{{Short description|Glacial period in Europe}} [[File:Largest Glaciation on Europe.svg|thumb|Maximum extent of the ice sheet in Europe]] [[File:EisrandlagenNorddeutschland.png|thumb|Schematic diagram of the maximum glaciation of the last three cold periods on the [[North German Plain]]:<br /> ''red line'' = extent of the [[Weichselian glaciation]];<br /> ''yellow line'' = extent of the [[Saale glaciation]];<br /> ''blue line'' = extent of the Elster glaciation]] The '''Elster glaciation''' ({{langx|de|Elster-Kaltzeit}}, ''Elster-Glazial'' or ''Elster-Zeit'') or, less commonly, the '''Elsterian glaciation''', in the older and popular scientific literature also called the '''Elster Ice Age''' (''Elster-Eiszeit''), is the oldest known [[ice age]] that resulted in the large-scale glaciation of North Germany and other parts of Europe. It occurred during [[Marine Isotope Stage]] 12, approximately 480,000–424,000 years ago,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fernández Arias |first=Sophie |last2=Förster |first2=Michael W. |last3=Sirocko |first3=Frank |date=August 2023 |title=Rieden tephra layers in the Dottinger Maar lake sediments: Implications for the dating of the Holsteinian interglacial and Elsterian glacial |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0921818123001169 |journal=Global and Planetary Change |language=en |volume=227 |article-number=104143 |doi=10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104143|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and is equivalent to the [[Anglian stage|Anglian glaciation]] in Britain. It succeeded a long period of rather warmer average temperatures, the [[Cromerian Complex]]. The Elster was followed by the [[Holstein interglacial]], which was followed [[Saale glaciation]]. The glacial period is named after the [[White Elster]], a right tributary of the [[Saale]].<ref>[http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.734.1691&rep=rep1&type=pdf Böse et al. (2012), Quaternary Glaciations of Northern Europe, Quaternary Science Reviews 44, pages 13–23.]</ref>
== Controversial correlations == [[File:Europe Middle Pleistocene glacial cycles.jpg|thumb|300x300px|Graph showing the timing of the Elsterian glaciation in relation to other glacial cycles]] Traditionally, Elster was correlated with the [[Mindel glaciation]] of the Alps and the [[Anglian glaciation]] of Great Britain and Ireland. Analysis in the 1950s of oxygen isotopes in deep sea core samples introduced a global glacial history, with warm and cold phases identified by [[marine isotope stage]]s (MIS). This identified two glacial stages in the time slot of the Elster/Mindel/Anglian, namely MIS 12 and MIS 10. A lack of suitable isotopes for dating the glacial deposits has made it difficult to resolve the ambiguity. This has led to an increasingly controversial issue<ref>[http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.734.1691&rep=rep1&type=pdf Böse et al. (2012), Quaternary Glaciations of Northern Europe, Quaternary Science Reviews 44, page 18, row 16 from the bottom.]</ref> between the two main alternatives:
* '''MIS 12''', 478–424 ka ago,<ref name="MIS ages">{{cite journal|doi=10.1029/2004PA001071|url=http://www.lorraine-lisiecki.com/LR04_MISboundaries.txt|title=A Pliocene-Pleistocene stack of 57 globally distributed benthic δ18O records|journal=Paleoceanography|volume=20|author1= Lisiecki, Lorraine E.| author2= Raymo, Maureen E.|issue=1|author-link = Lorraine Lisiecki|author-link2 = Maureen Raymo|year=2005|pages=n/a|bibcode=2005PalOc..20.1003L|hdl=2027.42/149224|s2cid=12788441 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> is globally the stronger of the two glacials and long the preferred correlation to Elster/Mindel/Anglian. There is strong evidence for widespread glaciation of Great Britain during MIS 12, and only disputed and weak signs of glaciation during MIS 10.<ref name="Lee 2011">[http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/16048/1/16048.pdf Lee et al. (2011), The Glacial History of the British Isles during the early and Middle Pleistocene: Implications for the long-term development of the British Ice Sheet, Quaternary Glaciations-Extent and Chronology, pages 59–74, Elsevier.]