Editing Rothens, Monymusk - locality, Cainozoic of north-east Scotland

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=Rothens, Monymusk =
[[File:P915378.png|thumbnail|Glacial and glaciofluvial features and the distribution of glacigenic deposits on Sheet 76E Inverurie. P915378.]]
The site at Rothens (NJ 6878 1710) has yielded a pollen spectrum that represents a ‘tripartite’ Late-glacial sequence, encompassing much of the Late-glacial (Windermere) Interstadial, the Loch Lomond Stadial and the early Holocene. It is unusual in that it appears to contain evidence of a climatic fluctuation within the Late-glacial Interstadial that may correlate with the ‘Older Dryas’ episode of Scandinavia.

The site is situated in hummocky terrain adjacent to the now abandoned Rothens gravel pit, 2 km north-west of Monymusk, on Sheet 76E [[Media:P915378.png|(P915378)]]. Exposures in the gravel pit revealed a complex succession interpreted as proximal and distal outwash deposits and associated overbank facies (Aitken, 1991, 1998). The site lies at the western end of a small valley that extends from the Don valley at Monymusk to Kemnay. It has been interpreted as a major route of meltwater drainage which occurred while the main valley still contained ice (Aitken, 1991). The site is a roughly circular kettlehole with a diameter of 300 m and lies at an altitude of about 88 m OD. It is flanked on its eastern and southern margins by an arcuate ridge.

The kettlehole contains at least 5 m of fill. The lower parts of the sequence have been sampled for pollen analysis and the stratigraphy of the sampled is as follows:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! ||Depth m
|-
|Dark brown peat
|2.00–2.10
|-
|Dark brown fibrous peat
|2.10–2.17
|-
|Brown woody peat containing twigs and wood fragments
|2.17–2.57
|-
|Greenish-brown fibrous peat
|2.57–3.88
|-
|Black nutrient-rich organic mud and silty peat (gyttja)
|3.88–4.28
|-
|Grey, pebbly, sand
|4.28–4.41
|-
|Black nutrient-rich organic mud and silty peat (gyttja)
|4.41–4.62
|-
|Grey, silty clay
|4.62–4.70
|-
|Black, fibrous peat
|4.70–4.75
|-
|Green-grey silt becoming coarser grained and more micaceous with depth
|4.75–4.93
|-
|}

[[File:P915325.png|left|500px|thumbnail|Absolute pollen diagram of selected taxa from Rothens (after Aitken, 1991). P915325.]]
Three distinct pollen assemblage zones occur and are numbered R-1 to R-3 [[Media:P915325.png|(P915325)]]. The sedimentary boundaries are slightly offset from the pollen zone boundaries, with changes in pollen stratigraphy preceding changes in sediment type. This may either represent a lag in the response of soil development and degradation, to changing environmental conditions, or indicate that the pollen zone boundaries are gradational. Details of individual zones are as follows:


'''R-1''' Gramineae–''Rumex''–Cyperaceae Assemblage Zone (4.45–4.93 m)

This basal assemblage zone is dominated by non-arboreal pollen. It is characterised by high values of Gramineae (grasses), ''Rumex ''(docks) and Cyperaceae (sedges). Relative values of Ericales rise rapidly in the middle of the zone to attain a peak of 33 per cent TDLP (Aitken, 1991). However, absolute values for Ericales (heathers), remain relatively constant throughout the zone and the relative rise in Ericales may be, at least, in part, a statistical artefact (P915325). The zone is noteworthy for the high values of ''Myriophyllum ''cf. ''alterniflorum ''(water-milfoil). Pollen of woody plants is scarce, but ''Juniperus ''(juniper), ''Betula ''(birch), ''Salix ''(willow) and ''Corylus/Myrica ''(hazel/bog myrtle) taxa all occur. The upper boundary of the zone is placed at the rise in values for ''Artemisia ''(mugworts), the absolute rise in values for Ericales and the falls in ''Juniperus ''and ''Betula ''pollen. By comparison with other northern Scottish pollen spectra, zone R-1 is thought to be of Late-glacial Interstadial age (Aitken, 1991).


'''R-2''' Ericales–''Artemisia ''Assemblage Zone (4.25–4.45 m)

This zone is also dominated by herb pollen. It is characterised by constantly high values for Ericales (greater than 25 per cent) and increasingly significant values for ''Artemisia'', which attains a maximum of 25 per cent near the top of the zone. ''Salix ''maintains its importance in the zone, but values for all other woody taxa are low. Aquatic plant pollen is absent. The upper boundary of the zone is placed at the marked decline in pollen of open habitat taxa, notably ''Artemisia'', Compositae and Caryophyllaceae, and the beginning of the rise in values for woody plants, particularly ''Betula ''and ''Juniperus''. By comparison with other northern Scottish pollen spectra, zone R-2 is thought to be of Loch Lomond Stadial age (Aitken, 1991).


'''R-3''' Betula–''Juniperus ''Assemblage Zone (3.69–4.25 m)

This zone is characterised by successive peaks in Gramineae, Ericales, ''Juniperus ''and ''Betula''. Percentages of non-arboreal pollen decline throughout the zone, while the aquatic ''Potamogeton ''(pondweed) rises to a peak of
41.9 per cent at a depth of 3.70 m. Towards the top of the zone there is a rise in ''Corylus/Myrica ''pollen and a corresponding decline in ''Betula ''and ''Juniperus''. By comparison with other northern Scottish pollen spectra, zone R-3 is thought to be of early Holocene age (Aitken, 1991).


