Małgorzata Pisarska-Jamroży

Periglacial and Fluvial Factors Controlling the Sedimentation of Pleistocene Breccia in NW Poland

Abstract Breccias were investigated on the terrace of the Toruń‐Eberswalde ice‐marginal valley at Rozwarzyn (NW Poland). Breccia layers include soft‐sediment clasts with diameters between 2 and 256 mm and soft‐sediment megaclasts with diameters from 256 mm to 7 m. The shape of the soft‐sediment clasts and megaclasts (derived from frozen sediments) in the breccia is diverse: from angular and irregular in the case of debris‐flow breccias to slightly rounded and tabular in fluvial breccias. These two types of breccias were developed during the Late Weichselian when the periglacial climate favored extensive lateral erosion by currents of frozen braided channels in the ice‐marginal valley. The dual presence of breccias of fluvial and debris‐flow origin in channel deposits is unique for Quaternary sediments. Zones of breccias existed in the channels where scours and obstacle marks related to megaclasts developed. The study of breccias shed new light on the fluvial processes in ice‐marginal valleys during the Pleistocene and can be considered as diagnostic for fluvio‐periglacial conditions.

Factors controlling sedimentation in the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley during the Pomeranian phase of the Weichselian glaciation: an overview

Abstract During the Pleistocene the Scandinavian ice sheet drained huge quantities of sediment-laden meltwaters. These meltwaters supplied ice-marginal valleys that formed parallel to the front of the ice sheet. Not without significance was the supply of ice-marginal valleys from extraglacial rivers in the south. Moreover, periglacial conditions during and after sedimentation in ice-marginal valleys, the morphology of valley bedrocks, and erosion of older sediments played important roles in the depositional scenarios, and in the mineralogical composition of the sediments. The mechanisms that controlled the supply and deposition in ice-marginal valleys were analysed on the basis of a Pleistocene ice-marginal valley that was supplied by northern and southern source areas in the immediate vicinity. Investigations were conducted in one of the largest ice-marginal valleys of the Polish-German lowlands, i.e., the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley, in sandurs (Drawa and Gwda) supplied sediments and waters from the north into this valley, and on extraglacial river terraces (pre-Noteć and pre-Warta rivers), formed simultaneously with the sandurs and ice-marginal valley (Pomeranian phase of Weichselian glaciation) supplied sediments and waters from the south into this valley. A much debated question is how similar, or different, depositional processes and sediments were that contributed to the formation of the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley, and whether or not it is possible to differentiate mostly rapidly aggraded sandur sediments from ice-marginal valley sediments. Another question addresses the contribution of extraglacial feeding of the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley. These matters were addressed by a wide range of analyses: sediment texture and structure, architectural elements of sediments, frequency of sedimentary successions, heavy-mineral analysis (both transparent and opaque heavy minerals), analysis of rounding and frosting of quartz grains, and palaeohydrological calculations. Additionally, a statistical analysis was used. The specific depositional conditions of distribution of sediments in ice-marginal valley allow to distinguish new environment of ice-marginal valley braided river. The spectrum of depositional conditions in the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley and their specific palaeohydraulic parameters allow to distinguish three coexisting zones in the ice-marginal valley braided-river system: (1) deep gravel-bed braided channel zone with extensive scours, (2) deep sand-bed braided channel zone with transverse bars, and (3) marginal sand-bed and gravel-bed braided channel zone with diamicton and breccia deposition, which were characterised in detail. Some of the results have been published previously, which is why they are discussed in the present paper within the context of new data

Sedimentation style of a Pleistocene kame terrace from the Western Sudety Mountains, S Poland

Sedimentation style of a Pleistocene kame terrace from the Western Sudety Mountains, S Poland The depositional conditions of kame terraces in a mountain valley were analysed sedimentologically and petrologically through a series of kame terraces in the Rudawy Janowickie mountains. The kame terraces comprise five lithofacies associations. Lithofacies association GRt, Sp originates from deposition in the high-energy, deep gravel-bed channel of a braided river. Lithofacies association GC represents a washed out glacial till. Probably a thin layer of till was washed out by sandy braided rivers (Sp). The fourth association (Fh, Fm) indicates a shallow and quite small glaciomarginal lake. The last association (GRt, GRp) indicates the return of deposition in a sandy-bed braided channel. The petrography of the Janowice Wiekie pit and measurements of cross-stratified beds indicate a palaeocurrent direction from N to S. The Janowice Wielkie sedimentary succession accumulated most probably during the Saalian (Odranian, Saale I, Drenthe) as the first phase of ice-sheet melting, because the kame terrace under study is the highest one, 25-27 m above the Bóbr river level. The deposits under study are dominated by local components. The proglacial streams flowed along the margin of the ice sheet and deposited the kame terrace. The majority of the sedimentary succession was deposited in a confined braided-river system in quite deep channels.

Is the Charlottenthal fan (marginal zone of the Pomeranian phase, NE Germany) an end moraine?

Is the Charlottenthal fan (marginal zone of the Pomeranian phase, NE Germany) an end moraine? The maximum ice-sheet extent of a glaciation or glacial phase is in most cases indicated by the position of end moraines. In some cases, however, the maximum extent of the ice sheet is indicated by a fan which represents the transitional zone between the end moraine and the proximal outwash plain (sandur). Such a fan from the Pomeranian phase near Charlottenthal in NE Germany has been investigated for its lithofacies, and the depositional mechanisms of the two sedimentary environments (end moraine and outwash plain) are reconstructed. The Charlottenthal profle is not characteristic in a sedimentological sense of a typical marginal end moraine or a sandur. The deposits represent subaerial debris flows, sheet floods and channelized currents, which are typically processes for transitional fan. Gravel samples from the till complex show typical Weichselian till compositions. These till compositions indicate a general transport direction from North to South, which is consistent with the known movement of the ice sheet during the Pomeranian phase of the Weichselian.

