Lower Danube loess - a crucial palaeoclimatic archive for the last glacial cycle in Southeast Europe

The vast Pleistocene aeolian sediments of the Lower Danube Basin are an important archive of Quaternary palaeoclimate dynamics in Southeast Europe. The intercalation of loess layers and fossil soils, so called loess-palaeosol sequences (LPS) are interpreted as the results of oscillating climate phases in the past. However, the characteristics of these LPS vary quite strongly, since they are influenced by various factors. Those factors are mainly the (palaeo-) climate, the (palaeo-) relief and the availability of source material, which differ notably, even at a regional scale. Taken that into account, it is crucial to consider local characteristics while comparing data from different LPS.

Against this backdrop, we compare two LPS from the dry Bărăgan steppe area in southeast Romania: Vlasca (VLA) and Balta Alba Kurgan (BAK). The two sections are approx. 100 km afar and developed under different geomorphic and climatic situations, resulting in varying accumulation rates and post-depositional alterations. Vlasca is a natural exposure on the left bank of the Danube River, whereas BAK is situated in a road cut, approx. 15 km south of the Carpathian bending. The two sites show remarkable differences concerning accumulation rates, grain size, colour, geochemical characteristics as well as magnetic properties, which are interpreted as the results of sediment availability, depositional milieu and especially post-depositional alterations. The variations and the commonalities are used, together with the chronological framework, to better understand the palaeoclimatic evolution of the Lower Danube Basin within the last glacial cycle and to gauge possible ramifications of palaeoclimatic variations on the migration of modern humans.