The coastline in the Jastrzębia Góra area can be divided into three major zones of general importance: a beach and barrier section, a cliff section, and a section protected by a heavy hydrotechnical construction. These areas are characterised by a diverse geology and origin, and hence different vulnerability to erosion. In addition, observations have demonstrated a different pace of erosion within each zone. Based on the results obtained by remote sensing methods (analysis of aerial photographs and maps), it has been determined that the coastline in the barrier area, i.e., to the west of Jastrzębia Góra, moved landwards by about 130 m, in a period of 100 years, and 80 m over about 50 years. A smaller displacement of the shoreline could be observed within the cliff. Between the middle of the twentieth and the start of the twenty-first centuries the shore retreated by about 25 m. However, in recent years, an active landslide has led to the displacement of the uppermost part of the cliff locally up to 25 m. Another issue is, functioning since 2000, a heavy hydrotechnical construction which has been built in order to protect the most active part of the cliff. The construction is not stable and its western part, over a distance of 50 m, has moved almost 2 m vertically downwards and c. 2.5 m horizontally towards the sea in the past two years. This illustrates that the erosional factor does not comprise only marine abrasion, but also involves land-based processes determined by geology and hydrogeology. Changes in the shoreline at the beach and barrier part are constantly conditioned by rising sea levels, the slightly sloping profile of the sea floor and low elevation values of the backshore and dune areas. Cliffs are destroyed by mass wasting and repetitive storm surges that are responsible for the removal of the colluvium which protects the coast from adverse wave effects. Presumably, mass movements combined with groundwater outflow from the cliff, plus sea abrasion cause destabilisation of the cliff protection construction.
Coastal barriers are the first line of defense for the mainlands against the impacts of severe storms, therefore the need for better understanding how barriers evolve is arising. Spits (barriers) are the dominant landform type of the southern and south-eastern Baltic Sea coast. The aim of this paper is to gain present a better insight into problems of the Vistula Spit origin in general, and especially on the age of formation of the dune ridges. The Vistula Spit is one of the largest barriers on the southern Baltic coast. The analysis comprised: OSL dating of dune sands, radiocarbon dating of peat and palynological studies of peat and fossil soil profiles. Results shows that the onset of the oldest dunes formation begun ca. 7000–6000 years ago and the highest ridge were formed ca. 4000–2000 years ago. The youngest dunes, located closest to the modern shore, formed in the past 2000 years. Aeolian processes were also activated locally and periodically as a result of forest wildfires and human activities. Vistula Spit emergence and development is connected to two global events; beginning of the oldest dunes formation is related to slowing down in the sea level rise around 7000–6000 years ago, whereas the onset of the highest dunes building can be clearly connected with the climate cooling and aridification around 4200 years ago.
The climate variability and related sea-level changes during the Holocene are still under discussion, especially in a regional context. Very little information comes from the southern and south-eastern Baltic coast. The aim of the paper is to gain insight on the history of regional environmental changes, particularly sea-level and storminess, and their driving forces. The investigations were located on a peatland on the coast of Puck Lagoon (Gulf of Gdańsk, southern Baltic Sea). The analysis of peat core comprised: radiocarbon dating, analysis of stable isotopes 18O and 13C and chemical components, as well as palynological and diatomic studies. Results showed the 1.0 m peat section accumulated over 1500 years, with a time resolution of 100 years per sample. The average water level in the Puck Lagoon rose by ca. 0.85 m during the last 1500 years in a cyclic mode, with a period cycle of ca. 600–550 years and an amplitude not exceeding 0.5 m. The accelerated sea level rise and frequent storminess occurred during the first half of the Dark Ages (1500−1300 years b2k) and LIA (750−450 years b2k) and since the beginning of the 20th century. Recognized environmental changes are well correlated with both temperature changes in the North Atlantic and changes in total solar irradiance, suggesting synchronous Northern Hemisphere-wide fluctuations. The solar forcing was an important constituent of natural climate variability in the past and of forcing climate warming during modern times - after the Little Ice Age.
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