Large uncertainties still exist about the long-term mechanisms influencing the hydroclimate variability of southeast Africa where proxy data and model simulations indicate rainfall dipoles between subtropical and tropical areas. The topography of Madagascar, located off the southeastern coast of Africa, modulates these dipoles while its climate is influenced by the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the Subtropical High as well as the sea surface temperature (SST) of SW Indian Ocean. The island can thus be considered a key location for the understanding of the tropical SE African climatic variability and the interplay between atmospheric patterns. However, the scarcity of continuous records from Madagascar has made the evolution of regional late Quaternary climate and its driving mechanisms difficult to assess. Here, we present a 26-kyr record of the deuterium/hydrogen isotope ratio (δD) of biomarkers (n-alkanes) from the central eastern part of the island at Antananarivo at around 1250 m a.s.l. Preliminary summary pollen data are also presented as a comparison. The δD profiles of aquatic plant and terrestrial plant-derived n-alkanes generally exhibit similar trends implying that they all record changes in the isotope composition of source water, namely meteoric water that recharges soil and lake waters. In this tropical region, the δD variability of precipitation is mainly influenced by the amount effect reflecting the intensity of precipitation associated with the monsoon. We observe: (i) stable and wet conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum, (ii) drier conditions from 18.5 to 15 ka (ka before present) during the Heinrich Stadial 1 (iii) high humidity after 15 ka culminating at the Younger Dryas (YD), (iv) drier conditions from 11.7 ka to 8.2 ka, (v) a return to humid climate until 2.8 ka, and (vi) an arid phase followed by increased wetness after 0.9 ka, although the record is likely influenced by human-induced vegetation changes the last 1.2 ka. This climate signal is similar to other records from the Mozambique Channel but opposite to records from the East African mainland and the subtropical southern Africa, especially between 20 and 25°S. Although there is a good correspondence of our record with insolation- driven migrations of ITCZ during the LGM and the early Holocene, the dipoles are largely consistent with the modern rainfall anomaly and are best explained by the interlinked effects of the SST changes and the variability of the Mozambique Channel Trough.

The Holocene climate history of Southern Africa remains inconclusive despite the increasing number of proxy records from the region. This might be related to the diversity of proxy records, how the proxies are interpreted, or that proxies may respond to more than one forcing (e.g. hydroclimate, fire, temperature.). Here, a 175-cm peat sequence from Free State, South Africa (28°17′53″S, 29°25′10.9″E), was analyzed using a comprehensive set of novel and conventional proxies, including isotopic (δ¹³C), elemental (CS-XRF), mineral (pXRD), molecular (FTIR-ATR and pyrolysis-GC-MS), grain size (Malvern 3000) and GSSC phytolith composition. The chronology was constructed through AMS radiocarbon dating (n = 7). The early Holocene (10,380–7000 cal yr BP) was characterized by an initial wet phase, followed by relative dryness, at least seasonally, evidenced by slow accumulation rates, low organic content and dominance of terrestrial vegetation in the organic matter matrix. From 7000 cal yr BP, decreasing temperatures, as evidenced in regional climate reconstructions, were associated at Marias Geluk with higher biogenic silica and organic matter content and an increase of moisture-adapted grasses, indicating increasingly mesic conditions. This trend was amplified after 6000 cal yr BP, co-occurring with a southward displacement of the ITCZ. Complex proxy dynamics were observed between 4300 and 2180 cal yr BP, with bulk organic proxies indicating a drier environment (lower carbon content, slow accumulation rates, enriched δ13C values) but the phytolith record pointing towards relatively mesic conditions. The period was also associated with increased fire frequency, that also reached the local wetland. We suggest that the period was associated with seasonally mesic conditions together with increased fire incidence, which affected some of the organic proxies. Increased fire activity was also recorded in the region, while the hydroclimatic indications differed. The last 2000 years, during which human activity is known to have increased in the region, was characterized by lower fire incidence and variable, but relatively moist, conditions. The hydroclimatic inferences for the last 2000 years are in line with previous studies from the region, but additional studies are needed to decipher if the decline in fire incidence was associated to climate forcings, human activities, or a combination of both. The multiproxy approach applied here - in particular the inclusion of FTIR-ATR and pyrolysis GC-MS - revealed a complex interplay between vegetation dynamics, hydrology and paleofire variability. This study confirms that relatively small Holocene temperature variations (compared to northern higher latitudes) were associated with major hydrological variability at Marais Geluk, and reinforces concerns from earlier studies that the hydroclimate of the region is vulnerable to climate change. The result s also show that the southward displacement of the ITCZ, and associated tropical air masses, likely had significant effects on regional hydrology and fire incidence.

