Extracts from the Proceedings for previous anniversary years
Extracts from the Proceedings for 1874–1875 (Session 17)
The CHAIRMAN [Mr. E.A. Wünsch, Vice-President] said that before proceeding further with the business of the evening, he had a very pleasing duty to discharge. As many of the members were aware, one of their Vice-Presidents, Mr John Young, who had long been identified with the Society, had been lately appointed Lecturer on Geology to the Mechanics’ Institution. It seemed, therefore, to some of Mr Young’s friends, both in this Society and beyond it, to be a fitting occasion to testify in some way their respect for him, and their good wishes for the work in which he was about to engage. The movement had been singularly spontaneous and cordial, and the result was that he had now the very great pleasure, in the name of the subscribers, of presenting to Mr Young the articles before him – namely, a diploma of Life Membership of the Geological Society of London, an elegant aneroid barometer, and a purse of sovereigns. He requested Mr Young’s acceptance of these as a token of the appreciation in which the services he had rendered, not only to this Society, but to the science of geology, were held, and of the hope and expectation which were entertained that his labours in communicating to others what he so well knew himself would be abundantly successful.
Mr YOUNG made a feeling and suitable reply.
Mr DAVID SANDEMAN, chairman of the Mechanics’ Institution, expressed the pleasure he had in being present to witness what he would call an act of simple justice, not only to Mr Young, but to themselves, and his confidence that, as a teacher of the science, Mr Young would be of the greatest service to the Institution in which he was about to labour.
There is further information about John Young below, in the extract from the minutes of the meeting held on April 9, 1900 (Session 42), which contained notification of his death.
The CHAIRMAN [Mr. E. A. Wünsch] gave a preliminary notice of an interesting discovery which he had recently made in Arran, during a joint exploration of the northern part of the island with Mr James Thomson, F.G.S. As was well known to the members, the age and geological position of those large masses of red sandstone adjoining the Carboniferous series of Arran has hitherto been doubtful – some geologists viewing them as part of the Carboniferous series, others thinking they might be of later date. In the course of their examination of these sandstones, they came upon a bed of conglomerate of highly glacial aspect, enclosing angular fragments of various volcanic, schistose, and limestone rocks; and in the latter Mr Thomson’s keen eye detected the familiar aspect of Carboniferous shells and corals. Having once obtained this clue, it was not difficult to find other beds at higher and lower levels, containing similar traces of Carboniferous fossils, thus fixing these massive beds of sandstone as undoubtedly of Lower Permian age. The character of the rocks at the north end of the island being thus determined, there was little doubt that the still more massive sandstone, south of the great anticlinal at Glen Sannox, would be found to be of the same age, and this point was hopefully reserved for future investigation.
Mr JAMES NEILSON, jun., exhibited a selection of fossils from the Irish and Scottish limestone beds, and read a paper “On the Armagh Limestones, and their equivalents in Scotch strata.” After describing the general succession of Carboniferous strata in Ireland as consisting of the following divisions, in descending order – coal measures, millstone grit, upper, middle, and lower limestones, and Carboniferous slates, resting on the Old Red Sandstone – he remarked that the upper portion of the Old Red Sandstone might probably be added to the Carboniferous system, as it contained many remains of plants, and seemed to be the equivalent of the Ballagan series in the West of Scotland. The “Carboniferous slates” include the Kildress sandstone, which consists of red and yellow sandstone, and beds of limestone containing Athyris, Spirifera, Rhynchonella, &c. The three divisions of the limestone – lower, middle, and upper – present a development very different from that found in Scotland. Here we have great beds of shale, with comparatively thin beds of limestone; there, on the contrary, the limestone is of great thickness, with thin beds of shale. Some sections show many hundred feet of limestone, simply parted by thin bands of shale here and there. These limestones cover the greater part of the South and West of Ireland, “choking out,” as it were, the upper coal measures, which only exist in small detached patches. The Armagh limestones belong to the lower division, and correspond with those found in Scotland at Campsie, Kilbride, Carluke, Lesmahagow, Muirkirk, and Beith as well as at several points on the East Coast. So far as regards the fossils, the limestones at Beith present the most striking likeness to those of Armagh. The latter have long been famous for their fish remains. These were collected in the last generation by Admiral Jones, and at the present time the Earl of Enniskillen has obtained a large and splendid suite of fossils from these beds. These fish remains were first described by Agassiz; they are also figured in “Portlock’s Geological Report of Londonderry,” and in “Sedgwick and M’Coy’s Palaeozoic Fossils.” With the assistance of these works Mr Neilson had identified 21 species, 14 of which are found in Scotland. He concluded by pointing out the characteristics of several of the species, and calling attention to their state of preservation, which, in many cases, was equal to that of the best Scottish specimens.
