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Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / The Merrimack Embayment in the western Gulf of Maine is the site of three late-Quaternary paleodeltas. Each delta was deposited by the Merrimack River as its mouth migrated from west to east across the continental shelf during the post-glacial transgression and regression of the sea, In the Merrimack River Valley, a raised, glaciomarine ice-contact delta 33m above present sea level represents deposition of sediments by glacial meltwater at the transgressive marine limit about 13,000 yrs BP. An adjacent delta, preserved at 16m above present sea level, represents the deposition of sediments eroded from the 33m glaciomarine delta during the early stages of marine regression sometime after 13,000 yrs BP. A drowned delta, formed when sea-level was about 50m below present sea-level, is located offshore of the Merrimack River and represents deposition of sediments eroded from the 16m delta and from glacial deposits in the Merrimack Valley during the post-glacial maximum marine regression about 10,500 yrs BP. Major controls on the locations of the deltas include eastward shoreline translation induced by crustal rebound and relative sea-level lowering, and bedrock induced channel entrenchment. The orientation of the deltas and other paleoshoreline features, generally elongate to the south, indicates that a southerly alongshore current was a significant factor in the control of nearshore erosion and deposition. A similar configuration in the present Plum Island and linear sand ridges in the shallow, nearshore zone suggests that the alongshore current has influenced sediment distribution since the retreat of late-Wisconsinan ice from the area. / 2031-01-01

Drilling during ODP Leg 133 offshore Cairns, northeast Queensland, provided a unique opportunity to document carbonate production and facies development on a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic margin. Recent studies have shown that variations in the sedimentology of Late Quaternary and Pliocene periplatform sediments (Schlager and James, 1978), deposited on continental slopes and in deep basins surrounding shallow carbonate platforms, are linked to changes in sea-level (Droxler et al., 1993; Schlager et al., 1994). However, considerable debate has arisen to the timing of the production and export of shallow water carbonate material, with respect to sea level change. Two main hypotheses have been proposed to explain the response of shallow water carbonate platforms to variation in Late Quaternary sea level: I) 'highstand shedding' and 2) 'lowstand shedding'. Proponents of highstand shedding argue that depositional systems shed most of its carbonate sediments onto the platform slopes during highstands of sea level. Conversely, during lowstands of sea level bank top production and export of carbonate material is restricted, and platform slopes are largely starved of bank derived carbonate (Schlager, 1992; Schlager et al., 1994 ). Supporters of lowstand shedding maintain that significant carbonate production and export of shallow water carbonate material occurs during lowstands (and highstands) of sea level (Bosellini, 1989; Goldhammer and Harris. 1989; Grammer and Ginsburg. 1992). In order to investigate the response of mixed carbonate-siliciclastic systems to variations in Late Quaternary sea level and climate change, core material was collected from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 133, Sites 819 and 823 (northeast Australian margin). These two sites form part of an eastward extending transect of drill localities, offshore Cairns, Queensland, from the outershelf/upper-slope of the Great Barrier Reef (Sites 821 /820/819), into the Queensland Trough (Site 823) and ultimately onto the flanks of the Queensland Plateau (Sites 824 and 811 /825). Pelagic to hemipelagic sediments collected from these two sites were examined for the downcore distribution of grain size, magnetic susceptibility, carbonate content, variations in carbonate mineralogy (XRD), and major and minor element (XRF) geochemistry. Using high resolution foraminiferal stable oxygen isotopes, coupled with biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic datums, well defined age models for Hole 819A and Hole 823A have been constructed, although it was not an easy task as hiatuses occur in these records. Age models for the sequences recovered from Hole 819A and Hole 823A have been further refined using correlation with existing isotopic stratigraphies in the Pacific Ocean (ODP Hole 677, Raymo et al., 1989), and comparison with high resolution sedimentologic records from other ODP Leg 133 marine sequences. Analysis of the mineralogical, sedimentological and geochemical records from Holes 819A and 823A indicate that, over the last 1.1 million years, highstands of sea level (and during the early regression) are characterized by increased shallow water carbonate production, and deposition on the upper slope. This pattern of carbonate deposition is consistent with the highstand carbonate shedding scenario outlined by Schlager et al. (1992), and Schlager et al. ( 1994 ). Lowstands of sea level (and particularly the early transgression) are characterized by increased deposition