The Late Weichselian Abandonment of the Rhine Branches in the Apex of the Rhine-Meuse Delta (Germany) Based on Heavy Mineral Analysis and Luminescence Dating.

During the Weichselian (MIS 4-2) the Rhine entered the Netherlands through three different branches, the southern course was through the Niers-Rhine and the northern branch through the Oude IJssel valley. This study focuses on the fluvial development of the Oude IJssel Rhine course on the Eastern Netherlands/German border. The aim of the study was to find the causes of abandonment of the Niers-Rhine and the Oude IJssel courses at the timing of the Last Glacial-Interglacial transition (LGIT) (15,000-10,000 14C yr) BP. Based on palynological and heavy mineral analysis three main fluvial systems were identified that became abandoned during the Last Glacial. The combination of climate and vegetation changes at the LGIT allowed for complex channel architecture resembling the NT3 and NT2 channels that was greatly influenced by dune development. The Oude IJssel and Niers valley were thought to have been infilled after the Younger Dryas (13,000-11,000 yr BP) with the timing of abandonment shortly before the Holocene (MIS 1)