Deglaciation pattern of the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet across Fennoscandia

Palaeo-ice sheets leave behind a landform record that we can decipher to understand glaciological processes and the responses of ice sheets to warming climates. Reconstructions of past ice sheet behaviour can inform numerical ice sheet models and are important for understanding ongoing glacio-isostatic uplift. The Scandinavian Ice Sheet, which was the largest component of the Eurasian Ice Sheet Complex during the last glaciation, glaciated Fennoscandia and northern Europe. Since the 19^th Century, there has been considerable research into the deglaciation pattern of Scandinavian Ice Sheet during the last Glacial-Interglacial Transition. However, many reconstructions of retreat have been conducted at local-regional scales, which can be difficult to reconcile across ice sheet-scales, and ice-sheet scale reconstructions based on consistent approaches to mapping and data sources are rare. These inconsistencies lead to difficulties in creating ice-sheet wide reconstructions of deglaciation.

Using the glacial inversion approach, we combine our independently mapped ice marginal landforms, subglacial meltwater routes, and subglacial bedforms to produce a consistent ice sheet-scale assessment of deglaciation patterns across Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Here we present our latest version of the deglaciation pattern for the last Scandinavian Ice Sheet. This reconstruction has many similarities to previous efforts but adds significant detail. For example, in addition to overall retreat patterns, we capture instances of ice margin readvance. We also reconstruct a complex retreat pattern with the ice sheet breaking into small ice masses located within and adjacent to the Scandinavian Mountains.