New Middle Pleistocene records from the North-East foothills of Carpathian Mountains

Abstract

Two kinds of paleogeographic records from the Middle Pleistocene were recently first discovered in the Bukovinian foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, not far downstream from the confluence of the Prut and Cheremosh Rivers.

The area of investigation is associated with the lower Brusnytsia River, the right tributary of the Prut River (fig. 1). Due to the active tectonic uplift, wide spread of dispersal Neogenic and Quaternary sediments, and comparatively wet climate, the whole area of the Prut and Siret rivers’ interfluve is strongly damaged by landslides. Therefore it is quit problematic to find undisturbed Quaternary river terrace sequences in the area. Generally, the territory is characterized by the lack of Quaternary records at all. Only few Late Paleolithic sites without geological sequence were known few kilometers downstream the Prut R. Moreover it was important to look for the evidence of the Middle Pleistocene there