The artefacts from the present land surface at the Palaeolithic site of Warren Hill,Suffolk, England

Over 2000 handaxes located in museum collections point to the archaeological importance of Warren Hill, a Lower Palaeolithic site in the path of the pre-Anglian Bytham River in East Anglia that was worked for gravel until about 1950. Yet apart from the initial report by Solomon (1933), detailed archaeological study was not undertaken until 2002. This report describes the surface fieldwalking carried out from 1964 to the time of the 2002 excavations, during which over 400 Palaeolithic artefacts have been recovered. Over 92% of these are flakes, some retouched, thus redressing the bias towards handaxes in the museum collections, and suggesting that flake tools played a major role in Lower Palaeolithic daily life. Also represented are notched pieces, scrapers, cores and a few Neolithic flakes. The surface comprises a lag deposit in which artefacts are concentrated in two main zones, contrasting with the subsurface material which is sparse and well-spread through the lithostratigraphy. The Palaeolithic artefacts are mostly rolled and edge-damaged, and patination is variable, suggesting a complex history. The two types of handaxe noted by Solomon – crude and fine – are confirmed. The preservation of typological integrity amongst surface finds that appear to lie in the path of a major fluvial feature is either a relic of humanly assembled, pre-Anglian bankside clusters eroded into the stream, or it may signal the arrival of post-Anglian humans who discovered a lag deposit rich in artefacts and flint clasts and proceeded to use, resharpen and re-arrange them. The dense clustering noted at Warren Hill is placed in a world context. Amongst the surface gravels an assemblage of flakes together with early 20th century rubbish was discovered; it is interpreted as a collector's dump of unsaleable artefacts.     

Cyclic sedimentation produced by fluctuations in meltwater discharge, tides and marine productivity in an Alaskan fjord

Glacimarine sediment deposited in the fjord adjacent to Muir Glacier in south-eastern Alaska consists of rhythmically laminated muds, stratified sandy mud, sand and gravelly mud facies. Cyclicity is recorded by gravelly mud facies deposited during winter by ice-rafting, black mud laminae formed by spring plankton blooms and variations in tidal rhythmite thickness and texture produced by the interaction of meltwater discharges and tidal currents in the macrotidal fjord. Regular cyclicity in laminae thickness is tested statistically by Fourier transform and can be attributed to a lunar tidal cycle control in the five cores collected up to 6 km from the sediment source. Cores close to the source can have additional laminae as a result of discharge fluctuations, and distal cores may lack full cycles because of variability in the plume path and attenuation with distance. Cyclic variations in sediment texture are recorded in magnetic susceptibility (MS) profiles of the cores. High MS values are produced by turbidite sand beds or by stratified sandy mud deposited by overflow plumes during peak summer meltwater discharge. Low values reflect muddy intervals deposited during periods of low meltwater discharge, such as during autumn and winter. Sediment accumulation rates measured by ²¹⁰Pb dating range from 82 cm year^–1, 2 km from the sediment source at the head of the fjord, to 16 cm year^–1, 6 km away. These rates are within the same range as average sediment accumulation rates determined from cyclic seasonal markers within the cores. These data show that, with careful documentation, annual cycles of glacimarine sediment accumulation can be detected within marine cores. Cores collected from the distal portion of the basin were deposited during the transition of Muir Glacier from a tidewater terminus ending in deep water to a terrestrial glacier with an ice-contact delta deposited in front of the terminus. This transition is recorded by a coarsening-upward sedimentary sequence formed by turbidite sands originating from the prograding delta above fine-grained, laminated basin fill deposited by turbid overflow plumes.     

Glacial meltwater erosion and sedimentation as evidence for multiple glaciations in west Wales

This article presents the results of a geomorphological and sedimentological investigation of former glacial meltwater drainage in the region of the lower Afon Teifi, one of the major rivers of southwest Wales. Former drainage characteristics in the region are reconstructed concentrating on palaeo-drainage routes associated with successive Pleistocene glaciations and their role in the Quaternary evolution of the lower Teifi. Mapping of these features throughout a c. 100 km ² area reveals a complex evolution in the establishment of the present-day drainage system, with evidence for the following surface channel types: (i) type 1 channels of primary subglacial origin cut during the late Devensian (late Wisconsinan/late Weichselian) glaciation; (ii) type 2 channels representing either pre-late Devensian subaerial fluvial run-off, unconnected to the course of the preglacial Afon Teifi, or originating as subglacial chute channels; (iii) type 3 channels developed as subglacially modified pre-late Devensian tributaries of the Afon Teifi. Two further features are also described: (iv) type 4 channels are drift-plugged abandoned preglacial courses of the Afon Teifi, and (v) type 5 channels formed as lateglacial and post-late Devensian gorges which bypass type 4 channels. A relative chronostratigraphy based on channel geomorphology and sedimentology reveals an evolutionary sequence considerably more complicated than identified in previous studies, with extensive modification of the lower Afon Teifi region by glacial meltwater during at least two periods of Pleistocene glaciation.     

