GeoscientistThe Fellowship magazine of The Geological Society of London | www.geolsoc.org.uk | Volume 21 No 3 | April 2011 READER SPECIAL OFFER!] [ See page 19 LINO BEAUTY Art and science combine SLIMEBALL EARTH Oldest complex life sees light once more BHUTAN CONTACT Fieldwork on the roof of the world CONTENTS GEOSCIENTIST IN THIS ISSUE APRIL 2011 FEATURES 18 LINO BEAUTY Ted Nield talks to linocut artist and geologist Jean Slee-Smith REGULARS 05 WELCOME Give a focus to the Jurassic Coast, says Ted Nield 06 SOAPBOX David White points the finger of blame for Deepwater Horizon 07 GEONEWS What’s new in the world of geoscientific research 10 SOCIETY NEWS What your Society is doing at home and abroad, in London and the regions 20 BOOK & ARTS Two reviews, by David Nowell and Sarah Day 12 COVER FEATURE: BHUTAN CONTACT 22 LETTERS We welcome your thoughts Tom Argles (Open University) treks to the 24 PEOPLE Geoscientists in the news and on the move top of the world on a Society fieldwork grant 26 OBITUARY Two distinguished Fellows remembered 27 CALENDAR Society activities this month 29 CROSSWORD Win a special publication of your choice ONLINE SPECIALS n REVIEW Thomas Hardy and the Jurassic Coast, by Ted Nield n ESSAY Literature and Geology, by Rebecca Welshman n FEATURE Rock and ice: Ejafjällajökull and climate change, by Fabian Wadsworth 07 18 n FEATURE Tectonic crossroads, by Sarah Beijat APRIL 2011 03 ~ EDITOR’S COMMENT GEOSCIENTIST RAY OF LIGHT FALLING UPON PARO DZONG, BHUTAN Front cover photo: Shutterstock ~ OLYMPIC DREAM orset has two big things going for it: Geoscientist is the E enquiries@centuryone Fellowship magazine of publishing.ltd.uk its geology, especially as displayed the Geological Society W www.centuryone along the Jurassic Coast, which is of London publishing.ltd.uk mostly within the County – and its Contact CHIEF EXECUTIVE literature. I review the most recent The Geological Society, Nick Simpson example of how tourism is Burlington House, Piccadilly, T 01727 893 894 London W1J 0BG E nick@centuryone increasingly becoming integrated T +44 (0)20 7434 9944 publishing.ltd.uk with the UNESCO World Heritage Site concept in F +44 (0)20 7439 8975 D E [email protected] ADVERTISING EXECUTIVE Geoscientist Online, where this month you can find W www.geolsoc.org.uk Jonathan Knight an additional review and associated article about T 01727 739 193 Publishing House E jonathan@centuryone the Thomas Hardy Society’s latest publication – The Geological Society publishing.ltd.uk Thomas Hardy and the Jurassic Coast. Publishing House, Unit 7, Brassmill Enterprise Centre, ART EDITOR But if you come to visit the Jurassic Coast, where Brassmill Lane, Bath Heena Gudka is its front door – its shop window – its point of BA1 3JN departure? Where could you go to learn about it, T 01225 445046 DESIGN & PRODUCTION F 01225 442836 Sarah Astington get enthused, see exhibitions or pick up maps and Tanya Kant leaflets? Where is its one-stop-shop? Library T +44 (0)20 7432 0999 PRINTED BY You might cite the charming Victorian Dorset F +44 (0)20 7439 3470 Century One Publishing Ltd. County Museum, in busy and congested E [email protected] Copyright Dorchester. Then, in congested and almost car-free EDITOR-IN-CHIEF The Geological Society of Lyme Regis, you can visit the charming and quaint Professor Tony Harris FGS London is a Registered Charity, Philpot Museum. Indeed, no visit to Dorset is number 210161. EDITOR ISSN (print) 0961-5628 complete without both. But neither could claim to Dr Ted Nield NUJ FGS ISSN (online) 2045-1784 be an adequate focal point for a tourist-attracting EDITORIAL BOARD The Geological Society of London natural wonder of global standing. The short Dr Sue Bowler FGS accepts no responsibility for the answer is – there is no focal point for the Dr Robin Cocks FGS views expressed in any article in this Dr Martin Degg FGS publication. All views expressed, Jurassic Coast. except where explicitly stated Dr Joe McCall FGS otherwise, represent those of the However, amazingly, slap bang in the middle of Dr Jonathan Turner FGS author, and not The Geological the Coast, lies a large brownfield site – a huge area Dr Jan Zalasiewicz FGS Society of London. All rights reserved. No paragraph of this publication may of deprivation, industrial dereliction and Trustees of the Geological be reproduced, copied or transmitted depopulation, begging to be “re-purposed”, as Society of London save with written permission. Users registered with Copyright Clearance planning jargon has it, and waiting expectantly Dr J P B Lovell OBE Center: the Journal is registered with (President); Professor P A CCC, 27 Congress Street, Salem, MA below some relatively low-hanging cash from Allen (Secretary, Science); 01970, USA. 0961- Miss S Brough; Mr M 5628/02/$15.00. Every effort has regional and European development