Cracks and Fissures of Post-Allerød Age in the Netherlands
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26485/BP/1968/17/11Keywords:
frost fissures, ground cracks, Usselo-soil, Late Dryas, Netherlands, periglacial processesAbstract
During fieldwork in 1966, periglacial phenomena were observed in the Netherlands, namely cracks and fissures in the fossil Usselo-soil, a horizon with a bleached layer 5–10 cm thick, rich in charcoal, dated to the Allerød period (c. 8900 B.C.). The observed features cut through the soil, showing they are younger. Fissures range in depth from 80 to 140 cm and up to 20 cm wide, while cracks are thinner (up to 3 mm) but may reach 2–3 m deep. Both are filled with sand of similar grain-size composition to the host deposits. These features have so far been found in the northern and central Netherlands but not in Holocene sediments. They are interpreted as frost-induced structures formed during abrupt temperature drops in the Late Dryas, rather than as desiccation cracks.
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