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Abstract:The infrared radiofluorescence (IR-RF) dating technique was applied to eight fluvial samples that were collected from two sediment cores at the Heidelberg Basin located near Viernheim and Ludwigshafen in southwest Germany. Based on the IR-RF derived ages of the samples it was possible to establish a chronological framework for the Mid-Pleistocene fluvial deposits of the Heidelberg Basin. The results allow us to distinguish between four main periods of aggradation. The lowermost sample taken from 100 m core depth lead to an IR-RF age of 643 ± 28 ka pointing to a Cromerian period of aggradation . For the Elsterian it is now possible to distinguish between two aggradation periods, one occurring during the Lower Elsterian period (OIS 15) and a second during the Upper Elsterian period (OIS 12-11). For the so called Upper interlayer (or "Oberer Zwischenhorizont" -a layer of organic-rich and finer-grained deposits), the IR-RF results point to a deposition age of around 300 ka, with samples taken directly on top and out of this layer yielding IR-RF ages of 288 ± 19 ka and 302 ± 19 ka, respectively. Hence, the measured IR-RF ages clearly point to a deposition during the Lower Saalian period (OIS 9-8) whereas earlier studies assumed a Cromerian age for the sediments of the Upper Interlayer based on pollen records and also mollusc fauna. The new IR-RF dataset indicates that significant hiatuses are present within the fluvial sediment successions. In particular the Eemian and Upper Saalian deposits are missing in this part of the northern Upper Rhine Graben, as the 300 ka deposits are directly overlain by Weichselian fluvial sediments. It is obvious that time periods of increased fluvial aggradation were interrupted by time periods of almost no aggradation or erosion which should have been mainly triggered by phases of increased and decreased subsidence of the Heidelberg Basin.

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Abstract. The research borehole drilled in 2006 by the Hessian Agency for the Environment and Geology (HLUG) north of Viernheim (Hessisches Ried) reached a total depth of 350 m, and penetrated high resolution fluviatile and limnic-fluviatile sediments (0 to 225 m) of Pleistocene age, and partially highly pedogenically overprinted limnic-fluviatile sands, clays and silts of Pliocene age (225 to 350 m). The Pliocene sediments tend to be sourced locally. The sediments repeatedly show sourcing from the Odenwald which is characterised by a high percentage of green hornblende in the heavy mineral fraction. As part of the Heidelberg Basin research programme, one of the main purposes of this borehole was to analyse the Pleistocene “Normal Facies” of the northern Upper Rhine Graben, i.e. a sedimentary sequence subject to minimum disturbance, largely unaffected during the Pleistocene by material sourced from the graben margins or smaller tributaries. The Pleistocene sedimentary sequence consists of three units: a thin horizon with reworked Pliocene material is overlain by ten cycles each beginning erosively with gravely sandy sediments and ending with siltyargillaceous to in part peat-like sediments. Internal cycles can also be identified, amongst other features. A characteristic aspect is the green-grey, strongly calcareous, micaceous and well sorted, fi ne to medium sands of the Rhine. These are dominated by the Rhine Group (garnet, epidote, green hornblende and alterite) in the heavy mineral fraction. These sediments are classifi ed as the “Rhenish Facies”. The upper Pleistocene sedimentary sequences at the top of the Viernheim research borehole are dominated by several fi ning-upward and in part coarsening-upward sequences. The deposits in this part of the well are dominated by gravel deposited by the Neckar. The heavy mineral distribution of the sand fraction reveals, however, that there was mixing with Rhenish sediments. Weichselian to Holocene aeolian sands form the topmost part of the well section. The stratigraphic classifi cation of the Pleistocene sedimentary sequences is still uncertain in parts. The Pliocene-Pleistocene boundary is placed at 225 m because of the characteristic change in facies. Due to lithostratigraphic correlations with sediments within the Lower Rhine Embayment, a larger unconformity at the depth of 225 m must be accepted. Research carried out in the area around the well indicates that the youngest fine-clastic section penetrated by the well between 39.76 and 58.55 m is of Cromerian age.

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Abstract. Since Late Pliocene / Early Pleistocene, the River Rhine, as one of the largest European rivers, has acted as the only drainage system that connected the Alps with Northern Europe, especially the North Sea. Along its course from the Alps to the English Channel the river passes several geomorphological and geological units, of which the Upper Rhine Graben acts as the major sediment trap. Whereas the potential of sediment preservation of the alpine foreland basins is low due to the high dynamics of the system, and the area of deposition close to the North Sea was significantly affected several times by Pleistocene sea level changes, the ongoing subsidence of the Upper Rhine Graben offers a unique potential for a continuous sediment accumulation and preservation.

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