Evolution of large roches moutonnees

D. E. Sugden, N. Glasser, C. M. Clapperton

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

81 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We develop an empirically-based model of the evolution of large roches moutonnees, based on features in eastern Scotland with lee side cliffs up to 160 m high. Block removal by ice begins some way down the lee slope of a hill or spur at a point where cavities start to form at the ice/rock interface. With time, block removal produces a cliff which retreats upglacier, producing a characteristic staircase morphology to the cliff in response to limiting crack length and the presence of pre-existing joints in the rock. The link between plucking and subglacial meltwater help to explain the distribution of roches moutonnees along the axis of the Dee valley, the location of a major ice stream within the former Scottish ice sheet. A narrow ice-marginal zone of plucking may migrate across the landscape as ice sheets wax and wane. -from Authors

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)253-264
Number of pages12
JournalGeografiska Annaler, Series A
Volume74 A
Issue number2-3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1992

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