Lovisa Zillen - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Lovisa Zillen

The Anthropocene in the northern Baltic Sea – the case of contaminated fiberbanks and implications for sustainable development

Quaternary Geochronology, Apr 1, 2012

Past periods of rapid environmental change - the dinoflagellate cyst signal

Gff, Mar 1, 2011

TOC content and LOI of sediment core POS435_164-1

Biogeosciences, Aug 31, 2010

During the last century (1900s) industrialized forms of agriculture and human activities have cau... more During the last century (1900s) industrialized forms of agriculture and human activities have caused eutrophication of Baltic Sea waters. As a consequence, the hypoxic zone in the Baltic Sea has increased, especially during the last 50 years, and has caused severe ecosystem disturbance. Climate forcing has been proposed to be responsible for the reported trends in hypoxia (<2 mg/l O 2) both during the last c. 100 years (since c. 1900 AD) and the Medieval Period. By contrast, investigations of the degree of anthropogenic forcing on the ecosystem on long timescales (millennial and greater) have not been thoroughly addressed. This paper examines evidence for anthropogenic disturbance of the marine environment beyond the last century through the analysis of the human population growth, technological development and land-use changes in the drainage area. Natural environmental changes, i.e. changes in the morphology and depths of the Baltic basin and the sills, were probably the main driver for large-scale hypoxia during the early Holocene (8000-4000 cal yr BP). We show that hypoxia during the last two millennia has followed the general expansion and contraction trends in Europe and that human perturbation has been an important driver for hypoxia during that time. Hypoxia occurring during the Medieval Period coincides with a doubling of the population (from c. 4.6 to 9.5 million) in the Baltic Sea watershed, a massive reclamation of land in both established and marginal cultivated areas and significant increases in soil nutrient release. The role of climate forcing on hypoxia in the Baltic Sea has yet to be demonstrated convincingly, although it could have helped to sustain hypoxia through enhanced salt water inflows or through changes in hydrological inputs. In addition, cyanobacteria blooms are not natural features of the Baltic Sea as previously deduced, but are a consequence of enhanced phosphorus release from the seabed that occurs during hypoxia.

Is ‘deep-water formation’ in the Baltic Sea a key to understanding seabed dynamics and ventilation changes over the past 7,000 years?

Quaternary International, Jun 1, 2020

Abstract Numerous hydro-acoustic studies of the seabed of the Baltic Sea have revealed the unusua... more Abstract Numerous hydro-acoustic studies of the seabed of the Baltic Sea have revealed the unusual occurrence of sediment contourite drifts and re-suspension at greater water depths. In addition, radiocarbon dating of bulk sediments indicates significant age reversals. We present new geophysical, sediment proxy data (including extensive radiocarbon dating) and hydrographic measurements, which are combined with results of numerous marine geological studies performed during the last decades. These data indicate that a deep-water formation process significantly affected the seabed dynamics during regional climatically cold phases during the last c. 7,000 years. We propose that, during the colder periods (e.g. the Little Ice Age), newly formed bottom waters likely caused widespread re-suspension of organic carbon-rich laminated sediments that were deposited during the preceding warm periods in shallower areas, and this material was transported to and re-deposited in the deeper parts of the Baltic Sea sub-basins. In our scenario, a topographic feature, known as the Baltic Sea Klint, acted as a hydrographic barrier for deep-water formed in the northern Baltic. Thus, during the cold periods increased lateral matter influx from the northern Baltic led to the accumulation of much thicker macroscopically homogenous clayey sediments in sub-basins north of the Klint. Moreover, deep-water formation produced bottom currents that led to the formation of sediment contourite drifts at water depths of >200 m in the Bothnian Sea, the Aland Deep and northern central Baltic Sea sub-basins. Bottom water ventilation in the Baltic Sea is generally assumed to be determined solely by the inflow of oxygen-rich, saline water from the North Sea, but we challenge this assumption and postulate that deep-water formation is a key process that ventilates the bottom waters of the Baltic Sea during climatically cold periods with substantial implications for its sedimentary archive.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Mar 1, 2013

