Loess

Grain size analyses of three hilltop, primary eolian loess sequences in the Negev desert, southern Israel, show a bimodal grain-size distribution at 50-60 μm and 3-8 μm. Using analyses of mineralogy and OSL ages we demonstrate that the coarse mode is composed mostly of quartz grains and its relative magnitude increases regionally with time, suggesting an enhancement of a time-transgressive proximal dust source compared to a distal, Saharan fine-grain dust. The only proximal dust source for large amount of coarse silt quartz grains is the sands that advanced into Sinai and the Negev concurrently with the loess accretion during the late Pleistocene as a result of the exposure of the Mediterranean shelf. We therefore propose that the coarse silt quartz grains were formed through eolian abrasion within the margins of an advancing sand sea. This relationship between desert sand seas as a source for proximal coarse dust and desert margin loess deposits can be applicable to other worldwide deserts such as Northern Africa, China and Australia.

Extensive fields of vegetated, dome-shaped earth hummocks 5-35 cm high and typically 80-200 cm in diameter occur on slopes of up to 15 at elevations of 320-440 m asl on Dartmoor, SW England, but are limited to terrain underlain by metasedimentary rocks and dolerite, and absent from granite areas. Hummocks occur within archaeological sites, implying formation within the last~3000 years and ruling out development over permafrost. The hummocks are composed of frost-susceptible silty soil (modal grain size 10-100 mm) with occasional clasts, but exhibit no evidence for cryoturbation or diapirism. Hummock size and spacing are fairly consistent at particular sites but vary between sites. Hummock age, distribution and characteristics are incompatible with non-frost action origins and most proposed frost action origins (cryostatic pressure, soil circulation, permafrost aggradation, soil injection), but regular spacing and granulometry favour initiation by differential frost heave under conditions of periodic shallow (0.2-0.4 m) seasonal ground freezing. We suggest that hummock growth may reflect migration of silt in advance of inclined freezing planes until equilibrium is achieved with soil loss down hummock sides. Our results confirm that hummock formation by frost action occurs on silty soils in humid cool temperate climates with only limited seasonal frost penetration.

Various approaches to the widespread problem of the hydroconsolidation and subsidence of loess have been suggested. These include considerations of rheology, thermodynamics, phase movements, particle packing, interparticle bonding, pore structure and distribution, catastrophe theory, topology, and simple structural frameworks. Chinese, North American and most European investigators tend to concentrate on mechanisms of loess collapse. The Russian literature, however, retains an extra dimension. Two approaches, the 'syngenetic' and the 'epigenetic' approach, to the formation of subsiding loess have been defined in the literature. Most investigators follow a syngenetic approach which appears to be a consequence of the aeolian idea of loess deposition. Some Russian writers, in contrast, promote an epigenetic approach in which collapsibility can develop in an originally noncollapsible material, which can then suffer from hydroconsolidation and subsidence. The basis of the phenomenon is a change in the packing structure of the major loess particles, and this can be modelled using simple Monte Carlo methods to develop appropriate structures. This paper aims to review the work done on this important subject. Serious investigation of hydroconsolidation and subsidence of loess began in the early nineteen-forties, fifty years ago, and this has been reported in a piecemeal manner. A detailed, critical review of this diverse work is now overdue and this is presented herein in the light of recent work in the United Kingdom. An attempt is made to describe the process in a phenomenological and a structural sense. Inherent in this, the role of N. Ya Denisov as 'subsidence pioneer' is considered.

A 700 km long soil transect in the southern Russian plain was studied. The difference in the average annual precipitation within the transect was 240 mm/year, and the average annual temperature was 3 • C. The objective of this study was to understand the behaviour of chemical elements and features of chemical weathering in semiarid soils that developed on loesses and loess-like sediments. It was found that the semi-arid soils of the Russian plain are characterized by a low intensity of present chemical weathering. In an alkaline environment with a low amount of precipitation, the rate and direction of silicate weathering are determined not by the climate, but by the geochemical environment of the soil formation, which had already taken shape by the beginning of the Holocene. The alkaline oxidative environment hinders the hydrolysis and prevents the migration of chemical elements in ionic form. As a result, the removal of chemical elements from primary silicate minerals to soil solutions is not a determining process for vertical geochemical migration. The degree of weathering of present soils is mostly inherited from the parent materials of the Quaternary. Conditions for acid hydrolysis occur only in the upper horizons during increased biochemical activity and lower pH values. However, soil processes (carbonatization, salinization, illitization, and loessivage) make the behaviour of alkali (Na 2 O, K 2 O) and alkalineearth (MgO, CaO, Sr) metals more complex, involving them in recycling in the upper soil horizons, and hinder the quantitative characterization of weathering of silicate minerals. Therefore, the use of CIA geochemical indicator as a quantitative measure of chemical weathering for semiarid soils formed in the Holocene becomes problematic. This study will improve the understanding of the geochemical processes that took place in modern soils in semi-arid regions and clarify the possibility of using geochemical weathering ratios in saline sediments.

Recently, the idea of an anthropogenic formation of Chernozems in Germany during the Early Neolithic (second half of the sixth millennium BC) has been proposed. This study reviews this idea in an interdisciplinary discourse, involving aspects of geosciences, palaeobotany, and archaeology. The paper discusses three major topics: (i) evidence of fire use in land clearing, from Black Carbon in soil organic matter (SOM); (ii) evidence of Chernozem formation during the Early Neolithic, indicated by radiocarbon dating, and (iii) evidence of anthropogenic pedogenesis based on the spatial coincidence of farmland of the Early Neolithic Bandkeramik (LBK) with Chernozems. However, the idea of anthropogenic formation of Chernozems during the Early Neolithic in Northern Germany is rejected. The suggested relationship between Chernozem formation and LBK does not exist. Although humans may have influenced the evolution of Chernozems by degradation or preservation, fire clearance by LBK settlers is not the main factor in their formation. However, there is a strong need to include Black Carbon formation in the concept of SOM formation in Chernozems.

This paper describes the results of archaeological testing conducted at 18 TA 212b, which is part of the Paw Paw Cove Paleo-Indian Site Complex in Talbot County on Maryland’s portion of the Delmarva Peninsula.  The Paw Paw Cove Complex represents one of Maryland’s largest and most intact Paleo-Indian occupation sites.  The site is presently in a coastal setting, but approximately 13,000 years ago the setting was an interior upland situated near a series of spring-fed wetlands.  Previous archaeological investigations have focused on the archaeological components associated with 18 TA 212a.  The report presents the history linked to the site’s discovery, an overview of the historical impacts to the study area, an overview of the prehistoric impacts to the study area, and provides a summary of all of the earlier work linked to the various archaeological sites in the same vicinity as 18 TA 212b.  Archaeological excavations were conducted at 18 TA 212b through a non-capital grant from the Maryland Historical Trust; efforts donated by members of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Archaeological Research Foundation; volunteer time provided by Dr. R. Michael Stewart of Temple University; efforts donated by Geo-Sci Consultants, Inc.; and countless hours of earlier research conducted by the principle investigator.  The methodologies associated with the 1999-2000 excavations at 18 TA 212b are described.  The excavations located and documented stratified Paleo-Indian and Early Archaic cultural materials.  The Paleo-Indian occupation surface is associated with a buried landscape.  The Paleo-Indian landscape was buried during a Late Pleistocene aeolian loess event coeval with the Younger Dryas climate episode.  Current research suggests that this Paleo-Indian landscape occurs throughout the region and would seem to be an easily recognizable chronostratigraphic unit unique to the northern and western sections of the Delmarva Peninsula. 
Previous Paleo-Indian researchers in the region have summarized the Paleo-Indian period of the Delmarva Peninsula.  The views of local Paleo-Indian lifeways have been largely reconstructed by means of limited stone tool assemblage data.  As such, the report summarizes the lithic materials associated with the Delmarva Peninsula and highlights the Paleo-Indian lithic technologies based on local assemblages.  Some researchers have suggested that the Delmarva Peninsula Paleo-Indian record is documented by a limited number of isolated fluted point finds.  These same researchers have suggested that the greatest concentration of Clovis or Clovis-like points in the region is located near the primary jasper quarries associated with the Delaware Chalcedony Complex in northern Delaware.  Specific data are provided that indicate these assertions are in error.  The middle to lower Delmarva Peninsula has revealed a Paleo-Indian archaeological database that is as rich as anywhere in North America.  It is argued that this rich Paleo-Indian record is linked to restricted mobility and entrenched settlement patterns that may have been focused toward the food and animal resources unique to the outer coastal plain.  Paleo-Indian settlement patterns are compared with the local Late Woodland sites that are situated in the same ecological settings as their earlier Paleo-Indian counterparts.  It is noted that Delmarva’s interior upland Late Woodland sites and the Paleo-Indian sites in the equivalent settings have the same “character” and overall make-up.  The report suggests Paleo-Indian peoples in the coastal plain may have been exploiting marine resources along the Late Pleistocene Atlantic seashore and within the diminutive ancestral Chesapeake Bay.  The suggested dense Paleo-Indian populations, restricted mobility, and entrenched settlement patterns with possible territorial boundaries would imply that the claims for earlier pre-Clovis peoples in the Middle Atlantic are valid.  The report concludes with suggestions for future research.

