Quaternary Loess Deposition and Climate Change

A special issue of Quaternary (ISSN 2571-550X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 20622

Special Issue Editor

Department of Geology and Palaeontology, University of Szeged, Dugonics tér 13, 6720 Szeged, Hungary
Interests: paleoecology; malacology; quaternary; loess–paleosol sequences; sedimentology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

The current climate change is not unique to Earth’s history. Over millions of years, countless climate changes have taken place, and one of the best-investigated climate changes is the study of glacial and interglacial, and stadial and interstadial cycles in the Pleistocene. Numerous marine records demonstrate these rapid changes, but so far, land records that can be interpreted globally have not been established. The purpose of this Special Issue is to summarize the terrestrial loess–paleosol records examined by a variety of methods in an overview, monograph-like Special Issue.  

We welcome you to submit a paper to the Special Issue, “Quaternary Loess Deposition and Climate Change”. This Issue seeks to investigate the interactions between the loess–paleosol deposits and the global, regional, and local climatic impacts using paleoenvironmental, paleoclimatic sedimentological, archaeological, geochemical, and malacological approaches. This Issue is open to all periods and regions.  

Dr. Dávid Molnár
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Quaternary is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Loess–paleosol sequences
  • Paleoecology
  • Paleoclimatology
  • Archaeology
  • Pleistocene
  • Malacology
  • Terrestrial records
  • Sedimentology
  • Geochemistry
  • Paleomagnetism
  • Absolute dating
  • Age–depth models

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Editorial

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2 pages, 194 KiB  
Editorial
Quaternary Loess Deposition and Climate Change in Europe—Recent Progress
by Dávid Molnár
Quaternary 2022, 5(4), 40; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/quat5040040 - 25 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1113
Abstract
The current climate changes are not unique in Earth’s history [...] Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quaternary Loess Deposition and Climate Change)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

