Glaciotectonic unconformities in Pleistocene stratigraphy as evidence for the behaviour of former Scandinavian icesheets

Glacitectonic structures are the products of glacier-induced tectonic displacement in soft sediments. Often their orientation is related to the direction of glacier flew. In Pleistocene sedimentary sequences structures form glacitectonic unconformities that may appear as marker horizons on a regional scale. In stratigraphic studies glacitectonic and glacidynamic structures and textures are connected with the boundaries and lithology of till formations. Examples are given of how the regional distribution of till formations and related ice flow directions can be used to reconstruct the pattern of glaciation and deglaciation during the Late Weichselian. It is concluded that neither classical glaciation models nor modern models dealing with one central ice dome or alternatively operating with several central and marginal ice domes are developed fully enough to explain the course of Middle and Late Pleistocene glaciations in northwest Europe.