Abstract: Hochterrassen sind eine im nördlichen Alpenvorland weit verbreitete geomorphologische Form, denen traditionell eine Entstehung während der Riss-Kaltzeit zugeordnet wird. Allerdings sind oftmals unterschiedliche Terrassenniveaus innerhalb der Hochterrassen zu beobachten, deren Altersstellung noch unbekannt ist. Dieses Thema wird hier am Beispiel der Langweider und Rainer Hochterrassen im unteren Lechtal mit Hilfe relativer und numerischer Datierungsmethoden untersucht. Das morphologisch tiefste Teilniveau, welches nur am westlichen Rand der Rainer Hochterrasse erhalten ist, stellt höchstwahrscheinlich eine frühwürmzeitliche Übergangsterrasse dar. Das nächsthöhere Niveau der Jüngeren Hochterrasse muss älter sein als das letzte Interglazial. Dafür sprechen die warmzeitliche Parabraunerde, die in Resten am Top des Terrassenkörpers erhalten ist, und die würmzeitliche Lössdeckschicht, welche durch Lumineszenzmessungen und Paläoböden datiert werden kann. Die Jüngere Hochterrasse besteht aus zwei gestapelten Kieskörpern, welche mindestens zwei Akkumulationsphasen zugeordnet werden können. Der hangende Kieskörper entstand während der Sauerstoff-Isotopenstufe (MIS) 6 und der liegende Kieskörper zwischen MIS 7 und MIS 10 (oder älter). Es ist jedoch nicht geklärt, in welcher Aufschüttungsperiode während des Mittelpleistozäns die Ablagerung des liegenden Kieskörpers stattfand. Das höchste Teilniveau, die Ältere Hochterrasse zeigt auch eine Stapelung zweier Kieskörper, für diese liegen aber bisher keine numerischen Altersdaten vor

Datierung - Datierungsmethode - Gletscher.

Abstract: Biocides used in paints and renders prevent algae and fungi growth but can wash off during wind-driven rain and enter urban environments. Retention ponds represent part of stormwater management that retain water and partly pollutants. However, it is poorly understood which percentage of biocides leached from facades reaches a pond and how efficiently biocides are retained inside ponds although biocides can have harmful environmental effects. Here, we combined measurements and modeling to address diffuse biocide loss and a pond's retention capacity in a delimited residential area of 3 ha, with detached houses connected to an ephemeral retention pond. Six stormwater events were sampled within 2 years and confirmed biocidal residuals at pond inflow. Model results revealed that during the sampled events only 11% of terbutryn leachate arrived at the pond while the major part of this biocide was diffusely lost in the residential area. Measured low terbutryn concentrations in the sediment (mean 2.6 ng g−1) confirmed this result. Model results suggested that approximately 50% of terbutryn reaching the pond were retained and degraded. Our results are site-specific but suggest that biocide retention in ponds is limited, environmental entry pathways are diverse and that biocide use should be limited at its source

Abstract: A significant amount of the ongoing shortening between the Eurasian and Arabian plates is accommodated within the Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt. However, the spatial and temporal distribution of active shortening within the belt, especially in its NW part, is not yet well constrained. We determined depositional ages of uplifted river terraces crossing the belt along the Greater Zab River using luminescence dating. Kinematic modeling of the fault-related fold belt was then used to calculate long-term slip rates during the Late Pleistocene to Holocene. Our results provide new insight into the rates of active faulting and folding in the area. The Zagros Mountain Front Fault accommodates about 1.46 ± 0.60 mm a−1 of slip, while a more external basement fault further to the SW accommodates less than 0.41 ± 0.16 mm a−1. Horizontal slip rates related to detachment folding of two anticlines within the Zagros Foothills are 0.40 ± 0.10 and 1.24 ± 0.36 mm a−1. Basement thrusting and thickening of the crust are restricted to the NE part of the Zagros belt. This is also reflected in the regional topography and in the distribution of uplifted terraces. In the southwestern part, the deformation is limited mainly to folding and thrusting of the sedimentary cover above a Triassic basal detachment. In the NE, deformation is associated with slip on basement thrusts. Our study sheds light on the distribution of shortening in the Zagros Mountains and helps to understand the regional tectonic system. Our results may be the foundation for a better seismic hazard assessment of the entire area

Abstract: Changing climatic conditions are thought to be a major control of human presence in Arabia during the Paleolithic. Whilst the Pleistocene archaeological record shows that periods of increased monsoon rainfall attracted human occupation and led to increased population densities, the impact of arid conditions on human populations in Arabia remains largely speculative. Here, we present data from Jebel Faya in Southeast (SE) Arabia, which document four periods of human occupation between c. 210,000 and 120,000 years ago. The Jebel Faya record indicates that human occupation of SE Arabia was more regular and not exclusively linked to major humid periods. Our data show that brief phases of increased rainfall additionally enabled human settlement in the Faya region. These results imply that the mosaic environments in SE Arabia have likely formed a population refugia at the end of the Middle and the beginning of the Late Pleistocene

Abstract: This study focusses on dose rate determination in complex settings in two drill cores from the site of Niederweningen,Northern Switzerland. A crosscheck with a certified standard material and neutron activation analyses (NAA) reveals an overall good performance of high-resolution gamma spectrometry (HR-GS) when determining dose rate-relevant elements. A second focus is on average water content during burial, by comparing measured sediment moisture with water uptake capability. Furthermore, layer models are used to investigate the impact of inhomogeneous stratification on dose rate. Finally, different scenarios to correct for radioactive disequilibrium in the uranium decay chain are investigated. While most of the applied corrections appear to have only a minor to moderate effect on age calculation, the results for one core are contradictory. Possibly, some of the applied correction scenarios are not reflecting the complex natural setting sufficiently, in particular average sediment moisture during burial and the timing of radioactive disequilibrium might be incorrectly estimated. While deposition in one core can be quite securely attributed to the period 100-70 ka, assigning the sediment sequence in the other core to the time between ca. 130 ka and 90 ka remains to some extent insecure

Abstract: Luminescence dating has become a pillar of the understanding of Pleistocene glacial advances in the northern foreland of the Swiss Alps. However, both quartz and feldspar from the region are equally challenging as dosimeters with anomalous fading and partial bleaching being some of the obstacles to overcome for the establishment of decisive chronologies. In this study, luminescence properties of coarse- and fine-grained quartz, feldspar, and polymineral fractions of eight samples from a palaeovalley, Rinikerfeld in northern Switzerland, are systematically assessed. Standard performance tests are conducted on all four fractions. Deconvolution of luminescence signals of the quartz fractions is implemented and shows the dominance of stable fast components. Reader-specific low preheat temperatures are investigated on the infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) signal of feldspar. Thermal stability of this signal is found for low preheats, and thermal quenching could be excluded for higher preheats. However, anomalous fading is observed in the feldspar and polymineral IRSL signals and two correction approaches are applied. For one approach, fading corrected coarse-grained feldspar ages are consistent with those derived from quartz. In general, coarse-grained quartz and feldspar, as well as the fine-grained polymineral fraction of one sample, are in chrono-stratigraphic agreement and present negligible evidence for partial bleaching. However, ages derived from fine-grained quartz are found to underestimate those of the coarse-grained quartz fractions. Hence, the impact of alpha efficiency and water content on the dose rate and thus the ages are assessed. A finite explanation for the observed discrepancies remains lacking, but this systematic investigation of different luminescence signals allows for the establishment of a chronology for the palaeovalley fill dating back to at least Marine Isotope Stage 6 (MIS 6)