Terrestrial deposits from the Słupsk bank as an evidence of the late glacial and early holocene Baltic sea level

Badania sejsmoakustyczne oraz analizy osadów (litologiczne, palinologiczne, malakologiczne), a zwłaszcza datowania radiowęglowe torfów, pozwoliły na szczegółową charakterystykę stanowiska późnoglacjalnych i wczesnoholoceńskich torfów i osadów jeziornych we wschodniej części Ławicy Słupskiej. Wykazano, że od deglacjacji do początków transgresji litorynowej, około 8000-7500 lat BP, Ławica Słupska była lądem, a maksymalny poziom wód w zbiornikach bałtyckiego jeziora lodowego i jeziora ancylusowego nie był wyższy niż 24-25 m poniżej współczesnego poziomu morza

Review and reinterpretation of the pollen and diatom data from the deposits of the Southern Baltic lagoons

According to their origin, geomorphology and hydrology, the fresh/brackish-water bays and coastal lakes of the Southern Baltic coast can be treated as lagoons. They developed at the time of and as a result of the Atlantic (Litorina) transgression of the Southern Baltica. There are many publications about the origin and evolution of the lagoons and lakes along the Polish coast of the Southern Baltic (e.g. Przybyłowska-Lange, 1973a, b, 1974, 1979, 1981; Zaborowska, 1977; Zachowicz, 1977, 1985; Wypych, 1980a, b; Zachowicz et al., 1982; Bogaczewicz-Adamczak, Miotk, 1985a, b; Dąbrowski et al., 1985; Zachowicz, Zaborowska, 1985; Borówka et al., 2001a, b, 2002). Nevertheless, the origin of the lagoons has not been fully explained. In the light of present-day information the results of earliest investigations often need to be reinterpreted. The aim of this work was the correlation of the published and unpublished pollen and diatom diagrams from Late Pleistocene and Holocene sediments of the Southern Baltic lagoons, and their relation with radiocarbon dating. The pollen and diatom diagrams from the area of north-east Germany and the Curonian Lagoon (Kabailiene., 1999; Jahns, 2000; Kaiser et al., 2000; Endtmann, 2002; Bitinas et al., 2002) have been used for comparison. For the palynological sites, the local pollen assemblage zones (L PAZ) have been identified according to Janczyk-Kopikowa (1987). Comparison of the biostratigraphical data allowed us to define the approach time of the formation of the lagoons in their present-day position on the coast as well as to determine the periods of an accelerated sea-level rise and increased frequency of storm surges (so-called marine transgression phases) when the investigated areas had been under the direct influence of the sea. Such influences are visible about 7000, 6000, 5000 and 4000 years BP. This period of marine influences, about 1000-year long, corresponds very well to the same period of climate oscillations mentioned by Stuiver and Braziunas (1993), Stuiver et al. (1995) and Chapman and Shackelton (2000). The influence of the sea in the Post-Litorina period was associated mainly with the inflow of sea water through more or less developed barriers, so they are not synchronous

Geological structure of the southern Baltic coast and related hazards

Długość polskiego wybrzeża morskiego wynosi 498 km (bez linii brzegowej Zalewów Wiślanego i Szczecińskiego). W budowie geologicznej strefy brzegowej, podobnie jak środkowej i północnej Polski, dominują osady czwartorzędowe. Biorąc pod uwagę geomorfologię i budowę geologiczną wyróżniono trzy zasadnicze typy wybrzeży: klify o łącznej długości ok. 101 km, wybrzeża wydmowe (mierzeje) o łącznej długości ok. 380 km oraz wybrzeża nizinne typu Wetland o długości ok. 17 km. Na wybrzeżach klifowych wyróżniono trzy typy ruchów masowych: obrywy dominujące na klifach, w których występuje glina zwałowa, zsuwy i osypiska dominujące na klifach zbudowanych głównie z osadów piaszczystych oraz typowe osuwiska występujące na klifach o złożonej strukturze geologicznej, gdzie główną rolę odgrywają warstwy ilaste będące powierzchnią poślizgu dla warstw wyżej ległych. Poważne zagrożenia związane są też z erozją niskich i wąskich mierzei, które łatwo mogą być przerwane w czasie sztormów. Nisko położone obszary zaplecza mierzei w takim wypadku zagrożone są powodziami sztormowymi. Podobne zagrożenia powodziowe istnieją też na zapleczu mierzei relatywnie stabilnych - szerokich z wysokimi wałami wydmowymi. Powodzie mogą wystąpić w przypadku wysokich stanów wody spowodowanych spiętrzeniami sztormowymi i barycznymi, dochodzącymi maksymalnie do 2 m ponad średni poziom morza, kiedy dochodzi do wlewów wód morskich do Zalewów i jezior przybrzeżnych

