Project Details
Projekt
Littorina transgression in the western Baltic Sea: pathway, timing, and possible implications for human settlement
Applicant
Privatdozent Dr. Wolfram Lemke
Subject Area
Palaeontology
Term
from 2002 to 2010
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5469791
One of the most dramatic environmental changes in the postglacial history of the Baltic Sea as a whole was the transformation from fresh-water into a brackish-marine basin during the Litorina transgression. For the entire Baltic basin, such conditions had not prevailed since the disappearance of marine influences at the end of the last (Eemian) interglacial, more than 100,000 years ago. Mainly due to the post-glacial large eustatic sea level rise the Danish Straits were inundated and marine waters could enter the Baltic Basin. This process changed the complete hydrographic system as well as the coastal configuration throughout the entire Baltic region. The general picture of this development is well known, but many details remain contradictory with a number of essential questions unsolved. This is true not only for the accurate dating of the Litorina transgression, but also for the chronological order in which the thresholds in the Belts and the Øresound were flooded. The latter question is especially crucial for investigations dealing with the late Mesolithic and early Neolithic environment and settlement history of the southern coasts of the Baltic Sea. The aim of this project is a detailed reconstruction of the Litorina transgression in space and time in the hydrographically crucial transitional area between Kattegat and the Baltic Proper. For the purpose of our study appropriate sediment sequences comprising the transition from fresh water to brackish conditions will be sampled, dated and interpreted. Suitable sampling sites will be chosen using seismo-acoustical profiling data and other existing regional information. Apart from the benefits for archaeological research, new insights about the behaviour of geological systems during a major transgressional phase can be expected. In addition, we expect to improve our knowledge of possible neotectonic activity in the region.
DFG Programme
Research Units
