The Belotinac section (Southern Serbia) at the southern limit of the European loess belt: Initial results

The palaeoclimate record preserved in loess deposits in S Serbia is poorly understood. This is in strong contrast to the situation in the north of the country (Vojvodina region), where similar deposits have been intensively investigated in recent years. This study presents a first detailed description, initial proxy analysis (magnetic susceptibility, colour, total organic carbon) and preliminary luminescence chronology of a loess–palaeosol sequence that is exposed in an abandoned quarry at Belotinac (near the city of Niš, S Serbia). The sequence is about 10 m thick and preserves three loess units and three weakly developed palaeosol units. Although its potential remains to be fully tapped, the preliminary results demonstrate that the sequence offers a unique record of climate and environmental change during the Late Pleistocene at the transition between Mediterranean and Continental Europe.