Chapter 5

Pleistocene Glaciations in Denmark:

A Closer Look at Chronology, Ice Dynamics
and Landforms
Michael Houmark-Nielsen
Centre for GeoGenetics, Natural History Museum, University of Copenhagen, ster Voldgade 5-7, Dk-1350 Kbenhavn K, Denmark

5.1. INTRODUCTION
Following the first contribution on the Pleistocene of
Denmark in Quaternary GlaciationsExtent and Chronology (Ehlers and Gibbard, 2004), new light has been shed on
the chronology, dynamics and landforms of Quaternary glaciations in the south-western part of Scandinavia. Denmark
and surrounding areas (Fig. 5.1) were situated in the marginal regions of the former Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS)

and have frequently been occupied by glaciers but only for

short intervals during the Pleistocene. Since new data on
pre-Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 glaciations are sparse, glaciations during the period from MIS 6 to 1 (Late Saalian and
Weichselian) are given the most attention here. A more comprehensive reference to older glacial-interglacial episodes
can be found in the previous edition (Houmark-Nielsen,
2004). Firstly, the present contribution provides a closer
look at recent achievements on the extent and chronology

FIGURE 5.1 Key map of Denmark and surrounding countries and the distribution of end moraines of Saalian (Drenthe and Warthe), Middle Weichselian (Ristinge ice stream) and the Late Weichselian (Main advance and Young Baltic ice streams) ages. The numbers refer to key sites; 1: Harreskov; 2: Snder Vissing; 3:
Treldens; 4: Rgle; 5: Ashoved; 6: Esbjerg; 7: Lister Deep; 8: Skrumhede; 9: Hinnerup; 10: Stensigmose-Gammelmark; 11: Sundsre; 12: Ristinge; 13:
Klintholm; 14: Sejer; 15: Hundested; 16: North Sams; 17: Lnstrup; 18: Farup; 19: Bovbjerg; 20: Hjvang; 21: Mols Hoved; 22: Visborg and 23: Korselitse.
Developments in Quaternary Science. Vol. 15, doi: 10.1016/B978-0-444-53447-7.00005-2
ISSN: 1571-0866, # 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

47

48

of glaciations of Denmark, in particular, and south-western

Scandinavia and the southern circum-Baltic region, in
general, over the past ca. 150,000 years (ka).
Northern Hemisphere ice sheets attained their largest
volumes during the Saalian and Weichselian glaciations,
when global climate achieved periods of extreme cold climate. In south-west Scandinavia, glaciers flowed radially
from a main ice dome of the SIS which led to deposition
of tills of central and south Swedish provenance during
the Drenthe (Late Saalian) and Jylland (Late Weichselian)
stadials (Fig. 5.2). Under milder climatic episodes with
relatively high sea level, rapid and channelled land-based
ice streams were flowing along the SkagerrakKattegat
Trough and the Baltic depression towards Denmark
(Wohlfarth et al., 2008). Glaciation chronologies suggest

Quaternary Glaciations - Extent and Chronology

that episodes of ice streaming seem to have been out of

phase with the global ice-volume evolution, including that
of the SIS.
Rapidly flowing ice in the land-based sectors of the SIS,
which reached far south of the glaciated uplands, could
have been initiated by the development of an expanding
zone of basal melting beneath a steep gradient ice sheet
(Boulton et al., 2001). The growth of the SIS caused the formation of water-filled proglacial depressions which
favoured the development of outlet surges and the formation of ice streams that could be channelled through shallow
basins in the Baltic depression and the SkagerrakKattegat
troughs (Fig. 5.1). Ice-sheet instability was enhanced by
meltwater and caused ice-bed decoupling over large areas.
It might have eventually led to marginal collapse and

FIGURE 5.2 Eventstratigraphical chart for the Middle and Late Pleistocene, Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) and chronology of Danish interglacial and
glacial deposits. Compiled from the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) (2009) and Houmark-Nielsen et al. (2006).

