<p>Several studies applied numerical age determination methods to examine glacial phases of the central Balkan Peninsula. However, the resulting conflicting datasets require further discussion. This study provides <sup>10</sup>Be Cosmic Ray Exposure (CRE) ages of a succession of glacial landforms in the Jablanica and Jakupica Mts (North Macedonia), aiming at a better understanding of Late Pleistocene glacier development in the area.</p><p>In the Jablanica Mt. (~41.25&#176; N; Crn Kamen, 2257 m a.s.l.) six glacial stages were identified (Temovski et al., 2018). The CRE ages of five glacial stages (from the second oldest to the youngest) range from 16.8<sup>+0.8</sup>/<sub>-0.5</sub> ka to 13.0<sup>+0.4</sup>/<sub>-0.9</sub> ka. Accordingly, the most extensive glaciation in the Jablanica Mt. occurred before ~17 ka (Ruszkiczay et al., 2020).</p><p>Based on the accumulation area balance ratios (AABR) of the reconstructed glaciers, their mean equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) were estimated. The average ELA of the glaciers was 1792&#177;18 m a.s.l. during the largest ice extent, and 2096&#177;18 m a.s.l. during the last phase of the deglaciation.</p><p>Independent reconstructions of key climatic drivers of glaciological mass balance suggest that glacial re-advances during the deglaciation in the Jablanica Mt. were associated to cool summer temperatures before ~15 ka. The last glacial stillstand may result from a modest drop in summer temperature coupled with increased winter snow accumulation. In the study area no geomorphological evidence for glacier advance after ~13.0<sup>+0.4</sup>/<sub>-0.9</sub> ka could be found. Relying on independent climate proxies we propose that (i) the last glacier advance occurred no later than ~13 ka, and (ii) the glaciers were withdrawing during the Younger Dryas when low temperatures were combined with dry winters.</p><p>In the Jakupica Mt. (~41.7&#176; N, Solunska Glava, 2540 m a.s.l.) a large plateau glacier was reconstructed. The study area comprised six eastward facing, formerly glaciated valleys. Cirque floor elevations range from ~2180 m a.s.l. at Salakova Valley, to between ~2115 and ~2210 m a.s.l. on the carbonate plateau. The lowest mapped moraines are descending down to 1550-1700 m a.s.l. Due to the large plateau ice and the complicated system of confluences, glacier reconstructions using semi-automated GIS tools are problematic. Four to six deglaciation phases were reconstructed, and a preliminary estimation of the ELAs based on the maximum elevation of the lowermost lateral moraines leads to ELA values of 1800&#177;50 m a.s.l. for the most extended phase. Multiple CRE ages for the subsequent glacial stages are also being acquired for Jakupica Mts.</p><p>This research was supported by the NKFIH FK124807 and GINOP-2.3.2-15-2016-00009 projects, by the INSU/CNRS and the ANR through the program &#8220;EQUIPEX Investissement d&#8217;Avenir&#8221; and IRD and by the Radiate Transnational Access 19001688-ST.</p><p>Ruszkiczay-R&#252;diger Zs., Kern Z, Temovski M, Madar&#225;sz B, Milevski I, Braucher R, ASTER Team (2020) Last deglaciation in the central Balkan Peninsula: Geochronological evidence from Jablanica Mt (North Macedonia). Geomorphology 351: 106985</p><p>Temovski M, Madar&#225;sz B, Kern Z, Milevski I, Ruszkiczay-R&#252;diger Zs. (2018) Glacial geomorphology and preliminary glacier reconstruction in the Jablanica Mountain, Macedonia, Central Balkan Peninsula. Geosciences 8(7): 270</p>
Several studies applied numerical age determination methods to examine glacial phases of the central Balkan Peninsula. However, the resulting datasets are contradictory, meaning that further discussion is needed. This study provides 10Be cosmic ray exposure (CRE) ages of a succession of glacial landforms in the Jablanica Mt. (North Macedonia), aiming at a better understanding of Late Pleistocene glacier development in the area. On the basis of the mapped glacial landforms, six glacial stages were identified and their mean equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) were estimated. The CRE ages of five glacial stages - from the second oldest to the youngest - were determined between 16.8+0.8/−0.5 ka and 13.0+0.4/−0.9 ka. Accordingly, the most extensive glaciation in the Jablanica Mt. occurred before ~17 ka. The average ELA of the glaciers was 1792 ± 18 m a.s.l. during the largest ice extent, and 2096 ± 18 m during the last phase of the deglaciation. Independent reconstructions of key climatic drivers of glaciological mass balance suggest that glacial re-advances during the deglaciation were associated to cool summer temperatures before ~15 ka. The last glacial stillstand apparently resulted from a modest drop in summer temperature coupled with increased winter snow accumulation. In the study area no geomorphological evidence for glacier advance after ~13+0.4/−0.9 ka could be found. On the basis of independent climate proxies we propose that the last glacier advance occurred no later than ~13 ka, and glaciers were withdrawing during the Younger Dryas when low temperatures were combined with dry winters.
