Next week 3rd to 9th July 2017

NEXT WEEKS EVENTS

 3rd to 9th July 2017

The following is an extract from Bristol Geology Calendar

More details can be found in the Calendar and on the web sites of the relevant Society or organisation.

Monday

Stroud Museum - Ichthyosaur Exhibition

When23 May – 9 Jul 2017

WhereGeology Gallery, Museum in the Park, Stratford Park, Stratford Road, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 4AF. (map)

DescriptionExhibition: The Watery World of the Ichthyosaur Tuesday 23 May - Sunday 9 July | Admission Free A mini exhibition in the Geology Gallery Taking our very own fossil baby Ichthyosaur, freshly cleaned and conserved, as its centrepiece, this temporary display will allow you to explore the underwater environment that this creature lived in. Discover what an Ichthyosaur ate for lunch, as well as the other creatures and plant life that shared its watery world. With artistic representations of how the Ichthyosaur lived around 190 million years ago, plus the fossilised remains of the Ichthyosaur and its contemporaries this exhibition is not to be missed. Supported by the The Curry Fund of the Geologists Association

19:30

 Dave Green's Geology of the Oceans

WhenMon, 3 July, 19:30 – 21:30

WhereWynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester (map)

DescriptionThe Geology of the Oceans past and present (including plate tectonics, environments, and current/developing ideas on oceanography and marine geology). Often termed the last frontier to be explored on Earth, there have been great advances in our understanding of the oceanic realm over the past half century. This course aims to study the main developments and what we might expect in the future, based on current research. Monday 24th April, for 10 weeks, until 10th July (not 1st nor 29th May). Held at Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester from 7.30-9.30pm on Mondays. Cost £70.

Tuesday

Teme Valley Geological Society - Evening Geology Course

When4 – 5 Jul 2017

WhereTBA (map)

Description Evening Geology Course Field Trip 4th or 5th July Volcanoes in action – their magmas and minerals Dr Paul Olver Contact John 01886 888318 Cost £35

19:00

 Dave Green's Geology and Landscape in Gloucestershire

WhenTue, 4 July, 19:00 – 21:00

WhereSee website, separate leaflet, and/or by contacting Dave Green. (map)

Ashleworth, Staunton and Corse Lawn

This area, in the subdued topography of the Severn Vale to the north of Gloucester, shows considerable and surprising variations in relief, due to the influence of a few more resistant thin beds in the midst of a sea of weak mudstones and shales, of Upper Triassic to Lower Jurassic age. The resistant beds appear many times, partly due to gentle folding, and partly because of faulting; each time producing characteristic landscape. A further complicating feature is the presence of remnants of the former flood plains of the Severn, now dissected by erosion during and since the Ice Age

Meet at the roadside (park on verge) at the junction between the Upleadon/Newent road with the B4211 at SO 800 280

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Wednesday

Teme Valley Geological Society - Evening Geology Course

When4 – 5 Jul 2017

WhereTBA (map)

Description Evening Geology Course Field Trip 4th or 5th July Volcanoes in action – their magmas and minerals Dr Paul Olver Contact John 01886 888318 Cost £35

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Thursday

19:15

 Bath Geol Soc Lecture - Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)

WhenThu, 6 July, 19:15 – 21:45

WhereBath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16 Queen Square, Bath (map)

