Lateglacial and Holocene terrestrial and marine proxies reflecting climate changes in the Malangen fjord area, Norway, northeast North Atlantic

A high-resolution Younger Dryas–late Holocene record of climate and environment from the Malangen fjord has been established on the basis of two marine sediment cores. Five pollen-spore assemblage zones have been defined covering the period c . 11 500 cal. yr BP (10 200 ¹⁴C yr BP) to c . 1600 cal. yr BP (1600 ¹⁴C yr BP) with a hiatus of c . 2000 cal. years between c . 10 200 and 8100 cal. yr BP (9000 and 7300 ¹⁴C yr BP). The Holocene vegetation development from pioneer vegetation to forest development, identified in the marine pollen record, correlates well with pollen records from terrestrial sections of northern Norway. The marine pollen record was also correlated directly with marine proxy records of the bottom water temperature investigated in the same sediment cores. Correlation between the marine and terrestrial proxies suggests that changes in the influx of warm Atlantic Water to the fjord led to an instant change in the vegetation of the surrounding land area. The results thus support a strong link between marine and atmospheric mean climatic states in the North Atlantic region throughout the Holocene.     

The Fossvogur marine sediments in SW Iceland - confined to the Allerød/Younger Dryas transition by AMS 14 C dating

An exhaustive ¹⁴C dating programme of molluscs from the Fossvogur sediments in Reykjavik. Iceland is presented. For the first time all the fossiliferous units of the sediments are dated. The results confirm earlier conclusions of a widespread occurrence of marine sediments of Allerød age in Reykjavik. The set of dates from the Fossvogur sediments shows a narrow ¹⁴C age distribution (standard deviation of ±235 years) of molluscs from all localities and from successive marine units in vertical sections. The weighted mean conventional ¹⁴C age is 11,400 BP. Assuming a reservoir effect of 400 years. this corresponds to a reservoir-corrected age of I1,000 BP. i.e. the Allerød- Younger Dryas transition for the sampled units, These new ¹⁴C dates from Fossvogur confirm the need for a revision of the Upper Pleistocene chronology of the Reykjavik region. They also have a bearing on the Late Weichselian record of glacier readvances and sea-level changes in the area. The dates suggest that the marine units in Fossvogur accumulated within a restricted time-span of a few hundred years. The sediments in Fossvogur are of volcaniclastic origin and are extremely lithified, indicating local geothermal activity soon after their deposition. This may explain anomalously high D/L amino acid ratios measured in molluscs from the Fossvogur sediments. δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O results suggest that temperatures may have ranged up to 60°C.     

Holocene temporal and spatial variation in the radiocarbon reservoir age of three Danish fjords

Holocene temporal and spatial reservoir age variations have been investigated in three Danish fjords (Horsens Fjord, Tempelkrog in Isefjord and Skælskør Nor) by ¹⁴C dating paired samples of terrestrial plant material and marine molluscs in sediment cores. The local reservoir age offsets at all three sites show significant temporal and local variations, with ΔR(t) values ranging from −425 to 620 yr. The ΔR(t) values for Horsens Fjord range from −425 to 0 yr, for Tempelkrog from −230 to 360 yr and for Skælskør Nor from 30 to 620 yr. The differences are best explained by differences in local hydrographic configuration, catchment characteristics and connection with the inner Danish seas. The observed temporal ΔR(t) variations are not synchronous, which is probably due to the overriding role played by numerous local factors affecting the ΔR(t) values. Based on the reservoir data from Horsens Fjord and Tempelkrog, it is suggested as a working hypothesis that the ΔR value for Kattegat prior to 4500 cal. yr BP was negative, i.e. between −130 and −200 yr. The temporal and local variations in the reservoir age underline the problems and uncertainties connected with radiocarbon-dating fossil human skeletons with marine diets. Overall, our data show that reservoir ages in Danish fjords and estuaries are both site-specific and time-specific, implying that modern reservoir ages cannot simply be applied back in time. This conclusion may also be valid in the case of fjords and estuaries in large parts of the Baltic too.     

