Multi-proxy analysis of two loess-paleosol sequences in southern Germany

DOI

Two loess-paleosol sequences from the Heilbronn Basin in southwestern Germany, Frankenbach and Talheim, have been investigated to gain information about environmental conditions during the last interglacial-glacial cycle. Since paleoenvironmental research on terrestrial archives is crucial for understanding past climatic and environmental conditions, the profiles were studied using a multi-proxy approach. Applied methods include the analyses of grain-size distribution, element concentrations, color data, and rock magnetism. The data reveal that the two profiles show large variations in conservation due to their different geomorphologic positions. Moreover, the results imply a subarctic climate with stable conditions during the Middle Pleniglacial (MIS 3) in-situ soil formation phase. At the same time, the Lower Pleniglacial (MIS 4) was characterized by erosion and reworking of Eemian and Early Glacial (MIS 5) material but also by the accumulation of aeolian material during the late Lower Pleniglacial (MIS 4) in Frankenbach. The results further suggest that the Rhine River floodplain has been a major source for the accumulated material in the two profiles, which indicates westerly wind directions during the time of accumulation. The low GSI and U-Ratio of Upper Pleniglacial (MIS 2) sediments, supported by the overall high content of fine material, imply a larger distance to the source area. We give an overview of loess in the Heilbronn Basin and place it in a wider context of loess in Western Europe.

Identifier
DOI https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.931189
Related Identifier https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.11.043
Metadata Access https://ws.pangaea.de/oai/provider?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=datacite4&identifier=oai:pangaea.de:doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.931189
Provenance
Creator Krauß, Lydia ORCID logo; Kappenberg, Arne; Zens, Joerg; Kehl, Martin ORCID logo; Schulte, Philipp (ORCID: 0000-0001-8956-669X); Zeeden, Christian ORCID logo; Eckmeier, Eileen ORCID logo; Lehmkuhl, Frank ORCID logo
Publisher PANGAEA
Publication Year 2021
Funding Reference Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bonn https://doi.org/10.13039/501100001659 Crossref Funder ID 57444011 https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/57444011 SFB 806: Unser Weg nach Europa: Kultur-Umwelt Interaktion und menschliche Mobilität im Späten Quartär
Rights Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
OpenAccess true
Representation
Resource Type Bundled Publication of Datasets; Collection
Format application/zip
Size 8 datasets
Discipline Earth System Research
Spatial Coverage (9.162W, 49.106S, 9.181E, 49.149N); Baden-Württemberg, Germany