Atmospheric circulation patterns in central and eastern Europe during the Weichselian Pleniglacial inferred from loess grain-size records

Abstract

This is a contribution to the reconstruction of the eolian transport processes and wind directions in south-eastern Europe during the Weichselian Pleniglacial. The study is based on eight loess sections: three west and five east of the Carpathian Mountains. The loess dispersal patterns in the area is interpreted by the loess grain-size distribution and mass accumulation rates (MARs) in relation to the topography. The grain-size dataset is subdivided in four endmembers (EMs) by means of the endmember modelling algorithm EMMA. The temporal evolution of the individual EMs is based on a number of absolute datings (25 IRSL and one 14C). The MARs and proportions are calculated per unit of the Pleniglacial (Early, Middle and Late). Both the MAR-results and the EM proportions suggest a prevailing western wind during the Early and Middle Pleniglacial and a dominant northwestern wind during the Late Pleniglacial.