Esker formation and glacier dynamics in eastern Skane and adjacent areas, southern Sweden

Eskers were investigated in an area with overall terrestrial deglaciation - the eastern part of the province of Skåne and adjacent areas in southern Sweden. On the basis of the proposed model of esker formation, the dynamics of the receding Weichselian Ice Sheet are discussed. The deglaciation was characterized by the gradual retreat of an active ice sheet, bordered by a zone of thin, stagnant ice. For the most part, the ice sheet was probably at the pressure melting point in a marginal zone, where it was penetrated by surface meltwater which constituted most of the subglacially flowing meltwater. The esker sediments, consisting of glaciofluvially reworked basal debris and basal till, accumulated progressively in an up-glacier direction. Deposition took place close to the live ice boundary in the zone with stagnant ice that fringed the receding ice sheet. The time-transgressive formation of the eskers is reflected by repeated sediment sequences (morphosequences), i.e. sedimentary units composed of ridges that merge into extended hummocky deposits in a down-glacier direction. They represent the momentary deposition of stratified drift in the proximal portion of the zone with stagnant ice.