Applying geochemical proxies as measure for the weathering intensity of paleosols and sediments such as loess, the Quaternary scientist is confronted with various element ratios that have been proposed in literature. This paper gives an overview on the principle of geochemical weathering indices. Different types of indices are evaluated with respect to the suitability for loessepaleosol sequences, regarding the special characteristics of this type of sediments and paleosols. Case examples in this study are key sections in Southeastern and Eastern Europe: the loessepaleosol sequences Batajnica/Stari Slankamen (Serbia), Mircea Voda (Romania) and Stary Kaydaky (Ukraine), which represent archives of the Late and Mid-Pleistocene climate change of the region. Considering element behavior during weathering or diagenesis, the Chemical Proxy of Alteration (CPA) e i.e. the molar ratio Al 2 O 3 /(Al 2 O 3 þ Na 2 O) Â 100 e is proposed as the most appropriate index for silicate weathering. The CPA was evaluated against commonly used weathering indices including the "Chemical Index of Alteration" (CIA), the "Chemical Index of Weathering" (CIW), the "Plagioclase Index of Alteration" (PIA), the Index B of Kronberg and Nesbitt, and the Ba/Sr and Rb/Sr ratio. Depth profiles of "Sr-type indices" (e.g. Ba/Sr, Rb/Sr) are likely to be influenced by the dynamics of secondary carbonate. On the other hand, common "Na-type indices" (e.g. CIA, PIA, CIW) may suffer from uncertainties in separating carbonateeCa from silicateeCa or from biases due to K-fixation (illitization). The CPA is insensitive against such effects. Additionally, using the CPA (as with other Na-type indices) provides the possibility to evaluate the homogeneity of the parent material regarding the relevant host minerals via the AeCNeK diagram.

The new Climate Timeline and Correlating Periods of Human and Earth History chart is revised, more detailed and improved.
These view of Earth's history over the last 20 million years addresses various interdisciplinary aspects of Earth's history and their interactivity, along with the emergence and development of human and human-like species. The new graph focuses on high-precision dating, so far possible, regarding the overall timing of the events.

The substantial loess deposits of the middle and lower Danube basin in southeastern Europe represent one of the thickest and most comprehensive terrestrial palaeoenvironmental records on the continent, yet are also the least well understood. Environmental conditions over the last million years have resulted in relatively continuous deposits uninterrupted by glaciation and tundra conditions, which nevertheless reflect oscillations between relatively warm-humid (“interglacial”) and cold-dry (“glacial”) intervals. This relative environmental stability may have proven important for hominins migrating into and through the region.
The loess stratigraphy comprises distinct loess-paleosol sequences, reflecting glacial-interglacial phases which can be quantified for intensity using environmental magnetism and geochemistry. These phases are emphasised by variations in vegetation and malacofauna which respond to climatic change. The loess deposits demonstrate broadly similar sedimentological characteristics across the basin.
Danubian loess deposits initiated in response to the tectonic formation of the Pannonian basin, retreat of the large palaeolakes, and increased sediment supply from the Danube. The period from ~1 Ma – 500 ka (MIS 27-13) was characterised by alternating loess deposition and pedogenesis during glacial and interglacial periods respectively, in response to relatively humid, forested conditions. This period represents the opening of the Danube corridor and provides the backdrop for initial hominin arrival into Europe. After ~500 ka, and particularly after MIS 9, loess accumulation rates increased in response to relatively more steppic, arid, environments. MIS 9 and 13-15 were the most humid phases of the last ~600 ky. The MIS 5 interglacial period was the warmest, and relatively most humid, period preceding the Holocene, and was followed by substantially increased loess accumulation during MIS 4, which may be linked to North Atlantic circulation. The complexity of the MIS 3 interstadial paleosol suggests that conditions were not uniformly warm and wet during this time. MIS 3 corresponds with the first arrival of anatomically modern humans to Europe. The last glacial maximum and Younger Dryas of MIS 2 were characterised by substantially increased loess accumulation indicating cold steppe environments most likely influenced by the North Atlantic, although conditions were sufficiently mild that the region acted as a refugium for thermophilic biota, as may also have been the case for most of the Pleistocene glacial cycles. The Holocene soil represents relatively wamer and more humid conditions corresponding to the current interglacial.

