Krsmanović, Petar, Perić, Zoran M., Thompson, Warren, Radaković, Milica G., Ryan, Cathal S., Schaetzl, Randall J., Hao, Qingzhen, Lukić, Tin, Alexanderson, Helena and Marković, Slobodan B. (2025) Loess provenance in the westernmost part of the lower Danube Basin, Serbia: Geochemical insights from the Velika Vrbica fluvial–eolian section. Quaternary International, 748. p. 109969. ISSN 1040-6182
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Abstract
Our study examined the chemical composition of fluvial and eolian sediments at the Velika Vrbica multisection, located on the bank of the Danube River in eastern Serbia, within the westernmost part of the lower Danube (Dacian) Basin. The multisection comprises two discrete sections: an older 2.7 m thick fluvial section, and a younger 11.2 m thick loess-paleosol sequence (LPS). These are exposed along the sides of a gully incised into a Danube River terrace that is covered by loess. Using luminescence dating, litho- and pedo-stratigraphy, and weathering proxies, we conclude that the fluvial section formed during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6, and the overlying loess spans semi-continuously from late MIS 6 to the present. In order to use only elemental ratios unaffected by weathering and grain-size sorting, and thus serving as reliable provenance proxies, we introduce a novel statistical parameter – the path adherence coefficient (PAC). Along with the PAC, we also employ the well-established R2 on geochemical data from the fluvial sediments. We identified Zr/Al2O3 and TiO2/Al2O3 ratios as the most reliable provenance proxies, enabling us to discern temporal variations in sediment provenance at the Velika Vrbica LPS. The fine-grained portions of the LPS exhibit a significantly different provenance than that of the Danube River sediments. This difference is attributed to the transport of fine, loessial material over long distances, incorporating multiple sediment sources (likely originating from the Carpathians), from beyond the Danube River alluvium, into the loess. In contrast, the coarser, sand-rich sediment within the Velika Vrbica LPS section, which formed during MIS 2, has a more local provenance, having been derived almost exclusively from Danube River alluvium.
Item Type: | Article |
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Additional Information: | Zoran M. Peri´c is grateful to the Royal Physiographic Society in Lund (grants no. 42788 and 43046) for supporting his research on the age of loess in the Carpathian Basin. Slobodan B. Markovi´c is grateful to the Silesian Technical University Professorship under the Excellence Initiative – Research University Programme for prominent researchers and Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts grant F178. Milica Radakovi´c expresses her gratitude for the support provided by the L’Or´eal-UNESCO For Women in Science award. The authors acknowledge the support of the Provincial Secretariat for Higher Education and Scientific Research of Vojvodina (Serbia), No. 000871816 2024 09418 003 000 000 001 04 002 (GLOMERO), under Program 0201 and Program Activity 1012. We gratefully acknowledge Aleksa Krsmanovi´c for his invaluable assistance in the development of the statistical parameter used in this study. |
Keywords: | Loess; geochemistry; OSL; Upper Pleistocene; sediment provenance; Serbia; |
Academic Unit: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Geography Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Institutes > Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units, ICARUS |
Item ID: | 20606 |
Identification Number: | 10.1016/j.quaint.2025.109969 |
Depositing User: | Corinne Voces |
Date Deposited: | 26 Sep 2025 08:52 |
Journal or Publication Title: | Quaternary International |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Refereed: | Yes |
Related URLs: | |
URI: | https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/20606 |
Use Licence: | This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here |
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