Pleistocene glaciations in southern Poland – a revision

Geological Quarterly, 2023, 67: 25 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7306/gq.1695 This paper is a part of Climate and environmental changes recorded in loess covers (eds. by Maria £anczont, Przemys³aw Mroczek and Wojciech Granoszewski) Pleistocene glaciations in southern Poland – a revision Leszek MARKS1, * 1 Polish Geological Institute – National Research Institute, Rakowiecka 4, 00-975 Warszawa, Poland; ORCID: 0000-00023-4507-1828 Marks, L., 2023. Pleistocene glaciations in southern Poland – a revision. Geological Quarterly, 2023, 67: 25, doi: 10.7306/gq.1695 A revised stratigraphy the Lower and Middle Pleistocene in southern Poland is presented, based on geological evidence from key sites, better constraints on the number and age of Scandinavian ice sheet advances, and the stratigraphic setting of the interglacial sequences. Identification of the palaeomagnetic Brunhes/Matuyama boundary and an admixture of glacially derived material of northern provenance in fluvial deposits demonstrate that the oldest Scandinavian ice sheet advance (Nidanian Glaciation) in Poland and the first warming of the oldest interglacial (Podlasian) occurred in the late Early Pleistocene. The first ice sheet advance in the Oœwiêcim Basin is recorded by a till of the Nidanian Glaciation. A single till and its geological setting relative to deposits of the Podlasian and Ferdynandovian interglacials show that, contrary to previous opinions, the ice sheet advance of the early Middle Pleistocene Sanian 1 Glaciation was a single, the most extensive glacial event in the Sandomierz Basin and in western Ukraine. The Sanian 2 and the Odranian ice sheets were considerably less extensive in eastern Poland. The revised Pleistocene stratigraphy and palaeogeography of southern Poland is a significant step forward towards reliable correlation of the Polish climatostratigraphic units with the European stratigraphy. Key words: Nidanian Glaciation, Sanian 1 Glaciation, Sanian 2 Glaciation, Ferdynandovian pollen succession, mixed gravels. INTRODUCTION At its maximum extent, the Scandinavian ice sheet reached the Carpathians and the Sudetes in southern Poland. In the marginal part of the Carpathians, the maximum ice sheet limit of the Pleistocene glaciation, at first named the Cracovian or the South Polish one, could be determined based on occurrence of erratic boulders and an admixture of the Scandinavian material in other deposits (cf. Lindner, 2001). In the Early Pleistocene, gravels were deposited in the Carpathian foreland by the Carpathian rivers (£yczewska, 1948; Laskowska-Wysoczañska, 1971; Mojski, 1984, 1985; Starkel, 1984). These are characterized by low petrographic diversity while their accumulation was associated with a preglacial interval that preceded the first ice sheet advance into this area (cf., Gradziñski and Unrug, 1959; Kucia-Lubelska, 1966; D¿u³yñski et al., 1968; Nawrocki and Wójcik, 1990; Lindner and Siennicka-Chmielewska, 1998). Based on plant fossils in clay balls found in these fluvial gravels, these preglacial deposits were found then to represent the late * E-mail: [email protected] Received: February 4, 2023; accepted: May 17, 2023; first published online: September 28, 2023 Miocene and the Pliocene (Brud and Worobiec, 2003; Zastawniak-Birkenmajer and Birkenmajer, 2012). A depression in the southern Sandomierz Basin favoured location of a river valley along the margin of the Carpathians in the Early Pleistocene, the river draining south-east to the Dnister River valley (Lindner and Marks, 2015). A lack of the Scandinavian material in these oldest fluvial deposits indicated that the river was supplied by the Carpathian tributaries. The first ice sheet advance in southern Poland (cf., Fig. 1) led to an admixture of Scandinavian material in the fluvial deposits, these being known as the mixed gravels (Hilber, 1882; Tietze, 1883; Uhlig, 1884; £oziñski, 1907; Romer, 1907; Stupnicka, 1962; £anczont, 1997; £anczont et al., 2011; Lindner and Marks, 2013). The sites with