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Quaternary
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The Microfossil Records and Their Paleoenvironmental Implications in Quaternary
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The Microfossil Records and Their Paleoenvironmental Implications in Quaternary

A special issue of Quaternary (ISSN 2571-550X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 11490

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Alexander G. Matul

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Moscow 117997, Russia
Interests: micropaleontology; paleoceanography; paleoclimate
Prof. Dr. Yelena I. Polyakova

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Geographical Faculty, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow 119992, Russia
Interests: paleoceanography; paleogeography; micropaleontology; marine geology; biostratigraphy; arctic paleoenvironments

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues!

The Quaternary sediment archives provide comprehensive information on the paleoclimates exhibiting both environmental trends and cycles. Regarding modern climatic changes, we need to understand the scenarios of long- to short-term development of natural systems. A reaction of biota on the environmental variations is documented in the specific microfossil assemblages forming within different paleogeographic states (warmings/coolings, transitions between, etc.). Studies of microfossils help to create the chronology and climatostratigraphy and to reconstruct the paleoenvironments.

Contributions to this Special issue are invited to exhibit interpretations of the microfossil distribution for terrestrial or marine biostratigraphy, paleoecology, paleogeography, paleoceanography, and paleoclimate. We also welcome new data on the Quaternary to modern taxonomy, ecology, and methodological questions, as well as micropaleontological information on the relationships of the biotic associations and abiotic factors. A use of microfossils in studies of the Antropocene, in archaeology, and in diverse areas of human activity can be presented.

