Over the past 25 years since the ratification of the last official Holocene Stratigraphic Chart in Estonia, the stratigraphic framework of global Quaternary geology has significantly progressed. The Pleistocene/Holocene boundary is defined in the NGRIP2 ice core from Greenland, with an age of 11 700 calendar yr b2k (before AD 2000). The International Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy developed a formal tripartite stratigraphical subdivision of the Holocene into the Greenlandian, Northgrippian and Meghalayan stages/ages, each supported by a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP). All three GSSPs are defined on the basis of geochemical markers reflecting abrupt global climatic events dated with high accuracy and serving as a reliable foundation for cross correlation. In the light of this development we present a new formal subdivision for the Holocene in Estonia. The new chart is climatostratigraphic with tripartite subdivision. The chronological boundaries and corresponding names for the stages/ages are aligned with the International Holocene Stratigraphic Chart. The correlation is achieved using synchronous and significant global climatic oscillation events, preserved in Estonian Holocene sedimentary proxy archives. The correlation relies on the direct dating of these Holocene sedimentary successions, particularly AMS 14C dating, lake sediment varve counts, etc. The subdivision of the Baltic Sea sediments in the new Holocene stratigraphic chart is based on the internationally recognized stages in the Baltic Sea history and the chronology of their boundaries. Long-term traditions in geoarchaeological studies in Estonia require a common understanding of the chronological background. Therefore, the subdivision of the Estonian Prehistoric period was included in the new Holocene Stratigraphic Chart of Estonia which was approved by the Estonian Commission on Stratigraphy on 15 January 2020.
Aaloe, A., Mark, E., Männil, R., Müürsepp, K. & Orviku, K. 1960. Ülevaade Eesti aluspõhja ja pinnakatte stratigraafiast [An Overview of Estonian Bedrock and Quaternary Stratigraphy]. Tallinn, 61 pp. [in Estonian].
Alley, R. B. 2000. The Younger Dryas cold interval as viewed from central Greenland. Quaternary Science Reviews, 19, 213–226.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-3791(99)00062-1
Alley, R. B. & Ágústsdóttir, A. M. 2005. The 8k event: cause and consequences of a major Holocene abrupt climate change. Quaternary Science Reviews, 24, 1123–1149.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2004.12.004
Amon, L., Heinsalu, A. & Veski, S. 2010. Late glacial multiproxy evidence of vegetation development and environmental change at Solova, southeastern Estonia. Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences, 59, 151–163.
https://doi.org/10.3176/earth.2010.2.05
Amon, L., Veski, S., Heinsalu, A. & Saarse, L. 2012. Timing of Lateglacial vegetation dynamics and respective palaeoenvironmental conditions in southern Estonia: evidence from the sediment record of Lake Nakri. Journal of Quaternary Science, 27, 169–180.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1530
Amon, L., Veski, S. & Vassiljev, J. 2014. Tree taxa immigration to the eastern Baltic region, southeastern sector of Scandinavian glaciation during the Late-glacial period (14,500–11,700 cal. B.P.). Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 23, 207–216.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-014-0442-6
Andrén, E., Andrén, T. & Sohlenius, G. 2000. The Holocene history of the southwestern Baltic Sea as reflected in a sediment core from the Bornholm Basin. Boreas, 29, 233–250.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2000.tb00981.x
Andrén, T., Björck, S., Andrén, E., Conley, L. Z. & Anjar, J. 2011. The development of the Baltic Sea Basin during the last 130 ka. In The Baltic Sea Basin. (Central and Eastern European Development Studies) (Harff, J., Björck, S. & Hoth, P., eds), pp. 75–97. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-17220-5_4
Barber, D. C., Dyke, A., Hillaire-Marcel, C., Jennings, A. E., Andrews, J. T., Kerwin, M. W., Bilodeau, G., McNeely, R., Southon, J., Morehead, M. D. & Gagnon, J.-M. 1999. Forcing of the cold event of 8,200 years ago by catastrophic drainage of Laurentide lakes. Nature, 400, 344–348.
