ABSTRACT
The global climatic changes discussed in the
previous chapter had a profound impact on
the landscapes of Europe and North America.
The transition from a full glacial to an interglacial
climatic regime which occurred between c.15 and
10 ka bp was reflected in the rapid wastage of the
great ice sheets and mountain glaciers of the North-
ern Hemisphere, in a contraction of the periglacial
domain, and in the initiation of a vegetation
succession which resulted in a change from arctic
tundra to woodland over much of Europe and
North America within the timescale of a few thou-
sand years. Dramatic changes also occurred in
fluvial regimes, erosional activity and pedogenesis.
Moreover, following the release into the oceans of
enormous quantities of meltwater from the wasting
ice sheets, global sea level rose by over 120 m,
completely changing the configuration of coastal
regions in many areas around the Atlantic basin.
These geological, geomorphological and biological
responses to climatic change, and their reflection
in the landscapes of the mid-latitude regions of the
Northern Hemisphere over the past 20 millennia,
form the subject matter of this chapter.
