Research Note 

14 Raised beach deposits and new 
Prins Karls Forland, western Svalbard 

C ages from Pricepynten, 
+ 

Torbjorn Andersson 

This note reports the occurrence of two generations of 14C dated raised 
beach deposits at Pricepynten. southern Prins Karls Forland, western 
Svalbard, dated to < 12 Kya and >30 Kya. In addition two new 14C ages 
of ca. 9.2 and 1.8 Ky are presented from Myrilus eclulis and a buried peat 
deposit, respectively. 

T. Aiidersson. Pirrstugun. Moriing, SE-153 9.5 JLjrmi, Sweden. 

Fieldwork on southern Prins Karls Forland in the 
summer of 1997 focused on geomorphologic 
investigations in the Pricepynten area (Fig. I ) .  
The study is part of a project on the late 
Quaternary history of Prins Karls Forland, western 
Svalbard. Previous results within the project from 
central and northern Prins Karls Forland are 
reported i n  Andersson et al. (1999, in press) and 
Bergsten et al. (1998). 

F i g .  1. Svnlbnrd base map with localities mentioned i n  the text. 

Previous investigators, e.g. Salvipsen (1977), 
suggested that the occurrence of multiple genera- 
tions of raised beach deposits, with well-preserved 
pre-Late Weichselian beach terraces. at localities 
on the west coast of Svalbard could indicate the 
presence of ice-free areas during the Late Weich- 
selian glacial maximum. Based on studies of 
elevation, degree of morphologic preservation, 

C ages. molluscan amino acid ratios and soil 
profile development, up to three generations of 
raised beaches have been identified on Brmgger- 
halvcaya (Brggger Peninsula). western Spitsbergen 
(Forman & Miller 1984). Definitive ages for the 
raised beach sequence for Br~ggerhalv#ya are 
provided by ''C ages of >36 Ky and 13-9 Ky 
above and below the Late Weichselian marine 
limit (LWML), respectively (Forman et al. 1987). 

On central and northern Prins Karls Forland, 
palaeotemperature estimates, derived from amino 
acid ratios, indicate subaerial polar desert condi- 
tions with temperatures of -2O'T during the time 
interval ca. 70-10 Kya (Andersson et al. 1999, in 
press). On northern Prins Karls Forland this is 
further emphasized by a horizon of intense 
weathering and frost-shattered pebbles and cob- 
bles, stratigraphically sited between ca. 70 Kya 
deltaic deposits and Holocene emergence deposits 
(Andersson et al. in press). The results from central 
and northern Prins Karls Forland conflict with a 
recent synthesis by Landvik et al. (1998) which 
concluded that the Late Weichselian Barents Sea 

I4 

Andersson 2000: Polrir Research 19(2). 27 1-273 17 1 



Fig. -7. A distinct and well-preserved pre-Late Weichselian 
raised beach ternice at 50 m asl. The terrace I, built against the 
mountain slope and it can be followed for more than 100 m i n  
the terrain. The person is 1.85 m tall. 

ice sheet expanded on a broad front out to the 
continental shelf edge, 50-100 km off the present 
west coast, and that only some of the > 1000 m as1 
mountain peaks on Prins Karls Forland could have 
remained ice-free. I n  this context, the main aim of 
this note is to report the observation of multiple 
generations of raised beach deposits and asso- 
ciated “C ages from Pricepynten, southem Prins 
Karls Forland, that may indicate that the area 
remained ice-free during the Late Weichselian. 

Two generations of raised beach 
deposits 

The observation of multiple generations of raised 
beach deposits on the west coast of Svalbard have 
been reported by Salvigsen (1977. 1979), Boulton 
(1979). Salvigsen & Nydal (19811, Forman & 
Miller (1984) and Forman (1989, 1990). On 
southern Prins Karls Forland, Salvigsen (1977) 
reports vague pre-Late Weichselian raised beach 
deposits up to approximately 50 m asl. Similar 
features on northern Prins Karls Forland are 
reported with potential minimum ages of >30 
K y  (Salvigsen 1977). On central Prins Karls 
Forland, pre-Late Weichselian raised beach de- 
posits are constrained by well-developed soil 
profiles with BI-horizons of >8Ocni and a 
minimum limiting AMS “C age of >40 Ky 
(Anderson et al. 1999). 

Geomorphologic fieldwork during the summer 
of 1997 i n  the Pricepynten area. southern Prins 
Karls Forland (Fig. I ) ,  verified the existence of 

two generations of raised beach deposits. A well- 
preserved series of raised beaches extend from the 
present-day coastline to the LWML at 36 m asl. A 
minimum limiting age of ca. 11.4 Ky is inferred 
for the formation of the LWML on this part of 
Prins Karls Forland (Forman 1990). Discontinuous 
beach deposits rise from the LWML at 36 m as1 to 
approximately 50 m asl. Reworked shell fragments 
collected from soil pits dug into a distinct and 
well-preserved beach terrace at 50 m asl. (Fig. 2 )  
and submitted for AMS ‘‘C dating, yielded ages of 
28 530 f 420 and 33 820 f 815 years BP (Table 
1). The carbonate i n  the shell fragments may have 
exchanged with moving groundwater, introducing 
modern carbon, and the reported ages are con- 
sidered minimum age estimates. 

A sub-recent marine transgression 

The issue of a modem transgression i n  the area has 
been discussed by Feyling-Hanssen (1955 1. Blake 
(1961), Forman et al. (1987) and Forman (1990). 
among others. “C dates on whale bones and 
terrestrial peat buried by modem storm beach 
gravels from southern Prins Karls Forland and 
HermansenGya. respectively, indicate that sea 
level rose to its present position ca. 2-1 Kya 
(Forman 1990). 

On southern Prins Karls Forland, 1.5 km south 
of Pricepynten, a horizon of peat of terrestrial 
origin is exposed in section at 3.5 m asl. The peat 
horizon is laterally continuous and traceable along 
the section for more than 50 m and i t  is overlain by 
an up to 50cm thick deposit of storm beach 
gravels. A sample of the buried peat yielded an 
AMS “C age of 1760 -I 70 years BP (Table 1) and 
further supports the notion that sea level rose to its 
present position ca. 2-1 Kya (Forman 1990). 

A new I4C age on Mytilus edulis 

Paired and well-preserved shells of M .  rclirlis occur 
i n  stratigraphic position i n  sections 1.5 km south of 
Pricepynten. A sample of paired shells submitted 
for AMS “C dating yielded the corrected age of 
9130 f 65 years BP (Table 1). The reported age is 
almost identical to a former age determination of 
8955 & 90 years BP of M .  rdulis from Pricepynten 
(Forman 1990), and is within close range of the 
first immigration of M .  edidis to the west coast of 
Svalbard by ca. 9.5 Kya (Salvigsen et al. 1992). 

172 Raised beach deposits and new ‘-!C ages from Pricepynten. Prim Karls Forland 



Tnble 1. AMS "C ages expressed as years BP, Pricepynteii. Prins Karls Forland. Svalbard. 

Corrected '"c 
Field I4c age IU age f I U  years 6 "C 
no. Lab no." yeara B P  BP" oiw ' Dated material m as! 

TAPKF Ua-12911 33 820 f 815 c3.21 \hell fragment from raised beach teraceJ1 50.0 
007-97 
TAPKF Ua-12451 28 530 f 420 +2.59 shell fragment from raised beach terrace" 50.0 
007-97 
TAPKF Ua-12455 9600 f 65 9130 2 65 -0.73 paired valve of Mytilrrs edulis from littoral 2.0 
0 12-97 sediments" 
TAPKF Ua-12456 1760 f 70 -27.77 terrestrial peat from stratigraphic section5' 3.5 
014-97 

"Ua numhers refer to accelerator mass spectrometry (AMSI ''C dates perforrned at the & W r o m  Laboratory. Uppsala University, 

"Corrected for a marine reservoir effect of 470 years [Sruvier & Braziunas 1993). 
"As per convention all I4C ages ha\w been normalized 111 -25%0 (5 "C. 
"Reported ages are on a single shell fragment analysis. Pv-treatment of shell fragment prior to dating include a twofold leach i n  

"Pre-treated with 1 %  hot HCI and 1 %  hot NaOH. The insoluble p l ~ l  has been dated. 

Sweden. 

0.5 M HCI. The inner fraction has been dated. 

A ~ . k f i o ~ \ l r ~ / g e i n P r , t s .  ~ The author wants to thank the Norwegian 
authorities for permission to carry out fieldwork in the Forlandet 
Nasjonalpark. This work, carried out when the author was 
affiliated with the University of Gijteborg, is a part of the 
S w d i s h  Arctic Research Programme (SWEDARCTIC). Crib 
erous support has been procided by the Swedish Natural Scicnce 
Research Council (NFR), the Norwegian Polar In\titute. the 
Swedish Polar Reaearch Secretariat, the Royal Swedish 
Academy o f  Sciencesnh. Nordstroms Fund. the Swedish 
Society for Anthropology and Geography. the YMER-80 
Foundation. and the Earth Sciences Centre. University of 
GBtehorg. Thanks also to P. Saniuelsson for helpful and 
appreciated asislance during the 1997 field season. The paper 
benefited from the reviews by 0. Salvigsen and one anonymous 
referee. 

References 
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A n d e r \ \ o n  2000: Polar Resenrch Z9(2), 211 -773 213