Sediments preserved in glacially overdeepened structures can provide a record of the regional Pleistocene glacial dynamics beyond the last glaciation. In order to unravel the glacial dynamics of the Isar-Loisach paleo-glacier, a cored sedimentary succession (ICDP-DOVE 5068_3_A) from an overdeepened basin near Schäftlarn, south of Munich, Germany, and an outcrop in its northern foreland (“Münchner Klettergarten” near Baierbrunn, on the southern margin of the Munich gravel plain, the “Münchner Schotterebene”) were investigated with a multi-method approach. This approach focused on single-grain feldspar luminescence dating to establish a chronological framework and on a comprehensive geophysical survey to better understand the morphology of the overdeepened basin. The Schäftlarn core is generally divided into a fine-grained basal section and a coarse-grained top section. The filling of the fine-grained basal section started in early Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 8. The basal part of the overlying coarse-grained sediment can be attributed to late MIS 8. The “Münchner Klettergarten” outcrop to the north exhibited a similar depositional age dating to late MIS 8 and therefore corresponding to the basal part of the coarse-grained sediment in Schäftlarn. The geophysical survey revealed two cross-cutting glacial basins, with the MIS 8 basin being cut by a younger basin of undetermined age. Based on the luminescence dating results and the geophysical survey, a mid-Pleistocene landscape development model of the Isar-Loisach paleo-glacier region is presented.
Three phases of archaeological investigations have been conducted in the area of the City Museum of Novi Sad at the Petrovaradin Fortress. In this study, we summarize the results of geoarchaeological research carried out during the third phase of excavations inside the museum building. The investigated area covered 27 m2. The approximately 0.60 m thick loessic sequence offers a unique opportunity to reconstruct the environmental evolution of this area during the last glacial period. In sectors inside of the City Museum of Novi Sad, artefacts from the Upper Palaeolithic (Gravettian) were discovered. The analysed paleoenvironmental proxies (magnetic, geochemical, and colour proxies) largely indicate similarities with the uppermost three units of previously studied sections and with the Late Pleniglacial loess unit in nearby loess profiles in Petrovaradin and Mišeluk. This chronostratigraphic
Since the Late Holocene, human activities have fundamentally altered fluvial systems across central European catchments, driving a gradual transition from natural to human-dominated floodplains. The Wiesent River catchment in northern Bavaria, Germany, provides a low-mountain-range case study to investigate this transformation within the conceptual framework of the “fluvial anthroposphere”. Despite its long settlement history, the catchment remained predominantly rural, allowing the assessment of cumulative anthropogenic impacts beyond major urban or industrial centres. Here, we combine a comprehensive multidisciplinary review with first geoscientific investigations to evaluate human–environmental interactions in the Wiesent River catchment. The review synthesizes environmental, archaeological, and historical evidence to reconstruct natural conditions, settlement dynamics, and human-induced sediment dynamics. Complementary first geoscientific field and laboratory investigations include electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and sedimentological analyses of percussion drill cores to characterize floodplain stratigraphy and sedimentary floodplain architecture. The results reveal a characteristic floodplain stratigraphy comprising basal organic-rich deposits and peat, locally intercalated gravel layers, and up to 3 m of homogenous silty to loamy overbank deposits. This succession reflects a shift from Early Holocene wetland conditions towards sustained overbank deposition likely to be primarily driven by intensified land use, deforestation, grazing, and hydrotechnical installations since, at the latest, the Early Middle Ages. The close correspondence between the review and first empirical findings demonstrates the suitability of the Wiesent River floodplain as a high-resolution archive of human-induced fluvial change.
