Subaqueous conglomerates above pre-LGM basal till: Another element of the ‘classic’ interglacial mountain-flank succession (Hötting Breccia Auct.) north of Innsbruck, Austria

Abstract

The “Hötting Breccia” near Innsbruck is a classic interglacial mountain-flank succession mainly comprising lithified alluvial fans and scree slopes. Directly NW of Innsbruck, a pre-LGM (Riss?) basal till >20 m in thickness overlies a plucked rock surface that records eastward ice flow. The till is dominated by clasts of carbonate rocks from the Northern Calcareous Alps; index clasts of the LGM ice stream are absent. The basal till is overlain by a package of conglomerate nearly 1 km in preserved lateral extent that dip at 20–30° South and show the same clast spectrum as the underlying till. The conglomerate – hitherto assigned to the Hötting Breccia – accumulated from fan deltas and/or scree slopes shed into a standing water body; it is overlain by younger, unlithified LGM to Holocene deposits. We suggest the following scenario: During decay of the ice stream that formed the basal till, the conglomerate package was deposited by paraglacial reworking of till into a lake or ice-marginal lake. The alluvial fans of the Hötting Breccia accumulated independently from the conglomerate package, and from a distinct alluvial-fan system. The age relation of the till/conglomerate package to the main part of the Hötting Breccia is unclear. Our results demonstrate that the rocks hitherto summarized as Hötting Breccia represent a compound of lithosomes of different origins and ages.