Late Weichselian environmental change in Norway, including Svalbard

Abstract A synthesis of the principal environmental changes that are inferred to have occurred in Norway and Svalbard (Fig. 1) during the Late‐glacial period (14‐9 ka BP) is presented. The paper has three sections dealing separately with (I) western Norway, (II) northern Norway and (III) Spitsbergen, Svalbard. The main conditions described include glacial events, sea‐level changes, vegetation history and climatic variations. A summary chart of environmental reconstructions is presented for each of the three areas, each including a curve of temperature reconstructions for the Late‐glacial period. These indicate some significant regional variations in contemporaneous thermal conditions during the Late‐glacial.