Loess has been recognized on the glacial land surface of the Green Bay Lobe for over 100 yr, but no systematic explanation of the source of the loess has been advanced. Intriguingly, the loess on the Green Bay Lobe land surface is thicker than predicted by regional thinning trends from the Mississippi Valley and is geographically separated from much loess of southwest Wisconsin by a sandy region devoid of loess. Mapping based on soil survey interpretation indicates that the loess occurs above an escarpment marking the eastern end of the sandy loess-free region. Particle size fining trends demonstrate that the loess was transported by northwesterly winds. Clay mineralogy of the Green Bay Lobe loess is distinctly different than glaciogenic sediments and matches loess of the Mississippi Valley, indicating a regional source and long distance transport of the loess. We propose the loess was transported from the regional source along a surface of transport produced by migration of eolian sand through low-relief landscapes including the glacial Lake Wisconsin basin. Eolian sand migration caused repeated entrainment of dust leading to east-southeastward transport. The loess accumulated above an escarpment that limited sand mobility and re-entrainment of loess beyond this topographic barrier.

Extremely ice-rich syngenetic permafrost, or yedoma, developed extensively under the cold climate of the Pleistocene in unglaciated regions of Eurasia and North America. In Alaska, yedoma occurs in the Arctic Foothills, the northern part of the Seward Peninsula, and in interior Alaska. A remarkable 33-m-high exposure along the lower Itkillik River in northern Alaska opened an opportunity to study the unmodified yedoma, including stratigraphy, particle-size distribution, soil carbon contents, morphology and quantity of segregated, wedge, and thermokarst-cave ice. The exposed permafrost sequence comprised seven cryostratigraphic units, which formed over a period from > 48,000 to 5,000 14C yr BP, including: 1) active layer; 2) intermediate layer of the upper permafrost; 3–4) two yedoma silt units with different thicknesses of syngenetic ice wedges; 5) buried peat layer; 6) buried intermediate layer beneath the peat; and 7) silt layer with short ice wedges. This exposure is comparable to the well known Mus-Khaya and Duvanny Yar yedoma exposures in Russia. Based on our field observations, literature sources, and interpretation of satellite images and aerial photography, we have developed a preliminary map of yedoma distribution in Alaska.

Stable isotope analysis along with radiocarbon and luminescence dating of late Pleistocene lacustrine deposits at Burfu in the higher central Himalaya are used to interpret hydrologic changes in the lake basin. From 15.5 ka to ~ 14.5 ka the Burfu lake was largely fed by melting glaciers. A warming event at 14.5 ka suggests an enhanced monsoon and increased carbonate weathering. From ~ 13.5 ka to ~ 12.5 ka the isotopic data suggest large-amplitude climate variability. Following this, the isotope data suggest a short-lived, abrupt cooling event, comprising a ~ 300-yr intense cool period followed by a ~ 500-yr interval of moderate climate. A shift in isotope values at ~ 11.3 ka may signify a strengthening monsoon in this region. The inferred climatic excursions appear to be correlative, at least qualitatively, with global climatic events, and perhaps the Burfu lake sequence provides regional evidence of globally recorded excursions. This study also suggests a potential use of radiocarbon ages in specific environments as a paleoenvironmental proxy.

Oxygen isotope compositions of phosphate in tooth enamel from large mammals (i.e. horse and red deer) were measured to quantify past mean annual air temperatures and seasonal variations between 145 ka and 33 ka in eastern France. The method is based on interdependent relationships between the δ18O of apatite phosphate, environmental waters and air temperatures. Horse (Equus caballus germanicus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus) remains have δ18O values that range from 14.2‰ to 17.2‰, indicating mean air temperatures between 7°C and 13°C. Oxygen isotope time series obtained from two of the six horse teeth show a sinusoidal-like signal that could have been forced by temperature variations of seasonal origin. Intra-tooth oxygen isotope variations reveal that at 145 ka, winters were colder (− 7 ± 2°C) than at present (3 ± 1°C) while summer temperatures were similar. Winter temperatures mark a well-developed West–East thermal gradient in France of about − 9°C, much stronger than the −4°C difference recorded presently. Negative winter temperatures were likely responsible for the extent and duration of the snow cover, thus limiting the food resources available for large ungulates with repercussions for Neanderthal predators.

