The Late Weichselian glacial maximum in western Svalbard

Abstract

The glacial history of Svalbard and the Barents Sea during the Late Weichselian has been much debated during the last few years; reviews are presented by Andersen (1981), Boulton et al. (1982), ElverhBi & Solheim (1983) and Vorren & Kristoffersen (1986). In our opinion (Mangerud et al. 1984) it is now demonstrated that a relatively large ice-sheet complex existed over most of Svalbard and large parts (if not all) of the Barents Sea. One of the main arguments for a large ice sheet is the pattern of uplift, including the 9,800 B.P. date on the 100 m shoreline in Kong Karls Land (Salvigsen 1981). Important unresolved problems include how large that ice sheet was, the location of the different ice domes and ice fronts, the age and duration of the glacial maximum, and the deglaciation history. We will here report on these problems bringing some results from the Van Mijenfjorden and Isfjorden area (Fig. 1); a more comprehensive paper is in preparation.