Article
Environmental Sciences
G. Bianchini, C. A. Accorsi, S. Cremonini, M. De Feudis, L. Forlani, G. M. Salani, G. Vianello, L. Vittori Antisari
Summary: This study investigated black horizons in the eastern Po Plain, buried at various depths. Using a multidisciplinary approach, it was found that the formation of these black horizons coincided with cold time lapses and were influenced by recurrent fire events, suggesting potential early anthropogenic impacts on the environment.
JOURNAL OF SOILS AND SEDIMENTS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Piotr Gebica, Anna Michno, Mateusz Sobucki, Agnieszka Wacnik, Slawomir Superson
Summary: The reconstruction of fluvial style changes in the San River in the Subcarpathian Basins was conducted through geomorphological and sedimentological analyses. The dating methods used include radiocarbon, optically stimulated luminescence, and pollen-based biochronostratigraphy. The results showed that different types of river channels, such as braided, braided-meandering, and meandering, were abandoned or formed during specific time periods. The influence of vegetation changes on the river channel pattern transformation was found to be insignificant. Factors such as the location of the palaeochannels and sediment deposits may have affected the formation of different channel types.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
James P. Hansford, Adrian M. Lister, Eleanor M. Weston, Samuel T. Turvey
Summary: The extinction dynamics of Megaherbivores in Madagascar varied significantly between different biomes, with disappearance from dry deciduous forest occurring over a millennium earlier than in other biomes. Megaherbivore communities, including all elephant bird and hippo species, persisted elsewhere across Madagascar until around 1200-900 BP, before collapsing suddenly, closely correlated in time with a shift to agro-pastoralism and intensive forest conversion to grassland around 1100-1000 BP.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Penghui Lin, Yingjin Song, Weiqi Zhan, Ruonan Tian, Zhongbo Wang, Xiaolin Xu, Lan Luo, Mahmoud Abbas, Zhongping Lai
Summary: A reliable chronological framework of core P5-4 in the Pearl River Delta was established using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and radiocarbon (14C) dating. The ages ranged from about 8 to 0.5 thousand years ago, with two older OSL samples producing minimum ages of 75 and 62 thousand years. The 14C ages were generally older than the corresponding OSL ages and the difference increased with depth. The study also identified a three-stage sedimentary process in the late Holocene in the Pearl River Delta, which was influenced by sea-level rise, reduced sediment supply, strong tidal forces, and increased human activity.
Article
Geography, Physical
Adam C. Hawkins, Brian Menounos, Brent M. Goehring, Gerald D. Osborn, John J. Clague, Britta Jensen
Summary: This study investigates the times of glacier advance at Gilbert Glacier in British Columbia using radiocarbon dating and surface exposure ages. The analysis of data narrowed the age range of late Holocene advances, highlighting the importance of the tandem approach in better understanding glacier response to climate change in high mountains worldwide.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jason D. Chaytor, Uri S. ten Brink, Christopher D. P. Baxter
Summary: This study provides the first radiocarbon dates of the Currituck Slide Complex (CSC) and reveals that the last major landslide event occurred approximately 13,835 and16,020 years BP. The increased sediment supply from post-glacial rivers and glacial meltwater on the exposed continental shelf may have contributed to the failure of the CSC. A smaller landslide at the southern edge of the complex, dated at 5500 BP, could be the result of reshaping caused by low-frequency earthquakes on the nearby continental margin.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Ryo Nakanishi, Juichiro Ashi, Yosuke Miyairi, Yusuke Yokoyama
Summary: By investigating tsunami deposits in a coastal wetland of southeastern Hokkaido, Japan, this study reveals the history and extents of tsunamis generated by the Kuril Trench over the last 4,000 years, providing a framework for magnitude estimations and long-term forecasts of earthquakes.
GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Sean W. Hixon, Kristina G. Douglass, Brooke E. Crowley, Lucien Marie Aime Rakotozafy, Geoffrey Clark, Atholl Anderson, Simon Haberle, Jean Freddy Ranaivoarisoa, Michael Buckley, Salomon Fidiarisoa, Balzac Mbola, Douglas J. Kennett
Summary: Recent studies suggest that competition between introduced livestock and endemic megafauna in Madagascar may have contributed to the late extinction of the endemic megafauna on the island. The overlap in diets and habitats of introduced and endemic herbivores, along with opportunistic hunting by humans and environmental changes, likely played a role in this competition.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Geography, Physical
Bruno David, Lee J. Arnold, Jean-Jacques Delannoy, Joanna Freslov, Chris Urwin, Fiona Petchey, Matthew C. McDowell, Russell Mullett, Jerome Mialanes, Rachel Wood, Joe Crouch, Johan Berthet, Vanessa N. L. Wong, Helen Green, John Hellstrom
Summary: The latest research on Cloggs Cave reveals that the youngest megafaunal specimens date back to 44,500-54,160 years ago, more than previously believed, aligning with the continental pattern of megafaunal extinctions. This suggests that the extinction of these megafauna could not have been caused by climate change leading into the Last Glacial Maximum.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Lukas Rettig, Giovanni Monegato, Matteo Spagnolo, Irka Hajdas, Paolo Mozzi
Summary: Glacier-based reconstructions of Equilibrium Line Altitudes (ELAs) are crucial for understanding long-term changes in temperature and precipitation. Our study focuses on the south-eastern part of the European Alps during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), providing new insights into the ELA based on geomorphological evidence.
Article
Geography, Physical
Charlotte O. Pizer, Jamie D. Howarth, Kate J. Clark, Colin J. N. Wilson, Stephanie E. Tickle, Jenni L. Hopkins, Jenny A. Dahl
Summary: Volcanic ash (tephra) horizons are important for correlating natural archives, but age uncertainties can hinder their effectiveness. We use the Waimihia tephra as a case study to improve age constraints for Holocene tephra isochrons by employing detailed assessments, precise AMS dating, and Bayesian age models. Our findings have implications for refining paleoearthquake correlations and chronologies relying on the Waimihia isochron.
QUATERNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Piotr Moska, Robert J. Sokolowski, Zdzislaw Jary, Pawel Zielinski, Jerzy Raczyk, Agnieszka Szymak, Marcin Krawczyk, Jacek Skurzynski, Grzegorz Poreba, Michal Lopuch, Konrad Tudyka
Summary: Lateglacial and Holocene aeolian sequences in different sedimentary zones in western-central Poland were analyzed to establish their regional stratigraphical and paleoenvironmental significance. Sedimentological, geomorphological, and absolute dating methods were used to analyze profiles from extraglacial, glaciomarginal, and glaciated zones. The results were correlated with Greenland ice-core chronology. The study found that aeolian deposition started in the Oldest Dryas in the extraglacial zone, Younger Dryas in the glaciomarginal zone, and Younger Dryas in the glaciated zone. Pedogenic processes interrupted aeolian deposition in certain periods. Subatlantic aeolian episodes were induced by human activity and forest fires. The identified periods of aeolian activity and pedogenic processes were consistent with other profiles in Europe.
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Magdalena Niedzialkowska, Karolina Doan, Marcin Gorny, Maciej Sykut, Krzysztof Stefaniak, Natalia Piotrowska, Bogumila Jedrzejewska, Bogdan Ridush, Slawomira Pawelczyk, Pawel Mackiewicz, Ulrich Schmoelcke, Pavel Kosintsev, Daniel Makowiecki, Maxim Charniauski, Dariusz Krasnodebski, Eve Rannamaee, Urmas Saarma, Marine Arakelyan, Ninna Manaseryan, Vadim V. Titov, Pavel Hulva, Adrian Balasescu, Ralph Fyfe, Jessie Woodbridge, Katerina Trantalidou, Vesna Dimitrijevic, Oleksandr Kovalchuk, Jaroslaw Wilczynski, Theodor Obada, Grzegorz Lipecki, Alesia Arabey, Ana Stankovic
Summary: The study focuses on the paleoecology of red deer over the past 54 thousand years in Europe and the Urals, revealing patterns of change in their range and exploring the role of environmental conditions in determining their distribution. Red deer mostly inhabited forests in the temperate climatic zone, with mean January temperature being the main limiting factor for their distribution.
