Abstract: Analysis of aeolo-marine dust deposits in the subtropical eastern Atlantic enables the strength of the major wind patterns during the late Quaternary to be evaluated and gives an insight into the climate of North Africa.

Abstract: Uranium-series dating of corals from marine deposits of the U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain coupled with paleoclimatic reconstructions based on ostracode (marine) and pollen (continent) data document at least five relatively warm intervals during the last 500,000 years. On the basis of multiple paleoenvironmental criteria, we determined relative sea level positions during the warm intervals, relative to present mean sea level, were 7 ± 5 meters at 188,000 years ago, 7.5 ± 1.5 meters at 120,000 years ago, 6.5 ± 3.5 meters at 94,000 years ago, and 7 ± 3 meters at 72,000 years ago. The composite sea level chronology for the Atlantic Coastal Plain is inconsistent with independent estimates of eustatic sea level positions during interglacial intervals of the last 200,000 years. Hydroisostatic adjustment from glacial-interglacial sea level fluctuations, lithospheric flexure, and isostatic uplift from sediment unloading due to erosion provide possible mechanisms to account for the discrepancies. Alternatively, current eustatic sea level estimates for the middle and late Quaternary may require revision.

Abstract: Bermuda is a stable, mid-oceanic carbonate platform for which a particularly complete record of sea level fluctuation during the period ∼135–70 kyr has been reconstructed from 230Th/234U dating of corals and speleothems, amino acid racemization dating of molluscs, and a reinterpretation of geological field relations. During the past 5 yr Bermuda has been the focus of an extensive geochronological programme which has included a detailed re-examination of the geology (to be reported elsewhere1–3). Here we focus only on the latest interglacial sequence. We use the stratigraphie nomenclature of Land et al.4, but will present new age data and interpretations of geological relationships. This information, as it relates to the last interglacial period, is given in Tables 1 and 2 and summarized in Fig. 1. We show that during the last interglacial period, sea level was only above its present level for a few thousand years at about 125 kyr when it stood at +4 to +6m. At ∼105 and ∼85 kyr, sea level rose to between −15 and −20 m as constrained by ages for submerged speleothems and eolianites. At ∼95 kyr sea level in Bermuda was at least −15 m below present level.

Abstract: A specific orbital configuration—high obliquity combined with the June perihelion—marked the beginning of the past three interglacials. This suggests that the primary cause of the glacial cycle may be astronomical. An astronomical climate index (ACLIN) is introduced which combines the three orbital variables in the time-lag bivariant model designed to predict the major climate changes in the late and middle Pleistocene, and in the near future. ACLIN closely correlates with the major climatic events revealed by independently dated proxy climate indicators of the past 130,000 yr. It successfully differentiates the interglacials, and displays a 100,000-yr periodicity. It predicts an early end of the present inter glacial and the start of a new one in 114,000 yr.

Abstract: The evidence from analysis of cores from lake sediments is used to identify the influences which, acting through time, have brought about changes in the lakes of the English Lake District. These are: i. climatic changes, recorded mainly in microfossil assemblages ii. soil dynamics on catchments — the natural soil development of an interglacial cycle and its effect on water composition, and iii. perturbations of input resulting from activities of man.

Abstract: Pollen analysis of a 115-m sediment core from Clear Lake, Lake County, California, provides a climatic record that is continuous for the past 130,000 yr. The pollen record reflects migrations of the tree species of the California Coast Ranges in response to the climatic changes of the last glacial cycle. During interglacials, the Clear Lake pollen rain was dominated by Quercus (oak) pollen. During cooler periods, oak pollen was replaced by pollen of coniferous species. The curve for Quercus pollen strongly resembles and is used to correlate with both deep-sea oxygen-isotope curves and the climatic record from certain European pollen studies.