https://doi.org/10.1038/22504
Belle, S., Poska, A., Hossann, C. & Tõnno, I. 2017. 14,000 years of climate-induced changes in carbon resources sustaining benthic consumers in a small boreal lake (Lake Tollari, Estonia). Climatic Change, 145, 205–219.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-017-2074-1
Berglund, B. E., Sandgren, P., Barnekow, L., Hannon, G., Jiang, H., Skog, G. & Yu, S.-Y. 2005. Early Holocene history of the Baltic Sea, as reflected in coastal sediments in Blekinge, southeastern Sweden. Quaternary International, 130, 111–139.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2004.04.036
Björck, S. 1995. A review of the history of the Baltic Sea, 13.0–8.0 ka BP. Quaternary International, 27, 19–40.
https://doi.org/10.1016/1040-6182(94)00057-C
Blaus, A., Reitalu, T., Amon, L., Vassiljev, J., Alliksaar, T. & Veski, S. 2019. From bog to fen: palaeoecological reconstruction of the development of a calcareous spring fen on Saaremaa, Estonia. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 29, 373–391.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-019-00748-z
Buizert, C., Gkinis, V., Severinghaus, J. P., He, F., Lecavalier, B. S., Kindler, P., Leuenberger, M., Carlson, A. E., Vinther, B., Masson-Delmotte, V., White, J. W. C., Liu, Z., Otto-Bliesner, B. & Brook, E. J. 2014. Greenland temperature response to climate forcing during the last deglaciation. Science, 345, 1177–1180.
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1254961
Dietze, E., Theuerkauf, M., Bloom, K., Brauer, A., Dörfler, W., Feeser, I., Feurdean, A., Gedminienė, L., Giesecke, T., Jahns, S., Karpińska-Kołaczek, M., Kołaczek, P., Lamentowicz, M., Latałowa, M., Marciszk, K., Obremska, M., Pędziszewska, A., Poska, A., Rehfeld, K., Stančikaitė, M., Stivrins, N., Święta-Musznicka, J., Szal, M., Vassiljev, J., Veski, S., Wacnik, A., Weisbrodt, D., Wiethold, J., Vannière, B. & Słowiński, M. 2018. Holocene fire activity during low-natural flammability periods reveals scale-dependent cultural human-fire relationships in Europe. Quaternary Science Reviews, 201, 44–56.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.10.005
Feurdean, A., Perşoiu, A., Tanţǎu, I., Stevens, T., Magyari, E. K., Onac, B. P., Marković, S., Andrič, M., Connor, S., Fǎrcaş, S., Gałka, M., Gaudeny, T., Hoek, W., Kolaczek, P., Kuneš, P., Lamentowicz, M., Marinova, E., Michczyńska, D. J., Perşoiu, I., Płóciennik, M., Słowiński, M., Stancikaite, M., Sumegi, P., Svensson, A., Tǎmaş, T., Timar, A., Tonkov, S., Toth, M., Veski, S., Willis, K. J. & Zernitskaya, V. 2014. Climate variability and associated vegetation response throughout Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) between 60 and 8 ka. Quaternary Science Reviews, 106, 206–224.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.06.003
Geirsdóttir, Á., Miller, G. H., Andrews, J. T., Harning, D. J., Anderson, L. S., Florian, C., Larsen, D. J. & Thordarson, T. 2019. The onset of neoglaciation in Iceland and the 4.2 ka event. Climate of the Past, 15, 25–40.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-15-25-2019
Gibbard, P. L., Smith, A. G., Zalasiewicz, J., Barry, T. L., Cantrill, D., Coe, A. L., Cope, J. W. C., Gale, A. S., Gregory, F. J., Powell, J. H., Rawson, P. F. & Stone, P. 2005. What status for the Quaternary? Boreas, 34, 1–6.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03009480510012854
Gibbard, P. L., Head, M. J., Walker, M. J. C. & the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy. 2010. Formal ratification of the Quaternary System/Period and the Pleistocene Series/Epoch with a base at 2.58 Ma. Journal of Quaternary Science, 25, 96–102.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1338
Gustafsson, B. G. & Westman, P. 2002. On the causes for salinity variations in the Baltic Sea for the last 8500 years. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 17, 1–14.
