Late Quaternary

Fluvial sediments are valuable paleoenvironmental archives of the Quaternary. Since besides environmental factors they are also affected by local tectonics or intrinsic processes, large instead of small catchments should be studied. In drylands covering ca. 45% of the global terrestrial surface large river systems are generally missing, and most river systems are small rivers originating from mountain ranges. Their sediments are potentially interesting paleoenvironmental archives, but are often affected by intensive tectonics. During this study, to obtain a robust regional paleoenvironmental signal a small river system in the southwestern Binaloud Mountains in semi-arid NE Iran was exemplarily studied with a combined approach that encompassed both alluvial fan and catchment. By using geomorphological mapping and numerical dating, fluvial aggradation followed by incision was independently identified in larger areas or in different parts of the river system ca. 95-88 ka, 40 ka, 20 ka, around/after the Pleistocene/Holocene transition and possibly ca. 2.6 ka. These could be linked with regional and over-regional paleoenvironmental data. Furthermore, large boulders on the alluvial fan suggest anthropogenic destabilisation of the catchment during the last decades. Despite strong local tectonics the fluvial dynamics was mostly controlled by paleoenvironmental changes and human activity. This indicates that despite their small size, such river systems form valuable paleoenvironmental archives in drylands where other archive types are largely missing.

Reconstruction based on the presence of lateral moraines and other relict periglacial features in Upper Alak- nanda basin indicates three phases of glaciation dur- ing the Late Quaternary. From oldest to youngest, they are named as Alaknanda (Stage-I), Alkapuri (Stage-II) and Satopanth (Stage-III) glacial advances. The oldest Stage-I was the most extensive glaciation in the basin that reached south of

Quality characteristics of wheat are determined by different physiochemical and rheological analysis by using different AACC methods. AACC methods are expensive, time consuming and cause destruction of samples. Fourier transforms infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is one of the most important and emerging tool used for analyzing wheat for different quality parameters. This technique is rapid and sensitive with a great variety of sampling techniques. In the present study different wheat varieties were analyzed for quality assessment and were also characterized by using AACC methods and FTIR technique. The straight grade flour was analyzed for physical, chemical and rheological properties by standard methods and results were obtained. FTIR works on the basis of functional groups and provide information in the form of peaks. On basis of peaks the value of moisture, protein, fat, ash, carbohydrates and hardness of grain were determined. Peaks for water were observed in the range 1,640 cm−1 and 3,300 cm−1 on the basis of functional group H and OH. Protein was observed in the range from 1,600 cm−1 to 1,700 cm−1 and 1,550 cm−1 to 1,570 cm−1 on the basis of bond amide I and amide II respectively. Fat was also observed within these ranges but on the basis of C-H bond and also starch was observed in the range from 2,800 and 3,000 cm−1 (C-H stretch region) and in the range 3,000 and 3,600 cm−1 (O-H stretch region). As FTIR is a fast tool it can be easily emplyed for wheat varieties identification according to a set criterion.

We review the long history of Russian scientific study of the major late Quaternary palaeodrainages
and palaeolakes in northern Eurasia to provide overviews of (1) past research efforts (mainly
published in the Russian language) and (2) recent studies that include contributions from those
outside of the former Soviet Union region. There are two major groups of catastrophic flooding
phenomena and related palaeodrainage and palaeolake systems in this region: (1) those involving
large-scale lowland basins and (2) those involving upland intermontane basins. Many of these
palaeodrainages and palaeolakes were active during the late Quaternary, though the available age
data are inconclusive in regard to more exact timing and synchronicity. These palaeodrainages and
palaeolakes in the late Quaternary are strongly linked with climatic change, most notably to ice age.
For the megalakes in large-scale basins, spillover events probably occurred because of impoundment
by the late Pleistocene Arctic ice sheets. In some cases, gradual transgressions of the megalakes
caused by varying climatic conditions could also have contributed to the spillovers. Some of these
spillover events may have been catastrophic. Ice-dammed lakes formed when drainage into intermontane basins was impounded by late Pleistocene alpine-type glaciers. The collapses of the glacier
dams caused downstream catastrophic flooding, producing a characteristic suite of flood-related
landforms. In the Azas Plateau volcanic field, there is evidence for Icelandic-type subglacial flooding.

