1uarie

ob

:snot

QUATERNARY ENVIRONMENTS: AN INTRODUCTION

Jl n 'y a pas de fait pur; mais toute experience, si objective semble-t-elle, s' enveloppe inivitablement d'un systeme
d'hypothi!.se des que le savant cherche a laformuler.
Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955)
Preface to Le Phi!nomene Humain (1947)

At a time of widespread apprehension over the of Earth history, but is also the time during which we
impact of human activities upon our biosphere and became fully human,
atmosphere, it is helpful to consider the history of One lesson we are slowly learning after the long
past environmental fluctuations and to draw some saga of continuous human interaction with our envi-
relevant lessons from careful study of former human ronment is that we ourselves are an integral part of
interactions with their natural surroundings. At the that same environment, and that we are the custodi-
present tirrie, there is growing concern that the burn- ans rather than the owners of the lands we now
ing of coal and oil over the last 200 years and the inhabit (Suzuki 1990; Ponting 1991; Tolba 1992).
more recent but rapidly accelerating clearance of We return to this theme in the final chapter of this
tropical forests may alter the balance between book when we consider the past, present and possi-
incoming solar radiation and outgoing terrestrial ble future impact of our species upon the air we
radiation in ways as yet hard to predict in detail, but breathe, the water we drink, and the land and the sea
which are more likely to lead to global warming than which sustain the plant and animal life upon which
otherwise. The desire to predict possible future cli- we depend for our survival (Mungall and McLaren
. matic changes likely to be triggered by the anthro- 1991; McMichael 1993; Holland and Petersen 1995;
pogenic increase in the atmospheric concentration of Simmons 1996).
carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other The aims of this book are to examine some of the
greenhouse-enhancing gases has spawned an enor- global environmental fluctuations of the last 2 million
mous literature (see Graedel and Crutzen 1995, and years, to analyse some of the more important evidence
Houghton et al. 1995, 1996, for useful summaries).
These attempts to gaze into the future have also re-
invigorated studies of the geologically recent past, Cainozoic time~scale (Ma BP)
particularly the Quaternary period, which is the topic 0
Qu_aternary
of this book.
1.8
The Quaternary period spans roughly the last 2 Pliocene
million years of geological time (Fig. I.I) and is of 5
critical importance in Earth history. It was during this Miocene
period of remarkably frequent and rapid changes in 22.5
Oligocene
world climate (Fig. 1.2) (Flint 1971; Butzer 1974; 38
West and Sparks 1977; Bowen 1978; Goudie 1983; Eocene
Anderson and Borns 1994; Ehlers 1996) that bipedal, 54
toolmaking, fire-using hominids emerged from Palaeocene
65
Africa and gradually moved out to occupy Eurasia,
Cretaceous
Australia and the Americas, as . well as distant
oceanic islands throughout the globe. The Quater- Fig. 1.1 Cainozoic time-scale (Ma). (Modified from Cowie
nary is thus not simply the coda to 4.5 billion years and Bassett 1989)
2 QUATERNARY ENVIRONMENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

(a) (b)
c w
1960 @ Little Ice Age
;:::g:cw 1700
1500
1300
Last Glacial

1880
1100
@ Last Interglacial
A.O.
0 0.6 900
t.T'C A.O.
1C

(c) (d) (el lee volume

c w c w Max. Min.
---@
@
0.2
10 50

0.4
100
ka BP
@ 0.6
30
kaBPL-----'
-10C Fig._ 1.2 Climatic variability at different
0.8 time-scales during the last 0.9 Ma of the
Ma BP~---~ Quaternary. (Adapted from Australian
~5x10 km
7 3
Academy of Science 1976)