A critical review and reinterpretation of bio-, litho- and seismostratigraphic data of the Southern Baltic deposits

The aim of this study was the reinterpretation of the published and unpublished Late-Pleistocene and Holocene pollen and diatom diagrams of deposits from the sedimentary basins of the Southern Baltic Sea and the correlation of the distinguished biostratigraphic units with lithological parameters, seismostratigraphic units. Chronostratigraphic subdivision of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene was also made. To facilitate the correlation and reinterpretation of the results of biostratigraphic (palynological and diatom) analyses, new unified and simplified diagrams were drawn using the POLPAL software. Such diagrams were constructed for all the sites under comparison, even for those of no numerical data. In such cases, the published diagrams were scanned and their percentage values were the basis for new diagrams. A review and reinterpretation of biostratigraphic data show an almost complete lack of palynological documentation and diatom diagrams for the Late Pleistocene period and poor documentation for the Early Holocene. Middle and Late Holocene Baltic muds have the best biostratigraphic documentation and radiocarbon dating, which greatly facilitates their location on the geological time scale. Among the Southern Baltic postglacial sediments three lithostratigraphic units were identified. They differ in their lithological features reflecting the conditions prevalent in the sedimentary basin during deposition. It should be noted that these units meet no formal criteria for distinguishing lithostratigraphic units. Similarly, within the Late Pleistocene and Holocene sediments of Southern Baltic deep-water basins, three main seismostratigraphic complexes have been identified. The integrated analysis of seismoacoustic profiles, lithological profiles of cores and reinterpretated biostratigraphic data allow a correlation of the bio-, litho- and seismostratigraphic units with chronostratigraphic units and Baltic evolutionary phases

Recent development of the Vistula River outlet

The Vistula River mouth is an unique example of river’s outlet observed since the birth in 1895 to present day. There is a large documentation of morphological changes in the outlet area. In 1895, a 7 kilometres canal was dug into which the waters of the Vistula were let in. Since 1895, most of the water discharge and all sediment transport reach the Gulf through artificial channel c. 20 km east of Gdańsk. During the last 100 years, the shoreline has been shifted seaward c. 1.5 km on the eastern side, to c 2.5 km on the western side of the Vistula mouth. Isobath of 5 m moved seaward c. 3 km and isobaths of 10 and 15 m shifted 2.5 km. During the years 1895-1997, land area accreted to 3,019,000 m2. The volume of the river-outlet cone in the year 2000 was 133.39 mln m3 and the average rate of sediment growth over the 105 years was c. 1.27 mln m3 per year

Palynological evidence of human activity on the gulf of Gdansk coast during the late holocene

