Glacier Dynamics around Slieve Bloom, Central Ireland

Abstract

Analyses of both till and glacioaqueous sedimentary fabrics and their lithological characteristics have been carried out on sediments sampled at eight sites located around the northern margin and piedmont of Slieve Bloom. Results indicate that Slieve Bloom was overtopped by ice (lowing locally from between the south-south-west and west. The pattern of ice (low indicated by the sedimentary fabrics, the presence in the glacigenic sediments of a distinctive variety of Galway granite and the spatial variability of limestone in these sediments indicate that this local flow direction resulted from the deflection to the north-north-east of ice (lowing from the west. As the most widely accepted ice flow model for this region during the last glaciation requires ice (low to have been from between north-north-west and north-north-east, the results presented in this paper have important implications for the modelling of regional ice (low in the Irish midlands during the last glaciation.