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are known to biosynthesise single-domain magnetite (Fe 3 O 4) for ge... more Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are known to biosynthesise single-domain magnetite (Fe 3 O 4) for geomagnetic navigation and their relict magnetosomes (called magnetofossils) can control the magnetic properties of lake and marine sediments. Magnetotactic bacteria also produce greigite (Fe 3 S 4) magnetosomes but, compared to those made of magnetite, relatively little is known about the sedimentary environments where they are produced and the magnetic properties of the preserved particles. We studied the magnetic properties of sediment cores from two basins (the North Central Baltic Proper and eastern Gotland Basin) that currently experience hypoxia and we discovered the magnetic enhancement of older laminated sapropels, which are a signal of past occurrences of anoxia and hypoxia in the Baltic Sea. Magnetic concentrates extracted from the laminated sapropels were characterised by transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and we identified only single-domain greigite (Fe 3 S 4) particles with a mean size of 55 Â 75 nm, which we interpret as magnetofossils due to diagnostic chains of individual particles separated by an intact dividing membrane. The degree of magnetic enhancement in the laminated sapropels has a positive relationship with loss-on-ignition data, which indicates a link between the production of greigite magnetosomes, organic matter supply and preservation and redox conditions. The coercive force of collections of non-interacting greigite magnetofossils is $ 13 mT, which is considerably lower than the magnetite counterparts ($ 30 mT) and strictly non-bacterial and larger greigite single-domain grains ($ 60 mT). The values of the interparametric ratios of SIRM/w, w ARM /SIRM and w ARM /w that we obtain for our greigite magnetofossils overlap with those previously considered to be diagnostic of magnetosomal magnetite. The presence of bacterial greigite, which is easily detected by magnetic measurements, forms a proxy for hypoxia and anoxia, thus aiding the palaeoenvironmental interpretation of how oxygen conditions in the Baltic Sea have changed over time.

Paleoceanography, Feb 1, 2017

Due to a lack of marine macrofossils in many sediment cores from the estuarine Baltic Sea, resear... more Due to a lack of marine macrofossils in many sediment cores from the estuarine Baltic Sea, researchers are often forced to carry out 14 C determinations on bulk sediment samples. However, ambiguity surrounding the carbon source pathways that contribute to bulk sediment formation introduces a large uncertainty into 14 C propose that studies using bulk sediment 14 C dating in large brackish water bodies should take such spatiotemporal variation in R(t) bulk into account when assessing uncertainties , thus leading to a larger, but more accurate, calibrated age range.

Pages (Bern), Jul 1, 1999

During the last century (1900s) industrialized forms of agriculture and human activities have cau... more During the last century (1900s) industrialized forms of agriculture and human activities have caused extensive eutrophication of Baltic Sea waters. As a consequence, the Baltic Sea developed a hypoxic zone that has caused serve ecosystem disturbance. Climate forcing has also been proposed to be responsible for the reported trends in hypoxia (<2 mg/l O 2) both during the last c. 100 years and during the Medieval Period. By contrast, investigations on the degree of anthropogenic forcing on the ecosystem on long timescales (millennial) have not been thoroughly addressed. This paper critically examines evidence for anthropogenic disturbance of the marine environment beyond the last century through the analysis of the population growth, technological development and land-use changes in the drainage area. Natural environmental changes, i.e. changes in the morphology and depths of the Baltic basin and the sills, were probably the main driver for large-scale hypoxia during the early Holocene (8000-4000 cal. yr BP). We show that hypoxia during the last two millennia has followed the general expansion and contraction trends in Europe and that human perturbations have been an important driver for hypoxia during that time. Hypoxia occurring during the Medieval Period coincides with a doubling of the population (from c. 4.6 to 9.5 million), a massive reclamation of land in both established and marginal cultivated areas and significant increases in soil nutrient release. The role of climate forcing on hypoxia in the Baltic Sea has yet to be convincingly demonstrated, although it could have contributed to sustain hypoxia through enhanced salt water inflows or through changes in hydrological inputs. In addition, cyanobacteria blooms are not natural features of the Baltic Sea as previously hypothesized, but are a consequence of enhanced phosphorus release that occurs together with hypoxia.

Boreas, Oct 24, 2016

Reconstructions of environmental changes at sub-decadal to decadal resolution based on central Ba... more Reconstructions of environmental changes at sub-decadal to decadal resolution based on central Baltic Sea sediments rely on accurate and precise high-resolution sediment depth/age relationships. A model chronology for Baltic Sea sediments is presented here based on established historical records of anthropogenic radionuclides (137 Cs/ 241 Am/bomb 14 C), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead (Pb) and stable lead isotope (206/207 Pb ratios), and radionuclide 210 Pb and 14 C decay dating methods. Marker horizons consisting of chemical precipitates formed by documented Major Baltic Inflow (MBIs) events and an extended diatom bloom period were also integrated into the model. The main time markers in Baltic Sea sediments that formed during the last 120 years were the following: (i) the deepest observation of 210 Pb unsupp. (marking the 210 Pb dating horizon) and departure of Hg from natural background levels at c. AD 1900; (ii) first detectable presence of PCBs at AD 1935; (iii) radionuclide production (i.e. 241 Am) due to nuclear weapons testing between AD 1954 and AD 1975, with a peak in AD 1963; (iv) maximum heavy metal and PCB concentrations in the AD 1960s/1970s; (v) the Chernobyl nuclear accident in AD 1986 as a sharp 137 Cs increase; (vi) exceptionally strong diatom blooms with a massive diatom layer found in the Eastern Gotland Basin in AD 1988-1990; and (vii) characteristic manganese-carbonate layers in the deeper central basins formed by MBIs in AD 1993 and AD 2003. A precise and accurate sediment depth/age relationship can only be achieved in restricted areas of the Baltic Sea where continuous sedimentation has prevailed and there has been limited postdepositional disturbance. We demonstrate that parallel Hg and 137 Cs measurements can be used to assess the quality of sediment sequences for high-resolution environmental reconstructions. We show examples of sediment profiles that conform to the historical record, and examples from Western Baltic Sea areas where it appears to be impossible to establish accurate geochronologies.

