THE LAST INTERGLACIAL GLACIAL PERIOD ON SPITSBERGEN, SVALBARD

The glaciation history of Svalbard (78-degrees-N) and the NW Barents Sea is reconstructed for the last 130 ka, based on studies of sediments exposed in coastal cliffs at the head of Isfjorden. Four different till beds separated by marine sediments are recognized. The lowest marine formation, containing Mytilus edulis, reflects warmer conditions than at present, and is correlated with the last interglacial, the Eemian of Europe and Oxygen Isotope Substage 5e in the deep sea. The post-Eemian tills are inferred to represent major glaciations around 110 ka BP, 75-50 ka BP, and 25-10 ka BP. During the intervening intervals the glaciers on Svalbard were not significantly larger than at present and the NW Barents Sea was probably ice-free. The ice-free periods, named Phantomodden and Kapp Ekholm interstadials, lasted from about 110 to 75 and from 50 to 25 ka BP respectively. The marine fauna from both these interstadials indicate seasonally ice free conditions. The ages of the recorded glaciations coincide with, or are slightly younger than, periods with insolation minima, which at this latitude is determined by a low tilt of the Earth's axis. Thus we postulate that the Quaternary glaciations of Svalbard were driven by orbital variations with the 41 ka tilt period, in contrast to the lower-latitude glaciations of Scandinavia that were partly driven by the precession cycle with a periodicity of around 23 ka.