Here, we provide results of mid/late Holocene fresh water Ostracoda analyses from coastal modern lake basins in the Thrace region of Istanbul and Sarikum Lake, on the Black Sea coast near Sinop. While neither diatoms nor Cladocera are abundant in the sediments, Podocopian (fresh water) ostracods preserved well, but with discontinuous occurences during the mid/late Holocene. Un-noded forms of Cyprideis torosa, along with other Podocopian ostracods, dominated the sediments of all three lakes. Studying these three lagoonal basins along the Black Sea and Thracian coasts of Turkey allows reconstruction of long term, regional environmental histories, using the following methods. Loss-on-ignition (LOI) analyses at 1 cm intervals of short and long cores provide stratigraphic cross-correlation and calculations of organic matter, carbonate and mineral weight. At 5 cm intervals, spectrally-inferred chlorophyll-a contents by visible reflectance spectroscopy (Michelutti et al., 2010), provide estimates of algal production. Trace element analysis (Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca) using ICP-AES (coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy) is applied to fully calcified adult specimens of un-noded forms of Cyprideis torosa shells (which dominate the uppermost 145 cm of Terkos Lake). 210Pb and 137Cs dating of short cores, and AMS 14C dating of long cores, are used to infer sediment accumulation rates and to place specific ages on inferred environmental changes. Benthic foraminifers, gastropods, bivalves, single valves of fossil Glochidia, and Charophyte seeds are the other biological indicators observed within the sediment archive. Based on these data: 1. Terkos Lake sediments contain records of multiple, sub-millennial scale marine incursion events, over the last 2.8 ka, inferred to be the result of severe storms or tsunami on the Black Sea, including the tsunami in AD 1598 and AD 557-543 / 2. short core sediments from Sarikum Lake reveal sharp decreases in organic matter, carbonate, and increases in algal production and sand amount that suggest a storm or more recent earthquake / such as the Great Erzincan Earthquake (26 December, 1939) or the Bartin earthquake (3 September, 1968) while four more such events appear in the undated sediments of the Sarikum Lake long core / and 3. a large earthquake in AD 447 that affected the entire Sea of Marmara (Leroy et al., 2002) does not appear in the B&uuml / y&uuml / k&ccedil / ekmece Lake sediment record, but there is evidence for a significant hiatus in these deposits before the development of the dam (AD 1989) and after the youngest AMS date (2400 cal yrs BP). This suggests that B&uuml / y&uuml / k&ccedil / ekmece Lagoon was an environment of net erosion prior to its artificial impoundment, either from gradual processes or from scouring by one or more tsunami.

The temperature record from the Antarctic Peninsula (AP) shows a warming trend 3°C greater than that of the Antarctic continent (Vaughan, et al., 2003). The LARsen Ice Shelf System, Antarctica (LARISSA) project was developed as an interdisciplinary collaboration to understand the impacts of global climate change on the ice shelf systems of the Peninsula. The 2010 LARISSA cruise to the western AP margin collected the two marine sediment cores from the mouth of Barilari Bay used for this thesis, Jumbo Piston Core (JPC) 127 and Jumbo Kasten Core (JKC) 55. The 77 sediment samples collected at 10 cm intervals were sieved at 63 microns to retain foraminiferal tests, identified to the species level. The 35 most abundant foraminifera species were grouped into five assemblages with one outlier species through Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA), predominantly grouped by calcareous and agglutinated foraminifera. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) yielded two principal components, which accounted for 81.5% of the variability within the data, correlated to the species Fursenkoina spp. and Bulimina aculeata. The base of this core was found to be nearly 8000 calibrated years before present (cal. yr. BP) through radiocarbon dating of the foraminiferal tests. The PCA results were correlated with the magnetic susceptibility down core, producing a timeline of four distinct zones in the mid- to late Holocene at the outer Barilari Bay core site. The earliest zone indicated stable cold bay waters, followed by a drastic change with the incursion of warmer Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) onto the continental shelf. The third zone of this study illustrated a period of fluctuation between the cold bay waters and the CDW, interrupted by the Little Ice Age when the ice shelf in Barilari Bay extended to the mouth of the bay. The most recent zone depicts the past 200 years of melting ice shelves and the resulting increase in primary productivity observed in the bays of the western AP, discernable from the diatom, foraminifera, and sedimentological record. This description of the benthic foraminiferal record in outer Barilari Bay increases the understanding of the timing of events in the mid- to late Holocene and will serve as a correlation to other paleoclimate proxies from the LARISSA project.

