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14C Dated Chronology of the Thickest and Best Resolved Loess/Paleosol Record of the LGM from SE Hungary Based on Comparing Precision and Accuracy of Age-Depth Models

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2020

Pál Sümegi ,
Sándor Gulyás ,
Dávid Molnár Open the ORCID record for Dávid Molnár [Opens in a new window] ,
Gábor Szilágyi ,
Balázs P Sümegi ,
Tünde Törőcsik  and
Mihály Molnár Open the ORCID record for Mihály Molnár [Opens in a new window]
Pál Sümegi*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Palaeontology, University of Szeged, 6722Szeged, Egyetem Street 2, Hungary Archaeological Institute of Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Úri street 49, Hungary University of Szeged, Interdisciplinary Excellence Centre, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Long Environmental Changes Research Team, H-6722Szeged, Egyetem u. 2-6, Hungary
Sándor Gulyás
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Palaeontology, University of Szeged, 6722Szeged, Egyetem Street 2, Hungary University of Szeged, Interdisciplinary Excellence Centre, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Long Environmental Changes Research Team, H-6722Szeged, Egyetem u. 2-6, Hungary
Dávid Molnár
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Palaeontology, University of Szeged, 6722Szeged, Egyetem Street 2, Hungary University of Szeged, Interdisciplinary Excellence Centre, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Long Environmental Changes Research Team, H-6722Szeged, Egyetem u. 2-6, Hungary
Gábor Szilágyi
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Palaeontology, University of Szeged, 6722Szeged, Egyetem Street 2, Hungary Hortobágy National Park, 4024Debrecen, Sumen u. 2, Hungary
Balázs P Sümegi
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Palaeontology, University of Szeged, 6722Szeged, Egyetem Street 2, Hungary Institute of Nuclear Research of HAS, 4026Debrecen, Bem tér 18/c, Hungary
Tünde Törőcsik
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Palaeontology, University of Szeged, 6722Szeged, Egyetem Street 2, Hungary University of Szeged, Interdisciplinary Excellence Centre, Institute of Geography and Earth Sciences, Long Environmental Changes Research Team, H-6722Szeged, Egyetem u. 2-6, Hungary Institute of Nuclear Research of HAS, 4026Debrecen, Bem tér 18/c, Hungary
Mihály Molnár
Affiliation:
Institute of Nuclear Research of HAS, 4026Debrecen, Bem tér 18/c, Hungary
*
*Corresponding author. Email: sumegi@geo.u-szeged.hu
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Abstract

The Madaras profile found at the northernmost fringe of Bácska loess plateau is one of the thickest and best-developed last glacial loess sequences of Central Europe. The 10-m profile corresponds to a period between 29 and 12 b2k. To unravel feedback to small-scale centennial climatic fluctuations at our site, recorded in the Greenland ice and North Atlantic marine cores, construction of a reliable chronology is needed. Reliability is expressed in terms of best achievable chronological precision. Accuracy however is based on choosing the model best describing the sedimentological features of our profile. Five different age-depth models had constructed and compared relying on 15 14C dates using various statistical, probabilistic approaches to choose the model with the highest achievable precision. Accuracy was also evaluated using accumulation rates against stratigraphy. Models constructed using the computer program Bacon performed best in terms of achieving the best possible stratigraphic accuracy. Seven meters of the profile represents the period of the LGM. The average sedimentation time was 16.8 yr/cm with the highest confined to the period of the LGM. Calculated average sedimentation rates were 4 times higher than previously reported. The peak accumulation periods are dated to the nadir of the LGM.

Keywords

accumulation ratesaccuracyage-depth models14C AMS datesloess/paleosol sequenceSE Hungary
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 62 , Issue 2 , April 2020 , pp. 403 - 417
Copyright
© 2020 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona

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