Late Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentary record within the Jade Bay, Lower Saxony, Northwest Germany – New aspects for the palaeo-ecological record

The present-day tidal flat sediment body of the Jade Bay in Lower Saxony, Northwest Germany, has been examined using pile-driving core data. A total of 43 cores have been drilled in the tidal flats and 36 radiocarbon samples have been incorporated into the lithological record. Additionally, pollen and macro remain samples have been analysed.The onset of the basal peat started earliest 6225 cal. BC and latest 4045 cal. BC. Pollen analysis of the basal peat show, that for the western and central Jade Bay the corresponding palaeo-environment may started with an alder carr to Cyperaceae fen peat and locally developed to Sphagnum moss peat and, before marine conditions became dominant, ending under soggy conditions. From ∼3000 to ∼2800 cal. BC, the aggradation process stopped and gave way to marine inundation advancing southwards and being accompanied by the deposition of tidal flat sediments. The sedimentary record shows that the ancient Jade Bay may be subdivided into two different facies zones, (i) a western and central part with a pronounced basal peat being up to 1.16 m thick and spanning at maximum ∼3000 years of sedentation and (ii) an eastern part representing a tidal flat to brackish-lagoonal palaeo-environment with no pronounced basal peat, but with intercalated peat. The Holocene palaeo-environment of the Jade area under discussion was strongly influenced by at least two marine ingressions, each of which left a distinct marker in the sedimentary record.