PALAEORUNOFF FROM LAKE LADOGA TO THE BALTIC SEA DURING THE HOLOCENE

Abstract

The article presents the results of the palaeohydrological analysis of the river system reorganization in the North-West of Russia, the Karelian Isthmus. This study aimed at the hydrological calculation of the runoff through the Heinjoki water connection of Lake Ladoga, the Gulf of Finland and PalaeoVuoksa during different periods of the Holocene. The methods of the equation of water balance, hydraulic-morphometric dependencies and the method of geographical analogy were used in this research. The main result of the carried work is the refinement of the existing regional flow model. In particular, the role of the Heinjoki Strait and the Neva River channel in different stages of the Holocene is considered. The authors came to the conclusion that Lake Ladoga always had a runoff to the Baltic Sea. It is shown that most probably in the period of 10,200-3,500 years ago the runoff was carried out through the Heinjoki waterway. The study underlines that the isostatic factor played a significant role in the forming of the water flow. The change in the runoff direction from the Heinjoki waterway to the Neva River is mainly related to the isostatic uplift of the Karelian Isthmus and the northern part of Lake Ladoga. Quantitative parameters of the Heinjoki palaeoflow (flow rate, annual runoff, runoff layer, runoff coefficient) seem to be roughly equivalent to the modern parameters of the flow of the Neva River. The article is dedicated to our colleague, a talented geographer and teacher, PhD Oleg Borisovich Averichkin (1979-2010) who first performed the calculations of the paleorunoff of Lake Ladoga

Keywords

• Lake Ladoga
• Baltic Sea
• palaeohydrology
• Karelian Isthmus
• Heinjoki waterway
• Neva River