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The lowest section of the Upper Dniester River Valley (DRV), located between the uplands of Opillia and Eastern Subcarpathians, was a separate and specific Pleistocene geoecosystem, interesting for the hunter-gatherer communities. This is evidenced by three main (Yezupil, Mariampil and Halych), and a dozen or so additional Palaeolithic open-air sites. They occur as cultural layers within the loess-palaeosol sequences (LPSs) and represent semi-permanent settlement (except for the periods with the maximum intensity of the loess sedimentation); the oldest occur in the Eemian palaeosol. All sites are located on both sides of the river. In the past, the DRV was characterized by local environmental diversity changing with time. In consequence, it has very individual features, so the analysis of environmental changes is a local case study. In order to obtain information about the changes of climate and environment, the multi-proxy analyses were carried out. Chronology was based on the luminescence and radiocarbon dating. The diversity of habitats was local. Its degree was changing with time: it was minimal in the periods with extreme climatic conditions, such as the climate optimum and pessimum, and clearly greater in the climatically intermediate periods with fluctuations. Based on the materials indicating the mesoclimate and local vegetation diversity during the human occupation episodes as well as the location of the Palaeolithic sites, we found that generally the possibilities of choosing a warmer or sheltered place for a camp were not significant for hunters representing different cultures of different ages. Palaeolithic groups very often occupied the same places in the DRV. The camps had a hunting function, the choice of places was dictated primarily by the need to find a good place to observe game animals and to organize hunting – first of all – in the mouth sections of the tributaries of the Dniester River, regardless of the situation of localities relative to riverplains. The settlement attractiveness of such places was essentially timeless.

The Lithuanian onshore section of the south-eastern Baltic Sea region, or the so-called Lithuanian Maritime Region (LMR) – a belt several tens of kilometres wide along the Baltic Sea coast – is characterised by a complicated Quaternary structure and many of unsolved problems related to stratigraphy and palaeogeography. The inter-till lacustrine sediments widespread in the middle part of the Pleistocene thickness play a key role in solving the mentioned problems. The primary inter-till sediments were attributed, as a single lithostratigraphic unit, to the late Saalian Glaciation (MIS 6, Pamarys Sub-Formation; according to the Lithuanian Quaternary Stratigraphic Scheme). Subsequent detailed investigations show that the investigated inter-till succession represents a more complicated sediment complex formed over a wide time interval from the Saalian ice sheet decay at the very end of MIS 6 to the beginning of severe climate cooling during MIS 4. This standpoint is confirmed by the results of a few series of OSL and IR-OSL datings of inter-till sediments, as well as by data of pollen and diatom analysis. The more detailed stratigraphic subdivision of the inter-till sedimentary complex offers a new significant insight into the regional stratigraphic scheme of the Quaternary. As a result of the mentioned investigations, a new original reconstruction of the palaeogeographic situation in the LMR during the MIS 6 – MIS 3 time span was carried out. The lowermost part of the investigated inter-till sediments, attributed to MIS 6, could be correlated with the third MIS 6 warming in Northern Eurasia about 155 ka ago. The reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental changes starting from MIS 6 and lasting to MIS 3 shows that the Eemian Sea MIS 5e in age was absent in the LMR, while part of the south-eastern Baltic Sea region was covered by a continental ice sheet during MIS 4 and, possibly, the very beginning of MIS 3.

An analysis of voluminous data on the European fossil small mammals datable to the Dnieper (Saale) Glaciation (MIS 6) allowed establishing the main characteristics of the species composition in the faunas, their distribution and diversity. As is shown by the analysis, the faunas of small mammal underwent cardinal changes within the subcontinent boundaries at that time, with the exception of the faunas of the southern peninsulas. Some subarctic species are proved to penetrate southwards as far as 48° N in Western Europe and up to southern France and the British Isles in Western Europe. The steppe species enlarged their ranges to the north and to the west (up to the British Isles). This fact suggests the disappearance of the continuous forest zone. Occasional forest mammal species persisted in Eastern Europe; in most localities of Western Europe, however, forest mammal remains are present along with those of steppe and subarctic mammals. A structural stability of mammal faunas was preserved on the southern peninsulas that had not been heavily influenced by the glaciation. The transition to the Mikulino (Eem) Interglacial (MIS 5e) was marked by changes in the structure of mammal assemblages on the subcontinent. The ranges of subarctic mammal species shifted northwards, the forest zone was restored gradually, which was served to the restoration of forest species populations. Steppe species ranges shifted to the east of Europe. Unlike the faunas of the Dnieper (Saale) Glaciation, noted for “mixed” composition of mammals belonging to ecologically different groups, the faunas of Mikulino (Eem) Interglacial acquired the zonal structure approximately. The paper was primarily aimed at estimating general regularities in the small mammal fauna distribution beginning from the level of individual species to regional faunal complexes. We concluded that the small mammal fauna of the late Dnieper (Saale) ice age responded to the Mikulian/Eemian warming in a way not unlike the Late Pleistocene “Mammuthus–Coelodonta Faunal Complex” response to the Holocene warming, though with a lesser loss of the species richness.

Data on litho- and biostratigraphy of major sedimentary sequences and their geochronological records were compiled and summarized to describe the Late Pleistocene–Holocene marine and glacial events in the Kola-Northern Karelia region. In the coastal Kola Peninsula and its inner part, three marine units and two glacial events were identified in the Upper Pleistocene sequences. The first marine unit (Ponoi Beds in the regional stratigraphy) can be definitely referred to the significant Late Pleistocene transgression known as the Boreal in northern Eurasia. Data on the Kola Peninsula show that the warm-water Boreal transgression was longer than the Eemian one in western Europe, comprising at least MIS 5e-d (from 130–120 to 105–100 ka BP) in the White Sea depression and MIS 5e-c (earlier at least 90 ka BP) in the Barents Sea. Forested environments dominated on the Kola Peninsula at that time. The second Interglacial marine unit (Strelna Beds) attributed to the subsequent Belomorian transgression was deposited in relatively cold settings at the final phase of the Mikulinian Interglacial (MIS 5), about 100 to 70–80 ka BP. Adjacent areas were covered with open forest and tundra. The third marine unit referred to the Interstadial Leningrad Group was formed 60–40 ka BP in rather a cold marine reservoir, when the environmental conditions were more severe than now. The Late Pleistocene glacial events are correlated to the Podporozhie and Ostashkov Groups (MIS 4 and 2). The Podporozhian glacial unit seems to be associated with the Barents-Kara Ice Sheet and its melting caused the glacioeustatic transgression in the White Sea during the Leningradian Substage (MIS 3). During the Late Glacial and Holocene, a periglacial freshwater lake, brackish-water basin and marine reservoir successively appeared in the White Sea depression successively. Two marine events are suggested here based on the key sedimentary sequences from the coastal isolated lake, i.e. the Late Glacial transgression and the early-middle Holocene (Tapes) transgression.

This article examines the interpretation and implications of Ipswichian (Eemian) Stage temperate deposits discovered by the British Geological Survey east of the Lincoln Gap in eastern England. The fluvial deposits underlie the Southrey Terrace at Coronation Farm, Southrey and The Hermitage, Stainfield in the River Witham valley. Previously unpublished palynological analyses indicate that the temperate deposits compliment published pollen, mollusc and coleopteran assemblages from the same localities. The deposit at Southrey represents Ipswichian (=Eemian) substages Ip IIb and III, whilst that at Stainfield represents the Ip IIb Substage. The combined sequences are compared to those at neighbouring localities in the Witham and Bain-tributary valleys at Tattershall Castle and Tattershall Thorpe. The implications of the correlation of the interglacial deposits provide a re-evaluation of the River Trent-Witham terrace sequence, demonstrating that the Southrey Terrace deposits are not the equivalent of the Late Wolstonian (=Saalian) Balderton Member, but the Middle Devensian (=Weichselian) Substage Fulbeck Member, upstream of Lincoln. This implies that the River Trent was potentially aligned northwards towards the Humber before the Ipswichian Stage interglacial. The revised correlation indicates that glaciation of the region did not occur in the Middle Wolstonian (MIS 8) but during the Late Wolstonian (MIS 6) Substage.

