Tunnel valleys and terminal glacial systems: an integrated study approach of complex sedimentary environments

Abstract

The complexity of the glacial environment and its deposits is guided by the large temporal and spatial variability of depositional and erosional processes underneath and around the ice-sheets. Understanding the mechanisms that link ice-sheets' behaviour to the onset and evolution of glaciations depends on the awareness of this complexity. Specifically, this study improves the understanding on the spatial variability of depositional environments in glaciogenic settings. It uses a multi-methodological and integrated approach mostly based on geomorphological, stratigraphical and sedimentary compositional investigations applied to glaciogenic deposits. Two case studies are investigated: 1) the peculiar backsets-filling of the Middle Pleistocene tunnel valleys of the Southern North Sea, and 2) the glacial-influenced marine deposits of the Late Ordovician glaciation in Northern Morocco.