used in reconstructing Quaternary environments
(Bowen 1978; Lowe and Walker 1984; Bradley
1985), and to consider some of the ways in which liv-
ing organisms (including humans) have responded to
past environmental changes. We also believe that a
knowledge of the past, besides being intrinsically
interesting, is also our only real guide to what may
befall us in the future.
PRELUDE TO THE QUATERNARY
An accurate long-term perspective on global climatic
change has now become possible owing to recent
advances in our understanding of world tectonic his-
tory. The combined evidence from deep-sea drilling,
seismic surveys and palaeomagnetic studies has
allowed reconstruction of sea-floor spreading histmy,
and of continental apparent polar-wandering curves.
The data from land and sea are impressive and per-
suasive. The timing of late Cainozoic ice build-up in
the two hemispheres is now reasonably well known,
as are some of the associated changes in oceanic and
atmospheric circulation, which are in tum related to
the origin and expansion of the deserts and the
contraction of the tropical rainforests. A proper
understanding of Quaternary climatic changes there-
fore requires some appreciation of the legacy of the
Tertiary.
The Tertiary and Quaternary periods together
comprise the Cainozoic era and embrace the past
65 million years (Fig. 1.1 ). The present geographical
distribution of land, sea and ice (Fig. 1.3) and of the
corresponding morphoclimatic regions shown in
Fig. 1.4 are the end-product of Mesozoic and Caino-
zoic lithospheric plate movements and sea-floor
spreading. A number of major regional episodes,
including Himalayan uplift, Antarctic ice accumula-
tion, closure of the Panama isthmus, build-up of the
North American ice sheets, intertropical cooling and
desiccation, and expansion of savanna at the expense
of tropical rainforest, were all closely linked with the
global tectonic events of the Tertiary (Ruddiman and
Kutzbach 1991; Quade et al. 1995; Derbyshire 1996;
Liu et al. 1996; Ramstein et al. 1997) and are the
subject of Chapter 2.
QUATERNARY GLACIATIONS
Ice began to accumulate on Antarctica well over 20
million years ago. Ice build-up came much later in
the northern hemisphere, and it was not until 2.4 mil-
lion years ago that major ice sheets began to grow
rapidly in North America. For reasons which remain
obscure, but which appear to be closely related to
cyclical changes in the Earth's orbital path around
the sun and in the tilt of the Earth's axis (Jiang and
 40

20

1 0 160
O Equator

A A
20 20

40
c c

E E E
60 60

TROPICAL RAINY CLIMATES.

