The Last Interglacial (~129,000–116,000 years ago) provides key insights into temperate European vegetation dynamics before significant anthropogenic impacts. Using LOVE (Local Vegetation Estimates) and REVEALS (Regional Estimates of VEgetation Abundance from Large Sites) models, this study reconstructed vegetation patterns across local (~9km²) and regional (~100km²) scales. Local landscapes presented a heterogeneous mosaic, with averages of 17% open vegetation, 21% closed forests, and 63% light woodlands, reflecting high fine-scale heterogeneity. Importantly, weak local-regional correlations highlight the importance of localised drivers. Longitude and, to a lesser extent, precipitation explained some variation in local vegetation openness, but heterogeneity remained unexplained, emphasising the role of disturbance regimes. Shannon diversity and evenness varied widely, indicating a mix of species-rich and more uniform habitats and reflecting diverse ecological dynamics. Beta diversity showed high spatial turnover, suggesting composition was shaped by localised factors rather than uniform climatic drivers. Frequently represented genera, such as Artemisia, Helianthemum, Erica, Filipendula, and Plantago, indicate diverse open and semi-open habitats, shaped by disturbances and hydrological variability. Weak climatic correlations and dominance of disturbance-adapted taxa suggest active disturbance-shaped vegetation. Large herbivorous mammals (megafauna) likely maintained vegetation openness through grazing and browsing; there is limited evidence for frequent fire activities in this period. These findings challenge the closed-canopy forest paradigm for interglacials, revealing substantial openness and heterogeneity. This scale-explicit evidence of Last Interglacial vegetation complexity offers insights into the biodiversity and ecological functionality of pre-anthropogenic ecosystems, with implications for modern conservation and rewilding, particularly in maintaining diversity through disturbance and megafaunal interactions.

The extent of vegetation openness in past European landscapes is widely debated. In particular, the temperate forest biome has traditionally been defined as dense, closed-canopy forest; however, some argue that large herbivores maintained greater openness or even wood-pasture conditions. Here, we address this question for the Last Interglacial period (129,000-116,000 years ago), before Homo sapiens-linked megafauna declines and anthropogenic landscape transformation. We applied the vegetation reconstruction method REVEALS to 96 Last Interglacial pollen records. We found that light woodland and open vegetation represented, on average, more than 50% cover during this period. The degree of openness was highly variable and only partially linked to climatic factors, indicating the importance of natural disturbance regimes. Our results show that the temperate forest biome was historically heterogeneous rather than uniformly dense, which is consistent with the dependency of much of contemporary European biodiversity on open vegetation and light woodland.

Constraining the speed of sea level rise at the start of an interglacial is important to understanding the size of the ‘window of opportunity’ available for hominin migration. This is particularly important during the last interglacial when there is no evidence for significant hominin occupation anywhere in Britain. There are very few finer grained fossiliferous sequences in the Channel region that can be used to constrain sea level rise and they are preserved only to the north of the Channel, in England. Of these, the sequence at Stone Point SSSI is by far the most complete. Data from this sequence has been previously reported, and discussed at a Quaternary Research Association Field Meeting, where a number of further questions were raised that necessitated further data generation. In this paper, we report new data from this sequence – thin section analysis, isotopic determinations on ostracod shells, new Optical Stimulated Luminescence ages and Amino Acid Recem analyses. These show early sea level rise in this sequence, starting during the pre-temperate vegetation zone IpI, but no early warming. The implications of this almost certainly last interglacial sequence for the human colonisation of Britain and our understanding of the stratigraphic relationship of interglacial estuarine deposits with their related fluvial terrace sequences is explored.

This study offers a new understanding of the stratigraphy and context of the Pleistocene (including Elsterian and Weichselian) and Holocene deposits of the Middle Cam valley, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, and provides a unique and detailed view of the sediment architecture of these valley-fill and interfluve sediments. The new insights into the geology of the area, including dating, pollen analyses, and sediment architecture, are presented with reference to a series of nine cross-sections through Holocene and Pleistocene deposits, as well as Cretaceous bedrock across the region. The structural geology of the bedrock and the stratigraphic arrangement of younger deposits are used to explain the landscape evolution of the area.