The Gulf of Gdansk is located in the southern part of the Baltic Sea. The shores of the Gulf are dominated by the sandy barriers which have developed in front of the Vistula Lagoon and the Vistula Delta Plain to the south-east and south and in front of the Puck Lagoon in the north-west such as the Hel Peninsula. Cliffs occur on the western coast of the Gulf. Neolithic settlements around the coast of the Gulf of Gdansk are mainly located at the foot of the upland slope and on the Vistula Spit and the Vistula Delta and are closely related to the rise and displacement of the shoreline during the Late Holocene. Pollen analyses of the sediment cores from the Vistula Delta, the Vistula Lagoon and the coast of the Puck Lagoon allow four anthropogenic phases to be distinguished in the area of the Gulf of Gdansk. It has been shown that the first indicators of an early husbandry economy in the vicinity of the Gulf of Gdansk appeared in the Atlantic Period. Pollen grains of plants related to this kind of human activity those of the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae), motherwort (Artemisia), sorrel (Rumex) are present and the first pollen grains of the plantain (Plantago lanceolata) also appear. The second anthropogenic phase of Neolithic settlement is one of the best investigated cultures. This is the Rzucewo Culture. Pollen analyses indicate increasing human activity at the beginning of the Subboreal Period. The preserved traces of fauna show that the seal hunting and fishing economy was preferred. Radiocarbon dating of archaeological artifacts indicates the beginning of the settlement at ca. 2 400 B.C. (ca. 4 400 years B.P.) (Król 1997). The altitude of peat and marine mollusks shells and their radiocarbon age shows that during the Early Subboreal Period the water level rose from ca. 2.8 m to 1.1 m below the present-day sea level. The date of the beginning of the seal hunters settlement correlates well with the period when the shores of the Puck Lagoon approached their recent position. The development of the Neolithic settlement on the Puck Bay coast as well as those on the Vistula Delta, where the main activity was related to amber processing, seal hunting and fishing, clearly shows a close relationship to the sea-level rise. The occurrence of the third and fourth settlement phases was related to the high sea-level stands in the Subboreal and Subatlantic Periods (post-Littorina, Late Holocene regressions) but their character was still strongly related to the coastal environments. The settlement was connected with the dry habitats whose areas increased after the development of the barriers. In the area of the Vistula Delta, settlement conditions depended mainly on the stages of the delta's development. On the shores of Puck Bay, however, the intensity of settlement was closely related to the water level changes.<br>O Golfo de Gdansk está localizado na parte sul do Mar Báltico. As praias do Golfo são dominadas por barreiras de areia formadas em frente à Lagoa do Vistula e à planície deltaica do Vistula pelo lado sudeste-sul, e em frente a Lagoa de Puck a noroeste, tal como acontece na Peninsula de Hel. Paredões costeiros ocorrem, por sua vez, na costa oeste do Golfo. Assentamentos neolíticos ao redor da costa do Golfo de Gdansk estão localizados principalmente no sopé do talude e no Delta do Vistula, sendo estritamente relacionados com a elevação do nível do mar e as decorrentes variações da linha de costa ao longo do Holoceno Tardio. Análises do polen do sedimento obtido nos corers do Delta do Vistula, Lagoa do Vistula e Lagoa Puck permitiram distinguir 4 fases antropogênicas para a área do Golfo de Gdansk. Foi visto que os primeiros indicadores da economia baseada em criação de animais domésticos nas vizinhanças do Golfo apareceram no Período Atlântico. Foram encontrados grãos de polen das plantas relacionadas com esse tipo de atividade humana familia Amaranthaceae (Chenopodiacea), "motherwort" (Artemisia), "sorrel" (Rumex) aparecendo também os primeiros grãos de polen de Plantago lanceolata. O assentamento neolítico da cultura Rzucewo, situado na costa oeste da Lagoa de Puck, é um dos que tem sido melhor investigados. As análises de polen indicam um incremento da atividade humana no início do Período Sub-boreal. Os traços preservados da fauna mostram que a caça da foca e a economia pesqueira eram as atividades preferidas. A datação radiocarbônica dos artefatos arqueológicos indicam que o começo do assentamento deve ter ocorrido há c.a. de 2400 AC (KROL, 1997). A altura das turfas e das conchas de moluscos marinhos, além de suas idades determinadas por radiocarbono, mostram que durante o Periodo Sub-boreal Inferior o nível da água aumentou entre 1,0 e 2,5 m em relação ao nível atual. A data do inicio do assentamento dos caçadores de foca correlaciona-se bem com o período em que as praias da Lagoa de Puck se aproximaram de sua condição quase atual. O desenvolvimento do assentamento Neolítico nas costas da Baía de Puck, assim como no Delta do Vistula, onde a caça às focas e pesca ocorreram embora a atividade principal fosse relacionada ao processamento do âmbar, mostram uma clara relação com o aumento do nível do mar. Esses assentamentos podem ser relacionados não só com a migração humana, efetuada no sentidodo do interior para a praia, mas muito provavelmente foi o resultado de uma retração causada pelas mudanças da linha de costa. A ocorrência das terceira e quarta fases do assentamento, durante o período Subatlântico foram relacionadas ao baixo posicionamento do nível do mar. Na área do delta do Vistula as condições de assentamento dependeram principalmente dos estágios de desenvolvimento do Delta. Entretanto, nas praias da Baía de Puck a intensidade do assentamento esteve relacionada às mudanças do nível das águas

Basic for a valuation of the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone of the Baltic Sea: Rationale and quest for tools

This paper summarises current knowledge of goods and services in the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone of the Baltic Sea ecosystem. It reviews specific properties of the Baltic that could be used for economic valuation. Goods and services range from the familiar resources of fish and minerals, which were valued with the Productivity Method, to less obvious services provided by the ecosystem such as biofiltration in coastal sands, valued with either the Replacement Cost or Damage Cost Avoided methods. Disservices to the marine ecosystem are also considered, e.g. erosion and coastal flooding, including the costs of planned mitigating measures. This paper emphasises the importance of using valuation methods to help make better-educated decisions for the sustainability of the Baltic Sea