Malaco temperature reconstructions and numerical simulation of environmental conditions in the southeastern Carpathian Basin during the Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract

We investigate the glacial climate conditions in the southeastern Carpathian Basin (Vojvodina, Serbia) based on the reconstruction of malacological palaeotemperatures and results from a high-resolution regional climate simulation. Land snail assemblages from eight loess profiles are used to reconstruct July temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The malacological reconstructed temperatures are in good agreement with the simulated LGM July temperatures by the Weather Research and Forecast model. Both methods indicate increasing temperatures from the northwestern towards the southeastern parts of the study area. LGM aridity indices calculated based on the regional climate model data suggest more arid conditions in the southeastern parts compared with more humid conditions in the northwestern parts. However, for present-day conditions, the moisture gradient is reversed, exhibiting more humid (arid) conditions in the southeast (northwest). An explanation for the reversed LGM aridity pattern is provided by an analysis of the prevailing wind directions over the South Banat district (Serbia). The prevailing moist northwesterly winds during summer are not able to compensate for the annual lack of moisture induced by the dry winds from the southeast that are more frequent during the LGM for the other seasons.