Drilling into a deep buried valley (ICDP DOVE): a 252 m long sediment succession from a glacial overdeepening in northwestern Switzerland
Sebastian Schaller
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Geological Sciences, Universität Bern, Baltzerstr. 1+3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, Universität Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Marius W. Buechi
Institute of Geological Sciences, Universität Bern, Baltzerstr. 1+3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, Universität Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Bennet Schuster
Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacher Str. 4, 79106 Freiburg, Germany
Institute of Geological Sciences, Universität Bern, Baltzerstr. 1+3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, Universität Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Flavio S. Anselmetti
Institute of Geological Sciences, Universität Bern, Baltzerstr. 1+3, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, Universität Bern, Hochschulstrasse 4, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
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Kirsty E. H. Penkman, Nigel Thew, Sam Greeves, Sheila Taylor, Ellie Nelson, Daniel Kälin, Marius Buechi, and Gaudenz Deplazes
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.31223/X57700, https://doi.org/10.31223/X57700, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geochronology (GChron).
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A range of fossil biominerals are dated by amino acid geochronology, providing the first aminostratigraphies covering the Quaternary of the Swiss Plateau (lowland Switzerland north-west of the Central Alps). This study shows that two novel biominerals (slug plates and worm granules) exhibit useful age information. Coupled with biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic data, these pilot aminostratigraphies provide coherent age information to better understand the Pleistocene in Switzerland.
Bennet Schuster, Lukas Gegg, Sebastian Schaller, Marius W. Buechi, David C. Tanner, Ulrike Wielandt-Schuster, Flavio S. Anselmetti, and Frank Preusser
Sci. Dril., 33, 191–206, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-33-191-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-33-191-2024, 2024
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The Tannwald Basin, explored by drilling and formed by repeated advances of the Rhine Glacier, reveals key geological insights. Ice-contact sediments and evidence of deformation highlight gravitational and glaciotectonic processes. ICDP DOVE 5068_1_C core data define lithofacies associations, reflecting basin infill cycles, marking at least three distinct glacial advances. Integrating these findings aids understanding the broader glacial evolution of the Lake Constance amphitheater.
Rodrigo Martínez-Abarca, Michelle Abstein, Frederik Schenk, David Hodell, Philipp Hoelzmann, Mark Brenner, Steffen Kutterolf, Sergio Cohuo, Laura Macario-González, Mona Stockhecke, Jason Curtis, Flavio S. Anselmetti, Daniel Ariztegui, Thomas Guilderson, Alexander Correa-Metrio, Thorsten Bauersachs, Liseth Pérez, and Antje Schwalb
Clim. Past, 19, 1409–1434, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1409-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1409-2023, 2023
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Lake Petén Itzá, northern Guatemala, is one of the oldest lakes in the northern Neotropics. In this study, we analyzed geochemical and mineralogical data to decipher the hydrological response of the lake to climate and environmental changes between 59 and 15 cal ka BP. We also compare the response of Petén Itzá with other regional records to discern the possible climate forcings that influenced them. Short-term climate oscillations such as Greenland interstadials and stadials are also detected.
Flavio S. Anselmetti, Milos Bavec, Christian Crouzet, Markus Fiebig, Gerald Gabriel, Frank Preusser, Cesare Ravazzi, and DOVE scientific team
Sci. Dril., 31, 51–70, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-31-51-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/sd-31-51-2022, 2022
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Previous glaciations eroded below the ice deep valleys in the Alpine foreland, which, with their sedimentary fillings, witness the timing and extent of these glacial advance–retreat cycles. Drilling such sedimentary sequences will thus provide well-needed evidence in order to reconstruct the (a)synchronicity of past ice advances in a trans-Alpine perspective. Eventually these data will document how the Alpine foreland was shaped and how the paleoclimate patterns varied along and across the Alps.
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Short summary
In the frame of the DOVE (Drilling Overdeepened Alpine Valleys) project and with the support of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), we drilled and recovered a 252 m long sediment core from the Basadingen Through. The Basadingen Trough, once eroded by the Rhine glacier during several ice ages, reaches over 300 m under the modern landscape. The sedimentary filling represents a precious scientific archive for understanding and reconstructing past glaciations.
In the frame of the DOVE (Drilling Overdeepened Alpine Valleys) project and with the support of...