This study aims to trace changes in the River Nile flows over the Late Quaternary and is based on palynomorphs which were embedded in the sea floor of the Levantine Basin. The palynomorphs were extracted from two marine sediment cores, which cover the last 86 ka and are located at the two ends of the Levantine Basin: MD-9509, at the southern part of the Levantine Basin, and MD-9501, at its northern part. Core MD-9509 was taken from the Nile cone and is characterized by high sedimentation rates and a good state of palynomorph preservation. The assemblages included palynomorphs which were transported via the Nile headwaters and therefore enabled the reconstruction of the River Nile flows. The results demonstrate that the last glacial period (~75e16 ka) was characterized by a decrease in Nile water discharge and an increase in sediment influx, while opposite trends were observed prior to the last glacial period as well as during the deglaciation and the Holocene. Based on the study of the spores, it is suggested that during the last glacial, the main contributors of freshwater and sediment load to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea were the Blue Nile and the Atbara and only during interglacials was there a more significant contribution of the White Nile. Within the northern core, MD-9501, pollen was preserved only during the formation of sapropels S3 and S1. The comparison of the sapropelic palynological spectra in both core sites clearly indicates that during sapropel deposition, climate conditions were more humid in the Northern Levant, reflecting the north-south regional Mediterranean climatic moisture gradient. Sapropel formation was a result of the intensification of the monsoonal climate system which was most probably related to the maximum insolation values at 65 N, while, currently, the Atlantic is the main influencing climate system in the region. One of the most interesting observations in this study is that during Heinrich Events H2-H6, which originated in the north Atlantic and were identified in MD-9509 based on minimum arboreal pollen percentages, pollen originating from tropical regions was not embedded in the Levantine Basin. These results lend support to the view that episodes of dryness in tropical/sub-tropical Eastern Africa were associated not only with low-latitude climate controls, but also with high-latitude glacial stress.

A multidisciplinary study has been carried out on a 51 m long core, drilled on coastal lowlands near the Albegna River (Tuscany, Central Italy). Both sedimentological and faunal analyses (ostracods and molluscs) indicate a coastal lagoon environment repeatedly influenced both by the rising Holocene sea and the Albegna River alluvial inflow. δ13C, δ18O, Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca and 87Sr/86Sr analyses were performed on Cyprideis torosa shells in order to detail the influence of Albegna River freshwater on the coastal lagoon water. The analytical data illustrate the difficulties of using geochemical proxies in marginal marine settings. Four radiocarbon dates provide a chronostratigraphy for the early Holocene part of the core. The data are used to reconstruct Late Pleistocene to early Holocene palaeoenvironments along this part of the coast and show the development of freshwater environments followed by a coastal brackish lagoon formed in response to the initial Holocene rapid rise in relative sea level. An attempt is made to relate sediments and age data from the core to the relative sea-level curve for the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The late Pleistocene and Holocene environmental evolution and sequence stratigraphic architecture of the Po Delta region, Northern Italy, are examined. The study units record the depositional evolution from lowstand continental accumulation to marine transgression and highstand progradation. Interpretation of the high-resolution, three-dimension geological mapping of the central Po Delta area was framed within the evolution of the whole of the

New seismic stratigraphic, vibracore and AMS 14C dates from two sites off the Northern Ireland coast yield information on the deglacial to present sea-level history and shelf evolution of the region. A lowstand of sea level at about 30 m below present sea level recorded by fossils in a lowstand shoreline deposit occurred around 13.4 cal ka B.P. following a period of rapid isostatic uplift associated with a RSL fall of 6–7 cm/yr.Following the lowstand, contrasting styles of sedimentation characterized the two study sites. In the sheltered environment of Belfast Lough, the lowstand shoreline was overtopped and buried by transgressive facies of intertidal and shallow sub-tidal mud and sandy mud. On the high-energy Portrush coast, the inner shelf sedimentary sequence is characterized by a basal conglomerate overlain by well-sorted sands with occasional interbedded gravel.

Neotectonic movements have caused differential subsidence in the Lower Rhine Embayment during the Quaternary. The Late Weichselian and Holocene Rhine-Meuse fluvial archive in the central Netherlands was used to quantify neotectonic movements in a setting that was primarily controlled by sea-level rise and climate change. Evidence for neotectonic activity in the central Netherlands is reviewed. Sedimentary evidence shows that fluvial deposits of Late Weichselian and Holocene Rhine and Meuse (Maas) distributaries ...

Continental-scale estimates of vegetation cover, including land-surface properties and biogeographic trends, reflect the response of plant species to climate change over the past millennia. These estimates can help assess the effectiveness of simulations of climate change using forward and inverse modelling approaches. With the advent of transient and contiguous time-slice palaeoclimate simulations, vegetation datasets with similar temporal qualities are desirable. We collated fossil pollen records for the period 21,000e0 cal yr BP (kyr cal BP; calibrated ages) for Europe and Asia north of 40 N, using extant databases and new data; we filtered records for adequate dating and sorted the nomenclature to conform to a consistent yet extensive taxon list. From this database we extracted pollen spectra representing 1000-year time-slices from 21 kyr cal BP to present and used the biomization approach to define the most likely vegetation biome represented. Biomes were mapped for the 22 time slices, and key plant functional types (PFTs, the constituents of the biomes) were tracked though time. An error matrix and index of topographic complexity clearly showed that the accuracy of pollen-based biome assignments (when compared with modern vegetation) was negatively correlated with topographic complexity, but modern vegetation was nevertheless effectively mapped by the pollen, despite moderate levels of misclassification for most biomes. The pattern at 21 ka is of herb-dominated biomes across the whole region. From the onset of deglaciation (17e18 kyr cal BP), some sites in Europe record forest biomes, particularly the south, and the proportion of forest biomes gradually increases with time through 14 kyr cal BP. During the same period, forest biomes and steppe or tundra biomes are intermixed across the central Asian mountains, and forest biomes occur in coastal Pacific areas. These forest biome