Large stratovolcanoes in the Cascade Range have high equilibrium-line altitudes that support glaciers whose Holocene and latest Pleistocene advances are amenable to dating. Glacier advances produced datable stratigraphic sequences in lateral moraines, which complement dating of end moraines. New mapping of glacial deposits on Mount Rainier using LIDAR and field observations supports a single latest Pleistocene or early Holocene advance. Rainier R tephra overlies deposits from this advance and could be as old as >11.6 ka; the advance could be of Younger Dryas age. Radiocarbon ages on wood interbedded between tills in the lateral moraines of Nisqually, Carbon, and Emmons glaciers and the South Tahoma glacier forefield suggest glacier advances between 200 and 550 CE, correlative with the First Millennium Advance in western Canada, and during the Little Ice Age (LIA) beginning as early as 1300 CE.

These results resolve previous contradictory interpretations of Mount Rainier's glacial history and indicate that the original proposal of a single pre-Neoglacial cirque advance is correct, in contrast to a later interpretation of two advances of pre- and post-Younger Dryas age, respectively. Meanwhile, the occurrence of the pre-LIA Burroughs Mountain Advance, interpreted in previous work as occurring 3–2.5 ka, is questionable based on inherently ambiguous interpretations of tephra distribution.

Some lateral moraines contain a rich record of Holocene glacial expansion. Previous workers have used such evidence to document glacial fluctuations in western Canada, Alaska, and the U.S. Pacific Northwest, but similar studies in Patagonia are uncommon. Here we report on the late Holocene behavior of Stoppani Glacier, a 75 km2 glacier sourced in the Cordillera Darwin, southernmost Patagonia. Based on radiocarbon-dated wood and organic material contained in the glacier's northeast lateral moraine, we infer that Stoppani Glacier advanced shortly before 3.8–3.6, at 3.2–2.8, 2.3–2.1, and 0.3–0.2, and possibly sometime before 1.4–1.3 and 0.8–0.7 cal ka BP. These advances culminated at 0.3–0.2 cal ka BP, when the glacier constructed a prominent end moraine, marking its greatest extent of the past 4000 years. Although the timing of several of the advances overlap with the age range of glacial expansion recognized elsewhere in Patagonia, some do not. Asynchronous behavior observed in the glacial record may arise from the type of evidence (e.g., lateral stratigraphy vs. end moraine) used to document glacial fluctuations or variations in climate or glacial response times. A significant difference between the Stoppani record and some other Patagonian records is that the former indicates general expansion of ice over the last 4000 years, whereas the latter indicate a net decrease in extent over that period.

This study combines radiocarbon (14C) analysis and sclerochronology research, an approach that to the best of our knowledge, has not yet been applied using bivalves from the Mediterranean Sea. We analyzed shells from the North Adriatic Sea: live- and dead-collected specimens of the infaunal bivalve Glycymeris pilosa and two dead-collected specimens of Glycymeris sp. According to crossdating results, growth increment time series obtained from acetate peels of the dead-collected G. pilosa (S3FP11) indicate the potential for creating longer chronologies from live and dead-collected specimens. The greatest longevity was seen in the dead-collected Glycymeris sp. specimen S3F3, estimated to be ~130 years (started growing AD 1678–1742 and died AD 1826–1860), indicating the potential to extend Glycymeris growth increment chronologies to past centuries. The highest ∆14C values obtained corresponded to the calendar year 1974. The 14C record obtained from G. pilosa correlates well with the modeled surface ocean (mixed-layer) bomb pulse curve (Reimer et al. 2009). Based on the results obtained from the shell growth increment assigned to AD 1950, the reservoir age and reservoir correction (ΔR) are 264±23 years and –6±32 years, respectively.

Biogeochemical analyses of eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) are frequently included in environmental monitoring and paleoecological studies because their shells and soft tissues record environmental and dietary signals. Carbon isotopes in the mineral phase of the shell are derived from ambient bicarbonate and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), while organic carbon present in soft tissue is of dietary origin. Mineral-bound organic matter within the carbonate shell matrix (“conchiolin”) is studied less frequently. The purpose of this study was to compare carbon isotope composition (δ13C and Δ14C) of conchiolin to those of shell carbonates and soft tissues in eastern oysters and assess the extent to which conchiolin can provide insight into paleoecological records. Eleven oyster specimens were live-collected from Apalachicola Bay, USA, as well as a set of environmental samples (water, sediment, and terrestrial plants). Overall, the δ13C values in all studied oyster tissue types record environmental signals related to carbon sources, with conchiolin being enriched in 13C by an average of 2.3‰ relative to bulk soft tissues. Δ14C values in oyster shell carbonates generally reflect the marine versus riverine source of DIC, while conchiolin Δ14C values are impacted by variable relative contributions of young and old organic matter. Environmental samples indicate a significantly large difference in Δ14C among sources, from –127‰ in particulate organic matter to approximately +15‰ in DIC. Conchiolin is significantly depleted in 14C relative to other tissue types, by as much as 56.6‰, posing a major obstacle to the use of conchiolin as an alternative material for radiocarbon dating.

Sedimentological, malacological, and pollen analyses from 14C-dated alluvial sections from the Luján River provide a detailed record of environmental changes during the Holocene in the northeastern Pampas of Argentina. From 11,200 to 9000 14C yr B.P., both sedimentary and biological components suggest that the depositional environment was eutrophic, alkaline, and freshwater to brackish shallow water bodies without significant water circulation. During this time, bioclastic sedimentation was dominant and the shallow water bodies reached maximum development as the climate became more humid, suggesting an increase in precipitation. Short-term fluctuations in climate during the last stage of this interval may have been sufficient to initiate changes in the water bodies, as reduction of the volume alternated with periods of flooding. The beginning of the evolution of shallow swamps in the wide floodplain or huge wetlands was contemporaneous with a sea level lower than the present one. From 9000 and 7000 14C yr B.P., mesotrophic, alkaline, brackish, probably anoxic swamps existed. Between 7000 and 3000 14C yr B.P., anoxic calcareous swamps were formed, with subaerial exposure and development of the Puesto Berrondo Soil (3500–2900 14C yr B.P.). A trend to a reduction of water bodies is recorded from 9000 to ca. 3000 14C yr B.P., with a significant reduction after ca. 7000 14C yr B.P. A shift to subhumid–dry climate after 7000 14C yr B.P. appears to be the main cause. During this time, an additional external forcing toward higher groundwater levels was caused by Holocene marine transgression causing changes in the water bodies levels. The climate became drier during the late Holocene (ca. 3000 yr B.P.), when clastic sedimentation increased, under subhumid–dry conditions. Flood events increased in frequency during this time. From ca. A.D. 1790 to present, the pollen record reflects widespread disturbance of the vegetation during the European settlement.