This paper presents a multi-proxy reconstruction of the climatic and environmental changes during the Last Glacial-Interglacial transition as recorded by a sediment sequence from Lake Lautrey (Jura, eastern France). This reconstruction is based on analysis of pollen, chironomid, organic matter, oxygen-isotope, mineralogical, magnetic susceptibility and inferred lake-level data at a high temporal resolution. The chronology is derived using AMS radiocarbon dates, the position of the Laacher See Tephra (LST), and of correlation between the Lautrey and GRIP oxygen-isotope records. This data set reveals a detailed sequence of environmental changes in the Jura mountains from Greenland Stadial 2a to the early Holocene. Biotic and abiotic indicators allow the recognition of major abrupt changes associated with the GS2a/GI-1e, GI-1a/GS-1 and GS-1/Preboreal transitions, and other minor fluctuations related to the cold events GI-1d, GI-1b and the Preboreal oscillation (PBO). They also suggest additional cooling spells at ca 14,550 and 14,350 cal yr BP (Intra-Bølling Cold Periods), at ca 13,500 and ca 12,700 cal yr BP just before the GS-1 onset, and at ca 11,350 cal yr BP just before the PBO, as well as an intriguing brief warming episode within GS-1 at ca 12,080 cal yr BP. Summer temperature increased by ca 5 °C at the start of GI-1e, and by 1.5-3 °C at the Holocene onset, while it decreased by ca 3-4 °C at the beginning of GS-1. Major changes in local hydrology and in seasonality appear to be also associated with the GS-2a/GI1e, GI-1a/GS-1 and GS-1/Preboreal transitions. Pollen and abiotic indicators suggest a greater sensitivity of the vegetation cover to climatic oscillations during the first part of the Lateglacial Interstadial than during the second part (after ca 13,700 cal yr BP), when a closed forest had been restored in this area. By contrast, the restoration of forest cover took less than 300 yr after the end of GS-1. At the beginning of GI-1e and GS-1, no lag occurs (within the sampling resolution of 20-50 yr) in the responses of aquatic (chironomids) and terrestrial (pollen) ecosystems, while, at the onset of the Holocene, the response of the vegetation appears slightly delayed in comparison with that of the chironomid community. Finally, the recognition of two successive tephra layers, which were deposited just before the LST at ca 12,950 cal yr BP and which originated from Le Puy de la Nugère (Massif Central, France), provides an additional tephrochronological tool for correlation between Lateglacial European sequences.

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Palaeobotanical, coleopteran and periglacial data from 106 sites across northwestern Europe have been analysed in order to reconstruct palaeoclimatic conditions during the Eemian and Early Weichselian. Three time slices in the Eemian and four in the Early Weichselian have been considered. In the Pinus-Quercetum mixtum-Corylus phase of the Eemian, summer temperatures were probably at their highest and the botanic evidence suggests a southeast to northwest gradient for both the warmest and coldest month. Coleoptera indicate that the summers in southern England were several degrees warmer than those of present day. The climate during the Carpinus-Picea phase was uniform and oceanic without obvious gradients. In the final time slice of the Eemian, the Pinus-Picea-Abies phase, temperatures of the warmest month seem to drop slightly with some indication of a shift towards a more boreal and suboceanic climate. The reconstruction of the palaeoclimate in the Herning Stadial and Rederstall Stadial is hampered by the limited number of sites, but botanical evidence suggests a gradient in temperature of the coldest month from east to west. Coleoptera from the Herning Stadial in central England and eastern Germany suggest similarly cold and continental climates. During the Brørup Interstadial and the Odderade Interstadial the botanical evidence suggests that the minimum mean July temperatures rose to 15-16°C but during the coldest month these temperatures show a gradient between −13°C in the east and −5°C in the west.

A stacked aeolian sequence with intercalated soils is presented from the southern Netherlands, which fully covers the Late Weichselian and Holocene periods. An integrated sedimentological (sedimentary structures, grain size), palynological (pollen) and dating approach (radiocarbon, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL)) was applied to unravel climatic and human forcing factors. The dating results of soils and sediments are compatible, and no large hiatuses between the radiocarbon-dated top of the soils and OSL-dated overlying sands were observed. It is argued that the peaty top of wet-type podzols can be used for reliable radiocarbon dating. This study reveals more phases than previously known of landscape stability (Usselo Soil and two podzol soils) and instability (Younger Coversand I and II, two drift-sand units) that are related to Late Weichselian climate change and Holocene human occupation. Regional aeolian deposition in source-bordering (river) dunes (Younger Coversand II) took place in the second part of the Younger Dryas, after 12.3 ka cal. BP, implying a delayed response to Younger Dryas cooling, vegetation cover decline and river pattern change of the Scheldt. The onset of podzolisation and development of ericaceous vegetation occurred prior to the introduction of Neolithic farming, which is earlier than previously assumed. Early podzolisation was followed by a short phase of local drift-sand deposition, at c.5500 cal. BP, that possibly relates to agriculture. Strong human impact on the landscape by deforestation and agriculture resulted in a second phase of widespread drift-sand deposition covering the younger podzol soil after AD 1000.

Fluxgate gradiometer surveys on two sites in the coastal plains of The Netherlands showed unexpected results. On the one hand, archaeological features, identified by coring or test trenching, were undetectable owing to a lack of sufficient magnetic contrast between the infill of the archaeological structures and the surrounding natural (salt marsh) sediments. This lack of contrast was shown to be caused by the iron mineralogy and not by iron deficiency of the soil. On the other hand, geological features, interpreted as anoxic shallow creek fills, showed with surprising clarity. Analysis of black‐stained deposits underlying the features identified pyrite and associated iron sulphide minerals as the cause for the magnetic anomalies. The complex iron sulphide/oxide mineralogy of salt marsh environments, coupled with geological history of the sites with multiple marine inundations, indicate that detection and interpretation of magnetic anomalies in the coastal zone of The Netherlands requires both thorough knowledge of the geology and further research into the geochemistry of these deposits. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.