Research literature: Geographike Hyphegesis

On this page, you will find a collection of links to scientific publications that are relevant to this project or that can contribute to a deeper exemplary understanding of the processes and circumstances that may be related to the Reinterpretation of Germania Magna presented here. These publications span different research areas.

The collection includes:

• Primary literature: Scientific publications presenting the results of new research.
• Secondary literature: Scientific publications summarizing, analyzing, or interpreting primary literature.
• Comparative literature: Publications that exemplify similar processes and circumstances in other contexts.
• Additional resources: Links to websites, databases, and other resources that may be relevant to the reinterpretation

The following publications are intended to help answer specific questions exemplarily, which may be related to the necessary processes and events required for extensive landscape transformation. These include considerations of tectonic fracture events and rift systems, with corresponding effects on maritime landslide events and the formation of new sedimentation basins.

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A new tectonic model for the Laurentia-Avalonia-Baltica sutures in the North Sea: A case study along MONA LISA profile 3

19. August 202417. August 2024 by Sven Mildner

DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2006.09.017 Abstract We present a new model for the lithospheric structure of the transitions between Laurentia, Avalonia and Baltica in the North Sea, northwestern Europe based on 2¾D potential field modelling of MONA LISA profile 3 across the Central Graben, with constraints from seismic P-wave velocity models and the crustal normal incidence reflection section along the profile. The model shows evidence for the presence of upper-and lower Palaeozoic sedimentary rocks as well as differences in crustal structure between the palaeo-continents Laurentia, Avalonia and Baltica. Our new model, together with previous results from transformations of the gravity and magnetic fields, demonstrates correlation between crustal magnetic domains along the profile and the terrane affinity of the crust. This integrated interpretation indicates that a 150 km wide zone, characterized by low-grade metamorphosis and oblique thrusting of Avalonia crust over Baltica lower crust, is characteristic for the central North Sea area. The magnetic … Read moreA new tectonic model for the Laurentia-Avalonia-Baltica sutures in the North Sea: A case study along MONA LISA profile 3

What caused terrestrial dust loading and climate downturns between A.D. 533 and 540?

19. August 20247. August 2024 by Sven Mildner

DOI https://doi.org/10.1130/2014.2505(23) Abstract Sn-rich particles, Ni-rich particles, and cosmic spherules are found together at four discrete stratigraphic levels within the 362–360 m depth interval of the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) ice core (72.6°N, 38.5°W, elevation: 3203 m). Using a previously derived calendar-year time scale, these particles span a time of increased dust loading of Earth’s atmosphere between A.D. 533 and 540. The Sn-rich and Ni-rich particles contain an average of 10–11 wt% C. Their high C contents coupled with local enrichments in the volatile elements I, Zn, Cu, and Xe suggest a cometary source for the dust. The late spring timing of extraterrestrial input best matches the Eta Aquarid meteor shower associated with comet 1P/Halley. An increased flux of cometary dust might explain a modest climate downturn in A.D. 533. Both cometary dust and volcanic sulfate probably contributed to the profound global dimming during A.D. 536 and 537 … Read moreWhat caused terrestrial dust loading and climate downturns between A.D. 533 and 540?

Continental-scale temperature variability during the past two millennia

19. August 202410. April 2024 by Sven Mildner

DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1797 Abstract Past global climate changes had strong regional expression. To elucidate their spatio-temporal pattern, we reconstructed past temperatures for seven continental-scale regions during the past one to two millennia. The most coherent feature in nearly all of the regional temperature reconstructions is a long-term cooling trend, which ended late in the nineteenth century. At multi-decadal to centennial scales, temperature variability shows distinctly different regional patterns, with more similarity within each hemisphere than between them. There were no globally synchronous multi-decadal warm or cold intervals that define a worldwide Medieval Warm Period or Little Ice Age, but all reconstructions show generally cold conditions between AD 1580 and 1880, punctuated in some regions by warm decades during the eighteenth century. The transition to these colder conditions occurred earlier in the Arctic, Europe and Asia than in North America or the Southern Hemisphere regions. Recent warming reversed the long-term cooling; during the period AD 1971–2000, … Read moreContinental-scale temperature variability during the past two millennia

Seismic velocity structure of crustal intrusions in the Danish Basin

19. August 20246. April 2024 by Sven Mildner

DOI 10.1016/j.tecto.2011.11.019 We image the east- and westward extent of a crustal high-velocity body, the thickness of a layered sequence around the Moho at the flank of the body, and the uppermost mantle velocity along the 320 km long refraction and wide-angle reflection seismic profile ESTRID 2007 in the Danish Basin. Ray-tracing modelling of the seismic data reveals a high-velocity body (6.7-7.7 km/s between 10 and 30 km depth) with a lateral extent of at least 110 km. It is interpreted as an intrusive body of gabbroic composition. Moho depth is variable between 30 and 35 km along the profile. The crust is thin in a similar to 180 km wide zone approximately below the western part of the intrusive body and further westward in the basin area. The Pn velocity in the uppermost mantle is relatively low (similar to 7.8 km/s) beneath the thin crust whereas higher Pn velocities … Read moreSeismic velocity structure of crustal intrusions in the Danish Basin

Mechanism for the Uplift of Gongga Shan in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau Constrained by 3D Magnetotelluric Data

19. August 20241. April 2024 by Sven Mildner

DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097394 Abstract Plain Language Summary Continent‐continent collisions are an important tectonic process and have controlled the formation of the modern continents. The India‐Asia collision is the best modern example and has produced both a high elevation plateau and the world’s highest mountain belts. A range of tectonic processes occurs during these collisions as the crust deforms including extrusion and perhaps crustal flow. Within these collision zones, there are locations of especially rapid uplift that have not been explained with existing geodynamic models. This paper investigates this process through a study of Gongga Shan—a mountain on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, where uplift continues at a rate of 2–3 mm per year and has formed peaks greater than 7,500 m in elevation. 3D inversion of an array of magnetotelluric data has produced a well‐constrained crustal resistivity model for the GGS area. It reveals that the GGS crust is … Read moreMechanism for the Uplift of Gongga Shan in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau Constrained by 3D Magnetotelluric Data

Dynamics of Mid-Palaeocene North Atlantic rifting linked with European intra-plate deformations

19. August 20241. April 2024 by Sven Mildner

DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/nature06379 Abstract The process of continental break-up provides a large-scale experiment that can be used to test causal relations between plate tectonics and the dynamics of the Earth’s deep mantle1,2. Detailed diagnostic information on the timing and dynamics of such events, which are not resolved by plate kinematic reconstructions, can be obtained from the response of the interior of adjacent continental plates to stress changes generated by plate boundary processes. Here we demonstrate a causal relationship between North Atlantic continental rifting at ∼62 Myr ago and an abrupt change of the intra-plate deformation style in the adjacent European continent. The rifting involved a left-lateral displacement between the North American-Greenland plate and Eurasia, which initiated the observed pause in the relative convergence of Europe and Africa3. The associated stress change in the European continent was significant and explains the sudden termination of a ∼20-Myr-long contractional intra-plate deformation within Europe4, during the late Cretaceous … Read moreDynamics of Mid-Palaeocene North Atlantic rifting linked with European intra-plate deformations