The purpose of this research is to analyze the seismostratigraphic and paleoenvironmental features of an ancient fluvial deposit characterized by the presence of paleochannels and sedimentary structures in Bahía Blanca estuary, Argentina. To this end, high-resolution seismic methods were used. Paleochannels exhibiting v-shaped cuts were found at different topographic positions at the base of this deposit. It was observed that channel silting is indicative of the relative change of river base level and the consequent migration of fluvial tributaries. This alluvial deposit is composed of low compacted fine sand and its middle–upper facies is characterized by the presence of horizontal and discontinuous wavy reflectors. The upper boundary of this deposit is an erosive discontinuity resulting from Holocene sea-level rise during which the mouth of old fluvial courses underwent changes. The deposit was subsequently buried by sandy and clayey silt sediments. The paleodrainage at subbottom indicates that this deposit is associated with an ancient river mouth. Based on the seismostratigraphic and lithological characteristics and the paleochannel structures found in the study area, it can be concluded that the deposit analyzed is an alluvial sequence formed in the period from the Middle-Late Pleistocene to Holocene marine transgression.

We detected late Pleistocene cummingtonite-bearing cryptotephras in loess deposits in NE Japan and correlated them with known tephras elsewhere by using major-element compositions of the cummingtonite. This is the first time cryptotephras have been identified by analysis of a crystal phase rather than glass shards. In central NE Japan, four cummingtonite-bearing tephras, the Ichihasama pumice, the Dokusawa tephra, the Naruko–Nisaka tephra, and the Adachi–Medeshima tephra, are present in late Pleistocene loess deposits. Because the cummingtonite chemistry of each tephra is different and characteristic, it is potentially a powerful tool for detecting and identifying cryptotephras. An unidentified cummingtonite-bearing cryptotephra previously reported to be present in the late Pleistocene loess deposits at Kesennuma (Pacific coast) did not correlate with any of the known cummingtonite-bearing tephras in central NE Japan, but instead with the Numazawa–Kanayama tephra (erupted from the Numazawa caldera, southern NE Japan), although Kesennuma is well beyond the previously reported area of the distribution of the Numazawa–Kanayama tephra. Three new cummingtonite-bearing cryptotephras in the mid and late Pleistocene loess deposits (estimated to be less than 82 ka, 100–200 ka, and ca. 250 ka) on the Isawa upland were also detected.

At several times during the Quaternary, a major eastward-flowing outlet glacier of the former Patagonian Ice Sheet occupied the Lago San Martin Valley in Argentina (49°S, 72°W). We present a glacial chronology for the valley based on geomorphological mapping and cosmogenic nuclide (10Be) exposure ages (n = 10) of boulders on moraines and lake shorelines. There are five prominent moraine belts in the Lago San Martin Valley, associated with extensive sandar (glaciofluvial outwash plains) and former lake shorelines. Cosmogenic nuclide exposure ages for boulders on these moraines indicate that they formed at 14.3 ± 1.7 ka, 22.4 ± 2.3 ka, 34.4 ± 3.4 ka to 37.6 ± 3.4 ka (and possibly 60 ± 3.5 ka), and 99 ± 11 ka (1σ). These dated glacier advances differ from published chronologies from the Lago San Martin Valley based on 14C age determinations from organic sediments and molluscs in meltwater channels directly in front of moraines or in kettleholes within end moraine ridges. The moraine boulder ages also point to possible pre-LGM glacial advances during the last glacial cycle and a key observation from our data is that the LGM glaciers were probably less extensive in the Lago San Martin Valley than previously thought.