records of interglacial pollen successions enabled determination of the ice sheet limit and age of the Scandinavian glaciation in the Sandomierz Basin and the marginal part of the Carpathians (Fig. 1). Maximum limits of two ice sheets were determined in this area, correlated with the Sanian 1 and the Sanian 2 glaciations (Fig. 2). This was primarily based on the occurrence of Scandinavian erratic material, but also interpreted from the pollen spectrum and a geological setting of the Jasionka site (D¹browski, 1967; G³azek et al., 1976). The pollen succession examined was assumed to represent the Ferdynandovian Interglacial and a till above the interglacial deposits at Jasionka was considered as evidence of the ice sheet advance during the Sanian 2 Glaciation (Lindner, 1988a, b, 2001). This glaciation was postulated to be the most extensive 2 Leszek Marks / Geological Quarterly, 2023, 67: 25 P O L Nid a ? ula Vist Katowice Kraków Oœwiêcim Basin A C So ³a a dr Koñczyce O Sk aw ba Ra R a CZECHIA m d o n S a P r z i e L O V ice sheet limits Sanian 1 Jasionka T H Siedliska I Krukienichi Kruzhiki Dn iste Torhanovychi r A Baltic S N K I Warszawa Od r 50 km lithologic site ea S A front of the Carpathian thrust interglacial site UKRAINE Bukowina Wis³ok Przemyœl A A Bu g Lviv Odranian after Lindner (1991) Sanian 2: after £anczont (1997) D Rzeszów Dunaj ec S N i n Krzeszów Adamówka a s B£owisko n Sa ? Nidanian A a tu Vis la 200 km Fig. 1. Location sketch with key sites and ice sheet limits in southern Poland; after Lindner (1991, 2001), £anczont (1997), £anczont et al. (2003, 2019); Lindner and Marks (2013, 2015), modified Magnetostratigraphy Marine isotope stages Stage Subseries Ma Erathem System Series Chronostratigraphy Climatostratigraphy glacial-interglacial 18 ä O‰ 5.0 4.5 4.0 3.5 6 0.2 West Europe Poland Ukraine Saalian Odranian Dnieperian Holsteinian Elsterian Mazovian Sanian 2 Zavadivka Okanian Cromerian Complex Ferdynandovian Sanian 1 Donian Podlasian Martonosha Nidanian Preglacial Complex Priazovsk 7 Middle Chibanian 9 -0.42 Emperor 12 11 13 14 15 Lubny 17 18 0.8 Lower Calabrian 1.0 10 16 Matuyama 0.6 Cenozoic Quaternary Pleistocene 0.4 Brunhes 8 -0.77 20 22 24 26 28 19 21 23 25 27 Dorst Bavelian Shirokino Fig. 2. Global chronostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy of the late Early and Middle Pleistocene (Laj and Channel, 2007; Head et al., 2021), their correlation with marine isotope stages (Lisiecki and Raymo, 2005) and the Quaternary climatostratigraphy in western Europe (cf. Gibbard et al., 2005), Poland and Ukraine (after different sources) in southeastern Poland and western Ukraine, with ice sheet lobes advancing locally into the Carpathian basins (Butrym et al., 1988; £anczont, 1997; £anczont et al., 2003, 2019) and was at first correlated with the Wilga Glaciation, defined at the Ferdynandów site in southern Podlasie (cf., Janczyk-Kopikowa et al., 1981). Based on thermoluminescence dating of a till (cf. Lindner, 1992), the Sanian 2 ice sheet was then considered to reach only the central part of the Sandomierz Basin (Lindner, 2001; cf. Gozhik et al., 2012). Then, the maximum ice sheet extent was associated either with the Sanian 1 Glaciation in the Sandomierz Basin (Lindner, 2001) or with the Sanian 2 Glaciation in the Polish-Ukrainian border area (£anczont, 1997; £anczont et al., 2019). Alternatively, the first ice sheet in the Oœwiêcim Basin was associated with the Nidanian Glaciation (Wójcik et al., 2004; Lindner et al., 2013). Fluvial runoff, parallel to the Carpathians margin, was interrupted during the Sanian 1 Glaciation but it was reactivated after the ice sheet retreat in an ice-marginal spillway (Laskowska-Wysoczañska, 1967). At that time, fluvial deposits were already enriched in Scandinavian material and the waters drained into the Dnistr Valley (cf. Lindner and Marks, 2015). In southwestern Poland, the northern margin of the Sudetes was reached or slightly overpassed by the ice sheets of the Sanian 2 and the Odranian glaciations (Szczepankiewicz, 1969; Walczak, 1972; Przybylski et al., 2013). In the northern Czechia, glacial deposits of two Scandinavian glaciations were recognized, the Odranian Glaciation being the most extensive in the Moravian Gate (Nývlt, 1998, 2011). This paper provides a revised stratigraphy of the late Lower and early Middle Pleistocene in southern Poland. This is com- Leszek Marks / Geological Quarterly, 2023, 67: 25 bined with a better-constrained number and age of ice sheet advances, including from the stratigraphic setting of interglacial sequences recorded at key sites in this region. It is a step towards more reliable correlation of the climatostratigraphic units defined in Poland with the European stratigraphy (Marks, 2023; cf. Gibbard et al., 2005). SOURCE MATERIAL The analysis is based on results published previously by other researchers. A critical review of the type sections in the Sandomierz Basin and the Oœwiêcim Basin enabled reinterpretation of results of previous investigations and application of a modern stratigraphic classification (cf. Marks et al., 2014; http://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/stratigraphic-guide). Lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy (mainly palynostratigraphy), magnetostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy of the geological successions at key sites were established and regional climatostratigraphic units were distinguished. In this analysis, apart from a lithogenetic classification of the deposits, a boundary was established, that separated older fluvial gravels of Carpathian derivation from mixed gravels enriched in Scandinavian material. Pollen spectra of the organic deposits enabled distinction of interglacial successions and their placing within the Polish stratigraphic scheme. The location of the Brunhes/Matuyama palaeomagnetic boundary at Koñczyce was a key chronological marker of the Lower/Middle Pleistocene boundary. Application of lithostratigraphy, palynostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy laid the foundations for a chronostratigraphic subdivision that could be used for correlation with climatostratigraphic units elsewhere in Poland. MAIN TYPE SECTIONS There are only 4 key sites with deposits of the late Early and early Middle Pleistocene interglacials and tills of the Scandinavian glaciations in southern Poland: Koñczyce, Jasionka, £owisko and Bukowina (Fig. 1). The age of tills was estimated based on the petrography of the underlying and overlying fluvial deposits, pollen successions and palaeomagnetic data (cf. Marks, 2022). KOÑCZYCE The first Scandinavian ice sheet in southern Poland is recorded by a till at Koñczyce in the Oœwiêcim Basin (Fig. 1). This till, together with the overlying organic deposits (cf. Fig. 2), is located beneath the Brunhes/Matuyama palaeomagnetic boundary (Wójcik et al., 2004; cf. Lindner et al., 2013). Fluvial sand and gravel at the bottom of the section are devoid of northern provenance material ice-derived from Scandinavia and the Baltic Basin (Fig. 3) and are overlain by glaciofluvial sand and gravel, locally with a till that was correlated with the Narevian Glaciation or alternatively with the hypothetical Olza or Carpathian Glaciation (cf. Wójcik et al., 2004). Above the glaciofluvial deposits there is organic silt with a pollen spectrum representing part of an interglacial succession (Fig. 3), with high contents of oak (Quercus), alder (Alnus), linden (Tilia) and hazel (Corylus), and smaller participation of elm (Ulmus), hornbeam (Carpinus) and fir (Abies). Location of these deposits beneath the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary suggested unequivocally a 3 correlation with the Augustovian pollen succession and of the underlying till with the Nidanian Glaciation (cf. Lindner et al., 2013). The thickness of the organic deposits and the characteristics of the pollen spectrum indicate a younger part of the bipartite Augustovian succession (cf. Ber et al., 1998; Winter, 2006, 2008). Abies was common at Koñczyce, this tree being typical of mountain and upland areas, while it was absent at that time from sites in the