¹⁰Be-based exploration of the timing of deglaciation in two selected areas of southern Norway

Abstract

We present new 10Be surface exposure ages from two selected locations in southern Norway. A total of five 10Be samples allow a first assessment of local deglaciation dynamics of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet at Dalsnibba (1476 m a.s.l.) in southwestern Norway. The bedrock ages from the summit of Dalsnibba range from 13.3±0.6 to 12.7±0.5 ka and probably indicate the onset of deglaciation as a glacially transported boulder age (16.5±0.6 ka) from the same elevation likely shows inheritance. These ages indicate initial deglaciation commencing at the end of the Bølling–Allerød interstadial (∼ 14.7–12.9 kyr BP) and ice-free conditions at Dalsnibba's summit during the Younger Dryas. Bedrock samples at lower elevations imply vertical ice surface lowering down to 1334 m a.s.l. at 10.3±0.5 ka and a longer overall period of downwasting than previously assumed. Two further 10Be samples add to the existing chronology at Blåhø (1617 m a.s.l.) in south-central Norway. The 10Be erratic boulder sample on the summit of Blåhø sample yields 20.9±0.8 ka, whereas a 10Be age of 46.4±1.7 ka for exposed summit bedrock predates the Late Weichselian Maximum. This anomalously old bedrock age infers inherited cosmogenic nuclide concentrations and suggests low erosive cold-based ice cover during the Last Glacial Maximum. However, due to possible effects of cryoturbation and frost heave processes affecting the erratic boulder age and insufficient numbers of 10Be samples, the glaciation history on Blåhø cannot conclusively be resolved. Comparing the different timing of deglaciation at both locations in a rather short west–east distance demonstrates the complex dynamics of deglaciation in relation to other areas in southern Norway.