Average temperature >18C year-round. No winter season.
Large annual rainfall, exceeds annual precipitation. m SNOWY-FOREST (MlCROTHERMAL) CLIMATES.
Average temperature of coldest month -3C, of warmest month
:erent ~ DRY CLIMATES. > 1oc. Warmest isotherm coincides approximately with poleward
Evaporation exceeds precipitation on average year-round. limit of forest growth.
>f the No water surplus, hence no permanent streams originating
ralian in these zones.
f:::E:::j POLAR CLIMATES.
Average temperature of warmest month <10C.
L'.!9:(:j MILD, HUMID (MESOTHERMAL) CLIMATES. No true summer
Average temperature of coldest month-3C<T<18C. At
least one month wlth temp. >10C.. These zones have both ~ HIGHLAND AREAS
summer and winter seasons.
ether
past Fig. 1.3 Present-day global climates. (After Tricart and Cailleux 1972; Bartholomew et al. 1980; Strahler and Strahler 1987)
'hical
>f the Peltier 1996), the great ice sheets of the northern present levels. These glacio-eustatic sea-level fluc-
n in hemisphere in particular developed a characteristic tuations are analysed in Chapter 6, together with the
aino- cycle of slow build-up to full glacial conditions, fol- influence of isostasy and other tectonic movements
-floor lowed by rapid ice melting and deglaciation. These upon global and local sea-levels (Warrick et al.
odes, topics are the focus of Chapters 3 to 5. 1993)_
nula-
>f the
5 and
Jense QUATERNARY SEA-LEVEL EVIDENCE FROM THE OCEANS
:h the CHANGES
n and Reconstruction of past sea-level fluctuations can
1996; throw useful light on the rate of accumulation and
The larger of the Quaternary ice caps were up to 4 the rate of melting of global ice, but well-dated
e the km thick. As the ice caps slowly built up to attain Quaternary sea-level histories only extend back some
their maximum thickness, the underlying bedrock 250 000 years, so that the first 90% of the record
was progressively depressed beneath the weight of must be sought elsewhere, most notably from deep-
accumulating ice. When the ice melted, the crust sea cores.
slowly rose again to its preglacial leveL These iso- Inferences about changes or fluctuations in ocean
static readjustments to the waxing and waning of the circulation patterns used to depend very largely upon
er 20 great Quaternary ice sheets caused changes in the sedimentological and rnicrofossil studies. Analysis
ter in relative levels of land and sea_ During glacial max- of the oxygen isotopic composition of the calcareous
I mil- ima, roughly 5-5% of the world's water was locked tests of suitable benthonic and planktonic fora-
grow up in the form of ice (the corresponding value today minifera now provides an additional and powerful
~main is 1.7%)_ As the ice sheets grew, so the level of the means of assessing changes in ocean water tempera-
ed to world's oceans fell by up to 150 m, depending upon ture and salinity at depth and near the surface (see
round total ice volume. With deglaciation and rapid melting Chapter 7). After allowing for local effects, it is also
g and of the ice caps, sea-level rose once more to about possible to use this technique to estimate changes in
4 QUATERNARY ENVIRONMENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
60
40
20
01 0 160 140 120 100
20
40
60
wnl Tropical Humid - Rainforest. Rainy climate with no
. . , . winter. Either constantly moist or with monsoon rains.
lllJ'i;'JJ!I Tropical Humid - Savanna. Rainy climate with either
UllJillill a dry summer or winter season.
['] Dry- Desert or Arid climate.
[@] Dry - Steppe or Semi-Arid climate:
Fig. 1.4 Present-day morphoclimatic regions. (Adapted from Tricart and Cailleux 1972; Strahler and Strahler 1987)
global ice volume. Deduced changes in regional sur-
face salinity can also indicate changes in runoff from
major rivers, changes in evaporation, and changes in
the amount of seasonal rainfall (De Deckker 1997).
The record from deep-sea cores has the double
advantage of good global coverage and of spanning
much of the Cainozoic. There are comparatively few
such long, continuous terrestrial records, and those
that do exist are usually confined to particular types
oflake basin. It is still too soon to say whether or not
the long ice cores collected from Antarctica and
Greenland represent a continuous sequence of ice
accumulation, although present evidence seems to
indicate an unbroken record spanning the last inter-
glacial in Greenland and over 50 000 years beyond
that in Antarctica. The Chinese loess record also
appears to provide an unbroken record matching that
of the Greenland ice cores in its remarkable detail
(Porter and An 1995; An and Porter 1997).
RIVERS, LAKES AND
GROUNDWATER
Although the oceanic record can provide unrivalled
information about the pattern and tempo of global
E~
40
20
140 160 1 00
60
'"',, Warmer Humid - Rainy climate with mild winters
IX] {Includes Mediterranean, Humid Subtropical and
Marine West Coast climates).
~ Cooler Humid - Rainy climate with severe winters.
l1l!:.J;I {Includes Continemal Warm and Cool Summer, and
Subarctic climates).
g Polar - Tundra climate.
11
[;EJ Polar - tee Cap. Perpetual frost. ht
:~
d
climatic fluctuations in the Quaternary, it is often af
more useful to know about the direct changes to the Plse
landscape caused by local and regional hydrological
fluctuations. Our increased understanding of the t~
global linkages or teleconnections between historic ci
floods, droughts and sea surface temperature anom- S<
alies, epitomised by the climatic variations associ- r~
ated with El Nino-Southern Oscillation events m
(Allan et al. 1996), demonstrates the very practical ~
relevance of such studies. A further and still unre- st
solved issue is the nature of the interactions between C!
climatic variability (including short-term droughts 0)
