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Abundant bog oak trunks occur in alluvial deposits of the Raba River in the village of Targowisko (southern Poland). Several of them contain galleries of the great capricorn beetle (Cerambyx cerdo L.). A well-preserved subfossil larva and pupa, as well as adults of this species, are concealed in some of the galleries. These galleries co-occur with boring galleries of other insects such as ship-timber beetles (Lymexylidae) and metallic wood borers (Buprestidae). A dry larva of a stag beetle (Lucanidae) and a mite (Acari) have been found in the C. cerdo galleries. Selected samples of the trunks and a sample of the C. cerdo larva were dated, using radiocarbon and dendrochronological methods, to the period from 45 BC to AD 554; one sample was dated to the period from 799 to 700 BC. Accumulation of the channel alluvia containing the bog oak trunks is synchronous with the Roman Warm Period (late antiquity/Early Mediaeval times). The most recent part of this period correlates with massive accumulations of fallen oak trunks noted from various river valleys in the Carpathian region and dated to AD 450-570. The results indicate that C. cerdo was more abundant within the study area during the Roman Warm Period than it is today.

This case study from the renowned Demänová Cave System in the Carpathians of Slovakia demonstrates that the conventional methods of fluvial sedimentology, combined with an allostratigraphic mapping and speleothem U‐series isotopic dating, can give unprecedented insights into the hydrological history of underground karst conduit. The deposits studied are a relic compound sidebar ranging from gravel to mud and encapsulating the conduit's hydrological history from the middle Pleistocene to the present time. A succession of 10 allostratigraphic units, time‐constrained by speleothems, are recognized in the sidebar deposits, and the corresponding morphodynamics of an evolving cave‐floor sedimentation are reconstructed in considerable detail. The subterranean river water stages recognized from the deposits, time‐constrained by flowstone layers and stalagmites, correlate with and add to the regional record of climate changes. Two distinct episodes of flow ponding (high‐stage slackwater conditions) are recognized and attributed to the independently documented downstream cave‐roof collapses, probably triggered by the Carpathian post‐orogenic earthquakes. This multidisciplinary study may serve as a useful methodological guide for the analysis of fluviokarstic deposits in speleological research and reconstruction of their hosting cave hydrological history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two speleothems from the Demänova Cave of Liberty, located in the Low Tatras in Slovakia, were studied in detail. Age-depth modelling based on U-series dating allowed us to constrain the growth period for both speleothems to between approximately 375 and 157 ka. Based on a multiproxy approach, it was possible to identify periods with dominant warm climatic conditions, which enabled long and continuous speleothem growth during most of the marine isotope stage (MIS) 9 and in MIS 7c. Unfavourable for speleothem growth climate included glacial conditions, such as in MIS 10 or MIS 8, and periods connected with diminished rainfall or lower temperature such as in MIS 9b, MIS 7e or MIS 7b. The growth interruptions of the speleothems are related to maximum glacial episodes like in MIS 10a and late MIS 6, or were connected with a decrease in rainfall in MIS 9a and cold, harsh climate conditions in MIS 7d. The obtained records suggest relatively mild glacial periods (MIS 8 and MIS 10) and warm interglacial periods (MIS 9 and MIS 7) enabling long periods of speleothem growth. Gathered results indicate a large diversity of climate conditions during MIS 7, with atypical MIS 7d major stadial occurring within the interglacial complex. Compared records also showed the important role of local factors and changes in the alimentation area, which affected the isotopic composition of speleothem and may cause significant differences in the isotope records from the same cave system, especially during intense climate changes. • A history of climatic changes from two Low Tatras speleothems. • Stable isotope and trace element records covering the MIS 11a – MIS 6c period. • The climate conditions of MIS 10, MIS 8 and MIS 6 enable speleothem growth. • A large diversity of paleoclimate conditions during MIS 7 was recorded in speleothem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We synthesize information on results and age of cave sediments from Slovenia. The studied sites were mostly from the Classical Karst which is situated in the NW part of Dinarides and some from the Slovenian Southern Alps. Protected in caves, sediments are generally well preserved and reveal an exceptionally good, multi-proxy record of surface environmental conditions at the time of their deposition. Here we describe results of the systematic acquisition of palaeomagnetic data within individual segments of studied sediment sections with special focus on relict and unroofed caves. In intervals with polarity change, the frequency of sampling was so high that almost continuous records of rockmagnetic and palaeomagnetic parameters were obtained. The construction of high-resolution magnetostratigraphic profile supported magnetostratigraphy correlations among profiles. Palaeomagnetic and magnetostratigraphy results were calibrated by relative, numerical, calibrated and correlated dating methods, where possible. Age sequences were compiled from spatially and temporally highly discontinuous sediment records covering different ages within the Cenozoic era. The robust chronology was constructed. Calibrated data contributed to the interpretation of speleogenesis, deposition mechanism in caves, and indirectly to the time of karst evolution and the succession of tectonic phases and climate changes. The research indicated that most of sediments in relict and unroofed caves are up to 5 Ma old which contrasts to the traditional concept of Pleistocene age of cave sediments and that caves themselves are not much older. Cave sediments have proven to be an important source of information on depositional style in caves which indirectly reflected the evolution of the surrounding landscape especially the evolution of catchment areas – i.e. climatic changes with flood events or/and changes of the tectonic regimes during Cenozoic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]