In 1961, Dr. Ralph Solecki reported a Chesapeake Bay Paleo-Indian projectile point discovery in AMERICAN ANTIQUITY. Solecki postulated that the “fluted point found along the shoreline at Poplar Island could be explained in terms of worldwide climatic shifts and lowered sea level.”  The Chesapeake Bay at present encompasses approximately 4,479 square miles of estuarine water and it contains almost 12,000 linear miles of coastline.  Numerous archaeological sites occur along the margins of the bay and its tributaries.  Thousands of these sites are regularly threatened by the daily onslaught of wind and wave activity.  The Delmarva Peninsula, which encompasses the eastern margins of the bay, has revealed approximately 350 Clovis-style fluted projectile points.  Later and potentially earlier Paleo-American sites have also been discovered. Most of these sites and their associated assemblages have been found as a result of active coastal erosion.  The purpose of this paper is to highlight the erosion threats observed at Paleoindian sites.  A few of these rapidly disappearing sites have been partially investigated over the past 35 years and offer unique insights into regional Paleoindian adaptations.  Finally, the presentation will outline how Dr. Dennis Stanford has contributed to the analysis of these rapidly disappearing coastal Paleo-American sites.

A small but significant assemblage of Late Pleistocene mammals was recovered from an eroding shoreline at Paw Paw Cove, located on the Chesapeake Bay side of Tilghman Island, Talbot County, Maryland. Additionally, Clovis-age (11,050–10,800 radiocarbon [14C] years before present) artifacts were found in a lag deposit beneath a loess deposit at the site. An accelerator mass spectrometry date obtained from an organic stratum below the loess at the same location suggests that this small fossil assemblage is approximately 21,000 years old. Identifiable taxa include four extinct species, Castoroides sp. (giant beaver), Equus sp. (horse), Tapirus veroensis (Vero tapir), and Mammut americanum (American mastodon), along with Canis cf. C. latrans (coyote), and Cervus elaphus (wapiti). Significantly, the tapir and giant beaver are the first records for Maryland, and the tapir is the first record from the Coastal Plain of the Chesapeake region of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The provisional identification of Canis cf. C. latrans may represent the first Late Pleistocene record from the Coastal Plain of the Chesapeake region of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.  See:  https://scholarlypress.si.edu/store/new-releases/late-pleistocene-rancholabrean-mammalian-assemblag/.

This paper surveys locally weighted learning, a form of lazy learning and memory-based learning, and focuses on locally weighted linear regression. The survey discusses distance functions, smoothing parameters, weighting functions, local model structures, regularization of the estimates and bias, assessing predictions, handling noisy data and outliers, improving the quality of predictions by tuning fit parameters, interference between old and new data, implementing locally weighted learning efficiently, and applications of locally weighted ...