Peatlands in Southern South America (SSA), in the path of the Southern Westerly Wind belt (SWW), offer the potential of reliable palaeoclimate archives. This investigation aimed to test the late-Holocene climate signal related to variability of the SWW. Three sites were investigated: San Juan and Karukinka bog, southernmost Chile and San Carlos, a Sphagnum dominated bog, discovered in the Falkland Islands, to form a regional comparison. A multi-proxy approach was used, combining both palaeoecological and stable isotopic methods. At one site, Karukinka, intra-site replicability was tested across three profiles located along a microtopographical gradient. A low number of statistically significant correlations between proxies were evident. KAR-EM-1, the low-hummock profile, displayed the highest number of significant correlations, suggesting an optimal coring location. Chronological uncertainty in the high-hummock profile, KAR-EM-3, was the focus of discussion. Intra-site replicability between the palaeoecological records was improved by plotting the records against a ‘master chronology’, from the mid-hummock profile, KAR-EM-2, assuming a synchronous acrotelm-catotelm boundary across the profiles. The testate amoeba inferred depth to water table (WTD) reconstructions offered the highest intra-site coherence, while the stable isotope records suggested generally poor intra-site replicability. A semi-quantitative method of intra-site comparison was carried out which resulted in a number of climate scenarios. The inter-site comparison assessed correlations between the records from the three sites. A lack of significant correlations between the sites may have been due to regional climate variations and differences in the temporal resolution of the records. Robust climatic inferences were limited to the last 300 years. The WTD reconstructions displayed the highest inter-site coherence and suggested a drying trend after AD 1930 due to a southerly shift of the SWW. Late-Holocene climate variability was inferred from the palaeoecological records from Karukinka. Two periods were identified: a MCA period of generally wetter conditions (AD 750-1100) and a LIA period of overall drier conditions (~AD 1100-1900) during a southerly and northerly shifted SWW respectively, driven by solar variability and polar cell strengthening.

Contemporary a geographical imbalance of where palaeoclimatological studies have been undertaken exists, where the majority of palaeodata is based on studies from the northernhemisphere. Multiproxy analysis was performed on a peat core from Lydenburg, north-eastern Mpumalanga, covering the last 1.600 years. Proxy focus was put on fossil grassphytoliths. A general drying trend can be noted from AD 400 to 1000, followed by moremesic conditions around AD 1200. The increasingly mesic conditions were interrupted by asignificantly drier period between c. AD 1250 to 1350. This part of the Lydenburg sequenceoccurs in the end of a climate event termed “Medieval warm period” (MWP), suggested tohave been warmer and variable but mostly wetter in southern Africa. The results are in lineregarding the increased temperature and suggested variability. However, in contrast withearlier findings, significantly drier conditions seem to have prevailed at the Lydenburg fenat the end of “MWP” as interpreted by multiple proxies. Following AD 1400 increasinglymesic conditions was recorded as interpreted by several of the analysed proxies. Morepalaeoenvironmental studies needs to be performed in the area in order to elaborate on thedriving factors of palaeoenvironmental change in the region, as well as to establish if thesignals from the Lydenburg fen record local or regional changes. The results support earlierphytolith studies suggesting that small rondels should be excluded from phytolithassemblages in tropical and sub-tropical areas in Africa. / People, Land, and Time in Africa (PLATINA) / Bokoni project. This MA thesis is part of a transdisciplinary project involving scholars from Sweden and South Africa aiming to understand traces of pre-colonial terraces found in north-easter Mpumalanga, South Africa.

