The contents of copper, manganese, zinc, lead and cadmium have been determined in plants of the Spitsbergen tundra, collected at Calypsostranda, Lyellstranda and Chamberlindalen in 1987. Five species of vascular plants, four species of mosses and fourteen species of lichens have been investigated. Manganese content in all the studied plants falls in the physiological limits of this element. Appreciable concentrations of copper, and zinc exceeding the physiological concentrations of these elements and presence of lead and cadmium have been shown for many plants.

At the outlet of the Hörbyedalen, at the footslope of Gizehfjellet, lies a fragment of a raised marine terrace of an altitude of 45 m above sea-level. It is undercut by a proglacial river constituting an exposure with a series of marine, fluvio-glacial and moraine deposits. A lithological characterisation of the deposits was carried out, and radiocarbon dating and TL analysis were used in an attempt to present the chronostratigraphy and development of glacial and marine events in the Hörbyebreen during the Vistulian and the Holocene.