Processes of soft-sediment clast formation in the intertidal zone

Muddy soft-sediment clasts found on the sandy beach at Formby Point, north-west England, are formed by wave erosion of late Holocene intertidal sediments that are exposed during summertime ridge and runnel development. Break-up processes of the intertidal sediments are strongly controlled by pre-existing bedding and surface desiccation cracks. Erosion of the intertidal sediments and formation of soft-sediment clasts contributes to the provision of fines into this dominantly sandy environment, but loss of the archaeologically significant Holocene intertidal sediments is a potentially important management issue along this coast.