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In light of global warming and rising relative sea level (RSL), detailed reconstructions of RSL histories and their controlling processes are essential in order to manage coastal‐protection challenges. This study contributes to unravelling Holocene RSL change on the East Frisian North Sea coast in high resolution and with a new approach for the German Bight. For the first time, a transfer function (vertical error: 29.7 cm ≙ ~11% of the mean tidal range) for RSL change based on a combined training set of benthic foraminifers and ostracods from the back‐barrier tidal basin of Spiekeroog is applied to the Holocene record of the back‐barrier tidal basin of Norderney. The resulting RSL curve for the Norderney tidal basin is corrected for decompaction and shows a deceleration in RSL rise between 6000 and 5000 cal bp. The smallest possible error envelope (~1 m) results from the good suitability of salt‐marsh layers between 5000 and 4000 cal bp. The RSL curve provides an approach towards the closure of the common data gap of peat‐based curves for the southern North Sea related to a lack of basal peats in the youngest age range, and verifies regional differences in glacial isostatic adjustment., Volkswagen Foundation http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001663, Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wissenschaft und Kultur http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100010570

We apply seismic full waveform inversion to SH‐ and Love‐wave data for investigating the near‐surface lithology at an archaeological site. We evaluate the resolution of the applied full waveform inversion algorithm through ground truthing in the form of an excavation and sediment core studies. Thereby, we investigate the benefits of full waveform inversion in comparison with other established methods of near‐surface prospecting in terms of resolution capabilities and interpretation security. The study is performed in a presumed harbour area of the ancient Thracian city of Ainos. The exemplary target is the source of a linear magnetic anomaly oriented perpendicular to the coast, which was found in a previous magnetic gradiometry survey, suggesting a mole. The SH‐wave full waveform inversion recovered a subsurface SH‐wave velocity model with submeter resolution showing lateral and vertical velocity variation between 40 and 150 m/s. To tame the non‐linearity of the full waveform inversion, a sequential inversion of frequency bands has to be combined with time‐windowing in order to separate the Love wave from the reflected SH wavefield. We compare the full waveform inversion results with multichannel analysis of surface waves, standard seismic reflection imaging, electrical resistivity tomography and electromagnetic induction. It turns out that the respective depth sections are correlated to a certain degree with the full waveform inversion results. However, the structural resolution of the other geophysical methods is significantly lower than for the full waveform inversion. An exception is the reflection seismic imaging, which shows the same resolution as full waveform inversion but can only be interpreted together with the full waveform inversion–based velocity model. An archaeological excavation as well as coring data allows ground truthing and a direct understanding of the geophysical structures. The results show that the target was a sort of near‐surface trench of about 3–4 m width and 0.8 m to 1.0 m depth, filled with silty sediment, which differs from the layered surrounding in colour and composition. The ground truthing revealed that only SH‐wave full waveform inversion and seismic reflection imaging could image the trench and sediment structure with satisfying lateral and depth resolution. We emphasize that the velocity distribution from SH‐wave full waveform inversion agrees closely with the excavated subsurface structures, and that the discovered changes in seismic velocity correlate with changes in the sand content in the respective sediment facies sequences. The study demonstrated that SH‐wave full waveform inversion is capable to image structural and lithological changes in the near subsurface at scales as low as 0.5 m, thus providing the high resolution needed for archaeological and geoarchaeological prospection.

