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Quaternary Newsletter Vol. 134 October 2014 i NUMBER 134 OCTOBER 2014 Quaternary Newsletter A publication of the Quaternary Research Association

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Page 1: Quaternary Newsletter - Quaternary Research Association · Quaternary Newsletter Vol. 134 October 2014. 1. ANNOUNCEMENT. QRA50: Top 50 UK Quaternary Sites Nomination Form. As part

Quaternary Newsletter Vol. 134 October 2014 i

NUMBER 134 OCTOBER 2014

Quaternary Newsletter

A publication of theQuaternary Research Association

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ii Quaternary Newsletter Vol. 134 October 2014

QUATERNARY NEWSLETTEREDITOR:Dr Sven Lukas School of Geography, Queen Mary, University of London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS. (e-mail: [email protected])

Instructions to authors

Quaternary Newsletter is issued in February, June and October. Articles, reviews, notices of forthcoming meetings, news of personal and joint research projects etc. are invited and should be sent to the Editor. Closing dates for submission of copy (news, notices, reports etc.) for the relevant numbers are 1st January, 1st May and 1st September. These dates will be strictly adhered to in order to expedite publication. Articles must be submitted at least 6 weeks before these dates in order to be reviewed and revised in time for the next issue of QN, otherwise they may appear in a subsequent issue.

Suggested word limits are as follows: obituaries (2000 words); articles (3000 words); reports on meetings (2000 words); reports on QRA grants (500 words); reviews (1000 words); letters to the Editor (500 words); abstracts (500 words). Authors submitting work as Word documents that include figures must send separate copies of the figures in .eps or .jpg format. In case of the latter, a minimum resolution of 300 dpi is required for accurate reproduction. Quaternary Research Fund and New Researchers Award Scheme reports should limit themselves to describing the results and significance of the actual research funded by QRA grants. The suggested format for these reports is as follows: (1) background and rationale (including a summary of how the grant facilitated the research), (2) results, (3) significance, (4) acknowledgments (if applicable). The reports should not (1) detail the aims and objectives of affiliated and larger projects (e.g. PhD topics), (2) outline future research and (3) cite lengthy reference lists. No more than one figure per report is necessary. Recipients of awards who have written reports are encouraged to submit full-length articles on related or larger research projects.

N.B: Detailed guidelines on the formatting of contributions are now available via the QRA webpage and from the editor, including an EndNote style file to help with the formatting of bibliographies for submissions to QN

© Quaternary Research Association, London 2014.

Argraff/Printed by:Gwasg Ffrancon Press BETHESDAGwynedd, North WalesTel: 01248 601669 Fax: 01248 602634.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any storage system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

COVER PHOTOGRAPHA view of Shallowford Common looking N showing the broad interfluve and boulder-field where the arcuate ridges interpreted as a relict rock glacier are located (see article by Boreham and Rolfe). Photograph by S. Boreham.

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Quaternary Newsletter Vol. 134 October 2014 1

ANNOUNCEMENT

QRA50: Top 50 UK Quaternary Sites Nomination FormAs part of the 50th year celebrations of the QRA, it seems fitting to highlight some of the key sites and localities that have been fundamental to our understanding of the Quaternary landscape around us.

Over 2014, we are looking to compile a list of the 50 most significant Quaternary sites within Britain as nominated by you, the QRA community. These top 50 sites will be published at the end of the year in the form of a QRA50 full colour booklet and ultimately as a web-based resource available through the QRA web site.

More information as well as downloadable nomination forms are available from www.qra50.org. Alternatively, please ensure that your nomination contains the following information:

· Nominator· Address· Email· Site Name· Grid Reference· Photo title and credits· Site Description (250 word limit not including key references) · Key references that should be formatted following the Quaternary

Newsletter guidelines (available on the QRA website or directly from the editor of QN, Sven Lukas: [email protected])

Any Quaternary site within Britain is eligible and you are welcome to submit more than one site if you have several favourites. Submissions should be accompanied by a photo if possible including any credits.

Please submit your nomination by 30 October 2014 either by post to (QRA50 c/o Dr Emrys Phillips, British Geological Survey, Murchison House, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3LA) or electronically by email to: [email protected].

If you have any questions, please contact either Barbara Silva ([email protected]) or Emrys Phillips ([email protected]).

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...and if you need some inspiration, here is our first nominated site by Dr Emrys Phillips from the British Geological Survey.

Site Name: Overstrand, North Norfolk [National Grid reference TG 256 405]

Photo: Rafting of chalk bedrock at Overstrand on the North Norfolk coast (photograph taken by Emrys Phillips)

Overstrand is truly one of the classic sites in the UK for glacitectonic deformation within the Middle Pleistocene glacial sequence exposed on the north Norfolk coast, eastern England. Glacial rafts or ‘megablocks’ are dislocated slabs of bedrock and/or unconsolidated sedimentary strata that have been transported from their original position by glacial action. Such rafts are typically composed of relatively thin slabs of material that may have been transported over distances ranging from tens of metres to hundreds of kilometres. They generally occur as single, horizontal slab-like features, but may be stacked within conspicuous ice-pushed hills of various types. The section at Overstrand is dominated by a large raft comprising Cretaceous chalk bedrock overlain by pre-glacial marine sands and gravels of the Wroxham Crag. The raft is approximately 20-25 m thick and 100 m in length, and was detached, transported and finally emplaced by a major ice sheet flowing from the north, down the North Sea. The chalk and Wroxham Crag within the raft are deformed by a southerly verging anticline which occurs within the hanging-wall of a thrust forming the prominent detachment at the base of the raft. This southerly direct thrust and

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the deformation associated with the emplacement of the raft are well exposed at the base of the cliff section.

References

Burke, H.F., Phillips, E.R., Lee, J.R. (2009). Imbricate thrust stack model for the formation of glaciotectonic rafts: an example from the Middle Pleistocene of north Norfolk, UK. Boreas 38, 620–637.

Lee, J.R., Phillips, E., Booth, S.J., Rose, J., Jordan, H.M., Pawley, S.M., Warren, M., Lawley, R.S. (2013) A polyphase glacitectonic model for ice-marginal retreat and terminal moraine development: the Middle Pleistocene British Ice Sheet, northern Norfolk, UK. Proceedings of the Geologists Association, 124. 753-777.

Vaughan-Hirsch, D., Phillips, E., Lee, J.R., Burke, H.F., Hart, J.K. (2011). Glacitectonic rafting of chalk bedrock: Overstrand. In: Phillips, E., Lee, J.R. and Evans, H.M. (eds.). Glacitectonics – Field Guide. Quaternary Research Association, London, 198-216.

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OBITUARY

WILLIAM GRAHAM JARDINE (1927-2014)

Graham Jardine of Glasgow University did much to make the Quaternary Research Association what it is today, and it is with sadness that I have to report that he passed away on May 15th 2014.

Graham was a Quaternary Scientist whose research covered a range of interests from pre-glacial planation surfaces and river systems, glaciation in Scotland, the stratigraphy of the Last Glacial stage and the Holocene, sea-level change and the environmental background to Scottish archaeology. He is known especially for his papers on sea-level change with important regional case studies covering the Late- and Postglacial that still act as building-blocks for current research, and important review papers that helped shape thinking on the subject at the time and the direction of future research.

While carrying out this research Graham was very active with the Quaternary Research Association. Although his name is not amongst those who replied to the letter from Richard Hey and Richard West to assess the interesting the formation of the Quaternary Field Study Group in 1963, it is amongst the membership list of that group for 1965, one year after its foundation (Catt and Candy, 2014). In 1970 Graham became Secretary of the (now) Quaternary Research Association and acted in this role until 1974. During this period he instigated a number of significant changes. Firstly, he introduced the Quaternary Newsletter as a way of increasing communication between members on issues relating to the Quaternary. Secondly, he brought order to the administration with regard to issues like the announcement of meetings, notices and reminders of activities and the compilation and distribution of agendas and minutes (Catt and Candy, 2014). These matters may seem small but they are essential to the success of an organisation like the QRA, and Graham’s initiatives enabled the Association to develop and flourish through to the present day. Thirdly, Graham established the QRA as a Registered Charity, deftly enabling the organisation to satisfy the many regulations set out by Charity Commissioners. In 1971 the Charity

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Commissioners approved charitable status and ever since that time members have benefited with regard to tax-relief and, something that is not commonly recognised, an obligation to publish findings from QRA activities, in order to promote Quaternary Science and ‘the advancement of education and research into the problems of the Quaternary Period….’ (Catt and Candy, 2014, p 38). Perhaps it is appropriate that when the membership was put in order in 1996, he was designated Number 0001

1977 saw the INQUA Congress hosted at Birmingham under the leadership of Fred Shotton. Graham was part of the Organisational team and acted as Secretary General. David Bowen (who organised the Field Meetings), in a letter of commiseration to Graham’s family, writes of Graham’s skill (along with that of Lewis Penny, the Treasurer) in ensuring sound financial management, ensuring that the surplus generated by the field meetings was deposited with the Royal Society. It is this fund that has since become the Royal Society INQUA 1977 Fund that has allowed a substantial number of QRA members to attend subsequent INQUA Congresses. Graham was also responsible for the publication of the little known Compte Rendu of the meeting (Jardine, 1977).

Graham’s academic career began at Glasgow University in 1944, where he studied Maths and Natural Philosophy (Physics) in his first year, concentrating on Geology in subsequent years, financed to some extent by a Shell Scholarship in Geology. After graduating in 1949 he travelled to Canada where he studied at McGill University, Montreal, for the degree of MSc, duly awarded in 1950. This was followed from 1950 to 1952 by National Service as 2nd Lieutenant in the Royal Corps of Signals, and in the 3 GHQ Signal Regiment based in the Canal Zone of Egypt. He retained this link as a member of the Territorial Signal Squadron in Glasgow until 1955. After leaving National Service in 1952 he attended Emmanuel College Cambridge where, in 1957, he was awarded the degree of PhD on Some Aspects of the Geomorphology of South West Scotland. This was followed by an appointment as an officer in the Soil Survey of Scotland at the Macaulay Institute in Aberdeen. His final move took him back to Glasgow University as a member of staff in the Department of Geology until he retired as a Reader in Geology in 1992. Over this period he was very much the ‘Quaternary man’ for western Central and Southwestern Scotland, and he was much valued in this role by the community and by his Head of Department: T.N. George. Indeed it was T.N. who advised, then pushed him to submit for the degree of ScD, which he was duly awarded in 1980.

During his period as a member of staff of the Department of Geology at Glasgow University he was very much a stalwart for the department, facilitating and delivering teaching, field trips and administration. It was during this period, while I was a PhD student in the adjacent Department of Geography and Topographic Sciences that I first met Graham, and it is real pleasure to record the support and encouragement he gave me, even though I was, in fact, treading

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on his territory. This kindness, diligence, energy and conscientiousness were reflected in his ‘additional activities’. In addition to his links with the QRA, for which he was Vice-President in 1974-1976 and an Honorary member since 2004, he was a Council Member of the Geological Society of Glasgow (1961-64), President of the INQUA Sub-Commission on Shorelines of North West Europe (1977-82), Member of the Royal Society’s INQUA Sub-Committee (1966-1982) and president of the Glasgow Archaeological Society (1981-1984).

Graham was born in Glasgow in 1927 and grew up in Glasgow Parks, attending the Allan Glens School in Glasgow, although evacuated to Annan during WW2. He was a gifted athlete and retained a ‘craze’ for this activity during the early part of his life. He married Elizabeth in 1955, and they had four children. In his later life, interests beyond the academy included membership of the local Male Voice Choir, membership of the local Congregational Board and writing poetry and short stories. Sadly Elizabeth died after serious illness in 2006. Graham is survived by his four children.

References and Bibliography

Aspen, P. and Jardine, W.G. (1968). A temporary exposure of Quaternary deposits at Renfrew, near Glasgow. Proceedings of the Geological Society of Glasgow, 109, 35-37.

Bos, J.A., Dickson, J.H., Coope, G.R., and Jardine, W.G. (2004). Flora, fauna and climate of Scotland during the Weichselian Middle Pleniglacial – palynological, macrofossil and coleopteran investigations. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 204(1), 65-100.

Catt, J.A. and Candy, I. (eds) (2014). In: The History of the Quaternary Research Association, London, 431 pp.

Dickson, J.H., Jardine, W.G. and Price, R.J. (1976). Three late-Devensian sites in west-central Scotland. Nature, 262, 43-44.

Holden, W.G. and Jardine, W.G. (1980). Greenock Mains and Nith Bridge. Field Guide to the Glasgow region. Quaternary Research Association, Cambridge, 18-21.

Jardine, W.G. (1957). Some Aspects of the Geomorphology of South West Scotland. University of Cambridge PhD Thesis.

Jardine, W.G. (1959). River development in Galloway. The Scottish Geographical Magazine, 75(2), 65-74.

Jardine, W.G. (1962). Post-glacial sediments at Girvan, Ayrshire. Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow, 24(3), 262-278.

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Jardine, W.G. (1963). Pleistocene sediments at Girvan, Ayrshire. Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow, 25(1), 4-16.

Jardine, W.G. (1964). Post-glacial sea-levels in South-West Scotland. The Scottish Geographical Magazine, 80(1), 5-11.

Jardine, W.G. (1965). Note on a temporary exposure in central Glasgow of Quaternary sediments with slump and load structures. Scottish Journal of Geology, 1(3), 221-224.

Jardine, W.G. (1966). Landscape evolution in Galloway. Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society, 43, 1-13.

Jardine, W.G. (1967). Sediments of the Flandrian transgression in south-west Scotland: terminology and criteria for facies distinction. Scottish Journal of Geology, 3(2), 221-226.

Jardine, W.G. (1968). The ‘Perth’ Readvance. Scottish Journal of Geology, 4(2), 185-187.

Jardine, W.G. (1969). Quaternary deposits near Garscadden Mains, Glasgow. Proceedings of the Geological Society of Glasgow, 110, 51-53.

Jardine, W.G., (1971). Form and age of Late Quaternary shorelines and coastal deposits of south-west Scotland: critical data. Quaternaria, 14, 103-114.

Jardine, W.G. (1972). Glacial readvances in the context of Quaternary classification. 24th International Geology Congress, Montreal, Section, Vol. 12, pp. 48-54.

Jardine, W. G. (1973). The Quaternary Geology of the Glasgow District. In: Bluck, B.J. (ed.) Excursion Guide to the Geology of the Glasgow District. University Press, Glasgow, 156–169.

Jardine, W.G. (1975). The determination of former sea levels in areas of large tidal range. Quaternary Studies, 163-168.

Jardine, W.G. (1976). Some problems in plotting the mean surface level of the North Sea and the Irish Sea during the last 15,000 years. Geologiska Föreningen i Stockholm Förhandlingar, 98(1), 78-82.

Jardine, W.G. (1977). The Quaternary marine record in southwest Scotland and the Scottish Hebrides. Seel House Press.

Jardine, W.G. (1977). Location and age of Mesolithic coastal occupation sites on Oronsay, Inner Hebrides. Nature, 267(5607), 138-140.

Jardine, G. (1977). Official compte rendu of the X INQUA Congress: held in Birmingham, United Kingdom, 16-24 August 1977 at the University of Birmingham. INQUA, 95 pp.

