Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T18:45:55.641Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The geological and geomorphological setting of the Estuary and Firth of Clyde

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2011

W. Graham Jardine
W. Graham Jardine
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland
Get access

Synopsis

In late-Precambrian and early Palaeozoic times, the Clyde Sea Area lay at the junction of a major land mass and the Iapetus Ocean. Closure of the Ocean on its northwestern margin corresponded broadly with initiation of the Highland Boundary and Southern Uplands Faults and formation of southwestnortheast oriented basins of continental sedimentation. Northwest-southeast fractures of the Clyde Belt, along which the Northeast Arran and Southwest Arran troughs of the firth are emplaced, developed across the southwest-northeast Caledonoid grain in Carboniferous-Permian times. The firth and estuary began to assume their distinctive forms in Tertiary times. The area experienced several major glaciations during the Quaternary Period. Late Devensian effects are most distinct: overdeepening of the firth to depths exceeding — 160mOD; deposition of till and meltwater sediments up to 80 m in thickness. Clyde Beds, fossiliferous clays and silty sands up to 15 m in thickness, accumulated c. 13,150–10,000 BP in sub-arctic marine waters in the firth, estuary and Paisley embayment, and in the Lomond basin prior to the Loch Lomond Stadial. The Holocene marine transgression, which produced further modifications in shoreline position, e.g. in Ayrshire, the Paisley embayment and the Lomond basin, was followed by marine regression due to isostatic land rebound.