JOURNAL OF BIOGEOGRAPHY
(2021)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Xiaolin Ren, Junjie Xu, Hui Wang, Michael Storozum, Peng Lu, Duowen Mo, Tuoyu Li, Jianguo Xiong, Tristram R. Kidder
Summary: Researchers found that there were climate changes during the transition from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age in the Central Plains of China, but the aridification in the early Bronze Age did not lead to a collapse in population. Pollen, radiocarbon dates, and archaeobotanical records indicate that the development of agriculture and complex societies under dry climate conditions may have contributed to a dramatic increase in population.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Danuta Drzymulska
Summary: Peat and lacustrine sediments in the Knyszyn Forest of northeastern Poland provide valuable information about past biodiversity. Plant macrofossil remains, including species currently absent in the area, were identified in mire sediments. Radiocarbon dating revealed the existence of aquatic species during the Late Glacial and the turn of the Holocene. The coexistence of two birch species was interrupted, with one disappearing and the other remaining due to its resistance to environmental changes.
Article
Geography, Physical
Olga Antczak-Orlewska, Daniel Okupny, Dominik Pawlowski, Bartosz Kotrys, Marek Krapiec, Tomi P. Luoto, Odile Peyron, Mateusz Plociennik, Renata Stachowicz-Rybka, Agnieszka Wacnik, Jacek B. Szmanda, Elzbieta Szychowska-Krapiec, Piotr Kittel
Summary: This study reveals the environmental history of the Rozprza archaeological site in central Poland, focusing on the paleoecology of the Luciaza River valley around 13,200 years ago. Analysis of the sediment from an ancient oxbow lake provides insights into vegetation history, climatic variations, hydrological conditions, and habitat changes. The research also highlights the relationship between soil transformation, hydrogeological conditions, and regional catchment features. Climatic reconstructions based on chironomid and pollen data indicate periods of high and low continentality.
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Geography, Physical
Wlodzimierz Margielewski, Marek Krapiec, Miroslawa Kupryjanowicz, Magdalena Filoc, Krzysztof Buczek, Renata Stachowicz-Rybka, Andrzej Obidowicz, Agnieszka Pociecha, Elzbieta Szychowska-Krapiec, Dariusz Sala, Agnieszka Klimek
Summary: The results of dendrochronological analysis of subfossil pine buried in the Imszar raised bog deposits were compared with multiproxy analysis of peat deposits. It was found that the peat accumulation in Allerod interstadial marked the three-stage colonization of bog pine in the fen deposits, in correlation with climate changes during the Holocene.
QUATERNARY INTERNATIONAL
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Mateusz Plociennik, Agnieszka Mroczkowska, Dominik Pawlowski, Magda Wieckowska-Lueth, Aldona Kurzawska, Monika Rzodkiewicz, Daniel Okupny, Jacek Szma, Andrey Mazurkevich, Ekaterina Dolbunova, Tomi P. Luoto, Bartosz Kotrys, Larisa Nazarova, Liudmila Syrykh, Marek Kr, Piotr Kittel
Summary: This article studies a paleolake within the East European lake-river system and identifies five stages of lake ecosystem development, influenced by climate and human activities.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Wlodzimierz Margielewski, Marek Krapiec, Krzysztof Buczek, Katarzyna Korzen, Elzbieta Szychowska-Krapiec, Agnieszka Pociecha, Jolanta Pilch, Andrzej Obidowicz, Dariusz Sala, Agnieszka Klimek
Summary: The Podemszczyzna peatland in Poland is known for its thick organic sediments and was found to have the oldest pine chronology in Polish peatlands. Dendrochronological analysis and radiocarbon dating were used to establish two short floating chronologies, one for bog pine and the other for deciduous trees. The study also revealed the relationship between tree encroachment and the terrestrialization of the depositional fen.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Andrzej Rakowski, Marek Krapiec, Matthias Huels, Jacek Pawlyta, Damian Wiktorowski
Summary: This article presents measurements of the radiocarbon concentration in sub-annual tree rings and estimates the time period for a major historical event based on the Delta C-14 values.