and longer-term climatic desiccation) and deserti-
fication processes (Williams and Balling 1996). Such
former hydrological changes are evident in the
Quaternary depositional legacy of rivers large and
small, as well as in the ever-changing response of
lakes to local fluctuations in evaporation, precipita-
tion and groundwater levels. Unfortunately for our
purposes, the alluvial history of most rivers can only
be pieced together from fragmentary and often
poorly dated suites of sediments. However, as Chap-
ter 8 points out, rivers and lakes together can yield
highly informative accounts of how certain regions
responded to the environmental vicissitudes of the
Quaternary, and of how they may well respond in the
future (Costa et al. 1995; Gregory et al. 1995).
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A N INTRODUCTION
EVIDENCE FROM THE DESERTS
A growing body of evidence from deep sea cores,
lake deposits and ice cores shows that times of low-
est world temperature during the Quaternary (glacial
maxima) were times of greatest aridity on land, with
massive export of desert dust offshore, and even to
central Antarctica (Yung et al. 1996). Deserts are
excellent geological and geomorphological muse-
ums, for the very aridity to which they owe their
existence has minimised the destructive impact of
fluvial erosion and has helped to conserve an array of
river, lake and wind-blown deposits. These deposits
sometimes contain remarkably well preserved and
occasionally, as in certain semi-arid rift valleys in
Africa, or the loess plateau in China, a nearly-
continuous fossil vertebrate and invertebrate record
spanning most of the late Pliocene and Quaternary.
Chapter 9 enlarges on these topics.
EVIDENCE FROM NON-MARINE
FLORA AND FAUNA
The emergence of the plants and animals upon which
humans have long depended for food and shelter
took place against the environmental changes of the
late Tertiary and was finally accomplished during the
Quaternary. Changes in the non-marine plant and
)ften animal record provide an invaluable adjunct to the
'the purely physical evidence furnished by landforms and
~ical sediments, and can be used to reconstruct former
the temperature and rainfall fluctuations with great pre-
toric cision and accuracy. Some organisms are inherently
lOm- sensitive to local changes in habitat, and may
;oci- respond rapidly to external disturbance. Perhaps the
rents most versatile and certainly one of the best tested
tic al methods used in Quaternary environmental recon-
1nre- struction is the technique of pollen analysis, which is
veen considered in some detail in Chapter 10, along with
1ghts other more circumscribed techniques.
;erti-
>uch
the
and
HUMAN ORIGINS, INNOVATIONS
:e of AND MIGRATIONS
pita-
. our As the great Quaternary ice caps waxed and waned,
only and deserts expanded and contracted, a small-brained
iften vegetarian hominid left its footprints clearly visible
hap- in a carbonatite ash which was laid down during a
yi eld volcanic eruption near Laetoli in Tanzania nearly 4
~ions million years ago. This creature, Australopithecus
f the afarensis, was fully bipedal, and may well be the
"the ancestor from which later hominids, including the
genus Homo, were to derive. Chapter 11 describes
5
the slow progression from user of tools to toolmaker,
discusses the development and refinement of stone
!mapping techniques, and concludes with a short
analysis of the origins of plant and animal domesti-
cation. The food-producing economy of the Neolithic
saw the virtual demise of most hunter-gatherer
societies around the world, and the inception of mod-
em urban civilisation.
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION
DURING THE QUATERNARY
The cultural development of our human forebears
took place against a background of ever-changing
global climate. In the intertropical zone, for instance,
cold, dry and windy glacial maxima alternated with
warm, wet interglacials. Regions delineated as arid
in Figs 1.3 and 1.4 were sometimes studded with
deep freshwater lakes; areas now under rainforest
were sometimes covered in savanna, or partly man-
tled with wind-blown sand.
Chapter 12 is an attempt to explore some of the
changes in global atmospheric circulation patterns
during the Quaternary, particularly the terminal
Pleistocene towards 18 000 years ago, and the early
Holocene around 9000 years ago. We do this for two
very good reasons. First, the last 20 000 years con-
tain the best-dated, best-preserved and most abun-
dant palaeoclimatic evidence with _which to test
global atmospheric circulation models. Second, the
two time-spikes considered coincide, respectively,
with the last glacial maximum (18 000 years ago)
and the so-called early Holocene 'climatic optimum'
of 9000 years ago, which we prefer to regard as sim-
ply the postglacial antithesis of the full glacial cli-
mate. Between them, they encompass a substantial
component of climatic. range of the most .recent
glacial-postglacial cycle (Bell and Walker 1992;
Wright et al. 1993).
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES:
PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
Throughout the Quaternary there has been a pro-
longed series of interactions between hominids
(ancestral humans) and their environment. Stone
toolmaking dates back to about 2.5 million years
ago, and fire was being used in Africa about a million
years later. The question of how far prehistoric
hunters contributed to the demise of certain species
of animals is a vexed one, as is the related question
of the role of burning in bringing about plant extinc-
tions. With the advent of Neolithic food production,
6 QUATERNARY ENVIRONMENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

