Late Pleistocene stratigraphy, glaciation chronology and Middle Weichselian environmental history from Klintholm, Møn, Denmark

A new and fundamental outline of the Late Pleistocene geological history in SE Denmark is obtained from examination of exposed cliff sections along the Baltic coast of M0n. Multi­diciplinary studies including lithostratigraphic classification, analyses of glaciotectonic struc- tures, biostratigraphic studies, amino acid chronology and radiocarbon and luminescence dating indicate the following: A shallow boreo-lusitanian sea that characterized the Eemian interglaciation (130-115 ka BP) was followed by periglacial conditions during the Early Weichselian (l 15-75 ka BP). In the early part of the Middle Weichselian (75--c. 40 ka BP) Baltic glaciers invaded the region twice, intenupted by an ice free and periglacial interval around 50 ka BP. The first ice stream left a reddish coloured till dominated by exotic rock-types of eastern Baltic provenance. From about 40-35 ka BP to slightly before 20 ka BP ameliorated conditions with periglacial terrestrial and lacustrine environments are recorded. A lake basin in the western part of the Baltic was surrounded by a low releif mammoth-steppe with an almost treeless vegetation of grasses, sedges, heather and dwarf shrubs. Increasing amounts of diamicton dominated by Palaeozoic shale and limestone towards the top of the muddy and slightly organic lake sediments suggest ice-rafting in the basin by the end of the late Middle Weichselian. Deposits suffered strong glaciotectonic deformation during the Late Weichselian glacial maximum (25-15 ka BP).