Dating of late Pleistocene glaciations in Mediterranean key sites

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Joachim Kuhlemann
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: Funded in 2008
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 61478177

Dating of glacial advances is an important contribution for the reconstruction of Mediterranean-scale mountain climate during cold spells of the Late Pleistocene. Such reconstructions allow tracking of moisture transport from the central Mediterranean basin towards the north and east. In southeastern Europe, the main target region of this pilot study, almost no chronology of moraine deposits exist so far. The moraine deposits in the target regions are lacking both local and regional correlation. Thus, a robust stratigraphic framework for moraine deposits by means of dating cosmogenic Be is required. During a pilot field study in a cross section of the central South Carpathians, local moraine successions have been sampled which indicate a stronger moisture advection from the south during the Last Glacial Maximum, as compared to the early Holocene. A similar pilot study is recommended by review of project KU 1298/13 and envisaged in the Rila massiv of Bulgaria. Purified quartz samples from the South Carpathians are ready for target preparation, similar to late Wuermian samples from Corsica (project KU1298/7-3), for which funding external measurements is lacking and requested herewith.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Wolfgang Frisch