https://doi.org/10.1029/2000PA000572
Habicht, H.-L., Rosentau, A., Jõeleht, A., Heinsalu, A., Kriiska, A., Kohv, M., Hang, T. & Aunap, R. 2016. GIS-based multiproxy coastline reconstruction of the eastern Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea, during the Stone Age. Boreas, 46, 83–99.
https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12157
Hang, T., Wastegård, S., Veski, S. & Heinsalu, A. 2006. First discovery of cryptotephra in Holocene peat deposits of Estonia, eastern Baltic. Boreas, 35, 644–649.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2006.tb01170.x
Heinsalu, A. & Veski, S. 2007. The history of the Yoldia Sea in Northern Estonia: palaeoenvironmental conditions and climatic oscillations. Geological Quarterly, 51, 295–306.
Heiri, O., Brooks, S. J., Renssen, H., Bedford, A., Hazekamp, M., Ilyashuk, B., Jeffers, E. S., Lang, B., Kirilova, E., Kuiper, S., Millet, L., Samartin, S., Toth, M., Verbruggen, F., Watson, J. E., van Asch, N., Lammertsma, E., Amon, L., Birks, H. H., Birks, H. J. B., Mortensen, M. F., Hoek, W. Z., Magyari, E., Sobrino, C. M., Seppä, H., Tinner, W., Tonkov, S., Veski, S. & Lotter, A. F. 2014. Validation of climate model-inferred regional temperature change for late-glacial Europe. Nature Communications, 5, 4914.
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms5914
Holmström, L., Ilvonen, L., Seppä, H. & Veski, S. 2015. A Bayesian spatiotemporal model for reconstructing climate from multiple pollen records. Annals of Applied Statistics, 9, 1194–1225.
https://doi.org/10.1214/15-AOAS832
Hyvärinen, H. 1984. The Mastogloia stage in the Baltic Sea history: diatom evidence from southern Finland. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Finland, 56, 99–115.
https://doi.org/10.17741/bgsf/56.1-2.007
Hyvärinen, H., Donner, J., Kessel, H. & Raukas, A. 1988. The Litorina Sea and Limnea Sea in the northern and central Baltic. Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae, A III, 148, 13–23.
Ilvonen, L., Holmström, L., Seppä, H. & Veski, S. 2016. A Bayesian multinomial regression model for palaeoclimate reconstruction with time uncertainty. Environmetrics, 27, 409–422.
https://doi.org/10.1002/env.2393
Jaanits, L., Lõugas, V., Laul, S. & Tõnisson, E. 1982. Eesti esiajalugu [Estonian Prehistory]. Eesti Raamat, Tallinn, 462 pp. [in Estonian].
Kajak, K., Kessel, H., Liivrand, E., Pirrus, R., Raukas, A. & Sarv, A. 1976. Mestnaya rabochaya stratigraficheskaya skhema chetvertichnykh otlozhenij Éstonii [Working version of the local stratigraphic scheme of Estonian Quaternary sediments]. In Stratigrafiya chetvertichnykh otlozhenij Pribaltiki [Stratigraphy of the Quaternary Sediments of the East Baltic], pp. 4–52. Pergalé, Vilnius [in Russian].
Kala, T., Kaljundi, L., Kreem, J., Leimus, I., Markus, K., Mänd, A., Põltsam-Jürjo, I., Russow, E., Selart, A., Tamm, M. & Valk, H. 2012. Eesti ajalugu II. Keskaeg [Estonian History II. Middle Ages]. Tartu Ülikooli ajaloo ja arheoloogia instituut, Tartu, 456 pp. [in Estonian].
Kalm, V., Tsurylnikov, A., Hang, T., Tuuling, I. & Floden, T. 2006. Lithostratigraphy and seismo-acoustic signatures of Late Weichselian and Holocene deposits in the northeastern part of the Gulf of Riga. Baltica, 19, 51–57.
Kihno, K., Saarse, L. & Amon, L. 2011. Late Glacial vegetation, sedimentation and ice recession chronology in the surroundings of Lake Prossa, central Estonia. Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences, 60, 147–158.
https://doi.org/10.3176/earth.2011.3.03
Königsson, L.-K., Saarse, L. & Veski, S. 1998. Holocene history of vegetation and landscape on the Kõpu Peninsula, Hiiumaa Island, Estonia. Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology, 47, 3−19.
