Glacial Deposits In Northeast Europe

Until now no overview of the Quaternary deposits of northeastern Europe has been available. This book fills the gap. It presents the state of research on Quaternary stratigraphy and geology, with emphasis on glacial deposits, discusses the general scientific ideas and gives an overview of the methods of investigation, some of which have rarely been applied elsewhere. It has become apparent that the region covered has many environmental problems, and a proper understanding of the Quaternary deposits is a basic requirement for dealing with them. The same is true for civil engineering. In the formerly glaciated areas almost all construction sites for roads and houses will encounter glacial deposits. This volume provides an authoritative and fascinating overview for anyone planning to venture into this field. In its 53 regional chapters the book covers Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic and eastern Germany. From the text it becomes clear that not all the stratigraphical schemes are yet fully compatible or comprehensible. There can be no doubt, however, that the east was subjected to very extensive ice advances during the earlier Pleistocene. Also, in contrast to western Europe, there was a significant Early Weichselian ice advance, although not as extensive as the last, Late Weichselian event. The book is illustrated by 421 figures and 74 colour plates (mostly photographs). There are 23 tables, a detailed index and a list of over 1000 references, providing a unique collection of northeastern European geoscience literature, much of which has so far escaped the attention of western scientists. The volume, composed of contributions by 60 scientists, completes the trilogy on glacial deposits of northern Europe. Together with its two companion volumes, the Glacial deposits in North-West Europe and the Glacial Deposits in Great Britain and Ireland, it represents an invaluable source of information for the geoscientist, the advanced student or the amateur.

The importance of glacial deposits is continually increasing, not only for pure scientists, but also for applied geologists. In many parts of Europe, as well as North America, these deposits provide major sand and gravel reserves, groundwater reservoirs and the foundation on which houses, roads and bridges are built. They are thus fundamental to many environmental and engineering problems. In this volume forty six authors report on the current state of specialist research on various aspects of glacial deposits. The geographical coverage of their work — Norway, Sweden, Denmark, West Germany and the Netherlands — represents a transect from the centres of the major North European Quaternary glaciations to their margins. Among the topics covered are: drift prospecting, modern varve chronology, fine gravel analysis, internal structure of thrust moraines, stratigraphical interpretation of well-logs, echo-sounding of North Sea deposits, erratic pebbles as indicators, till fabrics, palaeontology of glacial deposits, multi-component analyses, glacial deposition on the continental shelf and the genetic interpretation of glacial landforms. In addition there are reviews of the regional stratigraphy and glacial chronology of each of the five countries represented and detailed discussion of the problems of genesis, reworking, transport and deposition of Quaternary glacial sediments. Much information is previously unpublished. The volume is intended to serve both as a text book for students and informed amateurs and as a guide for professional geoscientists. The 53 chapters are richly illustrated (409 black and white illustrations and 95 colour photos). In addition to a full and detailed index, the book contains one of the most up-to-date and complete lists of the most important literature on Quaternary problems in North-West Europe, with over 700 references, which serve as a guide for further studies.

Volume 2 provides an overview of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic evolution of Central Europe. This period commenced with the destruction of Pangaea and ended with the formation of the Alps and Carpathians and the subsequent Ice Ages. Separate summary chapters on the Permian to Cretaceous tectonics and the Alpine evolution are also included. The final chapter provides an overview of the fossils fuels, ore and industrial minerals in the region.

This book is a comprehensive overview of the ever-captivating field of glaciation from the perspective of glacial landsystems. This approach models the many processes, forms and interactions that can be found in glaciated landscapes throughout the world. Landsystems models allow the glacial geologist and geomorphologist to evaluate these landscapes in relation to the dynamics of glaciation and to climate and geology. Glacial Landsystems brings together the expertise of an international range of specialists to provide an up-to-date summary of landsystems relevant to both modern and ancient glacier systems and also in the reconstruction and interpretation of former glacial environments. The models are applicable at all scales from ice sheets to small valley glaciers. This book is an essential reference for anyone embarking upon research or engineering surveys in glaciated basins and provides a wide-ranging handbook of glacial landsystem types for students of glaciation.