Glacial lake drainage in Patagonia (13-8 kyr) and response of the adjacent Pacific Ocean.

Large freshwater lakes formed in North America and Europe during deglaciation following the Last Glacial Maximum. Rapid drainage of these lakes into the Oceans resulted in abrupt perturbations in climate, including the Younger Dryas and 8.2 kyr cooling events.

Extending the chronology of deposits at Blombos Cave, South Africa, back to 140 ka using optical dating of single and multiple grains of quartz.

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) measurements are reported for both single aliquots (of two different sizes) and single grains of quartz from deposits within Blombos Cave. Ages have been obtained for six sediments from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) occupation levels and for two sterile sands, one underlying the archaeological sediment and one overlying the Later Stone Age occupation levels. The ages for the archaeological sediments were obtained from single-grain measurements that enabled unrepresentative grains to be rejected.