Abstract: Emerged Pliocene and Pleistocene shorelines and associated marine deposits were used to determine the magnitude and rate of vertical crustal movement during the past 3 m.y. in the United States Atlantic Coastal Plain of South and North Carolina. On the basis of a new regional ostracode assemblage zonation, planktic biostratigraphic data, and radiometric data, emerged marine deposits were determined to be primarily interglacial and can tentatively be correlated with hemispheric warm intervals in evidence from deep-sea data. The paleontologic evidence indicates a primary glacio-eustatic component to the local sea-level record and a secondary tectonic component. Net vertical uplift rates averaging 1 to 3 cm/1,000 yr, but perhaps as high as 5 to 10 cm/1,000 yr, are in evidence for the emerged Coastal Plain. Although details of the timing of regional rheological events remain obscure, the trend of net uplift contrasts with general subsidence rates of about 2 to 4 cm/1,000 yr since the Cretaceous in submerged parts of the continental margin near subsiding sedimentary troughs. Hydro-isostatic crustal response to multiple deglaciation events may have periodically uplifted the coast, but long-term lithospheric flexural upwarping in response to sediment loading offshore is a more plausible mechanism to explain the present positions of shorelines above present mean sea level. A eustatic sea-level model is proposed for interglacial high stands of the past 3.0 m.y.

Abstract: Sediments exposed along the outer coast of the Qivitu Peninsula record the advances and retreats of glaciers in the fiords bordering the peninsula and accompanying sea-level fluctuations during the Quaternary. Seven main lithofacies and 21 subfacies are recognized, based on texture, color, bed thickness and lateral extent, internal structures, and abundance of macrofossils. In contrast to earlier work in the area, the interpretation of lithofacies genesis using a model of fiord glaciomarine sedimentation suggests that all lithofacies are of marine or glaciomarine origin with no evidence of grounded ice extending seaward of the peninsula. The abundance and diversity of benthic foraminifera in selected samples and in situ subarctic molluscs shows that relatively warm water was present along the east Baffin Island coast during several periods of extensive fiord glaciers. Analysis of upward facies transitions in 54 stratigraphic sections suggests that facies sequences are cyclical. These sedimentation cycles are interpreted in terms of glacier-sea-level responses during glacial/interglacial cycles. Detailed relative time control for the lithofacies sequence is provided by time-dependent amino-acid ratios on the common shell fragments in many stratigraphic units. Because the stratigraphic sequence is marked by significant unconformities due to relative sea-level regressions near the end of each glacial sedimentation cycle, amino-acid ratios on molluscs contemporaneous with particular cycles are statistically similar and distinct from ratios for older and younger cycles. Thus, although few stratigraphic units can be physically traced for more than 0.5 km, aminozones based on groups of animo-acid ratios allow chronocorrelation and relative dating of units in each sedimentation cycle. The Qivitu stratigraphic sequence is divided into two formations consisting of a total of seven members for which formal names are proposed. Sediments predating the two most recent interglacials are lithologically similar to later beds, suggesting that events during these earlier periods were of the same character as those of later glacial/interglacial cycles. Biostratigraphic evidence suggests that a relatively mild climate prevailed in this region during the Clyde and Ayr Lake glaciations and intervening Cape Broughton aquatherm. The Quajon interstade is correlative With the marine sediments deposited near the end of the Ayr Lake glaciation rather than the Cape Broughton aquatherm. Soil horizons indicate regressions at the end of the Cape Broughton aquatherm and Ayr Lake glaciation, and pollen assemblages suggest that the terrestrial climate may have been warmer than the present climate. A reinterpretation of U-series dates and amino-acid ratios on shells suggests that the Cape Broughton aquatherm and earlier events predate marine oxygen-isotope substage 5e. The Ayr Lake glaciation may have occurred well before the major interglacial-glacial transition in more temperate latitudes, but evidence from ocean cores in the North Atlantic and ice cores from Greenland and Devon Island supports the interpretation of warm-water incursions into Baffin Bay during this ice advance following substage 5e. By inference, relative sea level during the period following the Ary Lake glaciation was lower than present sea level, and glacier extent was restricted; no evidence of an exceptionally cold, dry climate has been found, however. Distal glaciomarine sediments in the upper coastal cliffs suggest a limited readvance of fiord glaciers prior to the Holocene. Near the beginning of the Holocene (10,000 yr B.P.), warmer water extended into the area as relative sea level fell and subsequently rose again to 15 m about 8,200 yr B.P. Pollen assemblages in peat horizons suggest that during the earliest Holocene, a climate milder than that of the present day existed. Local deposition of eolian and soliflucted sediment may indicat deteriorating climate in late Holocene time.

