Comparative study of striations and basal till clast fabrics, Malpeque—Bedeque region, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Coastal erosion has resulted in exposure of a succession of basal till deposits and striation localities along the Malpeque and Bedeque Bays, PEI, Canada, permitting repetitive determinations of clast fabrics and investigation of recently exhumed striations. Striations indicate initial eastward ice flow, followed by a second glacial event with flow towards the south and southwest from the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The degree of local inconsistency and the variations with striation assemblages indicate that the orientations of individual striations cannot be regarded as 'absolute' indicators of ice flow directions. Diamictons identified as basal tills using sedimentological criteria have clast fabrics typical of basal till deposition. Local deviations of fabric trend within individual outcrops are common. A comparative analysis of the data obtained from striation and clast fabric orientations indicates that the ice flow directions independently suggested by each are in general agreement. Differences are present between the orientations of striations and clast fabrics at individual sites. The orientations of the fabrics lie within 20° of the modal striation orientations in only 28% of the cases, and the median deviation between the suggested ice flow directions was 29°. In 40%, of the cases, the azimuth deviation between the two methods exceeded 40°, and the maximum deviation recorded was 84°. At many sites, the deviations are so severe as to potentially result in the misinterpretation of the modal ice flow direction, based on the use of either striation orientation or clast fabric in isolation. Variations in glacial flow can readily produce striations and clast fabrics which record different phases of glacial activity associated with the same glacial event at an individual site.     

Late Weichselian geology of southernmost Sweden

The area of study is strategically placed 250–500 km inside the border of the Weichselian glaciation. The low relief of the area, the surrounding of a shallow sea and the varying bedrock have all influenced the physical nature of the ice. Different methods, including analyses of reworked microfossils, have been used to produce a new informal lithostratigraphy for the area. The glacial striae have been studied and grouped according to orientation and relative age. Correlation is drawn between the ice-flow pattern determined by the lithostratigraphy and the pattern determined by the glacial striae. The correlation shows the general ice flow during the different glacial events in he Late Weichselian. It is possible to broadly correlate these events with the events in Denmark. The record of glacial advances between 21,000 and 13,000 B.P. starts and ends with an ice stream following the topographyy of the Baltic. The ice streams show low profile and longitudinal axial, lobatic flow. The flow pattern during the Main Weichselian advance indicates a radially flowing dome over the mainland. There is no geologic evidence of separate ice domes in the southern Baltic during the Late Weichselian.     

Palaeoglaciology of the last Irish ice sheet reconstructed from striae evidence

A database comprising some ～5200 individual striation measurements on bedrock surfaces across the island of Ireland was used to produce maps of flowsets corresponding to individual ice flow events during the last (late Devensian) glacial cycle. These flowsets were identified on the basis of regional-scale correspondence between striae orientations which, when linked together spatially, are able to identify consistent ice flow vectors. Four main chronological stages are identified on the basis of this evidence: (i) incursion of Scottish ice into Ireland; (ii) glacial maximum conditions; (iii) ice retreat and dissolution; and (iv) development of localised ice domes. Striae-based reconstructions of the glaciology of the last Irish ice sheet are qualitatively different from those based on bedform (mainly drumlin and ribbed moraine) evidence. Significant differences are apparent in upland areas which have fewer preserved bedforms and a higher concentration of striae. Combining bedform and striae datasets will enable a better understanding of the temporal evolution of the ice sheet. It is likely that both datasets record a snapshot of ice flow direction and subglacial conditions and environments immediately prior to preservation of this directional evidence.     

Basal processes beneath an Arctic glacier and their geomorphic imprint after a surge, Elisebreen, Svalbard

The foreground of Elisebreen, a retreating valley glacier in West Svalbard, exhibits a well-preserved assemblage of subglacial landforms including ice-flow parallel ridges (flutings), ice-flow oblique ridges (crevasse-fill features), and meandering ridges (infill of basal meltwater conduits). Other landforms are thrust-block moraine, hummocky terrain, and drumlinoid hills. We argue in agreement with geomorphological models that this landform assemblage was generated by ice-flow instability, possibly a surge, which took place in the past when the ice was thicker and the bed warmer. The surge likely occurred due to elevated pore-water pressure in a thin layer of thawed and water-saturated till that separated glacier ice from a frozen substratum. Termination may have been caused by a combination of water drainage and loss of lubricating sediment. Sedimentological investigations indicate that key landforms may be formed by weak till oozing into basal cavities and crevasses, opening in response to accelerated ice flow, and into water conduits abandoned during rearrangement of the basal water system. Today, Elisebreen may no longer have surge potential due to its diminished size. The ability to identify ice-flow instability from geomorphological criteria is important in deglaciated terrain as well as in regions where ice dynamics are adapting to climate change.     

