GLACIATION OF THE NETHERLANDS

For a long time it was thought that The Netherlands had only been glaciated during the penultimate, Saalian glaciation. In establishing this there had been a discussion on whether differences in till constitution related to one or to two glacial events, but in the end the 'one event' option gained. The extent and characteristics of the Saalian glacial event have by now been well established, although additional information (e.g. on the structure of ice-pushed moraines, or on the timing of deglaciation) is still added. Mapping the extent of glaciation into the adjoining Dutch sector of the North Sea has revealed that the traditional view of the ice crossing over to England is no longer tenable. Instead the mapped ice front rapidly swings north to more or less run parallel to the presentday shore of continental NW Europe. The emerging outline of the former ice sheet forces rethinking of the processes and flow patterns that prevailed in the ice sheet.

By now it has been established that apart from indications related to glaciation in the early and (the early part of) the middle Pleistocene, the northern part of the country and the greater part of the North Sea have also been glaciated during the Elsterian. Mapping the extent of this glaciation has been hampered by the fact that it did not leave a marked outer limit. Mapping the Dutch sector of the North Sea has revealed that during the Weichselian ice stemming from the UK did cover the Northeastern part of that sector.

In the presentation we will present the material relevant to the three glacial events as well as discussing future directions of research.