Glacial/post-glacial deposits at Reiss Beach with a peat layer on top, recently uncovered by storm waves.
Glacial/post-glacial deposits at Reiss Beach with a peat layer on top, recently uncovered by storm waves. The peat layer sits between the base of the sand dunes and above the glacial/post-glacial grey silt-like deposits recently uncovered by storm waves. From the thickness of the peat, using the general rule that 1 mm of peat is deposited per year there is approximately 200 years growth, before it was covered by the dunes. The weight of the dunes may have compressed the peat layer, making it greater than 200 years growth. Peat is formed when the rate of growth exceeds the rate of decomposition of plant matter. The layers below the peat were under the surface of the sea until the uplift of land began after the last Ice Age finished( approximately 18,000 years ago) called isostatic adjustment, as the land was relieved of the weight of the massive ice sheets. This uplift is also evident by raised beaches around the coast of Caithness, well above the current sea level.
Glacial/post-glacial deposits at Reiss Beach with a peat layer on top, recently uncovered by storm waves.
Glacial/post-glacial deposits at Reiss Beach with a peat layer on top, recently uncovered by storm waves. The peat layer sits between the base of the sand dunes and above the glacial/post-glacial grey silt-like deposits recently uncovered by storm waves. From the thickness of the peat, using the general rule that 1 mm of peat is deposited per year there is approximately 200 years growth, before it was covered by the dunes. The weight of the dunes may have compressed the peat layer, making it greater than 200 years growth. Peat is formed when the rate of growth exceeds the rate of decomposition of plant matter. The layers below the peat were under the surface of the sea until the uplift of land began after the last Ice Age finished( approximately 18,000 years ago) called isostatic adjustment, as the land was relieved of the weight of the massive ice sheets. This uplift is also evident by raised beaches around the coast of Caithness, well above the current sea level.