Constraining the timing and extent of Quaternary glaciations in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is significant for the reconstruction of paleoclimatic environment and understanding the interrelationships among climate, tectonics, and glacial systems. We investigated the late Quaternary glacial history of the Qinggulong and Juequ valleys in the Taniantaweng Mountains, southeastern TP, using cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure dating. Four major glacial events were identified based on 26 10Be ages. The exposure ages of the oldest late Quaternary glaciation correspond to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 6. The maximum glacial extent was dated to 48.5–41.1 ka (MIS 3), during the last glaciation, and was more advanced than that of the last glacial maximum (LGM). Geochronology and geomorphological evidence indicate that multiple glacial fluctuations occurred in the study area during the Early–Middle Holocene. These glacial fluctuations likely were driven by the North Atlantic climate oscillations, summer solar insolation variability, Asian summer monsoon intensity, and CO2 concentration.

Beach ridges are depositional features that allow reconstruction of past sea-level variations, sediment dynamics, and storm activity. However, there are still very few systematic studies focusing on beach ridges available from the Gulf of Thailand. Along the east coast, satellite images provide evidence of beach ridges in the Chanthaburi Province, extending as far as 6 km inland, oriented parallel to the current coastline. These can be divided into a set of landward ridges (5.3–6.0 km inland) and seaward ridges (0.4–1.8 km inland) that are separated by an arm of the Chanthaburi estuary. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of 26 sand samples from 12 pits of ridge profiles suggests that the landward set of beach ridges formed ca. 3500 yr ago, while the seaward set of ridges formed between ca. 2100–1200 years ago, which also includes the modern active beach. It appears that the landward set of beach ridges developed during a period of relatively stable sea level followed by a rapid regression presently occupied by the arm of the Chanthaburi estuary. The seaward set of beach ridges apparently reflects a millennium of slowly retreating coastline until the modern beach ridge formed.

As the main global terrestrial ecosystem component, grasslands are extremely sensitive to global climate change. With increasing human activities over the last century, grassland ecosystems have been degraded to different degrees. However, the evolution of lake-grassland ecosystems in recent centuries remains unclear due to the dearth of high-resolution records. Here, we present high-resolution lacustrine sediment grain size, pollen (Artemisia, Myriophyllum), Pediastrum, and n-alkane records from Ganggeng Nur Lake to investigate vegetation, lake evolution, and human effects in semiarid northern China. Four stages were identified from the last ca. 150 years: (1) the natural evolution stage (AD 1870–1945), in which there was a wet climate around Ganggeng Nur and the lake level rose from increased runoff; (2) the human disturbance stage (AD 1945–1967), in which the regional climate got drier and human activities began having a detectable effect on the grassland ecosystem; (3) the human transformation stage (AD 1967–2005), in which a completely arid climate coupled with the implementation of a series of land reclamation policies resulted in a large reduction in grassland areas, extensive soil erosion, exacerbated climate change, and shrinking lake areas; and (4) the posttreatment stage (AD 2005–2018), in which soil erosion was alleviated by policy implementation and a favorable humid climate.

Reconstructing the Mid-Holocene climate change in arid and semiarid areas can help predict regional moisture availability and resultant lake evolution and vegetation changes due to future warming. Here, we present a sediment core (YLH15A) from Moon Lake in the Tengger Desert, arid and semiarid China. Based on robust accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dating and multiproxy analyses (pollen, grain size, elements, and total organic carbon), we reconstructed regional climate changes since 7.6 cal ka BP. The climate was generally dry from 7.6 to 2.8 cal ka BP, as indicated by the dried-up lake, strong aeolian activities, and no vegetation, except for a short-term wet interval between 5.4 and 4.9 cal ka BP. The generally dry climate shifted after 2.8 cal ka BP, which is suggested by expanded steppe desert/steppe and increased vegetation cover; it was also accompanied by lake development, which was likely related to increased groundwater recharge originating from regional precipitation and temporary floods from adjacent mountain areas. Our results reveal a prolonged dry Mid-Holocene and relatively wet Late Holocene that are basically consistent with climatic records from the central–east Asian arid and hyperarid areas. The prolonged dry climate in the arid and hyperarid areas is likely to be related to high evaporation triggered by high temperatures during the Middle Holocene.