Mr DUGALD BELL read a paper “On the Geology of Switzerland,” an abstract of which will be found at p. 236. (Transactions, vol.5, 1877, pp.236-238.)
The CHAIRMAN [Mr. John Young, F.G.S.] suggested that some points in the paper ought to be taken up for discussion on a future evening, and in the meantime conveyed the thanks of the meeting to Mr Bell for his interesting and instructive communication.
In accordance with the chairman’s suggestion, the paper on the geology of Switzerland was discussed at a special meeting two weeks later, on January 28, 1875, with Mr E.A. Wunsch in the Chair:
Mr JAMES DAIRON made some remarks upon Mr Bell’s paper on Switzerland, expressing doubts as to the erosive action of glaciers, and stating that during a visit he had paid to that country, he had not seen anything like boulder-clay.
Mr JOHN YOUNG, F.G.S., Vice-President, stated that he conceived the true theory of the formation of boulder-clay to be, viz., that it was submarine, or at least, formed under the seaward extension of the ice-sheet. He opposed the views of Mr James Geikie and others, and thought that if any boulder-clay existed in Switzerland, it must have been deposited by the glacier ice in lakes.
Extracts from the Proceedings for 1899–1900 (Session 42)
Mr. JAMES WHITE read a paper upon “The Geology of North Berwick,” in which he took North Berwick Law, the well-known eminence in that district, with its glaciated surfaces, as a text upon which to speak of his special theories on the origin of Boulder-clay, that intractable deposit which has afforded so much food for speculation and argument for many years. In the course of his remarks he contended for a succession of ice-ages, and for the land-ice origin of Boulder-clay, in opposition to the very generally held theory that it is a marine deposit – although he admitted that in places it might contain sea-shells and other organic remains.
Several of the members present, including Mr. John Smith and Mr. James Neilson (Milnbank), expressed vigorous dissent from the author’s views, and strongly advocated the marine origin of Boulder-clay, while the Chairman (Mr. Blair) favoured the theory of its deposition by land-ice.
Mr. G. C. DICKSON exhibited a specimen of a curious marine deposit from Table Bay, Cape Colony, South Africa, resulting from the wreck of the Indiaman “Haarlem” in 1728. He stated that the cargo of the vessel contained a large quantity of peppercorns and china ware, and the specimen exhibited showed broken china embedded in a matrix well interspersed with peppercorns. After north-westerly gales pieces of the deposit are still occasionally washed up. The bits of blue and white china ware are in a perfect state of preservation as regards the pattern and diapir, one piece showing a man’s head and others leaves. A small vase was in a state of perfect preservation, and not even broken. The exhibitor recently extracted a whole peppercorn from the matrix, and when peeled it disclosed a perfect sphere of a light grey colour, and somewhat soft, which yielded a distinct taste of pepper to the tongue. The matrix is yellow-brown in colour, and an analysis showed that it contained about 61 per cent. silica, 25 per cent. oxide of iron, and 1 per cent. lime. The iron oxide is therefore the principal binding material. The present specimen contains a considerable amount of rusted iron, a sharp-cornered flat piece being especially noticeable, so that the large percentage of oxide in the analysis is easily accounted for.
Mr. DICKSON also exhibited two specimens of the remarkable tubes, found in sand-beds in Griqualand West, S.A., known as Fulgurites.
Almost five years earlier, members of the society had been intrigued by seeing, for the first time, specimens of fulgurites, which had also been exhibited by Mr. Dickson; the report of that former meeting, which had taken place on April 11, 1895, can be found in the extracts from the Proceedings for previous anniversary years.
Mr. JAMES WHITE read a paper, entitled “A Short Critique on Mr. John Smith’s paper, ‘The Drift of Glacial Deposits of Ayrshire,’ ” and expressed his strong disbelief in the stratification of the Boulder-clays, and their marine origins, and bringing forward many facts which in his estimation proved conclusively that they were the product of land-ice. (Mr. John Smith’s paper can be found at Transactions, vol.11, 1900, supplement.)
Mr. JOHN SMITH, in reply, said that the author had really not brought forward anything that could be called evidence against the hundreds of examples of the occurrence of stratification and the presence of marine remains in the Boulder-clays which were detailed in his Ayrshire paper, and that though the world had been gone over for instances in support of his theories, Mr. White had carefully and entirely avoided meeting these Ayrshire facts.
Remarks on the subject were also made by Mr. James Anderson, Mr. Wm. Jolly, F.G.S., and the Chairman [Mr. Matthew Blair, Vice-President].
