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A 1500-year record of North Atlantic storm flooding from lacustrine sediments, Shetland Islands (UK)

Severe storm flooding poses a major hazard to the coasts of north-western Europe. However, the long-term recurrence patterns of extreme coastal flooding and their governing factors are poorly understood. Therefore, high-resolution sedimentary records of past North Atlantic storm flooding are require...

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Main Authors: Heß, Katharina (Author) , Engel, Max (Author) , Patel, Tasnim (Author) , Vakhrameeva, Polina (Author) , Koutsodendris, Andreas (Author) , Klemt, Eckehard (Author) , Hansteen, Thor (Author) , Kempf, Philipp (Author) , Dawson, Sue (Author) , Schön, Isa (Author) , Heyvaert, Vanessa M. A. (Author)
Format: Article (Journal)
Language:English
Published: 2024
In: Journal of quaternary science
Year: 2024, Volume: 39, Issue: 1, Pages: 37-53
ISSN:1099-1417
DOI:10.1002/jqs.3568
Online Access:kostenfrei
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Author Notes:Katharina Hess, Max Engel, Tasnim Patel, Polina Vakhrameeva, Andreas Koutsodendris, Eckehard Klemt, Thor H. Hansteen, Philipp Kempf, Sue Dawson, Isa Schön and Vanessa M. A. Heyvaert
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Summary:Severe storm flooding poses a major hazard to the coasts of north-western Europe. However, the long-term recurrence patterns of extreme coastal flooding and their governing factors are poorly understood. Therefore, high-resolution sedimentary records of past North Atlantic storm flooding are required. This multi-proxy study reconstructs storm-induced overwash processes from coastal lake sediments on the Shetland Islands using grain-size and geochemical data, and the re-analysis of historical data. The chronostratigraphy is based on Bayesian age-depth modelling using accelerator mass spectrometry 14C and 137Cs data. A high XRF-based Si/Ti ratio and the unimodal grain-size distribution link the sand layers to the beach and thus storm-induced overwash events. Periods with more frequent storm flooding occurred 980-1050, 1150-1300, 1450-1550, 1820-1900 and 1950-2000 ce, which is largely consistent with a positive North Atlantic Oscillation mode. The Little Ice Age (1400-1850 ce) shows a gap of major sand layers suggesting a southward shift of storm tracks and a seasonal variance with more storm floods in spring and autumn. Warmer phases shifted winter storm tracks towards the north-east Atlantic, indicating a possible trend for future storm-track changes and increased storm flooding in the northern North Sea region.
Item Description:Online veröffentlicht: 21. September 2023
Gesehen am 07.12.2023
Physical Description:Online Resource
ISSN:1099-1417
DOI:10.1002/jqs.3568

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