Stratigraphic correlation of late Weichselian and Holocene deposits in the Lithuanian coastal region

Abstract

The Lithuanian coastal region serves as a key area for solving different problems of Quaternary geology, particularly those related to the development of the Baltic Sea in Late Weichselian and Holocene times. Within this research, Late Weichselian and Holocene deposits in three localities in the northern part of the Lithuanian coastal region were studied. The set of methods used included palynological and diatom analysis, palaeontological investigation of subfossil mollusc fauna, measurements of the isotopic composition (δ13C and δ18O) of mollusc shells, radiocarbon dating of molluscs and organic deposits, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sandy deposits. The studies showed that the coastal deposits in the northern part of the Lithuanian coastal region formed during the Baltic Ice Lake, Ancylus Lake, Litorina Sea, and Post-Litorina Sea stages of the Baltic Sea evolution. The OSL technique, which was used for the first time in dating relatively young marine sandy deposits in Lithuania, yielded the results fitting in with palaeobotanical, palaeontological, and radiocarbon data, particularly in the case of deposits younger than 5000 years.