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Jardine, W.G. (1978). Radiocarbon ages of raised-beach shells from Oronsay, Inner Hebrides, Scotland: a lesson in interpretation and deduction. Boreas, 7(4), 183-196.

Jardine, W.G. (1979). The western (United Kingdom) shore of the North Sea in Late Pleistocene and Holocene times. The Quaternary History of the North Sea, 159-174.

Jardine, W.G. (1980). Holocene raised coastal sediments and former shorelines of Dumfriesshire and eastern Galloway. Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society, 3rd Series, 55(1), 59.

Jardine, W.G. (ed.) (1980). Glasgow region: field guide. Quaternary Research Association, Glasgow.

Jardine, W.G. (1981). The determination of former shoreline positions in areas of large tidal range, with examples taken mainly from Scotland. Bulletin de l’Association Française pour l’étude du Quaternaire, 18(2), 67-70.

Jardine, W.G. (1981). Holocene shorelines in Britain: recent studies. Geologie en Mÿnbouw, 60, 297-304.

Jardine, W.G. (1982). Sea-level changes in Scotland during the last 18,000 years. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 93(1), 25-41.

Jardine, W.G. (1984). The role of geomorphology and geology in archaeological studies: a synopsis. Glasgow Archaeological Journal, 11, 1-11.

Jardine, W.G. (1986). Determination of altitude. In: Sea-Level Research, Springer, Netherlands, 569-590.

Jardine, W.G. (1986). The geological and geomorphological setting of the Estuary and Firth of Clyde. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Section B. Biological Sciences, 90, 25-41.

Jardine, W.G. (1987). The Mesolithic coastal setting. In: Mellars, P.A., Excavations on Oronsay. Prehistoric human ecology on a small island, 25-51.

Jardine, W.G., Dickson, J.H., Haughton, P.D. W., Harkness, D.D., Bowen, D.Q., and Sykes, G.A. (1988). A late Middle Devensian interstadial site at Sourlie, near Irvine, Strathclyde. Scottish Journal of Geology, 24(3), 288-295.

Jardine, W.G. and Jardine, D.C. (1983). Minor excavations and small finds at three Mesolithic sites, Isle of Oronsay, Argyll. Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, 113, 22-34).

Jardine, W.G., and Masters, L.J. (1977). A dug-out canoe from Catherinefield Farm, Locharbriggs, Dumfriesshire. Transactions of the Dumfriesshire and Galloway Natural History and Antiquarian Society, 52, 56-65.

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Jardine, W.G. and Morrison, A. (1976). The archaeological significance of Holocene coastal deposits in south-western Scotland. Geoarchaeology. London, 175-195.

Jardine, W.G. and Moisley, H.A. (1967). Note on a temporary exposure of Quaternary deposits at Scotstoun House, Proceedings of the Geological Society of Glasgow, 108, 25-27.

Price, R.J., Browne, M.A.E., and Jardine, W.G. (1980). The Quaternary of the Glasgow region. Glasgow region: field guide. Quaternary Research Association, Glasgow, 3-9.

Jim RoseDepartment of Geography

Royal Holloway, University of LondonEgham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK

and

Visiting Research FellowBritish Geological Survey

KeyworthNottingham, NG12 5GG

[email protected]

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ARTICLES

EVIDENCE FOR A TALUS ROCK GLACIER IN WESTERNEXMOOR, NORTH DEVON, UK?

Steve Boreham and Christopher J. Rolfe

Abstract

This paper describes the morphology, structure and deposits associated with a boulder-field and a series of arcuate ridges observed at Shallowford Common, Barbrook, Devon, in western Exmoor. These landforms were originally considered as possible examples of glacial activity, but are interpreted here as periglacial features, most probably discrete debris accumulations (DDA) possibly derived from a talus rock glacier present during the last cold stage (Devensian Stage). Direct evidence for glaciation at c. 350 m above sea level (a.s.l.) was not observed, although the possibility of an earlier glaciation, or a small ice cap at higher elevations, cannot be discounted.

Introduction

Although the Exmoor landscape has been traditionally viewed as mainly resulting from relict intense periglacial activity beyond the limit of the main British ice sheet, work by Harrison et al. (1998, 2001) described the apparent presence of glacial landforms and tills in eastern Exmoor at The Punchbowl near Winsford, Somerset in a north-facing valley (Figure 1). Harrison et al. (1998) postulated a small ice-cap on the summit of Winsford Hill at c. 425 m a.s.l. flowing down into The Punchbowl and depositing till down to c. 225 m a.s.l. Although the broad ‘domed’ form of upland Exmoor certainly appears to be suitable for the accumulation of snow-blow and the formation of a cold-based plateau ice-field, an idea supported by numerical modelling (Hubbard et al. 2009), evidence for the presence of ice at such relatively low elevations in western Exmoor is at best fragmentary. This paper describes the morphology, structure and deposits associated with a boulder-field and a series of arcuate ridges identified from LIDAR images at Shallowford Common, Barbrook, Devon at c. 350 m a.s.l.. These were originally investigated by the authors as possible candidates for glacial landforms in western Exmoor.

Methods

The mapping of geomorphological features on Shallowford Common was undertaken using a 1:10,000 scale Ordnance Survey base map (Digimap), aerial photographs, and 1m resolution LIDAR data (Geomatics Group) (Figure

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2). The internal structure of landscape features has been investigated using a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) GSSI 200 MHz shielded antennae (Annan and Davis, 1976 and Davis and Annan, 1989), which offers acceptable depth penetration and excellent acuity. Investigations of alpine lateral moraines by Lukas and Sass (2011) found 200 MHz GPR to provide detailed sub-surface information. The GPR data has been truthed and interpreted using hand-augered boreholes and supported by logging of hand-cut sections. The location and altitude of boreholes, sections and GPR transects were determined using a Leica GNSS SmartNet system.

Geological setting

The large upland area of western Exmoor is underlain by Devonian slates and sandstones, which form a gentle anticlinal structure with an ESE-WNW axis (the Lynton anticline) (Edmonds, 1975). The northern-facing slopes of Exmoor adjacent to the study area are drained by tributaries of the West Lyn River, where they form narrow gorge-like valleys. Thin peaty soils overlying ‘shillet’ (crushed bedrock) and ‘head’ (angular rock fragments in a finer matrix – a diamicton) occur on much of the higher ground and are generally up to 1 m thick. Much of this material is undoubtedly the product of frost action during the Devensian (Edmunds et al, 1985) and forms a regolith that has moved downslope by solifluction and similar periglacial processes during a succession of freeze-thaw cycles.

Figure 1. Map of Exmoor showing the location of the Study Area.

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The Study Area

The area investigated in this study comprised parts of Shallowford Common and Thornworthy Common, south of Shallowford Farm, which together form a broad interfluve between headwater tributary streams of the West Lyn River with deeply incised ‘V’ shaped valleys on the northern slopes of western Exmoor. The authors’ attention was first drawn to this locality because a ‘boulder field’ and a series of prominent arcuate ridges running sub-parallel to the contours were identified from LIDAR images and aerial photography (NGR SF 71376 44293). In the field these ridges were surveyed during the winter months (after vegetation die-back) and were characterised by marked breaks in slope. The appearance of diamicton in boreholes and cut sections (Figure 2) provided the possibility that these features were associated with an Exmoor ice cap (sensu Harrison), and this was the principal driver for continued research at the site.

Ground Penetrating Radar investigations

In order to understand the internal structure of these features, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) was used. Two GPR transects are presented here to show the architecture of deposits associated with these landforms (Figure 3). An average

Figure 2. Map of the study area showing (A) the boulder field, arcuate ridges and GPR transects, and (B) greyscale DEM LIDAR image lit from the SE to enhance landscape features.

relative dielectricity value (er) of 8, used for initial depth conversion, was estimated from the literature (Davis and Annan 1989; Hänninen 1991; Neal 2004). Post-processing of raw data was accomplished using RADAN software. The radar stratigraphy here is based on the recognition and interpretation of

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radar surfaces (bounding surfaces) and radar facies (bed assemblages) (Neal et al. 2002). Four radar facies (RF1-RF4) and three radar surfaces have been identified (RS1-RS3). The radar facies are summarised in Table 1.

Figure 3A shows a c.200 m long GPR transect T1 across two arcuate ridges. The plot shows that the ridges are composed of discrete bodies of diamicton (RF3) often present down to c.2 m depth, in places overlying sub-horizontally bedded gravel and sand (RF2) and underlain by cobbles and large gravel clasts of radar facies (RF1). Downslope of the arcuate ridges a spread of sub-horizontal bedded gravel and sand (RF2), possibly overlying bedrock can be seen. Figure 3B shows a c.250 m long GPR transect T2 across the boulder

Figure 3. Ground Penetrating Radar plots for (A) transect T1 across the arcuate ridges, and (B) transect T2 within the boulder field.

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field to the south and upslope of the ridges. This plot shows that the area is almost entirely underlain by boulders, cobbles and large gravel clasts of radar facies RF1, with a small area of sub-horizontal bedded gravel and sand (RF2).

Table 1. Radar surfaces and radar facies identified in this study and their interpretation as lithofacies (after Krüger and Kjær,1999; Evans and Benn, 2004).

Description InterpretationRadar facies RF4

Moderate to high amplitude, planar, sub-parallel, sometimes discontinuous reflectors, truncated by RS3

Regolith

Radar surface RS3

Sub-horizontal, complex sinuous or wavy undulating surface

Unconformity

Radar facies RF3

Low to moderate amplitude, planar, sub-parallel, sometimes discontinuous reflectors, truncated by RS2

Diamicton (Dm)

Radar surface RS2

Sub-horizontal sinuous or wavy, undulating surface, sometimes creating channel-forms

Erosional boundary

Radar facies RF2

Moderate to high amplitude, sub-parallel horizontal and dipping, continuous and discontinuous reflectors, truncated by RS1

G r a v e l a n d s a n d comprising sheets and channel-forms (Gm, Gms)

Radar surface RS1

Sub-horizontal sinuous or wavy, undulating surface, sometimes creating channel-forms.

Erosional unconformity

Radar facies RF1

Medium to high amplitude, parabolic reflectors

Boulders, cobbles and large gravel clasts (Gm, Bms, Bh)

Field observations

A series of observations from cut-sections (Table 2) were made along the track that traverses the study area south of Shallowford Farm in a roughly N-S direction (see Figure 2).

Within the boulder field, spreads of coarse gravel, cobbles and boulders (d, e, f) appeared to be punctuated by small spreads of clayey diamicton (c, g). The limit of boulders seen at the ground surface coincided with the first set of arcuate ridges, whilst the limit of diamicton exposed in excavations and

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boreholes corresponded roughly with the most northerly set of ridges (see Figure 2). Further down slope beyond the ridges, the deposits were dominated by horizontally-bedded gravel and sand (b, a).

Table 2. Selected field observations from the track south of Shallowford Farm. Lithofacies codes after Krüger and Kjaer (1999) and Evans and Benn (2004).

Site Easting Northing Descriptiona 71470 44531 Matrix-supported coarse gravel and sand (Gms)b 71437 44288 Horizontally bedded clast-supported coarse

gravel and cobbles (Gm/Bh)c 71429 44058 Sub-rounded coarse gravel and sand (Gms)

overlying red clayey diamicton (Dm)d

71407 44041Matrix-supported sub-rounded boulders and cobbles (Bms)

e 71395 44004 Sub-rounded coarse gravel and sand with occasional boulders (Gms)

f71370 43946

Clast-supported horizontally-bedded boulders (Bh)

g71338 43852

Orange-grey sandy and clayey diamicton (Dm) resting on sub-angular matrix-supported boulders (Bms)

Discussion

In glaciated landscapes, arcuate moraine ridges are often visible on interfluves and valley sides where they once formed the latero-frontal moraines of valley glaciers. A moraine ridge dating from the end of the last cold stage might be expected to be relatively unaffected by intense periglacial activity, so that any internal structures would be preserved. In contrast, rock glaciers form either through the recession and collapse of rock debris-covered valley glaciers to form ice-cored features, or through the periglacial movement of debris lobes downslope (e.g. Whalley and Martin 1992; Barsch, 1996; Hughes et al., 2003).

Although the arcuate ridges at Shallowford Common look like possible candidates for terminal moraine features (but not lateral moraines sensu Lukas and Sass (2011) on account of their orientation and interfluve location), their internal architecture appears to be dominated by chaotically-arranged coarse gravel, cobbles and boulders, incised by small channel-forms containing bedded gravel and sand (possibly representing meltwater streams), and overlain by pillow-like bodies of diamicton (‘Head’) reminiscent of periglacially involuted

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regolith. Below the arcuate ridges, a sheet of horizontally-bedded gravel and sand, apparently not containing boulders or diamicton, extends downslope to the north. It is reminiscent of an outwash fan. Upslope within the boulder field, although diamicton does occasionally occur (Table 2), the majority of sediments also appear to be coarse gravel, cobbles and boulders.

Jarman et al. (2013) provides a rigorous critique of British ‘rock glacier’ landforms and concludes that none meet a set of criteria designed to exclude those that could have formed through rock slope failure (RSF) or represent discrete debris accumulations (DDA) formed through a variety of polycyclic periglacial processes. The absence of a recognisable upslope source cavity at Shallowford Common appears to rule out rock slope failure (RSF) and rock slide input as a method of formation for the arcuate ridges. Excluding moraines and rock glaciers (sensu stricto), the possible categories of discrete debris accumulations (DDA) identified by Jarman et al. (2013) include solifluction lobes (incremental DDA), protalus ramparts (formed against a snowbank or glacier), polygenetic DDA (in situ melt-out) or a talus rock glacier (protalus lobes). The morphology and internal structure of the arcuate ridges appears to favour either protalus ramparts or the protalus lobes of a talus rock glacier as the mode of formation.

In the absence of other landscape features commonly associated with glaciated landscapes, such as over-deepened valley-head segments or incipient U-shaped valleys, the authors interpret the boulder field and arcuate ridges at Shallowford Common as evidence for a talus rock glacier extending almost 2 km down the northern slopes of western Exmoor with an altitude range of 350 – 440 m. However, the possibility that multiple periglacial processes operating at different times have contributed to these features is readily acknowledged. This does not preclude the possibility that a valley glacier once occupied this position at an earlier time, or that a small ice cap once occurred at higher elevations in western Exmoor during the last cold stage. If a valley glacier or ice cap was present, then the lack of clear glacial erosional features in this part of Exmoor may imply that ice was thin and cold-based.

Conclusions

Although the combination of a boulder field, arcuate ridges and an apparent outwash fan superficially hint at a glacial origin for the features on Shallowford Common, the periglacially-deformed diamicton within the ridges and the adjacent ‘V’ shaped valley profiles suggest that if this is the case, significant landscape change has occurred since the time of emplacement. It may be that the boulder field represents a remnant of an older ice sheet that has been subsequently modified by polycyclic periglacial action. It is clear that the arcuate ridges represent discrete debris accumulations (DDA) that have a number of

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possible interpretations. Most likely amongst these is their interpretation as the protalus lobes of a talus rock glacier.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Philip Hughes and Sebastian Gibson for discussion, Sven Lukas and an anonymous referee for helpful comments on the text. The LIDAR data was obtained from the Geomatics Group with topographic map data from Digimap and the Ordnance Survey. Fieldwork was kindly supported by the Cambridge Philosophical Society.

