Published July 23, 2018 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Luminescence age constraints on the Pleistocene-Holocene transition recorded in loess sequences across SE Europe

Creators

  • 1. nterdisciplinary Research Institute on Bio-Nano-Sciences, Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
  • 2. University of Bucharest, Faculty of Physics, Atomiştilor 405, 077125, Măgurele, Romania
  • 3. Center for Nuclear Technologies, Technical University of Denmark, DTU Risø Campus, Roskilde, Denmark
  • 4. BayCEER & Chair of Geomorphology, University of Bayreuth, Universitätsstraße 30, 94450, Bayreuth, Germany
  • 5. Laboratory for Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction, Faculty of Sciences, University of Novi Sad, Trg Dositeja Obradovića 2, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia
  • 6. Earth Sciences and Geomorphology Department, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Glushkova Prospect 2a, 03127, Kiev, Ukraine

Description

Here we investigate the timing of the last glacial loess (L1) - Holocene soil (S0) transition recorded in loesspaleosol
sequences from SE Europe (Ukraine, Romania, Serbia) by applying comparative luminescence dating
techniques on quartz and feldspars. Equivalent dose measurements were carried out using the single-aliquot
regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol on silt (4–11 μm) and sand-sized (63–90 μm and coarser fraction when
available) quartz. Feldspar infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) emitted by 4–11 μm polymineral grains was
measured using the post IR-IRSL290 technique.
The paleoenvironmental transition from the last glacial loess to the current interglacial soil was characterized
using magnetic susceptibility and its frequency dependence. SAR-OSL dating of 4–11 μm, 63–90 μm and
90–125 μm quartz provided consistent ages in the loess-paleosol sites investigated, while the post-IR IRSL290
protocol proved unreliable for dating such young samples. Based on these ages and the threshold of the magnetic
signal enhancement the onset of soil formation has been placed around 16.6 ± 1.1 ka at Roxolany (Ukraine),
13.5 ± 0.9 ka at Mošorin (Serbia) and between 17.6 ± 1.4 ka and 12.4 ± 1.0 ka at Râmnicu Sărat (Romania).
The trend observed in the magnetic parameters reflects the intensity of pedogenesis induced by regional climate
amelioration during the Late Glacial, but the onset of magnetic susceptibility enhancement precedes the stratigraphic
boundary of Pleistocene-Holocene dated at 11.7 ka in ice core records.
Thus, magnetic susceptibility indicates a gradual increase in pedogenesis after Termination 1 (∼17 ka in the
North Atlantic) at the sampling sites. Based on current data, it is not possible to define a synchronous threshold
of change for all sections. However, the trend in the magnetic susceptibility data closely reflects the gradual
transition from Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) towards the Holocene, with the onset of humus accumulation (A1
horizon) possibly linked to the prevalence of full interglacial conditions.

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