Lateglacial and early Holocene tephrostratigraphy and sedimentology of the Store Slotseng basin, SW Denmark: a multi‐proxy study

Abstract

The history of the Lateglacial and Preboreal sedimentary succession from the Store Slotseng kettle hole basin, SW Denmark is presented. A tephrostratigraphical and multi‐proxy investigation of the sediments, including stable isotope geochemistry, reveals small‐ and large‐scale changes in the surrounding environment through time. Three distinct tephra horizons are observed. Two of them are identified as the Preboreal Hässeldalen Tephra and the Younger Dryas Vedde Ash. The third was deposited around the Pre‐Bølling/Bølling transition. The Preboreal sediments record two significant decreases in authigenic carbonate content. Using tephrostratigraphy the lower one is identified as occurring during the Preboreal Oscillation, while the upper one is contemporaneous with the Rammelbeek Phase, which by some is recognised above the Preboreal Oscillation. This period has not previously been observed in this region. The discovery of the Hässeldalen Tephra in the Store Slotseng basin expands the known southwestern limit of the ash cloud, and increases the area for potential future observations. The Hässeldalen Tephra (c. 11.3 cal. ka BP) was deposited just prior to the Preboreal Oscillation and as such has a large potential for precise correlation and characterization of this short climatic perturbation.