There is little information about moisture changes in different altitudinal belts in mountainous regions of the southern Russian Far East. We present ecological and taxonomic compositions of the diatom flora and identify the botanical composition of peat in small mountain lake/mire complexes located in the Central Sikhote-Alin Mountains, within large landslides on the paleovolcanic slopes. Frequent changes in diatom assemblages and peat-forming plants indicate unstable hydroclimatic conditions with varying degrees of wet and dry conditions up to the overgrowth of the lakes. Frequent change in sphagnum mosses with different trophic preferences was identified. The chronology is based on 11 radiocarbon dates. Accumulation rates reached 1.7-1.9 mm/year, and the temporal resolution for the reconstructions was up to 30-40 yr. The tendencies of lake evolution depended on different scale hydroclimatic changes over the last 4400 yr. The most detailed data for the last 2600 yr were obtained from the Nizhnee Lake sequence, which is more sensitive to climatic changes. The main reason for the change in the hydrological regime of the lakes was variations in precipitation during short-term climatic changes. The sediment record of moisture fluctuations is relatively well correlated with regional patterns reflecting summer monsoon intensity and cyclogenesis activity.

The stages of evolution of two barrier lakes and vegetation development of the Peschany Peninsula (South Primorye) have been reconstructed on the base of multi-proxy study of the sediment sequences, connected with hydroclimatic changes over the past 6300 years. Tephra of the caldera-forming eruption of Baitoushan volcano (946/947 AD) is one of the chronological markers. The Middle Holocene paleolake existed on the accumulative landform, and the lake on the isthmus connecting the paleoisland with the mainland, was formed at the beginning of the Late Holocene. Several periods of watering due to precipitation increase are distinguished in its development. Redeposited freshwater diatoms from subbasalt deposits are bioindicators of sheet wash activation during heavy rains associated with typhoons. Findings of valves of marine and brackish diatoms indicate the passage of extreme storms. Overgrowing of the paleolake began at the end of the Holocene thermal optimum (~5410 years ago). The periods of dryness are usually associated with cooling and a decrease in the intensity of the summer monsoon. The Little Ice Age is the exception: the flooding of the swamp with a relict lake on the isthmus increased sharply. A change of Korean pine/broad-leaved forests with the participation of fir, birches and polydominant broad-leaved forests was established. It is shown that since the Holocene Optimum there have been ecotopes with contrasting heat and moisture supply. Human impact to geosystems was recorded. Paleolimnological studies made possible to identify the Middle-Late Holocene short-period climatic rhythm on the coast of the Amur Bay. The manifestation of cold and warm events has been established, their correlation with regional data and global events has been carried out, and the connection with ocean anomalies and the intensity of the summer monsoon has been shown.

This article presents new data from geochronological study the lake-bog organic-rich layer from of the “Ilya Prorok” sequence (Upper Volga Basin, Tver Region) that is a one of the reference sections located on the Russian Plain. Ideas concerning the age and climatic conditions of these organic-mineral deposits formation changed significantly over the long history of their study. As a result, the viewpoint about the belonging of this layer to the Likhvin time began to prevail. However, it is still unclear with which marine isotope-oxygen stage (MIS) the Likhvin interglacial can be compared. According to the paleobotanical study of the lake-bog from the Ilya Prorok section, it was confirmed that the lower part of the lake-bog layer can be attributed to the warm phases of the Likhvin interglacial, while its upper half was deposited during the transition to cooling after the interglacial period. For the first time, the radioisotope age of the buried lake-bog deposits of the reference section “Ilya Prorok” have obtained. According to the data of direct 230Th/U dating, the formation of the sequence probably began no earlier than ~ 326–260 Kyr ago. The 230Th/U age of the buried peat bog from its upper half, according to the results of applying the isochronous approximation, can be correlated with the interval ~256–225 Kyr ago. According to these data, the Likhvin deposits were formed no earlier than MIS-9.

