Timing of the final disappearance of permafrost in the central European Lowland, as reconstructed from the evolution of lakes in N Poland

Abstract

Accumulation of sediments in the lake basins of the Starogard Lakeland, Northern Poland, an area which was entirely ice-covered during the last glaciation, started at different times, beginning during the Late Glacial. Sedimentation continued till the beginning of the Holocene (Preboreal). The principal factor causing the asynchronous start of the lake development was the variation in melting processes of buried dead-ice blocks. The preservation of dead-ice masses in some depressions until the Preboreal leads to the conclusion that the ultimate disappearance of permafrost in the study area occurred only at the beginning of the Holocene.