eulittoral zone of the lake, which was surrounded by a swamp forest (with Betula nana and B. pubescens). Pinus sylvestris, Betula pendula, Corylus avellana and trees from the Quercetum mixtum rapidly established in the uplands. Occurrences of Gaeumannomyces and Xylomyces fungi – both phytopathogens on broadleaved trees – and decreasing herb values indirectly hint at a close forest canopy. At the beginning of the Boreal (10 ka cal. BP), aquatic and semi-aquatic taxa developed on open water due to longer ice-free seasons (diatoms, micro-algae, Alisma plantago-aquatica, Potamogeton, Typha). The final terrestrialization towards a mire occurred as a consequence of the Holocene warming and related to water chemistry changes (acidification, eutrophication). • During the last deglaciation, a very shallow lake established as demonstrated by palaeoecological data, such as epiphytic diatoms, living on rocks. • Late-Glacial steppe landscape with severe erosion, open grassland and possible mega-herbivore presence. Arctic-like conditions. • Development of shrubs or trees during the Bølling-Allerød interstadial and reduced ice-free season. • Dry and cold conditions persisted from the Younger Dryas to the Early Preboreal. Oligotrophic flora (Isoetids) established in the eulittoral zone. • During the post-glacial warming, the lake tended to acidify. Peat flora and organic matter accumulated and led to the terrestrialization of the lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daily insolation at a given latitude is often used in the explanation of the long-term variations of paleoclimate records. However, the length of astronomical seasons, which has been paid less attention, could also be important. This paper provides an original calculation of the length of these seasons using the eccentric anomaly. The past and future long-term variations as well as the spectral characteristics of the length of astronomical seasons, of the total and average insolation over the astronomical seasons and of the caloric insolation are shown and compared. The length of astronomical seasons is only a function of climatic precession. The total irradiation for a given latitude and an astronomical season is mainly a function of obliquity except that it is mainly a function of eccentricity in a latitudinal band that is season dependent and from where the phase between obliquity and total irradiation reverses (e.g. ∼11.5°N for the astronomical northern hemisphere summer half-year). The spectral characteristic of the mean insolation over the astronomical summer half-year varies in latitude and time. It contains stronger obliquity signal in high latitudes than in low latitudes, but the obliquity signal already gets very weak at 45°N/S leaving the dominance of climatic precession between 45°N and 45°S. The variation of the mean summer half-year insolation over the last 1 Ma is characterized by a Mid-Brunhes transition at ∼450 ka BP, with a dominant role of climatic precession at all latitudes before ∼450 ka BP but significantly enhanced role of obliquity in high latitudes after this time. The simultaneous weakening of the variations of climatic precession and obliquity around 800 ka ago, a time corresponding to the Mid-Pleistocene Transition, leads to weak variations in both total and mean seasonal insolation. The insolation of a specific case, the Holocene, is finally discussed. Depending on the sensitivity to different types of insolation, different climate variables and regions could show different evolution and trend during the Holocene. • An original calculation of the length of the astronomical seasons is provided. • Precession and obliquity contribute differently to the length of astronomical seasons and to different insolation metrics. • Distinctive variations of total and mean seasonal insolation characterize the Mid-Brunhes and Mid-Pleistocene transitions. • Different insolation metrics display different trend over the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how significant are the ecological and climatic variables to influence the stable isotopes of guanacos. Lama guanicoe bone collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios are assumed as a macro regional average value in west Argentina, mostly as a baseline to model archaeological human diet. If stable isotopes on mammals reflex ecology and climate, we need to know how those variables influence mammals bone stable isotope ratio. This paper analyses the 13C/12C and 15 N/14N ratio on bone collagen on 122 guanacos from Northwest Patagonia during the Holocene. The results confirm significant variation in both isotopes between Monte and Andean-Patagonian specimens. Guanacos from Monte shows higher δ13C and δ15N than those from Andean-Patagonian. Temporal trends indicate variation through Holocene but this variation is not spatially homogeneous. In this paper we suggest that Medieval Climatic Anomaly had stronger effect in Monte desert than in Patagonia desert, generating driest and/or hottest conditions between 1250 and 600 years BP. Those variations need to be considered to reconstruct human diet at least during the second part of the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal wetlands provide valuable ecosystem services and understanding their response to past climatic changes may help predict their possible future responses. In this paper, we obtained records of pollen, algae, sediment grain-size, and other environmental proxies, from a late Holocene sediment core (CFD-E) from the Caofeidian area, on the northwest coast of the Bay of Bohai, China. Our results indicate three major stages of environmental change. During Stage I (3500–2800 cal yr BP), arboreal pollen content was high (mostly >60%), especially for Pinus and Quercus , and the PCA sample scores on Axis 1 were negative indicating that regional vegetation was temperate broadleaved forest and the climate was wet. During Stage II (2800–2350 cal yr BP), the arboreal pollen content decreased substantially (mostly <40%), and the PCA Axis 1 sample scores were positive indicating a decrease in forest vegetation, grassland expansion, and a drier climate. During Stage III (2350–1400 cal yr BP), the arboreal pollen content increased again (mostly >40%), although it remained lower than during Stage I, indicating that forests expanded under a relatively humid climate while the wetland area decreased slightly. Our results also record the 2.8 ka and 2.4 ka events of monsoon weakening, which were characterized by increases in herbaceous pollen (indicating grassland expansion) and the drying of the regional climate. There are several differences in the regional expression of these two climatic events. During the 2.4 ka event, Chenopodiaceae pollen increased substantially (average of 42.0%), indicating the expansion of halophytes; whereas during the 2.8 ka event, an increase in Artemisia indicates the occurrence of a dry climate throughout the region. We suggest that the aridity during the 2.8 ka event was triggered by decreased solar activity and the resulting changes in the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, which weakened the East Asian summer monsoon. However, we suggest that the 2.4 ka event was driven by the weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. • Significant increase in halophytic vegetation during 3500–1400 cal yr BP • The 2.8 ka and 2.4 ka events were characterized by climate drying lasting ∼150 years. • During these two events the area of forest decreased and grassland expanded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A proxy based on mass movements for assessing climate change was proposed. • The periodicity of mass movements conforms to the changing patterns of traditional climate proxies. • Climate change determines the spatial and temporal distribution of mass movements. The spatial and temporal distribution, as well as the formation and evolution of mass movements in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau orogenic belt, have been extensively discussed. We gathered research papers focusing on the ages of Quaternary residual deposits associated with mass movements in the surrounding orogenic belts of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. A total of 172 large-scale typical deposits and their ages were analyzed to explore the primary driving mechanisms behind mass movements in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. As these deposits were collected from diverse geological environments and the ages primarily concentrated in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene periods, we categorized mass movements with ages younger than 140 ka into three distinct regional climate systems: the Indian Summer Monsoon, the East Asian Summer Monsoon, and the Westerlies. The relationship between the emergence of mass movements and climate change was thoroughly investigated. Our research