High-resolution terrestrial archive of climatic oscillations during Oxygen Isotope Stages 5-2 in the loess-palaeosol sequence at Kolodiiv (East Carpathian Foreland, Ukraine)

Abstract

The Kolodiiv section is situated in the central part of the East Carpathian Foreland, on the right bank of the Sivka River, the Carpathian tributary of the Dniester River. This paper summarizes investigations on the loess deposit succession representing the Late Pleistocene, which is subdivided by several interstadial palaeosols and is bracketed by the last interglacial soil/organic deposits and Holocene soil. The Kolodiiv loess-palaeosol sequence provides an excellent high-resolution terrestrial archive of changing climate during OIS 5-2 in the East Carpathian Foreland and forms the basis for a regional pedo- and loess stratigraphy. The stratigraphic scheme was constructed on the basis of palaeosol occurrence, lithological variation in the deposits, and also the results of TL dating and palaeomagnetic investigations. The exposure at Kolodiiv contains an archaeological site with Middle Palaeolithic materials. Four types of palaeopedological taxa have been distinguished within the loess deposit at Kolodiiv: an interglacial (Eemian) soil unit, which includes one or two soil-forming episodes; interstadial palaeosols, which include two weaker soil-forming episodes; thin interstadial two-horizon palaeosols; monogenetic incipient palaeosols. Palaeosols from the first and second group form the Horohiv soil unit correlated with OIS 5. Palaeosols from the third and fourth group occur as different soil types within the Dubno 1 and 2 units, which correspond to OIS 3.