Reconstruction of the White Sea Basin during the late Younger Dryas |
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| Authors: | ANTTI PASANEN JUHA PEKKA LUNKKA NIKO PUTKINEN |
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| Institution: | 1. Geological Survey of Finland;2. Kokkola, Finland;3. Department of Geosciences, University of Oulu, Finland |
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| Abstract: | Pasanen, A., Lunkka, J. P. & Putkinen, N. 2009: Reconstruction of the White Sea Basin during the late Younger Dryas. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00128.x. ISSN 0300‐9483 The Weichselian Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) in the White Sea Basin retreated from its maximum position to the Kalevala end moraine between 17 000 and 11 500 years ago. Even though the deglaciation history is relatively well known, the palaeoenvironments in front of the ice sheet are still poorly understood and partly controversial. In the present paper, we use geomorphological, sedimentological and ground‐penetrating radar survey methods to study glaciofluvial plains and shorelines at the Kalevala end moraine. These data are used to define the shoreline gradient for the area and to numerically reconstruct the palaeotopography and the area and volume of the water body in the White Sea Basin during the late Younger Dryas 11 500 years ago. The results indicate that at three sites glaciofluvial plains represent Gilbert deltas deposited to the same water level next to the ice margin. Using the shoreline gradient of 0.42 m/km, it is shown that the water body in the White Sea Basin was extensive and relatively deep, inundating large, currently onshore, areas on the western side of the White Sea and the Arkhangelsk area to the east. The ice margin terminated in the White Sea, which was connected to the Barents Sea via the Gorlo Strait and separated from the Baltic drainage basin to the south. |
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