Modelling ice-sheet sensitivity to late weichselian environments in the svalbard-barents sea region

Ice-proximal sedimentological features from the northwestern Barents Sea suggest that this region was covered by a grounded ice sheet during the Late Weichselian. However, there is debate as to whether these sediments were deposited by the ice sheet at its maximum or a retreating ice sheet that had covered the whole Barents Sea. To examine the likelihood of total glaciation of the Late Weichselian Barents Sea, a numerical ice-sheet model was run using a range of environmental conditions. Total glaciation of the Barents Sea, originating solely from Svalbard and the northwestern Barents Sea, was not predicted even under extreme environmental conditions. Therefore, if the Barents Sea was completely covered by a grounded Late Weichselian ice sheet, then a mechanism (not accounted for within the glaciological model) by which grounded ice could have formed rapidly within the central Barents Sea, may have been active during the last glaciation. Such mechanisms include (i) grounded ice migration from nearby ice sheets in Scandinavia and the central Barents Sea, (ii) the processes of sea-ice-induced ice-shelf thickening and (iii) isostatic uplift of the central Barents Sea floor.     

Constraints on the Late Weichselian ice sheet over the Barents Sea from observations of raised shorelines

Direct evidence for Late Weichselian grounded glacier ice over extensive areas of the Barents Sea is based largely on indirect observations, including elevations of old shorelines on Svalbard and arguments of isostatic rebound. Such isostatic models are discussed here for two cases representing maximum and minimum ice-sheet reconstructions. In the former model the ice extends over the Kara Sea, whereas in the latter the ice is limited to the Barents Sea and island archipelagos. Comparisons of predictions with observations from a number of areas, including Spitsbergen, Nordaustlandet, Edgeøya, Kong Karls Land, Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya and Finnmark, support arguments for the existence of a large ice sheet over the region at the time of the last glacial maximum. This ice sheet is likely to have had the following characteristics, conclusions that are independent of assumptions made about the Earth's rheological parameters. (i) The maximum thickness of this ice was about 1500–2000 m with the centre of the load occurring to the south and east of Kong Karls Land. (ii) The ice sheet extended out to the western edge of the continental shelf and its maximum thickness over western Spitsbergen was about 800 m. (iii) To the north of Svalberg and Frans Josef Land the ice sheet extended out to the northern shelf edge. (iv) Retreat of the grounded ice across the southern Barents Sea occurred relatively early such that this region was largely ice free by about 15,000 BP. (v) By 12,000 BP the grounded ice had retreated to the northern archipelagos and was largely gone by 10,000 BP. (vi) The ice sheet may have extended to the Kara Sea but ice thicknesses were only a fraction of those proposed in those reconstructions where the maximum ice thickness is centered on Novaya Zemlya. Models for the palaeobathymetry for the Barents Sea at the time of the last glacial maximum indicate that large parts of the Barents Sea were either very shallow or above sea level, providing the opportunity for ice growth on the emerged plateaux, as well as on the islands, but only towards the end of the period of Fennoscandian ice sheet build-up.     

Late Weichselian Glaciation of the Russian High Arctic

A numerical ice-sheet model was used to reconstruct the Late Weichselian glaciation of the Eurasian High Arctic, between Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya. An ice sheet was developed over the entire Eurasian High Arctic so that ice flow from the central Barents and Kara seas toward the northern Russian Arctic could be accounted for. An inverse approach to modeling was utilized, where ice-sheet results were forced to be compatible with geological information indicating ice-free conditions over the Taymyr Peninsula during the Late Weichselian. The model indicates complete glaciation of the Barents and Kara seas and predicts a “maximum-sized” ice sheet for the Late Weichselian Russian High Arctic. In this scenario, full-glacial conditions are characterized by a 1500-m-thick ice mass over the Barents Sea, from which ice flowed to the north and west within several bathymetric troughs as large ice streams. In contrast to this reconstruction, a “minimum” model of glaciation involves restricted glaciation in the Kara Sea, where the ice thickness is only 300 m in the south and which is free of ice in the north across Severnaya Zemlya. Our maximum reconstruction is compatible with geological information that indicates complete glaciation of the Barents Sea. However, geological data from Severnaya Zemlya suggest our minimum model is more relevant further east. This, in turn, implies a strong paleoclimatic gradient to colder and drier conditions eastward across the Eurasian Arctic during the Late Weichselian.     