19 pages, 3595 KiB  
Article
Geoarchaeological Analyses of a Late-Copper-Age Kurgan on the Great Hungarian Plain
by Péter Cseh, Dávid Molnár, László Makó and Pál Sümegi
Quaternary 2022, 5(2), 20; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/quat5020020 - 03 Apr 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2664
Abstract
Kurgans are the custodians of outstanding archaeological, natural and environmental-historical value in the lowland landscape of Eastern Europe, which has been continuously transformed over millennia by agricultural activity. Their protection and study are, therefore, essential. By comparative soil and sedimentological analysis of the [...] Read more.
Kurgans are the custodians of outstanding archaeological, natural and environmental-historical value in the lowland landscape of Eastern Europe, which has been continuously transformed over millennia by agricultural activity. Their protection and study are, therefore, essential. By comparative soil and sedimentological analysis of the soil levels buried during the kurgans’ construction, the levels of buried soil, and the recent surface soil, we can gain information on the environmental changes of the second half of the Holocene; we can also gain information about how the activity of humans, even in the case of prehistoric cultures, can cause changes in the soil and environment on a local scale, beyond the regional scale. The aim of our research was to conduct a geoarchaeological examination of the Császárné Mound, which is one of the kurgans in the Hungarian Great Plain. For this purpose, sedimentological analyses (grain size distribution, magnetic susceptibility measurements), a pollen analysis, and a malacological analysis were carried out on the samples from the Császárné Mound. The complex geoarchaeological investigation of the mound allowed us to distinguish three different construction layers in the kurgan’s soil material. Besides the archaeological results, we were able to reconstruct steppe-like environmental conditions before and during construction in the local surroundings of the kurgan. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quaternary Loess Deposition and Climate Change)
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18 pages, 3680 KiB  
Article
Luminescence Sensitivity of Rhine Valley Loess: Indicators of Source Variability?
by Kathryn E. Fitzsimmons, Zoran Perić, Maike Nowatzki, Susanne Lindauer, Mathias Vinnepand, Charlotte Prud’homme, Aditi K. Dave, Andreas Vött and Peter Fischer
Quaternary 2022, 5(1), 1; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/quat5010001 - 21 Dec 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3033
Abstract
Loess provides a valuable terrestrial record of past environmental conditions, including the dynamics and trajectories of air mass circulation responsible for dust transport. Here we explore variations in the luminescence sensitivity characteristics of sedimentary quartz and feldspar as possible tools for identifying changes [...] Read more.
Loess provides a valuable terrestrial record of past environmental conditions, including the dynamics and trajectories of air mass circulation responsible for dust transport. Here we explore variations in the luminescence sensitivity characteristics of sedimentary quartz and feldspar as possible tools for identifying changes in source down a loess-palaeosol sequence (LPS). Luminescence sensitivity is a rapidly measurable index which is the product of interplay between source lithology and the history of the quartz or feldspar clasts. Variations in sensitivity of down profile may therefore reflect changes in sediment provenance as well as other factors such as weathering through pedogenesis. We undertake an empirical investigation of the luminescence sensitivity of quartz and feldspar from different grain-size fractions from the Schwalbenberg LPS in the German Rhine valley. We compare samples from a 30 m core spanning the last full glacial cycle with samples of oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 3–2 age exposed within nearby profile. We find an overall inverse relationship between quartz and feldspar sensitivity, as well as variability in sensitivity between different quartz grain sizes. Statistical analyses yield a significant correlation between IR50 sensitivity from unprocessed sediments and clay content, and feldspar sensitivity and Si/Al ratios down the core. Since Si/Al ratios may indicate changes in provenance, the latter correlation suggests that IR50 measurements on unprocessed samples may be used to provide a reliable, rapid scan of source variability over millennial timescales. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quaternary Loess Deposition and Climate Change)
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42 pages, 6555 KiB  
Article
Early–Middle Pleistocene Magnetostratigraphic and Rock Magnetic Records of the Dolynske Section (Lower Danube, Ukraine) and Their Application to the Correlation of Loess–Palaeosol Sequences in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe
by Dmytro Hlavatskyi and Vladimir Bakhmutov
Quaternary 2021, 4(4), 43; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/quat4040043 - 02 Dec 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5863
Abstract
We present new palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic results with a stratigraphic interpretation of the late Early–Middle Pleistocene deposits exposed on the left bank of the River Danube at Dolynske, southern Ukraine. A thick succession of water-lain facies is succeeded by reddish-brown clayey soils, [...] Read more.
We present new palaeomagnetic and rock magnetic results with a stratigraphic interpretation of the late Early–Middle Pleistocene deposits exposed on the left bank of the River Danube at Dolynske, southern Ukraine. A thick succession of water-lain facies is succeeded by reddish-brown clayey soils, topped by a high-resolution loess–palaeosol sequence. These constitute one of the most complete recently discovered palaeoclimate archives in the Lower Danube Basin. The suggested stratigraphy is based on the position of the Matuyama–Brunhes boundary, rock magnetic, palaeopedological and sedimentological proxies, and it is confidently correlated with other loess records in the region (Roksolany and Kurortne), as well as with the marine isotope stratigraphy. The magnetic susceptibility records and palaeosol characteristics at Dolynske show an outstanding pattern that is transitional between eastern and south-eastern European loess records. Our data confirm that the well-developed S4 soil unit in Ukraine, and S5 units in Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia, correlate with the warm MIS 11. Furthermore, we suggest the correlation of rubified S6 palaeosols in Romania and Bulgaria and the V-S7–V-S8 double palaeosol in Serbia with S6 in Ukraine, a strong Mediterranean-type palaeosol which corresponds to MIS 15. Our new results do not support the hypothesis of a large magnetic lock-in depth like that previously interpreted for the Danube loess, and they prove that the Matuyama–Brunhes boundary is located within the palaeosol unit corresponding to MIS 19. The proposed stratigraphic correlation scheme may serve as a potential basis for further regional and global Pleistocene climatic reconstructions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quaternary Loess Deposition and Climate Change)
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29 pages, 4899 KiB  
Article
Sedimentological-Geochemical Data Based Reconstruction of Climate Changes and Human Impacts from the Peat Sequence of Round Lake in the Western Foothill Area of the Eastern Carpathians, Romania
by Réka Orsolya Tapody, Pál Sümegi, Dávid Molnár, Máté Karlik, Tünde Törőcsik, Péter Cseh and László Makó
Quaternary 2021, 4(2), 18; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/quat4020018 - 10 Jun 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3162
Abstract
This paper presents the results of comparative sedimentological and geochemical analysis of the mire at Sânpaul, Round Lake (Kerek-tó). The palaeoecological site is situated in the western foothill area of the Eastern Carpathians in Romania. The primary objective of this study was to [...] Read more.
This paper presents the results of comparative sedimentological and geochemical analysis of the mire at Sânpaul, Round Lake (Kerek-tó). The palaeoecological site is situated in the western foothill area of the Eastern Carpathians in Romania. The primary objective of this study was to analyse the accumulation of major and trace elements in a 7500 year-long peat and lake deposition. The concentrations of 13 elements were determined by using handheld XRF. This paper presents the results of a multidisciplinary study, for which the principal aims were to examine the long-term relationship between land degradation in the Homoród Hills using various palaeoecological techniques, primarily comparative geochemical analyses. The PCA of elemental concentrations suggests that Round Lake is mainly controlled by the input of inorganic mineral matter and the LOI550 of peat. However, some elements are influenced by biological processes of vegetation and groundwater. Geohistorical studies compared with vegetation changes and elemental distribution helped the detection of erosion phases in the level of 12 prehistoric cultures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quaternary Loess Deposition and Climate Change)
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13 pages, 6208 KiB  
Article
Selected Grain-Size and Geochemical Analyses of the Loess-Paleosol Sequence of Pécel (Northern Hungary): An Attempt to Determine Sediment Accumulation Conditions and the Source Area Location
by László Makó, Dávid Molnár, Boglárka Runa, Gábor Bozsó, Péter Cseh, Balázs Nagy and Pál Sümegi
Quaternary 2021, 4(2), 17; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/quat4020017 - 26 May 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2946
Abstract
The loess-paleosol profile near the settlement of Pécel has a notable size among the loess-paleosol sequences of the Northern Carpathian territories. Therefore, comprehensive sedimentological examinations were performed to understand the profile and the information preserved in it. The past periodicity and intensity of [...] Read more.
The loess-paleosol profile near the settlement of Pécel has a notable size among the loess-paleosol sequences of the Northern Carpathian territories. Therefore, comprehensive sedimentological examinations were performed to understand the profile and the information preserved in it. The past periodicity and intensity of winds were showed by particle composition studies (GSI, U-ratio). At least two source areas can be presumed based on geochemical indices (CIA, CIW, Rb/Sr, Zr/Rb). Based on the characteristics of the chemical composition of sulphide minerals (P, S, Pb, Ni, As sulphides), the lower 10 m of the profile was supposed to be transported from the NW direction (Buda Thermal Karst, Börzsöny, Cserhát). Sufficient information is not yet available in order to determine the source area of the upper 10 m. By using the mentioned indexes, major developing and weathering horizons also could be identified. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Quaternary Loess Deposition and Climate Change)
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