indicates that mass movements can serve as a reliable proxy for indicating climate change. The cycles of mass movements are closely synchronized with the warm and cold alternations of regional climates, holding significant importance in reshaping the environmental evolutionary history. We propose that the extensive mass movements in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are primarily driven by periodic climate variations, although they may not exhibit a perfect one-to-one correspondence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The freshwater Buir Lake in Khalkh Gol soum, Dornod aimag, is located (47° 51' 47° N, 117° 51' 29° E) on the border of Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, China. The northwest and northeast part of the lake is swampy, and is flat in the rest part. This research paper reveals the lithology and some major elements content (SiO2, Al2O3, TiO2, Fe2O3, MgO, K2O, Na2O, MnO and P2O5) of the core sediments and their distribution along the depth and the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), which will be a significant factor in restoring environmental change. According to the data of analysis of major elements of Buir Lake sediments, the concentration of SiO2 ranges from 42.92 to 58.29%; Al2O3 = 9.25-12.83%; Fe2O3 = 3.66-4.79%; TiO2 = 0.46-0.62%; MnO = 0.08-0.13%; CaO = 5.73-11.56%; MgO = 1.34-1.81%; Na2O = 0.72-1.50%; K2O = 1.58-2.31%; and P2O5 = 0.14-0.26% respectively. The chemical index of alteration is basically the same as the distribution of SiO2, Al2O3, TiO2, Fe2O3, MgO, K2O and Na2O in the sediments of the lake, but their content at 32.5 cm interval of the core sharply decreases and also increases. This is perhaps due to global climate change. The content and distribution patterns of water-soluble elements, such as CaO, MnO, and P2O5, are negatively correlated with the chemical index of alteration. These lead to conclude that major elements of Buir Lake sediment and Chemical Index of Alteration are closely related to climatic changes in eastern Mongolia pertaining to the Upper Pleistocene and the Holocene epochs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The periodicities of the climate change have long been explored by researchers not only because they reflect the inherent characteristics of the climate systems, but also because they are the foundations of climate-change predictability. This paper reports the periodicities of the hydroclimate variations reconstructed from a lacustrine sequence at Tiancun section (TC section) in the Luoyang Basin within the Central Plains of China and the sequence covers the first half of the Holocene. Our reconstruction shows that the hydroclimate variations at the TC section during the period from ∼10,135 and ∼ 5890 cal. yr BP were well corresponding with the effective soil moisture variations recorded by the stalagmite δ13C sequence at the Magou Cave. This corresponding relationship suggests that when the effective soil moisture increases (i.e., more negative δ13C values), the ratio of evaporation over precipitation in the paleolake at the TC section decreased, resulting in lower CaCO 3 content. It also suggests that when the effective soil moisture increases, more inflowing water entered the paleolake, resulting in coarser sediments. Our reconstruction also shows that the hydroclimate variations or lake level variations in the Luoyang Basin were characterized by millennial-scale quasi-periodicities that were most likely paced by the changes in ITCZ (Inter-tropical Convergent Zone) position and also by alterations in ENSO-like phase. And, both (ITCZ and ENSO) were most likely regulated by the solar activity. Our further analysis shows that the hydroclimate in the Luoyang Basin also experienced centennial-scale variations. Specifically, the grain size data express the following cycles: 692-year, 538-year, 217-year, 170-year and 123-year, all at the 99% confidence level. And, the CaCO 3 content data express the following cycles: 202-year, 184-year, 169-year and 85-year, all at the 99% confidence level. These cycles are approximately coincident with the widely-reported solar-activity cycles. • This paper reports the periodicities of the hydroclimate variations reconstructed from a lacustrine sequence in the Central Plains of China and the sequence covers the first half of the Holocene. • The hydroclimate variations were primarily paced by changes in ITCZ position and also by alterations in ENSO-like phase. And, both (ITCZ and ENSO) were most likely regulated by solar activity. • The centennial-scale hydroclimate variations were approximately coincident with the widely-reported solar-activity cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focusing on the evolution of coral reefs in the South China Sea, this special issue is dedicated to enhancing our understanding of Holocene environmental and climate changes in the region and their driving mechanisms. It comprises twenty-four papers organised into seven themes: (1) Palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironment evolution recorded by coral reefs; (2) Palaeo-ENSO activity recorded by coral reefs; (3) Palaeo-storm activity recorded by coral reefs; (4) The formation and evolution of coral reefs; (5) Carbonate diagenesis in coral reefs; (6) The application of new geochemical record indicators to coral reefs; and (7) Lipid biomarker records in coral reefs. This special issue provides an improved understanding of Holocene paleoclimates and paleoenvironments within the South China Sea, and the development of its coral reefs. It is hoped that these findings will deepen our knowledge of the natural and anthropogenic processes that contribute to climate and environmental change in the region, and aid the long-term protection of coral reef systems. • This special issue on recent advances of coral reefs in the South China Sea comprises twenty-four papers. • This special issue focuses on the evolution of coral reefs and their records on paleoenvironmental and paleoclimate changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to identify chronostratigraphic palaeo-climatic boundaries based on proxy indications from mountainand coastal wetlands in eastern South Africa and Lesotho. Phase boundaries were identified from timing of climate change inferred by proxies, as well as regime shifts in climate variability. Sometimes magnitude and/or frequency of change was also considered. Summarizing the common palaeo-climatic indications suggest the following chronostratigraphic climate phases: 25 to 18 ka, 18 to 15 ka, 15 to 11.5, 11.5 to 8 ka, 8 to 5.5 ka, 5.5 to 2 ka and 2 to 0 ka. The most robust boundaries were identified at 18 ka, 15 ka and 2 ka, i.e. these boundaries were supported by several proxies/sites. The other boundaries were less clearly detected from available proxies/sites and should be regarded tentative. The timing of a climate shift often coincides at coast and mountain sites. However, the climate conditions within each chronostratigraphic phase sometimes vary between coast and inland sites. The 25 to 18 ka phase was cool and dry with strong and frequent storms, followed by the ca. 18 to 15 ka period when conditions were less severe but still generally cool and dry. At ca. 15 to 11.5 ka several proxies infer warmer climate, with less winter rains. During 11.5 to 8 ka a general increase in wetness is inferred, followed by warming over the 8 to 5.5 ka phase. Between 5.5 and 2 ka a successive change towards wetter is indicated, although timing differ between sites. After 2 ka generally a more variable climate is seen, often with high magnitude shifts between dry and wet. The data resolution, i.e. the number of available wetland records, increases with time from very low during glacial times, to highest resolution during late Holocene. Geographically, sites in the mountain region are overrepresented compared to coastal sites. A comparison with coastal lake records suggests a more variable climate at coastal sites compared to mountain sites during mid- and late Holocene, although different proxy resolution and methodology cannot be ruled out as an explanation. A case study compares multiproxy records from Drakensberg (Sekhokong, Ntsikeni) and the coast (Mfabeni), discussing advantages and problems associated with proxy-comparisons within and between sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantifying the relative influences of anthropogenic activities and climate change on soil erosion and deposition during the Holocene, when both forces have been interacting is a complex problem. Analysis of long-term patterns in soil erosion and lake deposition in a basin can provide the basis for untangling the complexities of climate and anthropogenic forcings. In this paper, sedimentary sequences from Xingyun Lake are compared with simulated soil erosion rates in the basin to explore the relationship between