Objectives We provide the first comparative description of the Guercy 1 cranium and isolated cranial fragments from Baume Moula-Guercy and examine their affinities to European Preneanderthals, Neanderthals, and Homo sapiens. Materials and methods The Moula-Guercy hominins derive from deposits chronostratigraphically and biostratigraphically dated to the Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e). For comparisons we compiled a sample of European and Southwest Asian subadult-adult Middle-to-Late Pleistocene hominins (≈MIS 14-MIS 2; N = 184). This sample represents a Preneanderthal-Neanderthal group and a H. sapiens group, both of which were further divided into three time-successive subgroups defined by associated marine isotope stages (MIS). Metric and morphological observations were made on the original fossils and a virtual reconstruction of Guercy 1. Developmental age and sex and the minimum-maximum number of individuals were assessed. Results Guercy 1 represents the remains of a late stage adolescent (≈15-16.0 years) female. Morphological and metric data combine to associate the total morphological pattern expressed in Guercy 1 with our MIS 7-MIS 5e ("Early Neanderthal") subgroup. Some features, especially those related to the frontal, suggest linkage to a paleodeme comprising the Moula-Guercy, Artenac, La Chaise Abri Suard and, possibly, the Biache-Saint-Vaast samples. Discussion Remains of MIS 7-MIS 5e Neanderthals are rare and fragmentary, especially those dated to the Last Interglacial. The Baume Moula-Guercy sample provides new insights into the total morphological pattern expressed in MIS 5e Neanderthals. Further, our results support earlier suggestions that MIS 7-MIS 5e European hominins represent a morphotype that is distinct from both earlier and later members of the Preneanderthal-Neanderthal group.

An extinct thermophile European water buffalo Bubalus murrensis was recorded in the interglacials of the Middle and Late Pleistocene in Central and Western Europe. The species was unknown after the Eemian Interglacial (c. 123 ka) there and have never been found in Eastern Europe. Here we report on an unexpected record of this exotic species in the center of East European Plain near the Kolomna town (Moscow Region) more than 110 millennia later, in the Bolling – Allerod warming of the Last glacial. The unique paleontological discovery of the last European water buffalo in the center of Eastern Europe occupied mainly by a cold adapted so-called ‘Mammoth fauna’ allow us to discuss this unusual occurrence in paleoenvironmental context and suggest the model of dispersal and final extinction of the species. Based on recent integrated studies, we show that the species could persist in the Ponto-Caspian region and then spread northwards during the last Late Pleistocene warming. Main factors of its extinction could be the rapid global climatic changes and strong regional paleoenvironmental instability as well as increasing activity of Upper Paleolithic hunters. The discovery is important in the context of the late Quaternary megafaunal extinctions and a recent phenomenon of global warming.

This study addresses lithic assemblages from the Middle Paleolithic sites Darvagchay-Zaliv-1 and Darvagchay-Zaliv-4, which are highly relevant to the understanding of this stage in Dagestan. We examine paleoclimatic conditions prevailing during the sedimentation at these sites. A detailed description of lithics is provided. Artifacts were discovered in a minimally disturbed paleosol. They represent the Middle Paleolithic, specifi cally Levallois technique of primary reduction. Judging by the presence of unlined fi re-pits and the fact that fi nds are scattered over a large area, we infer that these sites evidence multiple short-term occupation. The dates of the sites fall within the Riss-Wurm (Eemian, Mikulino) interstadial (MIS 5e)—ca 125-110 ka BP. Parallels with coeval sites in Dagestan and elsewhere in the Caucasus are discussed. Whereas no direct parallels with any Caucasian Middle Paleolithic industries can be found, those of Darvagchay-Zaliv-1 and Darvagchay-Zaliv-4 are consistent with the general evolutionary trajectory of the Caucasian Paleolithic.

Laterally continuous terraces along the western flank of Cape Range, Western Australia, record both past sea-level highstands and postdepositional vertical displacement. Four distinct fossil coral reef terraces extend nearly the entire length of the slowly uplifting anticlinal structure (∼100 km), enabling documentation of the timing and degree of deformation-induced elevation contamination of past sea-level estimates from fossil shorelines. Here, we present detailed elevations of the four terraces using differential global positioning system (DGPS) and airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data sets, along with new ages for the three upper terraces. Geochemical dating using strontium isotope stratigraphy techniques revealed, from highest to lowest elevation: a late Miocene reef terrace, a late Pliocene shoreline, and a prominent mid-Pleistocene reef terrace (probably associated with the marine oxygen isotope stage 33–31 interglacial), along with a broad last interglacial (Eemian) reef terrace and lagoon, which terminate at the modern shoreline. Laterally variable elevation data integrated with newly defined ages for the terraces demonstrate a gradual and continuous relative deformation in the region that spans at least the last 6.5 m.y. and constrains the emergence of the Cape Range to sometime prior to the late Miocene. This data set also shows that the most recent interglacial shoreline has undergone

The internal stratigraphy of snow and ice as imaged by ground-penetrating radar may serve as a source of information on past accumulation. This study presents results from two ground-based radar surveys conducted in Greenland in 2007 and 2015, respectively. The first survey was conducted during the traverse from the ice-core station NGRIP (North Greenland Ice Core Project) to the ice-core station NEEM (North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling). The second survey was carried out during the traverse from NEEM to the ice-core station EGRIP (East Greenland Ice Core Project) and then onwards to Summit Station. The total length of the radar profiles is 1427 km. From the radar data, we retrieve the large-scale spatial variation of the accumulation rates in the interior of the ice sheet. The accumulation rates range from 0.11 to 0.26 m a−1ice equivalent with the lowest values found in the northeastern sector towards EGRIP. We find no evidence of temporal or spatial changes in accumulation rates when comparing the 150-year average accumulation rates with the 321-year average accumulation rates. Comparisons with regional climate models reveal that the models underestimate accumulation rates by up to 35% in northeastern Greenland. Our results serve as a robust baseline to detect present changes in either surface accumulation rates or patterns.

Pollen analyses have been carried out on the infilling deposits of Grotta Romanelli (Apulia, Italy), a reference site for the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic of Italy. The analysis focused on Terre rosse, a fine unit till now ascribed to an interstadial phase following the Würm acme, and on the uppermost unit (Terre brune), recently dated to the latest Late Pleistocene-Early Holocene. Despite the diffuse barrenness and low pollen concentration of many levels, pollen data from Grotta Romanelli gives insights into the palaeoenvironmental setting of the deposits and their chronological attribution. The presence of Olea in all levels of Terre rosse strongly suggests their attribution to the Last Interglacial (Eemian), during which this plant was diffused in the Mediterranean area. The Terre brune deposition occurred when the environment was open, with rare trees and shrubs and prevailing steppe elements. This association reflects the climatic conditions of the Lateglacial, with evidence of both the warm interstadial Bølling/Allerød and the cold stadial Younger Dryas. Mediterranean, mesophilous and riparian arboreal elements are present, especially in the Early Holocene levels. Comparison with modern pollen material allowed some fossil grains, found in high amounts and in clusters, to be tentatively ascribed to the species Crithmum maritimum (Apiaceae), Muscari comosum and to Asparagus maritimus/Ornithogalum (Asparagaceae). The significant occurrence of such entomophilous plants reveals differential transportation inside the cave and, since most of them are edible and/or have medicinal properties, suggests an intentional introduction and possible use during time, by both Neanderthals and modern humans.

Records of chemical impurities from ice cores enable us to reconstruct the past deposition of aerosols onto the polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Through that, they allow us to gain insight into changes of the source, transport and deposition processes that ultimately determine the deposition flux at the coreing location. However, the low concentrations of the aerosol species in the ice and the resulting high risk of contamination poses a formidable analytical challenge, especially if long, continuous and highly resolved records are needed. Continuous Flow Analysis, CFA, the continuous melting, decontamination and analysis of ice-core samples has mostly overcome this issue and has quickly become the de-facto standard to obtain high-resolution aerosol records from ice cores after its inception at the University of Bern in the mid 90s. Here we present continuous records of calcium (Ca2+), sodium (Na+), ammonium (NH4+), nitrate (NO3−1) and electrolytic conductivity at 1 mm depth resolution from the NGRIP (North Greenland Ice Core Project) and NEEM (North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling) ice cores produced by the Bern Continuous Flow Analysis group in the years 2000 to 2011. Both of the records have previously been used in a number of studies but have never been published in the full 1 mm resolution. Alongside the 1 mm datasets we provide decadal averages, a detailed description of the methods, relevant references, an assessment of the quality of the data and its usable resolution. Along the way we will also give some historical context on the development of the Bern CFA system.