DescriptionCarbon Capture and Storage (CCS) – demonstrating the safety and performance of underground CO2 storage by site monitoring Professor Andy Chadwick, British Geological Survey Underground storage of carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuel combustion and other industrial processes offers the most credible way of achieving the deep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions agreed at last year’s COP-21 climate change conference in Paris. The regulatory framework for underground CO2 storage has been set up via a European Directive. In this there is a regulatory requirement to prove that storage sites are not leaking, that their current behaviour is understood, and that stored CO2 will continue to be contained in the long term. Time-lapse monitoring at storage sites, using geophysical and geochemical techniques provides the means by which these quite challenging objectives can be met. Industrial-scale CO2 injection has been in operation at the Sleipner gas field in the Norwegian North Sea since 1996, with more than 16 million tonnes of CO2 now stored. A comprehensive time-lapse monitoring programme has been carried out, with a series of 3D seismic surveys providing strikingly clear images of the CO2 plume in the storage reservoir and its progressive spreading and growth with time. These can be matched with numerical fluid flow models to demonstrate that subsurface processes are well understood. Other monitoring datasets from storage sites worldwide also provide robust indication that we do understand the key physical processes controlling the behaviour of stored CO2 and that longer-term predictions of storage site performance are likely to be reliable.

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Friday

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Saturday

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Sunday

O.U. Geol Soc South West Branch - Field Trip

WhenSunday, 9 Jul 2017

DescriptionWest Somerset Coast Field Trip on July 9th 2017 Examine the evidence for a tectonic inversion on the West Somerset coast. leader: Dr Mark Anderson More details to follow

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Mass extinctions

Mass Extinctions and are We in One?

In THIS article the author reviews the five - or is it six - major mass extinctions. (The Cretaceous-Tertiary one seems to slip from the list - after being mentioned!) 

He then goes on to speculate as to whether we are in one now and comes to a "perhaps if we continue as we are" sort of conclusion. It is difficult to be predictive when one is an observational scientist.

Speculation on the core-mantle boundary

What is at the Core-Mantle Boundary?

This blog speculates about the crystal structure of the "blobs" at the core mantle boundary. So if the blobs are solid and the outer core liquid - do we have mountains in the mantle floating on the core? And is the inner core the earths largest crystal???

Next week 26th June to 2nd July 2017

NEXT WEEKS EVENTS

 26th June to 2nd July 2017

The following is an extract from Bristol Geology Calendar

More details can be found in the Calendar and on the web sites of the relevant Society or organisation.

Monday

Stroud Museum - Ichthyosaur Exhibition

When23 May – 9 Jul 2017

WhereGeology Gallery, Museum in the Park, Stratford Park, Stratford Road, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 4AF. (map)

DescriptionExhibition: The Watery World of the Ichthyosaur Tuesday 23 May - Sunday 9 July | Admission Free A mini exhibition in the Geology Gallery Taking our very own fossil baby Ichthyosaur, freshly cleaned and conserved, as its centrepiece, this temporary display will allow you to explore the underwater environment that this creature lived in. Discover what an Ichthyosaur ate for lunch, as well as the other creatures and plant life that shared its watery world. With artistic representations of how the Ichthyosaur lived around 190 million years ago, plus the fossilised remains of the Ichthyosaur and its contemporaries this exhibition is not to be missed. Supported by the The Curry Fund of the Geologists Association

19:30

 Dave Green's Geology of the Oceans

WhenMon, 26 June, 19:30 – 21:30

WhereWynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester (map)

DescriptionThe Geology of the Oceans past and present (including plate tectonics, environments, and current/developing ideas on oceanography and marine geology). Often termed the last frontier to be explored on Earth, there have been great advances in our understanding of the oceanic realm over the past half century. This course aims to study the main developments and what we might expect in the future, based on current research. Monday 24th April, for 10 weeks, until 10th July (not 1st nor 29th May). Held at Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester from 7.30-9.30pm on Mondays. Cost £70.

