In the Pannonian Basin and the western and northern Black Sea region, loess paleosol sequences of several decametres thickness are widely distributed. They constitute valuable long-term archives for the Quaternary climate and landscape history.
The present knowledge suggests that substantial changes in climate and vegetation (forest, forest-steppe, steppe) occurred in this region during the Quaternary. However, the scientific basis for is up to now very sparse. Therefore, we study three potential key sections of the region: Batajnica/Stari Slankamen (Serbia), Mircea Voda (Romania) and Stary Kaydaky (Ukraine). Each section contains loess-paleosol sequences corresponding to at least six glacial-interglacial cycles. The reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental conditions is based on several pillars:
1) Establishing a reliable chronostratigraphy
Methods: Luminescence dating, pedostratigraphy, paleo- and rock magnetism and correlation to reference climate records of the Quaternary
2) Reconstruction of the loess provenance and paleowind direction to gain a more detailed understanding of the archive and mechanisms and dynamics of it’s formation
Methods: Geochemistry (XRF), analysis of geomorphological and sedimentological maps
3) Reconstruction of soil forming and environmental conditions by identification and semiquantitative analysis of soil forming processes
Methods: Field description, micromorphology, clay-mineral analysis (XRD), rock magnetism, element analysis (XRF), grain size analysis
4) Reconstruction of the paleovegetation
Methods: Biomarker analysis, Pollen analysis, stable isotopes
5) Reconstruction of paleoclimatic conditions
Methods: Synopsis of the multiproxy dataset
BayCEER Colloquium: |
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Th. 2023-12-07 Release, biomethylation and biovolatilisation of trace elements in soils |
Th. 2023-12-14 Soil structure, water, and organic matter – responses to different land management systems |
Ecological-Botanical Garden: |
Su. 2023-12-10 Führung | "Kolonialpflanzen: Weihnachtsgebäck und Wintergewürz" - Führung zusammen mit dem Industriemuseum BT e.V." |
Tu. 2023-12-12 Ökumenische Andacht zum Advent (ESG & KHG) mit dem Swahili Chor Bayreuth |
Su. 2024-01-07 Führung | "Fortuna botanica: Glück bringende Pflanzen" |