Depositional processes under changing climate: Upper Subatlantic granulometric records from the Skagerrak (NE-North Sea)
Hass, H.C. (1993). Depositional processes under changing climate: Upper Subatlantic granulometric records from the Skagerrak (NE-North Sea), in: Liebezeit, B. et al. Holocene sedimentation in the Skagerrak. Marine Geology, Spec. Iss. 111(3-4): pp. 361-378. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0025-3227(93)90141-h In: Liebezeit, B. et al. (Ed.) (1993). Holocene sedimentation in the Skagerrak. Marine Geology, Spec. Iss. 111(3-4). Elsevier: Amsterdam. 189-394 pp., more In: Marine Geology. Elsevier: Amsterdam. ISSN 0025-3227; e-ISSN 1872-6151, more |  |
| Abstract | Four long sediment cores from the southern flank of the Skagerrak have been analyzed in order to reconstruct the sedimentary history of the past 1000 years. The granulometric composition and sedimentation rate of the sediments are highly variable over short distances depending on water depth and current velocities. Sedimentation rates range between 4 and > 50 mm/yr. High resolution granulometric data show a coarsening upward trend over most parts of the cores from the western part of the studied area, whereas cores from the eastern part are characterized by a contourite-like sedimentation pattern. The coarsening upward trend is interpreted as the result of multiple processes (e.g. downslope sediment displacement, alteration of catchment areas and fluctuating current strengths). The sediment cores from the eastern part are likely to reflect fluctuating bottom currents as a major aspect. These fluctuations are interpreted to be climatically induced. One dated core (8 m length, 428 m water depth) has been subdivided into 6 facial units, which can be correlated with the climatic history of the studied area. Colder periods such as the Little Ice Age are reflected by coarser sediments due to higher frequencies of westerly winds and storms altering the circulation pattern; warmer periods such as the Medieval Warm Period are characterized by lower bottom current velocities and therefore finer sediments. |
|
