Dave Green's Geology and Landscape Walks 

Dave Green has just sent out his programme of summer walks. Read all about it below.

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

Geology and Landscape

 

of Gloucestershire and surroundings

 

A weekly field-based introductory course.

 

No previous knowledge of geology is assumed

 

Tuesday evenings

6^th June to 11^th July 2023

 

Gloucestershire is one of the most geologically diverse counties in Britain.

 

The aim of this field-based course is to take you towards an 

understanding of local scenery.  We will look at the components

- the highly diverse  rocks and their structure; and processes

- weathering, slope forming and erosion - which have combined to

produce this equally varied landscape - the materials from

which the scenery has been sculpted and the processes that have acted

upon them since the area emerged from the sea 65 million years ago

(about the same time that the dinosaurs became extinct)

 

No special equipment is necessary, apart from stout footwear and

possibly waterproofs - although we will hopefully have six balmy

summer evenings! Meetings are held on Tuesdays each week,

 meeting at 7.00 pm and finishing at 9.00 pm or later

 (whenever the party feels in need of refreshment !!) at the

 following meeting points (see below)

 

 

Cost: £50 for 6 week course

or £10 per session

 

For further details see over or telephone

Dave Green on 01594 860858

Email Davegeostudies@gmail.com

 

Geology and Landscape 2023

6^th June Tresham  

South of Wotton under Edge, this small village lies at the head of one of the valleys cut into the Cotswold escarpment, on limestones lying above the Fullers Earth Clay; infamous for its tendency to produce landslides and mudflows. The limestones include the Tresham Rock, Athelston Oolite and the biggest area; Forest Marble, which caps the escarpment at this point, above Hens Cliff.The steep-sided, deeply incised valleys cutting into the scarp  contrast with the gentle sided dry valleys cut into the Cotswold dip slope during the Ice age. We will examine the form of these valleys as well as a superb section from the Fullers Earth down, and the contrast between the scarp and dip slopes.

 Meet at the minor roadside, east of the church (ST 794912), parking tidily (at 90^o to road, if possible should there be a lot of cars) on the verge where there is hard standing.

 

13^th June Plump Hill

Known for spectacular views across the Severn Vale, Plump Hill lies on the steeply inclined eastern limb of the Forest of Dean coalfield. Because of the steepness of the dip of the rocks (Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous), all the Forest rocks are exposed within a short distance of one another. The steep slope out of Mitcheldean on the A4136 is due to the resistance of the rock forming the outer rampart of the Forest – the Quartz Conglomerate, outcrops and huge detached blocks of which can be seen on the way up. Many of the varied rocks are exposed here, thanks to extensive exploitation in the past for various purposes. We aim to examine the rocks, the past activity and the views, by means of a circular walk, avoiding the road as far as possible.

Meet at the car park off the north side of the A4136 beyond the last cottages [coming from Mitcheldean](SO 659 170).

 

20^th  June Selsley Common and Bown Hill

The Cotswold escarpment, capped by the Inferior Oolite limestone is well displayed here, in its normally wooded cloak and as bare common. Above the common and the deep Woodchester Park valley lies the Fullers Earth outlier of Bown Hill, illustrating well the stepped, layered nature of much of the scarp scenery.  There are fantastic views across the Severn Vale, across the Frome valley to Stonehouse and Doverow Hill and across the Nailsworth and woodchester valleys. We will take a short circular walk to illustrate the relationship between the various rock types and the landscape they produce.

Meet at the small car park by a dew pond at the southern end of Selsley Common, near the cattle grid. (SO 825 024)

 

 

27^th June Newent Coalfield, Oxenhall

We will examine the remnants of part of the tiny Newent coalfield, once incorrectly heralded by Roderick Murchison as having enormous potential wealth extending beneath the Severn Vale, and also the effects on scenery of the local version of the Malvern Fault and the Triassic rocks in the area to the north of Newent – the home of Dick Whittington! Two or three sites will be visited, by car. Walking will be minimal, car sharing is to be encouraged, with narrow lanes and limited parking.

Meet at a very small (park tidily at 90^o to road!) lay-by/field entrance with old sleepers as a fence on the minor road from Oxenhall to Gorsley ,  100 metres SW of White House SO696268

 

4^th July Wickwar

Wickwar is built on the horseshoe-shaped ridge of Carboniferous Limestone that fringes the North Bristol (Coalpit Heath) coal basin, a syncline formed by the Variscan continental collision 300Ma ago at the end of the Carboniferous. Apart from a different climate (hot desert), and absence of the Cotswolds, the landscape would have looked remarkably similar 200 million years ago at the close of the Triassic period. Limestones form the most resistant rocks, standing above the weaker Coal Measures to the west and Old Red Sandstone with older rocks to the east. The whole landscape was subsequently buried beneath at least a kilometre of Mesozoic rocks, which are now being stripped off by modern erosion – a process known as “exhumation” of the ancient landscape. We will attempt to illustrate the rocks and scenery by means of a circular walk of approximately 4.3km.