Depositional environment of the Laptev Sea (Arctic Siberia) during the Holocene

The Holocene depositional setting of the Laptev Sea was studied using three marine sediment cores from water depths between 77 and 46 m. Based on sedimentary parameters (TOC content, δ¹³C_org, sedimentation rates) controlled by radiocarbon age models the palaeoenvironment of a strongly coupled river-shelf system was reconstructed since ˜11 ka BP. Caused by a transgressing sea after the last glaciation, all cores reveal progressive decreases in sedimentation rates. Using the sedimentary records of a core from the Khatanga-Anabar river channel in the western Laptev Sea, several phases of change are recognized: (1) an early period lasted until ˜10 ka BP characterized by an increased deposition of plant debris due to shelf erosion and fluvial runoff; (2) a transitional phase with consistently increasing marine conditions until 6 ka BP, which was marked at its beginning near 10 ka BP by the first occurrence of marine bivalves, high TOC content and an increase in δ¹³C_org; (3) a time of extremely slow deposition of sediments, commencing at ˜6 ka BP and interpreted as Holocene sea-level highstand, which caused a southward retreat of the depositional centres within the now submerged river channels on the shelf; (4) a final phase with the establishment of modern conditions after ˜2 ka BP.     

Late- and postglacial history of the Great Belt, Denmark

On the basis of shallow seismic records, vibrocoring, macrofossil analyses and AMS radiocarbon-dating, five stratigraphical units have been distinguished from the deepest parts of the central Great Belt (Storebælt) in southern Scandinavia. Widespread glacial deposits are followed by two lateglacial units confined to deeply incised channels and separated by an erosional boundary. Lateglacial Unit I dates from the time interval from the last deglaciation to the Allerød; lateglacial Unit II is of Younger Dryas age. Early Holocene deposits show a development from river deposits and lake-shore deposits to large lake deposits, corresponding to a rising shore level. Lake deposits are found up to 20 m below the sea floor, and the lake extended over some 200–300 km2. The early Holocene freshwater deposits are dated to the time interval c. 10900 to c. 8800 cal. yr BP and the oldest shells of marine molluscs from the Great Belt are dated to c. 8100 cal. yr BP.     

Extinction chronology and palaeobiology of the cave bear (Ursus spelaeus)

The cave bear ( Ursus spelaeus ) was one of several spectacular megafaunal species that became extinct in northern Eurasia during the late Quaternary. Vast numbers of their remains have been recovered from many cave sites, almost certainly representing animals that died during winter hibernation. On the evidence of skull anatomy and low δ¹⁵N values of bone collagen, cave bears appear to have been predominantly vegetarian. The diet probably included substantial high quality herbaceous vegetation. In order to address the reasons for the extinction of the cave bear, we have constructed a chronology using only radiocarbon dates produced directly on cave bear material. The date list is largely drawn from the literature, and as far as possible the dates have been audited (screened) for reliability. We also present new dates from our own research, including results from the Urals. U. spelaeus probably disappeared from the Alps and adjacent areas – currently the only region for which there is fairly good evidence – c . 24 000 radiocarbon years BP ( c . 27 800 cal. yr BP), approximately coincident with the start of Greenland Stadial 3 ( c . 27 500 cal. yr BP). Climatic cooling and inferred decreased vegetational productivity were probably responsible for its disappearance from this region. We are investigating the possibility that cave bear survived significantly later elsewhere, for example in southern or eastern Europe.     

Stable chlorine isotope evidence for non-marine chloride in Badenian evaporites, Carpathian mountain region

Routine trace-element geochemistry suggests that components in putative marine halite evaporites may be partly of nonmarine origin, but such interpretations are commonly ambiguous. Stable chlorine isotopes may provide a less-ambiguous marker of chloride origin where δ³⁷Cl departs from the range predicted for evaporite formation from seawater. Bedded halite with primary sedimentary textures preserves original δ³⁷Cl values. Measurable change in δ³⁷Cl can be generated by incongruent dissolution of halite, but only if less than half the original halite remains. Badenian (middle Miocene) halite from the Forecarpathian and from the East Slovakian and Transcarpathian basins has a δ³⁷Cl range of – 0.2 to 0.8‰. Two phenomena cannot be explained by simple evaporation of 0.0‰ seawater. At Wieliczka, the Shaft Salt has distinctive δ³⁷Cl values (– 0.2 to 0.0‰) relative to neighbouring salt beds (0.2 to  0.6‰), requiring a large, abrupt input of brine with negative δ³⁷Cl. Halite with high (0.6 – 0.8‰) δ³⁷Cl near the base of the East Slovakian and Transcarpathian evaporites requires a large input of chloride with positive δ³⁷Cl into the basins. Expulsion of basin brine with non-0‰δ³⁷Cl into the evaporite basins may account for the nonmarine chloride sources.     

