The Campanian Ignimbrite tephra layer - a regional stratigraphic marker for the MIS 3 loess deposits of Romania

Abstract

Loess deposits are widespread in Romania and many open profiles are found along the river valleys crossing the southern plains of the country, and these records are important resources for understanding paleoclimate dynamics and the Paleolithic cultural dispersal at the continental scale. However, loess deposits show significant lateral compositional variations, which bring about regional stratigraphic uncertainties, especially when site-to-site correlations still rely mainly on stratigraphic relationships, and only a handful of profiles having been investigated with more precise dating methods