Tuesday

19:00

 Dave Green's Geology and Landscape in Gloucestershire

WhenTue, 27 June, 19:00 – 21:00

WhereSee website, separate leaflet, and/or by contacting Dave Green. (map)

Description Tuesday evenings in the summer: Field Course: Tues 6th June - Tues 18th July 2017 Geology and Landscape in Gloucestershire (evening field course Tuesdays 7-9. Further sessions on website, separate leaflet, and/or by contacting Dave Green.27th June Cinderford to Edge Hills and the Flaxley Valley (Linear walk) The eastern flank of the Forest of Dean is formed from ancient rocks (of Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous age) that have been pushed up to almost vertical from their original horizontal position. The hardest rock is the Quartz Conglomerate, forming the main rampart of the Forest and from which one of the most spectacular views in Gloucestershire can be seen. We will then, at Edge Hills, cross a succession of upturned beds, each forming a distinctive element in the landscape, and which each have been used by man in the past for different purposes. Meet on the roadside at the top end (eastern) of Cinderford GR SO 663 136. If approaching from Littledean, follow the hairpin bend round and turn right at the top of the hill

more details»  copy to my calendar

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Wednesday

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Thursday

Teme Valley Geological Society - Evening Geology Course

WhenThursday, 29 Jun 2017

WherePupil referral Unit opposite Maylite Trading Estate on B4197, just south round the corner from the village hall (map)

Description Evening Geology Course Volcanoes in action – their magmas and minerals Dr Paul Olver Contact John 01886 888318 Cost £35

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Friday

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Saturday

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Sunday

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

105th Anniversary of Largest Volcanic Eruption of 20th Century

The Novarupta-Katmai Eruption

I'm 5 years late with this but it is still worth reading about! HERE is my starting point. There is a bit more HERE. The USGS report (278 pages) is HERE and is very good! And a set of 66 photos, taken this year, can be found HERE. The captions of the photos helps make sense of them.

The Novarupta or Katmai eruption of 1912 was huge - ejecting almost 30 cubic kilometers of ash and debris into the atmosphere or along the ground as pyroclastic flows. That represents ~13 cubic kilometers of magma (once you correct for all the air in ash) erupted over the course of ~60 hours. That is a rate of nearly 220 million cubic meters per hour, which is roughly 520 million tonnes per hour.

The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes - with a name like that it is irresistible!

Simplified geologic map of Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes (VTTS) and volcanoes of the Katmai cluster. Contour interval 500 feet (152 m). From hachured vent depression around Novarupta lava dome (N, black), Episode I ignimbrite (tan) extends northwest 20 km along VTTS, as well as across Katmai Pass (KP) for 10 km down Mageik Creek on Pacific slope. Knife Creek Glaciers (blue pattern) are numbered 1-5; other glaciers are omitted for clarity. Alagogshak volcano (A), long extinct, is indicated only by its eroded crater. Mount Mageik consists of four overlapping centers (in shades of blue); only the youngest and easternmost center (for which individual lava flows are indicated) is Holocene. Mount Martin, entirely Holocene, consists of small fragmental summit cone and several overlapping coulees. Trident group consists of three Pleistocene cones, East Trident (Te), Trident I (TI), and West Trident (Tw), as well as historical Southwest Trident (Tsw) lavas and fragmental cone of 1953–1974; several peripheral Pleistocene lava domes, comagmatic with Trident, include Mount Cerberus (MC) and Falling Mountain (FM). Mount Katmai consists of two overlapping centers, Northeast Katmai (Ke) and Southwest Katmai (Kw), both truncated by 1912 collapse of hachured Katmai caldera, which is now partly filled by lake. Five youngest eruptive units of Mount Katmai are numbered (1–5) and discussed in chapter 12: 1, leveed dacite lava flows; 2, south-rim rhyodacite lavas; 3, zoned scoria fall atop unit 2; 4, dacite agglutinate sheet on caldera rim and correlative scoria-flow deposit at Knife Creek; and 5, Horseshoe Island dacite dome. Remnants of 22.5-ka plinian rhyodacite pumice-fall deposits (and ignimbrite) in Windy and Mageik Creeks (sites indicated by red X) are related to most evolved lava of unit 2. Products of Mount Griggs are subdivided by age into older (o, middle Pleistocene), middle (m, late Pleistocene), and younger (y, postglacial) exposures. Holocene debris-avalanche deposits are in bright yellow; those emplaced in 1912 are labelled: KC, Katmai Canyon landslide; KRdf, Katmai River pumiceous debris flow; ML, Mageik Landslide; NM, Noisy Mountain landslide. Uncolored basement rocks are Jurassic Naknek Formation or Tertiary porphyritic intrusions. Miscellaneous features: BM, Baked Mountain; BR, Broken Mountain; FL, site of Fissure Lake; GF, Griggs Fork of Knife Creek; JF, Juhle Fork of Knife Creek; T, Turtle; WR, Whiskey Ridge; hut, Baked Mountain Hut, research shelter; Island Camp and Camp IV were way stations between Katmai Bay and VTTS.

