Environment and climate of central Poland in the Last Interglacial

We would like to present a recent article on the environment and climate of the Garwolin Plain, with authors including Dr. Aleksandra Bober (Department of Geomorphology and Paleogeography UMCS) and Dr. Magdalena Kończak (Department of Hydrology and Climatology UMCS). The article was published in the journal Geological Quarterly and is one of the results of a research project funded by the National Science Center:

Bober A., Drzymulska D., Stachowicz-Rybka R., Kończak M., Żarski M., 2023. High-resolution record of Late Saalian and Eemian palaeoenvironments: the case study of Struga and Parysów (central Poland). Geological Quarterly 67:37, http://dx.doi.org/10.7306/gq.1707

Eemian organogenic deposits, analysed at the Struga and Parysów sites (Garwolin Plain, central Poland), reveal the vegetation history. Palynological analysis supported byplant macrofossil analys is revealed a pollen succession encompassing seven regional pollen assem blages zones, E1-E7 RPAZ, within which indicator taxa for various climate characteristics (mainly temperature and humidity, including Tilia tomentosa and Hedera helix) were recorded. Additionally, the Struga G-120 profile encompasses a Late Saalian section of deposits in which stadial and interstadial oscillations are iferred. The data corroborated earlier findings that the warmest and wettest part of the Eemian interglacial was during the hazelphase (E4 RPAZ) and the beginning of the horn beam phase (E5 RPAZ). The younger part of the hornbeam phase bears the record of a decrease in humidity and gradual drop in air temperature. During the telocratic period encompassing the spruce-fir (E6 RPAZ) and pine (E7 RPAZ) phases, increased humidity and rising water levels in the lakes studied are again evident. The reconstructed plant succession and climatic conditions are discussed against a broader background of other Eemian profiles from Poland and neighbouring countries. They largely confirm that, at that time, the Garwolin Plain showed characteristics typical of a transi tional climate from oceanic in Western Europe to continental beyond the eastern borders of Poland.

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    Date of addition
    15 December 2023