DIe Dissertationsschrift enthält mehrere teils in wissenschaftlichen Journals veröffentlichte Studien, die im Rahmen der kumulativen Dissertation entstanden. Im Fokus dieser Studien und der vorliegenden Dissertationsschrift steht die Untersuchung und Rekonstruktion Quartärer Umweltveränderungen in terrestrischen Ökosystemen. Dabei wurden Äolianit-paläobodensequenzen untersucht, anhand derer mithilfe von fossilen Gastropoden und deren stabilen Isotopensignalen Umweltinformationen abgeleitet werden.:TABLE OF CONTENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ABSTRACT KURZFASSUNG TABLE OF CONTENT 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 RELEVANCE AND OBJECTIVE OF STUDYING FOSSIL GASTROPODS IN QUATERNARY DEPOSITS 1.2 MAJOR RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH 1.3 STUDY SITES 1.4 REFERENCES 2 QUATERNARY GASTROPOD FAUNAS ON THE EASTERN CANARY ISLANDS AND INDICATIONS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES 2.1 INTRODUCTION 2.2 GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING 2.3 METHODS 2.4 RESULTS 2.5 DISCUSSION 2.6 CONCLUSIONS 2.7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2.8 REFERENCES 2.9 SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 3 QUATERNARY GASTROPOD FAUNAS IN SOUTHERN CAUCASIA AND INDICATIONS ON ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES 3.1 INTRODUCTION 3.2 STUDY AREA 3.3 METHODS 3.4 RESULTS 3.5 DISCUSSION 3.6 CONCLUSION 3.7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT REFERENCES 3.9 SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 4 MALACOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS ON EASTERN CANARY SEDIMENT ARCHIVES –STABLE ISOTOPE INTERPRETATION IN AN OZEANIC SETTING 4.1 INTRODUCTION 4.2 GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING AND STATE OF KNOWLEDGE 4.3 METHODS 4.4 RESULTS 4.5 DISCUSSION 4.6 CONCLUSIONS 4.7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 4.8 REFERENCES 4.9 SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 5 MALACOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT SOUTH CAUCASIAN SEDIMENT ARCHIVES –STABLE ISOTOPE INTERPRETATION IN A CONTINENTAL SETTING 5.1 INTRODUCTION 5.2 GEOGRAPHICAL SETTING AND STATE OF KNOWLEDGE 5.3 METHODS 5.3.1 Fieldwork 5.3.2 Laboratory Analyses 5.4 RESULTS 5.6 CONCLUSION 5.7 REFERENCES 5.8 SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL 6 SUMMARY AND SYNTHESIS 6.1 COMPARATIVE CONSIDERATION OF THE DIFFERENT SETTINGS 6.2 MAJOR CONCLUSIONS 6.3 PERSPECTIVE 6.4 REFERENCES

This diploma thesis deals with the research of primary and secondary magnetic fabric of aeolian loess sediments and paleosols on the cross-section temporary cropping out during the construction work in Prague 6. Magnetic enrichment - and the formation of magnetic nanoparticles in soil horizons - occurs during pedogenesis in warmer interglacials periods. The aim of this work is the interpretation of the paleoenvironment, weathering and pedogenic processes, by measuring the magnetic properties of sediments. Magnetic susceptibility, frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility, anhysteresis remanent magnetization and natural remanent magnetization are used to detect the increased occurrence of magnetic particles, which indicate these pedogenic processes. The most developed paleosol horizon within the cross-section was the horizon of black soil and subsoil brown soil. Small signs of pedogenesis were revealed in the upper and lower loess part of the section. The magnetic fabric of loess, measured by means of anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility, reflects secondary sedimentary processes. This involves the displacement of clastic particles by flowing water and the redeposition of the material along the slope. The direction of movement of these sediments corresponds to the current geomorphology of the...

