Evolution of the barrier beaches in the Pechora Sea

The article discusses the main results of the complex investigations of barrier beaches in the Pechora Sea including coastal dynamics and accompanying exogenous processes (eolian transportation), lithological and micropaleontological studies of the sediment sequence and radiocarbon dating. We were the first to reconstruct sedimentation conditions and evolution of these big accumulative forms in the Pechora Sea. Stationary observations an coastal dynamics and the rate of eolian sedimentation allowed estimating the rate of barrier retreat. The mechanism of formation and evolution of dune belts an these barriers is described. Composition of diatom associations and lithological data provide evidence for facial-genetic conditions of sedimentation during accumulation of barriers. Radiocarbon datings corroborate the young age of the modern avandune ridges of the barrier beaches.