Abstract:

South-western Poland, located entirely beyond the extent of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), preserves sedimentary archives that enable palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of processes operating in the foreland of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet during the last glaciation. Particularly valuable insights are provided by the mosaic distribution of aeolian deposits, comprising both thick loess covers and numerous dune fields. Recent dating of these deposits has allowed the establishment of a continuous chronology spanning 24–10 ka, indicating that loess accumulation preceded dune formation.
The loess, most likely deposited on the southern slopes of the Trzebnickie Hills under downwind conditions, points to the persistence of northerly katabatic winds until approximately 15 ka. In contrast, nearby dunes dated to ~14–13 ka display eastward-oriented morphologies, indicating the predominance of westerly circulation. This shift coincides with the development of the Baltic Ice Lake, highlighting the importance of environmental changes in the ice-sheet foreland for the propagation of northerly winds and suggesting a broader reorganization of atmospheric circulation during the Late Glacial period. Although some of the obtained results support this interpretation, several of the investigated sites do not provide unequivocal evidence for this hypothesis, underscoring the need for further research.