Late Pleistocene giant short-faced bears, mammoths, and large carcass scavenging in the Saltville Valley of Virginia, USA

The Saltville Valley of southwestern Virginia contains an abundance of extinct Late Pleistocene megafauna. Recent excavations in the valley produced two particularly notable discoveries, the remains of a scavenged mammoth ( Mammuthus sp.) and a giant short-faced bear ( Arctodus simus ). The bear is the first carnivoran record from Saltville, and its large dental dimensions, dentary proportions, and exceptionally short-face, evince an exceedingly powerful bite for this individual. Mammoth remains are relatively abundant from Saltville, but the material described here preserves extreme examples of scavenging by carnivores. Based on comparisons with the feeding behavior and bone alteration patterns of extant hyenas, cats, wolves, and bears, we conclude that at least two types of large carnivorans scavenged this mammoth carcass. AMS radiocarbon dates of 14 510 ± 55 ¹⁴C yr BP on the Mammuthus and 14 853 ± 55 ¹⁴C yr BP on the A. simus demonstrate that they are nearly the same age. Very few direct radiocarbon dates on A. simus have been reported from the contiguous United States. The Saltville A. simus represents the most eastern date for the species, as well as the only date from the Appalachian Highlands.     

A distinct δ13C decline in organic lake sediments at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in southern Sweden

Values of δ¹³C obtained from conventional bulk sediment radiocarbon dates encompassing the Pleistocene Holocene boundary have been compiled and plotted against ¹⁴C age. In all. 286 lake sediment dates from southern Sweden in the range 8.000 to 13.000 BP have been evaluated. A significant decrease in δ¹³C values, initiated shortly before 10.000 RP and amounting to 5%, is distinguished. This change is accompanied by increased limnic productivity. decreased erosive input and increased organic carbon content of the sediments. A probable explanation for the δ¹³C decline in organic material is decreased importance of dissolution of silicates at the transition to the Holocene. During the Late Weichselian. extensive weathering of exposed minerogenic material with subsequent input of bicarbonate to the lake water may have caused a relative enrichment of ¹³C in dissolved inorganic carbon. Furthermore, the early Holocene increase in terrestrial vegetation cover probably led to an increased supply of ¹³C depleted carbon dioxide to the lake water by root respiration. Altered limnic vegetation, presumably towards increased production of phytoplankton. could also have contributed to the observed decreasing δ¹³C trend. The importance of these processes compared to other possible influencing factors. mainly endogenic carbonate production and changes in the global carbon cycle. is discussed.     

Chronology and organic chemistry of the Black Creek Swamp Megafauna site (Late Pleistocene), Kangaroo Island, Australia

The timing of the extinction of the Australian Megafauna and whether it was simultaneous and widespread has been a much researched topic in Quaternary geoscience. The Black Creek Swamp Megafauna site on Kangaroo Island was thought to be a refugium for Megafauna; however, recent and multidiscipline age determinations have established that the fossils are considerably older than the well-quoted extinction age of 45 kyr. Further radiocarbon age determinations, δ¹³C isotope analysis and ¹³C-NMR spectroscopy of the fossil containing organic matter demonstrates that it is highly soluble and accumulated as recently as 31–18 cal. kyr BP. These radiocarbon ages are much younger than the 100–50 kyr age bracket ascertained for the fossil material itself, implying separate episodes of death, deposition and burial. The soluble nature of the organic matter and increasing radiocarbon ages with depth suggests lateral accumulation, probably transported by subsurface waters from elevated areas proximal to the low-lying swamp. Such depositional conditions and ¹⁴C age range implies that the site may have experienced an unusually wet Last Glacial Maximum, due maybe to its proximity to the continental shelf and thus to maritime conditions. C3 vegetation dominates the Black Creek Swamp and its organic matter (δ¹³C; −30‰ and −23‰); however, variations in δ¹³C may indicate climatic shifts. ¹³C-enrichment and an abundance of salt-tolerant gastropods within the site's final phase of sediment accumulation (<6 cal. kyr BP) suggest that conditions during this most recent period were not as wet as those of the Last Glacial Maximum.     

