Reinterpretation of Fluvial-Aeolian Sediments From Last Glacial Termination Classic Type Localities Using High-Resolution Radiocarbon Data From the Polish Part of the European Sand Belt

Abstract

This paper presents 66 radiocarbon (14C) dates obtained at 33 key sites from the Polish part of the European Sand Belt. These calibrated dating results were compared to 34 high-resolution 14C dates obtained from a fluvial-aeolian sediments to identify pedogenic phases from the late Pleniglacial interval to the early Holocene. These identified pedogenic phases were correlated with Greenland ice-core records, revealing high sensitivity of the fluvio-aeolian paleoenvironment to climate changes. Two pedogenic phases were identified from the late Pleniglacial interval (Greenland Stadial GS-2.1b and GS-2.1a), three from the Bølling-Allerød interstadial (Greenland Stadial GI-1), one from the late Allerød–Younger Dryas boundary, and at least one from the Younger Dryas. The ages of these pedogenic phases reveal a distinct delay of 50–100 calendar years after the onset of cool climate conditions during GI-1, reflecting gradual withdrawal of vegetation. Soil horizons from the early Holocene do not show any clear relation with climate change, where breaks in soil formation were caused by local factors such as human activity.

Climate change records in coversand deposits from the eastern margin of the Tarnów Plateau (southeast Poland)

“…indicates a termination of CS deposition during the Late Pleniglacial or in the beginning of the Earliest Dryas of the Weichselian Late Glacial (Figure 8), corresponding to the Older Coversand II (OC II), 63 that is, the GS-2.1a event (NGRIP). 64 The youngest of the determined dates (13.1 ± 0.5 ka; 64 interstadial warmings (Bölling, Alleröd) as noted by Kasse, 8 Kasse et al, 10 Van Huissteden et al, 58 Vandenberghe et al, 63 Koster 65 and Kaiser et al 66 and in Poland and Ukraine by Zieli nski, 14 Moska et al, 66,67 Sokołowski et al 68 and Moska et al 69 ; (ii) dated sample collection from deposits subject to pedogenic processes, potentially leading to age rejuvenation; and (iii) the occurrence of distinctly olderaged (15.7 ± 0.5 ka) deposits in an almost-identical stratigraphic position (Figures 1c and 2b; Table 2).…”

“…A comparison of results obtained from aeolian deposits derived from the ESB's central part with the other study sites is very difficult. The complication is that research on the lithology and age of aeolian successions was focused almost exclusively on fluvio‐aeolian or dune sediments 11,13–15,67–69,114 . However, the CS as a separate unit of aeolian sediments is well recognized in northwestern Europe 7,8,12 and in Poland 14,71 .…”

“…The complication is that research on the lithology and age of aeolian successions was focused almost exclusively on fluvio-aeolian or dune sediments. 11,[13][14][15][67][68][69]114 However, the CS as a separate unit of aeolian sediments is well recognized in northwestern Europe 7,8,12 and in Poland. 14,71 It is commonly claimed that the thickness of CSs usually ranges from <1 m to several metres, only occasionally exceeding 10 m as depression fill.…”

“…The youngest of the determined dates (13.1 ± 0.5 ka; Table 2) obtained from the bottommost part of Unit B2 (Figure 2b) raises the largest doubts. Its correlation with the Alleröd/Earliest Dryas boundary is uncertain due to the (i) lack of records of longer sedimentary hiatus, erosional horizons or horizons of paleosols characteristic of interstadial warmings (Bölling, Alleröd) as noted by Kasse, 8 Kasse et al, 10 Van Huissteden et al, 58 Vandenberghe et al, 63 Koster 65 and Kaiser et al 66 and in Poland and Ukraine by Zieliński, 14 Moska et al, 66,67 Sokołowski et al 68 and Moska et al 69 ; (ii) dated sample collection from deposits subject to pedogenic processes, potentially leading to age rejuvenation; and (iii) the occurrence of distinctly older‐aged (15.7 ± 0.5 ka) deposits in an almost‐identical stratigraphic position (Figures 1c and 2b; Table 2).…”

Buried Podzols as a pedostratigraphic marker for the Medieval Climatic Optimum: Grębociny soil in the dune deposits of the European Sand Belt

“…In sites 5, 6, 7 and 8 multistory sequences (Holliday et al, 2017) of several younger (Modern period) incipient buried Arenosols occur in the interval above the Podzol. In the remaining sites, either one Arenosol (site 4) or a multistory sequence of two or more Arenosols (sites 3, 9 and 10) of Late Glacial -early Holocene age (Ninard et al, 2022(Ninard et al, , 2023Sokołowski et al, 2022) occur in the dune deposits overlain by the buried Podzol (Figure 4). At sites 3, 9 and 10, the buried Podzol and Late Glacial -early Holocene paleosols are separated by a sediment interval merely 1 m thick or less (Figures 3 and 4).…”