2. Study 1: A consistent magnetic polarity stratigraphy of late Neogene to Quaternary fluvial
2.10. Conclusions
We show the fluvial sediments of the Heidelberg Basin were able to preserve the ancient geomagnetic field through geologic time. The carriers of the remanent magnetisation changed over time and depend on lithofacies. Generally, maghemite and/or magnetite are uncommonly the remanence carriers. The Iffezheim Formation is dominated by high-coercivity minerals (haematite, goethite), whereas the younger formations are characterised by sulphides (most likely greigite).
The Gauss-Matuyama boundary is clearly defined by changes in polarity in all three cores. The Matuyama-Brunhes boundary is undoubtedly detectable in the Heidelberg core. Its position in the Viernheim and Ludwigshafen cores can be roughly estimated from its relative position with respect to the lithostratigraphic boundaries. The subchrons of Jaramillo (C1r.1n) and Olduvai (C2n) are identified with a high probability. The major remaining uncertainty concerns the correlation of the sectors below the Gauss-Matuyama boundary. Age-depth plots suggest that the Heidelberg and Viernheim cores include the Gilbert Chron. Minimum ages of >5.235 Ma and >4.187 Ma are highly plausible for the base of the Viernheim and Heidelberg cores, respectively. The large-scale correlations should not be affected by small inaccuracies. The calculated accumulation rates of the most plausible models are on the order of 5.7-29.9 and 2.9-13.0 cm/ka in the Quaternary and Tertiary, respectively. These accumulation rates allow a quantification of the basin subsidence over timescales of ca. ≥ 1 Ma.
The obtained magnetic polarity stratigraphy provides the first exclusively palaeomagnetically based chronostratigraphic framework for the sequences of the northern URG and for fluvial Plio-Pleistocene sequences in western central Europe in general. This will enable consistent future correlation across central Europe. The change in magneto-mineralogy near to the Gauss-Matuyama boundary is an important proxy for the environmental (climatic) changes at approximately 2.58 Ma.
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As already noted by Rolf et al. (2008), this worldwide climate change is marked by the initiation of Northern Hemisphere glaciation and is well documented in deep-sea sediments (Shackelton et al., 1984) and loess deposits in China (Heller and Liu, 1982). Further advances in the knowledge of superregional geological and palaeoclimatic developments can be expected from, for example, the correlation with the Plio/Pleistocene sites in the North Sea Basin (Zagwijn 1985; Maher and Hallam, 2005b, Westerhoff et al., 2008), the Pannonian Basin (Nádor et al., 2003) and the Po-Basin (Muttoni et al., 2007; Scardia et al., 2006).
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the reviewer for his helpful comments. We thank Kathrin Worm, Lena Wallbrecht and Marianne Klick (Grubenhagen) and Manuela Weiss (Niederlippach) for the support in the laboratories. Dave Tanner’s (LIAG, Hannover) comments regarding the correct use of the English language were very helpful. The study is funded by the German Research Foundation DFG (RO2170/8-1 and HA2(RO2170/8-193/(RO2170/8-10-(RO2170/8-1).
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Remarks to study 1
The magnetic polarity stratigraphy of the Heidelberg core contradicts the results of the pollen stratigraphy published by (Hahne et al., 2008, 2012) but is in line with the pollen analysis of core P36 (performed by Dr. Knipping, University of Hohenheim, pers. com.) and the Viernheim core (performed by Dr. Heumann, University of Bonn, pers. com.). The data obtained from palynological analyses, heavy mineral analyses and the magnetic polarity stratigraphy were viewed and compared in a meeting at the University of Bonn at the beginning of 2014. The palynologists (Dr. Knipping, Dr. Heumann, and Dr.
Hahne), a geologist and heavy mineral specialist (Dr. Hoselmann from the geological survey of Hesse), and I discussed these topics, and the discussion was moderated by Prof. Dr. Litt. During the meeting, the difference between the ages obtained by pollen analysis of the Heidelberg core and the remaining age results was found to represent a matter of interpretation, and a consensus was reached. Two weeks after this meeting, scientists from the geological survey of Baden-Wuertemberg informed the group that the consensus was invalid because certain arguments were not applied by Dr. Hahne. To the authors’ knowledge, this disagreement remains to the present day, though no further work on this question has yet been published. The question of the stratigraphic classification is thus summarised in section 4.4.
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