A 1500‐year record of North Atlantic storm flooding from lacustrine sediments, Shetland Islands (UK)

ABSTRACT Severe storm flooding poses a major hazard to the coasts of north‐western Europe. However, the long‐term recurrence patterns of extreme coastal flooding and their governing factors are poorly understood. Therefore, high‐resolution sedimentary records of past North Atlantic storm flooding ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of quaternary science 2024-01, Vol.39 (1), p.37-53
Main Authors: Hess, Katharina, Engel, Max, Patel, Tasnim, Vakhrameeva, Polina, Koutsodendris, Andreas, Klemt, Eckehard, Hansteen, Thor H., Kempf, Philipp, Dawson, Sue, Schön, Isa, Heyvaert, Vanessa M. A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bayesian analysis
Carbon 14
Cesium 137
Cesium isotopes
Cesium radioisotopes
Coastal flooding
Coastal processes
Flooding
Ice ages
Islands
Lacustrine sediments
Lake sediments
Little Ice Age
Mass spectrometry
Mass spectroscopy
North Atlantic Oscillation
North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)
North Sea
Oscillation modes
Sand
sand overwash
Sediments
Size distribution
Storm floods
storm frequency
Storm tracks
Storms
Water analysis
Winter storms
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Summary:ABSTRACT Severe storm flooding poses a major hazard to the coasts of north‐western Europe. However, the long‐term recurrence patterns of extreme coastal flooding and their governing factors are poorly understood. Therefore, high‐resolution sedimentary records of past North Atlantic storm flooding are required. This multi‐proxy study reconstructs storm‐induced overwash processes from coastal lake sediments on the Shetland Islands using grain‐size and geochemical data, and the re‐analysis of historical data. The chronostratigraphy is based on Bayesian age–depth modelling using accelerator mass spectrometry 14C and 137Cs data. A high XRF‐based Si/Ti ratio and the unimodal grain‐size distribution link the sand layers to the beach and thus storm‐induced overwash events. Periods with more frequent storm flooding occurred 980–1050, 1150–1300, 1450–1550, 1820–1900 and 1950–2000 ce, which is largely consistent with a positive North Atlantic Oscillation mode. The Little Ice Age (1400–1850 ce) shows a gap of major sand layers suggesting a southward shift of storm tracks and a seasonal variance with more storm floods in spring and autumn. Warmer phases shifted winter storm tracks towards the north‐east Atlantic, indicating a possible trend for future storm‐track changes and increased storm flooding in the northern North Sea region.
ISSN:0267-8179
1099-1417
DOI:10.1002/jqs.3568