Tectonics and landscape evolution in Britain
Recent studies suggest that the landscape of Britain maybe a relatively young feature, possibly as young as Late Pleistocene. There is evidence, for example, that the Cotswold Hills in north Oxfordshire have been uplifted since about 450 ka. Recent modeling studies suggest that flexural rebound due to the excavation of soft clays and marls from the English Midlands by meltwater-charged rivers might account for this uplift. The aim of this project is to use a recently compiled 50 x 50 m Digital Elevation Model (DEM) to determine the role that tectonics, in the form of flexure, might play in controlling the landscape of Britain. The DEM will be used to calculate the reduction in load as rivers (and glaciers) have cut into the landscape and 3-D elastic plate models will be used to calculate the isostatic uplift that results. The project will entail background reading on topics in tectonics and landscape evolution, the display of DEM data using topographic imaging software (e.g. GMT, ERmapper) and, the 3-D analytical modelling of lithospheric flexure.