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The Association Future Lectures Festival Awards 2012 February/March Lectures Bracklesham Barcelona Guide Review Two Prime Specimens Lost Circular Dorset Guide/ Guide Prices April Lecture John Vord Hepworth Rockwatch News Grants available Sir Arthur Russell Book Review Missing Paintings New Rules An Aber Celebration Horn Park Museum Display

Back Cover: EXETER MEETING Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Volume 11, No 2, 2012 Published by the COUNCIL Geologists’ Association. MAY 2012 - MAY 2013 Four issues per year. Officers: CONTENTS President: Professor Rory Mortimore ISSN 1476-7600 Senior Vice-President: Professor Production team: JOHN CROCKER, David Bridgland; Vice-Presidents: Dr 3/4 The Association John Cosgrove, Vanessa Harley, Colin Prosser, Dr Michael Ridd; 5 Future Lectures/Festival Jon Trevelyan, Chris Woolston Treasurer: Dr Graham Williams; 6 Awards 2012 General Secretary: Mrs Diana 7 February Lecture Printed by City Print, Milton Keynes Clements. Postholders : 8 March Lecture The GEOLOGISTS’ ASSOCIATION Minutes Secretary: Mr Roger Le Voir; 9 Bracklesham does not accept any responsibility for Meetings Secretary: Dr Michael 10 Barcelona Guide Review views and opinions expressed by Oates; Field Meetings Secretary: Mr Two Prime Specimens Lost 11 individual authors in this magazine. Geoff Swann; Overseas Field Meetings Secretary: Dr Michael Ridd; Circular The Geologists’ Guides Editor: Professor Susan 15 Dorset Guide/ Guide Prices Association Marriott; GA Magazine representative: 16 April Lecture Professor John Cosgrove; GA The Association, founded in 1858, exists to 17 John Vord Hepworth Archivist: Dr Jonathan Larwood; foster the progress and diffusion of the 18 Rockwatch News science of geology, and to encourage Librarian: Miss Elaine Bimpson; research and the development of new Awards Panel Secretary: Mrs Barbara 19 Grants available methods. It holds meetings for the reading Cumbers; Membership Team 20 Sir Arthur Russell of papers and the delivery of lectures, Chairman: Dr Paul Olver; Rockwatch 21 Book Review organises museum demonstrations, Chairman: Mrs Susan Brown,. publishes Proceedings and Guides, and Non-Council Postholders Missing Paintings conducts field meetings. Proceedings Editor: Professor Jim 22 New Rules Annual Subscriptions for 2012 are £40.00, Rose. Associates £30.00, Joint Members £58.00, An Aber Celebration Ordinary Members of Council Students £18.00. 23 Horn Park Museum Display Mr Andrew Ashley, Mr Anthony For forms of Proposal for Membership and Back Cover: further information, apply to the Executive Brook, Mr David Greenwood, Secretary, The Geologists’ Association, Professor Richard Howarth, Mr Peter EXETER MEETING Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J Riches, Mr Paul Winrow, Dr 0DU. Christopher Woolston. E-mail [email protected] Co-opted member of Council: Telephone 020 7434 9298 Mr Neill Hadlow. Fax 020 7287 0280 Executive Committee: Officers Website: Mrs Sarah Stafford. http://www.geologistsassociation.org.uk

President: Rory Mortimore © The Geologists’ Association. All rights reserved. No part of this Executive Secretary: Sarah publication may be reproduced, stored Stafford in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the Cover picture: prior permission in writing of the author Curry Fund Dates for 2012 and the Geologists’ Association. Permian Ratburi Limestone weathers to form karst towers in the tropical climate Applications to Committee LAST Copy dates for the Circular & of Thailand. This island, named Ko to be received by Date Magazine February 20 March 9 March Issue January 14 Pada off the Krabi coast of southern May 20 June 8 June Issue April 22 Thailand, has a solution notch at its August 20 September 14 September Issue July 22 December Issue October 21 base and appears to float on the sea November 20 December 14 surface. It was visited by GA members Items should be submitted as soon in 2007 during the Association's field as possible and not targeted on these meeting in Thailand (see PGA vol. 120, dates. 163-174). We welcome contributions from Members Photo Mike Ridd and others.

2 Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 THE ASSOCIATION Perhaps this spirit engendered by a participation in the Earth Heritage From the New President part-time and volunteer team is what Magazine. Each of these publications makes the GA such a friendly meets a different need within our For those of you lucky enough to organisation to belong to and it is a membership and provides essential have been at the GA meeting on the privilege for me to take over as your supporting funds for the GA awards 4th May to see the GA award winners President for the next two years. I and other activities. These and hear David Bridglands’s have been on a steep learning curve developments have all come from the Presidential address on’ Glamorous from David Bridgland who has chaired initiative and drive of your Council Gravels’ you will be aware how far the the Council meetings, picking up key team over many years and the various GA has come in the last decades. issues with ease and running the journal editors. Despite being a GA member since the evening lectures in a very relaxed mid-1970s, and having been on manner. He has also developed two This brings me to three final points. fabulous GA field trips to Denmark led huge themes close to his heart, The first is that Council has made the by Richard Bromley (1976) and to the geo-conservation and gravels. The GA decision to video record the monthly Carpathians with Keith Duff (1980), Worcester conference was a great talks and David Bridgland’s Presidential this was my first chance to attend a success, the GA Exeter Rivers through address was recorded last Friday as an May AGM (usually, I have been running Geological Time meeting in October is experiment. We can only do this with field courses) and to listen to a heading that way. On your behalf I the permission of the speakers and the Presidential address and join in with thank David and all the officers and idea is to have the recording on the GA the GA Dinner. It was a truly positive members of Council for the work they website so that GA members who could evening with an outstanding group of have and are doing to keep the GA not be at the meeting will be able to award winners who contributed greatly going forward and successfully meeting see the talk. We hope that systematic to the whole occasion. It says its charitable aims in supporting the recordings will begin with the Autumn something for the GA and the many activities it does. I have a lot to series of talks. The Geological Society leadership given by past presidents, live up to! Fortunately David is staying has kindly allowed us to use their the GA Council and those who have on Council as Senior Vice President to system to make these recordings and given their names to awards through help me through my first year. David will be helping Sarah put the final their donations, that the awards have has also taken on the task of product on the web. You will be expanded to include students, representing the GA on the editorial informed how to access the website in educators, local enthusiasts as well as team of the Earth Heritage Magazine due course. those who have dedicated their lives to and looks forward to receiving articles particular areas of research. A common from you. This excellent journal is on- The second point concerns the GA theme is the enthusiasm for the line and a perfect outlet for many of Trading Company. With the advent of subject at whatever level and from the local initiatives in geo-conservation internet trading on sites such as whatever background and this goes to and geo-education being undertaken Amazon the items the GA Trading the heart and soul of the GA and is by local groups. Company traditionally sold such as what attracted me to the organisation compasses, geology hammers, hand in the first place. As Professor Iain Taking groups out on the Chalk has lenses etc. can be found more easily Stewart said in accepting his Honorary been a great pleasure. Over the last and cheaply on the various websites. Life Membership of the GA at the year I have managed the wettest So, in discussion with and the advice of awards ceremony, it is the way the GA weekend of my life on the north the Trading Company team, Council makes geology accessible at all levels Norfolk coast with Norfolk and Norwich has decided to wind-up the trading through Rockwatch, field trips, evening Natural History Society, got heavily company. Current stocks will be sold at lectures and its publications that gives sunburnt with Wessex OUGS on White meetings as usual but no further it a special place in the life of our Nothe in Dorset, had two great trips to stocks will be ordered. This does not subject. the French Normandy coast with the affect the GA guides which we can Reading GS and Hertfordshire GS and continue to sell as ‘low-risk’ items I am staggered at how much the GA taken the West Sussex GS, Hastings without the need for a Trading does with a very small team. Sarah and District GS and the GA to various Company. We can also make up items and Geraldine are part-time in the GA parts of the Sussex coast and inland such as T-shirts for special events such office and all the officers of the pits. With nearly 50 affiliated societies as conferences and the festivals of Association and Council members are it would be good to think I could meet geology as these will be ‘low-risk’ small volunteers, including the editors of the most of you during the next two years, stock items. various publications. Some officers and possibly over ambitious but one way of members of council are in full-time achieving this is holding the GA The third point relates to the GA work and are lucky to have conferences in the regions. Last finances and these have been so well sympathetic employers who are willing September was in Worcester, the next managed by our Treasurer, Graham to release them for Friday Council and one is in Exeter with the Devonshire Williams, that no increase in other committee meetings. The variety association and the September 2013 subscription charges will be required of recent work has included supporting conference it is proposed to hold in this year. A special thank you to local groups to maintain access to sites Durham. We need the help and Graham for the care and time he puts such as the Bracklesham Bay near participation of local groups in the into the accounts and the sound advice Chichester in Sussex, responding to organisation and running of field he gives Council. government initiatives on the trips/site visits with these annual environment by giving a geologist’s conferences and welcome suggestions Finally, we rely heavily on the perspective, joining in a partnership for organisers, themes, speakers and membership and your views and with government agencies to help field leaders. participation in all activities are crucial sustain and develop the Earth Heritage Since I joined the GA, our magazine to the GA, so please keep telling us Magazine. All of these activities are in has developed beyond all recognition, where you think we can improve. addition to making sure members of Geology today has taken off, the PGA the Association are well served in has become truly national/international Rory Mortimore terms of lectures, field trips and on Science Direct and we now have publications. Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 3 We are busy putting together the Report from Council details for the 2012 Festival of The History of Geology Group’s Geology. I hope that you have all application for a grant for publication On 4th May the GA held the Annual picked up that we have had to change of the abstract booklet for its meeting General Meeting and the following the date this year and that it will now on Sir Archibald Geike was refused. members were elected to Council: take place on Saturday 10th November Refused also was the application from Professor Rory Mortimore takes over at University College London. Field the Norfolk Geodiversity Partnership the presidency from Professor David trips will be on Sunday 11th for £2,625 to cover the cost of a part- Bridgland and Anthony Brook, Leanne November . The local Societies meeting time paid staff to work on its website Hughes and Paul Winrow were elected will be on Friday 9th November. update and the application from Dr. H as new ordinary Council Members. Langford for £1,000 for personal Leanne has been a co-opted member research. for the last year and has taken responsibility for the Facebook and Diana Clements The Committee recognises that it is Twitter pages on the GA website. General Secretary disappointing when applications are Jonathan Larwood was elected onto not funded, but, during these difficult Council as GA Archivist. Prior to this economic times, it is ever more he has been a non-council post-holder The Curry Fund Committee received competitive to secure a Curry Fund and at the March meeting he gave us grant and not all can be funded. an update on the GA Carreck Archive. He told us how a Curry Fund grant had CURRY FUND REPORT been used to complete the Susan Brown conservation of the archive. He said it ten applications at its March meeting, Curry Fund Secretary was ready to transfer to the British of which seven were funded to some Geological Survey, subject to Council extent and three were refused. We are Although the trip to Bordeaux was approving the draft Memorandum of regularly now getting an increasing Understanding that he had tabled. number of applications for bigger Council approved the MOU, subject to grants and this, combined with the Library Notes clarifications. decrease in our investment income, means hard decisions are having to be cancelled, a couple of members went A total of 9 awards were presented made. Quite simply, it is not possible anyway and I hear had a very at the AGM including Honorary Life to fund all deserving applications and successful and rewarding time. We Membership to Iain Stewart. Details of on a number of occasions only part managed to fill gaps in our holdings of the winners and photographs of the funding can be offered to very the Carte géologique de France for this award winners receiving their awards worthwhile applications whilst others visit ie: sheets 730 St.Vivien-de- can be found on page 6. cannot be funded at all. Médoc/Soulac-s-Mer; 754 Lesparre- Médoc; 778 St.-Laurent-et-Benon; 801 Following the AGM Sarah Stafford The Family Day at Park Bridge Heritage Ste-Hélène-le-Porge; 803 Bordeaux; and Geraldine Marshall from the GA Centre, Ashton under Lyne on 9th June and 827 Pessac. In addition I gather office, accompanied by Sarah’s 2012 is a day of geological activities that plans are afoot for a report to daughter, Beatrix and me, drove down and is a tribute to the late Fred appear in the Magazine. to the annual Lyme Regis Fossil Broadhurst. The organisers have been We also now have the latest (2005) Festival to promote the GA and to offered a grant of £575 towards Carte géologique de la Suisse launch our new Dorset Guide. activities for the event. Geoheritage 1:500,000 which supersedes our older Professor John Cope, the author, was Fife was offered a grant of £250 for edition. able to join us and he had a busy time publication of the Kinghorn to Kirkaldy For trips further afield we now have signing books. If you would like a Geological Trail leaflet. A grant of the Geological map of Sri Lanka signed copy please telephone the office £1050 and an interest-free loan of 1:1,013,760, which, with the mineral and arrange for one to be sent to you. £1050, repayable within 2 years, has resources map and metamorphic map You can purchase them at the been offered to the Bucks Earth (both in black and white only) form Members’ price of £11 +£3 P&P and Heritage Group towards the cost of attachments to the Atlas of mineral can pay by credit card. See page 15 renewing the fencing round Bugle Pit, resources of the ESCAP region. Volume for further details of the Dorset Guide. an SSSI, in preparation for reopening 5 Sri Lanka: explanatory brochure Please note that the Barcelona Guide and renewed research at the site. The (1989). Of course , at this scale the has also recently been published and is Sedgwick Museum was offered a grant geology appears somewhat generalised also available at the Members’ Price of of £1,500 towards the cost of its but, when read with the text, does £8 + £3 P&P. project “Reconstructing the Past” give a reasonable overview. phase 2, towards new palaeoartwork, The following has also been kindly At the April Meeting we held a short interpretation and touchable objects donated to the library: Anglesey Special General Meeting at which the for the galleries. £540, payable in 3 geology and field guide by Jack updated Rules and Regulations were annual instalments of £180, was Treagus, 2008 (in Welsh and English) approved. The new Rules are now offered to The South West Geodiversity and we are most grateful for this. available on the website and Council Partnership towards the cost of So, whether from near or far, do proposes to publish a printed booklet supporting its website development as keep your requests coming. to include these, as well as details of part of the group’s process of re- past award winners and Council establishing itself. Dudley Metropolitan officers and a list of current members Council was offered £1100 towards the Elaine Bimpson with their addresses. If you would cost of materials for a limekiln burn at rather not have your address listed in the Wren’s Nest NNR as part of a the booklet, please can you let Sarah weekend of heritage activities for all Stafford in the office know. The the family. The GA was awarded £1231 addresses will not be placed on the towards the cost of publication of its website. field guide to The Dorset Coast.

