The aim of the present study is to provide a first (so far incomplete) report on the macroflora from the Oligocene of Norken (Breitscheid Formation) in the Westerwald area, together with some palaeoecological implications of this flora. The study is based on material collected from the spoil heaps of the former lignite mine Späth in Norken. The macroflora is dominated by leaves of Acer cf. tricuspidatum BRONN and twigs of Glyptostrobus europaeus (BRONGNIART) UNGER. Both taxa are typical elements of a riparian vegetation during the Oligocene, an observation that is in agreement with the assumed sedimentary setting (swamp and lake). The occurrence of fossil charcoal can be regarded as direct evidence of palaeo-wildfires during this period in the vicinity of Norken. Taxonomically this charcoal is most likely affiliated with the Cupressaceae. The wood exhibits clear growth rings probably pointing to some kind of seasonality. However, at the moment we do not know which environmental fact...

The Leitha river is an important tributary to the Danube in eastern Austria. It is formed by the Schwarza river, originating in the Northern Calcareous Alps, and the Pitten river, coming from the Lower Austroalpine unit of the Wechsel area. The geometry of paleochannels of the Leitha river was investigated in the framework of an archaeological project analysing patterns of prehistoric settlements in this region. For such considerations the present regulated condition of the rivers are not a well suited analogue since they behave in different ways to natural rivers. The study area is located between the confluence of Pitten and Schwarza (forming the Leitha) near Lanzenkirchen and Bruck/Leitha by paleochannel digitization in a GIS environment using infrared and black and white aerial photography. This section is especially suitable for the study of dynamic fluvial processes and the comparison between former natural river behavior and present regulated riverbed, because of the transition from relatively high to low river slopes in this section. Additionally, this area has been densely populated in prehistoric and historic times. Thus interaction between land use, settlement pattern and the dynamic system of the Leitha river can be studied. The digitized paleochannels were analysed together with additional data such as a digital elevation model, soil maps, Quaternary thickness maps and several lithostrati-graphic sections in the alluvial deposits of the Paleo-Leitha done by H. Kellermann during archaeological excavations north of Frohsdorf. Characteristic morphometric parameters of the Leitha river, like stream slope and paleochannel shape, were calculated. Generally, the stream slope of the investigated river section decreases towards the NNE from 0.23° to 0.07°. Simultaneously to the overall continuous change in slope a transition from braided river type channels to single meandering channels can be observed. The course of the Leitha in the investigated area is located within the Vienna basin, a major pull-apart structure with tectonic activity from Miocene to present. Fault-slip analysis, seismicity and tilted terraces of the Danube and fault scarps indicate Qua-ternary activity for at least some of the faults. The effects of this tectonic activity are well preserved in the paleochannel geometry and river profiles of the Leitha river. Abandoned meander belts, as an example, reveal possible tectonic tilting towards the Southeast in the Southern Vienna Basin and a paleochannel migration towards the same direction. The constantly changing river channels and linked flood hazards in the floodplains has always been an important determining factor for the selection of settlement areas. Archaeological sites, for instance, are mainly located on the rim of the Würmian terraces, at the margin of the subrecent floodplain.

In June 1993 the Palaeontological Institute of the University of Vienna did an excavation in the Köhlerwandhöhle (cat.-nr.: 1835/6) near Lehenrotte in Lower Austria. Regardless of the fact that there were only a few vertebrate remains which lead to a revised and extended faunal-list of this cave, the malacological part of this enterprise proofs to be interesting in what concerns the faunal development of the early holocene and its climate. Another aim of this excavation was a new survey of the entrance-near parts of this cave.

Die Stadt Basel, in der Südostecke der oberrheinischen Tiefebene gelegen, grenzt im Westen an die Ausläufer des Sundgauer Hügellandes, dessen lössbedeckte Anhöhen bedeutende quartärgeologische Archive darstellen. Einzig die geologischen Beobachtungen in Riehen-Gerhalde (CH), einem rechtsrheinischen Aufschluss am Eingang des Wiesentals, lieferten erste Anhaltspunkte zur komplexen Abfolge der Löss-Schichten über den dort anstehenden Hochterrassenschottern. Mit neuen Profilaufschlüssen bei Sierentz (F), das linksrheinisch nur 10 km nordwestlich von Basel entfernt ist, ergab sich die Möglichkeit, Lössablagerungen über der Hochterrasse, d. h. in vergleichbarer geomorphologischer Situation zu dokumentieren, und so die quartärgeologische Datenbasis für den Raum Basel zu erweitern.