The Late Pleistocene Afton Lodge Clay Formation, Ayrshire, Scotland: evidence for Early to Middle Devensian climatic changes and Late Devensian onshore ice flow and rafting from the Firth of Clyde

Merritt, J.W.; Akhurst, Maxine; Wilkinson, Ian P.; Riding, James B.; Phillips, Emrys; Smith, Richard A.; Finlayson, Andrew; Dean, Mark

doi:10.1016/j.pgeola.2013.12.004

Cited by 7 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…'Binge phases' such as these consequently result in very limited, patchy subglacial erosion and till deposition, and are probably conducive to the transport and preservation of glacial rafts, which are common in coastal regions of Scotland (Merritt et al, 2014). The binge phases build up large ice volume, which is the essential precursor to subsequent purge-advance phases.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Clava is famous for occurrences of 'arctic' shelly clay and diamict that have been interpreted either as glacial rafts or parts of an in situ raised cold-water marine deposit (Gordon, 1993a). The former origin is more likely (Merritt, 1992;Phillips and Merritt, 2008;Merritt et al, 2014). The shelly clay contains well preserved, high-boreal to low-arctic, shallow-water marine shells that have yielded amino acid racemerisation (AAR) ratios not younger than the mid-Devensian (Merritt, 1992).…”

Section: East Of Invernessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Middle to Late Devensian glaciation of north‐east Scotland: implications for the north‐eastern quadrant of the last British–Irish ice sheet

Merritt

Connell

Hall

2016

J Quaternary Science

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We present a review of over 175 years of research into the Middle to Late Devensian (Weichselian) glaciation of north-east Scotland based crucially on both its lithostratigraphic and geomorphic records. The location of the region, and surrounding seabed, makes this unusually detailed record significant for deciphering the former interactions and dynamics of Scottish and Scandinavian ice within the North Sea Basin (NSB), which continue to be controversial. A twelve-stage event stratigraphy is proposed based on a parsimonious interpretation of stratigraphic relationships, till lithology and regional clast fabrics, striae, subglacial bedforms, ice-marginal features and published geochronometry at critical sites. The record of regional glaciation supports converging evidence that the north-eastern quadrant of the last British and Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) reached its maximum spatial extent in the late Middle-to early Late Devensian and later re-expanded following widespread internal glacial reorganisations, marine transgression and partial retreat from the central NSB. Retreat was interrupted by several glacial readvances of limited extent. Fieldcaptured data helps identify important events that are not clearly resolved from remote sensing alone, particularly regarding growth phases of the last glaciation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: East Of Invernessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Middle to Late Devensian glaciation of north‐east Scotland: implications for the north‐eastern quadrant of the last British–Irish ice sheet

Merritt

Connell

Hall

2016

J Quaternary Science

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“…Thin-skinned glacitectonics triggered by high pore-water pressures contributed to erosion through the thrusting and transport of glacial rafts of rock and sediment (Phillips & Merritt 2008; Phillips et al 2013). Such processes are highly effective along the margins of ice streams (Patterson 1998) and help to account for the high frequency of glacial rafts found along the shores of the inner Moray Firth (Merritt et al 2003) and the Firths of Clyde (Merritt et al 2014) and Forth (Kendall & Bailey 1908). The pre-glacial topography of the western Highlands was already at high elevation and fluvially dissected at the start of the Pleistocene and so provided gradients at the beds of alpine glaciers and ice sheets that were steeper than on the plateaux and lowlands more typical of the topography of eastern areas.…”

Section: Glacial Erosionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Glacial Erosionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early and Middle Pleistocene environments, landforms and sediments in Scotland

Hall

Merritt

Connell

et al. 2018

Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Socie

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This paper reviews the changing environments, developing landforms and terrestrial stratigraphy during the Early and Middle Pleistocene stages in Scotland. Cold stages after 2.7 Ma brought mountain ice caps and lowland permafrost, but larger ice sheets were short-lived. The late Early and Middle Pleistocene sedimentary record found offshore indicates more than 10 advances of ice sheets from Scotland into the North Sea but only 4–5 advances have been identified from the terrestrial stratigraphy. Two primary modes of glaciation, mountain ice cap and full ice sheet modes, can be recognised. Different zones of glacial erosion in Scotland reflect this bimodal glaciation and the spatially and temporally variable dynamics at glacier beds. Depths of glacial erosion vary from almost zero in Buchan to hundreds of metres in glens in the western Highlands and in basins both onshore and offshore. The presence of tors and blockfields indicates repeated development of patches of cold-based, non-erosive glacier ice on summits and plateaux. In lowlands, chemical weathering continued to operate during interglacials, but gruss-type saprolites are mainly of Pliocene to Early Pleistocene age. The Middle Pleistocene terrestrial stratigraphic record in Scotland, whilst fragmentary and poorly dated, provides important and accessible evidence of changing glacial, periglacial and interglacial environments over at least three stadial–interstadial–interglacial cycles. The distributions of blockfields and tors and the erratic contents of glacial sediments indicate that the configuration, thermal regime and pattern of ice flow during MIS 6 were broadly comparable to those of the last ice sheet. Improved control over the ages of Early and Middle Pleistocene sediments, soils and saprolites and on long-term rates of weathering and erosion, combined with information on palaeoenvironments, ice extent and sea level, will in future allow development and testing of new models of Pleistocene tectonics, isostasy, sea-level change and ice sheet dynamics in Scotland.

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“…This work is outlined in a Context Paper byRichard Preece (2015) in the same issue of the PGA. In the same mode,Merritt et al (2014) present the results of a similar type of analysis covering the Last Glacial Stage from a site in Ayrshire, Scotland, whileBates et al (2014) look at Early Devensian climate and palaeoenvironment from a temporary site at Paddington, west London.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association (PGA) Volume 126, Issue 1

Rose

2015

Proceedings of the Geologists' Association

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The Late Pleistocene Afton Lodge Clay Formation, Ayrshire, Scotland: evidence for Early to Middle Devensian climatic changes and Late Devensian onshore ice flow and rafting from the Firth of Clyde

Cited by 7 publications

References 51 publications

Middle to Late Devensian glaciation of north‐east Scotland: implications for the north‐eastern quadrant of the last British–Irish ice sheet

Middle to Late Devensian glaciation of north‐east Scotland: implications for the north‐eastern quadrant of the last British–Irish ice sheet

Early and Middle Pleistocene environments, landforms and sediments in Scotland

Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association (PGA) Volume 126, Issue 1

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