Millennial-scale terrestrial ecosystem responses to Upper Pleistocene climatic changes: 4D-reconstruction of the Schwalbenberg Loess-Palaeosol-Sequence (Middle Rhine Valley, Germany)
Abstract Loess-Palaeosol-Sequences (LPS) in the Central European region provide outstanding terrestrial polygenetic and multiphase archives responding to past climate and environments over various spatial and temporal scales. As yet, however, the geomorphological and pedogenic processes involved in LPS formation, and their interplay with changes in ecological conditions, impede robust correlation with other palaeoenvironmental archives. The Schwalbenberg LPS, which drape a hillslope in the Middle Rhine Valley in western Central Europe, provide unique high-resolution records highly suitable for investigating the processes involved in their formation and the relationship to climatic influence…
Influence of HCl pretreatment and organo-mineral complexes on laser diffraction measurement of loess–paleosol-sequences
Abstract The influence of different sample pretreatment methods on grain size distributions in particle size analysis has been subject to controversial discussions. Standard sample preparation typically comprises the disaggregation of aggregated and agglomerated particles into single primary particles, i.e., the organic binding material is oxidized by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the contained carbonates are dissolved by hydrochloric acid (HCl). The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of HCl treatment on grain size analyses of Late Pleistocene and Holocene loess–paleosol-sequences investigated by a Beckman Coulter LS 13320 laser particle analyzer. For this purpose, samples from two…
Quartz OSL dating of late quaternary Chinese and Serbian loess: A cross Eurasian comparison of dust mass accumulation rates
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. Reconstructing dust Mass Accumulation Rate (MAR) from loess deposits is critical to understanding past atmospheric mineral dust activity and requires accurate independent age models from loess deposits across Europe and Asia. Previous correlations of loess in Europe and China have tended to focus on multi-millennial timescales, with no detailed examination of dust MAR at the two ends of the Eurasian loess belt on shorter, sub-orbital scales. Here we present a detailed quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) chronology from the Serbian Titel Loess Plateau (Veliki Surduk loess core) and the Chinese Loess Plateau (Lingtai section). The luminescence ages pa…
Sedimentology of a Late Quaternary lacustrine record from the south-eastern Carpathian Basin
The Upper Pleistocene geoarchives in the south‐eastern Carpathian Basin are represented predominantly by loess–palaeosol records. In 2015, a 10 m sediment core composed of clay‐rich lacustrine sediments was recovered by vibracoring a dry lake basin located between the Vršac Mountains (Serbia) and the Banat Sands in the south‐eastern Carpathian Basin; a location relevant for placing regional archaeological results in a palaeoenvironmental context. Here, we present results from geoelectrical prospection and a lithostratigraphic interpretation of this sequence supported by a detailed granulometric study supplemented by ostracod analysis. An age model based on luminescence dating is discussed a…
Landscape instability at the end of MIS 3 in western Central Europe : evidence from a multi proxy study on a Loess-Palaeosol-Sequence from the eastern Lower Rhine Embayment, Germany
Abstract The Lower Rhine Embayment hosts important Loess-Palaeosol-Sequences (LPS) within the western European loess belt yielding valuable information on landscape evolution and palaeoclimatic dynamics. The study focusses on the palaeoenvironmental development based on a LPS from the eastern shoulder of the Lower Rhine Embayment (Dusseldorf-Grafenberg). The palaeoenvironmental development within the study area is presented and discussed based on high-resolution grain size analyses, selected environmental magnetic parameters, and geochemical analyses complemented by luminescence age estimates. Differences in grain size distribution (ΔGSD) as well as the U-ratio clearly reflect main stratigr…