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We use sedimentary structures, fossil evidence, sediment petrophysical properties, and geochemistry to investigate past climate. In the first two chapters, we outline a toolkit to identify the presence of ice rafted debris in lake sediments using a combination of grain size analysis, computed tomography and image analysis. We apply this toolkit to sediments from the early Mesozoic, paleo-Arctic Junggar Basin, and describe the first evidence of continental freezing from this time period. We also discuss characteristics of algae rafted debris; clusters of coarse sediment suspended in a fine sediment matrix can be deposited without freezing conditions and may be a confounding factor in the geological record. In chapters three and four, we examine sediment cores from the coast of New York and the effects of sea level rise after the last deglaciation. New AMS radiocarbon dates from submerged terrestrial sediments on the US Atlantic continental shelf provide key constraints on the timing of marine transgression following the retreat of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. We use sediment elevation tables (SETs) and sediment cores to measure the accretion rate in a Hudson River tidal wetland to determine its vulnerability to sea level rise. We find that SETs overestimate accretion and underestimate vulnerability on timescales relevant to coastal flooding risk. Together, these chapters outline novel tools and approaches in imaging, geochemistry, and micro-stratigraphy broadly applicable for investigations on paleoclimate research through time and space.

This study presents a stratigraphic investigation of the marine sediment core MD04-2822 from the Rockall Trough (56° 50.54' N, 11° 22.96' W; 2344 m water depth). This core is currently the only available high resolution record for the calibration of Late Quaternary sedimentary sequences of the British (Hebridean) margin. It therefore offers an unprecedented archive of changing sedimentological and climatological conditions for the last 175,000 years. The high resolution, multi-proxy records have enabled surface and deep water conditions within the Rockall Trough to be reconstructed. In addition, the fluctuating nature of ice-rafted debris (IRD) inputs to the MD04-2822 site allows a first order attempt of BIS dynamics for the entirety of the last glacial period (i.e. from the demise of the last interglacial to the decay of the Devensian/Weichselian ice sheet) as well as the majority of the penultimate (Saalian/MIS 6) glaciation. Sediment core MD04-2822 is ideally located to capture the dynamics of the British Ice Sheet (BIS) via a continuous record of IRD and fine-grained terrigenous inputs. Fundamental to this is the construction of a robust chronology. This was achieved via: the correlation of the benthic δ¹⁸O record to a global δ¹⁸O stack (SPECMAP); the correlation of the surface proxies (% N. pachyderma (sinistral) and XRF Ca) to the Greenland δ¹⁸O and Antarctic methane ice core records; and radiocarbon dating. This chronology was validated using both radiocarbon dating and tephra horizons. An evaluation of the event stratigraphy approach used in the construction of the MD04-2822 chronology is presented. The marine record provides a valuable archive of past ice sheet dynamics as much terrestrial evidence is removed or obscured by subsequent ice sheet oscillations MD04-2822 provides the first evidence for the expansion of the BIS onto the Hebridean Margin during MIS6 (thereby confirming previous long-range seismic correlations). The continuous sedimentation at MD04-2822 enabled the first insights into the early dynamics of the last BIS. Increases in IRD and fine grained terrigenous material delivered to the MD04-2822 at ca. 72 kyr represent the first significant delivery of material from the BIS across the continental shelf to the core site. The BIS would therefore have attained a marine calving margin by this time. A multi-proxy investigation of provenance was undertaken, however unequivocal provenance determinations remain problematic. The location of the core suggest the proximal BIS as the most likely source of terrigenous inputs. The expanded nature of the MD04-2822 sediments during the penultimate deglacial (Termination II) provides the first details of BIS dynamics for this period: the interplay of large inputs of freshwater from the decay of the Saalian (MIS 6) ice sheets (including the BIS) upon the surface and deep water circulation of the North Atlantic is investigated. In addition, sub-orbital climatic variability is documented at this location throughout the last interglacial (MIS 5e) and appears to be an intrinsic feature of both the N.E. Atlantic surface and deep water circulation of the last 175 kyr.

