Please note that all lectures are held in the School of Earth Sciences and Geography, William Smith Building at Keele University unless otherwise stated. The committee invites you to join them for a meal at the COMUS restaurant to entertain the speaker before each lecture (except the AGM). Please make your own booking with the restaurant mentioning that you wish to join the NSGGA party. The cost is approximately £9 for a two course meal (starter and main course with vegetarian option or main and dessert) not including wine or coffee. The COMUS restaurant telephone number is 01782 734121. If you wish to dine, meet in the restaurant at 6pm. WINTER LECTURES PROGRAMME 2009/2010 Thursday 8th October 2009 at 7.30 pm Speaker: Dr. Cathy Hollis (University of Manchester) ‘Minerals, hydrocarbon and porosity changes: a short history of fluid flow in Carboniferous limestone’ The Lower Carboniferous (Dinantian) has long been the focus for research into the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the UK prior to the onset of the Variscan Orogeny. There have also been many detailed studies on the early diagenesis of these carbonate platforms, and the mineralization that they host. The burial diagenesis of the Dinantian succession has received less attention, however, and yet it provides valuable information on the timing and mechanisms of fluid flow, hydrocarbon emplacement and mineralization within the developing Variscan Orogen. This talk will present a summary of the entire diagenetic history of the Lower Carboniferous, based primarily on studies on the Derbyshire Platform, and discuss how we can use this data to reconstruct fluid flow in a post-rift and compressional regime Thursday 12th November 2009 at 7.30 pm The Professor Wolverson Cope Annual Lecture Speaker: Professor Peter Worsley (University of Reading) 'Charles Darwin, the Beagle and Quaternary geology' During the Beagle voyage Charles Darwin engaged with a range of Quaternary geological features. These included modern calving glaciers, icebergs, coastal uplift, volcanoes and coral reefs. On his return to Britain he encountered the Ice Age hypothesis of Jens Esmark. Following contact with Buckland and Lyell he field tested the land ice hypothesis in North Wales and soon became a mountain 'glacialist', no doubt inspired by his experience of Tierra del Fuego. Thursday 3rd December 2009 at 7.00 pm Christmas Social and Buffet including a talk by Eileen Frazer 'The land that time forgot; geology and scenery of the Red Centre and McDonnell Ranges, Australia'. The buffet will be £10 per person including wine, please book on the attached flyer by post enclosing the necessary payment by Friday 20th November. Thursday 14th January 2010 Speaker: Dr. Richard Waller (University of Keele) Thursday 18th February 2010 Professor Andrew Willmott (Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory) Thursday 4th March 2010 AGM and Chairman's address Dr Ian Stimpson (University of Keele) bnsgga 91 page 2 Field Report Ossum’s Hill Geology Walk On the evening of August 11th I attended a geological walk lead by Mike Allen from the South Peak Estate of the National Trust to have a look at a new geological section that has been opened upon the side of Ossum’s Hill above the Manifold Valley. The geology of the area is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Geology around Ossum's Crag after The Hamps and Manifold Geotrail, Staffordshire RIGS 2007. Grey = Mixon Limestone Shales; Pale Blue = Ecton Limestones; Dark Blue = Milldale Limestone; Purple = Milldale Limestone Knoll Reefs The walk departed from the car park opposite Wetton Mill which was the site of the shaft, dressing floor and smelter for the Botstone Lead Mine that operated until around 1850. Machinery was driven by a waterwheel from the River Manifold. The assent of Ossum’s Hill was via the footpath that follows the path of the Hoo Brook, a small misfit river in a wide valley carved by meltwater at the end of the last Ice Age. Part way up a large Ash tree on the right marks the site of one of the entrances to the Botstone Mine (Figure 2). Figure 2: Adit Entrance to Botstone Mine The Hoo Brook valley sides show evidence of landslipage, probably the result of over- steepening of slopes by meltwater undercutting them. On the climb up the valley, many of the pauses for breath were used to discuss different facets of global climate change, both during the Ice Age and during the Carboniferous Period. The route then took us up a side valley to the left up beyond Ossum’s Hill Farm and then left again to the top of Ossum’s Hill where the depressions from numerous old mine shafts can be seen. The local farmer estimates the shaft of one of them to be at over 50 metres deep. Over the hillcrest, the path then follows a farm track slanting down the hillside back towards Wetton Mill. It is here that the farmer, in widening the