Chapter 5

Pleistocene Glaciations in Denmark

surging through soft, water-saturated sediments bordering

the SIS. The ice-marginal collapse and outflow of streaming
ice could have been triggered by abrupt warming, which
was responsible for an ameliorated climate allowing low
Arctic terrestrial biota and boreal-Arctic marine waters to
occupy north-western Europe. Stratigraphical evidence
suggests at least four episodes of rapid ice-sheet expansion
occurred between MIS 4 and 2 (Larsen et al., 2009;
Houmark-Nielsen, 2010). Clast provenances in tills indicate
glacier flow twice via the Baltic Basin and twice via the
SkagerrakKattegat trough.
Glacial landforms, including arch-shaped end moraines
and mega-scale lineation together with stratigraphically
controlled ice-flow indicators of advances from Norwegian
and Baltic uplands into Denmark, indicate fan-shaped flow
patterns in terminal zones fed by a narrow ice-stream zones
further up glacier. Further, discrimination between the
flow of rapid streaming ice and ice flow with moderate
velocities has been attained through estimations of icebed interaction from analyses of dispersal trains of fine
gravel-sized erratic clasts (Kjr et al., 2003; HoumarkNielsen, 2010). Consequently, fan-shaped patterns of movement and indications of limited ice-bed interaction suggest
glacier flow in the marginal zones of land-based ice streams
(sensu Stokes and Clark, 2001). The regional distribution of
former land-based ice streams in southern Scandinavia and
in the North European lowlands appears to be closely related to the location of an easily deformable substrate.
Because periglacial landscape transformation and postformational glacier cover increasingly have obscured glacio-morphological features when going back in time only
those landforms developed during and after the LGM are
well preserved and suitable for detailed analyses of icesheet related landforms. However, it has been possible to
recognise glacial morphologies much older than the LGM
possibly dating back to the Late Saalian and Middle Weichselian. High resolution digital elevation models combined
with surface geological mapping have disclosed intimate
relationships between landforms, stratigraphy and glacial
tectonic architecture, which have revealed a complexity
of superimposed landforms not previously acknowledged.
The extent of glaciations based on the position of end moraines, vortex of outwash plains, the distribution of stream
lined ground moraine and dead-ice features and the presence of till formations holding specific provenance dependent indicator erratics are shown in the digital base maps
and palaeogeographical reconstructions.

5.2. THE PLEISTOCENE OF DENMARK

The stratigraphy, lithology and distribution of Pleistocene
deposits in Denmark are highly controlled by the geological
setting of the pre-Quaternary bedrock. Permian rifting and
regional subsidence, connected with the break-up of

49

Pangaea, laid down the foundation to the present-day bedrock geology. The Fennoscandian border zone separates the
Baltic shield from the Mesozoic Danish-Norwegian and
German basins, the sediments of which form the soft and
readily eroded and deformed substratum for Quaternary
glaciers. During the Neogene and possibly reaching into
the Middle Pleistocene, westward tilting and subsidence,
together with uplift and erosion in the east, took place
and gave rise to a highly diverse bedrock distribution which
is reflected in the glacial-flow dispersal of erratics (Hakansson and Surlyk, 1997; Japsen and Chalmers, 2000; Kjr
et al., 2003). Accordingly, the oldest Quaternary deposits
are preserved in the North Sea, while Early and Middle
Pleistocene are accessible the western part of Denmark,
and Late Pleistocene deposits blanket the whole region
but dominate the eastern part of the country. Detailed descriptions and references to key sites for till beds of Pleistocene ice advances are given by Houmark-Nielsen (2004,
2007, 2010) and Larsen et al. (2009) and references therein.
A dense network of incised, mainly subglacially formed
valleys, now infilled with Quaternary sediments, is reported
from the Danish North Sea area, as well as the mainland
(Huuse et al., 2003; Kristensen et al., 2008; Krohn et al.,
2009). Often the valleys show a composite history of excavation and burial; they most probably date from the Middle
and Late Pleistocene and their distribution and orientation
have been used as proxies for estimates of the extent and flow
pattern of glaciations especially beneath the North Sea floor.
In the Late Pleistocene, the regional tectonic activity in the
Danish basin shifted eastwards controlled by crustal movements along the Fennoscandian border zone, and the Kattegat region was subject to intensified subsidence.
The age of the oldest glaciations is still being disputed
(Houmark-Nielsen et al., 2006). Early Pleistocene glaciations
have not been convincingly recognised in Denmark. However, since incised valleys seem to post-date this period, the
first Pleistocene glaciations most likely reached Denmark
during the Cromerian Complex Stage; in a period when
the rhythm of glaciation and interglacials changed from
41 ka astronomical cycles to domination of the 100 ka astronomical cycles. However, new key sites are currently being
studied in central Jylland, and the results may push back the
age of the first glaciations into the pre-Cromerian.

