Ice movements, ice recession and till formation

Abstract

The recession of the Weichselian Ice Sheet, the directions of the last ice-movement, the formation of till and the influence of the local bedrock on the till were studied in the central part of Skåne, southern Sweden. The conclusions are based mainly on the distribution of rock fragments in the till, till fabrics, glacial striae and glaciofluvial deposits. The last ice-movement covering all of the area investigated was from the ENE. A later direction from the NE is indicated in the eastern part of the area. Both of these movements existed during the recession of the ice sheet. The recession lines, which mainly indicate the boundary zone between stagnant and active glacier ice, trend NNW-SSE in the western part of the area and NW-SE in the eastern part. The rock fragments constituting the upper part of the till bed were eroded, transported and deposited during a late phase of the glaciation. Much of this till accumulated by melt-out and flow associated with stagnant glacier ice. Only where the local bedrock is covered with less than 10 m of till are fragments from it a significant constituent of the upper part of the till bed.

Key Words:

• Till
• provenance
• indicator train
• glacial striae
• glaciofluvial deposit
• ice-movement
• ice recession
• Skåne
• Sweden