TY - JOUR
T1 - Sandy aeolian deposits and environments and their relation to climate during the Last Glacial Maximum and Lateglacial in northwest and central Europe
AU - Kasse, C.
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - Periglacial aeolian sand sheets and dunes of the last glacial cover extensive areas of northwest and central Europe. Four sedimentary facies have been described that could be related to fluvio-aeolian and cryogenic processes, moisture content of the depositional surface and surface morphology. Factors that favoured sand-sheet and low-dune formation were the abundance of unconsolidated sediments, absence of topographic barriers, sparseness of vegetation cover and the high ratio of wind energy to sand availability. Three phases of prominent aeolian sand deposition have been distinguished from the Last Glacial Maximum to the beginning of the Holocene. Phase I (c. 28-18 ka cal B.P.) with predominant fluvio-aeolian deposition was related to permafrost conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum. Phase II (c. 18-14 cal B.P.) represents the major period of sand-sheet or coversand formation at the waning stage of the last glacial (Late Pleniglacial and early Lateglacial). Phase III (c. 13-10 cal B.P.) with more localized deposition occurred in the later part of the Younger Dryas and early Holocene. It is stressed that the aeolian phases do not strictly coincide with glacial or stadial conditions. Climatic aridity, limited vegetation cover and delayed responses of the aeolian environment to climate change determine the timing of the aeolian phases.
AB - Periglacial aeolian sand sheets and dunes of the last glacial cover extensive areas of northwest and central Europe. Four sedimentary facies have been described that could be related to fluvio-aeolian and cryogenic processes, moisture content of the depositional surface and surface morphology. Factors that favoured sand-sheet and low-dune formation were the abundance of unconsolidated sediments, absence of topographic barriers, sparseness of vegetation cover and the high ratio of wind energy to sand availability. Three phases of prominent aeolian sand deposition have been distinguished from the Last Glacial Maximum to the beginning of the Holocene. Phase I (c. 28-18 ka cal B.P.) with predominant fluvio-aeolian deposition was related to permafrost conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum. Phase II (c. 18-14 cal B.P.) represents the major period of sand-sheet or coversand formation at the waning stage of the last glacial (Late Pleniglacial and early Lateglacial). Phase III (c. 13-10 cal B.P.) with more localized deposition occurred in the later part of the Younger Dryas and early Holocene. It is stressed that the aeolian phases do not strictly coincide with glacial or stadial conditions. Climatic aridity, limited vegetation cover and delayed responses of the aeolian environment to climate change determine the timing of the aeolian phases.
U2 - 10.1191/0309133302pp350ra
DO - 10.1191/0309133302pp350ra
M3 - Article
SN - 0309-1333
VL - 26
SP - 507
EP - 532
JO - Progress in Physical Geography
JF - Progress in Physical Geography
ER -