oa Quaternary Buried Channels in North Germany

The southern peripheral zone of the North European ice sheets is characterised by a network-like systems of channels, running mostly in a radial pattern from the centre of glaciation to the former ice margins. In contrast to the most recent channels formed during the last ice age which are still clearly visible at the land surface, the Elsterian channels have been completely filled. In the literature these forms are often referred to as tunnel valleys, because they were formed by meltwater flowing through tunnels underneath the ice. Tunnel channels might be a more appropriate term, as in contrast to normal valleys their thalweg has no continuous unidirectional gradient.