Tree stumps from the bottom of the Vistula Lagoon as indicators of water level changes in the Southern Baltic during the Late Holocene
Year: 2007
Type: article
Abstract: The Vistula Lagoon is situated along the south-eastern shoreof the Gulf of Gdansk and is linked with the gulf through theStrait of Baltiysk. Separated from the open sea by the VistulaSpit, the Vistula Lagoon is a shallow body of water with a meandepth of 3 m; the bottom is covered with a layer of mud severalmetres thick.This article presents a unique, newly discovered localityof tree stumps occurring in situ at the bottom of the VistulaLagoon. The radiocarbon age of the alder stumps and the top ofthe peat in which they are rooted is Subboreal. The alder woodwas dated to 4770±35 and 3295±35 years BP. Thetop layers of peat were dated to 4670±40, 4410±35and 3690±35 years BP. The considerable scatter of thedates indicates the significance of erosional processes duringmarine transgressions. Radiocarbon dates and pollen analysesindicate that in the late Atlantic - early Subboreal periods,the water level of the Vistula Lagoon was about 3 m lower thanit is today. The -2 m level was passed no earlier than c. 3500years ago; the -1 m level was reached around 2000 years ago.
Language: English
Subfield: Oceanography
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1977437239