Paraglacial Modification of Glacigenic Sediment

The sedimentological characteristics of in situ and paraglacially reworked till are compared at recently deglaciated sites in Norway. Glacigenic deposits reworked by debris flows are shown to retain many of the characteristics of the parent sediments, and cannot readily be distinguished from in situ till in terms of fabric strength or type, clast imbrication, shape, angularity or texture, matrix granulometry or packing. Paraglacially re-worked sediments appear to differ from in situ tills only in terms of preferred clast orientation (down flow rather than downvalley) and their structural and lithofacies characteristics. These criteria are employed to differentiate paraglacial sediments from unre-worked tills exposed in valley-side sections. The stratigraphic relations between these indicate glacial reworking of earlier paraglacial sediments as well as paraglacial remobilisation of glacigenic deposits, indicating cyclic alternation of glacial and paraglacial sediment transport.