MIDDLE DEVENSIAN DEPOSITS OF THE IVEL VALLEY AT SANDY, BEDFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND

Fluvial gravels exposed beneath the surface of the low terrace of the River Ivel have been investigated in a quarry south of Sandy, Bedfords hire. Sedimentological investigations suggest that deposition occurred as bars and sheets in a braided river regime, Fossiliferous slit lens es occur within the gavel and their contents indicate deposition under slow moving or still water conditions in abandoned small channels, Th e palaeontological data from plant macrofossil remains, Mollusca and C oleoptera present a consistent picture of a harsh climate similar to t hat of the tundra areas of arctic Russia at the present day. Mutual Cl imatic Range (MCR) estimates based on Coleoptera indicate a mean tempe rature of the warmest month between +8 degrees C and +11 degrees C. an d a mean temperature of the coldest month between -10 degrees C and -2 8 degrees C, Radiocarbon ages of 34 055+330-310 (Q-2936) and 29 250+46 0-120 (Q-2935) yrs BP suggest dates for the lower part of the gravelly sequence, in the Middle Devensian, at the end of the Upton Warren Int erstadial Complex.