A new species of Cheironitis van Lansberge, 1875 from Jordan (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Onitini)

The genus Cheironitis van Lansberge, 1875, currently contains 23 species from the Old World. During a survey for dung beetles in Jordan, specimens of an undescribed species were collected at the historical site of Petra. A new species of Cheironitis (C. petraensis sp. n.) is described from the historical site of Petra, Jordan, illustrated and compared with its most closely related species. This new species is reminiscent of the African species of Cheironitis living in savannahs and could represent a relictual species of the mid-Holocene climatic optimum.

Melt in the Greenland EastGRIP ice core reveals Holocene warming events

We present a record of melt events obtained from the EastGRIP ice core, in central north eastern Greenland, covering the largest part of the Holocene. The data were acquired visually using an optical dark-field line scanner. We detect and describe bubble free layers and -lenses throughout the ice above the bubble-clathrate transition, located at 1100 m in the EastGRIP ice core, corresponding to an age of 9720 years b2k. We distinguish between melt layers (bubble free layers continuous over the width of the core), melt lenses (discontinuous), crusts (thin and sharp bubble free layers) and attribute three levels of confidence to each of these, depending on how clearly they are identified. Our record of melt events shows a large, distinct peak around 1014 years b2k (986 CE) and a broad peak around 7000 years b2k corresponding to the Holocene Climatic Optimum. We analyze melt layer thicknesses and correct for ice thinning, we account for missing layers due to core breaks, and ignore layers thinner than 1.5 mm. We define the brittle zone in the EastGRIP ice core from 650 m to 950 m depth, where we count on average more than three core breaks per meter. In total we can identify approximately 831 mm of melt (corrected for thinning) over the past 10,000 years. We compare our melt layer record to the GISP2 and Renland melt layer records. Our climatic interpretation matches well with the Little Ice Age, the Medieval and Roman Warm Periods, the Holocene Climatic Optimum, and the 8.2 kyr event. We also compare the most recent 2500 years to a tree ring composite and find an overlap between melt events and tree ring anomalies indicating warm summers. We open the discussion for sloping bubble free layers (tilt angle off horizontal > 10°) being the effect of rheology and not climate. We also discuss our melt layers in connection to a coffee experiment (coffee as a colored substitute for melt infiltration into the snow pack) and the real time observations of the 2012 CE rain event at NEEM. We find that the melt event from 986 CE is most likely a large rain event, similar to 2012 CE, and that these two events are unprecedented throughout the Holocene. Furthermore, we suggest that the warm summer of 986 CE, with the exceptional melt event, was the trigger for the first Viking voyages to sail from Iceland to Greenland.

LANDSCAPES OF THE BELARUSIAN POLESIE EASTERN AREA DURING THE CLIMATIC OPTIMUM OF THE MURAVIAN INTERGLACIAL

The paleolandscapes existed in the eastern area of the Belarusian Polesie region during the climatic optimum of the Muravian Interglacial were reconstructed. This work was based on the paleogeomorphological chart compiled with the core data of boreholes located in the investigation area, the composition of sediments, an approximate depth to the groundwater table, as well as on the evidences of the flora and vegetation in the warmest phase of the Muravian Interglacial obtained as a result of the palynological studies of the relevant sediments. The data available suggest that the flat landscapes of the temperate continental broad-leaved forest type existed in the investigation area at that time. This type landscapes are divided into 6 groups including 14 kinds and 10 varieties. The represented chart of the paleolandscapes reflects an absolute predominance of the broad-leaved forests, but in contrast to the western part of the Belarusian Polesie with a lesser participation of the West European species peculiar to the areas with the warmer oceanic climate. The completed reconstructions can be used to forecast the possible future landscape changes on the Belarusian Polesie region under the global warming conditions, which can exceed the parameters of the Holocene climatic optimum and reach the climax of the Muravian interglacial.

Recently exposed subglacial carbonate deposits at the retreating Triglav Glacier, Slovenia

