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The Black Country Geological Society Newsletter No. 183 June 2007 The Society provides limited personal accident cover for members attending meetings or field trips. Details can be obtained from the Secretary. Non-members attending society field trips are advised to take out your own personal accident insurance to the level you feel appropriate. Schools and other bodies should arrange their own insurance as a matter of course. Leaders provide their services on a purely voluntary basis and may not be professionally qualified in this capacity. The Society does not provide hard hats for use of members or visitors at field meetings. It is your responsibility to provide your own hard hat and other safety equipment *(such as safety boots and goggles/glasses) and to use it when you feel it is necessary or when a site owner makes it a condition of entry. Hammering is seldom necessary. It is the responsibility of the hammerer to ensure that other people are at a safe distance before doing so. COPY DATE FOR NEXT NEWSLETTER IS 13th AUGUST 2007 Chairman Alf Cole C.Sci Vice Chairman Alan Cutler B.Sc., In this edition: M.C.A.M., Dip.M., M.CIM. Future Programme Hon Treasurer Mike Williams Page 2 Hon Secretary Other Societies Sarah Worton B.Sc., Page 3 PhD.,F.G.S. Editorial – Discovering fossils Meetings Secretary Page 3 Gordon Hensman B.Sc., F.R.Met.S. Meetings’ reports Page 4 Field Secretary Andrew Harrison BSC., From our Members – Google Earth MSc., F.G.S. Page 6 Geology in Stamps Page 7 Geological places – Portishead and Iceland Page 8 Geobabble: Calcite mudstone? Page 9 And finally Page10 - 1 - The Black Country Geological Society Newsletter No. 183 June 2007 FUTURE PROGRAMME Lecture meetings are held at Dudley Museum, St James’s Road, Dudley. Phone (01384 815575) 7.30 for 8 o’ clock start unless stated otherwise. MONDAY 24TH SEPTEMBER 2007 (Indoor meeting) CONVERSAZIONE. Global Warming – Should We Worry? Introductory speakers: • The C02/Temperature graph: Martin Normanton • Temperature changes in the Geological record: Gordon Hensman • Post-glacial changes in climate over the last 10,000 years: Bob Buckie • Astronomical influences on climate e.g. Milankovitch cycle: Barbara Russell Everyone is invited to take part in this forum which is the second such event. Last year it proved to be very well worthwhile. If you have something to say – even if it is a bee in the proverbial bonnet – come and say it. SATURDAY 29TH SEPTEMBER 2007(Museum visit) Leaders: Andy Harrison and Mike Williams The Natural History Museum, South Kensington Further details to follow in the August Newsletter. Please note that the trip to NHM planned for earlier in the year has been cancelled, so this is the only trip planned. MONDAY 29TH OCTOBER 2007 (Indoor meeting) Speaker to be arranged MONDAY 31st NOVEMBER 2007 (Indoor meeting) Members’ evening Once again a pot pourri of members presentations, and an opportunity for anyone to bring specimens, pictures of all sorts, even poems! And, of course SEASONAL REFRESHMENTS. LOOKING FORWARD - fieldtrip October: Possible trip to the Whitman's Hill Quarry in the Malverns, further details to follow. Gordon Hensman and Andy Harrison - 2 - The Black Country Geological Society Newsletter No. 183 June 2007 OTHER SOCIETIES SHROPSHIRE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY MARCHES FESTIVAL OF GEOLOGY Registration is now open for the Marches Festival of Geology Symposium in Ludlow on Thursday 13th September. Deadline for the reduced rate (and with lunch included) is 31st August. Advance registration for the one-day Symposium should be made with the SGS Treasurer: David HT Smith, 25 Grange Road, Shrewsbury. SY3 9DG email: [email protected] Cheques should be made payable to The Shropshire Geological Society. All the speakers have a special interest in the geology of the Marches and their contributions will provide authoritative and up-to-the minute accounts of their specific fields. They include Ludlow resident, Michael Rosenbaum, Emeritus Professor of Engineering Geology, and Old Ludlovian, Dr David Lloyd MBE, Former Chair of the Ludlow Historical Research Group. The programme will appeal to members of the public as well as the committed geologist. There are five themes: • The mark of distinction: local character shaped by landscapes and building stones • The Marches in the past: on the edge of a lost ocean • Geology in the community: evolving perceptions and realities • The Ice Age: on the edge of a glacier • The future for geology in the Marches Further details are at: www.shropshiregeology.org.uk/festival EDITORIAL Our society is an affiliated group to the Geologists’ Association, the leading nationwide body for geologists both amateur and professional. The most recent organisation to become affiliated is called Discovering Fossils, and we had an email from Roy Shepherd who organises the group asking us to put a link to www.discoveringfossils.co.uk from our BCGS website. If you have any interest in