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Uplift‐driven valley incision and river terrace formation in southern England
Author(s) -
Maddy D.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of quaternary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.142
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1099-1417
pISSN - 0267-8179
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-1417(199711/12)12:6<539::aid-jqs350>3.0.co;2-t
Subject(s) - geology , terrace (agriculture) , quaternary , glacial period , sedimentary rock , paleontology , river terraces , cenozoic , pleistocene , geomorphology , isostasy , tectonic uplift , sequence (biology) , structural basin , archaeology , fluvial , tectonics , geography , lithosphere , genetics , biology
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.