An 800-year reconstruction of Elbe River discharge and German Bight sea-surface salinity
Résumé
On the basis of stable oxygen isotopes (δO-18), the summer sea-surface salinity of the German Bight, southeastern North Sea, was determined for the past 800 years. In this near-coastal area, salinity is mainly dependent on the freshwater input of the Elbe River discharging its large catchment, which covers an area of 149 000 km(2) of central Europe. Therefore, a proxy for Elbe River discharge was reconstructed at the same time, and consequently the δO-18 record is also mirroring variations in precipitation within the entire drainage basin. Significant variations in these palaeoenvironmental variables are linked to climatic changes.