Abstract: The passalid beetle fauna of seven Guatemalan volcanoes is apparently quite uniform. A given species has a similar altitudinal range on different volcanoes. Of the 14 species, Chondrocephalus purulensis, C. granulifrons, and the flightless Ogyges laevissimus were not found below 1750 m. Dispersal of these species among the volcanoes probably occurred during the Pleistocene glacial periods when temperature depressions caused drops in the altitudinal limits of the montane wet forest and cloud forests allowing them to coalesce from one volcano to the next. The present insular distributions of these high-altitude species are post-glacial (interglacial?) refugia. Little evolutionary divergence has occurred since their isolation.

Abstract: CO2 content of the atmosphere increases between glacial and interglacial times, have been postulated from gas content studies of long ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica. A hypothesis for this increase involves the loss of phosphorous from the sea to the shelf sediments during the early postglacial transgression of sea level, reducing the amount of plant matter formed per unit of upwelled water and thereby increasing the CO2 pressure in surface water and the atmosphere. Evidence in support of this hypothesis is obtained from the 13C results for benthic and planktonic foraminifera. Changes in the difference between warm surface water and mean oceanic δ13C values reflect changes in the oceanic PO4 to ΣCO2 ratio.

Abstract: The glacial deposits of Gondwana are today spread over one whole hemisphere. On the re-assembled Gondwana continents they still occupy an area exceeding that of the Pleistocene glaciation. The onset of the glaciation in the different areas has not yet been dated satisfactorily. The earliest lower and middle Carboniferous glacial beds occur in the Andean belt and in eastern Australia, where high mountains may have existed at that time. During Stephanian-Sakmarian time, when the pole wandered over Antarctica, large ice sheets reached sealevel in all the major depositories. Palaeotopographical reconstructions allow the conclusion that some of the ice centres were supported by uplands which reached altitudes of up to 1,500 m above sealevel. Depending on their palaeotopographical positions the glacigenic sediments exhibit the full facies range to be expected between glaciated uplands and glaciomarine environments. There are indications that ice may have flowed from Africa into the Parana Basin, and from Antarctica into the Great Karoo-Basin and into Australia. At least 12 advances and retreats have been recognized in the Parana Basin. Closer to the ice centres the record is less complete. The retreats were probably more of an interstadial than an interglacial nature. There is some evidence that the final deglaciation proceeded in stages from South America over Africa to Antarctica. The ice centres were fed by moist air from the Pacific Ocean and the Tethys.

Abstract: Recent theoretical modelling1 has suggested that the well documented δD–δ18O relationship for modern meteoric waters may have changed during the Pleistocene glacial periods in response to increased ocean surface air humidity. Here we present isotopic data on fluid inclusions and host speleothem which support this hypothesis. Depositional temperatures can be determined for speleothems formed in equilibrium conditions from the temperature dependence of the calcite–water 18O fractionation by isotopic analysis of both entrapped fluid inclusions and host calcite. Palaeotemperatures for five areas of east-central North America and Bermuda, calculated assuming the present δD–δ18O meteoric water relationship for fluid inclusion waters, are observe dto be too low during late Pleistocene glacial periods, in some instances falling below 0°C. By contrast, interglacial palaeotemperatures are largely equivalent to those in the areas at present. As speleothem deposition cannot occur at subzero temperatures, a possible solution to this dilemma is a shift in the intercept of the meteoric water relationship.

Abstract: Samples from a 120 m deep boring in the Statfjord Field of the northern North Sea revealed mostly glacial Cj age foraminiferal assemblages, some of stadial and some of interstadial character. An assemblage of interglacial character occurred at 52 m below sea floor. This interglacial is called the Statfjord Interglacial and is probably correlatable with the Eemian of northwestern Europe. The boring is divided into eight biostratigraphical units, the paleoecology of which is discussed.

