Geomorphology 301 (2018) 39–52

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Discovery of a landscape-wide drape of late-glacial aeolian silt in thewestern Northern Calcareous Alps (Austria): First resultsand implications

Charlotte Gild a, Clemens Geitner a, Diethard Sanders b,⁎a Institute of Geography, University of Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austriab Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria

⁎ Corresponding author.E-mail address: Diethard.G.Sanders@uibk.ac.at (D. San

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.10.0250169-555X/© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

a b s t r a c t

a r t i c l e i n f o

Article history:Received 21 March 2017Received in revised form 24 October 2017Accepted 25 October 2017Available online 27 October 2017

Aeolian deposits record palaeoenvironmental conditions and may coin soil properties. Whereas periglacial loessis extensively investigated for ~200 years, the study of the intramontanewind-blowndeposits of theAlps has juststuttered along. Herein, we describe a drape of polymictic siliciclastic silt interpreted as an aeolian deposit thatveneers extensive areas in the western Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA), from kames terraces near valley floorsup to last-glacial nunataks.The NCA— part of the Eastern Alps mountain range— consist mainly of Triassic carbonate rocks; these are over-lain by deposits of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and its deglacial-paraglacial aftermath (e.g., glacial tills,fluvio-lacustrine successions, alluvial fans, scree slopes)— and a regional drape of polymictic silt newly describedherein. The drape is typically a few decimeters in thickness and slightly modified by soil formation; it consistsmainly of well-sorted silt of quartz, feldspars, phyllosilicates (muscovite, chlorite, biotite), amphiboles and,rarely, calcite or dolomite. The drape is unrelated to the substrate: it overlies carbonate bedrock and — in lateralcontinuity — abandoned deposystems such as colluvial slopes of redeposited till, kames, alluvial fans, screeslopes, and rock avalanche deposits. The drape was spotted from near the present valley floors up to LGMnunataks, over a vertical range of some 2000 m; it is also present in catchments of the NCA that were notoverridden by far-travelled ice streams and that lack metamorphic rock fragments. Two OSL quartz ages of thedrape from two distinct locations (18.77± 1.55 ka; 17.81± 1.68 ka) fall into the early Alpine late-glacial intervalshortly after the collapse of pleniglacial ice streams; this fits with geological and geomorphological evidence,respectively, that the drape should be of early late-glacial age, and that it accumulated during a specific intervalof time.In the NCA, localized minor deposition of aeolian dust is documented — by other authors — from plateausdeglaciated only during the late-glacial to Holocene; no evidence, however, exists for another phase of similarlywidespread aeolian deposition such as that which gave rise to the described regional drape of silt. Intense aeoliantransport and deposition was probably a direct consequence of the liberation of huge amounts of unsortedsediment during deglacial ice collapse, perhaps combined with climatic aridification. This provides a hithertounappreciated element of the deglacial to paraglacial phase: intramontane dust storms. Because of its largeextent and the availability to OSL dating, the aeolian drape provides an excellent geochronological markerlevel identified in terrestrial post-glacial successions of the Eastern Alps. Because of its fine-grained siliciclasticcomposition, the drape gives rise to widespread development of atypical Cambisols (on carbonate bedrocks)with comparatively high water storage capacity and nutrient supply.

© 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords:AlpsLoessQuaternaryLate-glacial

1. Introduction

In the Quaternary, intervals of loess are widespread on continentsand larger islands subject to glacial-interglacial cycles (e.g., Brunnacker,1974; Zhongli et al., 1992; Dearing et al., 1996; Frechen, 1999; Antoine

ders).

et al., 2001; Forman and Pierson, 2002; Little et al., 2002; Chlachula,2003; Rutter et al., 2003; Zárate, 2003; Kehl et al., 2005; Heil et al.,2010; Hughes et al., 2010; Ma et al., 2013; Nottebaum et al., 2014;Klasen et al., 2016), and provide palaeoenvironmental information overa wide range of scales in space and time (e.g., Zhongli et al., 1992;Dearing et al., 1996; Little et al., 2002; Muhs et al., 2003; Iriondo andKröhling, 2007; Vriend et al., 2011; Wolfe, 2013; Lehmkuhl et al., 2014;

40 C. Gild et al. / Geomorphology 301 (2018) 39–52

Nottebaum et al., 2014; Cremaschi et al., 2015; Stauch, 2015; Borettoet al., 2017).

Loess records an important component of the (palaeo-)environment:dust-laden storms of sufficient sediment load and/or frequency toleave a geologically preservable interval of wind-transported sediment(e.g., Koster, 1988; Frechen et al., 2003; Iriondo and Kröhling, 2007;Smalley et al., 2011; Sprafke and Obreht, 2015). Because aeolian depositsare available to numerical age dating with the luminescence methodsthey can provide, both, environmental and geochronological information(e.g., Ding et al., 1997; Arimoto, 2001; Vriend et al., 2011; Lehmkuhlet al., 2000, 2014; Roberts, 2008; Stauch, 2015). Except for base-levelchanges imparted by tectonism or mass-wasting, in mountain rangessubject to glacial-interglacial cycles, practically all of the sedimentationand erosion is directly or indirectly linked to climate. Within a mountainrange, over glacial-interglacial cycles, two major phases of sedimentaccumulation and geomorphic change are identified: (a) proglacialsedimentation, such as in valleys blocked by advancing ice streams,and (b) deglacial to paraglacial sedimentation during to shortly aftermelting of glacial icestreams (e.g., Church and Ryder, 1972; Van Husen,1999; Meigs et al., 2006; Ostermann et al., 2006; Reitner, 2007;Sanders and Ostermann, 2011; Reitner et al., 2016). Subsequent to thedeglacial-paraglacial sedimentation pulse, the pace of geomorphic

Fig. 1. (A) Position of EuropeanAlps in Europe. (B)Gross geological subdivision into Eastern,WeAlps (modified from Schmid et al., 2004) showing thewider environs of Innsbruck city, and the ptotal area of inspected locations (see also subfigure E). (D) Map of Southern and Eastern Alps dshows the total area of inspected locations.

change diminishes, and the regime is typically characterized by slowerredeposition and erosional incision (e.g., Hinderer, 2001; Ballantyne,2002; Orwin and Smart, 2004; Sanders, 2012).

