Chapter 30 - Northern Central Europe: glacial landforms prior to the Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract

The Weichselian (Last Glacial Cycle) palaeoclimate in Central Europe was quite diverse, with several recurrent temperate-to-cold intervals. Despite glaciations occurring during the pre-Last Glacial Maximum (pre-LGM) part of the Weichselian in Northern Europe, ice-free conditions with extensive fluvial and more limited lacustrine deposits prevailed during that time in Central Europe. There is no unequivocal indication of any Weichselian pre-LGM [Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5–3] glacial landforms in the present landscape of Central Europe. Deposits of the postulated pre-LGM advances of the European Ice Sheet Complex (EISC) were found at several sites in Northern Central Europe but commonly, not at the surface. The Late Pleistocene sedimentary sequence in a stratotype area of the Lower Vistula Valley consists of up to five tills overlying the Eemian (MIS 5e) marine deposits, among which three tills were ascribed to post-MIS 5e and pre-LGM advances of the EISC in this area. According to the available data, the Baltic Sea Basin was probably occupied by an ice sheet during the pre-LGM part of the Weichselian and some part of the Southeastern Baltic Sea region could have been occupied by the EISC during MIS 4 and possibly at the very beginning of MIS 3, but the southern limit of this ice sheet has not been firmly identified yet.