MAGAZINE OF THE MAGAZINE OF THE GEOLOGISTS’GEOLOGISTS’ASSOCIAASSOCIATION TION

VVolume 10 No. 2 June 201olume 10 No. 2 June 20111

Future LecturesAwards 2011Presidential AddressApril/March LectureAnnual DinnerPalaeontolgy in the Digital AgeCIRCULAR‘That’s Big’Festival of Geology- from the floorMusings of a GA TreasurerRockwatch NewsCharnwood Forest - a complete setBook ReviewsGEOCONSERVATION MEETING UPDATE

Published by theGeologists’ Association.Four issues per year.ISSN 1476-7600Production team: JOHN CROCKER,Paula Carey, John Cosgrove,Vanessa Harley, Jon Trevelyan, Chris Woolston

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The GEOLOGISTS’ ASSOCIATIONdoes not accept any responsibility forviews and opinions expressed by indi-vidual authors in this magazine.

The Geologists’Association

The Association, founded in 1858, exists tofoster the progress and diffusion of the sci-ence of geology, and to encourageresearch and the development of newmethods. It holds meetings for the readingof papers and the delivery of lectures,organises museum demonstrations, pub-lishes Proceedings and Guides, and con-ducts field meetings. Annual Subscriptions for 2011 are £40.00,Associates £30.00, Joint Members £58.00,Students £18.00.For forms of Proposal for Membership andfurther information, apply to the ExecutiveSecretary, The Geologists’ Association,Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J0DU. E-mail Geol.Assoc@btinternet.com Telephone 020 7434 9298 Fax 020 7287 0280Website: http://www.geologistsassocia-tion.org.uk

President: David BridglandExecutive Secretary: SarahStafford

The harsh days of winter are behind usand we are now enjoying a warm andearly spring (at least in most places), toodry for many farmers and gardeners,although (along with our DurhamPhysical Geography 2nd Year students) Ireceived a thorough soaking on Skye atthe beginning of April. Now I am lookingforward to the weekend GA excursion'Pre-Anglian Quaternary drainage in theEnglish Midlands' in June (see page 14),which will be a break from the examina-tion process at the University.

Organization of the September meetingin Worcester on 'Geoconservation for sci-ence and society: an agenda for the 21stCentury' continues apace, and I drawyour attention to details on the backpage. In connection with this, a view-point paper has been published in thePGA online (Prosser et al.) and willappear in the printed version this sum-mer, in time for the meeting. Also in con-nection with Geoconservation, I attendedan Editorial Board of Earth Heritage, inLudlow, on March 23rd, to discuss possi-bilities for GA involvement in the produc-tion and distribution of that specialistpublication, funding for which has previ-ously come from the Government agen-cies (Natural England, Scottish NaturalHeritage, Countryside Council for Walesand the Joint Nature ConservationCommittee) but is now (unsurprisingly)much reduced. With reduced resources itlooks set to continue as an online publi-cation in future (with even that in jeop-ardy beyond a year or so), although withGA involvement a renewed 'as-required'print run might be possible, by subscrip-tion. A proposal will come before the GAPublications Committee shortly but,meanwhile, I would welcome views frommembers who are familiar with EarthHeritage; for example, would they wel-come this as part of a GA package andwhat do they think about online (down-loadable pdf) versus printed copy?Also in connection with Geoconservation

matters, my attention has been drawn tothe cessation of the Aggregates LevySustainability Fund (ALSF) at the end ofthe last financial year. That fund, admin-istered through Natural England andEnglish Heritage, provided a resource forsome extremely valuable geologicalresearch and for Geodiversity schemes ofall sorts. Its demise, it would seem, is anexample of the reduction of resourcesavailable to the volunteer communitythat seems destined to undermine thePrime Minister's 'Big Society' initiative.We might hope that the Heritage LotteryFund will step into the breach; with thatin mind, I completed an online consulta-tion questionnaire concerning future HLFstrategy for 2013-2019 on behalf of theGA, taking what limited opportunity itoffered to emphasize the needs, post-ALSF, of the Earth science conservationcommunity, particularly in the light ofcuts to Government Agency resources.For more on all this you will need to cometo Worcester in September!

Finally I would like to thank all those

Magazine of the Geologists’ AssociationVolume 10 No. 2, 2011

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Geologists’ Association.

LAST Copy dates for the Circular &Magazine

March Issue January 14 June Issue April 22

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Items should be submitted as soon aspossible and not targeted on these

dates. We welcome contributions fromMembers and others.

GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 20112

CONTENTS3. The Association 4. Future Lectures5. Awards 20116. Presidential Address7. April Lecture8. March Lecture9. Annual Dinner

10. AGS at 45/Book Review11. Palaeontolgy in the Digital Age13. Obituary - Paul Clasby14. CIRCULAR18 ‘That’s Big’19. Festival of Geology- from the

floor20. Musings of a GA Treasurer21. Rockwatch News22. Charnwood Forest -

a complete set23. Book ReviewBack Cover. GEOCONSERVATION

MEETING UPDATE

Cover picture:A computer reconstruction ofthe trigonotarbid Eophrymusprestvicii Fossil 30 mm inlength. See article on page 11

From the President

Curry Fund Dates for 2011

Applications to Committee to be received by Date

February 20 March 11May 20 June 10August 20 September 16November 20 December 9

THE ASSOCIATION

GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011 3

Report from Council

Since there is no Council in April, thisreport is for the March and May meet-ings.

The President reported that the GA isfulfilling its obligation to GA membersoutside London by holding a two-daymeeting in September (sponsored byElsevier) on Geoconservation inWorcester (see back page for details).

At the March meeting the Treasurerexplained that Maurice Whiteley, the GAaccountant, has completed a first draft ofthe GA's 2010annual accounts, and thishas been overviewed and approved "inprinciple" by Simpkins Edwards, theauditor. Council warmly thanked all thosewho had contributed to a successfulfinancial year, with thanks particularly toMaurice Whiteley, the GA's Accountant.The Treasurer also congratulated Sarahfor sending out the Annual Report andaccounts within two weeks of the audi-tors having cleared them. Thanks weregiven to Susan Brown for her outstand-ing work in raising funds for Rockwatch.They were also given to Peter Doyle forthe continued development of GeologyToday.

At the May meeting the Treasurer pro-posed the 2011 Budget. One of theobjectives of this Proposal is to deter-mine whether it is necessary to increaseannual subscriptions. With the adviceand explanation of the Treasurer, Councilfelt that there appears to be no com-pelling reason to raise subscriptionsimmediately.

And finally, Council thanked theTreasurer for his hard work throughoutthe year in producing the accounts.

Paul Olver reported that theMembership Team at the GloucesterGeoconservation Trust on 23rd Februaryrepresented all regions in England andWales except the north-east. The maintopic was the planning for the GA spon-sored event at the Three Counties Show

at Great Malvern on 17th -19th Junewhere the Hereford & Worcester EarthHeritage Trust, GloucesterGeoconservation Trust, the WoolhopeClub, the Black Country GS and thenewly formed Teme Valley GS will all beworking together under the GA's banner.

Dr. Colin Prosser has agreed to becomethe chair of the Publications committee.He is also our contact on Geology Today.

It was suggested that Field Guidesshould be launched with an associatedfield trip.

Susan Brown reported that the organ-isation for the Festival of Geology isgoing well with three speakers lined upand the field trips organised.

Professor Danielle Schreve has agreedto take over the administration of theawards and a clarification of the processhas been agreed. She is standing downfrom Council after her terms as Presidentand Senior Vice President, for which thePresident expressed thanks on behalf ofCouncil.

This was Dr John Crocker's last meet-ing as General Secretary and thePresident proposed a vote of thanks forall John's work over the last twelveyears. John will stay on the PublicationsCommittee as he will continue asMagazine Editor.

The President thanked the other retir-ing members of the Council, Mr RichardBateman, Mr Peter Riches and Dr WendyKirk.

The President welcomed Mrs DianaClements as the new General Secretary.

Dr Mike Ridd thanked Dr Paul Olver fora successful French field meeting which33 people attended.

There was discussion of the placing ofthe photographic archives with BGS, withproposals by Jonathan Larwood, (whohas been organising the preservation ofthe photographic archive). Councilendorsed the progress made thus far byJonathan and authorized him to continuenegotiations with BGS. It was felt that ajob description for a new position of GAArchivist should be established and thatJonathan (if willing) should be the firstholder of the post.

John CrockerGeneral Secretary

Curry Fund Report

The Curry Fund Committee receivedseven new applications at its first meet-ing of the year in March. At recent meet-ings, the Committee has observed thatapplicants have been requesting biggergrants than in the past. Unfortunately,this coincides with a reduction in theavailable money the Curry Fund has todispense, thanks to a decline in the inter-est rates on its investments. This ofcourse is not restricted to Curry Fundinvestments, but it does make competi-tion stiffer for applicants requesting sup-port from the Fund.

So, for example, Stoke on Trent

Museums requested £2,216.14 but wasawarded £951.50 towards the cost ofmaterials and equipment for its RegionalGeology Stewardship Project. This proj-ect is to aid the public understanding ofgeology through visits to museums andassisting in the curation of the Museum'sgeological materials. Similarly,Oxfordshire Geology Trust requested£1,502 for a series of promotional mate-rials. It was awarded £330 towards thecost of printing new promotional leaflets.The application from James Talbot for£4,155 for publication of the GA FieldGuide - Roadside Geology of Wales - wasreferred to the GA Council for support.The application from NEWRIGS for geo-logical trail leaflets was awarded£735.50.

An application from a Universityrequesting £5,020 towards the cost of aresearch project was refused as it felloutside our remit. Hampshire CountyMuseums - Gosport Discovery Centre -requested £1,452 for a mammoth inter-active exhibit. The Committee was mind-ful to consider some support, butrequested more details before making afinal decision. Supplementary informa-tion was also requested from CharmouthHeritage Coast Centre about its applica-tion requesting £1,550 towards the costof a project for the public about theCharmouth Dinosaur. Once this informa-tion has been received the Committeewill be able to make a decision.

There was one outstanding applicationfrom the December meeting for whichthe Committee had asked for additionalinformation. This had been received andthus, the Scarborough Museum Trust was awardedup to £2,000 for a geological guide to aWilliam Smith Trail through the town.

Susan BrownCurry Fund Secretary

Library NotesWith the GA Field Trip to Japan coming

up later this year, I have been looking atour coverage of the country. We have ageneral geological map at a scale of1:2,000,000(1971) with a later editionon order at present. I am investigatingprovision of maps at 1:500,000 for theareas which will be traversed by the fieldtrip. In view of the recent earthquakeyou may be interested to know that wealso have two sheets in the series'Neotectonic map 1:500,000': no.8 Tokyoand no.11 Kyoto – both cities which willbe visited. In Tokyo members may belucky enough to experience a nice safelittle earthquake as I did on the GA tripin the late 1980's. Coverage of sheets at1:200,000 is patchy though we do havesome, and coverage at 1:50,000 is verysparse. If anyone is interested in thisdetail I could copy the indexes to you.

Library Notes continued on page 9

who came to the AGM at the beginning ofMay. It was a very pleasant evening dur-ing which it was my great pleasure topresent the Foulerton Award to SarahStafford, in recognition of her 25 years ofservice to the GA, the Halstead Medalto Bob Markham, for his outstanding con-tribution to East Anglian geology and Cragpalaeontology, and the Ivor Tupper Award(for most promising geology student(formost promising geology student) to HongChin Ng, who is at Bristol University. Itwas also an opportunity to thank retiringCouncil members, in particular DanielleSchreve, at the end of her four years onCouncil, during the middle part of whichshe proved to be an excellent Presidentand a very hard act to follow! JohnCrocker, too, is standing down fromCouncil after 12 years as GeneralSecretary, although happily he will contin-ue to edit this magazine..

David Bridgland

GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 20114

July Meeting Searching for the cause and effectof the World’s greatest mass extinc-tion in the Permo-Triassic of Russia

Dr. Andrew NewellBGS

Friday July 1 2011Geological Society, Burlington House,Piccadilly, W1V 0JUat 6.00 pm, tea at 5.30 pm.

The Permo-Triassic mass extinction,252 million years ago, was thelargest mass extinction of all time.Some 80-95% of all species werewiped out, and yet the causes are stilldebated. Most evidence suggests thatthe killing was initiated by massivevolcanic eruptions in Siberia whichcaused extreme global warming. Ateam assembled from BristolUniversity, University of Plymouth,British Geological Survey, SaratovUniversity and the Palaeontological

Institute, Moscow has been studyingthe nature of the event on land in thespectacular Permo-Triassic red bedsedimentary successions of theRussian Platform. Our aims are tounravel the catastrophic events atthe Permo-Triassic boundary byexamining the sedimentology, iso-tope geochemistry, and palaeontol-ogy of geological exposures locatedas far apart as the Russian Arctic,Moscow Basin and the southern Ural

Mountains. This talk presents some ofthe initial results of this work anddescribes some of the many and var-ied experiences of the team as theybattle to find and interpret Permo-Triassic successions across the vastdistances of European Russia.

For further information seehttp://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Russia/Russia.html

Mike Benton and Greg Price have lunch on theSukhona River with palaeobotanists from the

Palaeontological Institute, Moscow.

Permian red beds on the Sukhona River,northern Russia

October Meeting Galician Rias and the Impact of Man

Graham Evans (Ocean and EarthSciences, University of Southampton) andRichard J. Howarth (Earth Sciences,University College London)

Friday October 7 2011Society of Antiquaries, *Burlington House,Piccadilly, W1V 0JUat 6.00 pm, tea at 5.30 pm.

