dating the quaternary progress in luminescence dating of sediments abstract luminescence dating comprises a collection of numerical age techniques that are among the most significant chronological tools currently used in quaternary research this paper briefly reviews the key historical developments in luminescence dating from its roots in thermoluminescence dating of heated minerals to the development of optical dating methods for sunlight exposed sediments we describe the principles and practicalities of the various techniques commonly used in luminescence dating including multiple aliquot single aliquot and single grain procedures and we discuss some of the latest approaches to recognising and minimising potential errors in age estimation e g by means of component analysis and dose distribution methods in optical dating the overview also introduces the other papers in this special issue of quaternary science reviews which address a selection of important issues in basic research technique development and application of luminescence dating to critical questions in the geological and archaeological sciences illustrated with examples from around the world and the last million years of earth history

aminostratigraphic evaluation of conflicting age estimates for the young loess of hungary abstract as part of a regional investigation of the aminostratigraphy of central european loess deposits we have sampled and analyzed the amino acid composition of fossil gastropod shells from stratotype loess profiles at mende basaharc and paks plus the profile at sutto in an effort to correlate independently loess paleosol formations of the young loess of hungary with loess units elsewhere in the region the measured extent of isoleucine epimerization in fossil gastropod shells preserved in loess sediments was used to evaluate the relative ages of stratigraphic units and correlate between discontinuous exposures based on amino acid epimerization ratios we propose a new chronology for the standard young loess profile of hungary amino acid geochronological data suggest that paleosol complexes mf bd1 2 and ba formed during interglaciations rather than interstades correlations are suggested with pk 2 3 last interglaciation pk 4 penultimate interglaciation and pk 5 respectively from previously described czech and slovak localities

short climatic oscillations in a western european loess sequence kesselt belgium this new study of the loess section at kesselt is focused mainly on the reconstruction of palaeoenvironments of the last glacial period in the belgian dutch region detailed grain size analyses in combination with the study of the palaeosols and periglacial structures indicate the occurrence of climatic cycles during loess deposition permafrost development coincided with enhanced deposition of relatively coarse loess and alternated with permafrost degradation decreased deposition of finer loess and tundra soil formation a newly designated palaeosol lafelt soil is described in detail particularly in terms of its micromorphological properties it is a luvisol and its chronostratigraphical position is still open to debate but radiocarbon dating places it in the weichselian middle pleniglacial 1998 john wiley sons ltd

long term fluvial archives in hungary response of the danube and tisza rivers to tectonic movements and climatic changes during the quaternary a review and new synthesis abstract the paper discusses the quaternary evolution of the danube and tisza rivers and their main tributaries in the context of evolution of the entire pannonian basin which is europe s largest intramontane basin within the alp carpathian orogen the palaeo drainage reconstruction of the pannonian basin for the pre quaternary period is outlined in connection with the gradual regression of lake pannon since the late miocene deltas of rivers that entered the basin from the northwest and northeast were gradually transformed into extended alluvial plains thus the earliest possible ancestor of the danube coming southeastwards from the alps could be as old as late miocene by the pliocene the whole lake pannon was infilled the former extensional basin formation was replaced by a compresional stress field which resulted in an uplift of the marginal flanks and late stage subsidence anomalies the increasing relief led to the formation of the quaternary drainage pattern the actively subsiding young basins were filled by fluvial sediments transported by the danube and tisza river systems from the uplifting mountains between the subsiding regions of the little and great plains the danube has formed an antecedent valley with terrace staircases between the uplifting sections of the transdanubian range and the north midmountains the formation of the terraces is attributed to periodic climate changes during the pleistocene combined with differences in the uplift rate the paper gives a complex overview of the classical chronology of the six terraces based on various data sources mostly dating of loess paleosol sequences travertines aeolian sand and tephra strata overlying the fluvial sediments complemented by scattered vertebrate faunal data and archaeological evidence directly from the terrace sediments the quaternary drainage pattern evolution of the great plain with a strong tectonic control is discussed in detail rivers originating from the uplifting marginal areas were drawn towards the subsiding depressions which served as local base level changes in subsidence rates in space and time throughout the quaternary resulted in the evolution of a complex drainage pattern a special emphasis is placed on the late pleistocene holocene development of the middle tisza region and the koros basin where the berettyo koros rivers form an eastern tributary system of the tisza river a comparative evaluation of these two areas is especially relevant as they provide insights into large scale late pleistocene avulsion of the tisza river osl dating complemented with inferred transport directions determined from heavy mineral analysis of fluvial sediments in the koros basin has revealed an ancient large meandering river system that can be identified with the palaeo tisza which was flowing along a tectonically controlled depression during the late pleniglacial successions in the middle tisza region have allowed differentiation between the older channels of the palaeo bodrog river and the sajo hernad alluvial fan and the younger meander belts of the new course of the tisza in the tisza system changes in river style braided to various scales of meandering show correspondence to millennial scale climate changes of the last 25 ka while in the koros basin the effects of tectonics are overprinted onto the regional climatic signals

luminescence chronology of the loess palaeosol sequence toshan northern iran a highly resolved climate archive for the last glacial interglacial cycle loess palaeosol sequences are highly resolved archives for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and build an important link to correlate european and central asian loess sequences for the loess palaeosol sequence at toshan northern iran a luminescence based chronological framework was established the timing of dust accumulation and soil formation was investigated and thereby information on changes in palaeoenvironmental conditions in the region obtained for luminescence dating the 4e11 mm grain size fraction was used and the pirir290 approach was applied to polyminerals tests concerning bleachability dose recovery and anomalous fading were conducted the results show that residual doses have only minor influence on the determination of the equivalent dose the eemian mis 5e soil seems to be preserved but a chronological classification based on luminescence ages for this soil remains difficult the pirir290 age estimates from the lower part of the profile range from 104 9t o 127 8 ka lumi nescence ages from the central profile part point to an increase in dust accumulation starting around the mis 4 mis 3 transition furthermore a chronological framework for interstadial soils was developed indicating e g soil formation at around 40 ka during mis 3 and 26 ka during mis 2 the top part of the profile was dated to about 22 ka the age estimates show that the toshan loess profile is a highly resolved loess record providing a valuable climate archive for the last glacialeinterglacial cycle reflecting several climatic shifts represented by dust accumulation or enhanced degrees of soil formation stadials and interstadials

loess palaeosol section in sarengrad croatia a qualitative discussion on the correlation of the geochemical and magnetic susceptibility data abstract the sarengrad loess section is located on the south bank of the danube river in the easternmost part of croatia the published lithostratigraphical results including grain size total organic content calcium carbonate content and luminescence dating results are complemented by geochemical content of major and trace elements and acidity and magnetic susceptibility studies throughout the section four palaeosols are intercalated in the loess the oldest hydromorphic one is covered by laminated alluvial sediments and loess the second palaeosol is an argillic dark brown soil with the highest value of the profile and the other two palaeosols are brownish and less developed geochemical characteristics and ms signals of the palaeosols explain both the main characteristics and degree of pedogenesis palaeosol horizons could be clearly distinguished from loess based on the content of major and trace elements and on weathering coefficients such as ba sr and cao na 2 o mgo k 2 o al 2 o 3 irsl age estimates of 86 6 8 6 and 55 3 5 5 ka indicate that most of the middle and upper pleniglacial loess record is missing at the sarengrad section however the loess palaeosol sequence at sarengrad has a very detailed record correlating with mis 4 5

