The Glacial Landsystems Working Group (GLWG) held its inaugural meeting in Southwest Scotland in November 1998, following on from the successful Subglacial Working Group of the British Geomorphological Research Group (now British Society for Geomorphology). It is an informal working group which aims to act as a catalyst for research on palaeoglaciological reconstructions, focusing specifically on landform/sediment associations and their application to glaciated landscapes. The group has previously organised weekend field meetings at various times of the year and at various locations in glaciated Britain. The meetings comprise short field excursions to critical sites and on some occasions a series of short seminar and poster sessions on various aspects of glacial landsystems. Postgraduate and undergraduate students are particularly welcome and it is hoped that postgraduates will use the opportunity to present some of their research findings in an informal atmosphere.

Mega-scale glacial lineations from a palaeo-ice stream landsystem in Northern Canada. Photograph: C. Stokes

Rationale

The GLWG aims to provide a catalyst for constructive discussion on glaciated basins as they pertain to the glacial record in the British Isles. The landsystems concept provides a framework for the holistic assessment of glacial sediment/landform associations and enables glacial geologists and geomorphologists to synthesise data across a range of scales. Since its inception GLWG has not only organized field meetings but has also co-hosted with INQUA the Ice Marginal Landsystems Conference at Keele (2000), from which a special edition of Sedimentary Geology was edited by Dave Evans and Andy Russell. The edited book Glacial Landsystems (Evans, 2003) is also dedicated to the fine body of scientists who air their views and risk their reputations on GLWG action!