A consistent magnetic polarity stratigraphy of late Neogene to Quaternary fluvial sediments from the Heidelberg Basin (Germany): A new time frame for the Plio-Pleistocene palaeoclimatic evolution of the Rhine Basin

摘要

This work presents the results of a magnetostratigraphic survey performed on 1150 m of core material from three sites within the Heidelberg Basin. The cores intersect one of the thickest continuous accumulations of Plio-Pleistocene fluvial sediments in western Central Europe. The resultant magnetic polarity stratigraphy includes every Quaternary polarity chron, thereby providing constant age constraint down to the Gauss-Matuyama Boundary (2.58 Ma). Older deposits cannot be unequivocally dated; instead, various age-depth models are discussed. We base our chronostratigraphic interpretation of the successions tentatively on three assumptions. A) The accommodation was almost constant overtime. B) Hiatuses in the duration of subchrons (on the order of 0.2 Myr) may occur, and the actual step-like age-depth relationship is best depicted as a smooth curve with almost constant slope. C) Long chrons and subchrons have a higher preservation potential than shorter polarity intervals.