The Plio-Pleistocene glaciation of the Barents Sea–Svalbard region: a new model based on revised chronostratigraphy

Based on a revised chronostratigraphy, and compilation of borehole data from the Barents Sea continental margin, a coherent glaciation model is proposed for the Barents Sea ice sheet over the past 3.5 million years (Ma). Three phases of ice growth are suggested: (1) The initial build-up phase, covering mountainous regions and reaching the coastline/shelf edge in the northern Barents Sea during short-term glacial intensification, is concomitant with the onset of the Northern Hemisphere Glaciation (3.6–2.4 Ma). (2) A transitional growth phase (2.4–1.0 Ma), during which the ice sheet expanded towards the southern Barents Sea and reached the northwestern Kara Sea. This is inferred from step-wise decrease of Siberian river-supplied smectite-rich sediments, likely caused by ice sheet blockade and possibly reduced sea ice formation in the Kara Sea as well as glacigenic wedge growth along the northwestern Barents Sea margin hampering entrainment and transport of sea ice sediments to the Arctic–Atlantic gateway. (3) Finally, large-scale glaciation in the Barents Sea occurred after 1 Ma with repeated advances to the shelf edge. The timing is inferred from ice grounding on the Yermak Plateau at about 0.95 Ma, and higher frequencies of gravity-driven mass movements along the western Barents Sea margin associated with expansive glacial growth.     

The Barents Sea Ice Sheet — A model of its growth and decay during the last ice maximum

On the basis of geomorphological and sedimentological data, we believe that the entire Barents Sea was covered by grounded ice during the last glacial maximum. ¹⁴C dates on shells embedded in tills suggest marine conditions in the Barents Sea as late as 22 ka BP; and models of the deglaciation history based on uplift data from the northern Norwegian coast suggest that significant parts of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet calved off as early as 15 ka BP. The growth of the ice sheet is related to glacioeustatic fall and the exposure of shallow banks in the central Barents Sea, where ice caps may develop and expand to finally coalesce with the expanding ice masses from Svalbard and Fennoscandia.The outlined model for growth and decay of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet suggests a system which developed and existed under periods of maximum climatic deterioration, and where its growth and decay were strongly related to the fall and rise of sea level.     

Cenozoic erosion and the preglacial uplift of the Svalbard–Barents Sea region

The creation of the huge fans observed in the western Barents Sea margin can only be explained by assuming extremely high glacial erosion rates in the Barents Sea area. Glacial processes capable of producing such high erosion rates have been proposed, but require the largest part of the preglacial Barents Sea to be subaerial. To investigate the validity of these proposals we have attempted to reconstruct the western preglacial Barents Sea. Our approach was to combine erosion maps based on prepublished data into a single mean valued erosion map covering the whole western Barents Sea and consequently use it together with a simple Airy isostatic model to obtain a first rough estimate of the preglacial topography and bathymetry of the western Barents Sea margin. The mean valued erosion map presented herein is in good volumetric agreement with the sediments deposited in the western Barents Sea margin areas, and as a direct consequence of the averaging procedures employed in its construction we can safely assume that it is the most reliable erosion map based on the available information. By comparing the preglacial sequences with the glacial sequences in the fans we have concluded that 1/2 to 2/3 of the total Cenozoic erosion was glacial in origin and therefore a rough reconstruction of the preglacial relief of the western Barents Sea could be obtained. The results show a subaerial preglacial Barents Sea. Thus, during interglacials and interstadials the area may have been partly glaciated and intensively eroded up to 1 mm/y, while during relatively brief periods of peak glaciation with grounded ice extending to the shelf edge, sediments have been evacuated and deposited at the margins at high rates. The interplay between erosion and uplift represents a typical chicken and egg problem; initial uplift is followed by intensive glacial erosion, compensated by isostatic uplift, which in turn leads to the maintenance of an elevated, and glaciated, terrain. The information we have on the initial tectonic uplift suggests that the most likely mechanism to cause an uplift of the dimensions and magnitude of the one observed in the Barents Sea is a thermal mechanism.     

