Pleistocene glacial limits in England, Scotland and Wales

TLDR: The evidence for glaciation of England, Scotland, and Wales is primarily lithological with glacial episodes being identified by till and glacio-fluvial sediments and glacial limits being determined by the extent of these deposits as discussed by the authors.

Abstract: This chapter reviews the evidence for glacial limits in England, Scotland, and Wales as understood at the beginning of 2002. Evidence for glaciation of England, Scotland, and Wales is primarily lithological with glacial episodes being identified by till and glaciofluvial sediments and glacial limits being determined by the extent of these deposits. Additionally, geomorphological evidence has played an important role in reconstructing the extent of ice masses in younger glaciations. Moraine ridges and ice-contact landforms, including patterns of glacio-isostatically deformed displaced shorelines, have played an important role in the determination of ice limits of these younger glacial events. Biological evidence has played a role in separating glacial events and in indicating a tendency toward climatic deterioration, or the existence of cold conditions that may be associated with glaciation. In the majority of cases, this biological evidence has taken the form of pollen, but molluska and plant macros have also been used to differentiate different stages of the Quaternary and insect faunas to provide direct evidence for the presence of glacial meltwater. Soil evidence, usually in the form of permafrost structures, has been used to indicate cold climate conditions that have been linked with the formation of glacier ice elsewhere in England, Wales, and Scotland.