Linear anomalies of vegetation vitality observed in satellite images motivated in-depth investigations of historical anthropogenic modification and exploitation of the paleo-floodplain of the late-glacial Bergstraßenneckar (BSN) in the Upper Rhine Graben near Mannheim (southwestern Germany). Stratigraphic investigations based on up to 1.7 m deep pits, sediment sampling, and laboratory analyses (grain size distribution; C, N, S; loss on ignition; X-ray fluorescence; morphoscopy of sand grains), as well as electrical resistivity tomography, reveal the presence of long parallel trenches cutting into the organic-rich and fine-grained natural strata which result from silting-up of the abandoned BSN channel during the Holocene. The linear features are interpreted as anthropogenic trenches and were later filled with sand. We identify an aeolian origin of the sand, which points to the use of sand, e.g., from the nearby Bettenberg dune of Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) to late-glacial age. The samples for optically stimulated luminescence dating (OSL) from the fill of the trenches show a wide range of equivalent doses and insufficient bleaching as sand was filled in lumps during shoveling. This results in ages ranging from the LGM to 300 years, depending on the aliquot and age model. This wide range indicates incomplete bleaching and is in agreement with the manual filling process in historical times. Further corroboration is provided by data from the Hesse State Archive at Darmstadt through a license for clay mining and brick burning at the study site dated to 1865 CE, explicitly requiring immediate fill. Local-scale clay pits for mud-brick production have been known about in western Europe since Roman times. However, access to the resources in the BSN channels in 1865 CE was only possible after a significant fall in groundwater tables following the regulation campaign of the Rhine system starting in the first half of the 19th century, which, in a wider context, illustrates the extent to
Denudation is a key geomorphological process shaping landscapes. In-situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be has been used to quantify millennial denudation rates worldwide. Long-term denudation rates in the European lowlands can provide valuable insights into the roles of periglacial processes and human activity in landscape evolution. Here, we quantify local and catchment-wide denudation rates in the Roda Catchment in Thuringia, central Germany. Specifically, we constrain 17 catchment-wide denudation rates based on 10Be concentrations in river sediments and 5 local denudation rates based on 10Be concentrations from soil samples on the flat catchment divides. Catchment-wide denudation rates vary between 23.8 ± 5.4 and 79 ± 18 mm kyr−1, and local denudation rates range from 23.4 ± 5.6 to 41.9 ± 9.8 mm kyr−1. These catchment-wide denudation rates are consistent with published European data, which are generally higher than those reported from other regions worldwide. This difference can be attributed to periglacial dynamics during the last glacial period. The 10Be-derived long-term denudation rates in Europe are generally higher than recent, short-term erosion rates, despite vast human activities and intensive land use in recent decades. This could be due to past periglacial activity; large-scale forest clearance during the Roman and Medieval times; and the limitations of short-term measurements in capturing low-frequency, high-magnitude events. The observed differences between catchment-wide and local denudation rates suggest that denudation has led to changes in topographic relief in the Roda Catchment at a mean rate of 0–28 mm kyr−1
The artificial historical Lake Lorsch (1474/1479 to 1718/1720 CE) in the northeastern Upper Rhine Graben (Germany) is known from various historical sources (e.g., for fish farming) as a significant anthropogenic imprint of the Weschnitz floodplain. Nevertheless, there have been no geomorphological and sedimentological investigations into the (quasi-)natural context for the creation of the lake, its importance as a potential sediment archive and the subsequent use of the lake area until modern times. No relics of the lake can be observed in today's landscape. We investigated the geomorphological setting of the area using a high-resolution digital elevation model, groundwater-level data, and geophysical prospection, as well as sedimentological information from four sediment cores. Results indicate that the location of the lake is topographically deeper in relation to its receiving waters of the old Weschnitz and that Lake Lorsch was fed by groundwater. Sedimentary analysis (core LOR 21A, unit 2; LOSE 4 and LOSE 5, unit 3) exhibits lake deposit, with characteristics indicative of a limnic environment and a high groundwater table. At the same time, adjacent stratigraphy shows channel deposits (core LOR 20A, unit 3), reflecting an anthropogenically controlled inflow via a channel (Renngraben). Our results, based on a relative elevation model, fit well with the historical records: that the inflow for the anthropogenic channel was via the old Weschnitz (topographically higher than the lake area) and that the artificial Landgraben canal (topographically lower than the lake area) was crossed by a water bridge. It is a good example of how humans have acted as fluvial- and water-related agents for at least 500 years in the Weschnitz floodplain.
