Bulletin of the North Staffordshire Group of the Geologists’ Association Number 125 Page 2
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Bulletin of the North Staffordshire Group of the Geologists’ Association Number 125 : January 2019 NSGGA Dates for Your Diary Thursday 24 January @ 19:30 Lecture: ‘The Geomorphological and Geological Impacts of Glaciers: Recent Insights from Modern- Day Glacial Landsystems’ by Richard Waller (Keele). Thursday 7 February @ 19:30 Lecture: 'BGS collections: over 200 years in the making' by Michael Howe (BGS). Thursday 14 March @ 19:00 AGM and Chairman's Address by Stuart Egan, (Keele): ‘The formation and evolution of mountains and basins: insights from the modelling of geological processes’ Saturday 27 April @ 10:30 Field Trip: Mam Tor & Treak Cliff Cavern Sunday 14 July Field Trip: Clee Hill Weekend 20-22 September Field Weekend: Mid-Wales Sunday 20 October Field Trip: Apedale as part of GA Conference Winter Lecture Programme 2018/19 Lectures are held in room WS0.06 in the William Smith Building, Keele University Thursday 24 January 2019 @ 19:30 The Geomorphological & Geological Impacts of Glaciers: recent insights of modern-day glacial landsystems Dr Richard Waller (Keele University) Ongoing research on modern and ancient glaciers and ice sheets have demonstrated their ability to create a range of landforms, landscapes and sediment sequences that are far more diverse than the classic "textbook" suggestions would suggest. This talk will provide an introduction to the diverse geomorphological and geological impacts of glaciers in the context of the "glacial landsystems" they produce and will highlight some of the key Image: Richard Waller factors that are Bulletin of the North Staffordshire Group of the Geologists’ Association Number 125 Page 2 responsible for this diversity. We will initially explore the active temperate landsystems of southern Iceland and the distinctive geomorphological signatures of surges and glacier outburst events before examining the glacial landsystems of the Eastern Canadian Arctic and the role played by climate and thermal regime. Thursday 7 February 2019 @ 19:30 BGS collections: over 200 years in the making Dr Mike Howe (British Geological Survey) The National Geological Repository Collection (part of BGS) is the largest collection of British geological materials and holds most of the contents of the former Museum of Practical Geology (Jermyn Street, London 1851-1935) and Geological Museum, South Kensington (1935-1985), although its origins go back even further to the Museum of Economic Geology, and the Geological Society of London Image: British Geological Survey Museum. It holds major collections of British type and figured/cited fossils and petrological thin sections, as well as systematic locality based fossil and rock collections. It also holds the national borehole and hydrocarbon well archives, an invaluable resource for the energy & minerals industries. Since 2000 there have been major advances in providing online access to the collections. The petrology, rock & mineral, and borehole databases are all online, and high resolution images of over 160,000 thin sections are available - http://www.bgs.ac.uk/data/britrocks.html, as are high resolution images of all offshore hydrocarbon well cores - http://www.bgs.ac.uk/data/offshoreWells/wells.cfc?method=searchWells. Type fossils are available through the GB3D portal, which also includes stereo- anaglyphs and over 2000 downloadable digital models. All will be demonstrated in the talk. Thursday 14 March 2019 @ 19:00 : AGM & 19:30 : Chair’s Address The formation and evolution of mountains and basins: insights from the modelling of geological processes Dr Stuart Egan (Keele University) Mountain belts represent major geological features on the surface of the planet. They form mainly from compressional stresses generated by plate tectonics and plate motions that can cause uplift of the crust to several kilometres in height and over a lateral extent of 100s of kilometres. These regions of uplift are also dynamically linked to subsidence of the crust forming sedimentary basins that are January 2019 Bulletin of the North Staffordshire Group of the Geologists’ Association Number 125 Page 3 located immediately adjacent to the mountain belt. The formation of mountain belts, and their adjacent basins, is controlled by a variety of processes that occur at lithosphere scale, including crustal faulting, thermal and pressure effects, and isostasy, as well as surface processes such as erosion. The main aim of this talk will be to explain how mountain-basin couplets form in a variety of tectonic settings and how numerical and computer models, combined with the acquisition of geological data, have enhanced our understanding of mountain-forming processes. The talk will touch upon the evolution of several mountain belts in the geological record, including the Laramide and Basin and Range provinces in the western USA. There will also be coverage of orogenic collapse, which is a topical subject that investigates the