Pleistocene river systems in the southern peribaltic area as indication of interglacial sea level changes in the Baltic Basin

The modern drainage system of central Poland developed during the Holsteinian, but it originated from the Elsterian glacial tunnel valleys and deglacial residual overflow lakes. In spite of occupation of this area by the Wartanian ice sheet and the following formation of the landscape during deglaciation, a similar river network was renewed during the Eemian. During the Weichselian the Middle Vistula valley was subjected to widespread ice-dam deposition. This resulted in rise of the base level of erosion and in westward deflection of the runoff, connected with development of the Central European spillways. The presented reconstruction of the Middle and Late Pleistocene fluvial network shows that the Holstein and Eemian sea levels were the driving force for river system development in central Poland. The Holstein and Eemian sea levels were very close to the present water level of the Baltic Sea. They made interglacial fluvial patterns roughly similar to the contemporary one, and therefore the main watersheds have been only slightly modified since that time. However, due to the considerable southward extension of the sea during the Eemian and presumably also during the Holsteinian, buried interglacial river deposits in central Poland occur at present well beneath the Holocene alluvia.