The rias of the coast of north-westernSpain are elongate inlets cut intoPrecambrian and Palaeozoic igneous andmetamorphic rocks. The term was firstintroduced into the scientific literature bythe German geographer and geologist,Baron Ferdinand von Richtofen (1803-1905) in 1886, for a particular type ofcoastal inlet, as exemplified by those ofthe Galician coastline (Fig. 1). They wereformed by the drowning of the lowercourses of local rivers during the post-gla-cial rise of sea-level. Today they are

mesotidal (2-4 m range) marine inletswhich are estuarine in their inner parts;however, the estuarine zone can extendseawards during periods of high river dis-charge.Currently, they are being infilled to vary-ing degrees by small rivers which drain aheavily vegetated hinterland. Small deltashave formed in the inner parts of the rias.Salt marshes, wide mudflats and sandflatscut by estuarine channels are exposed atlow tide. Seawards of the bay-headdeltas, the floors of the rias are coveredwith fine-grained sediment and narrowsandy beach deposits fringe much of theother parts of the shoreline. Near theentrance, carbonate-rich sands and grav-els rich in calcareousalgae occur.Due to upwelling onthe adjacent shelf, therias are areas of highproductivity and theirfine-grained sedi-ments contain 4-5%organic carbon. Thereis abundant evidenceof the production ofbiogenic gas. It canbe shown by statisti-cal mixture-modellingthat although thegeochemistry of thebottom sediments canbe partially explainedby the supply of localrivers, there is alsoclear evidence ofanthropogenic influ-ence.Since the last decadesof the 20th Century

the population around the margins of therias, particularly those of the major riassuch as the Ria de Vigo, has increasedmarkedly; industrial development hasoccurred with associated development ofroads, bridges, airports, etc. In addition,there has been the construction of dams.More importantly, there has been a greatincrease in mariculture, especially the cul-tivation of mussels suspended from rafts(bateas; Figs. 2). These changes haveaffected, and are recorded in, the sedi-ments accumulating on the floors of therias.*Note venue

Fig. 2. Growth in numbers of industrial groups and area occupied bybateas in the Ria de Vigo (left scale) and population of the City of Vigo

urban area (dashed line; right scale). First mussel rafts were estab-lished in the main Ria de Vigo in 1949.

Fig. 1. Looking towards the Estrecho deRande from the inner part of the Ria de Vigo.

GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011 5

AWARDS 2011

Sarah Stafford receives theFoulerton Award from the

President

The Foulerton award which is for‘... work of merit connected withthe Association’ was presented toSarah Stafford, the GA ExecutiveSecretary, in appreciation of heroutstanding 25 years support of

the Association

Bob Markham receivesthe Halstead Medalwhich is ’... for workof outstanding merit,

deemed to furtherthe objectives of theAssociation and topromote Geology’.

Jan Zalasiewicz receives the Richardson Award on behalfof his co-authors which is for’... the best research-basedpaper in each annual volume of the Proceedings of the

Geologist' Association’.

Hong Chin Ng receives the TUPPER AWARD, an award in memory of G. Ivor F.Tupper. The fund is designed to give financial assistance ‘ - to a deservingundergraduate in their second, third or fourth year at university, studying

Geology or Earth Sciences. The award will be made by the Council of theGeologists' Association to the student they feel best demonstrates both a

genuine commitment to the discipline and academic excellence’.

GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 20116

Late Cenozoic FluvialArchives: a potential revolu-tion in our understanding ofcontinental geology.

From the days of William Smith, cor-relation on a local, regional and eventu-ally world-wide scale has been at theheart of geology, allowing us to build upa clear picture of palaeogeographicalconditions over geological time.Initially this work was based onpalaeontology coupled with the occa-sional resort to lithostratigraphy, butnow, with advances in absolute dating,the technique has become much morepowerful. At the same time increaseddata storage, the widespread availabili-ty of computer power, and easy com-munication over the Internet, has facil-itated the complex process of compar-ing different data sets. How this can beapplied and the startling results thatcan be achieved were illustrated by DrBridgland in his first PresidentialAddress.

The story begins in 1996 when Davidco-founded a new research group with-in the Quaternary Research Association(QRA) called "FLAG" (Fluvial ArchivesGroup) that brought together interna-tional scientists from many differentdisciplines. Since then FLAG has organ-ised biennial conferences in Europe andTurkey, the most recent being inPortugal where David was electedChairman. He also acted as co-leaderof two UNESCO International GeologicalCorrelation Programmes (nowInternational Geoscience Programmes).The first in 2000-04 was entitled"Global correlation of Late Cenozoic flu-vial deposits" (IGCP 449) and the sec-ond in 2005-07 "Fluvial sequences asevidence for landscape and climateevolution in the Late Cenozoic" (IGCP518). The results of some of this workhave been published in special issues ofour Proceedings (see Vol. 115-2, 115-4& 121-2). The assemblage of data fromthese projects has enabled the world-wide comparisons that have led to thefindings presented in this address.Absolutely key in this respect has beenthe opportunity to compare so widely indifferent parts of the globe, and on dif-ferent crustal types.

Fluvial sequences are produced eitherby alternate deposition and erosion(river terraces) or continuous deposi-tion (alluvial stacks). The speaker feltthat eustasy has been overplayed as amechanism, despite what text bookssay; it can be important in coastalreaches but climatic forcing against abackground of uplift/subsidence are thekey factors everywhere. Measuringuplift is difficult since it leaves few

traces, for example estimates of theunroofing of the British Isles during thelast 60 Ma range from 2-3 km to as lit-tle of 700 m depending on the methodemployed. Subsidence is easier torecognise using normal geological tech-niques such as field mapping or bore-hole information. The effects of climatechange have been difficult to interpretuntil comparatively recently, butEngland is fortunate in having a world-class example of the influence ofrepeated glacial cycles on a river sys-tem in the form of the Thames valley.This provides one of the most completeterrestrial geological and archaeologicalrecords for the past half million yearsafter the flow of the river was divertedfrom a course further to the north dur-ing the Anglian glacial maximum,equivalent to Marine Oxygen IsotopeStage (MIS) 12. This event is markedby the Boyne Hill/Orsett HeathFormation thereby providing a calibra-tion point for subsequent terraces.Details of this were given by David inthe Henry Stopes Memorial Lecture in2004 in which he related the Thamessequence to 100 ka Milankovitch cycles(see PGA 117-3, 281-305). In particu-lar terrace development was shown tohave been initiated at the end of glacialperiods with the deposition of cold cli-mate gravels. This was followed byinterglacial deposits, generally situatedat the feather edge of the terraces andoften showing evidence of later erosion,and finally by a return to cold condi-tions at the onset of the next glacialperiod. Terrace development, there-fore, was not related to a fall in sealevel but was the result of uplift withthe erosive period triggered by warm-ing and increased river flow.

International cooperation via theIGCP and FLAG has provided many fur-ther examples, each with some localvariation. Thus in France the Sommehas terraces that are older than theThames and are covered by loess withintermittent soil layers that allow forrelative dating. Terrace development isnot universal, however, as shown bythe Rhine which in its upper reaches inGermany has cut a gorge (typical ofvalleys in uplifting areas but con-strained by resistant bedrock) whilstnearer its mouth in the Netherlands hasdeposited a stack of sediments indicat-ing subsidence downstream of a long-standing hinge line. It also shows howterrestrial deposits on the highest old-est terraces pass laterally into the low-est members of the alluvial pile. Inother cases, such as the River Gediz inTurkey, uplift has resulted in basininversion. Here the terraces are cov-ered by lavas that can be accuratelydated, the terraces showing evidence ofearlier 41 ka Milankovitch cycles. Other

examples were shown from the basinsof the rivers Svratka (Czech Republic),South Platte (Colorado, USA), Sundays(South Africa) and Niger (Niger); thelatter being particularly significantbecause geomorphologists had thoughtthat river terraces could not form intropical environments. This appears tobe incorrect and it now seems thatwhere rivers flow over ancient andextremely stable cratonic areas (as inmuch of Africa, India and the AmazonBasin) terrace development, if it occursat all, is restricted to just a few metresdue to the absence of uplift.Confirmation of this comes from theUkrainian Craton where the Dnieper,located entirely on the craton, shows noterracing, the Dniester, entirely off thecraton has extensive terracing, and theDon, part on, part off, shows a mixedgeomorphology.

Another local and shorter-timescalefactor is isostatic rebound following gla-cial loading. This is illustrated in theNorth of England where the RiversSwale and Ure flow over areas thatwere covered by the Devensian glacia-tion (MIS 2). All evidence of previousterrace formation has been lost butboth show extensive recent features upto 30m above the present floodplaindue to rapid uplift as the ice retreated.This contrasts strongly with situationoutside the glaciated area, such asalong the Trent, where terraces dateback to the Middle Pleistocene but thelast glacial gravels simply form the baseof the modern floodplain and show noevidence of incision.

In conclusion, Dr Bridgland said thatriver terrace deposits gave good evi-dence of climate change since the lastglacial incursion (whatever its age) inany particular area and that their for-mation was due to erosive action trig-gered by climate change acting on ariver system in an area of uplift. It fol-lowed that they would be absent in sub-siding basins and on stable cratons,something that could be confirmed inthe field. In general there was little orno evidence for control by plate tecton-ics (as shown by the Orontes in Syria)but the source of such general conti-nental uplift was still a problem,although lower crustal flow could be anexplanation, however, that was a sub-ject for further research.

Dave Greenwood

Evening Lecture May 2011 - Presidential Address Dr David R Bridgland, University of Durham.

Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011 7

Evening Lecture April 1

Revelations of rotting fish shednew light on our earliest fossilancestry - Dr Robert Sansom

Dr Sansom started by explainingthat understanding the origin of ver-tebrates is fundamental to under-standing our own place in evolution,and virtually every account of thehistory of life discusses vertebrateorigins and the fossils from this criti-cal phase in evolution. In the story ofvertebrate origins as we presentlyunderstand it there is a large evolu-tionary gap between vertebrates andtheir nearest living pre-vertebraterelatives. According to many geneti-cists (and hundreds of researchpapers), this gap reflects a majorevolutionary jump from simple pre-vertebrates to complex vertebrates.This was caused by a suddenincrease in genetic complexity lead-ing to genetic duplication, morpho-logical complexity and developmentalinnovations. It has recently beensuggested that this may be the mostimportant genetic change to occur inmetazoan evolution.

However there is a major problemwith this picture of vertebrate evolu-tion: we actually know almost noth-ing about the fossil record of the ear-liest vertebrates. We do know thatthey were entirely soft-bodied crea-tures with no easily fossilizable min-eralised tissues. Consequently theirchances of being preserved as easilyrecognizable fossils are rather limit-ed, and this means that what we cur-rently see as a gap might be nothingmore than our failure to find and rec-ognize the fossils that would other-wise fill it. Therefore resolving whichof these two views of the gap is cor-rect is clearly fundamental to under-standing vertebrate evolution.Dr Sansom gave as examples of theproblem the fossils found in theBurgess Shale (550 ma) andChengjiang (525ma) and in particularHaikonella. This fossil is placed onthe junction between non vertebratesand vertebrates although this is dis-puted.

He suggested that the processes ofdecay and preservation are at theroot of the problem. Therefore he hasused experimental decay as a way ofidentifying and inderstanding theprocesses of decay. There have beenother studies in the past but this isthe first conducted on primitive fish.He has also adopted a differentapproach to previous researchers byusing the essential characters (orsynapomorphies) that are used todefine an organism's place within theevolutionary tree.

His research project aimed to deter-mine the true nature of the apparentevolutionary jump at the time whenvertebrates first emerged by studyingthe way in which the characteristicsoft-tissue features of vertebrates;(such as eyes, muscles and tail fins),rot, so that it becomes possible toidentify reliably the presence of thesecharacters in fossils. Fossils areessentially snapshots in which decayhas been frozen in time, and to iden-tify the earliest vertebrates we needa kind of photofit compiled usingknowledge of how important charac-ters look at various stages of decayand how the same characters look ina variety of fossils. Therefore to investigate how verte-brate soft-tissue characters decayand disintegrate after death heallowed a variety of primitive fishes(amphioxus, hagfish, lampreys andchondrichthyans) to rot under con-trolled laboratory conditions. He thenput them in sealed containers andvaried the decay mechanisms andconditions, for instance one samplehad bacteria present while anotherdid not; the temperature; the salini-ty; the ontogeny and the size. Asthey decomposed he carefullyrecorded the relative resistance todecay of the key features of theiranatomy and how they changed inappearance and position. To studyhow the soft tissue characters ofearly vertebrates actually becamepreserved he used a scanning elec-tron microscope to conduct detailedstudies of rare, exceptionally well-preserved examples of unequivocalfossil vertebrates with soft-tissueremains.

He found that each of the charac-ters that identify a chordate wasmore or less resistant to decay andthat there was a strong relationshipbetween character and resistance todecay. The characters that decayedfirst were the phosphate ones where-as the carbon based ones decayedlast. This he explained as a window ofopportunity for preservation.

He found that while the variousconditions under which the fishdecayed affected the time taken todecay, the order in which charactersdisappeared did not alter. He foundthat the characters that identify anorganism as part of a modern groupwere lost after only a little decay andtherefore the fossil of such a decayedorganism might be regarded as amore primitive species than it actual-ly was. He was able then to draw upa list of characteristics that he com-pared with fossils and found that hecould identify which features haddecayed and which were never therein the first place.

When he applied the experimentalmethod to Cathaymyrus (Cambrianperiod of China) and Metaspriggina(Cambrian period of Canada) it high-lighted the difficulties: these fossilscannot be placed reliably in the chor-date or vertebrate stem because theycould represent the decayed remainsof any non-biomineralized, total-group chordate. Preliminary datasuggest that this decay filter alsoaffects other groups of organismsand that 'stem-ward slippage' may bea widespread but currently unrecog-nized bias in our understanding of theearly evolution of a number of phyla.

He then explained how he hadlooked at a particular fossil fish thatis preserved from the Devonian ofCanada. There exist a large numbersof such fossils in various stages ofpreservation. By using his research toidentify all the characters he was ableto say that the best preserved speci-mens still only had 80 per cent oftheir original characters. In a layerbelow the one containing these fos-sils there is another fossil fish that isregarded as a different species.However when he compared it to thelater fish using his research findingshe found that the two species wereactually the same.

He concluded by saying that hisexperimental work had shown that itwas possible to look at fossil verte-brates in a new light and that decaybiases causes fossil chordates toappear more primitive than theyactually are. He suggested that thiscould be a more widespread phenom-enon but having found that differentorganisms decay at different rates alot of further work will be requiredbefore it can be applied elsewhere.Only one other study, that of annelidworms, has produced similar resultsso far.

Roger LeVoir

8 GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011

Evening Lecture March 2011.

What have trace fossils everdone for us?

Dr Andrew Taylor, Ichron Ltd.