The HON. SECRETARY (Mr. Murdoch) read a notice of the late Dr. John Young, LL.D., F.G.S., who had been a Life-member of the Society for a long period, as he joined it in 1859, the second year of its existence. During all that time, almost to within a year of his death, which took place on the 13th of March last, he had been a most active worker, and had contributed to its Transactions many important papers and notes, principally on subjects of Scottish palaeontology, on which he had long been a leading authority. In the year 1874 Dr. Young was appointed to the post of Lecturer on Geology in the Mechanics’ Institution, where he succeeded a number of distinguished teachers, including Dr. John Taylor, Mr. T.Struthers, Dr. David Page, Dr. Crosskey, and Dr. Robert Brown. He held this post till 1882, when he was appointed to a new geological lectureship which had been founded in connection with Anderson’s College by Dr. James Young of Kelly. There is no doubt that Dr. John Young’s labours in the teaching of geology, as well as his long-continued and unwearied work in the Hunterian Museum of the University, of which he had been under-keeper since 1859, had a most important influence on the study of the science in the West of Scotland, and that without his enthusiasm in the cause it would never have assumed the important place it has taken amongst us of late years. In 1874 Dr. Young became a member of the London Geological Society, and in 1893 he received the degree of LL.D. from the University of Glasgow, an honour which he thoroughly deserved and highly appreciated, although his friends thought it had been very tardily bestowed.
A Biographical Notice of John Young, LL.D., F.G.S. can be found in History of the Geological Society of Glasgow, 1858-1908 ed. MacNair and Mort, 1908, pp.183-188: https://archive.org/details/historyofgeologi00macniala
Information about Dr. Robert Brown (mentioned above in the list of teachers who served in the Mechanics’ Institution) can be found in the entry for the meeting held on April 16, 1874; Dr. Brown is also mentioned in the entry for the meeting held on October 30, 1873; both entries can be found in the extracts from the Proceedings for previous anniversary years.
Mr WILLIAM JOLLY, F.G.S., exhibited a series of 6-inch Ordnance Survey Maps, and a special map of the Glenroy district which he had constructed from the Survey sheets at the time when he was working at the geology of Lochaber. After giving some particulars about these maps, Mr. Jolly said that it gave him great pleasure to present them to the Society as a contribution towards its Map collection. He had always thought that the Society should set itself, as a special piece of work, to complete the record, and solve the great problem of the origin, nature and theory of the Parallel Roads of Glenroy. For that and other purposes it should certainly possess a full set of the 6-inch and 1-inch maps of the Geological Survey of Scotland, and that until this was accomplished he could not consider the Society was properly equipped for its work.
The handsome gift was duly accepted by the Chairman on behalf of the Society, and Mr. Jolly was awarded a hearty vote of thanks.
The HON. SECRETARY said that a beginning in the direction indicated by Mr. Jolly had lately been made, a number of the 1-inch district maps having been added to the Library, and that as they were mounted on cloth and folded in book form they were found to be useful for excursion purposes.
Mr. JOHN SMITH read “A Note on Lake-Basins being carved out of Rock by Glacier Ice.” He stated that Sir A. Ramsay has generally got the credit of having originated the theory of some lake-basins having been carved out of solid rock by ice. In his well-known work on “The Physical Geology and Geography of Great Britain,” page 164, he says “The theory [that lake-basins have been cut out by ice] which I propounded, is my own, and in its conception is not much more than thirteen years old” [about 1859]. In Ure’s “New System of Geology,” Glasgow, 1829, occurs the following passage, page 491: – “The Professor [Esmark, of Denmark] thinks this dike (moraine) could have been formed only by masses of ice (a glacier), which at one time filled up the whole valley, and by their pressure hollowed out the bottom into its series of three lakes.”
Sir A. Ramsay has also been forestalled by another writer, for in 1855 Mr. Henry Y. Hind suggested that the Canadian Lake Basins may have been cut out by ice. (See Quart. Jour. GeoL Soc., vol. xx., page 126.) It is thus therefore evident that to Prof. Esmark must be given the credit of the theory that lake-basins may have been carved out of solid rock by glaciers, and that his observations must considerably modify the claims of subsequent writers on the action of these natural forces.
A discussion on the paper followed, some of the members maintaining that whoever might have been the first to originate it, they could not agree with the theory itself.
Mrs. Robert Gray, 59 George Street, Edinburgh, was unanimously elected an Honorary Member of the Society.
It is interesting to note that, although Mrs. Robert Gray makes very few appearances in the Proceedings (the family having moved to Edinburgh from Glasgow in 1874) she is mentioned in the report (below) of the excursion to the Girvan Valley which had taken place during the month prior to her election as an Honorary Member of the Society; her husband (1825-1887) had been a founder member in 1851 of the Natural History Society of Glasgow. Further information about Mrs. Robert Gray (Elizabeth Anderson Gray) can be found at https://trowelblazers.com/2015/05/27/elizabeth-anderson-gray/.
