A sedimentary record from a deep Quaternary valley in the southern Lillebælt area, Denmark: Eemian and Early Weichselian lithology and chronology at Mommark

A unique sequence of Late Saalian, Eemian and Early Weichselian strata is exposed in a coastal outcrop at Mommark in the western Baltic. The sedimentary facies and faunas reflect palaeoenvironmental changes from an initial freshwater lake followed by marine transgression and interglacial deposition in a palaeo-Baltic sea. The upper part of the Eemian marine record indicates regression followed by lacustrine sedimentation and deposition of Early Weichselian aeolian sediments, which are truncated by an erosional unconformity overlain by a till bed. The lower and middle parts of the sequence have previously been correlated with the European glacial-interglacial stratigraphy on the basis of pollen analysis, while the upper part has been dated for the present study using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of samples from the aeolian and glacial deposits. A similar complete glacial-interglacial-glacial succession has not previously been recorded from this area. The Mommark sequence of conformable strata has been subjected to lateral compression, evidenced by folding and low-angle reverse faults. Seismic records from the adjacent waters in the western Baltic reveal a system of buried Quaternary valleys in the area. It is suggested that the interglacial deposition took place in a basin within one of these valleys and that a slab constituting the Mommark sequence, originating from the margin of a valley, has been glaciotectonically displaced northwestwards to the present location.     

Quaternary sequences and their relations to the pre-Quaternary in the vicinity of Anholt, Kattegat, Scandinavia

The stratigraphic record from a boring penetrating the 104 m thick Quaternary sequence on the island of Anholt is summarized. The spatial distribution of the pre-Quaternary formations and the surface topography of these are described on the basis of reflection seismic profiles. It is concluded that Anholt is located in the crestal zone of a southeast–northwest trending anticline in the pre-Quaternary. The anticline was formed during the Late Cretaceous–Early Tertiary inversion episodes and was later deeply truncated by erosion. A southeast–northwest trending erosional channel, c. 2 km wide and with a maximum depth c. 250 m below sea level, is located southeast of Anholt along the crest of the anticline. This channel is not present at the bore locality. Although no direct correlation from the boring to the seismic profiles could be achieved it is argued that a strong reflection near the base of the Quaternary outside the channel may be correlated with the Saalian–Eemian complex found in the boring. Three younger sequences of probable Early and Middle Weichselian, Late Glacial and Holocene age respectively have been recognized. The Late Glacial and Holocene sediments appear to have been deposited in erosional troughs and channels cut into a sequence of Lower and Middle Weichselian sediments. Post-Eemian till deposits or other evidence unambiguously indicating the presence of Weichselian glaciers have not been found, either in the boring or in the seismic profiles. It is therefore assumed that the erosion of the Lower-Middle Weichselian sequence was of fluvial origin and can be ascribed to the lowstand period of the Weichselian glacial period. The western part of Anholt can possibly be regarded as an erosional remnant of the Lower-Middle Weichselian sequence.     

A Late Saalian, Eemian and Weichselian marine sequence at Nørre Lyngby, Vendsyssel, Denmark

A 120 m thick marine Quaternary sequence resting on Upper Cretaceous chalk at Nørre Lyngby has been stratigraphically analysed on the basis of its foraminiferal content. The foraminiferal zones in the Nørre Lyngby boring are compared with corresponding zones from borings and outcrops in adjacent areas in Vendsyssel and Kattegat, and a general zonation covering the whole area is proposed. The lower part of the marine sequence at Nørre Lyngby represents deposits of pre-Eemian, possibly Saalian, and Eemian age. The Early Weichselian seems to be missing, while most of the Middle and Late Weichselian foraminiferal zones known from Vendsyssel occur. The foraminiferal zones and the corresponding macrofossil zones are correlated with the oxygen isotope stratigraphy. A cross-section through deposits from the Saalian-Eemian-Weichselian marine basin in North Jutland and the Kattegat illustrates the development of the basin through this period of time. The centre of basin subsidence shifted from the southwest in the pre-Eemian to the northeast in the Eemian, and remained there throughout the Weichselian.     

