SCIENTISTVOLUME 28 No. 05 ◆ JUNE 2018 ◆ WWW.GEOLSOC.ORG.UK/GEOSCIENTIST GEOThe Fellowship Magazine of the Geological Society of London UK / Overseas where sold to individuals: £3.95 SOCIETY AWARDS! A new structure SAVING LYME REGIS Ramues Gallois and Geoff Davis on the slippery geology of the historic English resort SORTING THE GONGS DIVINE INSPIRATION CONTROVERSY ANYONE? Marie Edmonds on a new Nina Morgan on the history Mike Ridd wonders where structure for Society Awards of geology and dowsing our spirit of rebellion has gone The Geological Society Career and Industry Days 2018/19 Wednesday 7 November 2018 Venue: Our Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh, UK www.geolsoc.org.uk/careersday18edinburgh Wednesday 14 November 2018 Venue: BGS, Keyworth, Nottingham, UK www.geolsoc.org.uk/careersday18nottingham Wednesday 20 March 2019 Venue: Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London, UK www.geolsoc.org.uk/careersday18london The Geological Society Career & Industry Day is an essential meeting place for geoscience students and the geoscience industry, and is the most recognised geoscience careers focused forum in the country. The day will include short career and industry presentations covering different areas of geology and academia, and there will be an exhibition consisting of industry and professional bodies, and higher education institutions promoting MSc and PhD programmes. There will also be a CV and careers workshop running alongside the talks. Registration This event is free to attend but there are limited numbers so pre- booking is recommended. Delegates will be required to pre-register to receive a student manual, free packed lunch and free drink at the drinks reception. Contact Information Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BG T: 0207 432 0981 E: [email protected] Background image: Assynt ©Timothy Gregory Follow these events on Twitter: #GSLcareers18 GEOSCIENTIST CONTENTS Geoscientist is the ADVERTISING SALES Fellowship magazine Alex Kilen of the Geological Society T 01727 739 182 of London E [email protected] The Geological Society, ART EDITOR Burlington House, Piccadilly, Heena Gudka London W1J 0BG T +44 (0)20 7434 9944 DESIGN & PRODUCTION F +44 (0)20 7439 8975 Ryan Gaston E [email protected] (Not for Editorial - Please PRINTED BY contact the Editor) Century One Publishing House Publishing Ltd. The Geological Society Publishing House, Unit 7, Copyright Brassmill Enterprise Centre, The Geological Society of Brassmill Lane, Bath London is a Registered Charity, BA1 3JN number 210161. T 01225 445046 ISSN (print) 0961-5628 F 01225 442836 ISSN (online) 2045-1784 Library 05 16 T +44 (0)20 7432 0999 F +44 (0)20 7439 3470 The Geological Society of London accepts no responsibility for the views E [email protected] expressed in any article in this publication. All views expressed, except EDITOR-IN-CHIEF where explicitly stated otherwise, Professor Peter Styles represent those of the author, and not The Geological Society of London. All EDITOR All rights reserved. No paragraph of this Dr Ted Nield publication may be reproduced, copied E [email protected] or transmitted save with written permission. Users registered with Copyright Clearance Center: the Journal EDITORIAL BOARD is registered with CCC, 27 Congress Dr Sue Bowler Street, Salem, MA 01970, USA. 0961- Mr Steve Branch 5628/02/$15.00. Every effort has been Dr Robin Cocks made to trace copyright holders of Prof. Tony Harris material in this publication. If any rights 10 27 have been omitted, the publishers offer Dr Howard Falcon-Lang their apologies. Dr Andy Fleet (EIC elect) Mr Edmund Nickless No responsibility is assumed by the Mr David Shilston Publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of Dr Jonathan Turner products liability, negligence or Dr Jan Zalasiewicz otherwise, or from any use or operation ON THE COVER: of any methods, products, instructions Trustees of the or ideas contained in the material 10 SAVING LYME REGIS Geological Society herein. Although all advertising of London material is expected to conform to ethical (medical) standards, inclusion Ramues Gallois & Geoff Davis on the Mr Malcolm Brown (President) in this publication does not constitute Mr John Booth a guarantee or endorsement of the engineering geology behind stabilizing Mr Rick Brassington quality or value of such product or of Dr Jason Canning the claims made by its manufacturer. the famous resort Miss Liv Carroll Subscriptions: All correspondence Ms Lesley Dunlop relating to non-member subscriptions Dr Marie Edmonds (Secretary, should be addresses to the Journals Science) Subscription Department, Geological Society Publishing House, Unit 7 Mr Graham Goffey (Treasurer) Brassmill Enterprise Centre, Brassmill FEATURESFEATURES