Friday 30 March 2018

2nd to 15th April 2018

NEXT WEEKS EVENTS
2nd to 15th April 2018

The following is an extract from Bristol and West Country Geology Calendars

More details can be found in the Bristol and the West Country Calendars and on the web sites of the relevant Society or organisation.

  
Monday 2nd


Tuesday 3rd


Wednesday 4th


Thursday 5th

Bath Geol Soc - Lecture
When
Thu, 5 April, 19:30 – 21:00
Where
Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution, 16 Queen Square, Bath (map)
Description
"Why Giraffes have such short necks"

Dr. Michael Taylor, University of Bristol

The necks of sauropod dinosaurs were by far the longest of any animals, exceeding 15m.  Four clades with very different cervical morphologies (mamenchisaurids, diplodocids, brachiosaurids, and titanosaurians) evolved ten-meter necks.  By contrast, the neck of the giraffe, the longest of any extant animal, reaches only 2.4m.  Those of theropods and pterosaurs attained at most 3m (Even among aquatic animals, the record is only 7m for elasmosaurs).

Four factors contributed to sauropod neck length: the sheer size of the animals, their distinctive vertebral architecture, air-sacs, and heads that merely gathered food without processing it.  Cervical vertebral innovations included: extreme pneumatisation, which lightened the neck and increased bending resistance; elongate cervical ribs, which allowed hypaxial muscles to shift posteriorly; and, in several clades, bifid neural spines, which aided stability by shifting epaxial tension elements laterally.  Bifid cervical neural spines evolved at least four times among sauropods and were never secondarily lost; they are otherwise found only in Rhea.

However, other aspects of sauropod cervical anatomy remain puzzling: low neural spines reduced the moment arm of epaxial tension members; ventrally displaced cervical ribs increased bulk; and epipophyses were not posteriorly elongated.  These apparent flaws suggest our understanding of sauropod neck mechanics remains incomplete.

Friday 6th


Saturday 7th

South Glos. Mines Research Group - Walk
When
Sat, 7 April, 10:30 – 12:30
Where
10:30 at the entrance to Troopers Hill Field at the eastern end of Malvern Road, St George, BS5 8JA. Also parking on Diamond Road which leads to Malvern Road. (map)
Description
TROOPER’S HILL guided walk


Saturday 7th April 2018 at 10:30am

A guided walk led by local expert Rob Acton-Campbell. Meet by 10:30am at the entrance to Troopers Hill Field at the eastern end of Malvern Road, St George, BS5 8JA. Also parking on Diamond Road which leads to Malvern Road.

The walk will be around 2hrs and will include an exploration of Troopers Hill and adjacent River Avon Valley. May also be time to visit Handel Cossham's grave in Avon View Cemetery. There are many steps and some quite steep sections, so suitable footwear needed, top of the hill is also quite exposed.


Non members welcome - £2 each for the walk
(Membership is £17.50 per year, includes talks, newsletters)

------------------------------------------------------

Bristol Nats @ Writhlington
When
Sat, 7 April, 12:00 – 16:00
Where
Meet up in the car park opposite Radstock Museum ST 690 550 (map)
Description

LOWER WRITHLINGTON COLLIERY TIP, RADSTOCK, 12.00 noon, Saturday 7 April 2018: Leader Simon Carpenter.

Lower Writhlington Colliery Tip is one of the premier sites in the country for Coal Measures plant fossils. Radstock Museum recently arranged for the tip to be turned over to expose fresh material. This was financed by grants from BNS, a local regeneration fund and Wessex Water. In addition to plant fossils there is also a chance of finding the remains of insects. Meet up in the car park opposite Radstock Museum ST 690 550. There will be an approximately 1.5 km walk along roads and the Colliers Way to the site. We will return to Radstock Museum (small entry charge) and attempt to identify the fossils found. There is a display of local fossils at the Museum. 

It is intended to invite interested members of the public at the Bristol Rocks event to join BNS for this Field Meeting. Please let the Section Secretary know if you wish to attend.


