During the Quaternary period, Scandinavia's mountains were the source for repeated glaciation that covered much of eastern, central and western Europe. With a particular emphasis on the four countries of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, this text describes how these glaciations, and their intervening warmer stages, affected Scandinavia and its surrounding areas. In particular, this account focuses on the last cold stage, the Weichselian, with its extensive Late Weichselian glaciation and the subsequent deglaciation, and on the last 10,000 years, the Holocene, with its well documented environmental changes. The Quaternary History of Scandinavia provides a cross-frontier synthesis of how the glaciation affected this vast region, and will be invaluable to students and researchers of Quaternary science.
1. Introduction
2. Pre-Quaternary substratum
3. Northern Europe in the Quaternary
4. Pre-Saalian stages
5. Saalian stage
6. Eemian stage
7. Division of the Weichselian stage and the application of radiocarbon dating
8. Early Weichselian substage
9. Middle Weichselian substage
10. Middle and Late Weichselian glaciation
11. Late Weichselian and Early Flandrian deglaciation
12. Flandrian biostratigraphy and climatic changes
13. Late Weichselian and Flandrian land/sea-level changes
14. Land mammals
15. Quaternary chronology in Scandinavia
"[...] the definitive statement on the stratigraphic placement of the Quaternary deposits of Scandinavia. Donner has prepared a valuable resource for maps that show ice distributions over time, but the book's strength lies in its use as a reference for the stratigraphic placement of particular deposits."
– Choice
"[...] a significant contribution [...] There is no doubt that this is a master work. One need say no more than it is simply essential for anyone seriously interested the northern European Quatenary to get it."
– P.L. Gibbard, Geological Magazine
"[...] presented in a very well-written and systematic manner [...] a very readable, accurate and up-to-date review of the Quaternary history of the region [...] an excellent volume [...] It can become a standard reference work for professional Quaternary scientists and teachers, and will provide an excellent basis for university-level courses and research on the history of northwestern Europe during the Quaternary Period."
– Harold W. Borns, Jr., American Scientist
"Rich in detail, duly illustrated, it is a real mine of information about the quaternary in northern Europe."
– The Journal of Indo-European Studies