Paleoclimatic implications of an early Holocene glacier advance on Disko Island, West Greenland

The paper describes studies of glacial deposits and raised beaches on the island of Disko. West Greenland. Two stades in the glacial history are defined, the Godhavn stade, which represents the last major glaciation on Disko, and the Disko stade, which defines a Preboreal readvance. During the Godhavn stade, only eastern and southern Disko were affected by the extended Inland Ice, while glaciation on western and northern Disko was local in character. In connection with the deglaciation, the sea transgressed to the marine limit at c. 9,250-9,000 BP. Immediately before, tentatively culminating around 9,300 BP, a significant readvance of glaciers on eastern Disko occurred. The marine limit rises on a transect from northwest to southeast across Disko from 60 m a.s.l. to 90 m. The paper discusses changes in equilibrium line altitude (ELA) during the deglaciation, and explains the Disko stade readvance in terms of variations in upper-air wind conditions.