Löss am Eltviller Sonnenberg

Loess at Sonnenberg

The loess in the Eltviller solar mountain is especially worth mentioning there here the biggest layer thickness (thickness) in the region exists.


Loess or loess is transported by wind and wind-deposited sediment, consisting of fine material - primarily silt - is. The vast majority of the earth today occurring loess was deposited during the Pleistocene. Here at Eltville Sonnenberg know the loess a considerable thickness (width) of 3 - 8m. The term loess was introduced in 1823 by Karl Caesar von Leonhard in the geological and mineralogical literature. The term is received from a term in many languages.

Features:
Loess consists for the most part made of silt. The clay content is fresh loess in highly variable, from 5 to about 20%, and by weathering may increase. Loess is mixed with highly variable amounts of fine sand, its share of the mixture is on average 20%, but may also be higher. When sand contents above 50% but still abundant silt is referred to as Sandlöss, known regionally as Flott sand. Nevertheless, loess is regarded as well-sorted sediment. Mineralogical Loess consists largely (50% - 80%) of quartz grains with 8% - 20% limestone fragments. Admixtures of iron hydroxides loess color yellow to yellowish-red. Other minerals such as feldspars, volcanic glass or mafic minerals, come i.d.R. present in small amounts, but can be regionally dominant also, as in Argentina or in the North Island of New Zealand. Loess is usually unstratified, unconsolidated and very porous, but can be obtained from subsequent rearrangement of water stratification and then called alluvial loess. General sediments caused by rearrangement of loess are called Lössderivate. The porous structure is explained probably by the grass stems, between which the loess was deposited during sedimentation. Concretions of calcium in the loess caused by solution and reprecipitation of the finely divided calcareous fragments and are called Lösskindl or Lössmännchen. The individual particles in the loess have a predominantly square shape. This explains its high stability, the formation of loess hills along river banks, in ravines, and encouraged the development of agricultural terraces.

Created:
Loess is formed when silt and fine sand is blown in the absence of vegetation cover and after a long transport (several tens to several hundreds of kilometers) in areas with denser vegetation deposited. In Central Europe, loess is produced mainly in the ice ages, as a result of low temperatures throughout the year there was no vegetation; the foreshore areas of the glacier and the floodplains were even largely free of vegetation. Responsible for the loess formation were both the prevailing westerly winds and the frequent periods in the cold, dry and cold fall winds. The latter fell from the almost entirely glaciated Alps and the Scandinavian ice sheet down and took in the foothills of fine grained material. While the sand covers only a relatively short transport distances and was deposited in the form of inland dunes, was much finer material such as silt blown further and deposited as loess cover more extensively. Especially along the river areas - such as the Upper Rhine and the Danube - the loess was blown by the westerly winds and deposited far beyond the river again: e.g. Kraichgau east, in the Danube valley in the north-east of the river Wagram. In the Rhine-Meuse Delta, the Lössareas are on the left bank of the river, far away from the river west neighbor, while the east bank covered terrace of a pagan little far-drifted sand. The formation of loess is taking place but also warm and dry climate, when blown dust from deserts and in the peripheral areas, which can again flourish vegetation, deposited.

Loess sediments and Lössderivate:
Already a while, but after the loess deposit can be moved by other processes as wind. Depending on the process, a distinction is Kriechlöss (slightly rearranged on a slope), Fließlöss (rearranged by solifluction, usually contains a rough skeleton of the loess in the upcoming material), alluvial loess (rearranged by rinsing), Hangrutschungslöss, Infusionslöss (rearrangement in a lake), Kryoturbationslöss (mixed by freeze-thaw cycles). Furthermore, the weathering attacks mainly the upper areas of the loess. This will solve the lime and clay minerals formed. The result is loam. All named varieties of the loess is called Lössderivate.