XRF, carbon and CaCO3 data from the loess-paleosol sequence Süttö, Hungary

This study provides a detailed geochemical record of the well-studied and complete key loess-paleosol sequence (LPS) Süttö covering the time period from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 to MIS 2. It is situated in the northwestern Carpathian Basin at the transition between oceanic and continental climate. We investigate weathering intensity, dust source changes and sediment recycling by high-resolution X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scanning of discrete samples in comparison with quantitative XRF and other already published proxy data such as grain-size, magnetic susceptibility and micromorphology. Based on eleven elements, we establish a high-resolution chemostratigraphy of a Hungarian LPS for the first time. Chemostratigraphy together with principal component and biplot analyses reveal pedogenesis and grain-size as main drivers influencing the elemental composition. However, there is no indication of K-weathering pointing to arid continental paleoenvironmental conditions throughout the last glacial-/interglacial cycle. The weathering-inert elements Al, Ti and Zr indicate Zr addition and thus sediment recycling being strongest during MIS 6. Since correlation analysis rules out grain-size as predominant factor affecting Zr dynamics and since no evidence exists for a dominant input from dust sources other than the adjacent Danube floodplain, the distance to floodplain controls Zr addition. In contrast to a change in horizontal distance, we suggest an increase in vertical distance. We hypothesize that the decrease of Zr addition towards the top of the sequence is a result of tectonic uplift by approximately 70 m of the LPS Süttö since MIS 6. Hence, the vertical rather than the horizontal distance to the floodplain is archived in the LPS Süttö. In conclusion, our study highlights how high-resolution qualitative geochemical data contributes to a better understanding of paleoenvironmental and sedimentation dynamics at LPS in general.