the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
| 31 Jul 2026
The First Aminostratigraphies for the Quaternary of the Swiss Plateau
Abstract. Here we develop an amino acid chronology to help establish a dated sequence for the important Early Pleistocene Höhere and Tiefere Deckenschotter morphostratigraphic units, as well as other Middle and Late Pleistocene deposits from across the Swiss Plateau. The intra-crystalline protein decomposition (IcPD) in a variety of calcium carbonate biominerals (including novel and rarely-analysed taxa) was used to develop the first aminostratigraphy for this region of central Europe. Age discrimination is possible between the Quaternary sites from the Swiss Plateau in six different biominerals: Bithynia opercula, shell fragments from Fruticola, Arianta and Cepaea, slug plates and worm granules. This chronology is compared with new and existing dating information derived from lithostratigraphy, palaeomagnetic data, biostratigraphic data (pollen, small mammals) and numerical dating methods (such as OSL/IRSL, U/Th, cosmogenic nuclides), as well as new biostratigraphic data derived from a study of Early to Late Pleistocene molluscan faunas from the Swiss Plateau. These new aminostratigraphies provide a relative chronology and give crucial new age information for a number of key sites from across the Swiss Plateau, which helps to fill major gaps in the Quaternary chronology for Switzerland.
Status: open (until 15 Sep 2026)
- RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2026-4013', Anonymous Referee #1, 02 Sep 2026 reply
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RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2026-4013', JoseEugenio Ortiz, 06 Sep 2026
reply
This manuscript addresses a long-standing challenge in Alpine and European Quaternary geology: establishing robust relative chronologies for fragmentary and highly dynamic glacial/interglacial deposit sequences on the Swiss Plateau. By systematically applying intra-crystalline protein decomposition (IcPD) across six distinct carbonate biominerals—including rarely analyzed or novel taxa like calcitic slug plates, earthworm granules, and aragonitic Fruticola shells—the authors construct the first comprehensive regional aminostratigraphic framework for Switzerland.
The study provides important new constraints on key morphostratigraphic units, particularly the Höhere Deckenschotter (HDS) and Tiefere Deckenschotter (TDS), while offering independent geochronological tests for Middle and Late Pleistocene archives. The data quality and analytical approach are strong, and the manuscript is overall well-written and logically structured.
The authors provide a thorough background on the four classic Swiss morphostratigraphic terrace units (HDS, TDS, HT, NT). The site descriptions for all sites are detailed and well-referenced.
Regarding the methodological innovation, expanding IcPD analysis beyond traditional indicators (Bithynia opercula) to include terrestrial gastropods (Arianta, Cepaea, Fruticola), slug plates, and earthworm granules greatly expands the utility of aminostratigraphy across varied sedimentary facies.
It is of wide regional significance, as it fills major geochronological gaps in the Swiss Quaternary archive, offering independent age evidence that refines those obtained by other methods (e.g., within the HDS at the Irchel Plateau and Albishorn-Bürglen).
Nevertheless, I have the following recommendations for the authors which can help to increase the high quality of the work done:
1.-In the Methods section it is said that [Ser]/[Ala] and D/L Ser ratios were used, but they were not presented in the Results section and nothing in commented.
2.-I find important to include the plots of Asx and Val in Figures 3 to 9, and not only Glx and Ala as the results of these amino acids are discussed in the text.
3.- It would be important to include a table (or Figure) showing the D/L value ranges for each amino acid and taxon characteristic of each period (at least, Early Pleistocene, Middle Pleistocene, Late Pleistocene, Holocene) as hte key of this study is to provide the aminostratigraphies for the Swiss Plateau.
4.- Zell 2019 vs. Niederweningen Comparison: Arianta and slug plate data from Zell 2019 exhibit slightly higher/equal IcPD values compared to Niederweningen, despite Zell representing an early Eemian/MIS 5 phase. I would recommend to discuss briefly whether subtle microclimatic or thermal history variations across the Swiss Plateau could account for these minor offsets, or other reasons.
Minor suggestions:
Line 146. The year of Preusser et al.´s work is incomplete.
Line 154-155. Delete “for the upper part of the HF” as it is repeated.
Line 155. Change “final part” for “end”.
Lines 916 and 917. A comma is missing in the cites.
Congratulations for this very interesting study.
José E. Ortiz
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-4013-RC2
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Cited
3 citations as recorded by crossref.
- An aminostratigraphy of the northern Upper Rhine Graben, Germany E. Nelson et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.70004
- Quaternary aminostratigraphies for the eastern North European Plain. E. Nelson et al. https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.21815.2
- Quaternary aminostratigraphies for the eastern North European Plain. E. Nelson et al. https://doi.org/10.12688/openreseurope.21815.1
I enjoyed reading this manuscript. The scale of the work is considerable: 31 horizons across 21 sites, drawing on new fieldwork, museum collections and sediments archived decades ago. Much of this material could not readily be collected again, so the dataset has value in its own right, independently of the chronology built on it here.
The most useful contribution, to my mind, is the work on the new biominerals. The opercula are the only material for which a framework had previously been established, and they are absent from many of the sites studied here. The first IcPD data for Fruticola, and the first substantial datasets for Arianta, Cepaea, slug plates and worm granules, extend the method to terrestrial settings where Bithynia is not present. This should be of use well beyond the Swiss Plateau. I do have four questions that arose while reading.
My thanks to the authors for the interesting study, which I was glad to have the chance to read. I look forward to their replies to the questions above.