Type
Research Article
Information
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Section B: Biological Sciences , Volume 90: The Environment of the Estuary and Firth of Clyde , 1986 , pp. 25 - 41
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aspen, P. & Jardine, W. G. 1968. A temporary exposure of Quaternary deposits at Renfrew, near Glasgow. Proceedings of the Geological Society of Glasgow 109, 35–37.Google Scholar
Bishop, W. W. & Coope, G. R. 1977. Stratigraphical and faunal evidence for Lateglacial and Early Flandrian environments in South-West Scotland. In Studies in the Scottish Lateglacial environment, eds. Gray, J. M. & Lowe, J. J., pp. 61–88. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Bluck, B. J. 1980. Evolution of a strike-slip fault-controlled basin, Upper Old Red Sandstone, Scotland. Special Publications of the International Association of Sedimentologists 4, 63–78.Google Scholar
Bluck, B. J. 1983. Role of the Midland Valley of Scotland in the Caledonian orogeny. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 74, 119–136.Google Scholar
Bluck, B. J. 1984. Pre-Carboniferous history of the Midland Valley of Scotland. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences 75, 275–295.Google Scholar
Bluck, B. J. 1985. The Scottish paratectonic Caledonides. Scottish Journal of Geology 21, 437–464.Google Scholar
Boyd, W. E. 1982a. The stratigraphy and chronology of Late Quaternary raised coastal deposits in Renfrewshire and Ayrshire, western Scotland Ph.D. thesis, University of Glasgow.Google Scholar
Boyd, W. E. 1982b. Archaeological implications of a new palaeoenvironmental model for part of the Ayrshire coast. Glasgow Archaeological Journal 9, 15–17.Google Scholar
Brett, D. W. & Norton, T. A. 1969. Late glacial marine algae from Greenock and Renfrew. Scottish Journal of Geology 5, 42–48.Google Scholar
Browne, M. A. E. & Graham, D. K. 1981. Glaciomarine deposits of the Loch Lomond Stade glacier in the Vale of Leven between Dumbarton and Balloch, west-central Scotland. Quaternary Newsletter 34, 1–7.Google Scholar
Browne, M. A. E. & McMillan, A. A. 1984. Shoreline inheritance and coastal history in the Firth of Clyde. Scottish Journal of Geology 20, 119–120.Google Scholar
Browne, M. A. E., Harkness, D. D., Peacock, J. D. & Ward, R. G. 1977. The date of deglaciation of the Paisley- Renfrew area. Scottish Journal of Geology 13, 301–303.Google Scholar
Browne, M. A. E., McMillan, A. A. & Graham, D. K. 1983. A late-Devensian marine and non-marine sequence near Dumbarton, Strathclyde. Scottish Journal of Geology 19, 229–234.Google Scholar
Cameron, I. B., Forsyth, I. H., Hall, I. H. S. & Peacock, J. D. 1977. The sand and gravel resources of the Strathclyde Region of Scotland. Report of the British Geological Survey No. 77/8.Google Scholar
Dawson, A. G. 1980. Shore erosion by frost: an example from the Scottish Lateglacial. In Studies in the Lateglacial of North-West Europe, eds. Lowe, J. J., Gray, J. M. & Robinson, J. E., pp. 45–53. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Deegan, C. E., Kirby, R., Rae, I. & Floyd, R. 1973. The superficial deposits of the Firth of Clyde and its sea lochs. Report of the British Geological Survey No. 73/9.Google Scholar
Dickson, J. H., Stewart, D. A., Thompson, R., Turner, G., Baxter, M. S., Drndarsky, N. D. & Rose, J. 1978. Palynology, palaeomagnetism and radiometric dating of Flandrian marine and freshwater sediments in Loch Lomond. Nature, London 274, 548–553.Google Scholar
Francis, E. H. 1983. Carboniferous. In Geology of Scotland, 2nd edn, ed. Craig, G. Y., Chap. 9, pp. 253–296. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.Google Scholar
Gemmell, A. M. D. 1973. The deglaciation of the Island of Arran. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 59, 25–39.Google Scholar
George, T. N. 1955. British Tertiary landscape evolution. Science Progress 43, 291–307.Google Scholar
George, T. N. 1960. The stratigraphical evolution of the Midland Valley. Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow 24, 32–107.Google Scholar
George, T. N. 1966. Geomorphic evolution in Hebridean Scotland. Scottish Journal of Geology 2, 1–34.Google Scholar
George, T. N. 1974. Prologue to a geomorphology of Britain. Institute of British Geographers, Special Publication 7, 113–125.Google Scholar
Goodlet, G. A. 1970. Sands and gravels of the southern counties of Scotland. Report of the British Geological Survey No. 70/4.Google Scholar
Graham, D. K. & Wilkinson, I. P. 1978. A detailed investigation of a late-Glacial faunal succession at Ardyne, Argyll, Scotland. Report of the British Geological Survey No. 78/5.Google Scholar
Gray, J. M. 1978. Low-level shore platforms in the south-west Scottish Highlands: altitude, age and correlation. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series 3, 151–164.Google Scholar
Gray, J. M. 1985. Glacio-isostatic shoreline development in Scotland: an overview. Occasional Paper No. 24, Department of Geography and Earth Science, Queen Mary College, University of London.Google Scholar
Harris, A. L. 1983. The growth and structure of Scotland. In Geology of Scotland, 2nd edn, ed. Craig, G. Y., Chap. 1, pp. 1–22. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.Google Scholar
Jardine, W. G. 1962. Post-glacial sediments at Girvan, Ayrshire. Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow 24, 262–278.Google Scholar