Landscape modification by meltwater channels at margins of cold-based glaciers, Dry Valleys, Antarctica

This article describes distinctive lateral meltwater channels at the margins of low-elevation cold-based glaciers in the Dry Valleys. The channels significantly modify the ground surface and indicate that cold-based glaciers can be active geomorphic agents. Summer meltwater from the glacier surface flows over ice-aprons and erodes into the frozen ground creating channels up to 3 m deep and 10 m wide adjacent to unmodified ground that is protected beneath the glacier itself. Rapid fluvial excavation in the channels leads to undercutting and collapse of channel walls, which is capable of overturning large boulders. During glacial retreat, a succession of channels is incised into newly exposed ground creating a distinctive series of nested lateral channels and ridges. These represent the most obvious and persistent geomorphological signature of cold-based glacier activity in the region. Cold-based glaciers may advance and retreat over the same area many times without necessarily destroying older features, thereby creating a complex series of channels, deposits and remnant surfaces with a disordered chronology. Recognizing the role of cold-based glaciers and their meltwater channels on landscape evolution is critical for interpreting the timing and style of glacial events in the Antarctic.     

Be data from meltwater channels suggest that Jameson Land, east Greenland, was ice-covered during the last glacial maximum

Along the northeast Greenland continental margin, bedrock on interfjord plateaus is highly weathered, whereas rock surfaces in fjord troughs are characterized by glacial scour. Based on the intense bedrock weathering and lack of glacial deposits from the last glaciation, interfjord plateaus have long been thought to be ice-free throughout the last glacial maximum (LGM). In recent years there is growing evidence from shelf and fjord settings that the northeast Greenland continental margin was more extensively glaciated during the LGM than previously thought. However, little is still known from interfjord settings. We present cosmogenic ¹⁰Be data from meltwater channels and weathered sandstone outcrops on Jameson Land, an interfjord highland north of Scoresby Sund. The mean exposure age of samples from channel beds (n = 3) constrains on the onset of deglaciation on interior Jameson Land to 18.5 ± 1.3–21.4 ± 1.9 ka (for erosion conditions of 0–10 mm/ka, respectively). This finding adds to growing evidence that the northeast Greenland continental margin was more heavily glaciated during the LGM than previously thought.     

Involutions in the Middle Pleistocene (Anglian) Barham Soil, eastern England: a comparison with thermokarst involutions from arctic Canada

Involutions in the early Anglian Barham Soil at Newney Green, Essex, and Badwell Ash, Suffolk, in eastern England, are attributed to soft-sediment deformation during an episode of regional thermokarst development. The involutions show a striking resemblance in morphology and size to thermokarst involutions within a palaeo-thaw layer at Crumbling Point, western arctic Canada. By analogy with the thermokarst involutions, the involutions in the Barham Soil are reinterpreted to have formed by loading during the melting of an ice-rich layer at the top of Anglian permafrost. This period of thermokarst development may have coincided with an episode of intra-Anglian climatic amelioration. Reinterpretation of the Barham Soil involutions implies that many other Pleistocene involutions in Britain may have formed during periods of thermokarst development rather than by active-layer cryoturbation.     

Penecontemporaneous folding, sedimentation and erosion in Campanian Chalk near Portsmouth, England

Campanian (Upper Cretaceous) Chalk exposed in a quarry near Portsmouth is unusual in the occurrence of a contemporaneous anticlinal fold, probably diapiric in origin. Hardgrounds and local slumps developed over the structure, and part of the chalk succession thins considerably over its crest. Erosional channels, sometimes containing bioclastic lag deposits, formed at two levels. Movement on the anticline occurred three times during the part of the Lower Campanian represented in the section; the third phase resulted in extensive fracturing of the crestal region of the fold. Burial of the structure and the onset of normal chalk deposition concluded the Cretaceous phase of its history.     

Estuarine sedimentation in the Eocene of southern England

A temporary section in the Cuisian Bagshot Beds, which has been mapped in detail, displayed estuarine sediments with interlayered sands and muds, fine sands, channel-fill sands and intraformational (mainly mud clast) conglomerates. The facies show rapid lateral and vertical changes in grain size and bed form and a restricted suite of trace fossils including Ophiomorpha nodosa and Arenicolites sp. The sequence is shown to have been deposited in a subtidal channel where tidal, wave and fluvial processes were dominant at different times. The following points are considered to be characteristic of sedimentation in this environment: (i) correlation is difficult and facies predictability is low; (ii) there are frequent lateral facies changes from the channel to the subtidal bank environment; (iii) pene-contemporaneous erosion removes considerable amounts of sediment; (iv) load structures may be exposed, eroded, buried and reactivated; and (v) muddy layers and bioturbated horizons offer similar resistance to penecontemporaneous erosion.     

