Geology, stratigraphy and palaeoenvironmental evolution of the <i>Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis</i>‐bearing Quaternary palaeolake(s) of Gorzów Wielkopolski (NW Poland, Central Europe)
Artur Sobczyk, Ryszard K. Borówka, Janusz Badura, Renata Stachowicz‐Rybka, Julita Tomkowiak, Anna Hrynowiecka, Joanna Sławińska, Michał Tomczak, Mateusz Pitura, Mariusz Lamentowicz, Piotr Kołaczek, Monika Karpińska‐Kołaczek, Dariusz Tarnawski, Marcin Kadej, Piotr Moska, Marek Krąpiec, Krzysztof Stachowicz, Bartosz Bieniek, Krzysztof Siedlik, Małgorzata Bąk, Jan van der Made, Adam Kotowski, Krzysztof Stefaniak
Abstract
ABSTRACT The sedimentary succession exposed in the Gorzów Wielkopolski area includes Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e) or Early Weichselian (MIS 5d–e) deposits. The sedimentary sequence has been the object of intense interdisciplinary study, which has resulted in the identification of at least two palaeolake horizons. Both yielded fossil remains of large mammals, alongside pollen and plant macrofossils. All these proxies have been used to reconstruct the environmental conditions prevailing at the time of deposition, as well as to define the geological context and the biochronological position of the fauna. Optically stimulated luminescence dating of the glaciofluvial layers of the GS3 succession to 123.6 ± 10.1 (below the lower palaeolake) and 72.0 ± 5.2 ka (above the upper palaeolake) indicate that the site formed during the Middle–Late Pleistocene (MIS 6 – MIS 5). Radiocarbon‐dating of the lacustrine organic matter revealed a tight cluster of Middle Pleniglacial Period (MIS 3) ages in the range of ~41–32 ka cal bp (Hengelo – Denekamp Interstadials). Holocene organic layers have also been found, with 14 C ages within a range of 4330–4280 cal bp (Neolithic). Pollen and plant macrofossil records, together with sedimentological and geochemical data, confirm the dating to the Eemian Interglacial.