Late Pleistocene carbonate aeolianites on Mallorca, Western Mediterranean: a luminescence chronology Joan J. Forno ´s a, * , Lars B. Clemmensen b , Lluı ´s Go ´ mez-Pujol a, c , Andrew S. Murray d a Departament de Cie`ncies de la Terra, Universitat de les Illes Balears, Ctra. Valldemossa, km. 7.5, 07122 Palma de Mallorca, Illes Balears, Spain b Department of Geography and Geology, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark c Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies, IMEDEA (CSIC$UIB), Miquel Marque `s 21, 07190 Esporles, Illes Balears, Spain d Nordic Laboratory for Luminescence Dating, Department of Earth Sciences, Aarhus University, Risø-DTU, DK4000 Roskilde, Denmark article info Article history: Received 23 September 2008 Received in revised form 2 June 2009 Accepted 9 June 2009 abstract Coastal outcrops of Upper Pleistocene deposits in north-eastern Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain) have been examined and a chronological framework established using Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating. The outcrops record a complex interaction between aeolian, colluvial and alluvial fan deposition that result in a variable stratigraphical architecture. Dating and facies analysis make it possible to identify four aeolian activity episodes during MIS 5c/b, 4 and 3, and also add to the under- standing of the environmental history of north-eastern Mallorca over the last 100 ka. The new data suggest enhanced aeolian transport and dune formation during cold climatic intervals when sea level was low, sediment supply (exposed marine carbonate sediment) was high, winter windiness was high, and vegetation on coastal plains at a minimum. Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Aeolianites are common sedimentary facies in Pleistocene coastal successions in low latitudes on both hemispheres (e.g. Kindler et al., 1997; Rose et al., 1999; Brooke, 2001; Price et al., 2001; Forno ´ s et al., 2002a; Preusser et al., 2002; Nielsen et al., 2004; Radies et al., 2004; Frechen et al., 2004; Sivan and Porat, 2004; Munyikwa, 2005). Their presence testifies to former periods of aeolian activity and if dated with sufficient accuracy the aeolianites can yield important information on Pleistocene landscape evolu- tion. Chronological studies of aeolianite-bearing successions have previously relied on U/Th dating of associated marine deposits or amino acid dating of both marine and aeolian deposits (e.g. Hearty, 1987; Hearty and Kindler, 1993; Hillaire-Marcel et al., 1996; Kindler et al., 1997; Zazo et al., 2003; Bateman et al., 2004; Roberts et al., 2008). Some relatively young Pleistocene aeolianites have also been radiocarbon dated (e.g. McLaren, 2000; Clemmensen et al., 2001). However, with the more recent emergence and refinement of luminescence dating, it has now become possible to date directly the time of deposition of these aeolian deposits and thereby to establish much improved chronologies for Pleistocene aeolian landscape evolution and to examine landscape evolution in relation to regional-scale climate change (e.g. Huntley et al., 1993, 1994; and Rose et al., 1999; Huntley and Prescott, 2001; Preusser et al., 2002; Munyikwa, 2005). Aeolianites are partially lithified former dune deposits cemen- ted by carbonates (Fairbridge and Johnson, 1978). Quaternary aeolianites are typically coastal deposits composed of fine- to medium-grained, well-sorted sand. The character of the sand grains depends much on the local environmental setting, but the dominant constituents of the aeolianites are quartz and feldspar grains and marine carbonate particles. Both the detrital mineral grains and the carbonate particles are often derived from local sources. Luminescence measurements are most frequently carried out on the quartz–rich fraction of such aeolian dune deposits (e.g. Murray and Clemmensen, 2000; Murray and Olley, 2002; Banerjee et al., 2003; Madsen et al., 2007; Clemmensen et al., 2007). In the examples described here from Mallorca, the aeolianites contain only between 1 and 8% of detrital mineral grains, primarily quartz. The marine carbonate particles were transported inland by winds from the coast or from exposed carbonate shelf areas. The quartz grains were in most cases probably related to aeolian input (Fiol et al., 2005) derived from desert areas in North Africa. Thus this study of aeolianite samples from Mallorca contributes to the broader evaluation of the application of luminescence dating to new classes of sediment. In this study we focus on aeolianites that were deposited during the last glacial period (97–34 ka). Published work on Pleistocene aeolianite luminescence chronologies indicate * Corresponding author. E-mail address: joan.fornos@uib.es (J.J. Forno ´ s). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary Science Reviews journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quascirev 0277-3791/$ – see front matter Ó 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.06.008 Quaternary Science Reviews 28 (2009) 2697–2709