Die Löss-Sequenz Wels/Aschet (ehemalige Lehmgrube Würzburger)

The sediment profile of the former clay pit Würzburger at Wels/Aschet is among the most famous paleoclimate archives of the Traun-Enns-Platte (Upper Austria), a type-region for the understanding of Alpine glaciation. Using modern scientific methods, the 12 m thick sequence of loess and paleosols was re-investigated in the course of a project funded by the Commission of Quaternary Research of the Austrian Academy of Sciences. The investigations were focused on chronostratigraphic correlations using paleomagnetic analyses and supported by luminescence dating. In addition, weathering intensities of different interglacial soils were investigated by paleopedological analysis using granulometric, mineralogical and geochemical data. The new insight into the chronology and development of the sequence, linked to other glacial and fluvioglacial deposits (e.g. moraines and terraces), leads to a consistent model of climate-controlled processes during the ice ages.