The Quaternary of the Kattegat area, Scandinavia: a review

Abstract

The Quaternary sedimentary history and its relations to the pre‐Quaternary in the Kattegat region are reviewed. The Quaternary in the area is restricted to relatively young sediments, including scattered findings of Saalian deposits and more continuous occurrences from the Eemian, the Weichselian and the Holocene. Glacial and interglacial palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, including Holocene changes in oceanographic circulation, are reviewed, and the recent sedimentary processes and the present hydrographic regime are outlined. Furthermore, Quaternary and present tectonic activity in connection with some of the pre‐Quaternary fault zones is discussed.

Seismic stratigraphy of Late Quaternary deposits in the eastern Skagerrak

“…The upper deposits are dominated by Late Weichselian glacimarine sediments deposited adjacently to the retreating ice (Fa¨lt, 1982;Lykke-Andersen et al, 1993). Holocene deposits are very thin, except in the northern part of the Kattegat, where the water depth increases.…”

“…The surface of the Precambrian bedrock forms a peneplane, sloping to the west. Mesozoic sedimentary rocks are found only in the westernmost part of the study area, also dipping westwards and becoming younger in that direction (Flode´n, 1973;Lykke-Andersen et al, 1993).…”

“…Although there are considerable overlaps with the study by Fa¨lt (1982), the higher resolution in the present investigation allows a more detailed interpretation. Several studies have also been performed in the Kattegat, to the south (Nordberg and Bergsten, 1988;Nordberg, 1989Nordberg, , 1991Gyldenholm et al, 1993;Lykke-Andersen et al, 1993;Klingberg, 1996).…”

Late Quaternary ice sheet, lake and sea history of southwest Scandinavia – a synthesis

“…1). The area is part of the Kattegat Depression, a deep northwest–southeast trending basin that can be perceived as a southeastern branch of the Norwegian Channel (Lykke‐Andersen et al 1993). In southern Vendsyssel, the pre‐Quaternary surface is situated at the present sea level or above, and towards the north it descends to more than 250 m b.s.l.…”

Middle Weichselian marine sediments from eastern Kattegat, Scandinavia

“…Fig. 1 and Lykke- Andersen et al 1993). There are strong indications that the 'Kattegat Basin' is a structural phenomenon generated by subsidence (Lykke- Andersen, H. 1987).…”