Four radiocarbon ages have been obtained from the site (Aitken, 1991) (table below):

: SRR–380  &nbsp; &nbsp;  &nbsp; &nbsp;  24.28 m  &nbsp; &nbsp;  &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  8900 ± 110 <sup>14</sup>C years BP

: SRR–380  &nbsp; &nbsp;  &nbsp; &nbsp;  34.41 m  &nbsp; &nbsp;  &nbsp; &nbsp;  10 680 ± 100 <sup>14</sup>C years BP

: SRR–380  &nbsp; &nbsp;  &nbsp; &nbsp;  44.62 m  &nbsp; &nbsp;  &nbsp; &nbsp;  11 640 ± 160 <sup>14</sup>C years BP

: SRR–380  &nbsp; &nbsp;  &nbsp; &nbsp;  54.71 m  &nbsp; &nbsp;  &nbsp; &nbsp;  11 790 ± 140 <sup>14</sup>C years BP


{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="caption-side:top;"|Radiocarbon dates from Late-glacial sites in the district
|-
! Site||Grid reference||Laboratory number||Age (year BP)||Dated material and setting||Reference
|-
| Rothes cutting||NJ 277 498||Beta 8653||11 110 ± 70||peat under remobilised till||Appendix 1
|-
| Garral Hill, Keith||NJ 444 551||Q-104||10 808 ± 230||peat under remobilised till||Godwin and Willis (1959)
|-
| Garral Hill, Keith||NJ 444 551||Q-103||11 098 ± 235||peat under remobilised till||Godwin and Willis (1959)
|-
| Garral Hill, Keith||NJ 444 551||Q-102||11 308 ± 245||peat under remobilised till||Godwin and Willis (1959)
|-
| Garral Hill, Keith||NJ 444 551||Q-101||11 888 ± 225||peat under remobilised till||Godwin and Willis (1959)
|-
| Garral Hill, Keith||NJ 444 551||Q-100||11 358 ± 300||peat under remobilised till||Godwin and Willis (1959)
|-
| Woodhead, Fyvie||NJ 788 384||SRR-1723||10 780 ± 50||peat under remobilised till||Connell and Hall (1987)
|-
| Howe of Byth||NJ 822 571||SRR-4830||11320||peat beneath gravel||Hall et al. (1995)
|-
| Moss-side, Tarves||NJ 833 318||I-6969||12 200 ± 170||peat under remobilised till||Clapperton and Sugden (1977)
|-
| Loch of Park||NO 772 988||HEL-416||10 280 ± 220||kettlehole infill||Vasari and Vasari (1968)
|-
| Loch of Park||||HEL-417||11 900 ± 260||kettlehole infill||Vasari and Vasari (1968)
|-
| Mill of Dyce||NJ 8713 1496||SRR-762||11 550 ± 80||kettlehole infill||Harkness and Wilson (1979)
|-
| Mill of Dyce||NJ 8713 1496||SRR-763||11 640 ± 70||kettlehole infill||Harkness and Wilson (1979)
|-
| Glenbervie||NO 767 801||GX-14723||12 460 ± 130||peat under remobilised till||Appendix 1
|-
| Glenbervie||NO 767 801||SRR-3687a. (humic)||12 305 ± 50||peat under remobilised till||Appendix 1
|-
| Glenbervie||NO 767 801||SRR-368Th (humin)||12 340 ± 50||peat under remobilised till||Appendix 1
|-
| Brinzieshill Farm||NO 7936 7918||SRR-387||12 390 ± 100||peat under remobilised till||Auton et al. (2000)
|-
| Rothens||NJ 688 171||SRR-3803||10 680 ± 100||kettlehole infill||Appendix 1
|-
| Rothens||NJ 688 171||SRR-3804||11 640 ± 160||kettlehole infill||Appendix 1
|-
| Rothens||NJ 688 171||SRR-3805||11 760 ± 140||kettlehole infill||Appendix 1
|}

When compared with radiocarbon dated pollen sequences from other Scottish sites, each of the ages from the Rothens deposits appears to be less than expected (Aitken, 1991). The ages of the bottom three samples are at least 200 <sup>14</sup>C years less than expected, and the date of uppermost sample is perhaps up to 1000 <sup>14</sup>C years younger than expected. The reasons for these discrepancies are unclear, but contamination by humus-rich ground water may have been an important factor. Furthermore, as a result of the paucity of organic material, the segments selected for radiocarbon assay were relatively thick (up to 5 cm) such that each date represents a mean value for the quoted level. The dates are therefore considered to be unsuitable for reliable detailed chronostratigraphical correlation with other sites. Nevertheless, the radiocarbon ages broadly confirm both the interpretations of the local stratigraphy and the palynology. The organic deposit between 475 and 441 cm formed during the Late-glacial Interstadial, while the overlying grey, pebbly sand was deposited during the succeeding Loch Lomond Stadial. The two lowermost dates, on either side of a less organic silty clay unit, approximately bracket the supposed ‘Older Dryas Stadial’ although this is by no means conclusive.

== References ==
[[References, Cainozoic of north-east Scotland|Full reference list]]

[[Category:Grampian Highlands]]
[[Category: 4. Grampian Highlands]]