Recent investigations on the sedimentary infill of the western Dacian Basin suggest that between ~4.8 Ma and 4.2 Ma (Dacian) the Danube and its tributaries formed a deltaic front at the exit from the Lower Danube Gorge (LDG) known also as Iron Gates. The appearance of a large fluvial system (the proto-Danube) connecting the two basins was dated to ~4.0 Ma with the water course becoming fully formed and discharging into the Black Sea after ~3.7 Ma. In the present paper, the emphasis falls on the Quaternary history of the Danube in the area of the LDG and the Oltenia Plain, the western extremity of the Dacian Basin. The proposed review summarizes investigations of geomorphology and fluvial sedimentology in the region performed during the last 100 years. Morphological, sedimentological, tectonic, and relative chronological information is brought together to advance an overview of the spatial distribution of terrace fragments, their relative altitudes, associated sedimentary structures, available relative chronological frameworks (based mainly on macro- and microfossils) and documented minor deformations associated with local tectonic structures. During the Quaternary, incision of the Danube at the LDG was estimated to be over 250 m. This incision corresponds to a number of at least 7 levels of strath terraces, preserved in a fragmentary way along the narrow passages but better conserved in the successive local tectonic depressions along the LDG. Here 7-10 terraces have been described, among which the lowest 5-6 were attributed to the Quaternary. Downstream of the LDG, the Danube developed a large alluvial fan during the Early Quaternary, the remains of which are currently located at over 180 - 200 m r.a., while in the last ~1 Ma it developed a system of 7 (8?) terraces from ca. 140 - 170 m to 4-7 m r.a. These alluvial terraces attest for a constant southward migration of the Danube to its current position, under the influence of local subsidence and/or of large amount of incoming sediments deposited by the tributaries arriving from the north, draining the southern flanks of the uplifting Southern Carpathians. Through this analysis, we aim to highlight the characteristics of the Quaternary history of the Danube in two distinct sectors: the LDG and the area downstream to it, the Oltenia Plain down to Jiu River, the first important tributary of the Danube downstream to the LDG. The final objective of this exercise is to create the framework for the first investigations of numerical age determination of terraces along the lower sector of the Danube. Funding: PNRR-III-C9 2022 - I8, project code CF 253/29.11.2022, no: 760055/23.05.2023.
Abstract Present study provides a review of the latest results on fluvial and aeolian landscape evolution in Hungary achieved by our team during the last 20 years. – The Hungarian river terrace system and its chronology was described with special emphasise on the novel threshold concept. A revised terrace system was created by the compilation of novel terrace chronology and MIS data. Evolution of river terraces was not only governed by climatic factors but tectonic ones too. Incision rate of the Danube, and uplift rate of the Transdanubian Range (TR) was around 0.1-0.3 mm/a in the marginal zones of the TR (mostly based on the published U-series data) and was above 1 mm/a in its axial zone (based on 3 He exposure age dating of strath terraces). – According to a detailed geomorphological investigation of the different channel-planform morphologies in the Middle Tisza region and Sajó-Hernád alluvial fan, six phases of river pattern change and four incision periods were detected during the last 20,000 years. – Wind polished rock surfaces dated by in situ produced cosmogenic 10 Be suggest that deflation was active in Hungary as early as 1.5 Ma ago. According to these exposure age data, Pleistocene denudation rate of the study area (Balaton Highland) was 40-80 m/Ma. – In sand covered areas the alternations of wind-blown layers and buried fossil soils provide information about climate and environment changes. In this study, periods of sand movement were mostly determined by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating methods and five aeolian sand accumulation periods were recognised during the last 25 000 years. – A new loess stratigraphical view was elaborated using the most recent dating methods (luminescence, AAR). The lower part of Mende Upper (MF 1-2 ) pedokomplex is suggested to represent the last interglacial period (MIS 5e). During the last interglacial/glacial period (MIS 5 - MIS 2) several soil-forming periods existed but the preservation of these paleosoils is variable depending on their paleogeomorphological position.
