Late Saalian marine clay successions in southwestern Sweden

• Published in: GFF Vol. 119; no. 4; pp. 267 - 273
• Main Author: Klingberg, Fredrik
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 01.12.1997
• Subjects: Foraminifera; Late Quaternary; Late Saalian; marine clay succession; southwestern Sweden; stable oxygen isotopes; the Kattegat
• ISSN: 1103-5897; 2000-0863
• DOI: 10.1080/11035899709546486

Localities of marine Quaternary deposits older than the Weichselian glaciation are rare in southwestern Sweden. Marine strata investigated on land at Margreteberg, Holmagärde, and Gåsakulla were determined to be of Late Saalian age. Late Saalian deposits in the Kattegat can be found below the Weichselian sediments which can be up to 100 m thick. A palaeogeographic map of the Late Saalian Kattegat is presented, showing that the average depth of the Kattegat was deeper during the Late Saalian than it was during the Late Weichselian. The benthic foraminifera from these sites indicate an arctic glaciomarine depositional environment. The δ 18 O values determined from the foraminifera show that the bottom water was mainly of Atlantic Ocean origin and that the salinity was lowered by meltwater from the disintegrating inland ice sheet. The salinity was estimated to be about 30‰, assuming a water temperature of approximately 2°C. Klingberg, F., 1997: Late Saalian marine clay successions in southwestern Sweden. GFF, Vol. 119 (Pt. 4, December), pp. 267-273. Stockholm. ISSN 1103-5897.