A detailed magnetic mineralogy and archaeomagnetic study was carried out on recently discovered domestic hearths and burned floors at the Chak Pet archaeological settlement (Tamaulipas, Mexico). The study aimed to obtain reliable absolute chronological constraints on the early development of Huastecs during the Formative period. Oriented hand samples corresponded to four domestic hearths and one burned floor. Continuous thermomagnetic curves revealed mostly irreversible behavior, while titanomagnetites, titanomaghemites, and goethites are assumed to carry the remanent magnetization. In total, 87 specimens were subjected to stepwise demagnetization of natural remanent magnetization using an alternating field procedure. Characteristic remanent magnetization directions were obtained for 29 samples of two hearths and one burned floor. No single, technically acceptable paleointensity determination was obtained. The new archaeomagnetic age intervals for Chak Pet allow locating the origin of this settlement at the Gulf of Mexico within the Middle Formative (900–600 BCE) continuing until the Late Formative period (350–100 BCE). New archaeomagnetic ages are in accordance with the diagnostic pottery analysis. Dated archaeological elements are associated with both ceramic types and different sets of burials, providing a reliable tool to calibrate their chronological and stratigraphic positions.

Past studies have demonstrated that Ruppia cirrhosa (Ruppia), which typically grows in brackish water, is far too unreliable to serve as the chronological basis for radiocarbon dating because of the hard water effect (HWE). Despite this unreliability, Ruppia seeds have been used to date footprints along the margins of paleo-Lake Otero in southern New Mexico to around 23,000–21,000 cal yr BP. In this study, we employ a modern analog approach using δ13C values and radiocarbon dates from modern Ruppia plants growing in Salt Creek to calculate a maximum limiting age range for the footprints. Those plant samples with higher δ13C values produced greater age discrepancies. This simple relationship can be used to correct for the HWE and demonstrates that the human footprints purported to have been made during the local last glacial maximum could be at least ~7500 yr younger.

Connecting changes in erosion and vegetation is necessary for predicting topographic and ecologic change in thawing permafrost landscapes. Formerly periglacial landscapes serve as potential analogs for understanding modern permafrost landscape change, yet compared to paleoenvironmental records at these sites, less is known about concurrent geomorphic processes, particularly their rates and relationships to climate change. Here, we target sediments preserved in a central Appalachian peat bog to reconstruct sedimentation across the last deglacial warming. We use ground-penetrating radar and geochemistry of cored bog sediments to quantify sedimentation timing, style, and provenance. Using 14C dating of sedimentary and geochemical shifts, we connect depositional changes to global climate and local vegetation change. We show that deglacial warming promoted deep soil disturbances via solifluction at ca. 14 ka. In contrast, relatively wetter conditions from ca. 10–9 ka promoted shallow disturbance of hillslopes via slopewash, which corresponds to a time of vegetation change. Our results highlight climate-modulated erosion depth and processes in periglacial and post-periglacial landscapes. The existence of similar erosion and vegetation records preserved regionally implies these dynamics were pervasive across unglaciated Appalachian highlands, aiding in reconstructing erosion responses to warming at a resolution with implications for predicting high-latitude landscape responses to disturbance.

Uplift of the overriding plate at a subduction zone denotes interseismic strain accumulation, which is subsequently released during a megathrust earthquake. Although most interseismic strain is thought to be released elastically, observations of uplifted coastal regions at subduction zones worldwide indicate that some strain may result in permanent uplift. The Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay (Washington, USA) coastal region of the Cascadia subduction zone hosts flights of marine terraces testifying to late Pleistocene rock uplift. Our new detailed mapping of the marine terraces recognizes nine new units, including estuarine and fluvial sediments. Luminescence dating, relative age based on soil maturity and terrace elevation, and an evaluation of previous ages from fossil shells collectively constrain the probable ages of three estuarine units to sea-level high stands during Marine Isotope Stages 5a, 5c, and 5e. We estimate an average uplift rate of 0.4 ± 0.1 mm/yr for the terraced estuarine units, consistent with other Pleistocene uplift and incision rates in Cascadia. When compared with observed interseismic vertical deformation, these rates suggest that about one-tenth of interseismic strain may become permanent. The values are permissible within the uncertainties of uplift based on regional estimates of interseismic vertical strain rates and of coseismic subsidence.

