The deforming bed characteristics of a stratified till assemblage in north East Anglia, UK: investigating controls on sediment rheology and strain signatures

When coupled with micromorphological analysis, these findings show that ductile, viscous creep mechanisms control sedimentary architecture, and that 'shear stratification' in particular, has the potential to affect the rheological properties of the sediment pile and the hydraulic routing of basal water, ultimately influencing critical effective pressure fluctuations and the thresholds controlling the subglacial drainage system.