The formation and evolution of an isolated submarine valley in the North Channel, Irish Sea: an investigation of Beaufort's Dyke

Callaway, Alexander; Quinn, Rory; Brown, Craig J.; Long, David A.; Benetti, Sara

doi:10.1002/jqs.1460

Cited by 10 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…The co‐location of the Wicklow Trough with this bounding fault suggests it could have had a strong control on its location. A similar explanation was proposed for Beaufort's Dyke, a tunnel valley in the North Channel (Callaway et al ., 2011). The presence of softer substratum (i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Formational history of the Wicklow Trough: a marine‐transgressed tunnel valley revealing ice flow velocity and retreat rates for the largest ice stream draining the late‐Devensian British–Irish Ice Sheet

Coughlan

Tóth

Landeghem

et al. 2020

J Quaternary Science

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The Wicklow Trough is one of several Irish Sea bathymetric deeps, yet unusually isolated from the main depression, the Western Trough. Its formation has been described as proglacial or subglacial, linked to the Irish Sea Ice Stream (ISIS) during the Last Glacial Maximum. The evolution of the Wicklow Trough and neighbouring deeps, therefore, help us to understand ISIS dynamics, when it was the main ice stream draining the former British-Irish Ice Sheet. The morphology and sub-seabed stratigraphy of the 18 km long and 2 km wide Wicklow Trough is described here from new multibeam echosounder data, 60 km of sparker seismic profiles and five sediment cores. At a maximum water depth of 82 m, the deep consists of four overdeepened sections. The heterogeneous glacial sediments in the Trough overlay bedrock, with indications of flank mass-wasting and subglacial bedforms on its floor. The evidence strongly suggests that the Wicklow Trough is a tunnel valley formed by time-transgressive erosional processes, with pressurised meltwater as the dominant agent during gradual or slow ice sheet retreat. Its location may be fault-controlled, and the northern end of the Wicklow Trough could mark a transition from rapid to slow grounded ice margin retreat, which could be tested with modelling.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SU5). The strong currents caused by tidal channelling within the Wicklow Trough can help to explain why the Trough is only partly filled and maintains a bathymetric expression today (Callaway et al ., 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formational history of the Wicklow Trough: a marine‐transgressed tunnel valley revealing ice flow velocity and retreat rates for the largest ice stream draining the late‐Devensian British–Irish Ice Sheet

Coughlan

Tóth

Landeghem

et al. 2020

J Quaternary Science

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“…More recent studies have demonstrated that the overdeepened Irish Sea valleys were formed as time‐transgressive erosional features during the last glacial period (Callaway et al . 2011; Coughlan et al . 2020; Van Landeghem & Chiverrell 2020).…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Late Pleistocene channelized subglacial meltwater system on the Atlantic continental shelf south of Ireland

Giglio

Benetti

Sacchetti

et al. 2021

Boreas

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The study of palaeo‐glacial landforms and sediments can give insights into the nature and dynamics of ice sheets. This is particularly the case with regards to the subglacial record, which is challenging to observe in contemporary glaciated settings and hence remains only partially understood. The subglacial hydrological system is an essential component of ice dynamics, where increased water pressure enhances ice motion and sediment deformation, thus reducing ice‐bed contact. Tunnel valleys are large, sinuous, steep‐sided incisions that, together with smaller scale meltwater channels, indicate subglacial meltwater discharge beneath large ice sheets. Through the use of high‐resolution marine geophysical data, a system of buried and exposed tunnel valleys, possible subglacial or proglacial meltwater channels and palaeo‐fluvial valleys have been identified across the shelf of the Celtic Sea between Ireland and Britain. The presence of steep‐sided and overdeepened tunnel valleys is indicative of a large channelized meltwater drainage system beneath the former Irish Sea Ice Stream, the most extensive ice stream to drain the last British–Irish Ice Sheet. After the rapid ice expansion across the Celtic Sea shelf around 28–26 ka, the tunnel valleys were carved into both bedrock and glacigenic sediments and are associated with rapid ice stream retreat northwards into the Irish Sea Basin between 25.6 and 24.3 ka. The presence of a major subglacial meltwater system on the relatively shallow shelf suggests that significant erosive meltwater discharge occurred during the last deglaciation and highlights the important contribution of meltwater to the retreat of the British–Irish Ice Sheet on the continental shelf.

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Irish Sea and Atlantic Margin

Westley

Edwards

2017

Submerged Landscapes of the European Continental Shelf

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The formation and evolution of an isolated submarine valley in the North Channel, Irish Sea: an investigation of Beaufort's Dyke

Cited by 10 publications

References 55 publications

Formational history of the Wicklow Trough: a marine‐transgressed tunnel valley revealing ice flow velocity and retreat rates for the largest ice stream draining the late‐Devensian British–Irish Ice Sheet

Formational history of the Wicklow Trough: a marine‐transgressed tunnel valley revealing ice flow velocity and retreat rates for the largest ice stream draining the late‐Devensian British–Irish Ice Sheet

A Late Pleistocene channelized subglacial meltwater system on the Atlantic continental shelf south of Ireland

Irish Sea and Atlantic Margin

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