Trace fossils do not have the glam-our of a splendid ammonite or adinosaur bone, but they are still avery valuable source of information,in much the same way that the indis-tinct remains of Anglo-Saxon post-holes are as valid a record of humanoccupation as a fine Roman mosaic.In particular, trace fossils provide uswith the earliest evidence of biologi-cal activity on earth in the form ofstromatolites that date to 3.5 Ga.They also record the development ofmulti-cellular life in the VendianPeriod (650-543 Ma) in soft-bodiedcreatures prior to the Cambrianexplosion. Their economic impor-tance is enormous especially inyounger sediments where they arethe source of hydrocarbons (burrowfills and droppings) and provideporous and highly permeable sedi-mentary structures (burrows andworm tubes) that act as oil and gasreservoirs.

The first problem palaeontologistshave with trace fossils is one of clas-sification because they are just that -traces. They are not moulds or castsbut simply evidence preserved in rockof the activities of some organism inthe period between deposition andlithification. As a result there is nomorphological evidence on which tobase taxonomy and identical struc-tures may be produced by entirelydifferent animals. Trace fossils,therefore, have to be treated as aclass on their own and are known col-lectively as ichnofossils (Greek ikhnos= trace or track), studied by ichnolo-gists such as Dr Taylor and his col-leagues at Ichron. Ichnofossils areclassified according to their action onthe surrounding rock and may begrouped conveniently under six head-ings: burrowing; boring; grazing;depositing faecal material; footprints;and roots and other features in

palaeosols. This classification can bemodified to take stages in the behav-iour of the organism into account inthe form of dwelling, feeding, grazingand resting; adjusting, escaping andlocomotion; and sanitation, survivaland death (see Bromley 1996). Oneaspect of this is that the activities ofone individual may leave multipletraces that can give rise to a mislead-ing impression in terms of population.The fact that a trace fossil is pre-served often provides evidence of thedepositional environment. For exam-ple burrows and worm casts general-ly indicate shallow water below thewave base, but unlike actual fossilssuch evidence does not give any indi-cation of whether conditions weremarine or non-marine. Imprints areoften found on the underside of are-naceous units filling depressions inunderlying argillaceous beds anddetails of their structure may provideclues to the mass of the animal whilsta series of footprints provides valu-able evidence of stride length andoverall locomotion.

Turning to their economic impor-tance, Dr Taylor said that the earliestexample was the exploitation ofcoprolites as a source of phosphatefor the fertiliser industry aroundIpswich some 200 years ago,although not all the phosphatic nod-ules were true coprolites. Much lessobvious faecal material, however, wasvery widespread and provided theorganic carbon in the majority ofhydrocarbon source rocks, a goodexample being the Kimmeridge Clay,the source for much of North Sea oil.There were also other surprisingexamples, such as parrot fish thatgraze on reef dwelling organisms andat the same time consume part of thecalcium carbonate forming the reef,which is then excreted as coral sand.Similarly many of the peloids presentin a rock such as Caen Stone areactually faecal pellets, in this casefrom crabs - something to bear inmind when viewing the White Towerat the Tower of London.

But it was the burrowers and bor-ers that had the greatest effect.Animals such as crustaceans, wormsand some bivalves, create and live in

a series of anastomosing tubes with-in unconsolidated sediments andthese are frequently filled later withcoarser and more porous and perme-able material giving rise to the per-fect reservoir rock for hydrocarbonaccumulation. There are manyexamples of such rocks, which DrTaylor illustrated with photographs oflongitudinal sections of boreholecores. For example the FulmarFormation (Jurassic) in the North Seabasin, the giant Sakhalin-2 field ineastern Russia (Tertiary) and theArab-D (Jurassic) of the Ghawar oil-field in Saudi Arabia, which is thelargest in the world and currentlyyields 2.5 million barrels/day (approx3% of world output) with a total pro-duction to date of 65 billion andreserves of 35 billion barrels. DrTaylor said he had begun to calculatethe overall global value of the hydro-carbons stored in such rocks but hadlost count when the total went overone trillion dollars. Looking to thefuture it was clear that trace fossilswould continue to play a major part innew developments such as shale gasand tight gas and in carbon dioxidecapture and storage so it was clearthat the answer to the question posedat the start of the lecture was "a verygreat deal indeed".Reference: BROMLEY, R.G., 1996.Trace Fossils. Biology, Taphonomyand Applications - Second edition.Chapman & Hall, London.

Dave Greenwood

Library Notes Continued......

I am sure that, like myself everyonehas been very shocked by the imagesof the effects of the earthquake andtsunami as seen on TV over here.

I have to report that the Map Roomat UCL has suffered some damagefrom damp over the winter althoughthis is to walls in one corner only –

luckily the shelves and maps appear tobe alright. In order to investigate thecause two bookcases have had to beemptied with their maps being put intotemporary store. It is possible thatthis has been caused by leaking sky-lights rather than leaking pipesdespite the proximity of the ladies loosnext door! It does mean, however,that some countries will be unavailable

while remedial work is undertaken. Iregret the inconvenience this maycause and ask for your patience overthe summer.

Elaine BimpsonLibrarian

GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011 9

There can be satisfaction, even pleasure, in writing theobituary of someone you respected in life: someone whohelped you in your efforts. This was very much the case,and my experience, when Muriel Abor died.There were two obituaries from two of the many societiesand communities in which she shone. In both cases therewere wide choices of anecdotes from her life. All of whichreflected the warmth and even eccentricities in her pas-sions. As possibly the best-loved President for the last fiftyyears of the GA. I relied upon her judgement when wewere adventuring into new directions. She always gave mildrebukes: sometimes approval with a distinct 'chuckle'.Good photographs of her, as we know her, were difficult tofind at the time. This summer (2010), this wonderful shotcame to me from a Devon Coast friend, Kester Webb, whoshared Muriels's respect for her father Newal Arber and hiswork on the Devon cliffs

Eric Robinson

Muriel Arber

ANNUAL DINNERFor the first timein many years, itwas decided the

Annual Dinner wouldbe held in the Lower

Library of Burlington House. After David Bridgland'sPresidential Address, members entered the library to find

it transformed into an elegant dining room, with crisp whitetablecloths, flowers, and complimentary sherry being served. The meal itself

was excellent, with a choice of hot main dishes (and second helpingsfor those in need), desert, followed by coffee. Soft drinks and wines

were available by the bottle or the glass. There was somethingabout the library's ambience which made this Annual Dinnersuch a great success - and costing only half the price of the

equivalent hotel dinner made the enjoyment that much greater!Let's hope the Burlington House experiment will be repeated.

Meanwhile, a vote of thanks for the organizer, Sarah Stafford. Mike Ridd

Tori Dewhirst writes......Yesterday I stumbled across the "iGeology" iPhone app created by the BGS. I'm sure the other GA members are probably aware but I thought I should mention it just in case you think it's news worth sharing. Read more here: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/igeology/id392258040?mt=8

GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 201110

NEWS OF AFFILIATED SOCIETIES - AGS mark their 45th Anniversary.The Amateur Geological Society (AGS), under the able

Chairmanship of Mike Howgate, celebrated their 45thanniversary in October 2010 with a dinner at the Aragostarestaurant in the North London suburb of Palmers Green.Unfortunately the Society's founding member, ClementKrysler, was unable to attend due to ill health and subse-quently we heard the sad news that he had passed away onChristmas Eve aged 98 just as this report was being written.He had been pleased to hear that the Society was flourishingwith well-attended lecture meetings on the second Tuesdayof every month in the Parlour at St Margaret's UnitedReformed Church in Finchley - our only concern being that,with a membership of over 100, we are sometimes reachingthe capacity of our lecture room.

The Society is fortunate in being able to attract high qual-ity speakers covering subjects ranging from local items likethe Hydrology of Hertfordshire to more exotic topics such asthe Extension Tectonics in the Afar Triangle, with other occa-sional contributions from its own members. We also have anactive field programme under our Field Officer, John Wong,that includes in-door visits to places in London during thewinter, such as a recent behind-the-scenes visit to theNatural History Museum where we were able to see evidenceof both recent and fossil "black-smokers". These are com-bined with out-door trips to sites in the southeast and occa-sionally further afield, for example to Leicestershire, duringthe rest of the year. John maintains good relations with localQuarry Managers and members are often able to don high-visibility jackets, helmets, goggles and protective boots for

mid-week visits to working quarries. The Society also holdsan Annual Mineral & Fossil Bazaar in Finchley on the lastSaturday in November, which provides a successful fund rais-ing event enabling us to keep our Annual Subscription to amodest £10.00 with reductions for students and families.

For further information please contact our Secretary JuliaDaniels on 020 8346 1056 or email me atagsfinchley@sky.com.

Dave Greenwood.

AGS Chairman Mike Howgate (second from right) and other members ofthe Society at their 45th Anniversary Dinner". Photo by Doug Daniels.

Book ReviewEncyclopedia of Paleoclimatology andAncient Environments.Edited by Vivian Gornitz. Springer. Dordrecht, TheNetherlands. Price £180.00 (until 31/03/2011).2009, xxvii, 1049 p. 585 illus., 38 incolour, Hardcover. ISBN: 978-1-4020-4551-6.Our recent one-day conference onWarm Climates: Linking the Past andPresent (see December 2010 issue pp6-7) highlighted the multi-disciplinaryapproach to the subject of paleoclima-tology and the huge volume of scientif-ic work that has been carried out. Nowfor the first time much of this informa-tion is available in one book - theEncyclopedia of Paleoclimatology andAncient Environments. This is so longand so wide ranging (230 articles byover 200 contributors extending fromAbrupt Climate Change to the YoungerDryas - via Pingo and Plate tectonics &climate change) that it is almost impos-sible to review, but five key areas thatmake up the bulk of the volume may beidentified. These are stratigraphy (38),

Quaternary geology (28), climatology(26), geochemistry (23) and oceanog-raphy (21) which, together with chap-ters on a further 13 topics from anthro-pology to vulcanism, including mathe-matical modelling and the use of prox-ies, provide a sound factual basis foranyone interested in the subject. Inaddition to its encyclopedic format, thebook is well indexed and extensivelycross-referenced. It is also very wellillustrated including the use of coloureddiagrams where necessary, for examplein showing the output from climatemodels. One small criticism is that thebook is littered with acronyms and itwould have been useful to have a list ofthese in an Appendix and oddly, for abook dealing with climate history, thereis no general agreement on the unitsused for time with examples such as109 year, 1 byr and 1 Ga all being usedfor the same time interval, even withinthe same article. However, the 230individual chapters are well written inclear and concise language with techni-cal terms explained in parenthesis with-in the text and each chapter has anextensive bibliography, often running toseveral pages. The book should providea sound reference work for many years

to come but at £180.00 it is unlikely tofind its way onto the shelves of all butthe specialist library.

Dave Greenwood

Date for yourdiary - seeback page

GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011 11

Palaeontology In The Digital Age. Part Two: Reconstructing Carboniferous Creatures Palaeontology In The Digital Age Part One: Breathing New

Life Into Old Bones outlined a technique increasingly avail-able to palaeontologists: the computer reconstruction ofthree-dimensionally preserved fossils. This valuable additionto the fossil-worker's toolkit allows the visualisation ofexceptionally preserved specimens in a great amount ofdetail, and provides key insights into past ecosystems,extinct species, and the patterns and processes of evolu-tion. Now we arrive at part two, outlining the application of'virtual palaeontology' to several Carboniferous fossils. First,however, some background on this fascinating period in theEarth's history.

The CarboniferousThe Carboniferous Period spanned sixty million years,

from approximately 359 million years ago (Ma) to 299 Ma.The Variscan Orogeny - a collision between northern land-mass Laurussia and southern continent Gondwana, to cre-ate supercontinent Pangaea - was in full swing, and as aresult mountains were starting to grow. Much of current dayEurope and North America was situated near the equatorsurrounded by shallow seas. Deposits from these environ-ments, and associated basins, are common. Deltas - areaswhere rivers run into bodies of water - were widespread, aswere lush equatorial wetland forests, host to a wide varietyof life. Such areas are prone to rapid episodes of sedimen-tation, for example when a delta moves, or a river alters itscourse. During the Carboniferous these events would ofteninundate the low-lying forest ecosystems, leading to theirrapid burial. The deposits from this age are usually very car-bon rich, giving the period its name (literally, 'carbon bear-ing'), and provide a large proportion of the world's coaldeposits.

The fossilsSuch carbon rich, boggy environments - typified by the

Carboniferous coal swamps - are also characterized by theintense decomposition of iron-rich silicate minerals, provid-ing a rich source of the metal. This results in the formationof nodular siderite (FeCO3), a mineral that can start formingwithin days of the host sediment's deposition, close to thetop of the sediment. Also associated with such conditionsare anoxia and stratification of the water column, both ofwhich can prevent the decay of deceased creatures. Thisalone is sufficient for the preservation of fossils, and oftendecaying organic matter provides a locus for precipitation ofsiderite nodules. As this occurs shortly after deposition, itprevents the compression of the sediment surrounding anodule from affecting the fossil within. Thus, Carboniferousfossils are often found three-dimensionally preserved, both

marine organisms, and those washed in from adjoining land(Figure 1); the latter are a unique insight into early terres-trial ecosystems. Because of the association of this excellentpreservation with the coal that fuelled the industrial revolu-tion, a great deal of work was conducted on such fossilssites during the Victorian era; hundreds of specimens arenow sitting in museums, which could only be investigated atthe time by splitting a nodule and inspecting the portion ofthe fossil revealed by the resulting crack. With the aid of vir-tual palaeontology these century-old collections can now berestudied, revealing previously unrecovered details, oftenwith important implications. Several examples are outlinedin the remainder of this article. During the Carboniferousthe great majority of animal species were not vertebrates,a group that had only recently invaded this terrestrial world.Rather, most species were then - as now - animals withexoskeletons, or more specifically arthropods. These creepy

crawlies had ventured onto land in excess of 130 millionyears before the Carboniferous, and are here reconstructedfrom siderite nodules. I will outline three arthropod groupsrecently studied with the aid of CT scanning and computerreconstruction, and highlight some of the findings.