This paper presents the results of a project in which the seasonal changes in the chemistry of groundwater in dipwells at Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve were investigated for the first time. Thirteen dipwells arranged in two roughly perpendicular transects across Wicken Fen were sampled for groundwater on a monthly basis between April 2010 and April 2011. Surface water from a drainage ditch (Gardiner’s Drain) and groundwater from a further location (dipwell 17) were also sampled at the same interval. The water samples were analysed for pH, electrical conductivity (EC), major solutes (Ca, Na, Mg, S), nutrients (N, P, K) and trace elements (Al, Fe, Mn) in the laboratory. Measurements of pH and electrical conductivity were also taken from the soil at the fourteen dipwell locations. The results of these analyses are compared to borehole data, groundwater levels and precipitation data to form a new conceptual model of the spatial and temporal variations in groundwater chemistry at Wicken Fen, which have important implications for future hydrological and vegetation management regimes.

Constraining the speed of sea level rise at the start of an interglacial is important to understanding the size of understanding of the stratigraphic relationship of interglacial estuarine deposits with their related fluvial 37 terrace sequences is explored. corrected for for an expressed molar trace-metal to Ca ratios Instrumental precision was ±1.2 and ±2.4 RSD for Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca, respectively. Multiple- shell adult shells analysed for oxygen and carbon isotopes using a ThermoFinnigan Plus XP mass spectrometer connected to a GasBench. Results expressed in delta units relative to the VPDB Typical precision ±0.05 ‰ O (cid:71) 13 Methods

This paper presents a reconstruction of the marginal zone of the Anglian (Elsterian, 480–420 ka BP) age ice sheet in the Danbury‐Tiptree area, East Anglia, UK. The research area is a unique locality where the ice front abutted against a 30‐km‐long and 100‐m‐tall ridge in an otherwise lowland area. Observations from three main field localities (Danbury quarry, Royal Oak pit and Tiptree quarry) are complemented with ground penetrating radar survey data, borehole data analysis, laboratory analyses and geological map interpretation. A four‐stage model of the evolution of the landscape in the Danbury‐Tiptree area is presented. The results are of broader importance, in that the sedimentary record sheds light on the processes operating at a constrained ice‐sheet margin. The paper identifies the most important characteristics of the depositional environments at an ice front terminating within this type of setting: (i) high temporal and spatial variability of energetic depositional conditions, resulting in the presence of a vast array of distinct depositional sub‐environments; (ii) mechanisms promoting differential erosion leading to enhanced topography, and (iii) unusually high overburden pressure in the topographically constrained ice margin within the otherwise lowland area influencing the ice‐sheet–bedrock interaction in this particular research area, inducing postglacial seismicity.

Fossiliferous deposits infilling a channel at Whittlesey, eastern England, are dated by amino acid racemization to the Last Interglacial, and pollen analysis indicates deposition in Ipswichian biozones Ip Ib and Ip IIb. Multidisciplinary palaeoenvironmental analyses of these deposits provide a rare insight into Ip Ib subzone conditions. Specifically, the Ip Ib deposits contain exotic thermophiles Naias minor, Belgrandia marginata, Bembidion elongatum, Pelochares versicolor, Caccobius schreberi, Onthophagus massai and Emys orbicularis, usually associated with Ip IIb. Combined palaeotemperature reconstructions based on beetle, ostracod and vertebrate assemblages of the Ip Ib deposits indicate that summers (mean July range +19 to +22°C) were at least 2°C warmer than at present, whereas winters (mean January air temperature range 0 to +7°C) were probably similar to those of today. These palaeotemperature ranges encompass those for Ip IIb deposits at Trafalgar Square (+20 to +21°C and +1.5 to +3°C), previously considered the only Ipswichian site to record temperatures significantly warmer than Holocene temperatures. Of particular significance is that thermal optimal conditions commenced in Ip Ib, rather than being confined to Ip IIb. This demonstrates rapid warming and biological response to early Ipswichian climate amelioration, which accords with the deep-sea Last Interglacial and European Eemian records. Supplementary material: Supplementary Tables S1-S7 are available at http://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3830221.

