Origin of the Baltic Sea basin by Pleistocene glacial erosion

Figures & data

Figure 1. Geology of the surroundings of the Baltic Bea basin. Source and sink area for Pleistocene glacial erosion and deposition shown in red. TH Trollhättan. Upp Uppland.

Figure 2. The Baltic Sea basin and its bathymetry in relation to Pleistocene ice limits and ice flow lines. W Late Weichselian. Wa Warte. S1 Sanian 1, E Elsterian. S Saalian. Pleistocene ice limits are from Marks et al. (2018). Bathymetric data from European Marine Observation and Data Network.

Figure 3. Cross-section of the Baltic Sea basin today and at 60 ka in the future after residual glacial isostatic rebound is complete. Line of section indicated on Fig. 4. The long profile of the Orinoco River is added for comparison. Residual isostatic rebound at 60 ka after Näslund (2006).

Figure 4. Bathymetry and major landforms of the Baltic Sea. Bathymetric data from European Marine Observation and Data Network, EMODnet Digital Bathymetry (DTM 2018). EMODnet Digital Bathymetry (DTM) was accessed on 14 October 2019 at http://doi.org/10.12770/18ff0d48-b203-4a65-94a9-5fd8b0ec35f6. Major erosional basins, trenches and scarps are named. Eemian marine sediment localities from Miettinen et al. (2002) and Funder et al. (2002).

Figure 5. A. Source and sink areas for the Baltic Sea basin. Arrows indicate inputs and outputs of sediment outside the main source-sink area used for the sediment budget. B. Schematic representation along a NW-SE transect of the basement and sedimentary rock components removed from different terrains in the source area. Line of section indicated on Fig. 5A.

Table 1. Source area erosion.

Source Terrain	Rock type	Area (km^2)	Erosion depth (m)	Missing rock volume (km^3)
Long-exposed basement in Sweden	Basement	171,925	20	3,439
Sub-Cambrian unconformity in Sweden	Basement	65,236	20	1,305
	Sedimentary cover	65,236	40	2,609
Platform E of Baltic	Sedimentary cover	66,922	40	2,677
BSB below present sea level	Basement and sedimentary	350,911	58.7	20,598
Total				30,628

Source area shown on (Fig. 5A). Schematic model of the 4 source terrains shown in (Fig. 5B).

Table 2. Sink area sediment volume.

Total area (km^2)	Average sediment depth (m)	Sediment volume (km^3)	Local erosion (−25 %)	Porosity (−25 %)	Carbonate (+10 %)	Total (km^3)
707,140	86.0	60,814	45 611	34,208	37,629	37,629

Sink area shown on (Fig. 5A).

Figure 6. Surface elevation, base Quaternary elevation and Quaternary sediment isopachs in the sink area. See text for data sources.

Table 3. Sediment in Poland.

			Average sediment depth (m) within ice limits of different age
Polish chrono-stratigraphy	MIS	Total area in Poland within glacial limits (km^2)	Within V limit	Within MP limit	Within S2 limit	Within OG Limit	Sediment volume (km^3)	%
Older Glaciations (OG)	22–20, 16	311,573	13	11	4	2	3,308	13
Sanian 2 (S2)	12	298,409	28	11	7		5,385	22
Middle Polish Glaciation (MP)	8–6	260,431	47	43			11,729	47
Vistulian (V)	5d-2	132,610	33				4,376	18
							24,798

Ice limits and sediment depths of different ages are shown in (Fig. 7). Percentages of sediment volumes of different age use unadjusted sediment volumes. When adjusted for local erosion, porosity and carbonate loss as in (Table 2), the total sediment volume in Poland represents 41% of the total Quaternary sediment in the sink area.

Figure 7. Pleistocene sediment in boreholes along three N-S transects in Poland and westernmost Belarus. Pleistocene ice limits are from Marks et al. (2018).

