Thomas Stevens - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Thomas Stevens

Nature communications, 2015

Marine accumulations of terrigenous sediment are widely assumed to accurately record climatic- an... more Marine accumulations of terrigenous sediment are widely assumed to accurately record climatic- and tectonic-controlled mountain denudation and play an important role in understanding late Cenozoic mountain uplift and global cooling. Underpinning this is the assumption that the majority of sediment eroded from hinterland orogenic belts is transported to and ultimately stored in marine basins with little lag between erosion and deposition. Here we use a detailed and multi-technique sedimentary provenance dataset from the Yellow River to show that substantial amounts of sediment eroded from Northeast Tibet and carried by the river's upper reach are stored in the Chinese Loess Plateau and the western Mu Us desert. This finding revises our understanding of the origin of the Chinese Loess Plateau and provides a potential solution for mismatches between late Cenozoic terrestrial sedimentation and marine geochemistry records, as well as between global CO2 and erosion records.

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2013

ABSTRACT Arid and semi arid northern China holds some of the world's most significant san... more ABSTRACT Arid and semi arid northern China holds some of the world's most significant sand sea and loess deposits. In particular, arguably the most important late Cenozoic wind-blown dust archives on land are exposed on the Chinese Loess Plateau. The origin of this loess-forming dust and its relationship to adjacent sand seas is unclear and has been the subject of considerable debate. Polarization of opinion over the sources of loess also reflects uncertainty over its relationship to large river systems and to the sources of proximal desert sands. It is critical to resolve this in order to elucidate the origins of sand seas, to determine the activity of past dust emitting regions and to fully exploit loess climate archives. Here we combine zircon U-Pb, fission-track and double dating with heavy mineral analysis to test the role of proximal deserts and rivers in contributing dust to the Loess Plateau. We focus on the Mu Us desert to test hypotheses over its sediment sources and because previous studies have often presented contrasting interpretations over its importance as a loess source. Spatial complexity of zircon ages and heavy mineral assemblages in Mu Us sand rules out significant aeolian mixing and shows that grains originating in northern Tibet dominate in the western Mu Us, with local sources dominating in the east of the desert. The western Mu Us far-travelled grains are shown to be delivered by the Yellow River and associated systems. Crucially, the western Mu Us grains and Yellow River grains show U-Pb age distributions and heavy mineral assemblages virtually identical to those of the Quaternary loess. Thus, our results demonstrate that the Yellow River and associated systems transports large quantities of sediment from northern Tibet to the Mu Us desert and further suggest that the river contributes a significant volume of material to the Loess Plateau. This provides the first evidence of a genetic link between the Yellow River and formation of the Chinese Loess Plateau and suggests a greater role for fluvial activity in past dust and desert sand sea formation.

Quaternary Research, 2014

ABSTRACT Accurate sea-level reconstruction is critical in understanding the drivers of coastal ev... more ABSTRACT Accurate sea-level reconstruction is critical in understanding the drivers of coastal evolution. Inliers of shallow marine limestone and aeolianite are exposed as zeugen (carbonate-capped erosional remnants) on the southern coast of the Arabian/Persian Gulf. These have generally been accepted as evidence of a eustatically driven, last-interglacial relative sea-level highstand preceded by a penultimate glacial-age lowstand. Instead, recent optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating suggests a last glacial age for these deposits, requiring > 100 m of uplift since the last glacial maximum in order to keep pace with eustatic sea-level rise and implying the need for a wholesale revision of tectonic, stratigraphic and sea-level histories of the Gulf. These two hypotheses have radically different implications for regional neotectonics and land–sea distribution histories. Here we test these hypotheses using OSL dating of the zeugen formations. These new ages are remarkably consistent with earlier interpretations of the formations being last interglacial or older in age, showing that tectonic movements are negligible and eustatic sea-level variations are responsible for local sea-level changes in the Gulf. The cause of the large age differences between recent studies is unclear, although it appears related to large differences in the measured accumulated dose in different OSL samples.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2014

