New Insight into the Late Holocene Lake-Level Changes of Lake Ladoga in the Southern Ladoga Region

This study presents the results of research detailing the fluctuations of the Lake Ladoga relative water-level in the southern Ladoga region during the period following the conclusion of the Ladoga transgression. Fieldwork was conducted on the Storozhno Peninsula and in the Nizhnesvirsky Nature Reserve. The methodology includes geomorphological profiling, peat coring, diatom analysis, infrared stimulated luminescence, and radiocarbon dating of collected sediments. It was established that during the maximum stage of the transgression, 2900 cal. yrs BP, the lake’s level in this area reached an absolute elevation of 16.5 meters, marked by beach ridges located at this height. Between 2100 and 1200 cal. yrs BP, the average level stabilized at 6-8 meters, resulting in the formation of an accumulative strandplain with numerous beach ridges. It is hypothesized that between 1200 and 500 cal. yrs BP, a low-amplitude rise in the lake’s level occurred, leading to the formation of a barrier ridge at the 7.6 m altitude.