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.     

Saalian to Weichselian stratigraphy and sedimentation along the Lågjæren – Høgjæren escarpment,southwest Norway

Quaternary sediments along a profile crossing the southern part of the Jæren escarpment, southwestern Norway, have been investigated with regard to their glacial history and sea-level variations. Deposits from at least three glaciations and two ice-free periods between Oxygen Isotope Stage 6 and the Late Weichselian have been identified. Subglacial till directly overlain by a glaciomarine regressional succession indicates a deglaciation, and amino acid ratios in Elphidium excavatum between 0.083 and 0.118 date this event to Oxygen Isotope Stage 6. Sea-level dropped from 130 to below 110 m a.s.l. Subsequently, a short-lived ice advance deposited a marginal moraine and a sandur locally on the escarpment. Stratigraphical position and luminescence dates around 148 ka BP suggest deposition during the final stage 6 deglaciation. A Late Weichselian till covers most of the surface of Jæren. In addition to a well documented westerly ice flow, glaciotectonic indications of ice flow towards the north have been found. Ice flow directions and a hiatus between Oxygen Isotope Stage 6 and the Weichselian indicate enhanced erosion along the escarpment and the influence of a Norwegian Channel ice-stream. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Middle to Late Weichselian Norwegian Channel Ice Stream deposits and morphology on Jæren, southwestern Norway and the eastern North Sea area

Glacial lineations on a bank area and a coastal lowland, both bordering the Norwegian Channel, are studied with regard to morphology and distribution by means of side-scan sonar data, detailed digital maps and fieldwork. Their genesis and age are further elucidated through stratigraphic and sedimentologic information from excavations in one typical coast-parallel drumlin. Four excavated sections revealed four lithologic units: Prodeltaic glaciomarine sand, glaciofluvial gravel, glaciomarine diamicton and deformation till. After Middle Weichselian delta progradation, glaciomarine diamicton was deposited and later subglacially reworked by a northwards flowing glacier. The two upper diamictons form the main volume of the ridge, which is interpreted as a drumlin, and imply a reinterpretation of the Jæren part of the so-called Lista moraine. Preconsolidation of glaciomarine diamicton suggests a maximum ice thickness of 500 m during drumlin formation, indicating an ice surface slope of 1 m/km. The occurrence of sediments that provided low basal shear stresses, and the orientation of drumlins and megaflutes indicating ice confluence both point to high glacier flow velocities and suggest that an ice stream, rather than a slower moving part of the ice sheet, occupied the Norwegian Channel during the Late Weichselian maximum. Deformation till overlying, more or less, undeformed glaciomarine diamicton suggests that high glacier velocities during periods of low driving stresses were possible due to a subglacial deformable layer.     

Recurrent interaction between the Norwegian Channel Ice Stream and terrestrial‐based ice across southwest Norway

The occurrence of till beds alternating with glaciomarine sediment spanning oxygen isotope stages 6 to 2, combined with morphological evidence, shows that the southwestern fringe of Norway was inundated by an ice stream flowing through the Norwegian Channel on at least four occasions, the last time being during the Late Weichselian maximum. All marine units are deglacial successions composed of muds with dropstones and diamictic intrabeds and a foraminiferal fauna characteristic of extreme glaciomarine environments. Land‐based ice, flowing at right angles to the flow direction of the ice stream, fed into the ice stream along an escarpment formed by erosion of the ice stream. Each time the ice stream wasted back, land‐based ice advanced into the area formerly occupied by the ice stream. During the last deglaciation of the ice stream (c. 15 ka BP), the advance of the land‐based ice occurred immediately upon ice stream retreat. As a result, the sea was prevented from inundating the upland areas, allowing most of the glacioisostatic readjustment to occur before the land‐based ice melted back at about 13 ka BP. This explains the low Late Weichselian sea levels in the area (10–20 m) compared with those of the Middle Weichselian and older sea‐level high stands (～200 m). Regional tectonic movements cannot explain the location of the observed marine successions. The highest sea level recorded (>200 m) is represented by glaciomarine sediments from the Sandnes interstadial (30–34 ka BP). Older interstadial marine sediments are found at somewhat lower levels, possibly as a result of subsequent glacial erosion in these deposits. Ice streams developed in the Norwegian Channel during three Weichselian time intervals. This seems to correspond to glacial episodes both to the south in Denmark and to the north on the coast of Norway, although correlations are somewhat hampered by insufficient dating control.     