Abstract: The basis for valid paleoecological investigations is a profound know ledge of the evolution of climate. Moreover, paleoclimatological studies enable us — perhaps — to draw conclusions as to the future development of climate, provided the reasons for and the possible periodicity of changes in climate during the past are understood. So paleoclimatology has become an intensively investigated discipline. Of course it should be known whether the solar irradiance is variable or not (WILLSON et al. 1981, KERR 1982), and tectonic uplifting or down- warping may play an important role in the evaluation of possible climatic influences on the biosphere. So it is worthwhile to note that according to VOZOVIK (1976) the mean elevation of the watersheds in the Central Caucasus Mts. increased from late Pliocene times (Lower Akchagyl: 2000 m), and from the very beginning of the Pleistocene (Upper Akchagyl, 2700 m) to the Middle Pleistocene (end of the Apsheron, 3500 m), to 4400 m in recent times. The same topic has been analyzed by ALESHINSKAYA et al. (1976 a,b) in regard of the Tien Shan Mts., in connection with changes in synchronous paleoecological conditions. Other important boundary conditions are the surface areas of the inland ice-masses (for the last glaciation see DENTON and HUGHES 1981; for the whole of the Pleistocene, the continental shelf areas included: GROSVALt) 1983), as well as the changes in the CO2-content of the global atmosphere in an interglacial-glacial-interglacial cycle.

Abstract: During the past few years views about the relative ages and modes of formation of fossil rock platforms and cliffs in Scotland have changed considerably1–3. I suggest further changes here and present a model of rock–platform relationships which involves an interglacial set of platforms, a glacial set, and a late-glacial feature. Interpretations of the glaciation of the Outer Hebrides have recently been completely revised: this revision has major implications for the glaciation of the Inner Hebrides which, in turn, has wider implications.

Abstract: This thesis discusses aspects of the palaeoecology of large predators, including man, during the Upper Pleistocene in Britain, with particular emphasis on predator-prey relationships. Upper Pleistocene is here taken as the Ipswichian (last) interglacial and the Devensian (last) glaciation. In addition to man, the term large predator includes lion, hyaena, wolf, leopard, bear, lynx and wolverine. The primary aim is to predict features of past predator and prey behaviour by integrating the results of modern ethological observations on similar or analogous species with the published evidence of Upper Pleistocene environments deduced from botanical, sedimentological and geomorphological investigations, and thus to extract information on trends in predator ecology and predator-prey relationships between the Ipswichian and Devensian. The study also examines the possibility that interpretations of human activity in Upper Pleistocene Britain have been founded largely on material accumulated by hyaenas, and discusses the value of examining past human behaviour from an ecological perspective in which man is regarded as one predator among many. The predictions of past behaviour are tested on vertebrate remains recovered from Upper Pleistocene deposits and how available in numerous museum collections. Much of the material derives from hyaena-accumulated bone assemblages in caves, and holds a potential wealth of information on the behaviour of this species and its predatory and scavenging activities. It is argued that the broad scope of the enquiry overcomes the shortcomings of this material which result from inadequate standards of recovery, recording and curation. The major conclusions reached in the study are: 1. That man and large mammals were seasonal occupants of Devensian Britain, on the evidence of reindeer antler remains, bear specimens in hyaena-accumulated assemblages and an analysis of tooth wear in horses. 2. That Ipswichian hyaenas found conditions more arduous than their Devensian counterparts, and may have died out at the end of Zone II of the interglacial, on the evidence of hyaena mortalities and the extent of bone consumption in hyaena-accumulated assemblages of the period. 3. That Devensian hyaenas did not tend to kill horses but instead scavenged their remains, most probably from lion kills, in view of the evidence for sexual parity in samples of horse teeth. 4. That much of the vertebrate material associated with Upper Palaeolithic industries and taken to show evidence of human economic activities is indeed the result of hyaena bone-accumulation, on the basis of comparisons with modern hyaena behaviour, and therefore inadmissable. 5. That an integration of present results with those from Europe and other parts of the world suggests that the importance of man as a member of the Pleistocene fauna may have been overemphasised.