of non-carbonate (mainly terrigenous) material and/or were not diluted by shallow water carbonate platform material. During the lowstands of sea level the shallow water carbonate factories were switched off. Therefore, the sediments deposited during lowstands of sea level tend to record the greater influence of pelagic driven carbonate. Although the above mentioned scenario of highstand shedding applies to the entire record of 1.1 million years. mineralogical and geochemical data indicate that shallow burial diagenesis, and dissolution of solution sensitive carbonate, occurred in the lower part of the records. The diagenesis and dissolution, however, have played only a minor role in determining the composition of the Queensland margin sediments. Variations in the terrigenous input (Cr/Al and Ti/AI ratios) in Queensland margin sediments indicate that interglacial periods were generally wetter than corresponding glacials or lowstands of sea level, during the Late Quaternary.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / Whether a species will flourish or face extinction under a new climate regime is largely determined by its dispersal ability, its adaptive capacity or some combination of these processes. These processes have also played important roles in the evolutionary histories of species, ultimately shaping their contemporary distributions. In terrestrial studies, a landscape genetics approach is often used to explain how geographic, ecological and evolutionary processes interact to structure spatial genetic variation across populations, but these approaches have only begun to be used in marine ecosystems. This dissertation fills an emerging niche in marine ecology by taking an interdisciplinary seascape genetics approach to investigating the interplay of climate, dispersal and adaptation as shallow-water marine fishes respond to environmental heterogeneity over space and climatological shifts over time. [TRUNCATED] / 2031-01-02

Lakes Magadi (Kenya) and Manyara (Tanzania) occupy closed basins in the southern Gregory Rift valley. Water in these lakes is presently shallow and saline, testifying to the dominance of evaporation (E) over precipitation (P). Past changes in the P: E ratio, and hence in palaeoclimate, can be reconstructed from evidence of the former extent of these lakes. Lake-level fluctuations engender marked variation in water chemistry, and consequently on the composition of the limnological biota. One approach is to examine the sedimentary record of diatoms (unicellular algae), which are excellent indicators of water chemistry and relative water depth, and whose modem distribution is sufficiently well known to allow the quantitative reconstruction of chemical parameters. Diatom analysis of 116 samples from a series of radiometrically dated (14C and U/Ib) sediment cores has revealed significant changes amongst the diatom assemblages during the Late Quaternary. Conductivity and pH have been estimated from the fossil samples by transfer functions (Gasse unpublished, Gasse 1986b). However, the interpretation of fossil diatom assemblages is often problematical in hypersaline environments. Difficulties arise as a result of the operation of taphonomic and diagenetic processes which can severely alter the composition of the diatom assemblagesfr om the ambient population at the time of deposition. Probably the most important factor responsible for assemblage diagenesis in saline lakes is silica dissolution, and this is explored further by a series of laboratory experiments. Results indicate that silica dissolution acts differentially between species, by removing the smaller, more delicate taxa first, and causing the relative enrichment of large robust forms in the fossil samples. A similar dissolution gradient may be reflected in modem samples studied near hot springs at Magadi. Differential dissolution is potentially an important source of error in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, but, with the outcome of these experiments, it has been possible to assess the extent to which the dissolution process may have shaped the diatom records from Magadi and Manyara. The bulk of the palaeolimnological evidence is focussed upon two periods, 30,000-20,000 BP and 12,700-9,500 BP. The earlier period is most clearly dated in the core from Manyara, where the diatom record suggests the development of an intermediate level lake between c. 27,500 BP and c. 26,000 BP. This is a more complete representation of the same lake phase found in earlier studies from Manyara by Holdship (1976) based on diatoms, and by Casanova (1986a) on stromatolites 20M above the present lake. This time interval may also be represented by the central portion of the Magadi cores NF1 and NF2 but here dating is more problematical. The period 12,700-9,500 BP was one of major lacustrine transgression across Africa although the fine-structure of this event is less well known. Cores NF1 and NF2 from Magadi provide a detailed register of this phase indicating a major highstand from c. 12,700-11,000 BP when the lake became deep enough to stratify and deposit laminated couplets. At c. 11,000 BP the diatoms show that salinity increased greatly from fresh-oligosaline to meso-hypersaline which was probably a consequence of lake level falling.

A baixa temperatura média anual (< 18ºC), a localização em zona de altitude elevada (> 1500 m) e a diversidade florística, bem representativa da parte sul da serra da Mantiqueira, tornam a região de Monte Verde (município de Camanducaia, sudeste do Estado de Minas Gerais), propícia para a investigação de mudanças climáticas ocorridas no Quaternário tardio, meta desta Dissertação. Para buscar esta meta, propõe-se como objetivo a análise e descrição da sucessão paleoflorística, integrada ao aporte sedimentar e às condições geoquímicas de deposição nesta região, com base de dados palinológicos, sedimentológicos (granulometria, concentração de matéria orgânica e teor e tipos de minerais pesados) e geocronológicos (datações 14C por espectrometria de aceleração de massa). A área amostrada foi a margem esquerda do Córrego dos Cadetes, afluente do rio Jaguari. Trata-se de um vale fluvial encaixado em alvéolo de relevo acidentado, onde se coletou testemunho raso (2,10m) contínuo, com equipamento vibrocorer (vibro-amostrador). Os depósitos sedimentares tertemunhados são argilo-arenosos orgânicos e turfosos. Sua análise sedimentológica demonstra a ocorrência de variações graduais e cíclicas relacionadas a mudanças no balanço entre aporte sedimentar terrígeno e biodretítico e/ou orgânico, controlado por alterações no tipo de processo deposicional, e, por extensão, na cobertura vegetal, esta possivelmente influenciada por oscilações climáticas do Quaternário Tardio. As cinco datações obtidas ficaram compreendidas no intervalo entre 20830-20370 anos 14C cal A.P. (100 cm de profundidade) e 2350?2150 anos 14C cal A.P. (10 cm). Os dados palinológicos permitem interpretar que durante todo esse período a região foi dominada por floresta, principalmente com a presença de Araucaria angustifolia, sob clima predominantemente frio e úmido, porém com possíveis oscilações de umidade. Para efeito de inferências paleoclimáticas, quatro fases principais foram identificadas, expressas a seguir em idades extrapoladas. A primeira fase corresponde ao intervalo de 17000 a 15000 anos A.P., no qual há oscilação da cobertura vegetal e aumento de erosão nas encostas, sob clima frio e úmido. Na segunda fase, de 15000 a 9000 anos A.P., detectou-se aumento de umidade acompanhado da redução do aporte trativo. A terceira fase, correspondente ao intervalo de 9000 a 8000 anos A.P., registra decréscimo na umidade e aumento da taxa de sedimentação. Nos últimos 8000 anos A.P., ocorre a manutenção da floresta de Araucaria em condições climáticas frias e úmidas. / Low annual average temperature (< 18ºC), the localization in a zone of high altitude (> 1500 m) and high floristic diversity, representative of the southern part of the Serra da Mantiqueira highlands, turn the Monte Verde region (city of Camanducaia, Southeast of the State of Minas Gerais), propitious for the inquiry of Late Quaternary climatic changes, the aim of this dissertation. The objective of the study is to analyze and describe the paleofloristic succession based on palynology, integrated with sedimentological (grain size and heavy mineral analysis), geochemical (quantification of organic matter) and geochronological (14C AMS dating) data. The sampled area is located at the left margin of the Cadetes stream, a tributary of the Jaguari River. A 2.10 m long sediment core was collected on the fluvial valley with a vibrocore equipment. The sandy-clay sediments show a high organic content and are similar in appearance to peatbog deposits. The sedimentological analysis demonstrate the occurrence of gradual and cyclic variations related to the change in incoming of terrigenous biodetrital/organic sediments, controlled by alterations in the type of depositional process, and, therefore, possibly by the vegetation cover. All these changes were possibly influenced by climatic oscillations of the Late Quaternary. The five 14C AMS dates obtained encompass the period between 20830-20370 14C cal. A.P. (100 cm of depth) and 2,350-2,150 years 14C cal. A.P. (10 cm). The palynological results indicate that in the last 20,000 years the landscape was characterized by Araucaria angustifolia forest under predominantly cold and humid climates, with minor oscillations of humidity. Four pollen phases had been identified, with extrapolated ages for paleoclimatic inferences. The first one corresponds to the interval between 17,000 and 15,000 years A.P. with oscillation of the forest cover under cold and humid climate. Between 15,000 and 9,000 years A.P., there is an increase of humidity and reduction of tractive sedimentary supply. The third interval corresponds to the period between 9,000 and 8,000 years A.P. with a decrease in humidity and increase of the sedimentation rate. In the last 8,000 years A.P. Araucaria forest was maintained under cold and humid climatic conditions, as it did during the Late Pleistocene.