Late Quaternary ice sheet, lake and sea history of southwest Scandinavia – a synthesis

Based on a large number of new boreholes in northern Denmark, and on the existing data, a revised event‐stratigraphy is presented for southwestern Scandinavia. Five significant Late Saalian to Late Weichselian glacial events, each separated by periods of interglacial or interstadial marine or glaciolacustrine conditions, are identified in northern Denmark. The first glacial event is attributed to the Late Saalian c. 160–140 kyr BP, when the Warthe Ice Sheet advanced from easterly and southeasterly directions through the Baltic depression into Germany and Denmark. This Baltic ice extended as far as northern Denmark, where it probably merged with the Norwegian Channel Ice Stream (NCIS) and contributed to a large discharge of icebergs into the Norwegian Sea. Following the break up, marine conditions were established that persisted from the Late Saalian until the end of the Early Weichselian. The next glaciation occurred c. 65–60 kyr BP, when the Sundsøre ice advanced from the north into Denmark and the North Sea, where the Scandinavian and British Ice Sheets merged. During the subsequent deglaciation, large ice‐dammed lakes formed before the ice disintegrated in the Norwegian Channel, and marine conditions were re‐established. The following Ristinge advance from the Baltic, initiated c. 55 kyr BP, also reached northern Denmark, where it probably merged with the NCIS. The deglaciation, c. 50 kyr BP, was followed by a long period of marine arctic conditions. Around 30 kyr BP, the Scandinavian Ice Sheet expanded from the north into the Norwegian Channel, where it dammed the Kattegat ice lake. Shortly after, c. 29 kyr BP, the Kattegat advance began, and once again the Scandinavian and British Ice Sheets merged in the North Sea. The subsequent retreat to the Norwegian Channel led to the formation of Ribjerg ice lake, which persisted from 27 to 23 kyr BP. The expansion of the last ice sheet started c. 23 kyr BP, when the main advance occurred from north–northeasterly directions into Denmark. An ice‐dammed lake was formed during deglaciation, while the NCIS was still active. During a re‐advance and subsequent retreat c. 19 kyr BP, a number of tunnel‐valley systems were formed in association with ice‐marginal positions. The NCIS finally began to break up in the Norwegian Sea 18.8 kyr BP, and the Younger Yoldia Sea inundated northern Denmark around 18 kyr BP. The extensive amount of new and existing data applied to this synthesis has provided a better understanding of the timing and dynamics of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) during the last c. 160 kyr. Furthermore, our model contributes to the understanding of the timing of the occasional release of large quantities of meltwater from the southwestern part of the SIS that are likely to enter the North Atlantic and possibly affect the thermohaline circulation.     

Configuration,history and impact of the Norwegian Channel Ice Stream

The Norwegian Channel between Skagerrak, in the southeast, and the continental margin of the northern North Sea, in the northwest, is the result of processes related to repeated ice stream activity through the last 1.1 m yr. In such periods the Skagerrak Trough (700 m deep) has acted as a confluence area for glacial ice from southeastern Norway, southern Sweden and parts of the Baltic. Possibly related to the threshold in the Norwegian Channel off Jæren (250 m deep), the ice stream, on a number of occasions over the last 400 ka, inundated the coastal lowlands and left an imprint of NW‐oriented ice directional features (drumlins, stone orientations in tills and striations). Marine interstadial sediments found up to 200 m a.s.l. on Jæren have been suggested to reflect glacial isostasy related to the Norwegian Channel Ice Stream (NCIS). In the channel itself, the ice stream activity is evidenced by mega‐scale glacial lineations on till surfaces. As a result of subsidence, the most complete sedimentary records of early phases of the NCIS are preserved close to the continental margin in the North Sea Fan region. The strongest evidence for ice stream erosion during the last glacial phase is found in the Skagerrak. On the continental slope the ice stream activity is evidenced by the large North Sea Fan, which is mainly a result of deposition of glacial‐fed debris flows. Northwards of the North Sea Fan, rapid deposition of meltwater plume deposits, possibly related to the NCIS, is detected as far north as the Vøring Plateau. The NCIS system offers a unique possibility to study ice stream related processes and the impact the ice stream development had on open ocean sedimentation and circulation.     