Channel patterns and river connectivity are widely recognised to be representative parameters for the fluvial–geomorphological behaviour and the eco-morphological properties of rivers. They are sensitive to climate and land-use changes and, in turn, can indicate the habitat suitability for aquatic fauna, i.e. expressed by the diversity of channel width, flow velocity, and depositional regimes. Both habitat potential and the overall river connectivity since medieval times have also been influenced by barriers such as weirs and dams. Here we present the results of a multi-temporal study investigating river morphology, river connectivity, and floodplain land use in the Mulde River system. The study is motivated by the local extinction of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) within the last 2 centuries and reintroduction endeavours that have met with very limited success. In order to test for salmon presence in relation to waterbody structures, we make use of old maps (Sächsische Meilenblätter, 1780–1821; Von Deckersche Quadratmeilenblätter, 1816–1821) to pinpoint (i) historical barriers and (ii) anthropogenic changes in channel patterns that may have affected migratory fish populations. Furthermore, we evaluate (iii) historical floodplain land use as a pollution proxy, presuming that this also influences salmon habitat suitability. Our initial results point to a negative relation between an increasing number of cumulative barriers, as well as increased floodplain land use, and the presence of salmon populations during past periods. Finally, sinuous and meandering channel patterns correspond to higher probabilities of salmon presence.
The Elster–Pleiße floodplain south of Leipzig has undergone significant hydromorphological changes over the past few centuries, influenced by both natural processes and anthropogenic interventions (e.g. characterized by the repurposing of former river courses into mill races and other engineered water-management channels). This study employs selected mapping of fluvial–geomorphological features based on a Light Detection and Ranging Digital Terrain Model (LiDAR DTM; 1×1 m resolution) and the analysis of old maps to reconstruct past river dynamics and identify changes in channel morphology. Geomorphological features, such as oxbows, ridge-and-swale point bar structures, crevasse splays, and levees, reveal an earlier, more dynamic floodplain characterized by meandering and anabranching channels, which transitioned into a system of stabilized, largely immobile watercourses. Comparative analyses of old maps spanning the 16th to 20th centuries indicate a gradual reduction in river sinuosity and lateral migration, coinciding with increasing human modifications such as mill races, timber rafting canals, and flood protection measures. The major transformations date back to at least the late 16th century and may be even earlier in origin. Key drivers include the straightening of channels, floodplain aggradation, and the impact of open-cast lignite mining in recent centuries. The study highlights the complex interplay of sedimentary processes and anthropogenic activities in shaping the floodplain's evolution. This combined approach allows a detailed examination of the relative chronology of changes and helps identify topographic legacies left by dynamic floodplain systems, enhancing our understanding of the evolution of these landscapes. Understanding these long-term dynamics provides crucial insights for contemporary river restoration and flood management strategies.
