Biostratigraphy of the Mikulino interglacial sediments in NW Russia: the Petrozavodsk site and a literature review / Биостратиграфия микулинских межледниковых отложений на северо-западе России: Петрозаводский полигон и обзор литературы

Pollen, diatom and foraminiferal analyses of a nearly complete Mikulino/ Eemian interglacial marine sequence in Petrozavodsk, Russian Karelia, is presented together with a comprehensive literature review of Mikulino biostratigraphical data in NW Russia earlier published mostly in Russian. Mikulino interglacial deposits have been investigated in numerous sites, and, similarly, palaeohydrology and duration and correlation of different phases of the Mikulino marine submergence in this region have also been under discussion in several papers.
On the basis of the Petrozavodsk sequence, the marine phase proper began in the Lake Onega basin in pollen zones M2-M, (Pinus-Betula) and continued until the upper part of the M6 (Picea-Alnus-Carpinus) zone, when the regression began. Isolation of the Onega basin from the sea occurred at the beginning of the PiceaPinus/Nf zone, when the connection to the White Sea was closed suggesting that the marine phase covers a considerable part of the Mikulino interglacial. There was an open passage between the White Sea and the Baltic Sea through the Onega and Ladoga basins. <...>