The development and application of a diatom-based quantitative reconstruction technique in forensic science

Diatoms are a group of unicellular algae that have been recorded and classified for over 200 years and have been used in a range of applications in forensic science. We have developed a quantitative diatom-based reconstruction technique to confirm drowning as a cause of death and localize the site of drowning in two recent, high-profile, case studies. In both case studies we collected diatom samples from the local and/or regional area to act as a control in the examination of diatom assemblages associated with lungs and clothing. In Case Study 1 the modern analog technique suggested that all lung and clothing samples have statistically significant similarities to control samples from shallow water habitats. In Case Study 2, the analog matching suggested that the majority of lung samples show a statistically significant relationship to samples from a pond, indicating that this was the drowning medium

Early Ipswichian (last interglacial) sea level rise in the channel region : Stone Point Site of Special Scientific Interest, Hampshire, England

Constraining the speed of sea level rise at the start of an interglacial is important to understanding the size of the ‘window of opportunity’ available for hominin migration. This is particularly important during the last interglacial when there is no evidence for significant hominin occupation anywhere in Britain. There are very few finer grained fossiliferous sequences in the Channel region that can be used to constrain sea level rise and they are preserved only to the north of the Channel, in England. Of these, the sequence at Stone Point SSSI is by far the most complete. Data from this sequence has been previously reported, and discussed at a Quaternary Research Association Field Meeting, where a number of further questions were raised that necessitated further data generation. In this paper, we report new data from this sequence – thin section analysis, isotopic determinations on ostracod shells, new Optical Stimulated Luminescence ages and Amino Acid Recem analyses. These show early sea level rise in this sequence, starting during the pre-temperate vegetation zone IpI, but no early warming. The implications of this almost certainly last interglacial sequence for the human colonisation of Britain and our understanding of the stratigraphic relationship of interglacial estuarine deposits with their related fluvial terrace sequences is explored

Early Ipswichian (last interglacial) sea level rise in the channel region : Stone Point Site of Special Scientific Interest, Hampshire, England

Constraining the speed of sea level rise at the start of an interglacial is important to understanding the size of the ‘window of opportunity’ available for hominin migration. This is particularly important during the last interglacial when there is no evidence for significant hominin occupation anywhere in Britain. There are very few finer grained fossiliferous sequences in the Channel region that can be used to constrain sea level rise and they are preserved only to the north of the Channel, in England. Of these, the sequence at Stone Point SSSI is by far the most complete. Data from this sequence has been previously reported, and discussed at a Quaternary Research Association Field Meeting, where a number of further questions were raised that necessitated further data generation. In this paper, we report new data from this sequence – thin section analysis, isotopic determinations on ostracod shells, new Optical Stimulated Luminescence ages and Amino Acid Recem analyses. These show early sea level rise in this sequence, starting during the pre-temperate vegetation zone IpI, but no early warming. The implications of this almost certainly last interglacial sequence for the human colonisation of Britain and our understanding of the stratigraphic relationship of interglacial estuarine deposits with their related fluvial terrace sequences is explored

Late Pleistocene Coastal Geology of The s'Illot Region, Alcudia, Mallorca: A Classic Location For Quaternary Fieldwork Teaching.

This paper describes the lithology and stratigraphy of Pleistocene deposits exposed in coastal cliff sections near the small island of s’Illot, located on the Alcudia peninsula on the southern side of Pollença Bay in northern Mallorca. Analysis of palaeosols and aeolianites from the sequence is described. These deposits potentially span some 100k years in the Late Pleistocene and record changing palaeoenvironments, distinct lithologies and well-defined stratigraphic relationships that make this location ideal for teaching Quaternary studies.Self-funde

