Within a period of a few weeks toward the end of the Allerød Interstadial, the major Plinian eruption of the Laacher See volcano produced some 20 km3 of eruptiva, covering and preserving the late-glacial landscape in the German Central... more
Within a period of a few weeks toward the end of the Allerød Interstadial, the major Plinian eruption of the Laacher See volcano produced some 20 km3 of eruptiva, covering and preserving the late-glacial landscape in the German Central Rhineland over an area of more than 1000 km2. Correlation of terrestrial archives with the Greenland ice-core records and improved calibration of the radiocarbon timescale permit a precise, accurate age determination of the Laacher See event some 200 yr before the onset of the Younger Dryas cold episode. Carbonized trees and botanical macrofossils preserved by Laacher See Tephra permit detailed regional paleoenvironmental reconstruction and show that open woodland were typical for the cool and humid hemiboreal climatic conditions during the late Allerød. This woodland provided the habitat for a large variety of animal species, documented at both paleontological and Final Paleolithic archeological sites preserved below Laacher See deposits. Of special interest are numerous animal tracks intercalated in Middle Laacher See deposits at the south of the Neuwied Basin. This knowledge may help to evaluate possible supraregional impacts of this volcanic event on northern hemispheric environment and climate during the late Allerød.
Quaternary Research 58, 273–288 (2002) Correlation of terrestrial archives with the Greenland ice-core records and improved calibration of the radiocarbon timescale permit a precise, accurate age determination of the Laacher See event... more
Quaternary Research 58, 273–288 (2002)
Correlation of terrestrial archives with the Greenland ice-core records and improved calibration of the radiocarbon timescale permit a precise, accurate age determination of the Laacher See event some 200 yr before the onset of the Younger Dryas cold episode.
The loess–palaeosol sequences of the Tönchesberg section, located in the East Eifel Volcanic field (Germany) provide an excellent climate archive of the late Middle and the Upper Pleistocene in the Middle Rhine area. Loess deposits from... more
The loess–palaeosol sequences of the Tönchesberg section, located in the East Eifel Volcanic field (Germany) provide an excellent climate archive of the late Middle and the Upper Pleistocene in the Middle Rhine area. Loess deposits from the last Glacial (Weichselian) and the penultimate Glacial (Saalian) are up to 12 m and 15 m thick, respectively, and intercalated by palaeosols. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), thermally transferred optically stimulated luminescence (TT-OSL) and infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) measurements were carried out on 14 samples from the Tönchesberg section to determine the deposition age and to set up a more reliable chronological framework for the penultimate and last interglacial-glacial cycle. The fine-grained quartz OSL and polymineral IRSL ages are in good agreement with each other and also with the geologically estimated age, but the quartz TT-OSL ages are overestimated. The OSL and IRSL ages range from 16.8 ± 1.2 to 189 ± 16 ka indicating that the youngest loess and the weakly developed soils were deposited during marine isotope stage (MIS) 2 and 3 and that the two marker loess were most likely accumulated in the transition MIS 4/5. Loess and reworked loess postdating the Eemian soil yield ages of 110–115 ka indicating that these deposits very likely correlate to MIS 5d. Loess deposits taken below the Eemian soil are attributed to the transition MIS 6/7. A weakly developed soil above the Tönchesberg scoria yield an age of 189 ± 16 ka indicating an interstadial soil formation during MIS 7. This is in good agreement with preliminary 40Ar/39Ar ages for the Tönchesberg scoria and the intercalated tephra layers. Reliable age estimates up to ∼70 ka could be obtained using quartz OSL and up to ∼190 ka using the pulsed post-IR IR signal from feldspar. Hence the infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) is considered as the best approach to date the loess from the Middle Rhine area >70 ka.
The inland areas of the northwestern Balkan peninsula and in particular of Bosnia and Herzegovina are poor in natural archives suitable for the reconstruction of past environmental changes and vegetation history. Consequently,... more
The inland areas of the northwestern Balkan peninsula and in particular of Bosnia and Herzegovina are poor in natural archives suitable for the reconstruction of past environmental changes and vegetation history. Consequently, palaeoenvironmental analyses are scarce with only three palynological studies available dating back to 1973, 1956 and 1934. Central Bosnia, however, is rich in archaeological heritage, featuring numerous prehistoric settlement sites along the river Bosna starting in the early Neolithic. This generates the need for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions to support and complement recent archaeological research in this area. Here we present results from a 450 cm gyttja-peat sequence from Seoce Jezero, a small mire located at 600 m NN on a plateau above a tributary of the river Bosna 30 km northwest of Sarajevo (central Bosnia). Fourteen AMS C-14 dates provide a robust time-depth-relationship which covers natural and anthropogenic environmental changes at Seoce Jezero from the Bronze Age to early Medieval Times. Pollen, macrofossil and geochemical analyses of 167 samples produce a high resolution record of land-use and vegetation change up to a half-decadal time scale. The palaeoenvironmental record starts ca. 1800 BC (3750 cal. BP) and reveals an initially relatively undisturbed landscape dominated by Fagus- and Quercus-Carpinus woodland. Anthropogenic influence is clearly visible from 1400 BC (3350 cal. BP) onwards and comprises woodland clearances, pasturing and crop cultivation. Pollen analyses confirm several consecutive phases of different land-use character and intensity. Phases of high land-use pressure culminated at the transition Bronze Age/Iron Age (1100 BC), the late Iron Age (400 BC), late Roman times (AD 300) and from AD 700 onwards. In between, stages of forest regeneration could be detected, most pronounced in the period between 70 BC and AD 150 (2020-1800 cal. BP), when anthropogenic influence virtually ceased. Whereas land use in the Bronze and Iron Age and to a lesser extent in Medieval Times was dominated by agriculture, the period of Roman influence between 200 BC and AD 600 (2150-1350 cal. BP) also had a strong extensive pastoral economy, which lasted until Medieval Times. Four consecutive successional cycles of vegetation (Juniperus-Populus-Quercus) illustrate the pattern of land-use changes and landscape development (pasture-abandonment-reforestation) over a period of ca. 1000 years. Another feature of anthropogenically induced landscape change is the occurrence of several conspicuous clay layers which are up to 30 cm thick and free of pollen, i.e. obviously deposited in a very short time span. These layers occur only in those periods of high land-use intensity in which agricultural activities predominated and pasture was subordinate. Highest input of clay takes place at the beginning of each land-use phase, demonstrating that the geomorphologic process system in the catchment area stabilised after an initial peak in soil erosion rates. It can be shown that in spite of a considerable landscape opening the shift to extensive pastoral farming prevented further soil erosion at the Seoce Jezero plateau. The results obtained represent the first well-dated inland record of landscape change in an area of ca. 200 km radius and complement the knowledge about the Holocene vegetation history on the Balkans.