geochronology of middle and upper pleistocene loess sections in hungary abstract the application of both thermoluminescence and infrared stimulated luminescence dating to the extensively studied classical hungarian loess paleosol sequences from basaharc mende and paks provides a reliable chronological framework and climatostratigraphic reconstruction for the last interglacial glacial cycle based on this combined luminescence dating study a new chronology is proposed for the young loess in hungary luminescence dating suggests that the loess below the mf2 horizon formed during the penultimate glaciation the mf1 horizon probably formed during an interstade within oxygen isotope stage 3 for the youngest loess overlying mf1 a very high accumulation rate was determined large time gaps occur above mf2 and mf1 indicating that most of the record of the last glaciation is missing in the standard sections at basaharc mende and paks either large discontinuities or a very low accumulation rate occurred in all three type sections during the soil forming periods high resolution studies of climatic proxies using this combined luminescence dating approach provide a reliable chronological framework for loess and loess derivatives of the last glacial cycle in hungary although a precise and complete chronostratigraphic reconstruction cannot be achieved from the incomplete records found at these sites

reconstructing palaeoenvironments on desert margins new perspectives from eurasian loess and australian dry lake shorelines abstract desert margins preserve evidence of more extensive arid conditions in the past and represent global hot spots with respect to climate change the balance of scientific evidence now suggests that dryland landscape reactivation did not correspond simply to ice age aridity peaks as previously assumed this paper provides a new perspective on and more nuanced understanding of desert marginal landscapes as palaeoenvironmental archives the two case studies represent ends of a sediment availability spectrum both environments experience substantial spatial and temporal variability in deposition with implications for reconstructing past environments at individual sites recently generated chronostratigraphic data from the dry subhumid dobrogea loess romania are synthesised to provide quantitative insights into the spatial and temporal organisation of loess plateaux loess accumulation peaks during the lgm and mis4 but not at all sites accumulation rates vary substantially between sites comparison of geographical context yields no clear driving mechanism for this variability secondly two transverse lunette dunes in semi arid willandra lakes australia yield comparable chronostratigraphies and distribution of stratigraphic units a first attempt is made to identify changes in wind regime through time on the australian desert margins and suggests that high latitude climate forcing may have acted upon semi arid australia over millennial scales the novel perspectives generated from the new datasets provide unprecedented insights into past climate circulation and land surface processes along desert margins these new perspectives coupled with the new geochronological and quantitative palaeoclimate proxy tools now available represent the next frontier for palaeoenvironmental research on desert margins

malacological and sedimentological evidence for warm glacial climate from the irig loess sequence vojvodina serbia four loess units and three paleosol layers are preserved in the irig brickyard vojvodina serbia amino acid geochronology provides stratigraphic correlations between loess units v l1 and v l2 at the irig section with loess of glacial cycles b and c respectively described from other central european localities luminescence dating results for the upper loess layers v l1l1 and v l1s1l1 confirm the geological interpretations although in samples below paleosol v l1s1s2 the age increase with depth is less than in our proposed age model magnetic susceptibility and sedimentological evidence from the irig loess paleosol sequence show general similarities with the mis 6 1 pattern of the specmap oxygen isotope curve malacogical investigations at the irig site reveal the continuous presence of the chondrula tridens and helicopsis striata faunal assemblages throughout the last glacial and final part of the penultimate glacial loess the loess snail fauna which is characterized by the complete absence of cold resistant species suggests a stable dry and relatively warm glacial climate compared with other central european loess localities furthermore these data suggest that the southern slope of fruska gora was a refugium for warm loving and xerophilus mollusc taxa during the otherwise unfavorable glacial climates of the late pleistocene

loess in europe mass accumulation rates during the last glacial period abstract upper pleistocene loess palaeosol sequences provide excellent high resolution terrestrial archives of climate forcing due to improvements in numerical age determinations especially in luminescence dating methods a more reliable time based reconstruction of the past climate and environmental change has become available for the loess record in europe chronological information was collected from 43 sites along a northwest to southeast transect in europe thirty three of these sites had sufficient age information to allow estimation of mass accumulation rates and it was possible to isolate the mass accumulation rates of primary loess during the last glacial period 28 13 ka bp at 21 of these locations these sites fall along a coarse climatic gradient from the relatively coastal climate of belgium and france to the drier more continental climate of central europe interpreting mass accumulation rates of loess in terms of this climatic gradient is not straightforward as these deposits are dominated by sources in floodplains and large river systems thus accumulation rates are influenced strongly by regional wind and precipitation patterns but mostly by the availability of glacially derived material from the alps and the periglacial terrains that characterized european fluvial systems during and immediately following glaciation

the upper pleistocene loess record at harmignies belgium high resolution terrestrial archive of climate forcing abstract the loess palaeosol sequence in a section at harmignies in belgium is one of the most important upper pleistocene sites in northwest europe an extensive luminescence dating study was carried out to get a reliable chronological framework and to understand the climate forcing in an area where continuous permafrost dominated during most of the last glaciations twenty eight samples were investigated by infrared optically stimulated luminescence irsl and thermoluminescence tl methods resulting in more than 100 luminescence age estimates the dating results on colluvial sediments are in good agreement with landscape destabilisation phases during ois 5 during the last glacial four major periods of loess accumulation were likely to have occurred in europe at the harmignies section the oldest loess was deposited between 67 000 to 60 000 yr the second one from 60 000 to 50 000 yr the third one from 50 000 to 40 000 yr and the youngest loess accumulation period started most likely after the heinrich 3 event and lasted until the heinrich 2 event 25 000 20 000 yr two main periods of permafrost occurred at approximately 60 000 and 28 000 yr bp