river basin soil erosion and lake deposition during the Holocene in Yunnan, China. Modern soil erosion rates are calculated using RUSLE, while Holocene soil erosion rates are estimated using modern rates with reconstructed precipitation and vegetation cover sequences. Through this investigation, we found the following results. First, Holocene vegetation in the lake basin was mainly affected by climate change, and the vegetation experienced the same pattern of changes as the climate. Soil erosion and lake deposition rates, along with changes to vegetation cover, were synchronous with precipitation trends during the Holocene. Second, soil erosion and lake deposition have been exacerbated by human activities, such as deforestation and land reclamation in the Xingyun Lake basin. Finally, this study provides new insights into the effects by anthropogenic impacts and climate forcing on the processes of soil erosion and lake deposition on the millennium scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents two new pollen records and quantitative climate reconstructions from northern Chukotka documenting environmental changes over the last 27.9 ka. Open tundra‐ and steppe‐like habitats dominated between 27.9 and 18.7 cal. ka BP. Betula and Alnus shrubs might have grown in sheltered microhabitats but disappeared after 18.7 cal. ka BP. Although the climate was rather harsh, local herb‐dominated communities supported herbivores as is evident by the presence of coprophilous spores in the sediments. The increase in Salix and Cyperaceae ~16.1 cal. ka BP suggests climate amelioration. Shrub Betula appeared ~15.9 cal. ka BP, and became dominant after ~15.52 cal. ka BP, whilst typical steppe communities drastically reduced. Very high presence of Botryococcus in the Lateglacial sediments reflects widespread shallow habitats, probably due to lake level increase. Shrub Alnus became common after ~13 cal. ka BP reflecting further climate amelioration. Simultaneously, herb communities gradually decreased in the vegetation reaching a minimum ~11.8 cal. ka BP. A gradual decrease of algae remains suggests a reduction of shallow‐water habitats. Shrubby and graminoid tundra was dominant ~11.8–11.1 cal. ka BP, later Salix stands significantly decreased. The forest‐tundra ecotone established in the Early Holocene, shortly after 11.1 cal. ka BP. Low contents of green algae in the Early Holocene sediments likely reflect deeper aquatic conditions. The most favourable climate conditions were between ~10.6 and 7 cal. ka BP. Vegetation became similar to the modern after ~7 cal. ka BP but Pinus pumila came to the Ilirney area at about 1.2 cal. ka BP. It is important to emphasize that the study area provided refugia for Betula and Alnus during MIS 2. It is also notable that our records do not reflect evidence of Younger Dryas cooling, which is inconsistent with some regional environmental records but in good accordance with some others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past decades, the elongated mud belt, 1000 km length, in the inner shelf of the East China Sea (ECS), has been extensively studied. Previous studies mainly focused on the northern part of the mud belt. There are still many arguments on various issues of the mud belt, including the provenance discrimination, the formation mechanism, and its evolution response to climate and environmental changes. In this paper, a borehole acquired from the distal southern mud belt which penetrated the Holocene strata with the collected data was analyzed. According to the parameters of (La/Sm)UCC versus (Gd/Yb)UCC and the ternary diagram of smectite-illite-(kaolinite + chlorite), sediments from the top section of Core ECS1601 originated from the Yangtze River since 13.7 ka. Sediments from upper and lower reaches of the Yangtze River can be clearly distinguished by (Gd/Yb)UCC value. The provenance of the distal mud belt shifted from upper reaches to lower valley since 5 ka and returned to the upper reaches again since 2.5 ka, which was related to the asynchronous evolution of Asian monsoon system and anthropogenic activities. The high sedimentation rates occurring in the distal mud belt between 5 and 2.5 ka were related to the decreased sediment supply of the upper reaches and the strengthened Zhejiang-Fujian Coastal Current (ZFCC) caused by the intensified East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses a series of high-quality continuous records from southeastern Africa to study the spatiotemporal patterning of Holocene hydroclimatic anomalies in the region. Results indicate dominant frequencies of variability at millennial time scales, and a series of anomalies broadly common to all records. Of particular interest, data from the southern Cape coast exhibit periods of wetter/drier conditions that are out of phase with the sites less than 150 km away in the adjacent interior, but in phase with sites in tropical regions over 1000 km to the northeast. To explain such spatial patterns and gradients, we propose that the Agulhas Current may be a critical vector by which tropical climatic signals are propagated along the littoral zone, exerting a dominant, highly localized influence on near-coastal environmental conditions. Limitations in the data available do not allow for a detailed examination of the climatic dynamics related to these phenomena, but this paper highlights a series of avenues for future research to clarify the spatial extent and stability of the patterns observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of high‐resolution sedimentological analyses of sediment cores from the eastern Gulf of Finland (Baltic Sea). Sampling sites in the periphery of sedimentary basins were selected on the basis of acoustic profiling analyses. The research allowed tracing of the transition from the freshwater Ancylus Lake to the Littorina Sea. A specific transitional layer of 'blue clays', indicating the first stage of brackish water inflow into the Gulf of Finland, was dated to 9.1 ka BP. The date of first appearance of Littorina silty clay sedimentation was as follows: from 8.0 ka BP near Gogland Island, from 7.0 ka BP near Moshchny Island and from 5.9 ka BP near the Berezovye Islands. Holocene cycles of hypoxia, associated with periods of warming, were identified and cycles of 'warming – transgression – anoxic conditions' and 'cooling – regression – oxygen‐rich conditions' were revealed. During the first stage of Littorina transgression (8.0–7.0 ka BP), the near‐bottom environment in the deepest sedimentary basin of the eastern Gulf of Finland was characterized by oxygen deficiency. In contrast, 7.0–6.0 ka BP was dominated by oxygen‐rich conditions and active processes of bioturbation. Anoxic conditions occurred again from 6.0–4.8 ka BP (Holocene Climatic Optimum), resulting in the accumulation of undisturbed silty clays with subhorizontal lamination. The interval from 4.8–2.0 ka was then characterized by oxygen‐rich near‐bottom conditions favourable for benthic organisms. The grain‐size distributions throughout the sediment cores from the easternmost sedimentary basins suggest a relative lowering of the sea level from 3.5–1.8 ka and a rise after 1.8 ka BP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how marine taxa will respond to near-future climate changes is one of the main challenges for management of coastal ecosystem services. Ecological studies that investigate relationships between the environment and shell properties of commercially important marine species are commonly restricted to latitudinal gradients or small-scale laboratory experiments. This paper aimed to explore the variations in shell features and growth of the edible bivalve Chamelea gallina from the Holocene sedimentary succession to present-day thanatocoenosis of the Po Plain-Adriatic Sea system (Italy). Comparing the Holocene sub-fossil record to modern thanatocoenoses allowed obtaining an insight of shell variations dynamics on a millennial temporal scale. Five shoreface-related assemblages rich in C. gallina were considered: two from the Middle Holocene, when regional sea surface temperatures were higher than today, representing a possible analogue for the near-future global warming, one from the Late Holocene and two from the present-day. We investigated shell biometry and skeletal properties in relation to the valve length of C. gallina. Juveniles were found to be more porous than adults in all horizons. This suggested that C. gallina promoted an accelerated shell accretion with a higher porosity and lower density at the expense of mechanically fragile shells. A positive correlation between sea surface temperature and both micro-density and bulk density were found, with modern specimens being less dense, likely due to lower aragonite saturation state at lower temperature, which could ultimately increase the energetic costs of shell formation. Since no variation