TrigonotarbidsThe trigonotarbids were a group of arachnids similar in

appearance to true spiders, but without the ability to spinsilk. They are extinct, surviving from their origin as some ofthe earliest terrestrial predators in the Silurian (~414 Ma)all the way through to the Permian period (~290 Ma).During the Carboniferous they were one of the most diversearachnid orders, living within the equatorial swamp forests,and preying on other arthropods. Computer reconstructionhas allowed us to study them in more detail than everbefore; recent work has included the species Eophrynusprestvicii (Figure 2). Long limbs suggest this creature cap-tured prey by running it down, using speed and stamina - arelatively risky way of living on these forest floors.Eophrynus was also heavily armoured, probably a defensiveadaptation to make it a less appealing meal for any preda-tors, such as early amphibians. The species Anthracomartushindi (Figure 3), was a rather flat arachnid, whose front twopairs of walking limbs were rotated slightly, allowing them

Figure 1: A siderite hosted fossil, this example being the roachoid insectArchimylacris eggintoni. Copyright Natural History Museum, London, pho-

tographer Phil Crabb. Fossil 41mm in length.

Figure 2: A computer reconstruction of the trigonotarbid Eophrynusprestvicii. Fossil 30mm in length.

GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 201112

to be held in front of the creature, as shown in the lifereconstruction of Figure 4. This stance is seen in modernday crab spiders, which sit on flowers and use the modifiedforelimbs to grab at passing insects; a form of ambush pre-dation. By analogy we can suggest that Anthracomartus wasalso an ambush predator; whereas Eophrynus defendeditself with the use of a thick, armoured exoskeleton, thiscreature could spend most of its time hiding in the relativesafety of leaf litter or a decaying tree trunk, only occasion-ally moving into the open to ambush prey.

SpidersThe direct ancestors of true spiders were also to be found

in the coal forests of the Carboniferous, and the recentreconstruction of one such fossil by Paul Selden (Universityof Kansas) and colleagues has helped shed light on the evo-lution of both the group and their biggest innovation - thespinning of silk. The researchers recently described anancestor of the spiders from the Devonian Period (~386Ma), which possessed silk gland openings, but lacked spin-nerets (specialised appendages to control silk weaving). Itdid possess a long tail, however. These two traits suggestthat this Devonian material was a primitive relative of thespiders rather than a true member of the group. At thesame time the researchers scanned a Carboniferous fossilspider species called Palaeothele montceauensis, revealingno such tail and proving that this species is a true spider.With the discovery that the Devonian material lacks spin-nerets, this is - in fact - the oldest known true spider.

'Cockroaches'The Carboniferous period is sometimes known as the age

of the cockroaches; insects were the only creatures with theability to fly, and even early in the history of life on land,were amongst the most abundant and diverse animals. Theyincluded early 'roachoid' insects - cockroach-like creaturesthat predate the split between true cockroaches (whichmost entomologists believe include the termites), and thepraying mantises. Recent reconstruction work has revealedone species of this group - Archimylacris eggintoni - in greatdetail (Figure 5). This showed the insect had long limbs, ata low angle to the body indicative of modern fast-runningcockroaches which, per unit weight, are the fastest crea-tures in the animal kingdom. In addition to being a fast run-ner, the species also had some climbing ability - scansrevealed adhesive structures on the inside of the limbs toimprove grip, and terminal claws. This would have allowed

it to lay eggs on plants, or evade danger by climbing aboveground level. Also well-resolved were mandibles (mouth-parts) which suggest that, like modern forest-dwelling cock-roaches this creature fed on decaying matter on the forestfloor.

ConclusionThe application of virtual palaeontology to the species

described above has greatly improved our knowledge oftheir anatomy. This, in turn, has allowed us to build a moreaccurate picture of their mode of life, and the palaeoecolo-gy of these Carboniferous forest ecosystems. Beyond theadvances highlighted above, the enhanced anatomicalknowledge has also allowed more informed debate regard-ing their evolutionary relationships. Virtual palaeontologycan revolutionise our study of such fossils, allowing betterinsights than ever before into the (palaeo)biology of long-extinct creatures.

Russell Garwood

Figure 3: A computer reconstruction of the trigonotarbid Anthracomartushindi. Fossil 23mm in length.

Figure 4: A drawing of Anthracomartus hindi in life, by Jason Dunlop(Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin)

Figure 5: A computer reconstruction of the roachoid insectArchimylacris eggintoni shown in Figure 1. Fossil 41mm in length.

GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011 13

Obituary - Paul Clasby26 August 1931 - 21 February 2011

Many members will be saddened tohear of the death of Paul Clasby inFebruary. He has been an active mem-ber of this Association since he joinedin 1968, and his expertise in Tertiarypalaeontology as well as his unstintinggenerosity with his time has been aninspiration to all who knew him.

Paul was born in Malta where hisfather was serving with the Royal Navy.The oldest of three children, his earlychildhood was spent in various placeswhere his father was posted, with thefamily eventually settling inBeckenham in south-east London. Hewas an unhappy evacuee to Wales dur-ing the war, and was sent instead to theRoyal Hospital School, Holbrook inSuffolk where his aptitude for figuresbecame apparent. It was natural forhim to start a career in banking onleaving school, and he remained withwhat became the NatWest, with a briefinterruption for national service in theRAF, until his retirement.

Paul's passion though was for the sci-ences, and his interest in geologydeveloped when he was sent by thebank to Lymington in 1966. He and hiswife Jennie, whom he married in 1953,have lived there ever since, close toPaul's beloved Barton Beds. Over theyears he amassed an extensive collec-tion of Barton fossils, and became oneof the country's leading experts onthem despite his initial lack of formalqualifications. His collection was kept athis home, and he was always ready toinvite groups and individuals there toview it. He was a founder member ofthe Tertiary Research Group.

The Open University was a godsendto him, allowing him to pursue his fas-cination with the sciences at degreelevel. He joined the Open University

Geological Society soon after its forma-tion and frequently led trips to Barton,as well as being an enthusiastic andknowledgeable participant in trips ledby others. His financial skills led him tobecome national Treasurer of OUGS fora couple of years in the 1980s.

He will be remembered with gratitudeby the many Open University geologystudents who have attended theLondon branch revision days at Eghamover the years. Paul led the palaeontol-ogy section for the day, giving his timeand sharing his expertise every yearuntil 2005.

Like anyone interested in the historyof geology, Paul was familiar with thelife of Charles Lyell, particularly asthere was a local connection with Lyellwho spent his childhood at BartleyLodge in the New Forest, close towhere Paul lived. Paul researched thehistory of Bartley Lodge, and publisheda pamphlet on it. It was Lyell too whobrought Paul to his position asHonorary Associate Curator at OxfordUniversity Museum of Natural Historywhere Lyell's fossil collection had beenlanguishing uncatalogued and uncurat-ed until Paul started work on them,working there occasionally before hisretirement from the bank in 1990, andregularly since then. Paul was an activemember of the Geological Curators'Group, travelling to many national andinternational meetings, such as toPrague in 2004.

And it wasn't just geology - there wasalso sailing, astronomy, table tennisand voluntary work with the disabled,and probably many more interests,such was the multiplicity of facets inthe life of this highly active but privateman.

Paul sailed in the Fastnet Race overan extremely challenging 600 miles ofopen water, and more frequently in theRound the Island Race and in cross-Channel races. His astronomical inter-

ests led him to establish a small obser-vatory at home, and to join the WessexAstronomical Society. Table tennis wasa continuing enthusiasm, and Paul wasinstrumental in setting up theLymington U3A table tennis club for theover 50s, serving as Lymington U3Abranch chairman from 2006 until 2010.He was made President of the group on1 April 2010 in recognition of his work.Paul was also a volunteer in the OpenUniversity Disabled Group, an organi-sation that offers educational holidaysfor people with mobility difficulties, andhe spent a week or a fortnight everyyear for a number of years, travellingwith them as a helper.

Whatever Paul set out to do, he didwholeheartedly, and his enthusiasmand warmth were an inspiration to oth-ers. He always set himself high stan-dards, and encouraged others to do thesame. He is survived by his wife Jennie,their three children Caroline, Clive andLouise, and six grandchildren. He willbe sadly missed by all who knew him.

Barbara Cumbers

Geology Today is a lively news magazine published six timesa year by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Geologists'Association and the Geological Society of London. For over 25years, Geology Today has reported on major issues in the Earthsciences - from the Asian tsunami to the eruption of MountMerapi - keeping its readers up-to-date with developments.Gweology Today carries at least three major feature articles perissue. Features are written by experts for the non-specialist, andrepresent reports of cutting-edge science. Geology Today's livelyGeodigest section provides space for reporting and discussion ofwhat's newsworthy in the Earth sciences today. Each issue has acontribution to one of our successful Explained series - from min-erals and fossils to famous localities - which allow readers tokeep abreast of recent developments in the science. All Geologists' Association membersreceive a discount of 25% on subscriptions; we look forward to welcoming you to our list ofsubscribers. Come and join the debate!'

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION FOR FIELDMEETINGSENQUIRIES & BOOKINGS Geoff Swann organises day and week-end meetings in the UK. Michael Ridd is responsible for overseas andlonger excursions. Sarah Stafford at the GA office is responsiblefor bookings, payments and general administration.

You must book through the GA office to confirm attendance.Please do not contact the field meeting leader directly. Meetingtimes and locations will be confirmed on booking. These are not nor-mally advertised in advance, as there have been problems with mem-bers turning up without booking or paying and maximum numbersbeing exceeded. Field meetings are open to non-members althoughattendance by non-members is subject to a £5 surcharge on top ofthe normal administration fee. Some meetings may have restrictionson age (especially for under 16s) or be physically demanding. If youare uncertain, please ask. PAYMENTS for day and weekend meetings must be made beforeattending any field meeting. Cheques should be made out toGeologists'Association. Please give a contact telephone number andan email address and provide the names of any other persons thatyou are including in your booking. PLEASE ALSO PROVIDE ANEMERGENCY CONTACT NAME AND TELEPHONE NUMBER ATTHE TIME OF BOOKING.

There are separate arrangements for overseas meetings.TRANSPORT is normally via private car unless otherwise adver-tised. If you are a rail traveller, it may be possible for the GA officeto arrange for another member to provide a lift or collect you fromthe nearest railway station. This service cannot be guaranteed, butplease ask before booking.PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE for field meetings is provided

but personal accident cover remains the responsibility of the par-ticipant. Further details are available on request from the GAoffice.

SAFETY IS TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY. SHOULD YOU BEUNSURE ABOUT EITHER THE RISKS INVOLVED OR YOURABILITY TO PARTICIPATE, YOU MUST SEEK ADVICE FROMTHE GA OFFICE BEFORE BOOKING. PLEASE MAKE SURE THATYOU STUDY THE RISK ASSESSMENT PREPARED FOR ALL GAFIELD MEETINGS AND THAT YOU HAVE ALL THE SAFETYEQUIPMENT SPECIFIED. YOU MUST DECLARE, AT THE TIMEOF BOOKING, ANY DISABILITIES OR MEDICAL CONDITIONSTHAT MAY AFFECT YOUR ABILITY TO SAFELY ATTEND AFIELD MEETING. YOU MAY BE ASKED TO PROVIDE FURTHERINFORMATION ON ANY PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ETC THATYOU MAY USE WHILST ATTENDING A FIELD MEETING. INORDER TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF ALL PARTICIPANTS, THEGA RESERVES THE RIGHT TO LIMIT OR REFUSE ATTEN-DANCE AT FIELD MEETINGS.

EMERGENCY CONTACT: if you are lost or late for the start ofa meeting, an emergency contact is available during UK field meet-ings by calling the GA mobile phone (07724 133290). PLEASE NOTETHIS NEW NUMBER. The mobile phone will only be switched onjust before and during field meetings. For routine enquiries pleasecall the GA office on the usual number.

TRAVEL REGULATIONS are observed. The GA acts as a retailagent for ATOL holders in respect of air flights included in fieldmeetings. All flights are ATOL protected by the Civil AviationAuthority (see GA Circular No. 942, October 2000 for furtherdetails). Field meetings of more than 24 hours duration or includingaccommodation are subject to the Package Travel Regulations 1992.The information provided does not constitute a brochure underthese Regulations.

CIRCULAR No. 985 December 2010

FIELD MEETINGS IN 2011

We are hoping to arrange additional fossil col-lecting opportunities during the year. Theremay not be time to advertise these in theCircular so if you would like details when theybecome available contact Sarah Stafford atthe GA office.

PLEASE ALSO REFER TO OUR WEB SITE(www.geologistsassociation.org.uk) FOR ANYCHANGES TO THE PROGRAMME AND FORFINALISED DATES

A JURASSIC RAMBLE IN THE BRISTOLDISTRICT Saturday 4th June 2011 Leader: Simon Carpenter

A day exploring the Jurassic rocks of theBristol District starting in Saltford a small vil-lage close to Bristol where Simon's interest ingeology began. Lower Jurassic fossils collectedby Simon will be shown at the start of the dayto illustrate the wealth of invertebrate andvertebrate fossils likely to be found in thelocal Lias.

The morning will be spent examining a numberof geological exposures around Saltford.Following a pub lunch it is hoped that during theafternoon other Jurassic localities will be vis-ited several miles from Saltford. Bring ham-mers as some collecting will be possible.Attendees will need to be sure they can safelycope with the conditions to be found in workingquarries.Equipment: You will need a hard hat and hi-visjacket together with suitable footwear.Cost and Booking: Numbers will be limited to20. Further details will be available from Sarah

Stafford at the GA office. Register withSarah sending an administration fee of £5 perperson to confirm your place.

EXCURSION TO EXPLORE THE PRE-ANGLIAN DRAINAGE OF THE EAST MID-LANDSLeaders Jim Rose, David Bridgland, TomWhite, Rob Westaway, Martyn Bradley andJohn SinclairSaturday 11th - Sunday 12th June 2011

Following up on the very popular meeting inthe summer of 2010, this two-day field meet-ing will look at the evidence for the BythamRiver and other pr-Anglian drainage systems inthe Midlands. It will visit quarry sites atWaverley Wood (Bytham), where Palaeolithicartefacts are a key line of evidence, at CastleBytham (Bytham type locality) and Bozeat,which represents the Milton Sands (attributedin a recent paper in the Proceedings) to a trib-utary of the pre-Anglian Thames). There willalso be visits to the Wreake-Soar confluencearea, where the Bytham departed from themodern Soar drainage line to flow eastwardstowards the Fen Basin (in the reverse directionto the modern Wreake) and to the AncasterGap. The latter, one of several gaps in theJurassic escarpment, is flanked by enigmaticgravels that may well represent a pre-Anglianriver system. Shallow exposures and geomor-phology will be observable at these various non-quarry sites.