In the Eastern Alps of Europe (Fig. 1), rapid collapse of last-glacialice masses from ~21 ka to ~19 ka exposed trunk valleys and lower-positioned tributaries to deglacial-paraglacial sedimentation (Fig. 2)(see Auer et al., 2014, for summary). Because of very high rates of sedi-ment dispersal, no soils or other levels suited for numerical age datingaccumulated. The patterns of early post-glacial intramontane sedimen-tation, and its relation to late-Glacial to Holocene land surface changes,are thus hardly resolved to date. In addition, the subdivision of theAlpine late-glacial into an orderly succession of glacial advances andretreats — since Penck and Brückner (1909) — became controversial(see Reitner et al., 2016; Moran et al., 2016). In brief, except forexposure-dated moraines, the late-glacial terrestrial record of the Alpsis poorly resolved with respect to chronology.

Over the past two years, in the western Northern Calcareous Alps(NCA), we have systematically field targeted a polymineralic siliciclasticdrape typically a few decimeters in thickness (Figs. 1, 2 and 3).The drape veneers truncated bedrocks and — locally in exposed lateralcontinuity — abandoned late-glacial deposystems such as kames,redeposited till, scree slopes, alluvial fans, and rock avalanches (see

stern, and SouthernAlps, respectively. (C) Part of geologicalmapof the central sector of theosition of theNorthern Calcareous Alps (NCA).White dashed area in theNCA indicates theuring the Last Glacial Maximum (modified from Ehlers, 2011, his Fig. 2.8). The red shade

Fig. 2. Peak glacial to early Holocene climatic history of the Austrian Alps, relative to NGRIP δ18O record (modified from Auer et al., 2014). OSL quartz ages of the siliciclastic silt drapefrom two locations are shown with their 2 sigma standard deviation. Blue: local glacial advances (“stadials”) during the late-glacial interval in the central part of the Eastern Alps.

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below) (Gild et al., 2016, 2017; Albertus, 2016). The drape was spottedfrom near the levels of the present trunk valleys up to LGM nunatakplateaus (Gild et al., 2016). In the present paper the geomorphologicaland depositional contexts as well as the sediment characteristics(grain size distribution, mineralogy, grain shapes) of the drape aredescribed and interpreted. Based on two quartz OSL ages, integratedwith sedimentologic-geomorphological evidence, we interpret thedrape as a regional intramontane aeolian sediment that accumulat-ed during to shortly after decay of the pleniglacial ice cover of theEastern Alps. This adds a new and hitherto unidentified element tothe palaeoclimatology of the deglacial to early paraglacial interval,i.e., dust storms. For the post-last glacial terrestrial record of the Alps,the drape provides the first ever regional land-based horizon suitedfor geochronologic dating.

2. Setting

The Eastern Alps originated during Cretaceous to Paleogene con-vergence between the Adriatic microcontinent in the South and anoceanic seaway and the southern margin of Meso-Europa to theNorth (e.g., Schmid et al., 2004). The present Eastern Alps consist of(a) a W-E striking northern range dominated by carbonate rocks(Northern Calcareous Alps, NCA), separated by W-E to ENE-WSWstriking trunk valleys from (b) the Central Alps that consist mainlyof metamorphites (Figs. 1 and 3). The trunk valleys, in turn, arelinked to the orogenic crestline along the Central Alps via N-S

striking valleys up to a few tens of kilometers in length (Fig. 3). Inthe western NCA considered herein, the two landscape-formingstratigraphic units comprise: (1) the Middle to Upper TriassicWetterstein Formation, up to 1200 m in thickness, and composedof limestones of fore-reef to tidal-flat environments, and (2) theUpper Triassic Hauptdolomit unit, a succession up to N2000 mthick of lagoonal to tidal-flat dolostones (Tollmann, 1976). Intervalswith siliciclastics are thin and provided décollement levels forthrusting (Eisbacher and Brandner, 1996).

During the Quaternary, the Eastern Alps were subject to at least fourmajor glaciations (Van Husen and Reitner, 2011). Because most ofthe larger Eastern-Alpine glacial ice streams had rooted in the CentralAlps (Fig. 1B), in Quaternary deposits of the NCA, metamorphic rockfragments are derived from glacial drift of ice streams. In the westernNCA, the ice streams from the catchments of the Inn and Lech rivers,respectively, were largest. The drift of the Inn ice stream is characterizedby metamorphites such as orthogneiss with greenish sericitized feld-spar and diverse types of greenstones (Mutschlechner, 1948). The Innice stream had overtopped or partly invaded many valleys of the NCA;in this case, the corresponding Quaternary deposits consist of NCA-derived carbonate-rock clasts mixed with clasts of metamorphites andother rocks picked up along the route of the ice stream. Larger catch-ments of the NCA rooted in high-positioned groups of cirques, andcatchments offstream the Inn glacier, however, are devoid of metamor-phic rock fragments also in their pleniglacial deposits; in other words,these valleys or valley systems had their own glaciers large enough to

Fig. 3. Overview of locations positively checked for the aeolian drape. The locations range from 595m a.s.l. to 2592m a.s.l. in altitude, a range of ~2000 m of topographic relief. The drapewas consistently identified also on nunatak plateaus of the Last GlacialMaximum (LGM). For areas below the LGMupper ice limit, the largest lateral continuity of the drapewithin a singleoutcrop documented so far is 600m (see Fig. 5). Samples for optically-stimulated luminescence dating of the aeolian sediment were taken at location #3 (Lab ID L012/2: 18.77± 1.55 ka)and from location #15 (Lab ID L012/1: 17.81 ± 1.68 ka).

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block off an intrusion of far-travelled Inn ice (Mutschlechner, 1948; VanHusen, 1987; Reitner, 2011).

In the Eastern Alps, the LGM lasted from ~26 ka to ~21 ka; at thattime, except for nunatak plateaus and crests, the entire western NCAof interest herein were covered by ice (Fig. 1B). Geomorphologicalcriteria, mapping of the presence/absence of clasts of metamorphicrocks, and glacial mass budgets together indicate peak glacial ice thick-nesses of 1000–1800 m in the NCA (Van Husen, 1987). For the presentpaper, two ice streams are pertinent, (a) the Isar-Loisach glacier, and(b) the Zillertal-Inn glacier. For the Isar-Loisach glacier, 10Be exposureages suggest an age of terminal moraine stabilization of 17.6 ± 0.8 ka(outer moraine) and 17.3 ± 0.7 ka (inner moraine) (Ivy-Ochs et al.,2008). For the Zillertal-Inn ice stream, at the locationWasserburg shortlyinboard of the terminal moraine, 14C dating of wood in fluvioglacialdeposits beneath the last-glacial till indicates an age of 25.7–31.2 ka(Habbe et al., 1996, cit. in Ivy-Ochs et al., 2008, p. 565).

