The Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), recognized as the world's largest loess plateau, has been a subject of ongoing debate regarding the continuity of its sedimentary loess sequence due to its intricate depositional environment. In this study, we conducted dating on a 9.8-m-long Malan loess core obtained from the Sanmen Gorge in the southern CLP using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). The OSL dates indicate loess deposition between 52.4 and 11.3 ka, with no apparent hiatus on a millennial scale, and a sedimentation rate (SR) exhibiting six distinct episodes. Additionally, a comprehensive review of 613 OSL ages from 18 sections at 14 sites across the CLP was conducted. The results reveal loess deposition at most sites shows no apparent hiatus on a millennial scale over the past 60 ka, except for two specific locations. High SR episodes during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 across the CLP were attributed to heightened dust emissions from the source region and an enhanced dust deposition efficiency, while MIS 2 deposits were influenced by an intensified East Asian winter monsoon. Low SR episodes during MIS 1 at most sites were likely associated with reduced atmospheric transportation and pedogenesis. Spatially heterogeneous SR variations across the CLP might be influenced by local depositional environments.

Geoarchaeological research as part of the AHRC funded Living with Monuments (LwM) project investigated the upper Kennet river system across the Avebury World Heritage landscape. The results demonstrate that in the early–mid-Holocene (c. 9500–1000 bc) there was very low erosion of disturbed soils into the floodplain, with floodplain deposits confined to a naturally forming bedload fluvial deposit aggrading in a shallow channel of inter-linked deeper pools. At the time of the Neolithic monument building in the 4th–early 3rd millennium bc, the river was wide and shallow with areas of presumed braid plain. Between c. 4000 and 1000 bc, a human induced signature of soil erosion became a minor component of fluvial sedimentation in the Kennet palaeo-channel but it was small scale and localised. This strongly suggests that there is little evidence of widespread woodland removal associated with Neolithic farming and monument building, despite the evidently large timber requirements for Neolithic sites like the West Kennet palisade enclosures. Consequently, there was relatively light human disturbance of the hinterland and valley slopes over the longue durée until the later Bronze Age/Early Iron Age, with a predominance of pasture over arable land. Rather than large Neolithic monument complexes being constructed within woodland clearings, representing ancestral and sacred spaces, the substantially much more open landscape provided a suitable landscape with areas of sarsen spreads potentially easily visible. During the period c. 3000–1000 bc, the sediment load within the channel slowly increased with alluvial deposition of increasingly humic silty clays across the valley floor. However, this only represents small-scale landscape disturbance. It is from the Late Bronze Age–Early Iron Age when the anthropogenic signal of human driven alluviation becomes dominant and overtakes the bedload fluvial signal across the floodplain, with localised colluvial deposits on the floodplain margins. Subsequently, the alluvial archive describes more extensive human impact across this landscape, including the disturbance of loessic-rich soils in the catchment. The deposition of floodplain wide alluvium continues throughout the Roman, medieval, and post-medieval periods, correlating with the development of a low-flow, single channel, with alluvial sediments describing a decreasing energy in the depositional environment.

Sedimentary records from the Kumtag (also known as Kumtagh) Desert (KMD) in northwestern China are investigated to better understand Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental changes in this hyper-arid region. Presented here are the results of probably the first systematic survey of sedimentary sequences from the KMD, with the chronology determined by the optically stimulated luminescence dating. The variation of sedimentary facies, supported by granular and geochemical paleoenvironmental proxies, is used to decipher the history of Late Quaternary environment changes. The results demonstrate that a constantly dry condition characterized the eastern KMD since the last glacial maximum, but with occurrences of wetter periods. From ca. 17 to 15 ka, fluvial activity was probably triggered by melting of glaciers in mountains located south of the KMD. A distinctly drier stage (ca. 13–7 ka) was recognized due to the prominent occurrence of aeolian sands. A wetter environment likely persisted between ca. 4.4 and 2.2 ka, consistent with evidence of human activities. While the causes of paleoenvironmental changes in the eastern KMD are still a matter of debate, the melting of glaciers in the Altyn-Tagh Mountains in the south must be considered as an important factor.

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.

The Buffalo National River in northwest Arkansas preserves an extensive Quaternary record of fluvial bedrock incision and aggradation across lithologies of variable resistance. In this work, we apply optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to strath and fill terraces along the Buffalo River to elucidate the role of lithology and climate on the development of the two youngest terrace units (Qtm and Qty). Our OSL ages suggest a minimum strath planation age of ca. 250 ka for the Qtm terraces followed by a ca. 200 ka record of aggradation. Qtm incision likely occurred near the last glacial maximum (LGM), prior to the onset of Qty fill terrace aggradation ca. 14 ka. Our terrace ages are broadly consistent with other regional terrace records, and comparison with available paleoclimatic archives suggests that terrace aggradation and incision occurred during drier and wetter hydrological conditions, respectively. Vertical bedrock incision rates were also calculated using OSL-derived estimates of Qtm strath planation and displayed statistically significant spatial variability with bedrock lithology, ranging from ~35 mm/ka in the higher resistance reaches and ~16 mm/ka in the lower resistance reaches. In combination with observations of valley width and terrace distribution, these results suggest that vertical processes outpace lateral ones in lithologic reaches with higher resistance.

