The BGS Lexicon of Named Rock Units — Result Details
Fernieslack Palaeosol Bed
| Computer Code: | FSLCK | Preferred Map Code: | notEntered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Status Code: | Full | ||
| Age range: | Ipswichian Stage (QI) — Ipswichian Stage (QI) | ||
| Lithological Description: | Sandy, clayey, silty sand diamicton, brown. Interpreted as a truncated gleyed brown earth soil profile developed under temperate climate conditions. The truncated palaeosol bed represents the pedogenically modified upper c. 0.80 m of the Rottenhill Till Formation. Pedogenic development is indicated by the following properties: the upper 0.70 m of the deposit has a strong brown colour in contrast to the lower part of the deposit which is yellowish brown. It also displays coarse mottles of yellowish red and greyish brown to brown due to Fe oxide segregation. Mafic igneous and granite clasts have been converted to gruss in situ and clay minerals show alteration from illite to mica-smectite up profile. Disrupted void argillans (evidence of clay translocation and subsequent disruption) and erect pebbles have been recorded in thin section, indicating that the palaeosol has superimposed cold climate soil features. | ||
| Definition of Lower Boundary: | The lower boundary of the palaeosol bed is gradational (over c. 0.10 m) between the pedogenically modified diamicton and the relatively unaltered diamicton of the Rottenhill Till Formation. | ||
| Definition of Upper Boundary: | The upper boundary is a subhorizontal, planar, erosion surface overlain by gravelly sandy diamicton of the Corsend Gelifluctate Bed. The upper horizon of the palaeosol bed (not preserved) was eroded at some point prior to deposition of the gelifluctate. | ||
| Thickness: | To 0.80 m. | ||
| Geographical Limits: | Buchan, northeast Scotland. The palaeosol bed is only known within the immediate vicinity of Kirkhill Quarry (infilled) (centred on NK 0120 5285) and Leys Quarry (disused) (centred on NK 0040 5250) on Sheet 87W (Ellon). | ||
| Parent Unit: | Rottenhill Till Formation (ROTIL) | ||
| Previous Name(s): | Backfolds Palaeosol [Obsolete Name and Code: Use FSLCK]
(-4660)
Kirkhill Upper Buried Soil [Obsolete Name and Code: Use FSLCK] (-4661) Fernieslack Palaeosol Bed (FSLCK) Upper buried soil [Obsolete Name and Code: Use FSLCK] (-2807) Fernieslack Palaeosol Bed (FSLCK) |
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| Alternative Name(s): | none recorded or not applicable | ||
| Stratotypes: | |||
| Type Section | North face of Kirkhill Quarry (infilled), 7 km southeast of Stricken, Buchan, northeast Scotland. Note: The Fernieslack Palaeosol Bed was moderately well developed in all faces of Kirkhill Quarry (infilled), but studied most intensively in the north face. Connell, Hall, and Romans, 1984. | ||
| Reference Section | Northeast face of Leys Quarry (disused), 6.5 km southeast of Stricken, Buchan, northeast Scotland. Note: This reference section is included to demonstrate a site where Rottenhill Till Formation diamicton displays evidence of in situ weathering (in situ mafic and felsic igneous clasts have been converted to gruss), but there is no clear evidence of palaeosol horizon development. Hall and Jarvis, 1993. | ||
| Reference(s): | |||
| Connell, E R and Hall, A M. 2000. Kirkhill and Leys quarries. 65-67 in Merritt, J W, Connell, E R and Bridgland, D R (editors), The Quaternary of the Banffshire Coast and Buchan: Field Guide. (London: Quaternary Research Association.) | |||
| Merritt, J W, Auton, C A, Connell, E R, Hall, A M and Peacock, J D. 2003. The Cainozoic geology and landscape evolution of north-east Scotland. Memoir of the British Geological Survey, Sheets 66E, 67, 76E, 77, 86E, 87W, 87E, 95, 96W, 96E and 97 (Scotland) | |||
| Connell, E R, Edwards, K J and Hall, A M. 1982. Evidence for two pre-Flandrian palaeosols in Buchan, Scotland. Nature, 297, 570-572. | |||
| Connell, E R, Hall, A M and Romans, J C C. 1984. Kirkhill Quarry. 57-81 in Hall, A M (Editor), Buchan Field Guide. (Cambridge: Quaternary Research Association.) | |||
| Connell, E R and Hall, A M. 1987. The periglacial history of Buchan, Scotland. 277-285 in Boardman, J (Editor), Periglacial Processes and Landforms in Britain and Ireland. Periglacial processes in Britain and Ireland. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. | |||
| Hall, A M and Jarvis, J. 1993. Kirkhill. 225-230 in Gordon, J E and Sutherland, D G (editors), Quaternary of Scotland. Geological Conservation Review Series: 6. (London: Chapman and Hall.) | |||
| Merritt, J W, Connell, E R and Bridgland, D R (editors). 2000. The Quaternary of the Banffshire Coast and Buchan; Field Guide. (London: Quaternary Research Association.) | |||
| Hall, A M and Connell, E R. 1991. The glacial deposits of Buchan, northeast Scotland. 129-136 in Ehlers, J, Gibbard, P L and Rose, J (editors), Glacial Deposits in Great Britain and Ireland. (Rotterdam: Balkema.) | |||
| Sutherland, D G. 1999. Scotland. 99-114 in Bowen D Q (Editor), A revised correlation of Quaternary deposits in the British Isles. Special Report of The Geological Society of London, No.23. | |||
| 1:50K maps on which the lithostratigraphical unit is found, and map code used: | |||
| none recorded or not applicable | |||