Publication details
Aeolian sand provenance variability during the Last Glacial Period in the Moravian Sahara dune field, Czechia
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2025 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | GEOMORPHOLOGY |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169555X25004428 |
| Doi | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2025.110032 |
| Keywords | Geochemistry; Cold-climate dunes; Source sediment; XRF |
| Description | The Moravian Sahara dune field represents a unique environment, as it formed episodically during the Last Glacial Period and reflects a change in atmospheric circulation. Nevertheless, a precise evaluation of the sources of aeolian sand has not yet been performed despite extensive past research. Here, we present a study comparing element concentrations and ratios (specifically, Fe/Si, Ti/Si, and V/Si) measured via X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy among samples collected from presumed source sediments and aeolian sand from the dunes. Additionally, we verified the correctness of the definition of boundaries between the aeolian units/dune generations through cluster analysis of element concentrations in the drilled cores. This relatively quick method has been shown to be a helpful proxy for defining individual dune generations. The element ratios revealed that the aeolian sand that formed the Moravian Sahara dunes originated from two primary sources, fluvial sediments deposited by the Morava paleo-river and the streams draining the Central Moravian Carpathians, whose contributions varied over time and reflected the changes in prevailing winds. The contribution of the first source is, however, overestimated, which probably reflects that the Morava palaeo-river already transported sediments from the Central Moravian Carpathians before reaching the study area, recycling of old aeolian sand and contamination of dune material in one particular place by water used during firefighting in 2012, which was pumped from the Morava river. |
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