La banquise Antarctique joue un rôle important sur les flux de chaleur et les échanges de gaz à l'interface océan-atmosphère, sur la circulation océanique globale, sur l'albédo et la productivité primaire de l'Océan Austral. Cependant, du fait de son éloignement et d'un climat extrême, cette région reste à ce jour encore peu étudiés, et représente un verrou pour les modèles prédictifs du climat. De plus, de récentes observations ont montré que le continent Antarctique présente des tendances régionales, dont les causes et les mécanismes sont encore mal compris. Les reconstructions paléoclimatiques de températures tendent à montrer que ces disparités régionales ont également caractérisé la période Holocène. L'Holocène tardif représente la période sur laquelle le réchauffement récent se produit et est également caractérisée par des variations climatiques rapides généralement de plus faibles amplitudes. Afin de mieux évaluer ces changements, l'étude fine des conditions environnementales passées en Antarctique au cours de l'Holocène tardif est essentielle afin d'isoler la part de variabilité climatique naturelle de la part anthropique. Bien qu'un vaste réseau de carottes de glace en Antarctique constitue une base d'informations robuste sur la variabilité atmosphérique passée dans l'Hémisphère Sud, l'étude des conditions paléocéanographiques est contrainte dans la région par le nombre limité d'enregistrements sédimentaires marins,et qui de plus, tendent à être de faible résolution, trop courts ou discontinus. Notre étude porte sur la zone marginale du plateau de la Terre Adélie-Georges V en Antarctique de l'Est, qui a reçu peu d'attention jusqu'à présent, malgré la présence de séquences sédimentaires très épaisses et laminées, permettant la reconstruction fine des variations climatiques passées. Nos travaux ont été réalisés à partir de plusieurs enregistrements sédimentaires marins, couvrant la période instrumentale et jusqu'aux deux derniers millénaires. Nos résultats montrent que les assemblages de diatomées, les biomarqueurs spécifiques des diatomées, ainsi que de la géochimie élémentaire du sédiment traduisent efficacement des variations océanographiques et climatiques locales et aussi régionales à l'échelle interannuelle à centennale. La dynamique couplée océan-atmosphère en lien avec les modes climatiques principaux de l'Hémisphère Sud, ainsi que la dynamique glaciaire constituent les mécanismes de forçage majeurs des changements du couvert de banquise au court de l'Holocène tardif. / Antarctic sea ice has large impacts on the heat and gas transfers between the ocean andthe atmosphere, on the global oceanic circulation, on the Earth albedo and on theprimary productivity of the Southern Ocean. However, because of its remote and icecoveredlocation, the climate of the Antarctic continent and of the Southern Ocean isstill poorly studied and constitutes a challenge for climate model predictions. Recentobservations highlighted opposite patterns of climate variability between Western andEastern Antarctica, but poorly resolved the mechanisms and forcing involved.Reconstructions of temperature signals indicate that regional disparities have persistedover the Holocene period. The Late Holocene period includes the recent climate change(so-called modern global warming) as well as preceding rapid climate variabilitiesthough of lower amplitude. Achieving paleoenvironmental reconstructions in theAntarctic region at high temporal resolution over this period therefore offers theopportunity to improve the understanding of climate changes in response to bothnatural and anthropogenic forcing. While paleoenvironmental records obtained from icecores provide robust information on the past atmospheric conditions over Antarctica,the paleoceanography of the nearby ocean is constrained by a limited set of rather lowresolution, discontinuous records from sediment cores. Our study focuses on themarginal zone of the Adélie-Georges V Land, East Antarctica, a region which has beenpoorly studied so far, despite the presence of thick and laminated sedimentary depositsthat allow accurate and high resolution paleoclimate reconstructions. Our work is basedon several marine sedimentary records, made of diatom oozes and covering theinstrumental period to the last 2,000 years. Our results show that diatom assemblages,diatom specific biomarkers (HBI) and elemental geochemistry in the sedimenteffectively testify of local but also regional oceanographic and climatic variations atdecadal to centennial scales. Coupled atmospheric and oceanic dynamics linked to majorclimate modes of the Southern Hemisphere, along with glacial dynamics constitutemajor forcing mechanisms of ice covered changes during the late Holocene.