Abstract: An assemblage of hermatypic scleractinian corals occurring landwards of the Pleistocene sandy Inner Barrier system has been referred to the last interglacial period. It comprises at least 20 species, many of which are in growth position, and is accompanied by a substantial association of molluscans. The richness of the assemblage is indicative of good access of oceanic waters at the time of its formation, so the deposit predates barrier emplacement. The coral occurrences are compared with present-day southern ranges of the scleractinian species (all extant), and the implications for climatic and sea-level conditions in the last interglacial are discussed. A sea-level stand of 4–6 m above that at present obtaining (in accord with Marshall & Thom, 1976) and a climatic shift towards a cooler regime equivalent to a minimum of 2° of latitude are concluded.

Abstract: SUMMARY Kirkdale Cave, discovered in 1821, has a special place in British palaeontology, as William Buckland’s first, and classic, fossil hyaena den. Since Buckland’s time there has been no comprehensive re-examination of all the surviving mammalian fossils from this important site. Hitherto the Kirkdale species list has apparently shown puzzling anomalies, including a mixture of cold (glacial) and warm (interglacial) species within a single thin cave-earth. All of the surviving Kirkdale Cave material that could be traced has now been re-examined, and a revised faunal list is given. Eighteen species are identified, four more species are doubtfully recorded, and twenty-seven rejected as erroneous or synonyms. The latter include Homo sapiens, Ursus spelaeus, Mammuthus primigenius, Rangifer tarandus and Coelodonta antiquitatis, The material is indicative of a single, homogenous faunal assemblage, which includes Vulpes vulpes, ‘Panthera’ cf. leo, Crocuta crocuta spelea, Elephas antiquus, Hippopotamus amphibius, Bison cf.priscus and the interglacial rhinoceros, Dicerorhinus hemitoechus. The assemblage is attributed to the climatic optimum (Zone II) of the Ipswichian interglacial.

Abstract: Deposits representative of two climatic optima of· the, Mazovian Interglacial, (Mindel II /Riss I ) occur in post-glacial paleolakes (Ferdynandow, Podgorze) and paleovalleys (Syrniki) in the middle Vistula basin. As judged after their paleogeomorphologic and lithostratigraphic analysis, the lower optimum of the Mazovian Interglacial can be correlated with the lower part ( Lh 1 ) of the Likhvin Interglacial, and the upper optimum with the Holstein Interglacial. Younger organogenic deposits, underlying the till of the Odranian Glaciation (Riss l ), are attributed to the anaglacial part of that glaciation.

Abstract: An IIASA Executive Report based on and IIASA research report by H. Flohn, who has taken a paleoclimatic approach to gaining insights into the implications of global warming produced by he burning of fossil fuels. Using the most reliable radiation models for the relation between carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere and temperature, Flohn selects thresholds of temperature increase, which he then speculates would produce climatic conditions similar to those of earlier periods in the earth's history. He establishes a four-part scenario. An increase in the global average surface temperature (GAST) of 1 degree C, which could occur around 2000-2010 at the projected rate of fossil fuel consumption, would correspond to the GAST 1,000 years ago during the early middle ages. Warming of 1.5 degrees C could occur around 2005-2030, mimicking conditions 6000 years ago at the peak of the Holocene period. Warming of 2.5 degrees C is considered possible around 2020-2050, corresponding to the last interglacial period 120,000 years ago. Finally, an increase of the GAST by 4 degrees C could be reached 2040-2080, producing conditions that occurred during the late Tertiary Period from 2.5 to 12 million years ago, a remarkable epoch when the North Pole became ice free while the South Pole remained glaciated. The Executive Report briefly describe what is known and generally assumed about the climate of the earth during each of the four periods.

