Late Saalian and Weichselian glaciations in the German Baltic Sea documented by Pleistocene successions at the southeastern margin of the Arkona Basin

Abstract

Seismic profiles and numerous sediment cores of a planned offshore wind farm area northeast of Rügen Island provide a unique insight into the distribution and thickness of glacial deposits in the southern Baltic Sea. Fine gravel analysis enabled recognition of five tills that correspond to different ice advances. On the basis of a 3D structural model, the main Pleistocene events could be reconstructed and correlated with stratigraphical records in the circum‐Baltic area comprising Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 6 to 2. The oldest till was deposited during the Late Saalian Warthe advance (qs2; c. 150–130 ka). It is only preserved in ENE–WSW trending subglacial channels incised into Upper Cretaceous soft chalk. Isolated rafts and remnants of two Middle Weichselian tills occur locally, whereas Eemian interglacial sediments are missing. The older till (qw*) has an unusual fine gravel composition and might have formed during ice advances known only from northern Denmark and northern Poland (c. 65–60 ka). The younger till represents the Warnow advance (qw0) in NE Germany that can be correlated with the Danish Ristinge advance (c. 55–50 ka). Furthermore, two tills deposited during the Late Weichselian Last Glacial Maximum (c. 24–16 ka) occur. One can be correlated with the Pomeranian advance (qw2), while the other has characteristics typical for the Mecklenburg advance (qw3). These advances eroded older Pleistocene deposits, thus probably also removing the till of the Brandenburg/Frankfurt advance (qw1) – in contrast to the onshore areas. The Pomeranian till is limited to the southeast, close to the shallow Adlergrund, but the Mecklenburg till covers the whole study area. This first detailed lithostratigraphical classification of till units from the Arkona Basin allows for the identification and correlation of Pleistocene successions in other parts of the southern Baltic Sea.

A multi‐proxy palaeoenvironmental and geochronological reconstruction of the Saalian‐Eemian‐Weichselian succession at Klein Klütz Höved, NE Germany

“…At KKH, we find no evidence for an early-to mid-Weichselian SIS advance into the SW Baltic Sea, as previously proposed by M€ uller (2004a, b; 'Warnow advance'), Houmark-Nielsen (2010; 'Ristinge advance', Fig. 9), Stephan (2014; 'Ellund advance'), and more recently by Obst et al (2017). Although it is conceivable that the associated glacial deposits were removed (i.e.…”

The Late Saalian Cyprina clay of northeastern Germany and the following Weichselian sedimentation and deformation history – Review and new data

“…Remnants of post‐Saalian interglacial sediments and Middle Weichselian tills were drilled at the southeastern margin of the Arkona Basin (Obst et al . ).…”

“…; Obst et al . ). Exposures of marine or brackish‐marine and limnic deposits representing warmer periods of the Pleistocene, in part with ice‐free conditions, e.g.…”

The Quaternary sequence of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: areas of specific interest and ongoing investigations

“…Hermsdorf and Strahl, 2008). The existence of an Early to Middle Weichselian ice advance (Warnow advance, Müller, 2004a, b;Obst et al, 2017) reaching MWP has so far not been incontestably confirmed (Kenzler et al, 2018). A possible correlation of this Warnow advance with the Danish Ristinge advance (56-46 ka) has been proposed by Houmark-Nielsen (2010).…”