DatErr | Boulders dataset

The reliable dating of the paleo-ice sheet retreat with cosmogenic nuclides requires sampling of well-preserved erratic boulders from marginal landforms and moraine plaetaux. To this end, a broad GIS database of massive boulders in the study area was constructed based on: the lists of the natural monuments compiled by the Regional Directorates for Environmental Protection (RDOŚ), the database of "geosites", geotourists maps and other publicatons (Alexandrowicz et al. 1975, 1992, Czernicka-Chodkowska 1977, 1983, 1990, Górska-Zabielska 2010, Szarzyńska, Ziółkowski 2012, Gałązka et al. 2015) as well as on all available information about erratic boulders gathered from forest ranger interviews, local commune reports, ladscape park reports, etc.). The database includes basic information about boulders, such as: location (administrative, geomorhological and geological as well as geographic coordinates), dimensions, petrography, and other remarks.

The next step in the boulder selection includes the analysis of boulders dimensions, petrography as well as distribution against the digital elevation model and geologic maps. This filtering allow us to select boulders potentially suitable for ¹⁰Be dating and reconstruction of the last SIS retreat. All boulders with perimeter <5 m and height <0,5 m as well as located in valleys and extensive outwash plains were rejected. Boulders already dated with ¹⁰Be (Rinterknecht et. al 2005) were also ignored. Finally, the largest boulders located on ice-marginal belts or on moraine plateaux were selected for further field screening.

Massive erratic boulders in NW Poland:

Erratic boulders selected for field screening:

Examples of boulders already screened in the field:

References:

Alexandrowicz Z., Drzał M., Kozłowski S. 1975, Katalog rezerwatów i pomników przyrody nieożywionej w Polsce. Studia Naturae B, Warszawa (in Polish).
Alexandrowicz Z., Kućmierz A., Urban J., Otęska-Budzyn J. 1992, Waloryzacja przyrody nieożywionej obszarów i obiektów chronionych w Polsce. PIG, Warszawa (in Polish).
Czernicka-Chodkowska D. 1977, Zabytkowe głazy narzutowe na obszarze Polski: katalog Cz. 1 Polska północno-zachodnia. Cz. 2 Polska północno-wschodnia i środkowa. Wydawnictwa Geologiczne, Warszawa (in Polish).
Czernicka-Chodkowska D. 1983, Zabytkowe głazy narzutowe na obszarze Polski: katalog Cz. 4 Polska północna, środkowa i południowo-zachodnia. Wydawnictwa Geologiczne, Warszawa (in Polish).
Czernicka-Chodkowska D. 1990, Tropem głazów narzutowych. Liga Ochrony Przyrody, Warszawa (in Polish).
Gałązka D., Skrobot W., Szarzyńska A. 2015, Wzgórza Dylewskie. Geologia. Krajobraz. Antropologia przestrzeni. Wyd. Mantis, Olsztyn (in Polish).
Górska-Zabielska M. 2010, Głazy narzutowe Wielkopolski. Prace i Studia z Geografii i Geologii, 18. Bogucki Wyd. Nauk., Poznań (in Polish).
Marks L., Ber A., Gogołek W., Piotrowska K. (eds.) 2006, Mapa geologiczna Polski w skali 1:500 000, Ministerstwo Środowiska, PIG-PIB, Warszawa (in Polish).
Rinterknecht V.R., Marks L., Piotrowski J.A., Raisbeck G.M., Yiou F., Brook E.J., Clark P.U. 2005, Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be ages on the Pomeranian moraine, Poland. Boreas 34, 186-191.
Szarzyńska A., Ziółkowski P. 2012, Skandynawskie dary. Głazy narzutowe Warmii i Mazur. Wyd. Mantis, Olsztyn (in Polish).