Uranium Series Dating of some Speleothems from Romanian Caves

In order to test the potential for Uranium-series disequilibrium dating of speleothems in Romania, nine dating analyses were performed on eight samples from various caves in Apuseni Mountains and Dobrogea. Low to moderate uranium concentrations, good chemical yields, and few samples with significant 232Th contamination, provided reliable data in most cases. The dates range between 22 kyr up to 188 kyr, which is in general accordance with speleotheme chronozones known from other areas, and with known periods of ameliorated climates during the upper Pleistocene. These preliminary dates also provide erosion rate estimates for fluvial valley incision of 0.5 to 0.6 m/kyr in the Crisul Repede basin. Attempts to date a hominid footprint from Vârtop Glacier cave, suggest so far a maximum age of about 22 kyr