grants. Not Brown; Professor R Butler; been made to trace copyright holders only that - the area is about to become the focus of Dr M Daly; Professor A J of material in this publication. If any Fleet (Treasurer); Dr S A rights have been omitted, the the 2012 Olympics sailing competition and needs Gibson; Dr R Herrington; publishers offer their apologies. sprucing up. If you wanted convincing of the Dr R A Hughes; Dr A Law; No responsibility is assumed by the power of the Olympics to regenerate large areas in Professor A R Lord Publisher for any injury and/or (Secretary, Foreign & damage to persons or property as a short order, go to the Lea Valley, where the Olympic External Affairs); Professor matter of products liability, velodrome has just been completed – a mere five J Ludden; Mr P Maliphant; negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, years after the bid was won. Professor D A C Manning products, instructions or ideas (Secretary, Professional contained in the material herein. This place, of course, is the Isle of Portland, where Matters); Professor S Although all advertising material is Marriott (Vice President); expected to conform to ethical many old quarries, prison areas and docklands Professor S Monro OBE; Dr (medical) standards, inclusion in this would only be improved by the addition of a state- C P Summerhayes (Vice publication does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement of the of-the art interpretation centre, complete with walk- President); Professor J H quality or value of such product or of Tellam; Dr G W Tuckwell the claims made by its manufacturer. through aquaria, alive with real sharks and (Vice President); Dr J P swimming animatronic ammonites, and surrounded Turner (Secretary, Subscriptions: All correspondence Publications); Professor D relating to non-member subscriptions by ample car parking. A real museum, showing J Vaughan; Mr N R G should be addresses to the Journals some of the NHM’s Jurassic and Cretaceous Walton. Subscription Department, Geological Society Publishing House, Unit 7 collections, currently hidden away in storage, could Brassmill Enterprise Centre, Brassmill Published on behalf of the Lane, Bath, BA1 3JN, UK. Tel: 01225 help fulfil that institution’s remit to place its riches Geological Society of 445046. Fax: 01225 442836. Email: London by [email protected]. The before the public. The local economy would be Century One Publishing subscription price for Volume 21, boosted permanently – providing an all-important Alban Row, 27–31 Verulam 2011 (11 issues) to institutions and non-members is £108 (UK) or £124 / legacy that the local Council could buy into. Road, St Albans, Herts, US$247 (Rest of World). AL3 4DG The time is right – action should be taken now. T 01727 893 894 © 2011 The Geological Society of F 01727 893 895 London DR TED NIELD EDITOR APRIL 2011 05 GEOSCIENTIST SOAPBOX Finger of blame? BY DAVID WHITE Want to know where to point the finger of blame for the Deepwater Horizon disaster? You can start by pointing to yourself, says oil-spill response specialist David White* SOAPBOX The Deepwater Horizon blow-out in the well blowout; but how many readers are Gulf of Mexico brought safety and oil spills aware of a blowout in 2009 off Western to the forefront of the global media, and Australia that received much less Soapbox is open to pretty soon coverage turned to the question international media attention? Not to contributions from all Fellows. of where to point “the finger of blame”. As a mention other smaller incidents that occur You can always write a letter to geologist with experience in exploration and every year in the North Sea, West Africa, the Editor, of course: but production who has been working in the oil- Gulf of Mexico - in fact, all the smaller perhaps you feel you need spill response industry for a number of years incidents that happen everywhere. more space? (including Deepwater) I wonder if, when all Wherever oil is handled there is an inherent is said and done, we should not all look risk of spillage despite all our preventative If you can write it entertainingly in towards ourselves for blame: yes – that’s measures. The problem now facing us 500 words, the Editor would like you, me, everyone. comes from a combination of existing to hear from you. Our insatiable thirst for oil has resulted in production infrastructure in those older, relatively easy-to-exploit reservoirs easier-to-extract fields approaching the end Email your piece, and a self- becoming drier, and new finds rarer. of their life cycle, and higher-risk frontier portrait, to ted.nield@geolsoc. Exploration has been pushed by our areas being newly explored. Hardly org.uk. Copy can only be demand into frontier regions of world, surprising, then, that collectively, the risk accepted electrinically.