It is uncommon in the North Sea basin and northwestern Europe for the ice‐marginal glacial successions of the Middle Pleistocene, Anglian (Elsterian) age to be well preserved and not overridden by subsequent glaciations. The existence of extensive and thick (˜20 m) Middle Pleistocene sand and gravel successions in East Anglia, England, provide a unique opportunity to reconstruct and understand the palaeoenvironmental conditions in the Anglian ice‐marginal zone, and further across the North Sea basin. This paper uses data from 80 sections in two sand and gravel quarries in East Anglia to provide the first evidence concerning: (i) the character of the ice‐marginal processes in the unique, transitional zone between the topographically constrained and unconstrained Anglian ice‐sheet margin; (ii) the role of meltwater in the re‐shaping of topographically driven preglacial drainage; and (iii) the position and the number of oscillations of the Anglian ice‐sheet margin in the form of a sediment‐landform assemblage. Moreover the current research adds to the discussion on the presence and extent of the proglacial lake in the North Sea Basin during the Anglian glaciation. The sand and gravel successions in the Anglian ice‐marginal zone are primarily reworked proto‐Thames sediments deposited by meltwater. At the beginning of the glaciation, the meltwater followed the preglacial (proto‐Thames) river course. However, as the ice sheet advanced, it was re‐routed, overwhelming and abandoning the old river course and depositing an extensive ice‐marginal subaqueous fan. The succession includes evidence for at least two enhanced meltwater release events, as well as indications of glaciolacustrine sedimentation. The character of the described sedimentary settings is discussed in the wider context of the presence of the North Sea Lake.

Summary The geology of the High Lodge site at Mildenhall is described and re-interpreted as a sequence of deposits related to a doline formed in the underlying Chalk. Doline development in the area is considered in detail. Lacustrine sediments filling the depression contain a Palaeolithic industry and pollen assemblages that indicate contemporaneous coniferous woodland. The High Lodge sequence, at the northern end of the Warren Hill ridge, is related to the Three Hills site at the southern end of the ridge and to recent exposures near the Beech Clump, midway on the ridge. The geology of the three sites combines to demonstrate a series of ice-marginal proglacial successions along the west and south side of the Warren Hill ridge, marking a glacial limit. This Skertchly Line limit, on the eastern flank of the Fenland, resulted from the Tottenhill ice advance into Fenland late in the Wolstonian Stage ( c . 160 ka; during Marine Isotope Stage [MIS] 6). Structural evidence indicates that the doline filling was initially thrust glaciotectonically by the glacial ice. These sediments were subsequently disturbed by diapirism arising from loading by meltwater deposits and possibly by periglacial processes. The doline strata predate the ice advance and represent a period of cool temperate vegetation, probably of interstadial character, earlier in the Wolstonian, during MIS 7. The High Lodge Palaeolithic industry is associated with this cool temperate period, not with pre-Anglian times as formerly proposed. At Three Hills, artefacts occur within the proglacial deposits and are reworked from an earlier period. The geomorphology of the Warren Hill ridge is described and an interpretation of the ice front presented. The relation of the area to the wider Fenland landscape development is discussed.