To the Girvan Valley, Ayrshire, on Monday, 16th April (the Glasgow Spring Holiday), Mr. John Smith, conductor – a joint excursion with the Natural History Society of Glasgow. The Glasgow and South-Western Railway train leaving St. Enoch Station at 8.40 a.m. made a special stop for the party at Dailly. From thence under Mr. Smith’s guidance they proceeded to visit in succession Rough Neuk, Quarrelton, and Drummuck quarries, thus inspecting sections belonging to the various Silurian divisions – Lower Llandovery, Caradoc, Arenig, and Llandeilo – some of the rocks being very fossiliferous. Dalquharran House was afterwards visited, and some fine specimens of trees were seen. Mrs. Robert Gray, well known amongst geologists for her splendid collection of fossils from the Ayrshire Silurian rocks, was present during part of the day. After tea at New Dailly, the members returned to Glasgow. The distance walked was about 6 miles.
The HON. SECRETARY (Mr. Murdoch) read a notice of the late Mr. James Thomson, F.G.S., an Honorary Member of the Society, and one of the very few surviving members who had joined it in its first year (1858).
Largely a self-educated man, Mr. Thomson, with great natural force of character, first began the study of geology in the classes of the well-known Dr. John Taylor, of Anderson’s University, a teacher whose personal enthusiasm gave such an impetus to the science about the middle of the century. An active fossil collector from the first, Mr. Thomson soon became one of the leading local authorities on the organic life-forms of the Carboniferous rocks of the West of Scotland, and on its geology, as well as on that of the Western Highlands, where his business for many years periodically led him. The group of corals more especially engaged his attention, and a special process which he personally discovered and worked for the illustration of its forms, gave very fine results. Unfortunately the details of his process do not seem to have been communicated to others, and apparently have died with their inventor.
Mr. Thomson’s large collection of fossil forms, numbering thousands of specimens, some years ago passed into the possession of the town of Kilmarnock through the liberality of Mr. James Dick, who, also a Kilmarnock man, was his contemporary and friend from boyhood. Mr. Dick also contributed a large sum of money for the erection of a Free Library and Museum, where the late Dr. Hunter’s, and other notable geological collections, besides that of Mr. Thomson, have found an appropriate home.
A Biographical Notice of James Thomson, F.G.S. can be found in History of the Geological Society of Glasgow, 1858-1908 ed. MacNair and Mort, 1908, pp. 188-191: https://archive.org/details/historyofgeologi00macniala.
The HON. SECRETARY (Mr. Murdoch) exhibited a large and striking photograph of the body of an old Chilian miner which had been recently found during the exploration of some ancient copper-workings at Chuquicamata. Being thoroughly impregnated with salts of copper, the figure was as hard as stone and perfectly preserved against decay, and the form and features were quite recognisable, as well as the hair and material of the scanty working clothing. The man had evidently been killed when at work by a fall of rock which had crushed in his ribs, and it is supposed that this took place before the Spanish occupation, about A.D. 1600. A small basket in which he had been collecting atacamite (oxychloride of copper) was still in his hands, and his stone implements were lying alongside.
[Since this photograph was shown the indurated body has been sold for a sum exceeding £100 sterling, and is said to be destined for the United States of America.]
Extracts from the Proceedings for 1924–1925 (Session 67)
An obituary notice on Dr. Robert Kidston, who had died on July 13, 1924, was read by Dr. Donald Patton at the first meeting of Session 67.
Dr Kidston had been President of the Geological Society of Glasgow from 1917 to 1920; there is an account of his presidential address (“An Old Red Sandstone Plant: its Structure and Mode of Occurrence”) in the extract from the minutes of the meeting held on January 10, 1918; there is also an account of a further lecture given by Dr. Kidston on the subject of the Rhynie Chert in the extract from the minutes of the meeting held on January 12, 1922: both can be found in the extracts from the Proceedings for previous anniversary years.
Dr. Kidston’s obituary, written by Dr. Patton, can be found on the Society Presidents page.
A communication was read by Mr. Duncanson from Mr. J.A.W. Murdoch, describing the finding of bones of Megatherium in the Peruvian Cordillera:
MEGATHERIUM BONES FOUND AT QUISHUARCANCHA, PERU. By Mr. J. A. W. MURDOCH. This paper can be found at Transactions, vol. 17, 1927, pp. 181-184.
A paper was read by Mr. James Holmes on “The Dolerite Boss of Sithan-t-Sluain, Loch Fyne.” This paper can be found at Transactions, vol. 17, 1927, pp. 426-437.
Dr. Tyrrell said that this intrusion had already been mentioned in the Cowal Memoir by Dr. Clough, but Mr. Holmes was the first to describe its pegmatites. The only other coarse pegmatites of this type known to him (Dr. Tyrrell) in the West of Scotland were those in the crinanite of the Clauchland Sill, Arran.
