Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-12T21:42:39.585Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Geology of the Wicken Vision Area, lower Cam valley, Cambridgeshire, UK

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 March 2014

S. Boreham*
Affiliation:
Quaternary Palaeoenvironments Group, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, United Kingdom Email: [email protected]
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The geology of the Wicken Vision Area in the lower Cam valley is described with reference to a stacked series of ten cross-sections through Holocene and Pleistocene deposits, and Cretaceous/Jurassic bedrock across the region. A detailed cross-section through a Holocene palaeochannel, with radiocarbon dating and pollen analyses is also presented. The structural geology of the bedrock and the stratigraphic arrangement of the Pleistocene and Holocene deposits are used to describe landscape development for the area. This study offers a new understanding of the stratigraphy and context of the Holocene, Weichselian and earlier Pleistocene deposits of the lower Cam valley, and provides a unique view of sediment architecture in valley-fill sediments at the fen edge.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Stichting Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 2013

References

Bard, E., 2001. Extending the Calibrated Radiocarbon Record. Science 292: 24432444.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bell, F.G. & Dickson, C.A., 1971. The Barnwell Station Arctic Flora: a reappraisal of some plant identifications. New Phytologist 70: 627633.Google Scholar
Bennett, K.D., 1983. Weichselian late-glacial and Flandrian vegetational history at Hockham Mere, Norfolk, England. I. Pollen percentages and concentrations. New Phytologist 95: 457487.Google Scholar
Bennett, K.D., Whittington, G. & Edwards, K.J., 1994. Recent plant nomenclatural changes and pollen morphology in the British Isles. Quaternary Newsletter 73: 16.Google Scholar
Boreham, S., 1996. Thermokarst landforms in the Cambridge area. Nature in Cambridgeshire 38: 1623.Google Scholar
Boreham, S., 2002. The Pleistocene Stratigraphy and Palaeoenvironments of the Cambridge District. PhD thesis. Open University.Google Scholar
Boreham, S. & Rolfe, C.J., 2009. Holocene, Weichselian Late-glacial & earlier Pleistocene deposits of the upper Cam valley at the Hinxton Genome Campus, Cambridgeshire, UK. Netherlands Journal of Geosciences 88: 117125.Google Scholar
Boreham, S., White, T.S., Bridgland, D.R., Howard, A.J. & White, M.J., 2010. The Quaternary history of the Wash fluvial network, UK. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 121: 393409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowen, D.Q. (ed.), 1999. A revised correlation of Quaternary deposits in the British Isles. Geological Society Special Report 23, 174 pp.Google Scholar
Briant, R.M. & Bateman, M.D., 2009 Luminescence dating indicates radiocarbon age underestimation in late Pleistocene fluvial deposits from eastern England. Journal of Quaternary Science 24: 916927.Google Scholar
British Geological Survey, 1981. Cambridge Sheet. England and Wales Sheet 188 Solid and Drift Geology. 1: 50,000. British Geological Survey.Google Scholar
Bronk Ramsey, C., 2009. Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates. Radiocarbon 51: 337360.Google Scholar
Burton, R.G.O., 1987. The role of thermokarst in landscape development in Eastern England. In: Boardman, (ed.): Periglacial Processes and Landforms in Britain and Ireland. Cambridge University Press (Cambridge): 203208.Google Scholar
Chandler, M.E.J., 1921. The arctic flora of the Cam Valley at Barnwell, Cambridge. Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society 77: 422.Google Scholar
Clayton, A.R., 1981. The sand and gravel resources of the country between Ely and Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. Mineral Assessment Report 73. Her Majesty's Stationery Office (London), 70 pp.Google Scholar
Coope, G.R., 1968. Coleoptera from the ‘Arctic Bed’ at Barnwell Station, Cambridge. Geological Magazine 105: 482486.Google Scholar
Dixon, A.J., 1980. The sand and gravel resources of the country around Cottenham, Cambridgeshire. Mineral Assessment Report 53. Her Majesty's Stationery Office (London), 118 pp.Google Scholar
Forbes, C.L., 1965. Geology and Groundwater. In: Steers, J.A. (ed.): The Cambridge Region. British Association for the Advancement of Science. Cambridge University Press (Cambridge): 117.Google Scholar
Friday, L.E. & Rowell, T.A., 1997. Patterns and Processes. In: Friday, L.E. (ed.): Wicken Fen: The making of a wetland nature reserve. Harley Books (Colchester): 1122.Google Scholar
Gao, C. & Boreham, S., 2011. Ipswichian (Eemian) floodplain deposits and terrace stratigraphy in the lower Great Ouse and Cam valleys, southern England, UK. Boreas 40: 303319.Google Scholar
Godwin, H. & Willis, E.H., 1964. Cambridge University natural radiocarbon measurements VI. Radiocarbon 6: 116137.Google Scholar
Lambert, C.A., Pearson, R.G. & Sparks, B.W., 1962. A flora and fauna from late Pleistocene deposits at Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge. Proceedings of the Linnean Society London 174: 1330.Google Scholar
Marr, J.E. & Gardner, E.W., 1916. On some deposits containing an Arctic flora in the Pleistocene beds of Barnwell, Cambridge. Geological Magazine 6: 339343.Google Scholar
Matthews, A.M. & Harvey, B.I., 1965. Records of wells in the area of New Series One-Inch (Geological) Huntingdon (187) and Cambridge (188) sheets. Water Supply Papers Geological Survey.Google Scholar
Moorlock, B.S.P, Boreham, S., Woods, M.A. & Sumbler, M.G., 2003. Geology of the Saffron Walden district – a brief explanation of the geological map. Sheet Explanation of the British Geological Survey 1: 50,000 Sheet 205 Saffron Walden (England and Wales). British Geological Survey.Google Scholar
Stace, C., 1991. New flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press (Cambridge), 1250 pp.Google Scholar
Stuiver, M. & Polach, H., 1977. Discussion: reporting of 14C data. Radiocarbon 19: 355363.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van der Plicht, J., 2000. Introduction: The 2000 Radiocarbon Varve/Comparison Issue. Radiocarbon 42: 313322.Google Scholar
Waller, M. & Hall, D., 1991. The Flandrian deposits and archaeology of the southcentral Fens. In: Leslie, S.G., Whiteman, C. & Bridgland, D.R. (eds): Central East Anglia & the Fen Basin. Quaternary Research Association Field Guide. Quaternary Research Association (Cambridge): 2535.Google Scholar
West, R.G., 1991. The origin of Grunty Fen and other landforms in southern Fenland, Cambridgeshire. Geological Magazine 128: 257262.Google Scholar
Worssam, B.C. & Taylor, J.H., 1969. Geology of the country around Cambridge. Memoirs of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, England & Wales. Her Majesty's Stationery Office (London), 159 pp.Google Scholar