Tracing Environmental Change and Human Impact as Recorded in Sediments from Coastal Areas of the Northwestern Baltic Proper

The eutrophication of the Baltic Sea due to increased anthropogenic nutrient loads during the 20th century is well documented and studied. However, in the Baltic Sea drainage area, humans have affected the environment longer than the environmental monitoring can provide data for. Sediment records from lakes and seas can provide fundamental data on the environmental conditions before ecosystems were impacted by humans and give the range of natural variation.

This thesis presents diatom and geochemistry stratigraphies from five sediment records along the southeast coast of Sweden, northwestern Baltic Proper. These records cover time periods of 500 years to more than 2,000 years. The diatom stratigraphies and geochemical proxies allow for reconstruction of environmental histories at these sites. The outcomes of this thesis highlight the importance of a longer time perspective than the environmental monitoring can provide.