In this study, we assess charcoal records from eolian deposits within the Cooloola Sand Mass, a subtropical coastal dune system in eastern Australia, to determine whether they can be used as a proxy for Holocene fire history. We excavate four profiles in depositional wedges at the base of dune slipfaces (footslope deposits) and calculate charcoal concentrations for three size classes (180–250 μm, 250–355 μm, and 355 μm–2 mm) at predetermined depth intervals. Age–depth models are constructed for each profile using radiocarbon measurements (n = 46) and basal optically stimulated luminescence ages (n = 4). All records appear intact with little evidence of postdepositional mixing as demonstrated by minimal age reversals and consistent trends in charcoal concentration and accumulation rates (CHAR) among size classes. Combining all four records, we generate a ca. 7 cal ka BP terrestrial fire history that depicts distinct peaks representing periods of increased local fire activity at <0.3, 1.1–0.4, 2.2–1.6, 3.4–2.6, and 6.7–5.3 cal ka BP. Our findings parallel regional records and highlight the utility of dune footslopes as ecological and sedimentary archives. As dune fields are much more common than wetlands and lakes in semiarid and arid areas, these deposits have the potential to increase the spatial resolution of fire records globally.

Located at the interface between the temperate westerly and sub-tropical climate systems, South Africa's winter rainfall zone (WRZ) is a key location in understanding Late Quaternary atmospheric circulation dynamics. Inactive eolian deposits in the WRZ, comprising pan-fringing lunette and coastal dunes, were investigated to establish their depositional ages and utility as paleoenvironmental indicators. The resulting optical luminescence chronology reveals episodic lunette accretion at 60,000–45,000 yr, 12,000–13,000 yr, 2800–2600 yr, 1200 yr, and <1000 yr, with coastal dune ages clustering at 4100–4700 yr.

Episodes of lunette and coastal dune accretion on the Agulhas Plain are temporally distinct, reflecting differing fundamental controls on their activity. Comparisons to previously published data also reveal that the lunettes differ in age from more ancient coastal eolianites. Lunette deposition is asynchronous between locations, reflecting the topographic and hydrological setting of the individual pans. In near-coastal settings, with limited surface recharge, lunette accretion appears to be at least partially controlled by sea level induced changes in groundwater levels. Those pans with more significant surface recharge (particularly from fluvial systems) may produce less ambiguous paleoenvironmental records, with pan status more strongly reflecting regional hydrological conditions. Lunette orientation is indicative of strong westerly winds during both the Pleistocene and Holocene. Lunette accretion would have been promoted by reduced on-shore moisture transport during the summer months, enhancing rainfall seasonality. Such conditions would have been promoted by increased continentality as the Agulhas Bank was exposed during low sea level stands.

Eighteen radiocarbon-dated eolian and paleosol profiles within a 1500-km-long belt along the arid to semi-arid transition zone of north-central China record variations in the extent and strength of the East Asian summer monsoon during the Holocene. Dated paleosols and peat layers represent intervals when the zone was dominated by a mild, moist summer monsoon climate that favored pedogenesis and peat accumulation. Brief intervals of enhanced eolian activity that resulted in the deposition of loess and eolian sand were times when strengthened winter monsoon conditions produced a colder, drier climate. The monsoon variations correlate closely with variations in North Atlantic drift-ice tracers that represent episodic advection of drift ice and cold polar surface water southward and eastward into warmer subpolar water. The correspondence of these records over the full span of Holocene time implies a close relationship between North Atlantic climate and the monsoon climate of central China.