Dr Becky Briant

Dr Becky Briant, BA Hons (Cambridge), MSc (London), PhD (Cambridge)
Visiting Research Fellow

Research interests:

My research interests mesh an interest in the novel application and cross-comparison of geochronological techniques (for estimating the age of deposits) with looking at river activity in response to climate fluctuations over Quaternary timescales. Specific projects include:

Palaeolithic Archaeology of the Sussex / Hampshire Coastal Corridor (English Heritage Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund)
OSL dating and palaeoenvironmental investigation of the Solent river system. The project traces its long-term evolution, links it to adjacent marine raised beaches and provides a geological framework for the archaeology of the study area.

Medway Valley Palaeolithic Project (English Heritage Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund)
Combined OSL dating and amino-acid racemisation dating, also palaeoenvironmental investigation of the Thames-Medway river system in eastern Essex since the Anglian. The project investigates both river gravels and deep estuarine channel fills and will provide a geochronological basis for correlation of deposits and update the geological framework available for understanding the archaeology of the study area.

Fluvial responses to rapid climate change in a semi-arid region: southeast Spain (Royal Geographical Society Small Research Award)
Investigation of an alluvial fan sequence near Alicante with Dr Ian Candy (University of Loughborough), focussing on cross-calibration of optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) and Uranium Series dating. Climate reconstruction during the successive phases of river activity is provided using stable isotopes.

Abstract: ‘Fluvial responses to rapid climate change in Eastern England during the last glacial period’
The response of lowland fluvial systems to rapid climate changes has been investigated using as case studies the Rivers Nene and Welland, two medium-size lowland catchments draining into the Fenland Basin. This is particularly timely because recent evidence from ice-core and marine records suggests that climate was considerably less stable during the last glacial period (Devensian Stage, Marine Isotope Substage 5d – Stage 2) than previously thought.

On the basis of detailed description of sediments exposed in quarries in the two river valleys, site-specific sequences of facies associations have been identified which reflect changes in the fluvial system. They were correlated, using significant bounding surfaces and facies similarities, and used to construct catchment-scale sequences of fluvial activity during the period. Palaeontological analyses (plant macrofossils, pollen, Mollusca, Coleoptera) show that the river systems were active under a periglacial climate, with a nival discharge regime grass- and herb-dominated vegetation of varying abundance and sparse molluscan and coleopteran faunas adapted to arctic conditions. Age control on the sequences is provided by substantial numbers of both radiocarbon and optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) age estimates, which were cross-calibrated by dating samples from the same channel-fills.

The Nene and Welland rivers were both active throughout the Devensian Stage, with lower-energy deposition in the Early Devensian Substage (~50-115 ka) than in the later Middle and Late Devensian Substages (~11-50 ka). An significant hiatus in sedimentation during the Late Devensian appears to relate to decreased fluvial activity and increased permafrost development at the Last Glacial Maximum (~22 ka), particularly in the Welland valley. These changes are similar to those recorded in other lowland British rivers, and systems across North-West Europe, although the type of sediments representative of high- and low-energy conditions varies significantly.

It is concluded that there are clear responses to climate at the interglacial/glacial scale and to larger-scale trends and fluctuations within the Devensian such as those recorded by Marine Isotope Stages and Substages. However, river systems of this type do not respond to the small-scale Stadial/Interstadial events recorded in the Greenland ice-cores. In addition, this is the first study of Devensian fluvial sediments in lowland Britain to use OSL dating in conjunction with radiocarbon and has allowed the reliability of each technique to be assessed.

Publications:

