A Quaternary aminostratigraphy for the Pannonian Basin: The competing influences of time, burial depth and temperature in deep-core material

Eleanor Nelson*, Dustin Scott White, Lucy Wheeler, Kirsty Elizabeth Helena Penkman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Long-term terrestrial archives of Quaternary climate change illustrate how global changes affect regional climates, but correlation of terrestrial deposits to global records can be challenging due to a lack of material for radiometric dating. The Pannonian Basin (Hungary) contains large river basins, with near-continuous Quaternary deposits ∼600 m in depth. This study tested the IcPD (intra-crystalline protein degradation) approach to amino acid geochronology using bithyniid snail opercula to date deep-core material in geothermally warm regions. Material from seven fully-cored boreholes was collected from four sub-regions: the Körös and Jászság basins, Makó Trough and Békés Basin. IcPD increased with age until approximately 2.3 million years ago, generally supporting stratigraphic correlations previously made between the boreholes. IcPD was consistent between different boreholes within the same sub-region. However due to the steep geothermal gradient in this region, IcPD was systematically different between sub-regions that had different sedimentation rates. Equivalently aged samples buried more deeply had higher IcPD levels, indicating a greater geothermic effect. This provides an insight into how variations in burial temperature can affect protein decomposition within a deeply-buried (>80 m) fossil over geological time, and demonstrates the importance of understanding the geothermal setting for amino acid geochronology. This study shows the utility of IcPD to correlate terrestrial deep-core sediments over the Pleistocene.

Original languageEnglish
Article number109044
Number of pages21
JournalQuaternary Science Reviews
Volume346
Early online date17 Nov 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Dec 2024

Bibliographical note

© 2024 The Author

Keywords

  • Aminostratigraphy
  • Geochronology
  • Intra-crystalline protein decomposition (IcPD)
  • Pannonian Basin
  • Pleistocene
  • Racemisation

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