Machair

Ritchie, William; Neal, William J.; Bush, David M.; Pilkey, Orrin H.; Besnehard, J.; Bird, Eric; Blasco, F.; Aizpuru, M.; Ndongo, D. Din; Morton, Robert A.; Williams, A. T.; Tudor, D. T.; Gregory, M. R.; May, Vincent; Pirazzoli, Paolo A.; Trenhaile, Alan S.; Stone, Gregory W.; Muller, Robert A.; Andrew, J.; Cooper, G.; Yáñez‐Arancibia, Alejandro; Osterkamp, W. R.; Morton, R. A.; Inman, Douglas L.; Jenkins, Scott A.; Masters, Patricia M.; Galgano, Francis A.; Leatherman, Stephen P.; Doody, J. Pat; Morang, Andrew; Gorman, Laurel T.; Healy, Terry R.

doi:10.1007/1-4020-3880-1_200

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

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“…The dominant morphological element is a vegetated sandy plain known as 'machair' which comprises ca. 90% of the area of the entire Hebridean beach/dune system (Ritchie, 2005). Machair is a plain composed of calcareous sand that typically supports a sandy, grassland vegetation (Moss and Dickinson, 1979;Ritchie, 2005) and has a high conservation value (Angus, 1994;Angus, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…90% of the area of the entire Hebridean beach/dune system (Ritchie, 2005). Machair is a plain composed of calcareous sand that typically supports a sandy, grassland vegetation (Moss and Dickinson, 1979;Ritchie, 2005) and has a high conservation value (Angus, 1994;Angus, 1997). It is confined to the exposed western coasts of Scotland and Ireland (Bassett and Curtis, 1985), although equivalent environments have also been described from New Zealand (Wilson et al, 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stratigraphy and internal structure of wind‐dominated barrier islands (dune and machair) of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland

Pile

Cooper

Jackson

2019

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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The barrier islands that fringe the western shore of the Outer Hebrides are globally unusual in that they are developed on a planated bedrock (strandflat) surface. They also contain the most extensive area of machair (a distinctive vegetated sandy plain) in the British Isles. This paper presents the first investigation of the internal structure and morphology of these barrier islands and investigates the controls on their structure. The barriers form extensive (300‐1000 metres wide) but thin (1.5‐2 m) surficial deposits typically resting on bedrock. In areas where depressions exist in the bedrock, and where sediment supply permits, transgressive dunes underlie the machair. A distinctive machair facies of sub‐horizontal, undulating reflections, which are laterally continuous over tens of metres is the dominant component of the barriers at each site. This reflects episodic deposition of windblown sand up to the level of the water table. Thereafter any additional sand is transported through the system to accumulate in topographic lows as lake fills, or on topographic highs as ‘high machair’. Eight radar facies were identified, the extent and presence of which vary between the study sites. Bedrock topography and sediment supply are interpreted as the dominant controls on variability in barrier structure. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%