Stratigraphy, and spatial and temporal paleoclimatic trends in Southeastern/Eastern European loess-paleosol sequences

Abstract

The loess-paleosol sections Batajnica/Stari Slankamen (Serbia), Mircea Voda (Romania) and Stary Kaydaky (Ukraine) are presently located in areas of different types of steppe, and are highly sensitive for recording climatic changes. A stratigraphy for these three Southeastern/Eastern European sections is presented, based on pedostratigraphy and correlation of recently obtained susceptibility records with susceptibility data of other sections of the area (Koriten, Mostistea, Vyazivok), of the Chinese Loess Plateau and with the benthic δ18O record of ODP 677. Six pedocomplexes were studied at the Serbian and Romanian sections and five at the Ukrainian section. The oldest are related to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 17 (Batajnica/Stari Slankamen and Mircea Voda) and MIS 13-15 (Stary Kaydaky). Some points concerning the existing loess chronostratigraphies of Bulgaria, Ukraine and China are discussed. Comparative study of the profiles allows the tracing of paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes in Southeastern/Eastern Europe in time and space. Reconstruction of paleoprecipitation based on susceptibility-rainfall relationships, and calculations of sedimentation rates are evaluated. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA.