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Professor David Bridgland's Outputs (146)

Quaternary rivers, tufas and mires of southern England: Description of Geological Conservation Review sites (2024)
Journal Article
Briant, R. M., Whiteman, C. A., Haggart, B. A., Bridgland, D. R., Egberts, E., Grant, M. J., Hatch, M., Knowles, P. G., Schreve, D. C., Toms, P. S., Wenban-Smith, F. F., & White, M. J. (online). Quaternary rivers, tufas and mires of southern England: Description of Geological Conservation Review sites. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2024.10.002

Southern England contains a wealth of sites, reviewed here, that contain evidence for past deposition in freshwa-ter environments over a period of over 0.5 million years and have been designated as Geological Conservation Review sites for their repre... Read More about Quaternary rivers, tufas and mires of southern England: Description of Geological Conservation Review sites.

Lateglacial Interstadial to mid-Holocene stratigraphy and palynology at Pepper Arden Bottoms, North Yorkshire, UK (2024)
Journal Article
Innes, J. B., Rutherford, M. M., Bridgland, D. R., Gearey, B. R., Lillie, M. C., Mitchell, W. A., O'Brien, C. E., Jones, R. T., & Thompson, G. J. (2024). Lateglacial Interstadial to mid-Holocene stratigraphy and palynology at Pepper Arden Bottoms, North Yorkshire, UK. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 135(5), 569-588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2024.08.005

Investigations at Pepper Arden Bottoms, a lake basin site on the interfluve between the rivers Tees and Swale in northeast England, have recovered lithostratigraphical, pollen and plant macrofossil sequences which have allowed the reconstruction of s... Read More about Lateglacial Interstadial to mid-Holocene stratigraphy and palynology at Pepper Arden Bottoms, North Yorkshire, UK.

The coupling between tectonic uplift and climate change recorded by the Yellow River terraces during the Zoige basin excavation in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (2024)
Journal Article
Mo, Q., Hu, Z., Bridgland, D., Li, M., Pan, B., Li, N., Dong, Z., Li, X., Yang, Y., Zhong, M., Pan, R., & Westaway, R. (2024). The coupling between tectonic uplift and climate change recorded by the Yellow River terraces during the Zoige basin excavation in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Geomorphology, 461, Article 109322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2024.109322

Understanding the processes of fluvial geomorphic evolution is based on thorough evaluation of how rivers respond to tectonic activity and climatic change, with river terraces representing a key archive of alternating deposition and incision in respo... Read More about The coupling between tectonic uplift and climate change recorded by the Yellow River terraces during the Zoige basin excavation in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau.

Making a U-turn on the Purfleet Interchange: Stone Tool Technology in Marine Isotope Stage 9 Britain and the Emergence of the Middle Palaeolithic in Europe (2024)
Journal Article
White, M., Rawlinson, A., Foulds, F., Dale, L., Davis, R., Bridgland, D., Shipton, C., & Ashton, N. (2024). Making a U-turn on the Purfleet Interchange: Stone Tool Technology in Marine Isotope Stage 9 Britain and the Emergence of the Middle Palaeolithic in Europe. Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology, 7(1), Article 13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41982-024-00177-z

This paper re-examines earlier Palaeolithic core technology from British sites assigned to MIS 11, 9, and 7 using primarily a châine opératoire approach, with the objective of better understanding the earliest occurrence and distribution of Levallois... Read More about Making a U-turn on the Purfleet Interchange: Stone Tool Technology in Marine Isotope Stage 9 Britain and the Emergence of the Middle Palaeolithic in Europe.

The Quaternary sequence of the Nahr el Kebir, NW Syria: An important repository for evidence of Palaeolithic occupation and landscape evolution in the eastern Mediterranean (2024)
Journal Article
Bridgland, D. R., Shaw, A. D., Westaway, R., Daoud, M., & Romieh, M. A. (2024). The Quaternary sequence of the Nahr el Kebir, NW Syria: An important repository for evidence of Palaeolithic occupation and landscape evolution in the eastern Mediterranean. Geomorphology, 458, Article 109229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2024.109229

The third largest river in Syria, the Nahr el Kebir has a well-preserved record of river-terrace deposits that have produced substantial Palaeolithic artefact assemblages both from within the terrace deposits and from the land surfaces above and arou... Read More about The Quaternary sequence of the Nahr el Kebir, NW Syria: An important repository for evidence of Palaeolithic occupation and landscape evolution in the eastern Mediterranean.