5.3. MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE GLACIATIONS

The interglacial deposits at the key site Harreskov (Fig. 5.1,
site 1) can most likely be correlated with Cromerian Interglacial II (Fig. 5.2) that corresponds to MIS 17. Between the
Harreskovian interglacial deposits and Neogene substratum, glaciolacustrine and glaciofluvial deposits overlie a
clayey glacial diamicton. Thus, in the older part of the Cromerian Complex, an ice sheet from Scandinavia penetrated
southwards leaving the oldest record of glaciation in

50

Denmark. It is likely that the wind-abraded quartzite and

quartzitic sandstone deflation surface between the Neogene
and the Pleistocene in Jylland represents the residual of till
dating from Cromerian or older glaciations (Fig. 5.2). No
limits for these glaciations or morphological features have
been recognised, just as the age is only indirectly estimated
on the relationship of these sediments to pollen sequences
from overlying interglacial deposits.
A regional hiatus separates the Cromerian glaciation
from the younger glaciations of the Middle Pleistocene
(Fig. 5.2). Elsterian glacigenic deposits comprise tills of
Norwegian, Middle Swedish and Baltic provenance, possibly deposited in this order during MIS 12 (i.e. the Elsterian
Stage). Key sites include those at Snder Vissing, Treldens and Rgle (Fig. 5.1, sites 2, 3 and 4). Meltwater streams
emerging from the first Elsterian ice sheet (Norwegian
Elster Advance) probably deposited outwash sand and
gravel that overlie solifluction material and interstadial deposits of doubtful age. The ice invaded the country from the
north and deposited a sandy till, which is characterised by
large amounts of Norwegian indicators (Houmark-Nielsen,
2004). This ice advance terminated south of Denmark.
Whether or not the Norwegian Elster Advance and the
advance which deposited the Elsterian sandy to clayey till
of Middle Swedish composition were separated by interstadial conditions is uncertain, neither is the distribution of this
Middle Elsterian Advance known in any detail. The latter advance was succeeded by a Baltic ice advance, which deposited a clayey till in central Denmark. Key sites for these tills
comprise Rgle Klint, Treldens, Snder Vissing (Fig. 5.1,
sites 2, 3 and 4). This Baltic Elster Advance probably terminated in northern Germany and the North Sea. Meltwater
clay was washed down into local depressions, as well as into
the large buried valleys in Jylland. It could well be equivalent
to the so-called Lauenburg Clay from northern Germany.
These basins and lakes were later to be filled with lacustrine
and marine Holsteinian Stage (MIS 11) deposits (Fig. 5.2).

5.4. THE SAALIAN GLACIATION

An upper major hiatus separates pre-Holsteinian glaciations
from those of the Saalian (MIS 106). It has been proposed
that the interglacial lacustrine deposits of Treldens
(Fig. 5.1) may belong to an inter-Saalian event, that is,
the Wacken Interglacial (Houmark-Nielsen et al., 2006)
and, not as previously assumed, tied to the Elsterian. Three
major ice advances separated in time by deposition of glaciofluvial material dominate the Saalian Stage (Fig. 5.2).

5.4.1. The First Saalian Glaciation

Glaciofluvial sand and gravel locally filled the lake basins
and formed floodplains deposited by westward flowing
meltwater streams which covered large parts of central

Quaternary Glaciations - Extent and Chronology

and southern Jylland. These waterlain deposits, referred

to as the Norwegian gravel, emerged from the first Saalian
ice advance probably during MIS 8. This Norwegian Saale
Advance deposited a sandy, quartz-rich Treldens till
which includes a readily apparent Norwegian indicator erratic content and other characteristic rock fragments of
northerly provenance (Houmark-Nielsen, 2004). The
Norwegian Saale Advance invaded the country from a
northerly direction and probably terminated south of the
Danish-German borderland. There are apparently no morphological features left from this glaciation. The type section is Treldens (Fig. 5.1, site 3).

5.4.2. The Drenthe Phase

The second Saalian glaciation began with the deposition of
fine-grained glaciofluvial material and, as the glacier
approached, ended with proximal outwash deposits and
flow till sediments. The ice sheet invaded the country from
the north-east during the early part of MIS 6 and deposited
the sandy, quartz-rich Ashoved till, named after the type
section on the east coast of Jylland (Fig. 5.1). The till is
characterised by Middle Swedish indicators and rock fragments from the Jurassic deposits along the Fennoscandian
border zone in Kattegat, as well as by re-deposited Holsteinian-aged Foraminifera (Houmark-Nielsen, 2004). Key
sites for this phase include Rgle and Ashoved (Fig. 5.1,
sites 2 and 5). The deglaciation of this ice sheet was accompanied by deposition of the glaciofluvial material observed
at several places in the central Danish region. End moraines
and other elongate features are recognised in the Skovbjerg
area in western Jylland (Larsen and Kronborg, 1994; Sahl,
2004) forming linear hill complexes (Fig. 5.1, the digital
map).

