ABSTRACT
In 1909, Penck and Bruckner published the results of their research on alpine glaciations. They had observed that a series of river terraces is present in the principal valleys draining the Alps. They made a clear distinction between the periods of fluvial aggradation and incision that led to the development of the series of terraces. Stratigraphic studies of the terrace gravels, in conjunction with studies of fossil soils buried within the terraces, led them to conclude that the periods of fluvial aggradation coincided with periods of glacier expansion and meltwater deposition. The periods of soil development and river incision were attributed to warm interglacial episodes. This research, based largely on the interpretation of fluviatile sediments, led to the establishment of the fourfold scheme of Quaternary glaciation. The phases of glaciation were named, in descending age order, Gunz, Mindel, Riss and Wurm after the major rivers in southern Germany on which their observations were made.
