Ferenc Schweitzer

Geomorphological mapping of landslides in Hungary with a case study on mapping Danubian bluffs

Abstract Mapping of landslides as a specialized branch of engineering geomorphological mapping aims at providing comprehensive information on landslides for planning and forecasting purposes revealing the role of the main factors controlling the processes. Mapping projects involve survey, inventory, evaluation and mapping of landslides at different scales. A case study dealing with landslide mapping along the Danube loess bluffs provides an understanding of the mapping concept and presents some conclusions on the influencing factors of mass movements.

Paleoenvironments reconstructed from the analyses of loess sequences on Susak Island, Adriatic Sea

Susak Island is the outermost member of the archipelago of the Kvarner Bay, North Adriatic Sea, Croatia. Its long-term landscape evolution is defined by tectonic movements. Most characteristic are partly exhumed landforms of an ancient terrane (scarps, uplifted limestone cliffs) in a still active neotectonic environment, but the most appropriate tools for the reconstruction of Quaternary paleoenvironments are loess and loess-like deposits. The Quaternary sequence is up to almost 100 m thickness locally and intensively studied by numerous disciplines (from structural geology to geochemistry and geomorphology) today. The special location of the island makes it a key area of research into the evolution of the broader environment, including the Po Plain as well as other Italian source areas of wind-borne and redeposited dust. The loess mantle was also of great importance for a paleoecological reconstruction of floral and faunal evolution, on which efforts of nature conservation are founded.

The surroundings and the age of the upper paleolithic site on Susak island

Our study investigates the paleoenvironmental conditions of an Upper Paleolithic site found in the excavation of the North Adriatic Susak Island. Our research explores the range of the loess and loesslike sediments deposited on rudist limestone which is the substratum of the island. We studied the Quaternary sediments by a coherent paleoenvironmental assessment method. The geomorphological and the various chronological analysis contribute significantly to the extension of our knowledge on the paleoenvironmental conditions of the Upper Paleolithic site (Radiocarbon age is 31,830 ±720 yr BP) on Susak Island.

Review on Denudation Levels of the Western Mecsek Mountains (Sw Transdanubia, Hungary)

A denudation level is a well-known and widely used concept to understand landform evolution, which became one of the benchmarks of geomorphology in the last century. But there is still a question: how can we use formerly described denudation levels to identify the main stages of surface development? The literature abounds in methods to measure the absolute age or determine the relative age of denudation levels, but these methods are expensive or cannot be used in the Western Mecsek Mountains due to the lack of correlative sediments. A revision of the established ages and origin of denudation levels based on the recent geomorphic theories is also needed. In this paper we revise the formerly published geomorphic maps as well as local and antiquated terminology on the denudation levels of the Western Mecsek Mountains, using classical geomorphic interpretation supported with GIS. Three denudation levels were mapped and their relative age was determined based on the comparison of their altitudinal relations and the revision of data from previously published papers. These denudation levels, even if reshaped, represent the Early to Late Miocene and Early Pleistocene phases of surface development. Therefore, the review of the relative age of denudation levels helps summarize our knowledge on the surface development in the Western Mecsek Mountains and it can be the base for further geomorphic studies. We expect these data will become a rich source of information to other researchers studying denudation levels of the Carpathians and the Carpathian Basin.