4 Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 record. However, the fossil record is incomplete – the first July Meeting appearance of a species in the rock record must post-date the point of origin, but to what extent does the incompleteness of the fossil record hamper our efforts? Our Geological versus Biological approaches of telling research has demonstrated that the calibrations must be evolutionary time correct; otherwise we arrive at the wrong evolutionary time. The molecular clock has never been tested, because in Dr Rachel Warnock reality we never know the true time of origin. In the absence of the known evolutionary timescale, which – if any Friday July 6 2012 – of the available methods are able to estimate the age of a Geological Society, species with accuracy? The solution is to use artificial data, Burlington House, where the relationship between the time of origin and first Piccadilly, W1V 0JU appearance in the fossil record is known. We now at 6.00 pm, tea at 5.30 pm. understand enough about the fossil record to simulate data that obeys the laws controlling the stratigraphic distribution of fossils. Genetic data that reflects what we know about A grand challenge for biologists and geologists alike, is to molecular evolution can also be simulated. Greater establish a timescale for the Tree of Life so that it can be synthesis among molecular biologists and geologists will be calibrated with the evolution of planet Earth. Given the essential for filling the gaps in our understanding of vagaries of the fossil record, the ‘molecular clock’ represents evolutionary time that the geological record alone cannot the only viable means of achieving this goal. The molecular fulfill. clock establishes an evolutionary timeline by comparing the genes of living species. The differences between the genes of two living species reflect the time since they last shared a common ancestor, but different branches of the Tree of Life evolve at different rates. It is therefore necessary to calibrate these changes with multiple references to the fossil

October - Conference and Field Trips - Exeter - see back cover

Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 5 Awards 2012

FOULERTON AWARD. .... presented to a GA member for work of merit connected with the Association Professor Dick Moody Dick has been a stalwart of the GA for many years as Field Meetings Secretary and President, when he was very active in staging Earth Alert and Earth Alert 2. He tried to engage the Regions in his ‘Way Forward’ campaign and during his watch the GA Magazine morphed into the more attractive A4 communication. He still leads field trips for us and is actively involved with HOGG.

HALSTEAD MEDAL..... presented for work of outstanding merit, deemed to further the objectives of the Association and to promote Geology Dr Chris King Chris King has done more to promote Earth Science in education, both in the UK and abroad, than anyone else in this country. He has devised innovative ways to teach the subject and has always been willing to share these ideas. For many years he has worked for the Earth Science Teachers' Association (ESTA) and has written several text books at both A level and GCSE plus innumerable articles for a world-wide range of Journals and Magazines. In 1991, he set up the Earth Science Education Unit (ESEU), now with about 40 facilitators delivering free Earth science workshops to university education departments, colleges and schools all over the country. He also helped set up Earth Learning Idea, a web-based global educational resource aimed particularly at schools in the developing world. This project continues to be a tremendous success. His latest venture is to launch an African Earth Science educational initiative similar to ESEU but on a much larger scale.

RICHARDSON AWARD ..... in recognition of an important research project within the geosciences. It is awarded for the best research-based paper in the 2011 volume of the Proceedings of the Geologists' Association Peter Hopson For his paper ‘The geological history of the Isle of Wight: an overview of the ‘diamond in Britain's geological crown’ (Proc. Geol. Ass. 112, 745–763). Also for editing the Isle of Wight Special Issue.

HENRY STOPES MEMORIAL MEDAL .... for work on the Prehistory of Hominins and their geological environment. the early stages. Dr Phil Harding Has made a contribution within this field on three fronts, each of which would qualify him as a Stopes Medalist: As a researcher with numerous publications to his name As a disseminator of his subject via the media (TV) As one of a handful of really accomplished flint knappers

HONORARY LIFE MEMBERSHIP Professor Iain Stewart in recognition of his public engagement of geology and his commitments to the Geologists’ Association.

Damien Lee Eu THE IVOR Hong, Cardiff, THE CURRY MSC PRIZES.. unable to attend TUPPER FUND... to to encourage student excellence, for one (in Australia) give financial assistance to or more Masters degree theses on a a deserving undergraduate. Emma Nicholson, Oxford geology-related topic arising from an studying Geology or Earth MSc taught course in a UK university, Sciences. Nomination are and considered to be of outstanding made through the student’s quality in the opinion of the judging Head of Department panel.

Williams Hutchinson, Oxford Gemma Kerr, St. Andrews 6 Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 Evening Lecture February 2012 Safety in Geological Fieldwork Professor Eddie Bromhead, Kingston University

Recent press reports of police and communications) and being aware of fire-fighters being unable to enter a others. However, there can still be shallow lake to rescue a drowning unanticipated threats from other man aptly sum up the current humans in the form of landowners, attitude to safety in the UK, and it hunters, thieves, muggers and, in was refreshing to hear some more remote parts of the world, commonsense from a man who had kidnappers, pirates and terrorists. spent over 40 years thinking about Even a gentle creature - such as a the subject in both the academic and naturist - can cause problems if one construction world. In particular it invades his territory and Professor reflected Professor Bromhead’s Bromhead said one of the more background in Civil Engineering bizarre incidents in his long career where the safety of structures has had been the need to strip-off while always been paramount. His first conducting a coastal survey over a point was that there had been a naturist beach! Another great wide divergence in attitudes between concern was the behaviour of the workplace, where safety was motorists, particularly in country now taken as a given, and education districts where they usually have a where there was still a hangover free run of the roads and do not from the past when jeans, a donkey expect to come across a large party, jacket and a pair of Wellington boots hammering away at the roadside. were considered adequate protection This was a particular problem with for fieldwork. These two cultures overseas trips where members of a often clashed when student visits party can easily forget that vehicles the UK, as ordnance left over from were made to construction sites. would approach them on the ‘wrong’ two world wars is being uncovered in Professor Bromhead stressed that side of the road. deep foundations. Environmental leaders had to be aware that they Turning to non-human threats, risks should be self-evident to were often entering someone’s place Professor Bromhead said these could geologists who, one would hope, of work and that safety in such an be grouped under animals, both would be aware of things such as environment was now tightly large and small, machinery, noise, soft ground, debris, scree slopes, covered by legislation, where no hat, chemicals, explosives, the cliffs, caves and volcanic activity, as no boots, no eye protection and no environment and weather. In well as understanding the ever high-visibility jacket probably meant general, these were more serious on present threat of carbon dioxide or no job. trips beyond the UK. For example methane build up and oxygen Looking at the subject in more there had been a recent attack by a depletion in confined spaces. There detail, he said assessing hazards was polar bear on an Arctic expedition. is also a long-term risk from at the heart of the question. These There is also the question of the exposure to radon in some localities, fell into two categories: namely danger from small insects such as especially in abandoned mines. those to oneself from outside ticks. In some areas it might be Weather conditions should be clear agencies and those created by prudent to wear long trousers to all, providing they are observant oneself in respect of others. The carefully tucked into socks, rather and listen to forecasts. However, first group covers items such as than gadding about in shorts with sadly this is not always the case and other human activity, animals, the risk of contracting lyme disease. not everyone seems to go fully climate, weather and travel, while The danger from machinery is not prepared for the extremes of the second revolves around the always obvious because construction temperature and precipitation. harm that can be done to other and mining equipment often have Similarly, tides should not present people, for example, by the some form of rotational movement any hazard providing careful use is inconsiderate hammering of rocks with parts of the plant swinging into made of local tide tables. In short, that are prone to splintering. In areas that cannot be seen by the Professor Bromhead’s message was fact, Professor Bromhead’s view was operator. Professor Bromhead “be prepared”. that, in a great many cases pointed out that noise was not only Overall, this was a very interesting hammers should be left in the coach. a hazard in itself, but also had the and entertaining talk that provoked His experience has been that most secondary effect of causing a person a long period of discussion, and it accidents were a direct result of the to not hear what is going on. was a pity that the meeting was not lack of preparation by leaders and Chemical risks were also on the as well attended as usual. Perhaps, the failure to ensure that those increase due to the extensive that was due to some people being led had received the message redevelopment of brownfield sites, carrying out their own risk which needed to be repeated at such as old gas works, where the assessment and deciding not to every stop. ground could be contaminated with venture out on a night when This was not rocket science but phenols, cyanides and heavy metals. t e m peratures in central London fell simply commonsense involving Explosives were not likely to be below zero! having planned routes, knowing found during routine fieldwork. Dave Greenwood where you were, keeping in contact However, they were becoming more (relatively easy now with mobile common during construction work in Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 7 Evening Lecture March 2012. Necks for sex? No thank you, we’re sauropod dinosaurs. Dr Darren Naish, University of Southampton.