Quaternary Geochronology, Dec 1, 2010

We use statistical correlation of palaeomagnetic secular variation (PSV) curves from a varved Hol... more We use statistical correlation of palaeomagnetic secular variation (PSV) curves from a varved Holocene lake sediment sequence in west central Sweden (Lake Kälksjön) against those of a Fennoscandian master stack (FENNOSTACK) to correct for an apparent error in the varve chronology. Additional correlation between a lead pollution-derived chronology for the last 2000 years corroborates the PSV results. Use of the FENNOSTACK palaeomagnetic master curve reveals no significant difference in duration between large-scale features from w2500 to w8000 cal. yrs BP. Statistical correlation, however, implies that 270 years are missing from the younger part (<1000 cal. yrs BP) of the varve chronology, and that there is an overestimation by approximately 230 years in the number of varves counted in the early Holocene (>8000 cal. yrs BP). A similar comparison between the PSV-determined ages and calibrated bulk radiocarbon ages suggests that the sediments of mid-Holocene age contain substantial amounts of old carbon, probably of soil origin, which causes bulk sediment-calibrated mean 14 C ages to be up to 850 years older than the corrected varve chronology, which extends to 9193 AE 186 cal. yrs BP. This study highlights both the use of statistical correlation as a technique for detecting errors between chronologies, and the importance of validating incremental chronologies with more than one independent method.

SST reconstruction and TOC concentration of Baltic Sea sediment cores

The transition from hunter-gatherer-fisher groups to agrarian societies is arguably the most sign... more The transition from hunter-gatherer-fisher groups to agrarian societies is arguably the most significant change in human prehistory. In the European plain there is evidence for fully developed agrarian societies by 7,500 cal. yr BP, yet a well-established agrarian society does not appear in the north until 6,000 cal. yr BP for unknown reasons. Here we show a sudden increase in summer temperature at 6,000 cal. yr BP in northern Europe using a well-dated, high resolution record of sea surface temperature (SST) from the Baltic Sea. This temperature rise resulted in hypoxic conditions across the entire Baltic sea as revealed by multiple sedimentary records and supported by marine ecosystem modeling. Comparison with summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites indicate that this temperature rise coincided with both the introduction of farming, and a dramatic population increase. The evidence supports the hypothesis that the boundary of farming rapidly extended north at 6,000 cal. yr BP because terrestrial conditions in a previously marginal region improved.

Science of The Total Environment, 2020

Cumulative impact assessment was integrated with marine spatial planning • Existing methods were ... more Cumulative impact assessment was integrated with marine spatial planning • Existing methods were enhanced by developing functions for scenario analyses • Environmental consequences of different planning options were compared • Implementing mm marine spatial plans likely to reduce cumulative impact in the Swedish North Sea • Demonstrated tool supports ecosystem based marine spatial planning in practice

Scientific Reports, 2017

The transition from hunter-gatherer-fisher groups to agrarian societies is arguably the most sign... more The transition from hunter-gatherer-fisher groups to agrarian societies is arguably the most significant change in human prehistory. In the European plain there is evidence for fully developed agrarian societies by 7,500 cal. yr BP, yet a well-established agrarian society does not appear in the north until 6,000 cal. yr BP for unknown reasons. Here we show a sudden increase in summer temperature at 6,000 cal. yr BP in northern Europe using a well-dated, high resolution record of sea surface temperature (SST) from the Baltic Sea. This temperature rise resulted in hypoxic conditions across the entire Baltic sea as revealed by multiple sedimentary records and supported by marine ecosystem modeling. Comparison with summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites indicate that this temperature rise coincided with both the introduction of farming, and a dramatic population increase. The evidence supports the hypothesis that the boundary of farming rapidly e...

TOC content, LOI and SST reconstruction of sediment core PAP_303600

Geosciences, 2019

Predefined classification schemes and fixed geographic scales are often used to simplify and cost... more Predefined classification schemes and fixed geographic scales are often used to simplify and cost-effectively map the spatial complexity of nature. These simplifications can however limit the usefulness of the mapping effort for users who need information across a different range of thematic and spatial resolutions. We demonstrate how substrate and biological information from point samples and photos, combined with continuous multibeam data, can be modeled to predictively map percentage cover conforming with multiple existing classification schemes (i.e., HELCOM HUB; Natura 2000), while also providing high-resolution (5 m) maps of individual substrate and biological components across a 1344 km2 offshore bank in the Baltic Sea. Data for substrate and epibenthic organisms were obtained from high-resolution photo mosaics, sediment grab samples, legacy data and expert annotations. Environmental variables included pixel and object based metrics at multiple scales (0.5 m–2 km), which impr...

