Boreas 

About: Boreas is an academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Holocene & Glacial period. It has an ISSN identifier of 0300-9483. Over the lifetime, 2023 publications have been published receiving 69288 citations.

Quaternary stratigraphy of Norden, a proposal for terminology and classification

Abstract: Principles and terminology for classification of the Quaternary are discussed, including lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy. morphostratigraphy, climatostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy. The main conclusion is a proposal for a common chronostratigraphical classification of the Quaternary in Norden (and partly continental NW Europe). The Quaternary is subdivided into the Pleistocene and the Holocene Series. The Pleistocene is further subdivided into several provisional stages (Weichselian, Eemian, etc.), based on the sequence of glacials/interglacials. but with the boundaries preferably defined by stratotypes. The Late Weichselian and the Flandrian (Holocene) are subdivided into chronozoncs (Bolling, Older Dryas, Allerod, Younger Dryas, Preboreal, Boreal, Atlantic, Subboreal, Subatlantic) with the boundaries dcfined in conventional radiocarbon years.

The last Eurasian ice sheets - a chronological database and time-slice reconstruction, DATED-1

Abstract: We present a new time-slice reconstruction of the Eurasian ice sheets (British–Irish, Svalbard–Barents–Kara Seas and Scandinavian) documenting the spatial evolution of these interconnected ice sheets every 1000 years from 25 to 10 ka, and at four selected time periods back to 40 ka. The time-slice maps of ice-sheet extent are based on a new Geographical Information System (GIS) database, where we have collected published numerical dates constraining the timing of ice-sheet advance and retreat, and additionally geomorphological and geological evidence contained within the existing literature. We integrate all uncertainty estimates into three ice-margin lines for each time-slice; a most-credible line, derived from our assessment of all available evidence, with bounding maximum and minimum limits allowed by existing data. This approach was motivated by the demands of glaciological, isostatic and climate modelling and to clearly display limitations in knowledge. The timing of advance and retreat were both remarkably spatially variable across the ice-sheet area. According to our compilation the westernmost limit along the British–Irish and Norwegian continental shelf was reached up to 7000 years earlier (at c. 27–26 ka) than the eastern limit on the Russian Plain (at c. 20–19 ka). The Eurasian ice sheet complex as a whole attained its maximum extent (5.5 Mkm2) and volume (~24 m Sea Level Equivalent) at c. 21 ka. Our continental-scale approach highlights instances of conflicting evidence and gaps in the ice-sheet chronology where uncertainties remain large and should be a focus for future research. Largest uncertainties coincide with locations presently below sea level and where contradicting evidence exists. This first version of the database and time-slices (DATED-1) has a census date of 1 January 2013 and both are available to download via the Bjerknes Climate Data Centre and PANGAEA (www.bcdc.no; http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.848117).

A robust feldspar luminescence dating method for Middle and Late Pleistocene sediments

Abstract: Luminescence dating is used extensively to provide absolute chronologies for Late Pleistocene sediments. Nowadays, most optical dates are based on quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL). However, the application of this signal is usually limited to the last ∼100 ka because of saturation of the quartz luminescence signal with dose. In contrast, the feldspar infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dose–response curve grows to much higher doses; this has the potential to extend the datable age range by a factor of 4–5 compared with quartz OSL. However, it has been known for several decades that this IRSL signal is unstable, and this instability often gives rise to significant age underestimation. Here we test against independent age control the recently developed feldspar post-IR IRSL approach to the dating of sediments, which appears to avoid signal instability. A physical model explaining our observations is discussed, and the method is shown to be accurate back to 600 ka. The post-IR IRSL signal is reduced by exposure to daylight more slowly than that from quartz and low-temperature IRSL, preventing its general application to young (e.g. Holocene) sediments. Nevertheless, this new approach is widely applicable (feldspar of appropriate luminescence behaviour is even more ubiquitous than quartz). These characteristics make this a method of great importance for the dating of Middle and Late Pleistocene deposits.

Single-grain optical dating of Quaternary sediments: why aliquot size matters in luminescence dating

Abstract: Optical dating measures the time that has elapsed since mineral grains were exposed to daylight. The technique is ideal for sediments in which all the grains were exposed to sufficient daylight at deposition to reset the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signal. However, in many environments the exposure of individual grains to daylight will be variable. Limited exposure to light results in grains retaining a part of any prior trapped charge, and if unaccounted for this causes overestimation of the age. In the past 15 years it has become feasible to control the number of grains used for each luminescence measurement, varying from many thousands to a single grain. Where many grains are measured simultaneously, the luminescence signal is averaged, and any variability in resetting between grains will be obscured. This article describes the methods involved in single-grain OSL measurements and review the application of the method to glacial, fluvial and aeolian Quaternary sediments. Single-grain OSL is expanding the range of environments that can be dated and improving the reliability of ages by explicitly assessing whether samples were bleached at deposition or not.

Optically stimulated luminescence dating of fluvial deposits: a review

Abstract: Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating allows age determination of sediments deposited during the last glacial-interglacial cycle. This relatively new technique therefore enables chronological frameworks to be established for fluvial deposits that often cannot be dated by other means. The OSL signal of quartz and feldspar minerals is reset by light exposure during fluvial transport, and builds up as a result of ionizing radiation after burial of the minerals. Incomplete resetting of the OSL signal because of inadequate light exposure in the fluvial environment can result in age overestimations, especially for relatively young samples. Methods used for the detection of incomplete resetting, or poor bleaching, are reviewed. It is argued that technique s measuring the OSL signal from small subsamples (aliquots) are most promising for detecting poor bleaching and for obtaining the true age for a sample in which not all grains had their OSL signal completely removed at deposition. Quartz should be the mineral of choice, because it has been shown to yield the most reliable results and because its OSL signal is more rapidly reset than that of feldspar. Aliquot size should be small, with aliquots ideally consisting of a single grain of quartz for samples in which the majority of grains are poorly bleached. Using single-aliquot dating of coarse-grain quartz, age offsets between zero and a few thousand years have been found for modern fluvial deposits. The validity of single-aliquot quartz OSL dating has been demonstrated by application to known-age samples, but for the older age range (>˜13 ka) further proof of the accuracy of the method is essential. The application of quartz OSL dating to investigations of fluvial deposits opens a new realm of possibilities to be explored, as is highlighted by some examples of geological applications.