Dislocated Quaternary deposits in southeastern Kattegat – a glacial or gravitational phenomenon?

The Quaternary deposits in the Store Middelgrund–Rørdebanke area midway between the island of Anholt and Hallandsåsen on the Swedish coast are described on the basis of reflection seismic profiles with a vertical resolution of 5–10 m. The Quaternary rests on Upper Cretaceous limestone, the surface of which is nearly horizontal. Three Quaternary sequences are defined and interpreted as: (1) Late Weichselian marine or lacustrine deposits, (2) Late Weichselian glaciogenic deposits, and (3) Late Saalian–Eemian and Early–Middle Weichselian deposits. Sequence 3 is probably comparable to the upwards-coarsening sequence known from Skaerumhede in Vendsyssel. The layers in sequence 3 are dislocated in the eastern part of the Store Middelgrund–Rødebanke area mainly by gentle folding, but other types of deformations occur. Folding could be the result of horizontal push from an ice sheet approaching from the east. Alternatively the folding is an effect of vertical, gravitational forces acting on the sediments due to an unstable density profile, as described by the Rayleigh–Taylor instability model. The zone of deformation is located close to the northern flank of the tectonically active Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone. It is suggested that the initiation of the folding process was facilitated by tremors from small earthquakes.     

Thickness of Quaternary deposits and their relation to the pre-Quaternary in the Fennoscandian border zone in Kattegat and Vendsyssel

Refraction seismic measurements from Kattegat have been analysed for information about Quaternary deposits. Preliminary results show a gradual increase in thickness of the Quaternary deposits from about 50m in the SW to 150–250m in the NE, close to the Swedish coast. A number of narrow zones with extraordinarily great thickness are superimposed on this surface. Comparisons with structural features in the pre-Quaternary, as known from reflection seismic investigations, strongly indicate that the 'Kattegat Basin' is a structural phenomenon generated by subsidence under tensional stress perpendicular to the Fennoscandian border zone. Stratigraphical analysis which is available from wells on the islands in Kattegat and in Vendsyssel shows that subsidence of the 'Kattegat Basin' was initiated in Holstein or earlier.     

Seismic stratigraphy of the Quaternary and its substratum in southeastern Kattegat, Scandinavia

Based on c. 1500 km reflection seismic profiles, the Quaternary formations and their pre-Quaternary substratum in the southeastern Kattegat are described and a geological interpretation is suggested. The major volume of Quaternary deposits is found in a broad north-northwest south-southeast trending topographic depression. The substratum consists of Upper Cretaceous limestone in the region north of the Sorgenfrei–Tornquist Zone, and inside this zone older Mesozoic sedimentary rocks and Precambrian crystalline rocks are found. The Quaternary is divided into four seismic units. No direct stratigraphic control is available, but the units are assumed to represent a period ranging from Late Saalian to Holocene. The oldest unit (unit 3) is composed of deposits of supposed Late Saalian to Middle Weichselian age. This unit was severely eroded probably by the Late Weichselian ice sheets in a zone extending 40–50 km from the Swedish coast. Unit 2 represents the Late Weichselian till deposits. North and east of the island of Anholt unit 3 is cut by a system of channels eroded by glacial meltwater. By the erosion a relief up to c. 100 m was formed. After the recession of the Late Weichselian ice, an up to 100 m thick sequence of water-lain sediments (unit 1) was deposited in the erosional basin and channels. Holocene deposits (unit 0) of considerable thickness have only been identified in the channels in the northern part of the area.     

The Quaternary of the Kattegat area, Scandinavia: a review

The Quaternary sedimentary history and its relations to the pre-Quaternary in the Kattegat region are reviewed. The Quaternary in the area is restricted to relatively young sediments, including scattered findings of Saalian deposits and more continuous occurrences from the Eemian, the Weichselian and the Holocene. Glacial and interglacial palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, including Holocene changes in oceanographic circulation, are reviewed, and the recent sedimentary processes and the present hydrographic regime are outlined. Furthermore, Quaternary and present tectonic activity in connection with some of the pre-Quaternary fault zones is discussed.