In September 2016, the annual meeting of the International Union for Quaternary Research’s Loess and Pedostratigraphy Focus Group, traditionally referred to as a LoessFest, met in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, USA. The 2016 LoessFest focused on “thin” loess deposits and loess transportation surfaces. This LoessFest included 75 registered participants from 10 countries. Almost half of the participants were from outside the United States, and 18 of the participants were students. This review is the introduction to the special issue for Quaternary Research that originated from presentations and discussions at the 2016 LoessFest. This introduction highlights current understanding and ongoing work on loess in various regions of the world and provides brief summaries of some of the current approaches/strategies used to study loess deposits.

Stratigraphic evidence and extensive optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) geochronology from an 18-km-long reach of the middle Rangitata Valley, South Island, New Zealand, provide evidence for at least six distinct glacial advances during the last glacial cycle. These include four well-constrained Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and 2 advances at ca. 38 ka, ca. 27 ka, ca. 21 ka and at 18 ka, as well as less well-constrained advances in MIS 4 and/or early MIS 3. Ice occupied a farther downvalley reach of the Rangitata from 38 ka to after 18 ka, indicating that near-full glacial conditions persisted for most of the last 20 ka of the last glaciation, though the glacier still fluctuated significantly, as reflected by the numerous distinguishable advances. Global or regional cooling alone cannot explain the persistence of near-maximum glacial conditions for this extended period, nor can it explain the occurrence of the largest advances ca. 32 ka. Instead, we invoke the northward expansion of the westerlies during MIS 3 as the cause for the early widespread glaciation, wherein enhanced westerly flow under moderate cooling maximised glacial extents. Local insolation favoured extended MIS 3 glaciation until ca. 32 ka. Increasing summer insolation gradually reduced glacial extents after ca. 28 ka.

We report on strontium (87Sr/86Sr) isotope results from 91 modern trees growing on the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands. The average 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.709169±0.000010 is consistent with the late Quaternary limestone of the islands and with the modern ocean value. The absence of any detectable influence of 87Sr-enriched Saharan dust is notable, given the known contribution of this material to both past and recent soils of the Caribbean. Our results indicate that the impact of Saharan dust to the modern biosphere of the Bahamian archipelago is at least an order of magnitude less than modeled in currently available strontium isoscapes for the circum-Caribbean. We suggest that the bioavailability of Sr in Saharan dust may be considerably less than previously thought. Nevertheless, further work could usefully be carried out in the Bahamian archipelago on plants with different rooting depths, growing on different soil types and on limestone of different ages. Our results have particular relevance for the refinement of existing strontium isoscapes and the archaeological provenience of artifacts, animals, and people in the circum-Caribbean.

In Africa, the early Holocene was characterized by wetter, warmer conditions than today, followed by rapid aridification at ~5.2 ka. However, a lack of lowland vegetation records has prevented a detailed evaluation of forest response to Holocene climate change. Additionally, although modern vegetation communities are linked to human disturbance, few studies have addressed how prehistoric human activities helped engineer the character of modern African ecosystems. Understanding the architecture of lowland and highland forests is important to prevent further degradation from climate/land-use change. We present an 11,000 yr fossil pollen record from Lake Edward, Uganda. We show that Guineo-Congolian forests dominated the highlands and lowlands in equatorial East Africa in the early Holocene, highlighting the importance of rainfall and temperature in controlling forest communities. These forests remained until ~5.2 ka, when the climate became drier. The lacustrine ecosystem response to aridification was abrupt; however, forest decreased gradually, replaced by deciduous woodlands. Woodlands dominated until after an arid period at 2 ka; however, forest did not recover. Increased disturbance indicators and grasses suggest that the arrival of Iron Age people resulted in the modern fire-tolerant vegetation. Although late Holocene climate played a role in vegetation opening, the modern ecosystem architecture in East Africa is linked to early human activities.

Pre-Quaternary terrestrial climate variability is less well understood than that during the Quaternary. The continuous eolian Red Clay sequence underlying the well-known Quaternary loess-paleosol sequence on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) provides an opportunity to study pre-Quaternary terrestrial climate variability in East Asia. Here, we present new mineral magnetic records for a recently found Red Clay succession from Shilou area on the eastern CLP, and demonstrate a marked East Asian climate shift across the Miocene-Pliocene boundary (MPB). Pedogenic fine-grained magnetite populations, ranging from superparamagnetic (SP)/single domain (SD) up to small pseudo-single domain (PSD) sizes (i.e., from <30 nm up to ~1000 nm), dominate the magnetic properties. Importantly, our mineral magnetic results indicate that both pedogenic formation of SP grains and transformation of SP grains to SD and small PSD grains accelerated across the MPB in the Shilou Red Clay, which are indicative of enhanced pedogenesis. We relate this enhanced pedogenesis to increased soil moisture availability on the CLP, associated with stronger Asian Summer Monsoon precipitation during an overall period of global cooling. Our study thus provides new insights into the Miocene-Pliocene climate transition in East Asia.

Lake Ejagham is a small, shallow lake in Cameroon, West Africa, which supports five endemic species of cichlid fishes in two distinct lineages. Genetic evidence suggests a relatively young age for the species flocks, but supporting geologic evidence has thus far been unavailable. Here we present diatom, geochemical, mineralogical, and radiocarbon data from two sediment cores that provide new insights into the age and origin of Lake Ejagham and its endemic fishes. Radiocarbon ages at the base of the longer core indicate that the lake formed approximately 9 ka ago, and the diatom record of the shorter core suggests that hydroclimate variability during the last 3 millennia was similar to that of other lakes in Cameroon and Ghana. These findings establish a maximum age of ca. 9 cal ka BP for the lake and its endemic species and suggest that repeated cichlid speciation in two distinct lineages occurred rapidly within the lake. Local geology and West African paleoclimate records argue against a volcanic, chemical, or climatic origin for Lake Ejagham. Although not conclusive, the morphometry of the lake and possible signs of impact-induced effects on quartz grains are instead more suggestive of a bolide impact.

Relic archeological settlement is used to indicate the development of agriculture. We extracted 8865 relic archeological settlements from the Atlas of Chinese Cultural Relics to analyze how the spatiotemporal distribution of archaeological settlements was influenced by temperature changes and social factors during the last millennium. During the Liao dynasty (AD 916–1125) and Jin dynasty (AD 1115–1234) in the Medieval Warm Period (MWP), a large number of settlements indicated the development of agriculture as far north as 47°N. The warm climate of the MWP provided sufficient heat resources to promote the implication of positive policies of the Liao and Jin dynasties to develop agriculture and settlements. By contrast, during the dynasties of Yuan (AD 1279–1368), Ming (AD 1368–1644), and Qing (AD 1644–1911) in the Little Ice Age (LIA), the number of settlements declined drastically, and the northern boundary of the settlement distribution retreated by 3–4 degrees of latitude to modern Liaoning Province. Although the southward retreat of the settlements and related agriculture occurred in the cold climate of the LIA, it could not be completely explained by the drop in temperature. Social factors including nomadic customs, ethnic policies, and postal road systems played more important roles to the northern boundaries of the settlement distributions during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.

The Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) in North China is an important terrestrial archive that witnessed the environmental changes and mammal and early human evolution in Asia over the past 2.6 Ma. Establishing precise ages for the Pleistocene faunas on the CLP is critical for better understanding of these environmental, biological, and archaeological issues. Here we report a new magnetostratigraphic record that places age constraints on the Linyi Fauna on the southeastern CLP. Our investigated 170-m-thick Linyi section mainly consists of two portions: (1) an overlying eolian Quaternary loess-paleosol sequence and (2) underlying fluvial-lacustrine sand and silty clay. Paleomagnetic results suggest that the composite section records the Brunhes chron, Jaramillo and Olduvai subchrons, and successive reverse polarity portions of the intervening Matuyama chron. The Linyi Fauna is located between Jaramillo and Olduvai subchrons in the fluvial-lacustrine interval, with an estimated age of ~1.5–1.6 Ma. Combining previously dated faunas, we establish a Pleistocene magnetochronology spanning from 2.54 to 0.65 Ma for the faunas on the CLP.

Identifying climates favoring extreme weather phenomena is a primary aim of paleoclimate and paleohydrological research. Here, we present a well-dated, late Holocene Dead Sea sediment record of debris flows covering 3.3 to 1.9 cal ka BP. Twenty-three graded layers deposited in shallow waters near the western Dead Sea shore were identified by microfacies analysis. These layers represent distal subaquatic deposits of debris flows triggered by torrential rainstorms over the adjacent western Dead Sea escarpment. Modern debris flows on this escarpment are induced by rare rainstorms with intensities exceeding >30 mm h−1 for at least one hour and originate primarily from the Active Red Sea Trough synoptic pattern. The observed late Holocene clustering of such debris flows during a regional drought indicates an increased influence of Active Red Sea Troughs resulting from a shift in synoptic atmospheric circulation patterns. This shift likely decreased the passages of eastern Mediterranean cyclones, leading to drier conditions, but favored rainstorms triggered by the Active Red Sea Trough. This is in accord with present-day meteorological data showing an increased frequency of torrential rainstorms in regions of drier climate. Hence, this study provides conclusive evidence for a shift in synoptic atmospheric circulation patterns during a late Holocene drought.

The Chinese Loess Plateau, the world’s largest and oldest loess record, preserves evidence of Asia’s long-term dust source dynamics, but there is uncertainty over the source of the deposits. Recent single-grain detrital zircon U-Pb age analysis has progressed this issue, but debates remain about source changes, and the generation and interpretation of zircon data. To address this, we analyze different groupings of new and existing datasets from the Loess Plateau and potential sources. We also present the results of a first high resolution sampling, multi-proxy provenance analysis of Beiguoyuan loess using U-Pb dating of detrital zircons and detrital garnet geochemistry. The data shows that some small source differences seem to exist between different areas on the Loess Plateau. However, sediment source appears to be unchanging between loess and palaeosols, supporting a recent material recycling hypothesis. Our zircon and garnet data demonstrates, however, that Beiguoyuan experienced a temporary, abrupt source shift during the last glacial maximum, implying that local dust sources became periodically active during the Quaternary. Our results highlight that grouping data to achieve bigger datasets could cause identification of misleading trends. Additionally, we suggest that multi-proxy single-grain approaches are required to gain further insight into Chinese Loess Plateau dust sources.

Diatoms and sediments were examined in a 530 cm core from Ishiba Ngandu, Zambia, a lake formed by gentle downwarping. Diatom zone D (>20 cal ka BP) was mostly sand with abundant Aulacoseira and Eunotia, suggesting a shallow lake perhaps kept fresh by spring inputs and lake discharge, except during deposition of the lowermost 66 cm. Gyttja deposition between about 22 and 20 cal ka BP suggested a deeper lake and a wetter climate, perhaps because the Congo Air Boundary (CAB) was farther southeast relative to modern times. The next zone, zone C (about 20–19 cal ka BP), was sand with abundant Achnanthidium and Eunotia but very few planktonic diatoms, apparently representing very shallow water and an arid period without the CAB. The gyttja and diatoms in zone B (19–4 ka) suggested an increase in moisture when the CAB returned. Zone A (4–0 cal ka BP) was dominated by the planktonic Aulacoseira (>89%), suggesting an increase in wind-driven mixing. Uniquely, Ishiba Ngandu likely has been relatively moist since the last glacial maximum, matching pre-Holocene wetness in Botswana but not its Holocene aridity; evidently the climate here had switched to that of East Africa.

