Quaternary geology of the German North Sea and Western Irish Sea Mud Belt: revised stratigraphies, geotechnical properties, sedimentology and anthropogenic impacts

Simple item page
dc.check.chapterOfThesisChapter 3
dc.check.embargoformatBoth hard copy thesis and e-thesisen
dc.check.opt-outNot applicableen
dc.check.reasonReleasing this thesis would cause substantial prejudice to the commercial interests of the sponsor of the postgraduate researchen
dc.contributor.advisorWheeler, Andrew J.en
dc.contributor.advisorMörz, Tobiasen
dc.contributor.authorCoughlan, Mark J. C.
dc.contributor.funderGeological Survey of Irelanden
dc.contributor.funderMarine Instituteen
dc.contributor.funderGaelectric Developments Ltd, Irelanden
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-09T13:03:54Z
dc.date.issued2015
dc.date.submitted2015
dc.description.abstractThe climatic development of the Mid to Late Quaternary (last 400,000 years) is characterised by fluctuation between glacial and interglacial periods leading to the present interglacial, the Holocene. In comparison to preceding periods it was believed the Holocene represented a time of relative climatic stability. However, recent work has shown that the Holocene can be divided into cooler periods such as the Little Ice Age alternating with time intervals where climatic conditions ameliorated i.e. Medieval Warm Period, Holocene Thermal Optimum and the present Modern Optimum. In addition, the Holocene is recognised as a period with increasing anthropogenic influence on the environment. Onshore records recording glacial/interglacial cycles as well as anthropogenic effects are limited. However, sites of sediment accumulation on the shallow continental shelf offer the potential to reconstruct these events. Such sites include tunnel valleys and low energy, depositional settings. In this study we interrogated the sediment stratigraphy at such sites in the North Sea and Irish Sea using traditional techniques, as well as novel applications of geotechnical data, to reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental record. Within the German North Sea sector a combination of core, seismic and in-situ Cone Penetration Testing (CPT) data was used to identify sedimentary units, place them within a morphological context, relate them to glacial or interglacial periods stratigraphically, and correlate them across the German North Sea. Subsequently, we were able to revise the Mid to Late Quaternary stratigraphy for the North Sea using this new and novel data. Similarly, Holocene environmental changes were investigated within the Irish Sea at a depositional site with active anthropogenic influence. The methods used included analyses on grain-size distribution, foraminifera, gamma spectrometry, AMS 14C and physical core logging. The investigation revealed a strong fluctuating climatic signal early in the areas history before anthropogenic influence affects the record through trawling.en
dc.description.statusNot peer revieweden
dc.description.versionAccepted Version
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationCoughlan, M. J. C. 2015. Quaternary geology of the German North Sea and Western Irish Sea Mud Belt: revised stratigraphies, geotechnical properties, sedimentology and anthropogenic impacts. PhD Thesis, University College Cork.en
dc.identifier.endpage416
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/2045
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherUniversity College Corken
dc.rights© 2014, Mark J. C. Coughlan.en
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/en
dc.subjectIrish Seaen
dc.subjectHoloceneen
dc.subjectGeotechnicsen
dc.subjectGeophysicsen
dc.subjectSedimentologyen
dc.subjectAnthropoceneen
dc.subjectQuaternary geologyen
dc.subjectMarine geologyen
dc.thesis.opt-outfalse
dc.titleQuaternary geology of the German North Sea and Western Irish Sea Mud Belt: revised stratigraphies, geotechnical properties, sedimentology and anthropogenic impactsen
dc.typeDoctoral thesisen
dc.type.qualificationlevelDoctoralen
dc.type.qualificationnamePhD (Science)en
ucc.workflow.supervisora.wheeler@ucc.ie
Files
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
5.62 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Doctoral Theses
Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences - Doctoral Theses
College of Science, Engineering and Food Science - Doctoral Theses