One of the attractions of geology as sauropods, Dr Naish said that the an intellectual pursuit has always been different ideas had originated in the its ability to allow free rein to one’s world of zoology during the study of imagination. Evidence is often sparse giraffes. Two schools of thought had and past processes difficult to grown up. Firstly, there is the comprehend but, despite this, there conventional “browsing hypothesis” have often been great leaps forward in which states that a long neck provided our understanding of the history of our better access to food and hence a planet. However, occasionally, this competitive advantage against other freedom of thought leads to species and other members of one’s controversy as different parties come own species. This idea had been to different conclusions based on the challenged by the “necks for sex” same information. This is certainly the theory which suggests evolutionary case over the question of why pressures had favoured long necks sauropod dinosaurs had such long because this was a sexual display necks, which formed the main part of feature. The problem with the latter Dr Naish’s lecture. view is that while it is true that males Before looking at the specifics of the had longer necks than females, it is by argument, Dr Naish provided a quick no means clear that there is much variation between males and that this outline of the relationships within the structures that may well have been a is probably just a question of males dinosaur family and their precursors defensive attribute against predators. being larger than females, as seen in and in particular how sauropods fitted Finally, the question of changes in most other mammals, including into the overall picture. In the past, body size during growth and between ourselves. the group had been portrayed as different species in the same group of The extension of the “necks for sex” large, ponderous swamp-dwelling species were not necessarily always theory to sauropods had first been put mush-eating creatures in many artistic positive, nor were they linked to forward by Phil Senter in 2007, when impressions of their lifestyle. sexual selection since in some cases he claimed there were six criteria that However, modern research has shown the relationship was isometric or even supported the idea. These are: that this view is probably incorrect and negative. 1) Sexual dimorphism of the neck it is now believed they were largely In conclusion, Dr Naish said that, 2) Use of the neck in dominance or terrestrial. Furthermore, their fossil while it remains possible that the courtship displays teeth invariably show extreme signs of sauropod neck originally arose either 3) Intraspecific differences in neck wear, indicating that they were quite as a sexually selected feature or to length that do not facilitate vertical capable of living off a diet of conifers, help gather food, it cannot be partitioning cycads and ferns that must have been demonstrated which of these 4) Neck elongation that incurred a consumed in vast quantities (perhaps explanations is correct and, in any survival cost 100 kg/day) to sustain their large size. event, both factors may have been at 5) A positive relationship between Recent research on their skeletons work. However, the argument has body size and neck growth (allometry) using CAT scans has shown that these been very beneficial from a scientific during the origin and development of were by no means as solid as once point of view and had stimulated the animal (ontogeny); and thought. Instead it is clear that (in research in this area of palaeontology, 6) Positive relationship between body some cases, for example neck some of which was still on-going. He size across related species (phylogeny) vertebrae), they had an intricate open was also pleased to be able to report that is not correlated with limb length. structure with as much as 89% of air that he and his co-workers had Dr Naish examined each of these space within a framework of bone. maintained good relations with Phil ideas in turn and provided convincing Further advances are expected in this Senter and that the whole exercise evidence to show that Senter’s area as a result of the application of had been an example of how science conclusions had been incorrect and engineering techniques, such as finite works at its best. element analysis. However, one early that the “necks for sex” idea was almost certainly wrong. In particular, conclusion is that sauropod legs were Key references: there was no evidence of sexual probably much thinner than commonly Senter, P. 2007. Necks for sex: dimorphism in sauropods. Admittedly portrayed and ended in claws rather sexual selection as an explanation for the number of fossil samples on which than the “elephant’s feet” often used sauropod dinosaur neck elongation. this conclusion is based is small, there by artists. J. Zool ., 271, 45–53. is no fossil evidence of any display The remains of large sauropods are Taylor, M. P. et al. 2011. The long characteristics. Similarly, the lack of rare, even when compared with other necks of sauropods did not evolve intraspecific advantages in feeding terrestrial animals and Dr Naish primarily through sexual selection. would only be true if sauropods did not believed this to be due to their J Zool., 285, 150-161. use their long necks to extend their reproductive behaviour. Dinosaur There is also a large amount of feeding range – something that tracks, of which there are now many discussion of this topic in the appeared unlikely because higher examples, indicate that sauropods “blogosphere” on the Internet. produced very large numbers of foliage was more nutritious and tended young, of whom few grew to maturity to last longer in drought conditions. (the so-called r-strategy). The survival costs of developing a long Dave Greenwood Turning to the question of the neck were also questionable because reason for the long necks of these were extremely robust

8 Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 Kite surfing & fossil collecting at Bracklesham

The GA Magazine of December 2011 carried my article about the Chichester District Council (CDC) consultation on beach management and, in particular, the designation of a kite surfing zone within the area used by fossil collectors. Bracklesham foreshore in West Sussex is a geological SSSI that continually produces scientifically important Eocene fossils from the foreshore (Fig. 1) and washed in from offshore exposures. Also, it is a flat sandy beach that is extremely safe and rewarding for families, young fossil collectors and school parties. The fun of finding fossil sharks’ teeth has delighted many, young and old alike (Fig 2).

CDC leases the foreshore from the Crown Estate and is responsible for beach management and safety. CDC has become concerned about increasing kite surfing activity and potential conflict with other beach users. Although kite surfing is a water-based activity, the beach is used for laying out kites as well as launching and landing. Kite Figure 1 – The fossil shell beds at Bracklesham surfers regularly cross the shallows and the beach at high speed and not always under full control. To manage the notable geologists and fossil collectors were also included. risk, CDC designated a voluntary zone for kite surfing At the same time, Natural England sent a further letter to conveniently located near to the public car park and beach CDC reiterating the value of the Bracklesham Bay SSSI. access. Unfortunately, this is right in the middle of the best This recommended, as in previous discussions, that an area for collecting fossils appropriate way forward would be a mutually agreed Code washed in from offshore of Conduct if the conflict could not be otherwise resolved. outcrops, something that can usually be guaranteed even After several weeks of deliberation, CDC announced that when the foreshore exposure the GA report added nothing to their view, particularly as is buried beneath beach sand they believed that many of the contributors addressed the (Fig. 3). wider area of the Bracklesham to Selsey foreshore rather than the area specifically in question. This interpretation After a number of could be challenged but it appears that CDC is unlikely to complaints and media change its mind. CDC have assured the GA that there will attention, CDC decided on a be no restrictions on the use of the foreshore for fossil beach management public hunters and geologists but they will be making all beach consultation, which included users aware that specific activities are likely to be taking swimming, BBQs, horse-riding place in certain areas and that they should take this into and kite surfing. There was a consideration whilst using the foreshore. good response to the consultation by geologists and CDC have invited Natural England and the GA to be Figure 2 – Sharks’ teeth from the fossil collectors, although involved with drawing up the Code and we all hope that this beach comments had to be entered can be put into place as soon as possible so that future under the category entitled conflicts of interest can be minimised. In due course the ‘Other’ (no category had been included for geological Code of Conduct will be published on the CDC web site and interest). The results were published in January 2012 I will also provide a link to it from my web site. revealing that out of 1146 respondents, 59.8% agreed to the proposed kite surfing zone and 32.7% disagreed (7.5% David Bone didn’t know). Kite surfers made up a high proportion of respondents. Unfortunately no account was taken of ‘block’ Chichester responses such as that from the GA as CDC say there was no way of knowing whether individual members had replied as well as their organisations. During December, CDC had also met with RoSPA (Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents) and, although other beach users were not consulted, the proposed kite surfing zone was supported.

At the CDC Council meeting in February 2012, officers formally recommended the designation of the kite surfing zone. Public questions presented by Chris Cole, a local fossil collector and me, were answered without much debate with one councillor noting that “we need to move with the times, otherwise we all risk becoming old fossils”. Helpfully, though, CDC agreed to the submission of an independent report within 28 days before confirming the recommendation. I even managed to get a slot on local BBC radio as a result.

Officers, members and colleagues of the GA, with GA Council approval, kindly assembled the appropriate report, led by Di Clements. Individual comments from a number of Figure 3 – Family fossil collecting

Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 9 GA Field Guide Review The Geology of Barcelona: an urban excursion guide. by Wes Gibbons and Teresa Moreno Barcelona is a busy and exciting city drawing an increasing number of tourists from the United Kingdom and elsewhere, many attracted by its rich historical and artistic heritage. The authors of this urban geological guidebook quickly acknowledge that “although examining rocks is not exactly a priority for visiting tourists, many of the attractions they come to enjoy owe much to the varied geomorphology developed over the complex geology which characterises this part of Catalonia”. Ideally, therefore, such a book might aim primarily to satisfy the demands of the geological enthusiast, visiting the city to understand more about it from a “geological viewpoint”, however, at the same time acknowledging that a geological view point can be enriched by more than a sideways glance at the sites illustrating the cities historical and artistic past. Also, visitors whose prime objective is seeking out the cities historical, cultural and artistic merits, may also have more than a passing interest in its geological heritage and may wish to investigate some of that heritage in passing from one popular tourist site to another. By describing three cleverly selected geological excursions, which separately contain elements of interest for each of this broad spectrum of potential users, this compact and easily portable guide should appeal to more than just the single-minded rockhound. The guide opens with a brief preface giving advice on the most convenient means of getting around Barcelona by Again it involves some of the older rocks, Cambrian to public transport and how best to access the excursion Carboniferous sedimentary sequences, all extensively routes. In addition, it covers practical matters such as disrupted within a fault complex. This area recently provided clothing and the recommended duration of a visit in order to an example, literally, of the pitfalls of ambitious urban enjoy the three excursions described. This is followed by an development within a geologically complex setting. The introduction describing the regional geological setting excursion also visits Park Guell, one of the architect Antoni together with a section on previous publications and a Gaudí’s masterpieces, where geology and artistic genius stratigraphic and palaeographic overview. Occupying only a combine in the integration by Gaudí of outcrops of faulted few pages, these preliminary parts of the book pack in a basement rocks into the design of a stairway entering the wealth of information, as witnessed by the list of over one park. The third excursion starts at the walls of Montjuïc hundred references. However, the less confident amateur Castle and descends to wander through the heart of the need not feel totally overwhelmed at this point if some Medieval City. Together these areas embrace many of the unfamiliar geological terms are encountered; throughout the cultural sites that attract so many visitors to Barcelona. book, many such terms are highlighted in ‘bold’ and Montjuïc is the source of the mid-Miocene sandstones which explained in a glossary. In addition, all parts of the guide were used in the construction throughout the Medieval city. are clearly illustrated with maps and amply captioned This excursion, passing many important historical and photographs. cultural sites, allows ample scope for consideration of the The first excursion starts with a walk that contours round relationship between the evolving geomorphology of this the Collserolla hills in the north, affording some spectacular coastal city and its history since Roman times to the views over the city and a chance to examine outcrops of present. some of the oldest rocks exposed behind Barcelona. The Containing so much varied and useful information, the 7-8 km walk, which follows a mostly level track free of guide is a valuable addition to the list of sixty nine guides traffic (except for occasional joggers and fellow hikers), previously published by the Geologists’ Association and will provides a welcome interlude away from the crowded city certainly be in my pocket when I next visit Barcelona. below. The second excursion, commencing from the finishing point of the first, has a mainly structural theme. A J Reedman