The “tablelands” in Taiwan are sedimentary terraces occurring in the foreland basin west of the Neogene mountain ranges. The Miaoli Tableland consists of elevated Late Quaternary sedimentary successions, representing a change from tidal to coastal and fluvial to eolian depositional environments. The present-day morphology is a result of combined processes, including differential tectonic uplift, ongoing fluvial aggradation, and incision. Selected deposits in 10 outcrops were sampled and studied by optical dating. The deposition of fluvial sediments started after the last interglacial (<100 ka) in the southeast of the tablelands. Uplift and sea-level lowering caused a base-level fall, resulting in a stepwise redeposition of the fluvial sediments. Additionally, enhanced remobilization of fluvial sediments occurred during the cold/dry climate during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stages (MIS) 4 and 2. The depositional ages of the coastal sediments enabled the estimation of long-term uplift rates of ca. 0.5 to 3.5 mm/yr. The eolian cover sediments yielded MIS 3 (east) to Holocene ages (west). Our results provide new insight into the interplay of climate, sea-level changes, remobilization of sediments, and tectonism leading to tableland formation during the Late Quaternary.

Sediment transfer from the interiors of the Himalaya is complex because the archives are influenced by both glacial and monsoonal cycles. To deconvolve the coupling of glacial and monsoonal effects on sediment transfer processes, we investigate the Late Pleistocene–Holocene sediment archive in the Upper Chenab valley. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages from the archive indicate major aggradation during ca. 20–10 ka. Isotopic fingerprinting using Sr-Nd isotopes in silt fractions together with clast counts in boulder-pebble fractions indicate a decreasing Higher Himalayan sediment flux in the archive with time. Decreasing clast size, increasing clast roundness, increasing matrix to clast ratio, and dominance of the Higher Himalayan sourcing unequivocally suggest strong glacial influence during the initial stages of the archive formation. This evidence also agrees with the existing retreat ages of glaciers in the Upper Chenab valley. Results of our study also show that the upper parts of the archive contain significant fluvial sediment contribution from the Lesser Himalaya, which suggests an active role of the stronger Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) in the region during the Early Holocene. The apparent decrease in sediment supply from the Higher Himalayan sources could have been due to longer source-to-sink transport in the Early Holocene and/or increased hillslope flux from Lesser Himalayan sources.

The available paleosol and paleowood data from the head of the Akkol trough valley, South Chuya range, indicates a climatically driven glacier dynamic in the Russian Altai. Radiocarbon dating of paleosols and paleotree fragments help determine the beginning of the Neoglacial in this high mountain region in the middle of the Holocene. New data limit the advance of the Sofiysky glacier at that time by the front of the Historical moraine. Less so than during the Historical stage (2.3–1.7 cal kBP), glacial activity 5–4 cal kBP is also supported by rapid reforestation. The Akkem moraine in trough valleys of the Russian Altai accumulated prior to the Holocene. The limitations and difficulties of radiocarbon dating of paleosols should be considered when interpreting the dating results.

The Roca San Miguel (RSM) archaeological site was occupied during Mousterian times. Here we present a geoarchaeological and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the site. Five stratigraphic units (A to E) formed by different archaeological levels are identified. Three optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages show that Unit A dates to between 169.6 ± 9.1 and 151.9 ± 11.1 ka, during the penultimate glacial period (PGP), and contains numerous signs of recurring hearths. Unit B is unexcavated. Unit C dates to between 118.9 ± 11.5 and 103.4 ± 6.9 ka (late Eemian–marine isotope stage (MIS) 5d) and shows an abundance of lithic remains as well as some faunal elements. Unit C is covered by Unit D, which incorporates materials moved downslope, and is dated at 81.2 ± 4.7 ka. These OSL ages concur with U/Th ages (129.3 ± 1.5 and 123.6 ± 0.6 ka) derived from a flowstone covered by both -C and D- post-flowstone units. Finally, Unit E covers the archaeological site, which was partially eroded during MIS2. The robust and well-constrained chronology of the RSM site and surroundings enables the establishment of its evolutionary model from the PGP to the last glacial cycle. The RSM site is the oldest Neanderthal occupation accurately dated in the Pre-Pyrenean region.

