Shore level changes during the Late Weichselian deglaciation in Halland, southwestern Sweden

Abstract

The Late Weichselian deglaciation shorelines in Halland, southwestern Sweden, are deduced from the altitudes of topset/foreset bed contacts of glaciofluvial ice contact deltas. The direction of maximum increase in isostatic uplift (‘direction of tilt’) for these shorelines is N45°E. The average gradient of the deglaciation shorelines is c. 1.9 m/km. A tentative picture of the late-glacial and early Holocene uplift is given. There is a shift in the direction of tilt from N45°E to more northerly directions in postglacial times. The existence of a late-glacial transgression in southern Halland is compatible with the inferred picture of the isostatic uplift. A readvance of the Scandinavian ice sheet, contemporary to the transgression, is inferred. The shorelevel fluctuations suggest a damming as the cause of transgression.

Key Words:

• Late Weichselian deglaciation
• Halland
• topset/foreset bed contact
• marine limit
• shoreline gradient
• isobases
• late-glacial transgression