This article presents an investigation of three sequences of marine and associated deposits in the south-west Baltic area. Pollen, foraminiferal and ostracod analyses indicate sea-level change. Chronology is based on the Bispingen lake deposits in Germany. Freshwater lakes occurred first in the basin followed by marine inundation. Linking the German sequences to those in the Baltic shows that the Eemian transgression passed through Germany and the Kattegat by connections to the North Sea.

The Mühlbach series has been given as evidence for a Late Pliocene/Early Pleistocene Aare–Rhine fluvial system in northern Switzerland and southwest Germany. We show that these deposits represent a variety of different units. At the type location, luminescence dating indicates an age of 55 ka, and we interpret the deposits as slope reworking. Beside methodological implications, our studies recommend caution regarding the interpretation of stratigraphic units for which limited data are available.

Knowledge of subglacial conditions is of great relevance for understanding glacier dynamics. A combination of micro- and macrosedimentological analysis of diamictons and deformation structures can form the basis for the reconstruction of past subglacial conditions. We present the results of such a study on subglacial tills in the Kitzbühel Alps (Tyrol, Austria). Our study demonstrates the need for a reinvestigation of deposits in respect of genesis and importance for the glacial record.

The loess–palaeosol sequence (LPS) at Rheindahlen provides a detailed sedimentary archive of past climate change. Furthermore, it contains Palaeolithic find horizons indicating repeated occupations by Neanderthals. The age of loess layers and the timing of human occupation are a matter of strong scientific debate. We present new data to shed light on formation processes and deposition ages. Previous chronostratigraphic estimates are revised providing a reliable chronostratigraphic framework .

During glacial times in Switzerland, glaciers of the Alps excavated valleys in low-lying regions that were later filled with sediment or water. How glaciers eroded these valleys is not well understood because erosion occurred near ice margins where ice moved slowly and was present for short times. Erosion is linked to the speed of ice and to water flowing under it. Here we present a model that estimates the location of water channels beneath the ice and links these locations to zones of erosion.