Dinosaurs Erupt into Dominance?

New Evidence that Volcanic Eruptions Triggered the Dawn of the Dinosaurs

This article, from researchers at Oxford, suggests that the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event may have been caused by volcanic gases released during the volcanic activity of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). 

A photo I took of CAMP volcanics (the dark rocks at the top of the cliff) at Five Island Provincial Park, on the Bay of Fundy in September 2009

There is some doubt whether the volcanism occurred at the same time as the extinction. So the researchers decided to look for a “fingerprint” of the eruptions in the same kind of sediments that record the mass extinction. And the fingerprint used was mercury.

They investigated six sedimentary records of the end-Triassic extinction for mercury concentrations. These records were from the UK, Austria, Argentina, Greenland, Canada and Morocco. They found that five of the six records showed a large increase in mercury content beginning at the end of the Triassic period, with a distinct spike in mercury at the layer corresponding to the extinction itself. 

More importantly, they were able to show the elevated mercury emissions matched previously established increases in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. This strongly supports the theory that the CO2 emissions thought to cause the end-Triassic extinction came from volcanoes.

Walk at the White Horse

Wiltshire Museum - Guided Geology and Landscape Walk

Isobel Geddes will be leading a walk around the Westbury White Horse, Bratton Castle & Bratton Church Springs. 

A 3.25 mile (2 - 2.5 hour) walk along footpaths, tracks & lanes around Bratton Castle, the hill-fort above Westbury White Horse, including the springs by Bratton Church (steep hill). There are spectacular views from the chalk escarpment over the Avon & Biss valleys to the Cotswolds and Mendips – weather forecast is good so may be brilliant at sunset ... 

Stout footwear, protective clothing to suit the prevailing weather conditions and reasonable mobility will be required (participants must be able to walk at least four miles at a reasonable pace). Walk includes a steep hill and is expected to take about 2.5 hours.

Meet Tuesday 20th June 2017 at 6.30pm in the car park for the white horse OS Grid Reference ST 899 513.

Booking essential: £10 (£8 WANHS members)

Payment is required with booking - can pay online http://www.wiltshiremuseum.org.uk

Or by phone (with card) Telephone: 01380 727369

 

Wiltshire Museum

41 Long Street, Devizes, Wiltshire, SN10 1NS

Email: hello@wiltshiremuseum.org.uk

 

Are we living in a mass extinction?

Is This a Mass Extinction - a Future Palaeontologist would not be able to say!

We identify mass previous mass extinctions from the fossil record - largely marine invertebrates, like brachiopods and bivalves. How many of these have gone extinct in the last few millennia - almost none. A hundred and fifty years ago there used to be 5 billion passenger pigeons, now there are none. How many fossilised passenger pigeons are there - two!

This article is not saying all is well - far from it. It mentions many of the current problems and scandals. But it cautions that if we were in a mass extinction it is already too late. The start of a mass extinction will probably be something innocuous - it is what happens after that will kill you!

Coastal features are temporary

Malta's Azure Window has Gone - Whats Next?

Earlier this year The "Azure Window" on Gozo, Malta collapsed. 

The Azure window before its collapse

This article suggests five British coastal feature which will disappear sooner or later. They are pictured below. Can you identify them without looking at the article?