Stratigraphic records in Middle Park in north-central Colorado provide evidence for the late Quaternary geomorphic and environmental history of a non-glaciated Southern Rocky Mountain basin. Episodes of geomorphic instability apparent in the stratigraphic record coincide with changes in paleoenvironmental records from above 2750 m in north-central Colorado, suggesting that the western Middle Park landscape was sensitive to environmental changes affecting the region over the last ~14,000 years. Tributaries were incised prior to 14.0 ka, but deposits older than 12.0 ka are rare. Upland erosion and incision followed by rapid aggradation in alluvial settings between 12.0 and 11.0 ka coincide with evidence for regional temperatures at or above present, and is interpreted to signal the onset of Holocene summer-wet precipitation. A widespread soil-stratigraphic marker represents a long period of landscape stability between <11.0 and 6.0 ka in upland and alluvial settings. Pedologic evidence from upland settings indicates the expansion of grass and forest cover to lower elevations that today are characterized by sagebrush steppe, probably during a period of increased summer precipitation relative to present. During the late Holocene, episodes of aggradation in alluvial valleys at 6.0-1.0 ka and 0.6-0.2 ka and soil formation in uplands at 5.0-3.5 ka and 2.5-1.0 ka overlap with evidence for cooling at higher elevations. Incision of valley floors documented at 1.0-0.6 ka and during the last few centuries and episodes of erosion in uplands at 3.5-2.5 ka, after 1.0 ka, and within the last few centuries, are roughly synchronous with evidence for warming. Upland and alluvial stratigraphic records are interpreted to indicate that during cool intervals summer precipitation was diminished, resulting in relative hillslope stability and gradual valley bottom aggradation, while pulses in summer precipitation accompanying warmer episodes caused basin-wide geomorphic instability. The recent increasing frequency of geomorphic instability appears to correspond with an increase in sagebrush steppe at the expense of forest and grass cover, interpreted to represent progressive drying during the late Holocene. It stands to reason that future warming, if accompanied by similar patterns in precipitation, will result in continued erosion on a landscape already at a threshold of geomorphic instability.