The population size of anadromous salmon in the Pacific Northwest is strongly influenced by decadal variation in watershed and oceanographic conditions and therefore should also be influenced by larger magnitude millennial-scale variations in these conditions. We studied δ15N of bulk organic matter in lake sediment from Woahink Lake, Oregon, as a proxy of marine-derived nutrients (MDN) from spawning coho salmon. We compared this site to a control lake with a natural barrier to salmon migration. From 7.5 to 5.4 ka, a dune was emplaced, breached, and emplaced again, forming Woahink Lake in a former estuary. δ15N decreased steadily since 5.4 ka at Woahink but not at the control lake. δ15N reached a minimum just prior to anthropogenic nutrient loading, which caused an increase in δ15N, thus precluding a comparison with the historical decline in salmon abundance. A mixing model of lake-water nitrate, developed to explore alternate scenarios for the observed range of δ15N, could not explain these results without invoking MDN input from at least several hundred salmon annually. Our results show a previously unreported pattern of a millennial-scale decline in salmon that has plausible linkages to parallel changes in ocean circulation and productivity.

During the warmer Holocene Period, two major climatic crises affected the Central African rainforests. The first crisis, around 4000 cal yr BP, caused the contraction of the forest in favor of savanna expansion at its northern and southern periphery. The second crisis, around 2500 cal yr BP, resulted in major perturbation at the forest core, leading to forest disturbance and fragmentation with a rapid expansion of pioneer-type vegetation, and a marked erosional phase. The major driver of these two climatic crises appears to be rapid sea-surface temperature variations in the equatorial eastern Atlantic, which modified the regional atmospheric circulation. The change between ca. 2500 to 2000 cal yr BP led to a large increase in thunderstorm activity, which explains the phase of forest fragmentation. Ultimately, climatic data obtained recently show that the present-day major rise in thunderstorms and lightning activity in Central Africa could result from some kind of solar influence, and hence the phase of forest fragmentation between ca. 2500 to 2000 cal yr BP may provide a model for the present-day global warming-related environmental changes in this region.

In this study, we present clay mineral records from a late Pleistocene loess-paleosol sequence in the Ili Basin, Central Asia, and assess their significance for paleoclimatic reconstruction. The results show that the clay minerals are mainly illite (average 60%) and chlorite (28%), with minor kaolinite (9%) and smectite (3%). Illite was of detrital origin with no obvious modification to its crystal structure. Increases in illite content in the loess are ascribed to wind intensity rather than pedogenesis. High proportions of illite in the clay fraction, and of muscovite in the bulk samples of the paleosol units, may lead to an overestimation of the weathering intensity. Kaolinite was likely inherited from the sedimentary rocks, while chlorite might have been inherited from both sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. The paleoclimatic signals of kaolinite and chlorite were unclear, due to reworking by both fluvial and eolian systems. Smectite was more likely formed by the transformation of biotite and illite, and its variation in the loess sequence was also controlled by wind intensity; this was largely due to aggregation and is unlikely to reflect moisture changes. Although the interpretation of paleoclimate evolution may contain some uncertainties, clay mineralogy does provide the possibility of tracing dust provenance.

In north-central China, subsistence practices transitioned from hunting and gathering to millet-based agriculture between the early and middle Holocene. To better understand how ancient environmental changes influenced this shift in subsistence strategies and human activities at regional to local levels, we conducted palynological and lithologic analyses on radiocarbon-dated sediment cores from the Luoyang Basin, western Henan Province. Our palynological results suggest that vegetation shifted from broad-leaved deciduous forest (9230–8850 cal yr BP) to steppe-meadow vegetation (8850–7550 cal yr BP), and then to steppe with sparse trees (7550–6920 cal yr BP). Lithologic analyses also indicate that the stabilization of the Luoyang Basin’s floodplain after ~8370 cal yr BP might have attracted people to move into the basin, promoting the emergence of millet-based agriculture during the Peiligang culture period (8500–7000 cal yr BP). Once agricultural practices emerged, the climatic optimum after ~7550 cal yr BP likely facilitated the expansion of the Yangshao culture (7000–5000 cal yr BP) in north-central China. As agriculture intensified, pollen taxa related to human disturbance, such as Urtica, increased in abundance.