5.4.3. The Warthe Phase

The youngest of the Saalian glaciers that covered Denmark
was a Baltic advance that corresponds to the Warthe Stadial
on the North European mainland (Figs. 5.1 and 5.2). This
ice sheet invaded the central Danish region from easterly
to east-south-easterly directions and deposited a clayey,
quartz-poor, chalk-rich till of Baltic clast provenance (Houmark-Nielsen, 2004). This Baltic Advance terminated in
western Jylland (Fig. 5.1, the digital map), however, the terminal moraines are sparsely preserved as a consequence of
later periglacial landform transformation during the Weichselian Stage. A connection of Warthe end moraines in
Schleswig-Holstein via buried submarine push-moraines
and thrust interglacial marine deposits south of Esbjerg
and offshore by the Lister Deep west of Rm (Fig. 5.1,
sites 6 and 7) to the maximum extent in Jylland (sensu
Sjrring, 1983) was proposed by Andersen (2004). The proposed ice margin is marked by elongate hills north of

Chapter 5

51

Pleistocene Glaciations in Denmark

FIGURE 5.3 Palaeogeographical reconstruction of the the Warthe Substage glaciation ca. 150140 ka ago. From Houmark-Nielsen et al. (2005).
Hypothetical ice margins are indicated by the dotted heavy line. Mapped
margins are shown by the solid heavy line.

Esbjerg (Figs. 5.1 and 5.3, the digital map) and by the distribution of Baltic indicator erratics on the ground surface.
The presence of a Warthe till in the Vendsyssel area (Larsen
et al., 2009) and in the area south and east of Esbjerg (Houmark-Nielsen, 2007) suggests that the advance terminated
in a large glacier lobe across most of Jylland after flowing
through eastern Denmark. It advanced at least as far west as
the present North Sea coast of southern Jylland and transgressed the present marsh-land between the Esbjerg area
and the northern part of Schleswig-Holstein. It also calved
in the newly opened Arctic sea in the Kattegat and Skagerrak (Fig. 5.3). Key sites in Jylland for this unit include
Skrumhede, Hinnerup and Stensigmose Klint (Fig. 5.1,
sites 8, 9 and 10).

5.4.4. Problems
The ages of the glacial phases which deposited the two older
Saalian tills are rather uncertain. They are younger than the
Holsteinian, and possibly also the Wacken interglacial. Luminescence dates suggest invasion of the Treldens advance
between 310 and 245 ka, whilst dating of interstadial deposits in Jylland indicates an age older than 155 ka and younger than 230 ka for the Drenthe advance (Pedersen and
Jakobsen, 2005; Houmark-Nielsen et al., 2006; Houmark-

Nielsen, 2007). Thus, at present MIS 8 and 6 are the best candidates for these ice advances (Fig. 5.2).
Other problems concern the morphological fingerprint
of the younger of the two glaciations. In the Skovbjerg area
(Fig. 5.1, the digital map), elongate hills, mostly trending in
NWSE directions, may expose strong tectonic deformation. Some of these are definitely of glaciotectonic
origin indicating ice deformation from north-easterly directions (Skibsted, 1990; Larsen and Kronborg, 1994;
Houmark-Nielsen, unpublished). However, some of these
hill and valley trends, that are aligned parallel to
major sub-Quaternary fault systems and some tectonic
structures in Saalian sediments, may support the interpretation that some landform features could have been caused
by crustal movements (Sahl, 2004; Pedersen and Jakobsen,
2005).
The distribution in north-westernmost Denmark of the
Late Saalian, Warthe, glaciation is disputed. Terminal moraines and cliff sites exposing glaciotectonic deformations
are present in south-western Jylland (Andersen, 2004). In
central Jylland, the morphology is dominated by landforms
subjected to re-modelling during the Weichselian. However, in a distinct zone trending SWNE through central
Jylland, the surface distribution of Baltic indicators
abruptly drops from being dominant to almost zero. Thus,
the terminal zone of the Warthe advance is placed along this
zone, following Sjrring (1983). However, Pedersen and
Jakobsen (2005) advocated a more westerly course, reaching well inside the Skovbjerg area. Whether the Lilleblt
advance crossed the western Limfjord area is still an open
question, and Larsen and Kronborg (1994) advocate a far
more westerly configuration despite the lack of characteristic provenance dependent clast and boulder contents indicating Baltic origin.
Although a few dates suggest advance in the latter part
of MIS 6, ages between 17 and 150 ka have been obtained
from a significant number of deposits overlying the Lilleblt till in southern Jylland. These ages could suggest
advance before 170150 ka. However, deposition of sediment grains that were not subjected to sunlight exposure
could be responsible for ages older than the internationally
accepted age of ca. 140 ka (Houmark-Nielsen, 2007, 2008).
Another problem is to distinguish the Warthe Till from
Middle Weichselian Baltic tills of similar lithology. This
also complicates comparison with the North German and
Polish stratigraphy. Only when the till can be stratigraphically related to deposits of the Eemian Stage interglacial
will proper correlation be achieved.

