RECONSTRUCTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS IN THE SOUTH-EASTERN PART OF THE BALTIC SEA OVER THE LAST MILLENNIUM

Authors

  • E. P. Ponomarenko Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences; Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University
  • A. A. Akmanova Voronezh State University
  • V. D. Shorokhova School No. 24
  • A. O. Kopyshova Phystech-Lyceum of Maths and Sciences named after P. L. Kapitsa

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29006/1564-2291.JOR-2025.53(4).9

Keywords:

X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis, short sediment cores, Medieval Climate Anomaly, Modern Warm Period, hypoxia, eutrophication

Abstract

Paleoecological conditions of the Baltic Sea over the last 1000 ka BP were reconstructed based on geochemical and lithological study of three short sediment cores retrieved using a sealed small corer from the Gdańsk Basin and the slope of the Gotland Basin. It was determined that during two warm climatic periods – the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Modern Warm Period, characterized by increased surface productivity, the oxygen regime of the bottom waters differed significantly. During the Medieval Climate Anomaly, due to a lower anthropogenic impact, natural climate variations exerted a significant influence on the basin’s ecosystem. Furthermore, frequent inflows of oxygen-rich North Sea waters prevented the development of hypoxia in the bottom water. Conversely, during the Modern Warm Period, accelerated eutrophication due to an excess input of nutrients of anthropogenic origin, coupled with a decrease in the frequency and volume of inflow waters, resulted in the development of widespread hypoxia. In the colder Little Ice Age, decreased productivity, despite a reduction in the number of inflows, resulted in sufficient oxygen saturation of the bottom water.

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Published

2025-12-21

Issue

Vol. 53 No. 4 (2025): Journal of Oceanological Research

Section

Marine geology, geophysics and geochemistry

License

Transfer of copyrights occurs on the basis of a license agreement between the Author and Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, RAS

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