Sunday 8th


Monday 9th


Tuesday 10th


Wednesday 11th


Thursday 12th


Friday 13th 


Saturday 14th

Bath Geol Soc field trip (with Bristol Nats.)
When
Sat, 14 April, 10:30 – 16:00
Where
Watchet TA23, UK (map)
Description
Watchet

Professor Maurice Tucker, University of Bristol and Bath Geological Society

The north Somerset coast has brilliant exposures of the upper Triassic and lower Jurassic strata and these will be examined in the region of Watchet. Fossils are particularly abundant in the mudstones and thin limestones of the Lower Lias. We should find ammonites, bivalves, brachiopods, crinoids and belmnites, along with reptiles if we are lucky.


Meet at 10.30 am. Location to be determined. Transport by private car; lifts to be arranged (further details will be posted here at a later date).

Sunday 15th

OU Geol Soc Wessex - Excursion
When
15 – 20 Apr 2018
Where
Derwent Independent Lodge, The Lake District (map)
Description
Geology of the Lake District 

Leaders: Professor Chris Wilson & John Rodgers 

Venue: Derwent Independent Lodge 

Location: The Lake Distirct 

Date: April 15th–20th, 2018 

Summary: Accommodation based in the scenic Borrowdale valley. 

More info: The itinerary will consist of five full field study days from Monday to Friday and focus on Keswick, Shap and the Southern Vale of the Eden areas. The Lower Palaeozoic and glacial history of the Keswick area including the Borrowdale Volcanics the Shap granite and turbidite sequences and finally the Carboniferous/Permo-Triassic Succession in the Vale of Eden.  

--------------------------------------------

Nick Chidlaw - Geological Maps
When
15 – 16 Apr 2018
Where
The Chantry, Thornbury, in South Gloucestershire. (map)
Description
Determining Geological Structure and History from Published Geological Maps
 
A weekend mid April: 15th and 16th
 
10.00 am – 5.00 pm each day. 
 
Those studying geology, either formally or informally, sooner or later will likely come across published geological maps and these, although often visually impressive with their variety of colours and complexity of drawn lines, can be daunting to interpret. The course is suitable for those with a basic overall knowledge of geology, as well as those with more experience. Attendance on the course should provide those present with confidence in successfully interpreting parts of many geological maps in the future, and so broaden their understanding of this key form of geological data communication. 
 
This course, arranged to run on the weekend of 3rd and 4th March, was postponed due to poor weather and travel conditions. Anyone who may have wished to attend the course on those dates but could not be available, may now be so for the rescheduled dates. 
 
Tuition fee is  £45.00 per person
 
Enrolments can be made and further details requested by contacting tutor Nick Chidlaw nickchidlaw@gmail.com 

Deadline for new enrolments: Saturday 7th April 




Africa splitting

A Crack in the Rift

The appearance of a crack in the East African Rift Valley has been widely reported. THIS ARTICLE gives a good review of its wider implications. There is nothing earth shattering (sorry - couldn't resist!) in the piece but gives you a good grounding (sorry again) on what is going on.


Wednesday 28 March 2018

Troopers Hill guided walk

South Gloucestershire Mines Research Group Walk

The poster tells you all you need to know!


Monday 26 March 2018

Moving mountain

Etna Sliding Seawards!

The BBC reports that Mount Etna is sliding ESE at 14mm per year. Using high precision GPS stations an Open University geologist now has 11 years of data and says the slide is unmistakeable. The movement is possible because the volcano is sitting on slightly sloping platform of weak sediments.

This movement makes the measurement of the volcanoes expansion and contraction more difficult. 


Saturday 24 March 2018

26th March to 1st April 2018

NEXT WEEKS EVENTS
26th March to 1st April 2018

The following is an extract from Bristol and West Country Geology Calendars

More details can be found in the Bristol and the West Country Calendars and on the web sites of the relevant Society or organisation.

