A 180 ka record of environmental change at Erdut (Croatia): a new chronology for the loess–palaeosol sequence and its implications for environmental interpretation

Abstract

While there are numerous thick loess-palaeosol sequences preserved across the Carpathian Basin, well dated sites that provide terrestrial palaeoenvironmental records extending beyond last glacial-interglacial cycle are scarce. Robust chronologies are essential for correlations of loess with other long-term Quaternary records and to further understanding of the palaeoenvironment and climate of this important region beyond the last 125 ka. Here a new geochronology based on 13 post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence ages focused on the lower part of the loess-palaeosol sequence at Erdut is presented. The results show that the lower part of the Erdut profile spans the penultimate glacial cycle (MIS 7 to MIS 5). The considerable sediments overlaying the investigated part of the profile suggest that this section spans two glacial cycles, rather than the previously suggested one. The most likely source of the discrepancy is the use of uncorrected infrared stimulated luminescence signal, which can cause age underestimation if not accounted for. This study demonstrates the need to revisit sites such as Erdut, re-date them using updated measurement protocols, and update existing palaeoenvironmental interpretations.

Late Pleistocene Climate and Dust Source From the Mobarakabad Loess–Paleosol Sequence, Northern Foothills of the Alborz Mountains, Northern Iran

“…Loess sediment in the mid-latitude of Eurasia provides an excellent sedimentary archive for understanding past climate and environmental changes in the continental interior (e.g., Rousseau et al, 2017Rousseau et al, , 2020Fenn et al, 2020;Fitzsimmons et al, 2020;Költringer et al, 2020;Song et al, 2021). In northern Iran, loess deposits are found in the so-called Northern Iranian Loess Plateau (NILP) and along the northern foothills of the Alborz Mountain range (NFAM).…”

Chronological Assessment of the Balta Alba Kurgan Loess-Paleosol Section (Romania) – A Comparative Study on Different Dating Methods for a Robust and Precise Age Model

“…Age-depth modeling generally allows for reducing uncertainty of the age estimates when uncertainties of individual ages overlap. This approach has been previously employed to loess deposits in the Danube catchment (e.g., Fenn et al, 2020a;Fenn et al, 2020b;Sümegi et al, 2020). In this study, we select the most accurate ages obtained with each method for age-depth modeling (for details see discussion of individual methods).…”

“…The use of different grain-sizes and mineral extracts and measurement protocols has been well established (Murray and Wintle, 2000;Murray and Wintle, 2003;Timar-Gabor et al, 2011;Buylaert et al, 2012). The ubiquity of suitable sample material in loess, favorable conditions for signal resetting during eolian transport and a dating range covering at least the last interglacial-glacial cycle are the main advantages of this methods for dating LPSs (e.g., Lauer et al, 2016;Bösken et al, 2017;Timar-Gabor et al, 2017;Bösken et al, 2019;Constantin et al, 2019;Lomax et al, 2019;Fenn et al, 2020a). However, the age uncertainties of luminescence methods are on the order of thousands of years, and significant age offsets have also been reported between different mineral fractions dated as well as different protocols applied.…”

Detailed Luminescence Dating of Dust Mass Accumulation Rates Over the Last Two Glacial-Interglacial Cycles from the Irig Loess-Palaeosol Sequence, Carpathian Basin

“…The southern Carpathian Basin comprises some of the most extensive and complete LPS in Europe (Buggle et al, 2013;Marković et al, 2015), providing the opportunity to better understand past European climate and atmospheric mineral dust dynamics (Perić et al, 2019;Stevens et al, 2011;Újvári et al, 2017). Luminescence dating has been performed on several loess sections in the southern Carpathian Basin and has revealed a generally coherent chronostratigraphy in this region (Avram et al, 2020;Fenn et al, 2020;Fuchs et al, 2008;Stevens et al, 2011). Nevertheless, the sampling resolution in these studies is usually insufficient to reveal detailed fluctuations in dust accumulation rates and climate changes, especially at millennial timescales.…”

“…Another limiting factor in obtaining more detailed regional atmospheric mineral dust dynamics is that many Carpathian Basin LPS are likely to be strongly influenced by changes in nearby dust source areas, such as river systems (Fenn et al, 2020;Obreht et al, 2015;Perić et al, 2019;Perić et al, 2020). Reorganization of the large river networks of the Danube and its tributaries, as well as changes in sediment load and discharge, can significantly influence the dust accumulation rates at nearby loess depocentres (Marković et al, 2015).…”