Systematic measurements of atmospheric methane (CH4) mole fractions at the northern high latitudes only began in the early 1980s, and whilst CH4 measurements from Greenland ice cores covered the period before ~1900, no reliable observational record is available for the intermediate period. In this study, we reconstruct the atmospheric CH4 for that period, when the mole fraction started to increase rapidly. We use a set of trace gas data measured from firn (an intermediate stage between snow and glacial ice formation) air samples collected at the NGRIP (North Greenland Ice Core Project) site in 2001, in combination with a firn air transport model whose performance is validated by using a set of published firn air data at the NEEM (North Greenland Eemian ice Drilling) site. We examine a variety of possible firn diffusivity profiles using a suite of measured trace gases, and reconstruct the CH4 mole fraction by an iterative dating method. We find that, given the currently available firn air data sets from Greenland, reliable reconstruction of the Arctic CH4 mole fraction is possible only back to the mid 1970s. For the earlier period, it is difficult to identify the atmospheric CH4 history that consistently reproduce the depth profiles of CH4 in firn at both NGRIP and NEEM sites. Therefore, the currently proposed Arctic CH4 history should still be considered preliminary and uncertain, and should not be treated as the known history for constraining firn-air transport models.

Significance With geological sea-level fluctuations driven by climate change, the distribution of mangrove forests has expanded and contracted through time. We studied an inland, isolated mangrove forest located 170 km away from the nearest coastline in the interior of the rainforests of the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico). Combining multiple lines of evidence, we demonstrate that this extant forest is a relict from a past, warmer world when relative sea levels were 6 to 9 m higher than at the present. Our finding highlights the extensive landscape impacts of past climate change on the world’s coastline and opens opportunities to better understand future scenarios of relative sea level rise., Climatic oscillations during the Pleistocene played a major role in shaping the spatial distribution and demographic dynamics of Earth's biota, including our own species. The Last Interglacial (LIG) or Eemian Period (ca. 130 to 115 thousand years B.P.) was particularly influential because this period of peak warmth led to the retreat of all ice sheets with concomitant changes in global sea level. The impact of these strong environmental changes on the spatial distribution of marine and terrestrial ecosystems was severe as revealed by fossil data and paleogeographic modeling. Here, we report the occurrence of an extant, inland mangrove ecosystem and demonstrate that it is a relict of the LIG. This ecosystem is currently confined to the banks of the freshwater San Pedro Mártir River in the interior of the Mexico–Guatemala El Petén rainforests, 170 km away from the nearest ocean coast but showing the plant composition and physiognomy typical of a coastal lagoon ecosystem. Integrating genomic, geologic, and floristic data with sea level modeling, we present evidence that this inland ecosystem reached its current location during the LIG and has persisted there in isolation ever since the oceans receded during the Wisconsin glaciation. Our study provides a snapshot of the Pleistocene peak warmth and reveals biotic evidence that sea levels substantially influenced landscapes and species ranges in the tropics during this period.

The last interglacial contains information about how climate behaves during a warm period comparable to the current interval. However, there is no consensus on the key signatures and force of the last interglacial climate changes at present. Here we present a high-resolution stalagmite oxygen isotope record from central China, which spans from 123.3 to 116.8 ka. The stalagmite δ18O time-series bears a resemblance to changes in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation before the demise of the last interglacial, like the condition during the Holocene. Superimposed on the long-term δ18O record is a pronounced shift to more positive values at around 121.6 ka, indicating a switch of the Asian monsoon mean state into a weaker condition. This monsoon shift correlates with a decrease in the mean state of the South American Summer Monsoon, and a well-known abrupt mid-Eemian cooling event at high latitudes. These correlations indicate broad-scale features of the climate shift over the warm last interglacial. Another positive δ18O shift of up to 3.5‰ occurred at around 120 ka, representing the demise of the last interglacial Asian monsoon. By comparing the stalagmite δ18O records against changes in ice volume and summer insolation during the last interglacial and recent Holocene, respectively, we conclude that the decreasing Northern Hemisphere summer insolation dominated the rapid demise of the last interglacial in the Asian monsoon region.

Remains of Bubalus murrensis, a thermophile bovid, are very rare in the Pleistocene interglacial faunas of Europe. The new specimen collected from the Atlantic shoreline in the Medoc (France) extents the realm of this genus far into the West, whereas the most eastern occurrence is in Romania. The fossil fragment of a horn core most probably originates from exposed interglacial deposits that are attributed to the Holsteinian (MIS 11). The Pleistocene remains of Bubalus are reviewed. All of them represent the same species B. murrensis. Sites that are well stratified belong to the Middle Pleistocene (MIS 9 and/or 11). The Upper Rhine Basin yielded about 20 cranial fragments with an assumed Eemian age. It is, however, possible that these finds predate the Eamian, hence, there is no indisputable evidence for the occurrence of Bubalus in Europe during the Eemian.

The ages and accumulation rates of ice are important boundary conditions for paleoclimatic ice models. Radar-detected isochronic layers can be used to date the ice column beneath the ice surface and infer past accumulation rates. A Deep Ice-Core Drilling Project has been carried out at Kunlun station in the Dome A region, East Antarctica. Radio echo sounding data are collected during the 2004/2005 Chinese National Research Expedition and the 2007/2008 Dome Connection East Antarctica project of the Alfred Wegener Institute (Germany). Radar isochronic layers from the dataset were linked to compare a new deep ice core site from Kunlun station and the Vostok ice core site. Ten visible layers, accounting for ∼50% ice thickness at the Kunlun station ice core site, were dated based on the Vostok ice core chronology. At 1,640 m depth below surface, an age of ∼160,400 yr was determined, corresponding to a bright layer at Kunlun station. These layers provided geometric information on the past surface of the ice sheet around the ice core site through the Wisconsin glacial stage, Eemian interglacial and Marine Isotope Stage 6. Based on a simple ice flow model and the age-depth relationship, we concluded that the region around the Kunlun ice core site had lower past accumulation rates, consistent with the present pattern. The age-depth relationship would thus be expected to correlate and constrain the chronology of the deep ice core at Kunlun station in the future.

Proxy data from pollen and mollusc indicator species, periglacial phenomena, changes in geometry of mountain palaeoglaciers and based on selected lithological and geomorphological features enabled reconstruction of the Late Pleistocene climate characteristics in Poland and adjacent areas. Climate during the Eemian was generally stable but with a distinct west-east gradient in summer. Strong influence of the Atlantic air masses moving to the east resulted in the annual precipitation over 600 mm. Climate instability in the late Eemian as well as during stadials and interstadials of the Early Weichselian was expressed by progressive cooling and increasing temperature difference between winters and summers, reflecting stronger continentalism towards the west, accompanied by decreased precipitation. Periglacial frost crackings and polygonal patterns indicated occurrence of permafrost in Poland already at about 49 ka BP and its occurrence until the termination of the last glaciation. These periglacial structures have developed at mean annual temperatures from −9 to −4 °C, with winter extremes up to about −25 °C. Mean summer temperature reached likely around 10 °C as suggested by palaeobotanic record. Palaeoglaciological studies of mountain glaciers across Europe allowed inferring their activity and sensitivity to climatic fluctuations during the Late Weichselian. The Weichselian of central Europe was controlled mostly by the southerly and easterly circulation dominated by climate cyclones and anticyclones, respectively. An inflow of air masses from the west was significantly limited and concentrated mainly within the so-called periglacial corridor between the Scandinavian ice sheet and the Alps. Such circulation pattern determined serious reduction of precipitation during the Last Glacial Maximum that reached 60% in relation to modern conditions. The following Late Pleistocene cold phases (Oldest and Younger Dryas) were slightly warmer and wetter with increasing contribution of the westerlies that were strongly dependent on progressing shrinkage of the Northern Hemisphere ice sheets.

Small closed-drainage depressions are a common element of the landscape of Central Poland. Their origin is mainly connected to the melting of blocks of dead ice in the phase of advanced recession of the ice-sheet in the Wartanian Stadial of the Odranian Glaciation. In the Łodź Upland, an analysis of four sites containing sets of depressions has been conducted to determine the lithological properties of their infillings. The analysis revealed that the frequently deep, steep-walled basins are filled in with deposits of various age and origin. Four lithological units, containing sediments ranging from a glacial base to the mineral sediments of the Vistulian, were formed. Many of the depressions do not contain biogenic sediments of the Eemian Interglacial. The lithological suggestions of the age of the deposits allowed to determine two types of depressions - fossil depressions of melting origin, and genetically complex ones that underwent deposition prior to the Eemian Interglacial and with a secondary deepening, most likely as a result of melting of ground ice under thermokarst conditions, during the Vistulian Glaciation (=Weichselian). The dominant views that connect the origin of the multiple depressions solely to the end of the Wartanian should be verified.

