Glacial geomorphology between Lake Vänern and Lake Vättern, southern Sweden

Abstract

The glacial geomorphology between the lakes Vänern and Vättern is presented on a 1:220,000 scale, LiDAR-based map covering approximately 18,000 km2. Fifteen landform units have been mapped; end moraines, De Geer moraines, drumlins, crag-and-tails, hummock tracts and corridors, irregular ridges, murtoos, eskers, deltas/sandur, outwash complexes, meltwater channels, boulder bars/sheets, the Timmersdala ridge, raised shorelines, sand dunes and prominent landslide scars (the last three are post-glacial). The area includes moraines associated with the Younger Dryas cold interval and drainage deposits of the Baltic Ice Lake. Additionally, the map reveals previously undetected geomorphic features including (1) murtoos, (2) abundant traces of meltwater erosion manifested as channels and hummock corridors, (3) laterally extensive end-moraine systems (the Remmene and Kungslena ice-margin positions) and (4) the distinct lobate shape of end moraines formed above the highest shoreline. This map provides a uniform base for future use in georesources, paleo ice-sheet modelling, geologic history, and geoconservation.