E and G Quaternary Science Journal

Abstract. This paper gives an overview of the origin of 14C, the global carbon cycle, anthropogenic impacts on the atmospheric 14C content and the background of the radiocarbon dating method. For radiocarbon dating, important aspects are sample preparation and measurement of the 14C content. Recent advances in sample preparation allow better understanding of long-standing problems (e.g., contamination of bones), which helps to improve chronologies. In this review, various preparation techniques applied to typical sample types are described. Calibration of radiocarbon ages is the final step in establishing chronologies. The present tree ring chronology-based calibration curve is being constantly pushed back in time beyond the Holocene and the Late Glacial. A reliable calibration curve covering the last 50,000-55,000 yr is of great importance for both archaeology as well as geosciences. In recent years, numerous studies have focused on the extension of the radiocarbon calibration curve (INTCAL working group) and on the reconstruction of palaeo-reservoir ages for marine records.

Irka Hajdas

E&G Quaternary Science Journal

Radiocarbon dating and its applications in Quaternary studies

碳十四测年及其在第四纪研究中的应用

Abstract. The sediment fills of large terrestrial basins offer an opportunity to study and reconstruct regional-scale landscape history over time. An example of such a basin is the Upper Rhine Graben in central Europe, whose proximal, southern part has so far only sporadically been investigated sedimentologically. Three new drillings in close proximity have recovered the upper ∼ 40–60 m of the Quaternary sedimentary infill near the eastern graben margin north of Freiburg, Germany. Grain sizes, the rounding and shape of clasts, and the petrographic composition of the deposits have been determined and statistically analysed. The cored intervals consist of glaciofluvial gravels derived from and deposited by the Rhine system. While no consistent trends of the morphometric properties could be found, we succeeded in distinguishing two subunits within the topmost stratigraphic unit (Neuenburg Formation, Fm) based on compositional (i.e. gravel petrographic) data. An upper subunit (Hartheim Subformation, Sfm) enriched in lithologies representative of the Alpine orogen could be separated from a lower subunit (Nambsheim Sfm) that is enriched in lithologies of an outer-Alpine origin. We correlate these findings with a shift in the pattern of meltwater discharge from the Rhine glacier lobe that may have delivered more Alpine material into the study region during the last than during the penultimate glaciation and highlight the value of quantitative approaches and appropriate statistical evaluation for gravel petrographic studies.

Lukas Gegg

Felicitas A. Griebling

Nicole Jentz

Ulrike Wielandt-Schuster

Towards a quantitative lithostratigraphy of Pleistocene glaciofluvial deposits in the southern Upper Rhine Graben

迈向莱茵河上游裂谷南部更新世冰川河流沉积物的定量岩石地层学

Abstract. Through detailed investigations, three sequences of marine and associated deposits in the south-west Baltic area are shown to represent the Eemian interglacial transgression. Pollen analyses and foraminiferal and ostracod analyses are combined to provide the evolution of relative sea-level change. An independent chronology is established by correlation of the pollen record with that from the Bispingen laminated lake deposits in north Germany. Additional published sites from the area are included in a wider reconstruction of events. Ostracod analyses indicate that freshwater lakes initially existed in the basin prior to the marine inundation. This was followed by an early marine transgression. In the south-west Baltic the first marine ingression took place at the base of regional pollen zone E3, with fully marine conditions established in E4 continuing into the lower part of E5. The regression of the sea during zone E6 was followed by freshwater deposition in E7. The linking of the sequences in the south-west Baltic demonstrates that the Eemian transgression occurred both through northern Germany and through the Danish belts–Kattegat seaway, indicating that connections to the North Sea and North Atlantic were present in the area during the maximum interglacial sea-level highstand.

Philip Leonard Gibbard

Karen Luise Knudsen

The Eemian Stage interglacial marine transgression in the south-western Baltic region

西南波罗的海地区埃姆间冰期海侵

Abstract. The drainage system of the Swiss Alps shifted from an eastward (Danubian) to a westward (Rhenian) direction during the Late Pliocene. Since then, the High Rhine Valley has acted as the major drainage path during both ice-free and glaciated periods in the past. The Mühlbach formation comprises the patchy remains of carbonate-free sediments that have been interpreted as an equivalent of Sundgau gravel. The Sundau gravel reflects remains of fluvial deposits related to the Late Pliocene drainage of the northern Swiss Alps through the Burgundian Gate towards the Bresse–Rhône Graben. However, the limited data available characterising the Mühlbach formation have led to opposing interpretations regarding its origin and age. Presented here are new data on the distribution and physical appearance of the formation, together with luminescence dating of deposits from the type locality. Sedimentological and petrographic analyses imply that the various deposits assigned to the Mühlbach formation do not represent a genetically coherent formation. In addition, consistent results of quartz and feldspar luminescence dating place deposition of sediments at the type locality at ca. 55 ka. This dates their deposition to the end of a pronounced cold period during the Late Pleistocene that has been shown to be characterised by slope processes at other sites. Altogether, the data presented imply that the Mühlbach formation is not uniform but rather comprised of mainly reworked weathered residues from different time periods.