Quantifying sedimentary volumes in mountain valleys can not only enhance our understanding of Quaternary valley evolution and river dynamics but also yield critical insights into hydrogeological characteristics. In contrast to the thoroughly investigated Upper Rhine Graben, little coherent information is available on the subsurface structure of adjacent Black Forest valleys. This study therefore aims at estimating the thickness, spatial distribution, and volumes of alluvial material in the valleys of the southwestern Black Forest. We utilized an extensive borehole database, high-resolution digital topographic data, and information from geological maps to integrate two complementary approaches. First, local valley cross sections were compiled to investigate subsurface bedrock morphology, allowing for a rough approximation of valley fill volumes. Second, catchment-specific linear and random forest regression based on morphometric and hydrologic variables were utilized to estimate sediment depths in valleys.Our results reveal a considerable spatial heterogeneity regarding shape, symmetry, ruggedness, and thickness of valley floor deposits. The composite valley cross sections with valley floor widths between 16 m and 3 km and average sediment depths ranging from 2 to 36.3 m include V-shaped geometries prevailing in narrow headwater valleys and main valleys mostly showing a surprisingly flat erosion surface and a shallow (on average < 15 m) sediment cover. Yet, towards the Upper Rhine Graben (URG), some valley sections widen and are rather box- or trough-shaped, comprising sediments up to 100 m thick. Overall, the valley orientation, sediment thickness, and valley shape in the main Black Forest catchments appear to be largely structurally controlled.For our study area of about 2100 km22, estimated median values of valley fill volumes of the entire area range between 1.2 and 2.8 km3. Specifically the disproportionately high sediment volumes of two of the larger catchments, Dreisam and Schutter, are striking. Both areas exhibit a particular structural imprint, the one being located within a deep-seated, large-scale Late Paleozoic deformation zone, the other one crossed by the Cenozoic main border fault along the URG. These crustal discontinuities may be connected to an enhanced incision, which further underscores the importance of tectonic boundary conditions on the
The Rio Sella in northern Spain drains a catchment area of around 1200 km2. It originates in the Picos de Europa and erodes a variety of outcropping lithologies, mainly of Palaeozoic and minor Mesozoic to Cenozoic age. These rocks include siliciclastics, their metamorphic equivalents, carbonates and mixed sedimentary lithologies but almost no (meta-)igneous rocks. Some of the mentioned rock types are only found in specific areas within the study area, and most of them are identified by specific heavy mineral associations. It is therefore possible to make preliminary estimates of the potential detrital heavy mineral contribution of each region in the Rio Sella catchment. Further sampling of modern, i.e. currently deposited, river and beach sediments allows for sediment routing during transport and recycling processes. This also includes the impact of grain size effects and signal dilution due to different heavy mineral fertilities of the eroded strata. The influence of anthropogenic activities is reflected by the abundance of heavy anthropogenic particles, and the potential of this for sediment research or environmental impact is yet to be determined. The initial results indicate the potential and necessity of detailed heavy mineral characterisation of both fluvial sediments and outcropping lithologies within a catchment. This is particularly important when aiming to reconstruct sedimentary and particle fluxes at a high spatial resolution.
High alpine peatlands are naturally impacted by extreme climatic conditions and heterogeneous topography. In the Alps, humans have been influencing their development for millennia, and accelerating climate change puts them under additional pressure. In the Swiss part of the Fimba Valley (or Val Fenga; > 2350 m a.s.l. (metres above sea level)), small-scale peatlands have been investigated to gain knowledge on climatic and anthropogenic impacts on alpine landscapes using quantitative and semi-quantitative geochemical parameters derived from inter-calibrated portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF) and XRF core scanning, sedimentology, and radiocarbon dating. The onset of peat formation, after the retreat of the Fimba Valley glacier, has been dated to a time window between 10 450 and 9000 cal BP at the lower (northern) end and to 6600 cal BP at the upper (southern) end of a 470 m long transect. Holocene cold episodes appear to have increased erosive glacial activity in the western side of the valley, resulting in high minerogenic sediment loads being deposited on the peatlands by a meltwater channel, interrupting peat accumulation repeatedly. In the early Holocene, distinct minerogenic layers suggest glacier growth and cold and potentially wet conditions around 9200, 8200, and 6300 cal BP. With the impact and extent of the 8.2 ka cold event still being under discussion for this region of the Alps, a coarse gravel layer is strong evidence for a marked glacial response in the Silvretta Mountains to a particularly cold and wet episode. Cooler climate conditions seem to have prevailed around 5400, 5000, 4500, and 3600 cal BP. Afterwards, the proportion of anthropogenic forcing in erosional processes and other disturbances increased. During and since the Middle Ages, soil or sediment erosion and decreasing peat accumulation were and have continued to