Given the nature of the localities to be visit-ed transport will be by minibus although it maybe possible for participants to use privatetransport for visits to the quarries only.Saturday: Milton Keynes Central railway sta-tion (pick up 9.00am, meeting the 8.20 from

Euston); also 9.00 at the Open University carpark (separate details will be available uponregistration)Waverley Wood Farm Quarry Lunch at the Shoulder of Mutton, Stretton onDunsmoreLeicester/Soar-Wreake confluence area (geo-morphology and history of research; to discussthe Hathern Gravel and the change fromBytham via Wreake to Soar-Trent drainage).Ancaster Gap (Rauceby and Caythorpe Heathgravels; small-scale exposures and geomorphol-ogy)Overnight Newark. A list of suitable accom-modation will be supplied to attendees. Pleasebook only from this list to ensure easy drop offand pick up. We will arrange a group dinner ifthere is sufficient interest.Sunday:Castle Bytham (Red Barns Quarry)Lunch in Stamford (various choices)Bozeat gravel pit (finish by 4.00pm)Drop off Milton Keynes station (don't book atrain before 5.00pm) and OU car parkFurther information:We shall book one minibus with an option onanother depending on the number of attendees.We are looking into parking from Saturdaymorning until Sunday evening at the OpenUniversity Campus at Milton Keynes (withminibus pick-up and drop-off). Equipment: You will need a hard hat and hi-visjacket. Attendees will need to be sure they cansafely cope with the conditions to be found inworking quarries.Cost and Booking: For final details please con-tact Sarah Stafford at the GA office. Theadministration fee is £35 per person (£50 fornon-members). This reflects the cost ofminibus hire. It does not include other travel

GA magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 201114

GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011 15

or accommodation.

WEALDEN EXCURSIONLeaders: Pete Austen, Richard Agar, Dr EdJarzembowski and Geoff Toye23 July 2011

This trip continues the popular annual excur-sion to working pits in the Weald Clay of south-east England, where the GA has already partic-ipated in some superb fossil finds. Thevenue(s) will be confirmed later so as to takeadvantage of conditions at the time. Attendeeswill need to be sure they can safely cope withthe conditions to be found in working quarries.Equipment: You must have suitable footwear, ahigh visibility jacket and hard hat.Cost & booking: Numbers may be limited.Further details will be available from SarahStafford at the GA office. Register withSarah sending an administration fee of £5 perperson to confirm your place.

PLEISTOCENE INTERGLACIAL SEDI-MENTS OF STUTTON, SUFFOLKLeaders: Graham Ward and Bill GeorgeSunday 10th July 2011

This meeting follows on from our visit toWrabness and Harwich in 2010. We will exam-ine the Pleistocene (Oxygen Isotope Stage 7)interglacial sediments exposed on the fore-shore opposite Wrabness which have yielded afreshwater fauna including Corbiculafluminalistogether with elephant tusks, teeth and bones.The London Clay is also present with excellentexposures of seams of altered volcanic ash.

There is a walk of c 3 miles to and from thebeach which is itself c 1 mile long. Participantswill need to be sure they are up to this amountof walking. Equipment: Boots, waterproofs and a packedlunch.Cost & booking: Numbers will be limited to 20.Further details will be available from SarahStafford at the GA office. Register withSarah sending an administration fee of £5 perperson to confirm your place. Note that thereare no buses to Stutton on Sundays so that pri-vate transport is essential.

PRE-GLACIAL AND GLACIAL DEPOSITS OFNORTH NORFOLK - PART 2Leaders: Dr Jonathan Lee and Dr EmrysPhillips (BGS)Saturday 10th September 2011

This a follow-up to the successful 2010 FieldExcursion to West Runton. The trip will exam-ine: (1) Early Pleistocene shallow marine 'Crag'deposits; (2) the highly-deformed glacial suc-cession which includes evidence for severalice-marginal osciallations of the MiddlePleistocene British Ice Sheet; (3) multipleepisodes of periglacial activity; and (4) thegeomorphology of ice-marginal retreat.Attendees are actively encouraged to examinethe sections and put forward their own ideas.

The trip will involve a walk of 6 miles in total,with a traverse along a pebble foreshore andreturn over the cliffs. Attendees should besure they are capable of this walk.Equipment: Bring a hard hat and stoutfootwear as the trip will involve standing adja-cent to high cliffs and walking along stony

beaches. Bring a packed lunch.Cost & booking: Numbers will be limited to 25.Further details will be available from SarahStafford at the GA office. Register withSarah sending an administration fee of £5 perperson to confirm your place.

THE GEOLOGY OF EARLY MIDDLESEXCHURCHESLeader: Prof John PotterSaturday 1st October 2011

Should insufficient persons be interested inthe NE England excursion, John has agreed toconduct a day excursion to a range of earlyMiddlesex churches particularly for the bene-fit of his regular attendees. The limited rangeof unusual building stones available for earlybuilders in stone in the London Basin will beexamined. Equipment: Bring a quality lens and binoculars.Packed or pub lunches.Cost & booking: Numbers will be limited to 20.Further details will be available from SarahStafford at the GA office. Register withSarah sending an administration fee of £10 perperson to confirm your place.

A CHALK WALK ON THE CABURN BLOCK,LEWESLeader: Rory MortimoreSaturday 15th October 2011

This walk will be to the Mount Caburn Pits,Lewes (see GA Guide No.57 The Chalk ofSussex and Kent, Itinerary 1). We will spendthe morning in the pit and on a short walkaround Malling Hill past New Pit. In the after-noon we will walk to Mt Caburn via theGlyndebourne Pits. Each walk will be about 2-3km of relatively easy downland walking but willrequire good walking boots!Equipment: Hard hat and hi vis jacket aremandatory. Wear suitable footwear. Packedlunches.Cost & booking: Numbers will be limited to 20.Further details will be available from SarahStafford at the GA office. Register withSarah sending an administration fee of £5 perperson to confirm your place.

FOSSILFEST VIILeader: Nev HollingworthOctober (date to be confirmed) 2011

Location(s) have still to be decided but plen-ty of fossils can be expected. Attendees willneed to be sure they can safely cope with theconditions to be found in working quarries.Equipment: You must have a hard hat, hi visvest and suitable footwear.Cost & booking: Numbers will be limited to 25.Register with Sarah Stafford at the GA officesending an administration fee of £5 to confirmyour place.

OVERSEAS TRIPS 2011

JAPANLeaders: Dr Francis Hirsch, Dr Mike Ridd,Mrs Mikiko Ridd

Plans are progressing well for this fieldmeeting in November 2011. It will commence inKyoto and make its way across the island ofHonshu to the JapanSea and then back across

Honshu, the Inland Sea and the island ofTokushima, before taking the bullet train toMount Fuji and finally Tokyo.

CANADIAN ROCKIES2012Mid-June to early-July 2012

This field meeting will be led by Prof. DickMoody with assistance from local Canadiangeologists. It is provisionally planned to fly toVancouver, and the coach itinerary will includeVancouver Island, Whistler, Kamloops, Golden,Walcott Quarry, Lake Louise, Banff andCalgary. A highlight will be the dinosaurs of theDrumheller Museum, as well as the geology ofthe Drumheller area. The trip is expected tolast 18 days, and from Calgary the party willreturn to London. The estimated cost will be£3200. Members interested in participatingshould contact Sarah at the GA office.

FIELD MEETING IN TURKEYProvisional date: September 2012Leaders: Dr Rob Westaway (The OpenUniversity) and Dr David Bridgland (DurhamUniversity)Local guides: Professor Ali Seyrek and DrTuncer Demir (Harran University, Sanliurfa,Turkey)

The field meeting will take place in central-southern and southeastern Turkey, startingand finishing at Antakya (the ancient city ofAntioch) on the NE corner of theMediterranean Sea. It is planned to be an 8-day meeting, staying at hotels in Antakya,Osmaniye, Gölbasi, Sanliurfa and Diyarbakir.The party will be limited to 24 members andwill travel in minibuses. The field meeting willcover Quaternary fluvial sequences, activefaulting, folding and landscape development,Neogene and Quaternary volcanism, andbedrock geology, and will also provide an oppor-tunity to visit key archaeological and historicalsites.

Estimated cost per participant (subject topossible exchange rate fluctuations and sub-ject to specific price quotations for minibushire and accommodation): £700. This willinclude transport, all meals, admission fees toarchaeological sites, and overnight accommo-dation for the night preceding the start of thetrip and nights 1-8 inclusive. Participants willbe required to arrange their own return travelfrom the UK to Antakya and to pay for theirown visas (UK passport holders can buy theseon arrival in Turkey). A return ticket from aBritish airport to HatayAirport (the airportfor Antakya) via Turkish Airlines can at pres-ent be bought for less than £350 if purchasedwell in advance.Those interested in participating in this tripshould contact Sarah at the GA office.

GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATIONLOCAL GROUPSAmateur Geological SocietyJune 14Sapphire Mining in Montana - Dr RonBonewitz.July 12 tba.Contact Meetings: Julia Daniels 020 83461056; Dave Greenwood agsfinchley@sky.comField trips: john.wong@hertscc.gov.ukCambridgeshire Geology ClubJune 11 & 12 Open Farm & Vintage Weekend

GA Magazine of the Geologists’Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 201116

June 13 Roddons of the Fens - Dinah M. Smith.July 11 Open Evening everyone welcome.Contact -Ken Rolfe on 01480 496973, mobile07777 678685. www.cambridgeshiregeology-club.org.ukDorset Local GroupJune 18 Field trip: Geology in the buildingstones of Sherborne - Alan Holiday.Contact Doreen Smith 01300 320811. Email: Heldon47@btinternet.comwww.dorsetgeologistsassociation.comEssex GroupJune 1 The Iron Ore deposits of West Cumbria- David Greenwood.September 7 Geology of the Tendring District- Dr Peter Allen.Contact Dr Trevor Greensmith 01268 785404Farnham Geological SocietyJune 10 Horsham stone and Sussex marble - DrRoger BirchJune 5 Newhaven - Cuckmere Haven- BirlingGap, Sussex - Martin Bates and GrahamWilliams.June 24 A Mid-Summer Geo Walk - GrahamWilliams.July 1-4 Field meeting: Derbyshire PeakDistrict - David Walmsley.July 8 Farnham Geosoc New Zealand earth-quake & Madeira DVD - Dr John GahanSeptember 4-10 Field Meeting: Inverness toCaithness - Donald Milne.September 9 Quaternary of the SW - DrJenny Bennett.Field Trip Contact - Dr Graham Williamstel:01483 573802 Email secretary@farnham-geosoc.org.ukwww:farnhamgeosoc.org.uk Contact - MrsShirley Stephens tel: 01252 680215Harrow & Hillingdon Geological SocietyJune 8 Hertfordshire Puddingstone - somefacts, some theories and some unansweredquestions.June 16-25 Field Meeting: Isle of Wight-Members.July 13 Cape Farewell - Science, art and musicin the high Arctic - Dr Simon Boxall.July 25 Field Meeting: Mendips and Moons Hilland Whatley Quarries - Quarry staff.August 10 Members meeting.August 13 Sand/gravel pit in Northwood andNorthmoor local nature reserve Denham.September 14 Impact cratering and EjectaDeposits: Investigations in the Australian tek-tite strewn field and new insights from DarwinCentre - Dr Kieren Howard.Email: jeansippy@btopenworld.com Field tripinformation Allan Wheeler 01344 455451.www.hhgs.org.uk Kent Geologists GroupJune 21 Some Ups and downs of sea level - DrBrian Marker.July 19 Sediments and tectonics in Canyonlands- Dr Anne Padfield.August 16 Meteorites and extra terrestrialimpacts - Peter Jeens.September 20 Mapping in South Africa - EmmaFreeman.Contact Indoor Secretary Mrs Ann BarrettTel: 01233 623126 email:annbarrett@tesco.netContact information www.kgg.org.ukThe Kirkaldy Society (Alumni ofQueenMaryCollege)October 1 AGM and Aluat QMC.

Contact DavidGreenwood 0208449 6614email:kirksoc@sky.com.LancashireContact Acting Secretary Jennifer Rhodes01204 811203 Email:_J_rhodes@hotmail.com.Mole Valley Geological SocietyJune 9 Mud Sand and fossils: The Palaeogenegeology of West Sussex - David Bone.June 11 Field Meeting:to study the geology ofWest Sussex coastal plain - David Bone.August 6 Dinosaur Hunt (& other fossils too)atWarnham brickworks - Geoff Toye.September 8 The Ice Age landscape of theMole ValleySeptember 17 Field trip to study theperiglacial landscape of the Mole Valley. www.radix.demon.co.uk/dendron/mvgs/ Email:Chas Cowie: chas.cowie@tiscali.co.ukNorth Staffordshire GroupJune 4-5 Field meeting: Teesdale - EileenFraser.June 25 Field meeting: Rocks to Roses - BrownEnd Quarry. - Ian Stimpson.September 25-26 Park Hall Open Weekend.Contact for details Eileen Fraser 01260271505 Contact Field trips: Gerard Ford01630 673409.Oxford Geology Groupwww.oxgg.org.uk.htm. or call programme secre-tary 01865 272960.Ravensbourne Geological SocietyJune 14 Finding Oil - Stephen Wells.July 12 Pingos on Earth and Mars - Sheila ReadAugust 9 Subject tbc - Greg Smy-RomseySeptember 13 Natural Hazards - Neil Thomas.Contact Carole McCarthy Secretary: 020 88549138 email: cmccarthy@talktalk.net or VernonMarks: 020 8460 2354.CymdeithasDaeaeregGogleddCymru: NorthWales GeologyContact Jonathan Wilkins 01492 583052 EmailWilkins@ampyx.org.uk www.ampyx.org.uk/cdgcCymdeithas Y DaearegwyrGrwp De Cymru -South Wales GroupJune 18 Field meeting: The minerals of SullyIsland - Lynda Garfield and Dave Wellings.July 23 Field meeting: Mineral riches of theBlack Mountain - Alan Bowring.August 20 Field meeting: PorthClais to CaerfaiBay Pembrokeshire - Sid Howells.August 21 Field meeting: Ramsey Island - SidHowells.Contact Lynda Garfield at:secretary@swga.org.ukWest of EnglandJune 12 Field trip to Glamorgan Coast andBarry Island Contact Allan Insole email: secretary@wega.org.ukwww.wega.org.uk West Sussex Geological SocietyJune 5 Geological Walk from Storrington -Geoff Toye.June 17 The Geology of Pigment- Ruth Sidall.June 26 Annual DownlandFieldwalk - TonyBrook.July 17 Raised beaches and ancient rivers -David Bone.September 11 Autumn Geowalk in AshdownForest - Brian Harvey.Contact Betty Steel 01903 209140 Email: kande16@talktalk.net