On from~21 ka, the ice streams stagnated, and rapidmelting started.There is evidence for a roughly synchronous decay of the Zillertalice dome of the Central Alps and the piedmont glaciers in the northernforeland: while in the foreland, glacier melting started soon after 19 ka,for the Zillertal ice accumulation center, and exposure ages indicate astart of melting at 18.6± 1.4 ka (Wirsig et al., 2016). The LGM ice accu-mulation centres drastically shrank within, at most, some 2000 years(Fig. 2); the rapid melting of glacial ice was probably supported byclimatic aridification (Luetscher et al., 2015). Exposure ages furtherindicate that, in the Central Alps near the crestline of the orogen, rem-nant ice caps persisted until the start of the Bölling-Alleröd interstadial(Wirsig et al., 2016). OSL dating of proglacial deposits in the lower Innvalley indicates that at least this area was free of ice at ~19 ka (Klasen

et al., 2007). All numerical ages available so far indicate that the degla-ciation of inner-Alpine valleys was completed at ~18 ka (cf. Klasenet al., 2007; Ivy-Ochs et al., 2008). Subsequent to the collapse of thepleniglacial ice, during the late-glacial chron (~19 ka to 11.7 ka), valleyglaciers repeatedly advanced during relative coolings (Fig. 2). In theEastern Alps, on from 14.6 ka b2k, when amarkedwarming is recorded,an interstadial (Bölling-Alleröd) followed by the Younger Dryas stadialare well-identifiable (Fig. 2).

As mentioned, during the ice collapse, huge amounts of sedimentwere liberated from both decaying ice streams and mountain flanks,and were stored in thick scree-slope, alluvial-fan, and aggraded valley-bottom successions, respectively. Unfortunately, to date the pace ofdeglacial-paraglacial sedimentation, and a potential continuation ofintense sedimentation (or phases of intensified sedimentation) fartherinto the late-glacial chron, could not be estimated quantitatively dueto the absence of time markers. The qualitative evidence from relative(geomorphic) dating of landforms, and semi-quantitative evidencefrom age-dating of diagenetic cements in post-glacial deposits, however,indicate that most deposystems located in relatively low to intermediatealtitude became abandoned and at least sparsely vegetated quite earlyafter deglaciation, and/or subject to erosion ever since (Sanders et al.,2009; Sanders and Ostermann, 2011; Sanders, 2012).

3. Methods, definitions

The aeolian drape was targeted in the field by systematic surveys.The survey is based on assessment of geological maps combinedwith: (a) inspection of geomorphic features in laserscan orthoimagery(https://portal.tirol.gv.at/weboffice/tirisMaps) and (b) the

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reconstruction of pleniglacial ice levels and nunatak plateaus of VanHusen (1987). To date, a total of 32 locations distributed over the west-ern NCA have been checked positively for the drape (Fig. 3). Locationsranged from 595 m a.s.l. to 2589 m a.s.l., i.e., locations with a drapeof polymictic siliciclastic silt were identified over an altitude range ofroughly 2000 m. Where found, the drape was excavated in order tolog a vertical section and to sample the sediment.

Laser diffraction granulometry: The grain-size distribution of sedi-ments was determined by sieving and by laser diffraction. For laserdiffraction grain size measurements, a Malvern Mastersizer 2000®was used with a detection range of 0.02–2000 μm. Approximately 1 gof samplewas stirred in 20ml of Aqua Bidest. No difference inmeasure-ment results was observed with respect to time between wetting andsuspension and measurement; the same results were obtained for1 week, 3 days, 1 day, 2 h and 60min of rest after suspension. Measure-ments were made with a red He-Ne laser (wave length 0.632 μm) andwith blue light (wave length 0.466 μm). Each sample suspension wasmeasured 18 times, subdivided into packages of three measurementseach (=six packages in total). Each packagewas immediately precededby an ultrasonic impulse 60 s in duration, to disaggregate potentialclumps offine grains. Automated calculation of the grain-size distributionwas based on Fraunhofer diffraction theory. The intensity of the diffractedlaser light was detected with 52 sensors, and with 1000 detections persecond.

X-ray powder diffractometry: To date, 65 samples have been analysedfor bulk mineralogical composition by X-ray powder diffractometry.Measurements were made on a Bruker-AXS D8 diffractometer withBragg-Brentano geometry (Theta-Theta arrangement), CuKα radiationat 40 kV/40 mA acceleration voltage, with parallel-beam optics andan energy-dispersive detector. Data were recorded between 2 and60° 2Theta, with a step size of 0.02° 2Theta and 4 s detecting time perstep. Phase identification was done with the program Eva.Ink and thePDF4 database 8.0.113 of ICDD; X-ray spectra were analysed with theprograms DIFFRAC PLUS (phase identification) and TOPAS (quantitativeassessment).

Backscattered electron microscopy: The shapes and surfaces of sedi-ment grains of selected samples were investigated using backscatteredelectron microscopy. For inspection, a small portion of dry sedimentwas scattered onto a chip of adhesive tape, and inserted unsputteredinto the SEM vacuum chamber. Electron microscopic inspection wasdone with a Digital Scanning Microscope JEOL JSM-5130LV in low-vacuum mode, at 25 kV acceleration voltage, a gun current of 5 μA,with a backscattered electron detector.

OSL dating: Two samples from two different sites were chosen foroptically-stimulated luminescence dating (OSL) of quartz. Sampleswere taken from freshly-excavated sections by hammering a steeltube of 4 × 4 cm inner width and 25 cm in length into the sediment.The samples were retrieved under careful observation and protectionfrom light incidence, and immediately thickly wrapped with blackadhesive tape. Themeasurementswere carried out in the LuminescenceLaboratory of the School of Geography and the Environment of theUniversity of Oxford (Oxford Lab ID: L012/1 and Lab ID L012/2).