pleistocene vertebrate faunas of the suttő travertine complex hungary numerous fossil remains vertebrates molluscs and plants were found in more than twenty sites of the sutt travertine complex during the last 150 years the majority of these remains were recovered from fissures of the travertine but also from the travertine and an overlying loess paleosol sequence the aims of this study were to review the fossil content to determine the stratigraphical positions of the various vertebrate faunas of sutt and provide paleoecological interpretation of the periods on the basis of their faunas and floras in addition this paper describes new faunas and floras from the sites sutt 16 20 and provides 14c dates for sutt 16 on the basis of the new uranium series isotope and optical dating osl the age of the travertine complex is middle pleistocene 235 21 314 45 ka mis 7 9 while the age of the loessepaleosol sequence in superposition of the travertine is middleelate pleistocene mis 2 mis 6 in contrast the fossils of the travertine indicated an older pliocene early pleistocene age a fissure sutt 17 and a red clay layer sutt 19 contained mammal faunas of early middle pleistocene age these results indicated the existence of older travertine in certain quarries hegyhati quarry cukor quarry sedimentological and osl data of well dated layers of the loess paleosol sequence sutt lps at sutt o allowed a correlation with the layers of sutt 6 the paleosol layer in the upper part of the sequence of sutt o 6 was correlated with a pedocomplex of the overlying loess paleosol sequence which was dated to mis 5c upper dark soil and mis 5e lower reddish brown soil the paleoecological analysis of the mammal and mollusc faunas supported the former interpretation of novothny et al 2011 inferring warm dry climate during the sedimentation of the upper layers and more humid climate for the lower layers however the fauna of the lower soil layer indicated cold climate so an age of mis 5d is suggested dating of the fissure faunas is based on similarity studies for some faunas this method cannot be used because of the low number of species on the basis of the species compositions and former interpretations these faunas originated mainly from sediments that were deposited under cold climatic conditions other fissure faunas were dated by ams 14c sutt 16 or by correlation with soil layers of sutt 6 according to these results most of the fissure faunas can be correlated with different phases of mis 5 however there are a younger mis 2 and an older early middle pleistocene fissure fauna also

thermoluminescence dating of loess recent developments abstract thermoluminescence tl dating has developed into an important chronological method in loess research especially beyond the range of radiocarbon dating the principles and the present stage of the method applied to windborne sediments are summarized in this article advice to users is provided for appropriate sampling and handling of tl samples as well as for measuring the natural radioactivity in the field the potential and the limitation of loess tl dating are discussed in terms of various case studies from central europe in spite of the problem of age underestimation for old loess tl dating has already contributed greatly towards a better understanding of the loess stratigraphy and chronology thermoluminescence as a dating tool for archaeological samples has been established for 30 years but the application of tl dating to quaternary sediments is apart from some earlier attempts in the soviet union shelkoplyas and morozov 1965 dreimanis et al 1978 a more recent development essentially of the last decade wintle and huntley 1979 since several review papers have already appeared on this subject e g wintle and huntley 1982 mejdahl 1986 wintle 1987 singhvi and wagner 1986 berger 1988 the present contribution will only briefly mention the underlying tl principles and the dating techniques but will focus on the recent development in tl dating of loess

archaeological sites of the suttő travertine complex hungary with stratigraphical and paleoecological implications from their faunas abstract the sutt travertine complex in northern hungary is known in the geological literature for more than a century as a series of paleontological sites this site is one of the largest travertine occurrences of the gerecse hills loose upper pleistocene eolian sediments mainly riss wurmian loess and holocene topsoil cover the eroded surface of the travertine beside vertebrate assemblages two archaeological sites were described from this area one sutt diosarok was a paleolithic fire pit situated in the road cut between sutt and the quarries while the other one was discovered in a fissure of the northern wall of diosvolgy quarry the latter is part of the sutt 1 vertebrate site vertes 1965 referred the artifacts from sutt diosarok to the mousterian tata culture this site is referred here to mis 5c based on the vertebrate and snail faunas representing warm and dry climate and steppe like vegetation as well as the tool bearing dark brown chernozem like paleosol layer of the loess paleosol sequence with a luminescence age of 93 7 21 1 ka artificially fractured bones were excavated from the small cavity of sutt 1 some of those remains display toolmarks unfortunately these bones are currently missing from the collection the latter artifacts most likely belong to a level which pre dates the tata culture paleoecological inferences based on the mammalian and mollusc faunas indicated warm humid climate and forest vegetation therefore suggesting a stratigraphic correlation of sutt 1 with the eemian interglacial mis 5e

different paleoenvironments of late pleistocene age identified in verőce outcrop hungary preliminary results abstract complex geomorphological geological paleopedological and chronometrical investigations were started to reveal the development of the alluvial section and the loess paleosol sequence containing remnants of a late palaeolithic site near ver ce hungary different paleoenvironments were identified in the profiles of the abandoned brickyard influenced by different facies in the margin of fluvial alluvial palaeo danube and proluvial southeast pediment of borzsony mountain area and the environments affected by the climate fluctuation of late pleistocene loess paleosol sequence overlying the base of alluvial materials sediments possibly deposited by palaeo danube were identified in a basal section of the abandoned brickyard the alluvial facies was indicated by sand silt and clay layers in the sediment sequence some parts of the alluvial sediments were covered by loess in the glacial periods intercalated by four paleosol horizons formed during interglacial or interstadial periods the sedimentation of loess and the forming of paleosols were finished by pedimentation processes sheet wash redeposition indicated by the fine layered material at the top of each paleosol horizon another complex fluvial alluvial section was identified at a different part of the brickyard possibly developed synchronous with the loess paleosol sequence during the late pleistocene based on relative and chronometrical dating methods e g archaeological stratigraphy and correlation of the artifacts 14c and luminescence dating the development of the loess paleosol sequence started in marine isotope stage 6 mis6 and the youngest layer dated to mis2

geochemistry unravels mis 3 2 paleoenvironmental dynamics at the loess paleosol sequence schwalbenberg ii germany abstract the schwalbenberg ii loess paleosol sequence lps denotes a key site for marine isotope stage mis 3 in western europe owing to eight succeeding cambisols which primarily constitute the ahrgau subformation therefore this lps qualifies as a test candidate for the potential of temporal high resolution geochemical data obtained by x ray fluorescence xrf scanning of discrete samples providing a fast and non destructive tool for determining the element composition the geochemical data is first contextualized to existing proxy data such as magnetic susceptibility ms and organic carbon corg and then aggregated to element log ratios characteristic for weathering intensity log ca sr log rb sr log ba sr log rb k and dust provenance log ti zr log ti al log si al generally an interpretation of rock magnetic particles is challenged in western europe where not only magnetic enhancement but also depletion plays a role our data indicates leaching and top soil erosion induced ms depletion at the schwalbenberg ii lps besides weathering log ca sr is susceptible for secondary calcification thus also log rb sr and log ba sr are shown to be influenced by calcification dynamics consequently log rb k seems to be the most suitable weathering index identifying the sinzig soils s1 and s2 as the most pronounced paleosols for this site sinzig soil s3 is enclosed by gelic gleysols and in contrast to s1 and s2 only initially weathered pointing to colder climate conditions also the remagen soils are characterized by subtle to moderate positive excursions in the weathering indices comparing the schwalbenberg ii lps with the nearby eifel lake sediment archive elsa and other more distant german austrian and czech lps while discussing time and climate as limiting factors for pedogenesis we suggest that the lithologically determined paleosols are in situ soil formations the provenance indices document a zr enrichment at the transition from the ahrgau to the hesbaye subformation this is explained by a conceptual model incorporating multiple sediment recycling and sorting effects in eolian and fluvial domains

the agh band loess palaeosol sequence a terrestrial archive for climatic shifts during the last and penultimate glacial interglacial cycles in a semiarid region in northern iran abstract the northern iranian loess profiles host important information on quaternary climate and palaeoenvironmental changes in the region they build an important link between the eurasian loess belt and european and central asian archives due to a climatic gradient with decreasing precipitation from the west to the east and from the south to the north loess palaeosol sequences formed synchronously under different climatic conditions can be studied over short distance in the iranian caspian lowland the agh band profile is located in the so called iranian loess plateau a semi arid region with 200 350 mm annual precipitation the loess deposits at agh band reach a thickness of 60 m an about 50 m thick step profile was prepared and the litho pedostratigraphy was investigated samples for laser diffractometry grain size measurements were taken every 2 cm the magnetic susceptibility was measured in 4 cm intervals and the caco3 content in 8 cm intervals to establish a chronological framework a pirir290 luminescence dating approach was applied to the 4 11 m polymineral fraction the results show that the agh band profile yields a climate archive reaching from mis 7 to mis 2 several chronological hiatuses of some 10 ka show that periods of intense loess accumulation were interrupted by phases of only minor loess sedimentation and or erosion the agh band profile is subdivided by several shifts in grain size distribution the coarsening and fining up trends correlate with increasing and decreasing wind velocity respectively in the central part of the agh band loess sequence a weakly developed palaeosol is preserved which was developed at around 80 ka furthermore the loess deposits formed from about 100 ka to 60 ka ago show banded structures a pedocomplex including two well developed palaeosols consisting of bw y horizons and a cb horizon as well as intercalated loess can be found in the lower part of the sequence also evidenced by the increased values of magnetic susceptibility the corresponding luminescence age estimates indicate that the palaeosols represent a period of increased humidity and landscape stability during late mis 7 and mis 6 hence in the agh band loess various changes in the palaeo sedimentary system triggered by changes in climate can be observed this yields important information on the sensitive response of sedimentary systems and landscapes within semi arid regions to shifts in moisture and possibly temperature

an outline of neotectonic structures and morphotectonics of the western and central pannonian basin abstract neotectonic deformation in the western and central part of the pannonian basin was investigated by means of surface and subsurface structural analyses and geomorphologic observations the applied methodology includes the study of outcrops industrial seismic profiles digital elevation models topographic maps and borehole data observations suggest that most of the neotectonic structures in the pannonian basin are related to the inverse reactivation of earlier faults formed mainly during the miocene syn and post rift phases typical structures are folds blind reverse faults and transpressional strike slip faults although normal or oblique normal faults are also present these structures significantly controlled the evolution of landforms and the drainage pattern by inducing surface upwarping and river deflections our analyses do not support the postulated tectonic origin of some landforms particularly that of the radial valley system in the western pannonian basin the most important neotectonic strike slip faults are trending to east northeast and have dextral to sinistral kinematics in the south western and central eastern part of the studied area respectively the suggested along strike change of kinematics within the same shear zones is in agreement with the fan shaped recent stress trajectories and with the present day motion of crustal blocks derived from gps data

towards a revised chronostratigraphy of loess in austria with respect to key sections in the czech republic and in hungary abstract the stratigraphic ages of some well known and characteristic paleosols in austrian and hungarian loess sections have been questioned by several workers since the mid 1970s in particular a generally accepted correlation of austrian and hungarian loess stratigraphies with the well established czech loess stratigraphy has not been put forward this paper presents 41 new thermoluminescence tl dates and the first results from amino acid chronology of key sections in these areas the results are in agreement and suggest a new interregional correlation of loess paleosol sequences for loess older than the last interglacial quartz and feldspar inclusions yield more reliable tl ages than the polymineralic fine grain fraction

ubiquity of anomalous fading in k feldspars and the measurement and correction for it in optical dating anomalous fading rates were measured in k feldspars separated from 49 sediment samples mainly from north america the intensity of the optically stimulated luminescence was found to decrease linea

loess is not just the accumulation of dust most regrettably there is much misuse of terminology in connection with the concept of loess and the interpretation of its origin people often speak and write incorrectly about loess accumulation even loess specialists who are aware of the fact that loess as a concept has to satisfy at least 10 criteria loess is not simply dust carried and deposited by wind dust only becomes loess after the passage of a certain amount of time in a given geographical zone i e only through diagenesis in certain ecological environments to state that loess is of aeolian origin is an oversimplification and an incorrect definition because an aeolian origin applies only to the dust from which the loess has been formed we are aware of the fact that airborne dust cannot be transformed into loess in every geographical environment but only under those conditions typical of semi arid grassland or steppe or forested steppe the process primarily occurs where the rate of dust accumulation exceeds sheet wash or weathering soil formation rates if the rate of dust accumulation is less than that of surface erosion or of soil biogenetic processes the dust then develops into soil or through intensive weathering and increased precipitation into loam or clay only part of the aeolian dust transported and deposited in a zone suitable for loess formation remains there permanently and is transformed in situ into loess dust not affected by diagenesis is usually further transported by snowmelt or rainwash and is only transformed into loess after it has been redeposited the loess itself however is easily erodible and its minerals are readily reworked and reaccumulated and given the appropriate conditions it readily undergoes diagenesis again we do not always have sufficient evidence to determine whether a given loess body is of primary or secondary origin traditionally the minerals making up primary loess have been regarded as originating in dust accumulated by aeolian processes secondary loess by contrast is different from typical loess in many ways and it is not unusual to find various loess series in which superimposed dust fractions have been transformed into loess by different processes recently we have observed that the origin of various types of loess is governed by differences in litho ecological conditions rather than by the way in which the mineral material from which the loess is derived dust has been primarily accumulated loessification is therefore determined by environmental conditions

historical developments and recent advances in amino acid geochronology applied to loess research examples from north america europe and china abstract amino acid geochronology provides important chronostratigraphic insight in the regional correlation and paleoclimatic evaluation of loess paleosol sequences in the midwestern us throughout western central and eastern europe and in china in general loess of the last four glacial cycles corresponding to marine oxygen isotope stages ois 2 4 6 8 and 10 respectively can be distinguished on the basis of alloisoleucine isoleucine a i ratios measured in fossil gastropod shells preserved in the loess the racemization reaction is much slower in older samples resulting in decreased temporal resolution in the midwestern us and europe it is not possible to confidently subdivide the last glacial cycle on the basis of aminostratigraphic data however in china where effective temperatures were higher during the late pleistocene loess above and below l1ss1 the ois 3 interstadial paleosol can be distinguished using amino acid racemization data with improvements in analytical methods multiple amino acid d l enantiomers are now being measured using reverse phase liquid chromatography aspartic acid racemizes at a higher rate than the traditionally measured alloisoleucine isoleucine diastereomers and can be measured more rapidly this development offers hope for better temporal resolution and enhanced stratigraphic subdivision of loess units than has been achieved previously

