The record from British Quaternary river systems within the context of global fluvial archives

Abstract

Data amassed in the past decade on Quaternary fluvial archives has allowed comparison across widely separated regions of the world. Meanwhile there has been a new impetus for research on British sequences, as a result particularly of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF). In this context, the key British records (from the Thames, Severn-Avon, Trent, Wash system and Solent) are described briefly, with emphasis on the latest information. In the case of the Trent, sedimentary evidence, discovered during ALSF-funded work, appears to confirm the existence of a Middle Pleistocene 'Trent-Ancaster' River. In the case of the Solent, independent projects that sought to improve the age constraint for the sequence have produced complimentary results; the first used luminescence dating, whereas the second made use of Palaeolithic evidence to calibrate numerical incision/uplift modelling. The overarching message is that the British fluvial archive can be readily understood within a global context; it typifies records from areas with relatively young crust that has been uplifting during the Quaternary and, being in the temperate latitudes and close to the Atlantic margin, it reflects strong climatic forcing. The combination of rich faunal and Palaeolithic artefact contents means that certain British records are of international significance.

Well-dated fluvial sequences as templates for patterns of handaxe distribution: Understanding the record of Acheulean activity in the Thames and its correlatives

“…Hey, 1980). If the alternative younger (early Middle Pleistocene) age for this assemblage suggested by Westaway (2011) were to be proved correct, however, its Thames credentials would be thrown into doubt, as the northern part of East Anglia in which the site is located was in the Bytham catchment by that time (Rose et al, 2001;Lee et al, 2004;Bridgland, 2010;cf. Bridgland, 1994, Westaway et al, 2002.…”

An enhanced record of MIS 9 environments, geochronology and geoarchaeology: data from construction of the High Speed 1 (London–Channel Tunnel) rail-link and other recent investigations at Purfleet, Essex, UK

“…A refined methodology for amino acid dating has been developed (Penkman, 2005(Penkman, , 2009Penkman et al, 2007;2008a, 2010 that allows the distinction between amino acids within the crystalline structure of shells and both inter-crystalline and exogenous amino acids. These 'intracrystalline' amino acids behave as a closed system; they are less susceptible to post-mortem contamination and leaching, both of which would compromise their utility for dating.…”

“…Sites in the Thames-Medway region are of particular importance, since representation of MIS 9 has been demonstrated here more readily that elsewhere in Britain, thanks to the framework provided by the river terrace sequence (cf. Bridgland, 2000Bridgland, , 2010). On that basis Bridgland (1994) attributed interglacial deposits within the Corbets Tey Formation of the Lower Thames to MIS 9, including those at Stoke Newington, Belhus Park, Purfleet and Grays (Little Thurrock).…”

The geological history of the Isle of Wight: an overview of the ‘diamond in Britain's geological crown’

“…7.3 and Fig. 7.5) and the availability of OSL dating at this site provide keys to the age of the complex deposit that is placed between MIS 11 and 9 (367 ka to 216 ka) and by crude comparison with the western Solent River being equivalent to the Old Milton to Beckton Farm terrace successions (see Bridgland et al, 2010). Based on the preponderance of artefacts the deposit may also be in part equivalent in part to the artefact-rich Taddiford Terrace (Terrace 7).…”