Fossil diatoms and litho-stratigraphic changes in the Guern El Louläilet depressions, NW of the Great Western Erg, Algeria, were analysed to infer paleoenvironmental changes in the northern Algerian Sahara during the Early and Middle Holocene. Analysis was based on calcareous diatomite collected from four outcrops within the depressions. The diatom flora consists of brackish and epiphytic taxa, such as Epithemia argus, with percentages of some freshwater and planktonic species, mainly Cyclotella distinguenda. Results provide evidence for two Holocene lacustrine episodes related to the African Humid Period. The first episode (Early to Middle Holocene) was characterized by abrupt development of shallow-water conditions, with extensive littoral zones and evaporative periods that coincided with high salt concentrations in warm, alkaline water (swampy conditions). A second episode (Middle to Late Holocene?), with brackish water and alkaline conditions, coincided with a decline in lake water level that is attributed to drier conditions. Our findings are consistent with those of other studies from the area and demonstrate similar environmental changes occurred after 9300 cal yr BP at sites within the region. The main drivers of the African Humid Period were the northward shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and expansion of summer monsoonal rains. Our study sites were located in the northern Sahara, where variations in the position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) did not affect rainfall. Early and Middle Holocene climate fluctuations detected in this study may have been caused by intensification of winter precipitation in the south-central Mediterranean and its penetration southward.

An overview of the diatom flora of the last interglacial (Eemian) lacustrine gyttja deposit at Sokli, northeastern Finland is presented together with descriptions including photomicrographs of resting spores similar to the Aulacoseira islandica-skvortzowii group, not found in recent material from Europe. Comparisons are made with literature data on similar taxa. The morphology of the resting spores (e.g., the number of striae and areolae in 10 mu m) links them to the A. islandica-skvortzowii group, but the lack of vegetative cells in the Sokli record makes the determination of true synonymy difficult. The presence of spores similar/related to the A. islandica-skvortzowii group in the Sokli Eemian palaeolake may reflect a more widespread distribution of this group in the past.

Holocene relative shore level (RSL) changes and Stone Age palaeogeography of Hiiumaa Island are reconstructed using airborne LiDARelevation data, sedimentological and archaeological proxies as well asGIS-based landscape modelling. Altogether, 38RSLindex and limiting points are used in modelling and presented in the current paper. The highest raised shorelines of the Ancylus Lake and Litorina Sea, mapped at the elevations of 47 and 26 m a.s.l., formed around 10.3 and 7.4 cal. kaBP, respectively. The reconstructedRSLcurve reveals a 20-m drainage of Ancylus Lake followed by a land-uplift-driven 3-m regression during the Initial Litorina Sea period.RSLrise during the Litorina Sea transgression remained below 4 m and its maximum was reached later than proposed previously, discarding therefore the idea of highly diachronous Litorina culmination in the eastern Baltic Sea. During the period 7.4-6.0 cal. kaBP,RSLfall was about 4.3 mm a(-1), and afterwards in average at about 1 mm(-1)less suggesting deceleration in isostatic rebound. suggesting deceleration in isostatic rebound. Palaeogeographical reconstructions show that during its earliest occupation at about 7.6 cal. kaBPless than 1% of the terrain of Hiiumaa was above the sea level and that wind-protectedSEexposed shores were the most preferred campsite locations of Late Mesolithic and Neolithic settlers. These campsites are located successively at lower elevations following the shoreline retreat and show repeated use of this coastal area between 7.6 and 4.6 cal. kaBP. Due to the spread of the Corded Ware culture around 4.8-4.0 cal. kaBPthe settlements of Hiiumaa Island and many other coastal areas of the eastern Baltic moved from the coast to more suitable places for agriculture and animal husbandry.

The shore displacement and palaeogeography of the Pärnu Bay area, eastern Baltic Sea, during the Stone Age, were reconstructed using sedimentological and archaeological proxies and GIS-based landscape modelling. We discovered and studied buried palaeochannel sediments on the coastal lowland and in the shallow offshore of the Pärnu Bay and interpreted these data together with previously published shore displacement evidence. The reconstructed relative shore-level (RSL) curve is based on 78 radiocarbon dates from sediment sequences and archaeological sites in the Pärnu Bay area and reported here using the HOLSEA sea-level database format. The new RSL curve displays regressive water levels at -5.5 and -4 m a.s.l. before the Ancylus Lake and Litorina Sea transgressions, respectively. According to the curve, the total water-level rise during the Ancylus Lake transgression (10.7-10.2 cal. ka BP) was around 18 m, with the average rate of rise about 35 mm per annum, while during the Litorina Sea transgression (8.5-7.3 cal. ka BP), the water level rose around 14 m, with average rate of 12 mm per annum. During the short period around 7.8-7.6 cal. ka BP, the RSL rose in Pärnu, but probably also in Samsø (Denmark), Blekinge (Sweden) and Narva-Luga (NE Estonia-NW Russia), faster than the concurrent eustatic sea level calculated from the far-field sites. The palaeogeographic reconstructions show the settlement patterns of the coastal landscape since the Mesolithic and provide new perspective for looking Mesolithic hunter-fisher-gatherer settlement sites on the banks of the submerged ca. 9000 years old river channel in the bottom of the present-day Pärnu Bay.

