View a geological map of your area

The British Geological Survey has produced a wonderful new resource - Open Geoscience.
Click here to view the details.
To read about it on the BBC News, click here.

Geology Courses

Dr. Nick Chidlaw writes "I was very pleased to be able to run most of my intended courses and field trips this autumn, despite the closure last summer of Lifelong Learning provision with the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol; thanks are due to all those who were in a position to attend these courses on offer, and to a variety of local organizations including WEGA and Bath Geological Society for kindly agreeing to advertise the events to members. The venerable Geological Society of London has also shown concern over the end of Lifelong Learning at Bristol, and supports the efforts of former tutors who have decided to continue independently." 
Please click here to view the courses and trips Nick is proposing to run during the period January - June 2010 if there are enough takers to make them viable. If any of them are of interest to you, and you can attend, do get in touch and Nick will send you further information.

18th Century Mineral Collection goes Online

After two years of hard work, the St. Aubyn mineral collection can now be viewed online with images of the specimens themselves. Since January 2008, Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery have been researching their St. Aubyn Collection of minerals and pressed plants after securing a grant from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. During that time, members of staff in the natural history department have uncovered lots of information about the life of Sir John St. Aubyn (1758-1839), and have carried out a variety of work on the collection, from cleaning the herbarium sheets to re-storing the mineral collection in an improved environment.  
Creating an online resource where the famous mineral collection can be viewed marks an important milestone in the culmination of the project. Alongside Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery‘s own mineral collection of St. Aubyn specimens; it is also possible to see minerals which were located in external collections from around the country during this project.  
The St. Aubyn project is due to complete in January 2010, when an exhibition on the life of Sir John begins its tour in the Royal Cornwall Museum, Truro.
For more information about the touring exhibition, please contact Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery on 01752 304774.

Wootton Bassett fossils

There is a new display cabinet of Wootton Bassett fossils in Wootton Bassett library. It is aimed at the casual visitor. All fossils (mostly bivalves and ammonites) are labelled with their binomial scientific description and  provenance. There is also some explanatory text and a geological cross-section through Wootton Bassett.
If you are in Wootton Bassett, do drop in and have a look. The display and research are by Richard Gosnell

Fossilized embryos - Thursday December 3rd

'Fossilized embryos from the dawn of animal evolution'. This lecture will be given by Dr. John Cunningham from University of Bristol at 7.30p.m. on December 3rd at the BRLSI, 16 Queen Square, Bath.
The fossil record had been thought to provide no evidence of embryonic development in early animals. However, over the past decade or so, a series of exceptionally preserved animal embryos from Cambrian and Ediacaran rocks have been described. These provide our first direct evidence of embryology at the dawn of animal evolution.
Everyone is welcome to attend - members free, visitors £4.

Fife and Lothian trip in March 2010

Following a very successful visit last October, Nick Chidlaw is re-running this field trip. Possible dates are either Sunday 7th – Wednesday 10th or Sunday 21st – Wednesday 24th March 2010.
Please let Nick know which date you prefer by next Sunday - 6th December.
Tuition fee is £80.00 per person. Fees would not need to be paid until Sunday 31st January.
Click here for further details.

Careers Evening - 1st December

The Western Region of the Geological Society is holding a Careers Evening on Tuesday 1st December, 6.00 for 6.30pm
An introduction to careers in several areas of geoscience suitable for students, recent graduates or people in the early stages of their careers. Talks will be given by several accomplished geoscientists with a range of expertise and will be followed with an opportunity to network.
Speakers include:
• Dr Mary Benton, University of Bristol
• Andrew Lawrence, Mott MacDonald
• Dr Mike Board, Nuclear Technologies
• Nathan Littlewood, URS Corporation
• Finlay Booth, Mott MacDonald
The event will he held in the S H Reynolds Lecture Theatre (Room G25), Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queen's Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ
Click here for directions
Refreshments will be available from 6 pm.
In case of any query please contact the Convenor, Toby Hopkins.
Everyone is welcome.