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Testing the climatic significance of dropstones: an example from southeast Spain

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

Matthew R. Bennett
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, University of Greenwich, Wapping Campus, Brewhouse Lane, Wapping, London, E1 9NU, UK
Peter Doyle
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, University of Greenwich, Wapping Campus, Brewhouse Lane, Wapping, London, E1 9NU, UK
Anne E. Mather
Affiliation:
Department of Geographical Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake's Circus, Plymouth, Devon PL4 8AA, UK
Joanne L. Woodfin
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, University of Greenwich, Wapping Campus, Brewhouse Lane, Wapping, London, E1 9NU, UK

Abstract

Dropstones are clasts which pose a hydrodynamic paradox or which have an exotic lithology with uncertain provenance. Dropstones are usually associated with glacial processes and have recently been used to substantiate the presence of cool climatic phases in the geological record. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate, using an example from southeast Spain, that dropstones can be unreliable palaeoclimatic indicators, and that greater care is required in their interpretation.

Type
Rapid Communications
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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