Signature and timing of the Kattegat Ice Stream: onset of the Last Glacial Maximum sequence at the southwestern margin of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet

At the end of the Middle Weichselian (30–25 ka BP) a glacier advance from southern Norway, termed the Kattegat Ice Stream, covered northern Denmark, the Kattegat Sea floor and the Swedish West Coast during onset of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) at the southwest margin of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. The lithostratigraphic unit deposited by the ice stream is the till of the Kattegat Formation (Kattegat till). Because morphological features have been erased by later glacial events, stratigraphic control and timing are decisive. The former ice stream is identified by the dispersal of Oslo indicator erratics from southern Norway and by glaciodynamic structures combined with glaciotectonic deformation of subtill sediments. Ice movement was generally from northerly directions and the flow pattern is fan-shaped in marginal areas. To the east, the Kattegat Ice Stream was flanked by passive glaciers in southern Sweden and its distribution was probably governed by the presence of low permeability and highly deformable marine and lacustrine deposits. When glaciers from southern Norway blocked the Norwegian Channel, former marine basins in the Skagerrak and Kattegat experienced glaciolacustrine conditions around 31–29 ka BP. The Kattegat Ice Stream became active some time between 29 ka BP and 26 ka BP, when glaciers from the Oslo region penetrated deep into the shallow depression occupied by the Kattegat Ice Lake. Deglaciation and an interlude with periglacial and glaciolacustrine sedimentation lasted until c. 24–22 ka BP and were succeeded by the Main Glacier Advance from central Sweden reaching the limit of Late Weichselian glaciations in Denmark around 22–20 ka BP, the peak of the LGM. This was followed by deglaciation and marine inundation in the Kattegat and Skagerrak around 17 ka BP.     

Investigating the last deglaciation of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in southwest Sweden with 10Be exposure dating

In this study we have obtained 17 cosmogenic exposure ages from three well‐developed moraine systems – Halland Coastal Moraines (HCM), Göteborg Moraine (GM) and Levene Moraine (LM) – which were formed during the last deglaciation in southwest Sweden by the Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS). The inferred ages of the inner HCM, GM and LM are 16.7 ± 1.6, 16.1 ± 1.4 and 13.6 ± 1.4 ka, respectively, which is slightly older than previous estimates of the deglaciation based on the minimum limiting radiocarbon ages and pollen stratigraphy. During this short interval from 16.7 ± 1.6 to 13.6 ± 1.4 ka a large part (100–125 km) of the marine‐based sector of the SIS in southwest Sweden was deglaciated, giving an average ice margin retreat between 20 to 50 m a^?1. The inception of the deglaciation pre‐dated the Bølling/Allerød warming, the rapid sea level rise at 14.6 cal. ka BP and the first inflow of warm Atlantic waters into Skagerrak. We suggest that ice retreat in southwest Sweden is mainly a dynamical response governed by the disintegration of the Norwegian Channel Ice Stream and not primarily driven by climatic changes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Problems of moraine morphology: Rogen moraine and Blattnick moraine

In Västerbotten County, Sweden, both Rogen moraine and Blattnick moraine are common in the inner part of the county. Rogen moraines are found primarily in basins and upslope positions, whereas the Blattnick type (first found in the Blattnicksele area in the county) mostly occurs in broader, more plain-like areas. Moreover, both types show a great variety of individual forms, due to topography, basal conditions and ice tectonics. Most Rogen moraine ridges are characterized by features due to active ice. The Blattnick moraine type is characterized by broader and more drumlinized ridges. They are often proximally higher and laterally-distally extended, thus merging into streamlined mounds or hills. The material composition of Rogen and Blattnick moraines is similar. The authors have found the following sequence of transitional forms from the Scandinavian mountains in the west towards the east: (1) Rogen moraines, (2) crescent ridges, (3) Blattnick moraines, (4) drumlins.     

