TY - JOUR

T1 - Eemian landscape response to climatic shifts and evidence for northerly Neanderthal occupation at a palaeolake margin in northern Germany

AU - Hein, Michael

AU - Urban, Brigitte

AU - Tanner, David Colin

AU - Buness, Anton Hermann

AU - Tucci, Mario

AU - Hoelzmann, Philipp

AU - Dietel, Sabine

AU - Kaniecki, Marie

AU - Schultz, Jonathan

AU - Kasper, Thomas

AU - Suchodoletz, Hans

AU - Schwalb, Antje

AU - Weiss, Marcel

AU - Lauer, Tobias

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

PY - 2021/11/1

Y1 - 2021/11/1

N2 - The prevailing view suggests that the Eemian interglacial on the European Plain was characterized by largely negligible geomorphic activity beyond the coastal areas. However, systematic geomorphological studies are sparse. Here we present a detailed reconstruction of Eemian to Early Weichselian landscape evolution in the vicinity of a small fingerlake on the northern margin of the Salzwedel Palaeolake in Lower Saxony (Germany). We apply a combination of seismics, sediment coring, pollen analysis and luminescence dating on a complex sequence of colluvial, paludal and lacustrine sediments. Results suggest two pronounced phases of geomorphic activity, directly before the onset and at the end of the Eemian period, with an intermediate period of pronounced landscape stability. The dynamic phases were largely driven by incomplete vegetation cover, but likely accentuated by fluvial incision in the neighbouring Elbe Valley. Furthermore, we discovered Neanderthal occupation at the lakeshore during Eemian pollen zone (PZ) E IV, which is chronologically in line with other known Eemian sites of central Europe. Our highly-resolved spatio-temporal data substantially contribute to the understanding of climate-induced geomorphic processes throughout and directly after the last interglacial period. It helps unraveling the landscape dynamics between the coastal areas to the north and the loess belt to the south.

AB - The prevailing view suggests that the Eemian interglacial on the European Plain was characterized by largely negligible geomorphic activity beyond the coastal areas. However, systematic geomorphological studies are sparse. Here we present a detailed reconstruction of Eemian to Early Weichselian landscape evolution in the vicinity of a small fingerlake on the northern margin of the Salzwedel Palaeolake in Lower Saxony (Germany). We apply a combination of seismics, sediment coring, pollen analysis and luminescence dating on a complex sequence of colluvial, paludal and lacustrine sediments. Results suggest two pronounced phases of geomorphic activity, directly before the onset and at the end of the Eemian period, with an intermediate period of pronounced landscape stability. The dynamic phases were largely driven by incomplete vegetation cover, but likely accentuated by fluvial incision in the neighbouring Elbe Valley. Furthermore, we discovered Neanderthal occupation at the lakeshore during Eemian pollen zone (PZ) E IV, which is chronologically in line with other known Eemian sites of central Europe. Our highly-resolved spatio-temporal data substantially contribute to the understanding of climate-induced geomorphic processes throughout and directly after the last interglacial period. It helps unraveling the landscape dynamics between the coastal areas to the north and the loess belt to the south.

KW - Biology

KW - eemian interglacia

KW - landscape evolution

KW - luminescence dating

KW - Neanderthal occupation

KW - paleolake

KW - pollen analysis

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114840552&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/b216d9f4-8675-3788-9cf5-b040c82311fc/

U2 - 10.1002/esp.5219

DO - 10.1002/esp.5219

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 46

SP - 2884

EP - 2901

JO - Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

JF - Earth Surface Processes and Landforms

SN - 0197-9337

IS - 14

ER -