The last glacial cycle: The Devensian at Seaham
Along the Durham coast glacial sediments record multiple events as the ice passed over the coast and then retreated At Seaham Two subglacial tills: sediments deposited under the ice as it interacted with the landscape bel Lower till (dark brown) at Seaham interacting with Permian Magnesian Limestone bedrock (yellow) Lower till at Seaham overlying […]
The Quaternary: The Devensian Ice sheet – sediments at Seaham
All along the coast we see the sediments left by ice (e.g. Whitburn, Seaham, Warren House Gill) At Seaham Two subglacial tills: sediments deposited under the ice as it interacted with the landscape below In between the two till are glacial outwash sediments deposited by meltwater streams into rivers and lakes Erratics: Glacially transported […]
The Quaternary: The Devensian Ice sheet (then and now)
The Quaternary: The Devensian Ice sheet
Ice stream imprints – The Tyne Gap ice stream streamlined the landscape between Carlisle and Newcastle Ice initially flowed from west to east into the North Sea
The Quaternary: The Devensian Ice sheet (MIS2)
Patton et al, 2017 31,000 –15,000yrs BP ago in the UK Ice in County Durham and offshore was fed initially by an ice stream flowing through the Tyne Gap and later by ice flowing south down the coast fed by the Tweed and Firth of Forth Ice Streams. Ice left County Durham ~ 19, 600 […]
The Quaternary period: The last 2.6 million yrs of Earth’s history.
Oscillating warm and cold climate phases which are called Marine Isotope Stages. Our natural climate has been dominated by long, cold ice ages for the last 800,000yrs The last glacial cycle) in the UK is Marine Isotope Stage 2 (MIS 2) also known as the Devensian. Ice sheet build-up and oscillation 31,000 –15,000yrs BP. Along […]
Zechstein environments at Blackhall Rocks
Zechstein environments at Blackhall Rocks Adapted from :Perri et al. 2013 https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2013.65
Zechstein environments at Blackhall Rocks
Zechstein environments at Blackhall Rocks Adapted from: https://deeptime.voyage/apps/geoExplore/fieldtrips/PermianNE/PD6.pdf
Geological cross section of the rock between Houghton Le Spring and Seaham
Source: https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/516223/1/CR07117N.pdf
Permian Zechstein cycles and sea-level change
From Daniels et al. 2019: https://doi.org/10.1144/sp494-2019-140 This geological cross section from Daniels et al. (2019) demonstrates how the Permian rocks built-up layer by layer, cycle by cycle along the Durham coast. The Raisby and Ford Formations are limestones which formed in deeper water and onlap the shallow reefs at the edge of the Zechstein Sea […]
