MARINE HIGH-RESOLUTION RECORDS OF THE LAST INTERGLACIAL IN NORTHWEST EUROPE - A REVIEW

The last Interglacial in Northwest Europe (the Eemian) corresponds to stable oxygen isotope substage 5e (ca. 130-115 ka BP). Foraminiferal s tudies from northern Denmark suggest that deglaciation after the Saali an Glacial (stage 6) occurred gradually over a period of about 3000 ye ars. Data from borings on the island of Anholt show that the deglaciat ion was interrupted by a climatic fluctuation equivalent to the Allero d-Younger Dryas-Preboreal cycle at the Weichselian-Holocene transition (stage 2/1). The environmental interpretation of the foraminiferal da ta when compared to that of the deep sea stable isotope stratigraphy i ndicates that this climatic oscillation may have been a global event. An initial sea level rise of about 50-60 m occurred at the Saalian-Eem ian transition (stage 6/5e at about 130 ka BP) and the assemblages ind icate that the sea level rose further in the middle part of the Eemian prior to a gradual drop in sea level in the Late Eemian. The Eemian/ Weichselian boundary (stage 5e/5d at about 115 ka BP) was characterize d by a major sea level drop and a temperature decrease from lusitanian to boreal conditions. The final change to fully glacial conditions di d not occur until the Early-Middle Weichselian transition (stage 5/4 a t about 74 ka BP).