La partie inférieure de la rivière Colorado constitue une frontière naturelle entre les régions argentines de la Pampa et de la Patagonie. Dans cette zone géographique, carrefour entre diverses provinces et régions, les études phytogeographiques et zoogéographiques ont montré l’existence de caractéristiques environnementales particulières. Le projet « Investigations archéologiques dans la partie inférieure de la rivière Colorado », au sein duquel s’inscrit ce travail, a pour objectif principal d’étudier la culture matérielle des chasseurs-cueilleurs de cette zone géographique afin de comprendre leur adaptation et leur évolution durant l’Holocène entre 3 000 et 250 ans BP. Les dynamiques de peuplement de la Pampa et de la Patagonie à la fin de l’Holocène (environ 1000-250 ans BP) ont été décrites par plusieurs chercheurs comme une mosaïque de groupes qui témoigne de contacts inter-ethniques et d’échanges à différentes échelles (locale, extra-régionale, trans-andine). L’objectif de cette thèse est de définir l’organisation technologique des groupes de chasseurs-cueilleurs qui occupent la zone géographique concernée durant la fin de l’Holocène. Pour y répondre, les matières premières exploitées sont caractérisées. De plus, les méthodes de débitage et l’analyse économique des assemblages lithiques sont identifiées par le biais de l’approche théorique et méthodologique de la chaîne opératoire. Les résultats de cette thèse montrent une constance des savoir-faire technologiques tout au long de la fin de l’Holocène. Les changements technologiques perçus dans les comportements à la fin de l’Holocène tardif (environ 1000-250 ans BP) sont dus aux choix parmi les méthodes, les matières premières et les types d’outils connus ou disponibles de ceux les plus efficaces pour lesquels la production s’intensifie à partir de 1000 BP. Les changements comportementaux discernés dans le système de la technologie lithique sont accompagnés voire résultent d’une réorganisation du système social dans son ensemble. Plus généralement, cette situation est également observée dans les sociétés de chasseurs-cueilleurs des zones ou régions voisines (Pampa et Nord Patagonie) à la fin de l’Holocène tardif. / The lower Colorado River is considered the geographical boundary between [the Argentinean regions of Pampa and Patagonia]. In this area converges various provinces and regions, as well as phytogeographical and zoogeographical sub-domains that give to the environment ecotonal characteristics. The project Archaeological Investigations in the Lower Colorado River, which is part of this work, has as its central objective the study of the material culture, adaptation and evolution of hunter-gatherer peoples who occupied the area during the Holocene-3000-250 years BP. The population’s dynamics of the Pampas and Patagonia regions in the final late Holocene (ca. 1000-250 years BP) was described by several researchers as a complex map of inter-ethnic contacts and networks between groups at local, extra-regional and transandean range scale. The aim of this thesis is to define the technological patterns of hunter-gatherer groups who inhabited the studied area during the late Holocene. In order to do so, the nature and presentation of raw materials exploited is stated, and the different methods of debitage and economic analysis of the lithic assemblages are identified, within the theoretical and methodological approach of chaîne opératoires. The results of this thesis allow concluding that during the late Holocene the basis of technological knowledge is kept constant. The technological changes experienced in behavior toward the final late Holocene (ca. 1000-250 years BP) are due to the choice among methods, materials, and types of instruments known and available, of those with proven efficacy, whose production was intensified in the last 1000 years B.P. The behavioral changes linked to lithic technological system are accompanied by -or produced as a result of- reorganization of the social system as a whole. In general terms, this situation is also observed in hunters gathered societies in neighboring areas and regions (Pampean and Northen Patagonic regions) towards final late Holocene.

No description available.

No / Multiproxy palaeohydrological records from three raised bogs in Northern Ireland indicate that a major shift to wetter/cooler climatic conditions postdated the rapid decrease in solar activity at 2800 cal. BP by ~100 years. This event is bracketed by two wiggle-match radiocarbon-dated cryptotephra layers in each profile, enabling a high degree of chronological precision. These replicated data corroborate previous findings based on Irish peat humification profiles, and may indicate spatial complexity in the climatic response to solar activity between oceanic and continental areas.

Yes / Icelandic settlement (Landnám) period farmsteads offer opportunities to explore the nature and timing of anthropogenic activities and environmental impacts of the first Holocene farming communities. We employ Bayesian statistical modelling of archaeological, paleoenvironmental and documentary datasets to present a framework for improving chronological robustness of archaeological events. Specifically, we discuss events relevant to the farm Hrísbrú, an initial and complex settlement site in southwest Iceland. We demonstrate that tephra layers are key in constraining reliable chronologies, especially when combined with related datasets and treated in a Bayesian framework. The work presented here confirms earlier interpretations of the chronology of the site while providing increased confidence in the robustness of the chronology. Most importantly, integrated modelling of AMS radiocarbon dates on Hordeum vulgare grains, palynological data, documented evidence from textual records and typologically diagnostic artefacts yield increased dating reliability. The analysis has also shown that AMS radiocarbon dates on bone collagen need further scrutiny. Specifically for the Hrísbrú farm, first anthropogenic footprint palynomorph taxa are estimated to around AD 830–881 (at 95.4% confidence level), most likely before the tephra fall out of AD 877 ± 1 (the Landnám tephra layer), demonstrating the use of arable fields before the first known structures were built at Hrísbrú (AD 874–951) and prior to the conventionally accepted date of the settlement of Iceland. Finally, we highlight the importance of considering multidisciplinary factors for other archaeological and paleoecological studies of early farming communities of previously uninhabited island areas.