AFFILIATED SOCIETIES

Amateur Geological SocietyJune 14 Sapphire Mining in Montana - Dr RonBonewitz.Contact Julia Daniels 020 8346 1056.or DaveGreenwood agsfinchley@sky.com , field trips:john.wong@hertscc.gov.ukBath Geological SocietyJune 3 Doctoring Geology: the Medical Originsof the Geological Society - Dr Cherry Lewis.July 1 Greenhouse to Icehouse: 55 millionyears of Arctic climate - Dr Ian Harding.September 2 Club Evening.www.bathgeolsoc.org.uk Belfast Geologists' SocietyJune 18 Field meeting: White Out - MikeSimms.July 23 Practical workshop: King SolomonsMines - John Arthurs.August 20 Field Meeting: The Crystal Maze -Peter Millar.August 30 Evening Walk: East Antrim - MikeSimms.Black Country Geological SocietyJune 12: Field Meeting to Apedale Colliery,Staffordshire.September 24 & 25 Dudley Rock 'n FossilFestival.For information contact Barbara Russell 01902650168. www.bcgs.infoBrighton & Hove Geological SocietyContact John Cooper 01273 292780 email:john.cooper@brighton-hove.gov.ukBristol Naturalists' SocietyContact 01373 474086Email: simonccarpenter@yahoo.comCarn Brea Mining SocietyJune 14 Field trip to Cligga Mine, ExplosivesWorks and possibly Perranporth Airfield.July 16 Field trip to Rosevale Mine - TonyBennett.Contact Lincoln James 01326 311420Cheltenham Mineral and Geological SocietyFor more information on lectures contact AnnKent 01452 610375For more information on Field trips contactKath Vickers 01453 827007.Craven & Pendle Geological SocietyThe Devonshire Association (Geology Section)January 15 AGM Naturian Rocks to Dartmoorstreams How have dragonflies evolved? DrRobin Wootton.Contact Jenny Bennett01647 24033 emailJ.A.Bennett@exeter.ac.ukThe Dinosaur Societywww. Dinosaursociety.com. Contact: ProfRichard Moodyrtj.moody@virgin.netDorset Natural History & ArchaeologySocietyContact Jenny Cripps email:jenny@dor-mus.demon.co.ukEarth Science Teachers AssociationFor membership contact: MikeTukemiketuke@btinternet.com. Tel 01480457068ESTA website www.esta-uk.netEast Herts Geology ClubJune Wine and Geology.July Geological Walk around Ware and picnic.Check website for venue or contact DianaPerkins 01920 463755.www.ehgc.org.uk email: info@ehgc.org.uk Visitors most welcome - £2East Midlands Geological SocietyJune 14 Silicates - Dr Chris Duffin

17GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011

Graham Ward for Lectures 01277218473.www.erms.orgEssex Rock and Mineral SocietyJune 14 Silicates - Dr Chris Duffin - Contact 01277 218473 or see www.erms.orgFriends of the SedgwickMuseum, CambridgeContact: Dr Peter Friend 01223-333400. Geological Society of GlasgowContact Dr Iain Allison email:I.Allison@admin.gla.ac.ukGeological Society of NorfolkContact Email: elvin.thurston@virgin.net.Hastings and District Geological SocietyJune 26 Barbecue.July 31 Field trip: Eastbourne - Prof. RoryMortimore.August 21 Jurassic Fish - Dr Peter Forey.September 25 Seismic Surveying - David Howe.Contact email: iggyken@aol.com www.hastingsgeolsoc.org.ukHertfordshire Geological Societywww.hertsgeolsoc.ology.org.ukContact Linda Hamling 01279 423815.Horsham Geological Field ClubJune 8 A geological transect across theHimalaya - Dr Chris Duffin.July 13 The Geology and Fossils of BrackleshamBay - David Bone.September 14 The Habitat of Petroleum in theWessex Basin - Prof Richard Selley.Contact Mrs Gill Woodhatch 01403 250371Hull Geological SocietyJune 4 Field trip - Bolton Abbey - John Varker.July 16 Roadshow at the Treasure House inBeverley. Free admission. Sorry no valuations.Open to the public from 11 am until 3pm.August 27 Roadshow at Hornsea Museum. Freeadmission to Roadshow. Sorry no valuations.Open to the public from 11 am until 3pm.September 11 Field meeting at Castleton - PaulHildreth. September 17 Joint field meeting with LeedsGeological Association - North Landing andThornwick Bay - Mike Horne.Contact Mike Horne 01482 346784Email:mike@horne28.freeserve.co.uk http://www.hullgeolsoc.org.uk The JurassicCoastDetails are available on the web site at www.Jurassiccoast.com.Leicester Literary & Philosophical Society(Geology)March 9 From Yorkshire to Argentina: anammonitologist's odyssey - Prof. Peter Rawson.March 19 Annual Saturday Seminar, Universityof Leicester: Theme: Glaciers, Ice Ages andClimate.March 23 Annual General Meeting andChairman's Address (NewWalkMuseum,Leicester): Some new plesiosaur discoveries -Mark Evans.Contact Joanne Norris 0116 283 3127E m a i l : j . e . n o r r i s @ n t l w o r l d . c o m .www.Charnia.org.ukLeeds Geological AssociationBoth lectures at 7.00 pm at Rupert BeckettLecture Theatre, Leeds University.Details : Judith Dawson 0113 2781060 orleedsga.orgLiverpool Geological SocietyContact: Joe Crossley: 0151 426 1324 or emailIgsjoecrossley@hotmail.com.Manchester Geological AssociationJuly 16 Field Meeting: Great Orme and Coppermines - Jacqui Malpas.

August 26-29 Long weekend and visit: CardiffMuseum and Pembroke Coast - John Nudds.Contact email: Sue Plumb, 0161 427 5835 emailsecretary@mangeolassoc.org.uk .All meetings in the Williamson Building,University of Manchester.Mid Wales Minerals, Fossils and Geology ClubContact Bill Bagley 01686 412679.Newbury Geological Study GroupJune 19 Cotswold Hills, Gloucestershire July 17 MalvernField Meetings season runs from October toJuly. Normally meets on the third Sunday ofthe month. Details www.ngsg.org.uk or Mike &Helen 01635 42190".Norfolk Mineral & Lapidary SocietyMeetings at St Georges Church Hall,Churchfield, Green, Norwich. 19.30hrs everyfirst Tuesday of the Month except August.Contact.clansdell@btinternet.comNorth Eastern Geological SocietyMarch 18 History of geology - Prof. David M.Knightwww.northeast-geolsoc.50megs.com Email;E-mail: jaharrison.102@btinternet.comtel: 0191261 1494 www.dur.ac.uk/g.r.foulger/NEGS.htmlOpen University Geological SocietyEvents - listed on http://ougs.org, or contactChristine Arkwright events@ougs.org 01772335316Membership - contact Stuart Bull member-ship@ougs.org 01244 676865Reading Geological SocietyHilary Jensen, General Secretary - for moredetails and general information tel: 0118 9841600email: rgs.secretary@btinternet.comContactDavid Ward - for field trips 01344

483563July 20 David Freeman's Grandfather mined inAmerica and discussing his planned visit toMontana.August 17 Ryan Law, Geothermal Energy Plantat United Downs Gwennap.Contact email: nplummer@cornwall.gov.uk.01209 860410.The Russell SocietyEmail Frank Inceince78@btopenworld.comwww.russellsoc.orgShropshire Geological SocietyJune 13 Precambrian and Ordovician aroundWillstone Hill, Cardington - Peter Toghill.July 2 Wrens Nest - Graham Worton.August 17 Field Meeting: Shrewsbury buildingstone trail - David Pannett and Mary Steer.September 7 Geology for Beginners: GeneralPrinciples of Geology - Rock types, GeologicalTime, and Plate Tectonics - speaker: Dr PeterToghillSeptember 14 Geology for Beginners: What welearn from fossilised remains - AndrewJenkinsonSeptember 21 Geology for Beginners: Rocks ofthe Ercall and Wrekin - Chris RaynerSeptember 28 Geology for Beginners: Bendingand Breaking: an introduction to structuralgeology with the emphasis on Shropshire - ProfMichael Rosenbaum.www.shropshiregeology.org.uk Sidcup Lapidary and Mineral SocietyMeets every Monday evening at Sidcup ArtsCentre.www.sidcuplapminsoc.org.ukContact Audrey Tampling 020 8303 9610

Email: Atampling@aol.com.Southampton Mineral and Fossil SocietySeptember 5 Hampshire Mineral & Fossil Show- time: 10:00 to 16:30 Venue: LyndhurstCommunity Centre, High St., Lyndhurst,Hants.Admission: Adults £1, accompaniedchildren under 14 and Rockwatch membersfreeContact: Gary Morse, 01489 787300 Email:smfs@mineral.screaming.net Web site: http://members.lycos.co.uk/SMFS/smf-sshow.htmContact Gary Morse 01489 787300.Stamford and District Geological SocietyJune 18 Field meeting: Ketton Quarry, nearTinwell Lincolnshire border withCambridgeshire.July 22 Field Meeting: Middlegate Quarry,South Ferriby, Shropshire.August 6 Field Meeting: Lea Quarry, Wenlock,Shropshire.September 24 Field Meeting: Must Farm,Whittlesey, Cambs.Contact: Bill Learoyd on 01780 752915 email:billlearoyd@aol.com, cliffnicklin@aol.com; Ussher SocietyContact Clive Nicholas 01392 271761.Warwickshire Geological Conservation GroupJune 22 Shrewley Cutting and RowingtonChurch - Martyn Bradley and John Crossling.July 20 Avon Terrace , Hampton Lucy - BrianEllis.August 17 Studley/Henley - Ian Fenwick andJohn Crossling.Contact Ian Fenwick 01926 512531 emailsswift@ianfenwick.f2s.com.www.wgcg.co.ukWessex Lapidary and Mineral SocietyContact Pat Maxwell 02380 891890 email:rwmaxwell@tiscali.co.ukWestmorland Geological SocietyContact Brian Kettle email:mr.briankettle@tiscali.co.ukThe Woolhope Naturalists' Field ClubJune 18 Field Meeting: BrownstonesFormation in the Sennybridge area led by DrJohn Davies July 23 Field Meeting: Volcanic and plutonicassociations in the Malvern Hills led by RichardEdwards.August 16 Evening building stones walk inHereford led by Dr Paul OlverSeptember 24Cleeve Hill led by Dave Owen Contact Sue Hay on 01432 357138 or svh.gab-bros@btinternet .comYorkshire Geological SocietySeptember 24 Geology and Industry: NewFrontiers joint meeting with West YorkshireGeological Trust.June 25 Field Meeting: Geology byTrain:Glacial Landscapes and Jurassic Geologyof the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.July 23-24 Field Meeting: Upper TriassicSulphate Evaporites of the Dove Valley - NoelWorley.August 2-21 Field Meeting: Investigating theAskrigg Block to Craven Basin Transition in thePately Bridge area - Colin waters andJochemBijker.October 22 or 29 Geotourism Meeting.Contact Trevor Morse 01833 638893www.yorksgeolsoc.org.uk

GA Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 201118

"That's big!"Martin Whyte writes:

I had been walking along a rockyshore in East Fife, scrambling over asuccession of sandstone ribs, when Isaw it. As my head rose above the levelof a prominent ledge I looked forwardacross the pebbly beach to the over-hanging base of the next sandstone bedand there it was - a gigantic sinuoustrackway with a prominent centralgroove (Figure 1). "That's big!" I

thought.Initial expectations that it would be

the track of an early amphibious tetra-pod were soon proved wrong - toomany footprints. Some possible arthro-pod makers could also be eliminated -too many limbs or the wrong sort ofappendages. A little research soonrevealed that the maker was almostcertainly a Hibbertopterid eurypterid.These water scorpions are a bizarregroup of freshwater eurypterids thatinhabited the fluvio-deltaic environ-ments in which the track-bearingCarboniferous sandstone was laiddown. Ironically, though the best hib-bertopterid body fossils were found andfirst described in the 1830s, this wasthe first record of a hibbertopteridtrackway. It is also the largest walkingtrackway of an invertebrate to havebeen found. More controversially,because the trackway shows that theanimal was dragging its tail and movingvery slowly and jerkily, this normallyaquatic animal appears to have beenmoving out of water or at least in watertoo shallow to provide any buoyancy.For all its uniqueness and importancethe trackway has not been easy torecord and describe. The presence ofan overhanging exposure on the base ofa sandstone bed created problemsbecause it means that it is not possibleto get far enough away to photographthe trackway at right angles. As a resultI felt my work on it was still incomplete(Whyte 2005).

"That'll be a bit tricky!" Dee Edwards & Dave Williams write:

Following our work with BGS andNatural England replicating outcrops in

Charnwood Forest and Dudley (GeologyToday 2011), GeoEd Ltd was asked byGeoheritage Fife if it could mould andcast Martin's trackway. After a chat withMartin, we decided a recce and trial wasneeded. So in September 2009 wethree met in Fife to check local permis-sions, access to the beach, tides, stateof the outcrop and to make a small trialmould.

Funds from Scottish Natural Heritage(SNH) for the moulding and GA CurryFund for a cast were confirmed inDecember 2009, with SNH asking forthe moulding to be carried out the fol-lowing Spring. Therefore in April just asthe Iceland volcanic ash cloud wasstranding people abroad, our hardwork began.

During many days of outcrop clean-ing, lugging 25kg drums down to thebeach and 'painting' on of rubber (Fig.2) a large number of visitors, fromBGS, SNH, Geoheritage Fife, Universityof St Andrews and the local SMP, IainSmithvame came to see what we weredoing. In addition about 20 people fromthe media joined us on the beach for aSNH press call and as a result ourstrange activities were reported in sev-eral Fife papers and on the local TV.