The presence of zeolites, and the other petrographic characters indicate that the rock of the 30 foot dolerite is a crinanite, probably of Kainozoic age, and to be correlated with other crinanites of the West of Scotland. Mr. Holmes’ interpretation of the mechanism of intrusion was probably the correct one. Dr. W. R. Smellie was the first to describe this type of mechanism in the composite sill of S. Bute.
Mr. J. E. Richey said that the intrusion was similar to occurrences of a larger scale in Ardnamurchan. Dr. Clough had noticed the pegmatite, but referred to it as “veins.” Did the pegmatite circle right round the intrusion in plan? In the ring-dyke of eucrite in Ardnamurchan pegmatites occur in strings parallel to the outer margin, pointing to vertical walls in the intrusion. What was the felspar in the rock? If bytownite, the rock was probably eucrite.
Was the dyke described by Mr. Holmes a tongue from the intrusion, or a north–wester?
Mr. Holmes, in reply, said that the pegmatite went right round the intrusion. The felspar of the rock was bytownite, that of the pegmatite mainly labradorite. The dyke was simply a tongue, protruding from the intrusion.
Information about Dr. Clough (mentioned in the above discussion) can be found at https://www.edinburghgeolsoc.org/edinburghs-geology/.geological-pioneers/.charles-thomas-clough-1852-1916/.
Meeting held on March 12, 1925
A paper was read by Prof. J. W. Gregory, D.Sc., F.R.S., on “The Moraines and Glacial Sequence in the South-West of Scotland.” (Transactions, vol.17, 1927, pp. 354-376)
Mr. E. M. Anderson said that shells in the boulder clay could be accounted for by the passage of ice from the West, over a pre-existing marine bed. In N. Ayrshire striae and drumlins, and the disposition of crag-and-tails seemed to indicate movement from N.E. to S.W. A set of E.-W. drumlins was also present. There was evidence in a remodelled drumlin that the E.-W. was the earlier. He could not agree with Prof. Gregory‘s theory of the submarine deposition of boulder-clay.
Mr. J. E. Richey said that at a certain locality in N. Ireland shelly boulder-clay ocurrred at such a height above sea level as to render it difficult to account for by submergence. It was probable that the Cowden Glen deposits were formed in a lake, because of the presence of land-plants. The other theory demanded a too rapid oscillation.
Mr. Steele said that at one time in Garvel Park, Greenock, there was a section which showed Arctic shells in a typical tough till; this deposit passed up into sandier beds, stained black, perhaps by carbonaceous matter from decaying sea-weed; this horizon contained a warmer fauna.
Mr. G. Ross said that he had found moraines on the north face of Nutberry Hill and Priesthill in Lanarkshire. The land surface on the flat ground consists of boulder-clay with little drift; above the 800 ft. contour drift is abundant, with one or two moraines. To the west of this locality, also, below the 800 foot contour, the boulder-clay is sculptured drumlin-fashion and has no drift. These facts are difficult to account for on a land-ice theory, as one would expect to find retreat phenomena.
Dr. Tyrrell said that in Spitsbergen there was unequivocal evidence of the formation of till on land. It was indistinguishable from the till of the Glasgow district. Glaciers pass down over the shell and the tundra-bearing raised-beaches, covering them with a mantle of boulder-clay. He had seen ice in Klasbillen Bay Drift out and in frequently during a period of several days; this ice coming into contact with rocks would produce scratches of the kind described by Prof. Gregory. He thought Ayrshire a too distant source for the travelled analcite-basalt of the Severn; the Clee Hills in Shropshire were a more probable source.
Prof. Gregory, in reply, said that the trend of the discussion showed there was a tendency to explain the fossils of the till by the theory that they had been dragged up from the bottom of the sea. The deposits to which Mr Richey had referred were probably those of the Three Castles Mountain, Dublin. As at Clava, a British Association Committee found that the evidence there pointed to subsidence. If the theory of Isostasy is to be retained, we must admit the possibility of such movements under ice- pressure. Since the hypothesis of an ice dome in central Ireland has been discarded, it was difficult to see where the ice could have come from if it were land ice, as evidence all over the country indicated movement from the west. It could not be from Arran as there were no traces of Arran granites. Some agent other than land ice was required to explain the criss-cross and concentric striation found at Lugton. He had been on Nutberry Hill and Priesthill, but had not seen the moraines mentioned by Mr Ross. From Mr Ross‘s description, they appeared to be comparable to those of the Avon. With regard to the Spitsbergen boulder-clay, Mr Lamplugh was of opinion that it had been formed under the sea; the numerous raised beaches indicated that Spitsbergen was rising rapidly. There is no boulder-clay in the Antarctic, but the deposits on the floor of the Ross Sea will form typical boulder clay when dry. He agreed with Dr Tyrrell that there was a tendency to ascribe travelled material to sources far too distant, but the association of Criffell granite with analcite-basalt on the Severn indicates the south-west of Scotland as probably the correct source. The interstratification of land and marine fossils is due to isostatic oscillation. There is no more evidence for regarding the boulder-clay fossils as extraneous, than for regarding as extraneous the fossils of any other shell-bed. Prof. Garwood and he had described the uplift of shells by glacier, but to nothing like the same extent as in the boulder clay, and the shells did not retain the epidermis as is usually the case with the boulder-clay fossils.
Extracts from the Proceedings for 1949–1950 (Session 92)
Professor J. G. C. Anderson delivered his Presidential Address entitled “Geology and Hydro-Electric Power.”
Professor Anderson began by pointing out that the construction of a large, modern Hydro-Electric Power project involved very heavy capital expenditure, much of which went in moving, or tunnelling through, great quantities of rock or of superficial deposits. Geological advice, therefore, was often instrumental in economising considerably on the capital cost. Several instances had arisen in the course of works carried out by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board to which the speaker, then a member of the Geological Survey, had acted as adviser. For example, in the Loch Sloy scheme geological advice had minimised the trouble, owing to the presence of faults, in the main tunnel, and had led to the choice of a better Power Station site; a subsidiary tunnel, too, was routed through granite rather than hornfels, a much more difficult rock to excavate. The half-million tons of stone required in construction was obtained from a diorite intrusion, mapped in the first instance only on account of its scientific interest.
The speaker also gave examples of the use of geological information in the planning and construction of the Pitlochry, Glen Lussa and other schemes in the Scottish Highlands.
This meeting was held in the Art Gallery and Museum, Kelvingrove, Glasgow, by kind invitation of the Director of Museums, Dr. S. M. K. Henderson.
Dr. Henderson delivered a lecture on “Geology in the Museum” and Dr. A. T. J. Dollar commented on two exhibits which had been lent to him by courtesy of Messrs. Johnson Matthey & Co., Hatton Garden, London (a metallurgical assay company) – (i) ores of gold, (ii) model of a gold bullion bar.
Members were conducted by Dr. Henderson on a tour of the Natural History Department, including the Geology Gallery and the large animal habitat groups.
Dr. B. C. King exhibited specimens from a new tunnel intersecting the Garabal Hill Complex.
The main business of the meeting was a lecture entitled “Recent Advances in Glacial Geology” by Dr. F. W. Anderson, Mr. G. F. Mitchell, M.A., and Dr. J. B. Simpson. Dr. Simpson, in presenting the subject matter of the lecture, said that during the last 25 to 30 years great progress had been made in the study of late-Glacial and post-Glacial land deposits in this country — progress which really started with the development of the technique of pollen analysis of peat by Swedish botanists and the subsequent application of this technique to clays and silts below the peats as well. A zonal division of peat (post-Glacial) deposits applicable to north-west Europe is now an established fact; and in the freshwater (late-Glacial) clays beneath three climatic zones (arctic, temperate and arctic) are also clearly differentiated at low levels and are known to occur in Scandinavia, Denmark, Britain and Iceland.
An example of these late-Glacial freshwater beds has been recently noted by Simpson and Anderson in a temporary excavation at Drumchapel, Dunbartonshire. The importance of this discovery lies in the fact that the plant-beds here overlie shelly deposits of the 100-Foot Beach at a level of about 80 ft. O.D., and provide for the first time in Europe a relation between such freshwater beds and the marine deposits of the late-Glacial sea.
Mr. G. F. Mitchell of Trinity College, Dublin, has investigated the deposit in detail and has published an account of his work in the New Phytologist, vol. 50, 1951, p. 277. Comments by Dr. F. W. Anderson and by Dr. Simpson appear on p. 288 of the same publication.
Extracts from the Proceedings for 1974–1975 (Session 117)
Professor P. E. Brown of Aberdeen University delivered a lecture on ‘The Lilloise Layered Intrusion, East Greenland.’
The Lilloise Intrusion is one of the major plutonic bodies in the Tertiary Igneous Province of East Greenland. The intrusion was first reached in 1971 when it was established that it consists of layered gabbroic cumulates heavily injected by late syenitic sheets. A traverse made across the intrusion in 1974 revealed that the layered rocks have undergone intense deformation in cauldron subsidence. Layered feldspathic intermediate rocks, in which there is larger scale folding, appear to link the gabbroic cumulates with the late syenites.
A lecture was delivered by Dr. A. E. Roy, Reader in Astronomy, University of Glasgow, on ‘Models of the Universe.’
