Submerged forest

Submerged forest stumps at Ynyslas, Wales
Tree stump at Ynyslas, Wales
Submerged forest at Dove Point, on the Wirral Peninsula[1]

A submerged forest is the in place (in situ) remains of trees (especially tree stumps) that lie submerged beneath a bay, sea, ocean, lake, or other body of water. A forest can become submerged as the result of a lake or sea level rise that results in a lacustrine or marine transgression and in place drowning of the forest. A submerged forest that lies beneath a lake can also be formed by the blockage of a river valley by either a landslide or manmade dam. Examples can be found at low tide on the fringes of the submerged landmass known as Doggerland,[2] around the coast of England and Wales,[3] the Channel Islands,[2] north-west France and Denmark. These remains have usually been buried in mud, peat or sand for several thousand years before being uncovered by sea level change and erosion. In some places, such as Blackpool Sands, Dartmouth, the remains are normally covered by sand and only rarely exposed.[4] During the storms of 1974 (see Penparcau) [5][6] and the Winter storms of 2013–14 in the United Kingdom extensive remains of submerged forests were revealed in a number places around the coast of Britain.[7][8]

As the North American Laurentide ice sheet began receding for the last time some 10,000 years ago, water levels in the future Great Lakes were sometimes much lower than at present. Forests covered the southern end of what is now Lake Huron. Then as the glaciers melted and waters rose, these forests were inundated and drowned. Today their remnants, well preserved logs and stumps, have been discovered in waters over 200 feet deep.[9][10]

Another submerged forest has been found in Nantucket Sound, off the coast of the state of Massachusetts.[11] In 2012 a submerged bald cypress forest was discovered in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Alabama.

See also

References

  1. ↑
    • Reid, C., 1913. Submerged Forests. The Cambridge Manuals of Science and Literature, Cambridge University Press, 129 pp.
  2. 1 2 Keith, Arthur (15 Aug 2004). "3". The Antiquity of Man. Anmol Publications Pvt Ltd. p. 41. ISBN 81-7041-977-8. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  3. ↑ Campbell, J.A.; Baxter M.S. (29 March 1979). "Radiocarbon measurements on submerged forest floating chronologies". Nature. Nature Publishing Group. 278 (5703): 409–413. doi:10.1038/278409a0. Retrieved 12 January 2010.
  4. ↑ Pengelly, W (1869). Report and transactions, Volume 3: Devonshire Association for the Advancement of Science, Literature, and Art. 3. Cornwall, UK: W. Brendon and son. pp. 127–129. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  5. ↑ Evans, J.G., Limbrey, S. and Cleere, H. (eds) 1975. The effect of man on the landscape: the Highland Zone. CBA Research Report No 11 (1975)
  6. ↑ "Tanybwlch submerged forest". Coflein. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  7. ↑ Owen, Cathy (21 February 2014). "In pictures: The Bronze Age forest revealed in more detail than ever before by Wales' brutal storms". Wales online. Wales online. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  8. ↑ Lock, WBJ (20 February 2014). "Storms reveal ancient submerged forest at Portreath". West Briton. Local World. Retrieved 20 April 2014.
  9. ↑ "Project Drowned Forest — A study of prehistoric undersater forests in Lake Huron, Michigan" (PDF). www.vibracoring.com. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  10. ↑ "DFProject website". www.vibracoring.com. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  11. ↑ Daley, Beth (6 November 2009). "Nantucket Sound may get new status". The Boston Globe. Boston Globe. Retrieved 12 January 2010.

Further reading


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