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The biogeochemistry of Skye diatomite

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2018

Robert H. S. Robertson
Affiliation:
16 Kirklee road, Glasgow, W.2.
A. E. Twedily
Affiliation:
16 Kirklee road, Glasgow, W.2.
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Extract

After the last retreat of the corrie glaciers in the Ice Age the Mesozoic deposits lying at the foot of the Tertiary basalt cliffs in the Trotternish peninsula of Skye were subjected to substantial landsliding movements towards the sea. A number of lochs were held up partly by the moraines and partly by reverse slopes caused by the landslides. In a number of these lochs, after a period of partial filling by silt, diatomite has been deposited. Most of the deposits are covered with two to four feet of peat. We may roughly estimate the period of diatomite deposition to have been from about 10,000 to about 2,000 years ago. It is hoped to date the deposit accurately when samples have been examined by pollen analysis.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1953

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