Uncalibrated radiocarbon data from core PLC92B taken from Wizards Cove in the Pyramid Lake subbasin indicate that the Trego Hot Springs and Wono tephra layers were deposited 23,200 ± 300 and 27,300 ± 30014C yr B.P. (uncorrected for reservoir effect). Sedimentological data from sites in the Pyramid Lake and Smoke Creek–Black Rock Desert subbasins indicate that the Trego Hot Springs tephra layer was deposited during a relatively dry period when Pyramid Lake was at or below its spill point (1177 m) to the Winnemucca Lake subbasin. The Wono tephra layer was deposited when lake depth was controlled by spill across Emerson Pass sill (1207 m) to the Smoke Creek–Black Rock Desert subbasin.18O data from core PLC92B also support the concept that the Trego Hot Springs tephra fell into a relatively shallow Pyramid Lake and that the Wono tephra fell into a deeper spilling lake.

Loess and dune sands that mantle volcanic rocks on the northwest flank of Mauna Kea volcano consist predominantly of fine-grained pyroclasts of the alkalic Laupahoehoe Volcanics produced by explosive eruptions. The loess is divided into lower and upper units, separated by a well-developed paleosol, while older and younger dune sands are separated by loess. Four interstratified tephra marker horizons aid in regional stratigraphic correlation. Radiocarbon ages of charcoal fragments within the loess, U-series ages of rhizoliths in the dune sand, and K/Ar ages and relative stratigraphic positions of lava flows provide a stratigraphic and temporal framework. The lower loess overlies lava flows less than 103,000 ± 10,000 K/Ar yr old, and14C dates from the paleosol developed at its top average ca. 48,000 yr. Loess separating the dune sand units ranges from ca. 38,000 to 25,00014C yr old; the youngest ages from the upper loess are 17,000–18,00014C yr B.P. Dips of sand-dune foreset strata, isopachs on the upper loess, and reconstructed isopachs representing cumulative thickness of tephra associated with late-Pleistocene pyroclastic eruptions suggest that vents upslope (upwind) from the sand dunes were the primary source of the eolian sediments. Average paleowind directions during the eruptive interval (ca. 50,000–15,000 yr B.P.), inferred from cinder-cone asymmetry, distribution of tephra units, orientation of dune foreset strata, and the regional pattern of loess isopachs, suggest that Mauna Kea has remained within the trade-wind belt since before the last glaciation.

The record of the biogenic silica flux (BSF, g cm−2(103yr)−1) in Lake Biwa reflects changes in diatom productivity in the lake and provides information regarding changes in paleoclimatic conditions. The BSF record of Lake Biwa demonstrates five periods over the past ca. 145,000 yr when the BSF values were significantly greater than 7.5 g cm−2(103yr)−1, and five intervals when they were lower. The data imply that paleoclimatic conditions were warmer and wetter from ca. 123,000 to 115,000, 103,000 to 95,000, 88,000 to 72,000, 57,000 to 32,000 yr B.P., and around ca. 6000 yr B.P. when the BSF values were greater, and relatively dry and cold from ca. 141,000 to 123,000 yr B.P. and during intervals between two of the five warm and wet episodes when the BSF values were lower. Time series of the BSF record can be correlated with the record of biogenic silica content in Lake Baikal and the marine oxygen isotope stages 1 through 6. Furthermore, the BSF values varied with much higher amplitude during the last interglaciation than during the last glaciation, probably implying that the diatom productivity in Lake Biwa was likewise more variable and had a larger range under interglacial conditions than under glacial conditions.

Deposits of the Tamanduá River contain evidence for four major paleohydrologic stages in the last 33,000 years. A wet period between 33,000 and 20,00014C yr B.P. produced a high water table that allowed organic-rich deposition in the Tamanduá valley. A dry interval 17,000-10,00014C yr B.P. produced sandy deposits of braided channels and alluvial fans. River aggradation during this period probably resulted from a high sediment load promoted by intense slope erosion and from flash floods. A wet period after 10,000 and before 600014C yr B.P. was marked by reduced slope erosion and by high discharge that led to erosion of the valley fill. During that time forests developed widely in Brazil. A drier climate after 600014C yr B.P. caused a reduction of discharge but allowed a high water table to be maintained.

Paleo-hydrologic and -vegetation proxy data from the Tanganyika basin are integrated in energy and water balance equations to infer past evaporation and precipitation during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Our approach is first validated on the modern system. Large variations are assigned to input variables to simulate the interannual precipitation variability. Equations are then applied to the LGM. We first change those input parameters inferred from proxies (basin and lake surfaces, temperature, and land albedo). Our LGM simulation suggests (in percent of modern mean values) decreases in evaporation from the lake [El: −5% (between −13% and +3%)] and land [Ec: −8% (−19/+5)] bodies, in precipitation [P: −11% (−21/0)] and (P − Ec): −42% (−44/−40). Decreases in P and E are amplified [El: −8% (−16/0); Ec: −14% (−24/−2); P: −17% (−26/−6)] when including empirical changes in atmospheric transmission coefficient and Bowen ratio. Sensitivity runs suggest that even large changes in cloud cover and air humidity should not modify these trends. The results suggest that the Earth's glacial/interglacial boundary conditions play a significant role on climate of subequatorial southern Africa.

