Holocene relative shore level (RSL) changes and Stone Age palaeogeography of Hiiumaa Island are reconstructed using airborne LiDARelevation data, sedimentological and archaeological proxies as well asGIS-based landscape modelling. Altogether, 38RSLindex and limiting points are used in modelling and presented in the current paper. The highest raised shorelines of the Ancylus Lake and Litorina Sea, mapped at the elevations of 47 and 26 m a.s.l., formed around 10.3 and 7.4 cal. kaBP, respectively. The reconstructedRSLcurve reveals a 20-m drainage of Ancylus Lake followed by a land-uplift-driven 3-m regression during the Initial Litorina Sea period.RSLrise during the Litorina Sea transgression remained below 4 m and its maximum was reached later than proposed previously, discarding therefore the idea of highly diachronous Litorina culmination in the eastern Baltic Sea. During the period 7.4-6.0 cal. kaBP,RSLfall was about 4.3 mm a(-1), and afterwards in average at about 1 mm(-1)less suggesting deceleration in isostatic rebound. suggesting deceleration in isostatic rebound. Palaeogeographical reconstructions show that during its earliest occupation at about 7.6 cal. kaBPless than 1% of the terrain of Hiiumaa was above the sea level and that wind-protectedSEexposed shores were the most preferred campsite locations of Late Mesolithic and Neolithic settlers. These campsites are located successively at lower elevations following the shoreline retreat and show repeated use of this coastal area between 7.6 and 4.6 cal. kaBP. Due to the spread of the Corded Ware culture around 4.8-4.0 cal. kaBPthe settlements of Hiiumaa Island and many other coastal areas of the eastern Baltic moved from the coast to more suitable places for agriculture and animal husbandry.

We present a 6000-year-long record tracing hydroclimate changes in SW Greece, based on hydrogen isotope composition of aquatic plant-derived n-C-23 alkanes (D-C23) in a sediment core from the Messenian plain, Peloponnese. The D-C23 record co-varies with other eastern Mediterranean records, suggesting relatively wetter conditions c. 6-4.5ka, followed by progressively drier conditions leading up to maximum aridity c. 2.8 ka. This arid phase was interrupted by a shift in D-C23 between 3.3 and 3.1ka inferring wetter conditions and/or tentative responses to anthropogenic water regulating activities during the Late Bronze Age. After 2.7ka, a return to more humid conditions was followed by increased dryness and stronger seasonality contrasts from c. 2.0ka. The D-C23 record shows three short-lived excursions (5.7, 5.3, 2.8ka), where isotope values dropped by >20 parts per thousand and immediately stabilized again. The events were paralleled by abrupt increases in sedimentation rates. We hypothesize that the isotopic shifts represent a response to mixing of ground water systems during tectonic events, followed by sealing of seismically derived cracks in the active fault. The outcome of the study is promising for future expansion of isotope-based proxies on sediments in the region, to reconstruct both hydroclimate and past seismic activity.

Many mangrove wetland systems in deltaic environments are negatively affected by massive sedimentation fromriver inflows. In this paper we use the example of the Save River delta to assess the palaeogeographic distributionof mangrove wetlands and to analyze their dynamics. To track past occurrences of mangrove wetlands in thestudy area we have integrated sedimentological data with siliceous microfossil analysis combined with AMSradiocarbon and OSL dating. The results show a fine-grained deposit with an approximate thickness of 2 m,present at different sampling sites. In the upper deltaic plain, the deposit is interbedded between sand layers,while in the lower deltaic plain the deposit occupies the uppermost stratigraphic position. In most of thesampling sites the deposit shows a succession with brackish-marine diatoms at the bottom of the sequence whilethe upper part shows only scattered occurrences. Based on sedimentological and microfossil characteristics wehave interpreted the layer to represent a mangrove wetland deposit. The development of the deposit in the studyarea is suggested to have been initiated around 3100 cal. yr BP, induced by sea-level rise. Thereafter, the developmentfollowed the combined effect of a sea-level fall and delta progradation processes. In some areas,particularly in the proximal part of the delta, the mangrove deposit has developed progressively on top of thedelta-front. From around 1300 years ago (OSL) onwards, massive alluvial sedimentation impacted the mangroveecosystem. However, the retreat of mangrove wetland coincided with a regional fall of sea level. At the edges ofthe alluvial deposit, the current mangrove ecosystem has reclaimed the habitat in some sectors where gullyerosion has exposed the once extinct mangrove habitat.