A clear understanding of the provenance of late Cenozoic Chinese loess and the underlying Red Cla... more A clear understanding of the provenance of late Cenozoic Chinese loess and the underlying Red Clay deposits will shed light on the history and mechanisms of Asian aridification. Although much progress has been made in understanding the source of Quaternary loess on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), the provenance of the underlying upper Miocene-Pliocene Red Clay sequence is largely unknown. Here we present the first provenance history of the Red Clay sequence based on zircon U-Pb ages from the central CLP. Visual and statistical analyses of the U-Pb age populations and comparison with results from potential source regions reveals that (1) the lowermost Red Clay of the late Miocene (depositional age of ∼8 Ma) is likely sourced from the nearby Liupan Mountains and the Qaidam Basin; (2) the middle Red Clay (5.5-4 Ma) of the early-mid Pliocene is sourced mainly from the Taklamakan desert, transported via lower-level westerly winds; (3) the upper Red Clay of the late Pliocene (∼3 Ma) is sourced from mixed areas, although western source materials from middle-northern Tibetan plateau (including Qaidam Desert sediments and materials eroded from the Qilian Mountains) sediments appear to dominate; and (4) the Quaternary loess is also sourced from mixed source regions, albeit with dominant northern CLP proximal desert sediments transported via winter monsoon winds, which in turn may be transported from mountain source regions of the northeastern Tibet and Gobi Altai via major river systems. This long term shift in sources suggests a progressive eastward aridification during the Pliocene in Asia with the specific timing of provenance shifts synchronous with large-scale climatic transitions and Tibetan uplift, demonstrating that Asian desertification is controlled by both factors.

Quaternary International, 2014

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

A field test of cheap talk and two types of certainty calibration in contingent valuation of publ... more A field test of cheap talk and two types of certainty calibration in contingent valuation of public lands indicated that cheap talk does not reduce WTP estimates. Use of a ten point certainty calibration scale reduces WTP estimates by about half. However, adjusting for uncertainty using a 'Not Sure' option does not reduce WTP estimates but increases the variance in responses. There may be a conceptual difference between these two ways of accounting for respondents' uncertainty, which may suggest why they provide different WTP value estimates and variances.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

Public recreation land management agencies have been searching for ways to increase revenue. User... more Public recreation land management agencies have been searching for ways to increase revenue. User fees as implemented by the Fee Demonstration Program have received the most attention. Corporate sponsorships and private donations have also been implemented and other options, such as partial privatization, closure of some areas, and different forms of public-private partnerships have been debated. The present paper reports results from a 2002 mail survey of randomly selected Idaho and New Hampshire households, designed to elicit public attitudes about a wide variety of management policies for public (federal/state) recreation lands. The most socially acceptable forms for raising revenue were donation boxes (61.1%), corporate sponsorships for visitor centers (61.8%) and education facilities (61.1%), and adopt-a-site contracts (81.0%). Both increased taxes and user fees faced greater opposition (about 49% of respondents) than support (39%). In addition, user fees have resulted in (reported) changes in behavior among a quarter of the respondents, and may have stronger negative impact on lowincome households and on the users of public recreation lands.

Quaternary Geochronology, 2015

Quaternary International, 2014

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was applied to the Neolithic Vin ca culture's type... more Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was applied to the Neolithic Vin ca culture's type-site, Vin ca Belo-Brdo, to establish best protocols for routine luminescence dating of similar Holocene sites, critical in understanding Neolithic to Chalcolithic cultural development. Equivalent dose (D e ) values were investigated for sediment samples using 63e90 mm grains on large and small aliquots, and single-grain laser luminescence (SGLL), and for pottery samples using large aliquots of 4e11 mm grains. The effects of changing water content and the different techniques available to establish radionuclide concentration were explored for their impacts on dose rate (D r ) estimates.

In this study we evaluated simplified direct comparisons between Pleistocene regional and local t... more In this study we evaluated simplified direct comparisons between Pleistocene regional and local terrestrial environmental archives and global deep sea and ice core records. Our recent results of the luminescence dating applied to the Serbian loess-paleosol sequences lead to an important question about the validity of previously generalized direct stratigraphic correlations, as well as to underline importance of understanding environmental thresholds which controlling discordances between these paleoclimatic records.