Dr. Roy considered that we are in the position of people in the Dark Ages who wanted to know if the Earth was flat, with an edge, or curved; whether it was changing with time, or whether it had a beginning or an end. Such questions are now being applied by us to the universe, and the latest astronomical observations are helping us to answer them.
Dr. S. H. U. Bowie, Director of the Geochemistry division of the Institute of Geological Sciences, delivered a lecture entitled ‘Geochemistry and Mineralisation in certain parts of Scotland.’ After explaining the growing urgency for discovering new sources of minerals, Dr. Bowie reviewed the techniques being employed in geochemical mineral exploration in Scotland. He explained how a geochemical map was being compiled from thousands of stream sediment samples, and gave some of the results of his department’s work in the north of Scotland. These included the discovery of Uranium near the base of the Old Red Sandstone in Caithness and Orkney and the indications of molybdenum and copper around Grudie.
A special meeting was held to discuss the raising of the annual subscription. After a full discussion of finances the motion that the annual subscription for Ordinary members be £6 from 1st October 1975, reduced to £5.50 for those paying by bankers orders or otherwise by 1st October 1975 (students by 9th October 1975) was carried by 33 votes to 3.
At the meeting it was agreed that council should look into proposals of reduced subscriptions for those who elect not to receive the Scottish Journal of Geology, for retired members and those on fixed incomes.
The discussion was followed by a programme of cine films on the ‘Geology of the Moon and Mars’ and the ‘Volcanic Eruption of Heimaey in 1973.’
The fiftieth anniversary of the sudden 1973 eruption of Heimaey, which lasted from January 23 until July 3, was commemorated from July 3 to July 9, 2023, celebrating the resilience of the people of Heimaey, who, with remarkable determination, saved their harbour from the encroaching lava, and subsequently rebuilt their devastated town. Information about the eruption and its aftermath can be found at https://www.geo.mtu.edu/volcanoes/boris/mirror/mirrored_html/Heimaey.html and at https://www.visiticeland.com/article/the-heimaey-eruption
Extracts from the Proceedings for 1999–2000 (Session 142)
Dr. Simon Lamb, University of Oxford
A LANDSCAPE WITH FAULTS
The recent natural disasters in Turkey and Greece demonstrate the enormous amount of energy released during earthquakes. Much of this energy results in profound changes to the landscape. During a single earthquake, there may be relative shifts along faults up to several metres. These displacements build up after many earthquakes, displacing both the surface of the Earth and the underlying bedrock. Examples were given of the consequences of earthquakes on major active faults throughout the world, including South America, New Zealand, Greece and Alaska.
Dr. Alice Walker, British Geological Survey, Edinburgh
EARTHQUAKES
On average between 200 and 300 earthquakes occur in the UK each year, with around 40 of them felt by the local population. The largest onshore earthquake this century occurred in North Wales in 1994 with a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter Scale. More recently, in March 1999, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake was throughout southern Scotland and into Ireland and caused slight damage in the epicentral area. Offshore, the seismicity can be related to broad geological structures but, onshore, such correlations are unclear. UK seismicity and the hazard it represents were described tonight in the context of UK and worldwide activity.
DINOSAURS EVOLVE INTO TRILOBITES?
Our March lecture on “The Elgin Reptiles and the Origin of the Dinosaurs” was due to be presented by Dr. Mike Benton of Bristol University. Unfortunately Mike’s plane was fog bound at Bristol and regrettably he was unable to attend.
However, the day was saved when Dr. Alan Owen from Glasgow University stepped in at the last moment to present a superb lecture entitled “10 Really Useful Things To Do With Trilobites”. Alan began with some of the more esoteric uses of trilobites, from North American Indian necklaces to Bohemian Gingerbread moulds, and moved on to discuss the enormous biodiversification in the Ordovician period and the very varied forms it produced. The many species, living through greatly differing time spans, made the trilobites ideal for correlating time zones and terranes, as demonstrated by the great similarity between those found at Girvan in Ayrshire and those of the Appalachians in North America. The ultimate downfall of the trilobites appears to have been what we all suffer from in Scotland – the cold, with the start of a major glaciation period at the end of the Ordovician reducing the number of species from 55–60 to only 4–5. If you are intrigued to know what all 10 things were, then here is the list: Aesthetics, Biodiversification, Biology, Evolution, Correlation, Paleobiogeography, Paleoecology, Bathymetry, Extinction and – not least – Entertainment. Many thanks to Alan for coming to the rescue in such an interesting, enjoyable and informative way.
Leader: Mrs Janey MacDougall
Report: Michael Pell Participants: 34
To celebrate the end of her reign as President of the Society, Janey MacDougall generously offered to lead a field trip to two geologically fascinating but very different areas of Southern Germany. Consequently on 4th Sept a busload of geologists of varying expertise, accompanied in many cases by their partners, left Glasgow for Hull and thence via P&O to Rotterdam and the first stop at Nordlingen, about 100km NW of Munich.