By analyzing the texture, composition and chemical composition of loess soils, the reconstruction ofpast climate regimes is enabled, which can improve our understanding of current and future climatechange. Properties such as grain size and composition, mineralogy, organic matter and chemicalcomposition can provide information about which environmental factors were present during thedeposition of the sediment, which can lead to a detailed picture of the climate history of a site. Researchon loess soils in the polar regions is particularly valuable because its climate is most rapidly affected byglobal warming. The purpose of the study has therefore been to understand and convey new data to thepaleo-climate around the Arctic by examining and analyzing loess soil sequences at a depth between 0and 175 cm from Adventdalen, Svalbard. In this study, the samples are analyzed with XRF (X-rayfluorescence) and LOI (Loss of Ignition). XRF is used to find out the mineral composition of the soils,while LOI is used to find out the percentage of organic content and carbonates.Data from the oldest part of the stratigraphic section indicate a sharp increase in weathering, from acooler period about 3000 years ago to a warming until about 2000 years ago. Weathering intensitiesderived from Na/Al-based indices show relatively frequent oscillations throughout the section, but arestable from about 100-70 cm. The high and stable weathering values during this period can probably beattributed to the Medieval Warm Period, which coincides with the relative dating of the site. Datacollected from the LOI shows a clear trend throughout the section, with a decrease in organic matterfrom 3000 BC to the present.

Understanding local and regional reactions to the global Eocene-Oligocene climate transition is a continuing challenge. The White River Group in the North American midcontinent preserves dynamic fluvial, volcaniclastic and lacustrine facies that yield to aeolianites. To test whether this shift in sedimentation style was driven by climate change, 20 paleosols from 8 profiles were analyzed from the fluvial-aeolian Orella Member through the aeolian-dominated Whitney Member of the earliest Oligocene Brule Formation at Toadstool Geologic Park, NE. Paleosol morphology and geochemistry were used to assess the balance of aeolian vs. alluvial sedimentation at key stratigraphic intervals and lithologic transitions. Significant loess deposition began at least as early as the lower Orella Member but is masked in most settings by concomitant fluvial deposition. As fluvial influence on landscapes waned across the Orella-Whitney Member boundary, loess deposits predominated and became more recognizable. Paleosols follow different pedogenic pathways in direct response to depositional setting. Whereas all paleosols formed through top-down pedogenesis in alluvial settings, paleosols in aeolian-dominated settings formed though pedogenic upbuilding during aggradational phases and through top-down pedogenesis during depositional hiatuses. The disparity between each style of pedogenic development creates fundamentally different pedogenic associations that must first be understood before climatic interpretations can be drawn from macroscopic paleosol morphology alone. Microscopic analysis of loessic and alluvial paleosols indicates that pedogenic features do not greatly change across the Orella-Whitney Member boundary. Furthermore, results of climofunction calculations from five paleosol Bw and Btk horizons show mean annual temperature (ca. 9.0-10.5 °C) and precipitation (ca. 650-800 mm/y) do not significantly vary across the Orella-Whitney Member transition. Clay mineralogy and the presence of pedogenic carbonate and translocated clay corroborate paleoclimate estimates. However, geochemical paleosol profiles are uniform and do not reflect observed vertical associations of pedogenic features. Constant additions of aeolian sediment, which replenishes base losses through leaching, explain this phenomenon. Interpretations of paleovegetation from root trace morphology and paleosol taxonomy indicate that predominantly open canopy to savanna habitats were in place in the lower Orella Member and continued into the Whitney Member. Evidence for riparian partitioning exists in the lower Orella Member but disappears as fluvial deposits wane in the Whitney Member. Lacking evidence of climate change from paleosol analysis, changes in sedimentation style and vegetative biomes are most likely a reaction to increased aeolian deposition. / Geology