UDC 911.2:551.4(497.113) Tin Lukić, Slobodan B. Marković, Thomas Stevens, Djord - jije A. Vasilje... more UDC 911.2:551.4(497.113) Tin Lukić, Slobodan B. Marković, Thomas Stevens, Djord - jije A. Vasiljević, Björn Machalett, Nebojša Milojković, Bil- jana Basarin & Igor Obreht: The loess "cave" near the village of Surduk - an unusual pseudokarst landform in the loess of Vojvodina, Serbia Loess "caves" (piping caverns, wells, tunnels) exposed in loess cliffs are rare pseudokarst landforms that can be

Global and Planetary Change, 2014

The loess in Vojvodina region in Northern Serbia is regarded as one of the thickest and most comp... more The loess in Vojvodina region in Northern Serbia is regarded as one of the thickest and most complete paleoclimate archives in Europe. Recent studies showed that loess in Vojvodina spans the last million years. Based on the interprofile correlation between two most important loess-paleosol sequences Stari Slankamen and Titel Loess Plateau a synthetic profile was formed regarded as Stratotype Record of Serbian loess (SRSL). The synthetic profile has a total thickness of 62 m and is comprised of 10 loess layers intercalated with nine pedocomplexes. A new astronomically tuned age model is proposed based on correlating peak magnetic susceptibility (χ) responses with the timing of June perihelia. This target curve is derived from analysis of regional climate proxy responses during the last interglacial and independently dated last glacial-interglacial cycle of Serbian loess-paleosol sequence. The use of a precession index target as the only tuning target presents the requirement of minimal tuning approach, which means that only the precession frequencies of the record will be manipulated. Spectral and wavelet analyses of tuned magnetic susceptibility record reveal the presence of frequencies corresponding to 139 kyr, 94 kyr, 65 kyr and small amplitude cycles of 43 and 23 kyr in χ record. Spectral analysis of frequency dependent magnetic susceptibility (χ fd ) has spectral content concentrated around 100 kyr and 77 kyr, while higher frequency cycles are below significance level. There is a strong 245 kyr peak in spectral results of both χ and χ fd records that needs additional attention. Around 800 kyr in SRSLχ time scale and between 900 kyr and 600 kyr in SRSLχ fd series the 100 kyr cycles become dominant, which could be identified as the period of Mid-Pleistocene Transition. This is the first record of this paleoclimate transition in the Pannonian basin. The results presented in this study highlight the potential of Serbian loess-paleosol sequences for investigation of detailed and long-term climate reconstruction over continental Eurasian extent.

Tourism Economics, 2004

... in the Gulf of Thailand, and Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, and Koh Lanta located in the Andaman Sea. .... more ... in the Gulf of Thailand, and Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, and Koh Lanta located in the Andaman Sea. ... the beaches from an elevated distance, making it easier to develop an overall assessment of the ... in the amount of noise in the beach area (from no noise to voice-level noise) lowers ...

We are often urged to preserve wilderness for the sake of future generations. Future generations ... more We are often urged to preserve wilderness for the sake of future generations. Future generations consist of potential per- sons who are mute stakeholders in the decisions of today. Many claims about the rights of future generations or our present obliga- tions to them have been vigorously advanced and just as vigorously denied. Recent theorists, however, have argued for a

Climate Change, 2012

In this study the first astronomical time scale for loess-paleosol sequences of Vojvodina region,... more In this study the first astronomical time scale for loess-paleosol sequences of Vojvodina region, northern Serbia is presented astronomical timescale for the loess-paleosol sequences of the Vojvodina region, northern Serbia. The sequence is the longest and most detailed orbitally tuned European loess record, comparable to Asian sequences to the east. Magnetic susceptibility (MS) records from two continuous loess-paleosol sequences in Vojvodina have been used to construct the timescale, with the aim of investigating climatic and environmental evolution and variability over the last million years. The 47.3-m-thick Mošorin (MO) section covers the time interval between marine isotope stages (MIS) 1 and 15, while the lower part of the Stari Slankamen (SS) section covers the time frame prior to MIS 16. The MS records were tuned to June 65 N insolation over the period between 0 and approximately 1 million years. The new timescale suggests older than expected ages for a number of the magnetic polarity boundaries, consistent with lock-in depth offsets reported for other loess sequences. Spectral analyses of the stacked MS variations indicate that climatic dynamics are dominated mainly by the changes in orbital eccentricity and subdominantly by obliquity and precession bands, over the past 1 million years.