Late Pleistocene glacial and lake history of northwestern Russia

Five regionally significant Weichselian glacial events, each separated by terrestrial and marine interstadial conditions, are described from northwestern Russia. The first glacial event took place in the Early Weichselian. An ice sheet centred in the Kara Sea area dammed up a large lake in the Pechora lowland. Water was discharged across a threshold on the Timan Ridge and via an ice-free corridor between the Scandinavian Ice Sheet and the Kara Sea Ice Sheet to the west and north into the Barents Sea. The next glaciation occurred around 75-70 kyr BP after an interstadial episode that lasted c. 15 kyr. A local ice cap developed over the Timan Ridge at the transition to the Middle Weichselian. Shortly after deglaciation of the Timan ice cap, an ice sheet centred in the Barents Sea reached the area. The configuration of this ice sheet suggests that it was confluent with the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. Consequently, around 70-65 kyr BP a huge ice-dammed lake formed in the White Sea basin (the 'White Sea Lake'), only now the outlet across the Timan Ridge discharged water eastward into the Pechora area. The Barents Sea Ice Sheet likely suffered marine down-draw that led to its rapid collapse. The White Sea Lake drained into the Barents Sea, and marine inundation and interstadial conditions followed between 65 and 55 kyr BP. The glaciation that followed was centred in the Kara Sea area around 55-45 kyr BP. Northward directed fluvial runoff in the Arkhangelsk region indicates that the Kara Sea Ice Sheet was independent of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet and that the Barents Sea remained ice free. This glaciation was succeeded by a c. 20-kyr-long ice-free and periglacial period before the Scandinavian Ice Sheet invaded from the west, and joined with the Barents Sea Ice Sheet in the northernmost areas of northwestern Russia. The study area seems to be the only region that was invaded by all three ice sheets during the Weichselian. A general increase in ice-sheet size and the westwards migrating ice-sheet dominance with time was reversed in Middle Weichselian time to an easterly dominated ice-sheet configuration. This sequence of events resulted in a complex lake history with spillways being re-used and ice-dammed lakes appearing at different places along the ice margins at different times.     

Weichselian sediments at Foss‐Eikeland,Jæren (southwest Norway): sea‐level changes and glaciation history

The Jæren area in southwestern Norway has experienced great changes in sea‐levels and sedimentary environments during the Weichselian, and some of these changes are recorded at Foss‐Eikeland. Four diamictons interbedded with glaciomarine and glaciofluvial sediments are exposed in a large gravel pit situated above the post‐glacial marine limit. The interpretation of these sediments has implications for the history of both the inland ice and the Norwegian Channel Ice Stream. During a Middle Weichselian interstadial, a large glaciofluvial delta prograded into a shallow marine environment along the coast of Jæren. A minor glacial advance deposited a gravelly diamicton, and a glaciomarine diamicton was deposited during a following marine transgression. This subsequently was reworked by grounded ice, forming a well‐defined boulder pavement. The boulder pavement is followed by glaciomarine clay with a lower, laminated part and an upper part of sandy clay. The laminated clay probably was deposited under sea‐ice, whereas more open glaciomarine conditions prevailed during deposition of the upper part. The clay is intersected by clastic dykes protruding from the overlying, late Weichselian till. Preconsolidation values from the marine clay suggest an ice thickness of at least 500 m during the last glacial phase. The large variations in sea‐level probably are a combined effect of eustasy and glacio‐isostatic changes caused by an inland ice sheet and an ice stream in the Norwegian Channel. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Weichselian stratigraphy and palaeoenvironments at Bellsund, western Svalbard

A coastal cliff facing the ocean at the west coast of Spitsbergen has been studied, and seven formations of Weichselian and Holocene age have been identified. A reconstruction of the palaeoenvironment and glacial history shows that most of the sediments cover isotope stage 5. From the base of the section, the formation 1 and 2 tills show a regional glaciation that reached the continental shelf shortly after the Eemian. Formation 3 consists of glacimarine to marine sediments dated to 105,000–90,000 BP. Amino acid diagenesis indicates that they were deposited during a c . 10,000-year period of continuous isostatic depression, which indicates contemporaneous glacial loading in the Barents Sea. Foraminifera and molluscs show influx of Atlantic water masses along the west coast of Svalbard at the same time. Local glaciers advanced during the latter part of this period, probably due to the penetration of moist air masses, and deposited formation 4. A widespread weathering horizon shows that the glacial retreat was succeeded by subaerial conditions during the Middle Weichselian. Formation 5 is a till deposited during the Late Weichselian glacial maximum in this area. The glaciation was dominated by ice streams from a dome over southern Spitsbergen, and the last deglaciation of the outer coast is dated to 13,000 BP. A correlation of the events with other areas on Svalbard is discussed, and at least two periods of glaciation in the Barents Sea during the Weichselian are suggested.     