Over recent decades a growing number of well-documented records from terrestrial last interglacial sites across central Europe have substantially improved our understanding of Eemian climate and landscape dynamics. Despite this progress, there are also large areas from which little information is available, thus constituting significant paleo-geographic gaps in the last interglacial record. Among the regions with still inadequate paleo-environmental information is the maritime-influenced area of NE-Germany at the southern margin of the Eemian (Baltic) Sea. Here we present first results from a geological investigation of a new last interglacial site, recently discovered during archaeological excavations near Beckentin (SW-Mecklenburg). The study area is located approximately 25 km to the south of the maximum MIS-2 ice limit of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in NE-Germany, and thus lies outside the Weichselian belt of glaciation. Based on lithostratigraphic and sedimentological logging, complemented by geochemical (XRF) and palynological investigations, we divide the local succession into three sections: (1) a basal facies comprising Saalian till and associated glaciofluvial sand, overlain by section (2) consisting of a fen peat which grades into laminated organic to minerogenic mud. The organic deposits of section (2) preserve a near complete Eemian pollen inventory, encompassing pollen zones (PZ) I to VI (Menke and Tynni 1984). Above this rest poorly sorted periglacial sands (section 3) with ventifacts and evidence for cryogenic deformation. Geochronological results from 230Th/U dating of the buried organic-rich deposits at Beckentin, show that these units accumulated in a former dead ice depression between 118 ± 7/6 ka and 114 ± 6/5 ka during the Eemian Interglacial. High-resolution optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) profiling, undertaken with a portable luminescence reader, reveals a significant hiatus between the lacustrine fines and overlying periglacial cover sand. Five OSL ages obtained from these cover sediments and the sand-filling of an ice-wedge cast show that these strata formed between during the last glacial - interglacial transition.

Interglacial pollen records are valuable archives of past vegetation dynamics and provide important information about vegetation responses to different-than-today climates. Interglacial pollen archives pre-dating the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) are scarce on the Swiss Plateau in contrast to the many available Late Glacial and Holocene records. This is mainly due to the rapidly changing palaeo-environmental conditions throughout the Quaternary and the low preservation potential of material suitable for palynological investigations. The Spiezberg site offers a palynological record situated most proximal to the Alps in Switzerland. Previous investigations tentatively assigned this record to the Eemian interglacial (MIS 5e). We have conducted additional pollen analytical investigations to increase the quantity of pollen information. Besides biostratigraphic interpretations, we use numerical methods such as distance analysis (distantia) and ordination techniques (PCA) to evaluate the similarities and differences between the Spiezberg record and its geographically and chronostratigraphically closest physically dated (U/Th, luminescence) analogues from the Eemian (MIS 5e) and Meikirch 3 (MIS 7a) interglacials. Our palynological investigations reveal the predominance of closed temperate forests with abundant fir (Abies) and spruce (Picea) as well as evergreen broad-leaved taxa (e.g. Hedera). The attribution to the Eemian interglacial relies on the observation of very rare beech (Fagus) occurrences, a phase with prominent yew (Taxus) and the unimportance of hornbeam (Carpinus), all of which are typical Eemian features on the Swiss Plateau. An Eemian age is supported by the numerical comparison with the Beerenmosli (MIS 5e) and Meikirch 3 (MIS 7a) reference records. Furthermore, the Picea, Taxus and Fagus dynamics observed on the Swiss Plateau during the Eemian are in excellent agreement with vegetational patterns observed elsewhere in Central Europe. Surprisingly, Carpinus was almost absent on the Swiss Plateau during the Eemian, whereas it was a major component of the forest at other European sites with a similar elevation as Spiezberg. We explain this by environmental conditions and the strong competition with Abies alba. In particular, considering the European Eemian vegetation history and the results of our reconstructions from the Swiss Plateau, we find that Abies alba was a highly competitive tree under natural warmer-than-today conditions. This finding provides further evidence that Abies alba may benefit from future climate warming.

Homo sapiens emerged prior to the end of the Eemian interglacial (pre-124,000 years ago) when temperatures were rising from glacial levels by about 5 degrees Celsius and sea levels rose by near-100 m.

Pleistocene strata of the Wadden Sea region are mostly covered by an up to 10m thick sediment wedge deposited during the Holocene transgression. However, tidal inlets cut deep into the Holocene succession, causing Middle Pleistocene to early Holocene glacial and interglacial deposits to outcrop at the channel bottom. To investigate how the lithological properties and/or morphologies of these deposits affect the development of Holocene tidal inlets (e.g. limiting erosional processes), we analysed a series of eight cores to verify three high-resolution sub-bottom transects – and thus – to extend point-based data over a broader area. Furthermore, eight additional new cores (16 WASA cores in total), and 14 reinterpreted cores from the LBEG (Geological Survey of Lower Saxony) log database, were correlated to generate three short cross-sections at the transition from the tidal inlet (Riffgat channel) to the island of Norderney, revealing a number of new aspects for the reconstruction of the Pleistocene palaeoenvironments, i.e. the last two glacials (Saalian and Weichselian) and interglacials (Holsteinian? and Eemian). A succession of Middle Pleistocene lacustrine delta deposits, belonging either to the Holsteinian or the Dömnitz temperate stage, suggests the presence of Elsterian tunnel valleys located below the island. Furthermore, we verified the presence of an Eemian mixed tidal-flat system overlain by an Eemian sand tidal flat below the western head of Norderney which is, in contrast to suggestions from previous studies, not fully eroded in this area. Finally, we demonstrate that the Saalian moraine (Drenthe Main Till) functions as a limiting constraint in the vertical development of the Holocene/modern Riffgat channel. Our results provide a better understanding of the Quaternary stratigraphy of the central Wadden Sea as well as the influence of the subsurface geology on the architecture and evolution of tidal channels.

This study examines the role of North Atlantic storms degrading a Late Pleistocene rocky shoreline formed by basaltic rocks overlying hyaloclastite rocks on a small volcanic peninsula connected to Gran Canaria in the central region of the Canary Archipelago. A conglomerate dominated by large, ellipsoidal to angular boulders eroded from an adjacent basalt flow was canvassed at six stations distributed along 800 m of the modern shore at El Confital, on the outskirts of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. A total of 166 individual basalt cobbles and boulders were systematically measured in three dimensions, providing the database for analyses of variations in clast shape and size. The goal of this study was to apply mathematical equations elaborated after Nott (2003) and subsequent refinements in order to estimate individual wave heights necessary to lift basalt blocks from the layered and joint-bound sea cliffs at El Confital. On average, wave heights in the order of 4.2 to 4.5 m are calculated as having impacted the Late Pleistocene rocky coastline at El Confital, although the largest boulders in excess of 2 m in diameter would have required larger waves for extraction. A review of the fossil marine biota associated with the boulder beds confirms a littoral to very shallow water setting correlated in time with Marine Isotope Stage 5e (Eemian Stage) approximately 125,000 years ago. The historical record of major storms in the regions of the Canary and Azorean islands indicates that events of hurricane strength were likely to have struck El Confital in earlier times. Due to its high scientific value, the outcrop area featured in this study is included in the Spanish Inventory of Geosites and must be properly protected and managed to ensure conservation against the impact of climate change foreseen in coming years.

More than 900 vertebrate bones, ranging from Late Pleistocene to Holocene in age, have been identified in a collection that was recovered by a single dredging operation for the construction of artificial lakes near Lent (Nijmegen, province of Gelderland, the Netherlands). The Late Pleistocene assemblage comprises mainly Weichselian glacial fauna such as mammoths, reindeer and bison. Some Eemian fauna is represented as well, e.g. straight-tusked elephant. The abundance of certain species over others suggests that preservation bias had a considerable impact on this assemblage, while its time-averaged nature resulted in overrepresentation of certain species. A case study is here conducted on a fragmentary skull of a subadult woolly mammoth bull with embedded blowfly puparia. Some of these puparia are fully developed, indicating prolonged exposure of the mammoth carcass.

A new paleoclimate record from Cyprus gives valuable insights into climatic variations during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 6–5 for the East Mediterranean region. Two stalagmites from Pentadactylos cave in the Kyrenia mountain range (800 m altitude) in Cyprus grew from 174.6 ± 0.7 to 112.2 ± 0.5 ka BP with major hiatuses at 163–142 and 132–128 ka. During early MIS6 the stalagmite suggests through a relatively low growth rate (57–5 mm/ka) and variable, but rather negative d18O that climate conditions were highly variable on a millennial scale, with wet and cold climate conditions during Sapropel 6 deposition. At the end of MIS6 (141–132 ka), growth rate varied from 123 to 18 mm/ka and less negative δ 18 O c suggests general dry/cold conditions followed by a growth stop during H11. The onset of MIS5e is marked by the highest growth rate (217 mm/ka). The most negative δ18O values at the onset and during the Eemian wet period in Cyprus are driven mostly by the source effect (Sapropel 5) and enhanced rainfall amounts. Stable conditions during MIS 5e were rather short as shown in the growth and isotopic signal, consistent with other EM records. After 122 ka, growth decreased drastically (8–2 mm/ka) and a slow deterioration of the soil cover is suggested from continuously less negative δ13C values. Fluid inclusion d18O shows a clear shift (4–5‰) between end-MIS 6 and MIS 5e. Clumped isotopes measurements indicate kinetic effects between calcite and water of up to ∼1‰. After correction for kinetic effects using Δ47, a minimum estimate for the MIS 6–5 temperature shift in the EM is ca. 9 °C. Similarly, drastic changes in rainfall amounts are inferred from measured (fluid inclusion) and calculated water d18O.

