Last Interglacial stratigraphy at Ristinge Klint, South Denmark

Last Interglacial stratigraphy at Ristinge Klint, South Denmark

PETER KRISTENSEN, PHILIP GIBBARD, KAREN LUISE KNUDSEN AND JU¨ RGEN EHLERS

Kristensen, P., Gibbard, P., Knudsen, K. L. & Ehlers, J. 2000 (June): Last Interglacial stratigraphy at RistingeKlint, South Denmark.Boreas,Vol. 29, pp. 103–116. Oslo. ISSN 0300-9483.

Past environmental changes in the Baltic area are discussed on the basis of foraminifera and ostracods as wellas pollen and spores in marine sediments in cliff sections at Ristinge Klint, Langeland, southern Denmark.The sediment succession represents Jessen & Milthers’ (1928) pollen zones d–g or Andersen’s (1961, 1975)zones E2–E5, and a correlation with the annually laminated Bispingen sequence indicates that the sequencespans about 3400 years. Marine conditions seem to have occurred atc. 300–365 years after the beginning ofthe Eemian Interglacial, close to fully marine conditions developing byc. 2500 years. This early date of themarine ingression pre-dates that of most previous studies in the region by several hundred years, but it post-dates the initial marine ingression in the easternmost Baltic. A marked change in salinity atc. 650 years afterthe beginning of the Eemian was presumably caused by an opening of the Danish Belts. An indication of amajor alteration in current activity is registered atc. 3000 years after the beginning of the interglacial. The re-cognition of the relative timing of these events may be significant for the understanding of the opening of con-nections between the North Sea, the Baltic and the White Sea.

Peter Kristensen (e-mail: [email protected]) and Karen Luise Knudsen (e-mail: [email protected]), Departmentof Earth Sciences, University of Aarhus, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark; Philip Gibbard, Department ofGeography, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EN, England. E-mail:[email protected]; Ju¨rgen Ehlers, Geologisches Landesamt, Billstrasse 84, D-20539 Hamburg, Germany.E-mail: [email protected]; received 19th October 1999, accepted 28th February 2000

The Last Interglacial (Eemian, Mikulino, MarineOxygen Isotope Substage 5e;c. 130–116 ka) is a periodof generally higher temperatures than at present(CLIMAP 1984; Sejrup & Larsen 1991) and a higherglobal sea level (Chappell & Shackleton 1986; Shack-leton 1987; Gallupet al. 1994). A climatically moreunstable Eemian than Holocene period was firstsuggested on the basis of conflicting ice-core records(e.g. GRIP Members 1993; McManuset al. 1994;Johnsenet al. 1995), which were later supported bymarine Eemian records (e.g. Seidenkrantzet al. 1995;Fronval & Jansen 1996, 1997; Kristensenet al. 1998)and European pollen records (e.g. Fieldet al. 1994), aswell as by lake level interpretations in Jutland, Denmark(Bjorck et al. 2000).

The evolution of the Baltic Sea basin during theEemian is poorly understood, especially in relation tothe higher global sea levels of the period. The presentBaltic Sea (Fig. 1) has an average depth of about 54 m.It has an excess of precipitation and river runoff overevaporation and consequently low salinity, usuallybelow 10% at the surface and up to 16% in the deeperparts. The Baltic Sea does not exhibit excessivestagnation, possibly because of its moderate depths.The communication with the North Sea is throughshallow passages with a minimum sill depth of about 18m.

It has been suggested that the Baltic Sea wasconsiderably more extensive with a connection to theWhite Sea during the Eemian (Zans 1936; Raukas1991). The nature, timing and duration of this connec-tion remain, however, unclear, as is also not known

whether this was a single or multiple events. Moreover,possible effects of such a connection on the circulationof the Arctic Ocean and resulting climatic changes havenot been considered in detail.

Previous studies of the interglacial sediments atRistinge Klint in the western Baltic Sea (Figs 2, 3)(e.g. Madsenet al. 1908; Sjørringet al. 1982) indicatethe presence of a continuous early Eemian sedimentsuccession gradually changing from a freshwaterenvironment to marine conditions. This location there-fore offers the possibility of investigating the timing ofthe marine transgression in the Baltic area. In addition,the geographical location of Ristinge Klint near theDanish Belts (Lillebælt, Storebælt and Øresund, Fig. 2)qualifies the site for potential early environmentalindication of a marine ingression through the Belts. Inorder to obtain detailed information on past environ-mental changes and to obtain a precise marine–terrestrial correlation, analyses of foraminifera andostracods have been combined with those of pollenand spores in the present study.

The Ristinge Klint section

The southern Danish area, including Ristinge Klint(Figs 2, 3), has been overridden by Late Weichselian iceadvances, and both glacial and interglacial sedimentsnow occur as thrust slices in the coast cliff. Thelithostratigraphy of the cliff was described by Madsenet al. (1908), who also presented some photographs andintroduced a numbering of the thrust slices (starting

Fig. 1. TheBaltic Searegionwithindicationof the presumedmaximumingressionduring the Eemianclimaticoptimum(modifiedfrom Donner1995).RK = RistingeKlint;H = Hollerup; NL = NørreLyngby;Bi = Bispingen.InsertlocationmaponFig. 2.

