scholarly journals Factors Controlling the Extreme Storm Surge Flooding - Insights From Coastal Sedimentary Record of the Southern Baltic Sea

Author(s):  
Karolina Leszczyńska ◽  
Karl Stattegger ◽  
Damian Moskalewicz ◽  
Robert Jagodziński ◽  
Mikołaj Kokociński ◽  
...  

Abstract Climate change and related sea-level rise pose significant threats to sandy lowland coasts, which account for approximately 30% of the global coastline. However, the role of key controlling factors responsible for the frequency and extent of extreme storm surge of inundation regime is not yet fully understood. Here, we present the longest to date, high-resolution sedimentary record of extreme storm surge flooding from the microtidal southern Baltic Sea, spanning two periods: 3.6-2.9 ka BP and 0.7 ka BP until present. Wetland sediments, including sandy event layers, were analyzed by sedimentological (grain size, loss-on-ignition, micromorphology), geochronological (14C, 210Pb, 137Cs), geochemical (XRF), mineralogical (heavy minerals) and micropaleontological (diatoms) methods. Our results revealed that both periods are characterized by high-frequency storm surge flooding in order of 1.3 – 4.2 events per century. They are correlated to widely recognized enhanced storminess periods in NW Europe and took place during both rising and fluctuating sea levels. The presented results show that the storm surge driven coastal inundation frequency and extent largely depend on the development of coastal barriers (e.g., beach ridges). Thus, in the context of the future coastal storm surge hazard, the protection of existing coastal barriers is essential.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej PIOTROWSKI ◽  
Witold SZCZUCIŃSKI ◽  
Paweł SYDOR ◽  
Bartosz KOTRYS ◽  
Monika RZODKIEWICZ ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document