Chronology of the last ice sheet decay on the southern Baltic area based on dating of glaciofluvial and ice-dammed lake deposits

Abstract

The paper presents the results of the first OSL dating of glaciofluvial and ice-marginal lake sediments which occur between end moraines of the Słupsk Bank and the Polish coast. The sand and gravel of glaciofluvial deltas on the Słupsk Bank were deposited most likely during a period from 14.3 ±1.2 to 16.6 ±1.4 ka ago. The deposition of silty-sandy sediments of the ice-marginal lake is dated at 14.51 ±0.81 and 14.6 ±1.4 ka years. Likewise, dates ranging from 13.74 ±0.84 to 16.70 ±1.1 ka obtained from low sandy ridges, related to the southern range of the ice-marginal lake in the Gardno-Łeba Lowland, indicate the most likely timing of their deposition. It can be concluded that a short stop of the ice sheet on the Słupsk Bank took place approximately 15.2 ka ago, which could be correlated with the position of the ice sheet front in central SkŻne and in northern Lithuania at that time. Older and younger results were also obtained, except the dates mentioned above. The older ages show little sunlight exposure of sediments during their deposition. The younger dates indicate a marine origin of the sediments and show that some parts of glaciofluvial sediments were redeposited and  exposed to sunlight at a later stage, most probably when dead-ice blocks were melting.