Go to Page Main Content
NASA - Goddard Institute for Space Studies + NASA Portal
+ Goddard Space Flight Center
+ GSFC Earth Sciences Division
FIND IT @ NASA
NASA Homepage Goddard Institute for Space Studies

ABSTRACT

Fletcher et al. 1993

Fletcher, C.H., III, Rhodes W. Fairbridge, Jakob J. Moller, and A.J. Long, 1993: Emergence of the Varanger Peninsula, Arctic Norway, and climate changes since glaciation. Holocene, 3, 116-127.

Fields of glacioisostatically uplifted beach ridges on the eastern Varanger Peninsula coast in northern Norway record the occurrence of major storms since deglaciation. More than 70 radiocarbon dates of palaeoshoreline indicators establish the Late Weichselian and Holocene history of beach-ridge building and relative sea-level change. Optimal ridge-building in the region requires sustained, strong easterlies driving high waves across the Barents Sea. Such winds occur when low pressure systems are forced across the North Sea and the Baltic landmass to the region of the Gulf of Bothnia and the Kola Peninsula. This situation probably frequently occurs during transition periods from milder to cooler climate in the region. The beach-ridge morphology reveals a fall of local sea level following the stormy episodes. Over the short term, this is related to the end of storm-induced set-up and the termination of mild-phase-related warm coastal currents. Over the long term, local sea-level falls with the onset of sustained calm winter-type conditions and continued glacioisostatic uplift. Pre- and early-Holocene changes in climate regime occurred with a frequency of several decades to several centuries. The mid- to late-Holocene records show increased climatic staibility, transitions occurring with less frequency, and mild phases frequently lasting many hundreds of years.

  • Complete document is not available.

Citation Styles

Show: ACP, AGU, AMS, ApJ, JQSRT, Science style

+ GISS Home

PUBLICATIONS
  • Publications Main Page
  • Authors
  • GISS Best Publication Award
  • Dissertations
  • Advanced Search
  • Publications Help
USA.gov

End of Page