Peribaltic Symposium 2026

The latest details, including the general conference program, can be found in the third circular. Previous information is provided in the first and second circulars.

Brief overview of the event

The Peribaltic Working Group (PWG) is an informal regional group of researchers active in various fields of Quaternary science. It is a regional group of researchers from 12 countries within the extent of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet during the Quaternary, comprising around 100 scientists. The main focus of the group’s activities is the annual field meetings organised in different countries. This year, the meeting, entitled “Glacials and interglacials of the Middle and Upper Pleistocene in central Poland”, took place from June 28 to July 3, in Łódź, central Poland.

This year, 62 participants from twelve countries took part. The main organizers of the conference were representatives of the University of Gdańsk, the University of Łódź and the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, in collaboration with the Association of Polish Geomorphologists. On June 28, participants began to arrive and started their discussions during an ice-breaker party and dinner at the Training and Conference Centre of the University of Łódź. The following day featured a session of oral presentations and posters, during which 20 papers were presented and 27 posters were displayed. The fieldwork component of the conference took place from June 30 to July 3. On the first day of the fieldwork, the following topics were presented: ‘The edge zone of the Łódź Plateau with periglacial relief transformation: the case of dry valleys and dells’ and ‘An example of Neo-Holocene landscape transformation’. The first day of the field trip ended at the Owadów–Brzezinki site – the exceptionally well-preserved Late Jurassic ecosystem of Owadów–Brzezinki, Central Poland.

The following day (July 1st), the participants visited two open-cast mines: Szczerców-Bełchatów (Bełchatów Open-Cast Mine) and Zarzecze. At the former, discussions centred on glaciations during the Middle Pleistocene and interglacial successions. At Zarzecze, fluvial and eolian sedimentary successions were presented, along with evidence of permafrost and palaeosols.

July 2nd (Thursday) was devoted to the Pleistocene glacial flood deposits visible in the cliff outcrops above the Jeziorko Reservoir in Siedlątków, and to methods of managing and utilising the post-mining areas of the Adamów Lignite Mine. July 3rd (Friday) was spent at the ‘Tomisławice’ lignite mine, north of Konin. In this extensive outcrop, it was possible to observe several levels of glacial till, ranging from two clay layers from the Main Stage of the last glaciation through to three successive glacial units formed during earlier glaciations. An additional point of interest at this site was the presence of several levels of periglacial structures and a well-developed glacilimnic succession. The final field trip stop was the geoarchaeological site of the medieval stronghold at Tum and the Warsaw-Berlin Proglacial Valley. The conference concluded at its starting point, in Łódź.

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