LATE-HOLOCENE SALINITY FLUCTUATIONS IN BJORNSHOLM BAY, LIMFJORDEN, DENMARK, AS DEDUCED FROM MICROFOSSIL AND MACROFOSSIL ANALYSIS

Cores from the central part of the Limfjord, Denmark, have been invest igated with respect to content of foraminifera, Ostracoda, macrofauna, and aquatic flora. The observed shifts in faunal composition are main ly due to changing salinity conditions caused by a varying connection between the Limfjord and the North Sea. A total of 16 AMS radiocarbon age determinations have been performed on mollusc shells and foraminif era from the cores, and the datings show that the studied sequence rep resents a time period of c. 2000 years. The faunal shifts at the lates t zone boundaries in the sequence correspond very well with informatio n on changes in the marine environment recorded in written sources fro m the last 900 years.