The Late Pleistocene loess deposits and palaeosols of eastern Belgium: new TL age determinations
✍ Scribed by Peter Van den haute; Line Vancraeynest; Frans De Corte
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1998
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 235 KB
- Volume
- 13
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0267-8179
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✦ Synopsis
Fourteen samples from the Pleistocene loess exposures at Kesselt (Belgian Limbourg) have been dated with the thermoluminescence method. Using the regeneration technique and a double analysis with two types of blue transmittant filters, reproducible age estimates were obtained up to about 130-140 ka. For the basal part of the late Weichselian (Brabant) loess and the underlying cryorurbated Nagelbeek Horizon we arrived at ages of 20-22 ka, which is consistent with the radiocarbon age of this horizon (22.3 ka). Our TL dates further constrain the formation of a lower luvisol profile, the Bt horizon of which has been correlated with the Rocourt palaeosol, to the period 50-60 ka. These dates, however, may overstimate the true age of the sediment because they were obtained on reworked loess. They indicate that this palaeosol was formed during a Middle Weichselian interstadial and not during the Eemian as is generally accepted. The boundary between the Weichselian and the older loess is situated at a lower level in the Kesselt profile. The loess bracketing the deeper tundra gleysols yielded TL ages up to 130-140 ka and the ages further rapidly increased with depth, indicating that the sediments may even be much older than Saalian.