The Pleistocene stratigraphy and palaeoenvironments of the Cambridge district

This study attempts to record and interpret Pleistocene geological data from the Cambridge District in a comprehensive format. The author has established a central study area comprising twenty 5km squares, embracing part of the lower Ouse valley and much of the Cam valley. This area has yielded some 5000 individual existing borehole and trial pit records. In addition, about a hundred boreholes and trial pits have carried out during this project. These have yielded detailed stratigraphic data, and more than three hundred sediment samples to which a variety of laboratory analyses have been applied. The author has used a novel rigorous lithostratigraphic approach as the primary line of evidence for correlation in this study, in place of the traditional morphostratigraphic paradigm. Existing stratotype localities in the study area have been reviewed and modified where appropriate, and several new stratotypes for lithostratigraphic members have been proposed. Many classic Cambridge sites including Traveller's Rest Pit, Histon Road, Barnwell Abbey, Barnwell Station, Grantchester and Barrington have been re-evaluated and new exposures investigated wherever possible, allowing the construction of databases of stratigraphic, physical and palaeontological information from a myriad of sources. Geochronological techniques including OSL, radiocarbon dating and aminostratigraphy have also been used for the correlation of deposits, together with biostratigraphic evidence. The presence of deposits from more than one temperate stage has been confirmed or strongly inferred for many of the major sites investigated. The relative antiquity of deposits at the Traveller's Rest Pit has been confirmed, and the dating of the most recent phase of temperate deposition at Barrington and Histon Road established as Ipswichian (MIS 5e). In contrast, the majority of deposits at sites such as Grantchester and Swan's Pit are strongly correlated with MIS 7. This study has enabled confident correlation of Anglian glacial, and post-Anglian fluvial deposits of the Great Ouse and Cam systems within the Cambridge District. It has also allowed the correlation of these deposits with others elsewhere in southern England. However, the reworking of faunal and floral remains between interglacials has been highlighted, and has major implications for biostratigraphy. This study has unravelled a complex Pleistocene geological history including the advance of the Anglian ice sheets, the genesis of the Ouse and Cam river systems, major landscape change and the development of the drainage patterns observed today. The Ouse and Cam river systems initially developed along lines of Anglian sub-glacial drainage. In cold stages these rivers occupied high-energy braidplains characterised by episodic erosion, and the aggradation of gravels and sands. In temperate stages, they occupied relatively stable low-energy channels, resulting in the accretion of fines and organics. The study has also allowed the interpretation and understanding of many different Pleistocene palaeoenvironments within the Cambridge District including, subglacial, proglacial, tundra, scrub-tundra, steppic grassland, boreal forest and temperate woodland

A Flint Scatter at Nine Wells, Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire.

Nine Wells, Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire [TL 46145 54173] is a small spinney of beech, ash and maple woodland at the foot of White Hill, containing several fine chalk spring heads (see Figure 1). The source of Hobson’s Conduit, water rises from the Totternhoe Stone, a hard and fissured band within the Chalk bedrock. The site was once a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) scheduled for its rare aquatic macro-invertebrate fauna. It is currently scheduled as a Local Nature reserve (LNR) and a Local Geological Site (LGS). The site is important for wildlife, conservation, heritage, geomorphology and geology, but there is no record of any archaeological interest, although crop marks have been reported in the fields to the east (Evans 2008). Recently (June 2017) Nine Wells was the focus for a BioBlitz organized by Hobson’s Conduit Trust. It was at this event that one of us (JAB) first noticed worked flints lying on the freshly-ploughed surface at points along the southeastern boundary of the site. This was unexpected, since previous attempts to find archaeological evidence at the site spanning twenty-five years had failed. A 5 m wide boundary strip had been deep-ploughed along the southeastern boundary of the Nine Wells enclosure to remove vehicle ruts caused during the installation of four boreholes associated with a springhead flow-support initiative, and this had brought worked flints to the surface

The Geology of the Middle Cam Valley, Cambridgeshire, UK

This study offers a new understanding of the stratigraphy and context of the Pleistocene (including Elsterian and Weichselian) and Holocene deposits of the Middle Cam valley, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, and provides a unique and detailed view of the sediment architecture of these valley-fill and interfluve sediments. The new insights into the geology of the area, including dating, pollen analyses, and sediment architecture, are presented with reference to a series of nine cross-sections through Holocene and Pleistocene deposits, as well as Cretaceous bedrock across the region. The structural geology of the bedrock and the stratigraphic arrangement of younger deposits are used to explain the landscape evolution of the area.</jats:p

Re-investigation of the Hippo Site, East Mersea, Essex

This paper describes the lithology and stratigraphy of Pleistocene deposits exposed on the foreshore near the Hippo Site, East Mersea, Essex. With a partly Ipswichian (MIS 5e - 130-115ka BP) origin these palaeochannel deposits provide valuable evidence for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Despite the various Pleistocene mega-fauna fossils discovered at the site, detailed investigation had not previously been undertaken. This paper shows that the stratigraphy of the Hippo Site palaeochannel is more complex than previously thought, with interbedded organic muds, silty clays, sands and gravel. The Hippo Site itself sits within well-preserved organic muds, which are rich in pollen and on that basis, have been correlated with the climatic optimum of the Ipswichian (substage IIb). At the time these deposits were laid down, the river channel was surrounded by open grassland with nearby mixed oak woodland, and existed close to the margins of an estuary with adjacent saltmarsh

The Geology of the Middle Cam Valley, Cambridgeshire, UK

This study offers a new understanding of the stratigraphy and context of the Pleistocene (including Elsterian and Weichselian) and Holocene deposits of the Middle Cam valley, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, and provides a unique and detailed view of the sediment architecture of these valley-fill and interfluve sediments. The new insights into the geology of the area, including dating, pollen analyses, and sediment architecture, are presented with reference to a series of nine cross-sections through Holocene and Pleistocene deposits, as well as Cretaceous bedrock across the region. The structural geology of the bedrock and the stratigraphic arrangement of younger deposits are used to explain the landscape evolution of the area