Ecosystems play a vital role in achieving development goals and provide services of high value. R... more Ecosystems play a vital role in achieving development goals and provide services of high value. Riparian ecosystems provide multiple ecosystem services that are vital to biotic, abiotic, and economic health of a region. An assessment of their economic value is important for conservation policy. This study uses a multi-attribute method to quantify relative values of riparian attributes. The conjoint analysis incorporates three riparian ecosystem management scenarios and was implemented through an online survey. A logistic ...

Climate of the Past Discussions, 2014

Mineral dust plays an important role in the climate system by interacting with radiation, clouds,... more Mineral dust plays an important role in the climate system by interacting with radiation, clouds, and biogeochemical cycles. In addition, natural archives show that the dust cycle experienced variability in the past in response to global and local climate change. The compilation of the DIRTMAP paleodust datasets in the last two decades 5 provided a target for paleoclimate models that include the dust cycle, following a time slice approach. We propose an innovative framework to organize a paleodust dataset that moves on from the positive experience of DIRTMAP and takes into account new scientific challenges, by providing a concise and accessible dataset of temporally resolved records of dust mass accumulation rates and particle grain-size distributions. We consider data from ice cores, marine sediments, loess/paleosol sequences, lake sediments, and peat bogs for this compilation, with a temporal focus on the Holocene period. This global compilation allows investigation of the potential, uncertainties and confidence level of dust mass accumulation rates reconstructions, and highlights the importance of dust particle size information for accurate and quantitative reconstruc-15

Records of past climate variability and associated vegetation response exist in various regions t... more Records of past climate variability and associated vegetation response exist in various regions throughout Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). To date, there has been no coherent synthesis of the existing palaeorecords. During an INTIMATE meeting (Cluj Napoca, Romania) focused on identifying CEE paleo-records, it was decided to address this gap by presenting the palaeo-community with a compilation of high-* Corresponding author.

Wetlands, 1995

Abstract: Wetland preservation produces two types of economic value: use value and nonuse (existe... more Abstract: Wetland preservation produces two types of economic value: use value and nonuse (existence) value. Previous studies have focused almost exclusively on use value, yet nonuse value is becoming increas-ingly important, in part because it is now considered by the ...

Nature communications, 2015

Marine accumulations of terrigenous sediment are widely assumed to accurately record climatic- an... more Marine accumulations of terrigenous sediment are widely assumed to accurately record climatic- and tectonic-controlled mountain denudation and play an important role in understanding late Cenozoic mountain uplift and global cooling. Underpinning this is the assumption that the majority of sediment eroded from hinterland orogenic belts is transported to and ultimately stored in marine basins with little lag between erosion and deposition. Here we use a detailed and multi-technique sedimentary provenance dataset from the Yellow River to show that substantial amounts of sediment eroded from Northeast Tibet and carried by the river's upper reach are stored in the Chinese Loess Plateau and the western Mu Us desert. This finding revises our understanding of the origin of the Chinese Loess Plateau and provides a potential solution for mismatches between late Cenozoic terrestrial sedimentation and marine geochemistry records, as well as between global CO2 and erosion records.

Quaternary Science Reviews, 2013

ABSTRACT Arid and semi arid northern China holds some of the world's most significant san... more ABSTRACT Arid and semi arid northern China holds some of the world's most significant sand sea and loess deposits. In particular, arguably the most important late Cenozoic wind-blown dust archives on land are exposed on the Chinese Loess Plateau. The origin of this loess-forming dust and its relationship to adjacent sand seas is unclear and has been the subject of considerable debate. Polarization of opinion over the sources of loess also reflects uncertainty over its relationship to large river systems and to the sources of proximal desert sands. It is critical to resolve this in order to elucidate the origins of sand seas, to determine the activity of past dust emitting regions and to fully exploit loess climate archives. Here we combine zircon U-Pb, fission-track and double dating with heavy mineral analysis to test the role of proximal deserts and rivers in contributing dust to the Loess Plateau. We focus on the Mu Us desert to test hypotheses over its sediment sources and because previous studies have often presented contrasting interpretations over its importance as a loess source. Spatial complexity of zircon ages and heavy mineral assemblages in Mu Us sand rules out significant aeolian mixing and shows that grains originating in northern Tibet dominate in the western Mu Us, with local sources dominating in the east of the desert. The western Mu Us far-travelled grains are shown to be delivered by the Yellow River and associated systems. Crucially, the western Mu Us grains and Yellow River grains show U-Pb age distributions and heavy mineral assemblages virtually identical to those of the Quaternary loess. Thus, our results demonstrate that the Yellow River and associated systems transports large quantities of sediment from northern Tibet to the Mu Us desert and further suggest that the river contributes a significant volume of material to the Loess Plateau. This provides the first evidence of a genetic link between the Yellow River and formation of the Chinese Loess Plateau and suggests a greater role for fluvial activity in past dust and desert sand sea formation.

