Late Devensian to Holocene environmental change, Loch Lomond, UK: a seismic sedimentary record of deglaciation, paraglacial and postglacial landscape evolution

Dakin, Nicola; Finlayson, Andrew; Carter, Gareth; Cooper, Rhys. 2024 Late Devensian to Holocene environmental change, Loch Lomond, UK: a seismic sedimentary record of deglaciation, paraglacial and postglacial landscape evolution. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 135 (1). 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2023.09.005

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2023.09.005

Abstract/Summary

We present an interpretation of two-dimensional sub-bottom profiling data from Loch Lomond, Scotland, UK. Sediments deposited during and following the last glacier advance have been investigated for decades around the shores of Loch Lomond. For the first time, this study presents an interpretation of the subsurface providing a window into the late Quaternary and Holocene history of Loch Lomond and its surrounding. The seismic stratigraphy records the infill of the loch during the final stages of the Loch Lomond Stadial (LLS, 12.9–11.7 ka BP), through the Holocene and into the present day. Results reveal the presence of distinct seismic facies (SF) identifying four principal seismic horizons; SF-I, SF-II, SF-III, and SF-IV. The SF-I horizon represents the glaciated surface, interpreted as subglacial till (locally forming drumlins), glacial moraines or bedrock. Ice retreat was accompanied by glaciolacustrine sedimentation in a proglacial lake setting, depositing up to 44 m of laminated sediments and ice marginal fans (SF-IIa, b). A period of landscape instability followed with extensive deposition of mass transport deposits (SF-III). These deposits, characterised by chaotic seismic facies with an erosional basal surface, are up to 43 m thick and may represent up to 50 % of the sediment fill. SF-IV comprises finely laminated sediments deposited during the Holocene and highlights slower sedimentation rates in comparison to earlier phases of sedimentation. This study reveals new insights into the deglaciation of Loch Lomond, including previously unrecognised extensive mass transport deposits buried in the subsurface, associated with a period of paraglacial adjustment.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2023.09.005
ISSN:	00167878
Date made live:	08 Feb 2024 11:46 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536866

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2023.09.005

ISSN:

00167878

Date made live:

08 Feb 2024 11:46 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/536866