Land‐To‐Sea Mapping of the Glacial Erosion Unconformity Reveals Evolution of the Jasmund Glacitectonic Complex East of Rügen Island (SW Baltic Sea)

Abstract

Abstract Glacial movements shaped vast northern parts, offering critical insights into glacial dynamics in a changing climate. Located on the island of Rügen in NE Germany, the Jasmund Glacitectonic Complex (JGC) is a key area to study the dynamics of past glaciations. Previous reconstructions focused primarily on the onshore realm, resulting in some areas remaining unexplored. Here we use more than 140 high‐resolution marine multi‐channel seismic profiles to map the erosional unconformity surrounding the JGC for the first time. Submarine glacial features match features observed onshore, allowing a consistent land‐to‐sea reconstruction of the evolution of the JGC. Our results indicate a single SW‐directed Weichselian glacier advance, suggesting that the JGC formed through three distinct glacier lobes exerting pressure from multiple directions. The ice advance encircled the Jasmund peninsula and overthrusted Cretaceous sediments on the JGC perpendicularly and laterally.

Keywords

• seismic mapping
• glacial landforms
• glacitectonic complex
• nuclear waste repository