Central European fluvial systems shifted from naturally to anthropogenically controlled during the middle to late Holocene, responding uniquely to non-synchronous and interdependent natural and anthropogenic forcings. Previous research mainly focused on either large river systems or small catchments, yet meso-scale systems linking these have received little attention so far. Floodplains constitute an ideal setting to address this issue as their sediments recorded past river dynamics and human activity. This study investigates the transition from natural to anthropogenic control in the meso-scale Kinzig River in southwestern Germany using a combination of sedimentology, geochemical analysis, luminescence dating, and geophysical surveys. In the Kinzig catchment, three phases of floodplain accumulation are identified with characteristic sedimentation rates: late Pleistocene–early Holocene until 9.0 ka (0.1 mm a−1), middle–late Holocene from 9.0 until 0.82 ka (0.3 mm a−1), and the modern era from 0.82 ka until current times (1.1 mm a−1). Characterising these phases are decreasing grain sizes and increasing heavy metal concentrations (barium, lead, copper) in overbank fines, correlating with historical mining activity (peaking in the 16th and 18th centuries). This indicates the impact of mining on sediment delivery via deforestation that caused hillslope instability and sediment contamination. A cross-reference of floodplain stratigraphy with the catchment land use history reveals a gradual shift to an anthropogenically altered system, with intensified human impacts over the last 1000 years, approximately. This aligns with high floodplain sedimentation rates related to human presence. These findings depict the timing and dynamics of anthropogenic impacts on meso-scale fluvial systems in previously natural landscapes.
Climate records for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in Southern Africa are scarce, and the glaciation of the highest summits has been controversially discussed. Geomorphological features on south-facing slopes at six sites in the high Drakensberg Escarpment of Eastern Lesotho were postulated as moraines indicating marginally short-lived and site-specific glaciation during the LGM. However, previous discussions on precipitation amounts limiting or inhibiting glaciers are challenged by more recent studies suggesting increased humidity and water availability during the LGM. One postulated moraine site at the Tsatsa-La-Mangaung mountain range near Sani Pass was revisited to address the contradictory results. Drone-based remote sensing and field surveys suggest a different formation process of the moraine-like slightly bent landform considering lithological variance and dike system occurrence, which is connected not to glacial but to gravitational and erosional processes. The formation of landforms interpreted as moraines in the high-altitude regions of Lesotho and their paleoclimatic implications for the LGM require reevaluation.
The interior of the Central Iranian Plateau is an important area for the study of the palaeoenvironmental controls of early human dispersal in arid regions. In the now hyper-arid region, human migrations may have been affected by the major Quaternary climatic changes. However, due to the difficult access and harsh climate in the central desert, there are scarce palaeoenvironmental data available to reconstruct the interplay between migration of past cultures and environmental change. In the Khur Basin, located in the central part of the Iranian Plateau and on the eastern edge of the central Great Kavir, geomorphological landscape archives have been preserved that provide valuable information about the landscape evolution and climate dynamics of this characteristic desert region. As the spatiotemporal relationships between the dominant geomorphological forms and processes in this area have mostly been studied in isolation, this study adopted an integrative approach to better assess the diverse interactions. This involved geomorphological mapping and detailed field-based geomorphological and stratigraphical analyses of 12 sedimentary sequences distributed over eight geomorphic units of the Khur Basin. The resulting relative chronological classification of the morphostratigraphy suggests a logical sequence of six main phases of landscape evolution. By combining our mapping results with dated geoarchives of the region, a tentative chronology was developed. The early stages as observed in the stratigraphically oldest preserved landforms were characterised by a sequence of different processes, including pediment erosion, alluvial fan and dune formation, and soil development, and probably date to the phase before and during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. The subsequent landforms and deposits are to be interpreted as a result of alluvial fan progradation into the basin interior as well as dune development, which are probably attributable to the cold and arid conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The most recent morphostratigraphic findings correlate with the combined effects of pedological and geomorphological processes, including the formation of gypsum-rich soils, sand dune reactivation, and the deflation of playa surfaces. These findings indicate an increasing aridity in the area, which is often associated with the climatic development of the Holocene. Through the systematic integration of stratigraphical and geomorphological evidence, this study provides a first comprehensive historical–genetic model of landscape evolution in the Khur Basin.