Abstract: A study of marine and freshwater swamp deposits and landforms in northwestern Tasmania reveals that profound palaeoenvironmental changes occurred during the late Quaternary as a consequence of eustatic sea level changes, tectonic and/or hydro-isostatic uplift, and palaeoclimatic changes. Prograded bay sand barriers and lagoonal inlets constitute the most complex and extensively developed Holocene landforms and deposits on this coast. The barriers clearly depict marine transgression, followed by a major phase of barrier progradation and an episode of blowout and parabolic dune development. In the lagoonal inlets, the effects of strong tidal current action, halophytic vegetation, and wave and wind action have resulted in the development of distinctive depositional environments and landforms. Pre-Holocene depositional marine landforms and sand deposits which locally contain a well-preserved fauna of mollusca and foraminifera, and fossil shore platforms covered with beach cobble deposits occur extensively in the area. These deposits occur from below sea level up to 15 to 20 m. The local and wider stratigraphic relationships of the marine material in relation to glacial, freshwater and aeolian deposits, and the 14c dating of some of these deposits consistently point to a Last Interglacial age for the fossil marine features.Oxygen isotope and chronostratigraphic studies elsewhere suggest that the maximum level attained by the sea during the Last Interglacial transgression was 5 to 10 m above present sea level. Although there is presently no direct evidence for or information on tectonic deformation or theoretically calculated data on hydro-isostatic deformation in northwestern Tasmania or elsewhere on the island, the higher levels recorded in this study suggest that such uplift and deformation occurred in the area during the late Quaternary. Stratigraphic, sedimentary, palynologic, faunal, and conventiona l and isotopically enriched 1~C analysis of the swamp and lacustrine deposits formed under the influence of fluctuating artesian springs provides evidence from which a general pal aeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic record of approximately 100,000 years may be constructed. During the Holocene Stage (10,000-0 BP) climate was warm and wet, and woody vegetation was dominant throughout the area. Locally, sand lunettes developed along lee shores of shallow lagoons. During the late Last Glacial Stage (25,000-10,000 BP) the climate became progressively drier and grassy open environments were more widespread. The driest part of this period occurred between~ 17,000 and 10,000 BP, when spring activity was very low and temperatures in western Tasmania were markedly reduced by highland glaciation. Predominantly wet conditions resulting from high precipitation and/or low evaporation rates occurred during the middle Last Glacial Stage (25,000-50,000 BP). The wettest part of this period occurred after about 35,000 BP during which the springs were very active, and extensive deposition of coarse river bed loads and alluvial fan gravels occurred elsewhere in the area. Considerably drier conditions occurred between approximately 55,000 and 45,000 BP during which woody vegetation was much more important than herbaceous vegetation and aquatic vegetation was virtually absent from the swamps. Prior to-55,000 BP, predominantly wet conditions prevailed on the swamps. These were periodically interrupted by relatively brief, drier phases during which woody scrub communities were somewhat more important and herbaceous and aquatic communities were less important than during the preceding and succeeding periods of the early Last Glacial Stage. The direction of general climatic changes presented in this dissertation appears to be broadly sympathetic with climatic changes inferred from other southern Australian localities.

Abstract: A regional study of the Quaternary geomorphology of coastal northeastern Tasmania defined landforms and deposits which offer good groundwater development potential, and also pointed to geomorphic problems worthy of more detailed research. Marine transgression and regression appear to have been a main feature of landform development in coastal northeastern Tasmania since Late Tertiary times. The present landscape is dominated by low, sandy plains created during the Last Interglacial marine transgression and by aeolian landforms which were formed during the succeeding glacial stage. The immediate coastal areas are backed by marine and aeolian landforms deposited during and since the marine transgression. The regional study revealed that deposits of possible marine origin and interglacial age, occur to an elevation of approximately 32 m. This is — 10 m above the upper limits of similar deposits elsewhere in Tasmania and is — 26 in higher than equivalent features in stable areas of mainland Australia. These relationships indicated that tectonic uplift in Tasmania may have occurred during the late Quaternary. Further research indicated that the sea level in northeastern Tasmania most likely attained an elevation of — 32 in during the Last Interglacial Stage, and that the area has experienced a moderate uplift rate of approximately 0.2 m/ka. The stratigraphic relationships between Quaternary marine deposits also indicate that older, probably of Oxygen Isotope Stages 7 and 9 age, marine deposits occur to 49 and 71 in respectively, thus indicating that uplift in Tasmania has been occurring over at least 300,000 years. Mapping and examination of the extensive longitudinal dunes and lunettes during initial stages of the programme indicated that they are products of environmental conditions substantially different from those of today. Dune morphology and grainsize characteristics suggest that zonal westerly air flows appear to have been stronger and from a slightly more northerly direction during the Last Glacial Stage than air flows which occur today. Stratigraphic studies infer that the temperature was markedly lower during formation of the longitudinal dunes. Evidence from fossil groundwater podzols indicates that precipitation during the Last Glacial Stage may have been only approximately one half of the present rainfall. Lunette stratigraphy and morphology reveal shifts in the relative importance of key components to the hydrologic cycle, such as precipitation, evapotranspiration and surface run-off, both during and since the late Last Glacial Stage. The coastal plains of interglacial marine sand form extensive unconfined aquifers and contain Abundant and accessible groundwater supplies. Computer and graphical simulations are applied to pumping test and drilling results, water table maps and continuous water level records to assess the groundwater system. Groundwater dynamics are controlled principally by precipitation and evapotranspiration. The system is renewable and moderate rates of groundwater withdrawal may even be beneficial.