Western transect: Ci – Cierpięta (Marks et al. 2014); Kl – Kleczew (Widera 2000); Be – Bełchatów (Krzyszkowski 1991); Ra – Racibórz (Lewandowski 1988). Central transect: Do – Domnowo (Lindner et al. 2006); Bi – Biskupiec 3 (Morawski 2009); Ro – Rożce (Marks et al. 2016); Od – Odonów (Lindner et al. 2004). Eastern transect: Sz – Szwajcaria (Ber 1989); So – Sokółka (Lindner et al. 2006): Mi – Mielnik (Lindner et al. 2006); BP – Biała Podlaska (Lindner et al. 2006); Tu – Tur (Lindner et al. 2004); SK – Stari Koshary (Lindner et al. 2004); Bo – Bojanice (Lindner & Marks 2008)

Marks, L., Karabanov, A., Nitychoruk, J., Bahdasarau, M., Krzywicki, T., Majecka, A., Pochocka-Szwarc, K., Rychel, J., Woronko, B., Zbucki, Ł., Hradunova, A., Hrychanik, M., Mamchyk, S., Rylova, T., Nowacki, Ł. & Pielach, M., 2018: Revised limit of the Saalian ice sheet in central Europe. Quaternary International 478, 59–74. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2016.07.043.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Näslund, J.O., 2006: Climate and climate-related issues for the safety assessment SR-Can. SKB TR-06-23. Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB, Stockholm.

 Google Scholar

Miettinen, A., Rinne, K., Haila, H., Hyvarinen, H., Eronen, M., Delusina, I., Kadastik, E., Kalm, V. & Gibbard, P., 2002: The marine Eemian of the Baltic: new pollen and diatom data from Peski, Russia, and Pohja-Uhtju, Estonia. Journal of Quaternary Science 17, 445–458. doi:10.1002/jqs.706.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Funder, S., Demidov, I. & Yelovicheva, Y., 2002: Hydrography and mollusc faunas of the Baltic and the White Sea–North Sea seaway in the Eemian. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 184, 275–304. doi:10.1016/S0031-0182(02)00256-0.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Marks, L., Gałązka, D., Krzymińska, J., Nita, M., Stachowicz-Rybka, R., Witkowski, A., Woronko, B. & Dobosz, S., 2014: Marine transgressions during Eemian in northern Poland: A high resolution record from the type section at Cierpięta. Quaternary International 328, 45–59. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2013.12.007.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Widera, M., 2000: Stratigraphy and lithology of Quaternary sediments in the Kleczew region and in key sections of the eastern Wielkopolska Lowland, central Poland. Geological Quarterly 44, 211–220.

 Google Scholar

Krzyszkowski, D., 1991: Saalian sediments of the Belchatow outcrop, central Poland. Boreas 20, 29–46. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3885.1991.tb00457.x.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Lewandowski, J., 1988: Plejstocen środkowy w strefie doliny górnej Odry: brama Morawska-Kotlina Raciborska (próba syntezy). Przeglad Geologiczny 36, 465–474.

 Google Scholar

Lindner, L., Bogutsky, A., Gozhik, P., Marks, L., Łanczont, M. & Wojtanowicz, J., 2006: Correlation of Pleistocene deposits in the area between the Baltic and Black Sea, Central Europe. Geological Quarterly 50, 195–210.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Morawski, W., 2009: Differences in the regional stratigraphy of NE Poland caused by vertical movements due to glacioisostasy. Geologos 15, 235–250. doi:10.2478/v10118-009-0006-x.

 Google Scholar

Marks, L., Dzierżek, J., Janiszewski, R., Kaczorowski, J., Lindner, L., Majecka, A., Makos, M., Szymanek, M., Tołoczko-Pasek, A. & Woronko, B., 2016: Quaternary stratigraphy and palaeogeography of Poland. Acta Geologica Polonica 66, 410–434. doi:10.1515/agp-2016-0018.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Lindner, L., Gozhik, P., Marciniak, B., Marks, L. & Yelovicheva, Y., 2004: Main climatic changes in the Quaternary of Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. Geological Quarterly 48, 97–114.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar

Ber, A., 1989: Stratigraphy of the Quaternary of the Suwałki Lakeland and its substrate based on recent data. Geological Quarterly 33, 463–478.

 Google Scholar

Lindner, L. & Marks, L., 2008: Pleistocene stratigraphy of Poland and its correlation with stratotype sections in the Volhynian Upland (Ukraine). Geochronometria 31, 31–37. doi:10.2478/v10003-008-0014-9.

 Web of Science ®Google Scholar