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Marine Isotope Stage 7-6 transition age for beach sediments at Morston, north Norfolk, UK: implications for Pleistocene chronology, stratigraphy and tectonics
Hoare, Peter Gale, Stephen Robinson, Ruth Connell, Rodger Larkin, Nigel
Hoare, Peter
Gale, Stephen
Robinson, Ruth
Connell, Rodger
Larkin, Nigel
Abstract
Optically stimulated luminescence age estimates for the Pleistocene beach at Morston, north Norfolk, UK, obtained by the single‐aliquot regenerative‐dose protocol, indicate a Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 7–6 transition date. The view that the beach is of Ipswichian (MIS 5e) age, held virtually unanimously for the last 75 years, may now be discarded. The extant beach sequence lies up to ∼5 m OD, yet global models suggest that MIS 7–6 sea levels were typically substantially below that of today. The explanation may lie with poorly understood regional tectonic movements. The MIS 7–6 date helps to constrain the ages of glacial deposits that bracket the beach sediments at Morston. The underlying Marly Drift till cannot be younger than MIS 8; this may also be true for the complex assemblage of glaciogenic landforms and sediments, including the Blakeney esker, in the adjacent lower Glaven valley. The well‐established Late Devensian (MIS 2) age of the Hunstanton Till is not compromised by the date of the Morston beach. There is no indication of a proposed Briton's Lane glaciation during MIS 6 times. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords
Date
2009
Type
Journal article
Journal
Journal of Quaternary Science
Book
Volume
24
Issue
4
Page Range
311-316
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ACU Department
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Controlled