processes that destroy mountain belts over geological time. Image: Stuart Egan Summer Field Programme 2019 Each person attending field meetings does so at their own risk. The NSGGA has public liability insurance through a GA insurance policy that also carries limited personal accident cover for members attending meetings or field trips. Non-members pay £2 to cover temporary membership giving them insurance cover. A field fee of £2 per head is normally charged for members and non- members to cover the leader’s expenses. Hard hats & hi-vis jackets should be taken on all fieldtrips. Saturday 27th April 2019 @ 10:30 at Mam Tor Road, below Treak Cliff. Mam Tour and Treak Cliff Cavern Steve Alcock and Stuart Curry Park at the base of Treak Cliff (SK136833). The visit will cover about 6kms along footpaths including some uphill walking. The visit will also look at Carboniferous outcrops and the Mam Tor landslip. We will visit the show cave at the end of our fieldtrip (approx. 4.00pm.) The cavern shows Blue John veins in-situ as well as excellent cave formations. Warm & waterproof clothing, boots and a packed lunch. There is a gift shop, displays and refreshments at the Cavern. Cost £12 which include entrance to the Treak Cliff Cavern and the field fee. Can you please return the booking form at the end of the bulletin by April 12, 2019 to Steve Alcock at [email protected] or send to Longfields, Park Lane, Cheddleton, Leek, Staffs. ST137JS. Any queries please e-mail or call on 07711501028 or 01538 360431. January 2019 Bulletin of the North Staffordshire Group of the Geologists’ Association Number 125 Page 4 GA Annual Conference: Manchester 2019 – Advance Notice Geological Resources of North West England: Past, Present and Future Friday 18 to Sunday 20 October 2019 University of Manchester The meeting will be jointly hosted by the Manchester, Liverpool, Lancashire, North Staffordshire and North Wales GA groups and will be held on campus at the University of Manchester. The theme of the meeting is ‘Geological Resources of North West England: Past, Present and Future’. As usual, there will be a programme of talks on the Saturday followed by a variety of field visits on the Sunday, one of which may be to Apedale. The Conference Dinner will be held on Saturday evening. Further details will be available in due course. NSGGA 70th Anniversary Celebrations At the Christmas Social in December the NSGGA celebrated its 70th Anniversary. Thanks to Peter Jones for these photographs. Stuart Egan (NSGGA Chair) and Nick Pierpoint (GA President) welcome members to the Social. Members of the audience discuss mineral samples obtained from the deep ocean with Andrew Bloodworth (left) following his talk. January 2019 Bulletin of the North Staffordshire Group of the Geologists’ Association Number 125 Page 5 Annual GA Local Groups Meeting and Festival of Geology Local Groups Meeting, Burlington House, London. 2nd November 2018 Janet and David Osborn represented the group at GA Local Groups meeting held annually at Burlington House. The new president of the GA Nick Pierpoint welcomed everyone to the meeting. This is an opportunity for local groups to hear about what is going on within the GA and to raise subjects from within their local group. These are some of the points that may be of interest. The concept of Geo-villages, a project started in the village of Martley being developed by the Teme Valley Geological Society. Other local groups are encouraged to participate including Ashover in Derbyshire and the Wenlock area in Shropshire. A Geo-village is a community that has distinctive geology within its bounds and has a policy of locally managed geological discovery and conservation. On 17th May 2019 the third GA Symposium will take place at Burlington House. Although well attended in the past, the presence of local group members would be welcomed. There is an opportunity to speak to the students afterwards informally and an excellent way to discover future speakers for local group meetings. Keynote speech by Professor Iain Stewart. Next year’s Annual Conference will be held in Manchester. The 2018 conference in Birmingham was well attended. The Festival of Geology to take place on 3rd November 2018 includes four lectures as well as many activities. School Rocks! promoted by Haydon Bailey was reported to be doing well. It is hoped that local groups can become involved liaising with local schools and possibly as a way of advertising local activities. Geolab: Five have run so far with one due to take place in Reading in March 2019. Publications: PGA - new contract with Elsevier for four years. Earth Heritage magazine produced twice yearly on line. The next issue due mid-November 2018. Geology Today still edited by Peter Doyle, jointly owned by GA and Wiley. GA Guides: several in progress including Yorkshire Coast, Bristol, Isle of Wight, Shropshire & Old Red Sandstone. GA Calendars for 2019 available. GA Field Trips: GA are improving protocol on who is doing what. The much- discussed issue of insurance came up regarding insurance cover for non-GA members.