Sedimentology of a Late Quaternary lacustrine record from the south-eastern Carpathian Basin

Abstract

The Upper Pleistocene geoarchives in the south-eastern Carpathian Basin are represented predominantly by loess–palaeosol records. In 2015, a 10 m sediment core composed of clay-rich lacustrine sediments was recovered by vibracoring a dry lake basin located between the Vršac Mountains (Serbia) and the Banat Sands in the south-eastern Carpathian Basin; a location relevant for placing regional archaeological results in a palaeoenvironmental context. Here, we present results from geoelectrical prospection and a lithostratigraphic interpretation of this sequence supported by a detailed granulometric study supplemented by ostracod analysis. An age model based on luminescence dating is discussed against sedimentological proxy data and its implication for palaeoenvironmental change. The cores show a stratigraphy of lighter ochre-coloured and darker greyish sediment, related to the deposition of clay and silt trapped in an aquatic environment. Geophysical measurements show ~20 m thick lacustrine sediments. The grain-size distributions including the variability in fine clay are indicative of a lacustrine environment. Fine particles were brought into the depositional environments by aquatic input and settled from suspension; also, direct dust input is constrained by grain-size results. Riverine input and aeolian dust input interplayed at the locality.

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Zeeden, C., Hambach, U., Klasen, N., Fischer, P., Schulte, P., Nett, J., Veres, D., Obreht, I., Chu, W., Papadopoulou, M., Viehberg, F., Schäbitz, F., Gavrilov, M., Markovic, S., Vött, A., Lehmkuhl, F. (2021): Sedimentology of a Late Quaternary lacustrine record from the south-eastern Carpathian Basin. – In: Journal of Quaternary Science, DOI: 10.1002/jqs.3297