Located in the Columbia River Gorge, The Red Bluff Landslide (18.8 km2) is one of four large landslides that make up the Cascade Landslide Complex. In its current form, the Red Bluff Landslide is a post-Missoula Flood feature made up of two components: an active upper lobe (8.6 km2) that is translational, creeping to the south at 25 cm/yr and spreading laterally to the east at 6 cm/yr over a semi-fixed portion (10.2 km2) of the Red Bluff Landslide area that has been "smoothed" by Missoula Floods. The upper active lobe is the landslide debris accumulated since Missoula Flood time (~15,000 yr. BP). Five separate collapse events have been identified and rock failures along the main scarp headwalls continue. Two rock avalanches on the Red Bluff Landslide were mapped. The Old Greenleaf Basin Rock Avalanche is estimated to have occurred 100 to 150 years ago, represents the fifth collapse event on the Red Bluff Landslide, and covers an area of 200,000 m2. It has a volume of 4.2 million m3; its length is 748 m and has a width of 215 m. On January 3, 2008, the Greenleaf Basin Rock Avalanche occurred, flowing over the Old Greenleaf Basin Rock Avalanche, covering an area of 100,000 m2 and deposited a volume of about 375,000 m3. Its length is 730 m with an average depth of 1.22 m. It contributed approximately 0.058% of the total volume and 0.01% of the surface area to the active upper lobe portion of the Red Bluff Landslide. The Greenleaf Basin Rock Avalanche was determined to be insignificant in the movement of the active part of the Red Bluff Landslide during the winter of 2007-2008. The original Cascade Landslide Complex map (Wise, 1961) included the Mosley Lakes Landslide which has now been removed because it lacked the characteristics of a landslide like a scarp. The original complex (35.5 km2) has been renamed the "Greater Cascade Landslide Complex" (43.0 km2), with the addition of the adjacent Stevenson Slide and the elimination of the Mosley Lakes Landslide.

It is now accepted that the last British-Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) was highly dynamic and drained by numerous fast flowing ice streams. This dynamic nature combined with its maritime location made the BIIS sensitive to the rapid climate change that characterised the Last Glacial Interglacial Transition. Gaining an understanding of the behaviour of the BIIS at this time is important to explore the nature of forcing between ice sheets and climate. This thesis presents new chronological data relating to the deglaciation of the northwest sector of the BIIS (NW-BIIS) from onshore dating of moraines using cosmogenic exposure dating. This improved chronological framework is supported by offshore data in the form of a newly constructed Ice Rafted Detritus (IRD) record from the offshore sediment core MD95-2007. These data suggest that deglaciation commenced sometime after 18 ka and that the NW-BIIS was located close to the present day shoreline by 16 ka. Further provenance analysis of the IRD using U-Pb dating of detrital minerals demonstrates that during the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition MD95-2007 was being supplied distal IRD from a source(s) to the west. The absence of diagnostic Scottish material suggests that after retreat to the coastline at 16 ka calving margins were not re-established during Greenland Interstadial 1. By combining these results with existing data relating to the deglaciation of the NW-BIIS it is possible to summarise the deglaciation history of the NW-BIIS from the continental shelf to mountainous source regions and compare this to numerical models of BIIS behaviour during this time. With a better understanding of the chronology of NW-BIIS retreat it is possible to relate the timing of initial deglaciation to possible forcing factors and gain a better understanding of the response of a marine based sector of an ice sheet to rapid climate change.

The remains from a sub-fossil pine forest burried in layers of peat deposits at the northern edge of the CHKO Křivoklátsko in the Central Bohemia is completely unique findings for the area of the Czech Republic. It offers new opportunities for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and related climate changes during the Late Glacial and early Holocene epoch. The methods of dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating were used to date subfossil trees. The results of radiocarbon dating determined the existence of the forest in the period approximately 12,000 to 10,300 cal yr BP. The dendrochronological analyses revealed two continuous floating chronologies. The chronology RD4, which is long 200 years, originates from the Younger Dryas. The chronology RD6, 300 years long, originates from the Preboreal. The growth dynamics of the forest were reconstructed on the basis of the tree- ring analysis. Hydrological regime has been identified as a major disturbancy factor that influenced the growth of trees. This has been evident from synchronous phase depressions in the growth of synchronized tree-ring series. The high water table was the main cause of their extinction. This was in concordance with the results of macrofossils analyses. The effect of hydrological regime was largely influenced by microsite differences...