Northern Iranian loess and its palaeoclimatic implication

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Manfred Anton Frechen; Professor Dr. Martin Kehl; Professorin Dr. Eva Lehndorff
• Subject Area: Physical Geography ; Soil Sciences ; Palaeontology
• Term: from 2012 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 214817320

The loess record of Northern Iran reflects numerous cycles of climate change and landscape evolution for the Middle to Late Quaternary period. The loess/palaeosol sequences represent the most important geoarchive of climate change in the region and provide an important link between loess deposits in Southeastern Europe and Central Asia. Our present understanding on the formation, climate indication and geochronology of northern Iranian loesses shall be verified with more sophisticated methods extending the chronological framework towards the Middle Pleistocene. We will unravel the amplitudes and frequencies of climate change in Northern Iran applying a comprehensive multi-proxy approach to previously examined and new loess sections. The multi-proxy approach will explore fluctuations of precipitation, temperature and wind speed in high resolution studies of rock magnetic proxies, granulometry and indicators of weathering intensity. A more precise chronological framework for loess key sections of Northern Iran will be established as based on new luminescence methods, such as post-IR IRSL at elevated temperatures and palaeomagnetic data. Seminal data is expected for large-scale stratigraphic correlations and climate reconstructions including the southern movement of the polar front during cold stages.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Cooperation Partner: Professorin Dr. Claudia Knief