Loch Lomond Research Articles

An investigation into the morphological variation and ecological-environmental range of Cyphoderia compressa: A case study of Scottish material

Cyphoderia compressa has only been described from supralittoral environments, as a psammobiont, with salinities from 1.33 to 36.00 ‰. Other Cyphoderia species such as those in the C. ampulla species complex are more ecologically and environmentally widespread, occurring as free-living individuals within water bodies or in association with vegetation, and over a wider salinity range, including freshwater. We postulate that C. compressa may not be as restricted in terms of its environmental or ecological distribution. To this end, we examined a variety of water and sediment samples from Scottish localities, ranging from supralittoral to inland freshwater environments. The Scottish material occurs as a psammobiont within supralittoral beach sands and is newly recorded within sands from freshwater to brackish stream sections and along the margin of the freshwater Loch Lomond. It is also recorded from freshwater to brackish settings as part of the stream and pond water biota, associated biofilm and vegetative material. Test morphology is more variable than previously appreciated, including those with a papillate fundus, and many that are not as laterally compressed as typified by the species. Differences in plate morphology and size were also noted, as well as a novel arcuate cross-cutting ridged cement structure, that is restricted to C. compressa.

South Cuidrach

A new site in north Skye has revealed evidence of human occupation from the Late Upper Palaeolithic as well as the Early and Late Mesolithic periods, suggesting repeated visits by humans for at least 5,000 years from the Late Glacial Interstadial through the Loch Lomond Readvance and up to the mid-Holocene, a time of dynamic climatic and sea-level change. South Cuidrach is one of several sites in the north of the Isle of Skye and around the Inner Sound with lithic (stone tool) evidence diagnostic of a human presence before the mid-Holocene. These sites currently represent a unique concentration of pre-Late Mesolithic sites in Scotland. The lithic evidence which forms the backbone of the cultural and temporal characterisation of the site at South Cuidrach is outlined here. This includes characteristic points and microliths, burins, cores and other items diagnostic of specific cultural groups. Additionally, it has become evident that Rum bloodstone, a raw material well known from the Late Mesolithic period in the region, may be absent before the Early/Late Mesolithic transition, with baked mudstone from Staffin in North Skye being the primary raw material used before this time. The need for detailed knowledge of the region’s lithic technology and typology is well illustrated here, as small details frequently reflect important chronological differences.

An Early Iron Age Roundhouse at Gartness Road, Drymen, Stirling

An archaeological excavation at Gartness Road Drymen, undertaken by Headland Archaeology (UK) Ltd in 2020, revealed the remains of an early Iron Age roundhouse and a small collection of pits. The remains exhibited a high level of truncation, which obscured the potentially complex nature of the structure. The site was located on the south-eastern edge of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, an area which sits on the traditional highland to lowland boundary. This unique location and early date for the structure provided an opportunity to explore construction styles, potentially contemporary activity and its relationship to surrounding structures.

Talus rock glaciers in the Cairngorm Mountains

ABSTRACT Although several relict talus rock glaciers (TRGs) of Lateglacial age have been identified in the British Isles, all have been refuted by some authors and their absence attributed to the lack of permafrost. The evidence provided by palaeoclimatic reconstructions and periglacial features, however, implies that Lateglacial permafrost was present throughout Scotland during the Loch Lomond Stade (LLS; ∼12.9–11.7 ka). Across much of the Scottish Highlands, the absence of Lateglacial TRGs is attributable to occupation of potential sites by glaciers during the LLS. In the Cairngorms, however, where limited snowfall at that time left some corries glacier-free, there is convincing evidence for TRG formation. Three examples illustrating different degrees of TRG development are described; all occur at high-level (>840 m) sites that remained glacier-free during the LLS, and all lack plausible alternative explanations. The apparent scarcity of relict TRGs even in the Cairngorms may reflect the development of ‘cold’ permafrost and/or a lengthy time lag between permafrost development and the accumulation of a sufficient volume and thickness of ground ice to permit permafrost creep and deformation of an overlying mantle of bouldery debris. In consequence, relict TRGs may occur only at favourable high-level sites where permafrost developed earliest.

