Abstract

Glacitectonics can be defined as “the deformation caused as a glacier or ice sheet pushes into and overrides a pre-existing sequence of sediments and/or bedrock”. This deformation can occur on a variety of scales, from micro-scale structures which can only be seen with the aid of a microscope, to much larger, macro-scale features in the order of 10’s to 100’s of metres across.
This presentation will take a look at the range of deformation structures (folds, faults, tectonic fabrics) to be found within glacial sediments, and show how they can be used to investigate the processes occurring at the margins and beneath glaciers and reconstruct former ice sheet dynamics.