Middle and Late Pleistocene loess sequences at Batajnica, Vojvodina, Serbia

Loess sequences in the Vojvodina region (Northern Serbia) reveal a continuous record of paleoclimatic variations during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. The most detailed stratigraphic information comes from remarkable exposures on the cliffs of the right Danube bank from Vukovar to Belgrade. The Batajnica loess section has been recognized as one of the most complete Middle and Late Pleistocene records in this region. A more than 40 m thick loess-paleosol succession represents environmental transition from relative thin loess layers and rubified soils in lower part of profile to thick loess and fossil chernozems characterizing the last three glacial-interglacial cycles. The proposed stratigraphic model is based on a detailed magnetic susceptibility (MS) record which is related to the deep-sea isotope stratigraphy and on correlation with other Eurasian loess records using the distinct MS pattern of selected loess-paleosol couplets. This new stratigraphic model suggests serious revision of previous chronological interpretations. MS as function of depth shows a well-known pattern of low values in loess and high values in paleosols indicating strong enhancement of magnetic minerals during soil formation. With the exception of the recent soil (V-S0) which is strongly contaminated by archaeological artifacts, the third paleosol V-S3 reveals the highest values in MS and a very distinct double peak. The rock magnetic signal at Batajnica resembles the typical pattern of the enviromagnetic records determined from other Eurasian loess sites. The paleopedological interpretations, rubification index values and rock magnetic record at Batajnica yield valuable data for the reconstruction of paleoclimatic fluctuations for the last 5 glacial-interglacial cycles at least. Moreover, the record provides an important link between the classical Central European loess sites and the Central Asian and Chinese loess provinces. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.