This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Emeis, K.-C. Articles by Voß, M. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Salinity changes in the central Baltic Sea (NW Europe) over the last 10000 years

kay.emeis{at}io-warnemuende.de

Ulrich Struck

Institute of Paleontology and Historical Geology, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, D-80533 Munich, Germany

Thomas Blanz

Alexander Kohly

lnstitute for Geosciences, University of Kiel, D-24118 Kiel, Germany

Maren Voß

Baltic Sea Research Institute, Seestrasse 15, D-18119 Rostock-Warnemünde, Germany

We attempt a reconstruction of salinity levels of the central Baltic Sea based on diatom assemblages, the isotopic composition of organic matter and sedimentological expression of anoxia over the last 10 000 years. We use the data to investigate the dependence of salinity levels on climate evolution and isostasy. Changes in salinity of surface and deep waters were most pronounced from 8400 to approximately 5000 cal. BP. Density stratification between salty deep and fresher surface waters caused the frequent development of anoxic conditions and deposition of laminated sediments on large parts of the sea floor in the central Baltic Sea, and dramatic changes in organic carbon-accumulation rates. From 5000 to 3100 cal. BP, the salinity of the basin decreased, oxygenation of deep sea floors was improved, and fertility of the sea surface was significantly reduced. This is reflected by low accumulation rates of organic carbon in bioturbated sediments. Since 2800 cal. BP, salinity rose again and anoxic periods were more common. Even though the major steps in environmental evolution in the Baltic Sea coincide with known patterns of climatic change of the North Atlantic realm over the last 10 000 years, we find no conclusive evidence for synchronous changes or linear responses on submillennial timescales. However, we note that major variations in our salinity records agree with temporal patterns of reconstructed summer warmth and winter precipitation in southern Scandinavia. Both types of record suggest that climate in the mid-Holocene was far from stable. Our data also confirm that climate evolution over the late Holocene had significant impact on environmental conditions in the Baltic Sea.

Key Words: Salinity • stable isotopes • carbon isotopes • organic matter • diatoms • climate • palaeoclimate • Baltic Sea • Holocene

The Holocene, Vol. 13, No. 3, 411-421 (2003)
DOI: 10.1191/0959683603hl634rp


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K. Mills, A. W. Mackay, R. S. Bradley, and B. Finney Diatom and stable isotope records of late-Holocene lake ontogeny at Indrepollen, Lofoten, NW Norway: a response to glacio-isostasy and Neoglacial cooling The Holocene, March 1, 2009; 19(2): 261 - 271. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M. E. Astrom, P. Peltola, J. J. Virtasalo, A. T. Kotilainen, and R. Salminen Niobium in boreal stream waters and brackish-water sediments Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, May 1, 2008; 8(2): 139 - 148. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				D. Hebbeln, K.-L. Knudsen, R. Gyllencreutz, P. Kristensen, D. Klitgaard-Kristensen, J. Backman, C. Scheurle, H. Jiang, I. Gil, M. Smelror, et al. Late Holocene coastal hydrographic and climate changes in the eastern North Sea The Holocene, November 1, 2006; 16(7): 987 - 1001. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. Wastegard and T. Andren Salinity changes in the central Baltic Sea (NW Europe) over the last 10 000 years: a comment on Emeis, Struk, Blanz, Kohly, Vo{beta} The Holocene, April 1, 2005; 15(3): 472 - 474. [Abstract] [PDF]