The biostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy of BGS Borehole 78/4 North Minch

The British Geological Survey’s offshore borehole 78/4 has provided one of the most complete late Devensian to Flandrian Quaternary successions observed in Scottish waters. Molluscs from this sequence have provided radiocarbon dates ranging from 12,785 to 8,240 years BP. These dates are discussed in the context of the palaeoenvironmental history of the succession as indicated by its floras and faunas. Concentrations of volcanic glass shards indicate an ash fall, apparently equivalent to the Vedde Ash of western Norway.