Abstract - Sites with informative megafaunal assemblages are rarely documented in the Lower Rhine Embayment. In the 1960’s many remains of large mammals were collected during sporadic salvage operations in the Coenen brick quarry in Körrenzig (District of Düren, Rhineland). AMS-14C dates place the find horizon into the Interpleniglacial (MIS 3). In the terrestrial records of the rhenish loess sections, deposits of this period are only preserved under very favourable conditions, particularly in the loesspalaeosoil-sequences. The radiocarbon dates presented here correlate with new, unpublished dates for the Aurignacian site of Lommersum, as well as with dates for the eponymous Neanderthal skeleton from Erkrath/Hochdahl, and fall in the transition Middle to Upper Palaeolithic. Since 2009 the site “Ziegeleigrube Coenen” is geologically and archaeologically re-investigated and new palaeontological and archaeozoological analyses of the faunal assemblage were undertaken. A random cross-section of local megafauna is documented among the finds and seven different species of large mammals could be identified. Individual measurements of the bones and teeth provide reference values for future studies of megafauna in the Lower Rhine Embayment. Two bones may have been intentionally fractured by humans. However the importance of the assemblage is not only reflected by the diversity of the inventory but also in the particular conditions of preservation in loess sediments, allowing for 14C-dating in the period between 43 and 34 ka BP. This paper provides an outlook on the state of research in the Lower Rhine Basin and summarizes important sites with remains of large mammals from the MIS 8-3 in Western Central Europe.

La coupe de Chaudon (Eure-et-Loir) est connue depuis le début du XXe s., notamment pour la présence d’un « sol noir » weichselien et la découverte de vestiges préhistoriques datables du Paléolithique moyen (Bordes, 1954; Dewolf, 1970). Cette coupe de plus d’un kilomètre de long, située sur le versant sud de la vallée de l’Eure, a été l’objet de descriptions et d’études jusqu’au début des années 1980, peu après la fermeture de la briqueterie qui y exploitait les limons. Elle était alors inclue dans les synthèses sur le Pléistocène du nord de la France (Dewolf, 1982). Mais, elle n’a pas fait l’objet d’un réexamen depuis les découvertes faites grâce à l’archéologie préventive dès les années 1990. Récemment, la coupe a été retrouvée grâce à des documents d’archive. Afin d’être réexaminée et dans le but d’un classement à l’Inventaire du Patrimoine Géologique de la région Centre, la coupe de Chaudon a été l’objet d’un nettoyage et de nouvelles observations à l’automne 2015. Les modalités de cette re-découverte et de cette intervention, ainsi que les premières hypothèses chronostratigraphiques, sont présentées ici.

Loess as a type of collapsible soils is a well-studied Aeolian deposit, which is characterized by some specific engineering properties including high initial void ratio, relatively low initial density, low water content, and a high percentage of fine-grained particles. Collapsible soils such as loess, sustain substantial stress under dry condition. However, they experience a high and sudden decrease in their volume by reaching to their critical moisture content. As a result, their natural condition is not suitable for construction works if the possibility of the exposure of the soil to excessive water is present.
This research presents the utilization of an innovative method for stabilization and improvement of Gorgan loessial soil. This method uses Electrokinetics and Nanomaterials as an in-situ remedial measure to instigate additives to move through soil pores through ion migration phenomena. In order to assess the deformation and strength behavior of improved collapsible soil and comparing with those of unimproved soil, several Unsaturated Oedometer tests under constant vertical stress and varying matric suction were performed.
The result showed the effect of matric suction on the behavior of both improved and unimproved samples. The resistant of the soil was highly dependent on the water content and matric suction. The Oedometer tests on samples improved by 3% Lime and 5% nanomaterials showed considerable improvement of Collapse potential. Results also showed that stabilized samples experienced notably lower volume decrease under the same induced stresses.

from the proximal Ogosta River sandy banks. Finally, the weak development of Last Glacial loess (4 m max.) likely results from a rapid infilling of the sedimentary trap during the Saalian, then followed by a strong anthropogenic erosion of the topsoil and of the upper part of the loess profile since the Early Holocene (Neolithic).

The Soil Conservation Service curve number (CN) method is widely used for predicting direct runoff from rainfall. However, despite the extent of cultivation on hillslope areas, very few attempts have been made to incorporate a slope factor into the CN method. The objectives of this study were (1) to evaluate existing approaches integrating slope in the CN method, and (2) to develop an equation incorporating a slope factor into the CN method for application in the steep slope areas of the Loess Plateau of China. The dataset consisted of 11 years of rainfall and runoff measurements from two experimental sites with slopes ranging from 14 to 140%. The results indicated that the standard CN method underestimated large runoff events and overestimated small events. For our experimental conditions, the optimized and non-optimized forms of the slope-modified CN method of the Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator model improved runoff prediction for steep slopes, but large runoff events were still underestimated and small ones overpredicted. Based on relationships between slope and the observed and theoretical CN values, an equation was developed that better predicted runoff depths with an R2 of 0.822 and a linear regression slope of 0.807. This slope-adjusted CN equation appears to be the most appropriate for runoff prediction in the steep areas of the Loess Plateau of China.

