Paleoenvironments from robust loess stratigraphy using high-resolution color and grain-size data of the last glacial Krems-Wachtberg record (NE Austria)

Quaternary Science Reviews, vol. 248, pp. 106602

Abstract

The complex interplay of dust sedimentation, pedogenesis, and erosion/reworking in the formation of loess-paleosol sequences (LPS) challenges paleoenvironmental proxies. Here we show that color and grain size are essential parameters characterizing loess profiles and support robust stratigraphies as a basis for reconstructions in the context of local geo-ecological and large-scale paleoclimatic evolution. Detailed paleoenvironmental records from the period since the arrival of anatomically modern humans to the last glacial maximum are scarce in the Alpine surroundings. The c. 7.5 m thick LPS Krems-Wachtberg, NE Austria, known for its well-preserved Upper Paleolithic context at a depth of 5.5 m, formed between 40 and 20 ka BP by quasi-continuous dust-sedimentation, interrupted by phases of incipient pedogenesis and local reworking. The new KW2015 composite is based on three sections studied and sampled at 2.5 cm resolution. Color and grain size data support a robust stratigraphy for reconstructions of the pedosedimentary evolution. The marked transition from oxidized to reduced paleosols of KW2015 around 34–35 ka corresponds to the Middle-to Upper Pleniglacial transition as part of a general cooling trend from marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 to 2, intensely modulated by millennial-scale climatic fluctuations as recorded in the Greenland ice core data. The distinct response of KW2015 to these trends highlights that reconstructing LPS evolution based on a robust stratigraphy is a prerequisite to paleoenvironmental proxy interpretation.

Authors 10

1. Tobias Sprafke corresponding

   University of Bern

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Hallerstrasse 12, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

2. Philipp Schulte Aachen Department of Geography

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Geography, RWTH Aachen University, Wüllnerstr. 5b, 52056, Aachen, Germany

3. Simon Meyer-Heintze

   University of Würzburg

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany

4. Marc Händel

   Austrian Academy of Sciences · Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Hollandstraße 11-13, 1020, Vienna, Austria

5. Thomas Einwögerer

   Austrian Academy of Sciences · Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Hollandstraße 11-13, 1020, Vienna, Austria

6. Ulrich Simon

   Austrian Academy of Sciences · Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute for Oriental and European Archaeology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Hollandstraße 11-13, 1020, Vienna, Austria

7. Robert Peticzka

   University of Vienna

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Geography and Regional Research, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria

8. Christian Schäfer

   University of Würzburg

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany

9. Frank Lehmkuhl Aachen Department of Geography

   RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Geography, RWTH Aachen University, Wüllnerstr. 5b, 52056, Aachen, Germany

10. Birgit Terhorst

    University of Würzburg

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Würzburg, Am Hubland, 97074, Würzburg, Germany