Article
Geography, Physical
Ioana Persoiu, Gyorgy Sipos, Maria Radoane, Simon M. Hutchinson, Danuta J. Michczynska, Aurel Persoiu
Summary: The study discusses the formation of the Somes fluvial fan and the role of tectonic, climatic, and autogenic controls in its spatial and temporal dynamics over approximately 50-30 thousand years. The results suggest that natural subsidence variation created four local base levels, with autogenic factors playing a secondary role in the modern drainage configuration.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Wlodzimierz Margielewski, Danuta J. Michczynska, Krzysztof Buczek, Adam Michczynski, Katarzyna Korzen, Andrzej Obidowicz
Summary: In the last 60 years, the thickness of Grel peatland deposits in the Polish Inner Carpathians has decreased twice. Pollen analysis of peat deposits from 1962 and 2019 reveals that the deposits have been accumulating since the Oldest Dryas Stadial. Comparative analysis of the pollen profiles shows consistency in the percentage of certain pollen taxa across 10 horizons in both profiles. The research suggests that human activity can significantly impact the entire length of peatland profiles, contrary to previous beliefs.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Danuta J. Michczynska, Danuta A. Dzieduszynska, Joanna Petera-Zganiacz, Lucyna Wachecka-Kotkowska, Dariusz Krzyszkowski, Dariusz Wieczorek, Malgorzata Ludwikowska-Kedzia, Piotr Gebica, Leszek Starkel
Summary: Terrestrial environments often have incomplete records of past conditions. A site in Poland called Horoszki Duze is the only known location with continuous climate change records. In the absence of high-resolution records, researchers gathered scattered information from various sites in Poland and compared it to the Greenland isotope curve. This analysis revealed more warming-cooling events than previously recorded from individual sites.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Joanna Petera-Zganiacz, Danuta A. Dzieduszynska, Krystyna Milecka, Daniel Okupny, Micha Slowinski, Danuta J. Michczynska, Jacek Forysiak, Juliusz Twardy
Summary: The article examines the environmental and geomorphological changes during the Younger Dryas period in Poland, particularly focusing on the thick lacustrine series. The study reveals that the changes were gradual and not catastrophic, with the vegetation adapting smoothly to global climate changes. However, the stability of the landscape system was disrupted, as evidenced by changes in the organic life in the paleolake. The presence of wildfires suggests the triggering of abiotic processes and their impact on the biotic sphere.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Janusz Olszak, Jozef Kukulak, Helena Alexanderson, Marek Krapiec, Edit Thamo-Bozso, Agnieszka Ciurej
Summary: This study used optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon (14C) techniques to investigate the absolute ages of alluvial sediments in Podhale, southern Poland. The results showed good agreement between OSL age estimates and independent ages from radiocarbon dating, with the exception of three alluvial successions. A phenomenon of age reversal in sediments was also observed in one geological section, which might be attributed to the alluviation-erosion scheme of meandering rivers over a millennial time-scale.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Olga Antczak-Orlewska, Daniel Okupny, Andrzej Kruk, Richard Ian Bailey, Mateusz Plociennik, Jerzy Sikora, Marek Krapiec, Piotr Kittel
Summary: This study reconstructs the operational history of a medieval stronghold's moat through palaeoecological research, and describes the ecological states of the moat. Analysis of organic deposits reveals that the spatio-temporal distribution of midge assemblages mainly depends on depth differences and freshwater supply.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
Agnieszka Pociecha, Krzysztof Buczek, Wlodzimierz Margielewski, Miroslawa Kupryjanowicz, Magdalena Filoc, Katarzyna Korzen, Marek Krapiec, Dariusz Sala, Andrzej Obidowicz, Danuta J. Michczynska, Adam Michczynski, Ryszard Borowka, Julita Tomkowiak
Summary: In paleolimnological studies, it was found that rotifers are rarely observed and are more related to geochemical indices rather than pollen or non-pollen palynomorphs. The presence of the bdelloid species Habrotrocha angusticollis in sediment cores from peatlands in Poland suggests stable palaeohydrological conditions during the Late Glacial and Holocene. The density of rotifers was highest in profile sections with stable geochemical variables, indicating a potential correlation between rotifers and stable palaeohydrological conditions.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Andrzej Z. Rakowski, Jacek Pawlyta, Hiroko Miyahara, Marek Krapiec, Mihaly Molnar, Damian Wiktorowski, Masayo Minami
Summary: The article presents the results of measuring radiocarbon concentration in English oak tree rings in southern Poland and confirms a prolonged increase in radiocarbon values during a specific time period. The study also suggests that this event may consist of two smaller events.