Understanding past climate variability is critical to informing debate of likely impacts of global warming on weather and climate, and water resources. Here we present a near annual resolution reconstruction of climate developed from a speleothem that spans the Eemian [Marine Isotope Stage 5e (MIS 5e)] from 117,500 to 123,500 years BP—the most recent period in the Earth’s history when temperatures were similar to those of today. Using 25 Mg, 88Sr, and 137Ba as proxies, we show the first indication of solar and teleconnection cyclic forcing of Eemian climate in southeast Australia, a region at present often affected by severe drought and bushfires. We find evidence for multi-centennial dry periods interpreted as mega-droughts, and highlight the importance of understanding the causes of these in the context of a rapidly warming world, where temperatures are now, or projected to exceed those of the Eemian.

The area ‘Het Gooi’ in the Netherlands is part of a Pleistocene ice-pushed ridge system that partially drowned during the Holocene upon sea level and associated groundwater rise. As a result, the ridge system was gradually encroached by peat. From the late Middle Ages onward, man reclaimed the peatlands surrounding Het Gooi, heavily reducing their extension and lowering the regional groundwater level by increasingly intensive drainage. Based on historical and archaeological arguments, several authors assume that the Holocene peat cover in the border zones of ‘Het Gooi’ formed the extension of large raised peat bogs that formed further to the west and east, respectively. They presume that in the late Middle Ages these extensions reached ‘upslope’ to a maximum altitude of 3 m + NAP (Dutch Ordnance Datum – approximating mean sea level). However, the original extension is difficult to reconstruct, as this peat has disappeared as a result of its exploitation and oxidation, if having been present at all. In this study, the maximum extension of the Holocene peat cover on the ice-pushed ridge system was reconstructed based on soil characteristics. Used soil characteristics concerned the presence of iron coatings around sand grains and the upper boundary of gleyic features, because these are indicators for the mean highest groundwater level (MHG). For peat to form, this MHG needs to be at or just above the ground surface for most of the year. Based on study of a number of soil transects, we reconstructed to what maximum altitude peat encroachment may have occurred. This ‘maximum extension’ can alternatively be described as the maximum altitude of the bottom of the peat onlapping the ridge system. In the western border zone, this peat cover was found to have reached to c. NAP or just above, near Hilversum. No indications were found for the occurrence of raised bogs. We conclude that the phreatic groundwater level in this zone was controlled by the sea level and associated lake levels (Naardermeer and Horstermeer), a dominant role being played by the shallow presence of Pleistocene formations with a high hydraulic conductivity. In the eastern border zone, altitudes were more variable and in places reached 2 m + NAP. Peat at this higher elevation probably formed under the influence of a higher phreatic groundwater level, induced by the presence of a clayey Eemian fill with low hydraulic conductivity in the adjacent glacial basin (the Eem valley). This study demonstrates the value of detailed soil transect studies for palaeogeographical reconstructions of the former Holocene peat cover in Pleistocene landscapes of NW Europe. It also provides independent data for validation of geohydrological models for such landscapes.

Detailed investigation of landforms and their underlying deposits on the eastern margin of Fenland, East Anglia, demonstrated that they represent a series of glaciofluvial delta-fan and related sediments. Associated with these deposits are glacially dislocated sediments including tills, meltwater and pre-existing fluvial sediments. These ‘Skertchly Line’ deposits occur in the context of a substantial ice lobe that entered Fenland from the N to NE, dammed the streams entering the basin and caused glacial lakes to form in the valleys on the margins. Bulldozing by the ice lobe caused a series of ice-pushed ridges to form at the dynamic margin, especially at the ice maximum and during its retreat phases. Meltwater formed a series of marginal fans that coalesced into marginal accumulations in the SE of the basin. The ice lobe is named the Tottenhill glaciation. Further investigations of the Fenland margin have revealed the extent of the Tottenhill glaciation in the Fenland Basin, to the south and west, in sufficient detail to demonstrate the nature of the Tottenhill ice lobe and the landscape left on deglaciation. The ice lobe is likely to have been prone to surging. This is indicated by the low gradient of the ice lobe, the presence of underlying ductile Mesozoic clays, the evidence of ice-marginal flooding and the presence of arcuate glaciotectonic push moraines. Regional correlation, supported by independent numerical geochronology, indicates that the glaciation occurred ca 160 ka, i.e. during the late Middle Pleistocene, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6, the Wolstonian Stage. Comparison and correlation across the southern North Sea Basin confirms that the glaciation is the equivalent of that during the Late Saalian Drenthe Stadial in The Netherlands. The implications of this correlation are presented. Before the glaciation occurred, the Fenland Basin did not exist. It appears to have been initiated by a subglacial tunnel valley system beneath the Anglian (=Elsterian, MIS 12) ice sheet. During the subsequent Hoxnian (=Holsteinian; approx. MIS 11) interglacial, the sea invaded the drainage system inherited following the glacial retreat. The evolution through the subsequent ca 200 ka Early to Middle Wolstonian substages, the interval between the Hoxnian (Holsteinian) temperate Stage and the Wolstonian glaciation, represents a period during which fluvial and periglacial activity modified the landscape under cold climates, and organic sediments were laid down during a warmer event. Palaeolithic humans were also periodically present during this interval, their artefacts having been reworked by the subsequent glaciation. The deglaciation was followed by re-establishment of the rivers associated with the deposition of Late Wolstonian (Warthe Stadial) gravels and sands, and later, deposits of the Ipswichian interglacial (=Eemian, approx. MIS 5e) including freshwater, then estuarine sediments. Subsequent evolution of the basin occurred during the Devensian Stage (=Weichselian, MIS 5d-2) under predominantly cold, periglacial conditions.

International audience; Digital elevation maps obtained using TanDEM‐X and Pleiades data combined with newly obtained surface age estimates using cosmogenic radionuclide (CRN) and optically simulated luminescence (OSL) methods are used to quantify the slip rate along the western section of the Altyn Tagh Fault in southern Xinjiang. The reconstruction of the conical shape of massive alluvial fans inferred to be from the Eemian (115±7 ka) from CRN dating shows consistent left‐lateral offsets of 300±20 m, yielding a slip rate of 2.6±0.3 mm/year. Successive episodes of incision have left cut terraces inset in wide canyons, 10–25 m below the fans' surface. The incision was followed by the deposition of a broad terrace of early Holocene age, which is reincised by modern stream channels. Near the village of Shanxili, a 200 m wide valley is partially dammed by a shutter ridge displaced by the fault. A fill terrace deposited upstream from the ridge has an OSL age of 8.8±0.6 ka. The 23±2 m offset of the riser incising the terrace indicates a minimum postdepositional movement on the fault, yielding a Holocene rate of 2.6±0.5 mm/year, consistent with the 115‐ka average slip rate. Scarp degradation analysis using mass diffusion reveals a nonlinear relationship between fault displacement and degradation coefficient along the progressively exposed fault scarp, a pattern suggesting either seismic clustering or variable diffusion rate since the Eemian. Together with the Gozha Co‐Longmu Co fault to the south, the Karakax section of the Altyn Tagh Fault contributes to the eastward movement of the western corner of Tibet.