Kriiska, A., Lang, V., Mäesalu, A., Tvauri, A. & Valk, H. 2020. Eesti ajalugu I. Eesti esiajalugu [Estonian History I. Estonian Prehistory]. Tartu Ülikooli ajaloo ja arheoloogia instituut, Tartu, 502 pp. [in Estonian].
Lang, V. & Kriiska, A. 2001. Eesti esiajaloo periodiseering ja kronoloogia [Periodization and chronology of Estonian Prehistory]. Estonian Journal of Archaeology, 5, 83−109 [in Estonian, with English summary].
Lutt, J. 1985. Donnye osadki Vyainameri [Bottom Deposits of Väinameri Sea]. Valgus, Tallinn, 210 pp. [in Russian, with English summary].
Lutt, J. 1992. Donnye osadki [Bottom deposits]. In Geologiya Finskogo Zaliva [Geology of the Gulf of Finland] (Raukas, A. & Hyvärinen, H., eds), pp. 158–218. Estonian Academy of Sciences, Tallinn [in Russian, with English summary].
Mangerud, J., Andersen, S., Berglund, B. E. & Donner, J. J. 1974. Quaternary stratigraphy of Norden: a proposal for terminology and classification. Boreas, 3, 109–128.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1974.tb00669.x
Marquer, L., Gaillard, M.-J., Sugita, S., Poska, A., Trondman, A.-K., Mazier, F., Nielsen, A. B., Fyfe, R. M., Jönsson, A. M., Smith, B., Kaplan, J. O., Alenius, T., Birks, H. J. B., Bjune, A. E., Christiansen, J., Dodson, J., Edwards, K. J., Giesecke, T., Herzschuh, U., Kangur, M., Koff, T., Latałowa, M., Lechterbeck, J., Olofsson, J. & Seppä H. 2017. Quantifying the effects of land use and climate on Holocene vegetation in Europe. Quaternary Science Reviews, 171, 20–37.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.07.001
Niinemets, E. & Saarse, L. 2007. Mid- and Late-Holocene land-use changes inferred from pollen record, in a south-eastern Estonian upland area. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 146, 51–73.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.revpalbo.2007.03.004
Nirgi, T., Rosentau, A., Habicht, H.-L., Hang, T., Jonuks, T., Jõeleht, A., Kihno, K., Kriiska, A., Mustasaar, M., Risberg, J., Suuroja, S., Talviste, P. & Tõnisson, H. 2020. Holocene relative shore-level changes and Stone Age palaeogeography of the Pärnu Bay area, eastern Baltic Sea. The Holocene, 30, 37–52.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683619865603
North American Commission on Stratigraphic Nomenclature. 2005. North American stratigraphic code. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, 89, 1547–1591.
https://doi.org/10.1306/07050504129
Orviku, K. 1956. Stratigraficheskaya skhema antropogenovykh chetvertichnykh otlozhenij na territorii Éstonskoj SSR [Stratigraphic scheme of Antropogenesediments of the Quaternary in the Estonian SSR]. Trudy Instituta Geologii AN ÉSSR, Geologiya, 33, 146–157 [in Russian].
Orviku, K. 1960. Eesti geoloogilisest arengust antropogeenis II [Geological development of Estonia in the Antropogene II]. Eesti Loodus, 3, 139–150 [in Estonian].
Parker, A. G., Goudie, A. S., Stokes, S. & Kennett, D. 2006. A record of Holocene climate change from lake geochemical analyses in southeastern Arabia. Quaternary Research, 66, 465–476.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2006.07.001
Poska, A. & Saarse, L. 2002. Vegetation development and introduction of agriculture to Saaremaa Island, Estonia: the human response to shore displacement. The Holocene, 12, 555–568.
