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Moss growth patterns and timing of human exposure to a Mesolithic tsunami in the North Atlantic

2014; Geological Society of America; Volume: 43; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/g36278.1

1943-2682

Knut Rydgren, Stein Bondevik,

Geological formations and processes

Research Article| February 01, 2015 Moss growth patterns and timing of human exposure to a Mesolithic tsunami in the North Atlantic Knut Rydgren; Knut Rydgren Faculty of Engineering and Science, Sogn og Fjordane University College, P.O. Box 133, N-6851 Sogndal, Norway Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Stein Bondevik Stein Bondevik Faculty of Engineering and Science, Sogn og Fjordane University College, P.O. Box 133, N-6851 Sogndal, Norway Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Geology (2015) 43 (2): 111–114. https://doi.org/10.1130/G36278.1 Article history received: 15 Sep 2014 rev-recd: 15 Nov 2014 accepted: 17 Nov 2014 first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Knut Rydgren, Stein Bondevik; Moss growth patterns and timing of human exposure to a Mesolithic tsunami in the North Atlantic. Geology 2015;; 43 (2): 111–114. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G36278.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The Storegga tsunami, triggered ∼8150 yr ago by one of the largest submarine slides on Earth, flooded margins of the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea that were occupied by Mesolithic peoples. Sand deposits of Storegga age overlie the remains of coastal settlements in Norway and Scotland. The resulting casualties, however, depend on the season when the tsunami struck. Human exposure would have been least in summer and early autumn, when Mesolithic peoples went to the mountains to hunt reindeer. The hunters returned to the coast in late autumn to settle into their winter quarters. Here we use moss stems to show that the Storegga tsunami happened in late autumn. The Storegga tsunami deposits contain samples of the moss Hylocomium splendens. Some of these stems retain green color and chlorophyll that imply burial alive. H. splendens has a characteristic growth cycle where new segments branch off from previous year's growth. The Storegga mosses have segments more mature than those of modern July and August samples, but as mature as those from October through December. The enormous Storegga tsunami thus occurred late enough in the year to have reached a large fraction of the people then inhabiting western Norway and northeast Scotland. For those who survived the tsunami, the loss and destruction of dwellings, boats, equipment, and supplies must have made the following winter very difficult. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.