In this dataset, we present grain size and XRF element data of Holocene floodplain and colluvial, Pleistocene loess and Triassic (Buntsandstein) samples from the catchment of the Weiße Elster River (Central Germany). The samples were taken during the DFG-funded project 'Imprints of rapid climate changes and human activity on Holocene hydro-sedimentary dynamics in Central Europe (loess-covered Weiße Elster model region)' [SU491/6-1, ET20/10-1, VE117/7-1, WE5518/1-1, ZI721/13-1] between 2017 - 2025, using open outcrops, hand augering (Pürckhauer) or drilling with an Atlas Copco Cobra Pro hammer. The goal of this study was to obtain sediment provenance for Holocene overbank sediments in the middle Weiße Elster floodplain.
The datasets include grain-size, color, and geochemical results of sediment samples from one loess-paleosol sequence (LPS) located in southwestern Germany. The Attenfeld profile (48° 46'39.828 N; 11° 11'43.188 E; 424 m asl) is situated in a former quarry (Tertiary sands) that is used as a landfill. It is located around 4 km north of the Danube River and about 25 km west of Ingolstadt within the Franconian Jura's southern extent. In 2015, sediment samples were taken consciously in a 5-cm resolution for further laboratory analyses from the surface to a depth of 3 m. We analyzed the grain-size distribution of the <2000 µm fraction with a laser diffraction particle size analyzer (LS13320, Beckman Coulter and conducted color measurements using a spectrophotometer (Konica Minolta CM-5). The element concentration of the <63 µm fraction was determined with an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) spectrometer (SPECTRO XEPOS, SPECTRO Analytical Instruments GmbH) in a helium surrounding. The total carbon (TC) contents were quantified by thermal conductivity using a CHNS-Analyzer (HECAtech EuroEA3000). The carbonate content as an equivalent to calcium carbonate was volumetrically measured using a calcimeter on bulk samples (air-dried, homogenized, and sieved at 2000 µm) and expressed as CaCO3. Organic carbon (Corg) was calculated by Corg = TC – (CaCO3*0.12). The dataset covers the last interglacial-glacial cycle and was analyzed under the aspects of the environmental dynamics, paleosol developments, wind intensities, and the role of geomorphological settings on the preservation of LPS.