Central European Hydroclimate during the Penultimate Interglacial Complex

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Dirk Sachse; Dr. Rik Tjallingii
• Subject Area: Geology ; Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry ; Physical Geography
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 560558440

Periods of prolonged heat and dryness are expected to increase over central Europe due to anthropogenic warming. Interglacials of the Quaternary provide a unique window to peer into environmental conditions during past warm climate states without anthropogenic interference, and allow better assessment of potential future climate scenarios. Comparing the regional expressions over the course different interglacials is essential to understand regional climatic sensitivities due to orbitally-forced global climate shifts. Precise timing of the onset, duration, and termination of past warm phases is key for detailed analysis of the climate dynamics driving these changes. We aim here to provide a detailed and precisely dated paleoclimatic reconstruction of the MIS 8-7 transition and warm phases MIS 7a, MIS 7c, and MIS 7e of the penultimate interglacial complex using the partly vaved sediment of Neualbenreuth paleo-maar. This 100 m long sediment core was recovered within the multidisciplinary The ICDP project, and continuously covers all the warm phases of the penultimate interglacial complex. Using microfacies analyses and geochemical sediment characterization in combination with leaf-wax hydrogen isotope ratios (δ2Hwax) and with existing palynological analyses, will allow us to examine hydroclimatic shifts and duration of these warm phases over central Europe. Integration of these results with existing European key records will provide a more detailed regional context needed for reconstruction of past climatic dynamics during MIS 7.

• DFG Programme: Infrastructure Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1006: Infrastructure area - International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP)
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Jens Mingram