Chronology of heterogeneous deposits in the side entrance of Postojna Cave, Slovenia

Authors

  • Mateja Ferk Anton Melik Geographical Institute, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
  • Matej Lipar Anton Melik Geographical Institute, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts
  • Andrej Šmuc Department of Geology, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Engineering, University of Ljubljana
  • Russell N. Drysdale School of Geography, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne
  • Jian Zhao School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Queensland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3986/AGS.7059

Keywords:

Geography, geoscience, geology, karst, stratigraphy, dating, <SUP>14</SUP>C, U/Th

Abstract

The development of the tourist trail in the side passage Rov Novih Podpisov of Postojna Cave in 2002 exposed an over four metres thick sedimentary succession characterised by horizontal flowstone layers intercalated between fine-grained fluvial sediments, and gravel deposits that record past environmental changes. The time of the flowstone deposition was determined by radiocarbon and uranium-thorium dating techniques. The results yielded three distinctive age groups of flowstone facies of 33 ka, 103 ka and 153 ka. These results also indicate that flowstone deposition has not been limited solely to periods of warm climate, which suggests that environmental conditions during glacial periods in south-western Slovenia supported flowstone deposition.

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Published

01-01-2019

How to Cite

Ferk, M., Lipar, M., Šmuc, A., Drysdale, R. N., Zhao, J. 2019: Chronology of heterogeneous deposits in the side entrance of Postojna Cave, Slovenia. Acta geographica Slovenica 59-1. https://doi.org/10.3986/AGS.7059