Plant macrofossils from 38 packrat middens spanning the last ~ 33,000 cal yr BP record vegetation between ~ 650 and 900 m elevation along the eastern escarpment of the Sierra San Pedro Mártir, northern Baja California. The middens span most of the Holocene, with a gap between ~ 4600 and 1800 cal yr BP, but coverage in the Pleistocene is uneven with a larger hiatus between 23,100 and 14,400 cal yr BP. The midden flora is relatively stable from the Pleistocene to Holocene. Exceptions include Pinus californiarum, Juniperus californica and other chaparral elements that were most abundant > 23,100 cal yr BP and declined after 14,400 cal yr BP. Despite being near the chaparral/woodland-desertscrub ecotone during glacial times, the midden assemblages reflect none of the climatic reversals evident in the glacial or marine record, and this is corroborated by a nearby semi-continuous pollen stratigraphy from lake sediments. Regular appearance of C4 grasses and summer-flowering annuals since 13,600 cal yr BP indicates occurrence of summer rainfall equivalent to modern (JAS average of ~ 80–90 mm). This casts doubt on the claim, based on temperature proxies from marine sediments in the Guaymas Basin, that monsoonal development in the northern Gulf and Arizona was delayed until after 6200 cal yr BP.

The isotopic composition of land snail shells was analyzed to investigate environmental changes in the eastern Canary Islands (28–29°N) over the last ~ 50 ka. Shell δ13C values range from −8.9‰ to 3.8‰. At various times during the glacial interval (~ 15 to ~ 50 ka), moving average shell δ13C values were 3‰ higher than today, suggesting a larger proportion of C4 plants at those periods. Shell δ18O values range from −1.9‰ to 4.5‰, with moving average δ18O values exhibiting a noisy but long-term increase from 0.1‰ at ~ 50 ka to 1.6–1.8‰ during the LGM (~ 15–22 ka). Subsequently, the moving average δ18O values range from 0.0‰ at ~ 12 ka to 0.9‰ at present. Calculations using a published snail flux balance model for δ18O, constrained by regional temperatures and ocean δ18O values, suggest that relative humidity at the times of snail activity fluctuated but exhibited a long-term decline over the last ~ 50 ka, eventually resulting in the current semiarid conditions of the eastern Canary Islands (consistent with the aridification process in the nearby Sahara). Thus, low-latitude oceanic island land snail shells may be isotopic archives of glacial to interglacial and tropical/subtropical environmental change.

Single-grain optically stimulated luminescence dating was applied to Late Quaternary sediments at two sites in the Middle Son Valley, Madhya Pradesh, India. Designated Bamburi 1 and Patpara, these sites contain Late Acheulean stone tool assemblages, which we associate with non-modern hominins. Age determinations of 140–120 ka place the formation of these sites at around the Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 6–5 transition, placing them among the youngest Acheulean sites in the world. We present here the geochronology and sedimentological setting of these sites, and consider potential implications of Late Pleistocene archaic habitation in north-central India for the initial dispersal of modern humans across South Asia.

Clearly defined distal tephras are rare in rockshelter sediment records. Crvena Stijena, a Palaeolithic site in Montenegro, contains one of the longest (> 20 m) rockshelter sediment records in Europe with deposits ranging in age from Middle Pleistocene to mid-Holocene. A distinctive tephra is clearly exposed within the well stratified record approximately 6.5 m below the present land surface. We present geochemical data to confirm that this tephra is a distal equivalent of the Campanian Ignimbrite deposits and a product of the largest Late Pleistocene eruption in Europe. Originating in the Campanian volcanic province of southwest Italy, this tephra has been independently dated to 39.3 ka. It is a highly significant chronostratigraphic marker for southern Europe. Macrostratigraphic and microstratigraphic observations, allied with detailed particle size data, show that the tephra layer is in a primary depositional context and was transported into the rockshelter by aeolian processes. This site is unique because the tephra forms an abrupt boundary between the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic records. Before they can be used as chronostratigraphic markers in rockshelter and cave-mouth environments, it is essential to establish the stratigraphic integrity of distal tephras and the mechanisms and pathways involved in their transport and deposition.