  
Monday 26th



Dave Green - The Geology of Norway (and Scandinavia)

When
Mon, 26 February, 19:30 – 21:30
Where
Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester (map)
Description
Scandinavia forms a large part of the ancient continent of Baltica. Although once extensively covered by Phanerozoic rocks, these have been largely eroded apart from those preserved in downfaulted graben (as in the North Sea and Oslo) and upththrust nappes, pushed onto Baltica during the violent collision with Laurentia in the Caledonian Orogeny at the end of the Silurian. Otherwise, Scandinavia is composed of PreCambrian rocks (mainly igneous and metamorphic) accreted to Baltica during its formation, from 3500 to 900 million years ago. The course aims to introduce you to this long and fascinating history. Monday 8th for 10 weeks (not 12h or 19th Feb) until 26th March. Held at Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester from 7.30-9.30pm on Mondays . Cost £70
Contact Dave Green, Joys Green Farm, Forge Hill, Lydbrook, Glos GL17 9QU Tel 01594 860858
davegeostudies@gmail.com

-----------------------------------
Teme Valley Geol Soc - Lecture
When
Mon, 26 March, 19:30 – 21:00
Where
Martley Memorial Hall B4197 by Sports Ground (map)
Description
Chris Darmon, topic TBC


Contact Janet 07968379330Cost £3/£1


Tuesday 27th



Wednesday 28th




Thursday 29th




Friday 30th




Saturday 31st




Sunday 1st





Friday 23 March 2018

Earth Heritage 49

Earth Heritage 49

The latest edition of Earth Heritage is available for download HERE. If you want a printed copy see HERE. (That site is still selling Earth Heritage 48, so you may need to wait until they update!)

Or you can look at it below!


The doctor can see you now.

Dinosaur Diagnosed 200 Million Years Too Late

This article describes the use of digital imaging on the ribs of a herbivorous dinosaur, Lufengosaurus huenei, found in Yunnan, China. 

The authors discovered that the beastie suffered and died from osteomyelitis - a bacterial infection of the bone marrow. And, taking into account the damage to the bone and the bones position, they reckon the damage was caused by a bite. What did the biting is not known. We can take it that we now have proof of the (unsurprising) fact that meat eating dinosaurs ate herbivorous ones.

Micro-computed tomography used to produce surface renderings of the rib in 3D (top) and 2D X-ray slices through the rib (bottom).

Tuesday 20 March 2018

Forthcoming Event in Bath

Meeting on the Geology of South West Britain

The following email has come my way:-

=============================

Subject: Collectors, Collections and the Geology of SW Britian -- Call for Papers

 
Dear All, 

I am attaching a Call for Papers for a conference on Collectors, Collections and the geology of South West Britain.  The conference, which is a joint meeting of the History of Geology Group (HoGG) and the Geological Curators' Group (GCG) will be hosted by the Bath Royal Literary and Scientific Institution (BRLSI) in Bath, and will take place on 18 and 19 September. 

The Call for Papers gives details of the type of contributions we are looking for, and the contact details and deadline for receiving abstracts.                                 

As you'll see, we hope to attract contributions on a broad range of topics related to the geology of SW Britain. We would love to hear from people who have never thought of presenting their research before, as well as from academic researchers and other experienced conference speakers. 

If you could circulate this to anyone else you think might be interested we would be very grateful.  

Many thanks for your help with this.  

It should be a very interesting conference in wonderful venue with field trips in a lovely part of the world.  We look forward to hearing from you and to seeing  you in Bath in September!

Nina 

Nina Morgan, Science writer and editor, tel: 01608-676530

Mailing address: Rose Cottage East End, Chadlington, Chipping Norton Oxon OX7 3LX

nina.morgan@cooptel.net

===========================

Saturday 17 March 2018

19th to 25th March 2018

NEXT WEEKS EVENTS
19th to 25th March 2018

The following is an extract from Bristol and West Country Geology Calendars

More details can be found in the Bristol and the West Country Calendars and on the web sites of the relevant Society or organisation.

