Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-skm99 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T03:45:49.664Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Late Weichselian Environmental History in Southeastern Sweden during the Deglaciation of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Svante Björck  and
Per Möller
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Late Weichselian litho-, bio-, and chronostratigraphy (14C and varves) in southeastern Sweden provide a detailed picture of the deglaciation pattern and dynamics, shore displacement, late-glacial sedimentation, and history of the landscape, vegetation, and climate. Two plausible glacial models were tested against lithologic, chronologic, and climatic data. Permafrost at and outside the ice margin and topographic conditions beneath the ice apparently caused inward spread of frozen glacier-bed conditions. This led to a buildup of a large zone of debris-rich basal ice. A climatic amelioration about 12,700 yr B.P. changed the temperature profile in the ice sheet. Deposition of basal melt-out till began at the previously frozen glacier bed, and a rapid recession of the clean ice set in; thin exposed debris-rich basal ice which was separated from the active ice margin about 150 yr later. In this zone of stagnant ice there followed a 200– 300-yr period marked by subglacial and supraglacial melt-out and resedimentation, forming a large hummocky/transverse moraine. The mild climate favored rapid plant immigration, and a park-tundra was established. The gradual closing of the landscape was interrupted by a 100- to 150-yr period of tundra vegetation and a cool, dry climate, with local vegetational differences caused by differences in soil moisture. About 12,000 yr B.P. a second climatic amelioration set in, and during the next 1000 yr a birch (and pine) woodland gradually developed. Soils stabilized and Empetrum heaths became abundant as the climate gradually deteriorated at the end of this period. By 11,000 yr B.P. the area had become a tundra again with scattered birch stands, dominated by herbs such as Artemisia, Chenopodiaceae, grasses, and sedges. Some 500 yr later a birch/pine woodland again succeeded, and within about 500 yr the vegetation changed to a rather closed woodland as the climate ameliorated further. However, the time lag between climatic and vegetation change was considerable.

Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , July 1987 , pp. 1 - 37
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aario, R. Classification and terminology of morainic landforms in Finland. Boreas 6 1977 87 100 Google Scholar
Atkinson, T. C. Briffa, K. R. Coope, G. R. Seasonal temperatures in Britain during the past 22,000 years, reconstructed using beetle remains. Nature (London) 325 1987 587 592 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berglund, B. E. Late-Quaternary vegetation in eastern Blekinge, southeastern Sweden: A pollenanalytical study. I. Late-Glacial time. Opera Botanica 12 1 1966 1 180 Google Scholar
Berglund, B. E. Late-glacial stratigraphy and chronology in south Sweden in the light of biostratigraphic studies on Mt. Kullen, Scania. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 93 1971 11 45 Google Scholar
Berglund, B. E. The deglaciation of southern Sweden 13,500-10,000 B.P.. Boreas 8 1979 89 118 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berglund, B. E. Mörner, N.-A. Late Weichselian deglaciation and chronostratigraphy of Southern Scandinavia: Problems and present “state of the arts”. Mörner, N.-A. Karlén, W. Climatic Changes on a Yearly to Millennial Basis. 1984 Reidel Dordrecht 17 24 Google Scholar
Birks, H.J.B. Past and Present Vegetation of the Isle of Skye: A Palaeoecological Study 1973 Cambridge Univ. Press London Google Scholar
Birks, H.J.B. Recent and possible future mathematical developments in quantitative palaeoecology. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 50 1985 107 147 Google Scholar
Björck, S. Late Weichselian stratigraphy of Blekinge, SE Sweden, and water level changes in the Baltic Ice Lake. University of Lund, Department of Quaternary Geology, Thesis 7 1979 1 248 Google Scholar
Björck, S. A stratigraphic study of late Weichselian deglaciation, shore displacement and vegetation history in southeastern Sweden. Fossils and Strata 14 1981 1 93 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Björck, S. Bio- and chronostratigraphic significance of the Older Dryas Chronozone—on the basis of new radiocarbon dates. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 106 1984 81 91 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Björck, S. Berglund, B. E., and Digerfeldt, G. (in press). New aspects on the deglaciation chronology of South Sweden.. Geographia Polonica, 55.Google Scholar
Björck, S. Digerfeldt, G. Late Weichselian shore displacement at Hunneberg, southern Sweden, indicating complex uplift. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlingar 104 1982 132 155 Google Scholar
Björck, S. Digerfeldt, G. Climatic changes at Pleistocene/Holocene boundary in the middle Swedish endmoraine zone, mainly inferred from stratigraphic indications. Mörner, N.-A. Karlén, W. Climatic Changes on a Yearly to Millennial Basis. 1984 Reidel Dordrecht 37 56 Google Scholar
Björck, S. Digerfeldt, G. Late Weichselian-early Holocene shore displacement west of Mt. Billingen, within the middle Swedish end-moraine zone. Boreas 15 1986 1 18 Google Scholar
Björck, S. Håkansson, S. Radiocarbon dates from late Weichselian lake sediments in South Sweden as a basis for chronostratigraphic subdivision. Boreas 11 1982 141 150 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Björck, S. Persson, T. Kristersson, I. Comparison of two concentration methods for pollen in minerogenic sediments. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlinger 100 1978 107 111 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boulton, G. S. Modern Arctic glaciers as depositional models for former ice sheets. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London 128 1972 361 393 Google Scholar
Boulton, G. S. Subglacial processes and the development of glacial bedforms. Arnott, R. Nickling, W. Fahey, B. D. Research in Glacial, Glacio-fluvial and Glacio-lacustrine Systems. Proceedings of the 6th Guelph Symposium on Geomorphology 1980 1982 Geo Books Norwich 1 31 Google Scholar
Brunnberg, L. 14C—daterade lervarv från Stockholmsområdet. 1986 Nordiska Geologmötet Helsinki 19 Abstracts, 17 Google Scholar
Cato, I. The definitive connection of the Swedish geochronological time scale with the present, and the new date of the zero year in Döviken, northern Sweden. Boreas 14 1985 117 122 Google Scholar
Coope, G. R. Fossil coleoptera assemblages as sensitive indicators of climatic change during the Devensian (Last) cold stage. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society in London B 280 1977 313 340 Google Scholar
Coope, G. R. Joachim, M. J. Lateglacial environmental changes interpreted from fossil Coleoptera from St. Bees, Cumbria, NW England. Lowe, J. J. Gray, J. M. Robinson, J. E. Studies in the Lateglacial of North-west Europe. 1980 Pergamon New York 55 68 Google Scholar
Davis, M. B. Brubaker, L. B. Webb, T. III Calibration of absolute pollen influx. Birks, H.J.B. West, R. G. Quaternary Plant Ecology. 1973 Blackwell Oxford 9 25 Google Scholar
Duplessy, J. C. Delibrias, G. Turon, J. L. Pujol, C. Duprat, J. Deglacial warming of the north eastern Atlantic ocean: Correlation with the paleoclimatic evolution on the European continent. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology 35 1981 121 144 Google Scholar
Eyles, N. Eyles, C. H. Miall, A. D. Lithofacies types and vertical profile models: An alternative approach to the description of environmental interpretation of glacial diamict and diamictite sequences. Sedimentology 30 1983 393 410 Google Scholar
Greenacre, M. J. Practical correspondence analysis. Barnett, V. Interpreting Multivariate Data. 1984 Wiley New York 119 146 Google Scholar
Hebrand, M. Hässleholm-Älmhultområdet. Den senaste nedisningens förlopp-IGCP project 73/1/24 symposium in Stockholm 1981 24 26 Google Scholar
Hedberg, H. D. International Stratigraphic Guide 1976 Wiley New York Google Scholar
Hillefors, Å Deglaciation models from the Swedish West Coast. Boreas 8 1979 153 170 Google Scholar
Hooke, R.LeB. Basal temperatures in polar ice sheets: A qualitative review. Quaternary Research 7 1977 1 13 Google Scholar
Hughes, T. J. Numerical reconstruction of paleo-ice sheets. Denton, G. H. Hughes, T. J. The Last Great Ice Sheets. 1981 Wiley New York 222 261 Google Scholar
Johnsson, G. True and false ice-wedges in southern Sweden. Geografiska Annaler 41 1959 15 33 Google Scholar
Johnsson, G. Frostfenomen i tundratidens Blekinge. Blekinges Natur 1982 1982 85 106 Google Scholar
Johnsson, G. Different types of fossil frost fissures in south Sweden. Geologiska Föreningens i Stockholm Förhandlinger 108 1986 167 175 Google Scholar
Kolstrup, E. Late-Glacial pollen diagrams from Hjelm and Draved Mose (Denmark) with a suggestion of the possibility of drought during the Earlier Dryas. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 36 1982 205 230 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kristiansson, J. The Ice-Recession in the South-eastern Part of Sweden: A Varve-Chronological Time Scale for the Latest Part of the Late Weichselian 1986 1 132 University of Stockholm, Department of Quaternary Research Report 7 Google Scholar
Lagerlund, E. Litostratigrafisk indelning av Västskånes Pleistocen och en ny deglaciationsmodell för Weichsel. 1980 University of Lund, Department of Quaternary Geology 1 120 Report 21 Google Scholar