Meet in the car park of the Fox and Maple (formerly the Buthay), Wickwar (ST 725 886)

 

11^th July West Malvern to Stiffords Bridge

The Malverns represent a window into what lies deep below the rest of England and Wales – its Pre-Cambrian basement, which is normally hidden beneath great thicknesses of younger rocks. These ancient igneous and metamorphic rocks were brought up from the depths during the violent collision of continents that produced the Variscan mountains 300 million years ago. They were pushed westward and upwards during the collision, rucking the overlying Cambrian, Silurian and Devonian rocks to the west up into a series of folds, repeating their outcrops and therefore the ridges and valleys produced by modern erosion. We will aim to illustrate these features by a linear walk of approximately 4.5km

Meet at the car park of the Red Lion, Stiffords Bridge on  A4103 (Worcester-Hereford road) (SO 766 382)

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

 Kimberlites Come From Great Depths - Computers Confirm.

THIS ARTICLE reports on computer studies of the Earth's mantle. These show, using methods which I cannot pretend to understand, that giant pillars of heat, rising from just above the planet's core, provide the energy and some of the contents - including diamonds! - for kimberlites.

The researcher's work can explain many, but not all, of the earths kimberlites and predicts where more may be found.

The mechanics are complex and difficult to visualize - see the short video below.

The diagram below makes it easier to understand but, no doubt, misses many of the complexities.

Down to Earth Extra May 2023 

The May 2023 edition of Down to Earth Extra has been published. You can download it HERE or you can read it below.

We 💗 Meanders

A correspondent brought THIS ARTICLE to my attention. There was something about this on the BBC news as well. 

It concerns something which got me interested in the natural world when I was a young teenager and led to me becoming a geologist - meanders! There were other things as well of course - the polarising microscope in particular, but meanders and ox-bow lakes have a place in my heart.

It seems meandering streams and rivers are better for wildlife and water companies than fast, straight streams. This has been demonstrated in Swindale in the Lake District. The article tells you all about it so I will not repeat what it says - read it!

Surfing Boulder 

A very cool video! Watch it in full size HERE. Expand the video to full size and watch the top left.

Or you can get the tiny version below.

And an expert discusses it HERE.

 Field Geology in Mid Wales: volcanoes, tropical reefs and copper ores 

Nick Chidlaw has asked me to publicise this course.

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

Lifelong Learning 4 day course:

Field Geology in Mid Wales: volcanoes, tropical reefs and copper ores 

Two consecutive weekends in June:  17th / 18th  and   24 / 25th  

10.00 am - 5.00 pm each day. 

The hill country near Kingston and Builth Wells contain some of Britain's oldest rocks, from late Precambrian to Silurian ages. We visit nationally-renowned locations, including active quarries where the geology is clearly visible, and where the collecting of rock types, minerals and fossils is unrestricted. 

No prior knowledge of the area or geology is assumed. 

View of Stanner Rocks and Worsell Wood, near Kington; these are slices of fault-bounded Late Precambrian rocks forming distinct 'hog's back' hills.

Please note you will need to make your own travel and accommodation arrangements (tutor can advise), with meeting times and places to be confirmed. 

The course is organised through Cardiff University. It carries assessment, which is very difficult to fail!  Attendees usually find assessment on these courses useful for consolidating what they have learned. 

Tuition fee is £175.00   (concessionary fee available £140.00).  

Enrolments can be made by 'phoning  029  2087  0000 or see website www.cardiff.ac.uk/learn 

For more information on course content and specific locations, contact tutor nickchidlaw@gmail.com 

 T. Rex Did Not Have a Toothy Grin

The film Jurassic Park, in 1993, showed Tyrannosurus rex with large teeth which were frighteningly visible. This, except for the exaggerated size, reflected the scientific consensus of the time.  

THIS ARTICLE, based on THIS ACADEMIC PAPER, tells us, with a myriad of data, that this is no longer considered to be true. 

The authors have considered the soft tissue of T. rex and other therapod dinosaurs and come to the conclusion that the fearsome beasties had lips. They were more like present day lizards than crocodiles.

But fear-not, they have not become cuddly. Behind those lips and gums were the same formidable, flesh-rending teeth.

The varying faces of Tyrannosaurus rex. The bottom picture is the most accurate, according to new research. Mark P. Witton