The definition of loess has varied since the 1830s (see Smalleyand Leach, 1978; Pécsi, 1990; Pye, 1995; Smalley et al., 2001; Smithet al., 2002), but it is agreed that loess is an aeolian deposit mainlyof silt-sized particles (Muhs, 2013; Sprafke and Obreht, 2015). Here-in, we follow Muhs (2013, p. 149) who defines loess as an "Aeoliansilt thick enough to be recognizable in the field as a distinct sedimen-tary body." Note that this definition does not include statements on(i) the chronological position (e.g., glacial or interglacial) and timespan of deposition, (ii) lateral extent of the deposit, and (iii) the set-ting such as periglacial areas during glacials, or piedmont glacierforelands, or intramontane areas. To distinguish loess from wind-blown sand (most grains 0.05–2 mm in size) and to aerosolic dust(all grains smaller than 10 μm), Muhs (2013 p. 151) characterizesloess as consisting typically of 90–60% silt, with a potentially admixed

subordinate fraction of sand and/or clay. In terms of slope-depositterminology, the aeolian drape described hereunder is part of a“cover bed” succession as defined by Kleber and Terhorst (2013a,2013b, see also Kleber, 1990, 1992), or may comprise a single coverbed in itself.

4. Aeolian drape: description

4.1. Field appearance, distribution

In the field, the drape shows as a medium-brown level that, in byfar the most cases, is positioned directly under the vegetated organiclayer (Fig. 4A–D), more or less modified by soil formation. The drapeis typically between 0.2 and 0.5 m thick, but locally thickens to morethan 1 m. In the field, it appears as an interval of more-or-less homoge-neous well-sorted silt. To date, no primary sedimentary structures havebeen identified within; the drape appears unbedded and unlaminated.The drape is present irrespective of its substrate, i.e., it overlies bedrock,glacial till and redeposited till, alluvial deposits, scree and, in a few cases,deposits of catastrophic rock avalanches (Fig. 4A–D).Where continuousoutcrop or closely-spaced exposure allows us to identify it, a lateral con-tinuity of the drape across several types of substrate is seen (Fig. 5)(Albertus, 2016). The drape of siliciclastic silt also extensively veneerscatchments that were not invaded by the Inn ice stream (Fig. 6) andLGM nunatak plateaus (Figs. 3 and 4C); these areas are devoid ofpebbles ofmetamorphic rocks. The drape has been observed in outcropsnear the floor of the Inn valley (Fig. 5) to abandoned alluvial fans andscree slopes along tributary valleys (Fig. 6) up to LGM nunatak plateaus(Fig. 4C), over an altitude range of ~2000 m (Fig. 3). Our field searchesprogressively revealed a very large extent of the drape on deglaciatedrock surfaces and on top of paraglacial deposystems that becameinactive soon after deglaciation, and that allowed for accumulationof silt-sized deposits. In the case of inactive deposystems, in mostcases, lateral limitation of individual outcrops does not allow us toidentify the nature— depositional or erosional— of the contact betweenunderlying sediment and overlying drape. In a few cases, however, out-crops suggest that the drape veneers abandoned depositional surfaces(Fig. 4E, F) and/or surfaces of moderately deep erosional downcut(Figs. 5 and 6).

4.2. Grain size distribution, autochthony, bulk mineralogy

From sample locations near the floors of valleys up to LGM nuntaks,the drape shows closely similar, unimodal grain-size distributionsof well-sorted silt throughout (Fig. 7). The grain-size distribution curvesfurthermore indicate a significant content of very-fine and fine-grainedsand (62–250 μm); medium to coarse sand, in turn, comprises a smallfraction between nearly zero and b10 vol%. In addition, clay-sized parti-cles 4–0.4 μm in size comprise a sizeable fraction of the sediment(Fig. 7).

Downward from its unsharp top that is mixed with humus, thedrape of silt may be more-or-less densely penetrated by plant roots(Fig. 4A–D). The base of the drape in most cases is sharp relative tothe underlying deposits. Notably, at none of the locations investigatedso far, has any evidence for soil formation underneath the drape beenfound. At a few locations, in particular near the toe of steep slopes, thedrape interval may contain isolated floating lithoclasts or unsharply-delimited clast layers supported by matrix; in these latter cases,redeposition of drape material and mixing with foreign materials isindicated. At locations #2 and #19 (Fig. 3; see also Fig. 4F), togetherwith its host sediment, the drape is locally deformed into smallfold-like structures with an amplitude of up to a few decimeters(Hinterwirth, 2017; Niederstrasser, 2017). Commonly, however, thedrape does not show evidence of intense deformation of the entirelayer, and appears to be positioned more-or-less in situ.

Fig. 4. Details of silt drape in different settings. (A) Drape of polymictic silt (pS) directly on Triassic dolostone (Hauptdolomit unit, HD), 1242 m a.s.l., Location #6 in Fig. 3. (B) Drape ofpolymictic silt (pS) on 1496 m a.s.l. directly on bedrock hill of Triassic dolostone (Hauptdolomit unit, HD). Location #9 in Fig. 3. (C) Drape of brownish polymictic silt (white arrow) onLGM nunatak of Triassic limestone, 2080 m a.s.l. Inset shows that the drape here is locally nearly one meter in thickness. White dot: sample. Location #30 in Fig. 3. (D) Drape ofpolymictic silt (pS) directly above a rock-avalanche deposit (RD) of Triassic limestone (location on 880 m a.s.l.) An OSL quartz age from this drape yielded 18.77 ± 1.55 ka. Hu =Humus. Location #3 in Fig. 3. (E) Western part of large artificial outcrop containing the drape of polymictic silt. Redeposited LGM till [Dms(c)] is overlain by stratified and lithifiedredeposited till [Dms(c,l)] which, in turn, is veneered by the brownish drape of silt (pU; base stippled). The silt drape here is overlain by stratified scree that may correspond to thestratified scree Scc2 of Fig. 5. Location #15 in Fig. 3. (F) Gravel pit cut into an alluvial fan supplied from Triassic dolostones. The lower part A of the exposed succession is rich in clastsof metamorphic rocks. Part A is veneered by a drape of brownish siliciclastic silt (base stippled). The drape, in turn, is overlain by two distinct sedimentary packages B and C ofyounger alluvial fan deposits that are poor in clasts of metamorphites. Location #2 in Fig. 3.

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The drape consists mainly of quartz, feldspars, muscovite, chloriteand amphibole (Fig. 8); at a few locations near thefloor of the Inn valley,significant amounts of calcite and dolomite are present, too. Inspectionby backscattered electronmicroscopy shows that most grains are angu-lar with unabraded fracture surfaces. Only a subordinate grain fractionshows rounded edges, or is of subrounded shape. Some of the grainsalso display irregularly-pitted and honeycomb-like surfaces.

