A ride through the Quaternary Geology of Vienna on the U1 - a journey through time
Abstract
Currently Vienna's subway line U1 is being extended towards the south. From the station Reumannplatz, the planned line runs towards the south following a course below Favoritenstrasse towards the new stations Troststraße and Altes Landgut. The line runs up to 25m below surface and cuts through a succession of geological units. The base is formed by sediments from the Neogene which are covered by sediments of the Quaternary. These sediments are associated with fluvial terraces, which were predominantly formed by the Danube in the past. Currently a relative chronology for the formation of these terraces which form the landscape surface of Vienna exists, however, a numerical (absolute) chronology is still missing. With access to undisturbed sediments usually being very limited within the cityscyape of Vienna, the construction of the U1 offers a unique opportunity to take samples for numerical dating along a transect through a complex sedimentary succession of the Quaternary, and to promote new insight into the lansdscape history of Vienna. By applying physical dating methods, depositional ages can be determined for the sediments. In the project two independent dating methods will be applied: optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating, and burial age dating using cosmogenic nuclides. The aim of the project is to establish a terrace chronology for the cityscape of Vienna which will for the first time be based on results from numerical dating techniques. This may also contribute to the question if and when a tectonical displacement of the terrace bodies may have happened throughout the Quaternary.
keywords Vienna Danube Terraces optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating cosmogenic nuclides
Publikationen
Project staff
Christopher Lüthgens
Assoc. Prof. Priv.-Doz. Dr. Christopher Lüthgens
christopher.luethgens@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-87213
Project Leader
01.12.2014 - 30.11.2016