Deglaciation history of the southwestern Fennoscandian Ice Sheet between 15 and 13 14C ka BP

Analysis of 2D and 3D seismic records from the continental shelf off western Norway, in combination with chronological constraints from ¹⁴C dates, has led to a model for the glacial development in these shelf areas between c. 15 and 13 ¹⁴C ka BP. On the shallow Måløy Plateau adjacent to the Norwegian Channel, iceberg scours are preserved below a prominent moraine ridge, which by correlation to the Norwegian Channel indicate ice retreat at c. 15 ¹⁴C ka BP. Subsequently, the ice advanced across the scoured surface and deposited a till sheet before stabilizing to deposit a prominent moraine, termed the Bremanger Moraine. Based on location on the shelf, seismic stratigraphy, morphology and C dates the Bremanger Moraine is correlated with a significant moraine on the continental shelf off Trøndelag. We suggest that these features are products of a regional glacial event, the Bremanger Event, dated to <15–13.3 ¹⁴C ka BP. The Bremanger Event is probably a result of the deteriorating climatic conditions in the NE Atlantic during Heinrich event 1.     

The role of megatides and relative sea level in controlling the deglaciation of the British–Irish and Fennoscandian ice sheets

Key external forcing factors have been proposed to explain the collapse of ice sheets, including atmospheric and ocean temperatures, subglacial topography, relative sea level and tidal amplitudes. For past ice sheets it has not hitherto been possible to separate relative sea level and tidal amplitudes from the other controls to analyse their influence on deglaciation style and rate. Here we isolate the relative sea level and tidal amplitude controls on key ice stream sectors of the last British–Irish and Fennoscandian ice sheets using published glacial isostatic adjustment models, combined with a new and previously published palaeotidal models for the NE Atlantic since the Last Glacial Maximum (22 ka BP). Relative sea level and tidal amplitude data are combined into a sea surface elevation index for each ice stream sector demonstrating that these controls were potentially important drivers of deglaciation in the western British Irish Ice Sheet ice stream sectors. In contrast, the Norwegian Channel Ice Stream was characterized by falling relative sea level and small tidal amplitudes during most of the deglaciation. As these simulations provide a basis for observational field testing we propose a means of identifying the significance of sea level and tidal amplitudes in ice sheet collapse.     

Deglaciation models from the Swedish West Coast

Deglaciation processes within different rock relief types are discussed. The lower parts of the fissure-valley landscape in western Sweden were covered by the late-glacial sea at deglaciation, while the rock plateaux between the valleys formed an arctic archipelago. The glacial movements, deposition activity and recession were intimately dependent on the variations of the topography and on the buoyancy of the seawater in the valleys. The opinion that a piedmont glaciation existed in eastern Halland during the deglaciation stage has been corroborated concerning areas above the marine limit. In the valleys below this limit the ice margin, however, was straight or slightly concave. The western part of the South Swedish Highland, situated high above the marine limit, is characterized by a zonal deglaciation; zone by zone of the ice margin was detached from the actively moving ice and became immobile. Subglacially formed eskers appear together with glaciofluvial deltas which formed extramarginally in ice-dammed lakes. The moraine forms are often dominated by 1–2 km long drumlins with rock cores. Where the ice diverged over a convex bedrock basement, Rogen-like moraine ridges, radial as well as transverse, were formed during the deglaciation stage when the ice was stagnating.     

Litho- and chronostratigraphy of the Late Weichselian in Vendsyssel, northern Denmark, with special emphasis on tunnel-valley infill in relation to a receding ice margin

Lithostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy of samples from 18 deep boreholes in Vendsyssel have resulted in new insight into the Late Weichselian glaciation history of northern Denmark. Prior to the Late Weichselian Main advance c. 23–21 kyr BP, Vendsyssel was part of an ice‐dammed lake where the Ribjerg Formation was deposited c. 27–23 kyr BP. The timing of the Late Weichselian deglaciation is well constrained by the Main advance and the Lateglacial marine inundation c. 18 kyr BP, and thus spans only a few millennia. Rapid deposition of more than 200 m of sediments took place mainly in a highly dynamic proglacial and ice‐marginal environment during the overall ice recession. Mean retreat rates have been estimated as 45–50 m/yr in Vendsyssel with significantly higher retreat rates between periods of standstill and re‐advance. The deglaciation commenced in Vendsyssel c. 20 kyr BP, and the Troldbjerg Formation was deposited c. 20–19 kyr BP in a large ice‐dammed lake in front of the receding ice sheet, partly as glaciolacustrine sediments and partly as rapid and focused sedimentation in prominent ice‐contact fans, which make up the Jyske Ås and Hammer Bakker moraines. In the northern part of central Vendsyssel, at least four generations of north–south orientated tunnel valleys are identified, each generation related to a recessional ice margin. This initial deglaciation was interrupted by a major re‐advance from the east c. 19 kyr BP, which covered most of Vendsyssel. An ice‐dammed lake formed in front of the ice sheet as it retreated towards the east; the Morild Formation was deposited here c. 19–18 kyr BP. Related to this stage of deglaciation, eight ice‐marginal positions have been identified based on the distribution of large tunnel‐valley systems and pronounced recessional moraines. The Morild Formation consists of glaciolacustrine sediments, including the sediment infill of more than 190 m deep tunnel valleys, as well as the sediments in recessional moraines, which were formed as ice‐contact sedimentary ridges, possibly in combination with glaciotectonic deformation. The character of the tunnel‐valley infill sediments was determined by proximity to the ice margin. During episodes of rapid retreat of the ice margin, tunnel valleys were quickly abandoned and filled with fine‐grained sediments in a distal setting. During slow retreat of the ice margin, tunnel valleys were filled in an ice‐proximal environment, and the infill consists of alternating layers of fine‐ to coarse‐grained sediments. At c. 18 kyr BP, Vendsyssel was inundated by the sea, when the Norwegian Channel Ice Stream broke up, and a succession of marine sediments (Vendsyssel Formation) was deposited during a forced regression.     

Mid-Pleistocene ice drainage pattern in the Norwegian Channel imaged by 3D seismic

Several investigations have shown that a huge Late Weichselian ice stream flowed along the Norwegian Channel, and deposited thick debris flow deposits at the North Sea Fan. The development of the channel is probably mainly a result of several cycles of ice stream activity during the Quaternary. A merged 3D seismic image shows a lineated relief pattern interpreted as a uniquely well-preserved footprint of a moving ice sheet. This deep Quaternary horizon corresponds to a slightly irregular reflector on top of a parallel-layered seismic sequence. Seismic tie to the Troll core 8903 south of the study area shows that the sequence comprises Early Middle Pleistocene marine sediments. The pattern of lineations, the seismic stratigraphy, as well as the chronostratigraphic investigations of the Troll core, strongly indicate that the image reflects the initial phase of an extensive Middle Pleistocene glaciation (inferred age ca 0.5 Ma), prior to the development of a massive Norwegian Channel Ice Stream. The northwesterly oriented pattern, seen in the southeastern part of the study area, demonstrates that the ice flowed into the channel mainly from the coastal zone north of Bergen. Farther west various sets of ‘fan-shaped lineations’ partly cross each other, showing that the 3D-image represents a certain short time window. In the northern study area the ice flow was dominantly northwards, and directed towards the area below the present shallow Måløy Plateau. There are no indications that the glaciers north of Sognefjorden affected the marine ice sheet.     

Depositional environments and chronology of Late Weichselian glaciation and deglaciation in the central North Sea

Graham, A.G.C., Lonergan, L. & Stoker, M.S. 2010: Depositional environments and chronology of Late Weichselian glaciation and deglaciation in the central North Sea. Boreas, Vol. 39, pp. 471–491. 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2010.00144.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. Geological constraints on ice‐sheet deglaciation are essential for improving the modelling of ice masses and understanding their potential for future change. Here, we present a detailed interpretation of depositional environments from a new 30‐m‐long borehole in the central North Sea, with the aim of improving constraints on the history of the marine Late Pleistocene British–Fennoscandian Ice Sheet. Seven units characterize a sequence of compacted and distorted glaciomarine diamictons, which are overlain by interbedded glaciomarine diamictons and soft, bedded to homogeneous marine muds. Through correlation of borehole and 2D/3D seismic observations, we identify three palaeoregimes. These are: a period of advance and ice‐sheet overriding; a phase of deglaciation; and a phase of postglacial glaciomarine‐to‐marine sedimentation. Deformed subglacial sediments correlate with a buried suite of streamlined subglacial bedforms, and indicate overriding by the SE–NW‐flowing Witch Ground ice stream. AMS ¹⁴C dating confirms ice‐stream activity and extensive glaciation of the North Sea during the Last Glacial Maximum, between c. 30 and 16.2 ¹⁴C ka BP. Sediments overlying the ice‐compacted deposits have been reworked, but can be used to constrain initial deglaciation to no later than 16.2 ¹⁴C ka BP. A re‐advance of British ice during the last deglaciation, dated at 13.9 ¹⁴C ka BP, delivered ice‐proximal deposits to the core site and deposited glaciomarine sediments rapidly during the subsequent retreat. A transition to more temperate marine conditions is clear in lithostratigraphic and seismic records, marked by a regionally pervasive iceberg‐ploughmarked erosion surface. The iceberg discharges that formed this horizon are dated to between 13.9 and 12 ¹⁴C ka BP, and may correspond to oscillating ice‐sheet margins during final, dynamic ice‐sheet decay.     