The Late Holocene phases of aeolian processes have been reconstructed on the basis of dune fields construction. The palaeoenvironmental studies were targeted to following problems: 1) to determine the periods of higher and lower activity of aeolian processes; 2) to establish the age of aeolian deposits and buried soils; 3) to retrace the deve­lopment of coastal landscapes. The age was determined by radiocarbon dating of paleosols and tephrostratigraphy. The correlation of tephra was performed using data on the volcanic glass chemical composition. The dunes formed during the cooling accompanied by a minor regression. Six buried soils found in the dunes reflect stabilization and overgrowing of dune fields. The longest period of dune stabilization began after a cold event 2800–2600 cal yr BP and lasted until the Little Ice Age. Paleosols contain the tephra of large volcanic eruptions on Urup (Kolokol volcano), Simushir (Zavaritsky volcano) and Iturup (tephra). Pollen analysis allows us to retrace the development of coastal landscapes. Thickets of dwarf pine developed during cooling, birch forests spread in the Medieval Warm Period, and herb meadows were widely represented on the dunes. Human impact on the coastal palaeovegetation was found. Aeolian sedimentation was high during the Little Ice Age. One of the factors of dune reactivation during the Little Ice Age was increased winter storminess associated with the East Asian winter monsoon. Evidence of active cyclogenesis is the increasing proportion of allochthonous pollen. The modern reactivation of aeolian processes is associated with human activity and storm erosion of dunes.

Despite considerable progress in understanding Late Pleistocene and Holocene palaeoenvironmental changes worldwide, there are still very few such data for the Far East, and Kuril islands, in particular. Here, the sea level rise during the Late Glacial-Holocene transition was accompanied by a loss of the land connectivity culminating into the development of isolated islands. The ecosystems evolution and importance of isolation for vegetation dynamics on islands are still insufficiently understood. We investigated a unique natural record of environmental change since 14 ka has been recently discovered in lake-mire complex on Kunashir Island. The sediments include 12 tephra layers from Kunashir and Hokkaido volcanoes. The lake level was highest during warmer and humid climate of the Allerod. Diatom assemblages indicated the higher lake level between 12 730-12 160 cal yr BP. The first half of Younger Dryas was characterized by heavy snowfalls. Cooling attributed to the Younger Dryas in the Southern Kurils was less distinct than on the continent. The pollen assemblages recorded changes in vegetation on the land bridge. At the end of the Pleistocene large areas were occupied by birch forests and shrub pine. The broadleaf species first appeared at the end of Allerod. Starting from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition and during the early Holocene, the role of conifers sharply increased. In the middle Holocene the proportion of broadleaf trees in forests increased. Coniferous forests became abundant during the Little Ice Age. Short-tern climatic fluctuations correlate well with regional pattern, particularly with fluctuations of the moisture supply.

A c . 9720‐year history of a mountain lake–mire complex on the Shufan Plateau (southern Primorye, Russian Far East) is based on a multi‐proxy study of peat deposits. The chronology is based on eight radiocarbon dates in addition to two dated tephra horizons. The sediment contains eight cryptotephra layers attributable to Baitoushan, a volcano on the Korea/China border. Pollen, diatom and botanical macrofossil analyses indicate climate fluctuations during the Holocene and a compositional response of biodiverse mountain forests to changes in temperature and humidity. Widespread, diverse broadleaf‐dominated forest marked a warm Early Holocene (~9500–9280 cal. a BP). Korean pine ( Pinus koraiensis ) rose to dominance in the Middle Holocene (after c . 7630 cal. a BP). Evergreen conifers, fir ( Abies ) in particular, became widespread after 2.9 ka BP and show a positive response to the Little Ice Age cooling. Over the c . 10 000‐year record, moisture appears largely controlled by gradually declining intensity of the summer monsoon, trending from moist conditions in the Early Holocene to cooler and drier conditions in the Late Holocene with shorter‐term hydrological changes superimposed. Peat composition indicates significant changes in mire vegetation, and diatom assemblages indicate four stages of inundation and three dry stages in the basin, probably controlled by precipitation changes. The initial importance of atmospheric precipitation shifted over time to a greater input from groundwater. During a long episode in the Late Holocene the basin may have dried out. Forest fires occurred during much of the Middle and Late Holocene, and their prominence, as marked by macro‐charcoal, is related to changes in humidity. Human activities mark the past few centuries. Medieval fires were probably anthropogenic, and there is evidence of agricultural impact on the landscape during the Jin Empire settlement period 900–700 years ago and of more recent forest exploitation, particularly a reduction in conifer taxa.

