ESTONIAN ACADEMY
PUBLISHERS
eesti teaduste
akadeemia kirjastus
PUBLISHED
SINCE 1952
 
Earth Science cover
Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences
ISSN 1736-7557 (Electronic)
ISSN 1736-4728 (Print)
Impact Factor (2022): 1.1
Holocene shore displacement in the surroundings of Tallinn, North Estonia; pp. 207–215
PDF | doi: 10.3176/earth.2010.3.03

Authors
Leili Saarse, Jüri Vassiljev
Abstract
The Tallinn area was recovered from the Weichselian ice sheet not later than 13 000–12 800 cal yr BP but remained for ca 1500 years under the waters of the Baltic Ice Lake (BIL). The highest parts of Tallinn emerged from the BIL after its drainage about 11 600 cal yr BP. At the beginning of the Yoldia Sea stage the present city area was submerged by sea water, except for the highest parts of Viimsi, Lasnamäe and Nõmme. At the end of the Yoldia Sea stage the Ülemiste, Pääsküla and Männiku basins isolated from the sea. During the Ancylus Lake transgression about 10 300 cal yr BP the highest coastline at 34–36 m a.s.l. broadly outlined the klint escarpment. The Litorina Sea transgressional coastline at 7800–7600 cal yr BP and beach formations at 21–22 m a.s.l. are less developed than the Ancylus ones and often covered by aeolian deposits. Toompea arched north as a cape in the Litorina Sea and the previous Viimsi Island joined with the mainland. During the Limnea Sea stage (4400 cal yr BP up to the present, the highest coastline at ca 12 m a.s.l.) land increased mostly at the back of Kakumäe and Kopli bays. The Kakumäe Peninsula obtained its outline about 2800 years ago, the Kopli Peninsula ca 1000 years later. The Paljassaar Peninsula was the latest to be formed ca 100 years ago. The attached palaeogeographical maps display shore displacement during the different stages of the Baltic Sea in the vicinity of Tallinn.
References

Appleby, P. G. & Oldfield, F. 1978. The calculation of lead‑210 dates assuming a constant rate of supply of unsupported 210Pb to the sediment. Catena, 5, 1-8.
doi:10.1016/S0341-8162(78)80002-2

Amon, L. & Saarse, L. 2010. Late glacial palaeoenviron­mental changes in North Estonia. Geological Quarterly, 54, 85–94.

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.
doi:10.1080/030094800424259

Andrén, T., Lindeberg, G. & Andrén, E. 2002. Evidence of the final drainage of the Baltic Ice Lake and the brackish phase of the Yoldia Sea in glacial varves from the Baltic Sea. Boreas, 31, 226–238.
doi:10.1111/j.1502-3885.2002.tb01069.x

Andrén, T., Andrén, E., Berglund, B. E. & Yu, S.-Y. 2007. New insight on the Yoldia Sea low stand in the Blekinge archipelago, southern Baltic Sea. GFF, 129, 277–285.

Behre, K.-E. 2007. A new Holocene sea-level curve for the southern North Sea. Boreas, 36, 82–102.
doi:10.1080/03009480600923386

Berglund, B. E. 1964. The Postglacial shore displacement in eastern Blekinge, southeastern Sweden. Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning, C 599, 1–147.

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.
doi: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.
doi:10.1016/1040-6182(94)00057-C

Björck, S. & Digerfeldt, G. 1989. Lake Mullsjön – A key site for understanding the final stage of the Baltic Ice Lake east of Mt. Billingen. Boreas, 18, 209–219.

Donner, J. 1969. Land/sea level changes in southern Finland during the formation of the Salpausselkä endmoraines. Bulletin, Geological Society of Finland, 41, 135–150.

Donner, J. 1982. Fluctuations in water level of the Baltic Ice Lake. Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae, AIII, 134, 13–28.

Donner, J. 1995. The Quaternary History of Scandinavia. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 200 pp.

