The purpose of this study is to find datable interstadial sediments in the core area of the LateWeicheslian ice sheet extent. Based on geomorphological evidence, three coring sites wereidentified close to the Ultevis plateau in Norrbotten, northern Sweden. Sediment coring wascarried out in two pre-Late Weichselian stream channels and in a sediment basin. Stratigraphyfrom one of the sites, a 100 meter wide meltwater channel, was chosen for further analysis. Thestudied core was 5,93 m long and ended in a lower till unit. The core contained silt and sandbelow an upper till unit, indicating presence of interstadial sediments in the stratigraphy. Thecore was subsampled for luminescence dating. Two samples from above the upper till unit andtwo samples from below this unit were chosen for initial luminescence measurements onfeldspar. These preliminary measurements indicate a significant difference in paleodosebetween the upper samples and the lower. The upper samples displayed relatively highpaleodoses, possibly representing pre-Late Weichselian ages. This could imply presence of twointerstadials in the stratigraphy. The lower samples exhibited significantly higher paleodosesthan the upper ones, possibly indicating early-Weichselian or even Saalian ages for the lowersamples.

Recent work suggests an emerging new paradigm for the Scandinavian ice sheet (SIS); one of a dynamically fluctuating ice sheet. This doctoral research project explicitly examines the history and dynamics of the SIS at four sites within Sweden and Norway, and provides results covering different time periods of glacial history. Two relatively new dating techniques are used to constrain the ice sheet history: the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating technique and the terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) exposure dating technique. OSL dating of interstadial sediments in central Sweden and central Norway indicate ice-free conditions during times when it was previously inferred the sites were occupied by the SIS. Specifically, the SIS was absent or restricted to the mountains for at least part of Marine Isotope Stage 3 around 52 to 36 kyr ago. Inland portions of Norway were ice-free during part of the Last Glacial Maximum around 25 to 20 kyr ago. Consistent TCN exposure ages of boulders from the Vimmerby moraine in southern Sweden, and their compatibility with previous estimates for the timing of deglaciation based on radiocarbon dating and varve chronology, indicate that the southern margin of the SIS was at the Vimmerby moraine ~14 kyr ago. In central Sweden, consistent TCN ages for boulders on the summit of Mt. Åreskutan and for the earlier deglaciated highest elevation moraine related to the SIS in Sweden agree with previous estimates for the timing of deglaciation around 10 ka ago. These results indicate rapid decay of the SIS during deglaciation. Unusually old radiocarbon ages of tree remains previously studied from Mt. Åreskutan are rejected on the basis of incompatibility with consistent TCN ages for deglaciation, and incompatibility with established paleoecological and paleoglaciological reconstructions. Altogether this research conducted in different areas, covering different time periods, and using comparative geochronological methods demonstrates that the SIS was highly dynamic and sensitive to environmental change. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Submitted. Paper 4: Manuscript.

<p>In this thesis the Weichselian history of northern Sweden is investigated, with emphasis on vegetation and climate during ice-free intervals. The main method used has been pollen analysis of sediments from pre-Late Weichselian landforms. To interpret fossil pollen assemblages, comparisons with modern pollen spectra were made. Modern pollen data were retrieved through monitoring of annual pollen deposition at seven sites in northern Sweden, from the boreal forest to above the present forest-line of birch. Eight years of pollen monitoring is described and put in a larger context through comparison with monitoring data from Iceland, Svalbard, Norway and Finland. A study of sediment cores from the Riipiharju esker shows evidence of two ice free phases during the Weichselian glacial; Tärendö I and Tärendö II. The Tärendö II ice free interval includes large climatic shifts, previously not recognized, from relatively warm conditions with <i>Betula</i> as the dominating pollen taxon to cold conditions with dominance of <i>Artemisia</i> and Gramineae and back to warmer conditions again. Correlation alternatives of the north Swedish ice free intervals Tärendö I and II are: 1/ Brörup (MIS 5c; c. 105-93 ka BP) and Odderade (MIS 5a; c. 85-74 ka BP), respectively, or 2/ Odderade and early Middle Weichselian time (MIS 3; c. 59-40 ka BP). Of these, alternative 2 is regarded as the most likely. Interstadial sediments deposited in a Veiki moraine plateau during downwasting of a pre-Late Weichselian ice sheet include only <i>Betula</i> dominant pollen spectra, showing that the climate during formation of the Veiki moraine was relatively warm. According to stratigraphical correlation there are three possible alternatives for Veiki moraine formation. Either it was formed during 1/ early Tärendö I, 2/ early Tärendö II, or 3/ late Tärendö II. Alternative 3 implies growth of an intermediate ice sheet reaching the eastern limit of Veiki moraine distribution during the cold phase of Tärendö II.</p>

In this thesis the Weichselian history of northern Sweden is investigated, with emphasis on vegetation and climate during ice-free intervals. The main method used has been pollen analysis of sediments from pre-Late Weichselian landforms. To interpret fossil pollen assemblages, comparisons with modern pollen spectra were made. Modern pollen data were retrieved through monitoring of annual pollen deposition at seven sites in northern Sweden, from the boreal forest to above the present forest-line of birch. Eight years of pollen monitoring is described and put in a larger context through comparison with monitoring data from Iceland, Svalbard, Norway and Finland. A study of sediment cores from the Riipiharju esker shows evidence of two ice free phases during the Weichselian glacial; Tärendö I and Tärendö II. The Tärendö II ice free interval includes large climatic shifts, previously not recognized, from relatively warm conditions with Betula as the dominating pollen taxon to cold conditions with dominance of Artemisia and Gramineae and back to warmer conditions again. Correlation alternatives of the north Swedish ice free intervals Tärendö I and II are: 1/ Brörup (MIS 5c; c. 105-93 ka BP) and Odderade (MIS 5a; c. 85-74 ka BP), respectively, or 2/ Odderade and early Middle Weichselian time (MIS 3; c. 59-40 ka BP). Of these, alternative 2 is regarded as the most likely. Interstadial sediments deposited in a Veiki moraine plateau during downwasting of a pre-Late Weichselian ice sheet include only Betula dominant pollen spectra, showing that the climate during formation of the Veiki moraine was relatively warm. According to stratigraphical correlation there are three possible alternatives for Veiki moraine formation. Either it was formed during 1/ early Tärendö I, 2/ early Tärendö II, or 3/ late Tärendö II. Alternative 3 implies growth of an intermediate ice sheet reaching the eastern limit of Veiki moraine distribution during the cold phase of Tärendö II.