Following the 22 February 2011, MW 6.2 earthquake located on a fault beneath the Port Hills of Christchurch, fissuring of up to several hundred metres in length was observed in the loess and loess-colluvium of foot-slope positions in north-facing valleys of the Port Hills. The fissuring was observed in all major valleys, occurred at similar low altitudes, showing a contour-parallel orientation and often accompanied by both lateral compression/extension features and spring formation in the valley floor below. Fissuring locations studied in depth included Bowenvale Valley, Hillsborough Valley, Huntlywood Terrace–Lucas Lane, Bridle Path Road, and Maffeys Road–La Costa Lane. Investigations into loess soil, its properties and mannerisms, as well as international examples of its failure were undertaken, including study of the Loess Plateau of China, the Teton Dam, and palaeo-fissuring on Banks Peninsula. These investigations lead to the conclusion that loess has the propensity to fail, often due to the infiltration of water, the presence of which can lead to its instantaneous disaggregation. Literature study and laboratory analysis of Port Hills loess concluded that is has the ability to be stable in steep, sub-vertical escarpments, and often has a sub-vertically jointed internal structure and has a peak shear strength when dry. Values for cohesion, c (kPa) and the internal friction angle, ϕ (degrees) of Port Hills loess were established. The c values for the 40 Rapaki Road, 3 Glenview Terrace loess samples were 13.4 kPa and 19.7 kPa, respectively. The corresponding ϕ values were thought unusually high, at 42.0° and 43.4°.The analysed loess behaved very plastically, with little or no peak strength visible in the plots as the test went almost directly to residual strength. A geophysics resistivity survey showed an area of low resistivity which likely corresponds to a zone of saturated clayey loess/loess colluvium, indicating a high water table in the area. This is consistent with the appearances of local springs which are located towards the northern end of each distinct section of fissure trace and chemical analysis shows that they are sourced from the Port Hills volcanics. Port Hills fissuring may be sub-divided into three categories, Category A, Category B, and Category C, each characterised by distinctive features of the fissures. Category A includes fissures which display evidence of, spring formation, tunnel-gullying, and lateral spreading-like behaviour or quasi-toppling. These fissures are several metres down-slope of the loess-bedrock interface, and are in valleys containing a loess-colluvium fill. Category B fissures are in wider valleys than those in Category A, and the valleys contain estuarine silty sediments which liquefied during the earthquake. Category C fissures occurred at higher elevations than the fissures in the preceding categories, being almost coincident with bedrock outcropping. It is believed that the mechanism responsible for causing the fissuring is a complex combination of three mechanisms: the trampoline effect, bedrock fracturing, and lateral spreading. These three mechanisms can be applied in varying degrees to each of the fissuring sites in categories A, B, and C, in order to provide explanation for the observations made at each. Toppling failure can describe the soil movement as a consequence of the a three causative mechanisms, and provides insight into the movement of the loess. Intra-loess water coursing and tunnel gullying is thought to have encouraged and exacerbated the fissuring, while not being the driving force per se. Incipient landsliding is considered to be the least likely of the possible fissuring interpretations.

The urgent ongoing contemporary climate change is drastically changing the Earth as we know it. In the Arctic, the climate is changing more drastically than the global average, and temperatures are rising significantly more. The phenomenon, known as Arctic amplification, is believed to happen by a combination of albedo reduction, cloud-feedback, and temperature inversion. Another important, but often overlooked, factor in Arctic climate change is dust. Dust does not only cause albedo reduction but has also been found to host syngenetic permafrost in Adventdalen, Svalbard. As permafrost is both a sensitive and important carbon reserve, holding twice as much carbon as currently available in the atmosphere, it is of great importance to understand the carbon storage mechanism of it. This study shows not only a correlation between cryostructures and organic carbon content but presents aeolian sedimentation rate as a possible cause of it. The results show that for syngenetic permafrost in Adventdalen, a high sedimentation rate yields structureless permafrost with low organic content. Inversely, a low sedimentation rate yields well defined cryostructures with high organic content. This shows that aeolian dust activity and loess deposits are vital to understand, in order to properly assess the cryostratigraphy and carbon content. / Den brådskande samtida klimatförändringen omarbetar dramatiskt vår värld. Arktis klimat förändras mer drastiskt än på resten av jorden och temperaturen stiger avsevärt snabbare. Fenomenet kallas förArktis förstärkning, eller Arctic Amplification, och antas ske på grund av synergier mellan minskning av albedo, molnfeedback och temperaturinversion. Damm är en annan viktig, men ofta underskattad faktor i klimatförändrarna i Arktis. Damm bidrar inte bara till en ökad reduktion av albedo utan dammavlagringar i Adventdalen Svalbard fungerar som en viktig grogrund för syngenetisk permafrost. Kolsänkan i permafrost är lika skör som den är viktig, då permafrost förvarar dubbelt så mycket kol som för nuvarande finns i atmosfären, men samtidigt stadigt tinar. Därför är det ytterst viktigt att förstå hur permafrost fungerar, själva mekanismerna bakom förvarandet av organisk kol. Detta arbete visar inte bara ett samband mellan kryostrukturer och organiskt kol i permafrost, utan föreslår att sedimentationshastighet är orsaken till det. Resultaten av LOI (loss on ignition) och kryostratigrafi tyder på att en hög sedimentationshastighet skapar en strukturlös permafrost som endast har låga halter av organisk materia. I det omvända fallet ger en låg sedimentationshastighet välformade kryostrukturer, och en permafrost med hög andel organisk materia. Detta visar på att sedimentationshastighet i loess är en viktig aspekt för att bedöma lagring av kol i permafrost, vilket är en avsevärd kolsänka att förstå i dagens klimatförändringar.