and accelerated clearing of the natural vegetation, the
degree of human impact upon the biosphere and
hydrosphere began to increase dramatically (Turner
et al. 1990; Mannion and Bowlby 1992; Roberts
1994; Middleton 1995; Brown 1997). By altering
plant cover, we may increase runoff, and thereby
accelerate soil erosion. There is a delicate balance
between the different components of the hydrosphere
(Fig. 1.5) and the atmosphere (Fig. 1.6). Since the
Indnstrial Revolution, in particular, we have begun to
interfere with that balance by unwittingly altering
some of the feedback loops which are an integral part
of the global climate system (Fig. 1.5). Chapter 13
discusses these issues in greater detail.
the northern hemisphere. Sue and colleagues (1997)
have recently argued very persuasively that the
Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary should be placed at
the Gauss-Matuyama reversal at 2.58 Ma. There is
much merit in this proposal, since it fulfils the neces-
sary geological criteria and would be relatively easy
to identify both on land and in ocean cores, The
choice of Quaternary boundary is very much a matter
of personal taste (Vita-Finzi 1973), and has often
generated more heat than light. We likewise favour
a simple four-fold subdivision of the Quaternary
(Fig. 1.7) into Lower Pleistocene (1.8 to 0.75 Ma),
Middle Pleistocene (750 to 125 ka), Upper Pleis-
tocene (125 to !Oka) and Holocene (10 to Oka),
while noting that none of these somewhat arbitrary
divisions or ages is particularly sacrosanct.

