Loch Lomond Stadial Glaciers in the Uig Hills, Western Lewis, Scotland

Abstract

Abstract Geomorphological mapping of the Uig Hills provides evidence for four locally‐nourished valley glaciers with a total area of 11.69 km2. A Loch Lomond Stadial (∼12.9 — 11.5 ka BP) age for this glacial episode is indicated by the radial configuration of reconstructed glaciers, the landform assemblage and the absence of frost‐weathered rock inside its limits. Recessional moraines extend upvalley from former glacier termini, implying that glacier retreat was driven by gradual climatic forcing. The mean equilibrium line altitude (ELA) of the glaciers is calculated as 212 m, consistent with a northwards ELA decrease along the western seaboard of Great Britain of 68.5m/100 km, equivalent to a latitudinal summer temperature gradient of ∼0.41°C/100 km. A mean July sea‐level temperature of ∼7.1°C is inferred for the coldest part of the stade. Average accumulation at the ELA is estimated to have been 2585 ± 200 mm, much of which probably comprised snow blown from adjacent ground.