The main objective of this dissertation is to improve the knowledge of glacial chronology and paleoclimate of Turkey during the Late Quaternary. The 36Cl cosmogenic exposure ages of moraines show that Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) glaciers were the most extensive ones in Turkey in the last 22 ka (ka=thousands years), and they were closely correlated with the global LGM chron (between 19&plusmn;23 ka). LGM glaciers started retreating 21.3&plusmn;0.9 ka (1&sigma;) ago on Mount Erciyes, central Turkey, and 20.4&plusmn;1.3 ka ago on Mount Sandiras, southwest Turkey. Glaciers readvanced and retreated by 14.6&plusmn;1.2 ka ago (Late Glacial) on Mount Erciyes and 16.2&plusmn;0.5 ka ago on Mount Sandiras. Large Early Holocene glaciers were active in Aladaglar, south-central Turkey, where they culminated at 10.2&plusmn;0.2 ka and retreated by 8.6&plusmn;0.3 ka, and on Mount Erciyes, where they retreated by 9.3&plusmn;0.5 ka. The latest glacial advance took place 3.8&plusmn;0.4 ka ago on Mount Erciyes. Using glacier modeling together with paleoclimate proxy data from the region, I reconstructed the paleoclimate at these four discrete times. The results show that LGM climate was 8-11oC colder than today (obtained from paleotemperature proxies) and wetter (up to 2 times) on the southwestern mountains, drier (by ~60%) on the northeastern ones and approximately the same as today in the interior regions. The intense LGM precipitation over the mountains along the northern Mediterranean coast was produced by unstable atmospheric conditions due to the anomalously steep vertical temperature gradients on the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. In contrast, drier conditions along the southern Black Sea coast were produced by the partially ceased moisture take-up from the cold or frozen Black Sea and prevailing periglacial conditions due to the cold air carried from northern hemisphere's ice sheets. Relatively warmer and moister air from the south and overlying cold and dry air pooled over the northern and interior uplands created a boundary between the wet and dry LGM climates somewhere on the Anatolian Plateau. The analysis of Late Glacial advances suggests that the climate was colder by 4.5-6.4oC based on up to 1.5 times wetter conditions. The Early Holocene was 2.1oC to 4.9oC colder on Mount Erciyes and up to 9oC colder on Aladaglar, based on twice as wet as today's conditions. The Late Holocene was 2.4-3oC colder than today and the precipitation amounts approached the modern levels. Glaciers present on Turkish mountains today are retreating at accelerating rates and historical observations of the retreat are consistent with the behavior of other glaciers around the world.

During the last main phase of glaciations (26-13kaBP) an ice cap developed in south west Ireland and ice, from a dispersal centre in the vicinity of Kenmare, flowed north and diverged on the southern slopes of the Macgillycuddy’s Reeks. On these slopes, a weathering limit separates ice-moulded bedrock, on low ground, from frost-weathered terrain above. Assessment of bedrock dilation joint characteristics, Schmidt hammer R-value data, clay-sized mineral contents and magnetic properties of basal soil samples confirms significant contrasts in the degree of weathering above and below this limit. The weathering limit declines in altitude along former ice flow-lines and is confluent with morainic deposits on the eastern side of the Gap of Dunloe and on the western slopes of Skregbeg. This evidence supports the assertion that the high-level weathering limit is a periglacial trimline that marks the former maximum upper limit of the body of ice, which occupied this area of southwest Ireland during the LGM. This evidence, however, does not confute the notion that cold based, non-erosive plateau ice may have covered some or all of the upland surfaces that occur above the recorded weathering limits. Reconstruction of the former ice surface profile from periglacial trimline limits along three former flow lines yielded mean estimates for basal shear stress that ranged from 104.2 to 125.9 kPa. Although these values are high, they are within the range deemed normal for glaciers and ice sheets. The values suggest that the reconstructed areas of the ice cap were warm based and flowing on a bedrock substrate. This is supported by the geomorphological evidence of these areas, which shows that a landform – sediment association has developed consisting of zones of glacial scour and a thin, discontinuous drift cover. This contrasts with the glacial geomorphology of northern parts of the study area, where drift cover is largely continuous, and extensive in valley bottoms and on surrounding hillsides, and is associated with large lateral moraines.