Boreas, 2008

Varved lake sediments can be used to set multiple environmental proxies within a calendar year ti... more Varved lake sediments can be used to set multiple environmental proxies within a calendar year time scale. We undertook a systematic survey of lakes in the Province of Värmland, west central Sweden, with the aim of finding continuous varved lake sediment sequences covering the majority of the Holocene. In Fennoscandia, such sediments have previously only been recorded in northern Sweden and in southern and central Finland. By following a selective process and fieldwork we discovered three new varved sites (i.e. Furskogstjärnet, Mötterudstjärnet and Kälksjön). We found that lakes with varved sediments have several common lake morphometry properties and lake catchment characteristics such as maximum water depth, maximum water depth/lake surface area ratio, catchment soil types, altitude and number of inflows. Varve chronologies, supported by AMS-14 C dating and tephrochronology were established for two of the sediment profiles. These varve chronologies are the longest geological records with an annual resolution known to exist in Sweden. In Furskogstjärnet, the AMS-14 C dates based on terrestrial plant macrofossils at several levels deviate significantly from the varve based time-depth curve. In Mötterudstjärnet, a fully reasonable time-depth model based on the 14 C dates gives older ages in the lower part of the sequence compared to the varve chronology. These results highlight that seemingly acceptable AMS radiocarbon dates may be erroneous. They also point to the fact that varved lake sediments are reliable geological archives with respect to chronological control and accuracy. Thus, these archives should be of prime interest for studies of climate and environmental change undertaken with the aim of providing sub-decadal resolution proxy data sets.

Boreas, 2009

Mineral magnetic and carbon analyses of a continuous varved lake sediment sequence in west-centra... more Mineral magnetic and carbon analyses of a continuous varved lake sediment sequence in west-central Sweden (Lake M¨otterudstj¨arnet) complement similar palaeoclimate proxies obtained from two varved lake sediment sequences in northern Sweden and one in central Finland. The varve chronology is supported by tephrochronology, palaeomagnetic secular variations and 14 C AMS dating of terrestrial macrofossils. We apply a simple model in which the transport and deposition of catchment mineral matter reflect the amount of winter snow accumulation, spring snow-melt and stream discharge. Our data show that winter snow accumulation was generally enhanced in Sweden between 8100 and 7750 cal. yr BP. If dating errors are taken into account, the 350-year period of increased erosion is the geomorphic response to a multi-centennial scale climatic cooling that occurred some time between 8500 and 7500 cal. yr BP. The most significant erosion event in central Sweden was centred at 8050 cal. yr BP. It lasted 150 years (between 8100 and 7950 cal. yr BP) and is equivalent to the most extreme Holocene climate anomaly in the northern hemisphere, known as the 8 ka or 8200 cal. yr BP climate event. Our high-resolution paramagnetic susceptibility and ferrimagnetic grain-size parameters suggest that snowpack accumulation increased most significantly in northern Sweden between 7900 and 7750 cal. yr BP. We suggest that this north-south difference was a response to the re-establishment of moisture-laden westerly air masses, as meridional Atlantic overturning circulation was re-established at the beginning of the Holocene thermal maximum.

Boreas, 2010

A series of nine radiocarbon measurements obtained at increments of 50 years was used to wiggle m... more A series of nine radiocarbon measurements obtained at increments of 50 years was used to wiggle match varved sediments in Lake K ¨alksj ¨on (west central Sweden) to the calendar year time scale provided by the tree-ring-derived radiocarbon calibration curve. The anchor point for a series of 400 varves known to span the '8.2 kyr cold event' was derived from a combination of correlation analysis, Monte Carlo statistics and Bayesian age modelling. The GRIP and NorthGRIP ice-cores were matched to the same absolute time scale by comparing 10 Be data and treering D 14 C. The radiocarbon-based wiggle match, organic carbon measurements, mineral magnetic parameters and XRF data reconstruct a distinct period of enhanced erosion in K ¨alksj ¨on's catchment between 8066AE25 and 7920AE25 cal. yr BP. Prior to human impact, the increased erosion in the boreal environment is assigned to increased winter precipitation in the form of snow, which caused spring meltwater discharge to intensify. Our results suggest that the abrupt onset of increased winter precipitation in west central Sweden started at least 50 years after the onset of the '8.2 kyr cold event' as defined by oxygen isotope data from Greenland. The study highlights the value of synchronized time scales in the reconstruction of abrupt climate changes based on proxy data.

