Short-term changes in a Saalian glacial lake – The Parchliny C site, central Poland

Abstract The paper discusses results of sedimentological, faunal (molluscs, ostracods) and geochemical studies of an 80-cm-thick rhythmite succession within a glaciolacustrine sequence (8–10 m in thickness) of the Ławki Formation exposed at the Parchliny C site, in the tectonically active Kleszczow Graben, central Poland. Sedimentological studies show the predominance of rhythmically deposited pale grey muds (2.0–7 cm thick) and black clays (0.5–5 cm thick). The pro-glacial sediments have yielded the first examples of Saalian molluscan and ostracod communities to be recorded from Europe and probably globally. The presence of a lake basin is confirmed by the freshwater species fauna: Candona neglecta , Cypridopsis vidua , Fabaeformiscandona protzi , Limnocythere inopinata , Limnocytherina sanctiparicii Cyclocypris laevis , Metacypris cordata (ostracods) and Anodonta cygnaea , Ancylus fluviatilis , Theodoxus fluviatilis , Bithynia tentaculata , Valvata piscinalis and Pisidium sp. (molluscs), suggestive of deposition during a period of colder climatic conditions, although some species might be indicative of a warmer period, resembling an interglacial. The whole section has a high carbonate content, up to several tens percent. The carbonates are enriched in the heavy isotope of oxygen. The isotopic composition of carbon and oxygen indicates two stages of lake development. The transition of the lake from a hydrologically open to a closed system with significant evaporation has been reconstructed from correlation of δ 13 C and δ 18 O. Sedimentological, faunal (molluscs, ostracods) and stable-isotope studies of the Saalian Ławki Formation have revealed an important snapshot – a 14-year record in the hydrological transformation of this specific pro-glacial lake system.