5.5. LATE PLEISTOCENE GLACIATIONS

Glaciations during the Late Pleistocene reached
Denmark during the Middle and Late Weichselian
substages, that is, MIS 4, 3 and 2 (Fig. 5.4). Luminescence

52

Quaternary Glaciations - Extent and Chronology

FIGURE 5.4 Chronology of glaciations in Denmark with age indications of dated sediments interstratified between till units.

and radiocarbon from different sources (Eirksson et al.,

2006; Larsen et al., 2009; Houmark-Nielsen, 2010)
suggest that six major ice advances transgressed the

country comprising the Sundsre Advance at ca. 65

60 ka; the Ristinge, the Klintholm and the Kattegat
Ice Streams at 5450, 3429 and 2927 ka; the Main

Chapter 5

Pleistocene Glaciations in Denmark

53

Advance at 2319 and the Young Baltic Ice Streams at 18

16 ka.

5.5.1. The Early Weichselian Substage

Knudsen et al. (2009) report a rapid change from boreolusitanian deep water to shallow water, boreal conditions in
Vendsyssel which marks the boundary between the Eemian
and the Early Weichselian. Up-sequence, the microfauna
changes rapidly from boreal to boreo-Arctic conditions
up-sequence. On land, the Early Weichselian is characterised by solifluction events and periglacial conditions
dominated by niveo-fluvial and aeolian processes
(Houmark-Nielsen, 2007). One major climatic amelioration, namely the Brrup Interstadial, is found in central
Denmark (Fig. 5.1). At Brrup, tundra was replaced by
low Arctic open forests with birch and juniper succeeded
by spruce and pine. In the Skrumhede Group, the Brrup
Interstadial has been identified as an alternation towards
more boreal conditions (Kristensen et al., 1998). At the
end of MIS 5, strong cooling and shallow water Arctic conditions mark the transition to the Middle Weichselian Substage time in the marine sequence.

FIGURE 5.5 Palaeogeographical reconstruction of the Ristinge Ice

Stream ca. 5446 ka ago. From Houmark-Nielsen et al. (2005). For explanation of symbols: Fig. 5.3.

5.5.2. Middle Weichselian Glaciations

The Middle Weichselian in the Skrumhede Group shows
alternating glacigenic and Arctic marine environments with
ice rafting (Knudsen et al., 2009). MIS 4 in the Skrumhede
Group began with a fall in sea level and deposition of icerafted debris in the marine silty clays. Calving glaciers presumably extended beyond the Swedish west Coast and into
the Norwegian channel. Eventually, the SIS transgressed
the SkagerrakKattegat depression from South Norwegian
uplands (Fig. 5.4); the Sundsre Advance covered parts of
northern Denmark around 6560 ka ago during the closure
of MIS 4 (Larsen et al., 2009). This glaciation left behind
dead ice and proximal outwash sediments in northern Jylland. Key sites for this event include Skrumhede and
Sundsre (Fig. 5.1, sites 8 and 11). Involuted and windabraded soil horizons and fluvial and aeolian sand with
plant detritus indicate sparsely vegetated Arctic landscapes
with floodplains and drifting dunes prior to the first Weichselian glaciation in southern Denmark (Houmark-Nielsen,
2007).

5.5.3. The Ristinge and Klintholm Ice Streams

Major ice-sheet expansion in the southern Baltic region induced an ice stream to spread fan-like across the country
(Houmark-Nielsen, 2010), and eventually glaciers covered
most of the country early in Middle Weichselian MIS 3 between 55 and 48 ka ago (Figs. 5.4 and 5.5). Key sites include
Skrumhede, Ristinge Klint and Klintholm (Fig. 5.1, sites 8,

