New age constraints for the maximum extent of the last British-Irish Ice Sheet (NW sector)

Citation

Everest JD, Bradwell T, Stoker M & Dewey S (2013) New age constraints for the maximum extent of the last British-Irish Ice Sheet (NW sector). Journal of Quaternary Science, 28 (1), pp. 2-7. https://doi.org/10.1002/jqs.2603

Abstract
This paper presents the first terrestrial age constraints from the outer continental shelf for the maximum extent of the NW sector of the last British–Irish Ice Sheet. Cosmogenic10Be ages from eight glacially transported boulders on the island of North Rona show that the Late Devensian (Late Weichselian) British–Irish Ice Sheet overrode the island at its maximal stage and retreatedc. 25 ka BP. These new dates, supported by other geological evidence, indicate that the north-western part of the ice sheet was most extensive between 27 and 25 ka BP, reaching the outer continental shelf during the global eustatic sea-level minimum at the Last Glacial Maximum.

Keywords
British Irish Ice Sheet; cosmogenic exposure ages; Devensian; ice stream; Last Glacial Maximum

Journal
Journal of Quaternary Science: Volume 28, Issue 1

People

Dr Tom Bradwell

Senior Lecturer, Biological and Environmental Sciences