4.3. First OSL ages

At locations #15 and #3 (see Fig. 3), samples for quartz OSL datingwere taken. Location #15 is positioned ~90 m above the present floorof the Inn valley, i.e., a location that should have become abandoned

and vegetated early after ice collapse (Fig. 5). The OSL age from thislocation was 17.81 ± 1.68 ka (see Fig. 2). Location #3, in turn, is adrape of silt directly on top of a rock avalanche deposit (Fig. 4D). Forthis rock avalanche, the geomorphic context and radiocarbon dating ofthe washed and sieved bulk organic fraction of soil levels above therock-avalanche deposit indicated a late-glacial age of mass wasting(Sanders et al., 2016); the OSL sample, in turn, indicated an age of18.77 ± 1.55 ka (see Fig. 2) (Gild et al., 2017).

4.4. Siliciclastic drape within successions

Where the drape is absent at the surface, natural or artificialoutcrops locally expose an interval of brownish silt to fine sand within

Fig. 5. Eastern part of abandoned quarry in Triassic carbonate rocks, a few tens ofmeters above the bottom of the present Inn valley (location #15, Fig. 3). The Triassic rocks are overlain bysubglacial till and redeposited till of the Last GlacialMaximum. The redeposited till, in turn, is locally overlain by a thin scree-slope succession SCc1; this succession is veneeredby the drapeof aeolian silt (pU). A younger scree-slope succession SCc2 was important to preserve the aeolian drape. Note vertical exaggeration. Figure modified from Albertus (2016).

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successions of carbonate-lithic sediments (Fig. 4E and F). The meangrain size and composition of these “intercalated intervals” are identicalto the “topping drape” directly below the topsoil (cf. Fig. 8A and Eand F); in one case, a lateral continuity from “intercalated interval” to“topping drape” can be demonstrated in the outcrop (Figs. 4E and 5)(Albertus, 2016). The drape is absent in near-surface exposureswhereverdeposystems are still active, or arguably were active until late-glacial toHolocene times (cf. Fig. 4E and F) (Niederstrasser, 2017). For instance,mountain flanks in the NCA may be extensively veneered by the drape;higher up along the same slope, however, fossil post-glacial rock glaciers,in contrast, are unveneered. Similar observations can be made withrespect to scree slopes, alluvial fans as well as deposits of rockslides androck avalanches.

5. Interpretation

5.1. Sediment

The combined evidence indicates that the drape represents anaeolian deposit (loess) that veneers large areas of the NCA. Alternativeinterpretations may include: (1) the drape is a lag deposit from soil-induced chemical weathering of carbonate rocks or basal till (Interpre-tations A and B in Table 1), (2) the drape accumulated from meltoutof englacial-supraglacial till during ice collapse (Interpretation C inTable 1), or (3) it is a hillslope-colluvial deposit resulting from overlandflow over pleniglacial till (Interpretation D in Table 1). Ad (1): Theinsoluble residue of carbonate rocks of the NCA is dominated by illiteand smectite clays; other minerals that are common within the drape,such as feldspar, chlorite and amphibole, are absent (Solar, 1964;Kralik and Schramm, 1994; Küfmann, 2008); the mineralogical compo-sition, thus, contradicts chemical weathering. In addition, if the draperesulted from the dissolution of carbonate rocks, it should be absentwhere it does not directly overlie these rocks. If the drape resultedfrom chemical weathering of basal till, it should be rich in pebble-to cobble-sized clasts of metamorphic rocks (see Section 2 above);this is not the case. Ad (2): Similarly, if the drape resulted frommeltout

of englacial-supraglacial till during ice collapse, it should be anextremely-poorly sorted sediment rich in pebbles to boulders (cf.,e.g., Benn and Evans, 2010) of metamorphic rocks. Ad (3): Finally, forthe drape to result from colluvial winnowing of till, shallow and gentleoverland flowswere required to leave back the coarse grain-size fraction(sand to cobbles) of the till (cf., e.g., Hairsine et al., 1999; Buda, 2013; Linet al., 2017), to result in a sheet-like colluvial accumulation composedexclusively of silt down to more than a kilometer downslope. In viewof the lateral and vertical extent of the drape, similarly extensive lagsof glacial tills enriched in pebbles to cobbles of metamorphic rocksshould always be found higher upslope; this is not the case. In addition,a colluvial origin of the drape is precluded by: (i) its relatively constantthickness over large lateral and vertical distances, (ii) themorphologicalsituations it is found within, ranging from very steep slopes to the flattops of whalebacks and plateaus below the pleniglacial ice line, and(iii) the presence of the drape—with identical granulometric and min-eralogical characteristics — also on LGM nunataks (cf. Figs. 7 and 8).Conversely, the described geomorphological contexts, the stratigraphicassociations, and the compositional and granulometric characteristicsof the drape all indicate that it was initially deposited from fallout ofwind-blown dust (Interpretation E in Table 1, see Fig. 9).

The mineralogical composition of the drape indicates that at leastmost of the sedimentwas derived from source areas withmetamorphicrocks and/or with clastic material rich in fragments of metamorphicrocks. Potential source areas of the dust were thus the terrains of meta-morphic rocks of the Central Alps (cf. Figs. 1 and 3), and valleys flooredwith scarcely vegetated to unvegetated glacio-fluvial deposits richin metamorphic rock fragments. The widespread succession from(i) paraglacial deposystems below into (ii) the overlying aeolian drapeand organic layer above (see Fig. 4D–F, Figs. 5 and 6) suggests a specificenvironmental dynamics, including: (a) abandonment or intermittentinactivity of a deposystem to allow for accumulation of the silt drape,followed by (b) vegetation and cover of the drape by soil. Becauseunvegetated areas of unsorted debris are prone to aeolian blowout, arelease of sediment on a scale as large as during deglaciation mightgive rise to a local “autocyclic” succession from aqueous paraglacial

Fig. 6. Section at location #19 (see Fig. 3). The lower part consists of: (i) diamicts interpreted as waterlain till and lodgement till, and (ii) an interval of carbonate silt that probablyaccumulated in an ice-marginal lake. Above, a package of pebbly to cobbly deposits — locally lithified in its upper part — is interpreted as a paraglacial talus fan; at least in its earlystage, the talus may have been shed into the ice-marginal lake. The surface of the fan comprises the highest terrace of post-glacial deposits along the valley. A gentle erosional relief onthe fan surface is draped with a layer a few decimeters in thickness of polymictic siliciclastic silt.