12 and 13) In south and central Jylland west of the Late

Weichselian marginal moraines (Fig. 5.1, MSL), periglacially smoothened end moraines (the digital map) and kettle
holes most likely constitute morphological features of the
Ristinge Ice Stream and mirror the distribution of this ice advance supported by stratigraphical evidence.
Subsequently, active glaciers retreated to the Scandinavian mountains and the central Swedish lakeland, while the
former glaciated areas were partly left covered by dead ice.
Interstadial environments replaced proglacial regimes. Arctic marine conditions were restored in the KattegatSkagerrak sea and this was accompanied by ice rafting due to rapid
calving of glaciers as recorded in the Skrumhede Group
(Knudsen et al., 2009). The Baltic lake was re-established,
and on land, a mammoth steppe with shrub tundra existed
from ca. 45 to 30 ka during the middle part of MIS 3
(Bennike et al., 2007; Houmark-Nielsen, 2007).
Renewed ice growth caused the ice sheet to advance
onto the coast in southern Norway (Houmark-Nielsen and
Kjr, 2003), and glaciers possibly streamed southwards
through the Baltic depression feeding the Klintholm Ice
Stream (Fig. 5.4). The latter seems only to have covered
the eastern most part of the country around 3429 ka ago
(Houmark-Nielsen, 2010). Key sites are located at
Klintholm and Sejer (Fig. 5.1, sites 13 and 14). Glaciomarine clay was deposited proglacially in northern Sjlland
caused by glacioisostatic subsidence. Glaciers extended
to the coasts of Skagerrak and Kattegat, and in the Upper

54

Quaternary Glaciations - Extent and Chronology

Skrumhede Group, ice-rafted material was deposited and

Arctic marine conditions were dominant. Deglaciation was
succeeded by deposition of interstadial freshwater beds on
Skane, Mn and northern Jylland containing remains of an
almost treeless, heather and shrub vegetation (HoumarkNielsen and Kjr, 2003).

morphological features, thus, its distribution is founded

on stratigraphical evidence alone. Type sections for the
Kattegat till comprise Hundested, North Sams and
Lnstrup (Fig. 5.1, sites 15, 16 and 17)

5.5.4. The Kattegat Ice Stream

In southern Norway and south-west Sweden, the SIS transgressed the coast late in MIS 3. Glaciers filled the Norwegian channel and calved into the North Sea and Kattegat. At
the same time, an incipient regression is recorded in northern Denmark. The marine conditions in the Skrumhede
Group were replaced by deposition of lacustrine fines and
fluvial sand with Arctic plant remains in a partly glacierdammed Kattegat ice lake. In northern Denmark and
south-western Sweden, deposits of the Kattegat ice lake
were overridden by the Kattegat Ice Stream around 30
27 ka ago (Figs. 5.4 and 5.6). The latter reached its maximum across central Denmark and in northwest Skane and
deposited till of Norwegian provenance (Houmark-Nielsen,
2003; Larsen et al., 2009), while periglacial conditions with
Arctic treeless vegetation were maintained in southern
Denmark. Deglaciation caused the Kattegat ice lake to reopen, however, still dammed off from the Atlantic Ocean
by glacier ice flowing out of the Norwegian Channel.
The Kattegat Ice Stream apparently has left no recognisable

After a period of glacier retreat, which left most of northern

Denmark and parts of Skane free of active ice, the main ice
advance of the Late Weichselian invaded this region from
the north-east and deposited till of Middle Swedish provenance. Type sections of this phase include Ristinge, North
Sams, Farup and Bovbjerg (Fig. 5.1, sites 12, 16, 18 and
19). Strong ice-bed interaction, as deduced from fine-gravel
dispersal in the till, suggests steady flow under non-streaming conditions, according to Kjr et al. (2003). The ice
reached the Main Stationary Line (Fig. 5.1, MSL) around
2220 ka BP (Figs. 5.4 and 5.7). The MSL is marked by
the vortex of numerous proximal outwash plains that very
steadily descend towards the west and south away from
the former ice margin. Often, their proximal parts are elevated compared to the ground moraine behind the former
termini. The marginal zone of the ice sheet is characterised
by few and poorly developed push-moraines suggesting the
absence of deformable sediments beneath large sections of
the ice sheet that could serve as decollement.
The main stationary state was followed by general retreat towards the north-east leaving behind isolated areas

FIGURE 5.6 Palaeogeographical reconstruction of the Kattegat Ice

Stream ca. 2927 ka ago. From Houmark-Nielsen et al. (2005). For explanation of symbols, see Fig. 5.3.

FIGURE 5.7 Palaeogeographical reconstruction of the Main ice advance

ca. 2220 ka ago. From Houmark-Nielsen et al. (2005). For explanation of
symbols, see Fig. 5.3.

5.5.5. Late Weichselian Substage Glaciations

Chapter 5

Pleistocene Glaciations in Denmark

55

FIGURE 5.8 Palaeogeographical reconstruction of the deglaciation readvance from main glacial stage ca. 2019 ka ago. From Houmark-Nielsen
et al. (2005). For explanation of symbols, see Fig. 5.3.

