The “Lund Moraine” – the geomorphic limit of the last Young Baltic ice advance in the Öresund region

Abstract

ABSTRACT Here we present geomorphological evidence of a previously unrecognised ∼50 km long, ice-marginal moraine complex in southwestern Skåne, southernmost Sweden, which we name the “Lund Moraine”. This lobate moraine marks a sharp boundary between heavily streamlined and gently undulating landscapes, and closely outlines the extent of the “Lund till/diamicton”. We interpret that the moraine was formed by a northward readvance, corresponding to a last Young Baltic readvance of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet into Öresund. Consequently, we infer that the “Lund till/diamicton” was formed subglacially, in contrast to earlier interpretations of it being a waterlain diamicton. Based on previously published dates, stratigraphically below “Lund till/diamicton”, we infer that this readvance occurred sometime after c. 16 cal. ka BP. This readvance could offer an explanation to the apparent discrepancy of observations of the postglacial marine limit from outside and inside the Lund Moraine. Our observations will hopefully settle the ∼50 years long controversy concerning the extent or even existence of such a readvance into Öresund. We expect that our findings will guide further work towards disentangling the complex deglacial history of Skåne and the wider Öresund region.