Reconstruction of the Dead (Grey) Dune evolution along the Curonian Spit, Southeastern Baltic

Abstract

One of the unique places in Europe in both environmental and cultural terms is the Curonian Spit -a massive sandy barrier separating the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea. Straddling both the Lithuanian and the Russian parts, the spit is included into the UNESCO list of cultural heritage monuments. From the geological point of view, it is still an "alive" environment dominated by aeolian deposits. With the help of modern geophysical and geochronological techniques (ground-penetrating radar [GPR] surveys, LIDAR data, and radiocarbon [ 14 C] dating), detailed investigations of paleosols were carried out in the Dead (Grey) Dunes massif located between Juodkrante and Pervalka settlements on the Lithuanian half of the Curonian Spit. Several soil-forming generations (phases) during 5800-4500, 3900-3100, 2600-2400, and from 1900 calendar years BP until the present have been distinguished. GPR surveys enabled a series of paleogeographic reconstructions of the massif for different time intervals of its evolutionary history.

Changes in quantitative parameters of active wind dunes on the south-east Baltic Sea coast during the last decade (Curonian Spit, Lithuania)

“…It is clear that sim i lar in ves ti ga tions of dune dy nam ics show ten den cies of rapid east ward move ment of sand, and such a sit u a tion changes the po si tion of the Main Dune Ridge and the ba sin of the Curonian La goon. The re con struc tion of the Curonian Spit (Dobrotin et al, 2013) re vealed the for mer po sition of the Curonian La goon in the pe riod of soil for ma tion -it was in the place of the cur rent west ern slope of the Main Dune Ridge.…”

“…Sev eral soil-form ing gen - er a tions (phases) dur ing 5800-4500, 3900-3100, 2600-2400, and from 1900 cal en dar years BP un til the pres ent have been dis tin guished (Dobrotin et al, 2013). Ac cord ing to the cross-sec tion made by Bitinas et al (2000) near the study area, gran u lar sand of ma rine sed i ments (5-10 m thick), glaciolacustrine sands and silts (10 m thick) lie be low mo bile dunes of the first and sec ond gen er a tion (the thick ness -or height -of which reaches <20 m), with gla cial de pos its ly ing at a depth of 30 m and deeper (Fig.…”

Intensity of geodynamic processes in the Lithuanian part of the Curonian Spit

“…An analysis of sand samples taken from the surface sand layer and at a depth of 0.15 m in windward and leeward dune slopes enabled determining the beginning of local and massive wind-blown sand movements. Sand moisture and groundwater level in the dunes were estimated using georadar scanning data (Dobrotin et al, 2013).…”

Forest management and sustainable urban development in the Curonian Spit

“…The spit is a geographically interesting area formed from sand that becomes moulded into dunes by the wind, but these dunes then move and additionally become invaded by tracts of maritime forests. This process has created the highest sand dunes in northern Europe with heights reaching more than 30 m in many areas (Dobrotin, Bitinas, Michelevičius, Damušytė, & Mažeika, 2013;Gudelis, 1998;Sergeev et al, 2016), although it must be said that this is only about one-third that of the dune du Pilat in France. All the biggest sand massifs (the term used by a pioneer of aeolian formations (Bagnold, 1951)) or star dunes merge to form the Great Dune Ridge that stretches along the entire coast of the spit on the lagoon side .…”