Laurentide and Cordilleran fast ice flow: some sedimentological evidence from Wisconsinan subglacial till and its substrate

With the aid of three case studies we summarize sedimentological and structural evidence in Wisconsinan subglacial till and its substrate that can be used to infer the presence of former fast-moving ice. We compare sedimentological characteristics of till with its stone fabric, stone surface erosional features and orientations of fractures, faults and folds in till and substrate, in order to interpret the processes that formed the till. In the cases we studied, stones in tills that experienced ductile deformation (inferred to be associated with fast-moving ice) show variable alignment of latest surface striae. Moreover, striae are inconsistent with the orientations of lee ends and chattermarks on the same stones, and with the dip directions of shallow shear planes and (or) steeper tension fractures in the till matrix. These observations indicate that stones were rotating in a flowing till matrix prior to their final emplacement. Ductile shear of fine-textured, water-saturated till and Jeffrey-like rotation of stones are invoked where most of the following occur together: (i) delicate striae follow the curvature of stone surfaces; (ii) a-axis fabrics are multimodal to girdle-like; (iii) stone a axis eigenvectors, striae orientation and stone lee end alignments fall between the modes of stone fabrics; (iv) stone pavements are uneven with vertically oriented and inverted bullet-shaped stones; (v) soft sediment clasts and (or) fragile fossils are preserved.     

An anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) fabric record of till kinematics within a Late Weichselian low Baltic till,southern Sweden

Herein we report on the results of an anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) fabric case‐study of two Late Weichselian tills exposed in a bedrock quarry in Dalby, Skåne, southern Sweden. The region possesses a complex glacial history, reflecting alternating and interacting advances of the main body of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet (SIS) and its ice lobes from the Baltic basin, perhaps driven by streaming ice. AMS till fabrics are robust indicators of ice‐flow history and till kinematics, and provide a unique tool to investigate till kinematics within and amongst till units. The till section investigated here contains ~8 m of the Dalby Till – a dark grey silt‐clay rich till deposited during one or more Baltic advance – overlain by ~1.5 m of the regional surface diamicton. AMS fabrics within the lower part of the Dalby Till conform to the regional surface fluting, and reflect sustained flow from the ENE with progressive increases in basal strain. A boulder‐rich horizon approximately 3 m from the base of the till marks a restricted excursion in till fabric direction, fabric strength and style of strain. Ice flow is from the SW and W in the upper section. We interpret these fabrics to record shifting ice flow and bed conditions at the margins of the Young Baltic Advance ice lobe in southern Sweden, prior to a short‐lived re‐advance of the main body of the SIS over mainland Sweden recorded by the surface diamicton.     

Comparisons between macro‐ and microfabrics in a pebble‐rich,sandy till deposited by the Cordilleran Ice Sheet

It is standard practice to measure particle fabrics in glacial studies to infer palaeo‐ice flow directions and processes of till formation but few studies examine the relationships between particle fabrics at different (i.e. the macro‐ and micro‐) scales. This knowledge is critical to inform the utility of the methods and limitations of the associated interpretations. Micro‐ (sand grain) and macro‐ (pebble) fabrics of pebble‐rich, sandy subglacial till (Kamloops Lake till) deposited by the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, south‐central British Columbia, were compared to assess their similarities and differences, and therefore their utility for understanding subglacial processes. Before comparisons were made, the data were tested for robustness by assessing various controls (e.g. sampling face orientation, number of particles measured, statistical variation resulting from sampling effects, particle shape, size and concentration) on particle fabrics. A new method of microfabric analysis was applied that involves the identification and delineation of distinct clusters of similarly orientated sand grains in order to compare them with macrofabrics and inferred ice‐flow directions. The results show that microfabrics, on their own, are an unreliable indicator of ice‐flow direction in Kamloops Lake till in the study area and should not be used as a substitute for macrofabric data, as they probably record late‐stage microscale strain patterns and pore‐water flow in addition to till deposition and deformation by overriding ice. We suspect that this would also be the case for coarse‐grained till elsewhere. Our findings suggest that till microfabric interpretations should always be made after assessing corresponding macrofabric data alongside sedimentological and structural observations.     

