Multiproxy evidence of Middle and Late Pleistocene environmental changes in the loess-paleosol sequence of Bůhzdař (Czech Republic)
Abstract
Loess-paleosol sequences preserve information that can be used to reconstruct paleoenvironments. A dense network of reliably analyzed sequences from different geographic locations is crucial to address ecological and climatic trends, which occurred during the Pleistocene.
This paper focuses on a loess-paleosol sequence in Bůhzdař, situated 9 km NW of Prague, Czech Republic. Geochemical proxies (total organic carbon, elemental contents (XRF), mineralogy (XRD), d13C signature) are combined with grain-size distributions and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to assess the climatic conditions at the time of formation of the strata.
The oldest loess at this location was formed circa 200 ka ago (MIS 7), making it the oldest loess in Central Bohemia for now. The Bůhzdař loess-paleosol sequence was highly affected by several erosion events, Eemian paleosols (MIS 5e) being completely missing.
The partly relocated paleosols situated at the lower part of the Bůhzdař sequence represent a period of increased humidity during late MIS 7 and MIS 6. Despite the fact that the Bůhzdař profile is not particularly thick (5 m), it recorded significant paleoclimatic changes.