The clay mineralogy of some tills in the Cambridge district

Abstract

Four ice advances have been recognised in East Anglia but only two of these, the Lowestoft and the Gipping, have deposited till in the Cambridge area. The clay fractions of these tills have been investigated and compared with those of the Oxford, Ampthill, Kimeridge and Gault Clays, the Lower Greensand and the Chalk, all of which outcrop in the district and could be expected to contribute material to the tills. The value of clay mineralogical analysis as a means of measuring directions of ice-movement is critically discussed. An outline account is given of the more important processes of weathering and soil-formation which occur on the Gipping till in the Breckland area.