Maximum extent of the Eurasian ice sheets in the Barents and Kara Sea region during the Weichselian

Based on field investigations in northern Russia and interpretation of offshore seismic data, we have made a preliminary reconstruction of the maximum ice-sheet extent in the Barents and Kara Sea region during the Early/Middle Weichselian and the Late Weichselian. Our investigations indicate that the Barents and Kara ice sheets attained their maximum Weichselian positions in northern Russia prior to 50 000 yr BP, whereas the northeastern flank of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet advanced to a maximum position shortly after 17 000 calendar years ago. During the Late Weichselian (25 000-10 000 yr BP), much of the Russian Arctic remained ice-free. According to our reconstruction, the extent of the ice sheets in the Barents and Kara Sea region during the Late Weichselian glacial maximum was less than half that of the maximum model which, up to now, has been widely used as a boundary condition for testing and refining General Circulation Models (GCMs). Preliminary numerical-modelling experiments predict Late Weichselian ice sheets which are larger than the ice extent implied for the Kara Sea region from dated geological evidence, suggesting very low precipitation.     

Relative sea‐level changes,glacial isostatic modelling and ice‐sheet reconstructions from the British Isles since the Last Glacial Maximum

While contributing <1 m equivalent eustatic sea‐level rise the British Isles ice sheet produced glacio‐isostatic rebound in northern Britain of similar magnitude to eustatic sea‐level change, or global meltwater influx, over the last 18 000 years. The resulting spatially variable relative sea‐level changes combine with observations from far‐field locations to produce a rigorous test for quantitative models of glacial isostatic adjustment, local ice‐sheet history and global meltwater influx. After a review of the attributes of relative sea‐level observations significant for constraining large‐scale models of the isostatic adjustment process we summarise long records of relative sea‐level change from the British Isles and far‐field locations. We give an overview of different global theoretical models of the isostatic adjustment process before presenting intercomparisons of observed and predicted relative sea levels at sites in the British Isles and far‐field for a range of Earth and ice model parameters in order to demonstrate model sensitivity and the resolving power available from using evidence from the British Isles. For the first time we show a good degree of fit between relative sea‐level observations and predictions that are based upon global Earth and ice model parameters, independently derived from analysis of far‐field data, with a terrain‐corrected model of the British Isles ice sheet that includes extensive glaciation of the North Sea and western continental shelf, that does not assume isostatic equilibrium at the Last Glacial Maximum and keeps to trimline constraints of ice surface elevation. We do not attempt to identify a unique solution for the model lithosphere thickness parameter or the local‐scale detail of the ice model in order to provide a fit for all sites, but argue that the next stage should be to incorporate an ice‐sheet model that is based on quantitative, glaciological model simulations. We hope that this paper will stimulate this debate and help to integrate research in glacial geomorphology, glaciology, sea‐level change, Earth rheology and quantitative modelling. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Weichselian geology and palaeoenvironmental history of the central Taymyr Peninsula, Siberia, indicating no glaciation during the last global glacial maximum