  
Monday 19th



Dave Green - The Geology of Norway (and Scandinavia)

When
Mon, 26 February, 19:30 – 21:30
Where
Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester (map)
Description
Scandinavia forms a large part of the ancient continent of Baltica. Although once extensively covered by Phanerozoic rocks, these have been largely eroded apart from those preserved in downfaulted graben (as in the North Sea and Oslo) and upththrust nappes, pushed onto Baltica during the violent collision with Laurentia in the Caledonian Orogeny at the end of the Silurian. Otherwise, Scandinavia is composed of PreCambrian rocks (mainly igneous and metamorphic) accreted to Baltica during its formation, from 3500 to 900 million years ago. The course aims to introduce you to this long and fascinating history. Monday 8th for 10 weeks (not 12h or 19th Feb) until 26th March. Held at Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester from 7.30-9.30pm on Mondays . Cost £70
Contact Dave Green, Joys Green Farm, Forge Hill, Lydbrook, Glos GL17 9QU Tel 01594 860858
davegeostudies@gmail.com


Tuesday 20th

Geol Soc Western - Lecture
When
Tue, 20 March, 18:00 – 20:00
Where
The Hub, Aztec West (map)
Description
Adrian Wilkinson, Quarry Design

Geological Mapping and Analysis of Point-cloud Surveys (aka Game of Drones)

"18:00 to 18:30 - networking and refreshments
18:30 to 19:30 - Lecture
19:30 - Questions"



Wednesday 21st




Thursday 22nd

Dave Green - Mountain Building
When
Thu, 22 March, 19:30 – 21:30
Where
The Chantry, Thornbury (map)
Description
This 10 week course aims to introduce you to the geological processes that produce mountains, mainly by the study of different examples, both past (e.g. the Caledonian and Variscan belts) and present (e.g. the Alps and Andes). This includes the classic collisional orogenies, such as the Himalayas, Urals and Pyrenees; the accretionary orogenies, such as Taiwan, the Southern Uplands and the Andes; but also mountain ranges produced by very different tectonic forces, such as the East African Highlands, the Cantabrian Range and the Scottish Highlands. Held at The Chantry, Thornbury. First meeting 7.30 – 9.30, Thurs 11th January until March 22nd (not Thurs 15th Feb) in the ?TBA Room.Cost £75
February 2018

Contact Dave Green, Joys Green Farm, Forge Hill, Lydbrook, Glos GL17 9QU Tel 01594 860858
davegeostudies@gmail.com


Friday 23rd




Saturday 24th

Teme Valley Geol Soc - Field Meeting
When
Sat, 24 March, 10:00 – 14:30
Where
Croft Castle Car Park (map)
Description
Five Hills Walks, No. 2 Croft Ambrey, Saturday March 24th 2018

This from Robert Williams, Croft Castle Geology Champions:
Our project with a group starts in the Croft Castle Car Park/Reception area at 10.00 a.m.(check in)/10.30 a.m. (departure), then follows a route to Croft Ambrey via the distinctive Fishpool Valley.  The valley has the two quarries, with which we as Champions have specific links, and these provide a helpful (and we trust interesting) prelude to the view from Croft Ambrey, an iron-age hill fort, which would be the object of this particular exercise.  Weather permitting, we usually have a picnic lunch on Croft Ambrey, which also allows for some talk/questions about the geological/geomorphological view +  local links with the history of geology in the 19th. century.  We then return by a different route with fine views out to the Black Mountains in the west – aiming to be back at the Croft Castle Tearoom at 2.30 p.m..  This then allows for refreshments in the tea-room plus a display, which we can put up relating to the narrative of the day.
As to booking arrangements, since this is a National Trust property, there are entrance charges/arrangements at the Car Park (N.T. members and non-members with separate arrangements).  Please can you, i.e. the TVGS, make your own arrangements for entry with Croft Castle.  We as Croft Champions can then meet and welcome your group on the other side of the entrance office, after everyone has been through.  The Croft Castle telephone number is 01568 780246.

