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A bowhead whale vertebra embedded in marine limit beach sediment on Barentsøya, Svalbard

Möller, Per LU orcid (2024) In Polar Research 43.
Abstract
A cross-valley beach terrace in Iladalen in the south-eastern corner of Barentsøya (Svalbard) is interpreted as built by long-shore sediment transport and deposition, with its maximum height at 88 m a.s.l., marking the marine limit (ML) at deglaciation. A whale vertebra (most probably from a bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus) was found embedded in the upper part of the littoral sediments at a height of 80 m a.s.l., thus only about 8 m below the ML, and dated to 10,762 ± 137 cal. BP. This age is just a few hundred years after the generally accepted deglaciation age of the coastal parts of Barentsøya at c. 11,000 yrs. BP and its age and altitudinal position fits well with the relative sea level curve constructed for the north-eastern tip... (More)
A cross-valley beach terrace in Iladalen in the south-eastern corner of Barentsøya (Svalbard) is interpreted as built by long-shore sediment transport and deposition, with its maximum height at 88 m a.s.l., marking the marine limit (ML) at deglaciation. A whale vertebra (most probably from a bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus) was found embedded in the upper part of the littoral sediments at a height of 80 m a.s.l., thus only about 8 m below the ML, and dated to 10,762 ± 137 cal. BP. This age is just a few hundred years after the generally accepted deglaciation age of the coastal parts of Barentsøya at c. 11,000 yrs. BP and its age and altitudinal position fits well with the relative sea level curve constructed for the north-eastern tip of Edgeøya, some 29 km ESE from Iladalen. (Less)
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author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Polar Research
volume
43
pages
6 pages
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:85192273689
ISSN
0800-0395
DOI
10.33265/polar.v43.9724
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
854756ac-d1f9-4f8f-92cf-98f42c1ee80d
date added to LUP
2023-12-15 13:22:00
date last changed
2024-05-16 12:55:51
@article{854756ac-d1f9-4f8f-92cf-98f42c1ee80d,
  abstract     = {{A cross-valley beach terrace in Iladalen in the south-eastern corner of Barentsøya (Svalbard) is interpreted as built by long-shore sediment transport and deposition, with its maximum height at 88 m a.s.l., marking the marine limit (ML) at deglaciation. A whale vertebra (most probably from a bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus) was found embedded in the upper part of the littoral sediments at a height of 80 m a.s.l., thus only about 8 m below the ML, and dated to 10,762 ± 137 cal. BP. This age is just a few hundred years after the generally accepted deglaciation age of the coastal parts of Barentsøya at c. 11,000 yrs. BP and its age and altitudinal position fits well with the relative sea level curve constructed for the north-eastern tip of Edgeøya, some 29 km ESE from Iladalen.}},
  author       = {{Möller, Per}},
  issn         = {{0800-0395}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Polar Research}},
  title        = {{A bowhead whale vertebra embedded in marine limit beach sediment on Barentsøya, Svalbard}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.33265/polar.v43.9724}},
  doi          = {{10.33265/polar.v43.9724}},
  volume       = {{43}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}