Tracing the Laacher See Tephra in the varved sediment record of the Trzechowskie palaeolake in central Northern Poland

Sabine Wulf*, Florian Ott, Michał Słowiński, Agnieszka M. Noryśkiewicz, Nadine Dräger, Celia Martin-Puertas, Markus Czymzik, Ina Neugebauer, Peter Dulski, Anna J. Bourne, Mirosław Błaszkiewicz, Achim Brauer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Tephrochronological studies of partly varved sediments of Trzechowskie palaeolake in central Northern Poland led to the finding of the Late Allerød Laacher See Tephra (LST) from the Eifel Volcanic Field for the first time in a very distal site ca840km ENE from its volcanic source. The detection of glass shards of the LST involved a comprehensive combination of techniques, i.e. biostratigraphical constrains, high-resolution μ-XRF core scanning and areal μ-XRF mapping of impregnated sediment slabs as well as detailed visual inspection of sediments. The major element chemistry of volcanic glass confirmed the Laacher See Tephra composition in Trzechowskie palaeolake sediments suggesting a deposition from the Middle Laacher See Tephra (MLST-C) or Upper Laacher See Tephra (ULST) dispersal fans. The finding of the LST in this palaeolake enables direct synchronisation with other high-resolution archives in north-central Europe (i.e., Lake Meerfelder Maar, Rehwiese palaeolake) to investigate regional variations of environmental responses at the onset of the Younger Dryas along a West-East transect through north-central Europe.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)129-139
Number of pages11
JournalQuaternary Science Reviews
Volume76
Early online date7 Aug 2013
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Sept 2013

Keywords

  • μ-XRF scanning
  • cryptotephra
  • Laacher See Tephra
  • Late Allerød
  • tephrochronology
  • varve chronology

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