Dr. Alexander G. Matul
Prof. Dr. Yelena I. Polyakova
Guest Editors

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 6063 KiB  
Article
Holocene Climatic Changes in the Negev Desert (Israel): Pollen and Stable Isotopes (13C/12C and 15N/14N) Records from Atzmaut and Ramon I Zoogenic Deposits
by Anna Babenko
Quaternary 2024, 7(4), 45; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat7040045 - 17 Oct 2024
Viewed by 540
Abstract
Two zoogenic deposits from the central part of the Negev Desert (Israel) were investigated by stable isotopes (carbon 13C/12C and nitrogen 15N/14N) and pollen analyses. The merger of these data and results of radiocarbon dating of Atzmaut [...] Read more.
Two zoogenic deposits from the central part of the Negev Desert (Israel) were investigated by stable isotopes (carbon 13C/12C and nitrogen 15N/14N) and pollen analyses. The merger of these data and results of radiocarbon dating of Atzmaut and Ramon I deposits enabled us to reconstruct climate and vegetation changes in the Negev Desert over the past 8500 years. Decrease of the δ13C value in plant remains is a sensitive indicator of paleoclimatic conditions in the region. The decline of the δ13C value over the past 8500 years almost fully coincides with an increase of the total pollen concentration, the proportion of Poaceae pollen in the profile of zoogenic deposits and wetter periods. Thus, four humid periods are identified, from the middle of the 4th millennium to the end of 3rd millennium BC, the 1st half of the 2nd millennium BC, from the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BC to the 1st half of the 1st millennium AD and the middle of the 2nd millennium AD. The δ15N value of plant remains is a less sensitive indicator of climate dynamics and represents the most significant change of precipitation in the region by the end of the 3rd millennium BC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Microfossil Records and Their Paleoenvironmental Implications in Quaternary)
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28 pages, 5183 KiB  
Article
Palaeoenvironmental Conditions of the Upper Middle Pleistocene Warm Intervals in the Upper Volga Region, Northwestern Russia, Based on Palynological, Paleocarpological and Quantitative Geochronological Data
by Andrei Panin, Evgeny Konstantinov, Olga Borisova, Inna Zyuganova, Dmitrii Baranov, Natalia Karpukhina, Anna Utkina, Natalia Naryshkina and Redzhep Kurbanov
Quaternary 2024, 7(2), 24; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat7020024 - 27 May 2024
Viewed by 1363
Abstract
The climatostratigraphic scale of the Upper Middle Pleistocene in the northwest of the East European Plain contains a number of controversial issues, one of which is the position of the Likhvin (Holstein) Interglacial and lesser warm (interstadial) climatic events. To approach this problem, [...] Read more.
The climatostratigraphic scale of the Upper Middle Pleistocene in the northwest of the East European Plain contains a number of controversial issues, one of which is the position of the Likhvin (Holstein) Interglacial and lesser warm (interstadial) climatic events. To approach this problem, we have studied two sections of Quaternary deposits, Bolshaya Kosha (a well-known and long-studied natural exposure) and Nazarovo (a new, previously unknown section studied in a borehole), in which warm intervals of the Middle Pleistocene are recognized. In both sections, we performed lithological and paleobiological (carpological, spore-pollen) analyses and luminescence dating. In the Bolshaya Kosha section, seeds of the extinct species Caulinia goretskyi were revealed, which allowed us to attribute the obtained IRSL (ca 250–260 ka) dates to the post-Likhvin Bolshaya Kosha interstadial. The sum of data let us propose that both our IRSL and recently published 230Th/U dates (ca 240–290 ka) underestimate the age by 10–15%, and the post-Likhvin Kosha interstadial deposits were formed in the late MIS 9. In the Nazarovo section, palynological study showed the conditions of a relatively warm interstadial, with a change in the composition of vegetation from northern to middle taiga forests. According to IRSL dating, the section was formed in the MIS 10 late glacial between 330–370 ka. The two studied interstadials bracket the Likhvin (Holstein) Interglacial and sedimentary units in the Bolshaya Kosha section are proposed to have formed in MIS 9e. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Microfossil Records and Their Paleoenvironmental Implications in Quaternary)
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18 pages, 4548 KiB  
Article
Short-Term Climatic Oscillations in the Central Region of the East-European Plain at the Beginning of the Holocene Based on Palynological Studies of Lacustrine Deposits
by Olga Borisova, Natalia Naryshkina and Andrey Panin
Quaternary 2024, 7(2), 22; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat7020022 - 15 May 2024
Viewed by 1480
Abstract
The Preboreal (11.75–10.70 ka BP) is still the least paleogeographically studied time interval in the central part of the East European Plain. High-resolution multi-proxy studies of lacustrine sediments at the Seltso site located in the Desna River floodplain (Dnieper River basin) were conducted. [...] Read more.
The Preboreal (11.75–10.70 ka BP) is still the least paleogeographically studied time interval in the central part of the East European Plain. High-resolution multi-proxy studies of lacustrine sediments at the Seltso site located in the Desna River floodplain (Dnieper River basin) were conducted. Radiocarbon dating, loss-on-ignition determination, sedimentological and palynological studies and identification of Non-Pollen Palynomorphs in lacustrine sediments allow us to reconstruct changes in vegetation caused by rapid warming at the Younger Dryas–Holocene boundary, short-term climatic fluctuations within the Preboreal and subsequent resumption of warming. Initial Preboreal warming reached its maximum at about 11.5 ka BP when a relatively dry continental climate existed. Between 11.4 and 11.2 ka BP, a short-term cooling corresponding to the Preboreal Oscillation in Greenland occurred, as indicated by a significant reduction of woody vegetation and expansion of open plant communities. In the Late Preboreal, approximately 11.2–10.7 ka BP, warming resumed, which was accompanied by a decrease in the climate continentality. Comparison with high-resolution lithological and palynological data from eight reliably dated sections of the central East European Plain indicates that in northwestern and central Europe, the impact of the Preboreal Oscillation cooling on the vegetation and the lake ecosystems’ development was probably somewhat stronger. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Microfossil Records and Their Paleoenvironmental Implications in Quaternary)
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25 pages, 9560 KiB  
Article
Ostracod Assemblages in the East Siberian Sea: A Comparative Study of River-Influenced and River-Isolated Shelf Ecosystems
by Maria Zenina, Ekaterina Ovsepyan and Yaroslav Ovsepyan
Quaternary 2024, 7(1), 16; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat7010016 - 19 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1473
Abstract
The East Siberian Sea (ESS) is one of the least studied seas in terms of ostracod fauna. Ostracods are sensitive organisms to environmental changes, and detailed information on their ecology is still required. To fill this knowledge gap, we studied 33 meiobenthic dredge [...] Read more.
