Present-day temperatures in northern Scandinavia during the last glaciation

Scandinavia is generally considered to have been covered extensively with ice throughout marine isotope stages (MIS) 4-2 between 75 and 10 ka. Here we present evidence for ice-free, warm conditions in the central area of the Scandinavian glaciations during MIS 3. Our multiproxy data obtained from a lacustrine sequence in northern Finland reveal not only significant response in the northeastern sector of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet to warming during the early part of MIS 3, but also indicate rapid climate warming to present-day temperatures in this ice-free period. New climate-model simulations for interstadial conditions in MIS 3 confirm the high mean July temperatures northeast of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet in response to the high insolation values and the presence of the ice sheet during MIS 3.