Disappearance of two prime specimens at the GA Festival of Geology, November 2011

Notopocorystes s. serotinus Wright & Collins A carapace obliquely crushed, as such neatly displaced along the pleural suture Caloxanthus americanus Rathbun Cenomanian, Petraval, France A rather large, well preserved specimen

An anonymous return via Sarah Stafford in the GA Office would be greatly appreciated

10 Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE for field meetings is provided CIRCULAR No. 991 June 2012 but personal accident cover remains the responsibility of the participant. Further details are available on request from the GA PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION FOR FIELD office. MEETINGS SAFETY IS TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY. SHOULD YOU BE ENQUIRIES & BOOKINGS Geoff Swann organises day and UNSURE ABOUT EITHER THE RISKS INVOLVED OR YOUR weekend meetings in the UK. Michael Ridd is responsible for ABILITY TO PARTICIPATE, YOU MUST SEEK ADVICE FROM overseas and longer excursions. Sarah Stafford at the GA office THE GA OFFICE BEFORE BOOKING. PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT is responsible for bookings, payments and general administration. YOU STUDY THE RISK ASSESSMENT PREPARED FOR ALL GA FIELD MEETINGS AND THAT YOU HAVE ALL THE SAFETY You must book through the GA office to confirm attendance. EQUIPMENT SPECIFIED. YOU MUST DECLARE, AT THE TIME Please do not contact the field meeting leader directly. Meeting OF BOOKING, ANY DISABILITIES OR MEDICAL CONDITIONS times and locations will be confirmed on booking. These are not THAT MAY AFFECT YOUR ABILITY TO ATTEND A FIELD normally advertised in advance, as there have been problems with MEETING SAFELY. YOU MAY BE ASKED TO PROVIDE FURTHER members turning up without booking or paying and maximum INFORMATION ON ANY PRESCRIPTION DRUGS ETC THAT numbers being exceeded. Field meetings are open to non-members YOU MAY USE WHILST ATTENDING A FIELD MEETING. IN although attendance by non-members is subject to a £5 surcharge ORDER TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF ALL PARTICIPANTS, THE on top of the normal administration fee.Some meetings may have GA RESERVES THE RIGHT TO LIMIT OR REFUSE ATTENDANCE restrictions on age (especially for under 16s) or be physically AT FIELD MEETINGS. demanding. If you are uncertain, please ask. EMERGENCY CONTACT: if you are lost or late for the start of PAYMENTS for day and weekend meetings must be made before a meeting, an emergency contact is available during UK field attending any field meeting. Cheques should be made out to meetings by calling the GA mobile phone (07724 133290). PLEASE Geologists 'Association Field Meetings. If making multiple NOTE THIS NEW NUMBER. The mobile phone will only be bookings, please enclose a separate cheque for each meeting switched on just before and during field meetings. For routine unless you have first confirmed that there are places available. A enquiries please call the GA office on the usual number. stamped addressed envelope is appreciated. Please give a contact TRAVEL REGULATIONS are observed. The GA acts as a retail telephone number and, if possible, an email address and provide agent for ATOL holders in respect of air flights included in field the names of any other persons that you are including in your meetings. All flights are ATOL protected by the Civil Aviation booking. PLEASE ALSO PROVIDE AN EMERGENCY CONTACT Authority (see GA Circular No. 942, October 2000 for further NAME AND TELEPHONE NUMBER AT THE TIME OF BOOKING. details). Field meetings of more than 24 hours duration or including accommodation are subject to the Package Travel There are separate arrangements for overseas meetings. Regulations 1992. The information provided does not constitute a brochure under these Regulations. TRANSPORT is normally via private car unless otherwise advertised. If you are a rail traveller, it may be possible for the GA office to arrange for another member to provide a lift or collect you from the nearest railway station. This service cannot be guaranteed, but please ask before booking.

FIELD MEETINGS IN 2012 Equipment: You must bring a hard hat, high dealing with the conditions to be found in vis jacket and suitable footwear. Packed working quarries. We are hoping to arrange additional fossil lunch. Attendees must be capable of Cost & booking: Numbers will be limited to collecting opportunities during the year. dealing with the conditions to be found in 30. Car sharing will be necessary. The trip There may not be time to advertise these in working quarries. will be run from Rhayader, where there is a the Circular so if you would like details Cost & booking: Further details will be wide range of B and Bs, pubs and hotels. when they become available contact Sarah available from Sarah Stafford at the GA Please note the GA will not be arranging Stafford at the GA office. office. Register with Sarah sending an accommodation. If there is sufficient administration fee of £5 per person to interest we will arrange an introductory confirm your place. talk in Rhayader on the Friday night and a PLEASE ALSO REFER TO OUR WEB SITE group dinner on the Saturday night. Further (http://www.geologistsassociation.org.uk) THE GEOLOGY OF MID WALES – Joint details will be available from Sarah FOR ANY CHANGES TO THE PROGRAMME meeting with the South Wales GA Group Stafford at the GA office. Register with AND FOR FINALISED DATES Leaders: Jerry Davies (BGS) and Dick Sarah sending an administration fee of £10 Waters (National Museum of Wales) per person to confirm your place. COTSWOLD COACH TRIP Saturday 4th – Sunday 5th August 2012 Leader: Mike Howgate The aim of this meeting is to see some of WRENS NEST Saturday 2nd June 2012 the results of the BGS mapping that has Leader: Graham Worton (Dudley Museum) This meeting has unfortunately had to be taken place in Mid Wales over the last 25 Saturday 11th August 2012 cancelled due to insufficient numbers. years. This meeting will follow on from Graham’s The trip will focus on the early Silurian GA lecture on April 13th - Dudley BYTHAM 3 – THE LOWER REACHES (Llandovery), deep water basinal systems of Geoconservation - engaging public interest Leaders: Jim Rose and David Bridgland the area between Rhayader and at Wrens Nest. Details are still to be This meeting has had to be postponed until Aberystwyth. The succession is finalised but will be available from Sarah 2013. dramatically displayed in the spectacular Stafford at the GA office. exposures of the Elan valley and the Cost & booking: Numbers may be limited. The WEALDEN EXCURSION dramatic wilderness country to the west. attendance fee is dependent on the final Leaders: Peter Austen et al Equipment: You must bring a hard hat, high arrangements. Saturday 21st July 2012 vis jacket and suitable footwear. Cost & booking: Numbers may be limited. Details are yet to be confirmed and will be Packed/pub lunches. Attendees must be The attendance fee is dependent on the dependent on which pits are working at the time. capable of walking on rough tracks and final arrangements. Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 11 HOLBROOK BAY, HARKSTEAD, oilfield in western Europe. The new guide INDIA 2013 SUFFOLK should be available before the trip. Preparations are in hand for a Field Meeting Leaders: Graham Ward and Bill George Equipment: Hard hats are essential but in India in late January/early February Saturday 15th September 2012 there is no requirement for high visibility 2013. The leader will be Dr Mick Oates, The foreshore here is a wave-cut platform jackets. Please note that the trip will be assisted by Indian geologists expert in in the lower part of the London Clay quite strenuous physically. There are steep particular areas. It is planned to fly from (Harwich Formation) and yields sharks’ climbs from sea-level to some 130 m (425 London to Mumbai, and then to examine the teeth, teleost bones and the occasional ft), together with steep descents that are geology and cultural attractions of NW Phyllodus palate. Articulated skeletons of likely to be muddy. Beaches are often India, basing ourselves at various places, mammoths/elephants have also been found rough and traverses will involve boulder- probably including Jaiselmer, Jodhpur and in an Oxygen Isotope Stage 7 interglacial hopping, seaweed covered rocks and soft Kutch. There will be good opportunities for channel deposit in the foreshore. shingle. Boots with good ankle support are fossil and mineral collecting. Palaeolithic artefacts have been found on strongly recommended. Good waterproof Travel in India will be by air-conditioned the foreshore, washed out of overlying clothing may well be needed as the coast is coach and domestic airlines. Hotels are very Stour terrace gravels derived from older exposed to Atlantic weather. We hope to comfortable and will probably include some Equipment : Wear suitable footwear. Packed be in the vicinity of at least one hostelry former palaces of local rulers. Costs are lunch. Attendees must be capable of each day for lunch. still being calculated, but are expected to walking on rough tracks and a muddy Cost & booking : Numbers will be limited to be in the region of £2500 per person. foreshore. 25. Car sharing may be necessary. We will If interested in possibly joining this trip, Cost & booking : Numbers will be limited to be based in Wareham which has a mainline please advise Sarah at the GA Office. 25. Further details will be available from railway station and is well equipped with Sarah Stafford at the GA office. Register hotels, pubs with accommodation and B&Bs. with Sarah sending an administration fee of Please note the GA will not be arranging GEOLOGISTS' ASSOCIATION £5 per person to confirm your place. accommodation. If there is sufficient LOCAL GROUPS interest we will a group dinner on the THE GEOLOGY OF EARLY MIDDLESEX Amateur Geological Society CHURCHES Saturday night. Further details will be Leader: Prof John Potter available from Sarah Stafford at the GA Contact Meetings: Julia Daniels 020 8346 Saturday 22nd September office. Register with Sarah sending an 1056 Field trips: [email protected] This a full day excursion to a range of early administration fee of £10 per person to Cambridgeshire Geology Club Middlesex churches particularly for the confirm your place. Contact – Ken Rolfe on 01480 496973, benefit of John’s regular attendees. The mobile 07777 678685. limited range of unusual building stones FOSSILFEST VIII www.cambridgeshiregeologyclub.org.uk available for early builders in stone in the Leader: Nev Hollingworth Dorset Local Group London Basin will be examined. We are Saturday October/November 2012 Contact Doreen Smith 01300 320811. (date to be confirmed) hoping to arrange a coach with at least two Email: [email protected] Location(s) have still to be decided but pick up points starting in central London. www.dorsetgeologistsassociation.com plenty of fossils can be expected. This will avoid problems with large numbers Farnham Geological Society Attendees will need to be sure they can of cars. June 8 Geology of Northumberland – Dr safely cope with the conditions to be found Equipment: Bring a quality lens and Lesley Dunlop. in working quarries. binoculars. Packed or pub lunch. June 10-16 Field meeting: The Geology of Equipment: You must have a hard hat, hi vis Cost & booking : Numbers may be limited Northern Northumberland – Leslie Dunlop. vest and suitable footwear. depending on whether coach travel is July 13 Members evening, John Stanley and Cost & booking: Numbers will be limited to possible. The attendance fee is also Ed Finch. 25. Register with Sarah Stafford at the GA dependent on the final arrangements. July 18 Field meeting: Betchworth and office sending an administration fee of £5 Further details will be available from Sarah Reigate, chalk and –Graham Williams. to confirm your place. Stafford at the GA office. August 31-September 3rd Field meeting: Yorkshire Dales – David Walmsley. ISLE OF PURBECK OVERSEAS TRIPS 2012 Field Trip Contact – Dr Graham Williams Leader: Prof John C.W. Cope (National tel: 01483 573802 Email Museum of Wales) CANADIAN ROCKIES [email protected] Friday 28- Sunday 30 September 2012 14 June - 9 July 2012 www:farnhamgeosoc.org.uk Contact – Mrs This meeting is arranged to coincide with Leaders: Prof. Dick Moody with Shirley Stephens tel: 01252 680215 the publication of Prof Cope’s revised GA assistance from local Canadian geologists. Harrow & Hillingdon Geological Society Dorset guide. It will begin with an This trip is now full. June 13 Wolves and wildcats: surviving the introductory talk, probably in Wareham end of the last Ice Age in Somerset - Prof. FIELD MEETING IN TURKEY Public Library, on the Friday evening. Danielle Schreve 13 September to 20 September 2012. Saturday and Sunday will be spent in the June 20 Field meeting: Joint European Leaders: Professor David Bridgland, Rob field examining the succession in the Isle of tours at Culham Science Centre – Centre Westaway. Purbeck, which ranges in age from the This trip is now full. staff. Upper Jurassic, through the Cretaceous June 23 Field meeting: Whitechapel Bell and into the Palaeocene; many of the rocks VIENNA AND THE Foundry. are fossiliferous. The principal structure NATURHISTORISCHES MUSEUM July 1 Green Chain walk part 2. of the area is a major monoclinal fold which 27 – 31 October 2012 July 11 Minerals and the countryside - Dr has caused local overturning of the Leader: Dr Mathias Harzhauser, Director Brian Marker OBE succession. The area is also famous for of Geology & Palaeontology August 8 Members evening: walk around magnificent coastal scenery and its This trip is now full, however if you would Horsenden Hill evolution, whilst economically Purbeck is like to be put on a reserve list please email Email: [email protected] Field important as the site of the largest onshore Sarah at the GA office. trip information Allan Wheeler 01344