Kaş Bay: Evidence of a 20 km-diameter complex impact structure on the Turkey-Greece frontier (2024)
Journal Article
Bridgland, D. (2024). Kaş Bay: Evidence of a 20 km-diameter complex impact structure on the Turkey-Greece frontier. Airbursts and Cratering Impacts, 2(1),

Extensive field work, mineralogical and petrographic investigations show strong evidence for a complex, hypervelocity impact structure protruding into the Mediterranean Sea at the Turkey-Greece border. The Kaş Bay structure with a diameter of around... Read More about Kaş Bay: Evidence of a 20 km-diameter complex impact structure on the Turkey-Greece frontier.

Plio-Pleistocene drainage reorganization in the middle Yellow River of China, revealed by provenance and paleocurrent analysis of fluvial sediments (2024)
Journal Article
Li, M., Hu, Z., Wang, P., Pan, B., Bridgland, D., Mo, Q., Li, X., Dong, Z., Zhong, M., Pan, R., & Li, N. (2024). Plio-Pleistocene drainage reorganization in the middle Yellow River of China, revealed by provenance and paleocurrent analysis of fluvial sediments. Geomorphology, 454, Article 109177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2024.109177

Continental-scale drainage reorganization is generally understood to result from landform evolution forced by the coupling between tectonic activity and climate change, attracting worldwide attention. Planation surfaces and river terraces constitute... Read More about Plio-Pleistocene drainage reorganization in the middle Yellow River of China, revealed by provenance and paleocurrent analysis of fluvial sediments.

Big enough to matter: on the frequency and chronology of giant handaxes in the British Lower Palaeolithic (2024)
Journal Article
Dale, L., Rawlinson, A., Knowles, P., Foulds, F., Ashton, N., Bridgland, D., & White, M. (2024). Big enough to matter: on the frequency and chronology of giant handaxes in the British Lower Palaeolithic. Antiquity, 98(398), 305-322. https://doi.org/10.15184/aqy.2024.30

Hypertrophic ‘giant’ handaxes are a rare component of Acheulean assemblages, yet have been central to debates relating to the social, cognitive and cultural ‘meaning’ of these enigmatic tools. The authors examine giant handaxes from the perspective o... Read More about Big enough to matter: on the frequency and chronology of giant handaxes in the British Lower Palaeolithic.

The contribution of Rob Westaway to the study of fluvial archives (2024)
Journal Article
Bridgland, D. (2024). The contribution of Rob Westaway to the study of fluvial archives. Geomorphology, 451, Article 109098. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2024.109098

Robert Westaway was a structural and hard-rock geologist who turned his attention to the study of Late Cenozoic fluvial archives, believing that the preservation of staircases of river terraces, particularly representing the Middle and Late Pleistoce... Read More about The contribution of Rob Westaway to the study of fluvial archives.

Valuing the Quaternary – Nature conservation and geoheritage (2023)
Journal Article
Gordon, J. E., Brown, E. J., Bridgland, D. R., & Brazier, V. (2023). Valuing the Quaternary – Nature conservation and geoheritage. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 134(4), 375-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2023.07.003

This paper introduces the Special Issue of the Proceedings of the Geologists' Association on ‘Valuing the Quaternary – Nature Conservation and Geoheritage’, arising from the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA) Congress in Dublin, in J... Read More about Valuing the Quaternary – Nature conservation and geoheritage.

The Clacton-on-Sea (Essex, UK) GCR site and SSSI: New data and continuing importance (2023)
Journal Article
White, T. S., Bridgland, D. R., Allen, P., & White, M. J. (2023). The Clacton-on-Sea (Essex, UK) GCR site and SSSI: New data and continuing importance. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 134(4), 490-501. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2023.07.007

The complex Geological Conservation Review (GCR) site at Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, was notified in 1986 as a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It is an internationally important geosite and Britain's only Lower Palaeolithic type locality, giving its... Read More about The Clacton-on-Sea (Essex, UK) GCR site and SSSI: New data and continuing importance.

Quaternary Earth-science and Palaeolithic conservation initiatives in the Tejo (Tagus), Portugal: Comparison with the Lower Thames, UK (2023)
Journal Article
Cunha, P. P., Bridgland, D. R., Figueiredo, S., Martins, A. A., Allen, P., & White, M. J. (2023). Quaternary Earth-science and Palaeolithic conservation initiatives in the Tejo (Tagus), Portugal: Comparison with the Lower Thames, UK. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 134(4), 476-489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2023.04.006

Geoconservation measures in the River Tejo, the Portuguese reach of the Tagus, are compared with those in the Thames downstream of London (UK). Both are fluvio-estuarine reaches with staircases of Pleistocene depositional terraces, each with importan... Read More about Quaternary Earth-science and Palaeolithic conservation initiatives in the Tejo (Tagus), Portugal: Comparison with the Lower Thames, UK.