lowland area of northeastern Poland (cf. Lindner et al., 2013). In the other part of the exposure, above the interglacial succession there are fluvial deposits of a braided river, typical for a cool climate (Wójcik et al., 2004), in turn overlain by silt and organic silt with peat interbeds of a meandering river, characteristic of a temperate climate (Fig. 3). The pollen succession in these organic deposits recorded 2 distinct warmings, separated by a cooling. Each warming is indicated by a high participation of alder (Alnus), hornbeam (Carpinus) and hazel (Corylus). This pollen succession was correlated with the Ferdynandovian Interglacial (cf. Wójcik et al., 2004). JASIONKA This site, located 8 km to the north of Rzeszów (Fig. 1), is important for the stratigraphy of the early Middle Pleistocene in the Sandomierz Basin (Laskowska-Wysoczañska, 1967). Marine clays of the Miocene at this site are overlain by fluvial sand and gravel, devoid of northern provenance material, but containing a bed of organic silt, gyttja and peat of a buried oxbow lake (Fig. 4). The pollen succession indicates initial pine forest communities with an admixture of spruce and birch, rare oak and elm. Progressive warming led to the predominance of mixed pineoak forest with spruce and birch, and deciduous forest with oak and elm, and an admixture of linden and rare hornbeam. It undoubtedly represents a moderately warm climatic optimum, followed by a cooling and a wetter climate, reflected by a dominant pine forest and the occurrence of alder (D¹browski, 1967). The appearance of mistletoe (Viscum) indicated mean winter temperatures of >–8°C and mean summer temperatures >16°C, such seasonal temperature difference suggesting a continental climate. There was also some larch (Larix) and aspen (Populus), whereas progressive cooling resulted in an increased participation of birch and spruce, a maximum of alder and then a predominance of a boreal forest which became gradually thinner (Fig. 4). The pollen succession at Jasionka was initially considered to represent an interstadial (D¹browski, 1967), then correlated with the Kozi Grzbiet Interglacial (cf. G³azek et al., 1976), named later the Malopolanian Interglacial (Ró¿ycki, 1978). Finally, it was found to be decidedly different from the succession of the Ferdynandovian Interglacial (Stuchlik and Wójcik, 2001) and correlated with the younger part of the Podlasian Interglacial (cf. Lindner et al., 2013). The organic deposits at Jasionka are overlain by glaciofluvial sand and gravel, between two tills of the Sanian 1 Glaciation (Lindner and Marks, 2015). The upper till may reflect a local advance of the ice sheet margin during general retreat of the ice sheet. Such a local till bed was also noted by the author in 2022 at Krzeszów on the San River (cf. Fig. 1). £OWISKO This site is located on the Vistula and San interfluves in the Sandomierz Basin (Stuchlik and Wójcik, 2001). Marine clay of 4 Leszek Marks / Geological Quarterly, 2023, 67: 25 Depth [m] Palaeomagnetism Declination Inclination -100 0 100 -40 0 40 soil E S 0 20% Ulmus Acer Carpinus Abies Fraxinus Ligustrum Viburnum Frangula alnus Euopnymus Viscum Ilex aquifolium type Hedera helix Buxus 20 Alnus glutinosa type 20 LPAZ organic silt and peat 10 C-3 15 organic silt U Y A M A B R U AP NAP 100 0 Tilia cordiata type Taxus Quercus N 5 Betula alba type Picea abies Corylus Pinus sylvestris H loess and palaeosol complex A T C-2 M sandy silt 20 glaciofluvial sand and gravel till (Nidanian) glaciofluvial sand and gravel C-1 fluvial gravel Fig. 3. Koñczyce: lithology, pollen spectrum and palaeomagnetic characteristics; after Wójcik et al. (2004), modified the Miocene is overlain by fluvial sand and gravel with pebbles of the Carpathian sandstone, quartz and flint (Fig. 5). A lack of northern provenance material indicates deposition prior to the first ice sheet advance in the Sandomierz Basin (LaskowskaWysoczañska, 1971; Starkel, 1971, 1984; cf. Gozhik et al., 2012). Organic silt and silt are present above the fluvial deposits. A pollen succession represented the final