At that time we had no idea wherethe final 'home' for the casts would be.So rather than completing the moulding

in sections it was made as one largerubber, over 7m long and weighing85kg! We were grateful for volunteersfrom a golf club who managed to lift the'body' 30 metres up the cliff. (Fig. 3)

The moulding and casting have notonly been the best way of preservingthis trackway but have also providedbenefits for Martin’s further work on this

new ichnospecies. Itwas only at the cast-ing stage that hewas able to make atracing on polytheneand have his firstorthogonal view ofthe trackway bym e t a p h o r i c a l l yhanging from therafters of his work-shop, camera inhand (fig. 4). TheMuseum of the

University of St

Andrews provided wall space for thecentral section of the cast, maximumsize 2.5 by 2m, so we cut it to size (Fig.5). The remaining parts are in storethere awaiting a bigger wallspace. More details (and pictures) of themoulding and casting process are in aPowerPoint document that we have pro-vided to the Curry Fund.

ReferencesEdwards D and D Williams 2011. RescuePalaeontology. Geology Today v. 27 No2pp65-69.

Whyte, M.A. 2005. A gigantic fossilarthropod trackway. Nature, v.438,p.576.

Dee Edwards, Martin WhyteDave Williams

Figure 1 Martin Whyte beside the Hibbertopterustrackway showing crescentic footprints and the

median tail drag trace.

Figure 2 Painting on the rubber (note the tide rising around our feet).

Figure 4 The complete 7m long cast in the work-shop. The longer rule is 2m. The low angle light-

ing makes the footprints more visible.

Figure 5 The central section of the cast in theMuseum of the University St Andrews

(MUSA). The GA logo is toward the bottomrighthand corner of the cast, and clearly visi-

ble as one climbs the stairs.

Figure 3 Carrying the rolled 85 kg mould off thebeach and up the cliff.

GA magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011 19

Festival of Geology - a view from the floorThe Festival of Geology grew from

the Geologists' Association Reunioninto a two-day public event in 2006.Since then, four events have beenheld at University College London(UCL), the venue for many Reunionsover the years. The decision to "gopublic" was a happy one: visitornumbers had been declining gradu-ally over the years, but immediatelyincreased to around 1500. The pro-posal to add a lecture series provedto be a winner, and the venue hashad to change from a 48-seat lecturetheatre to one holding almost 150.The addition of field trips on the fol-lowing today has also proved to bepopular.

The 2010 lectures, given by BryanLovell (Challenged by Carbon: TheOil Industry and Climate Change),Chris Carlon (Mining the Ocean -Diamonds and Gold from the SeaFloor), Pete Grindrod (Exploring NewWater Sources on Mars) and CharlieUnderwood (Whale meat again:Return to the Whale-eating Sharksand Shark-eating Whales of theEgyptian Desert) were beautifullyillustrated, and well attended by anaudience of all ages. Noticeable thisyear were the increased numbers oflate teens/early twenties, a groupwe would like to attract to the GAand its activities.

It is always good to see not onlyfamiliar exhibitors return each year,but also to attract new ones. Onesuch was a stand by the LondonGeodiversity Partnership, one of anumber of partnerships country-wide which brings together organisa-tions and individuals to support geo-diversity and landscape priorities intheir region. Their new leaflet,Building London, researched byMelanie Green, was launched at theFestival and provides links to geolog-ical walks together with informationabout museums and other geologicalresources in London. Practicalguides to geological walks were pro-vided by the Aldersbrook GeologicalSociety through Geology andLondon's Victorian Cemeteries, andothers further afield in the literature

provided by Thematic Trails. Mineral stalls always provide a very

colourful array of specimens and area good source for adding to one'sown collection, or for purchase asChristmas presents. In the lattercontext, Buffy's Beads were wel-comed for the second time, andthere was still a queue when the fes-tival was starting to close at 4.30.The stall on Colour in Mineralsproved popular again, the provisionof a binocular microscope allowingone young visitor to look at everysingle specimen, one by one, at highmagnification, while his Dad lookedon patiently. All eighty seven ofthem.

Local groups were representedfrom all over the country, showingtheir finds and illustrating theiractivities over the year. The GA pho-tographic archive was on show asusual, but can now be viewed morereadily without damage. Thisarchive was safeguarded for manyyears by Margery Carreck, withoutwhom it might have seriously deteri-orated, but has now been conservedthrough the efforts of RichardWeedon, supported by JonathanLarwood (Natural England and GA)and a grant from the Curry Fund.This work has meant that the photo-graphs are better protected, can behandled more safely, and so aremore accessible to researchers andother interested parties.

The Festival aims to cater for awide range of ages. The DiscoveryRoom is a particular attraction toyounger audiences, but by no meansexclusive to them. One young manbrought a small group of friends tocelebrate his eighth birthday at theFestival. Rockwatch's racing trilo-bites are always a draw for smallervisitors, and the provision of materi-als to make dioramas a perennialfavourite. The Kent group's micro-scopes are popular with buddingpalaeontologists, and UCL Museumsand Collections provided zoological,archaeological and geological han-dling materials. Musems open on theday comprised the Centre for

Planetary Sciences (past the end ofthe North Cloisters) and the RockRoom in Earth Sciences, in which acopy of Greenough's map was dis-played for the day. Three otherexhibitions were on open access too:Dust to Diamonds (North Cloister,curated by Emma Passmore andSusannah Chan),Photomicropraphia: Invisible Worlds(South Cloister; photographs byRichard Weedon, supported by JayneDunn from UCL and a Leverhulmegrant) and Ink (North Lodge; curat-ed by Simon Gould). See :http://www.ucl.ac.uk/silva/muse-ums/whats-on/exhibitions_listings for closing dates.

The photographic competition itselfhad some excellent contributors, andattracted many entries. The winnerin 2010 was Malcolm Nugent for hisphotograph of SoutherdownPavement.

There are inevitably things whichdon't go quite to plan, but we hopethat most things are rectified by thetime this years Festival opens. In2010 we had issues with a marchstarting just round the corner, and apotential "lock-down" of UCL; posterboards not being quite what wasordered; the wife of one of thespeakers' producing a baby 48 hoursbefore the event, and an upgrade ofthe IT system meaning that the mainsystem could not be used in the lec-ture theatre. Nonetheless, theseissues were all smoothed out intime, and we are now beginning toplan for next year.

I would like to thank all the peoplewho supported the event on the dayby coming to visit, exhibit, run anactivity, give a lecture or lead a fieldtrip; a special mention also to mem-bers of the GA, and to staff and stu-dents from UCL (Earth Sciences, UCLMuseums and Collections, Estatesand Facilities) who contributedbehind the scenes.

Wendy Kirk

GA magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011

To me, a Society is a group of friendshelping each other enjoy a commoninterest. In which case, the GA seemsto be in good shape judging by thedecibels and laughter at the Festival ofGeology (Annual Reunion) inNovember. Which set me thinking.Treasurers tend to be materialistic inoutlook (and so they should be!) and,as no exception, I began to wonderjust what do I get for my £40 annualsubscription?

· Clearly, and foremost, I have anever-expanding group of Friendswho share my interest in geology.· The Annual Festival of Geology.This week-end event provides lec-tures, field trips and an opportunityto see, share and talk about thework of other geological enthusiastsfrom around the country. And, youcan supplement your collection ofminerals, fossils, maps and booksfrom numerous outlets.· A wide variety of Field Trips athome and abroad. Shorter tripstend to be wall-to-wall geology(which I think is a good thing). Thelonger trips, particularly abroad, alsoprovide the opportunity for somesight seeing: it was on GA trips thatI fulfilled lifetime ambitions toexplore the Potala Palace of the DalaiLam at Lhasa in Tibet, and to explorethe Namib Desert of SW Africa.· Monthly Lectures, which includeeverything from someone's latestresearch project to the GAPresidents' annual "overview" talkon their own particular area of inter-est.· The Proceedings. This respectedscience journal is particularly recog-nised for its work on British geologi-cal successions. The editor, JimRose, has great plans to expand thejournal from 4 to 8 issues per year.· The past 150 years of theProceedings have been digitised,which means that I can access thisinvaluable geological resource viathe world-wide-web. There are

many useful papers that provideinvaluable information for my fieldtrips.· The GA Magazine. This glossy"newspaper" reports the activities ofmembers of the GA and the GALocal Groups and AffiliatedSocieties. It includes lecture andfield trip programmes of the soci-eties.· The opportunity to attend the talksand field trips provided by the GA'sLocal and Affiliated Groups up anddown the country.· Blackwell publish a glossy journalcalled Geology ToDay on behalf ofthe GA and the Geological Society ofLondon. There are articles abouttopical geological events includingearthquakes, volcanic eruptions,tsunamis, sea level rise, climate andother natural geological processesthat affect our everyday lives.There are overviews of a vast rangeof geological topics from Dinosaursto Amber to Limestone BuildingStones. This excellent publication isvia a separate subscription whereGA members receive a 25% dis-count. · Geological Field Guides. I findthese a very valuable aid: theyincorporate a geological overview ofa particular region and describe par-ticularly interesting outcrops withinthat region. These field guides arevery popular. For example, the newLondon Guide sold over 40% of itsprint run within the first month.· Cheap insurance, to protect meon my geological perambulations.· An annual GA Conference. In2010, the Warm ClimatesConference attracted a large audi-ence and provided a fascinatingseries of lectures on the latestresearch. The 2011 Conference onGeoconservation, to be held inWorcester, promises to be equallyfascinating, and will be accompaniedby field trips.· Access to the University College ofLondon's Library via the GA's ownprofessional librarian - Elaine

Bimpson. There is a large GA col-lection of UK and overseas geologicalmaps and field guides. I can borrowexamples to enhance my field trips.Elaine will purchase (at GA cost)particular maps at one's request.· Young people are catered for viaRockWatch; they pay a separate(much smaller) subscription andreceive their own Magazine, an everbuilding encyclopaedia of geology,field trips and a variety of localmeetings across the country.· Financial support. Past mem-bers have left financial legacies, theCurry Fund perhaps being the mostfamous. The money is invested,and the income is used to supportgeological research, field work, pub-lication and conservation and to pro-vide awards for excellent contribu-tions to geological knowledge. Theycan also help finance local andregional lecture and field trip meet-ings. Some of the legacies arerestricted to GA members, but oth-ers benefit both student and maturemembers of the geological commu-nity across the country. All one hasto do is ask.· There is a "shop", run by GAEnterprises, which provides allthings geological (hand lens to mapto book to clothing) at discountedprices.· A new web-site has been set up.Gradually, it is being populated withinformation concerning GA eventsand products.

Over recent years, the GA hasimproved the quality and variety of itsproduct, whilst trying to focus on itscore geological membership and theirinterests. At the same time the sub-scription has been held down to £40,in spite of the financial turmoil aroundus. What do I get for 40 quid ? Its notbad, is it? I think I'll join again nextyear.

Graham M WilliamsHonorary Treasurer

MUSINGS OF A GA TREASURER

20

Be prepared for Summer- get your Field Guides now.

See the GA websitewww.geologistsassociation.org.uk.

for all the Guides available

GA magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011

Rockwatch, the junior club of the GA,is already well into its 2011 field sea-son! We had a splendid visit toShorncote Quarry in the Cotswolds inearly March. It was a big group, all verykeen for the first trip of the New Yearand members were not put off by thereally cold weather. Lots of fossils werefound including the bivalvesPholadomya and Pleuromya; bra-chiopods Microthyridina andObovothyris; echinoids like Nucleolitesand Acrosalenia ; a number of gastro-pod internal molds and three splendidsamples of the big ammoniteMacrocephalites . Sadly, no mammothtusk or other Quaternary fossils werefound this time. But, there was a bit ofexcitement right at the end of the trip,when a car got stuck and had to betowed out of the quarry by one of thebig earth movers! It was jolly lucky forus that some of the staff were still onsite otherwise…! Our thanks to GeoffSwann and Graham Bull who were ourco-leaders.

In early April, in balmy "summer"weather, we had a marvellous day atTorr Quarry in deepest Somerset withEddie Bailey who's the geologist at thequarry. Once again, it was a big group,all very keen and hopeful of finding lotsof fossil and fine mineral specimens.Torr Quarry, the largest in southernEngland is worked for its LowerCarboniferous Limestone (BlackrockLimestone) and because of its rail-linkhas been able to sustainably supplymuch of the stone for London Olympicsproject, so if you get the chance to goto the Olympics next year, make sureyou have a good look at the buildingstones!

It was good to have the opportunityto show the children some of the inter-esting structural geology of the area,and, thanks to the huge rock facesexposed by quarrying, it was not toodifficult to explain (relatively!) simply.An idea of the regional impacts of thegreat Hercynian (Variscan) Orogeny onthe geology of the area could be seen inthe dip of the rocks, some 25 -30degrees southwards. Subsequent thrustand normal faults could also be seen,often marked in the quarry by thick cal-cite veining and some marvelous calcitecrystals now grace many of the chil-dren's collections! Eddie explained howthe quarry development is greatly influ-enced by the geology. He pointed outthat the northernmost strata are affect-ed by chert nodules and silicificationand the dip of the beds means thenorthern faces are quarried at a muchgentler angle to other face orientationsto prevent major planar failures. Somecollecting was done along the back edgeof the quarry extension where spoil

heaps of Jurassic sediments had beenleft.

In the afternoon we visited Coleman'sQuarry, now dormant, and were able toshow the children the classic "de laBech" unconformity whereCarboniferous limestones are overlainunconformably by Jurassic oolitic lime-stones. This was sfirst noted by Henryde la Beche (the first Director of theBritish Geological Survey, appointed in1835) at nearby Vallis Vale and shows atime gap of some 180 million years!The surface of the Jurassic limestones,an ancient sea floor now exposed,shows evidence of marine life fromthose far-off times with abundant mol-lusc marks. Some splendid fragments ofzoned calcite were also found at thissite, much to the children's joy.

We've had two major public eventsrecently, Science Week with the BritishGeological Survey at Keyworth and theLyme Regis Fossil Festival in Dorset. Because of building works at Keyworth,Rockwatch and BGS colleagues visited 2local schools, one to the south and theother to the north of Nottingham andlocal schools visited us there. We spoketo almost 1,000 children during theweek, from schools all over the EastMidlands, covering a wide range of geo-logical activities. The week ended with abig Family Fun Day at Keyworth; threeRockwatch families came to help andlots of our members visited during theday. There were loads of activities toenjoy, including Rockwatch Jurassic dio-ramas and fossil making, BGS superbfossil displays, making earthquakes, theSpace Centre, the Russell Society, talksfrom BGS staff on geological time, 3Dvisualisation sessions on Mars and toursof the huge new core store - enough tokeep visitors busy all day!

