Late Quaternary glaciation and environmental change on St. Kilda, Scotland, and their palaeoclimatic significance

• Published in: Boreas
• Main Authors: SUTHERLAND, DONALD G., BALLANTYNE, COLIN K., WALKER, MICHAEL J. C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 1984
• Subjects: Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1984.tb01121.x; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fj.1502-3885.1984.tb01121.x; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1502-3885.1984.tb01121.x

On Hirta, the largest island of the St. Kilda archipelago near the western edge of the Scottish continental shelf, evidence has been found for four cold periods and one intervening mild period. During the most recent cold period (the Loch Lomond Stadial), two protalus ramparts were formed. Prior to this there occurred two periods of valley glaciation separated by a mild interval during which the local vegetation was dominated by grasses and sedges. For the most recent valley glaciation (= Late Devensian glacial maximum) a mean July temperature of 4°C is inferred. At this time intensive periglacial processes were operative down to present sea level. At some earlier, pre‐Dcvensian, time St. Kilda was invaded by the Scottish ice sheet.