Fig. 2. Locationmapfor thewesternBaltic (seealsoFig. 1).

104 PeterKristensenet al. BOREAS29 (2000)

Fig. 3. TheexposedRistingeKlint cliff sectionon Langeland,from thewestto theeast.Partof thesectionwaspreviouslydrawnby Mad-senet al. (1908),who introducedthe numberingsystemfor the thrusts,andby Rosenkrantz(1944)andSjørringet al. (1982).The com-pletesectionis basedon photographstakenfrom offshore.

BOREAS29 (2000) Last Interglacial stratigraphy,S.Denmark 105

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with number1 from the west).The numbersoriginallyreferredto theoccurrencesof theEemianCyprinaClaydepositsbut were later extendedto all thrust slices,including those in which no Eemian deposits areexposed.Specificpartsof thesectionhavebeendrawnby Rosenkrantz(1944, thrust slices 20–33) and bySjørring et al. (1982, thrust slices9–15). The presentcompletesection(Fig. 3) is basedonphotographstakenfrom offshore.

The marineinterglacialgreenish-greyCyprina Clayat Ristinge Klint conformably overlies the shell-free‘Shiny Clay’ of Madsenetal. (1908)anda thin layeroffreshwatersand.TheCyprinaClay is succeededby the‘White Sand’of Madsenet al. (1908),which hasbeeninterpretedasa glaciofluvial deposit(seealsoSjørringetal. 1982).ThemarineinterglacialdepositsatRistingeKlint are overlain by threeLate Weichseliantill unitsinterbeddedwith theglaciofluvialdeposits(Fig. 3) (e.g.Madsen et al. 1908; Houmark-Nielsen1987). Ice-wedge casts originating at the contact betweentheCyprina Clay and the overlying sand(Friis & Larsen1975)indicatethat thereis a hiatusbetweenthemarinedepositsandthe subsequentLate Weichseliandepositsand that the areamust have beendry land during aperiod of non-depositionafter the marine interglacialdeposition.

Madsenetal. (1908)foundthatthemolluscfaunasinthe lower, relatively sandypart of the Cyprina Clayindicatedbrackish-waterconditions,while a fjord-likefauna occurred in the upper more fine-grainedpart.Moreover,they found faunal indicationsof somewhatdeeperand relatively open marine conditions in theuppermostpart.Thus,theCyprinaClayappearsto havebeendepositedduringa gradualrise in sealevel.

The sediment samples for the palaeontologicalinvestigationswere extractedfrom the ‘Shiny Clay’,thefreshwatersandandtheCyprinaClay. ‘Shiny Clay’and freshwatersandsampleswere taken from thrustnumber23, whereasthe Cyprina Clay samplesweretakenfrom thrustnumber12(Fig.3).TheCyprinaClay,which was 2.32-m thick at the sampling site, wassampled as continuous 3-cm slices. The 1 m thick‘Shiny Clay’ wassampledas3 cm thick slicesat10-cmintervals.Two 3-cm sliceswere takenfrom the 12cmthick freshwatersandunit, one from the top and onefrom thebottom.

Foraminifera andostracods

The sedimentsamplesfor foraminiferal and ostracodanalyses were processed in accordancewith themethodsof Feyling-Hanssenet al. (1971)andKnudsen(1998) using mesh sizes of 0.1 and 1.0mm. Theforaminifera in the 0.1–1.0mm fraction were concen-tratedusingtheheavyliquid CCl4 (specificweight1.59g/cm3). At least300specimensof benthicforaminiferawere identified and countedfrom the light fraction of

eachsample.The ostracodswerepickedfrom the total0.1–1.0mm fraction, and at least 300 valves wereidentifiedandcounted,whenpossible.Thedistributionof foraminifera and ostracods is presentedin thediagram of Fig. 4. The sequencecan be subdividedinto five foraminiferal/ostracodalassemblagebiozones,termedRKFO 1 to RKFO 4 (from bottomto top).

RKFO 1 (344–244cm)barren interval

No foraminiferaor ostracodswere found in this zone,whichrepresentsthe‘Shiny Clay’. Madsenetal. (1908)interpretedthe ‘Shiny Clay’ asmeltwaterclay becauseof the lack of remainsof animalsor plants,whereasitwas interpretedasa late SaalianlacustrinedepositbySjørring et al. (1982). However,basedon the pollenanalysisin this study,thedepositis nowassignedto theearly Eemian(seebelow).

RKFO 2 (244–232cm)Cyprideistorosazone

This zone comprisesa 12cm thick sand unit. Noforaminifera were found, but the ostracod speciesCyprideis torosa (Jones) was present in very highnumbers.Cyprideis torosa is a low-salinity-tolerantspecies,which is normally found in fjords, lakes,lagoons,estuariesand othermarginalmarineenviron-ments(Athersuchetal. 1989).A numberof oosporesofChara sp. were also found. Suchoosporesare mainlyfoundin fresh-or brackish-waterenvironments(Brasier1980) and indicate growth of vegetationclose to thesite.

