Abstract
The chronology of the Mikulino Interglacial and its individual phases have been the subject of discussion. The goal of this study was to evaluate the time limits of the main stages of the Mikulino Interglacial on the Russian Plain according to ²³⁰Th/U dating and paleobotanical studies of lake and peat sediments from the known sections located within the Tver region on the Bolshaya Dubenka River, Malaya Kosha River, Granichnaya River, and Sizhina River (“Kileshino-2” section). An improved geochronological approach has been applied to identify layers suitable for the ²³⁰Th/U isochronous approximation. In combination with pollen and carpological studies of the deposits, this made it possible to date units corresponding to relatively narrow time intervals in the development of plant formations at different stages of the Last Interglacial. New paleobotanical studies of buried lake and peat sediments from the sections located on the Bolshaya Dubenka River, Malaya Kosha River, and Granichnaya River allowed us to restore the vegetation development during the Mikulino Interglacial in the interval of pollen zones M1–M7, i.e., more pollen zones have been analyzed and in greater detail than in 1960–1970. A chronological scheme of the main stages of vegetation development in the Mikulino Interglacial is proposed based on the results of ²³⁰Th/U dating and paleobotanical studies of organic-rich deposits from the Tver region sections in combination with previously published data obtained for the “Nizhnyaya Boyarshchina” section from the Smolensk region. The Mikulino Interglacial had begun about 130–126 kyr ago. Its first phase, corresponding to the M2 zone, ended ca. 118 kyr ago. The pre-optimal stages of vegetation development (M3 and M4 zones) fit into the time range of ca. 118–112 kyr ago. The climatic optimum of the interglacial (M5 and M6 zones) began ca. 112 kyr ago and ended ca. 100 kyr ago. The duration of the Mikulino Interglacial was probably at least 25 thousand years.
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