Glacier reconstructions provide insights into past climatic conditions and elucidate processes and feedbacks that modulate the climate system both in the past and present. We investigate the transition from the last glacial to the current interglacial and generate beryllium-10 moraine chronologies in glaciated catchments of the eastern European Alps. We find that rapid warming was superimposed by centennial-scale cold phases that appear to have influenced large parts of the Northern Hemisphere.

The central Mongolian forest steppe underlies a recent decline of forested area. We analysed the site and soil properties in the Khangai Mountains to identify differences between disturbed forest areas with and without regrowth of trees. More silty soils were found under areas with tree regrowth and more sandy soils under areas without tree regrowth. Due to the continental, semi-arid climate, soil properties which increase the amount of available water are decisive for tree regrowth in Mongolia.

The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) about 21 kyr ago is known to have been global in extent. Nonetheless, we have limited knowledge during the pre-LGM time in the southern middle latitudes. If we want to understand the causes of the ice ages, the complete glacial period must be addressed. In this paper, we show that the Patagonian Ice Sheet in southern South America reached its full glacial extent also by 57 kyr ago and defies a climate explanation.

Our new concept of the Weichselian ice dynamics in the south-western sector of the Baltic Sea depression is based on existing geochronological data from Germany, Denmark and southernmost Sweden, as well as new data from north-east Germany. Previous models are mainly based on the reconstruction of morphologically continuous ice-marginal positions, whereas our model shows a strong lobate and variable character of ice advances. We strongly suggest an age- and process-based approach in the future.

The Mongolian forest-steppe suffers from fire and woodcutting. The forest distribution was analysed by tree biomass, remote sensing and climate data. Tree biomass was reduced at forest edges and in small forest, and high in alluvial forests. The actual tree biomass represented 57 % of that in 1986, prior to extensive fires. Relationships between forests and topographic and climatic parameters enable modelling of potential forest, which is about three times the actual forest area.

The study evaluates the ability of stable isotopes (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) and sugar biomarkers to distinguish Erica from the dominant vegetation of the Bale Mountains in order to reconstruct the past extent of Erica on the Sanetti Plateau. No significant differences in stable isotopes are found between the dominant plant species. Although Erica is characterized by quite high (G+M)/(A+X) ratios, it cannot be unambiguously distinguished from other plants due to degradation and soil microbial effects.

Chemotaxonomic identification of keystone plant species in the Bale Mountains are possible using lignin phenols. However, Erica could not be differentiated chemotaxonomically from all other investigated plants using n-alkanes. Unambiguous characteristic patterns of lignin phenols reflected in the plant samples were not sustained in the organic layers and mineral topsoils. This is due to degradation and organic matter inputs by roots. Therefore, the past extent of Erica is still speculative.

The Vienna Basin is a low seismicity area, where historical data do not identify all potential earthquake sources. Despite observed Quaternary offset, there are no earthquakes along the Markgrafneusiedl Fault (MF). Results from 3 palaeoseismic trenches show evidence for 5–6 earthquakes with magnitudes up to M = 6.8 during the last 120 kyr. Therefore the MF should be considered as a seismic source, together with similar faults in the Vienna Basin, increasing the seismic potential close to Vienna.

For this study we systematically investigated the molecular pattern of leaf waxes in litter and topsoils along a European transect to assess their potential for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Our results show that leaf wax patterns depend on the type of vegetation. The vegetation signal is not only found in the litter; it can also be preserved to some degree in the topsoil.

Stable water isotopes (18O/16O and 2H/1H) are invaluable proxies for paleoclimate research. Here we use a coupled 18O/16O and 2H/1H biomarker approach based on plant-derived sugars and n-alkanes. Applying this innovative approach to a topsoil transect allows for (i) calculating the deuterium-excess of leaf water as a proxy for relative humidity and (ii) calculating the plant source water isotopic composition (~precipitation). The approach is validated by the presented climate transect results.