Multi-proxy evidence for the impact of the Storegga Slide Tsunami on the early Holocene landscapes of the southern North Sea
| Autor: | Ben Stern, Martin Bates, Derek Hamilton, Logan Kistler, Rebecca Cribdon, Sarah J. Davies, Richard Telford, Kevin Kearney, Merle Muru, Rosie Everett, John E. Whittaker, Matt Law, Vincent Gaffney, Benjamin R. Gearey, Catherine M. Batt, Roselyn Ware, James Walker, Tim Kinnaird, Simon Fitch, Samuel E. Harris, Mohammed Ben Sharada, Tom Hill, Robin G. Allaby, Richard Bates |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
010506 paleontology
0303 health sciences Sediment Woodland 01 natural sciences law.invention Head (geology) 03 medical and health sciences Paleontology 13. Climate action law Sedimentary rock 14. Life underwater Radiocarbon dating Doggerland Geology Holocene 030304 developmental biology 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Stratum |
| Popis: | Doggerland was a land mass occupying an area currently covered by the North Sea until marine inundation took place during the mid-Holocene, ultimately separating the British land mass from the rest of Europe. The Storegga Slide, which triggered a tsunami reflected in sediment deposits in the Northern North Sea, North East coastlines of the British Isles and across the North Atlantic, was a major event during this transgressive phase. The spatial extent of the Storegga tsunami however remains unconfirmed because to date no direct evidence for the event has been recovered from the southern North Sea. We present evidence that Storegga associated deposits occur in the southern North Sea. Palaeo-river systems have been identified using seismic survey in the southwestern North Sea and sedimentary cores extracted to track the Mid Holocene inundation. At the head of one palaeo-river system near the Outer Dowsing Deep, theSouthern River, we observed an abrupt and catastrophic inundation stratum. Based on lithostratigraphic, macro and microfossils and sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) evidence, supported by optical stimulation luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating, we conclude these deposits were a result of the Storegga event. Seismic identification of this stratum to adjacent cores indicated diminished traces of the tsunami, largely removed by subsequent erosional processes. Our results demonstrate the catastrophic impact of Storegga within this area of the Southern North Sea, but indicate that these effects were temporary and likely localized and mitigated by the dense woodland and topography of the area. We conclude clear physical remnants of the wave are likely to be restricted to inland basins and incised river valley systems. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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