Modular by necessity – Bracklinn Falls footbridge

Bracklinn Falls is situated in a gorge surrounded by ancient woodland within the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. The park authority required a replacement footbridge to cross the gorge and to provide views of the falls. However, access for construction plant and materials was extremely difficult, with the sole access by way of a steep and sharp-cornered path. The construction and access constraints drove the development of a new modular system and governed the structural and aesthetic design for the new footbridge. The resulting structure consists of perforated panels, formed from single sheets of weathering steel folded into a z-shape. These panels were bolted to cross-frames and assembled to create a half-through beam that spans 21.4 m. The scheme achieved an A+ rating under the ‘structural carbon for bridges’ (SCORBs) system (Archer and Green, 2021). The structure was assembled bay by bay and push launched along a set of temporary rails, then jacked onto the permanent bearings. By using a folding process, the modular system minimised welding and hence fabrication time. The system is in the process of being developed for repeated use at other locations, and forms an attractive ‘flat-packed’ modular alternative for difficult to access locations.

Patterns of glacio‐isostatic adjustment in mainland Scotland: new data from western central Scotland, proximal to the zone of maximum rebound

The results of geomorphological mapping and survey of Lateglacial and Holocene displaced shorelines in the Clyde estuary and around Loch Lomond, western central Scotland are described. On the basis of morphology, sedimentology, altitude and radiocarbon dating, four discrete shorelines are identified and are correlated with previously identified Scottish displaced shorelines. The shoreline formerly referred to as the Main Postglacial Shoreline is renamed the Menteith Shoreline. This body of data, combined with data on displaced shorelines for Scotland as a whole has been analysed using Gaussian quadratic trend surface analysis in order to determine the centre of glacio‐isostatic displacement for each shoreline. These Gaussian models of palaeo‐relative sea‐level suggest that the zone of greatest displacement lay NNW of Loch Lomond in the Lateglacial then moved SSE to the region of Loch Lomond during the Holocene and the Clyde in the Late Holocene. The factors responsible for the movement of the zone of greatest uplift are discussed, including temporal variations in the ice‐sheet thickness, variations in water load in the adjacent sea‐lochs and neotectonic processes. Comparison is made with glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) models. A sensitivity analysis has been carried out on the use of Gaussian trend surface analysis glacio‐isostatic modelling and this is included in the research evaluation, and reported in full in the Supporting Information files, along with the raw data used throughout this study.

Geographies of landscape aesthetics: mapping landscape terminology in digitised historical travel accounts of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs

ABSTRACT This study spatially analyses aesthetic terms in historical travel accounts of the landscapes of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. We applied a hybrid approach, combining qualitative methods of textual analysis with quantitative techniques of a Geographical Information System (GIS), to a corpus of 38 digitised works featuring a range of historic guidebooks and travelogues. To identify relationships between place names, landscape features and the aesthetic terms beautiful, magnificent, picturesque, romantic and sublime, we first analysed how these terms occurred together in the text. We also used digital terrain model data in GIS to explore relationships between the aesthetic terms and the elevation of place names and landscape features. The results provide evidence that the aesthetic terms magnificent and sublime were applied to describe places and landforms at higher elevations, whilst beautiful, picturesque and romantic were applied to lower-lying regions of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs landscapes. Our findings illustrate how the cartographic capabilities of GIS, combined with text analysis, can shed light on how landscapes were historically represented in travel literature.

Late Devensian to Holocene environmental change, Loch Lomond, UK: A seismic sedimentary record of deglaciation, paraglacial and postglacial landscape evolution

We present an interpretation of two-dimensional sub-bottom profiling data from Loch Lomond, Scotland, UK. Sediments deposited during and following the last glacier advance have been investigated for decades around the shores of Loch Lomond. For the first time, this study presents an interpretation of the subsurface providing a window into the late Quaternary and Holocene history of Loch Lomond and its surrounding. The seismic stratigraphy records the infill of the loch during the final stages of the Loch Lomond Stadial (LLS, 12.9–11.7 ka BP), through the Holocene and into the present day. Results reveal the presence of distinct seismic facies (SF) identifying four principal seismic horizons; SF-I, SF-II, SF-III, and SF-IV. The SF-I horizon represents the glaciated surface, interpreted as subglacial till (locally forming drumlins), glacial moraines or bedrock. Ice retreat was accompanied by glaciolacustrine sedimentation in a proglacial lake setting, depositing up to 44 m of laminated sediments and ice marginal fans (SF-IIa, b). A period of landscape instability followed with extensive deposition of mass transport deposits (SF-III). These deposits, characterised by chaotic seismic facies with an erosional basal surface, are up to 43 m thick and may represent up to 50 % of the sediment fill. SF-IV comprises finely laminated sediments deposited during the Holocene and highlights slower sedimentation rates in comparison to earlier phases of sedimentation. This study reveals new insights into the deglaciation of Loch Lomond, including previously unrecognised extensive mass transport deposits buried in the subsurface, associated with a period of paraglacial adjustment.

