Resemblances Between the Extinct "Cave Goat" (Eutheria, Bovidae) of the Balearic Islands and Phalangeroid Marsupials, 1971, Merrilees, D.

Information on the extinct "cave goat" (Myotragus balearicus Bate 1909) of the Balearic Islands is reviewed. Abundant remains of Myotragus balearicus are known from various deposits of late Quaternary (including Regent) ages. It had only a single pair of lower incisors, in this respect resembling Australian herbivorous marsupials, especially the bare nosed wombats.

Quaternary Paleoclimatology of the Black Sea basin, 1979, Schrader Hans Joachim,

The occurrence of polyhaline, mesohaline and oligohaline diatom, silicoflagellate, ebridian and chrysomonad populations in late Quaternary Black Sea sediments (DSDP Leg 42B) forms the basis for reconstruction of surface water paleosalinities in the Black Sea basin over the last 3 million years. Four major periods with increased salinites are separated by extended freshwater periods. Based on paleosalinites, indicators of trophic freshwater conditions and changes in diatom species diversity, a correlation is made to the northern Europian glacial--interglacial stratigraphy and this correlation is used to place paleoenvironmental events into a chronostratigraphy. The `synchronous' late Quaternary occurrence of sediments rich in organic carbon in both the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea supports this interpretation.Three different stages in the interaction between the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean Sea are defined: Stage A (exchange of freshwater and marine water similar to the present day flux) during the Holocene, Eemian, Holsteinian and Pliocene; Stage B (freshwater conditions with only occasional marine spills) during the Saalian, the Waalian, the Tiglian and the Praetiglian; and Stage C (freshwater conditions with no inflow of marine waters) during the Weichselian, the Elsterian and Eburonian

Sea Caves of King Island, 1979, Goede Albert, Harmon Russell, Kiernan Kevin

Investigation of two King Island sea caves developed in quartzitic rocks shows them to contain a wealth of clastic and chemical sediments. Clastic sediments consist of wave-rounded cobbles, debris cones, and angular rock fragments produced by frost weathering and crystal wedging. Chemical deposits include a variety of calcium carbonate speleothems and also gypsum occurring as wall crusts and blisters. The latter appear to be a speleothem type of rare occurrence. Growth of gypsum is responsible for some crystal wedging of the bedrock. Three basal stalagmite samples have been dated by the Th/U method indicating Late Pleistocene as well as Holocene speleothem growth. The caves are believed to have formed by preferential wave erosion during the Last Interglacial in altered and fractured quartzites. The evidence for pre-Holocene evolution of sea caves and geos in the Tasman region is summarised. Tasmania and the Bass Strait Islands provide a particularly favourable environment for the preservation of relict landforms on rocky coasts because of Late Quaternary uplift. The potential of further studies of sea caves to test two recently advanced archaeological hypotheses is discussed.

Late Quaternary U-series speleothem growth record from southeastern Minnesota, 1983, Lively R. S. ,

Cyclic deposition of secondary calcium carbonate that coincides with cycles of late Pleistocene glaciation. Peak intervals of deposition occur from the present to 13,000 yr B.P., from 35,000 to 70,000 yr B.P., from 90,000 to 170,000 yr B.P., and an undivided interval from 170,000 to 350,000 yr B.P. Local climatic conditions seem to have had as much importance in determining when deposition occurred as did the major climatic cycles recorded in the marine record.--Modified journal abstract

Geomorphological asset of the coast and of the seafloor of Trieste Gulf and considerations on their Late-Quaternary evolution., 1989, Marocco Ruggero

Description of geomorphology of the coasts and the seafloor of the Gulf of Trieste, with paleogeographical discussion on its Late Quaternary evolution.