This sandunit is identicalto the layer thatJohnstrup(1882)andMadsenet al. (1908)namedthe freshwatersand, basedon the content of numerousfreshwatermolluscs.They interpretedthesandasbeingdepositedin the margins of an early Eemian freshwaterlakecoveringlargely the presentBaltic area.Sjørringet al.(1982) also interpretedthis layer as a limnic Eemiandeposit.

On the basis of pollen analyses,Andersen(1979)referredthe freshwatersandfrom RistingeKlint, fromÆrøandfrom theeasternpartof southJylland(Figs1,2) to pollenzonesd ande of Jessen& Milthers (1928)(see below). The present pollen study, however,demonstratesthat this bed at Ristinge Klint can beassignedto the upper part of the Betula-Pinus-Alnuspollenbiozone,correspondingto theuppermostpartofzoned of Jessen& Milthers (1928).

RKFO 3 (232–187cm)Elphidiumalbiumbilicatum-Ammoniabeccarii zone

ZoneRKFO3 comprisesthebasal45cmof theCyprinaClay.Thefirst appearanceof foraminiferain thiszoneisregisteredat level 223cm (9 cm abovethe lower zoneboundary,which correspondsto the beginningof theCyprina Clay). Elphidium albiumbilicatum(Weiss) is


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the only speciespresentin the first third of the zone.During the latter part Ammoniabeccarii (Linne) alsobecomesabundant,and the amount of foraminiferagradually increasesthrough the zone. The speciescompositionindicateslow salinity and shallow waterconditions.Elphidiumalbiumbilicatumis registeredat

salinities down to 3.5% (Rottgardt 1952), and isthereforea commonfirst inhabitantafter the transitionfrom fresh-to brackish-waterconditions.The ostracodspeciesCyprideistorosais seensporadicallyin thezone(not visible on thediagram,Fig 4). ZoneRKFO 3 thusrepresentsthe transition from the freshwater lake,

66

Fig. 6. Comparisonof theEemianInterglacialstratigraphyof RistingeKlint basedon lithology,foraminifera/ostracodsandpollen, respectively.Acorrelationwith theclassicalpollen zonationsforDenmark,northGermanyandTheNetherlands(Jessen& Milthers 1928;Andersen1961,1975;Muller 1974;Menke& Tynni 1984;Zagwijn 1961,1996)is alsoshown.


describedfor zone RKFO 2, to the beginningof themarine conditions at the site. The level of the firstimmigration of foraminifera at 223cm can be datedusingthepollenassemblagezonesto c. 365yearsafterthebeginningof theEemian(seealsobelow),while thebase of Jessen& Milthers’ (1928) pollen zone e,correspondingto the base of the Cyprina Clay at232cm, occurredat c. 300 yearsafter the beginningof theEemian(Fig. 6).

RKFO 4 (187–66cm)Haynesinaorbiculare-Elphidiumexcavatum-Cyprideis torosazone

ZoneRKFO4 representsthemiddlepartof theCyprinaClay. Severalnew foraminiferal speciesappearin thesection from the beginning of zone RKFO 4, e.g.Haynesinaorbiculare (Brady), Elphidium excavatum(Terquem), Buccella frigida (Cushman),ElphidiumwilliamsoniHaynes,Elphidiumincertum(Williamson),and the two lusitanianspeciesElphidium translucensNatlandandElphidiumlidoenseCushman.Thenumberof foraminifera is generally high in zone RKFO 4,especially in the central part (Fig. 4). The ostracodCyprideistorosaoccursoccasionallyin thezone.

A significantmolluscshell layer in the interval187–175cm consistsof thespeciesPaphiaaureasenescens(previously often registered as Tapes senescens,atypicalspeciesfor Eemiandepositsin thisarea),Mytilusedulis, Cardiidae, Nassarius reticulatus, Balanidae,Bittium reticulatumandOstreaedulis. The appearanceof a Haynesinaorbiculare association(Murray 1991),togetherwith thespeciesElphidiumincertum, indicatesa salinity abovec. 22% (Lutze 1965). Moreover,thepresenceof Ostreaedulispointsto a summertempera-tureabove20°C andrelativelywell-oxidizedconditions(Jensen& Sparck 1934).The baseof zoneRKFO 4 atthe187cmlevelcanbepollendatedatc. 650yearsafterthebeginningof theEemianInterglacial(seebelow).