Middle Weichselian to Holocene palaeoecology in the eastern Kattegat, Scandinavia: foraminifera, ostracods and 14C measurements

Examination of a 10 m piston core from the eastern Kattegat revealed marine sediments spanning a period from the late Middle Weichselian to the Early Holocene. The oldest marine unit in the core is ¹⁴C-dated to about 30,000–36,000 years BP. These sediments represent the Middle Weichselian Sandnes/Denekamp-Hengelo Interstadial (upper part of stable isotope stage 3) and can be correlated to marine deposits from several localities in the Kattegat region by means of foraminifera. The Late Weichselian deposits comprise sediments from the Oldest Dryas Stadial and the Allerød Interstadial. The intervening periods are not represented in the sequence (hiatuses). Sediments from the latest part of the Early Holocene Preboreal period succeeding the Allerod sequence indicate a considerable hiatus spanning 2000–3000 years around the Weichselian/Holocene boundary. The late Preboreal faunas document a high freshwater inflow during this period, and stable conditions seem not to have been reached in the area until a few hundred years later, in the Boreal period. Comparison with boxcore material from the same site documents a reduction of the energy level of the bottom currents some time between c. 8000 and 800 years BP.     

The first Holocene relative sea-level curve from the middle part of Hardangerfjorden, western Norway

Romundset, A., Lohne, Ø. S., Mangerud, J. & Svendsen, J. I. 2009: The first Holocene relative sea-level curve from the middle part of Hardangerfjorden, western Norway. Boreas , 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2009.00108.x. ISSN 0300-9483.
The first relative sea-level (RSL) curve from the mid-Hardangerfjorden area covering the entire Holocene is presented. The curve is based on a series of AMS ¹⁴C dates on terrestrial plant macrofossils across the isolation level in each of five lakes located between 3.5 and 74.5 m a.s.l. During the first 1200 years, the RSL fell very rapidly from the marine limit at 98 m a.s.l. to 33 m a.s.l., i.e. at a rate of 5.4 cm yr⁻¹. The emergence rate then slowed considerably and was close to standstill 8000–6500 cal. yr BP. However, an emergence of 16.5 m has taken place during the past 6000 years. Radiocarbon dates of terrestrial plant macrofossils from the basal strata in a lake above the marine limit and mollusc shells from glaciomarine silt in the isolation basins yielded a mean age for the local ice-margin retreat of 11 300 cal. yr BP. This verifies that Hardangerfjorden was glaciated during the Younger Dryas – an interpretation that has recently been disputed. The ice margin retreated at a rate of about 300 m yr⁻¹ from the position of the Younger Dryas moraine to this site some 60 km further into the fjord.     

Exposure age dating and Equilibrium Line Altitude reconstruction of an Egesen moraine in the Maritime Alps, Italy

Four boulder samples from the Piano del Praiet frontal moraine in the Gesso della Barra Valley (Maritime Alps) have been ¹⁰Be dated. The results give a weighted mean age of 11 340±370 (870) yr, constraining the frontal moraine to the Egesen glacial stadial, during the Younger Dryas cold phase. By applying the same ¹⁰Be production rate to other Egesen moraines previously dated in the Alps, we obtain similar ages for all of them. This suggests a synchroneity of the Egesen deglaciation in the European Alps at the end of the Younger Dryas. From the palaeoshape of the Egesen glacier, reconstructed by means of geomorphological mapping, an Equilibrium Line Altitude depression (δELA) of −520 to −530 m, with respect to the present-day ELA, and of −260 to −320 m, with respect to the Little Ice Age ELA, has been calculated. Comparison with other Alpine sector δELAs indicates that the Maritime Alps experienced humid climatic conditions during the Younger Dryas.     