GEOLOGY AND KARST GEOMORPHOLOGY OF SAN-SALVADOR ISLAND, BAHAMAS, 1995, Mylroie J. E. , Carew J. L. ,

The exposed carbonates of the Bahamas consist of late Quaternary limestones that were deposited during glacio-eustatic highstands of sea level. Each highstand event produced transgressive-phase, stillstand-phase, and regressive-phase units. Because of slow platform subsidence, Pleistocene carbonates deposited on highstands prior to the last interglacial (oxygen isotope substage 5e, circa 125,000 years ago) are represented solely by eolianites. The Owl's Hole Formation comprises these eolianites, which are generally fossiliferous pelsparites. The deposits of the last interglacial form the Grotto Beach Formation, and contain a complete sequence of subtidal intertidal and eolian carbonates. These deposits are predominantly oolitic. Holocene deposits are represented by the Rice Bay Formation, which consists of intertidal and eolian pelsparites deposited during the transgressive-phase and stillstand-phase of the current sea-level highstand. The three formations are separated from one another by well-developed terra-rossa paleosols or other erosion surfaces that formed predominantly during intervening sea-level lowstands. The karst landforms of San Salvador consist of karren, depressions, caves, and blue holes. Karren are small-scale dissolutional etchings on exposed and soil-covered bedrock that grade downward into the epikarst, the system of tubes and holes that drain the bedrock surface. Depressions are constructional features, such as swales between eolian ridges, but they have been dissolutionally maintained. Pit caves are vertical voids in the vadose zone that link the epikarst to the water table. Flank margin caves are horizontal voids that formed in the distal margin of a past fresh-water lens; whereas banana holes are horizontal voids that developed at the top of a past fresh-water lens, landward of the lens margin. Lake drains are conduits that connect some flooded depressions to the sea. Blue holes are flooded vertical shafts, of polygenetic origin, that may lead into caves systems at depth. The paleokarst of San Salvador is represented by flank margin caves and banana holes formed in a past fresh-water lens elevated by the last interglacial sea-level highstand, and by epikarst buried under paleosols formed during sea-level lowstands. Both carbonate deposition and its subsequent karstification is controlled by glacio-eustatic sea-level position. On San Salvador, the geographic isolation of the island, its small size, and the rapidity of past sea level changes have placed major constraints on the production of the paleokarst

Late Quaternary climatic history of the Helderberg Plateau, New York, USA;Preliminary results from U/Th dating of speleothems, 1996, Lauritzen Se. , Mylroie J. E.

Elevated and variable values of 13C in speleothems in a British cave system, 1997, Baker A, Ito E, Smart Pl, Mcewan Rf,

[delta] 13C isotope variations in speleothems have been investigated for samples from the British Isles, where plants which use the Hatch-Slack or C4 photosynthetic pathway are not present. The range of [delta] 13C expected in speleothem carbonate formed in isotopic equilibrium with soil CO2 derived from the overlying C3 vegetation should thus fall in the range -12 to -6[per mille sign]. Forty-one actively growing speleothem samples from low-discharge sites were analysed from Stump Cross Caverns, Yorkshire, England. Ten percent have [delta] 13C greater than -6%. In addition, a large range of [delta] 13C was observed (-8.06 1.38[per mille sign], a 1 [sigma] variability of 17%), with adjacent samples having [delta] 13C differing by a maximum of 4.74[per mille sign]. Similar findings were obtained from a review of analyses of late Quaternary speleothem samples from the British Isles, with 75% of flowstone samples and 57% of high-flow stalagmite samples exhibiting elevated [delta] 13C. Three possible processes are proposed as possible causes of elevated [delta] 13C in speleothems. Firstly, fractionation may occur between the stalactite and stalagmite due to evaporation or degassing. Secondly, degassing of the groundwaters may have occurred within the aquifer before reaching the cave void, allowing release of some CO2 from the water whilst remaining saturated in calcium. Finally, the elevated [delta] 13C may be due to short water residence times in the soil, such that equilibrium between soil water and soil CO2 is not reached. Evidence presented here demonstrates that any one of these mechanisms may be important in the karst areas of the British Isles. Caution is needed before interpreting the [delta] 13C signal within speleothems in terms of palaeovegetation

Symposium Abstract: The reconstructon of the Palaeoclimate of the late Quaternary warm periods through Tims U/Th and Pollen analysis of British and Irish Speleothems, 1998, Mcgarry S.