Composition and genesis of glacial hummocks, western Wisconsin, USA

Glacial hummocks associated with the Superior Lobe in western Wisconsin are stagnant-ice features composed of melt-out till, meltwater-stream sediment, and flow till. The greater proportion of melt-out till in these hummocks than in hummocks described elsewhere suggests that a model of extensive, supraglacial reworking of supraglacially released debris does not apply to the western Wisconsin hummocks. Interpretation of melt-out till in hummock exposures is based on its strong fabric oriented parallel to regional ice-flow direction. Other features of this melt-out till include poorly developed stratification (color banding and discontinuous thin sandy lenses), and minor faulting, both of which support a melt-out origin. We suggest that as stagnant, debris-rich ice began to melt, supraglacially released debris was deposited as flow till and meltwater-stream sediment (with some debris-flow sediment and lake sediment), but as the thickness of supraglacial debris increased, debris melting out at depth was stabilized, allowing features characteristic of melt-out till to be retained. Because the supraglacial debris was sandy and the stagnant ice was likely at the pressure-melting point, the supraglacial debris was well drained and did not readily fail and flow. Debris volume in the glacier generally was greater at the glacier margin, but lateral and longitudinal variations within this zone were caused by thrusting, freezing-on, or ice-margin fluctuations, which in turn resulted in variations in hummock relief. Ice-walled-lake plains are commonly associated with the hummocks and developed where debris volume was small.     

Role of particle size in till-fabric characteristics: systematic variation in till fabric from Vestari-Hagafellsjökull, Iceland

Till-fabric analysis has often been used to interpret glacier flow directions and subglacial dynamics using vector-based statistics, but recent data suggest that such analysis may also effectively indicate former glacier dynamics. The results of a fabric investigation of subglacially strained till deposited during a surge of Vestari-Hagafellsjökull, Iceland, are presented. Till fabric was collected at four sites within a limited area where ice-flow direction during deposition was known from subglacial bedforms at the site. Analysis was carried out on elongate grains (axial ratio <1.5:1) at seven size fractions, with the a-axis length ranging from 0.25 to 32 mm. The largest grains tend to be parallel to ice flow, whereas smaller grains reflect a mix of parallel and transverse orientations. The implications of these data for the role and validity of till-fabric analysis are discussed, with reference to vector analyses and the compilation of fabric shape envelopes. It is noted that, in contrast to laboratory experimental data, neither March nor Jeffery mechanisms explain the fabric configurations reported. It is concluded that a standardized approach is necessary for collecting fabric data, and in many situations analysis of data populations at a range of particle sizes is desirable.     

Signature of the Baltic Ice Stream on Funen Island, Denmark during the Weichselian glaciation

Ice streams are major dynamic elements of modern ice sheets, and are believed to have significantly influenced the behaviour of past ice sheets. Funen Island exhibits a number of geomorphological and geological features indicative of a Late Weichselian ice stream, a land-based, terminal branch of the major Baltic Ice Stream that drained the Scandinavian Ice Sheet along the Baltic Sea depression. The ice stream in the study area operated during the Young Baltic Advance. Its track on Funen is characterized by a prominent drumlin field with long, attenuated drumlins consisting of till. The field has an arcuate shape indicating ice-flow deflection around the island's interior. Beneath the drumlin-forming till is a major erosional surface with a boulder pavement, the stones of which have heavily faceted and striated upper surfaces. Ploughing marks are found around the boulders. Exact correspondence of striations, till fabric and drumlin orientation indicates a remarkably consistent flow direction during ice streaming. We infer that fast ice flow was facilitated by basal water pressure elevated to the vicinity of the flotation point. The ice movement was by basal sliding and bed deformation under water pressure at the flotation level or slightly below it, respectively. Subglacial channels and eskers post-dating the drumlins mark a drainage phase that terminated the ice-stream activity close to the deglaciation. Identification of other ice streams in the Peribaltic area is essential for better understanding the dynamics of the land-based part of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet during the last glaciation.     

An anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) investigation of the till fabric of drumlins: support for an accretionary origin

This paper describes the results of a spatially dense anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility (AMS) till fabric study of a single drumlin in the Weedsport Drumlin Field, New York State, USA. AMS till fabrics provide a robust, quantitative and unbiased approach to assess subglacial till kinematics and infer ice‐flow dynamics. The drumlin selected for this detailed investigation was systematically sampled at 18 locations to evaluate the patterns of ice flow and associated till kinematics within a drumlin and to test erosional vs. depositional models for its formation. AMS till fabric analysis yielded strong fabrics that increase in strength towards the drumlin crest, indicating that bed deformation occurred during till deposition and that deformation within the drumlin was greater than that in the interdrumlin low. Fabric orientations reveal drumlin convergent, divergent and parallel ice‐flow paths that illustrate a complex interaction between ice flow and the drumlin form; fabric strength and shape reveal systematic differences in bed deformation between the interdrumlin and drumlin regions. These observations are inconsistent with purely erosional models of drumlin genesis; instead, these observations are more consistent with syndepositional streamlining of till transported, probably locally as a deforming bed, from the interdrumlin low towards the drumlin locality.     

Permian glaciated bedrock surfaces and associated sediments on Kangaroo Island,South Australia: Implications for local Gondwanan ice‐mass dynamics

Late Palaeozoic glaciated rock surfaces and associated sediments occur along the northeastern coast of Kangaroo Island. The erosional forms include glacially polished rock surfaces, striae, grooves, chatter marks, friction cracks, crescentic gouges, p‐forms, sichelwannen, miniature rock crag‐and‐tails and roches moutonnées. The distribution and orientation of these along with till fabrics indicate a general northwesterly ice flow in this part of the Troubridge Basin. The glacial erosional forms and the presence of thick lodgement till imply that the local basal ice was at pressure‐melting point during their formation. Temperate to subpolar glacial ice conditions, similar to those currently prevailing in glaciers in Spitsbergen, are inferred.     

Carbonate dispersal trains, secondary till plumes, and ice streams in the west Foxe Sector, Laurentide Ice Sheet

Regional carbonate dispersal trains cross Melville Peninsula in the northeastern Canadian Arctic. These trains are 50-125 km across and 100-300 km long. The northern dispersal train crosses upland and lowland areas, while the Rae Isthmus train follows the lowlands. The distribution of carbonate in boulder, pebble and matrix till fractions indicates long-distance glacial transport of limestone, a low rate of dilution, and comminution from pebble to silt sizes. Dispersal patterns and geotechnical properties of the till suggest deforming bed and basal gliding mechanisms of ice flow associated with ice-streaming. Regional ice streams may have been 'normative' in carbonate terrain during the main Foxe (Wisconsin) Glaciation. Till plumes within regional dispersal trains, showing little dilution of carbonate down-ice from bedrock sources, are oriented towards lowlands. These features, sharp-edged and 300 mwide, mark zones of augmented flow. They are late-glacial features that formed after calving bays developed in Committee Bay. The dimensions of the dispersal trains, and ice-flow styles and mechanisms, are similar to those of modern Antarctic ice streams. The sharp edges of till plumes may delineate flow boundaries marked by lateral crevasse zones in the late-glacial ice sheet. Secondary streams-within-ice streams have not been reported previously in the literature.     

Wastage features of the inland ice sheet in central South Norway

Detailed field mapping of different lateral phenomena, striae, texture and till fabric forms the basis of a reconstruction of five deglaciation phases in the east Jotunheimen-Gudbrandsdalen area, a land scape with moderate relief in the vicinity of the ice divide. During wastage, the inland ice sheet separated into several ice lobes situated in valleys enclosed by large ice-free uplands. The slope of the ice surface varied with local changes in the ice movement pattern and with the breaking of ice dams, which caused reversal of drainage from ice-dammed lakes. Non-climatic, large margianl moraines are thought to have fomed as a result of locally increased steepness of the ice surface. By tracing the deglaciation phases through two different valley systems which converge in the lake Mjøsa area, deglaciation events in the ice divide zone are correlated with marginal deposits at the front of the ice lobes.     

