Bolesław Nowaczyk

Abstract

A considerable growth of interest in the problem of eolian phenomena in West-Central Poland could be traced in the course of the last decade. As a result, numerous papers dealing with this subject have been pu-blished. The growing interest has been followed by a broadening of the scope of problems under consideration. Whereas in previous publications morphological features of the dunes as well as the structural and textural features of their sands has been accentuated, the more recent works are rather concerned with problems of chronology of phases of intensive eolian activity leaving their marks not only in the relief, but also in the formation of cover deposits and the fossilization of Late Würm ice-wed-ges. Thanks to detail investigations in a large number of sites (Fig. 1) the relation between dune sands and peats has been established; in ad-dition, fossil soil appearing in dunes have been examined. The age of peats and fossil soils was determined by means of the pollen analysis, and in some sites archeological materials and radiocarbon 1 dating have also been used as age indicators.

The facts gathered allow for assuming that the main, climate-condi-tioned phases of eolian activity coincided with the Late Würm cold pe-riods. Eolian activity in Holocene, was limited in space, and not caused by climatic changes, but by man intervention in the geographical en-vironment.

Stefan Kozarski, Committee of Geographical Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences
Bolesław Nowaczyk, Department of Plant Taxonomy and Geography Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań
Karol Rotnicki, Quaternary Research Institute, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
Kazimierz Tobolski, Quaternary Research Institute, Adam Mickiewicz Universitety, Fredry 10, 61-701 Poznań. Poland