Rockwatch had a very busy weekendover the early May Bank Holiday week-end. We were at the sixth annual LymeRegis Fossil Festival, and in fact we'verun activities at all of the previous fes-tivals other than last year's. This year,we had hundreds of visitors all week-end, the royal wedding notwithstand-ing! And, an article on the back page ofthe current Rockwatch magazine, byEric Robinson about the restoration ofWesminster Abbey's Great Pavement,was highly topical and attracted a greatdeal of interest and attention from ourvisitors! It also gave visitors an oppor-tunity for a conversational openingabout the breadth of geological activi-ties in many and unexpected ways. Oneof the really interesting things aboutthe activities we run is that they attractfamily participation and they do seemto derive much pleasure from their jointactivities as well as giving parents achance to talk about things geologicalto our wonderful helpers, all of whomare great ambassadors for Rockwatch!

Our school based visit this term wasto Park Royal school in Macclesfieldwhere Y3 children (and their teachers)

had a marvellous time. We offered aseries of activities including geology inyour shopping basket to demonstratethe impact of geology on daily life androck and fossil identification to intro-duce specimen handling (always a greatsuccess) and depositional environ-ments. It was an amazingly busy day,but the children's (and teachers')enthusiasm and curiosity made it a veryworthwhile visit.

As ever, it really is the generosity ofour sponsors and our many helpers whomake such a range of activities possibleand to whom we are most grateful.

Susan Brown Chairman

Rockwatch News

Rockwatch at BGS

School activities Y3

Super calcite find at Torr Quarry

Busy at Lyme Regis

21

GA magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 201122

The recent publication of theCoalville 1:50,000 England and Walessheet 155 and ther accompanyingBritish Geological Survey sheet expla-nation completes BGS’ updated cover-age of Charnwood Forest,Leicestershire, with some of theMidland's most significant geologicalsites, including ancient volcanic rockseasily accessible on the M1 motorwayfrom London. Apart from the twoother sheets, Leicester 156 andLoughborough 141, and their fullyillustrated colour booklets sold togeth-er with the folded and cased maps for£18 each in a clear plastic wallet, theBGS have produced an Earthwisebooklet and a simplified 1:25,000 mapfor £12. And best of all there is aninformative DVD for only £5 aimed atA-level students and anyone else inter-ested in this area's long and at timescomplex geological history. Thesepopular publications are marketedunder the Earthwise brand and, alongwith the film, were paid for by theAggregates Levy Sustainability Fundwith an additional grant from theDepartment for Communities andLocal Government.

Over an area of about 16 by 12 kmpredominantly late Precambrian vol-canic rocks poke through a muchyounger cover of Triassic sediments.These relatively ancient rocks areassociated with island arc eruptionssimilar to those on the modern islandof Montserrat in the Caribbean. Inother locations finer more ancientdeposits have preserved quite remark-able early soft-bodied fossils from theEdiacaran period (542 to about 630Ma). This was just before theCambrian explosion during which moreeasily preserved life forms rapidlyevolved, even though the localdeposits of this age, which fringe thecore of older rocks, only contain tracefossils. Later in Ordovician times, theMountsorrel granodiorite was intrudedon the eastern margin of CharnwoodForest. Then during the Silurian andDevonian periods the Acadian Orogenyfolded and faulted the older rocks,when the Iapetus Ocean finally closedforming a chain of mountains as twocontinents collided. Later,Carboniferous limestone was depositedin a warm shallow sea along its north-ern edge, which was still land at thistime. After a period of intense erosionassociated with the Variscan Orogeny,rivers deposited sandstones in placesbefore the Mercia Mudstone finallyburied the area during the Triassicwhen desert conditions took hold. Asa result, a marked unconformity withthe older rocks can be seen in manyplaces, as the younger Mesozoicdeposits which once covered the areahave been removed by later erosion to

reveal this buried landscape. Only athin veneer of glacial deposits andmaterial associated with the muchmore recent Quaternary ice ages andintervening warm intervals, includingthe present day, masks much of thecurrent andscape. However, quarryingover the centuries has revealed exten-sive exposures, in addition to the nat-ural outcrops found on the originalheathland which covered the higherground underpinned by the ancientvolcanic rocks.

Given such a diverse series of rocktypes and associated structures, the84-minute-long DVD should be ofinterest to those who want to knowmore about the geology of CharnwoodForest, and compares well with geolog-ical programmes seen on television.Some contemporary broadcasts evenomit naming the basic units being dis-cussed at key locations out of a mis-guided fear of upsetting the moresuperficial end of the viewing spec-trum, who would mostly let such extradetails wash over them, as long as thecontent was interesting enough tokeep the overall narrative flowing.Furthermore, if friends happen towatch and then ask questions, itmakes discussing more detailed pointsrather frustrating without this informa-tion providing a handy shortcut forgetting up to speed on a topic. This issimilar to some of the more complexsporting jargon used by commentatorswhich does not detract from enjoyingintelligent coverage, as that is how youcan learn about technicalities in a widerange of fields from the Tour de Franceto cricket.

Thankfully, in this modest productionpairs of geologists are allowed to talkabout what is in front of them, in aseries of different locations from theguide, to provide a coherent overviewof the area's geology. The film alsoincludes a number of clear diagramsand some rather good footage of erup-tions on Montserrat, as a modern ana-logue along with desert environmentsto illustrate local Triassic conditions. Ithink there could have been a bit moreon-screen annotation of key outcropsand words and more attention shouldhave been paid to avoiding faces beingin shadow on a number of occasions,and at least one locality needed light-ing. Also, black sunglasses don't lookgood on screen, as eye contact is avital element (along with slightly bet-ter clothes in some scenes). Thatsaid, the presentation is done withoutthe usual hype, and key concepts areclearly explained, such as howincreased silica content results in moreexplosive eruptions. The one omis-sion was in the section on dip, whichfailed to explain how to find the strikedirection, before the very next

sequence showing the basic structureof the area was introduced with thewords "dip and strike". However,these are minor details in a film thatshow how it is possible to make suchan interesting subject-matter under-standable to the wider public.

The well structured 52-pageEarthwise booklet provides a briefintroduction to the geology ofCharnwood Forest followed by a seriesof well illustrated and grid referencedwalks displayed on a series of enlargedinserts around the margins of theaccompanying simplified 1:25,000map. This also has a column of eightphotographs tied to lettered points ofinterest indicated with a quirky camerasymbol on the map showing the direc-tion from which they were taken,(rather than noting this in the caption).However compared to the pair of mapsat the same scale produced with theguides to the Eastern and WesternMendip, the cartography is oversimpli-fied. This is especially so as the natu-rally more tightly drawn 1:50,000series shows much more complexity,without resorting to any one of tenexpensive 1:10,000 sheets containingthe full results of the latest resurvey-ing and revisions in as much detail aspossible. This is compounded by themore detailed alternative involvingjuggling between three maps, even ifthe linework is in sync-unlike thechasm which often exists along theedges of many sheets between differ-ent generations of published mapseven once they were metricated.

Like its two neighbours, the newCoalville 1:50,000 sheet is a consider-able advance on the last edition, bal-ancing intricate detail with overall clar-ity, even if much of the district ismasked by glacial till and other super-ficial deposits. To simplify theCharnwood Forest part of the map,areas covered with head deposits gen-erated by intense freeze-thaw weath-ering processes during the Quaternaryare shown by thin red diagonal lines sothe underlying bedrock colours can beclearly shown. In addition, its mar-gins have more fine cross-sectionsshowing the underlying structures andnature of the Triassic unconformityextending across a wider area. Theaccompanying sheet explanations con-tain fairly detailed and well writtenaccounts with key units clearly high-lighted in bold and, given their rela-tively short length, generously illus-trated with maps, diagrams, tables andphotographs. This is an acceptabletrade-off given that their production isconsiderably cheaper than producingtraditional memoirs, which often usedto appear many years after the rele-vant sheet, but, at the same time theystill provide basic references to the sci-

Charnwood Forest gets a complete set

GA magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 10, No. 2, 2011 23

entific literature. Such references inthe text should not be considered off-putting to casual readers, as I simplyskipped over them in my youth beforepicking up that these bracketed namesand dates were linked to this extrainformation.

As a result of all this workCharnwood Forest has much bettercoverage than many districts which,even after basic 1:50,000 coverage ofBritain is soon completed, will still be inpressing need of core funding for revi-

sion and often complete remappingwith more rapid enhanced contempo-rary methods. While computers areoffering an increasing number of possi-bilities, including allowing users tonavigate three-dimensional topogra-phy and even generate complex blockdiagrams, there is still a place forprinted material as a vital future-proofback-up, given that paper can survivefor centuries while digital databasescan be corrupted and degrade withindecades. Even as handheld viewing

devices are rapidly evolving, a wellfolded and designed paper map is stilla delight in its own right, and like abook does not require any powersource or maintenance to read.Furthermore, publication in itself helpsproduce a more coherent overview ofthe available geological data at thetime, rather than risking piecemealrevisions on an ad hoc basis withoutgaining any wider and deeper under-standing.

David A. G. Nowell

BOOK REVIEWWhat on Earth is under Sussex? A

series of Essays Exploring the History ofGeology in Sussex [Journal of WestSussex History No. 77 (2008-09)].Organised, edited and designed byAnthony Brook of the West SussexGeological Society. Originally publishedfor the West Sussex Archives Society byGuildbourne Publishing, Worthing,November 2009. New Edition, with cor-rections and an index, published in April2010. 96 pp.This special issue of the Journal of WestSussex History is intended to be thefirst of two devoted to articles on thehistory of geology in Sussex. It is theApril 2010 version which is reviewedhere.

The papers are intended for a broadreadership and are generally successfulin avoiding too specialist language (forexample, the date ranges of geologicalPeriods are also given). Collectivelythey make an interesting, and informa-tive, read and should appeal to GAmembers as, in some cases, they illus-trate the important contributions whichthe non-professional geologist canmake to the knowledge about a region.Following a brief Introduction by theEditor, the articles are as follows:

Taking the waters at Brighton 1750-1850 (pp. 8-20), by John D. Mather,discusses the connection betweenhydrotherapy and Brighton, first popu-larised by physician Dr. Richard Russell(1687-1759), who advocated the cura-tive properties of both drinking, andbathing in, seawater. While the formerdid not last much beyond the end to the18th Century, the latter continued intothe 20th. Following Russell's death,these practices were augmented by thedrinking of water from a nearby chaly-beate spring, rich in iron and man-ganese salts and, from 1825, a varietyof Continental mineral waters were alsomade available. In The ReverendCharles Wilton and his Pre-EmigrationGeological Investigations in WestSussex (pp. 21-32), Wolf Mayer dis-cusses the geological investigationsmade by Wilton (b. 1795, d. 1859) inthe years between 1820 and 1831(when he emigrated permanently toAustralia). He collected both mineralsand 'organic remains' and was particu-larly interested in the Fuller's Earth, so-called because it was used by 'fullers' to

remove greasy impurities from sheep'swool in the preparation of cloth, but hisinterpretations of their significancewere set firmly in the context of theBiblical tradition of Creation andDeluge. Although Gideon Mantell(1790-1852) was the subject of a biog-raphy by Dennis Dean in 1999, twopapers focus on aspects of his life:Gideon Mantell and the Brighton Press1834-1838 (pp. 33-46), by John A.Cooper, describes his four year stay inBrighton and the unhappy history of theshort-lived would-be scientific societieswhich formed around him, and hisMuseum of geological specimens, asreflected in the local press coverage;and in Gideon Mantell and the Art ofSeeing Pebbles (pp. 47-56), MelanieKeene discusses the origins of, and atti-tudes to, the observation of natureunderlying his hugely successful bookThoughts on a Pebble, or a First Lessonin Geology, first published in 1836,which aimed at interesting children ingeology. Until at least the 1930s,'Witchstones' (flints with a hole throughthem) and 'Shepherds' Crowns' (castsof Cretaceous echinoids) were widelybelieved by many country folk to havemagical properties, being capable ofbringing good luck to the owner (theform of which could range from, diseaseprevention to increasing a catch of lob-sters, or even ensuring safe driving inearly motor cars), or warding-off theeffects of evil spirits from both man andanimals. Christopher J. Duffin's paper,Herbert Toms and the GeologicalFolklore of Sussex (pp. 57-64)describes the meticulous work of localhistorian, Toms (1874-1940), in docu-menting such beliefs through interviewsand the collection of many examples ofboth kinds of talisman. In Edward AlfredMartin and 'The Glaciation of the SussexDowns' (pp. 65-78), David G. Bate,describes Martin's (1864-1943) ideason the origin of the topography of theSouth Downs arising from his study oftheir topology and the 'Head' depositsexposed in cliff sections near Brighton.This is set in the context of the devel-opment of theories generally, leading tothe modern view of their formation bysolifluction, mass-wasting, in theperiglacial zone, the frost-dominatedregion which exists on the periphery ofice sheets. Finally, in Martin Venablesand the Natural Science andArchaeology Society, Littlehampton,

1933-1938, David Bone describes thefine work carried out by Venables(1901-1990), and a small group ofhelpers, to decipher the biostratigraphyof the London Clay, amassing a collec-tion of over 14,000 specimens, whichincluded fossil sharks, seeds, fruits,beetles and microfauna.

The journal is printed at A4 page size,and the articles are laid out in such away that the illustrations are groupedtogether on pages which alternate withthose containing the text. Restrictionson total space in the issue have meantthat while many of the illustrations areclear, some are printed at a veryreduced size (which can make textwithin them challenging to read) andsome give the impression of crowdingtogether. The same applies to the notesand bibliographic references at the endof each article. All the illustrations are inblack-and-white, except for a colouredgeological map on the inside of the frontcover, and a colour portrait of Mantelland illustrations from his 'Thoughts on aPebble' on the inside and back of therear cover. The Editor, himself a mem-ber of the West Sussex GeologicalSociety, and contributors are to be com-mended on putting this collection ofpapers together, but is a great pity thatthe eight remaining contributions couldalso not be included and it is to behoped that it will not be too long beforethe companion volume appears.

This issue of the journal availablefrom: Guildbourne Publications, BN114BQ, £11.20p

Richard J. Howarth