Ice-flow evolution of the Labrador Sector of the Laurentide Ice Sheet: a review,with new evidence from northern Quebec

Outcrops bearing stained, striated facets indicative of north–northeastward moving ice, truncated by unstained, striated facets indicative of various younger flows occur in the Caniapiscau area of north–central Quebec. This is the first report of differential staining of striated facets in the region. We propose that the staining occurred in an ice-free interval of probable interglacial age. This early ice flow probably occurred during ice retreat toward the Quebec highlands. Ice flow and glacial transport data from the southern Hudson Bay and James Bay basins indicate that the next major regional ice flow was toward the northwest and resulted from the expansion of an Early Wisconsinan glacier in the Quebec highlands. The northern part of this flow was diverted northwestward through Hudson Bay, and the southern part southwestward across James Bay, following a progressive counterclockwise rotation of flow. A zone of intersection (ZI) of two major glacier bedform systems, often referred to as the horseshoe-shaped Labrador Ice Divide, represents the head of a large northward convergent ice-flow system that extended to Ungava Bay and beyond. The Ungava flow propagated southward and captured the head of the opposing flow from an outflow centre located east of Caniaspiscau reservoir. We propose that this capture event correlates with the Gold Cove Advance in Ungava Bay and on Baffin Island at about 9900 14C yr BP. It is the largest advance of Quebec-Labrador ice yet proposed for the region. This correlation is based on the relative ice-flow chronology, accommodation of glacial lakes Naskaupi and McLean in the deglaciation sequence, the constraints placed on Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice configuration by the postglacial uplift pattern and events in the deep-sea record. Therefore, the Ungava ice-flow pattern is not a relict pre-Wisconsinan glacial landscape as recently proposed.     

Utilizing glacial geology in uranium exploration; Dismal Lakes, Northwest Territories, Canada

A field of uraniferous boulders was discovered in a drift-covered valley west of Dismal Lakes. Glacial geological information was combined with boulder location and trace element till geochemical data to model the dispersal of the boulders; and to predict their likely bedrock source. Uraniferous bedrock was eroded by the last, westward flowing glacial ice to cover the area. The debris was englacially transported and subsequently deposited during subglacial melt-out of ice block(s) stagnating below active ice. The distribution of the boulders forms acrude, westward-opening fan centred on the easternmost boulder and oriented with the last ice-flow direction. The largest uranium values from surface till samples (-2 μm fraction) occur 6.2 km east of the main boulder concentration or 1.5 km east of the first boulder occurrence. The likely bedrock source is 6.0 to 6.6 km east of the main boulder concentration.     

Palaeo-ice streaming in the central sector of the British—Irish Ice Sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum: evidence from the northern Irish Sea Basin

Late Devensian glacial sediments and landforms of the Isle of Man record the advance and deglacial signature of the central sector of the British-Irish Ice Sheet. Evidence from the area, gathered from striae, erratic trains and drift limits, show ice was routed over and around the island in two flow phases post-36 kyr BP. In the south of the island, streamlined depositional bedforms with low elongation ratios suggest low ice-flow velocities resulting from one or more of (i) the up-ice location of the island within a regional onset zone, (ii) flow retardation of ice interacting with the margins of the island and (iii) localized drainage of the deforming bed. The deglacial landform assemblage of lateral marginal sandurs and drainage diversions, coupled with a lack of dead-ice features, suggests ice did not downwaste in situ but retreated intact along the coastal margins as Manx Upland ice thinned. In the north of the island, however, the Bride Moraine complex indicates a change in deglacial ice-sheet dynamics, with temporary re-advance and marginal oscillation causing proglacial tectonism and thrusting of the glacial sediment pile, possibly during the Killard Point Stadial event (18.8-16.4 cal. kyr BP). From a basin-wide perspective, the Irish Sea Basin sector of the British-Irish Ice Sheet had many of the characteristics of an ice stream, such as a zone of flow convergence up-ice, a grounding line in the southern Celtic Sea and recessional limits characterized by proglacially tectonized and thrust dead-ice landscapes indicative of a rapidly oscillating ice margin.     

Glacial advance and retreat sequences in a Permo-Carboniferous section, central Transantarctic Mountains