Cosmogenic (10Be) surface-exposure ages from the Burtness Comb rock avalanche, Lake District, northwest England

The age of the lower component of the Burtness Comb rock avalanche debris tongue, Lake District, northwest England, has been determined by in situ produced terrestrial cosmogenic (10Be) surface-exposure dating of quartz veins from three boulders. Uncertainty-weighted mean ages of 17.37 ± 0.94 ka (determined using the Loch Lomond calibration dataset) and 16.08 ± 1.25 ka (determined using the CRONUS-Earth default calibration dataset) indicate that this component of the rock avalanche occurred during deglaciation following the local Last Glacial Maximum. The surface morphology displayed by the debris indicates it likely accumulated on glacier-free terrain, suggesting that the Burtness Comb cirque glacier had decoupled from the Buttermere valley glacier at the time of debris emplacement. The debris may have travelled across the surface of a waning glacier in the upper part of the cirque. Although the upper component of the rock avalanche is as yet undated its position and configuration indicate it to be younger than the lower component and sourced from a different part of the comb headwall. The rock avalanche is only the third of 84 rock slope failures recognised in the Lake District and adjacent Howgill Fells to have been dated using 10Be. Whilst the rock avalanche is regarded as a paraglacial landform, additional ages on other members of this population are required in order to establish their temporal pattern and to propose the most probable underlying cause(s) of failure.

Rapid erosion along Holderness coast of East Yorkshire, UK and rising eustatic sea levels driven by climate change

Following the end of the last ice age, decelerating global post‐glacial sea level rises submerged the southern North Sea, and along this coast, 63 km of soft glacial deposits are still being rapidly washed away. The collapse of the massive ice sheets covering Britain, Ireland and Fennoscandia was a complex process, with warming after 14.7 ka. Limited glaciation then returned during the Loch Lomond Stadial at the end of the Pleistocene, Doggerland, connecting Britain with the continent, was slowly immersed, becoming a shrinking island which was rapidly submerged after 8 ka. This coincided with the Storegga tsunami which hit what remained of Doggerland’s shores and along the coasts of Scotland and Northumberland. Since then, the sea has risen by around 27.5 m. Now it is clear eustatic increases in global sea levels are starting to accelerate once again, we must start adjusting to this reality in the way we manage our coastal infrastructure and try to understand more about how this interacts with naturally dynamic shorelines.

Subaqueous landslides associated with historical road improvements in steep glaciated terrain, Loch Lomond, western Scotland

Shorelines in steep glaciated terrain are focal points for development and can provide important natural corridors for transport (e.g. road, rail). However, the steep subaqueous slopes at nearshore sites present challenging ground conditions, and only in recent decades has the acquisition of continuous high-resolution bathymetric datasets become available to inform investigations. This study investigates a site in Loch Lomond, Scotland, where a reported displacement of 15 000 m 3 of rock fill occurred prior to completion and stabilization of an embankment for the A82 road, during improvement work undertaken in the 1980s. We revisit the area using new multibeam swath bathymetry, shallow sub-bottom seismic data and geomorphological mapping, as well as borehole logs from the original ground investigation. The bathymetric and seismic data provide strong evidence for older subaqueous landslide activity at the site. The data indicate that embankment construction was also associated with occurrence of subaqueous landslides, incorporating a total volume of up to 95 000 m 3 . The research demonstrates the value of nearshore geophysical datasets in steep glaciated terrain, both for understanding geomorphological response to past shoreline modifications and as part of investigations where future developments (e.g. transport, energy infrastructure) are planned.

George Montagu (1753–1815): travels in Scotland and his Scottish bird specimens

George Montagu (1753–1815) is remembered particularly for his Ornithological dictionary (1802), Testacea Britannica (1803) and his Supplement to the Ornithological dictionary (1813), the works which helped establish his reputation as an astute and competent naturalist. His studies were mainly carried out in southern England, particularly in Wiltshire and Devon, but he travelled widely in Britain and Ireland during his military career. Montagu himself recorded that he had been at Dumbarton, Inverness, Loch Lomond and Mull, but his activities in Scotland in the early 1770s and early 1780s are otherwise not well recorded, there being no dates attached to his observations or specimens. An examination of the 15th Regiment of Foot’s muster rolls has shed some light upon his movements and helps clarify certain aspects of his life, including his elopement. Montagu’s Scottish bird specimens, whether he shot them himself or acquired them from other sources, are of special significance as they are amongst the oldest held in the Natural History Museum at Tring.

