Concept information
Preferred term
Vistulian
Definition
- The Vistulian or Vistulian glaciation (or, retaining the German name, Weichselian or Weichselian glaciation) is the name given to the last glaciation in northern Europe (Scandinavia, much of Great Britain, Poland and northeastern Germany), and is used by extension to refer to the entire Eurasian ice sheet. It is equivalent to the Würm or Würmian glaciation of the Alps. The Vistulian is dated to the Upper Pleistocene epoch, within the Quaternary period. Around 115,000 years ago, global temperatures dropped. The forested areas that had developed during the Eemian disappeared and a new Ice Age began. Ice caps formed on the mountains of Scandinavia, Spitsbergen, the Franz Josef archipelago and New Zealand. In the Lower Vistulian, a first thrust peaked between 100 and 90,000 years BP. Not very pronounced in Scandinavia, it centered on the Kara Sea and extended deep into the plains of central Siberia to reach the ice of the Poutorana Plateau. In these regions, the glacial maximum was already reached during this phase. Subsequent advances are more marked in the more western regions. In the Middle Vistulian, a first glaciation reached its maximum in 75 - 70,000 BP, when a cap centered on the Barents Sea joined the Scandinavian cap, which this time also covered Finland. A second thrust between 55 and 45,000 BP left the Barents Sea virtually ice-free. The last advance occurred in the Upper Vistulian (approx. 20,000 BP), and was the most powerful of all. Centered on Scandinavia, it covered the entire Baltic Sea and Baltic countries, joining the Scottish ice sheets and extending across the North Sea. The formation of a cap over these seas is facilitated by the fact that they are shallow. (Adapted and translated from: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaciation_vistulienne)
Broader concept
Entry terms
- Vistula
- Vistulian glaciation
- Vistulian Stage
In other languages
-
French
-
glaciation vistulienne
-
Vistule
URI
http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/QX8-G53H9D18-7
{{label}}
{{#each values }} {{! loop through ConceptPropertyValue objects }}
{{#if prefLabel }}
{{/if}}
{{/each}}
{{#if notation }}{{ notation }} {{/if}}{{ prefLabel }}
{{#ifDifferentLabelLang lang }} ({{ lang }}){{/ifDifferentLabelLang}}
{{#if vocabName }}
{{ vocabName }}
{{/if}}