Periglacial Processes and Landforms in Britain and Ireland

by Edited by John Boardman

• ISBN13: 9780521169127
• ISBN10: 0521169127
• Edition: Revised
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2011-04-14
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This 1987 book examines the intimate link between periglacial geomorphology and the fluctuating climates of the Quaternary Period in the British Isles. In the last two million years, ice sheets have covered northern Britain several times. In the south, at the limit of the glaciation, intense frost action and the formation of permafrost have influenced past and present landscapes. The first part of the book looks at areas of the world that have climates similar to periglacial Britain: Scandinavia, the Canadian Arctic, and alpine regions. Contributors then present data on periglacial landforms in the British Isles. Topics discussed include the periglaciation of upland Britain, ground ice depressions, and pingo remnants. The regions surveyed stretch from northern Scotland to the Isles of Scilly. The contributions are based on a conference held in late 1985 under the sponsorship of the International Geographical Union and the Quaternary Research Association of the United Kingdom.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

The Search for Analogues

Present Cold Environments

Periglacial forms of Svalvbard: a review

Periglacial processes and landforms in the Western Canadian Arctic

Periglacial phenomena of northern Fennoscandia

Spatial and temporal trends in alpine periglacial studies: implications for paleo reconstruction

Pleistocene Conditions in Adjacent Europe

Pleistocene periglacial conditions and geomorphology in north central Europe

Weichselian periglacial structures and their environmental significance: Belgium, the Netherlands, and northern France

Britain and Ireland

Introduction

Permafrost stratigraphy in Britain - a first approximation

Periglacial periods in Ireland

The present-day periglaciation of upland Britain

Weathering and soils

Frost weathered mantles on the Chalk

Frost and salt weathering as periglacial processes: the results and implications of some laboratory experiments

Effects of the Devensian cold stage on soil characteristics and distribution in eastern England

Periglacial features in the soils of north east Scotland

Characteristic ratios of width to depth-of-sorting for sorted stripes in the English Lake District

Rock platform erosion on periglacial shores: a modern analogue for Pleistocene rock platforms in Britain

Permafrost and ground ice

Ramparted ground ice depressions in Britain and Ireland

Origin of small hollows in Norfolk

The distribution and age of pingo remnants in Ireland

The role of thermokarst in landscape development in eastern England

Slopes, Sediments and Mass Wasting

Solifluction and related periglacial deposits in England and Wales

Periglacial sediments and landforms in the Isles of Scilly and West Cornwall

Late Devensian periglacial slope deposits in the Cheviot Hills

Strongly folded structures associated with permafrost degradation and solifluction at Lyme Regis, Dorset

Non-marine molluscan faunas of periglacial deposits in Britain

Sedimentological aspects of periglacial terrace aggradations: a case study from the English Midlands

The periglacial history of Buchan, north east Scotland

The significance of periglacial features on Knocknadobar, south west Ireland

Index

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