Next week 12th to 18th June 2017

NEXT WEEKS EVENTS

 12th to 18th June 2017

The following is an extract from Bristol Geology Calendar

More details can be found in the Calendar and on the web sites of the relevant Society or organisation.

Monday

Stroud Museum - Ichthyosaur Exhibition

When23 May – 9 Jul 2017

WhereGeology Gallery, Museum in the Park, Stratford Park, Stratford Road, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 4AF. (map)

DescriptionExhibition: The Watery World of the Ichthyosaur Tuesday 23 May - Sunday 9 July | Admission Free A mini exhibition in the Geology Gallery Taking our very own fossil baby Ichthyosaur, freshly cleaned and conserved, as its centrepiece, this temporary display will allow you to explore the underwater environment that this creature lived in. Discover what an Ichthyosaur ate for lunch, as well as the other creatures and plant life that shared its watery world. With artistic representations of how the Ichthyosaur lived around 190 million years ago, plus the fossilised remains of the Ichthyosaur and its contemporaries this exhibition is not to be missed. Supported by the The Curry Fund of the Geologists Association

Stroud Museum - Exhibition

When27 May – 15 Jun 2017

WhereMuseum in the Park, Stratford Park, Stratford Road, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 4AF. (map)

DescriptionPalaeontology is a Dangerous Beast Adam White Opens Saturday 27 May - Sunday 25 June | Admission Free An Exploration of All Things Geological through an Artist's Fossil Myopia Adam White interrogates geology through a series of giant experimental watercolours and votive objects that address the vital human concerns of our origins, hidden mythologies of the present day, how and why we think, the mystery of life and death, and the wilful blurring of belief and science. Exhibits include ‘Petrifaction by Numbers’, a giant geological map of the British Isles made from crushed rock pigments; ‘The Vertebrae and the Spineless Wonder’, transparent dinosaur bones turned into votive objects which carry human stories marooned inside them, and ‘The Ichthyosaur’, a 195-million-year-old Jurassic Ichthyosaur found by the artist in Gloucestershire. It is the most complete ichthyosaur currently known in the county.

19:30

 Dave Green's Geology of the Oceans

WhenMon, 12 June, 19:30 – 21:30

WhereWynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester (map)

DescriptionThe Geology of the Oceans past and present (including plate tectonics, environments, and current/developing ideas on oceanography and marine geology). Often termed the last frontier to be explored on Earth, there have been great advances in our understanding of the oceanic realm over the past half century. This course aims to study the main developments and what we might expect in the future, based on current research. Monday 24th April, for 10 weeks, until 10th July (not 1st nor 29th May). Held at Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester from 7.30-9.30pm on Mondays. Cost £70.

Tuesday

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Wednesday

19:00

 Dave Green's Geology and Landscape in Gloucestershire

WhenWed, 14 June, 19:00 – 21:00

WhereSee website, separate leaflet, and/or by contacting Dave Green. (map)

Description Purton, Wellhouse Rock and the old Severn Railway Bridge One branch of the great Malvern fault system, that has moved many times over millions of years, crosses the Severn here, almost opposite Sharpness (note that this is NOT the Purton on the Bristol side!). Here it spectacularly affects beds in the lowest division of the Old Red Sandstone, the Raglan Mudstone; sandstones in which provided the foundations for the Severn Rail Bridge (1879-1960, demolished by 1970 after two barges crashed into it). Meet along the track (the old road to Purton Station), where there is parking on the verge at SO 669 045 N.B. IT IS ESSENTIAL TO BRING WELLINGTONS FOR THIS LOCATION ON THE NOTORIOUS SEVERN MUD!