A paleoecological record from Lake Palotoa (1370 m elevation) in the Andean foothills of Peru spans the last 3800 years. Lake Palotoa lies near the modern cloud base in a location sensitive to changes in atmospheric moisture. In many areas, these forests have been destroyed, but Lake Palotoa shows no sign of human occupation today or in the past. The modern forest surrounding the lake is dominated by the Andean palm, Dictyocaryum lamarckianum, which is also the most abundant taxon in the fossil pollen record. Fossil pollen data show the vegetation assemblages have not experienced strong compositional changes in the late Holocene. Global-scale climatic events such as the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) and the Little Ice Age (LIA) are identified within the record, though the vegetation responses are subtle. Hedyosmum and Sloanea pollen percentages increase near the onset of the MCA and may reflect decreased seasonality. The LIA coincides with increased Hedyosmum pollen percentages, and increases in Clethra and Begonia, two elements that tend to occupy forests now found at higher elevations. Our findings demonstrate the stability of montane forest systems to natural Holocene climate change.

We report on a loess-paleosol sequence (LPS) near Remizovka, located in the northern Tian Shan piedmont of southeastern Kazakhstan. This site represents a key record for Late Pleistocene climatic fluctuations at the intersection of major northern hemisphere climate subsystems. This paper develops a synthesized dataset of previous conflicting studies at Remizovka by characterizing their (paleo)topographic context, which had remained previously overlooked. Digital elevation models, satellite images, and archival photography characterize recent topographic developments. Two well-developed pedocomplexes, which we investigate in detail and date by luminescence mark the paleotopography during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 5. Peak dust accumulation rates here occurred during the middle MIS 5 and MIS 4/early MIS 3. These are partially comparable with records from neighboring regions, but not in phase with global ice volume records. This discrepancy may be related to a distinct regional environmental response to larger-scale climatic drivers and local topographic influences on dust deposition patterns. Our findings confirm the potential of the LPS Remizovka to provide high-resolution paleoclimate data for the Late Pleistocene. The three-dimensional stratigraphic reconstruction reinforces the caution required to correctly interpret loess formation processes prior to their interpretation as paleoclimate archives, and provides guidelines for a more suitable approach.

The Berelyokh site includes an exceptional bone horizon consisting of 8431 remains of Mammuthus primigenius. Previous investigations, spanning ~40 years, concluded that the deaths and bone concentration were caused by spring flooding, possibly related to wetter Bølling climates. We review work from these studies with emphasis on under-reported palynological data to provide more detail on paleoenvironmental reconstructions and an alternative interpretation for the age and origin of the bone bed. Palynological results suggest the horizon formed under cool conditions of the last glacial maximum, rather than during a Bølling-type oscillation. Presence of permafrost features and associated tundra pollen taxa in the Berelyokh sections suggest that thermokarst processes, unrelated to climate change, could account for the formation of the bone horizon. The penetration of surface waters into frozen sediments of a high floodplain terrace resulted in the formation of hidden thaw sinks. As thaw continued, the pits expanded with surface soils supported by a viscous water-sediment mixture. The weakened surface gave way under the weight of the mammoths, with the hillside collapsing either due to the animals’ struggles or destabilization related to the thaw sinks. This scenario highlights the hazards of thermokarst terrain for present and future populations of northern animals.

Located at the northwestern part of the Amazon basin, Rio Negro is the largest black-water river in the world and is one of the poorest studied regions of the Amazon lowlands. In the middle-upper part of the Rio Negro were retrieved sediment cores form Lake Acarabixi, which were analyzed using pollen, spores, charcoal, and geochemistry. The aim of this study was to detect the influences from humans and river dynamics on the vegetation history in the region. Two main periods of vegetation and river dynamics were detected. From 10,840 to 8240 cal yr BP, the river had a direct influence into the lake. The lake had a regional input of charcoal particles, which reflected the effect of the dry Holocene period in the basin. Furthermore, highland taxa such as Hedyosmum and Myrsine were found at that time along with igapó forest species that are characteristic to tolerate extended flooding like Eschweilera, Macrolobium, Myrtaceae, Swartzia, and Astrocaryum. During the late Holocene (1600 to 650 cal yr BP), more lacustrine phases were observed. There were no drastic changes in vegetation but the presence of pioneer species like Vismia and Cecropia, along with the signal of fires, which pointed to human disturbances.