Revisiting the Paleo Elbe Valley: Reconstruction of the Holocene, Sedimentary Development on Basis of High-Resolution Grain Size Data and Shallow Seismics

The Paleo Elbe Valley is the most prominent subsurface structure in the southern North Sea. During the Weichselian (marine isotope stage (MIS) 2), the valley traversed the exposed sea floor and drained the southern margin of the Scandinavian ice sheet. Today the valley is filled with up to 16 m thic...

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Main Authors: Svenja Papenmeier, H. Christian Hass
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-12-01
Series:Geosciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/10/12/505
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author Svenja Papenmeier
H. Christian Hass
author_facet Svenja Papenmeier
H. Christian Hass
author_sort Svenja Papenmeier
collection DOAJ
description The Paleo Elbe Valley is the most prominent subsurface structure in the southern North Sea. During the Weichselian (marine isotope stage (MIS) 2), the valley traversed the exposed sea floor and drained the southern margin of the Scandinavian ice sheet. Today the valley is filled with up to 16 m thick sediments, but the responsible processes and drivers remain unknown. To unravel these processes and describe the valley’s evolution with Holocene transgression, we use shallow seismic data and vertical high-resolution grain-size core data. At the base of the western shore, supralittoral fine sands are overlain by a thin layer of clay dated to 9.8 cal. ka BP. The major sediment package consists of marine silt with internal seismic reflectors inclined in a northeastern direction, indicating a sediment transport from the southwest. The valley infill started when the western shore was flooded around 9.6 cal. ka BP and can be divided into two phases. During the first one (9.6–8.1 cal. ka BP) the sedimentation rate was highly driven by wind and waves. The second phase (8.1–5.0 cal. ka BP) was mainly tidal dominated but shows also storm event deposits in the north. Around 5.0 cal. ka BP the valley was almost filled.
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spelling doaj.art-e177765074e449f6a32e7052dafcd72b2023-11-21T01:35:01ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632020-12-01101250510.3390/geosciences10120505Revisiting the Paleo Elbe Valley: Reconstruction of the Holocene, Sedimentary Development on Basis of High-Resolution Grain Size Data and Shallow SeismicsSvenja Papenmeier0H. Christian Hass1Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, 18119 Rostock, GermanyAlfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Wadden Sea Research Station, Hafenstraße 43, 25992 List, GermanyThe Paleo Elbe Valley is the most prominent subsurface structure in the southern North Sea. During the Weichselian (marine isotope stage (MIS) 2), the valley traversed the exposed sea floor and drained the southern margin of the Scandinavian ice sheet. Today the valley is filled with up to 16 m thick sediments, but the responsible processes and drivers remain unknown. To unravel these processes and describe the valley’s evolution with Holocene transgression, we use shallow seismic data and vertical high-resolution grain-size core data. At the base of the western shore, supralittoral fine sands are overlain by a thin layer of clay dated to 9.8 cal. ka BP. The major sediment package consists of marine silt with internal seismic reflectors inclined in a northeastern direction, indicating a sediment transport from the southwest. The valley infill started when the western shore was flooded around 9.6 cal. ka BP and can be divided into two phases. During the first one (9.6–8.1 cal. ka BP) the sedimentation rate was highly driven by wind and waves. The second phase (8.1–5.0 cal. ka BP) was mainly tidal dominated but shows also storm event deposits in the north. Around 5.0 cal. ka BP the valley was almost filled.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/10/12/505paleoenvironmentNorth SeaHolocene sea-level risesedimentary infill<sup>14</sup>C age determinationparametric sediment echo sounder
spellingShingle Svenja Papenmeier
H. Christian Hass
Revisiting the Paleo Elbe Valley: Reconstruction of the Holocene, Sedimentary Development on Basis of High-Resolution Grain Size Data and Shallow Seismics
Geosciences
paleoenvironment
North Sea
Holocene sea-level rise
sedimentary infill
<sup>14</sup>C age determination
parametric sediment echo sounder
title Revisiting the Paleo Elbe Valley: Reconstruction of the Holocene, Sedimentary Development on Basis of High-Resolution Grain Size Data and Shallow Seismics
title_full Revisiting the Paleo Elbe Valley: Reconstruction of the Holocene, Sedimentary Development on Basis of High-Resolution Grain Size Data and Shallow Seismics
title_fullStr Revisiting the Paleo Elbe Valley: Reconstruction of the Holocene, Sedimentary Development on Basis of High-Resolution Grain Size Data and Shallow Seismics
title_full_unstemmed Revisiting the Paleo Elbe Valley: Reconstruction of the Holocene, Sedimentary Development on Basis of High-Resolution Grain Size Data and Shallow Seismics
title_short Revisiting the Paleo Elbe Valley: Reconstruction of the Holocene, Sedimentary Development on Basis of High-Resolution Grain Size Data and Shallow Seismics
title_sort revisiting the paleo elbe valley reconstruction of the holocene sedimentary development on basis of high resolution grain size data and shallow seismics
topic paleoenvironment
North Sea
Holocene sea-level rise
sedimentary infill
<sup>14</sup>C age determination
parametric sediment echo sounder
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/10/12/505
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