Holocene relative shore-level changes and Stone Age palaeogeography of the Pärnu Bay area, eastern Baltic Sea

The shore displacement and palaeogeography of the Pärnu Bay area, eastern Baltic Sea, during the Stone Age, were reconstructed using sedimentological and archaeological proxies and GIS-based landscape modelling. We discovered and studied buried palaeochannel sediments on the coastal lowland and in the shallow offshore of the Pärnu Bay and interpreted these data together with previously published shore displacement evidence. The reconstructed relative shore-level (RSL) curve is based on 78 radiocarbon dates from sediment sequences and archaeological sites in the Pärnu Bay area and reported here using the HOLSEA sea-level database format. The new RSL curve displays regressive water levels at −5.5 and −4 m a.s.l. before the Ancylus Lake and Litorina Sea transgressions, respectively. According to the curve, the total water-level rise during the Ancylus Lake transgression (10.7–10.2 cal. ka BP) was around 18 m, with the average rate of rise about 35 mm per annum, while during the Litorina Sea transgression (8.5–7.3 cal. ka BP), the water level rose around 14 m, with average rate of 12 mm per annum. During the short period around 7.8–7.6 cal. ka BP, the RSL rose in Pärnu, but probably also in Samsø (Denmark), Blekinge (Sweden) and Narva-Luga (NE Estonia–NW Russia), faster than the concurrent eustatic sea level calculated from the far-field sites. The palaeogeographic reconstructions show the settlement patterns of the coastal landscape since the Mesolithic and provide new perspective for looking Mesolithic hunter-fisher-gatherer settlement sites on the banks of the submerged ca. 9000 years old river channel in the bottom of the present-day Pärnu Bay.

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Holocene relative shore level changes and Stone Age hunter‐gatherers in Hiiumaa Island, eastern Baltic Sea

Boreas ◽

10.1111/bor.12452 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 783-798

Author(s):

Alar Rosentau ◽

Triine Nirgi ◽

Merle Muru ◽

Stefan Bjursäter ◽

Tiit Hang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Stone Age ◽

Hunter Gatherers ◽

Shore Level ◽

Eastern Baltic

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Late-Holocene relative sea-level changes and palaeoenvironment of the Pre-Viking Age ship burials in Salme, Saaremaa Island, eastern Baltic Sea

The Holocene ◽

10.1177/09596836211066596 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 095968362110665

Author(s):

Triine Nirgi ◽

Ieva Grudzinska ◽

Edyta Kalińska ◽

Marge Konsa ◽

Argo Jõeleht ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Sea Level ◽

Late Holocene ◽

Tide Gauge ◽

Average Rate ◽

Ice Age ◽

Displacement Curve ◽

Viking Age ◽

Relative Sea Level ◽

Eastern Baltic

Two unique Pre-Viking Age ship burials were found from Salme village, Saaremaa Island, eastern Baltic Sea, containing remains of seven men in the smaller and 34 men in the larger ship. According to the archaeological interpretations, these ships belonged to a viking crew possibly from the Stockholm-Mälaren region, eastern Sweden. Geoarchaeological research was conducted in the area to reconstruct Late-Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) changes and shoreline displacement to provide environmental context to these burials. In this paper we present a Late-Holocene shore displacement curve for the Saaremaa Island and GIS-based palaeogeographic reconstructions for the Salme area. The curve shows an almost linear RSL fall from 5.5 to 0.8 m a.s.l. between 1000 BC and 1300 AD with an average rate of 2 mm/year. A slowdown in regression may be attributed to accelerated sea-level rise after the Little Ice Age and during the industrial period, being consistent with the tide-gauge measurements from the 20th century. Palaeogeographic reconstructions indicate the existence of a strait in the Salme area during the burial of the ships. The eastern part of the strait with water depth up to 2.8 m was about 80–100 m wide. The relatively steep and wind-protected shores in that part of the strait were probably the best places in the area for landing the viking ships. According to sedimentological evidence and diatom data, the narrowing of Salme palaeostrait occurred between 1270 and 1300 AD. Salme I and II ships were buried at 650–770 AD into the sandy-gravelly coastal deposits which had accumulated there in the open coastal zone about 710–450 years earlier. Reconstructions show that the ships were located about 2–2.5 m above coeval sea level and more than 100 m from the coastline. Thus, both ships were probably moved from the shore to the higher ground for burial.

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Variations in parameters of extreme value distributions of water level along the eastern Baltic Sea coast

Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science ◽

10.1016/j.ecss.2018.10.010 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 215 ◽

pp. 59-68 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tarmo Soomere ◽

Maris Eelsalu ◽

Katri Pindsoo

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Water Level ◽

Extreme Value ◽

Extreme Value Distributions ◽

Sea Coast ◽

Eastern Baltic

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Postglacial, relative shore-level changes in Lillebælt, Denmark

Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin ◽

10.34194/geusb.v23.4834 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 23 ◽

pp. 37-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ole Bennike ◽

Jørn Bo Jensen

Keyword(s):

Mass Spectrometry ◽

Baltic Sea ◽

Sea Level ◽

Lake Level ◽

Sea Level Changes ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Shore Level ◽

History Of ◽

The Baltic ◽

Water Depths

The brackish Baltic Sea and the more saline Kattegat are connected by three straits, Lillebælt, Storebælt and Øresund (Fig. 1). Of the three straits, Lillebælt is the narrowest, with 700 m at its narrowest point, widening out towards the south to around 25 km (Fig. 2). In the narrow parts of Lillebælt, water depths around 30–50 m are common. In the northern part of Lillebælt the depth is 16–18 m and in the southern part the depth is around 35 m. Storebælt and Øresund have played important roles as outlets during the history of the Baltic Sea, and their histories have been much discussed (Björck 1995; Bennike et al. 2004). In contrast, Lillebælt has received little attention. In this paper we present 11 new radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) ages and propose a curve for Holocene relative shore-level changes in Lillebælt. We use the term shore-level changes rather than sea-level changes because we have constructed both lake-level and sea-level changes.

