Late pleistocene-holocene environmental changes - Records from submerged speleothems along the Eastern Adriatic coast (Croatia)

Abstract

U-Th and14C dating, and X-ray diffraction of parts of 16 submerged speleothems taken from depths of 1.5-41.5 m from 7 submarine caves and pits along the Eastern Adriatic coast, provided insight into the sea-level fluctuations during the last 220 ka, and to the palaeogeographic changes caused by sea-level changes. Due to climate changes, palaeoenvironmental settings also varied, but not so abruptly and intensely as in the rest of Europe. As the Alps and Dinarides acted as orographic barriers, the Eastern Adriatic coast was the border region between periglacial Europe and the temperate Mediterranean region. It was also a refuge area for plant species from the north. This study showed that appropriate temperature, humidity and vegetation cover ensured favourable conditions for karstification and speleothem formation even during the Last Glacial Maximum.