The Anthropocene in the northern Baltic Sea – the case of contaminated fiberbanks and implications for sustainable development

Quaternary Geochronology, Apr 1, 2012

Past periods of rapid environmental change - the dinoflagellate cyst signal

Gff, Mar 1, 2011

TOC content and LOI of sediment core POS435_164-1

Biogeosciences, Aug 31, 2010

During the last century (1900s) industrialized forms of agriculture and human activities have cau... more During the last century (1900s) industrialized forms of agriculture and human activities have caused eutrophication of Baltic Sea waters. As a consequence, the hypoxic zone in the Baltic Sea has increased, especially during the last 50 years, and has caused severe ecosystem disturbance. Climate forcing has been proposed to be responsible for the reported trends in hypoxia (<2 mg/l O 2) both during the last c. 100 years (since c. 1900 AD) and the Medieval Period. By contrast, investigations of the degree of anthropogenic forcing on the ecosystem on long timescales (millennial and greater) have not been thoroughly addressed. This paper examines evidence for anthropogenic disturbance of the marine environment beyond the last century through the analysis of the human population growth, technological development and land-use changes in the drainage area. Natural environmental changes, i.e. changes in the morphology and depths of the Baltic basin and the sills, were probably the main driver for large-scale hypoxia during the early Holocene (8000-4000 cal yr BP). We show that hypoxia during the last two millennia has followed the general expansion and contraction trends in Europe and that human perturbation has been an important driver for hypoxia during that time. Hypoxia occurring during the Medieval Period coincides with a doubling of the population (from c. 4.6 to 9.5 million) in the Baltic Sea watershed, a massive reclamation of land in both established and marginal cultivated areas and significant increases in soil nutrient release. The role of climate forcing on hypoxia in the Baltic Sea has yet to be demonstrated convincingly, although it could have helped to sustain hypoxia through enhanced salt water inflows or through changes in hydrological inputs. In addition, cyanobacteria blooms are not natural features of the Baltic Sea as previously deduced, but are a consequence of enhanced phosphorus release from the seabed that occurs during hypoxia.

Is ‘deep-water formation’ in the Baltic Sea a key to understanding seabed dynamics and ventilation changes over the past 7,000 years?

Quaternary International, Jun 1, 2020

Abstract Numerous hydro-acoustic studies of the seabed of the Baltic Sea have revealed the unusua... more Abstract Numerous hydro-acoustic studies of the seabed of the Baltic Sea have revealed the unusual occurrence of sediment contourite drifts and re-suspension at greater water depths. In addition, radiocarbon dating of bulk sediments indicates significant age reversals. We present new geophysical, sediment proxy data (including extensive radiocarbon dating) and hydrographic measurements, which are combined with results of numerous marine geological studies performed during the last decades. These data indicate that a deep-water formation process significantly affected the seabed dynamics during regional climatically cold phases during the last c. 7,000 years. We propose that, during the colder periods (e.g. the Little Ice Age), newly formed bottom waters likely caused widespread re-suspension of organic carbon-rich laminated sediments that were deposited during the preceding warm periods in shallower areas, and this material was transported to and re-deposited in the deeper parts of the Baltic Sea sub-basins. In our scenario, a topographic feature, known as the Baltic Sea Klint, acted as a hydrographic barrier for deep-water formed in the northern Baltic. Thus, during the cold periods increased lateral matter influx from the northern Baltic led to the accumulation of much thicker macroscopically homogenous clayey sediments in sub-basins north of the Klint. Moreover, deep-water formation produced bottom currents that led to the formation of sediment contourite drifts at water depths of >200 m in the Bothnian Sea, the Aland Deep and northern central Baltic Sea sub-basins. Bottom water ventilation in the Baltic Sea is generally assumed to be determined solely by the inflow of oxygen-rich, saline water from the North Sea, but we challenge this assumption and postulate that deep-water formation is a key process that ventilates the bottom waters of the Baltic Sea during climatically cold periods with substantial implications for its sedimentary archive.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Mar 1, 2013

