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Did the Eurasian ice sheets melt completely in early Marine Isotope Stage 3? New evidence from Norway and a synthesis for Eurasia

Mangerud, Jan ; Alexanderson, Helena LU ; Birks, Hilary H. ; Paus, Aage ; Perić, Zoran M. LU and Svendsen, John Inge (2023) In Quaternary Science Reviews 311.
Abstract

We describe glaci-lacustrine sediments buried under thick tills in Folldalen, south-east Norway, a site located close to the former centre of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. Thus, the location implies that the ice sheet had melted when the sediments were deposited. The exposed ground was occupied by arctic vegetation. The best age estimate from 20 quartz luminescence dates is 55.6 ± 4.6 ka. Due to possible incomplete bleaching, an age in the younger part of the time range is most probable. We conclude that the Scandinavian Ice Sheet melted almost completely away early in Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. Our review shows that the other Eurasian ice sheets also disappeared in that period. In north-western Germany, there were forests, containing... (More)

We describe glaci-lacustrine sediments buried under thick tills in Folldalen, south-east Norway, a site located close to the former centre of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. Thus, the location implies that the ice sheet had melted when the sediments were deposited. The exposed ground was occupied by arctic vegetation. The best age estimate from 20 quartz luminescence dates is 55.6 ± 4.6 ka. Due to possible incomplete bleaching, an age in the younger part of the time range is most probable. We conclude that the Scandinavian Ice Sheet melted almost completely away early in Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. Our review shows that the other Eurasian ice sheets also disappeared in that period. In north-western Germany, there were forests, containing warmth-demanding trees early in MIS 3, indicating a summer climate only slightly cooler than at present, thus supporting the evidence that the adjacent ice sheets had melted. The melting of the Eurasian ice sheets contributed to 50–100% of the sea-level rise from MIS 4 to MIS 3, implying that the much larger North American ice sheets did not melt much. In contrast, the Eurasian ice sheets contributed only about 30% to the sea-level drop from MIS 3 to MIS 2, meaning that the North American ice sheets during that period expanded strongly.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Europe, Glaciation, Last ice age, Luminescence dating, MIS 3, MIS 4, Pleistocene, Scandinavia, Sea level changes, Weichselian
in
Quaternary Science Reviews
volume
311
article number
108136
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85162269502
ISSN
0277-3791
DOI
10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108136
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
9f558340-4a73-4bb8-ab06-f13dd3b4e2bc
date added to LUP
2023-09-13 08:51:50
date last changed
2023-09-13 08:51:50
@article{9f558340-4a73-4bb8-ab06-f13dd3b4e2bc,
  abstract     = {{<p>We describe glaci-lacustrine sediments buried under thick tills in Folldalen, south-east Norway, a site located close to the former centre of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet. Thus, the location implies that the ice sheet had melted when the sediments were deposited. The exposed ground was occupied by arctic vegetation. The best age estimate from 20 quartz luminescence dates is 55.6 ± 4.6 ka. Due to possible incomplete bleaching, an age in the younger part of the time range is most probable. We conclude that the Scandinavian Ice Sheet melted almost completely away early in Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. Our review shows that the other Eurasian ice sheets also disappeared in that period. In north-western Germany, there were forests, containing warmth-demanding trees early in MIS 3, indicating a summer climate only slightly cooler than at present, thus supporting the evidence that the adjacent ice sheets had melted. The melting of the Eurasian ice sheets contributed to 50–100% of the sea-level rise from MIS 4 to MIS 3, implying that the much larger North American ice sheets did not melt much. In contrast, the Eurasian ice sheets contributed only about 30% to the sea-level drop from MIS 3 to MIS 2, meaning that the North American ice sheets during that period expanded strongly.</p>}},
  author       = {{Mangerud, Jan and Alexanderson, Helena and Birks, Hilary H. and Paus, Aage and Perić, Zoran M. and Svendsen, John Inge}},
  issn         = {{0277-3791}},
  keywords     = {{Europe; Glaciation; Last ice age; Luminescence dating; MIS 3; MIS 4; Pleistocene; Scandinavia; Sea level changes; Weichselian}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Quaternary Science Reviews}},
  title        = {{Did the Eurasian ice sheets melt completely in early Marine Isotope Stage 3? New evidence from Norway and a synthesis for Eurasia}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108136}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108136}},
  volume       = {{311}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}