Exploring possible links between Quaternary aggradation in the Upper Rhine Graben and the glaciation history of northern Switzerland
Büschelberger, Matthias
Kemna, Hans Axel
Miocic, Johannes
Mueller, Daniela
May, Jan-Hendrik
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-021-02043-7
Persistent URL: http://resolver.sub.uni-goettingen.de/purl?gldocs-11858/10838
Büschelberger, Matthias; Fraunhofer Institute for Mechanics of Materials, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Kemna, Hans Axel; Ucon Geoconsulting, Krefeld, Germany
Miocic, Johannes; Energy and Sustainability Research Institute, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Mueller, Daniela; Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
May, Jan-Hendrik; School of Geography, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
Abstract
The Quaternary filling of the Upper Rhine Graben is an excellent archive to reconstruct sediment dynamics in response to climate change, in particular related to past glaciations of the Swiss Alpine Foreland. Here, a sediment sequence recovered by drilling for exploration purposes near Kronau is investigated, using a combination of sedimentological logging, provenance studies (heavy minerals and clast petrography), and luminescence dating. Several phases of coarse sediment aggradation are identified that possibly correlate to Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 12 (478–424 ka), 10 (374–337 ka), 8 (300–243 ka), 6 (191–130 ka) and/or 4 (71–57 ka), and 2 (29–14 ka). Several of these phases have previously also been reported from cores recovered in the major Quaternary depo-centre near Heidelberg. This suggests that the observed coarse aggradation in the Upper Rhine Graben can be assigned to various glaciations in northern Switzerland: Möhlin (MIS 12), Habsburg (MIS 10 or 8), Beringen (MIS 6), an unnamed glacial advance during MIS 4, and Birrfeld (MIS 2). However, due to the limited data available, this hypothesis and the suggested correlations require further confirmation by applying the approach presented here to further cores from the Upper Rhine Graben.
Subjects
Upper Rhine GrabenQuaternary
Fluvial sediment
Provenance
Heavy mineral analyses
Luminescence dating