Shorelines of the uppsala esker east‐central sweden: their use as indicators of regional differences in shore displacement

About 750 different shoremarks, mainly shore terraces, have been levelled along the Uppsala esker. Using various methods it has been possible to arrange the shoremarks to shorelines or rather shoremark zones containing more shoremarks than intervening parts. The material was divided into two major parts, i.e. shoremarks below c. 15 m above sea level and shoremarks above c. 15 m. It was found that shorelines on the whole were sloping towards the north. This was expected because of the faster shore displacement in the northern part of the area. However, the shorelines below c. 15 m a.s.l. indicated a slower increase in shore displacement than those of higher altitudes. A conclusion drawn from this might be that the increase towards the north is retarded in the area around Lake Mälar. This result is in reasonable agreement with recent isobase systems constructed from the evidence of mareograph records and repeated precise levellings. On the other hand, the shoreline studies give evidence of more pronounced regional differences in shore displacement in earlier Litorina times than those found today.