Marine Eemian in the Danish eastern North Sea

Abstract

The distribution of marine Eemian deposits along the west coast of Jutland, Denmark, is presented based on offshore shallow seismic mapping and a review of results from analysis of marine cores and samples from onshore borings. The results are compiled from publications and unpublished reports in the archives of Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland. The Eemian deposits in the area are characterised by the presence of Lusitanian foraminifera such as Elphidium lidoense and/or Elphidium translucens and characteristic mollusc faunas. The Eemian along the west coast of Jutland seems to have been deposited in sheltered fjords, straits or tidal flats in an archipelago. It was probably protected by a row of islands towards the open North Sea. The Eemian foraminiferal fauna has been divided into nine assemblages representing different palaeoenvironments. The sea level during the Eemian highstand was 0–10 m lower than the present sea level in the southeastern North Sea area. The Eemian sea-level curve constructed for northern Germany and the Netherlands seems to be a good approximation for western Jutland. The highest level of the marine Eemian deposits is consistent along the Northwest European North Sea coast, suggesting an almost uniform net subsidence history during the last 125,000 years.