Geology of southeast Bohol,central Philippines: Accretion and sedimentation in a marginal basin

Recent field mapping has refined our understanding of the stratigraphy and geology of southeastern Bohol, which is composed of a Cretaceous basement complex subdivided into three distinct formations. The basal unit, a metamorphic complex named the Alicia Schist, is overthrust by the Cansiwang mélange, which is, in turn, structurally overlain by the Southeast Bohol Ophiolite Complex. The entire basement complex is overlain unconformably by a ～2000 m thick sequence of Lower Miocene to Pleistocene carbonate and clastic sedimentary rocks and igneous units. Newly identified lithostratigraphic units in the area include the Cansiwang mélange, a tectonic mélange interpreted as an accretionary prism, and the Lumbog Volcaniclastic Member of the Lower Miocene Carmen Formation. The Cansiwang mélange is sandwiched between the ophiolite and the metamorphic complex, suggesting that the Alicia Schist was not formed in response to emplacement of the Southeast Bohol Ophiolite Complex. The accretionary prism beneath the ophiolite complex and the presence of boninites suggest that the Southeast Bohol Ophiolite Complex was emplaced in a forearc setting. The Southeast Bohol Ophiolite Complex formed during the Early Cretaceous in a suprasubduction zone environment related to a southeast‐facing arc (using present‐day geographical references). The accretion of this ophiolite complex was followed by a period of erosion and then later by extensive clastic and carbonate rock deposition (Carmen Formation, Sierra Bullones Limestone and Maribojoc Limestone). The Lumbog Volcaniclastic Member and Jagna Andesite document intermittent Tertiary volcanism in southeastern Bohol.     

Origin and significance of lateral meltwater channels formed along a temperate glacier margin, Glacier Bay, Alaska

Pleistocene lateral meltwater channels are commonly used as evidence of cold-based or polythermal ice. However, lateral meltwater channel formation has been observed for >40 years along the margins of a rapidly thinning temperate glacier in Glacier Bay, Alaska. Flights of nested linear lateral meltwater channels and in-and-out channels have formed on the sides of emerging nunataks. Nested channels at Burroughs Glacier are up to 200 m long; they are good proxies for the slope of the ice margin along the land surface and are terminated by subglacial chutes. A perched water table associated with precipitation and high ablation rates in the temperate ice causes surface meltwater to flow toward the margin above less permeable ice. The water flows along the margin and erodes lateral meltwater channels until a subglacial chute carries the water into the subglacial water system. Rates of channel formation range from 0 to 8 channels/year. Spacing and rates of channel formation are controlled by the land-surface slope, ablation rate, erodibility of the substrate and stream discharge. Because lateral meltwater channels have been observed forming along a temperate glacier margin, care must be exercised when using the presence of lateral meltwater channels as definitive evidence of cold-based or polythermal ice.     

内蒙古赤峰召庙花岗岩表面的冰川壶穴、泄水槽、盐风化穴和剥离面理

在内蒙古赤峰市巴林左旗林东镇以南约20 km的召庙, 出露一片面积约20 km2的花岗岩, 称为召庙花岗岩体。该岩体被至少2组垂直节理及与地面起伏一致的剥离面理切割成大小不等的弧形岩块, 构成高于周围地表300~400 m的花岗岩山区。在多条花岗岩山脊上保存有大小不等的壶穴, 山脊两侧则发育从上到下紧密排列的泄水槽, 而泄水槽则被剥离面理横向切割, 沿剥离面理的露头线发育大小不等的风化穴。通过详细的野外调查, 认为花岗岩山脊上的壶穴不是风蚀和风化所致, 而是晚更新世冰盖上的冰川融水下泄冲刷形成的; 山脊两侧的泄水槽也是冰川融水下泄冲刷的结果; 剥离面理是第四纪冰川发育导致地表之下岩石温度变化的热变应力所致, 可用于恢复第四纪冰川作用时期的基岩古地貌; 盐风化穴是第四纪冰川退缩后本区重要的物理风化类型, 优先沿着剥离面理发育。本区3种微型地貌景观和大型的剥离面理共生组合记录了更新世以来召庙花岗岩山区的地貌演化史。     

Hydrogeochemical attributes of the meltwater emerging from Gangotri glacier, uttaranchal

The river at its origin known as “Bhagirathi” attains the title “Ganga” after its confluence with Alaknanda, originates from the snout of Gangotri glacier. Water samples were collected from the selected sites from Gaumukh to Haridwar (2000–2001) for two seasons (pre-monsoon and post-monsoon) and analyzed for various physico-chemical characteristics. The pH, nitrate (NO₃), conductance, chloride, alkalinity, total hardness, fluoride, sulphate and total dissolved solids were found to be in the ranges of 6.0–7.6, 0.225–10.6 mg/l, 73.0–978 μmhos, 5.0–70.0 mg/l, 15–90 mg/l, 10.0–250.0 mg/l, 0.23–1.60 mg/l, 12.0–150.0 mg/l and 37.0–190.6 mg/l respectively.     

