The Late Weichselian to Holocene succession of the Niedersee (Rügen, Baltic Sea) - new results based on multi-proxy studies

Abstract

The locality of the Niedersee, situated directly on the south-eastern cliff line of the Jasmund Peninsula (Isle of Rügen, Baltic Sea), is a classical Late Glacial site. The small kettle hole depression of the Niedersee reveals an excellent archive for palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic reconstructions. Here, a new research was performed which provides more detailed and precise knowledge of the local development during the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition, because especially the Weichselian Late Glacial is completely preserved here. Dating is based on pollenstratigraphy, AMS 14C-measurements, and the proof of the Laacher See Tephra (LST). The sedimentary record of the Niedersee, ranging from the Weichselian Pleniglacial to the Preboreal (∼15,000-∼10,000 cal. years BP), can mainly be traced back to small, shallow lacustrine environments, which were repeatedly affected by fluctuating water levels. This led subsequently to a hiatus within the sedimentary succession in the course of the Preboreal. Sedimentation ultimately continued during the Atlantic and ceased with the development of an alkaline fen. The combined data of the rich pollen-, micro- and macrofossil record (e.g. ostracods, molluscs, plant remains, etc.) of the Niedersee prove to be an excellent tool to reveal the changing climate conditions and their influence on the regional palaeoenvironments. Copyright: