Last deglaciation flooding events in the Southern Carpathians as revealed by the study of cave deposits from Muierilor Cave, Romania

Abstract

Caves often hold valuable palaeoclimate archives including speleothems, fossil remains, and clastic sediments that complement each other. This paper presents a multi-archive interdisciplinary study of an extensive deposit of fossil mammals from the scientific reserve in the Muierilor Cave, Southern Carpathians, Romania. We present two new palaeontological excavations that indicate a high abundance and diversity of MIS 3-2 fossil mammals (carnivores, omnivores and herbivores) synchronous with the early modern humans known from this cave. Using geochronological and sedimentological methods, we present a general reconstruction of the cave evolution between ~120 kyr B.P. and the Holocene. The study is based on a combination of geochronological tools including OSL dating of sediments, U/Th dating of speleothems, and radiocarbon dating of fossil remains, with a total of 54 ages. Based on U/Th dating of speleothems from stratigraphically-relevant positions, we show that the MIS 3 assemblage of fossil mammals were massively reworked and deposited during the post-LGM deglaciation, slightly earlier than previously known for the Southern Carpathians. On the other hand, several young radiocarbon ages of cave bear samples suggest that the Southern Carpathians might have been functioning as a glacial refuge for this species as late as ~22 kyr B.P.

A 16S rRNA Gene-Based Metabarcoding of Phosphate-Rich Deposits in Muierilor Cave, South-Western Carpathians

“…The Yellow Chamber was resurveyed in 2019 during the paleontological excavation in the Scientific Reserve ( Mirea et al, 2021 ). It was named after the yellow calcite crystals that cover the rock surface in some of its parts.…”

“…Herein, we present the results of the studies on the microbiome of different deposit types in a protected sector of Muierilor Cave (Romania) to unravel the diversity of microorganisms related to the substrate chemistry and mineralogy and identify their possible sources. Muierilor Cave is one of the most important caves from paleontological, biological, and archeological points of view ( Mirea et al, 2021 ). With more than 130,000 visitors each year, it is also one of the most visited show caves in the country ( Burghele et al, 2018 ; Constantin et al, 2021 ; Mirea et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Muierilor Cave is one of the most important caves from paleontological, biological, and archeological points of view ( Mirea et al, 2021 ). With more than 130,000 visitors each year, it is also one of the most visited show caves in the country ( Burghele et al, 2018 ; Constantin et al, 2021 ; Mirea et al, 2021 ).…”

Monitoring Human Impact in Show Caves. A Study of Four Romanian Caves

“…It consists of a maze of passages totaling more than 8 km in length, spread across four levels. The cave is famous for the discovery of early modern human remains c. 35 ka old [40], Paleolithic artifacts and a large deposit of fossil remains of cave bears (Ursus spelaeus), cave lions, hyaenas, wolves, and also herbivores and small mammals [41]. It was the first cave of Romania fitted with electric light (1963) and it typically has more than 100,000 visitors/year.…”

“…Figure 2. The four studied show caves and the location of the monitoring stations in Muierilor (A; modified after Mirea et al[41]), Polovragi (B; modified after Ponta and Aldica[47]), Urs , ilor (C; modified after Constantin et al[48]), and Meziad (modified after Rusu et al[49]). …”