the geochemistry of biogenic carbonates as a paleoenvironmental tool for the lower pleistocene barranco leon sequence bl 5d baza basin spain abstract the barranco creek leon section is located in the ne marginal area of the lacustrine plio pleistocene baza basin southern spain the barranco leon bl 5d mammal and archeological site has delivered abundant lithic tools and a hominin tooth the age ascribed to this site is comprised between the olduvai and jaramillo subchrons close to 1 4 ma based on magnetostratigraphy biostratigraphy and ers dating the studied bl 5 section consists from base to top of dark sandy mudstones and lutites with interbedded sandy marls the lower part of the dark sandy mudstones contains a brackish fauna of foraminifera ostracods and mollusks sandy carbonate mudstones and sandy lutites with freshwater oligosaline ostracods and mollusks form the upper part of the archeological excavation sequence stable isotope 13 c 18 o and trace element analyses on ostracod and mollusk shells allow depicting the paleoenvironmental conditions recorded in the lacustrine sequence moreover indications on provenance for waters have been obtained from 87 sr 86 sr ratios from shells and opercula from mollusks the isotopic composition of the biogenic carbonates shows a strong correlation between 13 c and 18 o which is noticeable for some gastropod shells this correlation is a characteristic feature of closed lake settings in our case the more negative isotopic values reflect the input of meteoric waters and the more positive ones the skeletal carbonates formed in more isotopically concentrated waters some of the more negative isotopic values correspond to biogenic carbonates from the bl 5d level they correspond to isotopically diluted waters although the trace element data and the invertebrate fauna indicate oligosaline to mesosaline waters moreover the presence in bl 5d of shells from melanopsis tuberculata a thermophilous gastropod together with their isotopic signatures suggest the input of oligosaline waters with a thermal influence the available geochemical data indicate a first stage of varying influence of several water types under changing water level in a closed lake recorded in the base of the studied sequence brackish fauna level the overlying beds record a through flowing open lacustrine environment mainly fed by meteoric surface and ground waters with significant inputs of stream waters

pleistocene evolution of the danube in the carpathian basin the present day drainage system of the carpathian basin originates from the gradual regression of the last marine transgression brackish pannonian sea the flow directions of the rivers including the danube are determined by the varying rates and locations of subsidence within the region the danube which forms the main axis of the drainage network first filled the depression of the little plain lake and then further southward the slavonian lake from the end of the pliocene the crustal movements which caused the uplift of the transdanubian mountains forced the danube to flow in an easterly direction towards the antecedent visegrid gorge and into the subsiding basins of the great plain climatic changes during the pleistocene had the effect of forming up to seven fluvial terraces the uplift of the mountains is demonstrated by the deformation of the terraces while the subsidence of the plains is proven by an accumulation of several hundred metres of sediment the river only occupied its present position south of budapest in the latest pleistocene

new chronology and organic matter paleoclimatic significance of nusloch loess sequence rhine valley germany due to its high accumulation rate the loess sequence of nu loch rhine valley germany is well suited to a high resolution study of continental paleoenvironmental changes over the last climatic cycle for northwestern europe as carbon isotope ratios of plants depend on environmental variations c of loess derived organic matter constitute reliable paleoclimatic proxies we present here a new chronology of nu loch loess sequence based on several c and tl dates our data show high correlations with global climate e ects vostok co or semi global gisp2 o and thus o er in this way a new approach to establish accurate chronologies in continental sequences furthermore using a deconvolution of the c signal would provide a quantitative proxy of moisture supply and permit paleoprecipitation reconstructions 2000 elsevier science ltd and inqua all rights reserved

amino acid geochronology applied to the correlation and dating of central european loess deposits abstract numerous localities in the czech republic slovakia and austria have been sampled for fossil gastropod shells for the purpose of an aminostratigraphic evaluation of loess sequences in all three regions alloisoleucine isoleucine aile ile ratios are observed to be significantly higher in shells from loess deposited during the penultimate glacial period cycle c relative to samples from loess of the last glaciation cycle b the difference in aile ile ratio reflects both difference in age of the samples plus the impact on the older samples of the relatively high effective temperature of the last interglacial period amino acid data support the previous correlation suggested between pk ii iii in the czech republic and slovakia and the stillfried a in austria samples have also been recovered from older loess units and previously published correlations within the czech and slovak republics are tested aiie ile ratios appear to distinguish between samples from loess of the last four glacial cycles beyond cycle e 18o stages 10 and 11 the increase in alle ile ratio is relatively small from cycle to cycle in addition shells tend to be poorly preserved and are absent at many localities nevertheless amino acid geochronology offers a means of resolving ages of loess units in the critical time period that is beyond the range of radiocarbon and thermoluminescence methods but post dates the brunhes matuyama paleomagnetic reversal

loess accumulation during the last glacial maximum evidence from urluia southeastern romania abstract the eastern european loess steppe represents one of the most substantial landform types on the continent yet the impact on this region of the last glacial maximum lgm the coldest climatic episode during the last full glacial cycle is relatively poorly understood this is in part due to the comparatively small number of sites which have been reliably dated and in part due to the need to better elucidate depositional models for loess environments at both local and regional scales here we present a high frequency age depth profile for the last 40 ky from a loess deposit at urluia in southeastern romania using fine grained quartz optically stimulated luminescence osl dating and environmental magnetism analyses loess accumulation at the site for this period is well constrained by a clearly identifiable tephra deposit corresponding to the ca 39 ka campanian ignimbrite we show that the tephra is directly overlain by a relatively thin layer of loess corresponding to marine isotope stage mis 3 which is partially overprinted by a weakly developed paleosol the sequence is dominated by a 6 8 m package of primary loess of lgm age the eight osl samples from this package group together around a mean age of 21 6 1 5 ka and suggest rapid and substantial deposition during this phase the uppermost part of the section indicates significantly reduced loess accumulation during the deglacial period into the holocene less than 2 m in total thickness the rapid accumulation of loess during the lgm at urluia is consistent with increased sedimentation at other loess profiles in the lower danube basin although the variable thickness of these deposits across the catchment highlights the need to more explicitly investigate depositional models for loess the urluia record complements emerging data which suggests that the lower danube loess steppe was cold dry and windy during the lgm yet experienced milder climates than comparable latitudes further west and north and did not undergo periglacial activity

uranium series dating of travertine from suttő implications for reconstruction of environmental change in hungary abstract terrestrial carbonate formations such as travertines speleothems and lake sediments are important archives of terrestrial climate forcing at the sutt section in hungary a complex succession of travertine is covered by a loess palaeosol sequence both are high resolution terrestrial archives of climate and environment change uranium series 230th u dating was carried out to set up a more reliable chronological frame for the travertine as the growth of travertine is very complex pore cements may cause serious problems for precise dating the state of alteration of primary spar and micrite was characterised by microscopic cathodoluminescence and microprobe analyses the travertine from sutt showed homogeneous phases of primary calcite minor micropores and rare pore cements the carbon isotopic composition indicates that the source of carbon was a mixture of atmospheric and soil derived co2 calculated water temperatures based on oxygen isotope data range from 22 c to 31 c an attempt to provide an independent relative dating approach by palaeomagnetic techniques failed 230th u ages were determined applying an isochron approach using the leachate leachate method as the travertine deposits have a dense structure the bulk sampling method was successfully applied in determining uranium series ages with much higher precision than former studies with alpha spectrometry travertines from sutt yielded mid pleistocene ages ranging from the antepenultimate glacial to the penultimate interglacial 310 240 ka these results are in agreement with those from optically stimulated luminescence osl dating and amino acid racemisation aar dating of the overlying sediment indicating at least an mis 7 age for the travertine