was observed in shell CaCO3 polymorphism (100% aragonite) or in compositional parameters among the analyzed horizons, the observed dynamics in skeletal parameters are likely not driven by a diagenetic recrystallization of the shell mineral phase. This study contributes to understand the response of C. gallina to climate-driven environmental shifts and offers insights for assessing anthropogenic impacts on this economic relevant species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Holocene is recognised as a period through which a number of climatic fluctuations and environmental stresses occur—associated with intensifying El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climatic conditions from c. 5000 years—contemporaneous with technological and social changes in Australian Aboriginal lifeways. In the Kimberley region of northwest Western Australia, human responses to ENSO driven climate change are most evident archaeologically in technological transformations observed in lithic records, with little research on changes in plant use during this time. Using nine archaeological sites across the Kimberley, this paper synthesises previously published macrobotanical data (Carpenter's Gap 1, Moonggaroonggoo, Mount Behn, and Riwi), reports unpublished data (Brooking Gorge 1, Djuru, and Wandjina rockshelter), and presents results of sites reanalysed for this study (Widgingarri Shelters 1 and 2) to develop a picture of localised and regional patterns of plant use during the Holocene. We conclude that food plants associated with monsoon rainforest environments dominate both mid- and late Holocene macrobotanical records and, although monsoon rainforest likely retreated to some extent because of decreased precipitation during the late Holocene, no human responses associated with ENSO driven climate change occurred in relation to human uses of plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, it has been unclear as to how the world's first cities, in southern Mesopotamia, not only arose in a fluvial environment but also how this environment changed. This paper seeks to understand the long-term fluvial history of the region around Uruk, a major early city, in relation to water-human interactions. This paper applies geomorphological, historical and archaeological approaches and reveals that the Uruk region in southern Mesopotamia had been under the influence of freshwater fluvial environment since the early Holocene. It further demonstrates how canals and long-term human activities since the mid Holocene have been superimposed on the natural river channel patterns. Fieldwork has been conducted to ground-truth features identified applying remote sensing techniques. Five sediment cores were analysed to elucidate palaeoenvironmental changes. Radiocarbon ages for organic samples suggest that the oldest sediment layers, at a depth of 12.5 m, are from the Early Holocene, while results from diatom analyses imply that the whole sediment column was deposited in a freshwater environment. Intensive networks of palaeochannels and archaeological sites within the study area have been reconstructed and these networks have been divided into four different time intervals based on changes in channel courses. The first is from the early 4th to the late 1st millennium BCE; the second is from the late 1st millennium BCE to the middle 2nd millennium CE; the third lasted from after the Islamic period until the 1980s; the fourth is from the 1980s until the present. Key results include evidence for freshwater environments and favourable settlement conditions had already formed by the 8th millennium BCE. The favourable settlement environment resulted in stable (long-lived) canals between the 4th millennium BCE and 1st millennium CE. A significant settlement and irrigation expansion occurred in the early 1st millennium CE. Major abandonment ensued in the late 1st millennium CE and lasted until the mid 2nd millennium CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a first paper, we presented an in-depth discussion and a computational method (free of the calendar problem) to reckon any kind of latitudinal insolation gradients, LIGs, throughout the Holocene and up to CE 3000. One of the main insights from this exact definition of LIGs is that, unlike what is argued in prior works, during the Holocene, a general classification of LIGs in terms of obliquity signal or climatic precession variations is much more complex, even in summertime. It is especially evident in the Southern Hemisphere, where summer half-year LIGs evolve under the relatively stronger modulation by climatic precession. In this work, the short-term periodicities (high frequency variations in time domain) of all these LIGs are studied by means of the multitaper spectral analysis. The goal is to get more insights on the competing effects between obliquity and climatic precession during the Holocene, and to know how the relative intensity of the obliquity's periodicities is when compared to the main spectral peaks produced by the climatic precession effects at short time scales (e.g., from annual to decadal bands). Our main result is the clarification of the role of the 18.63 yr periodicity originated in the well known retrograding cycle of the Moons' orbit. We found that this lunar cycle is always present at a 99 % significance level in all the analysed LIGs, even in winter with solar cycle included. The conceptual explanation of this persistence is based on the fact that all accurate short-term orbital forcing calculation must include the lunar nodal cycle even in climatic precession variations. We propose to use more specific definitions when short-term orbital variations are taken into account in describing Milanković forcing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two versions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Flexible Global Ocean-Atmosphere-Land System model (CAS-FGOALS), version f3-L and g3, are used to simulate the two interglacial epochs of the mid-Holocene and the Last Interglacial in phase 4 of the Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project (PMIP4), which aims to study the impact of changes in orbital parameters on the Earth's climate. Following the PMIP4 experimental protocols, four simulations for the mid-Holocene and two simulations for the Last Interglacial have been completed, and all the data, including monthly and daily outputs for the atmospheric, oceanic, land and sea-ice components, have been released on the Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) node. These datasets contribute to PMIP4 and CMIP6 (phase 6 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) by providing the variables necessary for the two interglacial periods. In this paper, the basic information of the CAS-FGOALS models and the protocols for the two interglacials are briefly described, and the datasets are validated using proxy records. Results suggest that the CAS-FGOALS models capture the large-scale changes in the climate system in response to changes in solar insolation during the interglacial epochs, including warming in mid-to-high latitudes, changes in the hydrological cycle, the seasonal variation in the extent of sea ice, and the damping of interannual variabilities in the tropical Pacific. Meanwhile, disagreements within and between the models and the proxy data are also presented. These datasets will help the modeling and the proxy data communities with a better understanding of model performance and biases in paleoclimate simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the eastern United States, existing paleo-reconstructions in fluvial environments consist primarily of site-specific investigations of climate and human impacts on riverine processes. This paper presents the first meta-analysis of fluvial reconstructions focused on regional watersheds of the eastern United States, including the Lower Mississippi, Tennessee, South Atlantic–Gulf Coast, Ohio, Mid-Atlantic, and New England regional watersheds. Chronologies of fluvial activity (i.e. alluvial deposition) and stability (i.e. landscape stability) were developed by synthesizing data from existing, published, and site-specific fluvial reconstruction studies conducted across the eastern United States. Overall, regional watersheds show variable patterns of synchronicity across watersheds and did not demonstrate cyclic behavior through the Holocene. During the last millennium, only the Lower Mississippi and Ohio regional watersheds exhibit high rates of fluvial activity active during the 'Medieval Climate Anomaly' (650–1050 yr BP), while nearly all other regional watersheds in the eastern United States were active during the 'Little Ice Age' (100–500 yr BP). These findings imply that fluvial activity may be more spatially restricted during warmer/drier climatic conditions than during cooler/wetter periods. We find an increase