Britain and Ireland: glacial landforms during deglaciation

The British–Irish Ice Sheet rapidly collapsed during the main deglaciation. In less than 5 ka, ice retreated from offshore to limited ice masses in the uplands with large areas ice-free by 15 ka. Retreat was not uniform, however, with differences in the timing and pace of retreat exhibited by different sectors of the last ice sheet with evidence from some areas that ice was still offshore of the current coast in parts of Scotland as late as the Bølling–Allerød. The most rapid retreat was in marine-terminating embayments, which, for example, saw the Irish Sea Ice Stream suffer rapid retreat. Overall retreat and ice sheet thinning was interrupted by readvances/stabilisations during cold reversals within Greenland Stadial 2, such as Heinrich Stadial 1/Oldest Dryas. The effects of deglaciation on the landscape resulted in the landscapes we see today, and the transition from ice sheet to alpine-style glaciers resulted in a palimpsest of landforms from summits to cirques.