Next week 4th to 10th September 2017

NEXT WEEKS EVENTS

 4th to 10th September 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.

All Week (except Monday)

10:00

 Bristol City Museum - Pliosaurus!

WhenSun, 13 August, 10:00 – 17:00

WhereBristol Museum & Art Gallery (map)

DescriptionTravel back in time 150 million years and dive into Bristol’s Jurassic seas. We dare you to come face to face with one very special creature – an eight metre long Pliosaurus called Doris. She’s the ultimate predator and you’ll be awestruck as you touch her skin, listen to her heartbeat and smell her disgusting breath! Then travel forward to the present day to find out more about this amazing beast. See her actual fossil – one of the world’s most complete – and play games to discover more about her life and death. All the family can have fun investigating the science that helped us bring her back to life. Ideal for children aged 3-11 years old. Discovered in Westbury, Wiltshire in 1994, our internationally significant specimen is the world’s only example of a new species of pliosaur – Pliosaurus carpenteri – and will be on public display for the first time. Pliosaurs are so big that it took ten years to prepare all the fossils that were found. Bristol Museum & Art Gallery opening times: Tue-Sun: 10am-5pm Closed Mondays except Bank Holiday Mondays and Mondays during Bristol school holidays: 10am-5pm

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

10:00

 Ichthyosaurs at Street

WhenThu, 7 September, 10:00 – 17:00

WhereThe Grange, Farm Road, Street (map)

DescriptionThis September, the Alfred Gillett Trust are hosting a free pop-up exhibition of fossilised ichthyosaurs found in Street as part of the national Heritage Open Days initiative. From 7-10 September, the public can view the fossils and learn about how they were found and what they tell us about the local environment. 19 large ichthyosaur fossils will be on display, as well a selection of smaller fossils found in the local area. Known as ‘sea dragons’, ichthyosaurs were dolphin-like marine reptiles which swam in the warm seas which covered Somerset around 200 million years ago. Street is known internationally for the quality and quantity of the fossils found in the local blue lias rock. The fossils were found in local quarries in the 19th century by Alfred Gillett, a cousin of the founders of Clarks the shoemakers. Clark family members were also interested in the fossils which were being discovered in the area, and this impressive collection gradually developed. First displayed in Glastonbury Town Hall in 1880, the fossils were soon moved into a purpose-built Geological Museum in Crispin Hall in Street, which was opened in 1887. Noted geologists and academics visited the collection to study them, along with tourists and resident in the locality of Street. Such was the importance of the collection and the affection held for the fossils in the area that the newly formed Street Urban District Council chose the ichthyosaur as their symbol in 1894. It is still used today by local societies and associations. The fossils were finally taken off public display in 1978 when they were moved into storage for conservation. Now, for the first time in nearly 40 years, locals and visitors alike will get a chance to come face-to-face with the famed sea dragons. The exhibition will be open to the public from Thursday 7 to Sunday 10 September from 10am to 5pm. Entrance is free, but donations towards the care and future display of the fossils would be gratefully received.

19:15

 Bath Geol Soc Lecture - Mountains in the Sea

WhenThu, 7 September, 19:15 – 20:45

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

DescriptionMountains in the Sea Prof. Tony Watts, Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford University One of the mysteries of the sea are the large number of seamounts that rise up on the seabed and, in a few cases, break surface to form oceanic islands. Volcanic in origin, seamounts are widely scattered throughout the world’s ocean basins, especially in the Pacific. Recent estimates suggest that there maybe as many as 200,000 seamounts with heights that range from 0.1 to 6.7 km above the surrounding seafloor. Seamounts are generally circular in shape, have pointed, star-shaped, curved, or flat tops, and are often capped by a coral reef. They are of geological interest because they record the motions of Earth’s tectonic plates and the magmatic ‘pulse’ of its deep interior. They are also significant as ocean ‘stirring rods’, biodiversity ‘hotspots’, and hazards for megathrust earthquakes, submarine landslides, and navigation. Statistical studies suggest that there are as many as 24,000 seamounts higher than 1 km still to be discovered. The charting of these seamounts and the determination of their morphology, structure, and evolution is one of the many challenges facing marine geologists in the future.

Friday

19:15

 Bath Geol Soc Lecture - Mountains in the Sea

WhenThu, 7 September, 19:15 – 20:45

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

DescriptionMountains in the Sea Prof. Tony Watts, Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford University One of the mysteries of the sea are the large number of seamounts that rise up on the seabed and, in a few cases, break surface to form oceanic islands. Volcanic in origin, seamounts are widely scattered throughout the world’s ocean basins, especially in the Pacific. Recent estimates suggest that there maybe as many as 200,000 seamounts with heights that range from 0.1 to 6.7 km above the surrounding seafloor. Seamounts are generally circular in shape, have pointed, star-shaped, curved, or flat tops, and are often capped by a coral reef. They are of geological interest because they record the motions of Earth’s tectonic plates and the magmatic ‘pulse’ of its deep interior. They are also significant as ocean ‘stirring rods’, biodiversity ‘hotspots’, and hazards for megathrust earthquakes, submarine landslides, and navigation. Statistical studies suggest that there are as many as 24,000 seamounts higher than 1 km still to be discovered. The charting of these seamounts and the determination of their morphology, structure, and evolution is one of the many challenges facing marine geologists in the future.

19:00

 Cheltenham MGS Lecture - Herodsfoot Mine

WhenFri, 8 September, 19:00 – 21:00

WhereShurdington at The Century Hall (map)

Description Roy Starkey Herodsfoot Mine, Richard Talling and bournonite --- a 19th Century Monopoly

Saturday

HOGG Meeting at Lyme Regis

When9 – 10 Sep 2017

WhereLyme Regis Museum, Bridge St, Lyme Regis DT7 3QA, UK (map)

DescriptionFull details at http://historyofgeologygroup.co.uk/the-geologists-of-lyme-regis/ Saturday 9th September will be a day of talks on Lyme and its geologists, with a rare opportunity to hear Professor Hugh Torrens, the expert on Mary Anning, speaking on his 40 years hunting the Mary Annings, as well as talks on Henry De la Beche, William Buckland and William Daniel Conybeare, the Philpot sisters and James Frederick Jackson, a prolific collector of Lias fossils during the first half of the 20th century. There will also be a chance to see the museum’s new geology gallery. On the morning of Sunday 10th September, a town trail led by Hugh Torrens and Tom Sharpe will take us around sites and buildings associated with Lyme’s geologists. For those who wish to stay after lunch, we will head on to the beach to see where Mary and Joseph Anning collected their famous ichthyosaur and take a look at the Lias section of the coastal ledges and the cliffs towards Black Ven which have been the source of so many spectacular specimens over the last two hundred years. The town trail will involve a walk on paved surfaces, walking uphill, and negotiating steps. The afternoon walk will be on the loose sand, gravel and boulders, and potentially slippery bedrock surfaces of the beach. Please wear appropriate footwear. Lyme is best reached by car, but trains run to nearby Axminster which is on the Waterloo to Exeter main line and from where a bus connects with Lyme. Lyme has a wide range of accommodation options from famous old inns, such as the Royal Lion Hotel in the centre of town and the Mariners on Silver Street (at the top of the hill), to many B&Bs and self-catering accommodation. Further details and links on travel, parking, and accommodation as well as lots more information about the town can be found at www.lymeregis.org The number of participants will be limited to 30 (including speakers) which is the capacity of the venue, so book early to avoid disappointment! Bookings, with payment, will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Meeting fee: £35.00. Register online for the meeting here. If you do not wish to pay online, please send a cheque made payable to HOGG to: Tom Sharpe, Clearwell Farm, Michaelston-y-Fedw, Cardiff, CF3 6XT

South Gloucestershire Mines Research Group

When9 – 10 Sep 2017

DescriptionOldwood Pits - Heritage Open Days Contact Roger Gosling 01454 883607

SWGA Field Trip - Caerfai Bay and St Nons, St Davids

WhenSaturday, 9 Sep 2017

WhereMeet at 10:30 am at the Caerfai Bay Car Park (SM 759 243) (map)

DescriptionCaerfai Bay and St Nons, St Davids, Leader: Nigel Clarke

10:00

 Ichthyosaurs at Street

WhenSun, 10 September, 10:00 – 17:00

WhereThe Grange, Farm Road, Street (map)

DescriptionThis September, the Alfred Gillett Trust are hosting a free pop-up exhibition of fossilised ichthyosaurs found in Street as part of the national Heritage Open Days initiative. From 7-10 September, the public can view the fossils and learn about how they were found and what they tell us about the local environment. 19 large ichthyosaur fossils will be on display, as well a selection of smaller fossils found in the local area. Known as ‘sea dragons’, ichthyosaurs were dolphin-like marine reptiles which swam in the warm seas which covered Somerset around 200 million years ago. Street is known internationally for the quality and quantity of the fossils found in the local blue lias rock. The fossils were found in local quarries in the 19th century by Alfred Gillett, a cousin of the founders of Clarks the shoemakers. Clark family members were also interested in the fossils which were being discovered in the area, and this impressive collection gradually developed. First displayed in Glastonbury Town Hall in 1880, the fossils were soon moved into a purpose-built Geological Museum in Crispin Hall in Street, which was opened in 1887. Noted geologists and academics visited the collection to study them, along with tourists and resident in the locality of Street. Such was the importance of the collection and the affection held for the fossils in the area that the newly formed Street Urban District Council chose the ichthyosaur as their symbol in 1894. It is still used today by local societies and associations. The fossils were finally taken off public display in 1978 when they were moved into storage for conservation. Now, for the first time in nearly 40 years, locals and visitors alike will get a chance to come face-to-face with the famed sea dragons. The exhibition will be open to the public from Thursday 7 to Sunday 10 September from 10am to 5pm. Entrance is free, but donations towards the care and future display of the fossils would be gratefully received.

more details»  copy to my calendar

Sunday