| Popis: |
During this two day field meeting based at Colchester, participants were shown a number of important sites illustrating the Pleistocene history and evolution of the Thames-Medway drainage system. Pre-Anglian interglacial deposits were seen at Ardleigh and Little Oakley, the former site also boasting cold-climate biogenic sediments and a complex stratigraphy. A further pre-Anglian interglacial site at Wivenhoe, discovered since the excursion, is also described. At St Osyth and Holland-on-Sea complementary stratigraphic sites were examined which provide evidence for the glacial blockage of the Thames during the Anglian. The resultant diversion of the river was then demonstrated at Clacton, where recent excavation of the West Cliff had revealed the edge of the Clacton Channel deposits. The entire second day was spent at East Mersea, where a complex of Thames-Medway sediments is exposed in close juxtaposition to later Blackwater deposits, interglacial material (of different ages) forming part of both. |