Using diatoms, pollen, and geochemistry, we explore human habitation around Lina myr, Gotland, in relation to shore displacement. Archeological evidence has shown that Lina myr was an important area for its prehistoric human inhabitants. We investigate if and when Lina myr was connected to the sea and could therefore have been part of an inland water system useful for transport. A chronology was based on C-14 AMS dating of terrestrial macrofossils and bulk sediments with dates ranging between 9100 and 2360 cal. yr BP. The initiation of the Littorina transgression was dated to 8500 cal. yr BP. A twofold pattern for the maximum sub-phase of the Littorina Sea is suggested from 8100 to 7500 cal. yr BP and from 6500 to 6000 cal. yr BP. The onset of cultivation and grazing was indicated by the presence of Hordeum and Plantago lanceolata in the pollen record during the Late Neolithic, at about 4580 cal. yr BP. During this time sea level was relatively higher than today and the Lina myr basin was connected with the Littorina Sea, which it continued to be until isostatic uplift caused it to become isolated at about 3820 cal. yr BP. After about 3000 cal. yr BP, human-made landscape changes intensified, grasslands increased, and shrublands decreased.

In conjunction with the extensive archaeological projects conducted at the current outlet of Sweden’s second largest lake, Lake Vättern, macrofossil, pollen and diatom records have been studied from ¹⁴C-dated lake and river sediments from River Motala Ström in Motala and Lake Boren. These investigations have revealed sedimentary evidence of the Yoldia Sea regression, the Ancient Lake Vättern transgression, and the following stepwise river formation process. Around 9000 cal BC, two small kettlehole basins at Strandvägen and Kanaljorden became isolated from the Baltic basin. As the ice sheet retreated further north, the isostatic uplift isolated the Vättern basin from the Baltic basin. Due to the uneven isostatic uplift, the basin tilted toward the south, and the Ancient Lake Vättern transgression started in Motala. The threshold in Motala at 92.5 m a.s.l. was reached around 7200 cal BC, and River Motala Ström was formed. ¹⁴C-dated diatom records from Lake Boren, and shoreline deposits in Motala, confirm this event. The water level in Lake Vättern initially fell around 1.5 m, and around 5800 cal BC, a second erosional event cut down the threshold to modern day level. At this time, the Late Mesolithic settlements in Motala were established and expanded.

Exposures of Middle Pleistocene lacustrine sediments at the margins of an open-cast lignite mine at Marathousa near Megalopolis, western Arcadia, Greece yielded the partial remains of a Palaeoloxodon antiquus skeleton which exhibited signs of being butchered. Sedimentation occurred between ca. 400 and 480 ka. Lithic artefacts were found in close spatial and stratigraphic association with the elephant remains. A palaeobotanical investigation (involving carpological, phytolith and wood remains) as well as diatom analysis led to a detailed reconstruction of the local environment at the time of sediment deposition. The results of this study enabled the environmental context of the butchering of the Palaeoloxodon antiquus carcass to be established. Palaeobotanical data show that sediment deposition at the Palaeoloxodon antiquus site occurred in shallow water in front of a reed swamp with trees in the immediate surroundings (particularly Alnus and Salix) on a flat plain where the water table was at or just below the ground surface. Warm conditions prevailed at the time of sediment deposition allowing aquatic plants typically recorded in the climatic optima of European interglacial assemblages to occur (e.g. Brasenia schreberi) and palms (Palmae) to live close-by. This suggests that the organic-rich sediments that contain the archaeological finds represent a transition between the underlying clastic sediments deposited during colder conditions and the overlying lignite that was deposited during warm climatic conditions as reported in previous studies.

We present a 6000-year-long record tracing hydroclimate changes in SW Greece, based on hydrogen isotope composition of aquatic plant-derived n-C-23 alkanes (D-C23) in a sediment core from the Messenian plain, Peloponnese. The D-C23 record co-varies with other eastern Mediterranean records, suggesting relatively wetter conditions c. 6-4.5ka, followed by progressively drier conditions leading up to maximum aridity c. 2.8 ka. This arid phase was interrupted by a shift in D-C23 between 3.3 and 3.1ka inferring wetter conditions and/or tentative responses to anthropogenic water regulating activities during the Late Bronze Age. After 2.7ka, a return to more humid conditions was followed by increased dryness and stronger seasonality contrasts from c. 2.0ka. The D-C23 record shows three short-lived excursions (5.7, 5.3, 2.8ka), where isotope values dropped by >20 parts per thousand and immediately stabilized again. The events were paralleled by abrupt increases in sedimentation rates. We hypothesize that the isotopic shifts represent a response to mixing of ground water systems during tectonic events, followed by sealing of seismically derived cracks in the active fault. The outcome of the study is promising for future expansion of isotope-based proxies on sediments in the region, to reconstruct both hydroclimate and past seismic activity.