Eronen, M. 1974. The history of the Litorina Sea and associated Holocene events. Societas Scientiarum Fennica, Commen­tationes Physico-Matematicae, 44, 79–195.

Heinsalu, A. 2000. Diatom stratigraphy and palaeo­environment of the Yoldia Sea in Northern Estonia. Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology, 49, 218–243.

Heinsalu, A. & Veski, S. 2007. The history of the Yoldia Sea in Northern Estonia: palaeoenvironmental conditions and climate oscillations. Geological Quarterly, 51, 295–306.

Hyvärinen, H. 1988. Definition of the Baltic stages. Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae, AIII, Geologica-Geographica, 148, 7–11.

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, AIII, Geologica-Geographica, 148, 25–35.

Jakobsson, M., Björck, S., Alm, G., Andrén, T., Lindeberg, G. & Svensson, N.-O. 2007. Reconstructing the Younger Dryas ice dammed lake in the Baltic Basin: bathymetry, area and volume. Global and Planetary Change, 57, 355–370.
doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2007.01.006

Kalm, V. 2006. Pleistocene chronostratigraphy in Estonia, southeastern sector of the Scandinavian glaciation. Quaternary Science Reviews, 8, 960–975.
doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2005.08.005

Kents, P. 1939. Postglatsiaalsed Läänemere randjoone võnku­mised illustreeritud Kõpu poolsaarel [Postglacial Shore Displacement Changes of the Baltic Sea in Estonia on the Example of the Kõpu Peninsula]. Manuscript in Estonian State Archives, Tallinn, 60 pp. [in Estonian].

Kessel, H. 1961. Über die Entwicklung der Ostsee in Bereich des Territoriums der Estnischen SSR im Holozän. Eesti NSV Geoloogia Instituudi Uurimused, VII, 167–185 [in Estonian, with German summary].

Kessel, H. 1965. History of the study of the Limnea and Mya stages of the Baltic and the stratigraphy of the Limnea stage on the territory of the Estonian S.S.R. Baltica, 2, 21–45 [in Russian, with English summary].

Kessel, H. 1979. Ülemiste järve geoloogilisest arengust ja tema setete vanusest [Geological development of the Ülemiste Lake and the age of its deposits]. In Eesti NSV saar­kõrgustike ja järvenõgude kujunemine [Formation of Insular Heights and Lake Depressions of the Estonian SSR] (Raukas, A., ed.), pp. 154–160. Valgus, Tallinn [in Estonian, with English summary].

Kessel, H. & Pirrus, R. 1983. Some problems concerning strati­graphic subdivision of Estonian late glacial sediments on the basis of palynologic data. In Palynologiya v geo­logicheskikh issledovaniyakh Pribaltiki i Baltijskogo morya [Palynologic Researches in Geologic Studies of the Baltic Region and the Baltic Sea] (Bartosh, T., ed.), pp. 14–17. Zinatne, Riga [in Russian, with English summary].

Kessel, H. & Raukas, A. 1967. The Deposits of Ancylus Lake and Littorina Sea in Estonia. Valgus, Tallinn, 134 pp. [in Russian, with English summary].

Kessel, H. & Raukas, A. 1979. The Quaternary History of the Baltic. Estonia. In The Quaternary History of the Baltic (Gudelis, V. & Königsson, L.-K., eds), pp. 127–146. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis, Uppsala.

Kessel, H., Saarse, L., Vishnevskaja, E. & Sinisalu, R. 1986. Geological development of Lake Ülemiste (Tallinn, Estonian SSR). Eesti NSV Teaduste Akadeemia Toimetised, Geoloogia, 35, 35–41 [in Russian, with English summary].

Künnapuu, S. 1959. Rannamoodustused Tallinnas [The coast configurations at Tallinn]. Loodusuurijate Seltsi Aasta­raamat 1958, 51, 301–314 [in Estonian, with English summary].