part of the interglacial when a warm and wet climate prevailed, with mixed forest communities composed of oak, linden, elm, hornbeam and alder (Stuchlik and Wójcik, 2001). Thermophilous trees declined and were gradually replaced, at first by a boreal forest and then by a tundra vegetation (Fig. 5). The partial pollen succession at £owisko is difficult to interpret stratigraphically but it resembles the pollen succession at Jasionka and differs significantly from the Augustovian and Ferdynandovian successions (Stuchlik and Wójcik, 2001). The closest similarity of the £owisko palynological spectrum to the that of Jasionka (Stuchlik and Wójcik, 2001) suggests its setting in a terminal part of the Domuratovian succession, that is, in the terminal part of the Podlasian Interglacial (cf. Lindner and Marks, 2015). The interglacial deposits at £owisko are overlain by silt with heavy minerals of northern provenance that represent accumulation in a proglacial lake, subsequently mantled by a till of the Sanian 1 Glaciation (Fig. 5). BUKOWINA This site, located in the eastern part of the Sandomierz Basin, played an important role in determination of ice sheet extents during the Sanian 1 and Sanian 2 glaciations (cf. Lindner, 2001). At the bottom of the section, marine clays of the Miocene are overlain by glaciofluvial gravel and sand with an admixture of northern provenance material (Wieczorek, 1999), derived probably from eroded till of the Sanian 1 Glaciation (Fig. 6). Above, there is a fluvial sand with a fining-upwards trend, overlain by gyttja and peat of an oxbow palaeolake and accompanied by sand and silt deposited on a floodplain. The pollen spectrum of these organic deposits is similar to that of the second optimum of the Ferdynandovian succession (Granoszewski, 1999). At the top of the section is fluvial sand of the Odranian Glaciation and aeolian sand of the Vistulian Glaciation (Wieczorek, 1999). DISCUSSION A till beneath deposits of the Podlasian Interglacial at Koñczyce is evidence of the oldest glaciation in Poland, the Leszek Marks / Geological Quarterly, 2023, 67: 25 soil glacial sand sandy till 50% 0 100 0 50 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 fluvial gravel, sand and Carpathian pebbles sand silt peat 10 0 5 0 15 0 10 0 5 0 5 0 5 0 Alnus Tilia Acer Carpinus Ulmus Quercus Corylus AP NAP silty sand with feldspars Populus Picea till Salix Juniperus Larix 5 Sanian 1 Betula glaciofluvial gravel and sand, locally clayey Pinus Depth [m] 0 5 30% vegetation zones climate taiga boreal shrub tundra subarctic taiga temperate 10 organic silt and clay, locally gyttja mixed forest warm continental sand and silt clayey silt 15 fluvial sand taiga temperate fluvial sand and gravel with Carpathian pebbles Miocene clay Fig. 4. Jasionka: lithology and pollen spectrum; after Laskowska-Wysoczañska (1967) and D¹browski (1967), simplified and modified same as initially identified at the Kozi Grzbiet site in the Holy Cross Mountains, based on the occurrence of northern provenance material in glaciofluvial deposits located below the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary (G³azek et al., 1976, 1977). At present, this glaciation is named the Nidanian Glaciation; it corresponds to the Narevian Glaciation in Belarus and might correlate with the Dorst Substage of the Bavelian Stage in Western Europe (cf. Lindner et al., 2013). During the Podlasian Interglacial, fluvial deposition of mixed gravels occurred in the Oœwiêcim Basin (Stupnicka, 1962; Lindner and Marks, 2013). Pollen successions and locations of interglacial sites in southeastern Poland enabled determination of the age and extents of ice sheet advances in the Sandomierz Basin and the marginal part of the Carpathians. The presence of two ice sheets distinguished in this area, and correlated with the Sanian 1 and the Sanian 2 glaciations, was based on the assumption that the pollen succession at Jasionka represented the Ferdynandovian Interglacial (Lindner, 1988a, b, 2001) as supported by pollen analysis (cf. D¹browski, 1967) and subsequent stratigraphic