https://doi.org/10.1191/0959683602hl567rp
Poska, A. & Saarse, L. 2006. New evidence of possible crop introduction to north-eastern Europe during the Stone Age. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 15, 169–179.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-005-0024-8
Poska, A., Saarse, L. & Veski, S. 2004. Reflections of pre- and early-agrarian human impact in the pollen diagrams of Estonia. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 209, 37–50.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2003.12.024
Poska, A., Sepp, E., Veski, S. & Koppel, K. 2008. Using pollen based quantitative land-cover estimations and CA_Markov model to reconstruct the development of cultural landscape at Rõuge, South Estonia. Vegetation History and Archaeobotany, 17, 527–541.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00334-007-0124-8
Punning, J.-M., Martma, T., Kessel, H. & Vaikmäe, R. 1988. The isotopic composition of oxygen and carbon in the subfossil mollusk shells of the Baltic Sea as an indicator of palaeosalinity. Boreas, 17, 27–31.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1988.tb00120.x
Railsback, L. B., Liang, F., Brook, G. A., Voarintsoa, N. R. G., Sletten, H. R., Marais, E., Hardt, B., Cheng, H. & Edwards, R. L. 2018. The timing, two-pulsed nature, and variable climatic expression of the 4.2 ka event: A review and new high-resolution stalagmite data from Namibia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 186, 78–90.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.02.015
Rasmussen, S. O., Vinther, B. M., Clausen, H. B. & Andersen, K. K. 2007. Early Holocene climate oscillations recorded in three Greenland ice cores. Quaternary Science Reviews, 26, 1907–1914.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2007.06.015
Raukas, A., Saarse, L. & Veski, S. 1995. A new version of the Holocene stratigraphy in Estonia. Proceedings of Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology, 44, 201–210.
Reitalu, T., Seppä, H., Sugita, S., Kangur, M., Koff, T., Avel, E., Kihno, K., Vassiljev, J., Renssen, H., Hammarlund, D., Heikkilä, M., Saarse, L., Poska, A. & Veski, S. 2013. Long-term drivers of forest composition in a boreonemoral region: the relative importance of climate and human impact. Journal of Biogeography, 40, 1524–1534.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12092
Rohling, E. & Pälike, H. 2005. Centennial-scale climate cooling with a sudden cold event around 8,200 years ago. Nature, 434, 975–979.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature03421
Rosentau, A., Vassiljev, J., Hang, T., Saarse, L. & Kalm, V. 2009. Development of the Baltic Ice Lake in the eastern Baltic. Quaternary International, 206, 16–23.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2008.10.005
Rosentau, A., Muru, M., Kriiska, A., Subetto, D. A., Vassiljev, J., Hang, T., Gerasimov, D., Nordqvist, K., Ludikova, A., Lõugas, L., Raig, H., Kihno, K., Aunap, R. & Letyka, N. 2013. Stone Age settlement and Holocene shore displacement in the Narva-Luga Klint Bay area, eastern Gulf of Finland. Boreas, 42, 912–931.
https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12004
Saag, L., Varul, L., Lyn Scheib, C., Stenderup, J., Allentoft, M. E., Saag, L., Pagani, L., Reidla, M., Tambets, K., Metspalu, E., Kriiska, A., Willerslev, E., Kivisild, T. & Metspalu, M. 2017. Extensive farming in Estonia started through a sex-biased migration from the steppe. Current Biology, 27, 2187–2193.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2017.06.022
Saarse, L. & Veski, S. 2001. Spread of broad-leaved trees in Estonia. Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology, 50, 51−65.
Saarse, L., Veski, S., Heinsalu, A., Rajamäe, R. & Martma, T. 1995. Litho- and biostratigraphy of Lake Päidre, South Estonia. Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology, 44, 45−59.
Saarse, L., Poska, A. & Veski, S. 1999. Spread of Alnus and Picea in Estonia. Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology, 48, 170−186.