FIGURE 5.9 Palaeogeographical reconstruction of the Young Baltic Ice

Streams, East Jylland phase 1918 ka ago. From Houmark-Nielsen et al.
(2005). For explanation of symbols, see Fig. 5.3.

of dead-ice south-west of the retreating ice sheet. However,

phases of still-stands and readvances are recorded throughout most of Denmark (Figs. 5.1 and 5.8, the digital map).
Reduced ice-bed interaction under the general retreat, as indicated by Kjr et al. (2003), suggests a change towards
streaming flow conditions which is supported by morphology. Readvance related landforms may include streamlined
ground moraine located behind large arch-shaped push moraines. Directional properties from till beds and glaciotectonic deformation indicate a fan-like flow pattern, which
suggest a change in the basal glacier dynamics during the
deglaciation of the main advance. Terminal moraines are
especially prominent on Mors, in central North Jylland,
Djursland, Vendsyssel, southern Kattegat, Gribskov,
south-western Fyn, South Sjlland and Mn (Fig. 5.1), as
shown in the digital map.
After an interlude of periglacial conditions and dead-ice
downwasting, the final expansion of the SIS from the Baltic
uplands, around 2018 ka ago, brought Weichselian ice advances to an end. The Young Baltic ice streams pushed up
prominent marginal moraines during the East Jylland phase,
the Blthav phase and succeeding recessional phases
(Fig. 5.1, the digital map). Clayey tills of Baltic provenance
were deposited. Key sites for this phase include Ristinge,
Klintholm, Sejer, Hjvang, Mols Hoved, Visborg and
Korselitse (Fig. 5.1, sites 12, 13, 14, 20, 21, 22 and 23).
The terminal zones from the maximum extent (Fig. 5.9)
are especially well developed on Mols (Fig. 5.1). Here

arch-shaped end moraines cross-cut the NWSE trending

terminal moraines of the NE-ice readvances and overprint
the prominent streamlined terrain to the north (HoumarkNielsen, 2008; Fig. 5.7, the digital map). In many areas, especially Mols, Gribskov, southern Sjlland and Mn
(Fig. 5.1), the older push moraines are still visible beneath
a cover of Young Baltic ground moraine and dead-ice landforms, just as cliff exposures reveal large scale ice-push
structures related to the older readvances. After reaching
its maximum extent (Fig. 5.1: E), the ice sheet split into several individual ice streams during the Blthav phase, ca.
1817 ka ago, forming arcuate end moraines with complex
cross-cutting relationships (Fig. 5.10). However, in many
cases, these landforms are drowned and therefore not visible above present sea level. The Vejrhj end moraine system (Fig. 5.1 and Houmark-Nielsen, 2008: fig. 5.8) is an
outstanding on-shore example of small-scale ice-stream
perturbation forming several generations of arcuate end
moraines visible in the digital map. The high end moraines
up to 100 m were stacked by an ice advance that penetrated
15 km onto the western Sjlland foreland that later to split
into smaller lobes. Although they are covered by Post-Glacial marine deposits in the deepest parts, the hinterland exhibits streamlined ground moraine spreading out from a
narrow ice-stream zone to the east. The most clearly
expressed stream lines are those formed by kames smeared
out in a fan-like pattern towards the west and south-west. In
front of the end moraines, proximal outwash fans

56

FIGURE 5.10 Palaeogeographical reconstruction of the Young Baltic

Ice Streams, Blthav phase 1817 ka ago. From Houmark-Nielsen et al.
(2005). For explanation of symbols, see Fig. 5.3.

interfinger with a generation of older arch-shaped push moraines to the west, now mostly situated below sea level and
clearly visible on bathymetric maps. Dead-ice fields were
successively isolated from the retreating ice front, and prominent arch-shaped end moraines were built in the Storeblt
region between Fyn and Sjlland, finally to sculpt the out
standing push moraines on Mn along the Baltic Coast.
The decay of the Ice Stream and the massive downwasting,
connected to deglaciation, took place while the moraine systems in Halland on the Swedish west coast were built along
the active ice margin at around 1716 ka (Figs. 5.1 and 5.11).
At the same time, an ice lobe calved in the northern resund
between Sjlland and Skane and embryos of what later
merged into the Baltic Ice Lake began to develop. As deglaciation proceeded, traces of the youngest terminal positions
of the SIS in Denmark are marked by proximal sandar, dump
moraines and the distribution of proglacial lakes dammed up
along the coast of the island of Bornholm (Fig. 5.1, the digital
map). The age of this stage is between 21 and 15 ka (Kjr
et al., 2006; Houmark-Nielsen et al., 2010).
From the peak of the Young Baltic Ice Streams and onwards, an Arctic sea transgressed Northern Denmark and
penetrated deeply into the Kattegat depression. At about
17 ka ago, Arctic glaciomarine conditions had reached
the resund region (Lagerlund and Houmark-Nielsen,
1993; Richardt, 1996). Because glacioisostatic rebound
caused regression, marine environments were maintained
only in the eastern and deeper part of Kattegat, where a