In recent years, trade activity in stock markets has increased substantially. This is mainly attributed to the development of powerful computers and intranets connecting traders to markets across the globe. The trades have to be carried out almost instantaneously and the systems in place that handle trades are burdened with millions of transactions a day, several thousand a minute. With increasing transactions the time to execute a single trade increases, and this can be seen as an impact on the performance. There is a need to model the performance of these systems and provide forecasts to give a heads up on when a system is expected to be overwhelmed by transactions. This was done in this study, in cooperation with Cinnober Financial Technologies, a firm which provides trading solutions to stock markets. To ensure that the models developed weren‟t biased, the dataset was cleansed, i.e. operational and other transactions were removed, and only valid trade transactions remained. For this purpose, a descriptive analysis of time series along with change point detection and LOESS regression were used. State space model with Kalman Filtering was further used to develop a time varying coefficient model for the performance, and this model was applied to make forecasts. Wavelets were also used to produce forecasts, and besides this high pass filters were used to identify low performance regions. The State space model performed very well to capture the overall trend in performance and produced reliable forecasts. This can be ascribed to the property of Kalman Filter to handle noisy data well. Wavelets on the other hand didn‟t produce reliable forecasts but were more efficient in detecting regions of low performance.

Diss. (sammanfattning). Umeå : Sveriges lantbruksuniv. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

The boundary between the Pliocene and the Quaternary marks a major transition in Earth’s climate, before which relatively warm climate prevailed and after which large scale glaciation of the Northern Hemisphere developed. In China a record of windblown dust deposits on the Chinese loess plateau forms loess sequences. These loess and red clay sequences cover the boundary between the Pliocene and Quaternary and a key question that needs to be answered is where the dust that has formed the loess comes from over this sequence transition and whether large global climate changes were matched by changes in dust source over this period. This can be hard to answer as often there are several places that may contribute dust to form a loess sequence. The goal of this project will be to investigate material from this boundary from the Chinese loess plateau to find out if there is a change in dust source. This will be achieved through XRF-analysis of several loess samples from a Quaternary-Pliocene site to examine the chemical components of the material, and with this information find out if it is possible to see a change in provenance. Weathering effects of the sequence will also be analyzed using the results. Analysis from the ratio of Al/Si, K/Al, Ti/AL and Ti/K indicates a possible change in dust source as the amount of Al increase compared to the other elements in the red clay. Proxies of weathering however gave vague or incomplete results. / Gränsen mellan Pliocen och Kvartär utgör en stor förändring av jordens klimat, då tidigare ett relativt varmt klimat hade dominerat ersattes nu av storskaliga glaciationer som utvecklades i den norra hemisfären. I Kina ligger ett arkiv av lufttranporterat stoft deponerat som löss på de kinesiska lössplatån för att forma löss sekvenser. Dessa sekvenser med löss och röd lera täcker gränsen mellan Pliocen och Kvartär och nyckelfrågan som måste besvaras är varifrån det stoft som bildat lössen kommer ifrån över denna övergång i sekvensen och om storskaliga globala klimatförändringar hade en inverkan på stoftkällan under denna period. Detta kan bli svårt att besvara då det oftast finns flera platser som kan bidra med stoft för att forma löss sekvenser. Målet med detta projekt kommer vara att undersöka material från denna gräns från den kinesiska lössplatån för att ta reda på om det finns en förändring i stoftkälla. Detta kommer utföras genom att göra en XRF-analys på flera lössprover från Kvartär-Pliocen för att undersöka den kemiska sammansättningen av materialet, och med denna information ta reda på om det är möjligt att se en ändring av källa för materialet. Även vittringseffekter i sekvensen kommer bli analyserade med hjälp av resultaten. Analys av förhållandet mellan Al/Si, K/Al, Ti/Al och Ti/K indikerade på en möjlig förändring av källa då mängden av Al ökade i den röda leran jämfört med övriga grundämnen. Undersökning av vittring gav däremot oklara eller ofullständiga resultat.

