Basal till and subglacial conditions at the base of the Upper Odra Lobe (southern Poland) during the Odranian Glaciation

Abstract

The objective of this contribution is detail characteristics of the basal till and the conditions in the base of Upper Odra Lobe. The lobe was formed in a foremountain area. Its central part was a Niemodlin Plain and the W part of the Racibórz Basin, surrounded by areas that have a much more varied relief.Particular attention is paid to the conditions at the ice sheet base, generatingthe dynamics ofglaciermovement. The study is based on analysis of the basal till. Three sites with basal till lying on different types of substratum (more typical for the study area) are presented. The basal till of the Upper Odra Lobe is characterized by spatial variations. Different intensities of its deformation indicate that large lateral differences in conditions occurred in the lobe substratum. The lithology controlled the rate of basal water pressure, and thus the strength of both the subglacial sediments  and the ice-bed coupling. Various strain rates in the till profiles indicate that the conditions at the ice-sheet base also changed with time. The ice sheet was highly mobile, even on the coarse-grained substratum. The low permeability of the Quaternary substratum, and the relatively small thickness of the Quaternary sands and gravels resulted in a high water pressure at the ice-sheet base. The movement of the Upper Odra Lobe was concentrated in the basal zone of the ice sheet. The main mechanism of basal motion was sliding and deformation of the subglacial sediments. Deformation probably occurred in restricted areas and did not have a pervasive character.