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Holocene Evolution of the Southern Baltic Sea Coast and Interplay of Sea-Level Variation, Isostasy, Accommodation and Sediment Supply

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The Baltic Sea Basin

Part of the book series: Central and Eastern European Development Studies (CEEDES) ((CEEDES))

Abstract

Coastal barriers and spits develop when the accumulation space available in the coastal sea for sediment deposition decreases and partly fills up. The accommodation space increases when sea level rises and decreases when sediment accumulates. In addition to the coastal relief prior to the sea-level rise, which determines the potential accommodation, the evolution depends on the volume and rate of sediment supply. The example from the north-eastern German Baltic coast shows how the course of Holocene sea-level rise (Littorina transgression) varied due to glacio-isostatic uplift of different coastal sections and thus the growth of accommodation space. Further, the role of the sediments which built up the shoreface and the coastal landforms is discussed. We also examine the influence of the main inclination of pre-transgressional relief on the development, aggradation and progradation of beach ridges, spits and barriers. The determination of the volume of the present barriers allows rough estimations regarding the volume of sediment supplied from eroding cliffs. In a final synopsis, the interplay of all factors is discussed, explaining the distribution, volume and stability of the barriers along the German Baltic coast.

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Acknowledgements

This study was possible due to the financial support provided by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, which is gratefully acknowledged (FO 488/1). We thank all members of the SINCOS Research Group for valuable data and discussions, and students and staff from Greifswald University for their help in the field and laboratories. We acknowledge the recommendations of three anonymous reviewers and the editors which helped to improve the chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Geographie und Geologie, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, D-17487, Greifswald, Germany

    Reinhard Lampe & Hinrich Meyer

  2. Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde, Landesamt für Bergbau, Energie und Geologie, D-18119, Rostock, Germany

    Michael Naumann

  3. Landesamt für Bergbau, Energie und Geologie, 30655, Hannover, Germany

    Michael Naumann

  4. 17489, Greifswald, Germany

    Wolfgang Janke

  5. Leibniz-Institut für Angewandte Geophysik, D-30655, Hannover, Germany

    Regine Ziekur

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  1. Reinhard Lampe
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  2. Michael Naumann
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  4. Wolfgang Janke
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  5. Regine Ziekur
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Correspondence to Reinhard Lampe .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. Ostseeforschung Warnemünde, Universität Rostock, Seestr. 15, Rostock, 18119, Mecklenburg-Vorpomm., Germany

    Jan Harff

  2. Dept. Geology, University of Lund, Sölvegatan 13, Lund, 223 62, Sweden

    Svante Björck

  3. Wirtschaft und Technologie, Bundesministerium für, Scharnhorststr. 34-37, Berlin, 10115, Berlin, Germany

    Peer Hoth

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Lampe, R., Naumann, M., Meyer, H., Janke, W., Ziekur, R. (2011). Holocene Evolution of the Southern Baltic Sea Coast and Interplay of Sea-Level Variation, Isostasy, Accommodation and Sediment Supply. In: Harff, J., Björck, S., Hoth, P. (eds) The Baltic Sea Basin. Central and Eastern European Development Studies (CEEDES). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17220-5_12

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