The loess deposits in Shandong Province in eastern China potentially provide valuable insights into past environmental changes. However, their precise provenance and paleoclimatic implications are unclear. We studied three loess sections located in the piedmont of the Central Shandong Mountains (PCSM) and in an offshore island in Bohai Gulf. Both the glacial loess and interglacial paleosol units are characterized by a coarse grain size, indicating a proximal sediment source. Using the “grain size–transport distance” model established for the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), the estimated source-sink distance is ~200–300 km for the PCSM loess and ~100–200 km for the coastal loess. This suggests that fluvial deposits of the Yellow River system in the North China Plain and sediments on the adjacent continental shelf are the major provenance for the Shandong loess. In contrast to the CLP, the Shandong loess does not show a consistent pattern of coarse grain size and low magnetic susceptibility values in glacial loess compared with interglacial paleosols, likely due to frequent changes in dust sources caused by diversions of the Yellow River and local hydroclimatic conditions. Nevertheless, the loess-paleosol alternations in the Shandong loess are a product of global glacial–interglacial cycles.

Pinnacle Point (PP) near Mossel Bay in the Western Cape Province, South Africa, is known for a series of archaeological caves with important archaeological finds. Extensive excavations and studies in two of them (PP13B and PP5-6) have documented alternating periods of anthropogenic-dominated and geogenic-dominated sedimentation. A variety of caves do not bear evidence of anthropogenic remains. We have studied in detail the remnant deposits of three of them, Staircase Cave, Crevice Cave, and PP29, which have been formed under the same geologic and sedimentary conditions with those with anthropogenic contributions. Their remains are small and patchy but have extensive speleothem formations (as do most caves at PP) that were isotopically analyzed for paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental reconstruction. These caves also offer the opportunity to understand the purely geogenic signature of the PP locality and thus offer a geogenic baseline for the anthropogenic caves. Archaeologists normally focus only on sites with strong anthropogenic signals, but by building cave life histories we “raise the bar” (Goldberg 2008, p. 30) on our contextual knowledge.

Fuente Mudarra is on a gentle slope on the left bank of the Pico River, near Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain. A 12−m2 test pit was dug at this large open-air site between 2012 and 2017. Several upper Pleistocene archaeological levels were documented. Results from Fuente Mudarra confirm that Neanderthal groups, little represented at cave sites, occupied Sierra de Atapuerca from the end of the middle Pleistocene and during the upper Pleistocene. The site also provides insight into Neanderthal spatial organization in the Atapuerca area and whether they used the caves in an occasional, non-habitual way like the open-air sites.

There are few papers that focus on optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of earthen mortars. These mortars are abundant in historical buildings in northwestern Spain. The Basílica da AscensiónyForno da Santa building is an unfinished church built on a previous structure that was transformed into a crypt (Allariz, Ourense, NW Spain). Previous archaeological studies established a sequence of phases of construction, the first dating back to the Iron Age, with significant changes occurring in the Early and Late Medieval ages. The only datable material in the crypt is earthen mortar. Thus, eight mortar samples (seven joint mortars and one wall infill) were taken, seven of them dated by OSL. The dose rate was assessed, and the expected equivalent doses estimated based on the established archaeological age. Several grain sizes (from fine to coarse) were used in small multigrain aliquots to assess the equivalent doses and ages. No evidence of partial bleaching was observed in most samples and grain sizes. The resulting ages are younger than expected for most samples. This is explained by the fact that joints were repaired with new mortar from the 16th century onwards.

Twenty-four new optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon ages from sediment cores in nine lakes associated with the Shipshewana and Sturgis moraines in northern Indiana and southern Michigan estimate when recession of the Saginaw Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet was underway in the southern Great Lakes region, USA. Average OSL ages of 23.4 ± 2.2 ka for the Shipshewana Moraine and 19.7 ± 2.2 ka for the Sturgis Moraine are considered minimum limiting deglacial ages for these recessional moraines. The much younger radiocarbon ages are consistent with other regional radiocarbon ages from lakes, and record climate amelioration around ~16.5 cal ka BP. Early recession of the interlobate Saginaw Lobe was well underway by 23.4 ± 2.2 ka, when the adjacent Lake Michigan and Huron-Erie lobes were a few hundred kilometers farther south and near their maximum southerly limits. The results provide the first time constraints when sediment from the Lake Michigan and Huron-Erie lobes began filling the accommodation space left by the Saginaw Lobe. The difference between the oldest radiocarbon and OSL age is 7400 yr for the Shipshewana Moraine and 3400 yr for the Sturgis Moraine.

