Pleistocene chronostratigraphy in Estonia, southeastern sector of the Scandinavian glaciation

Pleistocene chronostratigraphy in Estonia is based on 29 studied sites/sections, the dating of which covers a span from approximately 200 ka BP to the Pleistocene—Holocene chronostratigraphic boundary, and a local varved clay chronology for eastern Estonia, which enables tentative correlation of Lateglacial (LG) events to Finnish and Swedish varve chronologies. Analysis of existing and unpublished data was used to review the current Pleistocene chronostratigraphy and particularly the history of Weichselian Cold Stage in Estonia. OSL ages from fluvial deposits that included the Kõrveküla (Holsteinian) or Rõngu (Eemian) continental interglacial deposits revealed that the pre-Weichselian interglacial deposits were glacially dislocated during the Weichselian. Available OSL/TL and 14C dates and new 14C AMS ages of mammoth bones indicate ice-free conditions between 105 and 68 ka BP and a comparatively mild Middle Weichselian between 43 and 22 ka BP. The LG chronology indicates in general rapid (average 110 m/yr) deglaciation of the territory between ca 14.7 and 12.7 ka BP. The duration of the Late Weichselian glaciation in Estonia ranged between 7.3 and 9.3 ka.