International audience; Though rare in the archaeological record, cannibalism has been documented among many different hominin populations; however, the mechanisms driving such behaviors remains poorly understood. Recent research that evaluates the hypothesized Neanderthal nutritional cannibalism at the Middle Palaeolithic cave site of Baume Moula-Guercy (BMG) in Mediterranean France, is one case that, in our opinion, is not fully substantiated by the evidence put forth by Defleur and Desclaux (2019). Using site occurrence data from the Last Interglacial (MIS 5e), the biogeography of extinct reptile species, and cut mark taphonomic evidence, Defleur and Desclaux (2019) suggest that the Neanderthal remains found in Layer XV of the cave are the result of nutritional cannibalism. The authors argue that a regional collapse of Neanderthal populations was the result of a depletion of prey biomass, caused by a profound upheaval of local environmental conditions, thus causing the Neanderthals at BMG to resort to cannibalism. In this response paper, we attempt to show that the methods and materials used by Defleur and Desclaux 1) do not reflect the known number of Eemian-aged sites, 2) do not present sufficient evidence related to the environmental stress conditions at BMG that would warrant cannibalism, and 3) taphonomic evidence on Neanderthal remains does not strictly support the argument for nutritional cannibalism. Additional study of the BMG remains is necessary before ruling out other processes related to the post-mortem treatment of the Neanderthal corpses.

The Eemian was the last interglacial period (~130 to 115 ka BP) to precede the current interglacial. In Eastern Mediterranean marine sediments, it is marked by a well-developed and organic-rich “sapropel” layer (S5), which is thought to reflect an intensification and northward migration of the African monsoon rain belt over orbital timescales. However, despite the importance of these sediments, very little proxy-independent stratigraphic information is available to enable rigorous correlation of these sediments across the region. This paper presents the first detailed study of visible and non-visible (cryptotephra) layers found within these sediments at three marine coring sites: ODP Site 967B (Levantine Basin), KL51 (South East of Crete) and LC21 (Southern Aegean Sea). Major element analyses of the glass component were used to distinguish four distinct tephra events of Santorini (e.g., Vourvoulos eruption) and possible Anatolian provenance occurring during the formation of S5. Interpolation of core chronologies provides provisional eruption ages for the uppermost tephra (unknown Santorini, 121.8 ± 2.9 ka) and lowermost tephra (Anatolia or Kos/Yali/Nisyros, 126.4 ± 2.9 ka). These newly characterised tephra deposits have also been set into the regional tephrostratigraphy to illustrate the potential to precisely synchronise marine proxy records with their terrestrial counterparts, and also contribute to the establishment of a more detailed volcanic history of the Eastern Mediterranean.

Southern Iceland is one of the main outlets of the Icelandic ice sheet and is subject to seismicity of both tectonic and volcanic origins along the South Iceland Seismic Zone (SISZ). A sedimentary complex spanning Marine Isotopic Stage 6 (MIS 6) to the present includes evidence of both activities. It includes a continuous sedimentary record since the Eemian interglacial period, controlled by a rapid deglaciation, followed by two marine glacioisostasy-forced transgressions, separated by a regression phase connected to an intra-MIS 5e glacial advance. This record has been constrained by tephrostratigraphy and dating. Analysis of this record has provided better insights into the interconnectedness of hydrology and volcanic and tectonic activity during deglaciations and glaciations. Low-intensity earthquakes recurrently affected the water-laid sedimentation during the early stages of unloading, accompanying rifting events, dyke injection, and fault reactivations. During full interglacial periods, earthquakes were significantly less frequent but of higher magnitude along the SISZ, due to stress accumulation, favored by low groundwater levels and more limited magma production. Occurrence of volcanism and seismicity in Iceland is commonly related to rifting events. Subglacial volcanic events seem moreover to have been related to stress unlocking related to limited or full unloading/deglaciation events. Major eruptions were mostly located at the melting margin of the ice sheet.

One of the most intriguing aspects of the evolution of Mount Etna (eastern Sicily) is the switch from a fissure-type shield volcano coincident with the Ionian coast to an inland cluster of nested stratovolcanoes close to the currently active centre. Previous geological studies infer that the switch reflects a tectonically-driven rearrangement of the major border faults that direct the Etnean plumbing system, loosely dated at around 125 ka BP. New offshore structural studies throw this prevailing view into question, whilst a revised chronological framework indicates that the transformation from fissure- to central-type activity was abrupt, effectively occurring 129-126 ka BP. In recognising that this period corresponds closely with the Eemian sea-level highstand (Marine Isotope Stage 5e; 124-119 ka BP), the paper examines whether eustatic fluctuations may have triggered the fundamental change in Mount Etna’s magmatic behaviour, and suggests that a similar tendency may affect other volcanic centres in the region.

This paper provides the first chronology for the deep ice core from the East Greenland Ice-core Project (EGRIP) over the Holocene and the late last glacial period. We rely mainly on volcanic events and common peak patterns recorded by dielectric profiling (DEP) and electrical conductivity measurement (ECM) for the synchronization between the EGRIP, North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling (NEEM) and North Greenland Ice Core Project (NGRIP) ice cores in Greenland. We transfer the annual-layer-counted Greenland Ice Core Chronology 2005 (GICC05) from the NGRIP core to the EGRIP ice core by means of 381 match points, typically spaced less than 50 years apart. The NEEM ice core has previously been dated in a similar way and is only included to support the match-point identification. We name our EGRIP timescale GICC05-EGRIP-1. Over the uppermost 1383.84 m, we establish a depth-Age relationship dating back to 14 967 years b2k (years before the year 2000 CE). Tephra horizons provide an independent validation of our match points. In addition, we compare the ratio of the annual layer thickness between ice cores in between the match points to assess our results in view of the different iceflow patterns and accumulation regimes of the different periods and geographical regions. For the next years, this initial timescale will be the basis for climatic reconstructions from EGRIP high-resolution proxy data sets, e.g. stable water isotopes, chemical impurity or dust records. © 2020 BioMed Central Ltd.. All rights reserved. This research has been supported by the A. P. Møller Foundation, University of Copenhagen; US National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs; Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research; National Institute of Polar Research and Arctic Challenge for Sustainability, Japan; University of Bergen and Bergen Research Foundation; Swiss National Science Foundation (SNFS); French Polar Institute Paul-Emile Victor, Institute for Geosciences and Environmental research; Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Normal University; Carlsberg Foundation (project ChronoClimate); Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, the Spanish Government through the María de Maeztu excellence accreditation 2018–2022 (ref. MDM-2017-0714); Basque Government (BERC 2018–2021 programme); and the Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research. Acknowledgements. We thank Frédéric Parrenin and two anonymous reviewers for fruitful comments that improved the paper a lot. We thank all people involved in logistics, drilling and ice-core processing in the field. EGRIP is directed and organized by the Centre for Ice and Climate at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen. It is supported by funding agencies and institutions in Denmark (A. P. Møller Foundation, University of Copenhagen), USA (US National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs), Germany (Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research), Japan (National Institute of Polar Research and Arctic Challenge for Sustainability), Norway (University of Bergen and Bergen Research Foundation), Switzerland (Swiss National Science Foundation), France (French Polar Institute Paul-Emile Victor, Institute for Geosciences and Environmental research) and China (Chinese Academy of Sciences and Beijing Normal University). Sune Olander Rasmussen and Giulia Sinnl gratefully acknowledge the Carlsberg Foundation for supporting the project ChronoClimate. Sergio Henrique Faria acknowledges support for the iMechPro project (RTI2018-100696-B-I00) from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation, the Spanish Government through the María de Maeztu excellence accreditation 2018– 2022 (ref. MDM-2017-0714) and the Basque Government through the BERC 2018–2021 programme. Tobias Erhardt acknowledges the long-term support of ice-core research by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNFS) and the Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research.

The continuous growth of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) is of concern for its potential role in global warming and future stratospheric ozone destruction. Climate feedbacks that enhance N2O emissions in response to global warming are not well understood, and past records of N2O from ice cores are not sufficiently well resolved to examine the underlying climate-N2O feedbacks on societally relevant time scales. Here, we present a new high-resolution and high-precision N2O reconstruction obtained from the Greenland NEEM (North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling) and the Antarctic Styx Glacier ice cores. Covering the N2O history of the past two millennia, our reconstruction shows a centennial-scale variability of similar to 10 ppb. A pronounced minimum at similar to 600 CE coincides with the reorganizations of tropical hydroclimate and ocean productivity changes. Comparisons with proxy records suggest association of centennial- to millennial-scale variations in N2O with changes in tropical and subtropical land hydrology and marine productivity.Plain Language Summary Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a greenhouse and ozone-depleting gas. The growing level of N2O in the atmosphere is of global concern, and records of past N2O variations can provide an important context for understanding the links between N2O and climate change. In this study, we report new, high-quality N2O records covering the last two millennia using ice cores obtained from Greenland and Antarctica. Our N2O records show rapid centennial-scale changes in atmospheric N2O and confirm a pronounced minimum near 600 CE. Comparison with climate records suggests that hydroclimate change on land and changes in marine productivity contribute to centennial- to millennial-scale N2O variations.