References

Annan, A.P. and Davis, J.L., (1976). Impulse radar sounding in permafrost. Radio Science. 11. 383-394.

Ballantyne, C.K. and Harris, C. (1994). The Periglaciation of Great Britain, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

Barsch D. (1996). Rock Glaciers: Indicators for the Present and Former Geoecology in High Mountain Environments. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

Cooper, R., Stoker, M., (2009). Dynamic cycles, ice streams and their impact on the extent, chronology and deglaciation of the British and Irish ice sheet. Quaternary Science Reviews. 28. 759-777.

Davis, J.L. and Annan, A.P., (1989). Ground-penetrating radar for high resolution mapping of soil and rock stratigraphy. Geophysical Prospecting. 37. 531–551.

Edmunds, E.A., McKeown, M.C. and Williams, M. (1975). South-west England (4th Edition), British Regional Geology. Institute of Geological Sciences, 136pp.

Edmunds, E.A., Whittaker, A. and Williams, B.J., (1985). Geology of the country around Ilfracombe and Barnstaple. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheets 277 and 293. HMSO, 97pp.

Evans, I.S., (1977). World-wide variations in the direction and concentration of cirque and glacier aspects. Geografiska Annaler. 59A. 151-175.

Evans, D.J.A. and Benn, D.I., (2004). Facies description and the logging of sedimentary exposures. In: Evans, D.J.A. & Benn, D.I. (eds.) A Practical Guide to the Study of Glacial Sediments. Arnold. 11-51.

Evans, D. J. A., Harrison, S., Vieli, A. and Anderson, E. (2012). The glaciation of Dartmoor: the southernmost independent Pleistocene ice cap in the British Isles. Quaternary Science Reviews 45. 31-53.

Hänninen, P. (1991). Maatutkaluotaus maaperä geologisissa tutkimuksissa. 23 Tutkimusraportti 103, Geologinen Tutkimuskeskus (Espoo), 37 pp.

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Harrison, S., Anderson, E., Passmore, D.G. (1998). A small glacial cirque basin on Exmoor, Somerset. Proceedings of the Geologists Association. 109. 149-158.

Harrison, S., Anderson, E., Passmore, D.G. (2001). Further glacial tills on Exmoor, southwest England: implications for small ice cap and valley glaciation. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association 112. 1-5.

Hubbard, A., Bradwell, T., Golledge, N., Hall, A., Patton, H., Sugden, D., Cooper, R., Stoker, M., (2009). Dynamic cycles, ice streams and their impact on the extent, chronology and deglaciation of the British-Irish ice sheet. Quaternary Science Reviews. 28. 759-777.

Hughes, P.D., Gibbard, P.L. and Woodward, J.C. (2003). Relict rock glaciers as indicators of Mediterranean palaeoclimate during the Last Glacial Maximum (Late Würmian) of northwest Greece. Journal of Quaternary Science. 18. 431-440.

Jarman, D., Wilson, P. and Harrison, S. (2013). Are there any relict rock glaciers in the British mountains? Journal of Quaternary Science. 28 (2). 131–143.

Krüger, J. and Kjaer, K.H. (1999). A data chart for field description and genetic interpretation of glacial diamicts and associated sediments with examples from Greenland, Iceland and Denmark. Boreas 28 (3). 386-402.

Lukas, S. and Sass, O. (2011). The formation of Alpine lateral moraines inferred from sedimentology and radar reflection patterns: a case study from Gornergletscher, Switzerland. In: Martini, I.P., French, H.M. & Pérez Alberti, A. (eds.) Ice-Marginal and Periglacial Processes and Sediments. Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 354. 77–92.

Neal, A. (2004). Ground-penetrating radar and its use in sedimentology: Principles, problems and progress. Earth-Science Reviews. 66. 261-330.

Whalley W.B and Martin H.E. (1992). Rock glaciers. Part II: models and mechanisms. Progress in Physical Geography. 16. 127–186.

Steve Boreham Quaternary Palaeoenvironments Group, Department of Geography

University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 [email protected]

Corresponding author;Christopher J. Rolfe

Quaternary Palaeoenvironments Group, Department of Geography University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN

[email protected]

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THE ORIGIN OF THE QUATERNARY FIELD STUDY GROUP

Peter Worsley

Abstract

A field meeting of the Yorkshire Geological Society in north Lincolnshire in 1962 stimulated talk of a field discussion group focussed on the Quaternary. This led to the founding of the Quaternary field Study group in 1964. The inspiration for this was the field Quaternary geology demonstrated by Allan Straw, then of the University of Sheffield.

Introduction

In John Catt’s recent seminal account of ‘The formation and development of the Quaternary Research Association’ (Catt, 2014), attention is rightfully drawn to the primacy of the Yorkshire Geological Society Field Meeting in 1962 in the birth of the Quaternary Field Study Group (QFSG) and ultimately of the QRA. Earlier, this topic was considered in the QRA’s Quaternary Newsletter (QN) by Hey (1984) and Worsley (1989). A further note referring to this field meeting based upon the partially mistaken recollections of Richard Hey were reported in Gibbard (1999). Here, it is proposed to revisit this event after 52 years, whilst first hand recollections are still possible and when events can be put into a historical context. This contribution is primarily for the benefit of interested younger QRA members who do not have (a) ready access to earlier issues of QN, and (b) an appreciation of the state of British Quaternary geology in the early 1960s.

Yorkshire Geological Society Field Meeting

Normally, the Yorkshire Geological Society (YGS) sponsors a series of weekend field meetings during the summer months and, from 22nd-23rd September 1962, it held an ‘Excursion to North Lincolnshire’. The rationale of the field meeting was to illustrate the geological history from a study of the physiography, structure and stratigraphy of the Mesozoic rocks of the northernmost Wolds. ‘The topography …. will be demonstrated and the party taken to exposures of Lower Cretaceous, Middle Jurassic and Lower Jurassic rocks’. Physiography and topography were mentioned but the word Quaternary stratigraphy did not figure in the synopsis. The leaders were Percy E. Kent (later Sir Peter Kent), John W Neale and, most importantly in the current context, Quaternary geomorphologist Allan Straw. Their joint field meeting report was later published as part of

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the annual report for 1962 in the society proceedings (Kent et al., 1963). The current definitive account of Lincolnshire geology remains Swinnerton and Kent (1976) although we should note that the Quaternary chapters of the revised version were acknowledged to be substantially influenced by Allan’s advice. The meeting had its headquarters at the historic (1702) ‘White House’ guest house (Figure 1) in the Market Place of the small market town of Caistor, which lies on the west facing escarpment of The Wolds. Allan was responsible for the field logistics.

In 1962 Allan was a lecturer in geography at Sheffield University (he had graduated from Nottingham) and was concurrently completing his PhD study of the Lincolnshire Wolds area (Straw, 1964). Amongst the Sheffield undergraduates he was later to enthuse re the Quaternary was a geology student, one Phil Gibbard! Allan had recently published several related papers (Straw, 1957, 1958, and 1961a, 1961b) and was thus ideally qualified to demonstrate his research findings to the society. It is suggested here, that an awareness of these recent papers and the prospect of witnessing Allan’s field demonstrations and discussion first hand, attracted those YGS members with Quaternary interests (a definite minority) who might not have otherwise have

Figure 1. The historic ‘White House’ (dating from 1702), in the Market Place, Caistor, north Lincolnshire, the headquarters of the Yorkshire Geological Society weekend field meeting, September 21-23, 1962.

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attend a purely Mesozoic focussed meeting. These included Eddie Francis and Geoff Gaunt (both from the BGS Leeds office), Richard Hey (Cambridge), and Lewis Penny (Hull). Other notable YGS members present were two Hull University geology students, John Catt, a research student working on the glacial stratigraphy of the Holderness coast under the supervision of a ‘Mr Penny’ and Pete Rawson, an undergraduate (later John Neale was to be his postgraduate research supervisor).

Significantly, Eddie Francis had three months previously led a YGS field meeting to the Durham area and the subsequent report, Francis et al. (1963), reveals his active involvement in glacial sedimentology at that time. Unsurprisingly, he brought with him to Caistor that fired-up enthusiasm and a critical eye for the sedimentological concepts, particularly those of the Geological Survey’s maverick monoglacial geologist R.G. Carruthers. Geoff Gaunt had cut his Quaternary teeth whilst mapping the Hartlepool-Ferryhill area of the Durham sheet. It was the presence of this critical mass of active experienced scientists which is fundamental to the emergence of the idea of a specialist Quaternary group. I believe that the first ideas of a study group emerged in the rear garden of The Plough Inn in Binbrook on the first day whilst packed lunches were being consumed (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. The Plough Inn, Market Place , Binbrook (taken in 2014) where lunch was taken on Saturday 22nd September, 1962. At that time it dispensed ‘HB’ ales brewed by Hewitt Brothers at the Tower Brewery in Grimsby (closed in 1969 after being taken over by Bass).

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I was present as a society member of four years standing but this was my first YGS field meeting and fortuitously it was in the midst of my ‘home’ area. I retain all the handout material nicely preserved in what I assume was a BP funded clear plastic folder (Peter Kent became chief geologist of British Petroleum in 1966). I had undertaken a study of the mineral extraction industries of north east Lincolnshire for my ‘A’ Level and later one of my independent degree projects and these included the Lower Cretaceous Claxby Ironstone Formation mines at Nettleton which were part of the YGS itinerary. Also, Pete Rawson was concurrently working on Nettleton stratigraphy and palaeontology for his mapping and dissertation project. At the end of the month I was to start a DSIR funded postgraduate studentship at Manchester although a specific research topic was not yet formulated. Such a situation whereby graduate students either sank or swam was the norm in stark contrast with the supervisor-predefined studentship projects of today.

I had been inspired as an undergraduate by Brian Sissons’s papers, and these had publicised the deglacial ice stagnation concepts of the Swedish geomorphologist C.M. Mannerfelt. The latter’s classic paper, Mannerfelt (1945) had been overlooked by glacial workers in the UK until Brian started applying its principles to upland deglaciation contexts. As a consequence, many of the previously postulated glacial lakes based upon glacial drainage channels from P.F. Kendall onwards, had to be revised and amongst glacial geologists the role of sub-glacial meltwater drainage had become one of the hot topics of the day. This was particularly so during the YGS field meeting.

The Quaternary geology programme

This was featured primarily during the first day and can be grouped under three headings.

1. Glacial meltwater drainage

It is difficult to appreciate landform relationships from a bus or single observation point. Accordingly, Allan led a walking traverse of c 1.5 km from Hatcliffe to Croxby Pond during which he demonstrated some of his reconstructed Last Glaciation ice margins and their associated meltwater channels (see Figure 3). These were related to his second (younger and less degraded) series of channels which were caused by an ice readvance (later to be called Hogsthorpe – Killingholme moraine advance limit). Controversy arose from the status of these channels and some questioned whether some might have been formed sub-glacially without the need to involve overspilling ponded water.

2. Interglacial stratigraphy

The main Quaternary stratigraphic locality was the old gravel and clay pit complex on the northern limits of Kirmington village, a site with a long

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Figure 3. Allan Straw’s map of the glacial drainage channels and reconstructed ice margins along part of the eastern flank of the Lincolnshire Wolds. This formed the central part of Fig.4c of Straw (1961). The party walked from Hatcliffe westwards to Croxby Pond (this is represented by the black blob north of ‘Deepdale’).

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heritage of investigation. A geomorphological map compiled by Allan of the immediate area was distributed to the YGS field party (see Figure 4). This is now a historic document since apparently it was never published in this version and the original held by the writer is probably unique (Allan Straw, pers. comm., 2014). Allan at that time favoured a Last Interglacial age for the Kirmington interglacial sequence. Kirmington was first visited by the QRA in April 1972 (Penny et al., 1972) when a key topic was ‘what is the age of the Kirmington Interglacial?’, an issue yet to be satisfactorily resolved! A return QRA visit was made 27 years later (Bridgland et al., 1999).

Both Pete Rawson and I, amongst others, were privileged to have been taught A level geology by George W Radge who held a Birmingham M.Sc. by thesis, in Quaternary geology (Radge, 1939). He encouraged us to undertake local field work and hence I was familiar with Kirmington since it was in easy cycling distance from Grimsby and by chance on one of my early visits c. 1955, I came upon a fresh trench cut through the ‘estuarine silts’ exposed in the abandoned wall of the former clay pit. A thin peat cropped out at the base of the profile (in April 2014 the trench site lies under thick bushes). The excavation had been undertaken by Bill Watts, who during 1953-55, held a

Figure 4. A geomorphological map (unpublished 1962) by Allan Straw of the area around Kirmington. Note that the interglacial deposits are denoted by the solid black just above ‘K’ ( = Kirmington). The area immediately south west of Kirmington, a former RAF airfield, is now occupied by Humberside International Airport.

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lectureship in botany at Hull University/University College. The results of his palynological investigations were published by the YGS after he had returned to Trinity College Dublin (Watts, 1959).

Kirmington remains an enigmatic site. Allan had concluded in the 1980s that the whole succession is a vast glacial erratic raft and accordingly the OD heights of any sea level reconstructions are invalid (pers. comm., 2014). This idea echoes the interpretation of it made by Carruthers (1948). Such a concept is not outrageous and its relevance to such sites as the Speeton Shell Bed on the East Yorkshire coast and High Lodge in Suffolk sequences is now widely accepted.

3. Erosion surfaces

Denudation chronology dominated British geomorphology in the immediate post World War 2 period and Allan’s paper (Straw, 1961b) was one of the last papers to be published in that field. He argued that the surfaces on the chalk Wolds were largely due to marine erosion, and all were of Pleistocene age. The oldest, the High Street – Bluestone surface was ‘most probably early Pleistocene’ with the corollary being that the entire landform of north Lincolnshire had been fashioned since that time. Interestingly, Pete Rawson (pers. com. 2014), recalls feeling sorry for Allan for as he was explaining his ideas some of the ‘solid’ geologists were muttering their disagreement over the validity of his erosion surfaces and chronology behind his back. Pete suggests that this might also have contributed to the idea of establishing an independent Quaternary group.

Whatever, there can be no doubt that the informal Quaternary group of enthusiasts was regarded by the ‘Mesozoics’, especially the leader in chief Peter Kent, as a veritable cuckoo in the YGS nest! The rest is history and that bird has successfully flown.

Conclusion

Richard Hey was to later comment that he had learnt almost as much in 48 hours as he had in attending either of the two INQUA congresses he had been to previously – some accolade! It was certainly he who took the initiative by discussing the study group idea with Richard West upon his return to Cambridge and they jointly took action. But Allan Straw was the catalyst for this, so his election to Honorary Membership of the QRA in 2003 was, in part, a belated recognition of his vital role in the in the formation of the association. Sadly there was no citation for him in the Quaternary Newsletter at the time. It is hoped that this account will contribute to the wider recognition of Allan’s role in stimulating thoughts of forming a field study group.

Acknowledgements

Helpful discussions with John Catt, Geoff Gaunt, Peter Rawson and Allan Straw have contributed to the accuracy of the historical detail in this report. The

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writer is, however, solely responsible for the views expressed. Allan is thanked for permission to include two of his original maps from the YGS meeting.