Reconstruction of late Quaternary sea-level change in southwestern British Columbia from sediments in isolation basins

Bracketing ages on marine—freshwater transitions in isolation basins extending from sea level to 100 m elevation on Lasqueti Island, and data from shallow marine cores and outcrops on eastern Vancouver Island, constrain late Pleistocene and Holocene sea-level change in the central Strait of Georgia. Relative sea level fell from 150 m elevation to about —15 m from 14000 cal. yr BP to 11 500 cal. yr BP. Basins at higher elevations exhibit abrupt changes in diatom assemblages at the marine-freshwater transition. At lower elevations an intervening brackish phase suggests slower rates of uplift. Relative sea level rose to about +1 m about 9000 cal. yr BP to 8500 cal. yr BP, and then slowly fell to the modern datum. The mean rate of glacio-isostatic rebound in the first millennium after deglaciation was about 0.11 in a ^-1, similar to the peak rate at the centres of the former Laurentide and Fennoscandian ice complexes. The latter feature smooth, exponential-style declines in sea level up to the present day, whereas in the study area the uplift rate dropped to less than one-tenth of its initial value in only about 2500 years. Slower, more deeply seated isostatic recovery generated residual uplift rates of <0.01 m a^-1 in the early Holocene after the late-Pleistocene wasting of the Cordilleran ice sheet.     

First discovery of cryptotephra in Holocene peat deposits of Estonia, eastern Baltic

This article reports the first discovery of middle Holocene cryptotephra from a peat sequence in Estonia, eastern Baltic. Two sequences, Mustjärve and Parika (located 110 km apart), were chosen for a pilot study aimed at finding traces of tephra fallout during the middle Holocene. Peat accumulation at both sites started in the early Holocene (c. 9500–9000 ¹⁴C yr BP; c . 11 000–10000 cal. yr BP) and continued throughout the whole Holocene. The radiocarbon-dated intervals between c. 2000 and 5000 ¹⁴C yr BP (c. 2000–5500 cal. yr BP) were chosen from both sites for the study. Colourless tephra shards were identified at 312–316 cm below the peat surface in the Mustjärve peat sequence, while no tephra was found in peat of the same age at Parika. Electron microprobe analyses suggest a correlation with the initial phase of the Hekla-4 eruption (c. 4260 cal. yr BP), although the age-depth model indicated an age around 4900 cal. yr BP. Small concentrations of colourless to light brown tephra shards at 266–270 cm in the Mustjärve sequence indicate that the Kebister tephra (c. 3750 cal. yr BP) might also be present, but geochemical analyses were not possible. The low concentration and small size of the tephra particles indicate that Estonian bogs are probably on the verge of where tephrochronology is possible in northwestern Europe. Further studies of full Holocene sequences are required in order to discover traces of other ash plumes reaching as far east as the eastern Baltic area.     

Rate of late Quaternary ice-cap thinning on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica defined by cosmogenic 36Cl surface exposure dating

Glacial landforms on the Barton and Weaver peninsulas of King George Island in the South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica were mapped and dated using terrestrial cosmogenic ³⁶Cl methods to provide the first quantitative terrestrial record for late Quaternary deglaciation in the South Shetland Islands. ³⁶Cl ages on glacially eroded and striated bedrock surfaces range from 15.5±2.5 kyr to 1.0±0.7 kyr. The ³⁶Cl ages are younger with decreasing altitude, indicating progressive downwasting of the southwestern part of the Collins Ice Cap at a rate of ∼12 mm yr⁻¹ since 15.5±2.5 kyr ago, supporting the previously published marine records for the timing and estimate of the rate of deglaciation in this region.     

Holocene vegetation dynamics and inferred climate changes at Svanåvatnet, Mo i Rana, northern Norway

Pollen and plant macrofossil analyses from Svanåvatnet in northern Norway provide records of past vegetation and climate in this region from c . 8700 cal. yr BP until the present. Pollen accumulation rates and the presence of plant macrofossils indicate that Betula pubescens (birch) was present from c . 8600 cal. yr BP and Pinus sylvestris (pine) from c . 8200 cal. yr BP. Quantitative climate is reconstructed using modern pollen-climate transfer functions based on weighted-averaging partial least squares regression. A rapid increase in mean July temperature (T_jul) and mean annual precipitation (P_ann) is inferred for the early Holocene. At times when tree abundance is at its highest and most diverse, inferred T_jul indicates maximum temperatures during the mid-Holocene of about 2°C warmer than at present. During the same time period, inferred P_ann is 200–300 mm above present-day conditions until c . 3000 cal. yr BP. Mean January temperatures (T_jan) are reconstructed to be about 2°C warmer than today from 8000 to 3500 cal. yr BP. After 3500 cal. yr BP until today, a gradual decrease is seen in all the reconstructed climate parameters, together with a reduction in tree abundance and the development of a mosaic of open vegetation with grasses, dwarf shrubs and wet areas, and of woodland containing B. pubescens , P. sylvestris and Picea abies (spruce).     

