Geomorphological and seismostratigraphic evidence for multidirectional polyphase glaciation of the northern Celtic Sea

High‐resolution seismic and bathymetric data offshore southeast Ireland and LIDaR data in CountyWaterford are presented that partially overlap previous studies. The observed Quaternary stratigraphic successionoffshore southeast Ireland (between Dungarvan and Kilmore Quay) records a sequence of depositional and erosionalevents that supports regional glacial models derived from nearby coastal sediment stratigraphies and landforms. Aregionally widespread, acoustically massive facies interpreted as the‘Irish Sea Till’infills an uneven, channelizedbedrock surface overlying irregular mounds and deposits in bedrock lows that are probably earlier Pleistocenediamicts. The till is truncated and overlain by a thin, stratified facies, suggesting the development of a regionalpalaeolake following ice recession of the Irish Sea Ice Stream. A north–south oriented seabed ridge to the north is interpreted as an esker, representing southward flowing subglacial drainage associated with a restricted ice sheet advance of the Irish Ice Sheet onto the Celtic Sea shelf. Onshore topographic data reveal streamlined bedforms that corroborate a southerly advance of ice onto the shelf across County Waterford. The combined evidence supports previous palaeo glaciological models. Significantly, for the first time, this study defines a southern limit for a Late Midlandian Irish Ice Sheet advance onto the Celtic Sea shelf

Soil Formation

Parent material, topography, organisms and climate represent the key soil forming factors that interact over a timespan of millennia to produce soil. These soil forming factors produce soil through physical, chemical and biological weathering occurring overtime. The relative influence of the individual factors is responsible for differences found in soils. Soils in Ireland are relatively young, having formed since the retreat of the last ice age approximately 15,000 years ago. Parent materials in Ireland are broadly categorised into solid bedrock geology and bedrock derived glacial geology, with the latter accounting for the majority of parent materials across the Irish landscape. The Irish climate is strongly influenced by its position on the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean and on the western fringes of continental Europe resulting in a mild maritime climate with prevailing south-westerly winds. The high rainfall rates in Ireland are a dominant driver of soil genesis with leaching and gleying as the two main processes driving soil development