The stages of development of small Solontsovskie (Shanduyskie) Lakes located in the middle mountains of the Central Sikhote-Alin within large landslides, formed on the slopes of the paleovolcano, are identified on the basis of complex study of the sediment section of the Nizhnee Lake. The ecological-taxonomic composition of the diatom flora, the botanical composition of peat have been analyzed, and the tendencies of lacustrine sedimentation depending on the different scale of hydroclimatic changes in the Late Holocene have been established. The age model is based on 6 radiocarbon dates. The temporary resolution for the reconstructions is 30–60 years. A comparison of the development of Nizhnee and Izyubrinye Solontsi Lakes was carried out, the stages of watering and shallowing of lakes were identified on the basis of their dynamics, which made it possible to restore the change in moisture in the middle mountains. Organogenic deposits in lacustrine basins accumulated at high rates (up to 1.7–1.9 mm/ year). The most detailed data were obtained for the last 2.6 thousand cal. yr BP based on the study of the sediment section of the Nizhnee Lake, which responded more sensitively to changing climatic conditions. Frequent changes in diatom assemblages and peat-forming plants indicate unstable hydroclimatic conditions with varying degrees of watering and drainage up to complete overgrowth of water bodies. According to the data of diatom analysis, a successive change in the trophicity of the lake was traced. A frequent change of sphagnum mosses of different sections with different trophic preferences was established. The main reason for the change in the hydrological regime of the lakes was variations in precipitation during the short-term climatic changes. The correlation of the identified paleoclimatic events with global data has been carried out. Cooling periods, as a rule, were accompanied by a decrease in moisture, but the Little Ice Age was wet due to an increase in precipitation.

History of variability of tropical cyclones (TC) in the North-Western Pacific is critical for understanding impacts of future climatic changes. Natural archives of paleo-typhoon variability can be used to assess how changes in the planetary climatic system during the Holocene could influence TC frequency and intensity in this part of Pacific. Extreme typhoon-related rains are the main cause of catastrophic floods on Sakhalin Island and deposits of these floods are evidence of paleo-typhoon. The paleo-typhoons that triggered extreme floods on Southern Sakhalin during the last 6.6 kyr are recorded in the sequence on the interfluvial surface in the northern Susunay Lowland (Naiba River basin). The sequence includes peat bog with numerous loam interlayers deposited during extreme floods inundating the bog. We reconstructed paleo-environmental conditions, including humidity and flood activity, based on analysis of diatoms. We found biological indicators that point to the past floods. The mineral content in the peat being one criteria indicative of the high frequency of floods. The peat bog developed in place of a lagoon that existed at the maximum phase of the Holocene transgression. Peat accumulation began in the freshened lagoon coast similar to 6010 cal yr B.P. When sea level dropped, the lagoon turned into a coastal lake (similar to 5710-5040 cal yr B.P.). A swamp formed in place of the lake under varying moisture conditions. We identified and dated 25 extreme floods and assessed the paleoclimatic background of the events. A recent catastrophic flood from typhoon Phyllis (1981 CE) is considered as an analogue of the paleo-events. The frequency of extreme typhoons increased both during warm (wet and dry) phases and in cold dry phases of the climate fluctuations. We identified three periods of a high typhoon activity (4640-4360; 4030-3580; 1860-1380 cal yr B.P.), when super-typhoons came onto the island once every 30-90 years. A comparison between the extreme typhoons in the south of Sakhalin and in the Sea of Japan region show both synchronism and metachronism of the periods of typhoon activity. Instrumental measurements during 20th-21st centuries revealed considerable changes in super-typhoon tracks; a similar variability may be safely supposed in typhoon tracks in the past. To predict future tropical cyclone activity and the risk of floods under modern climatic instability it is necessary to understand factors influencing variability in the occurrence of strong typhoons and associated extreme floods events on a paleo-scale. This is especially important for areas with rapidly developing coastal economies and intensive use of gas and oil resources, such as Sakhalin Island.

