Lateglacial and early Holocene tephrostratigraphy and sedimentology of the <scp>S</scp>tore <scp>S</scp>lotseng basin, <scp>SW D</scp>enmark: a multi‐proxy study

Abstract

The history of the L ateglacial and P reboreal sedimentary succession from the S tore S lotseng kettle hole basin, SW D enmark is presented. A tephrostratigraphical and multi‐proxy investigation of the sediments, including stable isotope geochemistry, reveals small‐ and large‐scale changes in the surrounding environment through time. Three distinct tephra horizons are observed. Two of them are identified as the P reboreal H ässeldalen T ephra and the Y ounger D ryas V edde A sh. The third was deposited around the Pre‐ B ølling/ B ølling transition. The Preboreal sediments record two significant decreases in authigenic carbonate content. Using tephrostratigraphy the lower one is identified as occurring during the Preboreal Oscillation, while the upper one is contemporaneous with the Rammelbeek Phase, which by some is recognised above the Preboreal Oscillation. This period has not previously been observed in this region. The discovery of the H ässeldalen T ephra in the S tore S lotseng basin expands the known southwestern limit of the ash cloud, and increases the area for potential future observations. The H ässeldalen T ephra ( c . 11.3 cal. ka BP ) was deposited just prior to the P reboreal O scillation and as such has a large potential for precise correlation and characterization of this short climatic perturbation.