Dr Sarah Gordon (Secretary, Lane, Bath, BA1 3JN, UK. Tel: 01225 Foreign & External Affairs) 445046. Fax: 01225 442836. Email: 16 AWARDS REVIEW Mrs Tricia Henton [email protected]. The subscription Ms Naomi Jordan price for Volume 28, 2018 (04 issues) Marie Edmonds (Secretary, Science) reports on her to institutions and non-members will review of the Society’s Medals, Awards and Funds Dr Robert Larter be £157 (UK) or £179 / US$358 (Rest Dr Jennifer McKinley of World). Dr Colin North (Secretary, Publications) © 2018 The Geological Society Dr Sheila Peacock of London REGULARS Prof Christine Peirce Geoscientist is printed on FSC® mixed Mr Nicholas Reynolds credit - Mixed source products are a 05 Welcome Ted Nield hands on the eyeshade Prof Nick Rogers (President blend of FSC 100%, Recycled and/or Controlled fibre. Certified by the Forest designate) Stewardship Council®. Dr Katherine Royse (Secretary, 06 Society News What your Society is doing at home and Professional Matters) abroad, in London and the regions Mr Keith Seymour (Vice president, Regional Groups) 09 Soapbox Mike Ridd wonders where our spirit of Miss Jessica Smith controversy has gone Mr John Talbot (Vice president, Chartership) 20 Calendar Society activities this month Dr Alexander Whittaker Published on behalf of the 22 People Geoscientists in the news and on the move Geological Society of London by 24 Books and arts Six new books reviewed by Jan Zalasiewicz, SCIENTISTVOLUME 28 No. 05 ◆ JUNE 2018 ◆ WWW.GEOLSOC.ORG.UK/GEOSCIENTIST UK / Overseas where sold to individuals: £3.95 Jeremy B Joseph, John Underhill, Mark Griffin, Ayla Stenning and Century One Publishing GEOThe Fellowship Magazine of the Geological Society of London SOCIETY AWARDS! Alban Row, 27–31 Verulam A new structure Gordon Neighbour Road, St Albans, Herts, AL3 4DG 23 O bituaries Marlan Wayne Downey 1931-2017, T 01727 893 894 Anthony Hallam 1933-2017 & John Kenneth Shanklin F 01727 893 895 SAVING 1926-2017 LYME REGIS E enquiries@centuryone Ramues Gallois and Geoff Davis on the publishing.uk slippery geology of the W www.centuryone historic English resort SORTING THE GONGS DIVINE INSPIRATION CONTROVERSY ANYONE? Marie Edmonds on a new Nina Morgan on the history Mike Ridd wonders where publishing.uk structure for Society Awards of geology and dowsing our spirit of rebellion has gone WWW.GEOLSOC.ORG.UK/GEOSCIENTIST | JUNE 2018 | 03 Mineral Resources poster 2018 v3 23-4-2018_Layout 1 24/04/2018 22:56 Page 1 Contaminated Land and Groundwater: Resources, Past and Future Mineral Resource Estimation: Thursday 26th July 2018 at University Place, Manchester Recent Advances and Current Best Practice 2018 is the “Year of Resources” and this conference will explore the role of the contaminated land specialist in management of risk to, and sustainable use of, our increasingly valuable land and groundwater resources. 22 October 2018 The Geological Society, Burlington House, London The UK and in particular the north of England has a long industrial history including exploitation of the land for resources such as coal, manufacture of natural gas and use of the land for landfill sites. In an era of rapid technological innovation, opportunities In this conference we explore the management of this legacy with respect to ground contamination. exist to improve efficiency and quality of resource estimates; both developing trust and encouraging investment in mining Topics projects. Forming part of the Year of the Resource, this conference aims to provide a forum for resource estimate • Ground investigation and assessment of gas works and coal mine sites. practitioners to meet and discuss new developments and • Protection and assessment of risk to groundwater resources including from new shale gas advances in mineral resource estimation and reporting. extraction sites and nuclear waste disposal sites. Confe rence topics will include: • Soil degradation and soil health. • Redevelopment of landfill sites. • Exploratory data analysis: analysis of geoscience data prior to use in a MRE including databasing, data quality • The Caerau Colliery project, where disused mine water is being used to heat homes. analysis, utilising ‘big data’ and methods of critical Register at www.geolsoc.org.uk/contam18manc Fellow: £90 Non-Fellow: £130 Students: £50 evaluation. • Geological modelling: methods and processes used for Confirmed Speakers generating 3D models of geological features, including Russell Thomas (WSP) software advances and comparisons, how to integrate ‘big Dave Jacobs (RSK) data’ and busting commonly enc ountered myths. Peter Brabham (Cardiff University) • Geostatistics and grade estimation: methods for The Coal Authority estimating tonnage and grade/quality of a mineral deposit, including recent software