The isotope values of fossil snail shells can be important archives of climate. Here, we present the first carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) isotope values of snail shells in interior Alaska to explore changes in vegetation and humidity through the late-glacial period. Snail shell δ13C values were relatively consistent through the late glacial. However, late-glacial shell δ13C values are 2.8‰ higher than those of modern shells. This offset is best explained by the Suess effect and changes in the δ13C values of snail diet. Snail shell δ18O values varied through the late glacial, which can be partially explained by changes in relative humidity (RH). RH during the snail growing period was modeled based on a published flux balance model. Results suggest a dry period toward the beginning of the Bølling–Allerød (~14 ka) followed by two distinct stages of the Younger Dryas, a wetter stage in the early Younger Dryas from 12.9 to 12.3 ka, and subsequent drier stage in the late Younger Dryas between 12.3 and 11.7 ka. The results show that land snail isotopes in high-latitude regions may be used as a supplementary paleoclimate proxy to help clarify complex climate histories, such as those of interior Alaska during the Younger Dryas.

To further elucidate the Late Pleistocene glacial history of mid-elevation mountainous regions in Central Europe, 10Be cosmic-ray exposure (CRE) dating was applied to moraines in the Zastler Tal Valley in the Southern Black Forest. Periods of glacier recession from moraines in this valley began no later than 16 ka, 15 ka, and 13 ka. CRE ages of moraines in this and other parts of the Southern Black Forest cluster around 17–16 ka and 15–14 ka, thus suggesting a common forcing of glacier recession. Equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) during moraine formation were calculated for precipitation reconstruction. Observed spatial discrepancies in ELAs at ca. 15–14 ka are explained best by the size of snow-contributing areas. The reconstructed annual precipitation at the ELA for ca. 16 ka and ca. 15 ka is affected by large uncertainties, representing a wide range from ~50% to ~150% of present-day values. Due to various factors, such as drifting snow, the lower bounds of the estimates appear most realistic, thus concurring with the common hypothesis of less precipitation during the last glacial termination than today in Central Europe. Further research is needed before ELAs of small ice masses can be employed for precise precipitation estimates.

The eastern Great Lakes Late Quaternary timescale is based on older thermoluminescence dates and on uncalibrated radiocarbon dates from extensive sections along the north shores of Lakes Erie and Ontario. New optically stimulated luminescence dates from Late Quaternary delta sediments from the north shores of Lake Erie at Sand Hills Park give consistent ages of 23.5 to 20.5 ka. This is 4 to 7 ka older than previously assigned based on lithologic correlation with 16.5 ka calibrated radiocarbon dated sediments 5 km to the west at Vanderven. On the existing eastern Great Lakes stratigraphy, it puts deposition of these Sand Hills Park sediments in the Erie interstadial and not in the fluctuating postglacial glacial retreat of the Mackinaw phase to which the Vanderven sediments belong. The Sand Hills delta and underlying diamicts must have been overridden by the Porty Bruce advance at 18 ka. IntCal20 calibration of existing radiocarbon ages suggests that the physical stratigraphic relations of the various Wisconsin units are accurate and that the existing timescale is simply too young.

We studied the Pleistocene subsurface stratigraphy of an area in the northern Po Plain around the isolated tectonic hillocks of Castenedolo and Ciliverghe (Brescia, Italy) in order to estimate their long-term rates of tectonic deformation. Integrated stratigraphy of a new 100-m-long core (RL13) allowed better definition of the regional Y (0.45 Ma) and R (0.87 Ma) surfaces and the related magnetostratigraphically calibrated PS1, PS2, and PS3 depositional sequences. The Y surface in the RL13 core was placed at the base of the PS3 proximal braided river system that was deposited during middle Pleistocene within the Brunhes chron. The R surface is considered to be eroded within the PS2 braid-plain deposits at ca. 0.87 Ma between the top of Jaramillo subchron and the Bruhnes chron during the late Early Pleistocene.

Based on different datasets, we evaluated the sedimentation rate, which has decreased from 0.09 mm/yr with deposition of PS2, to 0.06 mm/yr with deposition of PS3. The tectonic uplift, with an average rate of ~0.1 mm/yr in the last ca. 0.87 Ma, is interpreted to be associated with a fault and related fault-propagation folding. The Castenedolo and Ciliverghe hillocks then formed due to tectonic uplift during a change in the sedimentation regime since 0.45 Ma.