The article is devoted to a reconstruction of the sedimentation processes in Kamyshovoye Lake (the Kaliningrad Region, Russia) during the Late Glacial and Holocene. The results of the geochemical analysis of Kamyshovoye Lake’s bottom sediments, accompanied by statistical processing and detailed radiocarbon dating, are presented. It was established that a high proportion of mineral matter dominated in the intervals between 15,000 and 11,400 and between 1400 and 600 cal y BP; enrichment with carbonates was noted between 11,400 and 5200 cal y BP and during the past 600 years; and a high percentage of organic matter was recorded between 7800 and 600 cal y BP. We conclude that the increase in mineral matter was influenced by such factors as reduced vegetation cover due to natural and anthropogenic processes, aeolian transfer, and dead-ice melting during the Late Glacial. The increase in carbonate matter was mainly associated with humidity and the reduction conditions of the lake ecosystem. Organogenic matter content was affected by the autochthonic (biological) productivity of the lake, which directly depends on more favorable climatic conditions.

The Kamyshovoye Lake sedimentary record in the southeastern Baltic Sea region was studied to reconstruct climatic fluctuations and the abiotic responses to them during the Lateglacial and Early Holocene. New results from chironomid, isotopic, palaeomagnetic and geochemical data analyses were correlated with earlier evidence of lithological and palynological changes in the Kamyshovoye Lake record. The section of the record that was studied covered the interval between 15 200 and 6500 cal. a BP. Palaeoclimatic reconstructions showed that during the Younger Dryas there was a two‐step decrease in the mean July temperature. The temperature dropped by 3 °C in the period from ̃12 650 to 12 300 cal. a BP, and then it dropped by another 0.5 °C to a minimum of 11.5 °C at 11 900 cal. a BP. During the Younger Dryas–Holocene transition, a temperature increase of 3 °C can be seen over a period of several centuries, inferred from the chironomid data. Further, the temperature curve showed that significant fluctuations continued until ̃9500 cal. a BP. During the coolings, the average July temperature dropped to values that were typical for the Younger Dryas, while values characteristic for the Allerød were only reached at around 9700 cal. a BP. After 9500 cal. a BP, a more stable, gradual increase in temperature was recorded. The short‐term Early Holocene climatic oscillations are clearly traced in the Kamyshovoye sequence, although the responses of the natural components are sometimes asynchronous. In the case of the Kamyshovoye study, the geochemical data seem to be a sensitive indicator of the climatic and environmental changes despite the absence of an evident response to the Holocene onset at ̃11 700 cal. a BP. Considerable changes in the geochemical pattern are recorded later, at ̃11 500 cal. a BP, coinciding with noticeable changes in the development of vegetation. The results obtained in this study contribute to a deeper understanding of how global climatic trends are manifested on a local scale.

The evolution of the late Holocene environments has been reconstructed on the basis of multiproxy studies of peat sequences. The vegetation response to short-period climate fluctuations has been traced. Early in the late Holocene there were birch forests with oak and other broadleaf trees; vast areas were occupied by forb meadows. Under cooling (3250 yr BP) the shrub pine (Pinus pumila) became the landscape-forming species, and since 2490 yr BP Selaginella selaginoides appeared in abundance. The Little Ice Age was marked by the disappearance of broadleaf trees and widely spread heath land communities. The higher stands of the lake level were related to warmings (3660-3590; 3450-3180; 2960-2840; 2410-2260 cal yr BP). Shallowing coincided with short-term coolings (3590-3450; 3180-2960; 2840-2410; 2260-2150 cal yr BP) marked by reduced precipitations. The dune ridge formation began during the longest cooling accompanied by a minor regression. The dunes were stabilized and a paleosol developed similar to 2340-2260 yr BP. A younger generation of eolian sands developed during the Little Ice Age. An ecological effect of volcanic ashfalls has been estimated. The local biotic components seem to have been most afflicted by the eruption in the north of Iturup in similar to 2100-2300 cal yr BP, when CKr tephra up to 30 cm thick was deposited. The ages of 4 strongest tsunamis that occurred over the last 3660 years were determined. They appeared to be related to the earthquakes with focuses close to Urup Island or south of it. The lake microflora shows ecological effect of the marine water invasions.

The landscape changes during the Medieval Warm Period were discussed for the Kuril and Sakhalin Islands, Primorye and the Amur River Basin. Some paleoclimatic parameters and shifts in landscape boundaries were estimated. The environmental changes on the Kuril Islands were manifested mostly in changes of areas occupied by the same plant communities that we see now in modern landscapes. The paleoenvironmental changes in the North and Central Kurils have been partly hidden due to volcanic ashfalls. On Simushir Island birch forests expanded at the expense of diminished tundra landscapes. On the South Kurils, the warming led to the increasing importance of broadleaf trees. In dark coniferous forests, the fir proportion increased. On small islands devoid of forests, the changes in the shrub and herb composition indicated warmer and less humid conditions. On Sakhalin, there were certain distinctions in the changes in the paleolandscape between the north, which was devoid of thermophilic elements in the forests and the south, which belonged to the zone of dark coniferous forests with an admixture of broadleaf trees. In Primorye, the warming caused an increase in the proportion of Korean pine and broadleaf species in the forests, as well as fir prevalence in dark coniferous forests. In the Amur River region, the warming involved considerable changes in the forests, which were expressed by an increase in the role of thermophilic species in the reduction of the proportion of dark coniferous species. The spread of broadleaf trees on the continental and island coasts could be influenced by warm currents amplifying the warming effect. In all regions, the warming was accompanied by a minor transgression. The sea level was higher than at present by similar to 1 m, which resulted in the formation of low marine and lagoon terraces, the attenuation of eolian processes on the coasts, and the fixation of coastal dunes with the development of a thick soil.

For understanding of the Lena River valley evolution geomorphological and geological structure of the valley in the area from the mouth of the Buotama river to the mouth of the Aldan river (Yakutian bend) studied. Transverse geomorphological profiles through the valley, a map of ruggedness relief density, a geomorphological scheme of the investigated area were constructed. The structure of the terraces was studied, and the sediments were dated by the method of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon method. Spore-pollen spectra of terraces and the content of diatom algae in sediments were studied. In the valley we fixed a low and high floodplain up to a height of 10-12 m, two terraces, the height of which varies along the river (5-20 and 30-70 m), and Abalakh plain at an altitude of 100-140 m above the river. Near Yakutsk, the first terrace is called the Sergelyakh and the second terrace is called the Bestyakh. The low floodplain has an age of the first hundred years; the first terrace is dated by 10,000 radiocarbon years, datings of the bestyakh terrace belong to the end of Karginsky time and Sartan time of the Late Pleistocene. The most ancient OSL-datings were obtained from the deposits of the erosion scarp of the Abalakh plain (234-182 thousand years ago). The surface of the bestyakh terrace is decreasing downstream from 60 mat the mouth of the Buotama River to 40 m downstream from the confluence with Aldan River. The deposits of the terrace downstream from the mouth of Aldan River consists of silt mainly by contrast with sand compositions of Lena deposits upstream from the confluence of two rivers. The height of terraces and floodplains varies on the investigated segment of the valley in such a way that the same surface can be worked out in sediments of different ages, or the same age can be distinctive to geological bodies, in which terraces with different altitudes have been developed.