</ref> Thus, the correlation of the Anglian glaciation to MIS 12 is uncontroversial. The glacial history of Europe is much simplified if also Elster and Mindel are correlated to MIS 12. The Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS) of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), a scientific organisation within the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), correlates both the Anglian and the Elsterian to MIS 12 in the 2011 version of its correlation table.<ref name="Corr 2011">[http://quaternary.stratigraphy.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/POSTERSTRAT_v2011.jpg Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy, Global chronostratigraphical correlation table for the last 2.7 million years, v. 2011]</ref> * '''MIS 10''', 374–337 ka ago,<ref name="MIS ages"/> is globally a weaker glacial. A correlation of Elster to MIS 10 implies a complicated glacial history in Europe, with various geographical areas showing evidence from different glacials. However, different chronologies of separate ice streams during the late [[Weichselian glaciation]] gives credence to such a scenario.<ref>[http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.734.1691&rep=rep1&type=pdf Böse et al. (2012), Quaternary Glaciations of Northern Europe, Quaternary Science Reviews 44, page 23, next-last bullet.]</ref> In the Netherlands there is evidence for correlations of Elster to both MIS 12 and MIS 10.<ref>[http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.734.1691&rep=rep1&type=pdf Böse et al. (2012), Quaternary Glaciations of Northern Europe, Quaternary Science Reviews 44, page 18.]</ref> A correlation to MIS 10 is given in the comprehensive review of the glaciations of northern Germany by Litt et al. (2007).<ref>{{cite journal |first1=Thomas |last1=Litt |first2=Karl-Ernst |last2=Behre |first3=Klaus-Dieter |last3=Meyer |first4=Hans-Jürgen |last4=Stephan |first5=Stefan |last5=Wansa |title=Stratigraphische Begriffe für das Quartär des norddeutschen Vereisungsgebietes |journal= E&G Quaternary Science Journal|volume=56 |issue=1/2 |pages=7–65 |location=Hanover |year=2007 |issn=0424-7116 |doi=10.3285/eg.56.1-2.02 |doi-access=free |hdl=11858/00-1735-0000-0001-B9EB-9 |hdl-access=free }}, pages 27–28.</ref> Version 2016 of the correlation table by the German Stratigraphic Commission correlates both Elster and Mindel to MIS 10.<ref name="STD 2016">[http://www.stratigraphie.de/std/Bilder/5_2.pdf German Stratigraphic Commission: Stratigraphische Tabelle von Deutschland 2016]</ref>
== See also == * [[Timeline of glaciation]] == See also == * [[Pleistocene]], which covers: {| class="wikitable" |+ Historical names of the "four major" glacials in four regions. ! Region ! Glacial 1 ! Glacial 2 ! Glacial 3 ! Glacial 4 |- | '''Alps''' | [[Gunz glaciation|Günz]] | [[Mindel glaciation|Mindel]] | [[Riss glaciation|Riss]] | [[Würm glaciation|Würm]] |- | '''North Europe''' | [[Eburonian]] | [[Elsterian]] | [[Saalian]] | [[Weichselian]] |- | '''British Isles''' | [[Beestonian stage|Beestonian]] | [[Anglian Stage|Anglian]] | [[Wolstonian Stage|Wolstonian]] | [[Devensian]] |- | '''Midwest U.S.''' | [[Pre-Illinoian|Nebraskan]] | [[Kansan glaciation|Kansan]] | [[Illinoian (stage)|Illinoian]] | [[Wisconsinian Glaciation|Wisconsinan]] |}
{| class="wikitable" |+ Historical names of interglacials. ! Region ! Interglacial 1 ! Interglacial 2 ! Interglacial 3 |- | '''Alps''' | [[Cromerian Stage|Günz-Mindel]] | [[Hoxnian Stage|Mindel-Riss]] | [[Eemian Stage|Riss-Würm]] |- | '''North Europe''' | Waalian | Holsteinian | [[Eemian Stage|Eemian]] |- | '''British Isles''' | [[Cromerian Stage|Cromerian]] | [[Hoxnian Stage|Hoxnian]] | [[Eemian Stage|Ipswichian]] |- | '''Midwest U.S.''' | [[Pre-Illinoian|Aftonian]] | [[Yarmouthian Interglacial (Stage)|Yarmouthian]] | [[Sangamonian]] |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{North German glaciations}}
[[Category:Pleistocene]] [[Category:Ice ages]]