Los Andes ecuatorianos, ubicados en el noroeste de América del Sur son considerados un “hot-spot” con una alta diversidad mundial de plantas vasculares, debido a su compleja topografía (elevación de la cordillera), variaciones de las condiciones climáticas y los distintos tipos de vegetación. A pesar de su elevado nivel de biodiversidad, los Andes ecuatorianos presentan uno de los paisajes más amenazados y poco estudiados. Especialmente los ecosistemas de páramo y montaña están sujetos a sobrepastoreo, quemas, cultivos y la deforestación causada por la expansión de la actividad humana en las últimas décadas. El conocimiento sobre paleoecología y la dinámica del paisaje es clave para entender los procesos del pasado que tuvieron un papel importante en el desarrollo de los ecosistemas y los paisajes ecuatorianos actuales. Sin embargo sólo un número limitado de estudios paleoecológicos de los Andes ecuatorianos están disponibles. En esta tesis se presentan análisis palinológicos que se llevaron a cabo en tres sitios diferentes en la región centro y sur de los Andes de Ecuador, con el fin de comprender mejor los últimos cambios en la vegetación, el clima y la dinámica del fuego; así como el impacto humano desde finales del Pleistoceno. El análisis del núcleo de sedimento El Cristal, ubicado en la ladera oriental de la cordillera Oriental en el Bosque Protector Corazón de Oro en el sureste del Ecuador, revela cambios en la distribución de la vegetación, el clima, el régimen de incendios y el impacto humano desde finales del Pleistoceno. Durante el Pleistoceno tardío el bosque montano fue el principal tipo de vegetación. Especialmente, hay evidencia de bosque de Polylepis lo que no ocurre en la actualidad. Sin embargo pruebas de proporciones relativamente altas de páramo sugiere que un bosque montano abierto ocupó la región. Por otro lado la presencia de taxones de páramo durante el Pleistoceno tardío, propone que la línea superior del bosque se encontraba a una altura inferior. Así mismo, la transición del Pleistoceno tardío al Holoceno temprano y medio se caracteriza por la presencia de bosque montano y una proporción estable de la vegetación de páramo. Sin embargo, después de aproximadamente 4000 cal yr BP, el bosque de Polylepis disminuyó, probablemente debido a un aumento en la frecuencia de incendios. Durante el Holoceno medio y tardío la composición de la vegetación cambió, el bosque montano fue menos frecuente y la vegetación de páramo se expandió. Altas proporciones de Asteraceae y Muehlenbeckia/Rumex (desde ca. 1380 cal yr BP) reflejan alteraciones del paisaje, probablemente por el impacto humano. Además, se registraron incendios durante todo el Pleistoceno tardío, pero fueron más frecuentes durante el Holoceno tardío, esto sugiere que eran de origen antropogénico. Por otro lado, El registro de polen Cajanuma valle, en la ladera occidental de la cordillera Oriental del Parque Nacional Podocarpus, sur de Ecuador, revela los cambios ambientales desde el último Glacial. Durante el último Glacial, páramo herbáceo principalmente dominado por Poaceae, Cyperaceae y Gentianaceae cubrió la zona. La línea superior del bosque se localizó a una altura más baja que la actual. El Holoceno temprano y medio se caracterizó por una sustitución parcial de páramo por bosque montano (Symplocos), el cual cambió su posición a elevaciones más altas donde está actualmente. Durante el Holoceno medio y tardío hay evidencia de un cambio de la vegetación, el páramo se re-expande con el predominio de Poaceae y alta presencia de Huperzia y Cyatheaceae. Durante el Holoceno tardío el páramo fue el principal tipo de vegetación que cubrió la zona. Los incendios se hicieron frecuentes desde el Holoceno tardío. Finalmente, el récord de polen Anteojos valle, que se encuentra en la ladera occidental del Parque Nacional Llanganates, en los Andes ecuatorianos centrales, presenta una reconstrucción ambiental detallada de aproximadamente los últimos 4100 años. La vegetación de páramo tuvo una ocurrencia dominante y estable en el área de estudio (Poaceae, Cyperaceae y Asteraceae); especialmente entre ca. 4100 - 3100 cal yr BP. Entre ca. 3100 - 2100 cal yr BP hubo una disminución de la vegetación de páramo seguido de una ligera expansión del bosque montano (Moraceae/Urticaceae, Trema, Celtis y Macrocarpaea). Desde ca. 2100 cal yr BP hasta la actualidad, la vegetación de páramo una vez más se hizo frecuente con una incidencia estable de los taxones del bosque montano. Se evidenció una baja frecuencia de incendios a lo largo del núcleo de sedimento; sin embargo, es evidente un ligero aumento entre ca. 4100 - 3100 años cal BP.