46 C. Gild et al. / Geomorphology 301 (2018) 39–52

sedimentation (e.g., shedding of alluvial fans) to aeolian deposition.Two observations stand against this possibility. (1) In the NCA, thedeglacial to paraglacial deposits are overwhelmingly richer in

Fig. 7. Grain-size distribution of aeolian drape from different locations, measured by laserdiffractometry. Note: (a) unimodal distribution with all peaks in the silt-size range, and(b) a lower but consistent content of very fine to fine sand and clay-sized particles.

carbonate-lithic material of clay- to boulder-size grade than in meta-morphic rock fragments. If the aeolian drape resulted only from blow-out of local deglacial-paraglacial deposits, it should consist largely ofcarbonate grains; in addition, this hypothesis can hardly explain thesiliciclastic-dominated composition of the “intercalated drapes” that,in some cases at least, are laterally continuous into a drape on top(Figs. 4E and 5). (2) As mentioned, the siliciclastic silt drape is presentalso in areas of the NCA that were not overridden by LGM ice streamsand that are completely devoid of any clasts of metamorphites (exceptfor the drape) (Fig. 6). Together, this underscores that the dust was dis-persed by larger-scale meteorological processes that overrode orblurred site-related effects.

As described, at several locations, there is evidence for secondaryoverprint that affected the drape (e.g., folding, admixture of rock clasts).In principle, a wide spectrum of natural and human disturbances maypotentially modify or obliterate the drape (Table 2). Because of theprobable high age of the drape (Fig. 2), a part of the clay-sized sedimentfraction may result from pedogenic processes; in addition, howeversmall it is, it remains to be clarified how far the medium- to coarsesand sediment fraction results from primary deposition and/or wasmixed into the sediment by secondary processes.

Fig. 8. X-ray powder diffractograms of aeolian deposits from: (a) location #15, 605 m a.s.l., (b) location #20, 1491 m a.s.l. (draping a rock avalanche), (c) location #4, 2592 m a.s.l. (LGMnunatak), (d) location #30, 2090 m a.s.l. (LGM nunatak), (e) location #2, 955 m a.s.l., (f) location #24, 907 m a.s.l. (see Fig. 3 for locations). The drape is composed of quartz, feldspars,phyllosilicates (chlorite, micas), and an accessory amount of amphibole; no significant amount of clay minerals is identified. In addition, at location #15 (a) a low amount of calcite,and at location #2 (e) a low amount of dolomite is present, respectively. For each analysis, minerals are indicated in decreasing relative abundance. Quartz and, in most cases,phyllosilicates comprise by far the overriding fraction of the sediment.

47C. Gild et al. / Geomorphology 301 (2018) 39–52

5.2. Age

As described, along the lower boundary of the aeolian drape, noevidence of soil development was identified. This suggests that thedrape formed early after ice collapse, i.e., before sedimentation sloweddown sufficiently to allow soil to develop. This is supported by thetwo OSL quartz ages (18.77 ± 1.55 ka; 17.81 ± 1.68 ka) that both fallinto the early Alpine late-glacial (Fig. 2). Prior to the Bölling-Allerödinterstadial, soil development was feeble at best, perhaps confined topatches of sparse vegetation cover; yet only the Bölling-Allerödwas characterized by the spread of pioneer forests (Bortenschlager,1984, 2000) and more widespread soil development. Nevertheless,and in view of the few age data so far, it seems not completely excludedthat aeolian deposition perhaps resumed during the Heinrich-1 cooling(=Gschnitz-Senders stadials; cf. Fig. 2) and/or during the YoungerDryas. The time frame for widespread aeolian deposition in the NCAmay thus be constrained to: (i) a short end-member (from late icedecay to start of Heinrich-1, ca 19–17.5 ka b2k), and (ii) a long end-member (late ice decay to start of Bölling-Alleröd, ca 19–14.7 ka b2k)(cf. Fig. 2).

5.3. Sediment provenance and dispersal

The overall distribution of major rock types in the Eastern andSouthern Alps, respectively, leaves little doubt that most or all of thesiliciclastic material of the drape is derived from the Central Alps (partof the Eastern Alps) (see Figs. 1 and 3). The similar relative percentagesof grain-size classes in sediment samples ranging from locations nearvalley floors up to LGM nunataks (Fig. 7), as well as their similar miner-alogical composition (Fig. 8) indicate that the drape results from a “non-local” style of aeolian sediment dispersal. The type, or types, of windthat provided the required dust transport to deposit the loess drape isas yet elusive. Katabatic winds developed over valley-glaciers can en-train and transport silt; these winds, however, typically fade withinless than a kilometer when passing over non-glacierized surfaces.Even the very strong katabatic storms along the Greenlandand Antarctica ice sheets die out over 10–20 km beyond ice (Bullard,2013). In the Eastern Alps, a common type of wind is a southerlyfoehn that routinely attains strong gale to hurricane speed (e.g., Armiand Mayr, 2007); it typically occurs along the front of low-pressurecells approaching from the West to Southwest (e.g., Lothon et al.,

Table 1Decision matrix for interpretation of aeolian drape (AD). Note that, at all locations investigated so far, the only possible “local” source of siliciclastic material is from LGM glacial drift leftwithin proglacial deposits (outwash, lacustrine deposits), till, and reworked till and outwash such as kames.

Potential interpretation Required criteria Criteria fulfilled Conclusion, remarks

Interpretation AAD is chemical weatheringlag of underlying carbonaterocks

(1) AD is confined to direct contacts of topsoil withunderlying carbonate rocks

(1) No; AD is present also beyonddirect contact with carbonate rock

Interpretation A: rejectedIn this case, AD should consist only of clayminerals (mainly illites and smectites); wouldalso require dissolution of unrealistically largeamounts of carbonate rocks

Interpretation BAD accumulated from in-situweathering of LGM till

(1) AD always directly overlies LGM till orredeposited LGM till

(2) AD should always contain abundant pebbles tocobbles

(1) Rarely: yes; mostly: no

(2) No

Interpretation B: rejectedAd (2): Where AD contains a few floatinglithoclasts, this is interpreted as a result of latercreep and/or frost heave (see text)

Interpretation CAD is lag of fine-grainedsupraglacial/englacial driftmelted out during collapseof LGM ice stream

