Comparative study of two late pleistocene sequences with paleosols and aeolian deposits at the southern alpine foreland

Abstract

Two pedostratigraphic sequences located between the Euganean and Berici hills (Veneto region, north-eastern Italy) were investigated. In such sequences, morphogenic and pedogenic processes could be ascribed to the Late Pleistocene climatic evolution, based on pedostratigraphic characteristics and on archaeological finds. The series prove the degradation of the vegetation cover along the local slopes, followed by the truncation of paleosols due to widespread hillwash phenomena. The latter result in the concentration of coarser elements along an erosional surface, with successive displacement due to gelifluction. This process indicates climatic change towards glacial conditions, with an open environment that is characterized also by loess sedimentation.