12 Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 455451. Contact Allan Insole email: July 8 Field meeting Cufton – John Rodgers. www.hhgs.org.uk [email protected] July 18 Field meeting: Clints Quarry RIGS Kent Geologists Group www.wega.org.uk site and Longlands Lake nearby – Jim June 19 When brachiopods thrived – some West Sussex Geological Society Samson and Mervyn Dodd thoughts about the Middle Jurassic – Dr June 15 Pterosaurs – Dr Mark Witton. For details on the activities of the Brian Marker. June 24 Tenth Annual Downland Fieldwalk – Cumberland Geological Society July 17 Geological Maps unravelled – Dr Tony Brook. www.cumberland-geol-soc.org.uk/ Anne Padfield. July 10 Greatham Church – David Bone. The Devonshire Association (Geology August 21 The Geology of Kent Wildlife July 24 Evening walks around Tarring – Alan Section) Trust Nature Reserves – Dr Peter Golding. Bell. September 18 Captain Scott, Glossopteris, September 21 A geological and chemical Contact Jenny Bennett 01647 24033 email and the Beacon Sandstone – Nick Baker. tour of Sicily – Prof. Andy Cundy. [email protected] Contact Indoor Secretary Mrs Ann Barrett September 30 Geological car ramble with www.devonassoc.org.uk/ Tel: 01233 623126 Geoff Mead. The Dinosaur Society email: [email protected] Contact Betty Steel 01903 209140 www. Dinosaursociety.com. Contact: Prof Contact information www.kgg.org.uk Email: [email protected] Richard Moody [email protected] The Kirkaldy Society (Alumni of Queen Dorset Natural History & Archaeology Mary College) AFFILIATED SOCIETIES Society October AGM and Alumni day at QMC. Amateur Geological Society Contact Jenny Cripps email:jenny@dor- Contact Mike Howgate 020 8882 2606 or Contact Julia Daniels 020 8346 1056. or mus.demon.co.uk email:[email protected] or Dave Greenwood [email protected] , Earth Science Teachers Association [email protected]. field trips: [email protected] Lancashire For membership contact: Mike Tuke Bath Geological Society Contact Acting Secretary Jennifer Rhodes [email protected]. Tel 014804 www.bathgeolsoc.org.uk 01204 811203 57068 Belfast Geologists’ Society Email:[email protected]. June 12 Field meeting: An evening spent ESTA website www.esta-uk.net Mole Valley Geological Society with the groovy greywackes of East Herts Geology Club June 14 How on Earth do flints form –Diana Ballynahinch: Sedimentary structures in Check website for venue or contact Diana Wrench. the Silurian of Co Down. – Bernard Perkins 01920 463755. September 13 Caves and Cannibals: A Anderson. www.ehgc.org.uk email: [email protected] Mendip perspective – Professor Danielle June 30 Field meeting: From Continents to Visitors most welcome - £2 Schreve. cumulates: the story of the Newry Igneous September 22 Field trip to Mr Kipling’s East Midlands Geological Society Complex – Paul Anderson, Mark Cooper and Exceedingly fine rocks, wild and tames at June 20 Field meeting: The Rock Cemetery, Ian Meighan. Bateman’s – Dr Graham Williams. Nottingham – evening walk - Tim Colman and July 21 Field meeting: The Dalradian www.radix.demon.co.uk/ mvgs Email: Chas Neil Turner supergroup in Northern Inishowen: an Cowie: [email protected] July 14/15 Weekend excursion to the introduction to regional Metamorphic rocks North Staffordshire Group Mendips - Andy Farrant. – Bernard Anderson. June 23 Dudley Museum and Wrens Nest. August 18 Marbles and “Marbles”: a day September 2 Day trip to the Lincolnshire September 1 Field meeting: Woodlands among the Lime rocks of Co Armagh – Phillip Wolds - David Robinson OBE Quarry Doughty. September 16 (Provisional Date) Day trip to Contact for details Eileen Fraser 01260 Black Country Geological Society the Monsal Dale Area - Peter Gutteridge 271505 Contact Field trips: Gerard Ford For information contact Barbara Russell 01630 673409. www.erms.org Oxford Geology Group 01902 650168. www.bcgs.info Essex Rock and Mineral Society Brighton & Hove Geological Society www.oxgg.org.ukor call programme June 2 Field visit: Bawdsey and Sutton, secretary 01865 272960. Contact John Cooper 01273 292780 email: Suffolk – Bob Markham. Ravensbourne Geological Society [email protected] June 12 Gemstones - Rowley Collier. Bristol Naturalists’ Society July 10 Recreating an Ancient Environment July 1 Field visit: Oxford University Contact 01373 474086 – Tony Mitchell. Museum of Natural History and the Oxford Email: [email protected] August 14 Mineral Collecting in the Faroes – Mineral and Fossil Show – Graham Ward. John Pearce. Carn Brea Mining Society July 10 Giving Building Stones a Voice: my September 11 The Carrek Archive – Contact Lincoln James 01326 311420 battle again the Philistone – Barry Hunt. Jonathan Larwood Further details July 21 Field visit: Bull’s Lodge Quarry, October 9 AGM followed by members www.carnbreaminingsociety.co.uk evening. Cheltenham Mineral and Geological Boreham, Essex – Richard Pinto. Contact Carole McCarthy Secretary: 020 Society August 14 Open Evening bring items of 8854 9138 email: [email protected] For more information on lectures contact geological interest to discuss. or Vernon Marks: 020 8460 2354. Ann Kent 01452 610375 August 18 Field visit: Birch Quarry, nr For more information on Field trips contact Cymdeithas Daeaereg Gogledd Cymru: Colchester, Essex – Richard Pinto. Kath Vickers 01453 827007. North Wales Geology Contact Ros Smith 01245 441201 or see Contact Jonathan Wilkins 01492 583052 Craven & Pendle Geological Society www.erms.org Email [email protected] More information: http://www.cpgs.org.uk/ Friends of the Sedgwick Museum, www.ampyx.org.uk/cdgc Cumberland Geological Society Cambridge Cymdeithas Y Daearegwyr Grwp De Cymru June 2 Field meeting: Maryport and -South Wales Group Mawbray – Ann Lingard Contact: Dr Peter Friend 01223-333400. Contact Lynda Garfield at June 10 Field meeting: Industrial History ( Geological Society of Glasgow [email protected] a beautiful nature reserve and geology in a Contact Dr Iain Allison email: West of England corner of Cumbria – Elizabeth Pickett. [email protected] Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 13 Geological Society of Norfolk Newbury Geological Study Group June 20 tba Contact Email: Field Meetings season runs from October June 30 Field meeting: Classic stockwork [email protected] or Peter to July. Normally meets on the third RIGGS site at Carclaze Quarry – Colin Hoare [email protected] Sunday of the month. Details Bristow. Meet at Carn Grey car park NGR Hastings and District Geological Society www.ngsg.org.uk or Mike & Helen 01635 SX 034/551 10 am. Contact email: [email protected] 42190”. July 7 Field meeting: Megilligar Pegmatite – Norfolk Mineral & Lapidary Society www.hastingsgeolsoc.btik.com Neil Plummer. Meetings at St Georges Church Hall, Hertfordshire Geological Society July 18 tba. Churchfield Green, Norwich. 19.30hrs June 14 The Bytham River Story –Prof. Jim every first Tuesday of the Month except Contact email: [email protected]. Rose. August. 01209 860410. June 23 Field trip to Essex, Bulmer Essex. [email protected] The Russell Society July 5 Search for early fish in the North Eastern Geological Society Email Frank Ince [email protected] Ordovician of Oman – Dr Giles Miller. June 23 Field visit to Rothbury Area www.russellsoc.org July 14 Field meeting: Thetford, Suffolk. Northumberland with Derek Teasdale Shropshire Geological Society August 4 Annual Soiree at Verulamium /Gordon Liddle Organiser: North East www.shropshiregeology.org.uk Museum. GS. Sidcup Lapidary and Mineral Society September 6 Making mountains: a view from July 7 Field meeting: Sedgewick Geological Meets every Monday evening at Sidcup Arts the Eastern Himalaya – Dr Tom Argles. Trail Yorkshire – Dr John Knight. Centre. www.hertsgeolsoc.ology.org.uk August 4 Field meeting: Yorkshire Dales – www.sidcuplapminsoc.org.uk Jon Barker. Contact Linda Hamling 01279 423815. Contact Audrey Tampling 020 8303 9610 Details: [email protected] Horsham Geological Field Club Email: [email protected]. Judy Harrison 0191 261 1494 June 13 William Buckland – Dr Chris Duffin. Southampton Mineral and Fossil Society July 11 High resolution biochronology of the July 7 Field visit to The Sedgewick Geological Trail Yorkshire with Dr John June 19 Amateur fossil collector – Tony inferior Oolite of Dorset – Bob Chandler. Knight. Organiser: North East Holmes September 12 tba. GS. Details: [email protected] July 17 Small Scale practical evening, - October 10 Impact cratering and Ejecta Judy Harrison 0191 261 1494 three displays for discussion, Geoff deposits – Dr Kieren Howard. August 4 Field visit to Yorkshire Dales Deverell with mineral micromounts, Adrian Contact Mrs Gill Woodhatch 01403 250371 with Jon Barker. Organiser: North East Smith with micro fossils and Liam Schofield www.Hgfc.club.officelive.com GS. Details: [email protected] with mineral species. Hull Geological Society Judy Harrison 0191 261 August 21 Annual Swap and sale eveing. Contact Mike Horne 01482 346784 1494www.northeast-geolsoc.50megs.com September 1 Hampshire Mineral and Fossil Email:[email protected] [email protected] tel: show. www.hullgeolsoc.org.uk 0191 261 1494 Contact: Gary Morse, 01489 787300 Email: The Jurassic Coast www.dur.ac.uk/g.r.foulger/NEGS.html [email protected] Details are available on the web site at Open University Geological Society Website: www.sotoninfoss.org.ukContact www. Jurassiccoast.com. Events - listed on http://ougs.org, or Gary Morse 01489 787300. Leicester Literary & Philosophical Society contact [email protected] Stamford and District Geological Society (Geology) The new membership secretary is Phyllis Contact: Bill Learoyd on 01780 752915 June 1-5 Field meeting: St David’s Turkington and can be contacted by e-mail email: [email protected], Pembrokeshire – Charlie Bendall. at [email protected] or by phone 0289 July 7 Field meeting: 081 7470 [email protected]; Reading Geological Society August 11 Field meeting: BGS Keyworth, Ussher Society June 11 Evening Geological Ramble – Charnwood Fossil material – Phil Wilby. Contact Clive Nicholas 01392 271761. Caesar’s Camp gravels, Aldershot – David September 8 Volcanic of Derbyshire – Mike Warwickshire Geological Conservation Price. Allen. Group July 2 Quaternary Sediments on the Contact Ian Fenwick 01926 512531 emails Contact Joanne Norris 0116 283 3127 English Chalk: History of Land Use and [email protected]. Email:[email protected]. Erosion – Prof Martin Bell. www.wgcg.co.uk www.charnia.org.uk July 15 Field meeting: Down Farm, Wessex Lapidary and Mineral Society Leeds Geological Association Branbourne Chase – Chalk and Archaeology All meetings at 7:15 pm ; for detailed – Martin Green. Contact Pat Maxwell 02380 891890 email: directions to the venue within the Leeds August 6 Evening geological ramble, [email protected] University Campus visit www.leedsga.org.uk Burnham Beeches – David Riley. Westmorland Geological Society Visitors welcome; tea and biscuits. August 19 Field meeting: Warwickshire – Contact Brian Kettle email: Details : Judith Dawson 0113 2781060 or Cambrian and Ordovician – leader tbc. [email protected] leedsga.org September 3 Sorby’s Legacy – Dr Bernard The Woolhope Naturalists’ Field Club Liverpool Geological Society Skillerne de Bristowe. Contact Sue Hay on 01432 357138 or Contact: Joe Crossley: 0151 426 1324 or Hilary Jensen, General Secretary – for svh.gabbros@btinternet .com more details and general information email [email protected]. Yorkshire Geological Society tel:0118 984 1600 Manchester Geological Association June 23, 24 Field Meeting: Weekend email: [email protected] Contact email: Sue Plumb, 0161 427 5835 programme to visit sites on the newly Contact David Ward - for field trips 01344 mapped BGS Hexham Sheet - Dr David email [email protected] . 483563 All meetings in the Williamson Building, Royal Geological Society of Cornwall Millwards and BGS staff University of Manchester. June 9 Microscope day with July 22 Field Meeting: Ketton Quarry www.mangeolassoc.org.uk Kernowmicroscope – Society Members 2- (Rutland) - Middle Jurassic Sequence - Dr Mid Wales Geology Club 5pm Allet. Peter del Strother. www.midwalesgeology.org.uk June 16 Field trip to Luxulyan Quarry – Contact Trevor Morse 01833 638893 Contact Bill Bagley 01686 412679. Luke Martin. www.yorksgeolsoc.org.uk 14 Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 Geologists’ Association geological research, not only on the Geologists’ Association Guide No. 22 abundant and often beautifully Guide No. 22 preserved fossils, but on the sediments Geology of the Dorset that have a wide range of clastic and Coast

