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This paper presents five sites located in the marginal zone of the Wartanian stadial within the Odranian Glaciation (MIS6a) on the border of the Central Polish Uplands and Lowlands, representing different glacial forms and geological structures: terminal moraine hill, undulating moraine hill, sedimentary margin of the ice sheet, kame hill, and outwash plain. This differentiation is also reflected in the petrographic composition of the gravels and the interesting surface microstructures of the Scandinavian erratic boulders. This small study area, with its high geodiversity, which we have identified and investigated, has considerable potential for sustainable development. Geotourism is a tool for this development in a peripheral tourist region, providing both economic benefits for the local population and conservation services for the geoecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Transantarctic Mountains are an important corridor between the East Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Western Ross Sea, where most current ice streams and outlet glaciers arise. We investigated Ricker Hills, the largest exposed mountainous region between Southern Victoria Land and Terra Nova Bay, and dated the glacial landforms using in-situ cosmogenic-nuclide 10Be surface exposure dating to reconstruct the paleo-glacial dynamics. The surface of the Hollingsworth glacier lowered since the middle of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2 (22.1 ka); therefore, the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) occurred before that period. Cosmogenic, geomorphic, and climatic records constrained the glacial surface slope to be between 5.4° and 6.8°. The ice was 270–320 m thicker at the LGM (MIS 2) than presently but did not override the top surface of the Benson Knob. Moreover, previous glacial periods such as the local LGM (MIS 4) or Penultimate Glacial Maximum (MIS 6) maintained thicker ice than the LGM (MIS 2). The Ross Ice Shelf opening during the mid-Holocene (∼6 ka) caused the rapid collapse of the terminal outlet glaciers and supplied notable snow accumulation upstream, which stagnated lowering. The greatest lowering and retreat occurred during the late Holocene (2.3 ∼ 0.8 ka), when elephant seal colonies thrived in the Ross Embayment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]