The loess section in Wąchock as the key site of Vistulian loesses and palaeosols in the Holy Cross Mountains (Poland)

Abstract

The Wąchock section (N part of the Holy Cross Mountains) is bipartite, with a sub-loess lower part and a loess upper part. The sub-loess part lying on Lower Triassic sandstones includes fluvial, glacial and ice-dammed lake deposits, TL-dated at 352 ky BP to 157 ±23 ky BP. They represent the Mazovian (MIS 11) (Zbójnian?, MIS 9?) Interglacial and the Odranian Glaciation (MIS 6). The upper part comprises loesses intercalated with palaeosols, which reach a total thickness of 9 m and have TL ages at 148 ±23 ky BP to 15.8 ±8 ky BP. This part of the succession begins with horizon B of a brown soil from the Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e) with an interstadial black soil from the oldest Vistulian (MIS 5c). Four younger loess horizons from the middle and younger Vistulian occur above; loesses with arctic and tundra palaeosols correspond to younger isotope stages (MIS 5b–MIS 2). The loess and palaeosol horizons distinguished in Wąchock were correlated with loess sections in Poland (Zwierzyniec and Polanów Samborzecki) and western Ukraine (Kolodiiv 3), showing large similarities of both loesses and palaeosols. Due to this, the Wąchock site is proposed as a one of key sections for Vistulian loess sequences not only in the Holy Cross Mts. region but also in Central Europe. Palaeomagnetic studies of the Wąchock loesses have registered palaeomagnetic inclinations with values lower than the average values expected in this locality (63°).