interpretation (G³azek et al., 1976). A till above the interglacial deposits was then considered as evidence of the Sanian 2 ice sheet advance into the central part of the Sandomierz Basin (Lindner, 2001; cf. Gozhik et al., 2012). Revision of the number and extents of the Scandinavian ice sheets in the Sandomierz Basin was possible, after the pollen succession at Jasionka was found to represent a younger part of the Podlasian Interglacial and the pollen succession at £owisko was correlated with that at Jasionka (Stuchlik and Wójcik, 2001; cf. Lindner and Marks, 2013). On the other hand, there is no till above the Ferdynandovian succession at Bukowina, the latter being underlain by glaciofluvial deposits of the Sanian 1 Glaciation (Wieczorek, 1999). Generally, only a single till was recorded in the Sandomierz Basin (cf. Wojtanowicz, 1971, 1985, 1997; £anczont et al., 1988; Dolecki et al., 1996; £anczont, 1997) and its stratigraphic setting is obvious at Jasionka and £owisko where it is underlain by organic deposits of the Podlasian Interglacial (Fig. 7). Based on the stratigraphic setting of the mixed gravels in the Sandomierz Basin (£anczont, 1997; £anczont et al., 2011; Lindner and Marks, 2013), a regional boundary between the preglacial and glacial Pleistocene may be distinguished (cf. Stuchlik and Wójcik, 2001). The chronology and extent of the Scandinavian ice sheets in southern Poland was based on the geological setting of the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary at Koñczyce, supported by occurrence of the mixed gravels in the Oœwiêcim and the Sandomierz basins (Fig. 7). The relation of the fluvial succes- 10 10 10 Ulmus 10 10 10 10 Quercus 10 Tilia Alnus 10 Betula 10 Pinus 10 Betula nana type NAP 50 Ephedr a Juniperus Hippophaë Myrica gale AP Larix 5 Salix till (Sanian 1) 10 10 10 10 10 10 1010 10 10 10 10 10 Fagus Picea Abies 10 aeolian sand Pinus cembra Depth [m] 0 Corylus Leszek Marks / Geological Quarterly, 2023, 67: 25 Acer Oleaceae Fraxinus Rhamnus catharticus Cornus sanquinea Viburnum Elaeaqnaceae Carpinus 6 10% LPAZ £ow5 varved clay 10 organic silt clayey silt £ow4 15 organic silt 20 silt with sandy lamine clayey silt with organic lamine sandy silt £ow3 fluvial sand and gravel (Rakszawa Series) £ow2 25 £ow1 Miocene clay 50% 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 101010 10 1010 10 10 10 10 10 10 1010 10 10 Artemisia Chenopodiaceae Sphagnum Pediastrum Fraxinus Alnus glutinosa type Tilia cordata typ Tilia tomentosa Acer Humulus Coryllus avellana Carpinus Larix Pinus cembra type Populus Salix Ulmus Quercus NAP Cyperaceae 50% Sorbus Picea abies Abies Juniperus Betula nana Hippophae Ericaceae Poaceae 0 AP Betula alba type Depth [m] Pinus sylvestris type Fig. 5. £owisko: lithology and pollen spectrum; after Stuchlik and Wójcik (2001), Lindner and Marks (2015), modified 10 10 10 10% LPAZ soil fluvial sand B11 5 fluvial sand, locally peaty peat gyttja B10 B9 10 fluvial sand B8 B7 15 B6 B5 B4 glaciofluvial sand and gravel (Sanian 1) B3 Miocene clay B1 B2 Fig. 6. Bukowina: lithology and pollen spectrum; after Wieczorek (1999) and Granoszewski (1999), simplified and modified MIS Ma BP H 13 15 17 R 18 B 16 19 22 23 103 LOWER PLEISTOCENE 21 Sandomierz Basin S Katowice Mazovian Interglacial N S Adamówka Sanian 2 Glaciation Bukowina mixed gravels Koñczyce B Ferdinandovian Interglacial E Sanian 1 Glaciation Jasionka £owisko Koñczyce C Podlasian Interglacial M A T U Y A M A 20 2.58 U 0.60 N 14 0.77 N MIDDLE PLEISTOCENE E 12 7 Oœwiêcim Basin STRATIGRAPHY 11 S 0.40 MAGNETOSTRATIGRAPHY Leszek Marks / Geological Quarterly, 2023, 67: 25 Koñczyce mixed gravels Series NW E Rakszawa Series Nidanian Glaciation NW E Preglacial Complex Ruda Series Majdan Series NEOGENE Fig. 7. Age and extents of the late Early and early Middle Pleistocene ice sheet advances in southern Poland (blue), sites with interglacial pollen spectra (green branches) and fluvial gravels (dotted) in the northern foreland of the Carpathians; arrows indicate direction of river discharge, MIS – marine isotope stages; after Lindner and Marks (2013, 