fossils, as I am sure you do, this site is well worth a visit with a multitude of links and excellent photographs, as well as descriptions of sites including the all important information about access and safety. Discovering Fossils is led by a team of three, Roy Shepherd comes from a background of Consumer Advertising and his two colleagues are from professional geology and Primary teaching; an ideal combination. This organisation has over 1,000 members from across the country, and its membership is growing daily. It hopes to attract all with an interest in fossils from the starting amateur through to the professional palaeontologist, but looking at the website you can immediately see the attraction for young families and budding palaeontologists. Forthcoming events include visits to the Cotswolds, Charmouth and Bracklesham Bay, and these localities indicate that this group is heavily orientated to the south on England. The website has reviews of the best fossil localities, and it has detailed descriptions of 39 localities, largely located in the southern counties, and only six older than the Jurassic. Living in the Black Country I first looked for the Wren’s Nest, only to find that it was not mentioned, indeed the only Silurian locality cited is Wenlock Edge. However, we should not let this detract from what is a terrific resource that joins the band of organisations that is trying to raise the profile of geology, particularly amongst young people. Bill Groves - 3 - The Black Country Geological Society Newsletter No. 183 June 2007 MEETINGS’ REPORT THURSDAY 26TH APRIL 2007 Geological Conservation Seminar Dudley Museum and Art Gallery The day was split into two meetings comprising a morning indoor seminar followed by an afternoon field meeting. Graham Worton opened the morning session at 10:00am and thanked everyone for attending. Dr Colin Prosser (Natural England) gave the first presentation of the morning on Geological Conservation legislation and policy. He explained how Britain had not only been a leading country in geoconservation but also how local authorities have been involved from the beginning. Early conservation legislation and policy, in England and Wales, began in 1947 and focused on conserving sites of basic natural interest. Over the years these evolved to include geoconservation sites such as RIGS - Regionally Important Geological (and Geomorphological) Sites and more recently Geological Heritage Sites, European Geoparks and Local Geodiversity Action Plans (LGAPs). These sites combine geological interest with the roles of local authorities, planners, and local communities to help with geoconservation. Graham next spoke about the importance of geoconservation sites and gave a presentation on the Black Country Geodiversity Action Plan (BCGAP) which, launched in 2006, covers the four Metropolitan Boroughs of Wolverhampton, Walsall, Sandwell and Dudley. Through a number of objectives the BCGAP aims to provide a positive contribution to the enrichment of the Black Country environment and quality of life by conserving, enhancing and managing the regions geological heritage and diversity for the benefit of all. Before finishing Graham gave a short presentation on the plans and progress for the Black Country Urban Park Bid including the Wren’s Nest/canal tunnels flagship project. Currently named ‘Strata’ this project is one of the final six short-listed projects from around the country and has gone forward into the next stage of the competition to secure BIG lottery funding, This year’s BIG scheme, called Living Landmarks, offers up to £50 million to a single project selected by TV public vote towards the end of 2007. The final presentation of the morning was given by Dr Abigail Brown (Herefordshire and Worcestershire Earth Heritage Trust) on the history and conservation of Whitman’s Hill quarry in the Malverns. This quarry provides another excellent example of the Silurian Wenlock and Coalbrookdale Formations and has had a strong link with the community of Storridge since the 1800’s. Many groups have various conservation and research interests in the quarry, and the BCGS is planning to have a fieldtrip there in the near future. After lunch Graham led an afternoon field meeting around the Saltwells Nature Reserve, to the north of Quarry Bank, where we were joined by the Birmingham Carboniferous Club, which specialises in various aspects of the Carboniferous, with members from all over Europe. Graham showed us the Silurian, Carboniferous and other geological features left behind as a legacy from the industrial past of the Saltwells area. Much discussion, with good specialist input, especially about Carboniferous sedimentary geology was had amongst the group. Conservation has not only centred on geodiversity but also on the industrial history and ecology of the area. As with all conservation sites Graham pointed out the issues surrounding keeping the nature reserve open to the public whilst dealing with problems of site protection, education and health and safety.