Tracking Sediment Mixing Along the Lower Danube River From the Carpathians to the Black Sea

ABSTRACT We use detrital zircon U–Pb geochronology as a sediment provenance tracer in modern river sands to better understand how tectonic, climatic, and anthropogenic processes modulate sediment transport dynamics of the Carpathians to the Black Sea source to sink system. Our findings show that anthropogenic factors can either amplify or diminish environmental signals along the Danube River system. Tributary river catchments that have experienced significant land use change from forest to more erodible farmlands are interpreted to amplify the sediment provenance signatures of bedrock erosion, whereas tributary river systems with a high density of dams exhibit diminished sediment contributions to the Danube River. This summary dataset provides the groundwork for future inquiry within the Carpathians to Black Sea sediment transfer system in both space and time.