The Taymyr Peninsula constitutes the eastern delimitation of a possible Kara Sea basin ice sheet. The existence of such an ice sheet during the last global glacial maximum (LGM), i.e. during the Late Weichselian/Upper Zyryansk, is favoured by some Russian scientists. However, a growing number of studies point towards a more minimalistic view concerning the areal extent of Late Weichselian/Upper Zyryansk Siberian glaciation. Investigations carried out by us along the central Byrranga Mountains and in the Taymyr Lake basin south thereof, reject the possibility of a Late Weichselian/Upper Zyryansk glaciation of this area. Our conclusion is based on the following: Dating of a continuous lacustrine sediment sequence at Cape Sabler on the Taymyr Lake shows that it spans at least the period 39-17 ka BP. Even younger ages have been reported, suggesting that this lacustrine environment prevailed until shortly before the Holocene. The distribution of these sediments indicates the existence of a paleo-Taymyr lake reaching c. 60 m above present sea level. A reconnaissance of the central part of the Byrranga Mountains gave no evidence of any more recent glacial coverage. The only evidence of glaciation - an indirect one - is deltaic sequences around 100-120 m a.s.l., suggesting glacio-isostatic depression and a large input of glacial meltwater from the north. However, ¹⁴C and ESR datings of these marine sediments suggest that they are of Early Weichselian/Lower Zyryansk or older age. As they are not covered by till and show no glaciotectonic disturbances, they support our opinion that there was no Late Weichselian/Lower Zyryansk glaciation in this area. We thus suggest that the Taymyr Peninsula was most probably glaciated during the early part of the last glacial cycle (when there was only small- to medium-scale glaciation in Scandinavia), but not glaciated during the later part of that cycle (which had the maximum ice-sheet coverage over north-western Europe). This fits a climatic scenario suggesting that the Taymyr area, like most of Siberia, would come into precipitation shadow during times with large-scale ice-sheet coverage of Scandinavia and the rest of north-western Europe.     

Numerical reconstructions of the Eurasian Ice Sheet and climate during the Late Weichselian

Geological investigations undertaken through the Quaternary Environments of the Eurasian North programme established ice-sheet limits for the Eurasian Arctic at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), sedimentary records of palaeo-ice streams and uplift information relating to ice-sheet configuration and the pattern of deglaciation. Ice-sheet numerical modelling was used to reconstruct a history of the Eurasian Ice Sheet compatible with these geological datasets. The result was a quantitative assessment of the time-dependent behaviour of the ice sheet, its mass balance and climate, and predictions of glaciological products including sediments, icebergs and meltwater. At the LGM, ice cover was continuous from Scandinavia to the Arctic Ocean margin of the Barents Sea to the north, and the Kara Sea to the east. In the west, along the continental margin between the Norwegian Channel and Svalbard, the ice sheet was characterised by fast flowing ice streams occupying bathymetric troughs, which fed large volumes of sediment to the continental margin that were deposited as a series of trough mouth fans. Ice streams may also have been present in bathymetric troughs to the north between Svalbard and Franz Josef Land. Further east, however, the ice sheet was thinner. Across the Kara Sea, the ice thickness was predicted to be less than 300 m, while on Severnaya Zemlya the ice cover may have been thinner at the LGM than at present. It is likely that the Taymyr Peninsula was mainly free of ice at the LGM. In the south, the ice margin was located close to the shoreline of the Russian mainland. The climate associated with this ice sheet is maritime to the west and, in stark contrast, desert-like in the east. Atmospheric General Circulation Modelling has revealed that such a contrast is possible under relatively warm north Atlantic conditions because a circulation system develops across the Kara Sea, isolating it from the moisture-laden westerlies, which are diverted to the south. Ice-sheet decay began through enhanced iceberg calving in the deepest regions of the Barents Sea, which caused a significant ice embayment within the Bear Island Trough. By about 12,000 years ago, further iceberg calving reduced ice extent to the northern archipelagos and their surrounding shallow seas. Ice decay was complete by about 10,000 years ago.     

Sea‐level change in the Irish Sea since the Last Glacial Maximum: constraints from isostatic modelling

Models of glacio‐hydroisostatic sea‐level change have been published for the British Isles that are broadly consistent with the observational evidence, as well as with glaciological constraints. It has been argued, however, that the models fail to represent sea‐level change along the Irish Sea margins and in southern Ireland for the post‐deglaciation period. The argument rests on the interpretation of the depositional environment of the elevated ‘Irish Sea Drift’ on both sides of the Irish Sea: whether this is terrestrial or glaciomarine. The isostatic models for the British Isles are consistent with the former interpretation in that sea‐levels on either side of the Irish Sea, south of about the Isle of Man, are not predicted to have risen above present sea‐level at any time since the deglaciation of the Irish Sea. This implies that ice over both the Irish Sea and Ireland was relatively thin (ca. 600–700 m over Ireland). If the glaciomarine interpretation of the elevated Irish Sea Drift is correct, then the maximum ice thickness over central and southern Ireland would have to reach 2000 m, exceeding that over Scotland. Furthermore, for the resulting sea‐level change to be consistent with the Holocene evidence, this thick ice sheet could not have extended to the eastern side of the Irish Sea. Nor could it have been very thick at its northern and western limits. If such an ice model is extreme and incompatible with glaciological observations then the alternative is to accept the interpretation of the Irish Sea Drift as terrestrial in origin. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ice age climates of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea

Marine geological information is synthesized to provide the most comprehensive history available of sea surface conditions of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea during the Neogene ice age. The initiation of glaciation in this region at approximately 3.0 Ma can be inferred only from indirect sources. DSDP Leg 38 recovery in glacial sections is summarized, and the research of CLIMAP members is reviewed. Quarternary sediments of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea are compared to Arctic, Antarctic, and North Atlantic regions. Evidence concerning the existence of permanent ice cover during glacial stages is considered to be inconclusive. Warning of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea at the end of the Weichselian Glacial Stage began approximately 13,000 abp, and there is no demonstratable concordance between oceanic conditions and terrestrial climates of Scandinavian after North Atlantic water re-enterred this sea. Recession of an ice shelf of unknown extent on the continental margin northwest of Möre, Norway is inferred from slope sediments and physiography.     

Early Weichselian palaeoenvironments reconstructed from a mega-scale thrust-fault complex, Kanin Peninsula, northwestern Russia

A section, almost 20 km long and up to 80 m high, through alternating layers of diamict and sorted sediments is superbly exposed on the north coast of the Kanin Peninsula, northwestern Russia. The diamicts represent multiple glacial advances by the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea ice sheets during the Weichselian. The diamicts and stratigraphically older lacustrine, fluvial and shallow marine sediments have been thrust as nappes by the Barents Sea and Kara Sea ice sheets. Based on stratigraphic position, OSL dating, sea level information and pollen, it is evident that the sorted sediments were deposited in the Late Eemian-Early Weichselian. Sedimentation started in lake basins and continued in shallow marine embayments when the lakes opened to the sea. The observed transition from lacustrine to shallow marine sedimentation could represent coastal retreat during stable or rising sea level.     

Mezen Bay—a key area for understanding Weichselian glaciations in northern Russia

Sediment successions in coastal cliffs around Mezen Bay, southeastern White Sea, record an unusually detailed history of former glaciations, interstadial marine and fluvial events from the Weichselian. A regional glaciation model for the Weichselian is based on new data from the Mezen Bay area and previously published data from adjacent areas. Following the Mikulinian (Eemian) interglacial a shelf‐centred glaciation in the Kara Sea is reflected in proglacial conditions at 100–90 ka. A local ice‐cap over the Timan ridge existed between 75 and 65 ka. Renewed glaciation in the Kara Sea spread southwestwards around 60 ka only, interrupted by a marine inundation, before it advanced to its maximum position at about 55–50 ka. After a prolonged ice‐free period, the Scandinavian ice‐sheet invaded the area from the west and terminated east of Mezen Bay about 17 ka. The previously published evidence of a large ice‐dammed lake in the central Arkhangelsk region, Lake Komi, finds no support in this study. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Marine glacial and interglacial stratigraphy in Vendsyssel, northern Denmark: foraminifera and stable isotopes

The marine Quaternary of Vendsyssel has been studied in a series of new boreholes in the area, and the climatic development is discussed on the basis of foraminiferal assemblages and stable isotopes. The foraminiferal zones are correlated with previously published records from northern Denmark, and the spatial local and regional distribution is discussed in details based on the new evidence. The new data show that the marine sedimentation in Vendsyssel was not continuous from the Late Saalian to the Middle Weichselian, as previously thought. For example, there is indication of a hiatus at our key site, Åsted Vest in the central part of Vendsyssel, at the transition between regional foraminiferal zones N4 and N3, i.e. at the Late Saalian (MIS 6) – Eemian (MIS 5e) transition. The hitherto most complete Early Weichselian succession (zone N2) in Vendsyssel is presented from Åsted Vest. Deposits from the Early Weichselian sea‐level lowstands (MIS 5d and 5b) may, however, be missing in parts of the area. Two major breaks in the marine deposition during the Middle Weichselian represent glacial advances into northern Denmark. The first event occurred just after deposition of the regional foraminiferal zone N2 (late MIS 4), and the second event in the middle part of zone N1 (early MIS 3). Zone N1 is succeeded by a series of non‐marine units deposited during the sea‐level lowstand of the Weichselian maximum glaciation (late MIS 3 and MIS 2), including deeply incised tunnel valleys, which have been refilled with non‐marine sediments during the Late Weichselian. Vendsyssel was inundated by the sea again during the Late Weichselian, at c. 18 kyr BP. Subsequently, the marine conditions were gradually changed by forced regression caused by local isostatic uplift, and around the Weichselian–Holocene transition most of Vendsyssel was above sea level. A continuous deposition across the Late Weichselian–Holocene boundary only occurred at relatively deep sites such as Skagen. The environmental and climatic indications for Vendsyssel are in accordance with the global sea‐level curve, and the Quaternary record is correlated with the oxygen isotope record from the NorthGRIP ice core, as well as the marine isotope stages.     