International audience; Since the mid-19 th century, the large tufa deposit of Resson (Aube, northern France) was of great interest to geologists and palaeontologists because of its rich content in macroflora and large mammal fossils, while some archaeological artefacts were also described. A geomorphological and sedimentological study in the mid-xx th century assigned this deposit to the Last Interglacial. Despite its great potential for palaeoenvironmental investigation, the Resson tufa had not been studied since. We have recently retrieved the collection of plant imprints from Resson allowing new taxa determination, prospected the tufa location and made new malacological analyses. This paper thus combines new records and reassessed historical data to confirm the assignment of Resson tufa to the Eemian and discuss a first reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental dynamics in the Seine basin for this interglacial period, demonstrating the potential of this tufa deposit as a reference site for the Last Interglacial in northern France. RÉSUMÉ DONNÉES PALÉOENVIRONNEMENTALES ET BIOSTRATIGRAPHIQUES DU TUF DE RESSON (AUBE, FRANCE) : RÉVISION D'UN ENREGISTREMENT EEMIEN Depuis le milieu du xix e siècle, l'important dépôt de tuf de Resson (Aube) a suscité l'intérêt des géologues et paléontologues par sa richesse en macrorestes végétaux et ossements de grands mammifères, par ailleurs associés à des vestiges archéologiques. Une étude géomorphologique et sédimentologique menée au milieu du xx e siècle attribua ce dépôt au Dernier Interglaciaire, mais malgré son potentiel important pour la recherche paléontologique et paléoenvironnementale, le tuf de Resson n'a pas été étudié depuis. Récemment, la redécouverte de la collection d'empreintes foliaires de Resson a permis la détermination de nouveaux taxons et de nouvelles analyses malacologiques. Parallèlement, des prospections sur le site et des analyses malacologiques préliminaires ont été réalisées. Cet article présente la combinaison des données historiques et celles acquises plus récemment afin de discuter l'attribution du site à l'Eemien et de proposer une première reconstitution des dynamiques paléoenvironnementales en amont du bassin de la Seine à cette période. Le tuf de Resson pourrait ainsi devenir à terme un site de référence pour le Dernier Interglaciaire dans le nord de la France.

In the examined part of central Poland, there are numerous kettle-hole basins filled with mineral and biogenic sediments of the Eemian Interglacial and Early Weichselian. These basins are located in varied geological and geomorphological locations with variable thicknesses of the sediments and deposits. The infillings were investigated by lithological and palaeobotanic methods. Lithology of the biogenic sediments is diverse, primarily gyttja and peat, but also organic silt. A number of the documented sites contain a record of environmental changes throughout the glacial-interglacial cycle from the end of the Warta Stadial (Saalian) to Early Weichselian. Local geological, geomorphological and hydrological conditions influenced the possibility of continuous peat-lake accumulation and the timing of the completion of this accumulation. Biogenic sediments are covered with the Middle and Late Weichselian mineral sediments which indicate climatic changes and are the main reason for rapid and synchronic degradation of kettle-hole infillings.

Based on fossil organism remains including plant macrofossils, charcoal, pollen, and invertebrates preserved in syngenetic deposits of the Batagay permafrost sequence in the Siberian Yana Highlands, we reconstructed the environmental history during marine isotope stages (MIS) 6 to 2. Two fossil assemblages, exceptionally rich in plant remains, allowed for a detailed description of the palaeo-vegetation during two climate extremes of the Late Pleistocene, the onset of the last glacial maximum (LGM) and the last interglacial. In addition, altogether 41 assemblages were used to outline the vegetation history since the penultimate cold stage of MIS 6. Accordingly, meadow steppes analogue to modern communities of the phytosociological order Festucetalia lenensis formed the primary vegetation during the Saalian and Weichselian cold stages. Cold-resistant tundra-steppe communities (Carici rupestris-Kobresietea bellardii) as they occur above the treeline today were, in contrast to more northern locations, mostly lacking. During the last interglacial, open coniferous woodland similar to modern larch taiga was the primary vegetation at the site. Abundant charcoal indicates wildfire events during the last interglacial. Zoogenic disturbances of the local vegetation were indicated by the presence of ruderal plants, especially by abundant Urtica dioica, suggesting that the area was an interglacial refugium for large herbivores. Meadow steppes, which formed the primary vegetation during cold stages and provided potentially suitable pastures for herbivores, were a significant constituent of the plant cover in the Yana Highlands also under the full warm stage conditions of the last interglacial. Consequently, meadow steppes occurred in the Yana Highlands during the entire investigated timespan from MIS 6 to MIS 2 documenting a remarkable environmental stability. Thus, the proportion of meadow steppe vegetation merely shifted in response to the respectively prevailing climatic conditions. Their persistence indicates low precipitation and a relatively warm growing season throughout and beyond the late Pleistocene. The studied fossil record also proves that modern steppe occurrences in the Yana Highlands did not establish as late as in the Holocene but instead are relicts of a formerly continuous steppe belt extending from Central Siberia to Northeast Yakutia during the Pleistocene. The persistence of plants and invertebrates characteristic of meadow steppe vegetation in interior Yakutia throughout the late Quaternary indicates climatic continuity and documents the suitability of this region as a refugium also for other organisms of the Pleistocene mammoth steppe including the iconic large herbivores. (C)2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Key geological sections on the southern part of the Kola Peninsula were investigated to reveal the evolution of the Late Pleistocene palaeoenvironments and the history of the last deglaciation of the area. Methods used were conventional sedimentological techniques, including palaeocurrent analysis and geomorphological observations. Optically stimulated luminescence dating was used to determine the age of sand-rich sediment units exposed in sections. The results indicate that the Eemian (MIS 5e) marine environment in the onshore coastal areas gradually changed into a glaciolacustrine environment. The first ice advance into the western part of the study area took place already during the Early Weichselian (MIS 5b?). After deglaciation, glaciolacustrine conditions were re-established in the area. Only one younger until is observed in the area; it cannot be excluded that this stems from a Middle Weichselian (MIS 4) glaciation over the area, though it is more probable that it is from the last Scandinavian ice sheet advance over the area during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The southern and central coastal areas of the Kola Peninsula deglaciated between 16,000 and 12,000 years ago. The most prominent end moraine ridges, the Keiva II and Keiva I end moraines were formed in an interlobate zone between ice mass in the interior of the Kola Peninsula and the White Sea ice lobe during the Younger Dryas.

Projections of future rates of mass loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet are highly uncertain because its sensitivity to warming is unclear. Geologic reconstructions of Quaternary interglacials can illustrate how the ice sheet responded during past warm periods, providing insights into ice sheet behavior and important tests for data-model comparisons. However, paleoclimate records from Greenland are limited: Early Holocene peak warmth has been quantified at only a few sites, and terrestrial sedimentary records of prior interglacials are exceptionally rare due to glacial erosion during the last glacial period. Here, we discuss findings from a lacustrine archive that records both the Holocene and the Last Interglacial (LIG) from Greenland, allowing for direct comparison between two interglacials. Sedimentary chironomid assemblages indicate peak July temperatures 4.0 to 7.0 °C warmer than modern during the Early Holocene maximum in summer insolation. Chaoborus and chironomids in LIG sediments indicate July temperatures at least 5.5 to 8.5 °C warmer than modern. These estimates indicate pronounced warming in northwest Greenland during both interglacials. This helps explain dramatic ice sheet thinning at Camp Century in northwest Greenland during the Early Holocene and, for the LIG, aligns with controversial estimates of Eemian warming from ice core data retrieved in northern Greenland. Converging geologic evidence for strong LIG warming is challenging to reconcile with inferred Greenland Ice Sheet extent during the LIG, and the two appear incompatible in many models of ice sheet evolution. An increase in LIG snowfall could help resolve this problem, pointing to the need for hydroclimate reconstructions from the region.

The paper analyzes the results ofthe numerical experiment aiming at the reconstruction of climate ofthe penultimate (Eemian) interglacial (last interglacial, LIG) obtained using the Earth system model developed in the Institute of Numerical Mathematics of RAS. Orbital parameters were set with the periodicity of one thousand years and were further interpolated with the time step of 100 years. Assuming that during the LIG the concentrations of greenhouse gases were not very much different from the preindustrial values, this potential forcing was neglected. The climatic block of the ESM was called every 100 model years to foltow changes in orbital forcmg. The sub–models of ice sheets were asynchronously coupled to the sub–models of the atmosphere and the ocean with the ratio of model years as 100 to 1. Obtained anomaly (Eemian versus preindustrial) fields of surface air temperature generally correspond to the results of the earlier studies. Changes in the structure of the global atmospheric circulation resulted in the transformation ofthe precipitation field in some world regions. In particular, precipitation growth in North Africa was the reason for the radical change of landscapes.