carbonate lithologies, on the diverse 7 Geology of the Dorset Coast +( 1' &855<)8 John C. W. Cope John C. W. Coast and sometimes complex structures and on the varied coastal morphology. Price: £14 (GA and PESGB Members: Surprisingly, new finds continue to be £11) (postage and packing: £3, made and the careful observer can make significant discoveries. Applied overseas £7 ) geological fields are also covered in the guide: Dorset’s stone and ball clay The Dorset coast has provided the industries continue to evolve. More training ground for many aspiring recently its petroleum geology has geologists and also attracts amateur come to the fore, as Dorset is the site geologists in large numbers. This guide of Western Europe’s largest onshore provides information that will be oilfield and there are superb coastal accessible to those from all levels of exposures of petroleum source and geological background. In addition to reservoir rocks. the description of the succession, the The geographical range of the guide guide covers many other aspects of begins in the west, just inside the the geology as they arise and includes Devonshire boundary and describes information about access. the coastal geology eastwards The coast forms part of the Dorset (including some short forays inland) and East Devon World Heritage Site beyond the limits of the Heritage Coast that stretches from Exmouth through to a point close to the Hampshire illustrations, an overview of the to Poole Harbour and includes in border in the east. The stratigraphical regional geology and history of Dorset one of the most complete range is from the latest Triassic rocks research, a comprehensive reference sections of Jurassic and Cretaceous upwards to the Mid Eocene, a time- list for further reading and an index. rocks anywhere in the world. It has range that encompasses some 170 attracted geological attention for some million years. Copies of the Guide can be obtained two centuries and has been the focus This 232-page guidebook includes 91 from the GA office. of an extraordinarily wide range of mostly full colour maps and

Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 15 Evening Lecture: April 13th 2012 Geoconservation in Dudley – engaging public interest at the Wren’s Nest National Nature Reserve Graham Worton, Dudley Museum and Art Gallery

Geology lies at the heart of Dudley and the Black Country. The coal, iron and limestone readily available fuelled the industrial revolution that turned the Black Country black, and left a legacy of mines, geological exposures and a strong cultural link between the underlying geology, industry and the local community. In this lecture, Graham Worton, Keeper of Geology at Dudley Museum and long-time geological advocate, described the geology of the Black Country in general terms, the Wren’s Nest National Nature Reserve (NNR) in particular, and the initiatives underway in Dudley to promote geology and use it to engage with people in the local community. The take-home message being ‘Dudley’s geology is special – please come and see it for yourself’!

The geology of the Black Country is dominated by the South Staffordshire Coalfield with Silurian inliers including Castle Hill and the Wren’s Nest emerging as hills. There is a rich mineral wealth with 3 limestone seams, 14 coal seams, 11 ironstones and 12 fireclays. The working of this mineral resource has left a rich legacy of limestone mines and a history of mineral working that depended on people – a link between geology and people that is used today in promoting geology in Dudley. The town’s coat-of arms clearly illustrates this strong link and includes a trilobite (the locally abundant ‘Dudley bug’, Calymene blumenbachii) , a stone-built castle, a miner’s light, a salamander representing the fire of the forges and an anchor representing the iron industry. Geologically based art work and Dud Dudley’s map of ‘mineral seams’ published in Metallium Martis in 1665 (perhaps the first geological map ever?) also add to the geological pedigree of the area. Murchison was also closely associated with Dudley and used it in defining the Silurian System in the 1830s. In his 1842 address to the Midlands regional interpretation, along with plans for a lime burning event, geological society he said ‘In no part of England are so a sports event (Fossil Games) and a Wren’s Nest festival. many geological features brought together in a small Another success, and certainly something outside the compass than in the environs of Dudley, or in which their typical geologist’s comfort zone, was ‘The Wrosne Project’ characters have been successfully developed by the which brought teenagers from the local community labours of practical men’, emphasising the links between together to perform a theatrical production in the geology and local people. limestone caverns below Dudley, drawing on the NNR and its geology for inspiration. This particular initiative led to The Wren’s Nest, declared at National Nature Reserve in decreased vandalism on the Wren’s Nest NNR as well as 1956, is well known to many geologists, exposing in its bringing measurable improvements to the lives of many of quarries and underground mines the Much Wenlock participants. Limestone Formation including 600 species of fossils from 30 major groups and including 186 type species. The So if you love geology, fossils, the history of science, Wren’s Nest, and Dudley’s Strata Project is the focus of the industrial revolution, caverns and mines, museums, Dudley’s vision to use geology to engage with people. This geoconservation, interpretation and examples of public project, broken into smaller elements sets out to use engagement – what about a visit to Dudley? wisely the geological and mining heritage resource at the Wren’s Nest to promote geology and engage with people. Colin Prosser Plans include stabilising and reopening underground canal tunnels and building a new visitor centre. For further details or to plan a visit contact Graham Worton, [email protected] , or Jess Welch Approaches taken to public engagement have involved [email protected] both the more usual approaches (education, visits and art) as well as innovative approaches outside of the usual comfort zone of geologists. The more usual approaches have included appointment of a Learning and Community Development Officer, Jessica Welch, that has led to improved access, especially for the disabled, and new

16 Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 Mike Ridd writes: John Vord Hepworth 1919-2012 John Hepworth died aged 92 on 15th January in hospital near his Stevenage home. He was born in Southport on 29th November 1919 and, influenced by his father, developed a love of natural history and the outdoors. Army service (1939-1945) through the war ‘achieved very little’ and on demobilization he accepted a place to read geology at Bristol under Walter Whittard, with Frank Coles Phillips a powerful influence. Graduating with a First, he was told by Whittard he was not cut out for an academic career, and learning he was too old to join the home Geological Survey he was accepted by the Colonial Geological Survey and in 1951 was assigned to Uganda. His left-wing reputation at Bristol caught up with him during his probationary period and he was advised his position would not be confirmed. But with the support of his Director, an approach to the (1980) and taking up a position with the United Nations colonial Governor was successful and London’s ruling was (ESCAP and RMRDC) in Bandung. In 1983 John retired and overturned. The field mapping and laboratory work were settled in Stevenage. much to John’s liking and from 1951-1962 he authored A Fellow of the Geological Society since 1950, he served reports and maps of widely different areas. During that on Council and was Foreign Secretary from 1975-1978. Also period John spent a year at Leeds University under W.Q. a keen member of the Geologists’ Association since 1953, Kennedy where he was awarded a Ph.D for a dissertation on his research on the Hertfordshire Puddingstone was the Western Rift of Uganda. published in the PGA in 1998. As well as his interest in After a spell in the Photogeology Division in London, Hertfordshire geology, he was active in seeking to protect which saw him complete a study of the Mozambique Front in the countryside north of Stevenage made famous by E.M. Tanzania (1969), John was appointed Director of the Forster. Other retirement pastimes included hill-walking trips Botswana Geological Survey (1971-1974) which fuelled his with the Rucksack Club, and in later years a keen interest in interest in older Precambrian terrains. Also, his interest in art nouveau and the arts-and-crafts movement which he international development led him to becoming a founder would track down on ‘safaris’ to the Continent and to Rennie member (1974) of the Association of Geoscientists for Mackintosh’s Glasgow. International Development (AGID). Toward the end of his life, when encouraged to write John’s Africa-centred career lasted 24 years, but in 1975 notes to help his obituarist, he would (with typical self- he joined the IGS Overseas Division in London and was effacement) regret that he published so little during his appointed Regional Geologist for Asia. His remit included lifetime. In fact, his bibliography has over 50 entries, many overseeing coal exploration in Kalimantan and major IGS of them maps and government reports, but they include mapping projects in Thailand and Sumatra. In 1979 he several published in the QJGS, the PGA, and Nature. married his third wife, Angela, before retiring from the IGS

