A Late Glacial Paleolake Record from an Up-Dammed River Valley in Northern Transylvania, Romania
Lake sediments from the Măgheruş Valley in the lowlands of northern Transylvania provide new evidence of paleoenvironmental development in Romania during the Late Glacial. The studied sediments were deposited as a result of the damming of a small river valley following a series of mass wasting event...
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Digital Commons @ University of South Florida
2015
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Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1900 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.041 |
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ftunisfloridatam:oai:digitalcommons.usf.edu:geo_facpub-2898 2023-05-15T16:28:56+02:00 A Late Glacial Paleolake Record from an Up-Dammed River Valley in Northern Transylvania, Romania Lascu, Ioan Wohlfarth, Barbara Onac, Bogdan P Björck, Svante Kromer, Bernd 2015-11-01T07:00:00Z https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1900 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.041 unknown Digital Commons @ University of South Florida https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1900 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.041 School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications Romania Late Glacial Lake sediments Mineral magnetism Paleoenvironment Vegetation dynamics Earth Sciences article 2015 ftunisfloridatam https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.041 2021-10-09T07:49:28Z Lake sediments from the Măgheruş Valley in the lowlands of northern Transylvania provide new evidence of paleoenvironmental development in Romania during the Late Glacial. The studied sediments were deposited as a result of the damming of a small river valley following a series of mass wasting events that occurred during the deglaciation period. A continuous sedimentary sequence belonging to the former lake is preserved in the banks of the stream, and contains evidence of paleoenvironmental changes associated with the Late Glacial Interstadial (Bølling–Allerød or Greenland Interstadial 1, GI-1) and the Late Glacial Stadial (Younger Dryas or Greenland Stadial 1, GS-1), implying that the hallmark climatic episodes of northwestern Europe are also expressed in Eastern Europe. We employ a multiproxy approach based on the analysis of sediment composition and texture, mineral magnetism, organic macrofossils, and radiocarbon dating. The reconstructed paleoenvironmental evolution at the site captures the warm and humid conditions associated with GI-1, as well as the subsequent cooling concomitant with the onset of GS-1. These climatic events are paralleled by vegetation shifts in the region, as deduced from comparisons with pollen sequences from Măgheruş and neighboring locations in Transylvania and the Carpathians. The Late Glacial Interstadial was warmer and wetter, as evidenced by increased organic matter content in the lake, decreased erosion in the catchment, development of palustrine plant communities in the proximity of the lake, and expansion of spruce during the Allerød (GI-1c-a). The Late Glacial Stadial was colder and dryer, as indicated by low sedimentary organic matter content, an increase in erosion markers, and the decline of spruce and its replacement by birch. The landscape was more open, as herbs and grasses also expanded during this time. These fluctuations imply that Late Glacial climatic events are well expressed not only in upland areas of Romania, but also in lowland regions such as the Transylvanian Basin, where climatic effects are expected to be more muted. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Digital Commons University of South Florida (USF) Greenland Glacial Lake ENVELOPE(-129.463,-129.463,58.259,58.259) Quaternary International 388 87 96 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Digital Commons University of South Florida (USF) |
op_collection_id |
ftunisfloridatam |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Romania Late Glacial Lake sediments Mineral magnetism Paleoenvironment Vegetation dynamics Earth Sciences |
spellingShingle |
Romania Late Glacial Lake sediments Mineral magnetism Paleoenvironment Vegetation dynamics Earth Sciences Lascu, Ioan Wohlfarth, Barbara Onac, Bogdan P Björck, Svante Kromer, Bernd A Late Glacial Paleolake Record from an Up-Dammed River Valley in Northern Transylvania, Romania |
topic_facet |
Romania Late Glacial Lake sediments Mineral magnetism Paleoenvironment Vegetation dynamics Earth Sciences |
description |
Lake sediments from the Măgheruş Valley in the lowlands of northern Transylvania provide new evidence of paleoenvironmental development in Romania during the Late Glacial. The studied sediments were deposited as a result of the damming of a small river valley following a series of mass wasting events that occurred during the deglaciation period. A continuous sedimentary sequence belonging to the former lake is preserved in the banks of the stream, and contains evidence of paleoenvironmental changes associated with the Late Glacial Interstadial (Bølling–Allerød or Greenland Interstadial 1, GI-1) and the Late Glacial Stadial (Younger Dryas or Greenland Stadial 1, GS-1), implying that the hallmark climatic episodes of northwestern Europe are also expressed in Eastern Europe. We employ a multiproxy approach based on the analysis of sediment composition and texture, mineral magnetism, organic macrofossils, and radiocarbon dating. The reconstructed paleoenvironmental evolution at the site captures the warm and humid conditions associated with GI-1, as well as the subsequent cooling concomitant with the onset of GS-1. These climatic events are paralleled by vegetation shifts in the region, as deduced from comparisons with pollen sequences from Măgheruş and neighboring locations in Transylvania and the Carpathians. The Late Glacial Interstadial was warmer and wetter, as evidenced by increased organic matter content in the lake, decreased erosion in the catchment, development of palustrine plant communities in the proximity of the lake, and expansion of spruce during the Allerød (GI-1c-a). The Late Glacial Stadial was colder and dryer, as indicated by low sedimentary organic matter content, an increase in erosion markers, and the decline of spruce and its replacement by birch. The landscape was more open, as herbs and grasses also expanded during this time. These fluctuations imply that Late Glacial climatic events are well expressed not only in upland areas of Romania, but also in lowland regions such as the Transylvanian Basin, where climatic effects are expected to be more muted. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lascu, Ioan Wohlfarth, Barbara Onac, Bogdan P Björck, Svante Kromer, Bernd |
author_facet |
Lascu, Ioan Wohlfarth, Barbara Onac, Bogdan P Björck, Svante Kromer, Bernd |
author_sort |
Lascu, Ioan |
title |
A Late Glacial Paleolake Record from an Up-Dammed River Valley in Northern Transylvania, Romania |
title_short |
A Late Glacial Paleolake Record from an Up-Dammed River Valley in Northern Transylvania, Romania |
title_full |
A Late Glacial Paleolake Record from an Up-Dammed River Valley in Northern Transylvania, Romania |
title_fullStr |
A Late Glacial Paleolake Record from an Up-Dammed River Valley in Northern Transylvania, Romania |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Late Glacial Paleolake Record from an Up-Dammed River Valley in Northern Transylvania, Romania |
title_sort |
late glacial paleolake record from an up-dammed river valley in northern transylvania, romania |
publisher |
Digital Commons @ University of South Florida |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1900 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.041 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-129.463,-129.463,58.259,58.259) |
geographic |
Greenland Glacial Lake |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Glacial Lake |
genre |
Greenland |
genre_facet |
Greenland |
op_source |
School of Geosciences Faculty and Staff Publications |
op_relation |
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/geo_facpub/1900 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.041 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.041 |
container_title |
Quaternary International |
container_volume |
388 |
container_start_page |
87 |
op_container_end_page |
96 |
_version_ |
1766018618848444416 |