A non-glacial origin for the ordovician (middle caradocian) cosquer formation,veryarc'h,crozon peninsula,brittany, France

The presence of a dispersed clast fraction in strata near the base of the Cosquer Formation in west Brittany, does not support a glacial origin for this unit. The upper 25 to 30 m of the underlying Kermeur Formation consists of a prograding sequence of very fine to fine sandstones deposited in a mid to distal current swept shelf setting. This sequence shows signs of slope instability, as do the supposed ‘glacial strata’ which overlie it. The upper two thirds of the Cosquer Formation contain spectacular slump-breccias. Smaller clasts within the laminated mudrocks at the base of the formation are associated with thin graded and non-graded sandstone laminae. They show no evidence of active penetration into underlying laminae other than can be explained by compaction. Larger clasts are confined to thicker massive beds, or disrupted units with marked internal contorted lamination. This, along with the abundance of slump features within the sequence suggests lateral emplacement by sediment gravity flows in a distal shelf-slope setting. Surface textures of sand grains within the formation are related to rock disaggregation along fractures developed during post-depositional deformation and are not related to glacial processes. Distinctive mineralogically immature, poorly-sorted aggregate sediment pellets, which have been considered as positive proof of glaciation, are not present.