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are known to biosynthesise single-domain magnetite (Fe 3 O 4) for ge... more Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are known to biosynthesise single-domain magnetite (Fe 3 O 4) for geomagnetic navigation and their relict magnetosomes (called magnetofossils) can control the magnetic properties of lake and marine sediments. Magnetotactic bacteria also produce greigite (Fe 3 S 4) magnetosomes but, compared to those made of magnetite, relatively little is known about the sedimentary environments where they are produced and the magnetic properties of the preserved particles. We studied the magnetic properties of sediment cores from two basins (the North Central Baltic Proper and eastern Gotland Basin) that currently experience hypoxia and we discovered the magnetic enhancement of older laminated sapropels, which are a signal of past occurrences of anoxia and hypoxia in the Baltic Sea. Magnetic concentrates extracted from the laminated sapropels were characterised by transmission electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry and we identified only single-domain greigite (Fe 3 S 4) particles with a mean size of 55 Â 75 nm, which we interpret as magnetofossils due to diagnostic chains of individual particles separated by an intact dividing membrane. The degree of magnetic enhancement in the laminated sapropels has a positive relationship with loss-on-ignition data, which indicates a link between the production of greigite magnetosomes, organic matter supply and preservation and redox conditions. The coercive force of collections of non-interacting greigite magnetofossils is $ 13 mT, which is considerably lower than the magnetite counterparts ($ 30 mT) and strictly non-bacterial and larger greigite single-domain grains ($ 60 mT). The values of the interparametric ratios of SIRM/w, w ARM /SIRM and w ARM /w that we obtain for our greigite magnetofossils overlap with those previously considered to be diagnostic of magnetosomal magnetite. The presence of bacterial greigite, which is easily detected by magnetic measurements, forms a proxy for hypoxia and anoxia, thus aiding the palaeoenvironmental interpretation of how oxygen conditions in the Baltic Sea have changed over time.

Paleoceanography, Feb 1, 2017

Due to a lack of marine macrofossils in many sediment cores from the estuarine Baltic Sea, resear... more Due to a lack of marine macrofossils in many sediment cores from the estuarine Baltic Sea, researchers are often forced to carry out 14 C determinations on bulk sediment samples. However, ambiguity surrounding the carbon source pathways that contribute to bulk sediment formation introduces a large uncertainty into 14 C propose that studies using bulk sediment 14 C dating in large brackish water bodies should take such spatiotemporal variation in R(t) bulk into account when assessing uncertainties , thus leading to a larger, but more accurate, calibrated age range.

Pages (Bern), Jul 1, 1999

During the last century (1900s) industrialized forms of agriculture and human activities have cau... more During the last century (1900s) industrialized forms of agriculture and human activities have caused extensive eutrophication of Baltic Sea waters. As a consequence, the Baltic Sea developed a hypoxic zone that has caused serve ecosystem disturbance. Climate forcing has also been proposed to be responsible for the reported trends in hypoxia (<2 mg/l O 2) both during the last c. 100 years and during the Medieval Period. By contrast, investigations on the degree of anthropogenic forcing on the ecosystem on long timescales (millennial) have not been thoroughly addressed. This paper critically examines evidence for anthropogenic disturbance of the marine environment beyond the last century through the analysis of the population growth, technological development and land-use changes in the drainage area. Natural environmental changes, i.e. changes in the morphology and depths of the Baltic basin and the sills, were probably the main driver for large-scale hypoxia during the early Holocene (8000-4000 cal. yr BP). We show that hypoxia during the last two millennia has followed the general expansion and contraction trends in Europe and that human perturbations have been an important driver for hypoxia during that time. Hypoxia occurring during the Medieval Period coincides with a doubling of the population (from c. 4.6 to 9.5 million), a massive reclamation of land in both established and marginal cultivated areas and significant increases in soil nutrient release. The role of climate forcing on hypoxia in the Baltic Sea has yet to be convincingly demonstrated, although it could have contributed to sustain hypoxia through enhanced salt water inflows or through changes in hydrological inputs. In addition, cyanobacteria blooms are not natural features of the Baltic Sea as previously hypothesized, but are a consequence of enhanced phosphorus release that occurs together with hypoxia.

Boreas, Oct 24, 2016

Reconstructions of environmental changes at sub-decadal to decadal resolution based on central Ba... more Reconstructions of environmental changes at sub-decadal to decadal resolution based on central Baltic Sea sediments rely on accurate and precise high-resolution sediment depth/age relationships. A model chronology for Baltic Sea sediments is presented here based on established historical records of anthropogenic radionuclides (137 Cs/ 241 Am/bomb 14 C), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), lead (Pb) and stable lead isotope (206/207 Pb ratios), and radionuclide 210 Pb and 14 C decay dating methods. Marker horizons consisting of chemical precipitates formed by documented Major Baltic Inflow (MBIs) events and an extended diatom bloom period were also integrated into the model. The main time markers in Baltic Sea sediments that formed during the last 120 years were the following: (i) the deepest observation of 210 Pb unsupp. (marking the 210 Pb dating horizon) and departure of Hg from natural background levels at c. AD 1900; (ii) first detectable presence of PCBs at AD 1935; (iii) radionuclide production (i.e. 241 Am) due to nuclear weapons testing between AD 1954 and AD 1975, with a peak in AD 1963; (iv) maximum heavy metal and PCB concentrations in the AD 1960s/1970s; (v) the Chernobyl nuclear accident in AD 1986 as a sharp 137 Cs increase; (vi) exceptionally strong diatom blooms with a massive diatom layer found in the Eastern Gotland Basin in AD 1988-1990; and (vii) characteristic manganese-carbonate layers in the deeper central basins formed by MBIs in AD 1993 and AD 2003. A precise and accurate sediment depth/age relationship can only be achieved in restricted areas of the Baltic Sea where continuous sedimentation has prevailed and there has been limited postdepositional disturbance. We demonstrate that parallel Hg and 137 Cs measurements can be used to assess the quality of sediment sequences for high-resolution environmental reconstructions. We show examples of sediment profiles that conform to the historical record, and examples from Western Baltic Sea areas where it appears to be impossible to establish accurate geochronologies.

Quaternary Geochronology, Dec 1, 2010

We use statistical correlation of palaeomagnetic secular variation (PSV) curves from a varved Hol... more We use statistical correlation of palaeomagnetic secular variation (PSV) curves from a varved Holocene lake sediment sequence in west central Sweden (Lake Kälksjön) against those of a Fennoscandian master stack (FENNOSTACK) to correct for an apparent error in the varve chronology. Additional correlation between a lead pollution-derived chronology for the last 2000 years corroborates the PSV results. Use of the FENNOSTACK palaeomagnetic master curve reveals no significant difference in duration between large-scale features from w2500 to w8000 cal. yrs BP. Statistical correlation, however, implies that 270 years are missing from the younger part (<1000 cal. yrs BP) of the varve chronology, and that there is an overestimation by approximately 230 years in the number of varves counted in the early Holocene (>8000 cal. yrs BP). A similar comparison between the PSV-determined ages and calibrated bulk radiocarbon ages suggests that the sediments of mid-Holocene age contain substantial amounts of old carbon, probably of soil origin, which causes bulk sediment-calibrated mean 14 C ages to be up to 850 years older than the corrected varve chronology, which extends to 9193 AE 186 cal. yrs BP. This study highlights both the use of statistical correlation as a technique for detecting errors between chronologies, and the importance of validating incremental chronologies with more than one independent method.

SST reconstruction and TOC concentration of Baltic Sea sediment cores

The transition from hunter-gatherer-fisher groups to agrarian societies is arguably the most sign... more The transition from hunter-gatherer-fisher groups to agrarian societies is arguably the most significant change in human prehistory. In the European plain there is evidence for fully developed agrarian societies by 7,500 cal. yr BP, yet a well-established agrarian society does not appear in the north until 6,000 cal. yr BP for unknown reasons. Here we show a sudden increase in summer temperature at 6,000 cal. yr BP in northern Europe using a well-dated, high resolution record of sea surface temperature (SST) from the Baltic Sea. This temperature rise resulted in hypoxic conditions across the entire Baltic sea as revealed by multiple sedimentary records and supported by marine ecosystem modeling. Comparison with summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites indicate that this temperature rise coincided with both the introduction of farming, and a dramatic population increase. The evidence supports the hypothesis that the boundary of farming rapidly extended north at 6,000 cal. yr BP because terrestrial conditions in a previously marginal region improved.

Science of The Total Environment, 2020

Cumulative impact assessment was integrated with marine spatial planning • Existing methods were ... more Cumulative impact assessment was integrated with marine spatial planning • Existing methods were enhanced by developing functions for scenario analyses • Environmental consequences of different planning options were compared • Implementing mm marine spatial plans likely to reduce cumulative impact in the Swedish North Sea • Demonstrated tool supports ecosystem based marine spatial planning in practice

Scientific Reports, 2017

The transition from hunter-gatherer-fisher groups to agrarian societies is arguably the most sign... more The transition from hunter-gatherer-fisher groups to agrarian societies is arguably the most significant change in human prehistory. In the European plain there is evidence for fully developed agrarian societies by 7,500 cal. yr BP, yet a well-established agrarian society does not appear in the north until 6,000 cal. yr BP for unknown reasons. Here we show a sudden increase in summer temperature at 6,000 cal. yr BP in northern Europe using a well-dated, high resolution record of sea surface temperature (SST) from the Baltic Sea. This temperature rise resulted in hypoxic conditions across the entire Baltic sea as revealed by multiple sedimentary records and supported by marine ecosystem modeling. Comparison with summed probability distributions of radiocarbon dates from archaeological sites indicate that this temperature rise coincided with both the introduction of farming, and a dramatic population increase. The evidence supports the hypothesis that the boundary of farming rapidly e...

TOC content, LOI and SST reconstruction of sediment core PAP_303600

Geosciences, 2019

Predefined classification schemes and fixed geographic scales are often used to simplify and cost... more Predefined classification schemes and fixed geographic scales are often used to simplify and cost-effectively map the spatial complexity of nature. These simplifications can however limit the usefulness of the mapping effort for users who need information across a different range of thematic and spatial resolutions. We demonstrate how substrate and biological information from point samples and photos, combined with continuous multibeam data, can be modeled to predictively map percentage cover conforming with multiple existing classification schemes (i.e., HELCOM HUB; Natura 2000), while also providing high-resolution (5 m) maps of individual substrate and biological components across a 1344 km2 offshore bank in the Baltic Sea. Data for substrate and epibenthic organisms were obtained from high-resolution photo mosaics, sediment grab samples, legacy data and expert annotations. Environmental variables included pixel and object based metrics at multiple scales (0.5 m–2 km), which impr...