He brought to the renewed Museum in Stevenage a Eric Robinson writes: Geology Garden decorated with splendid slabs of igneous No, this is not the obituary he so much deserves. Rather, rocks, marbles and metamorphic rocks gleaned from it consists of my recollections of a friendship going back to monumental masons. If it survives for Stevenage schools, it prehistoric times (1947-48) when we were both students on would be a fitting memorial to his local pride. Together we what was called the Shell Student Instructional Tour - an used the weathered stones of the parish church as a 'wall honour bestowed by our respective University departments. game' for beginners. We also took part in a fight to preserve John came from Bristol and I was from King's College, the rural setting of Howard's End with the Friends of E M Newcastle. Forster. The tour consisted of a rare mix of hardened ex- Happily for John, the G A gave him the opening to take servicemen released on Further Education Grants, and raw on the still unresolved problem posed by Hertfordshire schoolboys (myself), who were taken by established Puddingstone and the residual cover of the Home Counties. geologists - including T N George, Leslie Moore, W F To this debate, John brought East African geomorphology, Whittard and J G C Anderson - to visit classic localities in which others lacked. If needed, the Special Part of the England, Wales and Scotland for two weeks. It was an Proceedings which resulted from his eforts and which he explosive mix from which Trevor Ford, Derek Flynn and I wrote must serve as another memorial to my friend. still survive. Latterly, he was not blessed with robust health. However, We dispersed on graduation, the majority to challenging he remained loyal to Annual Reunions of the GA and the posts throughout the world, John went to the Colonial main programmes of both the Society and the Association at Survey and Africa. Trevor, Derek Ager and I went on to the Burlington House. However, in October 2011, a mutual rigours of teaching the next generation of students . John friend explained that he didn't feel up to coming to the had the presence of mind to join the old style G A in 1953, meeting on the Poetry of Geology. In a way, that was a years ahead of me. It was through the G A that we met up forewarnimg of the end which came in January this year, I again when he championed Hertfordshire Geology from his hope peacefully. home base in Stevenage. As they say north of the Border, "Here's ta us; whaes like us? Gae few and theyre all deed i" Not quite but almost. Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 17 ROCKWATCH NEWS

Given that this is usually the quiet how difficult and exciting it was. Many period for Rockwatch activities, the of our Rockwatchers hope to become club has been surprisingly active! We palaeontologists in the not too distant had a splendid day “behind the scenes” future and events such as these, only exploring some of the treasures of the serve to increase their determination! mineralogy and palaeontology departments at the National Museum of Wales in Cardiff. Science week was once again spent with British Geological Survey in Keyworth, enjoying its spectacular new buildings and entrance hall where the Family Day was held. A Macclesfield primary school visit, 3 days at the Lyme Regis Rock types at Park Royal School Fossil festival and a “members only” field trip bring us up to date in our “quiet” period!

The day in Cardiff was a real treat for members only as we had access to a Fossil plaster casting at BGS - always a great favourite range of fossils and minerals “behind the scenes”. We saw some marvellous Science Week this year was once again fluorescent minerals and discovered spent with the BGS in Keyworth, their amazing colours under UV light talking to almost 1,000 school children and were introduced to X-ray during the week about Geology in Your Shopping Basket, something most children had never associated with geologists! Children and their teachers Fossils at Park Royal Schiool seem genuinely surprised and might be used for, how they might interested in this aspect of geology. It’s identify them “in the field” and how a way of bringing home to them just soils might be formed from them. All interactive stuff and lots of fun for all

Tom Shapre explaining details of a dinosaur footprint fluorescence spectroscopy. Tom Cotterell, Curator of Mineralogy, gave us a demonstration of this, analysing rocks and told us that it was an Science Week at BGS important tool for geochemical Geology at Park Royal School analyses. Tom Sharpe, Curator of how geology, in all its aspects, impacts on their daily lives. On the Saturday at of us and it was exciting to discover the end of the week, we ran our eighth some of the children were Rockwatch Family Day jointly with BGS and other members. organisations and had many more The 3-day Lyme Regis Fossil Festival visitors than ever. Our seven wonderful was extremely busy with barely a helpers, all Rockwatch members and moment to draw breath! The first day their parents, did not have a spare was “schools’ day” so we had activities moment all day! such as mineral, rock and fossil identification, talking about A Macclesfield primary school visit was depositional environments and fossil a great success. I spent a wonderful rubbings, activities planned to give all time with Year 3 children who were our visitors the opportunity to handle very excited to actually handle “real real fossils and minerals. It was non- How big was this dinosaur? National Museum fossils”, especially coprolites! We talked stop talking with classes scheduled of Wales about the uses of fossils, also about every 30 minutes from 9.00 a.m. to Palaeontology, gave us the chance to “Geology in Your Shopping Basket” and 3.30 p.m. and a one hour break for handle some huge dinosaur bones and the children found the minerals we lunch. We all spent a very quiet casts of their footprints, as well as show with this activity quite amazing. evening! The two public days were cradling many smaller fossils. This is And, of course, most of them had equally busy, but not necessarily the great thrill of “behind the scenes” never seen anything like that before, accompanied by non-stop talking, since visits: that children and parents get let alone be allowed to handle such visitors once again spent a long time the chance to handle these superb minerals. They all enjoyed identifying making wonderful Jurassic dioramas specimens and hear, often from the the 3 main rock types, exploring how and wax fossil rubbings as well as palaeontologist who collected them, they might have formed, what they handling and talking about fossils with

18 Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 Obovothyris; echinoids like Nucleolites and Acrosalenia and a number of gastropod internal molds. The children (and their parents!) do enjoy the challenge of fossil hunting and returning home with their trophies.

For a generally quiet period in our calendar, this was not a bad series of events. We are, as ever, indebted to the many people who do help us at our events and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you all. The geologists of the future are lucky Lyme Regis indeed that your generosity is supporting them during their early our superb team of explainers and learning years. helpers. Everyone worked so hard to make it a successful event for us and we attracted 12 new members at the Festival and more applications are currently arriving at the office since the event.

We’ve only had one field trip during RW member with the superb ammonite he which we managed to escape the found on the Yorkshire Coast constant rain, but not the very cold, strong wind. It was a good visit to Shorncote Quarry in the Cotswold Susan Brown Water Park and the inclement weather did not deter lots of people form Rockwatch Chairman joining us. We are indebted to Hills Quarry Manager, Danny Houghton, for access to the quarry and to Neville Hollingworth for leading the trip. The fossil finds included: the bivalves Pholadomya and Pleuromya; brachiopods Microthyridina and Robert’s Shorncote echinoid

Do you need funding for your field work? Would a grant help you with your lab analyses? Would you like funds towards attending a conference or field meeting?

Then apply for a GA award

Awards are available under several headings (see www.geologistsassociation.org.uk – the first three headings under “Awards”), and are open to all members of the Geologists’ Association of at least one year's standing, or to students who have been members for at least six months. Grants are normally for sums up to £600 (£250 for attendance at meetings). Funding is also available to non-members working in certain subject areas.

Please apply – the funds are there to be used. Deadlines 15th September and 15th February.

Contact [email protected] for more information.

Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 19 Sir Arthur Russell and the Preservation of a National Collection

I started collecting at a very early age. I was a toddler when I began to pick up my first rocks from the beach with my mum and dad, seven when I created my first properly displayed geological collection and eight when I won my first prize with Rockwatch for my ‘mineral museum’. Sir Arthur Russell (1878-1964), the 6th Baronet of Swallowfield Park in Reading also began collecting at a very young age and by the time he was eight years old had visited his first working mine, a trip that helped develop a hobby and a passion that would stay with him for the next 78 years of his life. His stunning collection evolved into one of the most significant British regional mineral collections to date, comprising approximately 13,000 specimens and is one of the Natural History Museum’s largest and most significant stand-alone collections. Russell collected almost half of the specimens himself; developing relationships with owners of other mineral collections and workers at important geological sites where he acquired many scientifically significant specimens that Above: The authhor still collecting today for her dissertation otherwise might never have been publically available. Today, many of the localities he collected at have disappeared; context. Mineral degradation can affect associated labels, consequently Russell’s specimens hold integral information rendering them unreadable, or worse, completely on the geology, geography and cultural history of these disintegrating them. In the case of Russell’s collection, part sites. of its uniqueness lies in the labels handwritten by Russell The collection was left with the Natural History Museum in himself in his characteristic script, so preventing loss of any London on his death, as requested by Russell - to the great aspect of his collection is essential. annoyance of other institutions, such as Harvard. In his will, In a climate where museums are under tough economic he made the condition that the collection be stored in pressure, with severe cuts to funding and staff it may be perpetuity, together in its original ten oak cabinets with his more difficult than ever for museums to ensure that cataloguing system. The association of Russell’s original collections receive the care they need. Without heritage cabinets, labelling and cataloguing system mean that his collections we would lack essential information that forms collection does not only represent a near complete record of part of the basis of our extensive knowledge of the world the mineralogy of the British Isles at the time of today. What makes a collection such as Russell’s so unique assimilation, but also an important historical and cultural is the range of values that can be associated with it – resource. scientific, historical, educational, cultural, aesthetic and The practice of keeping an object ‘in perpetuity’ is inspirational. It not only provides a significant mineralogical complex. To preserve something exactly as it is for ever is resource for researchers across the world, but also a impossible, a problem all conservators and curators will be historical record of people and places, that without the intimately familiar with. In heritage collections it is a fact collection we may have known much less about. that objects will become more fragile with time and the Looking back to my own collection, (although far from the institution holding them will do their best to ensure the stunning host of Russell’s specimens!) provided me with the object is in the best condition relative to its original state. notion that I wanted to work in museums with other This process may involve preventive conservation measures geological collections. Since being introduced to The Russell to ensure that the possibility of degradation is limited. Collection. I have been inspired to continue to pursue my To a casual visitor, it may be difficult to imagine the need aim through studying for an MRes in Heritage Science at to conserve a mineralogical collection. The truth is however, UCL and I am now about to embark on a project focusing on that some minerals do degrade, sometimes causing Russell's Collection at the Natural History Museum. Through catastrophic damage to the specimen or even to those the project I hope to learn much more about museums and around it. Because of the nature of the Russell Collection, how to care for collections as well as how to contribute to this kind of damage may not only have implications for the the preservation and public awareness of our great national scientific integrity of a specimen, but also the historical geological resources. For more information on The Russell Collection, The Natural History Museum or the work I am doing please visit: http://www.russellsoc.org/ , http://www.nhm.ac.uk/ , or http://geoheritagescience.wordpress.com/. Jane Robb, MRes Heritage Science student at University College London* *Heritage Science is a relatively new discipline. Initially the term was coined in 2006 by the House of Lords’ report on ‘science and heritage’, bringing the discipline to life with respect to preservation of the UK’s national cultural heritage. The highly interdisciplinary Science and Heritage Programme co-funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council aims to bridge the gaps between physical sciences and arts and humanities by applying scientific knowledge and techniques to the preservation and interpretation of heritage.

