Is it what I think it is?

[Lewis_]

There was big chunks of peat washing up on the beach that I go to and I looked it up and it’s remnant’s of an ancient forest floor? There was land out there a few thousand years ago and a mile or so down the coast ancient tree stumps show from under the sand every once in awhile so does this peat actually contain plant matter from thousands of years ago?

[Doctor Mud]

I have a fondness for peat 

Thats why I chose the name Mud Doctor or Doctor Mud. I used to study bog and lake sediment to study past environments. 

 

It’s great for preserving things - think about those “bog bodies” that have been dug up. But it is good at preserving things big and small.

 

Peat is very organic sediment mostly made up of plant material! Anywhere that is wet, and there is lots of plant material has the chance to accumulate peat. The classic example is sphagnum or moss peat.

 

I lived in the UK for a while and there were deposits on the beach like this dating to about 13,000 years old. These were forests soon after the last ice age before sea level rose to present day height. They contain everything from trees, to plants and even insect fossils and pollen. The beetle fossils have been used to tell us what the climate was like back then.

 

If you took some of this peat and soak it, wash it through a sieve and look, you might just see some ancient seeds or insects. This site may have already been radiocarbon dated if you look up the site. 
 

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by Doctor Mud

[Doctor Mud]

If you look up in Google scholar your location with keyword “peat” “quaternary” there might be papers published that will give you an age. Your local university might have researchers who have sampled these peats, or may be in the process of doing so. Look up the geography department. If you find someone I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you sending them an email to ask about the age and what they have found.  I wouldn’t in their position. 
 

If you don’t mind telling us where the peat is I can take a look for papers for you.

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by Doctor Mud

[westcoast]

Yes, this looks exactly like the mid holocene coastal peat deposits that are found all around the north atlantic coasts, we have some very nice examples here in the west of Ireland. They formed when sea level was lower and were buried as sea level continued to rise following the melting of the last glacial ice.

[Mahnmut]

Very Interesting! Curious to see what you sieve out of that!

I just want to add that also the "normal" peat that is still harvested to fill flower pots is an irreplaceable archive of the past and, when still intact, a valuable carbon sink.

Best Regards,

J

 

[Lewis_]

6 hours ago, Doctor Mud said:

If you look up in Google scholar your location with keyword “peat” “quaternary” there might be papers published that will give you an age. Your local university might have researchers who have sampled these peats, or may be in the process of doing so. Look up the geography department. If you find someone I’m sure they wouldn’t mind you sending them an email to ask about the age and what they have found.  I wouldn’t in their position. 
 

If you don’t mind telling us where the peat is I can take a look for papers for you.

 

It was at Borth in West Wales so it should be around 5,000-4,000 years old apparently