Complex biostratigraphical methods and radiocarbon dates were used to reconstruct the Middle (late Middle Pleistocene) and Late Neopleistocene (Late Pleistocene) palaeoenvironments covering the Palaeolithic period in the western foreland of the Urals. The Gornovo Palaeolithic settlement is located on the lowest terrace of the Belaya River. From the base to the top, this terrace consists of fluvial and lacustrine deposits of the Belaya horizon (Middle Neopleistocene; 427-364 ka), alluvial and lacustrine deposits of the Larevka horizon (Middle Neopleistocene; 364-334 ka), fluvial and lacustrine deposits of the Tabulda horizon (Late Neopleistocene; 57-24 ka), water-slope deposits of the Kudashevo horizon (Late Neopleistocene; 24-11 ka) and chernozem soil of the Holocene. The small and large mammals, insects, molluscs, and ostracods discovered in the deposits complete the palaeoecological characteristics of these periods. A diverse herbaceous steppe vegetation dominated during the Belaya Interglacial (a mixed coniferous forests with broad-leaved trees occurred in wet areas). The ostracoda species clearly indicate a cooling at the end of this time span. Molluscs inhabited the rivers and shores of freshwater ponds. The large mammals belong to the Middle Pleistocene fauna complex. During Larevka time span vegetation and fauna indicate cold climate conditions. The cold steppe communities typical of the beginning of this period changed gradually into communities that show an increasing role of the taiga. The ostracoda species confirm these cold conditions. Forest-steppe landscapes dominated during the second part of the Tabulda time span. Numerous ostracods as well as molluscs populated the lakes and floodplain basins. Entomological data show that the palaeoenvironment conditions were somewhat cooler than modern environment existing in the Southern Ural foreland. The large mammals of the Gornovo site belong to the Late Palaeolithic complex with the specific presence of Camelus sp. The Gornovo forest-steppe small mammalian fauna developed in cool continental climate conditions when coniferous forests grew in the river valleys and when forest-steppe landscapes dominated in the water interfluves. The artefacts are characteristic of the beginning of the Late Palaeolithic (32-24 ka). The Kudashevo time is correlated with the late Valdai (late Late Pleistocene; 24-11 ka). The herbage-Artemisia-Chenopodiaceae grassland-steppe association covered most of the territory and a Picea forest with Betula and a small quantity of broad-leaved trees grew in wet depressions. The climate at the end of this period became colder. Freshwater and terrestrial molluscs were represented by rare widespread species while the ostracoda species indicate cold conditions. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

Newly obtained pollen and diatom data from the Kamyshovoe Lake (germ. Dobauen, Vishtynets Highland, Baltic Uplands) controlled by radiocarbon dating allowed to reconstruct the history of local vegetation during late Pleistocene – early Holocene. Pollen records show the formation of birch-predominating forest at ca. 13.4 ka cal. BP and the flourishing of pine towards the second half of the chronozone since about 13.2 ka cal. BP. The transition to the Younger Dryas around 12.7 ka cal. BP led to the development of sparse shrub tundra with Juniperus and communities of steppe herbs. Amelioration of the environmental regime enabled birch and pine woods to spread during the second part of GS-1 event and the Preboreal. The late Preboreal time is marked by the appearance of Populus and an increase in the role of grasses in the vegetation cover, which can be correlated to similar open vegetation phases deduced from other pollen records in Europe (11.3–11.1 ka cal. BP). During the Boreal (since ca. 10.0 ka cal. BP) Corylus had its maximum value, Alnus, Tilia and Quercus appeared and spread while the birch-pine forests retreated.

A set of 121 radiocarbon and OSL dates has been compiled from the Upper Dnieper River and tributary valleys, Western European Russia. Each date was attributed according to geomorphic/sedimentological events and classes of fluvial activity. Summed probability density functions for each class were used to establish phases of increasing and reducing fluvial activity. The oldest detected reduction of fluvial activity was probably due to glacial damming at LGM. Within the Holocene three palaeohydrological epochs of millennial-scale were found: (1) high activity at 12,000–8,000 cal BP marked by large river palaeochannels; (2) low activity at 8,000–3,000 cal BP marked by formation of zonal-type soils on -floodplains; short episodes of high floods occurred between 6,500—4,400 cal BP; (3) contrasting hydrological oscillations since 3,000 cal BP with periods of high floods between 3,000–2,300 (2,000) and 900–100 cal BP separated by long interval of low floods 2,300 (2,000)-900 cal BP when floodplains were not inundated — zonal-type soils were developing and permanent settlements existed on floodplains. In the last millennium, four centennial-scale intervals were found: high flooding intervals are mid-11–mid-15th century and mid-17–mid-20th century. Intervals of flood activity similar to the present-day were: mid-15–mid-17th century and since mid-19th century till present. In the context of palaeohydrological changes, discussed are selected palaeogeographic issues such as: position of the glacial boundary at LGM, role of changing amounts of river runoff in the Black Sea level changes, floodplain occupation by Early Medieval population.