Maximum extent and readvance dynamics of the Irish Sea Ice Stream and Irish Sea Glacier since the Last Glacial Maximum

The BRITICE-CHRONO Project has generated a suite of recently published radiocarbon ages from deglacial sequences offshore in the Celtic and Irish seas and terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide and optically stimulated luminescence ages from adjacent onshore sites. All published data are integrated here with new geochronological data from Wales in a revised Bayesian analysis that enables reconstruction of ice retreat dynamics across the basin. Patterns and changes in the pace of deglaciation are conditioned more by topographic constraints and internal ice dynamics than by external controls. The data indicate a major but rapid and very short-lived extensive thin ice advance of the Irish Sea Ice Stream (ISIS) more than 300 km south of St George's Channel to a marine calving margin at the shelf break at 25.5 ka; this may have been preceded by extensive ice accumulation plugging the constriction of St George's Channel. The release event between 25 and 26 ka is interpreted to have stimulated fast ice streaming and diverted ice to the west in the northern Irish Sea into the main axis of the marine ISIS away from terrestrial ice terminating in the English Midlands, a process initiating ice stagnation and the formation of an extensive dead ice landscape in the Midlands.     

AMS 14C dating of deglacial events in the Irish Sea Basin and other sectors of the British–Irish ice sheet

Sedimentary sequences deposited by the decaying marine margin of the British–Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) record isostatic depression and successive ice sheet retreat towards centres of ice dispersion. Radiocarbon dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) of in situ marine microfaunas that are commonly associated with these sequences constrain the timing of glacial and sea level fluctuations during the last deglaciation, enabling us to evaluate the dynamics of the BIIS and its response to North Atlantic climate change. Here we use our radiocarbon-dated stratigraphy to define six major glacial and sea level events since the Last Glacial Maximum. (1) Initial deglaciation may have occurred ⩾18.3 kyr ¹⁴C BP along the northwestern Irish coast, in agreement with a deglacial age of ∼22 ³⁶Cl kyr BP for southwestern Ireland. Ice retreated to inland centres and areas of transverse moraine began to form across the north Irish lowlands. (2) Channels cut into glaciomarine deglacial sediments along the western Irish Sea coast are graded to below present sea level, identifying a fall of relative sea level (RSL) in response to isostatic emergence of the coast. (3) Marine mud that rapidly infilled these channels records an abrupt rise in global sea level of 10–15 m ∼16.7 ¹⁴C kyr BP that flooded the Irish Sea coast and may have triggered deglaciation of a marine-based margin in Donegal Bay. (4) Intertidal boulder pavements in Dundalk Bay indicate that RSL ∼15.0 ¹⁴C kyr BP was similar to present. (5) A major readvance of all sectors of the BIIS occurred between 14 and 15 kyr ¹⁴C BP which overprinted subglacial transverse moraines and delivered a substantial sediment flux to tidewater ice sheet margins. This event, the Killard Point Stadial, indicates that the BIIS participated in Heinrich event 1. (6) Subsequent deposition of marine muds on drumlins 12.7 ¹⁴C kyr BP indicates isostatic depression and attendant high RSL resulting from the Killard Point readvance. These events identify a dynamic BIIS during the last deglaciation, as well as significant changes in RSL that reflect a combination of isostatic loading and eustatic changes in global sea level.     

