Relocated interglacial lacustrine sediments from an esker at Snickarekullen, S.W. Sweden

Lumps of diatom-rich, laminated sediments were discovered redeposited and i nterbedded in a Late Weichselian delta sequence in a small glaciofluvial es ker at Snickarekullen, south-western Sweden. Radiocarbon dating of the sedi ments gave an infinite age (>45 000 B.P.). The composition and sediment str ucture of the lumps were studied in epoxy-impregnated thin sections using S EM and EDS. Quantitative and qualitative diatom analyses of the sediments w ere carried out, as well as pollen and macrofossils analyses. The biostrati graphy is compared with that from Holsteinian interglacial sites in surroun ding countries, the evidence for which is briefly reviewed. It is concluded that the sediments were deposited in the central part of a lake probably d uring different parts of the Holsteinian interglacial. The water body chang ed from a rather shallow lake with a high pH to a considerably deeper, olig otrophic lake with neutral to slightly acidic water during the sedimentatio n period. The local and regional vegetation developed from an open pine-bir ch forest into a much more closed vegetation of pine, spruce, larch, alder and hornbeam.