Contact John 01886 888318  
-------------------------------------------------

South Wales GA - AGM
When
Sat, 24 March, 10:30 – 12:30
Where
Swansea, UK (map)
Description
AGM and Presidential Address: Extending aPembrokeshire based Litho-stratigraphy for the Lower Devonian across thewhole Anglo-Welsh Province: Dr. John Davies


Lectures at University of Wales Swansea are held in the department of Geography in the Wallace building. We meet on the landing area inside the main entrance to the building for refreshments with lectures in the main lecture theatre.  

Sunday 25th

Bristol Rocks! at Bristol Museum
When
Sunday, 25 Mar 2018
Where
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, Queens Rd, Bristol BS8 1RL, UK (map)
Description
The Museum will be welcoming stalls from the University of Bristol, running tours to the geology stores, fossil handling tables run by the University of Bristol’s Dinosaur Society and running craft activities amongst other things. 
 
This family focused day of celebrating geology is now in its 5th year and seems to be ever popular! The day is focused on encouraging people to engage with geology through the collections cared for at the museum, meeting local experts and through local specialist groups such as the BNS.
 
The BNS Geology Section will be running a stall at this event. It will feature among things Coal Measures plant fossils from the Lower Writhlington Colliery tip at Radstock, which is one of the premier sites for these fossils in the country. Radstock Museum recently arranged for the tip to be turned over to expose fresh material. This was financed by grants from BNS, a local regeneration fund and Wessex Water. It is intended to encourage people to attend a fossil hunt at the Tip in April.



Friday 16 March 2018

Nebraskan mystery solved

Beavering the Facts from the Devil's Corkscrew

I came across THIS and found it fascinating. One of the few interesting things in Nebraska? 


Best watch the video at the largest size you can get - i.e. the link above

Nick Chidlaw course rescheduled

Determining Geological Structure and History from Published Geological Maps

The planned running of this course had to be cancelled because of the bad weather at the start of this month. It will now be run in mid April. I presume it will still be at The Chantry, Thornbury.

Nick writes:-

------------------------------


April – Indoor course on interpretation of published geological maps
2 day course:
Determining Geological Structure and History from Published Geological Maps
A weekend mid April: 15th and 16th
10.00 am – 5.00 pm each day. 
Those studying geology, either formally or informally, sooner or later will likely come across published geological maps and these, although often visually impressive with their variety of colours and complexity of drawn lines, can be daunting to interpret. The course is suitable for those with a basic overall knowledge of geology, as well as those with more experience. Attendance on the course should provide those present with confidence in successfully interpreting parts of many geological maps in the future, and so broaden their understanding of this key form of geological data communication. 
This course, arranged to run on the weekend of 3rd and 4th March, was postponed due to poor weather and travel conditions. Anyone who may have wished to attend the course on those dates but could not be available, may now be so for the rescheduled dates. 
Tuition fee is  £45.00 per person
Enrolments can be made and further details requested by contacting tutor Nick Chidlaw nickchidlaw@gmail.com 
Deadline for new enrolments: Saturday 7th April 

Thursday 15 March 2018

Geologic processes at work

Landslide in Peru

A favourite web site reports on a large landslide in Peru. The best information is contained in the following video shot from a drone:- 



You can see it at full size HERE. The drone seems a lot safer than the photographer seen near the start of the video!. A pity about the music

Friday 9 March 2018

Down to Earth Extra March 2018

DOWN TO EARTH EXTRA March 2018

You can download it HERE



12th to 17th March 2018

NEXT WEEKS EVENTS
12th to 17th March 2018

The following is an extract from Bristol and West Country Geology Calendars

More details can be found in the Bristol and the West Country Calendars and on the web sites of the relevant Society or organisation.