References

Bridgland, D.R. and Thomas, G.N. (1999). Kirmington (TA 103117). In: Horton, B.P. and Innes, J.B.(eds). North east England. London, Quaternary Research Association. 180-184.

Catt, J.A. (2014). In: Catt, J. A. and Candy, I. (eds). In: The history of the Quaternary Research Association, London, Quaternary Research Association, 1-172.

Carruthers, R.G. (1948). The secret of the glacial drifts. Part II. Applications to Yorkshire. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 27, 129-172.

Francis, E.A., Phillips, L.S. and Smith, D.B. (1963). Central and south-eastern Durham. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 34, 104-112.

Gibbard, P.L. (1999). Richard Hey : gentleman geologist. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 110, 83-92.

Hey, R.W. (1984). History of the Quaternary Research Association. Quaternary Newsletter, 43, 18-20.

Kent, P.E., Neale, J.W. and Straw, A. (1963). North Lincolnshire. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 34, 112-116.

Mannerfelt, C.M. (1945). Några glacialmorpholgiska formelement och deras vittnesbörd om inlandsisens avsmältninngsmekanik i svensk och norsk fjällterräng. Geografiska Annaler 27, 1-239. (n.b. this is a Swedish PhD thesis)

Penny, L.F., Straw, A., Catt, J.A., Flenley, J.F., Bridger, J.F.D., Madgett, P.A. and Beckett, S.C. (1972). East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire Field Guide. [Hull] Quaternary Research Association, 42p.

Radge, G.W. (1939). The glaciation of north Cleveland. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 24, 180-205.

Straw, A. (1957). Some glacial features of east Lincolnshire. East Midland Geographer, 1, 41-48.

Straw, A. (1958). The glacial sequence in Lincolnshire. East Midland Geographer, 2, 29-40.

Straw, A. (1961a). Drifts, meltwater channels and ice margins in the Lincolnshire Wolds. Transactions and Papers of the Institute of British Geographers, 29, 115-128.

Straw, A. (1961b). The erosion surfaces of east Lincolnshire. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 33, 149-172.

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Straw, A. (1964). An examination of surface and drainage in the Lincolnshire Wolds, with brief consideration of adjacent areas. Vol 1, 277p; Vol 2, 33p, Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Sheffield.

Swinnerton, H.H. and Kent, P.E. (1976). The geology of Lincolnshire. 2nd edn., Lincoln, Lincolnshire Naturalists’ Union, 130p.

Watts, W.A. (1959). Pollen spectra from the interglacial deposits at Kirmington, Lincolnshire. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, 32, 145-152.

Worsley, P. (1989). 25 years ago - some reminiscences of the first Quaternary Field Study Group meeting and earlier related events. Quaternary Newsletter, 57, 4-5.

Peter Worsley Svartisen House

Whitchurch- on-Thames Oxfordshire

RG8 [email protected]

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REPORTS18TH ANNUAL QRA INTERNATIONAL POSTGRADUATE

SYMPOSIUM28th-30th August 2013, University of Southampton

From the 28th – 30th August 2013 the 18th Annual Postgraduate Symposium was hosted by Geography and Environment at the University of Southampton. Attended by over 40 delegates, one from as far away as Minnesota, the three-day conference provided the opportunity for postgraduates studying all aspects of the Quaternary to meet and discuss their research and generate long-lasting connections.

Wednesday 28th August – New Forest fieldtrip

The conference began with an excursion to the New Forest National Park for an in depth review of its Quaternary history led by Tony Brown and Michael Grant. The first stop of the day was to investigate the raised beaches of Lepe Country Park associated with the Pleistocene Solent River system. The region has been studied by many Quaternary Scientists in the past and is still an area of active research for the community. The gravel deposits at Lepe have provided biostratigraphical evidence that has sparked much debate surrounding the age of these and other deposits in the sequence. The delegates were able to hear how the story of the Pleistocene Solent River system has developed over the years whilst examining the sections first hand.

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After a hearty lunch in the village of Lyndhurst, delegates ditched their urban attire in favour of wellington boots to prepare for the exploration of one of the largest mire systems in southern England: Cranes Moor. Located on the western edge of the New Forest (NGR SU194028), this site has been the subject of two previous QRA field trips in 1987 and 2009. Although recent peat cutting has removed evidence of the surface profile of the bog, the deeper stratigraphy suggests that the surface vegetation was likely to have been largely, or solely, ombrogenous from the early Holocene. Under these conditions the peat archive is a sensitive indicator of palaeoclimatic change. This makes Cranes Moor particularly significant as most other Northwest European mires during the early Holocene were in an early successional swamp or sedge fen stage at this time. We were very grateful to have Vincent van Walt and Yvonne Coonan from Van Walt Ltd join us at the site to show us the wide range of coring equipment and tools that they provide for Quaternary research – no QRA fieldtrip would be complete without some muddy delegates!

Thursday 29th August

The first day of presentations began with an introduction from Mary Edwards to welcome delegates to the conference. This was followed by a keynote presentation from Melanie Leng from the University of Leicester and the British Geological Survey, who discussed the use of stable isotopes in Quaternary research. Her overview of the techniques and discussion of exciting new research projects provided a great introduction to the days talk.

The first postgraduate presentations, in the session of ‘Environmental reconstructions from lake sediments and ecological proxies’, continued the isotope theme by looking at European and Arctic lake sediments before turning to the invertebrates of limestone pavements. The second session of ‘Tephrochronology’ outlined studies from eastern Africa to eastern North America where we heard of the difficulties and delights that can be encountered when working with volcanic glass. After lunch, we focused on the glacial world and the east Asian summer Monsoon within the session of ‘Palaeoenvironmental modelling’ before turning our attentions to human-environmental interactions in the final postgraduate session of the day: ‘Palaeoenvironmental reconstructions and human impact’. Taking the human interactions link a little further, oral presentations were concluded with the final keynote speaker, Iain Stewart from Plymouth University, who discussed science and the media to a somewhat expanded audience! Prof. Stewart then stayed for the poster session and provided some much appreciated advice on effective communication of our own research.

The fantastic postgraduate research presented stimulated lots of academic discussion, useful critique and advice that continued long into the conference dinner at the Oxford Brassiere.

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Friday 30th August

The final day of the symposium began with a session on ‘Peatland palaeocology’ – rather fitting since Southampton University is home to a longstanding and key contributor to peatland palaeocology: Keith Barber. Presentations in this session outlined the application of paleoecology for mire conservation, discussed Southern Hemisphere climatic signals and explored recent carbon accumulation rates. Remaining on an ecological theme, the final session of the symposium gave an insight into the history of the Monkey Puzzle tree and the hydroclimatic information held in Irish pines.

All of the widely varying content that the QRA Postgraduate Symposium brings together was very well received and this was reflected in the tough competition for the best oral and poster presentation awards. This year Christopher Darvill (Durham University) won the best poster presentation for the second year running titled ‘Erratic Boulder Trains: A case-study from Tierra del Fuego, southernmost South America’. The prize for best oral presentation was awarded to Adam Griggs (Swansea University) who presentation was titled: ‘A detailed investigation into Faroe Marine Ash Zones II-IV in the North Atlantic: sedimentology, geochemistry and synchronisation potential’.

The meeting concluded with the Annual General Meeting (AGM) when Christopher Darvill (Durham University) was elected as the new postgraduate representative and the University of Exeter won the bid to host the next QRA Postgraduate Symposium. Danni Pearce (University of Worchester) completed her time as the senior representative and thanks were extended to her for all her hard work within the QRA.

As always, the standard of posters and presentations was very high and stimulated very varied discussions. Thanks to all of the delegates who helped to make this QRA Postgraduate Symposium one of the largest, liveliest meetings yet: there is already excitement surrounding Exeter’s meeting!

Kim Davies and Helen MackayPalaeoenvironmental Laboratory, University of Southampton (PLUS)

Geography and EnvironmentShackleton Building 44

University of SouthamptonSouthampton

SO17 1BJ

[email protected]@soton.ac.uk

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NEW RESEARCHERS AWARD SCHEMETHE LATEGLACIAL MAMMALIAN ASSEMBLAGE FROM

BRIDGED POT SHELTER, SOMERSET: TAPHONOMY, PALAEOENVIRONMENT AND AGE

Background and rationale My thesis for my Master’s degree in Quaternary Science at Royal Holloway, University of London, will investigate the Lateglacial mammalian assemblage from Bridged Pot Shelter (ST 52604866), a small rock shelter in Ebbor Gorge, three miles from Wells, with the aims and objectives of the project being:

Aims• To produce a palaeoenvironmental reconstruction for the site• To establish the taphonomic origins of the mammalian assemblage• To infer the age of the assemblage and to compare it with other local and

regional sites

Objectives• To identify the large and small mammalian remains from the site• To assess the taphonomic processes contributing to the formation of the

assemblage through the examination of digestion, cutmarks, physical weathering, breakage and other criteria

• To conduct appropriate morphometric examinations, in particular measurements of small mammal teeth,

This will involve examination of material from excavations undertaken by McBurney and H.E.Balch, which are divided between Wells Museum and the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the Cambridge University, respectively. Whilst the collection from Wells Museum was loaned to RHUL for study, this was not possible for the Cambridge material. I therefore requested support for the costs of travel to and from Cambridge and to cover four nights’ accommodation whilst I studied the collections

ResultsAt Cambridge I found a collection of several hundred small mammal remains mainly consisting of cranial material. Only samples which had stratigraphical provenance attributed to them were examined and priority was given to the deepest levels likely to represent the Lateglacial.

The assemblage represents a cold steppe-tundra habitat as evidenced by the co-dominance of Collared Lemmings and Narrow-skulled Vole, both of which prefer dry, gravelly tundra and snow banks into which to burrow for winter

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insulation. The low but consistent occurrence of the semi-aquatic Water Vole throughout the sequence implies the local presence of a still or slow-flowing water source with well-vegetated, steep banks. The presence of Steppe Pika, Tundra Voles and Field Voles, which favour damp soils and grassland, demonstrates a degree of localised heterogeneity in habitat types. The ecological preferences of the assemblages and the presence of Steppe Pika, widely considered an indicator of the Younger Dryas Stadial, attribute the collection to this period. The concentration of bone, skeletal element representation and low degree and intensity of digestion evidence is consistent with Snowy Owl pellet deposition over a sustained period.

Significance

Our current knowledge of Younger Dryas fauna relies on radiocarbon dates on individual bones from a scatter of sites accumulated under differing taphonomic processes. Bridged Pot Shelter provides one of few stratified assemblages covering the Lateglacial period and one of the first discrete Younger Dryas assemblages for Britain. The Lateglacial is one of the most significant periods in terms of understanding the impact of abrupt palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental change on the British mammalian fauna. To have a small mammal fauna complementing the environmental reconstruction envisaged from Balch’s large mammal collection not only vastly increase our knowledge of the species diversity which existed but also add to the understanding of habitats at different spatial scales (cf. Table 1).

Table 1. Species lists from the McBurney (Cambridge) and Balch (Wells) collection. *= Associated with Younger Dryas.

McBurney small mammal Species List Balch large mammal species listCollared Lemming* BearNorway Lemming* WolfTundra Vole* Red Deer*Narrow-skulled Vole* Reindeer*Field Vole* Arctic Fox*Water Vole* Roe DeerSteppe Pika* Wild Horse*Common Vole* Arctic Hare*

Acknowledgments

Many thanks go to my supervisor Danielle Schreve, the staff at Cambridge Museum for facilitating my studies there and to the QRA for giving me the opportunity to carry out the project.

Siân L Brewer22 The Glade, Langley, Southampton SO45 1ZP

[email protected]

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ASSESSING RECENT ICE-MARGINAL FLUCTUATIONS OF SKÁLAFELLSJÖKULL, SE ICELAND

Background and rationale

Iceland is situated in a climatically-sensitive area close to both atmospheric and oceanic polar fronts, thus representing an important location for understanding North Atlantic climatic change. Icelandic glaciers are particularly sensitive to climatic fluctuations on annual to decadal timescales, and have exhibited accelerating rates of ice-marginal retreat and mass loss during the past decade (e.g. Sigurðsson et al., 2007; Björnsson et al., 2013). Understanding these current rapid glacier fluctuations is crucial to placing current atmospheric warming and associated glacier retreat in a broader context.

Recently, observations at Virkisjökull-Falljökull, SE Iceland, have shown the glacier has undergone a major change in behaviour during the past decade, switching from active retreat to passive downwasting and ice-marginal collapse in response to a period of unusually warm summers (Bradwell et al., 2013). Further research is, however, required to attain greater understanding of recent glacier behaviour in Iceland and the controls thereon. Such understanding will provide insights into the potential future response of Icelandic glaciers to climatic perturbations.

The research associated with this New Research Workers’ Award involved geomorphological and sedimentological investigations of annual moraines on the foreland of Skálafellsjökull, SE Iceland, an outlet glacier of the southeast margin of the Vatnajökull ice cap (Figure 1A). Additionally, lichenometry investigations were conducted on a sub-sample of moraines (e.g. Bradwell, 2001, 2004). The annual moraines are used as a geomorphological proxy to constrain patterns and rates of ice-marginal retreat.

Results

Annual moraines on the Skálafellsjökull foreland mostly form continuous ridges that reach several tens to hundreds of metres in length and typically display a characteristic saw-tooth or crenulated planform (Figure 1). The striking saw-tooth planform is interpreted as reflecting formation along an ice front strongly indented by closely spaced, radial crevasses or pecten (Price 1970; Sharp, 1984). The moraines are typically composed of moderately well-consolidated, clay-rich, matrix- to clast-supported diamictons, with occasional fine inclusions. Clasts are predominantly vesicular basalts with rounded to subangular edges.

Cross-correlation of an archive of imagery spanning 1945 – 2012 and lichenometry investigations indicate annual moraine formation occurred

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between 1936 and 1964, 1969 and 1974, and from 2006 onwards. Calculation of annual moraine spacing, which equates to annual ice-margin retreat rates (IMRRs), for these periods reveals that between 2006 and 2011 the ice front retreated ~134 m (average: ~22 m a-1). However, the period 1936 to 1941 experienced greater glacier recession (~200 m), representing the greatest glacier recession in any 6-year period.

Figure 1. A. Map of Iceland showing the location of the study area. B. Extract from glacial geomorphological map showing the distribution of annual moraines on the foreland of Skálafellsjökull.

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Significance

Comparison of IMRRs with seasonal temperature variations at Hólar í Hornafirði (located ~24 km East of Skálafellsjökull) reveals a reasonably strong positive correlation between IMRRs and summer temperature variations (r2 = 0.3925, p < 0.0001). Interestingly, IMRRs for the period 2006 – 2011 display a strong positive correlation with summer temperature anomalies (r2 = 0.8479, p = 0.0009). This analysis suggests summer temperature variations have been a key control on glacier recession since 1936, with summer temperature variations being the dominant control between 2006 and 2011. Other possible factors influencing the pattern and rate of ice-marginal retreat, such as precipitation and the North Atlantic Oscillation, are to be explored.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Professor Dave Evans and Dr Dave Roberts for their supervision throughout the project. I am grateful to Dr Marek Ewertowski for his assistance during the processing of imagery. Alex Clayton (University of Southampton), Trausti Jónsson and Oddur Sigurðsson (both Icelandic Meteorological Office) kindly provided UAV imagery, meteorological data

Figure 1. C. Field photograph showing the characteristic saw-tooth planform of annual moraines in the study area.

