0000000000061884
AUTHOR
Vitālijs Zelčs
Outlines of the Quaternary geology of Latvia
New luminescence ages reveal Early to Middle Weichselian deposits in central Latvia
New optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages show that sandy deposits overlain by Late Weichselian subglacial till in central Latvia are of Early to Middle Weichselian age. The finer chronological resolution of unconsolidated sediment deposition in the Central Latvian Lowland (CLL) remains relatively unstudied, and here we provide a first characterisation of the deposits with respect to their age. Three OSL ages ranging between 84 ± 9 ka and 112 ± 11 ka suggest that the deposits studied in the CLL are of Early Weichselian age (MIS 5). We found no Middle Weichselian deposits in the CLL, and assume that any such younger sediments might have been eroded during the advance of the Zemgale Lo…
Pleistocene Glaciations in Latvia
Abstract During the Pleistocene the territory of Latvia was repeatedly overridden by Scandinavian ice sheets, at least from the Elsterian onwards. Extent limit of all glaciations was located far outside of Latvia. Due to vigorous erosion by subsequent glaciations the Pleistocene record is incomplete. Radiocarbon, cosmogenic nuclide and radiation exposure dating methods have been mainly used only for age determination of the upper part of the Pleistocene sequence. Decay of the Late Weichselian glaciation in Latvia is marked by five major ice-marginal zones
Subglacial bed deformation and dynamics of the Apriķi glacial tongue, W Latvia
Saks, T., Kalvans, A. & Zelcs, V. 2012 (January): Subglacial bed deformation and dynamics of the Apriķi glacial tongue, W Latvia. Boreas, Vol. 41, pp. 124–140. 10.1111/j.1502-3885.2011.00222.x. ISSN 0300-9483. We evaluate the glacial dynamics and subglacial processes of the Apriķi glacial tongue in western Latvia during the Northern Lithuanian (Linkuva) oscillation of the last Scandinavian glaciation. The spatial arrangement of glacial bedforms and deformation structures are used to reconstruct the ice dynamics in the study area. The relationship between geological structures at the glacier bed and the spatial distribution of drumlins and glacigenic diapirs, on the one hand, and the permeab…
STOP 14: Morphology and internal structure of the Lāči drumlin at Tērvete village, Zemgale Drumlin Field
STOP 1: Lower Gauja spillway valley at Sigulda
STOP 15: Morphology and internal structure of a ribbed moraine and drumlin remnant in the environs of Baldone, Central Latvian Lowland
Deglaciation history of Latvia
This chapter discusses the deglaciation history of Latvia. The earliest deglaciation schemes of Latvia were based entirely on morphological features. The spatial distribution of glacial landforms, with crests transverse to glacier movement combined with radiocarbon dates and biostratigraphical evidence, have provided the principal data for the reconstruction of the deglaciation process from the mid-1960s until the present. A deglaciation history should be based on multiple criteria. Attention should be paid to the identification of ice-marginal formations, and complex studies are also needed, including the investigation of the spatial distribution and internal composition of subglacial land…
The Last Deglaciation of the Southeastern Sector of Scandinavian Ice Sheet
The Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) was an important component of the global ice sheet system during the last glaciation, but the timing of its growth to or retreat from its maximum extent remains poorly known. We used 115 cosmogenic beryllium-10 ages and 70 radiocarbon ages to constrain the timing of three substantial ice-margin fluctuations of the SIS between 25,000 and 12,000 years before the present. The age of initial deglaciation indicates that the SIS may have contributed to an abrupt rise in global sea level. Subsequent ice-margin fluctuations identify opposite mass-balance responses to North Atlantic climate change, indicating differing ice-sheet sensitivities to mean climate state.
Subglacial bedforms of the Zemgale Ice Lobe, south-eastern Baltic
Abstract Presented in this paper are the results of the mapping of ∼6600 subglacial bedforms of the Zemgale Ice Lobe (ZIL), their composition and internal structure in the south-eastern Baltic region. Topographic maps at scale 1:10,000 were mainly used to map bedforms in Latvia, while a digital elevation model with cell size of 5 m was used for North Central Lithuania. The ZIL operated during the deglaciation of the Late Weichselian Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS), at least in the Middle Lithuanian and North Lithuanian glacial phases, and created a subglacial landform assemblage consisting of glacial lineations such as drumlins, mega-flutings, Mega Scale Glacial Lineations (MSGLs) and transver…