Holocene shore displacement and the palaeogeography of Late Mesolithic and Late Neolithic settlements on Ruhnu Island, Gulf of Riga, were reconstructed using foredune sequence luminescence dating, sedimentological data supported by ground-penetrating radar analysis, and GIS-based landscape modelling. The foredune ridges consist of very well to well sorted fine-to medium-grained aeolian sand and are underlain by seaward dipping foreshore sediments. The studied sequence of 38 ridges was formed between 6.91 +/- 0.58 ka and 2.54 +/- 0.19 ka ago, and represents a period of falling relative sea level. Foredune plain progradation, with average rates of 0.3-0.6 m per year, was controlled by isostatic land uplift, which caused a continuous withdrawal of shorelines to lower elevations. The dated foredune succession was used to reconstruct the coastal palaeogeography of the island. Palaeogeographical reconstructions show that during two phases of Late Mesolithic habitation, at ca. 7.2 cal. ka BP and 6.2 cal. ka BP, seal hunters settled the coastal zone of Ruhnu Island. Based on tool material and pottery type they could have originated from Saaremaa Island, which according to palaeoreconstruction of the Gulf of Riga, was located approximately 70 km northwest of Ruhnu Island during the Late Mesolithic. Later signs of human occupation, radiocarbon dated to ca. 4.7 cal. ka BP, were from the centre of the island, hundreds of metres away from the shore at about 8 m above its contemporary sea level. This Late Neolithic habitation shows a clearly different pattern than earlier coastal settlement, and suggests a shift in subsistence strategy towards agriculture and animal husbandry.

The postglacial uplift and transgressive-regressive phases of the Baltic Sea have affected the formation and displacement of sandy accumulation forms in the region. The dune-ridge complexes preserve a geological record of past sea-level fluctuations, coastal evolution, and extreme events, and offer insights into major driving mechanisms. This study aims to improve methodologies for identifying different storm signatures in coastal deposits using examples from Estonia and Latvia. The paleo-beach ridges are typically covered by aeolian sand, and the inter-ridge swales are mostly filled with organic sediments. Ground-penetrating radar surveys corroborate distinct textural patterns in sand layers underneath the ridges and swales. In the ridges, sharp seaward-dipping reflections represent storm scarps. The ridge sequences without dipping reflections suggest either aeolian origin or longshore transport; smaller sandy ridges, which are buried under peat layers, reflect prolonged, calmer phases. Compound dunes with ridges in their cores indicate major coastal events or shifts in atmospheric conditions that would have exposed wide sand areas to wind and facilitated dune development. This study demonstrates that the aeolian processes and changes in storminess have played an important role in the genesis of ridge-swale complexes in the Baltic Sea Region.

The Save River delta has well-preserved geomorphological and sedimentological features with potential to reveal its evolution as well as past regional environmental changes, which are anticipated to integrate into other data at a global scale. In this study we mapped and integrated these features to understand the environmental processes that drove the late evolution of the delta. The results suggest that the present configuration of the delta was primarily dominated by a delta-front protruding into the sea, in a faulted coast section that may have favoured the formation of the depocenter. The development of the delta-front was initiated prior to c. 3100 cal. yrs BP, and around this age, fine-grained sediments started to accumulate on it forming a mangrove wetland deposit that expanded from the proximal sector of the delta to the current position shown in a geomorphological map. The results show successive dune ridges in the southern sector of the delta which indicate a series of consecutive shorelines over time as the delta prograded towards the current position. These dunes have created favourable conditions for accumulation of fine-grained sediments in the back-barrier sectors, contributing to the development of the mangrove wetland. An alluvial floodplain developed during the last millennium, probably a result of high precipitation the catchment area.