Transverse, supraglacially derived crevasse infillings in a Pleistocene ice-sheet margin zone (eastern Poland): Genesis and sedimentary record

The so-called ‘crevasse infillings’ in the marginal zone of the Saalian ice sheet in eastern Poland are atypical relief forms for lowlands glaciated in the Pleistocene. They are located on a high of the Cretaceous/Palaeogene substratum and form isolated ridges arranged in trains parallel to the former ice-sheet margin, i.e., transverse to the movement of the ice sheet. The sedimentary succession of the crevasse infillings consists mainly of undeformed glaciodeltaic deposits. We propose a model of the crevasse infilling development in three phases against the background of ice mass dynamics: 1) ice-sheet advance over a high of the substratum — compressive ice flow that bumped against the highʹs slope and enrichment of the ice with debris; 2) an overriding of the substratum high by ice masses — a tensional ice-flow regime resulted in significant crevassing; and 3) ice mass stagnation — low energy, supraglacial deltaic sedimentation in isolated ponds between disintegrated ice blocks under frozen bed conditions. Considering this genesis, we suggest classifying these forms as kames instead of crevasse infillings.