A major achievement – in terms of subject matter (ice sheet), research area (five countries!), and scope! A newly published article summarizes the GREBAL project, focusing on sedimentary records of seismic events related to the presence of ice sheets.
During the Pleistocene, the Baltic Sea region experienced numerous seismic events triggered by the loading and subsequent unloading of the lithosphere by ice sheets. These events are recorded as deformations in sediments, particularly as seismites – layers with numerous deformations occurring between undeformed strata.
The international GREBAL team, including Piotr Woźniak, identified seismites at 11 sites located in Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. The analyses combine detailed sedimentological studies with numerical modeling of seismite formation and simulations of stress changes in the lithosphere.
The publication synthesizes several years of research, offering a new perspective on the geological history of the region and deepening our understanding of the complex interactions between glacial processes and seismic activity. The authors also provide guidance for identifying seismites and reconstructing the timing of their formation.
Pisarska-Jamroży M., Belzyt S., Bitinas A., Börner A., Bronikowska M., Damušytė A., Hang T., Hüneke H., Jusienė A., Kenzler M., Krievans M., Lamsters K., Nartišs M., Obst K., Putkinen N., Rosentau A., Rother H., Salwowska A., Steffen H., Steffen R., Sutinen R., Świątek S., Van Loon A.J. Tom, Woronko B., Woźniak,P.P., 2025, Seismicity of the Fennoscandian ice sheet reconstructed from liquefaction features in seismites of the southern Baltic Sea region. Quaternary Science Reviews 369, 109650. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109650 LINK