An examination of the pebbly sediments of the Visegrád Gorge area, with special attention to their significance for the division of the morphostratigraphy of the Danube terrace systems

Abstract

The morphostratigraphical subdivision of the Danube terrace system of the Visegrad Gorge was presented by PÉCSI (1959). However, in recent decades new studies have revealed some problems with this earlier model. The appearance of the gravel sediments in the high level terraces (V–VIII) is not continuous, and thus the morphostratigraphical position of the terrace level cannot be followed clearly. Consequently, for the correlation of the terrace levels a detailed analysis of the overlaying bed of the gravel horizon is necessary in order to reach more convencing conclusions. A litho stratigraphical description of the overlying sequences and the identification of the lithologically unique, or rare gravel components of the marker sediments, could provide more accurate information about the separation and correlation of the different terrace levels. During the investigation which is the subject of this paper, an interpretation of the geomorphological features of the area using field and digital elevation methods was carried out. Furthermore, the stratigraphic description of overlaying sediments and the fine-grained pebble examination (FPE) method were applied to get more information about the morphostratigraphical position of the high level terrace systems.