Module Identifier GG33510  
Module Title GLACIAL SEDIMENTARY ENVIRONMENTS  
Academic Year 2001/2002  
Co-ordinator Professor Michael Hambrey  
Semester Semester 1  
Course delivery Lecture   14 Hours 7 x 2 hours of lectures / seminars / tutorials  
  Field Work   2 days at weekend. Transport costs to be shared by students. Cardigan area.  
Assessment Continuous assessment   (1) Fieldwork report, maximum 3,000 plus figures, including literature review, data acquisition and analysis - submission date to be specified by module co-ordinator (50%). (2) Essay review: maximum 3000 words plus figures and references, from a choice of 6 topics (50%).   100%  
  Resit assessment   Resits will comprise a 2 hour written examination (50%) and a 5,000 word literature review of a topic to be decided by the module co-ordinator (50%), for submission by the first day of the resit examinations.    

Module Outline (Lecture Themes)


Introduction: Glaciers and their sedimentary products; glacial sediments in the geological record


Debris in glaciers: Entrainment and transport of sediment in glaciers; sediment distribution; structural glaciological controls; sediment characteristics.


Analysis of glacial sediments: Facies analysis; textural classification of poorly sorted sediments; genetic classification of glacial deposits; methods of analysis of glacial sequences.


Processes of terrestrial glacial deposition: Formation of lodgement till; melt-out till and sublimation till; role of deformable beds; depositional landforms.


Glacigenic sediment reworking and deformation: Resedimentation of glacigenic facies: glacitectonics and deformation structures, and their kinematic significance; glacier surges and sedimentation.


Case study 1: Svalbard polythermal glaciers: sedimentary facies and landforms: comparison with late glacial phenomena in the British Isles.


Glaciofluvial sediments and landforms: Glaciofluvial processes, landforms, facies and facies associations; jokulhlaups.


Glaciolacustrine processes and sediments: Importance of glacial lake sedimentation in the Quaternary record; physical processes in glacier-fed lakes; glaciolacustrine landforms; glaciolacustrine facies and facies associations.


Glaciomarine sedimentation - fjords: Sources of glaciomarine sediment; marine processes in fjords; patterns and rates of sedimentation; fjordal facies and facies associations; depositional features in fjords;


Case studies 2 & 3: East Greenland (Scoresby Sund), Antarctica (Ferrar Fjord, Lambert Glacier).


Glaciomarine sedimentation - continental margins: Glacier-ocean interactions; sedimentation and erosion on glacier-influenced continental shelves and slopes; shelf facies and facies associations.


Case study 4: Evolution of the Antarctic continental margin from offshore drilling and seismic surveying.


Fieldwork: Application of glacial sedimentological principles to the "Irish Sea Glaciation Problem" with reference to Welsh coastal and inland sections; sedimentary logging; clast shape, fabric and lithological analysis of galcial sediments; documentation of glaciotectonic phenomena; relation to landforms.


Fieldwork: Application of glacial sedimentological principles to the "Irish Sea Glaciation Problem" with reference to Welsh coastal and inland sections; sedimimentary logging; clast shape, fabric and lithological analysis of glacial sediments; documentation of glaciotectonic phenomena; relation to landforms.

Module Aims


The aim of this module is to provide a balanced view of sedimentation in both terrestrial and marine environments influenced by glaciers and ice sheets. The module emphasises processes and patterns of sedimentation in modern glacial environments, but also applies these concepts to interpreting the geological record.

Module objectives / Learning outcomes


On completion of this module, students should be able to:-

Reading Lists

Books
** Essential Reading
Hambrey, M.J. (1994) Glacial Environments. UCL Press, 295p.
Dowdeswell, J.A. & Scourse, J.D. (ed). (1990) Glacimarine Environments: Processes and Sediments. Geological Society Special Publication 53, 422pp.
** Recommended Text
Benn, D.I. & Evans, D.J.A. (1998) Glaciers and Glaciation. Arnold, London, 734pp.
Bennett, M.R. & Glasser, N.F. (1996) Glacial Geology. Ice Sheets and Landforms. Wiley, Chichester.
Drewry, D.J. (1986) Glacial Geologic Processes. Arnold, London, 276 pp.
Hambrey, M.J., Davies, J.R., Glasser, N.F., Waters, R.A., Dowdeswell, J.A., Wilby, P.R., Wilson, D. & Etienne, J.L. (2001) Devensian glacigenic sedimentation and landscape evolution in the Cardigan area of southwest Wales. J. Quaternary Sci., vol. 16, 455-482
Lowe, J.J. et al. (eds.). (2001) The Glaciation of the Irish Sea Basin. Journal of Quaternary Science
McCarroll, D. (2001) Deglaciation of the Irish Sea basin: a critique of the glaciomarine hypothesis. J. Quaternary, vol. 16, 393-404
Maltman, A.J., Hubbard, B. & Hambrey, M.J. (2000) Deformation of glacial materials. Special Publication Geological Society London, No. 76
Menzies, J. (ed.). (1996) Past Glacial Environments: Sediments, Forms and Techniques. Butterworth Heinemann, Oxford