RKFO 5 (66–0cm)Buccellafrigida-Haynesinanivea-Robertsonitestuberculatuszone

Thiszonecomprisestheupperpartof theCyprinaClay.The foraminiferalspeciesBuccellafrigida andHayne-sina nivea (Lafrenz)reachtheir maximumfrequenciesin thiszone,butHaynesinaorbiculare is still dominant.At present,HaynesinaniveaandBuccellafrigida bothlive in arctic environments(e.g. Madsen& Knudsen1994),B. frigida with its highestabundanceswithin theareaof seasonalseaice (Steinsund1994).TheostracodspeciesRobertsonitestuberculatus(Sars) and Sarsi-cytherideabradii (Nordman)appearfor the first time.They areboth marinesublittoral species,their presentgeographicaldistribution reachingfrom the coastsoffScotlandandScandinavianorthwardtowardsthearcticareas.Robertsonitestuberculatusis most abundantinarctic waters (Athersuch et al. 1989). The faunalindications in the presentzone could reflect either a

generalcooling of the watermassesor, more likely, acontinuedsea-levelriseimplying adeepeningat thesiteand resulting in a position below the pycnocline incolder and more saline bottom water (close to fullymarineconditions).Basedon the pollen sequence,thebaseof zoneRKFO 5 is datedat approximately2500yearsafter thebeginningof theEemian(seebelow).

In summary, the above environmentalinterpretationbasedon foraminiferaandostracodssuggestsbrackish-waterconditionsbelowtheshellhorizonat175–187cmandincreasingwaterdepthandsalinityabovethis level,resultingin almostnormalmarineconditionsat the topof the Cyprina Clay. This correspondsvery closely tothe resultsof Madsenet al. (1908)on the basisof themolluscfaunas.

Pollenanalysis

Samplesfor pollen analysisweretakenfrom the samesamplesas thoseusedfor analysisof the foraminiferaand ostracods. The samples were prepared usingstandardchemicalmethods(West 1977), modified byusingsodiumpyrophosphate(Bateset al. 1978).Pollentype nomenclaturefollows Andrew (1970), togetherwith some types listed in Birks (1973). The pollencurves(Fig. 5) havebeencalculatedusing the pollensum of total pollen and spores,excludingpre-Pleisto-cenetaxa and dinoflagellatecysts,which were calcu-latedasapercentageof totalpalynomorphs.Thispollensum has beenadoptedbecausethe majority of sedi-ments in this sequenceare of marine origin, andthereforeall the taxa identified are of externalorigin.The pollen was generally well preservedin samplesbetween 300 and 39.5cm, but above 39.5cm thepreservationwas notably poorer, with many grainsbeingphysicallyerodedandbroken.The sequencecanbe subdivided into four local pollen assemblagebiozones(p.a.b.),termedRK I to RK IV (from bottomto top).

RK I (300–232cm)Betula-Pinus-Alnusp.a.b

This assemblageis dominated by tree pollen thatrepresentsat least60%of the total. At all levels,PinusandBetulaare the mostabundantpollen taxa,accom-panied by slightly lower frequenciesof Alnus andQuercus. A varietyof othertreegenera,suchasPicea,Carpinus,TaxusandFagusare alsopresent,but theirlimited numbersmake it difficult to understandtheiroccurrencein this situation.Fagus is absentfrom theEemianInterglacial throughoutnorthernCentral Eur-ope.However,theclosecorrespondencebetweenthesecurvesandthe very high frequenciesof inwashedpre-Pleistocenepalynomorphssuggestthattheymayreflect,in part, reworking by streamsenteringthe basin andcoastalerosionof pre-existingsediment.Of thenon-tree


pollen only low frequenciesare recordedthroughout,with Gramineaeand Cyperaceaepresent.Shrubsarerepresentedby the pollen of Salix, Juniperusand Ilex.Herbpollen is not abundantbut representsa variety ofplants,particularly thoseof grassland,including Plan-tago major/media type, Compositae (Tubuliflorae),Cruciferae,UmbelliferaeandArtemisia. Theremainingpollen taxaare thoseof marshandaquaticvegetation,includingFilipendulaandRanunculaceae,aswell asthepollenof plantsthatcolonizeareasof increasedsalinitysuch as Plantago maritima and members of theChenopodiaceae.

The assemblageis typical of that found in rivervalleysandsurroundingfreshwaterwaterbodies,withlocal fringing vegetationof wetland,marshandaquaticplants. The floodplains locally supported areas ofgrassland,with a tall herb component and alder-dominated woodland. Inwash of river-borne pollenexplains the high frequenciesof taxa such as Alnustogetherwith thereworkedpre-Pleistocenecomponent,whichareotherwiserarein contemporaneouslacustrinesequences(e.g. Bispingen,Muller 1974). Regionally,thedrier areaswerecolonizedby mixeddeciduousandconiferouswoodland,with an understoreyof juniper,willow and holly shrubs. Local, probably coastal,grasslandsincludedplantsof salinehabitats,possiblyaccompaniedby ericaceousshrubson sandyacidsoils.The assemblageis clearly of temperate,interglacialcharacter,including as it doesdeciduous,mixed oakforesttreesandfrost-sensitiveplants,suchasIlex.

RK II (232–167cm)Quercus-Ulmusp.a.b

Thebaseof this biozoneis placedat themarkedrise inQuercuspollen to frequenciesof up to 50% of totalpollenandtheaccompanyingdeclinein Alnuspollentolessthan5%.Apart from this markedchange,thereis aprogressivedecline in the frequencyof Betula, a lesssignificant fall in Pinus, but a contrastingincreaseinCorylus percentages,through this biozone.As in thepreviousassemblages,therearelow numbersof a rangeof pollen from other trees, notably Picea, but alsoPopulus,Acer, Fraxinusandmost importantlyUlmus,which becomesan important secondarycomponenthere.Overall, tree pollen representsover 75% of thetotal here. Shrub pollen also declines through thebiozone, but Frangula alnus is presentfor the firsttime, andIlex continuesasoccasionalsinglefinds.