10Be chronology of the last deglaciation of County Donegal, northwestern Ireland

A well-preserved moraine on the northern coast of County Donegal, Ireland, has played a critical role in our understanding of the glacial history of this sector of the Irish Ice Sheet (IIS). Because of a lack of numerical dating of the moraine, however, previous interpretations of its age and significance to the glacial history of this region have varied widely. Here we report eight in situ cosmogenic ¹⁰Be ages on boulders sampled from the moraine. Two of these ages are outliers, with the remaining six ranging from 18.8±1.0 ¹⁰Be kyr to 20.9±1.3 ¹⁰Be kyr, with an uncertainty-weighted mean age of 19.4±0.3 ¹⁰Be kyr (19.4±1.2 kyr accounting for production rate uncertainty). Our results confirm one previous ¹⁰Be age obtained from the moraine, with the combined data ( n =7) constraining the age of initial deglaciation of the IIS from its LGM position on the continental shelf to be 19.3±0.3 ¹⁰Be kyr (19.3±1.2 kyr accounting for production rate uncertainty). These ages are in excellent agreement with calibrated ¹⁴C ages that constrain retreat of the IIS margin from the continental shelf elsewhere in northwestern and western Ireland and the Irish Sea Basin associated with the start of the Cooley Point Interstadial (≥20–≤18.2 cal. kyr BP), suggesting widespread deglaciation of the IIS ∼19.5–20 kyr ago.     

Chemical Separation and Isotopic Variations of Cu and Zn From Five Geological Reference Materials

This paper presents an adapted anion exchange column chemistry protocol which allowed separation of high-purity fractions of Cu and Zn from geological materials. Isobaric and non-spectral interferences were virtually eliminated for consequent multiple-collector ICP-MS analysis of the isotopic composition of these metals. The procedure achieved ∼ 100% recoveries, thus ensuring the absence of column-induced isotopic fractionation. By employing these techniques, we report isotopic analyses for Cu and Zn from five geological reference materials: BCR-027 blende ore (BCR), δ⁶⁵Cu = 0.52 ± 0.15‰ (n = 10) and δ⁶⁶Zn = 0.33 ± 0.07‰ (n = 8); BCR-030 calcined calamine ore (BCR), δ⁶⁶Zn = -0.06 ± 0.09‰ (n = 8); BCR-1 basalt (USGS), δ⁶⁶Zn = 0.29 ± 0.12‰ (n = 8); NOD-P-1 manganese nodule (USGS), δ⁶⁵Cu = 0.46 ± 0.08‰ (n = 10) and δ⁶⁶Zn = 0.78 ± 0.09‰ (n = 9); SU-1 Cu-Co ore (CCRMP), δ⁶⁵Cu = -0.018 ± 0.08‰ (n = 10) and δ⁶⁶Zn = 0.13 ± 0.17‰ (n = 6). All uncertainties are ± 2s; copper isotope ratios are reported relative to NIST SRM-976, and zinc isotope ratios relative to the Lyon-group Johnson Matthey metal (batch 3-0749 L) solution, JMC Zn. These values agree well with the limited data previously published, and with results reported for similar natural sample types. Samples were measured using a GVi IsoProbe MC-ICP-MS, based at the Natural History Museum, London. Long-term measurement reproducibility has been assessed by repeat analyses of both single element and complex matrix samples, and was commonly better than ± 0.07‰ for both δ⁶⁶Zn and δ⁶⁵Cu.     

AMS 14C measurements and macrofossil analyses of a varved sequence near Pudozh, eastern Karelia, NW Russia

The laminated sediments at Pudozh in eastern Karelia are generally assumed to have been deposited between 13 000 and 16 000 ¹⁴C yr BP and have been used to date the recession of the active ice margin. However, 17 AMS ¹⁴C measurements performed on terrestrial plant macrofossils contained in these sediments show that deposition began during the late Allerφd, when the ice margin had already receded to the northern part of Lake Onega. Based on an age model, we assume that the 1933-year-long varved sequence covers the time period between c. 12 900 and 11 000 calendar years BP. During this period, which comprises the later part of the Late Weichselian and the early Holocene, the local vegetation consisted of open, tree-less dwarf shrub heaths. Increased soil erosion may have occurred before 12 550 calendar years BP.