Quaternary Glaciations - Extent and Chronology

FIGURE 5.11 Palaeogeographical reconstruction of the Young Baltic

Ice Streams, Mn phase 1716 ka ago. From Houmark-Nielsen et al.
(2005). For explanation of symbols, see Fig. 5.3.

transition to marine Holocene deposits is recorded (Knudsen et al., 2009). On land, the Late Weichselian glacial Substage included interstadial conditions with low Arctic
pioneer vegetation and progressively reduced ice cover
in SW Scandinavia during the BllingAllerd event,
although a climatic reversal to ice-age conditions occurred
during the Younger Dryas Stadial.

5.5.6. Problems
The dynamics of the Sundsre advance remain clear, even
though the younger Kattegat advance also of Norwegian origin has been categorised as ice streams on well-argued
grounds (Wohlfarth et al., 2008). Another problem is the estimation of the extent of the Sundsre and Kattegat advances since their morphological features apparently are
not preserved in the present landscape. Alternatively, however, there may be features not acknowledged at present
that may relate to these glaciations. Because successive
Late Weichselian ice advances produced superimposed
landscapes, specific morphologies may have been subjected
to misinterpretation both in time and genesis. The extent of
glaciers where none or very sparse morphological features
are preserved must rest solely on stratigraphical interpretation. However, stratigraphical prerequisites such as distinctive lithological features, robust dating procedures and
reliable correlation are not straightforward when dealing
with the Middle Weichselian or earlier events. Therefore,

Chapter 5

the distribution of pre-LGM ice advances may not always

be known in detail.
The timing of glacier expansion and retreat is substantially embedded in the part of the numerical age model
where luminescence is supported by radiocarbon, especially in the range where 14C ages can be calibrated to calendar ages. Therefore, the ages of Middle Weichselian
glaciations are still crude, and the chronologies may be subjected to adjustments or corrections when a denser network
of dated glacial deposits becomes available. Environmental
interpretation of sedimentary facies and knowledge of the
circumstances under which transport and deposition took
place is crucial when evaluating luminescence ages (Kjr
et al., 2006; Houmark-Nielsen, 2008), just as application
of different luminescence methods from region to region
makes correlation difficult (Houmark-Nielsen, 2010).
Therefore, assessing the synchronicity of not only Middle
Weichselian ice advances but also Late Weichselian glaciations and their terminal positions marked by end moraines
may not be straightforward.
Compilations of the rapidly changing Scandinavian
palaeoenvironments indicate that the repeated outflow of
glaciers from the Norwegian, Swedish and Baltic uplands
across Denmark during most of the Weichselian was interrupted by episodes of strongly reduced ice-sheet distribution accompanied by the colonisation of low Arctic flora
and fauna in central Scandinavia (Ukkonen et al., 2007;
Wohlfarth, 2009; Houmark-Nielsen, 2010). Whether icesheet fluctuations reflect an immediate adjustment to rapid
climate change or whether expansion and withdrawal represent a more complex response remains uncertain. Ice
streams flowing from the south-western periphery of the
SIS possibly reflect the combined effects of change in
regional glacier dynamics caused by ice-bed instabilities,
location of shallow proglacial basins containing sediments
of low permeability and recurrent external climatic forcing
acting upon the ice sheet.

5.6. CONCLUSIONS
l

57

Pleistocene Glaciations in Denmark

The age of the first Pleistocene ice cover in Denmark is

uncertain, however, the Cromerian Glacial A seems to
be the most likely candidate.
The succession of Middle Pleistocene glaciations is not
known in detail because of the reduced preservation potential and the presence of regional haiti. However, four
major glaciations from the Elsterian Stage, and the Middle and Late Saalian (Drenthe-Warthe advances) Substages can be recognised.
Late Pleistocene glaciations invaded Denmark from different Scandinavian uplands during the Middle and Late
Weichselian Substages. One occurred during late MIS 4
(Sundsre Advance) and three MIS 3 glaciations (Ristinge, Klintholm and Kattegat Ice Streams) can be

recognised, plus two glaciations during MIS 2 (Main

Advance and Young Baltic Ice Streams).
Discrimination between inter-stream and ice-stream
flow has added substantially to the understanding of
the dynamic behaviour of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet.
Glacier expansion resulting from ice streaming seems to
be out of phase with global ice-sheet volume and
appears to correspond to episodes of regional North
Atlantic climate amelioration.

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