Abstract
We present a timeseries of flood and slumping phases in central Europe for the past 65,000 years from event layers in sediment cores from infilled Eifel maar basins (Germany). Palynological, petrographic and organic carbon (chlorins) records are used to understand the precise timing of these events. Periods of increased flood activity seem to coincide with Heinrich stadials in marine sediment records, which are associated with cold and more arid climate conditions, indicating a vegetation response within the maars’ catchment areas. This multi-proxy correlation reveals prominent slumps at different maar sites during Greenland Stadial (GS) 12. The stratigraphy is based on sediment records from the Auel infilled maar and we thus call this event Auel Cold Event (ACE). Frozen and fractured sediment packages within the slump suggest deep frost or permafrost conditions for the region during the stadial. The results agree well with sediment archives and archeological sites across Europe that report severely cold and arid conditions for the stadial. This supports the assumption that GS12 was indeed one of the coldest periods of the last glacial cycle rather than the Heinrich stadials. Based on our age model, the ACE occurred at 43,500 yr b2k (years before the year 2000), which coincides with the initial weakening of Earth’s magnetic field strength prior to the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