In the framework of the study of the Eemian interglacial we consider the role of the Greenland ice sheet in the rise of the mean level of the World Ocean. Its contribution estimated as 2 m confirms the newest estimates based on the model results and on the proxy data analysis. In the beginning of the Eemian interglacial (earlier than 126 thousand years ago) mass lost occurs through the marine margin of the sheet. During the next five millennia, the negative surface mass balance plays the leading role. Taking into account the contribution of Greenland ice sheet, ocean thermal expansion, and the melting of mountain glaciers and ice caps, it is very probable that the West Antarctic ice sheet was the main source of the global sea level growth equal to 6–9 m the compared to the present.

This paper demonstrates that the Belgian Continental Shelf and coastal plain occupy a key position between the depositional North Sea Basin and the erosional area of the Dover Strait as it is an area where erosional landforms and fragmented sedimentary sequences provide new evidence on northwest European landscape evolution. The study area hosts 20–30 m thick penultimate to last glacial sand-dominated sequences that are preserved within the buried palaeo-Scheldt Valley. Here, we build on the results of previous seismo- and lithostratigraphical studies, and present new evidence from biostratigraphical analysis, OSL dating and depth-converted structure maps, together revealing a complex history of deposition and landscape evolution controlled by climate change, sea-level fluctuations and glacio-isostasy. This study presents strong new supportive evidence on the development of the incised palaeo-Scheldt Valley landform that became established towards the end of the penultimate glacial period (MIS 6; Saalian) as a result of glacio-isostatic forebulge updoming, proglacial lake drainage and subsequent collapse of a forebulge between East Anglia and Belgium following ice-sheet growth, disintegration and retreat in areas to the north. The majority of the incised-valley fill is of estuarine to shallow marine depositional context deposited during the transgression and high-stand of the last interglacial (MIS 5e: Eemian). A thin upper part of the valley fill consists of last glacial (MIS 5d-2: Weichselian) fluvial sediments that show a gradual decrease and retreat of fluvial activity to inland, upstream reaches of the valley system until finally the valley ceases to exist as the combined result of climate-driven aeolian activity and possibly also glacio-isostatic adjustment. Thus, strong contrasts exist between the palaeo-Scheldt Valley and estuary systems of the penultimate glacial maximum to Last Interglacial (Saalian, Eemian), the beginning of the Last Glacial (Weichselian Early Glacial and Early-Middle Pleniglacial), and the Last Glacial Maximum to Holocene.

The Radom Plain is a region with numerous fossil palaeolakes that formed a palaeolakeland. Lacustrine sediments of thickness varying from 0.5 to 18 m were encountered in numerous boreholes. Pollen analyses of the sediments filling the palaeolakes have proven that their sedimentation began after the retreat of the Saalian ice-sheet (MIS 6), continued during the Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e), and terminated at the beginning of the Weichselian Glaciation (MIS 5d). Climate and palaeoenvironmental changes have been recorded in different deposits: muds, peats and gyttja. Local factors, such as reservoir depth, and geological conditions have influenced the type of the accumulated sediments. Eemian sites occur in two geomorphological positions: in small depressions on the glacial plateau and in small valleys in ox-bow palaeolakes. Eemian lakes were formed from the melting of dead-ice blocks. Pollen data obtained from the palaeolake sediments document climate and vegetation changes characteristic of the Late Glacial period, the Eemian Interglacial, and the beginning of the Weichselian Glaciation. In many sites, a record of a complete Eemian succession is present, whereas in others it is fragmentary. Comparison of pollen data between the Radom region and other localities in Poland shows local and regional differences in the development of forest communities in the Eemian. In the Eemian sequences of the Radom Plain, a considerable contribution of Tilia , Picea and Abies pollen is distinct in the forest communities, often higher than in other Eemian sites of Central Poland. The particularly high percentage of Tilia (exceeding 30%), Picea (up to 67%) and Abies (30%) pollen are recorded in the Babin site. This phenomenon may indicate favourable environmental and climate conditions, facilitating further propagation of these trees. In the pollen record from the Babin site, three distinct abrupt/cool climate oscillations have been noted, with the oldest one recorded in the Saalian Glaciation. The two younger oscillations have been distinguished at the very beginning and at the very end of the Last Interglacial, respectively. Eemian sites from the Radom Plain are important for the reconstruction of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimate changes in the Eemian Interglacial in Poland and Europe.

The lithological and palaeobotanical research conducted in a closed-drainage depression located in the watershed zone between the Mroga and Mrozyca Rivers (Central Poland) allowed for the reconstruction of its palaeogeography in the period subsequent to the retreat of the last ice sheet (Wartanian Stage of the Odranian Glaciation). The purpose of this article is to gather and synthesise the obtained results, as well as to reconstruct the processes of development and filling in the studied depression over the last 135,000 years. The post-glacial evolution of the relief was recorded in the mineral and biogenic sediments deposited on glacial formations. The modern closed-drainage depression is a trace of a fossil extensive glacial meltout depression. The post-glacial development of the land relief within the depression involved three stages, dominated by different types of morphogenesis, i.e. the deglaciation stage during the Wartanian Stage of the Odranian Glaciation, the Eemian Interglacial-Early Vistulian aggradation stage, and the Vistulian aggradation-denudation stage. High thickness of the identified biogenic sediments suggests considerable transformations of the relief of the watershed during the two cycles of temperate climate – the Eemian Interglacial and the Holocene. The thickness of the mineral sediments suggest low dynamics of the environment during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and undermine the hypotheses on the determining effect of periglacial conditions on the character of the relief of Central Poland. The obtained results constitute an inspiration and starting point for another research project concerning the reconstruction of the watersheds in Central Poland.

Fossil nutlets of Tilia tomentosa Moench were found in the Eemian sediments from the Hieronimowo site, NE Poland. They come from the hazel (E4 R PAZ) and hornbeam (E5 R PAZ) phase of the last interglacial. Currently, this species occurs only in southern Europe and in Asia Minor. Its presence in NE Poland during the Eemian Interglacial shows that its northern range limit was at that time about 1000 km further north than today. This also proves that mean July temperatures in this area were significantly higher than during the Holocene (above 21 °C). The finding of T. tomentosa nutlets confirmed the previously reported detectability of pollen of this species.

The directions of the post-Wartanian (post-Saalian) migration of some thermophilous trees and shrubs into the territory of Poland was reconstructed on the basis of isopollen maps, prepared for the Eemian Interglacial based on the palynological data from 187 Polish pollen profiles. Isopollen maps clearly demonstrated, that all thermophilous trees, which appeared in this area in the early Eemian (Quercus, Ulmus, Fraxinus), migrated from the east or north-east. Also Tilia and Alnus, which arrived in the area of Poland in the middle part of the Eemian Interglacial migrated from the east. Picea, which colonized the territory of Poland twice: first at the very early stage of the interglacial, and then in the younger Eemian, migrated from the east and north-east. Only Corylus, Carpinus betulus and Abies alba migrated from other directions (from the south, from the south-west and from the south-west, respectively). Domination of the western and south-western directions of migration routes clearly differentiates the Eemian Interglacial from the Holocene, during which the majority of trees and shrubs migrated into territory of Poland from the south, south-east, south-west and west, and only a few, such as Ulmus and Picea, also from the east and north-east. We assumed that the most probable reason of this difference was a presence of the Wartanian (Saalian) refugia of many trees, including thermophilous taxa, in the Eastern Europe (west Russia or Black See region). From those regions, together with the decay of the ice sheet, these trees migrated directly into Central Europe along the northern slopes of the Carpathians, or at first migrated to the north via regions which were beyond the maximum range of the Saalian, and from there to the west after the ice sheet melted in this part of Europe.

This paper presents vegetation and climate reconstructions for Eemian Interglacial in Pomerian Lakeland based on detailed pollen data of the Buntowo site. The pollen succession from the depth of 30.60–30.50 m comprises the end of the Late Saalian with the development of open grass communities and shrub communities. The vegetation picture obtained confirms the significant role of Hippophae rhamnoides in shrub communities in northern Poland around the beginning of the Eemian Interglacial. The pollen succession from the depth of 30.45–25.40 m comprises the Eemian Interglacial from E-1 R PAZ to the beginning of E-6 R PAZ. In northern Poland, Ulmus became a significant component of forest communities as late as in Middle Eemian. Continuous presence of Taxus baccata over the entire Middle Eemian and higher significance of Picea abies in forest communities of the younger period of Middle Eemian confirm the higher influence of oceanic climate than in Central and Eastern Poland.