(1) AD always directly overlies LGM till, orsubglacially-redeposited LGM till

(2) AD is overlain by all younger deposits(3) AD is absent in areas where LGM till is

carbonate-lithic only

(1) No(2) No/yes cannot be tested

(limited outcrop)(3) No

Interpretation C: rejected

Interpretation DAD accumulated fromhillslope colluvium

(1) AD should strongly thicken downslope(2) AD should display layering or stratification(3) Siliciclastic source material (LGM till or

redeposited till-sourced material) must bepresent higher upslope

(4) Colluvial processes transported only thesilt-size sediment fraction

(5) Colluvial processes selectively winnowed thesiliciclastic sediment fraction, clay- to silt-sizedcarbonate sediment fraction was left back

(1) no(2) No(3) In a few cases: yes; mostly: no(4) Potentially possible only under

highly specialconditions of prolonged, gentleoverland flow overunvegetated/scarcely vegetatedterrain; impossible in case of slopessteeper than ~10–15°

(5) No such mineralogically selectivecolluvial process is known

Interpretation D: rejected

Interpretation EAD accumulated fromaeolian deposition

(1) AD is of ± constant thickness over lateral scaleof kilometers at least; thickness variations areminimal relative to other deposits

(2) AD is present over large range of altitude, presentalso on mountain ridges and LGM nunataks

(3) Except for very steep terrain (N35–40°), ADpresence is independent of slope dip

(4) AD overlies bare bedrock and a host of depositsexposed during time of AD deposition

(5) AD drapes — in roughly constant thickness —depositional/erosional surface morphologies ofdeposystems

(6) AD is constantly in the silt- to fine sandgrain-size range

(7) AD bulk composition is roughly constant, norapid lateral and altitudinal changes

(1) Yes(2) Yes(3) Yes(4) Yes(5) Yes(6) Yes(7) Yes

Interpretation E: Accepted

48 C. Gild et al. / Geomorphology 301 (2018) 39–52

2003). At present, the foehn can last for up to more than a month, andcarries siliciclastic dust from the Central Alps into the NCA (Küfmann,2003, 2008; Grashey-Jansen et al., 2014). Today, during foehn stormsor strong westerlies ahead of incoming fronts, gusts that rush overploughed acres, open gravel pits, and construction sites can stir updust clouds up to more than a kilometer in length (Fig. 10). These dustclouds do not settle within a short distance, but stay afloat and passfarther over mountain flanks, where much of it may fall out; part ofthe dust, however, may be carried significantly farther. Subtracting thevegetation that, today, covers valley bottoms and mountain flanks,and taking into account that deglaciation released huge amounts ofunsorted sediments, this supports the thesis that airborne dust trans-port should have been very intense during to shortly after ice decay(cf. Bullard, 2013).

6. Discussion

6.1. Loess in peri- to intramontane settings of the Alps

Investigation of the “classical” loess deposited in periglacial s. str.areas (see French, 2000, 2007, for term) started in the early 19th centu-ry (see Smalley et al., 2001, for review). The loess of the northern andsouthern perimontane forelands of the Alps, in turn, has been investi-gated since the late 19th century (e.g., Sacco, 1887; Forno, 1990;Frechen, 1999; Antoine et al., 2001, 2009; Zöller and Semmel, 2001;

Frechen et al., 2003; Haase et al., 2007; Ferraro, 2009; Terhorst et al.,2009; Frank et al., 2011; Terhorst, 2013; Cremaschi et al., 2015;Sprafke and Obreht, 2015; Markovic et al., 2016). Inboard of the formerterminal moraines of piedmont glaciers, intervals of loess are present,too, but are comparatively thin and comprise shorter time spans thantheir periglacial counterparts (see summary in Van Husen and Reitner,2011). Over the past fewdecades, sediment coring in northern- towest-ern peri-Alpine lakes has revealed intervals composed of or with a highamount of polymineralic silt that was inferred to stem from aeolianinput. Numerical age dating indicated that these intervals accumulatedduring deglacial ice collapse and shortly afterwards; conversely, no ornot enough input of wind-blown dust occurred into lakes during theYounger Dryas and later cool phases (e.g., 10.0 ka, 9.2 ka and 8.2 kaevents) to produce discrete layers (Niessen et al., 1992; Wessels,1998; von Grafenstein et al., 1999; Girardclos et al., 2005).

For intramontane settings of the Alps, the potential lateral and verti-cal extent of terrestrial aeolian deposits that post-date the LGM is lessclear. In the Valais region of the Western Alps, a cover bed containinga continuous layer of silt of presumed aeolian origin was identified inan altitude range of 1400–2200 m a.s.l.; because the silt layer overliesmoraines ascribed to the Daun stadial, it was assumed that the layeraccumulated during the Younger Dryas (Vonlanthen, 2000; Veit et al.,2002; see also Kleber and Terhorst, 2013b, p. 209 f.). Numerical datingof late-glacial moraines casts doubt on the traded concept of stadial gla-cial advances that can be time-correlated over most of the Alps (Reitner

Fig. 9. Summary of typical geomorphic and sedimentary contexts the aeolian drape (AD) is present within, mainly directly beneath organic layers. Deposystems (e.g., rock glaciers, screeslopes) that remained active until late-glacial to Holocene time, and areas of ongoing erosion (e.g., steepmountain flankswith overlandflow) are devoid of the target layer (modified fromGild et al., 2016).

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et al., 2016; Moran et al., 2016); this implies that relative dating basedon the altitude of terminal moraines may not be valid. In the Trentinoarea of the Southern Alps, late-glacial loess is confined to relativelythin lenses and discontinuous veneers; the loess locally overlies glacialtill, and may be associated with terminal Paleolithic artefacts(e.g., Bleich, 1980; Borsato, 2009).

Finally, in the NCA, aeolian siliciclastic input has for a long time beenpostulated by pedologists to explain the presence of cambisols oncarbonate-rocky terrains (e.g., Schadler and Preissecker, 1937; Solar,1964; Cech and Kilian, 1967; Schönhals and Poetsch, 1976; Wilkeet al., 1984; Biermayer and Rehfuess, 1985; Rodenkirchen, 1986;Hantschel et al., 1989; Artmann and Völkel, 1999; Stahr, 2000;Küfmann, 2003, 2008; Grashey-Jansen et al., 2014). For the environsof Innsbruck, perhaps the earliest mention of a post-LGM layer ofloess was by Kravogl (1873). Blaas (1885) pointed out that thissame loess layer veneers all types of rocks as well as older sediments.Mutschlechner (1948, p. 192 f.) later briefly mentioned a layer ofsiliclastic sand to silt locally found in valley heads and on LGM nunataksof the NCA. To date, however, this layer has not been systematicallytargeted over a larger area (Gild et al., 2016). The age of significant aeo-lian deposition was either was not discussed or tentatively placed into

Table 2List of processes that can modify or obliterate the aeolian drape.