track, has opened up some new exposures of the Carboniferous Limestone. The upper part of the section displays the mid-grey coarse bioclastic crinoidal Ecton Limestone (Figure 3). bnsgga 91 page 3 Figure 3: Bioclastic crinoidal Ecton Limestone This was deposited on the lower part of the shelf slope as turbidites from the shallower shelf areas. As the path descends the hillside the transition can be seen to the underlying finer bedded and laminated micritic Milldale Limestone with thin beds of chert deposited under quieter conditions. Here is also displayed some tectonic deformation with a small fault and some local small-scale folding, probably related to the fault (Figure 4). Figure 4: Small-scale folding and faulting in Milldale Limestone. The view across the Manifold Valley clearly displays the reef- knolls within the Carboniferous Limestones as upstanding mounds in the topography (Figure 5), but, with the light fading fast, we didn’t linger too long and descended the hillside back to the Manifold Valley floor and returned to Wetton Mill. Thanks go to the National Trust for organising the walk and Mike Allen leading it. Ian G. Stimpson Figure 5: Cross- section showing topography controlled by reef-knolls. Ossum's Hill is on the left. After The Hamps and Manifold Geotrail, Staffordshire RIGS 2007 bnsgga 91 page 4 NSGGA NEWS Staffordshire RIGS Hamps and Manifold Trail Site Clearance Staffordshire RIGS plan to have an increased programme of site clearances starting with a section on the Hamps and Manifold Geotrail. Large tools, safety training and insurance will be provided by the BTCV. Saturday 14th November: SRIGS Geoconservation at Ladyside Wood in the Manifold Valley. Calling all hands! Leader: Dr Patrick Cossey Meet at 10.00am at Wetton Mill Car Park (SK 09535613) An opportunity to get stuck in with some important site clearance work with the Staffordshire RIGS Group, learn more about geoconservation in practice, the Lower Carboniferous of the North Staffordshire Basin and the Hamps & Manifold Geotrail. Following the successful launch of the Hamps and Manifold Geotrail, SRIGS are keen to continue the good work, originally undertaken on their behalf by BTCV, in re-exposing key sections of geological interest along the trail length. This meeting focuses attention on the famous Ladyside Wood section (SK 09525490 - a candidate site for the Tournaisian-Visean stratotype), where it is hoped that ‘careful gardening’ will improve exposure and reveal critical contacts between the ‘bedded’ and ‘knoll reef’ facies of the Milldale Limestones and the overlying Ecton Limestones. Distance on foot about 2km. Sturdy footwear, waterproofs and gardening gear, (especially gloves) needed. Please only bring small hand tools e.g. secateurs, loppers, hand saws. On this occasion a small hand trowel and fork and a few black bin liners for waste might prove especially useful. Further guidance and instruction will be given on site. In recognition of your generous support SRIGS are happy to provide a free packed lunch for all participants. However in order to do this we will need to know the numbers attending and of any special dietary requirements prior to the meeting. Please note that for logistical & safety reasons we will also have to limit the number on this visit to 25. To book your place on this visit and free lunch please contact Pat on 01782 294438 or email him at [email protected] Park Hall Site Clearance Saturday 27th February 2010: Geoconservation at Hulme Quarry National Nature Reserve Leader: Paul Shires Meet at 10am at Park Hall Country Park Visitor Centre (SJ 930447) A supervised geological management work-party will be held at Hulme Quarry National Nature Reserve (part of Park Hall Country Park) on Saturday 27th February 2010. The event will start at 10am and will finish for lunch at about 12.30pm. Any volunteers who wish to get involved should meet at the Park Hall Country Park Visitor Centre, off Hulme Road, Weston Coyney (telephone 01782 331889). The plan is to clear shrubs from on and near to the Triassic sandstone and conglomerate exposures in the quarries to improve access and appearance. There will also be work to clear vegetation from the fault features to improve visibility. If you require any further information please contact Paul Shires, Countryside Officer, on 01782 331889 Keele University Plans A Carbon Neutral Campus and Coal Bed Methane Extraction Keele University is exploring a range of exciting options for alternative energy sources and energy management. Directly related to its teaching and research expertise, these technologies would contribute to an innovative research hub for the study and development of sustainable forms of energy. The University has a strong track record in reducing carbon emissions and has recently been awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for consistent energy savings year on year.