(Bahasa Indonesia) Analisa yang terperinci mengenai lingkungan di masa lalu, iklim dan sejarah penggunaaan lahan di wilayah Indonesia sangat penting untuk memperoleh pemahaman yang lebih baik mengenai hubungan manusia-lingkungan dan untuk mencegah ketidakpastian perkembangan wilayah tersebut di masa depan. Indonesia merupakan salah satu wilayah yang memiliki keanekaragaman terbesar, dan pada saat yang bersamaan juga merupakan salah satu Negara yang mempunyai jumlah penduduk terpadat di dunia. Seiring dengan sejarah, pengaruh dari aktivitas manusia pada suatu daerah menjadi semakin kuat. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengakses peranan manusia terhadap perubahan lingkungan. Penelitian kami difokuskan pada rekonstruksi pola vegetasi di masa lampau, perubahan lingkungan dan interaksi antara manusia dan lingkungan yang tercermin dalam sedimen laut di perairan Indonesia. Dua macam pendekatan yang digunakan dalam studi ini adalah: polen (serbuik sari), yang berasal dari darat dan diharapkan bisa memberikan informasi yang beragam tentang vegetasi dan dinamika penggunaan lahan, dan organic dinoflagelata yang berasal dari lingkungan laut dan merefleksikan perubahan parameter air secara kuantitatif (misal. SST, SSS) dan kualitatif (mis: kondisi tropic dilihat dari segi makro-elemen utama dan oksigen terlarut dalam air). Selain itu, arang mikro dipelajari untuk mendapatkan data mengenai sejarah kebakaran di wilayah tersebut dan untuk memperoleh data tambahan untuk interpretasi polen dan data dinoflagelata. Penelitian dilakukan di dua situs sebagai perbandingan: pertama, di wilayah Jawa yang padat penduduk dengan sejarah panjang dari dampak aktivitas manusia yang menghasilkan lanskap pertanian yang luas, dan yang kedua, di wilayah Kalimantan Selatan dengan kepadatan penduduk yang tidak terlalu tinggi dan tidak banyak perubahan akibat pengaruh aktivitas manusia dan masih merupakan vegetasi alami. Metode yang digunakan, palinologi laut memerlukan perhatian khusus dalam interpretasi data. Faktor pengendapan polen adalah sangat penting, terutama untuk daerah-daerah dengan pengaruh kuat dari angin dan arus laut seperti wilayah Indonesia dimana sistem iklim secara keseluruhan didorong sebagian oleh pergantian musim. Untuk mendapatkan beberapa pemikiran mengenai transportasi sedimen di wilayah ini, kami mempelajari dan membahas secara rinci perbedaan jumlah polen yang dikumpulkan pada kondisi musim hujan yang berbeda serta selama waktu perpindahan musim. Subyek manuskrip pertama kami adalah kemelimpahan dan komposisi taksa modern polen dan spora yang didapat dari sedimen yang terakumulasi di Samudera India sebelah barat daya Jawa. Hasil yang diperoleh digunakan untuk interpretasi lebih lanjut dari fosil polen laut. Sejarah intensifikasi penggunaan lahan dan perubahan vegetasi lebih dari 3500 tahun yang lalu yang diperoleh dari dinoflagelata dan kumpullan polen dari sedimen laut dipresentasikan dalam jurnal yang kedua. Studi ini didasarkan pada perbandingan dua core laut dari lepas Laut Jawa dekat Kalimantan Barat (Sungai Jelai) and bagian timur laut Jawa (Sungai/Bengavan Solo). Pada manuskrip yang ketiga, hasil ini diperbandingkan dengan sedimen core dari lepas pantai yang diambil dari bagian hulu sungai Pembuang. Studi ini membahas mengenai hasil analisa geokimia dan analisa dinoflagelata dalam cakupan paleoekologi dan paleoenvironment. Manuskrip kelima membahas tentang keragaman polen dalam core sedimen laut dari wilayah Indonesia. Studi ini merangkum pengetahuan yang diperoleh selama meneliti core sedimen dari Laut Jawa dan dari studi perangkap sedimen di Samudera Hindia. Dalam bentuk atlas polen, kami memberikan hasil analisis secara rinci dari daftar taksa polen dan dilengkapi dengan foto mikro pada tingkat fokus yang berbeda. Hasil keseluruhan dari penelitian ini akan memberikan kontribusi pada pengetahuan tentang dinamika ekosistem dan sejarah alam di wilayah Indonesia dan dapat membantu investigasi paleoekologi dan paleo-iklim di masa depan secara lebih rinci.