Quaternary Research, 2014

ABSTRACT Accurate sea-level reconstruction is critical in understanding the drivers of coastal ev... more ABSTRACT Accurate sea-level reconstruction is critical in understanding the drivers of coastal evolution. Inliers of shallow marine limestone and aeolianite are exposed as zeugen (carbonate-capped erosional remnants) on the southern coast of the Arabian/Persian Gulf. These have generally been accepted as evidence of a eustatically driven, last-interglacial relative sea-level highstand preceded by a penultimate glacial-age lowstand. Instead, recent optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating suggests a last glacial age for these deposits, requiring > 100 m of uplift since the last glacial maximum in order to keep pace with eustatic sea-level rise and implying the need for a wholesale revision of tectonic, stratigraphic and sea-level histories of the Gulf. These two hypotheses have radically different implications for regional neotectonics and land–sea distribution histories. Here we test these hypotheses using OSL dating of the zeugen formations. These new ages are remarkably consistent with earlier interpretations of the formations being last interglacial or older in age, showing that tectonic movements are negligible and eustatic sea-level variations are responsible for local sea-level changes in the Gulf. The cause of the large age differences between recent studies is unclear, although it appears related to large differences in the measured accumulated dose in different OSL samples.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2014

A clear understanding of the provenance of late Cenozoic Chinese loess and the underlying Red Cla... more A clear understanding of the provenance of late Cenozoic Chinese loess and the underlying Red Clay deposits will shed light on the history and mechanisms of Asian aridification. Although much progress has been made in understanding the source of Quaternary loess on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP), the provenance of the underlying upper Miocene-Pliocene Red Clay sequence is largely unknown. Here we present the first provenance history of the Red Clay sequence based on zircon U-Pb ages from the central CLP. Visual and statistical analyses of the U-Pb age populations and comparison with results from potential source regions reveals that (1) the lowermost Red Clay of the late Miocene (depositional age of ∼8 Ma) is likely sourced from the nearby Liupan Mountains and the Qaidam Basin; (2) the middle Red Clay (5.5-4 Ma) of the early-mid Pliocene is sourced mainly from the Taklamakan desert, transported via lower-level westerly winds; (3) the upper Red Clay of the late Pliocene (∼3 Ma) is sourced from mixed areas, although western source materials from middle-northern Tibetan plateau (including Qaidam Desert sediments and materials eroded from the Qilian Mountains) sediments appear to dominate; and (4) the Quaternary loess is also sourced from mixed source regions, albeit with dominant northern CLP proximal desert sediments transported via winter monsoon winds, which in turn may be transported from mountain source regions of the northeastern Tibet and Gobi Altai via major river systems. This long term shift in sources suggests a progressive eastward aridification during the Pliocene in Asia with the specific timing of provenance shifts synchronous with large-scale climatic transitions and Tibetan uplift, demonstrating that Asian desertification is controlled by both factors.

Quaternary International, 2014

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

A field test of cheap talk and two types of certainty calibration in contingent valuation of publ... more A field test of cheap talk and two types of certainty calibration in contingent valuation of public lands indicated that cheap talk does not reduce WTP estimates. Use of a ten point certainty calibration scale reduces WTP estimates by about half. However, adjusting for uncertainty using a 'Not Sure' option does not reduce WTP estimates but increases the variance in responses. There may be a conceptual difference between these two ways of accounting for respondents' uncertainty, which may suggest why they provide different WTP value estimates and variances.