Refereed journal articles

  • Briant, R.M. & Bateman, M.D., submitted. A cross-comparison of radiocarbon and luminescence dating in Late Pleistocene fluvial contexts. Quaternary Research.
  • Briant, R.M., Coope, G.R. & Gibbard, P.L. in press. Resolving catastrophic events in the Quaternary fluvial record: limits to resolution. Geological Society of London Special Publication.
  • Gao, C., Boreham, S., Gibbard, P.L., Preece, R.C. & Briant, R.M. in press. Fluvial response to rapid climate change during the Devensian (Weichselian) Lateglacial in the River Great Ouse, southern England, UK. Sedimentary Geology 202, 193-210.
  • Langford, H.E., Bateman, M.D., Penkman, K.E.H., Boreham, S., Briant, R.M., Coope, G.R. and Keen, D.H. in press. Age-estimate evidence for Middle-Late Pleistocene aggradation of River Nene 1st Terrace deposits at Whittlesey, eastern England. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association 118, 238-300.
  • Bates, M.R., Bates, C.R. & Briant, R.M. 2007. Bridging the Gap: a terrestrial view of shallow marine sequences and the importance of the transition zone. Journal of Archaeological Science 34, 1537-1551.
  • Briant, R.M., Bates, M.R., Schwenninger, J-L & Wenban-Smith, F.F. 2006a. A long optically-stimulated luminescence dated Middle to Late Pleistocene fluvial sequence from the western Solent Basin, southern England. Journal of Quaternary Science 21, 507-523.
  • Briant, R.M., Bates, M.R., Boreham, S., Wenban-Smith, F.F. & Whittaker, J. 2006b. Re-investigation of interglacial sediments at Stone Point, Lepe Country Park, Hampshire. Quaternary Newsletter 108, 43-51.
  • Briant, R.M., Bateman, M.D., Coope, G.R. & Gibbard, P.L. 2005. Climatic control on Quaternary fluvial sedimentology: a Fenland Basin river in England. Sedimentology 52, 1397-1424.
  • Briant, R.M., Coope, G.R., Preece, R.C. and Gibbard, P.L. 2004a. The Upper Pleistocene deposits at Deeping St James, Lincolnshire: evidence for Early Devensian fluvial sedimentation. Quaternaire 15, 5-15.
  • Briant, R.M., Coope, G.R., Preece, R.C., Keen, D.H., Boreham, S., Griffiths, H.I., Seddon, M.B. and Gibbard, P.L. 2004b. Fluvial response to Late Devensian aridity, Baston, Lincolnshire, England. Journal of Quaternary Science, 19, 479-495.
  • Van Huissteden, J. (Ko), Gibbard, P.L., and Briant, R.M., 2001. Periglacial fluvial systems in northwest Europe during Marine Isotope Stages 4 and 3. Quaternary International, 79,75-88.
  • Briant, R.M., Rose, J., Branch, N.P. and Lee, J.A., 1999. 'Pre-glacial' Quaternary sediments from Trimingham, North Norfolk, England. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Norfolk, 49, 15-47.

Edited books

  • Langford, H.E. and Briant, R.M. (eds) 2004a. Nene Valley. Field Guide, Quaternary Research Association.

Book chapters

  • Langford, H.E. and Briant, R.M. 2004b. Post-Anglian Pleistocene deposits of the Peterborough area and the Pleistocene history of the Fen Basin. In: Langford, H.E. and Briant, R.M. (eds). Nene Valley. Field Guide, Quaternary Research Association, p.22-35.
  • Briant, R.M., Coope, G.R. and Bateman, M.D. 2004c. Pode Hole Quarry, Thorney (TF261033 - TF265033): Early Devensian sands and gravels. In: Langford, H.E. and Briant, R.M. (eds). Nene Valley. Field Guide, Quaternary Research Association, p.130-144.
  • Briant, R.M., Coope, G.R., Bateman, M.D. and Griffiths, H.I. 2004d. Eye Quarry (TF273023 - TF240021): Early Devensian sands and gravels. In: Langford, H.E. and Briant, R.M. (eds). Nene Valley. Field Guide, Quaternary Research Association, p.116-129.
  • Briant, R.M., Rose, J., Branch, N.P. 2000. Trimingham (TG 277391 - TG274393): Pre-glacial coastal sands, gravels and organic muds. In: Lewis, S.G., Whiteman, C.A., and Preece, R.C. (eds): The Quaternary of Norfolk and Suffolk Field Guide, p. 85-90. Quaternary Research Association, London.

Other written output

  • Bates, M.R., Briant, R.M., Wenban-Smith, F.F. & Bates C.R. 2007. Curation of the Sussex/Hampshire Coastal Corridor Lower/Middle Palaeolithic Record. Project Report - English Heritage ALSF project 3279.
  • Wenban-Smith, F.F., Briant, R.M. & Marshall, G. 2007. The Palaeolithic Resource in the Medway Gravels (Essex). Medway Valley Palaeolithic Project Final Report (English Heritage ALSF project 3836).
  • Bates, M.R., Wenban-Smith, F.F., Briant, R.M. & Marshall, G. 2004. Palaeolithic Archaeology of the Sussex/Hampshire Coastal Corridor. Final report: English Heritage ALSF project 3279.
  • Briant, R.M. 2002. Fluvial Responses to Rapid Climate Change in Eastern England during the last glacial period. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Cambridge.