Saarse, L., Niinemets, E., Amon, L., Heinsalu, A., Veski, S. & Sohar, K. 2009. Development of the late glacial Baltic basin and the succession of vegetation cover as revealed at Palaeolake Haljala, northern Estonia. Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences, 58, 317–333.
https://doi.org/10.3176/earth.2009.4.10
Saarse, L., Heinsalu, A., Veski, S., Amon, L. & Gaidamavicius, A. 2011. On the deglaciation chronology of the Palivere ice-marginal zone, northern Estonia. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Finland, 84, 21–31.
https://doi.org/10.17741/bgsf/84.1.002
Salvador, A. (ed.). 2013. International Stratigraphic Guide. A Guide to Stratigraphic Classification, Terminology, and Procedure. Second edition. International Union of Geological Sciences, and the Geological Society of America, 214 pp.
https://doi.org/10.1130/9780813774022
Seppä, H. & Poska, A. 2004. Holocene annual mean temperature changes in Estonia and their relationship to solar insolation and atmospheric circulation patterns. Quaternary Research, 61, 22–31.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2003.08.005
Seppä, H., Birks, H. J. B., Giesecke, T., Hammarlund, D., Alenius, T., Antonsson, K., Bjune, A. E., Heikkilä, M., MacDonald, G. M., Ojala, A. E. K., Telford, R. J. & Veski, S. 2007. Spatial structure of the 8200 cal yr BP event in northern Europe. Climate of the Past, 3, 225–236.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-3-225-2007
Seppä, H., Bjune, A. E., Telford, R. J., Birks, H. J. B. & Veski, S. 2009. Last nine-thousand years of temperature variability in Northern Europe. Climate of the Past, 5, 523–535.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-5-523-2009
Stivrins, N., Soininen, J., Amon, L., Fontana, S. L., Gryguc, G., Heikkilä, M., Heiri, O., Kisielienė, D., Reitalu, T., Stančikaitė, M., Veski, S. & Seppä, H. 2016. Biotic turnover rates during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition. Quaternary Science Reviews, 151, 100–110.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2016.09.008
Thomsen, C. J. 1836. Ledetraad til Nordisk Oldkundskab. S. L. Møller, Copenhagen, 100 pp.
Thomson, P. 1933. Moorstratigraphische Notizen aus Estland. Beiträge Zur Kunde Estlands, XVII, 3, 1–3.
Thomson, P. 1939. Ülevaade Eesti soodest [Overview of Estonian mires]. Eesti Loodus, 2/3, 90–98 [in Estonian].
Tsyrulnikov, A., Tuuling, I., Kalm, V., Hang, T. & Flodén, T. 2012. Late Weichselian and Holocene seismostratigraphy and depositional history of the Gulf of Riga, NE Baltic Sea. Boreas, 41, 673–689.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2012.00257.x
Väliranta, M., Salonen, J. S., Heikkilä, M., Amon, L., Helmens, K., Klimaschewski, A., Kuhry, P., Kultti, S., Poska, A., Shala, S., Veski, S. & Birks, H. H. 2015. Plant macrofossil evidence for an early onset of the Holocene summer thermal maximum in northernmost Europe. Nature Communications, 6, 6809.
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms7809
Vassiljev, J. & Saarse, L. 2013. Timing of the Baltic Ice Lake in the eastern Baltic. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Finland, 85, 9–18.
https://doi.org/10.17741/bgsf/85.1.001
Veski, S., Seppä, H. & Ojala, A. E. K. 2004. Cold event at 8200 yr BP recorded in annually laminated lake sediments in eastern Europe. Geology, 32, 681–684.
https://doi.org/10.1130/G20683.1
Veski, S., Heinsalu, A., Klassen, V., Kriiska, A., Lõugas, L., Poska, A. & Sooäär, U. 2005. Early Holocene coastal settlements and palaeoenvironment on the shore of the Baltic Sea at Pärnu, southwestern Estonia. Quaternary International, 130, 75–85.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2004.04.033
Veski, S., Seppä, H., Stančikaitė, M., Zernitskaya, V., Reitalu, T., Gryguc, G., Heinsalu, A., Stivrins, N., Amon, L., Vassiljev, J. & Heiri, O. 2015. Quantitative summer and winter temperature reconstructions from pollen and chironomid data between 15 and 8 ka BP in the Baltic–Belarus area. Quaternary International, 388, 4–11.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.10.059
Virtasalo, J. J., Kotilainen, A. T. & Räsänen, M. E. 2010. Definitions of Trollskär Formation and Sandön Formation in the Archipelago Sea, northern Baltic Sea. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Finland, 82, 63–68.
https://doi.org/10.17741/bgsf/82.1.003
Virtasalo, J. J., Hämäläinen, J. & Kotilainen, A. T. 2014. Toward a standard stratigraphical classification practice for the Baltic Sea sediments: the CUAL approach. Boreas, 43, 924–938.
https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12076
Walker, M., Johnsen, S., Rasmussen, S. O., Steffensen, J.-P., Popp, T., Gibbard, P., Hoek, W., Lowe, J., Björck, S., Cwynar, L. C., Hughen, K., Kershaw, P., Kromer, B., Litt, T., Lowe, D. J., Nakagawa, T., Newnham, R. & Schwander, J. 2008. The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the Holocene Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period) in the NGRIP ice core. Episodes, 31, 264–267.
https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2008/v31i2/016
Walker, M., Johnsen, S., Rasmussen, S. O., Popp, T., Steffensen, J.-P., Gibbard, P., Hoek, W., Lowe, J., Andrews, J., Björck, S., Cwynar, L. C., Hughen, K., Kershaw, P., Kromer, B., Litt, T., Lowe, D. J., Nakagawa, T., Newnham, R. & Schwander, J. 2009. Formal definition and dating of the GSSP Global Stratotype Section and Point for the base of the Holocene using the Greenland NGRIP ice core, and selected auxiliary records. Journal of Quaternary Science, 24, 3–17.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1227
Walker, M. J. C., Berkelhammer, M., Björck, S., Cwynar, L., Fisher, D., Gkinis, V., Long, A., Lowe, J., Newnham, R., Rasmussen, S. O. & Weiss, H. 2012. Formal subdivision of the Holocene Series/Epoch: A Discussion Paper by a Working Group of INTIMATE (Integration of ice‐core, marine and terrestrial records) and the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (International Commission on Stratigraphy). Journal of Quaternary Science, 27, 649–659.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2565
Walker, M., Head, M., Berkelhammer, M., Björck, S., Cheng, H., Cwynar, L., Fisher, D., Gkinis, V., Long, A., Lowe, J., Newnham, R., Rasmussen, S. O. & Weiss, H. 2018. Formal ratification of the subdivision of the Holocene Series/Epoch (Quaternary System/Period): Two new Global Boundary stratotype Sections and Points (GSSPs) and three new stages/subseries. Episodes, 41, 213–223.
https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2018/018016
Walker, M., Head, M., Lowe, J., Berkelhammer, M., Björck, S., Cheng, H., Cwynar, L., Fisher, D., Gkinis, V., Long, A., Newnham, R., Rasmussen, S. O. & Weiss, H. 2019. Subdividing the Holocene Series/Epoch: formalization of stages/ages and subseries/subepochs, and designation of GSSPs and auxiliary stratotypes. Journal of Quaternary Science, 34, 173–186.
https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.3097
Waters, C. N., Zalasiewicz, J., Summerhayes, C., Fairchild, I. J., Rose, N. L., Loader, N. J., Shotyk, W., Cearreta, A., Head, M. J., Syvitski, J. P. M., Williams, M., Wagreich, M., Barnosky, A. D., Zhisheng, A., Leinfelder, R., Jeandel, C., Gałuszka, A., do Sul, J. A. I., Gradstein, F., Steffen, W., McNeill, J. R., Wing, S., Poirier, C. & Edgeworth, M. 2018. Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Anthropocene Series: Where and how to look for potential candidates. Earth-Science Reviews, 178, 379–429.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.12.016
Weiss, H. 2017. 4.2 ka BP Megadrought and the Akkadian collapse. In Megadrought and Collapse. From Early Agriculture to Angkor (Weiss, H., ed.), pp. 93–160. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199329199.003.0004
Westman, P. & Sohlenius, G. 1999. Diatom stratigraphy in five off-shore sediment cores from the north-western Baltic implying large scale circulation changes during the last c. 8500 years. Journal of Paleolimnology, 22, 53–69.
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008011511101
Zillén, L., Conley, D. J., Andrén, T., Andrén, E. & Björck, S. 2008. Past occurrences of hypoxia in the Baltic Sea and the role of climate variability, environmental change and human impact. Earth-Science Reviews, 91, 77–92.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2008.10.001