Glacial inception and Quaternary mountain glaciations in Fennoscandia

The aim of this review is twofold. First, the role of the Fennoscandian mountains as it nucleation center for glacial inception is investigated. The second objective is to review glacial erosion by mountain glaciers throughout the Quaternary. All available field data and several modelling experiments show that the Fennoscandian Mountains seeded the last glaciation. Since the mountains seem to be of key importance for ice-sheet inception, it is reasonable to assume a similar inception pattern throughout most of the major Pleistocene glaciations. This pattern also implies prolonged periods of glacial ice in the Fennoscandian mountains during late Cenozoic time. Mountain-based glaciers thus have had a long time to act on their Substratum resulting in a profound geomorphological impact. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.