Late Quaternary Extinct mammals from caves in Sanchez Ramirez Province, Dominican Republic., 2000, Mcfarlane D. A. , Vale A. , Christenson K. , Lundberg J. , Atilles G. , And Lauritzen S. E.

A Late Quaternary Paleoecological Record from Caves of Southern Jamaica, West Indies, 2002, Mcfarlane, D. A. , Lundberg, J. , Fincham, A. G.

Studies of an unusual and diverse system of caves in coastal southern Jamaica have yielded a paleoclimatic record associated with a fossil vertebrate record that provides useful insights into the poorly documented paleoecology of latest Wisconsinan and Holocene Jamaica. Episodes of significantly increased precipitation during the Holocene have left characteristic deposits of speleothems, and have supported both faunal and archaeological communities that were dependent on these mesic conditions. Deposits of fossil bat guano preserved in the caves provide a d13C record of alternating mesic and xeric climatic episodes that supports the interpretation of the faunal and archaeological record.

Seismic stratigraphy of Late Quaternary deposits from the southwestern Black Sea shelf: evidence for non-catastrophic variations in sea-level during the last ~10[punctuation space]000 yr, 2002, Aksu Ae, Hiscott Rn, Yasar D, Isler Fi, Marsh S,

Detailed interpretation of single channel seismic reflection and Huntec deep-tow boomer and sparker profiles demonstrates that the southwestern Black Sea shelf formed by a protracted shelf-edge progradation since the Miocene-Pliocene. Five seismic-stratigraphic units are recognized. Unit 1 represents the last phase of the progradational history, and was deposited during the last glacial lowstand and Holocene. It is divided into four subunits: Subunit 1A is interpreted as a lowstand systems tract, 1B and 1C are interpreted as a transgressive systems tract, and Subunit 1D is interpreted as a highstand systems tract. The lowstand systems tract deposits consist of overlapping and seaward-prograding shelf-edge wedges deposited during the lowstand and the subsequent initial rise of sea level. These shelf-edge wedges are best developed along the westernmost and easternmost segments of the study area, off the mouths of rivers. The transgressive systems tract deposits consist of a set of shingled, shore-parallel, back-stepping parasequences, deposited during a phase of relatively rapid sea-level rise, and include a number of prograded sediment bodies (including barrier islands, beach deposits) and thin veneers of seismically transparent muds showing onlap onto the flanks of older sedimentary features. A number of radiocarbon dates from gravity cores show that the sedimentary architecture of Unit 1 contain a detailed sedimentary record for the post-glacial sea-level rise along the southwestern Black Sea shelf. These data do not support the catastrophic refilling of the Black Sea by waters from the Mediterranean Sea at 7.1 ka postulated by [Ryan, Pitman, Major, Shimkus, Maskalenko, Jones, Dimitrov, Gorur, Sakinc, Yuce, Mar. Geol. 138 (1997) 119-126], [Ryan, Pitman, Touchstone Book (1999) 319 pp.], and [Ballard, Coleman, Rosenberg, Mar. Geol. 170 (2000) 253-261]

Late Quaternary history of the Marmara Sea and Black Sea from high-resolution seismic and gravity-core studies, 2002, Hiscott R. N. , Aksu A. E. ,