Coastal boulder fields provide clues to long-term frequency-magnitude patterns of coastal flooding events and have the potential to play an important role in coastal hazard assessment. Mapping boulders in the field is time and labour-intensive, and work on intertidal reef platforms, as in the present study, is physically challenging. By addressing coastal scientists who are not specialists in remote sensing, this contribution reports on the possibilities and limitations of digital applications in boulder mapping in Eastern Samar, Philippines, where recent supertyphoons Haiyan and Hagupit induced high waves, coastal flooding and boulder transport. It is demonstrated how satellite imagery of sub-metre resolution (from Pleiades and WorldView-3 imagery) enables efficient analysis of transport vectors and distances of larger boulders, reflecting variation in latitudes of both typhoon tracks and approaching angles of typhoon-generated waves. During the investigated events, boulders with a-axes of up to 8 m were clearly identified to have been shifted for up to 32 m, mostly along the seaward margin of the boulder field. It is, however, hard to keep track of smaller boulders, and the length of a-axes and b-axes including their orientation is often impossible to map with sufficient accuracy. Orthophotographs and digital surface models created through the application of an unmanned aerial vehicle and the 'Structure from Motion' technique provide ultra-high-resolution data, and have the potential to not only improve the results of satellite image analysis, but also those from field mapping and may significantly reduce overall time in the field. Orthophotographs permit unequivocal mapping of a-axes and b-axes including their orientation, while precise values for c-axes can be derived from the respective digital surface models. Volume of boulders is best inferred from boulder-specific Structure from Motion-based three-dimensional models. Battery power, flight speed and altitude determine the limits of the area covered, while patches shielded by the boulders are difficult to resolve. For some tasks, field mapping remains mandatory and cannot be replaced by currently available remote sensing tools: for example, sampling for rock type, density and age dating, recording of lithological separation of boulders from the underlying geological unit and of geomorphic features on a millimetre to decimetre-scale, or documentation of fine-grained sediment transport in between the boulders in supratidal settings. In terms of future events, the digital products presented here will provide a valuable reference to track boulder transport on a centimetre to decimetre-scale and to better understand the hydrodynamics of extreme-wave events on a fringing reef coastline.

In southern Iberia, the surroundings of the Strait of Gibraltar are known as a crossroad for population movements, cultural exchanges, and trade from Late Prehistory to modern times. However, questions remain about the impact of this historical development on the environment. The settlement of La Silla del Papa, an important hillfort in southern Andalusia (Cádiz), was occupied during the entire Iron Age, replaced by the coastal town Baelo Claudia during Roman times, and re‐occupied during Early Medieval times. As such, La Silla del Papa and its territory represent an ideal location for long‐term studies on human‐environment interactions. Within the framework of the interdisciplinary project “Archeostraits,” geoarchaeological investigations in the surroundings of La Silla del Papa aimed at constraining ecological conditions and human‐environment interactions during the mid‐ and late Holocene and during major human occupation phases. Our results document an early mid‐Holocene marine embayment in the lower floodplain of the Río del Cachón, rapidly turning into a coastal lagoon and later into freshwater‐dominated wetlands. After approximately 2100 BP (c. 150 BC), fluvial and alluvial deposition i600ing a high anthropogenic impact on the local landscape during Roman or post‐Roman times. Palynological results reveal fluctuating agricultural and pastoral activities and distinct periods of landscape opening during the Neolithic and Iron Age., Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001659, Agence Nationale de la Recherche http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100001665

Situated between the Enguri and Khobistskali rivers, more than 30 settlement mounds (locally named Dikhagudzuba) provide evidence for a relatively densely populated landscape in the coastal lowlands of western Georgia during the Bronze Age. Compared to older mounds in eastern Georgia and other regions, these mounds differ not only in age but also in their average size and spatial distribution. Based on the interpretation of nine sediment cores, drone survey and structure-from-motion photogrammetry techniques, our study aims at (i) establishing a chronostratigraphic framework for the mounds based on 14C dating; (ii) reconstructing possible phases and gaps in human occupation; (iii) determining potential source areas of the mounds’ construction material; and (iv) identifying the environmental conditions at the time of their use. The three investigated mounds are similar in dimension and stratigraphy. Anthropogenic layers could clearly be identified and separated from the natural alluvial deposits below. According to the 14C age estimates, the mounds date to the first half of the 2nd millennium B.C.; this confirms the archaeological interpretation of their Bronze Age origin. While only one construction phase is assumed for two of the mounds, stratigraphic analysis suggests a successive enlargement of a third mound over at least 470 years. Paleoenvironmental conditions in the vicinity of the mounds were dominated by swampy, fluvial (channel) to alluvial (overbank) processes, as attested by river-bank deposits and floodplain alluvium.

