Windpolished boulders and bedrock in the Scottish Highlands: evidence and implications of Late Devensian wind activity

The present day maritime climate of Scotland is primarily characterized by strong winds which, in very exposed sites, lead to modern windpolish of rock surfaces. The widespread existence of in situ relict windpolished boulders and bedrock surfaces in Scotland has enabled a reconstruction of prevalent Late Devensian (Late Weichselian) including Loch Lomond Stadial (Younger Dryas) palaeo-wind directions. Previous reconstructions of palaeo-wind directions have been indirect and based mainly on the distribution of aeolian sediments and former glaciers. Observations of relict windpolished microforms and their distribution on boulders and bedrock outcrops on various rock types at 55 sites in different parts of the Scottish Highlands have been used to establish a palaeo-wind map for the area. The reconstruction indicates two sets of dominating wind directions, one between SE and SW and one between NW and N. The maximum age of the windpolish is 16-10 cal. ka BP, but most of it presumably developed during the Loch Lomond Stadial 13-12 cal. ka BP, inferred from the distribution of windpolish sites in relation to the deglaciation chronology and establishment of vegetation.