Alexander Fülling

Hans Rudolf Graf

Felix Martin Hofmann

Daniela Mueller

Frank Preusser

Age and formation of the presumed Late Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene Mühlbach formation, High Rhine Valley, southwest Germany

假设晚中新世至中更新世米尔巴赫组的时代与形成，德国西南部上莱茵河谷

Abstract. Understanding how landscapes evolve under changing tectonic and climatic boundary conditions requires the quantification of erosion rates on different temporal and spatial scales. Here we present results of local and catchment-wide erosion rates derived from in situ-produced cosmogenic 10Be for the Harz Mountains – a typical basement high in Central Europe that was uplifted by reverse faulting during the Late Cretaceous inversion of the Central European Basin. The summit region of the Harz (Brocken peak at 1141 m a.s.l.) is formed by Permian granite and surrounded by an Oligocene low-relief surface that was carved into Palaeozoic metasediments. This planation surface lies at an elevation of 500–700 m a.s.l. and stands ∼ 300 m above the lowlands surrounding the Harz Mountains. Our 10Be erosion rates, derived for granitic catchments with a size of 0.3–24 km2, are slope-dependent and range from 24 ± 2 to 55 ± 3 mm kyr−1. We find that catchments situated within the low-relief surface with mean slope angles &lt; 10° erode at rates of 24–30 mm kyr−1​​​​​​​, whereas catchments characterized by larger portions with steeper slopes (i.e. 20 to 35°) upstream and downstream of the low-relief surface erode at higher rates of 30–55 mm kyr−1. Local bedrock outcrops on the planation surface erode at lower rates of around ∼ 20 mm kyr−1. Taken together, our 10Be data document and quantify the slope-dependent erosion of the Harz topography at a rate of a few tens of metres per million years and the denudation and lowering of the Tertiary Harz planation surface and its progressive incision by rivers. The observed difference between (higher) rates of erosion affecting soil-covered surfaces compared to the (lower) rates of erosion on exposed bedrock surfaces suggests that the topographic relief within the Harz is still growing at a mean rate of approximately 5–10 mm kyr−1. Considering our data in the context of the existing but contradictory conceptual models on the evolution of the Harz topography, we suggest that the post-Oligocene elevation difference of ∼ 300 m between the planation surface and the lowlands around the Harz is the result of three different processes: first, mountain uplift due to a potential reactivation of the range-bounding reverse fault during the Neogene and Quaternary until ∼ 0.5 Ma; second, moderate erosion of weak sedimentary rocks in the regions surrounding the Harz Mountains; and third, localized lowering of areas in the vicinity of the Harz by dissolution and lateral migration of Permian salt at depth. Finally, we note that active reverse faulting along the northern boundary of the Harz Mountains is not compatible with the available geological, geophysical, and geodetic data.

Ralf Hetzel

Henrik Rother

Reinhard Wolff

Kyra Hölzer

Millennial-scale erosion rates in the Harz Mountains (Germany) from cosmogenic <sup>10</sup>Be: implications for landscape evolution of basement highs in Central Europe

中欧基底隆起区哈尔茨山（德国）的千年尺度侵蚀速率：来自宇宙成因<sup>10</sup>Be的启示

Abstract. Intensive human intervention in the natural drainage system of the Hessische Ried (Upper Rhine Graben, Germany) resulted in the transformation of a large wetland into an intensively used cultural landscape. At least since the first century CE, when Romans conducted early river regulation and water management, the natural water network has experienced extensive anthropogenic re-organisation. The LandGraben project focuses on the reconstruction of the natural and anthropogenic watercourse systems along the river Landgraben, a tributary to the river Rhine in the northern Hessische Ried. Several rivers from the southern Hessische Ried could have fed the river Landgraben during Roman times via the meandering Palaeo-Neckar depression, thus increasing both length and discharge of the Roman waterway. In this study, we present results of our investigations within the southern Hessische Ried to reconstruct the former channel network that was used by Romans for the transportation of troops, wares and border security. Our approach integrates the use of high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) as a base for geophysical measurements (electrical resistivity tomography, ERT), direct push sensing and sediment coring in combination with sedimentological and geochemical analyses of the encountered sedimentary units. Local chronostratigraphies were established based on radiocarbon dating. Based on our results, we are able to differentiate a palimpsest of several abandoned fluvial channels throughout the southern Hessische Ried and to reconstruct the spatio-temporal development of the corresponding fluvial systems. Chronostratigraphic data show that the Palaeo-Neckar stopped flowing through the Hessische Ried around 10 000 cal BCE. Moreover, we found that the river Weschnitz, the largest of the possible Landgraben tributaries, stopped flowing through the Palaeo-Neckar depression at ca. 3000 cal BCE. Instead, it took a right-angled shortcut westwards to the river Rhine, north of the city of Lorsch. For the first time, we present geomorphological evidence that the river Weschnitz was not diverted by the Romans as speculated so far. This is corroborated by numerous wooden posts of human-made construction crossing an E–W running water course at the modern Weschnitz knee, with the oldest posts being dendrochronologically dated to the fourth and third millennia BCE. We further argue that the river Winkelbach/Lauter formed its knee towards the river Rhine and thus left the Palaeo-Neckar depression not later than the second century CE but most probably even contemporaneously with the formation of the Weschnitz diversion. In the case of the Winkelbach/Lauter, a high-energy flood event presumably related to strong rainfall and/or meltwater processes in the Odenwald Mountains is assumed to be responsible for the initiation of the new, diverted water course. With regard to the Landgraben and its use as a waterway within the Roman fluvioscape of the Hessische Ried, we therefore conclude that the Romans successfully collected water from several smaller rivers, such as from the rivers Modau and Darmbach and from even smaller tributaries, to make the river Landgraben a navigable waterway. The rivers Weschnitz and Winkelbach/Lauter, however, did not contribute any water to the Landgraben system during Roman times.