During the past millennia, many erosion and accumulation processes have been modified by anthropogenic impact. This holds especially true for the environs of ancient settlements and their harbours along the Mediterranean coasts. Our multi-proxy investigations in the Roman harbour and the harbour canal of Ephesus (western Turkey) reveals that humans have significantly triggered soil erosion during the last three millennia. Since the eighth century BC, and especially since the Hellenistic period, a high sed-imentation rate indicates fast alluviation and delta progradation of the Kucuk Menderes. Deforestation, agriculture (especially ploughing) and grazing (especially goats) were the main reasons for erosion of the river catchment area. One consequence was significant siltation of the Hellenistic/Roman harbour basin. This sediment trap archives the human impact, which was strongly enhanced from Hellenistic/Roman to Byzantine times (second/first centuries BC to the sixth/seventh centuries AD), evidenced by high sedimentation rates, raised values of heavy metal contaminations [lead (Pb), copper (Cu)], the occurrence of fruit tree pollen and of intestinal parasites. From the middle to the end of the first millennium AD, the influence of Ephesus declined, which resulted in a decrease of human impact. Studies of several ancient settlements around the Mediterranean Sea tell a comparable story. They also confirm that during their most flourishing periods the human impact totally overprinted the climatic one. To detect the latter, geo-bio-archives of relatively pristine areas have to be investigated in detail.

According to various historical sources an earthquake and an associated tsunami wiped out the Greek city of Helike on the Gulf of Corinth in 373 B.C. This study combines stratigraphical data from a new series of sediment cores with archaeological findings of the Helike Project to better assess the fate of Helike. Abrupt lithological changes, for example, from coarse-grained littoral facies at the base to fine-grained lagoonal deposits, in three of the new cores suggest sudden formation of lagoonal or lacustrine conditions in the central delta during tectonic events of subsidence due to fault-slip. These events date before c. 2550 B.C., before 348 cal. B.C.–64 cal. A.D. (probably 373 B.C.), and before 1437–1634 cal. A.D. (probably A.D. 1402). Vertically displaced isochronic surfaces between two neighboring cores may be related to active faulting of the fan-delta north of the Western Helike Fault Zone in 373 B.C. and A.D. 1402. Although the Helike Project reported possible tsunami evidence in earlier cores and trenches, no unequivocal sedimentary traces of a tsunami were identified in the Classical horizons of the new cores.

Although the north-western coast of Western Australia is highly vulnerable to tropical cyclones and tsunamis, little is known about the geological imprint of historic and prehistoric extreme wave events in this particular area. Despite a number of site-specific difficulties such as post-depositional changes and the preservation potential of event deposits, both tropical cyclones and tsunamis may be inferred from the geomorphology and the stratigraphy of beach ridge sequences, washover fans and coastal lagoons or marshes. A further challenge is the differentiation between tsunami and storm deposits in the geological record, particularly where modern deposits and/or historical reports on the event are not available. This study presents a high-resolution sedimentary record of washover events from the Ashburton River delta (Western Australia) spanning approximately the last 150 years. A detailed characterization of event deposits is provided, and a robust chronostratigraphy for the investigated washover sequence is established based on multi-proxy sediment analyses and optically stimulated luminescence dating. Combining sedimentological, geochemical and high-resolution optically stimulated luminescence data, event layers are assigned to known historical events and tropical cyclone deposits are separated from tsunami deposits. For the first time, the 1883 Krakatoa and 1977 Sumba tsunamis are inferred from sedimentary records of the north-western part of Western Australia. It is demonstrated that optically stimulated luminescence applied in coastal sedimentary archives with favourable luminescence characteristics can provide accurate chronostratigraphies even on a decadal timescale. The results contribute to the data pool of tropical cyclone and tsunami deposits in Holocene stratigraphies; however, they also demonstrate how short-lived sediment archives may be in dynamic sedimentary environments.