The idea is tested that the evolution of the Chalk’s clay mineral assemblage during diagenesis can be deduced by examining the relationships between its clay mineralogy, particle size distribution pattern, and the timing and trace element chemistry of the calcite cement. The preliminary results from five different examples of cementation developed at different stages of diagenesis in chalks with smectite-dominated clay assemblages suggest that this is a promising line of investigation. Soft chalks with minor amount of anoxic series calcite cement poor in Mg, Fe and Mn are associated with neoformed trioctahedral smectite and/or dioctahedral nontronite and talc. Hard ground chalk with extensive anoxic series calcite cement enriched in Mg and relatively high Fe, Mn and Sr are associated with neoformed glauconite sensu lato , berthierine and dioctahedral smectite, possibly enriched in Fe. The chalk associated with large ammonites shows extensive suboxic series calcite cement enriched in Mg, Mn and Fe that show no obvious correlation with its clay mineralogy. Nodular chalks with patchy suboxic series calcite cement enriched in Fe are associated with neoformed dioctahedral smectite, possibly enriched in Al, and berthierine. Regionally hardened chalk with extensive suboxic calcite cement and relatively high trace element contents contain pressure dissolution seams enriched in kaolin and berthierine. Laser-based particle-size distribution patterns suggest that each type of lithification has a typical complex clay mineral population, indicating that subtleties in mineralogy are not being identified and that there could be some control on the size and shape of the clay crystals by the different types of cementation.

Fossiliferous beds in a complex sequence of late Middle to Late Pleistocene deposits at Whittlesey, eastern England, provided a rare opportunity for a multidisciplinary study of the palaeoecology of cool/cold stage deposits from different glacial stages. The fossiliferous sediments investigated form part of the River Nene 1st Terrace. Three of the four fossil assemblages investigated pre-date the last interglacial stage (Ipswichian/Eemian/marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 5e), whereas the other dates to part of the MIS 3 interstadial complex (Middle Devensian/Weichselian). Pollen, plant macrofossil, molluscan, coleopteran, ostracod, foraminifera and vertebrate data are available to a greater or lesser extent for each cool/cold stage assemblage, and they broadly present the same ecological picture for each one: a continuum from lowenergy permanent to non-permanent aquatic habitats through marshland with associated waterside taxa, together with flood influxes of fluvial, riparian and ruderal taxa. Although each fossil assemblage records cool/cold climatic conditions, to a greater or lesser extent, these conditions are more apparent in the insect and ostracod faunas. In comparision with results published for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) stadial in The Netherlands, palaeotemperature estimates based on ranges of mutual agreement between independent coleopteran and ostracod methods for the three preIpswichian/Eemian assemblages indicate minimum mean July air temperatures that are from +1° to +3°C warmer, but January values that embrace the −8°C estimate for the LGM. There is, however, a disparity between the coleopteran and ostracod palaeotemperature estimates for the Middle Devensian/Weichselian fossil assemblage, which are based on two different sample stratigraphic levels; the lower, coleopteran assemblage is indicative of very cool, continental climates, whereas the stratigraphically slightly higher ostracod assemblage suggests a climatic amelioration. Lack of numerical age-estimates prevents a robust stratigraphical interpretation, but the youngest pre-Ipswichian/Eemian fossil assemblage could date to the marine oxygen isotope stage 7–6 transition, at a time when cooling possibly preceded glacially driven sea-level fall. It is apparent from the rich coleopteran data that some continental cold-indicator taxa also appeared in pre-Ipswichian/Eemian cold stages and therefore assignment of continental cold-indicator taxa to particular Devensian/Weichselian intervals should be undertaken with care.

A multidisciplinary investigation was undertaken to establish the palaeoecology of three different fluvial depositional environments in the basal sediments of a richly fossiliferous channel infill at Whittlesey, eastern England, which is dated by amino acid racemization (AAR) to marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 7. Molluscan and coleopteran data indicate that the river flowed throughout the year, supporting extensive adjacent marshland. Palaeobotanical and insect evidence indicates that extensive deciduous woodland was present, and the ostracod evidence indicates that saline habitats were available locally, suggesting that sea level at the time was not much different to today. Pollen and insect data do not differentiate the three different depositional environments, in contrast to the molluscan and ostracod evidence. Temperature estimates based on insect and ostracod data indicate a 'mutual mutual' mean July temperature of 16-21 degrees C and -1 to 3 degrees C for January. This is the first fully interglacial fluvial fossil assemblage described so far for the River Nene catchment that is reliably dated to MIS 7. Of particular note is the molluscan assemblage, which contains eight exotic species, including Theodoxus danubialis - a species described previously in the United Kingdom only in MIS 11 deposits associated with the River Thames catchment. Also of note is the insect assemblage, which in contrast contains no exotic species - unlike other MIS 7 insect assemblages recorded so far in the United Kingdom. Together these faunal assemblages may suggest a hitherto uninvestigated phase of a British interglacial stage, which the AAR data indicate could be late in MIS 7. The possibility that this so far unique interglacial fossil assemblage is the result of a combination of local preservation potential and environmental factors, however, cannot be ruled out. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