multiple and single aliquot luminescence dating techniques applied to quartz extracted from middle and upper weichselian loess zemechy czech republic this paper reports the application of optically stimulated luminescence osl dating to relatively coarse grains 100 200 m of quartz extracted from loess two approaches were tested a multiple aliquot technique and a new single aliquot approach which is especially suited to the dating of small quantities of such grains found in some loess the results are compared with infra red stimulated luminescence and thermoluminescence tl measurements on the finer grained 4 11 m polymineral fraction and tl measurements on the relatively coarse grains of quartz the advantages of the new single aliquot osl approach are described and the iterating computer controlled measurement procedure is given the automated iterative single aliquot regeneration aisar method corrects for changes in luminescence sensitivity during the measurement sequence by monitoring the response to a test dose some initial measurements are presented for the loess section at zemechy czech republic and these show that the aisar method gives more precise results than those using a multiple aliquot method copyright 2000 john wiley sons ltd

quantification of quaternary vertical movements in the central pannonian basin a review of chronologic data along the danube river hungary abstract this study aims at a new quantification of neotectonic deformation of the central part of the pannonian basin we use terrace levels and associated travertine as well as speleothem data along the danube river to quantify its incision rate and thus estimate the amount and rate of uplift at the axis of the hungarian mountain range hmr several terrace levels and other geomorphic features along the danube river are indicative for quaternary uplift of the axial part of the emerging hungarian mountain range while the correlative terraces are at considerable height at the axis of the hmr the terraces are gradually dipping below the basin fill of the adjacent lowlands the correlation of the terrace segments is difficult because of their poor preservation small size and variable height the geomorphologic horizons indicate gradual incision of the river throughout the quaternary during simultaneous deformation however no reliable chronological data have been available so far to quantify landscape forming processes such as uplift incision or erosion rates a reconsideration of existing published data for three consecutive segments of the danube valley yields incision rates between 0 14 and 0 41 mm year for the last 360 ky with the highest value for the area of the danube bend accordingly the middle to late quaternary uplift rate of the axial zone of the hmr exceeded significantly that of the marginal areas these rates represent an approximation as some quantitative data are still controversial our results suggest that formation of the danube terraces is result of river incision triggered by the uplift of the hmr and modified by periodic climate changes

multiple oscillations in neoarchaean atmospheric chemistry abstract the great oxidation event goe represents a crucial juncture in earth history signifying the rise in atmospheric oxygen from parts per million to percent levels at 2 45 2 32 billion years ago ga although planetary oxygenation undoubtedly led to the inception of the contemporary earth system the trigger s and mechanism s controlling this chemical reorganisation remain elusive quantitative estimates of the atmosphere s composition in the prelude to the goe are central to understanding this oxygenation event previous analyses of 2 65 2 5 ga sediments from the griqualand basin south africa invoke a tantalising picture of an unusual earth environment alluding to an atmosphere periodically dominated by a layer of organic particles haze formed from methane photolysis however as yet this hypothesis has remained untested here we present four new coupled carbon and quadruple sulphur isotope records from distal time equivalent 2 7 2 5 ga sedimentary successions from south africa and western australia these extended records reveal similar chemostratigraphic trends supporting a dynamic terminal neoarchaean atmosphere oscillating between a hazy state at elevated methane concentrations and a haze free anoxic background state we suggest these atmospheric aberrations were related to heightened biogenic methane fluxes fuelled by enhanced nutrient delivery from climatically or weathering induced feedbacks these data question the canonical view of a simple unidirectional planetary oxygenation and signify that the overture to the goe was governed by complex feedbacks within the earth biosphere system

tracing the origin of loess in hungary with the help of heavy mineral composition data abstract heavy mineral composition of the fine sand fraction in the hungarian loess sediments provides important data about the closer sources of the loess in the carpathian basin quantitative detrital heavy mineral compositions of 216 loess loess like sediment and paleosol samples were compared to each other and to recent fluvial sands and different cenozoic sands and sandstones of hungary using statistical methods cluster analysis principal component analysis and discriminant analysis usually garnet is the most frequent detrital heavy mineral in the studied loess sections followed by chlorite magnetite epidote and amphiboles old loess and young loess have similar compositions indicating uniform or similar sources based on the similarities the garnet rich loess sediments could originate from aeolian reworking of the floodplain sediments of the danube and other rivers of transdanubia and the local cenozoic sands of the uplifting transdanubian central range and transdanubian hilly region the biotite and tourmaline rich loess in south transdanubia and the loess with high pyroxene content in the north hungarian range had some material from nearby sources weathered granitoids and volcanic rocks respectively or sediments of local rivers which carried detritus of these rocks the new results presented in this paper confirm numerous earlier ideas about the origin of loess in the carpathian basin but also suggest newly identified sources of the loess particles at several locations

marker horizons in the loesses of the carpathian basin abstract two tephra horizons are known in the middle and upper pleistocene loesses of the carpathian basin the older bag tephra has been described from numerous loess outcrops in hungary whereas the younger paks tephra has been described only from the brickyard of paks in southern hungary the most characteristic heavy minerals in these horizons are various clinopyroxenes occurring in different proportions the clinopyroxenes of the bag tephra are extremely rich in ca and al while the volcanic glass is rich in k indicating high k andesitic or shoshonitic volcanism based on comparative geochemical analyses the most likely origin of the bag tephra is the roman or the campanian volcanic fields in italy geochemical investigation of the paks tephra is in progress and preliminary results suggest the same source for this younger tephra in contrast to the tephra horizons the correlation of the numerous paleosols in some hungarian loess sections and their paleoenvironmental interpretation is possible only if they are based on very detailed micromorphological studies the age determination of the loesses containing the paleosols directly by thermoluminescence tl and infrared stimulated luminescence irsl and indirectly by 14 c based isotope work should provide a reliable basis for the identification of soil forming periods in different parts of the carpathian basin

