Late- and Postglacial Sea-Level Change and Paleoenvironments in the Oder Estuary, Southern Baltic Sea

Abstract

AbstractKnowledge of sea-level change in the southern Baltic Sea region is important for understanding the variations in late Pleistocene and Holocene sea-level change across northern Europe. These variations are a consequence of the response of the Earth's crust to the deglaciation of Fennoscandia and of the water added to the oceans from the melting of all Pleistocene ice sheets. The sedimentological and geochemical composition of five sediment cores from the lagoonal Oder Estuary offers new observational evidence for sea-level change and coastal development in the southern Baltic Sea region. The combined use of several geochemical proxies (organic carbon, nitrogen, calcium carbonate and biogenic opal contents, Corg/S and Corg/N ratios, δ13C values of organic matter, and δ15N values) is a new approach for the study area. The chemical evidence of this multiproxy approach allows clear identification of several stages in the development of the lagoonal environment: postglacial lake stages with sandy sedimentation during the Older Dryas and the Allerød stades, lacustrine phases with high autochthonous productivity during the Atlantic stade, terrestrial stages with peat formation at the beginning of the Subboreal stade, sedimentation as a result of marine transgression, and brackish sedimentation after the formation of sand spits and barrier islands during the Subatlantic stade. The stages are the result of regional sea-level change owing to complex shoreline development. They support the tentative sea-level curve proposed nearly 20 years ago for the region. In addition, changes in Oder River input in response to climate conditions is monitored. Whereas high terrigenous input of organic matter from the Oder River occurred during periods of humid climate during the Allerød, Atlantic, and Subatlantic stades, Oder River discharge decreased with drier and cooler climate conditions during the Subboreal stade. Furthermore, the geochemical evidence points to local anomalies such as the significance of river input and additional sulfate supply into the Oder lagoon for the composition of the sediments. Overall, the results provide a framework for future studies, which would allow for a more detailed comparison with other, similar environments.