Annual numbers of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and anadromous brown sea trout (S. trutta) leaping at the Pots of Gartness, Loch Lomond, Scotland

Annual numbers of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and anadromous brown sea trout (S. trutta) leaping at the Pots of Gartness, Loch Lomond, Scotland

Seeing Inversnaid: Gerard Manley Hopkins, "Inversnaid," and the Ecological Eye

Seeing Inversnaid:Gerard Manley Hopkins, "Inversnaid," and the Ecological Eye Kate Flint (bio) inversnaid This darksome burn, horseback brown,His rollrock highroad roaring down,In coop and in comb the fleece of his foamFlutes and low to the lake falls home. A windpuff-bonnet of fáwn-fróth 5Turns and twindles over the brothOf a pool so pitchblack, féll-frówning,It rounds and rounds Despair to drowning. Degged with dew, dappled with dewAre the groins of the braes that the brook treads through, 10Wiry heathpacks, flitches of fern,And the beadbonny ash that sits over the burn. What would the world be, once bereftOf wet and of wildness? Let them be left,O let them be left, wildness and wet; 15Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet.1 What did Gerard Manley Hopkins see on September 28, 1881? On this Wednesday, he made a day trip from Glasgow, taking a steamer up Loch Lomond to the small settlement of Inversnaid. He might have hoped for better weather: as he wrote some six years later in a letter to a friend from his Oxford days, Mow-bray Baillie, "The day was dark and partly hid the lake, yet it did not altogether disfigure it but gave a pensive or solemn beauty which left a deep impression on me."2 Hopkins spent just a couple of hours there, walking up the [End Page 437] road at the side of Arklet Water, which descends into the loch at this point. The poem seems to have been written on the spot. As well as asking what Hopkins saw, it may be more apt to ask how he saw. How had his habits of looking been formed? What might the relationship be between his early practice as a sketcher and the closely observed detail of the poem's first three stanzas? What images of Inversnaid—and of this area of the Scottish Highlands more generally—might he already have formed, and carried with him, in his mind's eye? And since, as Robert Bernard Martin puts it in his definitive biography of Hopkins, the last quatrain of Hopkins's qua-tern "has become in our own day something of a manifesto for the forces of conservation," I shall consider whether this poetic manifesto may have become too familiar.3 But its omnipresence as poetic homage to the importance of wildness deserves further exploration, leading us to ask about the particular type of wildness that is being invoked here and how it is being both evoked and tamed in poetic form. Finally, how might we reanimate Hopkins's call for ecological awareness by reading it alongside contemporary visual art that, rather than seeing the landscape of the Scottish Highlands as something grand and timeless, addresses its precarity and fragility? ________ As Hopkins alighted from the steamer, he would have seen on his right the waterfall made by Arklet Water plunging into the loch. Before setting out on his walk, however, he would have been part of the crowd of tourists heading up from the pier toward the Inversnaid Hotel. Originally built as a hunting lodge by the Duke of Montrose in 1820, the building had rapidly been converted into a hotel, as tourism started to take off in this relatively accessible region of the Highlands. An 1880s trade card brings home the proximity of pier, hotel, and falls (see Fig. 1). Those of his fellow travelers who just wanted a view of the impressive drop of water would have made a sharp right-hand turn, which led to the flat, single-span bridge over the Arklet that featured in numerous late nineteenth-century commercial photographs and stereographs of the area (see Fig. 2). A pathway leads from the falls along the shore of Loch Lomond. But Hopkins would seem to have looped around the back of the hotel and to have followed the old garrison road that closely hugs the bank of the Arklet, although it is hard to tell how much of the rushing water would have been visible through the trees. Norman White, in his biography of Hopkins, describes the landscape of "Inversnaid...

A SNP marker to discriminate the european brook lamprey (Lampetra planeri), river lamprey (L. fluviatilis) and their hybrids.