Elena Appel

Thomas Becker

Dennis Wilken

Peter Fischer

Timo Willershäuser

Lea Obrocki

Henrik Schäfer

Markus Scholz

Olaf Bubenzer

Bertil Mächtle

Andreas Vött

The Holocene evolution of the fluvial system of the southern Hessische Ried (Upper Rhine Graben, Germany) and its role for the use of the river Landgraben as a waterway during Roman times

全新世南部黑森里德河流系统的演变（德国上莱茵地堑）及其在罗马时期作为水道的兰德格拉本河的利用作用

Abbreviation	E&G Quaternary Sci. J.
Journal Impact	1.17
Quartiles(Global)	GEOLOGY(Q2)

ISSN	0424-7116, 2199-9090
h-index	30

Publication Information	Publisher: Copernicus Publications，Publishing cycle: ，Journal Type: journal，Open Access Journals: Yes
Basic data	Year of publication: 2007，Proportion of original research papers: 100.00%，Self Citation Rate:15.40%， Gold OA Rate: 95.65%
Journal Fees	$Details
Average review cycle	16 weeks

E and G Quaternary Science Journal

Journal Citation Format

A journal article with 1 author

A journal article with 2 authors

A journal article with 3 authors

A journal article with 5 or more authors

Books Citation Format

Thesis Citation Format

Web sites Citation Format

Patent Citation Format

Staying up late manually editing references? ivySCI automatically matches journals and helps you generate references with a single click.

Share Submission Experience

Radiocarbon dating and its applications in Quaternary studies

Towards a quantitative lithostratigraphy of Pleistocene glaciofluvial deposits in the southern Upper Rhine Graben

The Eemian Stage interglacial marine transgression in the south-western Baltic region

Age and formation of the presumed Late Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene Mühlbach formation, High Rhine Valley, southwest Germany

Millennial-scale erosion rates in the Harz Mountains (Germany) from cosmogenic ¹⁰Be: implications for landscape evolution of basement highs in Central Europe

Towards a quantitative lithostratigraphy of Pleistocene glaciofluvial deposits in the southern Upper Rhine Graben

The Eemian Stage interglacial marine transgression in the south-western Baltic region

Age and formation of the presumed Late Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene Mühlbach formation, High Rhine Valley, southwest Germany

The Holocene evolution of the fluvial system of the southern Hessische Ried (Upper Rhine Graben, Germany) and its role for the use of the river Landgraben as a waterway during Roman times

Millennial-scale erosion rates in the Harz Mountains (Germany) from cosmogenic ¹⁰Be: implications for landscape evolution of basement highs in Central Europe

E and G Quaternary Science Journal

Journal Citation Format

A journal article with 1 author

A journal article with 2 authors

A journal article with 3 authors

A journal article with 5 or more authors

Books Citation Format

Thesis Citation Format

Web sites Citation Format

Patent Citation Format

Staying up late manually editing references? ivySCI automatically matches journals and helps you generate references with a single click.

Share Submission Experience

Radiocarbon dating and its applications in Quaternary studies

Towards a quantitative lithostratigraphy of Pleistocene glaciofluvial deposits in the southern Upper Rhine Graben

The Eemian Stage interglacial marine transgression in the south-western Baltic region

Age and formation of the presumed Late Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene Mühlbach formation, High Rhine Valley, southwest Germany

Millennial-scale erosion rates in the Harz Mountains (Germany) from cosmogenic 10Be: implications for landscape evolution of basement highs in Central Europe

Towards a quantitative lithostratigraphy of Pleistocene glaciofluvial deposits in the southern Upper Rhine Graben

The Eemian Stage interglacial marine transgression in the south-western Baltic region

Age and formation of the presumed Late Pliocene to Middle Pleistocene Mühlbach formation, High Rhine Valley, southwest Germany

The Holocene evolution of the fluvial system of the southern Hessische Ried (Upper Rhine Graben, Germany) and its role for the use of the river Landgraben as a waterway during Roman times

Millennial-scale erosion rates in the Harz Mountains (Germany) from cosmogenic 10Be: implications for landscape evolution of basement highs in Central Europe

Millennial-scale erosion rates in the Harz Mountains (Germany) from cosmogenic ¹⁰Be: implications for landscape evolution of basement highs in Central Europe

Millennial-scale erosion rates in the Harz Mountains (Germany) from cosmogenic ¹⁰Be: implications for landscape evolution of basement highs in Central Europe