AlthoughGramineaeandCyperaceaeshowadecline,they continue to be recorded.However, herb pollenshows a general decline, with only low numberspresent.Of these there are a variety of taxa, manycontinuing from the previous biozone, togetherwithsome new appearancessuch as Compositae(Liguli-florae), Caryophyllaceae,Rubiaceae,Polygonumbis-torta and Urtica. It is interestingto note the generalabsenceof freshwateraquatictaxa,with the exceptionof Potamogeton.

Thevegetationindicatedappearsto beacontinuationfrom the previouszonebut with the markedexpansionto dominanceof oak,with elmandlow numbersof othermixed oak forest taxa including ash, sycamoreandpoplarin local woodland.Of theconifers,pineremainsimportant, but sprucemay have been presentin theregion,althoughdistinguishingthe effect of inwashofpollen and bisaccatepollen in particular remains aproblem.However,thedramaticdeclinein pre-Pleisto-cene forms to a backgroundsignal of around 10%suggeststhat this effect may be fairly uniform throughtherestof thesequence.Thelimited contributionof thenon-treetaxa presumablyreflectsthe developmentoffully forestedconditionswith little grassland,exceptpossiblyat restrictedsitesin river valley bottomsandalong the coastal fringe, where halophytic plantscontinuedto occur,asbefore.

RK III (167–39.5cm)Corylus-Quercusp.a.b

Thebaseof this biozoneis markedby theexpansionofCorylus pollen to over 50% of total pollen. Thisexpansionis accompaniedby a clear declineto levelsof 10–20%of Quercusand slight decreasein Ulmuspollen. The first continuouscurve for Taxus, a slightincreasein thefrequenciesof Alnuspollenandvery lownumbersof Piceapollenarealsopresentin thisbiozone.Of the shrubs,only Salix is continuouslypresentandboth Gramineaeand Cyperaceaepollen becomeveryrare. The herb pollen assemblageremains ratherlimited, with notablerecordsfor Empetrum, Chenopo-diaceae,Filipendula, Plantago maritima and Rubia-ceae.Similarly, thepollenof aquatictaxaand,with theexceptionof theFilicales, thesporesof lowerplantsarepoorly represented.The relatively uniform occurrenceof pre-Pleistocenepalynomorphsat about 10% indi-catesthecontinuedinflux of recycledmaterialthrough-out thebiozone.

Thesubstantialincreasein Coryluspollenrecordstheestablishmentof hazel in the regionalwoodland.Thedeclinein oak andbirch that accompaniesthis expan-sionis unlikely to havereducedtheircontributionto theregionalforests,however,sincehazelwill haveformedasubstantialunderstoreyin thewoodland.Nevertheless,a rangeof othertreesseemsto bepresentasbefore,butwith a slight increasein Alnuspossiblyindicating thatfloodplain wet woodlandremainedan important ele-mentin thedistrict.Also presentaretheconifersspruceandyew, the latter beingsensitiveto winter frosts,andthus togetherwith the presenceof Ilex this suggestsfully temperateconditions.

RK IV (39.5–0cm)Pinus-Picea-Corylusp.a.b

The final biozone recognizedhere is marked by adeclinein the pollen of Corylusandthe appearanceofPicea,Pinus,Tilia, TaxusandCarpinus. Thebaseof thebiozoneis placedat the point wherethe Coryluscurve


falls below 30% total pollen. The slight rise in Salix,Gramineae, Ericales, Chenopodiaceae,Filipendula,Ranunculaceae,Rubiaceaeand Umbelliferae pollen,togetherwith a risein pre-Pleistocenepalynomorphs,isanartifactof thepollensumcalculations.ThesporesofOsmunda, Lycopodium, Polypodium also show anincrease, while those of undifferentiated Filicalesshowa decline.

Herehazelis replacedby a rangeof deciduousandconiferoustaxa,principally hornbeamand spruce,thelattercontinuinga trendbegunin theuppermostpartofthe previousbiozone.Whetherthis marks the inwardmigration of spruce into the local forests or ataphonomicchange,the latterarisingfrom water-depthor water-circulationchanges,cannotbedeterminedwithcertainty. However, the accompanyingincrease inreworked pre-Pleistocenetypes, paralleledby a dra-maticrisein thenumbersof dinoflagellatecystsandtheoveralldeteriorationin pollenandsporepreservationinthesesamples,hint that taphonomicchangesarelikely.To judgefrom theoverallassemblagecomposition,thedeclineof hazelallowstheexpansionin this biozoneofa rangeof treeandnon-treetaxa,possiblyreflectingaslight openingof theforest,particularlyat themargins.