The European River lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis and the brook lamprey L. planeri are two closely related species that are also considered as partially reproductively isolated ecotypes. At the larval stage, they cannot be distinguished morphologically or genetically by mitochondrial DNA. We aimed at developing a molecular tool to identify early life stages of L. fluviatilis and L. planeri. We first identified Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) markers with distinct alleles between L. fluviatilis and L. planeri based on RADseq data from 186 individuals collected in France. Then, we developed a quantitative PCR protocol to genotype a species-specific SNP, which was tested on 270 samples including larvae and adults from both species and 17 sites from Western Europe. Results were consistent with morphological identification in all cases except for samples from the Rhône drainage and the Loch Lomond in Scotland. This marker allows the identification of larval stages of L. fluviatilis, L. planeri as well as hybrids. The two cases where the marker was not diagnostic might be explained by an isolated and distinct L. planeri lineage in the Rhône drainage, and high levels of admixture among L. fluviatilis, L. planeri and the lake-parasitic form in Loch Lomond.

Recognising geodiversity and encouraging geoconservation—Some lessons from Callander, Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Scotland

In the past decade progress has been made recognising the contribution that geodiversity makes to biodiversity and society. Scotland's Geodiversity Charter, launched in 2012 and revised in 2017, has attracted the support of almost 100 organisations and encourages signatories to work together to recognise the value of geodiversity and ensure it is managed appropriately and safeguarded. The case study presented here highlights that while there is a real desire to protect sites that are scientifically valuable, significant challenges exist to balance this with societal demand for resources and development. There are also challenges for geoscientists and geoconservation groups to communicate effectively with planning authorities and local communities. The case study also sheds light on the problems associated with the systems of designating geosites of national and regional importance, the maintenance of these systems, and how the value of these sites is conveyed beyond the scientific community. Scotland's Geodiversity Charter offers a framework that stakeholders can use to work in partnership to increase awareness of the issues and help achieve the sustainable management of geosites. Case studies such as Callander provide lessons and solutions to overcome the challenges that arise and highlight the need for the participation of both national and local stakeholders.

Ice‐sheet deglaciation and Loch Lomond Readvance in the eastern Cairngorms: implications of a Lateglacial sediment record from Glen Builg

We present new lithostratigraphic, pollen-stratigraphic and tephrochronological data obtained from a sediment sequence in a small lake basin in Glen Builg, eastern Cairngorms, with mapping of the surrounding glacial geomorphological features. The collective evidence indicates that basin organic sediment accumulation started during the Windermere Interstadial at ~14.3 ka. The new results reaffirm the conclusions of Clapperton et al. (1975), that any occupation of the eastern Cairngorms by Loch Lomond (‘Younger Dryas’) Stadial glacier ice was spatially restricted. The record also suggests that harsh climatic conditions prevailed throughout the Windermere Interstadial, probably due to the relatively high altitude of the site (~460 m) and its proximity to major Cairngorm peaks. Our new, more comprehensive study provides a robust chronology, and reveals several palaeoenvironmental signals congruent with other recently reported Scottish Highlands records. Key similarities with regional records are: (i) a short climatic reversal corresponding to GI-1d in the Greenland stratotype sequence; (ii) a two-phased Loch Lomond Stadial, with a transition around the Vedde Ash, dating to ~12.1 ka; and (iii) a delayed response to Early Holocene climatic warming of ~250 years, before soils were sufficiently stabilised to permit shrub vegetation establishment.

Adder swimming across Loch Lomond, Scotland

Adder swimming across Loch Lomond, Scotland

Scientific study in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs area, Scotland

The natural environment of the Loch Lomondside area, Scotland is exceptionally well-studied. Here we describe a project to catalogue publications that describe these studies, and to form a living database of references. We recorded 1,436 references from the mainstream scientific literature and reports from the “grey literature”. The taxonomic groups and habitats studied were highly skewed. Faunal studies were considerably commoner than those of flora; studies on vertebrate species were commoner than those on invertebrate species; fish and birds were more commonly studied than other vertebrate groups. Reports of studies on terrestrial ecosystems were more frequent than those on aquatic systems. Amongst freshwater species, some groups were very poorly represented (e.g. Rotifera, Hydracarina, Diptera, Nematoda, Microturbellaria and Tardigrada). Many studies have made very significant contributions to understanding the mechanisms that operate in the natural environment. The underlying reasons for the important contributions that the Loch Lomondside area has made to natural science are discussed.

Comments on "A revised chronology for the growth and demise of Loch Lomond Readvance ("Younger Dryas") ice lobes in the Lochaber area, Scotland" by A.P. Palmer, I.P. Matthews, J.J. Lowe, A. MacLeod, R. Grant. Quaternary Science Reviews 248 (2020) Article 106548

Geomorphological field evidence is used as a basis to provide a critique of the reinterpretation of ice build-up during the Loch Lomond Stadial (Younger Dryas) in the Glen Roy - Glean Spean area, Lochaber, Scotland.