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Thursday

Teme Valley Geological Society - Evening Geology Course

WhenThursday, 15 Jun 2017

WherePupil referral Unit opposite Maylite Trading Estate on B4197, just south round the corner from the village hall (map)

Description Evening Geology Course Volcanoes in action – their magmas and minerals Dr Paul Olver Contact John 01886 888318 Cost £35

Stroud Museum - see Monday's entry

Friday

Stroud Museum - Ichthyosaur Exhibition

When23 May – 9 Jul 2017

WhereGeology Gallery, Museum in the Park, Stratford Park, Stratford Road, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 4AF. (map)

DescriptionExhibition: The Watery World of the Ichthyosaur Tuesday 23 May - Sunday 9 July | Admission Free A mini exhibition in the Geology Gallery Taking our very own fossil baby Ichthyosaur, freshly cleaned and conserved, as its centrepiece, this temporary display will allow you to explore the underwater environment that this creature lived in. Discover what an Ichthyosaur ate for lunch, as well as the other creatures and plant life that shared its watery world. With artistic representations of how the Ichthyosaur lived around 190 million years ago, plus the fossilised remains of the Ichthyosaur and its contemporaries this exhibition is not to be missed. Supported by the The Curry Fund of the Geologists Association

14:30

 Saltford Festival Geology Walks

WhenFri, 16 June, 14:30 – 16:30

Wherestarting at the War Memorial at the bottom of Beech Road (map)

DescriptionSaltford Festival Geology Walks, Friday 17 June 2.30 p.m. Leader Simon Carpenter Geology Walk with BNS member Simon Carpenter. An opportunity to discover more about our geological heritage by looking at the rocks exposed around the village including those used in our buildings. The local rocks abound in fossils and the leader will be bringing examples from his own collection for participants to see and hold. The ramble will last approximately 2 hours, starting at the War Memorial at the bottom of Beech Road and finishing at the junction of Avon Lane & Mead Lane. There will be a few steps and stiles to negotiate. The extensive network of footpaths in the village will be used for the walk and participants are encouraged to wear stout footwear. £2

Saturday

Stroud Museum - see Friday's entry

10:00

 O.U. Geol Soc South West Branch - Mineral Forage

WhenSat, 17 June, 10:00 – 17:00

Wherethe small car park (free parking) at the road junction for Pensilva (BNG SX280696, postcode PL14 5PJ) (map)

DescriptionLeader: Chris Popham A day of mineral collecting among the waste heaps of Caradon District Mines. Visit Plan. Meet for a 10am start at the small car park (free parking) at the road junction for Pensilva (BNG SX280696, postcode PL14 5PJ). Take the level track to the heart of the Caradon Mine site, around Jope’s Shaft; participants are then free to disperse around the site should they wish, but meeting back at the mine waste heaps nearest the car park to look at any samples collected. Move on to Minions, 10 minutes away, where there is pay and display parking (BNG SX 262713, postcode PL14 5LL) or free (?) parking (BNG SX259710, postcode PL14 5LW). There is a shop, public conveniences and a pub in the village. The Hurlers stone circle is a few minutes’ walk across the moor; the Minions Heritage Centre is sited nearby within Houseman’s Engine House, South Phoenix Mine and Wheal Jenkin is just across the road along the disused embankment of the Liskeard and Caradon Railway. Regroup at the Prince of Wales engine house (BNG SX 266719, postcode PL14 5LH) at 2pm for a walk around the mine buildings then down to the Phoenix United mine tips. These tips are more compact than South Caradon so the group can largely stay together with the branch microscope available. Finish up at about 4pm.

11:30

 Stroud Museum - Talks and Demonstrations

WhenSat, 17 June, 11:30 – 15:30

WhereMuseum in the Park, Stratford Park, Stratford Road, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 4AF. (map)

DescriptionRocks, Minerals and Dinosaurs: A Day of Talks and Demonstrations Saturday 17 June | 11:30am - 3:30pm | £7.50 Join Adam White for a day of discovery: two illuminating talks will uncover the stories of the new Welsh dinosaur and mineral collecting in the Forest of Dean, with a tour of Adam’s exhibition and rock splitting demonstrations in between. Click here for more information.

Sunday

Stroud Museum - see Friday's entry