CHAPTER 21 MICROMORPHOLOGY AND MICROSEDIMENTOLOGY OF GLACIAL SEDIMENTS J. Menzies 1,Ã and Jaap J.M. van der Meer 2,Ã 1 Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada, 2 Queen Mary, University of London, London, United Kingdom 21.1 INTRODUCTION The examination and analyses of undisturbed cohesive sediments at the microscale constitutes the fields of micromorphology (MM) and microsedimentology (MS). Micromorphology seeks to exam- ine the interrelationships between microscopic particles and related sediment ‘artefacts’, while microsedimentology looks at the relationships between particles and various sedimentary structures. With a petrological microscope, the optical mineralogy and petrology of particles can be ascer- tained and the juxtaposition of these same particles assessed. Likewise, the presence, geometry and aspect of microsedimentary structures can be examined and analysed. The microscopic aspects of soils and sediments largely began with innovative scientific investi- gations by W. L. Kubie ¨na with publication of ‘Micropedology’ (Die Mikromorphometrische Bodenanalyse)(Kubie ¨na, 1938). Subsequent work in Soil Sciences developed the methodology and principles of analyses (cf. Jongerius, 1965; Mu ¨cher, 1973; Brewer, 1976; FitzPatrick, 1984; Bullock et al., 1985; Stoops, 2003). Various taxonomic classifications were developed within Soil Science and have since been adapted into glacial studies (Meer, 1987a,b, 1996; Meer et al., 2003; Carr, 2004). The earliest consistent work on glacial sediments appear to have begun in the post- World War II period (cf. Sitler and Chapman 1955; Lavrushin, 1968, 1971; Sitler 1968) after a sin- gle early 1940s attempt (Lundqvist, 1940). A hiatus in the continuing development in glacial micro- morphology possibly occurred largely because of the difficulties in sample preparation for thin sectioning. (Many of the earliest chemical resins used were carcinogenic thus there was a delay in obtaining new and effective noncarcinogenic resins.) With new epoxy resins and technologies, stud- ies in glacial micromorphology began to develop rapidly in the 1970s (cf. Lavrushin 1976; Meer, 1982). Since the 1980s glacial microstudies have proceeded apace with increasing research and publications (see Menzies et al., 2010; Meer and Menzies, 2011). Ã Both attached to the Centre for Micromorphology, University of London, London, United Kingdom. 753 Past Glacial Environments. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100524-8.00036-1 © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.