Palaeogeographic significance of pedogenic carbonates in the topmost Upper Old Red Sandstone of the Scottish border basin

The alluvial depositional surface of the Scottish Border Basin in youngest Upper Old Red Sandstone times is thought to have been dissected and subsequently disrupted and buried as an effect of magma formation and lava eruption. Lengthy periods of surface stability occurred during these events, as implied by the occurrence of up to two thick carbonate palaeosols over much of the Old Red outcrop.