The Quaternary geology of the North Sea basin

Phillips, Emrys; Hodgson, David M.; Emery, Andy

doi:10.1002/jqs.2932

Cited by 22 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…A glacial origin was first suggested by Belt (1874), proposing it to be a bank of moraine sediment, later observed to be similar in scale to the Main Stationary Line of Denmark (Carr et al, 2006). Early investigations into the extent of the Last Glacial Maximum in the North Sea proposed small ice sheets terminating onshore or nearshore (Jansen et al, 1979;Sejrup et al, 1987;Long et al, 1988;Hall and Bent, 1990;Ehlers and Wingfield, 1991;Cameron et al, 1992;Phillips et al, 2017b). However, the presence of a large ice-sheet confluence in the North Sea was confirmed when the examination of cores and boreholes containing tills that were dated to the MIS 3-2 boundary (Sejrup et al, 2000) and contained evidence of significant subglacial deformation on Dogger Bank (Carr et al, 2006).…”

Section: Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The southern limit of ice in the North Sea at the LGM is poorly constrained due to a lack of data, leading to several competing hypotheses (Phillips et al, 2017b). Previous authors have interpreted that the ice sheet stopped to the north and west of Dogger Bank (e.g., Cameron et al, 1992), or overrode FIGURE 8 | Conceptual landscape evolution model during ice-sheet retreat in the study area.…”

Section: Stage One: Ice Sheet Advance To Maximum Extentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The extent and dynamics of northern and western sectors of the ice sheet has become well understood through both data and modeling approaches (Bradwell et al, 2007;Boston et al, 2010;Davies et al, 2011;Bradwell and Stoker, 2015;Peters et al, 2016;Smedley et al, 2017;Callard et al, 2018;Chiverrell et al, 2018;Gandy et al, 2018;Scourse et al, 2019). Confluence and interaction of the British-Irish and Scandinavian ice sheets in the North Sea Basin is unclear, and the maximum extent and dynamics of the ice sheet in the North Sea are still poorly constrained (Phillips et al, 2017b), with few studies into the controls of ice sheet advance and retreat (Cotterill et al, 2017a;Phillips et al, 2018;Roberts et al, 2018). Models imply a key, regional-scale influence of the British-Irish Ice Sheet in the North Sea Basin (Boulton and Hagdorn, 2006;Hubbard et al, 2009;Patton et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Left High and Dry: Deglaciation of Dogger Bank, North Sea, Recorded in Proglacial Lake Evolution

et al. 2019

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Reconstructions of palaeo-ice sheet retreat in response to climate warming using offshore archives can provide vital analogs for future ice-sheet behavior. At the Last Glacial Maximum, Dogger Bank, in the southern North Sea, was covered by the Eurasian Ice Sheet. However, the maximum extent and behavior of the ice sheet in the North Sea basin is poorly constrained. We reveal ice-marginal dynamics and maximum ice extent at Dogger Bank through sedimentological and stratigraphic investigation of glacial and proglacial lake sediments. We use a large, integrated subsurface dataset of shallow seismic reflection and geotechnical data collected during windfarm site investigation. For the first time, an ice stream is identified at Dogger Bank, based on preserved subglacial bedforms, eskers and meltwater channels. During ice-sheet advance, a terminal thrustblock moraine complex formed, whose crest runs approximately north-northeast to south-southwest. Subsequent ice stream shutdown caused stagnation of ice, and rapid retreat of the ice-sheet margin. The moraine complex, and outwash head from an adjacent ice-sheet lobe to the west, dammed a large (approximately 750 km 2) proglacial lake. Subsequent sedimentation infilled the lake with 30 m of glacial outwash sediments. A lobate subaqueous fan formed at the ice-sheet margin, which thins toward the southeast with iceberg scours and ice-rafted debris at the base, and is onlapped by lake sediments calibrated to core as alternating clay and silt laminae, interpreted to be varves. The lake became isolated from the retreating ice-sheet margin, and ice-sheet retreat slowed. Sediment-laden meltwater was supplied to the ice-distal proglacial lake for c. 1500-2000 years. Subsequent ice-sheet retreat off Dogger Bank was more rapid due to the negative subglacial slope. The stepped retreat of rapid downwasting, slow retreat, and a final rapid phase off Dogger Bank occurred after the LGM at around 27 ka and before formation of a ribbon lake, dated previously to 23 ka and approximately 60 m lower in elevation, formed to the north of Dogger Bank. The complicated stratigraphic architecture revealed through these data improves forecasting of ground conditions for turbine footings at Dogger Bank, an important step in the provision of clean, sustainable energy.