QUATERNARY CHRONOLOGY
There has long been controversy over the exact dura-
tion of the Quaternary. Some workers espouse a long
chronology starting as early as 3.5 Ma. Others prefer
a shorter chronology, beginning at 2, 1.8 or l.6Ma.
We tentatively opt for 1.8 Ma (Fig. 1.1), which also
coincides reasonably well with the Olduvai palaeo-
magnetic event, an interval with normal magnetic
polarity bracketed by K-Ar dates of 1.87 and 1.67
Ma (see Appendix). An equally good case may be
made for placing the Pliocene-Pleistocene bonndary
at 2.5 Ma, when there was a rapid build-up of ice in
RECONSTRUCTING QUATERNARY
ENVIRONMENTS
A knowledge of past events and processes can offer
useful insights into both present and future environ-
mental changes, but a few preliminary words of
caution are necessary here. Earth history is a tale of
constantly varying interactions over time between
lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere (including
cryosphere) and biosphere. Present world landscapes
reflect the influence of past as well as present-day

-.J ~- H+? ,5-~l

r -~ '~
I..
k.,._,
)

~-~ (-:,."''/''~~"(~I ~-
l ~ ---. 'X'
\
_\

~
.~
,-"'1....

,,.:;J
.-,:i'I

~
c-,-~ ~ 'Y-),
~
-:19000
Evaporation

-9000

+ 106 ODO Evrorion

Soils +382000
Lakes, Rivers Precipitation
ponds Vegetation ,- ________________ - - - - - - __ - - - - - - - + 72m .
WATER
RESERVOIRS
QUANTITY
3
x10 km
3 ~ --- -------------------~
Atmosphere 13
Runoff ~
Oceans 1350000 Probable range of sea level
controlled by growth and
Glaciers 26000 shrinkage of glaciers
Biomass 0.7
Lakes & rivers 200
Groundwater 7200

Fig. 1.5 The hydrosphere. (After Bloom 1978; Strahler and Strahler 1987)
 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - A N INTRODUCTION 7

1997)
it the Cosmic material Solar radiation Gravitational forces
oed at e.g. meteorites e.g. change in intensity e.g. tides
lere 1s
1eces-
i easy
;, The r -, r
r- _r ~ '"
1
natter CO H 0

often
C0 2 , H2 0, N2 , 0 2 ,
0 2 , 80 2 , etc., aerosols
ATMOSPHERE f "f
(
Cl d5
- o_u --~--0
--:h}Ni~: s0
aerosols
2:

favonr 1-,,,.___ ? ~~----~;# ~!/

Air- biota-
'rnary CRYOSPHERE
5Ma),
.,
Pleis- Wind
stress Heat
j
Precipitation

Oka), II exchange 'l ,' .:

iitrary loe ,JJ, Evaporation

LITHOSPHERE ~ HYDROSPHERE
-.[L Atmosphere -
Ice - ocean ocean
coupling coupling

Changes in atmospheric
composition, e.g. fossil Changes of land
fuel emissions, features, e.g. orography,
volcanic eruptions, etc. vegetation, albedo, etc.
1 offer
viron-
rds of Quaternary time-scale {ka BP)
tale of
:tween Holocene
luding
Upper Pleistocene
~capes
nt-day Middle Pleistocene
Lower Pleistocene
Fig. 1.7 Quaternary time-scale. (Modified from Shackleton
and Opdyke 1977; Cowie and Bassett 1989)
processes. Theoretical constructs about the relation
between present-day weathering processes and cli-
mate (or latitude) are only useful if we are fully
aware of their limitations.
Table 1.1 shows some of the types of evidence com-
monly used to reconstruct Quaternary environments
and climates. Each is useful for a specific purpose, and
for a particular area or time (Leroy Ladurie 1972;
Vita-Finzi 1973; Lowe and Walker 1984; Bradley
1985; Bradley and Jones 1995; Benda 1995; Wadia et
' al. 1995). Difficulties arise immediately when we use
Procrustean tactics to force the data to yield palaeo-
environmental information at particular scales in
space or time for which those data are totally inappro-
priate. It is essential always to take due note of the
time-scales at which the different processes involved
in environmental change normally operate (Fig. 1.8).
A related issue is the precision available in dating the
proxy data or samples used in reconstructing past
events (Fig. 1.9). In many cases we are still limited by
the imprecision of existing dating methods, which is
Changes of ocean
basin shape, Fig. 1.6 Feedbacks in the global climate sys-
salinity, etc. tem. (After Bloom 1978; Bach 1984; Bradley
1985)
often a function of the half-life length of the particu-
0 lar radioactive isotopes involved (see Appendix).
Given all of the above caveats, it would seem that the
10 task of Quaternary environmental reconstruc.tion is
125
still more of an art than a science. Such a conclusion
is in no way dismissive of some of the excellent
progress made in quailtifying past fluctuations in
temperature and salinity, on land and in the sea, using
1800 stable isotopes and trace element composition of the
calcareous shells of ostracods and forams. However,
we still have a very long way to go to gain the spatial
and temporal resolution necessary to test existing
models of global atmospheric circulation in the
Quaternary (Chapter 12).
QUATERNARY ENVIRONMENTAL
ANALOGUES
It is always tempting to use past climatic events as
analogues for possible future climatic changes. For
example, some workers have suggested that future
global wanning linked to the greenhouse effect may
have an early Holocene climatic analogue. We con-
sider that such claims should be treated with consid-
erable caution, especially since the early Holocene
boundary conditions, including sea-level; the extent
of the cryosphere, terrestrial albedo, and sea surface
temperatures, may have been very different from
those used to model future change. Of greater value
in understanding possible future change is the geo-
logical and biological evidence of past hydrological
 8 QUATERNARY ENVIRONMENT? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