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and ice-front measurement data, respectively. I would also like to thank Hannah Bickerdike, Jonathan Chandler and Bertie Miles for field assistance. Funding for this research has been provided by a QRA New Research Workers’ Award, a Van Mildert College Principal’s Award and a Van Mildert College Postgraduate Award, which are gratefully acknowledged. The fieldwork was carried out under RANNÍS Agreement 4/2014. Thanks are due to Regína Hreinsdóttir (National Park Warden, South Territory) for granting permission to work within the Vatnajökull National Park.

References

Björnsson, H., Pálsson, F., Guðmundsson, S., Magnússon, E., Adalgeirsdóttir, G., Jóhannesson, T., Berthier, E., Sigurðsson, O. and Thorsteinsson, T. (2013). Contribution of Icelandic ice caps to sea level rise: Trends and variability since the Little Ice Age. Geophysical Research Letters, 40, 1546-1550.

Bradwell, T. (2001). A new lichenometric dating curve for southeast Iceland. Geografiska Annaler, 83A, 91–101.

Bradwell, T. (2004). Lichenometric dating in southeast Iceland: the size-frequency approach. Geografiska Annaler, 86A, 31–41.

Bradwell, T., Sigurðsson, O. and Everest, J. (2013). Recent, very rapid retreat of a temperate glacier in SE Iceland. Boreas 42: 959-973.

Price, R.J. (1970). Moraines at Fjallsjökull, Iceland. Arctic and Alpine Research, 2, 27–42.

Sharp, M. (1984). Annual moraine ridges at Skálafellsjökull, southeast Iceland. Journal of Glaciology, 30, 82–93.

Sigurðsson, O., Jonsson, T. and Jóhannesson, T. (2007). Relation between glacier-termini variations and summer temperatures in Iceland since 1930. Annals of Glaciology, 42, 395–401.

Benjamin M.P. ChandlerDepartment of Geography

Durham [email protected]

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IMPACT OF STRONTIUM SEA SPRAY EFFECT ON THE ISOTOPIC RATIO (87SR/86SR) OF PLANTS IN COASTAL

IRELAND

Background and rationale

Strontium isotopes are often used to study the mobility of ancient populations (e.g. Bentley, 2013). In order to identify individuals that moved from one region to another, the strontium isotopic ratios (87Sr/86Sr) of archaeological human remains (most often tooth enamel) are compared to the local biologically available strontium values, generally based on modern plant samples, some of which are readily available in the literature (e.g. Evans et al., 2010 for Britain). Such data was not available for Ireland. As an island, the strontium isotope ratios of plants from coastal zones could well be affected by a sea spray effect (Whipkey et al., 2000; Frei et al., 2009).

The QRA New Researcher Award enabled the preparation and analyses of 22 plant samples for strontium isotopic ratio (87Sr/86Sr). These are part of two series of samples taken on the same geological formations but at different distances from the coast: the first series from the west coast of Ireland, on Carboniferous sandstone, and the second, from the east coast, on Carboniferous limestone. The aim of this research is to see if there is a significant isotope effect of sea spray on plants in Ireland, and if that is the case, how far inland would the effect stretch.

Results

The strontium isotopic ratios measured by MC-ICP-MS on the plants samples (Figure 1) show that those taken very close to the sea (< 50 m) have ratios between 0.7092 and 0.7094, very close to the value of modern sea water (0.7092 – Hess et al., 1986). Samples that were taken further away from the coast exhibit higher isotopic ratios, depending on the geology. Distance from the coast does not seem to affect the isotopic ratios. The lower values of the samples taken at 17 km from the west coast require further investigation but are unlikely to be linked to a sea spray effect as these samples were the furthest away from the sea.

Significance

The results show that sea spray effect on the west and east coasts of Ireland is limited to the immediate vicinity of the coast (< 1km). It is likely that the sea spray effect would even be limited to regions within 100m from the coast but with the data available here it is not possible to ascertain this. Nevertheless, the

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strontium isotopic ratio of plants, and therefore of humans and animals eating these plants, would only be affected by sea spray effect if close to the coast.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the Quaternary Research Association for their generosity allowing for the measurements of the strontium isotopic ratios of the samples. I am grateful for the support of the Wiener-Anspach Foundation (http://fwa.ulb.ac.be) towards my DPhil. Many thanks also to Rick Schulting and Julia Lee-Thorp, my supervisors, and Nadine Mattielli, Jeroen de Jong and Wendy Debouge for their help with the preparation and analyses of the samples.

References

Bentley, R.A. (2013). Mobility and the diversity of early Neolithic lives: Isotopic evidence from skeletons. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 32, 303-312.

Frei, K.M., Frei, R., Mannering, U., Gelba, M., Noschi, M. L. and Lyngstrøm, H. (2009). Provenance of ancient textiles – A pilot study evaluating the strontium isotope system in wool. Archaeometry, 51(2), 252-276.

Evans, J.A., Montgomery, J., Wildman, G. and Boulton, N. (2010). Spatial Variations in Biosphere 87Sr/86Sr in Britain. Journal of Geological Society, London, 167, 1-4.

Figure 1. Strontium isotopic ratios of plant samples taken on the west and east coast of Ireland compared to the strontium isotopic ratio of sea water.

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Hess, J., Bender, M.L. and Schilling, J.-G. (1986). Evolution of the Ratio of Strontium-87 to Strontium-86 in Seawater from Cretaceous to Present. Science, New Series, 231(4741), 979-984.

Whipkey, C.E., Capo, R.C., Chadwick, B.W. and Stewart, B.W. (2000). The importance of sea spray to the cation budget of a coastal Hawaiian soil: a strontium isotope approach. Chemical Geology, 168(1-2), 37-48.

Christophe SnoeckResearch Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art

University of OxfordDyson Perrins Building, South Parks Rd

Oxford, OX1 3QYUK

[email protected]

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PRELIMINARY MORPHOMETRICAL ANALYSIS OF PLEISTOCENE BEAR SPECIMENS FROM CAVE SITES IN

SOUTH-WEST ENGLAND

Background and rationale

Bears are one of the most common elements of the Pleistocene carnivore guild. In Britain, only one species has traditionally been recognised in the early Middle Pleistocene, the cave bear Ursus deningeri, which is replaced after the Anglian glaciation by Ursus spelaeus and then by the brown bear, Ursus arctos, the sole species from MIS 9 onwards (Schreve, 2001). This succession is in marked contrast to what is known on the European mainland where multiple species of cave bear apparently co-existed and Ursus spelaeus persisted until its extinction in the Late Pleistocene (Pacher and Stuart, 2009). Key questions therefore remain as to whether comparable (greater) species diversity has been masked in British cave bear assemblages, and whether the morphology and body size, as well as the dietary niches of both cave bears and brown bears have changed in response to Quaternary climate change. A combination of morphometrical and dental microwear techniques is therefore being applied to British Pleistocene bear material to answer these questions as part of an ongoing PhD project.

Cave sites are extremely important in Quaternary palaeontological research as they concentrate fossil remains. A research visit to three regional museums funded by a QRA NRWA allowed over 400 specimens, representing key material from SW England, to be studied from the following localities: Bleadon Cave (MIS 7), Banwell Bone Cave (MIS 5a), Kents Cavern (early Middle Pleistocene and MIS 3), Wookey Hole Hyaena Den and Sandford Hill (both MIS 3) (for details see Schreve, 2001; Currant and Jacobi, 2001). These were supplemented by information from sites where chronology is less well established, including Burrington Coombe (Holocene?) and Badger Hole at Wookey Hole (Late Pleistocene-Holocene?). Cranial specimens were selected in order to identify species differentiation, body size changes through time and dietary patterns, whereas well-preserved specimens of first lower molars were moulded and then cast for subsequent dental microwear analysis.

Preliminary results

Figure 1 presents some of the preliminary morphometrical results from this study. The upper plot shows the relationship between second upper molar (M2) length and width for Pleistocene bear species, compared to extant Ursus arctos specimens. Using this tooth, it can be seen that the fossil specimens are uniformly relatively larger than modern material. The values for MIS 3 age

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bears cluster closely, although the MIS 5a material from Banwell Bone Cave also falls within this group.

The lower plot compares the length of lower carnassials (m1) of bear specimens from SW British sites with those of modern brown bears and Pleistocene cave

Figure 1. Comparison plots of extant and extinct Pleistocene (south – west Britain) bear specimens. Width – length plot of M2 tooth (top). Width – Length mean values with standard deviation and raw values of m1 tooth (bottom).

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bears. The length of this tooth can be used to estimate body size of carnivores (e.g. Van Valkenburgh, 1990). The plot shows mean values with standard deviation, however only length and width values were used from sites with smaller specimen numbers (Sandford Hill, Banwell Bone Cave, Bleadon Cave and Burrington Coombe). Again, the Pleistocene specimens are generally larger from the modern material especially regarding their length. Molar length is greatest in cave bears, although the largest brown bear individuals (from MIS 3 and MIS 5a sites) approach U. spelaeus values. In contrast, modern brown bears from Siberia and Kamchatka have comparably reduced tooth length but the largest widths. Of the Pleistocene material, it is interesting to note that the interglacial material from Bleadon Cave and (possibly) Burrington Coombe show both reduced molar length compared to fossil specimens of last glacial age and also approach more closely the Siberian and Kamchatkan values seen in modern bears.

Significance

Overall the morphological results indicate that all bear specimens studied from SW British caves should be attributed to U. arctos; no cave bear material was found, suggesting that this species had indeed disappeared from Britain by the early part of the late Middle Pleistocene. Initial metrical analysis indicates that the majority of Pleistocene bears from SW Britain were of larger size than modern U. arctos from Europe, although individuals from temperate stages are smallest and lie closest to modern brown bear individuals from high latitudes such as Kamchatka and Siberia. All specimens are smaller in size than cave bear material. Future work will compare these assemblages against other material from Britain and also explore potential dietary differences between bears from different climatic episodes through dental microwear.

Acknowledgments

I gratefully acknowledge the support of the Quaternary Research Association for funding this work with the New Research Workers Award. I am also grateful for the continuous support of my supervisor Prof. Danielle Schreve and for her excellent supervision. I would like also to thank Dennis Parsons at Taunton Heritage Centre, Barry Chandler at Torquay Museum and Barry Lane at the Wells and Mendip Museum, for allowing access to the collection as well as for their support during my visit. For access to the modern bear material, I would like to thank Roberto Portela Miguez from the Life Sciences Department at the Natural History Museum.

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References

Baryshnikov, G. (2006). Morphometrical Variability of Cheek Teeth of Cave Bears. In: Tsoukala, E. and Rabeder, G. (eds.). Proceedings of 12th International Cave Bear Symposium. Scientific Annals School of Geology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 98, 81-102.

Currant, A. and Jacobi, R. (2001). A formal mammalian biostratigraphy for the Late Pleistocene of Britain. Quaternary Science Reviews, 20, 1707-1716.

Pacher, M. and Stuart, A. J. (2009). Extinction chronology and paleoecology of the cave bear Ursus spelaeus. Boreas, 38, (2), 189-206.

Schreve, D. (2001). Differentiation of the British late Middle Pleistocene interglacials: the evidence from mammalian biostratigraphy. Quaternary Science Reviews, 20, 1693-1705.

Van Valkenburgh, B. (1990). Skeletal and dental predictors of body mass in carnivores. In: Damuth, J. and MacFadden, B. J. (eds.). Body size in mammalian palaeobiology: estimation and biological implications. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 181-205.

Wagner,J.andČermák,S.(2012).RevisionoftheearlyMiddlePleistocenebears (Ursidae, Mammalia) of Central Europe, with special respect to possible co-occurrence of spelaeoid and arctoid lineages. Bulletin of Geosciences, 87, 461-496.

Spyridoula PappaDepartment of Geography

Royal Holloway University of LondonEgham

Surrey TW20 [email protected]

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OSL DATING OF KARUN RIVER TERRACE SEDIMENTS AND RATES OF TECTONIC UPLIFT IN LOWLAND SOUTH-

WEST IRAN

Background and rationale

It has often been observed that when responding to Earth surface motion driven by surface expression of folds, major rivers incise across some folds near their structural culminations and divert around others. The Karun river system in the Mesopotamian-Persian Gulf Foreland Basin was used to investigate these interactions, as its major rivers encounter similar young, active folds at different stages of development. In the Upper Khuzestan Plains of lowland south-west Iran, river terraces of the Karun river system were found associated with active folds. These folds were mostly asymmetric detachment folds and fault bend folds trending approximately NW-SE, with a more steeply dipping fore-limb to the south-west and a more gently dipping back-limb to the north-east (Blanc et al., 2003). The river terraces had not been described before, so each terrace was assigned a new name (from a nearby village or fold), in accordance with recommended stratigraphic practice (Salvador, 1994). As shown in Figure 1, four river terraces were associated with the Naft-e Safid Anticline: the ‘Dar Khazineh terrace’, the ‘Batvand terrace’, the ‘Naft-e Safid terrace’ and the ‘Abgah terrace’, on the fold fore-limb and back-limb. One river terrace was associated with the Sardarabad Anticline: the ‘Kabutarkhan-e Sufla terrace’, and one river terrace was associated with the Shushtar Anticline: the ‘Kushkak terrace’; both on the fold back-limb (Woodbridge, 2013).

Methods

Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating was undertaken on sediment samples from the river terrace deposits. Care was taken to sample from relatively homogeneous deposits containing fine and very fine sands (since quartz grains in the size range 90 - 250 µm were used for dating), with homogeneity and near absence of gravels extending to c. 0.3 m from each sampling point. Sampling targeted sands at least several decimetres above probable bedload coarse sands and gravels, to increase the likelihood that fluvial sediments had originally been transported mainly as suspended load (Aitken, 1998; Colls et al., 2001).

OSL dating was undertaken by the Sheffield Centre for International Drylands Research (SCIDR) luminescence laboratory at the University of Sheffield, U.K., according to standard procedures (Aitken, 1998) and as outlined in two Quartz Optical Dating Reports (Bateman and Fattahi, 2008, 2010). Despite the sampling precautions, all of the samples showed some signs of incomplete bleaching, a feature which frequently results in erroneously high palaeodose

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Figure 1. River terraces of the Karun river system in the Upper Khuzestan Plains.• AT Abgah terrace• BT Batvand terrace• DKT-DAKS05 Dar Khazineh terrace location DAKS05 (on east side

of road)• DKT-HGWS05 Dar Khazineh terrace location HGWS05 (on west side

of road)• KST Kabutarkhan-e Sufla terrace• KT Kushkak terrace• NST Naft-e Safid terrace

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(De) values and in OSL ages which are older than the true age of sediment burial (Richards et al., 2001). Hence, steps were taken statistically to isolate burial OSL ages for each sample. In two cases, this was achieved by removal of aliquots whose palaeodoses were outside of two standard deviations of the dataset mean and by application of the Central Age Model (Galbraith et al., 1999); this was sufficient where the De replicate datasets produced essentially unimodal De distributions. In most cases, the palaeodose replicate datasets were statistically analysed by Finite Mixture Modelling (Galbraith and Green, 1990) to extract the different multiple components contained within the De distributions. Where partial bleaching is the principal cause of De scatter, the youngest component is generally the better indicator of true burial age, hence, the lowest component which represented more than 10 % of the data was selected for the calculation of OSL ages (Bateman et al., 2007, 2010).

The River Karun flows roughly from N to S, receiving the Ab-e Shur tributary on its east bank, and dividing at the city of Shushtar into the R. Shuteyt and the R. Gargar branches which re-join further downstream. Anticlinal axes are indicated by thick lines, with arrow for direction of plunge. The Qal’eh Surkheh Anticline plunges towards the NW.

Results

The OSL dating results summarised in Table 1 were used with the results of fieldwork and other dating techniques, to determine average rates of river incision since deposition of the river terrace deposits associated with the anticlines. As is well known, river incision depends on various factors, such as changes in sediment supply with time due to changes in climate, vegetation and land use, and due to river channel modifications such as canal and dam construction. Nevertheless, average rates of river incision can be a guide to average rates of tectonic uplift, particularly over periods of thousands or tens of thousands of years, since over longer timescales the influences of changes in aggradation and incision due to changes in sediment supply tend to be evened out (Bull, 1991; Burbank and Anderson, 2012).

With these caveats, the results were carefully analysed (Woodbridge, 2013). The OSL dating results indicated average rates of tectonic uplift of c. 0.19 - 1.53 mm yr-1 for the Naft-e Safid Anticline, c. 0.23 - 0.29 mm yr-1 for the Sardarabad Anticline, and c. 0.42 - 0.51 mm yr-1 for the Shushtar Anticline. The range of average rates of tectonic uplift for the Shushtar Anticline was extended to c. 0 - 2.26 mm yr-1, based on analyses of ancient hydraulic structures at Shushtar on the fore-limb of the fold.

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Significance

Evidence for approximate rates of tectonic uplift was compiled using interpreted data for marine terraces (with a correction for +0.7 m of hydro-isostasy), river terraces, ancient canals and ancient hydraulic structures (Woodbridge, 2013), and interpolation of rates of GPS-detected horizontal surface motion of the Zagros relative to Arabia (Hatzfeld et al., 2010). This indicated that Earth surface movements in lowland south-west Iran can be considered in four broad groupings, or NW-SE trending zones, relative to the Zagros Deformation Front (or ZDF, the approximate location where the NW-SE structural trend dies out; Haynes and McQuillan, 1974):

South-west of the ZDF: Subsidence

Vicinity of the Zagros Deformation Front (approximately 0 - 20 km to the SW and NE of the ZDF): Minimal vertical Earth surface movements

Approximately 20 - 60 km to the NE of the ZDF: Uplift at rates of approximately 0.1 - 0.8 mm yr-1

Approximately 60 - 130 km to the NE of the ZDF: Uplift at rates of approximately 0.2 - 2.3 mm yr-1

These zones of Earth surface movements are illustrated in Figure 2. The zones are approximate and overlap to some degree due to errors involved with the data and due to the natural variation of tectonic movements, especially variations between individual folds (Woodbridge. 2013). Nevertheless, the general trends of subsidence to the SW of the ZDF, minimal vertical movements in the vicinity of the ZDF, and increasing uplift with distance to the NE of the ZDF are broadly in accordance with what is known of the structural geology of the region (Berberian, 1995; Abdollahie Fard et al., 2006).

These general trends account for the general differences in the influences of external factors on the major rivers in the Upper and Lower Khuzestan Plains. In the Lower Khuzestan Plains in the vicinity of the ZDF and to the SW of the ZDF, with general subsidence or stasis and low rates of anticlinal uplift, the influences of tectonics on major rivers are slight; especially since the influences of the external factors of relative sea-level changes and human impacts have been great (Lambeck, 1996; Walstra et al., 2010; Heyvaert et al., 2012). In the Upper Khuzestan Plains to the NE of the ZDF, with general uplift and moderate rates of anticlinal uplift, the influences of tectonics on major rivers are pronounced; especially since the rivers are upstream of sea-level influences (Kirkby, 1977; Blum et al., 2013) and the rivers frequently interact with the anticlines of growing folds (Allen and Talebian, 2011).

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Sediment sample location

(River terrace name, location code, and bed

number)

Latitude and

longitude

Elevation above NCC

datum (Iranian sea-

level) and rwl (river

water level)

Laboratory code and statistical model for

determining De

Palaeodose, De (Gy)

andDose rate (μGy a-1)

Age

(years BC with error ± one σ)

‘Dar Khazineh terrace’DAKS05 Bed 2

31°54’47’’N48°59’29’’E

+29.89 m NCC+8.09 m rwl

Shfd08206

FMM

2.72 ± 0.18

1,090 ± 43

480 ± 190 BC

‘Dar Khazineh terrace’DKLTFH Bed 10

31°54’46’’N48°59’23’’E

+30.52 m NCC+8.72 m rwl

Shfd08202

FMM

4.82 ± 0.32

1,706 ± 72

820 ± 220 BC

‘Dar Khazineh terrace’HGWS05 Bed 7hgw

31°54’35’’N48°59’09’’E

+28.37 m NCC+6.57 m rwl

Shfd08207

FMM

6.84 ± 0.33

1,205 ± 49

3,670 ± 360 BC

‘Kabutarkhan-e Suflaterrace’KBS4OS Bed 2

31°56’28’’N48°47’21’’E

+29.90 m NCC+4.57 m rwl

Shfd08021

CAM/FMM

31.51 ± 2.06/

28.22 ± 1.01

1,723 ± 73

15,590 ± 2,100

BC

‘Batvand terrace’BFLS05 Bed 5

32°00’08’’N49°06’06’’E

+99.85 m NCC+6.69 m rwl

Shfd08024

FMM

5.61 ± 0.39

535 ± 20

8,480 ± 830 BC

‘Batvand terrace’BFLS05 Bed 2

32°00’08’’N49°06’06’’E

+98.49 m NCC+5.33 m rwl

Shfd08205

FMM

32.32 ± 1.72

1,249 ± 52

23,860 ± 1,750

BC

‘Kushkak terrace’KUHKL3 Bed 2

32°08’07’’N48°50’34’’E

Approx.+58.98 m NCC+9.18 m rwl

Shfd08210

FMM

32.44 ± 2.97

1,624 ± 66

17,970 ± 2,000

BC

‘Naft-eSafidterrace’DKITEB Bed 2

31°57’15’’N48°59’32’’E

+49.67 m NCC+27.61 m rwl

Shfd08019

CAM

29.22 ± 0.71

1,301 ± 55

20,490 ± 1,100

BC

‘Abgah terrace’BAF2BR Bed 4

31°59’32’’N49°05’43’’E

Approx.+114.82 m NCC+6.90 m rwl

Shfd08209

FMM

20.60 ± 3.13

1,131 ± 47

18,590 ± 3,130

BC

Table 1. Summary of Optically Stimulated Luminescence dating results

FMM indicates Finite Mixture Modelling and CAM indicates Central Age Model

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Figure 2. Zones of Earth surface movements in lowland south-west Iran relative to the Zagros Deformation Front (ZDF). Ring symbols indicate magnitudes of interpreted rates of uplift at locations within the Upper Khuzestan Plains and along the NE Persian Gulf coast:BANDAR-E DEYLAM: 0.62 - 0.66 mm yr-1 BIA Binak Anticline: 0.07 - 0.28 mm yr-1

NSA Naft-e Safid Anticline: 0.19 - 1.53 mm yr-1; SDA Sardarabad Anticline:

0.23 - 0.29 mm yr-1; SHA Shahur Anticline: 1.94 - 2.13 mm yr-1 STA

Shushtar Anticline: 0 - 2.26 mm yr-1.

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Acknowledgements

The OSL dating of sediment samples was generously undertaken with a high degree of expertise and care by Prof. Mark Bateman and Dr. Morteza Fattahi at the SCIDR luminescence laboratory in Sheffield. We cannot thank them enough. The essential costs were partly funded by a New Researchers Award kindly provided by the QRA, for which we are very grateful.

References

Abdollahie Fard, I., Braathen, A., Mokhtari, M. and Alavi, S. A. (2006). Interaction of the Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt and the Arabian-type, deep-seated folds in the Abadan Plain and the Dezful Embayment, SW Iran. Petroleum Geoscience, 12 (4), 347-362.

Aitken, M. J. (1998). An Introduction to Optical Dating: The Dating of Quaternary Sediments by the Use of Photon-stimulated Luminescence. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, 267 pp.

Allen, M. B. and Talebian, M. (2011). Structural variation along the Zagros and the nature of the Dezful Embayment. Geological Magazine, 148 (5-6), 911-924.

Bateman, M. D. and Fattahi, M. (2008). Quartz Optical Dating Report. Qareh Sultan and Dar Khazineh Terraces, Iran. Unpublished Report. Sheffield Centre for International Drylands Research, UK, 8 pp.

Bateman, M. D. and Fattahi, M. (2010). Quartz Optical Dating Report. Batvand, Dar Khazineh, Abgah and Kushkak Terraces, Iran. Unpublished Report. Sheffield Centre for International Drylands Research, UK, 15 pp.

Bateman, M. D., Boulter, C. H., Carr, A. S., Frederick, C. D., Peter, D. and Wilder, M. (2007). Detecting post-depositional sediment disturbance in sandy deposits using optical luminescence. Quaternary Geochronology, 2, 57-64.

Bateman, M. D., Murton, J. B. and Boulter, C. (2010). The source of De variability in periglacial sand wedges: Depositional processes versus measurement issues. Quaternary Geochronology, 5, 250-256.

Berberian, M. (1995). Master “blind” thrust faults hidden under the Zagros folds: active basement tectonics and surface morphotectonics. Tectonophysics, 241, 193-224.

Blanc, E. J.-P., Allen, M. B., Inger, S. and Hassani, H. (2003). Structural styles in the Zagros Simple Folded Zone, Iran. Journal of the Geological Society of London, 160, 401-412.

Blum, M., Martin, J., Milliken, K. and Garvin, M. (2013). Paleovalley systems: Insights from Quaternary analogs and experiments. Earth-Science Reviews, 116, 128-169.

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Bull, W. B. (1991). Geomorphic responses to climatic change. Oxford University Press, London, UK, 326 pp.

Burbank, D. W. and Anderson, R. S. (2012). Tectonic geomorphology. Second edition. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, UK, 454 pp.

Colls, A. E., Stokes, S., Blum, M. D. and Straffin, E. (2001). Age limits on the Late Quaternary evolution of the upper Loire River. Quaternary Science Reviews, 20, 743-750.

Galbraith, R. F. and Green, P. F. (1990). Estimating the component ages in a finite mixture. Radiation Measurements, 17, 197-206.

Galbraith, R. F., Roberts, R. G., Laslett, G. M., Yoshida, H. and Olley, J. M. (1999). Optical dating of single and multiple grains of quartz from Jinnium rock shelter, northern Australia: Part I, Experimental design and statistical models. Archaeometry, 41 (2), 339-364.

Hatzfeld, D., Authemayou, C., Van der Beek, P., Bellier, O., Lavé, J., Oveisi, B., Tatar, M., Tavakoli, F., Walpersdorf, A. and Yamini-Fard, F. (2010). The kinematics of the Zagros Mountains (Iran). In: Leturmy, P. and Robin, C. (eds.) Tectonic and Stratigraphic Evolution of Zagros and Makran during the Mesozoic-Cenozoic. Geological Society of London, Special Publication No. 330, Bath, UK, 19-42.

Haynes, S. J. and McQuillan, H. (1974). Evolution of the Zagros Suture Zone, Southern Iran. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, 85, 739-744.

Heyvaert, V. M. A., Walstra, J., Verkinderen, P., Weerts, H. J. T. and Ooghe, B. (2012). The role of human interference on the channel shifting of the Karkheh River in the Lower Khuzestan plain (Mesopotamia, SW Iran). Quaternary International, 251, 52-63.

Kirkby, M. J. (1977). Appendix 1. Land and Water Resources of the Deh Luran and Khuzistan Plains. In: Hole, F. Studies in the Archaeological History of the Deh Luran Plain. The Excavation of Chagha Sefid. Memoirs of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, No. 9, Ann Arbor, USA, 251-288.

Lambeck, K. (1996). Shoreline reconstructions for the Persian Gulf since the last glacial maximum. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 142, 43-57.

Richards, B. W. M., Owen, L. A. and Rhodes, E. J. (2001). Asynchronous glaciations at Nanga Parbat, northwestern Himalaya Mountains, Pakistan: Comment. Geology, 29, 287.

Salvador, A. (1994). International Stratigraphic Guide: A Guide to Stratigraphic Classification, Terminology and Procedure. Second Edition. International Union of Geological Sciences and Geological Society of America, Trondheim, Norway & Boulder, USA, 214 pp.

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Walstra, J., Verkinderen, P. and Heyvaert, V. M. A. (2010). Reconstructing landscape evolution in the Lower Khuzestan plain (SW Iran): integrating imagery, historical and sedimentary archives. In: Cowley, D. C., Standring, R. A. and Abicht, M. J. (eds.) Landscapes through the Lens: Aerial Photographs and Historic Environment. Oxbow Books, Occasional Publication of the Aerial Archaeology Research Group No. 2, Oxford, UK, 111-128.

Woodbridge, K. P. (2013). The influence of Earth surface movements and human activities on the River Karun in lowland south-west Iran. Ph.D. thesis, University of Hull, UK, accessible at https://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:8454

Kevin P. WoodbridgeLynne E. Frostick

Department of Geography, Environment and Earth SciencesUniversity of HullCottingham Road

Hull, HU6 [email protected]

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QUATERNARY RESEARCH FUND

µ-XRF SCANNING OF ANNUALLY LAMINATED SEDIMENTS FROM THE MARINE ISOTOPE STAGE 11

SITE OF MARKS TEY, ESSEX

Background and Rationale

The former lake basin of Marks Tey contains sedimentological evidence for both annual and non-annual deposition during MIS11. Turner (1970) proposed a model for biochemical varve formation with a year represented by a sedimentary triplet of laminations: a diatom layer (spring), a calcite layer (summer) and a mixed organic detritus layer (autumn/winter). More recent thin section and diatom analysis (Tye et al., in prep) has confirmed that this structure exists in certain sectors of the MIS11 deposits, but also distinguishes these sediments from non-varved sedimentation. This analysis has allowed a qualitative description of the minerogenic detrital material within the sediments. Downcore µ-XRF scanning of the varved core sections may provide important semi-quantitative data to complement the thin section analysis. µ-XRF scanning focused on:

i) examining elemental variations in the sequence to assess lake evolution through time, in particular to assess the µ-XRF data as a proxy for lake catchment instability; ii) to examine the elemental composition of the individual seasonal layers of the varves and assess the potential for using this as an additional counting tool for chronology development.

This is the first application of downcore µ-XRF scanning to British bio-chemical varves. This report briefly describes the initial findings of analyses supported by the QRA New Research Workers Award, which contributed to consumable expenses.

