New evidence indicates glaciers present 11,000 years later than believed
Research led by a scientist from the University of Exeter has shown that Britain was home to small glaciers within the last few centuries – around 11,000 years later than previously thought.
Dr Stephan Harrison of Geography has established that small glaciers almost certainly existed in the Cairngorm mountain range in Scotland as recently as the 18th century, contrary to the long held belief that Britain’s last glaciers melted around the 9th millennium BC. (more…)
Ice extended further across the UK than previously thought and played a part in sculpting the rocky landscape of Dartmoor in South West England during the last Ice Age, according to new research which challenges previously held theories.
A study of the National Park area of Dartmoor, UK, shows for the first time that an ice cap and valley glaciers were present in its centre and that the naturally castellated stone outcrops, known as tors, were survivors.
The new research by the Universities of Durham and Exeter, and Stockton Riverside College, is published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews.
Researchers, who carried out detailed observations on the ground and using aerial photography, say the evidence includes glacial features such as elongated rounded mounds or drumlins and hummocky landforms or moraines. Similar features may also exist in other upland areas of southwest England, indicating that small upland glaciers were regularly hosted in the region during periods of glaciation. (more…)
Melting mountain glaciers are contributing to sea-level rise faster than at any time in the last 350 years, according to new research published in Nature Geoscience.
A research team from the University of Exeter, Aberystwyth University, and Stockholm University undertook a survey of the 270 largest outlet glaciers of the South and North Patagonian Icefields of South America. (more…)
