STRATIGRAPHY AND ORIGIN OF NEW-FOREST BRICKEARTHS, ENGLAND

The thin, loamy brickearth deposits overlying the flinty terrace grave ls of the New Forest are divided into older and younger members. The L ower (older) Brickearth includes sediments thought to be mainly loess, with some aeolian sand and possible river floodloam (overbank sedimen t). These share the common feature of palaeo-argillic soil horizons in their upper layers. Two separate phases of pre-Holocene temperate ped ogenesis often can be distinguished in the palaeo-argillic horizons. T he Lower Brickearth is the Devensian loess in Britain. The Upper (youn ger) Brickearth consists mainly of Late Devensian (Oxygen Isotope Stag e 2) loess, bur its lower layers also contain fine sand derived mainly from local Tertiary strata. Both brickearths occur on all the terrace surfaces of the New Forest and indicate that the terraces date from O xygen Isotope Stage 6 or earlier.