Consequences of a modest loess fall over southern and midland England

Abstract

Loess deposits that are invariably small are scattered over southern and midland England. They can be examined within a simple, speculative geomorphological model. This allows the concentration of loess material to be predicted and explained and a distribution network relating to the whole system produced. A complex series of events in the Weald loess trap causes a concentration of loess material by rivers flowing through various gaps in the Downs. The Thames provides loessic estuarine deposits , and the Pegwell Bay loess was a feature of the R.Stour. South coast accumulations are related to rivers flowing south through Downs gaps, such as the Adur and the Arun. The geomorphological model assumes a modest loess fall (say 20-50 cm, derived from the northeast) over southern and midland Britain, and develops loess accumulations by logical geomorphological processes from this starting point. Palaeoclimatic studies suggest that interest in the British loess is growing; some overall sedimentological studies might be useful. Loess in Britain should be seen as a major landscape material; it is often not an obvious landscape component but it is of fundamental importance. The distribution tree within the geomorphological model accommodates all relevant loess deposits, with major deposits falling on the ‘’main-line’ of significant events