Longstanding behavioural stability in West Africa extends to the Middle Pleistocene at Bargny, coastal Senegal.

Middle Stone Age (MSA) technologies first appear in the archaeological records of northern, eastern and southern Africa during the Middle Pleistocene epoch. The absence of MSA sites from West Africa limits evaluation of shared behaviours across the continent during the late Middle Pleistocene and the diversity of subsequent regionalized trajectories. Here we present evidence for the late Middle Pleistocene MSA occupation of the West African littoral at Bargny, Senegal, dating to 150 thousand years ago.

Timing and dynamics of Late Wolstonian Substage 'Moreton Stadial' (MIS 6) glaciation in the English West Midlands, UK.

Glaciation during the late Middle Pleistocene is widely recognized across continental northwest Europe, but its extent and palaeoenvironmental significance in the British Isles are disputed. Although glaciogenic sediments at Wolston, Warwickshire, in the English West Midlands, have been used to define the stratotype of the Wolstonian Stage, their age has been variably assigned between marine isotope stages (MIS) 12 and 6. Here we present sedimentological and stratigraphical observations from five sites across the English West Midlands whose chronology is constrained by new luminescence ages from glaciofluvial sediments, supplemented by cosmogenic Cl exposure dating of erratic boulders.

Continuity of the Middle Stone Age into the Holocene.

The African Middle Stone Age (MSA, typically considered to span ca. 300-30 thousand years ago [ka]), represents our species' first and longest lasting cultural phase. Although the MSA to Later Stone Age (LSA) transition is known to have had a degree of spatial and temporal variability, recent studies have implied that in some regions, the MSA persisted well beyond 30 ka.

Long-term sediment decline causes ongoing shrinkage of the Mekong megadelta, Vietnam.

Since the 1990s the Mekong River delta has suffered a large decline in sediment supply causing coastal erosion, following catchment disturbance through hydropower dam construction and sand extraction. However, our new geological reconstruction of 2500-years of delta shoreline changes show that serious coastal erosion actually started much earlier. Data shows the sandy coast bounding river mouths accreted consistently at a rate of +2 to +4 km/year.

Mid-Devensian climate and landscape in England: new data from Finningley, South Yorkshire.

While there is extensive evidence for the Late Devensian, less is known about Early and Middle Devensian (approx. 110-30 ka) climates and environments in the UK. The Greenland ice-core record suggests the UK should have endured multiple changes, but the terrestrial palaeo-record lacks sufficient detail for confirmation from sites in the British Isles.

Identification of Younger Dryas outburst flood path from Lake Agassiz to the Arctic Ocean.

The melting Laurentide Ice Sheet discharged thousands of cubic kilometres of fresh water each year into surrounding oceans, at times suppressing the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and triggering abrupt climate change. Understanding the physical mechanisms leading to events such as the Younger Dryas cold interval requires identification of the paths and timing of the freshwater discharges. Although Broecker et al.