Warming climate ➔ changing of the environment + human pressure
Mountainous areas: most climate-sensitive environments and ecosystems
Rapid response to climate change reflected in geomorphological processes, sedimentation, biologic systems
Good indicators of climate dynamism
However, observational datasets are limited to the last 100-150 years. Lack of long-term climate data leads to uncertainties on the global climate models and thus hinder our understanding of the climate variability, and prediction of future hazards of climate change
Geological and geomorphological records can deliver quantitative proxy data on past climate change, system response style and time ➔ input data for future climate models
Main goals of the planned research
Better understanding of past response of geological and environmental systems to climate oscillations in SE Europe, with main emphasis on
global warming after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in high mountain environment
glacial-interglacial cycles and tectonic uplift by studying river incision
provide numerical data on climate-sensitive geomorphological and environmental processes ➔ open a window of opportunity for improved prediction of future processes
Some of the key questions
What was the timing of the the maximum glaciation and of the final deglaciation of the studied ranges?
How the periglacial processes and alpine lakes evolved after glacier recession in relation to climate variability?
How did atmospheric circulation and temperature change over the Lateglacial and Holocene?
What is the time range of the Holocene thermal optimum in this region?
How the SE European region responded to rapid climate change events?
Can the terrace formation along the Danube be connected to certain climate phases?
What is the incision rate of the Danube / uplift rate of the surrounding mountains through Pliocene-Quaternary times?
