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Sediment Fluxes in Coastal Areas pp 3–21Cite as

The “Turritella Layer”: A Potential Proxy of a Drastic Holocene Environmental Change on the North–East Atlantic Coast

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Part of the book series: Coastal Research Library ((COASTALRL,volume 10))

Abstract

A collection of data including sub-bottom VHR seismic (Seistec boomer), bathymetry and cores, was conducted in three sea lochs of the north west coast of Scotland, as part of an investigation of the sedimentological and climatic change records since the Last Glacial Maximum. Five acoustic facies have been correlated to the sediment of the core MD04-3204 and interpreted in terms of glacial activity, ice retreat and subsequent Holocene sedimentation. Grain size, pollen, foraminifera, geochemical analyses together with 14C dating, indicate a complex series of palaeoclimate changes in the loch since the Last Glacial Maximum including “Rapid Climate Changes” described in literature.

A characteristic acoustic reflector, identified into the holocene sedimentary deposit, occurring into the different studied lochs, corresponds to a unique Turritella layer. A similar reflector has been identified on the continental shelf of South Brittany and is correlated to a Turritella layer. This Turritella layer seems to be related, in both case, to a drastic environmental change beginning around the 8,200 year BP cold event and finishing abruptly at 7,500 year BP in the North Atlantic.

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Acknowledgements

The writers are especially grateful to the Marion Dufresne Captain: Jean-Marc Lefèvre and the Chief operator Yvon Balut for the tenacity they show to obtain these incredible cores. The authors would like to thanks the team, P. Bretel, Dr J. Fournier, F. Lelong, E. Poizot and Dr J.M. Rousset, J. & J-C Rousset and Dr A. Stépanian, for their participation during data acquisition.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS – UMR 6554, Laboratoire Géolittomer/IGARUN, Université de Nantes – Campus du Tertre, BP 81227, 44 312, Nantes Cédex 3, France

    Agnès Baltzer

  2. IFREMER Brest, LGG, BP 70, 29280, Plouzané, France

    Zohra Mokeddem

  3. Geoarchitecture EA2219, Geosciences marines & Géomorphologie littorale, Université de Bretagne Sud, 56 017, cédex Vannes, France

    Evelyne Goubert

  4. UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, Laboratoire d’Écogéochimie des Environnements Benthiques (LECOB) UMR 8222. Observatoire Océanologique de Banyuls, 66650, Banyuls-sur-mer, France

    Franck Lartaud

  5. UPMC Univ Paris 06, CNRS, UMR 7193, ISTeP, 75252, cedex 05 Paris, France

    Franck Lartaud & Nathalie Labourdette

  6. Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Station Marine, 38 rue du Port Blanc, 35801, Dinard, France

    Jérôme Fournier

  7. CNRS – UMR 7208 BOREA, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 43 rue Cuvier, CP 26, 75231, Paris cedex 05, France

    Jérôme Fournier

  8. IFREMER Brest, REM, BP 70, 29280, Plouzané, France

    Jean-François Bourillet

Authors
  1. Agnès Baltzer
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  2. Zohra Mokeddem
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  3. Evelyne Goubert
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  4. Franck Lartaud
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  5. Nathalie Labourdette
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  6. Jérôme Fournier
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  7. Jean-François Bourillet
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Agnès Baltzer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Géographie et d'Aménagement Régional de l'Université de Nantes, Géolittomer, LETG UMR 6554-CNRS, Nantes Cedex 3, France

    Mohamed Maanan

  2. Institut de Géographie et d'Aménagement Régional de l'Université de Nantes, Géolittomer, LETG UMR 6554-CNRS, Nantes Cedex 3, France

    Marc Robin

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Baltzer, A. et al. (2015). The “Turritella Layer”: A Potential Proxy of a Drastic Holocene Environmental Change on the North–East Atlantic Coast. In: Maanan, M., Robin, M. (eds) Sediment Fluxes in Coastal Areas. Coastal Research Library, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9260-8_1

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