in fluvial activity during the era of Euro-American colonization (400 yr BP to present) in the southeastern United States but not the northeastern United States, implying a heterogeneous response of fluvial systems to human activities in the eastern United States related to climatic, cultural, and/or physiographic variability. These new insights gained from fluvial chronologies in the eastern United States demonstrate the utility of regionally synthesized paleo-records to understand large-scale climate variation effect on rivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River confluences can be metastable and contain valuable geological records of catchment response to decadal- to millennial-scale environmental change. However, in alluvial reaches, flood stratigraphies are particularly hard to date using 14C. In this paper, we use a novel combination of optically stimulated luminescence and multiproxy sedimentological analyses to provide a flood record for the confluence of the Rivers Severn and Teme (United Kingdom) over the past two millennia, which we compare with independent European climate records. The results show that by ca. 2000 yr B.P., the Severn-Teme confluence had stabilized and overbank alluviation had commenced. Initially, this occurred from moderately high flood magnitudes between ca. 2000 and 1800 yr B.P. (50 BCE-150 CE), but was followed from 1800 to 1600 yr B.P. (150-350 CE) by fine alluvial deposition and decreased flood intensity. From 1600 to 1400 yr B.P. (350-550 CE), the accumulation rate increased, with evidence of large flood events associated with the climatic deterioration of the Dark Age Cold Period. Following a period of reduced flood activity after ca. 1400 yr B.P. (ca. 550 CE), larger flood events and increase in accumulation rate once again became more prevalent from ca. 850 yr B.P. (ca. 1100 CE), coincident with the start of the Medieval Climate Anomaly, a period associated with warmer, wetter conditions and increased land-use intensity. This state persisted until ca. 450 yr B.P. (ca. 1500 CE), after which increased flood magnitudes can be associated with climatic variations during the Little Ice Age. We demonstrate that from the combination of high-resolution dating techniques and multiple analytical parameters, distinctive phases of relative flood magnitude versus flood duration can be determined to a detailed chronological precision beyond that possible from 14C dating. This permits the identification of the regional factors behind floodplain sedimentation, which we correlate with the intensification of land-use and climatic drivers over the last two millennia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Estimation of the relative intensity of different cold periods occurring during the Late Quaternary is a difficult task, particularly in non-glaciated mountain landscapes and where high- to medium-resolution archives for proxy data are lacking. In this paper, we study a Holocene polycyclic soil sequence in the central Alps (Val Cavargna, Northern Italy) to estimate climatic parameters (specifically Temperature) changes in non-glaciated, high altitude environments. We investigate this key site through palaeopedological and micromorphological analyses in order to understand phases of soil development and detect hidden evidence of cold conditions during its formation. Three phases of pedogenesis can be recognized and attributed in time to different periods during the Holocene. Pedogenetic phases were separated by two truncation and deposition episodes related to the reactivation of slope processes under cold conditions at the onset of the Neoglacial and the Iron Age Cold Epoch, respectively. Micromorphological evidence of frost action in the soil can instead relate to pedogenetic processes acting in the Little Ice Age. The different expression of these three cold periods corresponds to changes in climatic conditions, pointing to the Little Ice Age as a cooler/drier period in comparison to the preceding ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A palynological assay of the studies carried out from the Western and the Eastern Himalaya (India) during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene is presented here. The Western Himalaya is affected by both the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) and Western Disturbances, whereas the Eastern Himalaya receives precipitation only from the ISM. During the Late Pleistocene (~77 ka), a cold and arid climate supported steppe vegetation in the Western Himalaya. In the Eastern Himalaya, around 66 ka, a cool and dry climate supported the savannah vegetation with few scattered trees of Pinus and Tsuga. A number of warm-moist fluctuations are also perceptible during the Late Pleistocene. The impacts of Last Glacial Maximum, Holocene Climatic Optimum, Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age are well discernible in the vegetation in both the regions. Within a broad similarity, the climate change and associated vegetation succession varied from region to region; as the palynological records are characterized by the evidences of prolonged humid phases in the eastern sector, whereas the arid events are better marked in the western part. The similarities and incompatibilities in the climate and vegetation between the Western and Eastern Himalaya during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene are discussed in the present paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine the epochal changes in the frequency of cyclones over the North Indian Ocean during the pre-onset and onset phases of the monsoon. We consider three epochs; namely, the early (1955–74), middle (1975–94) and recent (1995–2014) epochs. It is found that the number of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal (BOB) decreases throughout the three epochs. Over the Arabian Sea (ARB), however, there is a decrease in the early epoch, before then reaching a minimum in the middle epoch followed by an increase in the recent epoch, thus exhibiting epochal variability. Dynamic and thermodynamic parameters along with Genesis Potential Index (GPI) are examined to understand the frequency variation in cyclogenesis over the ARB and BOB. Over the ARB, thermodynamic factors such as mid-level moisture, surface latent heat flux and sensible heat flux, and dynamic parameters such as lower-level convergence and upper-level divergence, are favorable during the early and recent epochs but unfavorable during the middle epoch, and these results are found to be consistent with the observed epochal variability in the frequency of cyclogenesis. However, all these influential parameters are found to have decreased over the BOB during the entire 60-year period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most parts of the Circumpolar Arctic have only discontinuous evidence for long-term human settlement. In contrast, Northern Norway has an unbroken archaeological record that extends back to the early Holocene. Numerous high-resolution archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records have been generated by commercial excavations and surveys, offering archaeologists unique opportunities to investigate long-term human ecodynamics in an Arctic coastal setting. To date, however, deeper analysis of the new datasets has yet to be undertaken. This paper aims to present a new synthesis of early and mid Holocene archaeological and paleoenvironmental sequences for Western Finnmark (11500-2000 cal BP). This enables us to identify three major phases of culture change that broadly correlate with climatic and environmental shifts. We then present emerging results from our multi-scalar analysis of the processes driving these transformations. At supra-regional and regional scales, our palaeodemographic modelling indicates major population events centered around 6000 cal BP and 4000 cal BP. At intra-regional scales, we are identifying spatial clustering of prehistoric settlements into local socio-economic communities. At the scale of local settlements, our analysis of house-pit chronologies is clarifying the degree of simultaneous occupation and re-use. We also draw on recent research into rock art and ritual landscapes in an effort to reconstruct the relationship between settlement clusters and general interaction patterns. Integration of these diverse lines of evidence is generating a vivid picture of thriving Arctic coastal communities, with indications that the timing and pace of cultural responses to climatic and environmental changes were more complex than previously thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palaeoclimatic records from southern tip of South America during the Last Holocene, indicate important climate intervals, such as the Medieval Climate Anomaly and Little Ice Age, which offered new scenarios to hunter-gatherer groups who inhabited the region. The aim