Lagerlund, E. (in press). An alternative Weichselian glaciation model with special reference to the glacial history of Skåne, South Sweden.. Boreas .CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lagerlund, E. Björck, S. Lithostratigraphy of the Quaternary Deposits in Blekinge, Sweden 1979 University of Lund, Department of Quaternary Geology 1 65 Report 17 Google Scholar
Lagerlund, E. Knutsson, G. Åmark, M. Hebrand, M. Jönsson, L.-O. Karlgren, B. Kristiansson, J. Möller, P. Robison, J. M. Sandren, P. Terne, T. Waldemarsson, D. The Deglaciation Pattern and Dynamics in South Sweden, a Preliminary Report 1983 1 7 LUNDQUA Report 24 Google Scholar
Lidmar-Bergström, K. Pre-Quaternary geomorphological evolution in southern Fennoscandia. Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning C 785 1980 1 202 Google Scholar
Mangerud, J. Andersen, S. T. Berglund, B. E. Donner, J. J. Quaternary stratigraphy of Norden, a proposal for terminology and classification. Boreas 3 1974 109 127 Google Scholar
Mark, D. M. Analysis of axial orientation data, including till fabrics. Geological Society of America Bulletin 84 1973 1367 1374 Google Scholar
Maxwell, J. A. Davis, M. B. Pollen evidence of Pleistocene and Holocene vegetation on the Allegheny Plateau, Maryland. Quaternary Research 2 1973 506 530 Google Scholar
Mix, A. C. Ruddiman, W. F. Oxygen-isotope analyses and Pleistocene ice volume. Quaternary Research 20 1984 1 20 Google Scholar
Moran, S. R. Clayton, L. Hooke, R.LeB. Fenton, M. M. Andriashek, L. D. Glacier-bed landforms of the prairie region of North America. Journal of Glaciology 25 1980 457 476 Google Scholar
Möller, P. Åsnenområdet.” Den senaste nedisningens förlopp. IGCP project 73/1/24 symposium in Stockholm. 1981 27 28 Google Scholar
Möller, P. Moraine Morphology, Till Genesis and Deglaciation Pattern in the Åsnen Area, Southcentral Småland, Sweden. LUNDQUA thesis 20 1987 in press Google Scholar
Mörner, N.-A. Climatic framework of the end of the Pleistocene and the Holocene: Paleoclimatic variations during the last 35,000 years. Géographie Physique Quaternaire 31 1977 23 35 Google Scholar
Påhlsson, I. Bergh Alm, K. Pollen-analytical studies of the cores 14103-3 and 14102-1 from the western Baltic. Palaeo-ecology Reflected in Physical and Chemical Properties of Three Baltic Cores. Borg, G.Ch. Striae 23 1985 74 82 Google Scholar
Rind, D. Peteet, D. Broecker, W. McIntyre, A. Ruddiman, W. The impact of cold North Atlantic sea surface temperatures on climate: Implications for the Younger Dryas cooling (11-10k). Climate Dynamics 1 1986 3 34 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ringberg, B. Glacialgeologi och isavsmältning i östra Blekinge. Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning C 661 1971 1 174 Google Scholar
Ringberg, B. Varve chronology of the glacial sediments in Blekinge and northeastern Skåne, southeastern Sweden. Boreas 8 1979 209 215 Google Scholar
Ringberg, B. Rudmark, L. Varve chronology based upon glacial sediments in the area between Karlskrona and Kalmar, southeastern Sweden. Boreas 14 1985 107 110 Google Scholar
Ritchie, J. C. Lichti-Federovich, S. Pollen dispersal phenomena in Arctic-subarctic Canada. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 3 1967 255 266 Google Scholar
Ruddiman, W. F. McIntyre, A. The North Atlantic Ocean during the last deglaciation. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology, Paleoecology 35 1981 145 214 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruddiman, W. F. McIntyre, A. The mode and mechanism of the last deglaciation: Oceanic evidence. Quaternary Research 16 1981 125 134 Google Scholar
Rydström, S. The Värend district during the last glaciation. Geologiska Föreningen i Stockholm Förhandlinger 93 1971 537 552 Google Scholar
Shaw, J. Genesis of tills and Rogen moraines of central Sweden: A model of basal melt-out. Boreas 8 1979 409 426 Google Scholar
Strömberg, B. Revision of the lateglacial Swedish varve chronology. Boreas 14 1985 111 115 Google Scholar
Sugden, D. E. Reconstruction of the morphology, dynamics, and thermal characteristics of the Laurentide ice-sheet at its maximum. Arctic and Alpine Research 9 1977 21 47 Google Scholar
Svedhage, K. Shore Displacement during Late Weichselian and Early Holocene in the Risveden Area, SW Sweden 1985 Chalmers tekniska högskola/Göteborgs universitet, Geologiska institutionen 1 111 Publikation A 51 Google Scholar
van Geel, B. Kolstrup, E. Tentative explanation of the late Glacial and early Holocene climatic changes in North-western Europe. Geologie en Mijnbouw 57 1978 87 89 Google Scholar
Åmark, M. The Deglaciation of the Eastern Part of Skåne, Southern Sweden: A Study of Till and Stratified Drift. LUNDQUA thesis 15 1984 1 124 Google Scholar