Rusingoryx atopocranion is a poorly known extinct alcelaphine bovid, documented in Pleistocene deposits associated with Middle Stone Age artifacts on Rusinga Island, Kenya. Following its initial description, Rusingoryx was subsumed into Megalotragus, which includes the extinct giant wildebeests, on the basis of its cranial architecture. Renewed investigations of the Pleistocene deposits on Rusinga Island recovered a large sample of Rusingoryx specimens that provide new taxonomic and paleoecological insight. This study (1) reviews the morphological and phylogenetic evidence concerning the taxonomic status of Rusingoryx and (2) evaluates its paleoecology and dietary habits. The morphology and phylogenetic data indicate that Rusingoryx is distinct from Megalotragus; they likely shared a common ancestor in the late Pliocene. Ecomorphology and mesowear analysis point to a specialized grazing adaptation, and its association with arid-adapted ungulates suggests a preference for arid grasslands. The confirmation of Rusingoryx as a valid taxonomic entity, together with the presence of other extinct taxa (including Megalotragus) on Rusinga Island, suggests an increasingly complex pattern of ungulate biogeography and extinctions in the late Quaternary of East Africa. Rusingoryx appears to have been part of an arid-adapted faunal community that potentially persisted in East Africa until the onset of the Holocene.

The Pleistocene Humbu and Moinik formations of the Peninj Group in northern Tanzania preserve an important archaeological and paleontological record, in addition to a record of local volcanism in the form of tephra and lavas. Samples of the major Humbu and Moinik formations' basaltic and trachytic tephra were collected and characterized using phenocryst composition and both primary and authigenic mineral assemblage, since the volcanic glass was completely altered to zeolite. Some tephra are distinguishable solely using phenocrysts, but some are too similar in mineral composition or too poor in phenocrysts to definitively “fingerprint” without glass. Titanomagnetite phenocrysts were mostly altered; characterization was thus limited to feldspar, augite, and hornblende compositions for most tephra. Phenocryst compositions were compared to Olduvai tephra compositions to see if any regional tephra could be identified that could help correlate the sites. Augite or hornblende composition rules out potential correlations of Olduvai Bed I Tuff IF and the Bed II Bird Print Tuff or Tuff IID to otherwise similar Peninj Group tephra. Despite their overlap in age and locations at less than ~ 80 km from the Ngorongoro Volcanic Highlands, Peninj and Olduvai have different tephra records, which limits the possibilities for establishing a regional tephrostratigraphic framework.

Analysis of LiDAR-derived imagery led to the discovery of more than 330 pre-Holocene to recent landslides in Southern Flanders (4850 km2). The morphology of three landslides, including the 266.5 ha deep-seated gravitational slope deformation in Alden Biesen, was investigated in more detail. The analysis of the morphological and topographical characteristics (width–length relation, frequency–area distribution and topographical threshold) of the landslides revealed important differences compared to the characteristics reported in other landslide studies, and helped understanding possible landslide triggering mechanisms. Especially the possibility of a seismic origin of the landslides was investigated. Finally, a heuristic model for region-wide landslide susceptibility mapping was successfully tested. The susceptibility model and map allow prediction of future landslide locations and contribute to better understanding the role of individual causal factors on landslide location and spatial density. The results suggest that landslides on low-gradient, soil-mantled hills are a more important contributor to landscape evolution of hilly areas than was hitherto thought. The morphology of all hilly regions of Flanders is clearly marked by landslide processes and higher landslide densities often coincide with the presence of quaternary active faults. This study further shows that high-resolution topographical data such as LiDAR significantly contributes to a better detection of old, previously unknown landslides.

Changes in paleoenvironments over the last 17,500 yr have been documented by a high-resolution clay mineralogy and grain–size records of Core KNG5 from the northern slope of the South China Sea. Our results indicate that clay minerals are mainly from the Pearl River from 17,500 to 12,500 cal yr BP, and the South China Sea modern current system began to form since 12,500 cal yr BP, as a result, Taiwan turns to be the major contributor of clay minerals after 12,500 cal yr BP. Two grain-size populations with high variability through time were identified in the 13–28 μm and 1–2.2 μm grain-size intervals. The 1–2.2 μm grain-size population are mainly controlled by provenance supply and current transport. The 13–28 μm grain-size fraction could be controlled mainly by the sea-level change. The 1–2.2 μm grain-size population record demonstrates that East Asian Summer Monsoon intensity generally follows changes in insolation and that the response is similar for a large area of China and other northern low-latitude records, implying the globality of the monsoon evolution since Holocene. The anomalous environmental conditions in the northern South China Sea may imply intensified ENSO activity during the late Holocene.