Geochronological constraints on fluvial terraces provide valuable insights into channel migration and adjustment involved within actively meandering river systems. However, numerical age estimation of fluvial deposits using luminescence dating is often challenged by inherent methodological limitations. Pre-depositional partial bleaching of grains can lead to overestimation, while anomalous fading in feldspar grains often results in underestimation of the luminescence ages. The current study applies both optically stimulated luminescence and multi-elevated temperature post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence dating to fine sand and sandy matrix deposits collected from three distinct fluvial terrace levels across the lower reach of the Bruche River, in the Upper Rhine Graben (URG, north-eastern France). To evaluate the extent of partial bleaching, modern alluvial sand from the active riverbed is analysed for residual luminescence signals. Additionally, fading rates are measured, and quartz and feldspar ages are compared to evaluate the effectiveness of the applied measurement protocol in targeting signals less susceptible to fading. Overall, our study provides (i) a methodological focus, highlighting the effect of partial bleaching and fading on age estimation, and (ii) new insights into landscape evolution of the lower Bruche valley through numerical dating of the terrace deposits. The luminescence ages of the three fluvial terraces reveal distinct periods of aggradation in the URG. The uppermost sequences of the youngest (i.e. lowest) and middle terraces were deposited during the Younger Dryas (∼ 12–14 ka) and Marine Isotope Stage 3 (∼ 27–35 ka), respectively, while the oldest (i.e. highest) alluvial terrace has a minimum age of ∼ 200 ka.
We present new chronological and palaeoclimatological constraints on the evolution of the Valsugana glacier network (south-eastern European Alps) during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The detection of ice-marginal sediments and landforms, related to the geological mapping of the area at 1 : 50 000 scale (CARG project, sheet 061 “Borgo Valsugana”), enabled a detailed reconstruction of past glaciers at their maximum extent. Chronological control on the geomorphological evidence is obtained using 10Be surface exposure dating of erratic boulders from lateral moraine ridges at Monte Lefre, a nunatak within the LGM ice network. The exposure ages cluster between 20 and 19 ka, demonstrating that lateral moraines were formed at the very end of the LGM and that ice surface lowering in the area did not start prior to ca. 19 ka. Isolated from the Valsugana glacier network, several smaller ice masses developed. The reconstruction of four of these isolated glaciers and their equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) allows us to better understand the climatic conditions that controlled glacier evolution during the LGM: glacier ELAs were lowest in the Venetian Prealps (ca. 1300–1500 m a.s.l.) and were gradually rising towards the more internal mountain chains (ca. 1500–1700 m a.s.l.). This ELA gradient suggests that precipitation sourced from the Mediterranean Sea was highest in the vicinity of the Alpine fringe, with successive moisture starvation towards the north. The detailed glacier reconstructions, the chronological data, and the palaeoclimatological insights may serve as ground control for future modelling efforts of large and interconnected palaeoglacier networks.
The mid-mountain ranges are characterised by a medieval land occupation driven by various factors, which in turn affected the river systems. In particular, extraction and smelting activity led to distinct signals in floodplain sediments, serving as valuable tracers for reconstructing past environmental conditions and assessing anthropogenic impacts. This study creates the basis to link existing historical and geo-/montan-archaeological data with future geoscientific research for the Selke River catchment. A database of mines, smelters, and settlement structures was derived from (1) written sources, (2) old maps, and (3) a dataset of anthropogenic surface structures. The study focuses on the spatial alignment of the mining operations with the corresponding vein systems and their chronology and correlates the smelting activity with river kilometres and hydrological subregions. Ultimately, this research defines (a) three key areas that are characterised to varying degrees by mining activity and (b) discusses possible downstream impacts on overbank deposits from these historical mining locations.