Channel migration in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and its implication for fluvial response to the interaction between rapid tectonic activity, climatic fluctuation and human influence (2023)
Journal Article
Pan, B., Li, X., Hu, Z., Bridgland, D., Mo, Q., Dong, Z., Li, M., Yang, Y., Westaway, R., Dong, G., Zhang, S., & Zhong, M. (2023). Channel migration in the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and its implication for fluvial response to the interaction between rapid tectonic activity, climatic fluctuation and human influence. Quaternary Science Reviews, 310, Article 108126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2023.108126

The Kula–Salihli UNESCO Geopark: Spectacular records of Quaternary volcanism, fluvial and landscape evolution and Quaternary environmental change (2022)
Journal Article
Aytac, A., Demir, T., Maddy, D., & Bridgland, D. (2023). The Kula–Salihli UNESCO Geopark: Spectacular records of Quaternary volcanism, fluvial and landscape evolution and Quaternary environmental change. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 134(4), 416-431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2022.06.008

The Kula–Salihli UNESCO Geopark, western Turkey, is a tectonically and volcanically active region in which the most recent eruptions of basaltic lava, associated with scoria cone formation, were during the latest Pleistocene and the Holocene. Much ol... Read More about The Kula–Salihli UNESCO Geopark: Spectacular records of Quaternary volcanism, fluvial and landscape evolution and Quaternary environmental change.

Mid-Late Quaternary Fluvial Archives near the Margin of the MIS 12 Glaciation in Southern East Anglia, UK: Amalgamation of Multi-Disciplinary and Citizen-Science Data Sources (2022)
Journal Article
Allen, P., Bain, D., Bridgland, D., Buisson, P., Buylaert, J.-P., Bynoe, R., George, W., Haggart, B., Horne, D., Littlewood, E.-M., Lord, A., March, A., Mercer, I., Mercer, R., Murray, A., Penkman, K., Preece, R., Ratford, J., Schreve, D., Snelling, A., …White, T. (2022). Mid-Late Quaternary Fluvial Archives near the Margin of the MIS 12 Glaciation in Southern East Anglia, UK: Amalgamation of Multi-Disciplinary and Citizen-Science Data Sources. Quaternary, 5(3), https://doi.org/10.3390/quat5030037

This paper presents an updated geological reconstruction of the Quaternary evolution of the River Thames at its downstream extremities, close to the North Sea coast, based on new data from multi-disciplinary and citizen-science sources. In this area,... Read More about Mid-Late Quaternary Fluvial Archives near the Margin of the MIS 12 Glaciation in Southern East Anglia, UK: Amalgamation of Multi-Disciplinary and Citizen-Science Data Sources.

On the earliest Acheulean in Britain: first dates and in-situ artefacts from the MIS 15 site of Fordwich (Kent, UK) (2022)
Journal Article
Key, A., Lauer, T., Skinner, M., Pope, M., Bridgland, D., Noble, L., & Proffitt, T. (2022). On the earliest Acheulean in Britain: first dates and in-situ artefacts from the MIS 15 site of Fordwich (Kent, UK). Royal Society Open Science, 9(6), https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.211904

Northern Europe experienced cycles of hominin habitation and absence during the Middle Pleistocene. Fluvial gravel terrace sites in the east of Britain and north of France provide a majority of the data contributing to this understanding, mostly thro... Read More about On the earliest Acheulean in Britain: first dates and in-situ artefacts from the MIS 15 site of Fordwich (Kent, UK).

Flake tools in the European Lower Paleolithic: A case study from MIS 9 Britain (2022)
Journal Article
Rawlinson, A., Dale, L., Ashton, N., Bridgland, D., & White, M. (2022). Flake tools in the European Lower Paleolithic: A case study from MIS 9 Britain. Journal of Human Evolution, 165, Article 103153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103153

Studies of flake tools in the British Lower Paleolithic are rare owing to lower quantities of flake tools than handaxes and the perception that flake tool technology became more important in the succeeding Middle Paleolithic. In Britain, and Europe m... Read More about Flake tools in the European Lower Paleolithic: A case study from MIS 9 Britain.

Evaluation of the Fluvial Response to Tectonic Uplift From Grain-Size Distribution in Riverbed Gravels at the Northeastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau (2022)
Journal Article
Dong, Z., Pan, B., Hu, Z., Mo, Q., Bridgland, D., Li, M., Li, X., Yang, Y., & Chen, D. (2022). Evaluation of the Fluvial Response to Tectonic Uplift From Grain-Size Distribution in Riverbed Gravels at the Northeastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau. Frontiers in Earth Science, 10, Article 824368. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.824368

Downstream fining of riverbed gravels is generally linked with the processes of hydraulic sorting and abrasion. Hydraulic sorting is when larger gravel clasts stop moving in response to decreasing flow energy, whereas, finer grains will continue to b... Read More about Evaluation of the Fluvial Response to Tectonic Uplift From Grain-Size Distribution in Riverbed Gravels at the Northeastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau.