Microbiomorphic analysis in the study of the pioneer environment of the Late Glacial: preliminary results of Kulikovo section (Sambian Peninsula, Kaliningrad oblast)

The article is devoted to the preliminary results of the study of the Kulikovo section (Sambian Peninsula, Kaliningrad oblast, Russian Federation), where deposits of one of the Late Pleistocene palaeobasins are exposed. The uniqueness of the section is due to its good preservation: while most of the postglacial basins that existed along the Baltic coast were subsequently destroyed during the Holocene marine transgressions and regressions, the deposits of the Kulikovo section, represented by silt with peat interlayers, provide an opportunity for a detailed study of the palaeoenvironment of the southeastern Baltic during the Middle to Younger Dryas (~14200–12500 cal BP). For the first time in the Baltic region, this type of deposits has been studied by microbiomorphic analysis. The aim of the analysis was to evaluate the informative potential of the method in relation to Late Glacial palaeobasin deposits and to obtain additional local data on Late Glacial vegetation and environment. The first phase of the study of the section showed the high informative value of the method. Data were obtained on the microbiomorphic composition of the Late Glacial water sediments. It includes 4 main categories of microbiomorphs: phytoliths, diatom shells, sponge spicules and plant detritus. Fe-rich spherules were also detected in the sediments. The analysis provided information on the plant communities surrounding the paleobasin, represented by reed communities, meadow and forest vegetation, including coniferous trees. The latter is an important point in the discussion about the presence of trees in the ice-free areas. A repeated change in hydrological conditions in the adjacent area was also noted, expressed in a change in the flow rate of the basin. Further study of the Fe-rich nodules in the Kulikovo sediments is important with regard to “impact events” and their role in the dynamics of the Late Glacial environment.