Extent and Dynamics of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet during Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (65,000–25,000 yr B.P.)

Abstract The climate of the middle Weichselian Glaciation, Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (OIS-3), a relatively mild period compared to the glacial maxima of OIS-4 and OIS-2, consisted of long warm interstades punctuated by brief cold excursions that grew colder and more frequent with time. The OIS-4...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Quaternary Research
Main Authors: Arnold, Neil S., van Andel, Tjeerd H., Valen, Vidar
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2002
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Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/qres.2001.2298
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Summary:Abstract The climate of the middle Weichselian Glaciation, Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (OIS-3), a relatively mild period compared to the glacial maxima of OIS-4 and OIS-2, consisted of long warm interstades punctuated by brief cold excursions that grew colder and more frequent with time. The OIS-4 ice sheet is generally thought to have persisted throughout OIS-3, but evidence from dated OIS-3 interstadial deposits suggests that it was swiftly reduced to small remnants which only briefly expanded and retreated. Only 30,000 years ago the deteriorating climate initiated a sustained ice advance leading toward the final glacial maximum of OIS-2. Dynamic ice-sheet models support the existence of a prolonged ice-free interval during OIS-3 induced, perhaps, by low precipitation due to extensive sea-ice cover offshore.