Category Processes

Gravitational Solifluction, particle creep (in underlying scree mantle)Runoff-related Downslope redeposition by overland flow and/or gully erosion,

illuviation into pore space of underlying depositFreezing-related Cryoturbation, gelifluction, frost heaveSnow-related Ground-hugging snow avalanches, snow shearChemicalweathering

Dissolution of carbonate grains, formation of clay minerals

Biologicallyinduced

Root penetration, uprooting of trees, bioturbation bysoil-inhabiting animals (e.g., annelids, arthropods, gophers),excavation of ant stocks, churning by wild pigs, trampling bydeer and cattle

the late-glacial chron (e.g., Schönhals and Poetsch, 1976; Artmann andVölkel, 1999).

Radiocarbon dating of pollens in an aeolian deposit trapped in akarstic dolina on the Zugspitzplatt glacial plateau suggested a start ofsedimentation during the early Atlantic (7415 ± 30 a BP), shortly afterretreat of the glacier at site (Grüger and Jerz, 2010). In the central sectorof the NCA, for areas above the present timberline, Küfmann (2003,2008) documented active siliciclastic aeolian input from the CentralAlps also under the present climatic conditions; the present input, how-ever, is too low to produce a discrete layer in itself, but only comprises anadmixture to soils (Küfmann, 2008). The discussed evidence suggeststhat siliciclastic aeolian input persisted, or nearly so, over the entirelate-glacial to Holocene chron. Aside from local sediment traps such asthe dolina mentioned above, however, the intensity of aeolian transportseems to have been high enough only during the late-glacial to compriseawidespread discrete layer. In the long term, numerical dating of aeoliancover beds is essential to solve the question of depositional age and toachieve a better understanding of palaeoenvironmental dynamics(Hülle et al., 2009; Kleber and Terhorst, 2013a, 2013b).

6.2. Outlook

The aeoliandrape described herein is strictly speaking a re-discoveryof a feature that was forgotten by the geoscientific community outsideof pedologists. We identify the drape as a recorder of specificpalaeoenvironmental conditions and — by its availability for lumines-cence dating — as an unprecented and widespread geochronologicalmarker layer that may allow us to separate the post-LGM terrestrialintramontane record into “Before” and “After”. Our future investigationswill focus on: (a) the production of further luminescence ages, (b)moreprecise determination of the provenance of wind-blown sediment bymeans of heavy mineral assemblages and “fingerprint minerals” suchas zircon and apatite, and (c) detailed documentation of the processesof the secondary overprint of the aeolian drape, such as rooting, biotur-bation, and pedogenesis; in addition, (d) exploration of the layer in theeastern NCA is planned for the near future.

Fig. 10. (A) Stir-up of dust clouds from a single open construction pit at the SE end of Innsbruck city. View to SE across Inn valley. (B) NE-ward propagation, across the valley, of dust cloudfrom site shown in subfigure A. At this stage, the cloud was nearly one kilometer in length, and did not resettle on the valley bottom. Both photos taken on March 4th, 2017, a day with afoehn wind situation.

50 C. Gild et al. / Geomorphology 301 (2018) 39–52

7. Conclusions

(1) In the western part of the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA) — amountain range mainly of Triassic carbonate rocks — alandscape-wide drape of siliciclastic silt was identified. The siltconsists mainly of quartz, phyllosilicates, feldspars and amphi-boles and, rarely, of clastic calcite or dolomite.

(2) The silt drape is typically a few decimeters in thickness and, inlateral continuity, veneers different substrates (e.g., truncatedcarbonate rocks, glacial till, late-glacial kames terraces, alluvialfans and scree slopes, mass-flow deposits); in addition, thedrape has been identified over a vertical range of at least2000 m from late-glacial stream terraces near the floors oftrunk valleys up to LGM nunatak plateaus. No major change ofcomposition, mean grain size and sorting of the sediment wasrecognized among the different locations.

(3) At all locations investigated so far (32), the drape directly over-lies its local substrate of rock or sediment without evidence ofan underlying soil. Over large areas the drape, in turn, is directlyoverlain by vegetated organic matter. The drape is absent, how-ever, on top of all deposystems that are still active or that proba-bly became abandoned sometime during late-glacial to Holocenetime (e.g., low-positioned scree slopes, alluvial fans, or rockglaciers in cirques of the NCA).

(4) Comparative analysis with potentially competing processes(e.g., glacial meltout lag, chemical weathering) indicates thatthe drape is an aeolian deposit. Two OSL quartz ages of thedrape from two selected locations indicate an early late-glacialage (18.77± 1.55 ka; 17.81± 1.68 ka). This fits with and can ex-plain all the geological, pedological and geomorphologicalevidence the drape is associated with. Therefore, the draperecords a hitherto unidentified phase of regional, intense aeoliantransport including dust storms right after the collapse of theLGM ice streams in this part of the Eastern Alps.

(5) In the considered area, a near-surface layer designated as “loess”was occasionallymentioned by geoscientists of the late 19th cen-tury, but none went on to illustrate or to systematically inquireinto it. In general, the potential presence of aeolian depositswithin or on top of post-glacial successions of the Eastern Alpspreviously received little attention. Our investigationsfirst revealthe landscape-wide extent of the drape from valley floors tonunataks. Combinedwith OSL dating, even if perhaps not strictlyof identical age at every location, the aeolian drape or drapesprovide chronological marker levels in the post-last glacial ter-restrial successions of the Eastern Alps.

Acknowledgements

This paper is part of the PhD thesis of the first author. Financial sup-port from the grant “Nachwuchsförderung der Universität Innsbruck”(fund 2014/3/GEO-8), donated to Charlotte Gild, is gratefully acknowl-edged. The comments and suggestions of two anonymous reviewershelped to shape the presentation of data and to place the describeddrape into a wider context of aeolian deposition. Alois Simon, ForestManagement of the federal state of Tyrol/Austria, is thanked for logisti-cal support. Georg Kaser and Mathias Rotach, Institute of Atmosphericand Cryospheric Sciences, and Hanns Kerschner, Institute of Geography,University of Innsbruck, are thanked for discussions on potential windsystems and airborne sediment dispersal.

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