The Fennoscandian ice sheet during the Late Weichselian: geothermal evidence

Abstract

Geothermal estimates of the ground surface temperatures for the last glacial cycle in Northern Europe have been analysed. During the Middle and Late Weichselian (55–12 kyr BP), a substantial part of this area was covered by the Fennoscandian ice sheet. The analysis of geothermal data allows reconstructing the limits of ice sheet extent and its basal thermal state in the Late Weichselian. Ground surface temperatures outside the ice sheet were extremely low (from − 7 to − 17 °C). Within the ice sheet, there were both thawed and frozen zones. The revealed temperature pattern is generally consistent with the modern one for ground surface temperatures in Greenland, which makes it possible to consider these ice sheets as analogues. The anomalous climatically induced surface heat flux and orbital insolation of the Earth varied consistently outside the glaciation and independently within the limits of the ice sheet.