Cryostratigraphy of aeolian sand sheets in arctic Canada and NW Europe
During much of the Quaternary, the lowlands of England experienced cold, non-glacial conditions. A legacy of these periods are the periglacial structures found in the stratigraphic record, many of which contain wind-blown material. Unfortunately, the reconstruction of the conditions responsible for these features has been hindered both by a limited understanding of cryogenic processes and structures, and by the fragmentary nature of terrestrial Quaternary sequences.
Recent progress in understanding contemporary features indicates that the cryostratigraphical record may hold key information on the rates of climatic amelioration. Investigations are being carried out to date and characterise such structures in Arctic Canada and relate them to relict evidence in NW Europe. The work is partly funded by The Royal Society and NERC. Four publications have come from this work so far.
Key Outcomes - Work on Thanet, UK has shown a good relationship of cryogenic structures to periods of rapid climate amelioration over last 24,000 years
- Ongoing investigations in NW territory Canada have established the timing and extend of the last glaciation in the McKenzie Delta area
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Sand wedges at Crumbling point, Canda
(photo courtesy of J.B. Murton)
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Modern cold-climate aeolian sediments, Hadwen Island, Canada
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Recent papers - Bateman, M.D. and Murton, J.B. (2006). Chronostratigraphy of Late Pleistocene Glacial and Periglacial Aeolian Activity in the Tuktoyaktuk Coastlands, NWT, Canada. Quaternary Science Reviews (in press).
 Author's pre-publication version (open access) - Murton, J.B., Bateman, M.D., Baker, C.A., Knox, R. and Whiteman, C.A. (2003). The Devensian periglacial record on Thanet, Kent, UK. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 14, 217-246.
doi:10.1002/ppp.442
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