A facet of archaeology in the loess region of southern Limburg (the Netherlands) that is gaining attention is the study of the so-called Middle Palaeolithic surface scatters. For many years the focus of Palaeolithic study in the region has been concentrated on river valley sites in fine-grained fluvial contexts located by quarrying. However, a great number of lithic surface scatters found in upland areas have also been known for a long time due to local surveying activity. A recent excavation of one surface scatter at the (Middle Palaeolithic?) site of Colmont-Ponderosa sheds more light on the scientific potential of upland surface sites. This preliminary excavation has promoted the identification of problems involving site formation processes, geological context, and lithic techno-typological issues. Assumptions about this one upland site were confirmed or dispelled through excavation and further assemblage analysis, and (re-examining) a comparison with a river valley site. The extensive problems also present an impetus for approaching questions concerning regional Middle Palaeolithic land use, which thus requires the thoughtful development of hypothesis driven methodologies. The necessary refinement and broader implementation of this type of research can only increase the informative value of surface sites and the potential for learning more about the Middle Palaeolithic in the region and beyond.

The last glacial-interglacial loess-paleosol sequences of Serbia and Ukraine provide a good climate reconstruction potential for this part of Europe. Four loess sections distributed over an area with present-day moist to semi-arid climates were studied. In addition to traditional paleoclimate proxies, such as grain-size distribution as proxy for wind-strength and source aridity, and magnetic susceptibility as proxy for precipitation (and temperature), pedo-chemical elemental ratios, obtained by selective sediment leaching procedures, function as sensitive recorders of variations in weathering intensity due to changes in precipitation and temperature. Especially, the earth alkaline element ratios of Ba/Sr and Sr/Ca are subject to strong variations as a result of carbonate dissolution/precipitation and variable cation exchange capacity on clay minerals along the elemental sequence of Ca-Sr-Ba. As shown by the close similarity to the magnetic susceptibility records in the different loess sections, these ratios reflect the effects of weathering intensity as a result of precipitation changes. The fact that Ba/Sr unequivocally shows higher values in both soils and paleosols in the four studied sections over the presentday climate gradient, singles this elemental ratio out as an interesting paleoclimate proxy. Crown

Slash-and-burn agriculture continues to expand in many parts of the forest zone of Cameroon. One alternative land use to slash-and-burn system is alley farming. This paper quantifies, using an econometric model, the factors determining farmers' adoption and use of alley farming variants in southwest of Cameroon, based on a survey of 156 farmers in 11 villages in the region.

Loess sediments in Austria deposited ca. 30–20 ka ago yield different zircon age signatures for samples collected around Krems (SE Bohemian Massif; samples K23 and S1) and Wels (halfway between the Bohemian Massif and the Eastern Alps; sample A16). Cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging reveals both old, multistage zircons with complex growth histories and inherited cores, and young, first-cycle magmatic zircons. Paleoproterozoic ages between 2,200 and 1,800 Ma (K23 and S1), an age gap of 1,800–1,000 Ma for S1 and abundant Cadomian grains, indicate NW African/North Gondwanan derivation of these zircons. Also, A16 yields ages between 630 and 600 Ma that can be attributed to “Pan-African” orogenic processes. Significant differences are seen for the <500 Ma part of the age spectra with major age peaks at 493–494 and 344–335 Ma (K23 and S1), and 477 and 287 Ma (A16). All three samples show negative initial ɛHf signatures (−25 to −10, except one grain with +9.4) implying zircon crystallization from magmas derived by recycling of older continental crust. Hf isotopic compositions of 330- to 320-Ma-old zircons from S1 and K23 preclude a derivation from Bavarian Forest granites and intermediate granitoids. Rather, all the data suggest strong contributions of eroded local rocks (South Bohemian pluton, Gföhl unit) to loess material at the SE edge of the Bohemian Massif (K23 and S1) and sourcing of zircons from sediment donor regions in the Eastern Alps for loess at Wels (A16). We tentatively infer primary fluvial transport and secondary eolian reworking and re-deposition of detritus from western/southwestern directions. Finally, our data highlight that loess zircon ages are fundamentally influenced by fluvial transport, its directions, the interplay of sediment donor regions through the mixing of detritus and zircon fertility of rocks, rather than Paleowind directions.