'i '

Table 1.1 Sources of data used to reconstruct Quaternary environments

Proxy data source Variable measured

Geology and geomorphology - continental

Relict soils Soil types
Closed-basin lakes Lake level
Lake sediments Varve thickness
Aeolian deposits - loess, desert dust, dunes, sand plains
1' Lacustrine deposits and erosional features
Evaporites, tufas Age
!j Stable isotope composition
Speleothems

Geology and geomorphology - marine

Ocean sediments Ash and sand accumulation rates
Fossil plankton composition
Isotopic composition of planktonic and benthic fossils
Mineralogical composition and surface texture
Geochemistry
Continental dust
Biogenic dust: pollen, diatoms, phytoliths
Marine shorelines Coastal features
Reef growth
Fluviatile inputs

Glaciology
Mountain glaciers, ice sheets Terminal positions
Glacial deposits and features of glacial erosion
Periglacial features
Glacio-eustatic features Shorelines
Layered ice cores Oxygen isotope concentration
Physical properties (e.g. ice fabric)
Trace element and micro-particle concentrations

Biology and biogeography - continental

Tree rings Ring-width anomaly, density
Isotopic composition
Fossil pollen _and spores Type, relative abundance and/or absolute concentration
Plant macrofossils Age, distribution
Plant microfossils
Vertebrate fossils
:Invertebrate fossils: mollusca, ostracods
Diatoms
Insects Type, assemblage abundance
Modern population distributions Refuges
Relict populations of plants and animals

Biology and biogeography - marine

Diatoms Faunal and floral abundance 1C
Foraminifera Morphological variations
Coral reefs

Archaeology
Written records
Plant remains
Animal remains, including hominids Q
Rock art p)
Hearths, dwellings, workshops ol
Artefacts: bone, stone, wood, shell, leather

Source: After National Academy of Sciences (1975), Bradley (1985) and Williams (1985a)

events. Rather than seeking past climatic analogues
to a warmer Earth, it may be more useful for us to
focus on how various elements of the biosphere and
hydrosphere have responded to former climatic fluc-
tuations. What were the directions and rates of res-
ponse? What were the thresholds? Was the response
synchronous or time-transgressive? How did one set
of changes (e.g. deforestation) repercuss upon the
rest of the landscape? If we adopt this approach then
it is possible to argue that an appreciation of past
 ------------------------------~----------AN INTRODUCTION 9

