EAA 2022: Abstract

At coastal sites strontium isotope ratios of terrestrial individuals are influenced by the local sea spray aerosols. Isotope analyses of modern environmental samples (plants, soil, water) at the Baltic coast illustrate the marine impact on the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of the terrestrial environment (sea spray effect). Regional and seasonal differences in the strontium isotope ratios of the collected samples show differences in the local as well as the seasonal magnitude of the sea spray effect. This is also of importance for baseline maps of strontium isotope ratios.
Moreover, an artificial sea spray applied to greenhouse plants demonstrates that the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of plants are clearly shifted towards the isotopic signature of spray water. This experiment allows to quantify the local sea spray effect on the isotopic signature of environmental samples.
The impact of the sea spray effect can additionally be visualized by the investigation of prehistoric individuals of known identity and known residence, namely some of the dukes and duchesses of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf (16th/17th century), buried in the Schleswig Cathedral in Northern Germany. By investigating the individuals’ diet based on an isotopic mixing model, a marine impact on strontium isotope ratios caused by sea spray can be clearly distinguished from a shift due to a marine-based diet. Based on these results, sites with higher or lower sea spray impact can be identified.

Baltic Sea, coastal environment, diet, provenance, sea spray effect, strontium isotopes

Oral presentation

  Abstract (PDF)

Andrea Göhring²

Bettina Jungklaus¹
Stefan Hölzl³