To suit the make up of the party and the particular geological phenomena that were to be seen, the visits were more museum orientated than the normal slog up muddy hills to hidden exposures. A total of six superb museums were visited, with displays of major geological significance probably unparalleled in this country; and such was the fame and importance of the Glasgow Geological Society that at each one we were greeted by the Director, received an introduction to the museum and its particular exhibits, and then taken on a lengthy guided tour; the talks in each case were aimed at making it interesting for our more expert group, whilst at the same time holding the interest of the non members who accompanied us. In this, the presenters succeeded totally, and what is more, disproved the false rumour that Germans are dour people without a sense of humour.
What we saw can be broadly broken down into three main groups: meteorites and palaeontology, Eifel volcanics, and precious stones.
In the first part of the trip we were staying in the beautiful small medieval walled town of Nordlingen which is in the middle of a Miocene meteorite impact crater of some 25 km diameter. The result of the impact on the surrounding rocks was studied both in the museums and in building materials used throughout the district. Amongst these was Suevite, formed during the impact which produced a mixture of molten country rock and shattered crystalline basement rocks. The Nordlingen church tower was a fine example of the suitability of this material for durable construction. The other tourists who climbed the tower to enjoy the fine views of the surrounding country, which could be identified clearly as the crater, must have been mystified by this odd group of Brits who were busy with hand lenses (but fortunately no hammers) peering intently at the stonework of the tower itself.
Also close at hand was another smaller crater, but the real interest here was the huge Solnhofen limestone quarry which is still producing a fabulous collection of fossils as well as a very special fine grained, thin bedded limestone used for the lithographic printing process. The converted Archbishop‘s Palace at Eichstatt now houses the Jura museum which has a display of fossils which even held the hard rock group spellbound. The most famous specimen in the museum is a complete specimen of Archaeopteryx, which is considered as the connecting stage in evolution between the birds and reptiles. Only six other Archaeopteryx fossils have been found, and all of these are from this area, which is exciting enough in itself, but the preservation is also outstanding with feather imprints also clearly evident.
The return northwards included a visit to Heidelberg en route to our next base in Koblenz. From here we were able to explore the Eifel, one of the youngest volcanic areas in Europe with the last eruption only 11,000 years ago and still active.
The Eifel has been very active since Tertiary times, with over 500 volcanoes evident intruding through Devonian oceanic crust. Both basic and acid lavas are found throughout, producing in Chris Burton‘s terminology “Heaps and Holes” topography with the holes left by explosive activity (sometimes water filled “Maars”) and the heaps formed by more fluid lavas and scoria cones. We were fortunate to be able to descend via a staircase into a mine cut into a 60 foot thick columnar jointed lava flow which had been worked since the Stone Age. Initially a 39 foot diameter shaft had been sunk through the 150 foot pumice layer above the lava and then the mine had been worked outwards from the shaft in all directions until by the mid 19th century, the area excavated amounted to 380 football fields, all done by hand; all the materials being extracted were brought to the surface through the entry shafts and then reworked locally into building and road materials, but most interestingly, into large and beautifully made millstones. Today with modern earth moving machinery, the quarry has been converted to open cast operations with the excavation of the pumice from above the lava, and the old workings have until recently provided a home for a brewery whose process benefits from the constant low temperatures at that depth.
Nearby was the Laacher See volcano which was the site of a major explosive eruption some 13,000 years ago, which ejected pyroclastic material across much of Europe. In the adjacent Wingertsberg quarry a cross section has been cut through the deposits which are 120 metres thick, all laid down over a ten day period but exhibiting maybe a hundred distinct layers, with classic bomb inclusions and variation in colour as the nature of the ejecta changed during the eruption.
It was not all geological studies. We found time to see the Lorelei rock with its romantic legends during a Rhine boat trip which started in cloud but finished in glorious sunshine. We almost got involved in a wine festival, but the lure of a look at the Nurburgring motor racing circuit was too tempting to miss. The flying ants that we met there were not part of the fun, but that is another story. The gem museum in Ida Oberstein was a delight to the entire party as we were entertained by yet another enthusiastic Museum Director and shown an incredible collection of precious and semi precious stones which, although no longer mined in the locality, are still imported and form the basis of one of Europe’s biggest cutting and polishing business enterprises. The agate display was breathtaking, but the special Tourmaline exhibition really took the prize.
This was a highly successful expedition which everyone in the party thoroughly enjoyed, and we were all very grateful to Janey for providing the idea and doing so much of the preparation, both logistical and geological, for it. We know that it is not intended to be a precedent for future retiring Presidents to follow, but it would be rather nice . . . . . . . . !