Pleistocene Environments in the British Isles

• 1 Background.- 1.1 Basic concepts.- 1.2 The nature of the evidence.- 1.3 Types of evidence.- 1.4 Dating.- 1.5 The nature of the evidence and the means of division of the Pleistocene of the British Isles.- 1.6 Conclusion.- 2 Prelude to the Pleistocene.- 2.1 Miocene environments.- 2.2 Pliocene environments.- 2.3 The Pliocene—Pleistocene boundary.- 2.4 Summary.- 3 The Lower Pleistocene before the Pre-Pastonian.- 3.1 Problems of evaluation and correlation of Lower Pleistocene deposits.- 3.2 The stages and their environments.- 3.3 Gravels and Lower Pleistocene environments.- 3.4 The offshore sequence.- 3.5 Correlation and conclusion.- 4 The Cromer Forest-bed Formation and associated deposits.- 4.1 The stages and their environments.- 4.2 Summary and conclusions.- 5 The Anglian Cold Stage.- 5.1 East Anglia.- 5.2 The Vale of St. Albans and the Thames Valley.- 5.3 The Midlands of England.- 5.4 Wales, and England south of the Lower Severn and Thames valleys.- 5.5 Northern England and Scotland.- 5.6 Ireland.- 5.7 The offshore sequence.- 5.8 Correlation, age and archaeology.- 6 The Hoxnian Temperate Stage.- 6.1 Flora and vegetation.- 6.2 Non-marine Mollusca.- 6.3 Marine Mollusca.- 6.4 Vertebrates.- 6.5 Other fossils.- 6.6 The presence of man.- 6.7 Pedogenesis.- 6.8 The offshore sequence and sea-levels.- 6.9 Correlation, age and duration.- 6.10 Conclusion.- 7 Post-Hoxnian and pre-Ipswichian events.- 7.1 The Wolstonian Cold Stage.- 7.2 Additional temperate episodes and intervening cold intervals.- 7.3 Towards a revised succession.- 7.4 Correlation with mainland Europe.- 7.5 Conclusion.- 8 The Ipswichian Temperate Stage.- 8.1 Flora and vegetation.- 8.2 Non-marine Mollusca.- 8.3 Marine Mollusca.- 8.4 Vertebrates.- 8.5 Insects.- 8.6 Other fossils.- 8.7 The presence of man.- 8.8Pedogenesis.- 8.9 Rivers and sea-levels.- 8.10 The offshore sequence.- 8.11 Correlation, age and duration.- 8.12 Conclusion.- 9 The Devensian Cold Stage.- 9.1 The Early Devensian.- 9.2 The Middle Devensian.- 9.3 The Late Devensian.- 9.4 Conclusion.- 10 The Flandrian Temperate Stage.- 10.1 The presence of man.- 10.2 Flora and vegetation.- 10.3 Non-marine Mollusca.- 10.4 Marine Mollusca.- 10.5 Vertebrates.- 10.6 Insects.- 10.7 Other fossils.- 10.8 Non-biological data.- 10.9 Soil and peat formation and erosion.- 10.10 Rivers.- 10.11 Sea-levels and crustal movements.- 10.12 The offshore sequence.- 10.13 Climate.- 11 Epilogue.- References.

This is a very impressive synthesis of multidiciplinary research carried out on the British Isles and I am convinced it will inspire future research in Quaternary science. I have greatly enjoyed the book and I would warmly recommend it... - Boreas Book Reviews; The authors are to be congratulated on amassing such a wealth of material on the British Pleistocene - Geography; It is a welcome sight...to see a comprehensive up-to-date account of British Pleistocene stratigraphy. Indeed anyone responsible for teaching aspects of the British Pleistocene will breathe a sigh of relief to see such a detailed account of the extensive changes to the established sequence...recognized in recent years, finally compiled into a single volume...this book will be invaluable to third-year and postgraduate students...as well as to the established Pleistocene worker - Holocene Book Reviews; This is an important and necessary book...the achievement of a comprehensive survey and regional synthesis is very great - Journal of Archaeological Science; ...an ideal introduction to the student...I full recommend this volume as an excellent up-to-date account of a very dynamic area of research - New Phytol; The book collects together a wide range of stratigraphic information and interpretations from diverse sources which otherwise would not be readily available. This is a welcome addition to Quaternary Studies in Great Britain - Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology