Abstract

AbstractA glaciated margin is a continental margin that has been occupied by a large ice mass, such that glacial processes and slope processes conspire to produce a thick sedimentary record. Ice masses take an active role in sculpting, redistributing and reorganizing the sediment that they erode on the continental shelf, and act as a supply route to large fan systems (e.g. trough mouth fans, submarine fans) on the continental slope and continental rise. To many researchers, the term ‘glaciated margin’ is synonymous with modern day areas fringing Antarctica and the Arctic shelf systems, yet the geological record contains ancient examples ranging in age from Precambrian to Cenozoic. In the pre-Pleistocene record, there is a tendency for the configuration of the tectonic plates to become increasingly obscure with age. For instance, in the Neoproterozoic record, not everyone agrees on the location of rift margins and some fundamental continental boundaries remain unclear. Given these issues, this introductory paper has two simple aims: (1) to provide a brief commentary of relevant Geological Society publications on glaciated margins, with the landmark papers highlighted and (2) to explain the contents of this volume.

Highlights

  • Glaciated margins and the Geological Society of London: setting the sceneThe Geological Society of London has a tradition of publishing landmark volumes on what we can describe as ‘glaciated margins science’

  • Twelve years on from Glacimarine Environments: Processes and Sediments (Dowdeswell & Scourse 1990), the Geological Society, London, Special Publication 203 focused on the topic of Glacier-Influenced Sedimentation on HighLatitude Continental Margins (Dowdeswell & Ó Cofaigh 2002)

  • Between Special Publication 203 and the present book, three other volumes have been published by the Geological Society of London pertaining to glaciated margins and shelves

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Summary

Introduction

Glaciated margins and the Geological Society of London: setting the sceneThe Geological Society of London has a tradition of publishing landmark volumes on what we can describe as ‘glaciated margins science’. Twelve years on from Glacimarine Environments: Processes and Sediments (Dowdeswell & Scourse 1990), the Geological Society, London, Special Publication 203 focused on the topic of Glacier-Influenced Sedimentation on HighLatitude Continental Margins (Dowdeswell & Ó Cofaigh 2002).

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