Uplift-driven valley incision and river terrace formation in southern England
Year: 1997
Type: article
Abstract: Outside the limits of Middle Pleistocene glaciation, the river basins of Southern England contain long Cenozoic terrestrial sedimentary records. Of greatest importance are the river terrace sequences, which contain biostratigraphical and sedimentary evidence that testifies to the high-amplitude climatic changes of the Quaternary. However, trends in valley development cannot easily be accommodated within the framework of Quaternary climatic change. It is argued in this paper that episodic incision and terrace development result from uplift, a consequence of the interplay between continuing Alpine orogenic movements and erosion-driven isostasy. Using a simple linear model (height–age) an uplift rate of ca. 7 cm ka−1 is estimated for the terrace sequence in the upper Thames valley. This preliminary model is evaluated using the records of adjacent basins. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Source: Journal of Quaternary Science
Author: D. Maddy
Institution: University of Gloucestershire
Language: English
Subfield: Earth-Surface Processes
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1998450920