Climate and paleo-environmental change within the Mannheim Formation near Heidelberg, Upper Rhine Valley, Germany: A case study based upon microsedimentological analyses

Microsedimentological analyses were used to examine the first 56 m of a 500 m core near Heidelberg, Germany, in the Upper Rhine Valley. This core chronostratigraphically stretches from present day to 450 ka and includes proxy evidence supporting the presence of Würmian, Eemian and likely components of the Riss and Hoβkirch Stages. The sediment in the core reflects the geomorphic, biotic, pedogenic, and climatic processes. The sediments were deposited in a fluvial environment, at times, within a broad floodplain in the main channel, and also, at other times, some distance from the main river. These upper sediments act as indirect proxy evidence that indicate changes in climate over time illustrative of cool periglacial tundra-like conditions and of milder forested temperate environments from Hoβkirch to present day times. Within the sediments evidence can be found of an interglacial fossil soil followed later by a Holocene temperate climate up to present day. A strong link can be ascertained between macro- and micro-stratigraphic evidence, the latter revealing detailed and invaluable sources of information. This analysis permits the reconstruction of past climate and paleoenvironmental conditions. The application of microsedimentological analyses to the Mannheim Formation reveals a store of data that has been largely hidden when using only macro-sedimentological methods.