  
Monday 12th



Dave Green - The Geology of Norway (and Scandinavia)

When
Mon, 26 February, 19:30 – 21:30
Where
Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester (map)
Description
Scandinavia forms a large part of the ancient continent of Baltica. Although once extensively covered by Phanerozoic rocks, these have been largely eroded apart from those preserved in downfaulted graben (as in the North Sea and Oslo) and upththrust nappes, pushed onto Baltica during the violent collision with Laurentia in the Caledonian Orogeny at the end of the Silurian. Otherwise, Scandinavia is composed of PreCambrian rocks (mainly igneous and metamorphic) accreted to Baltica during its formation, from 3500 to 900 million years ago. The course aims to introduce you to this long and fascinating history. Monday 8th for 10 weeks (not 12h or 19th Feb) until 26th March. Held at Wynstones School, Stroud Road, Whaddon, Gloucester from 7.30-9.30pm on Mondays . Cost £70
Contact Dave Green, Joys Green Farm, Forge Hill, Lydbrook, Glos GL17 9QU Tel 01594 860858
davegeostudies@gmail.com


Tuesday 13th

WEGA Lecture - Geology of Bhutan
When
Tue, 13 March, 19:30 – 21:00
Where
Earth Sciences Lecture Theatre, Wills Memorial Building, University of Bristol. (map)
Description
Dr Daniel Clark-Lowes (Nubian Consulting) "The geology of the Kingdom of Bhutan" 


Wednesday 14th

Down to Earth Course
When
Wed, 14 March, 10:30 – 16:30
Where
The Crown Centre, 39 St.John's St, Devizes SN10 1BL Tel: 01380 724108 (map)
Description
Reading & understanding rocks and landscapes
Wednesday, March 14 at the Crown Centre Devizes 

KEY INFORMATION
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, March 14
Soft start at 10.30, ending at 4.30
LOCATION: The Crown Centre, 39 St.John's St, Devizes
SN10 1BL Tel: 01380 724108
COST: £30.00 per person including drinks & lunch
£25.00 for Club Class members and groups of
six or more - early booking advised
LEVEL: This day school is suitable for anyone
wanting to learn more about rocks &
landscapes
DELIVERY: The day school will be delivered by the use of
both presentations and a hands-on practical
session with time for Q & A
ACCESS: Upstairs meeting room, lift available
PARKING: Available nearby (at a charge)
BRING: Paper, pen and pencil
TUTORS: Chris Darmon & Colin Schofield 

Outline programme
10.30 - 11.00 Welcome & tea/coffee
11.00 - 12.30 Practical hands-on session using pictures and rock
specimens with opportunity to discuss with your fellow
learners
Buffet lunch
1.30 - 2.30 Discussion and answers to the practical session
2.30 - 3.30 Contrasting landscapes: limestones and deserts, ancient
and modern - talk
3.30 - 4.30 Recognising glacial landscapes in NW Scotland - talk
Any question?
NB After we have confirmed your booking and sent you this, you will not receive
anything further from us, unless any of the details change or we have
to cancel - just turn up!
If you have any questions or queries - contact Chris Darmon as follows:-
Email: downtoearth@geosupplies.co.uk • Tel: 0114 245 5746 • FAX: 0114 240 3405


Thursday 15th

Thornbury Geology Group, 7.30pm, The Chantry, Thornbury
When
Thu, 15 March, 19:00 – 21:30
Description
Thornbury Geology Group, 7.30pm at The Chantry, Thornbury, and every 3rd Thursday in the month.  


Friday 16th




Saturday 17th




Sunday 18th

OUGS Severnside - Field Meeting
When
Sunday, 18 Mar 2018
Where
Portishead, North Somerset (map)
Description
An Introduction to the Geology of Portishead 

Leader: Mark Howson FGS 

Location: Portishead, North Somerset 

Date: March 18th 2018 (Sunday) 

Type: Day Trip 

Summary: This is our annual Introductory Day, and will be particularly suitable for those with little or no previous experience of geological field trips.


 Click here for contact info and additional details.