Episodes of glacial advance and retreat can be recognized through analysis of vertical facies sequences in the Permo-Carboniferous Pagoda Formation of the Beardmore Glacier area, Antarctica. The formation includes a remarkably complete record of continental sedimentation near the terminus of a temperate glacier. Facies sequence is pre-eminent for inferring glacial advance and retreat. Other important criteria are abundance and geometry of sandstone interbedded with diamictite, diamictite character and nature of bed contacts. Using these characteristics advance and retreat sequences 5–60 m thick are recognized. A sharp contact, with a striated surface and erosional relief, overlain by structureless diamictite (lodgement till) is typical of grounded ice advance. Grounded ice retreat is characterized by structureless diamictite (lodgement till), overlain by crudely stratified diamictite (melt-out till) and then by diamictite interbedded with sandstone and conglomerate (flow till and glacio-fluvial or glacio-lacustrine deposits). Gradational contacts between shale overlain by diamictite and diamictite overlain by shale characterize advance and retreat, respectively, in subaqueous settings. Pauses in sediment accumulation, minor(?) fluctuations of the ice margin, and/or changes in subglacial dynamics are indicated by specific features within diamictite units such as probable frost-wedge casts, single layer boulder beds, sharp sedimentary contacts and changes in diamictite character. These minor(?) events are superimposed upon the main advance-retreat cycles. Study of both the overall facies sequence and of individual diagnostic structures, albeit in an incomplete stratigraphic record, permits a distinction between major and minor advance-retreat events. As many as six major advance-retreat cycles exist in some Pagoda sections, but the number of cycles present varies in different sections.     

Insight into the character of palaeo‐ice‐flow in upland regions of mountain valleys during the last major advance (Vashon Stade) of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet,southwest British Columbia,Canada

Lian, O. B. & Hicock, S. R. 2009: Insight into the character of palaeo‐ice‐flow in upland regions of mountain valleys during the last major advance (Vashon Stade) of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet, southwest British Columbia, Canada. Boreas, 10.1111/j.1502‐3885.2009.00123.x. ISSN 0300‐9483. A detailed glacial geological study was done on Vashon till, formed during the last (Fraser) glaciation, in upland areas of two relatively short and narrow mountain valleys which open onto the Fraser Lowland in southwest British Columbia. The orientation and association of glaciotectonic structures in till and bedrock, a‐axis fabrics of stones in till and abrasion features, indicate that Vashon till formed initially by lodgement and that brittle deformation processes dominated at least during the latter stages of glaciation. The presence of local glacigenic bedrock quarrying suggests that ice flow experienced localized enhanced compressive flow along valley sides. These observations indicate that ice flow was relatively slow and they contrast with a previous study of bedrock geomorphology undertaken in some larger south Coast Mountains valleys and a model of ice‐flow velocity in the Puget Lowland that suggest rapid ice flow. This indicates that either ice‐flow conditions in the larger valleys were different from those in the valleys studied here, or that the observations from our study reflect subglacial conditions following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), but immediately prior to deglaciation when ice had thinned and slowed. If the latter scenario is correct, and if processes inferred from this study were also common along the upland parts of other southwest Coast Mountains valleys after the LGM, then the rate at which ice was supplied to lowland piedmont glaciers would have been reduced, and this may have accelerated decay of the southwest margin of the last Cordilleran Ice Sheet.     

A depositional model for stratigraphic complexes and facies superimposition in lodgement tills

A typical stratigraphy below a streamlined till plain in Northumberland, England, consists of cross-cutting lodgement till units, within and between which occur repeated shoestring interbeds of ‘cut and fill’ channels. Till units have erosional lower contacts; in certain cases marked changes in erratic content and local ice flow direction are evident from one till unit to another. These lodgement till complexes have hitherto been described by ‘tripartite’ schemes of lower grey till (s) and upper reddened till (s) identified with respect to ‘middle’ fluvial horizons; regional correlation proceeding on the basis of matching ‘middle’ horizons, with the whole sequence commonly interpreted as evidence for multiple glaciation. Data indicates, by way of contrast, that these lodgement till complexes were deposited during a single phase of subglacial deposition. Till deposition was not continuous but was interrupted by erosional episodes. Changes in the mix of bedrock lithologies transported by the glacier down a single flow line or by lateral displacement of basal ice flow units within the glacier result in till units of different facies to be emplaced when deposition recommences, a process referred to as ‘unconformable facies superimposition’. Subglacial meltwater flow was also a characteristic of the glacier bed; channeled glaciofluvial sediment bodies are found as ribbon-like inclusions in the till and appear to have been deposited rapidly. These so-called ‘middle’ fluvial horizons occur repeatedly in section, their lateral extent at any given exposure being dependent upon the orientation of the exposure with respect to former ice flow direction. These lenses act as internal drainage blankets and have accelerated postglacial soil formation in the drier climate of eastern Britain accounting for the reddened colour of upper till(s). It is suggested that this model of subglacial deposition can be employed in other areas of northern England characterized by subglacial (lodgement till plain) terrains.