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Section: Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Stage One: Ice Sheet Advance To Maximum Extentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Left High and Dry: Deglaciation of Dogger Bank, North Sea, Recorded in Proglacial Lake Evolution

et al. 2019

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“…Palaeoclimate simulations provide an estimate of changing climate at Dogger Bank since the Last Glacial Maximum. These equilibrium-type simulations were run with the coupled ocean-atmosphere-vegetation general circulation model, the Hadley Centre Coupled Model version 3 (HadCM3; Gordon et al, 2000;Pope et al, 2000;Valdes et al, 2017). They broadly follow the protocol described by Ivanovic et al (2016), opting for a melt-uniform freshwater scenario that conserves water across the deglaciation in accordance with the prescribed ice sheets.…”

Section: Palaeoclimate Modellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ice sheet and palaeoclimate controls on drainage network evolution: an example from Dogger Bank, North Sea

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Submerged landscapes on continental shelves archive drainage networks formed during periods of sea-level lowstand. The evolution of these postglacial drainage networks also reveals how past climate changes affected the landscape. Ice-marginal and paraglacial drainage networks on low-relief topography are susceptible to reorganisation of water supply, forced by ice-marginal rearrangement, precipitation and temperature variations, and marine inundation. A rare geological archive of climate-driven landscape evolution during the transition from ice-marginal (ca. 23 ka) to a fully submerged marine environment (ca. 8 ka) is preserved at Dogger Bank, in the southern North Sea. In this study, our analysis of high-resolution seismic reflection and cone penetration test data reveal a channel network over a 1330 km2 area that incised glacial and proglacial lake-fill sediments. The channel network sits below coastal and shallow marine sediments and is therefore interpreted to represent a terrestrial drainage network. When mapped out, the channel form morphology reveals two distinct sets. The first set comprises two low-sinuosity, wide (>400 m) channels that contain macroforms of braid and side bars. These channels are interpreted to have originated as proglacial rivers, which drained the ice-sheet margin to the north. The second set of channels (75–200 m wide, with one larger, ∼400 m wide) has higher sinuosity and forms a subdendritic network of tributaries to the proglacial channels. The timing of channel formation lacks chronostratigraphic control. However, the proglacial rivers must have formed as the ice sheet was still on Dogger Bank, before 23 ka, to supply meltwater to the rivers. Ice-sheet retreat from Dogger Bank led to reorganisation of meltwater drainage and abandonment of the proglacial rivers. Palaeoclimate simulations show a cold and dry period at Dogger Bank between 23 and 17 ka. After 17 ka, precipitation increased, and drainage of precipitation formed the second set of channels. The second set of rivers remained active until marine transgression of Dogger Bank at ca. 8.5–8 ka. Overall, this study provides a detailed insight into the evolution of river networks across Dogger Bank and highlights the interplay between external (climate) and internal (local) forcings in drainage network evolution.

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“…Future endeavors might consider research under the following dominant areas of research in glacial geomorphology: glaciated terrains and past and present ice margins, and deep-time archives in ocean basins. Large areas of the glaciated continents and oceans have been mapped yet data remain hidden at depth both on land and in the ocean basins (e.g., Phillips et al, 2017). For example, in glacially overdeepened valleys on the North American and Eurasian continents and along coastal margins as far out as the edge of the continental shelves, there remain deep archives of sediment that still require close investigation (cf.…”

Section: Future Prospectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Glacial Geomorphology

Menzies¹

2011

The SAGE Handbook of Geomorphology

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The Quaternary geology of the North Sea basin

Cited by 22 publications

References 147 publications

Left High and Dry: Deglaciation of Dogger Bank, North Sea, Recorded in Proglacial Lake Evolution

Left High and Dry: Deglaciation of Dogger Bank, North Sea, Recorded in Proglacial Lake Evolution

Ice sheet and palaeoclimate controls on drainage network evolution: an example from Dogger Bank, North Sea

Glacial Geomorphology

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