2015), modified sion of the Sandomierz Basin to the Dnister terraces is also important, because the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary was identified there in deposits of terrace H at Mikhailovka (Matoshko et al., 2004). Thus, the late Early Pleistocene Nidanian ice sheet advance was the first into the Oœwiêcim Basin, and the Sanian 1 advance into the Sandomierz Basin (Lindner and Marks, 2015). The most extensive ice sheet advance in western Ukraine has been correlated with the Sanian 2 Glaciation, with a single till was recorded in this region, including the Kruzhiki and Torhanovychi sites (£anczont et al., 2003, 2019). On the other hand, two tills were recorded in the vicinity of the Vistula River Gorge through the South Polish Uplands. Among these, the older till was correlated with the Sanian 1 Glaciation and the younger till with the Odranian Glaciation (Muchowski 1992; Po¿aryski et al., 1994). A less extensive ice sheet advance during the Sanian 2 Glaciation was suggested by the geological setting of the interglacial sites in southern Podlasie. In this area, a till of the Sanian 2 Glaciation was commonly identified above the deposits of the Ferdynandovian Interglacial though not at every site (cf. ¯arski et al., 2009: figs. 4 and 6). Therefore, a revised stratigraphy of tills suggests that the Sandomierz Basin and the western Ukraine were occupied only by the ice sheet of the Sanian 1 Glaciation (Fig. 8). CONCLUSIONS A maximum limit of the Pleistocene ice sheet in southern Poland may be determined, based on dispersion of northern provenance erratic boulders, the occurrence of the first ice sheet in this region being indicated by admixture of northern provenance material in fluvial deposits. Tills and ice sheet extents of 4 glaciations have been generally distinguished in southern Poland including the Nidanian, Sanian 1, Sanian 2 and Odranian. A revised stratigraphy of the Lower and Middle Pleistocene, based on constraining the stratigraphic setting of 8 Leszek Marks / Geological Quarterly, 2023, 67: 25 Lublin Warta Czêstochowa Ni d Vi st ul a Kielce Krzeszów Adamówka £owisko a ? Jasionka Wis³ok Kraków C A R L Przemyœl A T Sanian 1 Sanian 2 interglacial sites Ferdynandovian H I O ice sheet limits X Podlasian P Dunaj ec S Nidanian Lviv ba Ra wa V A K I A Siedliska Krukienichi D Kruzhiki nist er Torhanovychi A N S Odranian front of the Carpathian thrust Mazovian g UKRAINE Bukowina RzeszówX n Sa IA CH E CZ Sk a So ³a X a dr Koñczyce O Bu X Katowice St ry j ? lithologic sites 50 km Fig. 8. Key sites and ice sheet extents in southern Poland; after Lindner and Marks (2015) and £anczont et al. (2019), modified the interglacial sequences at key sites, enabled revision of the number and the ages of Scandinavian ice sheet advances into this region. Identification of the palaeomagnetic Brunhes/Matuyama boundary and the presence of northern provenance material in fluvial deposits showed that the Nidanian Glaciation and the first warming of the Podlasian Interglacial occurred already in the late Early Pleistocene. This first ice sheet advance was recorded by a till of the Nidanian Glaciation and mixed gravels at the Koñczyce site in the Oœwiêcim Basin. In the Sandomierz Basin a single till was recorded and its geological setting relative to deposits of the Podlasian and Ferdynandovian interglacials at Jasionka, £owisko and Bukowina showed that, contrary to previous opinion, there was a single ice sheet advance of the Sanian 1 Glaciation, the most extensive in southern Poland and western Ukraine. The Sanian 2 and the Odranian ice sheet advances were most extensive in southwestern Poland though they were considerably less extensive in eastern Poland. This revision of the Lower-Middle Pleistocene stratigraphy and palaeogeography in southern Poland helps reliable correlation of the Polish climatostratigraphic units with the European stratigraphy. Acknowledgements. The publication was supported by the National Science Centre, Poland (project 2017/27/B/ST10/00165). 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