:> Gravitational waves in universe Solar variability

<~>";;<&v:fr;~ -.:.--x:;v> Earth orbital element

~~~i!l>Mass and composition of air (except CO., H 0 2 and OJ

1f2;;;;;;;;;;;"";;;;;;;:~2[2) Polar wandering, continental drift

,,..M:<'?::<fc,)iif'ifii<-<?S.70!:-Zf> Continental upltft, mountain-building,
sea-level changes Volcanic
jc':2~::2::':"~"'2"""'2~~~~!!!'2~~~~2Fi~3Ji2:~~22i~~. -dust in
stratosphere
(f0?.)1f;+;fy:;<ffl):V)ft:'.;,Qb/G'S8i'.2i\S$.JG;0%;,,.,L-:0S\'.-id":04{b0-0:S' ,'w)
Abyssal ocean circulation

Atmosphere """""'~~~
autovariation '

Human activity ~~~ii!~~~

(land-use, pollution, fossil fuel combusti:m) ' J Fig. 1.8 Processes involved in environ-
' ' ' ' ' mental change and their time-scales.
10' 10' 10' 10' 10' 10' 10' 10'
(After National Academy of Sciences
Probable Range of Time-Scale 1975; Bloom 1978; Goudie 1983i Bradley
(Years) 1985)

Marine plankton

Pollen

Tree rings

Historical records
f------------
Instrumental records
r-------

Fig. 1.9 Sample resolution and length of

10 100 10' 10' 10' 1o' 10' years potential paleoclimatic record from various
independent lines of evidence. (After Birks
- - - - Length of record 1981, modified from T. Webb, unpublished
Sample resolution diagram) '

Quaternary events can provide us with insights about the depositional featnres created by moving ice, wind
possible futnre events which are unattainable by any and rivers. Human activities in th~ last few centuries
other means. have served to accelerate many natnral processes,
inclnding soil erosion by wind and water. Some mod-
em rates of soil erosion are several orders of mag-
nitnde greater than the long-term geological rates for
>nse PRACTICAL RELEVANCE OF those regions. One reason for this discrepancy may
: set QUATERNARY RESEARCH simply be the ease with wbich unconsolidated Quat-
the ernary sediments can be mobilised by present-day
hen The Quaternary legacy is ubiquitous. Many of onr runoff, but another may be destruction of the vegeta-
past soils formed during the Quaternary, as did many of tion cover, which increases the vulnerability of the
10 QUATERNARY ENVIRONMENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
soil surface to the erosive impact of rainsplash and
runoff.
A knowledge of the rates and magnitudes of past
and present environmental change is essential to our
understanding of the world we live in. Planners and
policy-makers are becoming increasingly attuned to
the relevance of Quaternary studies to agricultural
and resource management. For instance, Quaternary
research can contribute its unique historical perspec-
tive to a sensible policy of long-term management of
soil erosion, desertification, salinisation, coastal
erosion, floods and droughts, and biological con-
servation. Recent experience shows all too well that
to ignore the past is to court future land-use prob-
lems. Present rates of plant and animal population
changes mean very little unless set in a historical
context, in this case Quaternary palaeoecology. The
long-term development and preservation of our soil,
plant and groundwater resources thus requires a
balanced understanding of recent Quaternary envi-
ronmental changes as well as a thorough know ledge
of present-day geomorphic, ecological and hydro-
logical processes.
FURTHER READING
Bowen, D.Q. 1978: Quaternary Geology. A Stratigraphic
Frameworkfor Multi-disciplinary Work. Pergamon Press,
Oxford, 221. (A good clear account with an emphasis on
stratigraphy and correlation).
Bradley, R.S. 1985: Quaternary Paleoclimatalogy. Meth-
ods of Paleoclimatic Reconstruction. Allen and Unwin,
Boston, 472p. (An excellent review of the scope and
limitations of many of the methods used to reconstruct
former climates).
Butzer, K.W. 1974: Environment and_ Archaeology. An
Ecological Approach ta Prehistory (3rd edn), Chicago,
Aldine. (A masterly and advanced overview of the meth-
ods used to reconstruct Quaternary prehistoric environ-
ments).
Flint, R.F. 1971: Glacial and Quaternary Geology. Wiley,
New York. 892 p. (The classic text on glacial geology by
one of the great masters. Still w~ll worth consulting).
Goudie, A. 1983: Environmental Changes (2nd edn).
Clarendon Press, Oxford, 258p. (A clear, concise and
eminently readable undergraduate text on Quaternary
environments).
Lowe, J.J. and Walker, M.J.C. 1984: Reconstructing
Quaternary Environments. Longman, London, 389 p. (A
useful account, with examples _drawn mainly from
Europe and North America).
Vita-Finzi, C. 1973: Recent Earth History. MacMillan,
London, 138p. (A thoughtful, concise and often witty
analysis of relative and absolute dating methods used in
late Quaternary research).
West, R.G. and Sparks, B.W. 1977: Pleistocene Geology
and Biology, with special reference to the British Isles
(2nd edn). Longman, London, 440 p. (A comprehensive
text by two highly experienced practitioners; useful well
beyond the British Isles).
 Second Edition

MARTIN WILLIAMS
MAWSON GRADUATE CENTRE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA

DAVID DUNKERLEY
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, MONASH UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA

PATRICK DE DECKKER
DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

PETER KERSHAW
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY, MONASH UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA

AND

JOHN CHAPPELL
RESEARCH SCHOOL OF EARTH SCIENCES, AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

~
ARNOLD
A member of the Hodder Headline Group
LONDON NEW YORK SYDNEY AUCKLAND