Künnapuu, S. 1975. Tallinna ja selle ümbruse geomorfo­loo­giline liigestus. [The geomorphological subdivision of Tallinn and its environs into districts]. Loodusuurijate Seltsi Aastaraamat, 63, 18–39 [in Estonian, with English summary].

Künnapuu, S. & Raukas, A. 1976. Pinnamood ja pinnakate [Relief and Quaternary cover]. In Tallinna ajalugu 1860-ndate aastateni [The History of Tallinn up to the 1860s] (Pullat, R., ed.), pp. 20–36. Eesti Raamat, Tallinn [in Estonian].

Künnapuu, S., Raukas, A. & Tavast, E. 1981. The bedrock relief of Tallinn and its vicinity. Eesti NSV Teaduste Akadeemia Toimetised, Geoloogia, 30, 167–172 [in Russian, with English summary].

Lampe, T. 2005. Lateglacial and Holocene water-level variations along the NE German Baltic coast: review and new results. Quaternary International, 133134, 121–126.
doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2004.10.005

Lepland, A., Miller, U. & Sakson, M. 1995. Palaeoenviron­mental conditions during the Baltic Yoldia stage in Tallinn area, northern Estonia. Quaternary International, 27, 83–94.
doi:10.1016/1040-6182(94)00064-C

Lepland, Aivo, Hang, T., Kihno, K., Sakson, M., Sandgren, P. & Lepland, Aave. 1996. Holocene sea-level changes and environmental history in the Narva area, North-Eastern Estonia. PACT, 51, 313–358.

Miettinen, A. 2002. Relative sea level changes in the eastern part of the Gulf of Finland during the last 8000 years. Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae, Geologica-Geographica, 162, 1–102.

Mörner, N.-A. 1979. The Fennoscandian uplift and Late Ceno­zoic in geodynamics: geological evidence. GeoJournal, 3, 287–318.

Munthe, H. 1910. Studies in the Late-Quaternary history of southern Sweden. Geologiska Föreningens I Stockholm Förhandlingar, 32, 1197–1292.

Munthe, H. 1940. On the Late-Quaternary Development and the Stone Age Settlement of North Europe, Primarily to the Baltic. Almquist & Wiksell, Stockholm, 242 pp.

Orviku, K. 1936. Litoriina randvalli geoloogiast Kroodi oru kohal [On the geology of the beach ridge above the Kroodi valley]. Eesti Loodus, 2, 61–63 [in Estonian].

Punning, J.-M., Rajamäe, R., Ehrenpreis, M. & Sarv, L. 1977. Tallinn radiocarbon dates IV. Radiocarbon, 19, 111–117.

Ramsay, W. 1929. Niveaurschiebungen, Eisgestaute Seen und Rezession des Inlandeises in Estland. Fennia, 52, 1–48.

Reimer, P. J., Baillie, M. G. L., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J. W., Bertrand, C., Blackwell, P. G., Buck, C. E., Burr, G., Cutler, K. B., Damon, P. E., Edwards, R. L., Fairbanks, R. G., Friedrich, M., Guilderson, T. P., Hughen, K. A., Kromer, B., McCormac, F. G., Manning, S., Bronk Ramsey, C., Reimer, R. W., Remmele, S., Southon, J. R., Stuiver, M., Talamo, S., Taylor, F. W., van der Plicht, J. & Weyhen­meyer, C. E. 2004. IntCal04 terrestrial radiocarbon age calibration, 0–26 cal kyr BP. Radiocarbon, 46, 1029–1058.

Rosentau, A., Vassiljev, J., Hang, T., Saarse, L. & Kalm, V. 2009. Development of the Baltic Ice Lake in eastern Baltic. Quaternary International, 206, 1623.
doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2008.10.005

Saarse, L. & Poska, A. 2001.Ülemiste järve tekke- ja arengu­lugu [The story of the formation and development of Lake Ülemiste]. In Inimmõju Tallinna keskkonnale IV [Human Impact on the Environment of Tallinn IV] (Eensaar, A., ed.), pp. 39–46. Teaduslik-rakendusliku konverentsi materjalid. Tallinna Botaanikaaed, Tallinn [in Estonian].