Correlation

ThesequenceatRistingeKlint canbecloselycorrelatedwith pollensequencesfrom thoseof thelastinterglacial(EemianStage),e.g.,Herning(Jessen& Milthers1928),Hollerup (Andersen1961, 1975; Bjorck et al. 2000),Bispingen (Muller 1974) and locations describedbyZagwijn (1996),on the following criteria:

1. The substantialrise in the Corylus pollen curve,early in the mixed oak forestphase,is quite unlikeotherinterglacialdevelopments.

2. The progressiveincreasesin Pinus, QuercusandCorylusaretypical of theEemianStagein DenmarkandneighbouringnorthGermany.In theHolsteinianUlmus,Tilia andAlnusareabundantin thefirst halfof the interglacial,before the arrival of Picea andCarpinus. Earlier temperatestagesarecharacterizedby high frequenciesof Ulmus, quite unlike thoseoftheyoungerevents.

3. The later arrival of Picea and Carpinus is againtypical of the EemianStage,althoughthey arebothpoorly representedat Ristinge.

Taken together, this evidence indicates that theRistinge Klint sedimentsare of Eemian age. Indeedthe diagramscan be zoneddirectly accordingto theschemeof Jessen& Milthers (1928)thatwasdevelopedin DenmarkandnorthwestGermany(Fig. 6). Equally,the successioncan be zoned using Andersen’slaterscheme(1961,1975)for the DanishlacustrineEemianparastratotypelocality at Hollerup (Fig. 1) (see alsoBjorck et al. 2000). Indeedthe similarity betweenthe

tree pollen curvesat Hollerup, 180 km to the north–northwest,and those at Ristinge is remarkableandfurther reinforces the correlation. This correlationsupports the conclusions reached by Svendsen(inMiller & Mangerud1985) in a previousinvestigationof a partof thesequence.Slight variationin thepollencomposition,such as the abundanceof Alnus in thelower zone,reflectslocal conditionsexpectedin a largewaterbodybutdonotmasktheclarity andtiming of theoverall forestdevelopment.

Time spanof the interglacialsediments

Oneof themaincharacteristicsof theEemianStageintemperatenorthwestEuropeis the apparentuniformityof the vegetationaldevelopment,shown by the pro-gressiveacmesof treetaxa.Thisdevelopmentwasmostrecentlynotedby Zagwijn (1996),who concludedthattheconsequentzonalboundariesprobablythereforedonotdiffer by morethan200–500yearsacrossthewholeof the northernEuropeanregion.Establishmentof thestrongcorrelationbetweenthe Ristingesequenceandthe first half of the EemianStageis very important,particularly becausethis enablesit to be equatedwiththat at Bispingen,Lower Saxony,from whereMuller(1974) has described lacustrine sediments. Thesesedimentsare annually laminatedin the first part ofthesequencespanning2100years,andthecountshavebeen extrapolated for the rest of the interglacial.Therefore,it is possibleto usetheseapproximateagesto ‘date’ pollen zone boundariesand thus provide afloatingchronologyfor theregion(seealsoLarsenetal.1995;Zagwijn 1996).

Although the Bispingensite is 180 km to the south(Fig. 1), the uniformity of the ages of the zoneboundariesmeansthat thechronologyestablishedtherecanbe appliedwith cautionto the whole southwesternBaltic area(e.g.Miller & Mangerud1985;Bjorck et al.2000). Table 1 shows the zonal time spans andestimatedsedimentationrates for each pollen zonebasedon this correlation.

Thus it appearsthat, in total, the sequencespansc.3400 years or about one-third of the interglacialdevelopment.The sedimentationratesappearto varyconsiderablyfrom unit to unit. It is also interestingto

Table1. Time spanandestimatedsedimentationratesof the pollenzones at Ristinge Klint basedon correlation with the annuallylaminatedEemiansedimentsof Bispingen(Muller 1974).

Local p.a.b. DepthTime span(years)

Sedimentationrate(cm/y)

RK IV 39.5–0cm �500 �0.08RK III 167–39.5cm 2250 0.06RK II 232–167cm 450 0.14RK I 300–232cm 200 0.34


note that, on the basisof the pollen assemblages,thefreshwatersand(244–232cm)appearsto representverylittle time, possibly less than a few decades.Theextrapolatedagesof thezoneboundariesareimportantbecausethey enablethe marineingressionto be quiteaccuratelypinpointedwithin the time-scale.This hasalreadybeensuggestedby Miller & Mangerud(1985),whoconsideredthattheingressionoccurred‘beforetheCorylusrise,which… occurredonly 750yearsafterthestartof theEemian’,basedon thecontactof themarineand underlying lacustrinesediments.They go on tosuggestthat this is in accordwith Jessen& Milthers’(1928:178–179)observationsfrom comparablesedi-mentsin the cliff at Stensigmose(Fig. 2) and,in turn,‘suggeststhat theDanishsitesmayincludemoreof theinterglacialthansomeof the Dutch localities’, i.e. themarineinundationoccurredearlier in DenmarkthaninThe Netherlands.

