Submarine lateglacial lake deposits from jutland bank, the north sea

Abstract

Little is known about Lateglacial environments in the North Sea, the so-called Doggerland. Here we report on submerged lake sediments from the north-eastern part of the North Sea, found in sediment core JR-14. The core contained Holocene marine sand underlain by clay and clay-gyttja with plant and invertebrate remains and sand without plant remains, interpreted as glaciofluvial sand. Radiocarbon dating of terrestrial plant remains from the Lateglacial sediments gave ages between 12 300 and 14 100 cal a BP, corresponding to the early part of the Younger Dryas stadial and the Bølling-Allerød interstadial. The Lateglacial sediments contained remains of Betula nana, Salix and Dryas plants indicating a tundra-like open landscape with dwarf shrub heaths, which is typical for the region. The sediments contained a diverse assemblage of bryophytes that throws light on the Lateglacial bryoflora of the region. Remains of macrolimnophytes indicate shallow carbonate-rich, cool lake waters. Remains of larvae of Trichoptera and Chironomidae dominated the invertebrate fauna and indicate a fairly species-rich fauna. The presence of lake sediments at ∼32.9–34.5 m below sea level shows that this part of the North Sea had not been transgressed by the sea during the Lateglacial.