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Long-Term, Seasonal and Short-Term Fluctuations in the Water Level of the Southern Baltic Sea

Quaestiones Geographicae ◽

10.2478/quageo-2014-0041 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 181-197 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tomasz Wolski ◽

Bernard Wiśniewski

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Water Level ◽

Sea Level ◽

Tide Gauges ◽

Short Term ◽

Sea Levels ◽

Extreme Sea Levels ◽

Solar Tide ◽

Southern Baltic

Abstract Aim of this work are analyses of oscillations sea levels in the Southern Baltic on a scale of short-term changes, seasonal and long-term (age). The study was based on observational data in different periods time for tide gauges station of the Polish coast. On the example of some storm situations presents the part of the baric wave and the wind in the formation of extreme sea levels. The primary cause of the annual variability of sea levels was the characteristics of the annual and semi-annual oscillations (the annual and semi-annual solar tide). In the work also determined the rate of long-term sea-level rise for the Polish coast.

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LARGE BARRIER-LAGOON SYSTEMS ON THE EASTERN AND SOUTH-EASTERN BALTIC SEA COASTS: CONDITIONS OF DEVELOPMENT

Proceedings of International Conference "Managinag risks to coastal regions and communities in a changinag world" (EMECS'11 - SeaCoasts XXVI) ◽

10.21610/conferencearticle_58b43162835e3 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Ekaterina Badyukova ◽

Leonid Zhindarev ◽

Svetlana Lukyanova ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Sea Level ◽

Geological Structure ◽

Systems Development ◽

Leningrad Region ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

South Eastern ◽

The Baltic ◽

Eastern Baltic ◽

Lagoon Systems

The paper considers the geological structure and evolution of large barrier-lagoon systems in the eastern and southeastern coasts of the Baltic Sea. The data available on some coastal deltaic plains in the Leningrad Region, Latvia and Lithuania are discussed in some details. The considered materials lead the authors to the conclusion about a unified mechanism of the systems’ development. A considerable rise of the sea level at the Littorina Sea transgression fostered large transgressive bars developing at the margins of deltaic plains and lagoons formation on the surface of these plains.

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Eemian sea-level highstand in the eastern Baltic Sea linked to long-duration White Sea connection

Quaternary Science Reviews ◽

10.1016/j.quascirev.2013.12.009 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 86 ◽

pp. 158-174 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Arto Miettinen ◽

Martin J. Head ◽

Karen Luise Knudsen

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Sea Level ◽

White Sea ◽

Long Duration ◽

Eastern Baltic

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Anomalous secular sea-level acceleration in the Baltic Sea caused by isostatic adjustment

Annals of Geophysics ◽

10.4401/ag-6548 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 57 (4) ◽

Author(s):

Giorgio Spada ◽

Marco Olivieri ◽

Gaia Galassi

Keyword(s):

Baltic Sea ◽

Sea Level ◽

Ocean Circulation ◽

Tide Gauge ◽

Average Rate ◽

The Baltic Sea ◽

Tide Gauge Records ◽

Sea Level Acceleration ◽

Global Sea Level ◽

The Baltic

<p>Observations from the global array of tide gauges show that global sea-level has been rising at an average rate of 1.5-2 mm/yr during the last ~150 years [Douglas 1991, Spada and Galassi 2012]. Although a global sea-level acceleration was initially ruled out [Douglas 1992], subsequent studies [Douglas 1997, Church and White 2006, Jevrejeva et al. 2008, Church and White 2011] have coherently proposed values of ~1 mm/year/century [Olivieri and Spada 2013]. More complex non-linear trends and abrupt sea-level variations have now also been recognized. Globally, these could manifest a regime shift between the late Holocene and the current rhythms of sea-level rise [Gehrels and Woodworth 2013], while locally they result from ocean circulation anomalies, steric effects and wind stress [Bromirski et al. 2011, Merrifield 2011]. Although isostatic readjustment affects the local rates of secular sea-level change [Milne and Mitrovica 1998, Peltier 2004], a possible impact on regional acceleration has been so far discounted [Douglas 1992, Jevrejeva et al. 2008, Woodworth et al. 2009] since the process evolves on a millennium time scale [Turcotte and Schubert 2002]. Here we report a previously unnoticed anomaly in the long-term sea-level acceleration of the Baltic Sea tide gauge records, and we explain it by the classical post-glacial rebound theory and numerical modeling of glacial isostasy. Contrary to previous assumptions, our findings demonstrate that isostatic compensation plays a role in the regional secular sea-level acceleration.</p>

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