Subglacial bedform geomorphology of the Irish Ice Sheet reveals major configuration changes during growth and decay

The belated realisation that ribbed (Rogen) moraines form such an integral part of Irish geomorphology, and the piecemeal approach to previous drumlin mapping, is probably responsible for the highly contrasting views of palaeoflow patterns of the Irish Ice Sheet. Using a high resolution (25 m) digital elevation model we present morphological maps of a large part (100 × 100 km) of the so‐called ‘Drumlin Belt’ of north central Ireland. The landforms comprise mostly ribbed moraine much larger than found elsewhere (up to 16 km in length), which in places are superimposed on each other. Contrary to most prior assessments we find the bedform record to contain numerous and overlapping episodes of bed formation (ribbed moraine, drumlins and crag‐and‐tails) that provide a palimpsest record of changing flow geometries. These demonstrate an ice sheet with a centre of mass and flow geometry that changed during growth and decay. Using distinctive flow patterns and relative age relationships between them we reconstruct ice sheet evolution into four phases during a single glacial cycle. In phase 1 (early in the glacial cycle), Scottish and local ice coalesced to form a northeast‐centred Irish Ice Sheet. As it grew its centre of mass migrated southwards, culminating in a major N–S divide positioned down the east of Ireland (phase 2, ca. Last Glacial Maximum). During retreat, the centre of mass migrated at least 120 km northwards and became established in northwest Ireland and at this point a dramatic bedforming event produced one of the world's largest and most contiguous ribbed moraine fields (phase 3). Final deglaciation is thought to be by fragmentation into many topographically controlled minor ice‐caps (phase 4). Rather than any dramatic or unexpected behaviour, the reconstructed phases indicate a relatively predictable pattern of ice sheet growth and decay with changes in centres of mass, and does not require major readvances or ice‐stream events. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Weichselian deglacial history of Disko Bugt, West Greenland, and the dynamics of the Jakobshavns Isbrae ice stream

New relative sea-level (RSL) data from Disko Bugt, a large marine embayment in West Greenland, are used to examine the deglacial history of the Jakobshavns Isbrae ice stream. RSL data show rapid deglaciation after 10.3 ka cal. yr BP. Once deglaciation began, a bedrock high in the west of the bay exerted no discernible influence on the deglacial chronology. Following initial rapid retreat, ice stream recession slowed as it approached the eastern shores of the bay. Seabed elevations increase here and the ice stream terminus lingered for several thousand years before retreating into the narrow bedrock-confined Jakobshavns Isfjord. The seabed topography of Disko Bugt includes several deep channels which probably record the former course of the ice stream. Using a simple water depth/calving velocity relationship it is estimated that the maximum calving velocity on deglaciation was c. 4.8 km a^-1. This is less than the present rate (6–7 km a^-1), although ice discharge was two to four times that observed today. Initiation of rapid ice stream retreat was probably caused by ice stream thinning and increased surface melting. A critical point in time was the retreat of the ice stream from shallow continental shelf waters ( c. 400 m) into the deep bedrock trough (>800 m) which marks the entrance to Disko Bugt.     

Grounding‐line dynamics during the last deglaciation of Kveithola,W Barents Sea,as revealed by seabed geomorphology and shallow seismic stratigraphy

A marine geophysical study reveals a complex deglaciation pattern in the Kveithola trough, W Barents Sea. The data set includes multibeam swath bathymetry and sub‐bottom sediment profiler (chirp) data acquired for the whole extent of a palaeo, marine‐terminating ice stream, along with high‐resolution single‐channel seismic data from chosen profiles. The multibeam data show a geomorphic landform assemblage characteristic of ice streams. The results of a combination of seismic and chirp unit stratigraphy reveal that the seabed geomorphology is governed by a deeper‐lying reflector. The reflector dominates surface expressions of several subglacial and ice‐marginal units, each connected to a separate episode of ice‐margin stillstand/advance. Analysis of the combined data set has resulted in a conceptual model of the ice‐stream retreat. The model depicts complex deglaciation of a small, confined ice‐stream system through episodic retreat. It describes the formation of several generations of grounding‐zone systems, characterized by high meltwater discharges and the deposition of fine‐grained grounding‐line fans. The inferred style of grounding‐zone deposition in Kveithola deviates from that of other accounts, and is suggested to be intermediate in the previously described continuum between morainal banks and grounding‐line wedges. The results of this paper have implications for grounding‐zone theory and should be of interest to modellers of grounding‐line dynamics and ice‐stream retreat.