Search results for "Glacial period"
showing 10 items of 196 documents
Cyclic fluctuations, climatic changes and role of noise in planktonic foraminifera in the Mediterranean Sea
2005
The study of Planktonic Foraminifera abundances permits to obtain climatic curves on the basis of percentage ratio between tropical and temperate/polar forms. Climatic changes were controlled by several phenomena as: (i) Milankovitch's cycles, produced by variations of astronomical parameters such as precession, obliquity and eccentricity; (ii) continental geodynamic evolution and orogenic belt; (iii) variations of atmospheric and oceanic currents; (iv) volcanic eruptions; (v) meteor impacts. But while astronomical parameters have a quasi-regular periodicity, the other phenomena can be considered as "noise signal" in natural systems. The interplay between cyclical astronomical variations, t…
The effect of Quaternary climatic changes on plant distribution and evolution
1998
Abstract Climatic oscillations in the Quaternary have played a major role in changing the geographical distribution of plant species. Recent molecular work has provided new insights into the location of glacial refugia and routes of postglacial expansion. A comparative analysis shows that phylogeographic patterns in Europe appear to be less congruent than in North America. The change of geographical distribution has also provided opportunities for speciation through isolation, and hybridization after secondary contact. However, a complete understanding of the significance of the Quaternary climatic changes for plant speciation requires further research into the estimation of reliable and ac…
New luminescence ages reveal Early to Middle Weichselian deposits in central Latvia
2017
New optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages show that sandy deposits overlain by Late Weichselian subglacial till in central Latvia are of Early to Middle Weichselian age. The finer chronological resolution of unconsolidated sediment deposition in the Central Latvian Lowland (CLL) remains relatively unstudied, and here we provide a first characterisation of the deposits with respect to their age. Three OSL ages ranging between 84 ± 9 ka and 112 ± 11 ka suggest that the deposits studied in the CLL are of Early Weichselian age (MIS 5). We found no Middle Weichselian deposits in the CLL, and assume that any such younger sediments might have been eroded during the advance of the Zemgale Lo…
The ESR age of Portlandia arctica shells from glacial deposits of Central Latviaan answer to a controversy on the age and genesis of their enclosing …
1998
Abstract The occurrence of Portlandia arctica shells in glacigenic sediments of Central Latvia had created a controversy in many publications about (1) their age ranging from the Holsteinian to the Late Weichselian and (2) the genesis of their enclosing sediments: glacial, glaciomarine or marine. Our reinvestigation of the main object of controversy, the Licupe site, leads to a conclusion that the sedimentary package of diamictons, clays and sands containing Portlandia arctica shells and marine microfossils is a large glacial raft that had been transported and deposited by the Riga lobe during the Weichselian. The electron spin resonance (ESR) ages on five sets of Portlandia arctica shells …
Pleistocene allopatric differentiation followed by recent range expansion explains the distribution and molecular diversity of two congeneric crustac…
2021
AbstractPleistocene glaciations had a tremendous impact on the biota across the Palaearctic, resulting in strong phylogeographic signals of range contraction and rapid postglacial recolonization of the deglaciated areas. Here, we explore the diversity patterns and history of two sibling species of passively dispersing taxa typical of temporary ponds, fairy shrimps (Anostraca). We combine mitochondrial (COI) and nuclear (ITS2 and 18S) markers to conduct a range-wide phylogeographic study including 56 populations of Branchinecta ferox and Branchinecta orientalis in the Palaearctic. Specifically, we investigate whether their largely overlapping ranges in Europe resulted from allopatric differe…
Widespread secondary contact and new glacial refugia in the halophilic rotifer Brachionus plicatilis in the Iberian Peninsula.
2011
Small aquatic organisms harbour deep phylogeographic patterns and highly structured populations even at local scales. These patterns indicate restricted gene flow, despite these organisms' high dispersal abilities, and have been explained by a combination of (1) strong founder effects due to rapidly growing populations and very large population sizes, and (2) the development of diapausing egg banks and local adaptation, resulting in low effective gene flow, what is known as the Monopolization hypothesis. In this study, we build up on our understanding of the mitochondrial phylogeography of the halophilic rotifer Brachionus plicatilis in the Iberian Peninsula by both increasing the number of…
Neanderthals and Monkeys in the Würmian of Central Europe: The Middle Paleolithic Site of Hunas, Southern Germany
2011
The site of Hunas is a cave ruin, filled with bedded sediments up to the roof. About 20 m sediments from the top down were excavated and yielded Middle Paleolithic artifacts as well as numerous faunal remains, including Macaca. With a single human molar, the site is one of the rare Neanderthalian localities in Germany. New TIMS-U/Th dating of speleothems at the base of the profile indicate that the whole sequence was not deposited during the late Middle Pleistocene as previously thought, but during the last glacial. According to the new chronological results, Hunas is the only place which shows the coexistence of man and monkey in the Wurmian of Central Europe. The Macaca remains are the mo…
The Messinian salinity crisis in the Mediterranean basin: A reassessment of the data and an integrated scenario
2006
Abstract After a long period of controversial debate about the interpretation of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC), a near consensus existed since the ODP Leg 42A for a model keeping the major lines of the deep basin-shallow water model initially proposed by Hsu et al. (1973) . The knowledge of the crisis was improved since the 1995s by the availability of a very accurate astronomically calibrated timescale. The debate about its interpretation was then reactivated by several new scenarios that questioned most the major aspects of the previous classical models. The updated re-examination of the most salient features along with consideration of the hydrological requirements for evaporite de…
Porewater pressure control on subglacial soft sediment remobilization and tunnel valley formation: A case study from the Alnif tunnel valley (Morocco)
2014
25 pages; International audience; In the eastern part of the Moroccan Anti-Atlas Mountains, the Alnif area exposes a buried Ordovician glacial tunnel valley (5 km wide, 180 m deep) cut into preglacial marine sediments. The preglacial sedimentary sequence, deposited in a marine environment, is characterized by a typical "layer-cake" configuration of permeable (sand) and impermeable (clays and early-cemented sandstones) layers. At the base of the tunnel valley, a discontinuous and fan-shaped glacial conglomeratic unit 10 to 15 m thick occurs, erosively deposited over preglacial marine sediments. The conglomeratic unit is composed of preglacial intraclasts embedded within a sandy matrix. Both …
Towards a dendrochronologically refined date of the Laacher See eruption around 13,000 years ago
2020
Highlights • Previous age estimates of the Laacher See Eruptions (LSE) around 12,900 years are still diverging and imprecise. • The combination of dendrochronology, wood anatomy, and 14C measurements holds the potential to establish a precise LSE date. • An absolute calendric date of the LSE would improve the synchronization of European Late Glacial to Holocene archives. Abstract The precise date of the Laacher See eruption (LSE), central Europe’s largest Late Pleistocene volcanic event that occurred around 13,000 years ago, is still unknown. Here, we outline the potential of combined high-resolution dendrochronological, wood anatomical and radiocarbon (14C) measurements, to refine the age …