LOESSFEST'09 | Aug. 31st – Sept. 3rd, 2009 |Novi Sad-Serbia
Geochronological Study of the Loess Profile at Süttő, Hungary
Novothny, Á.1,2, Horváth, E.1, Frechen, M.2, Krbetschek, M.3
1Eötvös Loránd University, below the loess with MIS 7 (8). Institute of Geography and Geology, Department of Physical Geography, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C. H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
2Leibniz Institute for Applied Geophysics (LIAG), Geochronology and Isotope Hydrology, Stilleweg 2, D-30655 Hannover, Germany
3Saxon Academy of Sciences, Leipzig, Quaternary Geochronology Section at Institute of Applied Physics, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Leipziger-Str. 23, 09596 Freiberg, Germany
Loess deposits up to 20 m thick cover the Süttő travertine complex, located in northern Hungary, next to the right bank of the River Danube. The loess, sandy loess is intercalated by a thick pedocomplex, including a reddish B-horizon covered by a chernozem-like palaeosol, two thinner brownish steppe-like soils and two greyish layered horizons and a weak humus-rich horizon.
The loess-paleosol sequence is dated by Infared Stimulated Luminescence (IRSL) on polymineral fine grain samples from the loess layers and by Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) on coarse grain quartz samples from a sand layer. The results were compared with the Infrared Radiofluorescence (IR-RF) dating results from coarse grain K-feldspar samples and radiocarbon and amino acid racemization (AAR) results from the loess layers.
Single aliquot regeneration dose protocol (SAR) has been applied on the luminescence samples. IRSL of the feldspars yielded underestimated ages. This age underestimation is likely because of anomalous fading. Therefore fading tests were carried out and fading corrections were applied for all the samples using the correction method of Huntley and Lamothe (2001). The uppermost part of the section yielded fading corrected IRSL age estimates ranging from 18 to 35 ka. Loess layers on top of the pedocomplex yielded IRSL age estimates ranging from 55 to 90 ka. The pedocomplex most likely correlates with the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 interglacial period. The loess from below the pedocomplex was deposited during the penultimate glaciation, as evidenced by fading corrected IRSL, IRRF and amino acid racemization (AAR) results. Further independent age control is provided by uranium-series (230Th/234U) dating correlating the travertine from 1 Eötvös Loránd University, below the loess with MIS 7 (8).