The Miaoli Tableland (northwestern Taiwan) consists of a sequence of fine-grained tidal to coarse fluvial late Quaternary sediments which underwent a spatially differentiated uplift and fluvial dissection. They reveal repeated rework processes of fluvial cobbles from the highlands to the coast. A new landform classification based on high-resolution 3D terrain analysis results in a new interpretation of the landform evolution. The results favour a local rarely used Quaternary stratigraphic code.

We aim at testing and evaluating geochemical proxies and material for radiocarbon dating for their reliability and consistency at the Palaeolithic site Kammern-Grubgraben (Lower Austria). While carbonate and organic carbon contents are interpreted in terms of palaeoclimate variability, pedogenic carbonates turned out to be of Holocene age. As a consequence, the proxy data assessed here are differentially suitable for environmental reconstructions.

Calcareous tufa comprises carbonated rocks typical of relatively wet and warm conditions. Part of its chemical composition depends on the intensity of temperature and humidity conditions. Its distribution over time and chemistry can thus be used to recognise and compare interglacial and interstadial (warm and wet) periods as done here in Morocco and southern Spain. Such information allows better understanding of our current interglacial and the impact of climate changes on environments.

Comparing quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and fine-grain post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence (pIRIR) ages, agreement was largely found, e.g. the bracketing of the L1SS1 pedocomplex to ca. 30–40 ka. Nevertheless some age differences between the Bayreuth (OSL) and the Gliwice (pIRIR) data invite further discussion. Exact dating using various protocols and grain sizes remains challenging, in particular for a periglacial environment with strong heterogeneity of material.

Charcoals and leaf waxes from vegetation accumulate in the soil and provide information about past vegetation because they are mostly resistant against physical and biological degradation. Analyzing and comparing ratios of both element types helped us to improve the evidence for vegetation reconstruction. We found that the accumulation processes and preservation of these elements depend on different environmental conditions at forest- and steppe-dominated sites in the Mongolian forest–steppe.

Glacial trimlines are visible breaks in vegetation or landforms that mark the former extent of glaciers. They are often observed as faint lines running across valley sides and are useful for mapping the three-dimensional shape of former glaciers or for assessing by how much present-day glaciers have thinned and retreated. Here we present the first application of a new trimline classification scheme to a case study location in central western Spitsbergen, Svalbard.