The Holocene evolution of the Canning Coast of Western Australia has largely been overlooked so far mainly due to its remoteness and low population density. We report on new data from a sequence of foredunes inside the macro-tidal Admiral Bay, 110 km southwest of Broome. Based on sediment cores, differential global positioning system (dGPS)-based elevation transects, and stratigraphical analyses on outcrops of the relict foredunes, we aim at reconstructing Holocene coastal changes and relative sea levels (RSLs), as well as identifying and dating imprints of extreme-wave events. Sedimentary analyses comprise the documentation of bedding structures, foraminiferal content and macrofaunal remains, grain size distribution, and organic matter. The chronological framework is based on 26 carbon-14 accelerator mass spectrometry (14C-AMS) datings. Marine flooding of the pre-Holocene surface landward of the 2.5 km-wide foredune barriers occurred 7400–7200 cal bp, when mangroves colonized the area. After only 200–400 years, a high-energy inter-tidal environment established and prevailed until c. 4000 cal bp, before turning into the present supralittoral mudflat. During that time, coastal regression led to beach progradation and the formation of aligned foredunes. Drivers of progradation were a stable RSL or gradual RSL fall after the mid-Holocene and a positive sand budget. The foredunes overlie upper beach deposits located up to >2 m above the present upper beach level and provide evidence for a higher mid-Holocene RSL. Discontinuous layers of coarse shells and sand are intercalated in the foredunes, indicating massive coastal flooding events. One such layer was traced over three dune ridges and dated to c. 1700–1550 cal bp. However, it seems that most tropical cyclones induce net erosion rather than deposition at aligned foredunes and thus, they are only suitable for reconstructing temporal variability if erosional features or sedimentation reliably tied to these events can be identified and dated accurately. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Pergamum (modern: Bergama) was operating an important harbour used by military forces and merchants at the city of Elaia during Hellenistic and Roman Imperial times. Harbour-related facilities such as warehouses, breakwaters and wharfs document the importance of this harbour site not only for the Pergamenians. This paper focuses on the purpose and age of six submerged wall structures situated approximately 1 km south of the ancient closed harbour basin of Elaia. Geoelectric cross-sections and semi-aquatic coring near these walls failed to detect any solid basement under the walls which excludes their possible use as breakwaters or wharfs. Instead, the walls were most likely delineating and separating evaporation ponds of salt works, which compares well with similar structures from other periods and places around the Mediterranean. Combined OSL and 14C-dating determined the construction age of the installation between the 4th and 6th centuries A.D. Subsequent (re-)uses are likely and are in agreement with findings from archaeological surveys.

This project has reconstructed the palaeogeographic and environmental evolution of Lake Chokrak on the Kerch Peninsula, Ukraine, during the mid- and late-Holocene. This record has been evaluated in association with a regional archaeological data set to explore human–environment interactions over this period. The results show major changes in the palaeogeographic setting of Lake Chokrak since the 3rd millennium B.C., when the postglacial marine transgression had started to fill the study area. Microfaunal analyses reveal the long persistence of an open marine embayment that only became separated from the Sea of Azov when a sand barrier developed during the late 2nd millennium B.C. When colonizing the Black Sea region after the 8th century B.C., the Greek settlers erected a fortification with a small settlement on a promontory that was by then a peninsula-like headland extending into the lake. The colonists abandoned their settlement at the end of the 1st millennium B.C. when the depth of the surrounding lake decreased from 1.5 m to less than 1 m. Today, Lake Chokrak dries up completely during summer. A detailed relative sea level (RSL) curve for the northern coast of Kerch has been established. Sea level reached its highest position at the present day. Since the 3rd millennium B.C., sea level continuously rose, without any of the previously postulated regression/transgression cycles. The RSL curve indicates differential subsidence rates within short distances in relatively stable areas, exceeding 40 cm per 1000 years. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The Tibetan Plateau is highly sensitive to environmental changes and affects the settings of a far larger territory in Central Asia and beyond. Thus, knowledge on past environmental changes in that area is essential. Even though the Kyichu (Lhasa River) Valley and its tributaries is an easily accessible area, the Late Quaternary landscape evolution of southern Tibet is in general scarcely known. Therefore, 12 sedimentary sections in the middle and lower catchment were subjected to multidisciplinary analyses (sedimentology, paleopedology, AMS 14C and luminescence dating, and charcoal determination) aiming at results on regional paleoenvironmental changes. At the altitude studied (3600–4000 m above sealevel), no glacial relics could be detected, indicating that the valley positions have been unglaciated since the Last Interglacial. The lack of fluvial–lacustrine structures above the floodplain is due to the aggradational character of this tectonically (sub-)active valley, which caused an alluvial burying of older valley bottoms. During the Late Pleistocene the mouth area of the Kyichu was occupied by a lake which was part of a larger dam-lake in the superordinate Yarlung Zhangbo Valley. On the valley flanks, loesses were predominantly deposited before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), whereas eolian sands were predominantly deposited around and after the LGM. Paleosols of Last Interglacial, Last Glacial and Holocene ages regularly occur at terrestrial sites representing temperate to cool and humid to semiarid conditions during soil formation. Ages of colluvial sediments indicate that the widespread barren valley slopes were primarily formed by Late Pleistocene erosion followed by a secondary Holocene erosion phase. Charcoal spectra indicate a Late Holocene change from a forest environment to a pastoral environment with sparse grasses, herbs and dwarf shrubs. It is assumed that the Late Holocene environmental changes, such as loss of forests/woodlands and erosion, have at least been reinforced by humans, enhancing a regional climatic aridification and cooling trend.