Thepresentpalynologicalresultsfrom RistingeKlintbear this out but further elaboratethe conclusionsbyindicatingamuchlongersequencethanthatsampledbyMiller & Mangerud(1985). Indeed,if the baseof themarineingressionis takento coincidewith the baseofthe Cyprina Clay, it occurredc. 300 yearsafter thebeginningof the interglacial (Fig. 6). However,if theingressionis markedby the first appearanceof salineforaminiferaat223cmin RKFO3, thenit occurredatc.365years.In addition,thepalynologyindicatesamajorchangein currentactivity or perhapsin marinewaterdepth at about 39.5cm. This is markedby a suddenincreasein thenumbersandpreservationof dinoflagel-late cysts, togetherwith the abrupt changein pollenpreservationand increasedin-washof pre-Pleistocenepalynomorphs(Fig. 5). Thereis, however,no indicationin the foraminiferal or ostracodalassemblagesof anysignificant changein water depth, suggestingalteredcurrentactivity as the mostpossibleexplanation.Thischangecorrespondsto the local pollen biozonebound-arybetweenRK III andRK IV andthereforeoccursatc.3000yearsafterthebeginningof thestage(Fig.6).Thisis slightly later than the developmentof nearly fullymarine conditions at 66cm, determined from theforaminiferal and ostracodalanalyses,which can bedatedat c. 2500years(Fig. 6). Thesequenceendsaftertheinitial appearanceof Carpinus, theinitial expansionof Piceaandthedeclineof Corylusfrom its maximumfrequencies.On this basis, the youngest sedimentcorrelateswith the lowest part of the Carpinuszone,i.e. at 3400yearsafter thebeginningof the interglacialstage.

In westernmostRussia,marinemolluscaare gener-ally commonin Eemiandeposits.At somesites theyoccurasmixed assemblagesincluding both low-arcticandhigh-arcticspecies,but cold-waterassemblagesofvarious groupsappearto occur throughoutthe basin(e.g. diatoms,Gronlund 1991). TheseEemianassem-blages,generallyshowinga strongmarineinfluenceinthe Russiansites,are very different from the modern

assemblagesin theGulf of Finland,anareathatis todaycharacterizedby very reducedsalinities.This increasedmarineinfluencestronglysuggestsa connectionto theWhite Sea,via theLadogaandOnegabasinsduringtheEemian (Fig. 1) (Zans 1936; Raukas1991; Donner1995).Donner(1995)considersthis to be theexplana-tion for theapparentcontrastbetweenthewarmEemianclimate, reflectedin pollen diagrams,and the occur-renceof cold, arctic watersin the Baltic, indicatedbythe aquatic fossil assemblages.According to Nilsson(1983), the cold water penetratedthe basinas bottomcurrentandseemsto havebeenparticularlyimportantatthe beginningof the interglacialandevenoccurredinthe latestSaalianin places(Gross1967).

Marine conditionsseemto haveoccurredearlier inthe Gulf of Finlandregionin the easternBaltic thanatRistingein the westernBaltic. Following the zonationby Jessen& Milthers(1928),marineenvironmentswereestablishedin theGulf of Finlandregionalreadyduringzonec, which correspondsto thevery beginningof theEemian (Znamenskaya1959; Liivrand 1991; Donner1995). At Ristinge Klint, the earliest indication of amarineenvironmentis shownat the beginningof zonee, i.e. 200–300yearslater.In general,marineinfluenceoccurred even later in The Netherlandsand in thenorthern German area (pollen zone E3/III; Zagwijn1983,1996;Menke& Tynni 1984).At Schnittloheinnorth Germany,however,a short-livedmarineingres-sionhasbeenrecordedasearlyasin zoneE2/II. After anon-marineinterval, this was followed by the mainmarine phase in zone IVa (Menke 1985; Knudsen1985).

If theentireBaltic Seaarearepresentsa singlelargeglacial–interglacialdepositionalbasin,theearlyEemianInterglacialmarinephaseat Ristingemaybea resultofa marine ingression over the easternBaltic via aconnectionfrom the White Sea.However, an initialmarine connectionthrough north Germanycannotberuled out either.An early Eemianconnectionthroughthe easternBaltic to the White Seais supportedby thefact that considerablyhigher salinities seemto haveoccurredtowardstheeastin theBaltic regionthanin theRistinge area during the early Eemian,which is theoppositetrendto thepresentsituation.Thetiming of theearlyEemianingressioninto theBaltic differs from thatknown from the early Holocene.During the Eemian,marine conditions were establishedafter only a fewhundredyears,whereastheHolocenemarineingressiontook place c. 1500 years after the beginning of theHolocene.This may be dueeitherto the occurrenceoflower-lying areas,whereconnectionsto the openseacouldbeestablished,or to amorerapidsea-levelriseintheearly Eemian.