new chronology of the best developed loess paleosol sequence of hungary capturing the past 1 1 ma implications for correlation and proposed pan eurasian stratigraphic schemes abstract in this paper we are presenting a revised chronology of the best developed longest 100 m lps in hungary dating back 1 1 ma borehole udvari 2a it is based on a non tuned age depth model built on the position of the matuyama brunhes boundary jaramillo and olduvai subchrons furthermore on the assignment of formerly recorded uninterpreted geomagnetic reversals in both chrons other chronometric tools ams 14c dating biostratigraphy tephrostratigraphy yielding absolute ages and or ensuring validation of these were also used records of a middle pleistocene gastropod index fossil neostyriaca corynodes 400 140 ka facilitated verification of ages between mis 10 and mis 6 multiple age control points at 15 25 27 45 120 191 362 430 670 780 900 990 1070 ka were established for the last ca 1 1 ma the resulting chronology is the best resolved independent one so far among danubian basin lpss in light of our data the s3 s4 units were fused as s3 in all serbian and some romanian sites and re correlated with mis 9 the results also point to a misassignment of the s5 units at these sites to mis 13 15 leading to erroneous conclusions regarding paleoclimatic conditions and cyclicity in our new stratigraphic scheme these s5 paleosols were taken to represent the s4 paleosol and recorrelated with mis 11 finally an ideal stratigraphic column dating back 1 1 ma for sw hungary was constructed and correlated with the chinese loess paleosol sequence of xifeng and the benthic oxygen isotope record down to mis 31

loess chronology of the last interglacial glacial cycle in bohemia and moravia czech republic abstract combined infrared and green light stimulated luminescence and thermoluminescence dating applied to the extensively studied bohemian and moravian loess palaeosol sequences from sedlec suchdol kutna hora dolni v stonice lechovice mod ice bulhary and cerven kopec provides a reliable chronological framework for the last interglacial glacial cycle based on this luminescence dating study a new chronology is proposed for the last interglacial glacial loess palaeosol sequences from the czech republic irsl and tl dating suggests that the bt horizon of a truncated brown forest soil lower pk iii formed during the last interglacial equivalent to oxygen isotope substage 5e the upper chernozem of pkii belongs to oxygen isotope stage 3 if the combined irsl and tl age estimates are taken into account although from geological estimates an age range within oi substage 5a is most likely the upper weichselian loess accumulated at a very high rate owing to the high accumulation rate there is no time difference in sedimentation ages between the tundra gley palaeosols above pk i which include the upper weichselian sediments in central europe

investigating the penultimate and last glacial cycles of the suttő loess section hungary using luminescence dating high resolution grain size and magnetic susceptibility data the loess paleosol record at sutt provides an excellent high resolution archive of climate and environmental changes loess deposits with a thickness of 20 m cover the travertine at sutt in the northern part of hungary next to the right bank of the danube river the loess sequence is intercalated with two greyish stratified horizons three brownish steppe like soils and a pedocomplex including a reddish brown paleosol covered by a chernozem like paleosol detailed infrared stimulated luminescence irsl dating was carried out revealing more or less continuous sedimentation from marine isotope stage mis 6 mis 2 sedimentological and paleomagnetic investigations have been performed to provide a high resolution study of the sutt loess paleosol sequence in order to reconstruct the paleoclimate and environmental changes during the penultimate and last glacial cycles grain size and magnetic susceptibility ms records of the sutt profile basically show similar patterns to those of other european loess sections however small differences are traced at sutt including more intensive deposition of coarser grained materials during mis 6 4 the loess record at sutt has a transitional position within the european loess belt as its sediment was deposited under an intermediate climate between the loess successions from the southern carpathian basin which accumulated under drier climate and the loess sequences from western europe which developed under wetter climate during the middle and late pleniglacial

an introduction to the middle and upper pleistocene loess paleosol sequence at ruma brickyard vojvodina serbia abstract six loess units and five paleosols are preserved in the 20 m thick exposure of middle and late pleistocene sediments at ruma brickyard vojvodina serbia amino acid geochronology provides stratigraphic correlations between loess paleosol units sl l1 s1 sl l2 s2 sl l3 s3 and sl l4 at ruma with loess of glacial cycles b c and d and e respectively at other central and southeastern european localities the profile represents one of the best potential sections in the region for reconstructing detailed paleoclimates and paleoenvironments of the last ca 350 000 yr initial sedimentological magnetic and malacological evidence indicate many episodes of drier conditions in the region than in other parts of central and southeastern europe during the later part of the middle and late pleistocene

palaeoclimatic and sedimentary history from magnetic susceptibility of loess in china the magnetostratigraphic age of the oldest loess sediments in the central chinese loess plateau investigated so far has recently been placed at ca 2 4 million years b p thus glaciations in central asia which are believed to provide the detritus for the formation of chinese loess commenced at the same time as the first ice rafted debris sank into the ocean basins of the northern hemisphere shackleton et al 1984 lithologic palaeontologic geochemical and especially rock magnetic variations throughout the loess column are indicative of palaeoclimatic fluctuations during loess deposition the variations of magnetic low field susceptibility in loess closely resemble those of the marine oxygen isotope record shackleton and opdyke 1976 and establish for the first time a continuous record of the pleistocene glacial and interglacial stages in a continental section spectral analysis of the rock magnetic time series indicates slow apparent sedimentation during interglacial periods which are characterized mainly by calcium dissolution and related compaction of the soils variable aeolic sediment influx as well as erosion and or polygenetic soil formation may also strongly influence the sedimentary history

the loess profile at albertirsa hungary improvements in loess stratigraphy by luminescence dating abstract a very detailed upper pleistocene record is exposed in a loess palaeosol sequence at the section at albertirsa in hungary luminescence dating was carried out to establish a more reliable chronological framework for the hungarian loess record the lowermost palaeosol of the section probably an equivalent of the mf2 horizon at the mende key section is superimposed on penultimate glacial loess an irsl age estimate of about 65 ka bp was determined for the lower part of this palaeosol indicating soil formation late in oxygen isotope stage ois 5 or early in ois 3 a significant hiatus most likely occurs in the lower part of the lower fossil soil the loess between the upper and and lower palaeosol yielded a mean luminescence age of about 50 ka bp the upper palaeosol is probably an equivalent of the mf1 horizon at the mende type section formed between 37 and 25 ka bp and so this palaeosol represents the hengelo and or denekamp interstadial of northwestern european stratigraphy the loess is intercalated by a humic horizon which yielded a mean luminescence age estimate between 21 and 19 ka at the albertirsa section

thermoluminescence ages for three sections in hungary abstract samples were collected from sections at mende paks and tapiosuly ages for the loess above the mf1 soil at mende were in agreement with the radiocarbon dates on charcoal fragments from the soil ages for loess from tapiosuly were also in agreement with radiocarbon ages for younger soils however tl age estimates for loess above or below the mf2 soil at each of the three sites suggested that this soil had an age of around 76 ka it has not been confirmed whether these ages are underestimated however they are older than previously thought on the basis of other tl studies they imply that the underlying mb soil is much older than the last interglacial