of this paper is to explore the social practices carried out by hunter-fisher-gatherer societies of the southern part of the Atlantic Coast of Tierra del Fuego island (53–55°S, 66–74°W) in order to deal with these environmental changes. From our perspective, foragers have played an active role in designing strategies to cope with environmental fluctuations. Consequently, we argue that in a context of ecological uncertainty, these societies would have developed flexible strategies in terms of subsistence, technology and settlement patterns. In order to test this proposal, zooarchaeological and technological analysis of different archaeological assemblages dated between the 1300 to 220 BP were undertaken. The results show that these hunter-fisher-gatherer societies exploited a broad range of faunal resources using a versatile technology which encompassed tools with low production values and high use values. Likewise, the analysis of landscape organization revealed a settlement strategy centered on the most productive habitats, which were preferentially reoccupied. We suggest that these strategies, supported by cumulative knowledge and material conditions, could have enhanced social resilience and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidisciplinary studies in coastal systems of the eastern Mediterranean region have proven to be excellent tools in understanding paleoenvironmental, paleoecological, and paleoclimatic changes that took place during the Holocene period, and how these changes interacted with urban development and growth. This paper presents sedimentological, high-resolution x-ray fluorescence (XRF scanning), micropaleontological, and x-ray diffraction (XRD) data from three shallow sediment cores that were retrieved from Aliki (ancient Siphai or Tipha) salt pond. The study area is located in a unique, highly tectonic geographical region, at the northeast part of the Gulf of Corinth in Greece. Beachrock deposits that form a barrier between the salt pond and the marine environment seem to play an important role in the evolution of the area. The chronological framework was set at around 3100 cal. BP by four 14C radiocarbon dates, and the evolutionary model that was established indicates four different changes taking place during this period at the study area. From around 3100 to 1600 cal. BP, a transition from a closed to an open lagoonal environment was identified, interrupted by a fluvial terrestrial deposit at around 2500 cal. BP. A shift toward a closed lagoonal system at around 1600 cal. BP and the establishment of a salt pond environment seem to correlate with tectonic activity. The study provides important information about the evolution of coastal landscape in such a tectonic active region and points the interaction between regional human activity and climatic changes during the late-Holocene period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-latitude permafrost peatlands are sensitive to global warming, and understanding their paleohydrological evolution is critical for assessing future hydrological and environmental changes. This paper presents a diatom record from a peat deposit covering the past 3300 years to reconstruct the moisture and acidity conditions in the Tuqiang permafrost peatland in the northern Greater Khingan Mountains of northeast China. Our findings are integrated with previously published records of plant macrofossils, palynology, and geochemistry from the same profile. From 3300 to 2800 cal yr BP, planktonic and benthic diatoms were equally abundant, indicating relatively high moisture conditions, while the low abundance of acidophilous diatoms reflects relatively high pH during this interval. Pollen data show dominance by sedges with input from the surrounding Pinus forest, while LOI data and lithology suggest that the site was a non-peat accumulating wetland. During the period 2800–1100 cal yr BP, the dominance of planktonic diatoms indicates a wetter local environment, concurrent with the dominance of peat-forming sedges (Eriophorum), indicating the development of a peatland. Between 1100 and 500 cal yr BP, a short-lived increase in acidophilous diatoms (Eunotia) marks a decrease in pH. Since 500 cal yr BP, the dominance of benthic diatoms reflects a drier environment, while a vegetation shift from an Eriophorum -dominated rich fen to a Sphagnum- and Ericaceae-dominated poor fen. An increase in Eunotia diatoms prior to the Sphagnum peak may indicate that diatoms are more sensitive to local acidified habitats than moss. Peatland development in the northern Greater Khingan Mountains was likely induced by the onset of a cooler and wetter climate starting at approximately 2800 cal yr BP, a scenario supported by regional paleoclimate records. Since 700 cal yr BP, the peatland has been affected by both anthropogenic activities and climatic changes, as a drying climate and intensified human activities around the study area reduced diatom species diversity and peat accumulation. Under the background of future global warming and enhanced human activities, the decreasing species diversity and carbon accumulation rate of peatlands in high-latitude permafrost regions need more attention. • Diatoms can indicate local moisture and acidity in permafrost peatlands. • Diatoms are likely more sensitive to microhabitats than bryophytes. • TQ peatland formed after 2800 cal yr BP caused by the cooler and wetter climate. • Rich-fen shifted to poor-fen which co-influenced by deforestation and dry climate at LIA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how former hunter-gatherers living along the southern North Sea coast in NW Europe adapted to long-term and short-term climatic and environmental changes at the beginning of the Holocene. It is argued that contemporaneous hunter-gatherers repeatedly changed their hunting equipment in response to changing climate and environment, not just for functional reasons but mainly driven by socio-territorial considerations. Based on a Bayesian analysis of 122 critically selected radiocarbon dates a broad chronological correlation is demonstrated between rapid changes in the design and technology of stone projectiles and short but abrupt cooling events, occurring at 10.3, 9.3 and 8.2 ka cal BP. Combined with the rapid sea level rises and increased wildfires these climatic events probably impacted the lifeways of hunter-gatherers in such a way that they increasingly faced resource stress and competition, forcing them to invest in the symbolic defense of their social territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a sedimentary record from Lake Łukie located in the southeastern part of the Central European Plain, beyond the reach of the maximum extent of the last glaciation. The lake has thermokarstic origin and developed during the last glacial termination due to subsidence of the sub‐Quaternary carbonate basement triggered by permafrost thawing. A sediment core was investigated to reconstruct water trophic state and lake depth changes during the Holocene. We aimed at showing the relationship between ecological and geochemical changes in the lake and regional/supraregional climatic and hydrological trends throughout the Holocene. Results of subfossil Cladocera analysis were combined with data on the geochemistry and stable C and O isotopes in sedimentary carbonates. Isotopic and geochemical proxies helped to detect sources of sedimentary particles in the lake and thus to reconstruct changes in the intensity of atmospheric and catchment processes (e.g. precipitation and surface runoff). The Cladocera analysis results indicated endogenic processes in the lake such as trophic changes. Our data revealed that Lake Łukie has always been a rather eutrophic water body and the periods of particularly high productivity were in the lower Preboreal and upper Subatlantic. Periods of increased water depth were recorded in the lower Preboreal, lower Boreal and upper Subboreal, whereas low water stands were obtained during the late Preboreal, late Boreal, late Atlantic and Atlantic/Subboreal transition as well as during the lower Subboreal. The sediment succession from Lake Łukie provides the first full Holocene record of carbon and oxygen stable isotopes in lacustrine carbonates from the eastern part of the Central European Lowland. The record is characterized by uncommonly high δ13C and δ18O values of the carbonates resulting from a combination of within‐lake processes and dissolution of the carbonate bedrock of Cretaceous age. The impact of the old carbonates on isotope values was helpful in the reconstruction of the catchment forcing on the lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Holocene climate variability in the Mediterranean Basin is often cited as a potential driver of societal change, but the mechanisms of this putative influence are generally little explored. In this paper we integrate two