Jardine, W. G. 1963. Pleistocene sediments at Girvan, Ayrshire. Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow 25,4–16.Google Scholar
Jardine, W. G. 1971. Form and age of Late Quaternary shore-lines and coastal deposits of south-west Scotland: critical data. Quaternaria 14, 103–114.Google Scholar
Jardine, W. G. 1975. Chronology of Holocene marine transgression and regression in south-western Scotland. Boreas 4, 173–196.Google Scholar
Jardine, W. G. 1977. The Quaternary marine record in southwest Scotland and the Scottish Hebrides. In The Quaternary history of the Irish Sea, eds. Kidson, C. & Tooley, M. J., pp. 99–118. Liverpool: Seel House Press.Google Scholar
Jardine, W. G. (ed.) 1980. Glasgow Region: Field Guide. Glasgow: Quaternary Research Association.Google Scholar
Jessen, A. 1905. On the shell-bearing clay in Kintyre. Transactions of Edinburgh Geological Society 8, 76–86.Google Scholar
Lambert, R. St.J. & McKerrow, W. S. 1976. The Grampian orogeny. Scottish Journal of Geology 12, 271–292.Google Scholar
Leggett, J. K., McKerrow, W. S. & Soper, N. J. 1983. A model for the crustal evolution of southern Scotland. Tectonics 2, 187–210.Google Scholar
Linton, D. L. 1951a. Watershed breaching by ice in Scotland. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 15, 1–16.Google Scholar
Linton, D. L. 1951b. Problems of Scottish scenery. Scottish Geographical Magazine 67, 65–85.Google Scholar
MacDonald, J. G. & Herriot, A. (eds.) 1983. Macgregor's excursion guide to the geology of Arran, 3rd edn. Glasgow: Geological Society of Glasgow.Google Scholar
Macgregor, M. 1941. The Leven valley, Dumbartonshire. Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow 20, 121–135.Google Scholar
McLean, A. C. 1978. Evolution of fault-controlled ensialic basins in northwestern Britain. In Crustal evolution in northwestern Britain and adjacent regions, eds. Bowes, D. R. & Leake, B. E., pp. 325–346. Liverpool: Seel House Press.Google Scholar
McLean, A. C. & Deegan, C. E. (eds.) 1978. The solid geology of the Clyde Sheet (55°N/6°W). Report of the British Geological Survey No. 78/9.Google Scholar
Menzies, J. 1981. Investigations into the Quaternary deposits and bedrock topography of central Glasgow. Scottish Journal of Geology 17, 155–168.Google Scholar
Peacock, J. D. 1971. Marine shell radiocarbon dates and the chronology of deglaciation in western Scotland. Nature Physical Science 230, 43–45.Google Scholar
Peacock, J. D. 1975. Scottish late and post-glacial marine deposits. In Quaternary studies in North East Scotland, ed. Gemmell, A. M. D., pp. 45–48. Aberdeen: University of Aberdeen.Google Scholar
Peacock, J. D. 1981. Scottish late-glacial marine deposits and their environmental significance. In The Quaternary in Britain, eds. Neale, J. & Flenley, J., pp. 222–236. Oxford: Pergamon Press.Google Scholar
Peacock, J. D. 1983. A model for Scottish interstadial marine palaeotemperature 13.000 to 11,000 B.P. Boreas 12, 73–82.Google Scholar
Peacock, J. D., Graham, D. K. & Wilkinson, I. P. 1978. Late-Glacial and post-Glacial marine environments at Ardyne, Scotland, and their significance in the interpretation of the history of the Clyde sea area. Report of the British Geological Survey No. 78/17.Google Scholar
Price, R. J. (ed.) 1977. X INQUA Congress Excursion Guides: A12, Western Scotland I. Norwich: Geo Abstracts Ltd.Google Scholar
Price, R. J. 1980. Geomorphological implications of environmental changes during the last 30,000 years in Central Scotland. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie, Suppl. Bd. 36, 74–83.Google Scholar
Price, R. J. 1983. Scotland's environment during the last 30,000 years. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.Google Scholar
Rose, J. 1975. Raised beach gravels and ice wedge casts at Old Kilpatrick, near Glasgow. Scottish Journal of Geology 11, 15–21.Google Scholar
Rose, J. 1981. Field guide to the Quaternary geology of the south-eastern part of the Loch Lomond basin. Proceedings of the Geological Society of Glasgow Sessions 122/123, 12–28.Google Scholar
Sissons, J. B. 1974a. The Quaternary in Scotland: a review. Scottish Journal of Geology 10, 311–337.Google Scholar
Sissons, J. B. 1974b. Late-glacial marine erosion in Scotland. Boreas 3, 41–48.Google Scholar
Sissons, J. B. 1976. The Geomorphology of the British Isles: Scotland. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Sissons, J. B. 1983a. Quaternary. In Geology of Scotland, 2nd edn, ed. Craig, G. Y., Chap. 14, pp. 399–424. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press.Google Scholar
Sissons, J. B. 1983b. The Quaternary geomorphology of the Inner Hebrides: a review and reassessment. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association 94, 165–175.Google Scholar
Sutherland, D. G. 1981. The high-level marine shell beds of Scotland and the build-up of the last Scottish ice sheet. Boreas 10, 247–254.Google Scholar
Sutherland, D. G. 1984. The Quaternary deposits and landforms of Scotland and the neighbouring shelves: a review. Quaternary Science Reviews 3, 157–254.Google Scholar
Tyrrell, G. W. 1928. The Geology of Arran. Memoir of the Geological Survey of Scotland. Edinburgh: H.M.S.O.Google Scholar
Yardley, B. W. D., Vine, F. J. & Baldwin, C. T. 1982. The plate tectonic setting of NW Britain and Ireland in late Cambrian and early Ordovician times. Journal of the Geological Society of London 139, 455–463.Google Scholar