Die Kuste, 74 ICCE (2008), 1-17 
11 
Fig. 7: Ice margins of the Weichselian Glacial in the Southwestern Baltic Sea (modified after Lange, 
1984. F = Rosenthal Step, G = Velgaster Step, H = Nordriigen Step, E = margin of Sehberg Advance) 
Scandinavia versus the postglacial sea level rise, the corridor to the North Sea was closed 
initiating a second freshwater phase - the Ancylus Lake period. This freshwater period began 
with a water level rise to a maximum highstand of -10 m to -8 m MSL (Katzung, 2004) 
followed by a water level drop during the second half of the Ancylus Lake period. For the 
first time now, the water gradually penetrated into the region of the present-day German 
coast (Lemke, 1998). This was due to the slowly subsiding process of this area while Scandi 
navia is experiencing isostatic uplift (see Fig. 8). 
Due to global eustatic processes, the Baltic Sea was again connected to the North Atlan 
tic via the North Sea approximately 7,900-7,200 years BP. It is called the Littorina transgres-