Loess in the Carpathian Basin is some of the thickest and most complete in Europe. Located in the Vojvodina region of the southern Carpathian Basin the Crvenka loess-palaeosol section appears to preserve a detailed climate proxy archive of the last glacialeinterglacial cycle. Central to the interpretation of the site is a detailed and independent age model. Here, the results of detailed optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and elevated temperature post-IR infrared stimulated luminescence (post-IR IRSL) dating are presented. Quartz OSL ages appear accurate to about 50e60 ka, where 2D 0 values are reached, while elevated temperature post-IR IRSL yields more accurate ages below this. In line with recent results, the latter signal appears to show negligible fading rates. Two age models are developed that combine (a) OSL and post-IR IRSL ages and (b) OSL ages and 'expected' ages from tying unit boundaries to the marine record. If the luminescence model is regarded as accurate, differences between this and the OSL/marine age model raise questions over the accuracy of the latter, as well as the processes controlling the zeroing of luminescence dates. The luminescence based age model is then used to derive the first fully independent reconstruction of climate proxies and accumulation rates from Carpathian loess. Such reconstructions can be used to compare to other independent records without assumptions inherent in correlation-based approaches. The findings demonstrate how variable accumulation rate is at the site, and compared to other independently dated Carpathian loess records. Average values vary northesouth but are of similar order throughout the basin. Accumulation rate was highest during the later part of the last glacial, but variation on millennial timescales does not always match shifts in grain-size, suggesting diverse and complex influences. Environmental reconstructions using grain-size and magnetic susceptibility show that no one atmospheric system or air mass can explain the changes in the Carpathian Basin and that millennial-scale variability can only intermittently be tied to North Atlantic Heinrich events. Expanded ice sheets during the peak last glacial, combined with other atmospheric teleconnections, may have served to develop a strong anticyclone in the region. It was likely windier during earlier parts of the last glacial, but Atlantic and Mediterranean moisture was probably less abundant than during more humid interglacials.

Loess-palaeosol sequences represent important palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental archives on land. Furthermore, loess deposits in the Vojvodina region (North Serbia) can be regarded as one of the most important European terrestrial records of climatic and environmental changes during the last million years which makes them valuable scientific resource. Unfortunately, these sites are endangered by numerous, mostly human, factors and could be degraded permanently. Besides the scientific community, these geosites could be presented and interpreted (geotourism) to a much wider audience. This paper presents an introduction with general overview of the evaluation and conservation methods and sustainable promotion of loess sediments and their possible implications in the Vojvodina region. The proposed methods could also be further applied to other geologically equivalent locations worldwide.

The Carpathian Basin represents the cradle of human agricultural development during the Neolithic period, when large parts were transformed into 'cultural landscapes' by first farmers from the Balkans. It is assumed that an Early Neolithic subsistence economy established along the hydrologic systems and on Chernozem soil patches, which developed from loess deposits. However, recent results from soil chemistry and geoarchaeological analyses raised the hypothesis that extensive Chernozem coverage developed from increased landuse activity and that Early Neolithic 'cultural' groups were not restricted to loess-covered surfaces but rather preferred hydromorphic soils that formed in the floodplains. This article performs multivariable statistics from large datasets of Neolithic sites in Hungary and allows tracing Early to Late Neolithic site preferences from digital environmental data. Quantitative analyses reveal a strong preference for hydromorphic soils, a significant avoidance of loesscovered areas, and no preference for Chernozem soils throughout the Early Neolithic followed by a strong transformation of site preferences during the Late Neolithic period. These results align with socio-cultural developments, large-scale mobility patterns, and land-use and surface transformation, which shaped the Carpathian Basin and paved the way for the agricultural revolution across Europe.