Sediments from the Palairos coastal plain (Akarnania, northwest Greece) were studied to establish paleogeographical scenarios of Holocene landscape evolution. Near coast vibracore profiles revealed regressive sedimentary sequences, the base of which is dominated by marine sand and/or lagoonal mud. The middle and upper parts of the sequences are made up of lacustrine mud and fine- to coarse-grained alluvial deposits reflecting the increased activity of torrential river systems. In the southern plain, marine sediments of the maximum incursion of the Ionian Sea were found 1 km inland and date from the seventh millennium B.C. This proves that the Lake Voulkaria in the northern plain does not represent the remains of a former marine embayment. Subsequently, a large lagoon developed and existed until the fourth millennium B.C. The central plain was mainly exposed to subaerial conditions when man started to colonize the area in the seventh millennium B.C. In the fifth millennium B.C., the Palairos lagoon turned into a freshwater lake. When ancient Palairos was founded in the 6th century B.C., shallow lakes and swamps dominated the southern and central parts of the plain. At that time, a narrow canal-like connection between the Bay of Palairos-Pogonia and the Lake Voulkaria existed and was possibly used as a slipway for ships. During the last 4000 years, the Palairos plain experienced strong input of fluvial sediments which finally filled up the coastal lake as well as the swampy grounds.