Abstract: A. T. Wilson proposed that the Last Interglacial ended with an ice-surge in Antarctica which would have raised ocean-level to about 15 m above present, and J. T. Hollin has collected evidence for a transgression higher than the peak of the interglacial under cold conditions, especially indicated by pollen, between Latitude 40° and 55° N. The surge was at first thought to have occurred at the end of Eem I about 120000 B.P., but Hollin now proposes the end of Eem II about 95000 B.P. This paper first discusses the sequence and chronology of the Last Interglacial, and then investigates geological and biological evidence for a marine transgression in the later part of the Eemian Interglacial in the South Cape, which faces Antarctica and so should be noticeably affected by ice-movements there. Around Port Elizabeth there was a transgression to + 18 m, leaving gravels which contain Late Acheulian artefacts, which according to recent evidence must be older than the Last Interglacial. After a regression, there was a second transgression to about +9 m, which has left estuarine beds with abundant warm-water and tropical molluscs, now extinct so far south; in places there are Middle Stone Age artefacts. Two sites have yielded specimens of this fauna at more than + 12 m. Racemisation-tests on molluscs from the +6-9 and the 12+ m beds show that the latter were considerably younger than the former, though it is not at present possible to obtain absolute dates by this method. The geological evidence is then reviewed for a transgression to + 12-+ 15 m around South Africa; molluscs are not indicative elsewhere. There is no sign of this transgression elsewhere in the South Cape and in Natal, little evidence at Langebaan Lagoon, a few doubtful sites in South West Africa (Namibia) and rather better evidence in Zululand. In general, the indications of such a transgression are poor; but it is not easy to explain the racemisation-figures from Port Elizabeth, and detailed investigation may reveal further sites where a short transgression took place, followed by a regression as expanding ice-sheets increased the albedo of the earth.

Abstract: The Late Pleistocene period in Central Japan is subdivided into the following four periods based on climatic changes.(1) Last interglacial: R/W Interglacial (before 65, 000yr.B.P.)This period is characterized by the dominance of the elements of temperate coniferous forest, including Cryptomeria, and deciduous broad-leaved trees, including Fagus. The climate is estimated to have been warmer and wetter than that of the present.(2) Early Wurm Glacial (from 65, 000 to 55, 000yr.B.P.)In the early half of this period, two interstadials are inferred by the dominance of the elements of temperate coniferous forest, including Cryptomeria, Sciadopitys, Ulmus-Zelkova and Corylus. The later half of this period is characterized by the subarctic forest which is estimated to have been 5°C to 6°C lower than present in average annual temperature.(3) Middle Wurm Glacial (from 55, 000 to 25, 000yr.B.P.)Cool climate prevailed throughout this period, intervening a remarkable warm climate which reached a maximum about 37, 000 years ago. In Nobi coastal plain, the Atsuta Surface was formed by the transgression during the warm climate.(4) Late Wurm Glacial (from 25, 000 to 10, 000yr.B.P.)This period was dominated by subarctic forest. Periglacial agency acted at places higher than 1, 000m above sea-level in the Kiso valley during the early half of this period.