An Early Pleistocene cold marine episode in the North Sea: pollen and faunal assemblages at Covehithe, Suffolk, England

Pollen spectra indicating grass-heath with Empetrum are recorded from a c. 2 m thick Baventian marine clay bed at Covehithe, Suffolk, deposited in a sublittoral to intertidal environment. For the first time arctic assemblages of both foraminifers and molluscs are recorded from this Baventian clay, which is now confirmed as representing the first cold stage of truly glacial intensity in the English marine Early Pleistocene succession.     

The marginal Wealden (non-marine Lower Cretaceous) between Wiltshire and Buckinghamshire,England

Non-marine Lower Cretaceous beds of Wealden aspect have long been known from the northern margin of the Wessex–Weald Basin, between Wiltshire and the south Midlands. Termed the Whitchurch Sands Formation, these badly exposed and generally poorly fossiliferous strata appear to represent interdigitating alluvial and brackish-marine units separated by significant sedimentary breaks. Geological Conservation Review sites within the Whitchurch Sands are described and interpreted for their chronostratigraphic, palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic significance.     

Multiple rifting pulses and sedimentation pattern in the Çameli Basin,southwestern Anatolia,Turkey

The neotectonic development of western Anatolia was characterized by the formation of numerous graben-type basins, which have been well documented by general mapping, although the cause and timing of the Neogene regional tectonic extension remain controversial. Previous interpretations of the origin and evolution of these Neogene basins were based mainly on regional-scale tectonic inferences, rather than detailed basin-fill analysis. The present study of the terrestrial intramontane Çameli Basin in the western Taurides combines detailed facies analysis with biostratigraphic dating (mammalian and molluscan fossils) and documents three pulses of crustal extension that are reflected in changes in the palaeogeography and sedimentary architecture of the basin.Development of the Çameli graben commenced in the Vallesian time (early Tortonian), and is marked by alluvial-fan, fluvial and lacustrine depositional systems, with freshwater molluscan fauna. A second pulse of tectonic extension occurred in the late Ruscinian time (early–middle Pliocene), producing a new normal fault that split the basin longitudinally into two compartments. The lake environment expanded and deepened, coastal peat-forming mires developed and abundant mammal fauna appeared by the early Villanian time (middle Pliocene), with the lacustrine deposits onlapping the basin-margin and intrabasinal fault escarpments. The lacustrine environment subsequently shrank, as the progradation of axial river deltas and basin-margin fan deltas caused water shallowing and shoreline regression. A third pulse of extension occurred at the end of Villanian time (late Pliocene), when the development of a new generation of normal faults further split the basin into still narrower half-graben compartments. The third pulse of rifting is estimated to have accounted for little more than 10% of the sub-basinal crustal extension, but caused the most striking changes in the basin palaeogeography and drainage pattern. The inward development of the successive normal faults indicated a high-rate crustal extension. This is the first regional case study of a terrestrial neotectonic graben employing detailed sedimentary facies analysis and mammal biostratigraphy and providing a time-stratigraphic framework for the rifting pulses in western Anatolia.     

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of a glaciotectonized Early and Middle Pleistocene land surface, palaeosol and river sediments: Great Sampford, Suffolk, England

Glaciotectonized sediments and palaeosol at Great Sampford, western Suffolk, England are reconstructed to their original positions in order to determine the form of the original land surface and the associated soil development. The restored stratigraphy consists of Early Pleistocene Kesgrave Sands and Gravels which were deposited by the 'pre-glacial' river Thames, with the Early-Middle Pleistocene Valley Farm Soil developed on a terrace surface. These units are overlain by Sampford Deformation Till and Lowestoft Till, which were formed during the Middle Pleistocene Anglian glaciation. The micromorphological features of the reconstructed soil are interpreted in terms of three climatic cycles, each comprising a period of temperate climate soil formation followed by cold climate soil disruption. The final stage of disruption is associated with the periglacial climate that preceded Anglian glacierization. This pedological reconstruction is the most complex yet recognized from British Early and Middle Pleistocene palaeosols and provides an insight into major climatic oscillations prior to the Anglian Glaciation. The surface upon which the soil developed is one of the oldest terraces of the 'pre-glacial' River Thames that were formed when this river flowed northwards through East Anglia.