Abstract

Numerical model predictions of low Late Devensian sea levels around Britain are inconsistent with dated sea-level indicators contained in the geological record. Stratigraphies from the western Irish Sea Basin record high sea levels throughout the last deglacial cycle (21-13 ka BP) and onshore ice-marginal glaciomarine and marine sedimentation. Sedimentary evidence emphasizes the role played by delayed isostatic uplift coupled with rapid tidewater evacuation of ice from the basin. Drumlinization and marine downdraw in the northern Irish Sea Basin records subglacial sediment transfer towards tidewater ice margins and headward extension of ice streams deep into the ice sheet around 14 ka BP.