Boreas, 2008

Varved lake sediments can be used to set multiple environmental proxies within a calendar year ti... more Varved lake sediments can be used to set multiple environmental proxies within a calendar year time scale. We undertook a systematic survey of lakes in the Province of Värmland, west central Sweden, with the aim of finding continuous varved lake sediment sequences covering the majority of the Holocene. In Fennoscandia, such sediments have previously only been recorded in northern Sweden and in southern and central Finland. By following a selective process and fieldwork we discovered three new varved sites (i.e. Furskogstjärnet, Mötterudstjärnet and Kälksjön). We found that lakes with varved sediments have several common lake morphometry properties and lake catchment characteristics such as maximum water depth, maximum water depth/lake surface area ratio, catchment soil types, altitude and number of inflows. Varve chronologies, supported by AMS-14 C dating and tephrochronology were established for two of the sediment profiles. These varve chronologies are the longest geological records with an annual resolution known to exist in Sweden. In Furskogstjärnet, the AMS-14 C dates based on terrestrial plant macrofossils at several levels deviate significantly from the varve based time-depth curve. In Mötterudstjärnet, a fully reasonable time-depth model based on the 14 C dates gives older ages in the lower part of the sequence compared to the varve chronology. These results highlight that seemingly acceptable AMS radiocarbon dates may be erroneous. They also point to the fact that varved lake sediments are reliable geological archives with respect to chronological control and accuracy. Thus, these archives should be of prime interest for studies of climate and environmental change undertaken with the aim of providing sub-decadal resolution proxy data sets.

Boreas, 2009

Mineral magnetic and carbon analyses of a continuous varved lake sediment sequence in west-centra... more Mineral magnetic and carbon analyses of a continuous varved lake sediment sequence in west-central Sweden (Lake M¨otterudstj¨arnet) complement similar palaeoclimate proxies obtained from two varved lake sediment sequences in northern Sweden and one in central Finland. The varve chronology is supported by tephrochronology, palaeomagnetic secular variations and 14 C AMS dating of terrestrial macrofossils. We apply a simple model in which the transport and deposition of catchment mineral matter reflect the amount of winter snow accumulation, spring snow-melt and stream discharge. Our data show that winter snow accumulation was generally enhanced in Sweden between 8100 and 7750 cal. yr BP. If dating errors are taken into account, the 350-year period of increased erosion is the geomorphic response to a multi-centennial scale climatic cooling that occurred some time between 8500 and 7500 cal. yr BP. The most significant erosion event in central Sweden was centred at 8050 cal. yr BP. It lasted 150 years (between 8100 and 7950 cal. yr BP) and is equivalent to the most extreme Holocene climate anomaly in the northern hemisphere, known as the 8 ka or 8200 cal. yr BP climate event. Our high-resolution paramagnetic susceptibility and ferrimagnetic grain-size parameters suggest that snowpack accumulation increased most significantly in northern Sweden between 7900 and 7750 cal. yr BP. We suggest that this north-south difference was a response to the re-establishment of moisture-laden westerly air masses, as meridional Atlantic overturning circulation was re-established at the beginning of the Holocene thermal maximum.

Boreas, 2010

A series of nine radiocarbon measurements obtained at increments of 50 years was used to wiggle m... more A series of nine radiocarbon measurements obtained at increments of 50 years was used to wiggle match varved sediments in Lake K ¨alksj ¨on (west central Sweden) to the calendar year time scale provided by the tree-ring-derived radiocarbon calibration curve. The anchor point for a series of 400 varves known to span the '8.2 kyr cold event' was derived from a combination of correlation analysis, Monte Carlo statistics and Bayesian age modelling. The GRIP and NorthGRIP ice-cores were matched to the same absolute time scale by comparing 10 Be data and treering D 14 C. The radiocarbon-based wiggle match, organic carbon measurements, mineral magnetic parameters and XRF data reconstruct a distinct period of enhanced erosion in K ¨alksj ¨on's catchment between 8066AE25 and 7920AE25 cal. yr BP. Prior to human impact, the increased erosion in the boreal environment is assigned to increased winter precipitation in the form of snow, which caused spring meltwater discharge to intensify. Our results suggest that the abrupt onset of increased winter precipitation in west central Sweden started at least 50 years after the onset of the '8.2 kyr cold event' as defined by oxygen isotope data from Greenland. The study highlights the value of synchronized time scales in the reconstruction of abrupt climate changes based on proxy data.