A critical review of the glaciomarine model for Irish sea deglaciation: evidence from southern Britain,the Celtic shelf and adjacent continental slope

In support of their ‘glaciomarine’ model for the deglaciation of the Irish Sea basin, Eyles and McCabe cited the occurrence of distal glaciomarine mud drapes onshore in the Isles of Scilly and North Devon, and of arctic beach‐face gravels and sands around the shores of the Celtic Sea. Glacial and sea‐level data from the southern part of the Irish Sea in the terminal zone of the ice stream and the adjacent continental slope are reviewed here to test this aspect of the model. The suggestion that the glacial sequences of both the Isles of Scilly and Fremington in North Devon are glaciomarine mud drapes is rejected. An actively calving tidewater margin only occurred early in the deglacial sequence close to the terminal zone in the south‐central Celtic Sea. Relative sea‐levels were lower, and therefore glacio‐isostatic depression less, than envisaged in the glaciomarine model. Geochronological, sedimentological and biostratigraphical data indicate that the raised beach sequences around the shores of the Celtic Sea and English Channel were deposited at, or during regression soon after, interglacial eustatic highstands. Evidence for ice‐rafting at a time of high relative sea‐levels is restricted to a phase(s) earlier than the Late Devensian. These data indicate that the raised beach sequences have no bearing on the style of Irish Sea deglaciation. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Glacio‐isostatic age modelling and Late Weichselian deglaciation of the Lögurinn basin,East Iceland

Knowledge of the glaciation of central East Iceland between 15 and 9 cal. ka BP is important for the understanding of the extent, retreat and dynamics of the Icelandic Ice Sheet. Crucially, it is not known if the key area of Fljótsdalur‐Úthérað carried a fast‐flowing ice stream during the Last Glacial Maximum; the timing and mode of deglaciation is unclear; and the history and ages of successive lake‐phases in the Lögurinn basin are uncertain. We use the distribution of glacial and fluvioglacial deposits and gradients of former lake shorelines to reconstruct the glaciation and deglaciation history, and to constrain glacio‐isostatic age modelling. We conclude that during the Last Glacial Maximum, Fljótsdalur‐Úthérað was covered by a fast‐flowing ice stream, and that the Lögurinn basin was deglaciated between 14.7 and 13.2 cal. ka BP at the earliest. The Fljótsdalur outlet glacier re‐advanced and reached a temporary maximum extent on two separate occasions, during the Younger Dryas and the Preboreal. In the Younger Dryas, about 12.1 cal. ka BP, the outlet glacier reached the Tjarnarland terminal zone, and filled the Lögurinn basin. During deglaciation, a proglacial lake formed in the Lögurinn basin. Through time, gradients of ice‐lake shorelines increased as a result of continuous but non‐uniform glacio‐isostatic uplift as the Fljótsdalur outlet glacier retreated across the Valþjófsstaður terminal zone. Changes in shoreline gradients are defined as a function of time, expressed with an exponential equation that is used to model ages of individual shorelines. A glaciolacustrine phase of Lake Lögurinn existed between 12.1 and 9.1 cal. ka BP; as the ice retreated from the basin catchment, a wholly lacustrine phase of Lake Lögurinn commenced and lasted until about 4.2 cal. ka BP when neoglacial ice expansion started the current glaciolacustrine phase of the lake.