A revised model for the last deglaciation of eastern Scotland

Accelerator mass spectrometry C-14 ages on monospecific marine microfauna from raised mud record initial deglaciation of the eastern coast of Scotland before 21.0 cal ka bp. Two subsequent ice-margin readvances occurred prior to the Loch Lomond Advance and are identified from ice-contact deposits overlying marine mud. The Lunan Bay Readvance dates to < 20.2 cal ka bp, and possibly < 18.2 cal ka bp. The younger Perth Readvance occurred between c. 17.5 cal ka bp and 14.5 Be-10 ka. Within dating uncertainties, these readvances are similar in age to ice-margin fluctuations documented from the Irish Sea Basin and northwestern Ireland and record three near-synchronous fluctuations of much of the British-Irish Ice Sheet margin during the last deglaciation, suggesting a common response to regional climate forcing.