Abstract
Correlation of main ice sheet limits in northern continental Europe during Late Weichselian is presented, based on available data concerning occurrence of ice-marginal formations and their radiometric dating. The Late Weichselian maximum ice sheet limit was time-transgressive in this region what has been primarily caused by diversified dynamics of the ice sheet body, composed of several paleo-ice streams developed to the south of the Baltic Basin. The Late Weichselian maximum ice sheet limit was the earliest in Denmark, Germany and western Poland (24-22 cal kyrs BP) but it was younger to the east and northeast (20-17 cal kyrs BP). Such age difference resulted from demarcation of the ice sheet maximum limit by successive glacial advances. They were partly due to varied distances from the ice divide in Scandinavia, making the ice sheet margin to reach its terminal position in different time. Both during the maximum and the most deglacial phases the glacial limits indicated lobate patterns of marginal formations, reflecting outlets of paleo-ice streams within the southern and southeastern fringe of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet to the south of the Baltic Sea basin. During deglaciation numerous readvances and standstills of the ice sheet margin occurred but due to diversified structure of the ice sheet body, its peripheries behaved differently, even in neighboring regions.
Highlights
The term ‘Weichselian’ was introduced for the last Scandinavian glaciation in northern continental Europe by Keilhack (1899), after the German name ‘Weichsel’for the Vistula River
This term has been the most popular in Denmark and Germany, but local names have been widely used in most other European countries, among others including Vistulian in Poland, Poozerian in Belarus, Nemunas in Lithuania, Baltija in Latvia, Järva in Estonia and Valday in Russia
The Late Weichselian has been commonly improperly correlated with the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the latter was conventionally defined from sea-level records and accepted as the most recent interval with maximum volume of global ice sheets
Summary
The term ‘Weichselian’ was introduced for the last Scandinavian glaciation in northern continental Europe by Keilhack (1899), after the German name ‘Weichsel’. A history of investigations of the Late Weichselian glacial limits was initiated by Woldstedt (1925) who distinguished three main glacial phases in central Europe, in turn Brandenburg, Frankfurt and Pomeranian ones. Basing on geomorphological criteria, Lencewicz (1927) distinguished a ‘great oscillation’ in central Poland, at present considered for representing the maximum ice sheet limit during the last Scandinavian glaciation. Limits of glacial phases in Europe during the Late Weichselian and during the last deglaciation have been studied for over 80 years. They were demarcated using mainly morphological and geomorphological criteria (cf Liedke, 1981), but at first without any or with a very limited support from field data. Varying accuracy of the source data makes this contribution to be a provisional state-of-art review and it should be obviously a subject to further corrections and improvement
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