Method

μ-XRF data was collected from 82 overlapping impregnated resin blocks (also used for thin section preparation) as an archive of the lowest 6.2m of deposits representing the early part of MIS 11 (Figure 1). Analysis of the samples followed the laboratory protocols of the ITRAX™ μ-XRF scanning facilities at BOSCORF, National Oceanographic Centre, Southampton (Croudace et al., 2006). Incremental step-size of the X-ray beam varied from 1mm for the lowest 1.5m of the sequence, where core sedimentology is more variable (Lithofacies 1), with the remaining 4.7m of regularly laminated (varved) sediment (Lithofacies 2) scanned at 200μm resolution.

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Results

Figure 1 illustrates selected elements for the lower part of the core, with distinctive trends apparent between the two lithofacies (LFa) zones. LFa-1 (18.47 – 16.45 mbs) is characterised by regular alternations in sedimentology between carbonate-rich and minerogenic-rich beds (Fig. 1). This pattern is reflected in the μ-XRF data, with oscillations in element intensities between these beds. Peaks in Ca values in the carbonate-rich beds correspond to lower values for Si, Ti and K, with the opposite occurring in the minerogenic-rich beds. Also, Ca values tend to increase throughout this lithofacies, while Si, Ti and K display decreasing trends (Fig. 1).

LFa-2 is composed of repeating sets of laminations described by Turner (1970) (Fig. 2). All elements show less variability compared to LFa-1. Ca continues the increasing trend from LFa-1, reaching peak values at 14.95mbs before decreasing and then stabilising after 14.50mbs. Although Si, Ti and K values are relatively stable, there is a section of the core between 15.55 – 14.90mbs

Figure 1. Selected element profiles for the lowest 6.2m of the Marks Tey sequence. Element data for Ca, Si, Ti and K have all been standardised to kilo counts per second (kcps) and are plotted against the core stratigraphy and corresponding lithofacies zones (LFa). The section of the sequence presented covers the depth interval from 12.28 to 18.47 mbs (meters below surface).

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with Si, Ti and K showing higher values when compared to the long-term trend (Fig. 1).

Figure 2 presents more detailed analysis of the elemental composition across individual varve structures. The trend in Ca values is consistent across the varves, with peaks corresponding to the calcite layer. The mixed organic detritus layer is characterised by one or two peaks in Ti and K, although the exact relationship with K is not well defined. Also, the signal for Si is complex due to the presence of both diatomaceous and minerogenic material within each varve.

Significance of the findings

The μ-XRF elemental data for the Marks Tey sequence provides evidence for both long-term changes in lake development during the early part of MIS 11, as well as sub-annual scale variations in sedimentary processes within the varved sediments.

Variations in core sedimentology and element composition in LFa-1 indicate that, during the initial period of lake sedimentation, the system alternates between periods of relatively stable and unstable conditions. The minerogenic-rich beds that dominate the sequence between 18.47 – 17.45mbs are characterised by peaks in Ti and K, which are often considered to reflect in-washing of detrital clastic material from the catchment (Arnaud et al., 2012; Neugebauer et al., 2012; Czymzik et al., 2013; Schlolaut et al., 2014), while low Ca values also suggest low levels of lake productivity (Hodell et al., 1998; Prasad et al., 2009; Neugebauer et al., 2012). The carbonate-rich beds with corresponding low Ti and K values, which represent a greater proportion of lake sedimentation between 17.45 – 16.45mbs, suggest the development of more stable conditions in the lake and its catchment. This trend is continued within LFa-2, with the lake system high in Ca values, which parallels the increased presence of authigenic carbonate (identified in thin section), whereas the low Si, Ti and K values indicative of reduced minerogenic inwash of detrital clastic sediment.

Nonetheless there are periods of enhanced detrital input during LFa-2 which cannot be determined by the varve micro-facies analysis. Varve structure indicates that allogenic material being in-washed into the lake predominantly during the autumn/winter. This is important new evidence to support a previously identified period of landscape instability (Turner, 1970) and complements new proxy records targeting this section of the core. In sections of the sequence wherevarvequalityishighandthicknessis≥1mm(minimumof5datapointsper varve), there are discernible and repetitive trends in elemental composition within the sub-annual layers, particularly the Ca time series. Although, these relationships are less well defined in fine varves, where fewer data points areavailable,thisstudyhasdemonstratedthepotentialforusingtheμ-XRF

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Figure 2. μ-XRF element count data plotted on top of a thin section image of six varves (cross-polarised light). Each varve (yellow line) is composed of a diatom layer (green shading), calcite layer (red shading) and a mixed organic detritus layer (brown shading). Element data for Ca (red), Si (blue), Ti (brown) and K (grey) are normalised to kcps.

data from the Marks Tey sequence as an additional varve counting method to complement traditional microfacies methods.

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank S. Maclachlan and Guy Rothwell at BOSCORF for their help in the analysis of the Mark Tey sequence on the ITRAX scanner.

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ReferencesArnaud, F., Révillon, S., Debret, M., Revel, M., Chapron, E., Jacob, J., Giguet-Covex, C., Poulenard, J. and Magney, M. (2012). Lake Bourget regional erosion patterns reconstruction reveals Holocene NW European Alps soil evolution and paleohydrology. Quaternary Science Reviews 51, 81-92.

Croudace, I.W., Rindby, A. and Rothwell, R.G. (2006). ITRAX: description and evaluation of a new multi-function X-ray core scanner. In: Rothwell, R.G. (ed.), New Techniques in Sediment Core Analysis. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 267, 51-63.

Czymzik, M., Brauer, A., Dulski, P., Plessen, B., Naumann, R., von Grafenstein, U. and Scheffler, R. (2013). Orbital and solar forcing of shifts in Mid- to Late Holocene flood intensity from varved sediments of pre-alpine Lake Ammersee (southern Germany). Quaternary Science Reviews 61, 96-110.

Hodell, D.A., Schelske, C.L., Fahnenstiel, G.L. and Robbins, L.L. (1998). Biologically induced calcite and it isotopic composition in Lake Ontario. Limnology and Oceanography 43, 187-199.

Neugebauer, I., Brauer, A., Dräger, N., Dulski, P., Wulf, S., Plessen, B., Mingram, J., Herzschuh, U. and Brande, A. (2012). A Younger Dryas varve chronology from the Rehwiese palaeolake record in NE-Germany. Quaternary Science Reviews 36, 91-102.

Prasad, S., Witt, A., Kienel, U., Dulski, P., Bauer, E., Yancheva, G. (2009). The 8.2 ka event: Evidence for seasonal differences and the rate of climate change in western Europe. Global and Planetary Change 67, 218-226.

Schlolaut, G., Brauer, A., Marshall, M.H., Nakagawa, T., Staff, R.A., Bronk Ramsey, C., Lamb, H.F., Bryant, C.L., Naumann, R., Dulski, P., Brock, F., Yokoyama, Y., Tada, R., Haraguchi, T. and Suigetsi 2006 project members. (2014). Event layers in the Japanese Lake Suigetsu ‘SG06’ sediment core: description, interpretation and climatic implications. Quaternary Science Reviews 83, 157-170.

Turner, C. (1970). The Middle Pleistocene Deposits at Marks Tey, Essex. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences 257, 373-437.

Adrian Palmer and Gareth TyeCentre for Quaternary Research

Department of GeographyRoyal Holloway

University of LondonEgham

TW20 [email protected]

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RAINFALL IN THE DESERT SAND

Background and rationale

Recent fluctuations in rainfall receipt and groundwater recharge in semi-arid regions, such as southern Africa is an area of critical concern (Calow et al., 2010) within the Anthropocene (Williams et al., 2011). This research project is concerned with improving estimates of groundwater recharge rates and developing a temporal record of past moisture availability in the Stampriet Artesian Basin (SAB) region of the Kalahari (Fig. 1A). This is done by applying the chloride mass balance method to the unsaturated zone (USZ) portion of the hydrogeology, which provides an unparalleled observatory for past hydrological dynamics in semi-arid regions (e.g. Edmunds et al., 1988; Edmunds and Gayes, 2010). The technique has yet to be utilised to its full potential in southern Africa.

A grant from the QRA Quaternary Research Fund has helped to fund the second phase of fieldwork of a project ‘Rainfall in the Desert Sand’, for which the first phase indicated: (i) recent recharge rates ranging from 7 to 46 mm/y from four profiles above the SAB (Fig. 1A) and (ii) that moisture profiles represent between two and six decades of rainfall infiltration. (Stone and Edmunds, 2012; 2014).

Sites and methodology

In this phase we sampled a further five profiles, along an 8 km transect to increase the regional USZ dataset. The eastern edge of the transect passed a few hundred meters south of a small pan (containing standing water after heavy 2012-2013 rainy season) (Fig. 1B), in order to investigate any influence of the pan on USZ chemistry. Samples were taken using a hand augur down 12 m and pore moisture extracted via elutriation, using 30 g of sediment and 12 ml of ultrapure deionized water and filtering at 0.2 μm. In addition, the first ever set of rainfall samples for anion chemistry analysis for this region was collected. Anion analysis was undertaken using ion chromatography at the Oxford University Centre for the Environment.

Preliminary results and conclusions

The rainfall chemistry analysis provides the first valuable region-specific data. This allowed a slight revision of recharge estimates (reported Stone and Edmunds, 2014). The initial USZ analysis from these five new cores indicate average recharge rates of 2.5 to 9 mm/y and suggest these profiles contain palaeomoisture histories up to seven decades, supporting and extending the first phase of research. Shallow groundwater here is part of the active hydrological cycle, even if recharge rates are low. KAL13/2, closest to the pan, contains

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Figure 1. (A) Location of the Stampriet Artesian Basin in southern Africa, showing location of four USZ profiles from phase one of the research. (B) The sites of the five profiles sampled in this phase of the research (KAL13) along a W-E transect, also showing the position of profile KAL11/1 from the previous phase.

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much higher anion concentrations than the other cores and suggests a formerly more extensive pan and/or the influence of rising brackish groundwater in that location. Some repeat measurements and further analysis of these samples are ongoing and will be prepared for publication in early 2015. These multi-decadal records of rainfall fluctuation complement and extend the patchy, and relatively short (1920s onwards) instrumental record of rainfall in this region.

References

Calow, R., MacDonald, A., Nicol, A., Robins, N. (2010.) Ground water security and drought in Africa: linking availability, access and demand. Ground Water 48, 246-256.

Edmunds, W.M. and Gaye, C.B. (2010). The unsaturated zone as an observatory for the African Sahel. In, Birkle, P. and Torres, I.S. (eds.) Water-Rock Interaction. CRC Press/Balkema, Leiden. 23-26.

Edmunds, W. M., Darling, W. G., Kinniburgh, W. G. (1988). Solute profile techniques for recharge estimation in semi-arid and arid terrain. In: Simmers I (ed.) Estimation of Natural Groundwater Recharge. Reidel Publishing Co, Higham, MA. 139-157.

Stone, A. E. C., Edmunds, W. M. (2012). Sand, salt and water in the Stampriet basin, Namibia: calculating unsaturated zone (Kalahari dunefield) recharge using the chloride mass balance approach. Water SA 38, 367-378.

Stone, A. E. C., Edmunds, W. M. (2014). Naturally-high nitrate in unsaturated zone sand dunes above the Stampriet Basin, Namibia. Journal of Arid Environments 105, 41-51.

Williams, M., Zalasiewicz, J., Haywood, A., Ellis, M. (2011). The Anthropocene: a new epoch of geological time? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A369, 835-1112.

Abigail E. C. StoneCurrent Address: Department of Geography

School of Environment and Development, The University of Manchester Manchester M13 9PL

[email protected](work carried out when at OUCE, University of Oxford, address as below)

W. Mike Edmunds School of Geography and the Environment

Oxford University Centre for the EnvironmentSouth Parks Road , Oxford OX1 3QY

[email protected]

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14CHRONO AWARDUNDERSTANDING CHANGES IN SOIL PROFILE

CHARACTERISTICS DUE TO COLONIZATION ALONG THE CAPE FEAR RIVER FLOOD PLAIN, NORTH

CAROLINA, USA

Many river catchments in the USA have experienced accelerated erosion rates over the past 400 years, leading to increased floodplain sedimentation. The regional history of agricultural production, chemical pollution and other land-human interactions can be preserved within the floodplain overbank stratigraphy, especially at sites that have experienced significant land use change and or industrial development. Settlement activity can affect the vegetation distribution in a catchment through the uptake of agricultural production and intensive deforestation, combined with and absence of erosion control measures. Prominent examples of such systems can be found in the mid-western US, where rapid westward-migration resulted in the formation of buried soil features through sudden, unprecedented and large-scale land-use change. These features have been identified for over 70 years (Happ et al., 1940).

Figure 1. Location Map of Breecetract along Cape Fear River.

This study examined the environmental history of North Carolina, USA since colonization (which began in the ~1640s), using changes in sediment characteristics in the Breecetract, Cape Fear River floodplain (Figure 1). Changes in the sedimentary history of floodplain cores driven by changes in land use were examined using a multi-proxy approach, including standard

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pedologic and sedimentologic analyses, as well as radiocarbon chronology, handheld X-ray Fluorometric and Magnetic Susceptibility analysis.

The results (Figure 2) revealed that European settlement, which was initially sporadic before becoming widespread from ~1720s (Trimble, 1974; Winberry and Stine, 2008), resulted in unprecedented disturbance in the natural system. Settlement was associated with considerable soil erosion driven by unsustainable agricultural practices. Even highly permeable sandy Coastal Plain soils experienced considerable amounts of accelerated erosion due to vegetation removal. This period of enhanced erosion was recorded in floodplain sediments by changing pedogenic characteristics, magnetic susceptibility and geochemistry. Radiocarbon dating was used to detect a buried subsurface horizon, indicating the beginning of European settlement at about 1650 AD and an estimated mean average sediment accretion rate of 3.1 mm a-1. Phases of change in sediment accretion were identified with multiple stratigraphic markers, with changes coinciding with anthropogenic activities. These phases occurred in 1648-1820, with 4.1 mm a-1 sedimentation coinciding with rapid land clearing and erosive agricultural practices; 1820-1920, with 3.0 mm a-1 coinciding with the Civil-war, large scale movement of farmers, land abandonment, reforestation and introduction of land tenancy system; and 1920-2013, with 1.3 mm a-1, coinciding with the introduction of soil conservation techniques.

Overall, the historic trends in land management during the past 400 years were shown to be recorded in the flood plain sediments cores collected in this study, allowing an appreciation of the impacts of land-use on erosion and sedimentation rates. Combining the results of this study with the previous results of Trimble (1974) and Gray (2009) enable a unique look into the settlement history of the United States and its impacts, whilst also giving an impression of the how this system has recovered from disturbance.

The author would like thank: staff at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, USA, Michael S. Smith, Michael M. Benedetti, Yvonne Marsan and Chad S. Lane; staff at Plymouth University, UK, Andrew G. Williams, Wil Marshall and Kevin Solman; Sam Marx (University of Wollongong, Australia) for helpful discussion. The research was supported with two AMS Radiocarbon dates provided through the QRA 14 CHRONO Radiocarbon Dating Award.

ReferencesGray, C.M. (2009). Buried soils as stratigraphic marker horizons on the Cape Fear River floodplain, Bladen County, North Carolina. Honours thesis, University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Happ, S.C., Rittenhouse, G., Dobson, G.C. (1940). Some principles of accelerated stream and valley sedimentation. USDA, Technical Bulletin, No. 695.