Sorting of heavy minerals in sediments deposited at a high accumulation rate, with examples from sandurs and an ice-marginal valley in NW Poland

Density differences among the various heavy-mineral species appear to be the main factor responsible for their sorting in glaciofluvial and fluvial environments. Sediments from two sandurs (stretching perpendicular to the Weichselian ice-sheet front) and a terrace of the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley (extending parallel to the Weichselian ice-sheet front) in NW Poland support this idea clearly. The deposits investigated were formed during the Pomeranian phase of the Weichselian glaciation. Heavy-mineral and sedimentological analyses of these sediments indicate that most changes in the proportion of the various heavy-mineral species in gravelly and sandy sediments can be ascribed to changes in the flow regime, which is, in turn, related to the density of the various heavy-mineral species. In addition, the turbulence of the current and the bedform played a role in the sorting. The sedimentation rate also affected the heavy-mineral composition of the sandur and ice-marginal valley sediments. Furthermore, the proportions of some heavy minerals depend on the transport distance, which is well expressed by differences that occur over the investigated distance of 90 km of the ice-marginal valley. It appears that some heavy-mineral species are good tools for reconstructing sorting processes. Heavy minerals deposited by streams with a fast-changing discharge and a high accumulation rate (which is common for glaciofluvial streams) can, by combining data about the composition of the assemblages with data about the characteristics (size, rounding, colour, etc.), help in reconstructing palaeo-flow regimes and in estimating the turbulence, transport distance and mode of sediment transport in the streams.

Reconstruction of sediment provenance and transport processes from the surface textures of quartz grains from Late Pleistocene sandurs and an ice-marginal valley in NW Poland

Abstract During the Pomeranian phase of the Weichselian glaciation (~17-16 ka), the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley (NW Poland and easternmost Germany) drained water from the Pomeranian ice sheet, while intensive aeolian processes took place across Europe in the foreland of the Scandinavian ice sheet (‘European Sand Belt’). The micromorphology of the quartz grains in the Toruń-Eberswalde ice-marginal valley shows no traces of these aeolian processes, or only vague signs of aeolian abrasion. This is unique among the aeolian sediments in other Pleistocene ice-marginal valleys in this part of Europe. The study of the surfaces of the quartz grains shows that the supply of grains by streams from the south was minimal, which must be ascribed to the climate deterioration during the Last Glacial Maximum, which resulted in a decrease of the discharge of these extraglacial rivers to the ice-marginal valley.

Adjustment coefficients for planimetric analysis of the granulometry of coarse-grained sediments

Adjustment coefficients for planimetric analysis of the granulometry of coarse-grained sediments The relationship between results from granulometric analyses of by sieving and by planimetry was investigated by numerical simulation of cubes filled with boulders, cobbles and pebbles. Cross-sections through the sediment were simulated and compared with photos of an actual outcrop wall. Volumes estimated on the basis of planimetric analysis using the cross-sections were compared with sieve analyses, thus allowing to determine adjustment coefficients. The coefficients for pebbles and cobbles have a small standard error, but are larger for boulders, which might be a consequence of too small areas formed by the cross-sections.

Changes in the Heavy-Mineral Spectra on Their Way From Various Sources to Joint Sinks: A Case Study of Pleistocene Sandurs and an Ice-Marginal Valley in Northwest Poland

Abstract The supply of sediment—and thus of heavy minerals—from the melting Weichselian Scandinavian ice cap to sandurs and ice-marginal valleys in the south was controlled mainly by the ablation rate and thus by meltwater streams with fast-changing discharges, resulting in a high accumulation rate. There were, however, more sources that contributed to the successions that accumulated in front of the ice cap. These sources were in the ice-marginal valleys—the sediments that became eroded from the bedding—and locally, from the valley margins, as well as areas in the upstream (eastern) direction of the rivers and areas in the south that were drained by south–north (S–N) running rivers. In addition, wind-blown material that might come from anywhere in the periglacial environment may have left sedimentary particles both on the sandurs and in the ice-marginal valleys. Which sources contributed, and how significant their contributions were, has been investigated by heavy-mineral analysis of sediments from three localities on two sandurs, five localities on terraces along an ice-marginal valley in Poland, and three localities on terraces from S–N running rivers south of the ice-marginal valley. All these sediments accumulated during the Pomeranian phase of the Weichselian glaciation. The analysis indicates that the heavy-mineral spectra at the various sites cannot unravel the pathway from source to sink by themselves, but that the spectra have not only been changed by postdepositional processes, but also depend on erosional processes and travel-distance-related sorting, and—probably even more—on (changes in) the flow regime of the streams that transported the particles. Taking this into account, heavy-mineral analysis can contribute to the reconstruction of the pathway of sedimentary particles and of the changes in the heavy-mineral spectra from source to sink. There is no reason to presume that this approach is useful only for glacigenic sediments, so analysis of all the investigated parameters—and particularly of the flow regimes—for water-transported sediments may well help to reconstruct the pathways of sedimentary particles from their source to sink in several types of environment.