The geology of the Wicken Vision Area in the lower Cam valley is described with reference to a stacked series of ten cross-sections through Holocene and Pleistocene deposits, and Cretaceous/Jurassic bedrock across the region. A detailed cross-section through a Holocene palaeochannel, with radiocarbon dating and pollen analyses is also presented. The structural geology of the bedrock and the stratigraphic arrangement of the Pleistocene and Holocene deposits are used to describe landscape development for the area. This study offers a new understanding of the stratigraphy and context of the Holocene, Weichselian and earlier Pleistocene deposits of the lower Cam valley, and provides a unique view of sediment architecture in valley-fill sediments at the fen edge.

Investigation of isolated landforms on the eastern margin of the East Anglian Fenland at Feltwell and Methwold Hythe, Norfolk has demonstrated that they represent glacifluvial delta‐fan and related sediments. Section logging, borehole records and previous descriptions together indicate that the deposits were laid down as an ice‐marginal delta complex and feeder channel into a proglacial lake. The internal structure and form of the delta and related feeder channel have also been determined using ground‐penetrating radar. The sequence indicates deposition at the ice front, together with minor ice‐front movements, a substantial discharge event and repeated solutional collapse of the underlying bedrock. Postdepositional solifluction and cryoturbation also occurred. The glaciomarginal landform complexes form part of a line of delta‐fan and associated accumulations (the ‘Skertchly Line’) deposited at the margin of an ice lobe that entered the Fenland. Here the ice dammed westward‐aligned rivers to form a lake, here called Lake Paterson. These observations reinforce earlier descriptions of a late Middle Pleistocene glaciation of the Fenland termed the ‘Tottenhill glaciation’. Previous research concluded that the glaciation occurred at c. 160 ka, that is, during the late Wolstonian (= late Saalian) Stage (Drenthe Substage, early Marine Isotope Stage 6), a correlation supported by evidence from the North Sea floor. The implications of these conclusions are discussed.

Understanding changing thresholds and mechanisms for retreat in soft rock cliffs is important under changing climates. This can be achieved through combining detailed field observation, long-term process and morphological monitoring and numerical modelling. The cliffs of the Suffolk coast, southern North Sea have exhibited long-term (1883–2010) recession rates of 3.5ma−1, rising to 4.7ma−1 in the period 1993–2010. Annual to biannual ground survey data, and the application of GIS techniques to digitised records of changing shoreline position from historic maps and aerial photography, reveal considerable decadal-scale variations in cliff recession, within which are nested inter-annual fluctuations in rates of retreat. Archival datasets on significant periods of onshore winds and their interaction with high water levels (including the incidence of storm surges) and rainstorm events are used to determine thresholds for cliff base erosion and its propagation upwards through the cliff profile. In addition, the ‘GEO-Slope’ dynamic coupled hydrology-stability model is used to establish thresholds for cliff face failures driven by variations in rainfall inputs. Retreat mechanisms are complex, governed by cliff geology, both as a primary control on suction loss and through its interaction with basal marine conditions. The study allows a general model of cliff retreat for soft rock cliffs to be put forward, whereby a resistant basal platform is overlain by more erodible, weakly and moderately cemented sands and gravels. In this model, the varying balance between marine and terrestrial forcing factors are reflected in low (<4ma−1), intermediate (4–7ma−1) and high (>7ma−1) modes of cliff retreat.