Luminescence dating of the last Weichselian Glacier advance in East Greenland

Abstract We have studied fluvial and deltaic sediments that accumulated at the margin of a fjord during the Flakkerhuk stade when the last major glaciers advanced and retreated in the Scoresby Sund region, East Greenland. The sediments have been dated using the optically stimulated luminescence of quartz and, as a control on the technique, those sediments deposited after deglaciation were also dated using 14 C. We conclude that the last glacier build-up began much earlier than previously suggested; our data indicate the existence of a more or less stable ice cover for a period of c. 50 ka. This is consistent with the record of ice rafted detritus on the continental slope off the Scoresby Sund fjord complex, and suggests that the glacier had a polar regime with little surface melting or basal slide.