A sharp increase in salinity, indicated by theappearanceof B. frigida, H. orbiculareandE. incertum,occursfrom the baseof zoneRKFO 4, i.e. at c. 650yearsafter the beginningof the Eemian(Fig. 6). Thismaybe interpretedin termsof anopeningto theocean


in thewesternendof theBaltic, presumablythroughtheDanishBelts.A similar stronginfluenceof salinewaterin the Estonianand Russianareasduring the Eemian(Znamenskaya1959; Liivrand 1991; Donner 1995)correspondswell with the Ristingerecord.In contrastto this, however, salinities above c. 16% are notregisteredin the modernBaltic. The higher influx ofsalinewatersto the Baltic during the Eemianmay becausedpartly by a considerablywider and deeperconnectionfrom the north Atlantic to the westernpartof the Baltic than during the Holocene(e.g. Seidenk-rantz & Knudsen 1997) and partly by an openconnection through the easternBaltic to the WhiteSea. This would allow unlimited passageof bothAtlantic and Arctic water massesthrough the area.Indirectsupportfor thishypothesiscomesfrom Zagwijn(1996), who considers that the presence of freeinterchangeof seawaterwould havebeenresponsiblefor the pronouncedmaritime climate in westernandcentral Europeduring the Eemian.He also considersthattheincreasein wintertemperaturemayberelatedtothecontinuedhigh sealevel throughoutthemiddlepartof the interglacial.

When comparingthe pollen-datedmarineeventsatRistingewith thesea-levelcurveof thesouthernNorthSeaby Zagwijn (1996), a minimum sea-levelrise atRistingecan be assessed.At the latter, the ingressionbeginsc. 600 yearsearlier than recordedby Zagwijn(1983)in thesouthernNorthSea.Moreover,themarineingressionenters a freshwaterbasin in the westernBaltic wherethereare alreadya few metresof waterdepth.Fromthebeginningof Zagwijn’s sea-levelcurveuntil theendof theRistingesequence,asea-levelriseofc. 35m is indicated,suggestingthat the total sea-levelrise at Ristingemay well accountfor more than that.Including the effect of isostasy,the total water depthmay have been less than 35 m. However, the faunaindicatesincreasingwaterdepththroughoutthemarinesuccession,implying a morerapidrisein sealevel thanisostatic rebound.The marine successionis abruptlyoverlainby glacial sediments(asdescribedabove)andcomparisonwith Zagwijn’s curve suggeststhat thelatestpartof the transgressionis not representedin thesedimentatRistinge.Thesefactorstogethersuggestthatmarinesedimentsfrom thisperiodweresubjectto post-depositionalerosionandsubarealperiglacialmodifica-tion, the latter indicatedby ice-wedgecasts.

Conclusions

The pollen sequenceat Ristinge can be closelycorrelatedwith that of the last interglacial (EemianStage)of northwestEurope.The sedimentscompriseJessen & Milthers’ (1928) pollen zones d–g orAndersen’s (1961, 1975) zones E2–E5. Correlationwith the annually laminated Bispingen sequence

demonstratesthat the interglacial Ristinge Klintsequencespansc. 3400years.

A marineinundationis recordedenteringtheEemianfreshwaterbasin.Foraminiferaland ostracodalassem-blagesindicatelow-salinityconditionsin thelowerpart,increasingwater depthand salinity upwards,reachingalmost normal marine conditions at the top of theCyprinaClay.

If the initial marine ingressionis taken to coincidewith the baseof the Cyprina Clay at Ristinge Klint,marineconditionswereestablishedat c. 300yearsafterthe beginningof the interglacial.On the otherhand,ifthe ingression is marked by the slightly later firstappearanceof brackishwaterforaminifera(at223cminRKFO3), it appearsto haveoccurredatc. 365years.Inany case,the marineinundationin the westernBalticseemsto havetakenplacelater thanin theeasternmostBaltic area,whereit occurredat the very beginningoftheEemian.

A majorchangein salinity is observedatc. 650yearsafter the beginningof the interglacialat Ristinge.Thiseventmay be due to a westernmarineopeningto theareathroughtheDanishBelts.Anothermajorchangeincurrent activity is registeredat the local pollen zoneboundaryRK III/RK IV, i.e. c. 3000 yearsafter thebeginningof the stage.This is slightly later than thedevelopmentof ‘close to fully marine conditions’,determined from the foraminiferal and ostracodalanalyses,which took placeat c. 2500years.

The recognition of the relative timing of thissuccessionof eventsis of significancefor determiningthe local isostatic history of the area during theinterglacial,aswell asbeingimportantfor establishingtheEemianevolutionof theBaltic basinin general.

Acknowledgements. – JørgenHylleberg,Departmentof GeneticsandEcology,University of Aarhus,identifiedthe molluscsfound in theRistingeKlint section.Mappingof thecliff sectionwaspartly fundedby NATO CollaborativeResearchGrantCRG920162.This paperisa contribution to the SHELF-project (The Northwest Europeancontinental shelf over the past 250000 years: palaeoclimate,palaeoceanography,tectonics and sea-level change) and to theBALTEEM-project (Palaeoenvironmentand PalaeoclimaticEvolu-tion of the Baltic Sea Basin during the Last Interglacial), bothsupportedby the EuropeanCommissionEnvironmentProgramme(FourthFramework).

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Last Interglacial stratigraphy at Ristinge Klint, South Denmark

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