Continental Late Pliocene Paleoclimatic History Recorded in the Bresse Basin (France)

We present results to show that the Beaune P & C borehole, cored in the Bresse Basin (France), records late Pliocene climatic variations. Pollen analysis allows precise correlations with northern and southern European stratigraphies. Using Kukla et al.'s (1981) climate index, we show that cold climate phases occur during the Brunssumian, at around 3.2, 3.6 and 5.2 Myr B.P., respectively, in agreement with Atlantic core results. The onset of a general cooling trend is felt early in the Reuverian, at about 3 Myr B.P. which corresponds to the end of a warm event characterized by high percentages of oak. This is followed by minor climatic pulses of increasing magnitude since about 2.7 Myr B.P., that are also recorded in marine sediments. Finally a major cooling occurs at about 2.4 Myr B.P., corresponding to the beginning of the Praetiglian.