Quaternary climatic changes in the Alpine foreland — New observation and new conclusions

Abstract

For a long time the alpine foreland has been one of the key regions for the study of European Quaternary. In the paper a new approach and new interpretation of Quaternary events are discussed.. The author points out the problem of using the classical system and nomenclature of Penck and Brückner that is now interpreted in a different way in different regions and does not correspond to new observations. New data on the structure of fluvial bodies in the alpine foreland are presented. These show a complicated structure of fluvial and glacifluvial deposits that makes their stratigraphic assignment based on their morphological position only questionable. My conclusions on the palaeoclimate during the Quaternary are drawn. The climatic development from the subtropical and tropical conditions in the Lower Pleistocene to a moderate climate in its middle and upper parts is described. The data on glaciations both in the northern and in the southern alpine foreland are compared. The oldest till deposits representing the oldest glaciations of the Matuyama age have been described from the Italian Alps only and no glacigene sediments of the corresponding age are known from the northern foreland of the Alps. The comparison of the alpine stratigraphy with global climatic changes as reflected in the deep sea stratigraphy is discussed. The author proposes not to use the Penck's and Brücker's system and nomenclature anymore and prefers to introduce new local systems or to try more to approach the marine stratigraphy.