There is only sparse information on the metal contamination of agricultural soils in the former Soviet Union and the development of impacts during the process of transformation to a private structure of production. In this study a first overview on the metal load (Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Mn) of agricultural soils in central and eastern regions of Georgia is given using 251 subsamples from 106 profiles on 37 plots. While the data sets for lead (Pb) and chromium (Cr) are rather homogeneous and range only within narrow limits, the contents of zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) vary much more. Additionally, manganese (Mn) was tested. Here the data vary largely, which is probably due to the natural soil loads. Very low loads for all investigated metals are typical for communally used pastures (Allmende) and especially for a biologically managed farm. On the contrary, Cu loads frequently exceed the median by more than five to ten times (the maximum value is 1023 mg kg−1) in vineyards. The comparison of complete soil profiles proves that this is due to the application of copper sulphate for pest control. In the Bolnisi region south of Tbilisi extremely high loads in the upper soil horizons are found not only for Cu, but for Zn as well, ranging up to 794 mg kg−1. Compared to all other data, the loads for Pb and Cr are also high in several samples. Cu, Zn and Pb are significantly correlated to one another in the Bolnisi region. This striking situation most probably results from the frequent irrigation of the plots by industrially contaminated water from the Mashawera River. Due to economic deficiencies the application of chemicals in Georgian agriculture has dropped heavily since 1990. Consequently, the metal contamination of agricultural soils in general is rather low, being far below western European tolerance limits. Intensive pasturing might even cause values close to the natural loads due to erosion and/or the export by the way of plants and livestock. On the other hand, some specific types of land use cause serious environmental problems. This is especially true for vineyards and plots that are irrigated with contaminated water. Overgrazed plots tend to soil erosion. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A field study on mineral nutrition of 12 year old Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) was carried out on a Lower Triassic region in the Eifel mountains in a plantation where the juvenile trees exhibited marked visual differences on adjacent plots, thus indicating a patchy pattern concerning the fertility status of the soil. This was confirmed by geological, pedological and chemical analyses, including X-ray diffraction analyses of the clay minerals and soil water as well as needle element analyses. A combined K and N deficiency was diagnosed for those trees, which exhibited growth retardation and small, rigid, and yellowish-green needles. Chlorophyll and protein content and glutamine synthetase activity were reduced while triphenyltetrazoliumchloride (TTC) reduction was enhanced in the sick trees as compared to adjacent healthy looking trees of the same age and provenance. A diagnostic fertilization treatment with K and Mo, respectively, yielded the following results. One year after administration of Mo a marked increase in total N content of the needles was observed, due to an increase of the storage pools for soluble (nonprotein) nitrogen, namely the basic amino acids arginine, histidine and lysine and also of ornithine. Yet, no visual recovery of the trees was observed. On the other hand, K fertilization caused an improvement of all biochemical parameters, except protein content and soluble N storage pools. The relationships between Mo dependent nitrate reduction, potassium content and nitrogen metabolism are discussed. Die Wirkung von Kalium- und Molybdanmangel auf den Stickstoffmetabolismus der Fichte (Picea abies) Auf einem Buntsandstein-Standort in der Nordeifel (Gemund) wurden bei einem 12jahrigen Fichtenbestand, visuell gesund erscheinende Baumreihen neben wachstums-retardierten, Nadelvergilbung und Nadelstarrtracht aufweisenden ‘Clustern’ von Picea abies (L). Karst. beobachtet. Elementanalysen der Nadeln ergaben Kalium- und Stickstoffmangel. Die Nadeln der mangelernahrten Baume wiesen einen niedrigen Chlorophyll- und Proteingehalt auf. Ferner war die Glutaminsynthetase-aktivitat erniedrigt. Hingegen war die in-vivo Triphenyltetrazoliumchlorid-(TTC-)Reduktion, ein unspezifischer Stresindikator, stark erhoht. Da sich Stickstoffdungung (NH4+ & NO3−) als unwirksam erwiesen hatte, wurde eine Gruppe von mangelernahrten Jungfichten wahlweise mit K und Mo gedungt. Molybdanzufuhr erhohte den Gehalt an basischen Aminosauren und Ornithin, d. h. von Metaboliten, die als ‘losliche’ Speicherform fur Stickstoff in der Zelle gelten. Kaliumdungung fuhrte zu einer Normalisierung des Chlorophyllgehaltes, der Glutaminsynthetaseaktivitat und der TTC-Reduktion; der Gehalt an basischen Aminosauren war hingegen niedriger als in der ungedungten Vergleichsparzelle; der Proteingehalt war unverandert niedrig. Folgende Interpretation der Ergebnisse erscheint plausibel: K-Mangel bewirkt Blockaden im Intermediarstoffwechsel und bei der Proteinbiosynthese. Erstere werden durch Kaliumdungung aufgehoben, ohne das sich der Proteingehalt ebenfalls normalisiert. Der hierfur notwendige Stickstoff wird den basischen Aminosauren entzogen. Molybdandungung fuhrt, so ist anzunehmen, zu einer Steigerung der Nitratreduktaseaktivitat in der Wurzel und damit zu einer Erhohung des Gesamt-N-Gehaltes der Nadeln. Dieser zusatzliche Stickstoff kann jedoch wegen des K-Mangels nicht ‘ordnungsgemas’ verwendet werden und wird stattdessen in den basischen Aminosauren akkumuliert. Demzufolge handelt es sich bei den mangelernahrten Fichtennadeln an diesem Standort um eine besondere Form indirekter, durch die kooperative Wirkung von Mo- und K-Mangel hervorgerufene Stickstoffunterversorgung.