Prevailing surface winds in Northern Serbia in the recent and past time periods; modern- and past dust deposition

Abstract

This study utilizes four different methodological approaches to examine the prevailing surface winds and their associated aeolian processes in Northern Serbia, focusing on the southeastern part of the Carpathian Basin. We utilized wind and atmospheric pressure data from 1939–2014 and 1960–2010 for the climatological analyses. Geomorphological data and numerical simulations were used to estimate prevailing paleowind systems. Northern Serbia is currently dominated by surface winds coming from the fourth (270°–360°) and second (90°–180°) quadrants, with frequencies of ca. 116 and 105 days/year, respectively. Comparable frequencies within Banatska Peščara are 115 and 129 days/year, respectively. Crestal orientations of the vast majority of the ≈1300 parabolic dunes here suggest that they have formed from winds derived from the second quadrant, indicating formation during the early Holocene. The remaining dunes, of the transverse type, have orientations aligned to the third quadrant. Grain size analysis of loess deposits near Banatska Peščara points to deposition driven by southeasterly winds, probably during the period between the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the early Holocene. Modern wind measurements and geomorphological data showed that the prevailing winds in the recent and past periods were from the same quadrant, in and around Banatska Peščara. These results were confirmed with an explicit numerical simulation that modelled prevailing winds from the second quadrant during the LGM. Thus, the various geomorphologic and climatic data analyzed in this study show that the general air circulation patterns in the recent period are not dissimilar to those operative during the LGM.