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2000

Public recreation land management agencies have been searching for ways to increase revenue. User... more Public recreation land management agencies have been searching for ways to increase revenue. User fees as implemented by the Fee Demonstration Program have received the most attention. Corporate sponsorships and private donations have also been implemented and other options, such as partial privatization, closure of some areas, and different forms of public-private partnerships have been debated. The present paper reports results from a 2002 mail survey of randomly selected Idaho and New Hampshire households, designed to elicit public attitudes about a wide variety of management policies for public (federal/state) recreation lands. The most socially acceptable forms for raising revenue were donation boxes (61.1%), corporate sponsorships for visitor centers (61.8%) and education facilities (61.1%), and adopt-a-site contracts (81.0%). Both increased taxes and user fees faced greater opposition (about 49% of respondents) than support (39%). In addition, user fees have resulted in (reported) changes in behavior among a quarter of the respondents, and may have stronger negative impact on lowincome households and on the users of public recreation lands.

Quaternary Geochronology, 2015

Quaternary International, 2014

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was applied to the Neolithic Vin ca culture's type... more Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating was applied to the Neolithic Vin ca culture's type-site, Vin ca Belo-Brdo, to establish best protocols for routine luminescence dating of similar Holocene sites, critical in understanding Neolithic to Chalcolithic cultural development. Equivalent dose (D e ) values were investigated for sediment samples using 63e90 mm grains on large and small aliquots, and single-grain laser luminescence (SGLL), and for pottery samples using large aliquots of 4e11 mm grains. The effects of changing water content and the different techniques available to establish radionuclide concentration were explored for their impacts on dose rate (D r ) estimates.

In this study we evaluated simplified direct comparisons between Pleistocene regional and local t... more In this study we evaluated simplified direct comparisons between Pleistocene regional and local terrestrial environmental archives and global deep sea and ice core records. Our recent results of the luminescence dating applied to the Serbian loess-paleosol sequences lead to an important question about the validity of previously generalized direct stratigraphic correlations, as well as to underline importance of understanding environmental thresholds which controlling discordances between these paleoclimatic records.

UDC 911.2:551.4(497.113) Tin Lukić, Slobodan B. Marković, Thomas Stevens, Djord - jije A. Vasilje... more UDC 911.2:551.4(497.113) Tin Lukić, Slobodan B. Marković, Thomas Stevens, Djord - jije A. Vasiljević, Björn Machalett, Nebojša Milojković, Bil- jana Basarin & Igor Obreht: The loess "cave" near the village of Surduk - an unusual pseudokarst landform in the loess of Vojvodina, Serbia Loess "caves" (piping caverns, wells, tunnels) exposed in loess cliffs are rare pseudokarst landforms that can be

Global and Planetary Change, 2014

The loess in Vojvodina region in Northern Serbia is regarded as one of the thickest and most comp... more The loess in Vojvodina region in Northern Serbia is regarded as one of the thickest and most complete paleoclimate archives in Europe. Recent studies showed that loess in Vojvodina spans the last million years. Based on the interprofile correlation between two most important loess-paleosol sequences Stari Slankamen and Titel Loess Plateau a synthetic profile was formed regarded as Stratotype Record of Serbian loess (SRSL). The synthetic profile has a total thickness of 62 m and is comprised of 10 loess layers intercalated with nine pedocomplexes. A new astronomically tuned age model is proposed based on correlating peak magnetic susceptibility (χ) responses with the timing of June perihelia. This target curve is derived from analysis of regional climate proxy responses during the last interglacial and independently dated last glacial-interglacial cycle of Serbian loess-paleosol sequence. The use of a precession index target as the only tuning target presents the requirement of minimal tuning approach, which means that only the precession frequencies of the record will be manipulated. Spectral and wavelet analyses of tuned magnetic susceptibility record reveal the presence of frequencies corresponding to 139 kyr, 94 kyr, 65 kyr and small amplitude cycles of 43 and 23 kyr in χ record. Spectral analysis of frequency dependent magnetic susceptibility (χ fd ) has spectral content concentrated around 100 kyr and 77 kyr, while higher frequency cycles are below significance level. There is a strong 245 kyr peak in spectral results of both χ and χ fd records that needs additional attention. Around 800 kyr in SRSLχ time scale and between 900 kyr and 600 kyr in SRSLχ fd series the 100 kyr cycles become dominant, which could be identified as the period of Mid-Pleistocene Transition. This is the first record of this paleoclimate transition in the Pannonian basin. The results presented in this study highlight the potential of Serbian loess-paleosol sequences for investigation of detailed and long-term climate reconstruction over continental Eurasian extent.