High resolution dating of loess on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) has increased the understanding of past monsoon climate but also raised questions regarding dust mass accumulation rate (MAR), the presence of disturbances or gaps in the sediment record, a possible teleconnection between North Atlantic and East Asian monsoon climate, and whether these events are due to climate variability, local settings, or age model uncertainties. This study undertakes a detailed (<20cm sampling resolution) -OSL investigation of the Lingtai section to create an independent age model using linear regression, to reconstruct monsoon climate changes using magnetic susceptibility(MS) and grain size (GS) proxies, as well as to calculate MAR for the site. The data shows that between 44-15 ka climate changes from a period of strong summer monsoon to a strong winter monsoon. GS data show variable trends attributed to changes in dust storm activity and local environmental conditions. MAR data does not correlate with grain size and is different from other loess records on the CLP. Such differences are either due to local variations or age model uncertainties. No clear correlation with Heinrich events or teleconnection with North Atlantic climate is visible in the records over the Last Glacial period, and hiatuses or gaps are not obviously present at this site. It is suggested that using linear regression for continuous age model construction from the luminescence ages comes with uncertainties due to subjective bias when fitting the lines and determining shifts in the data, especially during MAR calculations. Further studies are needed to ascertain optimal methods for creating age models, and to constrain the reasons behind the variability between different sites and loess records on the CLP. / Högupplöst OSL-datering av loessjordar från CLP har ökat förståelsen av dåtida monsunklimat, men har även lyft frågan gällande MAR, närvaron av avbrott eller småskaliga event i jordsektionerna, möjligheten av en relation mellan de Nordatlantiska och Ostasiatiska monsunklimaten, och om dessa förändringar sker till följd av faktisk klimatvariation, lokala förutsättningar, eller osäkerheter i åldersmodellen. Studien genomförde en detaljerad (<20cm) OSL-undersökning av Lingtai-sektionen för att skapa en oberoende åldersmodell, återge monsunklimatförändringarna genom tillämpning av MS och GS proxies, samt beräkna MAR från platsen. Resultaten påvisar att mellan 44-15 ka förändrades klimatet från en period av stark sommar- till en stark vinter-monsun. Kornstorleks-resultaten påvisar stora variationer vilka kan kopplas till en förändring i sandstormsaktivitet samt de lokala förutsättningarna för deposition av sediment. MAR-resultaten överensstämmer inte med kornstorleksdatan och skiljer sig från den övriga empirin, detta kan bero på lokala variationer i regionen eller osäkerheter i åldermodellen. Det finns ingen klar korrelation mellan "Heinrich events" eller en "teleconnection" i sektionen, och avbrott samt störningar i sektionen är inte förekommande. Avsaknaden av korrelation antyder att användningen av regressionslinjer för att skapa kontinuerliga åldermodeller kommer innebära fortsatta osäkerheter i empirin, speciellt gällande beräking av MAR. Ytterligare studier krävs för att bestämma optimala metoder för att framställa åldersmodeller, samt att utröna orsaken till skillnaden mellan resultat från olika platser på plat