Cenozoic landscape development on the passive margin of northern Scandinavia

The geometry of major bedrock landforms in a central part of the Northern Scandes has been examined for interpretation of land forming events and their chronology. Analysis of palaeosurfaces and palaeovalleys was undertaken based on digital elevation data, Four major landscape generations, governed by different base levels, were reconstructed within the mountains. In the east the generations more or less merge and form plains with residual hills. The configuration of the landscape generations suggests an asymmetrical uplift with maximum uplift in the west caused by discrete events during the Cenozoic and guided by reactivated Mesozoic faults west of the study area. The style and amount of uplift differs from the Southern Scandes and a hinge line is defined in between. The landscape generations were also used for estimations of the amount of glacial/fluvial erosion since the beginning of the Late Cenozoic glaciations. Erosion amounted up to 200 - 400 m in the valleys that hosted the major ouflet glaciers, while the eastern plateaux and the plains with residual hills have experienced no or limited glacial erosion.