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The last British Ice Sheet: A review of the evidence utilised in the ...

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<strong>of</strong> 14,623±360 radiocarbon years BP from W<strong>in</strong>dermere (Coope and Penn<strong>in</strong>gton, 1977). A basal moss layer<br />

ly<strong>in</strong>g over glacial outwash at Glen Ballyre on <strong>the</strong> northwest coast <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Isle <strong>of</strong> Man yielded a radiocarbon<br />

age range <strong>of</strong> between 18,900 and 18,400 14 C years BP, provid<strong>in</strong>g an early deglacial date for <strong>the</strong> area (Shotton<br />

and Williams, 1971, 1973; Dackombe and Thomas, 1985).<br />

<strong>The</strong> late Quaternary deposits <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Isle <strong>of</strong> Man have been traditionally subdivided <strong>in</strong>to two suites, an<br />

upland suite <strong>of</strong> locally derived periglacial materials and a lowland suite <strong>of</strong> foreign glacigenic sediments<br />

(Thomas, 1976, 1977; Dackombe and Thomas, 1991). <strong>The</strong> upland suite has been expla<strong>in</strong>ed as a product <strong>of</strong><br />

cold climate slope processes ei<strong>the</strong>r dur<strong>in</strong>g Devensian glaciation, imply<strong>in</strong>g that <strong>the</strong> Manx uplands were<br />

nunataks, or paraglacial rework<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> glacigenic materials dur<strong>in</strong>g ice sheet wastage. Dackombe and Thomas<br />

(1991) support <strong>the</strong> latter <strong>in</strong>terpretation based upon <strong>the</strong> ice sheet model <strong>of</strong> Boulton et al. (1977). <strong>The</strong> lowland<br />

suite has been <strong>in</strong>terpreted as <strong>the</strong> product <strong>of</strong> terrestrial glacial deposition by Thomas (1976, 1977) and<br />

Dackombe and Thomas (1985, 1991) and as glacimar<strong>in</strong>e sediment by Eyles and Eyles (1984) and Eyles and<br />

McCabe (1991). Although Thomas (1976, 1977) and Pant<strong>in</strong> (1978) have acknowledged that <strong>the</strong> reced<strong>in</strong>g<br />

Irish Sea glacier marg<strong>in</strong> on <strong>the</strong> Isle <strong>of</strong> Man may have been partially mar<strong>in</strong>e based, <strong>the</strong> 200 m water depths<br />

required by <strong>the</strong> Eyles and Eyles (1984) and Eyles and McCabe (1991) model cannot be reconciled with <strong>the</strong><br />

sea level history <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Irish Sea Bas<strong>in</strong> at <strong>the</strong> close <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Diml<strong>in</strong>gton Stadial. <strong>The</strong> <strong>last</strong> glaciation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> island<br />

by Irish Sea ice is recorded predom<strong>in</strong>antly <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Shellag Formation and Orrisdale Formation <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> lowland<br />

suite <strong>of</strong> deposits <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> north (Thomas, 1999). <strong>The</strong>se overlie Ipswichian raised beach and locally derived<br />

slope deposits. <strong>The</strong> Shellag Formation records <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>itial advance and recession <strong>of</strong> glacier ice (Shellag<br />

Advance, Thomas, 1976) and is unconformably overla<strong>in</strong> by <strong>the</strong> Orrisdale Formation. <strong>The</strong> latter was<br />

deposited dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> Orrisdale Readvance, dur<strong>in</strong>g which <strong>the</strong> Bride Mora<strong>in</strong>e was constructed. Subsequent<br />

short-lived oscillatory readvances are recorded by <strong>the</strong> northward <strong>of</strong>flapp<strong>in</strong>g Jurby Formation (Thomas, 1976,<br />

1999). New dates and a revision <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> lithostratigraphy suggest a more complex sequence <strong>of</strong> events with an<br />

extensive glacial phase followed by rapid oscillations <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> ice marg<strong>in</strong> dur<strong>in</strong>g deglaciation and <strong>the</strong>n a<br />

substantial ice advance (Thomas et al., 2004).<br />

2.3.6. North Wales<br />

Considerable emphasis has been placed on <strong>the</strong> till sequences <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Lleyn Pen<strong>in</strong>sula and <strong>the</strong>ir role <strong>in</strong><br />

reconstruct<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> glacial advances <strong>in</strong> North Wales. Early work on glacial sediments revealed a tripartite<br />

sequence <strong>of</strong> two tills separated by stratified sediments (e.g. Jehu, 1909; Nicholas, 1915). This stratigraphy<br />

was used <strong>in</strong> conjunction with <strong>the</strong> drift morphology to propose multiple glaciations (e.g. Synge, 1963a, 1964),<br />

but more specifically it revealed that <strong>the</strong> Lleyn Pen<strong>in</strong>sula was an area <strong>of</strong> coalescence between Irish Sea and<br />

Welsh ice. Sections on <strong>the</strong> north coast <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Lleyn record sou<strong>the</strong>rly flow <strong>of</strong> Irish Sea ice. Moreover, sites on<br />

<strong>the</strong> west <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> pen<strong>in</strong>sula conta<strong>in</strong> <strong>evidence</strong> <strong>of</strong> Irish Sea till only, whereas sites between Gwydir Bay and D<strong>in</strong>as<br />

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