tools–agro-ecosystem modeling of potential agricultural yields and spatial analysis of archaeological settlement pattern data–in order to examine the human consequences of past climatic changes. Focusing on a case study in Provence (France), we adapt an agro-ecosystem model to the modeling of potential agricultural productivity during the Holocene. Calibrating this model for past crops and agricultural practices and using a downscaling approach to produce high spatiotemporal resolution paleoclimate data from a Mediterranean Holocene climate reconstruction, we estimate realistic potential agricultural yields under past climatic conditions. These serve as the basis for spatial analysis of archaeological settlement patterns, in which we examine the changing relationship over time between agricultural productivity and settlement location. Using potential agricultural productivity (PAgP) as a measure of the human consequences of climate changes, we focus on the relative magnitudes of 1) climate-driven shifts in PAgP and 2) the potential increases in productivity realizable through agricultural intensification. Together these offer a means of assessing the scale and mechanisms of the vulnerability and resilience of Holocene inhabitants of Provence to climate change. Our results suggest that settlement patterns were closely tied to PAgP throughout most of the Holocene, with the notable exception of the period from the Middle Bronze Age through the Early Iron Age. This pattern does not appear to be linked to any climatically-driven changes in PAgP, and conversely the most salient changes in PAgP during the Holocene cannot be clearly linked to any changes in settlement pattern. We argue that this constitutes evidence that vulnerability and resilience to climate change are strongly dependent on societal variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains are southern Africa's highest and lie at a crucial interface between the sub-continent's drier, colder, more seasonal interior and its perennially productive sub-tropical coastal belt. Their location, high elevation, and topography make them ideal for exploring human responses to late Quaternary climatic change. This paper reviews and synthesizes palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental data from the Maloti-Drakensberg region over the past 50,000 years. It then employs 325 calibrated radiocarbon dates to examine human occupational trends across the region and its component parts, discuss human-environment dynamics over this time-span, and explore patterning between particular phases of climatic change and the timing, mode, and motives of its exploitation by people. Key findings are that the region's Lesotho core may have served as a refugium for human populations during drier, more unstable climatic periods and that intensified exploitation of freshwater fish likely helped address resource stress in cooler ones. An agenda for future palaeoenvironmental and archaeological research is also mapped out. Highlights • Elevation and location make the Maloti-Drakensberg highly sensitive to climate change. • Proxy data document greater moisture availability during glacial and stadial maxima. • Diverse climatic conditions saw pulsed human occupation of different sub-regions. • Mountain core provided refuge for human populations during drier/unstable episodes. • Flexible responses to resource stress included intensified fishing in cooler periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of modern paleontological, isotope-geochemical, and paleotectonic data on Vendian rocks in the Patom Basin (Siberia) is presented. The paper discusses depositional settings and features of the specifics of sedimentogenesis of the Barakun carbonate-terrigenous formation, which matches the lower strata of postglacial deposits of the Dal’nyaya Taiga Group. It is shown that formation of the transgressive Barakun Formation was governed by relatively deep-water (below the storm wave base) distal settings of a low-angle (about 1°) homoclinal ramp. Its formation was related to a more intense sagging of the northeastern part of the Ura Uplift. The formation of breccias and intrusions was fostered by high seismic activity of the paleobasin recorded in plastic deformations along with liquefaction and fluidization of sedimentary beds. The constant seismic destabilization of bottom beds provoked small but frequent landslides without the formation of turbidite flows. The continuous dislocation of sediments toward the depocenter actively governed specifics of the ramp architecture. The unusual behavior of sediments during their long-term thixotropic residence could be related to a high content of organic matter, processes of methanogenesis and, probably, dissemination of gas hydrate compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pleistocene-Holocene transition c. 11.5 ka cal. BP is associated with dramatic climatic changes. These events led to fundamental shifts in landscape and have, therefore, been seen as responsible for a major impact on the human ecological behavior of the last hunter-gatherers in the Western European territory. In the case of Iberian Peninsula, it is commonly assumed that these human ecological adaptations are reflected in the new settlement and subsistence patterns that characterized the Late Upper Paleolithic-Mesolithic transition. Following the argument, the main aim of this paper is to present the state-of-the-art and consider this theoretical model using zooarchaeological data of small terrestrial vertebrates and fish from SW Portugal. Archaeological data are reviewed and discussed in order to analyze the change in the exploitation of small game, birds, and aquatic resources during this period. In this paper, we reinforce the idea that in SW Iberia, subsistence intensification and diversification precede the transition itself and are more likely to be related to other long-term phenomena, cultural and/or demographical, than to the changes in settlement behavior. The state-of-the-art discussed here led to new research questions related to the role of small vertebrates on the changes in human subsistence behavior during the Pleistocene-Holocene from Western Iberia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents an evaluation of subfossil bird bones from archaeological and geological sites in Europe that shows that birds of the genus Pelecanus occurred far out of their present range between 7.4 and 5.0 ka BP in the Danish archipelago. Additionally, from other northwestern European regions mid-Holocene records of pelicans are known. However, due to morphological similarities there are difficulties in species identification. In this paper ancient DNA barcoding techniques were used to clarify the species assignment of one of these records for the first time. Our results show that the bone derives from Dalmatian pelican Pelecanus crispus, a species that today breeds in 15 colonies in the eastern Mediterranean. This species identification is especially remarkable since the Dalmatian pelican is known to be less migratory. We demonstrate that the appearance and disappearance of pelicans in northwestern Europe coincide with climate parameters, since all records fall within warm periods. This applies for the larger group of Danish records during the Holocene thermal maximum in northern Europe as well as for two more groups of records from central Europe and Britain dating to 1.9 and 0.8 ka ago. Recent ecological research on the Dalmatian pelican shows that the species seems to profit from the modern climate changes and is starting to expand its range. Our paper documents that under special circumstances short-distance migrant birds are also able to expand their ranges to areas far outside of the former distribution areas. Finally, the Dalmatian pelican is presented as an indicator species reflecting special climate conditions. The present study demonstrates not only the possibility to recover avian DNA from at least 7 ka old bones, but the relevance of such genetic analysis in combination with archaeological data, particularly if bones could not be assigned to species level by morphological features. In such cases, aDNA is shown as a valuable tool for the reconstruction of the avifauna of the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding Earth surface responses in terms of sediment dynamics to climatic variability and tectonics forcing is hindered by limited ability of current models to simulate long-term evolution of sediment transfer and associated morphological changes. This paper presents pyBadlands, an open-source python-based framework which computes over geological time (1) sediment transport from landmasses to coasts, (2) reworking of marine sediments by longshore currents and (3) development of coral reef systems. pyBadlands is cross-platform, distributed under the GPLv3 license and available on GitHub (). Here, we describe the underlying physical assumptions behind the simulated processes and the main options already available in the numerical framework. Along with the source code, a list of hands-on examples is provided that illustrates the model capabilities. In addition, pre and post-processing classes have been built and are accessible as a companion toolbox which comprises a series of workflows to efficiently build, quantify and explore simulation input and output files. While the framework has been primarily designed for research, its simplicity of use and portability makes it a great tool for teaching purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differences between climate conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the Mid-Holocene (MH) in southern South America inferred from the state-of-the-art PMIP3 paleoclimatic simulations are described for the first time in this paper. The aim is to expose characteristics of past climate changes occurred without human influence. In this context, numerical simulations are an indispensable tool for inferring changes in near-surface air temperature and precipitation in regions where proxy information is scarce or absent. The analyzed PMIP3 models describe MH temperatures significantly warmer than those of LGM with magnitudes of change depending on the season and the specific geographic region. In addition, models indicate that seasonal mean precipitation during MH increased with respect to LGM values in wide southern continental areas to the east of the Andes Cordillera whereas seasonal precipitation developed in areas to the west of Patagonian Andes reduced from LGM to MH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent meta-analyses of Upper Paleolithic Southwestern European archaeofaunas (Jones, 2015, 2016) have identified a consistent “Mediterranean” cluster from the Last Glacial Maximum through the early Holocene, suggesting similarities in environment and/or consistency in hunting strategy across this region through time despite radical changes in climate. However, while these archaeofaunas from this cluster all derive from sites located within today's Mediterranean bioclimatic region, many of them are from locations far from the Mediterranean Sea – Atlantic Portugal, the Spanish Meseta – which today differ significantly from each other in biotic composition. In this paper, I explore clustering (through cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling) within the Mediterranean archaeofaunal group. I test for the influence of sample size as well as the geographic variables of site elevation, latitude, and longitude on variability in the large mammal portions of archaeofaunal assemblages. ANOVA shows no relationship between cluster-defined groups and site elevation or longitude; instead, site latitude appears to be a primary contributor to patterning. However, the overall compositional similarity of the Mediterranean archaeofaunas in this dataset suggests more consistency than variability in Upper Paleolithic hunting strategy in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most important stratified screes of the Iberian Range are found in Sierra de Albarracín. These slope deposits have been traditionally considered, without absolute datings, as having been formed during various Pleistocene cold phases. The aim of this paper is to establish the sedimentological, morphological, chronological, and paleoenvironmental characteristics of these deposits through the study of four profiles recorded in the Calomarde canyon (El Rollo, El Molino, and Royuela) and Toril. The most representative profile is that of El Rollo as it is formed by basal tufa and stratified scree layers separated by paleosoils. Radiocarbon datings obtained from paleosoil samples show that the sequence ranges between the early and middle Holocene. The profiles from El Molino and Royuela, as well as the upper levels of Toril, complete the sequence showing deposits from upper Holocene (Bronze Age and ‘Little Ice Age’). These data show the oscillations during the Holocene between colder phases, represented by the stratified screes, and warmer–wetter phases with soil development and local tufa deposits. This geomorphological and pedological response to the Holocene climatic variability shows its clearest records in the canyons. However, there are almost no Pleistocene accumulations – with the exception of that of Toril (minimum age of <43.5 ka BP). The possibility of relating this succession of Holocene environmental changes to known regional and global climatic stages converts these accumulations into the most important Holocene paleoenvironmental record from the Iberian Ranges and the most complete sequence of Holocene stratified screes from the Mediterranean area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive and integrative view of East Asian monsoon evolution during the Holocene is still under debate, and additional high-resolution proxy records from climatically sensitive locations are requisite to solve this complex issue. In this paper, we present three well-dated mud/peat cores from a paleo-pingo depression in the Sanjiang Plain, a climatically sensitive region to monsoon variation, to reveal the paleoenvironmental history of the wetland and discuss the regional impacts from monsoon evolution. A paleolake developed in the study area before 5.5 ka BP, and a peatland initiated thereafter consequent upon the gradual shrinking of the paleolake. This transition lasted until 4.5 ka BP, when the paleolake changed entirely to a wetland. Considering the prevalent monsoon climate in the Sanjiang Plain, we suggest that the lake-to-wetland transition from 5.5 to 4.5 ka BP indicates a rapid decline of the East Asian summer monsoon in addition to autogenic basin infilling processes. Such a remarkable monsoon weakening event has been documented across northern China, and we associate this with ocean–atmosphere interactions throughout low-latitude regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is the country with the most population in the world, and its climate is extremely diverse due to tremendous differences in latitude, longitude, and altitude, ranging from tropical in the far south to subarctic in the far north and alpine in the higher elevations of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Accurate assessment of its modern climate change is conductive to addressing global warming threat. Along with the development of Past Global Changes (PAGES) research, the focus has changed from paleo-climate reconstructions to using paleo-data for assessing the present and predicting the future. Previous studies have been devoted to climate change assessment using modern climate observations and simulations. This paper presents a new assessment approach based on the mid-Holocene, which provides a naturally oriented warming that can be compared to modern human-made global warming. A variety of climatic data, including modern observations, paleo-climate records, CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5) and PMIP3 (Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project 3) simulations, as well as lake level models, were applied in this synthesis. Numerical climate classification was introduced to evaluate climate change impacts to Chinese climate zones on various time scales. The results show that winter and summer seasons have different response to the naturally oriented mid-Holocene warming but human-made global warming makes the warming trend appear in all seasons. Temperate and continental dry winter climates expand dramatically during the mid-Holocene warm period; however, the future global warming could have few impacts to Chinese climate zones. Furthermore, the East Asian summer monsoon was strengthened obviously by the mid-Holocene warm climate and strong low-latitude insolation. There is no consistent trend both for the winter and summer monsoon on the background of human-made global warming. In this study, a new benchmark was established based on paleo-climate to evaluate the impacts of human-made global warming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 8.2 ka BP event may represent the largest, most abrupt Holocene climate event. This paper examines the impact of this event on human activity in the middle Mesolithic. It produces Bayesian statistical models for the chronology of anthropogenic sites in northwest Atlantic Europe for a 1000 year time window around the event to explore evidence for human responses to climate change or resilience in the face of this climate change event. By approaching evidence for activity at sites in Denmark, Belgium, France, Ireland and Britain we explore evidence for differential temporally- and spatially-transgressive local responses to climate change in this period to move to sub-continental scales of activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]