This work shows the results of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon (14C) dating applied to mortars of historical structures in northern Italy. All the results are compared with archaeological evidence and thermoluminescence (TL) dating of bricks. The main issue for OSL mortar dating is that the quartz grains contained in the mortar may be only partially bleached, leading to an overestimation of the sample age. In order to identify the best protocol to apply, both multi-grain (MG) and single grain (SG) methods were used. The minimum age model (MAM) statistical approach was applied to refine their accuracy. However, the identification of the bleached grains is not always successful, indicating that further investigations are needed to develop suitable dating protocol. For the 14C technique, a crucial aspect is the selection of anthropogenic calcite. In this work the mortars were treated using a Cryosonic method to select anthropogenic calcite from raw material, and the obtained powder was sieved to select the finer fraction. Unfortunately, only in two cases an acceptable amount of sample could be obtained. All the fractions were dated via accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS), and the results compared with independently obtained dates. The results show that the execution of the dating analysis requires previous characterizations to assess the nature of the mortar components and avoid unusable fractions.

Climate and tectonics effect the fluvial evolution of the Mediterranean Mut basin. The basin contains a river terrace staircase of 16 levels (T16–T1) ranging from 365 to 10 m above the current Göksu River in its middle and lower sections. These river terraces records tectonic uplift in the Mut basin. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of the fluvial sediments of the youngest terrace (T16) provides a chronology for the assessment of the important impacts of climatic changes. The ages from the youngest river terrace deposits in T16 may be subdivided into two intervals: (1) 239–194.7 ka during the later part of Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 7, implying that the aggradation of T16 started in (the final phase of) this warm period; and (2) 187.9–171 ka during much of MIS 6. Thus, it appears that the Göksu River continued depositing sediment from an interglacial into a glacial time. The differences in climate-driven fluvial evolution between this Mediterranean fluvial system and the classical, well-studied temperate–periglacial river systems in Europe may be the result of different vegetation cover and greater thaw of more intense snowfalls.

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of deposits at the Lakaton'i Anja rockshelter site in Madagascar extends the chronology of human activity on the island back to 4500 BP. These results have roused archaeological and palaeoecological interest in the implications of mid Holocene human colonisation of remote islands in the Indian Ocean. There is, however, evidence of extensive bioturbation at the site, reflected in over-dispersion and other characteristics of the OSL data. It is argued here that OSL ages on minor sedimentary components indicate a much younger chronology consistent with radiocarbon dates for human activity no earlier than the first millennium AD.

Numerical dating and geomorphic studies on alluvial sediment were undertaken in the uppermost reaches of the Dunajec River catchment in the northern foreland of the Tatra Mountains of Poland. Successions of alluvial deposits in river terraces and alluvial fans are common in this region. In particular, alluvial fans deposited a thick succession of sediment in the intramontane Orawa–Nowy Targ Depression, and terraces are preserved as two cut-and-fill and six strath terraces along the uplifting sections of river courses. We identify several alluviation phases within the alluvial successions that occurred since Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 6. These sediments show that deposition largely occurred under temperate-climate conditions. This is in spite of a potential strong impact from headwater glaciers under cold-climate conditions. Glacially produced sediments were largely stored within frontal moraines and proglacial floodplains. These glaciogenic sediments were eroded and resedimented during glacier retreat. We therefore conclude that “warm” alluviation is the dominant process forming alluvial successions in this region.

The timing, structure, and landscape change during the Patagonian Ice Sheet deglaciation remains unresolved. In this article, we provide a geomorphic, stratigraphic, and geochronological deglacial record of Río Cisnes Glacier at 44°S and also from the nearby Río Ñirehuao and Río El Toqui valleys (45°S) in Chilean Patagonia. Our 14C, 10Be, and optically stimulated luminescence data indicate that after the last glacial maximum, Río Cisnes Glacier experienced ~100 km deglaciation between >19.0 and 12.3 ka, accompanied by the formation of large glacial paleolakes. Deglaciation was interrupted by several ice readvances, and by 16.9±0.3 ka, Río Cisnes Glacier extended only ~40% of its full glacial extent. The deglaciation of Río Cisnes Glacier and other sensitive Patagonian glaciers occurred at least 1 ka earlier than the ca. 17.8 ka normally assumed for the local termination, coincident with West Antarctic isotope records. This early deglaciation can be linked to an orbital forcing–driven decline of Southern Ocean sea ice associated with a distinct atmospheric warming that is apparent for West Antarctica through Patagonia.

The Pueblo population of Chaco Canyon during the Bonito Phase (AD 800–1130) employed agricultural strategies and water-management systems to enhance food cultivation in this unpredictable environment. Scepticism concerning the timing and effectiveness of this system, however, remains common. Using optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments and LiDAR imaging, the authors located Bonito Phase canal features at the far west end of the canyon. Additional ED-XRF and strontium isotope (87Sr/86Sr) analyses confirm the diversion of waters from multiple sources during Chaco’s occupation. The extent of this water-management system raises new questions about social organisation and the role of ritual in facilitating responses to environmental unpredictability.