Sedimentary processes and palaeoenvironments from La Combette sequence (southeastern France): climatic insights on the Last Interglacial/Glacial transition

Reconstructing the Eemian to Middle Pleniglacial pedosedimentary evolution of the Baix loess–palaeosol sequence (Rhône Rift Valley, southern France) – basic chronostratigraphic framework and palaeosol characterisation

“…Eemian pollen records display summer-drought-resistant sclerophyllous taxa, with Ilex, Olea, Pistacia and evergreen Quercus (Beaulieu and Reille, 1984a;Tzedakis, 2007) and, at higher altitudes, mixed oak forest with the presence of Buxus and Taxus (Reille et al, 2000). The following change in vegetation towards tundra or steppe (Reille and Beaulieu, 1990;Mologni et al, 2021) was associated with a change to colder, drier, more continental climatic conditions, whereas the temperate deciduous vegetation recorded in between suggests a milder climate with higher precipitation and possibly higher temperatures. The gradual climate deterioration of the late Eemian is also reflected by the erosion of intensely weathered (partly red) sediments and a change within the pollen and human occupation remains derived from archaeological sites along the Ardèche and Payre rivers (Valladas et al, 2008;Rivals et al, 2009;Moncel et al, 2015) (Fig.…”

“…Source areas of the loess were the dried-out riverbeds of the Rhône River and its tributaries from the Alps and the Massif Central, which during glacial periods were fed with fine-grained material abraded by the glaciers in the western Alps and the Massif Central (Bosq et al, 2020a). Only recently has loess research in the area been resumed, applying state-of-the-art investigation methods, including numerical dating (Franc et al, 2017;Bosq et al, 2018Bosq et al, , 2020aKreutzer et al, 2021;Mologni et al, 2021). One of the recently reinvestigated LPSs is the Collias LPS, located in the Mediterranean zone of SE France (Fig.…”

“…Pollen records (green diamonds) from lacustrine sediments of Les Échets(Beaulieu and Reille, 1984a, b); maar lakes in the Velay region, Lac du Bouchet, Ribains and Praclaux(Reille and Beaulieu, 1990;Reille et al, 2000); and marine sediments from the Gulf of Lion (cores: MD 99-2349, MD99-2352, MD99-2348/PRGL1-4;Beaudouin et al, 2005). Archaeological sites (purple diamonds) of Payre(Valladas et al, 2008;Rivals et al, 2009), La Combette(Kreutzer et al, 2021;Mologni et al, 2021), and the Ardèche area (Abri des Pêcheurs, Saint-Marcel, Le Figuier, Abri du Maras)(Moncel et al, 2015). Molluscan record (blue diamond) of Aix-en-Provence(Magnin and Bonnet, 2014).…”