Postglacial deposition of sand in the Eckernfoerder Bay, western Baltic Sea

At the NW-slope of Eckernforder Bay (Western Baltic) between 14 and 21 m water depth 7 sand cores were taken with a vibrocorer. The cores were between 85 and 250 cm long. The sand was analysed for grain size distribution, proportions of organic carbon and carbonate, and contents of microfossils. The radiometric age and stable carbon isotope ratios were determined on organic material from 14 sample. With regard to benthic foraminifera and other microorganisms four different types of depositional conditions could be distinguished: Types 1 and 2: two types of offshore sand areas. Type 3: lagoon and nearshore. Type 4: subaerial or limnic. Using sedimentological and geochemical parameters two formation areas could be distinguished with the aid of a discriminant analysis: offshore (types 1 and 2) and nearshore (types 3 and 4). A juxtaposition of core sections indicated two distinct profiles. Their ages fit into the picture of the assumed postglacial sea-level rise. The lagoon- and nearshore sands are interpreted as the result of sea-level stagnation at 17-18 m below present sea-level. The accumulation rates of the sand in the offshore areas are, with a maximum of 0.15 mm/yr., an order of magnitude smaller than in the mud areas, located several hundred metres away.

X-ray fotos of 10 sediment cores from the Baltic Sea

Various types of trace fossils have been studied on radiographs of sediment cores from the Western Baltic since the early nineteen sixties. lnvestigations on the endo- und epifauna including their habitats and population densities carried out independently by biologists helped to identify the processes of their formation and classify the structures. Biogenic traces are ubiquitous in both sandy and muddy sediments of the Great Belt, where the bottom waters are weil oxygenated through inflows from the North Sea (through Kattegat-Skagerrak). Almost all types of bioturbation structures encountered in the Kiel Bay are also observed in a variety of shapes and forms, and can be considered as representative for the Western Baltic area. Polychaetes, bivalves and echinoderms were recorded at the sediment surface of the cores, and also in living positions in the sediment. The different types of burrows having distint outlines ('trace fossis'), and those having indistinct outlines ('biodeformational strctures'), and their varying abundance encountered in the area have been linked, wherever possible, to the sediment type, and to the macro-benthos.

Pollen and diatom analysis on varved sediments in Lake Jues (Harz Mountains, Germany)

Studies combining sedimentological and biological evidence to reconstruct Holocene climate beyond the major changes, and especially seasonality, are rare in Europe, and are nearly completely absent in Germany. The present study tries to reconstruct changes of seasonality from evidence of annual algal successions within the framework of well-established pollen zonation and 14C-AMS dates from terrestrial plants. Laminated Holocene sediments in Lake Jues (10°20.70' E, 51°39.30' N, 241 m a.s.l.), located at the SW margin of the Harz Mountains, central Germany, were studied for sediment characteristics, pollen, diatoms and coccal green algae. An age model is based on 21 calibrated AMS radiocarbon dates from terrestrial plants. The sedimentary record covers the entire Holocene period. Trophic status and circulation/stagnation patterns of the lake were inferred from algal assemblages, the subannual structure of varves and the physico-chemical properties of the sediment. During the Holocene, mixing conditions alternated between di-, oligo- and meromictic depending on length and variability of spring and fall periods, and the stability of winter and summer weather. The trophic state was controlled by nutrient input, circulation patterns and the temperature-dependent rates of organic production and mineralization. Climate shifts, mainly in phase with those recorded from other European regions, are inferred from changing limnological conditions and terrestrial vegetation. Significant changes occurred at 11,600 cal. yr. BP (Preboreal warming), between 10,600 and 10,100 cal. yr. BP (Boreal cooling), and between 8,400 and 4,550 cal. yr. BP (warm and dry interval of the Atlantic). Since 4,550 cal. yr. BP the climate became gradually cooler, wetter and more oceanic. This trend was interrupted by warmer and dryer phases between 3,440 and 2,850 cal. yr. BP and, likely, between 2,500 and 2,250 cal. yr. BP.

Microfossils and chemical elements in bottom sediments of the Ashadze-1 Hydrothermal Field (tropical Mid-Atlantic Ridge)

The first thorough analysis of microfossils from ore-bearing sediments of the Ashadze-1 Hydrothermal Field in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge sampled during Cruise 26 of R/V Professor Logachev in 2005 revealed substantial influence of hydrothermal processes on preservation of planktonic calcareous organisms as well as on preservation and composition of benthic foraminifera. From lateral and vertical distribution patterns and secondary alterations of microfossils it is inferred that the main phase of hydrothermal mineralization occurred in Holocene. Heavy metals (Cu, Co, Cr, and Ag) were accumulated by foraminiferal tests and in their enveloping Fe-Mn crusts. Distribution of authigenic minerals replacing foraminiferal tests demonstrates local zoning related to hydrothermal activity. There are three mineral-geochemical zones defined: sulfide zone, zone with elevated Mg content, and zone of Fe-Mn crusts.

Age determination of sediment cores from the Shelf Edge off Mauritania, Northwest Africa

The impact of late glacial changes on the sedimentary record was investigated in two long vibracores, collected from the shelf edge off Mauritania, northwest Africa. Lithology and radiocarbon dates indicate that the sedimentary sequences were mainly controlled by sea-level changes on the shelf. The upper Pleistocene sequence is characterized by deposition in coastal environments, while the Holocene sequence represents deposition in shelf environments. During low sea level, much sediment was supplied to the present outer shelf, and the data imply an average accumulation rate of up to 43.0 cm/1000 yrs during the late Pleistocene, which is substantially higher than the Holocene rate. Shelf sediments were continuously reworked and redistributed on a regional scale during falling and rising sea level. The presence of reworked material results in radiocarbon ages which are too old. The mollusc. Venus striatula, which presently is found north of, but not along, the Mauritanian coast, occurs in the upper Pleistocene sequence, suggesting cooler water conditions in the shelf during late glacial times. This species probably migrated to the south during late glacial times, following the southward extension of the cold Canary Current. Radiocarbon dates of the shells broadly coincide with a lowstand of sea level over this part of the continental shelf.