<p>Subglacial carbonate deposits have been exposed on the lee sides of small protuberances on a bare polished and striated limestone bedrock surface in the immediate vicinity of the retreating Triglav Glacier in southeastern Alps. They are fluted and furrowed crust-like deposits generally around 5 mm thick and characterized by brownish, greyish or yellowish colour. The deposits are generally around 0.5 cm in thickness and internally laminated. They offer a unique opportunity to gain additional knowledge of the past glacier’s behaviour and consequently the characteristics of the past climate which is essential to understand and predict future changes. Currently, the known extent and behaviour of the Triglav Glacier spans from the present to the Little Ice Age, the cool-climate anomaly between the Late Middle Ages and the mid-19th century, and is based on geomorphological remnants, historical records, and systematic monitoring. However, the preliminary uranium-thorium (U-Th) ages of the subglacial carbonates yielded considerably old ages: 23.62 ka ± 0.78 ka, 18.45 ka ± 0.70 ka and 12.72 ka ± 0.28 ka; the results indicate that these subglacial carbonate dates fall within the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the Younger Dryas (YD).</p><p>The Triglav Glacier has generally been viewed as relict of the LIA, with discontinuous presence due to the Holocene Climatic Optimum, a period of high insolation and generally warmer climate between 11,000 and 5,000 years BP. Present chemical denudation rates of carbonate rocks in Alpine and temperate climate vary from ca. 0.009 to 0.140 mm/year. Taking the low and high extreme values for, e.g., 6 ka during the Holocene Climatic Optimum, the denudation in the Triglav area would be between 54 and 840 mm, so the exposed 5 mm thick subglacial carbonate would have already been denuded if exposed in the past. In addition, carbonate surfaces in periglacial areas are additionally exposed to frost weathering, promoting disintegration of depositional features. And lastly, glaciers cause pronounced erosion and in case of just a short-term retreat beyond the subglacial carbonates, the re-advance of the glacier would likely abrade the deposits. Therefore, had the subglacial carbonate deposits been exposed in the past, they should have been eroded by chemical denudation, frost weathering, or erosion at the onset of individual Holocene glacial expansion episodes, such as the LIA. May the presence of subglacial carbonates dated to the LGM and the YD at the Triglav Glacier suggest the continuous existence of the glacier throughout all but the latest Holocene?</p>

A landsystems approach to understanding the evolution of ice-cored topography and distribution of retrogressive thaw slumps, western Canadian Arctic

<p>The landscape of the Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands, western Canadian Arctic is dominated by glacial and geocryological processes that have modified, imprinted and sculpted the surface, depositing surficial materials upon underlying bedrock. Climate warming continues in this region at a rate that is twice the global average, and retrogressive thaw slump (RTS) activity is increasing. Recently, RTS distribution was associated with glacial limits reached by the Laurentide Ice Sheet and corresponding morainal deposits, but RTS are common in other local terrain units. In this glacial-marginal region, permafrost existed pre-glacially, and non-glacial geomorphic processes occurred throughout the Late Quaternary. Superimposed on these conditions are the effects of thermokarst during the Holocene climatic optimum, followed by a period of cooling. Collectively, these processes and associated forms and deposits have contributed variously to preservation, development, or degradation of permafrost and ground ice. The multifaceted Late Quaternary history in this region has impeded understanding of the distributions of ice-cored topography and RTS. For example, rather than glaciogenic ice, the long reigning regional model for ice-cored topography is according to post-glacial development of intrasedimental segregation-intrusion ice. Toward better understanding the evolution of the whole landscape and the distribution of climate-sensitive terrain, we use a landsystems approach as a means to understand how the ice-cored topography developed where RTS form, through analysing the cryostratigraphy. To this end, we identify 6 RTS representing a suite of ice-cored topographic settings, including: (i) preserved basal glacial ice facies within clayey diamict that has been thrusted and folded by glacial push representing morainal deposits of the Sitidgi Stade; (ii) ice contact outwash sediments associated with the Sitidgi Stade, overlying a thermo-erosional contact with underlying basal glacial icy diamict of the Toker Point Stade; (iii) deformed basal glacial ice, eroded down by meltwater-deposited outwash sands some time between the Toker Point and Sitidgi Stades (could be ca. 12.9 kyr BP); (iv) massive, undeformed segregation-intrusion basal ice, likely formed subglacially by freezing of intrasedimental water in pre-existing Pleistocene sands into the base of the glacier, overlain by glacial diamicton;  (v) deformed basal ice facies of intermediate Toker Point – Sitidgi Stades, with an upper layer that may be supra-glacial melt-out till into which segregated ice formed; and (vi) segregation ice that formed as permafrost aggraded into glaciolacustrine clays deposited in proglacial or glacially dammed basins, that was subsequently eroded down by glaciofluvial outwash (Sitidgi Stade). To summarize, the distribution of RTS reflects primarily the distribution of icy basal glacial diamict preserved in moraines, but also basal ice and icy basal diamict that are preserved beneath glaciofluvial deposits, segregation ice in glaciolacustrine deposits, and massive segregation-intrusion ice in Pleistocene sands beneath a till plain.</p>

Demographic expansion of an African opportunistic carnivore during the Neolithic revolution

The diffusion of Neolithic technology together with the Holocene Climatic Optimum fostered the spread of human settlements and pastoral activities in North Africa, resulting in profound and enduring consequences for the dynamics of species, communities and landscapes. Here, we investigate the demographic history of the African wolf ( Canis lupaster ), a recently recognized canid species, to understand if demographic trends of this generalist and opportunistic carnivore reflect the increase in food availability that emerged after the arrival of the Neolithic economy in North Africa. We screened nuclear and mitochondrial DNA in samples collected throughout Algeria and Tunisia, and implemented coalescent approaches to estimate the variation of effective population sizes from present to ancestral time. We have found consistent evidence supporting the hypothesis that the African wolf population experienced a meaningful expansion concurring with a period of rapid population expansion of domesticates linked to the advent of agricultural practices.