A submerged Stone Age hunting architecture from the Western Baltic Sea

19. August 20241. April 2024 by Sven Mildner

DOI https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2312008121 Abstract The Baltic Sea basins, some of which only submerged in the mid-Holocene, preserve Stone Age structures that did not survive on land. Yet, the discovery of these features is challenging and requires cross-disciplinary approaches between archeology and marine geosciences. Here, we combine shipborne and autonomousunderwater vehicle hydroacoustic data with up to a centimeter range resolution, sedimentological samples, and optical images to explore a Stone Age megastructure located in 21 m water depth in the Bay of Mecklenburg, Germany. The structure is made of 1,673 individual stones which are usually less than 1 m in height, placed side by side over a distance of 971 m in a way that argues against a natural origin by glacial transport or ice push ridges. Running adjacent to the sunken shoreline of a paleolake (or bog), whose youngest phase was dated to 9,143 ±36 ka B.P., the stonewall was likely used … Read moreA submerged Stone Age hunting architecture from the Western Baltic Sea

Sea-level change, glacial rebound and mantle viscosity for northern Europe

19. August 20241. April 2024 by Sven Mildner

DOI https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-246x.1998.00541.x Abstract Northwestern Europe remains a key region for testing models of glacial isostasy because of the good geological record of crustal response to the glacial unloading since the time of the Last Glacial Maximum. Models for this rebound and associated sea-level change require a detailed knowledge of the ice-sheet geometry, including the ice thickness through time. Existing ice-sheet reconstructions are strongly model-dependent, and inversions of sea-level data for the mantle response may be a function of the model assumptions. Thus inverse solutions for the sea-level data are sought that include both ice- and earth-model parameters as unknowns. Sea-level data from Fennoscandia, the North Sea, the British Isles and the Atlantic and English Channel coasts have been evaluated and incorporated into the solutions. The starting ice sheet for Fennoscandia is based on a reconstruction of a model by Denton & Hughes (1981) that is characterized by quasi-parabolic cross-sections and … Read moreSea-level change, glacial rebound and mantle viscosity for northern Europe

Holocene Relative Sea-Level Changes from Near-, Intermediate-, and Far-Field Locations

19. August 20241. April 2024 by Sven Mildner

DOI https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40641-015-0029-z Abstract Holocene relative sea-level (RSL) records exhibit spatial and temporal variability that arises mainly from the interaction of eustatic (land ice volume and thermal expansion) and isostatic (glacio- and hydro-) factors. We fit RSL histories from near-, intermediate-, and far-field locations with noisy-input Gaussian process models to assess rates of RSL change. Records from near-field regions (e.g., Antarctica, Greenland, Canada, Sweden, and Scotland) reveal a complex pattern of RSL fall from a maximum marine limit due to the net effect of eustatic sea-level rise and glacio-isostatic uplift with rates of RSL fall as great as −69 ± 9 m/ka. Intermediate-field regions (e.g., mid-Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the USA, Netherlands, Southern France, St. Croix) display variable rates of RSL rise from the cumulative effect of eustatic and isostatic factors. Fast rates of RSL rise (up to 10 ± 1 m/ka) are found in the early Holocene in regions … Read moreHolocene Relative Sea-Level Changes from Near-, Intermediate-, and Far-Field Locations

Abrupt Holocene ice loss due to thinning and ungrounding in the Weddell Sea Embayment

19. August 20241. April 2024 by Sven Mildner

DOI https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-024-01375-8 Abstract The extent of grounded ice and buttressing by the Ronne Ice Shelf, which provides resistance to the outflow of ice streams, moderate West Antarctic Ice Sheet stability. During the Last Glacial Maximum, the ice sheet advanced and was grounded near the Weddell Sea continental shelf break. The timing of subsequent ice sheet retreat and the relative roles of ice shelf buttressing and grounding line changes remain unresolved. Here we use an ice core record from grounded ice at Skytrain Ice Rise to constrain the timing and speed of early Holocene ice sheet retreat. Measured δ18O and total air content suggest that the surface elevation of Skytrain Ice Rise decreased by about 450 m between 8.2 and 8.0 kyr before 1950 CE (±0.13 kyr). We attribute this elevation change to dynamic thinning due to flow changes induced by the ungrounding of ice in the area. Ice core sodium concentrations suggest that the ice front … Read moreAbrupt Holocene ice loss due to thinning and ungrounding in the Weddell Sea Embayment