Sergeev, A., Sivkov, V., Zhamoida V., Ryabchuk, D., Bitinas, A., Mažeika J.
Holocene organic-rich sediments within the Curonian Spit
coast, the south-eastern Baltic Sea
Abstract. Organic-rich sediments are exposed at a number of
onshore and nearshore sites along the Baltic Sea coast of the Curonian Spit.
Radiocarbon dating of relict tree stumps, as well as buried and reworked peat
and palaeosols, found along the Russian part of the Curonian Spit (villages of
Lesnoy and Rybachy) and in the vicinity of Zelenogradsk indicate the formation
of these sediments over a wide time period from 7300 cal BP to 300 cal BP.
Organic-rich sediments of different stages of the Holocene sand barrier
evolution are of interest in terms of environmental protection, as potential
accumulators of oil (or other hydrocarbon) pollution and indicators of
intensity of coastal erosion. In terms of geochronology, the data have
implications for reconstructing the geological history of the Curonian Spit and
Curonian Lagoon during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene.