Lateglacial and Holocene sediment sources and transport patterns in the Skagerrak interpreted from high-resolution magnetic properties and grain size data

Abstract

Lateglacial and Holocene changes in circulation, sedimentation and provenance in north-eastern Skagerrak were studied using high-resolution mineral magnetic and grain size data from the 32-m-long IMAGES core MD99-2286. Ages are given in calibrated thousand years BP (‘cal. kyr’). Between 12 and 11.3 cal. kyr, a calving ice front occupied the Oslo Fjord, and sedimentation was strongly influenced by meltwater carrying re-deposited glacial sediments from southern Norway and western Sweden. Between 11.3 and 10.3 cal. kyr, sedimentation was dominated by re-deposited glacial sediments transported by meltwater outflow across south-central Sweden. After the Otteid-Stenselva outlet was closed at 10.3 cal. kyr, glacial marine sedimentation changed to normal marine sedimentation. At 8.5 cal. kyr, a hydrographic shift, marking the onset of modern circulation in the Skagerrak–Kattegat, occurred as a result of increased Atlantic inflow, transgression of former land areas, and opening of the English Channel and the Danish Straits. After 8.5 cal. kyr, sedimentation was governed by input from the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, with varying contributions from the South Jutland Current, Baltic Current, and currents along the coasts of western Sweden and southern Norway. From 0.9 cal. kyr until present, the sedimentation was totally dominated by southern North Sea and Atlantic Ocean sources.