Above: the famous mineral gallery at NHM – photo Jane Robb

20 Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 and all kinds of other tectonic and Book Review palaeogeographical diagrams. This book should appeal to everyone interested in geology, since it brings together a wealth of data, much of The Geology of Thailand which had previously been hiding in out-of-the-way publications and uncirculated technical reports. There Edited by MF Ridd, AJ are more than 25 authors from a wide variety of countries and backgrounds, Barber and MJ Crow. 2011. the latter including industry and The Geological Society. academia.

626 pp. £100 hardback, The geology of the country is truly £50 paperback. varied. Although Thailand has been united since the Mesozoic, during the Palaeozoic two-thirds of the country Seldom can a GA field excursion have formed the substantial central sector of resulted in such a substantial volume! the Sibumasu palaeocontinent. This Mike Ridd and his colleagues must be stretched from Burma to Sumatra and congratulated on having put together formed the margin of the immense such a superb and authoritative book, supercontinent of Gondwana until the which, as he says in the introduction, Neotethys Ocean opened between find this book interesting, the pictures, was prompted when he was planning Sibumasu and Gondwana during the (which include the scenery and the field trip for the Association. Permian. The remaining northeastern occasional large statue of the Buddha) Although primarily concerned with third of Thailand was part of the also demonstrate why tourism Thailand, a country slightly larger than Indochina Terrane, which was probably flourishes in the area and why it was France, the volume puts the whole of united with the South China the setting for one of the more Southeast Asia into context. It consists palaeocontinent during the Lower dramatic James Bond film chases. of chapters ranging from the Palaeozoic before their divorce in the Precambrian to the Quaternary and Devonian and eventual reunification in extending laterally into offshore oil, the Late Triassic. Therefore it is no Robin Cocks tektites and thermal evolution, among surprise that the intricate tectonics of many other topics. To illustrate the the area have only been unravelled in text, there are numerous stunning recent years, not least because of the colour pictures, including photographs attentions of the hydrocarbon industry. of the amazing limestone scenery, many satellite views, seismic sections Although you don’t have to go there to

MISSING PAINTINGS

During the September 'Geoconservation for Science and Society’ meeting (9-10th September 2011) at Worcester University three watercolour-type paintings, depicting life in Purbeck times, went missing from the exhibition hall on the Friday evening.

These pictures are the property of the artist (Carol Roberts) and were produced for the Dorset RIGS group as part of its Purbeck Project which produced a CD presentation of geology, landscape and the stone industry of Purbeck. The pictures were in a blue card folder and are about A3 size.

If anyone knows the whereabouts of these unique pictures please let the GA office know or return them to the GA Office so I can reclaim them.

Thanks you for your help. Alan Holiday Chairman Dorset RIGS (DIGS)

Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 21 New set of Rules and List of Members

At the Special General Meeting on 13 April 2012 the membership approved the additions to the Rules and Regulations as published in the March edition of the Magazine. The updated Rules and Regulations which include the new Research Awards can now be seen on the GA website under ‘About Us’.

The last set of Rules and List of Members was published in 2006 and Council feel it is time that a new set be published. This would include a list of past Presidents and Award Winners. We would also like to publish the list of Members with postal address and the year you joined the GA as we have done in previous editions. The list will not be posted on the GA website.

If you would prefer NOT to have your address published, please let Sarah Stafford know in the GA Office: [email protected].

taking. They have also made landings in An Aber Celebration relatively inaccessible coves using local coastguard lifeboats. The striking The publication in December of a illustrations of this book come from beautifully illustrated book, "The Hidden photographs and from watercolour edge of Exmoor"* has some significance paintings by Kester in a style which is for the Association. We all know the life Lowryeske. He has acquired the analytical work of Muriel Arber reporting on the cliffs eye of the true geologist in his and foreshore of Lyme Regis and representations of folds and alternating Charmouth and showing the changes sequences of greywacke and slates with through photo-collages at the Annual the clearest of details. Reunion. Of equal importance to Muriel, For days of critical light on these north however, were her studies of the cliffs of facing cliffs to the Bristol Channel he has North Devon and their profiles. She made flown with colleagues in Auster planes if geomorphology a respectable branch of only to complete that challenge made by Geology. Newell Arber in 1911. Behind these cliff studies she was Kester and Elizabeth were good friends continuing the work initiated by of Muriel and kept her informed of their her father, Newell Arber, laid down in his work and progress, something which she account of 1911, “The coast Scenery of appreciated in those dark days when her North Devon”. His fieldwork involved eyesight was failing. To her, they were climbing as far as he was able wearing acknowledging the pioneer work of her tweed suits and heavy nailed boots - a father in ways she had tackled without the survey which he admitted was incomplete risk of cliff climbing. Significantly, in the on those towering 400! cliffs. This he foreword to the new book, Kester and * ISBN 978-0-948444-57-9 admitted, passing on the task to Elizabeth reproduce a brief letter which 128 pages, 124 illustrations "whosoever" might have better skills Muriel wrote in her faltering handwriting in (1911, p.26) which she recognises them as the In the past two decades, that challenge "whosoever" of p.26 in the 1911 classic. has been taken up by Kester Webb and The book was brought into final form by his wife, Elizabeth, of Combe Martin in the Peter Keen under the flag of his Thematic heart of those cliffs, the highest on the Trails of Kingston Bagpuize and costs English coasts. They are adept in the £12. finger-tip techniques of modern climbers Muriel would surely be happy in this! and completed traverses of the Hangman Grit and Morte Slate slab outcrops and Eric Robinson made ascents which are truly breath-

22 Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 HORN PARK MUSEUM DISPLAY

Horn Park National Nature Reserve fossils as ‘Tools of Time’ – how (NNR) is located a couple of miles to they provide the most the west of the small market town of accurate reference mechanism Beaminster in West Dorset. It is the for Mid Jurassic rocks in the smallest NNR in the country (0.32ha) country and more widely but distinguished by being a world- beyond. Also in the window famous site for its Jurassic ammonite display, to put Horn Park in fossils, particularly those of the context, are maps of the Bathonian and Aalenian Stages. With earth’s land masses with short financial assistance from the Curry descriptions of the major Fund of the Geologists’ Association this geological/biological events of remarkable site now has its own each Period from the dedicated display in nearby Cambrian onwards. Very Beaminster’s volunteer-run museum. beautiful ammonite drawings by the 19th century scientist Horn Park Quarry display at Beaminster Museum The museum was keen to publicise Ernst Haeckel, ammonite fossil this scientific gem on its doorstep. It is cross sections, a Horn Park fossil removed in huge amounts without in fact very poorly known locally as the sponge, an ichthyosaur vertebra and a restriction and are still on sale today site (an old quarry) is fairly remote model ammonite complete this main though collection has long ceased. In from the town and without public display. 1977 the whole quarry became a Site access. Additionally, with no of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). interpretive materials available, there Wall displays on either side of the Plans were drawn up to turn it into a was no way the complex science and centrepiece highlight other aspects of tourist attraction based on the sale and geology of the quarry could be readily the local geology and the quarry’s viewing of fossils but came to nought. understood or made available. history. Alongside a panoramic photo Protection was increased in 2006 when illustrating the area’s geomorphology – Horn Park’s main fossil exposures were The museum worked with steep flat-topped hills and narrow declared a NNR. It is still in private acknowledged experts to ensure valleys – text panels explain how these ownership with much of the quarry scientific accuracy in planning the have arisen through differential erosion being run as a business estate. The exhibition. A collection of fossils, of the underlying limestone and NNR site is managed by Natural mainly Aalenian ammonites, was sandstone rocks. The variety of local England who are developing plans to donated by Mr Alan Holiday and Mr make it more accessible to the public. Bob Chandler. The former is chair of the Dorset Important Geological Sites An important part of the exhibition is group. The latter is a geologist with fossils that can be handled by visitors. extensive research experience into the Chief amongst these is a rather fine complexities of the Horn Park deposits specimen of Brasilia decipiens (Inferior Oolite) and their fossil (Buckman) some 25cm in diameter. records. It is largely thanks to his work There is also a large bioturbated slab that the scientific value of Horn Park – of Inferior Oolite complete with the most complete record of Mid ammonite, bivalve (several species) Jurassic ammonites in the country – and gastropod fossils. This gives an has been recognised to be of world- idea of the faunal ecosystem and wide significance. habitat of Mid Jurassic seas of the time. Beaminster is about 10km north of the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site. The presence of the small exhibition Whilst not in the UNESCO-designated in Beaminster museum provides an site itself Horn Park’s fossil record important resource for the townspeople provides detail complementary to and and visitors alike. For the first time not accessible in its more famous information on this world-renowned neighbour. Thus the museum also site is readily available. The museum worked with Mr Sam Scriven (Earth will be working with Natural England Science Adviser to the Jurassic Coast and the Jurassic Coast authorities to World Heritage Team) to develop the develop its potential for education and exhibition. It is a useful addition to the learning. Jurassic Coast displays in larger Brasilia decipiens (Buckman) and bioturbated The museum is very grateful for the museums such as Lyme Regis and slab of Inferior Oolite Honiton. financial assistance received from the building stones (Inferior Oolite, Curry Fund of the Geologists’ The exhibition’s centrepiece, in a Hamstone, Blue Lias and Forest Association. Without this it would have window niche above an impressive Marble) is illustrated in a photo of a been impossible for the museum to specially-painted mural of a Jurassic Beaminster hotel which has all four in make available to residents and visitors sea scene, is a representation of the a single close up picture. alike the information locked up in the stratigraphic profile of Horn Park’s quarry’s rocks. Inferior Oolite deposits of the Horn Park seems to have first been Bathonian, Bajocian and Aalenian quarried in the 19th century and it Marcus Chambers Stages. Ammonites are displayed at continued to the 1960s. Its fossils were their correct relative positions (depths) first described by S S Buckman in the Chairman in the profile. Accompanying panel 1880s in an extensive series of Beaminster Museum texts explain the importance of these publications. In the 1970s fossils were

Magazine of the Geologists’ Association Vol. 11, No. 2, 2012 23 Further information and registration forms can be obtained from Sarah Stafford in the GA office