Saarse, L. & Vassiljev, J. 2008. Kopli ja Paljassaare poolsaar olid veel hiljaaegu saared [Kopli and Paljassaar were lately islands]. Eesti Loodus, 10, 16–19 [in Estonian].

Saarse, L., Heinsalu, A., Poska, A., Veski, S., Rajamäe, R., Hiie, S., Kihno, K. & Martma, T. 1997. Early Holocene shore displacement of the Baltic Sea east of Tallinn (N Estonia). Baltica, 10, 13–24.

Saarse, L., Veski, S. & Miidel, A. 2001. Lepistiku buried peat, Tallinn, Estonia. Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology, 50, 128–134.

Saarse, L., Miidel, A. & Vassiljev, J. 2003a. The role of K. Orviku in the studies of the Litorina transgression in Estonia. In Human Impact and Geological Heritage. Excursion Guide and Abstracts (Raukas, A. & Kukk, H., eds), pp. 115–117. Institute of Geology at Tallinn Technical University, Tallinn.

Saarse, L. Vassiljev, J. & Miidel, A. 2003b. Simulation of the Baltic Sea shorelines in Estonia and neighbouring areas. Journal of Coastal Research, 19, 261–268.

Saarse, L., Vassiljev, J., Miidel, A. & Niinemets, E. 2006. Holocene buried organic sediments in Estonia. Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology, 55, 296–320.

Saarse, L., Vassiljev, J., Rosentau, A. & Miidel, A. 2007. Reconstructed late glacial shore displacement in Estonia. Baltica, 20, 35–45.

Saarse, L., Heinsalu, A. & Veski, S. 2009a. Litorina Sea sedi­ments of Vääna Lagoon, northwestern Estonia. Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences, 58, 85–93.
doi:10.3176/earth.2009.1.08

Saarse, L., Niinemets, E., Amon, L., Heinsalu, A., Veski, S. & Sohar, K. 2009b. 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.
doi:10.3176/earth.2009.4.10

Saarse, L., Vassiljev, J. & Rosentau, A. 2009c. Ancylus Lake and Litorina Sea transition on the Island of Saaremaa, Estonia: a pilot study. Baltica, 22, 51–62.

Sandgren, P., Subetto, D. A., Berglund, B., Davydova, N. N. & Savelieva, L. A. 2004. Mid-Holocene Littorina Sea transgressions based on stratigraphic studies in coastal lakes of NW Russia. GFF, 126, 363–380.

Strömberg, B. 1992. The final drainage of the Baltic Ice Lake. Sveriges Geologiska Undersökningar, Ca 81, 347–353.

Stuiver, M., Reimer, P. J. & Reimer, R. 2005. CALIB Radio­carbon Calibration (HTML Version 5.0). http://radiocarbon.pa.qub.ac.uk/calib/

Suuroja, K. 2006. Baltic Klint in North Estonia as a Symbol of Estonian Nature. Ministry of Environment, Tallinn, 224 pp.

Tammekann, A. 1934. Tallinna aseme pinnamoest [On the topography of Tallinn]. Eesti Loodus, 2, 3437 [in Estonian].

Tammekann, A. 1940. The Baltic Glint. Eesti Loodusteaduste Arhiiv, XI, 3–4, Tartu, 103 pp.

Veski, S. 1998. Vegetation history, human impact and palaeo­geography of West Estonia. Pollen analytical studies of lake and bog sediments. Striae, 38, 1–119.

Yu, S.-Y., Berglund, B. E., Sandgren, P. & Lambeck, K. 2007. Evidence for a rapid sea-level rise 7600 yr ago. Geology, 35, 891–894.
doi:10.1130/G23859A.1

Zobel, R. 2008. Tallinn (Reval) in the Middle Ages: Town Building in the 13th–14th Centuries. Tallinn Academy of Arts. Tallinn, 190 pp.
Back to Issue