Holocene Deposits of the Southeastern Coast of the Gorlo Strait (White Sea): New Data of Diatom and Radiocarbon Analyses

Abstract

Diatom analysis and radiocarbon dating of the sedimentary cover of terraces on the southeastern coast of the Gorlo Strait (White Sea) were carried out for the first time. The studies were conducted at sites from Cape Veprevskii to Cape Intsy. The Holocene marine sediments were traced up to 4 m a.s.l. The relative sea level rose during the Boreal and the first half of the Atlantic periods. The sea level reached the present value not earlier than 8500 ¹⁴C ysr BP and probably was stabilized at 3.5–4.0 m a.s.l. about 6300 ¹⁴C yrs BP. The sea regression is dated to approximately 3000 ¹⁴C yrs BP, when the marine settings of sediment accumulation changed to continental ones. The higher levels were formed prior to 9500–8500 ¹⁴C yrs BP and were not later flooded by the sea according to the data of diatom analysis. During the Early Holocene regression, the assumptive paleosol horizons were formed there. They are covered by lacustrine, peaty, and aeolian sediments.