magnetic properties of loess grain size fractions from the section at paks hungary abstract the approximately 50 m thick loess palaeosol sequence at paks brickyard hungary was deposited largely during the brunhes normal polarity chron and its magnetic properties resemble those of similar sections in europe central asia and china in order to get information on the grain size dependence of some of the magnetic parameters two loess and two palaeosol samples were separated into a number of grain size fractions the separation method employs consecutive sedimentation and centrifugation steps performed on bulk samples suspended in water and diluted with calgon ten grain size fractions were obtained ranging from 50 m down to 10 nm several magnetic parameters of the different grain size fractions have been measured at room temperature low field susceptibility hysteresis parameters and at low temperature susceptibility and thermoremanent magnetisation they show a strong grain size dependence for the ferromagnetic minerals low temperature measurements allow discrimination of the paramagnetic vs the ferromagnetic signal and give information on the grain size distribution of the very fine ferromagnetic minerals and on the mineral types carrying the magnetic signal strong relationships between weathering processes destruction of paramagnetic minerals and possibly iron hydroxides and enhancement of the ferromagnetic signal are observed

middle pleniglacial pedogenesis on the northwestern edge of the carpathian basin a multidisciplinary investigation of the biňa pedo sedimentary section sw slovakia abstract the middle pleniglacial on the northern hemisphere is characterized by millennial scale frequent and high amplitude environmental climatic shifts in loess paleosol sequences lpss the transition from the lower mis 4 to the middle pleniglacial mis 3 was accompanied by significant erosion events as recorded in various terrestrial archives across central europe as a result potentially existing paleosol horizons of the particular period have been widely erased from the lpss and only little is known about pedogenesis in this vast area this study tries to fill this gap in our knowledge through studying a pedo sedimentary record from bi a a site situated in a relatively poorly investigated area on the northwestern edge of the carpathian basin we investigated a 12 m high and more than 500 m wide outcrop along the hron river where a well structured sequence of fluvio lacustrine sediments paleosols and loess is preserved the paleoenvironmental development within the studied area is presented and discussed on the basis of soil micromorphology rock magnetic and geochemical measurements grain size analyses and a malacological record accomplished by luminescence dating based on the osl dating of the central profile the sequence provides a high resolution record of the time period 60 20 ka mis 3 mis 2 the most developed paleosol horizons phaeozem and two bw horizons of gleyic cambisols were dated to the early stage of the mis 3 60 50 ka and correlated with the greenland interstadials gi 17 16 gi 14 13 and or gi 12 the northwestern european interstadials oerel glinde and moershoofd the development of the bw horizon of a cambisol recorded within the younger loess body was dated to ca 35 ka and it probably corresponds to the late mis 3 intestadials gi 8 5 denekamp the preservation as well as the development of the well stratified record were closely related to the specific hydro and geomorphological settings of the paleo channel structure in which the sequence developed although soil development benefited from the specific local settings we suggest that the recorded paleosols can also be related to the interregional climate differences of the carpathian basin within the northerly located pericarpathian zones a moister climate predominated during the last pleniglacial in contrast to the drier continental areas to the south thus a sharp climatic transition existed separating a semi arid steppe region from a climatic zone under the persistent influence of atlantic air masses

luminescence and amino acid racemization chronology of the loess paleosol sequence at suttő hungary abstract the loess paleosol sequences in hungary provide an excellent upper pleistocene climate archive of the carpathian basin loess deposits up to 20 m thick cover the sutt travertine complex located in the very northern part of hungary next to the right bank of the danube river the loess is intercalated with two weakly developed greyish horizons two thinner brownish steppe like soils and a pedocomplex including a reddish brown clay enriched horizon covered by a chernozem like paleosol infrared optically stimulated luminescence irsl dating was applied on polymineral fine grain material to determine the depositional age of the loess the uppermost loess yields irsl age estimates ranging from 15 to 40 ka the loess on top of the pedocomplex yields irsl age estimates ranging from 48 to 60 ka the pedocomplex most likely correlates with the marine oxygen isotope stage mis 5 interglacial period the loess from below the pedocomplex was deposited during the penultimate glaciation as evidenced by amino acid racemization aar results further independent age control is provided by radiocarbon dating for the upper part of the profile and by uranium series 230th 234u ages correlating the travertine below the loess with mis 7 8 the magnetic susceptibility record through the sequence shows a strong correlation with the loess layers and soil horizons

dust deposition and climate in the carpathian basin over an independently dated last glacial interglacial cycle dust deposition and climate in the carpathian basin over an independently dated last glacial interglacial cycle

luminescence dating of upper pleistocene loess from the island of susak in croatia abstract the loess paleosol sequence on the island of susak is a detailed late pleistocene archive of climate change in the north adriatic sea of croatia quaternary deposits on susak are up to 90 m thick and consist of loess loess derivatives and sand intercalated by numerous paleosols and at least three tephra layers infrared stimulated luminescence irsl dating was carried out on polymineral fine grained material thirteen samples were collected from two sections on susak to study the timing of loess accumulation and soil formation the single aliquot regenerative sar protocol as well as the multiple aliquot additive dose maad protocol were applied for equivalent dose d e determination the irsl ages were fading corrected independent age control is provided by radiocarbon dating of charcoal remains the results show that loess and loess derivatives from the investigated sections represent a very detailed record correlating to the marine isotope stage mis 3 with short periods of stronger sand deposition and occasional volcanic activity the extraordinary thickness of the deposits is very likely related to the vicinity of the river po plain which extended to the southeast due to marine regressions of the adriatic sea during the cold periods of the pleistocene

magnetic stratigraphy of the danube loess a composite titel stari slankamen loess section over the last one million years in vojvodina serbia abstract in europe the most complete loess paleosol sequences over the past million years are preserved in the serbian part of the danube river drainage basin the similarity in stratigraphy and climatic cycles between the serbian and the chinese loess sequences suggests that the loess deposits in these two regions could play an important role in the study of intercontinental climatic correlations and linkage however previous magnetostratigraphic studies of the serbian loess mainly conducted using the alternating field af demagnetization approach show significant differences with the chinese loess especially the stratigraphic positioning of the matuyama brunhes boundary mbb here we conduct a detailed magnetostratigraphic investigation of a composite titel stari slankamen loess section in the vojvodina northern serbia using thermal and hybrid demagnetization methods aiming to establish new chronological constraints for the danube basin loess based on the analyses of the mineral magnetic properties anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility progressive thermal and hybrid demagnetization the mbb was determined within s8 broadly consistent with the mbb position seen in the chinese loess present evidence supports the hypothesis that the overall normal polarity in the upper part of l9 with a thickness of 2 1 m was possibly caused by a combination of the remagnetization of remanence carrying coarse grained magnetite during the brunhes normal chron and bioturbation during the forming of the overlying paleosol s8 thus our magnetostratigraphic results provide solid chronological evidence for the coherence of pedostratigraphy and climatostratigraphy for the loess deposits in the danube basin and china the synchronous occurrence of the strongest developed paleosol s5 corresponding to miss 15 13 and the least weathered thick loess unit l9 corresponding to miss 24 22 in the two regions confirms that extreme climatic events during these two intervals are possibly common features of the climate in the northern hemisphere at those times