Lithologic and multi-proxy paleoenvironmental data from 21 dated cores have been used to define three allostratigraphic units (allounits) within the late Quaternary successions of the Marmara Sea and Black Sea. Allounits are bounded by unconformities and their correlative conformities. In both regions, Allounit A extends from the seafloor downward to a ~12-11-ka sequence boundary, which is a major shelf-crossing unconformity in water depths less than ~100-110 m. In deep basins of the Marmara Sea, the lower part of Allounit A, designated Subunit A2, is a laminated sapropel, M1. On the shelf, Subunit A2 consists of backstepping delta lobes and early-transgressive barrier islands and sand sheets. Allounit B has only been recovered in Marmara Sea cores collected at water depths greater than ~90 m, and represents basinal or prodeltaic deposition during the 23-12-ka late Pleistocene lowstand. During the last glacial maximum, the shelves surrounding the Marmara Sea were subaerially exposed, and deltas of Allounit B accumulated along the present-day shelf edge. Following the post-glacial rise of global sea level to -75 m at ~12 ka, the Marmara Sea quickly became inundated and thereafter rose in synchroneity with the Mediterranean. By ~10 ka, the Black Sea rose to start spilling into the Marmara Sea, leading to establishment of a brackish-water lid that has persisted to the modern day. The strongest Black Sea outflow began at ~10 ka and persisted to ~6 ka, promoting the accumulation of sapropel M1 in the deep Marmara Sea, and progradation of an overflow delta just south of the exit from the Bosphorus Strait. Allounit C is a laminated sapropel (M2) in basinal cores, dated at ~30-23 ka. Like M1, it is believed that M2 accumulated during a period of increased brackish-water input into the Marmara Sea mainly from the Black Sea. In the Black Sea, wave erosion kept the shelf stripped of unconsolidated sediments during the falling sea level associated with the last glaciation and subsequent early stages of the post-glacial Holocene transgression. This erosion created a major unconformity, [alpha]. Shelf-edge deltas of Allounit B received their sediment during the last lowstand from small rivers that likely coalesced into a single system toward the shelf edge, at modern water depths of -100 to -110 m. These deltas were active until ~11-10.5 ka. Subsequently, sea level in the Black Sea rose to -40 m by ~10 ka, and a set of backstepping barrier islands developed on the shelf as part of the associated transgressive systems tract. Once water level reached -40 m, continued sea-level rise stalled until ~9 ka as the Black Sea began to spill across the Bosphorus Strait into the Marmara Sea

Eustatic sea-level and climate changes over the last 600 ka as derived from mollusc-based ESR-chronostratigraphy and pollen evidence in Northern Eurasia, 2002, Molodkov Anatoly N. , Bolikhovskaya Nataliya S. ,

We reconstruct and correlate palaeoclimatic events and deposits from shelf, glacial, periglacial, and extraglacial zones of northern Eurasia over the last 600,000 years. The chronostratigraphical correlation of identified palaeoenvironmental and sea-level events and corresponding horizons is based on electron spin resonance (ESR) analysis of subfossil mollusc skeletal remains from marine, freshwater and Acheulian-bearing cave-site deposits. Over 230 shell samples from more than 40 sites along the continental margin of Eurasian north, in the Black and Caspian sea basins and terrestrial shells from a Lower Palaeolithic cave-site in the Northern Caucasus were dated via ESR to produce a late Quaternary geochronology. The Pleistocene composite section of the loess-palaeosoil formation includes two reference sections--Likhvin and Arapovichi--from the centre of the East-European plain. The palyno-chronostratigraphic record is interpreted as the product of six warm-climate/high sea-level events including the current interglacial, and six glacial events. They are presented either as complete climatic rhythms of glacial and interglacial rank, or by considerable portions of climatic-phytocoenotic phases constituents of the rhythm. The full-interglacial conditions are centred at about 580, 400, 310, 220 and between 145-70 calendar ka. A broad correspondence between long palynological sequence, directly ESR-dated warm-climate-related events and other palaeoenvironmental records described in the literature has been noted for 11 upper oxygen isotope stages (11 to 1). The results obtained in this study exemplify the potential of integrated chrono-climatostratigraphic sequences in linking marine and terrestrial palaeoclimate records that may eventually span the whole Brunhes chron

Pit cave development in late Quaternary eolian calcarentie., 2002, Moore P. J. , Seale L. D. , Mylroie J. E.