The East Siberian Sea (ESS) is one of the least studied seas in terms of ostracod fauna. Ostracods are sensitive organisms to environmental changes, and detailed information on their ecology is still required. To fill this knowledge gap, we studied 33 meiobenthic dredge samples collected from the western part of the ESS and the Chaun Bay together with 17 grab samples taken from the eastern part of the sea. Quantitative analyses of the ostracod assemblages demonstrate that the river-influenced western part of the ESS is inhabited by low diverse and impoverished fauna consisting of the taxa which are able to adapt to different environmental conditions. In the isolated Chaun Bay sheltered from significant riverine influence, the ostracod assemblages contain species that prefer more stable conditions. The predominance of living specimens over dead ones and individual valves points to strong carbonate dissolution that is more pronounced in the western ESS than in the Chaun Bay. The formation of such conditions might be related to the high content of dissolved carbon dioxide resulting from bacterial remineralization of in situ produced and land-derived organic matter in the bottom sediments and low pH near the seabed. Numerous ferromanganese crusts were found on the ostracod valve surfaces and inside the shells from the Chaun Bay. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Microfossil Records and Their Paleoenvironmental Implications in Quaternary)
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26 pages, 4501 KiB  
Article
Environmental Variability of the Northern Caspian Sea during Khazarian Epoch (Based on Drilling Data)
by Nataliya Bolikhovskaya, Tamara Yanina and Valentin Sorokin
Quaternary 2024, 7(1), 5; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat7010005 - 11 Jan 2024
Viewed by 1759
Abstract
The objective of our work was to reconstruct transgressive-regressive events in the Northern Caspian Sea during the Khazarian epoch of its Pleistocene history to determine the natural conditions of the development of the basins and to assess their response to climate change. This [...] Read more.
The objective of our work was to reconstruct transgressive-regressive events in the Northern Caspian Sea during the Khazarian epoch of its Pleistocene history to determine the natural conditions of the development of the basins and to assess their response to climate change. This work is based onstudies of the sedimentary formations of the upper part of the Quaternary sequence in the Northern Caspian Sea. The borehole was drilled in the eastern part of the depression Shirotnaya, the sea depth was 11.9 m, and the depth of drilling was 56.4 m. The core was subjected to lithological, malacological, and palynological analysis. This paper discusses the results related to the interval 56.0–26.6 m. The structure, facies-lithological, and malacological composition of the core capture three transgressive stages of the Caspian, namely the Early Khazarian, Late Khazarian, and Hyrcanian stages, separated by regressive phases. The representative spore-pollen assemblages made it possible to carry out the climatic and stratigraphic subdivision of the studied Khazarian deposits and to suggest a provisional version of the history of climatic and phytocenotic events during the sedimentation period. The results of our studies have introduced new discussion points into the paleogeography of the Northern Caspian Sea. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Microfossil Records and Their Paleoenvironmental Implications in Quaternary)
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17 pages, 17933 KiB  
Article
Boreal (Eemian) Transgression in the Northeastern White Sea Region: Multiproxy Evidence from Bychye-2 Section
by Ekaterina Taldenkova, Yaroslav Ovsepyan, Olga Rudenko, Anna Stepanova and Henning A. Bauch
Quaternary 2024, 7(1), 3; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat7010003 - 5 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1842
Abstract
Reconstructing interglacial marine environments helps us understand the climate change mechanisms of the past. To contribute to this body of knowledge, we studied a high-resolution 455 cm-thick sediment sequence of the Boreal (Eemian) marine beds directly overlying Moscovian (Saalian) moraine in the Bychye-2 [...] Read more.
Reconstructing interglacial marine environments helps us understand the climate change mechanisms of the past. To contribute to this body of knowledge, we studied a high-resolution 455 cm-thick sediment sequence of the Boreal (Eemian) marine beds directly overlying Moscovian (Saalian) moraine in the Bychye-2 section on the Pyoza River. We analyzed lithological and microfossil (foraminifers, ostracods, pollen, aquatic palynomorphs) variations at the studied site. Stratigraphical zonation is based on the local and well-established regional pollen zones, correlated with the western European pollen zones. The studied marine beds accumulated from the end of the Moscovian glacial (>131 ka) until ca. 119.5 ka. We distinguished three successive phases: a seasonally sea-ice-covered, relatively deep, freshened basin in the initial rapid flooding stage (>131–130.5 ka); a deep basin in the maximum flooding phase with less extensive sea ice cover (130.5–130.25 ka); and a shallow basin with reduced sea ice cover (130.25–119.5 ka). According to a pollen zone comparison with other sites, the regional glacioisostatic rebound started ca. 130 ka. The diverse warm-water assemblages of benthic foraminifers and ostracods containing typical Baltic Sea species occurred during the regression, mainly 128–124 ka, thus giving evidence for a relatively long-lasting connection between the White and Baltic Seas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Microfossil Records and Their Paleoenvironmental Implications in Quaternary)
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16 pages, 17984 KiB  
Article
Diatom Assemblages from the Daginsky Mud Volcano Sediments (Eastern Sakhalin) and Their Implication
by Ira B. Tsoy and Anna V. Sorochinskaya
Quaternary 2023, 6(3), 49; https://doi.org/10.3390/quat6030049 - 5 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1886
Abstract
Diatom assemblages in mud volcanoes are quite rare and are poorly studied. The finding of a rich diatom flora in the sediments of the Daginsky Mud Volcano (DMV), located in the tidal zone of the Nyisky Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk, is [...] Read more.
Diatom assemblages in mud volcanoes are quite rare and are poorly studied. The finding of a rich diatom flora in the sediments of the Daginsky Mud Volcano (DMV), located in the tidal zone of the Nyisky Bay of the Sea of Okhotsk, is of interest to study the conditions for the formation of host sediments in the zone of influence of various extreme factors, such as outflows of gases and water–mud mass, thermal springs, and tides. For this purpose, the taxonomical composition of diatom assemblages and concentration of diatoms in DMV sediments were studied. A comparison was made with the diatoms of geothermal springs of the Russian Far East associated with volcanic activity, and the stratigraphic occurrence of the found extinct diatoms was analyzed, which is important for determining their source and the age of the mud volcano roots. Diatom assemblages from DMV sediments are mainly characterized by the predominance of Metascolioneis tumida, Paralia sulcata, Odontella aurita, Pinnunavis yarrensis, Petroneis marina, Cocconeis scutellum, and Navicula digitoradiata. They consist of diatoms of different biotopes and extinct species. The diversity and abundance of brackish water and marine species indicates the predominant influence of sea waters on the formation of DMV sediments. The diverse freshwater species were mainly introduced into sediments with river runoff, but it is likely that some of these, such as the cosmopolitan alkaliphilic species, are inhabitants of geothermal springs. The presence of extinct species from the underlying Neogene sediments from where they were carried with gas–water–mud masses is the most typical for diatom assemblages of the DMV. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Microfossil Records and Their Paleoenvironmental Implications in Quaternary)
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