Trimble, S.W. (1974). Man-induced soil erosion on the Southern Piedmont, 1700-1970. Soil Conservation Society of America, Ankeny, IA.

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Figu

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Winberry, J.J., Stine, R.S. (2008). Settlement Geography of the Carolinas before 1900. In: A Geography of the Carolinas. Eds: Bennett, D.G., Patton, J.C. Boone: Parkway Publishers.

T. Gabriel EngeUniversity of Wollongong

School of Earth and Environmental SciencesNSW 2522, Australia

[email protected]

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ABSTRACTQRA UNDERGRADUATE DISSERTATION PRIZE 2013

ABSTRACT

USING SPECIES DISTRIBUTION MODELLING TO UNDERSTAND THE MID-HOLOCENE HEMLOCK

DECLINE IN NORTH AMERICA

Uncovering the cause of the decline in eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) during the mid-Holocene (~5.5 ka BP) has been one, if not the principal, goal of numerous studies investigating millennial-scale vegetation dynamics in North America. Debate surrounding the cause of the decline has generally fallen into two camps: a climate driver and a pest or pathogen. Following the earlier recognition of a vegetation-climate relationship, recent developments in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction have given support to the hypothesis proposing a dynamic equilibrium between T. canadensis populations and climate variability. This study aims to test this hypothesis by using fossil pollen data, sampled from 330 sites across eastern North America, and palaeoclimate data hindcast to 6 ka BP and 4 ka BP by an AOGCM. Two species distribution models were run for the periods before and after the decline and were independently validated through testing the agreement between the projections and observed data using Cohen’s (1960) kappa statistic. Results indicate poor predictive ability of the 6 ka BP model in projecting the distribution of hemlock after the decline, based on correlation with 7 bioclimatic variables, despite a high accuracy projection performance within the model’s own time-step. The post-decline (4 ka BP) model was less than moderately robust in projecting to either time-step. It is therefore concluded that the evidence presented in this study gives little support to the dynamic equilibrium hypothesis. The suggestion is made that the occurrence of a high-magnitude disturbance event between 6 ka and 4 ka BP may have caused poor model projection through a decoupling of climate and hemlock populations, forming a more likely possible explanation for such an abrupt, widespread decline.

KeywordsHemlock decline, palaeoecology, vegetation dynamics, species distribution modelling, fossil pollen data, Tsuga canadensis, Holocene, age-depth modelling

Hannah Smith102 Kenilworth Avenue

Wimbledon ParkLondon, SW19 7LR

[email protected]

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Quaternary Newsletter Vol. 134 October 2014 65

REVIEW

EIS UND GLETSCHER - GLACE ET GLACIERS - GHIACCIO E GHIACCIAI -

ICE AND GLACIERS - ‘SWITZERLAND DURING THE LAST GLACIAL MAXIMUM’

1:540,000 MAP, WITH PHOTOGRAPHS AND MAP EXTRACTS ON REVERSE

EINST UND JETZT - HIER ET AUJOURD’HUI - IERI E OGGI -

ONCE AND TODAY SERIES SHEET 306

Published by: swisstopo, 2013, ISBN 9 783302 103068, folded; CHF 14

This innovative map showing the estimated extent of the ice cover in and around Switzerland during the last glacial maximum has been published as part of the eclectic ‘Once and Today’ series. As a result virtually the same coverage as that shown on the Swiss Geological Survey 1:500,000 shaded relief map Die Schweiz während des letzteiszeitlichen Maximums (LGM) (Bini et al., 2009) is available at a fraction of the CHF 50 price, with the added bonus of an outline of Switzerland to act as a guide with which to relate features of interest, in addition to faint locations for selected cities and towns beneath the former ice depicted in light blue – though oddly not places like Basle, which remained ice free. These areas in light yellowish brown are shown with rivers picked out and named in blue, combined with modern contouring. This pale tone peaks out to form a distinct pattern of ridges flanking valleys in the high Alps. Though unremarked upon, the hydrology has been tweaked to show braided patterns along the Rhine and Aare, plus a river linking two ice-dammed proglacial lakes along the margins of the French Jura mountains, and a channel just west of Schaffhausen skirting a former lobe of the Alpine ice sheet.

Below the popular edition designed to fit within consecutive folds is a brief outline repeated in four languages stating what this map is trying to depict, namely the maximum extent of glaciation around 24,000 years ago. This implies calibrated real time (Nowell, 2004) slightly before the global oxygen isotope peak intensity for glacial conditions around 21,450 ± 2,300 BM (before millennium) used for similar palaeogeographical maps of the world (Commission for the Geological Map of the World, 1999) and France (Petit-Maire et al., 1999). The minimalist style means it is easy to read the contours at 200 m intervals in blue, and clearly shows a series of faintly labelled ice domes reconstructed

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at minimum altitudes of between 2,900 m and 3,100 m spanning the Rhone, Rhine and Engadina, which according to the notes printed on the back of the geological survey map allowed for considerable ice flow away from what are now the usual directions based on modern topography. Many of these named “transfluence passes” are not marked, and a few discreet flow lines with arrows could have shown, for example, how ice flowed southwards over the Simplon Pass. It would have also been possible to use a tint to show the current extent of glaciers, which is shown on the bilingual Geologische Karte der Schweiz (2005) at this scale along with Quaternary deposits.

Though it would have detracted from the minimalist aesthetic, adding the limits at which erratics are found away from particular source areas would have made it easier to understand the evidence used to compile this map. There must be distinct lithological markers which, like the glacial map of Britain (Clark et al., 2004), could have been plotted along with geomorphological evidence (Quaternary Newsletter, No. 107, 53-56). However, this would have generated considerable visual clutter, which could become figures in the unpublished promised explanatory notes in the Swiss Journal of Geosciences, without which this brilliant achievement cannot be fully comprehended. Ideally, this should be replicated globally, at around this level of detail, in order to underpin LGM climate modelling along with more reliable estimates of past shorelines at about this time.

On the reverse of the ‘Once and Today’ map is a brief introduction to the history of the remaining glaciers since the Little Ice Age followed by five case studies providing the added bonus of providing translations for this unusual vocabulary, even if it is written in a very accessible style. While the text points out that since 1850 Alpine glaciers have lost more than a third of their surface area and a good half of their volume, it does not mention this is accelerating most probably due to anthropogenic global warming, plus the build-up of industrial soot and dust increasing surface warming of snow and ice. Switzerland has even gained a few Ha of territory from Italy, as their frontier shifted southwestwards for around 800 m to a newly exposed rocky watershed at Furggsattel in Zermatt, when the glacial divide upon which it had been located melted. By the time my grandmother took me see the lower Grindelwald Glacier, she could tell me how far it had melted since her first visit. Judging by the 2011 photograph alongside the view in 1858, it has melted a lot more since I took a holiday snap in 1978 as the ice no longer passes either side of an outcrop that originally was only just visible. These illustrations are underpinned by pairs of detailed topographic maps showing the extent to which melting has occurred. Though ever more sophisticated and exacting specialist techniques are being deployed for very precise ongoing studies, even before regular surveys based on aerial photography since 1927, Swiss contoured maps can yield a wealth of relatively accurate baseline data. In the same spirit the French could use their original

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Quaternary Newsletter Vol. 134 October 2014 67

1967 aerial survey of the Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean to quantify the melting of the Calotte / Cook ice dome and peripheral glaciers well away from the more polluted northern hemisphere.

Given the inclusive nature of this series, further maps could be developed on how the Swiss landscape was formed, or featuring lakes and their depths including wider Quaternary sedimentary fill. This could either be nationally draped over a digital terrain model, or focusing on notable locations like the Rheinfall associated with a particularly complex series of infilled glacial channels around Schaffhausen (Preusser et al., 2011) before the Rhine took its current course over this impressive 23 m high waterfall. Finally for those who want a better idea of the incredible diversity of Swiss geological and cartographic information, Swisstopo have produced an excellent Geologie Schweiz, Géologie de la Suisse, Geologia della Svizzera, ‘Geology of Switzerland’ landscape format 21 by 30 cm booklet showing a wealth of extracts and synoptic maps of the country. These range from historic and current geological maps, to geophysical images including annual rates of uplift and sinking relative to their Geneva datum, a reproduction of this map, ground conditions, natural hazards, hydrology, extent of permafrost and even the preferred locations for nuclear waste disposal. Each page of illustrations with bilingual German and French keys has a page of explanatory text in four languages, though the Italian and English are abbreviated they still give the gist of these introductory overviews. While this 132-page booklet can be freely downloaded it is worth considering buying a copy for CHF 20 given the superb quality of the printed version.

References

Bini, A., Buonchristiani, J.-F., Couterand, S., Ellwanger, D., Felber, M., Florineth, D., Graf, H.R., Keller, O., Kelly, M., Schlüchter, C. and Schöneich, P. (2009). Die Schweiz während des letzteiszeitlichen Maximums (LGM), La Suisse durant le dernier maximum glaciaire, La Svizzera durante l’ultimo Massimo glaciale, Switzerland during the Last Glacial Maximum 1:500,000. In: Burkhalter, R. (Ed.). Federal Office of Topography, swisstopo, CH-3084 Wabern, Bern.

Clark, C.D., Evans, D.J.A., Khatwa, A., Bradwell, T., Jordan, C. J., Marsh, S. H., Mitchell W.A. and Bateman, M.D. (2004). Glacial Map of Britain, 1:625,000 north and south sheets, 1st Edition. Map and GIS database of glacial landforms and feature related to the last British Ice Sheet. Boreas, volume 33 (4), 359-375

Commission for the Geological Map of the World. (1999). Maps of the world environments during the last two climatic extremes: 1. The last glacial maximum (ca 18,000 † ± 2000 yrs B.P.) ; 2. The Holocene optimum (ca 8000 ‡ ± 1000 yrs B.P.) (1:25,000,000 scale) with explanatory notes compiled by Petit-Maire N,

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Bouysse P. 28pp Une co-publication Commission de la Carte Géologique du Monde et Agence Nationale pour la Gestion des Déchets Radioactifs.

Nowell, D.A.G. (2004). The campaign for real time - calibrating radiocarbon dates. Geology Today, 20 (3), 95-96

Petit-Maire, N., Antoine, P., de Beaulieu, J.L., Bintz, P., Brugal, J.Ph., Girard, M., Morzadec, M.T., Renault-Miskovsky, J., Roblin-Jouve, A.M. and van Vliet-Lanoe, B. (1999). La France au dernier maximum glaciaire 18,000 ± 2000 ans B.P.; La France à l’optimum climatique holocène 8000 ± 1000 ans B.P. 1:1,000,000. Une co-publication ANDRA-Paris, CNF/INQUA-Paris et IGN-Paris.

Preusser, F., Graf, H.R., Keller, O., Krayss, E., Schlüchter, C. (2011). Quaternary glaciation history of northern Switzerland. Quaternary Science Journal, volume 60 (2-3), 282-305

Swisstopo website: http://www.swisstopo.admin.ch/internet/swisstopo/en/home/topics/survey/border/moving_boundaries.html

David Nowell2 Tudor Road

New BarnetHerts. EN5 5PA

[email protected]

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Quaternary Newsletter Vol. 134 October 2014 69

QUATERNARY RESEARCH ASSOCIATIONThe Quaternary Research Association is an organisation comprising archaeologists, botanists, civil engineers, geographers, geologists, soil scientists, zoologists and others interested in research into the problems of the Quaternary. The majority of members reside in Great Britain, but membership also extends to most European countries, North America, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Membership (currently c. 1,200) is open to all interested in the objectives of the Association. The annual subscription is £20 with reduced rates (£10) for students and unwaged members and an Institutional rate of £35.

The main meetings of the Association are the Field Meetings, usually lasting 3–4 days, in April, May and/or September, a 2-3 day Discussion Meeting at the beginning of January. Short Study Courses on techniques used in Quaternary work are also occasionally held. The publications of the Association are the Quaternary Newsletter issued in February, June and October; the Journal of Quaternary Science published in association with Wiley; and the QRA Field Guide and Technical Guide Series.

The Association is run by an Executive Committee elected at an Annual General MeetingheldduringtheAnnualDiscussionMeetinginJanuary.Currentofficersofthe Association are:

President: Professor P. Coxon, Department of Geography, Museum Building, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

(email: [email protected])Vice-President: Professor D. Schreve, Department of Geography, Royal

Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX (e-mail: [email protected].)

Secretary: Dr M. Frogley, Department of Geography, Chichester 1, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QJ

(e-mail: [email protected])Publications Secretary: Dr J. Lee, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham

NG12 5GG (e-mail: [email protected])Treasurer: Dr T. White, 59 Beechwood Avenue, Melbourn, Cambridgeshire

SG8 6BW (e-mail: [email protected])Editor, Quaternary Newsletter: Dr S.Lukas, School of Geography, Queen Mary University of

London, Mile End Road, London, E1 4NS (e-mail: [email protected]) Editor, Journal of Quaternary Science: Professor A.J. Long, Department of Geography, University of

Durham, Durham, DH1 3LE (e-mail: [email protected])Publicity Officer: Dr R.I.Waller, Geography, Geology and the Environment, Keele

University, Keele ST5 5BG (email: [email protected]) All questions regarding membership are dealt with by the Secretary, the Association’s publications are sold by the Publications Secretary and all subscription matters are dealt with by the Treasurer.

The QRA home age on the world wide web can be found at: http://www.qra.org.uk Registered Charity: 262124

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OCTOBER 2014 No. 134

ContentsPage

1 ANNOUNCEMENT4 OBITUARY William Graham Jardine Jim Rose4 ARTICLES4 Evidence for a talus rock glacier in western Exmoor, north Devon, UK? Steve

Boreham and Christopher J. Rolfe 19 The origin of the Quaternary Field Study Group Peter Worsley28 REPORTS28 18th Annual QRA International Postgraduate Symposium, Southampton31 NEW RESEARCHERS AWARD SCHEME31 The Lateglacial mammalian assemblage from Bridged Pot Shelter, Somerset:

Taphonomy, palaeoenvironment and age33 Assessingrecentice-marginalfluctuationsofSkálafellsjökull,SEIceland37 Impact of Strontium sea spray effect on the isotpoic ratio (87Sr/86Sr) of plants

in coastal Ireland40 Preliminary morphometrical analysis of Pleistocene bear specimens from cave

sites in south-west England44 OSL dating of Karun river terrace sediments and rates of tectonic uplift in

lowland south-west Iran53 QUATERNARY RESEARCH FUND53 µ-XRF scanning of annually laminated sediments from the Marine Isotope

Stage 11 site of Marks Tey, Essex Adrian Palmer and Gareth Tye58 Rainfall in the desert sand Abigail E.C. Stone and W. Mike Edmunds61 14CHRONO AWARD61 UnderstandingChangesinSoilProfileCharacteristicsduetoColonizationalong

the Cape Fear River Flood Plain, North Carolina, USA T. Gabriel Enge64 ABSTRACT64 Using species distribution modelling to understand the mid-Holocene Hemlock

decline in North America Hannah Smith65 REVIEW65 Switzerland during the Last Glacial Maximum David Nowell

ISSN 0 143-2826