Tourism Economics, 2004

... in the Gulf of Thailand, and Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, and Koh Lanta located in the Andaman Sea. .... more ... in the Gulf of Thailand, and Phuket, Koh Phi Phi, and Koh Lanta located in the Andaman Sea. ... the beaches from an elevated distance, making it easier to develop an overall assessment of the ... in the amount of noise in the beach area (from no noise to voice-level noise) lowers ...

We are often urged to preserve wilderness for the sake of future generations. Future generations ... more We are often urged to preserve wilderness for the sake of future generations. Future generations consist of potential per- sons who are mute stakeholders in the decisions of today. Many claims about the rights of future generations or our present obliga- tions to them have been vigorously advanced and just as vigorously denied. Recent theorists, however, have argued for a

Climate Change, 2012

In this study the first astronomical time scale for loess-paleosol sequences of Vojvodina region,... more In this study the first astronomical time scale for loess-paleosol sequences of Vojvodina region, northern Serbia is presented astronomical timescale for the loess-paleosol sequences of the Vojvodina region, northern Serbia. The sequence is the longest and most detailed orbitally tuned European loess record, comparable to Asian sequences to the east. Magnetic susceptibility (MS) records from two continuous loess-paleosol sequences in Vojvodina have been used to construct the timescale, with the aim of investigating climatic and environmental evolution and variability over the last million years. The 47.3-m-thick Mošorin (MO) section covers the time interval between marine isotope stages (MIS) 1 and 15, while the lower part of the Stari Slankamen (SS) section covers the time frame prior to MIS 16. The MS records were tuned to June 65 N insolation over the period between 0 and approximately 1 million years. The new timescale suggests older than expected ages for a number of the magnetic polarity boundaries, consistent with lock-in depth offsets reported for other loess sequences. Spectral analyses of the stacked MS variations indicate that climatic dynamics are dominated mainly by the changes in orbital eccentricity and subdominantly by obliquity and precession bands, over the past 1 million years.

Ecosystems play a vital role in achieving development goals and provide services of high value. R... more Ecosystems play a vital role in achieving development goals and provide services of high value. Riparian ecosystems provide multiple ecosystem services that are vital to biotic, abiotic, and economic health of a region. An assessment of their economic value is important for conservation policy. This study uses a multi-attribute method to quantify relative values of riparian attributes. The conjoint analysis incorporates three riparian ecosystem management scenarios and was implemented through an online survey. A logistic ...

Climate of the Past Discussions, 2014

Mineral dust plays an important role in the climate system by interacting with radiation, clouds,... more Mineral dust plays an important role in the climate system by interacting with radiation, clouds, and biogeochemical cycles. In addition, natural archives show that the dust cycle experienced variability in the past in response to global and local climate change. The compilation of the DIRTMAP paleodust datasets in the last two decades 5 provided a target for paleoclimate models that include the dust cycle, following a time slice approach. We propose an innovative framework to organize a paleodust dataset that moves on from the positive experience of DIRTMAP and takes into account new scientific challenges, by providing a concise and accessible dataset of temporally resolved records of dust mass accumulation rates and particle grain-size distributions. We consider data from ice cores, marine sediments, loess/paleosol sequences, lake sediments, and peat bogs for this compilation, with a temporal focus on the Holocene period. This global compilation allows investigation of the potential, uncertainties and confidence level of dust mass accumulation rates reconstructions, and highlights the importance of dust particle size information for accurate and quantitative reconstruc-15

Records of past climate variability and associated vegetation response exist in various regions t... more Records of past climate variability and associated vegetation response exist in various regions throughout Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). To date, there has been no coherent synthesis of the existing palaeorecords. During an INTIMATE meeting (Cluj Napoca, Romania) focused on identifying CEE paleo-records, it was decided to address this gap by presenting the palaeo-community with a compilation of high-* Corresponding author.

Wetlands, 1995

Abstract: Wetland preservation produces two types of economic value: use value and nonuse (existe... more Abstract: Wetland preservation produces two types of economic value: use value and nonuse (existence) value. Previous studies have focused almost exclusively on use value, yet nonuse value is becoming increas-ingly important, in part because it is now considered by the ...