The Secret Life of Ice

This image is taken from a short video clip from the 'Secret Like of Ice'
Click here to watch the programme.

Underwater volcano spews exotic lava

Click here to read more.

Oct 29th - Landscape features near the Warminster Fault

Saturday October 29th - Landscape features of the Gault and Upper Greensand in the vicinity of the Warminster Fault led by Isabel Buckingham, Bath Geological Society
This area shows a simple correlation between the geology, landscape and land use, and in some, but not other places, the fault has resulted in clearly marked landforms. In the afternoon we’ll drive to the Cley Hill area, then Corsley.
Meet at the Horse and Groom Pub, East Woodlands at 10.00 a.m. ST792442. This is best approached from the Frome ring road. This pub serves excellent food, real ale and cider. Parking is limited so car sharing will be appreciated. Boots are advisable. We’ll be on paths at all times. It may be wet underfoot in places. The walking in the morning will be on permissive paths in the Longleat Estate.
Everyone is welcome - free for members of Bath GS, WGG, WEGA, Bristol NATs -  £2 for visitors

El Hierro Eruption

The eruption off the southern coast of El Hierro in the Canary Islands looks to be subsiding and from the sound of it, the focus of the activity is slowly migrating into shallower water. However, so far all the activity has remained submarine, producing an impressive discoloration of the ocean as tephra and volcanic gases are released from the vents.
Read more.

Archaeopteryx

Archaeopteryx is one of the world's most iconic prehistoric animals - a dinosaur caught in the midst of evolving into a bird, some 155 million years ago. Click here to read more.

Evolution of Jaws - 26th October

Wednesday 26 October 7:30 - What can engineering and physics tell us about the evolution of Jaws? - Dr. Emily Rayfield, Bristol University organised by the Geology section of Bristol NATs.
Dr. Rayfield is Senior Lecturer in palaeobiology.  Her research focuses on how skeletal mechanics influences morphological evolution and the relationship between form and function in hard tissues - primarily, but not exclusively, the vertebrate skull.
She is interested in how Finite Element Analysis can inform on functional behaviour in individual taxa and elucidate functional ecology and morphological changes across evolutionary transitions such as the origin of birds and mammals.
The talk takes place in S H Reynolds lecture theatre, Wills Memorial Building, University of Bristol.

Wieliczka Salt Mine, Poland

Do you know about this amazing mine?

Fossil Hunting Walks from Lyme Regis Museum

Sunday 23rd October - Lyme Regis Museum, 2.30 p.m. - a talk by the museum's geologist Paddy Howe and marine biologist Chris Andrew with recently discovered fossils on display. Ask questions, handle fossils and bring your finds along for identification.

Find your own 190-million-year-old fossil on the beach with museum geologist Paddy Howe and marine biologist Chris Andrew.
Walks take around 3 hours:-
Thursday 13 October 11:15
Friday 14 October 11:45
Saturday 15 October 12:15
Sunday 16 October 12:30
Monday 17 October 13:00
Tuesday 25 October 09:00
Thursday 27 October 10:45
Friday 28 October 2011 11:30
Saturday 29 October 12:15
Sunday 30 October 12:00
Monday 31 October 12:30
Tuesday 1 November 13:15
Thursday 10 November 09:15
Friday 11 November 09:45
Saturday 12 November 10:15
Sunday 13 November 10:45
Monday 14 November 11:15
Tuesday 15 November 12:00
Friday 25 November 09:15
Saturday 26 November 10:15
Sunday 27 November 11:00
Monday 28 November 11:45
Tuesday 29 November 12:30
Friday 9 December 09:00
Saturday 10 December 09:15
Sunday 11 December 10:00
Monday 12 December 10:30
Tuesday 13 December 11:15
Thursday 15 December 12:30
Friday 16 December 13:15
Tuesday 27 December 11:30
Wednesday 28 December 12:00

Book recommendation - 'Written in Stone'

A reader has recommended 'Written in Stone; the hidden secrets of fossils and the story of life on Earth' by Brian Switek 
This book gives the first popular account of the remarkable discovery of these fossils and how they have changed our perspective of the tree of life. Only now, with the marriage of palaeontology with genetics and embryology, can such a comprehensive story be given. One hundred and fifty years after the publication of Darwin’s 'Origin', scientists are finally beginning to understand how whales walked into the sea, how horses stood up on their tip-toes, how feathered dinosaurs took to the air and how our own ancestors came down from the trees. As this book shows, there is much still to discover and debates will continue, but this is truly a golden age for those looking to reconstruct the past.

Landslide in Cornwall

Geologist, Richard Hocking. filmed this massive cliff fall in Cornwall - click here to view video and read more. Thousands of tonnes of rock fell into the sea at North Cliffs near Hayle two weeks ago - just days after part of the coastal footpath was diverted.

Killerton House, Devon

One of our local geologists has sent the following:- " . . . . at Killerton House, Devon, where the building blocks are of fine black basalt, and the browner or purplish vesicular varieties are built into the gateway of the entrance yard. These are known as minette. They came from a localised outcrop on the estate, and have been dated as 290 MA - the Carboniferous-Permian boundary. What was new to me is a booklet on the local geology, available from the NT bookshop there:-  'Killerton - The Rocks Beneath. A Short Guide to the Geology' by Dr Richard Edwards, the Cullompton Press 2004 £1.99. The 15 good illustrations are in colour and show rock-types and buildings, as well as a sketch map and section."

Oxfordshire's Contribution to Geology - October 20th

Please don't forget our chairman's talk on "Oxfordshire's Contribution to Geology" taking place on 20th October at the Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road at 7:30pm. 
The Oxford Geology Group has kindly invited our members to attend for a small charge of £2 per person. Not only will this lecture be fascinating, but this is also a rare chance to visit this impressive Department building opened in September 2010, with its dynamic narrative wall along the east side illustrating the Jurassic rock strata found in Oxfordshire.

East Knoyle: geology, landscapes and building stones walk

Saturday 15th October 2.00pm (finishing 4.30 - 5.00pm)
Isobel Geddes will lead a 2-3 mile walk around East Knoyle for the Cranborne Chase & North Wessex Downs AONB & Wiltshire Geology Group looking at Greensand and Chalk geology and how it affects the landscape and local buildings.
Meet at Windmill Hill on the road by the viewpoint west of the old windmill GR ST 872 311 (lay-by near the viewpoint)
Cost: £1.50 for Wiltshire Geology Group members (and for associated groups), £3 for non-members, payable on arrival.
Terrain: hilly, but on public footpaths - wear suitable walking shoes (maybe wet/muddy) - waterproofs required. Dogs welcome (on a lead)
Length of walk: 2-3 miles taking approximately 2.5 - 3 hours
Booking essential: Tel. 01380 871008 or email.

October 6th - isotopes reveal origin of people and their food

'Feeding Stonehenge: what isotopes can reveal about the origin of people and their food' - talk by Professor Jane Evans, Head of Science-based Archaeology, NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory
Thursday October 6th.
The strontium and oxygen isotope analysis of tooth enamel provides information on the origin of individuals and their livestock. This talk will describe the application of isotopes to burials in the Stonehenge area and look at the way in which we can assess sources of food for eating/feasting at Stonehenge.
Jane Evans is an isotope geologist by training and specialized in rocks that had been altered during low-temperature burial events.
7.30 at BRLSI, 16 Queen Square, Bath
Everyone is welcome: visitors £4 - - students £2.
Free refreshments at the end of the talk