Review on Denudation Levels of the Western Mecsek Mountains (Sw Transdanubia, Hungary)

A denudation level is a well-known and widely used concept to understand landform evolution, which became one of the benchmarks of geomorphology in the last century. But there is still a question: how can we use formerly described denudation levels to identify the main stages of surface development? The literature abounds in methods to measure the absolute age or determine the relative age of denudation levels, but these methods are expensive or cannot be used in the Western Mecsek Mountains due to the lack of correlative sediments. A revision of the established ages and origin of denudation levels based on the recent geomorphic theories is also needed. In this paper we revise the formerly published geomorphic maps as well as local and antiquated terminology on the denudation levels of the Western Mecsek Mountains, using classical geomorphic interpretation supported with GIS. Three denudation levels were mapped and their relative age was determined based on the comparison of their altitudinal relations and the revision of data from previously published papers. These denudation levels, even if reshaped, represent the Early to Late Miocene and Early Pleistocene phases of surface development. Therefore, the review of the relative age of denudation levels helps summarize our knowledge on the surface development in the Western Mecsek Mountains and it can be the base for further geomorphic studies. We expect these data will become a rich source of information to other researchers studying denudation levels of the Carpathians and the Carpathian Basin.