The Trans-Pecos Closed Basin is a hydrographically closed region covering 20,000 km2centered on Salt Basin, 160 km east of El Paso, Texas. Geomorphic and limnetic evidence have been used to identify four major highstands for Lake King during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Additional geomorphic features from a second, recently identified, paleolake, Lake Sacramento, have been found in the Beargrass subbasin, a nested subbasin approximately 75 km northwest of Salt Basin. Radiocarbon ages of the organic material in Lake King sediments date four abrupt climate changes and rapid lacustrine transgressions during the LGM with a quasi-periodicity of 2000 yr. Geomorphic evidence in the Beargrass subbasin identifies lake cycles contemporaneous with those in Lake King. The dates for these transgressions correlate with the dates of freshening events identified by researchers in paleolake basins elsewhere in New Mexico. The quasi-periodicity of the events approximates that of Dansgaard–Oeschger events identified from Greenland ice cores. The contemporaneity of the Trans-Pecos transgressions with transgressive events in other basins in the region suggests that paleolakes in the region were in phase with respect to abrupt climate changes during the latter stages of the LGM.

Deposits beneath Mubwindi Swamp provide a partial record of vegetation history since at least 43,000 yr ago. We studied pollen from two cores and obtained nine radiocarbon ages from one of these cores and three radiocarbon ages from the other. Pollen deposited before and soon after the last glacial maximum represents vegetation very different from the modern vegetation of the Mubwindi Swamp catchment. Although species now associated with higher altitudes were dominant some elements of moist lower montane forest persisted, possibly because of favorable soils or topography. The pollen data provides evidence for a late glacial montane forest refuge near Mubwindi Swamp. Moist lower montane forest became much more widespread soon after the glacial maximum. The only irrefutably Holocene sediments from Mubwindi Swamp date to the past 2500 yr. During this time a combination of climatic and human-induced changes in vegetation can be seen in the pollen records.

Both aquatic and land snails are common in the geologic record, but their utility in dating is greatly restricted by their well-documented tendency to yield14C dates inconsistent with true14C ages. In this study, we examine the use of14C ages from (1) small, previously unstudied, terrestrial snails to date hosting spring deposits and from (2) cooccuring aquatic snails to constrain groundwater travel times during the last glacial period. Our study area in the southern Great Basin encompasses Yucca Mountain, site of the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository, where information on the age and extent of past high water tables and on groundwater flow times is crucial to several licensing issues. Our results show that shells of small terrestrial snails belonging toValloniasp. yield14C dates consistent with14C ages of associated carbonized wood. These results imply that these taxa can provide reliable14C age control on the broadly distributed deposits in which they have been described. In contrast, cooccurring aquatic snails from fossil spring deposits yield14C ages generally greater than the control age. This is because the aquatic shells often formed in spring waters that had an initial14C deficiency. However, the magnitude of the deficiency is much less than that observed in nearby modern springs, arguing for much higher average14C contents in late Pleistocene groundwaters in these basins. If representative, this implies shorter groundwater travel times through aquifers in southern Nevada during late-glacial time.

Hackberry endocarp (Celtissp.) contains significant amounts (up to 70 wt%) of biogenic carbonate that is nearly pure aragonite (CaCO3). Because of their high mineral content, hackberry endocarps are found abundantly in Tertiary and Quaternary sediments and are very common in many North American archaeological sites. We analyzed the14C content of different components of modern hackberries including the biogenic carbonate in hackberry endocarps collected at known times over the past century. The14C content of the endocarp carbonate accurately records the14C content of the atmosphere.14C dates of fossil endocarp carbonates compared favorably with dates obtained by other means at archaeological and geological sites ranging in age from the late Pleistocene through the early Holocene. We therefore suggest that hackberry endocarp is a suitable substrate for14C dating provided that its morphological and mineralogical integrity is preserved.

We compare alkenone unsaturation ratios measured on recent sediments from the Indian Ocean (20°N–45°S) with modern sea oceanographic parameters. For each of the core sites we estimated average seasonal cycles of sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity, which we then weighted with the seasonal productivity cycle derived from chlorophyll satellite imagery. The unsaturation index (U37K′) ranges from 0.2 to 1 and correlates with water temperature but not with salinity. TheU37K′versus SST relationship for Indian Ocean sediments (U37K′= 0.033 SST + 0.05) is similar to what has been observed for core tops from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and the Black Sea. A global compilation for core tops givesU37K′= 0.031 T + 0.084 (R= 0.98), which is close to a previously reported calibration based on particulate organic matter from the water column. For temperatures between 24° and 29°C, however, the slope seems to decrease to about 0.02U37K′unit/°C. For Indian Ocean core tops, the ratios of total C37alkenones/total C38alkenones and the slope of theU37K′-SST relationship are similar to those previously observed for cultures ofEmiliania huxleyibut different from those previously published forGephyrocapsa oceanica.EitherE. huxleyiis a major producer of alkenones in the Indian Ocean or strains ofG. oceanicaliving in the northern Indian Ocean behave differently from the one cultured. In contrast with coccolithophorid assemblages, the ratios of C37alkenones to total C38alkenones lack clear geographic pattern in the Indian Ocean.

The origin of Washington State's Mima Mounds has been debated for over a century, with numerous mechanisms being postulated. Subfossil Coleopteran (beetle) remains recovered from the base of a mound at Mima Prairie consist of species that would be expected in rodent burrows and nests; all but one species are obligate burrow inhabitants. These results suggest the past presence of fossorial rodents (probably pocket gophers,Thomomys mazama) in the mounds, although none live there at present. Whether or not the gophers created the mounds, they may well have been instrumental in maintaining mound geometry until very recently.