GEOSCIENTIST the Fellowship Magazine of the Geological Society of London UK / Overseas Where Sold to Individuals: £3.95 Feats of Clay the Geology of the Potter’S Art
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SCIENTISTu u GEO VOLUME 25 NO 5 JUNE 2015 WWW.GEOLSOC.ORG.UK/GEOSCIENTIST The Fellowship Magazine of the Geological Society of London UK / Overseas where sold to individuals: £3.95 Feats of clay The geology of the potter’s art READ GEOLSOC BLOG! ] [geolsoc.wordpress.com GOE FIGURE GEOLOGY AND BEER CHARTER MARKED Tracing the rise of Earth’s Peter Dolan on that most Rick Brassington remembers oxygen-rich atmosphere perfect combination CGeol’s earliest days 33rd Earth Science and GIS Software ANNIVERSARY ROCKWORKS® r Starting at $700 RockWorks provides visualization and modeling of spatial and subsurface data. RockWorks contains tools that will save time and money, increase «ÀwÌ>LÌÞ]>`«ÀÛ`i>V«iÌÌÛii`}i through high-quality graphics, models, and plots. Mapping Tools r&TKNNJQNGNQECVKQPOCRU r#UUC[EQPEGPVTCVKQPOCRU r&UWTHCEGFKURNC[U r&RQKPVOCRU r)GQNQI[OCRU r/WNVKXCTKCVGOCRU r/WNVKRNGIGQITCRJKEFCVWOUHQTIGQTGHGTGPEGFQWVRWV r'CTVJ#RRUsOCRUKOCIGUHQTFKURNC[KP)QQING'CTVJ Borehole Database Tools r2TQLGEVGFETQUUUGEVKQPUYKVJFTKNNKPIQTKGPVCVKQP r%QTTGNCVKQPRCPGNU r&TKNNJQNGNQIU r$NQEMOQFGNKPVGTRQNCVKQP r5WTHCEGOQFGNKPVGTRQNCVKQPQHUVTCVKITCRJKEWPKVU r&QYPJQNGHTCEVWTGFKURNC[CPFOQFGNKPI r8QNWOGTGRQTVUQHNKVJQNQIKEUVTCVKITCRJKEOQFGNU r'ZEGN.#5CE3WKTG0GYOQPV#&1CPFQVJGTKORQTVU Other Tools r$NQEMOQFGNGFKVQT r8QNWOGECNEWNCVKQPU r5VGTGQPGVCPFTQUGFKCITCOU r&CPF&QWVRWVVQ4QEM9QTMU)QQING'CTVJ r'ZRQTVUVQ)+55JCRGƂNGU%#&&:(TCUVGTHQTOCVU )QQING'CTVJ r+OCIGKORQTVCPFTGEVKƂECVKQP r2TQITCOCWVQOCVKQP r5WRRQTVHQTPQP.CVKPCNRJCDGVU Contact [email protected] for our Exchange Rate Price Break Download FREE Trial at www.RockWare.com U.S. t: 800.775.6745 // f: 303.278.4099 Europe t: +41 91 967 52 53 // f: +41 91 967 55 50 GEOSCIENTIST CONTENTS Download 06 16 12 24 FEATURES IN THIS ISSUE... 16 GOE figure Matthew Warke, with help from the Society’s Gloyne Outdoor Research Fund, traces the rise of Earth’s oxygen atmosphere REGULARS 05 Welcome Ted Nield celebrates the return of a very old friend indeed 06 Society news What your Society is doing at home and abroad, in London and the regions 09 Soapbox Rick Brassington, an early advocate, reflects on ON THE COVER: Chartership’s origins and importance today 10 Working with clay 21 Letters We welcome your thoughts When John Mather retired, he decided to 22 Books and arts Four new books reviewed by Paul learn how to make the ceramics that he Howlett, Murray Hoggett, Caroline Mason and Richard Dawe and Jenny Bennett had always collected... 24 People Geoscientists in the news and on the move 26 Obituary Boris Sergeevich Sokolov 1914-2013 27 Calendar Society activities this month ONLINE SPECIALS Geology and Beer Peter Dolan stares into the glass and finds it 28 Obituary Yves Oscar Fortier 1914-2014 overflowing with geological meaning. 29 Crossword Win a special publication of your choice WWW.GEOLSOC.ORG.UK/GEOSCIENTIST | JUNE 2015 | 03 Corporate Supporters: Call for Abstracts – Deadline 31 July 2015 East Africa From Research to Reserves Convenors: 13-15 April 2016 John Argent BG Group The Geological Society, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London Andrei Belopolsky Premier Oil Caren Herbert Tullow Oil Duncan Macgregor MacGeology Pamela Sansom BG Group Conference Image courtesy of CCG Sponsors: Recent exploration campaigns both on- and offshore East Africa have discovered a tremendous resource, which has propelled the region from being one of possibilities to one with commercial opportunities of VLJQL¿FDQWVFDOH7KHVHGLVFRYHULHVDUHVHWWRPDNH(DVW$IULFDDPDMRUHQHUJ\UHVRXUFHSOD\HULQWKH 21st Century, yet many challenges remain. 3DSHUVDUHLQYLWHGWKDWUHÀHFWWKHVWHSFKDQJHLQJHRORJLFDOXQGHUVWDQGLQJRIWKHUHJLRQWKDWKDVHYROYHG from new well and seismic data, to cover topics including: the regional geological context, emerging exploration plays, case study scenarios for reservoir characterization and leveraging academic research to improve understanding across all these themes. The meeting will bring together experts from industry and academia to present the latest data and research Call for Abstracts: 3OHDVHHPDLOSDSHUDQGSRVWHUDEVWUDFWVXEPLVVLRQVWRODXUDJULI¿WKV#JHROVRFRUJXNEHIRUH-XO\ 2015 Further information: For further information, please visit the conference website at www.geolsoc.org.uk/East-Africa- From-Research-to-Reserves At the forefront of petroleum geoscience www.geolsoc.org.uk/petroleum GEOSCIENTIST WELCOME Geoscientist is the ADVERTISING SALES ~ Fellowship magazine of Ollie Kirkman TWO VASES FROM THE BARNSTAPLE POTTERY the Geological Society T 01727 739 184 of London E ollie@centuryone OF C.H. BRANNAM, MADE USING BROWN CLAY FROM publishing.uk The Geological Society, FREMINGTON AND COLOURED SLIPS. THE LARGER Burlington House, Piccadilly, ART EDITOR London W1J 0BG Heena Gudka VESSEL WAS DECORATED IN THE ART NOUVEAU T +44 (0)20 7434 9944 F +44 (0)20 7439 8975 DESIGN & PRODUCTION STYLE BY FREDERICK BRADDON, DATED 1907 E [email protected] Sarah Astington Front: From the collection of Jenny Bennett and John Mather (Not for Editorial - Please ~ contact the Editor) PRINTED BY Century One Publishing House Publishing Ltd. The Geological Society Publishing House, Unit 7, Copyright Brassmill Enterprise Centre, The Geological Society of Brassmill Lane, Bath London is a Registered BA1 3JN Charity, number 210161. T 01225 445046 ISSN (print) 0961-5628 F 01225 442836 ISSN (online) 2045-1784 FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK: Library The Geological Society of London T +44 (0)20 7432 0999 accepts no responsibility for the F +44 (0)20 7439 3470 views expressed in any article in this publication. All views expressed, E [email protected] except where explicitly stated Brontosaurus is back otherwise, represent those of the EDITOR-IN-CHIEF author, and not The Geological Professor Peter Styles Society of London. All rights reserved. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, n the second month of the new Brontosaurus. Everybody knew about EDITOR copied or transmitted save with Dr Ted Nield written permission. Users registered Millennium, the American Brontosaurus, from Fred Flintstone’s E [email protected] with Copyright Clearance Center: the Journal is registered with CCC, 27 Museum of Natural History Brontoburgers, to the appealing fact Congress Street, Salem, MA 01970, EDITORIAL BOARD USA. 0961-5628/02/$15.00. Every opened the Frederick Phineas that its name (given in 1879 by Othniel Dr Sue Bowler effort has been made to trace and Sandra Priest Rose Centre C Marsh himself) meant ‘Thunder Mr Steve Branch copyright holders of material in this publication. If any rights have I Dr Robin Cocks for Earth and Space – a name designed Lizard’. And it came as a nasty shock been omitted, the publishers offer Prof. Tony Harris to defy the human memory, and so to everyone to discover that poor old Dr Howard Falcon-Lang their apologies. Dr Jonathan Turner No responsibility is assumed by the called simply the ‘Rose Centre’. It genus B. had been sunk since as Dr Jan Zalasiewicz Publisher for any injury and/or contained the better-known Hayden early as 1903, when palaeontologist damage to persons or property as a Trustees of the matter of products liability, Planetarium, where redesigned Elmer Riggs determined (or so he negligence or otherwise, or from any Geological Society use or operation of any methods, exhibits displayed the solar system in thought) that B. was merely a junior of London products, instructions or ideas Prof David Manning contained in the material herein. a new way. And it wasn’t long before synonym of another Marsh genus, (President); Although all advertising material is its Director – one shy, retiring Neil Apatosaurus (1877). Almost every Mrs Natalyn Ala (Secretary, expected to conform to ethical (medical) standards, inclusion in this deGrasse Tyson – had become the bad generation since then has felt outrage Professional Matters); publication does not constitute a Dr Mike Armitage (Vice guarantee or endorsement of the guy of astronomy for millions of that their favourite diplodocid never president); Dr Nigel quality or value of such product or of American eight-year-olds. actually existed. Cassidy; Prof Neil the claims made by its manufacturer. The exhibit displayed the However, a monumental new Chapman; Dr Angela Coe; Subscriptions: All correspondence Mr Jim Coppard; relating to non-member components of the solar system in taxonomic study (truly a Brontosaurus Mr David Cragg (Vice subscriptions should be addresses president); Mrs Jane to the Journals Subscription groups with like properties – rocky of the genre at 300 pages published Dottridge; Mr Chris Eccles; Department, Geological Society Publishing House, Unit 7 Brassmill planets, gas giants, and so on. This left April 7, in PeerJ) has determined that Dr Marie Edmonds; Enterprise Centre, Brassmill Lane, one of the best-known planets – Pluto, no less than three species of the genus Professor Alastair Fraser Bath, BA1 3JN, UK. Tel: 01225 (Secretary, Science); 445046. Fax: 01225 442836. the only one to be discovered by an – excelsus (the first discovered) parvus Mr David Hopkins; Email: [email protected]. The American (Clyde Tombaugh in 1930) – and yahnahpin – were real, after all. Mr David Jones (Vice subscription price for Volume 25, 2015 (11 issues) to institutions and president); Dr Adam Law non-members is £132 (UK) or out in the cold among other icy, trans- There has already been media (Treasurer); Prof Alan Lord £151/$302 (Rest of World). Neptunian objects, un-named. rejoicing, and the (Secretary Foreign & External Affairs); Dr Brian © 2015 The Geological Society Every child’s