Ice caps existed throughout the Lateglacial Interstadial in northern Scotland

We constrain, in detail, fluctuations of two former ice caps in NW Scotland with multibeam seabed surveys, geomorphological mapping and cosmogenic Be-10 isotope analyses. We map a continuous sequence of 40 recessional moraines stretching from similar to 10 km offshore to the Wester Ross mountains. S...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Quaternary Science
Main Authors: Bradwell, Tom, Stoker, Martyn S, Fabel, Derek, Mathers, Heather, McHague, Lenny, Howe, John
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2008
Subjects:
WESTERN NORWAY
Geosciences
Multidisciplinary
NORTHWEST SCOTLAND
CHRONOLOGY
GLACIER
YOUNGER DRYAS
PALEOCLIMATIC IMPLICATIONS
NEW-ZEALAND
GLACIATION
DEGLACIATION
Paleontology
KA BP
Norway
New Zealand
glacier
Ice cap
Online Access:https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/publications/9c0d70e9-93ee-43fe-8895-71cf980e3034
https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.1181
Description
Summary:We constrain, in detail, fluctuations of two former ice caps in NW Scotland with multibeam seabed surveys, geomorphological mapping and cosmogenic Be-10 isotope analyses. We map a continuous sequence of 40 recessional moraines stretching from similar to 10 km offshore to the Wester Ross mountains. Surface-exposure ages from boulders on moraine ridges in Assynt and the Summer Isles region show that substantial, dynamic, ice caps existed in NW Scotland between 13 and 14 ka BID. We interpret this as strong evidence that large active glaciers probably survived throughout the Lateglacial Interstadial, and that during the Older Dryas period (ca. 14 ka BP) ice caps in NW Scotland were thicker and considerably more extensive than in the subsequent Younger Dryas Stadial. By inference, we suggest that Lateglacial ice-cap oscillations in Scotland reflect the complex interplay between changing temperature and precipitation regimes during this climatically unstable period (ca. 15-11 ka BP). (C) Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) copyright 2008. Reproduced with the permission of NERC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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